4H A GLOSSARY OF GREEK BIRDS 



rV* {coiitimied). 



Arist. H. A. vi. 5, 563 viOTTivn eVl nirpais aTrpoa^drnis (also Antig. 

 H. Mirab. 42 (48), cf. Aesch. Suppl. 796 Kpefias yvmas Trerpa)' 810 cnraviov 

 I8elv veoTTiHV yvnos k(U veorrovi. K(i\ 8u\ tovto koi HpoSwpoy 6 Bpvcriovos 

 Tov (TocpiaToxi TTarrjp cfyrjalp flvai roiii yvnas a(ji irepai y^r, dtrfKov T]P-'i-Vy 

 TOVTO T€ X«yci)i/ TO (Trjfj.el.ov, OTi ov8i\s impaKe yvnos veoTTiau, k(u on ttoXXoI 

 e^alcjivrjs (^alvovrai a.<o\ov6ovvT fs To'is aTpanvpnaiv [as the Griffon 

 Vulture did at Sebastopol], cf. Ael. ii. 46, Basil. Hexaem. viii '/Sots av 

 fjivplai dye\as yvnaiv toIs (TTpaTOTredois Trnpenop-fvas : &C. How the 

 Vultures divine beforehand the place of battle, irpo rjp.epa>v enTa in 

 nvTov irapayivofxevui, Horap. i. 1 1 ; cf Ael. ii. 46; Umbricius ap. Plin. x. 

 (6) 7 ; Plaut. True. ii. 3. 16, Martial, Ep. 62, 6. 



Arist. 1. C. TO 6' e'cTTt ;^aXe7r6i' p^iv I8f'ii', anTai S op-uis, t'iktovcti be 8vo wa 

 oi yvnfs (cf. Plin. x. 7). Cf. H. A. ix. 11, 615, which latter passage has 

 fV (obv r] 8vo TO TrXelora. 



On the mythical generation of vultures, how they are all females, 

 are impregnated by the East wind, lay no eggs, and bring forth their 

 young alive and feathered, see Ael. ii. 46, Arist. De Mirab. (60) 835 a, i, 

 Horap. i. li, Dion. De Avib. i. 5, Phile, De An. Pr. 121, Plut. Ouaest. 

 de Us. Rom. 93 (Mor. 286 A, B), Ammian. Marcell. xvii, Tzetz. Chil. 

 xii. 439, Euseb. Pr. Ev. iii. 12, and innumerable other references in 

 Patristic literature. On the mythical genealogy of the vultures, see also 

 s. vv. dcTos, dXidcTOs, 4)iivT]. These are Egyptian myths. Vtiltur 

 fiilviis was sacred to Maut, the Goddess of Maternity, cf. Deut. xxxii. 

 II, 12; cf Horap. i. 11 prjTepn be ypd(f)ovTes yvmi (coyparpoicn, eneidf) 

 appr]v ev toi'tco tm yevei Tmv (cftov ovx vTrapx^i- Hence also the obstetrical 

 value of a Vulture's feather, Plin. xxv. (14) 44. The Common Egyptian 

 Vulture or Pharaoh's Hen, Neophron percnopterus, was sacred to Isis, 

 cf. Ael. X. 22 KlyvTTTioi he "Hpas pev lepov opviv elvai TcenLCTTevKncrL tov yviva, 

 Korrpovcri 8e ttjv Tr]s"lGi8os Ke(pa\i)v yvnbs TTTepols, In Horapollo, -yi'-v/^ is 

 always feminine. The Vulture being sacred in Egypt, was an unclean 

 bird among the Jews ; cf. eTroiJ/. 



On the (^iXooTopyt'a of the Vultures, cf Od. xvi. 216, Aesch. Ag. 49, 

 Plut. Q. Rom., Mor. 2S6 A, B, 0pp. Hal. i. 723 ; cf. aiyuTrids. 

 The Vulture is stated to feed its young with its own flesh or blood, 

 a myth afterwards transferred to the Pelican ; Horap. i. 11, cf Georg. 

 Pisidas, 1064 (cit, Leemans) tov prjpbv eKTepovTts, TjpaTcopevois TdXnKTos 

 oXkoIs C<^nvpov(n to IBpe(f)r}. On the connexion between the Vulture 

 and the Pelican, see s.v. Paii]0. The stories of the Vulture's tenderness 

 and affection coincide with the resemblance between the Hebrew words 

 Dni compassion, and Dn"l a vulture (Boch. Hieroz. ii. 803, &c.). 



How a Vulture's feather, if burnt, drives serpents from their holes, 

 Ael. i. 45, Plin. xxix. (4) 24. How the pomegranate is fatal to vultures, 

 Ael. vi. 46. How the odour of myrrh is fatal to Vultures, Ar. De 



