DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1755#0476
JOURNEY OF TELEMACHUS AND PISISTRATITS.
419
CABDAM1LK.
chiefs. The city lies in the bosom of a range of hills which descend in a
westerly direction from the Taygetan range. A castle of the middle ages
crowns the rounded central hill,—once its Acropolis. A cluster of houses
occupies the slopes at its foot, and the lofty peak of Taygetus, towering its
majestic pinnacle in the distance, closes the view.
Let us follow Telemachus in his journey from Pylos, and direct our course
to the eastward along a level country for about thirty-five miles, and we shall
arrive at Pliara?, not far from the Messenian Gulf. Here he and his friend
unyoked their horses, and reposed for the night. The next day they drove to
Sparta, which is a distance of not quite thirty miles. The approach to Sparta
lies through masses of broken walls, the ruins of the Acropolis being supposed
to occupy the hill on the right, and the tomb of Leonidas being seen in front on
entering the town. The great plain lies at a level of about fifty feet below
the site of the ancient city. Mount Taygetus presents a barrier to the whole
district, and a back-ground to the picture.
Homer describes Lacedremon, by which he seems to mean the Valley of
3o
8
sws
419
CABDAM1LK.
chiefs. The city lies in the bosom of a range of hills which descend in a
westerly direction from the Taygetan range. A castle of the middle ages
crowns the rounded central hill,—once its Acropolis. A cluster of houses
occupies the slopes at its foot, and the lofty peak of Taygetus, towering its
majestic pinnacle in the distance, closes the view.
Let us follow Telemachus in his journey from Pylos, and direct our course
to the eastward along a level country for about thirty-five miles, and we shall
arrive at Pliara?, not far from the Messenian Gulf. Here he and his friend
unyoked their horses, and reposed for the night. The next day they drove to
Sparta, which is a distance of not quite thirty miles. The approach to Sparta
lies through masses of broken walls, the ruins of the Acropolis being supposed
to occupy the hill on the right, and the tomb of Leonidas being seen in front on
entering the town. The great plain lies at a level of about fifty feet below
the site of the ancient city. Mount Taygetus presents a barrier to the whole
district, and a back-ground to the picture.
Homer describes Lacedremon, by which he seems to mean the Valley of
3o
8
sws