In different parts of the road the ruins of the long walls are very visible, consisting of large blocks of stone, scattered loosely about, and hardly ever so united as to give the appearance of a regular wall. The marks of ancient chariot wheels, deeply engraven in the rock, are here and there discernible. Of the former splendour and busy throng of the Piræus nothing now remains. A monastery dedicated to St. Spiridion, and the Turkish customhouse are the only edifices. One or two small merchant vessels, and a few wretched boats, float on the waves, which the pride and strength of Athens, her 400 gallies, formerly covered. The spot on which the town of the Piræus stood is a rocky promontory, having the port of Piræus on one side and that of Munychia and Phalerum on the other; but the whole promontory' was sometimes called by the general name of Piræus. Vestiges of buildings are visible in many parts, and the remains of the outer walls near the sea are considerable. In some places I counted four tiers of stones. The port is a beautiful bay nearly land-locked. Two points, one of which was called Eetionea, form the mouth of the harbour, where appear two small rocks only a few feet above the level of the sea. On one of these was formerly an ancient piece of sculpture, the figure of a lion, which was carried away by the Venetians, and is now in the possession of the French. From it the Piræus received its modern appellation of Porto Leone. 3 On a point of land stretching to a considerable distance on the outside of the bay, is the tomb of Themistocles. Large blocks of a broken column and an oblong excavation in the rock, about six feet in length, which is occasionally covered by the waves of the sea, mark the position. The accounts of Plutarch and Pausanias agree that the tomb was placed near the Piræus. The former says, that as you come from Alimus, which is to the east of the port, after doubling a promontory, the tomb of Themistocles is seen not far from the harbour, near the calm water. He gives some verses by Plato the comic poet, which he supposes were composed for the tomb of the hero. 5 It was not unusual for the Greeks to erect cenotaphs as well as tombs." The sepulchre of Themistocles at the Piræus was probably a cenotaph, for we know that he was buried in Magnesia.' The following inscription by Tullus Geminus, though written much later than the hero's death, was probably meant for his tomb: 2 Thucyd. i. 93. 3 Thucyd. viii. c. 90. + Paus. 1. i. c. 1. Plut. in Themistocl. * Chariton, 1. iv. c. 1. 7 See an Epigram by Philip of Thessalonica, apud Anthol. V. ii. p. 234. Αντι ταφε λιτοιο θες ̔Ελλαδα, θες δ ̓ επι ταύζαν Let Hellas be his monument-on high Upon the sepulchre's majestic base The Persian Mars and vanquished Xerxes trace: Dark Salamis, the column of his grave, Proclaims his deeds-Weak mortals, do not try T'enshrine in dust the name that ne'er shall die. 1. 139. Amidst the dark Ægean's distant tide.] From the hill of Musæus, the whole course of the Saronic gulph, from the Isthmus of Corinth to the promontory of Schillæum, where it unites with the Ægean Sea, is visible. It has the appearance of a magnificent lake, and is beautifully broken by its promontories and islands. The bold line of the mountains of Argolis forms a fine distance to the whole picture. We may imagine the effect of a voyage up the Saronic gulph in times of old, when in addition to the grandeur of the scenery, every promontory and woody headland from Sunium to the port of Corinth displayed on its summit a venerable temple, when the whole range of the coast was crowded with villages and thronged with population, and Athens, glittering with her marble fanes and theatres, rose with unspeakable majesty the sovereign of the whole scene. 1. 172. The vast Theatre.] There is a difficulty in determining whether the ruin which still exists at the S. W. corner of the Acropolis, is the Theatre of Bacchus or not. Wheler, Pococke, and Stuart agree in the affirmative. Chandler and Barthélemy, on the contrary, call it the Odeum of Herodes Atticus. I have adopted the former opinion, both because it is more suited to the purposes of poetry, and because I think it evident, from Pausanias's' • Tullus Geminus, Anthol. ii. p. 291. 9 Compare Pausanias, Lib. i. c. 21 and £8.› description, that the Theatre of Bacchus, the Cave of Pan, the Propylæa, and the Areopagus, were all near each other. If we allow the ruins in question to be the Theatre of Bacchus, all these particulars agree with Pausanias's account; they are irreconcileable, if we place it at the S. E. corner of the Acropolis. Pausanias says, that there was a cave above the Theatre, and a tripod upon it. Such a cave still exists at the S. E. corner of the citadel, in the street of the Tripods, and this Barthélemy adduces as a strong argument for placing the Theatre of Bacchus in that situation. But this is not sufficient to overweigh the rest of Pausanias's narrative, especially as there is another cave not far from the ruins, in which Wheler supposes a tripod was placed. The Abbé's wish to have the street of the Tripods near the Theatre, may be gratified by supposing that that street was continued along the whole length of the rock from the S. E. to the S. W. angle of the Acropolis. I shall therefore indulge myself in the belief that this is the ruin of the Theatre of Bacchus; that these are the walls which first heard the harp of Tragedy exciting sorrowful sympathy at the touch of Euripides, or rousing the emotions of terror and sublimity when swept by the master-hand of Æschylus. It is indeed inferior in appearance to most of the other ancient edifices. It is of little importance, perhaps, in the eye of the architect; but I doubt whether the view of any ruin inspires such pleasing ideas, or awakeņs so powerfully those interesting associations, which Athens, more than any place, calls up to people her solitudes, as the remains of this Theatre. Seated in its silent and deserted area, we recal to our imagination the various scenes which have passed within these walls; we recollect that here Genius received its full reward from an admiring audience, when Electra told the sad tale of her woes, or Cassandra chaunted her prophetic raptures; that here Patriotism triumphed,' when, in the language of eloquence, she exclaimed, at the approach of an enemy, εκ εμπλησετε την θαλαίταν, ω άνδρες Αθηναίοι, τριηρών, εκ αναςαντες ηδη πορεύσεσθε εις τον Πειραια ; κ καθέλξετε τας ναυς; lastly, we remember that in the Theatre was transacted that affecting ceremony, in which the children of those who had fallen in battle were presented in complete armour to the audience, by a herald, who proclaimed, That these orphans having been educated at the expense of the state, were now, upon See Demosth. de Pace. 2 * Eschines introduces this circumstance with admirable art in his invective against Demosthenes, and enlarges upen it with consummate eloquence. arriving at manhood, clothed in their panoply, and, with the good wishes of 'the spectators, sent to take their part in the public affairs of the nation.' 1. 185. Sing Justice and Revenge.] The doctrines of retributive justice and divine vengeance are strongly inculcated in some sublime chorusses of the Greek tragedians: Μενει δ' ακεσαι τι με Μεριμνα νυκτηρεφες, Των πολυκλόνων Γαρ Ουκ ασκοποι θεοι. Κελαιναι δ' εν Εριννυες χρονῳ Τυχηρον οντ' ανευ δικας πα λινζυχη τριβα βιε Τιθεισ' αμαυρον, εν δ' αιςοις Τελεθοντος τις αλκα. "E'en now some dark and horrid deed When slaughter'd thousands bleed, The carnage of th' ensanguin'd plain. Full soon with all their vengeful train The sullen Furies rise, Break his fell force, and whirl him down Thro' life's dark paths, unpitied and unknown." POTTER. 1. 187. The self-devoted wife.] I allude to the passage in that pathetic tragedy in which Euripides has, with exquisite taste and feeling, described the behaviour of Alcestis when at the point of death: Επει Γαρ ησθεθ ̓ ἡμεραν την κυριαν Ηκεσαν, ύδασι πόζαμιοις λευκον χροα 8 Æschyl. Agam. 1. 469. See also the Coëph. 1, 59, and Eumenides, 1. 535. She, when the fatal morn arriv'd, with streams 'Fill the full measure of a well-spent life.' &c. 1. 188. The watchful maid.] See the dialogue between Electra and Orestes, when the latter awakens from a disturbed fit of madness. It is worthy of the pathetic powers of Euripides, |