But I will tell you another thing, Son of all-glorious Maia and Zeus who holds the
 aegis, luck-bringing genius of the gods. There are certain holy ones, sisters born —three
 virgins The Thriae, who practised divination by means of
 pebbles (also called θριαί ). In this hymn they are
 represented as aged maidens (ll. 553-4), but are closely associated with bees (ll.
 559-563) and possibly are here conceived as having human heads and breasts with the bodies
 and wings of bees. See the edition of Allen and Sikes, Appendix III. gifted with
 wings: their heads are besprinkled with white meal, and they dwell under a ridge of Parnassus .
 These are teachers of divination apart from me, the art which I practised while yet a boy
 following herds, though my father paid no heed to it. From their home they fly now here, now
 there, feeding on honey-comb and bringing all things to pass. And when they are inspired through eating yellow honey, they are willing to speak
 truth; but if they be deprived of the gods' sweet food, then they speak falsely, as they
 swarm in and out together. These, then, I give you; enquire of them strictly