Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 11, No. 23, February, 1873 — John Shaqi
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 11, No. 23, February, 1873Various
Science
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 11, No. 23, February, 1873
Various
Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- Periodicals
North-west of the Acropolis, across a narrow chasm, lies the low,
rocky height of the Areopagus, accessible at the southeast angle by
a narrow flight of sixteen rudely-cut steps, which lead to a small
rectangular excavation on the summit, which faces the Acropolis, and
is surrounded upon three sides by a double tier of benches hewn out
of the rock. Here undoubtedly the most venerable court of justice at
Athens had its seat and tried its cases in the open air. Here too,
without doubt, stood the great apostle when, with bold spirit and
weighty words, he declared unto the men of Athens that God of whom
they confessed their ignorance; who was not to be represented by gold
or silver or stone graven by art and man's device; who dwelt not in
temples made with hands, and needed not to be worshiped with men's
hands. In no other place can one feel so sure that he comes upon the
very footsteps of the apostle, and on no other spot can one better
appreciate his high gifts as an orator or the noble devotion of his
whole soul to the work of the Master. How poor in comparison with
his life-work appear the performances of the greatest of the Athenian
thinkers or doers!
A little more than a quarter of a mile west of the Acropolis is
another rocky hill--the Pnyx--celebrated as the place where the
assembly of all the citizens met to transact the business of the
state. A large semicircular area was formed, partly by excavation,
partly by building up from beneath, the bounds of which can be
distinctly traced. Considerable remains of the terrace-wall at the
foot of the slope exist--huge stones twelve or fourteen feet in length
by eight or ten in breadth. The chord of the semicircle is near the
top of the hill, formed by the perpendicular face of the excavated
rock, and is about four hundred feet in length by twenty in depth.
Projecting from it at the centre, and hewn out of the same rock, is
the bema or stone platform from which the great orators from the time
of Themistocles and Aristides, and perhaps of Solon, down to the
age of Demosthenes and the Attic Ten, addressed the mass of their
fellow-citizens. It is a massive cubic block, with a linear edge of
eleven feet, standing upon a graduated base of nearly equal height,
and is mounted on either side by a flight of nine stone steps.
From its connection with the most celebrated efforts of some of
the greatest orators our race has yet seen, it is one of the most
interesting relics in the world, and its solid structure will cause it
to endure as long as the world itself shall stand, unless, as there is
some reason to apprehend will be the case, it is knocked to pieces and
carried off in the carpet-bags of travelers. No traces of the Agora,
which occupied the shallow valley between the Pnyx and the Acropolis,
remain. It was the heart of the city, and was adorned with numerous
public buildings, porticoes, temples and statues. It was often
thronged with citizens gathered for purposes of trade, discussion, or
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