h the celebrated Vale of Tempe.
Epirus is covered by rugged ranges of mountains running from north to
south, through which the Achelous the largest river of Greece, flows
towards the Corinthian gulf.

In entering central Greece from Thessaly the road runs along the coast
through the narrow pass of Thermopylae, between the sea and a lofty
range of mountains. The district along the coast was inhabited by the
EASTERN LOCRIANS, while to their west were DORIS and PHOCIS, the
greater part of the latter being occupied by Mount Parnassus, the abode
of the Muses, upon the slopes of which lay the town of Delphi with its
celebrated oracle of Apollo. South of Phocis is Boeotia, which is a
large hollow basin, enclosed on every side by mountains, which prevent
the waters from flowing into the sea. Hence the atmosphere was damp
and thick, to which circumstance the witty Athenians attributed the
dullness of the inhabitants. Thebes was the chief city of Boeotia.
South of Boeotia lies ATTICA, which is in the form of a triangle,
having two of its sides washed by the sea and its base united to the
land. Its soil is light and dry and is better adapted for the growth
of fruit than of corn. It was particularly celebrated for its olives,
which were regarded as the gift of Athena (Minerva), and were always
under the care of that goddess. Athens was on the western coast,
between four and five miles from its port, Piraeus. West of Attica,
towards the isthmus, is the small district of MEGARIS.

The western half of central Greece consists of WESTERN LOCRIS, AETOLIA
and ACARNANIA. These districts were less civilised than the other
countries of Greece, and were the haunts of rude robber tribes even as
late as the Peloponnesian war.

Central Greece is connected with the southern peninsula by a narrow
isthmus, on which stood the city of Corinth. So narrow is this isthmus
that the ancients regarded the peninsula as an island, and gave to it
the name of PELOPONNESUS, or the island of Pelops, from the mythical
hero of this name. Its modern name, the MOREA, was bestowed upon it
from its resemblance to the leaf of the mulberry.

The mountains of Peloponnesus have their roots in the centre of the
country, from which they branch out towards the sea. This central
region, called ARCADIA, is the Switzerland of the peninsula. It is
surrounded by a ring of mountains, forming a kind of natural wall,
which separates it from the remaining Peloponnesia