( 4 ) 



the twelve Gods to be judges of the dispute; 

 by whom, on the testimony of Cecrops, it 

 was decided in favour of Minerva. The God- 

 dess, thus become tutelar divinity of the city, 

 called it after her own name , and Neptune, 

 irritated by his defeat , inundated all Attica 

 to revenge the affront. 



The Olive has flourished chiefly on the 

 shores of the Mediterranean Sea, between 

 the thirty-sixth and the forty-fourth degrees 

 of latitude. It still abounds in Greece : in the 

 northern provinces it requires to be placed 

 on hill sides exposed to the south, that it may 

 be warmed by the reflected heat; but in At- 

 tica the climate, as well as the soil and face 

 of the country, is peculiarly favourable to its 

 growth. Near the foot of the mountains , the 

 Olives form vast curtains of a pale green, 

 which is agreeably contrasted with the deeper 

 verdure of the meadows beneath, and with 

 the dusky grey of the rocks above. 1 The beau- 

 tiful plain of Athens, as seen towards the 

 north-west from Mount II y melius , appears 

 entirely covered with them. 2 The wild Olive 



1 See Beaujour's Commerce of Greece, 



2 See Oliyier's Travels. 



