Фонтан Апполона

On arriving at Grennah, the first object which naturally attracts the traveller’s attention, is the fountain of Cyre—the cause which led to the choice of this site for building the city, and, in the days of its prosperity, the spot round which most of the public buildings were grouped. Though the volume of water which it pours out has much diminished, even in the memory of man, it is still the most abundant spring in this neighbourhood; and flocks of sheep and goats, and herds of cattle, daily cover the ground where once the sacred rites of Apollo, or the affairs of their prosperous commerce, assembled the citizens of Cyrene. The stream of water issues from a natural passage, artificially widened; it falls into a shallow, square reservoir, cut in the ground of the cave; and hence it was formerly distributed, through a series of stone channels, of which many fragments still remain. The external rock is smoothed to receive the addition of a portico of that beautiful white limestone, closer-grained than marble, which acquires in time a warm golden hue. The line of the fronton, deeply cut in the rock, shows the outline of its architecture, and the three lower courses of masonry, its material. In the rock to the right is an inscription, beautifully cut, recording a restoration of the fountain, which, from its position, as well as its clear, simple characters, may well be of earlier date than the first century, which is generally assigned to it. In front of the fountain, two massive walls support narrow platforms, the lower of which is covered with the foundations of buildings, whose marble fragments indicate considerable magnificence. Beneath these extends a broad terrace, 700 feet in length, supported by a lofty and very massive wall, which is still in great part entire. One end of[39] this terrace is closed by a wall of more recent construction, built apparently to shut out the old Greek theatre, which lies beyond it; the other opens on the street of Battus, and, in part, is bounded by a road running from this, round the base of the eastern hill. On this platform, which formed the agora, stood many temples and public buildings; and it is here that the monument of Battus, mentioned by Pindar, as standing at the end of the market-place, must be looked for. As one stands in front of the fountain, looking to the sea, this platform, covered with ruins, lies at one’s feet; while beyond, the long lines of the Eastern Necropolis wind round the curves of the hills, and the plain beneath is seen dotted with ruins, or intersected by old roads. To the left, immediately beneath the fountain, are the remains of a very large building, whose massive fragments of marble cornices and columns indicate its importance, as well as its more recent date. Among the rubbish lie fluted columns, the headless statue of a sitting female figure, and some fragments of inscriptions. No building in the agora seems to have equalled this in size; and I believe that all my predecessors agree in considering it to be the Temple of Apollo. To the left of this building, behind, and almost touching it at one angle, is a temple of more ancient construction, the lower parts of four of whose columns still remain in situ. Still further to the left, is a small building, in front of which some former excavator has uncovered a finely-draped statue of a Roman empress, and on a marble near, is an inscription, nearly defaced, belonging, perhaps, to its pedestal. The arms and head, originally separate, have been removed, as well as the, probably, metal girdle of the waist. I continued the excavation round this monument, with no other result than finding a coarse white mosaic pavement, and a long subterranean passage, which seems to have been a sewer. in the fine arts.