The Acropolis of Athens.

A large audience gathered yesterday afternoon in the lecture room of the Jefferson Physical Laboratory on the occasion of the first of a series of lectures on the Acropolis of Athens. Dr. J. R. Wheeler, the lecturer, at the beginning, stated that the lecture was merely an introduction to the other lectures. With the aid of the stereopticon, he gave a graphic description of Athens, of the various plains and mountains surrounding the town, and of the two or three small rivers flowing between the hills. The history of the Acropolis can be divided into nine periods, corresponding to the historical periods of the city. They are: 1, from the earliest times to Solon (594 B. C.); 2, to the end of the Persian wars (479 B. C.); 3, to the archonship of Euclides (403 B. C.); 4, to the death of Alexander (323 B. C.); 5, to the extinction of the Archaean League (146 B. C.); 6, the Roman and early Byzantine periods to the breaking up of the schools of philosophy in Athens (529 A. D.); 7, from the breaking up of the schools to the coming of the Franks after the Latin Crusade (1205 A. D.), 8. The Frankish period to the coming of the Turks (1456 A. D.); 9, the Turkish period to the proclamation of the present kingdom of Greece (1830 A. D.)

In the first period the Acropolis was the town of the aborigines. With an increased population, however, the Acropolis was no longer the residence, but the citadel and fortress. Gradually sanctuaries were consecrated to the various divinities and the Acropolis became the centre of religious matters at Athens. Powerful and rich Athenians took pride in beautifying it, and works of art began to adorn the walls and the temples. The Persians in 480 B. C., destroyed the Acropolis and it has never been entirely rebuilt. The Byzantine emperors, during the sixth period. carried off many of the works of art to Constantinople. In 1456 the Turks took Athens and built mosques upon the Acropolis, but recent explorers have destroyed these Turkish shrines and have restored the ruins to their early state.