Histories

The women of Shahhat [21.866,32.833] (inhabited place), Al Jabal al Akhdar, Libya, AfricaCyrene, too, consider it wrong to eat cows' flesh, because of the Isis of Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt; and they even honor her with fasts and festivals; and the Barcaean women refuse to eat swine too, as well as cows.

Thus it is with this region. But west of the Tritonian lake the Libyans are not nomads; they do not follow the same customs, or treat their children as the nomads do.

For the practice of many Libyan nomads (I cannot say absolutely whether it is the practice of all) is to take their children when four years old, and to burn the veins of their scalps or sometimes of their temples with grease of sheep's wool, so that the children may never afterward be afflicted by phlegm draining from the head.

They say that this makes their children quite healthy. In fact, the Libyans are the healthiest of all men whom we know; whether it is because of this practice, I cannot say absolutely; but they certainly are healthy. When the children smart from the pain of the burning, the Libyans have found a remedy; they soothe them by applications of goats' urine. This is what the Libyans themselves say.