SHOEMAKERS' ROW AT ATHENS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVII, Issue 10243, 4 September 1909, Page 1 (Supplement)

SHOEMAKERS' ROW AT ATHENS.

(By Frances J. Edwards.)

Like all old cities Athens' industries converge in one quarter. Shoemakers' How is ono of the curious sights cf Athens; It is a long, narrow lane with an ancient j-yzantinc Church for a Katoway, and it is bright with color. TiOth sides arc lined with shoes medo in the quaint national fashion, something lf.:c a gondola. Th>.j- arc of leather ; n

.•!i colors : those for children are especially gay. The rear of the tiny stores crc- also the workshops, which makes the street doubly interesting:. In another Si.ro.--i are made arid sold peasant women's costumes. Frequently you will see worsen coining to buy, rathr? than sell, for when a peasant woman is iii need of money she sells the embrr.idary of her wedding gown, a piece of needlework in Gliental colors that

But most noisy of all is Copper-s-rilhs' Row. Greek artisans are clever •it brass work, and as every bride must bare a supply of copper and brass iitensik. they" are kent busv. One of the

esr-oriT-isl articles is an incense liolder. While I visited a copper shop three prospective brides, healthy, fresh-faced irirls, were the customers and their looks were anxious, as any American belle selecting her bridesmaid's favors. Indeed, it is part of the Greek roarria.is contract, this quota of copper calinsrv articles. A bride must bring her husband a formidable list of household equipment, which is duly enumerated on the dowery contract and carefully scrutinised by the bridegroom's parents. "I am a, poor man," said a Greek ruefully to ine, "because I had to furnish-doweries- "or four, sisters.". If the streets of the older quarter of the city are somewhat cramped, and they are spacious in comparison with other European cities, the thoroughfares of the modern section have been laid out with admirable regard to

width, length, and largely run at right angles. Many of them are shaded with the fragrant, drooping pepper tree and in the centre of the city lie the royal gardens, with a public one adjoining. Three days of the week the King's grounds are open to the public and a portion of his palace is accessible ' to visitors every day. Across the road from the Palace, is the winter home of the Cro'.vn Prince, who is very" much ' beloved by the Greeks, because he is their own, was born here and is a Greek in religion. The royal palace is large, but plain, and the facade facing the city opens upon a great, bare, sandy square, the trees having been cut down to make space for military nianeeuvripgs, etc. Many cf the public buildings, bank, pest office, etc.,' are more imposing, for they were erected with money bequeathed by wealthy, philanthropic Greeks for education and charitable purposes, and which is realised-from the rental revenues of the buildings. Prices for imported goods are high, as Greece is doing its utmost to protect and encourage home industries. Not only is it Greece .for the Greeks, but the national ambition is to win back the country's ancient territory as well as her former future and prosperity. "The Greek Idea" is the pass-word but it is a "Far Cry" from Athens to Constantinople! Meanwhile, the lovely little country looks to its' ports for support, and to its capital for encouragement. Athens is beautiful in its remnant of past splendor while its natural attractions arc-the same as when Pericles and Phidas immortalised the Parthenon, and Plato and Aristotle taught in the shady groves by the bank of the Ilisscs. Greece is taking excellent care of its priceless heritage. Workmen are constantly engaged making repairs for preserving or supporting cornices, walls, etc., which may show signs of disturbance. In the valley below the Acropolis,: where stands the pillars of what was the largest temple, a massive column lies prone on the grass as if toppled over yesterday, every section intact, from base to capital. With very little addition a presentday dramatic performance might be iriven in. the ancient theatre cf Dinnvsos. on the nlain below the -Aero-" polis Hill." The "patrons' stone seats rise tier above tier, while the marble pavement in front of the orchestra seats is in a fairly good-condition. Almost the entire row of hsndsomemar- | ble chairs for Gelliis' socially elect — priests, emperors, poets, philosophers ] and sculptors—are still in their place. But the Parthenon beckons upward to the most impressive scene, perhaps, j Europe holds. Up, up. through a noble t gateway, then by a flight of marble | steps to the magnificent entrance to that Acropolis, the Propvlaea. Turn- ! ing, one sees ahead a sight that makes i every visitor cry out with delight—j plain, valley, mountain and sea lie I westward, so beautiful that such a I view must have' been the reason the j Acropolis was chosen for the Parthenon. "Unlike Olympia, sufficient of the ancient fortress and temples have stood the onslaught of time to give an idea, if faint, of what -t was in its pristine glory. Many of the temples retain their-outline, especially the Portico of the Maidens, the Caryatides, is in good condition, one gracious maiden is quite unmarried. ■ :- ■

I like this little Attic temple best; its majestic neighbor, the Parthenon, awes me too much. The story goes that-the"Acropolis-was the earliest seat of the Athenian kings who sat in judgment, upon its .".height, and assembled their council there, and that later it

given over to the magnificent cere-

rr-.r.uies held in honor of those gods who represent the ancient Greeks' love of tho brave and beautiful. ;