Whatever connection lo may have 

 had with this sweet flower, it is true 

 that its Greek name is Ion, and that, 

 as the Athenians trace their origin to 

 Ionia, they adopted it as their national 

 emblem, and were much addicted to 

 wearing violet chaplets. Besides being 

 noted for its beauty and fragrance, 

 they considered the flower endowed 

 with power to ward off drunkenness, 

 — a frequent vice among these people. 

 That its efficacy was on occasion not 

 sufficiently potent was shown in the 

 case of Alcibiades, when he went to 

 the house of Agathon, crowned with 

 violets and ivy, and bawled aloud in 

 the courtyard. 



The weaving of chaplets was a 

 regular profession, and the most 

 celebrated chaplet-maker of antiquity 

 was a woman named Glycera, who 

 frequently challenged Pausias, the 

 painter, to surpass her in the weaving 

 3(> 



