As the lion was not found in Greece in the civilised periods of its history, the chase of it cannot be said to have formed an Hellenic amusement.[772] They might, however, by proceeding a little beyond the borders in their colonies of Thrace and Asia Minor, on Mount Pangæos, on the Mysian Olympos, and in Syria, enjoy this dangerous pastime if they desired it. In all those countries, however, both the lion,[773] the panther, the pard, the lynx, and other animals of this destructive class had been confined to the mountains, where, as an acute and experienced observer has remarked, they lose much of their force and ferocity. The expression made use of by Xenophon proves in fact that the dread of man had driven them almost into inaccessible fastnesses, whither they could not be pursued by the hunter, so that they were chiefly taken in their descent to the lowlands by poisoning, with aconite,[774] the waters or the baits which they set for them: sometimes, indeed, when want compelled them into the plains, parties of hunters on horseback, and armed to the teeth, would assault and destroy them, not without imminent peril. Pitfalls, too, of ingenious construction were dug for them, having an earthen pillar in the centre on which a goat was tied.[775] The encircling moat, like that above described, destined for the bear, was concealed by a covering of slender bushes which, breaking under them, they were precipitated to the bottom and there killed. The wolf, though a sacred animal[776] in Attica, had by the laws a price set upon his head, at which Menage[777] wonders, though the Egyptians also slaughtered their sacred crocodiles, when they exceeded a certain size. Footnote 772: Xen. Cyneg. xi. 1. Footnote 773: Pollux (v. 14.) observes that in his time lions were chiefly found in mountainous tracts as wild boars were in marshes and pardales in the depths of the woods. Footnote 774: Xen. Cyneg. xi. 2. Poll. v. 82. Plin. viii. 27. Dioscor. iv. 77. Foxes were supposed to be killed by baits steeped in the juice of bitter almonds (Id. i. 176); wolves, panthers, dogs, &c. by dog’s-bane.—Id. iv. 81. Footnote 775: Oppian. de Venat. iv. 85. sqq. Footnote 776: Cf. Hesych. v. Λυκαβ. Footnote 777: Ad D. Laert. p. 20. b. c. Meurs. Solon, c. 19. In the chase of the wild goat the bow, among the mountains of Crete, was made use of, and so skilful as marksmen were the Cretans[778] that from the depths of the valleys they would bring down their game from the pinnacles of the loftiest cliffs.[779] They were fabled to have been taught the art of hunting by the Curetes, and, practising it constantly in steep and difficult places, they acquired great suppleness and agility of body, and were exceedingly swift of foot.[780] Footnote 778: