It was kept with the greatest care, as it was prophesied that the fate of the Roman people would depend upon its preservation. […] It was Cadmus who slew the Bœotian dragon, and sowed its teeth in the ground, from each of which sprang up an armed man. […] A town on Mount Parnassus, famous for its oracle, and for a temple of Apollo. […] It obtained its name because it was covered with the skin of the goat Amalthæa, which nourished Jupiter. […] It was the picture of desolation, for nothing could grow on its parched and withered banks.