MELPOMENE. 151

is well covered with trees; whereas the rest of Africa,
as I have before observed, is very barren of wood.
The distance from this hill to the sea, is two hundred
stadia.

CLXXVI. The Gindanes are next to the Macse.
Of the wives of this people, it is said that they wear
as many bandages round their ankles as they have
known men. The more of these each possesses, the
more she is esteemed, as having been beloved by the
greater number of the other sex.

CLXXVII. The neck of land which stretches from
tho country of the Gindanes towards the sea, is pos­
sessed by the Lotophagi, who live entirely upon the
fruit of the lotos. The lotos is of the size of the mas-
tick, and sweet like the date; and the Lotophagi
make of it a kind of wine.

CLXXVIII. Towards the sea, the Machlyes border
on the Lotophagi. They also feed on the lotos;
though not so entirely as their neighbours. They
extend as far as a great stream called the Triton,
which enters into an extensive lake named Tritonis,
in which is the island of Phla. An oracular declara­
tion, they say, had foretold that some Lacedaemonians
should settle themselves here.

CLXXIXi The particulars are these: when Jason
had constructed the Argo at the foot of Mount Polion,
he carried on board a hecatomb for sacrifice, with a
brazen tripod: he sailed round the Teloponnese, with
the intftition to visit Delphi. As he approached Ma-
lea, a north wind drovo him to the African coast, and
before he could discover land, he got amongst the
shallows of the lake of Tritonis: not being able to
extricate himself from this situation, a Triton is said
to have appeared to him, and to have promised him
i secure and easy passage, provided he would give
him the tripod. To this Jason assented, and the
Triton having fulfilled his engagement, he placed tho
tripod in his temple, from whence he communicated
to Jason and his companions what was afterwards to
happen. Among other things, he said, that whenever
i descendant of these Argonauts should take away
this tripod, there would be infallibly a hundred Gre-