842 The National Geographic Magazine 



SACK MENDERS AT WORK: SMYRNA 



upon a ruin which dates from prehistoric 

 times. But such are rare, and when they 

 are found archaeology is silent upon the 

 story of their past. 



Nothing but the hills and bays have 

 remained the same as the ^Eolians knew 

 them. That ancient race is gone, and 

 many a one since then. But the island 

 has remained the same. As Lesbos was, 

 so is Mitylene today. The same, and 

 yet how changed ! Upon that shore the 

 lyre of Sappho may be heard no more. 

 She and her lover, and the Leucadian 

 rock from whence she sought her death, 

 are gone, and from that height today a 

 monastery looks down upon the ^Egean 

 Sea. The island nation which lived to 

 see a civic crown conferred on Caesar, 

 and to welcome Pompey as a fugitive, 

 lives only now in name. Even the ne- 

 cropolis, to which they all were borne, 

 has disappeared. 



Modern Mitylene is very fertile, and 

 produces all the fruits native to these re- 



gions. The chief wealth of the island is 

 the olive tree. The forests provide tim- 

 ber and pitch for the small but prosper- 

 ous boat-building industry, which gives a 

 livelihood to many of the inhabitants. 

 Farming is only done on a small scale, 

 for the reason that there is but little ara- 

 ble land. The roads are good — much 

 better, in fact, than on the mainland — 

 and are kept in a good state of repair. 

 The people are honest, sober, and indus- 

 trious. 



As coins and inscriptions of rare an- 

 tiquity are often found in various parts 

 of the island, it is thought by those in a 

 position to know that excavations prop- 

 erly conducted would bring to light mon- 

 uments and relics of great value. 



EPHESUS 



Of the twelve Ionian cities which once 

 thrived at various places along the west- 

 ern coast of Asia Minor, Ephesus was 

 different than the rest, inasmuch as it 



