CHAP. CV1I.
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History. The platanus is celebrated in the earliest records that we have ofGrecian history. Herodotus tells us that Xerxes, when he invaded Greece ,was so enchanted with a beautiful plane tree that he found in Lycia , that heencircled it with a collar of gold, and confided the charge of it to one of theTen Thousand. iElian adds to this, that Xerxes passed an entire day underits shade, compelling his whole army to encamp in its neighbourhood ; and thatthe delay this occasioned was one of the causes of his defeat. Evelyn adds,from the same author (viz. TElian), that Xerxes became so fond of this tree,“ that, spoiling both himself, his concubines, and great persons of all theirjewels, he covered it with gold, gems, necklaces, scarfs, bracelets, and infiniteriches. In sum, he was so enamoured of it, that, for some days, neither theconcernment of his expedition, nor interest of honour, nor the necessarymotion of his portentous army, could persuade him from it. He styled it hismistress, his minion, his goddess ; and, when he was forced to part from it, hecaused a figure of it to be stamped on a medal of gold, which he continuallywore about him.” {Hunt. Evel., ii. p. 52.) Pausanias (a. d. 170) mentionsa plane tree of extraordinary size and beauty in Arcadia, which was said tohave been planted by Menelaus, the husband of Helen, and to have been, atthe time Pausanias saw it, 1300 years old. According to the same author,the Lacedemonians gave the name of Plataniste to an island in the Levant ,connected by two bridges with the Morea, which was covered with planetrees, and where the young men used to perform their exercises. Some ofthese trees, it is said, still exist. It was in this island, according to Theocritus ,that the flowers were gathered of which Helen’s wedding garland was com-posed, on the day of her nuptials with Menelaus . We are also told that,in the time of Pliny, the peasants in Phrygia showed a plane tree, which they
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