The Scythian or Consul (2)

At the time of the great plague [*] the wife of Archetiles the Areopagite dreamed that the Scythian

Toxaris stood by her side and bade her tell the Athenians that they would be released from the grip of the plague if they sprinkled their alleyways liberally with wine. The Athenians took notice of what she told them and carried out frequent sprinklings with the result that the plague stopped—the smell of the wine may have dispersed some noxious vapours, or the hero Toxaris, being a medical man, may have had some other special knowledge when he gave his advice. In any case to this day payment for his cure is still offered to him—a white horse, sacrificed on his tomb. Dimaenete said he came from there when he gave her the instructions about the wine, and Toxaris was found buried there, being recognised by the inscription, though it was no longer all visible, and more especially by a carving of a Scythian on the pillar; in the figure’s left hand was a strung bow, in his right what looked like a book; even now you may still see more than half of it, including all the bow and the book; the upper half of the pillar including the face has been worn away in the course of time; it is situated not far from the Dipylon, on the left as you go towards the Academy; the mound is quite small and the pillar lies on the ground; nevertheless it is always garlanded and the story is that the hero has cured several sufferers from fevers—this is not surprising indeed since he once cured the whole city.