Thereupon the garlands fell from us of their
own accord, leaving us free, and we were led into
the city, and to the banquet-hall of the blest.
The city itself is all of gold, but the wall around
it is of emerald. There were seven gates, each a
single piece of cinnamon. But the streets of the
city and the ground within the walls were ivory.
The temples of all the gods were built of beryll


 



stone, and the great altars in them, on which hecatombs are offered, are single amethysts. Around
the city flows a river of the sweetest unguents,
fifty yards broad and twenty-five deep, so that
one may swim in it pleasantly. The baths of
this country are great buildings of crystal filled
with the fragrance of burning cinnamon. But, instead of water, there is warm dew in the pools.