Page:Arrian's Voyage Round the Euxine Sea Translated.djvu/194

194 The Olympic foot, we are exprely told by Aulus Gellius, exceeded the common foot in the ame proportion as the foot of Hercules exceeded in length the foot of an ordinary man; and this difference appears to be in the proportion of 25 to 24.

It is proper to remark, that all the Greek writers, who decribe they Olympic or itinerary tadium, and who might be uppoed to reckon by Greek feet, as Herodotus, Hero, and Suidas, concur in aigning to this meaure 000 feet. On the other hand, all the Latin or Roman writers, to whom the Roman foot was more familiar, who decribe the tadium in ue among the Romans, uniformly acribe to it the meaure of 625 feet. Yet we have no reaon to think that the Greek and the Roman tadium were of different dimenions.

The Greek foot, as deduced by Mr. Stuart, from meaurements of different parts of the Hecatompedon at Athens, exhibits, as I have before hewn, as nearly as poible, allowing for mall inaccuracies in the menuration, and perhaps for ome in the contruction of the building itelf, the proportion of 25 to 24, as compared with the Roman foot decribed by Mr. Greaves to be culptured on the marble monument of Coutius at Rome; which proportion coincides with the difference of the number of feet aigned to the tadium by the Greek, and that aigned to the ame meaure by the Latin or Roman writers. If Hercules was taller than other men, "aliorum procerius," as it is expreed by Aulus Gellius, the meaure taken from his foot, uppoing that to be in proportion with the ret of his body, mut exceed the uual meaure of length; and of coure fewer Herculean feet than-feet of the uual ize would be required to make up a given length. To this we