The growth of Athens is chiefly due to its political importance as the capital of the country and the residence of the king. Politics is the chief occupation of its educated citizens—dust and politics, indeed, are said to be its two plagues. The whole of Greece is remarkable for its consuming interest in politics; and, next to the daily newspapers, of which some thirteen are published in Athens, history is the favourite reading of the people. Unfortunately for the welfare of the country, the interest in politics does not arise so much from zeal for rival principles as from party struggles for place and power. In these struggles it is not merely the professional politicians whose personal interests are affected, but also the public officials of the country, most of whom are liable to dismissal or translation every time there is a change of Government—an event of much more frequent occurrence in Greece than in Great Britain. There is only one legislative chamber, the Boulé or Council, the number of whose members varies, but can never be less than 150. They are elected on a basis of manhood suffrage, and receive a salary of from £50 to £100 a year, according to the length of the session. The Government consists of seven members, who receive each £300 a year, with an additional £150 for the Prime Minister.[8]
Closely associated with the politicians are the barristers, of whom there are about 800 in Athens, besides a great many others scattered through the country. The highest court of appeal, both for civil and criminal cases, bears the time-honoured name of Areopagus, and consists of eighteen judges. Of inferior judges there are nearly 600 in the whole country, most of whom are removable on a change of Government—an evil in some degree mitigated by the fact that all candidates for judicial posts must have passed a series of examinations in law. The medical profession is said to be also overstocked, though the legal fees chargeable for medical attendance would not be thought tempting in this country. With regard to the clergy, comparatively few of them receive their education in Athens or pass through the University. Their average culture is very low—but not lower than their remuneration—and the consequence is that any influence the Church exerts on the life of the nation is of a superficial kind, and finds its chief support in the festive celebration of the numerous Saints’ Days. The services in the churches are of a ritualistic order, and sermons are seldom heard except in Lent. The kissing of an eikon or the lighting of a taper appears to be with many worshippers a mere formality, while, at the same time, there is a large amount of ignorance and superstition in the country districts.
Of late there has been a considerable diminution in the number of students at the University, notwithstanding the liberal subsidies which have been granted to it by Government; and pursuits of an industrial nature are attracting more attention. The opinion is gaining ground that education of a literary character has been overdone, with the result that a large proportion of those who have received an academic training fail to find suitable employment and become idlers and hangers-on, spending their time largely in talking politics in the neighbourhood of the Boulé or the cafés of Constitution Square. In a political sense great importance is attached by many to the fact that about a third of the students at the University (say 200 freshmen every year) come from “Outer Greece,” and are expected on their return home to do much in the way of fostering enthusiasm for the great hope of a reunited Greece, to embrace Macedonia, Epirus, Crete, and the Levant. This hope has been somewhat damped by the favour recently shown by Russia to Bulgaria, the other likely claimant to Macedonia when the Turkish Empire is dissolved; and it is to Great Britain and France that the Greeks now chiefly look for countenance and support in their national aspirations. Their debt of gratitude to this country finds visible acknowledgment in the fine monument to Byron near the Arch of Hadrian, and in the statue of Gladstone in front of the University.
There is abundance of patriotic sentiment in Greece, which shows itself not only in eloquent speech but in voluntary contributions made in school and through national lotteries for the purpose of providing a more adequate navy. But what is most needed for the wellbeing of the country is a more steady and efficient administration of its own affairs, and greater energy and perseverance in developing its commercial and agricultural resources. For many years emigration to the United States of America has been going on at an alarming rate, especially from the Peloponnesus, including some of its most fertile provinces. The home-affection of the emigrants is shown by their generous remittances to their friends in the old country; and one of the most hopeful features in the life of modern Greece is to be found in the frequency with which her sons who have succeeded abroad devote their wealth to the founding of educational and philanthropic institutions at Athens or elsewhere. They are rewarded with the proud name of “national benefactors,” which is as much prized in democratic Greece as titles of nobility in Great Britain. One of the most recent of such benefactions is that of M. Averof (of Alexandria), who has restored the Stadium at a cost of a million and a half of francs, fitting it up with seats of marble from the quarries of Pentelicus (as Herodes Atticus did in the second century A.D.), to accommodate upwards of 50,000 people.
In the Archæological Congress held at Athens in 1905, which was attended by visitors and delegates from all parts of Europe, one of the most interesting
