MELPOMENE.

in length; the houses and the templeB are all of
wood. They have temples built in the Grecian man­
ner to Grecian deities, with the statues, altars, and
shrines of wood. Every three years they have i
festival in honour of Bacchus. The Geloni are of
Grecian origin; but being expelled from the com­
mercial towns, they established themselves amongst
the Budini. Their language is a mixture of Greet
and Scythian.

CIX. The Budini are distinguished equally in their
language and manner of life from the Geloni: they
are the original natives of the country, feeders of
cattle, and the only people of the country who eat
vermin. The Geloni, on the contrary, pay atten­
tion to agriculture, live on corn, cultivate gardens,
and resemble the Budini neither in appearance nor
complexion. The Greeks however are apt, though
erroneously, to confound them both under the name
of Geloni. Their country is covered with trees of
every species: where these are the thickest, there is a
large and spacious lake with a marsh surrounded with
reeds. In this lake are found otters, beavers, and
other wild animals, who have square snouts: of these,
the skins are used to border the garment; and their
testicles are esteemed useful in hysteric diseases.

CX. Of the Sauromatte we have this account. In
a contest which the Greeks had with the Amazons,
whom the Scythians call Oiorpata, or, as it may be
interpreted, men-slayers (for Oeor signifies a man,
and pata to kill) they obtained a victory over them at
Thermodon. On their return, as many Amazons as
they were able to take captive, they distributed in
three vessels: these, when they were out at sea, rose
against their conquerors, and put them all to death.
But as they were totally ignorant of navigation, and
knew nothing at all of the management either of
helms, sails, or oars, they were obliged to resign them­
selves to the wind and the tide, which carried them
to Cremnes, near the Palus Mteotis, a place inhabited
by the free Scythians. The Amazons here disem­
barked, and advanced towards the part which was in­
habited, and meeting with a stud of horses in thoir