Classical Club Lectures.

Professor Louis Dyer lectured last night under the auspices of the Harvard Classical Club, on "Greek Religion and Apollo." The lecturer said in brief that by the aid of excavations we are approaching a just appreciation of the Greek religion,-a religion which has supplied later religions with almost as much as the religion of Israel has. While Israel has given Christianity the idea of an all powerful and omniscient god-head, the Greek religion has contributed divine love, grace and purity. Mercy is the predominating quality of all Greek gods and goddesses, of Apollo, Aesculpius, Dionysus, and Demeter. The religion is polytheistic, but its polytheism is more monotheistic than monotheism, for each state in Greece was independent, and each one having its pet divinity, each divinity was all-powerful in its homes. Everything was disorganized; there was a great lack of method. Questions as to prerogatives of the divinities never arose; exact limits were not set to the powers of any god. There is never any quarrel as to which god is the chief one, the great point is that all are superior to man. Zeus was their father, he reigned but he did not rule; Apollo, "his premier," was the practical head. His home was Delphi, where he was worshipped side by side with Dionysus. His character was poetic; he was the most Greek of Greek divinities. His tolerance was great, as is clearly shown by his sharing Mt. Parnassus with Dionysus. At this point the lecturer gave an excellent description of Delphi, and then after a few further remarks upon Apollo he closed his lecture with stereopticon views of Delos, Elussis, Delphi, and other ancient sanctuaries.