III. 
THEBES. 87 
We have no other authority for the name of the chap. 
city, than the mention made of it by Homer as a 
city of Bceotia, in his catalogue of the ships '. It 
represents in front the armed head of Pallas; and 
for its reverse, the head of a goat encircled hy a 
laurel wreath, containing the letters I A. Mentelle, 
author of the Geographie Aneienne, in the French 
Ena/clopSdie, observes, that it should be written 
without the aspirate*; but Eckhel' writes it 
Hilesium; and he has attributed to Ismene a 
bronze medal, which he describes as being 
unique ; but it is evidently of Ilesium, for it has 
the same reverse ; and he confesses that the 
letters were not sufficiently perfect to decide 
the name of the city to which it belonged*. 
During the afternoon of this day we made the 
entire circuit of Thebes, returning by the western 
side; and we computed the circumference of 
the present tov/n as about equal to two English 
miles and a half. Beneath a ruined tower upon 
(0 Iliad. B. ver. 499. 
(2) " LeGrec porte ^iXiinoy -, ce qui sembleroit indiquer qui'il con- 
vieat d'ecrire Ilesicm." Enci/clop. Method. Geog. Anc. torn. II. 
Paris, 1789. 
(3) Vid. Doctrin. Num. Vet. a Jos. Eckhel, Pars I. vol. II. Vindobon. 
1794, 
(4) " Fateor ne has quidem omnes literas esse satis integras, etsi per 
clypeum numum esse Bccoticum dubitari non possit." Eckhel. ibid. 
