Page:The battle of the books - Guthkelch - 1908.djvu/215

Rh the Himereans desired to have his ashes brought back into his native city Himera: but the Cataneans would not part with them. This occasioned a fierce contest between the two towns, which Phalaris appeased by prevailing with the Himereans to let Stesichorus's ashes sleep in peace at Catana, and build a temple to the honour of him at home. Now what is there in this story either absurd or improbable? that the Himereans should be so concerned to get the ashes of Stesichorus, and the Cataneans to keep them? This very thing happened afterwards in the case of Euripides, whose bones the Athenians sent a solemn embassy to Macedonia to retrieve, as Aulus Gellius informs us, and that not in a lost chapter. And after the denial of this request, we learn from Pausanias, that the Athenians built a noble monument to the memory of Euripides, which continued even to his time. Somewhat of the same honour was paid to Hesiod's remains, which being buried where Hesiod was murdered, a great way off Ascra, the Orchomenians, Plutarch tells us, endeavoured all they could to get 'em into their possession: but they that had 'em would not be prevailed upon to