406 
plikt's fattjeal history. 
[Book y.- 
their moutlis and eyes being seated in their breasts. The 
Satyri\ beyond their figure, have nothing in common with 
the manners of the human race, and the form of the -^gi- 
pani^ is such as is commonly represented in paintings. The 
Himantopodes^ are a race of people with feet resembling' 
thongs, upon which they move along by nature with a ser- 
pentine, crawling kind of gait. The Pharusii, descended 
from the ancient Persians, are said to have been the compa- 
nions of Hercules when on his expedition to the Hesperides. 
Beyond the above, I have met with nothing relative to 
Africa worthy of mention. 
CHAP. 9. (9.) — EGYPT AND THEBAIS. 
Joining on to Africa is Asia, the extent of which, accord- 
ing to Timosthenes, from the Canopic mouth of the Nile 
to the mouth of the Euxine, is 2689 miles. Erom the 
mouth of the Euxine to that of Lake Mseotis is, according to 
Eratosthenes, 1545 miles. The whole distance to the Ta- 
nais, including Egypt, is, according to Artemidorus and 
Isidorus, 6375^ miles. The seas of Egypt, which are several 
rodotus. The mistake was probably made by Mela in copying from 
Herodotus, and continued by Pliny when borrowing from him. 
^ So called from their supposed resemblance in form to the Satyrs 
of the ancient mythology, who were represented as Httle hairy men with 
horns, long ears, and tails. They were probably monkeys, which had been 
mistaken for men. ^ Half goat, half man. See the Note relative to 
-^gipan, in C. 1 of the present Book, p. 378. 
^ Evidently intended to be derived from the Greek tjucts "a thong," 
and Tropes " the feet." It is most probable that the name of a savag6 
people in the interior bore a fancied resemblance to this word, upon 
which the marvellous story here stated was coined for the purpose of 
tallying with the name. From a statement in the JEthiopica of HeHo- 
dorus, 33. x., Marcus suggests that the story as to theBlemmyse having 
no heads arose from the circumstance, that on the invasion of the Per- 
sians they were in the habit of falling on one knee and bowing the head 
to the breast, by which means, without injury to themselves, they 
afforded a passage to the horses of the enemy. 
^ It must be remembered, as already mentioned, that the ancients 
looked upon Egypt as forming part of Asia, not of Africa. It seems 
impossible to say how this supposition arose, when the Red Sea and the 
Isthmus of Suez form so natural and so palpable a frontier between 
Asia and Africa. 
^ It is not improbable that these numbers are incorrectly stated in 
the MSS. of our author. 
