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Show "VAMPS" WHO I MADE HISTORY By JAMES C. YOUNG. 1(c) by MeClure Newspaper syndicate.) THE WOMAN WHO RULED ATHENS. THAT a courtesan should have ruled Athens, perhaps tlie greatest great-est seat of culture the world ever knew, seems strange to us now. But Aspasia was a woman of parts, who taught eloquence to such men as Socrates Soc-rates and Pericles. Her home was a meeting place for the most brilliant figures in the ancient world. The time which we consider was Die Fifth century cen-tury before Christ, but our learning has advanced very little beyond the point reached by that group which gathered around Aspasia. 1 She had many loves, and between times discoursed upon art and philosophy. philoso-phy. Her beauty and her learning were equally celebrated. Socrates, an extremely ex-tremely ugly man, forgot, his philosophy philoso-phy in love of this remarkable woman. wom-an. But she soon put him aside for Pericles, the gifted, handsome figure then arising to ascendency. Pericles I studied eloquence at her feet and learned to love her, too. He divorced his wife and went to live with Aspasia, but could not marry her because of a law which forbade a noble Athenian to wed a "barbarian." Aspasia came from Iona, and the people of any other nation were "barbarians" to the Athenians. Aspasia's brilliant mind, joined to that of the noble lricles, soon brought him to a foremost position in the ' state. He was the greatest ruler Athens Ath-ens ever had, and the guiding hand behind be-hind his own was that of the courtesan. Then enemies accused her of heresy, charging that 'she did not believe In ,., the gods, which we of course know to : have been merely beautiful fancies. Pericles plead before the senate, with tearful eyes, and saved her life. But so great a man as Socrates could not be saved and was put to death on the same charge. Evil days had fallen upon up-on Aspasia's group. Men whose names we now reverence were looked upon as we would today regard anarchists. They were called dangerous, unbelievers unbeliev-ers in religion, and many worse things. Herodotus, the historian, and others in that group had taken to retirement. Conservative Athens and the ignorant would have none of their "new thought." Then Pericles died. Aspasia Aspa-sia was left alone in the world. However How-ever she may have loved her lord, It was not long until she appeared as the patron of Lysicles. This Lysicles Is said to have been a herder at one time, who had gained money. He was an Ignorant, Ig-norant, uncultured fellow, but under tlie guidance of Aspasia rose to be one of the principal men of Athens. It vould seem as though she had deliberately deliber-ately chosen for her genius a task so Mflicult as leading to greatness a man bo so Hi tie deserved it. |