Chapter 31

[254]Reise in den Caucasus, cap. 24. The author thus spells the name in German characters,Ckaratschai. Father Lamberti, a missionary from the Society of the Propaganda at Naples, who remained twenty years in that part of Asia in the seventeenth century, calls them “i Caraccioli,” in which name we observe the addition of an Italian termination. See his Relatione della Colchide, hoggi delta Mengrelia, Napoli, 1654, cap. 28. p. 196.[255]The origin of the Englishshawl.

[255]The origin of the Englishshawl.

Such is the account given by a recent and most competent witness of the actual condition of this interesting nation, who, though now perhaps reduced in number, occupy probably after the lapse of 2500 years their original seat at the distance of from forty to eighty miles to the north-east of the same coast, to which they have always resorted for commercial purposes[256].

[256]Souchom-Kalé is only twelve miles fromIscuria, a single promontory intervening between the bay and river of the former harbor and those of the latter. See Spencer’s Travels, vol. i. p. 295-297, and his Map at p. 209.

We cannot survey the now deserted Iscuria without observing, what a mournful contrast the Euxine presents under the sway of both Russia and Turkey to the useful energy, which more than 2000 years ago promoted life and the arts of life, and brought into close and peaceful contact the most refined and the most uncultivated nations, under the direction of the Ionians of Miletus. The beauty, the bravery, the activity, and the independence of a highland clan still represent the skill and enterprize of the ancient Coraxi; but the commerce, which rewarded their industry, and extended their reputation through the civilized world, has sunk into insignificance.

Besides the above notices of the Coraxi in Strabo and Tzetzes we find little said concerning the breeding of sheep in this part of Asia. Aristotle, however, mentions the sheep of “Pontus near Scythia,” and says that they were without horns[257]. The Melanchlæni also, who are mentioned by Herodotus in his account of the Scythian tribes, and who lived to the north of the Coraxi, were so called, because they wore black palls.

[257]Hist. Anim. viii. 28.

There can be no doubt, that the use and management of sheep were known from the earliest times throughout nearly the whole of Asia Minor, and that some nations in this region had attained to a superiority in the art before the settlement in it of the Grecian colonists.

The imagery of the Homeric poems (supposed to be written about 900 B. C.) affords abundant evidence of these facts. They continually mention shepherds, who had the care of sheep, as well as goat-herds, who managed goats. They speak of the folds, in which the flocks were secured at night to preserve them from the attacks of wild beasts. The dangers to which the flocks were exposed from both wolves and lions, are in accordance with similar expressions and incidents in the Scriptures of the Old Testament, arising from the existence of the same ravenous and destructive quadrupeds in Palestine. Also, the language both of the Scriptures and of the Homeric poemsis precisely the same, in which the king, ruling his people is compared to the shepherd tending his flock, or to thestrong and large ram, which leads the sheep[258]. It is to be observed, that the geographical knowledge expressed in the Homeric poems extended as far as the promontory of Carambis on the south coast of the Euxine Sea, and included all Phrygia, Ionia, and the western half of Asia Minor.

[258]See Bochart’s Hierozoïcon, l. ii. cap. 44. De Gregum Pastoribus.

The Greek mythology affords similar evidence. The well-known story of Paris, adjudging the golden apple, is founded on the pastoral scenes of Ida. Marsyas also was a shepherd on mount Ida[259]: the river Marsyas, famed for his contest with Apollo, was among the Phrygian mountains[260].

[259]Hyginus, Fab. 165.[260]It appears not impossible, that, when Theocritus in Idyll. iii. 46, represents Adonis as “tending flocks upon the mountains,” he may have referred to the mountains of Phrygia or of Ionia. For in another Idyll. (i. 105-110,) he seems to connect the love of Venus for Adonis with her love for Anchises, as if the scene of both were in the same region. Among the various accounts of Adonis, one makes him the offspring of Smyrna; and Cinyras,the father of Adonis, is said to have founded the city of Smyrna in Ionia, calling it by that name after his daughter. (Hyginus, Fab. 58 and 275.) This supposition accounts most satisfactorily for the production of the beautiful elegy on the death of Adonis by Bion, who was a native of Smyrna.

[259]Hyginus, Fab. 165.

[260]It appears not impossible, that, when Theocritus in Idyll. iii. 46, represents Adonis as “tending flocks upon the mountains,” he may have referred to the mountains of Phrygia or of Ionia. For in another Idyll. (i. 105-110,) he seems to connect the love of Venus for Adonis with her love for Anchises, as if the scene of both were in the same region. Among the various accounts of Adonis, one makes him the offspring of Smyrna; and Cinyras,the father of Adonis, is said to have founded the city of Smyrna in Ionia, calling it by that name after his daughter. (Hyginus, Fab. 58 and 275.) This supposition accounts most satisfactorily for the production of the beautiful elegy on the death of Adonis by Bion, who was a native of Smyrna.

The historical evidence to which we now proceed, though referring to times much posterior to the mythological, is more exact as well as more entitled to absolute credit.

According to Strabo the branches of Mount Taurus inPisidiawere rich in pastures “for all kinds of cattle[261].” The chief town of this region wasSelge, a very flourishing city, and hence Tertullian, in a passage, mentions “oves Selgicæ,” Selgic sheep, among those of the greatest celebrity. The superior whiteness of the fleeces ofPamphyliais mentioned by Philostratus.

[261]Lib. xii. c. 7, § 3.

We have reason to believe, that theLydiansandCariansbestowed the greatest attention on sheep-breeding and on the woollen manufacture before the arrival of the Greek colonists among them. The new settlers adopted the employments of the ancient inhabitants, and made those employments subservient to a very extensive and lucrative trade. Pliny (viii. 73.ed. Bip.) mentions the wool of Laodicea (SeeAppendix A.) in Caria; and Strabo (xii. c. 7. p. 578. Casaub.) observes, that the country about this city and Colossæ, which was not far from it, produced sheep highly valued on account of the fineness and the color of their fleeces.

Aristophanes mentions apall, made of “Phrygian fleeces[262]:” and Varro asserts, that in his time there were many flocks of wild sheep in Phrygia[263].

[262]Aves, 492.[263]De Re Rusticâ, ii. 1.

[262]Aves, 492.

[263]De Re Rusticâ, ii. 1.

The passages above quoted from Strabo and Joannes Tzetzes allude to the very great celebrity of the wool ofMiletusand of the articles woven from it.

The passages, which will now be produced from both Greek and Latin authors of various ages, conspire to prove the distinguished excellence of the wool of Miletus, although in many of them the epithetMilesianmay be employed only in a proverbial acceptation to denote wool of the finest quality. The animals, which yielded this wool, must have been bred in the interior of Ionia not far from Miletus.

Ctesias describes the softness of camels’-hair by comparing it to Milesian fleeces[264]. A woman in Aristophanes (Lysist. 732.) says, she must go home to spread her Milesian fleeces on the couch, because the worms were gnawing them. In a fragment of a Greek comedy, called Procris, of a somewhat later age (ap. Athen. l. xii. p. 553), a favorite lap-dog is described, lying on Milesian fleeces:

Οὐκοῦν ὑποστορεῖτε μαλακῶς τῷ κυνί·Κάτω μὲν ὑποβαλεῖτε τῶν ΜιλησίωνἘρίων.Therefore make a soft bed for the dog: throw down for him Milesian fleeces.

Οὐκοῦν ὑποστορεῖτε μαλακῶς τῷ κυνί·Κάτω μὲν ὑποβαλεῖτε τῶν ΜιλησίωνἘρίων.

Οὐκοῦν ὑποστορεῖτε μαλακῶς τῷ κυνί·

Κάτω μὲν ὑποβαλεῖτε τῶν Μιλησίων

Ἐρίων.

Therefore make a soft bed for the dog: throw down for him Milesian fleeces.

[264]Ctesiæ fragmenta, a Bähr, p. 224.

The Sybarites woreshawlsof Milesian wool[265]. Palæphatus explains the fable of the Hesperides by saying, that their father Hesperus was a Milesian, and that they had beautiful sheep, such as those which were still kept at Miletus[266]. Eustathius says, the “Milesiancarpets[267]” had become proverbial. Virgilrepresents the nymphs of Cyrene spinning Milesian fleeces, dyed of a deepsea-greencolor:

The nymphs, around her placed, their spindles ply,And draw Milesian wool, of glassy dye.Georg.iv. 334.

The nymphs, around her placed, their spindles ply,

And draw Milesian wool, of glassy dye.

Georg.iv. 334.

[265]Timæus apud Athenæum, xii. p. 519. B.[266]De Incred. § 19.[267]In Dionysium, v. 823.

[265]Timæus apud Athenæum, xii. p. 519. B.

[266]De Incred. § 19.

[267]In Dionysium, v. 823.

He also alludes to the high price of Milesian fleeces in the following passage:

Let rich Miletus vaunt her fleecy pride,And weigh with gold her robes in purple dyed.Georg.iii. 306.—Sotheby’s Translation.

Let rich Miletus vaunt her fleecy pride,

And weigh with gold her robes in purple dyed.

Georg.iii. 306.—Sotheby’s Translation.

The comment of Servius on the latter passage is as follows:

Milesian fleeces, most valuable wools; for Miletus is a city of Asia, where the best wools are dyed.

The ancient Greek version of Ezekiel (xxvii. 18.) enumerates Milesian fleeces among the articles of Tyrian importation.

Columella (vii. 2.) and Pliny (viii. 48.) assert the celebrity of the flocks of Miletus in former times, although in their time they were surpassed by the sheep of some other countries.

In soft Milesian wool as fine as possible.—Hippocrates, vol. i. p. 689. ed.Fœsii.Ye are hairs of sheep, although Miletus may boast of you, and Italy be in high repute, and though the hairs be guarded under skins.—Clemens Alexandrinus, Pæd. ii. 30.Lying on Milesian carpets.—Aristoph. Ranæ, l. 548.Nor do I speak of the sheep of Miletus and Selge and Altinum, nor of those, for which Tarentum and Bætica are famous, and which are colored by nature.—Tertullian de Pallio, 3.If, from the beginning the Milesians were occupiedin shearing sheep, the Seresin spinning the produce of trees, the Tyriansin dyeing, the Phrygiansin embroidering, and the Babyloniansin weaving.—Tertullian de Habitu Muliebri.

In soft Milesian wool as fine as possible.—Hippocrates, vol. i. p. 689. ed.Fœsii.

Ye are hairs of sheep, although Miletus may boast of you, and Italy be in high repute, and though the hairs be guarded under skins.—Clemens Alexandrinus, Pæd. ii. 30.

Lying on Milesian carpets.—Aristoph. Ranæ, l. 548.

Nor do I speak of the sheep of Miletus and Selge and Altinum, nor of those, for which Tarentum and Bætica are famous, and which are colored by nature.—Tertullian de Pallio, 3.

If, from the beginning the Milesians were occupiedin shearing sheep, the Seresin spinning the produce of trees, the Tyriansin dyeing, the Phrygiansin embroidering, and the Babyloniansin weaving.—Tertullian de Habitu Muliebri.

We may now notice Samos, as being near the Ionic coast. Athenæus (xii. p. 540. D.) cites two ancient authors who assert that, when Polycrates was introducing into Samos the most excellent of the different breeds of animals, he chose the dogs of Laconia and Molossis, the goats of Scyros and Naxos, and the sheep of Miletus and Attica.

Respecting the breeding of sheep inSamosit may be proper to quote the remark of Ælian (Hist. Anim. xii. 40.), that theSamians gave some religious honor to this animal, because a consecrated utensil of gold, which had been stolen from one of their temples, was discovered by a sheep.

It appears probable, that the shepherd life was established in Thrace as early as in any part of Europe; for in the Homeric poems it is called “the mother of flocks” (Il. v. 222.). In a much later age the sheep of Thrace are mentioned by Nicander (Nicand. Ther. 50.). We learn from Plato (De Legibus, l. vii. p. 36. ed. Bekker) that in Thrace the flocks were entrusted to the care of the women, who were there compelled like slaves to work out of doors.

Aristotle speaks of the sheep of Magnesia, and says that they brought forth young twice a year[268].

[268]Problem. cap. x. sec. 46.

A little further south we find sheep from the earliest times in Thessaly near the river Amphrysus. Here was Iton, which Homer also calls “the mother of flocks[269].” It was celebrated for a temple of Minerva, who was called from itItonis, orItonia[270], and whose worship was transferred from hence to Bœotia.

[269]Il. B. 696.[270]Strabo, l. ix. c. 2. § 29. p. 458; and c. 5. § 14. p. 614. ed. Siebenkees. Apollonius Rhodius, Argon. i. 551; and Schol. ad locum. Alcæi Reliquiæ, a Maththiæ, No. 54.

[269]Il. B. 696.

[270]Strabo, l. ix. c. 2. § 29. p. 458; and c. 5. § 14. p. 614. ed. Siebenkees. Apollonius Rhodius, Argon. i. 551; and Schol. ad locum. Alcæi Reliquiæ, a Maththiæ, No. 54.

That Eubœa was famous for sheep we know from the testimony of two different authors cited by Athenæus. That of Callixenus Rhodius has been already produced; and that of Hermippus occurs in his metrical enumeration of the most excellent and characteristic productions of different countries[271].

[271]Athen. Deip. l. i. p. 27. D.

Bœotia appears from very early times to have been rich in flocks. The tragic history of Œdipus supposes, that his father Laius, the king of Thebes, had flocks on Mount Cithæron. According to Sophocles (Œd. Tyr. 1026-1140.) Œdipus was delivered to one of the royal shepherds to be there exposed, and this shepherd through pity committed him to another, and thus saved his life[272]. Seneca in his free version of Sophocles (Œd. Act. iv. v. 815-850.) has added a circumstance, as it appears, from thepractice established in other cases. He says, that the shepherd of Laius, whom he callsPhorbas, had many others under him. But, although it may be doubted whether the flocks of Laius were so numerous as to require a head shepherd placed over many others, we learn that his possessions of this description excited contest and warfare among his descendants. Their countryman, Hesiod, represents them fighting at the gates of Thebes “for the flocks of Œdipus” (Op. et Dies, 163.), an expression, which must at least be understood to imply, that sheep constituted a principal part of the king’s wealth.

[272]This transaction is represented inPlate VIII.Fig. 5.

Among the Elgin marbles in the British Museum we have an interesting inscription relating to a contract made between the city of Orchomenos in Bœotia and Eubulus of Elatea in Phocis,according to which Eubulus was to have for four years the right of pasturage for 4 cows, 200 mares, 20 sheep, and 1000 goats. In the opinion of Professors Böckh[273]and Ottfried Müller[274]this inscription may be referred to the time of the Peloponnesian war. The supposed effect of the waters of the Melas and Cephisos on the fleeces of sheep is a testimony of a much later date, but proves that sheep, both black and white, were bred in that country[275]. Varro (De Re Rust. ii. 2.) mentions the practice of covering sheep with skins in order to improve and preserve their fleeces. The Attic sheep, thus clothed with skins, are mentioned by Demosthenes under the name of “soft sheep[276].” The hilly part of Attica was of course particularly adapted for sheep as well as goats; and accordingly a letter of Alciphron (iii. 41.) describes flocks of them at Decelia near Mount Parnes about fifteen miles to the north of Athens. The fame of the Attic wool is also alluded to by Plutarch (De audiendo,p. 73. ed. Steph.), and by the Roman poet Laberius, who died in the year 43 B. C.

No matter whether in soft Attic wool,Or in rough goats’-hair you be clothed[277].

No matter whether in soft Attic wool,

Or in rough goats’-hair you be clothed[277].

[273]Corpus Inscrip. Græcar., vol. i. p. 740.[274]Orchomenos, p. 471.[275]Vitruvius, viii. 3. p. 218. ed. Schneider. See also Dodwell’s Tour, vol. i. p. 242. It was imagined that the water of the Melas rendered the wool black, and that of the Cephisos white.Dr. Sibthorp, in crossing the plain of Bœotia near Platæa in November A. D. 1794, says, “Flocks of sheep, whose fleeces were of remarkable blackness, were feeding in the plain; the breed was considerably superior in beauty and size to that of Attica.”—Walpole’s Memoirs on Eur. and As. Turkey, p. 65.[276]Contra Everg. et Mnesid. p. 1155. ed. Reiske.[277]Apud Non. Marcellum.

[273]Corpus Inscrip. Græcar., vol. i. p. 740.

[274]Orchomenos, p. 471.

[275]Vitruvius, viii. 3. p. 218. ed. Schneider. See also Dodwell’s Tour, vol. i. p. 242. It was imagined that the water of the Melas rendered the wool black, and that of the Cephisos white.Dr. Sibthorp, in crossing the plain of Bœotia near Platæa in November A. D. 1794, says, “Flocks of sheep, whose fleeces were of remarkable blackness, were feeding in the plain; the breed was considerably superior in beauty and size to that of Attica.”—Walpole’s Memoirs on Eur. and As. Turkey, p. 65.

[275]Vitruvius, viii. 3. p. 218. ed. Schneider. See also Dodwell’s Tour, vol. i. p. 242. It was imagined that the water of the Melas rendered the wool black, and that of the Cephisos white.

Dr. Sibthorp, in crossing the plain of Bœotia near Platæa in November A. D. 1794, says, “Flocks of sheep, whose fleeces were of remarkable blackness, were feeding in the plain; the breed was considerably superior in beauty and size to that of Attica.”—Walpole’s Memoirs on Eur. and As. Turkey, p. 65.

[276]Contra Everg. et Mnesid. p. 1155. ed. Reiske.

[277]Apud Non. Marcellum.

We learn from Theocritus, that the shepherds of Acharnæ, one of the Attic demi, excelled in playing on the pipe[278].

[278]Idyll. vii. 71.

In the adjoining country ofMegariswas a temple of great antiquity in honor of Δήμητηρ Μαλοφόρος. It was said, that Ceres was worshipped under that title,The bringer of flocks, by those who first kept sheep in the country[279]. Theognis (v. 55.) mentions, that the people of Megaris used before his time to wear goat-skins, which shows the late introduction of the growth and manufacture of wool. Here, as in Attica, it was usual to protect the sheep withskins; and, as theboyswere sometimes seennakedafter the Doric fashion, Diogenes, the cynic, said in reference to these practices,he would rather be the ram of a Megarensian than his son[280].

[279]Paus. i. 44. 4.[280]Diog. Laert. vi. 41. Æliani Var. Hist. xii. 56.

[279]Paus. i. 44. 4.

[280]Diog. Laert. vi. 41. Æliani Var. Hist. xii. 56.

In the Peloponnesus,Arcadiawas always remarkable for the attention paid to sheep.

Arcadia claims our especial consideration, because in it the shepherd life assumed that peculiar form, which has been the subject of so much admiration both in ancient and modern times. Here the lively genius and imaginative disposition common to the Greek nation were directed to the daily contemplation of the most beautiful and romantic varieties of mountain and woodland scenery, and hence their employments, their pleasures, and their religion, all acquired a rustic character, highly picturesque and tasteful, and, as it appears to us, generally favorable to the development of the domestic and social virtues. To attempt a full investigation of this subject, and to show in what degree the want of higher attainmentsin religious knowledgeandmoral cultivationwas supplied by the peculiar rites, ideas, and customs of Arcadia, would lead us too far from our proper subject. We only wish to bring forwardthe principal facts and authorities, and to give a succint account of the genuine Arcadian system of religion and manners without attempting to refute at length the opposite views, which have been adopted by ancient and modern writers.

The peculiar Divinity of Arcadia, whose worship had a constant and manifest reference to the principal employments of the inhabitants, wasPan. Hence he is called by Virgil and Propertius “the God of Arcadia[281].” According to Herodotus (ii. 145.), Pan, the son of Mercury (who was born at Cyllene in Arcadia, where Mercury was previously worshipped,) first saw the light after the Trojan war, and about 800 years before his own time. Thus we are able to refer the supposed birth of Pan, and consequently the commencement of his worship to about the year 1260 B. C.[282].

[281]Virg. Buc. x. 26. and Georg. iii. 385. See also Propert. i. 17.[282]Hist. d’Herodote, par Larcher, tome vii. p. 359, 582.

[281]Virg. Buc. x. 26. and Georg. iii. 385. See also Propert. i. 17.

[282]Hist. d’Herodote, par Larcher, tome vii. p. 359, 582.

The circumstances of the birth of this divinity, with his habits and employments, are described as follows in the most ancient document which we have relating to him, viz. Homer’s Hymn to Pan. Mercury tended rough flocks at Cyllene in the service of a mortal man, being enamored of a beautiful nymph. In the course of time she bore him a son,having the feet of a goat, two horns upon his forehead, a long shaggy beard, and a bewitching smile. This was Pan, who became the god of the shepherds, and the companion of the mountain nymphs, penetrating through the densest thickets, and inhabiting the most wild, rough, and lofty summits of the sylvan Arcadia. There it is his business to destroy the wild beasts;and when, having returned from hunting, he drives his sheep into a cave, he plays upon his reeds a tune sweet as the song of any bird in spring. The nymphs, delighting in melody, listen to him when they go to the dark fountain, and the god sometimes appears among them, wearing on his back the hide of alynx, which he has lately killed, and he joins with them in the choral song and dance upon a meadow variegated with thecrocusand thehyacinth. He is beloved by Bacchus,and is the delight of his father Mercury, and he celebrates their worship beyond that of all the other gods.

Callimachus (Hymn. in Dianam, 88.) represents Pan at his fold in Arcadia, feeding his dogs with the flesh of a lynx, which he has caught on Mænalus. It is to be observed, that the care of dogs to guard the flock was an indispensable part of the pastoral office. Philostratus, in his Second Book of Pictures[283], supposes the nymphs to have been reproving Pan for his want of grace in dancing,telling him that he leapt too high and like a goat, and offering to teach him a more gentle method. He pays no attention to them, but tries to catch hold of them. Upon this they surprise him sleeping at noon after the toils of the chase; and he is represented in the picture with his arms tied behind him, and enraged and struggling against them, while they are cutting off his beard and trying to transform his legs and to humanize him.

[283]Philostrati Senioris Imag. l. ii. c. 11.

In the Bucolics and Georgics of Virgil we find frequent invocations to Pan as the god of shepherds, the guardian of flocks, and the inventor of the syrinx, or Pandean pipes.

Ipse, nemus linquens patrium, saltusque Lycæi,Pan, ovium custos, tua si tibi Mænala curæ,Adsis, O Tegeæe, favens.Georg.i. 16-18.

Ipse, nemus linquens patrium, saltusque Lycæi,Pan, ovium custos, tua si tibi Mænala curæ,Adsis, O Tegeæe, favens.

Ipse, nemus linquens patrium, saltusque Lycæi,

Pan, ovium custos, tua si tibi Mænala curæ,

Adsis, O Tegeæe, favens.

Georg.i. 16-18.

God of the fleece, whom grateful shepherds love,Oh, leave Lycæus and thy father’s grove;And if thy Mænalus yet claim thy care,Hear, Tegeæan Pan, th’ invoking prayer.Georg.i. 16-18.

God of the fleece, whom grateful shepherds love,Oh, leave Lycæus and thy father’s grove;And if thy Mænalus yet claim thy care,Hear, Tegeæan Pan, th’ invoking prayer.

God of the fleece, whom grateful shepherds love,

Oh, leave Lycæus and thy father’s grove;

And if thy Mænalus yet claim thy care,

Hear, Tegeæan Pan, th’ invoking prayer.

Georg.i. 16-18.

Delightful Mænalus, ‘mid echoing groves,And vocal pines, still hears the shepherds’ loves;The rural warblings hear of skilful Pan,Who first to tune neglected reeds began.Bucol.viii. 22-24.—Warton’s Translation.

Delightful Mænalus, ‘mid echoing groves,And vocal pines, still hears the shepherds’ loves;The rural warblings hear of skilful Pan,Who first to tune neglected reeds began.

Delightful Mænalus, ‘mid echoing groves,

And vocal pines, still hears the shepherds’ loves;

The rural warblings hear of skilful Pan,

Who first to tune neglected reeds began.

Bucol.viii. 22-24.—Warton’s Translation.

O that you lov’d the fields and shady grots,To dwell with me in bowers and lowly cots,To drive the kids to fold, the stags to pierce;Then shouldst thou emulate Pan’s skilful verse,Warbling with me in woods: ’twas mighty PanTo join with wax the various reeds began.Pan, the great god of all our subject plains,Protects and loves the cattle and the swains:Nor thou disdain thy tender rosy lipDeep to indent with such a master’s pipe.Bucol.ii. 28-34.—Warton’s Translation.

O that you lov’d the fields and shady grots,

To dwell with me in bowers and lowly cots,

To drive the kids to fold, the stags to pierce;

Then shouldst thou emulate Pan’s skilful verse,

Warbling with me in woods: ’twas mighty Pan

To join with wax the various reeds began.

Pan, the great god of all our subject plains,

Protects and loves the cattle and the swains:

Nor thou disdain thy tender rosy lip

Deep to indent with such a master’s pipe.

Bucol.ii. 28-34.—Warton’s Translation.

Besides the four places in Arcadia, which are referred to in the above-cited passages of Virgil, Pausanias informs us of several others, in which he saw temples and altars erected to Pan. He says[284], that Mount Mænalus was especially sacred to this deity,so that those who dwelt in its vicinity asserted, that they sometimes heard him playing on the syrinx. A continual fire burnt there near his temple.

[284]L. viii. c. 36. 5. and c. 37. 8.

Herodotus gives a very curious account of the introduction of the worship of Pan into Attica[285]. He says, that before the battle of Marathon the Athenian generals sent Philippides as a herald to Sparta. “On his return Philippides asserted, that Pan had appeared to him near Mount Parthenius above Tegea, had addressed him by name and with a loud voice, and commanded him to ask the Athenians why they did not pay any regard to him, a god, who was kind to them, who had been often useful to them and would be so in future. The Athenians, believing the statement of Philippides, when they found themselves prosperous, erected a temple to Pan below the Acropolis, and continued to propitiate him by annual sacrifices and by carrying the torch.” From various authorities we know, that this temple was in the cave on the northern side of the Acropolis below the Propylæa[286].

[285]Lib. vi. c. 105.[286]Eurip. Jon. 492-504. 937. Paus. i. 28. 4. Stuart’s Ant. of Athens. Hobhouse’s Travels, p. 336. Dodwell’s Tour, vol. i. p. 304.In Sir R. Worsley’s collection of Antiques at Appledurcombe in the Isle of Wight is a bas-relief, in which Pan is reclining as if after the chase near the mouth of this cave. He holds the syrinx in the left hand, a drinking-horn in the right. A train of worshippers are conducting a ram to the altar within the cave. See Museum Worsleianum, Lon. 1794. plate 9. In the vestibule of the University Library at Cambridge is a mutilated statue of Pan clothed in a goat-skin and holding the syrinx in his left hand. This statue was discovered near the same cave, and from its style, (the Æginetic,) may be supposed to have been carved soon after the battle of Marathon. See Dr. E. D. Clarke s Greek Marbles, p. 9. No. xi. Wilkins’s Magna Græcia, p. 71, and Dodwell’s Tour, vol. i. p. 304.

[285]Lib. vi. c. 105.

[286]Eurip. Jon. 492-504. 937. Paus. i. 28. 4. Stuart’s Ant. of Athens. Hobhouse’s Travels, p. 336. Dodwell’s Tour, vol. i. p. 304.In Sir R. Worsley’s collection of Antiques at Appledurcombe in the Isle of Wight is a bas-relief, in which Pan is reclining as if after the chase near the mouth of this cave. He holds the syrinx in the left hand, a drinking-horn in the right. A train of worshippers are conducting a ram to the altar within the cave. See Museum Worsleianum, Lon. 1794. plate 9. In the vestibule of the University Library at Cambridge is a mutilated statue of Pan clothed in a goat-skin and holding the syrinx in his left hand. This statue was discovered near the same cave, and from its style, (the Æginetic,) may be supposed to have been carved soon after the battle of Marathon. See Dr. E. D. Clarke s Greek Marbles, p. 9. No. xi. Wilkins’s Magna Græcia, p. 71, and Dodwell’s Tour, vol. i. p. 304.

[286]Eurip. Jon. 492-504. 937. Paus. i. 28. 4. Stuart’s Ant. of Athens. Hobhouse’s Travels, p. 336. Dodwell’s Tour, vol. i. p. 304.

In Sir R. Worsley’s collection of Antiques at Appledurcombe in the Isle of Wight is a bas-relief, in which Pan is reclining as if after the chase near the mouth of this cave. He holds the syrinx in the left hand, a drinking-horn in the right. A train of worshippers are conducting a ram to the altar within the cave. See Museum Worsleianum, Lon. 1794. plate 9. In the vestibule of the University Library at Cambridge is a mutilated statue of Pan clothed in a goat-skin and holding the syrinx in his left hand. This statue was discovered near the same cave, and from its style, (the Æginetic,) may be supposed to have been carved soon after the battle of Marathon. See Dr. E. D. Clarke s Greek Marbles, p. 9. No. xi. Wilkins’s Magna Græcia, p. 71, and Dodwell’s Tour, vol. i. p. 304.

In later times a cave near Marathon was dedicated to Pan, the stalactitio incrustations within it being compared to goats, and to their stalls and drinking-troughs[287].

[287]Paus. l. i. 32. 6. Dodwell’s Tour, vol. ii. p. 162. Mapat, p. 330 of Mem. on Eur. and As. Turkey, edited by Walpole.

Chandler and Dodwell in their Travels describe another cave larger than that at Marathon and containing more varied stalagmitic concretions. It is near the summit of Mount Rapsāna between Athens and Sunium. ΠΑΝΟϹ is inscribed on the rock near the entrance, proving that it was considered sacred to Pan. It is no doubt the Panīon mentioned by Strabo[288].

[288]L. ix. cap. 1. § 21. It was consecrated to the Nymphs as well as to Pan, this association of the Nymphs with that deity being universally practised. Dodwell’s Tour, vol. i. p. 550-555. “The countryman and shepherd, as well as the sportsman, has often repaired, it is likely, to this cave, to render the deities propitious by sacrificing a she-goat or lamb, by gifts of cakes or fruit, and by libations of milk, oil, and honey; simply believing, that this attention was pleasing to them,that they were present though unseen, and partook without diminishing the offering; their appetites as well as passions, caprices, and employments resembling the human. At noon-day the pipe was silent on the mountains,lest it might happen to awake Pan, then reposing after the exercise of hunting, tired and peevish.” Chandler’s Travels in Greece, c. 32. p. 155.

The Corycian cave on Mount Parnassus was dedicated by the surrounding inhabitants to Pan and to the Nymphs[289]. Theocritus also (Idyll. viii. v. 103.) speaks of Homole, a mountainous tract in the south of Thessaly, as belonging to Pan. Altars were dedicated to Pan on the race-course at Olympia in Elis[290], as we may presume, out of respect to the Arcadians, who resorted to the Olympic games. Pindar states[291], that he had near his door a statue of Pan. Here, as his able commentators Heyne and Böckh observe, his daughters with other Theban virgins sung hymns in honor of the god.

Time has spared the traces of hymns performed on such occasions, of which the following Scholion is the most entire specimen.

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