Histories

The Araxes is said by some to be greater and by some to be less than the Ister. It is reported that there are many islands in it as big as Lesbos [26.333,39.166] (island), Lesvos, Aegean Islands, Greece, Europe Lesbos, and men on them who in summer live on roots of all kinds that they dig up, and in winter on fruit that they have got from trees when it was ripe and stored for food;

and they know (it is said) of trees bearing a fruit whose effect is this: gathering in groups and kindling a fire, the people sit around it and throw the fruit into the flames; then the fumes of it as it burns make them drunk as the Greeks are with wine, and more and more drunk as more fruit is thrown on the fire, until at last they rise up to dance and even sing. Such is said to be their way of life.

The Araxes [*](The Araxes of this chapter appears to be, from the description of its course, the modern Araks [48.416,40] (river), AsiaAras. But the Araxes of Hdt. 1.205, separating Cyrus' kingdom from the Massagetae, must be either the Amudarya [59,43.75] (river), Asia Oxus (jihon) or Syr-Darya [65,45] (river), Kazakhstan, Asia Jaxartes (Sihon), both of which now flow into the Aral Sea. For a full discussion of the question the reader is referred to Essay IX. in the Appendix to Book I. of Rawlinson's Herodotus.) flows from the country of the Matieni (as does the Gyndes, which Cyrus divided into the three hundred and sixty channels) and empties itself through forty mouths, of which all except one issue into bogs and swamps, where men are said to live whose food is raw fish, and their customary dress sealskins.

The one remaining stream of the Araxes flows in a clear channel into the Caspian Sea [51,39] (sea) Caspian sea.This is a sea by itself, not joined to the other sea. For that on which the Greeks sail, and the sea beyond the pillars of Heracles, which they call Atlantic Ocean [-40.000,1.000] (ocean)Atlantic, and the Red Sea [42,15] (sea) Red Sea, are all one: