18 
biscoVeries of the ancients. 
which were embarked persons of both sexes, to 
the number of 30,000. The narrative begins at 
the passage of the Straits, or Pillars of Hercules. 
After two days' sail from thence, they founded, in 
the midst of an extensive plain, the city of Thy- 
miaterium. In two days more they came to a 
cape, shaded with trees, called Soloeis, or the pro- 
montory of Libya, on which they erected a temple 
to Neptune. They sailed round a bay, thickly 
bordered with plantations of reeds, and where 
numerous elephants and other wild animals were 
feeding. On emerging from it, they founded suc- 
cessively other four cities. Their next course was 
to the great river Lixus, flowing from Libya and 
from high mountains behind, which were filled 
with wild beasts, and inhabited by a race of inhos- 
pitable Ethiopians, who lived in caves, and surpass- 
ed even the wild animals in swiftness. Proceed- 
ing then three days along a desert coast, they 
came to a small island, situated in a deep recess 
of the sea, to which they gave the name of Cerne, 
and where they founded a colony. They now en- 
tered another bay, and passing over a great extent 
of coast, found several islands and rivers, particu- 
larly one very large, filled with crocodiles and hip- 
popotami. Returning to Cerne, they sailed south- 
wards along the coast of the Ethiopians, a timid 
race, who fled at their approach. After passing a 
wooded promontory, they came to a gulph, in 
