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    "source_title": "Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911)",
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    "title": "ATHENRY",
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    "verified_text": "athenry, a market town of county galway, ireland, 14 m. inland (e.) from galway on the midland great western main line. pop. (1901) 853. its name is derived from _ath-na-riogh_, the ford of kings; and it grew to importance after the anglo-norman invasion as the first town of the burgs and berminghams. the walls were erected in 1211 and the castle in 1238, and the remains of both are noteworthy. a dominican monastery was founded with great magnificence by myler de bermingham in 1241, and was repaired by the board of works in 1893. of the franciscan monastery of 1464 little is left. the town returned two members to the irish parliament from the time of richard ii. to the union; but it never recovered from the wars of the tudor period, culminating in a successful siege by red hugh o'donnell in 1596. athens [[greek: athaenai], _athenae_, modern colloquial greek [greek: athaena]], the capital of the kingdom of greece, situated in 23 deg. 44' e. and 37 deg. 58' n., towards the southern end of the central and principal plain of attica. the various theories with regard to the origin of the name are all somewhat unconvincing; it is conceivable that, with the other homonymous greek towns, such as athenae diades in euboea, [greek: athaenai] may be connected etymologically with [greek: anthos], a flower (cf. _firenze_, florence); the patron goddess, athena, was probably called after the place of her cult. i. topography and antiquities the attic plain, [greek: to pedion], slopes gently towards the coast of the saronic gulf on the south-west; on the east it is overlooked by mount hymettus (3369 ft.); on the north-east by pentelicus or brilessus (3635 ft.) from which, in ancient and modern times, an immense quantity of the finest marble has been quarried; on the north-west by parnes (4636 ft.), a continuation of the boeotian cithaeron, and on the west by aegaleus (1532 ft.), which descends abruptly to the bay of salamis. in the centre of the plain extends from north-east to south-west a series of low heights, now known as turcovuni, culminating towards the south in the sharply pointed lycabettus (1112 ft.), now called hagios georgios from the monastery which crowns its summit. lycabettus, the most prominent feature in the athenian landscape, directly overhung the ancient city, but was not included in its walls; its peculiar shape rendered it unsuitable for fortification. the turcovuni ridge, probably the ancient anchesmus, separates the valley of the cephisus on the north-west from that of its confluent, the ilissus, which skirted the ancient city on the south-west. the cephisus, rising in pentelicus, enters the sea at new phalerum; in summer it dwindles to an insignificant stream, while the ilissus, descending from hymettus, is totally dry, probably owing to the destruction of the ancient forests on both mountains, and the consequent denudation of the soil. separated from lycabettus by a depression to the south-west, through which flows a brook, now a covered drain (probably to be identified with the eridanus), stands the remarkable oblong rocky mass of the acropolis (512 ft.), rising precipitously on all sides except the western; its summit was partially levelled in prehistoric times, and the flat area was subsequently enlarged by further cutting and by means of retaining walls. close to the acropolis on the west is the lower rocky eminence of the areopagus, [greek: areios pagos] (377 ft.), the seat of the famous council; the name (see also areopagus) has been connected with ares, whose temple stood on the northern side of the hill, but is more probably derived from the [greek: apai] or eumenides, whose sanctuary was formed by a cleft in its north-eastern declivity. farther west of the acropolis are three elevations; to the north-west the so-called \"hill of the nymphs\" (341 ft.), on which the modern observatory stands; to the west the pnyx, the meeting-place of the athenian democracy (351 ft.), and to the south-west the loftier museum hill (482 ft.), still crowned with the remains of the monument of philopappus. a cavity, a little to the west of the observatory hill, is generally supposed to be the ancient barathron or place of execution. to the south-east of the acropolis, beyond the narrow valley of the ilissus, is the hill ardettus (436 ft.). the distance from the acropolis to the nearest point of the sea coast at phalerum is a little over 3 m. influence of the geographical position. the natural situation of athens was such as to favour the growth of a powerful community. for the first requisites of a primitive settlement--food supply and defence--it afforded every advantage. the attic plain, notwithstanding the lightness of the soil, furnished an adequate supply of cereals; olive and fig groves and vineyards were cultivated from the earliest times in the valley of the cephisus, and pasturage for sheep and goats was abundant. the surrounding rampart of mountains was broken towards the north-east by an open tract stretching between hymettus and pentelicus towards marathon, and was traversed by the passes of decelea, phyle and daphne on the north and north-west, but the distance between these natural passages and the city was sufficient to obviate the danger of surprise by an invading land force. on the other hand athens, like corinth, megara and argos, was sufficiently far from the sea to enjoy security against the sudden descent of a hostile fleet. at the same time the relative proximity of three natural harbours, peiraeus, zea and munychia, favoured the development of maritime commerce and of the sea power which formed the basis of athenian hegemony. the climate is temperate, but liable to sudden changes; the mean temperature is 63 deg. .1 f., the maximum (in july) 99 deg. .01, the minimum (in january) 31 deg. .55. the summer heat is moderated by the sea-breeze or by cool northerly winds from the mountains (especially in july and august). the clear, bracing air, according to ancient writers, fostered the intellectual and aesthetic character of the people and endowed them with mental and physical energy. for the architectural embellishment of the city the finest building material was procurable without difficulty and in abundance; pentelicus forms a mass of white, transparent, blue-veined marble; another variety, somewhat similar in appearance, but generally of a bluer hue, was obtained from hymettus. for ordinary purposes grey limestone was furnished by lycabettus and the adjoining hills; limestone from the promontory of acte (the so-called \"poros\" stone), and conglomerate, were also largely employed. for the ceramic art admirable material was at hand in the district north-west of the acropolis. for sculpture and various architectural purposes white, fine-grained marble was brought from paros and naxos. the main drawback to the situation of the city lay in the insufficiency of its water-supply, which was supplemented by an aqueduct constructed in the time of the peisistratids and by later water-courses dating from the roman period. a great number of wells were also sunk and rain-water was stored in cisterns. sources for athenian topography. for the purposes of scientific topography observation of the natural features and outlines is followed by exact investigation of the architectural structures or remnants, a process demanding high technical competence, acute judgment and practical experience, as well as wide and accurate scholarship. the building material and the manner of its employment furnish evidence no less important than the character of the masonry, the design and the modes of ornamentation. the testimony afforded by inscriptions is often of decisive importance, especially that of commemorative or votive tablets or of boundary-stones found _in situ_; the value of this evidence is, on the other hand, sometimes neutralized owing to the former removal of building material already used and its incorporation in later structures. thus sepulchral inscriptions have been found on the acropolis, though no burials took place there in ancient times. in the next place comes the evidence derived from the whole range of ancient literature and specially from descriptions of the city or its different localities. the earliest known description of athens was that of diodorus, [greek: ho periaegtes], who lived in the second half of the 4th century b.c. among his successors were polemon of ilium (beginning of 2nd century b.c.), whose great [greek: kosmikae periaegaesis] gave a minute account of the votive offerings on the acropolis and the tombs on the sacred way; and heliodorus (second half of the 2nd century) who wrote fifteen volumes on the monuments of athens. of these and other works of the earliest topographers only some fragments remain. in the period between a.d. 143 and 159 pausanias visited athens at a time when the monuments of the great age were still in their perfection and the principal embellishments of the roman period had already been completed. the first thirty chapters of his invaluable _description of greece_ ([greek: periaegaesis taes hellados]) are devoted to athens, its ports and environs. pausanias makes no claim to exhaustiveness; he selected what was best worth noticing ([greek: ta axiologotata]). his account, drawn up from notes taken in the main from personal observation, possesses an especial importance for topographical research, owing to his method of describing each object in the order in which he saw it during the course of his walks. his accuracy, which has been called in question by some scholars, has been remarkably vindicated by recent excavations at athens and elsewhere. the list of ancient topographers closes with pausanias. the literature of succeeding centuries furnishes only isolated references; the more important are found in the scholia on aristophanes, the lexicons of hesychius, photius and others, and the _etymologicum magnum_. the notices of athens during the earlier middle ages are scanty in the extreme. in 1395 niccola da martoni, a pilgrim from the holy land, visited athens and wrote a description of a portion of the city. of the work of cyriac of ancona, written about 1450, only some fragments remain, which are well supplemented by the contemporaneous description of the capable observer known as the \"anonymous of milan.\" two treatises in greek by unknown writers belong to the same period. the dutchman joannes meursius (1579-1639) wrote three disquisitions on athenian topography. the conquest by venice in 1687 led to the publication of several works in that city, including the descriptions of de la rue and fanelli and the maps of coronelli and others. the systematic study of athenian topography was begun in the 17th century by french residents at athens, the consuls giraud and chataignier and the capuchin monks. the visit of the french physician jacques spon and the englishman, sir george wheler or wheeler (1650-1723), fortunately took place before the catastrophe of the parthenon in 1687; spon's _voyage d'italie, de dalmatie, de grece et du levant_, which contained the first scientific description of the ruins of athens, appeared in 1678; wheler's _journey into greece_, in 1682. a period of british activity in research followed in the 18th century. the monumental work of james stuart and nicholas revett, who spent three years at athens (1751-1754), marked an epoch in the progress of athenian topography and is still indispensable to its study, owing to the demolition of ancient buildings which began about the middle of the 18th century. to this period also belong the labours of richard pococke and richard dalton, richard chandler, e.d. clarke and edward dodwell. the great work of w.m. leake (_topography of athens and the demi_, 2nd ed., 1841) brought the descriptive literature to an end and inaugurated the period of modern scientific research, in which german archaeologists have played a distinguished part. recent research. recent investigation has thrown a new and unexpected light on the art, the monuments and the topography of the ancient city. numerous and costly excavations have been carried out by the greek government and by native and foreign scientific societies, while accidental discoveries have been frequently made during the building of the modern town. the museums, enriched by a constant inflow of works of art and inscriptions, have been carefully and scientifically arranged, and afford opportunities for systematic study denied to scholars of the past generation. improved means of communication have enabled many acute observers to apply the test of scrutiny on the spot to theories and conclusions mainly based on literary evidence; five foreign schools of archaeology, directed by eminent scholars, lend valuable aid to students of all nationalities, and lectures are frequently delivered in the museums and on the more interesting and important sites. the native archaeologists of the present day hold a recognized position in the scientific work; the patriotic sentiment of former times, which prompted their zeal but occasionally warped their judgment, has been merged in devotion to science for its own sake, and the supervision of excavations, as well as the control of the art-collections, is now in highly competent hands. athens has thus become a centre of learning, a meeting-place for scholars and a basis for research in every part of the greek world. the attention of many students has naturally been concentrated on the ancient city, the birthplace of european art and literature, and a great development of investigation and discussion in the special domain of athenian archaeology has given birth to a voluminous literature. many theories hitherto universally accepted have been called in question or proved to be unsound: the views of leake, for instance, have been challenged on various points, though many of his conclusions have been justified and confirmed. the supreme importance of a study of greek antiquities on the spot, long understood by scholars in europe and in america, has gradually come to be recognized in england, where a close attention to ancient texts, not always adequately supplemented by a course of local study and observation, formerly fostered a peculiarly conservative attitude in regard to the problems of greek archaeology. since the foundation of the german institute in 1874, athenian topography has to a large extent become a speciality of german scholars, among whom wilhelm dorpfeld occupies a pre-eminent position owing to his great architectural attainments and unrivalled local knowledge. many of his bold and novel theories have provoked strenuous opposition, while others have met with general acceptance, except among scholars of the more conservative type. [illustration: map of athens.] the early citadel. _prehistoric athens._--numerous traces of the \"mycenaean\" epoch have recently been brought to light in athens and its neighbourhood. among the monuments of this age discovered in the surrounding districts are the rock-hewn tombs of spata, accidentally revealed by a landslip in 1877, and domed sepulchre at menidi, near the ancient acharnae, excavated by lolling in 1879. other \"mycenaean\" landmarks have been laid bare at eleusis, thoricus, halae and aphidna. these structures, however, are of comparatively minor importance in point of dimensions and decoration; they were apparently designed as places of sepulture for local chieftains, whose domains were afterwards incorporated in the athenian realm by the [greek: synoikismos] (synoecism) attributed to theseus. the situation of the acropolis, dominating the surrounding plain and possessing easy communication with the sea, favoured the formation of a relatively powerful state--inferior, however, to tiryns and mycenae; the myths of cecrops, erechtheus and theseus bear witness to the might of the princes who ruled in the athenian citadel, and here we may naturally expect to find traces of massive fortifications resembling in some degree those of the great argolid cities. such in fact have been brought to light by the modern excavations on the acropolis (1885-1889). remains of primitive polygonal walls which undoubtedly surrounded the entire area have been found at various points a little within the circuit of the existing parapet. the best-preserved portions are at the eastern extremity, at the northern side near the ancient \"royal\" exit, and at the south-western angle. the course of the walls can be traced with a few interruptions along the southern side. on the northern side are the foundations of a primitive tower and other remains, apparently of dwelling-houses, one of which may have been the [greek: pukinos domos erthaeos] mentioned by homer (_od_. vii. 81). among the foundations were discovered fragments of \"mycenaean\" pottery. the various approaches to the citadel on the northern side--the rock-cut flight of steps north-east of the erechtheum (q.v.), the stairs leading to the well clepsydra, and the intermediate passage supposed to have furnished access to the persians--are all to be attributed to the primitive epoch. two pieces of polygonal wall, one beneath the bastion of nike apteros, the other in a direct line between the roman gateway and the door of the propylaea, are all that remain of the primitive defences of the main entrance. the pelasgicum. these early fortifications of the acropolis, ascribed to the primitive non-hellenic pelasgi, must be distinguished from the pelasgicum or pelargicum, which was in all probability an encircling wall, built round the base of the citadel and furnished with nine gates from which it derived the name of enneapylon. such a wall would be required to protect the clusters of dwellings around the acropolis as well as the springs issuing from the rock, while the gates opening in various directions would give access to the surrounding pastures and gardens. this view, which is that of e. curtius, alone harmonizes with the statement of herodotus (vi. 137) that the wall was \"around\" ([greek: peri]) the acropolis, and that of thucydides (ii. 17) that it was \"beneath\" ([greek: hypo]) the fortress. thus it would appear that the citadel had an outer and an inner line of defence in prehistoric times. the space enclosed by the outer wall was left unoccupied after the persian wars in deference to an oracular response apparently dictated by military considerations, the maintenance of an open zone being desirable for the defence of the citadel. a portion of the outer wall has been recognized in a piece of primitive masonry discovered near the odeum of herodes atticus; other traces will probably come to light when the northern and eastern slopes of the acropolis have been completely explored. leake, whom frazer follows, assumed the pelasgicum to be a fortified space at the western end of the acropolis; this view necessitates the assumption that the nine gates were built one within the other, but early antiquity furnishes no instance of such a construction; dorpfeld believes it to have extended from the grotto of pan to the sacred precinct of asclepius. the well-known passage of lucian (_piscator_, 47) cannot be regarded as decisive for any of the theories advanced, as any portion of the old _enceinte_ dismantled by the persians may have retained the name in later times. the pelasgic wall enclosed the spring clepsydra, beneath the north-western corner of the acropolis, which furnished a water-supply to the defenders of the fortress. the spring, to which a staircase leads down, was once more included in a bastion during the war of independence by the greek chief odysseus. the pnyx. to the \"pelasgic\" era may perhaps be referred (with curtius and milchhofer) the immense double terrace on the north-eastern slope of the pnyx (395 ft. by 212), the upper portion of which is cut out of the rock, while the lower is enclosed by a semicircular wall of massive masonry; the theory of these scholars, however, that the whole precinct was a sanctuary of the pelasgian zeus cannot be regarded as proved, nor is it easy to abandon the generally received view that this was the scene of the popular assemblies of later times, notwithstanding the apparent unsuitability of the ground and the insufficiency of room for a large multitude. these difficulties are met by the assumption that the semicircular masonry formed the base of a retaining-wall which rose to a considerable height, supporting a theatre-like structure capable of seating many thousand persons. the masonry may be attributed to the 5th century; the chiselling of the immense blocks is not \"cyclopean.\" projecting from the upper platform at the centre of the chord of the semicircular area is a cube of rock, 11 ft. square and 5 ft. high, approached on either side by a flight of steps leading to the top; this block, which curtius supposes to have been the primitive altar of zeus [greek: hupsistos], may be safely identified with the orators' bema, [greek: ho lithos en tae pykni] (aristoph. _pax_, 680). plutarch's statement that the thirty tyrants removed the bema so as to face the land instead of the sea is probably due to a misunderstanding. other cubes of rock, apparently altars, exist in the neighbourhood. there can be little doubt that the pnyx was the seat of an ancient cult; the meetings of the ecclesia were of a religious character and were preceded by a sacrifice to zeus [greek: agoraios]; nor is it conceivable that, but for its sacred associations, a site would have been chosen so unsuitable for the purposes of a popular assembly as to need the addition of a costly artificial auditorium. rock-dwellings and tombs. the pnyx, the hill of the nymphs and the museum hill are covered with vestiges of early settlements which extend to a considerable distance towards the south-east in the direction of phalerum. they consist of chambers of various sizes, some of which were evidently human habitations, together with cisterns, channels, seats, steps, terraces and quadrangular tombs, all cut in the rock. this neighbourhood was held by curtius to have been the site of the primeval rock city, [greek: kranaa polis] (aristoph. _ach_. 75), anterior to the occupation of the acropolis and afterwards abandoned for the later settlement. it seems inconceivable, however, that any other site should have been preferred by the primitive settlers to the acropolis, which offered the greatest advantages for defence; the pnyx, owing to its proximity to the centres of civic life, can never have been deserted, and that portion which lay within the city walls must have been fully occupied when athens was crowded during the peloponnesian war. some of the rock chambers originally intended for tombs were afterwards converted, perhaps under pressure of necessity, into habitations, as in the case of the so-called \"prison of socrates,\" which consists of three chambers horizontally excavated and a small round apartment of the \"beehive\" type. the remains on the pnyx and its neighbourhood cannot all be assigned to one epoch, the prehistoric age. the dwellings do not correspond in size or details with the undoubtedly prehistoric abodes on the acropolis. in view of the ancient law which forbade burial within the city, the tombs within the circuit of the city walls must either be earlier than the time of themistocles or several centuries later; in the similar rock-tombs on the neighbouring slopes of the acropolis and areopagus both mycenaean and dipylon pottery have been found. but the numerous vertically excavated tombs outside the walls are of late date and belong for the most part to the roman period. the areopagus. the areopagus is now a bare rock possessing few architectural traces. the legend of its occupation by the amazons (aeschylus, _eum_. 681 seq.) may be taken as indicating its military importance for an attack on the acropolis; the persians used it as a _point d'appui_ for their assault. the seat of the old oligarchical council and court for homicide was probably on its eastern height. here were the altar of athena areia and two stones, the [greek: lithos ybreos], on which the accuser, and the [greek: lithos anaideias], on which the accused, took their stand. beneath, at the north-eastern corner, is the cleft which formed the sanctuary of the [greek: semnai], or erinyes. there is no reason for disturbing the associations connected with this spot as the scene of st paul's address to the athenians (e. gardner, _anc. athens_, p. 505). _hellenic period._--while modern research has added considerably to our knowledge of prehistoric athens, a still greater light has been thrown on the architecture and topography of the city in the earlier historic or \"archaic\" era, the subsequent age of athenian greatness, and the period of decadence which set in with the macedonian conquest; the first extends from the dawn of history to 480-479 b.c., when the city was destroyed by the persians; 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