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DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIONS

THEATER OF DIONYSUS.

IN PART III.

Dionysus, god of wine, was worshipped by songs and dances at an early period. From these celebrations, frequently boisterous_in__nature, developed the first Greek drama. The Greater and the Lesser Dionysia were observed during the later period of Greek ascendency, these being occasions when competitive plays were presented before large audiencesstill in honor of Dionysus.

The celebrated theatre in which these plays were performed in Athens was hewn out of the living rock, the seats having the form of steps rising tier upon tier. The entire structure was open to the sky.

THE ERECHTHEUM WITH PORCH OF THE Caryatides.

Erechtheus was a mythical king of Athens. Later he was revered much as a god, and the temple known as the Erechtheum was the very center of Athenian worship. This building was irregular in shape, and adhered to the Ionic style. The Porch of Caryatides, or Maidens, is very famous. Six female figures in stone support the roof in the place of columns. Modern architects have occasionally adopted the idea in certain buildings.

THE PARTHENON,

This was a temple erected in honor of Athena, protecting deity of that city. Begun by Cimon, the temple was completed under the direction of Phidias, greatest of Greek sculptors. It followed the style of Doric architecture, being a noted example of Greek simplicity. The pediments at the east and west ends set forth stories connected with the great goddess. One pictured Athena springing forth in full armor from the head of Zeus; the other recorded her contest with Poseidon for the naming of Athens.

Some of Phidias' finest work was done upon this temple.

Metope from the Parthenon.

The two friezes of the Parthenon are sometimes confused. One surrounded the cella and its vestibules, commemorating the Panathenean festival; the exterior frieze consisted of metopes and triglyphs. The best preserved metopes today were originally along the south side of the temple and picture scenes from the fabled contest between the Lapiths and Centaurs-a favorite subject with the Greeks. Some of these ninetytwo metopes are today in their original position; some in the British Museum; some in the Acropolis Museum.

TEMPLE OF WINGLESS VICTORY.

After their defeat of the Persians, the Greeks erected a temple to Victory-Nike. However, lest she should take flight and leave them, they represented her without her accustomed wings, hence Wingless Victory.

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DESCRIPTIONS OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN PART III.

ROMAN FORUM.

The Forum held the same relative position in Roman life that the Agora did in Greek life. Here the Senate held its deliberations, here men met daily for interchange of ideas, here until a later period the business of the Romans was transacted. Even after the various markets were relegated to other sections of Rome, still the courts were in the Forum and vital interest for a great nation centered here.

Of the many buildings which occupied this district, only a few pillars remain at the present time. A new city has grown up where an old one once stood, and the imagination must reconstruct the Forum of the past as best it may.

CLAUDIAN AQUEDUCT.

Rome's water supply came from a distance. It was possible to obtain pure mountain water by going from thirty to sixty miles outside of Rome. To convey it for such distances, huge aqueducts were constructed, nine supplying enough for the city's use. Ruins of these aqueducts today add picturesqueness to the landscape and constitute one of the few connecting links with antiquity.

SCHOOL OF GLADIATORS.

The ruins of a gladiatorial school has been laid bare by the spade of the excavator in Pompeii. Gladiatorial contests became so popular in Rome that criminals and captives taken in war were allowed to receive training and in this way escape immediate death. The training given was severe indeed and men thus inured to hardship and cruelty became a dangerous element in society-as the Gladiatorial War demonstrated.

THE APPIAN WAY.

This was one of the early thoroughfares of Rome. Built in an early day, it extended from the Servian wall to the city of Capua, some hundred and thirty miles southeast of the capital. Their early laws forbade the Romans to inter their dead within the city walls; consequently the space along roadsides was regarded as desirable for burial and the Appian Way became lined with tombs and monuments.

Travel out of Rome kept this road open in the vicinity of the city, but the south end lay covered by vegetation for hundreds of years. Finally in 1850, Pope Pius IX. put into action a plan for uncovering a portion of this old highway. Twelve miles of it were laid bare at an approximate cost of $15,000, and involving about three years' labor.

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