In the Trœzenian district there is an isthmus jutting out some way into the sea, and on it has been built a small town near the sea called Methana. And there is a temple of Isis there, and a statue in the market-place of Hermes, and another of Hercules. And at the distance of about 30 stades from this small town are some warm baths. And they say that water first appeared there when Antigonus, the son of Demetrius, was King of the Macedonians, and water did not first appear, but fire bubbled up from the ground, and when this burnt itself out then water began to flow, which bubbles up even to this day warm and very salt. And if one bathes here the water is not cold near the shore, but if you go well out to sea swimming is dangerous, for there are many kinds of sea-monsters and especially sea dogs. But the most wonderful thing at Methana I will now record. The South West Wind when the vines are growing blows upon them from the Saronic Gulf, and scorches them up. And when the wind is still sweeping down on them, two men take a cock with white feathers only, and tear it in half, and run round the vines in different directions, each with half the cock, and when they come back to the place where they started, they bury it there. This is their invention and contrivance against the South West Wind. The little islands, which lie just off the coast, 9 in number, they call the islands of Pelops, and they say when it rains rain never comes on one of them. Whether this is so I do not know, but the people about Methana say so, and I have heard of people trying to avert hail by sacrifices and incantations. Methana then is an Isthmus in the Peloponnese: and inside the Trœzenian Isthmus is the neighbouring town of Hermione. And the people of Hermione say that the founder of the old city was one Hermion the son of Europs. And this Europs, who was certainly the son of Phoroneus, was said by Herophanes of Trœzen to be illegitimate, on the ground that the kingdom of Argos would not have come to Argus the daughter’s son of Phoroneus, had Phoroneus had a legitimate son. But, even if Europs was legitimate and died before Phoroneus, I know very well that a son of his would not have been considered equal to Niobe’s son, who was reckoned to be the son of Zeus. And afterwards Dorians from Argos colonized Hermione, but amicably I think, for had there been a war it would have been mentioned by the Argives.