OPPIAN 



(v. 140). For the occurrence of the Cachalot in 

 Greek waters cf. H. 368 n. With the account of 

 the hunting of the ktJtos H.\. 11 1 ff. the reader may 

 compare the hunting of the Sword-lish (^tc^ias or 

 yaAewTj^s) in tlie Straits of Messina as described in 

 Strabo (after Polybius) 24 : " One outlook is set for 

 a large number of men who lie in waiting in two- 

 oared boats, two men in each boat. One man rows, 

 the other stands on the prow armed with a spear, 

 when the outlook indicates the appeai-ance of the 

 Sword-fish — the animal swims with a third of its 

 body })rojecting above the water. When the boat 

 has come to close quarters, the spearman strikes the 

 fish and then withdraws his spear from its body 

 excepting the point, which is barbed and is purposely 

 attached but loosely to the shaft and has a long 

 rope fastened to it. This rope they pay out to the 

 wounded fish until it is weary of struggling and 

 trying to escape. Then they hale it to land or, if 

 it is not altogether a full-sized fish, they take it on 

 board the boat. Even if the spear-shaft fall into 

 the sea, it is not lost, as it is made of oak and 

 pine, and while the oaken part is submerged by its 

 weight the remainder floats and is easily recoverable. 

 Sometimes the oarsman gets wounded through the 

 boat owing to the size of the animal's sword and 

 because its strength, as also the manner of hunting 

 it, is comparable to that of the Wild Boar." 



Phalaena H. i 404 and Physalus H. i. 368 are 

 sufficiently discussed in the notes on these passages. 

 If they are not identical, possibly Phalaena may be, 

 as A. and W. incline to think, Delphinus tursio, and 

 Pkysalus the Cachalot. Bussemaker, identifying 



Ixviii 



