6i2 
Chateaubriand’s Travels in Egypt, Palestine, Sic. 
put to death in his'palace by the son of 
Achilles: 
Ingens ara fuit, juxtaque veterrlma laurus, 
Jxicumbens arse, atque umbra complexa 
Penates. 
But Argos, which doubtless exulted in 
tlie possession of the Pajiates that be¬ 
trayed the house of Priam, Argos itself 
soon exhibited a striking example of the 
vicissitudes of fortune. So early as the 
reign of Julian the apostate, its glories 
were eclipsed to such a degree, that, on 
account of its poverty, it could not con¬ 
tribute to the re-establishment of the 
isthmian games. Julian pleaded its 
cause against the Corinthians; Ins speech 
t>n this occasion, is still extant in his 
works. It is one of the most extraor¬ 
dinary documents in the history of things 
and of mankind. Finally, Argos, the 
country of the king of kings, having be¬ 
come in the middle ages the inheritance 
of a Venetian widosv, was sold by her to 
the republic of Venice for five hundred 
ducats, and an annuity of two hundred. 
Coronclli records the bargain. Omnia 
liaiiitas ! 
CORIMU. 
Corinth stands at the foot of moun¬ 
tains, in a plain which extends to the sea 
of Crissa, now the Gulf of Lepanto, 
the only modern name in Greece cliat 
vies in beauty with the ancient appella¬ 
tions. In clear weather, you discern, 
beyond this sea, the top of lielicon and 
•Parnassus ; but from the tow-n itself the 
Saronic sea is not visible. To obtain a 
view of it, vou must ascend to Aero- 
Corinth, when you not only overlook 
that sea, but tiie eye embraces even the 
citadel of Athens and Cape Colonna, 
“ It is,’^ says Spon, “ one of the most 
delicious views in the worlil.*’ I can 
easily believe him, for even from the foot 
of Acro-Corintli, the prospect is en- 
chaniing. The houses of the villages, 
wliich are large, and kept in good repair, 
are scattered in groups over the plain, 
embosomed in mulberry, orange, and 
cypress, trees. The vines, which, con¬ 
stitute the riches of this district, give a 
fresh and fertile appearance to the coun try; 
they do not climb in festoons upon trees, 
as in Italy, nor are tliey kept low, as in 
the vicinity of Paris. Each root forms, 
a detached verdant bush; round which 
tfic grapes hang, in autumn, like crys¬ 
tals. The summits of Parnassus and 
Ilel icon, the Gulf of Lepanto, winch 
resembles a magniScent canal; Mount 
Oneius covered with myrtles, form the 
horizon of the picture to the north and 
east; while the Acro-Corintljus, and the 
mountains of Argolis and Sicyon rise to 
the south and west. As to the monu¬ 
ments of Corinth, there is not one of 
them in existence- JM. Foucherot has 
discovered among their ruijis but two 
Corinthian capitals, the sole memorial of 
the order invented in tiiat city. 
A maritime people, a king who was a 
philosopher, and who became a tyrant, 
a Roman barbarian, who fancied that tlie 
statues of Praxiteles might be replaced 
like soldiers’ helmets ; all these recol¬ 
lections render Corinth not very inter¬ 
esting ^ but, to make some amends, you 
have Jason, Medea, the fountain of 
Pirene, Pegasus, the Isthmian games 
instituted by Theseus and sung by Pin¬ 
dar ; that is to say, fable and poetry, as 
usual. 
The traveller surveys the site of this 
celebrated city; he discovers not a ves¬ 
tige of t!ie altars of paganism, but he 
perceives some ciiristian chapels nsii'g 
from among the cottages of the Greeks. 
The apostle might still, from his celestial 
abode, give the salutation of peace to 
ins children, and address them in the 
words, “ Paul to the church of God, 
which E at Corinth.’’ 
OXEIUS, 
A wall, six miles in length, frequently 
demolished and built up again, obstruct¬ 
ed the access to the isthmus, in a place 
denominated Hexamillia. It was at this 
spot that we began to ascend Mount 
Oneius. I frequently stopped my horse 
amidst pines, laurels, and myrtles, to 
look beliuid me. Sorrowfully did I con¬ 
template the two-seas, especially that 
vv hich extended to the west, and seemed 
to tempt me with the recollection of 
France. That sea, how placid ! the 
distance how small ! In a few days I 
might be again in the arms of my friends! 
~I surveyed the Peloponnese, Corinth, 
the isthmus, the place where those once 
famous games were celebrated. What’ 
a desert! what silence ! Unfortunate 
country ! unhappy Greeks ! 
MEGARA. 
The first thing that struck me at Me- 
gara, was a number of Albanian women, 
who were, indeed, inferior in beauty to 
Nausicaa and her companions : they 
were merrily w’ashing linen at a spring, 
near which were seen some shapeless re¬ 
mains of an aqueduct. If this was tiie 
fuuntaift 
