GARLANDS. (But for [Greek: ephelkomenai chroiêsin] some copies have [Greek: ephelkomenai philochroiais]).
And above all remember to select
The elecampane and the aster bright,
And place them in the temples of the gods,
By roadside built, or hang them on their statues,
Which first do catch the eye of the visitor.
These are propitious gifts, whether you pluck
The many-hued chrysanthemum, or lilies
Which wither sadly o'er the much-wept tomb,
Or gay old-man, or long-stalk'd cyclamen,
Or rank nasturtium, whose scarlet flowers
Grim Pluto chooses for his royal garland.
32. From these lines it is plain that the chelidonium is a different flower from the anemone (for some people have called them the same). But Theophrastus says that there are some plants, the flowers of which constantly follow the stars, such as the one called the heliotrope, and the chelidonium; and this last plant is named so from its coming into bloom at the same time as the swallows arrive. There is also a flower spoken of under the name of ambrosia by Carystius, in his Historical Commentaries, where he says—"Nicander says that the plant named ambrosia grows at Cos, on the head of the statue of Alexander." But I have already spoken of it, and mentioned that some people give this name to the lily. And Timachidas, in the fourth book of his Banquet, speaks also of a flower called theseum,—
The soft theseum, like the apple blossom,
The sacred blossom of Leucerea,[1]
Which the fair goddess loves above all others.
And he says that the garland of Ariadne was made of this flower.
Pherecrates also, or whoever the poet was who wrote the play of the Persians, mentions some flowers as fit for garlands, and says—
O you who sigh like mallows soft,
Whose breath like hyacinths smells,
Who like the melilotus speak,
And smile as doth the rose,
Whose kisses are as marjoram sweet,
Whose action crisp as parsley,
- ↑ There is some corruption in this name.
