o her
lap and has had commerce with her outside the temple, and after throwing
it he must say these words only: "I demand thee in the name of the
goddess Mylitta": 209 now Mylitta is the name given by the Assyrians to
Aphrodite: and the silver coin may be of any value; whatever it is she
will not refuse it, for that is not lawful for her, seeing that this
coin is made sacred by the act: and she follows the man who has first
thrown and does not reject any: and after that she departs to her house,
having acquitted herself of her duty to the goddess 210, nor will you
be able thenceforth to give any gift so great as to win her. So then as
many as have attained to beauty and stature 211 are speedily released,
but those of them who are unshapely remain there much time, not being
able to fulfil the law; for some of them remain even as much as three or
four years: and in some parts of Cyprus too there is a custom similar to
this.

200. These customs then are established among the Babylonians: and there
are of them three tribes 212 which eat nothing but fish only: and when
they have caught them and dried them in the sun they do thus,--they
throw them into brine, and then pound them with pestles and strain them
through muslin; and they have them for food either kneaded into a soft
cake, or baked like bread, according to their liking.

201. When this nation also had been subdued by Cyrus, he had a desire to
bring the Massagetai into subjection to himself. This nation is reputed
to be both great and warlike, and to dwell towards the East and the
sunrising, beyond the river Araxes and over against 213 the Issedonians:
and some also say that this nation is of Scythian race.

202. Now the Araxes is said by some to be larger and by others to be
smaller than the Ister: and they say that there are many islands in it
about equal in size to Lesbos, and in them people dwelling who feed in
the summer upon roots of all kinds which they dig up and certain fruits
from trees, which have been discovered by them for food, they store up,
it is said, in the season when they are ripe and feed upon them in the
winter. Moreover it is said that other trees have been discovered by
them which yield fruit of such a kind that when they have assembled
together in companies in the same place and lighted a fire, they sit
round in a circle and throw some of it into the fire, and they smell the
fruit which is thrown on, as it burns, and are intoxicated by the