Page:The geography of Strabo (1854) Volume 2.djvu/305

 B. xii. c. in. 19, 20. PONTUS. 297 All the inhabitants of these mountains are quite savage, but the Heptacometns are more so than all the others. Some of them live among trees, or in small towers, whence the ancients called them Mosynceci, 1 because the towers were called mosynes. Their food consists of the flesh of wild ani- mals and the fruits of trees. They attack travellers, leaping down from the floors of their dwellings among the trees. The Heptacometae cut off three of Pompey's cohorts, as they were passing through the mountains, by placing on their road vessels filled with maddening honey, which is procured from the branches of trees. The men who had tasted the honey and lost their senses were attacked and easily despatched. Some of these barbarians were called Byzeres. 19. The present Chaldasi were anciently called Chalybes. It is in their territory chiefly that Pharnacia is situated. On the sea-coast it has natural advantages for the capture of the pelamydes. For this fish is first caught at this place. On the mainland there are at present mines of iron ; formerly there were also mines of silver. The sea-shore along all these places is very narrow, for directly above it are hills, which abound with mines and forests ; much, however, of the country is not cultivated. The miners derive their subsistence from the mines, and the fishermen from the fisheries, especially from the capture of pelamydes and dolphins. The dolphins pursue shoals of fish, the cordyla, the tunny, and even the pelamys ; they grow fat on them, and as they approach the land incautiously, are easily taken. They are caught with a bait and then cut into pieces ; large quantities of the fat are used for all purposes. 20. These I suppose are the people who are called by Homer Halizoni, who in his Catalogue follow the Paphlago- nians. "But Odius and Episfrrophus led the Halizoni Far from Alybe, where there are silver mines ; " 2 whether the writing was changed from " far from Chalybe," or whether the people were formerly called Alybes instead of Chalybes. We cannot at present say that it is possible that Chaldsei should be read for Chalybes, but it cannot be maintain- ed that formerly Chalybes could not be read for Alybes, espe- 1 Dwellers in towers. 2 II. ii. 856.