herodotus

"Also the Libyan land, where the sheep very quickly grow hornèd,"for it is rightly said that in hot regions the horns come quickly,whereas in extreme cold the animals either have no horns growing atall, or hardly any.[35]30. In that land then this takes place on account of the cold; but(since my history proceeded from the first seeking occasions fordigression)[36] I feel wonder that in the whole land of Elis mulescannot be bred, though that region is not cold, nor is there any otherevident cause. The Eleians themselves say that in consequence of somecurse mules are not begotten in their land; but when the timeapproaches for the mares to conceive, they drive them out into theneighbouring lands and there in the land of their neighbours theyadmit to them the he-asses until the mares are pregnant, and then theydrive them back.31. As to the feathers of which the Scythians say that the air isfull, and that by reason of them they are not able either to see or topass through the further parts of the continent, the opinion which Ihave is this:--in the parts beyond this land it snows continually,though less in summer than in winter, as might be supposed. Nowwhomsoever has seen close at hand snow falling thickly, knows what Imean without further explanation, for the snow is like feathers: andon account of this wintry weather, being such as I have said, theNorthern parts of this continent are uninhabitable. I think thereforethat by the feathers the Scythians and those who dwell near them meansymbolically the snow. This then which has been said goes to thefurthest extent of the accounts given.32. About a Hyperborean people the Scythians report nothing, nor doany of those who dwell in this region, unless it be the Issedonians:but in my opinion neither do these report anything; for if they didthe Scythians also would report it, as they do about the one-eyedpeople. Hesiod however has spoken of Hyperboreans, and so also hasHomer in the poem of the "Epigonoi," at least if Homer was really thecomposer of that Epic. 33. But much more about them is reported by thepeople of Delos than by any others. For these say that sacredofferings bound up in wheat straw are carried from the land of theHyperboreans and come to the Scythians, and then from the Scythiansthe neighbouring nations in succession receive them and convey themWestwards, finally as far as the Adriatic: thence they are sentforward towards the South, and the people of Dodona receive them firstof all the Hellenes, and from these they come down to the Malian gulfand are passed over to Eubœa, where city sends them on to city tillthey come to Carystos. After this Andros is left out, for the