144 



ATTICA. 



Echinops : a rich plain, planted with vines and olives, then extended 

 within a mile of Athens. A narrow road conducted us through the 

 plain on which were the evident traces of an ancient wall, occasionally 

 fenced off with hedges of Atriplex Halimus and Lycium Europaeum ; 

 the wild caper bush was also very common on the sides of the road ; 

 some fallow grounds succeeded to the olive gardens, on which a few 

 women were busy in collecting a favourite sallad "Ev^upov. 



Oct 19. — We obtained from Logotheti some information concern- 

 ing the present state of Attica. The country of Attica is divided into 

 four districts, namely, Messoia, Catta Lama, Eleusina, with Mount 

 Casha; and the territory of the city of Athens. * These districts con- 

 tain about 60 towns or villages, and about 12,000 inhabitants ; nearly 

 1000 of these are Turks, and 5000 pay Charatch ; the rest are women 

 or children under the age of twelve years. The Charatch is divided 

 into three ratios, which are taken according to the property of the 

 person taxed ; the first includes those of the largest property, they 

 pay eleven piastres ; the next in consequence half of that sum ; those 

 of the last division, which includes the poorest persons in Attica, pay 

 100 paras. Among the lower class of Athenians there are many, 

 who, notwithstanding their oppressed state, enjoy certain consequence 

 and property ; they possess each a house and garden, a vineyard con- 

 taining at least a strema of land, with a score of olive trees and some 

 bee-hives; and the olive grounds of the large proprietors furnish them 

 during the winter months with constant employment. The season 

 for gathering the olives begins in October, and continues until Febru- 

 ary, during which period they take at least 25,000 piastres. A man 



* " The number of houses in the city tenanted at present (1795) is about 1G00. This, 

 at five persons to a house, makes 8000 inhabitants, which exceeds half the population of 

 all Attica. But it is necessary to remark that about 2500 persons, chiefly Turks, had 

 been carried off in the two last plagues, and that numbers had been forced by the cruelty 

 and exactions of Ali Aga to emigrate. 



" In 1797, 250 fugitive Albanian families had returned in consequence of the execution 

 of that person. 



" The population of Athens in 1751-2, according to Stuart, was between 9 and 10,000 

 souls; four-fifths of whom were Christians." Note from Mr. Hawkins's Journal. 



