Page:History of Art in Phrygia, Lydia, Caria and Lycia.djvu/55

 SlPYLUS AND ITS MONUMENTS. 39 I en Its passage, however, has been obliterated by countless genera- tions that have suc- ceeded each other and contended for this rich, loamy piece of ground. Here, on the old road skirting the river Her- mus, rose Magnesia, now Manissa, which, though much shrunk from its former size, has not ceased to be a bustling place, teeming with life and activity. On the other hand, the narrow ravines and pre- cipitous sides of the Manissa - Dagh afford very insufficient space for figures, tombs, or temporary refuges, of course scooped out of the solid rock. Attention was forcibly drawn to this district in early days, both on ac- count of the advantages it offered by land and sea, and the remains which connected it with a remarkable past. Pau- sanias, a native of this neighbourhood, writes of it as the seat of the Pe- lopidai. " Our country," he says, "affords many proofs of the reign of Tantalus and Pelops, proofs that are extant to this day; to wit, the lake and the tomb of Tantalus, the throne of