And Cleobulus the Lindian was the first man who introduced the custom of this collection, at a time when there was a great want in Lindus of a collection of money.
EPHESUS.
61. But, since we have mentioned the Rhodian histories, I myself am now going to tell you something about fish, from the account given of the beautiful Rhodes, which that delightful writer Lynceus says is full of excellent fish. Ergias the Rhodian, then, in his Account of his own Country, having first made mention of the Phoenicians, who inhabited the island, says—"That Phalanthus, and his friends, having a very strong city in Ialysus, called Achaia, and being very economical of their provisions, held out for a long time against Iphiclus, who besieged them. For they had also a prophecy given them by some oracle, that they should keep the place till crows became white, and till fish were seen in their goblets. They therefore, expecting that these things would never happen, prosecuted the war with less vigour. But Iphiclus, having heard from some one of the oracles of the Phoenicians, and having waylaid a highly-trusted adherent of Phalanthus, whose name was Larcas, as he was going for water, and having entered into a covenant with him, caught some fish at the spring, and putting them into the ewer, gave them to Larcas, and bade him carry the water back, and pour it into the goblet from which he was used to pour out wine for Phalanthus: and he did so. And Iphiclus also caught some crows, and smeared them over with gypsum, and let them fly again. But when Phalanthus saw the crows, he went to his goblet; and when he saw the fish there, he considered that the place no longer belonged to him and his party, and so he sent a herald to Iphiclus, demanding permission to retire, with all his troops, under the protection of a treaty. And when Iphiclus agreed to this, Phalanthus devised the following contrivance. Having slain some victims, and taken out the entrails, he endeavoured to put in some silver and gold, and so to carry it away. But when Iphiclus perceived this, he prevented it. And when Phalanthus alleged against him the oath which he had taken, when he swore to allow them to take away whatever they had in their bellies, he met them with a counter device, giving them vessels to go away in, but taking away the rudders, and the oars, and the sails, saying that he had sworn to give them boats, and nothing further. And as the Phoenicians were in great perplexity, they buried a great deal of their riches underground, marking the places where they buried it, that at some future time they might come and take it up again; but they left a great deal for Iphiclus. And so, when the Phoenicians had left the place in this manner, the Greeks became masters of it." And Polyzelus has given the same account, in his History of Rhodian Affairs; and says—"That the only people who knew the secret about the fishes and the crows were Phaces and his daughter Dorcia; and she, being beloved by Iphiclus, and having come to an agreement to marry him through the intervention of her nurse, persuaded the man who brought the water to bring the fish and put them into the goblet; and she herself whitewashed the crows, and let them go."
62. And Creophylus, in his Annals of the Ephesians, says—"Those who colonized Ephesus, being much perplexed for want of a place where they could settle, sent at last to the oracle, and asked where they should build themselves a city; and he told them to build a city in that place which a fish should show them, and to which a wild boar should guide them. Accordingly, it is said that some fishermen were breakfasting at the spot where the fountain called Hypelæus now is, and where the harbour is which is called the sacred harbour; and that one of the fish leaped up with a burning cinder sticking to him, and fell on some of the refuse; and that by this means a thicket was set on fire, in which there happened to be a wild boar; and he, being disturbed by the fire, ran for some distance up the mountain which is called the Rough Mountain, and at last was transfixed by javelins, and fell where the temple of Minerva now stands. And the Ephesians, having crossed over from the island, occupied that for twenty-one years, and in the twenty-second year they founded Trachea and the towns around Coressus, and erected a temple to Diana in the market-place, and one to the Pythian Apollo overlooking the harbour."
63. Now after this long conversation, all of a sudden there was heard all over the city the music of flutes and the noise of cymbals, and also a great crash of drums, with singing at the same time. And it happened to be the time of a festival which used formerly to be called the Parilia, but which is now called the Romana, in honour of the temple built to the Fortune of the City, by that most excellent and accomplished sovereign Hadrian. And all the inhabitants of Rome (and all the foreigners sojourning in the city) every year keep that day as a remarkable one. Accordingly, Ulpian said,—My friends, what is this?—
Is it a supper or a marriage feast?
For certainly there is no picnic held now.
And when some one replied that every one in the city was dancing (using the verb βαλλίζω) in honour of the goddess,—My fine fellow, said Ulpian, laughing, what Greek in the world ever called this dancing βαλλισμός̣ You should have said κωμάζουσιν or χορεύουσιν, or, at all events, some word in common use; but you have bought us a name out of the Subura,
And spoilt the wine by pouring in this water.'
And Myrtilus said—But I will prove to you, my dear Epitimæus,[21] that the word is a genuine Greek word; for you, who want to stop every one's mouth, have not succeeded in convicting any one of ignorance, but have proved yourself to be emptier than a snake's cast-off skin. Epicharmus, my most excellent gentlemen, in his Theori, speaks of the βαλλισμὸς, and Italy is no great way from Sicily. Accordingly, in that play, the public ambassadors, surveying the offerings at Pytho, and mentioning each one separately, speak as follows:—
Here there are brazen caldrons, brazen goblets,
And spits. And then to see the men with spits
And flutes, too, dancing (βαλλίζοντες), what a sight it was!