st esteem. He was regarded as the president of law and justice,
as the protector of cities, as governor and director of their
councils, and as chief of their societies. To him they ascribed
thunder, and supposed it was he who delivered them from the Persians,
and who assisted them to buy and sell to advantage. They erected
altars to him in the courts of their houses and before their gates.
Regarding him as the god of strangers, they received and entertained
visitors with great ceremony. As a sign of fidelity, the right hand of
fellowship was given to a stranger, to whom salt was presented, in
token that his person would be safe under the entertainer's roof. A
stranger's bottle was kept, and when a visitor arrived at the door the
head of the family and he joined feet together on the threshold. A cup
of wine was drunk to an unknown person before his name was asked. To
return respect to those in the house, the stranger did reverence to
the genius of the place, and saluted the ground with a kiss. When one
sojourned in a strange land, he was expected to conform to the
recognised customs thereof; and on taking his departure he not only
bade farewell to those with whom he had become acquainted, but took
leave of their deities. When an important agreement was entered into,
Jupiter was sacrificed to, and called to witness the covenant.

The Greeks purified themselves after frightful dreams; they wore
charmed rings to protect themselves from witchcraft; they were
accustomed to spit three times on seeing a madman; and they spat every
time the devil's name was mentioned in their hearing. Stones were
cast at every cat and weasel met by one when commencing a journey,
and the meeting of a bitch with whelps was carefully avoided. The
crowing of hens and the whistling of maidens were listened to with as
great fear as the hissing of a serpent.

If a rat or a mouse ate a hole in one's clothes, evil, it was thought,
was about to befall the luckless owner. The people had days of good
luck and of bad omen. They cut their hair, and sacrificed it to
rivers. They marked the flight of birds, particularly that of the owl.
On seeing this night bird flying overhead at the battle of Salamis,
the soldiers considered it a good sign, took courage, and won the
fight. When one was going round an altar, he took care to keep his
right hand towards it. People anointed sacred stones in token of
thankfulness, as Jacob poured oil on the stone he took for a pi