62 THE HORSE IN HISTORY 



In a great rage the patron sent for Pauson, 

 and, upon his arrival, "began to storm and rave," 

 at the same time demanding to know what had 

 made him commit a blunder so egregious. With- 

 out replying, Pauson walked up to the picture 

 and turned it upside down, when, to the vast 

 amusement of the hitherto irate patron, there 

 appeared a perfect picture of a horse rolling on 

 its back on a dusty plain. 



Of the famous artist, Micon, it is related that 

 he once incurred the criticism of the rider, Simon, 

 who, upon looking at one of his pictures, remarked 

 drily that never in his life before had he seen a 

 horse that had eyelashes on its lower lids ! 



It seems certain that in the centuries before 

 Christ the steeds bred in Thessaly were among 

 the most highly prized, though the horses of 

 several other breeds — such, for instance, as the 

 Argive, the Arcadian, the Epidaurian and the 

 Arcananian — possessed great courage and excep- 

 tional power of endurance. 



In the very early times Thessalian horses were 

 used largely for charioteering. Allusion is made 

 repeatedly in the classics to these Thessalian 

 animals, stress being laid upon their symmetry, 

 or what to-day we should term their make and 

 shape. The mythical mares of King Diomed of 



