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Ateas wrote to Philip : ‘You are the ruler of the Macedonians who have learned to fight against men; but I am ruler of the Scythians who are able to fight against both hunger and thirst.’ While he was engaged in currying his horse he asked the ambassadors who had come from Philip whether Philip did this. Having captured in battle Ismenias, the very best of flute-players, he bade him play a tune. Everybody else was filled with admiration, but Ateas swore [p. 27] that it gave him more pleasure to hear his horse neigh.1
1 The story is repeated in nearly the same words in Moralia, 334 B and 1095 F. The fame of Ismenias is several times referred to by ancient writers. It may suffice to mention Plutarch, Moralia, 632 C.
Plutarch. Moralia. with an English Translation by. Frank Cole Babbitt. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1931. 3.
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