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COMMENTARY
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tury of our era. It is certain, however, that all the varieties of our agate were not included under the term achates, for Pliny230 clearly describes banded agate and eye-agate as varieties of onyx. Blumner,231 who thinks the ancient term was restricted to certain kinds of agate, is probably not far from the truth, though it is by no means certain that only variegated agate was included under the term achates; for it seems evident from the descriptions of Pliny that some stones were then included that would not be classified as agates at the present time. Since the ancient systems of mineral classification were based upon appearance rather than composition, it is likely that any kind of attractive stone in which irregularly placed spots, streaks, veins, or other markings appeared against a background of contrasting color would have received the same general name, though probably it was usually applied to irregularly marked chalcedony, and possibly to jasper, for these forms of quartz are the most abundant and generally the most attractive of the variegated stones.
31. the river Achates.
According to the studies of Holm,232 this river was probably either the modern Carabi or the Cannitello in southwestern Sicily.
32. Lampsakps.
This was a celebrated Greek settlement in Mysia, on the Hellespont.
32. Astyra. The name of the town to which the stone was sent is uncertain. The manuscripts have στψάν or στιρράν, which cannot be correct. Turnebus changed this to Ύίραν, and De Laet suggested that Tvpav would be better. But it is unlikely that Tyre, the city in Phoenicia, is meant, as that was on the coast and the participle άνενβχθβίσηζ, which means "carried up," suggests that the stone was taken to some inland town. Actually, the Greek for Tyre is Τύρο?; thus Ύνρφ appears in section 25. Furlanus proposed the
230 XXXVII, 90-91.
231 Technologic und Terminologie der Gewerbe und Kiinste bet Griechen und Romern, Vol. Ill, pp. 261-62.
232 A. Holm, Beitrage zur Berichtigung der Karte des alien Siciliens (Liibeck, 1866), p. 15.
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