At the opposite or south-eastern angle of the hill, 45 or 50 yards distant from the steps, there is a wide chasm in the rocks, leading to a gloomy recess, within which there is a fountain of very dark water. This was the sanctuary of the Eumenides, commonly called by the Athenians the Semnae (ai Zeuvai), or Venerable Goddesses. (Paus. 1. 28. § 6: ἐπιωρκηκὼς τὰς Σεμνὰς Θεὰς ἐν ̓Αρείῳ Táy, Dinarch. c. Dem. p. 35, Reiske.) The cavern itself formed the temple, with probably an artificial construction in front. Its position is frequently referred to by the Tragic poets, who also speak of the chasm of the earth (πάγον παρ' αὐτὸν χάσμα δύο σOVтaι xovós, Eur. Elect. 1271), and the subterranean chamber (Sáλaμoi. κατὰ γῆς, Aesch. Eumen. 1004, seq.). It was probably in consequence of the subterranean nature of the sanctuary of these goddesses that torches were employed in their ceremonies. "Aeschylus imagined the procession which escorted the Eumenides to this their temple, as descending the rocky steps above described from the platform of the Areiopagus, then winding round the eastern angle of that hill, and conducting them with the sound of music and the glare of torches along this rocky ravine to this dark enclosure." (Wordsworth.) Within the sacred enclosure was the monument of Oedipus. (Paus. i. 28. § 7.)

Between the sanctuary of the Semnae and the lowest gate of the Acropolis stood the heroum of Hesychus, to whom a ram was immolated before the sacrifices to the Eumenides. (Schol. ad Soph. Oed. Col. 489.) His descendants, the Hesychidae, were the hereditary priests of these goddesses. (Comp. Müller, Eumenides, p. 206, seq., Engl. Trans.) Near the same spot was the monument of Cylon, erected on the spot where he was slain. (Leake, p. 358.)

2. The Pnyx.

The Pnyx (Iv), or place of assembly of the Athenian people, formed part of the surface of a low rocky hill, at the distance of a quarter of a mile from the centre of the Areiopagus hill. "The Pnyx may be best described as an area formed by the segment of a circle, which, as it is very nearly equal to a semicircle, for the sake of conciseness, we shall assume as such. The radius of this semicircle varies from about 60 to 80 yards. It is on a sloping ground, which shelves down very gently toward the hollow of the ancient agora, which was at its foot on the NE. The chord of this semicircle is the highest part of this slope; the middle of its arc is the lowest; and this last point of the curve is cased by a terras wall of huge polygonal blocks, and of about 15 feet in depth at the centre: this terras wall prevents the soil of the slope from lapsing down into the valley of the agora beneath it. The chord of this semicircle is formed by a line of rock, vertically hewn, so as to present to the spectator, standing in the area, the face of a flat wall.* In the middle point of this wall of rock, and projecting from, and applied to it, is a solid rectangular block,

*Hence it is aptly compared by Mure to a theatre, the shell of which, instead of curving upwards, slopes downwards from the orchestra.

is the celebrated Bema (Bua), or pulpit, often called "the Stone" ( Aídos, comp. èv άyopa πрòs T Xío, Plut. Solon, 25), from whence the orators addressed the multitude in the semicircular area before them. The bema looks towards the NE., that is, towards the agora. It is 11 feet broad, rising from a graduated basis: the summit is broken; but the present height is about 20 feet. It was accessible on the right and left of the orator by a flight of steps. As the destinies of Athens were swayed by the orators from this pulpit, the term "the stone" is familiarly used as a figure of the govern

ment of the state; and the "master of the stone" indicates the ruling statesman of the day (0715 κρατεῖ νῦν τοῦ λίθου τοῦ ἐν τῇ πυκνί, Aristoph. Pax, 680; comp. Acharn. 683, Thesmoph. 528, seq.) The position of the bema commanded a view of the Propylaea and the other magnificent edifices of the Acropolis, while beneath it was the city itself studded with monuments of Athenian glory. The Athenian orators frequently roused the national feelings of their audience by pointing to" that Propylaea there," and to the other splendid buildings, which they had in view from the Pnyx. (Пpoжνλaîа тaûтa, Hesych. s. v.; Dem. c. Androt. PP. 597, 617; Aesch. de Fals. Leg. p. 253.)

The position and form of the remains that have been just described agree so perfectly with the statements of ancient writers respecting the Pnyx (see authorities quoted by Leake, p. 179), that it is surprising that there should ever have been any doubt of their identity. Yet Spon took them for those of the Areiopagus. Wheler was in doubt whether they belonged to the Areiopagus or the Odeium, and Stuart regarded them as those of the theatre of Regilla. Their true identity was first pointed out by Chandler; and no subsequent writer has entertained any doubt on the subject.

The Pnyx appears to have been under the especial protection of Zeus. In the wall of rock, on either side of the bema, are several niches for votive offerings. In clearing away the earth below, several of these offerings were discovered, consisting of bas-reliefs representing different parts of the body in white marble, and dedicated to Zeus the Supreme (Ait "Yfíore).

the Syrian to whom Pausanias alludes. "This monument was built in a form slightly concave towards the front. The chord of the curve was about 30 feet in length: in front it presented three niches between four pilasters; the central niche was wider than the two lateral ones, concave and with a semicircular top; the others were quadrangular. A seated statue in the central niche was obviously that of the person to whom the monument was erected. An inscription below the niche shows that he was named Philopappus, son of Epiphanes, of the demus Besa (Φιλόπαππος Επιφάνους Βησαιεύς). On the right hand of this statue was a king Antiochus, son of a king Antiochus, as we learn from the inscription below it (βασιλεὺς ̓Αντίοχος βασίλεως ΑντιόXov). In the niche on the other side was seated Seleucus Nicator (βασιλεὺς Σέλευκος ̓Αντιόχου Nixáтwp). On the pilaster to the right of Philopappus of Besa is the inscription C.IVLIVS C. F. FAB (i. e. Caius Julius, Caii filius, Fabiâ) ANTIOCHYS

PHILOPAPPVS, COS. FRATER ARVALIS, ALLECTVS INTER PRAETORIOS AB IMP. CAESARE NERVA TRAIANO OPTVMO AVGVSTO GERMANICO DACICO. On that to the left of Philopappus was inscribed Βασιλεὺς ̓Αντίοχος Φιλόπαππος, βασίλεως Ἐπιφάνους, τοῦ ̓Αντιόχου. Between the niches and the base of the monument, there is a representation in high relief of the triumph of a Roman emperor

MONUMENT OF PHILOPAPPUS.

similar to that on the arch of Titus at Rome. The part of the monument now remaining consists of the central and eastern niches, with remains of the two pilasters on that side of the centre. The statues in two of the niches still remain, but without heads, and otherwise imperfect; the figures of the triumph, in the lower compartment, are not much better preserved. This monument appears, from Spon and Wheler, to have been nearly in the same state in 1676 as it is at present; and it is to Ciriaco d'Ancona, who visited Athens two centuries earlier, that we are indebted for a knowledge of the deficient parts of the monument." (Leake, p. 494, seq.; comp. Stuart, vol. iii. c. 5; Prokesch, Denkwürdig. keiten, vol. ii. p. 383; Böckh, Inscr. no. 362; Orelli, Inser. no. 800.)

Of the fortress, which Demetrius Poliorcetes erected on the Museium in B. C. 229 (Paus. i. 25. § 8; Plut. Demetr. 34), all trace has disappeared.

There must have been many houses on the Museiun, for the western side of the hill is almost

|

covered with traces of buildings cut in the rocks, and the remains of stairs are visible in several places,

another proof that the ancient city wall did not run along the top of this hill. [See above, p. 261.] There are also found on this spot some wells and cisterns of a circular form, hollowed out in the rock, and enlarging towards the base. At the eastern foot of the hill, opposite the Acropolis, there are three ancient excavations in the rock; that in the middle is of an irregular form, and the other two are eleven feet square. One of them leads towards another subterraneous chamber of a circular form, twelve feet in diameter at the base, and diminishing towards the top, in the shape of a bell. These excavations are sometimes called ancient baths, and sometimes prisons: hence one of them is said to have been the prison of Socrates.

5. The Dionysiac Theatre.

The stone theatre of Dionysus was commenced in B. C. 500, but was not completely finished till B. C 340, during the financial administration of Lycurgus. (Paus. i. 29. §16; Plut. Vit. X. Orat. pp. 841, 852.) A theatre, however, might, as a Gothic church, be used for centuries without being quite finished; and there can be no doubt that it was in the stone theatre that all the great productions of the Grecian drama were performed. This theatre lay beneath the southern wall of the Acropolis, near its eastern extremity. The middle of it was excavated out of the rock, and its extremities were supported by solid piers of masonry. The rows of seats were in the form of curves, rising one above another; the diameter increased with the ascent. Two rows of seats at the top of the theatre are now visible; but the rest are concealed by the accumulation of soil. The accurate dimensions of the theatre cannot now be ascertained. Its termination at the summit is evident; but to what extent it descended into the valley cannot be traced. From the summit to the hollow below, which may, however, be higher than the ancient orchestra, the slope is about 300 feet in length. There can be no question that it must have been sufficiently large to have accommodated the whole body of Athenian citizens, as well as the strangers who flocked to the Dionysiac festival. It has been supposed from a passage of Plato, that the theatre was capable of containing more than 30,000 spectators, since Socrates speaking of Agathon's dramatic victory in the theatre says that "his glory was manifested in the presence of more than three myriads of Greeks" (εμφανής ἐγένετο ἐν μάρτυσι τῶν Ἑλλήνων πλέον ἢ τρισ μupíois, Plat. Symp. p. 175, e.) It may, however, be doubted whether these words are to be taken literally, since the term "three myriads" appears to have been used as a round number to signify the whole body of adult Athenian citizens. Thus Herodotus (v. 97) says that Aristagoras deceived three myriads of Athenians, and Aristophanes (Eccl. 1132) employs the words TоAITV TAеiovтрioμvрív esactly in the same sense.

The magnificence of the theatre is attested by Dicaearchus, who describes it as "the most beau tiful theatre in the world, worthy of mention, great and wonderful” (ὧδε ἦν τῶν ἐν τῇ οἰκουμένῃ κάλ λιστον θέατρον, ἀξιόλογον, μέγα καὶ θαυμαστόν, Dicaearch. Bíos Tns 'Exados, p. 140.)* The

*Many writers, whom Wordsworth has followed, have changed de hy into detor; but this emenda

spectators sat in the open air, but probably protected from the rays of the sun by an awning, and from their elevated seats they had a distinct view of the sea and of the peaked hills of Salamis in the horizon. Above them rose the Parthenon, and the other buildings of the Acropolis, so that they sat under the shadow of the ancestral gods of their country. The position of the spectators, as sitting under the temple of Athena, and the statue of the Zeus of the Citadel (Zeus Пoλteus, Paus. i. 24. § 4), is evidently alluded to by Aeschylus (Eumen. 997, seq.), to which passage Wordsworth has directed atten

tion:

χαίρετ' ἀστικὸς λεὼς, ἔκταρ ἥμενοι Διός, Παρθένου φίλας φίλοι σωφρονοῦντες ἐν χρόνῳ. Παλλαδος δ ̓ ὑπὸ πτεροῖς ὄντας ἅζεται πατήρ.

was probably inserted the tripod. The custom of supporting tripods by statues was not uncommon. (Leake, p. 186; Vaux, Antiq. in British Museum, p. 114.) This cavern was subsequently converted into the church of Panaghía Spiliótissa, or the Holy Virgin of the Grotto; and was used as such when Dodwell visited Athens. It is now, however, a simple cave; and the temple and the church are both in ruins. A large fragment of the architrave of the temple, with a part of the inscription upon it, is now lying upon the slope of the theatre: it has been hewn into a drinking trough. (Wordsworth, p. 90.) The cave is about 34 feet in length, with an average breadth of 20 feet. The entire height of the monument of Thrasyllus is 29 feet 5 inches. (Stuart.)

Above the monument are two columns, which evidently did not form part of the building. Their triangular summits supported tripods, dedicated by choragi who had gained prizes in the theatre below. A little to the west of the cave is a large rectangular niche, in which no doubt a statue once stood.

Above the upper seats of the theatre and the Cimonian wall of the Acropolis is a grotto (crnλacov), which was converted into a small temple by Thrasyllus, a victorious choragus, to commemorate the victory of his chorus, B. c. 320, as we learn from an inscription upon it. Hence it is usually called the Choragic Monument of Thrasyllus. Within the cavern were statues of Apollo and Artemis destroying the children of Niobe; and upon the entablature of the temple was a colossal figure of Dionysus. This figure is now in the British Museum; but it has lost its head and arms. Pausanias (i. 21. § 3), in his description of the cavern, speaks of a tripod above it, without mentioning the statue of Dionysus; but there is a hole sunk in the lap of the statue, in which

tion is not only unnecessary, but is exceedingly improbable, because Odea were very rare in Greece at the time when Dicaearchus wrote. The word v may have been introduced by the excerptor to indicate that the theatre described by Dicaearchus was not in existence in his time; or it may have been used by Dicaearchus himself instead of orì according to a well-known use of the Attic writers. (See Fuhr, ad loc.)

Parthenon. It seems that this point of view was greatly admired by the ancients. Dicaearchus alludes to this view, when he speaks (l. c.) of "the magnificent temple of Athena, called the Parthenon, rising above the theatre, and striking the spectator with admiration." (Leake, p. 183, seq.; Dodwell, vol. i. p. 299; Wordsworth, p. 89, seq.)

the identical figure dedicated by Miltiades. The cave measures about 18 feet in length, 30 in height, and 15 in depth. There are two excavated ledges cut in the rock, on which we may suppose statues of the two deities to have stood, and also numerous niches and holes for the reception of votive offerings.

The fountain near the cave, of which Pausanias does not mention the name, was called Clepsydra (Kλeчúdpa), more anciently Empedo ('Eμwedw). It derived the name of Clepsydra from its being supposed to have had a subterraneous communication with the harbour of Phalerum. (Aristoph. Lysistr. 912, Schol. ad loc., ad Vesp. 853, Av. 1694; Hesych. s. v. Κλεψύδρα, Κλεψίῤῥυτον, Πέδω.) “The only access to this fountain is from the enclosed platform of the Acropolis above it. The approach to it is at the north of the northern wing of the Propylaea. Here we begin to descend a flight of fortyslabs of marble. The descent is arched over with seven steps cut in the rock, but partially cased with with niches cut in its sides. In the chapel is a well, brick, and opens out into a small subterranean chapel, surmounted with a peristomium of marble: below which is the water now at a distance of about 30 feet." (Wordsworth.) This flight of steps is seen in the annexed coin from the British Museum, in which the cave of Pan is represented at the foot, and the statue of Athena Promachus and the Parthenon at the summit. The obverse is the size of the coin: the reverse is enlarged,

6. The Odeium of Herodes or Regilla. The Odeium or Music-theatre* of Regilla also lay beneath the southern wall of the Acropolis, but at its western extremity. It was built in the time of the Antonines by Herodes Atticus, who called it the Odeium of Regilla in honour of his deceased wife. It is not mentioned by Pausanias in his description of Athens, who explains the omission in a subsequent part of his work by the remark that it was not commenced at the time he wrote his first book. (Paus. vii. 20. § 3.) Pausanias remarks (l. c.) that it surpassed all other Odeia in Greece, as well in dimensions as in other respects; and its roof of cedar wood was particularly admired. (Philostr. Vit. Soph. ii. 1. § 5.) The length of its diameter within the walls was about 240 feet, and it is calculated to have furnished accommodation for about 6000 persons. There are still considerable remains of the building; but, " in spite of their extent, good preservation, and the massive material of which they are composed, they have a poor appearance, owing to the defects of the Roman style of architecture, especially of the rows of small and apparently useless arches with which the more solid portions of the masonry are perforated, and the consequent number of insignificant parts into which it is thus subdivided." (Mure, vol. ii. p. 91.) It is surprising that Stuart should have supposed the remains of this comparatively small Roman building to be those of the great Dionysiac theatre, in which the dramas of the Athenian poets were performed.

7. Cave of Apollo and Pan, and Fountain of Clepsydra.

The Cave of Apollo and Pan, more usually called the Cave of Pan, lay at the base of the NW. angle of the Acropolis. It is described by Herodotus (vi. 105) as situated below the Acropolis, and by Pausanias (i. 28. § 4) as a little below the Propylaea, with a spring of water near it. The worship of Apollo in this cave was probably of great antiquity. Here he is said to have had connection with Creusa, the mother of Ion; and hence the cave is frequently mentioned in the "Ion" of Euripides. (Paus. l. c.; Eurip. Ion, 506, 955, &c.) The worship of Pan in this cave was not introduced till after the battle of Marathon, in consequence of the services which he rendered to the Athenians on that occasion. His statue was dedicated by Miltiades, and Simonides wrote the inscription for it. (Simonid. Reliqu. p. 176, ed. Schneidewin.) A statue of Pan, now in the public library at Cambridge, was discovered in a garden a little below the cave, and may possibly be

8. The Aglaurium.