BOOK XVI. Lxxxix. 239-xc. 241 



Heraclea in Pontus therc are altars dedicated to 

 Jupiter under his Greek title of Stratios, where there 

 are two oak trees planted by Hercules. In the sarrie 

 region there is a port called Harbour of Amycus, 

 famous as the place where King Bebryx was killed ; his 

 tomb ever since the day of his dcath has been shaded 

 by a laurel tree which they call the Mad Laurel, 

 because if a piece plucked from it is taken on board 

 ships, quarrelhng breaks out until it is thrown 

 away. We have mentioned the region of Aulocrene, v. 106. 

 traversed by the route leading from Apamea into 

 Phiygia ; in it travellers are shown the plane-tree 

 from which Marsyas was hanged after losing his 

 match with Apollo, and which w^as selected for the 

 purpose on account of its size even then. Moreover 

 at Delos may be seen a palm tree dating back to 

 the time of the same deity, and at Olympia a wild 

 ohve from which was made the wreath with which 

 Hercules w-as crowned for the first time — veneration 

 for it is preserved even now. Also the ohve tree 

 produced by Minerva in the competition ° is reported 

 still to exist at Athens. 



XC. On the other hand pomegranates, the fig and ''^f*ort 

 the apple class are extremely short-hved ; and among K^* ° 

 apples those that ripen early are more short-hved 

 than those that ripen late and the sweet ones than 

 the sour, and the same is the case with the sweeter 

 variety among the pomegranates, and hkewise among 

 vines, and particularly the more fruitful ones. 

 Graecinus states that there have been cases of vines 

 hving 600 years. It also appears that trees growing 

 in water die more quickly. Laurels, apples and 

 pomegranates age rapidly, it is true, but they put 

 out shoots again from their roots. Consequently 



543 



lit-ed 



