works executed in his administration.

The first public monuments that arose after the Persian wars were
erected under the auspices of Cimon, who was, like Pericles, a lover
and patron of the arts. The principal of these were the small Ionic
temple of Nike Apteros (Wingless Victory), and the Theseum, or temple
of Theseus. The temple of Nike Apteros was only 27 feet in length by
18 in breadth, and was erected on the Acropolis in commemoration of
Cimon's victory at the Eurymedon. A view of it is given at the
beginning of this chapter, and its position on the Acropolis, on one
side of the Propylaea, is seen in the drawings on p. 91, as well as on
the Frontispiece of the work.

The Theseum is situated on a height to the north of the Areopagus, and
was built to receive the bones of Theseus, which Cimon brought from
Scyros in B.C. 469. It was probably finished about 465, and is the
best preserved of all the monuments of ancient Athens. It was at once
a tomb and temple, and possessed the privileges of an asylum. It is of
the Doric order, 164 feet in length by 45 feet broad, and surrounded
with columns.

But it was the Acropolis which was the chief centre of the
architectural splendour of Athens. After the Persian wars the
Acropolis had ceased to be inhabited, and was appropriated to the
worship of Athena and to the other guardian deities of the city. It was
covered with the temples of gods and heroes; and thus its platform
presented not only a sanctuary, but a museum, containing the finest
productions of the architect and the sculptor, in which the whiteness
of the marble was relieved by brilliant colours, and rendered still
more dazzling by the transparent clearness of the Athenian atmosphere.
It was surrounded with walls, and the surface seems to have been
divided into terraces communicating with one another by steps. The
only approach to it was from the Agora on its western side at the top
of a magnificent flight of marble steps, 70 feet broad, stood the
Propylaea, constructed under the auspices of Pericles, and which served
as a suitable entrance to the exquisite works within. The Propylaea
were themselves one of the masterpieces of Athenian art. They were
entirely of Pentelic marble, and covered the whole of the western end
of the Acropolis, having a breadth of 168 feet. The central portion of
them consisted of two porticoes, of which the western one faced the
city, and the eastern one the interior of the Ac