thank-offerings for safe guidance," Heracles "the conductor"
having special sympathy with wanderers.

As soon as the sacrifices were over, they handed over the hides of the
beasts to Dracontius, and bade him lead the way to his racecourse. He
merely waved his hand and pointed to where they were standing, and
said, "There, this ridge is just the place for running, anywhere,
everywhere." "But how," it was asked, "will they manage to wrestle on
the hard scrubby ground?" "Oh! worse knocks for those who are thrown,"
the president replied. There was a mile race for boys, the majority
being captive lads; and for the long race more than sixty Cretans
competed; there was wrestling, boxing, and the pankration[7].
Altogether it was a beautiful spectacle. There was a large number of
entries, and the emulation, with their companions, male and female, 27
standing as spectators, was immense. There was horse-racing also; the
riders had to gallop down a steep incline to the sea, and then turn
and come up again to the altar, and on the descent more than half
rolled head over heels, and then back they came toiling up the
tremendous steep, scarcely out of a walking pace. Loud were the
shouts, the laughter, and the cheers.

[7] The pankration combined both wrestling and boxing.




BOOK V

[In the preceding portion of the narrative a detailed account
is given of all that the Hellenes did, and how they fared on