THE SHIP OF THE PLAINS 93 



their king, wise old Cecrops, that they had risen 

 to a station superior to that of the half-wild 

 tribes around them. He had shown them how to 

 sow barley and wheat and to plant vineyards; 

 and he had taught them to depend upon these and 

 their flocks and herds for food, rather than upon 

 the wild beasts of the chase. He had persuaded 

 them to lay aside many of their old cruel customs, 

 had set them in families with each its own home, 

 and had instructed them in the worship of the 

 gods. On the top of the Acropolis they had built 

 a little city, and surrounded it with walls as a 

 protection against attacks from their warlike 

 neighbors; and from this point as a center they 

 had, little by little, extended their influence to the 

 sea on one side and to the mountains on the other. 

 But, strange to say, they had not yet given a name 

 to their city, nor had they decided which one of 

 the gods should be its protector. They had been 

 so busy, learning and doing, that they had had 

 no time to think about such matters. 



On a certain day in autumn, after the grain 

 had been harvested and the grapes had been 

 gathered and made into wine, two strangers sud- 

 denly appeared in the market-place. Nobody 

 knew whence they came, nor how they had_ 



