"THE GLORY THAT WAS GREECE" 



007 



which in former days the dazzling marble 

 had been hewn to be carried to Athens, 

 there to grow into forms of beauty under 

 the chisel of a Phidias or a Praxiteles. 



The scramble down the hillside was an 

 hour's labor and it was another two hours 

 before we reached the Mound of Mara- 

 thon, raised over the graves of those 

 Athenians who were slain in the conflict. 



ON THE ElEED OF MARATHON 



The Mound rises perhaps 50 feet above 

 the surrounding plain and is crowned by 

 low bushes (see page 601 ) . Its slopes are 

 covered with grass, while encircling it is 

 an irregular hedge of cacti. From the top 

 there is a view of the entire plain. 



One is tempted to smile at the handful 

 of men engaged and the small space 

 covered, yet it is a sobering thing to let 

 one's imagination dwell on what would 

 have happened to the world had the bar- 

 barians triumphed in this conflict. 



I am sometimes tempted to sympathize 

 with an acquaintance who bewailed the 

 defeat of Montcalm at Quebec and Napo- 

 leon at Waterloo. But here, under the 

 Grecian sky, greater issues were involved. 

 It was the first Titanic struggle between 

 East and West, and had the result been 

 different, our religion, our speech, our 

 laws, the very framework of the society 

 which, with all its defects, we hold dear, 

 would have been radically changed, and 

 who would dare say for the better? 



THE TRAGIC INCIDENT THAT ENDED 

 GREEK BRIGANDAGE 



In the early 70's the road from Athens 

 to Marathon was the scene of a horrible 

 tragedy, when Greek brigands attacked a 

 party of excursionists from Athens, most 

 of them connected with various foreign 

 legations in Greece, and held them for 

 ransom. The women and children of the 

 party were released, and one of the men, 

 Lord Muncaster, who died only about two 

 years ago, was dispatched to Athens to 

 raise the sum demanded. 



After Lord Muncaster' s arrival at the 

 capital, and following the acceptance of 

 the terms laid down by the brigands, the 

 latter changed these and insisted on more 

 favorable conditions. In these circum- 

 stances Lord Muncaster, after consulting 

 with his Minister and other friends, felt 

 that he was not in honor bound to give 



himself up again. He accordingly re- 

 mained in Athens. 



Meanwhile, negotiations were being car- 

 ried on with the banditti. Unfortunately, 

 at the same time Greek troops attempted 

 to surround the brigands. The latter fled 

 and, being hard pressed, cut the throats of 

 all their prisoners. 



The scandal had now become interna- 

 tional, and various powers made vigorous 

 representations to the Greek Government. 

 Finally a number of the criminals were 

 captured and executed and others given 

 long terms of imprisonment. This shock- 

 ing case may be said to have marked the 

 end of brigandage in Greece. 



THE MODERN STADIUM ON AN ANCIENT 

 SITE 



The route covered by the Runner at 

 Marathon, in his mad flight to bring the 

 good news of victory to Athens, lay be- 

 tween Mounts Pentelikon and Hymettus 

 and was about 24 miles long. In 1906 

 approximately the same distance was 

 covered by the runner in the Olympic 

 contest of that year. 



This messenger of ancient days doubt- 

 less finished his course in the Market- 

 place, falling lifeless there, as he uttered 

 the simple phrase, "We have won" ; the 

 goal of the modern athlete was the mag- 

 nificent stadium which now covers the site 

 of the ancient structure (see page 599). 



As is the case with other stadia, and 

 particularly all Greek theaters, the sta- 

 dium at Athens, under the plans of the 

 great Lycurgus, was made by cutting 

 into the hillside. While this involved the 

 removal of great quantities of earth, it 

 solved in some measure the problem of 

 walls. The acoustics were in many in- 

 stances of extraordinary quality. 



Athens owes the stadium of to-day to 

 the generosity of a wealthy Greek of 

 Alexandria ; it really represents a re- 

 sheathing of the old structure, and this 

 marble covering is from the same veins 

 as those from which the material for the 

 classic monuments in Athens was hewn. 



The stadium is in the form of an el- 

 lipse. Near the center, on the right, are 

 seats for the members of the royal family, 

 government authorities, and foreign rep- 

 resentatives. At the end of the ellipse are 

 places for the judges. Near by are set up 

 two ancient Hermae found in excavating. 



