This handsomely illustrated book is a companion volume in its make-up to Mau's "Pompeii." Its object is to give an adequate and at the same time popular account of Ancient Athens, from the earliest times down to the official introduction of Christianity. The book deals mainly with the topography of the city and Acropolis, the extant remains of ancient buildings, and the sculpture that decorated them. It includes the results of recent excavation and research; but controversial matters have, as far as possible, been relegated to notes and appendices. A full description is given of the Parthenon, the Erechtheum, Theatre, and other buildings, and such questions as the water supply, the walls of town and harbours, the position of the Agora, and the route Pausanias, are duly considered. The general aim of the author is to stimulate and assist the historical imagination by bringing Ancient Athens, in various periods of its growth, vividly before the eyes of the ordinary well-informed reader, and to provide both those who have visited Greece and those who have not with views and plans and illustrations to enable them to realize the present appearance of the town and its monuments. For this purpose the book is very fully illustrated, as far as possible, by means of photography. Above all, the author has avoided, as far as possible, compilation or quotation from various writers, and has endeavored to give a direct record of the impressions derived from a familiarity with the sites and buildings described.
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
FOOTNOTES
[1] The original drawings are based upon sketches by Professor Mau. The drawings marked with an asterisk are in the collection of the German Archaeological Institute in Rome.
[2] It seems strange that traces of other buildings of the same period have not been discovered; but, on the other hand, it is far from probable that the temple was first erected, and that the city afterward grew up around it, for in that case the temple must have been placed further west, on the highest point of the elevation, overlooking the sea.
[3] O · Kamp[aniìs ... kva]ISSTUR · KOMBENNI[eìs tanginud] · Apelluneìs eìtiu[vad ... ops]ANNU · AAMAN[aff]ED.
[4] An extensive collection of titles relating to Pompeii and Vesuvius is given by F. Furchheim, Bibliografia di Pompei, Erculano e Stabia (Edit. 2, Naples, 1891) and Bibliografia del Vesuvio (Naples, 1897).
In the Bibliographical Appendix figures in brackets refer to the pages of this book. The following abbreviations are employed:—
Ann. dell' Inst. = Annali dell' Instituto di corrispondenza archeologica (57 vols., Rome, 1829-1885).
Bull. com. = Bullettino della commissione archeologica communale di Roma (vols. 1-19, Rome, 1872-1901).