The Turks surrounded the Acropolis with a broad wall, in the
building of which they made use of many fragments of columns and
other remains of the most beautiful temples.
No remnants of antiquity are to be seen in the old town of Athens
except the Tower of the Winds, or, as others call it, Diogenes'
Lantern, a small temple in the form of an octagon, covered with fine
sculpture; also the monument of Lysicrates. This consists of a
pedestal, some columns, and a dome in the Corinthian style.
The chapel Maria Maggiore, is said to have been built by the
Venetians, 700 years after Christ. Its greatest peculiarity is that
it was the first Christian church in Athens.
The view of the whole country from the Acropolis is also very
interesting; there can be seen the Hymetos, the Pentelikon, towards
Eleusis, Marathon, Phylae, and Dekelea, the harbour, the sea, and
the course of the Ilissus.
Athens contains a considerable number of houses, most of which are,
however, small and unimportant; the beautiful country-houses, on the
contrary, surrounded by tasty gardens, have a very agreeable
appearance.
The small observatory was built by Baron Sina, the well-known banker
in Vienna, who is by birth a Greek.
The royal palace, which is of modern date, is built of brilliant
white marble, in the form of a large quadrangle. On two sides,
which occupy a large part of the breadth of the wings, under a
peristyle, is a kind of small porch which rests upon pillars. The
one approach is for the ministers, ambassadors, etc., the other for
the royal family. With the exception of these two peristyles, the
whole building is very tasteless, and has not the least ornament;
the windows are in the ordinary form; and the high large walls
appear so naked, bare, and flat, that even the dazzling white of the
beautiful marble produces no effect; and it is only on a close
approach that it can be seen what a costly material has been
employed in the building.
I regretted having seen this palace, especially opposite to the
Acropolis, on a spot which has made its works of art as classic as
its heroes.
The palace is surrounded by a rather pretty though recently-formed
garden. In the front stand a few palms, which have been brought
from Syria, but they bear no fruit. The country is otherwise barren
and naked.
The marble of which this palace is built, as well as the temples and
other buildings on the Acropolis, is obtained from the quarries of
the neighbouring mountain, Pentelikon, where the quantity of this
beautiful stone is so great that whole towns might be built of it.
It was Sunday, and the weather was very fine, {335} to which I was
indebted for seeing all the fashionable world of Athens, and even
the Court, in the open promenade.
