held its vigor, and there were few outward signs of the general
decadence which was to set in after the triumph of Macedon.
I have endeavored to state no facts and to make no allusions, that
will not be fairly obvious to a reader who has merely an elementary
knowledge of Greek annals, such information, for instance, as may be
gained through a good secondary school history of ancient times.
This naturally has led to comments and descriptions which more
advanced students may find superfluous.
The writer has been under a heavy debt to the numerous and excellent
works on Greek "Private Antiquities" and "Public Life" written in
English, French, or German, as well as to the various great Classical
Encyclopedias and Dictionaries, and to many treatises and monographs
upon the topography of Athens and upon the numerous phases of Attic
culture. It is proper to say, however, that the material from
such secondary sources has been merely supplementary to a careful
examination of the ancient Greek writers, with the objects of this
book kept especially in view. A sojourn in modern Athens, also,
has given me an impression of the influence of the Attic landscape