Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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Delphi — the famous bronze statue of a young charioteer, tall, noble and distinguished- looking. That reminded us of the games and races held there in honour of the God, and we looked for the stadium. Not far from the Museum we came upon the open-air theatre, where Prometheus Bound was produced eight years ago. The acoustics are perfect and what a setting for a play! A zig-zag path up what appeared to be impenetrable rock brought us suddenly to a ledge which stretched away into a perfectly constructed stadium, hewn out of the hillside with a seating capacity of seven thousand. Overhead circled eagles, looking in their strength and dignity, the very embodiment of the spirit of the place. The view from this height was magnificent. But we were rather breathless after our climb, and how competitors ever reached these heights, without being winded, puzzled us a little. However our guide reminded us a little reproachfully that Lord Byron had come all the way from the sea on foot, his heart on fire to see Delphi. At that we were a little ashamed, especially when glancing down we saw our rather unsightly bus in the midst of all these stupendous surroundings, perched on the Sacred Way. We were quite glad when someone gave the order that it should go on and wait for us at the next village. And so like pilgrims of old we walked out of Delphi on foot. That was our last glimpse of Greece, and I could not have wished a fairer one. In the evening we sailed westward along the Gulf of Corinth, the mountains burnished with the glory of the setting sun, Parnassus towering on our right. Helicon behind us, the Achaean Mountains on our left and everywhere that subtle revealing light, which must surely be the despair of painters. We passed Missolonghi, where Byron died for Greece, and as darkness fell, sailed straight for Ithaca, knowing, like a great traveller of old, that our wanderings were over, and our ship was set for home. E. K. Bryan. DAWN A mountain lake in quiet stillness sleeps; Beneath the stars the night is almost gone. When, stealthily, from o ' er the hills, there creeps A freshening breeze, the Messenger of Dawn. When all is still, soon in the Eastern Sky A warming glow arises, and it draws The mists of night, and dims the stars on high. And gloriously expands without a pause. The leaves begin to rustle on the trees. The loon calls to his mate, his laughing cry. And all the little animals, and birds, and bees Begin to stir. The trout rise to the fly The guide awaits you at the first portage As dawns another day o ' er Lac Sauvage. Betty Smith, Matriculation II, Barclay House. [25]

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Parnassus. We passed through the little village of Kastri which once stood on the site of the sanctuary, but forty years ago the French School of Archaeology removed it — lock, stock and barrel — and thus set Delphi free for the excavations which have had such remarkable results. So to-day there is nothing modern in Delphi, nothing but the remains of her past greatness set in a scene of lonely and impressive grandeur. Here is a vast natural amphitheatre, a hollow glade, rugged yet lovely, a cleft between two enormous rocks, called the Shining Ones, from which water — the sacred spring of Castaly — gushes forth as freely to-day as it did three thousand years ago when men first felt the presence of the gods here. For from earliest times this was a holy spot, where Earth and Water were worshipped, and Earth ' s child, the serpent, long before the Sun- God came. But when the Lord Apollo came, he slew the serpent, and, not forgetting to take its name Pytho, established this as his own sanctuary, making it the religious centre of the ancient world. Men came from all over Greece, from Egypt, and from the East to consult the oracle and to hear what was the will of the God. They put their question to the priests, who pondered on it and in their turn gave it to the priestess, generally a simple village woman, chosen for her blameless life. Seated on a tripod close by the strange vapours arising from the rocks, she, excited as if by mesmeric influence, uttered wild and whirling words which none but the priests could understand. They trans- lated this mystery as they thought best, and gave the answer, generally expressed in veiled and cryptic words, to the suppliant, who turned it over in his mind on his way home. Thus it can easily be seen that the oracle at Delphi was controlled by the priests, as astute and subtle a body of men as ever lived, well versed in world politics, and with a good knowledge of human nature. They had to answer all sorts of questions. Some were about a proposed marriage or a business enterprise; others dealt with larger issues — questions of war and peace, colonization, art and education. Nothing was too great or too trivial but the priests had an answer for it. The fact that it was given in rather am- biguous words enabled them to save face if their advice turned out badly, as in the well-known story of the oracle ' s reply to Croesus of Lydia about his projected invasion of Persia. But on the whole the advice was good, and it was the oracle at Delphi that declared Socrates was the wisest of men and so started him on his mission of converting men to truth. Replies like this show its fame was well founded and explain how, for over a thousand years, it was the supreme court of appeal for the whole Greek world. All wanted to stand well with it — and gifts poured into it from every side, often from cities warring with one another. Every state turned to this distant sanctuary throned high and aloof on the wind-swept hills. We felt that aloofness, that sense of being apart in Delphi. Never had the Greek instinct for choosing the right spot to build guided them more surely than in their choice of Delphi. We visited the ruins of the temple of Apollo and walking along the Sacred wayj saw the treasury of the Athenians and the statues on the hillside looking like gods and goddesses who had halted for a moment. In the museum we saw the greatest treasure of [24]

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COLOUR IN MODERN LIFE COLOUR is playing an increasingly important part in modern life. The advent of psychology has made us more conscious of colour, and it is being used in many ways that had not been thought of fifty years ago. Doctors have recently discovered that colour can be used to help cure patients who are slow in recuperating from an operation. Patients left in the old type of dead white hospital room are not as apt to get well as fast as those in a gayly coloured ward or room. The reason for this is simple. Colour raises morale, which in turn helps the patient to a faster recovery. Nurses also find that wards painted in colour are less tiring to work in than dead white ones. This has been proven in several hospitals where one wing has been painted in colour and the rest of the building left white. At the new wing, there came a flood of transfer applications from the nurses, asking to be put on duty in the coloured wards. Operating rooms are now painted light green, and surgeons and nurses wear light green operating gowns, not to look more attractive, but to reduce glare. This idea is used at the Neurological Institute, where the most delicate work is done con- stantly. Colour is now used to treat certain types of insanity, for scientists have learned that certain colours have definite effects on people. Blue is a cold colour. Not only does it make one feel physically cold, but it dampens the spirits. Red is the opposite. It intensifies and heats one. Red is a colour that makes one work better. Green induces relaxation, bright yellow gaiety. These are but a few colours and their effects. There are many more, each producing different effects. Colour in not confined to medical science. Air- transport and train companies must be careful in the colours they choose for decorative purposes. There are certain yellows and green they dare not use, for fear their patron might become air-sick or train-sick. Colour is now more daringly used for home decorating purposes. During the Elizabethan and Victorian ages, clothes were bright but homes were dark as caverns. Today woodwork is white, mixed with a touch of yellow, blue or red, to harmonize with the rest of the room and to take the deadness from the white. Rooms are decorated with light, warm colours, with contrasting rugs and furnishings. Everywhere bright colours are used. The New York World ' s Fair is in itself a huge experiment in the use of colour. The buildings are laid out like the spokes of a wheel. Each of the Avenues is decorated in one bright colour. Every building of that Avenue must be of, say, bright blue. The flowers have been planted so that when they blossom, they will harmonize with their surroundings. When the Fair opens the buildings will be a little too bright, but this is to allow for fading. By August it will have reached perfection. These are but a few of the ways in which colour is used today. But from these we see how much it affects our life and well-being. Lyn Berens, Form Va, Riddell House. [26]