. . . . . . And Plato the philosopher, Men now distinguish the couches and
 coverings with reference to what is put round the couch and what is put under
 it. And his namesake, the comic poet, says— There the well-dress'd guests recline On couches rich with ivory feet; And on their purple cushions dine, Which rich Sardinian carpets meet. For the art of weaving embroidered cloths was in great perfection in his
 time, Acesas and Helicon, natives of Cyprus, being exceedingly eminent for their
 skill in it; and they were weavers of very high reputation. And Helicon was the
 son of Acesas, as Hieronymus reports: and so at Pytho there is an inscription on
 some work— 
 Fair Venus's isle did bring forth Helicon, Whose wondrous work you now do gaze upon; And fair Minerva's teaching bade his name And wondrous skill survive in deathless fame. And Pathymias the Egyptian was a man of similar renown. Ephippus says—
 Place me where rose-strewn couches fill the room, That I may steep myself in rich perfume. Aristophanes says— Oh you who press your mistress to your arms, All night upon sweet-scented couches lying. Sophron too speaks of coverlets embroidered with figures of birds as of
 great value. And Homer, the most admirable of all poets, calls those cloths which
 are spread below λῖτα, that is to say, white,
 neither dyed nor embroidered. But the coverlets which are laid above he calls
 beautiful purple cloths.