DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4263#0020
lissus.
II
t0 th^ Stadi
ere!
hes of it
adiUm>
isde.
lUrch ^dicated
i Rock:
■illirrl:
This
l6e on the
alled'Turl0'
;,le Colurans of
lineu.
m.
This Monu-
tompedon.
on Punto Bar.
it Island from
the victory of
:n much more
led the Liber-
have been to
onclude, that
ght see it to
his mountain
t stands on a
t 'Aphidna',
tions here, in
;he principal
i represented
are exactly
ivacity, more
1 as they are
is a Tempk of
1 for the Victory
toclcs the son ot
A DESCRIPTION OF THE GENERAL VIEW OF ATHENS, ETC. 19
at present, they always oppose, with great courage and wonderful sagacity, every addition to their
burden, which ail' avaricious or cruel Governor may attempt to lay on them. During our stay they,
by their intrigues, drove away three of their Governors for extortion and mal-administration; two of
whom were imprisoned and reduced to the greatest distress. They want not for artful speakers and
busy politicians, so far as relates to the affairs of their own city; and it is remarkable enough, that the
coffee-house which this species of men frequent, stands within the precincts of the ancient Poikile*.
Some of their priests have the reputation of being learned men and excellent preachers; the most
admired of them, in our time, was the Abbot of ' St. Cyrianee,' a Convent on Mount Hymettus ; he
is a man of great reading, and delivers himself with becoming gesture and a pleasing fluency of elocu-
tion. Here are two or three persons who practise painting; but whatever genius we may be tempted
to allow them, they have indeed very little science; they seem never to have heard of anatomy, or of
the effect of light and shade ; though they still retain some imperfect notions of perspective and of
proportion. The Athenians are great lovers of music, and generally play on an instrument which
they call a ' Lyra,' though it is not made like the ancient lyre, but rather like a guitar or mandola.
This they accompany with the voice, and very frequently with extempore verses, which they have a
ready faculty at composing.
There is great sprightliness and expression in the countenance of both sexes, and their persons
are well proportioned. The men have a due mixture of strength and agility, without the least ap-
pearance of heaviness. The women have a peculiar elegance of form and of manner; they excel in
embroidery and all kinds of needle-work.
The air of Attica is extremely healthy. The articles of commerce which this country pro-
duces are chiefly corn, oil, honey, wax, rosin, some silk, cheese, and a sort of acorns called ' velanede',
by the Italians and the French; but written BaXccnrngb by the Greeks; the rough cups of these acorns
are used by the dyers and leather-dressers. The principal manufactures are soap and leather. Of these
commodities the honey, soap, cheese, and leather, and part of the oil, are sent to Constantinople; the
others are chiefly bought by the French, of which nation they reckon that seven or eight ships are
freighted here every year.
The Turkish Governor of Athens is called the ' Vaiwode'. He is either changed or renewed
in his office every year the beginning of March. The Athenians say he brings the cranes0 with him,
for these birds likewise make their first appearance here about that time, they breed, and when their
young have acquired sufficient strength, which is some time in August, they all fly away together, and
are seen no more till the March following.
Besides the 'Vaiwode', there is a 'Caclee', or chief man of the law. His business is to ad-
minister justice, to terminate the disputes which arise between man and man, and to punish offenders.
There is also a ' Mudeereese Effendi', who presides over the religious affairs of the Mohammedans
here; and those who are designed to officiate in the Moscheas, are by him instructed in the Moham-
medan Ritual. The «Disdar-Aga' is the Governor of the Fortress of Athens, which was anciently
called the Acropolis; and the ' Azap-Aga' is an officer who commands a few soldiers in that fortress.
The inhabitants of Athens are between nine and ten thousand, about four-fifths of whom are
Christians. This city is an Archiepiscopal See, and the Archbishop maintains a considerable authority
among the Christians; which he usually strengthens by keeping on good terms with the Turks in of-
fice. He holds a kind of tribunal, at which the Christians frequently agree to decide their differences
without the intervention of the Turkish Magistrate.
a The ruin here alluded to by Stuart, is now with more pro-
priety considered to be the Pantheon of Hadrian, but the Poi-
kile Stoa, or painted portico, was certainly in the vicinity, [ed.]
b From the Valonia oak, the " Quercus TEgilops ". [kd.]
c In the present Grecian war, the siege of the Acropolis, and
tulated Turkish garrison, was accompanied by an attack on the
cranes, the long protected tenants of the ruins and Turkish house-
tops. This wanton cruelty, or mean refinement in revenge, is
reported to have shaken the superstitious minds of the Mussul-
men, more than even the desolation by which they were encom-
the subsequent treacherous massacre of a great part of the capi- passed. See Waddington's Visit to Greece, 1023-4, 12mo. [ed.]
II
t0 th^ Stadi
ere!
hes of it
adiUm>
isde.
lUrch ^dicated
i Rock:
■illirrl:
This
l6e on the
alled'Turl0'
;,le Colurans of
lineu.
m.
This Monu-
tompedon.
on Punto Bar.
it Island from
the victory of
:n much more
led the Liber-
have been to
onclude, that
ght see it to
his mountain
t stands on a
t 'Aphidna',
tions here, in
;he principal
i represented
are exactly
ivacity, more
1 as they are
is a Tempk of
1 for the Victory
toclcs the son ot
A DESCRIPTION OF THE GENERAL VIEW OF ATHENS, ETC. 19
at present, they always oppose, with great courage and wonderful sagacity, every addition to their
burden, which ail' avaricious or cruel Governor may attempt to lay on them. During our stay they,
by their intrigues, drove away three of their Governors for extortion and mal-administration; two of
whom were imprisoned and reduced to the greatest distress. They want not for artful speakers and
busy politicians, so far as relates to the affairs of their own city; and it is remarkable enough, that the
coffee-house which this species of men frequent, stands within the precincts of the ancient Poikile*.
Some of their priests have the reputation of being learned men and excellent preachers; the most
admired of them, in our time, was the Abbot of ' St. Cyrianee,' a Convent on Mount Hymettus ; he
is a man of great reading, and delivers himself with becoming gesture and a pleasing fluency of elocu-
tion. Here are two or three persons who practise painting; but whatever genius we may be tempted
to allow them, they have indeed very little science; they seem never to have heard of anatomy, or of
the effect of light and shade ; though they still retain some imperfect notions of perspective and of
proportion. The Athenians are great lovers of music, and generally play on an instrument which
they call a ' Lyra,' though it is not made like the ancient lyre, but rather like a guitar or mandola.
This they accompany with the voice, and very frequently with extempore verses, which they have a
ready faculty at composing.
There is great sprightliness and expression in the countenance of both sexes, and their persons
are well proportioned. The men have a due mixture of strength and agility, without the least ap-
pearance of heaviness. The women have a peculiar elegance of form and of manner; they excel in
embroidery and all kinds of needle-work.
The air of Attica is extremely healthy. The articles of commerce which this country pro-
duces are chiefly corn, oil, honey, wax, rosin, some silk, cheese, and a sort of acorns called ' velanede',
by the Italians and the French; but written BaXccnrngb by the Greeks; the rough cups of these acorns
are used by the dyers and leather-dressers. The principal manufactures are soap and leather. Of these
commodities the honey, soap, cheese, and leather, and part of the oil, are sent to Constantinople; the
others are chiefly bought by the French, of which nation they reckon that seven or eight ships are
freighted here every year.
The Turkish Governor of Athens is called the ' Vaiwode'. He is either changed or renewed
in his office every year the beginning of March. The Athenians say he brings the cranes0 with him,
for these birds likewise make their first appearance here about that time, they breed, and when their
young have acquired sufficient strength, which is some time in August, they all fly away together, and
are seen no more till the March following.
Besides the 'Vaiwode', there is a 'Caclee', or chief man of the law. His business is to ad-
minister justice, to terminate the disputes which arise between man and man, and to punish offenders.
There is also a ' Mudeereese Effendi', who presides over the religious affairs of the Mohammedans
here; and those who are designed to officiate in the Moscheas, are by him instructed in the Moham-
medan Ritual. The «Disdar-Aga' is the Governor of the Fortress of Athens, which was anciently
called the Acropolis; and the ' Azap-Aga' is an officer who commands a few soldiers in that fortress.
The inhabitants of Athens are between nine and ten thousand, about four-fifths of whom are
Christians. This city is an Archiepiscopal See, and the Archbishop maintains a considerable authority
among the Christians; which he usually strengthens by keeping on good terms with the Turks in of-
fice. He holds a kind of tribunal, at which the Christians frequently agree to decide their differences
without the intervention of the Turkish Magistrate.
a The ruin here alluded to by Stuart, is now with more pro-
priety considered to be the Pantheon of Hadrian, but the Poi-
kile Stoa, or painted portico, was certainly in the vicinity, [ed.]
b From the Valonia oak, the " Quercus TEgilops ". [kd.]
c In the present Grecian war, the siege of the Acropolis, and
tulated Turkish garrison, was accompanied by an attack on the
cranes, the long protected tenants of the ruins and Turkish house-
tops. This wanton cruelty, or mean refinement in revenge, is
reported to have shaken the superstitious minds of the Mussul-
men, more than even the desolation by which they were encom-
the subsequent treacherous massacre of a great part of the capi- passed. See Waddington's Visit to Greece, 1023-4, 12mo. [ed.]