58 ATHENS fought at Calandria, near Athens, by the Athenian Turks and Greeks, under the way- wode, named Chasekes, against these barbari- ans, commanded by the deli pasha, and a de- cisive victory gained. In 1778 Chasekes forti- fied Athens with a wall, using materials taken from many of the ancient structures. The con- duct of Ohasekes gained him so much popu- larity, that his reappointment was solicited and obtained of the Porte, and finally he was appointed waywode for life. Having secured his end, he threw off the mask, and 'showed himself to be a tyrant. The tide of popular feeling turned against him, and he was ban- ished ; but by intrigue and bribery he was again restored. The contest continued 22 years, during which the game was repeated five times; and finally, in 1795, he was be- headed in Cos, the place of his exile. In this period the prosperity of Athens declined. Her population and wealth greatly diminished. A pestilence ravaged the city in 1789 and again in 1792 ; about 1,200 perished in the former, and 1,000 in the latter. In the movement toward a revival of Greek independence, which distin- guished the close of the last century and the be- ginning of the present, Athens played a promi- nent part. New schools were established, and the whole influence of all her educational insti- tutions was on the side of Greek freedom. The actual war of independence commenced in 1821. The fortunes of Athens were variously affected during the seven years of its continu- ance. The Turkish garrison was besieged in the Acropolis April 28, bat after many tragical scenes was relieved July 20, and the Greek troops were compelled to retreat by the Turks under Omer Pasha, Briones, and Omer Bey. Many of the inhabitants were slain, and the city was plundered and burned. Many of the Athenians fled to Salamis and ^Egina, and some of them joined the troops concentrating at the isthmus of Corinth. In September, 1821, Omer Pasha retired from Athens with the greater part of his forces, and his lieuten- ant soon afterward with the remainder. The Acropolis was again left in the hands of the resident Turks, and the Athenians, returning from their places of refuge, besieged them, and compelled them to surrender, June 21, 1822, 1,160 prisoners being taken. Before these could be conveyed to a place of safety, a ru- mor of a new invasion spread through the city, and caused the Athenians such alarm that they fell upon the Turks and put to death about 400, in violation of the terms of the surrender. During the next two years violent dissensions between the Greek leaders delayed the pro- gress of the war ; but in spite of the treachery of Odysseus, a leading general, who joined the enemy and made hostile movements against Athens, the body of the troops and citizens faithfully supported Gnras, the commander of the city, and finally gained a decisive vic- tory, capturing Odysseus, who was put to death. Early in 1826 the Turkish forces, un- der Kiutahi Pasha and Omer Pasha, overran Attica. Numerous conflicts occurred in the neighborhood of Athens. On Aug. 15 the Turks forced their way into the city, and the Greeks retired into the Acropolis, where they were long besieged, suffering great hardships. Gu- ras was killed in an outwork. During the siege the Greek forces outside the city, under the command of the English Lord Cochrane, Gen. Church, and others, strove to relieve the garrison. In May a bloody and decisive battle was fought, and the Greeks were en- tirely defeated. Cochrane and Church were compelled to seek refuge on board their ships, and the posts in the neighborhood of Piraus were abandoned. The citadel was compelled to surrender June 5. More than 2,000 men and 500 women were marched down from the Acropolis, and transported to Salamis, yEgina, and Poros. Thus, after a siege of 11 months, Athens was again placed under Turkish domi- nation. The city remained in the possession of the Turks till 1832, when the intervention of the great powers had secured independence to the Greeks under a republican form of govern- ment, with President Capo d'Istria at its head. During these last years almost all the modern buildings of the city had been demolished. Scarcely a private dwelling was uninjured, and the remains of antiquity shared in the general calamity. The city recovered slowly, and had little prosperity until subsequent events drew back to it some part of its former population. Capo d'Istria was assassinated in 1831. In August, 1832, Otho, the second son of the king of Bavaria, who had been selected by the great powers, England, France, and Russia, was pro- claimed king at Nauplia. He arrived at the end of January, 1833. The king, only 17 years old when he was chosen, attained his majority, which was fixed at 20, in 1835. In that year the seat of government was transferred from Nauplia to Athens, and from this date recom- mences the history of Athens as a new centre of civilization in that quarter of the world. Its prosperity now quickly revived. A new liberal constitution, drawn up by an assembly con- vened at the demand of the people, and for- mally accepted March 16, 1844, made great changes in the government of Greece, of which the city speedily felt the favorable results. Since 1844 there have been few events of importance in the history of Ath- ens. In 1854, during the Crimean war, revolu- tionary movements having broken out against the Turks, Athens was occupied by a garrison of French and English troops, which was not wholly withdrawn till 1857. In 1854 also the Asiatic cholera visited the city, causing terrible suffering and a very great number of deaths. Our knowledge of the appearance and topography of ancient Athens is derived from several sources : from the ruins now vis- ible in the modern city, from which almost alone scholars have been able to ascertain the positions of many walls and buildings; from
