Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Greece and Turkey in Europe: Vol. XIX. 1876–79. | | | | Greece: Athens | | The Parthenon | | James Gates Percival (1795–1856) |
| | | THIS rock was once the seat of pomp and power; | |
| Here rest the chiefs of olden time, | |
| And here the orator sublime | |
| Shed on their willing ears his golden shower. | |
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| Here stood their temple in its beauty’s blaze, | 5 |
| When like a thing of light it rose, | |
| And proudly on their dazzled foes | |
| So brightly beamed, it quelled their daring gaze. | |
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| Here stood Minerva with her guardian shield, | |
| And from her threatening lance | 10 |
| Shot such a lightning glance, | |
| None dared to try the heaven-protected field. | |
| |
| Here genius, glory, piety, were shrined, | |
| And hence that spirit flew, | |
| Whose wing has hurried through | 15 |
| The darkened world, and fired the inglorious mind. | | | | |
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