140 MELPOMENE.

wards retained. Oiolycus had a son named iEgeo,
who gave his name to the if.gida, a considerable
Spartan tribe, who, finding themselves in danger of
leaving no posterity behind them, built, by the dire:
tion of the oracle, a temple to the Furies of Laisj
and CEdipus; this succeeded to their wish. Atb-
cumstance similar to this happened afterwards in the
island of Thera, to the descendants of this ttiltgJiP

CL. Thus far the accounts of the Lacedserraoniau
and Thereans agree; what follows, is related on th>:
authority of the latter only :-~Grinus, son of .dSsaniui.
and descended from the above Theras, was prince of
the island: he went to Delphi, carrying with
hecatomb of sacrifice, and accompanied, a
of his citizens, by Battus the son of Pol;
the family of Euthyraus a Minyan; Grinus,
ing the oracle about something of a different z
was commanded by the Pythian to build a city is
Libya. "I," replied the prince, "am too old and to1
infirm for such an undertaking; suffer it to devolve
on some of these younger persons who accompany
moat the same time he pointed to Battus. On their
return, they paid no regard to the injunction of the
oracle, being both ignorant of the situation of Libya,
and not caring to send a colony on so precarious an
adventure.

CLI. For seven years after the above event, it
never rained in Thera; in consequence of which, every
tree in the place perished, except one. The inhabit­
ants consulted the oracle; when the sending a colony
to Libya was again recommended by the Pythian:
as therefore n^ alternative remained, they sent some
emissaries into Crete, to inquire whether any of the
natives or strangers residing among them had ever
visited Lybia. The persons employed on this occa­
sion, after going over the whole island, came at length
to the city Itanus, where they became acquainted
with a certain dyer of purple, whose name was Co-
robius; this man informed them, that he was once
driven by contrary winds into Libya, and had landed
there, on the island of Platea; they therefore bar­
gained with him for a certain sum, to accompany