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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph by Cass Arthur Reed 



THE GREAT MARBLE CLOCKS JUST OUTSIDE 



THE THEATER AT EPHESUS SHOW HOW 



SPLENDIDLY THE CITY WAS BUILT 



At Ephesus the Phoenicians introduced the 

 religions cult of their moon goddess, protect- 

 ress of trade. The temple was defended by 

 armed virgins, and when the Greeks under 

 Androclus met the fierce resistance of these 

 women warriors the world gained the legend 

 of the Amazons. The supremacy of the heathen 

 goddess was unchallenged until Paul preached 

 the gospel which caused Demetrius, the idol- 

 maker, to. fear that his profession would be 

 harmed by such doctrines. 



lieving that the custom of the tJiiasos ex- 

 isted in such an early age is the subtlety 

 and force with which religious thought 

 penetrated all the life of the period. 



There seems to have been a shrine at 

 almost every turn of the mountain path 



and a religious ceremony for every act 

 of daily life. There were spirits in every 

 wood and stream and spring. 



The people thought of their religion 

 in connection with every event and al- 

 ways consulted the oracle whenever they 

 undertook anything new. The oracle that 

 they honored most was far away at 

 Delphi, in Greece, and before going to 

 war, or building a town, or forming an 

 alliance, a messenger was sent there to 

 ask advice of the oracle. 



Delphi held the imagination as the 

 place where the gods spoke to men, in- 

 spiring the priestesses with divine words. 

 Yet I fancy that when feeling ran high 

 the people did not always wait to send a 

 messenger to Delphi, which would be a 

 matter of several weeks at least. Prob- 

 ably they often acted without the au- 

 thority of the oracle and then secured it 

 afterward. 



People visited Delphi, however, from 

 all parts of the Grecian world to get ad- 

 vice, and the place became not only a 

 kind of inspiration bureau, but also a 

 bureau of information, for the priestesses 

 saw and talked with people from many 

 places and became very wise in the politi- 

 cal affairs of their time and often were 

 able to give extremely good advice. 



Their influence was felt all through 

 the Greek colonies, and one of them, 

 Themistoclea, is said to have been the 

 teacher of Pythagoras. 



THE DELPHIC ORACLE AS A GREAT DEPOSI- 

 TORY OF WEALTH 



The oracle did not, however, send ad- 

 vice free of payment. Rich presents were 

 expected in return, and Delphi became 

 a kind of national banking-house for the 

 cities of Ionia, with different treasuries 

 to contain - offerings from the different 

 places. Gifts of every form and degree 

 of value Were sent there — iron spits on 

 which to roast ^oxen used in the sacrifices ; 

 bowls of gold and silver, and all kinds 

 of the choicest treasures of the richest 

 cities. 



When the sayings of the oracle failed 

 to prove true, however, complaints were 

 sometimes made, and the priestess would 

 be obliged to justify herself. So it was 

 usually found wiser to be rather non- 

 committal and to give commands that 



