[275] Vitruvius, viii. 3. p. 218. ed. Schneider. See also Dodwell’s Tour, vol. i. p. 242. It was imagined that the water of the Melas rendered the wool black, and that of the Cephisos white. Dr. Sibthorp, in crossing the plain of Bœotia near Platæa in November A. D. 1794, says, “Flocks of sheep, whose fleeces were of remarkable blackness, were feeding in the plain; the breed was considerably superior in beauty and size to that of Attica.”--Walpole’s Memoirs on Eur. and As. Turkey, p. 65. [276] Contra Everg. et Mnesid. p. 1155. ed. Reiske. [277] Apud Non. Marcellum. We learn from Theocritus, that the shepherds of Acharnæ, one of the Attic demi, excelled in playing on the pipe[278]. [278] Idyll. vii. 71. In the adjoining country of _Megaris_ was a temple of great antiquity in honor of Δήμητηρ Μαλοφόρος. It was said, that Ceres was worshipped under that title, THE BRINGER OF FLOCKS, by those who first kept sheep in the country[279]. Theognis (v. 55.) mentions, that the people of Megaris used before his time to wear goat-skins, which shows the late introduction of the growth and manufacture of wool. Here, as in Attica, it was usual to protect the sheep with _skins_; and, as the _boys_ were sometimes seen _naked_ after the Doric fashion, Diogenes, the cynic, said in reference to these practices, _he would rather be the ram of a Megarensian than his son_[280]. [279] Paus. i. 44. 4. [280] Diog. Laert. vi. 41. Æliani Var. Hist. xii. 56. In the Peloponnesus, _Arcadia_ was always remarkable for the attention paid to sheep. Arcadia claims our especial consideration, because in it the shepherd life assumed that peculiar form, which has been the subject of so much admiration both in ancient and modern times. Here the lively genius and imaginative disposition common to the Greek nation were directed to the daily contemplation of the most beautiful and romantic varieties of mountain and woodland scenery, and hence their employments, their pleasures, and their religion, all acquired a rustic character, highly picturesque and tasteful, and, as it appears to us, generally favorable to the development of the domestic and social virtues. To attempt a full investigation of this subject, and to show in what degree the want of higher attainments _in religious knowledge_ and _moral cultivation_ was supplied by the peculiar rites, ideas, and customs of Arcadia, would lead us too far from our proper subject. We only wish to bring forward the principal facts and authorities, and to give a succint account of the genuine Arcadian system of religion and manners without attempting to refute at length the opposite views, which have been adopted by ancient and modern writers.