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VIEWS FROM A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD
#28 - ATHENS, GREECE
Size: 3" x 5"
Copyrighted: 1891
Lithographer: Joseph P. Knapp
  
Illustrations: A Mountaineer; The Olympium and Acropolis; Grecian Lady;
The Parthenon; View of Athens
| Reverse - Text |
Left section:
GRIND
YOUR COFFEE AT HOME
Right section: |
| ATHENS, GREECE. |
| Anciently, there were as
many as nine towns bearing this
same name. The first settlement
of the city of colossal fame in
the world of philosophy and art,
is supposed to have been on the
cliff afterwards known as the
Acropolis. In the earliest times
there was no port, the inland
site being held for safety
against maritime attack.
Increasing prosperity prompted
the opening of a harbor at
Phalerum, afterwards changed to
the present port of Piræus. A
macadamized road follows the line
of the long walls erected by
Themistocles, portions of which
are still visible from the port
to the upper city. The first
railroad built on Grecian soil
was opened in 1869, connecting
these two points. |
| The
Acropolis rises 150 feet from the
top of a rocky hill, its walls
forming a circuit of nearly 1,000
feet. This building had the four
characters of a fortress, a
shrine, a treasury, and a museum
of art. The Olympium was one of
the largest temples in the world.
Of its 124 Corinthian columns
only 15 remain. The Parthenon was
built during the administration
of Pericles. Its dimensions are
230 feet in length by 100 in
width. The ruins give some
adequate impression of its
original grandeur. The walls of
the principal building are
surrounded with a peristyle,
having 48 white marble columns of
the Doric order. |
| The
scenery around Athens is very
beautiful, but the streets and
houses of the modern city are
poorly built and destitute of
interest. The principal modern
edifice is the palace of the
king, its southern side, with an
Ionic portico, giving its best
aspect. The University is a fine
structure, built in 1837 by a
Danish architect. It has a large
patronage of students, and its
staff of Professors includes the
names of some of the most learned
archæologists of Europe. The
harbor is visited by ships of all
nations. |
| Population, 107,251, |
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