WHITE HORSES 31 



the horses' bellies the feet of the mounted men 

 hang, an approximate idea of the height of the 

 men by comparison with that of some of their 

 horses may be arrived at. 



Herodotus is of opinion that about the year 

 480 b.c. finer horses were owned by the Nisaean 

 than by any other people of Asia, and he men- 

 tions that white horses were so highly valued 

 by the Persians of about that period — who are 

 known to have used many white horses for 

 sacrificial purposes — that "some three hundred 

 and sixty horses, or about one for every day in the 

 year, and five hundred talents of silver," was the 

 tribute sent by the Sicilians. This statement 

 leads to the conclusion that white horses must 

 have been exceptionally plentiful in the region. 



That Armenia had many horses, which were 

 largely used even so far back as the fifth cen- 

 tury b.c, can be gathered from the writings of 

 Ezekiel, for the prophet does not hesitate to 

 declare that the people of Togarmah, which pre- 

 sumably was part of Armenia, traded in the fairs 

 in horses and mules. 



Pindar, who so glorified King Arcesilas, tells 

 us that Cyrene became famous as the city of 

 steeds and goodly chariots, and later the poet 

 Callimachus sang of his home " famed for her 



