698 



GREECE. 



less intense from the necessity of concealment. Tiie elements of tlieir revolution have ex- 

 isted for many years. It was common, when one heard the chanter from the mosque announce 

 the death of a Turk, to say to another, with satisfaction, " a dog is dead." They are ani- 

 mated in conversation, and use frequently many forms of oath. A Greek swears " by my 

 bread," " by my father's head," " by the life of my children," &,c. The females say, " by 

 my eyes," and "by my soul." "My son," is a general term of endearment, used even by 

 the young. 



24. Amusements. Cards are common, and the Greeks arc often seen intently engaged with 

 them at coffee houses. Dancing also is much practised, and also the story-telling so common 

 in the East. There are, however, no professed story-tellers, but each one in a circle relates 

 a tale. 



25. Education. The most of the means of instruction have been swept away by the war 

 of the revolution. There were several printing presses. There was a college at Haivali of 

 200 students, and another at Scio of more than 500. The " Sacred Band" was composed 

 principally of young men who returned from foreign universities, chiefly those of Germany 

 and Italy. The females receive but little instruction, and few of them can read. Educa- 

 tion, though at a low ebb, is receiving much aid from foreign sources, and the Greeks them- 

 selves are as liberal in its support as their poverty will allow. A university has lately been 

 founded at Athens, and there is a general desire to send the youth to schools. In languages, 

 the youth have always been distinguished for proficiency, and many are familiar with 5 or 6. 

 There are 12 newspapers in liberated Greece, 1 in French, and the others in the language of 

 the country. 



26. Arts and Sciences. The arts are wellnigh extinct in the country where they wer< 

 once the most perfect. The Turks hardly tolerated them, and during their sway, the state of 

 property was too insecure for the encouragement of the fine arts, or for the collection and 

 preservation of ancient models. The music is simple, but monotonous, and it has but one 

 part. The songs are numerous, for the Greeks delight in poetry, and have the facility of the 

 Italians in versification. Their amator}'^ pieces, in which they chiefly dehght, though not 

 formed on the model of Sappho, yet, (says Hobhouse,) speak the very language of love, be- 

 ing exceedingly extravagant. 



27. Religion. The Greek Church has a great resemblance to the Roman Catholic. The 

 laws, however, secure religious toleration. The number of ecclesiastics is very large ; they 

 are supported chiefly by gifts, and fees for the various sacraments and ceremonies. They are 

 not compelled to live in celibacy. They wear their beards, and a peculiar dress. On Mount 

 Athos are several communities of recluses, called caloyers, amounting to nearly 6,000. They 

 cultivate the ground, have vineyards and orchards, and exercise mechanical trades ; mendicant 

 brothers from these, as well as from the monasteries of Patmos, are to be found throughout 

 Greece. Among other absurdities, they administer the extreme unction, by anticipation, to 

 whole households. The Virgin Mary is the great object of veneration, and there is no cottage 

 without her picture with a light before it. Statues, which are so prevalent in the Roman 

 church, are inadmissible in the Greek, where paintings are universal. The churches are small 

 and plain, such as might have been common in the Apostolic times. Men and women sit 

 apart, and have separate entrances. In praying they face to the east, and seldom kneel ; prob- 

 ably from original dislike to the Turks, who are very precise in their posture for prayers. There 

 are only 130 days in the year free from fasts, which are strictly kept. The lent at Easter lasts 

 2 months, and at Christmas 40 days. Wednesdays and Fridays are fasts throughout the year ; 

 the former day, because on that day Judas received the money for his treachery. Much of 

 the joyful part of religious festivals is retained. 



The weddings are celebrated with rejoicings, and a procession attends the bride to her future 

 home. In the procession are often many young girls, dressed in white, preceded by music, 

 and who scatter flowers in the path. The Amerals are attended with show. The body is 

 richly dressed and strewed with flowers. A long procession is formed, and two or three old 

 women hired for the occasion walk by the side of the bier, howling, and asking of the dead 

 such questions as these, " Why did you die ? you had money, friends, a fair wife, and many 

 children. Why did you die ?" On the 9th day after, a feast is given by the nearest relative, 

 accompanied with music and dancing. The cemeteries are not in churches, but generally near 

 a town, on the highway. They are shaded with cypress or yew. 



28. Government. The government is a constitutional monarchy, the crown being heredita- 



