Page:Outlines of European History.djvu/257

 The Destniction of the Athenian Empire 207 the Athenian democracy, which had so fatally mismanaged the Execution affairs of the nation in war, brought upon itself much greater ° ^*^^^ ^^ reproach in condemning to death, even though in accordance with law, the greatest and purest soul among its citizens (Fig. 97). Fig. 97. Street of Tombs outside Ancient Athens It was the custom both of Greeks and Romans (Fig. 127) to bury their dead outside one of the city gates, on either side of the highway. This Athenian cemetery, outside the Dipylon Gate (see plan, p. 173), was on the Sacred Way to Eleusis (Fig. 80, and plan, p. 173), both sides of which were lined for some distance with marble tomb-monuments. The Ro- man Sulla (p. 265), in his eastern war, while besieging Athens, piled up earth as a causeway leading to the top of the wall of Athens (see plan, p. 173) at this point. The part of the cemetery which he covered with earth was thus preserved, to be dug out in modern times — the only surviving portion of such an ancient Greek street of tombs. In this cemetery the Athenians of Socrates' day were buried. The monument at the left shows a brave Athenian youth on horseback, charging the fallen enemy. He was slain in the Corinthian War and buried here a few years after the death of Socrates (p. 207) The undisturbed serenity of Socrates in his last hours, as The influence pictured to us in Plato's beautiful account of the scene, pro- after Ws foundly affected the whole Greek world, and still forms one of *^^^^^ the most precious possessions of humanity. But the glorified