"To a person who has seen the ruins of Rome," says Dr. Clarke, "the first suggestion, made by a sight of the buildings in the Acropolis, is that of the infinite superiority of the Athenian architecture. It possesses the greatness and majesty of the Egyptian or of the ancient Etruscan style, with all the elegant proportion, the rich ornaments, and the discriminating taste of the most splendid era of the arts." Its present condition is thus described by Mr. Williams. "The scene of desolation in the Acropolis is complete; the heaps of ruins of wretched houses, and various buildings, are constructed part with clay and marble, the marble looking doleful through the mud. On entering the temple one is struck by the worn steps, and curved or circular marks of the great doors of old; the pavement, too, that had been trodden by the luminaries of Greece." The walls of the Acropolis[59] exhibit three distinct periods of construction; that is to say, the masonry of _modern_ times in the repairs,--a style of building which can only be referred to the age of _Cimon_, or of _Pericles_;--and the ancient _Pelasgic_ work, as mentioned by Lucian. The _modern_ walls of the city are about ten feet high, and not two in thickness. They were constructed about the year 1780, as a defence against pirates and hordes of Arnauts, who sometimes entered the town at night, and threatened to pillage it. The walls embrace a circuit of nearly three miles, and enclose not only the town and citadel, but also some open spaces for cattle. They were built in seventy-five days, all hands being employed night and day. All kinds of materials which were at hand were employed in their construction, and in some places they exhibit large blocks of stone and marble, and several fragmental inscriptions[60]. The lower city had thirteen gates, and among the principal edifices which adorned it were, 1. The Olympian temple, erected in honour of Athens and all Greece. 2. The Pantheon, dedicated to all the gods; a noble structure, supported by one hundred and twenty marble pillars, and having over its great gateway two horses, carved by Praxiteles. 3. The temple of Theseus; a noble structure, of Pentelic marble. The Gymnasia of Athens were many, but the most remarkable were the Lyceum, Academia, and Cynosarges. The Lyceum stood on the banks of the Ilissus; some say it was built by Pisistratus; others by Pericles; others by Lycurgus. The Academy was so called from Academus. The Cynosarges was a place in the suburbs, not far from the Lyceum.