Apollonius

1[1] Epimenides the Cretan is said to have been sent by his father and his father’s brothers into the field to bring a sheep back into the city. When night came upon him, he deviated from the path and fell asleep for fifty-seven years — just as many others have said, including Theopompus in his Histories where he summarizes wonders by locality. [2] Then in the intervening years the relatives of Epimenides died, but he woke up and sought the sheep he had been sent for, and when he didn’t find it, went into the field — for he thought that he had awoken on the same day on which he had fallen asleep — and finding that the field had been sold and its equipment exchanged, he set out for the city. When he came into his house, he knew everything from then on, including about the time while he had disappeared. [3] The Cretans say, as Theopompus tells, that he lived for one hundred and fifty-<seven> years and then died. [4] Other things are told of this man which are in no small degree incredible.

2[1] It is related that Aristeas of Proconnesus died in a fuller’s shop in Proconnesus, but on the same day and hour was seen in Sicily by many, teaching letters. [2] After this, since the same sort of thing often happened to him, and he had become famous over many years and appeared most frequently in Sicily, the Sicilians founded a shrine to him and sacrificed to him as a hero.

3[1] Concerning Hermotimus of Clazomenae, the following sort of fables are told. For they say that his soul wandered away from his body for many years, and going to various places foretold how things in the future would turn out, such as great storms and droughts, as well as earthquakes and plagues and the like, while his body was lying there. But after a while the soul returned as if into a sheath and awakened the body. [2] When he had done this many times, and though his wife had received his injunctions when he was going to be absent that no-one was to touch his body – none of the citizens and no other person – some people came into the house and importuned the woman, and observed Hermotimus lying naked and motionless on the ground. [3] They took fire and burned him, thinking that since the soul was absent and had no longer anywhere to return, he would be completely robbed of life, which indeed was what happened. [4] The Clazomenaeans honour Hermotimus to this day and have dedicated a shrine to him into which no woman can enter for the aforementioned reason.

4[1] Abaris, a Hyperborean and himself one who discoursed on divine matters, wrote oracles while going around the regions, which are still in existence to this day. He, too, foretold earthquakes and plagues and the like as well as celestial events. [2] It is said that he went to Lacedaemon and said to the Laconians to offer preventive sacrifices to the gods, and that because of this plague did not occur thereafter in Lacedaemon.

5[1] Concerning Pherecydes, some accounts like the following are related. Once in the island of Syros he was thirsty and asked for a drink of water from one of his acquaintances: while he was drinking, he said that there would be an earthquake on the island after three days. When this happened, he acquired a great reputation. [2] And again, when he was travelling to Samos to the Temple of Hera, he saw a ship making its way landward into the harbour, and he said to those standing with him that it would not come into the harbour: while he was still speaking, a dark storm-cloud burst violently and finally the ship vanished.

6[1] Coming after these, Pythagoras the son of Mnesarchus, though at first he worked painstakingly on the mathematical sciences and arithmetic, later did not abstain from wonder-working in the manner of Pherecydes as well.

[2](a) For in Metapontium, when a ship was coming in carrying a cargo, and those who happened to be there were praying that it would come in safely because of its cargo, he was standing and said “well then, it will be revealed to you that a dead body is steering this ship”.

(b) Again in Caulonia, as Aristotle says, <• • • • • > writes about and says many other things, among them that in Tyrrhenia he killed a deadly biting snake by biting it himself. (c) He also foretold the coming strife to the Pythagoreans. Because of this he went off to Metapontium unseen by anyone. (d) And from the river Cosas,* as he crossed it with others, he heard a great superhuman voice: “Greetings, Pythagoras!” Those present were terrified. (e) He appeared once in both Croton and Metapontium at the same day and hour.

(f) Once when sitting in the theatre he got up, as Aristotle says, and revealed his own thigh to those seated as being made of gold. Things yet more incredible are said about him. But since we do not wish to take on the task of the copyists, we will put an end to our account of him.

7 Aristotle[says] in his Natural Problems that those involved in the production of barley are paler and their bodies <prone to catarrh> to a greater extent than those having to do with wheat.

8[1] Andron, in Book 4 of his Sacrifices addressed to Philip: in Attica, no crow has been seen approaching the acropolis. [2] In just the same way, nor does the fly flitter about the doorways of Aphrodite in Paphos.

9 Aristotle says in his Natural Problems: those who take just one meal [a day] have sourer characters than those who take two meals.

10 Theopompus says in his Marvels that at the Olympic Games, when many kites hover around the festival crowd and tear apart the meats being carried through, <those meats> from sacrally killed beasts remained untouched.

* See here for a note on the translation of this passage.

11 Aristotle in his Barbarian Customs: <in Latmos> in Caria there are scorpions which, when they sting strangers, do not inflict too great an injury, but they kill locals at once.

12 Near Babylon, at the crossing of the river Euphrates, there are little snakes that strike at strangers, but do not injure the locals.

13 < • • • • • > in his fables in order of location, that in Halicarnassus, when a certain sacrifice to Zeus Ascraeus is performed, a flock of goats is led before the sanctuary and stood there. When the prayers have been said, a single goat led by no-one comes forward and approaches the altar, and the priest seizes it and sacrifices it with good omens.

14 Phylarchus in Book 8 of his Histories says that there is a spring of water on the Arabian Gulf from which, if any man anoints his feet, at once his genitals extend by a great deal. The genitals of some of them never completely contract, while those of others are restored after great suffering and treatment.

15 Scymnus the Chian says that the perimeter of the island of Britain is 40,000 stades, and that seedless produce is found there, so that olives don’t have seeds, nor grapes pips, nor other fruits like them.

16 Theophrastus [says], in his work on plants, of <the> deadly carrot, which doctors use, that if one were to cook it with meat, many pieces become one, so that it is no longer possible to remove it from the pot.

17[1] Ctesias says that there is a wood in India which is called parebon. This of its own accord draws everything that is brought near to it, such as gold, silver, tin, bronze and all other metals. [2] It also attracts sparrows flying close by. [3] And if it is a larger tree, it [draws] even goats and sheep and animals of similar size.

18 Phylarchus says in Book 20 of his Histories that a white root was brought from India which they cut with water and use to plaster the feet; men who had been plastered became oblivious of intercourse and became like eunuchs. Because of this, those who anoint themselves [with it] while still in childhood remain unexcited right up to their death.

19 Heracleides the critic, in his On the Cities of Greece, says that a fruit-bearing thorny plant grows on Mt. Pelion; if one grinds its fruit up with olive oil and water, and anoints either his own or another’s body during Winter, he will not feel the cold.

20 Ctesias [says] in Book 10 of his Persica that there are camels in the <Caspian> region which have hair as soft as Milesian fleeces: the priests and other powerful men wear garments made from it.

21 Of those animals that have been subject to careful observation, the cloven-hoofed alone have knuckles on their hind legs. Aristotle gave the reason in his Natural Problems for this being the case with the hind legs but not the forelegs: nature did nothing in vain.

22 It is to be seen in life that none of the horned animals belches: Aristotle gives the reason for this, too, in the Problems.

23 It is a marvel that the sun scorches us, but that fire hardly does so at all, and that a diamond does not become warm when put in a fire, and that the magnetic stone attracts while it is day but by night attracts [things] to a lesser degree or scarcely at all.

24 Eudoxus of Rhodes says that there is a race in the Celtic region which cannot see by day but can by night.

25[1] Aristotle in his work on drunkenness: Andron of Argos, he says, though he ate a great deal of both salty and dry food, lived through his entire life without getting thirsty or taking a drink. [2] What is more, he twice made the journey to Ammon through the waterless <way> eating dry barley without taking any liquid. He did this throughout his whole life.

26 Aristotle says in his On Life and Death that the tortoise lives when deprived of its heart, but he doesn’t specify which sort, land or aquatic.

27 Aristotle, in his Properties of Animals — for he has two works [on this topic], one on animals, the other on the properties of animals — head-lice, he says, do not waste away when those suffering from long-term illnesses are about to die but are to be found on the pillow, having left the head.

28 Aristotle, in his Properties of Animals: ear-wax, he says, although it is bitter, becomes sweet [[when those are about to die]] who are suffering from long diseases. This, he says, has been observed to happen in many instances. He also gave the reason for the occurrence in his Natural Problems.

29 Theophrastus in his work on plants: if, he says, the womb prolapses, it is bathed for many days with aristolochia drenched in water.

30 Aristoxenus the theorist of music says that for those suffering from quartan fever, the plant called pellitory, when ground up with olive oil and applied as an ointment before the onset of convulsions, gives release from the condition.

31 Theophrastus in his work about plants: the sheep in Pontus, which graze on wormwood, do not have bile.

32 Theophrastus [says] in his work about plants that in India neither the chick-pea nor the lentil nor the broad bean is to be found.

33 Theophrastus again, in Book 7 of his work about plants, [says] that in some villages in Bactria the wheat is such a good strain that [the grain] is the same size as an olive-stone.

34 The same philosopher: in Olynthus and Cerinthus, he says, earth mixed with the grain makes it appear bigger.

35 The following, too, is a result of careful observation, that pregnant women who frequently have intercourse with their husbands give birth easily and painlessly. Aristotle, too, has said this in Book 14 of his enquiries.

36[1] Sotacus in his work about stones: the stone called the Carystian stone, he says, has wool-like and powdery outgrowths, out of which hand-towels are spun and woven. [2] They also plait lamp-wicks from it, which burn brightly and without being burnt away. [3] When the towels get dirty, they are not cleaned with water, but brushwood is burned and then the cloth is held over it; and while the dirt flows away, the cloth itself becomes white and pure through the action of the fire and is employed once more for the same uses. [4] Wicks remain inextinguishable for the whole time they are lit with olive oil. [5] The smell of the burning wicks is a test for epileptics. [6] This stone occurs in Carystus, from where it got its name, and very plentifullyin Cyprus, on the left for those coming down from Gerandrus as though travelling to Soli, beneath the cliffs of Elmaeum. [7] At the full moon the stone, too, waxes, and becomes less again when the moon wanes.

37 Aristotle, in his Natural Problems: hunchbacks breathe heavily through the mouth. He gave the reason for this occurrence too.

38 Eudoxus of Cnidus in Book 7 of his Periodos Ges: there is a people in most of Libya, lying above Syrtis and Carthage towards the rising sun, called Gyzantes: some of them practice a skill whereby they gather the flowers in the regions to make honey in such a quantity and of such a kind that it is like that which is obtained from bees.

39 Aristotle says in the extracts of his Anatomy that a snake was seen in Paphos which had two feet, like the land crocodile.

40[1] Aristoxenus the theorist of music says in his Life of Telestes, that at the time that the latter was in Italy misfortunes were occurring, of which one was a strange thing concerning women: for they became ecstatic to such a degree that at times when they were sitting and dining they would hearken as if to a voice calling them, then start up uncontrollably and run out of the city. [2] In reply to the people of Locri and Rhegium when they sought an oracle concerning relief from the condition, the god told them to sing [twelve] spring paeans for sixty days. For this reason, there came to be many writers of paeans in Italy.

41 Theophrastus, in Book 8 of his work on plants, [says] that the plant skorpion — which they call "women’s bane" — when applied to scorpions causes them to shrivel up at once.

42(41[2]) A thing that has been observed from close study is the difficulty in scars forming on wounds in pregnant women, those with diseases of the spleen or suffering from varicose veins, and women who have varicose veins in their thighs.

43(42) Theophrastus, in his work on plants: near Soli in Cilicia along the river called Pinarus where the battle between Alexander and Darius took place, the pomegranates are seedless. For the most part in <Egypt> the seeds have a resemblance to wine.

44(43) Aristotle in his works on animals: the bee, he says, dies when it ejects its sting, and the other bees carry it out of the hive.

45(44) Another fact derived from close observation is the burning of wicks through the night alongside flowers or garlands of snowdrops so that they remain unfaded up to the dawn. Garland-weavers do this.

46(45)[1] Theophrastus says in his Causes of Plants that bean-pods strewn about the roots of trees dry up what is growing. [2] Domestic birds which frequently eat them grow sterile. [3] From that and for this reason, and perhaps for others as well, the Pythagoreans have prohibited the use of beans, for they induce wind and indigestion and make our dreams disturbed.

47(46) Truffles become harder when there is continuous thunder, just as Theophrastus has said in his work on plants.

48(47) Theophrastus says in his work on plants: libanotis, when put in with clothes, prevents moths from coming into being.

49(48)[1] The things which Theophrastus said in his book On Inspiration are worthy of attention. For he says that music cures many of the ills that afflict the soul and body, such as faints, fears and prolonged bouts of distraction of the wits. For aulos-playing, he says, cures both sciatica and epilepsy, [2] just like the man who went to Aristoxenus the theorist of music — he had consulted †the oracles of Pasiphaë and Delphi† [the text here is very corrupt]

[Aristoxenus] is said to have restored to his right mind someone in Thebes who had been driven out of his wits by the sound of the trumpet, for when he heard it, he shouted so much that he made a disgrace of himself; and particularly if ever anyone were to play the trumpet in a warlike way, he suffered much more badly, becoming mad. [3] So [Aristoxenus] little by little introduced him to [the sound of] the aulos and, as one might say, by this introduction enabled him to endure even the sound of the trumpet.

[4] The playing of the aulos is of assistance, too, if some part of the body is in pain: when the body is subjected to aulos-playing, let the playing be carried out for five days at least, and straight away on the first day the pain will be become less, and on the second. [5] This use of aulos-playing is customary in other places as well, but especially Thebes up to the present time.

50(49)[1] Theophrastus, in his work on plants, in the last part: Eunomus of Chios, he says, the drug-seller, did not take a purgative, though drinking many draughts of hellebore. And once, he said, having made a wager with his fellow-practitioners he took about twenty-two draughts in one day while sitting in the agora and did not depart from his drug-jars <until evening>. Then he went away to wash and take a meal, as was his custom, and did not vomit. [2] He did this having undergone a long period of accustomization, beginning from a few to this number of draughts. [3] The potency of all drugs is weakened by habituation, some even becoming ineffective.

51(50) There is a matter worthy of attention which Aristotle has spoken of in his Natural Problems: he says that a person has the same weight after eating and drinking as he does when fasting. He tries to give the reason for this occurrence, too.