---
title: "The Deipnosophists · Δειπνοσοφισταί"
author: "Athenaeus"
translator: "Charles Duke Yonge"
languages: [grc, en]
shelf: "Classical Greek"
section: 44 of 78
url: https://scriptura.si/works/athenaeus-deipnosophists/44/
cite: "Athenaeus, tr. Charles Duke Yonge, The Deipnosophists · Δειπνοσοφισταί, section 44. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/athenaeus-deipnosophists/44/"
---

# The Deipnosophists · Δειπνοσοφισταί

*Athenaeus, tr. Charles Duke Yonge*

The Learned Banqueters: a dinner party in Rome stretched over fifteen books of talk about food, wine, courtesans, music and books, quoting hundreds of lost Greek authors.

> Greek: ed. Charles Burton Gulick, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0008.tlg001, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Charles Duke Yonge, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0008.tlg001.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (books, chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## 44. Book IX · chapters 35–49

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/athenaeus-deipnosophists/44/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/athenaeus-deipnosophists/44/#p-N

[¶0] And of living people we ourselves use the word ὀψάριον. Plato does so too; speaking of fish in his Pisander, he says—
A. Now eating....
B. What on earth?...
A. Why, all there is;
Fish (ὀψάριον).
B. You were sick, and did they give you this?
A. But I, the other day, eating a crab....
And Pherecrates, in his Deserters, says—
Some one has served us up this dish of fish (τʼ ὀψάριον).
And Philemon, in his Treasure, says—
It is not right to cheat us in this way,
Nor to have worthless fish (ὀψάρια).
And Menander, in his Carthaginian, says—
I offered Boreas much frankincense,
And yet I did not catch one single fish (0ʼψάριον),
So I must now cook lentils for my supper.
And in his Ephesian he says—
Having some fish (ὀψάριον) for breakfast.
And then he goes on to say—
Some fishmonger
Sold me'some tench for four drachmas a-piece.
And Anaxilas, in his Hyacinthus the Pander, says—
I now, O Dion, will buy you some fish (ὀψάριον).
And a few lines afterwards he writes—
Now dress, O boy, the fish (τοὐψάριον) for us.
And in the Anagyrus of Aristophanes we read—
Unless on all occasions you do soothe me
With dainty dishes of fish (ὀψαρίου).
Where, however, perhaps we must take ὀψάρια as used synony- mously with προσψωήματα, for made dishes in general. For Alexis, in his Woman Sitting up all Night, represents a cook as speaking in the following terms:—
A. Do you prefer your high made dishes hot,
Or cold, or something just between the two?
B. Cold.
A. Are you sure, my master? only think;
The man has not one notion how to live?
Am I to serve you everything up cold?
B. By no means.
A. Will you, then, have all things hot
B. O Phœbus!
A. Then, if neither hot nor cold,
They surely must be just between the two;
And none of all my fellows can do this.
B. I dare say not, nor many other things
Which you can do.
A. I'll tell you now, for I
Give all the guests an opportunity
To practise a wise mixture of their food.
Have you not, I adjure you by the gods,
Just slain a kid?
B. Don't cut me, cut the meat:—
Boys, bring the kid.
A. Is there a kitchen near?
B. There is.
A. And has it got a chimney too?
For this you do not say.
B. It has a chimney.
A. But if it smokes, it will be worse than none.
B. The man will kill me with his endless questions. These passages I have quoted to you on the part of us who are still alive, my well-fed friend Ulpian. For you too, as it seems to me, agree so far with Alexis as to eat no living animals. And Alexis, in his Attic Woman, speaks in the following manner—
The man who first did say that no philosopher
Would eat of living things, was truly wise.
For I am just come home, and have not bought
A living thing of any kind. I've bought
Some fish, but they were dead, and splendid fish.
Then here are joints of well-fed household lamb,
But he was killed last week. What else have I?
Oh, here's some roasted liver. If there be
A man who can this liver prove to have
Or soul or voice or animation,
I will confess I've err'd and broken the law.
So now after all this let us have some supper. For just see, while I am talking to you, all the pheasants have flown by me, and are gone out of reach, disregarding me, because of your unseasonable chattering. But I should like you to tell me, my master Myrtilus, said Ulpian, where you got that word ὀλβιογάστωρ, and also whether any ancient author mentions the pheasant, and I—
Rising at early morn to sail....
not through the Hellespont, but into the market-place, will buy a pheasant which you and I may eat together.

> Greek: ὀψάριον δὲ τῶν μὲν ζώντων ἡμεῖς λέγομεν, ἀτὰρ καὶ Πλάτων ἐπὶ τοῦ ἰχθύος ἐν Πεισάνδρῳ· ἤδη φαγών τι πώποθ᾽, οἷα γίνεται, ὀψάριον ἔκαμες καὶ προσέστη τοῦτό σοι; β. ἔγωγε πέρυσι κάραβον φαγών. Φερεκράτης Αὐτομόλοις· τοὐψάριον τουτὶ παρέθηκέ τις ἡμῖν.. Φιλήμων Θησαυρῷ· οὔκ ἔστιν, ὄλεθρε, σε παραλογίσασθ’ ὧδ’ ἔχοντ᾽ ὀψάρι’ ἄχρηστα. Μένανδρος Καρχηδονίῳ· ἐπιθυμιάσας τῷ Βορέᾳ λιβανίδιον ὀψάριον οὐδὲν ἔλαβον· ἑψήσω φακῆν, καὶ ἐν Ἐφεσίῳ· ἐπ’ ἀρίστῳ λαβὼν ὀψάριον. εἶτ’ ἐπιφέρει· τῶν ἰχθυοπωλῶν ἀρτίως τις τεττάρων δραχμῶν ἐπώλει κωβιούς. Ἀναξίλας Ὑακίνθῳ πορνοβοσκῷ· ἐγὼ δ’ ἰὼν ὀψάριον ὑμῖν ἀγοράσω ι καὶ μετ’ ὀλίγα· σκεύαζε, παῖ, τοὐψάριον ἡμῖν. τὸ δὲ ἐν Ἀναγύρῳ Ἀριστοφάνους· εἰ μὴ παραμυθῇ μ’ ὀψαρίοις ἑκάστοτε, ἀντὶ τοῦ προσοψήμασιν ἀκούομεν. καὶ γὰρ Ἄλεξις ἐν Παννυχίδι περιθεὶς μαγείρῳ τὸν λόγον φησὶν θερμοτέροις χαίροις σύ γ’ ἂν τοῖς ὀψαρίοις ἢ τὸ μέσον ἢ κατωτέρω; β. κατωτέρω; τί λέγεις σύ; α. ποδαπὸς οὑτοσὶ ἅνθρωπος; οὐκ ἐπίστασαι ζῆν ψυχρά σοι ἅπαντα παραθῶ; β. μηδαμῶς. α. ζέοντα δέ; β. Ἄπολλον. α. οὐκοῦν τὸ μέσον ἔστω; β. δηλαδή. α. τοῦθ’ ἕτερος οὐδεὶς τῶν ὁμοτέχνων μου ποιεῖ. β. οὐκ οἴομ’ οὐδ’ ἄλλ’ οὐδὲν ὧν σὺ νῦν ποιεῖς. α. ἐγὼ δ’ ἐρῶ σοι· τοῖς γὰρ ἑστιωμένοις τὸν καιρὸν ἀποδίδωμι τῆς συγκράσεως. β. σὺ πρὸς θεῶν ἔθυσας οἶμαι τὸν ἔριφον μὴ κόπτ’ ἔμ᾽, ἀλλὰ τὰ κρέα. α. παῖδες, παράγετε· ὀπτάνιον ἔστιν; β. ἔστι. α. καὶ κάπνην ἔχει; β. δηλονότι. α. μή μοι δῆλον, ἀλλ’ ἔχει κάπνην; β. ἔχει. α. κακόν, εἰ τύφουσαν. β. ἀπολεῖ μ᾽· οὑτοσί. ταῦτὰ σοι παρ’ ἡμῶν τῶν ζώντων, ὀλβιογάστορ Οὐλπιανέ, ἀπεμνημόνευσα. καὶ σὺ γάρ, ὡς ἔοικε, μετ’ ἐμοῦ κατὰ τὸν Ἄλεξιν οὐδενὸς ἐμψύχου μεταλαμβάνεις, ὅς φησιν ἐν Ἀτθίδι τάδε· ὁ πρῶτος εἰπὼν ὅτι σοφιστὴς οὐδὲ εἷς ἔμψυχον οὐδὲν ἐσθίει σοφός τις ἦν. ἐγὼ γὰρ ἥκω νῦν ἀγοράσας οὐδὲ ἓν ἔμψυχον ἰχθῦς ἐπριάμην τεθνηκότας μεγάλους, κρεᾴδι’ ἀρνὸς ἑφθὰ πίονος, οὐ ζῶντος· οὐχ οἷόν τε γάρ. τί ἄλλο; ναί, ἡπάτιον ὀπτὸν προσέλαβον. τούτων ἐὰν δείξῃ τις ἢ φωνήν τι ἢ ψυχὴν ἔχον, ἀδικεῖν ὁμολογῶ καὶ παραβαίνειν τὸν νόμον. ἐπὶ τούτοις οὖν ἔασον ἡμᾶς δειπνεῖν. ἰδοὺ γάρ, ἕως πρὸς σὲ διαλέγομαι, καὶ οἱ φασιανικοὶ παραπεπλεύκασιν ὑπεριδόντες ἡμᾶς διὰ τὴν ἄκαιρὸν σου γλωσσαργίαν.
ἀλλ’ ἢν ἐμοὶ εἴπῃς, ἔφη ὁ Οὐλπιανός, διδάσκαλε Μυρτίλε, ὁ ὀλβιογάστωρ σοι πόθεν καὶ εἰ φασιανικῶν τις ὀρνίθων μέμνηται τῶν παλαιῶν, ἐγώ σοι ἦρι μάλ’ οὐκ ἐφ’ Ἑλλήσποντον πλεύσας, ἀλλ’ εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν πορευθεὶς ὠνήσομαι φασιανικόν, ὃν συγκατέδομαί σοι.

[¶1] And Myrtilus said,—On this condition I will tell you. Amphis uses the word ὀλβιογάστωρ in his Gynæcomania, where he speaks as follows:—
Eurybates, you hunter of rich smells,
You surely are the most well-fed (ὀλβιογάστωρ) of men.
And as for the bird called the pheasant, that delicious writer Aristophanes mentions it in his play called The Birds. There are in that play two old Athenians, who, from their love of idleness, are looking for a city where there is nothing to do, that they may live there; and so they take a fancy to the life among the birds. And accordingly they come to the birds: and when all of a sudden some wild bird flies towards them, they, alarmed at the sight, comfort one another, and say a great many things, and among them they say this—
A. What now is this bird which we here behold?
Will you not say?
B. I think it is a pheasant.
And I also understand the passage in the Clouds to refer to birds, and not to horses as many people take it—
The Phasian flocks, bred by Leogoras.
For it is very possible that Leogoras may have bred horses and pheasants too. And Leogoras is also turned into ridicule as a gourmand by Plato in his Very Miserable Man. And Mnesimachus, in his play called Philip, (and Mnesi- machus is one of the poets of the Middle Comedy,) says—
And as the proverb runs, it is more rare
Than milk of birds, or than a splendid pheasant
Artistically pluck'd.
And Theophrastus the Eresian, a pupil of Aristotle, mentions them in the third book of his Treatise on Animals, speaking nearly as follows—“There is also some such difference as this in birds. For the heavy birds which are not so well suited for flying such as the woodcock, the partridge, the cock, and the pheasant, are very well adapted for walking and have thick plumage.” And Aristotle, in the eighth book of his History of Animals, writes thus:—“Now of birds there are some which are fond of dusting themselves, and some which are fond of washing, and some which neither dust nor wash themselves. And those which are not good flyers, but which keep chiefly on the ground, are fond of dusting themselves; such as the common fowl, the partridge, the woodcock, the pheasant, the lark.” Speusippus also mentions them in the second book of his treatise on Things Resembling one another. And the name these men give the pheasant is φασιανὸς, not φασιανικός.

> Greek: καὶ ὁ Μυρτίλος ἐπὶ ταύταις, ἔφη,
ταῖς συνθήκαις λέγω. τοῦ μὲν ὀλβιογάστορος Ἄμφις μέμνηται ἐν Γυναικομανίᾳ οὑτωσὶ λέγων Εὐρύβατε κνισολοῖχε, … οὐκ ἔσθ’ ὅπως οὐκ ὀλβιογάστωρ εἶ σύ. φασιανικοῦ δὲ ὄρνιθος ὁ ἥδιστος Ἀριστοφάνης ἐν δράματι Ὄρνισιν. Ἀττικοὶ δ’ εἰσὶ δύο πρεσβῦται ὑπὸ ἀπραγμοσύνης πόλιν ζητοῦντες ἐν ᾗ κατοικήσουσιν ἀπράγμονα· καὶ αὐτοῖς ἀρέσκει ὁ βίος ὁ μετ’ ὀρνίθων, ἔρχονται οὖν ὡς τοὺς ὄρνιθας καὶ αἰφνίδιον αὐτοῖς ἐπιπτάντος ἑνὸς τῶν ὀρνίθων ἀγρίου τὴν ὄψιν, δείσαντες ἑαυτοὺς παραμυθούμενοι· λέγουσι τὰ τ’ ἄλλα καὶ τάδε· ὁδὶ δὲ δὴ τίς ἐστιν ὄρνις; οὐκ ἐρεῖς; β. ἐπικεχοδὼς ἔγωγε φασιανικός. καὶ τὸ ἐν Νεφέλαις δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρνίθων ἔγωγε ἀκούω καὶ οὐκ ἐπὶ ἵππων ὡς πολλοί· τοὺς φασιανούς, οὓς τρέφει Λεωγόρας. δύναται γὰρ ὁ Λεωγόρας καὶ ἵππους τρέφειν καὶ ὄρνεις φασιανούς, κωμῳδεῖται γὰρ ὁ Λεωγόρας ὡς γαστρίμαργος ὑπὸ Πλάτωνος ἐν Περιαλγεῖ. Μνησίμαχος δ’ ἐν Φιλίππῳ εἷς δὲ καὶ οὗτός ἐστι τῶν τῆς μέσης κωμῳδίας ποιητῶν φησί· καὶ τὸ λεγόμενον, σπανιώτερον πάρεστιν ὀρνίθων γάλα· καὶ φασιανὸς ἀποτετιλμένος καλῶς. Θεόφραστος δὲ ὁ Ἐρέσιος, Ἀριστοτέλους μαθητής, ἐν τῇ γ’ περὶ ζῴων μνημονεύων αὐτῶν οὑτωσί πως λέγει· ᾽ ἐστὶ δὲ καὶ τοῖς ὄρνισι τοιαύτη διαφορά· τὰ μὲν γάρ βαρέα καὶ μὴ πτητικά, καθάπερ ἀτταγήν, πέρδιξ, ἀλεκτρυών, φασιανός, εὐθὺς βαδιστικὰ καὶ δασέα.᾽ καὶ Ἀριστοτέλης ἐν ὀγδόῃ ζῴων ἱστορίας γράφει τάδε· ‘εἰσὶ δὲ τῶν ὀρνίθων οἱ μὲν κονιστικοί, οἱ δὲ λοῦνται, οἱ δὲ οὔτε κονιστικοὶ οὔτε λοῦνται. ὅσοι δὲ μὴ πτητικοί, ἀλλ’ ἐπίγειοι, κονιστικοί, οἷον ἀλεκτορίς, πέρδιξ, ἀτταγήν, φασιανός, κορυδαλλός’ μνημονεύει δ’ αὐτῶν καὶ Σπεύσιππος ἐν δευτέρῳ Ὁμοίων. φασιανὸν δὲ οὗτοι κεκλήκασιν αὐτὸν καὶ οὐ φασιανικόν.

[¶2] But Agatharchides of Cnidos, in the thirty-fourth book of his History of the Affairs of Europe, speaking of the river Phasis, writes as follows:—“But the great multitude of the birds called pheasants (φασιανοι) come for the sake of food to the places where the mouths of the rivers fall into the sea.” And Callixenus the Rhodian, in the fourth book of his Account of Alexandria, describing a procession which took place in Alexandria, when Ptolemy who was surnamed Philadelphus was king, mentions, as a very extraordinary circumstance connected with these birds—“Then there were brought on in cases parrots, and peacocks, and guinea-fowl, and pheasants, and an immense number of Aethiopian birds.” And Artemidorus the pupil of Aristophanes, in his book entitled The Glossary of Cookery, and Pamphilus the Alexandrian, in his treatise on Names and Words, represents Epænetus as saying in his Cookery Book that the pheasant is also called τατύρας. But Ptolemy Euergetes, in the second book of his Commentaries, says that the pheasant is called τατύρας. Now this is what I am able to tell you about the pheasant, which I have seen brought up on your account, as if we all had fevers. But you, if you do not, according to your agreement, give me tomorrow what you have covenanted to, I do not say that I will prosecute you in the public courts for deceit, but I will send you away to live near the Phasi, as Polemon, the Describer of the World, wished to drown Ister the pupil of Callimachus, the historian, in the river of the same name.

> Greek: Ἀγαθαρχίδης δ’ ὁ Κνίδιος ἐν τῇ τετάρτῃ καὶ τριακοστῇ τῶν Εὐρωπιακῶν περὶ τοῦ Φάσιδος ποταμοῦ τὸν λόγον ποιούμενος γράφει καὶ ταῦτα· ᾽ πλῆθος δ’ ὀρνίθων τῶν καλουμένων φασιανῶν φοιτᾷ τροφῆς χάριν πρὸς τὰς ἐκβολὰς τῶν στομάτων Καλλίξεινος δ’ ὁ Ῥόδιος ἐν τετάρτῃ περὶ Ἀλεξανδρείας διαγράφων τὴν γενομένην πομπὴν ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ Πτολεμαίου τοῦ Φιλαδέλφου καλουμένου βασιλέως ὡς μέγα θαῦμα περὶ τῶν ὀρνίθων τούτων οὕτως γράφει· ᾽ εἶτα ἐφέροντο ἐν ἀγγείοις ψιττακοὶ καὶ ταῲ καὶ μελεαγρίδες καὶ φασιανοὶ καὶ ὄρνιθες Αἰθιοπικοὶ πλήθει πολλοί Ἀρτεμίδωρος δὲ ὁ Ἀριστοφάνειος ἐν ταῖς ἐπιγραφομέναις Ὀψαρτυτικαῖς Γλώσσαις καὶ Πάμφιλος ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεὺς ἐν τοῖς περὶ ὀνομάτων καὶ γλωσσῶν Ἐπαίνετον παρατίθεται λέγοντα ἐν τῷ Ὀψαρτυτικῷ ὅτι ὁ φασιανὸς ὄρνις τατύρας καλεῖται. Πτολεμαῖος δὲ ὁ Εὐεργέτης ἐν δευτέρῳ ὑπομνημάτων τέταρὸν φησιν ὀνομάζεσθαι τὸν φασιανὸν ὄρνιν. τοσαῦτά σοι περὶ τῶν φασιανικῶν ὀρνίθων ἔχων λέγειν, οὓς ἐγὼ διά σὲ ὥσπερ οἱ πυρέσσοντες περιφερομένους εἶδον. σὺ δὲ κατὰ τὰς συνθήκας ἂν μὴ αὔριον ἀποδῷς τὰ ὡμολογημένα, οὐκ ἐξαπατήσεως δημοσίᾳ σε γράψομαι, ἀλλὰ τὸν Φᾶσιν οἰκήσοντα ἀποπέμψω, ὡς Πολέμων ὁ περιηγητὴς Ἴστρον τὸν Καλλιμάχειον συγγραφέα εἰς τὸν ὁμώνυμον κατεπόντου ποταμόν.

[¶3] The next thing to be mentioned is the woodcock. Aristophanes, in his Storks, says—
The woodcock, most delicious meat to boil,
Fit dish for conqueror's triumphal feast.
And Alexander the Myndian says that it is a bird a little larger than a partridge, and spotted all over the back, about the colour of earthenware, but a little more ruddy. And it is caught by the hunters, because it is a heavy flyer in consequence of the shortness of its wings; and it is a bird fond of dusting itself, and very prolific, and it feeds on seeds. But Socrates, in his treatise on Boundaries, and Places, and Fire, and Stones, says,—“The woodcock having been transported into Egypt from Lydia, and having been let loose in the woods there, for some time uttered a sound like a quail: but after the river got low, and a great scarcity arose, in which a great many of the natives of the country died, they never ceased uttering, as they do to this day, in a voice more distinct than that of the very clearest speaking children, ' Threefold evils to the wicked doers.' But when they are caught it is not only impossible to tame them, but they even cease to utter any sound at all; but if they are let go again, they recover their voice.” And Hipponax mentions them thus—
Not eating woodcocks or the timid hare.
And Aristophanes, in his Birds, mentions them also. And in his Acharnians he speaks of them as being very common in the district about Megara. And the Attic writers circumflex the noun in a manner quite contrary to analogy. For words of more than two syllables ending in ας, when the final α is long, are barytones; as for instance, ἀκάμας, σακάδας, ἀδάμας. And we ought also to read the plural ἀττάγαι, and not ἀτταγῆνες.

> Greek: ἀτταγᾶς. Ἀριστοφάνης Πελαργοῖς· ἀτταγᾶς ἥδιστον ἕψειν ἐν ἐπινικίοις κρέας. Ἀλέξανδρος δ’ ὁ Μύνδιός φησιν ὅτι μικρῷ μὲν μείζων ἐστὶ πέρδικος, ὅλος δὲ κατάγραφος τὰ περὶ τὸν νῶτον, κεραμεοῦς τὴν χρόαν, ὑποπυρρίζων μᾶλλον, θηρεύεται δ’ ὑπὸ κυνηγῶν διὰ τὸ βάρος καὶ τὴν τῶν πτερῶν βραχύτητα. ἐστὶ δὲ κονιστικὸς πολύτεκνός τε καὶ σπερμολόγος. Σωκράτης δ’ ἐν τῷ περὶ ὅρων καὶ τόπων καὶ πυρὸς καὶ λίθων ἐκ τῆς Λυδίας μετακομισθέντες, φησίν, εἰς Αἴγυπτον οἱ ἀτταγαῖ καὶ ἀφεθέντες εἰς τὰς ὕλας ἕως μέν τινος ὄρτυγος φωνὴν ἀφίεσαν, ἐπεὶ δὲ τοῦ ποταμοῦ κοίλου ῥυέντος λιμὸς ἐγένετο καὶ πολλοὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν χώραν ἀπώλλυντο, οὐ διέλιπον σαφέστερον τῶν παίδων τῶν τρανοτάτων ἕως νῦν λέγοντες ᾽ τρὶς τοῖς κακούργοις κακά. συλληφθέντες δὲ οὐ μόνον οὐ τιθασεύονται, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ φωνὴν ἔτι ἀφιᾶσιν. ἐὰν δὲ ἀφεθῶσι, φωνήεντες πάλιν γίγνονται. μνημονεύει αὐτῶν Ἱππῶναξ οὕτως· οὐδ’ ἀτταγᾶς τε καὶ λαγὼς διατρώγων. καὶ Ἀριστοφάνης ἐν Ὄρνισιν ἐν δ’ Ἀχαρνεῦσιν καὶ ὡς πλεοναζόντων αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ Μεγαρικῇ. περισπῶσι δ’ οἱ Ἀττικοὶ παρὰ τὸν ὀρθὸν λόγον τοὔνομα. τὰ γὰρ εἰς ας λήγοντα ἐκτεταμένον ὑπὲρ δύο συλλαβὰς ὅτε ἔχει τὸ ἄλφα παραλῆγον, βαρύτονά ἐστιν, οἷον ἀκάμας, Σακάδας, ἀδάμας. λεκτέον δὲ καὶ ἀτταγαῖ καὶ οὐχὶ ἀτταγῆνες.

[¶4] There is also a bird called the porphyrion. And it is well known that this bird is mentioned by Aristophanes. And Polemo, in the fifth book of his treatise addressed to Antigonus and Adæus, says that the bird called the porphyrion, when it is kept in a house, watches those women who have husbands very closely; and has such instantaeous perception of any one who commits adultery, that, when it perceives it, it gives notice of it to the master of the house, cutting its own existence short by hanging itself. And, says he, it never partakes of food before it has walked all round the place seeking for some spot which may suit it; land then it dusts itself there, and washes itself, and after that it feeds. And Aristotle says that it has cloven feet, and that it is of a dark blue colour, with long legs, with a beak of a scarlet colour beginning at its very head; of about the size of a cock of the common poultry-breed; and it has a small Gullet, on which account it seizes its food with its foot, and divides it into diminutive morsels. And it drinks greedily and it has five toes on each foot, of which the middle one is the largest. But Alexander the Myndian, in the second book of his treatise on the History of Birds, says that the bird comes originally from Libya, and that it is sacred to the gods of Libya. There is also another bird called the porphyris. Callimachus, in his treatise on Birds, says that the porphyris is different from the porphyrion, and enumerates the two birds separately. And he says that the porphyrion takes its food while hiding itself in darkness, so that no one may see it; for it hates those who come near its food. And Aristophanes also mentions the porphyris in his drama entitled The Birds. And Ibycus speaks of some birds which he calls lathipor-phyrides, and says; There are some variegated ducks with purple necks which frequent the highest branches of the trees; and the birds called lathiporphyrides with variegated necks, and king-fishers with extended wings." And in another place he says—
You're always bearing me aloft, my mind,
Like some bold porphyris, with out-stretch'd wings.

> Greek: Πορφυρίων. ὅτι καὶ τούτου Ἀριστοφάνης μέμνηται δῆλον. πολέμων δ’ ἐν πέμπτῳ τῶν πρὸς Ἀντίγονον καὶ Ἀδαῖον πορφυρίωνά φησι τὸν ὄρνιν διαιτώμενον κατὰ τὰς οἰκίας τὰς ὑπάνδρους τῶν γυναικῶν τηρεῖν πικρῶς καὶ τοιαύτην ἔχειν αἴσθησιν ἐπὶ τῆς μοιχευομένης, ὥσθ’ ὅταν τοῦθ’ ὑπονοήσῃ προσημαίνει τῷ δεσπότῃ, ἀγχόνῃ τὸ ζῆν περιγράψας. οὐ πρότερόν τε, φησίν, τροφῆς μεταλαμβάνει, εἰ μὴ περιπατήσει τόπον τινὰ ἐξευρὼν ἑαυτῷ ἐπιτήδειον μεθ’ ὃ κονισάμενος λούεται, εἶτα τρέφεται. Ἀριστοτέλης δὲ σχιδανόποδά φησιν αὐτὸν εἶναι ἔχειν τε χρῶμα κυάνεον, σκέλη μακρά, ῥύγχος ἠργμένον ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς φοινικοῦν, μέγεθος ἀλεκτρυόνος, στόμαχον δ’ ἔχει λεπτὸν διὸ τῶν λαμβανομένων εἰς τὸν πόδα ταμιεύεται μικρὰς τὰς ψωμίδας. κάπτων δὲ πίνει. πενταδάκτυλός τε ὢν τὸν μέσον ἔχει μέγιστον. Ἀλέξανδρος δ’ ὁ Μύνδιος ἐν β’ περὶ τῆς τῶν πτηνῶν ἱστορίας Λίβυν εἶναί φησι τὸν ὄρνιν καὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν Λιβύην θεῶν ἱερόν. Πορφυρίς. Καλλίμαχος δ’ ἐν τῷ περὶ ὀρνίθων διεστάναι φησὶ πορφυρίωνα πορφυρίδος. ἰδίᾳ ἑκάτερον καταριθμούμενος· τὴν τροφήν τε λαμβάνειν τὸν πορφυρίωνα ἐν σκότῳ καταδυόμενον, ἵνα μή τις αὐτὸν θεάσηται. ἐχθραίνει γὰρ τοὺς προσιόντας αὐτοῦ τῇ τροφῇ, τῆς δὲ πορφυρίδος καὶ Ἀριστοφάνης ἐν Ὄρνισιν μνημονεύει. Ἴβυκος δέ τινας λαθιπορφυρίδας ὀνομάζει διὰ τούτων τοῦ μὲν πετάλοισιν ἐπ’ ἀκροτάτοις ἱζάνοισι ποικίλοι πανέλοπες, καἰολόδειροι λαθιπορφυρίδες καὶ ἀλκυόνες τανυσίπτεροι. ἐν ἄλλοις δέ φησιν αἰεὶ μ᾽, ὦ φίλε θυμέ, ὁ τανύπτερος ὡς ὅκα πορφυρίς.

[¶5] The next bird is the partridge. A great many authors mention this bird, as also does Aristophanes. And some of them in the oblique cases shorten the penultima of the noun; as Archilochus does where he writes—
πτώσσουσαν ὥς τε πέρδῖκα,
in the same way as ὄρτῦγα and χοίνῖκα have the penultima short. But it is usually made long by the Attic writers. Sophocles, in his Camici, says—
A man arrived, who in the famous hills
Of Attica is a namesake of the partridge (πέρδι·κος).
And Pherecrates, or whoever it was who wrote the Chiron, says—
He goes against his will, like any partridge (πέρδι·κος τρόπον).
And Phrynichus, in his Tragedians, says—
And Cleombrotus the son of Perdix (πέρδι·κος),
(for the bird is sometimes cited as a model of lasciviousness). Nicophon, in his Handicraftsmen, says—
The hepseti, and all those partridges (περδι·κας).
But Epicharmus, in his Revellers, uses the word with the penultima short, where he says—
They brought in cuttle-fish, who swim the deep,
And partridges (πέρδικας) who fly in lofty air.
And Aristotle gives the following account of the bird— "The partridge is a land bird, with cloven feet; and he lives fifteen years: but the female lives even more. For among all birds the female lives longer than the male. It lays eggs, and hatches its young itself, as the common hen does. And when it is aware that it is being hunted, it comes away from its nest, and rolls near the legs of the huntsman, giving him a hope that he may catch it; and so it deceives him, until its young have flown away, and then it flies away itself also.

> Greek: Πέρδιξ. τούτων πολλοὶ μὲν μέμνηνται, ὡς καὶ Ἀριστοφάνης, τοῦ δὲ ὀνόματος αὐτῶν ἔνιοι συστέλλουσι τὴν μέσην συλλαβήν, ὡς Ἀρχίλοχος· πτώσσουσαν ὥστε πέρδικα. οὕτως καὶ ὄρτυγα καὶ χοίνικα, πολὺ δὲ ἐστι τὸ ἐκτεινόμενον παρὰ τοῖς Ἀττικοῖς. Σοφοκλῆς Καμικοῖς· ὄρνιθος ἦλθ’ ἐπώνυμος πέρδικος ἐν κλεινοῖς Ἀθηναίων πάγοις. Φερεκράτης ἢ ὁ πεποιηκὼς τὸν Χείρωνα· ἔξεισιν ἄκων δεῦρο πέρδικος τρόπον. Φρύνιχος Τραγῳδοῖς· τὸν Κλεόμβροτόν τε τοῦ πέρδικος υἱόν. τὸ δὲ ζῷον ἐπὶ λαγνείας συμβολικῶς παρείληπται, Νικοφῶν ἐν Χειρογάστορσι· τοὺς ἑψητοὺς καὶ τοὺς πέρδικας ἐκείνους. Ἐπίχαρμος δ’ ἐν Κωμασταῖς βραχέως· σηπίας τ’ ἆγον νεούσας πέρδικάς τε πετομένους. φησὶ δ’ Ἀριστοτέλης περὶ τοῦ ζῴου τάδε· ὁ πέρδιξ ἐστὶ μὲν χερσαῖος, σχιδανόπους, ζῇ δὲ ἔτη πεντεκαίδεκα, ἡ δὲ θήλεια καὶ πλείονα, πολυχρονιώτερα γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ὄρνισι τῶν ἀρρένων τὰ θήλεα, ἐπῳάζει δὲ καὶ ἐκτρέφει καθάπερ ἡ ἀλεκτορίς. ὅταν δὲ γνῷ ὅτι θηρεύεται, προελθὼν τῆς νεοττιᾶς κυλινδεῖται παρὰ τὰ σκέλη τοῦ θηρεύοντος, ἐλπίδα ἐμποιῶν τοῦ συλληφθήσεσθαι, ἐξαπατᾷ τε ἕως ἂν ἀποπτῶσιν οἱ νεοττοί· εἶτα καὶ αὐτὸς ἐξίπταται.

[¶6] “But it is a very ill-disposed and cunning animal; and moreover it is much devoted to amatory enjoyments; on which account it breaks the eggs of its hen, that it may not be deprived of her while she is hatching them; and therefore the hen, knowing this, runs away and hides her eggs.” And Callimachus gives the same account in his treatise on Birds. And the single birds fight with one another, and the one which is defeated becomes the mate of the conqueror. But Aristotle says that they all in turn use the bird which has been defeated as their mate, and that the tame birds also take the wild ones for their mates. And the bird which is defeated by the other patiently allows itself to be treated by him as his mate. And this happens at a particular time of the year, as is also stated by Alexander the Myndian. And they lay their eggs on the ground, both the cocks and the hens making themselves separate nests. And the leader of the wild birds attacks the decoy partridge, and when he is taken another comes forward to fight the decoy bird; and this is done whenever the bird used for the decoy is a cock bird; but when a hen is employed for the purpose, then she crows till the leader of the wild birds meets her, and the rest of the wild birds assemble and drive him away from the hen, because he is attending to her and not to them; on which account sometimes he advances without making any noise, in order that no other bird may hear his voice and come to fight him. And sometimes the hen also checks the crowing of the cock as he comes up: and very often when she is sitting on her nest she gets off it on perceiving the cock approaching the decoy bird, and remains there to receive his embraces in order to draw him away from the decoy bird. And so very eager to propagate their species are both quails and partridges, that they fall into the hands of the hunters on that account, sitting on the tiles. They say, too, that when hen partridges are taken out to hunt, even when they see or smell a cock standing or flying down the wind, become pregnant, and some say that they immediately begin to lay eggs. And about breeding time they fly about with their mouths open, putting out their tongues, both hens and cocks. And Clearchus says, in his treatise on Panic Fear,—“Sparrows and partridges, and also the common barn-door fowl and the quail, are eager to propagate their species, not only the moment that they see the hen, but even as soon as hey hear her voice. And the cause of this is the excessive impression made on their minds by amatory pleasures and proximity. And you may see more easily all that takes place with respect to the propagation of their species if you put a looking-glass opposite to them. For they run forward, being deceived by the appearance, and behave as if they saw a hen, and so are caught. Only the common poultry cock does not do so. But the perception of the reflected image operates on them only so far as to make them wish to fight.” And this is the statement of Clearchus.

> Greek: ἐστὶ δὲ τὸ ζῷον κακόηθες καὶ πανοῦργον, ἔτι δὲ ἀφροδισιαστικόν. διὸ καὶ τὰ ᾠὰ τῆς θηλείας συντρίβει, ἵνα ἀπολαύῃ τῶν ἀφροδισίων, ὅθεν ἡ θήλεια γιγνώσκουσα ἀποδιδράσκουσα τίκτει. τὰ αὐτὰ ἱστορεῖ καὶ Καλλίμαχος ἐν τῷ περὶ ὀρνέων. μάχονται δὲ καὶ οἱ χῆροι αὐτῶν πρὸς ἀλλήλους καὶ ὁ ἡττηθεὶς ὀχεύεται ὑπὸ τοῦ νικήσαντος Ἀριστοτέλης, δέ φησιν ὅτι τὸν ἡττηθέντα πάντες ἐν μέρει ὀχεύουσιν. ὀχεύουσι δὲ καὶ οἱ τιθασοὶ τοὺς ἀγρίους, ἐπειδὰν δὲ κρατηθῇ τις ὑπὸ τοῦ δευτέρου, οὗτος λάθρᾳ ὀχεύεται ὑπὸ τοῦ κρατιστεύσαντος. γίνεται δὲ τοῦτο κατά τινα ὥραν τοῦ ἔτους, ὡς καὶ ὁ Μύνδιός φησιν Ἀλέξανδρος νεοττεύουσι δὲ ἐπὶ γῆς οἱ ἄρρενες καὶ αἱ θήλειαι, διελόμενοι ἕκαστοι οἶκον. ἐπὶ δὲ τὸν θηρεύοντα πέρδικα ὠθεῖται ὁ τῶν ἀγρίων ἡγεμὼν μαχούμενος· ἁλόντος δὲ τούτου ἕτερος ἔρχεται μαχούμενος. καὶ ὁπόταν μὲν ἄρρην ᾖ ὁ θηρεύων, τοῦτο ποιεῖ· ὅταν δὲ θήλεια ᾖ ἡ θηρεύουσα, ᾄδει ἕως ἂν ἀπαντήσῃ ὁ ἡγεμὼν αὐτῇ, καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι ἀθροισθέντες ἀποδιώκουσιν ἀπὸ τῆς θηλείας, ὅτι ἐκείνῃ, ἀλλ’ οὐχ ἑαυτοῖς προσέχει. ὅθεν πολλάκις διὰ ταῦτα σιγῇ προσέρχεται, ὅπως μὴ ἄλλος ἀκούσας τῆς φωνῆς ἔλθῃ μαχούμενος αὐτῷ. ἐνίοτε δὲ ἡ θήλεια τὸν ἄρρενα προσιόντα κατασιγάζει. πολλάκις τε ἐπῳάζουσα ἐξίσταται, ὅταν προσερχόμενον ἐπαισθάνηται τὸν ἄρρενα τῇ θηρευούσῃ, ὑπομένει τε ὀχευθῆναι, ἵνα αὐτὸν ἀποσπάσῃ τῆς θηρευούσης. ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον δ’ ἐπτόηνται περὶ τὴν ὀχείαν οἱ πέρδικες καὶ οἱ ὄρτυγες ὡς εἰς τοὺς θηρεύοντας ἐμπίπτειν καθίζοντας ἐπὶ τῶν κεφαλῶν φασὶ δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἀγομένους θήλεις πέρδικας ἐπὶ θήραν, ὁπόταν ἴδωσιν ἢ ὄσφρωνται τῶν ἀρρένων κατ’ ἄνεμον στάντων ἢ περιπετομένων, ἐγκύους γίγνεσθαι, τινὲς δὲ καὶ παραυτίκα τίκτειν. πέτονταί τε περὶ τὸν τῆς ὀχείας καιρὸν χάσκοντες καὶ τὴν γλῶσσαν ἔξω ἔχοντες οἵ τε θήλεις καὶ οἱ ἄρρενες. Κλέαρχος δ’ ἐν τῷ περὶ τοῦ Πανικοῦ οἱ στρουθοί, φησί, χοἰ πέρδικες, ἔτι δὲ οἱ ἀλεκτρυόνες καὶ οἱ ὄρτυγες προΐενται τὴν γονὴν οὐ μόνον ἰδόντες τὰς θηλείας, ἀλλὰ κἂν ἀκούσωσιν αὐτῶν τὴν φωνήν. τούτου δὲ αἴτιον ἡ τῇ ψυχῇ γινομένη φαντασία περὶ τῶν πλησιασμῶν. φανερώτατον δὲ γίνεται περὶ τὰς ὀχείας, ὅταν ἐξ ἐναντίας αὐτοῖς θῇς κάτοπτρον προστρέχοντες γάρ διὰ τὴν ἔμφασιν ἁλίσκονταί τε καὶ προΐενται τὸ σπέρμα, πλὴν τῶν ἀλεκτρυόνων. τούτους δ’ ἡ τῆς ἐμφάσεως αἴσθησις εἰς μάχην προάγεται μόνον. ταῦτα μὲν ὁ Κλέαρχος.

[¶7] Partridges are by some people called κάκκαβαι, as, for instance, by Alcman, who speaks as follows—
Alcman, too, began the strain;
And he introduced into the language
The compound name of κακκαβίδες:
showing plainly enough that he had learnt to compound the word from the noise made by partridges. On which account also Chamæleon of Pontus said that the discovery of music was originally made by the ancients from the birds singing in desert places; by imitation of whom they arrived at the art of music; but it is not all partridges who make the noise called κακκαβίζειν, or cackling. At all events, Theophrastus, in his treatise on the Different Noises made by Animals of the same Species, says—“The partridges in Attica, near Corydallus, on the side towards the city, cackle; but those on the other side twitter.” And Basilis, in the second book of his History of India, says—“The diminutive men in those countries which fight with cranes are often carried by partridges.” And Menecles, in the first book of his Collectanea, says—“The pygmies fight both with partridges and with cranes.” But there is a different kind of partridge found in Italy, of a dark colour on its wings, and smaller in size, with a beak inclining in the smallest possible degree to a red colour. But the partridges about Cirrha are not at all nice to eat as to their flesh, on account of the nature of their food. But the partridges in Bœotia either do not cross into Attica at all, or else, whenever they do, they are easily recognised by their voices, as we have previously mentioned. But the partridges which are found in Paphlagonia, Theophrastus says, have two hearts. But those in the island of Sciathos feed on cockles. And sometimes they have as many as fifteen or sixteen young at a time; and they can only fly short distances, as Xenophon tells us in the first book of his Anabasis, where he writes,— “But if any one rouses the bustard suddenly it is easy to catch him; for they can only fly a short distance, like partridges, and they very soon tire; but their flesh is very delicious.” And Plutarch says that Xenophon is quite correct about the bustard; for that great numbers of these birds are brought to Alexandria from the adjacent parts o Libya; being hunted and caught in this manner. The animal is a very imitative one, the bustard; being especially fond of imitating whatever it sees a man do; and accordingly it does whatever it sees the hunters do. And they, standing opposite to it, anoint themselves under the eyes with some unguent, having prepared other different unguents calculated to close up the eyes and eyelids; and these other unguents they place in shallow dishes near the bustards. And so the bustards, seeing the men anoint themselves under the eyes, do the same thing also themselves, taking the unguents out of these dishes; and by this means they are quickly caught. And Aristotle writes the following account of them:—“It is a migratory bird, with cloven feet, and three toes; of about the size of a large cock, of the colour of a quail, with a long head, a sharp beak, a thin neck, large eyes, a bony tongue, and it has no crop.” But Alexander the Myndian says that it is also called λαγωδίας. And he says, also, that it ruminates, and that it is very fond of the horse; and that if any one puts on a horse's skin he can catch as many as he pleases; for they come up to him then of their own accord. And presently, in another passage, Aristotle tells us, “The bustard is something like the owl, but it is not a bird which flies by night; and it has large feathers about its ears, on which account it is called ὦτος, from ὦτα; and it is about the size of a pigeon, and a great imitator of mankind; and accordingly it is caught by dancing opposite to them.'” And it is in shape something like a man, and it is an imitator of whatever man does. On which account the comic poets call those people who are easily taken in by any one whom they chance to meet, a bustard. Accordingly, in hunting them, the man who is cleverest at it, stands opposite to them and dances; and the birds, looking at the man dancing, move like puppets pulled by strings; and then some one comes behind them, and, without being perceived, seizes on them while they are wholly occupied with the delight they derive from the imitation. They say, also, that the screech-owl does the same thing: for it is said that they also are caught by dancing. And Homer mentions them. And there is a kind of dance, which is called σκὼψ, or the screech-owl, from them; deriving its name from the variety of motion displayed by this animal. And the screech-owls also delight in imitation, and it is from their name that we say that those men σκώπτουσι, who keep looking at the person whom they wish to turn into ridicule, and mock all his conduct by an exact imitation, copying the conduct of those birds. But all the birds whose tongues are properly formed, and who are capable of uttering articulate sounds, imitate the voices of men and of other birds; as the parrot and the jay. The screech-owl, as Alexander the Myndian says, is smaller than the common owl, and he has whitish spots on a leaden-coloured plumage; and he puts out two tufts of feathers from his eyebrows on each temple. Now Callimachus says that there are two kinds of screech-owls, and that one kind does screech, and the other does not—on which account one kind is called σκῶπες, and the other kind is called ἀείσκωπες, and these last are of a grey colour. But Alexander the Myndian says that the name is written in Homer, κῶπες without the ς, and that that was the name which Aristotle gave them; and that they are constantly seen, and that they are not eatable; but that those which are only seen about the end of autumn for a day or two are eatable. And they differ from the ἀείσκωπες in their speed, and they are something like the turtle-dove and the pigeon in pace. And Speusippus, in the second book of his treatise on Things Resembling one another, also calls them κῶπες without the ς. But Epicharmus writes σκῶπας, epopses and owls. And Metrodorus, in his treatise on Custom and Habituation, says, that the screech-owl is caught by dancing opposite to it.

> Greek: καλοῦνται δ’ οἱ πέρδικες ὑπ’ ἐνίων κακκάβαι, ὡς καὶ ὑπ’ Ἀλκμᾶνος λέγοντος οὕτως· ἔπη δὲ γε καὶ μέλος Ἀλκμὰν εὗρε γεγλωσσάμενον· κακκαβίδων στόμα συνθέμενος, σαφῶς ἐμφανίζων ὅτι παρὰ τῶν περδίκων ᾄδειν ἐμάνθανε. διὸ καὶ Χαμαιλέων ὁ Ποντικὸς ἔφη· τὴν εὕρεσιν τῆς μουσικῆς τοῖς ἀρχαίοις ἐπινοηθῆναι ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἐρημίαις ᾀδόντων ὀρνίθων ὧν κατὰ μίμησιν λαβεῖν στάσιν τὴν μουσικήν. οὐ πάντες δ’ οἱ πέρδικες, φησί, κακκαβίζουσιν Θεόφραστος γοῦν ἐν τῷ περὶ ἑτεροφωνίας τῶν ὁμογενῶν οἱ Ἀθήνησι, φησίν, ἐπὶ τάδε πέρδικες τοῦ Κορυδαλλοῦ πρὸς τὸ ἄστυ κακκαβίζουσιν, οἱ δ’ ἐπέκεινα τιττυβίζουσιν. Βάσιλις ᾽ ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ τῶν Ἰνδικῶν οἱ μικροί φησίν, ἄνδρες οἱ ταῖς γεράνοις διαπολεμοῦντες πέρδιξιν ὀχήματι χρῶνται. Μενεκλῆς δ’ ἐν πρώτῃ τῆς Συναγωγῆς οἱ Πυγμαῖοι, φησί, τοῖς πέρδιξι καὶ ταῖς γεράνοις πολεμοῦσι. τῶν δὲ περδίκων ἐστὶν ἕτερον γένος ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ ἀμαυρὸν τῇ πτερώσει καὶ μικρότερον τῇ ἕξει, τὸ ῥύγχος οὐχὶ κινναβάρινον ἔχον. οἱ δὲ περὶ τὴν Κίρραν πέρδικες ἄβρωτον ἔχουσι τὸ κρέας διὰ τὰς νομάς. οἱ δὲ περὶ τὴν Βοιωτίαν ἢ οὐ διαβαίνουσιν εἰς τὴν Ἀττικὴν ἢ διαβαίνοντες τῇ φωνῇ διάδηλοι γίγνονται, καθάπερ προειρήκαμεν. τοὺς δὲ περὶ Παφλαγονίαν γιγνομένους πέρδικάς φησι Θεόφραστος δύο ἔχειν καρδίας, οἱ δ’ ἐν Σκιάθῳ τῇ νήσῳ κοχλίας ἐσθίουσι. τίκτουσι δ’ ἐνίοτε καὶ πεντεκαίδεκα καὶ ισ᾽. πέτονται δὲ ἐπὶ βραχύ, ὥς φησι Ξενοφῶν ἐν πρώτῳ Ἀναβάσεως γράφων οὕτως· τὰς δὲ ὠτίδας ἄν τις ταχὺ ἀνιστῇ ἔστι. λαμβάνειν πέτονταί τε γὰρ βραχὺ ὥσπερ οἱ πέρδικες καὶ ταχὺ ἀπαγορεύουσι. τὰ δὲ κρέα αὐτῶν ἡδέα ἐστίν. ἀληθῆ λέγειν φησὶ τὸν Ξενοφῶντα ὁ Πλούταρχος περὶ τῶν ὠτίδων φέρεσθαι γὰρ πάμπολλα τὰ ζῷα ταῦτα εἰς τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν ἀπὸ τῆς παρακειμένης Λιβύης, τῆς θήρας αὐτῶν τοιαύτης γινομένης, μιμητικὸν δέ ἐστι τὸ ζῷον τοῦτο, ὁ ὦτος, μάλιστα ὧν ἂν ἴδῃ ποιοῦντα ἄνθρωπον. ποιεῖ δ’ οὖν ταὐτὰ ὅσα ἂν ἴδῃ τοὺς κυνηγοῦντας πράττοντας, οἱ δὲ στάντες αὐτῶν καταντικρὺ ὑπαλείφονται φαρμάκῳ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς, παρασκευάσαντες ἄλλα φάρμακα κολλητικὰ ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ βλεφάρων, ἅπερ οὐ πόρρω ἑαυτῶν ἐν λεκανίσκαις βραχείαις τιθέασιν. οἱ οὖν ὦτοι θεώμενοι τοὺς ὑπαλειφομένους τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ αὐτοὶ ποιοῦσιν ἐκ τῶν λεκανίδων λαμβάνοντες καὶ ταχέως ἁλίσκονται. γράφει δὲ περὶ αὐτῶν Ἀριστοτέλης οὕτως, ὅτι ἐστὶ μὲν τῶν ἐκτοπιζόντων καὶ σχιδανοπόδων καὶ τριδακτύλων, μέγεθος ἀλεκτρυόνος μεγάλου, χρῶμα ὄρτυγος, κεφαλὴ προμήκης· ῥύγχος ὀξύ, τράχηλος λεπτός, ὀφθαλμοὶ μεγάλοι, γλῶσσα ὀστώδης, πρόλοβον δ’ οὐκ ἔχει. Ἀλέξανδρος δ’ ὁ Μύνδιος καὶ προσαγορεύεσθαί φησιν αὐτὸν λαγωδίαν. φασὶ δ’ αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν τροφὴν ἀναμαρυκᾶσθαι ἥδεσθαί τε ἵππῳ. εἰ γοῦν τις δορὰν ἵππων περιθοῖτο θηρεύσει ὅσους ἂν θέλῃ προσίασι γάρ ἐν ἄλλοις δὲ πάλιν φησὶν ὁ Ἀριστοτέλης· ὁ ὦτός ἐστι μὲν παρόμοιος τῇ γλαυκί, οὔκ ἐστι δὲ νυκτερινός, ἔχει τε περὶ τὰ ὦτα πτερύγια, διὸ καὶ ὦτος καλεῖται· μέγεθος περιστερᾶς, μιμητὴς ἀνθρώπων ἀντορχούμενος γοῦν ἁλίσκεται. ἀνθρωποειδὴς δ’ ἐστὶ τὴν μορφὴν καὶ πάντων μιμητὴς ὅσα ἄνθρωπος ποιεῖ, διόπερ καὶ τοὺς ἐξαπατωμένους ῥᾳδίως ἐκ τοῦ τυχόντος οἱ κωμικοὶ ὤτους καλοῦσιν. ἐν γοῦν τῇ θήρᾳ αὐτῶν ὁ ἐπιτηδειότατος ὀρχεῖται στὰς κατὰ πρόσωπον αὐτῶν, καὶ τὰ ζῷα βλέποντα εἰς τὸν ὀρχούμενον νευροσπαστεῖται. ἄλλος δέ τις ὄπισθεν στὰς καὶ λαθὼν συλλαμβάνει, τῇ περὶ τὴν μίμησιν ἡδονῇ κατεχομένους, τὸ δ’ αὐτὸ ποιεῖν λέγουσι καὶ τοὺς σκῶπας· καὶ γὰρ τούτους ὀρχήσει λόγος ἁλίσκεσθαι. μνημονεύει δ’ αὐτῶν Ὅμηρος, γένος τε ὀρχήσεως ἀπ’ αὐτῶν καλεῖται σκὼψ λαβὼν τοὔνομα ἀπὸ τῆς περὶ τὸ ζῷον ἐν τῇ κινήσει ποικιλίας. χαίρουσι δὲ οἱ σκῶπες καὶ ὁμοιότητι καὶ ἀπ’ αὐτῶν ἡμεῖς σκώπτειν καλοῦμεν τὸ συνεικάζειν καὶ καταστοχάζεσθαι τῶν σκωπτομένων διὰ τὸ τὴν ἐκείνων ἐπιτηδεύειν προαίρεσιν. πάντα δὲ τὰ τῶν ζῴων εὔγλωττα καὶ διηρθρωμένα ἐστὶ τὴν φωνὴν καὶ μιμεῖται τοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὀρνίθων ἤχους ὥσπερ. ψιττακὸς καὶ κίττα. ὁ δὲ σκώψ, ὥς φησιν Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μύνδιος, μικρότερός ἐστι γλαυκὸς καὶ ἐπὶ μολυβδοφανεῖ τῷ χρώματι ὑπόλευκα στίγματα ἔχει δύο τε ἀπὸ τῶν ὀφρύων παρ’ ἑκάτερον κρόταφον ἀναφέρει πτερά. Καλλίμαχος δέ φησι δύο γένη εἶναι σκωπῶν καὶ τοὺς μὲν φθέγγεσθαι, τοὺς δὲ οὔ. διὸ καὶ καλεῖσθαι τοὺς μὲν σκῶπας αὐτῶν, τοὺς δ’ ἀείσκωπας· εἰσὶ δὲ γλαυκοί, ὁ δὲ Μύνδιος Ἀλέξανδρός φησι τοὺς παρ’ Ὁμήρῳ χωρὶς τοῦ ς κῶπας εἶναι, καὶ Ἀριστοτέλη οὕτως αὐτοὺς ὠνομακέναι. φαίνεσθαί τε τούτους ἀεὶ καὶ μὴ ἐσθίεσθαι. τοὺς δ’ ἐν τῷ φθινοπώρῳ φαινομένους δύο ἡμέραις ἢ μιᾷ, τούτους εἶναι ἐδωδίμους, διαφέρουσι δὲ τῶν ἀεισκώπων τῷ πάχει καί εἰσι παραπλήσιοι τρυγόνι καὶ φάττῃ. καὶ Σπεύσιππος δ’ ἐν δευτέρῳ Ὁμοίων χωρὶς τοῦ ς κῶπας αὐτοὺς ὀνομάζει. Ἐπίχαρμος· σκῶπας, ἔποπας, γλαῦκας, καὶ Μητρόδωρος δ’ ἐν τῷ περὶ συνηθείας ἀντορχουμένους φησὶν ἁλίσκεσθαι τοὺς σκῶπας.

[¶8] But since, when we were talking of partridges, we mentioned that they were exceedingly amorous birds, we ought also to add, that the cock of the common poultry fowl is a very amorous bird too; at all events Aristotle says, that when cocks are kept in the temples as being dedicated to the Gods, the cocks who were there before treat any new comer as a hen until another is dedicated in a similar manner. And if none are dedicated, then they fight together, and the one which has defeated the other works his will on the one which he has defeated. It is related, also, that a cock, whenever he goes in at any door whatever, always stoops his crest, and that one cock never yields to another without a battle; but Theophrastus says, that the wild cocks are still more amorous than the tame ones. He says, also, that the cocks are most inclined to pursue the hens the moment they leave their perch in the morning, but the hens prefer it as the day advances. Sparrows, also, are very amorous birds; on which account Terpsicles says, that those who eat sparrows are rendered exceedingly prone to amorous indulgences; and perhaps it is from such an idea that Sappho represents Venus as being drawn by sparrows yoked in her chariot; for they are very amorous birds, and very prolific. The sparrow has about eight young ones at one hatching, according to the statement of Aristotle. And Alexander the Myndian says that there are two kinds of sparrows, the one a tame species, and the other a wild one; and he adds that the hen-sparrow is weaker in other respects, and also that their beaks are of a more horny colour, and that their faces are not very white, nor very black; but Aristotle says that the cock-sparrow never appears in the winter, but that the hen-sparrows remain, drawing his conclusions as to what he thinks probable from their colour; for their colour changes, as the colour of blackbirds and of coots does, who get whiter at certain seasons. But the people of Elis call sparrows δείρηται, as Nicander the Colophonian tells us in the third book of his treatise on Different Dialects.

> Greek: ἐπεὶ δ’ ἐν τῷ περὶ τῶν περδίκων λόγῳ ἐμνήσθημεν ὅτι εἰσὶν ὀχευτικώτατοι, προσιστορήσθω ὅτι καὶ ἀλεκτρυὼν ἀφροδισιαστικὸν τὸ ὄρνεον. Ἀριστοτέλης γοῦν φησιν ὅτι τῶν ἀνατιθεμένων ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς ἀλεκτρυόνων τὸν ἀνατεθέντα οἱ προόντες ὀχεύουσι μέχρι ἂν ἄλλος ἀνατεθῇ· εἰ δὲ μὴ ἀνατεθείη, μάχονται πρὸς ἀλλήλους καὶ ὁ ἡττήσας τὸν ἡττηθέντα διὰ παντὸς ὀχεύει. ἱστορεῖται δὲ ὅτι καὶ ἀλεκτρυὼν εἰσιὼν οἱανδήποτε θύραν ἐπικλίνει τὸν λόφον καὶ ὅτι τῆς ὀχείας ἑτέρῳ δίχα μάχης οὐ παραχωρεῖ, ὁ δὲ Θεόφραστος τοὺς ἀγρίους φησὶν ὀχευτικωτέρους εἶναι τῶν ἡμέρων, λέγει δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἄρρενας εὐθὺς ἐξ εὐνῆς ἐθέλειν πλησιάζειν, τὰς δὲ θηλείας προβαινούσης μᾶλλον τῆς ἡμέρας, καὶ οἱ στρουθοὶ δὲ εἰσιν ὀχευτικοί· διὸ καὶ Τερψικλῆς τοὺς ἐμφαγόντας φησὶν στρουθῶν ἐπικαταφόρους πρὸς ἀφροδίσια γίνεσθαι. μήποτε οὖν καὶ ἡ Σαπφὼ ἀπὸ τῆς ἱστορίας τὴν Ἀφροδίτην ἐπ’ αὐτῶν φησιν ὀχεῖσθαι· καὶ γὰρ ὀχευτικὸν τὸ ζῷον καὶ πολύγονον. τίκτει γοῦν ὁ στρουθός, ὥς φησιν Ἀριστοτέλης, καὶ μέχρι ὀκτώ. Ἀλέξανδρος δ’ ὁ Μύνδιος δύο γένη φησὶν εἶναι τῶν στρουθῶν, τὸ μὲν ἥμερον, τὸ δ’ ἄγριον τὰς δὲ θηλείας αὐτῶν ἀσθενεστέρας τὰ τ’ ἄλλα εἶναι καὶ τὸ ῥύγχος κερατοειδὲς μᾶλλον τὴν χρόαν, τὸ δὲ πρόσωπον οὔτε λίαν λευκὸν ἐχούσας οὔτε μέλαν Ἀριστοτέλης δέ φησι τοὺς ἄρρενας τῷ χειμῶνι ἀφανίζεσθαι, διαμένειν δὲ τὰς θηλείας, τεκμαιρόμενος ἐκ τῆς χρόας τὴν πιθανότητα· ἀλλάττεσθαι γὰρ ὡς τῶν κοσσύφων καὶ φαλαρίδων, ἀπολευκαινομένων κατὰ καιρούς. Ἠλεῖοι δὲ καλοῦσι τοὺς στρουθοὺς δειρήτας, ὡς Νίκανδρός φησιν ὁ Κολοφώνιος ἐν τρίτῳ Γλωσσῶν.

[¶9] We must also speak of the quail; they are called ὄρτυγες. And here the rearises a general question about words ending in υξ, why the words with this termination do not all have the same letter as the characteristic of the genitive case. I allude to ὄρτυξ and ὄνυξ. For the masculine simple nouns ending in ξ when the vowel υ precedes ξ, and when the last syllable begins with any one of the immutable consonants or those which are characteristic of the first conjugation of barytone verbs, make the genitive with κ; as κῆρυξ κήρυκος, πέλυξ πέλυκος, ῎ερυξ ἔρυκος, βέβρυξ, βέβρυκος; but those which have not this characteristic make the genitive with a γ, as ὄρτυξ ὄρτυγος, κόκκυξ κόκκυγος, ὄρυξ ὄρυγος; and there is one word with a peculiar inflexion, ὄνυξ ὄνυχος; and as a general rule, in the nominative case plural, they follow the genitive case singular in having the same characteristic of the last syllable. And the case is the same if the last syllable does not begin with a consonant at all. But with respect to the quail Aristotle says, “The quail is a migratory bird, with cloven feet, and he does not make a nest, but lies in the dust; and he covers over his hole with sticks for fear of hawks; and then the hen lays her eggs in the hole.” But Alexander the Myndian says, in the second book of his treatise on Animals, “The female quail has a thin neck, not having under its chin the same black feathers which the male has. And when it is dissected it is found not to have a large crop, but it has a large heart with three lobes; it has also its liver and its gall-bladder united in its intestines, but it has but a small spleen, and one which is not easily perceived; and its testicles are under its liver, like those of the common fowl.” And concerning their origin, Phanodemus, in the second book of his History of Attica, says:— “When Erysichthon saw the island of Delos, which was by the ancients called Ortygia, because of the numerous flocks of quails which came over the sea and settled in that island as one which afforded them good shelter...” And Eudoxus the Cnidian, in the first book of his Description of the Circuit of the Earth, says that the Phœnicians sacrifice quails to Hercules, because Hercules, the son of Asteria and Jupiter, when on his way towards Libya, was slain by Typhon and restored to life by Iolaus, who brought a quail to him and put it to his nose, and the smell revived him. For when he was alive he was, says Eudoxus, very partial to that bird. But Eupolis uses the word in its diminutive form, and in his play called Cities, calls them ὀρτύγια, speaking as follows:—
A. Tell me now, have you ever bred any ὄρτυγεσ?
B. I've bred some small ὀρτύγια. What of that
And Antiphanes, in his play called The Countryman, speaks as follows, using also the form ὀρτύγιον·—
For what now could a man like you perform,
Having the soul of a quail (ὀρτυγίου)?
It is an odd expression that Pratinas uses, who in his Dymænæ, or the Caryatides, calls the quail a bird with a sweet voice, unless indeed quails have voices in the Phliasian or Lacedæmonian country as partridges have; and perhaps it is from this, also, that the bird called σίαλις has its name, as Didymus says. For nearly all birds derive their tames from the sounds which they make. There is also a bird called the ὀρτυγομήτρα (which is mentioned by Crates in his Chirons, where he says,
The ὀρτυγομήτρα came from Ithaca.)
And Alexander the Myndian also mentions it, and says that in size it is nearly equal to a turtle-dove; that it has long legs, a slender body, and is very timid. And with respect to the hunting for quails, Clearchus the Solensian mentions some very singular circumstances, in his book which is entitled “A Treatise on those things which have been asserted on Mathematical Principles in Plato's Polity,” where he writes as follows—“Quails, about breeding time, if any one puts a looking-glass opposite to them, and a noose in front of it, run towards the bird which is seen in the looking-glass; and so fall into the noose.” And about the birds called jackdaws he makes a similar statement, saying—“And a very similar thing happens to the jackdaws, on account of their naturally affectionate disposition towards each other. For they are a most exceedingly cunning bird; nevertheless when a bowl full of oil is placed near them, they stand on the edge of the bowl, and look down, and then rush down towards the bird which appears visible in the liquid. In consequence of which, when they are soaked through with the oil, their wings stick together and cause them to be easily captured.” And the Attic writers make the middle syllable of the oblique cases of ὄρτυξ long, like δοίδῦκα, and κήρῦκα; as Demetrius Ixion tells us, in his treatise on the Dialect of the Alexandrians. But Aristophanes, in his Peace, has used the word with the penultima short for the sake of the metre, writing—
The tame domestic quails (ὄρτῦγες οἰκογενεῖς).
There is also a bird called χέννιον, which is a small kind of quail, which is mentioned by Cleomenes, in his letter to Alexander, where he expresses himself in the following manner— “Ten thousand preserved coots, and five thousand of the kind of thrush called tylas, and ten thousand preserved χέννια.” And Hipparchus, in his Egyptian Iliad, says—
I cannot fancy the Egyptian life,
Plucking the chennia, which they salt and eat.

> Greek: ὄρτυγες. καθόλου ἐπὶ τῶν εἰς ūξ ληγόντων ὀνομάτων ἐζήτηται τί δή ποτε τῷ αὐτῷ οὐ χρῶνται ἐπὶ γενικῆς συμφώνῳ τῆς τελευταίας συλλαβῆς τυπωτικῷ λέγω δὲ ὄνυξ καὶ ὄρτυξ, τὰ δὲ εἰς ξ ἀρσενικὰ ἁπλᾶ δισσύλλαβα ὅταν τῷ ῡ παρεδρεύηται, ἔχῃ δὲ τῆς τελευταίας συλλαβῆς ἄρχον ἕν τι τῶν ἀμεταβόλων ἢ δι’ ὧν ἡ πρώτη συζυγία τῶν βαρυτόνων λέγεται, διὰ τοῦ κ ἐπὶ γενικῆς κλίνεται, κήρυκος, πέλυκος, Ἔρυκος, Βέβρυκος, ὅσα δὲ μὴ τοῦτον ἔχει· τὸν χαρακτῆρα, διὰ τοῦ γ, ὄρτυγος, ὄρυγος, κόκκυγος. σημειῶδες δὲ τὸ ὄνυχος. καθόλου τε τῇ πληθυντικῇ εὐθείᾳ ἑπομένη ἡ ἑνικὴ γενικὴ χρῆται τῷ αὐτῷ συμφώνῳ τῆς τελευταίας τυπωτικῷ, κἂν ἄνευ συμφώνου λέγηται, ὁμοίως. Ἀριστοτέλης δέ φησιν
ὁ ὄρτυξ ἐστὶ μὲν τῶν ἐκτοπιζόντων καὶ σχιδανοπόδων, νεοττιὰν δὲ οὐ ποιεῖ, ἀλλὰ κονίστραν καὶ ταύτην σκεπάζει φρυγάνοις διὰ τοὺς ἱέρακας, ἐν ᾗ ἐπῳάζει Ἀλέξανδρος· ᾽ ὁ Μύνδιος ἐν δευτέρῳ περὶ ζῴων ὁ θῆλυς, φησίν, ὄρτυξ λεπτοτράχηλὸς ἐστι τοῦ ἄρρενος οὐκ ἔχων τὰ ὑπὸ τῷ γενείῳ μέλανα, ἀνατμηθεὶς δὲ πρόλοβον οὐχ ὁρᾶται μέγαν ἔχων, καρδίαν δ’ ἔχει μεγάλην, καὶ ταύτην τρίλοβον. ἔχει δὲ καὶ ἧπαρ καὶ τὴν· χολὴν ἐν τοῖς ἐντέροις κεκολλημένην, σπλῆνα μικρὸν καὶ δυσθεώρητον, ὄρχεις δὲ ὑπὸ τῷ ἥπατι ὡς ἀλεκτρυόνες. περὶ δὲ τῆς γενέσεως αὐτῶν Φανόδημος ἐν δευτέρῳ Ἀτθίδος φησὶν ὡς κατεῖδεν Ἐρυσίχθων Δῆλον τὴν νῆσον τὴν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀρχαίων καλουμένην Ὀρτυγίαν παρ’ ὃ τὰς ἀγέλας τῶν ζῴων τούτων φερομένας ἐκ τοῦ πελάγους ἱζάνειν εἰς τὴν νῆσον διὰ τὸ εὔορμον εἶναι … Εὔδοξος δ’ ὁ Κνίδιος ἐν πρώτῳ γῆς περιόδου τοὺς Φοίνικας λέγει θύειν τῷ Ἡρακλεῖ ὄρτυγας διὰ τὸ τὸν Ἡρακλέα τὸν Ἀστερίας καὶ Διὸς πορευόμενον εἰς Λιβύην ἀναιρεθῆναι μὲν ὑπὸ Τυφῶνος, Ἰολάου δ’ αὐτῷ προσενέγκαντος ὄρτυγα καὶ προσαγαγόντος ὀσφρανθέντα ἀναβιῶναι. ἔχαιρε γάρ, φησί, καὶ περιὼν τῷ ζῴῳ τούτῳ, ὑποκοριστικῶς δὲ Εὔπολις ἐν Πόλεσιν αὐτοὺς κέκληκεν ὀρτύγια λέγων οὕτως ι ὄρτυγας ἔθρεψας σύ τινας ἤδη πώποτε; β. ἔγωγε μίκρ’ ἄττ’ ὀρτύγια. κἄπειτα τί; Ἀντιφάνης δ’ ἐν Ἀγροίκῳ ὀρτύγιον εἴρηκεν οὕτως ὡς δὴ σὺ τί ποιεῖν δυνάμενος, ὀρτυγίου ψυχὴν ἔχων; Πρατίνας δ’ ἐν Δυμαίναις ἢ Καρυάτισιν ἁδύφωνον ἰδίως καλεῖ τὸν ὄρτυγα, πλὴν εἰ μή τι παρὰ τοῖς Φλιασίοις ἢ τοῖς Λάκωσι φωνήεντες, ὡς καὶ οἱ πέρδικες, καὶ ἡ σιαλὶς δὲ ἀπὸ τούτου ἂν εἴη, φησὶν ὁ Δίδυμος, ὠνομασμένη. σχεδὸν γὰρ τὰ πλεῖστα τῶν ὀρνέων ἀπὸ τῆς φωνῆς ἔχει τὴν ὀνομασίαν. ἡ δὲ ὀρτυγομήτρα καλουμένη, ἧς μνημονεύει Κρατῖνος ἐν Χείρωσι λέγων· Ἰθακησία ὀρτυγομήτρα —λέγει δὲ περὶ αὐτῆς ὁ Μύνδιος Ἀλέξανδρος ὅτι ἐστὶ τὸ μέγεθος ἡλίκη τρυγών, σκέλη δὲ μακρά, δυσθαλὴς καὶ δειλή.
περὶ δὲ τῆς τῶν ὀρτύγων θήρας ἰδίως ἱστορεῖ Κλέαρχος ὁ Σολεὺς ἐν τῷ ἐπιγραφομένῳ περὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ Πλάτωνος Πολιτείᾳ μαθηματικῶς εἰρημένων γράφων οὕτως· οἱ ὄρτυγες περὶ τὸν τῆς ὀχείας καιρόν, ἐὰν κάτοπτρον ἐξ ἐναντίας τις αὐτῶν καὶ πρὸ τούτου βρόχον θῇ, τρέχοντες πρὸς τὸν ἐμφαινόμενον ἐν τῷ κατόπτρῳ ἐμπίπτουσιν εἰς τὸν βρόχον. καὶ περὶ τῶν κολοιῶν δὲ καλουμένων τὰ ὅμοια ἱστορεῖ ἐν τούτοις· καὶ τοῖς κολοιοῖς δὲ διὰ τὴν φυσικὴν φιλοστοργίαν, καίπερ τοσοῦτον πανουργίᾳ διαφέρουσιν, ὅμως ὅταν ἐλαίου κρατήρ τεθῇ πλήρης, οἱ στάντες αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖλος καὶ καταβλέψαντες ἐπὶ τὸν ἐμφαινόμενον καταράττουσι. διόπερ ἐλαιοβρόχων γενομένων ἡ τῶν πτερῶν αὐτοῖς συγκόλλησις αἰτία γίνεται τῆς ἁλώσεως. τὴν μέσην δὲ τοῦ ὀνόματος συλλαβὴν ἐκτείνουσιν Ἀττικοὶ ὡς δοίδυκα καὶ κήρυκα, ὡς ὁ Ἰξίων φησὶ Δημήτριος ἐν τῷ περὶ τῆς Ἀλεξανδρέων διαλέκτου. Ἀριστοφάνης δ’ ἐν Εἰρήνῃ συνεσταλμένως ἔφη διὰ τὸ μέτρον ὄρτυγες οἰκογενεῖς. τῶν δὲ καλουμένων χεννίων μικρὸν δ’ ἐστὶν ὀρτύγιον μνημονεύει Κλεομένης ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ἀλέξανδρον ἐπιστολῇ γράφων οὕτως· φαληρίδας ταριχηρὰς μυρίας, τυλάδας πεντακισχιλίας, χέννια ταριχηρὰ μύρια. καὶ Ἵππαρχος ἐν τῇ Αἰγυπτίᾳ Ἰλιάδι· οὐδέ μοι Αἰγυπτίων βίος ἤρεσεν οἷον ἔχουσι, χέννια τίλλοντες καὶ

[¶10] And even swans in great plenty were not wanting to our banquets. And Aristotle speaks in the following manner of this bird—“The swan is a prolific bird, and a quarrelsome one. And, indeed, they are so fond of fighting that they often kill one another. And the swan will fight even the eagle; though he does not begin the battle himself. And they are tuneful birds, especially towards the time of their death. And they also cross the seas singing. And they are web-footed, and feed on herbage.” But Alexander the Myndian says, that though he followed a great many swans when they were dying, he never heard one sing. And Hegesianax of Alexandria, who arranged the book of Cephalion, called the History of Troy, says that the Cycnus who fought with Achilles in single combat, was fed in Leucophrys by the bird of the same name, that is, by the swan. But Boius, or Boio, which Philochorus says was his proper name, in his book on the Origin of Birds, says that Cycnus was turned into a bird by Mars, and that when he came to the river Sybaris he was cooped with a crane. And he says, also, that the swan lines his nest with that particular grass which is called lygæa. And concerning the crane (γέρανος), Boius says that there was among the Pygmies a very well known woman whose name was Gerana. And she, being honoured as a god by her fellow-countrymen, thought lightly of those who were really gods, and especially of Juno and Diana. And accordingly Juno, being indignant, metamorphosed her into an unsightly bird, and made her hostile to and hated by the Pygmies who had been used to honour her. And he says, also, that of her and Nicodamas was born the land tortoise. And as a general rule, the man who composed all these fables asserts that all the birds were formerly men.

> Greek: κιττία δεισαλέ’ ὄντα. οὐκ ἀπελείποντο δὲ ἡμῶν τοῦ συμποσίου πολλάκις οὐδὲ κύκνοι, περὶ ὧν φησιν ὁ Ἀριστοτέλης· ὁ κύκνος εὔτεκνός ἐστι καὶ μάχιμος· ἀλληλοκτονεῖ γοῦν ὁ μάχιμος, μάχεται δὲ καὶ τῷ ἀετῷ, αὐτὸς μάχης μὴ προαρξάμενος. εἰσὶ δ’ ᾠδικοὶ καὶ μάλιστα περὶ τὰς τελευτάς. διαίρουσι δὲ καὶ τὸ πέλαγος ᾄδοντες. ἐστὶν δὲ τῶν στεγανοπόδων καὶ ποηφάγων. ὁ δὲ Μύνδιός φησιν Ἀλέξανδρος πολλοῖς τελευτῶσιν παρακολουθήσας οὐκ ἀκοῦσαι ᾀδόντων. ὁ δὲ τὰ Κεφαλίωνος ἐπιγραφόμενα Τρωικὰ συνθεὶς Ἡγησιάναξ ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεὺς καὶ τὸν Ἀχιλλεῖ μονομαχήσαντα Κύκνον φησὶ τραφῆναι ἐν Λευκόφρυι πρὸς τοῦ ὁμωνύμου ὄρνιθος. Βοῖος δ’ ἐν Ὀρνιθογονίᾳ ἢ Βοιώ, ὥς φησι Φιλόχορος, ὑπὸ Ἄρεως τὸν Κύκνον ὀρνιθωθῆναι καὶ παραγενόμενον ἐπὶ τὸν Σύβαριν ποταμὸν πλησιάσαι γεράνῳ. λέγει δὲ καὶ ἐντίθεσθαι αὐτὸν τῇ νεοττιᾷ πόαν τὴν λεγομένην λυγέαν. καὶ περὶ τῆς γεράνου δέ φησιν ὁ Βοῖος ὅτι ἦν τις παρὰ τοῖς Πυγμαίοις γυνὴ διάσημος, ὄνομα Γεράνα. αὕτη κατὰ θεὸν τιμωμένη πρὸς τῶν πολιτῶν αὐτὴ τοὺς ὄντως θεοὺς ταπεινῶς ἦγε, μάλιστα δὲ Ἥραν τε καὶ Ἄρτεμιν. ἀγανακτήσασα οὖν ἡ Ἥρα εἰς ἀπρεπῆ τὴν ὄψιν ὄρνιν μετεμόρφωσε πολέμιόν τε καὶ στυγητὴν κατέστησε τοῖς τιμήσασιν αὐτὴν Πυγμαίοις, γενέσθαι τε λέγει ἐξ αὐτῆς καὶ Νικοδάμαντος τὴν χερσαίαν χελώνην. καθόλου δὲ ὁ ποιήσας ταῦτα τὰ ἔπη πάντα τὰ ὄρνεα ἀνθρώπους ἱστορεῖ πρότερον γεγονέναι.