visible objects of departed greatness; with some hope, protracted and hitherto fallacious, as to the future; and, lastly, the distinct state in which the conquered have always remained from their lords and masters. The parts of Greece, through which Mr. Dodwell pursues his travels, have been in a great measure brought under the consideration of our readers lately, when we were reviewing the works of other writers; especially in our notice of the transactions of British travellers in Greece, edited by Mr. Walpole. The same minuteness of description, topographical and antiquarian, continues, which we remarked in the former volume: not a bridge, not a stream, nay hardly a stone which has claim to antiquity, being passed unregarded. In the comparison of antient and modern sites, the same care is preserved in collecting testimony from the poets, the historians, and the geographers of Greece and Rome; and, notwithstanding the abundance of reference to various and voluminous writers, there is something in the general character of the work which must acquit the author, in the judgment of the reader, of aiming at an ostentatious and useless display of classical learning. Scrupulous accuracy seems to have been his great design; and if, in pursuing it, more labour and learning have been occasionally expended than may seem necessary in the mind of every reader, this object, so constantly held in view, will amply account for that which to some may appear a redundancy, without seeking for any other and less meritorious cause. It does not occur to us that, in making our observations on any late travels in Greece, we have embraced an account of Corinth; a city which, with reference either to its situation or to its history, or to its antient contents, can be considered as second in interest to none but Athens. As we cannot say with the poet, Ασομαι ταν όλβιαν Κορινθον, we content ourselves with a more humble path, in which we follow Mr. Dodwell as our conductor, and at the end of which we must take our final leave of him. A traveller pursuing his route from Megara to Corinth will reach the foot of Mount Gerania in less than three hours. The ascent is steep and winding; and at no great elevation is a custom-house, the most rigorous in Greece, because situated in the only pass which leads to the Morea. A little in advance from this spot, a view of the Halcyonian gulf and a part of the Corinthian sea is obtained, bounded by the Oneian mountains, now called Makriplai; which, with their craggy heights, run in a chain from Gerania into the Corinthian gulf. This road by the custom-house is not the antient Skironian way, which lies on the southern side of the mountain, and is passable only for travellers on foot. The road from the customhouse continues to ascend, and in forty minutes' advance presents from an elevation an interesting view: The whole circumference of the spacious horizon seemed occupied with classical regions of high renown and of deep interest. Below us appeared the Isthmus, the Acrocorinthos, the Saronic and Crissæan gulfs. The more remote prospect unveiled the soft and undulating lines of the Attic coast and mountains, fading into the receding distance of the Sunium promontory, which was distinguished as a speck upon the blue æther of the terminating sky. The beautifully varied coast of Argolis, the abrupt and pointed promontory of Methana, with the islands of Kalauria, Egina, and Salamis, and other insular rocks, embellish the surface of the Saronic gulf. Beyond the Corinthian sea are distinguished the hills of Achaia, surmounted by the loftier summits of Arcadia glittering with snow.' The road continues along the side of Gerania through forests of pine, myrtle, and lentiscus. We are not accurately informed where the descent commences, but in a few hours the traveller will arrive at the western foot of Gerania, and thus enter on the celebrated isthmus, with the Corinthian gulf on the right and the Saronic on the left. - The first remnant of former times that arrests the attention is a large foss, a vestige of an unfinished attempt to unite the two seas; the age of which must remain uncertain, because history supplies us with several successive attempts to perform this work, none of which were ever accomplished. The various causes of this failure are discussed by the author, but, as each is nearly equally probable with another, no one is altogether satisfactory. The remains of a wall, or rather of three thick parallel walls, which evidently crossed the isthmus, do not run in a straight line, but follow the sinuosities of the ground. The same observation will apply to this vestige of fortification as to that of the foss, for the first wall recorded in history by Herodotus was built by the Peloponnesians after the Persians had passed Thermopylæ, and the last restoration of it was effected by the Venetians, A.D. 1696. The first construction is recorded to have been so hasty that, at a distance of more than two thousand years, no trace beyond that of a very moderate mound could possibly exist: but it would, we conceive, be difficult to decide from the materials used on the date of the existing ruin, since it is probable that the same were applied more than once in the successive re-constructions. Less than two hours will bring the traveller from the foot of Gerania to Corinth, As to the breadth of the isthmus, antient 1 antient authorities do not exactly coincide, though the variation is not great. Diodorus and Strabo each allow forty stadia. The Acropolis of Corinth (Acrocorinthus) is described as nearly the finest object in Greece, and is even now in a military point of view of the highest importance, since it abounds in water, has for the most part precipitous descents, and can be attacked by artillery from only one spot. The Turks seem to estimate it justly, and exclude strangers from its precincts with a most jealous scrupulosity. It shoots up majestically from the plain to a considerable height, and forms a conspicuous object at a great distance, as it is clearly seen from Athens, from which it is not less than forty-four miles in a direct line. Strabo affirms that it is three stadia and a half in perpendicular height; but that the ascent to the top is thirty stadia by the road, the circuitous inflections of which render this no extravagant computation.' Nauplia in Argolis is considered as a still stronger military post, though the situation of the Acrocorinthus with reference to the Morea seems to render this latter politically more important. Mr. Dodwell was prevented by the vigilance of the Turks from approaching sufficiently near to this fortification, to examine whether any part of the walls was of antient construction, but the general appearance of them was modern. Such discouragements to farther investigation, however, did not repress the enterprizing spirit of the traveller; who determined to obtain a general view of the isthmus, and for this purpose selected the pointed rock a few hundred yards from the Acrocorinthus, to which allusion has been already made as a spot that commands it. The expedition was accomplished with some difficulty, and to the excessive alarm of the Greek servant, who was not acquainted with the object of it, until they had advanced some way. The reward, however, exceeded the risk incurred. • When I had reached the summit of the rock, my trouble was amply rewarded by the magnificence of the prospect that was every where displayed. The finest regions of classic interest, where the arts had most flourished, and poetic inspiration most prevailed, were expanded before my eyes. Strabo has accurately characterised the prominent features of the view. He says, "From the summit of the Acrocorinthos, Parnassos and Helicon are seen towards the north, covered with snow. Towards the west is the gulf of Krissa, bounded by Phocis, Boeotia, Megaris, Corinthia, and Sicyonia. Beyond are the Oneian mountains, extending from the Skironian rocks to Boeotia and mount Citharon." I can only add to this description, that the Olmian promontory, mount Kirphis, and the capital of Sicyonia, are distinguishable on the the Corinthian gulf, which seems inclosed, towards the west, by a lofty range of mountains, in Locris Ozolea. In the opposite direction is the Saronic gulf, with its islands, and the Athenian acropolis, like a white speck in the distance, with the Attic mountains, Aigaleos, Pentelikon, Hymettos, and Laurion, stretching down to the receding promontory of Sunium, forming, in the whole, a panorama of the most captivating features, and of the grandest dimensions, comprehending six of the most celebrated states of Greece, Achaia, Locris, Phocis, Boeotia, Attica, and Argolis. I remained the whole day upon this solitary rock, drawing the wonderful scenery with which I was so luxuriously regaled. It was a feast both for the eye and for the mind. The prospect from this spot must be superior even to that from the fortress itself, as it includes the Acrocorinthos, which is the object of most immediate interest in the view. Here I had the good fortune to pass the entire day without any molestation.? Of all the antient cities in Greece, none has less to shew of its pristine splendour in these late days than Corinth, if we estimate our expectations by our knowlege of what it once has been. It is thinly peopled, and no longer dyλaoxoupos, as Pindar called it; spread over some extent of area in scattered houses, but exhibiting no signs of modern prosperity, and as few vestiges of the splendor of antiquity. The only Grecian ruin now remaining at Corinth is that of a temple of the Doric order, of which seven columns are yet standing; and from its massive and inelegant proportions, it is presumed by travellers to be the most antient temple of which any part is now extant in Greece.* The columns are formed of calcareous stone, of a porous nature, and were originally covered with stucco of great durability and a very adhesive quality; a method in general use when marble was not the material. No vestige whatever can be found in Corinth of the order of architecture to which it gave a name; nor did Mr. Dodwell observe the existence of the acanthus plant in any part of the isthmus. The few Roman ruins that are discernible consist merely of mis-shapen masses, the relics of baths or other buildings, composed of bricks. Although the brutal vengeance of the Roman conqueror may account for the disappearance of many of the finest specimens of Grecian art at Corinth, much probably escaped his barbarous purpose; for, in its second æra of splendor, under the Roman dominion, it was adorned with many stately temples and other buildings, several of which had outlived *The reader is referred to Mr. Stuart's celebrated work, Vol. iii. c. 6. for a more accurate description of it. the the conflagration of the city, while others were the work of more recent hands. The remains of a theatre and a stadium, and the circuit and arena of a Roman amphitheatre, are visible near the city; the former of which, presumed by Mr. Dodwell to be the scene of the Isthmian games, lies in the narrowest part of the isthmus, and at the distance of about three miles from the city to the east of it. We may now venture to take leave of this author and his work, without repeating that opinion of its several merits which will be easily collected by the reader from various parts of our notice of it. In our own days, when laborious and patient investigation, "quem ob infinitum laborem plerique refugiunt," is becoming generally rare, and in proportion to the number of published travels more rare in that branch of literature than in any other, it is a great pleasure to us to add one more name in mentioning that of Mr. Dodwell, to the list of those who have had the energy to resist the temptations to superficial knowlege, for which so many fatal facilities are every where held out. Greece has indeed, as we have before observed, been of late years visited and described by travellers very superior in attainments and industry to those who have generally written on different parts of the European continent: but with none of these needs Mr. Dodwell fear to enter competition. In truth, few of them can bear a comparison with him; and he may without boasting, nay with modesty, say in the words of the poet, "Cumque ego præpono multos mihi, non minor illis The The plates inserted in the body of this work, sixty in number, are chiefly executed in the manufactory of Charles Heath, and are not in general by any means in the best style of that establishment: some are etched by Lizars, an Edinburgh engraver, and are extremely coarse in their manner. coloured acqua-tinted illustrations, which are now publishing in folio parts, containing five views, at the high price of 31. 35. each part, have too much the character of their smaller brethren; both being equally heavy, but apparently accurate, representations of the scenes from which they were copied. REV. AUG. 1820. A a ART. |