Some one has said the reason the Greeks long ago made such beautiful statues and buildings was because they had such beautiful marble to work with; but there is still beautiful marble on Mount Pentelicus, and yet no one seems able to make such beautiful things of it any more.

People long ago used to go to a place called an oracle to have their fortunes told. At Delphi not far from Athens was one of the most famous oracles. There was a crack in the ground from which gas was always escaping. Over this crack in the ground sat a goddess called a Sibyl and over the goddess a little temple was built. The escaping gas put the goddess to sleep, just as the gas a doctor or dentist uses puts people to sleep so they won’t feel any pain; then the goddess began to talk in her sleep and would mumble answers to the questions asked her. People came from all over the World to hear what the oracle had to tell them. The Delphic Oracle, like the statue of Athene, has now gone—no one knows when, nor how, nor where.

Did you know that you could speak Greek? Well, when you say “music,” “museum,” or “amusements” you are speaking Greek, for all three words are named from nine beautiful goddesses called “Muses,” who used to live near a spring at Delphi. This spring was named Castalia, and it was supposed that those who drank from the spring would be able to write music and poetry. The Castalian spring is still there, and sheep and goats as well as men drink its cool waters, but now it does no more than quench the thirst of men and beasts.