CHAPTER XII.

The Areiopagos. Temple of Theseus. Painted sculpture. Gymnasium of Ptolemy. Doric Portico. Tower of the Winds. Dance of Derwisches. Ruins at the church of Megale Panagia. Corinthian ruins in the Bazar-other imperfect remains. Modern walls and gates of Athens. Arch of Hadrian. Temple of Jupiter Olympios. Monument of Philopappos. Panorama of Athens. Excavations and sepulchres in the Museum-hill. Various kinds of magic practised in Greece. Pnyx. Votive offerings. Several imperfect remains. Bridge of Hadrian. The Stadium. Academy. Colonos. Village of Padischah.

THE Areiopagos is situated a few hundred feet west of the Acropolis. It consists in an insulated rock, precipitous, and broken towards the south; on the north side it slopes gently down towards the temple of Theseus, and is rather lower than the Acropolis. Its even summit in several places is flattened and cut into steps, but not a fragment of any ancient building remains. Some steps are also cut in the rock on the southern side.

Part of the western side has been cut down perpendicularly, and contains some small niches for votive offerings.

Large fragments of rock are scattered near its eastern base, some of which seem to have been detached from the Areiopagos, and others from the Acropolis. Near this is a spring of unpotable water, and a well called Apaixo Пyadi, the Arabian's Well, since it is in that quarter which is inhabited by some black families, who use it for washing. We here also find the imperfect remains of a building of the lower ages, which Wheler supposes to have been the church of Saint Dionysius the Areiopagite. He reports that Saint Paul concealed himself in the neighbouring well; a very improbable story,

and very inconsistent with the noble and intrepid character of that apostle.

Herodotus1 says that the Persians fixed part of their troops on the Areiopagos; Eschylus and Euripides3 call it wayos Apeios, and the latter gives it also the name of Ageros oxos. It is also called Scopulum Mavortis, by Ovid. Only half of this rock is comprised within the precincts of the present town; though it was anciently in the middle of the city. The modern wall is built on its summit, and passes over it nearly in a direction from south to north.

A few hundred yards north of the Areiopagos is the temple of Theseus. This elegant building probably furnished the model of the Parthenon, which resembles it in the most essential points, though it is of nearly double the size. Indeed the Theseion5 impresses the beholder more by its symmetry than its magnitude.

The colossal temples of Jupiter Olympios and of Minerva Parthenos, are prejudicial to the effect of the lesser Athenian edifices, which would appear to greater advantage in any situation, where such comparisons could not be made.

Stuart and other travellers having measured and described this temple, I shall limit myself to a few general observations.

Pausanias mentions that three different subjects were represented on the temple of Theseus, and executed by the hand of Mikon ; namely, the battles of the Athenians and Amazons, and of the Centaurs and Lapithai, with another subject, relating to Theseus, which was left unfinished. He does not notice the labours of Hercules which together with those of Theseus occupy the eighteen

Iphig. in Taur. v. 961. 1470. Orest. v. 1651. Elect. v. 1258.

4 Metam. b. 6. v. 70. and in Chandler's inscriptions it is written in various manners, as Αρειον, Αρεον, Αρηοι, and Αριον.

5 The Romans sometimes imitated the conciseness of the Greeks in the names of their temples. The temple of Minerva was called Minervium, and that of Diana, Dianium. See Adrian Turnebus. Adversar. b. 16. c. 20. who cites Varro de Lingua Latina, b. 4.