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Aristonymus of Ephesus, the son of Demostratus, hated women and used to consort with an ass; and in due time the ass gave birth to a very beautiful maiden, Onoscelis The girl with ass’s legs: cf. the scholium on Aristophanes, Ecclesiazusae, 1048; Stobaeus, Florilegium, lxiv. 37 (iv. p. 473 Hense). by name. So Aristocles in the second book of his Strange Events.
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Fulvius Stellus hated women and used to consort with a mare and in due time the mare gave birth to a beautiful girl and they named her Epona. She is the goddess that is concerned with the protection of horses. So Agesilaüs in the third book of his Italian History.
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The People of Sardis, when they were engaged in war against the people of Smyrna, encamped round about the walls, and sent word through ambassadors that they would never retire unless the people of Smyrna would agree to let their wives consort with them. The Smyrnaeans, because of the compelling necessity, were in a fair way to suffer grievously; but there was a certain maid-servant to one of the better class who ran up to her master Philarchus and said, You must dress up the maid-servants and send them in place of free-born women. And this, in fact, they did. The men of Sardis were quite exhausted by the serving-maids, and so were taken captive; whence even now the people of Smyrna have a festival called Eleutheria in which the maid-servants wear the adornments of free women. So Dositheiis in the third book of his Lydian History.
