Histories

Again, Arabian Peninsula [45,25] (region (general)), AsiaArabia is the most distant to the south of all inhabited countries: and this is the only country which produces frankincense and myrrh and casia and cinnamon and gum-mastich. All these except myrrh are difficult for the Arabians to get.

They gather frankincense by burning that storax[*](A kind of gum, producing an acrid smoke when burnt, and therefore used as a disinfectant.) which Phoenicians carry to Greece [22,39] (nation), EuropeHellas; they burn this and so get the frankincense; for the spice-bearing trees are guarded by small winged snakes of varied color, many around each tree; these are the snakes that attack Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt. Nothing except the smoke of storax will drive them away from the trees.

The Arabians also say that the whole country would be full of these snakes if the same thing did not occur among them that I believe occurs among vipers.