sodden and roasted
all over. He desired admittance, but though he begged hard for it,
was rejected.

A little time after the games came on, which they call here
Thanatusia. {126} Achilles presided for the fifth time, and Theseus
for the seventh. A narrative of the whole would be tedious; I shall
only, therefore, recount a few of the principal circumstances in the
wrestling match. Carus, a descendant of Hercules, conquered Ulysses
at the boxing match; Areus the Egyptian, who was buried at Corinth,
and Epeus contended, but neither got the victory. The Pancratia was
not proposed amongst them. In the race I do not remember who had
the superiority. In poetry Homer was far beyond them all; Hesiod,
however, got a prize. The reward to all was a garland of peacock's
feathers.

When the games were over word was brought that the prisoners in
Tartarus had broken loose, overcome the guard, and were proceeding
to take possession of the island under the command of Phalaris the
Agrigentine, {127a} Busiris of Egypt, {127b} Diomede the Thracian,
{128a} Scyron, {128b} and Pityocamptes. As soon as Rhadamanthus
heard of it he despatched the heroes to the shore, conducted by
Theseus, Achilles, and Ajax Telamonius, who was now returned to his
senses. A battle ensued, wherein the heroes were victorious, owing
principally to the valour of Achilles. Socrates, who was placed in
the right wing, behaved much better than he had done at Delius
{128c} in his life-time, for when the enemy approached he never
fled, nor so much as turned his face about. He had a very
extraordinary present made him as the reward of his courage, no less
than a fine spacious garden near the city; here he summoned his
friends and disputed, calling the place by the name of the Academy
of the Dead. They then bound the prisoners and sent them back to
Tartarus, to suffer double punishment. Homer wrote an account of
this battle, and gave it me to show it to our people when I went
back, but I lost it afterwards, together with a great many other
things. It began thus--

"Sing, Muse, the battles of the heroes dead--"

The campaign thus happily finished, they made an entertainment to
celebrate the victory, which, as is usual amongst them, was a bean-
feast. Pythagoras alone absented himself on that day, and fasted,
holding in abomination the wicked custom of eating beans.

Six months had now elapsed, when a new and extraordinary affair
happened. Cinyrus