Correspondence

A LETTER PROM ATHENS. [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Athens to-day consists of two cities that dwell inter- mingled and yet singularly independent of each other. There

is ancient Athens, beloved of the tourist and the archaeologist, embracing those few but perfect monuments of the "glory that was Greece" : the Acropolis, the Theseion, the Olympeion and the carefully preserved works of art and craftsmanship that fill the museums. But there is also charm and character in the modern city that lies glistening like a sea at the foot of the Acropolis Rock.and has spread half-way up the pinnacle of Lycabettus and far out into the Attic plain. It must be admitted that modern Athens has its drawbacks, of which noise is perhaps the most obvious and omnipresent. The

Greek tongue wags freely, and the Greek voice is not of the

most harmonious. Add to this the cacophony of fifteen thousand motor cars armed with horns of every note and tone and uniform alone in their stridency, which are blown inces- santly to save the lives of the most suicidal pedestrians in the world, and you get the din of Athens, a din that ceases neither by day nor by night. There are other drawbacks too ; glare, dust, lack of water, and that most trying element, the oriental mentality.

But one would be churlish indeed not to admit that Athens has its compensations, and very real ones, in addition to those Of living within sight of the Parthenon. The Athens which

has its centre in Constitution Square is undoubtedly the only European city in the Balkan Peninsula. Its streets are broad

and comparatively well paved ; the houses are not too high, and there is a general feeling of spaciousness and airiness that is created by the evergreen beauty of the public park, the marble mansions of Greek financiers and cotton-kings from Egypt, and the ever-present views of sea and mountain. Indeed, the modern city forms a singularly effective and

restrained setting for the architectural glories of the Golden Age; and even if the modern Greek architectural style has nothing more than this to commend it, at least one is spared the horrors of ferro-conerete, which seem to be essential to the expansion of other Balkan capitals.

Except for theatres, in which Athens is singularly poor, the city has its fair share of distractions. Cafes, of course, are

everywhere, ranging from the palatial buildings which over-

flow into Constitution Square to the little " dives " in the pavement which lead one down a steep flight of stone steps to a den where lambs are roasted whole and taxi-drivers and bootblacks drink resinated wine and dance the "dull Romaic round." Here the company is more pleasant than in the cabarets and dance-halls which pursue a more obvious exist- ence above-stairs. For the athletic there is an amusing little

golf course where the last spurs of Hymettus slope down to the sea, and a tennis club lying under the shadow of the tall Corinthian columns of the Temple of Jupiter. For these who would but stroll there is the accepted " corso " of: Athens, the wide path that leads through the gardens of the Zo.ppeion between acacias and pepper-trees down to the dusty trickle of the Ilyssos. Over a hedge which the nose bids one cross quickly is the magnificent Stadium, reconstructed through.

the generosity of the Greek millionaire, George Averoff. Fult use is made of it for such widely differing performances. as Euripides and Verdi, classical and modern folk-dancing, Boy Scout jamborees, chariot races, and athletic meetings.

Bathing is disappointing unless one gets at least eight miles away from the capital, and it may be said somewhat paradoxically that the worst thing about Athens is Phalenon, its seaside suburb, only three miles away. The opportunities afforded by this seven-mile stretch of shore with its magnificent views of sea, islands, and Peloponnesian mountains -have been thrown away, and one is reminded of a vast rubbish heap interspersed with rococci villas and huge fly-blown hoteLc.

The only bathing facilities are unclean wooden establishments built out into the water, where the sexes are carefully segre- gated. Not so long ago an Englishman was arrested for meeting his wife in the water half-a-mile or so out to sea. A brandy factory debouches its by-products near the ladies' establishment, and it is said that the waters, though foul to the taste, have certain stimulating qualities. One leaves Phaleron with the impression that Southend would be more agreeable.

But if one has the time and the powers of endurance to negotiate the appalling roads which are worse in the near neighbourhood of Athens than in any other part of the

country, One may reach paradises of sand and stone-pine at Vouliagmeni, Cape Sounion, or on the coast that looks from

Marathon across to the blue mountains of the Euboea. - Athens is indeed an ideal centre for excursions. Whether one wishes to be away for a day, a week-end, a week, or a month, there is an inexhaustible store of places to be visited ; islands with whitewashed fishing villages that climb up the sunburnt rocks, Byzantine monasteries hidden in folds in the hills, marble temples looking out over vast expanses of blue water and misty ochre coast-line to distant mountain-peaks from which the snow is seldom absent.

To return to Athens itself," one of the principal attractions of the capital is the narrow street known to the English com- munity as Shoe Lane, in which antiquity shops alternate with booths decked with footwear of every kind, from embroidered Turkish slippers and the heavy betasselled clOgs of the Evzones to football boots. The antiquity shops repay careful study. They are not filled, as in Italy, with attractive things at unattractive prices. On the contrary, nine-tenths of their stock is junk of the worst description ; but among it the con- noisseur who is assiduous in his visits may occasionally-pick up a really good thing at a mere fraction of its value. It-is these unexpected finds that draw one ever back to Shoe Lane.

The streets of Athens are always full of life, for the Athenian does not willingly stay indoors, and his climate does not Often force him to do so. One is aware of his presence, too, for St.

Luke's observation that he "spends his time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing" has lost none of its truth in a country where politics are the national hobby.

Yet his faults, apparent though they be, are of a very venial nature. Vanity, inquisitiveness, and, among certain classes, snobbery replace the truculence and aggressiveness which one finds so universally in Europe to-day. His manners are good and improve as one descends the social scale. Contact with him in the mass, though sometimes irri- tating, is never'disagreeable, and if the eye grows rather tired of the eternal straw-hatted Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd

types, it is often refreshed by the sight of a magnificent kilted Evzone soldier or of some gay, fantastic peasant costume.

There is one pther thing that I would say of Athens which applies equally to Greece as a whole. There is no country, where the foreigner is so welcome for his own sake, and where he is ,so well treated and respected,. helped and made to feel at home.—I am, Sir, tte.,

YOUR ATHENS CORRESPONDENT,