baggage were carried into the field by twelve thousand great camels and eight thousand of a smaller size; and the royal stables were filled with six thousand mules and horses, among which the names of Shebdiz and Barid were renowned for their speed and beauty." His treasures, which consisted of gold, silver, gems, silk, and aromatics, were deposited in one hundred subterranean vaults; his palace walls are described as having been hung with thirty thousand splendid hangings; and thousands of globes of gold were suspended from the dome, to imitate the planets and constellations of the firmament. When this palace was sacked by Heraclius, the conqueror found in it, as we are informed by Cedrenus, sugar, ginger, pepper, silk robes woven, and embroidered carpets; aloes, aloes-wood, mataxa, silk, thread, muslins, muslin garments without number, and a vast weight of gold bullion. Dustegerd stood upon the spot where now are seen the vast ruins of Kesra-Shirene. These have been described by Sir R. Ker Porter. "We are told," says he, "that the city of Dustegerd was the most stationary residence of Khosroo Purviz, and that it contained his most superb palace, treasury, and public buildings. There he passed his winters, with the beautiful object of his idolatry,* and thence he flew with her from the conquering arms of the Emperor Heraclius. We entered upon a chain of hills, among which our road led in the most circuitous and intricate mazes I had ever trod; heights and depths, dry ravines, water-courses, rugged promontories, short stony plains, in short, every species of mountain difficulties, diversified our path for full fifteen miles, till we arrived at a once formidable barrier, not far from which we caught a view of the meandering river Zohaub. All along the alpine * For the loves of Chosroes and Shirene, see D'Herbelot and the Oriental collections. bridge we mounted runs a massy wall of large hewn stone, which in many places, like a curtain, closes the openings left by nature in the rocky bulwarks of the country. It had evidently been intended for a defence against any hostile approach from the eastward, and, on passing it, we went through what had formed one of its gates." Journeying on a mile or two farther, the traveller came to a second wall, still higher and stronger, and from that ran a third, which partly enclosed a large angular space. On various spots lay huge stones of a great length, and hollowed in the middle, as if they were the remains of some ancient covered channel to convey water. This is still called the aqueduct of Khosroo Purviz; and the natives told Sir Robert that it was one of the works constructed by that prince to win the smiles of his beloved Shirene. Numerous fragments and lines of the great rampart-wall traced their way till they came to the ruins of another wall, the position and extent of which seemed to indicate that it had been one side of the battlements of some large ancient city. This, he was informed, was Kesra-Shirene. He passed under a gateway of simple construction, formed of hewn stones, twelve feet high and about six in thickness. The wall ran to a considerable distance, then disappeared, and again started up in massy fragments, the whole enclosing an area of several miles, probably once occupied by the streets, courts, and public buildings of a noble city. "The first ruined edifice we approached," continues Sir Robert, "was built of stone, and consists of long ranges of vaulted rooms, nearly choked up with the fallen masses of what may have been their magnificent superstructures. A little onward we came to the remains of some place of great magnitude. It is a square building of nearly a hundred feet along each side; four entrances have led into the interior, and the arches of these portals, which are falling into the last stage of decay, cannot be less than from thirty to forty feet in height. The walls are of equal elevation, and of more than ordinary solidity for any structure to stand the brunt of war, being twelve feet in thickness. The interior of the place, which seems to have been one enormous chamber or hall, is covered with lime, stones, and other fragments of masonry. No remnant of any sculptural ornaments or inscription was to be seen. At the southern angle of the great arch, within the city walls, on a commanding rise of ground, stands a ruin of a still stronger character, the massiveness and form of the work proving it to be the remains of a fortress. The building is of stone and brick, the latter being of a large square surface, but not very thick. Various lofty arched chambers, as well as deep subterraneous dungeons, compose this noble ruin. In ranging over the rest of the ground contained within the circuit of the great interior walls, we found it covered with every indication that there had once stood the busy streets of a large and populous city. ATHENS. "Look! on the Ægean shore a city stands, City of suburban studious walks and shades! Plato's retirement, where the Attic bird Thrills her thick-warbled notes the summer long. There, flowery hill, Hymettus, with the sound Of bees, industrious murmur, oft invites To studious musing; there Ilissus rolls His whispering stream. Within the walls then view Great Alexander to subdue the world; MILTON. THE Athenians thought themselves the original inhabitants of Attica, for which reason they were called "Sons of the Earth,” and “ grasshoppers." They sometimes, therefore, wore golden grasshoppers in their hair, as badges of honour, to distinguish themselves from the people of later origin and less noble extraction, because these insects were supposed to be derived from the ground. "Our ori gin," said Socrates, "is so beautiful, that none of the Greeks can give such pure appellations to their country as we can. We can truly style the earth on which we tread our nurse, our mother, our father.' Attica was governed by seventeen kings, in the following order: After a reign of fifty years, Cecrops, the first king, was succeeded by Cranaus............. Amphictyon...... Ericthonius......... Pandion Cecrops II. ....1497 Menestheus..... ........... 1205 ...1487 Demophoon Oxyntes..............................................1149 Erictheus.....................1397 Aphidas....................1137 ...................1347 Thymates.................1136 Pandion II. ...................1307 Melanthus..................1128 Egeus.. ...............................................1283 Codrus...........................................1091 The history of the first twelve monarchs is, for the most part, fabulous. Athens was founded by Cecrops, who led a colony out of Egypt, and built twelve towns, of which he formed a kingdom. Amphictyon, the third king of Athens, established a confederacy between the twelve states of Greece, deputies from which met every year at Thermopylæ, there to consult on their affairs in general, as also on those of each state in particular. convention was called the assembly of the Amphictyons. This The reign of Ægeus is remarkable for the Argonautic expedition, the war of Minos, and the story of Theseus and Ariadne. Egeus was succeeded by his son Theseus, whose exploits belong more to fable than to history. The last king was Codrus, who devoted himself to death for his people. After Codrus, the title of king was extinguished among the Athenians: his son was placed at the head of the commonwealth, with the title of archon, which, after a time, was made an annual office. Those Pisis Draco and Solon were the great legislators of the Athenians. The laws of the former were so severe, that they were said to be written in blood. of the latter were of a different character. tratus acquired ascendancy, became a despot, and was assassinated; whereupon the Athenians recovered their liberties; and Hippias, the son of Pisistratus, in vain attempted to re-establish tyranny. The Athenians, some time after, burned Sardis, a city of the Persians, in conjunction with the Ionians; and, to revenge this, Darius invaded Greece, but was defeated at Marathon by Miltiades. Xerxes soon after invaded Attica; and the Athenians having withdrawn to their "wooden walls" (their fleet), the city was taken and burned. After defeating the Persians at Salamis, the Athenians returned to their city, but were again obliged to abandon it, Mardonius having wasted and destroyed everything in its neighbourhood. Their victory at Platæa enabled them to occupy it once more; and their first care was to rebuild the walls. This measure was opposed by the Lacedæmonians, under the pretence that it was contrary to the interests of Greece that there should be strong places beyond the isthmus. Their real motive, however, was suspected to be jealousy of the rising greatness of the Athenians. Themistocles conducted himself with great adroitness in this matter. He got himself ap |