SECTION III. THE ISLANDS OF THE EGEAN SEA. SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION. 1. Geographical Position, &c.-2. Steamers and Accommodation for Travellers, &c. 1. GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION, &c. THE Ægean Sea is that part of the Mediterranean called by the Italians the Archipelago (probably a corrupted form of Aiyaïo réλayos, the Greek name), and by the Turks the White Sea, to distinguish it from the Black Sea, or Euxine. It is bounded on the N. by Macedonia and Thrace, on the W. by Greece, and on the East by Asia Minor. Its extent has been differently estimated, and ancient writers have divided it into the Thracian, the Myrtoan, the Icarian, and the Cretan seas; but the generic name is usually applied to the whole expanse of water as far S. as the islands of Crete and Rhodes. The derivation is probably from alvis, a squall, on account of its frequent and sudden storms; but other etymologies have been given. The navigation of the Ægean has been dangerous and intricate in all ages, on account of its numerous islands and rocks, which occasion eddies of wind and a rough sea, and also on account of the Etesian, or northerly winds, which blow with great fury, especially about the equinoxes. The ancient poets frequently allude to these storms. The appearance of most of the Ægean islands, on first approaching them, is exceedingly similar. Instead of the rich verdure and fragrant groves of Corfu and Zante, they generally present at a distance rude cliffs and verdureless acclivities, whose unformity is scarcely broken by a single tree, and whose loneliness is seldom enlivened by a village or a human habitation. "The currents of the tideless sea," says Sir J. E. Tennent, "glide wavelessly around their shores, and the rays of the unclouded sun beam fiercely down on their unsheltered hills, 'dimmed with a haze of light." On landing, however, every islet presents a different aspect; and every secluded hamlet a new picture of life, of manners, of costume, and sometimes of dialect. "The soil of one is rich, luxurious, and verdant; that of a second, only a few miles distant, is dry, scorched, and volcanic; the harbour of another is filled with the little trading craft of all the surrounding ports : its quays rife with the hum and hurry of commerce, and its coffee-houses crowded with the varied inhabitants of a hundred trading-marts; whilst a fourth, of equal capacities, and barely an hour's sail beyond it, will be as quiet and noiseless as a city of the plague; its shores unvisited, its streets untrodden, and its fields untilled. But such is the result of that tenacity to ancient usages, and that predilection for the pursuits, the habits, and the tastes of their forefathers, which vindicates the title of the unchanging East. From age to age the natives of these secluded spots have continued to preserve those customs and those manners whose antiquity is now their greatest charm, and which long association has rendered it almost sacrilegious to alter or abandon.” The islands of the Ægean are divided into two principal groups :—1. The Cyclades, so named from their encircling the holy sanctuary of Delos; and 2. The Sporades, which derive their name from being, as it were, sown in a wavy line off the coasts of Macedonia, Thrace, and Asia Minor. The Cyclades belong to the kingdom of Greece; the Sporades, with the exception of the group lying off the northern extremity of Euboea, are still under the dominion of Turkey, though the Ottomans have rarely settled in them; and they have been almost invariably treated with less oppression than the continental provinces of the Sultan. To the Sporades, therefore, the glorious verses which Byron put into the mouth of a Greek before the Revolution, are still applicable. THE ISLES OF GREECE. The Isles of Greece, the Isles of Greece! Where burning Sappho loved and sung, Where grew the arts of war and peace, Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung! The hero's harp, the lover's lute, And Marathon looks on the sea; I dream'd that Greece might still be free; For, standing on the Persians' grave, I could not deem myself a slave. A king sate on the rocky brow Which looks o'er sea-born Salamis; And men in nations;-all were his! The heroic bosom beats no more! Even as I sing, suffuse my face; Ah! no;-the voices of the dead In vain-in vain: strike other chords; And shed the blood of Scio's vine The nobler and the manlier one? He served-but served Polycrates- Was freedom's best and bravest friend; That tyrant was Miltiades! Oh! that the present hour would lend Another despot of the kind! Such chains as his were sure to bind. Fill high the bowl with Samian wine! On Suli's rock, and Parga's shore, Exists the remnant of a line Such as the Doric mothers bore; And there, perhaps, some seed is sown, The Heracleidan blood might own. Trust not for freedom to the Franks'They have a king who buys and sells : In native swords, and native ranks, The only hope of courage dwells: But Turkish force, and Latin fraud, Would break your shield, however broad. Fill high the bowl with Samian wine! Our virgins dance beneath the shadeI see their glorious black eyes shine; But, gazing on each glowing maid, My own the burning tear-drop laves, To think such breasts must suckle slaves. Place me on Sunium's marbled steep, Where nothing, save the waves and I, May hear our mutual murmurs sweep; There, swan-like, let me sing and die : A land of slaves shall ne'er be mine Dash down yon cup of Samian wine! 2. STEAMERS, ACCOMMODATION FOR TRAVELLERS, &c. Syra (Zúgos, Sira) must be the head-quarters of the traveller in the Ægean. Here are several small inns; the best is the Hôtel d'Angleterre. In all the other islands strangers must generally rely on getting lodgings in private * Homer and Anacreon. houses; and they should endeavour to procure letters of introduction to the authorities, &c. Syra is the centre of the steam navigation of the Levant; and steamers, English, French, and Austrian, are constantly arriving from and departing to Malta, Athens, Syria, Smyrna, Thessalonica, Constantinople, &c. The packets between Smyrna and Constantinople generally touch at Chios, Lesbos, and Tenedos; and there is occasional communication by steam with others of the islands; but the great majority can be visited only in sailing boats, and these can be hired with ease at Syra. (See GENERAL INTRODUCTION, letter h.) Let the traveller beware of engaging a captain who is not recommended by the consul, or some equally good authority; and let him reduce his bargain to writing, or he will find that the voyage will be turned more to the convenience of his crew than of himself. In this part of the Mediterranean islands are so numerous that the navigation seems rather inland than at sea. One cluster is never lost sight of until a second rises to view; and as the seamen who traffic from port to port form numerous acquaintances at each, a trip through the gean is, to a Greek, merely a succession of visits to old friends, since he generally parts with one in the morning to sup with another at night. The propensity of the Greek sailors for putting in at every port which they approach is cleverly illustrated by Leigh Hunt: "A merchant, while sailing from Greece to Trieste, himself one of the earliest among Greek | Tradition tells us that the pilgrims of philosophers to maintain the immor- old, on their way to Delos, resorted tality of the soul, was a native of hither for purification. The spot is still Syros. an object of some degree of religious respect. The modern town, called Hermopolis, contains upwards of 15,000 inhabitants. It is built round the harbour, on the E. side of the island. A stately lighthouse, rising on a rock in front of the harbour, a quay with numerous warehouses, and several handsome houses lately built of white marble, show the mercantile importance of the place; but the streets are narrow and crooked, though clean and well paved. Vestiges have been found of temples of Poseidon and Amphitrite. Great attention is paid to education. There are more than 2000 scholars in the various schools. In those for girls the traveller from Western Europe is surprised to find the venerable pages of Thucydides and Demosthenes in the hands of the pupils. The favourite promenade in the cool of the evening is on a cliff to the N. of the town. Old Syra is seated on the hill, which commands the port, and is so connected with the new town by continuous buildings, that they may be regarded as one town. This hill, from its remarkable conical form, resembles a huge sugarloaf covered with houses. The ascent is very toilsome up steep streets, crossed by a narrow flight of steps. On the top stands the church of St. George, from which the view is very fine; below may be seen the church of the Jesuits. Old Syra contains about 6000 inhabitants, mostly Roman Catholics, often at variance with their Greek neighbours, who regard them as aliens. Generally speaking the Roman Catholics of the Levant are descended from Genoese and Venetian settlers of the middle ages. The spacious harbour, now deserted, of Maria della Grazia lies on the S.W. side of the island. The old Fountain, at which the nymphs of the island were wont to assemble, still remains, as of old, the rendezvous of love, and gallantry, and gossiping. It is near the town, and the limpid water, issuing from the rock, is always in great request. Syra is now to the Levant, as Malines to Belgium, a great central entrepôt. The customs collected here form no small part of the Greek revenues. The traffic is chiefly in the hands of Chians, Psyrians, and Myconians. For convenience of trade a plan has been proposed of converting the deserted islands of Delos and Rhenea into Quarantine-Ports for ships from Turkey. There is at present a large Lazaretto on the W. side of the Harbour. Syra is the principal seat of Protestant missionaries for the Levant, who have schools here. It is the residence of a British Consul. The Island is 10 miles in length, by 5 in breadth. The hills are chiefly formed of mica-slate, in which garnets. of no great value are found. Near the sea there is marble of an inferior sort. Here, as generally in Greece, there appears to be a good deal of iron. Wine is almost the only valuable produce of Syra. Indeed, though well cultivated, it no longer deserves the praises bestowed on it by Homer— Εὔβοτος, εὔμηλος, οἶνοπληθής, πολύπυρος, "Fertile in flocks, in herds, in wine, in corn." (Odyss. xv. 402.) For an account of the steamers, their arrival and departure, &c., the reader is referred to the INTRODUCTION, b. See also above, p. 304. 2. DELOS (DILI). In passing from Syra to Delos the traveller leaves the busy scenes of commercial enterprise for silent and solemn recollections of the past. At Syra all the interest of the island is of modern date; that of Delos belongs to hoar antiquity. Delos, the birthplace of Apollo and of Artemis, the sanctuary of the Egean, the political centre of the Greek Islands, the holy isle, to which Athens and Sparta alike paid homage, to which the eyes of every Greek turned with instinctive veneration-Delos, with an oracle second in sanctity to that of |