XL. Cape Malea.—The sides of Cape Malea, the south-eastern extremity of the Greek mainland and of Europe, are formed by dizzy crags, about a thousand feet high, of dark bare rock, seamed and scarred in places by cracks and fissures. At the extreme end of the cape there is a great natural recess in the cliff; and here in the face of the bluff, about two hundred and fifty feet above the sea, there is a tiny terrace sloping to the perpendicular edge of the precipice. Two chapels are built on the terrace, and close by, partly hewn in the rock, is the cell of a half-naked and nearly savage hermit. From the terrace you may clamber down, at the risk of your neck, to a cave opening on the foam of the great rollers which break here eternally. In the inmost corner of the cave is a heap of human bones. The sense of utter solitude and isolation from the world which the spot is fitted to evoke in the mind is broken by the sight of passing vessels. In fair weather steamers of all nations pass continually; and small Greek sailing-boats, with their reddish-brown or white lateen sails, skim along close under the cliffs. But the cape has a bad name for storms and heavy surf; at times even large steamers are unable to weather it for a week together. There was an ancient proverb, “When you have rounded Malea, forget your home.”
Studies in Greek Scenery, Legend and History / Selected from His Commentary on Pausanias' 'Description of Greece,'
Explore more books like this:
About This Book
This collection of concise sketches, drawn from the author's commentary on the ancient traveler Pausanias, offers on-the-spot descriptions of Greek landscape, ruins, sanctuaries, and local legends. Each chapter focuses on a particular site or region, combining topographical observation, architectural and artistic description, and summaries of associated myths and historical tradition. The author interweaves antiquarian detail with personal travel impressions, discussing temples, cult practices, notable monuments, and the surviving traces of classical antiquity, and provides contextual notes that guide readers through how landscape, legend, and history intersect across the Greek world.