London Central Secondary School - Golden Glimpses Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

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story. Stairways of wood are modern, but again based on the ancient wooden steps, beams, and window frames, which still remain, carbonized by the heat, now en- closed in glass or mica. Ancient iron gratings protect the windows, which in some cases are still of glass, just like ours. I thought the glass modern, but it was uncovered with the rest. The mosaics on the floors are beautiful, much more artistic than at Pom- peii. In several places the original wooden beds and stools are in their places, also marble tables and statues, little ornaments and other furnishings of a comfortable home. In the kitchens are cook stoves with cooking utensils on them, as they were left, and fire wood fnow charcoalj ready to burn. In one place I found a bowl of eggs beside a kitchen table. Then, too, there are iron gratings to the windows, just as used in Italy today, and actually two, at least wooden doors, with panels inset, as we do, only of finer work. The whole place seemed actually to live-and above it rises the modern town, a city over a city, and what a wealth of treasure still to be uncovered! I saw large public baths and marble swimming pools, with stone THE REVIEW benches and racks for clothingg lavatories with drains and running water to fiush them, and heating systems to warm the bath water and the rooms. Truly a city of luxury. The ancient amphitheatre, an open or uncovered theatre, was dis- covered by chance in the Middle Ages, when workmen were digging for a well. The huge shaft, some seventy feet high fnot deepj is still there, and one can look down from the upper city into the seats of the theatre below! Imagine an open air theatre, for about seven thou- sand people, now seventy feet or more under the city. Only small sections can be excavated, as it is of course necessary to leave the lava-like pillars to support the houses above. You descend a flight of modern steps, lighted by electricity, until you reach the top of the original theatre: then you continue to descend, gallery by gallery, to the lowest level,where you climb again onto the stage, and dressing rooms. In each gallery fthere were threej you see only a small section, as lava poured into the open windows, and finally over the top, until all was buried. At one point a skele- ton was found caked to the wall- a guard perhaps. Down on the 43 stage, feebly lit by tiny lights, you see the shadows flicker far above you, as the huge arches soar high overhead, and you shiver in the chill dampness as you listen, in the oppressive silence, to the distant rumble of the city's pulsing life, and to the water dripping slowly from stone to stone. I did not find anything so weird, so deeply charged with memories of the past, as this buried theatre, once high above ground, now oozing with icy water. From the theatre a tunnel led to the sea, to let in water for mock naval fights, but now the sea is far away. Also another tunnel leads to the excavated portions, several hundred feet away. The outer walls of the theatre are, of course, still imbedded in lava. Altogether Herculaneum im- pressed me profoundly, far more so than Pompeii, and I came away deeply stirred. I think a more cultured group lived in this little Campanian town, and very fine works of art, and writings are being recovered. The museum at Naples contains a magnificent collection of bronzes, taken from what was apparently a private museum here, the finest of which are probably two magnificent figures ofwrestlers. --J. B . IV. HERCULANEUM

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44 The Greek Flag The blue and white which form the colouring of the Greek flag shown in our illustration was adopted by the National Assembly at Epidaurus on january seventh, eighteen hundred and twenty-two. The stripes are nine in number- five blue and four white. In the upper corner of the hoist is a can- ton bearing a white cross on a blue ground. IIIIII The Citadel of Corinth Qfrom a Diary, 103-IJ . . . Haven't seen much of Tripolis, but what I have seen doesn't impress me favourably. It is quite a large city, but the streets are narrow and dirty, and there are no good restaurants or parks. There are, however, innumerable barber shops, and I had a shave and hair cut for five cents. . . . Secured a front seat on the bus, so that I could have a good view. I had thought that the road to Delphi was steep and wind- ing, but as there is a high moun- tain between Tripolis and Argos, only twenty-five miles or so away, this road is both very steep, and has more curves than a cork screw, No wonder people have the bus stopped while they get out to recover equilibrium-or whatever it is they recover. It took two hours to reach Argos, over a gravel road, now being resurfaced. From Argos to Corinth the road is very good. In fact, Greece now has THE REVIEW f Greece ' Editor-Nora Fetherstone many miles of either paved or well surfaced roads. I was told that it was six miles from Corinth, at the entrance to the canal, to the site of old Corinth, but I walked it, with a knapsack, on a very hot day, in about an hour, so it is not much more than three. Old Corinth is still inhabited, though it is only a tiny village, but new houses are being erected. Very extensive ruins have been excavated since 1929, but they say that only one one-hundredth of the total has been uncovered, so Corinth must have been a magni- ficent, if wicked, city. The climb up the abrupt slopes of the citadel hill, which is 1,886 feet high, took over an hour, but it was worth it. The citadel is very extensive and could contain a town of several thousandg indeed for several centuries during the troublous middle ages, it was the town. Here there are still good remains of French, Venetian and Turkish walls, towers, battlements, mosques and minarets, and it is said to be the finest group of forti- fications in Greece. One can easily see where later and much poorer fortifications have been added to remains of Greek and Roman walls, and in the main they follow the lines of the original fortifications, which go back to prehistoric times. The Citadel at Corinth I spent over three hours wander- ing there, absolutely alone, in the early evening. Some of the finest views in the world may be obtained from almost any point of the citadel. Far away to the east, through an opening in the is'and of Salamis, one can see the gleaming marble of the Parthenon. On all sides, far and near, rise mountains, range behind mountain range, until they fade in the blue grey mist of evening, or under the ' glowing splendour of the setting sun. Far below stretch for miles dark and bright green fiefds, and olive groves, with roads and rivulets winding through them like white and silver threads. Softly comes the faint tinkling of goat and sheep bells, and an occasional cry from the vil- lage. To the north opens out the Gulf of Corinth, four miles to the east, the Bay of Aegina, with the Corinthian canal connecting them. It seemed so. easy to build that I wondered why it took so many centuries, and so much money to complete. I discovered later that it had to be blasted through solid rock. . . . Eventually I found the ancient spring of Upper Peir- ene, which now has a cement roof. The steps are very slippery and worn .by thousands of years' use, but I managed to climb down in the dusk, and get a drink. The water is said to be pure. and I hoped so. In fact I counted over a dozen deep wells up there, many .with water, and there is a curious Byzantine brick vaulted well with steps. . . . managed to get a meal, of a sort, at the village, but found no place to sleep. The restaurant keeper eventually fixed up a mat- tress, pillow and rug on the cement verandah of a new store then being built. However, I should have slept well, had not four or five men and women on the next verandah carried on an animated conversa- tion until late into the night- and the mosquitoes were bad! DEI Greek Meals Butter and cheese are exceed- ingly scarce. Bean soup, olives, bread, good coffee and wine are the staples, if you like that kind of wine, mixed with water and very