Standish O'Grady; selected essays and passages

MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS 305
the Dorian City-States there began soon themselves to
organize and send forth equipped new nations, of their
own, founding new City-States far and wide over the
Mediterranean from Sardinia to the Black Sea and the Sea
of Azof, hundreds of them, nor would it be an exaggeration,
I think, to say thousands, great and small, and, as we
know, a Greek State could be very small indeed. For
example, near twenty Cities were daughters of Corcyra,
which was a daughter of Corinth, which was a daughter
of the little far-off ancient mother in the hills above Delphi.
Some of these Dorian daughters of daughters become very
powerful and illustrious, Byzantium, Tarentum, Naples,
Syracuse.
Now, having looked well at all these great, extensive,
famous regions annexed, absorbed by this astonishing
people, turn back again and consider the little blank
spot above Delphi in the midst of the darkly-marked
mountains, the little Dorian Tetrapolis across whose
territory a man might stroll in leisurely fashion between
breakfast and lunch.
Looking myself again at it and at the countries of the
great and famous nations which derived from it, a quaint
thought occurs to me. Sometimes, in the course of my
life, I have seen, and perhaps you have, a frail, slight,
sweet-faced, white-haired old lady in the midst of her tall
daughters and gigantic sons, all fond of her, playing with
and petting her. Here, too, in our map we see the little
ancient genetrix of a giant brood. And this brood of
great nations too was ever loyal to the little genetrix.
Presents and gifts and kind messages were sent to little
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