mail: Bill Thayer	Ἑλληνική	Italiano	Help	Up	Home
previous: Book I This webpage reproduces a Book of the Cynegetica by Oppian published in the Loeb Classical Library, 1928 The text is in the public domain. This page has been carefully proofread and I believe it to be free of errors. If you find a mistake though, please let me know! next: Book III

 p55  Oppian, Cynegetica or The Chase

II

Come now, daughter of Zeus, fair-ankled Phoebe, maid of the golden snood, twin birth with Apollo, declare, I pray thee, who among men and mighty heroes received at thy hands the glorious devices of the chase.

By the foot of windy Pholoe​1 did savage tribes, half-beast half-men, human to the waist but from the waist horses, invent the chase for pastime after the banquet.​2 Among men it was invented first by him who cut off the Gorgon's head, even Perseus,​3 the son of golden Zeus; howbeit he soared on the swift wings​4 of his feet to capture Hares and Jackals and the tribe of wild Goats and swift Gazelles and the breeds of Oryx and the high-headed dappled Deer themselves. Hunting on horseback did Castor, bringer of light,​5 discover; and some beasts he slew by straight hurling of his javelin to the mark; others he pursued on swift horses and put them to bay​6 in the noontide chase. Saw-toothed​7 dogs were  p57 first arrayed for battle with wild beasts by Polydeuces​8 of Lacedaemon, son of Zeus; for he both slew baleful men in the battle of the fists and overcame spotted wild beasts with swift hounds. Pre-eminent in close combat on the hills shone the son of Oeneus, warlike Meleager.​9 Nets again and nooses and curving hayes did Hippolytus​10 first reveal to hunting men. Winged death for wild beasts did Atalanta​11 invent, the glorious daughter of Schoeneus, the maiden huntress of the Boar. And snaring by night, the guileful hunting of the dark, crafty Orion​12 first discovered. These were the mighty leaders of the chase in former days. But afterward the keen passion seized many; for none who has once been smitten by the charms of the delightful hunt would ever willingly forsake it again: he is held by wondrous bonds. How sweet the sleep upon the flowers in springtime; how sweet in summer the low couch in some cave; what delight for hunters to break their fast amid the rocks and what joy attends them when they cull for themselves the flower of honied fruit; and the cold clear water flowing from a grotto — what a draft for a weary man and how sweet a bath; and in the woods what grateful gifts in pleasant baskets are brought by shepherds watching by their flocks!

But come now let us sing first the very jealous race of Bulls and tell of the tremendous feud which  p59 above others they wage with utter fury over their mating. One Bull is monarch of a herd and easily supreme, and he rules the lesser Bulls and females; the cows of the field too tremble at their own lord in his anger when he bellows. But when a Bull separates from the herd​13 and arching his mighty neck comes against another all alone, he too being lord and master of his own, then between the twain arises violent war. First face to face they glare at one another and greatly quiver with wildly seething wrath and breathe fiery breath and tear up the earth​14 with their feet, even as if they were wrestlers dusting themselves​15 for fray. They challenge from either side, loudly bellowing the cry of battle; and when they have sounded the trumpet for grievous combat, incontinently they charge and straightway with their horns each wounds in turn all the body of the other. Even as in battle upon the deep when the sea War-god raises strife, two ships, splendidly flashing with serried warriors face to face, clash with opposing prows front to front, sped by the violent wind and the hands of the sailors; and amid brazen armour rings the din of men and the noise of crashing ships, and the whole sea seethes and groans;  p61 even in such wise the din of the Bulls ascends to heaven, as they smite amain and are smitten with their horns, until one wins the dear and doubtful victory. But the vanquished​16 cannot endure the yoke of slavery. Ashamed and groaning heavily he goes unto a shady wood and alone among the rocks as the seasons circle round he pastures, retired among the thickets of the hill, as an athlete in training.​17 And when he beholds his debated power and strength have waxed mighty,​18 he straightway lifts up his voice upon the mountains; and the other answers; and therewith the forest resounds. But when he takes good heart for his mightier cry, then straightway from the hills he comes to meet his foe and easily overcomes him. For he has made his body fit by his pasture in the forest far from that lust of sex which saps the strength.19

Many are the forms and countless the characters of Bulls. The Egyptian Bulls there are by the fruitful banks of the Nile which makes the wheat to grow, a many-branched river; white of colour they are and far the greatest of all in size:​20 thou wouldst say  p63 it was a deep-drawing ship​21 that was going upon the land. Yet are they kindly of spirit and familiar with men, and whatsoever mortals bid them, they obey with mildness.

The Phrygian Bulls are notable in colour, yellow and of the hue of fire. The neck is deeply fleshed, and high and lofty are the coiled curls upon their heads. Strange is the nature of their horns; for these are not fast fixed upon the powerful head, but they move them​22 to and fro on either side.

The Aonian​23 Bulls do not divide the hoof; a dappled breed they are and with a single horn — a dread horn which they project aloft from the midst of the forehead.

The Armenian Bulls have two horns, indeed, but these curved of form, a dread bane with their backward-bent points.

The Syrian Bulls, the breed of the Chersonese,​24 pasture about high well-builded Pella; tawny, strong, great-hearted, broad of brow, dwellers of the field, powerful, valiant of horn, wild of spirit, loud-bellowing, fierce, jealous, abundant of beard, yet they are not weighed down with fat and flesh of body, nor again are they lean and weak; so tempered are the gifts they have from heaven — at once swift to run and strong to fight. These are they which report said Heracles, the mighty son of Zeus, when fulfilling  p65 his labours, drove of old from Erytheia,​25 what time he fought with Geryoneus beside the Ocean and slew him amid the crags; since he was doomed to fulfil yet another labour, not for Hera nor at the behest of Eurystheus,​26 but for his comrade Archippus,​27 lord of holy Pella. For aforetime all the plain by the foot of Emblonus was flooded; since evermore in great volume rushed Orontes in his eagerness, forgetting the sea and burning with desire of the dark-eyed nymph, the daughter of Ocean. He lingered amid the heights and he covered the fertile earth, unwilling to forgo his hopeless love of Meliboea. With mountains on either side was he encircled round, mountains that on either hand leaned their heads together. From the East came the lofty form of Diocleium, and from the West the left horn of Emblonus, and in the midst himself raging in the plains, ever waxing and drawing nigh the walls, flooding with his waters that mainland at once and island,​28 mine own city. Therefore was the son of Zeus destined straightway with club and  p67 mighty hands to apportion their water unto each, and to give separate course from the plain for the waters of the fair-tressed lake and the fair-flowing river. And he wrought his mighty labour, when he cut the girdle of the encircling hills and undid their stony bonds, and sent the river belching to its mouth, surging incontinent and wildly murmuring, and guided it toward the shores. And loudly roared the deep sea, and the mighty body of the Syrian shore echoed to the din. Not with such violent flood descend those contrary-travelling rivers on either side the echoing sea: here Ister,​29 cleaving the white barriers of the North through Scythia, roars loudly everywhere, trailing amid precipices and water-smitten heights; while on the other hand the sounding sea trembles at the holy stream of Egypt​30 when from Libya it breaks about it. So the mighty river Orontes made a noise of dread bellowing about the shores; and mightily roared the headlands when they received within their bosom the swell of the new-come sea; and the black and fertile earth took heart again, arisen from the waves, a new plain of Heracles. And to this day the fields flourish everywhere with cornº and everywhere the works of oxen are heavy on the prosperous threshing-floors around the Memnonian shrine, where the Assyrian dwellers mourn for Memnon,​31 the glorious son of the Morning, whom, when he came to help the sons of Priam, the doughty husband of Deidameia​32 swiftly slew. Howbeit  p69 the spacious glories of our fatherland we shall sing in due order with sweet Pimplean​33 song; now I turn back to sing of glorious hunting.

There is a terrible breed of deadly Bulls which they call Bisons,​34 since they are natives of Bistonian​35 Thrace. And they have forms of this sort. Over their shoulders you have bristling hair on their fleshy necks as also about their tender jaws; conspicuous form they have, even as the king of beasts, the shaggy, tawny, fierce-eyed Lion. Sharp are the curved points of their horns, like unto bent hooks of bronze; but the points of their hateful horns, unlike those of other cattle, incline athwart to face one another,​36 and their deadly daggers are sloped backwards and look up to the sky. Therefore when they come upon and attack any man or wild beast, they lift their victim on high. Their tongue is narrow, but exceeding rough, even as the device of iron for devouring iron;​a and with the tongue they draw blood from the flesh and lick it.

Moreover the earth breeds the race of swift-footed  p71 Stags,​37 goodly of horn, large of eye, handsome, of dappled back, spotted, conspicuous, river-swimming,​38 lofty of head, fat of chine and lean of shank; the neck is weak and the tail again is very small; the nostrils are fourfold,​39 four passages for the breath; the heart is weak and the spirit within cowardly;​40 and the pointed horns that rise so high are but dummies; for they will never with their heads contend against strong wild beasts nor fierce dogs, nor even the timid hare of furry legs.

 p73  But there is rough passion among Stages and much venery,​41 and a heart that burns for mating all the day, even as have the lustful fighting cocks​42 and all the feathered birds of flowery plumage. They have hidden within their loins under the very belly twin ducts. If one cut these out, straightway he makes the animal effeminate, and from its head falls away all the daedal many-branched growth of sharp horns.​43 But the manner of their mating​44 is not after the custom of other beasts, but strange are the passions that possess them. Not standing in the pastoral valleys nor lying on the flowery grass upon the ground do the Stags consort with the female deer, but the hind runs and the Stag running with swift feet overtakes her and seizes the fugitive and embraces her for his bride. But not even so does he persuade her. Carrying her mate upon her back she flees with all her might, having a heart altogether implacable. But he following swiftly on two feet forgoes not his desire but accomplishes the rites of union. Howbeit, when afterward with the circling of the moons the female brings forth her young, she  p75 avoids​45 the track of men, because the paths of mortals are profane to wild beasts.

Above all wild beasts the Stags of goodly horn plume themselves upon their beauty, having a rich and various growth of horn. Indeed when their branching horns in due season fall off, they dig a trench in the ground and bury them,​46 lest someone chance upon them in the furrow and take them, and themselves hide​47 in the depths of the dense thickets, ashamed that wild beasts should behold thus naked their heads that aforetime soared so high.

Deer are amphibious.​48 For they tread the solid earth and cross the deep, voyaging together in company when they travel over the sea.​49 One in front leads the Deer in line, even as a pilot handles the  p77 helm of a ship. Another behind rests on his back his neck and head and so travels with him in his seafaring. And so in turn, one supporting another, they plough the sea. But when weariness overtakes the foremost swimmer, he leaves his rank and goes to the end of the line and resting on another takes a little respite from his toil, while another takes the helm and journeys over the deep. And all the swimmers leading in turn, they row the dark water with their feet as with oars, and hold aloft the varied beauty of their horns, submitting them, like the sails of a ship, to the breezes.

All the race of Snakes and Deer wage always bitter feud​50 with one another, and everywhere in the mountain glens the Deer seeks out the bold serpent. But when he sees the snaky trail woven with long coils, greatly exulting he draws nigh to the lair and puts his nostrils to the hole, with violent breath drawing the deadly reptile to battle. And the compelling blast hales him, very loth to fight, from the depth of his lair. For straightway the venomous beast beholds his foe and raises high in the air his baleful neck and bares his white teeth, bristling sharp, and snaps his jaws, blowing and hissing fast. And immediately in his turn the Deer, like one who smiles, rends with his mouth the vainly struggling foe, and, while he writhes about his knees and neck, devours him amain. And on the ground are shed many remains, quivering and writhing in death.  p79 Haply thou wouldst pity, unkindly though he be, the ravenous monster rent piecemeal with deadly wounds.

In the borders of Libya,​51 a pasture land of horses, roams a great and countless host of deadly spotted Snakes. When a Stag lies down alone on the sandy hills, straightway upon him from every side rush the hostile swarm of Snakes beyond number and the hateful venomous ranks. In his hide they fix their bitter teeth, swarming around about all the limbs of the Stag. Some devote themselves to his head above and fix their teeth in brow and forehead; others rend with their mouths his slender neck and breast and his flanks and belly; others again cling to his ribs on either side; others feed on his thighs and back above; one here, one there, with deadly impalement they hang about him. And he, full of all manner of pain, first is fain to escape on swift feet, but he has not the strength; such an infinite crowd of cruel spotted snakes besets him. Then, oppressed by grievous constraint, he makes a stand and with his jaws he rends the infinite hostile tribes, bellowing the while for pain; and wheeling this way and that he makes havoc of the reptile race which make no endeavour to escape. Yet they do not let go their hold, but abide steadfast unto death, having a relentless mind and a heart not to be turned. And some he rends with his jaws; others he destroys with foot and hoof, and on the ground flows from the serpents  p81 an endless bloody stream, and the limbs and joints of the beasts half-devoured quiver upon the ground; others again upon his ribs he crushes half-dead; for even in death they still keep hold with their strong teeth and, clinging to his hide, their mere heads still groan. But he, knowing the gift that he hath gotten from Heaven, seeks everywhere for the dark stream of a river. Therefrom he kills crabs​52 with his jaws and so gets a self-taught remedy for his painful woe; and speedily the remnants of the cruel beasts fall from his hide of their own motion beside his feet, and the wounds of their teeth on either side close up.

The Stag, moreover, lives a long time,​53 and of a truth men say that he lives four lives of a crow.54

Others again men call Broad-horns.​55 They are altogether deer but they carry aloft such nature of horns as the name of the beast declares.

 p83  Other beasts in the woods they call Iorcus.​56 These also have the form of a deer, but on their back they have a hide, all various with spots, like the marks that twinkle upon the skin of the wild Leopards.

The Antelope​57 again is less in stature than the Broad-horn: less than the Broad-horn but far mightier than the Gazelle: bright of eye, lovely in colour, cheerful of aspect. Straight from the head spring the long branches of its horns but aloft they bend again toward the back with curved points. Above all others doth this race love its own home and its accustomed lair and its dwelling in the glades. Even if hunters bind it with twisted ropes and carry it straightway to other regions and far away in the glens leave it there to its freedom, easily doth it come to the sweet home where it used to dwell and endures not to wander as a stranger amid aliens. Not then to men alone is their native land dear, but even in the hearts of the dappled wild beasts is instilled a desire of home.

Furthermore we all know the conspicuous tribes of the most swift​58 Gazelles,​59 their beauty alike and their stature and their strength. The lustful​60 Partridges,61  p85 fiery of eye and speckled of neck, make pact of friendship with the Gazelles​62 in the vales and are familiar with them and dwell with them and have their nests near them and do not range apart from them. Verily it may well be that afterward they reap bitter fruit of their companion­ship and laughterless profit of their friendship, when guileful men contrive a cunning device against the hapless creatures, setting the Partridges to decoy their friends the Gazelles and, in turn, setting the Gazelles in like manner to decoy their comrades the Partridges.

Again there are the wild tribes of Goats and Sheep. These are not much larger than our Sheep and shaggy Goats, but they are swift to run and strong to fight, armed as their heads are with twisted horns. The strength, moreover, of the Sheep lies in their terrible foreheads. Many a time in the woods they charge and lay rushing Boars writhing on the ground. Sometimes also they rush upon one another and do battle, and a mighty din reaches unto heaven. And it is not lawful for them to shun the foe, but unshakable constraint is upon them either to win the victory one over another or to lie dead: such strife arises between them.

And wild Goats have a slender channel for the breath​63 right through the teeth between the horns,  p87 whence again the channel goes straight to the very heart and lungs. If one pours wax about the horns of the wild Goat, he blocks the paths of its life and the channels of its breath.

Notable is the care which the dam among these takes for her tender young and which the children take for their mother in her old age. And even as among men, when a parent is fettered in the grievous bonds of old age — heavy of foot, crooked of limb, feeble of hand, palsied of body, dim of eye — his children cherish and attend him with utmost heed, repaying the care of their laborious rearing: so do the young of the Goats care for their dear parents in their old age, when sorrowful bonds fetter their limbs. They cull with their mouths and proffer them dewy food and flowery, and for drink they bring them dark water which they draw from the river with their lips, while with their tongues they tend and cleanse all their body. Didst thou but take the mother alone in a snare, straightway thou mightst take young lambs with thy hands. For thou wouldst think that she was driving away her children with her words, entreating them afar with such bleatings as these: "Flee, children dear, the cruel hunters, lest ye be slain and make me your poor mother a mother no more!" Such words thou wouldst think she spoke, while they, standing before her, first sing, thou wouldst imagine, a mournful dirge about their mother, and then, breaking forth in bleating, speak in human accents and as if they used the speech of men and like as if they prayed, utter from their lips such language as this: "In the name of Zeus we pray thee, in the name of the Archer Maid herself, release to us our dear mother,  p89 and accept a ransom, even all that we unhappy can offer for our poor mother — even our hapless selves. Bend thy cruel heart and have regard unto the law of Heaven and to the old age of a parent, if thou hast thyself an aged parent left in thy bright home." Such prayer might one fancy that they utter. But when they see that thy heart is altogether inexorable, — how great their regard, how great their love for their parents! — they come to bondage of their own accord and of their own motion pass the bourne.

Yellow Sheep there are in the bounds of utmost Crete, in the low land of Gortyn — Sheep with four horns; and bright wool is wreathed about their flesh — abundant wool but not soft: so rugged is it that it might compare with the roughest hair of Goats, not with the wool of Sheep.

Such yellow-coloured form has also the brilliant Subus,​64 but no longer shaggy nor again furnished with four horns but with two strong ones above amplest forehead. Amphibious too is the Subus; for he also walks upon the land; but when he travels to the deep and ploughs the swift waves, then a great company of fishes attends him and travels the sea along with him; and they lick his limbs and rejoice in their horned friend, the Subus of tender body. Above all the Braize​65 and the feeble  p91 Melanurus​66 and the Needle-fish​67 and the Red Mullet​68 and the Lobster​69 are attendant upon him. A marvel is this, a marvel unspeakable, when alien desires and strange loves distress wild beasts. For it is not alone for one another that God has given them the compelling ordinance of mutual love, nor only so far that their race should wax with everlasting life. That is, indeed, a marvel, that the brute tribes should be constrained by the bonds of desire and should know the passions of their own kind and, albeit without understanding should feel mutual desire for one another, even as for men thought and intelligence opens the eye and admits love to the heart; but the wild races are also highly stirred by the frenzy of alien desires. What a passion is that of lordly Stag for the Francolin!​70 How great that of the Partridge for that long-horned Gazelle!  p93 How again does the Bustard​71 of the shaggy ear​72 rejoice in the swift Horse! The Parrot​73 again and the Wolf herd together; for Wolves have ever a passion for the grass-hued​74 bird. Mighty Love, how great art thou! how infinite thy might! how many things dost thou devise and ordain, how many, mighty spirit, are thy sports! The earth is steadfast: yet is it shaken by thy shafts. Unstable is the sea: yet thou dost make it fast. Thou comest unto the upper air and high Olympus is afraid before thee. All things fear thee, wide heaven above and all that is beneath the earth and the lamentable tribes of the dead, who, though they have drained with their lips the oblivious water of Lethe, still tremble before thee. By thy might thou dost pass afar, beyond what the shining sun doth ever behold: to thy fire even the light yields place for fear and the thunderbolts of Zeus likewise give place. Such fiery arrows, fierce spirit, hast thou — sharp, consuming, mind-destroying, maddening, whose melting breath knows no healing — wherewith thou dost stir even the very wild beasts to unmeet desires. A marvel it is when the winged Francolins leap on the spotted back of  p95 the horned Brocket​75 or Partridges wheel swiftly about the Gazelle and cool their sweat and comfort their hearts in the sweltering heat with the flapping of their wings; or when before a Horse of clattering hoof the Bustard goes, gliding delightful through the air; or when the Sargues​76 approach the herds of Goats. About the Subus, indeed, the whole wandering tribe of fishes and all follow with him when he ploughs the wild waves and throng on either side for joy and the sea foams round about, lashed by their white fins. But he, recking not of their strange friendship, all lawlessly devours and banquets on them with bloody jaws. And they, though seeing doom before their eyes, hate him not even so nor desert their slayer. Wretched Subus, worker of evil, for thine own self hereafter shall the hunters devise death by sea, crafty though thou art and slayer of fishes!

There is a certain sharp-horned beast that dwells in the thickets, even the fierce Oryx,​77 most formidable  p97 to wild beasts. His colour is even as that of milk in spring, only the cheeks about his face being black. He has a double back, rich in fat. Sharp rise aloft the piercing points of his horns, black of hue, which are mightier than whetted bronze or chilly iron or jagged rock, and men say that those horns have a venomous nature. The spirit of the Oryx is overweening and stern. For they tremble neither at the yelping of the keen-scented Hound nor at the snorting of the wild Boar among the rocks, neither do they fear the mighty bellowing of the Bull nor shudder at the mirthless cry of the Leopard nor the mighty roar of the Lion himself, nor in the dauntlessness of their heart do they care aught for men: many a time a mighty hunter has perished​78 on the hills when he has encountered the deadly Oryxes. When the Oryx descries a valiant wild beast, a tusked Boar or a saw-toothed​79 Lion or chilly Bear of deadly courage, straightway he bows to earth and holds steadfast his outstretched head and brows, and fixing close to the ground his sharp weapons, awaits the onset of the foe and strikes him first and slays. For bending a little aside his horned brows he watches and springs with his sharper weapons on the beast; which, heeding not, rushes incontinently straight on and horribly clashes with the sharp palisade of his horns. As when in the thickets, as a Lion charges, a valiant man, who is skilled in the gifts of Artemis, holding in his hands his flashing spear, with feet set well apart, awaits him, and, as he rages  p99 wildly, receives him with his two-edged brazen spear advanced: even so the Oryxes in that hour await the charge of the wild beasts, who are self-slain by their own folly. For the points of the horns glide easily into their breasts, and much dark blood, pouring on either side from their wounds — their own blood — they speedily lick with their tongues; nor can they escape if they would, but they slay one another with mutual slaughter. And some countryman, a herdsman or a ploughman, chancing on the two corpses at his feet, with marvelling heart wins a welcome prey.

Next in order among horned wild beasts it is meet to sing the tribes of the elephant infinite in size. Those two mighty weapons in their jaws, which rise like tusks towards the heavens, others of the vulgar herd call deadly teeth; wherein they err: we are pleased to name them horns;​80 for so the nature of horns declares to us. Not obscure are the signs whereby they may be distinguished. For such growths from the upper jaws of wild beasts as are horny, spring upward: if they incline downward, they are certainly teeth.​81 Of these two horns of the Elephant the roots first of all spring from the head,  p101 mighty as the head is mighty, even as the roots of the oak; then below, concealed by skin where they meet the temples, they project into the jaw; and when left bare by the jaws they give to the vulgar the false impression of teeth.​82 Moreover, there is another clear sign for men. All teeth of wild beasts are unbending and do not yield to art but remain intractable, and if a worker in horn wishes by his skill to make them broad, they flatly refuse, and if they are forced, the stubborn teeth break stemwise. From horns on the other hand are fashioned bent bows and countless other works of art. In like manner those elephant horns which men call teeth, yield to the ivory-cutter to bend them or to broaden.83

These beasts have a bulk such as on the earth no other wild beast yet hath worn. Seeing an elephant thou wouldst say that a huge mountain-peak or a dread cloud, fraught with storm for hapless mortals, was travelling on the land. The head is strong with ears small, hollow, and polished. The eyes, though large, are small for that size of beast. Between them projects a great nose, thin and crooked, which men call the proboscis. That is the hand​84 of the beast; with it they easily do whatsoever they will. The legs are not equal​85 in size; for the fore-legs rise to a far greater height. The hide that covers the body is rugged, impenetrable and strong, which not  p103 even a blade of mighty all-subduing iron would easily cleave. Wild without limit is the temper of the Elephant in the shady wood but among men he is tame and gentle to human kind. In the green glens of many cliffs he stretches root and branch upon the ground, oaks and wild olives and the high-crowned race of palms, assailing them with his sharp tremendous tusks; but when he is in the strong hands of men, he forgets his temper and his fierce spirit leaves him: he endures even the yoke and receives the bit in his mouth and carries upon his back​86 the boys who order his work.

It is said that Elephants talk to one another, mumbling with their mouths the speech of men. But not to all is the speech of the beasts audible, but only the men who tame them hear it. This marvel also I have heard, that the mighty elephants have a prophetic soul within their breasts and know in their hearts when their inevitable doom is at hand. Not then among birds only are there prophets, even the Swans​87 who sing their last lament, but among wild beasts also this tribe divine the end of death and perform their own dirge.

The Rhinoceros​88 is not much larger than the bounding Oryx. A little above the tip of the nose rises a horn dread and sharp, a cruel sword. Charging therewith he could pierce through bronze and with its stroke could cleave a mighty cliff. He attacks  p105 the Elephant​89 strong though it be and many a time lays so mighty a beast dead in the dust. On his yellowish,​90 hairy brows and on his back dense spots show darkly. All the breed are males and a female is never seen. Whence they come I know not, but I speak as I have learnt, whether this deadly race springs from rock or whether they are children of the soil and spring from the ground, or whether the wild monsters are begotten of one another, without desire and without mating and without birth. Even in the wet depths of the sea with its watery ways there are tribes which come into being self-made and motherless​91 — Oysters and feeble Fry and the races of Sea-snails and Testacea and Spiral-shells and all that grow in the sands.

Dear Muse, it is not meet for me to sing of small creatures. Leave thou the feeble beasts which have no strength in them — the grey-eyed Panthers​92 and  p107 the villain Cats​93 which attack the nests of domestic fowls; and leave thou the tiny, tender, weakling Dormice.​94 These indeed remain with eyes closed all the winter season, drunk with sleep. Hapless creatures! to take no food! not to behold the light! In their lairs, so deep asleep are they, they lie as dead and a wintry lot is theirs. But when eyes of spring first smile and the flowers in the meadow newly bloom, they stir their sluggish bodies from their secret lair and open their eyes and behold the light of the sun, and with new delight bethink them of sweet food, and once more become alive and Dormice once again.

I leave too the shaggy race of the feeble Squirrel,​95 who in the fiery season of midsummer erects his tail to shelter his self-roofed dwelling;​96 even as the Peacocks​97 shelter their own beautiful form, their splendid form with many-pictured back: than whom the wisdom of Zeus hath devised for men naught  p109 more pleasant to behold with glad eyes, neither amid all that walk mother earth, giver of all gifts, nor amid all that travel on wings the spacious air, nor amid those that in the deep cleave the wild waves: in such wise on the splendid birds twinkles blazing fire mingled with the sheen of gold.

I will not tell of the chilly race of the prickly Hedgehog​98 — the lesser; for two dread forms there are of the sharp-spined Hedgehogs with chilly fence encircling them. The one kind are small and feeble and bristle with small jutting spines; the other sort are far larger in size and have stronger prickles bristling sharp on either side.

I leave the triple breeds of Apes,​99 those villainous mimics.​100 For who would not abhor such a race, ugly to look on, weak, loathsome, evil of aspect, crafty of counsel? These, though they bring forth twin children of evil mien, divide not their love equally  p111 between both, but they love the one and hate and are angered at the other; and he perishes in the very arms of his parents.

Neither of a truth will minstrels sing the earth-born tribes of the Moles,​101 eaters of grass​102 and blind,​103 albeit a rumour not to be believed has spread among men that the Moles boast themselves sprung from the blood of a king, even of Phineus,​104 whom a famous Thracian hill nurtured. Against Phineus once on a time was the Titan Phaethon angered, wroth for the victory of prophet Phoebus, and robbed him of his sight and sent the shameless tribes of the Harpies, a winged race to dwell with him to his sorrow. But when the two glorious sons of Boreas, even Zetes and Calais, voyaged on the ship Argo in quest of the golden prize, assisting Jason, then did they take compassion on the old man and slew that tribe and gave his poor lips sweet food. But not even so did Phaethon lull his wrath to rest, but speedily turned him into the race of Moles which were before not; wherefore even now the race remains blind and gluttonous of food.

---

The Loeb Editor's Notes:

1 M. in Arcadia, home of the Centaurs.

❦

2 For ἐπιδόρπιον cf. μεταδόρπια Plat. Critias, 115B.

❦

3 S. of Danae whom Zeus visited in a golden rain.

❦

4 The winged shoes of Perseus. Apollod. II.4.2.

❦

5 Castor and Pollux became the constellation Gemini, the Twins, and aid those in peril at sea; Claud. Bell. Gild. I.221 caeca sub nocte vocati Naufraga Ledaei sustentant vela Lacones. Cf. Callim. (Loeb) H. V.24 n. For dogs called καστορίαι cf. Xen. C. 3.1; Poll. V.39.

❦

6 Lit. "took (slew) in the narrows." Cf. Lat. angustiae. The phrase is from Hom. Il. XXIII.330 ἐν ξυνοχῇσιν ὁδοῦ.

❦

7 C. III.5 n.

❦

8 Gratt. 213 assigns this distinction to the Boeotian Hagnon.

❦

9 S. of Aetolian Oeneus and Althaea, killed the Calydonian boar. Apollod. I.8.2.

❦

10 S. of Theseus and the Amazon Hippolyte, was favourite of Artemis and famous hunter.

❦

11 D. of Schoeneus (Paus. VIII.35, etc.) or Iasus (Callim. H. III.216, etc.), was first to shoot the Calydonian boar (Apollod. I.8.2; Paus. VIII.45).

❦

12 Giant hunter of Boeotia: Apollod. I.4.3.

❦

13 A. 572 B16 ὁ δὲ ταῦρος, ὅταν ὤρα τῆς ὀχείας ᾗ, τότε γίνεται σύννομος καὶ μάχεται τοῖς ἄλλοις, τὸν δὲ πρότερον χρόνον μετ’ ἀλλήλων εἰσίν, ὃ καλεῖται ἀτιμαγελεῖν. πολλάκις γὰρ οἵ γ’ ἐν τῇ Ἠπείρῳ οὐ φαίνονται τριῶν μηνῶν; id. 611 A2 ἀπόλλυνται δὲ καὶ οἰ ταῦροι, ὅταν ἀτιμαγελήσαντες ἀποπλανηθῶσιν, ὑπὸ θηρίων.

❦

14 Plin. VIII.181 Sed (tauro) tota comminatio prioribus in pedibus. Stat ira gliscente alternos replicans spargensque in alvum harenam et solus animalium eo stimulo ardescens. Cf. Pind. P. IV.226.

❦

15 Wrestlers anointed with oil and sprinkled themselves with dust; E. M. s. κονίω; Plut. Mor. 966C προσθέσεις καὶ παρασκευὰς ἐπὶ μάχῃ κονιομένων; ibid. 970F διακονίεσθαι; Lucian, Anach. xxxi etc.; Anth. Gr. (App. Pl.) XXV.8; Luc. IV.613 Perfundit membra liquore Hospes (Hercules) Olympiacae servato more palaestra, Ille (Antaeus) parum fidens pedibus contingere matrem Auxilium membris calidas infudit harenas.

❦

16 Verg. G. III.224 Nec mos bellantes una stabulare, sed alter Victus abit longeque ignotis exulat oris, Multa gemens ignominiam plagasque superbi Victoris, tum quos amisit inultus amores, Et stabula aspectans regnis excessit avitis; Ael. VI.1 ταῦρος ἡγεμὼν τῆς ἀγέλης, ὅταν ἡττηθῇ ἡγεμόνος ἄλλου ἑαυτὸν ἀποκρίνει εἰς χῶρον ἕτερον.

❦

17 Verg. G. III.229 Ergo omni cura vires exercet et inter Dura iacet pernox instrato saxa cubili, Frondibus hirsutis et carice pastus acuta, Et tentat sese atque irasci in cornua discit, Arboris obnixus trunco ventosque lacessit Ictibus et sparsa pugnam proludit harena; Ael. l.c. ἑαυτῷ γίνεται γυμναστὴς καὶ ἀθλεῖ πᾶσαν ἄθλησιν κονιόμενος καὶ τοῖς δένδροις τὰ κέρατα προσανατρίβων.

❦

18 Verg. G. III.235 Post ubi collectum robur viresque refectae, Signa movet praecepsque oblitum fertur in hostem; Stat. T. XI.251º Sic ubi regnator post exulis otia tauri Mugitum hostilem summa tulit aure iuvencus Agnovitque minas, magna stat fervidus ira Ante gregem spumisque animos ardentibus efflat, Nunc pede torvus humum, nunc cornibus aera findens; Horret ager trepidaeque expectant proelia valles.

❦

19 Verg. G. III.209; A. 575 A20; Ael. l.c.

❦

20 A. 606 A21 ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα μείζω ἢ ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι, καθάπερ οἱ βόες καὶ τὰ πρόβατα. Prof. D'Arcy Thompson writes: "The Egyptian bulls were large, but not 'white.' The bulls of Apis were black, with white markings; those mentioned here were probably the light-coloured bulls of Mnevis. Both had long, lyre-shaped horns, the type still surviving at Khartoum, etc. (Bos Africanus Brehm)."

❦

21 βαθυτ. only here: ἡ βαθὺ κοῖλον βάθος ἔχουσα schol.

❦

22 A. 517 A27 τὰ δὲ κέρατα προσπέφυκε μᾶλλον τῷ δέρματι ἢ τῷ ὀστῷ· διὸ καὶ ἐν Φρυγίᾳ εἰσὶ βόες καὶ ἄλλοθι οἳ κινοῦσι τὰ κέρατα ὥσπερ τὰ ὧτα; Plin. II.124 (dedit natura) mobilia eadem (i.e. cornua) ut aures Phrygiae armentis. Cf. Antig. 75. So of other cattle, Solin. LII.36; Ael. II.20, XVI.33, XVII.45; Diod. III.35; Agatharch. ap. Phot. p455B Benner.

❦

23 This should mean Boeotian (so the schol.), but it seems clear that there is some error. According to A. 499 B18 μονολέρατα καὶ μώνυχα ὀλίγα οἷον ὁ Ἰνδίκος ὄνος; Plin. VIII.76 In India [Ctesias scribit esse] et boves solidis ungulis unicornes; Solin. LII.38 sunt praeterea [in India] boves unicornes et tricornes solidis ungulis nec bifissis.

❦

24 Chersonese and Pella were old names for Apamea on the Orontes in Syria; Strab. 752. See Introd. p. xix.

❦

25 Apollod. II.5.10 δέκατον ἐπετάγη ἆθλον τὰς Γηρυόνου βόας ἐξ Ἐρυθείας κομίζειν. Ἐρύθεια δὲ ἦν Ὠκεανοῦ πλησίον κειμένη νῆσος, ἣ νῦν Γάδειρα (= Gades; cf. Pind. N. IV.68; Dion. P. 451) καλεῖται. ταύτην κατῴκει Γηρυόνος . . . τριῶν ἔχων ἀνδρῶν συμφυὲς σῶμα; Herod. IV.8; Diod. IV.17; Strab. 148; Aesch. Ag. 870.

❦

26 S. of Sthenelus (s. of Perseus). When Heracles was about to be born Zeus declared that the descendant of Perseus then to be born should rule Mycenae. Hera caused Eurystheus to be born, a seven-month child, while she delayed the birth of Heracles. When Heracles in his madness had slain his children, the Delphic oracle κατοικεῖν αὐτὸν εἶπεν ἐν Τίρυνθι, Εὐρυσθεῖ λατρεύοντα ἔτη δώδεκα καὶ τοὺς ἐπιτασσομένους ἄθλους δέκα ἐπιτελεῖν; Apollod. II.4.5.

❦

27 See Introd. p. xix. This myth seems to be found only here, and Archippus, Diocleium, and Emblonus are nowhere else mentioned. The schol. on 109 has: οὓς Ἡρακλῆς ἀθλῶν πρότερον ἐξ Ἐρυθείας ἐκόμισεν, τὸν Γηρυόνα ἀνελών, ὅτε δὴ καὶ Ἀρχίππῳ Πέλλης ἡγεμόνι (φίλος δ’ ἄρα οἱ καὶ συνήθης ὁ Ἄρχιππος) ἆθλον ἐκτελεῖν ἔμελλεν οὐδὲν ἀτιμότερον <ἢ> ὁ Εὐρυσθεὺς . . . ἐπέταττεν. ὁ γὰρ τοι τὴν Ἀντιόχου παραρρέων Ὀρόντης λίμνην προσεκκαυθεὶς καὶ μεθύων τῆς νύμφης τῷ ἔρωτι (Μελίβοια τῇ νύμφῃ τὸ ὄνομα, Ὠκεανὸς τῇ λίμνῃ πατήρ) τῆς ἐπὶ θάλατταν μὲν ἐπελάθετο, ὄρεσι δὲ καὶ πεδίοις περιελίμναζε, νῦν μὲν τὸν Ἐμβλωνὸν (ὄρος δ’ οὗτος) καὶ τοὺς αὐτοῦ καταιγίζων πρόποδας, ἄρτι δὲ πρὸς γῆν ἐκτρεπόμενος, καὶ ταύτην ἐπικαλύπτων τῷ ῥεύματι, ἐνίοτε δὲ καὶ μέσος τῶν ὀρέων συρόμενος ἀμφοῖν Ἐμβλωνοῦ καὶ Διοκλείου, τῶν ἐξ ἕω καὶ δυσμῶν ἐπικεκυφότων ἀλλήλοις, καὶ παντοῖος διὰ τὴν ἐρωμένην γινόμενος, ἀνοιδαίνων τε καὶ ἀνακαχλάζων, καὶ πελάζων τοῖς τείχεσι καὶ τὴν εἰς Χερρόνησον διεσχηματισμένην πόλιν ἐμὴν περικλύζων τῷ ὕδατι.

❦

28 i.e. Chersonese; cf. 100 n.

❦

29 Danube.

❦

30 Apparently here, as in Hom. Od. IV.477 etc., = the Nile.

❦

31 King of the Ethiopians, s. of Eos (Dawn) and Tithonus, fought against the Greeks at Troy (Hom. Od. IV.188; XI.522), where he was slain by Achilles (Pind. O. II.91; N. VI.56). His tomb was shown in various places, among others at Paltos in Syria (Strab. 728). Assyrian = Syrian, cf. C. I.7 n.

❦

32 D. of Lycomedes of Scyros, m. by Achilles of Neoptolemus.

❦

33 Fountain in Pieria sacred to the Muses. Callim. H. IV.7.

❦

34 Bos bonasus (Bison europaeus), the Wisent or European Bison, now exterminated in Lithuania, where a herd was maintained by the Tsar of Russia, and probably in the Caucasus also. Aristotle describes it under the name βόνασος 630 A18 ff.; cf. 498 B28; 506 B30. In 630 A20 he says it is called by the Paeonians μόναπος. Cf. A. Mirab. 830 A5 ἐν τῇ Παιονίᾳ φασὶν . . . εἶναί τι θηρίον τὸ καλούμενον βόλινθον, ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν Παιόνων μόναιπον; Ael. VII.3 μόνωψ; Antig. 53 μόνωπος; Plin. VIII.40 Tradunt in Paeonia feram quae bonasus vocetur equina iuba, cetera tauro similem, cornibus ita in se flexis ut non sint utilia pugnae; cf. Solin. XL.10. Pausan. X.13 gives an account of the capture of the Paeonian Bison by means of a pit. The bison with short stout horns is not to be confounded with the Aurochs, Bos taurus (B. primigenius), the Latin urus: Caes. B. G. VI.28; Verg. G. II.374, III.532; Macrob. VI.4.23, of which the last was killed in Poland in 1627. Bison and urus are mentioned together Plin. VIII.38 iubatos bisontes excellentique et vi et velocitate uros; Senec. Hipp. 64 f. villosi terga bisontes Latisque feri cornibus uri.

❦

35 A pseudo-etymology. The Bistones dwelt on S. coast of Thrace near Abdera, Strab. 331 fr. 44.

❦

36 A. 499 B31 διχαλὰ δ’ ἅμα καὶ χαίτην ἔχοντα καὶ κέρατα δύο κεκαμμένα εἰς αὑτά ἐστιν ἔνια τῶν ζῴων, οἷον ὁ βόνασος, ὃς γίνεται περὶ τὴν Παιονίαν καὶ τὴν Μαιδικήν; Plin. VIII.40 (quoted above).

❦

37 ἔλαφος is (1) specifically the Red Deer, Cervus elaphus, (2) generically Deer, and is used both of Stag and Hind.

❦

38 "Instances too sometimes occur of a stag being found swimming narrow parts of the Moray Firth; a solitary deer who probably has been driven by dogs from his usual haunts, till frightened and bewildered he has wandered at random and, at last, coming to the shore, has swum boldly out, attracted by the appearance of the woods on the opposite side," St. John, N. H. and Sport in Moray, p240; cf. Wild Sports and N. H. of the Highlands, p23; A. P. IX.275 τὴν δὲ ταχεῖαν εἰν ἁλὶ καὶ χαροποῖς κύμασιν εἷλ’ ἔλαφον.

❦

39 Cf. G. White, N. H. of Selborne, Letter XIV (March 12, 1768) "If some curious gentleman would procure the head of a fallow-deer, and have it dissected, he would find it furnished with two spiracula, or breathing-places, besides the nostrils; probably analogous to the puncta lacrimalia in the human head. When deer are thirsty they plunge their noses, like some horses, very deep under water while in the act of drinking, and continue them in that situation for a considerable time; but to obviate any inconveniency, they can open two vents, one at the inner corner of each eye, having a communication with the nose. Here seems to be an extraordinary provision of nature worthy our attention; and which has not, that I know of, been noticed by any naturalist. For it looks as if these creatures would not be suffocated, though both their mouths and nostrils were stopped. This curious formation of the head may be of singular service to beasts of chase, by affording them free respiration; and no doubt these additional nostrils are thrown open when they are hard run. . . . Oppian, the Greek poet, by the following line [i.e. 181] seems to have had some notion that stags have four spiracula." Dr. James Ritchie, Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, writes: "The spiracula of deer, or, as they are now called, the sub-orbital glands, vary a great deal in their development in different species of deer, but in many cases the glands seem to be of very considerable importance, lying in specially deep depressions in the skull. The glands secrete a waxy material, and I have seen this oozing in masses, even after red deer had been dead for several days. The secretion is most active during the pairing season, and there are a number of observations showing that deer seem deliberately to rub the secretion upon trees and stones. The suggestion has been made that this is in order to convey the scent of their passing, and this might be the effect even if we attribute the rubbing simply to a desire to get rid of the annoyance of surplus secretion. . . . The sub-orbital gland has a sort of contractile lip which, closed at one time, may at another be so pulled back that the inner surface is everted and there is exposed the large cavity of the gland lined with pink mucous membrane. The action and the appearance are quite enough to suggest similarity with movement and appearance of the nostrils, but of course there is no sort of connexion between the sub-orbital glands and the air-passages."

❦

40 A. 488 B15 τὰ δὲ φρόνιμα καὶ δειλά, οἷον ἔλαφος, δασύπους; cf. Suid. and E. M. s. ἐλάφειος.

❦

41 A. 579 A4 ταῦτα δὲ ποιεῖ τὸ ζῷον διὰ τὸ φύσει λαγνὸν εἶναι; Solin. XIX.9 mares generis huiusce, cum statum tempus venerem incitavit, saeviunt rabie libidinis.

❦

42 A. 488 B3 τὰ μὲν ἀφροδισιαστικά, οἷον τὸ τῶν περδίκων καὶ ἀλεκτρυόνων γένος.

❦

43 A. 632 A10 οἱ δ’ ἔλαφοι, ἐὰν μὲν μήπω τὰ κέρατα ἔχοντες διὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν ἐκτμηθῶσιν, οὐκέτι φύουσι κέρατα· ἐὰν δ’ ἔχοντας ἐκτέμῃ τις, τό τε μέγεθος ταὐτὸν μένει τῶν κεράτων καὶ οὐκ ἀποβάλλουσιν; cf. 517 A25; Plin. VIII.17 Non decidunt castratis cornua nec nascuntur; Solin. XIX.14. "The horns of the Ruminants are frequently a secondary sexual character; this is especially the case with the Deer. . . . That they are associated with the reproductive function is shown by their being shed after the period of rut, the destruction of the velvet at that period, and also by the effect upon the horns which any injury to the reproductive glands produces," Camb. N. H. X Mammalia, p201.

❦

44 A. 540 A5 οὔτε τοὺς ἄρρενας ἐλάφους αἱ θήλειαι ὑπομένουσιν εἰ μὴ ὀλιγάκις, . . . διὰ τὴν τοῦ αἰδοίου (cf. 500 B23) συντονίαν, ἀλλ’ ὑπάγοντα τὰ θήλεα δέχονται τὴν γονήν· καὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν ἐλάφων ὦπται τοῦτο συμβαῖνον, τῶν γε τιθασῶν; Plin. X.174 Taurorum cervorumque feminae vim non tolerant: ea de causa ingrediuntur in conceptu.

❦

45 Contrary to the usual doctrine; A. 578 B16 ποιεῖται τοὺς τόκους παρὰ τὰς ὁδοὺς διὰ τὸν πρὸς τὰ θηρία φόβον; 611 A15 ἡ ἔλαφος οὐχ ἥκιστα δοκεῖ εἶναι φρόνιμον τῷ τε τίκτειν παρὰ τὰς ὁδούς (τὰ γὰρ θηρία διὰ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους οὐ προσέρχεται); Plin. VIII.112 in pariendo semitas minus cavent humanis vestigiis tritas quam secreta ac feris opportuna. Cf. Plut. Mor. 971E; Antig. 29; Ael. VI.11. Oppian seems to have confused the seclusion of the Hind after the birth of the young (A. 578 B20; Antig. l.c.; Plin. VIII.113; Solin. XIX.10) with her behaviour at their birth, just as Ael. l.c. καταπιανθεῖσα δὲ οὐκ ἂν ἔτι τέκοι παρὰ τὰς ὁδοὺς confuses this with the seclusion of the Stags when they have grown fat (A. 579 A5; Plin. VIII.113).

❦

46 A. 611 A25 ἀποβάλλουσι δὲ καὶ τὰ κέρατα ἐν τόποις χαλεποῖς καὶ δυσεξευρέτοις· ὅθεν καὶ ἡ παροιμία γέγονεν "οὗ αἱ ἔλαφοι τὰ κέρατα ἀποβάλλουσιν." ὥσπερ γὰρ τὰ ὅπλα ἀποβεβληκυῖαι φυλάττοντα ὁρᾶσθαι; A. Mirab. 835 B27; Antig. 20; Ael. III.17; Plin. VIII.115; Theophr. fr. 175.

❦

47 Ael. VI.5 οἱ ἔλαφοι τὰ κέρατα ἀποβαλόντες εἰσδύνονται παρελθόντες εἰς τὰς λόχμας . . . ἔρημοι γὰρ τῶν ἀμυντηρίων ὄντες ἀφῃρῆσθαι καὶ τὴν ἀλκὴν πεπιστεύκασιν; Plin. VIII.115 cornua mares habent solique animalium omnibus annis stato veris tempore amittunt, ideo sub ista die quam maxime invia petunt. Latent amissis velut inermes. Cf. A. De Plant. 818 B25.

❦

48 In the popular sense. Cf. Plat. Ax. 368C (of sailor) ὁ γὰρ ἐπίγειος ἄνθρωπος ὡς ἀμφίβιος αὑτὸν εἰς τὸ πέλαγος ἔρριψεν; Amm. Marc. XXII.15.14 Exuberat Aegyptus pecudibus multis, inter quas terrestres sunt et aquatiles: aliae quae humi et in humoribus vivunt unde ἀμφίβιοι; Colum. VIII.13 eas aves quas Graeci vocant ἀμφιβίους, quia non tantum terrestria sed aquatilia quoque desiderant pabula, nec magis humo quam stagno consueverunt. Eiusque generis anser . . .; G. White, N. H. of Selborne, XXIX. "Quadrupeds that prey on fish are amphibious. Such is the otter"; Ael. XI.37 ἀμφίβια δὲ ἵππος ποτάμιος, ἔνυδρος, κάστωρ, κροκόδειλος. In stricter sense Arist. ap. Athen. 306B (Newt); A. P. VI.43 (Frog). See A. 589 A10; 566 B27. A. does not use the term ἀμφίβιος (except ap. Athen. 306B) but ἐπαμφοτερίζειν.

❦

49 Plin. VIII.114 maria trameant gregatim nantes porrecto ordine et capita imponentes praecedentium clunibus vicibusque ad terga redeuntes. Cf. Ael. V.56; Solin. XIX.11.

❦

50 Plin. VIII.118 Et his cum serpente pugna. Vestigant cavernas nariumque spiritu extrahunt renitentes. Cf. Ael. II.9 IX.20; Phil. 59; Solin. XIX.15; Plut. Mor. 976D ἐλάφοις δ’ ὄφεις ἀγόμενοι ῥᾳδίως ὑπ’ αὐτῶν· ᾗ καὶ τοὔνομα πεποίηται παρώνυμον οὐ τῆς ἐλαφρότητος ἀλλὰ τῆς ἕλξεως τοῦ ὄφεως; E. M. s. ἔλαφος.

❦

51 A. 606 B9 ἐν τῇ Λιβύῃ τὸ τῶν ὄφεων μέγεθος γίνεται ἄπλατον; Solin. XXVII.28 Africa serpentibus adeo fecunda est ut mali huius merito illi potissimum palma detur. Cf. Herod. IV.191 f. where he says ἔλαφος δὲ καὶ ὗς ἄγριος ἐν Λιβύῃ πάμπαν οὐκ ἔστι; A. 606 A6 ἐν δὲ Λιβύῃ πάσῃ οὔτε σῦς ἄγριός ἐστιν οὔτ’ ἔλαφος οὔτ’ αἲξ ἄγριος; Ael. XVII.10 ἐν Λιβύῃ συῶν ἀγρίων ἀπορία ἐστὶ καὶ ἐλάφων; Plin. VIII.120 Cervos Africa propemodum sola non gignit.

❦

52 A. 611 A18 καὶ επὶ τὴν σέσελιν δὲ τρέχουσι, καὶ φαγοῦσαι οὕτως ἔρχονται πρὸς τὰ τέκνα πάλιν; 611 B20 ὅταν δὲ δηχθῶσιν αἱ ἔλαφοι ὑπὸ φαλαγγίου ἤ τινος τοιούτου, τοὺς καρκίνους συλλέγουσαι ἐσθίουσιν; Cic. De nat. deorum II.50; Plin. VIII.112, XX.37, XXV.92; Ael. V. H. XIII.35 λέγουσι φυσικοὶ ἄνδρες τὴν ἔλαφον καθάρσεως δεομένην σέσελιν ἐσθίειν, φαλαγγίων δὲ κνήσμασιν ἐχομένην καρκίνους.

❦

53 "The Highlanders assign a great age to the red deer; indeed they seem to suppose that it has no limit, save a rifle ball," St. John, N. H., etc., in Moray, p235. Cf. A. 578 B23 περὶ δὲ τῆς ζωῆς μυθολογεῖται μὲν ὥς ὃν μακρόβιον, οὐ φαίνεται δ’ οὔτε τῶν μυθολογουμένων οὐθὲν σαφές, ἥ τε κύησις καὶ ἡ αὔξησις τῶν νεβρῶν συμβαίνει οὐχ ὡς μακροβίου τοῦ ζῴου ὄντος; Plin. VIII.119; Solin. XIX.18; A. P. XI.72 ἡ φάος ἀρθρήσασ’ ἐλάφου πλέον.

❦

54 Hesiod fr. 171 = Plut. Mor. 415C έννέα τοι ζώει γενεὰς λακέρυζα κορώνη (Crow) | ἀνδρῶν ἡβώντων· ἔλαφος δέ τε τετρακόρωνος· | τρεῖς δ’ ἐλάφους ὁ κόραξ (Raven) γηράσκεται; Plin. VII.153; Auson. VII.5; Arist. Av. 609 πέντ’ ἀνδρῶν γενεὰς ζώει λακέρυζα κορώνη; Arat. III.290º ἐννεάγηρα κορώνη. For longevity of Crow and Stag cf. Babr. XLVI.8; Cic. Tusc. III.28.69; of Crow cf. A. P. V.288 ἡ γραῦς ἡ τρικόρωνος; Lucr. V.1082; Hor. C. III.17.13; Mart. X.67.5, etc.

❦

55 Fallow Deer, Cervus dama, M. G. πλατῶνι. "Le daim se trouve à l'état sauvage en Acarnanie dans la grande forêt Manina qui s'étend à l'ouest du fleuve Achélous jusqu'à Catouna. Il n'y est pas très-abondant et sa destruction est à craindre." (Bik. p18). εὐρύκερως, only here and C. III.2 (except as epithet Mosch. II.153), seems to be the same as πλατύκερως (Poll. V.76) = platyceros, Plin. XI.123 Nec alibi maior naturae lascivia. Lusit animalium armis; sparsit haec in ramos, ut cervorum; aliis simplicia tribuit, ut in eodem genere subulonibus ex argumento dictis; aliorum fudit in palmas digitosque emisit ex his, unde platycerotas vocant. The last of Pliny's three species points clearly to the palmated antlers of the Fallow Deer; his first species is the Red Deer, Cervus elaphus; his second apparently the Roe Deer, Cervus capreolus, the πρόξ of A. 506 A22, 515 B34, 520 B24; P. A. 650 B15; 676 B27.

❦

56 The Roe Deer, Cervus capreolus, M. G. ζαρκάδι, "still found in Acarnania and on Parnassus, but not numerous" (Bik. p18). The form ἴορκος occurs only here and C. III.3; cf. Hes. s. ἴορκες· τῶν δορκάδων ζῴων· ἔνιοι δὲ ἡλικίαν ἐλάφου and s. ἴυρκες· αἶγες ἄγριαι. In Herod. IV.192 ζορκάδες seem to be Gazelles; cf. Hesych. ζόρξ· ἡλικία ἐλάφου ἢ δορκός. The evidence is confusing but there seems reason to think that δορκάς was used in two senses, (1) = Gazelle, (2) = Roe Deer; cf. Ael. VII.47 τάς γε μὴν δορκάδας καὶ ζόρκας καὶ πρόκας εἰώθασιν ὀνομάζειν; VII.19.

❦

57 Antilope (Alcelaphus) bubalis. A. 515 B34 and 516 A5 (βουβαλίς); P. A. 663 A11 (βούβαλος); cf. Strab. 827; Diod. II.51; Ael. V.48, X.25, XIII.25; Plin. VIII.38 uros quibus imperitum volgus bubalorum nomen imponit, cum id gignat Africa vituli potius cervique quadam similitudine.

❦

58 A. P. A. 663 A11 (προστέθεικεν ἡ φύσις) τάχος βουβάλοις καὶ δορκάσι. Cf. Ael. XIV.14.

❦

59 Gazella dorcas "is by far the most abundant of all the large game in Palestine" (Tristr. p129); A. 499 A9 τὰ δὲ τῶν ἱππελάφων κέρατα παραπλήσια τοῖς τῆς δορκάδος ἐστίν; P. A. 663 B26 ἐλάχιστόν ἐστι τῶν γνωριζομένων (κερατοφόρων) δορκάς.

❦

60 A. 488 B3 τὰ μὲν ἀφροδισιαστικά, οἷον τὸ τῶν περδίκων καὶ ἀλεκτρυόνων γένος. Cf. 564 A24 f., 613 B25 f.; G. A. 746 B1 etc. Athen. 389A τὸ δὲ ζῷον ἐπὶ λαγνείας συμβολικῶς παρείληπται; Ael. III.5, etc.; Antig. XXXIX.101; Plin. X.100; Solin. VII.30; Phil. 12; Dion. De av. I.9.

❦

61 "Perdix graeca, kettenweise auf allen Bergen der Cycladen, die Insel Syra ausgenommen, häufig. Auf letzterer sind die Steinhühner durch fortwährende Verfolgung der Ausrottung nahe. Perdix cinerea, auf den Cycladen gänzlich unbekannt." Erh. p60; cf. Bik. p49. "The common est Partridge of the Holy Land is the Greek Partridge, a bird somewhat resembling our Red-legged Partridge in plumage . . . but much larger" (Tristr. p225). Perdix cinerea is found in Epirus and Macedonia, Momms. p261.

❦

62 The friendship of Partridge and Deer is mentioned Dion. De av. I.9.

❦

63 A. 492 A14 Ἀλκμαίων οὐκ ἀληθῆ λέγει, φάμενος ἀναπνεῖν τὰς αἶγας κατὰ τὰ ὦτα [quoted G. White, N. H. of Selborne, Letter XIV]; Plin. VIII.202 auribus eas spirare, non naribus, . . . Archelaus auctor est. Cf. Ael. I.53; Varro II.3.5.

❦

64 Cf. Anecd. Ox. IV.267 ὁ σοῦβος ὡς πρόβατόν ἐστι ξανθὸν καὶ λεῖον. Unidentified. The name suggests the Hebrew צְבִי (the "roe" or "roebuck" of the A. V. Deut. xv.22, etc.) and one is reminded of Aelian's amphibious κεμάς (XIV.14), where the context suggests some species of Gazelle. But Oppian's "Subus" seems to be a Sheep.

❦

65 One of the Sea-breams (Sparidae): either Pagrus vulgaris, M. G. μερτζάνι ("c'est un nom turc équivalent au grec ἐρύθρινος" Apost. p17) or Dentex macrophthalmus, M. G. φαγγρί. A. 598 A13; 601 B30; Athen. 300E, 327C; Ael. IX.7, X.19; Plin. XXXII.125; Ov. Hal. 107 rutilus pagur.

❦

66 A Sea-Bream, Oblata melanura, M. G. μελανοῦρι. A. 591 A15; Athen. 313D, 319C, 320E; Phil. 92; Plin. XXXII.17 and 149; Colum. VIII.16; Ael. I.41; Ov. Hal. 113 laude insignis caudae melanurus.

❦

67 The Gar-fish, Belone acus, M. G. βελονίδα, ζαργάνα: "très abondante depuis le mois d'août jusqu'à la fin d'octobre" (Apost. p25): cf. H. I.172, III.577, 605 f. ῥαφίς = βελόνη, cf. Athen. 319D Δωρίων δ’ ἐν τῷ περὶ ἰχθύων "βελόνην," φησίν, "ἣν καλοῦσιν ῥαφίδα." Ἀριστοτέλης δ’ ἐν πέμπτῳ ζῴων μορίων βελόνην αὐτὴν καλεῖ. ἐν δὲ τῷ περὶ ζωικῶν ἣ ἰχθύων ῥαφίδα αὐτὴν ὀνομάσας ἀνόδουν φησὶν αὐτὴν εἶναι, καὶ Σπεύσιππος αὐτὴν βελόνην καλεῖ. In A. 506 B9, 567 B23 etc. βελόνη is Syngnathus acus, the Pipe-fish (Needle-fish), M. G. σακκοράφα, κατουρλίδα (Apost. p7), but in 610 B6 it seems to be the Gar-fish. In H. III.608 Oppian's ῥαφίς has teeth, which suits the Gar-fish, while Athen. 305D, 319D says that Aristotle described the ῥαφίς as toothless, which suits Syngnathus acus.

❦

68 M. G. τρίγλης, μπαρμπούνι(α), the Roman mullus, including Mullus surmuletus L. (M. G. πετρόψαρο, τσιγαρόλια), M. fuscatus Rafin. (M. G. μπαρμπούνι), M. barbatus L. (M. G. κεφαλάδες, from shape of head, which presents an almost vertical profile).

❦

69 Homarus vulgaris.

❦

70 ἀτταγήν, ἀτταγᾶς. ἀτταβυγάς (Hesych.), ταγηνάριον (Suid., who says it was abundant in Marathon), prob. Tetrao francolinus L. Not now found in Greece but resident in Asia Minor, esp. in the swampy regions (τὰ λιμνώδη καὶ ἕλεια χωρία καταβόσκεται, Suid. s.v.) of the S. (Momms. p261). "In the rich lowland plains, as of Gennesaret, Acre, and Phoenicia, the place of the Partridge is taken by the Francolin, a bird of the same family, . . . formerly found in S. Europe as far as Spain, but now quite extinct on this continent" (Tristr. p228); A. 617 B25 τὸ χρῶμα (of the ἀσκαλώπας, Woodcock) ὅμοιον ἀτταγῆνι; 633 A30 ὅσοι μὴ πτητικοὶ ἀλλ’ ἐπίγειοι, κονιστικοί, οἷον ἀλεκτορίς, πέρδιξ, ἀτταγήν; Athen. 387 ff.; Ael. IV.42, etc.; Plin. X.133.

❦

71 Otis tarda L., M. G. ἀγριόγαλλος. It seems to be becoming rarer in Greece, Momms. p263; Bik. p50; A. 509 A4, 539 B30, 563 A29, etc.; Plin. X.57 Proximae his (i.e. tetraonibus) sunt quas Hispania aves tardas appellat, Graecia ὠτίδας. For Bustard and Horse cf. Ael. II.28; Plut. Mor. 981B; Athen. 390F; Dion. De av. III.8.

❦

72 In ref. to the etymology ὠτίς from οὖς, ὠτός (ear).

❦

73 Species unknown; according to Prof. Alfred Newton "the Greeks could not have known Psittacus Alexandri." A. 597 B27; Arr. Ind. I.15.8; Paus. II.28.1; Plin. X.117; Ael. VI.19, etc.

❦

74 Plin. l.c. viridem toto corpore, torque tantum miniato in cervice distinctam; Stat. S. II.4.25 Psittacus ille plagae viridis regnator Eoae; Apul. Flor. 12 color psittaco viridis . . . nisi quod sola cervice distinguitur . . . cervicula eius circulo mineo velut aurea torqui . . . cingitur.

❦

75 A. 506 A24 τῶν δ’ ἐλάφων αἱ ἀχαίναι καλούμενοι δοκοῦσιν ἔχειν ἐν τῇ κέρκῳ χολήν (Antig. 70); 611 B18 ἤδη δ’ εἴληπται ἀχαίνης ἔλαφος ἐπὶ τῶν κεράτων ἔχων κιττὸν πολὺν πεφυκότα χλωρόν, ὡς ἁπαλῶν ὄντων τῶν κεράτων ἐμφύντα ὥσπερ ἐν ξύλῳ χλωρῷ (Athen. 353A; Antig. 29; Theophr. C. P. II.17). Apoll. Rh. IV.174 ἐλάφοιο . . . ἥν τ’ ἀγρῶσται ἀχαιινέην καλέουσιν, where schol. Ἀχαία ἐστὶ τῆς Κρήτης πόλις ἐν ᾗ γίνονται ἀχαιίνεαι λεγόμεναι ἔλαφοι· αἳ καὶ σπαθίνεαι καλοῦνται· οἱ δὲ κέρατα μεγάλα ἔχοντες ἔλαφοι κερασταί; Eustath. Il. p711.38 εἰ μὴ ἄρα αἱ ἀχαίναι καὶ οἱ σπαθίναι λεγόμενοι ἡλικίᾳ τινὶ διαφέρουσιν ἢ εἴδει καὶ κεράτων ἰδιότητι καὶ μεγέθει. Perhaps Brocket, a young male Deer in the spring of the year after its birth, when its antlers are straight and unbranched, may be sufficiently accurate: Latin subulo.

❦

76 Sargus vulgaris, M. G. σαργός; S. Rondeletii, M. G. σπάρος, etc., a Sea-bream; A. 543 A7, 591 B19; Athen. 313D, 321A; Plut. Mor. 977F; Plin. IX.162. For Sargues and Goats cf. H. IV.308 ff.; Ennius ap. Apul. Apol. 60.

❦

77 Oryx leucoryx (the Sable Antelope) from Kordofan to the Syrian and Arabian deserts; and O. beisa, in Somaliland, etc.; both figured on Egyptian monuments. The latter species is distinguished by its black face and cheeks; cf. A. Bonnet, L'Oryx dans l'ancienne Égypte, Lyon, 1908. Plin. X.201 orygem perpetuo sitientia Africae generant; cf. VIII.214; Iuv. XI.140 Gaetulus oryx; Mart. XIII.95 Matutinarum non ultima praeda ferarum Saevus oryx constat quod mihi morte canum? Herod. IV.192 καὶ ὄρυες, τῶν τὰ κέρεα τοῖσι Φοίνιξι οἱ πήχεες ποιεῦνται (μέγαθος δὲ τὸ θηρίον κατὰ βοῦν ἐστί). We are not here concerned with the fabled Oryx of A. 499 B20 μονόκερων καὶ διχαλὸν ὄρυξ; cf. P. A. 663 A23; Plin. II.107, XI.255 unicorne et bisulcum oryx; Ael. VII.8 , etc.; Plut. Mor. 974F.

❦

78 "The horns, often exceeding three feet in length, though so recurved are a formidable weapon of offence, and when wounded and brought to bay, it will frequently pierce the hunter by a sudden and well-directed blow" (Tristr. p58). Diod. III.27 (certain Ethiopians) ὅπλοις ἀμυντηρίοις χρώμενοι τοῖς τῶν ὀρύγων κέρασι.

❦

79 C. III.5 n.

❦

80 Ael. IV.31 . ὁ ἐλέφας, οἱ μὲν αὐτοῦ προκύπτειν χαυλιόδοντάς φασι, οἱ δὲ κέρατα; XI.37 τὸν ἐλέφαντα οὔ φημι ὀδόντας ἔχειν ἀλλὰ κέρατα; Cramer, Anec. III.357 οὓς ἐπὶ τῶν ἐλεφάντων οὐλ ὀδόντας ἀλλὰ κέρατα καλοῦσιν; Plin. VIII.7 armis suis quae Iuba cornua appellat, Herodotus (III.97 ἐλέφαντος ὀδόντας μεγάλους εἴκοσι) tanto antiquior et consuetudo melius dentes; A. 501 B30 ὀδόντας μὲν ἔχει τέτταρας ἐφ’ ἑκάτερα . . . χωρὶς δὲ τούτων ἄλλους δύο τοὺς μεγάλους; Philostr. Vit. Apollon. II.12 οὗτος ὁ Ἰόβας τοὺς ὀδόντας κέρατα ἡγεῖται τῷ φύεσθαι μὲν αὐτοὺς ὅθενπερ οἱ κρόταφοι, παραθήγεσθαι δὲ μηδενὶ ἑτέρῳ, μένειν δ’ ὡς ἔφυσαν καὶ μή, ὅπερ οἱ ὁδόντες, ἐκπίπτειν εῖτ’ ἀναφύεσθαι· ἐγὼ δ’ οὐ προσδέχομαι τὸν λόγον. Pausan. l.c. says just the reverse: κέρατα γὰρ κατὰ ἐτῶν περίοδον ἀπογίνεται καὶ αὖθις ἐκβλαστάνει ζῴοις, καὶ τοῦτο ἔλαφοί τε καὶ δορκάδες, ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ οἱ ἐλέφαντες πεπόνθασιν. ὀδοὺς δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν ὅτῳ δεύτερα παρέσται τῶν γε ἤδη τελείων· εἰ δὲ ὀδόντες τὰ διὰ τοῦ στόματος ἐξίσχοντα καὶ μὴ κέρατα ἦσαν, πῶς ἂν καὶ ἀνεφύοντο αὖθις;

❦

81 Pausan. V.12 (arguing that the tusks are horns) ποταμίοις γε μὴν ἵπποις καὶ ὑσὶν ἡ κάτωθεν γένυς τοὺς χαυλιόδοντας φέρει, κέρατα δὲ ἀναφυόμενα ὁρῶμεν ἐκ γενύων.

❦

82 Pausan. ibid. ἐλέφαντι οὖν τὰ κέρατα ἴστω τις διὰ κροτάφων κατερχόμενα ἄνωθεν καὶ οὕτως ἐς τὸ ἐκτὸς ἐπιστρέφοντα. τοῦτο οὐκ ἀκοὴν γράφω, θεασάμενος δὲ ἐλέφαντος ἐν γῇ τῇ Καμπανῶν κρανίον ἐν Ἀρτέμιδος ἱερῷ.

❦

83 Pausan. l.c. οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ εἴκειν πυρὶ ἔχουσιν ὀδόντες φύσιν· κέρατα δὲ καὶ βοῶν καὶ ἐλεφάντων ἐς ὁμαλές τε ἐκ περιφεροῦς καὶ ἐς ἅλλα ὑπὸ πυρὸς ἄγεται σχήματα.

❦

84 A. 497 B26 ἔχει μυκτῆρα τοιοῦτον . . . ὥστε ἀντὶ χειρῶν ἔχειν αὐτόν; Ael. IV.31 μυκτῆρα . . . χειρὸς πανχρηστότερον; cf. II.11; Plut. Mor. 972D προβοσκίδα . . . ὥσπερ χεῖρα παραβαλών; Plin. VIII.29 spirant et bibunt odoranturque haud improprie dicta manu; ibid. 34; Phil. 40.

❦

85 A. 497 B24 τὰ πρόσθια σκέλη πολλῷ μείζω; cf. Ael. IV.31.

❦

86 A. 497 B28; Ael. VII.41 XIII.9.

❦

87 Plato, Phaed. 84E; Aesch. Ag. 1444; Ael. II.32, V.34, X.36; Phil. 10; Mart. XIII.77; Stat. S. II.4.10.

❦

88 Rhinoceros indicus, cf. Agatharch. ap. Phot. p455 A29 Bekker; Strab. 774; Diod. III.34; Athen. 201C; Ael. XVII.44; Plin. VIII.71; Suet. Aug. 43; Solin. XXVII.16, XXX.21; Mart. Lib. Spect. IX.xxii.

❦

89 Diod. III.34 τοῦτο (the Rhinoceros) περὶ τῆς νομῆς ἀεὶ διαφερόμενον ἐλέφαντι τὸ μὲν κέρας πρός τινας τῶν μειζόνων πετρῶν θήγει, συμπεσὸν δ’ εἰς μάχην τῷ προειρημένῳ θηρίῳ καὶ ὑποδῦνον ὑπὸ τὴν κοιλίαν ἀναρρήττει τῷ κέρατι, καθάπερ ξίφει, τὴν σάρκα. τῷ δὲ τοιούτῳ τρόπῳ τῆς μάχῆς χρώμενον ἔξαιμα ποιεῖ τὰ θηρία καὶ πολλὰ διαφθείρει. ὅταν δὲ ὁ ἐλέφας, φθάσας τὴν ὑπὸ τὴν κοιλίαν ὑπόδυσιν, τῇ προβοσκίδι προκαταλάβηται τὸν ῥινόκερων, περιγίνεται ῥᾳδίως, τύπτων τοῖς ὀδοῦσι (i.e. tusks) καὶ τῇ βίᾳ πλέον ἰσχύων. Similar account in Strabo, Plin., Ael., Solin., ll. cc. Pausan. V.12 οἱ δὲ Αἰθιοπικοὶ ταῦροι τὰ κέρατα φύουσιν ἐπὶ τῇ ῥινί seems to mean the Rhinoceros.

❦

90 Diod. l.c. τὴν χροὰν πυξοειδῆ. Plin l.c. and Solin. XXX.21 color buxeus. On the other hand Strab. l.c. οὐδὲ πύξῳ τὸ χρῶμα ἐμφερὲς ἀλλ’ ἐλέφαντι μᾶλλον.

❦

91 Cf. H. I.762 ff. where the examples of spontaneous generation given are ὄστρεα σύμπαντα and ἀφύη. The present list is unintelligible. If ὄστρακα = ὀστρακόδερμα, then the term is either equivalent to or includes ὄστρεα (according as that word is used in a wider or narrower sense), as it also includes κόχλοι (A. 527 B35 τὰ ὀστρακόδερμα τῶν ζῴων, οἷον . . . οἱ κόχλοι καὶ πάντα τὰ καλούμενα ὄστρεα) and στρόμβοι, whether that term be specific or generic (i.e. = τὰ στρομβώδη) — in which case it includes κόχλοι (A. 528 A10 ὁ κόχλος καὶ τἄλλα τὰ στρομβώδη; cf. P. A. 679 B14). If we ventured to substitute, for ὄστρεα, κεστρέων or κέστρεα (for the spontaneous generation of which cf. A. 543 B17, 569 A17 etc.; Athen. 306F) and, for ὄστρακα, ὄστρεα, we should get a more intelligible text.

❦

92 See C. III.63 n. Clearly to Oppian πάνθηρ denotes a smaller animal than πόρδαλις. According to Wiegmann (in Oken's Isis (1831), pp282 ff.) πάνθηρ = Felis uncia, the Ounce or Snow Leopard. It is confined to the highlands of Central Asia; cf. Plin. VIII.63 Nunc varias et pardos, qua mares sunt, appellant in eo omni genere creberrimo in Africa Syriaque. Quidam ab his pantheras candore solo discernunt, nec adhuc aliam differentiam inveni; A. 280 A25.

❦

93 In Oppian, as in A. 540 A10; 580 A23; 612 B15, αἴλουρος seems to be a general name for the Cat, whether F. catus, the Wild Cat, M. G. ἀγριόγατος, or the Domestic Cat, F. domestica, M. G. γάτα; cf. Callim. H. VI.110; Ael. IV.44, V.7, V.30; V.50, VI.27; Plin. X.174; Plut. Mor. 959F γαλαῖ καὶ αἴλουροι.

❦

94 Myoxus glis, M. nitela, M. dryas are all found in Greece. Erh., p20, mentions M. nitela as frequenting the orange-groves in Syria, where it climbs the trees and attacks the young fruit. In A. 600 B13 φωλεῖ δὲ κεὶ ὁ ἐλειὸς ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς δένδρεσι καὶ γίνεται τότε παχύτατος the ref. seems to be to M. glis, or possibly M. nitela, though the Squirrel has been suggested, Bik. p12. Tristram found in Palestine "three species of dormouse, the largest of which (M. glis) is six inches long without the tail, which is five inches more. The English dormouse we did not find (p122)"; Plin. VIII.224 conditi etiam hi cubant; rursus aestate iuvenescunt; Mart. III.58.36 somniculosos glires; id. XIII.59 Tota mihi dormitur hiemps et pinguior illo Tempore sum quo me nil nisi somnus alit.

❦

95 Sciurus vulgaris L., var. niger, M. G. βερβερίτζα. "De l'écureuil il n'a été observé jusqu'à présent en Grèce que la variété au pelage noirâtre. Il habite les forêts de sapins des montagnes du Nord de la Grèce, où il a été trouvé par le Dr. Krüper surtout au mont Parnasse, au mt. Velouchi et au mt. Olympe de Thessalie. Mr. A. de Hoeslin m'a assuré de l'avoir vu dans les forêts de sapins du mt. Ménalos en Arcadie" (Bik. p13).

❦

96 Ael. V.21 ἐν ὥρᾳ θερείῳ σκέπην οἴκοθεν καὶ οὐκ ᾐτημένην οὐδὲ ὀθνείαν παρέχεται; Plin. VIII.138 Provident tempestatem et sciuri obturatisque qua spiraturus est ventus cavernis ex alia parte aperiunt fores. De cetero ipsis villosior cauda pro tegumento est.

❦

97 Paco cristatus, M. G. παγῶνι.

❦

98 The Common Hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus, M. G. ἀκανθόχοιρος, is common in Greece (Erh. p12, Bik. p8), as it is in Palestine (Tristr. p101). Oppian's lesser Hedgehog is almost certainly the Spiny Mouse, M. acomys, of Syria and Africa, of which at least three species occur in Palestine. "They are most beautiful little creatures of a light sandy colour above and white beneath, and covered all over the back with bristles like a hedgehog" (Tristr. p123), from which, when the spines are erected, they are, except for their size, almost indistinguishable. A. 581 A1 οἱ δ’ Αἰγύπτῳ μύες σκληρὰν ἔχουσι τὴν τρίχα ὥσπερ οἱ χερσαῖοι ἐχῖνοι; Mirab. 832 A31 ἐν Κυρήνῃ δέ φασιν οὐχ ἓν εἶναι μυῶν γένος . . . τινὰς δὲ ἐχινώδεις οὓς καλοῦσιν ἐχῖνας; Herod. IV.192 μυῶν γένεα τριξὰ αὐτόθι (in Libya) ἐστί . . . οἱ δὲ ἐχινέες; Plin. VIII.221 plura eorum genera in Cyrenaica regione, . . . alii irenaceorum genere pungentibus pilis; id. X.186 Aegyptis muribus durus pilus sicut irenaceis; cf. Ael. XV.26; Hesych. s. ἐχῖνος.

❦

99 The triple breeds are doubtless those of A. 502 A16 ἔνια δὲ τῶν ζῴων ἐπαμφοτερίζει τὴν φύσιν τῷ τ’ ἀνθρώπῳ καὶ τοῖς τετράποισιν, οἷον πίθηκοι καὶ κῆβοι καὶ κυνοκέφαλοι. ἔστι δ’ ὁ μὲν κῆβος πίθηκος ἔχων οὐράν, καὶ οἱ κυνοκέφαλοι δὲ τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχουσι μορφὴν τοῖς πιθήκοις, πλὴν μείζονές τ’ εἰσι καὶ ἰσχυρότεροι καὶ τὰ πρόσωπα ἔχοντες κυνοειδέστερα, ἔτι δὲ ἀγριώτερά τε τὰ ἤθη καὶ τοὺς ὀδόντας ἔχουσι κυνοειδεστέρους καὶ ἰσχυροτέρους. They thus correspond to our Ape, Monkey, Baboon, and πίθηκος is prob. the Barbary Ape (Strab. 827), Macacus Inuus; the κῆβος a Cercopithecus; the κυνοκέφαλος the Cynocephalus hamadryas or Arabian Baboon; cf. Plin. VIII.215, XI.246; Ael. V.7, XVII.25 etc.; Solin. XXVII.56.

❦

100 Ael. V.26 μιμηλότατόν ἐστιν ὁ πίθηκος ζῷον; Solin. l.c. non sine ingenio aemulandi.

❦

101 ἀσπάλαξ both in Opp. and A. 488 A21, 491 B28, 533 A3, 605 B31, etc., is prob. Spalax typhlus, a rodent "with much of the external appearance of our mole but considerably larger, . . . of a silvery grey colour, without any external eyes or tail" (Tristr. p121). It is found in the Cyclades, where it is called τύφλοποντικός (i.e. blind-rat), Erh. p21. Neither our Common Mole, Talpa europaea, nor T. caeca has been found in the Cyclades (Erh. l.c.) or in Palestine (Tristr. p100); in continental Greece T. europaea is not found and the occurrence of T. caeca seems to be doubtful.

❦

102 While T. europaea and T. caeca are insectivorous, S. typhlus is entirely vegetarian.

❦

103 The eyes of T. europaea, though rudimentary, are visible externally; those of T. caeca and S. typhlus are not. A. 491 B29 ὅλως μὲν γὰρ οὔθ’ ὁρᾷ (ὁ ἀσπάλαξ) οὔτ’ ἔχει εἰς τὸ φανερὸν δήλους ὀφθαλμούς. Cf. 533 A3; De an. 425 A10; Plin. XI.139 quadrupedum talpis visus non est: oculorum effigies inest, siquis praetentam detrahat membranam.

❦

104 Phineus of Salmydessus in Thrace was blinded of both eyes and afflicted by the Harpies until these were destroyed by Zebesº and Calais (Pind. P. IV.182), the sons of Boreas; Apollod. I.9.21; Ap. Rh. II.176 ff.; Verg. A. III.225 ff. The connexion of Phineus with the mole seems to be peculiar to Oppian.

---

Thayer's Note:

a Presumably the file (Lima).

Images with borders lead to more information. The thicker the border, the more information. (Details here.)
UP TO:		Cynegetica	Classical Texts	LacusCurtius	Home
A page or image on this site is in the public domain ONLY if its URL has a total of one *asterisk. If the URL has two **asterisks, the item is copyright someone else, and used by permission or fair use. If the URL has none the item is © Bill Thayer. See my copyright page for details and contact information.