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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



this early period of the "Sons of Javan," 

 because it has been recorded only through 



the coloring medium of Greek tradition 

 and mythology, and little understood by 

 modern historians. 



Javan is more of a divine than a hu- 

 man figure. He impersonates the instinct 

 and genius of the Asiatic Greeks, who 

 pushed out in all directions — north, south, 

 east, and west — but always by sea. 



Later Greek tradition delighted to pic- 

 ture the Greeks of the west coast of Asia 

 Minor as colonists, who had migrated 

 from European Greece. 



This tendency to represent European 

 Greece as the mother country of the en- 

 tire Greek race constantly reappears in 

 history and lies at the basis of the false 

 modern ideas which describe the Byzan- 

 tine Empire as Crreek, although it was, in 

 the strictest sense, Roman in organization 

 and law and custom and name. 



The Old-Ionians were the creative and 

 vivifying element in Asia Minor. They 

 spring ever fresh from the geographic 

 conditions of the west coast, as the other 

 element grows permanently from its con- 

 ditions ; and both are needed to constitute 

 a nation. The most urgent problem pre- 

 sented now in the realm of historical 

 geography is to study the Old-Ionians and 

 the Anatolian Hittites. 



GREEK COLONIES GIRDLED THE 

 MEDITERRANEAN 



One of the most remarkable facts of 

 history is the powder of the Greek people 

 to adapt itself to other nations, and 

 thereby to assimilate nations to itself. 



A host of colonies round the coasts of 

 Asia Minor and round the entire coasts 

 of the Black Sea and of the JEgean and 

 the Adriatic and the Italian waters, and 

 the Italian and French and Spanish 

 coasts, and a considerable part of the 

 African coast between the borders of 

 Egypt and the countries of the Cartha- 

 ginian power, seem to have regarded 

 themselves as Greek. 



Greek was the language of education 

 and literature and of higher civilization. 

 Although it was left to Rome to construct 

 a stable organization of unified govern- 

 ment and society, we must not forget that 

 great civilizing cities of the west, like 

 Marseille and many others, were founded 

 from Asia Minor, and that the historv 



of Christianity in the first three centuries 

 is largely the story of the influence that 

 originated from the great peninsula, the 

 bridge and pathway of intercourse be- 

 tween Asia and Europe. 



It would be a mistake to imagine that 

 the Greeks of Asia were exactly similar 

 to or entirely friendly with the Greeks of 

 the European peninsula. There always 

 tended to be a certain hostility between 

 the populations of neighboring valleys; 

 even in the same valley, city was fre- 

 quently involved in war against city. 



The mother city was sometimes hostile 

 to her colonies, and still more the Greeks 

 of Asia were hostile to the Greeks of 

 Europe. 



GREEK ART BLOSSOMED IN ASIA MINOR 



It would be an empty task to enumerate 

 the Greek colonies in Asia Minor. They 

 varied at different periods, both in num- 

 ber and in power, some passing away and 

 others founded or refounded, according 

 to the changes in the economic conditions 

 of the country generally. 



The essential points in their character 

 have been already noted, and the general 

 principles of Greek life are as true at 

 the present day as they have ever been 

 throughout ancient history. They en- 

 circled the entire peninsula and the Black 

 Sea. 



It is more to our purpose to notice the 

 great share that these Greek cities of Asia 

 have played in the development of Greek 

 literature and art in every form. 



Homer stands supreme in the begin- 

 ning of the world's literature. His sub- 

 jects are taken from the history of the 

 "Sons of Javan," and the general opinion 

 in ancient and in modern times is that he 

 was an Asian Greek himself, or that he is 

 the representative of an Asian Greek 

 school of bards. 



Lyric poetry is represented by the out- 

 standing names of Sappho and Alcseus 

 and a host of lesser, though still great, 

 names. 



The Greek drama, indeed, is almost 

 purely European ; but in philosophy many 

 of the greatest old names are Asian, and 

 the first steps in serious speculation about 

 the nature of the world and the work of 

 the Divine power in relation to the world 

 and to man belong to Asia. 



The early Greek historians mostly spring 



