Ancient Knowledge of the Birds Now Known at Lake Stymphalus Author(s): J. J.

Hall Reviewed work(s): Source: The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 102 (1982), pp. 235-236 Published by: The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/631152 . Accessed: 09/11/2011 10:50
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NOTES
twelve White-winged Coots (Fulica BlackTerns atra), and (Chlidonias leucoptera) a BlackTern (C. nigra). ThisimpliesthatLakeStymphala possibly best is the place for waterbirdsin Greece south of Corinth. Doubtless thesealso once included most of the species whichstillsurviveon the larger lakessuchasPrespa to the north, in which case there was once probablya mixedbreeding herons cormorants, colonyof pelicans, andibisesandpossibly another gullsandternswithin of besidethe lake, where sight of the Classical acropolis of judging by the appearance the birdson the coinage if conserved, only forthepot.They theywereprobably doubtless made a spectacular outcry when they were but disturbed, arehardly likelyto haveattacked anyone. in They wouldhavebeenmoreinterested the fishthan the crops,thoughthesemay also have been takenby winteringflocksof cranesand geesewhile they were growing and food was scarcein the early spring.It would not reallybe necessary call upon Heracles to to them. discourage It seemslikely thatthe classical Greeks would have recognisedthat he was poachingin one of the first nature reserves.
W. R. P. BOURNE

235

Zoology Department, Aberdeen University Ancient knowledge of the birds now known at Lake Stymphalus

There seemsto be no recordof what the ancients knew or believedaboutbirdsactuallyat LakeStymfromthelegendof the Stymphalian Birds, phalus, apart andtherepresentationsbirds Stymphalian of on coins-one perhapsa Great Crested Grebe, and one not identifiable any species-which havebeen discussed as in previousnotes in JHS;' but it will perhaps of be interest seewhatknowledge to ancient authors showof the birdswhich Dr Bournesaw at the lake and notes above. AristotleHistoria animalium 593b1-12, 15-24 viii of whichincludes givesa listof thebirds lakesandrivers most of the groupsof birds mentionedby Bourne, eye.13 not though it is frequently possibleto identifyArisSI totle's birds with individualspecies.Thus Aristotle 4 E.g. HA viii 593bx7 f., fdaKas is 1tSOLtOS tEv v7TT77, E'AdaT7 Cf similar phrases in Athen. 395d-e. v. mentionsgrebe (KoAvPtl's9), heron (ipw8tds), ducks tkLEYOoS SSo I)D'ArcyThompson i58. Pollard 70 seems to suggest that an coot (e.g. vrr7a, udaKag), (baAap's), goose (X~iv), on its own means the LittleGrebe; but I can see no reasonfor KOAVtfl ash-coloured (Adpos.... ur oSoE08i')and a cor- assuming this, gull except when it is qualified by ttKpa'. morant(0 KaAo'fLEvoS Kdpae, the size of a storkbut 6 J. K. Anderson, Opd, zlvTivos, KarappdKTrs, JHS xcii (1972) with shorter and legs,web-footed black,whichperches 171-2; J. Buxton, 'A further note on sea-birds', JHS xciv (1974) andnestson trees).2 Mostof thesenamesrefer,so faras 17o-i; and Benton (n. i). we can tell, to groups of birds, not single species; 7 HA ix 6o09b22,6x6b33. 8 Ixeut. ii 9. however, the size of Kopae,and its nestingin trees, HA ix 617a2-5. identify it as the common Cormorant(Phalacrocorax 9 10 They certainly also meant the Little Egret (Egrettagarzetta), and virra, which is the commonestduckcarbo);3 is and tree-nesting, presumably also the of in name,and a standard reference describing other which pure white, small and the Great White Spoonbill (Platalealeucorodia) alba; Egret (Egretta 1
7

duck,4should referprimarily themostfamiliar to duck, the presumably Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). caAaplt, too, which is evidently connected with 0cfAapos, of refer anyspecies to 'havinga patch white',canhardly but the Coot (Fulica atra). in this of KoAvU43t's passage Aristotlecould denote but kindsdo seemto anyor all of the grebes; particular be referredto by other authors. Athenaeus395d, quoting Alexanderof Myndus, mentions 7 7PtKpda the of birds,whichmustbe KoAvPL's9, smallest aquatic the LittleGrebe(Tachybaptus and ruficollis);5 it hasbeen in notesinJHS6 thatthe 'Thracian suggested previous birds'and8vtrgvot mentioned Dionysius Ixeuticon ii by 14 were GreatCrestedGrebes(Podiceps and cristatus) Black-necked Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis). was applied to herons and bitterns in opw8toLs general,and ancient writers knew that there were severalspecies.It seemslikely that the PurpleHeron the cinerea, (Ardea purpurea) the GreyHeron(Ardea plus speciesfamiliarin Britain)are meantwhen Aristotle callsone kindof Heron6 wrrAAos, darkor dusky,7 the and when Dionysiussaysthat some are TrrOLKAOL KaL' tLtOvEs.8 Others, says Dionysius (ibid.), are and Aristotle speaksof d fpaXELs... KaL and which AEwKOL', they AEVKdS nestsin trees;9 one of thespecies meant was probably the Squacco Heron (Ardeola which appears white in flight (thoughbuff ralloides), when at rest),is smallfor a heronand often nestsin trees.10Aristotle's third heron, 6 duarEplas,is tradiwiththeBittern(Botaurus all tionallyidentified stellaris); he saysof it is thatit is lazy(ro'Trwv and JpydoraTro)," if thatrefers its skulking dayin reed-beds other to or by to vegetation,then it would be applicable the Little Bittern(Ixobrychus and minutus) Night Heron (Nycticorax also.12 nycticorax) Of the three ducks mentioned by Bourne, the Mallard probably Greek was the vTrra(seeabove).No Greekduck-name seemsto have been referred the to Pochard(Aythyaferina); Athenaeus but 395c,quoting Alexander of Myndus, mentions r7 AEydOLEvov 7 and yAavUKlV ri7v rTV CLprpTwv Xpdav, this has 8td been takento referto the Ferruginous Duck (Aythya of white nyroca), which the male has a conspicuously

S. Benton, 'Note on sea-birds', JHS xcii (1972) 172-3;J. K. and Anderson, 'Stymphalian otherbirds', JHS xcvi (1976)146. 2 Theidentifications theseancient of bird-names thoseaccepted are A by D'ArcyW. Thompson, glossary Greek birds2 of (London/Oxford Birds Greek andmyth(London1977), in 1936), andby J. Pollard, life andseemcertain. to (Thewholeof thisnoteis heavilyindebted these two works,and I do not indicate everyobligationto them.) is as 3 The Shag(Phalacrocorax aristotelis)nearly large,butdoesnot nestin trees.SeeS. Cramp al. (edd.),Handbook thebirds Europe et i of of (Oxford1977)205, 212.

though that is almost as large as the Grey Heron and normally nests in reeds), and, if they knew it, the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus nowadays, ibis; at least, only a vagrant in south east Europe). (Aristotle clearly mentions the Spoonbill as at HA viii 593b2, referring to AEVKEPWoS0g broad bill.) On these herons see Cramp et al. (n. 3) i 273 ,its long, ff., 352 if. " HA ix 617a7. 12 See Cramp et al. (n. 3) i 247, 256, 263. 13 So Pollard 66. D'Arcy Thompson 76 suggests other species of duck.

Journal of Hellenic Studies cii (1982) 235-236

236

NOTES

the so thereseemsto be no known winter.18 Of Bourne's otherbirds, Withthesetwo birds ancient evidence, of Bourne's namefortheMoorhen a farasit goes, is against Greek (Gallinula suggestion pelicans chloropus)14at and wintering Stymphalus, thoughit fairly small bird, which spendsa good deal of time breeding cranes of names is not strongenoughto excludethe possibility small hiddenin thickvegetation. (WeknowtheGreek there. for two related birds,but both seemto referto single, numbers 19 occurring knewmost the To sumup:it looksasthoughtheancients larger species: kaAapts, Coot [see above]; and mentioned Bourne(except someof for by por- of thespecies rropkvptwov,the Purple Gallinule [Porphyrio Nor is thereany evidencethatthe ancients the smallerones); but it is seldom possible to be phyrio].)5s the completelycertain,becausewe seldom have enough knewtwo othersmall mentioned Bourne, species by Black-andWhite-winged BlackTerns(Chlidonias niger informationto identify individualspeciesin ancient In of to andC. leucopterus).theirwinterplumage bothcould authors' discussions birds: they couldbe referring with otherterns; in the breeding any or all of severalspecies. Either they had not but easilybe confused blackbirdswhichhaunt examined the birds closely enough to distinguish seasonthey areconspicuously fresh fromDionysius' but similarspecies,and used one name, or water,quitedistinct KarapaKr7T) different since descriptive andHomer's bothareterns, phrase,for all of them; or (if they had ElvaAlr7 although K'S6, is distinguishedthe species) they omitted to record KaTapaK7)r~ white andboth aresea-birds.16 Bournementionsthreeotherbirdsor bird-families adequate of descriptions them in thoseof theirworks which ancientauthors is mention,thoughthey which survive.The first of these two possibilities certainly are not in the Aristotelian to which I began by probably list trueof the herons(seeabove);the secondis since of the true,to someextentatleast, theducks, falcinellus), pelicans probably referring: GlossyIbis (Plegadis with littleor no duck-names and cranes.Herodotusii 75-6 and AristotleHA ix we haveseveral apparent the but bird. clue by which we might determine speciesmeant; 617b27if. mention tfl~S, only as an Egyptian in Aristotle HA of blackandwhite;andD'Arcy for instance,doUKas, and7qrrrv4`Ao Bothspeak two species, ate the that speaking, largerthe convincingly the two viii 593b17and 23. Generally Thompson(Io8-Io) argues tell the bird, the more the ancients us aboutit: hencewe speciesmentionedby Herodotusare respectively and but aboutpelicans cranes, and Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita) the modern'Sacred haveusefulinformation or mention Moorhen BlackTerns. of neither of which is not anidentifiable Ibis' (Threskiornis aethiopicus), tendto be unhelpful aboutwherethe knownin Greece. However,Pollard pointsoutthat Ancientauthors (66) Aristotle's 'blackibis' is confinedto Pelusiumin the birds they mention occurred,though it is a natural time that in authorsdown to Aristotle's Nile delta, so shouldbe not the Bald Ibis, which is assumption and a desertbird,but the marsh-haunting is, for as long as the areaof Greeksettlement normally Glossy (that Ibis-the speciesseenby Bourneat LakeStymphalus. cultureremained small)most of the birdsmentioned in So it is a puzzle whetherancientauthorsknew the occurred Greeceor aroundthe Aegean,or in south The say Italy or Sicily, unlessour authors otherwise. GlossyIbisas a Greekbird. that is as The pelicanis knownin ancientauthors rrEAEK6v nearest thingto a localbird-list I havecomeacross or 7TEAEKi'VOS. Aristotlesays (HA viii 597a9-II) ot from the list of goods eUrflv dya0d BotcroirS (&r' for KEAKEKdvE. ... Kat 7Teov1atL 0aTo TOl by brought theBoeotian saleto Dicaearchus alrrtAcs) EKTO7TtnOViU0t, KaKEL in Aristophanes' Acharnians TEKVO7TOLOUVTatEIL (875-8): ,ETPUVtvoS7C vIOUTrpoV, that whichsuggests theywerenot knownasa breeding vaaaaS KOAotwS gaAapt'3ag aTrraya~bird in Greece.It is some confirmation this that of KOAV/tL09I.... makesno useof the comicpossibilities of Aristophanes TpoxlAW Xavags.-. av oepV Kat his the pelican's enormous beak:presumably audience did not know aboutpelicans.17 the craneAristotle Of course this is not seriousornithologicalevidence;but Of says (ibid.4-6): at"yepavot. . LETrapdAAovUL it is perhaps worth noticingthat it (purportedly) just ' ... EK TOV EKKUtKW^v to TEE&'VEiS TEa A? 7Trd vaw7^s3 relates anarea onlyfiftymilesor so fromStymphalus, A'y'7Trov,suggestingthat they occurredin Greece and includes four of the birds,mentioned above: and brednorwintered there. mallard, only on migration neither coot, grebesandgeese. This is confirmed otherauthors, from Hesiodand by J.J.HALL who of as Homeronwards, speak thecrane's appearance University Library, Cambridge a signof autumn, of itsflight(toAfrica) avoidthe and to
o

14 As Pollard 70 points out. On the identification of rropovpowv see D'Arcy Thompson 252 f., Pollard 69. Its dark blue colour and large size distinguish it from the Moorhen. 16 See Dionysius Ixeut. ii 3, Homer Od. xv 479. On s KaT'apdKTc~r seeJ. K. Anderson (n. 6) 171, (n. I) 146;J.J. Hall, 'The bird cataractes', JHS xcix (1979) 163-4. 17 Birds882 mentions 7rrAEKdiV7L 7rAEKKvo, but says nothing Kalt about them. Birds 1155 f, 7rEAEKdVT7ES, OT 70 Ao4',YXe(Tv 'axe', and drrelrEA4'Klaav 7ds sAa, is simply a pun on rrag shows no knowledge of pelicans as birds. (According to D'Arcy 7rr.EAKvs, Thompson 233 the reference is to woodpeckers, not pelicans.)
15

'8 HesiodOp. 448 ff; HomerII. iii 3 ff; otherpassages quotedby D'Arcy Thompson70-2. Nowadays,no craneswinterin Greece, but of winterin thoughsomedo in Turkey; mostof thecranes Europe Africa.See Crampet al. (n. 3) ii (1980)620. the 19There is no evidencethat the ancientsdistinguished two of the and European species pelican, White(Pelecanus onocrotalus) the Dalmatian crispus); apparently, Greekwriters do nor, (P. distinguish the Crane(Grus Crane(Anthropoides grus)fromtheDemoiselle virgo; 'minorgrus',presumably latter the thoughPlinyNH x 135mentions See Pollard84, D'ArcyThompson69). species. 20 Cf. Peace 00oo4 Xvar v'r77as rr7as 7poXLAov?.