From Venice to the Piræus (Athens), Società Nazionale (Line XII, Venice, Brindisi, Patras, and Constantinople), from Venice on Sat. aft. (returning from Piræus Frid. foren.), to Patras in 4½, to the Piræus in 5 days (fare 195 or 134 fr.).

From Trieste to the Piræus. 1. Austrian Lloyd (fast boats to Constantinople) from Trieste on Tues. aft. (returning from Piræus Sun. even.) to Patras in 2½, to the Piræus in 4 days (fare to Patras 159 or 109, to Piræus 220 or 147 fr.). Also Greek-Oriental Line (every Sun. foren.; returning from Piræus Sun. aft.), in 5 days, and Thessalian Line (Frid. aft.; returning from Piræus Frid. or Sat.) in 6½ days.—2. Greek Steamboat Co. Panhellenios, from Trieste on Frid. foren. (from Piræus Mon. morn.) to Patras in 3, to the Piræus in 5 days.

From Trieste to Patras, New York Line of the Austro-Americana (p. 425), from Trieste weekly or fortnightly, in 42–46 hrs. (fare 150 or 110 K). Passengers for the Piræus are conveyed through the Corinth canal by the Achaia Co., or they may go on by rail (see below).

Agents in Venice, see p. 420; at Trieste, p. 425; at Brindisi, p. 429; at Corfu, p. 497; at Patras, p. 501; at the Piræus, pp. 494, 495.

From Patras to Athens, 137½ M., railway in 7½–9½ hrs. (fare 25 or 18 dr.); express on Tues. and Frid. in 6–1 ‘wagon de luxe’ 33 dr. 40 l.). As to Greek money, see p. 502.

The Italian steamers (comp. p. 427) from Venice touch at Ancona, Bari, and Brindisi. The Lloyd steamers, except those of the Thessalian line, go direct from Trieste to Brindisi (comp. p. 429).

Soon after leaving Brindisi we steer to the S.E. To the left of the Straits of Otranto (p. 430) are seen the outlines of Albania (Turkey), with the great rampart of the Acroceraunian Mts. (6644 ft.). Farther on, in the foreground, lies the island of Corfu. On the right are the Othonian Islands, Othoní, Eríkusa, Mathraki, and the islet of Diaplo. At the S. end of the Acroceraunian Mts. lies Santi Quaranta, where the Italian steamers call, the poor seaport for Yánina, which is two day’s ride (59 M.) distant.

The scenery of the wide Strait of Corfu (2–4½ M. broad), separating the island from the mainland, is very imposing. To the right towers Monte San Salvatore (p. 500). The town of Corfu, partly hidden at first by the island of Vido, is now revealed. On casting anchor we have on our left the double hump of the Fortezza Vecchia and on the right the dark ramparts of the Fortezza Nuova.

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Corfu.

Arrival. Landing or embarking 1½, with heavy baggage, 2 dr. As the boatmen are insolent, there is no tariff, and great confusion prevails, the traveller had better allow the hotel-agents who come on board to arrange for boat, baggage, and carriage, for which a charge of 3–4 fr. is made in the bill. Passengers who go ashore for a few hours only may bargain to be landed and rowed back for 1½ fr., payable on their return.

Hotels (tariffs payable in gold, see p. 502). *Hôt. d’Angleterre & Belle Venise (Pl. a), to the S. of the town, high site, with fine views and garden, R. 3–7, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5 fr.; St. Georges (Pl. b), on the Esplanade, similar charges.—Unpretending houses, with restaurants: Belvedere, Strada sulle Mura, pens. 7 dr.; the following are in the Greek style: Orient, on the Esplanade; Patras, Nikephoros Street; Hôt. d’Alexandrie, R. 2 fr., and Hôt. de Constantinople, R. 3 dr., both near the harbour.

Cafés in the Esplanade, at the beginning of the double avenue; cup of Turkish coffee 20 l.—Restaurants. Abbondanza (Greek), Nikephoros Street, moderate; Patras, Belvedere, see above.—Beer. Dobay, on the Esplanade; Gambrinus, near the Old Theatre (p. 498).

Banks. Fels & Co. (Pl. 1), Strada sulle Mura; Banque Ionienne, Nikephoros Street, not far from the Esplanade; Banque Nationale.—Post Office, adjoining the Sanità, Nikephoros Street.—Telegraph Office, near the Banque Ionienne.

Steamboat Offices. Austrian Lloyd, Ellerman Line, Fels & Co. (see above); Società Nazionale (Pl. 8), G. Topali.—Tourist Agency. Hamburg-American Line, Strada sulle Mura.—Lloyd’s Agents, Barff & Co.

Consulates. British (Pl. 3): consul, G. Raymond; vice-consul, P. Papadachi.—United States (Pl. 7): consular agent, Ch. E. Hancock.

Carriages. Drives in town or nearer environs 2–3 dr. per hr., as may be agreed upon; short drive usually 1 fr. Carr. obtained at the hotels are better but dearer.—Boats for excursions may be ordered at the hotels.

Motor Cars (belonging to the Société d’Automobiles): omnibus daily to the N. and S. parts of the island, each person 10 l. per kilomètre; vehicle seated for live 50 l. per kilomètre.

Theatres. Teatro Grande, built in 1895 on the model of San Carlo at Naples, near the Porta Reale; Ital. opera in winter; Summer Theatre, to the S. of the Ginnasio.

Sea Baths (80 l. to 1 dr.) and plunge-baths, near Punta San Nicolò.

English Church (Holy Trinity), service in the season.

Corfu, Ital. Corfù, Greek Kérkyra, the capital of the island of the same name and the seat of archbishops of the Greek and Roman Catholic churches, is one of the wealthiest towns in the Greek dominions (pop. 28,250, incl. 4000 Rom. Cath. and 2700 Jews). The spacious harbour is enlivened by a brisk trade, the chief export being olive-oil. The fortifications constructed by the Venetians, the Fortezza Vecchia, picturesquely situated in the sea, on a double rock to the E. of the town, and the Fortezza Nuova, on the N.W., are both now unimportant. The narrow streets present a busy scene. The chief languages are Greek and Italian.

Kérkyra. Lat. Corcyra, the largest (245 sq. M.) and most important of the Ionian Islands, was supposed in ancient times to have been Scheria, the home of the Phæaci and their king Alkinoos. Having been colonized by the Corinthians at an early period (734 B. C.), it developed into a dangerous rival of its mother-city, thus partly causing the Peloponnesian war. The mediæval name seems to have been derived from ‘Korphus’, as the old fortress on the two rocks was called. From 1386 to 1797 Corfu belonged to Venice, from 1815 to 1863 it was under British sway, after which it was ceded, along with the other Ionian Islands, to the kingdom of Greece.

The island (with 93,860 inhab.) possesses hill and plain, bold rocks and charming bays on the coast, abundant water-supply, rich vegetation, and fine old olive forests, which combine to render its scenery highly attractive. The climate is mild and equable in spring and autumn. The good roads made everywhere by the British government add to the comfort and enjoyment of a short stay in the island.

On disembarking we cross the courtyard of the Dogana, turn to the left at the small Hôt. de Constantinople, and follow the Strada sulle Mura, which skirts the N. side of the town, affording numerous fine views, and reaches the Esplanade near the royal palace. Or we may ascend direct from the Dogana through the Strada Nikephoros, the busy main street, in 5 min. to the Esplanade. Before we reach the Esplanade we pass a side-street on the left with the church of Santo Spiridione, and another on the right with the Teatro Vecchio, built by the Venetians, now the municipio.

The Esplanade, or Spianata, lies between the town and the old fortress. On the W. side it is bounded by handsome houses with arcades on the groundfloor. At the N. end rises the—

Royal Palace, built in grey Malta stone, at the beginning of the British period, for the Lord High Commissioner, and containing the throne-room and the hall of the former Ionian senate. The entrance is by the W. side-door (gratuity). A marble staircase ascends to the first floor. At the top is an antique lion couchant.—In front of the palace is a Statue of Sir Frederick Adam, a much respected Lord High Commissioner of the islands (1823–32).

At the E. end of the double avenue intersecting the Esplanade rises a statue of Count von der Schulenburg, who conducted the defence of Corfu against the Turks in 1716, erected by the republic of Venice. Beyond it a bridge crosses a strait to the—

*Fortezza Vecchia (adm. on application), which rises on the steep twin-rocks in terraces. The dilapidated buildings are now used as barracks and a military hospital. At the foot of the height is the garrison-church built by the British. The passage opposite the chief entrance gives access to the commandant’s house. We ascend hence to the left, pass through a long vaulted passage, leading straight on to the ramparts, which are overgrown with vegetation, and lastly mount a few steps to the platform on the W. rock (230 ft.; with signalling station and lighthouse). The custodian lends a telescope (25 l.). We enjoy here a superb **View of the town and of the island, from Monte San Salvatore and Capo Cassopetto on the N. to Capo Bianco on the S.; to the E. is Epirus in Turkey, with its lofty mountains.

A broad street descends from the S. end of the Esplanade to the Viale dell’ Imperatrice Elisabetta, formerly Strada Marina, skirting the shore below the new quarter of the town and now a favourite promenade in the evening. At the beginning of it, on the right, is the Casino, with reading and concert rooms. Turning to the right after 4 min., and then to the left, we come to the Museum, containing ancient sculptures and tomb-inscriptions. Near it is the round Tomb of Menecrates, resembling a well (7th or 6th cent. B.C.). Above is the ruined Fort of San Salvatore (prison).

The boulevard sweeps round the suburb of Kastrades or Garitza first to the S. and then to the E. to the Molo protecting the bay. At a bend, short of the molo, we follow the Viale Imperatore Guglielmo Secondo to the right (S.). After 7 min., opposite the apse of the old church of Santa Corcyra, we ascend a road to the left. A gate on the left is the entrance to the—

*Royal Villa of Monrepos (Villa Reale; free on Sun. and Thurs. aft.). The park affords fine views of the town and castle.

The Viale Imperatore Guglielmo skirts the W. slope of the hilly peninsula which stretches to the S., between Lake Kalikiópulo and the sea. Here probably lay the ancient city, with the bay of Kastrades as its trading harbour, while the Lake of Kalikiopulo, now choked with mud, seems to have been the Portus Hyllaeicus, used as a station for vessels of war. The road is bordered with rose and orange gardens, and farther on with beautiful olive-groves. In 25 min. (or from the Esplanade in ¾ hr.) we reach a round open space, called the *Canone, or One-gun Battery (carr. 5–6 fr.), which commands a superb view of the E. coast of the island.

Opposite, at the entrance to the ancient Hyllæan harbour, lies the Scoglio di Ulisse (‘cliff of Ulysses’), or Pontikonisi (‘mouse island’), a cypress-planted islet with a chapel and parsonage, now owned by an enterprising German. The Greeks took this to be the ship of the Phæacians which had brought Odysseus to Ithaca, and on its way back was turned into stone by the angry Poseidon. The S.W. shore of the Lake of Kalikiopulo, where a brook named Kressida enters the lake, is pointed out as the place where Odysseus was cast ashore and met the princess Nausicaa.

The charming drive to Gasturi and Benizze (7½ M.) and back takes 3–4 hrs. (carr. 10–15 dr.; as far as the Achilleion, there and back 2½ hrs., 8–10 dr.). We leave the town by the former W. gate, or Porta Reale and pass through the suburb of San Rocco. The road runs a little to the W. of Lake Kalikiopulo and ascends in windings to (5 M.) Gasturi (Achilleion, pens. 7 dr.). About ½ M. farther, a little to the left, is the villa *Achilleion (adm. to the building and the grounds 11–3, 2 dr.), built in 1890–1 for Empress Elizabeth of Austria (d. 1898), in the Italian Renaissance style, and purchased by the German emperor in 1907. The back of the villa is adjoined by a peristyle and three terraces adorned with statues. On the road, just beyond the villa, is the Restaurant Bella Vista. We now descend (short-cuts for walkers) to the (2 M.) fishing-village of Benizze, where delicious oranges grow, and where there are remains of a Roman villa (boat to Corfu, 5 dr.)

Another delightful excursion is to Santi Deca (carr. 10–15 dr.; there and back 5–6 hrs.). About ¾ M. short of Gasturi the road diverges to the right from the Benizze road. The drive to the village of Hagi Deka or Santi Deca (‘ten saints’; 676 ft.) takes 1¼ hr. (the walk 2 hrs.). Thence we ascend (guide) the (1 hr.) double-peaked Monte Santi Deca (1862 ft.), where we have a superb view, notably of the Albanian coast. A narrow path then descends, the last part through olive-groves, to (½ hr.) Apano-Garuna, and proceeds thence to the N. to (¼ hr.) the pass of San Teódoro or Hagios Theódoros (788 ft.), where the carriage quitted at Santi Deca may be ordered to meet us. The drive back to Corfu viâ Kamára takes 1½ hr.

The monastery of Palæokastrizza (‘old castle’), on the W. coast, about 15 M. to the N.W., is a delightful point of view (carr. there and back 20–25 dr., in 6 hrs., excl. stops). A road diverging to the right about halfway, 1½ M. beyond the picturesque bay of Govino, crosses the Pheleka and leads over the fine San Pantaleone Pass and through hill scenery to the N. coast. Far to the right, on the E. coast, rises Monte San Salvatore (Greek Pantokrator; 2998 ft.; ascended with guide in 3 hrs. from Spartilla; carr. from Corfu to Spartilla viâ Giovino, Ipso, and Pyrgi, in 2½ hrs., about 20 dr.).

See also Baedeker’s Greece.

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As the Steamer leaves Corfu the picturesque fortress remains long in view. The highest hill on the right is Monte Santi Deca (see p. 499). The strait widens. To the left is the mouth of the Kalamas; beyond it tower the Albanian Mts.; on our right is Cape Lévkimo. On the left, off Kavo Aspro or Capo Bianco, the S. point of Corfu, lie the small Sybota Islands, where, in 432 B. C., was fought the great naval battle between the Corinthians and the Corcyræans, supported by the Athenians, which marked the outbreak of the Peloponnesian war.

In 2½–3 hrs., after passing the rocky islets of Paxos and Antipaxos, we reach the open Ionian Sea. On the mainland is seen the little town of Parga.

We now leave in the distance the Epirote coast, where, off Actium, at the mouth of the Ambracian bay, Octavian’s naval victory over Antony in 31 B.C. gave him the sole supremacy. On the left the island of Levkás (Ital. Santa Maura) remains long in sight; its S.W. headland, Kavo Dukato, 5 M. long, ends in the Leucadian Rock, which once bore a temple of Apollo. Sappho, who loved the beautiful Phaon, is said to have thrown herself from this rock, a leap which was supposed to cure unrequited love.

We round the cape and enter the strait between Levkás and Kephallēnía (Ital. Cefalonia). Steering to the S.E., past the E. side of Ithaca, we have a good view of its beautiful mountain with a deep depression in the middle. At the entrance to the bay of Patras lie the Oxia Islands. Here in 1571 was fought the naval battle of Lépanto, where Don John of Austria annihilated the Turkish fleet.

Nearing Cape Kalógria, the N.W. point of the Peloponnesus, we observe to the N., beyond a narrow strip of coast and a large lagoon, the little town of Misolonghi or Mesolóngion, where Byron died in 1824. Beyond it rises Mt. Zygós (3107 ft.), the last outpost, to the W., of the high Ætolian range. Next, on the N. shore also, we sight the finely-shaped Varássova (3007 ft.) and Klókova (3415 ft.). In the Peloponnesus, to the S., tower the Olonos Mts. (7300 ft.) and the Voïdiá (6322 ft.). Patras, completely surrounded with currant-plantations, becomes more and more distinctly visible.

Patras.—Arrival. The steamer anchors in the harbour near the Molo San Nicolò (examination of luggage at the railway-station, see below). Landing or embarkation 1, with baggage 2 dr.; but the boatmen usually try to extort far more. Hotel-boat 2½ dr.—Station, to the N.E. of the harbour, 5 min. from the landing-place.

Hotels (charges should be agreed upon beforehand) all near the landing-place. Hôt. d’Angleterre, R. 2–5, B. 1, déj. 3½, D. 5, pens. 8–12½ fr., well spoken of; Gr.-Hôt. de Patras, R. 4, B. 1½, déj. 3, D. 4, pens. 12½ fr.; between these, New & Tourist Hotel, St. Andreas Street, R. 2½ fr., B. 70 c., déj. 2½, D. 3½, pens. 8 fr., well spoken of.—Cafés-Restaurants at the first two hotels.

Post Office, St. Nicholas Street.—Telegraph Office, in the first cross-street to the right as we come from the harbour.

Cab. Drive in town 1 dr.—Electric Tramway in St. Andreas Street, parallel with the quay, and to the upper town.

Steamboat Offices. Austrian Lloyd, St. Andreas Street, next the New Hotel; Austro-Americana, Morphy & Son; Panhellēnios, St. Andreas St., a little to the W. of the harbour; Società Nazionale, St. Andreas St.

Consulates. British (next Gr.-Hôt. de Patras): consul, F. B. Wood; vice-consul, G. W. Crowe.—United States (opposite the Gr.-Hôt. de Patras): consul, A. B. Cooke; vice-consul, H. J. Woodley.

English Church (St. Andrew’s), near the station (see above); service at 11 a.m.

Patras, the third town of Greece (pop. 37,700), is surpassed in its trade by the Piræus only. Currants, the staple produce of the Peloponnesus, and wine are the chief exports. The town was destroyed by the Turks in 1821, and after the war of independence was rebuilt with broad and regular streets bordered with arcades.

Patrae first rose to importance under Augustus and afterwards gained great wealth by its trade. In 1205 the Franks made it their base for the conquest of the Peloponnesus (Morea). Since the 15th cent. it has belonged successively to the Venetians, the Pope, the Byzantines, and the Turks, and since 1833 to the kingdom of Greece.

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.).

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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.

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.

A new period in the history of art was inaugurated by Hadrian (A.D. 117–38), the friend of Greece, to whom countless statues were erected under the titles of the Olympian, the Founder, the Liberator. A whole quarter of the city, to the S.E. of the castle, was called after him, as may still be read on Hadrian’s Arch. In this quarter rose the temple of Zeus completed by him. In the old town he founded a library, a gymnasion, and a pantheon, and Athens is still supplied with water by his aqueduct. At the same period Herodes Atticus (101–77), a rich citizen, built the odeion named after him. Lastly Marcus Aurelius (161–80), from whose time dates the description of the city by Pausanias, summoned new teachers to the Athenian school of philosophy. From that period begins the gradual stagnation and decay of the city.

In 267 Athens was captured by the Heruli and Goths. In 395 and 396 Alaric with his Visigoths appeared before its gates, but spared it on payment of tribute. From the 5th cent. onwards numerous works of art were removed from Athens to Constantinople, as had been partly done by Constantine himself, to grace the buildings of New Rome. In 529 Justinian gave the death-blow to the intellectual life of Athens by closing the schools of philosophy. Athens sank to the position of a Byzantine provincial town. In 1019 Basil II. held a triumphal festival in the Parthenon, which had long been used as a church. In 1040 the Northmen under Harald Haardraade took the Piræus by storm.

After the conquest of Constantinople by the Latin Crusaders in 1204 (p. 542) Athens fell into the hands of Frankish nobles known as dukes after 1258. At length, in 1456, after a vigorous defence, Athens was captured by the Turks, and thenceforth belonged to the pashalik of Negroponte (Eubœa). But two events in the next three centuries and a half deserve mention; it was attacked by the Venetians in 1466 and it was captured and occupied for a short time by their general Francesco Morosini in 1687. On the latter occasion the Parthenon, hitherto uninjured, was blown up, while the Propylæa had already been destroyed by an earlier explosion (comp. p. 513). Athens then fell into complete oblivion and had to be rediscovered by the explorers and scholars of the 19th century.

The Greeks began their war of independence in 1821, and in 1822 captured the Acropolis of Athens. The Turks, however, stormed the town in 1826, and in 1827 took the Acropolis also after a brave resistance. The whole of Hellas thus fell again under the Turkish yoke. But the Great Powers now intervened. In 1833 the Acropolis was evacuated by the Turks, and entered by the Bavarian troops of the new king, Otho. In 1834 Athens was made the capital of the new kingdom, and since 1835 has been the seat of government. This distinction it owes to its historic fame, its site being geographically and economically unfavourable for a great modern city. It has attracted neither wholesale trade nor industry, and Attica itself is by no means productive.

Books. Of the extensive literature on Athens the following books may be useful to the traveller: Stuart’s and Revett’s ‘The Antiquities of Athens’ (4 vols.; rev. ed., 1825–30); Leake’s ‘Topography of Athens’ (London, 1821); Wordsworth’s ‘Athens and Attica’ (4th ed., 1869); Dyer’s ‘Ancient Athens’ (London, 1873); Harrison’s and Verrall’s ‘Mythology and Monuments of Ancient Athens’ (London, 1890); E. A. Gardner’s ‘Ancient Athens’ (London, 1902).

a. Walk from the Palace round the S. Side of the Acropolis.

The Place de la Constitution, or Syntagma Square (Pl. F, 5, 6; p. 505), with its hotels and cafés, is bounded by gardens on the E., beyond which rises the Royal Palace (Pl. F, G, 5, 6), built of limestone and Pentelic marble (1834–8), with a Doric portico. The trellised walks of the palace-garden (Pl. F, G, 6; entr. to the right, in the Rue de Képhisia; adm. Wed. and Frid., 4–6, in winter 3–5; smoking prohibited) afford shady promenades; from the S. part, with its fine palms, we get picturesque glimpses of the columns of the Olympieion, the Acropolis, and the sea.

From Syntagma Square the broad Rue des Philhellènes leads to the S., past the Russian Church and the English Church (Pl. F, 6, 7), a tasteful Gothic edifice, to the beautiful grounds of the Záppion (Pl. F, 7), an exhibition-building opened in 1888.

The two statues adorning the flight of steps represent the brothers Zappas, who founded the building. At the W. angle of the grounds is a pleasing Statue of Byron (Pl. E, 7). Café on the Terrace (p. 503).

To the S. we have a view of the sea; to the E. (left) rises Hymettos. In the foreground, adjoining the Olympieion (p. 509), is *Hadrian’s Arch (Pl. E, 7), erected either by himself or his successor. This gateway, 14½ yds. broad and 59 ft. high, marked, as the inscriptions record, the boundary between the older quarters and the new town of Hadrian (p. 507). It was adorned with projecting Corinthian columns, of which fragments of the bases and the entablature alone survive. Above the gateway rises an attica with three window-like apertures and a pediment in the centre.

The Olympieion (Pl. E, F, 7, 8), or Temple of the Olympian Zeus, has been entirely destroyed with the exception of fifteen huge marble columns. The original temple dates from the time of Peisistratos (ca. 530 B.C.; p. 506), but scarcely more than the foundations were then built. The work was resumed, ca. 174 B.C., by Antiochos IV. Epiphanes, to whose edifice the existing ruins belong, but it was completed only by Hadrian. When the temple was consecrated (ca. 129 A.D.) the Athenians showed their gratitude by erecting a statue of the emperor next to the gold and ivory statue of Zeus. The temple rose on a basis (118 by 45 yds.) approached by three steps, and was the largest Greek temple in existence after those of Ephesus and Selinus. The W. and E. ends were flanked with triple rows of eight columns, and the N. and S. sides with double rows of twenty; in all there were 104 Corinthian columns, 56½ ft. high and 56–67 inches in diameter.

The precincts of the temple consisted of a large levelled platform, created by Hadrian, 224 by 141 yds., which had to be backed up on the W. side and at the S.E. corner, where it is buttressed with huge substructions. On the N. side, in a line with the E. front of the temple, an entrance with four columns has been unearthed.

The view stretches from Hymettos to the sea, with the islands of Ægina and Hydra and the coast of Argolis.

The Olga Boulevard (Pl. E-G, 7, 8), on the bank of the Ilissos (generally dry), leads to the E. from the Olympieion to the Stadion bridge. Opposite the bridge is the old Protestant Cemetery.

The *Stadion (Pl. G, H, 8; adm. 20 l.), the scene of the Panathenæan games, situated in a natural basin, was planned by Lykourgos (p. 507) in 330 B.C. The seats and balustrades in Pentelic marble were added, about 140 A.D., by Herodes Atticus (p. 507). The great size of the Stadion and the height of its rows of seats produce a very imposing effect, and this is enhanced by the rich marble decorations, which were renewed in 1896–1906. On its completion the building was inaugurated in 1906 with Olympic games, which are to be held here every four years. The entrance consists of a Corinthian propylæum. The race-course, ascending slightly, is 224 yds. long as far as the semicircular space at the S.E. end (sphendonē), and 36½ yds. in breadth. Exclusive of barriers and corridor, the actual course was 600 Græco-Roman or 584 Engl. ft. (195 yds.) long, and was divided into sections by metae or goals, consisting of double hermæ, two of which have been re-erected at the semicircular space. The course is separated by a marble parapet from a corridor, 3 yds. wide, affording access to the lower tiers of seats. These are 24 in number, and higher up, separated from them by a broad passage, are 20 rows of benches, above which runs another passage overlooking the whole and protected on the outside by a parapet. There is accommodation for 50,000 spectators.

From Hadrian’s Arch the short Rue de Lysicrate leads to the N.W. to the beautiful choragic *Monument of Lysikrates (Pl. E, 7), resembling a small round temple. This is the oldest well-preserved monument in the Corinthian style, and once served as the library of that French Capuchin Convent where Lord Byron spent a night. According to the inscription above the half-columns on the S.E. side, it was erected in 335–334 by a certain Lysikrates who had won the victory in the Dionysian games. On a cubic basement rises a round building in Pentelic marble, 21½ ft. high, with six Corinthian half-columns which support a tripartite architrave and sculptured frieze. The conical roof, consisting of a single slightly convex block of marble, is crowned with a vigorous acanthus flower, on which once stood the bronze tripod won by Lysikrates. The frieze, which dates from the prime of the school of Praxiteles, represents in very low relief, partly obliterated, the punishment of the Tyrrhenian pirates who had robbed Dionysos; before the god converts them into dolphins, they are being tormented in every possible way by his attendant satyrs.

We return by the Rue de Byron (to the S.) to Amalia Street, in line with which the Dionysios Areopagites Street (Pl. D, C, 7) ascends to the Acropolis.

The *Theatre of Dionysos (Pl. D, 7), whose entrance we soon reach, was once the centre of the dramatic art of Greece, the spot in which the masterpieces of Æschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes first excited delight and admiration. From the early 5th cent, this site was occupied by a round enclosed orchestra (‘dancing place’), while for each performance a stage had to be specially erected, the audience being seated in a levelled hollow in the Acropolis hill-side. In the 4th cent., mainly in the time of Lykourgos (p. 507), tiers of stone seats and a permanent stage were erected for the first time. The present semicircular orchestra, paved with marble, and the remains of the stage-building belong to Roman restorations. The Roman raised stage rested on a wall adorned with good sculptures of the time of Nero. During the Greek age the actors and the chorus, the former wearing the raised cothurnus, performed on the level space in the orchestra, while the skēnē or stage served them as a kind of booth. The proskēnion, or wooden front of the stage, formed the background of the play, and was only superseded by a stone wall with columns at the close of the late Hellenistic period. Between the rectangular wings of the stage (paraskēnia) and the lowest seats for the spectators opened the entrances for the chorus (párodoi). The auditorium was divided by narrow flights of steps into 13 ‘wedges’ (kerkides) and by two cross passages (diazomata) into three main sections. The seats, originally for 14–17,000 spectators, are only partly preserved. In the front row were marble seats for the priests and state officials; that in the centre, set apart for the priest of Dionysos, is adorned with reliefs. The pedestal to the right, behind it, bore the throne of Hadrian.

Adjoining the theatre was the Sacred Precinct of Dionysos Eleuthereus, the wine-dispensing god, with whose festivals the dramatic performances were connected. The walls of his temple (5th or early 4th cent.) are still partly preserved between the stage of the theatre and the modern street. Behind the stage ran a colonnade offering shelter in rainy weather; at its S.W. end once stood an older temple, the N.W. corner of which has been discovered.

The ancient buildings to the W. of the theatre of Dionysos skirt the hill-side in two terraces. The E. half of the upper terrace, on the steep slope of the castle-hill, above the conspicuous arched wall, is the site of the famous Asklepieion, or sacred precinct of Asklepios (Æsculapius), Hygieia, and kindred deities, with which institutions for the treatment of the sick were connected. Of the temple, founded in 420, the foundations only are left. The perpendicular side of the Acropolis is here faced with masonry, in which is the entrance to a round well-house converted into a chapel. In front of it ran a colonnade towards the W., leading to a round pit, once roofed over, which is supposed to have been used for sacrificial purposes or as the abode of the sacred serpents.

On the lower terrace, from the theatre to the Odeion, ran the Stoa of King Eumenes II. of Pergamon (B.C. 197–159), 180 yds. long, with its back to the masonry supporting the upper terrace.

The *Odeion of Herodes Atticus (Pl. C, 7; keys kept by a pensioner, in the red hut at the W. entrance; 25–50 l.), founded by a rich citizen (p. 507; about 160 A.D.), dominates all the other ruins at the foot of the castle-hill. Unlike the usual odeon or theatre for musical entertainments, this building was constructed with a view to dramatic performances. The yellowish-brown façade is constructed in the Roman round-arched style and consisted of three stories. The usual entrance is by the westmost of the three doors. A niche here contains the statue of a Roman official.

The Interior affords a good example of a Roman theatre (comp. p. 510). The stage (logeion), raised 3½ ft. above the orchestra, is 38½ yds. in breadth, but only 6 yds. deep. At the back of the stage is a massive wall, broken by the usual three stage-doors and relieved by niches and a row of columns. The orchestra, 20 yds. wide, was paved with particoloured squares of marble. The auditorium, 83 yds. in diameter, could hold 5000 spectators. The tiers of seats rise in a semicircle, one above the other, on the rocky slope of the Acropolis. The lower 19 tiers were divided by steps into five, the upper (probably 13), above the transverse passage (see p. 510 and above), into ten sections. The seats, like the whole of the masonry, were coated with Pentelic marble; the lowest tier had backs. The whole edifice was covered with a superb roof of cedar-wood.

From the Dionysios Areopagites Street (p. 510), where it passes the Odeion, there diverges to the W. the avenue leading to the Acropolis, immediately to the right of which a steep path ascends on the W. side of the Odeion to the Acropolis gate.

Halfway up we diverge to the left to visit the summit of a rocky plateau (377 ft.) separated from the Acropolis by a depression, and descending abruptly to the N.E., still called as in ancient times the Areopagus (Pl. B, C, 6). A narrow flight of steps in the rock, partly destroyed, ascends to the site of some ancient altars, for which platforms were hewn in the rock. Here met the time-honoured court of justice, composed of noble and aged citizens who wielded supreme criminal jurisdiction. The cleft in the rock below the N.E. corner was probably connected with the cult of the avenging Erinyes (Furies), or Eumenides (the benevolent), as they were euphemistically called. This was the scene of Æschylus’s famous tragedy of that name.

To the S.W. of the Areopagus rock, and below (to the E. of) the modern road from the Theseion (p. 521) to the Acropolis, the Oldest Quarter of the Lower Town has been partly excavated (comp. Pl. B, 7, and p. 524). Descending at the W. point of the Areopagus rock from the modern to the ancient road, we reach, on the left, the Dionysion en Limnais (Pl. B, 7), a triangular space enclosed by an antique polygonal wall of limestone. This was the sacred precinct of Dionysos Lenæos, the inventor of the wine-press, and once contained a temple of the 7th or 6th cent. B.C., a wine-press (in the N.W. angle), and a large hall of the Roman period (in the N.E. half).

To the S. of the temple-precinct lay the City Well of Kallirrhoë. Peisistratos connected it with his aqueduct from the upper Ilissos valley, and provided it with nine spouts, whence it was called Enneákrunos.

b. The Acropolis.

The abrupt limestone plateau (512 ft.) on which stands the Acropolis, or castle of Athens, has formed from hoar antiquity the nucleus of all the settlements in the Attic plain. The legendary Pelasgi are said to have first levelled the top of the hill, enclosed it with a wall, and erected the so-called Enneápylon, an outwork with nine gates, to defend the sole approach on the W. side. The Acropolis contained the residence of the kings and the chief sanctuaries of the state. The kings afterwards transferred their seat to the lower city, Peisistratos alone preferring to reside in the Acropolis. The ancient buildings were destroyed by the Persians in 480–479. Themistokles and Kimon rebuilt the walls, and Perikles then became the chief founder of those magnificent buildings which, even in their ruins, still present the finest picture of the unrivalled art of antiquity.

Tramway, see p. 503.

The avenue mentioned above which ascends to the W. at the Odeion of Herodes Atticus brings us to the so-called Beulé Gate, on the plateau below the last steep W. slope of the **Acropolis. Carriages stop here. Visitors admitted till sunset.

The Beulé Gate, named after the French savant who discovered it, was entirely built over by bastions down to 1852, but since 1889 has formed the chief entrance to the Acropolis (side-entrance under the Nike bastion). The towers flanking the gateway were built about 50 A.D.; the gateway itself dates from 160 A.D. and is embellished with fragments from a choragic monument erected by Nikias in 319.

From the Beulé Gate we ascend a flight of marble steps, with many gaps, to the Propylæa. This staircase, which also was made in the first half of the 1st cent. A.D., replaces the steep ancient track.