afterwards became the Acropolis; but gradually the buildings spread over the ground at the southern
foot of this hill. It was not till the time of Pisistratus and his sons (B.C. 560-514) that the city began
to assume any degree of splendor. The most remarkable building of these despots was the gigantic
temple of the Olympian Zeus or Jupiter. Under Themistocles the Acropolis began to form the centre
of the city, round which the new walls described an irregular circle of about 60 stadia or 7 1/4 miles
in circumference. Themistocles transferred the naval station of the Athenians to the peninsula of
Piraeus, which is distant about 4 1/2 miles from Athens, and contains three natural harbors. It was
not till the administration of Pericles that the walls were built which connected Athens with her
ports. Buildings.—Under the administration of Pericles, Athens was adorned with numerous public
buildings, which existed in all their glory when St. Paul visited the city. The Acropolis was the
centre of the architectural splendor of Athens. It was covered with the temples of gods and heroes;
and thus its platform presented not only a sanctuary, but a museum containing the finest productions
of the architect and the sculptor, in which the whiteness of the marble was relieved by brilliant
colors, and rendered still more dazzling by the transparent clearness of the Athenian atmosphere.
The chief building was the Parthenon (i.e. House of the Virgin), the most perfect production of
Grecian architecture. It derived its name from its being the temple of Athena Parthenos, or Athena
the Virgin, the invincible goddess of war. It stood on the highest part of the Acropolis, near its
centre. It was entirely of Pentelic marble, on a rustic basement of ordinary limestone, and its
architecture, which was of the Doric order, was of the purest kind. It was adorned with the most
exquisite sculptures, executed by various artists under the direction of Phidias. But the chief wonder
of the Parthenon was the colossal statue of the virgin goddess executed by Phidias himself: The
Acropolis was adorned with another colossal figure of Athena, in bronze, also the work of Phidias.
It stood in the open air, nearly opposite the Propylaea. With its pedestal it must have been about
70 feet high, and consequently towered above the roof of the Parthenon, so that the point of its
spear and the crest of its helmet were visible off the promontory of Sunium to ships approaching
Athens. The Areopagus, or Hill of Ares (Mars), is described elsewhere. [Mars Hill’ HILL] The
Pnyx, or place for holding the public assemblies of the Athenians, stood on the side of a low rocky
hill, at the distance of about a quarter of a mile from the Areopagus. Between the Pnyx on the west)
the Areopagus on the north and the Acropolis on the east, and closely adjoining the base of these
hills, stood the Agora or “Market,” where St. Paul disputed daily. Through it ran the road to the
gymnasium and gardens of the Academy, which were situated about a mile from the walls. The
Academy was the place where Plato and his disciples taught. East of the city, and outside the walls
was the Lyceum, a gymnasium dedicated to Apollo Lyceus, and celebrated as the place in which
Aristotle taught. Character.—The remark of the sacred historian respecting the inquisitive character
of the Athenians (Acts 17:21) is attested by the unanimous voice of antiquity. Their natural liveliness
was partly owing to the purity and clearness of the atmosphere of Attica, which also allowed them
to pass much of their time in the open air. The Athenian carefulness in religion is confirmed by the
ancient writers. Of the Christian church, founded by St. Paul at Athens, according to ecclesiastical
tradition, Dionysius the Areopagite was the first bishop. [Dionysius] Present condition.— (The
population of Athens in 1871 was 48,000. Its university has 52 professors and 1200 students.
Educational institutions are very numerous. A railway connects the Pirzeus or port with the city
and its terminus stands in the midst of what was once the Agora.—ED.)
Athlai
frankie
(Frankie)
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