thenon occurred in the year
1687," continued the professor, resuming his story with as much sadness
in his voice as if the disaster had been a personal loss. "Greece was
then under the rule of the Sultan, and the Parthenon was used by his
army as a powder magazine. The Venetians at war with the Turks,
besieging Athens, bombarded the city. A shell descended into the
Parthenon, and in a moment's time the most magnificent architectural
structure of ancient times, the pride of centuries, lay shattered in the
ruins we see before us."

"The Parthenon in twenty-four centuries has seen many religious
changes. Built first as a temple of idolatry, it became under the Romans
a Roman Catholic Cathedral, under the Greeks again a Greek Christian
Church, and then under the Sultan's rule a Mohammedan Mosque."

[Illustration: THE PREDOMINATING COLOR OF THE CITY IS YELLOW.]

The professor wished to apologize for detaining us with the length of
his explanations but he was overwhelmed with expressions of appreciation
for his kindness.

[Illustration: THE THEATRE OF BACCHUS HAS TIERS OF STONE SEATS.]

"Why," said one of the tourists, "we have sailed half way around the
world to see these ruins, and yet some of us have so neglected history
and mythology that, we are ashamed to say, our knowledge of the history
of Greece and the stories of its heroes is extremely limited. I am
indeed grateful and trust that you will be patient with our ignorance."

[Illustration: THE FRONT OF THE STAGE CARVED WITH GROTESQUE FIGURES.]

After walking through the small museum on the Acropolis where a number
of interesting relics are on exhibition, we lingered awhile on a little
platform at the northeast corner of the Acropolis from which an
excellent view of the city may be obtained. As seen from this view-point
the predominating color of the city is yellow. The buildings erected of
stone, and plastered or frescoed, are white, or yellow, or light pink,
or combinations of yellow and white, and the roofs appear to be covered
with yellow tiles. Below us to the right we saw the ruined columns of
the Temple of Jupiter, and the white palace and the royal gardens of the
king. Across the valley beyond the city we could see the prominent steep
rock named Lycabettus with the chapel of St. George on the summit, and
ten miles away we could make out dimly Mt. Pentelicus, from which all
the white marble for the temples was quarried, and Mt. Hymettus, in a
region noted