some Herald who this Dutchess of Athens was and how that Title â—ame into her Family From the dominion of the Spaniard Athens passed to a Family originally of â—lorence called Acciaoli which Family â—ad the Soveraignty both in Corinth and â—hebes Francus or Francis the Eighth Prince of that House was at length conâ—trained in the year 1455 to yield it up to â—he Valour and Fortune of Mahomet the â—econd the greatest Conquerour of all the Turks So then it is now two hundred and thirteen years since it has been in the hanâ— of the Mahumetans It is true in the yeâ— 1464 Capello the Venetian General surprizâ—â— it but not taking the Castle he could nâ—â— keep the Town This then is one of tâ—â— two hundred Capital Cities which the saâ—â— Mahomet took from the Christians 〈◊〉 did it submit till it had seen two Empinâ— and twelve Kingdoms subdued by 〈◊〉 Sword And it was some kind of lusâ—â— and reputation to the surrender of Athenâ— â— that it was not conquered by an ordinaâ—â— or inconsiderable Prince It is remarkabâ—â— in History that when the said Francus wâ—â— expulsed the chief Citizens of the Toâ—â— conspired to restore him which Consâ—â—racy was the cause that the Turks made theâ— Exemplary and took from them the Sovâ—raignty of Thebes which they had allowâ—â— them till that time Mahomet was naâ—â—rally bloody and vindicative neverthelâ—â—â— he treated Athens with great humanitâ—â— professing one day as he was walking aboâ—â— the Town That his desire to be master â— it sprang not so much from his Natural aâ—bition as from a delight he took in vieâ—ing the pleasantness of its scituation aâ— the magnificence of its buildings and â— his great favours the Athenians are sâ—â— mindful to this day The better sort of tâ—â— Inhabitants will never discourse with you upon any thing of Religion but they will be sure to tell you of St. Paul and St. Denis the Areopagite They will show you none of their Antiquities but they will tell you of Themistocles and Adrian nor can they mention their State-Affairs but with a reverend Commemoration of Sultan Mahomet the Second Before we come to their form of Government as it is established at present it will not be improper in two words to give you an account how Christianity was first introduced into that City Saint Paul the Apostle concerned himself and took great pains in its conversion for coming out of Macedonia he came to Athens and disputing against the Stoicks and Epicureans he explained to them the new doctrine of the Resurrection and shew'd that the God which he preached to them was the same Unknown God to whom their Altar was erected Saint Dionysius of the Famous Society of the Areopagites and Damaris were two of the most considerable who embraced Christianity the History of which is recorded in the 17. Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles and when a stranger is at any time present at the Celebration of Mass they will be sure instead of the Epistle for the day to read that Chapter thinking thereby with a piouâ— kind of Vanity to enhaunce their reputation with the Stranger according to the natural genius and affectation of that people In Civil Affairs when by the Judges aâ— Oath is to be administred to an Athenian they open the New Testament at the 17th Chapter of the Acts and laying the handâ— of the Deponent upon that Leaf they fancy it adds much to its Religious Obligation They look upon St. Dionysius as their firsâ— Bishop In the infancy of Christianity it was famous by the Martyrdom of several persons particularly in the year 125 there were many Athenians that suffered for the Truth being animated by the Example of Publiâ—â— their Bishop The Emperour Adrian was then at Athens and entered himself into the Priesthood of Ceres Eleusina but three years after Quadratus succeeding Publius stopped the course of the persecution by an excellent Discourse which he made to the said Emperour at that time returned to Athens in order to the Consecration of a stately Temple to Jupiter Olympius and repaired by his care The Eloquence of Aristides the Philosopher who was a Christian confirmed the Doctrine of Quadratus and he mollified Adrian very much by a learned Apology he exhibited in defence of Christianity and dedicated to him Some of the Calogers pretend to have the said Apology still in a Library in a Monasteryl at Medelli some six miles from Athens The Church at Athens produced several considerable men and was erected into an Arch-Bishoprick depending upon the Paâ—riarch of Constantinople The Metropolitan of Athens has under him at this day seven Bishopricks two in the Archipelago Scyros and Andros one in the Island of Negroâ—ont called Carystehi and four upon the Continent Porthima Diaulis Heterotopia â—nd la Valone The Archbishoprick is vaâ—ued at about thirteen or fourteen thousand Crowns a year out of which a good part â—s paid constantly to the Sultan The preâ—ent Archbishop is a witty man but no great Clerk nor Friend to the Church of Rome He is a Caloger not far from Constantinople â—or you must know none but Calogers are â—dmitted to the Prelacy in Greece It is not â—ong since he was advanced to that Digniâ—y his Predecessor is still living in Athens â— man of an exemplary Life but dispossessed by the violence of the Port who choosing or removing the Patriarch of Constantinople at their pleasure have a great influenceâ— in the Election of Rejection of the Inferiour Prelates For the most part that Caloger who has most money in his pocket and parts with it most freely is advanceâ— to be Patriarch and to reimburse himself he is glad to make such his Bishops and Archbishops as give him the largest Contribution and they in their turns take the same measures with their inferiours so thaâ— from one to another every Priest Papas Bishop and Archbishop contributes to thâ— making of the Patriarch And the betteâ— to satiate the avarice of the Turks therâ— are commonly resident at Athens fouâ— Grand Penitentiaries deputed by the Archbishop to hear Confessions and to prescribeâ— certain Mulcts and Taxes to their penitentâ— according to the quality of the crime froâ— which they are absolved The former Archbishop is one of these four Penitentiaries and Director of a Monastery of Calogerâ— or Nuns of the Order of Saints Basil oâ— which there are three Monasteries in Athens There are in Athens a hundred and threâ— Churches of which four are Dedicated tâ— the Virgin Mary and called Panagia and three more Dedicated to Saint George Thâ— Chiefest among them are Agios Dimitrios Agios Jannis and Agios Chiriachis But beâ—ides these one hundred and three within â—he Walls there are double the number within a league about the Town 'T is â—rue the least Chappel passes with them for â— Church and sometimes one single Papas â—upplys two or three of them There is but â—ne Altar in each of them and some there â—re in which Mass is
they confessed as much By degrees we grew something better acquainted and in time came to some kind of confidence We walked up and down together and at last they brought us some of their salted Quails which indeed are admirably good There â—s no Countrey in the world that has more plenty of Quails or better than theirs and â—hey are careful to salt them up to serve â—hem the whole year A Papas or Greek Priest gave us Wine of his own growth not â—t all inferiour to the Wine of Lepanthe which at this day is the famousest Vineyard â—n the West of Greece by degrees they grew very communicable and inform'd us â—eadily of their Customs It is supposed there may be about thirty â—housand Souls in the Brazzo-di-Maina â—ut as to their Manners never any people were represented so diversly as they are at â—his day Some will have them brutish â—erfidious and naturally addicted to robâ—ery others consider them as the true Poâ—erity and remainder of the Magnanimous Greeks who prefer'd their Liberty to theiâ— Lives and by variety of great actions madâ— themselves terrible or at least respected tâ— other Nations insomuch that their Champions maintain that the violences and ferocity of the Magnotti is but the effect oâ— their just indignation to which they aâ—â— daily provok'd by their barbarous persecutions both from the Turks and the Christiaâ— Corsaires Be it how it will of all the People in Greece there were none but the Epâ—rots call'd the Albanians at this day anâ— the Magnotti the lamentable remainder â— the Lacedemonians that were able to beâ—â— up against the Turks The Albanians weâ—â— subdued 1466. in which Year their Râ—nowned Prince Scanderbeg dying at thâ— dispersion of his Subjects and Troops â— good part of them retiring to the Magnotâ—â— were kindly receiv'd and had Quarteâ— given them in their Caverns and Mouâ—tains As to their Religion they preserve thâ—â— of the Ancient Greeks they have amoâ—â— them many Calogers which are Monks â— the Institution of St. Basil and several thâ— they call Papa's or Priests But the othâ—â— Greeks have so little esteem of their Pietâ—â— that when they speak of them they say â— derision If you would be a New Saint yoâ— must go and live among the Magnotti They have a particular Veneration for the Virgin Mary for St. George and for St. Demetrius who is the Protector of Greece Upon the top of their Mountains they have a multitude of little Chappels dedicated to the Prophet Elias whom they account the first person that imbrac'd a Monastick Life The whole Coast is full of Grottos cut in â—he Rock which are used as Cells or Hermitages for their Calogers who are as so many Sentinels to discover the Ships at Sea and when any appear they repair immediately to the Town to give Alarm to the Governour and prepare the people either for their Defence or Prize This is the use that is made of the Thyrides or Windows that we have mentioned before The Calogers in the other parts of Greece by the Rules of their Institution have the priviledge of Commerce and may trade for Wines Fruit Honey Oyles and in general for all the effects of their own industry and labour But the Calogers of the Brazzo-di-Maina go farther and have liberty of Piracy and in excuse of their hostilities they pretend slily when they go to Sea that they go only to secure the tenths of the Prize in behalf of the Church whereas in truth there is nothing excites them so much as the desire of plunder and when they meet with any Prize they need noâ— speak twice to bid them lay them aboard and yet there are among them very Piouâ— Men and strict in their Lives The Greek that is vulgarly spoken among the Magnotti is the most corrupt of alâ— other for having a constant Trade by reason of the Commodities which they take by Piracy and Trafficking one day with onâ— Nation and another day with anotherâ— they are much accustom'd to the Languagâ— which they call the Franck an ill favour'd kind of Italian that makes use of the Infinitive of every Verb to express all the Tenses and Moods of every Conjugation and yet for all that lame and imperfect way iâ— understood and spoke in most parts of the Levant The greatest Trade of the Magnotti is slaves They take all the Prisoner they can catch both Christians and Turks â— the Turks they sell to the Christians anâ— the Christians to the Turks They are so far from concealing or being asham'd of their Piracies that they boasâ— of them and take delight in giving a Relation I found by their vanity in thosâ— descriptions that they were true Greeks â— and had learn'd of their Ancestors the Aâ—â— of flourishing and embellishing their Exploits They carried me to one of their Grand Corsaires and shew him as a person who had done strange things above the ordinary rate When in the Countrey it was known that he was preparing to go to Sea the Alarm was generally taken the Parents that had handsom Children and the Husbands that had handsom Wifes lock'd them up carefully for fear this good Gentleman should spirit them and sell them into other Countries they are in the same apprehension when any strange Vessel comes in for if any of the Magnot Corsaires has a quarrel to any of his Neighbours their Wives or Children pay for it and are stolen the next opportunity When I was a slave at Birette I had for my Comrade a young Greek who had been sold by the Magnotti he was only Son and Heir to the best Family in Modon which is a considerable Town in Morea A rich Turk in that City famous for oppressing the Christians had an itching after the young Mans Estate and not finding a cleaverer way he contracted with the Magnotti who took their opportunity whipp'd him away and sold him to a Vessel belonging to Bizerti Not many dayes before we came to an anchor in the Road of Maina there happen'd a pleasant accident in the Cabans betwixt Maina and Bytilo Two of the Magnotts one of them call'd Theodoro the other Anapliottis both great Corsaires both married and formerly great friends falling out about the division of a Barque which they had taken from the Venetian and pillaged in revenge unknown to one another at the same time they enter'd upon a design of stealing one anothers Wives and it succeeded on both sides They knew there was in the Road at the same time a Corsaire of Malta Theodoro got the Wife of Anapliottis and away he went with her to the Ship but could by no means come to an agreement with the Corsaire about the Prize for having viewed and considered her well the Corsaire refused to give what he demanded and told him it was not two hours since he had bought another much handsomer for half the money and that Theodoro might be satisfied he spake truth he commanded her to be brought up She was produc'd
and her nostril that if possible we might find out whether in the structure and fabrick of this fish there might not be some secret analogie with the Inwards of a man to which for want of better reason we might ascribe their kindness and strange inclination to our Sex But we discover'd that the inclination of Man was more powerful to them for the Italian Marriners would not endure that we should do them any mischief calling them the Companions of their Voyage and the faithful Sentinels who by their leaping and playing upon the Waters do give them constant notice of any tempest approaching and by this means our Experiment was lost But the sight of Tenara gave us another contemplation The passage into Hell if you will believe the Antients is there and Cerberus tyed there by Proserpine to guard it This is certain on the middle of the Mountain there is a dismal hole to be seen that was formerly consecrated to Neptune the entrance is so horrid and the depth so immense that it gave occasion to that opinion that it went down into Hell That it was by that Hercules descended Hector'd Pluto in the midst of his Estates and in defiance of him brought away his Three-headed Dog 'T is the common opinion at this day quite through the Brazzo di Maina that by this hole the Devil comes out a hunting every day in the shape of a Hound In this Mountain Tenara there was found formerly good Crystal of the Rock several sorts of Metals and some Precious Stones The Greeks say the Veins are as fruitful as ever but that the Inhabitants conceal it for fear it should invite the Turks and bring them sooner into their Country At the foot of Cape Matapan towards the N. N. E. the old Castle is to be seen from this Castle the Coast runs two Leagues N.E. as far as the Port of Colocythia called anciently the Port of Achilles There the anchoring is good but not so good as at Porto-Caglie a Haven about seven Leagues distance from the Cape To enter into the Harbour at Porto-Caglie we kept to the Southward Coast where we found sixteen Fathom water Towards the North within Pistol-shot of the Shore great care is to be had of a Rock which is the more dangerous because it lies almost just level with the water Our Anchorage here is in danger of nothing but a South-East wind The Town is large and in it one of the best Fountains in the world it was called in former days Teuthrone and was once a Colony of Athenians Here it is that the Sea makes a great Arch in the Shore to form the Gulf of Colochina heretofore called the Gulf of Laconia In this manner our Vessel sailed on to the Southward of Saint Angelo where we were to double the Point On the Shore from Porto-Caglie towards the North we found the place which was called in former times the Temple of Jupiter and two large Rivers where the Barks did frequently supply themselves with fresh water The River that lies Northward of the other retains still the quality of its water which passed among the Ancients for the most pure and delicate and least subject to corruption in all Greece The Inhabitants call it only Potamo which signifies a River but Pyrrhus called it Scyras from the name of the Island Scyros where he Imbarqued when he came into this Country to his Nuptials with Hermione Beyond the River the Coast runs into a Point upon which stands the Town of Pagana which name though it be the most commonly given it is called likewise Pago Gade Pagou or to pronounce it more justly Cape de Pago the Ancients called it the Promontory of Diana Dictynna and the Town is built of the ruines of the old City Las its scituation is easily known by three Mountains Hama Ilion and Cuacadion formerly famous for the Trophies erected there after the Macedonian defeat as likewise for the Temples which Castor and Pollux built in that place at their return from the Conquest of the Fleece About half a League S.W. from Pagana is the little Island called Spatara and three Leagues E. N. E. oâ— Spatara lies the City of Colochina upon the firm land near the mouth of the famous River Eurothas which passes by Mysithre oâ— Lacedaemon as you please On the eighth of April in the morning as we were within sight of Pagana the winâ— began to rise and increased so fast thaâ— we grew fearful of a Storm It drove us near enough the Shore to discover the large and long Reeds which grow in the mouth of the Eurotas and they put us in mind of the Lacedemonians who made Mats of them formerly to lie upon This River is now called Bazili Potamo or the Royal River and might be made Navigable seven or eight Leagues up for there is water enough but then it is so narrow there is not room to turn and scarce for another Vessel to pass Our apprehension of ill weather made us resolve to put in at the little Isle of Spatara formerly famous by the name of Cranaz But what think you did we find in a little Creek where we put in for shelter because the anchorage was good We found two Vessels who coming the same road with us and driven with the same wind had put in there not above two hours before You will be surprized when I tell you that one of those Vessels was the Christian Corsair who had changed his Colours upon us so often and treated us so insolently The other was a Turkish Vessel laden with Janizaries for Candia that the Corsair had taken after very great resistance and it was the noise of that Combate that we had heard when we were off of Matapan Lest the Corsair should begin a new Quarel with us on point of Ceremony we Saluted him and Lowr'd our Sails We had scarce come to an anchor when by good fortune the Wind veer'd to the South and a great Rain falling the Storm ceased Our Captain sent his Shallop a shore and in it his Mate to salute the Pirate our curiosity would needs make us accompany the Mate where we found the Pirate very busie his Vessel shot through and through in several places took water in such plenty that all her Pumps though they wrought continually were not sufficient to clear her This was a manifest sign that the Turk had defended herself well but we perceived also that the Turk had been as ill treated for her Tackling was in the greatest disorder imaginable no Sails no Cables no Masts but every thing in most desperate condition and the relation we had of it was this The Sangiac or Governour of Modon had sent a Turkish Vessel with Ammunition and three hundred Janizaries to the Siege of Candy It was the misfortune of this Ship to meet our Corsair in the same height of debauchery and the same impatience of being at mischief as we left him so that without the
not said above three â—r four times in a Year The Rich Men of â—he Town have each of them Chappels at â—ome and the great reason is to keep their Wives and Daughters from being gaâ—ed upon in the streets by which means it â—appens that unless it be on great dayes â—he Great Churches are quite unfrequentâ—d and to take off all pretence of Gosâ—ping the Good-wives are not permitted â—o go to Church out of their own Parish Their Zeal for Christianity is very extraorâ—inary and though there are few of the â—thenians or none that follow the Disciâ—line of our Church yet one full third of â—he Town admit the Procession of the Holy Ghost the Supremacy of the Pope â—nd the most essential points in Controverâ—e betwixt us and the Eastern Church Faâ—her Simon de Compeigne a Religious French â—apuchin and one of the Missionaries at Athens is sometimes admitted to hear the Confessions of the Arch-bishop the greaâ—est part of the Calogers of Medelli and thâ— most considerable of the Laity in thâ— City as particularly the Paleologues tâ—â— Bininzelles the Capitanakis the Calchâ—â—diles and several others Before the Old Archbishop was dispoâ—sessed by the Turks he many times signifieâ— to our Capuchins at Athens the great dâ—sire he had to see our differences composeâ— telling them expresly that if he could see â— United with the Eastern Church he couâ—â— chearfully resign to the person who at Româ— is made Arch-bishop of Athens in partilâ— infidelium and he inquired very earnest after his Name and his Parts Our Româ— Archbishop is called Carlo Vecchi he hâ—â— four considerable Dignities in the Court â— Rome He is Secretary of the Congregâ—tion of Bishops a Member of the Sacrâ—â— Office Counsellour to the Penitentiarâ— and Secretary to the Congregation de prâ—paganda fide He is an Ancient Man â— weak and declining that the Physicians â— way of Regiment have prescribed him thrâ—â— dishes of Chocolat a day This Grave Archbishop preferred to thâ— Title out of the Monastery at Medelli 〈◊〉 his Piety as well as learning is much pleâ—sed when our Capuchins which are theiâ— â—o tell him that the City of Paris esteems â—t a singular honour that Saint Dionysius the Areopagite was their first Bishop The good Old Man in a rapture of Joy and with great pleasure to himself replyes You must confess then that but for Athens France â—ad possibly never had an Apostle Some of our Learned Countrey-men reâ—osing too stifly upon the Doctrine of our Times have maintained that the Converâ—â—on of the French was not ascribable to â—aint Dennis the Areopagite and that he was not the first Preacher of the Gospel amongst us However our Chronology may â—ustifie them the Universal tradition at Athens is against them as I found by parâ—icular inquiry and disquisition They are â—ll full of his Mission into and his Martyrâ—om in France It is observable with what heat and eagerness the Common People of Athens will hear and discourse of 〈◊〉 for being naturally proud and passioâ—ate they do exceedingly magnifie and exâ—ggerate the humility of that Saint in leaâ—ing so Noble and Illustrious a Diocess to â—stablish himself in France Not far from â—he Archbishops Palace there was a little Chappel Dedicated to Saint Dennis which â—as been ruined by the fall of a Rock and â—he Athenians have frequently solicited our Missionaries to intercede to the King oâ— France to repair it and revive the Glory oâ— their Nation among them As to the number of its Inhabitants I admired to have read and heard a thousanâ— times that Athens was a desart Certainly the Travellers that have reported it onlâ— passed thorow it and that perhaps in a rainâ— day when no body was in the streets 〈◊〉 in the time of a Contagion which sendâ— them packing to their Countrey houseâ— The Town consists of at least fifteen or siâ—teen thousand Inhabitants of which ten oâ— twelve hundred are Turks No Jews coulâ— ever be admitted though there are many oâ— them in the Neighbourhood and particâ—larly at Thebes and Negropont and to speaâ— truth in the whole Turkish Empire 〈◊〉 places but Athens and Trebizond have preserved the priviledge of excluding the Jewâ— though the Turkish Officers have attempteâ— several times to introduce them but to oppose them the Christians underhand madâ— friends to the Mahumetans of the said Citieâ— pretending that the Jews would ingroâ— the whole Trade and ruine the rest of thâ— Inhabitants Sometimes they have threatned the Jews which solicited their admittance and the fear of being cudgelled prevailed with them to desist for at Athenâ— they are in a great deal of danger About 1986. Years since Cassander the Macedonian having given the Administration of Affairs of this City to the Philosopher Demetrius of Phalerum he found the City to consist of twenty one thousand Citizens ten thousand Strangers setled in the Town and four hundred thousand Slaves and this account was testified by Ctesicles and it is to be observed that by the word Citizen is intended the Masters of Families which must needs suppose a great number of Servants and Dependants At present as formerly the people of both Sexes are well shaped and of an Excellent Contexture which is the reason they â—ive to be very old We attributed much of their vigour to their diet and their use of Honey which the Athenians use very frequently being excellently good Their Physicians account their Honey for the wholsomest of their Food But the Common People ascribe much to the Situation of their Mountains which shelter them so commodiously from the winds did they understand the virtue of their Simples which are there in great abundance and excellence much would be attributed to them The People have generally very strong and clear voices and their Memories are admiâ—able Philip of Macedon described them well when he compared them to the Images oâ— Mercury which the Ancients put up in theâ—â— Markets and other publick places hiâ— expression was that they were all mouth â— implying that they were good at nothing â— but Oratory and Talk It is a saying among those who are acquainted with them â— that as there is not a Countrey in the worlâ— where Honey is more nourishing nor Hemâ— lock more pernicious so there is not a Citâ— where the People that are disposed to gooâ— are better nor where they apply themselves to ill they are worse Naturallâ— they are very selfish and great dissemblerâ— Their Women are Virtuous Pious anâ— Chaste they never admit of Conversatioâ— with any Man unless they be well assureâ— of his Virtue The Common People havâ— no kindness either for Us or the Italians the frequent injuries which they receivâ— by the sudden descents of our Corsaires haâ— so incensed them against us that in time oâ— War they hate us worse than the Turks â— Our Privatiers appear no sooner at Seaâ— but they are immediately in Arms and theâ— the Turks themselves do not use a Fraâ—â— with worse language than they so thaâ— our
body or object to which those Species were carried From whence they maintained that nothing subsisted actually in it self or had any proper or peculiar Essence but subsisted only by reference as they were formed in our Senses not in the subject from whence they flowed and this you may find in Aulus Gellius Their Morality bore the character of Piety and Religion and the doctrine of the Academy obtaining a long time was taught in the University of Paris At length the doctrine of the Peripateticks was introduced and the Lycaeum prevailed with us as more subtil and consentaneous with Nature When we arrived at this famous School how strangely were we surprized how sadly were we affected to behold its ruine and desolation There was nothing to be seen but heaps of Rubbish and great splinters of Stone over-grown with Grass or covered over with Earth Here and there were a few Fig-Trees and Olive-Trees and pittiful Cabins where the Gardiners were lodged If in so melancholy a spectacle any thing occurred of consolation it was to think that the name of that place and the qualities of that Genius which presided there were transplanted to Paris for in short we must acknowledge as Rome did of old Omnis ubertas quasi sylva dicendi ab Academia ducta est All our Elegance and exactness of expression is deducible from the Academy But the name of Academy is almost lost in Athens and it is called at this day The School of Plato It is scarce possible to dig six foot deep into the ground but you must find some considerable piece of Antiquity Some three or four years since a Gardiner digged up a Pallas of white Marble which he sold to Giraud for two Crowns Giraud's Wife was as I told you an Athenian of a pleasant merry humour as appears by a trick she put upon Father Simon She laid this Statue in a Bed betwixt a pair of Sheets and sending for the Father told him one of her Maids was sick and desired to be confessed The Statue was dressed very decently in night linnen and the Father turned alone into her Chamber The Father was grave and modest and kept himself at a distance and his modesty contributed to the Cheat. He fell immediately to his pious Exhortations endeavouring thereby to dispose the poor Creature to Repentance and the examination of her Conscience The Mistress of the House called out to him from behind the door to speak out for the Maid was deaf and had been so a long time The good man elevated his voice and went nearer to the Bed when the good woman entring hastily into The Room Let us see Sir said she 't is possible she may be dead and then she has no need of your Confession and so running to the Bed side she turned up the Cloaths and shew'd him the Pallas which put the whole company into a laughter The House the Famous Misanthropos is to be seen about a hundred paces from the ruines of the Academy The place is now full of Fig Tree and if you would entertain your self with the story of that renowned Enemy to mankind read what Plutarch says in the Life of Mark Anthony Returning towards our Lodging we came on the left hand to the foot of Mount St. George where we saw the ruines which at this day they call the School of Zeno though indeed it was nothing but his Tomb You may remember what I have said of it in speaking of the Porcile or Stoa About half a mile from the Town the great Road is cut in the midst by two other and make a Carrefour where there stood formerly a Statue of Mercury sirnamed the Tetracephalos The Oratour Ephialtes who if you will believe Pericles was a great lessening and diminution to the authority of the Areopage had his Tomb within a small distance On Thursday the 25. of April we marched out in the morning to visit the ruines of Stadion Panathenaicon and the Palace of Adrian By the Gate through which we passed to Raphti we saw the Triclinion an excellent piece of Antiquity not yet taken notice of by any Authour It is a large Stone digged some years since out of the Earth and embellished with incomparable Bas-relief representing a Hall and a Banquet of the Ancients from which Picture it is called Triclinion A Greek has placed it in the wall of his House as an Ornament to it Without the Port de Raphti we left the Palace of Adrian on our left hand and on one side the place which they call Ta Mnimuria it is a Cemetery of the Turks who quite through the Levant are buried without the City The ancient Athenians practised the same Custom and it was by particular favour when they suffered any of their Tombs to be within the compass of their Walls But now a days the Christians are buried in their Churches As we passed to the Bridge over the River Ilissus we observed a place where formerly was the Tribunal called Ardettos where the Judges took a solemn Oath to Jupiter Apollo and Ceres to administer Justice according to the Laws of the Land and where the Laws were defective to proceed according to their Conscience There it was that there was an Altar consecrated to the Muses called Ilissiades and there it was that Codrus King of Athens was slain Near the Bridge we saw another place the ruines of a Chappel which they called Agios Phrancos where the Image of St. Francis is to be still seen painted upon the Wall When the Accioles were Masters of this Country they erected a Chappel in honour of this Saint which is yet in so great veneration that the Christians do at this day give that name to their Children in Baptism The Bridge stands upon three Arches through which the River Illisus passed in former times but at present it is dry having been diverted and divided by an infinite number of little Rivulets cut on purpose to supply the Water-works in the Gardens about the Town and it was a wonder to us to consider that whereas commonly Fountains were contracted and their Waters brought together to make Rivers here the Illisus was exhausted and annihilated to furnish their Fountains The Bridan that passed of old through Athens had a worse destiny for its Chanel is lost and nothing of it now to be seen On the other side of the Bridge is the quarter which they call indifferently Agra and Agrae where Boreas one of the Gods of the Winds stole away Orythia a Daughter of the King of Athens and Diana the Goddess was first delighted with the recreation of Hunting The Soil is Sandy and great plenty there is of Partridge but they are not so good as ours Not far off there is a little eminence upon which are to be seen the ruines of the Goddess Diana sirnamed Agrotera or the Huntress to whom the Athenians annually made a Sacrifice of 500 male Goats to acquit themselves of a Vow into which they entered
it and conspired with certain of his Accomplices like himself to gain her by force They have a certain Feast like our Easter which they call Bairam Coutzong at which time having more freedom of debaucherie than ordinary they resolved to put their designs in practice and accordingly entred by force into the young Athenians house who was at home along with no body but her Mother who was a Widow In apprehension of their violence they both of them cry'd out as soon as they saw them but no body came into their rescue for besides that during the liberty of the Bairam the Christians do generally keep themselves close their house was in a by-place and somewhat out of the way The resistance and refractoriness of this young Damoisel inraged them to such a degree that finding their importunity unsuccessful they fell to blows and gave her seven or eight stabs with a poinard that which was most admirable in the passage was that still as they stab'd she presented her face as if she had been desirous to be wounded there to ruine that part which had caused such extravagant passion in those Brutes They left her for dead and 't is reported that the only thing that recovered her was the joy she conceived to find her self disfigured beyond any such influence for the future But the Assassines were glad to fly and never appeared since for complaint was made to the Keslar-Agasi who would without all doubt have punished them severely Since this accident in â—ll the Families of Athens both Turk and Christian no discourse is held among the â—oung Maidens but up comes this story â—nd the good women have no better lesson â—o each their Daughters than to imitate â—his Damoisel nor better memorial for â—hem than to show them the scars of her face When we were in Athens the poor Girle was living in the Isle of Engia If the Christian Religion was not sufficient to move these Athenian Damoisels to Chastity the fear of punishment would do it effectually Those who are defective that way are condemned to be sold for slaves and upon conviction 't is not easie to escape 'T is the Cadi's interest to see that Law strictly executed for the profit is his and upon the least accusation he causes them to be inspected by the Midwives Not but there are wayes of evading it and a thousand artifices are found out to prevent their slavery sometimes the Confessor intercedes and suggesting the danger of their turning Mahumetans abates the rigour of their Laws and conceals the dishonour of their Families In a word in all Greece manifest immodesty is no where so severely punished as in Athens The Virgins in Athens are generally handsom witty and vindicative you may judge what they were formerly by the single example of Thais who followed Alexander the Great in his Expedition into Persia Being with that Monarch one day when he was in a good humour she proposed to him to burn the Palace-Royal at Persepolis and was so plain as to profess a desire of putting fire to it her self that the world might say that the very Damoisels which attended in his Conquests in Persia had revenged the burning at Athens when of old it was set on fire by Xerxes and her beauty and eloquence so far recommended her ambition that she was gratified in her motion and the Palace set on fire that very night Our curiosity carried us from thence out of the Castle to the Southward betwixt the Phalerum and the Porto-Lione where was anciently the old City of Athens called by way of excellence Asti or the City the foundation of which according to the testimony of Pliny began there The two Brothers Euryalus and Hyperbius were the first who built houses there before which time they were lodged in Grottos still to be seen at the foot of the Castle The quarters of Lymnae Coepi Diomea Cynosarges and Alopece are still on that side and were all we saw that Walk We returned by the Temple of Jupiter and keeping still by the foot of the Castle we passed behind the house where the Jesuites had formerly their retreat and on our right hand we saw the remains of a building at present called To Palati tou Themistocles or Themistocles his Palace Among the Ancients there was nothing could give Authority to the Modern Appellation for by them it was called the Palace of the five hundred which was the number of Select Men chosen every year by the Ten Tribes of Attica each Tribe naming fifty who alternatively and according to the rank of their several Tribes had the supreme management of affairs for five and thirty dayes together and their Court being held in the place called Prytane gave the name of Prytanes to the said fifty Senators Cajetan Drogoman to the Consul Giraud had his Lodgings in this Palace of Themistocles A little beyond it we saw the Temple of Neptune a very admirable Structure Of the three Temples Dedicated anciently to that God we could meet nothing that could assure us whether this was the Elates the Cynades or Asphalius It is at present a Greek Church govern'd by the Caloger Damaskinos whose house being hard by and upon the brow of a Rock is the highest in the whole City 'T is reported that many rare Manuscripts are kept in that house Near the Temple of Neptune there is a Fountain of the same name whose waters are turned for the benefit of the Castle From thence we came into the Vicus Ceramicus where we saw on our right hand the place where formerly stood the Leocorion or Monument of Leos who having sacrificed his Daughters for the safety of the publick deserved well to have a Tomb in the City Facing about to the left we saw the ruines of a magnificent Building called the Kings Portico that is to say the Portico of the King of the Sacrifices or the second of the Archontes The Portico of Jupiter Elutherion was behind it and Eudancon or the Tomb of Heros Eudanos was hard by which Eudanos was sirnamed Angelos the Son of Neptune Thence towards the Castle we observed the Metroon or Chapel of the Mother of the Gods in which place died Lycurgus the Son of Lycophron as famous in Athens as the Legislator Lycurgus was in Sparta The Barathron or Orygma that famous dungeon into which their criminals were tumbled was behind that Metroon at the foot of a steep Rock in the Castle and near the Barathron was the Tribunal called Parabysthus in which only small Causes were tryed and that Court consisted of eleven Judges The nearness of this Court to the Barathron which was an ignominious place was the occasion that some Authors have said that the Parabysthus stood in a vile and abominable place At small distance from the Kings Portico we saw the Bucoleon or Court where the King of the Sacrifices had his Tribunal Not far from that we saw the ruines of a small Chapel called Agios Dionysios where
Mass is said constantly upon Saint Denis his day To restore that Chapel one would have need not only of Money but good interest at the Port where they suffer Christians to repair their Churches they will not suffer them to rebuild them when they are down This Chapel joyns to the Archbishops Palace which they pretend was the Palace of Saint Denis The place is very pleasant and is the lodgings of the Archbishop and five Calogers that make up his whole Family They shew us a Well there which among the Christians is in great Veneration because as their tradition tells them Saint Paul was a prisoner in it and rescued by the Authority of Saint Denis Not far from the ruines of the Prytaneum we saw the Court where the fifty Senators Assembled who had the Administration of the Publick Affairs The perpetual Fire was kept there The Laws of Solon were there in deposito and such illustrious men as had done any signal service for their Country were maintained there and their Posterity at the Publick Charge On the right hand towards the Temple of Theseus there was a Grove dedicated to the Heroina Aglaura daughter to King Cecrops and behind the Grove was a field Consecrated to Famine the field was called Limoupedion Formerly the Gate called Hiera stood at the end of this field Hiera is as much as sacred and it was called so because it was the way to Eleusis by which they passed in their famous Procession belonging to the mysteries of Ceres â—n this place they had erected a fair Statue of Anthemocritus for whom they had also set up a Tomb by the Gate Dipylon Without the Port Hiera was anciently a large â—eubourg whose ruines are still visible It was called Hiera Siki or the Holy Figâ—â—â—e and the way to Eleusis was called Hiâ—ra Odos The Port Dipylon lies Eastward of the Hiera and betwixt them is another called the Ceramick Postern not far from whence is a place called Oenos where they sold their Wine which gave it its denomination for in Athens most of their chief streets are called from the principal Commodities that â—re sold there That space of the old Town that lies betwixt Dipylon and the Ceramick Postern was called Oeon or the Desert because though it butted upon the Ceramicus yet no part of the great affluence of people that passed there could be seen The Famous Temple of Anaceon was not far off which was Consecrated to Castor and Pollux by the name of Dioscâ—res Formerly Slaves were sold in it and when Pisistrates disarmed the Athenians he cause'd them to assemble in that place Westward of the Porte Hiera was the Pyraeum and the part of the Town betwixâ— them was called Heptachalcon throughâ— which Sylla came when he surprized Athens We contented our selves to view all thiâ— from a little Hill near the Arch-Bishop'â— Palace without troubling our selves to go to them that day we thought of nothing but running from one place to another aâ— if we had intended that way to have tyreâ— our curiosity besides people are quickly satisfied where nothing but ruines are to be seen Advancing from thence towards the ancient Gate called Pyraeum we saw severaâ— Portico's that of Attalus where the Râ—mans erected a particular Court and calleâ— it by their own name The Portico of Trecon called by Aristophanes Alphiton Stâ—â—â— because they sold Meal in it In it there was an excellent Picture of Helen drawn by â—euxis The Chapel of Heros Chalodos of which Plutarch speaks in the life of Theseus was not far off and by it a house where we saw several Statues of Potters Earth and among the rest the Statue of Amphictyon King Athens We saw likewise where stood the house of Polytion remarkable for the libertinisme of Alcibiedes when he prophaned the Mysteries of Ceres with the young Debauchees of the Town In process of time this house was turned into a Temple and dedicated to Bacchus Not far off was a Gymnasium of Mercuries with a Porticoe and Market-place of the same name and because nothing of Antiquity ought at least in my fancy to be lost and the least observation is to be recorded in that case it is not amiss to let you know that near the Portico there are to be seen the ruines of a large Courèon or Barbars Shop of which Lysias makes mention Behind this Portico is the Garden of Melanthus the Philosopher in which Garden the Orator Lycurgus was buried a little beyond we saw Statues representing a Combate betwixt Neptune and the Giant Polybot Not far from the Port du Pyraeum we saw a Temple considerable only for some certain Statues of Praxitiles his work from thence we went to the Pompeon which is the place where they deposite all the Implements and Utensils belonging to their publick solemnities Beyond that Gate there is a Tomb adorned with the Statue of a Horsman by Praxitiles own hand The old Pyraeum Gate was twice Musquet shot from where the new one stands now From thence we turned towards the Castle following a Path on the right hand that led us towards the ruines of the Temple of Jupiter Olympicus Titus Livius has very elegantly expressed its magnificence in these Templum unum in terris inchoatum pro magnitudine Dei The only Temple in the world begun with proportion to the Grandeur of a God But it was not finished in his days for the greatness of the design kept it unfinished for above seven hundred years though several Kings contributed largely to have it finished the Emperour Adrian perfected it at last at the expence of more than nine Millions It s circumference was about half a mile and in its whole extent scarce a place but was embellished with some excellent Statue more valuable for the curiosity of the work than for the Gold or Ivory which had been prodigally lavished upon them There was also to be seen the Temple of Saturn and Rhea the Grove of Olympia and a Ditch that has been famous ever since Ducalion's Flood for it is from tradition believed that the waters of that deluge were carried off through that and they fancy it the more credible because there is Ducalion's Tomb hard by There is also the house of Morychia and another of Charmidas who was a man of a most prodigious memory Southward of this Temple stood another dedicated to Apollo and called Delphinion it was also a Court that took cognizance of and judged finally in Causes where Murder was evidently committed and confessed but justified to have been done according to Law The old Port of Eugeus was hard by and his Palace not far off A little lower was the Quarter called Coepi or the Gardens where there was to be seen a Statue of Venus of Alcamenes his making in the opinion of Phidias the choicest of his work and esteemed rather a Miracle than a Master-piece There was likewise a Temple dedicated to Venus Vrania and by it another to Euclaea another to
by reason the ground consisting much of sand their Works are apt to moulder as fast as they make them But the hottest service is on the side of St. Andrew where their approaches are carried on by the Sea side under the protection of an Artificial Mountain which they removed thither from another place The Post of St. Andrew is a kind of half Bastion built only with a Flank that scoures towards the Fort of Panigra but towards the Sea it is only a Plat-form that flanks nothing and has nothing to flank it 'T is a strange thing that for twenty years together both besiegers and besieged should have neglected this Post Standing upon a hard Rock the Turks thought it unminable and therefore unapproachable and the Christians believed themselves safe there by the meer nature of the place But both of them were mistaken and the Christians worst of all for the place must be suddenly relieved or it will be certainly lost and had it not been for an opportunity in which the French signalized their experience and courage the Town had been taken on that side by a demy Gorge which is a piece of Fortification that till then was never used in any Town to the great disparagement of the Venetian Engineers the first discovery of that place was made by certain Renegadoes that ran into the Turkish Camp where there are but too many of them About the latter end of the year 1668. the Duke de Feuiliade brought to the succour of the Town four Brigades of French Gentlemen Commanded by the Count de S. Paul the Duke of Chasteau-Thierry the Duke of Caderouse and the Count de Villemor The Marquess de la Motte Tenelon had not the Command of a Brigade as being left free to execute the extraordinary Commands of the Duke de Feuillade who advised with him in every thing and this by accident gave him means to do the besieged the most signal piece of service that could be expected from any one Man for viewing the Works on that side he perceived the Turks were Masters of all the ground betwixt the Fort St. Andrew and the Sea had planted their Batteries fixed their Lodgements and provided very well for the security of their Posts and which was most dreadful to him they were battering the Scotch Work which was the only place that could give any defence to a breach they had already made in the Demie-Gorge The Scotch Work was an old Tower in the middle of a Wall that flanked the Demie-Gorge so effectually that if that Flanker was made unserviceable the Town was impossible to be defended The Marquess de la Motte Tenelon having remonstrated all this to the Venetians and convinced them of the importance of that place they left it to his care to prevent the great danger which at that time was very pressing upon them The first thing to be done was to repair the old Capponnieres towards the Sea which they themselves had destroyed and quitted not long before A Capponniere is a little Lodgement or Post for their outermost Guards to lye in it is made of Planks driven half way into the ground and lined with earth in which there was room for about a dozen or fifteen Musqueteers that sired upon occasion out of little holes made to that purpose The Turks had brought vast quantities of earth and thrown them upon the Capponniers and thereby brought their approaches to the very foot of the breach The Marquess was present at the recovery of these Capponniers and had the Turks alwayes in his teeth with only nine or ten foot of earth betwixt them Having recovered and refitted his Capponniers he ran a Gallery under the Batteries and Lodgements of the Turks and blew them up into the air thereby giving the besieged convenience to repair the Scotch Work from whence they shot so effectually with their Cannon that it has been too hot for the Turks and they have not attempted it since But for this Work the Town had been taken above three months ago You would not believe it and yet it was certainly true the French were at that time forced to preach Moderation and Temper to the Venetians whose Commanders were then so full of animosity and emulation especially Morosini and Cornaro that their Councils of War were nothing but Threats and Exprobrations and Manifesto's and Protestations one against the other our great Officers who were admitted to those Councils were amazed at their own prudence and temper in respect of those who had alwayes reproached our Nation by its heat and activity Had I not been told this by more than one or two of the Renegades I should never have believed it The Turks understood it very well and laught at the Venetian Pantalons for that was the name they gave the Venetian Officers This is certain the Garrison has never effectually seconded the Efforts of their Auxiliaries The Venetian as it is thought being unwilling to be relieved by such inconsiderable supplyes have fancied that by exposing them and suffering them to be cut off their Masters the Christian Princes would be provoked to espouse them more vigorously to repair their own Honours and by degrees grow to make the Venetian Quarrel their own Upon Friday the 10 th of May 1669. which the Turks count the 9 th of their Douleggaide and of their Egire 1080. I arrived at the Camp two days before their little Bairam which fell out the 11 th of May for there being that year seventy compleat days from the end of the Moon of Ramaden to the tenth of the Moon of Douleggaide the little Bairam happened the tenth of that Moon and the Ramaden concluded the last day of our February The Turkish Camp had no Lines either of Circumvallation or Contravallation a Line of Circumvallation would have been utterly useless because they feard no succours by Land And the Garrison thinking themselves very happy if they can keep their own ground there was no great need of any Contravallation against their Sallies only about Cannon-shot from the two Bastions the Turks thought fit to cast up a few pittiful Lines to shelter their place of Arms where they draw up when commanded out upon any considerable Service These Lines instead of being brought up streight one to another as with us are turned with a bow at both ends which seems repugnant to our Rules but our curiosity is not so usefull among them for the Enemy never going directly towards an attack nor many times together the same way the pedantry of our methods would be to no purpose The whole strength of their Camp consists of great Plat-forms which those Infidels have raised upon the shore and planted them very liberally with Cannon to play upon the Christian Ships There are also Plat-forms that lie low and even with the water made on purpose to hinder the descent of the Venetians I went first to the Vizers Quarter which among us would have been called the Royal Quarter It
lies towards the Fort of Saint Andre westward of the Town and in that quarter most of the Janizaries and select Troops of the Army are disposed The Quarter of the Romiliots or European Troops under the Command of the Beglierbey of Sophia was before the Fort of Panigra on the S. W. side of the Town The Messerliotts or Troops out of Aegypt and Arabia were quartered on the South the Natolians or Troops out of Asia on the South East And towards their Lazaret or Hospital over against the Post of Sabionera directly to the East lay a considerable body of Janizaries with detachments and commanded parties out of all the other Quarters The Chief Officers commanding in those several Quarters have no certain place allotted to themselves as with us for the Vizer changes them as he pleases and many times removes the whole Brigade from one Quarter to another The Bassas who at my coming were in principal Command were the Vizer du Camp which is as much as the Vizer Azem's Lieutenant-General the Beglerbey of Romulia the Capoudan Bassa Brother in Law to the Grand Vizer the Genizar-Aga a brave Man and his Creature Zambatag Ogli-Houssekni Son to one of the Sultans Sisters Zatt-Patat-Ogli for a Turk a very understanding man in all Foreign Affairs and designed to be Bassa of Cairo Frane Mehemet Pacha a Renegade Portugesse to whom the Grand Vizer has promised tho Government of Candia when taken And Bebyr Pacha a man of Execution and one who speaking very well the Language of the Franks would be a proper person to Treat with the Christians The General of their Horse called Spahilar-Agasi continued at Canea from whence he made frequent Cavalcades about the Island to keep an eye over his Horse which were quartered all along upon the Coast under the Command of six Colonels or Boulouk Agalar's It is not above four years since this person was made General of the Cavalry his predecessor was slain by the French at the passing of Raab near St. Gothard in the year 1664. The Quarters of the Vizer Azem is the only fix'd Quarter in the Army and chosen with all the convenients that is consistent with the security of the Camp The little Turkish Vessels can land just by him without passing before the Town it lies upon the Road to Canea and Policastro and there is no Forrage but on that side His Troops are sheltered from the City by a little hill which gives also to the Besiegers an advantage to raise Batteries But its greatest Commodity is from the River Giofro which runs at the foot of the said Hill The River is not much bigger than the Gobelins at Paris and yet it contributes exceedingly to the miseries of the City of Candia for without those waters the Turks could not have subsisted so long At the beginning of the first Siege in the year 1648. some of the Venetians poisoned those waters without advising with their General and it was the destruction of above twenty thousand Turks which being no fair action according to the punctilio's of War the Turks who of themselves are not over-apt to give quarter revenged it effectually by most incredible barbarities I was astonished at the number and beauty of the Tents in that Quarter For the Hutts and Cabins for the common Soldiers I saw three great Boards that had served to make ten thousand of them You will ask what kind of things those Cabins are among the Turks and how they are built They take of the fattest earth they can find sprinkle it with water as they do Mortar and having marked out a proportion of it of about seven foot in length and six in breadth they take three large Planks and fasten them round as they were to make a Chest The Planks are used as a kind of Mould for the casting of these Cazernes for when the Boards are disposed right they throw more water upon the Mould and then let it stand till it be dry when it has stood long enough is grown to a consistence and is sufficiently stiff to stand by it self the Planks are taken away and imployed in another place Every one of these Cazernes or Cabins is allowed to be five foot high covered a top with certain old pieces of Wood over which they lay a little of their prepared Mould which they suffer to dry and with very good effect but for thatch it is not to be thought on in Candia where they have neither sowing nor reaping and trees are more scarce than straw the great ones have been all cut up to make their Palisadoes and Fortifications and the little ones have been burned In short each of those Caverns built according to the above-mentioned dimensions will receive twelve Souldiers but for greater numbers they are proportion'd accordingly The Grand Vizer was not lodged in a Tent they had built him a Serrai or Palace half a quarter of a league about The Turks presumed when he once sate down before the Town he would not suddenly rise again and therefore they thought fit his Quarters should be made durable The Walls of his Palace were of stone some six or eight foot high from the floor the rest of the House which in some places was two stories high was made of that sprinkled dirt dryed and a little old Timber In the Camp there were at least a hundred of these Serrai's set up by the Principal Officers for themselves The Serrai or Palace of Delli-Houssain-Pacha built in the time of the first Siege over against the Fort of Martinengoe was the most considerable of them all When the Army was drawn off and the Siege discontinued it was set on fire by the Venetians but the Beglerbey of Romulia has repair'd it again Before the Grand Vizers Serrai was a kind of a Gibbet set up with seven horse tails upon it each Beglerbey in the Army has six before his door But those are honorary and no more the Grand Vizer's is a great mark of authority When the Sultan in person is in the Camp he haâ— nine tailes before his Tent or Palace or where ever he lies The Aga of the Janizaries has no such thing before his though he be one of the most considerable Officers in the Army Before the Tents of the other Bassas there are two and six before the Caimacan of the Vizer who is in the nature of Super-intendant of the Army The Gibbet set up for these Tails before the Grand Vizer's Tent is four square and when the Army marches the square in which the Horse tails are fastened directs the way the Army is to take for if the tails be fastned towards the East their motion is to be that way and so in general all their Campments and Lodgements in their march are signified by that part of the horizon towards which the tails are hung Being got into the Camp each of us found some of our friends and immediately dispersed Amuret-Aga went one way and we another I continued with