rest nor peace.

Athens, the capital of the former State of Attica, is said to have
been founded in the year 1300, fourteen hundred years before Christ,
by Cecrops, from whom it then took the name of Cecropia, which in
after-times was retained only by the castle: under Eriktonius the
town was named "Athens." The original town stood upon a rock in the
centre of a plain, which was afterwards covered with buildings; the
upper part was called the "Acropolis," the lower the "Katopolis;"
only a part of the fortress, the famous Acropolis, remains on the
mountain, where the principal works of art of Athens stand. The
principal feature was the temple of Minerva, or the Parthenon; even
its ruins excite the astonishment of the world. The building is
said to have been 215 feet long, ninety-seven feet broad, and
seventy feet high; here stood the statue of Minerva, by Phidias.
This masterly work was executed in gold and ivory; its height was
forty-six feet, and it is said to have weighed more than 2000
pounds. Fifty-five columns of the entrance to the temple still
remain, as well as parts of enormous blocks of marble which rest
upon them, and belonged to the arches and roof.

This temple was destroyed by the Persians, and was again restored
with greater beauty by Pericles, about 440 years after the birth of
Christ.

There are some fine remains of the temples of Minerva and Neptune,
and the extent of the amphitheatre can still be seen; there is but
little of the theatre of Bacchus remaining.

Outside the Acropolis stands the temple of Theseus and that of
Jupiter Olympus; the one on the north, the other on the south side.
The former is in the Doric style, and is surrounded by thirty-six
fine columns. On the metope are represented the deeds of Theseus in
beautiful reliefs. The interior of the temple is full of fine
sculptures, epitaphs, and other works in stone, most of which belong
to the other temples, but are collected here. Outside the temple
stand several marble seats which have been brought from the
neighbouring Areopagus, the former place of assembly for the
patricians. Of the Areopagus itself nothing more is to be seen than
a chamber cut out of the rock, to which similarly cut steps lead.

Of the temple of Jupiter Olympus so much of the foundation-walls
still remain as to show what its size was; there are also sixteen
beautiful columns, fifty-eight feet in height. This temple, which
was completed by Hadrian, is