Page:The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade.djvu/42

 degree of truth and beauty. The battle between the Centaurs and Lapithæ is better preserved. Of all the statues with which it was adorned, that of Adrian alone remains. The inside of this temple is now changed into a mosque. In the whole of this mutilated building, we find an indescribable expression of grandeur and sublimity. There are also astonishing remains to be seen of the Erectheum (the temple of Neptune Erectheus), especially the beautiful female figures called Caryatides, and which form two arch-ways. Of both theatres there is only so much of the outer walls remaining, that one can estimate their former condition and enormous size. The arena has sunk down, and is now planted with corn. In the lower city itself, there are no vestiges to be found of equal beauty and extent. Near a church, sacred to Santa Maria Maggiore, stand three very beautiful Corinthian columns, which support an architrave. They have been supposed to be the remains of a temple of Jupiter Olympius, but the opinion is not well grounded: probably, they are the remains of the old Poikile. The temple of the Winds, built by Audronicus Cyrrhestes, is not entire. Its form is an octagon: on each side it is covered with reliefs, which represent one of the principal winds: the work is excellent. The preservation of this edifice is owing to its being occupied by the dervises as a mosque. Of the monuments of distinguished men, with which a whole street was filled, only the fine one of Lysicrates remains. It consists of a pedestal surrounded by a colonnade, and is surmounted by a dome of Corinthian architecture. This has been supposed to be the spot which Demosthenes used for his study, but the supposition is not well supported. Some prostrate walls are the only remains of the splendid gymnasium built by Ptolemy. Outside of the city, our wonder is excited by the lofty ruins of the temple of the Olympian Jupiter. Of 120 pillars, 16 remain; but none of the statues are in existence. The pedestals and inscriptions are scattered here and there, and partly buried in the earth. The main body of the temple of Theseus has remained almost entire, but much of it, as it now stands, is of modern origin. The figures on the outside are mostly destroyed, but those which adorn the frieze within are well preserved. They represent the actions of the heroes of antiquity. The battle between Theseus and the Centaur is likewise depicted. On the hill where the famous court of areopagus held its sittings, you find steps hewn in the rock, places for the judges to sit, and over against these the stations of the accuser and the accused. The hill is now a Turkish burial-ground, and is covered with monuments. The Pnyx, the place of assembly for the people, not far from the Areopagus, is very nearly in its primitive state One may see the place from which the orators spoke hewn in the rock, the seats of the scribes, and, at both ends, the places of those officers whose duty it was to preserve silence, and to make known the event of public deliberations. The niches are still to be seen, where those who had any favor to ask of the people deposited their petitions. The paths for running are still visible, where the gymnastic exercises were performed, and which Herodes Atticus built of white marble. The spot occupied by the Lyceum is only known by a quantity of fallen stones. A more modern