GYNEGETICA, IV. 273-299 



hives. He at that time received the infant Dionysus 

 from the coffer of Ino and reared him in his cave and 

 nursed him with the help of the Dryads and the 

 Nymphs that have the bees in their keeping and the 

 maidens of Euboea and the Aonian women. And, 

 when Dionysus was now come to boyhood, he played 

 ■with the other children ; he would cut a fennel * stalk 

 and smite * the hard rocks, and from their wounds 

 they poured for the god sweet liquor. Otherwhiles 

 he rent rams, skins and all, and clove them piece- 

 meal and cast the dead bodies on the ground ; and 

 again with his hands he neatly put their limbs 

 together, and immediately they were alive and 

 browsed on the green pasture. And now he was 

 attended by holy companies, and over all the earth 

 were spread the gifts of Dionysus, son of Thyone," 

 and everywhere he went about showing forth his 

 excellence to men. Late and at last he set foot in 

 Thebes, and all the daughters of Cadmus came to 

 meet the son of fire. But rash Pentheus bound the 

 hands of Dionysus that should not be bound and 

 threatened with his own murderous hands to rend 

 the god. He had not regard unto the white hair 

 of Tyrian Cadmus nor to Agave grovelling at his 

 feet, but called to his ill-fated companions to hale 

 away the god — to hale him away and shut him up — 

 and he drave away the choir of women. Now the 

 guards of Pentheus thought to carry away Bromius '^ 

 in bonds of iron, and so thought the other Cadmeans ; 

 but the bonds touched not the god. And the heart 

 of the women worshippers was chilled, and they cast 

 on the ground all the garlands from their temples 

 and the holy emblems of their hands, and the cheeks 



<* Dionysus (Find. fr. Ixxv. 10 ; Aesch. E. 24. 



185 



