over fragments of
decorations, and passing foundations of missing statues, we stood in
front of the Parthenon, the temple which had been erected to the patron
deity of the Athenians. We thought that the professor might weary of
answering questions, but he seemed glad to voice the thoughts that were
arising in his mind.

"In the harmonious proportions of this stately edifice," he said, "the
peerless genius of the architect Ictinus, who designed the structure, is
revealed, and in the delicate finish of the smallest details of the
sculptured work, the wonderful skill of the artists who carried out the
master's design is shown. We hardly know which to admire more, the
matchless genius of the designer, or the marvelous skill of the artists.
Our poet Emerson truly says:

"Earth proudly wears the Parthenon
As the best gem upon her throne."

During a pause for critical examination of the front of the temple, the
amateur photographers of the party placed their cameras in position.

"Place a group of people in the foreground," suggested the professor.
"You see that the marble steps are nearly two feet in height, and
without some object for comparison, these steps in a picture will appear
to be only of ordinary size, thus an adequate idea of the size of the
temple will not be given. When you see any picture of the Parthenon
notice the truth of my suggestion.

"There were, as you see at this end now," continued our instructor,
"eight white marble columns at each end and seventeen columns along each
side. The columns on the sides are mostly broken now or altogether gone,
and the color has changed from white to this soft golden yellow tint.
The carved marble frieze, which, over five hundred feet in length,
extended around the building, was the work of Phidias and has never been
surpassed in beauty by any sculpture of the kind in the world. And these
fluted columns are, in grace and proportion, the noblest examples of the
Doric style of architecture."

"But, in the interior," said the professor, becoming more enthusiastic,
"surrounded by statues and works of art in marble, bronze, ebony, ivory,
and gold, stood the crowning glory of the Parthenon, the famous
colossal statue of the goddess Athena Parthenos, Athena the Virgin,
forty feet in height, made of ivory and gold under the direction of
Phidias. The Caryatides as we looked at them awhile ago appeared
gigantic in size, but they are only eight feet in height. The hei