Near the western boundary of Peloponnesus is Olympia, the scene of the celebrated games, which may be reached by railway from Patras, the western port of the Gulf of Corinth, more easily than from Athens. It was never properly a town, but was a group of temples, shrines, palaces, amphitheaters and public buildings where the entire Hellenic world used to assemble periodically, for more than a thousand years, and engage in semi-sacred games founded by Hercules in the mythical ages. The Olympic games reached their greatest importance immediately after the Persian wars, when they were partially divested of their religious character and became a national festival in honor of Hellenic unity. Competitors came from all the states, the islands and the colonies of greater Greece; the functions lasted for five days, and a list of the victors was kept in the archives of the state. The record begins B.C. 776 and is continued for several centuries after the Roman occupation. The winners enjoyed life-long distinction, were entertained annually at banquets and festivals at the public expense, and were exempt from taxation.

During the Roman period Tiberius and Nero themselves engaged in the games, but about the third century after Christ athletic sports were degraded by the entrance of professionals, and became a trade. The Olympic games were finally suppressed by the Roman Emperor Theodosius in the year 394.

Extensive excavations have been made at Olympia by the Germans, who have spent several hundred thousand dollars uncovering the ruins of temples, palaces and amphitheaters which were buried from fifteen to twenty feet deep under deposits of sand and gravel, washed down by cloud-bursts and floods from the mountains, which also undermined the walls of the Hippodrome, the Stadium and other of the ancient structures. The interest in the excavations at one time was as great as that excited at Pompeii, but very little of artistic interest was found.

Still south of Olympia, near the extreme end of the peninsula, is the old town of Sparta, which is still the capital of the province of Laconia, and a place of considerable importance. The remains of ancient Sparta, however, are scanty and insignificant and, although the modern town is beautifully located, it is said to be very unhealthy. There is a museum there containing a large collection of antiquities, and several of great importance. The guides show you an open plain, surrounded with ditches, where the youthful Spartans used to wage their mimic warfare. They show you also a rectangular enclosure of massive stones which they claim to be the ruins of the tomb of Leonidas, and several other fictitious scenes of interest.

For the classical scholar, the historian, the archeologist, and lovers of the picturesque, there is no country more abundant in interest than Greece, and although the accommodations are primitive and the means of transportation are limited, even the shortest visit to the country will be full of gratification. Greece is now only four days from London and three days from Paris, and in these times, when many people have exhausted the novelties of northern Europe, they will find the classic grounds of the Hellenic peninsula a most satisfactory place of resort. Excepting Japan, southern Italy and the Tyrol, no country compares with Greece in the beauty of its landscapes. The remarkable purity of the atmosphere at Athens enhances the effect of artificial as well as natural objects of interest. As in Arizona, distances are very deceptive. Far-off mountains are brought close to the eye as with a field-glass, and as you approach them they recede in a most provoking way. Hymettus and Pentelikos, the two famous mountains which lie on either side of Athens, are often enveloped in a curious pink glow at sunset, and then, as the flame fades out of the sky, they take on a deep violet tinge. The Greek sunset is something that cannot be represented on canvas. Artists and poets rave about it, but it is beyond their power to reproduce.

It is not a land for luxurious people, however. The climate is more to be recommended than the hotels, but the natural scenery has a variety, a richness and a color that no other part of Europe affords. The foliage and the flowers are abundant and beautiful, and in the rural districts the people are picturesque in manners, customs and dress. Their habits and social life have not been affected by what we call the advances of modern civilization. In public conveniences, however, Greece is still far behind the times. Athens is the only place where the hotels are tolerable, and travelers who go into the interior must take their own provisions and bedding. Even those who make little excursions by carriage for a single day in the neighborhood of Athens must carry a lunch-basket, because the inns are primitive and filthy. Railway facilities are limited. With a few exceptions the roads are bad, but they are gradually improving, and several of the centers of great interest to tourists may now be reached by carriage. Only a few years ago travelers had to go on horseback or on foot, as they do in the Holy Land. Even now those who visit some of the most interesting places have to put up with discomforts, inconveniences and a good deal of dirt and bad smells, although they are fully repaid.

FINIS.

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