AS inquiries into the topography and an tiquities of Athens require a frequent reference to the primeval history of the Athenians, and to their mythology, which differed in many re spects from that of the rest of Greece, it is' intended, in a few preliminary pages, to recall to the reader's recollection those parts of the history of Athens, whether real or fabulous, which are most necessary to the elucidation of its topography and antiquities. The remainder of this Introduction will be devoted to a rapid view of the progressive ruin of ancient Athens. And of those monuments of art, which were its peculiar distinction.