^^«S|?M. V'.mmat'^ mmm i^^^mkff^^^^^^ AN EXCURSION IN THE PELOPONNESUS. VOLUME I. 26il ?'1'*!'i"Kff||;iltir7T^" z o AN EXCURSION IN THE PELOPONNESUS IN THE YEAR 1858. BY THE L.\TE RIGHT HON. SIR THOMAS WYSE, K.C.B. H.U.'S ENVOY EXTRAOHDINARY AND MINISTER PLENIPOTEXTIARY AT ATHENS. FROM 1»19 TO 18l>3. EDITED BY HIS NIECE, WINIFREDE M. WYBE. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. LONDON: DAY & SON, LIMITED, 3;itbograpbtrs aitb ^ublis^trs, 6, GATE STREET, LINCOLN'S-INN FIELDS, W. C. 1865. [All Jiiyh(s reserved.] \ PREFACE. 'T^IIE present work, written by the late Sir Thomas Wyse in the summer of 1858, records the results of a tour in the Peloponnesus, made in the spring of the same year. This tour was undertaken with the special object of collecting information for the " Financial Com- mission to inquire into the Resources of Greece," which was appointed immediately after the occu- pation of Athens during the Crimean war, and of which Sir T. Wyse was president. The journal here presented to the public was not originally intended for publication, but as a record of facts to be referred to by the Author during his labours in the Financial Commission. In the course, however, of composing this narrative. Sir T. Wyse, finding that it touched upon many subjects of general interest, began to entertain hopes of publishing it. Official business at first interfered with this project, and at last the hand of death cut it short abruptly. But the desire to VI PREFACE. print the book had meantime grown strong in the Author's mind, and during the last months of his fatal illness, the correction of a portion of the text formed his chief relaxation. Einally, he bequeathed the MS. to the present Editor, ex- pressing an earnest wish that she would see to its early publication. No other motive could have induced her to undertake a task so far beyond her strength — one which in its progress has proved much more difficult than was at first anticipated, and for the very inadequate performance of which she must crave the indulgence of every reader. She has spared no pains to fulfil Sir Thomas Wyse's instructions to her ; but no one can be more painfully aware of the want of finishing touches by the Author, and of the incomplete- ness of many points which he would have more fully developed and enriched by his mastery of the subject. Eew were more thoroughly acquainted with the condition and prospects of modern Greece than Sir T. Wyse — a fact arising not only from his official position and natural habits of observa- tion, but also from the circumstance of his having, for two years, acted as President of the " Com- mission" already referred to. The object of this PREFACE. VU Commission was to examine whether the resources of the country sufficed for payment of interest of the loan guaranteed by the three protecting Powers, — a question always denied by the Greek Government, and up to that period advanced every year by them as an excuse for want of faith in fulfilling their engagements. This Commission consisted of the English, Erench, and Russian Ministers at Athens, aided by two Assistant Commissioners. They held sixty-two sittings, and drew up elaborate reports on each department of the Greek Government, showing the actual state of the Administration, and suggesting remedies and improvements, founded on documents fur- nished to them by the Greek Ministers. At the termination of their labours, the members of the Greek Government were invited to a conference ; and the reports of the Commission on the several departments were submitted to their respective heads, in order that any erroi's of statement might be corrected. The lal)ours of the Com- mission were embodied in a lleport, since laid before Parliament and published ; but the large mass of valuable papers which accompanied this Report, and which at the time was called a " mine of knowledge and instruction " for all VIU PREFACE. future Greek Governments, lias never been prjnted. Several of these papers were drawn up by Sir T. Wyse himself, — amongst others, those on Justice, Education, and the Church. In conclusion, the Editor takes tliis oppor- tunity of warmly thankiny the many kind and learned friends who have so uniformly and cor- dially assisted and encouraged her in this veiy difficult task. The views with which this work is illustrated have been etched by Mr. A. Severn from drawings by Signer V. Lanza and by Sir Thomas Wyse. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. MONEMVASIA. PARE Departure from Athens — Arrival at Monemvasia — Visit to the Town — Church of St. Peter — Ascent to the Fortress — Byzantine church of St. Sophia — State Prison — Spiro Milio's quarters — Rest at the Bishop's house — Favourable report of Jlonemvasia by the residents — Its Schools — History — Modern statistics — Epidaurus Limera — Cape Malea 1 CHAPTER II. GYTHITJM. Description of the Maina coast — Skutari — Maina manners — Island of Craufea — Marathonisi or Gythium — Ancient Theatre — Sarcophagus and Roman remains on the shore — Seat of Orestes — Wretched aspect of Gythium — Statistics — Commerce — Mussel-fishery in time of the Phojnicians — Chain of Islands between Phoenicia and Greece — Oriental luxury of the Spartan Coiirt, and influence of Phoenicia on Sparta — History of Gythium — Departure from Gythium — KrokeK — Ancient Quarries of green Porphyry — Road over the Bai-dunian hills — View of the Plain of Sparta and Mount Taygetus — Arrival at Sparta 34 VOL. I. h X CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. SPAKTA. PAUE Visit to the Demotic and Hellenic Schools — Tomb of Leo- nidas — Courts of Justice — New Church — Demotic Schools for Girls and Boys — Bazaai- — Ancient Theatre — Its remark- able position and associations — Situation of Sparta in harmony with its Institutions — Amyklse — Apollo-worship — The Menelaion and Akropolis 73 CHAPTER IV. SPARTA CONTINUED. The Temple of Athena ChalkioLkos and other buildings on the Akropolis — The Agora and adjacent Streets — The Dromos, Platanistas, Phffibaion — The Walls of Sparta — The Byzantine Lakedaemonia — Greek dance at JI. Phe- rengas' — Greek Wine — The Eurotas and Limnse — Depar- ture from Sparta — " New Sparta " — System of Agriculture in this and other districts of Greece — Modern Statistics ... 11' CHAPTER V. MISTRA. Approach to Mistra — Fountain in the Gorge — Parori — Cathe- dral of Slistra — Ruined Church of St. Nicholas — Ride along the base of the hill — Reflections on the History of Mistra — Removal of the Inhabitants to "New Sparta" loo CONTENTS. XI CHAPTER VI. TRYPB AND THE LANGADA. PAGE Trype — Its Church and Schools — Romantic situation — Pass of the Langada — Difficulties of the road — Beauty of the scenery — Aristomenes' Hole — Boundary between Lakonia and Messenia — Lada Koutzova — Rencontre with a Trypiote — First view of the Messenian Plain and the Sea — Arrival at Kalamata — Reflections on the characteristic differences between the ancient Spartans and the Messenians 174 CHAPTER VII. KALAMATA. Visit to the Schools — The Nunnery — Silk- weaving taught in the Convent — Visit to the Prison — Silk Manufactory of M. Fournaire — Ruined Citadel of Kalamata — View from the summit — Histoi-y of Kalamata — Te De.um sung on the banks of the torrent in 1821 — Present aspect of Kalamata — Statistics and state of Agriculture 199 CHAPTER VIII. LOWER MESSENIA AND MOUNT ITHOME. Departure from Kalamata — Our Agoyiates — Ride across the Plain — Ruins of Thuria — Convent of Monte Vurkano or Mount Ithome — Ascent of the Mountain — The Catholikon — Temenos of Jupiter Ithomatas — Romantic character of Aristodemus — Reflections suggested by the Panorama from Xll CONTENTS. PAGE this summit — Geological nature of Mount Ithome — Greek Music — Messene — Ancient Walls — Megalopolitan Gate — Stadium — Rustic wedding — Homeric dinner — Fountain of Klepsydra or Arsinoe — Return of Captain Craigie and officers to the Desperate 239 CHAPTER IX. UPPER MESSENIA AND THE STENYKLARIAN PLAIN. Descent into the Stenyklarian Plaiu — Bridge of the Mavro- zumenos — Dissertation on the Sites of Andania, CEchalia, the Fortress of Ampheia, and Temple of Artemis Limnatis — Halt near the Castle of Constantinos — Dismal aspect of Hellenic lodgings at Bogas 287 EERATA IN VOL. I. Page 4, line 19, foi- " hintnig " read " hinting." „ 9, „ 8, for Trpayfia read wpdy/xa. „ 48, note*, /or " Welcher" read " Welcker." „ 54, line 23, for Aai,a)r>,-?jc read Aaicajiici/c. „ 62, „ 24, /or "Zaukle"rearf"Zancle." „ 63, „ 9, for " Gfeiochos " read " Gaiochos." „ 64, „ 25, /or "journery " rea<^ "journey." ., 118, „ 2i:,forvfiu)yreadvfii'oy. ,, 141, „ 27, Jbr -j^^upiyoc read y^opiyuc. ,, 190, „ 1 4, /or "Zeus Ithomas" rear/ " Zeus Ithomatas." „ 242, „ 13, /or " to the east" read "to the west." „ 251, „ 21, ybr \pvxoT-ra\ia read xLv^ocrrcKjia. „ 276, „ 10, (ov '■ velaminia" read " velana." ,. 301, „ 21, /or "Decelaia" reac^" Deceleia." LIST OF PLATES. Frontispiece. — Monemvasia — on the Eastern coast of Lakonia. From a drawing by Sir Thomas Wyse. Outline Map of Sir Thomas Wyse's Route To face page 1 1. Epidaurus Limera. From a drawing by Sir Thomas Wyse 19 2. Mount Taygetus, from the site of Krokese — on the road between Sparta and Gythium. From a drawing bj- V. Lanza 66 3. Tomb of Leonidas, Sparta. From a drawing by V. Lanza 79 4. View from the Theatre, Sparta. From a drawing by Sir Thomas Wyse 90 5. Panorama of Sparta, from the ancient Theatre. From a drawing by V. Lanza 94 6. Entrance to the Langada Pass, Mount Taygetus. From a drawing by Sir Thomas Wyse 179 7. Panorama of Kalamata, Messenia, taken from the cita- del. From a drawing by V. Lanza 222 8. Convent of Monte Vurkano (Mount Ithome), Messenia. From a drawing by V. Lanza 246 9. Megalopolitan Gate, Messene. From a drawmg by V. Lanza 270 10. Bridge on the Mavrozumeuos. Froiu a drawing by V. Lmza 201 LIST OF WOODCUTS. Plan of the Akropolis, Spai-ta Pags 126 Plan of the Agora, Sparta 132 Rustic Pillar, Trype 176 Plan of Megalopolitan Gate, Messene 271 Fragment of wall 278 Bridge of the Mavrozumenos 292 lo iace Page 1 Vol 1 OUri.INF. MAP OK IHK Mii'wnug Ihc Auilini's li.uii,. Houti' nnwked tJiu.y ., _ AN EXCURSION IN THE PELOPONNESUS. CHAPTER I. MONEMVASIA. HER MAJESTY'S ship Desperate, Captain Craigie, being about to make a short cruise to the south of the Peloponnesus, I took advantage of the opportunity to di'ink in a little health and strength, as well as to renew my acquaintance with scenes I had formerly visited under different cir- cumstances, and to supply omissions I have often since regretted. To escape from the dust and atmosphere of Athens, during these months of summer, is an enjoyment which a resident only can appreciate. But another consideration was of some value : there are few months beside May and October when travelling with pleasure and expedition is really practicable in Greece ; the rains and snows of winter render mountains and rivers often impassable, and lodging more than ordinarily uncomfortable ; and the heats of summer entail, with other miseries not endurable even to the ancients, sharp and often irremediable fevers. Oiu' party and arrangements were soon settled. I was accompanied by my niece Miss Wyse and her friend Miss Grocott ; Mr. Digby, an attache to the Legation, lately arrived ; and Signor Lanza, an VOL. I. B 2 AN EXCUKSION Italian artist of merit, to whom I wished to point out some scenes which peculiarly interested me in the Peloponnesus. The ladies, undismayed hy the evil reports of their predecessors, were eager to put to personal test, for their own satisfaction and the benefit of future lady travellers, the justice of these discouragements. On the 7th May, a little before six in the evening, we left the Legation at Athens for the Peirseus — the Peiraeus road, in its summer clouds of white dust still drifting before the gusty, oppressive sirocco, which had been blowing without intermis- sion for the last ten days. The managers of this " Trust " seem determined that such shall be, at great expense of comfort and labour, despite of all experience, the normal state of this thoroughfare. There may be explanation, but no pardon, for the infliction. With Hymettus and Lykabettus so near, to persist in repairs with the crumbling magnesian limestone of the Peirseus, which scarcely laid down requires removal, is a grave engineering solecism on the face of it, the mystery of which this is not the place to fathom. We reached the Peirseus at a quarter before seven. A boat waiting for us from the Desperate took us at once on board. Lanza, and Dimitri, our courier, with all his host and accompaniments — beds, guns, and canteens — were there before us, steam up, and all ready for departure. Under such circumstances, we were glad to be complimented on our punctuality, a compliment few naval men are accustomed to pay, and still fewer travellers, I am afraid, to merit. We had steamed through the Piers by a quarter after seven, and found, what we hardly calculated IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 3 on, a perfect calm outside. The sirocco is in tlie habit of dealing differently with the Saronic Gulf, and generally brings up in its train, with head- aches and neuralgias, a heavy ground-swell. The sky continvied still clouded with that brooding, hazv heat which had been hanginor over Athens for the last fortnight ; not an unusual state of the atmosphere at this time of the year, when there is a sort of truce, an equilibrium, between the variable winds of winter and the fierce and steady Etesians, the providence of these climates, and which drive all impurities before them from land and sea, " ohne Hast aber ohne Rast," during the whole of the summer. We sat on deck a great part of the night chatting pleasantly on what we were passing and were to pass, but without being able to descry through the hot mist more than a dreary outline of the Argolis coast and the Hydra, Spetzia, and other islands. So to bed, the captain deciding to show the flag, after touching at Monemvasia and Marathonisi, at one or two ports of Maina, if practicable, on his way to Kalamata, which was to be the limit of his cruise to the westward. May 8. — At eight o'clock, coming on deck, I found we were opposite Monemvasia,* to which we were rapidly approaching with a light breeze, the north wind not having yet sprung up. The coast of Tzakonia and Kinouria, as rugged and uninviting as most of the coast scenery of Greece, lay to our right. As we neared, a striking view presented itself : — a high precipitous rock in front, * Monembasia, Morf/i/jairio (/jomj 'ififlamo), "Moroftacria, Mani- fasia, Malvagia, Malvoisie, Napoli di Malvagia or Monemvasia, Malmsey; at present Mo)f/j/5aCTia. 4 AN EXCURSION bai'e of tree, bouse, or animal, almost insulated, very bluff towards the sea, towards the land sloping, but not gradually, and linked by a long apimrently ill-constructed bridge with the opposite hill, rising more meekly and greenly from the shore. I had imagined it closer, — a promontory or island joined by high ridges of reefy rock running right dovYn to the sea. Those who have seen Gibraltar say that it gives a good idea of that fortress, — the mount representing the rock ; the bridge, though faintly, the long-tongued neutral territory. It should have had no mountain opposite, but a considerable extent of plain. There are a great number of the same family, — St. Michael's Mount, St. Malo, and many others. Confounded with the ridge at top are patches of ruinous fortifications and deserted habitations pitched along the precipitous rocks, together with the cupola of a church, hintnig of the departed glories of a once important citadel. No lines are visible below, unless, perhaps, may be so construed a wall of considerable height and massive construction, whether to join out- Avorks, or as a reservoir, does not appear. The bi'oken purples and reds of the deep-cloven and sharp-shadowed ridges — types in themselves of gigantic defences — complete the grand impression. There is no port on this side, nor, as we later learned, on any other, though the name is frequent in writers ; nor even landing, but for the shallowest boats, and then only when the north wind is at rest, which is seldom the case a great part of the year. We sent on shore for pratique, and a little after despatched Dimitri to provide donkej^s for the ladies, who were somewhat daunted by the IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 5 broiling sun and iron-faced rock. Whilst waiting, Signor Lanza and I attempted to render these characteristics. At ten we followed to shore in the captain's gig, and experienced some difficulty in picking our way through the rocks to the bridge. The authorities were already there to meet us. The Eparch, a silent, jejune man in island trousers ; the Demarch, in creditably clean fustanella ; and the doctor, in Frank dress, presenting a good epitome of the transition through which manners and costumes are hasten- ing in Greece. They were attended by a train of merry urchins armed with knapsacks and slates, who, bond fide bound for school, could not resist the temptation of gazing on the Frank new comers. The road near the bridge is tolerable, but this past, all traces of the kind vanished. "We had to scramble through huge blocks of limestone rock seamed with arragonite, fallen from above, along the cliif, over the narrow isthmus, towards the south side, Avhere we were informed the town lay packed up between its old parallel walls, but of Avhicli we could see no hint until we arrived at the gate. Our cortege by this time embraced nearly half the population. All sorts of fustanellas, island trousers, and one or two " Young Greece" pale and travelled faces, in Frank dress and white neckcloths (I was thankful there were no " gants glaces") leading the way. After half an hour's hot walk, we reached a ruinous gateway guarded by two soldiers, and crowded by the Primates, ready to welcome us, and entered the burgo, or town. I am sorry to say the first glance was not very encouraging. The whole G AN EXCURSION place makes a wretched tumbledown appearance. Streets narrow and precij)itous, still Tvirkish ; pave- ment broken up in block and bole ; bouses, many of tbem Venetian born, crumbling, and disconsolate enough. The street had a few open shops, with here and there an old tailor working at island trousers, the thriving trade of the place. Fx'om thence we emerged into the square or " Place," distin- guished by a few struggling trees, and the church, " St. Peter's," a name not often met with in Greek ecclesiology, but for which there is good cause here. This church has a decided Western physiognomy, externally and internally. The door is even ordinary Italian. We descended into the vestibule, or narthex, after the manner of St. Mark's, by a few steps, the vicar-general con- ducting us in the absence of the bishop, who, as a member of the synod, remains this and next year at Athens. His usual residence is at Sparta, which now ranks higher in dignity and attraction, and offers a greater scope for his labours. He visits Monemvasia once a year, — above the average of archiepiscopal or episcopal visitations, at least in these countries.* * " There is one monk belonging to the monastery, and a small apartmeut for the bishop, who, though a metropolitan of high rank in the Eastern Church, is obliged, in consequence of the wretched state of this place, and the insult and extortion to which he would be exposed here from the Turks, to reside at Kalamata, except at Easter, when he comes here to officiate at the festival." — (Leake, Travels in the Morea, p. 206.) It appears the habit has since been retained, though the Turks and their insolence have disappeared. The military importance of the place probably suggested the ecclesiastical. Andronicus seems to have been the great benefactor. " la virtue of an edict of the Emperor Andronicus, he assumes ihe place of the patriarch of Jerusalem in the Synod when the IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 7 The interior architecture, arrangement, and deco- ration are still Catholic. There is the usual apsis, but the 2)lace for the two side altars is still obvious, without railing or wall to separate them from the bema. The table of the prothesis is removed to a recess beyond. On the altar stands Avhat looks very like the ordinary Catholic tabernacle, with appa- rently a crucifix in silver, and two cases, possibly reliquaries, — reminiscences, perhaps, of Venetian times. Similar traces of the Western influence and possession are not unfrequent, especially in the islands of Greece. On the eikonostasis, on either side of the bema, are the usual eikons, but not treated in the usual manner. The Christ is remarkable in conception and execution : a suffer- ing head bent down, a standing figure clothed in a red mantle edged with gold, — perhaps a doge-like reminiscence mingling with the church type ; the treatment freer, if less classical, and much warmer than the Byzantine, throws it into the category of some early Venetian school, and excludes it even from the most recent Byzantine.* The panagia, on the other side, is orthodox Oriental. Turkish art seems to have been called into aid in the mother- of-pearl framing of a small shrine ; the pulpit, too, is elaborately carved, as well as the pillars at each latter happens to be absent, and then sits above the Patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch. His suffragan bishoprics are Andrussa, Andruvista, Platza, Milea, Maina, Kolokythia, and Elos : all but the first and last are in Maina." Andrussa is so far off as the vale of Messina. — {Loc. cit. 206.) * Leake considers the question doubtful : " I visit a large monastery in the town, said to have been founded by the Emperor Andronicus Commenus, which would make it a work of the twelfth century." — (Travels in the Morea, vol. i. p. 205.) 8 AN EXCURSION side of the entrance to the bema, but more in the Italian Renaissance foliage style than the Constan- tinopolitan. At the opposite or west end of the church, at each side of the doorway, the Papas pointed to two canopies. " There stood formerly," he said, " the imperial seats (Sgo'voi) of the Emperor Andronicus and his Empress. They were taken away by our enemies, Venetians or Turks." He did not seem quite certain. The present wooden canopies, painted in white and tawdry red and blue, have been substituted.* The general distribution of the church is the usual Latin, — a wide nave and two aisles divided by round pillars supporting arches slightly pointed. It is now in excellent repair, whitewashed to excess, and recently painted, with coarse ornaments, but remarkably clean and well kept ; an example to the generality of churches, even at Athens.! On coming out, we noticed some sculptures at the side of the doorway, inserted in the wall, — armorial or symbolic bearings, in white marble ; two * " At the end opposite to the altar are the remains of two thrones, which were destroyed by the Turks after the Eussian invasion. My cicerone says they were the thrones of a king and queen whose names they cannot tell me. It does not appear from Nicetas that Andronicus passed his exile in this part of the empire." — (Leake, Travels in the Morea, i. pp. 205-6.) The thrones might have been erected m honormn. t The church was destroyed or greatly injured by the Turks after the Orloff incursion and failure of 1770, nor again restored. Leake found the place nearly deserted. " The church is one of the largest in Greece, but is maintained in a state fit for the church service towards the altar only" (not uncommon even in churches in course of building, — see the new church of Syra and cathedral at Athens) ; "of the rest of the building nothing is left but the bare walls."— (P. i'OS.) IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 9 lions and peacocks, with vigorously outspread tails, which might be ascribed, equally to their honour as far as design and execution, to Byzantine or Crusader. This may have formed one of the tomb slabs (noticed by former visitors in the church) now no longer visible. Our cicerone in chief, the vicar-general, seemed to set no great store on them ; " Trpay/Jia T« f>o[jiatxQv," was his answer to our queries, which would give them to Constantinople. The adjoining wall to the left of the church appa- rently formed part of the old monastery, it would seem ; it still displays over the doorway the Lion of St. Mark, — whitewashed, but unmutilated. This is now the residence of the Bishop, and, in his absence, of the vicar-general. The church, a little beyond, bears also its Vene- tian origin still legible in its decay, like many others, as well as numerous private houses in this decrepit town. The artist finds compensation in all these ruins ; every turn presents a picture. Climb those dislo- cated steps to the rickety doorway, or age-stained shattered walls, and look upwards between the green trelliswork, the broad vine-leaves luxuriating so largely and freshly over fragments of stunted columns, — to the perpendicular grim rock of the citadel, or the blue sky, more intensely blue for all the grey and brown darkness about you, — and then make out of the well-knit, hardy figures stretched on the slabs at the door, pirates, or what else you will in the seafaring desperate line, to inhabit them, and you have a type for future use whenever you wish to give body to imaginings, now mostly heroic and mythical, of filibusters and VOL. I. c 10 AN EXCURSION adventurers, and of tlieir islands, dens, and dwell- ings. Such a glimpse I had, on turning out from this square, and I could not deny myself the satis- faction of noting it, though in the hurry my sketch Avas little better than a hieroglyphic. We looked up with great admiration, under the cool shade of the wall where Lanza was still sketch- ing, with an academy of admirers from every class in the place around him, to the precipices of the citadel, now in noontide sun, but for some time doubted whether it was worth, at that hour, the trouble of exploration. The authorities, however, encouraging us, and two soldiers offering to guide, we dared the encounter : the ladies preferred, judiciously, remaining behind in the bishop's residence. At this side the rock appeared an absolute wall, on the top of which seemed placed, as on a platform, the fortress. After some stumbling over a ruinous bit of street, and several sharp zig-zag turnings along the front, we reached the gateway of the ragged enclosure, where the Phrourarch, or Com- mandant de Place, received us at its entrance. Wc were thence conducted and presented to his wife and daughter, a grown young lady. He had eight children — four sons and four daughters, — and seemed to consider his healthy and cool resi- dence no compensation (and his wife did not dissent) for exile from the burning streets and gay promenades of Athens. After the usual refreshing preliminaries of glyko and coffee, of which on such occasions I highly commend the observance, we proceeded to see what was to be seen in the citadel. Its IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 11 entire separation on one side from tlie town, which it overhangs, and its inaccessible position on the other, to the north, above the sheer rock, are at once comprehensible. But a more desolate scene can hardly be imagined. Over the whole broken surface, to the highest peak, there is nothing to be seen but tumble- down, roofless habitations, amidst a rank profusion of all sorts of flaring and noisome weeds, varied only by a few clumps of melancholy cypresses. It looks as if it had been sacked only yesterday ; a counterpart of the dismantled citadel of Corinth. We soon reached the crowning glory of the place — the Church of Santa Sophia, — built, it is said, by the Empress of the Emperor Andronikos, the great patron of Monemvasia. It is deserted, as might be imagined, at that height, but not, as I first thought, no longer used. The door was open, but a festival wreath, parched however, hung over it, and concealed a piece of sculpture. A soldier, noticing the query in my face, drew his sword, and cleared it for me. A marble slab, encased in the wall, presented two peacocks above with drooping tails ; animals like sheep below, divided by a sword, with the point downwards. 'No one from tradition, local or otherwise, could "ive me anv clue to its origin or meanins:. The church is small, and in its plan resembles that of the Kapnokeraea and the now Russian Church at Athens ; and it probably was of the sanie period. It was formerly covered with painting, then by the Turks TA'ith whitewash, which has recently been attempted to be cleared away Avithout effect. The frescoes are scarcelv visible. A side door to the 12 AN EXCURSION east, under an arch, Gothic on this side, round on the other, conducts into a corridor or portico belonging to a convent of nuns, formerly existing close by. The convent had been closed by the Turks, but they converted the church into a mosque. The corridor is in a partially ruinous state, but the pavement is well preserved, and some arches round yet remain. It stands immediately, church and convent, over the precipice, leaving scarcely room for a pathway, and its cupola is that which we noticed on approaching the rock from the north. There is a well in the same spot {^c».f>, more than 7^37^) about fifteen feet deep ; * we saw no other, though more than one cistern. It still contained a little water. On coming out, I noticed some small octagonal marble pillars, very slender, lying on the ground ; their Byzantine capitals, and a frieze with tracery, preserving reminiscences of the old Hellenic fleuron, not ill executed, in both open and close form, which may have come from the same school. On my way up, I had asked to see the " State Prison." The commandant was amused at the ques- tion, and said they had none ; no State prisoners were now to be found. I inquired where General Spiro MiHo had lately been confined, and was shown a small building of two stories in the face of the rock. The second contained two rooms, the lower one. The floor of the first of these was in a ruinous * Probably amongst tlie fountains mentioned by Coronelli : — " Elle est situee sur un rocher sterile dont la mer baigne le pied, et cependant la nature luy a donnee des foutaines d'eau douce et une petite colline si fertile," etc. — (La Mwee, p. 132.) This, however, seems to be doubted in latter days. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 13 state, with a sort of hearth for cooking at the side, and fragments of pillars lying in our way ; the other looking to the sea, but with a floor so rickety, that the light appeared from below, and we thought we should go through. I had expected to find him, judging from the Athenian press, reported here as a sort of local martyr, and his words and deeds treasured up by an ignorant and devout generation. " No one is a hero before his valet de chambre," and guards and keepers see their prisoners too familiarly. The commandant seemed of the number, and drew me over to some scribbling left by the captive with somewhat of a smile. It began, as he remarked, scripturally, which any one must admire — ixsra a-xorog '> — l^ut then went on with the general's own moralizing, "all pas- sions and prejudices were human [dvSgcoVfi/a*] and transitory, but Truth only eternal" — (aXijOs/a jmovov alioita). What a wonderful testimony, they seemed to think, from such a lover of truth as Spiro Milio ! He remained here a year, and was treated as comfortably as the commandant him- self, — allowed all sorts of freedom and visits, tUl they were abused, of all sorts of friends. How he was removed, and purified, and whitewashed, and fumigated, and rubbed up into his former reputation, but not into place, is it not written in the TTfiaxTtxa of the Chambers, and, what is more, in the understanding and recollection of every one who has eyes to see and ears to hear, and has courage enough to use them at Athens ? The building was originally a giammi, or mosque ; so at least said Dimitri, who, having first inquired if any one present understood Turkish, read an inscrip- 14 AN EXCUESION tion above very Hiblv, to the discomfiture of our commandant, who maintained otherwise. Below is the " Barrack," and triumphant over it a new Greek flag. On going, I fovind the place was occupied by not more than a common guard. There are large masses of Venetian forti- fication up and down in their usual square massive stvle. Returning to the governor's house, where we were again treated with cofi'ee and glyko (no fatigue can be endured here without that consola- tion), his ladies, notwithstanding our urgent pro- tests, insisted on accompanying us, under the noonday sun, to the gate by which we had entered, the commandant escorting us below. The view, upward and downward, from this point is most pic- turesque, both in form and colour, and I am bound to add, most ragged; the whole interior of the large open fortress a vast ruin, ill disguised even by weeds ; the town so much like the fortress, that we could almost look into the habitations through the broken roofs, like another Asmodeus, and see all the households simultaneously at work below. On rejoining our party, I found them seated on tlie divan in the bishop's house, and in animated conversation with the papas, his old mother of eighty, and his niece, a pretty young woman, who had received them with a warm welcome, and with that ease and courtesy which belong to all unso- phisticated Greeks. Nothing could exceed the cleanliness and good order of the house, though small. It was a real pleasure to sit on the sofas covered with a woollen-cotton stuff of their own IN TUE PELOPONNESUS. 15 manufacture, and to drink in the fresh breezes from the sea, of which we had a good view over some ter- races and roofs that lay directly beneath. "We were objects of some curiosity, the family never seeing, as they told us, strangers. It was the first time a steamer had touched at Monemvasia within their recollection. The niece having never beheld one, asked pei'mission to come on board. No minister of any nation had been amongst them ; and no vessels of war ever approach. "We see steamers l^ass on the edge of the sea, but they never draw nearer ; and yet it would be worth their while," said the old lady; "there is something yet at Monemvasia." She had come from Tripolitza in 1829, just after the Revolution, with her son, who is now, she added, with pride, " vicar-general of the bishop, and the occupant of his house during his absence." The bishop, being now of the Synod, resides here only three months during the summer. The vicar is the only priest, and at the same time head schoolmaster; one of his nieces is mistress of the girls' school, educated at the Philopaideutike or Parthenogogeion at Athens, where she had remained for sis years ; her sister, our friend, had never left the island, which accounts for her fresh, contented look, and open, pleasant countenance. May she never be exposed to the corrupting influ- ences of Athens ! There seemed, as yet, little aspiration that way. The old lady never tired of eulogising the island. We asked a good deal about the climate, posses- sions, agriculture, and trade. She was enthusiastic. The climate was the healthiest in the world ; no one ever was ill ; no one ever wanted the doctor (and. 16 AN EXCURSION indeed, her appearance confirmed the assertion) ; no doctor was necessary ; it was always fresh and cool in summer, though rather cold in winter. This last had been dreadful, the snow so heavy they could not open their windows for three days. This, however, is vei'y rare and excep- tional, and had occurred only once before in her recollection. We had some doubt of their supplies. They declared there was nothing to be had on the rock ; but they were in no want ; they had meat as much as they wished (in this respect Greek wishes are moderate), and fish in abundance. They had oranges, olives, and all manner of produce, vines comprehended, on the mainland, which hardly coincided with the reports of preceding travellers. Their vines, in common with others, had failed from blight ; for the last six years they had scarcely had any wine. We inquired about the far-famed " Malmsey." They seemed to know nothing of it, either of its name or renown. The quality of the pre- sent growth was described as nothing peculiar ; it is probably not dissimilar from that of the general Tzakonian. There is no manufacture, trade, or industry in the place ; the open roadstead to the south, as much exposed as that on the north, showed only two small fishing-smacks as repre- sentatives of their commerce. There are only two "houses," if so they can be called, in town. Ordi- nary articles of dress they provide, as in most parts of Greece, with their own hand. They are, with all this, though they described themselves as very poor — TTTw^f^Bia was frequently in their mouths — without any special relief-fund or poorhouse, and IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 17 we saw no beggars. The population is very small : thev count not more tlian one hundred families, mueh less than formerly, as the result of suc- cessive wars, sieges, and emigrations. Half the houses we saw were uninhabited, a large number falling rapidly into ruin, and many windowless and roofless. The mental culture was above what might have been expected from these data. They have two Demotic or primary schools, and one Hellenic. The second of these primary schools, for girls, counted, they said, about thirty pupils, whom they represented as very regular in their attend- ance. A large proportion of the people read and write. We found many newspapers, and a good deal of inquiry on all manner of public affairs; for, like most Greek towns, Monemvasia boasts of a cafe, which is also a reading-room, and has a billiard-table for loungers. A few spoke French and Italian, and it was very easy to pro- voke conversation. The commandant's table was covered with Athenian papers, and he was anxious to show how much he was mi niveati of all the events of the great world, even Indian. The place has still some public consequence. It is the seat of a tribunal and of an eparchy, comprehending a considerable number of communes or demoi on the mainland, and sending two depu.ties to the Chamber. I did not, however, hear much of political or municipal contentions. One of their represen- tatives is a new selection ; the other has been in for twenty years. It was now past three, and the " milordo " Lanza having finished his sketch (all milordos were VOL. I. D 18 AN EXCURSION formerly sketchers, and all sketchers now are milordos), it was time to depart. We left this little community with regret. The calm, con- tented air of the men, and the healthy, fresh, and cheerful look of the women and children, con- trasted strongly with the population of Athens ; impressions on our first arrival not helied by after - communication. "We at last bid farewell to our friends of the hour, and proceeded back to the beach, accompanied by our former cortege, with considerable additions, tUl we reached the bridge, where appeared a bevy of smart young ladies in bright green satin jackets and incipient crinolines, bent, it would seem, on visiting the steamer. All came forward to give us a parting salutation, — even the two soldiers on guard at this formidable tete-de-pont, who, with the com- mandant, constituted a large proportion of the garrison. The Desperate we found filled with another detachment of green and pink ladies, and a little after, the captain's gig returned with our friends the papa's niece — not to be recognized in her bright jacket and jewelled brooch, — and her sister, the wife, as we now discovered, of the demarch. Their husbands, however, respecting our convenience, or earnest in theii' maintenance of Oriental decorum, did not allow them to remain long ; so, after a glance above and below at the mysteries of a war-steamer, they left us with many graceful acknowledgments. We had some idea of pulling over in a boat to Epidaurus Limera, or Palaea Monemvasia, which lay immediately ojjposite, the road by land being very bad and tedious ; but, on calculation, we found X < Mm IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 19 it would have taken us clearly more than three hours, so for an actual visit we had to substitute some notes, in the shape of a sketch of the general bearings of the line of coast as seen from deck. As evening approached, every detail became clearer, and we could easily discover the several relations of the sites to each other, mentioned by Leake and other travellers. These two points, the island of Monemvasia and the promontory of Kremidhi, define very clearly the two horns of the little gulf, which in some writers appears to have gone under the name of the Port of Epidaurus Limera. Leake describes it as having two ports ; one on the S.W., called the port of Old Monemvasia ; that on the N., the harbour of Kremidhi. The most prominent point is that designated as Palsea Monemvasia. Leake counts from the bridge " to the ruins of a small Hellenic city, situated on the cliffs above the beach, and which place is called Old Monemvasia," only one hour.* The peninsula is crowned with a tower, and terminates to the N.N.E. in a perpendicular precipice. Leake found the walls traceable all round : "in some places, particularly towards the sea, they remain to more than half their original height." He describes them as remarkable for their diminutive size : " The towers are some of the smallest I have ever seen in Hellenic fortresses, — the faces ten feet, the flanks twelve : the whole circu.mference of the place is less than three-quarters of a mile." Matters beini' thus settled, we were under wav at five. "We rounded the north and east side of * Leake's Morea, p. 210. 20 AN EXCURSION the island, remarkably bold and inaccessible, and came in front nearly of the town on the south. It here presents a very singular appearance, with the change of scarcely a feature from the time of Coronelii (1656) to the present day. The town, shut in by its straight flanking walls, occupies a good block of the slope and island, and is distinctly divided from the perpendicular fortress and its ruins above. We kept close in-shore the whole way, and were amused by seeing all the rank and fashion, in their showy holiday dresses, collected above on the rocks where they seemed most im- practicable ; and when we rounded the point, they skipped after us like goats, evidently in a state of high excitement. In a short time the island dwindled to a rock, and we were battling against a girocco along and close to the coast of Lakonia. The fame of Monemvasia is wholly modern. It figures in Pausanias under the name of Minoa merely as an accessory. It is no more than the southern promontory of the Port of Epidaurus Limera. After describing the city itself as built on a height, and the temple of Zeus Soter, xpo too "Ki^svog, he adds, " axoa tik kg to -Kskayog holto. tyjV TTo'Afv dvi^si xa.7^nu^hri Mivwa," * without mentioning whether inhabited, or to what purposes applied. Strabo, however, before him, had characterized it under same name as a fortress (^podptov) in imme- diate neighbourhood to Epidaurus Limera,t but not absolutely connected with it. It was too far to form, even by long walls, a portion of the city, like the Minoa of Megara, though it might have been included in the district, whilst Epidaurus * Paus. c. 23, — Lakonia. t Strabo, viii. 368. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 21 Limera was in the enjoyment of power. If the explanation of the designation " Limera " as many- ported, having many ports (Xiftspa), be coi*rect,* it might have formed, though at a considerable dis- tance, one of the smaller ports, as it still does for smaller craft, and so havie maintained its connection with Epidaurus, as Minoa at first did with Megara.f This renders more natural the next incident we meet in history. So early as the beginning of the eighth century, it is found mentioned under a new name. No longer Minoa, it becomes "Manafasia," a corruption of Monemvasia, which must already have been given it by settlers, from a change in its configuration. This would imply that the axfio. of Pausanias had become an island, like the Minoa of Megara, either artificially, by means of a 8(opu7j«,a, like that which divided Leu- cadia or Santa Maura from the mainland, or natu- rally by the action of the sea, as the promontory of Onugnathus or Cervi from the mainland of Lakonia. The particulars of this settlement are to be col- lected from the extract given from a Turin MS. (cccxxxvi.) printed in the table relating to the critical geography of Byzantine history, — Sijmbolce Critlcce Geogr. Byzant. Spec. ; Abhandlung der Hist. CI. der K. Bair. Akad. der Wlssenscliaften, * Strabo seems to give the appellation of Minoa to the range of rockj eminences along the coasts from Epidavirus Limera. Ptolemy points it out as a port, as well as that of Zeus Soter, which lay immediately below Epidaurus : — 'Ec rw 'ApyoXtiou /coXttw, tTi Arii;iovit:ij<: Mtcwa Xifit'ii', Aioc ^uirijpos Xifiip' EmJavpoc. t The Minoa of Megara, originally an island, was joined to NiscBa by a bridge. The promontory of Arosus, on the other Slide, originally an island, is now, and for a lung period has been, a promontory. 22 AN EXCURSION Bd. V. Abth. ii. ; Curtius, book ii. 328, Trspl rrig xTia-ews Movsix^atriag* Erom this it appears that its formation was cotemporaneous with the flight of the Elevitherolakones or Lacedsemonians, and their settling down along this coast, when they took the name, or rather retained the old one corrupted, of Tzakones, Tzakonians, Lakonians. A portion fled to Sicily; another, the more dis- tinguished, and among them their bishop, took up their position on this rock ; and the remainder of the lower people on the rough fastnesses along this coast towards Astros. They gave it the name of Monemvasia, from its having only one passage or approach, and it is probable that at this period the separation which changed it into an island was effected. t * Tort 01 AaKwvEf — iv ri/ '^iKtXiq. L^iirXtvaav — o'l hi XovKul tK rwv i.7ri(T>'}fxo))', Zva(iaTov roirov Ttapa tov tTiq daXatratjc alyiaXoy ti/pojTtf Kill TTuXii' iV^wpai' oli;oOojX)i' e'iavooi', iy avrjj Ttj noXct KaTioKijaav fiirii tov tf(; tVw)'o/ui(TO)((Tai', via to KaX avTovQ tovq AaKiDvaQ Tffa/coii'as fXiToro- ficwOrji'iu. — (Curtius, Felop. ii. 328.) This is in analogy with the similar movement at Patras. A portion of the Greek inhabitants had emigrated to Eeggio, in Calabria, The Greeks held and kept possession of the citadel, and were afterwards enabled to repel the attacks of the Sclavoniaus. — {Chronicle of Monemhasia, quoted by Fallmerayer, Finlay, 23.) The territory of the Eleutherolakones was bounded on the north by Prasife ; in time of Augustus, to the south of Mouembasia : Argolis extended to llalea. — {Iliucrar. Sti Wilihaldi, in Cod. Dipl. Nordyat. ed. Falkensteiu, 1733, p. 4-32 ; Theojihanes, p. 287 ; Cedrenus, p. 36.5.) t In the twelfth century, however, Niketas still applies the same word as Pausanias, ckpa (promontory), but whether from actual inspection, reading, or hearsay, is not evident. It is doubt- IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 23 These events are confirmed so early as 723, or at least 746. The celebrated passage of Constantino Porphyrogenitus {De Them. ii. 25), so often referred to, dates the completion of the Sclavoniau coloniza- tion in the reign of Constantino V. (Copronymus), but it is probable that it was much earlier ; the account of St. Willibald's pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 723, on his way from Sicily, touching here, places it already in the territory of the Sclavo- nians, though it is very possible that he gives it a vague or popular denomination only : — " Et inde (e Sicilia) navigantes venerunt ultra mare Adriaticum ad urbem Manafasiam, in Sclavinica terra." * It is clear, however, that the name given by these Greeks was then in use. The Sclavonic population may have overrun the neighbouring ful, therefore, whether it was actually separated till a late period ; for J.WV1) ifijiaaiQ would apply as naturally to a narrow neck of land as to a bridge like that which now exists. It should be observed, too, that had the place been an island joined by a bridge, it could not have escaped the notice of the chronicler. The action of the sea appears the most natural cause, like that which eflected the separation of Cervi. No traces are found of a port, at the spot pointed out as Zeus Soter no more than at Monemvasia. — (Leake, Peloponriesus, c. vi.) It is possible there were in both places moles, and that of Monemvasia swept away when the narrow tongue of land had been broken through. We neglected to notice the depth of water, or of substructions on either side of the bridge. Graves's map of 1833 will supply the points. The present harbour is only a beach ; indeed, at any time, without some works, it could scarcely deserve to be called \i^ip: Monem- vasia probably acquired that name at same time with IMorea, Misra, Mane, Hjereke, which are not found in the history of the Middle Ages before 1300. ■''■ Quoted by Finlay, ifediceval Greece; and Fallmerayer, Gescliichte des Ualbiiwel Morea, ii. 444, from the Acta Sanctorum apud BoUand. ad 8 Jid. p. 504. 24 AN EXCURSION districts for a time ; but not being of a nature, from their insubordinate and lawless habits, to retain what their violence had acquired, they may have gradually retired, and left the Greeks in possession of this citadel, as they did that of Patras under similar circumstances. It may natiu'ally be sup- posed that if this portion of the Lakonian popula- tion above referred to had been enabled to retain possession of the districts in which they had located themselves, the new colony of Monemvasia would, with greater advantages of defence, have preserved, unaffected by foreign irruption, their independence and customs. Accordingly, we still find it the centre of Greek language, arras, and manners in the thirteenth century. The Tzako- nians, of whom they formed the flower, extended the whole way from Malea to Argolis, and it was indispensable to reduce this hold of their power before the Prank invaders could hope to effect the subjugation of the rest of their territory. With all the advantages in their favour, the Frank troops, the Venetian and Achaian squadron, were not enabled to compel a capitulation till at the end of three years (1248), and then only by grant- ing the most honourable terms. The contingents to be paid of men and means were not consider- able ; they were permitted to retain their private property, and were allowed to serve by sea instead of by land, — a testimony to their superior seaman- like qualities borne out later by Coronelli. The importance of this surrender was soon seen, for it was followed by the reduction of the Avholc f Tzakonian territory. Monemvasia remained in possession of its Frank IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 25 captor, Prince Guillaume de Villehardouin, not more than ten years. In 1259 he was taken prisoner after a battle at Pelagonia, in Tliessalj, against the Emperor of Nicea, Michael VIII. He had fought valiantly, but witnessing the destruction of the Frank cavalry he fled, and being subsequently discovered at Kastoria under a heap of straw, was sent captive to the emperor. Pachymeres (referred to by Pinlay) shows that the calamity was not unmerited. The licence which he allowed his young knights, causing the defection of John Dukas, prince of Wallachian Thessaly, led as much to defeat as did the superior tactics of John Paleologus, the brother of the emperor. His captivity lasted three years, and only terminated by the cession of Monemvasia, which with Misithra and Maina were not only the sources of his glory, but the chief holds and supports, as events soon showed, of Frank power, — a cession not merely promised, but effectively completed by the prudent mistrust of Michael. Conscious of the duplicity of his own character, and the las morality of the age in respect to oaths, he would not release Villehar- douin, notwithstanding his pledges, and his having contracted the sacred obligation of godfather to his son, until the three fortresses were actualljr in his power.* The Peloponnesus, as the immediate result of • Coronelli describes with coolness Villeliai'doiiin's violation of the oath and transfer of his rights to the Venetians : — " Michel Paleologue chassa les Fran^ais, monta siir le trone, fit Guillaume prisonnier, I'obligea de renoncer en sa faveur a tons les droits qu'il y)Ouvoit avoir en ce pays-la, et luy donna ensuite la liberte de s'en allei". Guillaume se retira a Venise, et fit une donation a la Republique des mSmes droits qu'il venoit de ceder a VOL. I. B 26 AN EXCUKSION this re-conquest, was divided into two provinces : one continued Frank, the other became Greek, and fell under the dominion of the Emperor of Con- stantinople. A garrison placed in the fortress of Monemvasia, as well as others in those of Misithra and Maina, gave him the mastery of the whole of this coast. But this was not maintained without difficulty. The revolt of the Greek mountaineers, who voluntarily sought the protection of the Greek emperor, led to a fierce war of retaliation which devastated the whole Peloponnesus from Monem- vasia to Andravida, so that the very name Morca soon became restricted to the western portion of the Peninsula. Though unequal to the Pranks in military tactics, these could not, without the aid of Naples, have made head against the suj)erior forces of the Greek troops, the secret disaff'ection of the numerous Greek population, and, above all, the existence of the fortresses already mentioned, which added greatly to their difl&culties. To these fortresses they fled in numbers after every defeat, so that, though the whole plain Paleologue, alleguaiit que la renonciation qu'il en avoit faite avoit este extorquee par violence." But it does not seem the Venetians were more scrujiulous : " Les Venitiens fireut valoir leur droit par les armes ; ils leverent des troupes, prirent Malvasie et jouirent de cette coiiqu6te jusqu'en 1537." — (Premiere ■parlic, jip. 134-5.) But the Greeks, at least, had uo reason to complain that their own code was ii.sed against themselves. See the Greek verses of the Venetian Chronicle : — 0( upKOl tKiivOl OWOV tTTtJKE 'c Tl))' (jlvXaiCl'lV VWUV l/TOV TiVort ovBev tov 'i(i\aftav vci tov Kparovv Bia axptoprwy Kadioc Tl) opli^ii »/ i/>x\iiTirt Kai o't (fipoi'ijjoi to \iyovy. —v. 3031. Quoted by Finlay, Mediceval Greece, 235. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 2? country down to Monemvasia and Helos was ravaged by the Frank armies, the fortress itself increased its population and strength, and con- tinued the chief seat in the Peninsula of Greek civilization and power. Its importance, the war- like and disciplined character of the population, the favour with which it continued to be honoured by the emperors down to the eve of its conquest by the Turks, are well depicted by the Greek his- torian George Phrantzes (p. 397), whose brother- in-law Gregorios Paleologos Mamunas governed the city in the name of the emperor in 1406.* It is not surprising, then, that the last of the Paleologi, the despot Thomas, knowing the value of such a gift, should have tried to tempt with its cession the then victorious Sultan Mohammed II., and should have offered to yield it, in exchange for an apanage, to the infidel forces ; nor, again, that, when he found the proposal rejected, he should, with the same servility witli which he afterwards accepted his i^iension at Rome, have promised possession of the fortress to the Pope. The inhabitants, who had already been defending their independence for four years, heard of this proposal, but hopeless of standing much longer single-handed against the enemy, and reluctant to admit or to rely on the authority of the Pope, they invoked the aid of the Venetians, and consented to receive an Italian o-arrison. The Venetians, then in possession of Nauplia, Argos, Coron, Modon, and Navarin, to say nothing of their territoiy in Continental Greece and the island of Euboea, were the only power capable of * Buchon, La Grece Continentcde et la Moree, p. 4 1 0. 28 AN KXCUKSION maintaining the defence. This they were enabled successfully to do, though gradually stripped of their other possessions, till the year 1540, when, driven from all the remaining fortresses left them by the treaty of 1479 (Monemvasia with Nauplia being the last) by Suleiman, the fortress, together with the city, for the first time became Turkish. In the hands of the Turks it continued undisturbed to the period of the Greek Revolution, with the exception of the short interval during which it passed again under Venetian domination from the year 1689, when Francesco Morosini, master of the Peloponnesus, forced it to capitulate, to the year 1714, after which it again surrendered to the Grand Vizir.* This short interval of Prank occu- * The first attempt, on the rupture of the peace bet'W'een the Ottoman Government and the Venetian (1G53), was not success- ful. Coronelli thus describes the attack : — " Le General Foscolo, se trouvant du cote de ces Mers avec vingt-deux Galeres, huit gros Vaisseaux, et six galeaces " (a large force, which ought to have been fortunate), " fit attaquer le Fort, que les Turcs y avoient bati hoi's le Faiixbourg. Les troupes I'insulterent avec tant de bravoure, qu'elles I'emporterent en vingt-quatre heures. Mais dans le temps que tout retentissoit de cris de joye, et que les ennemis etoieut en deroute, une mine joua, lorsqu'on y songeoit le moins, et tit pcrir cent-cinquante des Vainqueurs, dont il y eut un pareil nombre de blessez. Les Venitiens vengerent, I'epee a la main, la mort de leurs camerades, raserent le Fort, et en emporterent vingt pieces de canon, dont les euneuds se servoicnt pour couvrir des Sa'iques " (probably, Caiques) "chargees de munitions, et qui venoient attendre en ce lieu le moment favorable pour prendre la route de la Canea." — [La Moree, premiere partie, 136.) Another fruitless attack was made in 1654 by land by the Proveditore Francesco Morosini, afterwards the Great Doge, whilst Lazaro Moceuigo, capitano di mare, made head against the Capitan Pasha, who was on his way to succour it. But the Proveditore being obliged to move to Candia, of which he was just appointed Prove- ditore-Geuerale, was obliged to give it uj). — (Goronelli, p. 137.) IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 29 pation altered little of its Greek or Turkish cha- racter. The fruitless attempt of Orloff in 1770, judged and condemned for its folly not less than for its faithlessness, tended, as one of its conse- quences, considerably to increase the Greek popu- lation, not of Monemvasia, but of the other islands. Several of its families fled to Spezzia, Hydra, and Smyrna, whence they never returned. The place was regarded, like the other Turkish fortresses, as more Turkish than Christian ; even the small number of its Mohammedan occupants dwindled away. At the period of the Greek Revolution there were only three hundred Turkish families in the town, and sixty in the fortress. This, though a good deal above Coronelli's estimate, who holds that fifty or sixty persons would be sufficient for its defence, Avas a small population for so large a place.* In the second year of the war, the Spetziote heroine Laskarina Boboulina, embarking on her own ship, blockaded this fortress, whUst it was attacked on the land side by Georgios Katacuzene. * Coronelli represents it in the Venetian time to have been well peopled as well as fortified : " Elle est inaccessible de tous cotez a la reserve d'un seul. Elle a triples murailles, et un gros Faux- bourg" (the town) "fort peuple, et qui est fortifiee d'une tres-bonne enceinte." — {La Moree, p. 132.) But, though " Cosmographe de la Republique," I am afraid much reliance cannot be placed on bis details. He speaks of its " port assez grand, et une petite coUine si fertile " (near the citadel, or in it) " qu'on y peut recueillir de quoi nourrir oinquante ou soixante personnes qui sufliseut pour la defendre." — (132.) It is true, however, that though a great part of the rock is utterly incapable of culture, the enclosure of the citadel might even now be turned into a garden with proper care. The vegetation there was very luxuriant, but allowed to run to waste. 30 AN EXCURSION It was surrendered to liim, on tlie 3rd August, O.S., 1822, after a short defence. It is a curious coin- cidence, tliat the same fortress was surrendered to GuUlaume de ViUehardouin after the famous siege by a captain of the same name. The Turks quitted it in a body, and the ruins, never since restored, on the citadel, with the cru^mbling church, which they had converted into a mosque, are the traces of their habitation. The bridge also, in its exist- ing state, is their work, as is visible from its arches. The tower is Venetian, as Avell as the fortifications and several of the private houses ; the churches are modified Byzantine ; their first foundations and arrangements probably Frank. The years following the surrender to the Greeks saw nothing but waste and desertion, and it was not till some time afterwards that the present population, immigrants from various quarters, — from the towns and villatres sacked b'v Ibrahim Pasha, and the islands of Scio, — in some slight degree re2)aired the loss. Monemvasia now fissures as the head of the Demos, — Monemvasia, with a population of 129 families and 616 inhabitants, the chief seat of the EjDarchy of Epidaurus Limera. The Avhole demos does not contain more than 2,827 souls ; the other places are poor hamlets ; the largest. Agios Deme- trias, contains only 297. Little augmentation can be expected, though it would be too much to say, with Buchon, that it is doomed to prompt extinc- tion. When there in 1811 he saw a much scantier population than the present, hardly more than forty of the older families, and forty families from Crete, with a garrison of sixty invalids, under the IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 31 command of a Phrourarch, in the upper town. In the necessity of seeking- their provisions and produce on the mainland, and the absence of all commerce, he discerns a direct motive for aban- donment. But the little importance it has as a place of strength, — the walls dismantled, without ammvmition, arms, or garrison, are better reasons for apprehending decay. Its consequence has hitherto been wholly military. Yet the neigh- bourhood, notwithstanding its rocky nature, is not wholly sterile. The produce may be summed up under the vainous heads of grain, vegetables, cotton, figs, oil, wine, lemons, oranges, apples, pears, and other fruit ; and a considerable quan- tity of water — no less than sixteen useful brooks — is boasted of in the Demos. It lias, as the chief seat of the Demos and of the Eparchy, all the usual official establishments : a health esta- blishment (cTTtt^iaoj uyisioLvo[xixog) , a custoni-house ((TTaS[j.og TsT^wvtKos^), and an s]priuo^sixs)ov, a court of a justice of peace. There is also an office of finance of the second class [olxouoii-uclv ra[xs]ov B TOL^smg), sufficient, at least, to mark its position in the Nomarchy of Lakonia. Its schools I have noticed elsewhere. We were now, despite a stiff south-wester in our teeth, going fast on towards Cape Malea : the sky looked menacing, and no change for the better seemed probable. The evening was too far advanced to allow us to discern any towns or villages along the iron flanks of those rugged mountains ; but we must have successively passed Epidelium, a spot believed by Leake to be Cape Kamili, one-third of the distance between Cape 32 AN EXCURSION Malea and Pal^a Monemvasia, and the small place of Lide still more to the southward. In this hazy light, however, the scenery on the whole gained ; its barrenness was forgotten in its gloomy grandeur. At half-past eight we rounded Cape Malea, and caught the light of the hermit, now identified with that promontory, very distinctly on our right, whilst on our left shone the brilliant, flashing light of Cerigo, lately erected by our Government as one of a series for the better securing the navi- eation of these seas. The breeze continuing to freshen, the captain was disposed to lay-to till morning under Cervi, where there was good shelter, especially as, nothing pressing us, we were desirous of touching, if possible, at some of the principal points on the opjiosite coast, in the hope of catching a glimpse of Maina scenery and man- ners. As we advanced, however, the night grew clearer, and the sea more moderate, and there seemed to be no ground for turning out of our course. Cervi was 'passed about ten, — a low, ridgy land, immediately below Malea. I should have liked to have seen it, had circumstances permitted, though it ■were hard to say to what dimensions half an hour's delay on its rocky shores might have swollen in the columns of the Athenian press, and how easily a movement, of which an obstinate sirocco was the sole instigator, might have been set down to belli- gerent instructions from our notoriously Machiavel- lian Government at home. On this occasion Pater ^Eolus judged better for us than we could our- selves, and, as though anxious to save us even from IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 33 suspicion, which has its triple difficulty in Greece, allowed us clear passage across the Kolokythian bay. Trusting to his guidance, and to that of our captain, and taking a doubtful view through the rolling clouds of this side of Lakonia, the great eastern arm w^hich embraced so long its Eleuthe- rolakonian population, I retired to rest about eleven o'clock, first passing in my mind the chief places along its broken shores. VOL. I. 34 AN EXCURSION CHAPTER II. GTTHITJM. Mat 9. — Coming on deck this morning shortly after sunrise, I found we were close to the Maina shore ; but so much wind and sea prevailed, though the weather was brilliant, that Ave had but faint hopes of being able to effect a comfortable landing at any point on this inhospitable coast. The wind had changed from S.W. to N.W., and raged with the fury of an incipient Etesian gale. We kept at half-speed, close enough, however, to shore to allow us with a telescope a pretty good insight to many of the valleys, as well as varied glimpses of ridge, promontory, and crowning mountain along the line. It is a scenery " sui generis," combining melan- choly and brightness, the harsh and the noble, the churlishness of nature with the industry of man. Here Greece presents frowns and barriers to the stranger, with no limit to the beauty or variety which shelters behind. The whole coast from Tsenarus or Cape Matapan, is a remarkable speci- men of Lakonian scenery. An entire range is broken up into mountains, generally of equal level and of tumular forms, like enoi'mous dun-coloured sand-hills, spotted at their bases with scanty plan- IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 35 tations of olives, ridged, scarred, and wrinkled by torrents, the seams of wliicb. are everywhere visible, and give so worn-out an appearance to the greater part of the mountain physiognomy of Greece. It is not age only, but age in decay. Here and there, sudden heaps of alluvium, col- lected in these half-deserted beds, are tipped by sparkling villages, with their surrounding patches of cornfield and wild shrub, and occasional vegeta- tion. Below sometimes range, though at a consi- derable distance, terrace-like platforms, indicating what is or has been arable land by the colour of the soil. The villages in many places are sown thickly, and resemble the Itahan more than the recent Greek. Groups of high houses, — one peering over the shoulders of the other, — not close nor ordered, but separate and self-relying, — seem flung together as site or means allowed, protected by no wall, divided by no wall, but apparently plunged separately into masses of fresh foliage, with here and there the characteristic pyrgoi at the extremity and centre. These pyrgoi are often found isolated, and evince an establishment of themselves. Some were so close to the sea, occasionally commanding a low gravelly beach, sometimes topping a sheer bluff rock, that we could examine them without diffi- culty. When thus apart, they were generally surrounded by a wall of considerable height, but having the door on a level with the ground, and not high up, as most travellers describe. A large number are still visible, in a more or less state of decay, the whole length of this shore. Above all this we caught, from time to time. 36 AN EXCURSION gleams of snow on the higher points of the range ; for, though the coi'n seemed more advanced than in Attica, winter still reigned in its rigidity on the heights heyond. Along the coast, creek or port is scarcely discernible.* What we now and then saw looked little more than nooks and niches, cut by the wearuig of the waves on the high land. At ten we found oui-selves in a deep bay, en- closing considerable evidences of cultivation, at the end of which lay on a gentle eminence the town of Skutari, the chief place of the district. We prepared to land, and anchored at a short distance from the shore. But the wind was so strong and the surf so high, in this open roadstead — harbour it cannot be called, — that^, to our great disappointment, we were obliged to desist, and pay the visit through our telescopes instead. This place is a striking specimen of a Mainiote town, and presents in their most marked form most of the characteristics already noticed. It is prettily situated on some hillocks above the beach, a few groups of olives and other trees finding shelter in little nooks of the high rocks which spring right up from the sea. Towers are numerous over all the country, isolated or attached to houses in the town : almost every habitation seems to have one. They are usually in a very dilapidated condition, still bearing evidence of what they had suffered from the artillery of the Turks. Earther up the country we counted seven or eight such towers on the adjacent hills, combining Avell their rugged * See testimony to the -want of ports, aXif-itrorrig, importuosum mare, of this shore, and (nrnyom-ia, from Xenophon's account of Konon's expedition towards Cythera. — {Hell, b.-iv. c. viii. 7.) IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 37 browns with the fresh mulberry-leaves and sea- green olives. Prayers on board, muster-roll, and the men's dinner over, and no abatement in the wind, though the day continued brilliant, nor hope of effecting a landing before sunset without a wetting, being yet apparent, the captain proposed making at once for Marathonisi or Gythium. Weighing anchor with the north-west so strong, we were obliged to strike our topgallant masts ; but no sooner had the headland been rounded than we found ourselves in calm water, and without further impediment. A noble view of Taygetus, crowned with its crest of snows, opened upon us, and it was half-past three as we steamed into the small harbour of Gythium. We dropped anchor opposite the town, the island to the south, and the champaign country, varied with undulating ground, to the north. These are the three defining points of the place, and comprise the whole of its history. The island consists of a low, flat tongue of land, slightlv wooded, of which the chief feature is a chateau grown from a tower or vrvpyos belonging to and built, we heard, by the present head of the Gligorakis family. This is one of the houses which contended for many years with that of the Mavro- michalis for supremacy in Maina, and between whom existed a feud for the beyship not yet com- pletely appeased. The gradual subsidence of that wild district into the ordinary manners of the rest of Greece, though -marked by frequent interruptions, resistance, and outbreaks, has rendered authority scarcely worth competing for, beyond the gratifica- 38 AN EXCURSION tion to the personal vanity of the individual. The position of these families still claims attention, for former recollections. The Gligorakis appear to have begun their set- tlement here at the time that Leake travelled. Their usual residence was at Vathy, in Kakavoulia ; but Leake found them building a pyrgos on the hill, for the residence of Anton or Andon Gligoraki, the then bey.* This chief assumed the title of bey, as governor or capitan under the Capitan Pasha of Maina ; his name Anton, converted to Andon, being rather an exaggeration, to suit the Turkish habits and pronunciation. He seems, indeed, to have had a powerful family support at the time ; not less than five nephews, all residents in Maina ; two at Skutari, one of whom was the deputy-governor during his father's absence ; besides sons-in-law and other relatives. His eldest son Demetrius, called the " Cavaliere of Russia " {Ka^axUpr^g rrjg Moa-xrjfilag), governed for him at Ky tries. It was this son and Constantino, surnamed Tzingurio, who became the heroes of the family. But the Gligorakis carried on, not only open war with the Mavro- michalis, but feiids internal amongst themselves. Anton's predecessor and cousin Tzanet (for Gianni, 'loavvr^g) Bey, had been just expelled by the Turkish admiral for correspondence with the Frank. His son Petro Bizande (Bey-Zaade), educated in Borne, and wearing the Prank dress, was in Leake's time considered as likely to succeed Anton. He had two brothers, Grigorio and Dimitraki. The Tzanet or Gianni branch is now -known at Athens by another diminutive, " Giannetaki ; " and they * " Tmvels in Morca," p. 23-3. IN THE PELOPONNESTJS. 39 occasionally reappear in some contest, a feeble image of past wars, with the Mavromichalis. Over- tures had been made, I was told, after the fashion of Maina, to put an end to this feud by the intermarriage of a son of the Gligorakis with a daughter of the Mavromichalis. Difficulties, how- ever, existed. There were old accoimts still to be settled and obstacles to be surmounted, not inferior to those which stood in the way of the reconcilia- tion of Buccleuch and Cranstoun, and of so many other hero houses of our Border wars. The lady to whom the proposals and mission of peace were tendered, is said to have at once declined, even without the intervention of a lady of Buccleuch in the person of her mother. Subordinate quaiTels also engaged their attention, and new difficulties in new quarters where Maina heroism was not in favour, or where Mavromichalis precedents were disliked or dreaded. Sinister events and coinci- dences enhanced the embarrassments. In the summer of 1850, Korfiotaki, another rival, of minor note, but important from the post he held — Minister of Pteligion and Instruction, — was mur- dered in open day by a young Spartan in the most public street in Athens, that of Hermes, and at an hour the most crowded. I well remember the Sunday; I saw him leave the public promenade half an hour before. The victim, originally from Corfu (whence his name), was no favourite, and the Spartan suffered the penalty without uttering a word or betraying an accomplice. But Leonidas Mavromichalis fled to Cerigo, and the secret hos- tility of the higher powers did not let this pass. Everything combined to throw a shade over this 40 AN EXCUUSION liouse, however undeserved, from whicli, despite a conduct calm and discreet, the family have not yet emerged. Too many are ready to take their place, though without their pretensions, and they must he familiar enough with Greek and Mainiote jealousy, to hope for a speedy recovery of their earlier distinction. The present representative of the Gligorakis is not more prosperous. His for- tunes, once considerable, through neglect and other causes, have altogether dwindled ; and in. Greece there exists no other aristocracy than that of money, or the still more spurious one of bureaucracy. This island, known in olden times as Crana3a, bears now the name of Marathonisi or Fennel Island — why I could not clearly make out — shows few habitations, and seems to be laid out in vines, mulberries, and valonia. On the opposite side, on the hillocky ground sweeping off to a gradual height, in vmdulations covered with vineyards and brushwood, lay Gythium, now called Palseopolis, or the " old town," shut in by high eminences on the west, by lesser risings towards the east, and declining to a plain along the gracefully-curving beach. Between both, on the declivities of a rather pre- cij)itous rock, is situated the close-packed modern town or village of Marathonisi, its name deriving from the island, but which has been raised by Greek passion for classicality into Gythium. It looked a wretched complication of house upon house on the sides of the naked hill, dotted here and there by a few churches, one of which, dedi- cated to St. Demetrius, rejoices in a belfry. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 41 An English war-steamer presenting some novelty, though not altogether unknown, as at Monemvasia, and it heing, moreover, Sunday evening, when the " Liturgy " being finished, every one had turned himself to cafe or promenade after the week's labour, we were not surprised to see a little open space between the houses which run parallel to the shore, crowded with sparkling white fustanellas, and increasing every moment in fresh streams from the close lanes in the neighbourhood. In face of this difficulty we landed, and were instantly seized on by the authorities, eparch, astunomos, and mirarch, with every proffer of service and courtesy. What could not be found, however, was a didas- kalos sufiiciently acquainted with the locality to conduct us. A cloud of guides or cicerones of all ages set upon us, each contending for our xindi- vided possession, in the absence of a true teacher, each one lustily supporting his pretension by loud voice and incessant importunity, very much, I thought, like other claimants in similar matters, who carry their theories bv main force of luno-s and assertion. Once or twice we tried to rescue ourselves from the legion by surrendering to one or other amongst them, but were soon obliged to reject our choice, or were severed from him by a new competitor. None knew where the theatre was, or, indeed, what was meant by a theatre. It was a cm'ious literary discovery to find so consider- able a population, as yet unconscious of an idea, which, no doubt, every regular opera-goer con- siders innate. After a great deal of scrambling through the streets, which look as if they had been for many years in a state of chronic earthquake VOL. I. G 42 AN EXCURSIOX — dislocated beyond even Turkisli negligence and endurance, — and passing under houses tottering to their ruin and pressing us close on either side, we at length felt ourselves, having first crossed a healthy tumbling stream, left to its own wayward riotous will, once more free in the country. Here the vociferation of the cicerones became desperate, and, rather than be torn quite to pieces by such a host of instructors, we had to run away with the first who got hold of our skirts. I do not know, to this hour, whether we gained or lost in the end. Many still followed ; but they could tell us nothing, and we only used them mechanically, taking hands in crossing walls and rivulets, begging them to keep their light as much as possible under a bushel, and Qot disturb our ignorance by their information. The first point reached, was enough to exercise our ingenuity. They stopped us at a little distance from the town on the left, by a plain perpendi- cularly-cut rock, of reddish calcareous stone, which they insisted was the " Theatre," and the Professor of the flock proceeded to point out the seats above. We walked on, incredulous. Ovir road lay through a very rich vegetation — arable land, vineyard, and shrub — to some remains of ancient work towards the west, about a mile distant from the town. They presented a sort of coved vault, the stones in support being large, quadrilateral, and unornameuted, of a character of construction anterior to the Romans, and had pro- bably been tombs. Further on, are large portions of lateritial work, of what appeared a bath, and so it is designated to the present day. They are altogether E,omau. Many similar fragments are to IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 43 be met with over the whole of this ground to the summit of the hills ; but the entanglement with corn, brushwood, and hedges was such, that we found it difficult to penetrate to each of them. They run on for nearly a mile, at intervals, towards the west and north-west. In this direction is also the Theatre. Very few of the seats still remain, or else they are overgrown by the thick herbage. Leake gives the diameter at about 150 feet. It looks towards the sea, from which it is distant about 300 feet. No traces of the scena are visible, as is generally the case in the Greek and in some Roman theatres. Between this point and the sea we passed by a large well of curious construction, raised on a platform, the m.outh of which, like those of most wells in Greece, is much worn. Both Leake and Curtius believe this to be the well of jEsculapius, found by Pausa- nias in the Agora ; it therefore also serves to mark this latter site. Near the beach were shown to us some substruc- tions and other coarse Homan rubble-work, with cement and rude mosaic floors ; the cement being usually painted red. "We were told that they stretch a good way out to sea, like those at Baiae, and are visible when the water is calm. The Eparch had now taken the lead in our instruction, of which, and of his English and good-will towards England, he was not a little proud. He directed our attention especially to the windmill close at hand, built probably from fragments of these edifices. By its side, a late excavation had brought to light a sarkophagus, which still remained nearly " in situ." This had been discovered, the Eparch 44 AN EXCURSION said, about three years ago, but is not as yet com- pletely raised from the soil, and I could not ascer- tain that it had concealed vases, or other relics of interest. It is of coarse marble, and three of its sides are imsculptured. They were probably intended to be ornamented according to the taste of the purchaser ; and this was bought in haste by the relatives. There were always large manu- factories of these commodities in the Roman towns, ready, as coffins now-a-days, for the first comer. On the fourth side, Avhich lay exposed, stood a clumsy Cupid, bearing a heavy Roman wreath, and making the centre to the composition. On the extreme right are two dancing figures, of some interest from the peculiarity of their attitude. They form a couple more symmetrically arranged than usual, the two near elbows (arms a-kimbo) touching, whilst the opposite legs and arms are raised. This is probably a local dance, referable to some feast of a local divinity, and of the cyclus which we usually see, especially on Roman tombs.* The figure to the left is a youug * At no great distance from the village of Skamnaki are the rnins of Pyn-hicus, — Ul/ppixoe, according to Leake. It is supposed to have derived its name from Pyrrluis, son of Achilles, or, accord- ing to some, from the god Pyrrhicus, a divinity of the Kouretes. The Pyrrhic dance is ascribed to Pyrrhus ; others, again, give it to the Korybantes, cognate with the Kouretes. It is not impossible that here may have been the original site, or that this dance may have been autocthonic in this locality. Silenus also appears to liave borne the cognomen of Pyrrhicus, and his dances may have as good claim to the name of Pyrrhic as those of Pyrrhus or the Koi'ybantes. Silenus was apparently a benefactor to agri- culturists, as he is said to have endowed them with a fountain of water at Pyn-hicus. Hercules shared with Apollo in the veneration of the Gythiotes. It was here that the feud which had IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 45 Hercules combating a lion. He is armed with the customary club, and is about to strike his enemy, who advances. This also points to local predi- lections and traditions. The architectural border, which surmounts the sarkophagus, is sufficient to show that the whole is coarse Eoman. Some other fragments are observable from time to time, but all of the same period ; no doubt many such might still be detected in the whole of this plain, which runs up to the foot of the hillocks, and which formerly must have been covered by lower Gythium. We heard of two or three, and amongst them a piece of sculpture, in a house in town, described as of superior workmanship : but which I could only see in secret, it was said, " lest it should be made known to the Govern- ment." These relics plainly designate the third epoch of the city, when it was restored to some- thing of its former importance by the Romans. Finding nothing further worth notice in this quarter, we took our way back to town, along the road by which we had left it. I perceived to our right, that many of our young guides, and others who had joined them, had availed them- selves of the opportunity of an open space, and were deep in a sort of game, not unlike " cat," which they enjoyed most creditably. "We stopped to look at them, and were trying to make out its mysteries, when our over-zealous police in fusti- nella fell upon the players with the )o-;^u? roU arisen from tlie robbery of the Tripod was appeased, and the god and hero demi-god were reconciled. To this reconciliation some authors trace, not only their joint worship, but the foundation of Gythium. 46 AN EXCURSION vofi.o(j, and notwithstanding our expostulations, dispersed them. This reading of a riot act for a little manly sport is characteristic, and it gave rise to a host of philosophic and political reflec- tions, which might decently fill pages if I could treat here of such Eleusinian mysteries. We soon found ourselves again before the perpendicular smooth cut rock passed by on our first arrival, and which our paradoxical guides still persisted in designating as " to Bsarpov." It looks at first sisrht much more Hke a deserted quarry. On closer examination, I jierceived that it had been cloven down with great regularity and smoothness, and for other purposes than those of a theatre. The rock, too, which we now detected through the brushwood, had been cut with the same precision, and in a right angle on each side towards the back. On these sides rows of seats appear to have ranged above and below. Connecting the two sides, I observed some lines of well-cut stones put together regularly, but without cement, running in the earth at the base, and parallel to the hewn rock. Holes from time to time are seen above. Over them again might have been seats, as also in the brushwood. I could only discover two lines of stones forming the connecting basement, and these I measured as sixty-nine feet from the base of one side to the other. The whole reminded me strongly of the hewn back of the Pnyx. It has lately been cleared and cleaned, but is not yet sufl&ciently excavated ; the rock itself is as smooth as a racket-court, which it strongly resembles. Here, travellers have placed the " Seat," or "Ecst IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 47 of Orestes," — "Orestes E-uhe," as the Germans call it, — and point out some of the seats above as the probable spot venerated by the ancients. But admittius: the correctness of the desisnation, it will not account for the other accompaniment. It does not seem that a " Isphv" was erected com- memorative of the event, or an enclosure later consecrated to the hero. The work is, notwith- standing, of some antiquity, as the form would imply, independent of the execution. Its resem- blance to the Pnys leads us back to the first period of the history of Gythium. It possibly owes it origin to some early tradition or observance introduced by the first settlers, but which dis- appeared later in the progress of pure Hellenic and Homan domination, I find no distinct notice of this monument in any traveller. The « Seat " or " Stool," or " Rest of Orestes," is taken to be the sort of niche imme- diately above the inscription on the face of the rock. Yet this is doubtful, as long as this enigmatical inscription is not deciphered and elucidated. I do not see that the words of Pausanias bear out the interpretation : TuSiou ^s r^sig jxaT^ia-ra dws^^si o-ra- ^loug dp-yog XlSog. 'Ope(rT7]v Xsyoi/c* }vpuiy, a name which superseded latterly that of Cythera, — Cythera antea Porphyris (Plin. iv. 12, 56). Cerigotto furnishes the link between it and Rhodes, and, singularly enough, has also its Lindus. But Bochart finds stronger indications of Eastern origin in the Greek names. He says, Malea itself is Maleath Hackamor, the jaw of the ass, which is no more than the Onugnathos, the island now Cervi, or Elaphonisi, ^ name perhaps common to the whole promontory before it was sepa- rated, and of which the reminiscence is preserved in the present designation. The very name 'A(j>pooirr} is Eastern, converted after- 54 AN EXCURSION The Phoenicians opened here a commerce in the mussel,* which produced the rich purple or crimson known to antiquity as the Tyrian dye. No spot on the coast of the Mediterranean, was so rich in this important fishery, as the eastern shores of the Taygetan peninsula, nor could any point have wards into Greek ; and a legend founded upon it, " tbe rising from the sea," wbicli had such currency in Greek later fable, that, forgetting tbe old Phoenician origin, and considering it native and indigenous, Phryne actually represented it to the admiration of the Athenians in tbe sea at Eleusis. But tbe Spartan conception, and still more that of Cythera, was of very different order from the rest of the Greeks. Tbe goddess at Cythera was represented armed with spear, tyx^'oei Kouvov (wooden and archaic) inrKiafiivov (Pans. Movers. S. 231, 271), as she was venerated in Sidon, Paphos, and Carthage ; traces of which, betraying direct connection with Phoenicia, are visible in similar representations in Sparta, and of which again her foot resting on a helmet may be a later translation. It was an old legend based on this feeling that said, whenever Aphrodite apj)eared at Sparta she had to put down her kestos before she crossed the Eurotas. But this is not confined to the islands alone. The name Tyrus is found even on the mainland, Tipoc rj7c AaKtovKiJQ. — (Stepk Byzan. ; Curtius, in Rhein. Mus. 1850, s. 4.58.) We have beside Ajxadovt; ttoXic, quasi \pdfia8oc, and Sido, Sarda, Sidon. — (Thucy. iv. 56.) Even Tonaris Bochart derives from Tinar, a promontory. * These purple mussels were also to be found of good quality and in large quantities in tbe Chrissian Gulf, immediately opposite the chief Achaian Phosnician cities. On the north side, the town of Bulis supported with their produce half its population. I col- lected several myself, amongst tbe ruins of Thisbe ; and in the recent excavations at the Theatre of Herodes Atticus, at Athens, large heaps of thorn turned up. There has been no effort to revive their ancient use, and the same want of energy is observable iu Palestine, where they are still seen in as great quantities along tbe coast as in olden times. A serious difficulty would no doubt be felt, from tbe fact that all knowledge is lost of the true manu- facturing processes. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 55 been, in consequence, more inviting to the new settlers. As in all such cases, their first estab- lishments consisted of factories and magazines ; successively in their neighbourhood, arose all the other accompaniments of a great staj^le. The Phoenicians, especially the Tyrians, guided by their mercantile instincts and their social experiences, as well as by the example of their own prosperous island state, seem first to have taken possession of the island, Cranse, solely mindful of its imme- diate productions, without reference to the inward trade of the country. It offered every advantage sought by a maritime people, — security at slight expense, without need of walls or garrison, the narrow arm of the sea, which divided it from the mainland, being sufficient to secure their posses- sion from the aggression of the ruder natives, — whilst it afforded, at the same time, all the condi- tions of a good central depot. The mercantile colony, or settlement, soon attracted a neighbouring population, and it is only following the analogy of other similar plan- tations in modern times to svippose that new branches, weaving and dyeing for instance, were opened subsidiary to or consequent on the mussel fishery. No doubt, artistic applications to orna- mental or furniture purposes were introduced later, — such as the ivory dyeing, of which we so often find faroiliar notice in the Homeric poems, especi- ally in connection with Sparta. But, harmonizing with similar examples in the Eastern world, other arts, and with them other manners and beliefs, followed. The Asiatic tra- ditions and worship, in their Phoenician form, 56 AN EXCURSION establislied themselves simultaneously with PhcEni- cian trade ; at first separately, and then in conjunc- tion with the legends and worship of the natives. Some time passed hefore this amalgamation was effected, and in this interval it is that Cranaj, (the ancient name of Marathonisi island,) must be consi- dered as a thorough Tyrian colony.* That it was so held for a long period after, is clear from the legend of Helen and Paris, who spent here the first night after their flight. It was the land of the stranger to which Spartan power did not extend, and from Avhich the passage to Asia was easy and a matter * The Phoenicians judged well of the importance and security of an island establishment to a maritime power, and in seizing islands and promontories wherever they could be had, they defied with ease the intervention of the Lacedemonians. The Spartan constitution in later times rendered them hostile to this influx of luxury, and thus is explained the severity and minuteness with which they watched the arrival of strangers, or of additions to the eastern population in all those islands in connection with Lakonia, but especially Cythera. The Spartans found it difficult to control these colonial settlers. They sent them annually an Harmost with a Spartan garrison to keep the inhabitants, who must have continued for a long peiiod Punic, in order. The military advantages of these positions is seen by the advice (fortunately not taken) given by Demaratus to Xerxes, and afterwai'ds seized with advantage by the Athenians. But this was not the only cause of Spartan solicitude. They also wished to prevent the extension of these settlers and arts through their small and simple territory. In this they appear to have been unsuccessful. We find a settlement for the manufacture of purple in Amyc!a3 (Ovid, Rem. Am. 708) ; and though this was in the Roman times, it is indicative of an earlier establishment. Nor were they enabled to exclude their perverted and corrupting legends and ritual (see traces of Orien- talism in the Heronm of Kadmos) from Sparta itself, though much more so than in other parts of Greece, where these influences were suffered to enter unchecked, — as at Corinth, Patras, and on the whole northern coast of Achaia. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 57 of daily occurrence. By degrees, an intercourse and interchange of the first articles with the opposite coast natixrally arose, and with that por- tion which appears nearest, the present Mara- thonisi. This intercourse is well expressed, and well preserved in antiquity by the name Miymvtov, given to that part of the continent where the inter- mixture of the two races, Eastern and Hellenic, first took place. This intermixture was further confirmed by intermarriages, anS we meet in con- sequence with the worship of Aphrodite, common, in one form or other, to all the Phajnician colonies. Here, from natural and national causes, eminently characteristic and inevitable, it was established under the appropriate designation of Aphrodite Mignotis. Migonion was located, like the present Marathonisi, on the steep sides of the Larysian hill, which then, as now, was soon covered with vineyards, and was dedicated to Dionysos. Dionysos and Aphrodite thus typify the early population : they are the presiding deities, as it were, over the first part of its history. It would be very curious to pursue this inquiry further. The oriental luxury of the Spartan court, of which so glowing a picture shines forth in the 4th Odyssey, could dovibtless be traced to the flourishing existence of a great Tyrian staple, per- haps the greatest ; planted, it might be said, with all its refinements, at its very gates. The curtains and couches, the mantles and veils of Helen ; the ivory chairs, the golden-clawed tables, the carpets, the gems, the cunning works of the whole East, were within the reach of a day's journey, — Paris travelled faster, — and they were naturally as VOL. I. I 58 AN EXCURSION familiar to tlie small Palikari court of Menelaus as all such luxuries still are iu our own clay to Beys, and Pashas, and mountain chiefs, possessing sufficient means of interchange with the traders of Bagdad and Damascus. There is no reason to suppose that Tyrian industry,* or Tyrian population, "were at any time expelled. They disappeared, or merged into the indigenous tribes, preserving, however, for a long time their distinctives. The great staple of their trade, the mussel-fishery, appears to have been almost given up, but it still retained a sort of limited existence, during all subsequent political and other changes, imtil revived with new encou- ragements by the Piomans. The Spartan was dis- tinguished by his scarlet or crimson chlamys from all the other Greeks. It was in some measure, through Crana3 and Migonion, his home manu- facture. But other objects and interests followed on the first accession of the neighbouring Sparta to command. The Dorian race of invaders, of which they were the most uncompromising type, sought something more than a mere import station for Eastern luxuries. They desired an export outlet for the productions of their rich plains, the result of the labours of their Helot slaves and Messenian tributaries. To this end neither Cranse nor Migo- * Phcenicians were celebrated for all kinds of work, — not merely for bronze and ivory, but for earth-digging and canal- making. See how they managed the canal at Mount Athos, in which they contrast so favourably with all the other workmen. ■ — (Herod. 1. vii. c. 23.) The mode taken to carry off the earth, is quite analogous to that used in irrigating land in Egypt. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 59 nion seemed suitable. Gytliium, or n^nov, at the short distance of sis or seven htindi'ed paces frona Migonion or Marathonisi, was founded under the joint protection of their two great protecting divinities, Hercules, the type and founder of the Dorian, and Apollo of the Minyan race, who seem in this, as in other cases, to have got intermingled. "What became of the Tyrian or commercial element of Grange, whether it fell away in consequence of the internal decay of the mother-country, or was obliged to fly before the anti-Persian (or more properly anti-Eastern) fanaticism of the Hellens, or whether it Avas lost in Migonion, and Migo- nion itself afterwards absorbed, does not appear. Gythium rose proportionately in consideration. It became the most important channel for a large corn, cheese, and other commercial trade to Athens, Corinth, and the colonies, for which the neighbourhood of Helos,* and the Spartan plain itself, so well answered. The man of war, in pro- portion to his power of oppression and success, extorting daily larger returns from the man of * The descendants and successors of the Eleutherolakones are now obliged to pass over to Helos with their labour annually, as Cephalouians and Ithakans do to Akarnania to gather in the harvest, where they are, as in the case of the lonians, paid in kind. It is to be hoped they have not the same difSculties. Every year petitions are sent to Athens from the five or six thousand Ionian labourers on the western coast of Greece, for leave to transfer their corn to their homes ; but till lately, means, local or governmental, were always found to interfere with the export, and thus they were reduced to sell at a disadvantage, and to carry back only one-third. Perhaps some such obstacles may have suggested the praiseworthy, and I am glad to hear successful, effort to establish inland agricul- tural settlements. M. Pyrrakos has founded one which is thriving, and which dispenses altogether with Helot employment. 60 AN EXCURSION peace, is a prototyj)e of a system, not peculiarly Spartan, but which can be traced through all exclusively warlike communities down to the Middle Ages, for which, however, large retribution has been required and obtained on the other side. The reverse of the picture has happily been made the rule, and not the exception, during our own times. In other respects Gythium was more than an advantage. It became indispensable to Sparta, as soon as she, forgetting her own peculiar mis- sion, attempted to compete with Athens for naval supremacy. Even so early as the Persian war, it was the arsenal and naval station of Sparta. Prom its central position it could maintain a good look-out upon the Lakonian coast, and afforded an easy outlet for enterj)rise against Athens, the Islands, and Asia. Themistokles considered it as the great point at which all Athenian attack should aim. Nor did the consequence and activity incidental to this pre-eminence cease, even after Sparta's humiliation at Naxos (376 B.C.), and three years afterwards at Corfu (373 B.C.). During the whole period of Spartan power, Gythium continued essential to its maintenance. Even the tyrant Nabis did not neglect the diligent fortification of this barrier. He rendered it, by wall and ditch, the strongest place in Lakonia ; nor did he err in his estimate. Its capture after a severe siege by Titus Quinctus (195 B.C.) was the first fatal blow to the dominion of Sparta. The Roman rule, here as at Patras, commenced a new series of prosperity. Emancipated from the oppressive supremacy of Sparta, it shared in IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 61 the freedom and progress of the other Eleuthero- lakonian towns. It was made a sort of independent free port, its inland commerce became enlarged, whilst combined with this the mussel-fishery was revived. The discovery of the remarkable j)orphyry- quarries at Krokeai, in the neighbourhood, added a new article of commerce, and contributed largely, with the then increasing demand for such luxuries at Rome, to a development, which no other state or town in the Peloponnesus could be considered to rival, unless, perhaps, Corinth and Patras. Much the largest portion of its remains is referable to this period of internal and external activity, as also to that which followed, extending to the later years of the Empire. Its subsequent fortunes are bound up with the rest of Lakonia. The present town of Marathonisi, receding curiously enough from Gythium to its ancient site of Migonion, is still young, though in appearance already old. It does not date beyond a hundred years. The remains, to a certain degree, as they now exist, and still more the temples and statues catalogued by Pausanias, graphically demarcate and typify the three cities* and the three races. * This is not uncommon in Greece. There were two Thebes, two Athens, three Patras, all the o-uj-o/ciit/joc, or impression of originally distinct settlements, of which the traditions, names, and their visible expression, the hpa or temples, down to a late peiiod, significantly pointed out the origin. Athens had its Pelasgic and louian elements ; Thebes its ^-Eolic, Phoenician, and Doric ; Patras its .(Eolic, Achaian, Ionian, and Phoenician, which finally ended in a general amalgamation very analogous to that of Gythium under the Romans. The principal divisions of Patras ■were three, — Aroe, Antheia, and Mesatis ; of these Aroe is the agricultural type, the city of the Autochthonic Eumulos, where 02 AN EXCURSION "We have, as indicative of the first, the Temple of Aphrodite Migonotis and Aphrodite Praxidika,* or the settler of justice in dealings, a title significant of the relations in which the women of the country must have stood, here and elsewhere in Greece, with the new Eastern intruders. The Temple of Dionysos, suggestive of the culture of the vine, and introduced simultaneously with that of Demeter, also stood the temple or tcpui' of Belus, and the sanctuary of Demeter. Antheia, founded by Antheus, rich in flocks, and son of the reiguiug king, is the pastoral type, and amongst its ruins, spreading out in the further land of the plain, lay the sanctuary of Artemis. Between both, comes Mesatis, or the middle town, on the declivities of the bay, the third and the proper territory of Dionysos, and also his sanctuary, as at Gythium. Augustus united all three under one designation, taking the oldest and newest, and aggregating many other neigliboui'iug smaller places, that of Aroe Patrije. * The Aphroditic worship is at once characteristic, and a sure sign of Phoenician settlement. We find it in strong conjunction in Corinth, Patras, and the other Achaian seaport cities, with other traces of Oriental tradition and habits, — such as the legend of Saturn, of which Drejtanon, like the Drepanon of Sicily, Trapani, and Zaukle, are other versions. The bloody human sacrifices on the banks of the Meilichos, and the extensive weaving establish- ments of Patras, all indicate the same origin. At an early period the Phcenicians raised factories along this coast, from Dyme or Araxos as far as to Corinth. In Patras, the Temple of Aphrodite was in juxtapo.sition with that of Apollo ; and whilst the " ('spa Svo 2apa;rt?o€ " (a later Egyptian deity), and the monuments of Belus and .^gyptus, were contemporary with the singular oracle of the mirror ; a mode of divination which is not yet extinct in Egyjit. The weaving was celebrated, thoTigh writers are not agreed whether (jvairus is to mean wool or linen. The influence of these settlers and their ritual was conspicuous. The service of the lepocovXai of Corinth was nearly equalled by the licentiousness of the women of Patras. It is not astonishing that the philosopher, or wise man, Chilon, .should have wished that Cythera could be sunk to the bottom of the sea. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 63 shows the influence of the agricultural population, entering as a new element into the state. The statues of Hercules and Apollo Karneios, already- noticed, are supposed by Philemon to date only a century before Christ. Ammon, another foreign (probably Egyptian) deity, with whom, for a con- siderable period, the Phoenicians were bound up, and whose worship seems to have been extensive in Lakonia ; Poseidon Gseiochos, in his double cha- racter of protector of the seafaring population and guider of earthquakes, and a representative equally of the foreign and native worship ; and ^Escula- pius, who wandered here, as well as to Epidaurus Limera, at an early period, — all belong to the earlier settlement. The later settlement is expressed, espe- cially during the Ptoman times, by the tombs, the baths, the aqueducts, and the moles, more or less ruined, but which prove at least by their extent what importance was attached down to a late age to the site and advantages of this locality by a people who eminently understood the utility of commercial and colonial protection and intercourse. But to resume the story of our travel. We remained at anchor off Marathonisi during the night, and at an early hour next morning, after taking a temporary leave of Captain Craigie, who intended to proceed on his cruise to Kalamata, we landed on the beach three miles from Gythium, where Dimitri with his horses and mules stood ready to begin the journey to Sparta. Left at first to themselves, the steeds had run wild about the country ; but Dimitri, recalling them very peremp- torily to a sense of duty, and strapping and restrap- ping till, like a wise economist, he had tempered 64 AN EXCURSION the burthen to each back, sent on the first detach- ment, virtually our commissariat, in mass before us. Dimitri himself, laden with huge provisions against the day, and all kinds of responsibilities, was the next object of his own personal solicitude. In his unimao?inable costume, he was now really a traveller and guide to travellers. "We found him prepared for the roughing of night and day, by dint of stuffed pockets swollen to four times their natural size, all over pouches and bags, and ready to mount on a saddle bristling with umbrellas, sticks, and canes, almost hid behind a pile of capotes, shawls, and rugs. Into the saddle he tumbled at last, his accoutrements swinging about him, consisting of a gun, none the worse for a hole in it, — fortunately uncapped, — together with sundry knives for carving Palikari lambs, opening tarts, scraping antiquities, or, if need be, killing brigands, who, however, he assured us were all extinct, and now heroic. After immense vocifera- tion, — for whom or for what we could not well make out, — he got us off, and in another half-hour we were all sailing, each behind the other, up the pleasant banks and hillocks which opened the road to Sparta. The worst part of the journery, the Kakiskala, had been avoided. It lay to the left, round the little rocky promontory between us and Gythium, and formed its protection on that side. On the other, the road wound over gracefully diversified ground, copse and thicket, until lost in the distance, in the rich territory of Helos. Through clumps of fine Valonea oak, with a continued accompaniment of shrub of all kinds,— lentisk, karouba, priuari, rhododendron, chrysoxyla. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 65 broom, and laurel, we passed up and down, over small bills, tbrougb miniature dales, Avitb now and tben a passing bit of Taygetus piercing snow- clad tbrougb tbe tbickets, till at last we reacbed Letzovo.* In tbis line, tbere are few places wortby of notice ; Pausanias begins with Krokese, near Letzovo, as tbe first town wbicb attracted bis attention on coming from Gytbium. We saw Trinasos to our rigbt on leaving tbe shore, marked by a projecting promontory, f and some rocks that might pass for islands, and wbicb still bear the name of Trinasi. Since tben we had been travelling over the Bardunian billy country, which separates the sea and seashore from the plain properly so * Three roads iim through Lower Lakonia, — one to Helos, which enjoys, with the " Hollow of Lakonia," a reputation, from Strabo downwards, as one of the most fertile territories of all Greece ; the second, that which we now had taken ; the third, by Aigai, to the north-west of Gythium. This latter was the direc- tion Pausanias followed from Krokese. The combination with a sacred lake or basin (Aiyu'?/), which might have formerly been the case (see the changing of the coast), the mouths of the Eurotas, "where fishers feared to fish," besides the name itself, A'lyai, thoroughly Poseidonian, — all point, though the distance is not specified by Pausanias, to the village of Limni as the site of the ancient A'iyai. The lake, or basin, has, as might be expected, disappeared ; but not wholly, for a sinking is still visible in the swampy ground in that neighbourhood. The Poseidonian, like the Aphrodite, worship was a sign of early maritime settlement, though not so strange to Greece as the Aphrodite. Curtius, in " Die lonier," gives it the precedence in time considerably over the Apollo worship, and even over that of Athena. Sparta and Lakonia had, moreover, other special reasons for venerating Poseidon, the Earth-shaker. t At this spot it was that the Mainiotes opposed the advance of Ibrahim Pasha, with a valour and determination that made it a second Thermopyla;. VOL. I. K 66 AN EXCURSION called, — the " Hollow," Ko/at) AaxcSaZ/AOJi/. The village of Letzovo, or Levetzovo — an Albanian or Slarouic name — is an Albanian settlement, and over the whole of this hilly district, down to the sea, their habitations were scattered. Tlie place itself is a miserable hamlet, on the left of the road. The rocks to the ris-ht contain the cele- brated quarries of porphyry. We stopped at a poor khan, and spread oiu' tahle under a large shadowy tree, unfortunately, however, in an arable field still charged with all the heat of the day. Whilst dinner was preparing, Lanza scrambled up to catch a glimpse of the Taygetan ridge, and I strolled among the rocks which furnished the porphyry. These are large separate hlocks, broken by a strong stiff brushwood of the various kinds we met with in our journey, such as lentisk, prinari, and broom. Hard hy, are some traces of the ruins of Krokea^, and remnants of Ptoman brick buildings, which sufficiently prove by whom these quarries were opened, and to whom they were of value. The period when they ceased to be worked, has not been ascertained. No attempt to reopen them has been made in modern times, and any one who takes into view, independent of the inaptitude and indifference universally shown hy the Greek govern- ment to such enterprises, also the want of roads and harbours in the district, will not find it difii- cult to account for this. The discovery of quarries equal or superior in quality in other countries, and the comparative difficulty, even with modern pro- cesses, of preparing a material of the kind, which, though beautiful, requires much time and labour ?-o IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 67 to fit it for architectural or sculptural purposes, forms another powerful reason for the apathy now evinced. But this " green porphyry " is hy no means confined to the neighbourhood of Letzovo. It is found in veins through the whole of the southern territory. That portion of the quarries, however, which are probably identical with those described by Pausanias, are about 2f miles to the south of the village of Levetzovo. Small hills, called by the people " Psephia," amongst many others near to the old Krokese, exhibit quarries coin- ciding sufiiciently with his description.* There are clear evidences of working. The quality of those near Levetzovo is a green felds-path por- phyry, lying on a mica formation. It runs through the hill in separate masses, forming galleries about eight feet high, and from two to more feet wide ; but yet so broken, as Pausanias describes them, that it were difiicult to find a piece of more than one foot long by a few inches thick. The largest pieces are on the north side of the hill, and it is certain that there the ancients chiefly carried on their works. A few of these are visible to the whole height of the hill. The green porphyry, with sharp marked crystals, can only be found of good quality in the upper strata. The eastern side presents a much inferior description, more broken, and of a duller colour. It is possible, however, that better specimens might be found further on the road to Daphne. This porphyry, sometimes erroneously called serpentine, and verd'antico serpentine, the writer in the Prench " Expedition * Pans. Lak. iii. 21, 4. 68 AN EXCURSION Scientifique de la Moree," terms " prasophyre." It is remarkably hard, and difficult to work, though, when worked, it takes a bright polish. Being found but in small pieces, as already mentioned, it can only be used for mosaics and small vases. No. 389, in the Dresden Collection, — ■ one of the largest known, but still modern, — which is made up of three pieces, in the urn portion, measures only 13 inches diameter by 12 inches high. Little use, however, was made of this or similar marbles, in the flourishing epochs of Greek art, although the pas- sion for colour, during the archaic period, trans- mitted in the love of chryso-elephantine, from the old painting of statues, would have led one to expect it. The labour of working such a material proved too great. Even white marble, though much softer, was rare in such applications, and was employed for a time, almost in the same line with ivory. The statues of wood, with feet, face, and hands of Pentelic marble, mentioned so often by Pausanias, were a transcript of their vase-painting, in which the female often figures in a tight dark- coloured wooden-like dress, the same portions of the body being coloured white. During the Roman period, when luxury super- seded art, and matter was placed on a level with form, and indeed often elevated to a superiority, all these appliances were largely adopted for dra- peries and other ornaments. Busts of red por- phyry, for generals and emperors, and for the imperial pallium, as well as alabaster for female mantles, were extensively employed ; but, still, with a material thought so precious, the bust came to be considered the permanent, and the head the Iransi- IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 69 tory, portion of the statue. It was so arranged, that the heads, let into sockets, could be taken ovit and replaced, under any change of dynasty or emperor. This "boutique" practice was carried still further, and similar alterations were made for the empresses' busts even to the style of hair. Hair-dressing changed as frequently as with us ; and to keep a head always in fashion, it was necessary to have a succession of head-dresses, as well as a succession of heads, to fit these busts. We had still a long journey over these Bardu- nian hills, and brushwood thickets, before we could reach the entrance of the valley or plain of Sparta ; so after our neat repast, " light and choice," Dimitri inexorably summoned us to horseback. We were soon in our saddles, ladies and gentlemen, and were off in the best of spirits, horses and riders, at half- past three, once more on our way to Sparta. "On the whole of this line, the great military and commercial one of all periods, and which must have been so often trodden by the Lacedaemonian heroes of every age, we scarcely met with a village or a habitation to which our agogiates could give a name ; no ruins, no trace of the earlier footsteps, and none newly printed by recent civilization. The entire of this district has an uncultivated appear- ance ; for, though valonea and prinari rescue it from the charge of waste or barrenness, they are widely scattered, whilst ample room exists for other culture. No blame can be attached to the inha- bitants; they are few, and have not the hands of Briareus. The more attractive soil of Upper Lakonia and Helos, monopolizes their care; and, even for the ordinary industry indispensable to the 70 AN EXCURSION working of these localities, they are not sufficient in number. A much more vinaccountable circum- stance, is the probability of a similar state of things having existed in ancient days, and even during Roman rule. Pausanias, travelling in the third century, mentions Krokese as the first place, four hours distant, coming from Sparta. Leaving Bigla to the left, we emerged at length from the copses, by a sudden turning, upon the more open road, and gaining the summit of an eminence close to a mountain-stream called the E-asina, we for the first time caught a decided view of the great plain of Sparta and its magnificent wall of mountain. And a noble sight it is, worthy of all the wonder and enthusiasm which, as simul- taneously we stopped our reluctant steeds, burst forth from our lips in chorus. As far as eye could stretch, we beheld before us an immense tract, per- fectly flat, rich as a garden, without exactly distin- guishing the varying forms of abundance poured out upon it, as they glowed in the golden hues of a declining sun. On the left rose up Taygetus, stern and still, — defile within defile, fortification within fortification, gigantic and impregnable, of a dusky dark purple, deep for the most part in shadow and enveloped in that hot misty gloom which rests on those Greek mountains after the sunny glare of a hot day. We found it difl&cult to move ; but our horses and Dimitri were of a different opinion, and soon took us splashing through the Rasina. This stream preserves in its modern corruption the old name " Erasinos," which again reminds us of the other Doric applications or namesakes to be met with in other parts of the Peninsula. It IN THE PELOPOKXESrS. 71 forms the boundaiy between the Ko/Xr; and South- ern Lakonia. Daphne, recalling the Apollo worship of the district, lay to the north. Westward, were some Roman remains of minor consequence. I intended to visit Xerokampo and its Cyclopic bridge ; but the day was much too advanced to allow it, and we had to hurry on with all speed to Sparta. As we proceeded, we passed through lanes and shadowy roads, and, amidst a succession of all kinds of cultivation, admitting peeps or broad openings from time to time into the adjacent country. Our road was now and then crossed by a Taygetan brook or torrent, which would keep us company for half an hour or so, and then bid us a sudden good-bye, on its way to the Eurotas. The Eurotas itself coixld occasionally be detected by its white scanty stream, often broken into many threads under the red, low, level, yet cloven range of Msenalon, which bounds it for many miles on the north, running off above Zarax, to Tzakonia. Towards sunset we reached some Frank fortifica- tions, afterwards converted to Turkish purposes, which lay immediately over the Eurotas. But evening having set in, we could now only bestow a moment on the spvu"-like hUl and promontory, once the akropolis of Amyclse, now the site of the church of St. Kyriaki. About a mile to the S.W. lies Sklavokori, which had formerly enjoyed those honours. After crossing many complications of mill-streams, and the usual angular Turkish bridge, as also some new wooden substitutes, to which our horses, not much to our surprise, appeared to have decided objections, we found ourselves, in the dark 72 AN EXCURSION hour of eight o'clock, making way up the side of a low hill, and scrambling into the first streets of the modern Sparta. Rude roads they are, not streets. No light nor guide was visible, but those which had been sent to meet us ; the noise of children and pigs alone announced a capital. By lane and passage we jncked our way, till stopped, at last, opposite a large gateway in a rural part of the town. In a few moments, the entire house- hold had flocked out to bid us welcome, and we were soon under the hospitable roof of Kyrios Phengara. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 73 CHAPTER III. SPARTA. Mat 11. — On opening my window, at a reason- able hour in the morning, I was greeted by a rush of odours from the flowers and fruit of the neigh- boux'ing orange-groves, and by a delicious breeze from the Taygetan range, which gave encouraging promise for the remainder of the day. The buzz, too, of early labour had begun, whilst close beneath us I discovered a whole school assembled, waiting till the gates of the establishment should be opened. The boys were scattered up and down in knots, in the street and on the grass, before the school ; some in discreet chat, others conning earnestly their task ; all actively occupied, — a slight-limbed, wide-awake, intelligent, and healthy specimen of the younger part of the population, — the predo- minance of the fustinella, bearing evidence that the neighbouring villages had contributed a large proportion, as well as Sparta proper. These favour- able prognostics were not afterwards belied. The authorities were with us at the earliest moment, and profuse in their earnest offers. Indeed they had been already tendering zealous service to a young midshipman who had accom- panied us, and whose uniform, notwithstanding his youth and inexperience, (everything is abnormal VOL. I. L 74 AN EXCURSION and possible in Englishmen and their Government), had induced them to take him for the English min- ister. Eortifying ourselves with local information for the labours of the day, we set out at once on our inquiries. The town itself — if such it can yet be called, and not rather a set of houses in " vil- leggiatura " from old Mistra, — with its several buildings and institutions, headed the programme ; and first, as nearest, the school just mentioned, which proved to be the Sp^oXsrov 'ET^XvjVixov. The building is plain and solid, with little archi- tectural pretension, and not in any way fitted for the uses of a school. Proceeding upstairs, we found that it also comprised a primary or demotic school ((3-;^oXerov drj^orixov). The room was crowded, but, on the whole, well ventilated, and well sup- plied with windows. The furniture, on the usual European model, consisted of long desks and benches in parallel lines one behind the other, with various engravings on the walls. The boys were ranged according to classes, whilst the master occupied a small pulpit at the other end. The Lan- casterian, or mutual system, to a certain degree, prevailed. The master, however, boasted an assist- ant, and both had come from the seminary for teachers at Athens. Considerable attention seemed paid to dress and cleanliness. Most of the boys woi'e fustinellas, and these were white and clean. They were going through their usual lessons, aud I did not wish for any divergence on my account, the subjects being Greek interpretation, arithmetic, and grammar. The boys read with facility, but without emphasis, and answered, apparently, with more readiness than reflection. The master made IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 7o no particular effort to digress into collateral illus- tration or discussion, but rather kept to the ques- tion and answer of his text -book. Amongst others, he was using a translation of Campe's " Young- Robinson," which has at least the merit of excit- ing curiosity, though scarcely in harmony with Greek habits and predilections. Good discipline maintained without effort appeared the rule. There was no unseemly noise, and they showed us the proper courtesies on arriving and departing. It was but a step across the passage to the Hel- lenic school. This proved to be a very small room, lighted by a single window : and so packed and jammed together were the students, — for the most part young men rather than boys, — that there was hardly sitting room for the majority, and we had to gather ourselves as we could into a corner. It is only just to say, that masters and scholars loudly complained. They accused the demarchy of negli- gence, of parsimony, of ignorance ; they were stifled in summer; in the hot months they had to break up; it w^as impossible to breathe, much less to learn ; the physical evil was too strong, for the strongest resolution of the spirit. But, in the midst of it, I heard nothing of the Government. "Where were their inspectors, or inspection ? A Government w^hich takes all power, must bear all responsibility. What could have been prevented, and is suffered, has been caused by their neglect. The book the students were reading was Xenophon's Hellenics. I begged them to continue it. The passage being the great Athenian defeat of Aigos Potamos, it was curious to hear those pages in the very heart of Sparta read by this young Spartan, almost 76 AN EXCURSION unconsciously, I thouglit, with a sort of Spartan jealousy of the ancient rival. Like most modern Greek readers, he declaimed, rather than read it, with a swell and song which recalled the censure thrown on the old Athenians, of " tragedising" on ordinary occasions. The punctuation was not the more attended to ; and the emphasis, as is usual in all Southern reading, being sacrificed to rhythm, sentences ran into each other without much apparent knowledge as to what they be- longed. But when we came to the translation into modern Greek, I found that I had prejudged. The sentences were mostly well rendered, and a source to me of deep interest, from the increased approxi- mation which they showed and promised between the two idioms of the same language. This was followed not only by parsing as far as required, done with admirable accuracy and facility, but what I valued more, by a minute analysis and synthesis of the sentence and words, perhaps now and then somewhat too servile a copy of German methods, and as dealing with forms rather than realities, more linguistic than rationalistic. His- toric and other illustrations also seemed to have been attended to. I could not learn that instruc- tion in history went further, or was pursued on any very enlarged or systematic plan. Arithmetic obviously held a secondary place in the estimation of master and pupils. Geograpliy was treated on the usual plan, and large maps hung round the room, on which the principal places were pointed out by the pupils. One of them gave a general review of Eurojoe, and of its leading divisions and provinces, which he seemed to have mastered; IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 77 but he did not profess to aim higher. The lesson is taken, with slight modification, from a rather indifferent textbook. The classifications of phy- sical and political geography, with all this im- plies, carried out on the German or on our plan, seemed unknown. No lessons introductory to the sciences, exact or mechanical, appear to have been attempted, which, in a school of the degree and character of a a-^oy^siov 'Exhrivixov, is a matter of regret. Though true that, as its name desig- nates, it is principally intended for Hellenic studies, of which language is considered the most important, and that, at best, it ought to be no more than a progymnasium, or preparatory school to a gymnasium, yet clearly many whom I saw there were destined never to leave Sparta, and therefore the management of their ordinary ru.ral affairs would have largely benefitted, by such por- tions of mathematical or chemical science, as would render them conversant with the elements of mensuration and agricultural chemistry. Many of those who were in attendance showed, by their costumes, that their future walks in life would probably be in that province. Though alive to the language portion of his duties, the teacher did not seem to have carried, any more, probably, than his superiors, his views or wishes beyond it. On leaving the schools, though the sun now bore with noontide energy on town and country, we M^ere too conscious of the shortness of the time allowed us, not to request M. Pherengas's kind ofiices and guidance through the streets and neighbourhood. We accordingly set forth to that 78 AN EXCURSION portion more immediately in the neighbourhood of our obliging host's residence, which, happily, is situated on the verge of the country. Passing through some half-formed, grass-grown streets, studded here and there with houses, leaving yawning distances, dead garden-walls, and stray Avatercourses between, we proceeded towards the ruins of the theatre. The streets are broad and straight, and look tolerably well drawn out and levelled, so far much in advance of the capital ; but, like Athens, they have the irredeemable, unj)ardonable fault of being traced over the site of the ancient city. The houses are strong and coarse, but good, and few or none without their fresh enclosure of garden. M. Pherengas's is a type of the tribe. All seem to have been sent down, made to order, — a square mass, jilanted in a courtyard, with a high rough set of steps out- side, to reach what Ave should call the first story, — the offices below and around. A good central room in white plaster, with ill-shutting, unpainted fir doors, and a coloured or panelled ceiling, forms the reception-room of the family. Behind or around, a small lot of ground is filled to the fullest with all such fruit and leaf as can be furnished by vine, fig-tree, orange, pomegranate, and peach, enovxgh to rejoice at once all the senses ; occa- sionally a small trellis, draperied with vine-leaves, forms a framework to marble fragments of bas- reliefs below ; and, as the acme of town-rural delights, the rare luxury of a fountain is sometimes added. In all this, though there is much to envy, there is also much to wish for : the exigencies of season and country are forgotten. It is a Bava- 4 ■^ ii IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 79 riau suburb, a German bath on a visit. Just as reasonable would it be to walk abroad in this blessed sunshine (80° Eahr. in the shade), in Mus- covite pelisse and Esquimaux trousers. We now came to a small enclosure, the door of which being open, we beheld in the centre con- siderable remains of the best Hellenic masonry. It lies at a little distance from the theatre towards the S.W., and to this circumstance probably owes its poptdar name of the Tomb of Leonidas (more properly Cenotaph), with whom also is associated Pausanias. The building* rises to a height of three or four courses, in the simplest style, re- sembling in no particular an ordinary tomb, and characteristically opposed to many of the recent remains which lie around. The proportions are such as cannot justify its being taken for even the vocog of a temple, which is the prevalent modern idea; but it may very well stand for a " Heroum," or monument dedicated to a hero ; and as the body of Leonidas was afterwards removed from Thermopylae to Sparta, there is reasonable pro- bability that this may have been the spot destined to receive it. Its position in reference to the the- atre, is one we would willingly assume for such a purpose, and very nearly accords with the descrip- tion of early writers. Fortunately it is shut up from further depredation, for many stones appear to have been removed, and many more would have followed them in the process of constructing the new town. * I saw later, at Sikyon, a small building exactly coinciding in style with this of Sparta, which had evidently been a temple, and converted afterwards into a Christian church. so AN EXCTJESION The heat iucreasing, and this part of Sparta being entirely without shade, we thought it wiser and pleasanter to defer till evening further exami- nation of the plan and ruins. These are difficult now to be detected, through the perplexing enlarge- ments and defacements, and rapid obliterations, arising from the modern city. Meanwhile, wishing to put the hours to profit, I proceeded to visit the other institutions. Our first introdixction was to the Court of Justice. It is a common-place house in a good airy situation, and we were ushered upstairs to a room where the portion between the two windows was railed off, and contained a pulpit or slightly raised platform for the judges. These, four in number, in common Frank dress, very much like what we should see in an ordinary coimtry police-court in England, were quietly examining a young Spartan witness, who stood in front. Secretaries (ypa/A/^aTs/^) were seated at tables, and busily engaged on both sides. A considerable number of attendants were present in wild Albanian costume, their earnest mountain physiognomies betraying intense interest in the proceedings. All remained standing before the judges, there being no seats, but without pres- sure or disturbance, and throughout was preserved the same creditable decorum. On each side of this j^rincipal room another opened, reserved for the officers and secretaries. They were spacious, clean, and well-kept apartments, the furniture somewhat scanty, a small table and a few chairs being deemed sufficient, and the entire suite left free for any who might think proper to enter. In the room to the left, the archives or documents IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 81 were kept in open pigeon-holes. I observed to the yoaixixarshg, who was seated before them, that they might easily be abstracted, even by a casual visitor. This he did not deny, but remarked that he was always present. Such accidents, however, have from time to time occurred, and, together with occasional conflagrations, not unknown at Athens, they have contributed to shake confidence in the safe custody of the public records. I saw five or six prisoners pass in and out, some from the lowest classes ; and the influx and efflux must be considerable during the greater part of the day. On the whole I felt favourably impressed, at least with the manner in which public justice was distributed in this remote town, and thought I could perceive in the decent demeanour of the attendants, removed alike from tumult and indif- ference, a consciousness of the blessing of the institution, and a disposition to respect and second the ofiicer presiding, as well as the law itself. In other rooms the Eparch of the Eparchy of Lakedemon, and the Mayor of the Demos of Sparta, transact the business of their respective offices. Eor these purposes the house offers very reason- able convenience. Here also are preserved, till they have found a building specially adapted, such fragments and inscriptions as turn up at intervals amongst the surrounding ruins. The few yet collected, — seeds, as one may hope, of a future local museum, — either in the way of sculjiture or inscription, are of inferior interest. They are of a comparatively recent period. Two inscriptions which I copied, VOL. I. M 82 AN EXCUKSION of a later cliaracter, still preserve the Doric dialect, and deal occasionally with changes in spelling. I found, for instance, y-ayt^og for yMystpog. The new church, not yet quite finished, was next visited. It is well situated, on a rising slope ; a good clear space has been preserved around it, the limits of which are defined by a few newly built houses, superior to any at Sparta. The church is of considerable size, solidly built of well- worked stone, and of fair architectui*al preten- sions ; the style being Byzantine, or Byzantine modified by modern feelings and necessities. Inter- nally pillars support the roof, forming also aisles and nave ; the gynsekeion (■yvva.txslov) , or gallery for the women, is in consequence placed over the narthex. This gallery has the peculiarity of being shut in from view by a trellis of crossed wood, forming a screen not unlike those seen in the West before the church choirs of nunneries. In answer to some surprise expressed at this punc- tiliousness, not observable at present in other parts of Greece, I heard the practice prevailed, by order of the present Greek Bishop of Monemvasia and Sparta, through the whole of his diocese ; but our informant thought it would not last, and on the death of the Bishop would probably disappear, to the satisfaction of the younger parishioners. The yashmac, here or in Turkey, in whatever shape it maintains its place, is gradually retreating before the advancing freedom, — or coquetry shall we say, — of the age. The iconostasis, where all the art and riches of the church continue centred, was richly carved in pine-wood, though not with per- fect taste. Traditional paintings covered _it in the IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 83 traditional style, it is true, but these are making rapid strides towards the heavy and clumsy charac- teristics of decline, with undue attention to minor detail of manufacture and ornament. The painter, born at Sparta, had studied in the still existing school of Mount Athos, and seemed, from other performances observed elsewhere, to have laboured not unprofitably through the southern part of Peloponnesus. The expenses of decoration were liberally defrayed as ex rofos, by native Spartans, the fact being accurately chronicled underneath each picture. Above this screen was an open rood- loft, on Avhich stood the cross, with the painted figure of our Saviour leaning forward, seemingly the custom in this district. The rest of the church was in whitewash, until funds could be collected to embellish it with paintings. The belfry, without which no Greek church is now considered com- plete, was in course of construction. The whole of this creditable edifice had been raised exclu- sive of any aid from synod or government or cen- tral church fund, by local and foreign contributions, and does honour to the religious zeal and liberality of the country. It is the cathedral, or more pro- perly the chiu'ch, of the place : none other was pointed out to us. On leaving, we proceeded to complete our examination of the schools, which were at no great distance, in one of the adjoining streets. The first of these (elementary or demotic) was the girls' school, established at least temporarily in a low barn-like building. The children had gone to dinner, we were told by a cheerful-looking young girl, who proved to be the mistress, and 84 AN EXCITESION who said the room had been recently fitted up, and prepared for a considerable number.* The attendance was represented as excellent. She had recently come from Athens, having there received her education as teacher, and appeared to be well satisfied with her pupils and position. The boys' school was open, though the classes had abeady broken up. It was a fine large room, long and lofty, properly ventilated and lit by high windows, and appointed with school furniture of benches, desks, and books, such as would have been no disgrace to Europe. The classes were told off in divisions, by letters fixed on the top of poles and the floor was traced with the circles necessary for the mutual instruction system. The walls, cleanly whitewashed, were rendered gay, and at the same time useful, by moral sentences painted in different colours, — some from the Scrip- tures, others from the Greek gnomic writers and the poets, such as the following : APXH ZOIAZ OBOZ KYPIOY TON GEON OBOY TON BAZIAEA TIMA over the pulpit of the master. And again, — ElZ TOnOZ AIA KAeEN nPAPMA, KAI KA0EN nPAFMA ElZ TON TOHON TOY. HNEYMA O 0EOZ KAI TOYZ HPOZKYNHTAZ AYTOY EN HNEYMATI KAI AAHGEIA AEI nPOZKYNEIN. * Kleobulos advocated female education, as well as education in general. (See Diog. Laert. 1. i. c. vi. s. 4.) IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 85 APAZATE HAIAEIAZ MH ROTE OPriZ0H O KYPIOZ. And from an ancient writer, — ii ANepnnoi nov EPEzeE oitinez XPHMATflN MEN KTHZEI2Z REPI HAZAN nOIEIZGE ZnOYAHN THN AE YIEIIN ElZ TAYTA KATAAEIH'ETE MIKPAN PONTIAA. All excellent, though the last might be more appropriately addressed to the parents than the children, and especially in a country like Greece, which, of all others, the least needs pressing in that direction ; nor should I have been sorry to see more stress laid upon the duty and courage of truth,* upon an universal resjDect for property (though it might look rather strange at Sparta), and upon the beauty of humility and the mean- ness of vain-glory and vanity, as well as a word or two added on Christian charity, honest works, and love for each other, themes not out of place beside the most lu-gent recommendation of niZTIZ KAI riATPIZ, great as these are in their way both in school and battle-field. The boys were scattered up and down on the benches in tolerable numbers, though school hours were over, preparing lessons for the evening, and that not listlessly, or as task-work, but with their hearts in it, as if a labour of boyish love. The master soon joined lis, and drew after him a group or * Mi; \pevcov, a Solon maxim for the ancient Athenians (Diog. Laert. 1. L c. ii. s. 12), might Lave found its place here, as well as any of those cited, and with more reason and advantage. See opinion of Anacharsis as to Greek truth teaching (Diog. Laert. 1. L c. viii. s. i). 86 AN EXCURSION two sufficient to form a class. We asked to hear them, and both teacher and scholars evidently felt as much pleasure in granting the favour as we in accepting it. In a moment we had an impromj)tu examination going on in full force, master and hoys enjoying the set-to, as our hoys would a run at cricket or footbalL They were all young chaps, in summer fustinellas and red fezes, with fine, clear, open, fresh-coloured countenances, and abun- dance of fair hair. Well set on their light, clean, limbs, they looked as ready as their own goats for a tough mountain walk, and resembled in nothing the rickety build, or listless movement, of the sharp-nosed, thin-lipped, sallow-cheeked, imp-like creatures packed up in the schools at Athens. The master told me they flocked to him from all sides. Every village round sent in its contingent ; whilst others came from the town, and many even down from the mountains. Sparta itself is only a large dislocated sort of village, and it is difficult to say which can claim it, town or country. But the morale had to do more with their appearance than the physique. They were boys in their normal state of healthy boyishness, not worked into that hateful age where is mon- strosity and distortion, the result of too early consorting with the gossip, pedantry, intrigue, and meannesses of their elders. These, on the con- trary, were allowed frankly and freely to aim at Truth, and honest Mother Nature, instead of the sham and counterfeit set up in her stead in all capitals, but in none more so than in those which grasp at the external when they cannot achieve the internal elements of civilization. IX THE PELOPONNESUS. 87 The master was worthy of his pupils. He had "been, I feel sure, a boy like them in his time, a good, sinewy Palikare looking fellow, also in fusti- nella, but sharp and shrewd with word and deed, delighting in the grapple and wrestle, the aymv of his profession, and keeping all his athletes up to their work and time. In former days I used to see such men often in the nooks and bye-places of Greece, whose every scrap of knowledge seemed to have a smack of robbery about it, a laying up of ammunition for good battle in the sure-coming time. He leaned combatively, I may say, against the pulpit, enjoying his task too well to mount it at such a distance, and in a moment he had an eager circle round him, all asking to be the first to commence. Singling out two little fellows from the ring, both of ten or twelve years old, they at once began " Hellenic" history, and, to our delight, that portion which, whatever tee thought, tlie^ seemed to believe as historic as any other, — the Homeric legends of Menelaus and Helen. Helen, I regret to say, was treated with less tenderness than by Mr. Gladstone, and he would have been shocked to find how far dramatic and other distor- tions had penetrated, leaving her little better than in her own country some think of Mary Queen of Scots. We forbore to press the matter too far, but were rejoiced to perceive, as is, indeed, the case throughout Greece, that the story appeared to them like a recent event, in which they and their families had a personal interest. The master needed not to lead, for they gene- rally got before him ; but he took care to bring his young greyhounds back, and put them sharply 88 AN EXCURSION enough through their training. It was a very pleasant thing to hear him ask a question, and then lay his ear down on the pulpit at the other side waiting for a reply, as much as to say, " let him get out of that mess," but disdaining to influence the question or pvipil by magisterial physiognomy. The little ring around on tiptoe for each answer, sided with master or pupil alter- nately. The whole thing was yitality itself, and came from the boy and not from his book, — from thought, not memory. We then passed to Scrip- ture reading, and had the history of Joseph, the delight, as it ought to be, of all children, and in which they answered equally well. A little arith- metic followed, of the ordinary kind on the board, and some geography, rather feeble, but not dis- creditable. The text-books were those which are met with in most schools of Greece, sanctioned, not composed, by the Government. Their specimens of writing may have been pet samples, but they were excellent, — all religious or moral sentences. K^o attempt is made to teach the boys even the rudiments of gardening; the teacher hardly knew what I meant ; whilst religious instruction is in great degree limited to the master. But he was an advocate for any improvement which could be introduced, always keeping language in all its forms as the principal. We left the school much gratified. There are details to improve, omissions to supply; but reform is easy and certain. No obstacles exist, but rather co-operators alone, and the great mainspring of imj)rovement is there — life. I have seldom seen a more active, cheerful, free-looking establishment. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 89 The greater number of cliildren live with their parents, whether from town or country. Those from the country, if their home be tolerably near, go back the same clay ; if distant, they remain in town, and return on Sunday. The boys pay fifty lepta per month, the girls a drachm, to their teachers. The master of the boys' school has 60 drachma? per month besides from the Government, so that, with these allowances, his position, lodging being included, is comfortable. We took the opportunity from the commanding situation of the school-house, over the small stream Skiathas, as they named it (the same which Leake calls Trypiotiko), to obtain an extended view of the whole plain as far as Agia Kyriaki and Slavochorij both of which are distinctly visible from its south windows. The entire space between has the appearance of an unbroken garden. To our left lay Menelaion, and the low ground marked by a few cypresses, which is held to be the site of the old Platanistas. Retracing our steps we passed through the bazaar over roads rather than streets, still unpaved and dusty. The bazaar, constituting one of the principal thoroughfares, is too broad for a south- ern climate, and does no credit to the new "city." It is of the rudest Turkish fashion of unpainted carpentry, and meagrely supplied : vegetables and straw hats seemed to be the chief commodities. The want of fountains, — tliougli apparently little felt by the inhabitants, • — is a grievance to the traveller ; the more so when it is remembered that there would have been one in every corner, with pleasant shade of plane-tree or VOL. I. N 90 AN EXCURSION vine trellis, in Turkish times ; but fountains seem to have gone out everywhere, with baths and storks, as well as mosques. After dinner, we sallied forth to examine the site and remains of the famous city, and took our way at once to the Theatre, as the point beyond all cavil, and most likely to set us right with regard to the rest of the topography. A variety of causes have here increased the ordinary difficulties of deciphering an ancient plan, — the nature of the ground, of the plan itself, the disturbance and shifting of old sites, confusion of names, and, not least, the hand of carelessness or destruction, to which the present settlement has largely con- tributed, and is still largely adding. Passing the lieroum we had seen in the morning, we found ourselves suddenly before an imposing piece of wall of large blocks and regular masonry, probably late Hellenic, without cement, but in well-kept courses. It had originally projected further, and seemed abruptly broken off ; but at a little distance the wall continued. This formed a portion of the Theatre, probably one of its flanks. The oj)posite side is not so well pre- served, yet sufficiently so to give the entire form of the kollon ; though, from the thickly-sown corn and the brushwood it w^as impossible to discern any other remains than dislocated stones. None of the seats Avere visible ; Leake conjectures that they must have disappeared in the building of Mistra and of the neighbouring villages. When too large for transport, they have been broken to pieces. As far as Mistra is concerned, its distance, besides its close vicinity to Taygetus, where stones can be X < , I- I- CL 5 < C °- cr. CO IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 91 quarried with less expense and labour, suggests a doubt of their ever having been used at that spot. There is no scene or traces of one apparent, unless some Roman remains at a little distance from the Theatre can be taken as such. It is true the Homans, in their repairs or reform of Hellenic theatres, often added a new scene of brick, as at Taormina; but it may be much doubted whether the remains in question had anything to say to the matter, or whether the theatre ever had a i*egularly built scene.* Leake considers the total diameter to be about 450 feet, which would place it * The purposes and character of Greek and Roman theatres were altogether different. Tlie Roman was exclusively theatrical, and intended for a drama very much modified from the Greek. The lyric element was almost effaced, and only a mutilated piece of affectation retained. The orchestra, in its Roman application, as with us, was a misnomer. The Greek, on the contrary, was applied to many different purposes besides the drama. It was the place of lyric and orchestric contests ; this, at least, in pure Spartan times, was the sole dramatic purpose of a Spartan theatre. In addition it came to be used as the place of public meeting ; in Sparta peculiarly so, and for which it was even better fitted than the Dionysion of Athens, from its proximity to the Agora, general in all pai'ts of Greece. The theatre of Corinth was employed for reviews of troops ; and no particular observation is made in noticing this, which would, it is presumed, have been the case had a sce'iie existed, — it being hardly possible that in the precincts of an orchestra with a scene this march even of single files could have been very practicable. At the same time, there can be no doubt that the scene was a dramatic necessity, and in the nature of things indispensable to any kind of performance, lyrical not less than dramatic, in Hellenic as well as Roman theatres. I am disposed to think that the earliest of these — like the theatres themselves for a considerable time — were constructed of wood with painted panels or other decorations. It is remarkable how rarely even substructions of scenes are met with in pure Hellenic theatres, and then they are low ; in Roman they are common. 92 AN EXCURSION nest in size to tlie two first of Greece, Athens and MegaIoj)olis. The form is not particularly grace- ful, far behind the inimitable curve of the famous Ejwdaurian, which in one particular, however, it resembles, — that of being excavated from, not sur- mounted by, a rock or hill. But the attractions of the Spartan theatre are other than those attached to architectural beauty. It is, like the Dionysion, the centre point of much of the great intellectual and political movements of the state, the sacrarium of her robust muse, the sanctuary of her institu- tions, the framework of some of the salient and characteristic events of her history. Here, be it remembered, assembled Sparta first received the news of the fatal battle of Sellasia, — the turning point in her destinies, — and received it in a man- ner that the Poet would, in the fitness of things, have a priori invented for a Spartan. All listened, none rose, none spoke : the performance was con- tinued to the end, and in silence. There was as much in this, as in the winning of a battle. Sparta was not so much conquered, as unfortunate. An Athenian audience, even an English one, would have felt the blow otherwise. The only counter- part, is the Roman senate awaiting Pyrrhus. But that haj)iiened in Rome ; Hellenic history contains no parallel to it. It is very probable that the situation alone of this theatre, within the boundary of the Ptoman as well as of the Lacedcemonian Sparta, would have led to its reconstruction ; but there can be no doubt that at all times a theatre was at Sparta scarcely a less object of concern than at Athens. Too exten- sive and stringent an operation is assumed for the IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 93 law of Lycurgus. We have only to look to tlie exem- plification in tlie Doric colonies, where the feeling and habit of the mother country would of course be seen reflected. None of these were without their theatres, and few without a strong enjoyment of dramatic composition, principally too during the later chapters of their history. But this idea of the Lycurgan law is based not so much on any prohibition to be found in it as on the belief that Sparta generally was an enemy to every species of intellectual pre-eminence and art. Her well- grounded hostility to the phUosophism and rhetoric of the sister republic declared itself boldly : but such hostility was not peculiar to Spartan states- men or institutions. Rome more than once had to expel her " mathematics," as well as her " Baccha- nals ;" and even Attica,* for peace or security, was driven to adopt similar measures. But apart from these, which may be almost called sumptuary laws in literature and art, Sparta showed nothing of that unwise barbarism which is ascribed to her. She worshipped the Muses, as she did Apollo and Aphrodite, in a manner different from the rest of the Greeks. Her conceptions of art, as of religion, were not Ionic but Doric. Her predilection for the lyric, and the most impressive part of the lyric, — the military, — was sustained in a manner as pre- eminently national as was ever her strategy. In this department she became in later times a wonder, as well as a model to Greece. Alcman, Tyrtseus, and Terpander, were objects of reverence even to the most opposite schools and generations. The " Doric mood " included a much wider range * Atbeii. XV. 94 AN EXCURSION tlian mere military preparation. It penetrated the whole Spartan life : it was the expression of all that belonged to the individual or to the state. In its development it required and produced the greatest masters : as in music, so in dancing, only another idiom in form and motion, of which music was the counterpart in sound. The same Spartan- ism was seen, honoured, and sustained throiighout : and as a natural result, the exercise of war hut caused a large advance in both. No Spartan was considered complete in discipline who did not excel in music and dancing equally as in war. It was the Homeric practice, and the old tradition ; and in its balanced perfection supplied the nearest approach to the heroic type. The enthusiasm of Athens for her music and poetry, was compara- tively feeble; it was intellectual, — whilst that of Sparta was moral. The Spartans gained in depth what they lost in extension. The same may be said of the two cognate arts. All their archi- tecture and sculpture was almost archaic in its solemnity and severity. Symbolism and tradition held their sway to the latest. They took no pains to expel or rescind Phoenician or other elements, no more than we English do our Norman laws. The results were similar ; 400 years of conservatism kept them the same in the midst of all changes, " armed," says the Athenian historian Thucydides, " steady, and strong." Such a people could not continue, with such wants and such attachments, without the means and places for the gratification of these feelings ; and therefore a theatre at Sparta, instead of being abnormal or of recent date, will appear to those who read her history aright as ^-~:^^^' ;^/,f^^-^ <^>''- 'f >*^ (' ^f^-iV'^^^i&^S^^.Mi:- #Eu> -=^fc^,^ P A N •"MA OF SPARTA '^'-'M THE THEATRE IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 95 inevitable an accompaniment of lier institutions, as the Dromes or the Platanistas itself. And certainly, no site could have been more appropriately chosen. So at least thought we, while, seated on the rude relics, the only rough remembrance of her fortunes, we allowed our eyes and imagination free scope over the wonderful scene which now opened before us, and of which an artist's outline can give but an inadequate idea. Not one spectator in these seats, which our fancy restored, but had this great picture before him during the manly national dances, or religious hymns, with which he proudly associated supe- riority to all other Greeks ; and, need it be added, to all things human. Over this plain and on those mountains they beheld their happiness and security, their duties and their destiny. I doubt whether the view from the Theatre of Bacchus, and which must have run like a trumpet accompaniment through the performance of the Persse, should be preferred to it. All travellers have passed, worthy the name, over this genius loci; but the day has its moods as well as the country, and I can bear, personally, different testimonies, according as season and hour differed. Mure sees in the first view, the golden vale predominant, walled in by its Alpine defences, and, wondering at such a framework to such a locality and for such a history, builds up a theory as questionable as that which he attacks. Buchon is not less ardent, in his mediaeval way, and Leake not quite without a vibration. But as we now beheld it, there was a solution for all theories. It is difficult to see more abundance with less imiformity. All kinds of luxuriance in full pro- 96 AN EXCURSION duce, — the sharp green mulberry, the tender vine, the valonea in sturdy masses, oranges, and lemons, — embosoming bright tiled houses, corn, like a very sea below us, and through the whole, clumps of cypresses, marking two realms departed for ever — old Greece and aged Turkey — and breaking up the monotony, both pictorial and historic. Sparta the new, in the midst of this, was hardly discoverable, except as a string of pleasant places, with here and there a twinkling of the Eurotas, to indicate the sources of profusion. Life and work, and reward, are seen now in all this ; but it is a faint reflection of its ancient renown, or ancient proprietors. Here is found whatever the most industrious, or the most luxurious could desire. And to complete the picture, Taygetus rises beyond, the great mountain guardian of all, its upright wall rising from the plain, its ridgy defiles, its outstanding spurs, each a base for a citadel, gloomy, grand, unchanging; all this has another influence, and, comprising the adjoining scenery of Menelaion, stretching off to Parnon, in its stern Tzakonian character, brings back the temper to a more Doric mood, and braces up to manly thought what would else dissolve under gentler influences. I saw in it such a landscape as nature chooses when she makes Tells and raises at the same time, in the same spirits, the strongest attachment to soil, with the firmest neiwes and resolves to defend it. My first impression on seeing Sparta and its plain, years ago — it was then indeed far more solitary — came just to this: a grander, gloomier, sterner, richer scene could not be found, exactly the ground whicli my imagination would IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 97 have chosen for that remarkable element of Hellen- ism, the Spartan. The situation of Sparta, Uke its institutions, is peculiar. It resembles that of no other ancient city, whether of Greece or of the South or East. The comparatively modern foundation of Mega- lopolis bore some resemblance ; but there were causes and circumstances connecting the ingre- dients of the Arcadian capital, which did not act in the case of Sparta. It entirely rests on its own principle, and altogether departs from the usual model. The type-city* plan is nowhere per- * The Phoenician settlers generally preferred islands, for reasons easily comprehensible, as we have already noticed. They were navi- gators and traders, but strangers. Subsequently they ventured to the mainland, but seldom far inward. Most other founders, in Greece at least, leaning at first on the sea for their subsistence, kept near to it ; but being fearful of attack, located themselves at suflScienfc distance to insure protection from surprise. All early towns of this kind are found on heights, for the most part isolated, and defended naturally. In progress of civilization, closer proximity is required, and we have the long walls, the o-ce'Xj) of Megara, Athens, and Corinth. An akropolis becomes the city-type, even in the most considerable communities on the seashore ; in the interior mountainous districts it is a matter of course, often even with the sacrifice of water. By degrees the Akropolis spreads beyond its limits, and overflows into the Agora. The necessity of larger popu- lation is felt, and smaller communities and villages, as they are conquered, are amalgamated. An ancient Greek town, physically, represents its history. The archaic origin, the nobility and divinity of the race, is found on the Akropolis ; the activity of political, social, burgher life in the Agora and its adjacencies ; the country industry, the trader, the skilled races, in the suburbs, or within the long walls and outposts. The same phenomenon exists in Italy, where the town is the daughter of a municipium, a reflec- tion of the old Roman republicanism. San Marino to this day is an illustration : — a conical hill spreading into country and plain beyond, with its church, palace, and patricians above ; its VOL. I. O 98 AN EXCURSION ceptiblc. It lies on a range of low liills, at a distance from the sea : but whether by accident or choice, no position could have more accorded with Spartan institutions or habits, or more tended to form them. Such a city could not have required walls ; and a city without walls must, in the long run, have required a martial people. It may be doubted, however, how far the vaunt of ancient writers on this head is to be taken as an exclusive merit of the Spartans, or whether there was not as much material security, independently even of their mili- tary superiority, in the apparently undefended and unwalled capital, as in the long walls of Athens or Megara, the Akropolis of Corinth, or the far- famed fortifications of Messene : av^pcov yap ovrmv spxog so-t' aa-ipaT^is, was the sentiment of an Athe- nian, though put in the mouth of a Persian, at a time too when Athens possessed no walls ; and piazza d'Arengo, shops, and burghers midway ; its " popolo " and " contadiui " stretching into field and vineyard, — a visible type of a mixed citizen constitution. Feudalism presented a counterpart to this formation. The lord and his castle was liere the type of origin, antiquity, and authority, — sometimes the convent, a lord spiritual, and the village or the people below, who had fled for protection under his wing. Exceptions to this, are the great Asiatic and Egyptian cities. But religion in one, despotism in the other, built them up abruptly, and they so remained until both departed from the race. The case of Sparta does not come under any of these categories. The only analogous instance, in itself an exception, was that of seven-hilled Rome. M^ere the Sabine range brought a little nearer, and the Tiber reduced to the Eurotas, the resemblance would be more perfect. Janiculum might stand for Menelaion, as Menelaion now gives a faint semblance of the Janiculum. But it is as little of the soil as Sparta; the " pendentibus oppida saxis " of Virgil is the rule. All Etruscan cities of note go furthei-, and cut, as at Orvieto and Volterra, the rock itself into a high platform fortress. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 99 doubtless it expressed the thorougli stout-hearted conviction of early Sparta. But it must not, there- fore, be supposed that military precaution was dis- carded. Few places had better defences. Those who look on the low Sparta alone wUl see no ram- part, perhaps, except the breasts and arms of men. But material supports were not Avanting for this high moral feeling to rest on. All cities were at first so placed. Themistokles built the first walls of Athens. The Akropolis even was so defenceless as to provoke a discvission whether the oracle did not mean that it should be palisaded. In a condi- tion similar to Sparta, it might have thus continued, had there been no Persian war, and no fear of a Peloponnesian one. The sea exposed Athens to attack from Marathon on the one side, and from the Peiraeus on the other. The jealousy evinced by Sparta of the walls of Themistokles, was not so much caused by what Athens had done, as by what she herself could not do. Her population was too sparse, and her means too scanty, distant as she lay from the sea, and her only port difiicult of access, to attempt anything similar. Moreover, Taygetus being impenetrable on the land side, towards Sparta, she had no solicitude save on her western and northern frontier ; and those fron- tiers she soon removed as far away as possible. Her earliest attacks and conquests were undertaken with this object. She made war on the Kynou- rians, towards the frontiers of Argolis ; and, on false pretences and at some risk, conquered Mes- sene, itself on the frontier of Messenia, considering both territories necessary for her safety. Even in later times, she watched that line with the utmost 100 AN EXCURSION jealousy. Hence her boundary fortress of Ion, and the privileges and favours conferred on the separate sacred corps of the inhabitants of Skirls, or of the tribe of the Skirites. This, with the nature of the country from Parnon on the north, was in itself a siu-er rampart than any wall or ditch. AVhile appear- ing to disdain defences, Sparta had thus in reality stronger barriers than any other Greek city ; and such was the traditional bond fide conviction not only of every Simrtan, but also of every Greek, from Thucydides down to Xenophon. In the time of Epaminondas even the victorious Thebans dreaded a campaign in the Lakonian territory. AixrsltrSoT^og 7roXsju,(o] Aaxcovixri s'kiyeTO slvai.f Hence is explained, on one hand, the astonishment of the Spartans at seeing the smoke of an enemy's camp for the first time before their city, and the rapid retreat of Epaminondas on the other hand. The only semblance of a " surprise " was the attempt of Aristomenes ; but that would have been rather an exploit than otherwise, had he suc- ceeded. The city itself, at an early period, must have had in the Eurotas a tolerable ditch, and, at its rear, the population of the 100 7roX»';^i/«a of Lakedaemon and of Taygetus. After all, it is a mere contest of terms. Whoever considers Paris and London, the one with, the other without walls, will be able to solve the enigma, which is solely one of imagination. The site on which the three cities of former times — and their modern successor — were disposed * As cited by Strabo, viii. 366. t Xenop. Udlen. 6, c. 5, s. 24 ; Diodorus Siculus, 15, c. 63. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 101 is a series of disjointed eminences of no great and of nearly equal height, to a certain degree running parallel, west and east, along the hanks of the Eurotas, though at various distances. Towards the north they seem connected with an outlying con- tinuation of Taygetus, and appear of the same nature as the many heights which, like Agia Kyriaki, mark the plain beneath. These are the last points of the Taygetan spurs, and in the end become so numerous as to form the high land of the Bardunian territory, which shuts out the sea, and which we traversed on our way from Gythium. But those of Sparta, though they may all originate in the same cause, are, more distinctly, very recent formations. Composed of the accumulated detritus of the great mountain, and carried down, for a long succession of countless postdiluvian ages, by its winter torrents, they combined with the deposits of the unconfined stream of the Eurotas, much fuller and stronger in early times than now. The vertical character of the banks opposite, so like the northern bank of the Alpheus, shows the work- ing of a powerful river. It is probable tliat the hiUs now broken, may, in their primeval state, have been continuous, and the space between them and the opposite range, thus constituted the bed of the Eurotas, which spread and stagnated around. This agrees with geological appearances, and with ancient testimony. The entire plain of Sparta, especially the site of the city, is a conglomerate covered with rich soil, created no doubt by the causes mentioned. The portion near the river is an alluvium, filled with pebbles of every size, just as Lei ex, or the Autocli- 102 AN EXCURSION tlioDS, tlie first settlers, found it. Though placing no implicit faith in Euemerism, or its symbolism, I find it impossible not to see, in the primordia c'witatis, as given by Pausanias, the allegorized progress of this tract or its reclamation. The Lacedsemonian tradition relates that on the death of Myles, in whom ended the Lelegian or Autochthonic line, the son of Eurotas assumed the government, and conducting the water then stag- nant by a canal to the j)lain, gave to the remaining part, which then formed the stream of a river, the name of Eurotas. This name, derived from eugoHoj, designates the first operation, analogous to so many others in Greece, — draining the land, confining the M'aters to a regular bed, and rendering the cleared ground fit for ciUtivation. The tradition continues. No male descendant of Eurotas remaining, he mar- ries his daughter Sparta to Lakedtemon, the son of Taygete, by Jupiter. Sjiarta, from (nrei^ui, to sow, is the natural offspring of Eurotas, as culture is of judicious drainage and irrigation. Lakedsemon, the father of the Lacedaemonians, derives fitly from Taygetus ; the mountaineer descends into the plain as soon as it becomes susceptible of culture. As no higher mountain can be found, so no higher the origin of man, — thus extravagantly spoke the ancients, even to a late time, of the height of Taygetus. The line here, as in all other similar Ilellenic genealogies, ends in Jupiter. Successive small towns, or villages, offshoots from the first Lacedsemonian root, soon sj)read around, and nothing but ordinary statistics are seen in the sending out of Amyklas, jSouXs^svop uTroAsiVso-^aj ts >ioi.) fx'jTos St,' jxvriixyjv, to found Amyklaj, followed, on IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 103 similar missions, by Kynortas, (Ebalos, and others. Consequently, the first foundations of Sparta are no more than an as-o-reo-ate federation of mountain xaAo/3/a descending into the plain, gradually be- coming stationary, and increasing by an accession of new associates. Such appears to have been, in one shape or other, the uniform origin of all Hellenic cities ; in some cases, as in Attica, the collection of all these scattered rural communities into a capital, as yet no more than an akropolis ; in others, as at Patras, the free union of different races, or different cities, in one. Sparta, so called by Lakedoemon, in memory of his wife, was the principal of these villages and burgs ; and in this case, as in others, the central spot to seek for would be the Akropolis. The other villages would gradually be founded, on lower and similar eminences around. Common sanctuaries, common points of sacrifice, of games, and of assembly, would gradually arise between them; the intermediate portions would ultimately be filled by the increasing population, and the whole accu- mulation would form the city. This appears to have been precisely what occurred at Sparta. On examining the ground, we found the space behind the Theatre to be a great irregular platform of considerable height ; but, behind it, to the north, rose another still higher, connected with what has been noticed as an offshoot from the roots of Taygetus. Tliis northernmost eminence was pro- bably the Akropolis, and it is here I look for the first rudiments of the mountain-descended city of Sparta. No remains are discoverable on its present surface (though it is hard to say what excavations 104 AN EXCURSION may yet turn up), beyond some square Hellenio blocks. It is separated from the platform on which we stood ; and between both lies another hill, also divided from, but closer to, the Eurotas. To this eminence is opposed another, and the ravine between conducts to the Eurotas, to which this latter hill is the nearest. It forms a promontory, with a deep curve on either side : all between is low land, as far as the river. Below the platform of the Theatre, the ground shows a smooth surface, except where rise two eminences, on which the first houses of the present town stand ; but this part itself constitutes a table-land above the ground adjoining the Eurotas. The whole of this space, covered at first by detached hamlets, was succes- sively embraced in the city, — Sparta.* The local tradition above mentioned assigns all this district, down to Amyklae (founded by one of the Lelegian dynasty), and indeed as far as Pherse, to the first settlers, or — what is equivalent in their language — to the Autochthons, an agricultural people, engaged in the simple tilling of the earth, and who discovered, in the rich soil and plentiful water of the plain, sufficient to attract and reward their labour. Dwelling apart from the arts, com- merce, and corruptions of sea-placed nations, they were more or less Arcadian in their virtues and rudeness, and indisposed to quit their native * See the more than Spartan devotion of the Amyklseans to the Doric deity Apollo, and its recognition by the Spartans, in the remarkable case of the return, for the Hyakinthia, from the army of Agesilaos, near Sikyon, resulting in the destruction of the whole fiupa by the Iphikratian peltasts, described with more than his usual grand outline-sketching by Xenophon {Hell. b. iv. c. V. 11). IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 105 villages, or to allow tliem to be absorbed into one city. Amyklae, detacbed and prominent, appears to bave been tbe strongest place of tbis small con- federacy, and to bave bad tbe best claim to tbe name and advantages of an akropolis. Wben attacked, it was tbe first to resist, and tbe longest in standing out. It appears, too, to bave been tbe earliest seat, and most important sanctuary of tbeir special rite, tbe worsbip of Apollo ; not indeed tbat tbe sanctuary was placed upon tbe Akropolis of tbe village itself, but in some position wbere it migbt be considered equally accessible, and tbe common property of all around. Tbe jealousy of tbe early races in tbis particular requires no proof.* It flowed naturally from tbe peculiar qualities at- tacbed to possession, extending even to tbe sen- sible objects of rite and worsbip. Amyklae was * The perseverance with which the Ionic race, who had been obliged to cede to the incursion of the Achseans, and yield to them the possession of Helike, prayed even for a copy of their old altar to Poseidon, and the suspicious obstinacy with which they were refused by the Helikans, is characteristic, but not more so than the public opinion, as expressed afterwards, in attributing the catastrophe which befell that city to the wrath of Poseidon at this monopolizing and exclusive spiritof the newcomers. — (Pa,us. Sparta.) The description of Pausanias, showing at each step new acces- sions to their Olympus, is enough to prove how readily they received all traditions and nationalities. Abaris from Thrace, Kadmus from Phoenicia, Karmes from Akarnania, Serapis from Egypt, to say nothing of the cognate family legends and the earlier mythology of the former settlers they succeeded, are all evidences of this system. There was some reason for the remark of the pious traveller, that no parts of Greece were more superstitious, or regardful of supernatural influences, interventions, and signs, than Sparta and Athens. — (Lak. 1. iii. c. 5.) See the robberies of the Palladian statue of Diana. VOL. T. P 106 AN EXCURSION an ampliictyonic sanctuary in the religious sense of the word. This has not heen sufficiently kept in view by travellers, who confound Amyklse with the Amy- klseum, and are perplexed by the relative merits of contending sites. Whether coming from north or south, however, there is no eminence which so well answers the character of an akropolis, or corres- ponds with the historic strength of Amyklae, as the little hill of 'Ayia Ku§(axvj. The road from Gythium twines close to its northern base. The ascent is tolerably steep, though not rocky or rugged, and it ranks as one of the second class of eminences, of the same geological construction as those we met at Sparta. On its highest point stands the small church dedicated to St. Kyriaki, or St. Sunday;* and below, amongst the cypresses, a few houses, which might he construed into a rural village. A little beyond, to the south, almost buried in its rich foliage of fig, mulberry, and olive, is the hamlet of Slavo- chori ; t but, though a little raised above the plain, * This is not in Greek ecclesiology an abstract designation con- verted afterwards into the personality of a saint, but was the true name of a young martyr in the first century of Christianity. Her picture is to be found, though rarely, in Greek churches, as well as St. Paraskeve, or St. Friday, as also in the Martyrologies. A small church near Athens has the latter as a martyr, with the usual emblems. In a similar country chapel on Mount Pentelicus, I have seen a painting of St. Kyriaki with a royal crown, and the pallium clasped in front, as an empress. These names ought no more to surprise us, than St. Veronica, or St. Dominic, veritable personages called after things. t Slavochori, as the name signifies, was a settlement of the invading Slaves, probably their temporary Sparta, though I should suspect it of much earlier importance ; it was, not improbably, the point to which Sparta shrunk on this side, as on the other to the IN TUE PELOPONNESUS. 107 it lies considerably lower than the hill of 'Ayla Kygiaxij. Slavochori has usually been pointed out as the site of Amyklae ; and the distance from Sparta agreeing (1 h. 30 ni., or 4^ miles) with that of Agia Kyriaki, and the place being covered with fragments of marble and pottery, to say nothing of its several ruined Byzantine churches, so often designating ancient temple sites in modern Greek towns, the prepossessions in favour of its claim have been rather general. It is not to be denied, that these constitute some title ; but they belong more to a religious sanctuary than to a military one, and would point it out rather as the site of the Amyklseum than of Amyklae. From Sparta the line is in a sovith-westerly direction over a perfect flat, and would admit without difficulty the road village of Magoula, a collection of houses (the name is not un- common in Greece), during the Byzantine empire. Tn these later periods the Roman town broke up again into its original form of separate agricultural villages, in which state they have remained ever since, and are likely so to continue for some time longer. Agia Kyi'iaki, and Slavochori, both form part of the Demos of Sparta, under the title of x«(«'a 'A/ivKXloy, restoring the old name, but forbearing to attach it, to suit our usual reserve — pendente lite, I suppose — to either locality, Slavochori contains 49 families and 246 inhabitants, more than half the number of Sparta itself. There is another village, Socha (Soxn)> about half an hour to the S.W., nearly as populous, — 41 families and 22.5 inhabitants by the census of 18-51. The list of other villages and smaller groups of houses in the neighboui-hood, and forming part of the xiiipia, as well as nearer to Sparta, avvoiKtlai, or suburbs, are Machmout Bey, E.iza (hamlets), Georgi-Mandra, Katsouron, in the yjjjpia ; Chalou- lon, Chadanaki, Chatepi, Psycbiko, adjoining Sparta. This shows how entirely they have reverted to the scattered existence in which the inhabitants probably were found at the arrival of the Dorians, and which seems ia some sort a direct consequence of their inland agricultural position. 108 AN EXCURSION or avenue which led to the Temple of Apollo, and which was a sort of Upa o^og, or " Sacred Way " — to the Spartans. The Apollo worship is the characteristic of the early, or rather, Achaean race, and here was perhaps the first remarkable seat of its power. It appears to have been marked by all the peculiarities of archaic worship, struggling from symbolism into representation, and substituting, at least partially, form for type. The statue, if so it can be called, of Apollo, was a colossal pillar, ■ndth intimations of hands, feet, and head, a combination of East and West,* the fii'st meeting of the Eastern and the * The whole of Greece abounds, in the description of Pawsanias, with these archaic statues, — the hands and feet sometimes of Pentelic marble, sometimes of Parian, sometimes of gold, the origin on one side of the Chryselephantine, on the other of the Hermes statue. Venus was long worshipped as a single cone, and the Dioskuri as two parallel pieces of wood crossed by a thii-d. Hence the symbol, in antiquity, of the twins. The brass pillar is more special, and proves Eastern descent. Sparta, in the description of Pausanias, abounds with bronze statues (the Spartans were always famous for the casting of statues) ; we do not, however, find those of hammered metal (sphyrelata), so common in other parts of Greece, though it is doubtful whether this mode of working was not practised also on a large scale. Compare the description of the bas-i'eliefs of the Athena Chal- kioikos in the Akropolis, with the evidences of plate decoration stUl existing in the treasury of Atreus, the myth of Danae, and the Phcenician ornamentation of Solomon's temple. A vase in the Berlin gallery, and in Gerhard's illustrations, puts the reader in possession of the means by which this art was accomplished in the case of statues. The Amyklsean statue appears to have been a simple shaft ; the contrast to the hands and arms was probably obviated by the chiton — ^/rw)' — which the Spartan women wove annually in the building called xitwv, set ajjart for the pui'pose in the city, — a relic, no doubt, as the TriirXog of Athens, of Oiien- talism. See the Homeric reference to it at Troy. The chiton was IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 109 Hellenic. In this particular, Apollo was served as the other gods, stocks and stones, literally for a long period, until Greek mythology, taking a lower metaphysical grade, agreed to express the divine in the shape and elements of man, and passed from the higher degree of traditional belief, the abstract essence, to the mortal gods, their human agencies. The association, too, with the tomb of Hyakinthus below the pillar — is a remarkable step in the same human direction ; and the sculptures on the sides of the monument furnish one of the most interesting developments, irrespective of their im- portant artistic data. Few other illustrations, the coffer of Kypselus excepted, show so clearly the rapid progress of this tendency. The Apollo wor- ship all along the coasts had to retreat, or effect a compromise with the Poseidonian, as the race itself had to yield to the Dorian, who also drove before them the Ionic. Tsenarus, which formerly was the exclusive riixsvog of Apollo, when the Achaean race probably extended to the whole coast, was made over to the new-comer Poseidon, in exchange for Delphi. A similar transfer was concluded of Calauria; island or seacoast always suiting the taste of the rough divinity, and consonant with not a loose robe, but a close-fitting garment, exactly the original of those perpendicular figures, men and women, which we see in the archaic vases. The art of casting metals came, no doubt, to Sparta directly through the Phoenician colonies, or indirectly through the Telchiues from the East. They were equally celebrated in ii'on ; but this they appear to have obtained from Samos. Theodoros the Saraian, who built the ZkUic at Sparta, is described by Pausanias as the first who discovered the art of casting iron statues. There was a celebrated one later of Epaminondas at Messene; these do not seem to have been much used in Upper Greece. — (Lak. 12.) 110 AN EXCUKSION his characteristics. Poseidon is the Earth-shaker.* The sea may well be said to have something to do * Earth-shaker {kvoaixO(^t\ ■yau'ioxos)- The great earthquakes were universally ascribed to the action of Poseidon, generally as marks of his wrath, for some sacrilegious violation of his own worship. Physical circumstances confirmed this conviction of his intervention. The Peloponnesus generally, but no part more so than Lakonia and Achaia, was afflicted by these visitations. la most cases they were directly connected with some natural cause, but the most remarkable was the refusal of Helike which his- tory says provoked the god to its destruction. The inhabitants opposed the restoration and extension of his worship, and in one night they disappeared in the sea. In like manner Brysae, a neighbour, who had jjarticijiated in the refusal, was levelled to the earth. This was equally the case in Lakonia. The great earth- quake which left Sparta a heap of ruins was the consequence of the jxijvifxa of the god for the violation of his sanctuary at Tsenarus by the seizure and punishment of the Helot suppliants who fled there for safety, and it was apiiropi'iately followed up afterwards by their revolt. This is a belief not more unnatural than the influence of Artemis and Pan in the woody and caverned wilds, or of Zeus, in the rain and thunder on the hills and moun- tains, of Greece. All along the AchiBan shore I met instances of houses split and in ruins, and the inhabitants could never rightly tell me whether it had been caused by sea or earthquake, or both. An ancient would have solved it at once, — " Poseidon the earth-shaker had been there." The trident suddenly striking forth springs of water, is equally a theologico-physical result. Generally these brackish wells, so often met with on the shores of Greece, are ascribed, and not unfittingly, to earthquakes. " Poseidon has opened them, as on the Akropolis at Athens, and they taste still of his element as well as of his power." His claim to "Hippios" is not quite so general and clear. It is to be observed, however, as occurring most usually in districts such as the isthmus of Corinth, . — flat low lands, beachy bays, sandy lines of shore, than which no better hippodrome could be desired. In such locality the sea-god might be invoked, it was supposed, not without success. A horse- course under his protection at the isthmus was not considered inappropriate, nor his title of " Hippios " ill applied. See a curious interposition of lloancun', Lac. Ylortilav, in Xenophou, Hell. 1. iii. c. iii. 2. A specimen too of good Lakonism. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. Ill with, earthquakes, after the catastrophe of Helike, not single in its disaster. The Spartan people was a conglomerate of races, as well as of villages, and not more averse than other sections of the same people to accept the gods of the territory they had conquered, like the territory itself, into their alliance. In this respect they were anti-Semitic, though it may be doubted whether the Jewish people, if left to themselves, would not have ended in granting citizenship to all the adjacent idola- ters. The Dorians brought with them their own patrons and protectors, but they were not sorry to take into their aid the old guardians, as also to subject to their service the old inhabitants. This will explain why such a race should have had, as their pre-eminent divinity, the Achsean Apollo — " captus cepit," and that they should have mourned not less for Hyakinthus than for Hercules, in their annual solemnities. Another race and other civilization intersects these two types, and is in like manner accepted, and intercalated into the concrete of Spartan traditions. The reader of Homer will see in the older Sparta but one Sparta, that of Menelaus, Helen, the Dioskuri, — the rich semi-oriental Sparta of the Odyssey. I read that 4th Book this day with fi'csh delight, but with some astonishment, on the site itself, wondering how such luxury as the restored Helen and her court displayed could cohere with the village simplicity of her people camped or hutted around. The present incipient town, or rather its predecessor, the grouped villages of Magoula, might not inaptly represent her immediate subjects. 112 AN EXCTJRSION The name " Menelaion," applied once more to tlie upright steep range of bank and hill on the oppo- site side of the Eurotas, recalls them. Here was situated that village or fortress of Thcrapne, which is so intimately interwoven with all their history. Here was the residence and tomb of Menelaus, the seat of his rule, and the possessor of his memories. Therapne is fitly identified with one of those bluflF points, which project into the stream just above Amyklge on the north shore. It is in itself a for- tress ; just such as a Pelopid would choose, amidst a heterogeneous people. Recent researches have detected enough to confirm largely the presump- tion ; but it is to be regretted they have not been pushed further. A considerable portion of what may be looked on as the substruction of a temple has been discovered, and pottery and fragments were found below in suflScient abundance to justify the belief in an ancient city. Whether the anti- quity be such as the Homeric settlement required, may be doubted; but it is likely, even if these remains be more modern, that this was at all times looked on as an old site. The history was too intimately interwoven with Spartan tradition, — the most brilliant it possessed, — ever to have been neglected. Taking then the scattered hills immediately around us for the primeval Achsean Sparta, Amy- klse for its strongest point, and Therapne for the residence of the Pelopid or Homeric Sparta, the ground is clear and suitable for the arrival of the Heraclids or Dorians. They have nothing to do but to set up their dominion on the necks of those who choose to stay, and urge to flight or emigra- tion all who refuse it, not destroying any element IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 113 social political or religious already tliere, but ab- sorbing all, allowing all, and causing the entire substratum to adopt Crete-imported, so called Lycurgan institutions, for their future. Sparta, as it then rose and for a long time con- tinued, has two aspects ; it is a great military depot, and an independent loosely connected fra- ternity of gentlemen-farmers. The cultivator was the Lacedaemonian Perioekos, or Helot slave. The Spartan had no more to do with these manual labours, than, in later times, the Venetian gentle- man — like him, a descendant of the first planters — with the vulgar duties of the shopkeeper. He had the great obligation of constituting, continuing, and defending a state. Whether such a state was worth preserving, at all events at such a price, is a question, but still one which may have been asked with equal justice of many other institutions, besides that of Sparta. A more material point is, whether means were taken, fitted to preserve it, and this again depends on their free and unimpeded action. Both being points hardly attainable either in Sparta or at Rhodes, dissolution becomes an inevitable law, to which, sooner or later, — the time to be decided as much by external as by internal circumstances, — they like all such artificial and self-contained constitutions must submit. Sparta trusted to her Lycurgan and Taygetau barriers for seclusion from foreign contact ; but the irruption must ultimately take place, and the first silent inroad, scarcely per- ceptible in itself, is necessarily followed by others. It was not the battle of Sellasia which destroyed the life of Sparta : it had been undermined by a continuallj^ increasing malady, the earliest symp- VOL. I. Q 114 AN EXCURSION torn of which may probably be traced iip to the period of her glory itself. But, whilst still in the comparative enjoyment of vigour, it is remarkable with what force she im- printed herself on all things and men upon which she could act. Her conquests had a fanaticism of oligarchy about them, which recalls almost the blind courage and perseverance of religion. She everywhere planted her Harmosts, and under their shadow, not a little Sparta, but a subject Helos or Lakonia. Her institutions were not to be shared, but felt. At home, — laws, religion, policy, society, the very outward form of her city itself, preserved the peculiar spirit or principle of their origin. It is in this sense, as the mould which once held her, that even these " disjecta membra" of the former Spartan city become interesting.* On the arrival of the Dorian immigration, the city probably differed in little from what it now is. The new comers began with Amyklse, and with the Akropolis and Agora, as was the case indeed in all cities ; and from these two points all inquiry will naturally proceed. Pausanias does not particularize any one hill as the Akropolis, but only characterizes it generally as the highest point, — a point, therefore, difficult to decide, where all are very nearly of the same height. His text would almost imply, except for the build- ings afterwards described, that the Spartans of his day were not quite certain as to its site or * See a remarkable passage in Xenopbon {Hell. 1. v. c. ii. 7) on the tendencies of the life tcurh kujjmq and its aristocratic iniiueuces, in contradiction to democratic. He was himself an eminent instance. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 115 designation. The Lacedsemonians liad no akropolis rising higli enough to be seen all round ; but, the city possessing other hills, Xo'^jojv xa< oKKiov, the highest part amongst them, to fxaT^KTra sg [xsriiopov avrixov, they called the " ^\i;ropolis." * The most notable eminence, not a separate hill, on the gene- ral platform was what they considered as their akropolis ; though, being perhaps at first unfor- tified, it did not answer the character of an akro- polis such as was usual in other parts of Greece. This would agree, as regards height, with any of the eminences behind the Theatre; but, in fixing the site it will be also necessary to provide sufficient space for the buildings of which Pau- sanias gives the catalogue. Below the Akropolis was the Agora. No sj)ace sufficiently large for our purpose exists to the rear of the Theatre except the platform itself ; but this, as already noticed, breaks into two. Leake takes the smaller of those laying westward to be the Akropolis, the greater one — that namely from which the Theatre was excavated, — for the Agora. His reasoning, how- ever, is not conclusive.! It is possible that the * Paus. Lak iii. 17, 1. t " Pausanias says it was the highest of the hills of Sparta. This is rather a doubtful description, as there is little or no appa- rent difference between the height of the great hill, and of that at the northern extremity of the site. Upon further examination, however, it is seen that the only part of the great hill equal in height to the other is the back of the Theatre, which could not have been the Acropolis. There is some reason to think, also, that the natui-al height of this hill has been increased by the Theatre itself and its ruin.s, which, moreover, being sepai'ated from the rest, and at one angle of the site, was better adapted for an acropolis than 116 AN EXCURSION hill of the Theatre may have risen by accumulation of ruins ; in some parts they evidently have been considerable, and the small half-detached hill to the west may have been more fitted for the kind of citadel usual in the smaller towns ; but it could not have contained half the niimerous edifices noticed by Pausanias, unless they were most diminutive in proportions and heaped one on another. It should also be observed, that the Spartans laid no particular stress on a citadel ; they were opposed to all fortification. Hence, it was not really an akropolis, but only what they called an akropolis. The position too, which Leake's theory renders necessary for the Agora (he places it on the hill of the Theatre), is not what any people, least of all an agricultural people, would choose. You have to ascend to it, and that by no easy route. Taking these considera- tions into view, and moreover, the fact that the so-called Agora appears to have been walled round, formerly by the Greeks, subsequently by the Byzan- tines, and that the Theatre is found here, which in general far more appropriately lies at the base of the Akropolis, — as at Athens, Argos, and Sicyon, I am more disposed to coincide with the arrange- ment of other writers, and, despite so high an authority, place the Akropolis on the platform behind the Theatre, or rather upon the open space to which the Spartans agreed to give that name. any other." — (Leake, Travels in the Morea, i. pp. 173, 174.) In his map this is strongly noted ; a small hill connects the two, with usual separations marking them. On the site of his aki-opolis he marks " ancient vestiges." In the rather intlistinct maps of Kiepert and Curtius they are massed together. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 117 CHAPTER IV. SPARTA CONTINUED. The buildings here noticed, are the oldest memo- rials of the city and state. They belong to all the races : but they are principally Dorian. The first of these, is the Athena Chalkioikos. This is usually considered a temple. The name is a just one, though not so in a recent sense. It was more truly an o'/xTj^a, a sacellum, a chapel. It dates from a time anterior to the Dorian, but seems to have been, during a series of after-periods, succes- sively enlarged and embellished in reference to tlie traditions of that race. Tyndareus, a Pelopid, is given by Pausanias as the founder ; the Twins, his sons, as having continued the work of their father. But the words of the text do not give a satisfac- tory description. The spoils from the plunder of Aphidnse, where the sons had gone in search of their sister Helen, may be presumed, not impro- perly, to have been rendered back to the presiding divinity of Attica, yet they apparently formed the foundation of its decorations. This will also explain the shape, size, and ornamentation of the building, diminutive and rich at the same time — possibly a small oblong edifice, covered with plates of brass, after the fashion of the Mycenae buildings, as they in turn were after the artistic traditions of 118 AN EXCUKSION the East. The after-repairs, — more justly attri- buted to Gitiades, a true Dorian,* than the erec- tion of temple and statue, — were probably on the strict model of the old edifice ; his own especial share being-, it would seem, the sculptures. These constituted, not improbably, little more than the work called " sgrafiiato " by the Italians, and which seems to have been the first attempt of bas-relief art, alike in Egypt, Greece, and Italy.f The subjects, happily preserved, are entirely illus- trative. They present a continuation or succession of the two traditions, Pelopid and Dorian, with * Pausanias seems also to imply " builder " (fipyao-aro), wlien taken with tte preceding sentence, — Aa/ctcai/iionoi ttoXXoic tVto-n' vffrtpov Tov T£ rao>' ofioiuiQ Kcii to ayaXfia k-KOLijaat'TO Adtjfcic i^ciXk.'oO)' {Lak lib. iii. xvii. 3); but this might simply mean, not that he built or made either wioe or iiyaXfia, but merely covered them with brass, — made them of brass, — fully explained by his bronze sculptures later. The idea is carelessly expressed, vaoe instead of lepov, Gitiades reminds one of the great early artists of Italy. He was a poet, as well as sculptor, and he carried the inspiration into both arts, — (.Troirjat ci kuI ^ir^iara Awpia 6 ViTtah]c, aWa re koi VI.IWV £f Ti'iv flfoi'. He worked also with success at Amyklas. Pausanias appears to have admired particularly, amongst other works, his Birth of Athena, Amphitrite, and Poseidon — a ci) fiiyirrra Koi ^loXiorfi, — though with a certain reserve, — iiv {ifioi SoKtlr) Stat,' aE,ia. He takes care to note that he was a native, — a)'>)p lTTi\i)pi(jc. — LahoniJia, 1. iii. c. xvii. + The earliest Egyptian bas-relief, if so it can be called, is simple linear scratching on a plain surface, the battles on the propyltea of Luxor, the temple-palace tomb of Osymandyas, so also the linear drawing on vases, between painting and sculpture. In modern times, the old gates of bronze of San Paolo fume le mura, from which the step to low relief, at first almost flat, was easy. This " sgraifiato" was raised by occasional silver. The later "sgrafiiato" of the Italian school, that in the cathedral of Sienna, was pure drawiuar. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 119 otliers wliicli refer to the Poseidonian and Athena worship, and some which touch on the mixed tra- ditions of Greece and Lvdia. The epithets — generally the resume of the local functions of the deity— ^applied here to the goddess describe the history and impressions of the Spartans. She is ^olT^xIoixos, a name of honour, given by a new race, in wonderment at the peculiar richness of her shrine ; she is .also Tro'kiov^og, keeper of the city or state (ttoXj^), — nisi Dominus custodierit civi- tatem, — evincing a feeling which here, as in all ancient cities, is predominant, and in a Christian sense has preserved its fullest vigour through the Middle Ages down to our own times.* They had already found her, like Apollo at Amyklae, in recog- nized possession of this patronage ; it was the foundation of the Pelojnds ; t and in adopting it they begged her to continue her protection to the new settlers. Nevertheless, hard by, she is again worshipped in a new character, — Athena Ergane, * For instance, SS. Peter and Paul, patrons of Rome, St. Petronius of Bologna, St. Anthony of Padua, and many othei's. The most remai'kable, perhaps, is St. Marinus. On his church, one reads " Santo Marino, auctori libertatis." + Belonging to Pelopid tradition were, besides many other feats, the carrjang off of the daughters of Leucippus by the Dioskuri, the sous of Tyndareus ; to the Dorian, many of the labours of Hercules, as well as others which he had himself volunteered ; to the Ionic, the birth of Athena ; to the Poseidonian, Poseidon and Amphi- trite ; and to Eastern or African, the nymphs giving Perseus his helmet or cap and sandals, which were to bear him through the air when about to proceed to attack Medusa. The delivery of Hera by her son Hephsestos is of ancient date, an archaic myth even in Homer, and might perhaps have come in with the Telchines and other workers in metal, who, as already mentioned, early settled in Lakonia. 120 AN EXCURSION for which Pausanias gives no explanation. It is curious to meet the patroness of all art, com- merce, and manufacture, invocated in the city of Sparta, unless, indeed, we consider the worship to be addressed to lier under the more genei'al title of Patroness of all industry, inckiding even agricul- tural. Near the Upov of Athena Chalkioikos, was thus placed the Upov of Athena Ergane. It is difficult to say whether Pausanias meant that the o'txTj^a. of Athena Chalkioikos was sur- rounded by a portico or stoa, so usual at all times in the East, or whether a stoa ran only along the south side.* In any case, it seems clear that at this southern stoa, or at this southern portion of the square-enclosing stoa, stood the Temple (vaog) of Zeus Kosmetes, evidently a later production. The title xotrjxrjTTjgf, — regulator, administrator, legislator, a term preserved in that sense to our own times, — would imply reference to the share attri- buted to Jupiter — or, in other words, to Crete, * See tlie o'lKq^m at Karnak, -witli its porticos or stose at four sides ; also the Temple of Herod, according to the description of Josephus, and the mosques at Cairo. Michael Angelo, whether with this antique i-eniinisoence or from his own inspiration, so intended to surround St. Peter's. The words of Pausanias are vague, eq ce r/)>' Trpos fiiiTrijj(3plac (TTokv ; and again more indistinctly, »'; ce irpog cvafiae i-^ii twv tTTowy (Lak. lib. iii. c. xvii. 4). Curtius, however, writes, "Die Erzka- pelle lag in einem ansehnlichen Tempelhofe, welcher von Saulen- hallen umgeben war und verschiedene Heiligthiimer einschloss." — (Peloponn. ii. p. 228.) This is probable ; but nothing of the kind occurs in Pausanias. + Ko(r/[i)/7»;c, — the shaper, adorner. In the present day the name is given in the University of Athens to the deans of faculty, in whom its legislation and administration ai-e chiefly vested. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 121 whence his worship came "odth the Lycurgan insti- tutions to Sparta — in the ordering of the new city. This carries us a step further, in the polity and history of the place, to the consecration of a fresh epoch or phase, by the enlarged worship of another divinity. Yet all these are linked together; for, even in front of this last-named sanctuary was the grave or tomb of Tyndarens. The Temple of Zeus is placed by Pausanias ad- jacent to the stoa, towards the south. Proceeding onwards, he locates the dvaOvjju,a of Lysander in the stoa to the west. This d.vaSri[j.a commemorated the two victories of Lysander, one over the pilot of Alcibiades, Antiochos, and the triremes at Ephe- sus, the other when he destroyed the Athenian fleet or maritime power — to vavrixov — at ^Egos Potamos. No separate or distinct building is men- tioned, but simply the dedication of two eagles and of two victories,* as ii7r6ij.vrj[jia, probably on the entablature of the stoa.f This would leave room for the placing of the other buildings in this quarter. Continuing the line, and keeping the Athena Chalkioikos as the central point, he notes another small building on the left of the olxruxa, ev ap((7T£pa Ss t% ^a\xKjlxa\i, and towards the north, according to Curtius. This was the Ufov of the Muses, here, as well as Aphrodite, warlike deities, * Or might it be a gloss in the text, opvSac iurovg re cuw kqI lo-ac ITT avTd'ii; viKac, — two pediments, and two victories upon them, of equal size. + This was in analogy with the hanging of shields and dedica- tion of tripods ; the first an Athenian, the last a Spartan passion. It is difficult now to make out the position of the x'Uai . tVi would seem to mean " upon ;" but '(i)jua itself, separated from the vaor, — as similar. " Das oiicrjixa ov ixiya o ijv tov Icpov, in das Pausanias fliichtete (Thuk. i. 134), halte ich filr das o-ici'/jw/ja (Paus. § 6), vergl. die KaXvftr] in Taiuaron, Thuk. c. 133."— (Curtius, Pel. ii. 313.) But the KaUftrf is merely a tent, and the word is used in that sense to the pre- sent day ; ra KoXiijiia are the sheds set up by shepherds and temporary agriculturists, quite synonymous with the old meaning of <7/cj;)'i) and ad^vwixa. It should also be observed that the betrayer erected a second KoKvftt} or compartment behind, where he placed the ephori, who listened to him without being perceived. This could not be possible unless the construction were a shed. Such sheds I have seen outside Christian churches to this day, as a protection from the sun, more necessary where no peristyle or portico existed, as would have been the case in older temples, then simply oitci'i/jaTa. I am disposed to believe the tTKi'ivw/xa in this instance to have been a shed, and afterwards a larger building. Pausanias must have gone further, othei-wise how esjjlain the history of the closing of the temple with stones ? It may, perhaps, have had a communication with the tepoi'. t These statues are strangely placed here, unless as a record of crime and execration, a " colonna infame " to the memory of the traitor. But the whole history of Pausanias is exceptional. These are mere expiatory statues, not denunciatoiy, erected by order of an oracle of Delphi. The crimes of Pausanias, his betrayal of his country, punished by his involuntary murder of the Byzantine Kleonike ; his remorse, not to be extinguished by all the counsels and arts of the Psychagogues — the " soul-leaders " of Phigaleia, — 124 AN EXCURSION noticed, as also the statue, ayaXjaa, of Apbrodite Ambologera, and those of the two brothers Sleep and Death.* This would necessarily bring the visitor to the front of the Chalkioikos, and to the east of the Akropolis, at no distance, it may be supposed, from the line leading from the Theatre towards the Eurotas. Whether the building next mentioned, the vaoi^ of Athena Ophthalmitis, stood on the Akropolis, or on the declivity near the lower part of the town, cannot be collected from the text — lovn 8s wg stt) TO 'Ax:r«'ov xaXou/x,£vov. But where was the Alpion ? Iviepert places it to the south-east side of the Akropolis. Probably, as well as the Upov t of Am- and hia visit to that cognate sanctuary of Apollo, the Aider, the Consoler ; his punishment in the most revered shrine of Spartan worship, and the after-visitation down to the fourth generation, — his innocent descendant Agis suffering the atonement by being waylaid on coming from the bath to his sanctuary, — all read, in the very heart of authentic history, like an QSdipean myth. " The Lacedfemonians," continues Pausanias, "performing these orders of the oracle at Del])hi, both raised these brazen images and paid honours to a Daimon named 'Eiridwriic, saying that this 'Evicw-iie would turn away the fiijvifia remaining from Pausanias for the violation of the rights oi the suppliant, — to lirl Havaayiif tov 'Ikeo-iou /.ilji'ifta cnroTpiTTiLi' tuv 'EinidiTrjv Xtyovrtj tovtoi'." — {Laic. iii. c. xvii.) * Aphrodite dju/3oXdyi;pa, Ionic for d»'a/3oXoy);po, Venus " the retarder of old age;" cuapoXdf, afiftoXac, "thrown-up soil ;" cififto- Xu], " delay," derive all from the same root, dra/3dXXw. Why here, unless in reference to Helen and her family tradition, is not clear. + Ammon, Pausanias remarks, was a favourite Spartan divinity, — (pau'oi'Tai c£ utt' a.px>ie (at the earliest period of their history, or from the veiy beginning, probably from the Phoenician colonists) Aa/C£i)aejUO)'(Oi fiaXiara 'EXXi';rwi' ^ujjei'oi ru ly Ai/jur; fxarTtiui. See the influence of mingling with other nations, in Lysander's dream, and its effect on the Lacedfemonians. How the Aphytaians came to venerate the oracle " no less than the Ammonians them- selves of Libya," does not appear. — (Pans. 1. iii. c. xviii. 3.) IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 125 men, and perhaps the Knagian Artemis,* it was not far from the market-place. Both are indi- cations of that admission of external and often of Oriental rites, to which, notwithstanding their political and social exclusiveness, the Spartans never appear to have been much opposed. No remains of sufficient size exist which could help to verify any of these sites or positions, or the many fragments of architectvu'al and sculptural marble scattered around. The portion of Hellenic Avail near the Theatre continues for a certain way at right angles, and may have formed the original Hellenic enclosure. Similar fragments are again observable on the north-east angle, several blocks of which have tumbled into the fields below. The whole surface, however, up to the edge of the platform, lay so covered with corn, — the corn itself so tall, close, and luxuriant, — that we found it difficult to examine it to any extent. On the platform I noticed one of the doorways described by Leake still above ground, its posts and en- tablature being each formed of a single stone, very closely resembling, though of smaller dimen- sions, the architecture of the gates of Mycenae ; I therefore take it for a Pelopid construction. To which of the ispa, whether to that of Athena Chalkiojikos or Ergane, this fragment may with most propriety be ascribed, would be difficult to say; but it is certainly of high antiquity. The * The Knagian Artemis came from Crete. It is strangely transferred with other traditions (L. iii. xviii. 8). " Knagia" seems an Achaean designation ; there is the river, kvuklov, near Sparta, and a promontory, KvaKacior, on the east coast of Lakonia. 126 AN EXCURSION eartli is now gaining close upon the lintel, provo- cative of immediate excavation ; an undertaking that would he well worth the trouble, not only as tending to decide, should holes, for instance, like those of the Treasury of Atreus be discovered, the identity with the Chalkioikos, and the whole collocation of the monuments, but also as settling beyond all cavil the site of the Akropolis. In its absence we must only lean on probabilities. The arrangement will thus be nearly as below : ^^^~ ^\o^ 'm- v^^ 1. Temple of Athena Chalkioikos. 3. Athena Ergaiie. 5. Tomb of Tyndareus. 7- Temple of Zeus Kosmetes. g. Ammou. 11. Musifi. 2. Skenoma. 4. Monuments of Lysander. 6. Statue of Zeus. 8. Aphrodite Areia. 10. Athena Ophthalmitis. Leake abstains from fixing any of these positions ; and Kiepert places tliem very differently. The Theatre is south-west ; Ergane nearly as above ; IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 127 the Muses close to, and Aphrodite Areia imme- diately behind, the Theatre. The others are omitted, probably from want of space. Later travellers are stUl more uncertain, and must every day become more so. Vischer complains that he saw no remains of churches as marked by Leake ; and the other doors mentioned by Gall have disappeared. This is not extraordinary. The slightest effort would, by undermining, detach any portions of wall, and these, falling below, could easily be concealed amidst the high corn, until used for some building at New Sparta. Agriculture likewise has seized upon the declivities, and turned them into arable. The upper portion I saw used for a fold ; and the peasants, to whom I spoke, were divided as to its name : some called it by the usual term for all ruins — xrr^p/a — and xaa-rpov, others, [xav^^a or fold. I also understood from these people, that stones from time to time disappeared. The place is not enclosed, and its sole guardian is a single Greek " Invalid." Tet, though inferior in interest to the Kadmeia, to the Akropolis par excellence, and to the Akroko- rinthos, no one but must feel deeply touched by a locality which contained so many of the sanctuaries and relics of a succession of remarkable races, and which shuts in so many events, from the romantic night expedition of Aristomenes and his Homeric feat of hanging up the conquered shields of the Spartans in the Chalkioikos itself, to the last extinction of their liberties in the fortifications * * As much against his reluctant subjects as against his enemies, the Achsean league. Nabis made it his residence, and materially fortified it ; but it had been a royal residence before. — (Xenop. Ages. viii. 7.) It had ditches and temporary work.s, for which the 128 AN EXCURSION of tlie tyrant Nabis, — the first derogation from the lofty Spartan rule, — and which might be well called by the Eoman writer, " Deformes Servitutis cicatrices." II. The Agora was near the Akropolis, and not far from the Eurotas, particularly from that part of the river crossed by the bridge, Babyka. To this point many of the roads from northern and western Lakonia converged, and naturally would lead on to the Agora. But it may be doubted whether it stood in the low ground contiguous to the x/j«,vai, or marshes, still less in the narrow defile or hollow between the upper and lower eminence behind the Theatre, where Leake seems to place it.* It must have been of much greater extent than this lot of ground, so as to have contained the monuments noticed by Pausanias. More than any other city, Sj)arta, from the peculiar nature of its constitution, required the amplest space for its proximity of the river and Xl^uai to the north-west, well fitted it, against Demetrios and Pyrrhus. — (Paus. Achaic. c. 8. See also Livy, xxxiv. 37 ; xxxviii. 34.) From the first passage it would seem the plain only was fortified, and the heights defended by armed men. * " Between the western side of the Agora and the Theatre, he mentions only one monument, the tomb of Brasidas. We have the situation, therefore, of the Agora in the hollow of the great height behind the Theatre. Thus jslaced, the eastern extremity of the Agora would be not far removed from an opening, partly natural and partly artificial, which is still observable towards the middle of that bank of hills which overlooks the valley of the Eurotas, and forms the front of Sparta to the north-east. This opening, it is further remarkable, is immediately oppo.site to the remains of a bridge over the Eurotas." — (Leake, i. 170, 171.) The artificial character of this portion consists only in the walling of some parts of the Akropolis. In Leake's map, it is remarkable that the ciyopii is marked on the platform of the Theatre, on a height. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 129 agova, and in return this space oifered the best opportunity for the collocation of the most im- portant buildings of the State.* Such appears to have been the case, even at an early period, and to have so continued to the latest. Not unlike the market-place or " place " of the Mediaeval cities of Germany and Italy, here were all the buildings of all the institutions necessary for the public legislature and business of the State. Here stood — what we should call the town-hall, and the Germans the K-athhaus — the seat of the Gerousia. Here also the Ephors, Bidisei, and Nomophylakes assembled, and kept their archives. But the most remarkable of these edifices, probably also for public use,t was the Persian Stoa — o-roa Trsfxnxr}, — erected from the spoils of the Medes, and adorned with statues of Mardonius, Artemisia, and * Sparta having a currency of little use for large purchases, effected sales by exchanges in kind, a commerce well adapted to an agricultural people, especially at the outset. t About the same time the Stoa Pcekile at Athens was built, and ornamented with paintings by Polygnotos, it is supposed, commemorative of the great deeds of the Persian war ; just as, a little earlier, the Lesche at Delphi was painted with the more mythic national achievements of the Trojan war by the same artist, Polygnotos. In their origin these Xt'irxat or stose may all be considered places of public resort, the exchanges and cafes of that day, but applied later also to national purposes. Athens adopted painting in the decorations, Sparta sculpture. Further on we find the Athenian stoa converted to the use of philosophy, down to the age of Arkadius, when the Stoics were expelled, and the paintings taken away. Curtius imagines the Spartan to have been converted to the uses of an 'E', but gives no authority for this view, except the mention of 'E^optTa apxaia, believed by him to imply 'E(poptia via : this it certainly does ; but Pausanias has already mentioned the latter, not in connection, however, with the Stoa. A stoa was not the place best suited for the duties of the Ephors. VOL. I. S 130 AN EXCURSION others.* It appears to have gradually been en- larged and embellished, until brought to the state in which it was seen by Pausanias. The Agora, Qsctg a|/a, as he describes it, had other remi- niscences of antiquity. The x^?°s, or Choros, where the Spartan youth exercised or celebrated their dances, feats, and solemnities, under the protection of Apollo, was situated near. Intermixed with and surrounded by these greater edifices, stood a crowd * The situation and nature of these statues is a subject of doubt. That they were personal, as far as costume was concerned, seems clear ; but what we call " portraits," as Leake supposes, is more questionable ; nor do they appear to have formed supports of any kind. Pausanias says, — tlal ce em rwv Kiovtav Tlipaai Xldov XtvKov i:at iiWot — not viro — his itri would imply — (see description of the Eagles and Nikse) of Lysander — that they were vpmi. Leake believes them to be in front : " These words seem to show that the statues of the Persian portico more resembled the colossal figures attached to pilasters on some of the temples of Egypt than the Caryatides of the Pandroseium at Athens." — {3Iorea, c. v. 161, twte c. vol. i.) In this he is correct; but the difficulty he points out of their not being of a varied character would preclude their being used architecturally, like the Egyptian. All these supporting or attached statues were combinations with architec- ture, yet not wholly so. The Memnon avenue, isolated, was intended to be a sort of ideal portrait-gallery. " Kings and kings " was the general answer received when their names were asked. Successively, from being attached, they were placed under or sup- porting, and called Karyatides, more likely from the country of Karia than from the small town of Karyse. But this was not universally meant to imply subjection. The Canephorje of the Athenian Erectheium have neither the attributes, attitude, nor character of slaves. It may be otherwise with the Atlantes or giants of the Temple of Syracuse, and perhaps the Incantadas of Salonika (see Stuart's detailed explanation), to whom Curtius likens them. I do not see why they should not have been placed, as was common at a later period, but adopted even early (see again Lysander's Eagles and Nikse), on the pillars, — though the Egyptian and Ethi- opian arrangement against would be more oriental and archaic. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 131 of temples, sanctuaries, and statues, of all epochs, from the primordia of Sparta down to the era of the Roman Csesars. Amongst the first must he classed the tspa of Ge, or the Earth, of Zeus Agoraios, and Athena Agoraia — venerated, under a similar desig- nation at Athens, — of Poseidon, called Aspholios, probahly an asylum of Apollo and Hera, and of the Moirai or Eates, as they were worshipped by the Lacedsemonians ; near this last was also the tomb — rdipog — of Orestes, whose bones were brought from Tegea, in obedience to the oracle, and buried here. These, for the most part, were directly connected with the earlier traditions and worship of the Spartans. Afterwards were added, as else- where, the temples of Jxilius and Augustus Caesar ; to the latter of whom in particular Lakonia was deej)ly indebted. Adjoining, sometimes in connection with these buildings, ranged the statues. Those of Apollo Pythseus, Artemis, and Latona, stood near or in the Choros. That of Polydoros, whom the Spartans honoured by the adoption of his head on their coin — elxwv noAuStopou, — the tomb of Orestes, that of Hermes Agoraios (probably close to it was the old Ephoreia), and the two statues or monuments of Epimenides and Aphareus, are noticed by the traveller. In the same vicinity were also the statues (remarkable at Sparta) of Zeus Xenios and Athena Xenia. But above all towered the colossal figure, it would seem, of the Demos or People of Sparta, which serves as a sort of counterpart to the Demos of Athens at the Peirseus, or the Athena Promachos on the Akropolis. To meet these two conditions, — a centre point 132 AN EXCURSION for the north and east roads to Sparta, in prox- imity to the Theatre, and space large enough for the numerous buildings just mentioned, — the low level ground, which we found covered with corn and interspersed with brick ruins of late date, directly to the east of the Theatre, seems fitted much better than that designated by Leake. The arrangement would then stand thus : 73 iV2 70" El sa ^ s ®7 1^ 1, Choros. 3. Gerousia. 5. Ancient Building for Ephors. 7- Jupiter Xenios and Athena Xenia. g. Statue of Polydoros. 11. Statues of Zeus, Athena, &c. 13. Tomb of Brasidas. 16. Ammon. 2. Stoa Poekile. 4. No mophy lakes. 6. Moirte. 8. Statue of Sparta. 10. Statues of Apollo, Artemis, and Latnna. 12. Tomb of Leouidas. 14. Athena Ophthalmitis. In the progress which Pausanias continues from the Agora, he obviously moves in a southern and south-eastern direction. The plain is altogether open to the south-west and south, and is only interrupted on the south-east and east by the two low hills now occupied by New Sparta. Here IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 133 tlien will run the principal streets or roads, con- necting the different quarters or villages ; for we must always keep in mind the original character of the town, which was but partially obliterated even by the Romans. The only street, properly so, was the 'Atpsrai', — or what we may call the " Corso " of Sparta, — lined with temples on either side. It ran in all likelihood in a south-eastern direction ; for Pausanias distinguishes it from the other street, which he describes as running west. On one side, beginning with the house of Poly- doros, — named Booneta, in consequence of its having been purchased, at the price of a number of oxen, from his widow, — were a complete series of other monuments, sanctuaries, and Heroa, of which the catalogue is given with religious faith by Pausanias.* On his reaching the Hieron of the Diktynna and the sepulchres of the Eurypontidai, he nearly touches the after-wall of the Romans, and then, retracing his steps to the Hellenion, takes the other side of the Aphetse, enumerating at the same time the remaining monuments. This street went across the open space towards Taygetus, in a southern or S.S.E. direction, across the hill on which now stands the most southern portion of New Sparta. Another street, which Leake inaccurately calls 'Xxiag, opened from the same quarter of the Agora, but apparently in a more south-eastern line. It commenced with an edifice termed Xxlag, a large * Amongst them are several, recalling the earliest as well as latest traditions of Sparta, — the graves of lops, Amphiaraus, and Lelex, and the Hieron of the Taenarian Poseidon — belonging to the Lelegian epoch. 134 AN EXCURSION tent-like construction, erected by the Samian Theo- dores. This was followed again by a long series of buildings, sanctuaries, and statues, enumerated by Pausanias, until the small hill lying to the south- east and close to the Eurotas, was reached, and where a temple to Dionysos Kolonotas, or of the Hill, terminated the range. In this neighbourhood may be placed the Hieron of Zeus Euanemos, pro- bably towards the north. On the next eminence, and not far from the Eurotas, stood the double sanctuary of Hera Hypercheiria, so called from her having saved Sparta, it was supposed, from an inundation of the Eurotas. These three hills may be identified with this street, beginning at the Skias, and with the northern portion of the present town, where it joins the village of Psychiko, and at the point which rises rather steeply, from the south-eastern and eastern plain. They form, as Curtius justly observes, in their continuity— for these hillocks are all connected — a sort of dam against the floodings of the Eurotas, separating its low valley or bed from the other part of the plain. Leake traces another road at the opposite side of the Aphetse, but in a more south-westerly direc- tion, and marks some Hellenic ruins as existing here, but without giving them a name. On returning to the Agora, Pausanias advances by a fresh road, straight past the Theatre, to the west. This presents him in the first place with the Cenotaph of Brasidas, " at no great distance from the Theatre," and opposite the Theatre itself, with monuments, one of Pausanias, the commander at Platsea, the other that of Leonidas. Instead of IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 135 proceeding with his usual regularity, however, he suddenly breaks oflF, to describe the tombs of the Agidae line of kings, in a place called Theomilida. From what follows, they appear to have stood in the quarter of the Pitanatte ; there seems no doubt that this quarter occupied the land lying between the AkropoHs.and the Eurotas, and extending along the Eiu'otas up the river. If we continue our coui'se west, and on through the defile to the north, we shall find ourselves in a small valley running towards the Eurotas, and observable from the northern side of the Akropolis. Here were probably situated the tombs in question, and the other monuments mentioned by Pausanias. On his left, in returning towards the Akropolis and Agora, he speaks of the Hieron of Artemis Issora, also called Limnsean, which designation places it in the vicinity of the Limne. Curtius with reason marks it on the small hillock commanding this pass from the bridge Babyka.* Limnsea, as a title, seems analogous to * This is nearly the disposition of Leake, but not adopted by Kiepert, whose map places the Theomilida immediately close to the Agora on the north-east, the tombs of the Agidse beside it, at the angle of the Akropolis, and the Lesche of the Krotani con- siderably to the north-east of the hill, which, with Curtius and Leake, he considers the Issorion. This arrangement may, no doubt, be justified by the abrupt manner in which the Theomilida is introduced {Lak. xiv. § 2), unconnected with the previous notice of the tombs of Brasidas, Leonidas,and Pausanias, — implying a sudden departure to a northern part of the town, from whence he com- mences anew : the theory is further supported by the position of the Issorion, in rear of the Lesche. But it is more natural to suppose, that where no mention is made to the contrary (unless, indeed, the north road terminated abruptly at the walls, or towards Taygetus), the line should continue round the Aki'opolis; and that would necessarily lead by the narrow defile, and the space between 136 AN EXCURSION the Hera Hypercheiria near Psycbiko ; both were probably erected to these several divinities as pro- tectresses against inundation. This arrangement disposes of all the leading points of the city ; but between the range of broken hillocks bordering theEurotas, from west to east, Hes a flat tract of low marshy land, probably in former days covered by water, and even now subject to casual inundations and changes. The nature of this ground on the right bank of the river and within the city, is level and in some places of sufficient breadth to fit it for the gymnastic exercises of the Sjiartans ; here we ought therefore to look for the Dromos, Platanistas, and Phoebaion. The Dromos is very clearly designated by Pausanias. It is the the spur of Taygetus on one side and the hill of the Issorion on the other. The tombs of the Agid kings would thus be on the side of the first of these eminences, and the Lesche (;rXi)<7i'oi') adjoining, probably to the north front of the Akropolis. A series of monuments and temples then follows, " not far" from the Lesche, — the Hieron of yEsculapius, called Enapadon ; and " going on" — TrpotXdovaa (e — to the monument of Taenarus, the Hieron of Poseidon Hippokourios, and also to that of Artemis Aginaaa. These probably reached a considerable way, until they joined, or ran in lines with the second road stretching north-west and north-east, and beyond the hillock on which stood the Issorion; for " in returning" to the Lesche, Pausanias notices for the first time the Hieron of Artemis Issora. This brings him again in the vicinity of the tombs of the Agidse — they were /jr/z/iara, — whilst he sees "very near" them — iyyvraru — the trriiXt] and NLkai, erected by the Laced(>S was commenced by the women, led out, how- ever, with becoming gravity by our host as x'^pw^s- Tlie circle included all costumes, classes, and ages, from the mistress of the house down to the children and servants ; for here equality is perfect, not in fact only, but in feeling, no one thinking it in the least extraordinary, or a breach of propriety, to mingle all ranks together in primeval fashion. A thousand incidents, on this and similar occasions. 142 AN EXCUKSION especially in the provinces, confirm this conviction, and show how completely uniformity of all classes is the necessary growth of a long - maintained despotism. Nothing rises above the dead surface, except wealth and court favour. Wealth soon migrates, and official superiority is precarious ; yet, while either act, they are abundantly authoritative. The dance was the usual syrtos — a-Opros, — the descendant of the xuxy^ixog, in all save its gaiety. It is difficult to determine how far it has been orientalized by contact with Constantinople, but its present aspect is solemn and monotonous ; originally it may have been religious. The music always preserves the same rhythm, without the slightest variation, punctiliously accompanied by the one step and figure in the one never-ending circle, worthy of the long sweeping trains of the eXxsa-iTTSTrXoi of Spartan matrons. Dimitri, after a time, was permitted to join the ring; but nothing like hilarity was infused in the proceeding until the wine circulated, resinous and full of gypsum as it seemed to be,* and prepared with care for the * Most of the Greek vines, if treated -with the same attention as in Europe, are in themselves good, tliough much more fiery than the produce of France or Germany. Rhenish and Burgundy vine- stocks have, when transplanted to Greece for two or three years, retained their native grajje-taste, but have then passed, as in the experiment tried on the plains of Argos, into the hot Greek wine, lu the Peloponnesus, for the most part — the islands are exceptions —resin is added. This is supposed to preserve the wine from turning sour ; but it is observable that, in Zante, so rich in grapes and vs-ines, and also with the muscats of Santorin, Tinos, and Cyprus, it is not employed. Tlie mixture of resin may arise from a tra- ditional taste for the fir-tree, whence it is extracted, — the Piniis maritima. No firs yield so much as those on the seaside, though rN THE PELOPONNESUS. 143 cognoscenti. Many of tlie spectators were evi- dently meditating' an exhibition, excited by rivalry of Dimitri, tlie stranger, when a young man in fustinella, anticipating the general movement, stej)ped forward first. His gravity of look and bearing betokened nothing comic ; and this seri- ousness he resolutely maintained to the end. After a few preliminary dainty steps, scarcely touching the earth, he burst into a whirlwind of antics, — sometimes squatting to the ground, then shooting they ought not to be tapped till ninety years old. This tree was sacred to Bacchus, as well as to Neptune. The present Greeks, especially those of the Peloponnesus and Attica, like it so much, that it is difficult to prevail on them to take wine without it. They regard pure wine as others do lemonade, as poor and unsatisfactory, and creating weakness. The best wine, without resin, they look on as no better than water; and should it afterwards make impression, they express surprise at its hidden power — l-^ci Kpvn-ro. Strangers, too — at least Germans — acquire this taste, and in a short time cannot drink wine without the admixture, though at first its astrin- gent qualities parch the palate and throat, and cause intolerable thirst. Burnt gypsum is also very frequently used, as a disguise for the thinnest wines, — those which Dodwell said were worse than the smallest small beer of England. Gypsum is likewise often added when the wine is getting sour, and, uniting then with the acidity, makes it of a sweeter flavour than at first. It gives headaches, however, quite as much as resia, and produces an exciting and stupefying efiect. When wine becomes scarce, this mixture is con- stantly applied, for the purpose of rousing labourers and others engaged in outdoor work to exertion at a smaller cost. I have been assured by employers, that it has this effect for a limited period, but is followed by a stupefaction which lasts sometimes for a day or two. Labourers like it, as they do dram-drinking in other countries, where (for instance in Sweden) the dram given by the master is not infrequently preferred to the same amount given in money. They miss the gypsum, in ordinary wine : civ i-j^n ntTpa, " it has no stone, no sting in it ; " ovk i;'x^< ccovrae, " it has no teeth," would have been said by an ancient. — See Athenteus. 144 AN EXCURSION up into the air, swinging himself about in all direc- tions ; flinging his arms abroad, or clapping them suddenly to his side, but with no attempt at grace, or combination in his movements with those of his companions. He became the leader of the dance, and it would have been difficult to find a more fitting conductor. The men soon took the place of the women, but none ventured to imitate our hero. With his handkerchief displayed in one hand, and clasping his next friend with the other, he continued to lead the same circle until fatigue terminated his labours. The whole was managed with a silence and sobriety, notwithstanding these evolutions, which resembled the performance of a religious rite, and was more decorovis than many ceremonies, especially in Greece, conducted with such intention.* We expected to see the island- dance, — one and one, or two and two ; but the attempt they made at it proved that its intricacies were here unfamiliar. This simple pleasui'e lasted for some hours, and it was late when we retired to rest. May 12. — At an early hour this morning, I set out alone, for the purpose of more closely examin- ing the ground near the Eurotas, and the bridge Babyka-. I took the direction, at first straight to the river, — a matter only of a quarter of an hour from M. Pherengas' house, — over the same hill, and then on towards the bridge. All this corn- covered plain was perfectly level, canals here and * If not Pyrrhic, this dance is of Pyrrhic descent. It does not appear to have been always strictly military ; the fantastic was mixed with the military, as in the religioiis-n)ilitary antics of the Korybantes. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 145 there intersecting it, from which reeds grew in abundance ; but no part was sufficiently swampy — at least not permanently so — to justify the present appellation of the x/jw.va«, or marshes. Tor a long period, even in ancient times, it must have been like the xZ/ivat at Athens, the name designating a tradi- tion more than a reality. At different distances to my left rose the broken range on which lies the modern town, and I clearly stood in the Dromos. This I soon quitted, and proceeding onward, had to keep nearer to the river, the high ground coming down close upon it. This range is the Issorion. At its northern extremity, after passing a sort of mill-course, I found myself beside the Eurotas, and facing the ruins of the bridge. It formerly con- sisted of two arches; abutments now remain on either side, whilst the central support rests on a sort of island formed by the stream. This spot was easily fordable, the water being very shallow, run- ning over a pebbly bed at a brisk pace. The opposite banks, leaving only a small space between them and the river, rose perpendicularly into a table- land, such as would be formed by an alluvium of some standing ; and they thus continued in one unbroken line until immediately opposite the Pla- tanistas. The substructures of the bridge show large masses of irregular Hellenic masonry, but the superstructure is Roman or Byzantine. After tasting the water, which was cool and sweet, I hastened homeward, passing by the low land, and then through a defile. At the entrance of this pass, I observed to the left considerable portions of masonry belonging, not improbably, to the wall of the Akropolis. Below, may have stood the VOL. I. u 146 AN EXCURSION Lesche of the Krotani, the tombs of the Asjidae being possibly to the right : on the heights above there were also traces of ancient remains. Emerg- ing from this by the south side of the Akropolis and Theatre, I found my way back, through olive and other plantations, to Mr. Pherengas', noting numerous fragments of Roman wall and remains of pillars, standing above ground in different places. The whole of this plain must be one heap of ruins, of which these only are faint indications, few and far between. The village Psychiko, and that of Magoula,* — both names, as in other parts of Greece, intimating a church, — with the two hills now covered by New Sparta, are all suggestive of con- siderable relics, which prompt excavation may yet save. The accumulation of soil on the platform of the Akropolis must be slight compared to that in the interjacent valleys. The Byzantine Lakedse- monia, the Slave Slavochori, and the Frankish and Ottoman Mistra, doul)tless carried off much ; yet ancient Sparta, dealing more with metals than with marble, was particularly unfavourable for pillage, and thus protected from serious loss. Much must therefore still exist to justify Buchon's rather too extended phrase of a " sol vierge," and to reward the careful examination of an energetic government. No time should be lost, as other influences may arise, in the progress of the town, which no law or official, be they what * Magoula occasionally signifies a cburcl), in the Neo-ITellenic or Romaic; as in the song's n/v Seiidv rrov fiayovXav at /jXcVw uKpuv- (iaafxivi). It is common enough in Thessaly, as applied to small swelling hillocks, generally indicating the rubbish and ruins of ancient cities. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 147 they may, can efficiently control.* The lamentable result of neglect, is not limited to a mere profit and loss of statuary, or other works of art. Inscriptions are often of far greater value : and, topography, yet doubtful, is of equal interest. A stone, in such cases, is like a word in a controverted sentence : upon its proper collocation, irrespective of its dis- covery, not the reading only of a passage, hut the rectification of many a fact, may depend. Many inscriptions have from time to time been found, of which a copious list is given by Curtius, and also some fragments. I remember noticing, on my first visit, a sarkophagus exhibiting a Bacchanalian scene of Nymphs, Bacchantes, or Msenads dancing with dragons or serpents. .1 saw nothing now but the few pieces at the court- house, and the small bas-relief at Mr. Pherengas', curiously enough, also representing a Bacchanalian group, conducted by young Cupids with grace, but showing the effeminacy of a late school of art. The double pipe is characteristic. Sparta we now left, accompanied by Mr. Phe- rengas, and took our way by a broad — too broad — road t to Taygetus and Mistra. Often looking * I noticed more than one instance, in tlie course of my journey . yet DO depredations or abstractions, can be compared to those daily going on at Corinth and Argos. A government has a jyrinid facie right to these treasures of its soil, and I have never omitted an opportunity of supporting it ; but, to enforce such right, the means ought to be well chosen and well administered. The Greek govei'nment has not as yet done either, and is constantly suffering in consequence. t The new roads of Greece, under the direction of the govern- ment, are, with few exceptions, too wide for present or even for future use. It "would require a population twenty times the 148 AN EXCURSION back, filled with the I'ecollections of its past, and anticipations of its future fortunes, and the con- trast between my first visit in 1818, and this ray- last, for ever in my mind, I rode on as slowly as possible, loath to break off too soon the enjoyment of such a scene and of such a reverie ; but I had another before me, which soon called for atten- tion. New Sparta — vsa "STrapra — was commenced in 1831, on the plan of the Philhellenic General lauchmutz, long in the service of Greece, and afterwards, in 1818, in that of the German Diet. It was laid out in wide rectangular streets, present amount, -with commerce proportionate, to justify them. In many cases they are as broad as those running from our great capitals. Ostentation and the low jjrice of land are the provoking causes, without reference to present wants, or future rise in value of the soil, or the necessity of rejiair. In England we are more wise and discriminate, making wide roads for great intercourse, and keeping narrow ones for lesser ; thus distinguishing between village and capital. A road over a plain, such as this to Mistra, is easily made, but not so easily kept in even tolerable order. After a time, nature points out distinctly what ought to be the strict limits ; one half is travelled over, the other half falls into rtits and grass, if, indeed, both results are not indiscriminately spread over the whole surface. On higher or more V»'uken ground, the winter torrents soon break them up, and in that state they often remain untouched for years, till at last a new road has to be made, as the penalty of neglecting to repair the old one. In fact, the future of roads, as of most public works in Gieece, is the last thing thought of; hence we find no due provision of bridges, gulleys, or reser- voirs for the reception or carrying off of the rushing watei-, no good levelling or proper collection of well-broken stones, and, worst of all, no arrangement for surveillance or maintenance. With an accumulation of orders, little is executed, and even the orders themselves are crude and incomplete. The whole system has to be reconstructed ; the fruits, so fai', being precisely what might be expected — worthy of the tree. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 149 emulating the supuiyvia celebrity of its great pre- decessor, and with good open spaces for public institutions. In that particular, it has a great advantage over its sister Athens, independent of the refreshing intermixture of garden and orange- grove with building, as well as the proximity of the exuberant vale of Sparta, irrigated by a fair supply of mountain waters. The landscape is further enlivened by the habitable, cheerful breaks, caused by the various villages of Magoula, Sla- vochori, Isman Bey (perhaps the ancient Brysese), and the many others which still dapple its surface, to the foot of Taygetus. The whole, as already stated, preserves the aspect of a collection of hamlets — a-uvoixlat — less aristocratic than demo- cratic, at least for the present, and no unfair representation of the early condition — the public buildings excepted — of the ancient city. The only portions rising above this character, are some of the habitations of the new town ; still even these are not Greek, modern or ancient, but of German- Bath architecture, showing as little regard to the exigencies of the country, where they seem to be as it were garrisoned, as the men who planned them exhibit in all such matters.* Con- sequently, with defence enough against rain and snow, there is none against heat ; whilst a rigid adherence to one arrangement is manifest, and complete defiance to change of temperature and * The survey of tin's Demos gives two rivers and five small streams, more immediately in the district of Amyklfe, four of which are applicable to irrigation, together with two large brooks and seven smaller, or winter torrents, which might be made serviceable to the same purjjose. 150 AN EXCURSION its inevitable results, to which this locality, even formerly, was subject, and now, more than ever, is exposed. Putting aside all objection on the ground of encroachment upon the site of the old town, — the worst of barbarisms — what should we think of a " new Pompeii," or a " Bourbon Herculaneum " ? The position, even on the ordinary basis of sanitary and social conditions, is singularly unfortunate. Tiie climate is not good ; the water is not good ; the conveniences are not good. The place itself is exposed to exhalations from the marshes to the west, to the overflowing of the Eurotas, to the damp heat of plantation and garden, and to the want of due atmospheric circulation. The noon- day sun strikes intensely on the flat plain, and is checked suddenly, at an early hour, by the chilling shadows of Taygetus. Winter is rigorous and summer severe. There exists no free play for the Etesian winds, and no return of periodical breezes from the sea. To hear the complaint of the inha- bitants themselves, one would suppose they were repeating Hesiod. The fruits are abundant, but of indifferent quality ; far behind those of Messenia, as they always were, and even behind those of Mistra. Mistra, with all the disadvantages, arising from its situation and fortress character, possessed water, air, and shelter ; every one of which are wanting in modern Sparta, the consequences being what might have been anticipated. In its present shape it appears like a sort of country retreat for town mer- chants. But where is the town from which they retire ? We look around, and see no great capital. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 151 A heap of ruins on the rocks opposite form the only prominent countei'poise. New Sparta is, in fact, a great solecism. The agricultural industry of the plain, is repre- sented to be in good condition. Hands, it is true, are scarce, as in all parts of Greece ;* and no wonder that this should be more keenly felt in proportion to the development of agriculture. Wages for common day-labour are three drachmae, or two shillings, — as high as in the neighbourhood of Athens, though all articles of food appear more abundant. This rate of wages is regulated not so much by the actual prices as by the absence of competition. t Want of communication contri- * Sparta in ancient times could never boast a population, either in numbers or equal distribution, to compare with that of Attica. At an early period " the Hundred Cities" — iroXi-x^i'ta — of Lakonia dwindled to /owjuoi, and the attempt made by Augustus to restore something of the old importance, by constituting the Eleutherola- kones into a confederation, was not more successful. Their twenty- four towns had diminished to eighteen in the time of Pausanias. Even under Turkish rule, there was a more crowded population, at least in this portion of the Nomarchy, than at the present day. Miatra is said to have contained 20.000 inhabitants, just before the breaking out of the revolution : this, however, seems an exaggera- tion : in 18.31 it had not quite 1,000 (968). If the contemporary historians are to be relied on, at the beginning of the Peloponne- sian war, the large Attic village of Acbarnse alone could furnish 12,000 warriors. In this respect, however, Attica and Lakonia are at present on a par ; Attica rather below Lakonia. The whole of Attica S,nd Megaris does not include more than from 50,000 to 60,000 inhabitants ; and, a single Nomarch governs these states, which had their fleets and armies, and which maintained many an obstinate war, one against the other. t Wages for unskilled labour vary greatly, throughout Greece, according to locality and season. Recent events, the war of inde- pendence especially, with its various incidents, have produced great 152 AN EXCURSION butes, more or less, to maintain this state of things. Food is plentiful, because no egress has been pro- vided for produce : small possessions and direct changes, not in prices only but in system. It was formerly cus- tomary for large bodies of Albanians to ti-avel down to Greece at Larvest-tirae, much as the Ceplialoniotes and Ithakans still an- nually cross over to ^tolia and Akaruania at the same jieriod lV)r employment. They were for the greater part paid in kind; and in Attica, with which intercourse was more easy, this was the rule. At all times it is an objectionable mode of remuneration, betraying a rude state of society. Wherever it now occurs it is rendered tenfold worse by the grasping avidity of the employers, the intrigues of the autliorities, and the inconceivable folly and ignorance of the government. Proofs of this are abundant, until within a very late period, as, also, evidences of the strong antipathy to strangers, with which, like their Hellenic predecessors, all Greeks, high and low, are imbued. Much the lai'gest portion of the Attic villages being Albanian, these bauds of labourers found themselves amongst their countrymen, and a profitable and regular system of labour-supply was established, not unlike that which prevails in Rome. In the same manner as the Abruzzi peasants come down under their " capitani" to the Piazza Navona to be hired at the sowing, harvest, and vintage seasons, the Albanians appeared in Greece under tlieir capitani. This name would seem to indicate an Italian origin, if it be not the usual term for everything like a "chief" in their part of Turkey. Contracts were not made by each individual with the employer, but by their head, and on his own part only, the labourers having already made their engagement with him. The amount paid was generally one drachme per day, of which twenty-five lepta were kept by the captain as his profit of commission. They were also fed at the rate of one oke of kalamboki, a small quantity of oil, and a flask of common wine per head. The youngest of the party usually acted as cook, making a sort of cake, partly baked and partly pudding or polenta, on which the squad messed in common. The whole might amount to about a drachme and a half, or one shilling per day. Since the revolution, this system seems to have been given up, and each man now makes his own contract, — a mode presenting a good deal of uncertainty and inconvenience, and opening a wide door to all .sorts of stratagem and litigiousness. Wages have, of late, sometimes run up to six drachma for common labour. As the demand arises IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 153 proprietorship, seem to be the rule. There are no large farms, and no scientific agricultural outlays. The basis of all their cultivation seems to consist in the skilful and economical application of water. Nor is the letting of land common. Where it does take place, it is only for short periods, on the usual Metayer principle. The cart is the only material improvement in machinery since the days of the Turks ; the plough and most other implements of husbandry being as deficient as in Attica, which is enough to say.* The farmhouses seem on the whole well-built and comfortable, and there is an appa- rent absence of abject poverty and mendicancy. The dress is Albanian ; the fustineUa and fez for suddenly, the labourers set out by making the most fabulous demands, and few proprietors have the capital or courage to resist them. When the pressure is over, the wages often fall one-half in a day. The want of communication in inland districts is at the bottom of all this, as of almost every otlier obstacle to agricultural improvement. * Though Attica has the advantage of being the seat of govern- ment, and in direct intercourse through the PeirKUS with Europe, it is, in agricultural progress, disgracefully behind most other parts of Greece. With the exception of the garden-cultivation close to Athens, and the immediate neighbourhood of Kephissia and Marousi, nothing can present a more melancholy and abandoned aspect than the plain of Attica, once so renowned for its fertility. Even what cultivation does exist is of the clumsiest and coarsest description, while the agricultural implements are of the most primitive character. A plough I saw at Marathon in 1818 was identical with those used near Athens in 1858. In the Turkish valleys of Thessaly and Epirus they use ploughs like these, but they turn up instead of scratching the earth, and three or four oxen are not wasted on the operation. To understand this, one need only ride from Athens along the Phalerum road on an ordinary evening, and watch the droves coming in, caravan-wise, with all their imple- ments from the farm, perhaps two hours' distant, to stow them away for the night in hovels under the Akropolis. VOL. I. X 154 AN EXCURSION the men, the overcoat or tunic for the women. These articles, for the most part, are spun, woven, worked, and ornamented by the home labour of the people. Sparta is one of the thirteen demoi, though not the principal one, of the Eparchy of Lakedsemon, which numbers 35,039 inhabitants. The whole demos contains fifteen villages, besides several out- lying groups of houses ; but the villages have not a population equal to a common-sized English hamlet. In 1851 they did not boast more than 6,691 souls. The demos is of considerable extent, stretching off as far as Trype, including Mistra and Parori, on one side, and reaching nearly to Slavochori on the other. Sparta, which is the t'8pa too ^rj^aoS, contained only 418 inhabitants and 96 houses in 1851, less than Mistra, Trype, and "Ayiog 'loawrjg, which counted 948. Even Magoula still competes with it, numbering 108 houses and 437 inhabitants. Sparta possesses one Hellenic and three elementary or demotic schools,* and has recently become the seat of a " Justice of the Peace," or of a " Tribunal de Premiere Instance." I could not hear of any prison, hospital, or other public institution, and the attempt to establish a silk manufactory apjiears to have been a failure. None was in operation at the time of our visit. * A gymnasium was established in 1862, and in 1863 had 77 pupils. The Demotic schools in Sparta were attended by 213 buys and lUl girls in 1863 ; there are no returns for 1858. The Hellenic schools counted 278 boys in ISJS, and 273 in 1863. —Ed. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 155 CHAPTEE V. MISTUA. The road runs in a direct line from Sparta to Mistra, leaving Magoula to the right, through a pleasant avenue of plane and fruit-trees, olives, and vineyards, culminating in the broken ridges and ravines of Taygetus. Athwart this position lie scattered the walls and ruins — now literally no more than ruins — of the Franco-Turkish town, crowned on one of its most fantastic summits by the shattered citadel. As we approached, each point of view broke prominently upon us, opening reaches down the defiles, rock fronting rock, until lost at last in gloom and mystery ; or again, forcing our attention to broken battlements and skeleton houses, which looked as if the conqueror had only just passed through and left his vengeance written everywhere. Some of the more marked of the buildings — those which seemed to stand out be- yond the others, striving as it were to explain the scene of desolation — had once been mosques, but were now restored as churches. Even these, how- ever, were left in a state of abandonment, convey- ing the impression that despite the restoration of the worship, the worshippers were insufficient to fill the chui'ches. Below were still gardens, forming a sort of faubourg, which blended the rough and 156 AN EXCURSION decayed old town with the ever youthful plain. We rode up under a hot sun, through rocky narrow streets, between high enclosing court-walls, over which a burst of verdure would occasionally peep. It still was a Turkish town in all its features, except the inhabitants — as if left there in its silence and desolation as a warning and a Nemesis. Not a sound was heard but that of our own cavalcade, until we reached the dark Bazaar ; no stir nor sign of life, beyond a nod or a word from some unoc- cupied individual seated on a step or leaning on a window, as we scrambled along. When last I trod these streets, though attended by a Turkish Janis- sary, I could hardly get through the crowd, and had more than once to hasten my steps, in order to escape from the stones of urchins and the shouts of Giaour Kelb which accompanied them. After treading various lanes, we at last emerged on the road which, rising from the back of the town, conducts to the citadel. Immediately opposite yawned a gorge, perpen- dicular, broken, and spotted with rugged vegeta- tion, running but a short way into the recesses of Taygetus. A narrow path wound up and down again on one side, whilst a mountain torrent, with its now scanty waters, Avas fretting below, against the debris of wood and rock rolled into its bed. On our right, cresting the rock, stretched the scarred and battered outward walls of the fortress, with its oflFshoots. No more characteristic retreat could be found for Slave, Erank, or Othmau robber, nor a haughtier position from which to rule or overawe the hard-working and submissive inhabi- tants of the plain. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 157 We followed the perilous pathwaj^ till in sight of a small church, and then returned to a house — a sort of cafe, capping the brow of one of the outlying cliffs, and where a few trees offered us shade, such as it was, till we felt cool and cou- rageous enough to resume our task. In the open space, some hundred feet beneath, and seen very clearly from our platform, stood formerly a Turkish bath and fountains. An in- scription in Turkish character remains over them, besides a remnant of their architecture, not yet defaced. Women still wash their clothes in the meagre stream ; but it looks a gloomy spot, in this glaring mid-day sun. It was a central point in old Turkish Mistra, but now it is hardly known, or at least people affect to consider it as not worthy of mention. Acquaintance was easily made with the people of the house, and the family soon collected around us upon the little platform, miistering what civil- ities, smiles, and communications they could to make us happy. Not less disposed to reciprocate, we speedily got at their domestic fears and hopes. They, like all the people here, were in the silk cultivation, and proud of how much they gained and hoped to gain, God willing, during the next harvest. Cocoons are the staple export, and sell better in the Prench market — the chief consu.mer, — than wound silk ; but a good deal is kept for home consumption, sometimes used by itself, some- times mixed with cotton. Much of their own wear in the cotton line is worked in the same way. Every one is his own manufacturer, as well as his own cultivator. In a short time, finding we were 158 AN EXCUESION inquisitive in these matters and sought science in play and earnest, they brought oiit their whole establishment of silkworms, and gave us an ex- cellent lecture on its economy. Marvellous stories were told of what Mistra silkworms, and Mistra maidens after them, could do in producing shirts, the delight of Pashas, — and how there were still many kept in well-to-do families, only for bridals and burials : some of these last were unlocked for our insj)ection. Dimitri mingled his experience, and talked authoritatively, as a travelled man, of robes and kerchiefs : one he knew at Athens in an Albanian cottage, a ^iya doLu^a. to all weavers far and near, only to be seen on holidays, and covered with gold embroidery, — enough ! it cost 1,500 drachmae ! Thanking old and young for the lights they had given us, we left them, no doubt with the impression that at some future day we might set up for silk-merchants ourselves, if not such already. Our present project was to dine at Parori, and to return afterwards to visit the little that was worth seeing at Mistra, on our way to Trype, where we intended to sleep. Our ride led through lanes which now and then showed a picturesque old house, with its windows, however, generally turned inwards to its vines and mulberries. Small watercourses, the bequest of Turk or Frank, lay across our way ; but, we as often had to splash through rivulets, deriving from some neighbouring source of Taygetus. Half an hour brought us to Parori, an eastern suburb, once the delight, the "sweet waters," of Mistra; and an enjoyable nook for dusty traveller or kef-seeking IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 159 Turk ; it is worth going out of one's way, to stretch in its shade. " O qui me gelidis in vallibus Hsemi Sistat, et ingenti ramorum protegat umbra ! " Here is one not unworthy of the brotherhood, — Taygetus ; — and though the great plane-tree oppo- site may not rival the " vast shade " of its Hsemus kindred, it affords pleasant protection enough, espe- cially with the "larga manu" manner in which Naiad and Nymph send out their waters to its feet. Just before us, rose up the rock which m.akes the for- tune of the place, a clear cloven wall, with such a profusion of ivy, so moist, so green, that we refused to believe we were in Greece, where all is so in- tensely diy and broM^n. Caverns and clefts, how- ever, there were, suflB.cient to let out whole torrents, and masses of verdure with them, in spring and summer. Travellers, who never will endure to doubt, insist on localizing the Keadda; but there are Keaddas innumerable of the same kind about the place, and I am not disposed to contend for the claims of one, in prefei'ence to others. Just under this rock, the Mahomedan love of shade and water collected the streams into their usual form of fountain, pieced up with fragments wherever they could get them, and fitted together, as jour- nevmen masons might deem best. A Doric frieze, supported by an injured inscription, figured as a sort of cornice. Between the triglyphs, there were Arabic letters ; the Greek inscription ran — lAIAISISOPOZ OINII2N. 160 AN EXCURSION This, not being of any antiquity, harmonized suffi- ciently with the coarse fleuron ornaments near. Beside the fountain stood a group of Spartan, or at least Lakonian damsels, who in health and form would not have shamed their country- AYomen in the Lysistrata. They were busily en- gaged in washing, preparing, as they told us, for the bridal of the youngest of the party, which was to be celebrated in a day or two. The Nausikaa was very active and practical, and did not allow the presence of strangers to inter- fere with the prosecution of her work. The great plane-tree spread its fine green branches over the party, and joined its shadows with those of the rock in protecting them from the sun. If there live a tree in Greece, which deserves or appears to have a Dryad to take care of it, it is assuredly the plane.* Oaks themselves are dwarfs beside it, to say nothing of that artless art with which, while grasping rock and block below (I have seen them keep defiant hold on both in the very face of a Taygetan torrent), with roots like claws and talons, worthy of the Blocksberg roots of Goethe, they run out above, resembling a sort of huge convolvulus, the arms apparently as pliant as tendrils, but loaded with shade sufficient for a whole squadron. Nor is it massive heavy shade, but of a light twinkling kind ; the exquisite sharp- * In what high regard plane-trees were held in the East may be collected from the honours awarded to one by Xerxes, near Kalatebos {Her. 1. vii. c. 31), not for from Sardes, and the golden 7r\ora»'KT-oe and u^i-c\oq given by Pythios to Darius (see lib. vii. 27). The same feelings obtained in Greece : T^Xaraioc, later ;rXar«- vidTos, from nXariic, breadth of shade, well deserves the name. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 161 ness of the foliage, moved by every breeze, and discovering at each turn all the grey, silver, and brown-purple of its lining in rich harmony with its bright verdure. Around this one, — evidently an old favourite — its Turkish admirers, as in other parts of Greece, had built uj) a circular dais, where pasha and peasant, sleeping, smoking, coffee- drinking, or eating, might find at any hour of the four-and-twenty, the fulness of Southern and Oriental enjoyment. Here our dinner was speedily laid out, whUst a group of peasants congregated under the shelter of the somewhat ruinous houses near, in admiration at the preparations. We did not waste much time over our frugal repast, and, leaving the ladies to rest, I strolled about in the neighbourhood. The fovmtain stream rushed by to the north, and soon lost itself in the plain. A few steps from the west, ascending from our village, I had a view of the citadel of Mistra, surmounting the dun olive groves between us, and boldly marking the subject town : a little beyond, looking southward, rise the singular and abrupt rocks of Parachori, which tradition points out, — it is difficult to determine on what authority — as the spot from which the Spartans ordered the disabled offspring of the state to be unreservedly thrown down. It is not an inappropriate place of execution, though any cliff in this vicinity might serve such need. On my return, I found our group busily employed with the young people of the village, and I had again hopes of a true Spartan X^qog to diversify a little our " apres - diner." Two young girls were very ready to take our solicitations into consideration, and by way of VOL. I. T 162 AN EXCrilSION preamble, proposed to commence, while we were beating up recruits, with a pas de deux. The dais was cleared, and we were ready with admira- tion, when off they started, arm in arm, with a mazourha I This was taking civilization d, rebours, and as unconscious a satire, looking at their naked feet and at the site where we were, on the whole system of modern Greece, as the most solemn article in the " Athena." What nymph or muse inspired the innovation, it is useless to inquire. It came down, I believe, wrapt up in Greek grammar, from Athens. It was now full time to return to Mistra, judg- ing by the fast -advancing shades of Taygctus ; and following in the wake of Mr. Pherengas, who still insisted on doing the honours of all tlie Spartas, we took the lower road immediately running at the foot of the old town. From various points in our way, the ruins opened upon us with their back- ground of cliff and gorge. The defile, where we had been sitting in the morning, seemed to form the great division between the old Mussulman hold and its suburbs. Churches were seen, here and there, jutting out on promontories, as also crumbling towers, and, what might once have been baths and mosques, no sooner came in view than they were hidden again by olive and vineyard, and mulberry plantations at each turn of the road below. By a gradual ascent we once more gained the town, pursuing a westerly direction, through silent streets, which were in some cases so narrow that we could aluiost touch the walls with both hands. Noticing various old Byzantine and Roman inscrip- tions, mixed with Greek and Roman sculptural IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 163 fragments iu the walls, we reached a cortile, leading- into another, and round three sides of which still stood buildings, the fourth side, and commanding a magnificent view of the plain we had just left, being open. Opposite, at the back, was the church, — the Cathedral or Metropolitan of the place, — and on either side the residence of the bishop and the clergy. The lower part of this edifice was sup- ported by arcades resting on columns, from which a very rickety staircase conducted to the upper story, in like manner consisting of an open gallery, with rooms or cells around. Creeping along over a floor formed of loose boards, which seemed likely to give way at every stejo, was a service of no small danger. The cells, somewhat better ordered, were inhabited by one or two priests. One priest followed the vocation of painting, that is, church painting ; he had been at Mount Atlios, and in that school trained his hand to the old traditional type, at which he was a proficient. Marvellous was his gallery or studio, and not less so his wardrobe. Amongst other miscellaneous and not very clerical garments were the accoutrements — together with the red coat — of a soldier of the Italian lea:ion in our service, who had passed that way lately, no one knew how, and had rid himself of his outfit to the priest and his friends. The Papas was thrown into terror for a moment, by some of our party whispering to him that the British minister was on a progress to reclaim all lost goods of this description belonging to her Majesty, and for the possession of which, every one found with them would be brought to severe account. I soon re- lieved his alarm, and we became the best of friends. 164 AN EXCURSION After a glance into the other parts of the huilding, we proceeded to visit the church. The church is on the old Byzantine plan, in arcades and pillars, of rude and clumsy proportions, and has a dark and neglected aspect. On some of the pillars, -which are round, the Papas showed us Byzantine inscriptions of rather an early date, but the whole place appeared almost deserted. It was impossible to leave this spot without cast- ing a lingei'ing look, from so favourable a position, over the plain of Sparta. We therefore leaned for a considerable time upon the marble parapet, the view from wliich embraced the entire range, not only of the celebrated xo/xr;, with all its histories, old Sparta, Lakedsemonia, and new Sparta, but the Platanistas, Therapne, the Menelaion, and beyond, stretching far away, Parnon and Zarax, and the most distant chains of Tzakonia. Pi'om some such point Chateaubriand seems to have made his discovery of Sparta, in Paleochori, which his countryman Spon announced about a century and a half before, and which his other countryman, Fourmont, boasted to have radically subverted.* * " Un Vandale Fraugais, M. de Fourmont, se vante, dans ses lettres a M. de Maurepas, d'avoir complltement aneanti la Sjjarte antique : ' Je I'ai fait non pas abattre,' ecrivait-il au ministre, ' mais raser de fond en corable ; il n'y a plus de cette grande ville une pierre sur une autre. Depiiis plus de trente jours, trente et quel- quefois soixante, ouvriers abattent, detruisent, extenninent la ville de Sparte ... Si, en renversant aes murs et ses temples ; si, en ne laissant pas une pierre sur une autre au plus petit de ses sacellum, son lieu sera dans la suite ignore, j'ai au moins de quoi le faire reconnaitre, et c'est quelque chose. Je n'avais que ce moyen de rendre mou voyage illustre.' " — (Buchon, La Grece contineniale et la Moree, pp. 42.5, 426.) This account of his performances can IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 165 We now again descended into the valley, taking the road to Trype, when our guide pointed out on the left two old churches, in a half-ruinous state, amidst brushwood, weeds, and fragments fallen from the declivities and streets above. One was the Byzantine church of St. Nicholas. On scram- bling up and entering it with difficulty, we found the interior open from above, the ground covered with rubbish, and all parts of the church in a most disgracefully dilapidated condition. Some paintings still remained upon the walls, but they were gradually yielding to the injuries caused by man and time. At the extremity, opposite the Bema, and where should liave been the Narthex, were two side-chambers, probably Parecclesise. In one of these, that to the right, were two portraits, still in a tolerably fresh state, of the Emperor Alexis, to whom the erection of the churcli is ascribed. The crown is peculiar, resembling little the usual imperial regalia, and bearing something of the ecclesiastical about it, as the ecclesiastical, on its side, has borrowed largely from the imperial. A few of the capitals show the transition from the late Roman to the Byzantine. One had the bay- leaf and acanthus, not unlike the flag-and-reed pattern, common enough in late Boman structures, and a graceful composition of the kind. Taking friendly leave of Mr. Pherengas, with many cordial thanks for his hospitality and atten- only be considered by the cbaritable as a proof of insauity : fortu- nately, it was untrue ; Buchon declares the whole story to be a fabrication. M. Laborde would do well to give M. de Fourmont a place in his next dedication. 166 AN EXCURSION tions, we were at last fairly on our way to Taygetus. To the right rose a green hillock of tumular form, surmounted by a small chapel, which our guides called the Z(oooo';^ou ^rijy^, or " Eountaiu of Life," — an old title for Greek churches, — built by Alexis, and where he remained in retirement or conceal- ment during his exile. We proceeded, almost reluc- tantly, by a winding path, into a richly-wooded glen, through which a lively little torrent tumbled, shut in on either side by high and broken, though not very savage-looking, rocks. The mellow sun, not yet sunk to the west, but past its noonday glare, softened and enriched everything, and its play on rhododendron, lentisk, and arbutus, or upon an overshadowing plane-tree and Valonea oak, gave cheerful promise of a delightful mountain ride as far as Trype. But it was some time before we could consent to bid farewell to Mistra. And truly nothing could be better fitted to detain the most restless and impetuous of travellers, than its grand and beautiful profile. Line upon line, running down the hill, each with its crest of buildings, each telling its old tale, and in that most touching of all states, neither living nor dead, Avith the flush of nature forcing its way in vineyard below as in evergreen above, sometimes in cypress, sometimes in oak, and overtopped by Taygetus crowning- all, — is a picture not to be rivalled for physical or moral interest combined, even in a country so rich in both as Greece. I could not help ruminating as I went along, on the whimsical glories of this place, the sort of false honours it long continued to enjoy, and the IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 167 contented confusion in which travellers, — some professed ones, with all the aids of historian and classic to set them right, — seem resolved to leave it. Old Coronelli, " Cosmographe de la llej)ub- lique de Venise," not a little proud of the facilities he possessed, and the authority he enjoyed,* makes no diificulty in the matter, t Taking it at once for Sparta, he declares it to liave been without walls, and proceeds to settle its ancient divisions in conformity to the then existing quarters of the city. The river Trypiotiko he converts into the Eurotas or Vasilipotamos, — which, however, is not very singular, with the fantastic notions he apparently entertains, both of the history and geo- graphy. He divides the town into four quarters ; one portion on an elevation, another on the plain, each separate from the other. No. 1 is the Chateau, TO xda-Tpov ; 2, the new City ; 3, the two Suburbs, | — * See " Avertissement au Lecteur " of bis " Description Geographique at Historique de la Moree." + " Cette ville," says the cosmographer, " a eu plusieurs noms. Le plus anoien est celuy de Lacedemone. On I'appella ensuite Sparte, et enfin Misitra. C'est une des plus fameuses villes de la Grece, et qui etoit autrefois si grande que du terns de Polibe, elle reufermait dans son enceinte, qui etoit ronde, quaraute-huit stades, ou deux lieues." " Cette place fut la plus forte de toute la Grece quoyqu'elle n'eut aucuiies fortifications, et elle se conserva dans cet etat pendant plus de huit cens ans, malgre les efforts de tous ses ennemis. Elle n'a pas ete si heureuse et a change plus d'une fois de maitre, depuis qu'elle a eu des murailles." — La Moree, 1''^ partie, p. 120. % These divisions may be said still to exist, though with some variation as to name. The river has no connection, of course, with the Eurotas or Vasilipotamos, even on Coronelli's own showing. It is the stream which issues from the gorge behind Mistra, and is 168 AN EXCURSION tlie one named Mesokorion, Ms• large party rose suddenly to view, headed by our friend Captain Craigie, who had come up to meet us with some of his officers from the Desperate — arrived yesterday. They were followed by our Vice-Consul, Kyrios Leondariti, with his son and several friends and neighbours, bringing many felicitations, and pressing invitations to make use of his house during our stay at Kalamata. This friendly offer we willingly accepted, intending to remain a day or two, in order to recover the effects of this day's fatigue, and to complete arrangements for our journey further inland. The offer was the more agreeable, as Captain Craigie, though ready to receive us on board, declared that landing from his ship on the exposed beach was a matter entailing inconvenience from the surf and wet — the last thing, certainly, one should have suspected, looking down from above : but a strong sirocco was blowing, and had brought with it the usual ground-swell. We, therefore, gladly followed the Vice-Consul ; and in another quarter of an hour found ourselves in an open space or square, upon one side of which stood his house, where we were received with much cordiality by Madame Leondariti and her family. The house was spacious, but crowded with friends and visitors. We received, as usual, the hearty salutations of the authorities : this over, tea, with substantial accessories, was served, and it never proved more acceptable than after our long ride. During our repast, Mr. Leondariti gave us interest- ing particulars of the state of the province, finan- cial and otherwise, describing it as advancing steadily, yet perceptibly. The journey had, how- IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 193 ever, somewhat blunted our curiosity. Instead of twelve, it bad proved to be fourteen hours, of which four, at least, had been good walking — or, to speak more properly, scrambling : we were, conse- quently, glad to retire as soon as possible, with the satisfaction of feeling no other Langada awaited us on the morrow. The walls of my apartment possessed some characteristic decorations : our Hoyal arms, for instance, worked by a daughter of the house, and the flags of all the nations of Europe ; and, in the room itself was abundance — perhaps superabundance — of Prank furniture. Congratulating myself on so good a haven after such a morning, as may be imagined, I soon fell asleep. Strongly characteristic and expressive of Greek history and habits, as Greek scenery may be thought in mass (it may be almost deemed the physical symbol, as well as mould, of its mind), there is no spot, not even Attica, Boeotia, or Messenia, more illustrative of this than Lakonia. Attica was forced, by natural circumstances, to become a maritime state ; Bceotia developed into a feeder of herds and cattle, with all its concomitants ; Mes- senia remained a peaceable, agricultural, and self- enjoying community ; whilst Lakonia was, it may be said, from the earliest times, the cradle of a Sparta, — Taygetus exercising as great an influ- ence on its legislation as Lycurgus himself. This forms the key, as well as the type of all her fortunes. Two great chains, though of different character, encircled the country ; one, all wall, firmly planted, boldly raised, self-gathered, with- out almost pass or valley — Taygetus ; the other, VOL. I. 2 c lQ4i AN EXCURSION Parnon — of unequal, yet considerable height, broken, running into defiles, and opening into valleys, till it meets the eastern sea ; and both embracing between their arms, what may be looked on as the kernel of the Spartan state — the upper and lower plain of the Eurotas. This enclosed but a small j)ortion of the superficies ; but it made up the soul of the community. Despite of its many square miles, not more than these two small plains can be considered at any time as Sparta. Not unlike E-ome, the Dorian settlers successively absorbed all their neighbours ; but again unlike Rome, in that they failed to extend their domi- nion further. The soft kernel was sui'rounded by the hard shell, which they attempted later to break ; but what constituted at the outset a pro- tection, became afterwards a chain — fetters instead of armour. Even a cursory survey of this geo- graphical physiognomy will show that, so far from being without defences, of all places in Greece, Sparta was the best defended, as long as she abided by the peculiarly fitted nature of her institutions. Sparta — surrounded by such ramparts, at a dis- tance from the sea, approachable only by the narrowest passes, open to attack only by surprises, with her best warriors in a constant camp in her capital, as in a citadel, with an outwork of moun- tains, inhabited by the Lakonians or Perioikoi, whilst the slaves or Helots were gathered at the distance into the unhealthy swamps of Helos, was impregnable, so long as she remained true to those institutions and boundaries. It was not until she had passed Parnon, from Malea, up to the verge of Argolis on one side, and of Taygetus, encroach- IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 195 ing on Messenia, on the other, that, these walls heing no longer of use, she passed outside of them, and hecame in every part vulnerahle. The very defence tliey afforded, was turned against her. Her avant garde of Perioikoi, not emanci- pated by her own free will, or trained to consider themselves her children, being delivered by the hands of a stranger and master, became her ene- m.ies, and were set in guard upon her. The plain of Sparta was cultivated, under their surveillance ; and thus the mountaineer was converted into her ruler, to remain so henceforward. Her institutions followed exactly the same course. A small race every day becoming smaller, was of its nature an aristocracy — nothing could break through it, but a democracy or despotism. The democracy was not in Sparta, but in the moun- tains : the despotism was controlled, b§r the double nature of the monarchy. Maritime states, afford- ing opportunities of frequent contact with other states and the ingress of strangers, had these dif- ferent relations thereby disturbed in the end ; but from stxch communication, Sj)arta, chiefly owing to her position, was long preserved. She could not, however, prevent the immixture of her citizens with those of other countries ; and, however stran- gers might be discouraged, the importation of foreign manners could not be so easily hindered. Asiatic wealth and Asiatic corruption brought in their train, intermarriages. Eastern tastes, and Eastern indulgences. The very absence of these elements in Sparta itself, gave them a stimulus, and early rendered the whole framework of the Lycurgan institutions futile. They became a mere 196 AN EXCURSION mask, wliicli allowed political Pharisaism to con- tinue for a long period unmolested, and every day made reform impossible — unless by revolution. Even the re-establisbment of the old system, at- tempted by Agis and Elleomenes, was tinged by aristocratic or royal ambition, tending as it would to increase the consideration of the kings. Neither understood their age ; and the attempt may be classed with other similar reforms, — anachronisms, which mistake men for machines, and propose laws from books instead of from manners. A reaction is inevitably the consequence, caused by some uni- versal sensation of fear throughout the community, and which endures until the rise of a new genera- tion, unacquainted with the sufferings and insen- sible to the alarms of their fathers. Such was here the case. Nabis followed Kleomenes : Quinctus Flaminius, tjie Roman, followed both. Roman despotism left nothing but a blank. Historically, it produced no heroism, no renown ; yet, though personal dignity prevailed, there ex- isted probably much more personal liberty than had been enjoyed for centuries previous. Even the Byzantine Empire, weighing with impartial oppres- sion like the Turkish, permitted ordinary life to run on in comparative smoothness. It was not until Prank feudalism, with its innate self-reli- ance and adventurous ambition, broke into the inert mass, that any symptom of. the ancient vitality was perceptible. The old, communal, se- paratory spirit — an autonomy in its own way — split off a town here and a district there, and set all this country, as in so many other i:)arts of Greece, to frame for itself a sort of individual exist- IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 197 ence. To this tendency and to the daily necessity, felt for ages by each man, of standing up for his own against successive irruptions — beginning with that of the Jjltolians, and comprehending marau- ders, robbers, pirates, devastators, of all ages and all nations — as well as to the happy means of resistance this singular conformation of territory afforded, is to be ascribed whatever of flesh and blood, soul and spirit, existed in the land at the outbreak of the late revolution. These influences had much greater force than those of blood or race, though, I am not for altogether excluding their effects either. To the same influences, must also be attributed the old demon of jealousy, caprice, envy, and inertness, found in the modern Pelopon- nesian as in the ancient, and which, especially Avhen stirred by gold, is powerful enough to scatter in a night the strongest, and apparently the most united armaments. The Spartans themselves had no very high opi- nion of the fertility of their country ; and appetite for good land prompted half their expeditions. The eulogiums bestowed by antiquity, are limited to the valleys of the Eurotas, and to a few of the slopes of Taygetus. The northern portion of Lakouia is one of the most forbidding districts of Greece, and is tra- versed merely because it leads to Sparta or to Argos. Unlike the now naked rocks of Palestine, it bears no signs of having been turned to profit, even by a superior state of terrace-cultivation. The heights of Parnon, Zarax, or Maina, never flowed with milk or honey : nor, is there much probability that abimdance will ever characterize it, as once was the case in the now arid plain of Attica. For 198 AN EXCURSION such a result, there must be a population far ex- ceeding what the most enthusiastic Philhellen can anticiiiate. The progress made since the revo- lution, is worth notice, however, and it can he detected, by a comparison of the returns, given by Leake and Gordon of the state of this district be- fore the war, with its actual position. Dating from the war only, and contrasting that period with the present — not an unusual trait in Greek State papers — is much like comparing a house under repair, with a house the day after a conflagration. Yet one thing strikes even the most careless. We pass here from state to state, as in England from county to county — nay, in some cases, as though from one parish to another. "We lose all customary standards of political measurement, like in the mediseval republics of Italy. I know not how many autonomies may be descried, by any one who takes the pains, from the summits of half the mountains in Greece. But, take the picture, and add its instructive side. Each separate state — of all those now comprised in one monarchy — generally accomplished more than the entire ex- isting kingdom of Hellas. Half a dozen of these Ejjarchies would have been thought a satisfactory aj^panage for a hungry Macedonian. But so it is, in our centralizing times : the forces, mental as well as physical, work now scientifically — jjerhaps more productively, when properly developed : still in how many cases are they never developed, or only after the lapse of many long years ? IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 199 CHAPTEE VII. KALAMATA. May 4. — I was awakened by the hot sun, and, flinging open all my windows to inhale the first fragrance of the morning, great was my delight to find myself, as at Sparta, in the midst of a garden of oranges and all sorts of fruit-trees. Their refreshing green, and more refreshing odours, seemed calling on us to lose no time, but to seize quickly these precious hours, before the noon- day drove us into the gloom and closeness of our apartments. We were soon ready, and got through breakfast expeditiously, eager to commence the pleasant duties of the day. But another visit from the authorities, Nomarch, Demarch, Mirarch, in their fullest costume, followed by the foreign con- suls, uniform, feathers, and decorations, detained us some moments with their friendly welcome. After sitting with us awhile, and tendering many obliging offers of service, not meant to be compli- ments, but often needed, and in Greece uniformly followed out by deeds, they took their leave, when we sallied forth, under the guidance of our vice- consul and his lady, to inspect the town and its institutions. Our first visit, through abominably rough, hilly, and dirty streets, was to the schools. Kalamata, 200 AN EXCURSION being tlie chief place of the nomarchy, possesses two demotic schools and one Hellenic. All these are under one roof. The building, externally, is fair enough, but the internal arrangements poor, and apparently provisional. The stairs were rickety, the rooms low and confined, badly constructed and wretchedly ventilated. The demotic school for boys was quite full, under the temporary government of the second master ; the first being on a visit to Chalkis, as a preliminary to further promotion. He appeared to have been a great favourite, and I was unanimously requested to solicit his restoration to his old friends at Kalamata. This might not have been a service to the master ; but it was gratifying to see such good " accord " between teacher and pupil ; and such earnestness for his return, formed a high eulogium on his past character and merits. The second master creditably supplied his place ; and, it is to be hoped, will leave the same kind feelings behind, when, in the fulness of time and service, he also shall obtain promotion. At my request, he now went through examinations in reading, arithmetic, and geography. The knowledge required is of the most elementary kind, not aspiring higher than the general geograj^hy of Europe, with the more detailed geography of Greece, and the four rules in arithmetic* I found this good master using the * Though this is a scanty stock, I find no fault with such limi- tation. What the child and man require here, as in every country, is good preparation for his position ; and I do not see how a pro- vision beyond his wants can tend to his happiness or to that of his neighbours. It is possible, nay desirable, that these wants may daily extend, and with them education will naturally also have its expansion. Supply will always be in the train of demand, and in IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 201 same method of book question and answer as most of his confreres ; but, admitting, that a much better system existed, of which he had not yet penetrated the entire value and extent. Most of the questions were answered fairly, but I should not trust much to the knowledge, and less to the mental habits they leave behind. A Greek school must be pro- vided with religious instruction, and a priest was in attendance. I was greatly taken by his appear- ance and bearing. Amongst the many fine heads furnished by their order in every part of this king- dom, and which possess all the harmony, clearness, and idealism of the best Greek type, I have seen few superior to this head for extreme gem-like refinement, and that beauty of repose, which is the atmosphere of all things artistic in ancient Greece. The Papas' accent and manner accorded with his exterior. He seemed to be quietly interested in his pupils, and made no effort at display. I re- quested him to put a few questions in the Old and New Testament, to the class next him. Taking a small book of Scripture lessons, he at once, like the teacher at Sparta, struck into the history of Joseph. This is a favourite chapter with all Greek teachers and children (with whom is it not ?), and tbe intellectual even more than in the physical world, one will provoke the other. But another requisite is needed by every scholar quite as much as mere knowledge, — the habit of using with advantage that great instrument, his own mind ; and this habit is not to be attained, without judicious and constant exercise. For- tunately, the very process of communicating or acquiring knowledge furnishes, every moment, if properly applied, the means ; and it is this process which ought to be, more than the knowledge itself, the .great object of the teacher. \ou I. 2d 202 AN EXCURSION is invariably the first ofiered in every examination. The children answered with accuracy, and seemed to know the facts in a more satisfactory manner than their geography, giving the general meaning in different forms, without strictly adhei'ing to the letter of the Septu.agint. The book was only initi- atory to the Septuagint : they w'ould reach this later, when they advanced to higher classes and higher schools. The condition and costumes of the pupils were various, apparently belonging to all classes and places. Books of attendance were kept, but in the simplest form. The head-master receives the usual pay of 160 drachmae per month from the Demos, and twenty-five lepta from each child. But, besides this, the parents make frequent presents to the teachers ; with Avhom they generally stand on the best terms. The second master has 130 drachmae per month, and is eligible — and often elected — to take the place of the first. The Hellenic school we visited before the De- motic, and found it well attended. The teacher was engaged, when we entered, in the explanations and hearing of " Lysias," in the Chrestomathia. The young man under examination not only seemed to understand the philological construction, mean- ing, and parsing of his author, of which he gave sufficient proof, but bore questioning as to the arrangement and bearing of the argument, as also on the analysis, grammatical and mental, of the sentences he had been reading. These he broke up into their parts with facility, and showed the relation of each to the other, philologically and analytically, a good deal on the German plan, IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 203 proving no small mastery over the strictly lingual element of the passage, and a considerable percep- tion of the purpose of the orator. There being too limited a number of paragraphs, to enable me to judge of his capacity for further analysis — one of the evils incidental to the use of these Chresto- mathiae — I could come to no conclusion, as to how far he had seized the final purport or oratorical management of the whole. Of the character and tendency of this oration, and of those of Lysias in general, he seemed to have sufficient knowledge ; though this might have been guessed from the preamble and notes in the text-book, as a matter of mere rote instead of deduction. The exercise as a whole was conducted in the usual technical order, in no way differing from the examination in the Hellenic school at Spai'ta. The passage is first read, then construed, theu parsed, then historically or otherwise commented on and explained. With the reading I was as little satisfied here, as in every other part of Greece. There was the same monoto- nous tone, with complete disregard to stops, rhythm, or meaning ; and if at times the scholar thinks it necessary to display, he swells out into a pompous voice and look, as fatiguing as the less pretentious humdrum that preceded it. But this being a defect common to all schools, I am not much sur- prised to find it in Greece. The construction and construing — to me invariably a source of great interest — were better managed, as at Sparta. For- merly, there would have been the same broadly- marked distinction between the ancient and modern Greek, as exists between the two cognate languages of Latin and Italian — two streams flowing parallel 20 i AN EXCURSION to, but not mingling with eacli other. The case is now greatly altered. The modern Greek is ap- proaching again so closely to its mother, that you seem to hear only a provincial rendering of the same tongue — a curious compression of the large and dijBFuse mind of the present Greek, into the sharp and vigorous idiom of the ancient. It is like the Tuscan in energy and purity, contrasted with the diluted style of the Roman and Neapolitan. Sometimes the streams run on for a good while side by side, sometimes they intermingle. That the substance of the modern Greek language will be brought into complete identity with the ancient, at no distant period, seems to admit of little doubt. It is another question, whether it will ever be wielded or worked with the true spirit of an ancient. To revert to our school. The parsing left nothing to desire, at least in that stage ; it dismem- bered and anatomized the sentence thoroughly. The historic illustrations were feeble, not extend- ing beyond the narrowest limits, and showing symptoms of being got up by rote, like so much of the boy-knowledge here. The young men under examination never hesitated for an instant, the standard of excellence seeming to depend upon quickness.* We observed a marked difference, between the appearance of this population and that of Sj)arta. The same activity and intelligence were not wanting, but of another kind. Mountain air and * This Hellenic school was attended in 1858 by 247 pupils, and in 1862 by 243. There are no official returns from the Demotic schools in 1858 ; but in 1862 and 1863 the boys' school counted 184 pupils, and the girls' 100 in both years. — Ed. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 205 mountain life pervaded everything Spartan — fresh complexion, fair hair, light limb, and joyous youth. At Kalamata these were replaced by pale fac?s, dark, sleepy eyes, a serious look, and an absence of physical firmness in structure, which took me back to Athens. What share the larger town and its occupations, the " fat air," and profuse luxuriance of the plain have in shaping their cha- racter is not easy to determine : but the contrast is perceptible, of the good and bad effects of mere town life, with the indulgences and influences of modern civilization. I could not help feeling that there were some inherent peculiarities, too, in the mould in which they had been cast. To me, they represented anew, with a few modifi- cations, the same qualities, so provocative to the avidity of their neighbours, that had formerly so strongly distinguished the Messenians from the Spartans. We next inspected the Demotic school for girls. The room was remarkably clean and well fitted up. We were, however, as unfortunate here as at Sparta; no class was working at the time, for which the young mistress made many apologies. Her manner and appearance being cheerful and modest without pretension, favourably impressed us. Her small apartment, next to the school-room, was clean and appropriately furnished with a few tables, books, and flowers — apparently her habitual companions. We examined the class-books, and the girls' work ; the first indicated little more than the most rudi- mentary elements of knowledge, the latter con- sisted principally of embroidery, some portions very elaborate, and all creditable to her pupils. 206 AN EXCURSION She pursued the usual mu.tual method, though the numbers were insufficient to give it much exten- sipn ; the catechetical, or by rote system, was used for instruction, and Scripture lessons and religious teaching not neglected, though all are subject to the same defects. No industrial branch beyond needlework had been thought of. The teacher was not unwUliug, but rather insensible on the matter. It had obviously formed no joortion of the duties imposed on her by the government or suggested by previous training. Her birth-place was Argos, but she had been educated at the Philopaideutike at Athens.* In her own person, however, she seemed to afford a good practical example of clean- liness, mildness, and cheerfulness ; all of such immense effect on the jjresent happiness, progress, and future temper of children. The character of a schoolmistress creates a moral influence of the most potent kiud around her. Gloom and sullen- ness allow of no expansion : we cannot nurse tender flowers without sunshine. A sunny look and an encouraging voice are in themselves greater agents in development than whole hours of instruction. This, coupled with their earnestness and reality, is the true secret of the influence of the Sisters of Charity. Girls who have resisted all else, and women * The directress of the Philopaideutike has occasionally made efforts to introduce household work, by requiring those pupils intended for schoolmistresses to superintend the cleaning and general service of the house, each in turn, week about : cooking and washing, however, have never been attempted. And even this limited discipline was maintained with difficulty. The prejudices against labour, among Easterns, are inconceivable, — eveiy descrip- tion, even purely domestic, is still considered ignoble. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 207 as well as girls, bow before them, or willingly follow, in cases where with others they would have been necessarily for the most part driven. The salary to this schoolmistress was in fair proportion to that of the other teachers : she re- ceived 100 drachmae per month from the Demos, besides her apartments, and one drachme per month from each child. Her pupils amounted, she stated, to 100, though nothing like that number were then in attendance. If paid regularly, her salary would not fall much short of that of a deputy to the Chambers. On taking leave, we proceeded with Madame Leondariti to the Nunnery, in a remote part of the town. Very few of these communities are extant in Greece, the greater number having been sup- pressed, the Greeks themselves tell me, on all- sufficient grounds ; and of these few, this one of Kalamata bears the best reputation. Madame Leondariti spoke of the inmates with great respect and consideration. Their present residence is the same one they had before the revolution. Though different from such edifices in Europe, it retains some pretensions to a conventual character. It is a long, low, straggling, barrack-looking building, approached through a court and gateway, with a small garden, adjoining orange and mulberry plan- tations farther back. The ground-floor is applied to the household purposes of the establishment, whilst the upper has a large wooden gallery, opening, according to the ordinary Turkish — and I may say, conventual — plan, into a range of cells behind. The reception parlour, answering to the Italian parlatorio, at the extremity of this 208 AX EXCURSION line, was a good, clean, and airy room. The nuns have also a tolerably neat chapel, and a refectory in the building, but no cloisters. The garden below is very limited, and intended to supply fruit and vegetables, but it was in a lamentable state of weed and neglect at the time of our visit. We were received with kindness by the Supe- rioress, an old acquaintance of Madame Leondariti. She was accompanied by another nun, both of mild and unassuming manners, but apparently bent down, by poverty and care. The institution, they told us, was scarcely able to sustain itself. The government had seized all its revenues, and allowed them but the smallest pittance to live on. No repairs, not even the slightest, could be attempted without the permission of the authorities. They were obliged to apply themselves to other expe- dients, to obtain the means of a livelihood. In consequence, they had established a number of looms in the convent for silk-weaving, and took in girls as apprentices, gratis, twelve being the number then with them. This enabled the young people to gain a decent living afterwards, both at Kalamata and elsewhere, whilst in the mean time they helped the nuns to carry on their manu- facture. The work is sold, to any person who chooses to buy it, at the convent. Expressing a desire to see some specimens, a great variety was produced of different colours and patterns, all remarkably firm and close, the silk being of the finest and most unadulterated description, without mixture of cotton or any extraneous material whatever. The dye, too, is made and applied in the house. They showed us some samples, but IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 209 truth obliges me to confess that they were not to be admired for brilliancy or diversity, and that the colours were such as might be expected in so incipient a manufacture. Of their permanency I was naturally unable to judge. I have never heard complaints on that head, though the mate- rial is extensively used in Greece. Some specimens, sent to the London Exhibition of 1851, had met with a favourable reception. The Superioress pro- duced, with evident satisfaction, the handsome volume of Mr. Stephanos Xenos on the Exhibi- tion, which had been presented to them by him, in recognition of their labour and merits. Having selected several samples in the shape of scarfs and handkerchiefs, we were shown the few looms in their possession. These are of the rudest and oldest construction, but the community has no money to purchase any better. The consequent slowness of the work, together with the price of the silk, did not allow them to sell their manu- facture at as low a figure as they could wish. It was higher than the average prices in the Erench, Italian, and English markets ; but then, though not of so fine a texture, it was much purer and considerably more lasting. They possessed neither sufficient qviantity for exporting nor means towards it — nor even a depot for the sale of their produce at Athens or Kalamata.* They did not aim at an * This defect is almost universal in Greece. At Cumse, for in- stance, in Euboea, the most beautiful scarfs are made of the finest gauze texture, striped with gold or silk, vying with those of Coan celebrity ; yet, though only at the far side of the island, and a short distance from Chalcis, with daily communication thence to Athens, it is almost impossible to procure them. We always had VOL. I. 2 E 210 AN EXCURSION extensive manufacture, the Superioress assuring us, that the great utility of the establishment lay in the fact of its keeping them alive. They might have added, that, even in its limited sphere, it afforded employment and instruction to many who might otherwise have remained without either. KctMypaiai — literally, good old women — is the name used for nuns in Greece. About fifteen are in this convent at present, some, despite the name, sufiiciently young. They wear a habit resembling the usual dress of Greek widows, and consisting of a black tunic and white cap. Their rule, like all other Greek convents, is that of St. Basil. They are not cloistered, and yet they do not discharge any of the duties or services which usually devolve on uncloistered nuns, — such as attending the sick, the deserted, and ignorant, like the Sisters of Cha- rity, Sisters of Mercy, and various similar orders, in other countries. The manufacture, and the school it has given rise to, is a step in the right direction, and both might, with a little intelligence and zeal, be turned to excellent purpose : much is already done to their hands. The Kalamata scarfs, but particularly the mosquito - nets, have so far ac- quired in Greece a very considerable celebrity ; and, though I am not sanguine as to manufactures, for it is not the speciality or particular tendency of the Greek nation, this one might be made a very practical subsidiary to general female education. Advantage could easily be taken of the position to employ the kind offices of local friends to obtain a sample, and even then it was a matter of trouble. Were there a depot at Athens, these scarfs would be bought by all strangers. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 211 already gained, which, if judiciously managed, would certainly, after such teaching, prove remu- nerative, both in this and other similarly situated communities. After visiting the garden, and joining in a regret at their inability to give it an attractive appear- ance, we took leave, not without surprise that such materials for good had not been more exten- sively taken advantage of. The number of nunneries in Greece is very limited. There is one at Tinos, and others at Spezzia, Naxos, and Hydra. That at Hydra is intended for the upper classes, or at least it is applied to their use, — for 'Ag;(;o'vr*o-(raj, as a Greek monk told us ; — widows of the best families retire there. Some of the Tombazis are living in the convent at present. Greek convents have much more the appearance and character of almonries or almshouses, both as to constitution, discipline, and building, than those known as nunneries in Europe. They seem designed simply as places of retirement, and not of practical work. No active duty is imposed on the inmates.* The position, dis- * The only conventual institution in Europe at all analogous to these Greek nunneries, is that of the Beguines, who still possess flourishing houses in Belgium. The largest Beguinage now in existence is at Ghent, where several hundred nuns dwell together in one convent. No vows are taken in this order, the members of it merely agreeing to live united under a common rule, to which they must conform for the time being. They may leave, however, when they wish. The Beguines wear a simple monastic habit ; but they retain control over their property, and are bound to no active occupation — though many of course adopt some. Hence, like the Greek nunneries noticed in the text, a Beguinage is prac- tically more a place of retirement than an actual convent in the strict sense. — Ed. 212 AN EXCURSION cipline, and results of the Catholic convent of the " Soeurs de Charite " at Santorin, and the " Soeurs de St. Joseph," now at Athens, differ widely frona these. They have a healthy air of movement and life about them, at once cause and effect ; and they show that much good has been done, bringing contentment in its train, at the same time giving promise and guarantee for much more. The day had become hot, and the ladies feeling fatigued, returned to the Vice-Consulate, whilst I proceeded to the Demarchy, courts, and prison, returning on my way the visits of the Nomarch and other autliorities. The Demarchy presented nothing remarkable, and the courts were closed for the day. It was some time before I reached the prison : on the road I made many inquiries as to the Chevalier Apert's new penitentiary establish- ment, set up under the sanction of government, at Modon ; but, though so near, and so deeply concern- ing the whole Avell-being of the province, indeed of all Greece, and, if successful, likely to prove a good guide in the creation of similar institutions throughout the kingdom, I could not get from the Vice-Consul, or from any of the authorities, more than the most meagre and unsatisfactory accoimt. They had heard of it — believed it might be useful — thought it was going on — supposed it was well managed : but their answers were so hesitating, that I supposed the contrary, and they rather seemed to wish I shoixld. Nothing has been pub- lished at Kalamata on the subject, and very little heard about it. Eew went to the place, and fewer came from it. The roads were bad. In short, there was little chance of satisfying my curiosity IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 213 without a visit : but, for that, any more than for a turn off to Pylos, I had not time. The lesson, however, was instructive, and recalled and explained a great deal. After winding through many wretched streets, hardly compensated for by picturesque fragments, here and there, of houses left behind by time and revolutions, I was suddenly stopped by my compa- nions, and told that "there was the prison." A strong faith and a large experience it required, to believe them. I beheld a two-storied, miserable house, the second floor of which was reached by the most shaky of stairs, leading to an outer balcony, in the usual Turkish style. The entire story included but two rooms, extending the width of the building, and entered by one door. Each room opened on the balcony by two barred windows. People outside were moving up and down this balcony, and look- ing in through the windows ad UMtitm. The bars were soon filled from within with faces of all ages and expressions, each a significant portrait, in its iron frame. Some laughed, some asked for charity, others scowled. The prisoners being ordered off, we had a glimpse through the windows down the rooms. They were thickly crowded, like the wards of an hospital ; beds lay close to each other, on the ground ; on these some were lying, some sitting, and others walking to and fro. There was no classification of age, offence, or period of con- finement ; no occupation, little discipline, and only such order as they might themselves choose to keep ; neither was there any place for exercise, prayer, or meals. The prison, altogether, was of the rudest and most barbaric kind. I asked for the governor 214 AN EXCURSION and guard. The turnkey was, to a great degree, the governor ; whilst the guard was in a house on the opposite side of the street. The means of detention were of the feeblest sort. From the appearance of the door, and that the only one, a kick would have been quite sufficient to have thrown it down. The escape in 1854! was now abundantly explained. It is not astonishing that the prisoners got out, the only wonder is how they are kept in. No precautions appear to have been taken, since that successful experiment, to prevent its repetition. Any day in the week it would be an easy matter to carry off the door, and almost the house with it. But ought one to be astonished that Kalamata is not better provided, when we have a chief prison so administered as the Medrisi, under the eyes of court, government, and tribunals, in the very centre of the city of Athens ? Such a barbarism effaces, by a single visit, the favour- able impression which might have been caused by a succession of government circulars. Nauplia and Rhio are a little — though only a very little — better, thanks to the greater vigour and precision of a military management, and the superior facilities ready arranged for them and offered by the for- tress-character of each of those places. That of Chalkis even exceeds the prison of Kalamata. A more dreadful neglect of all the first and simplest conditions of prison security and discipline, cannot be imagined. In this question, which ought to be the first step of all civilization, the Greek government have not made one since the re- covery of their independence. Where the Turkish government left them, there they still are. Of IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 215 the infinite evil which flows out in every variety on society, especially in its incipiency, from such carelessness, it is needless to speak. And assuredly if the Greek government fails to apply a remedy, it is not from want of knowledge or means. They have had counsel enough and funds enough. It is to be feared that insensibility is the cause of the indifference, that again arising from callousness to the duties and responsibilities of government, or ignorance of the immense importance of such a question to the youngest and smallest of the land.* * In this matter of prisons, it is certain that the author, when Minister in Greece, spared no effort to obtain reform. The Greek government seemed alive, at one time, to its necessity ; and, in several lengthened interviews with Sir T. Wyse, they ended by urgently requesting to be furnished in writing with the valuable information he had verbally afforded them on the subject. Accord- ingly, with this view, he drew up an elaborate paper on prisons and prison treatment, further procuring them, through the kind- ness of Sir John Young, then Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands, the plan and details of the Panopticon at Corfu, which had proved so successful. The Greek government appeared grateful, a royal ordinance Vas published, and they assured Sir Thomas Wyse that the requisite buildings would be immediately erected, and an entirely new system at once inaugurated. Great, then, was his surprise — though he could hardly feel surprise at anything in Greek affairs — when, a change of ministry occurring the next year, on reference being made to the prison reform sup- posed to be in progress, the new ministers pleaded total ignorance that anything of the kind was in hand. The ample information which the government had so pressed Sir T. "Wyse to provide them with, was, in i-eality, so little valued, that it had long since been forgotten, and neither the memorandum nor the plans could be found in the official archives ! — so great is the distance between promises and performances in Greece ! It is some gratification, however, to perceive that the attention of King George has been directed that way. In the Greek papers of the 30th December (O. S.), 1863, mention is made of a visit paid by the young king to the Medrisi at Athens, the prisoners having complained of their 216 AN EXCURSION It were but just, however, to add that this prison of .Kalamata is intended more for the punishment of minor offences, than — as the Medrisi at Athens ■ — for more seriou.s crimes. Having still some time to spare, I went to in- spect the only manufactory existing here, — the silk establishment of a French gentleman, M. Fournaire. He had been an old Philhellene, who, after the French expedition, had remained in the Morea. The building stood at the extremity of the town, towards the sea — a common, unpretending, barn- like sort of house, forming one great room. On entering, I found the manager and proprietor busied, to his credit, with all the processes, and superintending them himself. The entire arrange- ment was of the simplest description. About sixty girls were employed, washing and cleaning, un- twisting the cocoons, and Aviuding the silk in rows down the centre of the building, the appa- ratus being worked by a simple moving water- power at the head of the room. He told me that he preferred this machinery, from its very rude- food. His Majesty inquired into every particular of their treat- ment, inspected the establishment, and expressed his strong disap- proval of everything he there saw. On the following day he sent 1,000 drachmse to be distributed amongst the prisoners, which allowed one dollar to each. The newspapers remark, with justice, upon the striking conti-ast this royal visit presented to the system of past times, when no high authority — not even a Nomarch — ever entered the prison walls. It is to be hoped that this may be a true earnest of permanent reform to come. In addition to the memorandum above mentioned, Sir T. Wyse was the author, amongst many other papers, of an extensive report on the " Administration of Justice in Greece," extant among the still unpublished papers of the well-known " Financial Commission," of which he was president. — Ed. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 217 ness and simplicity. It was easily understood, and he could get it repaired when out of order, though not very quickly, it is true: one part — a wheel, I think — had been a little broken, and it took two weeks or more to mend, but, in the end, it was repaired ; that was always something gained, for so much could not be done with a steam- engine. He thought, too, that this was quite as far as the Greeks could yet go. It was a great mistake to force them up to efforts, the necessity of which they could not feel, still less understand : one improvement might be laid on, whilst another would grow out of the wants of a country. He was for the latter, and it had succeeded with him fairly enough. He was not very ambitious or grasping, being satisfied with the " possible," and did not attempt more. I commended this wise practical philosophy, and should wish to see more of it in Greece ; where, with even the wisest of its friends, there is too much disposition to think of "le mieux" in the distance, rather than to choose, like this sound economist, to abide by " le bien " before their door. I was much interested in this isolated effort, and made a good number of inquiries as to its working and remunerative results. There are so few data of the kind in Greece, that even these scanty items bear more than their intrinsic worth. M. Eournaire informed me that there is a tolerable demand, in the country itself, and even, occasionally, for exportation, though the French merchants prefer the cocoons. The silk is gene- rally of fair quality, and is improving. The present price of cocoons is 18 drachmae, or 13s. per oke; and of raw silk, 84 drachmae, or £3 per oke. The VOL. I. 2 F 218 AN EXCURSION cocoons I saw seemed good, smooth, fine, and strong.* The sixty girls employed from Kalamata and the neighbouring villages are paid 50 drachmae per day, or about 7^d. each girl from the age of ten to sixteen. For the greater part they are apt scholars, and learn what is intrusted to them with much quickness of apprehension, but they requii'e to be Avatched, so as to keep them to their work. All were apparently modest and quiet, and, as far as I could judge, intelligent and active workers. The proprietor said, he had not much to complaiu of; they were easily guided, rather talkative, it must be admitted, but only seldom deserving severe punishment. They came to work about six o'clock a.m., and left at the same hour in the evening. An hour was allowed for dinner, which they gene- rally brought with them, consisting chiefly of the spare national fare, such as a few cucumbers, grapes, and a little bread. Opportunity also was occasionally given them for education. The parents had now no difficulty in permitting their children to come, though at first they made con- siderable objections, arising out of their general domestic habits. M. Fournaire, however, endea- voured to maintain the strictest projiriety, which resulted in gradually inspiring them with confi- dence. Like the Greeks themselves, he managed the whole concern with as much simplicity and economy as possible. * The price of cocoons in 1863 was 16 and 17 draclimse, or lis. Id. to 12s. 4(Z. per oke. The raw silk in 1863 cost 80 drachmae, or £2. 17s. per oke. This manufactory of M. C. Fournaire continues, but works very irregularly at present, indeed only at intervals. —Ed. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 219 The real usefulness of such an establishment consists in furnishing employment to the young female population, who, in the towns, are usually idle, and in the country subjected to the hardest field-labour, with all its evils, physical and moral. The immediate remuneration can not be consi- derable for some time to come. Labour- wages, for all classes in Greece, bear a high premium, and, compared to other countries, form a large item in the price of manufacture, as well as of production. Until a substitute for hand-labour, or a larger home demand, can be secured, high remunerative prices can hardly be expected; but M. Eournaire does not think either impossible. The people are not yet much awakened to such wants, and the government (perhaps rightly, as I thought) applies no stimulus. One advantage this establishment must have over others, is, that it lies close to the spot of production. Manufacturer and grower may assure their transactions on the cheapest and sound terms, and calculate pretty accurately the extent to which they can confine their respective arrangements. On the whole, the proprietor seemed gratified at my interest, and accompanied me home. I found him very intelligent and observant, with a stock of experience and discrimination on matters in Greece which can only be attained by long residence, and a keen notice of passing events, such as he could very legitimately boast of. Few that I met passed sounder judgments on men and things, or entered with better sense and greater frankness into all questions connected with either. I could tell much of the facts and opinions I gleaned from him, but, 220 AN EXCURSION like Pausanias, I have had a dream, and cannot divulge these Eleusinian mysteries. I had not long rested at the Vice-Consulate, when a memorial was handed to me, the petitioner wait- ing below, and requesting an interview. I at once concluded it was one of the usual Ionian applica- tions for redress for false imprisonment, old claims of arrears due by the Greek government, or a request for passage back from ungrateful Hellas to his own country, in spite of continued British misgovern- ment. The memorialist, however, proved to be my young friend of the morning, who, struck — or his friends for him — with the idea, that the interest I took in his answers might be improved, with due skill, into something more to his advantage, came to ask me, in the most approved complimentary fashion, to give effect to my good wishes and to turn aspirations into deed, by obtaining his transmission, without delay, to the gymnasium of Nauplia. I smiled at his speed, and gave him better counsel than he appeared willing to take, advising him to hasten to this end more temperately. Even if I wished it, I knew I could help him but little ; for Greek ministers are masters of their own affairs, and, unless called on, I never interfered in these matters. It was unpleasant to refuse the boy, though I felt convinced that delay was for his ultimate advantage; and he withdrew, as might have been expected, somewhat disappointed.* The * A gymnasium was established at Kalamata — simultaneously with the one at Sparta — in 18G2, too late, however, it is to be sup- posed, to serve the above-named ardent student ! It was at once attended by 131 pupils. 10 gymnasia exist by law at present in Greece, — 2 at Athens, 1 at the Peirfeus, 1 at Syra, 1 at Chalcis, IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 221 trait is characteristic, and explains how it comes to pass that Law and Medicine are overflowing, even to their lowest department, to say nothing of the army of government employes, who read and write despatches on the destinies of the future Greek empire, and are satisfied with 40 drachmse per month, the usual pay of a common footman in Athens. Having dined, reposed, and recovered our fresh- ness, and the sun beginning to decline, we deter- mined to examine the site, neighbourhood, and antiquities of the city. In a few minutes, there- fore, our whole party were on their way to the citadel. Ascending through gardens of the richest orange and citron trees, and under ancient olives, towards the north, in about a quarter of an hour we reached the hill on which lie the still extensive ruins of the fortress. These ruins are open, and entirely un- tenanted. Their construction is mixed, indicating successive occupations, French, Turkish, Venetian, and again Turkish. The walls are of great breadth and tolerable height, well built and well preserved. The most remarkable part, is that which lies to the west. There the wall runs along a high rock, immediately over the bed of a broad mountain- torrent. This torrent, considerable in winter or after heavy rains, issues from a deep and close gorge, of which this hill is the termination. We saw the stream, reduced to a small thread, flowing over a gravelly bed, with high rocks on either side. 1 at Mesolonglii, 1 at Tripolitza, 1 at Kalamata, 1 at Sparta, and 1 at Patras. — Ed. 222 AN EXCURSION On the opposite bank, stood a small hamlet ov suburb, where the plain commences, the torrent winding along the western side of the town to the sea. The citadel of Kalamata was built by Guillaume de Villehardouin, who, born in the town, felt a strong attachment to the place, and made it his residence ; in consequence he obtained, not without reason, the surname of Kalamata. It was here also that he died. The portions built by him are, pro- bably, little more than the substructions, with some masses of the western wall immediately above the torrent. The Venetians found the fortress of con- siderable extent at their first attack, under Giorgio Cornaro, in 1659 ; and it seems to have lost none of its importance when taken by Morosini, in the year 1685, under the German General, Baron von Degenfeld. Coronelli describes the castle as having been regularly fortified and sufiiciently strong, but the town as altogether without walls or defence. In his draAAing, which represents its appearance at the time of this attack, the citadel forms a square or oblong, with four towers, and the town a formal square below, at the left side of the torrent, with a single mosque ; and a suburb, opposite the castle (of which what is still visible may be the remains) complete the picture.* It would seem, from Coronelli, that Degenfeld * " C'est un lieu ouvert de la province de Belvedere. II est assez peuple, quoiqu'il n'ait pas seulement de murailles qui puissent le mettre a I'abri d'une surprise ; en recompense il y a sur una hauteur un chateau fortifie assez regulierement, oil ses habitans peuvent se mettre en surete en cas de quelque disgrace." — (Coro- nelli, 1 partie, p. 111.) 7" .v..'^.,.'^ 4^-%. ^^';f>?.. -0 P A ISP fe?si:: .w-y- ll)J«:4J-r=-- •/v),;'-^^-,;-. -i-^' ■ ,..^'^5^-. '1 N R A M A I ' f !■ TAKEN FROM THE CI M E S S E N I A A L A M A T A IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 223 destroyed the fortress, or at least rendered it in- effective; but if so, it was subsequently repaired, for over the largest gate is the lion of St. Mark in bold relief, whUst a considerable addition ap- pears to have been made by an enclosure towards the town. The view from this elevation, whether seen from the brushwood of the platform, sitting on a fragment of the shattered walls, or looking through the heavy open arch, presented a most instructive and magnificent appearance. In front, the town lies immediately beneath, without order or plan, the lines now and then broken by a Vene- tian belfry, a lingering testimonial of the conquest. Beyond, runs the broad gravelly bed of the torrent, divided into two branches, and on the left, as the extreme boundary, sparkles the sea. Our steamer and a small squadron of fishing-boats marked the skala, if such it can be called. On the western shore of the bay runs a low range of mountain, strongly contrasting with that of Maina, extend- ing to Tsenarus or Cape Matapan on one side, and which, in its turn, is the cou.nterpart of Malea, or St. Angelo, in the bay of Kolokythia. That opposite tract, the region of Modon and Navarino, was Lower Messenia, and the portion which con- trived so well to keep its neutrality during the Messenian wars. All the district between, is low and flat, and must at one period have been a swamp or sea ; for, there can be little doubt that these torrents, carrying down a large detritus during a succession of ages, have added very considerably to the territory through the entire curve. The town of Kalamata itself (if it be Pherse) in the time of Strabo was five stadia, in that of Pausanias eight, 224 AN EXCURSION and is now ten stadia from the beach. In such a soil vegetation of all kinds must have been uni- versal and profuse. It is one garden of olives, oranges, citrons, pomegranates, here and. there broken by cypresses, and sparkling occasionally with houses. The town is connected with the other bank by a rude and small wooden brid:;-e ; and a little way up the torrent, is the village noticed by Coronelli. Turning now to the north, the gorge commences, the town following to a certain distance the base of the citadel. Parther northward the gorge opens with high banks on either side, terraced at intervals for vineyards, whilst below runs the white bed of the torrent. One can also see those broken lines which sepa- rate us from the richest part of the vale of Messenia. They gradually become regular, until, advancing east, we find ourselves opposite the rugged barrier which we passed yesterday, the old boundary between Lakonia and Messenia, and, on this side, the highest point of that backbone of rock, which gradually declines until Taygetus finally terminates in Tsenarus. In the bright evening sun, we thought we could pick out, though at a great distance, the village of Skardamyle, the ancient Kardamyle, once famous for its temj)le to the Nereids, as it still is for its modern tra- ditions and legends of the same ambiguous deities- Nearer, and on the sea-shore, stands Kytries, for- merly the winter port of Kalamata ; and behind that last projecting lowland lies the celebrated district, the Maina of Maina, Kakavoulia. Over the whole intermediate country floats a flood of green, from the gracefully sweeping sea-shore up IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 225 to the town, and from the town again, right up into the foldings of hill and hillock, till lost amid the depths of the stern embracing mountains — a veritable luxuriance in truth of every kind of plantation, from vine to olive, which turns to ever- green brushwood as it approaches the mountain district, thus imparting an appearance of surpassing richness. Yet along with this, there obtrudes some remembrance of its unhealthy and its early state. A hot haze broods over the greater portion, but especially between the sea and river, apparently laden with suffocation and fever. This, I was told, is not mere surmise. The winter no longer period- ically converts the pasturage of the summer into a marsh, as is the case in many parts of Greece ; still even with greater hydraulic knowledge and larger municipal attention than I can give the inhabitants credit for, it is impossible that the overflowings of the rainy season should not find easy access to many a plantation on both banks of the present dry bed, and there remain till car- ried off by evaporation, damp, hot, and noxious, late in the summer. Coming down yesterday evening into the plain, I at once saw and felt it. It was like a low, stifling apartment. With such drawbacks, and in the absence of a port, it would be hard to conceive how it ever was chosen or retained for habitation, were we not admonished by its position that it must originally have been a seaport on one side, and a fortress commanding the gorge and the entrance into the heart of Mes- senia, on the other. At no one period does it seem to have been neglected, and this practical evidence of utility is worth volumes of theory VOL. I. 2 G 226 AN EXCURSION showing its disadvantages and the reason why it ought not to have been inhabited. The town of Pherse is the remarkable one in this neighbourhood. It is of double Homeric fame, as one of the towns ceded by Agamemnon to Achilles. They gave and sold territory then, as they now sell land, by villages, and as in the East by sheep and cattle, or as in E,ussia by serfs, or in America by slaves. It was also the town where Telemachus lodged for the night, in his hurried journey from Pylos to Sparta. The main ques- tion, however, is, whether Pherse stood here on the site of Kalamata, or a little more to the west. The name Kalamata suggests an identity with the town of Kalamai, westward of Pherae ; and, though it is seldom that so close a resemblance of name does not accompany or signify identity of site, there are cases which justify the exception. Those who maintain the identity upon this plea of name, find little support in other particulars : on the contrary, distance, position, traditional consequence, all point to the complete conformity of Pherae with Kala- mata. How it obtained its name, is a matter for ulterior research. The swampy and reedy nature of the soil in both cases, xa'\a.[/.oi meaning reeds, might have gone far to affix the appropriate name to the later Pherae, as well as to the original Kalamai. If Pherae and Kalamata be identical, then this mountain torrent is the Nedon of Strabo, which name belongs also to a village mentioned by that writer, but supposed by Leake to have been situated near the sources of the river Neda.* Coronelli * Leake, Travels in the Moj-ea, p. 345. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 227 calls it, in his map or view of Kalamata, " Spir- nazza ;" and, in his text, he absurdly identifies it * with the Pamisus, which certainly lay much fur- ther to the west. The Kalamata river rises in the chain of Taygetus, and it must have rim to our right, a considerable part of our way, during yester- day's journey. The smaU stream, which cuts Lada Koutzova in two, falls into the Nedon somewhat lower down. Greek geographers, with reason, do not allow this to be more than a rivulet, — Trora- [/.ia-xog. Like the Ilissus, it is a thread of water scarcely perceptible except after heavy rains, when it comes rushing from the mountains for little more than a couple of hours. Even within that time, however, it often does great damage : two years ago, for instance, it overflowed the whole countiy, with considerable injury. Not far from its banks, though it were hard to say where, was the Temple of Athena Nedusia. Some place it near, others in the town of Pherse. It must have been early destroyed, for Pausanias does not men- tion it. A temple and grove — aXa-og — of Apollo Karneios also stood in the neighbourhood, indi- cating the connection with Lakonia. Later, it was transferred altogether by Augustus, as well as two other towns in the neighbourhood. In the time of the Byzantines, Kalamata had but * " Sur les bords, et a la gauche du Spirnazza, que Strabon appela Pamisus, Ptolomee Paniaus, et d'autres Stronio, et Tifoo." But this confusion is surpassed by what follows : " On voit sur la cote d'une colline spacieuse Calamata, connue chez Baudrand sous, les nonis de Thelame, Theramme, Thuria, et Abia." — (Coronelli, 1 Partie, p. 111.) All these different towns were in the neighbour- hood, and thus they are lumped together. 228 AN EXCURSION a secondary reputation, being easily devastated by the Slavonians, in their wide incursions through this part of Greece. To the Franks, in the first instance, and afterwards to the Venetians, it owed its chief renown. The Turks maintained it in a sort of importance, from its being the first port for the produce of Lakonia as well as Messenia ; but it never recovered the position of military repute, it held under Prankish rule. As a place of resort from the districts of Lakonia, Messenia, and even Elis, but much more by the influence of Petro Bey, it was selected as the spot where the first provisional Government or Senate was established, in April, 1821. It was here also, that an attempt was made to rouse a crusade against the Turks of Thessaly and Epirus, in 1854. Mai'auding parties poured down from Maina with menacing proposi- tions to the town, accompanied by the breaking ojien of prisons, with a view of moving the in- habitants to join the onslaught. Similar efforts were made, in the Papiotaki affair of 1852. Its proximity to Maina, its distance from the seat of government, and the well-known difiiculty of com- munication, at all times hold out great induce- ments to these forced " pronunciamentos." The Kalamata people themselves are pacifically in- clined, but, as of old, the plain has to submit to the mountain. I heard the echo of many an old complaint when there. The Vice-Consulate still spoke of the time in which the Kakavouliotes used to cross the bay and carry off plunder, not sparing Greek or Turk. Sometimes these predatory incur- sions wore the type of an old heroic abduction, and girls were carried off from the sides of their IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 229 parents, on occasions Helen-like for love, but more frequently in civilized fashion for money. The proverbial richness of the plain seems to cling to it, as to the plains of Lombardy, like a curse. Lakonia, now as then, is always on the watch to appropriate to herself what she can of the laboiu's and fruits of Messenia. It wanted stUl an hour of sunset, so quitting the citadel, we re-entered the town, and strolled down to the torrent. This, however, was not quite so easv a matter as we thought. The streets on this side, as on the other, were inexpressibly crooked, cramped, and filthy, and spoke in language not to be misunderstood of the want of water, and of the strong nerves and negligence of the Demarchy. No open space for a promenade being provided in the town itself, we found that the inhabitants had been driven to make use of the bed of the torrent for that j)ui'pose. From this point, the town, diversified with gardens, rising up to the base of the citadel, the gardens with occasional groups of obeliscal cypresses, and surmounted by the steep crags on which the gashed and mouldering forti- fications rest, presents a tolerably accurate modern translation of the general map of Coronelli — a type, however, not confined to Kalamata. This quarter has always been the resort of the Kalamatiotes, and here was chanted in 1821 the Te Deum so well described by Mr. Finlay. The town was besieged by 2,000 Greeks under Petro Bey, on the 3rd April, and, on the 4th, its Turkish defenders, having first received solemn promises of protection, surrendered to their assailants. How little these promises were kept we shall not pause to inquire : 230 AN EXCURSION suffice to state, that, in a few montlis, all the men had been slain. Mr. Finlay proceeds : " On the otli of April, 1821, the first solemn service of the Greek Church was performed as a thanksgiving for the success of the Greek arms. The ceremony was on the banks of the torrent that flows by Kalamata. Twenty-four priests officiated, and five thousand armed men stood round. Never was Te Deum celebrated witli greater fervour, never did hearts overflow with sincerer devotion to Heaven, nor with warmer gratitude to their Church and their God. Patriotic tears poured down the cheeks of rude warriors, and ruthless brigands sobbed like children. All present felt that the event formed an era in Greek history ; and when modern Greece produces historians, artists, and poets, this scene will doubtless find a niche in the temple of Fame." * Leaving the torrent, we returned by another route home, which led us through the Bazaar and Cafe. Both we found, at that hour, extremely crowded. The Cafe in all Greek, as in almost all continental towns, is the substitute for the Stoa and the Agora. Partly from the zest in this country for close imitation of French habits and manners ready-fashioned to acceptance, and partly from the instinct so salient in bis character, here- ditary or not, which every Greek possesses for talk and aggregation, I should say that of the two — a Bazaar and a Cafe, — the latter is the more indis- pensable. To deprive a Greek of his modern ^so';^'), would be much the same cruelty, as to prohibit smoking, or to steal his cigar or chibouque. The * F!jilay, History oftlie Greek Revohdioti, vol. i. pp. 184, 185. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 231 Bazaar exhibited the usual dislocated, ragged, un- painted, provisional look obstinately retained by all Greek as well as Turkish Bazaars, and which indicate, in the want of these minor j)roprieties, as well as of morals, an ingrained Orientalism. To our eyes, accustomed to trimness and day-by-day solici- tude for the smallest minutiae, it seems a callous barbarism. Perhaps climate, perhaps tradition, has to bear the fault and shame, and this open-door, careless, shambles-looking sort of camp, more like the hooth-selling of a gipsy-fair passing through the district, than the permanent settling down of a town population, is too interwoven with other habits of a kindred class, to be so easily got rid of. When a large body of the people sleep in the streets, head towards the door, feet to the public, during a great part of the summer, but seldom changing their clothes (the Palikari popula- tion laboriously prej)are their fustinellas sa as to dispense with washing for months together), it might be deemed fastidious to call for more tidi- ness in their market-places. The archaeologist ought to take matters as he finds them, thankful for so good a transcript of the market-place of Pompeii; whUe the artist should be grateful on his part for such figures, costumes, and attitudes as he meets with at every step, whicb are all sure to be blotted out into a pattern uniformity, the moment these independent dealers begin to dream of " doing decencies " after the fashion of the French or English. In our rambles, we saw the churches noticed by Buchon, with the fragmentary compilations in their walls, and remarked the same type of belfry, ap- 232 AN EXCURSION proximating to a steeple, still observable at Zante, as tbe bequest of the Venetians, and which, re- mained untouched during the whole of the Turkish domination. The Turks prohibited, but seldom destroyed : treaties, laziness, and the distinction between possession and encroachment, were the causes of their inaction, and are as apparent in their dealings with institutions as with buildings. Many other traces of the same Italian hand are visible, not only in the management of the house and street plans, but in the inferior decorations. Several of the mouldings for door and window are traceable directly to Venetian inspiration. This is not surprising, but it is remarkable to see them retained and renewed. In many of the later houses, they are more or less adopted ; with a strong admixture, however, of the Turkish, itself a copy of the Byzantine, and that again the oflf- spring of old Hellenic civilization, suggested by the necessities of the climate. To this day the interior, and especially the country parts of Greece, exhibit little else ; an excellent hint, which, like so many other hints of the kind, has been disregarded by the negligent Government of the country. In these reminiscences Buchon is resolved to see nothing but Crusader-French, and his self-gratula- tion in still gazing upon the relics of the influence of his countryman Villehardouin, is scarcely less amusing than his aspirations after a Erench future, a restoration of the French past, grounded on such " auspicia melioris ajvi," as the French flounces and caps of the Demarch's wife, Madame Nikolai dis. It is curious, or rather it is not, that French writers will persist in testing progress by the modiste show- IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 233 rooms of the Eiie Vivienne. The Kalamata fair sex, or their husbands, do not, however, seem inclined to realize these hopes and prophecies of a French-dressing civilization. They are still in, or rather have retrograded to, the "tempus quo ante," previous to M. Buchon's arrival. I remarked the prevalence amongst the men, but especially amongst the women, of the national costume. The explana- tion was simple and satisfactory, and made without rhetorical pretensions to patriotism. The costume, it was said, is uniform, economical, and intelligible to every Greek ; it can be made — material and fashion — at home, and does not require " le petit follet des dames," or any extra rivalry between them and their neighboiu's. It is fortimate, too, that the fetes are few, and that neither Nomarch or Demarch give balls to their employes. Before re-entering, our Vice-Consul took us to see a house nearly completed for his son-in-law, a physician, and where he was then residing. It was an excellent sample of improved finish and con- struction. Kalamata has no reason to envy Athe- nian plans or artisans. The entrance-hall, staircase, and apartments were airy and well-proportioned, the sitting-room particulai'ly large and lofty, the wood fittings sharply chiselled and appropriate, whilst the ceUing was in the Turkish carved fashion, and the walls stuccoed so as to resemble white marble. A small esplanade was in course of for- mation before the door. Some large holes had to be filled, and other levellings — the great want of all Greek towns — to be accomplished, a task of which our friends talked as something second only to Hercules' improvements in the mews of Augeas. VOL. I. 2 H 234 AN EXCURSION They had been working at this with much zeal and spirit, aided by the Demarch, when he was reined in by the superior powers, and reminded of the old Eastern motto, " Festina lente." The work was interrupted, and the holes are still gaping for supplies, like many other such at Athens. The Vice-Consul kept me busily occupied until bedtime, discussing the present and prospective position of this interesting province. He spoke with due patriotism of its transcendant superabundance over every other in Greece. Soil, climate, situa- tion, had done everything for it, man a great deal against it, from the Spartans downwards : but, it had worked through, despite all obstructing influ- ences, and nearly recovered even from tlae impress of Ibrahim Pasha and his Africans. Of the town, he would only say that it was old, and ought, like old people, to be treated with compassion and respect. The present incumbent could not be reformed, but he would be taken away in his time, and his heir and successor would be better. I doubted his calculations, however, judging from the situation of the to-\^Ti. But, he argued, the castle can be made nothing of ; the town lies too far from its port — a port existing only in name ; nor is there any chance of its ever becoming one, whilst the river, brook, or torrent is only a useless inconvenient neighbour, being imnavigable, generating fever, and, at times, taking away with it crops, cattle, and houses to the sea. This and other disparagements, I admitted ; and yet Kala- mata must stand. Though no longer necessary as a point of defence, it forms a centre for the supply and demand of the province. The roadstead was IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 235 changed to Ky tries in 1770 ; but so distant an an- chorage proved a great source of expense. In the absence of a road to that place, the goods had to be carried over a heavy surf across the bay. Once safely in the harbour of Kytries, shelter is sure ; and, perhaps, a road along the shore might convert it into the seaport of the district : yet, considering the windings and difficulties of the coast, this would hardly repay. On the other hand, building a new town on the bank even of a torrent, much less of a larger river like the Pamisus, would expose it to constant danger of spring and autumnal overflow- ings. As matters now stand, no immediate remedy or substitute is in prospect. The inu.ndations, however, might be better guarded against than at present, and the winter road is not quite so bad, I was assured, as it seems. It has a pozzolana cha- racter, and hardens to solid earth when the waters withdraw. The number of vessels that visited Kalamata in 1856, was 206 ; in 1857, 126 ; in 1858, 116 ; the greater part between August and April, when the currant, fig, and oil crops are shipped off. The exports and imports have been increasing for several years back, as is natural from the aug- menting produce in every detail of the cultiva- tion. A much larger amount might, under better regulations, be expected. A considerable portion of Messenia is national property, consisting either of land or perishable property, classified in a rather arbitrary manner. New laws are so frequent, that it is diflBcult, under any government, to obtain certainty or precision on the subject. This is the crying evil, for it affects the general morals, as much as the general interests, of 236 AN EXCURSION the community. The cultivation has meantime, I nndei'stand, visibly improved. A good deal more individual care is taken, though scarcely any new processes are introduced. No solicitude has been shown, by any of the successive ministries, to en- courage progress in this direction. I observed throughout this district, a fine class of olive, greener, fresher, and firmer than the Attic ; but this is easily accounted for, as the olives of the Attic plain are sprouts from old perennial trunks, which the inha- bitants fondly trace, like other things, to the time of Pericles, whilst those in Messenia have scarcely more than twenty-five years' growth. The mulber- ries are first-rate, and the oranges only inferior in size to those of Crete, and in flavoiu" to those of Poros. The wine does not enjoy so high a reputa- tion, nor has any effort been made for its imjjrove- ment. The roads over the plain are for the greater part tolerable — thanks to the circumstances of the plain allowing it : but, in the outlets over the mountains, they are quite as wretched as in the worst parts of Greece, though the necessity of such outlets is as obvious there as over the plain itself. The people would willingly improve them ; but the municipal government, taking its tone from the central, neither aids nor directs the business. Here, as elsewhere, the uncertainty of official tenure, and the small official remuneration, lie at the bottom of the evil : but, above all, the cause is the universal consciousness, that entire subser- viency to government views in reference to the ma- nagement of parliamentary elections and interests is indispensable to their personal advancement. All candidates, even where election is the form, are IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 237 nominated witli more or less facility by tlie superior I^owers, and then retained in office or in the Chambers for a longer or shorter term, according to the amount of their devouement, real or personal, brought to government account. The a III . I II ..( )i 7 ( )) (I and is additionally objectionable, when viewed with the fantastic bevelling of the joinings, all indicative of degeneracy.* The execution is better than the design. Some fragments of columns lie on the * This taste, like all exaggerations, is a sure sign of corruption, and of corrupting ai-t. Curtius likens these to beams of wood, and imagines that the fashion was intended to express strength. — {Pelop. b. ii. pp. 143, 144.) More probably, it was a mere archi- tectural freak. We see similar tricks played with the echinus even in Greece, a greater curve or other deviation from the perfec- tion of the Parthenon model — the admirable intermediate between all. So also, with no excuse, is the architrave of the Corinthian eutablatuiu of the Antuiiiue period an exaggeration, — possibly an extravagant ajiplication of the theory of curved lines. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 279 ground ; but, like all those of Messene, the Doric is of meagre and petty proportion and effect. Somewhat higher up, on the opposite and steeper side of the brook, and on the slope of a small rocky ascent, towards the north-west of the temple just noticed, are the well-preserved remains of a theatre. Its extremely small proportions, not measuring more than sixty feet diameter, in such a city as Messene, would suggest the belief that it was only one, and perhaps one of the most inferior, of those existing here in ancient times. A large j^ortion of the seats can yet be seen^ low, small, rough, and overgrown with brushwood. No part of a scene is visible ; but, behind, some ruins of a gate, wdtli steps, an ajiproach probably to the upper part of the theatre, have been discovered by the French. Other fragments, of which little can be made, lie about. The theatre looks towards the sea, and commands a noble view of the " Blessed Yalley " and lower part of the town. Though situated in the interior, it must, from the lowness of the city walls, have enjoyed this advantage of old. A few minutes took us, from this point to the vil- lage, — if so rambling and ragged a group of houses can be dignified by that name. Preparations were going forward there for a rustic wedding. It had begun nearly a week ago, and was not to be over for another, according to the long-established cus- tom of Hellenic marriages. The bridegroom was a Mavromatiote, the bride from the sister village Simissa, under Mount Eva, both well-to-do in the Demos, though without pretension in the matter of house or establishment. Shortly after our arrival, wild discharges of 280 AN EXCURSION loaded musketry signalled the approach of the bride and her family to the bridegroom's house, before which the little yard was filled with all the decent population of the place. We took up our position in flank. The bride soon appeared, with a strong escort of fustinella friends, all armed. She was mounted, cavalier-fashion, on a strong horse, and carried before her, at the saddle-bow, a gigantic circular loaf. The usual Greek fez, intertwisted with her hair ; the Greek tight embroidered jacket, and a brilliant puce-coloured skirt, completing her costume. On arriving at the entrance of the court, she stopped suddenly in front of her future dwell- ing, and dividing the loaf into four parts, cast them to the four sides or points of the compass, thus symbolizing the duties of charity.* In like manner, taking a small jar of water, she poured it out on either side, and finally over her head. A laugh was raised, by her dexterously flinging a good quantity towards our group ; this being permitted and ex- pected from her when strangers happen to be present. She then dismounted, and entered the house. Shortly after, the dance or "/Jj^'^i began, in which she and the girls of the village bore their share, in presence of the Papas and the Palikari relatives and spectators. The small court of the house, already mentioned, was selected for the scene. The whole was conducted with imperturb- able gravity and sobriety, provoking no unrestrained laughter, wild antics, or other explosions of mirth, such as might be looked for on so exciting an occa- * This is in accord witli the old sentiment of the East : — " She liath opened her hand to the needy, and stretched out her hands to the poor." — Prov. xxxi. 20. IN THE PELOPONNESTJS. 281 sion. The dance over, the bride, accompanied by the bridegroom and friends, went round with a plate and collected presents from the company. She was in great good foi'tune, for we mustered six or seven from the ship, headed by Captain Craigie, besides our own party, each of whom contributed various liberal sums, which elicited many compliments and thanks. We left this party to continue their amusements, and withdrew to the dinner Dimitri had prepared under a large spreading walnut-tree. It was nearly as picturesque as our repast at Parachori. The table, if such it can be called, was a bed of leaves freshly gathered, studded with fine large oranges just plucked and cast profusely amid the green table-folds. We sat around or rather lay, after the manner of the ancients, listening to the birds above, and to the murmuring waters of the brook running at our side from the Mavromati fountain below. Our dinner was equally characteristic. The first dish was more classical than inviting, consist- ing of a rod or spit covered with twisted entrails and scraps of meat wreathed round and broiled at a wood fire of arbutus, prepared after Homeric receipt and tradition : then came a lamb roasted whole, on a spit of thyme-wood, after the manner of the Palikaris : finally, fruit in abundance, cheese, and wine of the country, which, however, did not add much to the celebrity of the ancient divinity of the place, and made us rejoice that we had brought a provision of other wine ^^dth us. The village is not often voiichsafed such visits from strangers, and the greater part of its popula- tion,notwithstanding the attractions of the wedding, VOL. 1. 2 o 282 AN EXCURSION honoured us with their company, by ranging them- selves in a circle under the boughs of the spreading tree during our dinner. Unpleasant though the inspection, it would have been cruel altogether to deny them this gratification, and we consoled our- selves by the picturesque efi'ect they unconsciously added to the scene. After a second exploration of the lower part of the town, embracinsr most of the remains alreadv noticed, I made a detour alone through the village along the lower ridges of Ithome, and at length reached the fountain Mavromati, whence the place derives its name. Mavromati, literally black eyes, is an Orientalism : but it harmonizes with Homeric traditions. The Arab ain — an " eye," also signifies a well or a fountain ; whUst Mack, in itself, is Homeric — [jLiXoLvv^og) — as applied to fresh cool water, such as exists in countless springs in the northei'n parts of Greece — [/.dSi or [xdn, contraction for o/x/xaTjoi/, plural 6fji.[j.a.Tia., being the usual modern appellation for eyes, instead of o/jt/xaTa. Perhaps also the dark retirement of this particular spot may have pro- duced its name. The water gushes from the hill- side, here faced with apolygonal wall of some ex- tent, the layer and angles of the masonry placing it in the third rank or category of the polygonal. This of itself marks an antiquity much beyond the Theban restoration, and together with its situation, in connection with the hill, would justify its being comprehended in the ancient citadel or subui'b of Ithome. The wall, as in the instance of the Arka- dian gate, is considerably broken down by the vigorous vegetation and trees above. A good stream issues from the rock, especially in the wet season ; IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 28 whilst, in tlie drier months, a pipe affords enough for general use. The water falls into a small basin, strewn with square stones and fragments of columns, now heaped together by the inhabi- tants into a dry pathway to the stream. These pUlars may have been brought hither from other parts, otherwise they might be assumed to belong- to some hieron, referable to the nymphs of the fountain. The Cyclopic walls are apparently of an earlier construction, but no steady reliance should be placed on such appearances, so rude, at least in Greece, The peasantry still follow somewhat of the same style of masonry to the joresent day, partly from tradition and partly from the shapes of the stones themselves in their natural state. Whilst I was sketching, a Papas or two ap- proached the fountain, and then a group of girls came for their evening supply. They did not con- firm the general reputation for beauty maintained by Messenia, as well as by Lakonia and Boeotia. The same remark is applicable, with scarcely an exception, to the other villagers, who for the most part looked sickly and pale. The first time I visited Messene, I remember being struck by the contrary. The Greek type, was then clearly dis- tinguishable ; and a group I then saw at the same fountain, would have furnished models of the grandest Greek beauty for half the ateliers in Rome. It is this stream which supplies the brook run- ning down from the village through the Stadium. What must it be called, — the Klepsydra or the Arsinoe ? or do these two names belong to the same 284 AN EXCURSION waters r The notice in Pausanias is meagre, and may answer either to this spring or the one observed higher up the mountain on our way to the summit.* " Going to the summit of Ithome, which is the Citadel or Akropolis of the Messenians, we meet with the spring — tttj^^ — Klepsydra."t Arsinoe, on the other side, was a fountain in the Agora. The Agora appears to have been in the low rectangular ground below, where the Theatre, the Stadium, and other buildings of sacred or civil note, were aggregated, and of which the Arsinoe was a chief * Kiepert, in his small plan [Ruinen von Messenien, p. ix.), identifies the Mavromati fountain with the Klepsydra of Pausa- nias (No. 11), and places the Arsinoe lower down, connecting it with the stream flowing near the Theatre. But he makes it a separate spring (No. 10), instead of taking it for what it really is — the stream flowing from Mavromati. The ruins imme- diately near are supposed by Kiepert to be those of the Agora and the large temple, mentioned by Pausanias under the name of the Hierothysion. These sites being admitted — no improbability on the whole, — the Arsinoe is rightly placed. Curtius, on the contrary (Pelop. .s. 147, 191), sees, under the small temple discovered by Le Bas, remains of a building from which the well-waters issued to form the Arsinoe. Fischer, howevei-, says there are no traces of communication by pipe : and he continues, " at all events, it is too far to the east, to answer for an offshoot of the Klepsydra to the Arsinoe." He might have added, that it would not correspond with the Agora, where the Arsinoe certainly was placed, in the rectangle below, close to the Stadium and Theatre. It is remark- able, that these three fountains were outside the precincts of the later Akropolis. Possibly, however, one at least may have been included, and the earlier Klepsydra indicates a secret com- munication. That of Athens is an example, — the fountain in the Akropolis, which supplied water to the Tower of the Winds. The name in this instance, it is true, is presumed to designate its use for the "water-clock" : but at Messene, such reason did not exist. Nor would this absence of pipes invalidate its right to the name or site, though the [ireseiit channel be the winding ravine or brook, t Palis. Mess. c. 33, IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 285 ornament. The stream, as already stated, flows from the Mavromati fountain through this ground at will, and may originally have been confined by a channel or pipes. The name of Klepsydra, as at Athens, belonged possibly to the spring and canal until it reached the Agora, where, collected into a fountain, it was dedicated to Arsinoe, the mother of Jjlsculapios. J^sculapios was in special manner a Messenian deity, and of note in the mythic his- tory of Messenia. The upper fountain might thus have remained without a name : but this would be a remarkable circumstance, for it is hardly possible that in such a site it should have been unknown or unappreciated by the ancients. On leaving the fountain Mavromati, a Papas of the village took me to a church situated imme- diately above, and containing remains of old build- ings. He then conducted me to his house, to look at some inscriptions and fragments he had collected in the neighbourhood. The sculpture was coarse and recent, and there was nothing worth notice, except a small flat stone showing a hand, and the words AAMATPIOZ EnirE NEIAAGANATOZ which mark how long the Doric dialect, for the purity and retention of which the Messenians be- came celebrated, was retained in this district. The priest was extremely civil, and asked me to sit down : but time pressed, as our friends, Captain Craigie and his officers, had to return to their ship, and it was already past three o'clock. The house was of two stories, comfortable enough, and fvir- 286 AN EXCURSION nished with divans and a few books. Thanking the Papas, I at once joined our party, who were meanwhile waiting for me ready mou.nted near the fountain. A few minutes saw us en route by a splendid evening sun, riding over the ridge which unites Ithome and Eva. The remainder of the walls, as already noticed, are traceable down the side of Mount Eva, — the greater part of which, however, lies outside their line, — and then across the valley, passing near the spot where tombs and bas-reliefs have been disco- vered. The walls then follow the lower declivities on the opposite side, joining the Arkadian Gate. On the heights, they are in tolerable preservation, few disturbing causes save earthquakes occurring in that direction to injure them. In the valley, the process of village-building and cultivation has interfered. Next to the Arkadian, the Lakonian Gate ranks in point of preservation and importance. It stands midway on the saddle between Ithome and Eva, and, like the Arkadian, seems to have been a fort as well as a gate. Mount Eva itself was too extensive for enclosure, and apparently did not even possess an akropolis. In about an hour, we re-entered the convent of Monte Vurkano. The Vice-Consul and the officers rested but a moment : wishing us " safe return " from the wild regions now before us, they started again for Kalamata, which place, by urging their steeds across the plain, they hoped to reach before dark. We thus found our party reduced to its original proportions, and we all sat down to look over our books and prepare seriously for the rougher portion of our tour. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 287 CHAPTER IX. UPPER MESSENIA AND THE STENTKLARIAN PLAIN. May 17. — Breakfast beiug over at early hour, and whilst Dimitri's packing operations were going forward, we made a minute inspection of the church and convent. They are built probably of fragments of ancient structures, yet strictly in the customary character of these monastic institutions.* Bidding * Sir Thomas Wyse, having on this occasion expressed himself strongly upon the wretched accommodation and the dilapidated condition of the buildings, the monks eagerly assured him that it arose from no fault of theirs. What funds they had were wholly under Government control, whilst all their appeals for assistance remained unheeded by the authorities ; and it was not without the utmost difficulty they could obtain even the smallest sum for repairs. The monks added, that it would be the greatest benefit conferred on their establishment, if, on his return to Athens, he would inform the Greek minister of the miserable state they were in. This Sir T. Wyse accordingly did : but his remonstrance, though couched in the gentlest terms, eliciting no response, he concluded he had spoken in vain. The following spring, however, a party of English tourists stopping at the same convent, the monks showed them many late additions and improvements, and requested they would present the cordial thanks of the brethren to the British Minister for the change his influence had effected. It appeared, the monks had first received an angry rebuke from head-quarters, for having spoken on the subject to Sir T. Wyse : but this seeming discomfiture fell harmless, as it was followed shortly after by a considerable sum of money, and by an order to execute the repairs and improvements they so much required for their own comfort and that of their guests. Their only wish then 288 AN EXCURSION farewell to the monks, red cupola, and dark cy- presses, we rode slowly down the steep craggy descent to the underlying Stenyklarian plain.* Wending to the north-west by many a zigzag path, the rugged and precipitous sides of Ithome on our left, and the tortuous, sluggish, but sufficiently deep Mavrozumenos to our right, we proceeded towards the villages scattered over the upper part of this great central bed of Messenia. By degrees Ithome advancing hid the foldings * was, that Sir T. Wyse might return to see the important alter- ations. This is only one of many proofs the Greek people are continually giving of their willingness for progress, and of their appreciation of the slightest encouragement afforded them. It likewise brings out very forcibly, how far inertness and apathy on the part of the central authorities tend to paralyse the most ener- getic local efforts. The sacrifice of everything to intrigue and place-hunting is universal throughout the country, but especially at Athens itself Yet, the sensitiveness displayed by these same authorities to the observations of foreigners, and above all English foreigners, is as certain as it is curious. The tour of a British minister — one who naturally keeps his eyes and ears open — causes them much uneasiness at all times. Sir Thomas Wyse himself frequently witnessed the good effect of the particular suggestion be had thus quietly urged, and often profited by it afterwards. Nothing official reached him : but, travelling in other directions the ensuing years, he always found one or two rooms in each convent freshly painted and brushed up for travellers, " according to a general order from Athens," as the monks invariably stated, though apparently ignorant of its origin. Even the remote con- vent of St. Meletius, in the mountains between Vilia and Thebes, rarely if ever visited by strangers, could boast its two clean apart- ments when he stopped there in autumn, 1859. — Ed. * Stenyklai'ios — orfj'oicAi/poc, otei'oc — a narrow difficult pass, a word often used by the modern Greeks for defiles and intricate roads, as the artvoz near Livadia. KXapia is the favourite modern word for brushwood and entangled thickets, — the haunts especially of brigands. I have often heard it in Attica. The Stenyklarian ]ilain may have formerly presented these conditions. IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 289 of Eva, but rose in grander majesty as we pursued our way through a thin brushwood of prinari and lentisk to the banks of the river. The first point of view, on nearing its waters, was striking : the stones from the higher eminences had split to the south, and presented all the appearance of the ruins of some extensive time-honoured edifice. Erom this singular spot, we advanced into the plain. It is separated from the lower Messenian plain by a low line of ridges, forming in mass a considerable barrier, and hiding the view of the sea. Eminently deserving its olden name of "Kaxxog, it affords the full characteristic of a vast deposit of alluvium left in the great reservoir. In some places, this deposit of the richest soil is from ten to sixty feet deep, not only the formation of an old all-covering dehige, but of the successive annual additions washed down from the surrounding moun- tains. Its greatest breadth is seven to eight miles from east to west, excluding of course the deeper indentures into the line of the enclosing ranges. This upper plain may again be subdivided into two smaller, by a long ridge running north-west and south-east. The western portion bends off towards Sulima, the eastern by the jiass of Constan- tinos, towards Bogazi. The long dividing ridge is terminated by a steep foreland or promontory, on which is built the fort or castle of Constantinos. Through these two valleys, flow two streams, the one — that of the western side — Mavrozumenos, which we reached immediately on leaving the decli- vities of Ithome, the other — that of the eastern — the Leukasia. Tlirough the southernmost portion of this plain runs another stream, probably the VOL. I. 2 V 290 AN EXCURSION ancient Amphitos, but which again divides into two others, — the Amphitos properly so called, to the south-east, and the Charadros to the north-east. These are supplied from Makriplagi — not to men- tion the numerous other smaller torrents flowing from the same range, to judge by the broken surface of its western front. But these rivulets generally fail during the summer heats, or, on entering the plain, are at once consumed in the purposes of irrigation. The whole of this tract was successively called Andania, Stenyklaros, and Messene : and three towns of the same names were successively its capitals. The two first probably differed from the last in that they derived their names from the town, fortress, or camp, whilst the town Messene was called after the district. (Echalia seems to have been another, perhaps more ancient name, for Andania : yet all these appellations, though introduced in succession, a2;)pear to have been pre- served together.* * At'cai'Uij TToXtg MffraZ/rz/r, ufiwt-vitoc r/j ^wpfl" ovTdt yap kcu ?/ 'MeiTiT)'ift] 'Avcavia IkoXuto, is the testimony of Stepb. Byzantius. Messene here is not the town, nor the lower Messenia, but the Stenyklarian plain. According to Pausanias, the entire district was the Stenyklarian plain : to fiitroy iriniov "^-ivvKKiipLov. — [Mess. xvi. 6.) The testimony of Strabo would imply that ffichalia was the older name — the site almost uncertain in his time, whilst Andania still existed. He seems inclined to identify it with Andania : avrov ci ttov koi >\ 0'i-)(ri\ia i; -oS Y.vpvTov »; vvv 'Avcavia ■KoKiyviov 'ApKaiiKov (Strabo, p. 360) ; a curious instance of want of accuracy, and of the fallen importance of the plain itself, — the capital of Messenia become a hamlet of Arkadia ! The so-called town Stenyklarus, was rather a collection of villages, characteristic of the Doric settlement. The first, or autochthonic inhabitants, fled into fastnesses on the approach of the stranger, here, as in the 1/1 o o u o o a: CD IN THE PEIiOPONNESUS. 291 Continuing along the banks of the Mavrozu- menos, in half an hour we reached the remark- able bridge, noticed by every traveller, and Avbicb Curtius holds to be the most striking monument of its kind in Greece. A little above this point the Leukasia falls into the Amphitos, which has previously received the addition of the Charadros. These three streams thus united flow on to the bridge, where they are met by the Mavrozumenos or Balyra. The Mavrozumenos, the shallower of the two, displays a wide gravelly bed ; whilst the Amj)hitos, reinforced by its tributaries, averages above eight or ten feet in depth, sunk between swampy and brushwood-covered banks. After their junction at the bridge, they form the one large river which we crossed between Thuria and Itliome. It is usually still called the Mavrozumenos, but also at times the Pirnatza, a modernized corruption for the Pamisus, of which river it forms the upper portion, previous to its watering the lower plain of Messenia. In the line of the direct road to Arkadia, it was of moment to keep this point open in all months of the year. This has been accomplished by a sort of triple bridge-causeway, of sufficient height and extent to secure the free passage at every season, not only protecting it from the usual course of the water, but from the overflowings of these moun- tain rivers. A bridge crosses at an obtuse angle the two streams at their junction : and a spur other plain or Xcutoc of Lacerljemonia, to Amvklfe, leaving the plain to the new settlers, who for a long time continued to live in villages. Messene was an old name, from the Argive Messene, and naturally belonged to the upper plain. 292 AN EXCURSION causeway projects from the middle, so as to carry the road over the low ground. The present aspect is at first sight mediseval or Turkish, showing pointed arches, steej) ascent, and narrow width. But on closer examination this is seen to arise from repairs, and to conceal the remains of an old Hellenic construction. Passing the bridge to the east, remarkable pieces of this older structure are observal)le. A doorway, instead of an arch, allows the water passage : and this is followed by another, iu that portion of the bridge which spans the river. These doorways much resemble those existing in the towers and fortifica- tions of Messene — a substruction and four courses of regular masonry, in good square blocks without cement, extending the whole breadth of the bridge. The upper rows project a little, approaching to the Greek arch, if so it may be called. One large single block forms the impost, as at Mycenae, and in almost all Greek tower-gateways. The sides are rounded, not unlike the building seen near the IN THE PELOPONNESUS. , 293 theatre of Messene. Some of the stones appear injured. There was no current Avhen we saw it, the water creeping through : but, after the spring and autumnal rains, the floods must find difficulty in getting a passage. A similar species of construc- tion may he seen amidst the brushwood and tangled thicket round the causeway, which at least proves that the whole plan was ancient. Looking towards the north-east, no such remains are discerned, the mediaeval or Turkish constructions entirely con- cealing them. On one of the stones, at the north-western ex- tremity, or entrance, of the bridge from Ithome, we found an inscription of some length, but a good deal injured. It was in a modern confused character, of which little could be made even when copied. The Hellenic portion of this monument is visibly not earlier than similar constructions at Messene. It therefore dates from, about the period of the building of that city by Epaminondas. Whether original, or merely repaired at that time, is not clear ; but most likely the former. There could not have been much demand for a bridge of a permanent nature, earlier. On leaving the bridge, we came to a village of some size, marked " Meligala " on the French map — a characteristic designation in a plain like this, flowing, in the Scripture phrase, " with milk and honey." Soon after, the village of Sandani was reached, situated on a considerable eminence, and bounded by a ravine or deep torrent-bed to the north-east. While a portion of our party rested beside the church, which tops one of the hillocks, I took a guide down to a deserted church in the 294 AN EXCURSION lower part of the village, nearer to the torrent. It pi'esented no remarkable feature, however : the usual form of cupola and cupolets, with dividing arcade in the interior, and a few paintings of little antiquity, are alone visible. Returning to the height, the view of the northern and north-eastei*n portion of the plain is striking. Extremely rich and cultivated, it is sown with small plantations and villages, but is less wooded than the lower plain, or Makaria, and is walled in by lofty ranges as far as the Makriplagi. The name Sandani, apparently a corruption of Andania or o-r avoav/ (the usual neo-Greek form), would seem to point out the site of the ancient capital of Messenia in the traditions of the country, and this theory has been accejited by the earlier travellers : later ones, such as Curtius, see its site on the spur of the Makriplagi, at the distance of three-quarters of an hour from Sandani, following up the bed of the torrent to the north-east. The stream turns a mill, at the point where it issues through those deep banks, which characterize it down to Sandani : and, a little above, to its right, on a projection of the mountain, which makes a platform or terrace, are the remains of old Hellenic walls, giving evidence of an ancient fortification.* * The merit of this discovery must be ascribed to Curtius. Ross (Koniffsreisen, i. p. 216) and Kiepert give the honour to Miiller : but it appears, from the account of Curtius (J^elop. ii. p. 1,'?2 ; note 10, p. 189), that MUller with Schijlle had left him previously for Messeiie, where tliey both were when Curtius visited these ruins. Nor, when the fact and the observations they suggested were afterwards mentioned, did Miiller seem to attach to them any importance, or consider they pointed out the site of the older IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 295 This terrace stretches from north to south. Its summit is small and flat, of very narrow breadth, not more than one hundred and fifty feet, and in length not mnch greater, and falls by steep decli- vities both towards the mill and the plain. Por- tions of wall are noticeable on two sides — -to the north-east a sharp-angled bulwark, to the south two flanking walls, which run down towards the hill until their trace is lost in the abrupt ridges surrounding it. The wall to the I'ere is better preserved, however, and shows an old gateway. This probably conducted from the citadel, or akro- polis, — the ground first described — into the outward town : a plan so often observable in other ancient Greek cities and fortresses. The wall is not re- markable for the size of any of the component blocks, but at the same time it appears to have been of great strength : some portions are not less than twenty feet in breadth, without rubble-filling. It has no towers, but many angles and projections, which may have answered as a substitute. , The Polykaon dynasty, the first race of any mythic renown who figure in the history of Mes- senia, fixed their royal residence in Andania : and the selection of this site, however restricted as to room, is in accordance with the general habits of the primitive population.* The Dorians, on the Andania. — (Schblle, Kunstblatt, 1840.) See further Gall's Itinerary of tite Morea, p. 69 ; followed by Miiller, Dor. ii. 456. Also P. Boblaye, p. 108 ; and Bory de St. Vincent, Relation, p. 277 ; on the conjectures of Pouqueville and Dodwell. * It was by the marriage of Polykaon with the Argive Messene, that the name Messene was either added to, or altogether super- 296 AN EXCUKSION contrary, kept to the plain. Their federation of villages did not comport with the confined charac- ter of a fortress. They were, as at Sparta, culti- vators, and spread out in groups of farm-houses, which afterwards gradually increased to the num- bers and proportions of a hamlet. The same pheno- mena are still seen : and it wall always be so, where, accompanied by adequate security, the same condi- tions are found to exist. Stenyklaros is the expres- sion of Dorian policy, Andania that of the pre-Dorian Leleges and the Argives. The Messenian war, again, gave importance to this mountain-hold. It was from here that Aristomenes, at the beginning of the second Avar, still kept possession of the upper plain. The destruction or breaking down of walls, a favourite Spartan policy, — and which, following the first Sj)artan conquest, left the fortress of Ithome in ruins, — was probably extended to An- dania and Ampheia. The present state of these ruins may, therefore, very exactly represent the position in which they were left by the conquerors. But we meet, so late as the Roman period, mention of Andania. In the year 91 B.C. the Boman T, Quinctius Flaminius had an interview at Andania with the Achsean Diophanes. As iu similar cases in Messenia, the destruction of the older town or fortress probably spread the inhabitants over the adjacent plain, and established, in the vicinity of the ancient fortress, a new or later Andania.* seded, that of Andania, in application to tlie two plains. — (Paus. Mess. i. 2, 3 ; Homer, Odyssey/.) Messene became also the name of the people, which does not seem to have been in the case of Andania. ■"■ In the description of Livy, it is a small village : — " Andania IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 297 This may have stood, ou the eminence now occu- pied by the village of Sandani. It is only eight stadia, or twenty minutes' walk, from the old for- tress, lying, too, in the direct line from Messenia to Arkadia : and, though of sufficient height, being very accessible, it was well calculated for such a meeting as that just mentioned. Even now, it is one of the most important places in the plain. The two sites are thus compatible : the Palseo- castro is the old Polykaonic Audania, whilst San- dani is the Andania of the later Messenians and of the Romans. To the south, Pausanias places another town of high legendary fame, ffichalia : Strabo, on the other hand, identifies it with Andania, of which he considers it to be no more than the older name. Both statements are reconcilable, if we attentively consider their legends and histories, together with the neighbouring ground. They both date from the same early and dusky period of Messenian history, are both connected by the same external traditions, and both evidently contiguous, if not in juxta-position, to each other.* In the time of Pausanias the older Andania was in ruins, not improbably in the identical state as at present. Trikka, another town of the same race and time, had disappeared ; but its religious rites and sanc- tity, based on the legends common to both places, were in full vogue in the neighbourhood. On the parvum oppidum inter Megalopolim Mesaeniamque positum." — (Lib. xxxvi. 31.) This is the TroXi-jQ'wv of Strabo. * It is remarkable, as a characteristic trait of the times, that CEchalia, like Andania, derives its name from a woman, CEchalia, the wife of Melaneus. VOL. I. 2 Q 298 AN EXCURSION site of the town, or in the district of CEchalia, still existed, in his time, the Karnasion, or sacred grove, — aktrog. The Charadros, the same stream which flowed by Andania, flowed by CEchalia, and, at the distance of eight stadia lower down, by Sandani. Curtius identifies CEchalia with the rocky eminence on the left bank of the brook, imme- diately near Andania. The two places, Andania and CEchalia, were con- nected with each other by the same traditions and rites, though CEchalia in this respect appears to have been the more sacred of the two. Both also derived from Thessaly. (Jl^aT^la. 75 rou EupuToo, says Strabo. Eurytos is a Thessalian mythical or symbolical hero, slain by Apollo, whose bones, Pausanias states, were interred at CEchalia. He was the son of Melaneus, asserted by the local legend as having introduced the worship of Apollo into Messenia.* A statue of Apollo Karneios was worshipped here as at Sparta, in the Karnassion near. The Apollo worship seems, indeed, to have been as extended in Messenia as in Lakonia. Others interpret this legend in an allegorical or Euemeristic sense. Eurytos, like the Eurotas, " the beautiful stream," meaning a river dried up by the sun, otherwise " slain by * The Thessalians and Euboeans contended, that the true fficha- ]ia was situated in their territory. The Thessalians considered it identical with their Eurytion, connected with the legend of Eurytos. The Euhoeans rested on the testimony of Hekateus, who places an CEchalia in the neighbourhood of Eretria. Pausanias, disturbed by the unceasing controversies and uncertainties of Greek legends, determines, however, in favour of the Messenian Qichalia, as the best entitled to the honour of the legend, relying chiefly, it would seem, on the circumstance of the bones of Eurytos being interred there. — (Pans. ITess. c. ii.) IX THE PELOPONNESUS. 299 Apollo ; " the sun, afterwards propitiated by the father, — the dark well, y.s7^aviog — in the thick wood, whilst apKBo-tT^aos will be the mountain separating the peojile. This is fully detailed in the authorities quoted by Curtius.* But ffichalia was equally celebrated for the wor- ship of the great goddesses. Pausanias attributes their introduction into Messenia to Katikon, directly from Eleusis, the son of Kelainos, and grandson of Phlyus, who, according to the Athenian legend, was the son of the Earth. Their subsequent im- provement — TT^or/yaysv sg tAsov Tt[j.rjs — many years after, he ascribes to Lykos, son of Pandeon.f The first assertion he grounds on the Hymn of Mu- sseus, to the honour of Demeter, addressed to the Lykomidse ; the second, on the testimony of the inscription at the base of the statue of Methapus (also an Athenian), and the passage in the poem of Rhianos the Cretan, which speaks of the grove of Lykos, — 8^'j;u.ov re Avxoto — properly an oak grove. This rite — TsT^irTig, — only second, Pausanias thinks, to that of the mother sanctuary of Eleusis, survived all changes of dynasty, Lelegian, Apharidean, Dorian, and the more disturbing vicissitudes of Spartan conquest and possession, perhaps even rivalry : for the Spartans too had an Eleusinion of some renown, still marked out by the site of the small church on Mount Elias, and which was in full opei'ation so late as Pausanias. It is a pity, that his religious scruples prevented his giving us more precise details. We learn, however, that in the Karnassion were the statues of the Karneian Apollo, and of Hermes carrying a ram ; also of Demeter * Feloj). ii. p. 189. t Mess. c. i. i, 5. 300 AN EXCTJKSION and Kore, from near which a well-stream flowed forth — y'oa)p 0£ avsKrtv sh Trrjyijg Trap' auro ayaXfta.* Here also was preserved the brazen urn containing the prescribed rites of the great goddesses — the invention of the Arg-ive general — during the whole period of the abandonment of Messenia. It is not quite clear how much of these honours belonc'ed to CEchalia and how much to Andania. In my opinion, Andania was the older city of the two, and there these rites of the great goddesses w^ere fii-st established, as a place of great celebrity, even in the time of Lykos. Qavfiaaa c is avfnrav-a Avkoq XlavCwviOQ . 3G3. 308 AN EXCURSION founds the position of Kalamai and Limnse with the ruins "on the mountain Kokala." Cramer,* after speaking of Alagonia and the Calathian mountain, near Gerenia, says, " More to the north, and on the borders of Lakonia, was a spot named Limnse, sacred to Diana, whose festival was there celebrated by the two nations." He refers to the version of the assault which took place in the first Messenian war,t and to the contest for the possession of limnse by the Spartans under Tibe- rius, it having been already adjudged to the Messe- nians by Philip, son of Amyntas. J At the same time he observes that Tacitus ])laces Limnse in the district of the Dentheliades, and that Kalamai, which he confounds with Kalamata, was to the westward, whilst Thuria lay to the north. In Kiepert's map, Limnaj is marked, not at Nisi, but at the source of the Pamisus, at Agios Phloros : and a little southward, the temple itself is marked, but with a note of interrogation. Moreover, to tally better with Pausanias, he places Kalamai above Thuria or Pidima, also Avith a sign of interrogation, and not unjustifiably so. Curtius § takes a completely opposite and a more correct view, fixing the temple at a small village on the southern side of Gomobuno, in one of the recesses of a valley to the north-east of Kalamata called Volimnos, or the os-marsh, and where there are ruins of a chapel of the Panagia Bolimniatissa. The ruins in themselves furnish sufficient grounds * Geographical and Historical Descriptiou of Greece, vol. iii. p. 143. t Strabo, viii. p. 302 ; Pans. Mess. 4, and 31. + Tacitus, Annal. iv. 43. § Pelop. ii. p. 159, note 31. IN THE PELOPONNESUS, 309 for his supposition, as these chapels generally rise on the foundation of ancient temples or sanctuaries. The word Volimnos — BwAijavoj — too, is presump- tive of the tradition, though no traces of a marsh are discernible in this mountain district. In addi- tion, however, inscriptions and other remains have been found on the spot. Ross here describes the ruins of a temple with portions of octagonal marble pillars, besides inscriptions bearing the names of the priestesses of Diana, and the dywvoosTi^g Qsoig X«|ava'n8of.* These ought to leave little doubt of the accuracy of the position ; and, if needed, other remains, on the declivity, give additional confirma- tion. Both Curtius and Ross express surprise at Leake's adhering, after these evidences, to his first theory. In fact, it is the above-quoted passage in Pausanias which creates the difficulty. But against these inscriptions, all arguments are untenable. We must only suppose that Pausanias left Pherse or Kalamata, and proceeded to Thuria, from which he may have seen Kalamai, on one side, and the Limnse on the other. Immediately after the pas- sage referred to, he proceeded from Thuria towards Arkadia. The irregularity, with which Pausanias leaps up and down in his description of Sparta, ought to make us less attentive to the order of his notices. Besides, as noted before, the epithet "Limnatis" bears many applications. AI^jlvtj means port and lake, as well as marsh, and it may have been a generic and not a local designation. Zeus Ithomatas, for instance, was worshijoped under that title, even at a distance from Ithome. It is no matter of surprise, that this spot should * Boss, Reisen durch Griechenland, vol. i. j). 8. 310 AN EXCURSION excite interest. Designed as the bond of union between the two branches of the Doric race, of whom Apollo and Artemis were the especial national deities, it became the immediate occasion of the first remarkable incident leading to the Messenian wars, and remained a source of per- petual contest down to the time of Tiberius, and perhaps even later. Resuming our route, we proceeded from Sandani in almost a direct line to the projecting ridge dividing the eastern and western vaUeys, and upon which is situated the ruined tower of Konstantinos. Though over a complete fiat, the road was not very practicable, and we were frequently obliged to pursue ;the bendings of the many small muddy streams for a long while before a passage could be effected. Offshoots either of the Leucasia or of the Electra, they are used for the irrigation of the plain : but these rivulets prove provoking obstruc- tions, from the arbitrary manner in which the inhabitants deal with boundaries, varying them, apparently, according to their own convenience, without reference to the roads or rights of their neighbours or the public. The mystery is, how- ever, easily explained : the land is chiefly national, in the hands, and under the management of Govern- ment. It appeared, for the most part, to be thickly inhabited, and, compared to many other districts in Grreece, weU cultivated. The principal produce, corn, maize, fig-trees, and mulberries, seemed large and abundant : but the want of wood gave a bare appearance, compared with the luxuriance of the lower plain. The soil is everywhere of the finest quality, — the accumulated alluvium of cen- IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 311 turies, carried down, as in all the low districts, by the numerous streams from the surrounding moun- tains, and presenting another example of the lake- like formation of the Greek valleys, of which Thes- saly, Boeotia, Argos, and Lakonia are such striking instances. Yet I could not learn that malaria was here prevalent. Numberless small eminences, espe- cially near the mountains, relieve the monotony of the plain, and have been taken advantage of as sites for villages. They were probably the first founda- tions in ancient times, when great part of this country was under water, or subject to frequent periodical overflows from the intersecting streams, — a vivid illustration of which may be still seen, in the island villages suddenly created by the inun- dations of the Nile. After a long ride we halted near a small village at the base of the mountains, immediately under the promontory crowned by the castle of Konstan- tinos. Our dinner had been prepared beneath a spreading plane-tree, beside a rushing stream, which, a little further on, emptied its waters into a washing-tank. The wind, however, from the gorge or opening of the valley, rushed down with such violence, that we could hardly keep the table on its legs : but there was little remedy, for the place is generally subject to the visitation. Washing- places and wells still continue to be in Greece, what they used to be of old — what the Agora and Lesche were to the ancient, and the cafe to the modern inhabitants of towns. We had, consequently, a succession of groups to inspect, and discuss the strangers. Dinner over, we ascended the very steep and 312 AN EXCURSION craggy hill of Konstantinos. The old tower sur- mounting it is conspicuous from every side, and commands a very comprehensive view of the whole plain. Andania to the left, and above it what may be imagined Ampheia, form the eastern side ; whilst Ithome and its adjacent ranges, the lines between which are pointed out on the sejiarating ridge, fill up the western side of the plain — Meligala and Magoula standing on a small hillock near the entrance. The tower is of old Byzantine construction, of fair height, but otherwise in ruins ; and, adjoining it, is a small Byzantine church, which has shared the same fate. The few scat- tered sheds of the shepherds, — of whom we had two sxvlIj and menacing specimens beside us while making our inquiries and sketches, — are the only evidence of habitation, in a place which was for- merly of importance, from being the key to the two upper valleys, and as commanding an entrance into that side of the plain. Proceeding onward from Konstantinos, we took the road by the nearer eastern valley, intending to visit Kakaletri ; and, picking out as we could our toilsome path, which was still obstructed by the same caiises as those above mentioned, we arrived, towards sundown, at Bogas, or Bogasi. It lies at the foot of a steep mountain, opening into a very narrow gorge — whence its Turkish name — in the eastern range. From out this gorge gushes a bi'isk stream, which, after watering the scattered and ragged village, meanders on through the valley to the plain, there to bear its tribute to the Amphitos. It answers to the site and description of the Leii- kasia; a peaceable winding stream, it ran to our IN THE PELOPONNESUS. 313 left and sometimes to our right, in the way up the valley. The valley itself is a flat pasture of rich mould, shut in by high mountains on one side, with a series of hills on the other. Dimitri stopped before a wretched house, inform- ing us that this was to be our hotel for the night. The dismay of our party was amusing : was there no other house in the village, less dilapidated, and more habitable ? With many Trpoo-xyvvjjaaTa, Agoyiates, villagers, — in fine, every one — declared it was the best, only lately built, not yet finished, exempt from all the usual concomitants, and a wonder and envy to the inhabitants of Bogas, all which Dimitri confirmed. Reluctantly submitting, with mauy a shake of the head, as the day had waned, we clambered up a disjointed heap of stones, the sub- stitute for steps. The house itself proved better than its exterior denoted, and later, we had on several occasions to look back with respect and regret to this our first acquaintance with true Hellenic lodgings, at Bogas. While supper was pre- paring, we put the half-hour to profit by sketching its face and belongings — a distinction it certainly merited. The inhabitants gave us but feeble aid, as to the situation and names of the neighbouring towns; and no light need be expected from the Agoyiates beyond the shortest way of reaching the more marked places, on the road to their final destina- tion. The professed guide was equally in fault. Dimitri, for instance, knew nothing except the simple duties appertaining to the commissariat, and seemed much astonished, and sometimes amazed, at the partiality we showed for spots possessing no VOL. I. 2 s 314 AN EXCURSION IN THE PELOPONNESUS. ruins or connected with no tangible glories, — a state of ignorance on his part, which assuredly said little for the inquiring powers of our predecessors, and proved also how slender an amount of local knowledge may satisfy the superficial traveller. END OF VOLUME I. /""- GETTY CENTER LIBRARY ' 3 3125 00834 6989 c7q.