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APPENDIX D. (1.)

From Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography,
Vol. I. Article, "Helicon." (Extract.)

Helicon, a mountain in Bœotia, lying between Lake Copais and the Corinthian gulf, and which may be regarded as a continuation of the range of Parnassus. It is celebrated as the favorite haunt of the Muses, to whom the epithet of the Heliconian is frequently given by both the Greek and Roman poets. Its poetical celebrity is owing to the fact of its having been the seat of the earliest school of poetry in Greece Proper; for at its foot was situated Ascra, the residence of Hesiod, the most eminent poet of this school.

Helicon is a range of mountains with several summits, of which the loftiest is Paleovuni. Helicon is described by Strabo as equal to Parnassus, both in height and circumference; but this is a mistake as far as height is concerned, since the loftiest summit of Helicon is barely 5,000 feet, while that of Parnassus is upwards of 8,000 feet. Pausanias says that of all the mountains in Greece, Helicon is the most fertile, and produces the greatest number of trees and shrubs, though none of a poisonous character, while several of them are useful in counteracting the bites of venomous serpents. There is, however, a considerable difference between the eastern and western sides of the mountain; for while the eastern slopes abounded in springs, groves, and fertile valleys, the western side was more rugged and less susceptible of cultivation. It was the eastern or Boeotian side of Helicon which was especially sacred to the Muses, and contained many objects connected with their worship, of which Pausanias has left us an account. On Helicon was a sacred grove of the Muses, to which Pausanias ascended from Ascra. On the left of the road, before reaching the grove of the Muses, was the celebrated fountain of Aganippe, which was believed to inspire those who drank of it, and from which the Muses were called Aganippides.

Placing Ascra at Pyrgaki, there is little doubt that Aganippe is the fountain which issues from the left bank of the torrent, flowing midway between Paleo-panaghia and Pyrgaki. Around this fountain Leake observed numerous squared blocks, and in the neighboring fields stones and remains of habitations. The position of the Grove of the Muses is fixed at St. Nicholas by an inscription which Leake discovered there relating to the Museia, or the games of the Muses, which were celebrated there under the presidency of