Ruins of Ancient Cities Part 25

In the upper end of the garden is a naked ledge of rocks[329], where Peter, James, and John slept. The exact limits of this, the most interesting and hallowed of all gardens, are not known, nor is it necessary to know them; but as we read that "Christ went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where there was a garden" (John xviii.

1), and that this garden was in the Mount of Olives, "we felt satisfied," says Mr. Robinson, "that we stood on the ground whereon the Saviour had stood before; and that the aged trees, which now afforded us shade, were the lineal descendants of those under which he often reposed; but more particularly on the night of his ascent. The grot, to which he retired on this occasion, and where, "falling down to the ground," in the agony of his soul, and "sweating," as it were, "great drops of blood," he was comforted by an angel (Luke xxii. 43, 44), is still shown, and venerated as such. It is excavated in the live rock, and the descent to it is by a flight of rudely cut steps; the form of the interior is circular, about fifteen feet in diameter, and the roof, which is supported by pilasters, perforated in the middle to admit light: there are some remains of sepulchres in the sides.

The cave of Gethsemane is in the valley of Jehoshaphat:--"It was to this cavern," says La Martine, "at the foot of the Mount of Olives, that Christ retired, according to tradition, to escape sometimes from the persecution of his enemies and the importunities of his disciples; it was here he communed with his own divine reflections, and that he implored his Father, that the bitter cup that he had filled for himself, and which we fill for ourselves, should pa.s.s from his lips. It was here that he enjoined his three disciples to watch and pray, the evening before his death, and not to sleep--and that three times he returned and awakened them, so p.r.o.ne is human zeal and charity to slumber. It was here he pa.s.sed the terrible hours of his agony--the ineffable struggle between life and death--between instinct and will--between the soul that wishes to be free, and matter, which resists because of its blindness.

It was here he sweated blood and water, and that, weary of combating with himself, without obtaining that victory of his intellect, which would give peace to his thoughts, he uttered those words, which sum up all human G.o.dliness; those words which are become the wisdom of the wise, and which ought to be the epitaph of every life, and the sole aspiration of every created being; 'My father, not my will, but thine, be done!'"

The Valley of Jehoshaphat[330] was a deep and narrow valley, enclosed on the north by barren heights, which contained the sepulchres of kings, shaded on the west by the heavy and gigantic walls of a pre-existing city; covered at the east by the summit of the Mount of Olives, and crossed by a torrent which rolled its bitter and yellow waves over the broken rocks of the valley of Jehoshaphat. At some paces distant, a black and bare rock detaches itself like a promontory from the base of the mountain, and, suspended over Cedron and the valley, bears several old tombs of kings and patriarchs, formed in gigantic and singular architecture, and strikes like the bridge of death over the valley of lamentations.

The fountain of Siloam[331] rises about half way down Mount Sion, and gushes from beneath a little arch, nearly ten feet below the surface, into a small pool about two feet deep; this is quite open, and the rocky sides of the spot are cut smooth. On the south side a flight of steps leads down to it: the water is clear and cold, and flows down the mount into the valley beneath, to a considerable distance. At this stream the women of the city generally come to wash their linen; and its banks are in some parts shaded with trees[332].

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre has the external appearance of a Roman Catholic church. Over the door is a bas-relief, executed in a style of sculpture which at first sight implies an antiquity higher than that of any Christian place of worship; but, upon a nearer view, is recognized the history of the Messiah's entry into Jerusalem. Dr. Clarke is, therefore, disposed to think, that it offers an example of the first work in which Pagan sculptors represented a Christian theme. The interior of this fabric is divided into two parts; and in the anti-chapel is shown the mouth of what is called the sepulchre, the stone whereon the angel sat: this is a block of white marble[333].

The Stone of Unction is covered by a slab of polished marble in the floor of the entrance hall of the Holy Sepulchre. On this the body of Christ was washed, anointed, and prepared for the tomb. (St. John, xix.

39.) It is surrounded by a low rail; and several rich lamps are hung suspended over it. Advancing a few paces to the left, we come into that part of the church, properly denominated the nave. It is an open s.p.a.ce in the form of a circle, about thirty-five paces in diameter, and surrounded by sixteen pillars, supporting galleries, and covered in by a dome, not unlike that of the Pantheon at Rome. In the centre of this area, and immediately under the aperture through which the light is admitted, rises a small oblong building of marble, twenty feet in length, by ten in breadth, and about fifteen feet in height, surmounted by a small cupola, standing upon columns; this covers the supposed site of the Saviour's tomb. It is approached by steps leading into an anti-room, or chapel[334].

The following account is given by Dr. Richardson:--"Having pa.s.sed within these sacred walls," says he, "the attention is first directed to a large flat stone in the floor, a little within the door; it is surrounded by a rail, and several lamps hang suspended over it. The pilgrims approach it on their knees, touch and kiss it, and, prostrating themselves before it, offer up their prayers in holy adoration. This is the stone, it is said, on which the body of our Lord was washed and anointed, and prepared for the tomb. Turning to the left, and proceeding a little forward, we came into a round s.p.a.ce immediately under the dome, surrounded with sixteen large columns which support the gallery above.

In the centre of this s.p.a.ce stands the Holy Sepulchre; it is enclosed in an oblong house, rounded at one end, with small arcades, or chapels for prayer, on the outside of it. These are for the Copts, the Abyssinians, the Syrian Maronites, and other Christians, who are not, like the Roman Catholics, the Greeks, and Armenians, provided with large chapels in the body of the church. At the other end it is squared off, and furnished with a platform in front, which is ascended by a flight of steps, having a small parapet wall of marble on each hand, and floored with the same material. In the middle of this small platform, stands a block of polished marble, about a foot and a half square; on this stone (it is said) sat the angel, who announced the blessed tidings of the resurrection to Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. Advancing, and taking off our shoes and turbans at the desire of the keeper, he drew aside the curtain, and stepping down, and bending almost to the ground, we entered by a low narrow door into this mansion of victory, where Christ triumphed over the grave, and disarmed Death of all his terrors. Here the mind looks on Him, who, though He knew no sin, yet entered the mansion of the dead to redeem us from death, and the prayers of a grateful heart ascend with a risen Saviour to the presence of G.o.d in heaven."

"Christians," says Mons. Chateaubriand, "will inquire, perhaps, what my feelings were on entering this holy place? I really cannot tell. So many reflections rushed at once into my mind, that I was unable to dwell upon any particular idea. I continued near half an hour upon my knees, in the little chamber of the Holy Sepulchre, with my eyes riveted upon the stone, from which I had not the power to turn them. One of the two monks, who accompanied me, remained prostrate on the marble by my side; while the other, with the Testament in his hand, read to me, by the light of the lamps, the pa.s.sages relating to the sacred tomb. All I can say is, that when I beheld this triumphant sepulchre, I felt nothing but my own weakness; and that when my guide exclaimed, with St. Paul, 'O Death, where is thy victory? O Grave, where is thy sting?' I listened, as if Death was about to reply, that he was conquered, and enchained in this monument[335]."

NO. XLV.--LACEDaeMON, OR SPARTA.

Leliae, the first king of Laconia, began his reign about 1516 years before the Christian era. Tyndarus[336], the ninth king of Lacedaemon, had, by Leda, Castor and Pollux, who were twins, besides Helena, and Clytemnestra, the wife of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae. Having survived his son, he began to think of choosing a successor, by looking out for a husband for his daughter Helena. All the pretenders to this princess bound themselves by oath, to abide by, and entirely submit to, the choice which the lady herself should make, who determined in favour of Menelaus. She had not lived above three years with her husband, before she was carried off by Paris, son of Priam, king of the Trojans, which rape was the cause of the Trojan war. The Greeks took Troy after a siege of ten years, about the year of the world 2820, and 1184 before Christ.

Eighty years after the taking of this city, the Heraclidae re-entered the Peloponnesus, and seized Lacedaemon; when two brothers, Eurysthenes and Procles, sons of Aristodemus, began to reign together, and from their time the sceptre always continued jointly in the hands of the descendants of those two families.

Many years after this, Lycurgus inst.i.tuted that body of laws, which rendered both the legislature and the republic so famous in history: and since the const.i.tution of Lycurgus seems to have been the true groundwork of our own, we insert some few particulars in respect to it; for the ruins of inst.i.tutions are even more important subjects of contemplation than those of the walls in which they were engendered. The following account is taken from Rollin. We have not s.p.a.ce, however, for the whole of his observations; we shall select, therefore, only the most important ones. Of all the inst.i.tutions, made by Lycurgus, the most considerable was that of the senate; which, by tempering and balancing the too absolute power of the kings by an authority of equal weight and influence with theirs, became the princ.i.p.al support and preservation of the state. For whereas, before, it was ever unsteady, and tending one while to tyranny, by the violent proceedings of the kings; at other times towards democracy, by the excessive power of the people, the senate served as a kind of counterpoise to both; which kept the state in a due equilibrium, and preserved it in a firm and steady situation; the twenty-eight senators, of which it consisted, siding with the king, when the people were aiming at too much power; and, on the other hand, espousing the interests of the people whenever the kings attempted to carry their authority too far.

Lycurgus having thus tempered the government, those that came after him thought the power of the senate too absolute; and, therefore, as a check upon them, they devised the authority of the Ephori. These were five in number, and remained but one year in office. They were all chosen out of the people, and in that respect considerably resembled the tribunes of the people among the Romans. Their authority extended to the arresting and imprisoning the persons of their kings. This inst.i.tution began in the reign of Theopompus, whose wife reproached him, that he would leave his children the regal authority in a worse condition than he had received it. "No!" said he, "on the contrary, I shall leave it them in a much better condition; as it will be more permanent and lasting." The Spartan government then was not purely monarchical. The n.o.bility had a share in it, and the people were not excluded. Each part of this body politic, in proportion as it contributed to the public good, found in it their advantage.

The second inst.i.tution of Lycurgus was the division of the lands, which he looked upon as absolutely necessary for establishing peace and good order in the commonwealth. The major part of the people were so poor, that they had not one inch of land of their own, whilst a small number of particular persons were possessed of all the lands and wealth of the country. In order to banish insolence, envy, fraud, luxury, and two other distempers of the state, still greater and more ancient than those, excessive poverty and excessive wealth, he persuaded the citizens to give up all their lands to the commonwealth, and to make a new division of them.

This scheme, as extraordinary as it was, was immediately executed.

Lycurgus divided the lands of Laconia into thirty thousand parts, which he distributed among an equal number of citizens. It is said that, some years after, as Lycurgus was returning from a long journey, and pa.s.sing through the lands of Laconia, in the time of harvest, and observing, as he went along, the perfect equality of the reaped corn, he turned towards those who were with him, and said smilingly, "Does not Laconia look like the possession of several brothers, who have just been dividing their inheritance among them?"

After having divided their immoveables, he undertook likewise to make the same equal division of all their moveable goods and chattels, that he might utterly banish all manner of equality from among them. But perceiving that this would go against the grain, if he went openly about it, he endeavoured to effect it by sapping the very foundations of avarice. For first he cried down all gold and silver money, and ordained that no other should be current than that of iron; which he made so very heavy, and fixed at so low a rate, that a cart and two oxen were necessary to carry home a sum of ten minas (about 20_l._), and a whole chamber to keep it in.

Being desirous to make a yet more effectual war upon luxury, and utterly to extirpate the love of riches, Lycurgus made a third regulation, which was that of public meals. That he might entirely suppress all the magnificence and extravagance of expensive tables, he ordained, that all the citizens should eat together of the same common victuals, which the law prescribed, and expressly forbade all private eating at their own houses. The tables consisted of about fifteen persons each; where none could be admitted but with the consent of the whole company. Each person furnished, every month, a bushel of flour, eight measures of wine, five pounds of cheese, two and a half pounds of figs, and a small sum of money for preparing and cooking the food. The very children ate at these public tables, and were carried thither as to a school of wisdom and temperance. Nay, they were sure to see nothing but what tended to their instruction and entertainment. The conversation was often enlivened with ingenious and sprightly raillery, but never intermingled with any thing vulgar or shocking; and if their jesting seemed to make any person uneasy, they never proceeded any farther. Here their children were likewise trained up, and accustomed to great secrecy; as soon as a young man came into the dining-room, the oldest of the company used to say to him, pointing to the door, "Nothing spoken here must ever go out there."

Lycurgus looked upon the education of youth as the greatest and most important object of a legislator's care. His grand principle was, that children belonged more to the state than to their parents; and, therefore, he would not have them brought up according to their humours and fancies; he would have the state intrusted with the general care of their education, in order to have them formed upon correct and uniform principles, which might inspire them betimes with the love of virtue and of their country.

The most usual occupation of the Lacedaemonians was hunting, and other bodily exercises. They were forbidden to exercise any mechanic art: the Elotae, a sort of slaves, tilled their land for them; for which they were paid a certain revenue by way of wages. Lycurgus would have his citizens enjoy a great deal of leisure: they had common halls, where the people used to meet to converse together; and though their discourses chiefly turned upon grave and serious topics, yet they seasoned them with a mixture of wit and facetious humour, both agreeable and instructive.

They pa.s.sed little of their time alone; being accustomed to live like bees, always together, always about their chiefs and leaders. The love of their country and of the public good was their predominant pa.s.sion; and they did not imagine they belonged to themselves but to their country.

The end Lycurgus proposed was the public happiness: convinced that the happiness of a city, like that of a private person, depends upon virtue, and upon being well within himself. He regulated Lacedaemon so as it might always suffice to its own happiness, and act upon principles of wisdom and equity. From thence arose that universal esteem of the neighbouring people, and even of strangers, for the Lacedaemonians, who asked them neither money, ships, nor troops; but only that they should lend them a Lacedaemonian to command their armies; and when they had obtained their request, they paid him certain obedience, with every kind of honour and respect.

There were a mult.i.tude of other regulations, some of which were, doubtless, of a very imperfect tendency; but it is certain that the declension of Sparta began with the violation of Lycurgus's laws. No sooner had the ambition of reigning over all Greece inspired them with the design of having naval armies and foreign troops, and that money was necessary for the support of those forces, than Lacedaemon, forgetting her ancient maxims, saw herself reduced to have recourse to the Barbarians, which, till then, she had detested, and basely to betray her court to the kings of Persia, whom she had formerly vanquished with so much glory; and that only to draw from them some aids of money and troops against their own brethren; that is to say, against people born and settled in Greece, like themselves. Thus had they the imprudence and misfortune to recal, with gold and silver, all the vices and crimes which the iron money had banished; and to prepare the way to the changes which ensued, and were the causes of their ruin. And this infinitely exalts the wisdom of Lycurgus, in having foreseen at such a distance what might strike at the happiness of his citizens, and provided salutary remedies against it in the form of government he established at Lacedaemon.

Ancient Sparta is thus described by Polybius:--"It is of a circular form, and forty-eight stadia in circ.u.mference, situated in a plain, but containing some rough places and eminences. The Eurotas flows to the east, and the copiousness of its waters renders it too deep to be forded during the greater part of the year. The hills, on which the Menelaion is situated, are on the south-east of the city, on the opposite side of the river. They are rugged, difficult of ascent, and throw their shadows over the s.p.a.ce which is between the city and the Eurotas. The river flows close to the foot of the hills, which are not above a stadium and a half from the city." Its former condition is thus described by Anacharsis:--"The houses at Lacedaemon are small, and without ornament.

Halls and porticos have been erected, to which the citizens resort to converse together, or transact business. On the south side of the city is the hippodromus, or course for foot and horse races; and at a little distance from that, the platanistas, or place of exercise for youth, shaded by beautiful plane-trees, and inclosed by the Eurotas on one side, a small river which falls into it, and a ca.n.a.l, by which they communicate, on the other. It is entered by two bridges, on one of which is the statue of Hercules, or 'All-subduing Force;' and on the other that of Lycurgus, or 'All-regulating Law.'"

In what condition is this celebrated city at present? "Pa.s.sing over the Eurotas," says Mr. Dodwell, "we viewed the first remains of the Lacedaemonian capital, now called Palaio-Kastro, consisting of uncertain traces and heaps of large stones, tossed about in a sort of promiscuous wreck. In a few minutes we reached the theatre, which is of large dimensions. The Koilon is excavated in the hill, which rose nearly in the middle of the city, and which served as an Acropolis. The theatre appears of Roman construction, and the walls of the proscenium are princ.i.p.ally of brick. The white marble, of which, Pausanias says, it was composed, has disappeared. Near the theatre are the remains of a Roman brick tower. Sparta was originally without walls, and Lycurgus prohibited their erection. Justin a.s.serts that the Spartans first surrounded their capital with walls, when Ca.s.sander entered the Peloponnesus; according to Livy, they were built by the tyrant; and Plutarch says they were destroyed by Philopoemen. Pausanias a.s.serts, that the walls were constructed with precipitate haste, when Demetrius and Pyrrhus besieged Sparta. They were afterwards strongly fortified by the tyrant Nabis, and destroyed by the Achaeans, by whom, it appears, they were afterwards rebuilt.

A fine sepulchral chamber, of a square form, regularly constructed with large blocks, is situated nearly opposite the theatre, and a short distance from it. It has been opened, and the interior is found to be composed of brick-work. Many other ruins are dispersed in this direction, some of which are of Roman origin. They appear to have suffered more from sudden violence than from gradual decay; and have, no doubt, been torn to pieces to supply materials for the modern town of Misithra. Several inscriptions have also been found. From all this, it will appear, that Chateaubriand is not quite correct, when he a.s.serts, that "SPARTA is occupied by the single hut of a goat-herd, whose wealth consists in the crop, that grows upon the graves of Agis and Agesilaus."[337]

NO. XLVI.--LAODICEA.

This city was long an inconsiderable place; but it increased towards the age of Augustus. The fertility of the soil, and the good fortune of some of its citizens, raised it to greatness. Several persons bequeathed large sums to it; amongst whom may be particularly mentioned, Hiero, Zeno the rhetorician, and Polemo his son. The first bequeathed it no less than 2000 talents.

In ancient times Laodicea collected a very considerable revenue from its flocks of sheep, celebrated for the fineness of their wool. "Under the reign of the Caesars," says an elegant writer, "the proper Asia alone contained five hundred populous cities, enriched with all the gifts of nature, and adorned with all the refinements of art. Eleven cities of Asia had once disputed the honour of dedicating a temple to Tiberius, and their respective merits were examined by the senate. Four of them were immediately rejected, as unequal to the burthen; and among these was Laodicea, whose splendour is still displayed in its ruins, and had received, a little before the contest, a legacy of above 400,000_l._ by the testament of a generous citizen. If such was the poverty of Laodicea, what must have been the wealth of those cities whose pretensions were admitted?"

It was first called Ramitha; but being, in process of time, greatly embellished by Seleucus Nicator, he took advantage of his benefaction, and called it Laodicea in honour of his mother. Caesar afterwards named it Juliopolis. It was in process of time included in the empire of Saladin, conquered by Sultan Selim, and not long after nearly destroyed by an earthquake.

It was rebuilt by a Turkish Aga. "It is thus a curiosity in its way,"

says a French Geography, "being indebted for its revival to a race of people who usually confine their exertions to the work of destruction."

The ruins of this city have been described by several travellers. We shall select the details left by Dr. Chandler and Mr. Kinneir. The first ruin, says the former, is the remains of an amphitheatre, of an oblong form, the area of which is about one thousand feet in extent, with many seats remaining. At the west end is a wide vaulted pa.s.sage, about one hundred and forty feet long, designed for the horses and chariots; near it is an arch, with an inscription on the mouldings, in large Greek characters, "_To the Emperor t.i.tus Caesar Augustus Vespasian, seven times consul, son of the Emperor, the G.o.d, Vespasian; and to the people_," &c.

By another ruin is a pedestal, with an inscription: "_The senate and people have honoured Tatia, daughter of Nicostratus, son of Pericles, a new heroine, both on account of the magistracy and ministries and public works of her father, and on account of her great uncle, Nicostratus, who lately, besides his other benefactions, was priest of the city, and changed the stadium into an amphitheatre._"

On the north side of the amphitheatre is the ruin of an ample edifice.

In consists of many piers, and arches of stone, with pedestals and marble fragments. On the west side lies a large stone with an inscription: The city "_has exalted Ased, a man of sanct.i.ty and piety, recorder for life; on account of the services he has performed to his country_."

There are remains also of an Odeum. The seats remain in the side of the hill. The whole was of marble. The proscenium lies a confused heap of ruins. Sculpture had been lavished upon it, and the style savoured less of Grecian taste than of Roman magnificence.

Beyond the Odeum are seen some marble arches, of, it is supposed, a gymnasium. Westward are three other marble arches, crossing a dry valley, as a bridge. There are also traces of the city walls, with broken columns and pieces of marble. Within, the whole surface is filled with pedestals and columns.

According to Mr. Kinneir, the greatest ornament is a triumphal arched structure, of a square plan, between thirty and forty feet in height, and encircled near the top with a handsome entablature. The arches, four in number, are in the Roman style of architecture, supposed to have been erected in honour of Caesar, the patron of the city; or Germanicus, who died at Daphne, and was greatly beloved by the Syrians. The corners are adorned with handsome pilasters of the Corinthian order, and one of its fronts exhibits a ba.s.so-relievo with martial instruments; hence another traveller is inclined to suppose that it formed part of a temple dedicated to Mars. At no great distance from this, stands a mosque, evidently built from the ruins of another ancient edifice, of which several columns of a portico still stand; and amidst rocks and crags along the sea-sh.o.r.e may be observed a prodigious number of small catacombs, Dr. Shaw mentions several rows of porphyry and granite pillars.

We cannot close this account without citing what has been recently said of the inhabitants and environs of this city:--"The environs of Ledikea having many olive grounds, gardens, little country retreats, and places of pleasure, the inhabitants are all fond of rural recreation; and those who cannot find time for a longer excursion, seat themselves along the sides of the public roads, both in the morning and in the evening, to enjoy the freshness of the air, and, as they themselves say, to lengthen out their days by delight[338]."

NO. XLVII.--LEUCTRA.

This city (in Boeotia) is famous for having been the scene of a great battle between the Thebans and the Lacedaemonians, July 8, B.C. 371.

The two armies were very unequal in number[339]. That of the Lacedaemonians consisted of twenty-four thousand foot, and sixteen hundred horse. The Thebans had only six thousand foot, and four hundred horse; but all of them choice troops, animated by their experience of the war, and determined to conquer or die. The Lacedaemonian cavalry, composed of men picked up by chance, without valour, and ill disciplined, was as much inferior to their enemies in courage as superior in number. The infantry could not be depended on, except the Lacedaemonians; their allies having engaged in the war with reluctance, because they did not approve the motive of it, and were besides dissatisfied with the Lacedaemonians.

Upon the day of battle, the two armies drew up on a plain. Cleombrotus was upon the right, consisting of Lacedaemonians, on whom he confided most. To take the advantage which his superiority of horse gave him in an open country, he posted them in the front of the Lacedaemonians.