A. D. 1554. Dupinet.

A. D. 1557.

A. D. 1578.
Ortellius.

sed in cum confidito qui dicit: Ego Dominus Deus vester."*

This apostrophe of an aged and respectable scho. lar to the ruins of Athens, is highly impressive. We cannot cherish too much gratitude towards those who opened the way for us to the beauties of antiquity.

Dupinet asserted, that Athens in his time was but an insignificant village exposed to the ravages of foxes and of wolves.

Laurenberg, in his description of Athens, emphatiLaurenberg. cally exclaims: Fuit quondam Græcia, fuerunt Athena : nunc neque in Græciaá Athena, neque in ipsa Græcia Græcia est." There was a time when Greece, when Athens existed: now neither is there an Athens in Greece, nor is Greece itself any longer to be found." Ortellius, surnamed the Ptolemy of his time furnished some new information respecting Greece in his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, and in his Synonima Geographica, reprinted with the title of Thesaurus. Geographicus: but he erroneously confounds Sparta and Misitra. He also believed that nothing was left of Athens, but a castle and a few cottages: nunc casulæ tantum supersunt quædam.

A. D. 1578,

A. D. 1584. Crusius, or Kraus.

Martin Crusius, professor of Greek and Latin at the University of Tübingen, towards the conclusion

"Eneas Sylvius says that Athens whose very strong citadej was delivered by a certain Florentine to Mahomet, now exhibits the appearance of a very small town, so that Ovid might but too truly exclaim: What, besides the name is left of Pandionian Athens!

"O the deplorable vicissitudes of human things! the tragic change of human power! A city once renowned for its walls, har bours buildings; pre-eminent in arms, wealth, citizens, wisdom, and every species of learning, is now reduced to a petty town, or rather a village. Formerly free and living under its own laws, now oppressed by the most cruel monsters, and bowed down by the yoke of slavery; Go to Athens, and instead of the most magnificent works, behold heaps of rubbish, and lamentable ruins. Beware beware of confiding too much in thine own strength, but put thy trust in Him who says, I am the Lord your God.”

of the sixteenth century, made diligent inquiries concerning the state of the Peloponnese and Attica. His eight books, intituled, Turco-Græcia, give an account of Greece from the year 1444, to the time in which he wrote. The first book contains the political, and the second the ecclesiastical history of that interesting country. The six others are composed of letters sent to different persons by modern Greeks. Two of these letters, containing some particulars relative to Athens deserve to be known. The first is addressed in 1575 by Theodore Zygomalas, who styles himself protho- Zygomalas. notary of the great church of Constantinople," to the learned Martin Crusius, professor of Greek and Latin Literature at the University of Tübingen, and very dear in Jesus Christ.

"Being a native of Nauplia, a town of the Peloponnese, not far from Athens, I have often been at that city. I have examined with care the objects which it contains, the Areopagus, the Antique Academy, the Lyceum of Aristotle, lastly, the Pantheon. This edifice is the most lofty and surpasses all the others in beauty. The exterior all round exhibits in sculpture the history of the Greeks and of the gods. Over the principal entrance in particular, you observe horses which appear absolutely alive, so that you may fancy you hear them neigh.* They are said to be the work of Praxiteles; the soul and genius of the man have A. D. 1584. been transferred to the stone. There are in this place several other things worthy of notice. I say nothing of the opposite hill on which grow all kinds of herbs useful in medicine;† a hill which I call the garden of Adonis. Neither do I say any thing concerning the

Φρυασσομένες ανδρομέων σαρκα—This expression I do not understand. The Latin version has: tanquam frementes in carnem humanam Spon, who translates part of this passage, has adhered to the Latin version, which is just as obscure to me as the original. He renders it: "which seem to long for a repast of human flesh." I cannot admit this signification, which to me appears absurd unless Zygomalas means here to allude to the horses of Diomed.

Probably Mount Hymettus.

A. D. 1584. serenity of the air, the excellence of the water, and other advantages enjoyed by Athens; whence it happens that its inhabitants now fallen into barbarism, still retain some remembrance of what they have been. They may be known by the purity of their language: like syrens, they charm all who hear them, by the variety of their accents.-But why need I say more of Athens! The animal indeed has perished, but the skin remains."

Cabasilas.

This letter abounds with errors, but it is valuable on account of its ancient date. Zygomales made known the existence of the temple of Minerva, which was supposed to be destroyed, and which he wrongly denominates the Pantheon.

The second letter, written to Crusius, by Simeon Cabasilas, a native of Acarnania, furnishes some addition to the information given by the prothonotory.

"Athens was formerly composed of three parts, all equally populous. At present, the first part, situated on an eminence, contains the citadel, and a temple dedicated to the Unknown God; and is inhabited by Turks. Between this and the third is situated the second part, where the Christians live together. After this second part comes the third, over which is the following inscription:

THIS IS ATHENS,

THE ANCIENT CITY OF THESEUS.

In this last portion is seen a palace, covered with large marbles, and supported by pillars. Here you still find inhabited houses. The whole city may be six or seven miles in circumference, and contains about twelve thousand inhabitants."

Four important things are to be remarked in this description. 1. The Parthenon had been dedicated by the Christians to the Unknown God, mentioned by St. Paul. Spon unseasonably cavils with Guillet on the subject of this dedication: Deshayes has mentioned it in his travels. 2. The temple of Jupiter Olympus (the palace covered with marble) or at least great

part of it was standing in the time of Cabasilas: no A. D. 1584. other traveller has seen any thing of it but the ruins. 3. Athens was then divided in the same manner as it is still; but it contained twelve thousand inhabitants, and has now no more than eight thousand. Some inhabited houses were then to be seen near the temple of Jupiter Olympus: that part of the city is now deserted. 4. Lastly, the gate with the inscription: This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus, has stood till our times. On the other side of this gate, next to Hadrianopolis or Athena novæ we read:

THIS IS THE CITY OF ADRIAN,

AND NOT THE CITY OF THESEUS.

Previously to the appearance of the work of Martin Belop: Crusius, Belon had published, in 1555, his Observations on various singular and remarkable things found in Greece. I have not quoted his work, because this learned botanist visited only the islands of the Archpielago, Mount Athos, and a small portion of Thrace and Macedonia.

D'Anville, in commentating upon Deshayes, has A.D. 1626. conferred celebrity on his work relative to Jerusalem; Deshayes. but it is not generally known that Deshayes is the first modern traveller who has given us any account of Greece, properly so called: his embassy to Palestine has eclipsed his journey to Athens. He visited that city between the years 1621 and 1630. The lovers of antiquity will not be displeased to find here the original passage of the first Travels to Athens-for that appellation cannot be given to the letters of Zygomalis and Cabasilas.

"From Megara to Athens it is but a short stage, which took us less time than we should have been walking two leagues: no garden in the midst of a wood of forest trees can afford greater pleasure to the eye than this road. You proceed through an extensive plain full of olive and orange-trees, having the sea on the right, and hills on the left, whence spring so

A. D. 1625. many beautiful streams, that Nature seems to have taken pains to render this country so delightful.

"The city of Athens is situated on the declivity and in the vicinity of a rock, imbedded in a plain, which is bounded by the sea on the south, and by pleasant hills that close it towards the north. It is not half so large as formerly, as may be seen from the ruins, to which time has done much less injury than the barbarism of the nations who have so often pillaged and sacked this city. The ancient buildings, still standing, attest the magnificence of those who erected them; for there is no want of marble, or of columns and pilasters. On the summit of the rock is the castle, which is still made use of by the Turks. Among various ancient buildings, is a temple as entire and as unimpaired by the ravages of time, as if but recently erected. Its arrangement and construction are admirable; its figure is oval, and without, as well as within, it is supported by three rows of marble columns decorated on their bases and capitals: behind each column there is a pilaster of corresponding style and proportion. The Christians of the country assert that this is the very same structure which was dedicated to the Unknown God, and in which St. Paul preached: at present it is used as a mosque, and the Turks assemble there to pray. This city enjoys a very serene air, and the most malignant stars divest themselves of their baleful influences when they turn towards this country. This may easily be perceived, both from its fertility, and from the marbles and stones, which, during the long period that they have been exposed to the atmosphere, are not in the least worn or decayed. You may sleep out of doors bare-headed, without experiencing the smallest inconvenience; in a word, the air which you breathe is so agreeable and so temperate, that you perceive a great difference on your departure. As to the inhabitants of the country, they are all Greeks, and are cruelly and barbarously treated by the Turks residing there, though their number is but small.