The only other monument of art to which we shall refer in this
connection is the celebrated Temple of Theseus, built of marble
by Cimon as a resting-place for the bones of the distinguished
hero. [Footnote: Cimon conquered the island of Scy'ros, the haunt
of pirates, and brought thence to Athens what were supposed to
be the bones of Theseus.] It is of the Doric order, one hundred
and four feet by forty-five, and surrounded by columns, of which
there are six at each front and thirteen at the sides. The roof,
friezes, and cornices of this temple have been but little impaired
by time, and the whole is one of the most noble remains of the
ancient magnificence of Athens, and the most nearly perfect,
if not the most beautiful, existing specimen of Grecian
architecture.
The Temple of Theseus.
Here let us pause, e'en at the vestibule
Of Theseus' fame. With what stern majesty
It rears its ponderous and eternal strength,
Still perfect, still unchanged, as on the day
When the assembled throng of multitudes
With shouts proclaimed the accomplished work, and fell
Prostrate upon their faces to adore
Its marble splendor!
How the golden gleam
Of noonday floats upon its graceful form,
Tinging each grooved shaft, and storied frieze,
And Doric triglyph! How the rays amid
The opening columns, glanced from point to point,
Stream down the gloom of the long portico!
* * * * *
How the long pediment,
Embrowned with shadows, frowns above, and spreads
Solemnity and reverential awe!
Proud monument of old magnificence!
Still thou survivest; nor has envious Time
Impaired thy beauty, save that it has spread
A deeper tint, and dimmed the polished glare
Of thy refulgent whiteness.
--HAYGARTH.
So much for some of the architectural wonders of Athens. As BULWER
says, "It was the great characteristic of these works that they
were entirely the creation of the people. Without the people
Pericles could not have built a temple nor engaged a sculptor.
The miracles of that day resulted from the enthusiasm of a
population yet young--full of the first ardor for the beautiful--
dedicating to the state, as to a mistress, the trophies honorably
won, or the treasures injuriously extorted, and uniting the
resources of a nation with the energy of an individual, because
the toil, the cost, were borne by those who succeeded to the
enjoyment and arrogated the glory." TALFOURD, in his Athenian
Captive, calls all that went to make up Athens in the days of
her glory
An opening world,
Diviner than the soul of man hath yet
Been gifted to imagine--truths serene
Made visible in beauty, that shall glow
In everlasting freshness, unapproached
By mortal passion, pure amid the blood
And dust of conquests, never waxing old,
But on the stream of time, from age to age,
Casting bright images of heavenly youth
To make the world less mournful.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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