98 conftructed by Mandrocles the Samian. He then examined the Bofphorus, near which 28 he ordered two columns of white marble to be erected; upon one were infcribed in Affyrian, on the other in Greek characters, the names of the different nations which followed him. In this expedition he was accompanied by all the nations which acknowledged his authority, amounting, cavalry included, to seventy thousand men, independent of his fleet, which confifted of fix hundred fhips. Thefe columns the Byzantines afterwards removed to their city, and placed before the altar of the Orthofian Diana", excepting only one stone, which they depofited in their city before the temple of Bacchus, and which was covered with Affyrian characters. That part of the Bofphorus where Darius ordered the bridge to be erected is as I conjecture nearly at the point of middle diftance between Byzan 98 Near which.]-The new caftles of Europe and Afia are conftructed on either continent upon the foundations of two celebrated temples of Serapis, and of Jupiter Urius. The old caftles, a work of the Greek emperors, command the narrowest part of the channel, in a place where the oppofite banks advance within five hundred paces of each other. These fortreffes were restored and ftrengthened by Mahomet the Second, when he meditated the fiege of Conftantinople: but the Turkish conqueror was most probably ignorant that near two thousand years before his reign Darius had chofen the fame fituation to connect the two continents by a bridge of boats.Gibbon. 99 Orthofian Diana.]-We are told by Plutarch, that in honour of the Orthofian Diana, the young men of Lacedæmon permitted themselves to be flagellated at the altar with the extremeft severity, without uttering the fmalleft complaint.-T. 3 124 tium and the temple at the entrance of the Euxine. 100 LXXXVIII. With this bridge Darius was fo much delighted, that he made many valuable prefents to Mandrocles the Samian, who conftructed it: with the produce of these the artist caused a representation to be made of the Bofphorus, with the bridge thrown over it, and the king feated on a throne, reviewing his troops as they paffed. This he afterwards confecrated in the temple of Juno, with this infcription: Thus was the fishy Bofphorus inclos'd, When Samian Mandrocles his bridge impos'd: Approv'd his country's fame, and private skill. - LXXXIX. Darius having rewarded the artist, paffed over into Europe: he had previously ordered the Ionians to pafs over the Euxine to the Ifter, where having erected a bridge, they were to wait his arrival. To affift this expedition, the Ionians and Æolians, with the inhabitants of the Hellefpont, had affembled a fleet; accordingly, having paffed the Cyanean iflands, they failed directly to the Ifter; and arriving after a paffage of two days from the sea at that part of the river where it begins to branch off, they conftructed a bridge. Darius 100 Valuable prefents.]-Gronovius retains the reading of Taσ dexa, which is very abfurd in itself, and ill agrees with the context: the true reading is maσ dexa, that is, ten of each article prefented.-See Cafaubon on Athenæus, and others.-T. croffed the Bofphorus, and marched through Thrace; and arriving at the fources of the river Tearus, he encamped for the space of three days. XC. The people who inhabit its banks affirm the waters of the Tearus to be an excellent remedy for various diseases, and particularly for ulcers, both in men and horfes. Its fources are thirty-eight in number, iffuing from the fame rock, part of which are cold, and part warm; they are at an equal distance from Heræum, a city near Perinthus, and from Apollonia on the Euxine, being a two days journey from both. The Tearus flows into the Contadefdus, the Contadefdus into the Agrianis, the Agrianis into the Hebrus, the Hebrus into the fea, near the city Ænus. XCI. Darius arriving at the Tearus, there fixed his camp: he was fo delighted with this river, that he caused a column to be erected on the spot, with this infcription: "The fources of the Tearus afford "the best and cleareft waters in the world :-In profecuting an expedition against Scythia, Da"rius fon of Hyftafpes, the best and most ami"able of men, sovereign of Persia, and of all the " continent, arrived here with his forces." XCII. Leaving this place, Darius advanced to 101 Perinthus.]-This place was anciently known by the dif ferent names of Mygdonia, Heraclea, and Perinthus. It is now called Pera.-T. wards wards another river, called Artifcus, which flows through the country of the Odryfians 102. On his arrival here he fixed upon one certain fpot, on which he commanded every one of his foldiers to throw a ftone as he paffed: this was accordingly done, and Darius, having thus raised an immense pile of ftones, proceeded on his march. 148 369 XCIII. Before he arrived at the Ifter, he first of 26% all fubdued the Geta, a people who pretend to immortality. The Thracians of Salmydeffus, and they who live above Apollonia, and the city of Mefambria, with those who are called Cyrmianians, and Mypfæans, fubmitted themselves to Darius without refiftance. The Getæ obftinately defended themselves, but were foon reduced; these of all the Thracians are the braveft and the most upright. XCIV. They believe themselves to be immortal 103; and whenever any one dies they are of opinion that he is removed to the prefence of their god 102 Odryfians,]-These people are fuppofed to be the Molda. vians they had a city named Odryfa. Mention is made of them by Claudian in his Gigantomachia: Primus terrificum Mavors non fegnis in hoftem Silius Italicus alfo fpeaks of Odrifius Boreas.-T. 103 They believe themselves to be immortal.]—Arrian calls these people Dacians. "The first exploits of Trajan," fays Mr. Gibbon, "were against the Dacians, the most warlike of men, who god Zamolxis 104, whom fome belieye to be the fame with Gebeleizes. Once in every five years they choose one by lot, who is to be dispatched as a meffenger to Zamolxis, to make known to him their several wants. The ceremony they observe on this occafion is this:-Three amongst them are appointed to hold in their hands three javelins, whilst others feize by the feet and hands the person who is appointed to appear before Zamolxis; they throw him up, fo as to make him fall upon the javelins. If he dies in confequence, they imagine that the deity is propitious to them; if not, they who dwelt beyond the Danube, and who, during the reign of Domitian, had infulted with impunity the majefty of Rome. To the ftrength and fierceness of Barbarians, they added a contempt for life, which was derived from a vain persuasion of the immortality of the foul." The Gete are represented by all the claffic writers as the moft daring and ferocious of mankind; in the Latin language particularly, every harsh term has been made to apply to them: Nulla Getis toto gens eft trucilentior orbe, fays Ovid. Hume fpeaks thus of their principles of belief, with refpect to the foul's immortality: The Getes, commonly called immortal from their steady belief of the foul's immortality, were genuine Theists and Unitarians. They affirmed Zamolxis, their deity, to be the only true God, and afferted the worship of all other nations to be addreffed to mere fictions and chimeras: but were their religious principles any more refined on account of these magnificent pretenfions ?"-T. 104 Zamolxis.]-Larcher, in conformity to Weffeling, prefers the reading of Zalmoxis.-In the Thracian tongue, Zalmos means the fkin of a bear; and Porphyry, in the life of Pythagoras, obferves, that the name of Zalmoxis was given him, becaufe as foon as he was born he was covered with the skin of that animal, accufe |