Part 74

The main street is that of _Hagios Nikólaos_ (St. Nicholas), leading to the S.E. from the quay. The third cross-street to the right leads to the _Platia Hagios Geórgios_, containing the theatre and law-courts. The second side-street to the left leads to another square with the _High School_, which contains a few ancient sculptures. The first street to the N.E. running parallel with the Hagios Nikólaos Street leads to the _Castle_, once Venetian, then Turkish (now barracks and prison), which affords a fine view of the gulf.

Excursion to _Olympia_ by railway (5 hrs.), see _Baedeker’s Greece_.

The RAILWAY FROM PATRAS TO ATHENS (137½ M., in 6½–9½ hrs.; see p. 496) is preferable to the steamers, as the traveller thus gains several clear hours for Athens. The Corinth Canal is used by the Società Nazionale and Achaia Co. only. The voyage round the Peloponnesus to the Piræus (360 M.) takes more than a day.

The train skirts the narrow S. margin of the *_Gulf of Corinth_, the grand mountains of which recall those of the Norwegian fiords. Between the ruined fortresses of _Rhion_ and _Antirrhion_, a little way from Patras, the gulf narrows to 1¼ M. and soon, near _Naupaktos_, contracts again. 25 M. _Ægion_ (Buffet); 33 M. _Diakophto_, whence a rack-and-pinion line mounts the hills inland. Then, above two deep bays on the N. bank, towers Mt. Parnassus. At the E. end of the gulf lies (81 M.) _Corinth_ (halt of ¼ hr.; Buffet, déj. 4 dr.). In the isthmus of Corinth the train crosses the Corinth Canal (3¾ M. long, 25 yds. wide, 26 ft. deep) by a bridge 170 ft. high, and then skirts the N. bank of the _Saronic Gulf_ (p. 494). On the right the eye ranges as far as the mountains of the Argolis peninsula and Ægina. Beyond (108 M.) _Megara_ we near the N. coast of Salamis. Beyond (120½ M.) _Eleusis_ the train turns inland and passes through the depression between (r.) Mt. Ægaleos (p. 494) and (l.) Mt. Parnes into the Attic plain. Arrival at (137½ M.) _Athens_, Peloponnesian Station, see below (hotel-agents in waiting; carr. 2 dr.).

* * * * *

Most STEAMERS (see p. 501) set out in a W. direction from the Gulf of Patras, holding straight out to Kephallenia and keeping distant Ithaca to the right. They then steer to the S. between the promontory of _Chelonatas_, the W. point of the Peloponnesus, and the island of _Zante_ or _Zakynthos_. Beyond the cape and the little harbour-town of _Katakolo_, the calling-place for _Pyrgos_ and _Olympia_ (p. 501), the coast recedes and forms the sweeping curve of the _Gulf of Kyparissia_; behind rise the heights of the _Lykaeon_ (4659 ft.). Later on we pass the _Strophades_ on the right. At the extremity of the Gulf of Kyparissia the _Ægaleon_ (4003 ft.) marks the beginning of the Messenian Peninsula. The steamers double the S. point and from here to the Piræus their course is the same as that of the Naples boats (see pp. 493, 494).

79. Athens.[8]

STATIONS. _Peloponnesian_ (Pl. B, 1), for Patras, etc., on the N.W. side of the town.—_Piraeus Railway_, see p. 503.—Tickets also at the tourist-agencies, see 504.

Footnote 8:

MONEY. Greece belongs to the Latin Monetary Convention. The franc is called a _drachmē_ (dr.; pl. drachmǽs), the centime _leptón_ (l.; pl. leptá). The currency is chiefly paper (notes of 1, 2, and 5 dr.), and the chief banks issue also their own notes (for 10, 25, 100, 500 dr., etc.). In nickel there are coins of 5 l. (_pendára_, a sou or soldo), 10 l. (_dekára_), and 20 l.; in copper, 1, 2, 5, and 10 lepta. The only silver coins of full value are the 5 fr. pieces. It is safest to decline all foreign silver. The present exchange (1911) for the English pound is about 25 paper dr., for the gold 20 fr. piece 20 dr.

=Hotels.= At most of the hotels it is usual to arrange for a fixed charge per day; at the chief English and French are spoken; charges mostly in gold, that is, in francs instead of drachmæ; charges higher during the Olympic games. *HÔT. DE LA GRANDE-BRETAGNE (Pl. b; F, 5), Place de la Constitution, opposite the Palace, R. from 7½, B. 2, déj. 5, D. 6, pens. 17½–30 fr.; *GR.-HÔT. D’ANGLETERRE (Pl. a; F, 5), Place de la Constitution, cor. of the Rue d’Hermès, pens. 17½–25 fr.; *PALACE HOTEL (Pl. p; E, 4), Rue du Stade 18, R. 5–10, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5, pens. from 12 fr.; these three are of the first class.—*TOURIST HOTEL (Pl. t; E, 5), cor. of the Rue d’Hermès and Rue de la Boulé, R. 3–8, B. 1, déj. 4½, D. 5, pens. 10–15 fr.; GRAND-HÔTEL (Pl. d; F, 5), Place de la Constitution, cor. of Rue du Stade, R. 3–6, B. 1¼, déj. 3½, D. 4½, pens. 8–12 fr.; HÔT. DES ETRANGERS & SPLENDID (Pl. c; F, 6), Place de la Constitution, cor. of Rue des Philhellènes, R. 5–7, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5, pens. 10–15 fr.; *HÔT. DE LA MINERVE (Pl. g; F, 5), Rue du Stade 5, near Place de la Constitution, pens. from 12 fr., also R. from 4 dr. out of the season; *HÔT. HERMÈS (Pl. s; E, 3), Boulevard de l’Université 46, pens. from 10 fr., also R. without board from 3 fr., B. 1 fr. 20 c., déj. 3½, D. 4½ fr.; *HÔT. D’ATHÈNES (Pl. f; E, 4), cor. of Rue du Stade and Rue de Korais, R. 3–6 dr., B. 1 dr. 20 l., déj. 4, D. 5, pens. 10–14 dr., or less for some stay, R. alone, out of season, from 3 dr.; these three are good second-class inns in the Italian style, with restaurants; HÔT. ROYAL (Pl. r; F, 5), Rue du Stade 9, with garden, R. 4–10, B. 1, déj. 3½, D. 4, pens. 10–12 fr.; HÔT.-PENS. ST. GEORGES (Pl. h; E, F, 5), Rue du Stade, beside the Parliament House, R. 3–5, B. 1, déj. 3½, D. 4, pens. 8–15 fr.; *HÔT. IMPÉRIAL (Pl. i; F, 5), Rue Karageorgevitch, R. 2–10, pens. 8–12 fr.; HÔT. NATIONAL (Pl. q; E, 4), Rue du Stade 30, R. (from 3 dr.) and B. (1½ dr.) only, good.—In the warm season a mosquito-curtain (kunupiera) should be asked for.

=Pensions=, recommended for a stay of some time. _Maison Merlin_ (Pl. G, 5), cor. of the Rues de Kanári and de Sekéri; _Pens. MacTaggart_, Rue du Stade 12, opposite the Parliament, pens. from 8 fr.; both English.

=Restaurants.= At the _Hôtels de la Minerve_, _Hermès_, and _d’ Athènes_, see above; also good, in the Rue du Stade: No. 6, _Averof_, with garden; No. 24, _Cité_, with garden; at corner of the Rue de Patisia, _Kapsēs_; in Rue de Thémistocle, _Sintrivanēs_. French usually understood.

=Cafés.= _Zacharátos_, Place de la Constitution, corner of the Rue du Stade (music on summer evenings); _Zacharátos_, Place Omónia, N. side; at the _Zappion_ (p. 508), where there is always a cool sea-breeze.—TEA ROOMS. _Khrysákis_, Place de la Constitution.

=Wine.= _Achaia Wine Co._, Rue de Niké 1 (Pl. E, 5, 6).—BARS. _Papagiannakis_, Rue du Stade 40; _Apotsos_, Rue du Stade 9; _Skekos_, Rue Karageorgevitch (Greek beer 30 l. per glass).

The =Water= of the Aqueduct (p. 528) is, especially in the hot months, not above reproach. The hotels and restaurants supply good water from the _Marusi_ spring. The mineral waters of _Sáriza_ and _Lutraki_ cost about 25 l. per half-bottle.

=Cabs.= To or from Peloponnesian Station 2 dr.; short drive in town 1 dr., longer 1½ dr.; to the Acropolis 2 dr.; to the Piræus with luggage 6–10 dr.; drives in town and environs 20–30 dr. per day; per hr. 3, afternoon 4 dr. (with one horse cheaper). Agreement advisable.

=Tramways= (numbered; fare 10–15, transfer 15 l.; comp. Plan). The chief lines are: =1.= From _Academy_ (Pl. F, 4) viâ Place de la Constitution, Amalia St., Rue de Phalère (Pl. D, 8), Tsitsiphiés (on the coast), and then alternately to the left to _Old Phálēron_ and to the right to _New Phálēron_; fare 25 l.—From PLACE OMÓNIA: =2.= viâ Rue du Stade, Place de la Constitution (Pl. F, 5, 6), and Rue des Philhellènes to the _English Church_ (p. 504); =3.= viâ the National Museum to _Patisia_ (comp. Pl. E, 1); =4.= viâ the Rue du Pirée, Dipylon, Theseion Station (Pl. B, 5), Monasteraki Station, and the Rue d’Athéna to _Place Omónia_; =5.= viâ the Rue Constantin to _Peloponnesian Station_ (Pl. B, 1).—=12.= From _Place de la Constitution_ (Pl. F, 5, 6) viâ the Rue des Philhellènes and Boulevard Olga (Pl. F, G, 7, 8) to the _Stadion_ (Pl. G, H, 8).—=16.= From the _Academy_ (Pl. F, 4) to the _Acropolis_.

=Electric Railway= to _New Phálēron_ and the _Piraeus_ every ¼ hr., in 18 min. (fare 65 or 45 l., return 1 dr. 15 or 80 l.; to Phaleron 40 or 30, return 75 or 55 l.). Three stations in Athens: _Omónia_ (Pl. D, 3), _Monastēráki_ (Pl. C, 5), and _Theseion_ (Pl. B, 5); fare between these 5–10 l.; the ticket-clerks speak French.

=Tourist Agents.= _Thos. Cook & Son_, Place de la Constitution, corner of Rue d’Hermès; _Ghiolman Bros._, _T. D. Ralli_, both same Place.—For steamboat-agents at the Piræus, see p. 495.

=Banks= (9–12 and 3–5; in summer, forenoon only). _Banque Nationale_ (Pl. D, 3), Rue d’Eole; _Banque d’Orient_ (Pl. D, 3, 4), Rue de Sophocle; _Banque d’Athènes_ (Pl. E, 4), Rue du Stade 32; _Banque Ionienne_ (Pl. E, 4), same street, No. 14.

=Post & Telegraph Office= (Pl. D, 3), opposite Banque Nationale. Letter under 15 grammes within Postal Union 25 l., in Greece 20, in Athens 10 l.; registration 25 l.; deltarion or post-card, 10 or 5 l.

=Theatres= (Nov. to May). _Royal National_ (Pl. C, 2), Rue Constantin; _Théâtre Municipal_ (Pl. D, 3). Several summer-theatres.—=Bands= play every summer evening in the Place de la Constitution, at the Záppion (p. 508), and at New Phaleron (p. 528). Military band, Place de la Constitution, Sun. and Thurs. afternoons.

=Photographs.= _Barth & Eleutheroudakis_, booksellers, Place de la Constitution (Alinari’s and Boissonnas’s photographs, etc.); _Rhomaïdēs_ (Pinacothèque Hellénique), same square; _Simiriotēs_, Rue des Philhellènes 2.—REQUISITES: _Tavanakēs & Georgantopulos_, Rue d’Hermès 12; _Pestarini_, Rue du Stade 2; _Ragnio_, Rue du Stade, opposite the Parliament.

=Legations and Consulates.= GREAT BRITAIN: Minister, _Sir Francis E. H. Elliot_, Rue de Dragatsani 8 (Pl. E, 4). Consul, _T. Cornish_.—UNITED STATES: Minister, _G. H. Moses_, Rue Sina 16. Consul-General, _W. H. Gale_, Rue Regilles 6; vice-consul, _B. Melissinos_.

=English Church= (_St. Paul’s_; Pl. F, 6, 7), Rue des Philhellènes, corner of Palace Garden; chaplain, _W. A. Gardner_, Rue du Lycée 1. Services at 8 and 10.30 a.m., and 6 p.m.

=Scientific Institutions=, all under supervision of the _General Ephoros_ or director _Dr. P. Kavvadias_; office in the Ministère des Cultes, Rue d’Hermès. The _Greek Archaeological Society_, Rue de l’Université 20 (Pl. F, 4), is the central authority for antiquarian research in Greece.—_British School of Athens_ (Pl. I, 4), Rue de Speusippe; _American School of Classical Studies_, same street; also French, German, and Austrian institutes. _National Library_ (Pl. E, 3); open 19–2, 3–5, and 8–11.

=Collections.= _Acropolis Museum_ (p. 519) and _National Archaeological Museum_ (p. 526), on week-days from 9 (Dec. and Jan. 10) to 12, and from 3 (Oct.-March from 2, June-Aug. from 4) till sunset. On Sun. and holidays the National Museum is open 10–12, and the Acropolis Museum in the afternoon only. Adm. free (sticks and umbrellas 20 l.).—_Numismatic Museum_ (p. 525), Wed. and Sat. 9 (or 10)–12 and 3–6, free.—_Historical and Ethnographical Museum_ (p. 526), daily except on holidays, 2–5, adm. 50 l.

=Plan of Visit.= THREE DAYS: 1st. *_Acropolis_ (p. 512), *_Acropolis Museum_ (p. 519); afternoon, _Lykabettos_ (p. 528).—2nd. *_National Museum_ (p. 526); afternoon, _Stadion_ (p. 509), _Olympieion_ (p. 509), _Monument of Lysikrates_ (p. 510), _Theatre of Dionysos_ (p. 510), *_Odeion_ (p. 511), _Areopagus_ (p. 512), _Acropolis_ by sunset.—3rd. _Boul. de l’Université_ (p. 525), region to the _N. of the Acropolis_ (pp. 520 _et seq._); afternoon, *_Theseion_ (p. 521), *_Dipylon_ (p. 522), _Hill of the Pnyx_, _Tomb of Philopappos_ (p. 524).

If 1½ DAY only be available we first drive to the _Acropolis_ (p. 512), to which we devote 2 hrs.; then visit the _Odeion_ (p. 511), the _Theatre of Dionysos_ (p. 510), the _Monument of Lysikrates_ (p. 510), the _Olympieion_ (p. 509) with _Hadrian’s Arch_ (p. 508), and the _Stadion_ (p. 509); we then drive past the _Tower of the Winds_ (p. 520), the _Market Gate_ (p. 521), and _Hadrian’s Stoa_ (p. 520) to the _Theseion_ (p. 521), and if possible also to the ancient _Cemetery outside the Dipylon_ (p. 523). Lastly, in half-a-day, we may drive through the _Boul. de l’Université_ (p. 525), glance at the chief modern buildings, and visit the _National Museum_ (p. 526).

_Athens_ (130–492 ft.; pop. 167,500), modern Greek _Athénai_, lies 3¾ M. from the _Saronic Gulf_, in the great Attic plain, which is closed on the W. by _Ægaleos_ and _Parnes_ and on the E. by _Hymettos_ and _Pentelikon_. The city is bounded on the S.E. by the _Ilissos_ and on the W. by the _Kephisos_. The valleys of these streams are separated by the _Turkovuni_ hills, whose S. spur, the _Lykabettos_, rises abruptly above Athens on the E. A broad saddle separates the latter from the rock of the _Acropolis_ and a group of hills farther to the W.; these include the _Philopappos_ or _Museion_, the _Pnyx_, and the _Nymphs’_ hills, and slope gently down to the sea.

The Athens of antiquity circled round the Acropolis and included the hills on its S.W. and W. sides (see Plan, where traces of ancient walls and the probable direction of the streets are indicated). The modern city extends to the N. of the Acropolis, far towards the plain of the Kephisos. Down to 1834 Athens was a poor village. Now, as the capital of the kingdom of Hellas, it has developed into one of the finest cities of the E. Mediterranean, and is quite European in character.

The main street is the _Rue du Stade_, connecting the _Syntagma Square_ (Place de la Constitution; Pl. F, 5, 6) with the _Omónia Square_ (Place de la Concorde; Pl. D, 2, 3). This street and the broad E. end of the Rue d’Hermès (see below) contain the principal shops. The Syntagma Square forms the centre of traffic. Parallel with the Rue du Stade runs the _Boul. de l’Université_ (_Panepistēmion_), in which the chief public buildings are situated. This new E. quarter, known as _Neapolis_, is adjoined, to the W. of the Rue du Stade, by the older business quarter, the main arteries of which are the _Rue d’Hermès_ (Pl. B-E, 5; p. 520), running to the W. from the Syntagma Square, and the _Rue d’Athéna_ (Pl. D, 3–5), running from the Place de la Concorde to the S. and intersecting the Rue d’Hermès at right angles. Parallel to the latter is the _Rue d’Eole_ (p. 520), which leads to the N., past the National Museum, to Patisia, and is prolonged to the S. to the Tower of the Winds at the foot of the Acropolis. The Piræus is the chief seat of industry and the wholesale trade.

HISTORY. The Athenians prided themselves on being the aboriginal inhabitants of the country, whose earliest kings are said to have been Cecrops, builder of the Acropolis, Erechtheus, Pandion, and Ægeus. Research, however, attributes the earliest settlement on the Acropolis to the _Pelasgians_, afterwards expelled by Ionian invaders. _Theseus_, the fifth king, is regarded as the actual founder of Athens. To him Thucydides assigns the Synœkismos (in 1259 B.C., it is said) or subordination of all the Attic communities to Athens as their capital. Originally consisting of the Acropolis only, the city gradually extended in all directions.

After the self-sacrifice of Kodros (1068 B.C.) the kings were succeeded by _Archons_, first of the house of Kodros and afterwards elected from the ranks of the Eupatridæ (landed nobles). Internal dissensions and the capricious rule of this aristocratic oligarchy led at the end of the 7th cent. to the codification of the existing law of Athens by _Drakon_, a measure succeeded in 594 B.C. by the democratic reforms of _Solon_. Eligibility for the highest offices was henceforth to depend, not on birth, but on the possession of property and the payment of taxes (‘timocracy’). The judges were to be chosen by lot, and a council (Boulē) of 400 members (Bouleutæ) was placed over the archons as the supreme governing body.

In 561 B.C., however, while Solon was still alive, _Peisistratos_, an ambitious but humane man and a patron of art, succeeded in usurping the position of tyrant. He and his sons _Hippias_ and _Hipparchos_ brilliantly developed the city. Roads were made to the various ‘demoi’ or communities of Attica, and a copious supply of water was brought by a subterranean conduit from Hymettos. The Olympieion was begun, the ancient temple of Athena on the Acropolis, the ‘hekatompedon’, was enclosed with a colonnade, and other large buildings were erected. All this splendour, however, did not compensate for the want of a free constitution; in 514 Hipparchos was assassinated by Harmodios and Aristogeiton and in 510 Hippias was banished with the aid of the Spartans. After further democratic reforms, and after various wars with adjoining states, which led to the development of the Athenian fleet, the little Attic state obtained the leadership of the whole nation in the Persian wars. In order to punish Athens for supporting the revolt of the Greek towns in Asia Minor (498), _Darius I._, king of Persia, sent an army of over 200,000 men with a huge fleet, under _Datis_ and _Artaphernes_, across the Ægean Sea in 490. Contrary to all expectation the Athenians under _Miltiades_, assisted by the Platæans only, defeated the immense Persian army on the plains of Marathon. Even more glorious, and still further confirming the hegemony of Athens, was the result of the campaign of _Xerxes_ against Greece in 480. After the heroic resistance of Leonidas and his Spartans at Thermopylæ had been overcome by the slaughter of the devoted band the whole of the huge army and armament of the Great King bore down upon Attica to avenge the defeat of Marathon. The Athenians took to their ships. The city was occupied by the Persians, the Acropolis captured, and the temples burned down. But the decisive naval victory won at Salamis (480), and due to the unflinching courage and pertinacity of _Themistokles_, broke the power of the Persians. The citizens had scarcely re-entered Athens when they were again compelled to retire before the army of _Mardonios_, but their great victory at Platæa in 479 finally relieved them from the menace of a Persian yoke.

Having taken the most glorious part in these terrible struggles Athens now became the natural leader of the Greeks in the war of retaliation. In 474 this leadership found expression in the foundation of the Attic and Delian naval league. The zenith of the Athenian power coincided with the rebuilding of the city, which progressed rapidly in spite of the opposition of the Spartans. The fortification both of the city and its harbour, which the genius of Themistokles had removed to the Piræus, was taken in hand with special vigour, and in 460–445 the ‘Long Walls’ were erected, stretching from the Piræus and from Phaleron to Athens itself. Next, under the rule of _Perikles_, arose the magnificent buildings on the Acropolis. A colossal statue of Athena Promachos in gold and ivory, by Phidias, was erected out of the Persian booty in 438, when the cella of the great Parthenon also was probably completed. In 437–432 were erected the stately Propylaea, and lastly the Erechtheion, begun probably soon after the peace of Nikias (421) but not completed till 407.

The Athenian democracy had attained its fullest development and its widest sway when the long-standing antagonism of Sparta led to open war between the rival states in 431. In the second year of the war Athens was visited by a terrible plague, which carried off, among many others, Perikles, the only man of genius powerful enough to control the democracy, the deterioration of which may be dated from his death. After many vicissitudes, including the disastrous campaign in Sicily undertaken by the advice of _Alkibiades_ (comp. p. 163), the Peloponnesian war ended in 404 with the utter humiliation of Athens. The fortifications of the city and the Piræus had to be demolished, the fleet to be given up, and an oligarchic government, that of the ‘Thirty Tyrants’, to be endured at the bidding of Sparta. In 403 _Thrasyboulos_ restored the democracy; in 393 _Konon_ won a naval victory over the Spartans at Knidos, and rebuilt the Long Walls; but all this was but a brief and feeble reflex of the ancient glory of the state. In vain _Demosthenes_ exhorted his fellow-citizens to vigorous resistance against _Philip of Macedon_; when they at last roused themselves it was too late. In 338 Greek independence received its death-blow on the battle-field of Chæronea.

Although Athens never again recovered her political importance her material prosperity survived almost unimpaired for several centuries more. In the year of the battle of Chæronea began the judicious financial administration of the orator _Lykourgos_, who completed the theatre previously begun on the S.E. slope of the Acropolis, built the Stadion, and filled the arsenals and harbour of the Piræus with military stores and with ships. After a fruitless revolt in 322 (the ‘Lamian War’) Athens was garrisoned with Macedonian troops. Yet Athens continued to live and thrive on the intellectual heritage stored up within her walls ever since the days of the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. As the home of the greatest poets of antiquity, as the seat of the far-famed schools of philosophy and rhetoric founded by Plato, Aristotle, and Zeno, and as a great centre of art and architecture, she still had many visitors and admirers. Foreign patrons lavished gifts upon her or erected sumptuous buildings in the city. To Ptolemy Philadelphos of Egypt (281–246) she owed a gymnasion with a library, to the Pergamenian kings handsome colonnades, and to the Syrian king Antiochos IV. Epiphanes (175–164) the Olympieion.

The dominion of Macedonia was followed by that of Rome, in spite of the nominal declaration of the independence of Greece made by the consul Flamininus in 196 B.C. After the overthrow of the Achæan League, of which Athens was a member, and the destruction of Corinth in 146 Greece and Macedonia were formed into a Roman province. Athens had to pay heavily for the ill-considered help it afforded Mithridates, King of Pontus, who chose Greece as the battle-field on which to contest with Rome the sovereignty of Asia. The city was stormed and sacked by _Sulla_ in 86 B.C., and the fortifications of the Piræus were finally demolished. The city was, however, favoured by Cæsar and the Roman emperors. The chief buildings of this period are the Tower of the Winds, the Market Gate owing its origin to donations made by Cæsar and Augustus, the statue of Agrippa, the round temple of Roma and Augustus, the new marble steps of the Propylæa, and the monument of Philopappos.