DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5074#0368
350
MOONLIGHT ON THE ACROPOLIS.
whole scene is transcendently lovely! Then wait —
only a few moments—till the full moon, such a moon,
as the clear atmosphere of Greece can show—has
slowly risen above the summit of Hymettus, silvering
the purple of tlje mountain and gleaming on the side of
the Parthenon ere yet the golden glow of the sunset has
completely faded from the snowy marble — and look
upon it unmoved—if you can !
Then you must go up to the Acropolis itself: watch
the grand and solemn masses of the Propylsea with the
shadows of the front columns falling across the western
wing, and the dazzling brightness of the little Wingless
Victory shining out from the deep shadow at its base.
Go on to the Parthenon and look at the exquisite line
of the imperceptibly curved steps illumined with the
silvery hue — at the shadows of the columns and of the
marble roof-beams falling athwart the ground and the
cella wall — mark the background slopes of Hymettus
and the rich, clear darkness of colour they assume under
such a moonlight,—most peculiar and most sadly
sweet, — and, lastly, go and stand beneath the Carya-
tides that still guard the memories of the daughters of
Cecrops, and look at the calm, serene smile which Diana
lays with her cold finger upon each marble maiden face
and each stately figure. You need not despise the
twinkling lights of the little town in the distance
below, — kind hearts beat there,—yes, and nobly brave
ones too—and the day may come when native hands
and heads will arise to make Greece a great country as
well as a free one !
Dr. Wordsworth, writing nearly thirty years ago,
describes the ancient Temples of Athens as the least
ruined among the surrounding buildings, while their
grandeur and preservation was the more striking from
the modern desolation around them. Athens in 1860
MOONLIGHT ON THE ACROPOLIS.
whole scene is transcendently lovely! Then wait —
only a few moments—till the full moon, such a moon,
as the clear atmosphere of Greece can show—has
slowly risen above the summit of Hymettus, silvering
the purple of tlje mountain and gleaming on the side of
the Parthenon ere yet the golden glow of the sunset has
completely faded from the snowy marble — and look
upon it unmoved—if you can !
Then you must go up to the Acropolis itself: watch
the grand and solemn masses of the Propylsea with the
shadows of the front columns falling across the western
wing, and the dazzling brightness of the little Wingless
Victory shining out from the deep shadow at its base.
Go on to the Parthenon and look at the exquisite line
of the imperceptibly curved steps illumined with the
silvery hue — at the shadows of the columns and of the
marble roof-beams falling athwart the ground and the
cella wall — mark the background slopes of Hymettus
and the rich, clear darkness of colour they assume under
such a moonlight,—most peculiar and most sadly
sweet, — and, lastly, go and stand beneath the Carya-
tides that still guard the memories of the daughters of
Cecrops, and look at the calm, serene smile which Diana
lays with her cold finger upon each marble maiden face
and each stately figure. You need not despise the
twinkling lights of the little town in the distance
below, — kind hearts beat there,—yes, and nobly brave
ones too—and the day may come when native hands
and heads will arise to make Greece a great country as
well as a free one !
Dr. Wordsworth, writing nearly thirty years ago,
describes the ancient Temples of Athens as the least
ruined among the surrounding buildings, while their
grandeur and preservation was the more striking from
the modern desolation around them. Athens in 1860