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A

NEW SYSTEM;

OR, AN

ANALYSIS

OF

ANTIENT MYTHOLOGY:

WHEREIN AN ATTEMPT IS MADE TO DIVEST TRADITION OF FABLE;
AND TO REDUCE THE TRUTH TO ITS ORIGINAL PURITY,

BY JACOB BRYANT, ESQ.

_THE THIRD EDITION._
IN SIX VOLUMES.

WITH A PORTRAIT AND
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE AUTHOR;

A VINDICATION OF THE APAMEAN MEDAL;

Observations and Inquiries relating to various
Parts of Antient History;

A COMPLETE INDEX,

AND FORTY-ONE PLATES, NEATLY ENGRAVED.

VOL. II.

LONDON:

PRINTED FOR J. WALKER; W.J. AND J. RICHARDSON; R. FAULDER AND SON; R. LEA;
J. NUNN; CUTHELL AND MARTIN; H.D. SYMONDS; VERNOR, HOOD, AND SHARPE; E.
JEFFERY; LACKINGTON, ALLEN, AND CO.; J. BOOKER; BLACK, PARRY, AND
KINGSBURY; J. ASPERNE; J. MURRAY; AND J. HARRIS.

1807.

       *       *       *       *       *


A

NEW SYSTEM

OR AN

ANALYSIS

OF

ANTIENT MYTHOLOGY.

       *       *       *       *       *


PHOENIX AND PHOENICES.

As there has been much uncertainty about the purport and extent of these
terms; and they are of great consequence in the course of history; I will
endeavour to state their true meaning. Phoinic, or Poinic, was an Egyptian
and Canaanitish term of honour; from whence were formed [Greek: Phoinix,
Phoinikes, Phoinikoeis] of the Greeks, and Phoinic, Poinicus, Poinicius of
the Romans; which were afterwards changed to Phoenix, Punicus, and
[1]Puniceus. It was originally a title, which the Greeks made use of as a
provincial name: but it was never admitted as such by the people, to whom
it was thus appropriated, till the Greeks were in possession of the
country. And even then it was but partially received: for though mention is
made of the coast of Phoenice, yet we find the natives called Sidonians,
Tyrians, and [2]Canaanites, as late as the days of the Apostles. It was an
honorary term, compounded of Anac with the Egyptian prefix; and rendered at
times both Phoinic and Poinic. It signified a lord or prince: and was
particularly assumed by the sons of Chus and Canaan. The Mysians seem to
have kept nearest to the original pronunciation, who gave this title to the
God Dionusus, and called him Ph'anac.

  [3]Ogygia me Bacchum vocat,
  Osirin AEgyptus putat,
  Mysi Phanacem.

It was also conferred upon many things, which were esteemed princely and
noble. Hence the red, or scarlet, a colour appropriated to great and
honourable personages, was styled Phoinic. The palm was also styled
Phoinic, [Greek: Phoinix]: and the antients always speak of it as a stately
and noble tree. It was esteemed an emblem of honour; and made use of as a
reward of victory. Plurimarum palmarum <DW25>, was a proverbial expression
among the Romans, for a soldier of merit. Pliny speaks of the various
species of palms; and of the great repute in which they were held by the
Babylonians. He says, that the noblest of them were styled the royal Palms;
and supposes that they were so called from their being set apart for the
king's use. But they were very early an emblem of royalty: and it is a
circumstance included in their original name. We find from Apuleius, that
Mercury, the [4]Hermes of Egypt, was represented with a palm branch in his
hand: and his priests at Hermopolis used to have them stuck in their
[5]sandals, on the outside. The Goddess [6]Isis was thus represented: and
we may infer that Hermes had the like ornaments; which the Greeks mistook
for feathers, and have in consequence of it added wings to his feet. The
Jews used to carry boughs of the same tree at some of their festivals; and
particularly at the celebration of their nuptials: and it was thought to
have an influence at the birth. Euripides alludes to this in his Ion; where
he makes Latona recline herself against a Palm tree, when she is going to
produce Apollo and Diana.

    [7][Greek: Phoinika Par' habrokoman]
  [Greek: Entha locheumata semn' elocheusato]
    [Greek: Lato.]

In how great estimation this tree was held of old, we may learn from many
passages in the sacred writings. Solomon says to his espoused, [8]_how fair
and how pleasant art thou, O Love, for delights: thy stature is like a Palm
tree_. And the Psalmist for an encouragement to holiness, says, [9]_that
the righteous shall flourish like the Palm tree_: for the Palm was supposed
to rise under a weight; and to thrive in proportion to its being
[10]depressed. There is possibly a farther allusion in this, than may at
first appear. The antients had an opinion, that the Palm was immortal: at
least, if it did die, it recovered again, and obtained a second life by
renewal. Hence the story of the bird, styled the Phoenix, is thought to
have been borrowed from this tree. Pliny, in describing the species of
Palm, styled Syagrus, says, [11]Mirum de ea accepimus, cum Phoenice Ave,
quae putatur ex hujus Palmae argumento nomen accepisse, iterum mori, et
renasci ex seipsa. Hence we find it to have been an emblem of immortality
among all nations, sacred and prophane. The blessed in heaven are
represented in the Apocalypse by St. John, [12]as standing before the
throne in white robes, with branches of Palm in their hands. The notion of
this plant being an emblem of royalty prevailed so far, that when our
Saviour made his last entrance into Jerusalem, the people took branches of
Palm trees, and accosted him as a prince, crying, [13]_Hosanna--blessed is
the King of Israel_.

The title of Phoinic seems at first to have been given to persons of great
stature: but, in process of time, it was conferred upon people of power and
eminence, like [Greek: anax] and [Greek: anaktes] among the Greeks. The
Cuthites in Egypt were styled Royal Shepherds, [Greek: Basileis Poimenes],
and had therefore the title of Phoenices. A colony of them went from thence
to Tyre and Syria: hence it is said by many writers that Phoenix came from
Egypt to Tyre. People, not considering this, have been led to look for the
shepherd's origin in Canaan, because they were sometimes called Phoenices.
They might as well have looked for them in Greece; for they were equally
styled [14][Greek: Hellenes], Hellenes. Phoenicia, which the Greeks called
[Greek: Phoinike], was but a small part of Canaan. It was properly a slip
of sea coast, which lay within the jurisdiction of the Tyrians and
Sidonians, and signifies Ora Regia; or, according to the language of the
country, the coast of the Anakim. It was a lordly title, and derived from a
stately and august people. All the natives of Canaan seem to have assumed
to themselves great honour. The Philistines are spoken of as [15]Lords, and
the merchants of Tyre as Princes; whose grandeur and magnificence are often
alluded to in the Scriptures. The prophet Ezekiel calls them the princes of
the sea. [16]_Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their
thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments._
And Isaiah speaks to the same purpose. [17]_Who hath taken this counsel
against Tyre, that crowning city, whose merchants are princes; whose
traffickers are the honourable of the earth?_ The scripture term by which
they are here distinguished is [Hebrew: SHRIM], Sarim: but the title which
they assumed to themselves was Ph'anac, or Ph'oinac, the Phoenix of the
Greeks and Romans. And as it was a mere title, the sacred writers of the
old testament never make use of it to distinguish either the people or
country. This part of Canaan is never by them called Phoenicia: yet others
did call it so; and the natives were styled Phoenices before the birth of
Homer. But this was through mistake; for it was never used by the natives
as a provincial appellation. I have shewn that it was a title of another
sort, a mark of rank and pre-eminence: on this account it was assumed by
other people, and conferred upon other places. For this reason it is never
mentioned by any of the sacred writers before the captivity, in order to
avoid ambiguity. The Gentile writers made use of it; and we see what
mistakes have ensued. There were Phoenicians of various countries. They
were to be found upon the Sinus [18]Persicus, upon the Sinus [19]Arabicus,
in Egypt, in [20]Crete, in [21]Africa, in [22]Epirus, and even in Attica.
[23][Greek: Phoinikes--genos ti Atheneisi]. _There is a race of people
called Phoenicians_ _among the [24]Athenians._ In short, it was a title
introduced at Sidon, and the coast adjoining, by people from Egypt: and who
the people were that brought it may be known from several passages in
antient history; but particularly from an extract in Eusebius, [25][Greek:
Phoinix kai Kadmos, apo Thebon ton Aiguption exelthontes eis ten Surian,
Turou kai Sidonos ebasileuon.] _Phoenix and Cadmus, retiring from Thebes,
in Egypt, towards the coast of Syria, settled at Tyre and Sidon, and
reigned there._ It is said, that [26]Belus carried a colony to the same
parts: and from what part of the world [27]Belus must be supposed to have
come, needs not to be explained. Euripides styles Cepheus the king of
Ethiopia, the son of Phoenix: and Apollodorus makes him the son of Belus:
hence we may infer, that Belus and Phoenix were the same. Not that there
were any such persons as Phoenix and Belus, for they were certainly titles:
and, under the characters of those two personages, Colonies, named Belidae
and Phoenices, went abroad, and settled in different parts. Their history
and appellation may be traced from Babylonia to Arabia and Egypt; and from
thence to Canaan, and to the regions in the west. It were therefore to be
wished, that the terms Phoenix and Phoenicia had never been used in the
common acceptation; at least when the discourse turns upon the more antient
history of Canaan. When the Greeks got possession of the coast of Tyre,
they called it Phoenicia: and from that time it may be admitted as a
provincial name. In consequence of this, the writers of the New Testament
do not scruple to make use of it, but always with a proper limitation; for
the geography of the Scriptures is wonderfully exact. But the Greek and
Roman writers often speak of it with a greater latitude, and include Judea
and Palestina within its borders; and sometimes add Syria and Idume. But
these countries were all separate and distinct; among which Phoenicia bore
but a small proportion. Yet, small as it may have been, many learned men
have thought, that all the colonies, which at times settled upon the coast
of the Mediterranean, were from this quarter; and that all science was of
Phoenician original. But this is not true according to their acceptation of
the term. Colonies did settle; and science came from the east: but not
merely from the Sidonian. I shall shew, that it was principally owing to a
prior and superior branch of the family.

       *       *       *       *       *


ADDENDA.

_OF THE PALM TREE_.

Phoenix was a colour among horses. They were styled Phoenices, and
[28]Phoeniciati, from the colour of the Palm tree, which they resembled;
and upon the same account had the name of Spadices. This, according to
Aulus Gellius, was a term synonymous with the former. [29]Rutilus, et
Spadix Phoenicii [Greek: sunonumos], exuberantiam splendoremque significant
ruboris, quales sunt fructus Palmae arboris, nondum sole incocti: unde
spadicis et Phoenicei nomen est. [30]Spadix, [Greek: spadix], avulsus est a
Palma termes cum fructu. Homer, describing the horses of Diomedes, says,
that the one was Phoenix, or of a bright Palm colour, with a white spot in
his forehead like a moon.

  [31][Greek: Hos to men allo toson phoinix en, ende metopoi]
  [Greek: Leukon sem' etetukto peritrochon euete mene.]

Upon this the Scholiast observes, [Greek: Phoinikes to chroma, etoi
purrhos]. The horse was of a Palm colour, which is a bright red. We call
such horses bays, which probably is a term of the same original. The branch
of a Palm tree was called Bai in Egypt; and it had the same name in other
places. Baia, [Greek: Baia], are used for Palm-branches by St. John.
[32][Greek: Ta baia ton Phoinikon]. And it is mentioned by the author of
the book of Maccabees, that the Jews, upon a solemn occasion, entered the
temple. [33][Greek: Meta aineseos kai baion]. And Demetrius writes to the
high priest, Simon, [34][Greek: Ton stephanon ton chrusoun kai ten Bainen,
ha apesteilate, kekomismetha.] Coronam auream et Bainem, quae misistis,
accepimus. The Greeks formed the word [Greek: baine] from the Egyptian Bai.
The Romans called the same colour Badius. [35]Varro, speaking of horses,
mentions,

  Hic badius, ille gilvus, ille Murinus.

As the Palm tree was supposed to be immortal; or, at least, if it did die,
to revive, and enjoy a second life, the Egyptians gave the name of Bai to
the soul: [36][Greek: Esti men gar to bai psuche.]

       *       *       *       *       *


OF THE

TERM CAHEN:

THE

COHEN, [Hebrew: KHN], OF THE HEBREWS.

I have before taken notice that the term Cahen denoted a Priest, or
President; and that it was a title often conferred upon princes and kings.
Nor was it confined to men only: we find it frequently annexed to the names
of Deities, to signify their rule and superintendency over the earth. From
them it was derived to their attendants, and to all persons of a
prophetical or sacred character. The meaning of the term was so obvious,
that one would imagine no mistake could have ensued: yet such is the
perverseness of human wit, that we find it by the Greeks and Romans
constantly misapplied. They could not help imagining, from the sound of the
word, which approached nearly to that of [Greek: kuon] and canis, that it
had some reference to that animal: and, in consequence of this unlucky
resemblance, they continually misconstrued it _a dog_. Hence we are told by
[37]AElian and [38]Plutarch, not only of the great veneration paid to dogs
in Egypt, and of their being maintained in many cities and temples; in
which they certainly exceed the truth; but we are moreover assured, that
the people of Ethiopia had a dog for their king: that he was kept in great
state, being surrounded with a numerous body of officers and guards, and in
all respects royally treated. Plutarch speaks of him as being [39][Greek:
semnos proskunomenos], worshipped with a degree of religious reverence. The
whole of this notion took its rise from a misinterpretation of the title
above. I have mentioned, that in early times Cahen was a title universally
conferred upon priests and prophets: hence Lycophron, who has continually
allusions to obsolete terms, calls the two diviners, Mopsus and
Amphilochus, [Greek: Kunas].

  [40][Greek: Doiaide rheithron Puramou pros ekbolais]
  [Greek: Autoktonois sphagaisi Derainou KYNES]
  [Greek: Dmethentes aichmazousi loisthion boan.]

Upon which the Scholiast observes: [Greek: Kunes hoi Manteis]: _by Cunes
are meant Diviners:_ and again, [Greek: Kunas Apollonos tous manteis
eipein.] _The Poet, by_ [Greek: Kunas], _means the ministers and prophets
of Apollo._ Upon this the learned [41]Meursius observes, that Lycophron had
here made use of a term imported from Egypt: so that, I think, we cannot be
mistaken about the purport of the word, however it may have been perverted.

The name of the Deity, Canouphis, expressed also Canuphis, and Cnuphis, was
compounded with this term. He was represented by the Egyptians as a
princely person, with a serpent entwined round his middle, and embellished
with other characteristics, relating to time and duration, of which the
serpent was an emblem. Oph, and Ouph, signified a serpent in the Amonian
language; and the Deity was termed Can-uph, from his serpentine
representation. The whole species, in consequence of this, were made sacred
to him, and styled Canyphian. To this Lucan alludes, when, in speaking of
the Seps, he calls all the tribe of serpents Cinyphias pestes:

    [42]Cinyphias inter pestes tibi palma nocendi.

Canuphis was sometimes expressed Anuphis and Anubis; and, however rendered,
was by the Greeks and Romans continually spoken of as a dog; at least they
supposed him to have had a dog's head, and often mention his [43]barking.
But they were misled by the title, which they did not understand. The
Egyptians had many emblematical personages, set off with heads of various
animals, to represent particular virtues and affections, as well as to
denote the various attributes of their Gods. Among others was this canine
figure, which I have no reason to think was appropriated to Canuph, or
Cneph. And though upon gems and marbles his name may be sometimes found
annexed to this character, yet it must be looked upon as a Grecian work,
and so denominated in consequence of their mistaken notion. For we must
make a material distinction between the hieroglyphics of old, when Egypt
was under her own kings; and those of later date, when that country was
under the government of the Greeks: at which time their learning was
greatly impaired, and their antient theology ruined. Horus Apollo assures
us, if any credit may be given to what he says, that this canine figure was
an emblem of the earth: [44][Greek: Oikoumenen graphontes kunokephalon
zographousi.] _When they would describe the earth, they paint a
Cunocephalus._ It could not, therefore, I should think, in any degree
relate to Canuphis. The same[45] writer informs us, that under the figure
of a dog they represented a priest, or sacred scribe, and a prophet; and
all such as had the chief management of funerals: also the spleen, the
smell, sneezing; rule and government, and a magistrate, or judge: which is
a circumstance hardly to be believed. For, as hieroglyphics were designed
to distinguish, it is scarce credible that the Egyptians should crowd
together so many different and opposite ideas under one character, whence
nothing could well ensue but doubt and confusion. Besides, I do not
remember, that in any group of antient hieroglyphics the figure of a dog
occurs. The meaning of this history, I think, may be with a little
attention made out. The Egyptians were refined in their superstitions,
above all the nations in the world; and conferred the names and titles of
their Deities upon vegetables and animals of every species; and not only
upon these, but also upon the parts of the human body, and the very
passions of the mind. Whatever they deemed salutary, or of great value,
they distinguished by the title of Sacred, and consecrated it to some
[46]God. This will appear from words borrowed from Egypt. The Laurel,
Laurus, was denominated from Al-Orus: the berry was termed bacca, from
Bacchus; Myrrh, [Greek: Murrha] was from Ham-Ourah; Casia, from Chus. The
Crocodile was called Caimin and Campsa; the Lion, El-Eon; the Wolf, El-Uc;
the Cat, Al-Ourah: whence the Greeks formed [Greek: leon, lukos, ailouros].
The Egyptians styled Myrrh, Baal; balsam, baal-samen; Camphire, Cham-phour,
[Greek: kamphoura] of Greece; Opium, Ophion. The sweet reed of Egypt was
named [47]Canah, and Conah, by way of eminence; also, [48]Can-Osiris.
Cinnamon was denominated from Chan-Amon; Cinnabar, [Greek: kinnabaris],
from Chan-Abor; the sacred beetle, Cantharus, from Chan-Athur. The harp was
styled Cinnor, and was supposed to have been found out by Cinaras; which
terms are compounded of Chan-Or, and Chan-Arez; and relate to the Sun, or
Apollo, the supposed inventor of the lyre. Priests and magistrates were
particularly honoured with the additional title of Cahen; and many things
held sacred were liable to have it in their composition. Hence arose the
error of Horus Apollo; who, having been informed that the antient Egyptians
distinguished many things which were esteemed holy by this sacred title,
referred the whole to hieroglyphics, and gave out that they were all
represented under the figure of a dog. And it is possible, that in later
times the Grecian artists, and the mixed tribes of Egypt, may have
expressed them in this manner; for they were led by the ear; and did not
inquire into the latent purport of the [49]theology transmitted to them.
From hence we may perceive how little, in later times, even the native
Egyptians knew of their rites and history.

Farther accounts may be produced from the same writer, in confirmation of
what I have been saying. He not only mentions the great veneration paid by
the Egyptians to dogs, but adds, that in many temples they kept [Greek:
kunokephaloi], a kind of baboons, or animals with heads like those of dogs,
which were wonderfully endowed. By their assistance the Egyptians found out
the particular periods of the Sun and Moon. These did not, like other
animals, die at once, but by piece-meal; so that one half of the animal was
oftentimes buried, while the other half[50] survived. He moreover assures
us, that they could read and write; and whenever one of them was introduced
into the sacred apartments for probation, the priest presented him with a
[51]tablet, and with a pen and ink; and by his writing could immediately
find out if he were of the true intelligent breed. These animals are said
to have been of infinite use to the antient Egyptians in determining times
and seasons; for it seems they were, in some particular functions, the most
accurate and punctual of any creatures upon earth: [52]Per aequinoctia enim
duodecies in die urinam reddere, et in nocte[53] compertus (Cunocephalus),
aequali interstitio servato, Trismegisto ansam dedit diem dividendi in
duodecim partes aequales. Such is the history of these wonderful
[54]animals. That Apes and Baboons were, among the Egyptians, held in
veneration, is very certain. The Ape was sacred to the God Apis; and by the
Greeks was rendered Capis, and [55]Ceipis. The Baboon was denominated from
the Deity[56] Babon, to whom it was equally sacred. But what have these to
do with the supposed Cunocephalus, which, according to the Grecian
interpretation, is an animal with the head of a dog? This characteristic
does not properly belong to any species of Apes, but seems to have been
unduly appropriated to them. The term Cunocephalus, [Greek: Kunokephalos],
is an Egyptian compound: and this strange history relates to the priests of
the country, styled Cahen; also to the novices in their temples; and to the
examinations, which they were obliged to undergo, before they could be
admitted to the priesthood. To explain this, I must take notice, that in
early times they built their temples upon eminences, for many reasons; but
especially for the sake of celestial observations. The Egyptians were much
addicted to the study of astronomy: and they used to found their colleges
in Upper Egypt upon rocks and hills, called by them Caph. These, as they
were sacred to the Sun, were farther denominated Caph-El, and sometimes
Caph-Aur, and Caph-Arez. The term Caph-El, which often occurs in history,
the Greeks uniformly changed to [Greek: Kephale], Cephale: and from
Cahen-Caph-El, the sacred rock of Orus, they formed [Greek: Kunokephale],
and [Greek: Kunokephalos]; which they supposed to relate to an animal with
the head of a dog. But this Cahen-Caph-El was certainly some royal seminary
in Upper Egypt, whence they drafted novices to supply their colleges and
temples. These young persons were, before their introduction, examined by
some superior priest; and, accordingly as they answered upon their trial,
they were admitted, or refused. They were denominated Caph-El, and
Cahen-Caph-El, from the academy where they received their first
instruction; and this place, though sacred, seems to have been of a class
subordinate to others. It was a kind of inferior cloister and temple, such
as Capella in the Romish church; which, as well as Capellanus, was derived
from Egypt: for, the church, in its first decline, borrowed largely from
that country. That there was some particular place of this sort situated
upon a rock or eminence, may, I think, be proved from Martianus Capella;
and, moreover, that it was a seminary well known, where the youth of Upper
Egypt were educated. For, in describing the sciences, under different
personages, he gives this remarkable account of Dialectica upon introducing
her before his audience. [57]Haec se educatam dicebat in _AEgyptiorum Rupe;_
atque in Parmenidis exinde gymnasium, atque Atticam demeasse. And Johannes
Sarisburiensis seems to intimate that Parmenides obtained his knowledge
from the same quarter, when he mentions [58]"_in Rupe_ vitam egisse. In
this short detail we have no unpleasing account of the birth of science in
Egypt, and of its progress thence to Attica. It is plain that this Rupes
AEgyptiaca could be nothing else but a seminary, either the same, or at
least similar to that, which I have before been describing. As the
Cunocephali are said to have been sacred to Hermes, this college and temple
were probably in the nome of Hermopolis. Hermes was the patron of Science,
and particularly styled Cahen, or [59]Canis: and the Cunocephali are said
to have been worshipped by the people of that [60]place. They were
certainly there reverenced: and this history points out very plainly the
particular spot alluded to. Hermopolis was in the upper region styled
Thebais: and there was in this district a tower, such as has been
[61]mentioned. It was in aftertimes made use of for a repository, where
they laid up the tribute. This may have been the Rupes AEgyptiaca, so famed
of old for science; and which was the seat of the Chancephalim, or
Cunocephalians.

It is said of the Cunocephali, that when one part was dead and buried, the
other still survived. This can relate to nothing else but a society, or
body politic, where there is a continual decrement, yet part still remains;
and the whole is kept up by succession. It is an enigma, which particularly
relates to the priesthood in Egypt: for the sacred office there was
hereditary, being vested in certain families; and when part was dead, a
residue still [62]survived, who admitted others in the room of the
deceased. [63][Greek: Epean de tis apothanei, toutou ho pais
antikatistatai.] The sons, we find, supplied the place of their fathers:
hence the body itself never became extinct, being kept up by a regular
succession. As to the Cunocephali giving to Hermes the first hint of
dividing the day into twelve parts from the exactness, which was observed
in their [64]evacuations, it is a surmise almost too trifling to be
discussed. I have shewn that the Cunocephali were a sacred college, whose
members were persons of great learning: and their society seems to have
been a very antient institution. They were particularly addicted to
astronomical observations; and by contemplating the heavens, styled Ouran,
they learned to distinguish the seasons, and to divide the day into parts.
But the term Ouran the Greeks by a strange misconception changed to [Greek:
ourein]; of which mistake they have afforded other instances: and from this
abuse of terms the silly figment took its rise.

The Cunocephali are not to be found in Egypt only, but in India likewise;
and in other parts of the world. Herodotus [65]mentions a nation of this
name in Libya: and speaks of them as a race of men with the heads of dogs.
Hard by in the neighbourhood of this people he places the [Greek:
Akephaloi], men with no heads at all: to whom, out of humanity, and to
obviate some very natural distresses, he gives eyes in the breast. But he
seems to have forgot mouth and ears, and makes no mention of a nose: he
only says, [66][Greek: Akephaloi, hoi en stethesin ophthalmous echontes.]
Both these and the Cunocephali were denominated from their place of
residence, and from their worship: the one from Cahen-Caph-El, the other
from Ac-Caph-El: each of which appellations is of the same purport, the
right noble, or sacred [67]rock of the Sun.

Similar to the history of the Cunocephali, and Acephali, is that of the
Cunodontes. They are a people mentioned by Solinus and Isidorus, and by
them are supposed to have had the teeth of dogs. Yet they were probably
denominated, like those above, from the object of their worship, the Deity
Chan-Adon; which the Greeks expressed [Greek: Kunodon], and styled his
votaries [68]Cunodontes.

The Greeks pretended, that they had the use of the sphere, and were
acquainted with the zodiac, and its asterisms very early. But it is plain
from their mistakes, that they received the knowledge of these things very
late; at a time when the terms were obsolete, and the true purport of them
not to be obtained. They borrowed all the schemes under which the stars are
comprehended from the Egyptians: who had formed them of old, and named them
from circumstances in their own religion and mythology. They had
particularly conferred the titles of their Deities upon those stars, which
appeared the brightest in their hemisphere. One of the most remarkable and
brilliant they called Cahen Sehor; another they termed Purcahen; a third
Cahen Ourah, or Cun Ourah. These were all misconstrued, and changed by the
Greeks; Cahen-Sehor to Canis Sirius; P'urcahen to Procyon; and Cahen Ourah
to Cunosoura, the dog's tail. In respect to this last name I think, from
the application of it in other instances, we may be assured that it could
not be in acceptation what the Greeks would persuade us: nor had it any
relation to a dog. There was the summit of a hill in Arcadia of this
[69]name: also a promontory in [70]Attica; and another in [71]Euboea. How
could it possibly in its common acceptation be applicable to these places?
And as a constellation if it signified a dog's tail, how came it to be a
name given to the tail of a bear? It was a term brought from [72]Sidon, and
Egypt: and the purport was to be sought for from the language of the
Amonians.

The antient Helladians used upon every promontory to raise pillars and
altars to the God of light, Can-Our, the Chan-Orus of Egypt. But Can-Our,
and Can-Ourah, they changed to [Greek: kunosoura], as I have shewn: yet
notwithstanding this corruption, the true name is often to be discovered.
The place which is termed Cunosoura by Lucian, in his Icaromemenippus, is
called Cunoura by Stephanus Byzant, and by [73]Pausanias. Cunoura is also
used by Lycophron, who understood antient terms full well, for any high
rock or headland.

  [74][Greek: En haisi pros kunoura kampulous schasas]
  [Greek: Peukes odontas.]

    [Greek: Pros kunoura, pros tracheias petras.] Scholiast. ibid.

We find the same mistake occur in the account transmitted to us concerning
the first discovery of purple. The antients very gratefully gave the merit
of every useful and salutary invention to the Gods. Ceres was supposed to
have discovered to men corn, and bread: Osiris shewed them the use of the
plough; Cinyras of the harp: Vesta taught them to build. Every Deity was
looked up to as the cause of some blessing. The Tyrians and Sidonians were
famous for the manufacture of purple: the die of which was very exquisite,
and the discovery of it was attributed to Hercules of Tyre; the same who by
Palaephatus is styled Hercules [75]Philosophus. But some will not allow him
this honour; but say, that the dog of Hercules was the discoverer. For
accidentally feeding upon the Murex, with which the coast abounded, the dog
stained his mouth with the ichor of the fish; and from hence the first hint
of dying was [76]taken. This gave birth to the proverbial expression,
[77][Greek: Heurema kunos en he sebaste porphura.] Nonnus mentions the
particular circumstance of the dog's staining his mouth:

  [78][Greek: Chioneas porphure pareidas haimati kochlou.]

Such is the story, which at first sight is too childish to admit of credit.
It is not likely that a dog would feed upon shell-fish: and if this may at
any time have happened, yet whoever is at all conversant in natural
history, must know, that the murex is of the turbinated kind, and
particularly aculeated; having strong and sharp protuberances, with which a
dog would hardly engage. The story is founded upon the same misconception,
of which so many instances have been produced. Hercules of Tyre, like all
other oriental divinities, was styled Cahen, and Cohen; as was allowed by
the Greeks themselves. [79][Greek: Ton Heraklen phasi kata ten Aiguption
dialekton CHONA legesthai.] _We are told, that Hercules in the language of
the Egyptians is called Chon._ This intelligence, however, they could not
abide by; but changed this sacred title to [80][Greek: kuon], a dog, which
they described as an attendant upon the Deity.

The Grecians tell us, that the Egyptians styled Hermes a dog: but they seem
to have been aware, that they were guilty of an undue representation. Hence
Plutarch tries to soften, and qualify what is mentioned, by saying,
[81][Greek: Ou gar kurios ton Hermen KYNA legousin (hoi Aiguptioi)]: by
which this learned writer would insinuate, that it was not so much the name
of a dog, as the qualities of that animal, to which the Egyptians alluded.
Plutarch thought by this refinement to take off the impropriety of
conferring so base a name upon a Deity. But the truth is, that the
Egyptians neither bestowed it nominally; nor alluded to it in any degree.
The title which they gave to Hermes was the same that they bestowed upon
Hercules: they expressed it Cahen, and Cohen; and it was very properly
represented above by the Greek term [Greek: Chon], Chon. It is said of
Socrates, that he sometimes made use of an uncommon oath, [Greek: ma ton
kuna, kai ton chena] _by the dog and the goose_: which at first does not
seem consistent with the gravity of his character. But we are informed by
Porphyry, that this was not done by way of ridicule: for Socrates esteemed
it a very serious and religious mode of attestation: and under these terms
made a solemn appeal to the son of [82]Zeus. The purport of the words is
obvious: and whatever hidden meaning there may have been, the oath was made
ridiculous by the absurdity of the terms. Besides, what possible connection
could there have subsisted between a dog and a Deity; a goose and the son
of Jove? There was certainly none: yet Socrates, like the rest of his
fraternity, having an antipathy to foreign terms, chose to represent his
ideas through this false medium; by which means the very essence of his
invocation was lost. The son of Zeus, to whom he appealed, was the Egyptian
Cahen abovementioned; but this sacred title was idly changed to [Greek:
kuna kai chena], a dog and a goose, from a similitude in sound. That he
referred to the Egyptian Deity, is manifest from Plato, who acknowledges
that he swore, [83][Greek: ma ton kuna ton Aiguption theon]. By which we
are to understand a Cahen of Egypt. Porphyry expressly says, that it was
the God Hermes the son of Zeus, and Maia: [84][Greek: Kata ton tou Dios kai
Maias paida epoieito ton horkon].

I cannot account upon any other principle than that upon which I have
proceeded, for the strange representation of Apollo, and Bacchus, gaping
with open mouths. So it seems they were in some places described. Clemens
of Alexandria mentions from Polemon, that Apollo was thus exhibited:
[85][Greek: Polemon de kechenotos Apollonos oiden agalma]. And we are told
that a gaping[86] Bacchus was particularly worshipped at Samos. They were
both the same as the Egyptian Orus; who was styled Cahen-On, Rex, vel Deus
Sol; out of which Cahen-On the Grecians seem to have formed the word
[Greek: Chainon]: and in consequence of it, these two Deities were
represented with their jaws widely extended. This term was sometimes
changed to [Greek: koinos], communis: hence it is that we so often meet
with [Greek: koinoi Theoi], and [Greek: koinoi bomoi], upon coins and
marbles: also [Greek: koinos Hermes]. And as Hermes was the reputed God of
gain, every thing found was adjudged to be [Greek: koinos], or common.

                  [87][Greek: All' esidousa]
  [Greek: Exapines, Hermes koinos, ephe thugater.]
  [88][Greek: Koinon einai ton Hermen.]

Notwithstanding this notion so universally received, yet among the Grecians
themselves the term [Greek: koinos] was an antient title of eminence.
[89][Greek: Koinos, ho Despotes]. _Coinos signifies a lord and master_:
undoubtedly from Cohinus; and that from Cohen. It would be endless to
enumerate all the instances which might be brought of this nature. Of this,
I think, I am assured, that whoever will consider the uncouth names both of
Deities, and men, as well as of places, in the light recommended; and
attend to the mythology transmitted concerning them; will be able by these
helps to trace them to their original meaning. It is, I think, plain, that
what the Grecians so often interpreted [Greek: kunes], was an antient
Amonian title. When therefore I read of the brazen dog of Vulcan, of the
dog of Erigone, of Orion, of Geryon, of Orus, of Hercules, of Amphilochus,
of Hecate, I cannot but suppose, that they were the titles of so many
Deities; or else of their priests, who were denominated from their office.
In short, the Cahen of Egypt were no more dogs than the Paterae of Amon were
basons: and though Diodorus does say, that at the grand celebrity of
[90]Isis, the whole was preceded by dogs, yet I cannot help being persuaded
that they were the priests of the Goddess.

By this clue we may unravel many intricate histories transmitted from
different parts. In the temple of Vulcan, near mount AEtna, there are said
to have been a breed of dogs, which fawned upon good men, but were
implacable to the bad. [91]Inde etiam perpetuus ignis a Siculis alebatur in
AEtnaeo Vulcani templo, cui custodes adhibiti sunt sacri canes, blandientes
piis hominibus, in impios ferocientes. In the celebrated gardens of Electra
there was a golden dog, which shewed the same regard to good men, and was
as inveterate to others.

  [92][Greek: Chruseos oidainonti kuon sunulaktee laimoi]
  [Greek: Sainon ethada phota.]

What is more remarkable, there were many gaping dogs in this temple; which
are represented as so many statues, yet were endowed with life.

  [93][Greek: Chasmasi poietoisi seseirotes anthereones]
  [Greek: Pseudaleon skulakon stiches emphrones.]

Homer describes something of the same nature in the gardens of Alcinous.

  [94][Greek: Chruseioi d' hekaterthe kai argureoi kunes esan,]
  [Greek: Hous Hephaistos eteuxen iduieisi prapidessin,]
  [Greek: Athanatous ontas, kai ageros emata panta.]

All this relates to the Cusean priests of Vulcan or Hephaistos, and to the
priesthood established in his temple: which priesthood was kept up by
succession, and never became extinct. What was Cusean, the Greeks often
rendered [Greek: Chruseion], as I shall hereafter shew. The same people
were also styled Cuthim; and this word likewise among the antients
signified gold: from hence these priests were styled [Greek: Chruseioi
kunes]. We find the like history in Crete: here too was a golden dog, which
Zeus had appointed to be the guardian of his temple[95]. By comparing these
histories, I think we cannot fail of arriving at the latent meaning. The
God of light among other titles was styled Cahen, or Chan-Ades: but the
term being taken in the same acceptation here, as in the instances above,
the Deity was changed to a dog, and said to reside in the infernal regions.
From hence he was supposed to have been dragged to light by Hercules of
Thebes. The notion both of Cerberus and Hades being subterraneous Deities
took its rise from the temples of old being situated near vast caverns,
which were esteemed passages to the realms below. Such were in Messenia, in
Argolis, in Bithynia, and at Enna in Sicily; not to mention divers other
places. These temples were often named Kir-Abor; and the Deity Chan-Ades;
out of which terms the Greeks formed [Greek: Ton Kerberon kuna hadou]; and
fabled, that he was forced into upper air by Hercules, through these
infernal inlets. And as temples similar in name and situation were built in
various parts, the like history was told of them all. Pausanias takes
notice of this event, among other places, being ascribed to the cavern at
[96]Taenarus; as well as to one at [97]Troezen, and to a third near the city
[98]Hermione. The Poet Dionysius speaks of the feat being performed in the
country of the Marianduni, near Colchis.

  [99][Greek: Kai Mariandunon hieron pedon, enth' enepousin]
  [Greek: Oudaiou Kronidao megan kuna Chalkeophonon]
  [Greek: Chersin anelkomenon megaletoros Herakleos,]
  [Greek: Deinon apo stomaton baleein sialodea chulon.]

But however the Deity in all these instances may have been degraded to the
regions of darkness, yet he was the God of light, [Greek: Kun-hades]; and
such was the purport of that name. He was the same as Apollo, as may be
proved from the Cunidae at Athens, who were a family set apart for his
service. [Greek: Kunnidai, genos Atheneisin, ex hou ho hiereus tou Kunniou
Apollonos.] Hesychius. _The Cunnidai are a family at Athens, out of which
the priest of Apollo Cunnius is chosen_. He styles him Apollo Cunnius: but
the Cunidai were more properly denominated from Apollo Cunides, the same as
Cun-Ades. Poseidon was expressly styled Cun-Ades; and he was the same Deity
as Apollo, only under a different title, as I have shewn. [Greek: Kunades
Poseidon Atheneisin etimaito.] Hesychius. _Poseidon was worshipped at
Athens under the title of Cun-Ades._

Though I have endeavoured to shew, that the term of which I have been
treating was greatly misapplied, in being so uniformly referred to dogs,
yet I do not mean to insinuate that it did not sometimes relate to them.
They were distinguished by this sacred title, and were held in some degree
of [100]veneration; but how far they were reverenced is not easy to
determine. Herodotus,[101] speaking of the sanctity of some animals in
Egypt, says, that the people in every family, where a dog died, shaved
themselves all over: and he mentions it as a custom still subsisting in his
own time. Plutarch[102] differs from him. He allows that these animals
were, at one time, esteemed holy; but it was before the time of Cambyses:
from the aera of his reign they were held in another light: for when this
king killed the sacred Apis, the dogs fed so liberally upon his entrails,
without making a proper distinction, that they lost all their sanctity. It
is of little consequence whichever account be the truest. They were
certainly of old looked upon as sacred; and esteemed emblems of the Deity.
And it was, perhaps, with a view to this, and to prevent the Israelites
retaining any notion of this nature, that a dog was not suffered to come
within the precincts of the temple at [103]Jerusalem. In the Mosaic law,
the price of a dog, and the hire of a harlot, are put upon the same level.
[104]_Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into
the house of the Lord thy God for any vow: for both these are an
abomination to the Lord thy God._

To conclude: The Dog, in Egypt, was undoubtedly called Cahen, and Cohen; a
title by which many other animals, and even vegetables, were honoured, on
account of their being consecrated to some Deity. The Greeks did not
consider that this was a borrowed appellation, which belonged to the Gods
and their Priests; and was from them extended to many things held sacred.
Hence they have continually referred this term to one object only: by which
means they have misrepresented many curious pieces of history: and a number
of idle fables have been devised to the disparagement of all that was true.

       *       *       *       *       *


OF

CHUS;

STYLED

[Greek: CHRYSOS] AND [Greek: CHRYSAOR.]

Among the different branches of the great Amonian family which spread
themselves abroad, the sons of Chus were the most considerable, and at the
same time the most enterprising. They got access into countries widely
distant; where they may be traced under different denominations, but more
particularly by their family title. This we might expect the Greeks to have
rendered Chusos, and to have named the people [Greek: Chusaioi], Chusaei.
But, by a fatal misprision, they uniformly changed these terms to words
more familiar to their ear, and rendered them [Greek: Chrusos], and [Greek:
Chruseios], as if they had a reference to gold. I have before mentioned the
various parts of the world where the Amonians settled, and especially this
branch of that family. Their most considerable colonies westward were in
Ioenia and Hellas; and about Cuma and Liguria in Italy; and upon the coast
of Iberia in Spain. They were likewise to be found in Cyrene; and still
farther in Mauritania, and in the islands opposite to that coast. In the
north they were to be met with at Colchis, towards the foot of Mount
Caucasus, and in most regions upon the coast of the Euxine sea. In the
histories of these countries the Grecians have constantly changed Chusos,
the Gentile name, to Chrusos, [Greek: Chrusos]; and Chus-Or, Chusorus, to
[Greek: Chrusor], Chrusor: and, in consequence of this alteration, they
have introduced in their accounts of these places some legend about gold.
Hence we read of a golden fleece at Colchis; golden apples at the
Hesperides; at [105]Tartessus, a golden cup; and, at Cuma, in Campania, a
golden branch:

  Aureus et foliis, et lento vimine, ramus.

Something similar is observable in the history of Cyrene. The natives were
not remarkable for either mines or merchandize: yet, Palaephatus, having
mentioned that they were [Greek: kata genos Aithiopes], Ethiopians by
extraction, that is, Cuseans, subjoins: [106][Greek: Eisi de sphodra
chrusoi]. Pindar, in celebrating each happy circumstance of the Insulae
Fortunatae, mentions, that there were trees with branches of gold:
[107][Greek: Anthema de chrusou phlegei]. The river Phasis, in Colchis, was
supposed to have abounded with gold; and the like was pretended of the
Hermus and Pactolus in Ioenia. Not only the Poets, but many of the graver
[108]historians, speak of their golden sands. Yet there is reason to doubt
of the fact: for not one of them produces any good voucher for what they
suppose. They do not mention any trade carried on, nor riches accruing from
this lucky circumstance: so that there is no reason to think that one grain
of gold was gathered from these celebrated streams. Among the several
islands occupied by this people were Rhodes and Delos. In the former, the
chief city is said to have been blessed with showers of gold. [109][Greek:
Entha pote breche theon Basileus ho megas chrusais niphadessi polin.] At
Delos every thing was golden, even the slippers of the God.

  [110][Greek: Chrusea kai ta pedila, poluchrusos gar Apollon.]

And this not only in aftertimes, when the island was enriched with
offerings from different nations, but even at the birth of the God; by
which is meant the foundation of his temple, and introduction of his rites.

  [111][Greek: Chrusea toi tote panta themeilia geinato, Dele,]
  [Greek: Chrusoi de trochoessa panemeros errhee limne,]
  [Greek: Chruseion d' ekomisse genethlion ernos elaies,]
  [Greek: Chrusoi de plemmure bathus Inopos helichtheis,]
  [Greek: Aute de chrusoio ap' oudeos heileo paida,]
  [Greek: En d' ebaleu kolpoisin.]

We find that the very soil and foundations of the island were golden: the
lake floated with golden waves: the olive tree vegetated with golden fruit:
and the river Inopus, deep as it was, swelled with gold. Homer, in a hymn
to the same personage, represents the whole more compendiously, by saying,
that the island was weighed down with treasure:

              [112][Greek: Chrusoi d' ara Delos hapasa]
  [Greek: Bebrithei.]

I have before mentioned that the Amonians settled in Liguria: and, in
consequence of it, the Heliadae are represented as weeping, not only amber,
but gold. Philostratus, speaking of a particular species of fir-trees in
Boetica, says, that they dropped blood, just as the Heliadae upon the Padus
did[113] gold.

Chus, by the Egyptians and Canaanites, was styled Or-Chus, and[114]
Chus-Or: the latter of which was expressed by the Greeks, analogous to the
examples above, [Greek: Chrusor], Chrusor: and we learn in Eusebius, from
Philo, that Chrusor was one of the principal Deities of the Phenicians, a
great benefactor to mankind; and by some supposed to have been the same as
Hephaistus. Both the Tyrians and Sidonians were undoubtedly a mixed race,
and preserved the memory of Ham, and Chus, equally with that of Canaan.

This name, so often rendered Chrusos, and Chrusor, was sometimes changed to
[Greek: Chrusaor], Chrusaor: and occurs in many places where the Cuthites
were known to have settled. We have been shewn that they were a long time
in Egypt; and we read of a Chrusaor in those parts, who is said to have
arisen from the blood of Medusa.

    [115][Greek: Exethore Chrusaor te megas, kai Pegasos hippos.]

We meet with the same Chrusaor in the regions of Asia Minor, especially
among the Carians. In these parts he was particularly worshipped, and said
to have been the first deified mortal. The great Divan of that nation was
called Chrusaorium; and there was a city [116]Chrusaoris, and a temple of
the same name. [117][Greek: Engus de tes poleos to tou Chrusaoreos Dios
koinon hapanton Karon, eis ho suniasi thusantes te kai bouleusamenoi.] This
city was properly called Chus-Or, and built in memory of the same person;
as the city Chusora, called also [118]Cerchusora, in Egypt. It was
undoubtedly founded by some of the same family, who in aftertimes
worshipped their chief ancestor; as the Sidonians and Syrians did likewise.
For this we have the testimony of Sanchoniathon; who, having mentioned the
various benefits bestowed upon mankind by Chrusaor, says, at the
conclusion, [119][Greek: Dio kai hos theon auton meta thanaton
esebasthesan;] _for which reason, after his death, they worshipped him as a
God_. The first king of Iberia was named Chrusaor, the reputed father of
[120]Geryon; and he is said to have been [Greek: poluchrusos], a person of
great wealth: all which is an Egyptian history, transferred from the Nile
to the Boetis.

  [121][Greek: Chrusaor d' eteke trikarenon Geruonea,]
  [Greek: Michtheis Challiroei kourei klutou Okeanoio.]

Geryon of Spain was, according to this mythology of the poet, the son of
Chrusaor; and Chrusaor was confessedly of Egyptian original: so that,
whatever the fable may allude to, it must have been imported into Boetica
from Egypt by some of the sons of Chus. The Grecians borrowed this term,
and applied it to Apollo; and from this epithet, Chrusaor, he was
denominated the God of the golden sword. Homer accordingly styles him,
[122][Greek: Apollona Chrusaora]: and, speaking of Apollo's infancy, he
says, [123][Greek: Oud' ar' Apollona Chrusaora thesato meter]: and Diana is
termed [124][Greek: Autokasignete Chrusaoros Apollonos.]

This title cannot possibly relate to the implement supposed: for it would
be idle to style an infant the God of the golden sword. It was a weapon,
which at no time was ascribed to him: nor do I believe, that he is ever
represented with one either upon a gem, or a marble. He is described as
wishing for a harp, and for a bow.

  [125][Greek: Eie moi kitharis te phile, kai kampula toxa.]

And his mother is said to have been pleased that she produced him to the
world an archer:

                  [126][Greek: Chaire de Leto,]
  [Greek: Houneka toxophoron kai karteron huion etikten.]

These habiliments are often specified: but I do not recollect any mention
made of a sword, nor was the term Chrusaor of Grecian etymology.

Since then we may be assured that Chus was the person alluded to under the
name of Chrusos, Chrubor, and Chrusaor; we need not wonder that his
substitute Apollo is so often styled [Greek: Chrusokomes], and [Greek:
Chrusoluros]: that the harp, called by the Amonians [127] Chan-Or, and
Cuth-Or, from the supposed inventor, should by the Grecians be denominated
[Greek: Chrusea phorminx] [128][Greek: Apollonos]: that so many cities,
where Apollo was particularly worshipped, should be called Chruse, and
Chrusopolis, the number of which was of no small [129]amount. Nor is this
observable in cities only, but in rivers, which were named in the same
manner. For it was usual, in the first ages, to consecrate rivers to
Deities, and to call them after their names. Hence many were denominated
from Chusorus, which by the Greeks was changed to [Greek: Chrusorrhoas];
and from this mistake they were supposed to abound with gold. The Nile was
called Chrusorrhoas[130], which had no pretensions to gold: and there was a
river of this name at [131]Damascus. Others too might be produced, none of
which had any claim to that mineral. There was a stream Chrusorrhoas near
the Amazonian city Themiscura in [132]Pontus: and the river Pactolus was of
old so called, whence probably came the notion of its abounding with gold.
[133][Greek: Paktolos potamos esti tes Ludias----ekaleito de proteron
Chrusorrhoas.] It was named Chrusorrhoas first, and in aftertimes Pactolus:
whence we may conclude, in respect to gold, that the name was not given on
account of any such circumstance; but the notion was inferred from the
name.

It is apparent that this repeated mistake arose in great measure from the
term Chusus and Chrusus being similar: whence the latter was easily
convertible into the former; which to the Grecians appeared a more
intelligible, and at the same time a more splendid, title. But there was
still another obvious reason for this change. Chus was by many of the
eastern nations expressed Cuth; and his posterity the Cuthim. This term, in
the antient Chaldaeic, and other Amonian languages, signified [134]gold:
hence many cities and countries, where the Cuthites settled, were described
as golden, and were represented by the terms Chrusos and Chruse. These, as
I have shewn, had no relation to gold, but to Chus, who was reverenced as
the Sun, or Apollo; and was looked upon as Dionusus; but may more truly be
esteemed Bacchus. Hence, when the poet Dionysius mentions the island Chruse
in [135]India, his commentator observes; [Greek: Chruse nesos, legomene
houtos, e dia to chruson pherein, e kata ton Dionuson;] and at last
concludes, [136][Greek: Chrusous einai pos dokei ho helios.]

In a former dissertation concerning the Shepherd Kings in Egypt, I have
shewn that they were the sons of Chus, who came into that country under the
title of Auritae. They settled in a province named from them Cushan, which
was at the upper part of Delta; and in aftertimes called Nomos Arabicus. It
was in the vicinity of Memphis, and Aphroditopolis, which places they
likewise [137]occupied. I have mentioned that Chusos was often expressed
Chrusos, and the country of the Cuthim rendered the golden country. If then
there be that uniformity in error which I maintain, it may be expected
that, in the history of these places, there should be some reference to
gold. It is remarkable that all this part of Egypt, conformably to what I
have said, was called [Greek: Chruse], Chruse. Here was the campus aureus,
and Aphrodite Aurea of the Romans: and all the country about Memphis was
styled golden. To this Diodorus, among others, bears witness: [138][Greek:
Ten te Aphroditen onomazesthai para tois enchoriois Chrusen EK PALAIAS
PARADOSEOS, kai pedion einai kaloumenon Chruses Aphrodites peri ten
onomazomenen Memphin]. When the Cuthite shepherds came into Egypt, they
made Memphis the seat of royal [139]residence: and hard by was the nome of
Aphrodite, and the Arabian nome, which they particularly possessed: and
which, in consequence of it, were both styled the regions of the Cuthim.
Hence came the title of [140]Aphrodite Chruse: and hence the country had
the name of the Golden District. The island at the point of Delta, where
stood the city Cercusora, is called Gieserat [141]Eddahib, or the Golden
Island, at this day. Diodorus mentions, that this appellation of Chruse was
derived from _a very antient tradition_. This tradition undoubtedly related
to the shepherds, those sons of Chus, who were so long in possession of the
country; and whose history was of the highest antiquity.

The Cuthites in the west occupied only some particular spots: but from
Babylonia eastward the greatest part of that extensive sea-coast seems to
have been in their possession. In the history of these parts, there is
often some allusion to gold, as may be seen in the island Chruse,
above-mentioned; and in the Chersonesus Aurea, which lay beyond the Ganges:
and not only of gold, but sometimes a reference to brass; and this from a
similar mistake. For as Chusus was changed to Chrusus, [Greek: Chrusos],
gold; so was Cal-Chus, the hill, or place of Chus, converted to Chalcus,
[Greek: Chalkos], brass. Colchis was properly Col-Chus; and therefore
called also Cuta, and Cutaia. But what was Colchian being sometimes
rendered Chalcion, [Greek: Kalkion], gave rise to the fable of brazen
bulls; which were only Colchic Tor, or towers. There was a region named
Colchis in [142]India: for where the Cuthites settled, they continually
kept up the memory of their forefathers, and called places by their names.
This being a secret to Philostratus, has led him into a deal of mysterious
error. It is well known that this people were styled Oreitae, and Auritae,
both in Egypt and in other parts. Philostratus says that [143]Apollonius
came to a settlement of the Oreitae upon the Indian Ocean. He also visited
their Pegadae; and, what is remarkable, he met with a people whose very
rocks were brazen; their sand was brazen: the rivers conveyed down their
streams fine filaments of brass: and the natives esteemed their land golden
on account of the plenty of brass. Now what is this detail, but an abuse of
terms, ill understood, and shamefully misapplied? Philostratus had heard of
a region in India; the history of which he would fain render marvellous.
The country, whither Apollonius is supposed to go, was a province of the
Indo-Cuthites, who were to be met with in various parts under the title of
Oreitae. They were worshippers of fire, and came originally from the land of
Ur; and hence had that name. The Pegadae of the country are what we now call
Pagodas; and which are too well known to need describing. There were in
this part of the world several cities, and temples, dedicated to the memory
of Chus. Some of these are famous at this day, though denominated after the
Babylonish dialect Cutha, and Cuta; witness Calcutta, and Calecut. The
latter seems to have been the capital of the region called of old Colchis.
This was more truly expressed Cal-Chus; which Philostratus has mistaken for
[Greek: Chalkos], brass; and made the very [144]rocks and rivers abound
with that mineral. And yet, that the old mistake about gold may not be
omitted, he concludes with a strange antithesis, by saying, that the
natives esteemed their country Chrusitis, or golden, from the quantity of
[145]brass.

It has been my endeavour to prove that what the Grecians represented by
Chrusos, Chrusor, and Chrusaor, should have been expressed Chus, Chusos,
and Chusor, called also Chus-Orus. Chus was the son of Ham; and though the
names of the Grecian Deities are not uniformly appropriated, yet Ham is
generally looked upon as [Greek: Helios], the Sun; and had the title Dis,
and Dios: hence the city of Amon in Egypt was rendered Diospolis. If then
Chrusos, and Chrusor, be, as I have supposed, Chus; the person so
denominated must have been, according to the more antient mythology, the
son of Helius, and Dios. We find accordingly that it was so. The Scholiast
upon Pindar expressly says, [146][Greek: Dios pais ho Chrusos]. And in
another place he is said to have been the offspring of Helius, who was no
other than Cham. [147][Greek: Ek theias kai Huperionos Helios, ek de Heliou
ho Chrusos.] Magic and incantations are attributed to Chus, as the
inventor; and they were certainly first practised among his sons: hence it
is said by Sanchoniathon, [148][Greek: Ton Chrusor logous askesai kai
epoidas, kai manteias]. He was however esteemed a great benefactor; and
many salutary inventions were ascribed to him. He had particularly the
credit of being the first who ventured upon the seas: [149][Greek: Proton
te panton anthropon pleusai]. Whether this can be said truly of Chus
himself, is uncertain: it agrees full well with the history of his sons;
who, as we have the greatest reason to be assured, were the first great
navigators in the world.

       *       *       *       *       *


OF

CANAAN, CNAAN,

AND

[Greek: CHNAS];

AND OF THE

DERIVATIVE [Greek: KUKNOS].

Lucian tells us, that, reflecting upon the account given of Phaethon, who
fell thunderstruck into the Eridanus, and of his sisters, who were changed
to poplars weeping amber, he took a resolution, if he should ever be near
the scene of these wonderful transactions, to inquire among the natives
concerning the truth of the [150]story. It so happened, that, at a certain
time, he was obliged to go up the river above mentioned: and he says, that
he looked about very wistfully; yet, to his great amazement, he saw neither
amber nor poplar. Upon this he took the liberty to ask the people, who
rowed him, when he should arrive at the amber-dropping trees: but it was
with some difficulty that he could make them understand what he meant. He
then explained to them the story of Phaethon: how he borrowed the chariot
of the Sun; and being an awkward charioteer, tumbled headlong into the
Eridanus: that his sisters pined away with grief; and at last were
transformed to trees, the same of which he had just spoken: and he assured
them, that these trees were to be found somewhere upon the banks, weeping
amber. Who the deuce, says one of the boatmen, could tell you such an idle
story? We never heard of any charioteer tumbling into the river; nor have
we, that I know of, a single poplar in the country. If there were any trees
hereabouts dropping amber, do you think, master, that we would sit here,
day after day, tugging against stream for a dry groat, when we might step
ashore, and make our fortunes so easily? This affected Lucian a good deal:
for he had formed some hopes of obtaining a little of this precious
commodity; and began to think that he must have been imposed upon. However,
as Cycnus, the brother of Phaethon, was here changed to a swan, he took it
for granted that he should find a number of those birds sailing up and down
the stream, and making the groves echo with their melody. But not
perceiving any in a great space, he took the liberty, as he passed onward,
to put the question again to the boatmen; and to make inquiry about these
birds. Pray, gentlemen, says he, at what particular season is it that your
swans hereabouts sing so sweetly? It is said, that they were formerly men,
and always at Apollo's side; being in a manner of his privy council. Their
skill in music must have been very great: and though they have been changed
into birds, they retain that faculty, and, I am told, sing most
melodiously. The watermen could not help smiling at this account. Why, sir,
says one of them, what strange stories you have picked up about our
country, and this river? We have plied here, men and boys, for years; and
to be sure we cannot say that we never saw a swan: there are some here and
there towards the fens, which make a low dull noise: but as for any
harmony, a rook or a jackdaw, in comparison of them, may be looked upon as
a nightingale.

Such are the witty strictures of Lucian upon the story of Phaethon and
Cycnus, as described by the poets. Whatever may have been the grounds upon
which this fiction is founded, they were certainly unknown to the Greeks;
who have misinterpreted what little came to their hands, and from such
misconstruction devised these fables. The story, as we have it, is not
uniformly told. Some, like Lucian, speak of swans in the plural; and
suppose them to have been the ministers, and attendants of Apollo, who
assisted at his concerts. Others mention one person only, called Cycnus;
who was the reputed brother of Phaethon, and at his death was transformed
to the bird of that name. The fable is the same whichever way it may be
related, and the purport of it is likewise the same. There is one mistake
in the story, which I must set right before I proceed; as it may be of some
consequence in the process of my inquiry. Phaethon is represented by many
of the poets as the offspring of the Sun, or Apollo: [151]Sole satus
Phaethon. But this was a mistake, and to be found chiefly among the Roman
poets. Phaethon was the Sun. It was a title of Apollo; and was given to him
as the God of light. This is manifest from the testimony of the more early
Greek poets, and particularly from Homer, who uses it in this acceptation.

              [152][Greek: Oudepot' autous]
  [Greek: Eelios Phaethon epiderketai aktinessin.]

In respect to Cycnus and his brotherhood, those vocal ministers of Apollo,
the story, which is told of them, undoubtedly alludes to Canaan, the son of
Ham; and to the Canaanites, his posterity. They sent out many colonies;
which colonies, there is great reason to think, settled in those places,
where these legends about swans particularly prevailed. The name of Canaan
was by different nations greatly varied, and ill expressed: and this
misconstruction among the Greeks gave rise to the fable. To shew this, it
will be proper to give an account of the rites and customs of the
Canaanites, as well as of their extensive traffic. Among the many branches
of the Amonian family, which settled in various parts of the world, and
carried on an early correspondence, the Canaanites were not the least
respectable. They traded from Sidon chiefly, before that city was taken by
the king of Ascalon: and upon their commerce being interrupted here, they
[153]removed it to the strong hold of Tyre. This place was soon improved to
a mighty city, which was very memorable in its day. The Canaanites, as they
were a sister tribe of the Mizraim, so were they extremely like them in
their rites and religion. They held a heifer, or cow, in high veneration,
agreeably with the [154]customs of Egypt. Their chief Deity was the Sun,
whom they worshipped together with the Baalim, under the titles Ourchol,
Adonis, Thamuz. It was a custom among the Grecians, at the celebration of
their religious festivals, to crown the whole with hymns of praise, and the
most joyful exclamations. But the Egyptians were of a gloomy turn of mind,
which infected the whole of their worship. Their hymns were always composed
in melancholy affecting airs, and consisted of lamentations for the loss of
Osiris, the mystic flight of Bacchus, the wanderings of Isis, and the
sufferings of the Gods. Apuleius takes notice of this difference in the
rites and worship of the two nations: [155]AEgyptiaca numinum fana plena
plangoribus: Graeca plerumque choreis. Hence the author of the Orphic
Argonautica, speaking of the initiations in Egypt, mentions,

  [156][Greek: Threnous t' Aiguption, kai Osiridos hiera chutla.]

The Canaanites at Byblus, Berytus, Sidon, and afterwards at Tyre, used
particularly mournful dirges for the loss of Adonis, or Thamuz; who was the
same as Thamas, and Osiris in Egypt. The Cretans had the like mournful
hymns, in which they commemorated the grief of Apollo for the loss of
Atymnius.

                  [157][Greek: Ailina melpein,]
  [Greek: Hoia para Kretessin anax eligainen Apollon]
  [Greek: Dakrucheon erateinon Atumnion.]

The measures and harmony of the Canaanites seem to have been very
affecting, and to have made a wonderful impression on the minds of their
audience. The infectious mode of worship prevailed so far, that the
children of Israel were forbidden to weep, and make lamentation upon a
festival: [158][Greek: Einai gar heorten, kai me dein en autei klaiein, ou
gar exeinai.] And Nehemiah gives the people a caution to the same purpose:
[159]_This day is holy unto the Lord your God: mourn not, nor weep_. And
Esdras counsels them in the same manner: [160]_This day is holy unto the
Lord: be not sorrowful_. It is likewise in another place mentioned, that
[161]_the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the
day is holy: neither be ye grieved_. Such was the prohibition given to the
Israelites: but among the Canaanites this shew of sorrow was encouraged,
and made part of their [162]rites.

The father of this people is represented in the Mosaic history, according
to our version, Canaan: but there is reason to think that by the Egyptians
and other neighbouring nations it was expressed Cnaan. This by the Greeks
was rendered [Greek: Chnaas], and [Greek: Chnas]; and in later times
[Greek: Chna], Cna. [163][Greek: Chna, houtos he Phoinike ekaleito--to
ethnikon Chnaos.] We are told by Philo from Sanchoniathon, that [164]Isiris
the Egyptian, who found out three letters, was the brother of Cna: by which
is meant, that Mizraim was the brother of Canaan. I have taken notice more
than once of a particular term, [Greek: Uk], Uc; which has been passed over
unnoticed by most writers: yet is to be found in the composition of many
words; especially such as are of Amonian original. The tribe of Cush was
styled by Manethon, before the passage was depraved, [Greek: Ukkousos].
Uch, says this author, in the sacred language of Egypt, signifies a
[165]king. Hence it was conferred as a title upon the God Sehor, who, as we
may infer from Manethon and [166]Hellanicus, was called Ucsiris, and
Icsiris; but by the later Greeks the name was altered to Isiris and Osiris.
And not only the God Sehor, or Sehoris was so expressed; but Cnas, or
Canaan, had the same title, and was styled Uc-Cnas, and the Gentile name or
possessive was Uc-cnaos, [Greek: Uk-knaos: to ethnikon gar Chnaos], as we
learn from Stephanus. The Greeks, whose custom it was to reduce every
foreign name to something similar in their own language, changed [Greek:
Ukknaos] to [Greek: Kukneios], Uc Cnaus to Cucneus; and from [Greek: Uk
Knas] formed [Greek: Kuknos]. Some traces of this word still remain, though
almost effaced; and may be observed in the name of the Goddess Ichnaia.
Instead of Uc-Cnaan the son of Ham, the Greeks have substituted this
personage in the feminine, whom they have represented as the daughter of
the Sun. She is mentioned in this light by Lycophron: [167][Greek: Tes
Heliou thugatros Ichnaias brabeus]. They likewise changed Thamuz and Thamas
of Canaan and Egypt to Themis a feminine; and called her Ichnaia Themis.
She is so styled by Homer.

              [168][Greek: Theai d' esan endothi pasai,]
  [Greek: Hossai aristai esan, Dione te, Rheie te,]
  [Greek: Ichnaie te Themis, kai agastonos Amphitrite.]

[Greek: Ichnaia] is here used adjectively. [Greek: Ichnaia Themis]
signifies Themis, or Thamuz, of [169]Canaan.

There was another circumstance, which probably assisted to carry on the
mistake: a Canaanitish temple was called both Ca-Cnas, and Cu-Cnas; and
adjectively[170] Cu-Cnaios; which terms there is reason to think were
rendered [Greek: Kuknos], and [Greek: Kukneios]. Besides all this, the swan
was undoubtedly the insigne of Canaan, as the eagle and vulture were of
Egypt, and the dove of Babylonia. It was certainly the hieroglyphic of the
country. These were the causes which contributed to the framing many idle
legends, such as the poets improved upon greatly. Hence it is observable,
that wherever we may imagine any colonies from Canaan to have settled and
to have founded temples, there is some story about swans: and the Greeks,
in alluding to their hymns, instead of [Greek: Ykknaon asma,] the music of
Canaan, have introduced [Greek: kukneion asma,] the singing of these birds:
and, instead of the death of Thamuz, lamented by the Cucnaans, or priests,
they have made the swans sing their own dirge, and foretell their own
funeral. Wherever the Canaanites came, they introduced their national
worship; part of which, as I have shewn, consisted in chanting hymns to the
honour of their country God. He was the same as Apollo of Greece: on which
account, Lucian, in compliance with the current notion, says, that the
Cycni were formerly the assessors and ministers of that Deity. By this we
are to understand, that people of this denomination were in antient times
his priests. One part of the world, where this notion about swans
prevailed, was in Liguria, upon the banks of the Eridanus. Here Phaethon
was supposed to have met with his downfal; and here his brother Cycnus
underwent the metamorphosis, of which we have spoken. In these parts some
Amonians settled very early; among whom it appears that there were many
from Canaan. They may be traced by the mighty works which they carried on;
for they drained the river towards its mouth, and formed some vast canals,
called Fossae Philistinae. Pliny, speaking of the entrance into the Eridanus,
says, [171]Inde ostia plana, Carbonaria, ac fossiones Philistinae, quod alii
Tartarum vocant: omnia ex Philistinae fossae abundatione nascentia. These
canals were, undoubtedly the work of the Canaanites, and particularly of
some of the Caphtorim, who came from Philistim: and hence these outlets of
the river were named Philistinae. The river betrays its original in its
name; for it has no relation to the Celtic language, but is apparently of
Egyptian or Canaanitish etymology. This is manifest from the terms of which
it is made up; for it is compounded of Ur-Adon, sive Orus Adonis; and was
sacred to the God of that name. The river, simply, and out of composition,
was Adon, or Adonis: and it is to be observed, that this is the name of one
of the principal rivers in Canaan. It ran near the city Biblus, where the
death of Thamuz was particularly lamented. It is a circumstance taken
notice of by many authors, and most pathetically described by Milton.

          [172]Thammuz came next behind,
  Whose annual wound in Lebanon allur'd
  The Syrian damsels to lament his fate
  In amorous ditties all a summer's day:
  While smooth Adonis from his native rock
  Ran purple to the sea; suppos'd with blood
  Of Thammuz yearly wounded.

It is said that the Eridanus was so called first by [173]Pherecydes Syrus:
and that my etymology is true, may in great measure be proved from the
[174]Scholiast upon Aratus. He shews that the name was of Egyptian
original, at least consonant to the language of Egypt; for it was the same
as the Nile. It is certain that it occurred in the antient sphere of Egypt,
whence the Grecians received it. The great effusion of water in the
celestial sphere, which, Aratus says, was the Nile, is still called the
Eridanus: and, as the name was of oriental original, the purport of it must
be looked for among the people of those parts. The river Strymon, in
Thrace, was supposed to abound with swans, as much as the Eridanus; and the
antient name of this river was Palaestinus. It was so called from the
Amonians, who settled here under the name of Adonians, and who founded the
city Adonis. They were by the later Greeks styled, after the Ioenic manner,
Edonians, and their city Edonis. [175][Greek: Strumon potamos esti tes
Thrakes kata polin Edonida, prosegoreueto de proteron Palaistinos.] _The
Strymon is a river of Thrace, which runs by the city Edonis: it was of old
called the river Palaestinus_. In these places, and in all others where any
of the Canaanites settled, the Grecians have introduced some story about
swans.

Some of them seem to have gained access at Delphi; as did likewise others
from Egypt: and by such was that oracle first founded. Egypt, among other
names, was called Ait, and Ai Ait, by the Greeks expressed [Greek: Aetia]:
[176][Greek: Eklethe de--kai AETIA.] The natives, in consequence of it,
were called [Greek: Aetioi], and [Greek: Aetai]; which was interpreted
eagles. Hence, we are told by Plutarch, that some of the feathered kind,
either eagles or swans, came from the remote parts of the earth, and
settled at Delphi. [177][Greek: Aetous tinas, e Kuknous, o Terentiane
Priske, muthologousin apo ton akron tes ges epi to meson pheromenous eis
tauto sumpesein Puthoi peri ton kaloumenon omphalon.] These eagles and
swans undoubtedly relate to colonies from Egypt and Canaan. I recollect but
one philosopher styled Cygnus; and, what is remarkable, he was of Canaan.
Antiochus, the Academic, mentioned by Cicero in his philosophical works,
and also by [178]Strabo, was of Ascaloun, in Palestine; and he was surnamed
Cygnus, the Swan: which name, as it is so circumstanced, must, I think,
necessarily allude to this country.

As in early times colonies went by the name of the Deity whom they
worshipped, or by the name of the insigne and hieroglyphic under which
their country was denoted, every depredation made by such people was placed
to the account of the Deity under such a device. This was the manner in
which poets described things: and, in those days, all wrote in measure.
Hence, instead of saying that the Egyptians, or Canaanites, or Tyrians,
landed and carried off such and such persons; they said, that it was done
by Jupiter, in the shape of an eagle, or a swan, or a bull: substituting an
eagle for Egypt, a swan for Canaan, and a bull for the city of [179]Tyre.
It is said of the Telchines, who were Amonian priests, that they came to
Attica under the conduct of Jupiter in the shape of an eagle.

  [180][Greek: Aietos hegemoneue di aitheros antitupos Zeus.]

By which is meant, that they were Egyptian priests; and an eagle was
probably the device in their standard, as well as the insigne of their
nation.

Some of the same family were to be found among the Atlantes of Mauritania,
and are represented as having the shape of swans. Prometheus, in AEschylus,
speaks of them in the commission which he gives to Io: [181]_You must go_,
says he, _as far as the city Cisthene in the Gorgonian plains, where the
three Phorcides reside; those antient, venerable ladies, who are in the
shape of swans, and have but one eye, of which they make use in common._
This history relates to an Amonian temple founded in the extreme parts of
Africa; in which there were three priestesses of Canaanitish race; who, on
that account, are said to be in the shape of swans. The notion of their
having but one eye among them took its rise from an hieroglyphic very
common in Egypt, and probably in Canaan: this was the representation of an
eye, which was said to be engraved upon the pediment of their [182]temples.
As the land of Canaan lay so opportunely for traffic, and the emigrants
from most parts went under their conduct, their history was well known.
They navigated the seas very early, and were necessarily acquainted with
foreign regions; to which they must at one time have betaken themselves in
great numbers, when they fled before the sons of Israel. In all the places
where they settled they were famous for their hymns and music; all which
the Greeks have transferred to birds, and supposed that they were swans who
were gifted with this harmony. Yet, sweet as their notes are said to have
been, there is not, I believe, a person upon record who was ever a witness
to it. It is, certainly, all a fable. When, therefore, Plutarch tells us
that Apollo was pleased with the music of swans, [183][Greek: mousikei te
hedetai, kai kuknon phonais]; and when AEschylus mentions their singing
their own dirges; they certainly allude to Egyptian and Canaanitish
priests, who lamented the death of Adon and Osiris. And this could not be
entirely a secret to the Grecians, for they seem often to refer to some
such notion. Socrates termed swans his fellow-servants: in doing which he
alluded to the antient priests, styled Cycni. They were people of the
choir, and officiated in the temples of the same Deities; whose servant he
professed himself to be. Hence Porphyry assures us, [184][Greek: Hou paizon
homodoulous autou elegen tous kuknous (Sokrates)], _that Socrates was very
serious when he mentioned swans as his fellow-servants._ When, therefore,
Aristophanes speaks of the [185]Delian and Pythian swans, they are the
priests of those places, to whom he alludes. And when it is said by Plato,
that the soul of Orpheus, out of disgust to womankind, led the life of a
[186]swan, the meaning certainly is, that he retired from the world to some
cloister, and lived a life of celibacy, like a priest. For the priests of
many countries, but particularly of Egypt, were recluses, and devoted
themselves to [187]celibacy: hence monkery came originally from Egypt.
Lycophron, who was of Egypt, and skilled in antient terms, styles Calchas,
who was the priest of Apollo, a swan. [188][Greek: Molossou kupeos koitou
kuknon.] These epithets, the Scholiast tells us, belong to Apollo; and
Calchas is called a swan, [Greek: dia to geraion, kai mantikon]: _because
he was an old prophet and priest_. Hence, at the first institution of the
rites of Apollo, which is termed the birth of the Deity, at Delos, it is
said that many swans came from the coast of Asia, and went round the island
for the space of seven days.

              [189][Greek: Kuknoi de theou melpontes aoidoi]
  [Greek: Meonion Paktolon ekuklosanto lipontes]
  [Greek: Hebdomakis peri Delon; epeeisan de locheiei]
  [Greek: Mousaon ornithes, aoidotatoi peteenon.]

The whole of this relates to a choir of priests, who came over to settle at
Delos, and to serve in the newly erected temple. They circled the island
seven times; because seven, of old, was looked upon as a mysterious and
sacred number.

  [190][Greek: Hebdome ein agathois, kai hebdome esti genethle.]
  [Greek: Hebdome en protoisi, kai hebdome esti teleie.]
  [Greek: Hebdomatei de hoi tetelesmena panta tetuktai.]
  [Greek: Hepta de panta tetuktai en ouranoi asteroenti.]

The birds in the island of Diomedes, which were said to have been
originally companions of that hero, were undoubtedly priests, and of the
same race as those of whom I have been treating. They are represented as
gentle to good men, and averse to those who are bad. Ovid describes their
shape and appearance: [191]Ut non cygnorum, sic albis proxima cygnis;
which, after what has been said, may, I think, be easily understood.

If then the harmony of swans, when spoken of, not only related to something
quite foreign, but in reality did not of itself exist, it may appear
wonderful that the antients should so universally give into the notion. For
not only the poets, but [192]Plato, Plutarch, Cicero, Pliny, with many
others of high rank, speak of it as a circumstance well known. But it is to
be observed, that none of them speak from their own experience: nor are
they by any means consistent in what they say. Some mention this singing as
a general faculty; which was exerted at all times: others limit it to
particular seasons, and to particular places. Aristotle seems to confine it
to the seas of [193]Africa: [194]Aldrovandus says, that it may be heard
upon the Thames near London. The account given by Aristotle is very
remarkable. He says, that mariners, whose course lay through the Libyan
sea, have often met with swans, and heard them singing in a melancholy
strain: and upon a nearer approach, they could perceive that some of them
were dying, from whom the harmony proceeded. Who would have expected to
have found swans swimming in the salt sea, in the midst of the
Mediterranean? There is nothing that a Grecian would not devise in support
of a favourite error. The legend from beginning to end is groundless: and
though most speak of the music of swans as exquisite; yet some absolutely
deny [195]the whole of it; and others are more moderate in their
commendations. The watermen in Lucian give the preference to a jackdaw: but
Antipater in some degree dissents, and thinks that the swan has the
advantage.

  [196][Greek: Loiteros kuknon mikros throos, ee koloion]
  [Greek: Krogmos.]

And Lucretius confesses, that the screaming of a crane is not quite so
pleasing:

  [197]Parvus ut est, Cygni melior canor, ille gruum quam
  Clamor:

Which however is paying them no great compliment. To these respectable
personages I must add the evidence of a modern; one too of no small repute,
even the great Scaliger. He says, that he made a strict scrutiny about this
affair, when in Italy; and the result of his observations was this:
[198]Ferrariae multos (cygnos) vidimus, sed cantores sane malos, neque
melius ansere canere.

       *       *       *       *       *


OF

TEMPLE SCIENCE.

The Egyptians were very famous for geometrical knowledge: and as all the
flat part of their country was annually overflowed, it is reasonable to
suppose that they made use of this science to determine their lands, and to
make out their several claims, at the retreat of the waters. Many indeed
have thought, that the confusion of property, which must for a while have
prevailed, gave birth to practical [199]geometry, in order to remedy the
evil: and in consequence of it, that charts and maps were first delineated
in this country. These, we may imagine, did not relate only to private
demesnes: but included also the course of the Nile in its various branches;
and all the sea coast, and its inlets, with which lower Egypt was bounded.

It is very certain, that the people of Colchis, who were a colony from
Egypt, had charts of this sort, with written descriptions of the seas and
shores, whithersoever they traded: and they at one time carried on a most
extensive commerce. We are told, says the [200]Scholiast upon Apollonius,
that the Colchians still retain the laws and customs of their forefathers:
and they have pillars of stone, upon which are engraved maps of the
continent, and of the ocean: [Greek: Eisi de, phesi, kai nomoi par' autois
ton Progonon, kai Stelai, en hais ges kai thalasses anagraphai eisi.] The
poet, upon whom the above writer has commented, calls these pillars,
[Greek: kurbeis]: which, we are told, were of a square figure, like
obelisks: and on these, he says, were delineated all the passages of the
sea; and the boundaries of every country upon the earth.

  [201][Greek: Hoi de toi graptas pateron hethen eiruontai]
  [Greek: Kurbeas, hois eni pasai hodoi, kai peirat' easin]
  [Greek: Hugres te, trapheres te, perix epineissomenoisin.]

These delineations had been made of old, and transmitted to the Colchians
by their forefathers; which forefathers were from [202]Egypt.

If then the Colchians had this science, we may presume that their mother
country possessed it in as eminent a degree: and we are assured, that they
were very knowing in this article. Clemens Alexandrinus [203]mentions, that
there were maps of Egypt, and charts of the Nile very early. And we are
moreover told, that Sesostris (by which is meant the Sethosians) drew upon
boards schemes of all the countries, which he had traversed: and copies of
these were given both to [204]the Egyptians, and to the Scythians, who held
them in high estimation. This is a curious account of the first delineation
of countries, and origin of maps; which were first described upon
[205]pillars. We may from hence be enabled to solve the enigma concerning
Atlas, who is said to have supported the heavens upon his shoulders. This
took its rise from some verses in Homer, which have been strangely
misconstrued. The passage is in the Odyssey; where the poet is speaking of
Calypso, who is said to be the daughter of Atlas, [Greek: oloophronos], a
person of deep and recondite knowledge:

  [206][Greek: Atlantos thugater oloophronos, hoste thalasses]
  [Greek: Pases benthea oiden, echei de te KIONAS autos]
  [Greek: Makras, hai Gaian te kai Ouranon amphis echousin.]

It is to be observed, that when the antients speak of the feats of
Hercules, we are to understand the Herculeans; under the name of Cadmus is
meant the Cadmians; under that of Atlas, the Atlantians. With this
allowance how plain are the words of Homer! The [207]Atlantians settled in
Phrygia and Mauritania; and, like the Colchians, were of the family of Ham.
They had great experience in sea affairs: and the poet tells us, that they
knew all the soundings in the great deep.

                  [Greek: Echei de te Kionas autos]
  [Greek: Makras, hai Gaien te kai Ouranon amphis echousin.]

_They had also long pillars, or obelisks, which referred to the sea; and
upon which was delineated the whole system both of heaven and earth_;
[Greek: amphis], _all around, both on the front of the obelisk, and on the
other sides_. [Greek: Kiones Kosmou] were certainly maps, and histories of
the universe; in the knowledge of which the Atlantians seem to have
instructed their brethren the Herculeans. The Grecians, in their accounts,
by putting one person for a people, have rendered the history obscure;
which otherwise would be very intelligible. There is a passage in Eusebius,
which may be rendered very plain, and to the purpose, if we make use of the
clue above-mentioned. [208][Greek: Herodotos de legei ton Eraklea mantin
kai phusikon genomenon para Atlantos tou Barbarou tou Phrugos diadechesthai
tas tou Kosmou Kionas.] This may be paraphrased in the following manner;
and with such latitude will be found perfectly consonant to the truth. _The
Herculeans were a people much given to divination, and to the study of
nature. Great part of their knowledge they are thought to have had
transmitted to them from those Atlantians, who settled in Phrygia,
especially the history of the earth and heavens; for all such knowledge the
Atlantians had of old consigned to pillars and obelisks in that country:
and from them it was derived to the Herculeans, or Heraclidae, of Greece._
The Atlantians were esteemed by the Grecians as barbarous: but they were in
reality of the same family. Their chief ancestor was the father of the
Peleiadae, or Ionim; of whom I shall hereafter have much to say: and was the
supposed brother of Saturn. The Hellenes, though they did not always allow
it, were undoubtedly of his race. This may be proved from Diodorus Siculus,
who gives this curious history of the Peleiadae, his offspring. [209][Greek:
Tautas de migeisas tois euphuestatois Herosi kai Theois archegous
katastenai tou pleistou genous ton anthropon, tekousas tous di' areten
Theous kai Heroas onomasthentas.--Parapleseos de kai tas allas Atlantidas
gennesai paidas epiphaneis, hon tous men ethnon, tous de poleon genesthai
ktistas; dioper ou monon par' eniois ton Barbaron, alla kai para tois
Hellesi tous pleistous ton archaiotaton Heroon eis tautas anapherein to
genos.] _These daughters of Atlas, by their connections and marriages with
the most illustrious heroes, and divinities, may be looked up to as the
heads of most families upon earth. And from them proceeded all those, who
upon account of their eminence were in aftertimes esteemed Gods and
Heroes_. And having spoken of Maia, and her offspring, the author proceeds
to tell us, that _the other Atlantides in like manner gave birth to a most
noble race: some of whom were the founders of nations; and others the
builders of cities: insomuch that most of the more antient heroes, not only
of those abroad, who were esteemed Barbari, but even of the Helladians,
claimed their ancestry from them_. And they received not only their
ancestry, but their knowledge also, [Greek: tou kosmou kionas]; all the
celestial and terrestrial phenomena, which had been entrusted to the sacred
pillars of the Atlantes, [Greek: hai gaien te kai ouranon amphis echousin],
which contained descriptions both of the heavens, and the earth. From
Phrygia they came at last to Hellas, where they were introduced by
Anaximander, who is said, [210][Greek: Esdounai proton geographikon
pinaka], _to have been the first who introduced a geographical chart_: or,
as Laertius expresses it, [211][Greek: Ges kai Thalattes perimetron], _the
circumference of the terraqueous globe delineated_.

Though the origin of maps may be deduced from Egypt, yet they were not the
native Egyptians, by whom they were first constructed. Delineations of this
nature were the contrivance of the Cuthites, or Shepherds. They were, among
other titles, styled Saitae; and from them both astronomy and geometry were
introduced in those parts. They, with immense labour, drained the lower
provinces; erected stupendous buildings; and raised towers at the mouths of
the river, which were opportunely situated for navigation. For, though the
Mizraim were not addicted to commerce, yet it was followed by other
families besides the Cuthites, who occupied the lower provinces towards the
sea. The towers which were there raised served for lighthouses, and were,
at the same time, temples, denominated from some title of the Deity, such
as Canoph, Caneph, Cneph; also Perses, Proteus, Phanes, and Canobus. They
were on both accounts much resorted to by mariners, and enriched with
offerings. Here were deposited charts of the coast, and of the navigation
of the Nile, which were engraved on pillars, and in aftertimes sketched out
upon the Nilotic Papyrus. There is likewise reason to think that they were
sometimes delineated upon walls. This leads me to take notice of a passage
from Pherecydes Syrus, which seems to allude to something of this nature:
though, I believe, in his short detail that he has misrepresented the
author from whom he copied. He is said, by Theopompus, [212][Greek: proton
peri tes phuseos, kai Theon, Hellesi graphein], _to have been the first who
wrote for the benefit of his countrymen about nature and the Gods_. Suidas
[213]mentions, that he composed a theogony; all which knowledge, we are
assured, came from Egypt. It is certain that he studied in that[214]
country; whence we may conclude, that the following history is Egyptian. He
says, that Zas, or Jupiter, composed a large and curious robe, upon which
he described the earth, and the ocean, and the habitations upon the ocean.
[215][Greek: Zas poiei pharos mega te, kai kalon, kai en autoi poikillei
Gen, kai Ogenon, kai ta Ogenou domata.] Now, Zas, or, as it should be
rendered, Zan, was the Dorian title of Amon. And Ogenus, the Ocean, was the
most antient name of the Nile; whence the Grecians borrowed their Oceanus.
[216][Greek: Hoi gar Aiguptioi nomizousin okeanon einai ton par' autois
potamon Neilon.] _The Egyptians, by the term Oceanus, understand their own
river Nilus_. The same author, in another place, calls this river
Oceames[217]. [Greek: Ton de potamon archaiotaton men onoma schein Okeamen,
hos estin Hellenisti okeanos.] The former term, Ogenus, whence the Greeks
borrowed their Oceanus, was a compound of Oc-Gehon, and Avas originally
rendered Ogehonus. It signifies the noble Gehon, and is a name taken from
one of the rivers of Paradise. The Nile was sometimes called simply Gehon,
as we learn from the author of the Chronicon Paschale. [218][Greek: Echei
de (he Aiguptos) potamon Geon--Neilon kaloumenon.] It was probably a name
given by the Cuthites, from whom, as will be hereafter shewn, the river
Indus had the name of Phison. [219][Greek: Potamoi onomastoi Indos, ho kai
Pheison, Neilos, ho kai Geon.] _The two most celebrated rivers are the
Indus, the same as the Phison, and the Nile, which is called the Gehon._
The river, also, of Colchis, rendered Phasis, and Phasin, was, properly,
the Phison. The Nile, being of old styled Oc-Gehon, and having many
branches, or arms, gave rise to the fable of the sea monster AEgeon, whom
Ovid represents as supporting himself upon the whales of the ocean.

              [220]Balaenarumque prementem
  AEgaeona suis immania terga lacertis.

The Scholiast upon Lycophron informs us farther, that the river had three
names; and imagines that upon this account it was called Triton.
[221][Greek: Triton ho Neilos, hoti tris metonomasthe; proteron gar Okeanos
an ekaleito, deuteron Aetos;--to de Neilos neon esti.] I shall not at
present controvert his etymology. Let it suffice, that we are assured, both
by this author and by others, that the Nile was called Oceanus: and what is
alluded to by Pherecydes is certainly a large map or chart. The robe of
which he speaks was indeed a Pharos, [Greek: Pharos]; but a Pharus of a
different nature from that which he describes. It was a building, a temple,
which was not constructed by the Deity, but dedicated to him. It was one of
those towers of which I have before treated; in which were described upon
the walls, and otherwise delineated, [Greek: Ogenos kai Ogenou domata], the
course of the Gehon, or Nile; and the towns and houses upon that river.

I imagine that the shield of Achilles, in Homer, was copied from something
of this sort which the poet had seen in Egypt: for Homer is continually
alluding to the customs, as well as to the history, of that kingdom. And,
it is evident, that what he describes on the central part of the shield, is
a map of the earth, and of the celestial appearances.

  [222][Greek: En men Gaian eteux', en d' Ouranon, en de thalassan.]
  [Greek: En d' etithei POTAMOIO mega sthenos OKEANOIO.]

The antients loved to wrap up every thing in mystery and fable: they have
therefore described Hercules, also, with a robe of this sort:

  [223][Greek: Poikilon heima pheron, tupon Aitheros, eikona Kosmou:]

_He was invested with a robe, which was a type of the heavens, and a
representation of the whole world._

The garment of Thetis, which the poets mention as given her upon her
supposed marriage with Peleus, was a Pharos of the same kind as that
described above. We may learn, from Catullus, who copied the story, that
the whole alluded to an historical picture preserved in some tower; and
that it referred to matters of great antiquity, though applied by the
Greeks to later times, and ascribed to people of their own nation.

  [224]Pulvinar vero Divae geniale locatur
  Sedibus in mediis; Indo quod dente politum
  Tincta tegit roseo conchylis purpura fuco.
  Haec vestis priscis hominum variata figuris
  Heroum mira virtutes indicat arte.

It contained a description of some notable achievements in the first ages;
and a particular account of the Apotheosis of Ariadne, who is described,
whatever may be the meaning of it, as carried by Bacchus to heaven. The
story is said to have been painted on a robe, or coverlet; because it was
delineated upon a Pharos: that word being equivocal, and to be taken in
either sense. And here I cannot but take notice of the inconsistency of the
Greeks, who make Theseus a partaker in this history; and suppose him to
have been acquainted with Ariadne. If we may credit Plutarch[225], Theseus,
as soon as he was advanced towards manhood, went, by the advice of his
mother AEthra, from Troezen, in quest of his father AEgeus at Athens. This
was some years after the Argonautic expedition; when Medea had left Jason,
and put herself under the protection of this same AEgeus. After having been
acknowledged by his father, Theseus went upon his expedition to Crete;
where he is said to have first seen Ariadne, and to have carried her away.
All this, I say, was done after Jason had married Medea, and had children
by her; and after she had left him and was come to Athens. But the story of
Ariadne, in the above specimen, is mentioned as a fact of far older date.
It was prior to the arrival of Medea in Greece, and even to the Argonautic
expedition. It is spoken of as a circumstance of the highest antiquity:
consequently, [226]Theseus could not any ways be concerned in it.

There, is an account in Nonnus of a robe, or Pharos, which Harmonia is
supposed to have worn when she was visited by the Goddess of beauty. There
was delineated here, as in some above mentioned, the earth, and the
heavens, with all the stars. The sea, too, and the rivers, were
represented; and the whole was, at the bottom, surrounded by the ocean.

  [227][Greek: Proten Gaian epasse mesomphalon, amphi de gaiei]
  [Greek: Ouranon esphairose tupoi kecharagmenon astron.]
  [Greek: Sumpherten de thalassan ephermose suzugi Gaiei,]
  [Greek: Kai potamous poikillen; ep' andromeoi de metopoi]
  [Greek: Taurophues morphouto kerasphoros enchloos eikon.]
  [Greek: Kai pumaten para pezan eueklostoio chitonos]
  [Greek: Okeanos kuklose peridromon antuga Kosmou.]

All this relates to a painting, either at Sidon or Berytus; which was
delineated in a tower, or temple, sacred to Hermon.

Orpheus alludes to a Pharos of this sort, and to the paintings and
furniture of it, in his description of the robes with which Apollo, or
Dionusus, is invested. He speaks of them as the same Deity.

  [228][Greek: Tauta de panta telein hierai skeuei pukasanta,]
  [Greek: Soma theou plattein periaugous Eelioio.]
  [Greek: Prota men argupheais enalinkion aktinessi]
  [Greek: Peplon phoinikeon, puri eikelon, amphibalesthai.]
  [Greek: Autar huperthe nebroio panaiolou heuru kathapsai]
  [Greek: Derma polustikton theros kata dexion omon,]
  [Greek: Astron daidaleon mimem', hierou te poloio.]
  [Greek: Eita d' huperthe nebres chruseon zostera balesthai,]
  [Greek: Pamphanoonta, perix sternon phoreein, mega sema.]
  [Greek: Euthus, hot' ek peraton gaies Phaethon anorouson]
  [Greek: Chruseiais aktisi balei rhoon Okeanoio,]
  [Greek: Auge d' aspetos ei, ana de drosoi amphimigeisa,]
  [Greek: Marmairei dineisin helissomene kata kuklon]
  [Greek: Prosthe theou, zone d' ar' hupo sternon ametreton]
  [Greek: Phainet' ar' okeanou kuklos, mega thaum' esidesthai.]

When the poet has thus adorned the Deity, we find, towards the conclusion,
that these imaginary robes never shew to such advantage as in the morning.
_When the sun_, says he, _rises from the extremities of the earth, and
enlightens the ocean with his horizontal rays; then they appear in great
splendour, which is increased by the morning dew._ All this investiture of
the Deity relates to the earth and the heavens, which were delineated upon
a [229]skin, [Greek: derma polustikton theros], styled [Greek: peplon].
This is described, [Greek: Astron daidaleon mimem', hierou te poloio]: _as
a copy and imitation of all the celestial appearances_. The whole was
deposited in a Pharos upon the sea shore, upon which the sun, at his
rising, darted his early rays; and whose turrets glittered with the dew:
[Greek: Hupo sternon ametreton phainet' ar' okeanou kuklos]: from the upper
story of the tower, which was of an unmeasurable height, there was an
unlimited view of the ocean. This vast element surrounded the edifice like
a zone; and afforded a wonderful phaenomenon. Such, I imagine, is the
solution of the enigma.

       *       *       *       *       *


TAR, TOR, TARIT.

I have taken notice of the fears and apprehensions, under which the first
navigators must necessarily have been, when they traversed unknown seas;
and were liable to be entangled among the rocks, and shelves of the deep:
and I mentioned the expedients of which they made use to obviate such
difficulties, and to render the coast less dangerous. They built upon every
hill, and promontory, where they had either commerce or settlement,
obelisks, and towers, which they consecrated to some Deity. These served in
a twofold capacity, both as seamarks by day, and for beacons by night. And
as people in those times made only coasting voyages, they continually went
on shore with offerings, in order to gain the assistance of the God,
whoever there presided; for these towers were temples, and oftentimes
richly furnished and endowed. They were built sometimes on artificial
mounds; but generally on natural eminences, that they might be seen at a
great distance. They were called by the Amonians, who first erected them,
[230]Tar, and Tor; the same as the [Hebrew: TWR] of the Chaldees, which
signified both a hill and tower. They were oftentimes compounded, and
styled Tor-Is, or fire towers: on account of the light which they
exhibited, and the fires which were preserved in them. Hence came the
turris of the Romans; and the [Greek: turis, turrhis, tursis, tursos], of
the Greeks. The latter, when the word Tor occurred in antient history,
often changed it to [Greek: tauros], a bull; and invented a number of idle
stories in consequence of this change. The Ophite God Osiris, the same as
Apollo, was by the Amonians styled Oph-El, and Ope-El: and there was upon
the Sinus Persicus a city Opis, where his rites were observed. There seems
likewise to have been a temple sacred to him, named Tor-Opel; which the
Greeks rendered [Greek: Tauropolos]. Strabo speaks of such an oracular
temple; and says, that it was in the island Icaria, towards the mouth of
the Tigris: [231][Greek: Neson Ikarion, kai hieron Apollonos hagion en
autei, kai manteion Tauropolou.] Here, instead of Osiris, or Mithras, the
serpent Deity, the author presents us with Apollo, the manager of bulls.

One of the principal and most antient settlements of the Amonians upon the
ocean was at Gades; where a prince was supposed to have reigned, named
Geryon. The harbour at Gades was a very fine one; and had several Tor, or
Towers to direct shipping: and as it was usual to imagine the Deity, to
whom the temple was erected, to have been the builder, this temple was said
to have been built by Hercules. All this the Grecians took to themselves:
they attributed the whole to the hero of Thebes: and as he was supposed to
conquer wherever he came, they made him subdue Geryon; and changing the
Tor, or Towers, into so many head of cattle, they [232]describe him as
leading them off in triumph over the Pyranees and Alpes, to Hetruria, and
so on to Calabria. From thence, for what reason we know not, he swims them
over to Messana in Sicily: and after some stay he swims with them through
the sea back again, all the while holding by one of their horns. The bulls
of Colchis, with which Jason was supposed to have engaged, were probably of
the same nature and original. The people of this country were Amonians, and
had once a [233]mighty trade; for the security of which they erected at the
entrance of the Phasis towers. These served both as light-houses, and
temples; and were sacred to Adorus. They were on this account called
Tynador, whence the Greeks formed Tyndarus, Tyndaris, and Tyndaridae. They
were built after some, which stood near the city [234]Paraetonium of Egypt;
and they are alluded to by the geographer Dionysius:

  [235][Greek: Par de muchon Pontoio, meta chthona Tundaridaon,]
  [Greek: Kolchoi naietaousin epeludes Aiguptoio.]

Colchis was styled Cutaia, and had been early occupied by the sons of Chus.
The chief city, whence the country has been in general denominated, was
from its situation called Cal-Chus, and Col-Chus, the hill, or place of
Chus. This by the Greeks was rendered Colchis: but as travellers are not
uniform in expressing foreign terms, some have rendered what was Colchian,
Chalcian, and from Colchus they have formed [Greek: Chalkos], brass. The
Chalcian towers being moreover interpreted [Greek: tauroi], bulls, a story
took its rise about the brazen bulls of Colchis. Besides this, there was in
these towers a constant fire kept up for the direction of ships by night:
whence the bulls were said to breath fire.

We however sometimes meet with sacred towers, which were really denominated
Tauri from the worship of the mystic bull, the same as the Apis, and Mneuis
of Egypt. Such was probably the temple of Minotaurus in Crete, where the
[236]Deity was represented under an emblematical figure; which consisted of
the body of a man with the head of a bull. In Sicily was a promontory
Taurus, mentioned by Diodorus Siculus; which was called also Tauromenium.
He acquaints us, that Hanno the Carthaginian sent his Admiral with orders
[Greek: paraplein epi ton lophon kaloumenon Tauron], _to sail along the
coast to the promontory named Taurus_. This Taurus, he thinks, was
afterwards named [Greek: Tauromenion], Tauromenium, from the people who
settled, and [237]remained there: as if this were the only place in the
world where people settled and remained. It was an antient compound, and no
part of it of Grecian [238]original. Tauromenium is the same as Menotaurium
reversed: and the figure of the Deity was varied exactly in the same
manner; as is apparent from the coins and engravings which have been found
in Sicily. The Minotaur is figured as a man with the head of a bull; the
Tauromen as a bull with the face of a [239]man.

Among the [240]Hetrurians this term seems to have been taken in a more
enlarged sense; and to have signified a city, or town fortified. When they
settled in Italy, they founded many places of strength; and are reputed to
have been the first who introduced the art of fortification. [241][Greek:
Tursenoi proton epheuron ten teichopoiian]. Hence the word Tar, and Tur, is
often found in the composition of names, which relate to people of this
country. They worshipped the Sun, styled Zan, and Zeen; whose temples were
called Tur-Zeen: and in consequence of it one of the principal names by
which their country was distinguished, was Turzenia. The Scholiast upon
Lycophron mentions it as [242][Greek: Choran apo Tursenou kletheisan
Tursenian], _a region, which from Tur-Seen was named Tursenia_. The Poet
above takes notice of two persons by the names of Tarchon, and Turseen.
[243][Greek: Tarchon te, kai Tursenos, aithones lukoi.] From Tarchon there
was a city and district named [244]Tarcunia; from whence came the family of
the Tarquins, or Tarquinii, so well known in the history of [245]Rome. The
Amonians esteemed every emanation of light a fountain; and styled it Ain,
and Aines: and as they built lighthouses upon every island and insular
promontory, they were in consequence of it called Aines, Agnes, Inis,
Inesos, Nesos, Nees: and this will be found to obtain in many different
countries and languages. The Hetrurians occupied a large tract of
sea-coast; on which account they worshipped Poseidon: and one of their
principal cities was Poseidonium. They erected upon their shores towers and
beacons for the sake of their navigation, which they called Tor-ain: whence
they had a still farther denomination of Tur-aini, and their country was
named Tur-ainia; the [Greek: Turrhenia] of the later Greeks. All these
appellations are from the same object, the edifices which they erected:
even Hetruria seems to have been a compound of Ai-tur; and to have
signified the land of Towers. Another name for buildings of this nature was
Turit, or Tirit; which signified a tower or turret. I have often mentioned
that temples have been mistaken for Deities, and places for persons. We
have had an instance of this above; where Tarchon, and Tursenus are
supposed to have been founders of colonies. Torone was a place in
Macedonia; and signifies literally the Tower of the Sun. The Poets have
formed out of it a female personage; and supposed her to have been the wife
of [246]Proteus. So Amphi-Tirit is merely an oracular tower. This too has
by the Poets been changed to a female, Amphitrite; and made the wife of
Neptune. The name of Triton is a contraction of Tirit-On; and signifies the
tower of the Sun, like Torone: but a Deity was framed from it, who was
supposed to have had the appearance of a man upwards, but downwards to have
been like a fish. From this emblematical representation we may judge of the
figure of the real Deity; and be assured that it could be no other than
that of Atargatis and Dagon. The [247]Hetrurians were thought to have been
the inventors of trumpets: and in their towers upon the sea-coast there
were people appointed to be continually upon the watch both by day and
night; and to give a proper signal, if any thing happened extraordinary.
This was done by a blast from the trumpet; and Triton was hence feigned to
have been Neptune's trumpeter. He is accordingly described by Nonnus,

  [248][Greek: Tursenes Barudoupon echon salpinga thalasses;]

_as possessing the deep toned trumpet of the Hetrurian main_. However in
early times these brazen instruments were but little known: and people were
obliged to make use of what was near at hand, the conchs of the sea, which
every strand afforded. By sounding these, they gave signals from the top of
the towers when any ship appeared: and this is the implement with which
Triton is more commonly furnished. The antients divided the night into
different watches; the last of which was called cockcrow: and in
consequence of this they kept a cock in their Tirat, or Towers, to give
notice of the dawn. Hence this bird was sacred to the Sun, and named
Alector, [Greek: Alektor]: which seems to be a compound out of the titles
of that Deity, and of the tower set apart for his service: for all these
towers were temples. Those styled Tritonian were oracular; as we may infer
from the application made by the Argonauts. What Homer attributes to
Proteus, Pindar ascribes to Triton. [249][Greek: Manteuetai de hos par'
Omeroi Proteus, kai para Pindaroi Triton tois Argonautais.] Pausanias
mentions a tradition of a [250]Triton near Tanagra, who used to molest
women, when they were bathing in the sea; and who was guilty of other acts
of violence. He was at last found upon the beach overpowered with wine; and
there slain. This Triton was properly a Tritonian, a priest of one of these
temples: for the priests appear to have been great tyrants, and oftentimes
very brutal. This person had used the natives ill; who took advantage of
him, when overpowered with liquor, and put him to death.

The term Tor, in different parts of the world, occurs sometimes a little
varied. Whether this happened through mistake, or was introduced for
facility of utterance, is uncertain. The temple of the Sun, Tor Heres, in
Phenicia was rendered [Greek: Trieres], Trieres; the promontory Tor-Ope-On,
in Caria, Triopon; Tor-Hamath, in Cyprus, Trimathus; Tor-Hanes, in India,
Trinesia; Tor-Chom, or Chomus, in Palestine, Tricomis. In antient times the
title of Anac was often conferred upon the Deities; and their temples were
styled Tor-Anac, and Anac-Tor. The city Miletus was named [251]Anactoria:
and there was an Herouem at Sparta called [Greek: Anaktoron], Anactoron;
where Castor and Pollux had particular honours, who were peculiarly styled
Anactes. It was from Tor-Anac that Sicily was denominated Trinacis and
Trinacia. This, in process of time, was still farther changed to Trinacria;
which name was supposed to refer to the triangular form of the island. But
herein was a great mistake; for, the more antient name was Trinacia, as is
manifest from Homer:

  [252][Greek: Hoppote de proton pelaseis euergea nea]
  [Greek: Trinakiei nesoi.]

And the name, originally, did not relate to the island in general, but to a
part only, and that a small district near AEtna. This spot had been occupied
by the first inhabitants, the Cyclopians, Lestrygons, and Sicani: and it
had this name from some sacred tower which they built. Callimachus calls
it, mistakenly, Trinacria, but says that it was near AEtna, and a portion of
the antient Sicani.

                  [253][Greek: Aue d' ar' Aitna,]
  [Greek: Aue de Trinakrie Sikanon hedos.]

The island Rhodes was called [254]Trinacia, which was not triangular: so
that the name had certainly suffered a variation, and had no relation to
any figure. The city Trachin, [Greek: Trachin], in Greece, was properly
Tor-chun, turris sacra vel regia, like Tarchon in Hetruria. Chun and Chon
were titles, said peculiarly to belong to Hercules: [255][Greek: Ton
Heraklen phesi kata ton Aiguption dialekton Kona legesthai.] We accordingly
find that this place was sacred to Hercules; that it was supposed to have
been [256]founded by him; and that it was called [257]Heraclea.

I imagine that the trident of Poseidon was a mistaken implement; as it does
not appear to have any relation to the Deity to whom it has been by the
Poets appropriated. Both the towers on the sea-coast, and the beacons,
which stood above them, had the name of Tor-ain. This the Grecians changed
to Triaina, [Greek: Triaina], and supposed it to have been a three-pronged
fork. The beacon, or Torain, consisted of an iron or brazen frame, wherein
were three or four tines, which stood up upon a circular basis of the same
metal. They were bound with a hoop; and had either the figures of Dolphins,
or else foliage in the intervals between them. These filled up the vacant
space between the tines, and made them capable of holding the combustible
matter with which they were at night filled. This instrument was put upon a
high pole, and hung sloping sea-ward over the battlements of the tower, or
from the stern of a ship: with this they could maintain, either a smoke by
day, or a blaze by night. There was a place in Argos named [258]Triaina,
which was supposed to have been so called from the trident of Neptune. It
was undoubtedly a tower, and the true name Tor-ain; as may be shewn from
the history with which it is attended. For it stood near a fountain, though
a fountain of a different nature from that of which we have been speaking.
The waters of Amumone rose here: which Amumone is a variation from Amim-On,
_the waters of the Sun_. The stream rose close to the place, which was
named Tor-ain, from its vicinity to the fountain.

[Illustration: A _The ancient Tower at Torone_
B _Tower of Cronus in Sicily_]

[Illustration: _Ancient Triainae_]

Cerberus was the name of a place, as well as Triton and Torone, though
esteemed the dog of hell. We are told by [259]Eusebius, from Plutarch, that
Cerberus was the Sun: but the term properly signified the temple, or place,
of the Sun. The great luminary was styled by the Amonians both Or and Abor;
that is, _light_, and _the parent of light:_ and Cerberus is properly
Kir-Abor, the place of that Deity. The same temple had different names,
from the diversity of the God's titles who was there worshipped. It was
called TorCaph-El; which was changed to [Greek: trikephalos], just as
Cahen-Caph-El was rendered [Greek: kunokephalos]: and Cerberus was hence
supposed to have had three heads. It was also styled Tor-Keren, Turris
Regia; which suffered a like change with the word above, being expressed
[Greek: trikarenos]: and Cahen Ades, or Cerberus, was hence supposed to
have been a triple-headed monster. That these idle figments took their rise
from names of places, ill expressed and misinterpreted, may be proved from
Palaephatus. He abundantly shews that the mistake arose hence, though he
does not point out precisely the mode of deviation. He first speaks of
Geryon, who was supposed to have had three heads, and was thence styled
[Greek: trikephalos.] [260][Greek: En de toionde touto; polis estin en toi
Euxinoi pontoi Trikarenia kaloumene kl.] _The purport of the fable about
Geryones is this: There was, upon the Pontus Euxinus, a city named
Tricarenia; and thence came the history_ [Greek: Geruonou tou Trikarenou],
_of Geryon the Tricarenian; which was interpreted, a man with three heads._
He mentions the same thing of Cerberus. [261][Greek: Legousi peri Kerberou,
hos kuon en, echon treis kephalas; delon de hoti kai houtos apo tes poleos
eklethe Trikarenos, hosper ho Geruones.] _They say of Cerberus, that he was
a dog with three heads: but it is plain that he was so called from a city
named Tricaren, or Tricarenia, as well as Geryones_. Palaephatus says, very
truly, that the strange notion arose from a place. But, to state more
precisely the grounds of the mistake, we must observe, that from the
antient Tor-Caph-El arose the blunder about [Greek: trikephalos]; as, from
Tor-Keren, rendered Tricarenia, was formed the term [Greek: trikarenos]:
and these personages, in consequence of it, were described with three
heads.

As I often quote from Palaephatus, it may be proper to say something
concerning him. He wrote early: and seems to have been a serious and
sensible person; one, who saw the absurdity of the fables, upon which the
theology of his country was founded. In the purport of his name is
signified an antiquarian; a person, who dealt in remote researches: and
there is no impossibility, but that there might have casually arisen this
correspondence between his name and writings. But, I think, it is hardly
probable. As he wrote against the mythology of his country, I should
imagine that [Greek: Palaiphatos], Palaephatus, was an assumed name, which
he took for a blind, in order to screen himself from persecution: for the
nature of his writings made him liable to much ill will. One little
treatise of [262]Palaephatus about Orion is quoted verbatim by the Scholiast
upon [263]Homer, who speaks of it as a quotation from Euphorion. I should
therefore think, that Euphorion was the name of this writer: but as there
were many learned men so called, it may be difficult to determine which was
the author of this treatise.

Homer, who has constructed the noblest poem that was ever framed, from the
strangest materials, abounds with allegory and mysterious description. He
often introduces ideal personages, his notions of which he borrowed from
the edifices, hills, and fountains; and from whatever savoured of wonder
and antiquity. He seems sometimes to blend together two different
characters of the same thing, a borrowed one, and a real; so as to make the
true history, if there should be any truth at bottom, the more
extraordinary and entertaining.

I cannot help thinking, that Otus and Ephialtes, those gigantic youths, so
celebrated by the Poets, were two lofty towers. They were building to
Alohim, called [264]Aloeus; but were probably overthrown by an earthquake.
They are spoken of by Pindar as the sons of Iphimedeia; and are supposed to
have been slain by Apollo in the island Naxos.

                  [265][Greek: En de Naxoi]
  [Greek: Phanti thanein liparai Iphimedeias paidas]
  [Greek: Oton, kai se, tolmaeis Ephialta anax.]

They are also mentioned by Homer, who styles them [Greek: gegeneis], or
earthborn: and his description is equally fine.

  [266][Greek: Kai rh' eteken duo paide, minunthadio de genesthen,]
  [Greek: Oton t' antitheon, telekleiton t' Ephialten;]
  [Greek: Hous de mekistous threpse zeidoros aroura,]
  [Greek: Kai polu kallistous meta ge kluton Oriona.]
  [Greek: Enneoroi gar toi ge, kai enneapechees esan]
  [Greek: Euros, atar mekos ge genesthen enneorguioi.]

Homer includes Orion in this description, whom he mentions elsewhere; and
seems to borrow his ideas from a similar object, some tower, or temple,
that was sacred to him. Orion was Nimrod, the great hunter in the
Scriptures, called by the Greeks Nebrod. He was the founder of Babel, or
Babylon; and is represented as a gigantic personage. The author of the
Paschal Chronicle speaks of him in this light. [267][Greek: Nebrod Giganta,
ton ten Babulonian ktisanta--hontina kalousin Oriona.] He is called Alorus
by Abydenus, and Apollodorus; which was often rendered with the Amonian
prefix Pelorus. Homer describes him as a great hunter; and of an enormous
stature, even superior to the Aloeidae above mentioned.

  [268][Greek: Ton de met' Oriona Pelorion eisenoesa,]
  [Greek: Theras homou eileunta kat' asphodelon leimona.]

The Poet styles him Pelorian; which betokens something vast, and is
applicable to any towering personage, but particularly to Orion. For the
term Pelorus is the name by which the towers of Orion were called. Of these
there seems to have been one in Delos; and another of more note, to which
Homer probably alluded, in Sicily; where Orion was particularly reverenced.
The streight of Rhegium was a dangerous pass: and this edifice was erected
for the security of those who were obliged to go through it. It stood near
Zancle; and was called [269]Pelorus, because it was sacred to Alorus, the
same as [270]Orion. There was likewise a river named from him, and rendered
by Lycophron [271]Elorus. The tower is mentioned by Strabo; but more
particularly by Diodorus Siculus. He informs us that, according to the
tradition of the place, Orion there resided; and that, among other works,
he raised this very mound and promontory, called Pelorus and Pelorias,
together with the temple, which was situated upon it. [272][Greek: Oriona
proschosai to kata ten Peloriada keimenon akroterion, kai to temenos tou
Poseidonos kataskeuasai, timomenon hupo ton enchorion diapherontos.] We
find from hence that there was a tower of this sort, which belonged to
Orion: and that the word Pelorion was a term borrowed from these edifices,
and made use of metaphorically, to denote any thing stupendous and large.
The description in Homer is of a mixed nature: wherein he retains the
antient tradition of a gigantic person; but borrows his ideas from the
towers sacred to him. I have taken notice before, that all temples of old
were supposed to be oracular; and by the Amonians were called Pator and
Patara. This temple of Orion was undoubtedly a Pator; to which mariners
resorted to know the event of their voyage, and to make their offerings to
the God. It was on this account styled Tor Pator; which being by the Greeks
expressed [Greek: tripator], tripator, gave rise to the notion, that this
earthborn giant had three fathers.

  [273][Greek: Orion tripator apo meteros anthore gaies.]

These towers, near the sea, were made use of to form a judgment of the
weather, and to observe the heavens: and those which belonged to cities
were generally in the Acropolis, or higher part of the place. This, by the
Amonians, was named Bosrah; and the citadel of Carthage, as well as of
other cities, is known to have been so denominated. But the Greeks, by an
unavoidable fatality, rendered it uniformly [274][Greek: bursa], bursa, a
skin: and when some of them succeeded to Zancle [275]in Sicily, finding
that Orion had some reference to Ouran, or Ouranus, and from the name of
the temple ([Greek: tripator]) judging that he must have had three fathers,
they immediately went to work, in order to reconcile these different ideas.
They accordingly changed Ouran to [Greek: ourein]; and, thinking the
misconstrued hide, [Greek: bursa], no improper utensil for their purpose,
they made these three fathers co-operate in a most wonderful manner for the
production of this imaginary person; inventing the most slovenly legend
that ever was devised. [276][Greek: Treis (theoi) tou sphagentos boos
bursei enouresan, kai ex autes Orion egeneto.] Tres Dei in bovis mactati
pelle minxerunt, et inde natus est Orion.

       *       *       *       *       *


TIT AND TITH.

When towers were situated upon eminences fashioned very round, they were by
the Amonians called Tith; which answers to [Hebrew: TD] in Hebrew, and to
[277][Greek: titthe], and [Greek: titthos], in Greek. They were so
denominated from their resemblance to a woman's breast; and were
particularly sacred to Orus and Osiris, the Deities of light, who by the
Grecians were represented under the title of Apollo. Hence the summit of
Parnassus was [278]named Tithorea, from Tith-Or: and hard by was a city,
mentioned by Pausanias, of the same name; which was alike sacred to Orus
and Apollo. The same author takes notice of a hill, near Epidaurus, called
[279][Greek: Tittheion oros Apollonos.] There was a summit of the like
nature at Samos, which, is by Callimachus styled _the breast of Parthenia_:
[280][Greek: Diabrochon hudati maston Parthenies.] Mounds of this nature
are often, by Pausanias and Strabo, termed, from their resemblance,
[281][Greek: mastoeideis]. Tithonus, whose longevity is so much celebrated,
was nothing more than one of these structures, a Pharos, sacred to the sun,
as the name plainly shews. Tith-On is [Greek: mastos heliou], _the mount of
the [282]Sun_. As he supplied the place of that luminary, he is said to
have been beloved by Aurora, and through her favour to have lived many
ages. This, indeed, is the reverse of that which is fabled of the
[283]Cyclopes, whose history equally relates to edifices. They are said to
have raised the jealousy of Apollo, and to have been slain by his arrows:
yet it will be found at bottom of the same purport. The Cyclopian turrets
upon the Sicilian shore fronted due east: and their lights must necessarily
have been extinguished by the rays of the rising Sun. This, I imagine, is
the meaning of Apollo's slaying the Cyclopes with his arrows. Tethys, the
antient Goddess of the sea, was nothing else but an old tower upon a mount;
of the same shape, and erected for the same purposes, as those above. On
this account it was called Tith-Is, [Greek: mastos puros.] Thetis seems to
have been a transposition of the same name, and was probably a Pharos, or
Fire-tower, near the sea.

These mounts, [Greek: lophoi mastoeideis], were not only in Greece; but in
Egypt, Syria, and most parts of the world. They were generally formed by
art; being composed of earth, raised very high; which was sloped gradually,
and with great exactness: and the top of all was crowned with a fair tower.
The situation of these buildings made them be looked upon as places of
great safety: and the reverence in which they were held added to the
security. On these accounts they were the repositories of much wealth and
treasure: in times of peril they were crowded with things of value. In
Assyria was a temple named Azara; which the Parthian plundered, and is said
to have carried off ten thousand talents: [284][Greek: Chai ere palanton
murion gazan.] The same author mentions two towers of this sort in Judea,
not far from Jericho, belonging to Aristobulus and Alexander, and styled
[285][Greek: Gazophulakia ton Turannon]: which were taken by Pompeius
Magnus in his war with the Jews. There were often two of these mounds of
equal height in the same inclosure; such as are described by Josephus at
Machaerus, near some warm fountains. He mentions here a cavern and a rock;
[286][Greek: spelaion--tei petrai prouchousei skepomenon; tautes anothen
hosanei mastoi duo anechousin, allelon oligoi diestotes]: _and above it two
round hills like breasts, at no great distance from each other_. To such as
these Solomon alludes, when he makes his beloved say, [287]_I am a wall,
and my breasts like towers_. Though the word [Hebrew: CHWMH], Chumah, or
Comah, be generally rendered a wall; yet I should think that in this place
it signified the ground which the wall surrounded: an inclosure sacred to
Cham, the Sun, who was particularly worshipped in such places. The Mizraim
called these hills Typhon, and the cities where they were erected,
Typhonian. But as they stood within inclosures sacred to Chom, they were
also styled Choma. This, I imagine, was the meaning of the term in this
place, and in some others; where the text alludes to a different nation,
and to a foreign mode of worship. In these temples the Sun was principally
adored, and the rites of fire celebrated: and this seems to have been the
reason why the judgment denounced against them is uniformly, that they
shall be destroyed by fire. If we suppose Comah to mean a mere wall, I do
not see why fire should be so particularly destined against a part, which
is the least combustible. The Deity says, [288]_I will kindle a fire in the
wall of Damascus. [289]I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza. [290]I will
send a fire on the wall of Tyrus. [291]I will kindle a [292]fire in the
wall of Rabbah_. As the crime which brought down this curse was idolatry,
and the term used in all these instances is Chomah; I should think that it
related to a temple of Chom, and his high places, called by the Greeks
[Greek: lophoi mastoeideis]: and to these the spouse of Solomon certainly
alludes, when she Says, [Greek: ego teichos, kai hoi mastoi mou hos
purgoi]. This will appear from another passage in Solomon, where he makes
his beloved say, [293]_We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts. If
she be a Comah, we will build upon her a palace of silver._ A palace cannot
be supposed to be built upon a wall; though it may be inclosed with one.
The place for building was a Comah, or eminence. It is said of Jotham, king
of Judah, that [294]_on the wall of Ophel he built much_. Ophel is
literally Pytho Sol, the Ophite Deity of Egypt and Canaan. What is here
termed a wall, was a Comah, or high place, which had been of old erected to
the sun by the Jebusites. This Jotham fortified, and turned it to
advantage; whereas before it was not used, or used for a bad purpose. The
ground set apart for such use was generally oval; and towards one extremity
of the long diameter, as it were in the focus, were these mounds and towers
erected. As they were generally royal edifices, and at the same time held
sacred; they were termed Tarchon, like Tarchonium in Hetruria: which by a
corruption was in later times rendered Trachon, [Greek: Trachon]. There
were two hills of this denomination near Damascus; from whence undoubtedly
the Regio Trachonitis received its name: [295][Greek: huperkeintai de autes
(Damaskou) duo legomenoi Trachones.] These were hills with towers, and must
have been very fair to see to. Solomon takes notice of a hill of this sort
upon [296]_Lebanon, looking toward Damascus_; which he speaks of as a
beautiful structure. The term Trachon seems to have been still farther
sophisticated by the Greeks, and expressed [Greek: Drakon], Dracon: from
whence in, great measure arose the notion of treasures being guarded by
[297]Dragons. We read of the gardens of the Hesperides being under the
protection of a sleepless serpent: and the golden fleece at Colchis was
entrusted to such another guardian; of which there is a fine description in
Apollonius.

  [298][Greek: Purgous eisopsesthe Kutaeos Aietao,]
  [Greek: Alsos te skioen Areos, tothi koas ep' akres]
  [Greek: Peptamenon phegoio Drakon, teras ainon idesthai,]
  [Greek: Amphis opipteuei dedokemenos; oude hoi emar,]
  [Greek: Ou knephas hedumos hupnos anaidea damnatai osse.]

Nonnus often introduces a dragon as a protector of virginity; watching
while the damsel slumbered, but sleepless itself: [299][Greek: Hupnalees
agrupnon opipteutera koreies]: and in another place he mentions
[300][Greek: Phrouron echeis apelethron Ophin]. Such an one guarded the
nymph Chalcomeda, [301][Greek: Parthenikes agamoio boethoos.] The Goddess
Proserpine had two [302]dragons to protect her, by the appointment of her
mother Demeter.

Such are the poetical representations: but the history at bottom relates to
sacred towers, dedicated to the symbolical worship of the serpent; where
there was a perpetual watch, and a light ever burning. The Titans, [Greek:
Titanes], were properly Titanians; a people so denominated from their
worship, and from the places where it was celebrated. They are, like Orion
and the Cyclopians, represented as gigantic persons: and they were of the
same race, the children of Anak. The Titanian temples were stately
edifices, erected in Chaldea, as well as in lower Egypt, upon mounds of
earth, [Greek: lophoi mastoeideis], and sacred to Hanes; [Greek: Titanis]
and [Greek: Titanes] are compounds of Tit-Hanes; and signify literally
[Greek: mastos heliou], the conical hill of Orus. They were by their
situation strong, and probably made otherwise defensible.

In respect to the legends about dragons, I am persuaded that the antients
sometimes did wilfully misrepresent things, in order to increase the
wonder. Iphicrates related, that in Mauritania there were dragons of such
extent, that grass grew upon their backs: [303][Greek: Drakontas te legei
megalous, hoste kai poan epipephukenai.] What can be meant under this
representation but a Dracontium, within whose precincts they encouraged
verdure? It is said of Taxiles, a mighty prince in India, and a rival of
Porus, that, upon the arrival of Alexander the Great, he shewed him every
thing that was in his country curious, and which could win the attention of
a foreigner. Among other things he carried him to see a [304]Dragon, which
was sacred to Dionusus; and itself esteemed a God. It was of a stupendous
size, being in extent equal to five acres; and resided in a low deep place,
walled round to a great height. The Indians offered sacrifices to it: and
it was daily fed by them from their flocks and herds, which it devoured at
an amazing rate. In short my author says, that it was treated rather as a
tyrant, than a benevolent Deity. Two Dragons of the like nature are
mentioned by [305]Strabo; which are said to have resided in the mountains
of Abisares, or Abiosares, in India: the one was eighty cubits in length,
the other one hundred and forty. Similar to the above is the account given
by Posidonius of a serpent, which he saw in the plains of _Macra_, a region
in Syria; and which he styles [306][Greek: drakonta peptokota nekron]. He
says, that it was about an acre in length; and of a thickness so
remarkable, as that two persons on horseback, when they rode on the
opposite sides, could not see one another. Each scale was as big as a,
shield; and a man might ride in at its mouth. What can this description
allude to, this [Greek: drakon peptokos], but the ruins of an antient
Ophite temple; which is represented in this enigmatical manner to raise
admiration? The plains of Macra were not far from Mount Lebanon and Hermon;
where the Hivites resided; and where serpent-worship particularly
prevailed. The Indian Dragon above mentioned seems to have been of the same
nature. It was probably a temple, and its environs; where a society of
priests resided, who were maintained by the public; and who worshipped the
Deity under the semblance of a serpent. Tityus must be ranked among the
monsters of this class. He is by the Poets represented as a stupendous
being, an earthborn giant:

          [307]Terrae omniparentis alumnum,
  ---- per tota novem cui jugera corpus
  Porrigitur.

By which is meant, that he was a tower, erected upon a conical mount of
earth, which stood in an inclosure of nine acres. He is said to have a
vulture preying upon his heart, or liver; immortale jecur tondens. The
whole of which history is borrowed from Homer, who mentions two vultures
engaged in tormenting him.

  [308][Greek: Kai Tituon eidon Gaies erikudeos huion,]
  [Greek: Keimenon en dapedoi; hod' ep' ennea keito pelethra;]
  [Greek: Gupe de min hekaterthe paremenoi epar ekeiron,]
  [Greek: Dertron eso dunontes, hod' ouk apamuneto chersi.]

The same story is told of Prometheus, who is said to have been exposed upon
Mount Caucasus, near Colchis; with this variation, that an eagle is placed
over him, preying upon his heart. These strange histories are undoubtedly
taken from the symbols and devices which were carved upon the front of the
antient Amonian temples; and especially those of Egypt. The eagle and the
vulture were the insignia of that country: whence it was called Ai-Gupt,
and [309]Aetia, from Ait and Gupt, which signified an eagle and vulture.
Ait was properly a title of the Deity, and signified heat: and the heart,
the centre of vital heat, was among the Egyptians styled [310]Ait: hence we
are told by [311]Orus Apollo, that a heart over burning coals was an emblem
of Egypt. The Amonians dealt much in hieroglyphical representations. Nonnus
mentions one of this sort, which seems to have been a curious emblem of the
Sun. It was engraved upon a jasper, and worn for a bracelet. Two serpents
entwined together, with their heads different ways, were depicted in a
semicircular manner round the extreme part of the gem. At the top between
their heads was an eagle; and beneath a sacred carriage, called Cemus.

  [312][Greek: Aietos en chruseios, hate platun eera temnon,]
  [Greek: Orthos, echidnaion didumon messegu karenon,]
  [Greek: Hupsiphanes pterugon pisuron tetrazugi kemoi.]
  [Greek: Tei men xanthos iaspis epetreche.]

The history of Tityus, Prometheus, and many other poetical personages, was
certainly taken from hieroglyphics misunderstood, and badly explained.
Prometheus was worshipped by the Colchians as a Deity; and had a temple and
high place, called [313][Greek: Petra Tuphaonia], upon Mount Caucasus: and
the device upon the portal was Egyptian, an eagle over a heart. The
magnitude of these personages was taken from the extent of the temple
inclosures. The words, per tota novem cui jugera corpus Porrigitur, relate
to a garden of so many acres. There were many such inclosures, as I have
before taken notice: some of them were beautifully planted, and ornamented
with pavilions and fountains, and called Paradisi. One of this sort stood
in Syria upon the river [314]Typhon, called afterwards Orontes. Places of
this nature are alluded to under the description of the gardens of the
Hesperides, and Alcinous; and the gardens of Adonis. Such were those at
Phaneas in Palestine; and those beautiful gardens of Daphne upon the
Orontes above mentioned; and in the shady parts of Mount Libanus. Those of
Daphne are described by Strabo, who mentions, [315][Greek: Mega te kai
sunerephes alsos, diarrheomenon pegaiois hudasin; en mesoi de Asulon
temenos, kai neos Apollonoi kai Artemidos.] _There was a fine wide extended
grove, which sheltered the whole place; and which was watered with
numberless fountains. In the centre of the whole was a sanctuary and
asylum, sacred to Artemis and Apollo_. The Groves of Daphne upon the
mountains Heraei in Sicily, and the garden and temple at bottom were very
noble; and are finely described by [316]Diodorus.

I have taken notice that the word [Greek: drakon], draco, was a mistake for
Tarchon, [Greek: Tarchon]: which was sometimes expressed [Greek: Trachon];
as is observable in the Trachones at Damascus. When the Greeks understood
that in these temples people worshipped a serpent Deity, they concluded
that Trachon was a serpent: and hence came the name of Draco to be
appropriated to such an animal. For the Draco was an imaginary being,
however afterwards accepted and understood. This is manifest from Servius,
who distributes the serpentine species into three tribes; and confines the
Draco solely to temples: [317]Angues aquarum sunt, serpentes terrarum,
Dracones templorum. That the notion of such animals took its rise from the
temples of the Syrians and Egyptians, and especially from the Trachones,
[Greek: Trachones], at Damascus, seems highly probable from the accounts
above: and it may be rendered still more apparent from Damasenus, a
supposed hero, who took his name from the city Damasene, or Damascus. He is
represented as an earthborn giant, who encountered two dragons:
[318][Greek: Kai chthonos apleton huia, drakontophonon Damasena.] One of
the monsters, with which he fought, is described of an enormous size,
[Greek: pentekontapelethros Ophis], _a serpent in extent of fifty acres_:
which certainly, as I have before insinuated, must have a reference to the
grove and garden, wherein such Ophite temple stood at Damascus. For the
general measurement of all these wonderful beings by [319]jugera or acres
proves that such an estimate could not relate to any thing of solid
contents; but to an inclosure of that superficies. Of the same nature as
these was the gigantic personage, supposed, to have been seen at Gades by
Cleon Magnesius. He made, it seems, no doubt of Tityus and other such
monsters having existed. For being at Gades, he was ordered to go upon a
certain expedition by Hercules: and upon his return to the island, he saw
upon the shore a huge sea-man, who had been thunderstruck, and lay extended
upon the ground: [320][Greek: touton plethra men pente malista epechein];
_and his dimensions were not less than five acres_. So Typhon, Caanthus,
Orion, are said to have been killed by lightning. Orpheus too, who by some
is said to have been torn to pieces by the Thracian women, by others is
represented as slain by the bolt of Jupiter: and his epitaph imports as
much.

  [321][Greek: Threika chrusoluren ted' Orphea Mousai ethapsan,]
  [Greek: Hon ktanen hupsimedon Zeus psoloenti belei.]

All these histories relate to sacred inclosures; and to the worship of the
serpent, and rites of fire, which were practised within them. Such an
inclosure was by the Greeks styled [322][Greek: temenos], and the mound or
high place [Greek: taphos] and [Greek: tumbos]; which had often a tower
upon it, esteemed a sanctuary and asylum. Lycophron makes Cassandra say of
Diomedes, [323][Greek: TYMBOS d' auton eksosei]: _the temple, to which he
shall fly, shall save him_. In process of time both the word [Greek:
tumbos], as well as [Greek: taphos], were no longer taken in their original
sense; but supposed uniformly to have been places of sepulture. This has
turned many temples into tombs: and the Deities, to whom they were sacred,
have been represented as there buried. There was an Orphic Dracontium at
<DW26>s; where a serpent was supposed to have been going to devour the
remains of Orpheus: and this temple being of old styled Petra, it was
fabled of the serpent, that he was turned into stone.

  [324] Hic ferus expositum peregrinis anguis arenis
  Os petit, et sparsos stillanti rore capillos.
  Tandem Phoebus adest: morsusque inferre parantem
  Arcet; et in lapidem rictus serpentis apertos
  Congelat; et patulos, ut erant, indurat hiatus.

All the poetical accounts of heroes engaging with dragons have arisen from
a misconception about these towers and temples; which those persons either
founded, or else took in war. Or, if they were Deities of whom the story is
told, these buildings were erected to their honour. But the Greeks made no
distinction. They were fond of heroism; and interpreted every antient
history according to their own prejudices: and in the most simple narrative
could find out a martial achievement. No colony could settle any where, and
build an Ophite temple, but there was supposed to have been a contention
between a hero and a dragon. Cadmus, as I have shewn, was described in
conflict with such an one near Thebes, whose teeth he sowed in the earth:

                                [325][Greek: odontas]
  [Greek: Aonioio drakontos, hon ogugiei eni Thebei]
  [Greek: Kadmos, hot' Europen dizemenos eisaphikane,]
  [Greek: Pephne.]

Serpents are said to have infested [326]Cyprus, when it was occupied by its
first inhabitants: and there was a fearful dragon in the isle of
[327]Salamis. The Python of Parnassus is well known, which Apollo was
supposed to have slain, when he was very young; a story finely told by
Apollonius.

  [328][Greek: Hos pote petraiei hupo deiradi Parnessoio]
  [Greek: Delphunen toxoisi pelorion exenarixe,]
  [Greek: Kouros eon eti gumnos, eti plokamoisi gegethos.]

After all, this dragon was a serpent temple; a tumbos, [Greek: tumbos],
formed of earth, and esteemed of old oracular. To this, Hyginus bears
witness. [329]Python, Terrae filius, Draco ingens. Hic ante Apollinem ex
oraculo in monte Parnasso responsa dare solitus est. Plutarch says, that
the dispute between Apollo and the Dragon was about the privilege of the
place. [330][Greek: Hoi Delphon theologoi nomizousin entautha pote pros
ophin toi Theoi peri tou chresteriou machen genesthai.] Hence we may
perceive, that he was in reality the Deity of the temple; though the Greeks
made an idle distinction: and he was treated with divine honours.
[331][Greek: Puthoi men oun ho Drakon ho Puthios threskeuetai, kai tou
Opheos he paneguris katangelletai Puthia.] It is said, moreover, that the
seventh day was appointed for a festival in the temple, and celebrated with
a Paean to the [332]serpent.

We often read of virgins, who were exposed to dragons and sea-monsters; and
of dragons which laid waste whole provinces, till they were at length, by
some person of prowess, encountered and slain. These histories relate to
women, who were immured in towers by the sea-side; and to banditti, who got
possession of these places, whence they infested the adjacent country. The
[333]author of the Chronicon Paschale supposes, that Andromeda, whom the
poets describe as chained to a rock, and exposed to a sea-monster, was in
reality confined in a temple of Neptune, a Petra of another sort. These
dragons are represented as sleepless; because, in such places there were
commonly lamps burning, and a watch maintained. In those more particularly
set apart for religious service there was a fire, which never went out.

  [334]Irrestincta focis servant altaria flammas.

The dragon of Apollonius is ever watchful.

                  [Greek: Oude hoi emar,]
  [Greek: Ou knephas hedumos hupnos anaidea damnatai osse.]

What the Poet styles the eyes of the Dragon, were undoubtedly windows in
the upper part of the building, through which the fire appeared. Plutarch
takes notice, that in the temple of Amon there was a [335]light continually
burning. The like was observable in other temples of the [336]Egyptians.
Pausanias mentions the lamp of Minerva [337]Polias at Athens, which never
went out: the same custom was kept up in most of the [338]Prutaneia. The
Chaldeans and Persians had sacred hearths; on which they preserved a
[339]perpetual fire. In the temple of [340]Apollo Carneus at Cyrene, the
fire upon the altar was never suffered to be extinguished. A like account
is given by Said Ebn Batrick of the sacred fire, which was preserved in the
great temple at [341]Aderbain in Armenia. The Nubian Geographer mentions a
nation in India, called [342]Caimachitae, who had large Puratheia, and
maintained a perpetual fire. According to the Levitical law, a constant
fire was to be kept up upon the altar of God. [343]_The fire shall be ever
burning upon the altar: it shall never go out._

From what has preceded, we may perceive, that many personages have been
formed out of places. And I cannot help suspecting much more of antient
history, than I dare venture to acknowledge. Of the mythic age I suppose
almost every circumstance to have been imported, and adopted; or else to be
a fable. I imagine, that Chiron, so celebrated for his knowledge, was a
mere personage formed from a tower, or temple, of that name. It stood in
Thessaly; and was inhabited by a set of priests, called Centauri. They were
so denominated from the Deity they worshipped, who was represented under a
particular form. They styled him Cahen-Taur: and he was the same as the
Minotaur of Crete, and the Tauromen of Sicilia; consequently of an
emblematical and mixed figure. The people, by whom this worship was
introduced, were many of them Anakim; and are accordingly represented as of
great strength and stature. Such persons among the people of the east were
styled [344]Nephelim: which the Greeks in after times supposed to relate to
[Greek: nephele], a cloud. In consequence of this, they described the
Centaurs as born of a cloud: and not only the Centaurs, but Ixion, and
others, were reputed of the same original. The chief city of the Nephelim
stood in Thessaly, and is mentioned by [345]Palaephatus: but through the
misconception of his countrymen it was expressed [Greek: Nephele], Nephele,
a cloud. The Grecians in general were of this race; as will be abundantly
shewn. The Scholiast upon Lycophron mentions, that the descendants of
Hellen were by a woman named Nephele, whom Athamas was supposed to have
married. [346][Greek: Athamas ho Aiolou tou Hellenos pais ek Nepheles
gennai Hellen, kai Phrixon.] The author has made a distinction between
Helle, and Hellen; the former of which he describes in the feminine. By
Phrixus is meant [Greek: Phrux], Phryx, who passed the Hellespont, and
settled in Asia minor. However obscured the history may be, I think the
purport of it is plainly this, that the Hellenes, and Phrygians were of the
Nephelim or Anakim race. Chiron was a temple, probably at Nephele in
Thessalia, the most antient seat of the Nephelim. His name is a compound of
Chir-On, in purport the same as Kir-On, the tower and temple of the Sun. In
places of this sort people used to study the heavenly motions: and they
were made use of for seminaries, where young people were instructed; on
which account they were styled [Greek: paidotrophoi]. Hence Achilles was
supposed to have been taught by [347]Chiron, who is reported to have had
many disciples. They are enumerated by Xenophon in his treatise upon
hunting, and amount to a large number. [348][Greek: Egenonto autoi mathetai
kunegesion te, kai heteron kalon, Kephalos, Asklepios, Melanion, Nestor,
Amphiaraos, Peleus, Telamon, Meleagros, Theseus, Hippolutos, Palamedes,
Odusseus, Menestheus, Diomedes, Kastor, Poludeukes, Machaon, Podaleirios,
Antilochos, Aineias, Achilleus.] Jason is by Pindar made to say of himself,
[349][Greek: Phami didaskalian Cheironos oisein]: and the same circumstance
is mentioned in another place; [350][Greek: Kronidai de traphen Cheironi
dokan (Iasona)]. These histories could not be true of Chiron as a person:
for, unless we suppose him to have been, as the Poets would persuade us, of
a different species from the rest of mankind, it will be found impossible
for him to have had pupils in such different ages. For not only AEsculapius,
mentioned in this list, but Apollo likewise learnt of him the medicinal
arts. [351][Greek: Asklepios kai Apollon para Cheironi toi Kentauroi
iasthai didaskontai.] Xenophon indeed, who was aware of this objection,
says, that the term of Chiron's life was sufficient for the performance of
all that was attributed to him: [352][Greek: Ho Cheironos bios pasin
exerkei; Zeus gar kai Cheiron adelphoi]: but he brings nothing in proof of
what he alleges. It is moreover incredible, were we to suppose such a being
as Chiron, that he should have had pupils from so many different
[353]countries. Besides many of them, who are mentioned, were manifestly
ideal personages. For not to speak of Cephalus and Castor, Apollo was a
Deity; and AEsculapius was the [354]like: by some indeed esteemed the son of
the former; by others introduced rather as a title, and annexed to the
names of different Gods. Aristides uses it as such in his invocation of
[355]Hercules: [Greek: Io, Paian, Herakles, Asklepie]: and he also speaks
of the temple of Jupiter AEsculapius, [Greek: Dios Asklepiou neos]. It was
idle therefore in the Poets to suppose that these personages could have
been pupils to Chiron. Those that were instructed, whoever they may have
been, partook only of Chironian education; and were taught in the same kind
of academy: but not by one person, nor probably in the same place. For
there were many of these towers, where they taught astronomy, music, and
other sciences. These places were likewise courts of judicature, where
justice was administered: whence Chiron was said to have been [Greek:
philophroneon, kai dikaiotatos]:

  [356][Greek: Hon Cheiron edidaxe dikaiotatos Kentauron.]

The like character is given of him by Hermippus, of Berytus.

                                [357][Greek: Houtos]
  [Greek: Eis te dikaiosunen thneton genos egage, deixas]
  [Greek: Horkon, kai thusias hilaras, kai schemat' Olumpou.]

Right was probably more fairly determined in the Chironian temples, than in
others. Yet the whole was certainly attended with some instances of
cruelty: for human sacrifices are mentioned as once common, especially at
Pella in Thessaly; where, if they could get a person, who was an Achean by
birth, they used to offer him at the altars of Peleus and [358]Chiron.

There were many edifices denominated Chironian, and sacred to the Sun.
Charon was of the same purport, and etymology; and was sacred to the same
Deity. One temple of this name, and the most remarkable of any, stood
opposite to Memphis on the western side of the Nile. It was near the spot
where most people of consequence were buried. There is a tower in this
province, but at some distance from the place here spoken of, called
[359]Kiroon at this day. As Charon was a temple near the catacombs, or
place of burial; all the persons who were brought to be there deposited,
had an offering made on their account, upon being landed on this shore.
Hence arose the notion of the fee of Charon, and of the ferryman of that
name. This building stood upon the banks of a canal, which communicated
with the Nile: but that which is now called Kiroon, stands at some distance
to the west, upon the lake [360]Moeris; where only the kings of Egypt had a
right of sepulture. The region of the catacombs was called the Acheronian
and [361]Acherusian plain, and likewise the Elysian: and the stream, which
ran by it, had the name of Acheron. They are often alluded to by Homer, and
other Poets, when they treat of the region of departed souls. The Amonians
conferred these names upon other places, where they settled, in different
parts of the world. They are therefore to be met with in [362]Phrygia,
[363]Epirus, [364]Hellas, [365]Apulia, [366]Campania, and other countries.
The libri [367]Acherontii in Italy, mentioned by Arnobius, were probably
transcripts from some hieroglyphical writings, which had been preserved in
the Acherontian towers of the Nile. These were carried by Tages to
Hetruria; where they were held in great veneration.

As towers of this sort were seminaries of learning, Homer from one of them
has formed the character of sage Mentor; under whose resemblance the
Goddess of wisdom was supposed to be concealed. By Mentor, I imagine, that
the Poet covertly alludes to a temple of Menes. It is said, that Homer in
an illness was cured by one [368]Mentor, the son of [Greek: Alkimos],
Alcimus. The person probably was a Mentorian priest, who did him this kind
office, if there be any truth in the story. It was from an oracular temple
styled Mentor; and Man-Tor, that the sacred cakes had the name of
Amphimantora. [369][Greek: Amphimantora, alphita meliti dedeumena.]

Castor, the supposed disciple of Chiron, was in reality the same as Chiron;
being a sacred tower, a Chironian edifice, which served both for a temple
and Pharos. As these buildings for the most part stood on strands of the
sea, and promontories; Castor was esteemed in consequence of it a tutelary
Deity of that element. The name seems to be a compound of Ca-Astor, the
temple or place of Astor; who was rendered at different times Asterius,
Asterion, and Astarte. Ca-Astor was by the Greeks abbreviated to Castor;
which in its original sense I should imagine betokened a fire-tower: but
the Greeks in this instance, as well as in innumerable others, have
mistaken the place and temple for the Deity, to whom it was consecrated.
The whole history of Castor and Pollux, the two Dioscuri, is very strange
and inconsistent. Sometimes they are described as two mortals of Lacedaemon,
who were guilty of violence and rapine, and were slain for their
wickedness. At other times they are represented as the two principal
Deities; and styled Dii Magni, Dii Maximi, Dii Potentes, Cabeiri. Mention
is made by Pausanias of the great regard paid to them, and particularly by
the Cephalenses. [370][Greek: Megalous gar sphas hoi tautei Theous
onomazousin.] _The people there style them by way of eminence the Great
Gods_. There are altars extant, which are inscribed [371]CASTORI ET POLLUCI
DIIS MAGNIS. In [372]Gruter is a Greek inscription to the same purport.
[Greek: Gaios Gaiou Acharneus Hiereus genomenos Theon Megalon Dioskoron
Kabeiron.] But though Castor was enshrined, as a God, he was properly a
Tarchon, such as I have before described; and had all the requisites which
are to be found in such buildings. They were the great repositories of
treasure; which people there entrusted, as to places of great security. The
temple of Castor vas particularly famous on this account, as we may learn
from Juvenal:

              [373]AErata multus in arca
  Fiscus, et ad vigilem ponendi Castora nummi.

The Deity, who was alluded to under the name of Castor, was the Sun: and he
had several temples of that denomination in Laconia, and other parts of
Greece. His rites were first introduced by people from Egypt and Canaan.
This we may infer, among other circumstances, from the title of Anac being
so particularly conferred on him and his brother Pollux: whence their
temple was styled [Greek: Anakeion] in Laconia; and their festival at
Athens [Greek: anakeia], anakeia. For Anac was a Canaanitish term of
honour; which the Greeks changed to [Greek: anax] and [374][Greek:
anaktes]. I have before mentioned, that in these places were preserved the
Archives of the cities and provinces in which they stood: and they were
often made use of for courts of judicature, called [Greek: prutaneia], and
praetoria; whither the antient people of the place resorted, to determine
about right and wrong. Hence it is that Castor and Pollux, two names of the
same personage, were supposed to preside over judicial affairs. This
department does but ill agree with the general and absurd character, under
which they are represented: for what has horsemanship and boxing to do with
law and equity? But these were mistaken attributes, which arose from a
misapplication of history. Within the precincts of their temples was a
parade for boxing and wrestling; and often an Hippodromus. Hence arose
these attributes, by which the Poets celebrated these personages:

  [375][Greek: Kastora th' Hippodamon, kai pux agathon Poludeukea.]

The Deity, originally referred to, was the Sun: As he was the chief Deity,
he must necessarily have been esteemed the supervisor and arbitrator of all
sublunary things:

  [376][Greek: Eelios, hos pant' ephorai, kai pant' epakouei.]

On this account the same province of supreme judge was conferred on his
substitute Castor, in conjunction with his brother Pollux: and they were
accordingly looked upon as the conservators of the rights of mankind.
Cicero makes a noble appeal to them in his seventh oration against Verres;
and enlarges upon the great department, of which they were presumed to be
possessed: at the same time mentioning the treasures, which were deposited
in their temples. [377]Vos omnium rerum forensium, consiliorum maximorum,
legum, judiciorumque arbitri, et testes, celeberrimo in loco PRAETORII
locati, Castor et Pollux; quorum ex templo quaestum sibi iste (Verres) et
praedam maximam improbissime comparavit--teque, Ceres, et Libera--a quibis
initia vitae atque victus, legum, morum, mansuetudinis, humanitatis exempla
hominibus et civitatibus data ac dispertita esse dicuntur. Thus we find
that they are at the close joined with Ceres, and Libera; and spoken of as
the civilizers of the world: but their peculiar province was law and
judicature.

Many instances to the same purpose might be produced; some few of which I
will lay before the reader. Trophonius, like Chiron and Castor, was a
sacred tower; being compounded of Tor-Oph-On, Solis Pythonis turris,
rendered Trophon, and Trophonius. It was an oracular temple, situated near
a vast cavern: and the responses were given by dreams. Tiresias, that
antient prophet, was an edifice of the same nature: and the name is a
compound of Tor-Ees, and Tor-Asis; from whence the Greeks formed the word
Tiresias. He is generally esteemed a diviner, or soothsayer, to whom people
applied for advice: but it was to the temple that they applied, and to the
Deity, who was there supposed to reside. He was, moreover, said to have
lived nine ages: till he was at last taken by the Epigoni, when he died.
The truth is, there was a tower of this name at Thebes, built by the
Amonians, and sacred to the God Orus. It stood nine ages, and was then
demolished. It was afterwards repaired, and made use of for a place of
augury: and its situation was close to the temple of Amon. [378][Greek:
Thebaiois de meta tou Ammonos to Hieron, oionoskopeion te Teiresiou
kaloumenon.] Tiresias, according to Apollodorus, was the son of Eueres,
[379][Greek: Eueres], or, according to the true Dorian pronunciation,
Euares, the same as the Egyptian Uc Arez, the Sun. He is by Hyginus styled
[380]Eurimi filius; and in another place Eurii filius, Pastor. Eurius,
Eurimus, Euarez, are all names of the Sun, or places sacred to him; but
changed to terms of relation by not being understood. Tiresias is
additionally styled Pastor; because all the Amonian Deities, as well as
their princes, were called Shepherds: and those, who came originally from
Chaldea, were styled the children of Ur, or Urius.

By the same analogy we may trace the true history of Terambus, the Deity of
Egypt, who was called the Shepherd Terambus. The name is a compound of
Tor-Ambus, or Tor-Ambi, the oracular tower of Ham. He is said to have been
the son of Eusires, [381][Greek: Euseirou tou Poseidonos]; and to have come
over, and settled in Thessaly, near mount Othrys. According to Antonius
Liberalis, he was very rich in flocks, and a great musician, and
particularly expert in all pastoral measure. To him they attributed the
invention of the pipe. The meaning of the history is, I think, too plain,
after what has preceded, to need a comment. It is fabled of him, that he
was at last turned into a bird called Cerambis, or Cerambix. Terambus and
Cerambis are both antient terms of the same purport: the one properly
expressed is Tor-Ambi; the other Cer-Ambi, the oracular temple of the Sun.

I have taken notice that towers of this sort were the repositories of much
treasure; and they were often consecrated to the Ophite Deity, called Opis
and Oupis. It is the same which Callimachus addresses by the title of
[382][Greek: Oupi, Anass' euopi]: and of whom Cicero speaks, and styles
Upis; [383]quam Graeci Upim paterno nomine appellant. The temple was hence
called Kir-Upis; which the Grecians abridged to [Greek: Grupes]: and
finding many of the Amonian temples in the north, with the device of a
winged serpent upon the frontal, they gave this name to the hieroglyphic.
Hence, I imagine, arose the notion of [Greek: Grupes], or Gryphons; which,
like the dragons abovementioned, were supposed to be guardians of treasure,
and to never sleep. The real conservators of the wealth were the priests.
They kept up a perpetual fire, and an unextinguished light in the night.
From Kir Upis, the place of his residence, a priest was named Grupis; and
from Kir-Uph-On, Gryphon. The Poets have represented the Grupes as animals
of the serpentine kind; and supposed them to have been found in countries
of the Arimaspians, Alazonians, Hyperboreans, and other the most northern
regions, which the Amonians possessed. In some of the temples women
officiated, who were denominated from the Deity they served. The Scholiast
upon Callimachus calls the chief of them Upis; and styles her, and her
associates, [Greek: Koras] [384][Greek: Huperboreous], Hyperborean young
women. The Hyperboreans, Alazonians, Arimaspians, were Scythic nations of
the same family. All the stories about Prometheus, Chimaera, Medusa,
Pegasus, Hydra, as well as of the Grupes, or Gryphons, arose, in great
measure, from the sacred devices upon the entablatures of temples.

       *       *       *       *       *


TAPH, TUPH, TAPHOS.

There was another name current among the Amonians, by which they called
their [Greek: lophoi], or high places. This was Taph; which at times was
rendered Tuph, Toph, and Taphos. Lower Egypt being a flat, and annually
overflowed, the natives were forced to raise the soil, on which they built
their principal edifices, in order to secure them from the inundation: and
many of their sacred towers were erected upon conical mounds of earth. But
there were often hills of the same form constructed for religious purposes,
upon which there was no building. These were very common in Egypt. Hence we
read of Taphanis, or Taph-Hanes, Taph-Osiris, Taph-Osiris parva, and contra
Taphias, in Antoninus; all of this country. In other parts were Taphiousa,
Tape, Taphura, Tapori, Taphus, Taphosus, Taphitis. All these names relate
to high altars, upon which they used oftentimes to offer human sacrifices.
Typhon was one of these; being a compound of Tuph-On, which signifies the
hill or altar of the Sun. Tophet, where the Israelites made their children
pass through fire to [385]Moloch, was a mount of this form. And there seem
to have been more than one of this denomination; as we learn from the
prophet Jeremiah, [386]_They have built the high places of Tophet, which is
in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters
in the fire._ And in another place: _They have built also the high places
of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt-offerings unto Baal._ These
cruel operations were generally performed upon mounts of this sort; which,
from their conical figure, were named Tuph and Tupha. It seems to have been
a term current in many countries. The high Persian [387]bonnet had the same
name from its shape: and Bede mentions a particular kind of standard in his
time; which was made of plumes in a globular shape, and called in like
manner, [388]Tupha, vexilli genus, ex consertis plumarum globis. There was
probably a tradition, that the calf, worshipped by the Israelites in the
wilderness near Horeb, was raised upon a sacred mound, like those described
above: for Philo Judaeus says, that it was exhibited after the model of an
Egyptian Tuphos: [389][Greek: Aiguptiakou mimema Tuphou]. This I do not
take to have been a Grecian word; but the name of a sacred orbicular mount,
analogous to the Touphas of Persis.

The Amonians, when they settled in Greece, raised many of these Tupha, or
Tapha, in different parts. These, beside their original name, were still
farther denominated from some title of the Deity, to whose honour they were
erected. But as it was usual, in antient times, to bury persons of
distinction under heaps of earth formed in this fashion; these Tapha came
to signify tombs: and almost all the sacred mounds, raised for religious
purposes, were looked upon as monuments of deceased heroes. Hence
[390]Taph-Osiris was rendered [Greek: taphos], or the burying place of the
God Osiris: and as there were many such places in Egypt and Arabia, sacred
to Osiris and Dionusus; they were all by the Greeks esteemed places of
sepulture. Through this mistake many different nations had the honour
attributed to them of these Deities being interred in their country. The
tumulus of the Latines was mistaken in the same manner. It was originally a
sacred hillock; and was often raised before temples, as an altar; such as I
have before described. It is represented in this light by Virgil:

  [391]Est urbe egressis tumulus, templumque vetustum
  Desertae Cereris; juxtaque antiqua cupressus.

In process of time the word tumulus was in great measure looked upon as a
tomb; and tumulo signified to bury. The Greeks speak of numberless
sepulchral monuments, which they have thus misinterpreted. They pretended
to shew the tomb of [392]Dionusus at Delphi; also of Deucalion, Pyrrha,
Orion, in other places. They imagined that Jupiter was buried in Crete:
which Callimachus supposes to have been a forgery of the natives.

  [393][Greek: Kretes aei pseustai; kai gar taphon, o Ana, seio]
  [Greek: Kretes etekteinanto, su d' ou thanes, essi gar aiei.]

I make no doubt, but that there was some high place in Crete, which the
later Greeks, and especially those who were not of the country, mistook for
a tomb. But it certainly must have been otherwise esteemed by those who
raised it: for it is not credible, however blind idolatry may have been,
that people should enshrine persons as immortal, where they had the
plainest evidences of their mortality. An inscription _Viro Immortali_ was
in a style of flattery too refined for the simplicity of those ages. If
divine honours were conferred, they were the effects of time, and paid at
some distance; not upon the spot, at the vestibule of the charnel-house.
Besides, it is evident, that most of the deified personages never existed:
but were mere titles of the Deity, the Sun; as has been, in great measure,
proved by Macrobius. Nor was there ever any thing of such detriment to
antient history, as the supposing that the Gods of the Gentile world had
been natives of the countries, where they were worshipped. They have by
these means been admitted into the annals of times: and it has been the
chief study of the learned to register the legendary stories concerning
them; to conciliate absurdities, and to arrange the whole in a
chronological series. A fruitless labour, and inexplicable: for there are
in all these fables such inconsistences, and contradictions, as no art, nor
industry, can remedy. Hence, all who have expended their learning to this
purpose, are in opposition to one another, and often at variance with
themselves. Some of them by these means have rendered their works, which
might have been of infinite use to the world, little better than the
reveries of Monsieur Voltaire. The greatest part of the Grecian theology
arose from misconceptions and blunders: and the stories concerning their
Gods and Heroes were founded on terms misinterpreted and abused. Thus from
the word [Greek: taphos], taphos, which they adopted in a limited sense,
they formed a notion of their gods having been buried in every place, where
there was a tumulus to their honour. This misled bishop Cumberland, Usher,
Pearson, Petavius, Scaliger, with numberless other learned men; and among
the foremost the great Newton. This extraordinary genius has greatly
impaired the excellent system, upon which he proceeded, by admitting these
fancied beings into chronology. We are so imbued in our childhood with
notions of Mars, Hercules, and the rest of the celestial outlaws, that we
scarce ever can lay them aside. We absolutely argue upon Pagan principles:
and though we cannot believe the fables, which have been transmitted to us;
yet we forget ourselves continually; and make inferences from them, as if
they were real. In short, till we recollect ourselves, we are semi-pagans.
It gives one pain to see men of learning, and principle, debating which was
the Jupiter who lay with Semele; and whether it was the same that outwitted
Amphitryon. This is not, says a critic, the Hermes, who cut off Argus's
head; but one of later date, who turned Battus into a stone. I fancy, says
another, that this was done, when Ioe was turned into a cow. It is said of
Jupiter, that he made the night, in which he enjoyed Alcmena, as long as
[394]three; or, as some say, as long as nine. The Abbe [395]Banier with
some phlegm excepts to this coalition of nights; and is unwilling to allow
it. But he is afterwards more complying; and seems to give it his sanction,
with this proviso, that chronological verity be not thereby impeached. _I
am of opinion_, says he, _that there was no foundation for the fable of
Jupiter's having made the night, on which he lay with Alcmena, longer than
others: at least this event put nothing in nature out of order; since the
day, which followed, was proportionably shorter, as Plautus [396]remarks._

  Atque quanto nox fuisti longior hac proxima,
  Tanto brevior dies ut fiat, faciam; ut aeque disparet,
  Et dies e nocte accedat.

Were it not invidious, I could subjoin names to every article, which I have
alleged; and produce numberless instances to the same purpose.

It may be said, that I run counter to the opinions of all antiquity: that
all the fathers who treated of this subject, and many other learned men,
supposed the Gods of the heathen to have been deified mortals, who were
worshipped in the countries, where they died. It was the opinion of
Clemens, Eusebius, Cyril, Tertullian, Athenagoras, Epiphanius, Lactantius,
Arnobius, Julius Firmicus, and many others. What is more to the purpose, it
was the opinion of the heathen themselves; the very people, by whom these
gods were honoured: yet still it is a mistake. In respect to the fathers,
the whole of their argument turns upon this point, the concessions of the
Gentiles. The more early writers of the church were not making a strict
chronological inquiry: but were labouring to convert the heathen. They
therefore argue with them upon their own principles; and confute them from
their own testimony. The Romans had their Dii Immortales; the Greeks their
[Greek: Theoi Athanatoi]: yet acknowledged that they had been men; that
they died, and were buried. Cicero owns; [397]ab Euhemero et mortes, et
sepulturae demonstrantur deorum. It matters not whether the notion were
true; the fathers very fairly make use of it. They avail themselves of
these concessions; and prove from them the absurdity of the Gentile
worship, and the inconsistency of their opinions. Even Maximus Tyrius, the
Platonic, could not but smile, at being shewn in the same place the temple,
and tomb of the deity[398]; [Greek: hieron Theou, kai taphon Theou]. These
supposed places of sepulture were so numerous, that Clemens Alexandrinus
tells us, they were not to be counted. [399][Greek: Alla gar epionti moi
tous proskunoumenous humin taphous, emoi men oud' ho pas an arkesei
chronos.] But, after all, these [Greek: Taphoi] were not tombs, but [Greek:
lophoi mastoeideis], conical mounds of earth; on which in the first ages
offerings were made by fire. Hence [Greek: tupho], tupho, signified to make
a smoke, such as arose from incense upon these Tupha, or eminences.
Besides, if these were deified men, who were buried under these hills; how
can we explain the difficulty of the same person being buried in different
places, and at different times? To this it is answered, that it was another
Bacchus, and another Jupiter. Yet this still adds to the difficulty: for it
is hard to conceive, that whoever in any country had the name of Jupiter,
should be made a God. Add to this, that Homer and Hesiod, and the authors
of the Orphic poetry, knew of no such duplicates. There is no hint of this
sort among the antient writers of their nation. It was a refinement in
after ages; introduced to obviate the difficulties, which arose from the
absurdities in the pagan system. Arnobius justly ridicules the idle
expedients, made use of to render a base theology plausible. Gods, of the
same name and character, were multiplied to make their fables consistent;
that there might be always one ready at hand upon any chronological
emergency. Hence no difficulty could arise about a Deity, but there might
be one produced, adapted to all climes, and to every age. [400]Aiunt
Theologi vestri, et vetustatis absconditae conditores, tres in rerum natura
Joves esse--quinque Soles, et Mercurios quinque. Aiunt iidem Theologi
quatuor esse Vulcanos, et tres Dianas; AEsculapios totidem, et Dionysos
quinque; ter binos Hercules, et quatuor Veneres; tria genera Castorum,
totidemque Musarum. But Arnobius is too modest. Other writers insist upon a
greater variety. In respect to Jupiters, Varro according to Tertullian
makes them in number three hundred. [401]Varro trecentos Joves, sive
Jupiteres, dicendum, ---- introducit. The same writer mentions forty heroes
of the name of Hercules; all which variety arose from the causes above
assigned: and the like multiplicity may be found both of kings and heroes;
of kings, who did not reign; of heroes, who never existed. The same may be
observed in the accounts transmitted of their most early prophets, and
poets: scarce any of them stand single: there are duplicates of every
denomination. On this account it is highly requisite for those, who suppose
these personages to have been men, and make inferences from the
circumstances of their history, to declare explicitly which they mean; and
to give good reasons for their determination. It is said of Jupiter, that
he was the son of Saturn; and that he carried away Europa, before the
arrival of Cadmus. He had afterwards an amour with Semele, the supposed
daughter of Cadmus: and they mention his having a like intimacy with
Alcmena an age or two later. After this he got acquainted with Leda, the
wife of Tyndarus: and he had children at the siege of Troy. If we may
believe the poets, and all our intelligence comes originally from the
poets, Jupiter was personally interested in that war. But this interval
contains little less than two hundred years. These therefore could not be
the actions of one man: on which account I want to know, why Sir Isaac
Newton [402]in his chronological interpretations chooses to be determined
by the story of Jupiter and Europa, rather than by that of Jupiter and
Leda. The learned [403]Pezron has pitched upon a Jupiter above one thousand
years earlier, who was in like manner the son of Saturn. But Saturn,
according to some of the best mythologists, was but four generations
inclusive before the aera of Troy. Latinus, the son of Faunus, was alive
some years after that city had been taken; when AEneas was supposed to have
arrived in Italy. The poet tells us, [404]Fauno Picus pater: isque parentem
Te, Saturne, refert; Tu sanguinis ultimus auctor. The series amounts only
to four, Latinus, Faunus, Picus, Saturn. What authority has Pezron for the
anticipation of which he is guilty in determining the reign of Jupiter? and
how can he reconcile these contradictory histories? He ought to have given
some good reason for setting aside the more common and accepted accounts;
and placing these events so [405]early. Shall we suppose with the critics
and commentators that this was a prior Jupiter? If it were a different
person, the circumstances of his life should be different: but the person,
of whom he treats, is in all respects similar to the Jupiter of Greece and
Rome. He has a father Saturn; and his mother was Rhea. He was nursed in
Crete; and had wars with the Titans. He dethrones his father, who flies to
Italy; where he introduces an age of gold. The mythology concerning him we
find to be in all respects uniform. It is therefore to little purpose to
substitute another person of the same name by way of reconciling matters,
unless we can suppose that every person so denominated had the same
relations and connexions, and the same occurrences in life reiterated:
which is impossible. It is therefore, I think, plain, that the Grecian
Deities were not the persons [406]supposed: and that their imputed names
were titles. It is true, a very antient and respectable writer,
[407]Euhemerus, of whom I have before made mention, thought otherwise. It
is said, that he could point out precisely, where each god departed: and
could particularly shew the burying-place of Jupiter. Lactantius, who
copied from him, says, that it was at Cnossus in [408]Crete. Jupiter, aetate
pessum acta, in Creta vitam commutavit.--Sepulchrum ejus est in Creta, et
in oppido Cnosso: et dicitur Vesta hanc urbem creavisse: inque sepulchro
ejus est inscriptio antiquis literis Graecis, [Greek: Zan Kronou]. If
Jupiter had been buried in Crete, as these writers would persuade us, the
accounts would be uniform about the place where he was deposited.
Lactantius, we find, and some others, say, that it was in the city Cnossus.
There are writers who mention it to have been in a cavern upon [409]Mount
Ida: others upon Mount [410]Jasius. Had the Cretans been authors of the
notion, they would certainly have been more consistent in their accounts:
but we find no more certainty about the place of his burial, than of his
birth; concerning which Callimachus could not determine.

  [411][Greek: Zeu, se men Idaioisin en ouresi phasi genesthai,]
  [Greek: Zeu, se d' en Arkadiei.]

He was at times supposed to have been a native of Troas, of Crete, of
Thebes, of Arcadia, of Elis: but the whole arose from the word [Greek:
taphos] being, through length of time, misunderstood: for there would have
been no legend about the birth of Jupiter, had there been no mistake about
his funeral. It was a common notion of the Magnesians, that Jupiter was
buried in their country upon Mount Sipylus. Pausanias says, that he
ascended the mountain, and beheld the tomb, which was well worthy of
[412]admiration. The tomb of [413]Isis in like manner was supposed to be at
Memphis, and at Philae in Upper Egypt: also at Nusa in Arabia. Osiris was
said to have been buried in the same places: likewise at Taphosiris, which
is thought by Procopius to have had its name, [414]because it was the place
of sepulture of Osiris. The same is said of another city, which was near
the mouth of the Nile, and called Taphosiris parva. But they each of them
had their name from the worship, and not from the interment of the Deity.
This is plain from the account given of the [Greek: taphos Osiridos], or
high altar of Osiris, by Diodorus; from whom we learn that Busiris and
Osiris were the same. [415]_The Grecians_, says this author, _have a
notion, that Busiris in Egypt used to sacrifice strangers: not that there
was ever such a king as Busiris; but the_ [Greek: taphos], _or altar, of
Osiris had this name in the language of the natives_. In short, Busiris was
only a variation for Osiris: both were compounded of the Egyptian term
[416]Sehor, and related to the God of day. Hence the altars of the same
Deity were called indifferently the altars of Osiris, or Busiris, according
as custom prevailed.

I have in a former chapter taken notice of the Tarchons and Dracontia in
Syria, and other parts: which consisted of sacred ground inclosed with a
wall, and an altar or two at the upper part. Such an inclosure is described
by Pausanias, which must have been of great antiquity: hence the history of
it was very imperfectly known in his time. He is speaking of Nemea in
Argolis; [417]_near which_, says he, _stands the temple of Nemean Jupiter,
a structure truly wonderful, though the roof is now fallen in. Round the
temple is a grove of cypress; in which there is a tradition that Opheltes
was left by his nurse upon the grass, and in her absence killed by a
serpent.--In the same place is the tomb of Opheltes, surrounded with a wall
of stone; and within the inclosure altars. There is also a mound of earth
said to be the tomb of Lycurgus, the father of Opheltes._ Lycurgus is the
same as Lycus, Lycaon, Lycoreus, the Sun: and Opheltes, his supposed
offspring, is of the same purport. To say the truth, [418]Opheltes, or, as
it should be expressed, Ophel-tin is the place; and Ophel the Deity, Sol
Pytho, whose symbol was a serpent. Ophel-tin was a Taphos with a [Greek:
temenos], or sacred inclosure: it was a sacred mound to the Ophite Deity;
like that which was inclosed and fortified by [419]Manasseh king of Judah;
and which had been previously made use of to the same purpose by
[420]Jotham. A history similar to that of Opheltes is given of Archemorus;
who was said to have been left in a garden by his nurse Hypsipyle, and in
her absence slain by a serpent. Each of them had festivals instituted,
together with sacred games, in memorial of their misfortune. They are on
this account by many supposed to have been the same person. But in reality
they were not persons, but places. They are, however, so far alike, as they
are terms which relate to the same worship and Deity. Opheltin is the
place, and altar of the Ophite God above-mentioned: and Archemorus was
undoubtedly the antient name of the neighbouring town, or city. It is a
compound of Ar-Chemorus; and signifies the city of Cham-Orus, the same who
is styled Ophel. In many of these places there was an antient tradition of
some person having been injured by a serpent in the beginning of life;
which they have represented as the state of childhood. The mythology upon
this occasion is different: for sometimes the personages spoken of are
killed by the serpent: at other times they kill it: and there are instances
where both histories are told of the same person. But whatever may have
been the consequence, the history is generally made to refer to a state of
childhood. Hercules has accordingly a conflict with two serpents in his
cradle: and Apollo, who was the same as Python, was made to engage a
serpent of this name at Parnassus, when he was a child;

  [421][Greek: Kouros, eon, ETI GYMNOS, eti plokamoisi gegethos.]

Near mount Cyllene in Arcadia was the sacred Taphos of [422]AEputus, who was
supposed to have been stung by a serpent. AEputus was the same as Iapetus,
the father of mankind. In the Dionusiaca the priests used to be crowned
with serpents; and in their frantic exclamations to cry out [423]Eva, Eva;
and sometimes Evan, Evan: all which related to some history of a serpent.
Apollo, who is supposed by most to have been victor in his conflict with
the Pytho, is by Porphyry said to have been slain by that serpent:
Pythagoras affirmed, that he saw his tomb at Tripos in [424]Delphi; and
wrote there an epitaph to his honour. The name of Tripos is said to have
been given to the place, because the daughters of Triopus used to lament
there the fate of Apollo. But Apollo and the Python were the same; and
Tripus, or Triopus, the supposed father of these humane sisters, was a
variation for Tor-Opus, the serpent-hill, or temple; where neither Apollo,
nor the Python were slain, but where they were both worshipped, being one
and the same Deity. [425][Greek: Puthoi men oun ho Drakon ho Puthios
threskeuetai, kai tou Opheos he paneguris katangelletai Puthia.] _At
Python_ (the same as Delphi) _the Pythian Dragon is worshipped; and the
celebrity of the serpent is styled Pythian_. The daughters of Triopus were
the priestesses of the temple; whose business it was to chant hymns in
memory of the serpent: and what is very remarkable, the festival was
originally observed upon the seventh [426]day.

The Greeks had innumerable monuments of the sort, which I have been
describing. They were taken for the tombs of departed heroes, but were
really consecrated places: and the names by which they were distinguished,
shew plainly their true history. Such was the supposed tomb of [427]Orion
at Tanagra, and of Phoroneus in [428]Argolis; the tomb of [429]Deucalion in
Athens; and of his wife [430]Pyrrha in Locris: of [431]Endymion in Elis: of
Tityus in [432]Panopea: of Asterion in the island [433]Lade: of the
Egyptian [434]Belus in Achaia. To these may be added the tombs of Zeus in
Mount Sipylus, Mount Iasius, and Ida: the tombs of Osiris in various parts:
and those of Isis, which have been enumerated before. Near the AEaceum at
Epidaurus was a hill, reputed to have been the tomb of the hero
[435]Phocus. This AEaceum was an inclosure planted with olive trees of great
antiquity; and at a small degree above the surface of the ground was an
altar sacred to AEacus. To divulge the traditions relative to this altar
would, it seems, be an high profanation. The author, therefore, keeps them
a secret. Just before this sacred septum was the supposed tomb of Phocus,
consisting of a mound of raised earth, fenced round with a border of stone
work: and a large rough stone was placed upon the top of all. Such were the
rude monuments of Greece, which were looked upon as so many receptacles of
the dead: but were high altars, with their sacred [Greek: temene], which
had been erected for divine worship in the most early times. The
Helladians, and the Persians, were of the same [436]family: hence we find
many similar rites subsisting among the two nations. The latter adhered to
the purer Zabaism, which they maintained a long time. They erected the same
sacred Tupha, as the Grecians: and we may be assured of the original
purpose, for which these hills were raised, from the use to which they put
them. They were dedicated to the great fountain of light, called by the
Persians, Anait: and were set apart as Puratheia, for the celebration of
the rites of fire. This people, after they had defeated the Sacae in
Cappadocia, raised an immense Comah in memorial of their victory.
[437]Strabo, who describes it very minutely, tells us, that they chose a
spot in an open plain; where they reared a Petra, or high place, by heaping
up a vast mound of earth. This they fashioned to a conical figure; and then
surrounded it with a wall of stone. In this manner they founded a kind of
temple in honour of Anait, Omanus, and Anandrates, the Deities of their
country. I have mentioned that the Egyptians had hills of this nature: and
from them the custom was transmitted to Greece. Typhon, or more properly
Tuphon, [Greek: Tuphon], who was supposed to have been a giant, was a
compound of Tuph-On, as I have before mentioned; and signified a sacred
[438]mount of the sun. Those cities in Egypt, which had a high place of
this sort, and rites in consequence of it, were styled Typhonian. Upon such
as these they sacrificed red haired men, or men with hair of a light
colour; in other words strangers. For both the sons of Chus, and the
Mizraim were particularly dark and woolly: so that there could be no surer
mark than the hair to distinguish between a native and a foreigner. These
sacrifices were offered in the city [439]Idithia, [440]Abaris,
[441]Heliopolis, and Taphosiris; which in consequence of these offerings
were denominated Typhonian cities. Many writers say, that these rites were
performed to Typhon at the [442]tomb of Osiris. Hence he was in later times
supposed to have been a person, one of immense size: and he was also
esteemed a [443]God. But this arose from the common mistake by which places
were substituted for the Deities there worshipped. Typhon was the Tupha, or
altar, the supposed tomb of the God: and the offerings were made to the
Sun, styled On; the same as Osiris, and Busiris. As there were Typhonian
mounts in many parts, he was in consequence of it supposed to have been
buried in different places: near mount Caucasus in Colchis; near the river
Orontes in Syria; and under lake Serbonis. Typhon, or rather Typhonian
worship, was not unknown in the region of [444]Troas, near which were the
Scopuli Typhonis. Plutarch mentions that in the Phrygian Theology Typhon
was esteemed the grandson of Isaac or Isaeac: and says that he was so spoken
of [Greek: en tois Phrugiois] [445][Greek: grammasin]. But all terms of
relation are to be disregarded. The purport of the history was this. The
altar was termed Tuphon Isiac, sive [Greek: Bomos Isiakos], from the sacra
Isiaca, which were performed upon it. The same Isaac or Isaeac was sometimes
rendered AEsacus, and supposed to have been a son of the river Granicus.

  [446]AEsacon umbrosa furtim peperisse sub Ida
  Fertur Alexirhoe Granico nata bicorni.

The antient Arcadians were said to have been the offspring of [447]Typhon,
and by some the children of Atlas; by which was meant, that they were
people of the Typhonian, and Atlantian religion. What they called his tombs
were certainly mounds of earth, raised very high, like those which have
been mentioned before: only with this difference, that some of these had
lofty towers adorned with pinnacles, and battlements. They had also carved
upon them various symbols; and particularly serpentine hieroglyphics, in
memorial of the God to whom they were sacred. In their upper story was a
perpetual fire, which was plainly seen in the night. I have mentioned, that
the poets formed their notions about Otus and Ephialtes from towers: and
the idea of Orion's stupendous bulk taken from the Pelorian edifice in
Sicily. The gigantic stature of Typhon was borrowed from a like object: and
his character was formed from the hieroglyphical representations in the
temples styled Typhonian. This may be inferred from the allegorical
description of Typhoeus, given by Hesiod. Typhon and Typhoeus, were the
same personage: and the poet represents him of a mixed form, being partly a
man, and partly a monstrous dragon, whose head consisted of an assemblage
of smaller serpents.

                  [448][Greek: Ek de hoi omon]
  [Greek: En hekaton kephalai ophios, deinoio Drakontos.]

As there was a perpetual fire kept up in the upper story, he describes it
as shining through the apertures in the building.

                  [449][Greek: Ek de hoi osson]
  [Greek: Thespesieis kephaleisin hup' ophrusi pur amarusse;]
  [Greek: Paseon d' ek kephaleon pur kaieto derkomenoio.]

But the noblest description of Typhon is given in some very fine poetry by
Nonnus. He has taken his ideas from some antient tower situated near the
sea upon the summit of an high mountain. It was probably the Typhonian
temple of Zeus upon mount Casius, near the famed Serbonian lake. He
mentions sad noises heard within, and describes the roaring of the surge
below: and says that all the monsters of the sea stabled in the cavities at
the foot of the mountain, which was washed by the ocean.

                  [450][Greek: En ichthuoenti de pontoi]
  [Greek: Histamenou Tuphonos eso bruoentos enaulou]
  [Greek: Benthei tarsa pepekto, kai eeri mignuto gaster]
  [Greek: Thlibomene nepheessi; Giganteiou de karenou]
  [Greek: Phrikton aersilophon aion bruchema leonton,]
  [Greek: Pontios eiluoenti leon ekalupteto kolpoi. ktl.]

We may perceive, that this is a mixed description, wherein, under the
character of a gigantic personage, a towering edifice is alluded to; which
was situated upon the summit of a mountain, and in the vicinity of the sea.

       *       *       *       *       *


OB, OUB, PYTHO,

SIVE DE

OPHIOLATRIA.

    [Greek: Para panti ton nomizomenon par' humin Theon Ophis sumbolon mega
    kai musterion anagraphetai.] Justin. Martyr. Apolog. l. 1. p. 60.

It may seem extraordinary, that the worship of the serpent should have ever
been introduced into the world: and it must appear still more remarkable,
that it should almost universally have prevailed. As mankind are said to
have been ruined through the influence of this being, we could little
expect that it would, of all other objects, have been adopted, as the most
sacred and salutary symbol; and rendered the chief object of
[451]adoration. Yet so we find it to have been. In most of the antient
rites there is some allusion to the [452]serpent. I have taken notice, that
in the Orgies of Bacchus, the persons who partook of the ceremony used to
carry serpents in their hands, and with horrid screams called upon Eva,
Eva. They were often crowned with [453]serpents, and still made the same
frantic exclamation. One part of the mysterious rites of Jupiter Sabazius
was to let a snake slip down the bosom of the person to be initiated, which
was taken out below[454]. These ceremonies, and this symbolic worship,
began among the Magi, who were the sons of Chus: and by them they were
propagated in various parts. Epiphanius thinks, that the invocation, Eva,
Eva, related to the great [455]mother of mankind, who was deceived by the
serpent: and Clemens of Alexandria is of the same opinion. He supposes,
that by this term was meant [456][Greek: Euan ekeinen, di' hen he plane
parekolouthese.] But I should think, that Eva was the same as Eph, Epha,
Opha, which the Greeks rendered [Greek: Ophis], Ophis, and by it denoted a
serpent. Clemens acknowledges, that the term Eva properly aspirated had
such a signification. [457][Greek: To onoma to Euia dasunomenon
hermeneuetai Ophis.] Olympias, the mother of [458]Alexander, was very fond
of these Orgies, in which the serpent was introduced. Plutarch mentions,
that rites of this sort were practised by the Edonian women near mount
Haemus in Thrace; and carried on to a degree of madness. Olympias copied
them closely in all their frantic manoeuvres. She used to be followed with
many attendants, who had each a thyrsus with [459]serpents twined round it.
They had also snakes in their hair, and in the chaplets, which they wore;
so that they made a most fearful appearance. Their cries were very
shocking: and the whole was attended with a continual repetition of the
words, [460]Evoe, Saboe, Hues Attes, Attes Hues, which were titles of the
God Dionusus. He was peculiarly named [Greek: Hues]; and his priests were
the Hyades, and Hyantes. He was likewise styled Evas. [461][Greek: Euas ho
Dionusos.]

In Egypt was a serpent named Thermuthis, which was looked upon as very
sacred; and the natives are said to have made use of it as a royal tiara,
with which they ornamented the statues of [462]Isis. We learn from Diodorus
Siculus, that the kings of Egypt wore high bonnets, which terminated in a
round ball: and the whole was surrounded with figures of [463]asps. The
priests likewise upon their bonnets had the representation of serpents. The
antients had a notion, that when Saturn devoured his own children, his wife
Ops deceived him by substituting a large stone in lieu of one of his sons,
which stone was called Abadir. But Ops, and Opis, represented here as a
feminine, was the serpent Deity, and Abadir is the same personage under a
different denomination. [464]Abadir Deus est; et hoc nomine lapis ille,
quem Saturnus dicitur devorasse pro Jove, quem Graeci [Greek: baitulon]
vocant.--Abdir quoque et Abadir [Greek: baitulos]. Abadir seems to be a
variation of Ob-Adur, and signifies the serpent God Orus. One of these
stones, which Saturn was supposed to have swallowed instead of a child,
stood, according to [465]Pausanias, at Delphi. It was esteemed very sacred,
and used to have libations of wine poured upon it daily; and upon festivals
was otherwise honoured. The purport of the above history I imagine to have
been this. It was for a long time a custom to offer children at the altar
of Saturn: but in process of time they removed it, and in its room erected
a [Greek: stulos], or stone pillar; before which they made their vows, and
offered sacrifices of another nature. This stone, which they thus
substituted, was called Ab-Adar, from the Deity represented by it. The term
Ab generally signifies a [466]father: but, in this instance, it certainly
relates to a serpent, which was indifferently styled Ab, Aub, and [467]Ob.
I take Abadon, or, as it is mentioned in the Revelations, Abaddon, to have
been the name of the same Ophite God, with whose worship the world had been
so long infected. He is termed by the Evangelist [468][Greek: Abaddon, ton
Angelon tes Abussou], the angel of the bottomless pit; that is, the prince
of darkness. In another place he is described as the [469]dragon, that old
serpent, which is the devil, and Satan. Hence I think, that the learned
Heinsius is very right in the opinion, which he has given upon this
passage; when he makes Abaddon the same as the serpent Pytho. Non
dubitandum est, quin Pythius Apollo, hoc est spurcus ille spiritus, quem
Hebraei Ob, et Abaddon, Hellenistae ad verbum [Greek: Apolluona], caeteri
[Greek: Apollona], dixerunt, sub hac forma, qua miseriam humano generi
invexit, primo cultus[470].

[Illustration: _Ophis Thermuthis, sive Ob Basiliscus AEgyptiacus cum
Sacerdote Supplicante._]

[Illustration: Pl. VII.]

It is said, that, in the ritual of Zoroaster, the great expanse of the
heavens, and even nature itself, was described under the symbol of a
serpent[471]. The like was mentioned in the Octateuch of Ostanes: and
moreover, that in Persis and in other parts of the east they erected
temples to the serpent tribe, and held festivals to their honour, esteeming
them [472][Greek: Theous tous megistous, kai archegous ton holon], _the
supreme of all Gods, and the superintendants of the whole world_. The
worship began among the people of Chaldea. They built the city Opis upon
the [473]Tigris, and were greatly addicted to divination, and to the
worship of the serpent[474]. Inventi sunt ex iis (Chaldeis) augures, et
magi, divinatores, et sortilegi, et inquirentes Ob, et Ideoni. From Chaldea
the worship passed into Egypt, where the serpent Deity was called Can-oph,
Can-eph, and C'neph. It had also the name of Ob, or Oub, and was the same
as the Basiliscus, or Royal Serpent; the same also as the Thermuthis: and
in like manner was made use of by way of ornament to the statues of their
[475]Gods. The chief Deity of Egypt is said to have been Vulcan, who was
also styled Opas, as we learn from [476]Cicero. He was the same as Osiris,
the Sun; and hence was often called Ob-El, sive Pytho Sol: and there were
pillars sacred to him with curious hieroglyphical inscriptions, which had
the same name. They were very lofty, and narrow in comparison of their
length; hence among the Greeks, who copied from the Egyptians, every thing
gradually tapering to a point was styled Obelos, and Obeliscus. Ophel
(Oph-El) was a name of the same purport: and I have shewn, that many sacred
mounds, or Tapha, were thus denominated from the serpent Deity, to whom
they were sacred.

Sanchoniathon makes mention of an history, which he once wrote upon the
worship of the serpent. The title of this work, according to Eusebius was,
[477]Ethothion, or Ethothia. Another treatise upon the same subject was
written by Pherecydes Syrus, which was probably a copy of the former; for
he is said to have composed it, [478][Greek: para Phoinikon labon tas
aphormas], _from some previous accounts of the Phenicians_. The title of
his book was the Theology of Ophion, styled Ophioneus; and of his
worshippers, called Ophionidae. Thoth, and Athoth, were certainly titles of
the Deity in the Gentile world: and the book of Sanchoniathon might very
possibly have been from hence named Ethothion, or more truly Athothion. But
from the subject, upon which it was written, as well as from the treatise
of Pherecydes, I should think, that Athothion, or Ethothion, was a mistake
for Ath-ophion, a title which more immediately related to that worship, of
which the writer treated. _Ath_ was a sacred title, as I have shewn: and I
imagine, that this dissertation did not barely relate to the serpentine
Deity; but contained accounts of his votaries, the Ophitae, the principal of
which were the sons of Chus. The worship of the Serpent began among them;
and they were from thence denominated Ethopians, and Aithopians, which the
Greeks rendered [Greek: Aithiopes]. It was a name, which they did not
receive from their complexion, as has been commonly surmised; for the
branch of Phut, and the Lubim, were probably of a deeper die: but they were
so called from Ath-Ope, and Ath-Opis, the God which they worshipped. This
may be proved from Pliny. He says that the country AEthiopia (and
consequently the people) had the name of AEthiop from a personage who was a
Deity--ab [479]AEthiope Vulcani filio. The AEthiopes brought these rites into
Greece: and called the island, where they first established them,
[480]Ellopia, Solis Serpentis insula. It was the same as Euboea, a name of
the like purport; in which island was a region named AEthiopium. Euboea is
properly Oub-Aia; and signifies the Serpent Island. The same worship
prevailed among the Hyperboreans, as we may judge from the names of the
sacred women, who used to come annually to Delos. They were priestesses of
the Tauric Goddess, and were denominated from her titles.

  [481][Greek: Oupis te, Loxo te, kai Euaion Hekaerge.]

Hercules was esteemed the chief God, the same as Chronus; and was said to
have produced the Mundane egg. He was represented in the Orphic Theology
under the mixed symbol of a [482]lion and serpent: and sometimes of a
[483]serpent only. I have before mentioned, that the Cuthites under the
title of Heliadae settled at Rhodes: and, as they were Hivites or Ophites,
that the island in consequence of it was of old named Ophiusa. There was
likewise a tradition, that it had once swarmed with [484]serpents. The like
notion prevailed almost in every place, where they settled. They came under
the more general titles of Leleges and Pelasgi: but more particularly of
Elopians, Europians, Oropians, Asopians, Inopians, Ophionians, and
AEthiopes, as appears from the names, which they bequeathed; and in most
places, where they resided, there were handed down traditions, which
alluded to their original title of Ophites. In Phrygia, and upon the
Hellespont, whither they sent out colonies very early, was a people styled
[Greek: Ophiogeneis], or the serpent-breed; who were said to retain an
affinity and correspondence with [485]serpents. And a notion prevailed,
that some hero, who had conducted them, was changed from a serpent to a
man. In Colchis was a river Ophis; and there was another of the same name
in Arcadia. It was so named from a body of people, who settled upon its
banks, and were said to have been conducted by a serpent: [486][Greek: Ton
hegemona genesthai drakonta]. These reptiles are seldom found in islands,
yet Tenos, one of the Cyclades, was supposed to have once swarmed with
them. [487][Greek: En tei Tenoi, miai ton Kukladon nesoi, opheis kai
skorpioi deinoi eginonto.] Thucydides mentions a people of AEtolia called
[488]Ophionians: and the temple of Apollo at Patara in Lycia seems to have
had its first institution from a priestess of the same [489]name. The
island of Cyprus was styled Ophiusa, and Ophiodes, from the serpents, with
which it was supposed to have [490]abounded. Of what species they were is
no where mentioned; excepting only that about Paphos there was said to have
been a [491]kind of serpent with two legs. By this is meant the Ophite
race, who came from Egypt, and from Syria, and got footing in this
[492]island. They settled also in Crete, where they increased greatly in
numbers; so that Minos was said by an unseemly allegory, [493][Greek:
opheis ouresai], serpentes minxisse. The island Seriphus was one vast rock,
by the Romans called [494]saxum seriphium; and made use of as a larger kind
of prison for banished persons. It is represented as having once abounded
with serpents; and it is styled by Virgil _serpentifera_, as the passage is
happily corrected by Scaliger.

  [495]AEginamque simul, serpentiferamque Seriphon.

It had this epithet not on account of any real serpents, but according to
the Greeks from [496]Medusa's head, which was brought hither by Perseus. By
this is meant the serpent Deity, whose worship was here introduced by
people called Peresians. Medusa's head denoted divine wisdom: and the
island was sacred to the serpent as is apparent from its name[497]. The
Athenians were esteemed Serpentigenae; and they had a tradition, that the
chief guardian of their Acropolis was a [498]serpent. It is reported of the
Goddess Ceres, that she placed a dragon for a guardian to her temple at
[499]Eleusis; and appointed another to attend upon Erectheus. AEgeus of
Athens, according to Androtion, was of the [500]serpent breed: and the
first king of the country is said to have been [501][Greek: Drakon], a
Dragon. Others make Cecrops the first who reigned. He is said to have been
[502][Greek: diphues], _of a twofold nature_; [Greek: sumphues echon soma
andros kai drakontos], _being formed with the body of a man blended with
that of a serpent_. Diodorus says, that this was a circumstance deemed by
the Athenians inexplicable: yet he labours to explain it, by representing
Cecrops, as half a man, and half a [503]brute; because he had been of two
different communities. Eustathius likewise tries to solve it nearly upon
the same principles, and with the like success. Some had mentioned of
Cecrops, that he underwent a metamorphosis, [504][Greek: apo opheos eis
anthropon elthein], _that he was changed from a serpent to a man_. By this
was signified according to Eustathius, that Cecrops, by coming into Hellas,
divested himself of all the rudeness and barbarity of his [505]country, and
became more civilized and humane. This is too high a compliment to be payed
to Greece in its infant state, and detracts greatly from the character of
the Egyptians. The learned Marsham therefore animadverts with great
justice. [506]Est verisimilius ilium ex AEgypto mores magis civiles in
Graeciam induxisse. _It is more probable, that he introduced into Greece,
the urbanity of his own country, than that he was beholden to Greece for
any thing from thence._ In respect to the mixed character of this
personage, we may, I think, easily account for it. Cecrops was certainly a
title of the Deity, who was worshipped under this [507]emblem. Something of
the like nature was mentioned of Triptolemus, and [508]Ericthonius: and the
like has been said above of Hercules. The natives of Thebes in Boeotia,
like the Athenians above, esteemed themselves of the serpent race. The
Lacedaemonians likewise referred themselves to the same original. Their city
is said of old to have swarmed with [509]serpents. The same is said of the
city Amyclae in Italy, which was of Spartan original. They came hither in
such abundance, that it was abandoned by the [510]inhabitants. Argos was
infested in the same manner, till Apis came from Egypt, and settled in that
city. He was a prophet, the reputed son of Apollo, and a person of great
skill and sagacity. To him they attributed the blessing of having their
country freed from this evil.

  [511][Greek: Apis gar elthon ek peras Naupaktias,]
  [Greek: Iatromantis, pais Apollonos, chthona]
  [Greek: Ten d' ekkathairei knodalon brotophthoron.]

Thus the Argives gave the credit to this imaginary personage of clearing
their land of this grievance: but the brood came from the very quarter from
whence Apis was supposed to have arrived. They were certainly Hivites from
Egypt: and the same story is told of that country. It is represented as
having been of old over-run with serpents; and almost depopulated through
their numbers. Diodorus Siculus seems to understand this [512]literally:
but a region, which was annually overflowed, and that too for so long a
season, could not well be liable to such a calamity. They were serpents of
another nature, with which it was thus infested: and the history relates to
the Cuthites, the original Ophitae, who for a long time possessed that
country. They passed from Egypt to Syria, and to the Euphrates: and mention
is made of a particular breed of serpents upon that river, which were
harmless to the natives, but fatal to every body else. [513]This, I think,
cannot be understood literally. The wisdom of the serpent may be great; but
not sufficient to make these distinctions. These serpents were of the same
nature as the [514]birds of Diomedes, and the dogs in the temple of Vulcan:
and these histories relate to Ophite priests, who used to spare their own
people, and sacrifice strangers, a custom which prevailed at one time in
most parts of the world. I have mentioned that the Cuthite priests were
very learned: and as they were Ophites, whoever had the advantage of their
information, was said to have been instructed by serpents. Hence there was
a tradition, that Melampus was rendered prophetic from a communication with
these [515]animals. Something similar is said of Tiresias.

As the worship of the serpent was of old so prevalent, many places, as well
as people from thence, received their names. Those who settled in Campania
were called Opici; which some would have changed to Ophici; because they
were denominated from serpents. [516][Greek: Oi de (phasin) hoti Ophikoi
apo ton ophion.] But they are, in reality, both names of the same purport,
and denote the origin of the people. We meet with places called Opis,
Ophis, Ophitaea, Ophionia, Ophioessa, Ophiodes, and Ophiusa. This last was
an antient name, by which, according to Stephanus, the islands Rhodes,
Cythnus, Besbicus, Tenos, and the whole continent of Africa, were
distinguished. There were also cities so called. Add to these places
denominated Oboth, Obona, and reversed Onoba, from Ob, which was of the
same purport. Clemens Alexandrinus says, that the term Eva signified a
serpent, if pronounced with a proper [517]aspirate. We find that there were
places of this name. There was a city Eva in [518]Arcadia: and another in
[519]Macedonia. There was also a mountain Eva, or Evan, taken notice of by
[520]Pausanias, between which and Ithome lay the city Messene. He mentions
also an Eva in [521]Argolis, and speaks of it as a large town. Another name
for a serpent, of which I have as yet taken no notice, was Patan, or Pitan.
Many places in different parts were denominated from this term. Among
others was a city in [522]Laconia; and another in [523]Mysia, which
Stephanus styles a city of AEolia. They were undoubtedly so named from the
worship of the serpent, Pitan: and had probably Dracontia, where were
figures and devices relative to the religion which prevailed. Ovid mentions
the latter city, and has some allusions to its antient history, when he
describes Medea as flying through the air from Attica to Colchis.

  [524]AEoliam Pitanem laeva de parte relinquit,
  Factaque de saxo longi simulacra _Draconis_.

[Illustration: Pl. VIII.]

The city was situated upon the river Eva or Evan, which the Greeks rendered
[525]Evenus. It is remarkable, that the Opici, who are said to have been
denominated from serpents, had also the name of Pitanatae: at least one part
of that family were so called. [526][Greek: Tinas de kai Pitanatas
legesthai.] Pitanatae is a term of the same purport as Opici, and relates to
the votaries of Pitan, the serpent Deity, which was adored by that people.

Menelaus was of old styled [527]Pitanates, as we learn from Hesychius: and
the reason of it may be known from his being a Spartan, by which was
intimated one of the serpentigenae, or Ophites. Hence he was represented
with a serpent for a device upon his shield. It is said that a brigade, or
portion of infantry, was among some of the Greeks named [528]Pitanates; and
the soldiers, in consequence of it, must have been termed Pitanatae:
undoubtedly, because they had the Pitan, or serpent, for their
[529]standard. Analogous to this, among other nations, there were soldiers
called [530]Draconarii. I believe, that in most countries the military
standard was an emblem of the Deity there worshipped.

From what has been said, I hope, that I have thrown some light upon the
history of this primitive idolatry: and have moreover shewn, that wherever
any of these Ophite colonies settled they left behind from their rites and
institutes, as well as from the names, which they bequeathed to places,
ample memorials, by which they may be clearly traced out. It may seem
strange, that in the first ages there should have been such an universal
defection from the truth; and above all things such a propensity to this
particular mode of worship, this mysterious attachment to the serpent. What
is scarce credible, it obtained among Christians; and one of the most early
heresies in the church was of this sort, introduced by a sect, called by
[531]Epiphanius Ophitae, by [532]Clemens of Alexandria Ophiani. They are
particularly described by Tertullian, whose account of them is well worth
our notice. [533]Accesserunt his Haeretici etiam illi, qui Ophitae
nuncupantur: nam serpentem magnificant in tantum, ut illum etiam ipsi
Christo praeferant. Ipse enim, inquiunt, scientiae nobis boni et mali
originem dedit. Hujus animadvertens potentiam et majestatem Moyses aereum
posuit serpentem: et quicunque in eum aspexerunt, sanitatem consecuti sunt.
Ipse, aiunt, praeterea in Evangelio imitatur serpentis ipsius sacram
potestatem, dicendo, et sicut Moyses exaltavit serpentem in deserto, ita
exaltari oportet filium hominis. Ipsum introducunt ad benedicenda
Eucharistia sua. In the above we see plainly the perverseness of human wit,
which deviates so industriously; and is ever after employed in finding
expedients to countenance error, and render apostasy plausible. It would be
a noble undertaking, and very edifying in its consequences, if some person
of true learning, and a deep insight into antiquity, would go through with
the history of the [534]serpent. I have adopted it, as far as it relates to
my system, which is, in some degree, illustrated by it.

       *       *       *       *       *


CUCLOPES OR CYCLOPES.

    [Greek: Palaiotatoi men legontai en merei tini tes choras (tes
    Sikelias) Kuklopes, kai Laistrugones oikesai; hon ego oute genos echo
    eipein, oute hopothen eiselthon, e hopoi apechoresan.] Thucydides. l.
    6. p. 378.

Thucydides acquaints us concerning the Cyclopes and Laestrygones, that they
were the most antient inhabitants of Sicily, but that he could not find out
their race: nor did he know from what part of the world they originally
came, nor to what country they afterwards betook themselves. I may appear
presumptuous in pretending to determine a history so remote and obscure;
and which was a secret to this learned Grecian two thousand years ago. Yet
this is my present purpose: and I undertake it with a greater confidence,
as I can plainly shew, that we have many lights, with which the natives of
Hellas were unacquainted; besides many advantages, of which they would not
avail themselves.

The gigantic Cyclopes were originally Ophitae, who worshipped the symbolical
serpent. They have been represented by the poets, as persons of an enormous
[535]stature, rude and savage in their demeanour, and differing from the
rest of mankind in countenance. They are described as having only one large
eye; which is said to have been placed, contrary to the usual situation of
that organ, in the middle of their foreheads. Their place of residence was
upon mount AEtna, and in the adjacent district at the foot of that
[536]mountain, which was the original region styled Trinacia. This is the
common account, as it has been transmitted by the Poets, as well as by the
principal mythologists of Greece: and in this we have been taught to
acquiesce. But the real history is not so obvious and superficial. There
are accounts of them to be obtained, that differ much from the
representations which are commonly exhibited. The Poets have given a mixed
description: and in lieu of the Deity of the place have introduced these
strange personages, the ideas of whose size were borrowed from sacred
edifices, where the Deity was worshipped. They were Petra, or temples of
Coelus; of the same nature and form as the tower of Orion, which was at no
great distance from them. Some of them had the name of [537]Charon, and
Tarchon: and they were esteemed Pelorian, from the God Alorus, the same as
Coelus and Python. The Grecians confounded the people, who raised these
buildings, with the structures themselves. Strabo places them near
[538]AEtna, and Leontina: and supposes, that they once ruled over that part
of the island. And it is certain that a people styled Cyclopians did
possess that [539]province. Polyphemus is imagined to have been the chief
of this people: and Euripides describes the place of his residence as
towards the foot of the mountain: [540][Greek: Oikeis hup' Aitnei tei
purostaktoi Petrai]. They are represented as a people savage, and lawless,
and delighting in human flesh. Hence it is prophesied by Cassandra, as a
curse upon Ulysses, that he would one day be forced to seek for refuge in a
Cyclopian [541]mansion. And when he arrives under the roof of Polyphemus,
and makes inquiry about his host, and particularly upon what he fed; he is
told, that the Cyclops above all things esteemed the flesh of strangers.
[542]Chance never throws any body upon this coast, says Silenus, but he is
made a meal of; and it is looked upon as a delicious repast. This character
of the Cyclopians arose from the cruel custom of sacrificing strangers,
whom fortune brought upon their coast. This was practised in many parts of
the world, but especially here, and upon the coast of the Lamii in Italy;
and among all the Scythic nations upon the Euxine sea: into all which
regions it was introduced from Egypt and Canaan.

But we must not consider the Cyclopians in this partial light: nor look for
them only in the island of Sicily, to which they have been by the Poets
confined. Memorials of them are to be found in many parts of Greece, where
they were recorded as far superior to the natives in science and ingenuity.
The Grecians, by not distinguishing between the Deity, and the people, who
were called by his titles, have brought great confusion upon this history.
The Cyclopians were denominated from [Greek: Kuklops], Cyclops, the same as
Coelus. According to Parmeno Byzantinus, he was the God [543]Nilus of
Egypt, who was the same as [544]Zeus, and Osiris. The history both of the
Deity, and of the people, became in time obsolete: and it has been rendered
more obscure by the mixed manner in which it has been represented by the
Poets.

It is generally agreed by writers upon the subject, that the Cyclopians
were of a size superior to the common race of mankind. Among the many
tribes of the Amonians, which went abroad, were to be found people, who
were styled [545]Anakim, and were descended from the sons of Anac: so that
this history, though carried to a great excess, was probably founded in
truth. They were particularly famous for architecture; which they
introduced into Greece, as we are told by [546]Herodotus: and in all parts,
whither they came, they erected noble structures, which were remarkable for
their height and beauty: and were often dedicated to the chief Deity, the
Sun, under the name of Elorus, and P'elorus. People were so struck with
their grandeur, that they called every thing great and stupendous,
Pelorian. And when they described the Cyclopians as a lofty towering race,
they came at last to borrow their ideas of this people from the towers, to
which they alluded. They supposed them in height to reach to the clouds;
and in bulk to equal the promontories, on which they were founded. Homer
says of Polyphemus,

  [547][Greek: Kai gar thaum' etetukto pelorion, oude eoikei]
  [Greek: Andri ge sitophagoi, alla rhioi huleenti.]

Virgil says of the same person,

  [548]Ipse arduus, altaque pulsat sidera.

As these buildings were oftentimes light-houses, and had in their upper
story one round casement, Argolici clypei, aut Phoebeae lampadis instar, by
which they afforded light in the night-season; the Greeks made this a
characteristic of the people. They supposed this aperture to have been an
eye, which was fiery, and glaring, and placed in the middle of their
foreheads. Hence Callimachus describes them as a monstrous race:

                  [549][Greek: aina Pelora,]
  [Greek: Preosin Osseioisin eoikota; pasi d' hup' ophrun]
  [Greek: Phaea mounoglena sakei isa tetraboeioi.]

The Grecians have so confounded the Cyclopian Deity with his votaries, that
it is difficult to speak precisely of either. They sometimes mention him as
a single person; the same as Nilus of Egypt, who was esteemed the father of
the Gods. At other times they introduce a plurality, whom they still
represent as of the highest antiquity, and make the brethren of Cronus:
[550][Greek: Kuklopes--hoi adelphoi esan tou Kronou, tou patros tou Dios.]
Proclus in Photius informs us, that, according to the antient mythology of
the Auctores Cyclici, the giants with an hundred hands, and the Cyclopes,
were the first born of the [551]Earth and Coelus. But in these histories
every degree of relation has been founded upon idle surmises: and is
uniformly to be set aside. The Cyclopian Deity was [552]Ouranus, and the
Cyclopians were his priests and votaries: some of whom had divine honours
paid to them, and were esteemed as Gods. Upon the Isthmus of Corinth was an
antient temple; which seems to have been little more than a [Greek: taphos]
or high altar, where offerings were made to the Cyclopian [553]Deities.
People of this family settled upon the southern coast of Sicily at
Camarina; which some have supposed to have been the Hupereia of Homer,
where the Pheacians once resided.

  [554][Greek: Hoi prin men pot' enaion en euruchoroi Hupereiai,]
  [Greek: Anchou Kuklopon andron huperenoreonton.]

But there is no reason to think, that the city Hupereia was in Sicily; or
that the Pheacians came from that country. The notion arose from a common
mistake. All the Greek and Roman Poets, and even Strabo, with other
respectable writers, have taken it for granted, that the Cyclopians of
Homer were near AEtna in Sicily. Others except to their being near AEtna; and
insist, that they were in the vicinity of Eryx upon the opposite part of
the island. But Homer does not once mention the island during his whole
account of the Cyclopes: nor does Ulysses arrive in Sicily, till after many
subsequent adventures. That there were Cyclopians near AEtna is certain: but
those mentioned by Homer were of another country, and are represented as
natives of the continent though his account is very indeterminate and
obscure. There were probably people of this family in many parts of Sicily,
especially about the city Camarina. They seem to have been of the Anakim
race, and worshippers of the Sun. Hence they were styled Camarin, and their
chief city Camarina, which was so called from a city of the same name in
[555]Chaldea, the Ur of the Scriptures. Polyphemus is mentioned as a
musician and a shepherd; but of a savage and brutal disposition: which
character arose from the cruel rites practised by the Cyclopians. According
to [556]Bacchylides it was said, that Galatus, Illyrius, and Celtus were
the sons of Polyphemus. By this was certainly signified, that the Galatae,
Illyrii, and Celtae, were of Cyclopian original, and of the Anakim race; all
equally Amonians. Lycophron mentions the cave of this personage, by which
was meant an antient temple; and he calls it [557][Greek: monoglenou stegas
Charonos]: _the habitation of Charon, a personage with one eye_. But here,
as I have often observed, the place is mistaken for a person; the temple
for the Deity. Charon was the very place; the antient temple of the Sun. It
was therefore styled Char-On from the God, who was there worshipped; and
after the Egyptian custom an eye was engraved over its portal. These
temples were sometimes called Charis, [558][Greek: Charis]; which is a
compound of Char-Is, and signifies a prutaneion, or place sacred to
Hephastus. As the rites of fire were once almost universally practised,
there were many places of this name, especially in [559]Parthia, Babylonia,
and Phrygia. The Grecians rendered Char-Is by [Greek: Charis], a term in
their own language, which signified grace and elegance. And nothing
witnesses their attachment to antient terms more than their continually
introducing them, though they were strangers to their true meaning. The
Arimaspians were Hyperborean Cyclopians; and had temples named Charis, or
Charisia, in the top of which were preserved a perpetual fire. They were of
the same family as those of [560]Sicily, and had the same rites; and
particularly worshipped the Ophite Deity under the name of [561]Opis.
Aristeas Proconnesius wrote their history; and among other things mentioned
that they had but one eye, which was placed in their graceful forehead.

  [562][Greek: Ophthalmon d' hen' hekastos echei charienti metopoi.]

How could the front of a Cyclopian, one of the most hideous monsters that
ever poetic fancy framed, be styled graceful? The whole is a mistake of
terms: and what this writer had misapplied, related to Charis, a tower; and
the eye was the casement in the top of the edifice, where a light, and fire
were kept up. What confirmed the mistake was the representation of an eye,
which, as I have mentioned, was often engraved over the entrance of these
temples. The chief Deity of Egypt was frequently represented under the
symbol of an eye, [563]and a sceptre. I have observed, that Orion was
supposed to have had three fathers, merely because a tower, sacred to him
in Sicily, and called Tor-Pator, was altered to [Greek: Tripator]; which
change seemed to countenance such an opinion. The Cyclopians were of the
same region in that island; and their towers had undoubtedly the same name:
for the Cyclopians were styled [564][Greek: Tritopateres], and were
supposed to have been three in number. Some such mistake was made about the
towers styled Charis: whence the Grecians formed their notion of the
Graces. As Charis was a tower sacred to fire; some of the Poets have
supposed a nymph of that name, who was beloved by Vulcan. Homer speaks of
her as his wife: [565][Greek: Charis--Kale, hen opuie periklutos
Amphiguneis.] But Nonnus makes her his mistress; and says, that he turned
her out of doors for her jealousy.

  [566][Greek: Ek de domon edioke Charin zelemona numphen.]

The Graces were said to be related to the Sun who was in reality the same
as Vulcan. The Sun among the people of the east was called Hares, and with
a guttural, Chares: and his temple was styled Tor-Chares. But as Tor-Pator
was changed to Tripator; so Tor-Chares was rendered Trichares, which the
Greeks expressed [Greek: Tricharis]; and from thence formed a notion of
three Graces. Cicero says, that they were the daughters of night, and
Erebus: but Antimachus, more agreeably to this etymology, maintained, that
they were the offspring of the Sun and light; [567][Greek: Aigles kai
Heliou thugateras.] These seeming contradictions are not difficult to be
reconciled.

The Amonians, wherever they settled, were celebrated for their superiority
in science; and particularly for their skill in building. Of this family
were Trophonius, and his brother Agamedes, who are represented as very
great in the profession. They were truly wonderful, says [568]Pausanias,
for the temples, which they erected to the Gods; and for the stately
edifices, which they built for men. They were the architects, who contrived
the temple of Apollo at Delphi, and the treasury constructed to Urius. They
were, I make no doubt, some of those, who were styled Cyclopians; as the
people under this appellation were far the most eminent in this way. When
the Sibyl in Virgil shews AEneas the place of torment in the shades below,
and leads him through many melancholy recesses, we find that the whole was
separated from the regions of bliss by a wall built by the Cyclopians. The
Sibyl accordingly at their exit tells him,

          [569]Cyclopum educta caminis
  Moenia conspicio.

From hence we find that they were the reputed builders of the infernal
mansions; which notion arose from the real buildings, which they erected.
For all the ideas of the antients about the infernal regions, and the
torments of hell, were taken from the temples in each country; and from the
rites and inquisition practised in them. But the Cyclopians were not merely
imaginary operators. They founded several cities in Greece; and constructed
many temples to the Gods, which were of old in high repute. They were so
much esteemed for their skill, that, as the Scholiast upon Statius
observes, every thing great and noble was looked upon as Cyclopian:
[570]quicquid magnitudine sua nobile est, Cyclopum manu dicitur fabricatum.
Nor was this a fiction, as may be surmised; for they were in great measure
the real architects. And if, in the room of those portentous beings the
Cyclopes, [Greek: Kuklopes], we substitute a colony of people called
Cyclopians, we shall find the whole to be true, which is attributed to
them; and a new field of history will be opened, that was before unknown.
They were, undoubtedly, a part of the people styled Academians, who resided
in Attica; where they founded the Academia, and Ceramicus, and introduced
human sacrifices. Hence we are informed, that the Athenians, in the time of
a plague, sacrificed three virgin daughters of Hyacinthus at the tomb
Geraestus, the [571]Cyclops. But Geraestus was not a person, but a place.
[Greek: Geraistos] is a small variation for Ker-Astus; and signifies the
temple of Astus the God of fire. It was certainly the antient name of the
place where these sacrifices were exhibited: and the Taphos was a Cyclopian
altar, upon which they were performed. The Cyclopians are said to have
built the antient city Mycene, which Hercules in Seneca threatens to ruin.

      ----[572]quid moror? majus mihi
  Bellum Mycenis restat, ut Cyclopea
  Eversa manibus moenia nostris concidant.

Nonnus speaks of the city in the same light:

  [573][Greek: Stemmati teichioenti perizosthenta Mukene,]
  [Greek: Kuklopon kanonessi.]

The gate of the city, and the chief tower were particularly ascribed to
them: [574][Greek: Kuklopon de kai tauta erga einai legousin.] _These too
are represented as the work of the Cyclopians_. They likewise built Argos;
which is mentioned by Thyestes in Seneca as a wonderful performance.

          [575]Cyclopum sacras
  Turres, labore majus humano decus.

All these poetical histories were founded in original truths. Some of them
built Hermione, one of the most antient cities in Greece. The tradition
was, that it was built by [576]Hermion the son of Europs, or Europis, a
descendant of Phoroneus, and Niobe; and was inhabited by Dorians, who came
from Argos: in which history is more than at first appears. The city stood
near a stagnant lake, and a deep cavern; where was supposed to be the most
compendious passage to the shades below: [577][Greek: ten eis hadou
katabasin suntomon.] The lake was called the pool of Acherusia; near to
which and the yawning cavern the Cyclopians chose to take up their
habitation. They are said to have built [578]Tiryns; the walls of which
were esteemed no less a wonder than the [579]pyramids of Egypt. They must
have resided at Nauplia in Argolis; a place in situation not unlike
Hermione above-mentioned. Near this city were caverns in the earth, and
subterraneous passages, consisting of [580]labyrinths cut in the rock, like
the syringes in Upper Egypt, and the maze at the lake Maeris: and these too
were reputed the work of Cyclopians. Pausanias thinks very truly, that the
Nauplians were from Egypt. [581][Greek: Esan de hoi Nauplieis, emoi dokein,
Aiguptioi ta palaiotera.] _The Nauplians seem to me to have been a colony
from Egypt in the more early times_. He supposes that they were some of
those emigrants, who came over with Danaues. The nature of the works, which
the Cyclopians executed, and the lake, which they named Acherusia, shew
plainly the part of the world from whence they came. The next city to
Nauplia was Troezen, where Orus was said to have once reigned, from whom
the country was called Oraia: but Pausanias very justly thinks, that it was
an Egyptian history; and that the region was denominated from [582]Orus of
Egypt, whose worship undoubtedly had been here introduced. So that every
circumstance witnesses the country, from whence the Cyclopians came. Hence
when [583]Euripides speaks of the walls of antient Mycene, as built by the
Cyclopians after the Phenician rule and method: the Phenicians alluded to
were the [Greek: Phoinikes] of Egypt, to which country they are primarily
to be referred. Those who built Tiryns are represented as seven in number;
and the whole is described by Strabo in the following manner. [584][Greek:
Tirunthi hormeterioi chresasthai dokei Proitos, kai teichisai dia Kuklopon;
hous hepta men einai, kaleisthai de Gasterocheiras, trephomenous ek tes
technes.] _Proetus seems to have been the first who made use of Tiryns as
an harbour; which place he walled round by the assistance of the
Cyclopians. They were seven in number, styled Gastrocheirs; and lived by
their labour._ Hesychius in some degree reverses this strange name, and
says, that they were called [Greek: Encheirogasteres]. The Grecians
continually mistook places for persons, as I have shewn. These seven
Cyclopes were, I make no doubt, seven Cyclopian towers built by the people,
of whom I have been treating. Some of them stood towards the harbour to
afford light to ships, when they approached in the night. They were sacred
to Aster, or [585]Astarte; and styled Astro-caer, and Caer-Aster; out of
which the Greeks formed [Greek: Gastrocheir], and [Greek: Encheirogaster];
a strange medley made up of hands, and bellies. Strabo in particular having
converted these building's into so many masons, adds, [586][Greek:
Gasterocheiras, trephomenous ek tes technes]. _They were honest bellyhanded
men, industrious people, who got their livelihood by their art_. These
towers were erected likewise for Purait, or Puratheia, where the rites of
fire were performed: but Purait, or Puraitus, the Greeks changed to [Greek:
Proitos]; and gave out that the towers were built for [587]Proetus, whom
they made a king of that country.

I imagine, that not only the common idea of the Cyclopians was taken from
towers and edifices; but that the term [Greek: Kuklops], and [Greek:
Kuklopis], Cuclops, and Cuclopis, signified a building or temple; and from
thence the people had their name. They were of the same family as the
Cadmians, and Phoenices; and as the Hivites, or Ophites who came from
Egypt, and settled near Libanus and Baal Hermon, upon the confines of
Canaan. They worshipped the Sun under the symbol of a serpent: hence they
were styled in different parts, where they in time settled, Europians,
Oropians, Anopians, Inopians, Asopians, Elopians; all which names relate to
the worship of the Pytho Ops, or Opis. What may be the precise etymology of
the term [Greek: Kuklops], Cuclops, I cannot presume to determine. Cuclops,
as a personage, was said to have been the son of [588]Ouranus and the
earth: which Ouranus among the Amonians was often styled Coel, or Coelus;
and was worshipped under the forementioned emblem of a serpent. Hence the
temple of the Deity may have been originally called Cu-Coel-Ops, Domus
Coeli Pythonis; and the priests and people Cucelopians. But whatever may
have been the purport of the name, the history of these personages is
sufficiently determinate.

There was a place in Thrace called [589]Cuclops, where some of the
Cyclopian race had settled; for many of the Amonians came hither. Hence
Thrace seems at one time to have been the seat of science: and the
Athenians acknowledged, that they borrowed largely from them. The natives
were very famous; particularly the Pierians for their music, the Peonians
for pharmacy, and the Edonians for their rites and worship. Those, who went
under the name of Cyclopes, probably introduced architecture; for which art
they seem to have been every where noted. There was a fountain in these
parts, of which Aristotle takes notice, as of a wonderful nature.
[590][Greek: En de Kuklopsi tois Thraxi krenidion estin, hudor echon, ho
tei men opsei katharon, kai diaphanes, kai tois allois homoion; hotan de
piei ti zoon ex autou, parachrema diaphtheiretai.] _In the region of the
Cyclopians of Thrace is a fountain, clear to the eye, and pure, and in no
wise differing from common water: of which, however, if an animal drinks,
it is immediately poisoned_. There is another account given by Theopompus;
who speaks of the people by the name of the Chropes, which is a contraction
for Charopes. He says, that even going into the water was fatal.
[591][Greek: Theopompos historei krenen en Chropsi tes Thrakes, ex hes tous
lousamenous parachrema metallassein.] _Theopompus mentions a fountain among
the Charopes of Thrace, in which, if a person attempts to bathe, he
immediately loses his life._ I have taken notice of this history, because
we find, that the persons who are called [592]Cuclopes by one writer, are
styled Char-opes by another, and very justly: for the terms are nearly of
the same purport. The Charopes were denominated from a temple, and place
called Char-Ops, or Char-Opis, locus Dei Pythonis: and the Cyclopes were,
as I have before supposed, denominated from Cu-Coel-Ops, or Cu-Coel-Opis,
the temple of the same Deity. They were both equally named from the Ophite
God, the great object of their adoration, and from the temple where he was
worshipped.

The head of Medusa in Argolis is said to have been the work of the
[593]Cyclopians. This seems to have been an antient hieroglyphical
representation upon the temple of Caphisus. It was usual with the
Egyptians, and other Amonians, to describe, upon the Architrave of their
temples, some emblem of the Deity, who there presided. This representation
was often an eagle, or vulture; a wolf, or a lion; also an heart, or an
eye. The last, as I have shewn, was common to the temples of [594]Osiris,
and was intended to signify the superintendency of Providence, from whom
nothing was hid. Among others the serpent was esteemed a most salutary
emblem: and they made use of it to signify superior skill and knowledge. A
beautiful female countenance, surrounded with an assemblage of serpents,
was made to denote divine wisdom, which they styled Meed, and Meet, the
[Greek: Metis] of the Greeks. Under this characteristic they represented an
heavenly personage, and joined her with Eros, or divine love: and by these
two they supposed that the present mundane system was produced. Orpheus
speaks of this Deity in the masculine gender:

  [595][Greek: Kai Metis, protos genetor, kai Eros poluterpes.]

On this account many antient temples were ornamented with this curious
hieroglyphic: and among others the temple of Caphisus [596]in Argolis.
Caphisus is a compound of Caph-Isis, which signifies Petra Isidis, and
relates to the same Deity as Metis. For we must not regard sexes, nor
difference of appellations, when we treat of antient Deities.

  [597][Greek: Arsen men kai thelus ephus, polematoke Meti.]
  [598][Greek: Pantophues, genetor panton, poluonume Daimon.]

I have taken notice that the Cyclopians of Thrace were styled Charopes;
which name they must have received from their rites, and place of worship.
Char-Opis signifies the temple of the Python, or serpent: and we find that
it was situated near a poisonous pool. It was sacred to the Sun: and there
were many temples of this name in [599]Egypt, and other countries. The Sun
was called Arez; and the lion, which was an emblem of the Sun, had the same
denomination: and there is reason to think, that the device upon Charopian
temples was sometimes a lion. Homer, undoubtedly, had seen the fierce
figure of this animal upon some sacred portal in Egypt; to which he often
alludes, when he speaks of a Charopian lion.

  [600][Greek: Arktoit', agroteroi te Sues, charopoi te Leontes.]

[Illustration: _Pl. IX._ MEDUSA.

From a Gem in the Collection of His Grace the Duke of Marlborough]

The devices upon temples were often esteemed as talismans, and supposed to
have an hidden and salutary influence, by which the building was preserved.
In the temple of Minerva, at Tegea, was some sculpture of Medusa, which the
Goddess was said to have given, [601][Greek: analoton es ton panta kronon
einai (ten polin)]; _to preserve the city from ever being taken in war_. It
was probably from this opinion, that the [602]Athenians had the head of
Medusa represented upon the walls of their acropolis: and it was the
insigne of many cities, as we may find from antient coins. The notion of
the Cyclopes framing the thunder and lightning for Jupiter arose chiefly
from the Cyclopians engraving hieroglyphics of this sort upon the temples
of the Deity. Hence they were represented as persons,

  [603][Greek: Hoi Zeni bronten t' edosan, teuxan te keraunon.]

The Poets considered them merely in the capacity of blacksmiths, and
condemned them to the anvil. This arose from the chief Cyclopian Deity
being called Acmon, and Pyracmon. He was worshipped under the former title
in Phrygia; where was a city and district called Acmonia, mentioned by
Alexander [604]Polyhistor. The Amazonians paid the like reverence: and
there was a sacred grove called Acmonium upon the [605]Thermodon, which was
held in great repute. He was by some looked upon as the offspring of
heaven; by others worshipped as Ouranus, and Coelus, the heaven itself; and
Acmonides was supposed to have been his [606]son, whom some of the
mythologists made the ruling spirit of the earth. Hence Simmias Rhodius
introduces Divine Love displaying his influence, and saying, that he
produced Acmonides, that mighty monarch of the earth, and at the same time
founded the sea. [607][Greek: Leusse me ton Gas te barusternou Anakt'
Akmonidan, tan hala th' hedrasanta.]

Acmon seems to have been worshipped of old at Tiryns, that antient city of
Greece, whose towers were said to have been built by the Cyclopians. For
Acmon was the Cyclopian Deity; and is represented by Callimachus as the
tutelary God of the place, though the passage has been otherwise
interpreted.

          [608][Greek: Toios gar aei Tirunthios Akmon]
  [Greek: Hesteke pro puleon.]

The term has commonly been looked upon as an adjective; and the passage has
been rendered Talis Tirynthius indefessus, which is scarce sense.
Callimachus was very knowing in mythology, and is here speaking of the
Cyclopian God Acmon, whom he makes the [Greek: theos propulaios], or
guardian Deity of the place. It was the same God, that was afterwards
called Hercules, and particularly styled Tirynthius, to whom Callimachus
here alludes, under a more antient name.

As the Cyclopians were great artists, they probably were famous for works
in brass, and iron: and that circumstance in their history may have been
founded in truth. The Idaei Dactyli were Cyclopians: and they are said to
have first forged metals, and to have reduced them to common [609]use; the
knowledge of which art they obtained from the fusion of minerals at the
burning of mount [610]Ida. Whether this was an eruption of fire from the
internal part of the mountain, or only a fire kindled among the forests,
which crowned its summit, cannot be determined. It was an event of antient
date; and admitted, as a remarkable epocha, in the most early series of
chronology. From this event the Curetes, and Corybantes, who were the same
as the [611]Idaei Dactyli, are supposed to have learned the mystery of
fusing and forging metals. From them it was propagated to many countries
westward, particularly to the Pangaean mountains, and the region Curetis,
where the Cyclopians dwelt in Thrace: also to the region Trinacia and
Leontina, near AEtna, which they occupied in Sicily.

Thus have I endeavoured to shew the true history [612]and antiquity of this
people: and we may learn from their works, [613]that there was a time, when
they were held in high estimation. They were denominated from their
worship: and their chief Deity among other titles was styled Acmon, and
Pyracmon. They seem to have been great in many sciences: but the term Acmon
signifying among the Greeks an anvil, the Poets have limited them to one
base department, and considered them as so many blacksmiths. And as they
resided near AEtna, they have made the burning mountain their forge:

  [614]Ferrum exercebant vasto Cyclopes in antro,
  Brontesque, Steropesque, et nudus membra Pyracmon.

[Illustration: _Pl. X_]

       *       *       *       *       *


OF

TEMPLE RITES

IN THE

FIRST AGES.

I must continually put the reader in mind how common it was among the
Greeks, not only out of the titles of the Deities, but out of the names of
towers, and other edifices, to form personages, and then to invent
histories to support what they had done. When they had created a number of
such ideal beings, they tried to find out some relation: and thence
proceeded to determine the parentage, and filiation of each, just as fancy
directed. Some colonies from Egypt, and Canaan, settled in Thrace; as
appears from numberless memorials. The parts which they occupied were upon
the Hebrus, about Edonia, Sithonia, and Mount Haemus. They also held Pieria,
and Peonia, and all the sea coast region. It was their custom, as I have
before mentioned, in all their settlements to form puratheia; and to
introduce the rites of fire, and worship of the Sun. Upon the coast, of
which I have been speaking, a temple of this sort was founded, which is
called Torone. The name is a compound of Tor-On, as I have before taken
notice. The words purathus, and puratheia, were, in the language of Egypt,
Pur-Ath, and Por-Ait, formed from two titles of the God of fire. Out of one
of these the Grecians made a personage, which they expressed [Greek:
Proitos], Proetus, whose daughters, or rather priestesses, were the
Proetides. And as they followed the Egyptian rites, and held a Cow sacred,
they were, in consequence of it, supposed to have been turned into
[615]cows; just as the priestesses of Hippa were said to have been changed
into mares; the Oenotropae and Peleiadae into pigeons. Proteus of Egypt, whom
Menelaus was supposed to have consulted about his passage homeward, was a
tower of this sort with a purait. It was an edifice, where both priests and
pilots resided to give information; and where a light was continually
burning to direct the ships in the night. The tower of Torone likewise was
a Pharos, and therefore styled by Lycophron [Greek: phlegraia Torone], the
flaming Torone. The country about it was, in like manner, called
[616][Greek: Phlegra], Phlegra, both from these flaming Towers, and from
the worship there introduced. There seems to have been a fire-tower in this
region named Proteus; for, according to the antient accounts, Proteus is
mentioned as having resided in these parts, and is said to have been
married to Torone. He is accordingly styled by the Poet,

  [617][Greek: phlegraias posis]
  [Greek: Stugnos Torones, hoi gelos apechthetai,]
  [Greek: Kai dakru.]

The epithet [Greek: stugnos], gloomy, and sad, implies a bad character,
which arose from the cruel rites practised in these places. In all these
temples they made it a rule to sacrifice strangers, whom fortune brought in
their way. Torone stood near [618]Pallene, which was styled [619][Greek:
Gegenon trophos], _the nurse of the earth-born, or giant brood_. Under this
character both the sons of Chus, and the Anakim of Canaan are included.
Lycophron takes off from Proteus the imputation of being accessary to the
vile practices, for which the place was notorious; and makes only his sons
guilty of murdering strangers. He says, that their father left them out of
disgust,

  [620][Greek: Teknon aluxas tas xenoktonas palas.]

In this he alludes to a custom, of which I shall take notice hereafter.
According to Eustathius, the notion was, that Proteus fled by a
subterraneous passage to Egypt, in company with his daughter Eidothea.
[621][Greek: Apokateste eis Pharon meta tes thugatros Eidotheas.] He went,
it seems, from one Pharos to another; from Pallene to the mouth of the
Nile. The Pharos of Egypt was both a watch-tower, and a temple, where
people went to inquire about the success of their voyage; and to obtain the
assistance of pilots. Proteus was an Egyptian title of the Deity, under
which he was worshipped, both in the Pharos, and at [622]Memphis. He was
the same as Osiris, and Canobus: and particularly the God of mariners, who
confined his department to the [623]sea. From hence, I think, we may
unravel the mystery about the pilot of Menelaus, who is said to have been
named Canobus, and to have given name to the principal seaport in Egypt.
The priests of the country laughed at the idle [624]story; and they had
good reason: for the place was far prior to the people spoken of, and the
name not of Grecian original. It is observable, that Stephanus of Byzantium
gives the pilot another name, calling him, instead of Canobus, [Greek:
Pharos], Pharus. His words are [Greek: Pharos ho Proreus Menalaou], which
are scarce sense. I make no doubt, from the history of Proteus above, but
that in the original, whence Stephanus copied, or at least whence the story
was first taken, the reading was [Greek: Pharos ho Proteus Menelaou]; that
is, the Proteus of Menelaus, so celebrated by Homer, who is represented, as
so wise, and so experienced in navigation, whom they esteemed a great
prophet, and a Deity of the sea, was nothing else but a Pharos. In other
words, it was a temple of Proteus upon the Canobic branch of the Nile, to
which the Poet makes Menelaus have recourse. Such was the original history:
but [Greek: Proteus Menelaou] has been changed to [Greek: proreus]; and the
God Canobus turned into a Grecian pilot. As these were Ophite temples, a
story has been added about this person having been stung by a serpent.
[625][Greek: Proreus en tei nesoi dechtheis hupo opheos etaphe.] _This
Pilot was bitten by a serpent, and buried in the island_. Conformable to my
opinion is the account given by Tzetzes, who says, that Proteus resided in
the [626]Pharos: by which is signified, that he was the Deity of the place.
He is represented in the Orphic poetry as the first-born of the world, the
chief God of the sea, and at the same time a mighty [627]prophet.

The history then of Menelaus in Egypt, if such a person ever existed,
amounts to this. In a state of uncertainty he applied to a temple near
Canobus, which was sacred to Proteus. This was one title out of many, by
which the chief Deity of the country was worshipped, and was equivalent to
On, Orus, Osiris, and Canobus. From this place Menelaus obtained proper
advice, by which he directed his voyage. Hence some say, that he had
[Greek: Phrontis], Phrontis, for his pilot. [628][Greek: Kubernetes aristos
Menelaou ho Phrontis, huios Onetoros.] _Menelaus had an excellent pilot,
one Phrontis, the son of Onetor._ This, I think, confirms all that I have
been saying: for what is Phrontis, but advice and experience? and what is
Onetor, but the Pharos, from whence it was obtained? Onetor is the same as
Torone, [Greek: Torone], only reversed. They were both temples of Proteus,
the same as On, and Orus: both [Greek: Phlegraiai], by which is meant
temples of fire, or light-houses. Hence we may be pretty certain, that the
three pilots, Canobus, Phrontis, Pharos, together with Onetor, were only
poetical personages: and that the terms properly related to towers, and
sanctuaries, which were of Egyptian original.

These places were courts of justice, where the priests seem to have
practised a strict inquisition; and where pains and penalties were very
severe. The notion of the Furies was taken from these temples: for the term
Furia is from Ph'ur, ignis, and signifies a priest of fire. It was on
account of the cruelties here practised, that most of the antient judges
are represented as inexorable; and are therefore made judges in hell. Of
what nature their department was esteemed may be learned from Virgil,

  [629]Gnossius haec Rhadamanthus habet durissima regna:
  Castigatque, auditque dolos, subigitque fateri, &c.

The temple at Phlegya in Boeotia was probably one of these courts; where
justice was partially administered, and where great cruelties were
exercised by the priests. Hence a person, named Phlegyas, is represented in
the shades below, crying out in continual agony, and exhorting people to
justice.

  [630]--Phlegyasque miserrimus omnes
  Admonet, et tristi testatur voce per umbras,
  Discite justitiam moniti, et non temnere Divos.

Excellent counsel, but introduced rather too late. Phlegyas was in reality
the Sun; so denominated by the AEthiopes, or Cuthites, and esteemed the same
as Mithras of Persis. They looked up to him as their great benefactor, and
lawgiver: for they held their laws as of divine original. His worship was
introduced among the natives of Greece by the Cuthites, styled Ethiopians,
who came from Egypt. That this was the true history of Phlegyas we may be
assured from Stephanus, and Phavorinus. They mention both Phlegyas, and
Mithras, as men deified; and specify, that they were of Ethiopian original.
[631][Greek: Mithran, kai Phleguan, andras Aithiopas to genos.] Minos
indeed is spoken of, as an upright judge: and the person alluded to under
that character was eminently distinguished for his piety, and justice. But
his priests were esteemed far otherwise, for they were guilty of great
cruelties. Hence we find, that Minos was looked upon as a judge of hell,
and styled Quaesitor Minos. He was in reality a Deity, the same as Menes,
and Menon of Egypt: and as Manes of Lydia, Persis, and other countries. And
though his history be not consistently exhibited, yet, so much light may be
gained from the Cretans, as to certify us, that there was in their island a
temple called Men-Tor, the tower of Men, or Menes. The Deity, from a
particular [632]hieroglyphic, under which the natives worshipped him, was
styled Minotaurus. To this temple the Athenians were obliged annually to
send some of their prime youth to be sacrificed; just as the people of
Carthage used to send their children to be victims at [633]Tyre. The
Athenians were obliged for some time to pay this tribute, as appears from
the festival in commemoration of their deliverance. The places most
infamous for these customs were those, which were situated upon the
seacoast: and especially those dangerous passes, where sailors were obliged
to go on shore for assistance, to be directed in their way. Scylla upon the
coast of Rhegium was one of these: and appears to have been particularly
dreaded by mariners. Ulysses in Homer says, that he was afraid to mention
her name to his companions, lest they should through astonishment have lost
all sense of preservation.

  [634][Greek: Skullen d' ouket' emutheomen aprekton anien,]
  [Greek: Mepos moi deisantes apollexeian hetairoi,]
  [Greek: Eiresies, entos de pukazoien spheas autous.]

Some suppose Scylla to have been a dangerous rock; and that it was
abominated on account of the frequent shipwrecks. There was a rock of that
name, but attended with no such peril. We are informed by Seneca,
[635]Scyllam saxum esse, et quidem non terribile navigantibus. It was the
temple, built of old upon that [636]eminence, and the customs which
prevailed within, that made it so detested. This temple was a Petra: hence
Scylla is by Homer styled [Greek: Skulle Petraie]; and the dogs, with which
she was supposed to have been surrounded, were Cahen, or priests.

As there was a Men-tor in Crete, so there was a place of the same name,
only reversed, in Sicily, called Tor-men, and Tauromenium. There is reason
to think, that the same cruel practices prevailed here. It stood in the
country of the Lamiae, Lestrygons, and Cyclopes, upon the river On-Baal,
which the Greeks rendered Onoballus. From hence we may conclude, that it
was one of the Cyclopian buildings. Homer has presented us with something
of truth, though we receive it sadly mixed with fable. We find from him,
that when Ulysses entered the dangerous pass of Rhegium, he had six of his
comrades seized by Scylla: and he loses the same number in the cavern of
the Cyclops, which that monster devoured. Silenus, in a passage before
taken notice of, is by Euripides made to say, that the most agreeable
repast to the Cyclops was the flesh of strangers: nobody came within his
reach, that he did not feed upon.

  [637][Greek: Glukutata, phesi, ta krea tous xenous pherein;]
  [Greek: Oudeis molon deur', hostis ou katesphage.]

From these accounts some have been led to think, that the priests in these
temples really fed upon the flesh of the persons sacrificed: and that these
stories at bottom allude to a shocking depravity; such, as one would hope,
that human nature could not be brought to. Nothing can be more horrid, than
the cruel process of the Cyclops, as it is represented by Homer. And though
it be veiled under the shades of poetry, we may still learn the
detestation, in which these places were held.

  [638][Greek: Sun de duo marpsas hoste skulakas poti gaiei]
  [Greek: Kopt', ek d' enkephalos chamadis rhee, deue de gaian.]
  [Greek: Tous te diameleisti tamon hoplissato dorpon;]
  [Greek: Esthie d' oste leon oresitrophos, oud' apeleipen]
  [Greek: Enkata te, sarkas te, kai ostea mueloenta.]
  [Greek: Hemeis de klaiontes aneschethomen Dii cheiras,]
  [Greek: Sketlia erg' horoontes, amechanie d' eche thumon.]

  [639]He answered with his deed: his bloody hand
  Snatch'd two unhappy of my martial band,
  And dash'd like dogs against the rocky floor:
  The pavement swims with brains, and mingled gore.
  Torn limb from limb, he spreads the horrid feast,
  And fierce devours it like a mountain beast.
  He sucks the marrow, and the blood he drains;
  Nor entrails, flesh, nor solid bone remains.
  We see the death, from which we cannot move,
  And humbled groan beneath the hand of Jove.

One would not be very forward to strengthen an imputation, which disgraces
human nature: yet there must certainly have been something highly brutal
and depraved in the character of this people, to have given rise to this
description of foul and unnatural feeding. What must not be concealed,
Euhemerus, an antient writer, who was a native of these parts, did aver,
that this bestial practice once prevailed. Saturn's devouring his own
children is supposed to allude to this custom. And we learn from this
writer, as the passage has been transmitted by [640]Ennius, that not only
Saturn, but Ops, and the rest of mankind in their days, used to feed upon
human flesh.--[641]Saturnum, et Opem, caeterosque tum homines humanam carnem
solitos esitare. He speaks of Saturn, and Ops, as of persons, who once
lived in the world, and were thus guilty. But the priests of their temples
were the people to be really accused; the Cyclopians, Lamiae, and
Lestrygons, who officiated at their altars. He speaks of the custom, as
well known: and it had undoubtedly been practised in those parts, where in
aftertimes hie was born. For he was a native [642]of Zancle, and lived in
the very country, of which we have been speaking, in the land of the
Lestrygons, and Cyclopians. The promontory of Scylla was within his sight.
He was therefore well qualified to give an account of these parts; and his
evidence must necessarily have weight. Without doubt these cruel practices
left lasting impressions; and the memorials were not effaced for ages.

It is said of Orpheus by Horace, Caedibus, et victu foedo deterruit: by
which one should be led to think, that the putting a stop to this unnatural
gratification was owing to him. Others think, that he only discountenanced
the eating of raw flesh, which before had been usual. But this could not be
true of Orpheus: for it was a circumstance, which made one part of his
institutes. If there were ever such a man, as Orpheus, he enjoined the very
thing, which he is supposed to have prohibited. For both in the [643]orgies
of Bacchus and in the rites of Ceres, as well as of other Deities, one part
of the mysteries consisted in a ceremony styled [Greek: omophagia]; at
which time they eat the flesh quite crude with the blood. In Crete at the
[644]Dionusiaca they used to tear the flesh with their teeth from the
animal, when alive. This they did in commemoration of Dionusus. [645]Festos
funeris dies statuunt, et annuum sacrum trieterica consecratione componunt,
omnia per ordinem facientes, quae puer moriens aut fecit, aut passus est.
_Vivum laniant dentibus Taurum_, crudeles epulas annuis commemorationibus
excitantes. Apollonius Rhodius speaking of persons like to Bacchanalians,
represents them [646][Greek: Thuasin omoborois ikelai], as savage as the
Thyades, who delighted in bloody banquets. Upon this the Scholiast
observes, that the Maenadas, and Bacchae, used to devour the raw limbs of
animals, which they had cut or torn asunder. [647][Greek: Pollakis tei
maniai kataschisthenta, kai omosparakta, esthiousin.] In the island of
Chios it was a religious custom to tear a man limb from limb by way of
sacrifice to Dionusus. The same obtained in Tenedos. It is Porphyry, who
gives the account. He was a staunch Pagan, and his evidence on that account
is of consequence. He quotes for the rites of Tenedos Euelpis the
Carystian. [648][Greek: Ethuonto de kai en Chio toi Omadioi Dionusoi
anthropon diespontes; kai en Tenedoi, phesin Euelpis ho Karustios.] From
all which we may learn one sad truth, that there is scarce any thing so
impious and unnatural, as not at times to have prevailed.

We need not then wonder at the character given of the Lestiygones, Lamiae,
and Cyclopians, who were inhabitants of Sicily, and lived nearly in the
same part of the island. They seem to have been the priests, and
priestesses, of the Leontini, who resided at Pelorus, and in the Cyclopian
towers: on which account the Lamiae are by Lucilius termed [649]Turricolae.
They are supposed to have delighted in human blood, like the Cyclopians,
but with this difference, that their chief repast was the flesh of young
persons and children; of which they are represented as very greedy. They
were priests of Ham, called El Ham; from whence was formed 'Lamus and
'Lamia. Their chief city, the same probably, which was named Tauromenium,
is mentioned by Homer, as the city of Lamus.

  [650][Greek: Hebdomatei d' hikomestha Lamou aipu ptoliethron.]

And the inhabitants are represented as of the giant race.

  [651][Greek: Phoiton d' iphthimoi Laistrugones, allothen allos,]
  [Greek: Murioi, ouk andressin eoikotes, alla Gigasi.]

Many give an account of the Lestrygons, and Lamiae, upon the Liris in Italy;
and also upon other parts of that coast: and some of them did settle there.
But they were more particularly to be found in [652]Sicily near Leontium,
as the Scholiast upon Lycophron observes. [653][Greek: Laistrugones, hoi
nun Leontinoi.] _The antient Lestrygons were the people, whose posterity
are now called Leontini_. The same writer takes notice of their incivility
to strangers: [654][Greek: Ouk esan eithismenoi xenous hupodechesthai.]
That they were Amonians, and came originally from Babylonia, is pretty
evident from the history of the Erythrean Sibyl; who was no other than a
Lamian priestess. She is said to have been the daughter of Lamia, who was
the daughter of Poseidon. [655][Greek: Sibullan--Lamias ousan thugatera tou
Poseidonos.] Under the character of one person is to be understood a
priesthood: of which community each man was called Lamus, and each
priestess Lamia. By the Sibyl being the daughter of Lamia, the daughter of
Poseidon, is meant, that she was of Lamian original, and ultimately
descended from the great Deity of the sea. Who is alluded to under that
character, will hereafter be shewn. The countries, to which the Sibyl is
referred, point out her extraction: for she is said to have come from
Egypt, and Babylonia. [656][Greek: Hoi de auten Babulonian, heteroi de
Sibullan kalousin Aiguptian.] If the Sibyl came from Babylonia and Egypt,
her supposed parent, Lamia, must have been of the same original.

The Lamiae were not only to be found in Italy, and Sicily, but Greece,
Pontus, and [657]Libya. And however widely they may have been separated,
they are still represented in the same unfavourable light. Euripides says,
that their very name was detestable.

  [658][Greek: Tis t' ounoma tod' eponeidiston brotois]
  [Greek: Ouk oide Lamias tes Libustikes genos.]

Philostratus speaks of their bestial appetite, and unnatural gluttony.
[659][Greek: Lamias sarkon, kai malista anthropeion erain.] And Aristotle
alludes to practices still more shocking: as if they tore open the bodies
big with child, that they might get at the infant to devour it. _I speak_,
says he, _of people, who have brutal appetites_. [660][Greek: Lego de tas
theriodeis, hoion ten anthropon, ten legousi tas kuousas anaschizousan ta
paidia katestheein.] These descriptions are perhaps carried to a great
excess; yet the history was founded in truth: and shews plainly what
fearful impressions were left upon the minds of men from the barbarity of
the first ages.

One of the principal places in Italy, where the Lamia seated themselves,
was about Formiae; of which Horace takes notice in his Ode to AElius Lamia.

  [661]AEli, vetusto nobilis ab Lamo, &c.
  Authore ab illo ducis originem,
  Qui Formiarum moenia dicitur
    Princeps, et innantem Maricae
    Littoribus tenuisse Lirim.

The chief temple of the Formians was upon the sea-coast at Caiete. It is
said to have had its name from a woman, who died here: and whom some make
the nurse of AEneas, others of Ascanius, others still of [662]Creusa. The
truth is this: it stood near a cavern, sacred to the God Ait, called Ate,
Atis, and Attis; and it was hence called Caieta, and Caiatta. Strabo says,
that it was denominated from a cave, though he did not know the precise
[663]etymology. There were also in the rock some wonderful subterranes,
which branched out into various apartments. Here the antient Lamii, the
priests of Ham, [664]resided: whence Silius Italicus, when he speaks of the
place, styles it [665]Regnata Lamo Caieta. They undoubtedly sacrificed
children here; and probably the same custom was common among the Lamii, as
prevailed among the Lacedaemonians, who used to whip their children round
the altar of Diana Orthia. Thus much we are assured by Fulgentius, and
others, that the usual term among the antient Latines for the whipping of
children was Caiatio. [666]Apud Antiquos Caiatio dicebatur puerilis caedes.

The coast of Campania seems to have been equally infamous: and as much
dreaded by mariners, as that of Rhegium, and Sicily. Here the Sirens
inhabited, who are represented, as the bane of all, who navigated those
seas. They like the Lamii were Cuthite, and Canaanitish priests, who had
founded temples in these parts; and particularly near three small islands,
to which they gave name. These temples were rendered more than ordinary
famous on account of the women, who officiated. They were much addicted to
the cruel rites, of which I have been speaking; so that the shores, upon
which they resided, are described, as covered with the bones of men,
destroyed by their artifice.

  [667]Jamque adeo scopulos Sirenum advecta subibat,
  Difficiles quondam, multorumque ossibus albos.

They used hymns in their temples, accompanied with the music of their
country: which must have been very enchanting, as we may judge from the
traditions handed down of its efficacy. I have mentioned, that the songs of
the Canaanites and Cretans were particularly plaintive, and pleasing:

  [668]They sang in sweet but melancholy strains;
  Such as were warbled by the Delian God,
  When in the groves of Ida he bewail'd
  The lovely lost Atymnius.

But nothing can shew more fully the power of antient harmony than the
character given of the Sirens. Their cruelty the antients held in
detestation; yet always speak feelingly of their music. They represent
their songs as so fatally winning, that nobody could withstand their
sweetness. All were soothed with it; though their life was the purchase of
the gratification. The Scholiast upon Lycophron makes them the children of
the muse [669]Terpsichore. Nicander supposes their mother to have been
Melpomene: others make her Calliope. The whole of this is merely an
allegory; and means only that they were the daughters of harmony. Their
efficacy is mentioned by [670]Apollonius Rhodius: and by the Author of the
Orphic [671]Argonautica: but the account given by Homer is by far the most
affecting.

  [672][Greek: Seirenas men proton aphixeai, hai rha te pantas]
  [Greek: Anthropous thelgousin, hotis spheas eisaphikanei.]
  [Greek: Hostis aidreiei pelasei, kai phthongon akousei]
  [Greek: Seirenon, toi d' outi gune, kai nepia tekna]
  [Greek: Oikade nostesanti paristatai, oude ganuntai;]
  [Greek: Alla te Seirenes ligurei thelgousin aoidei,]
  [Greek: Hemenoi en leimoni; polus t' amph' osteophin this]
  [Greek: Andron puthomenon, peri de rhinoi phthinuthousin.]

They are the words of Circe to Ulysses, giving him an account of the
dangers which he was to encounter.

  [673]Next where the Sirens dwell, you plough the seas.
  Their song is death, and makes destruction please.
  Unblest the man, whom music makes to stray
  Near the curst coast, and listen to their lay.
  No more that wretch shall view the joys of life,
  His blooming offspring, or his pleasing wife.

  In verdant meads they sport, and wide around
  Lie human bones, that whiten all the ground:
  The ground polluted floats with human gore,
  And human carnage taints the dreadful shore.
  Fly, fly the dangerous coast.

The story at bottom relates to the people above-mentioned; who with their
music used to entice strangers into the purlieus of their temples, and then
put them to death. Nor was it music only, with which persons were seduced
to follow them. The female part of their choirs were maintained for a
twofold purpose, both on account of their voices and their beauty. They
were accordingly very liberal of their favours, and by these means enticed
seafaring persons, who paid dearly for their entertainment. Scylla was a
personage of this sort: and among the fragments of Callimachus we have a
short, but a most perfect, description of her character.

  [674][Greek: Skulla, gune katakasa, kai ou psuthos ounom' echousa.]

[Greek: Katakasa] is by some interpreted _malefica_: upon which the learned
Hemsterhusius remarks very justly--[Greek: katakasa] cur Latine vertatur
malefica non video. Si Grammaticis obtemperes, meretricem interpretabere:
erat enim revera [Greek: Nesiotis kale hetaira], ut Heraclitus [Greek: peri
apis]: c. 2. Scylla then, under which character we are here to understand
the chief priestess of the place, was no other than a handsome island
strumpet. Her name it seems betokened as much, and she did not belie it:
[Greek: ou psuthos ounom' echousa]. We may from these data decipher the
history of Scylla, as given by Tzetzes. [Greek: En de proton Skulla gune
euprepes; Poseidoni de sunousa apetheriothe.] _Scylla was originally a
handsome wench: but being too free with seafaring people she made herself a
beast_. She was, like the Sibyl of Campania, said by Stesichorus to have
been the daughter of [675]Lamia. Hence we may learn, that all, who resided
in the places, which I have been describing, were of the same religion, and
of the same family; being the descendants of Ham, and chiefly by the
collateral branches of Chus, and Canaan.

The like rites prevailed in Cyprus, which had in great measure been peopled
by persons of these [676]families. One of their principal cities was
Curium, which was denominated from [677]Curos, the Sun, the Deity, to whom
it was sacred. In the perilous voyages of the antients nothing was more
common than for strangers, whether shipwrecked, or otherwise distressed, to
fly to the altar of the chief Deity, [Greek: Theou philiou, kai xeniou],
_the God of charity and hospitality_, for his protection. This was fatal to
those who were driven upon the western coast of Cyprus. The natives of
Curium made it a rule to destroy all such, under an appearance of a
religious rite. Whoever laid their hands upon the altar of Apollo, were
cast down the precipice, upon which it stood. [678][Greek: Euthus estin
akra, aph' hes rhiptousi tous hapsamenous tou bomou tou Apollonos]. Strabo
speaks of the practice, as if it subsisted in his time. A like custom
prevailed at the Tauric Chersonesus, as we are informed by Herodotus.
[679][Greek: Thuousi men tei Parthenoi tous te nauegous, kai tous an labosi
Hellenon epanachthentas, tropoi toioide. Katarxamenoi rhopaloi paiousi ten
kephalen. Hoi men de legousi, hos to soma apo tou kremnou diotheousi kato;
epi gar kremnou hidrutai to Hiron. ktl.] _The people of this place worship
the virgin Goddess Artemis: at whose shrine they sacrifice all persons, who
have the misfortune to be shipwrecked upon their coast: and all the
Grecians, that they can lay hold of, when they are at any time thither
driven. All these they without any ceremony brain with a club. Though
others say, that they shove them off headlong from a high precipice: for
their temple is founded upon a cliff._

The den of Cacus was properly Ca-Chus, the cavern or temple of Chus, out of
which the poets, and later historians have formed a strange personage, whom
they represent as a shepherd, and the son of Vulcan. Many antient
Divinities, whose rites and history had any relation to Ur in Chaldea, are
said to have been the children of Vulcan; and oftentimes to have been born
in fire. There certainly stood a temple of old upon the Aventine mountain
in Latium, which was the terror of the neighbourhood. The cruelties of the
priests, and their continual depredations, may be inferred from the history
of Cacus. Virgil makes Evander describe the place to AEneas; though it is
supposed in his time to have been in ruins.

  [680]Jam primum saxis suspensam hanc aspice rupem,
  Disjectae procul ut moles, desertaque montis
  Stat domus, et scopuli ingentem traxere ruinam.
  Hic spelunca fuit, vasto submota recessu,
  Semihominis Caci, facies quam dira tegebat,
  Solis inaccessum radiis: semperque recenti
  Caede tepebat humus; foribusque affixa superbis
  Ora virum tristi pendebant pallida tabo.
  Huic monstro Vulcanus erat pater.

Livy mentions Cacus as a shepherd, and a person of great strength, and
violence. [681]Pastor, accola ejus loci, Cacus, ferox viribus. He is
mentioned also by Plutarch, who styles him Caccus, [Greek: Kakkos].
[682][Greek: Ton men gar Hephaistou paida Romaioi Kakkon historousi pur kai
phlogas aphienai dia tou stomatos exo rheousas.] As there were both
priests, and priestesses, in temples of this sort, persons styled both
Lami, and Lamiae; so we read both of a Cacus, and a Caca. The latter was
supposed to have been a Goddess, who was made a Deity for having betrayed
her brother to Hercules. [683]Colitur et Caca, quae Herculi fecit indicium
boum; divinitatem consecuta, quia perdidit fratrem. In short, under the
characters of Caca, and Cacus, we have a history of Cacusian priests, who
seem to have been a set of people devoted to rapine and murder.

What we express Cocytus, and suppose to have been merely a river, was
originally a temple in Egypt called Co-Cutus: for rivers were generally
denominated from some town, or temple, near which they ran. Co-Cutus means
the Cuthite temple, the house of Cuth. It was certainly a place of
inquisition, where great cruelties were exercised. Hence the river, which
was denominated from it, was esteemed a river of hell; and was supposed to
have continual cries, and lamentations resounding upon its waters.

  [684]Cocytus, named of lamentation loud
  Heard on its banks.

Milton supposes the river to have been named from the Greek word [Greek:
kokutos]: but the reverse is the truth. From the baleful river and temple
Co-cutus came the Greek terms [Greek: kokutos], and [Greek: kokuo].
Acheron, another infernal river, was properly a temple of Achor, the
[Greek: theos apomuios] of Egypt, Palestine, and Cyrene. It was a temple of
the Sun, called Achor-On: and it gave name to the river, on whose banks it
stood. Hence like Cocutus it was looked upon as a melancholy stream, and by
the Poet Theocritus styled [685][Greek: Acheronta polustonon], _the river
of lamentations_. Aristophanes speaks of an eminence of this name, and
calls it [686][Greek: Acherontios skopelos haimatostages], _the rock of
Acheron, dropping blood_.

       *       *       *       *       *


OF

MEED OR [Greek: METIS],

AND THE

GODDESS HIPPA.

One of the most antient Deities of the Amonians was named Meed, or Meet; by
which was signified divine wisdom. It was rendered by the Grecians [Greek:
Metis] in the masculine: but seems to have been a feminine Deity; and
represented under the symbol of a beautiful female countenance surrounded
with serpents. The author of the Orphic Poetry makes Metis the origin of
all [687]things: which Proclus expresses [688][Greek: ten demiourgiken
aitian]: and supposes this personage to be the same as Phanes, and
Dionusus, from whom all things proceeded. By Timotheus Chronographus, in
his account of the creation, this divinity was described as that vivifying
light, which first broke forth upon the infant world, and produced life and
motion. His notion is said to have been borrowed from Orpheus: [Greek:
Ephrase de (ho] [689] [Greek: Orpheus) hoti to phos rhexan ton aithera
ephotise pasan ten ktisin; eipon, ekeino einai to phos to rhexan ton
aithera to proeiremenon, to hupertaton panton, hou onoma ho autos Orpheus
akousas ek Manteias exeipe METIS, hoper hermeneuetai BOULE, PHOS, ZOODOTER.
Eipen en tei autou ekthesei tautas tas treis theias ton onomaton dunameis
mian einai dunamin, kai hen kratos touton Theon, hon oudeis horai.] The
account is remarkable. Hippa was another Goddess, of the like antiquity,
and equally obsolete. Some traces however are to be still found in the
Orphic verses above-mentioned, by which we may discover her original
character and department. She is there represented as the nurse of
[690]Dionusus, and seems to have been the same as Cybele, who was
worshipped in the mountains of [691]Phrygia, and by the Lydians upon
Tmolus. She is said to have been the soul of the [692]world: and the person
who received and fostered Dionusus, when he came from the thigh of his
father. This history relates to his second birth, when he returned to a
second state of childhood. Dionusus was the chief God of the Gentile world,
and worshipped under various titles; which at length came to be looked upon
as different Deities. Most of these secondary Divinities had the title of
Hippius, and Hippia: and as they had female attendants in their temples,
these too had the name of Hippai. What may have been the original of the
term Hippa, and Hippus, will be matter of future disquisition. Thus much is
certain, that the Greeks, who were but little acquainted with the purport
of their antient theology, uniformly referred it to [693]horses. Hence it
was often prefixed to the names of Gods, and of Goddesses, when it had no
relation to their department; and seemed inconsistent with their character.
We have not only an account of [Greek: Ares Hippios], Mars the horseman;
but of Poseidon Hippius, though a God of the sea. He is accordingly
complimented upon this title by the Poet Aristophanes.

  [694][Greek: Hippi' Anax Poseidon, hoi]
  [Greek: Chalkokroton hippon ktupos]
  [Greek: Kai chremetismos handanei.]

Ceres had the title of Hippia: and the Goddess of wisdom, Minerva, had the
same. We read also of Juno Hippia, who at Olympia partook of joint rites
and worship, with those equestrian Deities Neptune, and Mars. Pausanias
mentions [695][Greek: Poseidonos Hippiou, mai Heras Hippiou bomoi]: and
hard-by [Greek: tei men Areos Hippiou, tei de Athenas Hippiou bomos.] In
Arcadia, and Elis, the most antient rites were preserved: and the Grecians
might have known, that the terms Hippa and Hippia were of foreign purport
from the other titles given to Juno at Olympia. For they sacrificed here to
[696]Amonian Juno, and to Juno Paramonian; which were also titles of
Hermes. Hippa was a sacred Egyptian term, and as such was conferred upon
Arsinoe, the wife of Ptolemy Philadelphus: for the princes of Egypt always
assumed to themselves sacred appellations. [697][Greek: Hippia Arsinoe, he
tou Philadelphou gune.] As the Grecians did not inquire into the hidden
purport of antient names, they have continually misrepresented the
histories of which they treated. As Ceres was styled Hippa, they have
imagined her to have been turned into a [698]mare: and Hippius Poseidon was
in like manner changed to a horse, and supposed in that shape to have had
an intimate acquaintance with the Goddess. Of this Ovid takes notice.

  [699]Et te, flava comas, frugum mitissima mater
  Sensit equum: te sensit avem crinita colubris
  Mater equi volucris.

The like is mentioned of the nymph [700]Ocuroe: also of Philyra, who was so
changed by Saturn. He is said to have taken upon himself the same shape,
and to have followed her neighing over the mountains of Thessaly.

  [701]Talis et ipse jubam cervice effudit equina
  Conjugis adventu pernix Saturnus, et altum
  Pelion hinnitu fugiens implevit acuto.

All these legendary stories arose from this antient term being obsolete,
and misapplied. Homer makes mention of the mares of Apollo, which the God
was supposed to have bred in Pieria:

  [702][Greek: Tas en Pieriei threps' argurotoxos Apollon.]

And he has accordingly put them in harness, and given them to the hero
Eumelus. Callimachus takes notice of the same mares in his hymn to the
Shepherd God Apollo.

  [703][Greek: Phoibon kai Nomion kikleskomen, exet' ekeinou,]
  [Greek: Exet' ep' Amphrusoi zeugetidas etrephen hippas,]
  [Greek: Eitheou hup' eroti kekaumenos Admetoio.]

These Hippai, misconstrued mares, were priestesses of the Goddess Hippa,
who was of old worshipped in Thessaly, and Thrace, and in many different
regions. They chanted hymns in her temples, and performed the rites of
fire: but the worship growing obsolete, the very terms were at last
mistaken. How far this worship once prevailed may be known from the many
places denominated from Hippa. It was a title of Apollo, or the Sun, and
often compounded Hippa On, and contracted Hippon: of which name places
occur in Africa near Carthage[704]. [Greek: Hete de Kirta polis entautha
kai hoi duo Hippones.] Argos was of old called Hippeion; not from the
animal [Greek: Hippos], but [705][Greek: apo Hippes tou Danaou,] _from
Hippa the daughter of Danaus_. That is from a priestess, who founded there
a temple, and introduced the rites of the Goddess whom she served. As it
was a title of the Sun, it was sometimes expressed in the masculine gender
Hippos: and Pausanias takes notice of a most curious, and remarkable piece
of antiquity, though he almost ruins the purport of it by referring it to
an horse. It stood near mount Taygetus in Laconia, and was called the
monument of Hippos. The author tells us, [706]_that at particular intervals
from this monument stood seven pillars, [Greek: kata tropon oimai
archaion,] placed_, says he, _as I imagine, according to some antient rule
and method; which pillars were supposed to represent the seven planets_. If
then these exterior stones related to the [707]seven erratic bodies in our
sphere, the central monument of Hippos must necessarily have been designed
for the Sun. And however rude the whole may possibly have appeared, it is
the most antient representation upon record, and consequently the most
curious, of the planetary system.

It is from hence, I think, manifest, that the titles Hippa, and Hippos,
related to the luminary Osiris; and betokened some particular department of
that Deity, who was the same as Dionusus. He was undoubtedly worshipped
under this appellation in various regions: hence we read of Hippici Montes
in Colchis: [Greek: Hippou kome] in Lycia: [Greek: Hippou akra] in Libya:
[Greek: Hippou oros] in Egypt: and a town Hippos in Arabia Felix. There
occur also in composition[708], Hippon, Hipporum, Hippouris, Hippana,
Hipponesus, Hippocrene. This last was a sacred fountain, denominated from
the God of light, who was the patron of verse, and science: but by the
Greeks it was referred to an animal, and supposed to have been produced by
the hoof of an horse. The rites of Dionusus Hippius were carried into
Thrace, where the horses of Diomedes were said to have been fed with human
flesh. Deianira is introduced by Ovid, as asking Hercules, if he did not
well remember this practice.

  [709]Non tibi succurrit crudi Diomedis imago,
  Efferus humana qui dape pavit equos?

Abderus, the founder of Abdera, is supposed to have been a victim to these
animals: of which Scymnus Chius gives the following account.

  [710][Greek: Ton d' epi thalattei keimenon estin polis]
  [Greek: Abder', ap' Abderou men onomasmene,]
  [Greek: Tou kai ktisantos proteron auten; hos dokei]
  [Greek: Hupo ton Diomedous husteron xenoktonon]
  [Greek: Hippon phtharenai.]

These horses, [Greek: xenoktonoi], which fed upon the flesh of strangers,
were the priests of Hippa, and of Dionusus, styled Hippus, or more properly
Hippius. They seem to have resided in an island, and probably in the
Thracian Chersonese: which they denominated [711]Diu-Medes, or the island
of the Egyptian Deity Medes. From hence the Grecian Poets have formed a
personage Diomedes, whom they have made king of the country. There were
opposite to Apulia islands of the same name, where similar rites prevailed.
The priests were here Cycneans, and described as a species of swans, who
were kind to people of their own race, but cruel to [712]strangers. A
Diomedes is supposed to have been a king in these parts, and to have given
name to these islands. It is said by Scymnus Chios above, that Abderus, who
was devoured by the horses of Diomedes in Thrace, built the city, which
bore his name. The Grecians continually supposed the personage, in whose
honour a city was built, to have been the founder. I have mentioned, that
Abderus signifies the place of Abdir, which is a contraction of Abadir, the
serpent Deity Ad-Ur, or Adorus. And it is plain from many passages in
antient writers, that human sacrifices were common at his shrine; and
particularly those of infants. By Abdera being a victim to the horses of
Diomedes is meant that the natives of that place, which stood in the
vicinity of the Chersonesus, were obliged to submit to the cruel rites of
the Diomedean [713]priests. The very name must have come from them; for
they worshipped the Deity under the titles of Meed, Hippa, and Abadir; and
various other appellations.

There is an account given by [714]Palaephatus of one Metra, who in the more
authentic manuscripts is called [Greek: Mestra], Meestra. It is said of
her, that she could change herself into various forms, particularly [Greek:
ek kores genesthai boun, kai authis kuna, kai orneon,] _that she would
instead of a young woman appear an ox, or a cow; or else be in the shape of
a dog, or of a bird_. She is represented as the daughter of Eresicthon: and
these uncommon properties are mentioned by Ovid[715], who sets them off
with much embellishment. The story at bottom is very plain. Egypt, the land
of the Mizraim, was by the Greeks often styled [716]Mestra and
[717]Mestraia: and by the person here called Mestra we are certainly to
understand a woman of that country. She was sometimes mentioned simply as a
Cahen, or priestess, which the Grecians have rendered [Greek: kuna], a dog.
Women in this sacred capacity attended at the shrine of Apis, and Mneuis;
and of the sacred heifer at Onuphis. Some of them in different countries
were styled Cygneans, and also Peleiadae, of whom the principal were the
women at [718]Dodona. Many of them were priestesses of Hippa, and upon that
account styled Hippai, as I have shewn. Hence the mythologists under the
character of Meestra have represented an Egyptian priestess, who could
assume many departments, which were misconstrued different shapes. She
could become, if we may credit Ovid,

  Nunc equa, nunc ales, modo bos.

or according to Palaephatus, [Greek: boun, kuna, kai orneon]: _a cow, a dog,
and a bird_. The whole of this related to the particular service of the
priestess; and to the emblem under which the Deity was worshipped.

       *       *       *       *       *


RITES

OF

DAMATER, OR CERES.

I shall now proceed to the rites of Ceres: and the general character of
this Goddess is so innocent, and rural, that one would imagine nothing
cruel could proceed from her shrine. But there was a time, when some of her
temples were as much dreaded, as those of Scylla, and the Cyclops. They
were courts of justice; whence she is often spoken of as a lawgiver.

  [719]Prima Ceres unco terram dimovit aratro,
  Prima dedit leges.

She is joined by Cicero with Libera, and they are styled the Deities,
[720]a quibus initia vitae, atque victus, _legum, morum_, mansuetudinis,
humanitatis, exempla hominibus, et civitatibus data, ac dispertita esse
dicantur. The Deity, to whom she was a substitute, was El, the Sun. He was
primarily worshipped in these temples: and I have shewn, that they were
from Achor denominated Acherontian; also temples of Ops, and Oupis, the
great serpent God. Hence it is said by Hesychius, that Acheron, and Ops,
and Helle, and [721]Gerys, and Terra, and Demeter, were the same. [Greek:
He] [722][Greek: Achero, kai Opis, kai Helle, kai Gerus, kai Ge, kai
Demeter,] [723][Greek: to auto.] Ceres was the Deity of fire: hence at
Cnidus she was called [Greek: Kura], [724]Cura, a title of the Sun. Her
Roman name Ceres, expressed by Hesychius Gerys, was by the Dorians more
properly rendered [725]Garys. It was originally a name of a city, called
[Greek: Charis]: for many of the Deities were erroneously called by the
names of the places where they were worshipped. Charis is Char-Is, the
[726]city of fire; the place where Orus and Hephastus were worshipped.
Hence as a personage she is made the wife of [727]Vulcan, on account of her
relation to fire. Her title of Damater was equally foreign to Greece; and
came from Babylonia, and the east. It may after this seem extraordinary,
that she should ever be esteemed the Goddess of corn. This notion arose in
part from the Grecians not understanding their own theology: which bad
originally, became continually more depraved, through their ignorance. The
towers of Ceres were P'urtain, or [Greek: Prutaneia]; so called from the
fires, which were perpetually there preserved. The Grecians interpreted
this [Greek: purou tameion]; and rendered, what was a temple of Orus, a
granary of corn. In consequence of this, though they did not abolish the
antient usage of the place, they made it a repository of grain, from whence
they gave largesses to the people upon any act of merit. [728][Greek: Topos
en par' Athenaiois, en hoi koinai siteseis tois demosiois euergetais
edidonto; hothen kai Prutaneion ekaleito, hoionei purotameion; puros gar ho
sitos;] In early times the corn there deposited seems to have been for the
priests and [729]diviners. But this was only a secondary use, to which
these places were adapted. They were properly sacred towers, where a
perpetual fire was preserved. Pausanias takes notice of such a one in
Arcadia. [730][Greek: Demetros, kai Kores hieron, pur de entautha kaiousi,
poioumenoi phrontida, me lathei sphisin aposbesthen.] He mentions a like
circumstance at the Prutaneion in Elis[731]: [Greek: Esti de hei Hestia
tephras kai aute pepoiemene, kai ep' autes pur ana pasan te hemeran, kai en
pasei nukti hosautos kaietai.] Attica at first was divided into separate
and independent hamlets: each of which had its own Prutaneion, and Archon.
These Archons were priests of the [732]Prutaneia; and were denominated from
their office. Archon is the same as Orchon, and like Chon-Or signifies the
God of light, and fire; from which title the priests had their name. In
Babylonia, and Chaldea, they were called Urchani.

As in these temples there was always a [733]light, and a fire burning on
the hearth, some of the Grecians have varied in their etymology, and have
derived the name from [Greek: pur], Pur. Suidas supposes it to have been
originally called [Greek: Puros tameion]. [734][Greek: Prutaneion, puros
tameion, entha en asbeston pur.] The Scholiast upon Thucydides speaks to
the same purpose. [735][Greek: Alloi de phasin, hoti to Prutaneion puros en
tameion, entha en asbeston pur.] _Others tell us, that the Prutaneion was
of old called Puros Tameion, from [Greek: pur], pur: because it was the
repository of a perpetual fire_. It was sacred to Hestia, the Vesta of the
Romans; which was only another title for Damater: and the sacred hearth had
the same name. [736][Greek: Hestian d' an kuriotata kaloies ten en
Prutaneioi, eph' hes to pur to asbeston anaptetai.] I have mentioned, that
these places were temples, and at the same time courts of justice: hence we
find, that in the Prutaneion at Athens, the laws of Solon were
[737]engraved. These laws were described upon wooden cylinders: some of
which remained to the time of [738]Plutarch.

Many of these temples were dedicated to the Deity under the name of
Persephone, or Proserpine, the supposed daughter of Ceres. They were in
reality the same personage. Persephone was styled [Greek: Kora], Cora;
which the Greeks misinterpreted [Greek: Parthenos], the virgin, or damsel.
How could a person, who according to the received accounts had been
ravished by Pluto, and been his consort for ages; who was the reputed queen
of hell, be styled by way of eminence [Greek: Parthenos]? [Greek: Kora],
Cora, which they understood was the same as Cura, a feminine title of the
sun: by which Ceres also was called at Cnidos. However mild and gentle
Proserpine may have been represented in her virgin state by the Poets; yet
her tribunal seems in many places to have been very formidable. In
consequence of this we find her with Minos, and Rhadamanthus, condemned to
the shades below, as an infernal inquisitor. Nonnus says,

    [739][Greek: Persephone thorexen Erinnuas.]

_Proserpine armed the furies_. The notion of which Furies arose from the
cruelties practised in these Prutaneia. They were called by the Latines,
Furiae; and were originally only priests of fire: but were at last ranked
among the hellish tormentors. Ceres the benefactress, and lawgiver, was
sometimes enrolled in the list of these daemons. This is manifest from a
passage in Antimachus, quoted by Pausanias, where her temple is spoken of
as the shrine of a Fury.

    [740][Greek: Demetros, tothi phasin Erinnuos einai edethlon.]

The like is mentioned by the Scholiast upon Lycophron, [741][Greek: Erinnus
he Demeter en Onkais polei tes Arkadias timaitai.] Her temple stood upon
the river Ladon, and she had this name given to her by the people of the
place. [Greek: Kalousi de Erinnun hoi Thelpousioi ten Theon.] _The
Thelpusians call the Goddess Demeter a Fury_. Herodotus speaks of a
Prutaneion in Achaia Pthiotic, called Leitus; of which he gives a fearful
account. _No person_, he says, _ever entered the precincts, who returned.
Whatever person ever strayed that way, was immediately seized upon by the
priests, and sacrificed. The custom so far prevailed, that many, who
thought they were liable to suffer, fled away to foreign parts. And he
adds, that after a long time, when any of them ventured to return, if they
were caught, they were immediately led to the Prutaneion. Here they were
crowned with garlands. and in great parade conducted to the altar_. I shall
quote the author's words. [742][Greek: Leiton de kaleousi to Prutaneion hoi
Achaioi; en de eselthei, ouk esti, hokos exeisi, prin e thusesthai mellei;
hoste ti pros toutoisi polloi ede ton mellonton touteon thusesthai,
deisantes oichonto apodrantes es allen choren. Chronou de proiontos, opiso
katelthontes, en aliskontai, estellonto es to Prutaneion, hos thuetai te
exegeonto, stemmasi pas pukastheis, kai hos sun pompei exachtheis.] The
people of Leitus are said to have been the sons of Cutissorus. Herodotus
speaks of the temple, as remaining in his time: and of the custom still
subsisting. He farther mentions, that when Xerxes was informed of the
history of this place, as he passed through Thessaly, he withheld himself
from being guilty of any violation. And he moreover ordered his army to pay
due regard to its sanctity; so very awful, it seems, was mysterious
cruelty.

I imagine, that the story of the Harpies relates to priests of the Sun.
They were denominated from their seat of residence, which was an oracular
temple called Harpi, and Hirpi, analogous to Orphi, and Urphi in other
places. I have shewn, that the antient name of a priest was Cahen, rendered
mistakenly [Greek: kun], and canis. Hence the Harpies, who were priests of
Ur, are styled by Apollonius, _the Dogs of Jove_. His accosting Calais, and
Zethus, tells them, that it would be a profanation to offer any injury to
those personages.

  [743][Greek: Ou themis, o huieis Boreou xipheesin elassan]
  [Greek: Harpuias, megaloio Dios KYNAS.]

This term in the common acceptation is not applicable to the Harpies,
either as birds, for so they are represented; or as winged animals. But
this representation was only the insigne of the people, as the vulture, and
eagle were of the Egyptians: a lion of the Persians. The Harpies were
certainly a [744]college of priests in Bithynia; and on that account called
Cahen. They seem to have been a set of rapacious persons, who, for their
repeated acts of violence, and cruelty, were driven out of the country.
Their temple was styled Arpi; and the environs Arpi-ai: hence the Grecians
formed [745][Greek: Harpuiai.] There was a region in Apulia named Arpi; and
in its neighbourhood were the islands of Diomedes, and the birds, which
were fabled to have been like swans. I have before shewn, that they were
Amonian priests: so likewise were the Hirpi near Soracte in Latium. They
were priests of fire: of whose customs I have taken notice.

The persons who resided in these temples are represented as persons of
great strength and stature: for many of them were of the race of Anac.
There is reason to think, that a custom prevailed in these places of making
strangers engage in fight with some of the priests trained up for that
purpose. The manner of contention was either with the caestus, or by
wrestling. And as the priest appointed for the trial was pretty sure of
coming off the conqueror, the whole was looked upon as a more specious kind
of sacrifice. Amycus, who was king of Bithynia, is represented as of a
[746]gigantic size, and a great proficient with the caestus. He was in
consequence of it the terror of all strangers who came upon the coast.
Cercyon of [747]Megara was equally famed for wrestling; by which art he
slew many, whom he forced to the unequal contention. But Cercyon was the
name of the [748]place; and they were the Cercyonians, the priests of the
temple, who were noted for these achievements. Pausanias gives an account
of them under the character of one person. [749][Greek: Einai de ho Kerkuon
legetai kai ta alla adikos eis tous xenous, kai palaiein ou boulomenois.]
_Cercyon was in other respects lawless in his behaviour towards strangers;
but especially towards those who would not contend with him in wrestling_.
These Cercyonians were undoubtedly priests of Ceres, or Damater: who seems
to have been tired of their service, and glad to get rid of them, as we are
informed by the poet.

  [750]Quaeque Ceres laeto vidit pereuntia vultu
    Corpora Thesea Cercyonea manu.

Before most temples of old were areas, which were designed for Gumnasia,
where these feats of exercise were performed. Lucian speaks of one before
the temple of [751]Apollo Lucius. And Pausanias mentions that particular
[752]parade, where Cercyon was supposed to have exhibited his art. It stood
before the tomb of Alope, and was called the Palaestra of Cercyon even in
the time of this writer, who takes notice of many others. He styles it
[Greek: taphos Alopes], as if it were a tomb. But it was a Taph, or high
altar, sacred to Al-Ope, Sol Pytho, who was the Deity of the place called
Cer-Cuon. Before this altar was the palaestra; where the Cercyonian priests
obliged people to contend with them. I have taken notice of a Pharos at
[753]Torone, which Proteus is said to have quitted, that he might not be
witness to the cruelties of his sons. He fled, it seems, to Egypt, [Greek:
Teknon aluxas tas xenoktonas palas], to shun their wicked practices: for
they were so skilled in the Palaestric art, that they slew all strangers
whom they forced to engage with them. Taurus, called Minotaurus, was a
temple in Crete: but by the Grecians is spoken of as a person. Under this
character Taurus is represented as a [754]renowned wrestler, and many
persons are said to have been sent from Athens to be victims to his
prowess. Eusebius styles him, [755][Greek: omos kai anemeros], a man of a
cruel and sour disposition. After he had done much mischief, Theseus at
length [Greek: Tauron katepalaise], foiled him in his own art, and slew
him. He is supposed to have done the like by Cercyon. [756][Greek: Legetai
de ho Kerkuon tous diastantas pantas es palen] [757][Greek: diaphtheirai
plen Theseos.] _For it is said of Cercyon, that he slew every person who
ventured to cope with him in wrestling, except Theseus_. In all these
instances the place is put for the persons who resided in it: of which
mistake I have been obliged often to take notice.

Antient history affords numberless instances of this ungenerous and cruel
practice. The stranger, who stood most in need of courtesy, was treated as
a profest enemy: and the rites of hospitality were evaded under the undue
sanction of a sacrifice to the Gods. In the history of Busiris we have an
account of this custom prevailing in Egypt. [758][Greek: Bousirin de kata
ten Aigupton toi Dii kallierein sphagiazonta tous parepidemountas XENOUS.]
_It is said of Busiris, that he used to offer to Jupiter, as the most
acceptable sacrifice, all the strangers, whom chance brought into his
country_. There was a tradition concerning Antaeus, that he covered the roof
of a temple, sacred to Poseidon, with the sculls of foreigners, whom he
forced to engage with him. The manner of the engagement was by
[759]wrestling. Eryx in Sicily was a proficient in this art, and did much
mischief to strangers: till he was in his turn slain. The Deity was the
same in these parts, as was alluded to under the name of Taurus, and
Minotaurus, in Crete; and the rites were the same. Hence Lycophron speaks
of Eryx by the name of Taurus; and calls the place of exercise before the
temple,

              [760][Greek: Taurou gumnadas kakoxenou]
  [Greek: Pales konistras.]

This the Scholiast interprets [Greek: palaistran tou Erukos tou
xenoktonou], _The Gymnasium of Eryx, who used to murder strangers_.
Androgeos the son of Minos came to the [761]like end, who had been superior
to every body in this art. Euripides styles the hero Cycnus [762][Greek:
xenodaiktan], on account of his cruelty to strangers. He resided it seems
near the sea-coast; used to oblige every person, who travelled that way, or
whom ill fortune brought on shore to contend with him. And his ambition was
to be able with the skulls of the victims, which he slew, to build a temple
to Apollo. [763][Greek: Kakoxenos ho Kuknos, kai en parodoi tes thalasses
oikon, epekertomei tous pariontas, naon toi Apolloni boulomenos ek ton
kephalon oikodomesai.] Mention is made of Lycaon, qui advenas et hospites
trucidavit. He is said to have founded the temple of Jupiter [764]Lycaeus,
and to have first introduced human sacrifices, particularly those of
infants. [Greek: Lukaon de epi ton bomon ton] [765][Greek: Lukaiou Dios
brephos enenken anthropou, kai ethuse to brephos, kai espeisen epi tou
bomou to haima.] _Lycaon was the person, who brought an infant, the
offspring of a man, to the altar of Zeus Lucaios: and he slew the infant,
and he sprinkled the altar with the blood which issued from it_. Antinous
in Homer threatens to send Irus to one Echetus, a king in Epirus, who was
the dread of that country. The same threat is uttered against [766]Ulysses,
if he should presume to bend the bow, which Penelope had laid before the
suitors. Under the character of Lycaon, Cycnus, &c. we are to understand
Lycaonian and Cycnean priests; which latter were from Canaan: and this
method of interpretation is to be observed all through these histories.
Echetus, [Greek: Echetos], was a title of Apollo, rendered more commonly
[767][Greek: Hekatos] by the Greeks, as if it came from the word [Greek:
hekas]. It was an Amonian title by which Orus, and Osiris, were called: and
this king Echetus was a priest of that family, who was named from the
Deity, whom he served. The Poet styles him [Greek: broton delemona], from
his cruelty to strangers.

  [768][Greek: Pempso s' Epeironde balon en nei melainei]
  [Greek: Eis Echeton basilea, broton delemona panton.]
  [Greek: Hos k' apo rhina tameisi, kai ouata nelei chalkoi,]
  [Greek: Medea t' exerusas doei kusin oma dasasthai.]

  I'll send thee, caitiff, far beyond the seas,
  To the grim tyrant Echetus, who mars
  All he encounters; bane of human kind.
  Thine ears he'll lop, and pare the nose away
  From thy pale ghastly visage: dire to tell!
  The very parts, which modesty conceals,
  He'll tear relentless from the seat of life,
  To feed his hungry hounds.

When the Spaniards got access to the western world, there were to be
observed many rites, and many terms, similar to those, which were so common
among the sons of Ham. Among others was this particular custom of making
the person, who was designed for a victim, engage in fight with a priest of
the temple. In this manner he was slaughtered: and this procedure was
esteemed a proper method of [769]sacrifice.

The histories of which I have been speaking were founded in truth, though
the personages are not real. Such customs did prevail in the first ages:
and in consequence of these customs we find those beggarly attributes of
wrestling and boxing conferred upon some of the chief Divinities. Hercules
and Pollux were of that number, who were as imaginary beings, as any
mentioned above: yet represented upon earth as sturdy fellows, who righted
some, and [770]wronged many. They were in short a kind of honourable
Banditti, who would suffer nobody to do any mischief, but themselves. From
these customs were derived the Isthmian, Nemean, Pythic, and Olympic games,
together with those at Delos. Of these last Homer gives a fine description
in his Hymn to Apollo.

  [771][Greek: Alla su Deloi, Phoibe, malist' epiterpeai etor.]
  [Greek: Entha toi helkechitones Iaones egerethontai,]
  [Greek: Autois sun paidessi, kai aidoieis alochoisi.]
  [Greek: Hoide se PYGMACHIEi te, kai orchethmoi, kai aoidei]
  [Greek: Mnesamenoi terpousin, hotan stesontai agona.]

These contentions had always in them something cruel, and savage: but in
later times they were conducted with an appearance of equity. Of old the
whole ceremony was a most unfair and barbarous process.

       *       *       *       *       *


CAMPE AND CAMPI.

Another name for those Amonian temples was Campi, of the same analogy, and
nearly of the same purport, as Arpi above-mentioned. It was in after times
made to signify the parade before the temples, where they wrestled, and
otherwise celebrated their sacred games; and was expressed Campus. When
chariots came in fashion, these too were admitted within the precincts; and
races of this sort introduced. Among the Latines the word Campus came to
mean any open and level space; but among the Sicilians the true meaning was
in some degree preserved. [Greek: Kampos--Ippodromos, Sikuloi.] Hesychius.
It was properly a place of exercise in general, and not confined to races.
Hence a combatant was styled [772]Campio, and the chief persons, who
presided, [773]Campigeni. The exercise itself was by the Greeks styled
[Greek: agon, aethlos, hamilla]; all Amonian terms, taken from the titles
of the Deity, in whose honour the games were instituted. These temples
partly from their symbols, and partly from their history, being
misinterpreted, were by the antient mythologists represented as so many
dragons and monsters. Nonnus mentions both Arpe, and Campe in this light,
and says that the latter had fifty heads, each of some different beast,

              [774][Greek: Es apo deires]
  [Greek: Enthee pentekonta kareata poikila theron.]

But Campe was an oracular temple and inclosure, sacred to Ham or Cham:
where people used to exercise. The fifty heads related to the number of the
priests, who there resided; and who were esteemed as so many wild beasts
for their cruelty. Nonnus makes Jupiter kill Campe: but Diodorus Siculus
gives the honour to Dionusus; who is supposed to have slain this monster at
Zaborna in Libya; and to have raised over her, [Greek: choma pammegethes],
a vast mound of earth. This heap of soil was in reality a high place or
altar; which in after times was taken for a place of burial. These
inclosures grew by degrees into disrepute; and the history of them
obsolete. In consequence of which the [Greek: taphoi], or mounds, were
supposed to be the tombs of heroes. The Grecians, who took every history to
themselves, imagined, that their Jupiter and Dionusus, and their Hercules
had slain them. But what they took for tombs of enemies were in reality
altars to these very Gods; who were not confined to Greece, nor of Grecian
original. The Campanians in Italy were an antient Amonian colony; and they
were denominated from Campe or Campus, which was probably the first temple,
they erected. Stephanus Byzantinus shews, that there was of old such a
place: [Greek: Kampos--ktisma Kampanou]: but would insinuate that it took
its name from a person the head of the colony. Eustathius more truly makes
it give name to the people: though he is not sufficiently determinate.
[775][Greek: Kampanoi apo ton hupokathemenon ekei Kampon onomasthesan, e
apo Kampou poleos.] There were many of these Campi in Greece, which are
styled by Pausanias [Greek: hupaithra], in contradistinction to the
temples, which were covered. They are to be found in many parts of the
world, where the Amonian religion obtained, which was propagated much
farther than we are aware. In our island the exhibition of those manly
sports in vogue among country people is called Camping: and the inclosures
for that purpose, where they wrestle and contend, are called Camping
closes. There are many of them in Cambridgeshire, as well as in other parts
of the kingdom. In Germany we meet with the name of Kaempenfelt; in which
word there is no part derived from the Latin language: for the terms would
then be synonymous, and one of them redundant. Kaempenfelt was, I imagine,
an antient name for a field of sports, and exercise, like the gymnasium of
the Greeks: and a Camping place in Britain is of the like purport.

       *       *       *       *       *


ANTIENT HEROES.

    [Greek: Katholou de phasin (hoi Aiguptioi) tous Hellenas exidiazesthai
    tous epiphanestatous Heroas te, kai Theous, eti de kai apoikias tas
    par' heauton.] Diodorus Sicul. l. 1. p. 21.

It has been my uniform purpose, during the whole process, which I have made
in my system, to shew, that the Grecians formed Deities out of titles; and
that they often attributed to one person, what belonged to a people. And
when they had completed the history, they generally took the merit of it to
themselves. By means of this clue we may obtain an insight into some of the
most remote, and the most obscure parts of antiquity. For many and great
achievements have been attributed to heroes of the first ages, which it was
not possible for them singly to have performed. And these actions, though
in some degree diversified, and given to different personages, yet upon
examination will be found to relate to one people or family; and to be at
bottom one and the same history.

OSIRIS.

If we consider the history of Osiris, he will appear a wonderful conqueror,
who travelled over the face of the whole [776]earth, winning new
territories, wherever he came; yet always to the advantage of those whom he
subdued. He is said to have been the son of Rhea: and his chief attendants
in his peregrinations were Pan, Anubis, Macedo, with Maro, a great planter
of vines; also Triptolemus much skilled in husbandry. The people of India
claimed Osiris, as their own; and maintained, that he was born at Nusa in
their [777]country. Others supposed his birth-place to have been at Nusa in
[778]Arabia, where he first planted the vine. Many make him a native of
Egypt: and mention the rout of his travels as commencing from that country
through Arabia, and Ethiopia; and then to India, and the regions of the
east. When he was arrived at the extremities of the ocean, he turned back,
and passed through the upper provinces of Asia, till he came to the
Hellespont, which he crossed. He then entered [779]Thrace, with the King of
which he had a severe encounter: yet he is said to have persevered in his
rout westward, till he arrived at the fountains of the Ister. He was also
in Italy, and Greece: from the former of which he expelled the giants near
Phlegra in Campania. He visited many places upon the ocean: and though he
is represented as at the head of an army; and his travels were attended
with military operations; yet he is at the same time described with the
Muses, and Sciences in his retinue. His march likewise was conducted with
songs, and dances, and the sound of every instrument of music. He built
cities in various parts; particularly [780]Hecatompulos, which he
denominated Theba, after the name of his mother. In every region, whither
he came, he is said to have instructed the people in [781]planting, and
sowing, and other useful arts. He particularly introduced the vine: and
where that was not adapted to the soil, he taught the natives the use of
ferment, and shewed them the way to make [782]wine of barley, little
inferior to the juice of the grape. He was esteemed a great blessing to the
Egyptians both as a [783]Lawgiver, and a King. He first built temples to
the Gods: and was reputed a general benefactor of [784]mankind. After many
years travel they represent him as returning to Egypt in great triumph,
where after his death he was enshrined as a Deity. His Taphos, or high
altar, was shewn in many places: in all which he in aftertimes was supposed
to have been buried. The people of Memphis shewed one of them; whereon was
a sacred pillar, containing a detail of his life, and great actions, to the
following purport. [785]_My father was Cronus, the youngest of all the
Gods. I am the king Osiris, who carried my arms over the face of the whole
earth, till I arrived at the uninhabited parts of India. From thence I
passed through the regions of the north to the fountain-head of the Ister.
I visited also other remote countries; nor stopped till I came to the
western ocean. I am the eldest son of Cronus; sprung from the genuine and
respectable race of_ ([Greek: Soos]) _Sous, and am related to the fountain
of day. There is not a nation upon earth, where I have not been; and to
whose good I have not contributed._

This is a very curious piece of antient history: and it will be found to be
in great measure true, if taken with this allowance, that what is here said
to have been achieved by one person, was the work of many. Osiris was a
title conferred upon more persons than one; by which means the history of
the first ages has been in some degree confounded. In this description the
Cuthites are alluded to, who carried on the expeditions here mentioned.
They were one branch of the posterity of Ham; who is here spoken of as the
eldest son of Cronus. How justly they conferred upon him this rank of
primogeniture, I will not determine. By [786]Cronus we are here to
understand the same person, as is also represented under the name of Soues.
This would be more truly expressed [Greek: Soon], Sooen; by which is meant
the Sun: All the Amonian families affected to be styled Heliadae, or the
offspring of the Sun: and under this title they alluded to their great
ancestor the father of all: as by Osiris they generally meant Ham. [Greek:
Soon], Sooen, is the same as [787]Zoon, and Zoan, the fountain of day. The
land of Zoan in Egypt was the nome of Heliopolis: and the city Zoan the
place of the Sun. The person then styled here Soues can be no other than the
great Patriarch under a title of the Sun. He is accordingly by Philo
Biblius called Ousoues in an extract from Sanchoniathon. He makes him indeed
reside, where Tyre was afterwards built; but supposes him to have lived at
a time, when there were great rains and storms; and to have been the first
constructor of a ship, and the first who ventured upon the [788]seas. In
respect to the travels of Osiris we shall find that the posterity of Ham
did traverse at different times the regions above-mentioned: and in many of
them took up their abode. They built the city Memphis in Egypt; also
Hecatompulos, which they denominated Theba, after the name of their reputed
mother. They also built Zoan, the city of the Sun.

Osiris is a title often conferred upon the great patriarch himself: and
there is no way to find out the person meant but by observing the history,
which is subjoined. When we read of Osiris being exposed in an ark, and
being afterward restored to day; of his planting the vine, and teaching
mankind agriculture; and inculcating religion, and justice; the person
alluded to stands too manifest to need any farther elucidation. And when it
is said of Osiris, that he went over most parts of the habitable globe, and
built cities in various regions; this too may be easily understood. It can
allude to nothing else, but a people called Osirians, who traversed the
regions mentioned. They were principally the Cuthites, who went abroad
under various denominations: and the histories of all the great heroes, and
heroines of the first ages will be found of the same purport, as the
foregoing. Osiris is supposed to have been succeeded in Egypt by Orus.
After Orus came Thoules; who was succeeded by [789]Sesostris.

PERSEUS.

Perseus was one of the most antient heroes in the mythology of Greece: the
merit of whose supposed achievements the Helladians took to themselves; and
gave out that he was a native of Argos. He travelled to the temple of
[790]Ammon; and from thence traversed the whole extent of Africa. He
subdued the [791]Gorgons, who lived in Mauritania, and at Tartessus in
Boetica; and defeated the Ethiopians upon the western ocean, and the
nations about mount _Atlas_: which [792]mountain he only and Hercules are
said to have passed. Being arrived at the extremity of the continent, he
found means to pass over, and to get possession of all the western islands.
He warred in the East; where he freed [793]Andromeda, the daughter of
Cepheus king of the eastern Ethiopia, who was exposed to a sea-monster.
Some imagine this to have happened at [794]Joppa in Palestine, where the
[795]bones of this monster of an extraordinary size are supposed to have
been for a long time preserved. He is said to have built [796]Tarsus in
Cilicia, reputed the most antient city in the world; and to have planted
the peach tree at [797]Memphis. The Persians were supposed to have been his
descendants. He travelled through Asia Minor, to the country of the
[798]Hyperboreans upon the Ister, and the lake Maeotis; and from thence
descended to Greece. Here he built Mycene, and Tiryns, said by many to have
been the work of the Cyclopians. He established a seminary at Helicon: and
was the founder of those families, which were styled Dorian, and Herculean.
It is a doubt among writers, whether he came into Italy. Some of his family
were there; who defeated the giant race in Campania, and who afterwards
built Argiletum, and Ardea in Latium. Virgil supposes it to have been
effected by Danae, the mother of this Hero:

  [799]Ardea ---- quam dicitur olim
  Acrisioneis Danaee fundasse colonis.

But [800]Servius says, that Perseus himself in his childhood was driven to
the coast of Daunia. He is represented as the ancestor of the Grecian
Hercules, supposed to have been born at Thebes in Boeotia. In reality
neither [801]Hercules, nor Perseus, was of Grecian original;
notwithstanding the genealogies framed in that country. The history of the
latter came apparently from Egypt, as we may learn from Diodorus[802]:
[Greek: Phasi de kai ton Persea gegonenai kat' Aigupton.] Herodotus more
truly represents him as an [803]Assyrian; by which is meant a Babylonian:
and agreeably to this he is said to have married [804]Asterie, the daughter
of Belus, the same as Astaroth and Astarte of Canaan; by whom he had a
daughter Hecate. This, though taken from an idle system of theology, yet
plainly shews, that the history of Perseus had been greatly misapplied and
lowered, by being inserted among the fables of Greece. Writers speak of him
as a great [805]Astronomer, and a person of uncommon knowledge. He
instructed mariners to direct their way in the sea by the lights of heaven;
and particularly by the polar constellation. This he first observed, and
gave it the name of Helice. Though he was represented as a Babylonian; yet
he resided in Egypt, and is said to have reigned at Memphis. To say the
truth, he was worshipped at that place: for Perseus was a title of the
Deity; [806][Greek: Perseus, ho Helios]; _Perseus was no other than the
Sun_, the chief God of the Gentile world. On this account he had a temple
of great repute at [807]Chemmis, as well as at Memphis, and in other parts
of Egypt. Upon the Heracleotic branch of the Nile, near the sea, was a
celebrated watch-tower, denominated from him. His true name was Perez, or
Parez, rendered Peresis, Perses, and Perseus: and in the account given of
this personage we have the history of the Peresians, Parrhasians, and
Perezites, in their several peregrinations; who were no other than the
Heliadae, and Osirians abovementioned. It is a mixed history, in which their
forefathers are alluded to; particularly their great progenitor, the father
of mankind. He was supposed to have had a renewal of life: they therefore
described Perseus as inclosed in an [808]ark, and exposed in a state of
childhood upon the waters, after having been conceived in a shower of gold.

Bochart thinks that the name both of Persis and Perseus was from [Hebrew:
PRS], Paras, an Horse: because the Persians were celebrated horsemen, and
took great delight in that animal. But it must be considered that the name
is very antient, and prior to this use of horses. P'aras, P'arez, and
P'erez, however diversified, signify the Sun; and are of the same analogy
as P'ur, P'urrhos, P'oros, which betoken fire. Every animal, which was in
any degree appropriated to a Deity, was called by some sacred [809]title.
Hence an horse was called P'arez: and the same name, but without the
prefix, was given to a lion by many nations in the east. It was at first
only a mark of reference, and betokened a solar animal, specifying the
particular Deity to whom it was sacred. There were many nations, which were
distinguished in the same manner; some of whom the Greeks styled
Parrhasians. Hence the antient Arcadians, those Selenitae, who were
undoubtedly an Amonian colony, had this appellation. A people in Elis had
the same. The Poets described the constellation of Helice, or the Bear, by
the title of Parrhasis, Arctos, and Parrhasis Ursa. This asterism was
confessedly first taken notice of by Perez or Perseus, by which is meant
the Persians.

  [810] Versaque ab axe suo Parrhasis Arctos erat.

In the east, where the worship of Arez greatly prevailed, there were to be
found many nations called after this manner. Part of Media, according to
[811]Polybius, had the name of Parrhasia. There were also Parrhasii and
Parrhasini in [812]Sogdiana; and [813]the like near Caucasus: also a town
named [814]Parasinum in the Tauric Chersonesus. The people styled
[815]Parrhasians in Greece were the same as the Dorians and Heraclidae; all
alike Cuthites, as were the antient Persians. Hence it is truly said by
Plato, that the Heraclidae in Greece, and the Achaemenidae among the Persians
were of the same stock: [816][Greek: To de Herakleous te genos kai to
Achaimeneous eis Persea ton Dios anapheretai.] On this account
[817]Herodotus makes Xerxes claim kindred with the Argives of Greece, as
being equally of the posterity of Perses, the same as Perseus, the Sun:
under which character the Persians described the patriarch, from whom they
were descended. Perseus was the same as Mithras, whose sacred cavern was
styled Perseuem.

  [818]Phoebe parens--seu te roseum Titana vocari
  Gentis Achaemeniae ritu; seu praestat Osirin
  Frugiferum; seu Persei sub rupibus antri
  Indignata sequi torquentem cornua Mithram.

OF MYRINA,

AND THE

AMAZONIANS OF LIBYA.

From a notion that the Amazons were a community of women, historians have
represented the chief personage of their nation as a [819]female. She is
mentioned by some as having flourished long before the aera of [820]Troy:
and it is by others said more precisely, that she lived in the time of
Orus, the son of Isis and Osiris. This removes her history far back; so as
to make it coeval with the first annals of time. Her dominions lay in the
most western parts of [821]Africa, at the extremity of Atlas; where the
mountain terminated in the ocean, to which it gave name. This country was
called Mauritania; and was supposed to have been possessed by the Atlantes
and Gorgons. The Grecian writers, who did not know that the same family
went under different titles, have often made the same nation at variance
with itself. And as they imagined every migration to have been a warlike
expedition, they have represented Myrina as making great conquests; and
what is extraordinary, going over the same ground, only in a retrograde
direction, which Osiris had just passed before. Her first engagement was
with the Atlantes of Cercene: against whom she marched with an army of
30,000 foot, and 2,000 horse; whom she completely armed with the skins of
serpents. Having defeated the Atlantes, she marched against the Gorgons,
whom she likewise [822]conquered; and proceeding forward, subdued the
greater part of Africa, till she arrived at the borders of Egypt. Having
entered into an alliance with Orus, she passed the Nile, and invaded the
Arabians, whom she defeated. She then conquered the Syrians, and Cilicians,
and all the nations about Mount Taurus; till she arrived at Phrygia, and
the regions about the river Caicus. Here she built many cities,
particularly Cuma, Pitane, and Priene. She also got possession of several
islands; and among others, of <DW26>s and Samothracia, in which last she
founded an asylum. After these transactions, Myrina, accompanied with
Mopsus the diviner, made an expedition into Thrace, which was the ultimate
of her progress; for she was supposed to have been here slain. According to
Homer she died in Phrygia: for he takes notice of her tomb in the plains of
Troas; and represents it as a notable performance.

  [823][Greek: Esti de tis proparoithe poleos aipeia kolone,]
  [Greek: En pedioi apaneuthe, peridromos entha kai entha;]
  [Greek: Ten etoi andres Batieian kikleskousin,]
  [Greek: Athanatoi de te sema poluskarthmoio Murines.]

The tomb of this heroine was in reality a sacred mound, or high altar; and
Myrina a Gentile divinity. In her supposed conquests we may in great
measure see the history of Osiris, and Perseus, reversed, and in some
degree abridged; yet not so far varied, but that the purport may be plainly
discerned. Indeed there is no other way to obtain the hidden meaning, but
by collating the different histories, and bringing them in one view under
the eye of the reader.

HERCULES.

Similar to the foregoing are the expeditions of Hercules, and the conquests
which he is supposed to have performed. After many exploits in Greece, the
reputed place of his nativity, he travelled as far as mount Caucasus near
Colchis, to free Prometheus, who was there exposed to an eagle or vulture.
Upon the Thermodon he engaged with the Amazons, whom he utterly defeated;
and then passed over into Thrace. Upon his return into Greece he was
ordered to make an expedition into Iberia, a region in the farthest part of
Spain; where Chrusaor, a prince of great wealth, resided. Hercules accepts
of the commission; but, I know not for what reason, goes first to Crete,
and from thence to [824]Libya; and what is extraordinary, proceeds to
Egypt. This makes the plan of his supposed rout somewhat irregular and
unaccountable. After some time spent in these parts, he builds the city
Hecatompulos, said before to have been built by Osiris: and then traverses
the whole of Africa westward, till he arrives at the Fretum Gaditanum. Here
he erects two pillars; which being finished, he at last enters Iberia. He
defeats the sons of Chrusaor, who were in arms to oppose him; and bestows
their kingdom upon others. He likewise seizes upon the oxen of Geryon. He
then marches into the country of the Celtae, and [825]founds the city
Corunna, and likewise [826]Alesia in Gaul. He afterwards fights with the
giants Albion and Bergion near Arelate, in the plain styled Campus
Lapideus; where are the salt waters of Salona. He then passes the
[827]Alpes; and upon the banks of the Eridanus encounters a person of
shepherd race; whom he kills, and seizes his [828]golden flocks. In his way
homeward he visits Hetruria, and arrives at the mountain Palatinus upon the
Tiber. From thence he goes to the maritime part of Campania, about Cuma,
Heraclea, and the lake Aornon. Not far from hence was an adust and fiery
region; supposed to have been the celebrated Phlegra, where the giants
warred against heaven: in which war Hercules is said to have [829]assisted.
Here was an antient oracular temple; and hard by the mountain Vesuvius,
which in those days flamed violently, though it did not for many ages
afterwards. During his residence here he visited the hot fountains near
Misenus and Dicaearchea; and made a large causeway, called in aftertimes Via
Herculanea, and Agger Puteolanus. After having visited the Locrians, and
the people of Rhegium, he crossed the sea to Sicily; which sea he swam
over, holding by the horn of an ox. At his arrival some warm springs burst
forth miraculously, to give him an opportunity of bathing. Here he boxed
with Eryx; defeated the Sicani; and performed many other exploits. What is
remarkable, having in Spain seized upon the cattle of Geryon, he is said to
have made them travel over the Pyrenean mountains, and afterwards over the
Alpes, into Italy; and from thence cross the sea into Sicily; and being now
about to leave that island, he swims with them again to Rhegium: and
ranging up the coast of the Adriatic, passes round to Illyria, from thence
to Epirus; and so descends to Greece. The whole of these travels is said to
have been completed in ten years.

He was also reported, according to [830]Megasthenes and others, to have
made an expedition into [831]India, and to have left many memorials of his
transactions in those parts. He travelled likewise into the region called
afterwards Scythia; the natives of which country were his [832]descendants.
He also visited the Hyperboreans. In all these peregrinations he is
generally described as proceeding alone: at least we have no intimation of
any army to assist in the performance of these great enterprises. He is
indeed supposed to have sailed with six ships to [833]Phrygia: but how he
came by them is not said; nor whence he raised the men, who went with him.
At other times he is represented with a club in his hand, and the skin of
an animal upon his shoulders. When he passed over the ocean, he is said to
have been wafted in a golden [834]bowl. In Phrygia he freed Hesione from a
Cetus, or sea monster, just as Perseus delivered Andromeda. He is mentioned
as founding many cities in parts very remote: the sea-coast of Boetica, and
Cantabria, was, according to some writers, peopled by [835]him. By
Syncellus he is said to have resided in Italy, and to have reigned in
[836]Latium. The Grecians supposed that he was burnt upon Mount Oeta: but
the people of Gades shewed his Taphos in their [837]city, just as the
Egyptians shewed the Taphos of Osiris at Memphis, and elsewhere. Hence it
was imagined by many, that Hercules was buried at Gades. The philosopher
Megaclides could not be brought to give the least assent to the histories
of this [838]hero: and Strabo seems to have thought a great part of them to
have been a [839]fable. In short, the whole account of this personage is
very inconsistent: and though writers have tried to compromise matters by
supposing more persons than one of this name, yet the whole is still
incredible, and can never be so adjusted as to merit the least belief. How
they multiplied the same Deity, in order to remedy their faulty mythology,
may be seen in the following extract from Cicero. [840]Quanquam, quem
potissimum Herculem colamus, scire velim: plures enim nobis tradunt ii, qui
interiores scrutantur et reconditas literas. Antiquissimum Jove natum, sed
item Jove antiquissimo: nam Joves quoque plures in priscis Graecorum literis
invenimus. Ex eo igitur et Lysito est is Hercules, quem concertasse cum
Apolline de tripode accepimus. Alter traditur Nilo natus, AEgyptius; quem
aiunt Phrygias literas conscripsisse. Tertius est ex Idaeis Dactylis, cui
inferias afferunt. Quartus Jovis est, et Asteriae, Latonae sororis, quem
Tyrii maxime colunt; cujus Carthaginem filium ferunt. Quintus in
[841]India, qui Belus dicitur. Sextus hic, ex Alcumena quem Jupiter genuit;
sed tertius Jupiter: quoniam, ut docebo, plures Joves accepimus.

Hercules was a title given to the chief deity of the Gentiles, who have
been multiplied into almost as many personages, as there were countries,
where he was worshipped. What has been attributed to this god singly, was
the work of Herculeans; a people who went under this title among the many
which they assumed; and who were the same as the Osirians, Peresians, and
Cuthites. They built Tartessus in Boetica, and occupied great part of
Iberia. They likewise founded [842]Corunna in Cantabria, and [843]Alesia in
Gaul: of which there are traditions to this day. Some of them settled near
[844]Arelate; others among the [845]Alpes: also at Cuma, and Heraclea in
Campania. They were also to be found at Tyre, and in Egypt; and even in the
remotest parts of [846]India. In short, wherever there were Heraclidae, or
Herculeans, an Hercules has been supposed. Hence his character has been
variously represented. One, while he appears little better than a sturdy
vagrant; at other times he is mentioned as a great benefactor; also as the
patron of science, the [847]God of eloquence, with the Muses in his train.
On this account he had the title of [848]Musagetes; and the Roman general
Fulvius dedicated a temple which he had erected to his honour, and
inscribed it [849]_Herculi Musarum_. There are gems, upon which he is
represented as presiding among the Deities of [850]Science. He is said to
have been swallowed by a Cetus, or large fish, from which he was after some
time delivered. This history will hereafter be easily decyphered. He was
the chief deity of the [851]Gentile world; the same as Hermes, Osiris, and
Dionusus; and his rites were introduced into various parts by the Cuthites.
In the detail of his peregrinations is contained, in great measure, an
history of that people, and of their settlements. Each of these the Greeks
have described as a warlike expedition; and have taken the glory of it to
themselves. He is said to have had many sons. One of these was
[852]Archemagoras; by which is meant the father or chief of the Magi. There
are many others enumerated: the principal of whom are said to have been;
[853]Sardus, or Sardon; Cyrnus, Gelonus, Olynthus, Scythus, Galathus,
Lydus, Iberus, Celtus, Poimen. As these are all manifestly the names of
nations, we may perceive by the purport of this history, that the
Sardinians, Corsicans, Iberians, Celtae, Galatae, Scythae, &c. &c. together
with those styled Shepherds, were Herculeans; all descended from that
[854]Hercules, who was the father of Archemagoras the chief of the Magi.

DIONUSUS.

The history of Dionusus is closely connected with that of Bacchus, though
they were two distinct persons. It is said of the former, that he was born
at [855]Nusa in Arabia: but the people upon the Indus insisted, that he was
a native of their [856]country; and that the city Nusa, near mount Meru,
was the true place of his birth. There were, however, some among them, who
allowed, that he came into their parts from the west; and that his arrival
was in the most antient times. He taught the nations, whither he came, to
build and to plant, and to enter into societies. To effect this, he
collected the various families out of the villages in which they dwelt, and
made them incorporate in towns and cities, which he built in the most
commodious situations. After they were thus established, he gave them laws,
and instructed them in the worship of the Gods. He also taught them to
plant the Vine, and to extract the juice of the grape; together with much
other salutary knowledge. This he did throughout all his [857]travels, till
he had conquered every region in the East. Nor was it in these parts only,
that he shewed himself so beneficent a conqueror; but over all the
habitable [858]world. The account given by the Egyptians is consonant to
that of the Indians: only they suppose him to have been of their own
country; and to have set out by the way of Arabia and the Red Sea, till he
arrived at the extremities of the East. He travelled also into [859]Lybia,
quite to the Atlantic; of which performance Thymaetes is said to have given
an account in an antient Phrygian poem. After his Indian expedition, which
took him up three years, he passed from Asia by the Hellespont into Thrace,
where Lycurgus withstood him, and at last put him to flight. He came into
Greece; and was there adopted by the people, and represented as a native of
their country. He visited many places upon the Mediterranean; especially
Campania, and the coast of Italy, where he was taken prisoner by the
Hetrurian pirates. Others say, that he conquered all [860]Hetruria. He had
many attendants; among whom were the Tityri, Satyri, Thyades, and Amazons.
The whole of his history is very inconsistent in respect both to time and
place. Writers therefore have tried to remedy this by introducing different
people of the same name. Hence Dionusus is multiplied into as many
[861]personages as Hercules. His history was looked upon as very
interesting; and therefore was the chief theme of all the antient
[862]bards. His flight, styled [Greek: phuge Dionusou], was particularly
[863]recorded. He was the same as Osiris; and many of the later
mythologists acknowledged this truth. [Greek: Aiguptioi men gar ton par'
autois theon Osirin onomazomenon phasin einai ton par' Hellesi Dionuson
touton de muthologousin epelthein pasan ten oikoumenen--Homoios de kai tous
Indous ton theon touton par' heautois apophanesthai gegonenai.] _The
Egyptians_, says [864]Diodorus, _maintain that their God Osiris is no other
than the Dionusus of Greece: And they farther mention, that he travelled
over the face of the whole earth--In like manner the Indi assure us, that
it is the same Deity, who wan conversant in their [865]country_.

Dionusus, according to the Grecian mythology, is represented as having been
twice born: and is said to have had two fathers and two mothers. He was
also exposed in an [866]ark, and wonderfully preserved. The purport of
which histories is plain. We must however for the most part consider the
account given of Dionusus, as the history of the Dionusians. This is
twofold. Part relates to their rites and religion; in which the great
events of the infant world, and the preservation of mankind in general,
were recorded. In the other part, which contains the expeditions and
conquests of this personage, are enumerated the various colonies of the
people, who were denominated from him. They were the same as the Osirians
and Herculeans; all of one family, though under different appellations. I
have shewn, that there were many places which claimed his birth; and as
many, where was shewn the spot of his interment. Of these we may find
samples in Egypt, Arabia, and India; as well as in Africa, Greece, and its
islands. For the Grecians, wherever they met with a grot or a cavern sacred
to him, took it for granted that he was born there: and wherever he had a
taphos, or high altar, supposed that he was there [867]buried. The same is
also observable in the history of all the Gods.

From what has been said we may perceive that the same history has been
appropriated to different personages: and if we look farther into the
annals of the first ages, we shall find more instances to the same purpose.
It is said of [868]Cronus, and Astarte, that they went over the whole
earth; disposing of the countries at their pleasure, and doing good
wherever they came. Cronus in consequence of it is represented as an
universal [869]benefactor; who reclaimed men from their savage way of life,
and taught them to pass their days in innocence and truth. A like account
is given of Ouranus, the great king of the [870]Atlantians, who observing
mankind in an unsettled and barbarous state, set about building cities for
their reception; and rendered them more humane and civilized by his
institutions and laws. His influence was very extensive; as he is supposed
to have had the greater part of the world under his rule. All this, and
what was above done by Cronus and Astarte, the Grecians attributed to
Apollo and Themis. Strabo mentions from the historian, Ephorus, that the
oracle at Delphi was founded by these two [871]deities at the time, when
Apollo was going over the world doing good to all mankind. He taught the
nations, where he came, to be more [872]gentle and humane in their manners;
and to abstain from their wild fruits, and foul banquets: affording them
instructions how to improve themselves by cultivation.

Some of these persons are mentioned as proceeding in a pacific manner: but
these peregrinations in general are represented as a process of war; and
all that was effected, was supposed to have been by conquest. Thus Osiris,
Hercules, Perseus, Dionusus, displayed their benevolence sword in hand: and
laid every country under an obligation to the limits of the earth. The like
is said of Zeuth, the Zeus of Greece, who was an universal conqueror and
benefactor: [873][Greek: Ton Dia kurion genomenon ton holon epelthein
hapasan ten oikoumenen, euergetounta to genos ton anthropon; dienenkein de
auton kai somatos rhomei kai tais allais hapasais aretais, kai dia touto
tachu kurion genesthai tou sumpantos kosmou.] _Zeus_ (or Jupiter) _having
got the entire supremacy marched over the whole earth, benefiting mankind
wherever he came. And as he was a person of great bodily strength, and at
the same time had every princely quality, he very soon subdued the whole
world_.

No mention is made of any conquests achieved by Orus: and tho reason is,
because he was the same as Osiris. Indeed they were all the same personage:
but Orus was more particularly Osiris in his second state; and therefore
represented by the antient Egyptians as a child. What is omitted by him,
was made up by his immediate successor Thoules; who like those, who
preceded, conquered every country which was inhabited. [874][Greek: Eita
Osiris, meth' hon Oros, kai meta auton Thoules, hos kai heos tou okeanou
pasan ten gen pareilephen.] _After him_ (that is, Soeus, or Sosis,) _came
Osiris; and then Orus: to whom succeeded Thoules, who conquered the whole
earth quite to the ocean_. The like history is given of him by [875]Suidas,
and by the author of the [876]Chronicon Paschale.

These accounts I have collated, and brought in succession to one another;
that we may at a view see the absurdity of the history, if taken in the
common acceptation. And however numerous my instances may have been, I
shall introduce other examples before I quit the subject. I must
particularly speak of an Egyptian hero, equally ideal with those
abovementioned; whose history, though the most romantic and improbable of
any, has been admitted as credible and true. The person to whom I allude,
is the celebrated Sesostris. Most of the antient historians speak of his
great achievements; and the most learned of the modern chronologists have
endeavoured to determine his aera, and point out the time of his reign. But
their endeavours have been fruitless; and they vary about the time when he
lived not less than a thousand years: nay, some differ even more than this
in the aera, which they assign to him.

SESOSTRIS.

Among the writers who have written concerning this extraordinary personage,
Diodorus Siculus is the most uniform and full; and with his evidence I will
begin my account. He[877] informs us, that, when this prince was a youth,
he was entrusted by his father with a great army. He upon this invaded
Arabia: and though he was obliged to encounter hunger and thirst in the
wilds, which he traversed; yet he subdued the whole of that large tract of
country. He was afterwards sent far into the west; where he conquered all
the legions of Lybia, and annexed great part of that country to the kingdom
of Egypt. After the death of his father he formed a resolution to subdue
all the nations upon earth. Accordingly, having settled everything at home,
and appointed governors to each province, he set out with an army of six
hundred thousand foot, and twenty-four thousand horse, and twenty-seven
thousand armed chariots. With these he invaded the Ethiopians to the south;
whom he defeated, and made tributaries to Egypt. He then built a fleet of
ships upon the Red sea: and he is recorded as the first person who
constructed vessels fit for distant navigation. With these, by means of his
generals, he subdued all the sea-coast of Arabia, and all the coast upon
the ocean as far as India. In the mean time he marched in person, with a
puissant army, by land, and conquered the whole continent of Asia. He not
only overran the countries, which Alexander afterwards invaded; but crossed
both the Indus and the Ganges; and from thence penetrated to the eastern
ocean. He then turned to the north, and attacked the nations of Scythia;
till he at last arrived at the Tanaeis, which divides Europe and Asia. Here
he founded a colony; leaving behind him some of his people, as he had just
before done at [878]Colchis. These nations are said to the last to have
retained memorials of their original from Egypt. About the same time Asia
Minor, and most of the islands near it, fell into his hands. He at last
passed into [879]Thrace, where he is said to have been brought into some
difficulties. He however persisted, and subdued all the regions of Europe.
In most of these countries he erected pillars with hieroglyphical
inscriptions; denoting that these parts of the world had been subdued by
the great Sesostris, or, as [880]Diodorus expresses his name, Sesoosis. He
likewise erected statues of himself, formed of stone, with a bow and a
lance: which statues were in length four cubits and four palms, according
to the dimensions of his own height and stature. Having thus finished his
career of [881]victory, he returned laden with spoils to Egypt, after an
absence of [882]nine years; which is one year less than was attributed to
the expeditions of Hercules.

The detail given by this historian is very plain and precise: and we
proceed very regularly and minutely in a geographical series from one
conquest to another: so that the story is rendered in some degree
plausible. But we may learn from Diodorus himself, that little credit is to
be paid to this narration, after all the pains he may have taken to win
upon our credulity. He ingenuously owns, that not only the Grecian writers,
but even the priests of Egypt, and the bards of the same country varied in
the accounts which they gave of this hero; and were guilty of great
inconsistence. It was therefore his chief labour to collect what he thought
most credible, and what appeared most consonant to the memorials in Egypt,
which time had spared: [883][Greek: Ta pithanotata, kai tois uparchousin
eti kata ten choran semeiois ta malista sumphonounta dielthein.] But, as
these memorials consisted chiefly in hieroglyphics, I do not see how it was
possible for Diodorus to understand what the bards and priests could not
decypher. The adjustment of this history, had it been practicable, should
have been the work of a native Egyptian, and not of a person either from
Greece or Sicily. This writer afterwards mentions the mighty [884]works of
Sesostris upon his return into Egypt: the temples which he built, and the
great entrenchments which he made to the east, to guard the country from
the Arabians: and having enumerated the whole of his actions, he concludes
with an ingenuous confession, that [885]little could be obtained that was
precisely true. He has, without doubt, culled the most probable
achievements of this hero; and  and arranged them to the best
advantage: yet they still exceed belief. And if, after this care and
disposition, they seem incredible, how would they appear in the garb, in
which he found them? Yet the history of this personage has been admitted as
credible by the most learned [886]writers and chronologists: though, as I
before mentioned, they cannot determine the aera of his reign within a
thousand years. Sir John Marsham and Sir Isaac Newton suppose him to have
been the Sesac of the scriptures; and consequently bring his reign down to
the time of Rehoboam king of Judah. But the only reason for this, as far as
I can perceive, seems to be, that Sesostris is represented as a great
conqueror; and Sesac is presumed, from his large [887]army, to have been so
likewise. But there is nothing more said of Sesac, than that he formed a
plan of conquering the king of Judah; and accordingly came with the army
before mentioned, to put his design in execution. But the [888]capital
being delivered into his hands without the least resistance, and the king
intirely submitting himself to his will; he contented himself with the rich
plunder, which he found, and which he carried away at his departure. We may
also infer from the servitude, to which the people of Judah were reduced,
that he imposed upon them some future contributions.

This is the whole of the history of Sesac, or Shishak; by whom no other
expedition was undertaken that we know of: nor is there mention made upon
record of a single battle which he fought. Yet from a notion that Sesac was
a great warrior, he is made the same as Sesostris: and the age of the
latter is brought down very many centuries beneath the aera, to which the
best writers have adjudged it. When we differ from received tradition, we
should not pass over in silence what is said on the contrary part; but give
it at large, and then shew our reasons for our departure from it. I have
taken notice of the supposed conquerors of the earth: and among them of the
reputed deities of Egypt, who came under the names of Osiris, Perseus,
Thoules, &c. These are supposed, if they ever existed, to have lived in the
first ages of the world, when Egypt was in its infant state; and Sesostris
is made one of their number. He is by some placed after Orus; by others
after Thoules; but still referred to the first ages. He is represented
under the name of Sethos, [889]Sethosis, Sesoosis, Sesonchosis, Sesostris;
but the history, with which these names are accompanied, shews plainly the
identity of the personage. Eusebius in reckoning up the dynasty of kings,
who reigned after Hephaistus or Vulcan, mentions them in the following
order: [890]_Then succeeded his son Helius; after him Sosis, then Osiris,
then Orus, then Thoules, who conquered the whole earth to the ocean; and
last of all Sesostris_. The [891]Scholiast upon Apollonius Rhodius calls
him Sesonchosis; and places him immediately after Orus, and the third in
succession from Osiris: giving at the same time an account of his
conquests. He adds that he was the person whom Theopompus called Sesostris.
The same Scholiast quotes a curious passage from Dicaearchus, in which
Sesonchosis maintains the same rank, and was consequently of the highest
antiquity. [892]_Dicaearchus in the first book of his history mentions, that
immediately after the reign of Orus, the son of Isis and Osiris, in Egypt,
the government devolved to Sesonchosis: so that from the time of
Sesonchosis to Nilus were two thousand years_. Cedrenus [893]calls him
Sesostris; and mentions him after Osiris, and Orus, and Thoules; which last
was by the above writer omitted. [Greek: Osiris. Oros. Thoules. meta de
touton Sesostris.] The author of the Chronicon Paschale makes Orus to have
been succeeded by the same personage, as is mentioned above, whom he calls
Thoulis; and next to him introduces Sesostris. He relates all his great
conquests; and gives us this farther information, that this prince was the
first of the line of Ham, who reigned in Egypt; in other words, he was the
first king of the country. [894][Greek: En toutois meta tauta chronois
ebasileue ton Aiguption protos ek tes phules TOU CHAM] [895][Greek:
Sesostris.] Aristotle speaks of Sesostris; but does not determine the time
of his reign on account of its great antiquity. He only says that it was
long before the age of [896]Minos, who was supposed to have reigned in
Crete. Apollonius Rhodius, who is thought to have been a native of Egypt,
speaks of the great actions of this prince; but mentions no name: not
knowing, I imagine, by which properly to distinguish him, as he was
represented under so many. He however attributes to him every thing which
is said of [897]Sesostris; particularly the settling a Colony at Colchis,
and building innumerable cities in the countries which he traversed:

                  [Greek: muria d' aste]
  [Greek: Nassat' epoichomenos.]

He represents him as conquering all Asia and Europe; and this in times so
remote, that many of the cities which he built, were in ruins before the
aera of the Argonauts.

From what has been said, we may perceive that if such a person as Sesostris
had existed, his reign must have been of the earliest date. He is by some
represented as succeeding Thoules: according to others he comes one degree
higher, being introduced after [898]Orus, who in the catalogue of Panodorus
is placed first of the Demigods, that reigned in Egypt; but by
[899]Herodotus is ranked among the deities. According to Dicaearchus the
reign of Sesostris was two thousand five hundred years before Nilus: and
the reign of the latter was four hundred and thirty-six years before the
first Olympiad. I do not place the least confidence in these computations;
but would only shew from them that the person spoken of must be referred to
the mythic age, to the aera of the Demigods of Egypt. Some of these
evidences are taken notice of by Sir John [900]Marsham; who cannot
extricate himself from the difficulties with which his system is attended.
He has taken for granted, that Sesostris and Sesonchosis are the Sesac of
the Scriptures; though every circumstance of their history is repugnant to
that notion. [901]_I know_ _not,_ says he, _what to make of this
Sesonchosis; who is represented as five thousand years before Menes, and
who is referred to the time of the Demigods_. In another place: _Sesostris,
who is in the twelfth Dynasty of Africanus, and whose aera extends higher,
than the Canon of Eusebius reaches, reigned according to Scaliger's
computation in the 1392d year of the Julian Period. By this calculation
Sesostris is made prior to Sesostris; and this too by no less than 2355
years: for it is manifest, as I will shew from Scripture, that Sesostris
undertook his expedition into Asia, and got possession of Jerusalem in the
3747th year of the Period abovementioned_. What is said in the sacred
writings, I have taken notice of before. Not a word occurs about Sesostris,
nor of any such Asiatic expedition. I am obliged to say, that through the
whole of this learned writer's process, instead of a proof, we find nothing
else but the question begged, and some inferences of his own in consequence
of this assumption. He indeed quotes the authority of Manethon from
Josephus to prove that the great actions of Sesostris were the same as were
performed by Sesac. But Manethon says no such thing: nor does Josephus
attribute any such exploits to Sesac: but expressly says more than once,
that Sesac, and Sesostris were two different [902]persons. It is no where
said of Sesac, that he made an expedition into Asia; much less that he
conquered it, as is supposed of Sesostris. Sesac went up against Jerusalem,
and took it, [Greek: amacheti], without meeting with any opposition. Upon
this he departed, and carried with him the treasures which he had there
seized: in other words, he went home again. There is not the least mention
made of his invading [903]Samaria, or the country about Libanus, and Sidon;
or of his marching to Syria: all which made but a small part of the great
Continent, called in aftertimes Asia: much less did he visit the countries
of the Assyrians, and Babylonians; or the regions of Elam and the Medes.
All this, and much more he must have done, to have come up to the
character, to which they would fain entitle him.

I will not enter into any farther discussion of the great conquests
attributed to this supposed monarch Sesostris. They are as ideal as those
of Sesac, and sufficiently confute themselves. First Osiris is said to have
conquered the whole earth: then Zeus, then Perseus, then [904]Hercules, all
nearly of the same degree of antiquity, if we may believe the best
Mythologists. Myrina comes in for a share of conquest in the time of Orus.
After her Thoules subdues the whole from the Eastern Ocean, to the great
Atlantic: and as if nothing had been performed before, Sesostris
immediately succeeds, and conquers it over again. [905]Herodotus informs
us, as a token of these victories, that Sesostris erected pillars and
obelisks with emblematical inscriptions: and that he saw some of them in
Phrygia, and in other countries, which had been conquered. He without doubt
saw pillars: but how did he know for certain, by whom they were erected?
and who taught him to interpret the symbols? Pausanias takes [906]notice of
a colossal statue in the Thebaeis, and says that the history given of it was
not satisfactory. He tells us, that it stood near the Syringes, in upper
Egypt; and he viewed it with great admiration. It was the figure of a man
in a sitting posture; which some said was the representation of Memnon the
Ethiopian: others maintained, that it was the statue of Phamenophis: and
others again, that it related to Sesostris. There were here emblems, and
symbols; yet a diversity of opinions. I want therefore to know, how
Herodotus could interpret in Phrygia, what a native could not decypher in
Egypt. The same question may be asked about the people of Syria, among whom
were obelisks attributed to the same person. How came they to be so
determinate about an Egyptian work; when people of that country in the same
circumstances were so utterly at a loss? the whole undoubtedly was matter
of surmise. I shall not therefore say any thing more of Sesostris; as I
must again speak of him, when I come to the kings of Egypt.

If we compare the above histories, we may perceive that they bear a
manifest similitude to one another; though they are attributed to different
persons. They contain accounts of great achievements in the first ages: in
effecting which these antient heroes are represented as traversing immense
regions, and carrying their arms to the very limits of the known world: the
great Tartarian ocean to the east, and the Atlantic westward, being the
boundaries of their travel. Some of them seem to have been of the same age;
and to have carried on these conquests at nearly the same time: and those,
whose aera may possibly differ, have this in common with the others; that
they visit the same countries, march for the most part by the same rout;
and are often joined by the same allies, and are followed by the like
attendants. They are in general esteemed benefactors, wherever they go: and
carry the sciences with them, as well as their religious rites; in which
they instruct the natives in different parts of the world. These are to be
sure noble occurrences; which however could not possibly have happened, as
they are represented above. It is not to be supposed, that any person in
those early ages, or in any age, could go over such a tract of country;
much less that he should subdue it. It is still more improbable, that such
extensive conquests should be so immediately repeated: and that they should
in some instances be carried on by different people at nearly the same
time. They, who speak of mighty empires being founded in those early days,
know little of true history; and have formed a very wrong judgment of the
politics, which then universally prevailed. The whole earth, as far as we
can learn, was divided into little cooerdinate states: every city seems to
have been subservient to its own Judge and Ruler, and independent of all
others. In the land of [907]Canaan thirty-one kings were subdued by Joshua,
between Jordan and the sea: and some were still left by him unconquered. In
those days, says the learned Marsham, quot urbes, tot regna. The like was
for many ages after observable in Greece, as well as in Latham, Samnium,
and Hetruria. A powerful enemy made Egypt unite under one head: and the
necessities of the people in a time of dearth served to complete that
system. The Israelites too, when settled in Canaan, formed a large kingdom.
Excepting these two nations we know of none of any considerable extent,
that were thus united. The [908]Syrians and the Philistim were in separate
states, and under different governors. The kingdoms of Nineve and Babylonia
consisted each of one mighty city, with its environs; in which were perhaps
included some subordinate villages. They were properly walled
[909]Provinces; and the inhabitants were in a state of rest for ages. The
Assyrian did not till about seven hundred years before Christ, begin to
contend for dominion, and make acquisition of territory: and we may form a
judgment, from what he then [910]gained, of what he was possessed before.
The cities Hala, Habor, Haran in Mesopotamia, with Carchemish upon the
Euphrates, were his first conquests: to these he added the puny states Ina,
Iva, and Sepharvaim upon the same river. He then proceeded to Hamath,
Damascus, and other cities of Syria; and at last came to Samaria. The line
of conquest points out the route, which he took; and shews that there were
in Mesopotamia numberless little states, independent of Babylon and Nineve,
though in their immediate vicinity. Consequently the notion of the extent,
dominion, and antiquity of those Monarchies, as delivered by Ctesias and
others, is entirely void of truth. The conquests likewise of those Heroes
and Demigods, who are made coeval with the supposed foundations of those
Monarchies, must be equally groundless. To say the truth, the very
personages are ideal, and have been formed out of the titles of the Deity:
and the history, with which they are attended, related not to conquest, but
to peregrinations of another nature; to Colonies which went abroad, and
settled in the countries mentioned. The antients, as I have repeatedly
said, have given to a person, what related to a people: and if we make this
small allowance, the history will be found in great measure true.

NINUS AND SEMIRAMIS.

Having given an account of the mythic heroes of Egypt, I think it necessary
to subjoin an history of two others of the like stamp, who have made no
less figure in the annals of Babylon and Assyria. The persons, to whom I
allude, are Ninus and Semiramis; whose conquests, though they did not
extend so far as those above, are yet alike wonderful, and equally
groundless. It is said of Ninus, that he was the first king of
[911]Assyria: and being a prince of great power, he made war on his
neighbours the Babylonians, whom he conquered. He afterwards invaded the
Armenians; whose king Barsanes, finding himself much inferior to his
adversary, diverted his anger by great presents, and a voluntary
[912]submission. The next object of his ambition was Media, which he soon
subdued; and getting Phanius, the king of the country, into his hands,
together with his wife and seven children, he condemned them all to be
crucified. His hopes being greatly raised by this success, he proceeded to
reduce all the nations to his obedience between the Tanais and the Nile:
and in seventeen years he made so great a progress, that, excepting
Bactria, all Asia submitted to him as far as the river Indus. In the series
of conquered countries Ctesias enumerates Egypt, Phenicia, Coile Syria,
Cilicia, Pamphylia, Lycia, Caria, Phrygia, Mysia, Lydia, Cappadocia, and
the nations in Pontus, and those near the Tanais. To these are added the
Dacians, Hyrcanians, Derbicians, Carmanians, Parthians, with all Persis and
Susiana, and the numerous nations upon the Caspian sea. After these notable
actions he laid the foundation of the great city Nineve: which by mistake
is said to have been built upon the banks of the [913]Euphrates. His last
expedition was against the Bactrians: at which time he first saw Semiramis,
a woman of uncommon endowments, and great personal charms. He had an army
which amounted to seven millions of foot, and two millions of horse, with
two hundred thousand chariots with scythes. For the possibility of which
circumstances Diodorus tries to account in favour of the historian, from
whom he borrows. By the conduct of Semiramis the Bactrians are subdued; and
Ninus takes the capital of the country: upon which, in return for her
services, he makes Semiramis his queen. Not long after he dies, leaving
only one son by this princess, who was called Ninyas.

The history of Semiramis is variously related by different authors. Some
make her a native of Ascalon; and say that she was exposed in the desert,
and nourished by pigeons. She was in this situation discovered by a
shepherd named Simma. He bred her up, and married her to Menon; whom she
deserted for Ninus. During her son's minority she assumed the regal state:
and the first work which she undertook was the interment of her husband.
She accordingly buried him with great splendor; and raised over him a mound
of earth, no less than a mile and a quarter high, and proportionally wide
at bottom: after which she built Babylon. This being finished, she made an
expedition into Media; and wherever she came left memorials of her power
and munificence. This was effected by erecting vast structures, forming
lakes, and laying out gardens of great extent; particularly in Chaonia and
Ecbatana. In short, she levelled hills, and raised [914]mounds of an
immense height, which retained her name for ages. After this she invaded
Egypt, and conquered Ethiopia, with the greater part of Lybia: and having
accomplished her wish, and there being no enemy to cope with her, excepting
the people of India, she resolved to direct her forces towards that
quarter. She had an army of three millions of foot, five hundred thousand
horse, and one hundred thousand chariots. For the passing of rivers, and
engaging with the enemy by water, she had procured two thousand ships, to
be so constructed as to be taken to pieces for the advantage of carriage:
which ships were built in Bactria by experienced persons from Phenicia,
Syria, and Cyprus. With these she entered into a naval engagement with
Strabrobates king of India; and at the first encounter sunk a thousand of
his ships. Upon this she built a bridge over the river Indus, and
penetrated into the heart of the country. Here Strabrobates engaged her;
but being deceived by the numerous appearance of her elephants, at first
gave way. For being deficient in those animals, she had procured the hides
of three thousand black oxen; which being properly sewed, and stuffed with
straw, formed an appearance of so many elephants. All this was done so
naturally, that the real animals could not stand the sight. But this
stratagem being at last discovered, Semiramis was obliged to retreat, after
having lost a great part of her [915]army. Soon after this she resigned the
government to her son Ninyas, and died. According to some writers, she was
slain by his hand.

The history of Ninus and Semiramis, as here represented, is in great
measure founded upon terms, which have been misconstrued; and these
fictions have been invented in consequence of the mistakes. Under the
character of Semiramis we are certainly to understand a people styled
Semarim, a title assumed by the antient Babylonians. They were called
Semarim from their insigne, which was a dove, expressed Semaramas, of which
I shall speak hereafter more at large. It was used as an object of worship;
and esteemed the same as Rhea, the mother of the gods: [916][Greek:
Semiramin kai ten Rhean kaloumenen par' Assuriois.]

If we take the history of Semiramis, as it is given us by Ctesias and
others; nothing can be more inconsistent. Some make her the wife of Ninus:
others say that she was his [917]daughter: and about the time of her birth
they vary beyond measure. She is sometimes made coeeval with the city
Nineve: at other times she is brought down within a few centuries of
[918]Herodotus. She invades the Babylonians before the city was [919]built,
from whence they were denominated: and makes sumptuous gardens at Ecbatana.
Hence that city is introduced as coeval with Nineve: though, if the least
credit may be given to [920]Herodotus, it was built many ages after by
Deioces the Mede. The city Nineve itself is by Ctesias placed upon the
[921]Euphrates; though every other writer agrees, that it lay far to the
east, and was situated upon the Tigris. This shews how little credit is to
be paid to Ctesias. The whole account of the fleet of ships built in
Bactria, and carried upon camels to the Indus, is a childish forgery. How
can we suppose, that there were no woods to construct such vessels, but in
the most inland regions of Asia? The story of the fictitious elephants,
made out of the hides of black oxen, which put to flight the real
elephants, is another silly fable. Megasthenes, who wrote of India, would
not allow that Semiramis was ever in those [922]parts. Arrian seems to
speak of it as a groundless [923]surmise. Her building of Babylon was by
[924]Berosus treated as a fable. Herennius Philo maintained, that it was
built by a son of Belus the wise, two thousand years before her [925]birth.
Suidas says, that she called Nineve [926]Babylon: so uncertain is every
circumstance about this Heroine. She is supposed to have sent to Cyprus,
and Phenicia, for artists to construct and manage the ships abovementioned;
as if there had been people in those parts famous for navigation before the
foundation of Nineve. They sometimes give to Semiramis herself the merit of
building the [927]first ship; and likewise the invention of weaving cotton:
and another invention more extraordinary, which was that of emasculating
[928]men, that they might be guardians, and overseers in her service. Yet,
it is said of her, that she took a man to her bed every night, whom she put
to death in the morning. How can it be imagined, if she was a woman of such
unbridled [929]lust, that she would admit such spies upon her actions? We
may as well suppose, that a felon would forge his own gyves, and construct
his own prison. Claudian thinks, that she did it to conceal her own sex, by
having a set of beardless people about her.

              [930]Seu prima Semiramis astu
  Assyriis mentita virum, ne vocis acutae
  Mollities, levesque genae se prodere possent,
  Hos sibi junxisset socios: seu Parthica ferro
  Luxuries nasci vetuit lanuginis umbram;
  Servatosque diu puerili flore coegit
  Arte retardatam Veneri servire juventam.

In respect to Semiramis I do not see how this expedient could avail. She
might just as well have dressed up her maids in mens clothes, and with less
trouble. In short the whole of these histories in their common acceptation
is to the last degree absurd, and improbable: but if we make use of an
expedient, which I have often recommended, and for a person substitute a
people, we shall find, when it is stripped of its false colouring, that
there is much truth in the narration.

It was a common mode of expression to call a tribe or family by the name of
its founder: and a nation by the head of the line. People are often spoken
of collectively in the singular under such a patronymic. Hence we read in
Scripture, that Israel abode in tents; that Judah was put to the worst in
battle; that Dan abode in ships; and Asher remained on the sea-coast. The
same manner of speaking undoubtedly prevailed both in Egypt, and in other
countries: and Chus must have been often put for the Cuthites, or Cuseans;
Amon for the Amonians; and Asur, or the Assyrian, for the people of
Assyria. Hence, when it was said, that the Ninevite performed any great
action, it has been ascribed to a person Ninus, the supposed founder of
Nineve. And as none of the Assyrian conquests were antecedent to Pul, and
Assur Adon, writers have been guilty of an unpardonable anticipation, in
ascribing those conquests to the first king of the country. A like
anticipation, amounting to a great many centuries, is to be found in the
annals of the Babylonians. Every thing that was done in later times, has
been attributed to Belus, Semiramis, and other, imaginary princes, who are
represented as the founders of the kingdom. We may, I think, be assured,
that under the character of Ninus, and Ninyas, we are to understand the
Ninevites; as by Semiramis is meant a people called Samarim: and the great
actions of these two nations are in the histories of these personages
recorded. But writers have rendered the account inconsistent by limiting,
what was an historical series of many ages, to the life of a single person.
The Ninevites and Samarim did perform all that is attributed to Semiramis,
and Ninus. They did conquer the Medes, and Bactrians; and extended their
dominions westward as far as Phrygia, and the river Tanais, and to the
Southward as far as Arabia, and Egypt. But these events were many ages
after the foundation of the two kingdoms. They began under Pul of Nineve;
and were carried on by Assur Adon, Salmanassur, Sennacherib, and other of
his successors. Nineve was at last ruined, and the kingdom of Assyria was
united with that of [931]Babylonia. This is probably alluded to in the
supposed marriage of Semiramis and Ninus. Then it was, that the Samarim
performed the great works attributed to them. For, exclusive of what was
performed at Babylon; _There are_, says [932]Strabo, _almost over the face
of the whole earth, vast [933]mounds of earth, and walls, and ramparts,
attributed to Semiramis; and in these are subterraneous passages of
communication, and tanks for water, with staircases of stone. There are
also vast canals to divert the course of rivers, and lakes to receive them;
together with highways and bridges of a wonderful structure_. They built
the famous terraces at [934]Babylon; and those beautiful gardens at
Egbatana, after that city had fallen into their hands. To them was owing
that cruel device of emasculating their slaves, that their numerous wives,
and concubines might be more securely guarded: an invention, which cannot
consistently be attributed to a woman. They found out the art of weaving
cotton: which discovery has by some been assigned to those of their family,
who went into Egypt: for there were Samarim here too. In consequence of
this, the invention has been attributed to a Semiramis, who is here
represented as a man, and a king of the country: at least it is referred to
his reign. [935][Greek: Epi te Semirameos basileos Aiguption ta bussina
himatia heuresthai historousin.] The Samarim of Egypt and Babylonia, were
of the same family, the sons of Chus. They came and settled among the
Mizraim, under the name of the shepherds, of whose history I have often
spoken. The reason of their being called Semarim, and Samarim, I shall
hereafter disclose, together with the purport of the name, and the history,
with which it is attended.

ZOROASTER.

The celebrated Zoroaster seems to have been a personage as much mistaken,
as any, who have preceded. The antients, who treated of him, have described
him in the same foreign light, as they have represented Perseus, Dionusus,
and Osiris. They have formed a character, which by length of time has been
separated, and estranged, from the person, to whom it originally belonged.
And as among the antients, there was not a proper uniformity observed in
the appropriation of terms, we shall find more persons than one spoken of
under the character of Zoroaster: though there was one principal, to whom
it more truly related. It will be found, that not only the person
originally recorded, and reverenced; but others, by whom the rites were
instituted and propagated, and by whom they were in aftertimes renewed,
have been mentioned under this title: Priests being often denominated from
the Deity, whom they served.

Of men, styled Zoroaster, the first was a deified personage, reverenced by
some of his posterity, whose worship was styled Magia, and the professors
of it Magi. His history is therefore to be looked for among the accounts
transmitted by the antient Babylonians, and Chaldeans. They were the first
people styled Magi; and the institutors of those rites, which related to
Zoroaster. From them this worship was imparted to the Persians, who
likewise had their Magi. And when the Babylonians sunk into a more
complicated idolatry, the Persians, who succeeded to the sovereignty of
Asia, renewed under their Princes, and particularly under Darius, the son
of Hystaspes, these rites, which had been, in a great degree, effaced, and
forgotten. That king was devoted to the religion styled Magia[936]; and
looked upon it as one of his most honourable titles, to be called a
professor of those doctrines. The Persians were originally named Peresians,
from the Deity Perez, or Parez the Sun; whom they also worshipped under the
title of [937]Zor-Aster. They were at different aeras greatly distressed and
persecuted, especially upon the death of their last king Yesdegerd. Upon
this account they retired into Gedrosia and India; where people of the same
family had for ages resided. They carried with them some shattered
memorials of their religion in writing, from whence the Sadder, Shaster,
Vedam, and Zandavasta were compiled. These memorials seem to have been
taken from antient symbols ill understood; and all that remains of them
consists of extravagant allegories and fables, of which but little now can
be decyphered. Upon these traditions the religion of the Brahmins and
Persees is founded.

The person who is supposed to have first formed a code of institutes for
this people, is said to have been one of the Magi, named Zerdusht. I
mention this, because Hyde, and other learned men, have imagined this
Zerdusht to have been the antient Zoroaster. They have gone so far as to
suppose the two names to have been the [938]same; between which I can
scarce descry any resemblance. There seem to have been many persons styled
Zoroaster: so that if the name had casually retained any affinity, or if it
had been literally the same, yet it would not follow, that this Persic and
Indian Theologist was the person of whom antiquity speaks so loudly. We
read of persons of this name in different parts of the world, who were all
of them Magi, or Priests, and denominated from the rites of Zoroaster,
which they followed. Suidas mentions a Zoroaster, whom he styles an
Assyrian; and another whom he calls [Greek: Perso-Medes], Perso-Medes: and
describes them both as great in science. There was a Zoroaster
Proconnesius, in the time of Xerxes, spoken of by [939]Pliny. Arnobius
mentions Zoroastres Bactrianus: and Zoroastres Zostriani nepos
[940]Armenius. Clemens Alexandrinus takes notice of Zoroaster [941]Medus,
who is probably the same as the Perso-Medes of Suidas. Zoroastres Armenius
is likewise mentioned by him, but is styled the son of [942]Armenius, and a
Pamphylian. It is said of him that he had a renewal of life: and that
during the term that he was in a state of death, he learned many things of
the Gods. This was a piece of mythology, which I imagine did not relate to
the Pamphylian Magus, but to the head of all the Magi, who was reverenced
and worshipped by them. There was another styled a Persian, whom Pythagoras
is said to have [943]visited. Justin takes notice of the Bactrian
[944]Zoroaster, whom he places in the time of Ninus. He is also mentioned
by [945]Cephalion, who speaks of his birth, and the birth of Semiramis
([Greek: genesin Semirameos kai Zoroastrou Magou]) as of the same date. The
natives of India have a notion of a Zoroaster, who was of Chinese original,
as we are informed by [946]Hyde. This learned man supposes all these
personages, the Mede, the Medo-Persic, the Proconnesian, the Bactrian, the
Pamphylian, &c. to have been one and the same. This is very wonderful; as
they are by their history apparently different. He moreover adds, that
however people may differ about the origin of this person, yet all are
unanimous about the time when he [947]lived. To see that these could not
all be the same person, we need only to cast our eye back upon the evidence
which has been collected above: and it will be equally certain, that they
could not be all of the same aera. There are many specified in history; but
we may perceive, that there was one person more antient and celebrated than
the rest; whose history has been confounded with that of others who came
after him. This is a circumstance which has been observed by [948]many: but
this ingenious writer unfortunately opposes all who have written upon the
subject, however determinately they may have expressed themselves. [949]At
quicquid dixerint, ille (Zoroaster) fuit tantum unus, isque tempore Darii
Hystaspis: nec ejus nomine plures unquam extitere. It is to be observed,
that the person, whom he styles Zoroaster, was one Zerdusht. He lived, it
seems, in the reign of Darius, the father of Xerxes; which was about the
time of the battle of Marathon: consequently not a century before the birth
of Eudoxus, Xenophon, and Plato. We have therefore no authority to suppose
[950]this Zerdusht to have been the famous Zoroaster. He was apparently the
renewer of the Sabian rites: and we may be assured, that he could not be
the person so celebrated by the antients, who was referred to the first
ages. Hyde asserts, that all writers agree about the time, when Zoroaster
made his appearance: and he places him, as we have seen above, in the reign
of Darius. But Xanthus Lydius made him above [951]six hundred years prior.
And [952]Suidas from some anonymous author places him five hundred years
before the war of Troy. Hermodorus Platonicus went much farther, and made
him five thousand years before that [953]aera. Hermippus, who professedly
wrote of his doctrines, supposed him to have been of the same
[954]antiquity. Plutarch also [955]concurs, and allows him five thousand
years before that war. Eudoxus, who was a consummate philosopher, and a
great traveller, supposed him to have flourished six thousand years before
the death of [956]Plato. Moses [957]Chorenensis, and [958]Cephalion, make
him only contemporary with Ninus, and Semiramis: but even this removes him
very far from the reign of Darius. Pliny goes beyond them all; and places
him many thousand years before Moses. [959]Est et alia Magices factio, a
Mose, et Jamne, et Lotapea Judaeis pendens: sed multis millibus annorum post
Zoroastrem. The numbers in all these authors, are extravagant: but so much
we may learn from them, that they relate to a person of the highest
antiquity. And the purport of the original writers, from whence the
Grecians borrowed their evidence, was undoubtedly to shew, that the person
spoken of lived at the extent of time; at the commencement of all
historical data. No fact, no memorial upon record, is placed so high as
they have carried this personage. Had Zoroaster been no earlier than
Darius, Eudoxus would never have advanced him to this degree of antiquity.
This writer was at the same distance from Darius, as Plato, of whom he
speaks: and it is not to be believed, that he could be so ignorant, as not
to distinguish between a century, and six thousand years. Agathias indeed
mentions, that some of the Persians had a notion, that he flourished in the
time of one Hystaspes; but he confesses, that who the Hystaspes was, and at
what time he lived, was [960]uncertain. Aristotle wrote not long after
Eudoxus, when the history of the Persians was more known to the Grecians,
and he allots the same number of years between Zoroaster and Plato, as had
been [961]before given. These accounts are for the most part carried too
far; but at the same time, they fully ascertain the high antiquity of this
person, whose aera is in question. It is plain that these writers in general
extend the time of his life to the aera of the world, according to their
estimation; and make it prior to Inachus, and Phoroneus, and AEgialeus of
Sicyon.

Huetius takes notice of the various accounts in respect to his country.
[962]Zoroastrem nunc Persam, nunc Medum ponit Clemens Alexandrinus;
Persomedum Suidas; plerique Bactrianuni; alii AEthiopem, quos inter ait
Arnobius ex AEthiopia interiore per igneam Zonam venisse Zoroastrem. In
short, they have supposed a Zoroaster, wherever there was a Zoroastrian:
that is, wherever the religion of the Magi was adopted, or revived. Many
were called after him: but who among men was the Prototype can only be
found out by diligently collating the histories, which have been
transmitted. I mention _among men_; for the title originally belonged to
the Sun; but was metaphorically bestowed upon sacred and enlightened
personages. Some have thought that the person alluded to was Ham. He has by
others been taken for Chus, also for Mizraim, and [963]Nimrod: and by
Huetius for Moses. It may be worth while to consider the primitive
character, as given by different writers. He was esteemed the first
observer of the heavens; and it is said that the antient Babylonians
received their knowledge in Astronomy from him: which was afterwards
revived under Ostanes; and from them it was derived to the [964]Egyptians,
and to the Greeks. Zoroaster was looked upon as the head of all those, who
are supposed to have followed his [965]institutes: consequently he must
have been prior to the Magi, and Magia, the priests, and worship, which
were derived from him. Of what antiquity they were, may be learned from
Aristotle. [966][Greek: Aristoteles d' en protoi peri philosophias (tous
Magous) kai presbuterous einai ton Aiguption.] _The Magi, according to
Aristotle, were prior even to the Egyptians_: and with the antiquity of the
Egyptians, we are well acquainted. Plato styles him the son of
[967]Oromazes, who was the chief Deity of the Persians: and it is said of
him, that he laughed upon the day on which he was [968]born. By this I
imagine, that something fortunate was supposed to be portended: some
indication, that the child would prove a blessing to the world. In his
childhood he is said to have been under the care of [969]Azonaces: which I
should imagine was a name of the chief Deity Oromazes, his reputed father.
He was in process of time greatly enriched with knowledge, and became in
high repute for his [970]piety, and justice. He first sacrificed to the
Gods, and taught men to do the [971]same. He likewise instructed them in
science, for which he was greatly [972]famed: and was the first who gave
them laws. The Babylonians seem to have referred to him every thing, which
by the Egyptians was attributed to Thoth and Hermes. He had the title of
[973]Zarades, which signifies the Lord of light, and is equivalent to Orus,
Oromanes, and Osiris, It was sometimes expressed [974]Zar-Atis, and
supposed to belong to a feminine Deity of the Persians. Moses Chorenensis
styles him [975]Zarovanus, and speaks of him as the father of the Gods.
Plutarch would insinuate, that he was author of the doctrine, embraced
afterwards by the Manicheans, concerning two prevailing principles, the one
good, and the other evil[976]: the former of these was named Oromazes, the
latter Areimanius. But these notions were of late [977]date, in comparison
of the antiquity which is attributed to [978]Zoroaster. If we might credit
what was delivered in the writings transmitted under his name, which were
probably composed by some of the later Magi, they would afford us a much
higher notion of his doctrines. Or if the account given by Ostanes were
genuine, it would prove, that there had been a true notion of the Deity
transmitted from [979]Zoroaster, and kept up by the Magi, when the rest of
the gentile world was in darkness. But this was by no means true. It is
said of Zoroaster, that he had a renewal of [980]life: for I apply to the
original person of the name, what was attributed to the Magus of Pamphylia:
and it is related of him, that while he was in the intermediate state of
death, he was instructed by the [981]Gods. Some speak of his retiring to a
mountain of Armenia, where he had an intercourse with the [982]Deity: and
when the mountain burned with fire, he was preserved unhurt. The place to
which he retired, according to the Persic writers, was in the region called
[983]Adarbain; where in aftertimes was the greatest Puratheion in Asia.
This region was in Armenia: and some make him to have been born in the same
country, upon one of the Gordiaean [984]mountains. Here it was, that he
first instituted sacrifices, and gave laws to his followers; which laws are
supposed to be contained in the sacred book named Zandavasta. To him has
been attributed the invention of Magic; which notion has arisen from a
misapplication of terms. The Magi Were priests, and they called religion in
general Magia. They, and their rites, grew into disrepute; in consequence
of which they were by the Greeks called [Greek: apateones, pharmakeutai]:
_jugglers, and conjurers_. But the Persians of old esteemed them very
highly. [985][Greek: Magon, ton theosebe, kai theologon, kai hierea, hoi
Persai houtos legousin.] _By a Magus, the Persians understand a sacred
person, a professor of theology, and a Priest._ [Greek: Para Persais]
[986][Greek: Magoi hoi philosophoi, kai theophiloi.] _Among the Persians,
the Magi are persons addicted to philosophy, and to the worship of the
Deity._ [987]Dion. Chrysostom, and Porphyry speak to the same purpose. By
Zoroaster being the author of Magia, is meant, that he was the first
promoter of religious rites, and the instructor of men in their duty to
God. The war of Ninus with Zoroaster of Bactria relates probably to some
hostilities carried on between the Ninevites of Assyria, and the Bactrians,
who had embraced the Zoroastrian rites. Their priest, or prince, for they
were of old the same, was named [988]Oxuartes; but from his office had the
title of Zoroaster; which was properly the name of the Sun, whom he adored.
This religion began in Chaldea; and it is expressly said of this Bactrian
king, that he borrowed the knowledge of it from that country, and added to
it largely. [989]Cujus scientiae saeculis priscis multa ex Chaldaeorum arcanis
Bactrianus addidit Zoroastres. When the Persians gained the empire in Asia,
they renewed these rites, and doctrines. [990]Multa deinde (addidit)
Hystaspes Rex prudentissimus, Darii pater. These rites were idolatrous; yet
not so totally depraved, and gross, as those of other nations. They were
introduced by Chus; at least by the Cuthites: one branch of whom were the
Peresians, or Persians. The Cuthites of Chaldea were the original Magi, and
they gave to Chus the title of Zoroaster Magus, as being the first of the
order. Hence the account given by Gregorius Turonensis is in a great degree
true. [991]Primogeniti Cham filii Noe fuit Chus. Hic ad Persas transiit,
quem Persae vocitavere Zoroastrem. Chus, we find, was called by this title;
and from him the religion styled Magia passed to the Persians. But titles,
as I have shewn, were not always determinately appropriated: nor was Chus
the original person, who was called Zoroaster. There was another beyond
him, who was the first deified mortal, and the prototype in this worship.
To whom I allude, may, I think, be known from the history given above. It
will not fail of being rendered very clear in the course of my procedure.

The purport of the term Zoroaster is said, by [992]the author of the
Recognitions, and by others, to be _the living star_: and they speak of it
as if it were of Grecian etymology, and from the words [Greek: zoon] and
[Greek: aster]. It is certainly compounded of Aster, which, among many
nations, signified a star. But, in respect to the former term, as the
object of the Persic and Chaldaic worship was the Sun, and most of their
titles were derived from thence; we may be pretty certain, that by
Zoro-Aster was meant Sol Asterius. Zor, Sor, Sur, Sehor, among the
Amonians, always related to the Sun. Eusebius says, that Osiris was
esteemed the same as Dionusus, and the Sun: and that he was called
[993]Surius. The region of Syria was hence denominated [Greek: Suria]; and
is at this day called Souria, from Sur, and Sehor, the Sun. The Dea Syria
at Hierapolis was properly Dea Solaris. In consequence of the Sun's being
called Sor, and Sur, we find that his temple is often mentioned under the
name of [994]Beth-Sur, and [995]Beth-Sura, which Josephus renders
[996][Greek: Beth-Sour]. It was also called Beth-Sor, and Beth-Soron, as we
learn from [997]Eusebius, and [998]Jerome. That Suria was not merely a
provincial title is plain, from the Suria Dea being worshipped at Erix in
[999]Sicily; and from an inscription to her at [1000]Rome. She was
worshipped under the same title in Britain, as we may infer from an
Inscription at Sir Robert Cotton's, of Connington, in Cambridgeshire.

[1001]DEAE SURIAE
SUB CALPURNIO
LEG. AUG. &c.

Syria is called Sour, and Souristan, at this day.

[Illustration: Pl. XI. _Deus Azon Persicus._]

The Grecians therefore were wrong in their etymology; and we may trace the
origin of their mistake, when they supposed the meaning of Zoroaster to
have been vivens astrum. I have mentioned, that both Zon and [1002]Zoan
signified the Sun: and the term Zor had the same meaning. In consequence of
this, when the Grecians were told that Zor-Aster was the same as
Zoan-Aster, they, by an uniform mode of mistake, expressed the latter
[Greek: zoon]; and interpreted Zoroaster [Greek: astera zoon]. But Zoan
signified the Sun. The city Zoan in Egypt was Heliopolis; and the land of
Zoan the Heliopolitan nome. Both Zoan-Aster, and Zor-Aster, signified Sol
Asterius. The God Menes was worshipped under the symbol of a bull; and
oftentimes under the symbol of a bull and a man. Hence we read of
Meno-Taur, and of Taur-Men, in Crete, Sicily, and other places. The same
person was also styled simply [1003]Taurus, from the emblem under which he
was represented. This Taurus was also called Aster, and Asterius, as we
learn from [1004]Lycophron, and his Scholiast. [Greek: Ho Asterios houtos
estin ho kai Minotauros]. _By Asterius is signified the same person as the
Minotaur._ This Taur-Aster is exactly analogous to [1005]Zor-Aster above.
It was the same emblem as the Mneuis, or sacred bull of Egypt; which was
described with a star between his horns. Upon some of the
[1006]entablatures at Naki Rustan, supposed to have been the antient
Persepolis, we find the Sun to be described under the appearance of a
bright [1007]star: and nothing can better explain the history there
represented, than the account given of Zoroaster. He was the reputed son of
Oromazes, the chief Deity; and his principal instructor was Azonaces, the
same person under a different title. He is spoken of as one greatly beloved
by heaven: and it is mentioned of him, that he longed very much to see the
Deity, which at his importunity was granted to him. This interview,
however, was not effected by his own corporeal eyes, but by the mediation
of an [1008]angel. Through this medium the vision was performed: and he
obtained a view of the Deity surrounded with light. The angel, through
whose intervention this favour was imparted, seems to have been one of
those styled Zoni, and [1009]Azoni. All the vestments of the priests, and
those in which they used to apparel their Deities, had sacred names, taken
from terms in their worship. Such were Camise, Candys, Camia, Cidaris,
Mitra, Zona, and the like. The last was a sacred fillet, or girdle, which
they esteemed an emblem of the orbit described by Zon, the Sun. They either
represented their Gods as girded round with a serpent, which was an emblem
of the same meaning; or else with this bandage, denominated [1010]Zona.
They seem to have been secondary Deities, who were called Zoni and
[1011]Azoni. The term signifies Heliadae: and they were looked upon as
aethereal essences, a kind of emanation from the Sun. They were exhibited
under different representations; and oftentimes like Cneph of Egypt. The
fillet, with which the Azoni were girded, is described as of a fiery
nature: and they were supposed to have been wafted through the air.
Arnobius speaks of it in this light. [1012]Age, nunc, veniat, quaeso, per
igneam zonam Magus ab interiore orbe Zoroastres. I imagine, that by
Azonaces, [Greek: Azonakes], beforementioned, the reputed teacher of
Zoroaster, was meant the chief Deity, the same as Oromanes, and Oromasdes.
He seems to have been the supreme of those aethereal spirits described
above; and to have been named Azon-Nakis, which signifies the great Lord,
[1013]Azon. Naki, Nakis, Nachis, Nachus, Negus, all in different parts of
the world betoken a king. The temple at Istachar, near which these
representations were found, is at this day called the palace of Naki
Rustan, whoever that personage may have been.

[Illustration: Pl. XII. _Apud Kaempferum in Amoenitat. Exot. p. 312_]

[Illustration: Zor-Aster, sive Taurus Solaris AEgyptiacus]

ORPHEUS.

The character of Orpheus is in some respects not unlike that of Zoroaster,
as will appear in the sequel. He went over many regions of the earth; and
in all places, whither he came, was esteemed both as a priest, and a
prophet. There seems to be more in his history than at first sight appears:
all which will by degrees be unfolded. His skill in harmony is represented
as very wonderful: insomuch that he is said to have tamed the wild beasts
of the forest, and made the trees follow him. He likewise could calm the
winds, and appease the raging of the sea. These last circumstances are
taken notice of by a poet in some fine verses, wherein he laments his
death.

  [1014][Greek: Houk eti koimaseis anemon bromon, ouchi chalazan,]
    [Greek: Ou nipheton surmous, ou patageusan hala.]
  [Greek: Oleo gar. kl.]

He is mentioned, as having been twice in a state of [1015]death; which is
represented as a twofold descent to the shades below. There is also an
obscure piece of mythology about his wife, and a serpent; also of the Rhoia
or Pomegranate: which seems to have been taken from some symbolical
representation at a time, when the purport was no longer understood. The
Orpheans dealt particularly in symbols, as we learn from Proclus.
[1016][Greek: Orphikoi dia sumbolon, Puthagoreioi dia eikonon, ta theia
menuein ephiemenoi.] His character for science was very great; and
Euripides takes particular notice of some antient tablets, containing much
salutary knowledge, which were bequeathed to the Thracians by Orpheus:
[1017][Greek: has Orpheie kategrapse gerus.] Plato styles his works
[1018][Greek: biblon homadon], _a vast lumber of learning_, from the
quantity, which people pretended had been transmitted from him. He one
while resided in Greece; and particularly at Thebes in Boeotia. Here he
introduced the rites of Dionusus, and celebrated his Orgies upon mount
[1019]Cithaeron. He is said to have been the first who instituted those
rites: and was the author of all mysterious worship. [1020][Greek: Protos
Orpheus musteria Theon paredoken.] All these were accompanied with science
of another nature: for he is reputed to have been skilled in many arts.

From Thebes he travelled towards the sea-coast of Chaonia, in order to
recover his lost Eurydice; who had been killed by a serpent. According to
[1021]Agatharchides Cnidius it was at Aorthon in Epirus, that he descended
for this purpose to the shades below. The same account is given by
[1022]Pausanias, who calls the place more truly Aornon. In the Orphic
Argonauts it is said to have been performed at Taenarus in [1023]Laconia. He
likewise resided in Egypt, and travelled over the regions of Libya; and
every where instructed people in the rites, and religion, which he
professed. In the same manner he went over a great part of the world.

  [1024][Greek: Os hikomen epi gaian apeireton, ede poleas,]
  [Greek: Aiguptoi, Libuei te, brotois ana thesphata phainon.]

Some make Orpheus by birth a Thracian; some an Arcadian: others a Theban.
Pausanias mentions it as an opinion among the [1025]Egyptians, that both
Orpheus, and Amphion, were from their country. There is great uncertainty
about his parents. He is generally supposed to have been the son of
Oeagrus, and Calliope: but Asclepiades made him the son of Apollo, by that
[1026]Goddess. By some his mother was said to have been Menippe; by others
[1027]Polymnia. He is also mentioned as the son of [1028]Thamyras. Plato
differs from them all, and styles both Orpheus, and Musaeus, [1029][Greek:
Selenes kai Mouson engonoi], _the offspring of the Moon, and the Muses_: in
which account is contained some curious mythology. The principal place of
his residence is thought to have been in Pieria near mount Haemus. He is
also said to have resided among the Edonians; and in Sithonia, at the foot
of mount Pangaeus; also upon the sea-coast at Zona. In all these places he
displayed his superiority in science; for he was not only a Poet, and
skilled in harmony, but a great Theologist and Prophet; also very knowing
in medicine, and in the history of the [1030]heavens. According to
Antipater Sidonius, he was the author of Heroic verse. And some go so far
as to ascribe to him the invention of letters; and deduce all knowledge
from [1031]him.

Many of the things, reported to have been done by Orpheus, are attributed
to other persons, such as [1032]Eetion, Musaeus, Melampus, Linus, Cadmus,
and Philammon. Some of these are said to have had the same [1033]parents.
Authors in their accounts of Orpheus, do not agree about the manner of his
[1034]death. The common notion is, that he was torn to pieces by the
Thracian women. But, according to Leonides, in Laertius, he was slain by
lightning: and there is an [1035]epitaph to that purpose. The name of
Orpheus is to be found in the lists of the Argonauts: and he is mentioned
in the two principal poems upon that subject. Yet there were writers who
placed him eleven generations before the war of Troy, consequently ten
generations before that expedition. [1036][Greek: Gegone pro 11 geneon ton
Troikon--bionai de geneas 9; hoi de 11 phesin.] _He was born eleven ages
before the siege of Troy, and he is said to have lived nine ages; and
according to some eleven_. This extent of [1037]life has been given him in
order to bring him down as low as the aera of the Argonauts: though, if we
may believe Pherecydes Syrus, he had no share in that expedition.

To remedy the inconsistences, which arise in the history of Orpheus,
writers have supposed many persons of this name. Suidas takes notice of no
less than four in [1038]Thrace. But all these will not make the history
consistent. Vossius therefore, with good reason, doubts whether such a
person ever existed. Nay, he asserts, [1039]Triumviros istos Poeseos,
Orphea, Musaeum, Linum, non fuisse: sed esse nomina ab antiqua Phoenicum
lingua, qua usi Cadmus, et aliquamdiu posteri. There is great truth in what
Vossius here advances: and in respect to Orpheus, the testimony of
Aristotle, quoted by him from Cicero, is very decisive. [1040]Orpheum
poetam docet Aristoteles nunquam fuisse. Dionysius, as we learn from
Suidas, affirmed the same thing. Palaephatus indeed admits the man; but sets
aside the history. [1041][Greek: Pseudes kai ho peri tou Thrpheos muthos.]
_The history too of Orpheus is nothing else but a fable_. From what has
been said, I think it is plain, that under the character of this personage
we are to understand a people named [1042]Orpheans; who, as Vossius rightly
intimates, were the same as the Cadmians. In consequence of this, there
will sometimes be found a great similarity between the characters of these
two persons.

I have shewn, that Colonies from [1043]Egypt settled in the region of
Sethon, called afterwards Sethonia, upon the river Palaestinus. They were
likewise to be found in the countries of Edonia, Pieria, and Peonia: in one
of which they founded a city and temple. The Grecians called this city
Orpheus: [1044][Greek: Orpheus esti polis upo tei Pieriei.] _Orpheus is a
city of Thrace, below Pieria_. But the place was originally expressed
Orphi, by which is meant the oracular temple of Orus. From hence, and from
the worship here instituted, the people were styled Orphites, and Orpheans.
They were noted for the Cabiritic mysteries; and for the Dionusiaca, and
worship of Damater. They were likewise very famous for the medicinal arts;
and for their skill in astronomy and music. But the Grecians have
comprehended, under the character of one person, the history of a people.
When they settled in Thrace, they introduced their arts, and their worship,
among the barbarous [1045]natives, by whom they were revered for their
superior knowledge. They likewise bequeathed many memorials of themselves,
and of their forefathers, which were probably some emblematical sculptures
upon wood or stone: hence we read of the tablets of Orpheus preserved in
Thrace, and particularly upon mount [1046]Haemus. The temple which they
built upon this mountain seems to have been a college, and to have
consisted of a society of priests. They were much addicted to celibacy, as
we may judge from their history; and were, in great measure, recluses after
the mode of Egypt and Canaan. Hence it is said of Orpheus, that he secreted
himself from the world, and led the life of a [1047]Swan: and it is
moreover mentioned of Aristaeus, when he made a visit to Dionusus upon mount
Haemus, that he disappeared from the sight of men, and was never after
[1048]seen. According to the most common accounts concerning the death of
Orpheus, it was owing to his principles, and manner of life. He was a
solitary, and refused all commerce with womankind: hence the Maenades, and
other women of Thrace, rose upon him, and tore him to pieces. It is said,
that his head, and lyre were thrown into the Hebrus; down which they were
wafted to Lemnos. What is here mentioned of Orpheus, undoubtedly relates to
the Orpheans, and to their temple upon mount Haemus. This temple was in
process of time ruined: and there is great reason to think, that it was
demolished upon account of the cruelties practised by the priests, and
probably from a detestation of their unnatural crimes, to which there are
frequent allusions. Ovid having given a character of Orpheus, concludes
with an accusation to this purpose.

  [1049]Ille etiam Thracum populis fuit auctor amores
  In teneros transferre mares: citraque juventam
  AEtatis breve ver, et primos carpere flores.

Those of the community, who survived the disaster, fled down the Hebrus to
<DW26>s; where they either found, or erected, a temple similar to that which
they had quitted. Here the same worship was instituted; and the place grew
into great reputation. They likewise settled at Lenmos. This island lay at
no great distance from the former; and was particularly devoted to the
Deity of fire. It is said by Hecataeus, that it received the name of Lemnos
from the Magna Dea, Cybele. She was styled by the natives [Greek: Lemnos],
and at her shrine they used to sacrifice young persons. [1050][Greek: Apo
megales legomenes Theou; tautei de kai parthenous ethuon.] They seem to
have named the temple at <DW26>s Orphi, and Orphei caput: and it appears to
have been very famous on account of its oracle. Philostratus says, that the
Ionians, and AEolians, of old universally consulted it: and, what is
extraordinary, that it was held in high estimation by the people of
[1051]Babylonia. He calls the place the head of Orpheus: and mentions, that
the oracle proceeded from a cavity in the earth; and that it was consulted
by Cyrus, the Persian. That the Babylonians had a great veneration for a
temple named Orphi, I make no doubt: but it certainly could not be the
temple at <DW26>s. During the Babylonish empire, Greece, and its islands,
were scarcely known to people of that country. And when the Persians
succeeded, it is not credible, that they should apply to an oracle at
<DW26>s, or to an oracle of Greece. They were too refined in their religious
notions to make any such application. It is notorious, that, when Cambyses,
and Ochus, invaded Egypt, and when Xerxes made his inroad into Greece, they
burnt and ruined the temples in each nation, out of abomination to the
worship. It was another place of this name, an oracle of their own, to
which the Babylonians, and Persians, applied. For it cannot be supposed, in
the times spoken of, that they had a correspondence with the western world.
It was Ur, in Chaldea, the seat of the antient Magi, which was styled
Urphi, and Orphi, on account of its being the seat of an oracle. That there
was such a temple is plain from Stephanus Byzantinus, who tells us,
[1052][Greek: Manteion echein autous (Chaldaious) para barbarois, hos
Delphoi par' Hellesi.] _The Chaldeans had an oracle as famous among the
people of those parts, as Delphi was among the Grecians_. This temple was
undoubtedly styled Urphi. I do not mean, that this was necessarily a proper
name; but an appellative, by which oracular places were in general
distinguished. The city Edessa in Mesopotamia seems likewise to have had
the name of Urphi, which was given on account of the like rites, and
worship. That it was so named, we may fairly presume from its being by the
natives called [1053]Urpha, at this day. It was the former temple, to which
the Babylonians, and Persians had recourse: and it was from the Magi of
these parts, that the Orphic rites and mysteries were originally derived.
They came from Babylonia to Egypt, and from thence to Greece. We
accordingly find this particular in the character of Orpheus, [1054][Greek:
einai de ton Orphea mageusai deinon], _that he was great in all the
mysteries of the Magi_. We moreover learn from Stephanus Monachius, that
Orphon, a term of the same purport as Orpheus, was one of the appellations,
by which the Magi were called. [1055]Orphon, quod Arabibus Magum sonat. In
short, under the character of Orpheus, we have the history both of the
Deity, and of his votaries. The head of Orpheus was said to have been
carried to Lemnos, just as the head of Osiris used to be wafted to Byblus.
He is described as going to the shades below, and afterwards returning to
upper air. This is similar to the history of Osiris, who was supposed to
have been in a state of death, and after a time to have come to life. There
was moreover something mysterious in the death of Orpheus; for it seems to
have been celebrated with the same frantic acts of grief, as people
practised in their lamentations for Thamuz and Osiris, and at the rites of
Baal. The Bistonian women, who were the same as the Thyades, and Maenades,
used to gash their arms with knives, and besmear themselves with
[1056]blood, and cover their heads with ashes. By this display of sorrow we
are to understand a religious rite; for Orpheus was a title, under which
the Deity of the place was worshipped. He was the same as Orus of Egypt,
whom the Greeks esteemed both as Apollo, and Hephaistus. That he was a
deity is plain from his temple and oracle abovementioned: which, we find,
were of great repute, and resorted to by various people from the opposite
coast.

As there was an Orpheus in Thrace, so there appears to have been an Orpha
in [1057]Laconia, of whose history we have but few remains. They represent
her as a Nymph, the daughter of Dion, and greatly beloved by Dionusus. She
was said, at the close of her life, to have been changed to a tree. The
fable probably relates to the Dionusiaca, and other Orphic rites, which had
been in early times introduced into the part of the world abovementioned,
where they were celebrated at a place called Orpha. But the rites grew into
disuse, and the history of the place became obsolete: hence Orpha has been
converted to a nymph, favoured of the God there worshipped; and was
afterwards supposed to have been changed to one of the trees, which grew
within its precincts.

Many undertook to write the history of Orpheus; the principal of whom were
Zopurus of Heraclea, Prodicus Chius, Epigenes, and Herodorus. They seem all
to have run into that general mistake of forming a new personage from a
title, and making the Deity a native, where he was inshrined. The writings,
which were transmitted under the name of Orpheus, were innumerable: and are
justly ridiculed by Lucian, both for their quantity, and matter. There were
however some curious hymns, which used to be of old sung in Pieria, and
Samothracia; and which Onomacritus copied. They contain indeed little more
than a list of titles, by which the Deity in different places was
addressed. But these titles are of great antiquity: and though the hymns
are transmitted in a modern garb, the person, through whom we receive them,
being as late as [1058]Pisistratus, yet they deserve our notice. They must
necessarily be of consequence, as they refer to the worship of the first
ages, and afford us a great insight into the Theology of the antients.
Those specimens also, which have been preserved by Proclus, in his
dissertations upon Plato, afford matter of great curiosity. They are all
imitations, rather than translations of the antient Orphic poetry,
accompanied with a short comment. This poetry was in the original Amonian
language, which grew obsolete among the Helladians, and was no longer
intelligible: but was for a long time preserved in [1059]Samothracia, and
used in their sacred rites.

CADMUS.

Although I have said so much about Dionusus, Sesostris, and other great
travellers, I cannot quit the subject till I have taken notice of Cadmus:
for his expeditions, though not so extensive as some, which I have been
mentioning, are yet esteemed of great consequence in the histories of
antient nations. The time of his arrival in Greece is looked up to as a
fixed aera: and many circumstances in chronology are thereby determined. He
is commonly reputed to have been a Phenician by birth; the son of Agenor,
who was the king of that country. He was sent by his father's order in
quest of his sister Europa; and after wandering about a long time to little
purpose, he at last settled in Greece. In this country were many traditions
concerning him; especially in Attica, and Boeotia. The particular spot,
where he is supposed to have taken up his residence, was in the latter
province at Tanagra upon the river Ismenus. He afterwards built Thebes: and
wherever he came, he introduced the religion of his country. This consisted
in the worship of [1060]Dionusus; and in the rites, which by the later
Greeks were termed the Dionusiaca. They seem to have been much the same as
the Cabyritic mysteries, which he is said to have established in
Samothracia. He fought with a mighty dragon; whose teeth he afterwards
sowed, and produced an army of men. To him Greece is supposed to have been
indebted for the first introduction of [1061]letters; which are said to
have been the letters of his country Phenicia, and in number sixteen. He
married Harmonia, the daughter of Mars and Venus: and his nuptials were
graced with the presence of all the Gods, and Goddesses; each of whom
conferred some gift upon the bride. He had several children; among whom was
a daughter Semele, esteemed the mother of Bacchus. After having experienced
great vicissitudes in life, he is said to have retired with his wife
Harmonia to the coast of Illyria, where they were both changed to serpents.
He was succeeded at Thebes by his son Polydorus, the father of Labdacus,
the father of Laius. This last was the husband of Jocasta, by whom he had
Oedipus.

Bochart with wonderful ingenuity, and equal learning, tries to solve the
aenigmas, under which this history is represented. He supposes Cadmus to
have been a fugitive Canaanite, who fled from the face of Joshua: and that
he was called Cadmus from being a Cadmonite, which is a family mentioned by
Moses. In like manner he imagines, that Harmonia had her name from mount
Hermon, which was probably in the district of the Cadmonites. The story of
the dragon he deduces from the Hevaei, or Hivites; the same people as the
Cadmonites. He proceeds afterwards with great address to explain the rest
of the fable, concerning the teeth of the dragon, which were sown; and the
armed men, which from thence arose: and what he says is in many particulars
attended with a great shew of probability. Yet after all his ingenious
conjectures, I am obliged to dissent from him in some points; and
particularly in one, which is of the greatest moment. I cannot be induced
to think, that Cadmus was, as Bochart represents him, a Phenician. Indeed I
am persuaded, that no such person existed. If Cadmus brought letters from
Phenicia, how came he to bring but sixteen; when the people, from whom he
imported them, had undoubtedly more, as we may infer from their neighbours?
And if they were the current letters of Greece, as Herodotus intimates; how
came it to pass, that the tablet of Alcmena, the wife of Amphitryon, the
third in descent from Cadmus, could not be understood, as we are assured by
[1062]Plutarch? He says, that in the reign of Agesilaus of Sparta, a
written tablet was found in the tomb of Alcmena, to whom it was inscribed:
that the characters were obsolete, and unintelligible; on which account
they sent it to Conuphis of Memphis in Egypt, to be decyphered. If these
characters were Phenician, why were they sent to a priest of a different
country for interpretation? and why is their date and antiquity defined by
the reign of a king in Egypt? [1063][Greek: Tous tupous einai tes epi
Protei basileuonti grammatikes.] _The form of the letters was the same as
was in use when Proteus reigned in that country._ Herodotus, indeed, to
prove that the Cadmians brought letters into Greece, assures us, that he
saw specimens of their writing at Thebes, in the temple of Apollo
[1064]Ismenius: that there was a tripod as antient as the reign of Laius,
the son of Labdacus; with an inscription, which imported, that it had been
there dedicated by Amphitryon upon his victory over the Teleboae. I make no
doubt, but that Herodotus saw tripods with antient inscriptions: and there
might be one with the name of Amphitryon: but how could he be sure that it
was the writing of that person, and of those times? We know what a pleasure
there is in enhancing the antiquity of things; and how often inscriptions
are forged for that purpose. Is it credible that the characters of
Amphitryon should be so easy to be apprehended, when those of his wife
Alcmena could not be understood? and which of the two are we in this case
to believe, Herodotus or Plutarch? I do not mean that I give any credence
to the story of Alcmena and her tablet: nor do I believe that there was a
tripod with characters as antient as Amphitryon. I only argue from the
principles of the Greeks to prove their inconsistency. The Pheneatae in
Arcadia shewed to Pausanias an inscription upon the basis of a brazen
statue, which was dedicated to [1065]Poseidon Hippius. It was said to have
been written by Ulysses, and contained a treaty made between him and some
shepherds. But Pausanias acknowledges that it was an imposition; for
neither statues of brass, nor statues of any sort, were in use at the time
alluded to.

It is said of Cadmus, that he introduced the rites of [1066]Bacchus into
Greece. But how is this possible, if Bacchus was his descendant, the son of
his daughter Semele? To remedy this, the latter mythologists suppose, that
there was a prior Bacchus, who was worshipped by Cadmus. This is their
usual recourse, when they are hard pressed with inconsistencies. They then
create other personages, to help them out of their difficulties. They form,
with great facility, a new Semiramis, or Ninus; another Belus, Perseus,
Minos, Hermes, Phoroneus, Apis, though to little purpose: for the mistake
being fundamental, the inconveniencies cannot be remedied by such
substitutes. We are told that Cadmus was a Phenician: but Diodorus Siculus
speaks of him as assuredly of Egypt; and mentions moreover, that he was a
native of the Thebais: [1067][Greek: Kadmon ek Thebon onta ton Aiguption].
Pherecydes Syrus also, from whom most of the mythology of Greece was
borrowed, makes Cadmus an [1068]Egyptian, the son of Agenor and Argiope,
who was the daughter of Nilus. By others he is said to have been the son of
Antiope, the daughter of Belus: consequently he must originally have been
of Babylonish extraction. His father Agenor, from whom he is supposed to
have been instructed in the sciences, is represented by Nonnus as residing
at Thebes.

  [1069][Greek: Patria thespesies dedaemenos orgia technes,]
  [Greek: Aigupties sophies metanastios, emos Agenor]
  [Greek: Memphidos ennaetes hekatompulon oikee Theben.]

We learn the same from the Scholiast upon Lycophron, who styles the king
Ogugus. [1070][Greek: Kai ho Ogugos Thebon Aiguption en Basileus, hothen ho
Kadmos huparchon, elthon en Helladi tas Heptapulous ektise.] _Moreover
Ogugus was king of Thebes in Egypt: of which country was Cadmus, who came
into Greece, and built the city styled Heptapulae_. It was from the same
part of the world, that the mysteries were imported, in which Cadmus is
represented as so knowing: and here it was, that he was taught
hieroglyphics, and the other characters, which are attributed to him. For
he is said to have been expert [1071][Greek: Cheiros opisthoporoio
charagmata loxa charasson.] These arts he carried first to the coast of
Sidon, and Syria; and from thence he is supposed to have brought them to
Greece: for, before he came to Hellas, he is said to have reigned in
conjunction with Phoenix, both at Sidon and Tyre. [1072][Greek: Phoinix kai
Kadmos, apo Thebon ton Aiguption exelthontes eis ten Surian Turou kai
Sidonos ebasileusan.] _Phoenix and Cadmus came from Thebes in Egypt, and
reigned at Tyre and Sidon._

Thus I have taken pains to shew, that Cadmus was not, as has been generally
thought, a Phenician. My next endeavour will be to prove that no such
person existed. If we consider the whole history of this celebrated hero,
we shall find, that it was impossible for one person to have effected what
he is supposed to have performed. His expeditions were various and
wonderful; and such as in those early times would not have been attempted,
nor could ever have been completed. The Helladians say little more, than
that he built Thebes, and brought letters into Greece: that he slew a
dragon, from the teeth of which being sowed in the ground there arose an
army of earthborn men. The writers of other countries afford us a more
extensive account: among the principal of which are to be esteemed
Herodotus, Diodorus, Strabo, and Pausanias. Some of them had their
[1073]doubts about the reality of this adventurer: and from the history
which they have transmitted, we may safely infer, that no such person
existed, as has been described under the character of Cadmus.

He is said to have sailed first to [1074]Phenicia and Cyprus; and
afterwards to [1075]Rhodes. Here he instructed the people in the religion
which he professed; and founded a temple at Lindus, where he appointed an
order of priests. He did the same [1076]at Thera, and afterwards was at
[1077]Thasus: and proceeding in his travels partook of the Cabiritic
mysteries in [1078]Samothracia. He visited [1079]Ionia, and all the coast
upwards to the Hellespont and Propontis. He was at <DW26>s, which he named
[1080]Issa: where some of his posterity were to be found long after. He was
also at Anaphe, one of the Sporades; which island was denominated
Membliaros from one of his [1081]followers. Mention is made of his being
upon the [1082]Hellespont, and in Thrace. Here he resided, and found out a
mine of [1083]gold, having before found one of copper in [1084]Cyprus.
Hence he is said to have procured great wealth. [1085][Greek: Hode Kadmou
ploutos peri Thraken, kai to Pangaion oros.] We hear of him afterwards in
[1086]Euboea; where there are to be found innumerable traces of him, and
his followers. He was likewise at [1087]Sparta, as we may infer from the
Herouem erected to him by Eurotas, and his brethren, the sons of Huraeus. He
must have resided a great while in [1088]Attica; for there were many
edifices about Athens attributed to him. He settled at Tanagra in Boeotia;
where he lost all his companions, who were slain by a dragon. He afterwards
built Thebes. Here he was king; and is said to have reigned sixty-two
[1089]years. But as if his wanderings were never to be terminated, he
leaves his newly founded city, and goes to Illyria. Here we find him again
in regal state. [1090][Greek: Basileuei Kadmos ton Illurion.] He reigns
over the country which receives its name from his son. [1091][Greek:
Illuria--apo Illuriou tou Kadmonos paidos.] Now whoever is truly acquainted
with antiquity, must know, that, in the times here spoken of, little
correspondence was maintained between nation and nation. Depredations were
very frequent; and every little maritime power was in a state of
[1092]piracy: so that navigation was attended with great peril. It is not
therefore to be believed, that a person should so often rove upon the seas
amid such variety of nations, and reside among them at his pleasure: much
less that he should build temples, found cities, and introduce his
religion, wherever he listed; and this too in such transient visits.
Besides, according to the Egyptian accounts, the chief of his adventures
were in Libya. He married Harmonia at the lake [1093]Tritonis; and is said
to have founded in that part of the world no less. than an hundred cities:

                  [1094][Greek: Libustidi Kadmos arourai]
  [Greek: Domesas polion hekatontada.]

Some of these cities seem to have been situated far west in the remoter
parts of Africa.

  [1095][Greek: Kai Libues stratoonto par' Hesperion klima gaies,]
  [Greek: Anchinephe naiontes Alemonos astea Kadmou.]

Carthage itself was of old called [1096]Cadmeia: so that he may be ranked
among the founders of that city. [Greek: Karchedon, Metropolis
Libues--ekaleito de Kaine polis, kai Kadmeia.] He is mentioned by Moses
Chorenensis to have settled in [1097]Armenia, where there was a regio
Cadmeia not far from Colchis. He reigned here; and is said to have been of
the giant race, and to have come from [1098]Babylonia. And as the city
Carthage in Libya was called Cadmeia, so in this region Cadmeia, there was
a city Carthage: [1099][Greek: Karchedon polis Armenias.]

Such are the expeditions of Cadmus. But is it credible that any person
could have penetrated into the various regions, whither he is supposed to
have gone? to have founded colonies in Phenicia, Cyprus, Rhodes, Thera,
Thasus, Anaphe, Samothracia? to have twice visited the Hellespont? to have
worked the mines in the Pangean mountains, and in other places? to have
made settlements in Euboea, Attica, Boeotia, and Illyria? and, above all,
to have had such territories in Afric? He is represented as heir to the
kingdom of Egypt: this he quitted, and obtained a kingdom in Phenicia. He
leaves this too; and after much wandering arrives in Greece; where he
founds several cities, and reigns sixty-two years. After this, hard to
conceive! he is made king in Illyria. He must also have reigned in Afric:
and his dominions seem to have been considerable, as he founded an hundred
cities. He is represented as a king in Armenia; and had there too no small
territory. Sure kingdoms in those times must have been very cheap, if they
were so easily attainable. But the whole is certainly a mistake; at least
in respect to [1100]Cadmus. No person could possibly have effected what is
attributed to him. They were not the achievements of one person, nor of one
age. And place Cadmus at any given aera, and arrange his history, as may
appear most plausible; yet there will arise numberless inconsistencies from
the connexions he must have in respect to time, place, and people; such as
no art nor disposition can remedy.

It may be asked, if there were no such man as Cadmus, what did the antients
allude to under this character? and what is the true purport of these
histories? The travels of Cadmus, like the expeditions of Perseus,
Sesostris, and Osiris, relate to colonies, which at different times went
abroad, and were distinguished by this title. But what was the work of
many, and performed at various seasons, has been attributed to one person.
Cadmus was one of the names of Osiris, the chief Deity of Egypt. Both
Europa, and Harmonia are of the like nature. They were titles of the Deity:
but assumed by colonies, who went out, and settled under these
denominations. The native Egyptians seldom left their country, but by
force. This necessity however did occur: for Egypt at times underwent great
[1101]revolutions. It was likewise in some parts inhabited by people of a
different cast; particularly by the sons of Chus. These were obliged to
retire: in consequence of which they spread themselves over various parts
of the earth. All, who embarked under the same name, or title, were in
aftertimes supposed to have been under the same leader: and to him was
attributed the honour of every thing performed. And as colonies of the same
denomination went to parts of the world widely distant; their ideal
chieftain, whether Cadmus, or Bacchus, or Hercules, was supposed to have
traversed the same ground: and the achievements of different ages were
conferred upon a fancied hero of a day. This has been the cause of great
inconsistency throughout the mythology of the antients. To this they added
largely, by being so lavish of titles, out of reverence to their gods.
Wherever they came they built temples to them, and cities, under various
denominations; all which were taken from some supposed attribute. These
titles and attributes, though they belonged originally to one God, the Sun;
yet being [1102]manifold, and misapplied, gave rise to a multitude of
Deities, whose aera never could be settled, nor their history rendered
consistent. Cadmus was one of these. He was the same as Hermes of Egypt,
called also Thoth, Athoth, and Canathoth: and was supposed to have been the
inventor of letters. He was sometimes styled Cadmilus, another name for
Hermes; under which he was worshipped in Samothracia, and Hetruria.
Lycophron speaking of the prophet Prulis, in <DW26>s, tells us, that he was
the son of Cadmus, and of the race of Atlas. And he was the person, who was
supposed to give information to the Greeks, when they were upon their
expedition towards Troy.

  [1103][Greek: Hos me se Kadmos ophel' en perirrhutoi]
  [Greek: Issei phuteusai dusmenon podegeten.]

These are the words of Cassandra: upon which the Scholiast observes;
[Greek: Prulis, huios tou Kadmilou, kai Kadmou, etoi Hermou:] _Prulis of
<DW26>s was the son of Cadmilus, or Cadmus, the same as Hermes_. And
afterwards he mentions, [1104][Greek: ho Kadmos, etoi Hermes,] _Cadmus, who
is the same as Hermes_. In another place he takes notice, that the name of
Hermes among the Hetrurians was [1105]Cadmilus: and it has been shewn, that
Cadmilus, and Cadmus, are the same. To close the whole, we have this
further evidence from Phavorinus, that Cadmus was certainly an epithet or
title of Hermes. [1106][Greek: Kadmos, ou kurion monon, alla kai Hermou
epitheton.]

Harmonia, the wife of Cadmus, who has been esteemed a mere woman, seems to
have been an emblem of nature, and the fostering nurse of all things. She
is from hence styled [1107][Greek: pantrophos Harmonia.] And when Venus is
represented in the allegory as making her a visit, she is said to go
[1108][Greek: eis domon Harmonias pammetoros], _to the house of the
all-productive parent_. In some of the Orphic verses she is represented not
only as a Deity, but as the light of the world.

  [1109][Greek: Harmonie, kosmoio phaesphore, kai sophe Daimon.]

Harmonia was supposed to have been a personage, from whom all knowledge was
derived. On this account the books of science were styled [1110][Greek:
kurbias Harmonias], the books of Harmonia, as well as the books of Hermes.
These were four in number, of which Nonnus gives a curious account, and
says, that they contained matter of wonderful antiquity.

  [1111][Greek: Ein heni thesphata panta, taper pepromena kosmoi]
  [Greek: Protogonoio Phanetos epigraphe mantipolos cheir.]

The first of them is said to have been coeval with the world.

  [1112][Greek: Proten kurbin opopen atermonos helika kosmou,]
  [Greek: Ein heni panta pherousan, hosa skeptouchos Ophion]
  [Greek: Enusen.]

From hence we find, that Hermon, or Harmonia, was a Deity, to whom the
first writing is ascribed. The same is said of Hermes. [1113][Greek: Hermes
legetai Theon en Aiguptoi grammata protos heurein.] The invention is also
attributed to Taut, or Thoth. [1114][Greek: Protos esti Taautos, ho ton
grammaton ten heuresin epinoesas,--hon Aiguptioi men ekalesan Thouth,
Alexandreis de Thoth, Hermen de Hellenes metephrasan.] Cadmus is said not
only to have brought letters into Greece, but to have been the inventor of
them: from whence we may fairly conclude, that under the characters of
Hermon, Hermes, Taut, Thoth, and Cadmus, one person is alluded to. The
Deity called by the Greeks Harmonia, was introduced among the Canaanites
very early by people from Egypt: and was worshipped in Sidon, and the
adjacent country, by the name of [1115]Baal Hermon.

Europa likewise was a Deity; according to Lucian the same as Astarte, who
was worshipped at Hierapolis in Syria. He visited the temple, and had this
information from the priests: [1116][Greek: hos de moi tis ton Hireon
apegeto, Europes esti (to agalma) tes Kadmou adelphees.] He is speaking of
the statue in the temple, which the priests told him belonged to a Goddess,
the same as Europa, the sister of Cadmus. She was also esteemed the same as
Rhea; which Rhea we know was the reputed mother of the gods, and
particularly the mother of Jupiter.

  [1117][Greek: Est' an Rheia tekoi paida Kronoi en philoteti.]

Pindar speaks of Europa, as the [1118]daughter of Tityus: and by Herodotus
she is made the mother of [1119]Sarpedon and Minos.

I have mentioned, that Cadmus was the same as the Egyptian Thoth; and it is
manifest from his being Hermes, and from the invention of letters being
attributed to him. Similar to the account given of Cadmus is the history of
a personage called by the Greeks Caanthus; this history contains an epitome
of the voyage undertaken by Cadmus, though with some small variation.
Caanthus is said to have been the son of Oceanus; which in the language of
Egypt is the same as the son of Ogus, and Oguges; a different name for the
same [1120]person. Ogus, and with the reduplication Ogugus, was the same as
Ogyges, in whose time the flood was supposed to have happened. Ogyges is
represented both as a king of Thebes in Egypt, and of Thebes in Boeotia:
and in his time Cadmus is said to have left the former country, and to have
come to the latter, being sent in quest of his sister Europa by his father.
Caanthus was sent by his father with a like commission. His sister Melia
had been stolen away; and he was ordered to search every country, till he
found her. He accordingly traversed many seas, and at last lauded in
Greece, and passed into Boeotia. Here he found, that his sister was
detained by Apollo in the grove of Ismenus. There was a fountain [1121]of
the same name near the grove, which was guarded by a dragon. Caanthus is
said to have cast fire into this sacred recess; on which account he was
slain by Apollo. His [Greek: taphos], or tomb, was in aftertimes shewn by
the Thebans. We may perceive, that the main part of this relation agrees
with that of Cadmus. Melie, the sister of Caanthus, is by some spoken of as
the mother of [1122]Europa: which shews, that there is a correspondence
between the two histories. The person also, who sent these two adventurers,
the sister, of whom they went in quest, and the precise place, to which
they both came, exhibit a series of circumstances so similar, that we need
not doubt, but that it is one and the same history. It is said, that
Caanthus threw fire into the sacred [1123]grove: which legend, however
misconstrued, relates to the first establishment of fire-worship at Thebes
in the grove of Apollo Ismenius. The term Ismenius is compounded of Is-Men,
ignis Menis. Meen, Menes, Manes, was one of the most antient titles of the
Egyptian God Osiris, the same as Apollo, and Caanthus. What has been
mentioned about Cadmus and Caanthus, is repeated under the character of a
person named Curnus; who is said to have been sent by his father Inachus in
search of his sister [1124]Io. Inachus, Oceanus, Ogugus, and Agenor, are
all the same personages under different names; and the histories are all
the same.

That Cadmus was of old esteemed a Deity may be farther proved from his
being worshipped at Gortyna in Crete, as we learn from [1125]Solinus. Iidem
Gortynii et Cadmum colunt, Europae fratrem. He had moreover an Heroum at
Sparta, which was erected by people styled the sons of [1126]Huraeus. We
learn from Palaephatus, that according to some of the antient mythologists,
Cadmus was the person, who slew the serpent [1127]at Lerna. And according
to Nonnus he contended with the giant Typhasus, and restored to Jupiter his
lost [1128]thunder. By this is meant, that he renewed the rites, and
worship of the Deity, which had been abolished. These are circumstances,
which sufficiently shew, that Cadmus was a different personage, from what
he is generally imagined. There was a hill in Phrygia of his name, and
probably sacred to him; in which were the fountains of the river
[1129]Lycus. There was also a river Cadmus, which rose in the same
mountain, and was lost underground. It soon afterwards burst forth again,
and joined the principal stream. Mountains and rivers were not denominated
from ordinary personages. In short Cadmus was the same as Hermes, Thoth,
and Osiris: under which characters more than one person is alluded to, for
all theology of the antients is of a mixed nature. He may principally be
esteemed Ham, who by his posterity was looked up to as the Sun, and
worshipped under his titles: a circumstance, however, which was common to
all, who were styled Baalim. That he was the same as Ham, will appear from
the etymology of his name. I have before shewn, that the Sun was styled
[1130]Achad, Achon, and Achor: and the name, of which we are treating, is a
compound of [1131]Achad-Ham, rendered by the Greeks Acadamus and Academus,
and contracted Cadmus. Many learned men have thought, that the place at
Athens called Academia was founded by Cadmus, and denominated from him: and
of the latter circumstance I make no doubt. [1132]Ab hoc Cadmo Eruditi
Academiam, quasi Cadmiam deducunt: quo nomine indigitari locum musis
studiisque sacratum notissimum est. The true name of Cadmus, according to
this supposition, must have been, as I have represented, Acadamus; or, as
the Ionians expressed it, Academus, to have Academia formed from it.
Herodotus informs us, that, when the Cadmians came to Attica, they
introduced a new system of [1133]Architecture; and built temples in a style
different from that to which the natives had been used. And he describes
these buildings as erected at some distance from those of the country. This
was the situation of the place called Academia, which stood at the distance
of a few furlongs from [1134]Athens. It was a place of exercise and
science; and by all accounts finely disposed: being planted with a variety
of trees, but particularly Olives, called here ([Greek: Moriai]) Moriae.
There were likewise springs, and baths for the convenience of those who
here took their exercise. The tradition among the Athenians was, that one
Ecademus, or Academus, founded it in antient times; from whom it received
its name. Laertius styles him the hero Ecademus: [1135][Greek: Apo tinos
Heroos onomasthe Ekademou]. And Suidas to the same purpose; [Greek: Apo
Ekademou tinos Heroos onomasthen.] But Eupolis, the comic writer, who was
far prior, speaks of him as a Deity: [1136][Greek: En euskiois drumoisin
Akademou Theou]. The trees, which grew within the precincts, were looked
upon as very sacred, [1137][Greek: ontos hierai], and the place itself in
antient times was of so great sanctity, that it was a profanation to laugh
there; [1138][Greek: proteron en Akademiai mede gelasai exousian einai].

The Ceramicus at Athens had the same name; and it was undoubtedly given
from the same personage. [Greek: Akademia. kaleitai de houtos ho
Keramikos]. Hesych. The common notion was, that it was denominated from the
hero [1139]Ceramus, the son of Dionusus. This arose from the common
mistake; by which the place was put for the person, to whom it was sacred,
and whose name it bore. Ham was the supposed hero: and Ceramus was Cer-Ham,
the tower or temple of Ham, which gave name to the inclosure. This abuse of
terms is no where more apparent than in an inscription mentioned by Gruter;
where there is a mixed title of the Deity formed from his place of worship.

[1140]Malacae Hispaniae.
MARTI CIRADINO
TEMPLUM COMMUNI VOTO
ERECTUM.

Cir-Adon was the temple of Adon, or Adonis; the Amonian title of the chief
God. In like manner near mount Laphystium in Boeotia, the God [1141]Charops
was worshipped, and styled Hercules Charops. But Char-Ops, or Char-Opis,
signified the temple of the serpent Deity: and was undoubtedly built of old
by the people named Charopians, and Cyclopians; who were no other than the
antient Cadmians. Ceramicus was an Egyptian name; and one of the gates or
towers of the gates at [1142]Naucratis in that country was so called. It
was also the name of an harbour in Caria, probably denominated from some
building at the [1143]entrance.

I may possibly be thought to proceed too far in abridging history of so
many heroic personages, upon whose names antiquity has impressed a
reverence; and whose mighty actions have never been disputed. For though
the dress and colouring may have been thought the work of fancy, yet the
substance of their history has been looked upon as undeniably true. To
which I answer, that it was undoubtedly founded in truth: and the only way
to ascertain what is genuine, must be by stripping history of this
unnatural veil, with which it has been obscured; and to reduce the whole to
its original appearance. This may be effected upon the principles which I
have laid down; for if instead of Perseus, or Hercules, we substitute
bodies of men, who went under such titles, the history will be rendered
very probable, and consistent. If instead of one person, Cadmus traversing
so much ground, and introducing the rites of his country at Rhodes, Samos,
Thera, Thasus, Samothrace, and building so many cities in Libya, we suppose
these things to have been done by colonies, who were styled Cadmians, all
will be very right, and the credibility of the history not disputed. Many
difficulties may by these means be solved, which cannot otherwise be
explained: and great light will be thrown upon the mythology of the
antients.

The story then of Cadmus, and Europa, relates to people from Egypt, and
Syria, who went abroad at different times, and settled in various parts.
They are said to have been determined in their place of residence by an ox,
or cow: by which this only is meant, that they were directed by an oracle:
for without such previous inquiry no colonies went abroad. An oracle by the
Amonians was termed Alphi, and Alpha, the voice of God. In Egypt the
principal oracular temples were those of the sacred animals Apis and
Mneuis. These animals were highly reverenced at Heliopolis, and Memphis,
and in other cities of that country. They were of the male kind; but the
honours were not confined to them; for the cow and heifer were held in the
like veneration, and they were esteemed equally prophetic. Hence it was,
that they were in common with the Apis and Mneuis styled Alphi, and Alpha:
which name was likewise current among the Tyrians, and Sidonians. In
consequence of this, Plutarch, speaking of the letter Alpha, says,
[1144][Greek: Phoinikas houto kalein ton Boun.] _The Phenicians call an ox
Alpha_. And Hesychius speaks to the same purpose. [Greek: Alpha, bous.]
Thus we find that Alpha was both an oracle, and an oracular animal. The
Grecians took it in the latter acceptation; and instead of saying that the
Cadmians acted in obedience to an oracle, they gave out, that Cadmus
followed a cow. What is alluded to in the animal, which was supposed to
have been his guide, may be known by the description given of it by
Pausanias: [1145][Greek: Epi de hekateras tes boos pleuras semeion epeinai
leukon, eikasmenon kukloi tes Selenes.] _There was a white mark on each
side of the cow like the figure of the moon_. The poet quoted by the
Scholiast upon Aristophanes speaks to the same purpose. [1146][Greek:
Leukon schem' hekaterthe periplokon, eute Menes.] This is an exact
description of the [1147]Apis, and other sacred kine in Egypt: and the
history relates to an oracle given to the Cadmians in that country. This
the Grecians have represented, as if Cadmus had been conducted by a cow:
the term Alphi, and Alpha, being liable to be taken in either of these
acceptations. Nonnus speaks of Cadmus as bringing the rites of
[1148]Dionusus, and Osiris, from Egypt to Greece: and describes him
according to the common notion as going in quest of a bull, and as being
determined in his place of residence by a [1149]cow. Yet he afterwards
seems to allude to the true purport of the history; and says, that the
animal spoken of was of a nature very different from that, which was
imagined: that it was not one of the herd, but of divine original.

  [1150][Greek: Kadme maten periphoite, poluplanon ichnos helisseis;]
  [Greek: Masteueis tina Tauron, hon ou boee teke gaster.]

Under the character of Europa are to be understood people styled Europians
from their particular mode of worship. The first variation from the purer
Zabaism consisted in the Ophiolatria, or worship of the serpent. This
innovation spread wonderfully; so that the chief Deity of the Gentile world
was almost universally worshipped under this symbolical representation. The
serpent among the Amonians was styled Oph, Eph, and Ope: by the Greeks
expressed [Greek: Ophis, Opis, Oupis]: which terms were continually
combined with the different titles of the Deity. This worship prevailed in
Babylonia, Egypt, and Syria: from which countries it was brought by the
Cadmians into Greece. Serpentis eam venerationem acceperunt Graeci a Cadmo.
[1151]Vossius. It made a part in all their [1152]mysteries; and was
attended with some wonderful circumstances: of which I have before made
some mention in the treatise de Ophiolatria. Colonies, which went abroad,
not only went under the patronage, but under some title of their God: and
this Deity was in aftertimes supposed to have been the real conductor. As
the Cadmians, and Europians, were Ophitae, both their temples, and cities,
also the hills, and rivers, where they settled, were often denominated from
this circumstance. We read of Anopus Asopus, Oropus, Europus, Charopus,
Ellopis, Ellopia; all nearly of the same purport, and named from the same
object of worship. Europa was a [1153]Deity: and the name is a compound
Eur-Ope, analogous to Canope, Canophis, and Cnuphis of Egypt; and signifies
Orus Pytho. It is rendered by the Greeks as a feminine, upon a supposition,
that it was the name of a woman; but it related properly to a country; and
we find many places of the like etymology in Media, Syria, and Babylonia:
which were expressed in the masculine Europos, and Oropus. The same also is
observable in Greece.

I have shewn, that Cadmus was Taut, or Thoth; the Taautes of Sanchoniathon.
It is said of this person, that he first introduced the worship of the
serpent: and this so early, that not only the Tyrians and Sidonians, but
the Egyptians received it from him. From hence we may infer, that it came
from [1154]Babylonia, [1155][Greek: Ten men oun tou Drakontos phusin, kai
ton opheon, autos exetheiasen ho Taautos, kai met' auton authis Phoinikes
te, kai Aiguptioi].

The learned writers, who have treated of the Cadmians, have failed in
nothing more, than in not considering, that they were a twofold colony,
which came both from Egypt, and Syria: from Egypt first; and then from
Syria, and Canaan. In their progress westward they settled in Cyprus,
Crete, Rhodes, Samos, <DW26>s, Thrace: also in Euboea, Attica, and Boeotia.
In process of time they were enabled to make settlements in other parts,
particularly in Epirus and Illyria: and to occupy some considerable
provinces in Italy as high up as the Padus. Wherever they passed they left
behind them numberless memorials: but they are to be traced by none more
plainly than by their rites, and worship. As they occupied the greatest
part of Syria, that country was particularly addicted to this species of
idolatry. Many temples were erected to the Ophite God: and many cities were
denominated from him. Both [1156]Appian and Stephanus Byzantinus mention
places in Syrophenicia called Oropus. Upon the Euphrates also in
Mesopotamia were the cities [1157]Amphipolis, and [1158]Dura, both called
of old Oropus. The chief Syrian God had the title of Bel, Baal, and Belial:
which last the Greeks rendered [Greek: Beliar]. Hence Clemens instead of
saying, what agreement can there be between Christ and Belial, says
[1159][Greek: Tis de sumphonesis Christou pros BELIAR]. This Belial, or
Beliar, was the same as Belorus, and Osiris, who were worshipped under the
symbol of a serpent. Hence Hesychius explains the term Beliar by a serpent.
[Greek: Beliar--drakon.] _Beliar is the same as a dragon or serpent._ The
Cadmians are said to have betaken themselves to Sidon, and Biblus: and the
country between these cities is called Chous at this day. To the north is
the city, and province of Hama: and a town, and castle, called by D'Anville
Cadmus; by the natives expressed Quadamus, or [1160]Chadamus. The Cadmians
probably founded the temple of Baal Hermon in Mount Libanus, and formed one
of the Hivite nations in those parts. Bochart has very justly observed,
that an Hivite is the same as an [1161]Ophite: and many of this
denomination resided under Mount Libanus, and Anti-Libanus; part of which
was called Baal Hermon, as we learn from the sacred writings. [1162]_Now
these are the nations, which the Lord left to prove Israel, namely, five
Lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians; and
the Hivites that dwell in Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon unto the
entering in of Hamath._ There were other Hivites, who are mentioned by
Moses among the children of [1163]Canaan. But the Cadmonites, and many of
the people about Mount Libanus were of another family. The Hivites of
Canaan Proper were those, who by a stratagem obtained a treaty with
[1164]Joshua. Their chief cities were Gibeon, Cephirah, Beeroth, and
Kirjath Jearim. These lay within the the tribe of [1165]Judah, and of
Benjamin, who possessed the southern parts of Canaan. But the other
Hivites, among whom were the Cadmonites, lay far to the north under
Libanus, at the very extremities of the country. The sacred writer
distinguishes them from the Canaanites, as well as from the other Hivites,
by saying, the Hivites of Baal Hermon. And he seems to distinguish the
Sidonians from the genuine Canaanites, and justly: for if we may credit
prophane history, the Cadmians had obtained the sovereignty in that city:
and the people were of a mixed race. [1166][Greek: Kadmos--Turou kai
Sidonos ebasileuen.] The Cadmians extended themselves in these parts quite
to the Euphrates, and westward to the coast of Greece, and Ausonia; and
still farther to the great Atlantic. They went under the name of Ellopians,
Oropians, [1167]Cadmonites, Hermonians, Ophitae, and wherever they settled
there will be always found some reference to their antient history, and
religion. As they were particularly styled Ophitae, or Hivites, many places
whither they came, were said to swarm with [1168]serpents. Rhodes was under
this predicament, and had the name of Ophiusa: which name was given on
account of the Hivites, who there settled, and of the serpent-worship,
which they introduced. But the common notion was, that it was so called
from real serpents, with which it was infested. The natives were said to
have been of the giant race, and the [1169]Heliadae or offspring of the Sun;
under which characters the antients particularly referred to the sons of
Chus, and Canaan. Their coming to the island is alluded to under the
arrival both of Danaus and Cadmus, by whom the rites, and [1170]religion of
the Rhodians are supposed to have been introduced. In Greece were several
cities named Oropus, by which is signified Ori Serpentis civitas. One of
these was near [1171]Tanagia upon the border of Attica, and Boeotia. This
is the very spot where the Cadmians first resided: and the city was
undoubtedly built by them. It stood near the warm baths of Amphiaraus,
whose temple belonged to the Oropians; and who was particularly worshipped
by them. We are informed by Strabo, that the temple of Amphiaraus was built
either in imitation, or in memory, of one called Cnopia at [1172]Thebes.
Cnopia is a contraction for Can-Opia; and the temple was certainly founded
by people from Egypt. It took its name from Can-ope, or Can-opus, the
Ophite God of that country; and of the people likewise, by whom the
building was erected. The natives of Boeotia had many memorials of their
having been originally Ophites. The history of their country had continual
references to serpents and dragons. They seem to have been the national
insigne: at least they were esteemed so by the people of Thebes. Hence we
find, that upon the tomb of Epaminondas there was figured a shield with a
serpent for a device, to signify that he was an Ophite, or [1173]Theban.
The Spartans were of the same race: and there is said to have been the same
device upon the shield of [1174]Menelaus, and of [1175]Agamemnon. The story
of Cadmus, and of the serpent, with which he engaged upon his arrival in
Boeotia, relates to the Ophite worship, which was there instituted by the
Cadmians. So Jason in Colchis, Apollo in Phocis, Hercules at Lerna, engaged
with serpents, all which are histories of the same purport; but mistaken by
the later Grecians.

It will not, I think, be amiss to take notice of some of those countries
westward, to which Cadmus is said to have betaken himself. From Boeotia he
is supposed to have passed to Epirus and Illyria; and it is certain, that
the Cadmians settled in many places upon that coast. In Thesprotia was a
province of the Athamanes; who were denominated from their Deity Ath-Man,
or Ath-Manes. Here were the rivers Acheron, and Cocytus, the lake
Acherusia, and the pestiferous pool [1176]Aornon Here was the city Acanthus
similar to one of the same name about forty miles above [1177]Memphis: and
a nation of people called [1178]Oreitae: all which have a reference to
Egypt. The oracle at Dodona was founded by people from the same country, as
we are assured by [1179]Herodotus and others. And not only colonies from
that country, but people from Canaan must have betaken themselves to these
parts, as is evident from names of places. This will appear from the city
[1180]Phoenice: and from another near Oricum, called Palaeste; and from the
coast and region styled Palaestina. This was the spot where Caesar landed,
before he marched to Pharsalia. [1181]Postridie terram attigit Cerauniorum
saxa inter, et alia loca periculosa, quietam nactus stationem. At portus
omnes timens, quod teneri ab adversariis arbitrabatur, ad eundem locum, qui
adpellatur Palaeste, omnibus navibus incolumibus, milites exposuit. Lucan
takes notice of the same circumstance, and the coast Palaestina.

  [1182]Inde rapi coepere rates, atque aequora classem
  Curva sequi; quae jam, vento fluctuque secundo
  Lapsa, Palaestinas uncis confixit arenas.

Here was the haven Comar, or [1183]Comarus, near the pool Aornus: and a
city [1184]Oropus, similar to the Oropus of Syria, and Boeotia. And higher
up was a region Europa, styled Europa Scythica by Festus Rufus. It is
observable that there was a city in Epirus called [1185]Tecmon, similar to
one in Canaan, as we may infer from the chief of David's captains being
styled the [1186]Tecmonite.

Some of this family proceeded to the western part of the Adriatic gulf, and
settled upon the Eridanus, or Po. Here were the Orobians, the same as the
Oropians, whose chief city was Comus: near which the consul Marcellus
overthrew the [1187]Galli Insubres. The story of Phaethon, who was supposed
to have fallen into the Eridanus, is manifestly of Egyptian original; as
the fable of Cycnus is from Canaan. Phaethon is by some represented as the
first king, who reigned in [1188]Chaonia, and Epirus. He was in reality the
same as Osiris, the Sun; whose worship was in there very early, as well as
upon the Padus. The names of the Deities in every country are generally
prefixed to the list of kings, and mistaken accordingly. Cycnus is supposed
to have resided not only in Liguria, but in AEtolia, and Phocis. There was
in these parts a lake [1189]Conope, from Cycnus called also [1190]Cycnea;
which names undoubtedly came from Egypt, and Canaan. The colonies upon the
Padus left many memorials of their original; especially those, who were
from the Caphtorim of Palestina. Some of them had carried on a great work
upon the part of the river, where they settled; which from them was called
[1191]Fossa Philistina; and Fossiones Philistinae. Of this I have made
mention [1192]before.

It is said of Cadmus, that at the close of his life, he was, together with
his wife Harmonia, changed to a serpent of stone. This wonderful
metamorphosis is supposed to have happened at Encheliae, a town in Illyria,
which circumstance is taken notice of by Lucan.

  [1193]Tunc qui Dardaniam tenet Oricon, et vagus altis
  Dispersus sylvis Athamas, et _nomine prisco_
  Encheliae, versi testantes funera Cadmi.

The true history is this. These two personages were here enshrined in a
temple, or Petra: and worshipped under the symbol of a serpent. Scylax
Caryandensis, speaking of this part of Illyria, says, [1194][Greek: Kadmou
kai Harmonias hoi lithoi eisin entautha, kai hieron.] _In this region are
two stones sacred to Cadmus, and Harmonia: and there is likewise a temple
dedicated to them._ Lucan, who calls the place Encheliae, speaks of the name
as of great antiquity. It undoubtedly was of long standing, and a term from
the Amonian language. Encheliae, [Greek: Encheliai], is the place of
En-Chel, by which is signified the fountain of heaven; similar to Hanes,
Anorus, Anopus in other parts. The temple was an Ophite Petra: which terms
induced people to believe, that there were in these temples serpents
petrified. It is possible, that in later times the Deity may have been
worshipped under this form: whence it might truly be said of Cadmus, and
Harmonia, that they would one day be exhibited in stone.

  [1195][Greek: Laineen emellon echein ophiodea morphen.]

But the notion in general arose from a mistake; and was owing to a
misinterpretation of the word Petra. On this account many personages were
said to have undergone this change. Pollux, who was of a character superior
to what is generally imagined, was said to have been turned to a stone.

  [1196][Greek: Eis lithon autoteleston emorphothe Poludeukes.]

Ariadne underwent the like [1197]change. Also Battus, Atlas, [1198]Alcmena,
and others. All these histories relate to personages, enshrined in temples
styled Petra, who had a [Greek: stulos] or rude pillar erected to their
honour. This was the usage in all parts, before the introduction of images.
There are allusions to these Ophite temples, and to these pillars, upon the
coins of Syria, and Tyre. Upon these the Deity is represented between two
rough stones, with two [1199]serpents on each side of him. A temple of this
sort, which betrayed great antiquity, stood in the vicinity of Thebes, and
was called the serpent's head. Pausanius speaks of it as remaining in his
[1200]time. The same author affords another instance in his account of
Achaia; which is attended with some remarkable circumstances. He tells us,
[1201]that at Pherae, a city of that region, was a fountain sacred to
Hermes; and the name of it was Hama. Near this fountain were thirty large
stones, which had been erected in antient times. Each of these was looked
upon as a representative of some Deity. And Pausanias remarks, that instead
of images, the Greeks in times of old universally paid their adoration to
rude unwrought [1202]stones.

That the Cadmians were the people, whom I suppose them, may I think be
proved from many other circumstances. There are some particulars in the
history of these emigrants, by which they may be as effectually
distinguished, as by any national mark of feature, or complexion. I have
taken notice in a former treatise of the Cuthites, who came from Babylonia
and settled in Egypt; and who were afterwards expelled the country. They
came under different titles; and were styled Phenicians, Arabians, and
Ethiopians; but they were more particularly distinguished by the name of
Oritae, and of shepherds. These appellations must be carefully kept in
remembrance, for they will be found to occur in almost every part of the
world, wherever any of this family settled. In the histories above given of
Osiris, Dionusus, and others, we find, that the sons of Chus are
represented as great travellers, and at the same time general benefactors:
and it is to be observed, that the same characters occur in every history:
the great outlines are the same in all. They appear to have been zealous
worshippers of the Sun; and addicted to the rites of fire: which mode of
worship they propagated, wherever they came. They are described as of
superior stature, and were reputed the sons of Anac, and Urius, from
Canaan, and Babylonia. In respect to science, they seem to have been very
eminent, if we consider the times when they lived. They were particularly
famed for their knowledge in astronomy, architecture, and music. They had
great sagacity in finding [1203]mines, and consequently were very rich.
Lastly, there continually occurs in their history some allusion to
shepherds. Every one of these particulars may be met with in the accounts
given of the Cadmians: but it was the turn of the times to make every thing
centre in their imaginary leader, Cadmus. He is supposed to have found out
mines in Cyprus, and Thrace: and to have been the inventor of letters, and
the introducer of science. To him are ascribed the temples at Rhodes; and
the buildings in Attica and Boeotia. We find him celebrated as a great
[1204]theologist and astronomer: and it is reported of Cadmus, as it was
also of Orpheus, that he left behind him many valuable remains, which
[1205]Bion Proconnesius is said to have translated. But all these gifts, so
lavishly bestowed upon one person, should be transferred to a people, who
went under the name of Cadmians: and in whom all these requisites are to be
found. If we make this allowance, the history will be found to be true.
This people, in their migrations westward, were accompanied by others from
Canaan, and Syria. I have shewn that they settled at Rhodes, where they
were called Ophites, or Hivites. Another of their titles was Heliadae, or
children of the [1206]Sun. They were looked upon as adepts in every branch
of science, and particularly famed for their skill in astronomy. They were
the first navigators of the seas; and the division of time, with the
notification of seasons, is ascribed to them. [1207][Greek: Hoi de Heliadai
diaphoroi gegonotes ton allon en paideiai dienenkan, kai malista en
Astrologiai; eisegesanto de kai peri tes nautilias polla, polla de kai peri
tas horas dietaxan.] All these arts, if we may believe Herodotus, took
their rise in [1208]Babylonia: from whence they were carried by the Oritae
into Egypt: and from Egypt westward to Rhodes, and to various parts
besides. The Oritae, or Auritae, were the same as the Heliadae, denominated
from the great object of their worship, the Sun. He was among other titles
styled [1209]Orites: as we learn from Lycophron: which is by his Scholiast
interpreted the Sun. [1210][Greek: Oriten theon, ton auton Helion.] _The
Deity, which is termed Orites, is no other than the Sun._ These Heliadae
were Ophitae; and introduced at Rhodes, and in other places, the worship of
the serpent. Hence they occur in Greece under various titles, such as
Ellopians, Europians, Oropians, Asopians, and the like, being so
denominated from places which they consecrated to Ops, and Opis, the
serpent. The Cadmians settled in Euboea, which was called Ellopia from
Ellops, a supposed brother of [1211]Cothus. Plutarch gives an account of
Cothus himself coming to Euboea in company with another named Arclus.
[1212][Greek: Kothos, kai Arklos, hoi Xouthou paides eis Euboian hekon
oikesantes.] By Cothus and Arclus are meant Cuthites and Herculeans, people
of the same family, who settled in this island. The Oritae of Egypt were
also styled Arabians; and the Arabian nome was denominated from them. The
Cadmians, who settled in Euboea, may be traced under the same names. Strabo
calls the people, who were supposed to attend Cadmus, Arabians,
[1213][Greek: Arabes, hoi sun Kadmoi.] One district in the island was
denominated from them, AEthiopium: [1214][Greek: Aithiopion, onoma choriou
en Euboiai.] This is more particularly described by Stephanus, as the
passage is happily corrected by Salmasius. [Greek: Aithiopion, chorion
Euboias para Deliou, plesion tou Euripou.] _There is a part of Euboea hard
by Delium, and near to the Euripus, called Ethiopium._ But the most
critical mark, by which any of these islands were distinguished, was that
of [1215]Oritae. This is the express title of the shepherds in Egypt; which
they assumed both on account of the Deity, whom they worshipped, and in
reference to the city Ur in Chaldea, from whence they were in part derived.
They founded a city of the same name in Euboea, which the Greeks expressed
[1216]Oria: whence came the provincial title of Oritae. Here Orion was
supposed to have been [1217]nursed, whose history we know was from
Babylonia. The natives had a tradition, that he was the son of
[1218]Urieus, and of the gigantic race: the purport of which, I think,
cannot be mistaken. They passed, as I have shewn, from Euboea to Attica,
and Boeotia. Here also was a city [1219]Ur, like that in Chaldea, and a
tradition about Orion being born in these parts. They likewise pretended to
shew his [1220]tomb. This city Ur, or Uria, was in the district of Tanagra,
and stood directly opposite to the province of Ethiopia in Euboea, being
separated only by the narrow frith of the [1221]Euripus. They settled also
at Traezen, where Orus is said to have resided: by which we are to
understand his worshippers, the Oritae. [1222][Greek: Phasi de Oron
genesthai sphisin en gei proton; emoi men oun Aiguption phainetai, kai
oudamos Hellenikon onoma Oros einai. Basileusai d' oun phasin auton, kai
Oraian ap' autou kaleisthai ten gen.] _The people of Traezen_, says
Pausanias, _give out, that one Orus was the first in their country. But the
name Orus to me seems to have been of Egyptian original. They farther
relate, that this Orus was a king, and that the province was from him
called Oraia._ Uria above, and Oraia here, however differently expressed,
signify literally the land of Ur. In all these places the Cuthites went
under various appellations, but particularly of Cyclopians, Ellopians, and
[1223]Europians from their worship. Agreeably to the account which has been
above given, we find, that the Heroum of Cadmus at Sparta was built by
Europus, and his brethren: and they likewise are represented as the sons of
[1224]_Uraeus_. As we are acquainted with the eastern manner of speaking;
and know that by the daughter of Tyre, the daughter of Jerusalem, the
children of Moab, the children of Kedar, the children of Seir, the children
of the east, are meant the inhabitants of those places: may we not be
assured that by Europus and the sons of Urius and Uraeus, are pointed out a
people styled Europians of Babylonish extraction, who were ab origine from
Ur in Chaldea? And is it not plain, that the history of Cadmus is founded
upon terms ill understood, and greatly misapplied? Yet the truth is not
totally defaced, as I hope, that I have made appear. By Moses Chorenensis
Cadmus is represented as of the giant race; and he is said to have come
from [1225]Babylonia. Nonnus mentions his planting in Greece a colony of
giants.

  [1226][Greek: Kai stachus autolocheutos aneexeto Giganton.]

Hence the Cadmians were styled [Greek: Anakes], and [1227][Greek: Anaktes];
and the temples of their Gods, [Greek: Anaktoria], Anactoria. These terms
were imported from the Anakim of Egypt and Canaan: but as the people, who
brought them, were Oritae, and the sons of Urius, they must ultimately have
come from Babylonia. Here astronomy, and the other sciences first
commenced; and the worship of the Sun was first instituted: where the
priests, and professors were styled Oritae, and [1228]Orchani. Lucian indeed
says, that astronomy was not derived to the Greeks either from the
Egyptians, or the Ethiopians; but from [1229]Orpheus. This however
intimates, that the Ethiopians, under which name the sons of Chus are
mentioned by the [1230]Greeks, were supposed to have introduced science
into this country; otherwise this caveat had been unnecessary. But we shall
in the end shew, that Orpheus was from the same quarter. And to put the
matter out of all doubt, we find Herodotus maintaining very determinately,
that the knowledge of the heavens, and every thing relating to the
distribution of time, was imported from [1231]Babylonia. As these
Babylonians, these sons of Urius, manifestly came to Greece by the way of
Egypt, it appears pretty evident, that they were the sons of Chus, of the
shepherd race, who so long held the sovereignty in that kingdom. Hence it
is, that throughout the whole mythology of the Grecians there are continual
allusions to shepherds; a title, which we know was peculiar to the Auritae
of Egypt. Nonnus, in his allegorical poem, describes Cadmus in a pastoral
habit, playing upon an instrument, and reclining himself under the shade of
an oak.

  [1232][Greek: Klinas geitoni noton hupo drui phorbados hules,]
  [Greek: Kai phoreon agraulon aetheos heima Nomeos.]

He gives to him the same powers in harmony which were attributed to
Orpheus. Hence Cadmus is made to say that he could charm the woods upon the
mountains, and sooth the wild beasts of the forest: that he could even calm
the ocean, and stop the course of its turbulent waters.

  [1233][Greek: Thelxo dendrea panta, kai ourea, kai phrena theron;]
  [Greek: Okeanon speudonta palindineton eruxo.]

Almost all the principal persons, whose names occur in the mythology of
Greece and Italy, are represented as shepherds. Not only the Gods Faunus,
Apollo, Pan, Sylvanus, Pales, Adonis, but Eumelus, Triptolemus,
Ericthonius, Eumolpus, Aristaeus, Battus, Daphnis, Terambus of Egypt, and
Osiris, are represented of that profession. Hence it is, that we find
altars, and inscriptions to the shepherd [1234]Gods. Apollo was styled
[Greek: Nomeus], and [Greek: Poimnios]; and was said to have been educated
in [1235]Arabia. When Rhea produced to the world Poseidon, she gave him to
the care of a [1236]shepherd to bring him up among the flocks. Atlas, the
great astronomer, is represented as a shepherd. [1237][Greek: Atlas
mathematikos en Libus aner.--Polueidos de ho dithurambopoios ton Atlanta
touton POIMENA Libun phesin.] _Atlas the great mathematician, was a person
of Libya. The Dithyrambic poet Polueidos says, that Atlas was a Libyan
shepherd._ There was a tradition that the temple of Ammon in Libya was
built by a shepherd, from whom it received its name; [1238][Greek: apo tou
hidrusamenou poimenos.] It is reported of the Muses, that they were of
shepherd extraction, and tended flocks, which they entrusted to their
favourite Aristaeus.

  [1239][Greek: Kai min heon melon thesan eranon, hoss' enemonto]
  [Greek: Ampedion Phthian Athamantion, amphi t' erumnen]
  [Greek: Othrun, kai potamou hieron rhoon Apidanoio.]

This is the person by Virgil styled Pastor Aristaeus. Zethus and Amphion are
described as of the same profession, though kings of Thebes, [1240][Greek:
Zethos de kai Amphion adelphoi esan poimenes.] Even the monster Polyphemus
is taken notice of as a musician, and a [1241]shepherd. Macrobius mentions,
that among the Phrygians the Sun was worshipped under a pastoral
[1242]character, with a pipe and a wand. Tiresias, the prophet, is by
Hyginus styled Tiresias, Eueri filius, or as some read it, Tiresias, Eurii
filius, [1243]_Pastor_. This was also one of the titles out of many
conferred upon the Phenician Hercules, to whom they attributed the
invention of purple. He was the chief Deity, the same as Cham, and Orus,
the God of light; to whom there is a remarkable invocation in the
Dionusiaca of Nonnus.

  [1244][Greek: Astrochiton Herakles, anax puros, Orchame kosmou,]
  [Greek: Eelie, broteoio biou dolichoskie POIMEN.]

Some of the pyramids in Egypt were styled the pyramids of the shepherd
[1245]Philitis; and were said to have been built by people, whom the
Egyptians held in abomination: from whence we may form a judgment of the
persons, by whom those edifices were erected. Many hills, and places of
reputed sanctity were denominated from shepherds. Caucasus, in the vicinity
of Colchis, had its name conferred by Jupiter in memory of Caucasus a
shepherd. [1246][Greek: To oros eis timen tou Poimenos Kaukason
metonomasas.] Mount Cithaeron in Boeotia was called Asterius; but received
the former name from one Cithaeron, a [1247]shepherd, supposed to have been
there slain. I have mentioned from Herodotus, that the Cadmians built the
temple of [1248]Damater, or Ceres, in Attica, where they introduced her
worship. And there is a remarkable circumstance mentioned in consequence of
this by Hesychius, who tells us, that the priests of this Goddess were of a
particular family, called [Greek: Poimenidai], or _the Shepherd race_.
[Greek: Poimenidai, genos, ex hou ho Demetros hiereus.] The Cadmians
therefore, from whom this priesthood came, must have been in a peculiar
manner shepherds. The mountain Apaesantus in Argolis is said to have been
named from [1249]Apaesantus, a shepherd. The Cuthites settled in Thrace near
Haemus, in Sethonia; of whom Stephanus gives this short but remarkable
history: [Greek: ekalounto proteron Nomaioi]. The author does not say, that
they _were_ shepherds; but that they antiently were so called: so that it
was not so much the profession, as the title of the people. They settled in
Hetruria, and Latium; in which last province stood the city Praeneste, of
which I have before spoken. It was said to have been of high antiquity, and
was founded by Coeculus,

  [1250]Vulcano genitum pecora inter agrestia Regem,
  Inventumque focis, omnis quem credidit aetas.

We find here, that the founder of this city was a shepherd, and a king, and
the reputed son of Vulcan, the same as Urius. It is said of him, that he
was, inventum focis, because he was ab origine from the land of fire; by
which is meant Ur of Chaldea. So the personage, represented under the
character of Cacus upon Mount Aventine, is by Livy said to have been a
shepherd. [1251]Pastor accola ejus loci, nomine Cacus, ferox viribus. He
likewise is said to have been the son of the God of Fire: [1252]Huic
monstro Vulcanus erat pater. The first city which the Cadmians built in
Boeotia was named [1253]Poimandris; or as Eustathius renders it Poimandria,
[1254][Greek: Poimandria]; the same which was afterwards called Tanagra. It
is said to have been so denominated from one Poimander. This name is by
interpretation a shepherd, or rather a shepherd of men. It answers to the
title of [Greek: Poimen laou], so frequently to be met with in Homer. That
excellent Poet was wonderfully fond of every thing, which savoured of
antiquity: and has continual references to the antient history of Egypt,
and to the rites of that country. He sometimes seems to adhere
superstitiously to obsolete terms, thinking probably, that they enriched
his verse, and gave a venerable air to the narration. Of these, no one
occurs more frequently than the title of a shepherd Prince, which he
bestows on many of his leaders. It is the translation of a title, which the
sons of Chus, as well as the Egyptians, gave to their Deities, and to their
kings. Hence the writings of Hermes were inscribed the works of the
Shepherd Prince, as we may infer from the Greek transcript: for that was
written in imitation of the former, and called [1255]Poimandras.

Thus have I endeavoured to state the progress of the Cuthites under their
different appellations to Greece; and to describe the rout which they took
in their peregrinations, I have shewn, that under the title of Phenicians
and Cadmians, they first settled in Canaan, and in the region about Tyre
and Sidon: from whence they extended themselves towards the midland parts
of Syria; where they built Antioch. [1256][Greek: Kasos, kai Belos, Inachou
paides, pros toi Orontei potamoi ten nun Antiocheian tes Surias polin
ektisan.] _Casus, and Belus, two sons of Inachus, built the city in Syria,
which is now called Antioch upon the river Orontes._ By Casus is meant
Chus; and Belus is a Babylonish title of Ham, as well as of his immediate
descendants, who are here alluded to. From Syria they penetrated to the
Euphrates, and from thence to Armenia: and that there were colonies here of
Amonians, and particularly of the Cuthites, may be known from the history
of Cadmus: but more especially from the similitude of language, person, and
manners, which subsisted among these [1257]nations. Zonaras is very
explicit upon this head. He mentions the incroachments of the sons of Ham
in these parts, and shews the extent of the trespass, of which they were
guilty. [1258][Greek: Hoide ge paides tou Cham ten apo Surias kai Abanou
kai Libanou ton oron gen kateschon, kai hosa pros thalassan auton
etetrapto, mechris okeanou, kateilephasi.] _In respect to the sons of Ham,
they seized upon all the inland country, which reaches from Syria, and
particularly from the mountains Albanus, and Libanus: and all the region,
which from thence extends towards the sea, even as far as the Ocean._ Of
these emigrants Tacitus has given a curious account, which has never been
sufficiently heeded. He takes notice of those who settled in Canaan, as
well as those who passed higher towards the north. [1259]Sunt, qui tradant
Assyrios convenas, indigum agrorum populum, parte AEgypti potitos, ac mox
[1260]proprias urbes, Hebraeasque terras, et propiora Syriae coluisse. As the
Cadmians settled about Byblus and Sidon, there seems in consequence of it
to have been a religious correspondence kept up between this colony and
Egypt. It is said according to the enigmatical turn of the times, that the
head of Osiris was annually wafted by the floods to [1261]Byblus. It was
reported to have been just seven days in its passage; and the whole was
performed [Greek: theiei nautiliei], by a voyage truly miraculous. There
are many proofs that the religion of Syria came in great measure from
Egypt. The rites of Adonis, and the lamentations upon his account at Sidon,
and Byblus, were copies of the mourning for Osiris, and represented in the
same [1262]manner. Lucian, having described the pompous temple at
Hierapolis, says, that there was another in the neighbourhood, not of
Assyrian, but Egyptian original; the rites of which were received by the
natives from Heliopolis in that [1263]country. This he did not see: but
speaks of it as very grand, and of high antiquity.

These particulars I have thought proper to discuss thoroughly, in order to
disclose the true history of the Cadmians, as I am hereby enabled to prove
the great antiquity of this people; and to shew who they were, and from
whence they came. It has been observed by many of the learned, that some
particular race of men spread themselves abroad, and got access among
numberless nations. Some have thought that they were Scythians: others,
that they were Egyptians: others still, that they were from Phenicia, and
Canaan. What they have said upon the subject, however they may seem to
differ from one another, may in some degree be allowed. But I believe, that
the true account is that which I have here given. I have endeavoured, with
great pains, to sift the history to the bottom: and it is to me manifest,
that they were for the most part the Auritae, those shepherds of Egypt. This
people had spread themselves over that country like a deluge: but were in
time forced to retreat, and to betake themselves to other parts. In
consequence of this they were dissipated over regions far remote. They were
probably joined by others of their family, as well as by the Canaanites,
and the Caphtorim of Palestina. They are to be met with in Persis, and
Gedrosia, under the name of Oritae. They are to be found in Boetica upon the
Atlantic under the same [1264]name. They settled in Colchis, Thrace,
Phrygia, Sicily, and Hetruria; and upon the extreme parts of the
Mediterranean: Diluvio ex illo tot vasta per aequora vecti.

These are the migrations, of which the antient historian [1265]Istrus wrote
in a curious treatise, long since lost; which he inscribed [Greek: peri ton
Aiguption apoikias]. We meet with a summary account of them in Diodorus
Siculus, who mentions, that after the death of Isis and Osiris the
Egyptians sent out many colonies, which were scattered over the face of the
earth. [1266][Greek: Ho de oun Aiguptioi phasi kai meta tauta apoikias
pleistas ex Aiguptou kata pasan diasparenai ten oikoumenen.] Of these
migrations there were two remarkable above the rest: the one of the sons of
Chus, concerning whom I have been treating; the other of the Israelites,
which was somewhat later than the former. The author above takes notice of
both these occurrences, in a most valuable extract preserved by Photius;
wherein he does not sufficiently distinguish the particular families of
these emigrants, nor the different times of the migration: yet the account
is very curious; and the history of each transaction plainly delineated.
[1267][Greek: Euthus oun hoi xenolatoumenon ton alloethnon hoi
epiphanestatoi, kai drastikotatoi sustraphentes exerrhiphesan, hos tines
phasin, eis ten Hellada, kai tinas heterous topous, echontes axiologous
hegemonas; hon hegounto Danaos, kai Kadmos, ton allon epiphanestatoi. Hode
polus leos exepesen eis ten nun kaloumenen Ioudaian.] _Upon this, as some
writers tell us, the most eminent and enterprising of those foreigners, who
were in Egypt, and obliged to leave the country, betook themselves to the
coast of Greece, and also to other regions, having put themselves under the
command of proper leaders for that purpose. Some of them were conducted by
Danaus, and Cadmus, who were the most illustrious of the whole. There were
beside these a large, but less noble, body of people, who retired into the
province called now [1268]Judea._

When therefore we speak of the history of Greece as far back as we can
carry it, and of the rites and religion introduced into that country, we
may accede to the account given of them by Zonaras. [1269][Greek: Ek
Chaldaion gar legetai phoitesai tauta pros Aigupton kakeithen pros
Hellenas.] _All these things came from Chaldea to Egypt; and from thence
were derived to the Greeks_. The same is attested by [1270]Josephus. What
preceded the arrival of the Cadmians, and other Cuthites, in these parts,
is utterly unknown. With them commences the history of the country. It is
true, there are accounts concerning Erectheus, Ericthonius, Cecrops, and
other antient kings: but they were superadded to the history of Attica,
just as the names of Inachus, Phoroneus, Apis, were to that of Argos. It
was therefore matter of great surprise to Solon, when he was informed by
the Egyptian priests of the antient occurrences of their country, and of
the wars of the Atlantians, to find the same names stand at the head of
their histories, as were observable in those of Greece: [1271][Greek:
Kekropos te, kai Erechtheos, kai Erichthoniou, kai Erisichthonos, ton te
allon.] _For instance, the names of Cecrops, Erectheus, Ericthonius,
Erisicthon, and others._ [Greek: Kai ta ton Gunaikon kai tauta.] _The names
also of their women were the same._ In reality, they were all titles of the
Deity, as might be easily shewn. Erectheus for instance was the God of the
sea, and as such worshipped by the very people who enlisted him among their
kings. This may be proved from Athenagoras. [1272][Greek: Athenaios
Erechthei Poseidoni thuei.] _The Athenian sacrifices to Erectheus the same
as Poseidon_. Strabo seems to think, that most of the antient names were
foreign; [1273]such as Cecrops, and Codrus, and Arclus, and Cothus: and he
is certainly right in his opinion.

What I have here said, may in some degree prove a basis for the history of
Greece. We may indeed talk of Xuthus, Ion, and Hellen: also of the Leleges,
and Pelasgi, and thus amuse ourselves in the dark: but no real emolument
can possibly arise, till the cloud, with which history has been so long
obscured, be done away. This cannot well be effected, till some of the
first principles, upon which we are to proceed, be made out, and these
great truths determined.

This inquisition I have been obliged to make concerning some of the
principal personages in the annals of Greece. For it is impossible to lay a
foundation for a future history unless what is true, and what is false, be
previously determined. All those, of whom I have been treating, stand
foremost in the lists of antiquity, and have been admitted with too little
consideration. Many of the first Fathers in the Christian church, seeing
the high pretensions of the Grecians, tried to invalidate their claim, by
shewing that all their antient heroes were subsequent to Moses. This was
the repeated labour of Clemens of Alexandria, Theophilus, Eusebius,
Tatianus, and others. It was a point urged by them continually in their
recommendation of the Scriptures, as if priority of time were necessarily a
mark of truth. The best chronologers likewise admit these personages in
their computations; and great pains have been used to reconcile the
contradictions in their histories, and to ascertain the aera when they
flourished. These learned men acted upon a very laudable principle, but
failed in the very beginning of their process. For, as I have before taken
notice, the question should not have been about the time when these persons
lived, but whether they ever existed. The fathers proceeded upon very
precarious grounds, and brought their evidence to a wrong test. They indeed
state things very fairly, and have authorities for all that they advance.
But the traditions of the Greeks were not uniform. And if any Gentile
writer, instead of carrying the aera of Inachus and Phoroneus, or of
Dionusus and Perseus, towards the time of Moses, had extended it to the
times of the first kings in Egypt, I do not see what they could have done;
for this person, in his turn, could have produced authorities. They might
indeed have disputed the point, and have opposed evidence to evidence, but
nothing certain could have ensued.

END OF VOL. II.

W. Marchant, Printer, 3, Greville-street, Holborn.

[1] In all antient accounts of the Romans the term was expressed Poini, and
Poinicus. Poinei stipendia pendunt. Poinei sunt soliti suos sacrificare
puellos. Ennius. Annal. vii. Afterwards it was changed to Poenus, and
Punicus.

[2] Simon the Canaanite. Matth. c. 10. v 4. Also the woman of Canaan.
Matthew. c. 15. v. 22.

[3] Ausonius. Epigram. 25. Ph'Anac, the Great Lord.

[4] Apuleius. l. xi. p. 246.

[5] Zachlas adest AEgyptius, propheta primarius,--et cum dicto juvenem
quempiam linteis amiculis intectum, pedesque palmeis baxeis indutum, et
adusque deraso capite, producit in medium. Apuleius. l. 2. p. 39.

[6] Pedes ambrosios tegebant soleae, palmae victricis foliis intextae. Ibid.
l. 11. p. 241.

[7] Euripides in Ione. v. 920.

[8] Cantic. c. 7. v. 6.

[9] Psalm 93. v. 12.

[10] Plutarch Symposiac. l. 8. c. 4. Adversus pondera resurgit. Gellius. l.
3. c. 6.

[11] Pliny. Hist. Nat. l. 13. c. 4. [Greek: Hieron Heliou to phuton, ageron
te on]. Juliani Imp. Orat. v. p. 330.

[12] Revelations. c. 7. v. 9. [Greek: Peribeblemenoi stolas leukas, kai
Phoinikes en tais chersin auton.]

[13] John. c. 12. v. 13.

[14] [Greek: Hekkaidekate dunasteia Poimenes Hellenes Basileis.] Syncellus.
p. 61.

[15] The Lords of the Philistines; and the Princes of the Philistines. 1
Samuel. c. 29. v. 2, 3, 4.

[16] Ezekiel. c. 26. v. 16.

[17] Isaiah. c. 23. v. 8.

Ezekiel. c. 28. v. 2.

[18] Herodotus brings the Phoenicians from the Mare Erythraeum; by which he
means the Sinus Persicus. l. 7. c. 89. l. 1. c. 1.

[19] Philo, mentioning the march of the Israelites towards the Red Sea, and
the Amalekites, adds: [Greek: nemontai d' auten Phoinikes]. De V. Mosis.
vol. 2. p. 115.

[Greek: Phoinikon kome], in Edom. Procopius. Persic. l. 1. c. 19.

[20] Phoenicus, in Crete. Steph. Byzant.

[21] [Greek: Aphroi Phoinikes]. Glossae.

[22] [Greek: Kata Bouthroton Phoinike]. Strabo. l. 7. p. 499.

Mount Olympus, in Lycia, was styled, by way of eminence, Phoinic. [Greek:
Olumpos polis megale kai oros homonumon, ho kai Phoinikous kaleitai].
Strabo. l. 14. p. 982. Bochart supposes Phoenic and Phoenices ([Greek:
Phoinikes]) to be derived from Beni Anac, changed to Pheni Anac, i.e. the
sons of Anac: but how can this be applicable to a mountain, or to the Palm
tree? I am happy, however, that in a part of my etymology, and that a
principal part, I am countenanced by that learned man.

Bishop Cumberland derives it from Anac torquis. Orig. p. 302.

[23] Hesychius.

[24] A city and mountain in Boeotia, called Phoenice: the natives,
Phoenicians. Strabo. l. 9. p. 629.

[25] Chron. p. 27.

[26] Syncellus. p. 126. from Eusebius.

[27] [Greek: Belos ap' Euphretao. ktl.] Nonnus.

[28] Bochart. Hierazoican. l. 2. c. 7.

[29] Gellius. l. 2. c. 26.

[30] Gellius. Ibidem.

[31] Iliad [psi]. v. 454.

[32] John. c. 12. v. 13.

[33] 1 Maccab. c. 13. v. 51.

[34] Ibidem. c. 13. v. 37.

[35] Varro apud Nonium Marcellum.

[36] Horapollo. l. 1. c. 7. p. 11.

[37] AElian de Animalibus. l. 7. c. 60.

He cites Hermippus and Aristotle for vouchers.

[38] [Greek: Ethnos einai phasin Aithiopon, hopou, kuon basileuei, kai
basileus prosagoreutai, kai hiera kai timas echei basileon. Andres de
prassousin, haper hegemosi poleon prosechei, kai archousin.] Plutarch
adversus Stoicos. vol. 2. p. 1064.

[39] Ibid.

[40] Lycophron. v. 439.

[41] Comment. upon Lycophron. p. 68.

[42] Lucan. Pharsalia. l. 9. v. 787.

[43] Ausa Jovi nostro latrantem opponere Anubim. Propert. l. 3. El. 11.

[Greek: Hexes de estin ho kunopolitis nomos, kai Kunon polis, en hei
Anoubis timaitai, kai tois kusi time, kai sitis tetaktai tis hiera.]
Strabo. l. 17. p. 1166.

[44] [Greek: Selenen de graphontes, E OIKOUMENEN, e grammatea, e hierea, e
orgen, e kolumbon, kunokephalon zographousi.] l. 1. c. 14. p. 26.

[45] [Greek: Hierogrammatea te palin, e propheten, e osphresin, e ptarmon,
e archen, e dikasten, boulomenoi graphein kuna zographousin.] l. 1. c. 39.
p. 52.

[46] [Greek: Eo gar tous Aiguptious, hoiper kai deisidaimonestatoi eisi
panton; <DW25>s tois theiois onomasin eis koron epichromenous; schedon gar ta
pleista EX OURANOU estin.] Lucian de imaginibus.

See Observations on Antient History. p. 166.

Solebant autem AEgyptii sibi suisque Deorum patriorum nomina plerumque
imponere.--Moremque hunc gens illa servare perrexit, postquam salutari luce
Evangelica diu fruita esset. Jablonsky. v. 1. l. 1. c. 5. p. 105.

[47] It is possibly alluded to in Psalm 80. v. 16. and in Jeremiah. c. 6.
v. 20.

[48] Plutarch. Isis et Osiris. p. 365. [Greek: Chenosiris].

[49] The purport of the term Cahen, or Cohen, was not totally unknown in
Greece. They changed it to [Greek: koes], and [Greek: koies]; but still
supposed it to signify a priest. [Greek: Koies, hiereus Kabeiron, ho
kathairomenos phonea.] Hesychius. [Greek: Koiaitai hieraitai.] Ibid.

It was also used for a title of the Deity. [Greek: Koias, ho strongulos
lithos]; scilicet [Greek: Baitulos]. Moscopulus. p. 5. The Baetulus was the
most antient representation of the Deity. See Apollon. Rhod. Schol. ad. l.
1. v. 919.

[50] [Greek: Ou, kathaper ta loipa zoa en hemerai miai teleutai, houto kai
toutous: alla meros auton kath' hekasten hemeran nekroumenon hupo ton
Hiereon thaptesthai. ktl.]

[Greek: Heos d' an hai hebdomekonta kai duo plerothoisin hemeras, tote
holos apothneskei.] Horapollo. l. 1. c. 14. p. 2.

[51] [Greek: Eis hieron epeidan prota komisthe Kunokephalos, delton autoi
paratithesin ho Hiereus, kai schoinion, kai melan, peirazon, ei ek tes
epistamenes esti sungeneias grammata, kai ei graphei.] Horapollo. l. 1. c.
14. p. 28.

[52] Horapollo. l. 1. c. 16 p. 30. [Greek: Dodekatis tes hemeras kath'
hekasten horan ourei; tode auto kai tais dusi nuxi poiei. ktl.] Speaking of
the two Equinoxes.

[53] Hoffman: Cunocephalus.

Vossius de Idol. vol. 2. l. 3. c. 78.

[54] What Orus Apollo attributes to the Cunocephalus, Damascius (in Vita
Isidori) mentions of the Cat. Photii Bibliotheca. c. 242. p. 1049.

[55] By Strabo expressed [Greek: Keipos], who says, that it was reverenced
by the people at Babylon, opposite to Memphis. l. 17. p. 1167. [Greek:
Keipon de Babulonioi hoi kata Memphin (sebousi)].

[56] Babun, [Greek: Babun], of Hellanicus Lesbius. Athenaeus. l. 15. p. 680.
called Bebon, [Greek: Bebon], by Manethon. Plutarch. Isis et Osiris. p.
371, 376. Babon was thought to have been the same as Typhon: by some
esteemed a female, and the wife of that personage. Plutarch. ibid.

The Ape and Monkey were held sacred, not in Egypt only, but in India, and
likewise in a part of Africa. Diodorus Sicul. l. 20. p. 793. Maffeus
mentions a noble Pagoda in India, which was called the monkeys' Pagoda.
Historia Ind. l. 1. p. 25: and Balbus takes notice of Peguan temples,
called by the natives Varelle, in which monkeys were kept, out of a
religious principle. See Balbi Itinerarium.

[57] Martianus Capella. l. 4. sub initio.

Astronomia is made to speak to the same purpose.--Per immensa spatia
seculorum, ne profana loquacitate vulgarer, AEgyptiorum clausa adytis
occulebar. Martianus Capella. l. 8.

[58] Johannes Sarisburiensis Metalogic. l. 2. p. 787. Editio Lugd. Bat.
anno 1639.

He speaks of Parmenides as if he were a native of Egypt; and seems to have
understood that Parmenides took up his residence in the Egyptian seminary,
in order to obtain a thorough knowledge in science. Et licet Parmenides
AEgyptius in rupe vitam egerit, ut rationem Logices inveniret, tot et tantos
studii habuit successores, ut ei inventionis suae totam fere praeripuerint
gloriam.

[59] Hermes was the same as Anubis Latrator. Jablonsky. l. 5. c. 1.

[Greek: Kuna sebeis; tupto d' ego.] Anaxandrides apud Athenaeum. l. 7. p.
300.

[Greek: Hermen kuna.] Plutarch. Isis et Osiris.

[60] Strabo. l. 17. p. 1167. [Greek: Kunokephalon de (timosin)
Hermopolitai.]

[61] [Greek: Hermopolitike phulake]. Strabo. ibid.

[62] Analogous to this we read in Herodotus, that the Persian brigade,
whose deficiencies were supplied by continual recruits, was styled [Greek:
athanatos], immortalis. Herodotus. l. 7. c. 83.

It consisted of ten thousand men.

[63] Herodotus. l. 2. c. 37.

[64] [Greek: Dodekatis hemeras kath' hekasten horan OUREI Kunokephalos.]
Horapollo. l. 1. c. 16.

[65] Herodot. l. 4. c. 191.

Upon the Mare Erythraeum, [Greek: hidruma Kunoskephalon kaloumenon]. Strabo.
l. 16. p. 1120. Also Pliny. l. 6. c. 30. and l. 7. c. 2. of Cunocephali in
Ethiopia and India.

[66] Herodot. l. 4. c. 191.

[67] Many places were named Cunocephale: all which will be found upon
inquiry to have been eminences, or buildings situated on high, agreeably to
this etymology. [Greek: Kunoskephale, LOPHOS tis Thessalias.] Stephanus
Byzant. from Polybius. l. 17.

[Greek: Kunonkephalai] near Scotiussa. [Greek: LOPHON puknon parallelon
AKRAI.] Plutarch in Flaminino, of the same place.

The citadel at Thebes was called [Greek: Kunoskephale] by Xenophon. Those
who speak of the Cunocephali as a people, describe them as Mountaineers.
Megasthenes per diversos Indiae montes esse scribit nationes caninis
capitibus. Solinus. c. 52.

A promontory of this name upon the coast of the Red Sea, mentioned above
from Strabo. Another promontory Cunocephale in Corcyra. Procopius. Goth. l.
3. c. 27.

[68] Solinus. c. 4. and Isidorus. Origi l. 9. de Portentis.

[69] Steph. Byzantinus.

[70] Ptolemy. l. 3. c. 15.

[71] Hesychius. Also a family at Lacedaemon, [Greek: Phule Lakonike]: and
Cunosouroi, the name of a family at Megara. See Alexander ab Alexandro. l.
1. c. 17.

[72]

  Esse duas Arctos, quarum Cynosura petatur
  Sidoniis; Helicen Graia carina notet. Ovid. Fastor. l. 3. v. 107.

[73] L. 3. p. 207.

[74] V. 99.

[75] Palaephatus [Greek: peri epheureseos konchules.]. p. 124.

[76] Cassiodorus of the purple. Cum fame canis avida in Tyrio littore
projecta conchylia impressis mandibulis contudisset, illa naturaliter
humorem sanguineum diffluentia ora ejus mirabili colore tinxerunt: et ut
est mos hominibus occasiones repentinas ad artes ducere, talia exempla
meditantes fecerunt principibus decus nobile. l. 9. c. 36.

See also Chronicon Paschale. p. 43. Achilles Tatius. l. 3. Julius Pollux.
l. 1. c. 4. p. 30. Ed. Amstel. Pliny. l. 9. c. 36.

[77] Cyrus Prodromus [Greek: epi apodemoi tei philiai].

[78] Nonni Dionysiaca. l. 40. p. 1034.

[79] Etymologicum Magnum.

[80] Johannes Antiochenus, who tells the story at large, says, that purple
was the discovery [Greek: kunos poimenikou] which in the original history
was undoubtedly a shepherd king.

[81] Plutarch. Isis et Osiris. p. 355.

[82] [Greek: Oude Sokrates ton kuna kai ton chena omnus epaizen.] Porphyry
de Abstinentia. l. 3. p. 286.

It is said to have been first instituted by Rhadamanthus of Crete: [Greek:
Ekeleuse (Rhadamanthus) kata chenos, kai kunos, kai kriou omnunai.]
Eustathius upon Homer. Odyss. [Upsilon]. p. 1871.

See Aristophan. [Greek: Ornithes.] Scholia, v. 521. [Greek: Omnunai
keleusai (Rhadamanthun) chena, kai kuna, ktl.] from Socrates. l. 12. de
Rebus Creticis.

The antient Abantes of Euboea styled Zeus himself Cahen; called in
aftertimes Cenaeus. There was a promontory of the same name: [Greek: Kenaion
akroterion (Abanton)] Steph. Byzant. Here Hercules was supposed to have
sacrificed after his conquest of AEchalia.

  Victor ab AEchalia Cenaeo sacra parabat
  Vota Jovi. Ovid. Metamorph. l. 9 v. 136.

Sophocles in Trachin. v. 242, mentions, [Greek: Bomous, telet' enkarta
Kenaioi Dii].

[83] Plato in Gorgia. vol. 1. p. 482.

[84] Porphyry. l. 3. p. 286. so corrected by Jablonsky. l. v. c. 1. p. 10

[85] Clementis Cohortatio. p. 32.

[86] Pliny. l. 8. p. 446.

[87] Anthologia. l. 1. Epigram. 144.

[88] Theophrast. Charact.

[89] Hesychius.

[90] Diodorus Siculus de pompa Isiaca. l. 1. p. 78.

[91] Huetius. Praep. Evang. p. 86. from Cornutus de natura Deorum.

A like history is given of serpents in Syria by Aristotle, [Greek: peri
thaumasion akousmaton]: and by Pliny and Isidorus, of birds in the islands
of Diomedes.

[92] Nonni Dionysica. l. 3. p. 94.

[93] Ibid.

[94] Homer. Odyss. l. 8. v. 92.

[95] [Greek: Ton Kuna ton chruseon apedeixen (ho Zeus) phulattein to hieron
en Kretei]. Antoninus Liberalis. c. 35. p. 180.

[96] Pausanias of Taenarus. l. 3. p. 275.

[97] ---- of Troezen. l. 2. p. 183.

[98] ---- of Hermione. l. 2. p. 196.

[99] Dionys. [Greek: Perieges]. v. 791. This temple stood, according to
Diodorus Siculus and Arrian, in the country of the Cimmerians, near the
Acherusian Chersonese. See Scholia to Dionysius above.

[100] Oppida tota canem venerantur. Juvenal. Sat. 15. v. 8. Diodorus. l. 1.
p. 16.

[101] Herodotus. l. 2. c. 66.

[102] Plutarch. Isis et Osiris. p. 368.

[103] [Greek: Exo kunes] was a proverbial expression among the Jews.

[104] Deuteronomy. c. 23. v. 18.

[105] In this golden cup Hercules was supposed to have passed over the
ocean. [Greek: Chruseon ---- depas, en hoi ton okeanon dieperasen
Herakles.] Apollodorus. l. 2. p. 100.

There was likewise in the same place a story about a golden belt.
Philostratus: Vita Apollon. l. 5. p. 212.

[106] Palaephatus. Edit. Elz. 1642. p. 76. the author would not say [Greek:
sphodra plousioi], but keeps to the antient term [Greek: chrusoi], though
it is scarce sense.

[107] Pindar. Olymp. Ode 2. [Greek: stroph. d.] p. 25.

[108] [Greek: Chrusophorousi d' ek tou Kaunasou pollai pegai psegma
aphanes.] Appian de Bello Mithridat. p. 242. Salauces, an antient king of
Colchis, was said to have abounded with gold. Pliny. l. 33. c. 15. p. 614.
Arrian supposes that they put fleeces into the river, to intercept ([Greek:
psegma aphanes]) this imperceptible mineral; and that hence arose the fable
of the Golden Fleece.

[109] Pindar. Olymp. Ode 7. p. 64.

[110] Callimachus. Hymn to Apollo. v. 34.

In like manner there was a shower of gold at Thebes, in Boeotia. Pindar
speaks of Jupiter [Greek: Chrusoi mesonuktion niphonta]. Isthm. Ode 7. p.
746.

[111] Callimachus. Hymn to Delos. v. 260.

[112] Homer. Hymn to Apollo. v. 135.

[113] [Greek: Peukes eidos heteron; leibesthai d' haimati, kathaper toi
chrusoi ten Heliada aigeiron.] Philostratus. l. 5. p. 211. AEschylus
mentions the Arimaspians as living upon a golden stream:

                  [Greek: Hoi Chrusorrhuton ]
  [Greek: Oikousin amphi nama Platonos porou.] Prometheus. p. 49.

[114] Hence the celebrated city in Egypt had the name of Cherchusora. Some
traces of Orcus may be found in Zeus Hircius, and Orcius, mentioned by
Pausanias. l. 5. p. 442. He supposes the name to be from [Greek: horkos],
an oath, and mentions a legend to that purpose.

[115] Hesiod. Theog. v. 281.

[116] [Greek: Chrusaoris, polis Karias----Epaphroditos de ten Karian pasan
Chrusaorida legesthai (phesi).] Steph. Byzant.

[117] Strabo. l. 14. p. 975. Zeus was a title conferred upon more than one
of the family.

[118] Herodotus. l. 2. c. 15. Also c. 17. and 97. called by Strabo [Greek:
Kerkesoura]. l. 17. p. 1160.

[119] Sanchoniathon apud Euseb. Praep. Evan. l. 1. p. 35.

[120] Diodorus Sic. l. 4. p. 224.

[121] Hesiod. Theog. v. 287.

[Greek: Trisomaton boter' Erutheias.] Euripides. Hercules Furens. v. 423.

[122] Homer. Iliad. [Omicron]. v. 256.

[123] Homer. Hymn to Apollo. v. 123.

[124] Second Hymn to Diana. v. 3.

Perseus is styled [Greek: Chrusaoros] in Orpheus de Lapid. c. 15. v. 41.

[125] Homer. Hymn to Apollo. v. 131.

[126] Ibid. v. 126.

[127] Apollo was represented as the author of the lyre, called among the
oriental nations Kinor, and Cuthar: from the latter of which came [Greek:
kitharis], and cithara in the west.

[128] Pindar. Pyth. Ode 1.

[129] [Greek: Chruse, he polis tou Apollonos engus Lemnou--kai tes Lesbias
topos; kai Panephaistia tes Lemnou akroterion--kai en Bithuniai, kai peri
Chalkedona, kai tes Karias; kai en tei Halikarnasidi Dorion pedion; kai en
Hellespontoi; esti kai alle Cherrhonesos tes Indikes; en de tei ektos
Gangou Indikei.] Stephanus Byzant.

See also [Greek: Chrusopolis] ibidem.

[130] Cedrenus. p. 12.

[131] Strabo. l. 16. p. 1095.

[132] Hoffman Lexic.

[133] Plutarch de fluminibus. p. 1151. The original name was Chrusaor,
which had no relation to a golden stream: at least that part of it was so
named which ran through the city Mastaura. See Stephanus Byzant. [Greek:
Mastaura.]

[134] [Hebrew: KTM] of of the Hebrews.

[135] Dionysius [Greek: perieges]. v. 589. Scholia ibidem.

[136] The antients, as I have before observed, were not consistent in their
theology. The Sun was properly Cham, styled also Orus, but, as a title, was
bestowed upon more persons than one.

[137] Josephus of Salatis, the first Shepherd King; [Greek: Houtos en tei
Memphidi kategineto.] Contra Apion. l. 1. Sec.. 14.

[138] Diodorus Sic. l. 1. p. 88.

[139] Josephus contra Apion. l. 1. c. 14.

[140] Justin Martyr mentions this: [Greek: Egno gar kai temenos Chruses
Aphrodites en Aiguptoi legomenon, kai pedion Chruses Aphrodites
onomazomenon.] Cohort, p. 28. Chruse Aphrodite is plainly the Cuthite
Venus; the Deity of the Cuthim.

[141] Pocock's and Norden's Travels, and maps of the country about Cairo.

[142] Colchis, near Comar. Arrian Periplus maris Erythraei. Geog. Vet. vol.
1. p. 33.

[143] [Greek: Kataschein de phasi kai es Pegadas tes ton Oreiton choras.
Hoide Oreitai, chalkai men autois hai petrai, chalke de he psammos,
chalkoun de psegma hoi potamoi agousi. Chrusitin hegountai ten gen dia ten
eugeneian tou Chalkou.] Philostratus. Vita Apollon. l. 3. p. 155.

[144] The Petra and Pagoda were the same: both names for temples.

[145] This mistake arose from Cal-Chus being styled the region of the
Cuthim.

[146] Scholia upon Pindar. Pyth. Ode 4. p. 259.

[147] Ibid. Isth. Ode 5. p. 462.

[148] Sanchoniathon apud Euseb: Praep. Evan. l. 1. c. 10. p. 35.

[149] Ibid.

[150] Lucian de Electro. vol. 2. p. 523. Edit. Salmurii.

[151] Ovid. Metamorph. l. 1. v. 751.

[152] Homer. Odyss. l. [lambda]. v. 15. Phaethon was universally allowed to
be the Sun by the antient mythologists of Greece; to whom we must appeal,
and not to the Roman poets. Orpheus says,

  [Greek: Eelion Phaethonta eph' harmasi poloi agousi.] de Lapid. v. 90.

And in another place;

  [Greek: Euthus hot' ek peraton gaies Phaethon anorouson, kl.]

Phaethon was the same as Phanes: and there is something very mysterious in
his character. He is represented as the first born of heaven: [Greek:
Protogonos Phaethon perimekeos Eeros huios]--Hunc ait (Orpheus) esse omnium
Deorum parentem; quorum causa coelum condiderit, liberisque prospexerit, ut
haberent habitaculum, sedemque communem: [Greek: Ektisen Athanatois domon
aphthiton.] Lactantus de falsa religione. l. 1. c. 5. p. 15. His history
will be explained hereafter.

[153] Phoenices post multos deinde annos, a Rege Ascaloniorum expugnati,
navibus appulsi, Tyron urbem ante annum Trojanae cladis condiderunt. Justin.
l. 18. c. 3. See Isaiah. c. 23. v. 11. They enlarged Tyre: but it was a
city before: for it is mentioned Joshua. c. 19. v. 29. as the strong city
Tyre.

[154] Porphyry de Abstinentia. l. 2. p. 158.

[155] Apuleius de genio Socratis.

[156] Argonautica. v. 32. See Clementis Cohortatio. p. 12.

[157] Nonni Dionysiaca. l. 19. p. 520.

[158] Joseph. Antiq. l. 11. c. 5. p. 563.

[159] Nehemiah. c. 8. v. 9.

[160] 1 Esdras. c. 9. v. 52, 53.

[161] Nehemiah. c. 8. v. 11.

[162] Sanchoniathon alludes to the songs of Canaan, and their great
sweetness, when he is in an allegorical manner speaking of Sidon; whom he
makes a person, and the inventress of harmony. [Greek: Apo de Pontou
ginetai Sidon, he kath' huperbolen euphonias prote humnon oides heuren.]
Apud Euseb. P. E. lib. 1. c. 10. p. 38.

[163] Stephanus Byzant.

[164] Sanchoniathon apud Euseb. l. 1. c. 10. p. 39.

[165] [Greek: Uk kath' hieran glossai basilea semainei]. Josephus contra
Ap. l. 1. c. 13. p. 445.

[166] Osiris, [Greek: Usiris], according to Hellanicus. Plutarch de Iside
et Osiride.

[167] Verse 129.

[168] Homer's Hymn to Apollo. v. 92.

[169] Ichnaia was a city in Sicily, and elsewhere.

[Greek: Achnai polis Thessalias--esti kai polis Boiotias]. Steph. Byzant.

[Greek: Arachnaion oros Argous]. Ibid. Ar-Achnaion is the hill of Canaan,
or the Canaanitish mount.

[170] See Radicals. p. 106.

[171] Pliny. l. 3. p. 173.

[172] Milton. Paradise Lost. l. 1. v. 416. See also Ezekiel. c. 8. v. 14.

[173] Hyginus. Fab. 154. p. 266. not. 7. [Greek: Heteroi de phasi,
dikaiotaton auton einai Neilon.] Eratosthenes. Catasterism. 37.

[174] [Greek: Kaleitai de hupo ton enchorion Buchernos. Aiguptioi de phasi
Neilon einai ton katesterismenon.] Scholia in Aratum. p. 48.

[175] Plutarch de Fluminibus. vol. 2. p. 1154.

[176] Eustathius in Dionysium. v. 239. See Steph. Byzant. [Greek:
Aiguptos.]

[177] Plutarch [Greek: peri ton ekleloipoton chresterion.] vol. 1. p. 409.

[178] Strabo. l. 16. p. 1101. There was supposed to have been a person in
Thessaly named Cycnus, the son of Apollo. He lived upon a lake Uria; which
was so called from his mother.

  Inde lacus Hyries videt, et Cycneia Tempe,
  Quae subitus celebravit olor. Ovid. Metam. l. 7. v. 371.

Uria was also a river in Boeotia: and here was a Cycnus, said to have been
the son of Poseidon. Pausan. l. 10. p. 831.

[179] [Greek: Erasthenta de Pasiphaes Dia genesthai men Tauron; nun de
aeton kai kuknon.] Porphyry de Abstin. l. 3. p. 285.

[Greek: Pou nun ekeinos ho aetos? pou dai ho kuknos? pou dai autos ho
Zeus.] Clemens. Alex. Cohort. p. 31.

[180] Nonni Dionysiaca. l. 24. p. 626.

[181]

  [Greek: Pros Gorgoneia pedia Kisthenes, hina]
  [Greek: Hai phorkides naiousi, denaioi korai,]
  [Greek: Treis kuknomorphoi, koinon omm' ektemenai.] AEschyli Prometheus.
      p. 48.

[Greek: Hai men phorkides treis--eichon eidos Kuknon]. Scholia ibidem.

[Greek: Phorkun en aner Kurenaios; hoide Kurenaioi kata genos men eisin
Aithiopes.] Palaephatus. Edit. Elz. p. 76.

[182] [Greek: Tate ota, kai tous ophthalmous hoi demiourgountes ex hules
timias kathierousi, tois Theois anatithentes eis tous neos; touto depou
ainissomenoi, hos panta theos horai, kai akouei.] Clemens Alexand. l. 5. p.
671.

See Diodorus. l. 3. p. 145. This may have been one reason, among others,
why the Cyclopians and Arimaspians are represented with one eye: [Greek:
ton mounopa straton Arimaspon]. AEschylus Prometh. p. 49. The Arimaspian
history was written by Aristeus Proconnesius, and styled [Greek: Arimaspeia
epe.]

[183] Plutarch. [Greek: Ei.] vol. 2. p. 387.

[184] Porph. de Abst. l. 3. p. 286.

[185] Aristophanes. Aves. [Greek: Kuknoi Puthioi kai Delioi.] v. 870.

[186] Plato de Republica. l. 10. p. 620. vol.2.

[187] Porph. de Abstin. l. 4. p. 364.

[188] Lycophron. v. 426. Scholia Ibidem.

[189] Callimachus. Hymn to Delos. v. 249.

[190] Fragmenta Lini. Ex Aristobulo. See Poesis Philosoph. H. Steph. p.
112.

[191] Ovid. Metamorph. l. 14. v. 509.

[192] Plato in Phaedone. vol. 1. p. 84. Plutarch. in [Greek: Ei.] v. 2. p.
387.

Cicero Tusc. Quaest. l. 1. Pliny. l. x. c. 23.

AElian de Animal. l. 2. c. 32. l. x. c. 36.

Philostratus. Vita Apollon. l. 3. c. 23.

[193] De Animalibus. l. 9. [Greek: Kai tines ede pleontes para ten Libuen
perietuchon en tei thalattei pollois adousi phonei goodei; kai touton
heoron apothneskontas enious.] vol. 2. p. 423.

[194] See Brown's Vulgar Errors. l. 3. c. 27.

[195] [Greek: Ho de Mundios phesin Alexandros pollois teleutosi
parakolouthesas ouk akousai adonton.] Athenaeus. l. 9. c. 11.

[196] Epigram. in Erinnam. l. 3. p. 280. H. Steph.

[197] Lucretius. l. 4. v. 182.

[198] See Vossius de Idol. vol. 2. l. 3. c. 88. p. 1212. and Pierius de
Cygnis. p. 254.

[199] Herod. l. 2. c. 109.

[Greek: Geometrias te au heuretai gegonasin (hoi Aiguptioi.)] Clemens.
Strom. l. 1. p. 361.

[200] L. 4. v. 279.

[201] Apollonius Rhodius. l. 4. v. 279.

[202] Dionys. [Greek: Periegesis]. v. 688.

[203] Clem. Alexand. speaks [Greek: Peri te tes Kosmographias kai
Geographias ktl.--Chorographias te tes Aiguptou, kai tes tou Neilou
diagraphes.] Strom. 6. p. 757.

[204] [Greek: Sesostris de, phasin, ho Aiguptios, pollen perieleluthos gen
pinaxi te dedoke ten periodon, kai tes ton pinakon anagraphas ouk
Aiguptiois monon, alla kai Skuthais eis thauma metadounai exiosen.]
Eustath. Praef. Epist. to Dionys. p. 12.

[205] AEgyptios primos omnium tam coelum quam terram esse dimensos: ejusque
rei scientiam columnis incisam ad posteros propagasse. Petavii Uranalogia.
p. 121. taken from Achilles Tatius.

[206] Homer. Odyss. l. [alpha]. v. 52.

[207] The Atlantians were styled [Greek Ouraniones], or sons of heaven. The
head of the family was supposed to be the brother of Saturn. Diodorus. l.
3. p. 193.

[208] Euseb. [Greek: Historion sunagoge]. p. 374. c. 2.

[209] L. 3. 194.

[210] Strabo. l. 1. p. 13.

[211] Diog. Laert. Anaximander.

[212] Laertius. l. 1. p. 74.

[213] In Pherecyde.

[214] Josephus cont. Apion. l. 1. c. 2.

[215] Clemens. Strom. l. 6. p. 741.

[216] Diodorus Sic. l. 1. p. 12.

[217] Ibid. l. 1. p. 17.

[218] P. 30.

[219] Chron. Paschale. p. 34. Zonaras. p. 16.

See Salmasius upon Solinus. c. 35. concerning Ogen. Also, Windelini
Admiranda Nili. p. 12. and 16.

[220] Metamorph. l. 2. v. 9.

[221] V. 119.

[222] Iliad. l. 18. v. 483. and v. 606.

[223] Nonni Dionus. l. 40. p. 1040.

[224] Catull. Epithalamium of Peleus and Thetis. v. 47.

[225] Plutarch. Life of Theseus.

[226] Add to this, what I have before taken notice of, the great absurdity
of making the Grecian Argo the first ship which sailed upon the seas: Illa
rudem cursu prima imbuit Amphitriten: when the poet, at the same instant,
is describing Theseus, previous to the Argo, _in a ship_, and attended with
_fleet of ships_.

  Namque fluentisono prospectans littore Diae
  Thesea _cedentem celeri cum classe_ tuetur,
  Indomitos in corde gerens Ariadna furores.

Catulli. Epithal. Pel. et Thet. v. 52. See Famiani Stradae Prolus. l. 3. p.
285.

[227] Nonni Dionysiaca. l. 41. p. 1070.

[228] Orphica ex Macrobio Saturn. l. 1. c. 18. p. 202.

[229] Maps, and books too, when writing was introduced, were made of skins,
called [Greek: diphtherai]. [Greek: Tas biblous diphtheras kaleousi apo tou
palaiou hoi Iones.] Herodot. l. 5. c. 58.

A Zone, of curious imagery, is given by Homer to Hercules. Odyss. l.
[Lambda]. v. 609.

[Greek: Chruseos en telamon, hina theskela erga tetukto.]

A remarkable passage, from Isidorus Basilidis, quoted by Clemens
Alexandrin. [Greek: Kai gar moi dokei tous prospoioumenous philosophein,
hina mathosi, ti estin he hupopteros drus, kai to ep' autei pepoikilmenon
PHAROS. Panta hosa Pherekudes allegoresas etheologesen, labon apo tes tou
Cham propheteias.] Strom. l. 6. p. 767.

In the former verses from Nonnus we may see the method of deviation.
Pharos, a tower, is taken for Pharos a garment; and this altered to [Greek:
Chiton]: and, after all, the genuine history is discernible,
notwithstanding the veil which is spread over it. The author says, that, at
the bottom, [Greek: eueklostoio Chitonos], of the well-woven garment, flowed
the Ocean, which surrounded the world. This is certainly a
misinterpretation of the term [Greek: pharos]: and, in the original
writings, whence these verses were copied, the history related to a tower:
and it was at the foot [Greek: PHAROU EUKLUSTOIO] that the ocean beat, by
which the earth was encircled.

[230] Bochart Geog. Sacra. l. 1. c. 228. p. 524. of [Hebrew: TWR].

[231] Strabo. l. 16. p. 1110.

[232] Diodorus Siculus. l. 4. p. 231.

[233] Strabo. l. 11. p. 762.

[234] [Greek: Tundarioi skopeloi]. Ptolemaeus. p. 122. See Strabo. l. 17. p.
1150.

[235] Dionysius. v. 688. Pliny styles them oppida.

Oppida--in ripa celeberrima, Tyndarida, Circaeum, &c. l. 6. c. 4.

[236] The Minotaur was an emblematical representation of Menes, the same as
Osiris; who was also called Dionusus, the chief Deity of Egypt. He was also
the same as Atis of Lydia, whose rites were celebrated in conjunction with
those of Rhea, and Cybele, the mother of the Gods. Gruter has an
inscription, M. D. M. IDAE, et ATTIDI MINOTAURO. He also mentions an altar
of Attis Minoturannus. vol. 1. p. xxviii. n. 6.

[237] Diodor. Sicul. l. 16. p. 411.

[238] Meen was the moon: and Meno-Taurus signified Taurus Lunaris. It was a
sacred emblem, of which a great deal will be said hereafter.

[239] See Paruta's Sicilia nummata.

[240] [Greek: Turis, ho peribolos tou teichous]. Hesych. From whence we may
infer, that any place surrounded with a wall or fortification might be
termed a Tor or Turris.

[Greek: Tarchonion polis Turrhenias.] Stephan. Byzant.

[241] Scholia upon Lycophron. v. 717.

[242] Scholia upon Lycophron. v. 1242.

The Poet says of AEneas, [Greek: Palin planeten dexetai Tursenia.] v. 1239.

[243] Lycophron. v. 1248.

[244] [Greek: Tarkunia polis Turrhenidos apo Tarchonos; to ethnikon
Tarkunios.] Steph. Byzant.

[245] Strabo. l. 5. p. 336. [Greek: Tarkona, aph' hou Tarkunia he polis.]

[246] Lycophron. v. 116.

[Greek: He Torone, gune Proteos.] Scholia ibidem.

[247] [Greek: Turrhenoi salpinga]. Tatianus Assyrius. p. 243.

[248] L. 17. p. 468.

[249] Scholia upon Lycophron. v. 754.

[250] Pausanias. l. 9. p. 749.

[251] Pausanias. l. 7. p. 524.

[Greek: Deime de toi mala kalon Anaktoron.] Callimachus. Hymn to Apollo. v.
77.

[252] Homer. Odyss. [lambda]. v. 105. Strabo supposes Trinakis to have been
the modern name of the island; forgetting that it was prior to the time of
Homer. l. 6. p. 407: he also thinks that it was called Trinacria from its
figure: which is a mistake.

[253] Hymn to Diana. v. 56. I make no doubt but Callimachus wrote [Greek:
Trinakia].

[254] Pliny. l. 5. c. 31.

[255] Etymolog. Magn.

[256] Stephanas Byzant.

[257] [Greek: Trachin, he nun Herakleia kaloumene.] Hesych. or, as Athenaeus
represents it, more truly, [Greek: Herakleian, ten Trachinian kaleomenen.]
l. 11. p. 462.

[258] [Greek: Triaina topos Argous; entha ten triainan orthen estesen ho
Poseidon, sunginomenos te Amumone, kai euthus kat' ekeino hudor aneblusen,
ho kai ten epiklesin eschen ex Amumones.] Scholia in Euripidis Phoeniss. v.
195.

[259] Eusebius. Praep. Evan. l. 3. c. 11. p. 113.

[260] Palaephatus. p. 56.

[261] Ibid. p. 96.

[262] Palaephatus. p. 20.

[263] Iliad. [Sigma]. v. 486.

[264] Diodorus Siculus. l. 3. p. 324.

[265] Pindar. Pyth. Ode 4. p. 243.

[266] Homer. Odyss. [Lambda]. v. 306.

[267] Chron. Paschale. p. 36.

[Greek: Nebrod----kalousin Oriona]. Cedrenus. p. 14.

[268] Homer. Odyss. [Lambda]. v. 571.

[269] Strabo. l. 3. p. 259.

[270] Alorus was the first king of Babylon; and the same person as Orion,
and Nimrod. See Radicals. p. 10. notes.

[271] [Greek: Heloros, entha psuchron ekballei poton.] Lycophron. v. 1033.

[Greek: Rheithron Helorou prosthen.] Idem. v. 1184. [Greek: Ho potamos ho
Heloros esche to onoma apo tinos basileos Helorou.] Schol. ibid. There were
in Sicily many places of this name; [Greek: Pedion Helorion]. Diodorus. l.
13. p. 148. Elorus Castellum. Fazellus. Dec. 1. l. 4. c. 2.

Via Helorina. [Greek: Heloros polis.] Cluver. Sicilia Antiqua. l. 1. c. 13.
p. 186.

[272] Diodorus Siculus. l. 4. p. 284.

[273] Nonni Dionysiaca. l. 13. p. 356.

[274] [Greek: Kata mesen de ten polin he akropolis, hen ekaloun bursan,
ophrus hikanos orthia.] Strabo. l. 17. p. 1189.

See also Justin. l. 18. c. 5. and Livy. l. 34. c. 62.

[275] [Greek: Zankle polis Sikelias--apo Zanklou tou gegenous.] Stephanus
Byzant.

[276] Scholia in Lycophron. v. 328.

[Greek: Orion--kata tropen tou ou eis o apo tou ourion estin apo historias
tou ouresai tous theous en tei bursei, kai genesthai auton.] Etymolog. Mag.
[Greek: Orion.]

[277] [Greek: Titthe, titthos, titthion, mastos.] Hesychius.

[278] Pausanias. l. 10. p. 878.

[279] [Greek: Oros--ho de Tittheion onomazousin eph' hemon, tenikauta de
ekaleito Murtion.] Pausan. l. 2. p. 170.

[280] Callimach. Hymn in Delon. v. 48. [Greek: Mastoi], often taken notice
of by Xenophon. [Greek: Anabas]. l. 4. p. 320. A hill at <DW26>s. [Greek: En
Lesboi kleines Eresou perikumoni MASTO.] Athenaeus. l. 3. p. 111. [Greek:
Echei d' en autoi kai maston.] Polyb. l. 1. p. 57.

[281] Strabo mentions in Cyprus, [Greek: Amathous polis--kai oros
mastoeides Olumpos]. l. 14. p. 1001.

[282] The Circean promontory in Italy seems to have been named Tit-On; for,
the bay below is by Lycophron styled Titonian. [Greek: Titonion te cheuma].
v. 1275. Rivers and seas were often denominated from places near which they
flowed.

[283] Of the Cyclopes I shall hereafter treat at large.

[284] Strabo. l. 16. p. 1080. Azara signified a treasure.

[285] Strabo. l. 16. p. 1106.

[286] Bell. Jud. l. 7. p. 417.

[287] Canticles. c. 8. v. 10.

[288] Jeremiah. c. 49. v. 27.

[289] Amos. c. 1. v. 7.

[290] Ibid. c. 1. v. 10.

[291] Ibid. c. 1. v. 14.

[292] It is remarkable, that in many of the very antient temples there was
a tradition of their having suffered by lightning.

[293] Canticles. c. 8. v. 8.

[294] 2 Chron. c. 27. v. 3.

[295] Strabo. l. 16. p. 1096.

[296] Canticles. c. 7. v. 4.

[297]

  Pervenit ad Draconis speluncam ultimam,
  Custodiebat qui thesauros abditos. Phaedrus. l. 4. Fab. 18.

See Macrobius. Saturn. l. 1. c. 20. of dragons guarding treasures.

[298] Apollonius Rhodius. l. 2. v. 405.

[299] Nonni Dionysiaca. l. 14. p. 408.

[300] Nonni Dionys. l. 33. p. 840.

[301] Ibid. l. 35. p. 876.

[302] Ibid. l. 6. p. 186.

[303] Strabo. l. 17. p. 1183.

[304] [Greek: En de tois edeixe kai zoon huperphues, Dionusou agalma, hoi
Indoi ethuon. Drakon en, mekos pentaplethron; etrepheto de en chorioi
koiloi, en kremnoi bathei, teichei hupseloi huper ton akron peribeblemenos;
kai aneliske tas Indon agelas. ktl.] Maximus Tyr. Dissert. 8. c. 6. p. 85.

[305] Strabo. l. 15. p. 1022.

[306] [Greek: Makra pedion. En toutoi de Poseidonios historei ton Drakonta
peptokota horathenai nekron, mekos schedon ti kai plethriaion, pachos de,
hosth' hippeas hekaterothen parastantas allelous me kathorain; chasma de,
host' ephippon dexasthai, tes de pholidos lepida hekasten huperairousan
thureou.]  Strabo. l. 16. p. 1095. The epithet [Greek: peptokos] could not
properly be given to a serpent: but to a building decayed, and in ruins
nothing is more applicable. A serpent creeps upon its belly, and is even
with the ground, which he goes over, and cannot fall lower. The moderns
indeed delineate dragons with legs: but I do not know that this was
customary among the antients.

[307] Virgil. AEneis. l. 6. v. 595.

[308] Homer. Odyss. l. [Lambda]. v. 575.

Quintus Calaber styles him [Greek: poulupelethros].

  [Greek: Poulupelethros ekeito kata chthonos eurupedoio.] l. 3. v. 395.

                  [Greek: Tituon megan, hon rh' eteken ge]
  [Greek: Di' Helare, threpsen de kai aps elocheusato Gaia.]
                  Apollon. Rhodius. l. 1. v. 761.

[309] [Greek: Aiguptos--eklethe Musara--kai Aeria, kai Potamitis, kai
AETIA, apo tinos Indou Aetou.] Stephanus Byzant.

Eustathius mentions, [Greek: Kai Aetia, apo tinos Indou Aetou. ktl.] In
Dionysium. v. 239. p. 42.

[310] Orus Apollo styles it in the Ionian manner [Greek: Eth]. l. 1. c. 7.
p. 10. [Greek: Tode Eth kardia].

[311] [Greek: Aigupton de graphontes, thumiaterion kaiomenon zographousi,
kai epano kardian.] l. 1. c. 22. p. 38. It also signified an eagle.

[312] See the whole in Nonnus. l. 5. p. 148. It seems to have been a winged
machine, which is called [Greek: Kemos], from Cham the Sun. Hence the
notion of the chariot of the Sun, and horses of the same.

[313] [Greek: Kaukasou en knemoisi, Tuphaonie hote petre.] Apollonius
Rhodius. l. 2. v. 1214.

[314] Typhon was a high place; but represented as a Giant, and supposed to
be thunderstruck here, near the city Antioch. Strabo. l. 16. p. 1090. Here
was [Greek: Numphaion, spelaion ti hieron.] p. 1091.

[315] Strabo. l. 16. p. 1089. He mentions a place near the fountains of the
river Orontes called Paradisos: [Greek: Mechri kai ton tou Orontou pegon,
hai plesion tou te Libanou kai tou Paradeisou.] Strabo. l. 16. p. 1096.

[316] Diodorus Siculus. l. 4. p. 283.

[317] Servii Comment. in Virgil. AEneid. l. 2. v. 204.

[318] Nonni Dionys. l. 25. p. 668.

[319] Tot jugera ventre prementem. Ovid of the Pytho of Parnassus. Met. l.
1. v. 459.

See Pausanias. l. 10. p. 695. He says, the extent related to the place,
[Greek: entha ho Tituos etethe].

[320] [Greek: Hos de authis epanekein (ton Kleonta) es ta Gadeira, andra
heurein thalassion EKPEPTOKOTA es ten gen; touton plethra men pente malista
epechein, keraunothenta de hupo tou theou kaiesthai.] Pausan. l. 10. p.
806.

[321] Diogenes Laertius. Prooem. p. 5.

[322] [Greek: Temenos; hieron chorion aphorismenon Theoi.] Scholia in
Homer. Il. l. [Gamma]. v. 696.

[Greek: Kai temenos peripuston Amuklaioio Kanobou]. Dionysius. [Greek:
Perieges.] v. 13.

[Greek: Asulon temenos] at Daphne upon the Orontes. See above. p. 428.

[323] Lycophron. v. 6l3.

[324] Ovid. Metamorph. l. 11. v. 56.

[325] Apollonius Rhodius. l. 3. v. 1176.

[326] [Greek: Be d' ep' eran Dias pheugon ophiodea Kupron.] Parthenius, as
corrected by Vossius. See Notes to Pompon. Mela. p. 391.

[327] Lycophron. v. 110.

[328] Apollonius Rhodius. l. 2. v. 707.

[329] Hyginus. Fab. 140.

[330] Plutarch de Oraculoram defectu. v. 1. p. 417.

[331] Clemens Alexand. Cohort. p. 29.

[332] Prolegomena to the Pyth. Odes of Pindar.

[333] P. 39.

[334] Silius Ital. l. 3. v. 29.

[335] [Greek: Luchnon asbeston.] Plutarch de Defect. Orac. vol. 1. p. 410.

[336] Porphyr. de Abstinentia. l. 2.

[337] L. 1. p. 63.

[338] [Greek: To de luchnion en Prutaneioi.] Theoc. Idyll. 21. v. 36.

[Greek: Puros te phengos aphthiton keklemenon.] AEsch. [Greek: Choephoroi.]
v. 268.

[339] See Hyde Relig. Vet. Persarum: and Stanley upon the Chaldaic
religion.

[340] [Greek: Aei de toi aenaon pur.] Callimach. Hymn to Apollo. v. 84.

[341] Vol. 2. p. 84.

[342] Clima. 4. p. 213.

[343] Leviticus. c. 6. v. 13. Hence the [Greek: xulophoria]; a custom, by
which the people were obliged to carry wood, to replenish the fire when
decaying.

[344] It is said in the Scriptures, that _there were giants in the earth in
those days; and also after that_. Genesis. c. 6. v. 4. The word in the
original for giants is Nephelim.

[345] C. 2. p. 6.

[346] V. 22.

[347] Orphic. Argonaut. v. 395.

[348] De Venatione. p. 972.

[349] Pyth. Ode 4. p. 244.

[350] Ibid. p. 246.

[351] Justin. Martyr de Monarchia. p. 42.

[352] De Venat. p. 972.

[353] AEsculapius was of Egypt. Cephalus is said to have lived in the time
of Cecrops [Greek: autochthon]: or, as some say, in the time of Erectheus;
many centuries before Antilochus and Achilles, who were at the siege of
Troy.

[354] AEsculapius was the Sun. Euseb. Praep. Evang. l. 3. p. 112.

[355] Oratio in Herculem. vol. 1. p. 64. Oratio in AEsculapium. p. 67.

[356] Homer. Iliad. [Lambda]. v. 831.

[357] Clemens Alexand. Strom. l. 1. p. 361.

[358] [Greek: Monimos de historei, en tei ton thaumasion sunagogei, en
Pellei tes Thettalias Achaion anthropon Pelei kai Cheironi katathuesthai.]
Clementis Cohort. p. 36.

[359] Pocock's Travels. v. 1. p. 65.

[360] Ibid.

[361] [Greek: Para ten limnen ten kaloumenen Acherousian]. Diodorus Sic. l.
1. p. 86.

[362] In Phrygia--juxta specus est Acherusia, ad manes, ut aiunt, pervius.
Mela. l. 1. c. 19. p. 100.

[363] River Acheron, and lake Acherusia in Epirus. Pausan. l. 1. p. 40.
Strabo. l. 7. p. 499. Thucydides. l. 1. p. 34.

[364] Near Corinth Acherusia. Pausan. l. 2. p. 196.

In Elis Acheron. Strabo. l. 8. p. 530.

[365] Celsae nidum Acherontiae. Horat. l. 3. Ode. 4. v. 14.

[366] Near Avernus. In like manner there were [Greek: pedia Elusia] in
Egypt, Messenia, and in the remoter parts of Iberia. See Plutarch in
Sertorio, and Strabo. l. 3. p. 223.

[367] Also Libri Tarquitiani Aruspicum Hetruscorum, so denominated from
Tar-Cushan. Marcellinus. l. 25. c. 2. p. 322.

[368] Herodot. Vit. Hom. c. 3.

[369] Hesychius.

[370] L. 1. p. 77.

[371] Fleetwood's Inscript. p. 42.

[372] P. 319. n. 2.

[373] Sat. 14. v. 259.

[374] Pausanias. l. 2. p. l6l, 162.

There was a hill called Anakeion: [Greek: Anakeion; oros, e ton Dioskouron
Hieron.] Suidas.

It is said of the celebrated Polygnotus, that he painted [Greek: tas en toi
thesauroi kai en toi Anakeioi graphas.] Harpocration. The treasury we may
suppose to have been a part of the temple.

[375] Homer. Iliad. [Gamma]. v. 237.

[376] Homer. Odyss. [Mu]. v. 323.

[377] Cicero in Verrem. Orat. 7. sect. ult.

[378] Pausanias. l. 9. p. 741.

[379] Apollodorus. l. 3. p. 154.

[380] Hyginus. fab. 68, and 75.

[381] Antonin. Liberalis Metamorph. c. 22.

[382] Hymn. in Dian. v. 204.

[383] Cicero de Nat. Deorum. l. 3. 23.

She is supposed to be the same as Diana. [Greek: Kalousi de ten Artemin
Thrakes Bendeian, Kretes de Diktunan, Lakedaimonioi de Oupin.] Palaephatus.
c. 32. p. 78.

[384] Scholia in Callimach. Hymn. in Dianam. v. 204.

[Greek: Opin, kai Hekaergen--ek ton Huperboreon.] Pausan. l. 5. p. 392.

              Metuenda feris Hecaerge,
  Et Soror, optatum numen venantibus, Opis.
              Claudian in Laudes Stilic. l. 3. v. 253.

[385] 2 Kings. c. 23. v. 10. 2 Chron. c. 28. v. 3.

[386] C. 7. v. 31. and c. 19. v. 5. There was a place named Tophel
(Toph-El) near Paran upon the Red Sea. Deuteron. c. 1. v. 1.

[387] Zonar. vol. 2. p. 227. [Greek: Touphan kalei ho demodes kai polus
anthropos.]

[388] Bedae. Hist. Angliae. l. 2. c. 16.

[389] De legibus specialibus. p. 320.

The Greek term [Greek: tuphos], fumus, vel fastus, will hardly make sense,
as introduced here.

[390] Plutarch. Isis et Osiris. v. 1. p. 359.

[391] Virgil. AEn. l. 2. v. 713.

[392] [Greek: Ten taphen (Dionusou) einai phasin en Delphois para ton
Chrusoun Apollona.] Cyril. cont. Julian. l. 1. p. 11.

[393] Callimach. Hymn. in Jovem. v. 8.

  [Greek: Hode megas keitai Zan, hon Dia kikleskousi.]
                  Porphyr. Vita Pythagorae. p. 20.

[394] Hence Hercules was styled [Greek: Triesperos]. Lycoph. v. 33.

[Greek: Zeus treis hesperas eis mian metabalon sunekatheude tei Alkmenei.]
Schol. ibid.

[395] Abbe Banier. Mythology of the Antients explained. vol. 4. b. 3. c. 6.
p. 77, 78. Translation.

[396] Plaut. Amphitryo. Act. 1. s. 3.

[397] Cicero de Nat. Deor. l. 1. c. 42.

[Greek: Alla kai taphon autou (Zenos) deiknuousi]. Lucian. de Sacrificiis.
v. 1. p. 355.

[398] Maximus Tyrius. Dissert. 38. p. 85.

[399] Clementis Cohort. p. 40.

[400] Arnobius contra Gentes. l. 4. p. 135. Clem. Alexand. Cohort. p. 24.

[401] Tertullian. Apolog. c. 14.

[Greek: Peusomai de sou kai 'go, o anthrope, posoi Zenes heuriskontai.]
Theoph. ad Autolyc. l. 1. p. 344.

[402] Newton's Chronology. p. 151.

[403] Pezron. Antiquities of nations. c. 10, 11, 12.

[404] Virgil. AEn. l. 7. v. 48.

[405] Sir Isaac Newton supposes Jupiter to have lived after the division of
the kingdoms in Israel; Pezron makes him antecedent to the birth of
Abraham, and even before the Assyrian monarchy.

[406] Arnobius has a very just observation to this purpose. Omnes Dii non
sunt: quoniam plures sub eodem nomine, quemadmodum accepimus, esse non
possunt, &c. l. 4. p. 136.

[407] Antiquus Auctor Euhemerus, qui fuit ex civitate Messene, res gestas
Jovis, et caeterorum, qui Dii putantur, collegit; historiamque contexuit ex
titulis, et inscriptionibus sacris, quae in antiquissimis templis
habebantur; maximeque in fano Jovis Triphylii, ubi auream columnam positam
esse ab ipso Jove titulus indicabat. In qua columna gesta sua perscripsit,
ut monumentum esset posteris rerum suarum. Lactant. de Falsa Relig. l. 1.
c. 11. p. 50.

(Euhemerus), quem noster et interpretatus, et secutus est praeter caeteros,
Ennius. Cicero de Nat. Deor. l. 1. c. 42.

[408] Lactantius de Falsa Relig. l. 1. c. 11. p. 52.

[409] Varro apud Solinum. c. 16.

[410] Epiphanius in Ancorato. p. 108.

Cyril. contra Julianum. l. 10. p. 342. See Scholia upon Lycophron. v. 1194.

[411] Callimach. Hymn. in Jovem. v. 6.

[412] [Greek: Taphon theas axion]. Pausan. l. 2. p. 161.

[413] Diodor. Sicul. l. 1. p. 23. [Greek: Taphenai legousi ten Isin en
Memphei.]

Osiris buried at Memphis, and at Nusa. Diodorus above. Also at Byblus in
Phenicia.

[Greek: Eisi de enioi Bublion, hoi legousi para sphisi tethaphthai ton
Osirin ton Aiguption.] Lucian. de Syria Dea. v. 2. p. 879.

[Greek: Ta men oun peri tes taphes ton Theon touton diaphoneitai para tois
pleistois.] Diodor. l. 1. p. 24.

[414] Procopius [Greek: peri ktismaton]. l. 6. c. 1. p. 109.

[Greek: Aiguptioi te gar Osiridos pollachou thekas, hosper eiretai,
deiknuousi.] Plutarch. Isis et Osiris. p. 358. He mentions [Greek: pollous
Osiridos taphous en Aiguptoi.] Ibid. p. 359.

[415] L. 1. p. 79. [Greek: Peri tes Bousiridos xenoktonias para tois
Hellesin enischusai ton muthon; ou tou Basileos onomazomenou Bousiridos,
alla tou Osiridos taphou tauten echontos ten prosegorian kata ten ton
enchorion dialekton.] Strabo likewise says, that there was no such king as
Busiris. l. 17. p. 1154.

[416] Bou-Sehor and Uch-Sehor are precisely of the same purport, and
signify the great Lord of day.

[417] Pausanias. l. 2. p. 144.

[418] Altis, Baaltis, Orontis, Opheltis, are all places compounded with
some title, or titles, of the Deity.

[419] 2 Chron. c. 33. v. 14.

[420] 2 Chron. c. 27. v. 3. _On the wall_ ([Hebrew: CHWMT]) _of Ophel he
built much:_ or rather on the Comah, or sacred hill of the Sun, called
Oph-El, he built much.

[421] Apollon. Rhodii Argonaut. l. 2. v. 709. Apollo is said to have killed
Tityus, [Greek: Boupais eon]. Apollon. l. 1. v. 760.

[422] [Greek: Ton de tou Aiputou taphon spoudei malista etheasamen--esti
men oun ges choma ou mega, lithou krepidi en kukloi periechomenon.] Pausan.
l. 8. p. 632.

[Greek: Aipution tumbon], celebrated by Homer. Iliad. [beta]. v. 605.

[Greek: Aiputos], supposed to be the same as Hermes. [Greek: Naos Hermou
Aiputou] near Tegea in Arcadia. Pausan. l. 8. p. 696. Part of Arcadia was
called [Greek: Aiputis].

[423] Clemens Alexand. Cohort. p. 11. [Greek: Anestemmenoi tois ophesin
epololuzontes Euan, Euan ktl.]

[424] Porphyrii Vita Pythagorae.

[425] Clement. Alexand. Cohort. p. 29.

[426] The Scholiast upon Pindar seems to attribute the whole to Dionusus,
who first gave out oracles at this place, and appointed the seventh day a
festival. [Greek: En hoi protos Dionusos ethemisteuse, kai apokteinas ton
Ophin ton Puthona, agonizetai ton Puthikon agona kata Hebdomen hemeran.]
Prolegomena in Pind. Pyth. p. 185.

[427] Pausanias. l. 9. p. 749.

[428] Ibid. l. 2. p. 155.

[429] Strabo. l. 9. p. 651.

[430] Ibid.

[431] Pausanias. l. 5. p. 376.

[432] Ibid. l. 10. p. 806.

[433] Ibid. l. 1. p. 87.

[434] At Patrae, [Greek: mnema Aiguptiou tou Belou.] Pausan. l. 7. p. 578.

[435] Pausanias. l. 2. p. 179.

[436] Herodotus. l. 7. c. 150. and l. 6. c. 54.

Plato in Alcibiad. 1^{mo}. vol. 2. p. 120.

Upon Mount Maenalus was said to have been the tomb of Arcas, who was the
father of the Arcadians.

  [Greek: Esti de Mainalie duscheimeros, entha te keitai]
  [Greek: Archas, aph' hou de pantes epiklesin kaleontai.]
                  Oraculum apud Pausan. l. 8. p. 616.

But what this supposed tomb really was, may be known from the same author:
[Greek: To de chorion touto, entha ho taphos esti tou Arkados, kalousin
Heliou Bomous.] Ibid.

[Greek: Taphos, e tumbos, e semeion.]. Hesych.

[437] Strabo. l. 11. p. 779. [Greek: En de toi pedioi PETRAN TINA
proschomati sumplerosantes eis bounoeides schema ktl.]

[438] Typhon was originally called [Greek: Gegenes], and by Hyginus Terrae
Filius. Fab. 152. p. 263. Diodorus. l. 1. p. 79. he is styled [Greek: Ges
huios exaisios.] Antoninus Liberal. c. 25.

[439] Plutarch. Isis et Osiris. p. 380.

[440] Josephus contra Apion. l. 1. p. 460.

[441] Porphyry de Abstinen. l. 2. p. 223.

There was [Greek: Petra Tuphaonia] in Caucasus. Etymolog. Magnum. [Greek:
Tiphos; Tuphaonia Petra estin hupsele en Kaukasoi.]

[Greek: Kaukasou en knemoisi, Tuphaonie hoti Petre.] Apollon. l. 2. v.
1214.

[442] Diodorus Sicul. l. 1. p. 79.

[443] [Greek: Paregorousi thusiais kai prauenousi (ton Tuphona)], Plutarch.
Isis et Osiris. p. 362.

[444] Diodorus Sicul. l. 5. p. 338.

[445] Plutarch. Isis et Osiris. p. 362. [Greek: Isaiakou tou Herakleous ho
Tuphon].

[446] Ovid. Metamorph. l. 11. v. 762.

[447] [Greek: Enioi de hupo tou Tuphonos, hupo de Atlantos Xenagoras
eireken.]  Schol. Apollon. l. 4. v. 264.

[448] Hesiod. Theogon. v. 824.

[449] Ibid. v. 826. Typhis, Typhon, Typhaon, Typhoeus, are all of the same
purport.

[450] Nonni Dionys. l. 1. p. 24.

[451] [Greek: Opheis--timaisthai ischuros]. Philarchus apud AElian: de
Animal. l. 17. c. 5.

[452] See Justin Martyr above.

[Greek: Semeion Orgion Bakchikon Ophis esti tetelesmenos.] Clemens Alexand.
Cohort. p. 11. See Augustinus de Civitate Dei. l. 3. c. 12. and l. 18. c.
15.

[453] [Greek: Anestemmenoi tois ophesin.] Clemens above.

[454] In mysteriis, quibus Sabadiis nomen est, aureus coluber in sinum
dimittitur consecratis, et eximitur rursus ab inferioribus partibus.
Arnobius. l. 5. p. 171. See also Clemens, Cohort. p. 14. [Greek: Drakon
dielkomenos tou kolpou. k. l.]

Sebazium colentes Jovem anguem, cum initiantur, per sinum ducunt. Julius
Firmicus. p. 23. [Greek: Sabazios, eponumon Dionusou.] Hesych.

[455] [Greek: Tous Opheis anestemmenoi, euazontes to Oua, Oua, ekeinen ten
Euan eti, ten dia tou Opheos apatetheisan, epikaloumenoi.] Epiphanius. tom.
2. l. 3. p. 1092.

[456] Cohortatio. p. 11.

[457] Ibid.

[458] Plutarch. Alexander. p. 665.

[459] [Greek: Opheis megalous cheiroetheis epheilketo tois thiasois (he
Olumpias), hoi pollakis ek tou kittou kai ton mustikon liknon
paranaduomenoi, kai perielittomenoi thursois ton gunaikon, kai tois
stephanois, exepletton tous andras.] Plutarch. ibid.

[460] [Greek: Tous opheis tous Pareias thlibon, kai huper tes kephales
aioron, kai boon, Euoi, Saboi, kai eporchoumenos Yes Attes, Attes Yes.]
Demosth. [Greek: Peri stephanou.] p. 516.

[461] Hesych.

[462] [Greek: Tes Isidos agalmata anedousi tautei, hos tini diademati
basileioi.] AElian. Hist. Animal. l. 10. c. 31.

[463] [Greek: Tous Basileis--chresthai pilois makrois epi tou peratos
omphalon echousi, kai periespeiramenois ophesi, hous kalousin aspidas.] l.
3. p. 145.

[464] Priscian. l. 5. and l. 6.

[465] Pausan. l. 10. p. 859.

[466] Bochart supposes this term to signify a father, and the purport of
the name to be Pater magnificus. He has afterwards a secondary derivation.
Sed fallor, aut Abdir, vel Abadir, cum pro lapide sumitur, corruptum ex
Phoenicio Eben-Dir, lapis sphaericus. Geog. Sac. l. 2. c. 2. p. 708.

[467] See Radicals. p. 59. and Deuteronomy. c. 18. v. 11.

[468] [Greek: Echousai basilea eph' hanton ton Angelon tes Abussou; onoma
autoi Hebraisti Abaddon, en de te Hellenikei onoma echei Apolluon.]
Revelations. c. 20. v. 11.

[469] Revelations. c. 20. v. 2. Abadon signifies serpens Dominus, vel
Serpens Dominus Sol.

[470] Daniel Heinsius. Aristarchus. p. 11.

[471] Euseb. P. E. l. 1. p. 41, 42.

[472] Euseb. ibidem. [Greek: Tade auta kai Ostanes ktl.]

[473] Herod. l. 2. c. 189. also Ptolemy.

[474] M. Maimonides in more Nevochim. See Selden de Diis Syris. Synt. 1. c.
3. p. 49.

[475] [Greek: Oubaion, ho estin Hellenisti Basiliskon; honper chrusoun
poiountes Theois perititheasin.] Horapollo. l. 1. p. 2.

[Greek: Oubaion] is so corrected for [Greek: Ouraion], from MSS. by J.
Corn. De Pauw.

[476] Cicero de Nat. Deor. l. 3.

[477] Praep. Evan. l. 1. p. 41.

[478] Euseb. supra.

[479] L. 6. p. 345.

[480] Strabo. l. 10. p. 683. It was supposed to have had its name from
Ellops, the Son of Ion, who was the brother of Cothus.

[481] Callimachus. H. in Delon. v. 292. [Greek: Euaion], Eva-On, Serpens
Sol.

[482] Athenagoras. Legatio. p. 294. [Greek: Erakles Chronos.]

[483] Athenag. p. 295. [Greek: Herakles Theos--drakon heliktos.]

[484] It is said to have been named Rhodus from Rhod, a Syriac for a
serpent. Bochart. G. S. p. 369.

[485] [Greek: Entautha muthuousi tous Ophiogeneis sungeneian tina echein
pros tous opheis]. Strabo. l. 13. p. 850. Ophiogenae in Hellesponto circa
Parium. Pliny. l. 7. p. 371.

[486] Pausan. l. 8. p. 614.

[487] Aristoph. Plutus. Schol. v. 718.

[488] L. 3. c. 96. Strabo. l. 10. p. 692.

[489] Steph. Byzant. [Greek: Patara.]

[490] [Greek: Be d' ep' eran Dias pheugon ophiodea Kupron.] Parthenius. See
Vossius upon Pomp. Mela. l. 1. c. 6. p. 391.

Ovid Metamorph. l. 10. v. 229. Cypri arva Ophiusia.

[491] They were particularly to be found at Paphos. Apollon. Discolus.
Mirabil. c. 39. [Greek: Ophis podas echon duo.]

[492] Herodotus. l. 7. c. 90. [Greek: Hoi de apo Aithiopies, hos autoi
Kuprioi legousi.]

[493] [Greek: Ho gar Minos opheis, kai skorpious, kai skolopendras ouresken
kl.]  Antonin. Liberalis. c. 41. p. 202. See notes, p. 276.

[494] Tacitus. Annal. l. 4. c. 21.

[495] In Ceiri.

[496] Strabo. l. 10. p. 746.

[497] What the Greeks rendered [Greek: Seriphos] was properly Sar-Iph; and
Sar-Iphis, the same as Ophis: which signified Petra Serpentis, sive
Pythonis.

[498] Herodotus. l. 8. c. 41.

[499] Strabo. l. 9. p. 603.

[500] Lycophron Scholia. v. 496. [Greek: apo ton odonton tou drakontos.]

[501] Meursius de reg. Athen. l. 1. c. 6.

[502] Apollodorus. l. 3. p. 191.

[503] Diodorus. l. I. p. 25. Cecrops is not by name mentioned in this
passage according to the present copies: yet what is said, certainly
relates to him, as appears by the context, and it is so understood by the
learned Marsham. See Chron. Canon. p. 108.

[504] Eustat. on Dionys. p. 56. Edit. Steph.

[505] [Greek: Ton barbaron Aiguptiasmon apheis. ktl.] ibid.

See also Tzetzes upon Lycophron. v. 111.

[506] Chron. Canon, p. 109.

[507] It may not perhaps be easy to decypher the name of Cecrops: but thus
much is apparent, that it is compounded of Ops, and Opis, and related to
his symbolical character.

[508] [Greek: Drakontas duo peri ton Erikthonion.] Antigonus Carystius. c.
12.

[509] Aristot. de Mirabilibus. vol. 2. p. 717.

[510] Pliny. l. 3. p. 153. l. 8. p. 455.

[511] AEschyli Supplices. p. 516.

[512] L. 3. p. 184.

[513] Apollonius Discolus. c. 12. and Aristot. de Mirabilibus, vol. 2. p.
737.

[514] Aves Diomedis--judicant inter suos et advenas, &c. Isidorus Orig. l.
12. c. 7. Pliny. l. 10. c. 44.

[515] Apollodorus. l. 1. p. 37.

[516] Stephanas Byzant. [Greek: Opikoi.]

[517] The same is said by Epiphanius. [Greek: Heuia ton ophin paides
Hebraion onomazousi.] Epiphanius advers. Haeres. l. 3. tom. 2. p. 1092.

[518] Steph. Byzant.

[519] Ptolemy. p. 93. [Greek: Euia.]

[520] Pausanias. l. 4. p. 356.

[521] L. 2. p. 202.

[522] Pausan. l. 3. p. 249.

[523] There was a city of this name in Macedonia, and in Troas. Also a
river.

[524] Ovid Metamorph. l. 7. v. 357.

[525] Strabo. l. 13. p. 913. It is compounded of Eva-Ain, the fountain, or
river of Eva, the serpent.

[526] Strabo. l. 5. p. 383.

[527] [Greek: Menelaon, hos en Pitanates.] Hesych.

[Greek: Drakon epi tei aspidi (Menelaou) estin eirgasmenos.] Pausan. l. 10.
p. 863.

[528] [Greek: Pitanates, lochos]. Hesych.

[529] It was the insigne of many countries. Textilis _Anguis_

Discurrit per utramque aciem. Sidon. Apollinaris. Carm. 5. v. 409.

[530]

  Stent bellatrices Aquilae, saevique _Dracones_.
                  Claudian de Nuptiis Honor. et Mariae. v. 193.

  Ut primum vestras Aquilas Provincia vidit,
  Desiit hostiles confestim horrere _Dracones_.
                  Sidon. Apollinaris. Carm. 2. v. 235.

[531] Epiphanius Haeres. 37. p. 267.

[532] Clemens. l. 7. p. 900.

[533] Tertullian de Praescript. Haeret. c. 47. p. 221.

[534] Vossius, Selden, and many learned men have touched upon this subject.
There is a treatise of Philip Olearius de Ophiolatria. Also Dissertatio
Theologico-Historico, &c. &c. de cultu serpentum. Auctore M. Johan.
Christian. Kock. Lipsiae. 1717.

[535] Homer. Odyss. l. 10. v. 106.

[536] Haec a principio patria Cyclopum fuit. Justin. of the island Sicily.
l. 4. c. 2.

[537]

  [Greek: Os opsetai men tou monoglenou stegas]
  [Greek: Charonos.] Lycophron. v. 659.

Charon was not a person, but Char-On, the temple of the Sun.

[538] [Greek: Ton peri ten Aitnen kai Leontinen Kuklopas (dunasteusai)].
Strabo. l. 1. p. 38.

[539] The province of Leontina called Xuthia. Diodorus. l. 5. p. 291.

[540] Cyclops. v. 297.

[541] Lycophron. v. 659.

[542]

  [Greek: Glukutata phasi ta krea tous xenous pherein.]
  [Greek: Oudeis molon deur', hostis ou katesphage.] Euripid. Cyclops. v.
      126.

[543] The river Nilus was called Triton, and afterwards Nilus. [Greek:
Metonomasthei de apo Neilou tou Kuklopos.] Scholia in Apollon. l. 4. v.
268.

Nilus Deorum maximus. Huetii Demons. Evang. Prop. 4. p. 111.

[544] [Greek: Aiguptie Zeu, Neile]. Athenaeus. l. 5. p. 203.

Vulcanus--Nilo natus, Opas, ut AEgyptii appellant. Cicero de Natura Deor. l.
3. c. 22. Hence [Greek: Neilos Kuklops] must have been the chief Deity; and
the Cyclopians his votaries and priests.

[Greek: Neiloio temenos Kronida]. Pindar. Pyth. Ode 4. p. 239. He was no
other than Ouranus, and Coelus.

[545] [Greek: Asterion, huios Anaktos], who was buried in the island Lade,
near Miletus, is mentioned as a gigantic personage by Pausanias. l. 1. p.
87. Large bones have been found in Sicily; which were probably the bones of
elephants, but have been esteemed the bones of the Cyclopians by Kircher
and Fazellus. Fazellus. Dec. 1. l. 1. c. 6.

[546] Herodotus. l. 5. c. 61. He alludes to them under the name of
Cadmians.

[547] Odyss. 10. v. 190.

[548] AEneid. l. 3. v. 619.

[549] Hymn in Dian. v. 51.

[Greek: Mounos d' ophthalmos messoi epekeito metopoi.] Hesiod. Theogon. v.
143.

Clemens Alexandrinus tells us, that Homer's account of Polyphemus is
borrowed from the character of Saturnus in the Orphic poetry. Strom. l. 6.
p. 751.

[550] Scholia in AEschyl. Prometh. p. 56.

[551] [Greek: Paides Ouranou, kai Ges.]

[552] [Greek: Ex hes autoi (Ouranoi) treis paidas ginoskousin
hekatontacheiras, kai treis heterous apotiktousi Kuklopas.] Proclus in
Photio. c. ccxxxix. p. 982.

Euripides makes them the sons of Oceanus.

  [Greek: Hin' hoi monopes pontiou paides Theou]
  [Greek: Kuklopes oikous' antr' erem' androktonoi.] Cyclops. v. 21.

[553] [Greek: Kai de Hieron estin archaion, Kuklopon kaloumenos bomos, kai
thuousin ep' autai Kuklopsi.] Pausanias. l. 2. p. 114.

[554] Odyss. [Zeta]. v. 5. [Greek: Hupereian, hoi men ten en Sikelia
Kamarinen.]  Schol. ibid.

[555] [Greek: En polei tes Babulonias Kamarinei, hen tinas legein polin
Ourian.]  Alexand. Polyhist. apud Euseb. Praep. Evan. l. 9. p. 418.

[556] Natalis Comes. l. 9. p. 510. By the Celtae are meant those of Iberia:
[Greek: opsigonoi Titenes] of Callimachus.

[557] Lycoph. v. 659. Appian mentions a nation of Cyclopians in Illyria,
who were near the Pheacians.

[558] The liba made in such temples were from it named Charisia. [Greek:
Charision, eidos plakounton.] Hesych.

[559] In Parthia, [Greek: Kalliope, Charis]. Appian. Syriac. p. 125.

[Greek: Phrugias polis Karis]. Steph. Byzant.

Charisiae in Arcadia. Ibid. The island Cos, called of old Caris. Ibid.

[560] Herodotus. l. 4. c. 13. [Greek: Arimaspous andras mounophthalmous.]

Strabo. l. 1. p. 40. [Greek: Tacha de kai tous monommatous Kuklopas ek tes
Skuthikes historias metenenochen (Homeros.)]

[561] [Greek: Oupis te, Loxo te, kai euaion Hekaerge.] Callimach. H. in
Delon. v. 292.

[562] Casaubon. not. in Strabon. l. 1. p. 40.

[Greek: Mounopa straton Arimaspon.] AEschyl. Prineth. p. 49.

[563] [Greek: Ton gar basilea kai kurion Osirin ophthalmoi kai skeptroi
graphousin.]  Plutarch. Isis et Osiris. p. 354.

[564] Lycophron. v. 328. See Suidas.

[Greek: Philochoros Tritopatoras panton gegonenai protous.] Etymolog. Mag.
See Meursii not. in Lycophron. v. 328. [Greek: Rhaisei tripatrou phasganoi
Kandaonos.]

[565] Iliad. [Sigma]. v. 382. and [Xi]. v. 275. See Pausan. l. 9. p. 781.

[566] Nonni Dionysiaca. l. 29. p. 760.

The Graces and the Furies (Charites et Furiae) were equally denominated from
the Sun, and fire; and in consequence of it had joint worship in Arcadia.
Pausan. l. 8. p. 669. Charis, [Greek: Charis], of the Greeks, was the same
personage as Ceres of the Romans. She was also called Damater, and esteemed
one of the Furies. Pausan. l. 8. p. 649.

[567] Pausanias. l. 9. p. 781. So Coronis is said to have been the daughter
of Phlegyas. Pausan. l. 2. p. 170: and Cronus the son of Apollo. l. 2. p.
123. Chiron the son of Saturn; Charon the son of Erebus and night. The hero
Charisius, the son of Lycaon, which Lycaon was no other than Apollo, the
God of light. These were all places, but described as personages; and made
the children of the Deity, to whom they were sacred.

[568] [Greek: Deinous Theois te hiera kataskeuasasthai, kai basileia
anthropois; kai gar toi Apolloni ton Naon oikodomesanto ton en Delphois,
kai Huriei ton Thesauron.] Pausan. l. 9. p. 785.

Turres, ut Aristoteles, Cyclopes (invenerunt). Pliny. l. 7. c. 56.

[569] Virgil. AEn. l. 6. v. 630.

[570] Lutatius Placidus in Statii Thebaid. l. 1. p. 26.

[571] [Greek: Tas Huakinthou koras--epi ton Geraistou tou Kuklopos taphon
katesphaxan.] Apollodorus. l. 3. p. 205.

[572] Hercules furens. Act. 4. v. 996.

[573] Nonni Dionysiaca. l. 41. p. 1068.

Euripides styles the walls of Argos [Greek: Ourania]:

[Greek: 'Ina teichea laina, Kuklopei', ourania nemontai.] Troades. v. 1087.

[574] Pausanias. l. 2. p. 146.

[575] Seneca Thyestes. Act. 2. v. 406.

[576] [Greek: Entos de tou Isthmou tes Troizenos homoros estin Hermione;
Oikisten de tes archaias poleos Hermioneis genesthai phasin Hermiona
Europos.] Pausanias. l. 2. p. 191.

[577] Strabo. l. 8. p. 573. It was inhabited by people particularly styled
[Greek: Halieis], or men of the sea; who were brought thither by Druops
Arcas.

[578] Pausan. l. 2. p. 147. [Greek: Kuklopon men estin ergon.] p. 169.

See Strabo. l. 8. p. 572. [Greek: Teichisai dia Kuklopon.]

[579] [Greek: Ta teiche ta en Tirunthi--oude onta elattonos thaumatos (ton
Puramidon).] Pausanias. l. 9. p. 783.

[580] [Greek: Ephexes de tei Naupliai, ta spelaia, kai hoi en autois
oikodometoi laburinthoi. Kuklopeia d' onomazousin.] Strabo. l. 8. p. 567.

[581] Pausanias. l. 4. p. 367.

[582] [Greek: Emoi men oun Aiguption phainetai, kai oudamos Hellenikon
onoma Oros einai. ktl.] Pausan. l. 2. p. 181.

[583]

              [Greek: Kuklopon bathra]
  [Greek: Phoiniki kanoni kai tukois hermosmena.]
              Eurip. Herc. Furens. v. 944.

[584] Strabo. l. 8. p. 572.

[585] Many places were denominated from Aster; such as Asteria, Asterion,
Asteris, Astraea, Astarte. See Steph. Byzantinus. [Greek: Asterion, polis
Thettalias--he nun Piresia.] Idem. [Greek: Asterie, he Delos, kai he Krete,
ekaleito.] Hesychius. [Greek: Delos Asterie]. Callimach. H. in Delon. v.
37. and 40. Asteria signifies the island of Aster.

[586] L. 8. p. 572.

[587] Pausanias mentions the apartments of the daughters of Proetus. l. 2.
p. 169. But the daughters of Proetus were property the virgins who
officiated at the Purait, the young priestesses ot the Deity.

The Sicilian Cyclopes were three, because there were three towers only,
erected upon the islands called Cyclopum Scopuli; and that they were
lighthouses is apparent from the name which still remains: for they are at
this day styled Faraglioni, according to Fazellus. The Cyclopes of Tiryns
were seven, as we learn from Strabo; because the towers probably were in
number so many. From this circumstance we may presume, that the ideas of
the antients concerning the Cyclopians, were taken from the buildings which
they erected.

[588] The Cyclopian buildings were also called Ouranian. [Greek: Kuklopeia
t' ourania teichea.] Euripid. Electra. v. 1158.

[589] Both Cuclops, and Cuclopes, was the name of a place. We may,
therefore, I think, be pretty well assured, that the Cyclopians were from
hence denominated. And as sacred places had their names from the Deity, to
whom they were dedicated, it is very probable, that the Cuclopian towers
were named from Coelus Ops, the Deity there worshipped: for I have shewn,
that this people were the reputed children of Ouranus and Coelus.

[590] Aristoteles de mirabil. auscult. p. 732.

[591] In excerptis apud Sononem. See not. Meursii in Antigonum Carystium.
p. 183.

[592] Of the Cyclopians of Thrace see Scholia in Euripid. Orest. v. 966.
[Greek: Kuklopes, Thrakikon ethnos]. Also Scholia in Statii Theb. l. 2. p.
104.

[593] [Greek: para de to hieron tou Kephissou Medouses lithou pepoiemene
kephale. Kuklopon phasin einai kai touto ergon.] Pausan. l. 2. p. 156.
[Greek: Kephissos], Dorice [Greek: Kaphissos], vel [Greek: Kaphisos]: from
Caph-Isis, Petra Deae Isidis.

[594] [Greek: Eeliou, hos pant' ephorai kai pant' hupakouei.] Homer. Odyss.
l. [Lambda]. v. 108.

[595] Orphic Fragment. 6. v. 19. the same as Phanes, and Dionusus. Frag. 8.
v. 2. Schol. ibid.

[596] Hence the stream and lake of Cephisus in Boeotia were styled [Greek:
hudata kai limne Kephissidos]: by the antient Dorians expressed [Greek:
Kaphisidos], from [Greek: Kaph-Isis].

[597] Orphic Hymn. 31. v. 10.

[598] Hymn. 10. v. 10. Metis was the same as Pan.

Meed-Ous whence came [Greek: Medousa], is exactly analogous to Cotinousa,
Aithousa, Alphiousa, Ampelousa, Pithecousa, Scotousa, Arginousa,
Lampadousa, Amathousa, Ophiousa, Asterousa; and signifies the temple of
Metis, or divine wisdom. Aster-Ous was a temple on Mount Caucasus:
Amath-Ous, the same in Cyprus: Ampel-Ous, a temple in Mauritania:
Alphi-Ous, in Elis: Achor-Ous, in Egypt: all dedicated to the Deity, under
different titles.

[599] [Greek: Chasmasi leonteiois ta ton hieron thuromata kosmousin (hoi
Aiguptioi).]  Plutarch. Isis et Osiris. p. 366.

[600] Odyss. [Lambda]. v. 610. It is a term which seems to have puzzled the
commentators. [Greek: Charopoi, epiplektikoi, phoberoi]. Scholiast. Ibid.
It was certainly an Amonian term: and the Poet alluded to a Charopian
temple.

[Greek: Tes d' en Treis kephalai, mia men charopoio leontos]. Hesiod.
Theogon. v. 321. Homer in another place mentions,

  [Greek: Lukon klangen, charopon te Leonton.] Hymn. [Greek: eis Metera
      theon]. v. 4.

As a lion was from hence styled Charops, so from another temple it was
named Charon. [Greek: Charon ho leon]. Hesych. Achilles is styled [Greek:
Aichmetes Charon], Lycoph. v. 260. a martial Charonian Lion.

[601] Pausan. l. 8. p. 696.

[602] Pausan. l. 1. p. 49.

[603] Hesiod. Theogon. v. 141. Scholia Apollon. l. 1. v. 730.

[Greek: Kuklopes tote Dii men didoasi bronten, kai astrapen, kai keraunon.]
Apollodorus. l. 1. p. 4.

[604] See Stephanus. [Greek: Akmonia polis Phrugias ktl.] He styles Acmon
[Greek: Akmona ton Maneos.] Manes was the chief Deity of Lydia, Lycia, and
Persis; and the same as Menes of Egypt.

There was a city Acmonia in Thrace. Ptol. l. 5. p. 138.

[605] [Greek: Esti kai allo Akmonion alsos peri Thermadonta.] Steph.
Byzant. Apollonius takes notice of [Greek: Alseos Akmonioio.] l. 2. v. 994.
Here Mars was supposed to have married Harmonia, the mother of the
Amazonians.

[606] Acmonides is represented as a patronymic; but there is reason to
think that it is an Amonian compound, Acmon-Ades, Acmon the God of light,
the same as Coelus, Cronus, and Osiris. Acmon and Acmonides were certainly
the same person: [Greek: Akmon; Kronus, Ouranos.] Hesych. [Greek:
Akmonides, ho Charon, kai ho Ouranos]. ibid. He was the Cyclopian God, to
whom different departments were given by the mythologists. Charon Cyclops
is mentioned by Lycophron. v. 659. above quoted.

[607] Simmiae Rhodii [Greek: Pterugia]. Theocritus. Heinsii. p. 214.

[608] Callimachi Hymn. in Dianam. v. 146.

[609] [Greek: Daktuloi Idaioi Kretaees]. Apollonius Rhod. l. 1. v. 1129.

The Scholiast upon this Poet takes notice of only three; of which one was
Acmon:

  [Greek: Kelmis, Damnameneus te megas, kai huperbios Akmon,]
  [Greek: Hoi protoi technen polumetios Hephaistoio]
  [Greek: Heuron en oureieisi napais ioenta sideron,]
  [Greek: Es pur t' enenkan, kai ariprepes ergon edeixan.]

These verses are quoted from the antient author, [Greek: ho ten phoronida
suntheis.]

Diodorus Siculus, l. 1. p. 333. says, that some made the Idaei Dactyli ten
in number; others an hundred.

[610] Clemens Alexand. Strom. l. 1. p. 401. Strabo. l. 10. p. 725.

[611] Strabo. l. 10. p. 715. They are by Tatianus Assyrius spoken of as the
Cyclopes, and the same invention attributed to them. [Greek: Chalkeuein
Kuklopes (edidaxan).] p. 243.

Fabricam ferrariam primi excogitarunt Cyclopes, See Hoffman. Ferrum.

[612] [Greek: Kuklopes, Thrakikon ethnos, apo Kuklopos basileos houtos
onomazomenoi.--pleiones de auton en tei Kouretidi; esan de ARISTOI
TECHNITAI.] Schol. in Euripid. Orest. v. 966.

Mention is afterwards made [Greek: ton ek tes Kouretidos Kuklopon]. The
Curetes worshipped Cronus: so that Cronus and Cuclops were the same. See
Porphyry de Abstin. l. 2. p. 225.

[613] They are said to have made the altar upon which the Gods were sworn,
when the Titans rebelled against Jupiter. Scholiast upon Aratus. p. 52. In
memorial of this altar an Asterism was formed in the Sphere, denominated
[Greek: bomos], ara.

[614] Virgil AEn. l. 8. v. 424.

[615] Proetides implerunt falsis mugitibus auras. Virgil. Eclog. 6. v. 48.

[616] Herod. l. 7. c. 123.

[Greek: He Pallene Cherronesos, he en toi Isthmoi keitai. he prin men
Potidaia, nun de Kassandreia, Phlegraia de prin ekaleito; okoun d' auten
hoi muthuomenoi Gigantes, ethnos asebes, kai anomon.] Strabo. Epitome. l.
7. p. 510.

[617] Lycophron. v. 115.

[618] Stephanus places Torone in Thrace, and supposes it to have been named
from Torone, who was not the wife, but daughter of Proteus. [Greek: Apo
Torones tes Proteos.] Some made her the daughter of Poseidon and Phoenice.
See Steph. [Greek: Phlegraia]. There were more towers than one of this
name.

[619] [Greek: Pallenian epelthe Gegenon trophon], Lycoph. v. 127.

[620] Lycophron. v. 124.

[621] Eustath. on Dionysius. v. 259.

[622] Herodot. l. 2. c. 112.

[623] [Greek: Protea kiklesko, pontou kleidas echonta.] Orphic Hymn. 24.

[624] Aristides. Oratio AEgyptiaca. v. 3. p. 608.

[625] Stephanus Byzant. [Greek: Pharos.]

[626] Chilias. 2. Hist. 44. p. 31. [Greek: Proteus phoinikes phinikos
pais--peri ten pharon katoikon.]

[627] Orphic Hymn to Proteus. 24.

[628] Eustath. in Dionys. v. 14.

[Greek: Phrontin Onetoriden]. Homer. Odyss. [Gamma]. v. 282. See also
Hesych.

[629] AEneid. l. 6. v. 556.

[630] Virg. AEneid. l. 6. v. 618.

[631] Stephanus. [Greek: Aithiopia.]

[632] The hieroglyphic was a man with the head of a bull; which had the
same reference, as the Apis, and Mneuis of Egypt.

[633] Diodorus Sic. l. 20. p. 756.

[634] Homer. Odyss. [Mu]. v. 222.

[635] Epist. 79.

[636] [Greek: Akousilaos Phorkunos kai Hekates ten Skullan legei.
Stesikoros de, en tei Skullei, Lamias ten Skullan phesi thugatera einai.]
Apollonius. Schol. l. 4. v. 828.

[637] Euripides. Cyclops. v. 126.

[638] Odyss. l. [Iota]. v. 389.

[639] Imitated by Mr. Pope.

[640] Ennius translated into Latin the history of Euhemerus, who seems to
have been a sensible man, and saw into the base theology of his country. He
likewise wrote against it, and from hence made himself many enemies. Strabo
treats him as a man devoted to fiction. l. 2. p. 160.

[641] Ex Ennii Historia sacra, quoted by Lactantius. Divin. Institut. vol.
1. c. 13. p. 59.

[642] [Greek: Messenion Euemeron]. Strabo. l. 1. p. 81.

[643] Clemens. Cohort. p. 11. Arnobius. l. 5.

[644] [Greek: Dionuson Mainolon orgiasousi Bakchoi, omophagiai ten
hieromanian agontes, kai teliskousi tas kreonomias ton phonon anestemmenoi
tois ophesin.] Clemens Cohort. p. 11.

[645] Julius Firmicus. p. 14.

[646] Apollon. Rhod. l. 1. v. 636.

[647] Scholia Apollon. l. 1. v. 635.

[648] Porphyry [Greek: peri apoches]. l. 2. p. 224.

[649] Turricolas Lamias, Fauni quas Pompiliique

Instituere Numae. Lactant. de falsa Relig. l. 1. c. 22. p. 105.

[650] Homer Odyss. [Kappa]. v. 81.

[651] Ibid. [Kappa]. v. 120.

[652] [Greek: En merei tini tes choras (tes Sikelias) Kuklopes, kai
Laistrugones, oikesai.] Thucyd. l. 6. p. 378.

[653] Scholia. v. 956. Leon in Leontium is a translation of Lais ([Hebrew:
LWSH]) Leo: Bochart.

[654] Lycoph. above.

[655] Plutarch de Defect. Orac. vol. 1. p. 398.

[Greek: Heteroi de phaisin ek Maliaion aphikesthai Lamias thugatera
Sibullan.] Clem. Alex. Strom. l. 1. p. 358. Pausanias makes her the
daughter of Jupiter and Lamia. l. 10. p. 825.

[656] Clemens Alex. l. 1. p. 358.

[657] See Diodorus. l. 20. p. 778. of the Lamia in Libya, and of her
cavern.

[658] Euripides quoted ibid.

[659] Philostratus. Vita Apollon. l. 4. p. 183.

[660] Aristot. Ethic. l. 7. c. 6. p. 118. See Plutarch [Greek: peri
polupragmosunes], And Aristoph. Vespae. Schol. v. 1030.

[661] Horace, l. 3. ode 17.

[662] Virgil AEn. l. 7. v. 1. See Servius.

[663] Strabo. l. 5. p. 357. [Greek: Kolpon Kaiattan. kl.]

[664] Ibid. p. 356.

[665] Silius. l. 8.

[666] De Virgiliana continentia. p. 762. Caiat signified a kind of whip, or
thong, probably such was used at Caiate.

[667] Virgil. AEneid. l. 5. v. 873.

[668] See Nonnus. l. 19. p. 320.

[669] V. 653. See Natalis Comes.

[670] L. 4. v. 892.

[671] V. 1269.

[672] Odyss. l. [Mu]. v. 39.

[673] From Mr. Pope's translation.

[674] Callimachi Frag. 184. p. 510.

[675] Apollon. l. 4. v. 828. Scholia. She is said also to have been the
daughter of Hecate and Phorcun. Ibid. The daughter of a Deity means the
priestess. Phor-Cun signifies Ignis Dominus, the same as Hephastus.

[676] Herodotus. l. 7. c. 90.

[677] [Greek: Kuros ho helios.] See Radicals. p. 48.

[678] Strabo. l. 14. p. 1002. the promontory was called Curias [Greek:
Kurias akra; eita polis Kourion.]

[679] L. 4. c. 103.

[680] Virgil. AEneid. l. 8. v. 190.

[681] Livy. l. 1. c. 7.

[682] Plutarch. in Amatorio. vol. 2. p. 762.

[683] Lactantius de F. R. l. 1. c. 20. p. 90.

[684] Milton. l. 2. v. 579.

[685] Theoc. Idyl. 17. v. 47.

[686] Aristoph. [Greek: Batrach.] v. 474. So Cocytus is by Claudian
described as the river of tears.

      ---- presso lacrymarum fonte resedit
  Cocytos. De Rapt. Proserp. l. 1. v. 87.

[687] He makes Metis the same as Athena. H. 31. l. 10.

In another place Metis is styled [Greek: protos genetor]. Frag. 6. v. 19.
p. 366.

[688] Ibid. Fragm. 8. p. 373.

[689] Eusebii. Chron. Log. p. 4. l. 42.

[690] [Greek: Hippan kiklesko Bakchou trophon.] Hymn. 48.

[691] Hymn. 47. v. 4.

[692] Orphic Frag. 43. [Greek: He men gar Hippa tou pantos ousa psuche
ktl.]  Proclus. ibid. p. 401.

[693] Among the Egyptians, the emblems of which they made use were
arbitrary, and very different from the things to which they referred. An
eagle, an ox, and a horse, were all used as symbols, but had no real
connexion with the things alluded to, nor any the least likeness. The
Grecians not considering this were always misled by the type; and never
regarded the true history, which was veiled under it.

[694] [Greek: Hippeis.] v. 548.

[695] Pausan. l. 5. p. 414.

[696] Ibid. l. 5. p. 416.

[697] Hesych. [Greek: Hippia.]

[698] Pausan. l. 8. p. 649.

[699] Metam. l. 6. v. 117.

[700] Ibid. l. 2. v. 668.

[701] Virg. Georg. l. 3. v. 92.

[702] Iliad. [Beta]. v. 766. He also mentions the mares of Eresicthon, with
which Boreas was supposed to have been enamoured.

  [Greek: Taon kai Borees erasseto boskomenaon,]
  [Greek: Hippoi d' eisamenos parelexato kuanochaitei.]
  [Greek: Hai d' hupokussamenai etekon duokaideka polous.] Odyss.
      [Upsilon]. v. 224.

[703] H. to Apollo. v. 47.

[704] Strabo. l. 17. p. 1188.

[705] Hesych. [Greek: Hippeion].

[706] [Greek: Proiousi de Hippou kaloumenon mnema estin.--Kiones de hepta,
hoi tou mnematos toutou diechousin ou polu, kata tropon oimai ton archaion,
hous asteron ton Planeton phasin agalmata.] Pausan. l. 3. p. 262.

[707] They included the moon among the primary planets; not being
acquainted with any secondary.

[708] See Steph. Byzant. and Cellarius.

[709] Ovid. Deianira ad Hero. Epist.

[710] Geog. Vet. vol. 2. v. 665. See also Diodorus. l. 4. p. 223. also
Strabo Epitome. l. 7. p. 511.

[711] See Radicals. p. 119.

[712] The birds at the lake Stymphalus are described as feeding upon human
flesh. [Greek: Logos Ornithas pote androphagous ep' autoi traphenai.]
Pausan. l. 8. p. 610. The real history of the place was, that the birds
called Stymphalides were a set of Canibal priests.

[713] Glaucus, the son of Sisiphus is said to have been eaten by horses.
Palaephatus. p. 58.

[714] P. 54.

[715] Metamorph. l. 8. v. 873.

[716] Josephus calls Egypt Mestra. Antiq. l. 1. c. 6. Sec.. 2. See Radicals,
p. 8. Notes.

[717] [Greek: Ho protos oikesas ten Mestraian choran, etoi Aigupton,
Mestraim.]  Euseb. Chron. p. 17.

[718] Herodotus. l. 2 c. 55.

[719] Ovid Metam. l. 5. v. 341. Most temples of old were courts of justice;
and the priests were the judges, who there presided.

AElian. V. H. l. 14. c. 34. [Greek: Dikastai to archaion par' Aiguptiois hoi
hiereis esan.]

[720] Oratio in Verrem. 5. Sect. ultima. vol. 3. p. 291.

[721] Ceres is mentioned by Varro quasi Geres. l. 4. p. 18.

[722] Hesychius. [Greek: Acheiro.]

[723] Repentur in poematiis antiquis, a Pithaeo editis, carmen in laudem
Solis; quod eum esse Liberum, et Cererem, et Jovem statuit. Huetius.
Demonst. Evang. Prop. 4. p. 142.

[724] Coelius. Rhodog. l. 17. c. 27.

[725] Varro speaks of Ceres, as if her name was originally Geres. l. 4. p.
18.

[726] There was a place called Charisia in Arcadia. Pausan. l. 8. p. 603.
Charesus, and Charesene, in Phrygia. Charis in Persis, and Parthia. See
Treatise upon the Cyclopes.

[727] Pausan. l. 9. p. 781. Nonnus. l. 29. p. 760.

[728] Etymolog. Mag. and Suidas.

[729] [Greek: Chresmologoi meteichon tes en toi Prutaneioi siteseos.].
Aristoph. [Greek: Eirene]. Scholia, v. 1084.

[730] L. 8. p. 6l6.

[731] L. 5. p. 415.

[732] [Greek: Prutaneia te echousa kai Archontas.] Thucyd. l. 2. p. 107.

[733] [Greek: To de luchnion en Prutaneioi.] Theocrit. Idyl. 21.

[734] Suidas.

[735] L. 2. p. 107. Others gave another reason. [Greek: Prutaneion
ekaleito, epeide ekei ekathento hoi Prutaneis, hoi ton holon pragmaton
dioiketai.] Ibid.

[736] Julius Pollux. l. 1. c. 1. p. 7.

[737] [Greek: Prutaneion estin, en hoi nomoi tou Solonos eisi gegrammenoi.]
Pausan. l. 1. p. 41.

[738] Plutarch in Solone. p. 92.

[739] L. 41. p. 1152.

[740] L. 8. p. 649. Mount Caucasus was denominated, as is supposed, from a
shepherd Caucasus. The women, who officiated in the temple, were styled the
daughters of Caucasus, and represented as Furies: by which was meant
priestesses of fire.

Caucasi filiae Furiae. See Epiphanius Anchorat. p. 90.

[741] Lycophron. Scholia. v. 1225. [Greek: Kai Kallimachos Erinnun kalei
Demetra.] Ibid.

Neptune is said to have lain with Ceres, when in the form of a Fury.
Apollodorus. l. 3. p. 157. She is said from thence to have conceived the
horse Areion.

Lycophron alludes to her cruel rites, when he is speaking of Tantalus, and
Pelops.

  [Greek: Hou pappon en gamphaisin Hennaia pote]
  [Greek: Erkun' Erinnus, thouria, xiphephoros,]
  [Greek: Asarka mistullous' etumbeusen taphoi.] v. 152.]

[742] Herodotus. l. 7. c. 197.

[743] L. 2 v. 288.

[744] The Sirens and Harpies were persons of the same vocation, and of this
the Scholiast upon Lycophron seems to have been apprised. See v. 653.

[745] Harpya, [Greek: Harpuia], was certainly of old a name of a place. The
town so called is mentioned to have been near Encheliae in Illyria. Here was
an Amonian Petra of Cadmus, and Harmonia.

[746] [Greek: Tituoi enalinkios aner.] Theocrit. Idyl. 22. v. 94.

[747] Pausan. l. 1. p. 94.

[748] [Greek: Kerkuon] is compounded of Ker-Cuon, and signifies the temple
of the Deity.

[749] L. 1. p. 94.

[750] Ovid. Ibis. v. 411.

[751] Anacharsis. vol. 2. p. 388. [Greek: Gumnasion huph' hemon onomazetai,
kai estin hieron Apollonos Lukiou.]

[752] [Greek: Kai ho topos houtos palaistra kai es eme ekaleito oligon pou
taphou tes Alopes apechon.] Pausan. l. 1. p. 94.

That very antient temple of Pan on Mount Lycaeum in Arcadia had a Gymnasium
in a grove. [Greek: Esti en toi Lukaioi Panos te Hieron, kai peri auto
alsos dendron, kai Hippodromos te, kai pro autou stadion.] Pausan. l. 8. p.
678.

[753] I have mentioned, that Torone was a temple of the Sun, and also
[Greek: phlegraia], by which was meant a place of fire, and a light-house.
This is not merely theory: for the very tower may be seen upon coins, where
it is represented as a Pharos with a blaze of fire at the top. See vol. 2.
page 118.

[754] Plutarch. Theseus, p. 6.

[755] Chron. Logos. p. 31. He was also named Asterus, Asterion, and
Asterius. Lycoph. v. 1299. Schol. and Etymolog. Mag. Minois. Asterius was
represented as the son of Anac. [Greek: Asteriou tou Anaktos]. Pausan. l.
7. p. 524. [Greek: Andreiai tous apothanontas hupo Theseos huperebalen ho
Asterion (ho Mino)] Pausan. l. 2. p. 183.

[756] Pausan. l. 1. p. 94.

[757] Diodorus explains farther the character of this personage, [Greek:
ton palaionta tois pariousi, kai ton hettethenta diaphtheironta]. l. 4 p.
226.

[758] Diodorus Sic. l. 4. p. 225, and 233.

[759] [Greek: Ideos ton Antaion phesi ton XENON ton hettemenon TOIS
KRANIOIS erephein ton tou Poseidonos naon.] Pindar. Isth. Ode 4. Scholia.
p. 458. See Diodorus concerning Antaeus [Greek: sunanankazonta tous xenous
diapalaiein.] l. 4. p. 233.

[760] V. 866, and Scholia.

[761] Diodorus Sic. l. 4. p. 263.

[762] Hercules Furens. v. 391.

[763] Pindar. Olymp. Ode 10. p. 97. Scholia. from the Cygnus of
Stesichorus.

[764] Euripides. Orestes. v. 1648. Schol. Lycaon was a Deity, and his
priests were styled Lycaonidae. He was the same as Jupiter Lycaeus, and
Lucetius: the same also as Apollo.

[765] Pausan. l. 8. p. 600.

[766] Odyss. l. [Phi]. v. 307.

[767] [Greek: Mnesomai, oude lathoimi Apollonos Ekatoio]. Homer. [Eta]. to
Apollo. v. 1.

[Greek: Eu eidos agoreue theopropias Hekatoio.] Iliad. [Alpha]. v. 385.

[Greek: Artemis iocheaira, kasignete Hekatoio.] Iliad. [Upsilon]. v. 71.

[768] Odyss. [Sigma]. v. 83.

[769] Purchas. Pilg. vol. 5. p. 872. and Garcilasso della Vega. Rycaut. p.
403.

[770] See Plutarch's life of Theseus. p. 3, 4. vol. 1.

[771] V. 146.

[772] Campio, Gladiator. Isidorus.

[773] Vegetius. l. 2. c. 7.

[774] Nonnus. l. 18. p. 500.

[775] Eustathius on Dionysius. v. 357.

[776] Diodorus Sicul. l. 1. p. 13, 14.

[777] [Greek: Homoios de tous Indous ton theon touton par' heautois
apophanesthai gegonenai.] Diod. Sic. l. 4. p. 210.

[778] Diodorus. l. 1. p. 14.

[779] Diodorus. l. 1. p. 17.

[780] Ibid. p. 14. This city is also said to have been built by Hercules.
Diodorus. l. 4. p. 225.

[781]

  Primus aratra manu sollerti fecit Osiris,
  Et teneram ferro sollicitavit humum. Tibull. l. 1. El. 8. v. 29.

[782] [Greek: Zuthos, ek ton krithon poma.] Diodorus. l. 1. p. 37.

[783] [Greek: Basileuonta de Osirin Aiguptious euthus aporou biou kai
theriodous apallaxai, karpous te deixanta, kai nomous themenon autois.]
Plut. Is. et Osir. p. 356.

[784] Eusebius. Pr. Ev. l. 1. p. 44, 45.

[785] Diodorus Sic. l. 1. p. 24.

[786] Both the Patriarch, and his son Ham, had the name of Cronus, as may
be learned from Sanchoniathon. [Greek: Egennethesan de kai en Paraiai
Kronoi treis paides, Kronos homonumos toi patri, ktl.]  Euseb. Praep. l. 1.
c. 10. p. 37.

Paraia is the same as Pur-aia, the land of Ur; from whence the Gentile
writers deduce all their mythology.

[787] See Radicals. p. 42.

[788] [Greek: Rhagdaion de genomenon ombron kai pneumaton,--dendrou
labomenon ton Ousoon, kai apokladeusanta, proton tolmesai eis thalassan
embenai.]  Euseb. Pr. Ev. l. 1. c. 10. p. 35.

[789] Euseb. Chron. p. 7. l. 43.

[790] Strabo. l. 17. p. 1168.

[791] [Greek: Tas Gorgonas ep' okeanon ousas ton peri polin Iberias ten
Tartesson.]  Schol. in Lycophr. ad v. 838.

[792] [Atlas] Apex Perseo et Herculi pervius. Solin. c. 24.

[793] Andromedam Perseus nigris portarit ab Indis. Ovid. Art. Amand. l. 1.
v. 53.

[794] Pausan. l. 4. p. 370.

[795] Pliny mentions these bones being brought from Joppa to Rome in the
aedileship of M. Scaurus; longitudine pedum 40, altitudine costarum Indicos
elephantos excedente, spinae crassitudine sesquipedali. l. 9. c. 5.

[796] Deseritur Taurique jugum, Perseaque Tarsus. Lucan. l. 3. v. 225. See
Solin. c. 38.

[797] Perseam quoque plantam ---- a Perseo Memphi satam. Plin. l. 15. c.
13.

Of Perseus in Cilicia, see Chron. Pasch. p. 39.

[798] Pindar. Pyth. Od. 10. v. 49 and 70. [Greek: Eis to ton Makaron andron
ethnos.] Schol. in v. 70.

[799] Virgil. AEn. l. 7. v. 409.

Ardea a Danae Persei matre condita. Plin. Hist. Nat l. 3. p. 152.

[800] Servius in Virgil. AEn. l. 8.

[801] Diodorus Sic. l. 1. p. 21.

[802] Ibidem.

[803] Herodotus. l. 6. c. 54. See Chron. Paschale. p. 38.

Some make him a Colchian. [Greek: Helioi gar phesin huious genesthai duo en
tois topois ekeinois, hois onomata en Perseus kai Aietes; toutous de
kataschesin ten choran; kai Aieten men Kolchous kai Maiotas, Persea de
Taurikes Basileusai.] Schol. in Apollon. Argonautic. l. 3. v. 199.

[804] [Greek: He de Persou gune Asteria pais en Koiou kai Phoibes; hoi
Koios de kai Phoibe OURANOU paides.] Schol. in Lycophron. v. 1175.

[805] Natalis Comes. l. 7. c. 18.

[806] Schol. in Lycophr. v 18.

Lycophr. v. 17.

[Greek: Ton chrusopatron morphnon--ton Persea.] Schol. in Lycophr. v. 838.

[807] [Greek: Engus tes Nees polios]. He is said to have introduced here
Gymnic exercises. Herodot. l. 2. c. 91. And to have often appeared
personally to the priests. Herodot. ibid.

Herodotus of the Dorians. l. 6. c. 54.

[808] [Greek: En larnaki xulinoi]. Schol. in Lycophr. v. 838.

[Greek: En kibotoi tini]. Chron. Pasch. p. 38. from Euripides.

The father of Danae [Greek: eneirxas auten eis ten Kiboton meta tou PAIDOS
katheken eis to pelagos.] Schol. in Pind. Pyth. Od. 10. v. 72.

[809] All salutary streams were consecrated to the Sun. There were some
waters of this nature near Carthage, which were named Aquae Persianae. See
Apuleii Florida. c. 16. p. 795, and p. 801. They were so named from Perez,
the Sun, to whom they were sacred.

[810] Ovid. Trist. l. 1. eleg. 3. v. 48. See Natalis Comes. l. 7. c. 18.

[811] Polyb. l. 5. p. 389.

[812] Plin. Hist. Nat. l. 6. c. 16. See Q. Curtius, and Strabo.

[813] Parrhasii in Hyrcania. Strabo. l. 11. p. 775.

[814] Plin. Hist. Nat. l. 2. c. 98.

[815] Of Parrhasians in Arcadia. Strabo. l. 8. p. 595. See Plin. Hist. Nat.
l. 4. c. 6.

  [Greek: Huios Dinutta Damarchos ten d' anetheken]
    [Greek: Eikon', ap' Arkadias Parrhasios genean.]
              Pausan. l. 6. p. 471. See also l. 8. p. 654.

[816] Plato in Alcibiad. vol. 2. p. 120.

[817] Herodot. l. 7. c. 150.

[818] Statii Theb. l. 1. v. 717.

[819] Diodorus Sicul. l. 3. p. 185.

[820] [Greek: Pollais geneais proteron ton Troikon.] Ibid.

[821] [Greek: Tes Libues en tois pros hesperan meresin epi tou peratos tes
oikoumenes.] Diodorus Sic. l. 3. p. 186.

She likewise was in possession of the [Greek: nesoi eudaimones], or Islands
of the blessed, which lay opposite to her dominions in Africa.

[822] Writers mention that she raised over the slain three large mounds of
earth, which were called [Greek: taphoi Amazonon], the tombs of the
Amazons. This shews that the Gorgons and Amazons were the same people,
however separated, and represented in a state of warfare.

[823] Iliad [Beta]. v. 811. [Greek: Murina; onoma kurion Amazonos.] Scholia
ibid.

[824] Diodorus Sicul. l. 4. p. 216, 217, 225, 227, &c. See also Justin. l.
44. c. 4. and Apollodorus. l. 2. p. 100.

Hercules of Tyre was said to have been the Son of Athamas, the same as
Palaemon.

[825] Ludovicus Nonnius in Hispania. p. 196, 170.

[826] Diodorus Sicul. l. 4. p. 227.

Corunna the same as Kir-Ona.

Many Amonian cities of similar analogy to Alesia.

[827] Diodorus, above.

[828] [Greek: Chrusa mela--probata.] Schol. in Apollon. Argonaut. l. 4. v.
1396. [Greek: ex Agroitou en g' Libukon.]

[829] [Greek: Ton Heraklea, summachounton autoi ton theon, kratesai tei
machei, kai tous pleistous anelonta ten choran exemerosai.] Diodorus Sicul.
l. 4. p. 229. Strabo. l. 5. p. 376. and l. 6. p. 430.

[830] Strabo. l. 15. p. 1007. and l. 11. p. 771. Diodorus Sic. l. 2. p.
124.

[831] Arrian. Hist. Indica. p. 321.

[832] Herod. l. 4. c. 9. Aristid. Orat. v. 1. p. 85.

[833] Ovid. Metam. l. 11. v. 218.

[834] Poculo Herculem vectum ad Erytheiam. Macrob. Sat. l. 5. c. 21.
Apollodorus. l. 2. p. 100. Schol. Apollon. Argonaut. l. 4. v. 1396. from
Pherecydes Syrus; and from the Libyca of Agroitas. [Greek: Labon chrusoun
depas par' Heliou--dia tou okeanou plein.]

[835] Strabo. l. 3. p. 237. He was supposed to have been the founder of
Tartossus, where he was worshipped under the name of Archaleus. Etymolog.
Mag. [Greek: Gadara.]

[836] Syncellus. p. 171.

[837] Pomponius Mela. l. 3. c. 6.

[838] Athenaeus. l. 12. c. 512.

[839] Strabo. l. 15. p. 1009. [Greek: Plasma ton Herakleian poiounton.]

[840] Nat. Deorum. l. 3. c. 16.

[841] Arrian speaks of this Indian Hercules, together with the others
mentioned by Cicero. [Greek: Ei de toi pista tauta, allos an outos
Heraklees eie, ouch ho Thebaios, e ho Turios houtos, e ho Aiguptios, e tis
kai kata ano choren ou porrho tes Indon ges oikismenen megas basileus.]
Hist. Ind. p. 319. Varro mentions forty of this name, who were all reputed
Deities.

[842] See Ludovicus Nonnius, in Hispan. p. 196, 170.

[843] See Audigier Origines des Francois. part. 1. p. 225, 230.

[844] Mela. l. 2. c. 5. l. 30.

[845] Petronius. p. 179. Est locus Herculeis aris sacer.

[846] He was worshipped by the Suraceni, a particular Indian nation, who
styled him [Greek: Gegenes], or the Man of the Earth. Arrian. Hist. Indic.
p. 321.

[847] Hercules apud Celtas. See Voss. de Idolat. l. 1. c. 35. l. 2. c. 15.

[848] Eumenius in Orat. pro Scholis instaurandis. See Lilius Gyraldus,
Synt. 10. p. 330.

[849] Suetonius in Augusto. c. 29. Livy. l. 40. c. 51.

[850] Johan. Sambuci Emblemata.

[851] He was the same as Osiris, the Sun. [Greek: Ton en pasi kai dia
panton Helion.] Macrob. Saturn. l. 1. c. 20. p. 207. See Porphyry apud
Euseb. Praep. Evang. l. 3. p. 112.

[852] See Lilius Gyraldus Syntag. 10. p. 592. Pausanias expresses the name
[Greek: Aichmagoras]. l. 8. p. 624.

[853] Lilius Gyrald p. 595.

[854] In the following extracts we may see the character of this Deity
among different nations. [Greek: Heraklea de hontina es Indous aphikesthai
logos katechei par' autoisin Indoisin Gegenea legesthai; touton toi
Heraklea malista pros Surasenon gerairesthai, Indikou ethnous.] Arrian.
Hist. Ind. p. 321.

[Greek: Alla tis archaios esti theos Aiguptioisi Heraklees; hos de autoi
legousi etea esti eptakischilia kai meria es Amasin basileusanta.] Herod.
l. 2. c. 43. [Greek: All' ismen Aiguptious, hoson tina agousin Heraklea,
kai Turious, hoti proton sebousi Theon.] Aristid. Orat. v. 1. p. 59. He had
at Tyre a Temple, as old as the city. [Greek: Ephasan gar hama Turoi
oikizomenei kai to Hieron tou theou hidrunthenai.] Herod. l. 2. c. 44.

[Greek: Esti gar en Turoi Hieron Herakleous palaiotaton, hon mnemei
anthropinei diasosetai; ou tou Argeiou Herakleous. k. l.] Arrian. Expedit.
Alex. p. 88.

[855] Diodorus Sic. l. 3. p. 195. 196. and p. 200.

[856] [Greek: Dionusou apogonous Oxudrakas.] Strabo. l. 15. p. 1008. The
Tyrians laid the same claim to him. [Greek: Ton Dionuson Turioi nomizousin
heauton einai.] Achill. Tatius. l. 2. p. 67. So did likewise the Cretans,
and the people of Naxos. Some of the Libyans maintained, that he was
educated in the grotto of the Nymphs upon the river Triton. Diodor. Sic. l.
3. p. 202. 203. Concerning Dionusus the benefactor, see Arrian. Hist. Ind.
p. 321.

Of his coming to India from the west. Philostratus. l. 2. p. 64. [Greek:
Epeluton auton Assurion.]

[857] Of his travels, see Strabo. l. 15. p. 1008.

[858] [Greek: Ton d' oun Dionuson, epelthonta meta stratopedou pasan ten
oikoumenen, didaxai ten phuteian tou ampelou.] Diodor. Sic. l. 3. p. 197.

[Greek: Kai pro Alexandrou, Dionusou peri pollos logos katechei, hos kai
toutou strateusantos es Indous.] Arrian. Hist. Indic. p. 318.

[859] Diodorus. l. 3. p. 204.

[860] [Greek: Indous kai Turrhenous legousin, hos katestrepsato
(Dionusos).] Aristid. Orat. in Dionus. p. 54.

[861] Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 3. c. 23. Of the various places of his birth,
see Diodorus Sic. l. 3. p. 200.

[862] Linus, Orpheus, Panopides, Thymaetes, and Dionysius Milesius, Diodorus
Sic. l. 3. p. 201.

[863] It was a common subject for Elegy. Plutarch. Isis et Osir.

[Greek: Poiesometha de ten archen apo Dionusou, dio kai palaion einai
sphodra touton, kai megistais euergesiais katatetheisthai toi genei ton
anthropon.] Diodorus Sicul. l. 4. p. 210.

[Greek: Linon phasi tois Pelasgikois grammasi suntaxamenon tas tou protou
Dionusou praxeis.] Diodorus Sic. l. 3. p. 201.

[864] L. 4. p. 210.

[Greek: Ton Osirin Dionuson einai legousin.] Herodot. l. 2. c. 42. c. 145.

[865] The Indians gave the same account of Dionusus, as the Egyptians did
of Osiris. [Greek: Polias te oikesai (Dionuson) kai nomous thesthai teisi
polesin, oinou te dotera Indois genesthai;--kai speirein didaxai ten gen,
didonta auton spermata;--boas te hup' arotroi zeuxai Dionuson proton;--kai
theous sebein hoti edidaxe Dionusos--ktl.] Arrian. Hist. Indic. p. 321.

[866] Pausan. l. 3. p. 272. As his rites came originally from Chaldea, and
the land of Ur, he is in consequence of it often styled [Greek: Purigenes,
amd Purisporos;] Strabo. l. 13. p. 932. [Greek: Elthe, makar Dionuse,
PYRISPORE, taurometope.] Orphic. Hymn. 44. v. 1.

[867] There was a cavern, where they supposed him to be buried, at Delphi,
[Greek: para chruseoi Apolloni.] Cyril contra Jul. p. 342.

[868] [Greek: Kronos perieon ten oikoumenen.] Sanchoniath. apud Euseb.
Praep. Evang. l. 1. c. 10. p. 38.

[869] [Greek: Ton men oun Kronon onta presbutaton basilea genesthai; kai
tous kath' heauton anthropous ex agriou diaites eis bion hemeron
metastesai, kai dia touto apodoches megales tuchonta pollous epelthein tes
oikoumenes topous; eisegesasthai de pasi ten te dikaiosunen kai ten
haploteta tes psuches.]  Diodorus Sicul. l. 5. p. 334.

[870] [Greek: Ouranon--tous anthropous sporaden oikountas sunagagein eis
poleos peribolon, kai tes men anomias kai theriodous biou
pausai--kataktesasthai de auton tes oikoumenes ten pleisten.] Ibid. l. 3.
p. 1*9.

[871] [Greek: Apollona meta Themidos, ophelesai boulomenon to genos hemon;
eita ten opheleian eipon, hoti eis hemeroteta proukaleito.] Strabo. l. 9.
p. 646.

[872] [Greek: Kath' hon chronon Apollona ten gen epionta hemeroun tous
anthropous apo te ton anemeron karpon kai bion.] Ibid.

[873] Diodorus Sicul. l. 3. p. 195.

The wanderings of Isis and Iona relate to the same history: as do likewise
those of Cadmus.

[874] Eusebii Chron. p. 7. l. 37.

[875] [Greek: Thoulis. Houtos ebasileuse pases Aiguptou, kai heos okeanou;
kai mian ton en autoi neson ekalesen apo tou idiou onomatos Thoulen.]
Suidas.

[876] [Greek: Meta Osirin ebasileusen Oros; kai meta ton Oron ebasileuse
Thoulis, hostis parelabe meta dunameos tinos pasan ten gen heos tou
okeanou.]  Chron. Pasch. p. 46.

He is mentioned by Cedrenus. [Greek: Thoules, hos kai heos tou okeanou
pusan ten gen pareilephen.] p. 20.

[877] Diodorus Sicul. l. 1. p. 49.

[878] See Apollon. Argonaut. l. 4. v. 277. and Herodot. l. 2. c. 102.

Syncellus. p. 59, 60

[879] Diodorus Sic. above. He was near losing his whole army.

[880] [Greek: Ten de choran hoplois katestrepsato tois heautou Basileus
Basileon, kai Despotes Despoton Sesoosis.] Diodor. Sicul. ibid.

[881] He passed through all Ethiopia to the Cinnamon country. Strabo. l.
17. p. 1138. This must be Indica Ethiopia, and the island Seran-Dive. Hence
came Cinnamon: here were [Greek: stelai kai epigraphai.]

Venit ad occasum, mundique extrema Sesostris. Lucan. l. 10. v. 276

[882] [Greek: Sesostris ete me, hos hapasan echeirosato ten Asian en
eniautois ennea.]  Syncellus. p. 59.

Some make him advance farther, and conquer all Europe: [Greek: homoios
hupetaxe kai ten Asian pasan, kai TEN EUROPEN, kai ten Skuthian, kai ten
Musian.] Chron. Pasch. p. 47. Herodotus thinks he did not proceed farther
than Thrace. l. 2. c. 103.

[883] Diodorus Sicul. l. 1. p. 49.

[884] Of all the great actions of Sesostris, see Marsham. Can. Chron. sec.
14. p. 354.

[885] [Greek: Peri de touton to men alethes ekthesthai met' akribeias ou
rhadion.]  Diodorus Sicul. L. 1. p. 52.

[886] Sir John Marsham's Can. Chron. sec. 14. p. 354.

Sir Isaac Newton's Chronology, p. 217.

[887] 1 Kings. c. 14. v. 25, 26. _And it came to pass, that in the fifth
year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem
(because they had transgressed against the Lord); with twelve hundred
chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen; and the people were without
number, that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the
Ethiopians._ 2 Chron. c. 12. v. 2, 3.

[888] [Greek: Paralaboin de Sousakos amacheti ten polin]. Joseph. Antiq. l.
8. c. 10.

[889] Sethosis of Josephus contra Apion. l. 1. p. 447.

[890] Euseb. Chron. p. 7. l. 43. [Greek: Thoules; meta de touton
Sesostris.]

[891] [Greek: Sesonchosis, Aiguptou pases basileus meta Oron tes Isidos kai
Osiridos paida, ten men Asian hormesas pasan katestrepsato, homoios de ta
pleista tes Europes. Theopompos de en tritoi Sesostrin auton kalei.]
Schol. in Apollon. Argonaut. l. 4. v. 272.

[892] [Greek: Dikaiarchos en protoi, meta ton Isidos kai Osiridos Oron,
basilea gegonenai Sesonchosin legei; hoste genesthai apo tes Sesonchosidos
basileias mechri tes Neilou ete dischilia.] Schol. in Apollon. Argonaut.
ibid.

[893] Cedrenus. v. 1. p. 20. Osiris, Orus, Thoules, Sesostris.

[894] Succeeded by [Greek: Pharao.] Chron. Pasch. p. 48.

[895] Joannes Antiochenus has borrowed the same history, and calls this
king Sostris. [Greek: Ebasileusen Aiguption protos ek tes phules tou Cham
Sostris.] p. 23. He adds, that Sostris, or Sesostris, lived in the time of
Hermes, [Greek: Hermes ho trismegistos Aiguptios.] He was succeeded by
Pharaoh, [Greek: protos], the first of the name. Ibid. Herodotus calls him
Pheron, and Pherona. l. 2. c. 111.

[896] [Greek: Polu huperteinei tois chronois ten Mino basileian he
Sesostrios.]  Politic. l. 7. c. 10.

[897] Apollon. Argonaut. l. 4. v. 272. [Greek: Enthen de tina
phasi--Sesonchosis, Aiguptou pases basileus--Theopompos de en tritoi
Sesostrin auton kalei.] Schol. ibid.

[Greek: Peri de ton chronon, kath' hous egeneto Sesonchosis, ho men
Apollonios touto monon phesi, polus gar aden apenenothen aion.] Schol.
ibid.

Lycophron speaks of Apollo [Greek: Zosterios], and a promontory [Greek:
Zosterion, en hoi hieron Zosteriou Apollonos.] Schol. ad v. 1278.

[898] Schol. Apollon. l. 4. v. 272. Syncellus joins him with Serapis. p.
91.

[899] Herodotus. l. 2. c. 144.

[Greek: Oupo teirea panta k. t. l.] Apollon. Argonaut. l. 4. v. 261. See
the whole, and Schol. ibid.

[900] Canon. Chronic. Sec. 10. p. 238, 239.

[901] Quis igitur Sesonchosis ille, qui, Menen antevertens annis amplius
5000, inter Semideos locum habere videatur? Marsham. Canon Chronic. Sec.
10. p. 238.

Sesostris in XII. Africani Dynastia (quae Eusobiani Canonis epocham
antevertit) ex Scaligeri calculis regnavit anno Per. Jul. 1392: quo
ratiocinio Sesostris factus est annos 2355 ipso Sesostre senior. Nam ex S.
literis (suo loco) apparebit, Sesostrim expeditionem suscepisse in Asiam,
et Hierosolyma cepisse Anno Per. Jul. 3747. Ibid. p. 239.

[902] Antiq. l. 8. c. 10. p. 449. and 450.

[903] He came merely as a confederate to Jeroboam, in favour of the kingdom
of Israel; and his intention was to ruin Judah: but his cruel purpose was
averted by the voluntary submission both of the king and people; and by the
treasures they gave up to him, which were the purchase of their security.

[904] Hercules is said to have commanded the armies of Osiris. Diodorus.
Sicul. l. 1. p. 15.

[905] L. 2. c. 106. Concerning the interpretation of these emblems, see
Joan Pierii Hieroglyph. l. 34. c. 20.

[906] Pausan. l. 1. p. 101. The Statue remains to this day. In like manner
it was reported that Dionusus raised Pillars. Strabo. l. 3. p. 260.

[Greek: Entha te kai Stelai Thebaigeneos Dionusou]. Dionys. Perieg. v. 623.

Hercules erected the like. All which was done by people styled Dionysians
and Herculeans.

[907] Joshua. c. 12. v. 24. Adonibezek had threescore and ten vassal
princes at his feet; if the headman of every village may be so called.
Judges. c. 1. v. 7.

[908] Benhadad of Damascus was attended with thirty-two kings, when he
invaded Samaria. 1 Kings. c. 20. v. 1.

[909] The people plowed, and sowed, and had fruits, and pastures, within
their walls.

[910] 2 Kings. c. 17. v. 6. and c. 18. v. 11. and v. 34. Isaiah. c. 10. v.
9. c. 37. v. 13.

[911] Diodorus Sicul. l. 2. p. 90.

[912] Diodorus Sicul. l. 1. p. 91.

[913] Ibid. p. 92.

[914] [Greek: Haute men apedexato chomata ana to pedion eonta axiotheeta.]
Herod. l. 1. c. 184.

Such [Greek: chomata] were raised by the Amonians in all places where they
settled, called [Greek: taphoi].

Four such were in Troas. [Greek: Eisi men oun lophoi tettares, Olumpioi
kaloumenoi.] Strabo. l. 10. p. 720. There were such also of the Amazons in
Mauritania.

[915] She carried back but twenty men, according to Strabo. l. 15. p. 1051.

[916] Chron. Paschale. p. 36. Semiramis was, we find, Rhea: and Rhea was
the same as Cybele, the mother of the Gods: [Greek: ten Rhean, Kibelen, kai
Kuben, kai Dindumenen.] Strabo. l. 10. p. 721.

[917] Cononis narrationes apud Phot. p. 427.

[918] Herodot. l. 1. c. 184. five ages ([Greek: geneai]) before Nitocris
the mother of Labynitus, whom Cyrus conquered.

It may be worth while to observe the different opinions of authors about
the time, when Semiramis is supposed to have lived.

                                                                  Years.
According to Syncellus she lived before Christ                      2177
Petavius makes the term                                             2060
Helvicus                                                            2248
Eusebius                                                            1984
Mr. Jackson                                                         1964
Abp. Usher                                                          1215
Philo Biblius from Sanchoniathon (apud Euseb. Praep. Evang.          1200
l. 1. p. 31.) about
Herodotus about                                                      713

What credit can be given to the history of a person, the time of whose life
cannot be ascertained within 1535 years? for so great is the difference of
the extremes in the numbers before given.

See Dionys. Perieg. Schol. in v. 1006.

[919] Diodorus Sicul. l. 1. p. 90.

[920] Herodotus. l. 1. c. 98.

[921] Diodorus Sicul. l. 1. p. 92.

[922] Strabo. l. 15. p. 1007.

[923] Arrian. Hist. Ind. p. 318.

[924] Josephus cont. Ap. l. 1. c. 19. p. 451.

[925] Steph. Byzant. [Greek: Babulon.]

[926] Suidas: [Greek: Semiramis.]

[927] Pliny. l. 7. p. 417.

[928] Semiramis teneros mares castravit omnium prima. Marcellinus. l. 14.
c. 6.

[929] [Greek: Semiramis lagnos gune, kai miaiphonos.] Athenag. Legatio. p.
307.

[930] Claudian. in Eutrop. l. 1. v. 339.

[931] This is the reason that we find these kingdoms so often confounded,
and the Babylonians continually spoken of as Assyrians, and sometimes as
Persians. [Greek: Babulon Persike polis]. Steph. Byz.

[932] Strabo. l. 16. p. 1071.

[933] These mounds were high altars, upon which they sacrificed to the Sun.
By Ctesias they are supposed to have been the tombs of her lovers, whom she
buried alive. Syncellus. p. 64.

[934] They built Babylon itself; which by Eupolemus was said to have been
the work of Belus, and the Giants. Euseb. Praep. l. 9. c. 17. p. 418. Quint.
Curt. l. 5. c. 1. Abydenus apud Euseb. Praep. l. 9. c. 15. Syncellus. p. 44.

[935] Clemens Alexand. Strom. l. 1. p. 364.

[936] He ordered it to be inscribed upon his tomb, [Greek: hoti kai Magikon
genoito didaskalos]. Porph. de Abstin. l. 4. p. 399.

[937] By Zoroaster was denoted both the Deity, and also his priest. It was
a name conferred upon many personages.

[938] Zerdusht, seu, ut semel cum vocali damna scriptum vidi, Zordush't,
idem est, qui Graecis sonat [Greek: Zoroastres]. Hyde Relig. Vet. Persar. c.
24. p. 312.

[939] L. 30. c. 1. p. 523.

[940] Arnobius. l. 1. p. 31.

[941] Clemens. l. 1. p. 399.

[942] Ibid. l. 5. p. 711. [Greek: Tade sunegraphen Zoroastres ho Armeniou
to genos Pamphulos. kl. En adei genomenos edaen para Theon.]

[943] Clemens. l. 1. p. 357. Apuleius Florid. c. 15. p. 795, mentions a
Zoroaster after the reign of Cambyses.

[944] Justin. l. 1. c. 1.

[945] Syncellus. p. 167.

[946] P. 315. It is also taken notice of by Huetius. Sinam recentiores
Persae apud Indos degentes faciunt (Zoroastrem). D.E. Prop. 4. p. 89.

[947] Sed haud mirum est, si Europaei hoc modo dissentiant de homine
peregrino, cum illius populares orientales etiam de ejus prosapia dubitent.
At de ejus tempore concordant omnes, unum tantum constituentes Zoroastrem,
eumque in eodem seculo ponentes. p. 315.

[948] Plures autem fuere Zoroastres ut satis constat. Gronovius in
Marcellinum. l. 23. p. 288. Arnobius and Clemens mention more than one.
Stanley reckons up six. See Chaldaic Philosophy.

[949] P. 312.

[950] Zoroaster may have been called Zerdusht, and Zertoost: but he was not
Zerdusht the son of Gustasp, who is supposed to have lived during the
Persian Monarchy. Said Ebn. Batrick styles him Zorodasht, but places him in
the time of Nahor, the father of Terah, before the days of Abraham. vol. 1.
p. 63.

[951] Diogenes Laert. Prooem. p. 3.

[952] [Greek: Pro ton Troikon etesi ph' Zoroastres.]

[953] Laertius Prooem. p. 3.

[954] Pliny. l. 30. c. 1.

[955] [Greek: Zoroastris ho Magos, hon pentakischiliois etesin ton Troikon
gegonenai presbuteron historousin.] Isis et Osir. p. 369.

[956] Zoroastrem hunc sex millibus annorum ante Platonis mortem. Pliny. l.
30. c. 1.

[957] P. 16. and p. 47.

[958] Euseb. Chron. p. 32. Syncellus. p. 167.

[959] Pliny. l. 30. c. 1. p. 524.

[960] [Greek: Ouk einai mathein poteron Dareiou pater, eite kai allos k l.]
He owns, that he could not find out, when Zoroaster lived. [Greek: Hopenika
men (ho Zoroastres) echmase ten archen, kai tous nomous etheto, ouk enesti
saphos diagnonai.] l. 2. p. 62.

[961] Pliny. l. 30. c. 1.

[962] Huetii Demons. Evan. Prop. 4. p. 88. 89.

[963] See Huetius ibid.

[964] [Greek: Astronomian protoi Babulonioi epheuron dia Zoroastrou, meth'
hon Ostanes;--aph' hon Aiguptioi kai Hellenes edexanto.] Anon. apud Suidam.
[Greek: Astron.]

[965] Primus dicitur magicas artes invenisse. Justin. l. 1. c. 1.

[966] Diog. Laertius Prooem. p. 6.

[967] [Greek: Ten Mageian ten Zoroastrou tou Oromazou.] Plato in Alcibiade
l. 1. p. 122.

Agathias calls him the son of Oromasdes. l. 2. p. 62.

[968] Pliny. l. 7. c. 16. Risit eodem, quo natus est, die. See Lord's
account of the modern Persees in India. c. 3. It is by them said, that he
laughed as soon as he came into the world.

[969] Hermippus apud Plinium. l. 30. c. 1.

[970] Dio. Chrysostom. Oratio Borysthenica. 38. Fol. 448. Euseb. Praep. l.
1. p. 42. See also Agathias just mentioned.

[971] [Greek: Thuein euktaia kai charisteria.] Plutarch Is. et Osir. p.
369.

[972] Primus dicitur artes magicas invenisse, et mundi principia,
siderumque motus diligentissime spectasse. Justin. l. 1. c. 1.

[973] [Greek: Zarades; ditte gar ep' autoi eponumia.] Agath. l. 2. p. 62.

[974] [Greek: Zaretis, Artemis, Persai.] Hesych.

Zar-Ades signifies the Lord of light: Zar-Atis and Atish, the Lord of fire.

[975] L. 1. c. 5. p. 16. Of the title Zar-Ovanus, I shall treat hereafter.

[976] Plutarch. Is. et Osiris. p. 369.

[977] See Agathias. l. 2. p. 62.

[978] Plutarch says, that Zoroaster lived five thousand years before the
Trojan war. Plutarch above.

[979] [Greek: Houtos (ho Theos) estin ho protos, aphthartos, aidios,
agennetos, ameres, anomoiotatos, heniochos pantos kalou, adorodoketos,
agathon agathotatos, phronimon phronimotatos. Esti de kai pater eunomias,
kai dikaiosunes, autodidaktos, phusikos, kai teleios, kai sophos, kai
hierou phusikou monos heuretes.] Euseb. P. E. l. 1. p. 42.

[980] Clemens. l. 5. p. 711.

[981] [Greek: En haide genomenos edaen para Theon.] Ibid.

[982] Dion. Chrysostom. Oratio Borysthenica. p. 448.

[983] Hyde. p. 312.

[984] Abulfeda. vol. 3. p. 58. See Hyde. p. 312.

[985] Hesych. [Greek: Magon.]

[986] Suidas. [Greek: Magoi.]

[987] Oratio Borysthen. p. 449.

[Greek: Magoi, hoi peri to theion sophoi.] Porph. de Abst. l. 4. p. 398.

Apuleius styles Magia--Diis immortalibus acceptam, colendi eos ac venerandi
pergnaram, piam scilicet et diviniscientem, jam inde a Zoroastre Oromazi,
nobili Caelitum antistite. Apol. 1. p. 447. so it should be read. See
Apuleii Florida. c. 15. p. 793. l. 3.

[Greek: Tous de Magous peri te therapeias theon diatribein kl.] Cleitarchus
apud Laertium. Prooem. p. 5.

[988] Diodorus Sic. l. 2. p. 94.

[989] Marcellinus. l. 23. p. 288.

[990] Ibidem. It should be Regis prudentissimi; for Hystaspes was no king.

[991] Rerum Franc. l. 1. He adds, Ab hoc etiam ignem adorare consueti,
ipsum divinitus igne consumptum, ut Deum colunt.

[992] [Greek: Astron zoon]. Clemens Recognit. l. 4. c. 28. p. 546. Greg.
Turonensis supra. Some have interpreted the name [Greek: astrothutes.]

[993] [Greek: Prosagoreuousi kai Surion]. Pr. Evan. l. 1. p. 27. Some would
change it to [Greek: Seirion]: but they are both of the same purport; and
indeed the same term differently expressed. Persae [Greek: Sure] Deum
vocant. Lilius Gyrald. Synt. 1. p. 5.

[994] Joshua. c. 15. v. 58.

[995] 1 Maccab. c. 4. v. 61. called Beth-Zur. 2 Chron. c. 11. v. 7. There
was an antient city Sour, in Syria, near Sidon. Judith. c. 2. v. 28. it
retains its name at this day.

[996] [Greek: Bethsour]. Antiq. l. 8. c. 10.

The Sun was termed Sehor, by the sons of Ham, rendered Sour, Surius,
[Greek: Seirios] by other nations.

[Greek: Seirios, ho Helios]. Hesych. [Greek: Seirios onoma asteros, e ho
Helios.] Phavorinus.

[997] [Greek: Bedsour--esti nun kome Bethsoron]. In Onomastico.

[998] Bethsur est hodie Bethsoron. In locis Hebraeis.

[999] Lilius Gyraldus Syntag. 13. p. 402.

[1000] Jovi. O. M. et Deae Suriae: Gruter. p. 5. n. 1.

D. M. SYRIAE sacrum. Patinus. p. 183.

[1001] Apud Brigantas in Northumbria. Camden's Britannia. p. 1071.

[1002] See Radicals. p. 42. of Zon.

[1003] Chron. Paschale. p. 43. Servius upon Virg. AEneid. l. 6. v. 14.

[1004] Lycophron. v. 1301.

[1005] Zor and Taur, among the Amonians, had sometimes the same meaning.

[1006] See the engraving of the Mneuis, called by Herodotus the bull of
Mycerinus. Herod. l. 2. c. 130. Editio Wesseling. et Gronov.

[1007] See the Plates annexed, which are copied from Kaempfer's Amoenitates
Exoticae. p. 312. Le Bruyn. Plate 158. Hyde. Relig. Vet. Pers. Tab. 6. See
also plate 2. and plate 4. 5. vol. 1. of this work. They were all
originally taken from the noble ruins at Istachar, and Naki Rustan in
Persia.

[1008] Huetii Prop. 4. p. 92.

Lord, in his account of the Persees, says, that Zertoost (so he expresses
the name) was conveyed by an Angel, and saw the Deity in a vision, who
appeared like a bright light, or flame. Account of the Persees. c. 3.

[1009] See Stanley's Chaldaic Philos. p. 7. and p. 11. They were by
Damascius styled [Greek: Zonoi] and [Greek: Azonoi]: both terms of the same
purport, though distinguished by persons who did not know their purport.

[1010] See Plates annexed.

[1011] Martianus Capella. l. 1. c. 17. Ex cunctis igitur Coeli regionibus
advocatis Diis, caeteri, quos Azonos vocant, ipso commonente Cyllenio,
convocantur. Psellus styles them [Greek: Azonoi], and [Greek: Zonaioi]. See
Scholia upon the Chaldaic Oracles.

[1012] Arnobius. l. 1. p. 31.

[1013] The Sun was styled both Zon, and Azon; Zan and Azan: so Dercetis was
called Atargatis: Neith of Egypt, Aneith. The same was to be observed in
places. Zelis was called Azilis: Saba, Azaba: Stura, Astura: Puglia,
Apuglia: Busus, Ebusus: Damasec, Adamasec. Azon was therefore the same as
Zon; and Azon Nakis may be interpreted Sol Rex, vel Dominus.

[1014] Antholog. l. 3. p. 269.

[1015] See Huetius. Demons. Evang. prop. 4. p. 129.

[1016] In Theolog. Platonis. l. 1. c. 4.

[1017]

  [Greek: Oude ti pharmakon]
  [Greek: Thressais en sanisi,]
  [Greek: Tas Orpheie kategrapse gerus.] Alcestis. v. 968.

[1018] Plato de Repub. l. 2. p. 364.

[1019] Lactant. de F. R. l. 1. p. 105.

[1020] Scholia in Alcestin. v. 968.

Concerning Orpheus, see Diodorus. l. 1. p. 86. Aristoph. Ranae. v. 1064.
Euseb. P. E. lib. 10. p. 469.

[1021] L. 22. See Natalis comes. l. 7. p. 401.

[1022] L. 9. p. 768.

[1023] V. 41.

[1024] Ibid. v. 99.

[1025] L. 6. p. 505.

[1026] Apollon. Rhod. l. 1. v. 23.

[1027] Scholia. ibid.

[1028] Natalis Comes. l. 7. p. 400.

[1029] De Repub. l. 2. p. 364. Musaeus is likewise, by the Scholiast upon
Aristophanes, styled [Greek: huios Selenes]. Ranae. v. 106. Schol.

[1030] Lucian. Astrologus.

[1031] See Lilius Gyraldus de Poetarum Hist. Dialog. 2. p. 73. [Greek:
Orpheus, phormiktas aoidan pater.] Pindar. Pyth. Ode. 4. p. 253.

[1032] Clementis Cohort. p. 12. Diog. Laert. Prooem. p. 3. Herodotus. l. 2.
c. 49. Diodorus. l. 1. p. 87. l. 3. p. 300. Apollodorus. l. 1. p. 7.

[1033] Linus was the son of Apollo and Calliope. See Suidas, [Greek:
Linos].

[1034] There were, in like manner, different places where he was supposed
to have been buried.

[1035] Prooem. p. 5. Antholog. l. 3. p. 270. In like manner Zoroaster was
said to have been slain by lightning.

[1036] Suidas, [Greek: Orpheus].

[1037] Tzetzes makes him live one hundred years before the war of Troy.
Hist. 399. Chil. 12.

[1038] [Greek: Orpheus.]

[1039] Vossius de Arte Poet. c. 13. p. 78.

[1040] Cicero de Nat. Deor. l. 1. c. 38. See also AElian. Var. Hist. l. 8.
c. 6.

[1041] C. 24. p. 84.

[1042] Through the whole of this I am obliged to dissent from a person of
great erudition, the late celebrated Professor I. M. Gesner, of Gottingen:
to whom, however, I am greatly indebted, and particularly for his curious
edition of the Orphic poems, published at Leipsick, 1764.

[1043] All the Orphic rites were confessedly from Egypt. Diodorus above.
See Lucian's Astrologus.

[1044] Suidas.

[1045] Maximus Tyrius. c. 37. p. 441.

[1046] Scholia upon the Hecuba of Euripides. v. 1267. See also the
Alcestis. v. 968.

[1047] Plato de Repub. l. 10. p. 620.

[1048] Diodorus. l. 4. p. 282. The history of Aristaeus is nearly a parody
of the histories of Orpheus and Cadmus.

[1049] Ovid. Metamorph. l. 10. v. 81. The like mentioned of the Cadmians.
See AEschylus. [Greek: Hept' epi Thebais.] Prooem. AElian. Var. Hist. l. 13.
c. 5.

[1050] Hecataeus apud Steph. Byzant. [Greek: Lemnos.] The first inhabitants
are said to have been Thracians, styled [Greek: Sinties kai Sapaioi]; the
chief cities Myrina, and Hephaistia.

[1051] Philostrati Heroica. p. 677. [Greek: en koilei te gei chresmodei.]

[1052] Steph Byz. [Greek: Chaldaios.]

[1053] Pocock's Travels. vol. 2. p. 159.

[1054] Pausan. l. 6. p. 505.

[1055] See Huetii Demonst. Evang. pr. 4. p. 129.

[1056]

  [Greek: Stiktous d' hemaxanto brachionas, amphi melaine]
    [Greek: Deuomenai spodie threikion plokamon.] Antholog. l. 3. p. 270.

[1057] Servius in Virgil. eclog. 8. See Salmasius upon Solinus. p. 425.

[1058] [Greek: Peri ten pentekosten Olumpiada.] Tatianus. Assyr. p. 275.
These were the Orphic hymns, which were sung by the Lycomedae at Athens.

[1059] Diodorus Sic. l. 5. p. 322.

[1060]

                  [Greek: Aiguptiou Dionusou]
  [Greek: Mustidos ennuchias teletas edidaxeto technes.] Nonnus. Dionus. l.
      4. p. 128.

There will be found in some circumstances a great resemblance between
Cadmus and Orpheus.

[1061] [Greek: Hoi de Phoinikes houtoi hoi sun Kadmoi apikomenoi--eisegagon
didaskalia es tous Hellenas, kai de kai grammata, ouk eonta prin Hellesin.]
Herod. l. 5. c. 58.

Literas--in Greciam intulisse e Phoenice Cadmum, sedecim numero. Pliny. l.
7. c. 56.

[1062] Plutarch. De genio Socratis. vol. 1. p. 578.

[1063] Plutarch. above.

[1064]

  [Greek: Ho men de heis ton tripodon epigramma echei,]
  [Greek: Amphitruon m' anetheken eon apo Teleboaon.]
  [Greek: Tauta helikien an eie kata Laion ton Labdakou.] Herod. l. 5. c.
      59.

[1065] Pausanias. l. 8. p. 628.

[1066] He is said to have introduced [Greek: Dionusiaken, teletourgian,
phallephorian]

[1067] Diodorus Sicul. l. 1. p. 20.

[1068] Cadmum Pherecydes. l. iv. Historiarum ex Agenore et Argiope, Nili
fluvii filia natum esse tradidit. Natalis Comes. l. 8. c. 23. p. 481. There
are various genealogies of this personage. [Greek: Libues tes Epaphou kai
Poseidonos, Agenor kai Belos. Agenoros kai Antiopes tes Belou Kadmos.]
Scholia Euripid. Phoeniss. v. 5.

[Greek: Pherekudes de en d houto phesin. Agenor de ho Poseidonos gamei
Damno ten Belou; ton de ginontai Phoinix kai Isaia, hen ischei Aiguptos,
kai Melia, hen ischei Danaos. epeita enischei Agenor Argiopen ten Neilou
tou potamou; tou de ginetai Kadmos.] Apollon. Scholia. l. 3. v. 1185.

[1069] Dionusiac. l. 4. p. 126.

[1070] V. 1206. The Poet calls the Thebans of Boeotia, [Greek: Ogugou
spartos leos.]

[1071] Nonnus, l. 4. p. 126.

[1072] Euseb. Chron. p. 27. and Syncellus. p. 152.

[1073] See Pausan. l. 9. p. 734.

[1074] [Greek: Phoinix kai Kadmos, apo Thebon ton Aiguption exelthontes eis
ten Surian ktl.] Euseb. Chron. p. 27.

[1075] Diodorus Sic. l. 5. p. 329.

[1076] [Greek: Kadmos--prosesche ten Theran.] Herod. l. 4. c. 147.

[1077] Conon apud Photium. p. 443. and Scholia Dionysii. v. 517. [Greek:
Eiche de hieron Herakleous he Thasos, hupo ton auton Phoinikon hidruthen,
hoi pleusantes kata zetesin tes Europes ten Thason ektisan.]

[1078] Diodorus Sic. l. 5. p. 323.

[1079] Nonnus. l. 3. p. 86. Priene in Ionia called Cadmia. Strabo. l. 14.
p. 943.

[1080] Lycophron. v. 219.

[1081] Steph. Byzant.

[1082] Nonnus. p. 86.

[1083] Auri metalla et conflaturam Cadmus Phoenix (invenit) ad Pangaeum
montem. Plin. l. 7. c. 56. [Greek: Kadmos, kai Telephassa en Thrakei
katokesan.] Apollodorus. l. 3. p. 130.

[1084] Plin. l. 34. c. 10. Hygin. f. 274.

[1085] Strabo. l. 14. p. 998.

[1086] Ibid. l. 10. p. 685.

[1087] Pausanias. l. 3. p. 245.

[1088] Herodotus. l. 5. c. 61.

[1089] Cedrenus. p. 23.

[1090] Apollodorus. l. 3. p. 143. Pausan. l. 9. p. 719.

[1091] Stephanus Byzantin.

[1092] Thucydid. l. 1. c. 5, 6.

[1093]

                  [Greek: Para Tritonidi limnei]
  [Greek: Harmonie parelekto rhodopidi Kadmos aletes.] Nonnus. l. 13. p.
      372.

Diodorus says that he married her in Samothracia. l. 5. p. 323.

[1094] Nonnus. l. 13. p. 372.

[1095] Nonnus. l. 13. p. 370.

[1096] Stephanus Byzant. The Carthaginians are by Silius Italicus styled
Cadmeans.

                  Sacri cum perfida pacti
  Gens Cadmea super regno certamina movit. l. 1. v. 5.

[1097] L. 1. c. 9, 10. p. 26. l. 2. c. 4. p. 87.

[1098] Moses Choren. l. 1. c. 9. p. 26. There was a city Cadmea in Cilicia.
[Greek: Kadmeia ektisthe kai Side en Kilikia.] Eusebii Chron. p. 30. l. 23.

[1099] Stephanus Byzant. Some think that this is a mistake for [Greek:
Kalchedon], Chalcedon. But Chalcedon was not in Armenia, nor in its
vicinity.

[1100] Cadmus was coeval with Dardanus. He was in Samothrace before the
foundation of Troy. Diodorus Sicul. l. 5. p. 323. Yet he is said to be
contemporary with the Argonauts: Clemens Alexandrinus Strom. l. 1. p. 382.
and posterior to Tiresias, who was in the time of Epigonoi. Yet Tiresias is
said to have prophesied of Cadmus, and his offspring.

                  [Greek: polla de Kadmoi]
  [Greek: Chresei, kai megalois hustera Labdakidais]
                  Callimachi Lavacra Palladis. v. 125.

The son of Cadmus is supposed to have lived at the time of the Trojan war:
Lycophron. v. 217. and Scholia. His daughter Semele is said to have been
sixteen hundred years before Herodotus, by that writer's own account. l. 2
c. 145. She was at this rate prior to the foundation of Argos; and many
centuries before her father; near a thousand years before her brother.

[1101] See Excerpta ex Diodori. l. xl. apud Photium. p. 1152. concerning
the different nations in Egypt, and of their migrations from that country.

[1102] Diana says to her father Jupiter,

  [Greek: Dos moi parthenien aionion, Appa, phulaxai,]
  [Greek: Kai poluonumien]. Callim. H. in Dianam. v. 6.

  [Greek: Pantas ep' anthropous epeie poluonumos estin]. Homer. [Eta]. in
      Apoll. v. 82.

  [Greek: Polle men anthropoisi k' ouk anonumos]
  [Greek: Thea keklemai Kupris]. Eurip. Hippolytus. v. 1.

The Egyptian Deities had many titles.

ISIDI. MYRIONYMAE. Gruter. lxxxiii. n. 11.

[1103] Lycophron. v. 219.

[1104] Scholia. ibid.

[1105] Lycophron. Schol. v. 162.

[1106] Vetus Auctor apud Phavorinum.

[1107] Nonnus. l. 41. p. 1070. Harmonia, by the Scholiast upon Apollonius,
is styled [Greek: Numphe Nais] l. 2. v. 992. The marriage of Cadmus and
Harmonia is said to be only a parody of the marriage of Peleus and Thetis.
Diodorus. l. 5. p. 323.

[1108] Nonnus. l. 41. p. 1068.

[1109] Oraculum Apollinis Sminthei apud Lactantium, D. I. l. 1. c. 8. p.
32. She is styled the mother of the Amazons. Steph. Byzant. [Greek:
Akmonia.]

[1110] Nonnus. l. 12. p. 328.

[1111] Ibid.

[1112] Nonnus. l. 12. p. 328.

[1113] Plutarch. Sympos. l. 9. quaest. 13. p. 738.

[1114] Philo apud Euseb. P. E. l. 1. p. 31.

[1115] Judges. c. 3 v. 3. Hermon was particularly worshipped about Libanus,
and Antilibanus, where was the country of the Cadmonites, and Syrian
Hivites.

[1116] Lucian de Syria Dea. p. 6.

[1117] Apud Proclum in Timaeum. p. 121. See Orpheus. Fragm. p. 403.

[1118] Pyth. Ode 4. p. 237.

[1119] Herodotus. l. 1. c. 173.

[1120] Og, Ogus, Ogenus, Ogugus, [Greek: Oguges, Ogenidai], all relate to
the ocean.

[1121] [Greek: Anotero de tou Ismeniou ten krenen idois an, hentina Areos
phasin hieran einai, kai drakonta hupo tou Areos epitetachthai phulaka tei
pegei; pros taute tei krenei taphos esti Kaanthou; Melias de adelphon, kai
Okeanou paida einai Kaanthon legousin stalenai de hupo tou patros zetesanta
herpasmenen ten adelphen ktl]. Pausan. l. 9. p. 730.

[1122] Dicitur Europa fuisse Agenoris Phoenicum Regis, et Meliae Nymphae,
filia. Natalis Comes. l. 8. p. 481.

[1123] So Phlegyas was said to have fired the temple of Apollo at Delphi.
Euseb. Chron. p. 27. Apud Delphos templum Apollinis incendit Phlegyas.
Lutatius Placidus upon Statius. Thebaid. l. 1. v. 703. But Phlegyas was the
Deity of fire, prior to Apollo and his temple. Apollo is said to have
married Coronis the daughter of Phlegyas. Hyginus. f. 161. and by her he
had a son Delphus, from whom Delphi had its name. ibid. See Pausan. l. 10.
p. 811. The mythologists have made Apollo slay Caanthus: but Caanthus,
Cunthus, Cunaethus, were all titles of the same Deity called Chan-Thoth in
Egypt.

[1124] Diodorus Siculus. l. 5. p. 331.

[1125] Solinus. l. 17.

[1126] Pausanias. l. 3. p. 245.

[1127] Palaephatus. p. 22.

[1128] Dionysiaca. l. 1. p. 42. l. 1. p. 38.

[1129] Strabo. l. 12. p. 867.

[1130] See Radicals. p. 95.

[1131] Places sacred to the Sun had the name of Achad, and Achor. Nisibis
was so called. _In Achor, quae est Nisibis_. Ephraimus Syrus. _Et in Achad,
quae nunc dicitur Nisibis_. Hieron. See Geograph. Hebraeor. Extera. p. 227.
of the learned Michaelis.

The Deity, called Achor, and Achad, seems to be alluded to by Isaiah. c.
65. v. 10. and c. 66. v. 17. Achad well known in Syria: Selden de Diis
Syris. c. 6. p. 105.

[1132] Hoffman--Academia. Hornius. Hist. Philos. l. 7.

[1133] [Greek: Kai sphi Hira esti en Atheneisi hidrumena, ton ouden meta
toisi loipoisi Athenaioisi, alla te kechorismena ton allon Hiron; kai de
kai Achaiies Demetros Hiron te kai orgia]. Herod. l. 5. c. 61.

[1134] Pausanias. l. 1. p. 71.

[1135] Diog. Laertius. l. 3. Sec. 6. Hornius says, Academia a Cadmo nomen
accepit, non ab Ecademo. l. 7. c. 3. but Ecademus, and Cadmus, were
undoubtedly the same person. Harpocration thinks that it took its name from
the person, who first consecrated it. [Greek: Apo tou Kathierosantos
Akademou.]

[Greek: He men Akademia apo Heroos tinos Akademou ktisantos ton topon.]
Ulpian upon Demosthen. contra Timocratem.

[1136] Eupolis Comicus: [Greek: en Astroteutois] apud Laertium in Vita
Platonis. l. 3. Sec.. 7.

[1137] [Greek: En gar gumnasion apo Akademou--peri auton de esan hai ontos
hierai Elaiai tes Theou, hai kalountai Moriai.] Schol. upon Aristoph.
[Greek: Nephelai]. v. 1001.

[1138] AElian. Var. Hist. l. 3. c. 35.

[1139] [Greek: To de chorion ho Keramikos to men onoma echei apo Heroos
Keramou; Dionusou te einai kai Ariadnes.] Pausan. l. 1. p. 8.

[1140] Gruter. Inscrip. p. 57. n. 13.

[1141] Pausan. l. 9. p. 779.

[1142] Athenaeus. l. 11. p. 480.

[1143] Pliny. l. 5. c. 29.

[1144] Plutarch. Sympos. l. ix. c. 3. p. 738. Alpha likewise signified a
leader: but I imagine, that this was a secondary sense of the word. As
Alpha was a leading letter in the alphabet, it was conferred as a title
upon any person who took the lead, and stood foremost upon any emergency.

[1145] Pausan. l. 9. p. 733.

[1146] Scholia in Aristoph. [Greek: Batrach.] v. 1256.

[1147] Herodot. l. 3. c. 28.

[1148]

                  [Greek: Aiguptiou Dionusou]
  [Greek: Euia phoiteteros Osiridos Orgia phainon.] l. 4. p. 126.

[1149]

  [Greek: Patridos astu polisson *** ]
  [Greek: ** barugounon heon pod* **.] Nonnus l. 4. p. 130*.

[1150] L. 4. p. 128.

[1151] Vossius de Idol. vol.3. Comment. in Rabbi M. Maimonidem de
Sacrificiis. p. 76.

[1152] Justin Martyr. 1. Apolog. p. 60.

See Radicals. p. 59.

[1153] Europa was the same as Rhea, and Astarte. Lucian. Dea Syria.

[1154] Hence Nonnus alluding to the Tauric oracle, which Cadmus followed,
calls it Assyrian: by this is meant Babylonian; for Babylonia was in
aftertimes esteemed a portion of Assyria.

[Greek: Assurien d' apoeipe tees hegetora pompes.] l. 4. p. 128.

[1155] Eusebius. P. E. l. 1. c. 10. p. 40.

[1156] Appian de Bello Syriac. p. 125.

Stephanus. Oropus.

[1157] Pliny. l. 5. c. 25.

[1158] Isidorus Characenus, apud Georgr. Vet. v. 2.

[1159] Clemens Alexand. l. 5. p. 680.

[1160] See D'Anville's Map of Syria.

[1161] Bochart Geog. Sacra. l. 4. p. 305.

[1162] Judges. c. 3. v. 1, 3.

[1163] Genesis. c. 10. v. 17.

[1164] Joshua. c.9. v. 3. and 7.

[1165] Joshua. c. 15. v. 9. and c. 18. v. 25, 26.

[1166] Eusebii. Chron. p. 27.

[1167] Cadmus is called [Greek: Kadmon]. Steph. Byzant. [Greek: Illuria].
Berkelius has altered it to [Greek: Kadmos], though he confesses, that it
is contrary to the evidence of every Edition and MSS.

[1168] Concerning Hivite Colonies, see backward. vol. 2. p. 207.

[1169] Diodorus Sic. l. 5. p. 327. 329.

[1170] Ibid.

[1171] Pausanias. l. 1. p. 83.

There was Oropia as well as Elopia in Euboea. Steph. Byzant. Oropus in
Macedonia. Ibid. Also in Syria: Orobii Transpadani. Europus near Mount
Haemus. Ptolemy. Europa in Epirus. Ibid.

[1172] Strabo. l. 9. p. 619.

[1173] Suidas. Epaminondas.

[1174] Pausanias. l. 10. p. 863.

[1175] Both Menelaus and Agamemnon were antient titles of the chief Deity.
The latter is supposed to have been the same as Zeus, AEther, and Coelus. He
seems to have been worshipped under the symbol of a serpent with three
heads. Hence Homer has given to his hero of this name a serpent for a
device, both upon his breastplate, and upon his baldrick.

  [Greek: Tes d' ex argureos telamon en, autar ep' autoi]
  [Greek: Kuaneos elelikto drakon; kephalai de hoi esan]
  [Greek: Treis amphistephees, henos auchenos ekpephuuiai.] Iliad.
      [Lambda]. v. 38.

[1176] Pausanias. l. 1. p. 40. Strabo. l. 7. p. 499.

Aornon, and an oracular temple in Thesprotia. Pausanias. l. 9. p. 768.

[1177] [Greek: Kai en Aiguptoi Akanthos, Memphidos apechousa stadious
triakosious eikosi;--esti de he Athamanias.] Steph. Byzant.

[1178] [Greek: Eita meta touton eisin OREITAI legomenoi.] Dicaearchus. Geog.
Vet. vol. 2. p. 3. v. 45.

[1179] L. 2. c. 57, 58.

[1180] [Greek: Kata Bouthroton Phoinike.] Strabo. l. 7. p. 499. It was a
place of great note. Polybius. l. 1. p. 94, 95.

[1181] Caesar de Bello Civili. l. 3. c. 6.

[1182] Lucan. l. 5. v. 458.

[1183] [Greek: Komaras.] Strabo. l. 7. p. 500. The same observable in
India-Petra Aornon near Comar. Arrian. Exped. p. 191. and Indic. p. 319.

[1184] Steph. Byzant.

[1185] [Greek: Tekmon polis Thesproton.] Steph. Byzant. See T. Livius. l.
45. c. 26.

[1186] 2 Samuel. c. 23. v. 8. In our version rendered the Tachmonite, chief
among the captains.

[1187] Victoria ad Comum parta. T. Livius. l. 33. c. 36.

[1188] Gurtler. l. 2. p. 597.

[1189] Also a city Conope, by Stephanus placed in Acarnania.

[1190] Antoninus Liberalis. c. 12. p. 70. A city Conopium was also to be
found upon the Palus Maeotis. Steph. Byzant.

[1191] Plin. l. 3. c. 16. The Cadmians of Liguria came last from Attica and
Boeotia: hence we find a river Eridanus in these parts, as well as in the
former country. [Greek: Potamoi de Athenaiois rheousin Heilissos te, kai
Eridanoi toi Keltikoi kata auta onoma echon. k. l.]  Pausan. l. 1. p. 45.

[1192] Vol. 1. p. 376.

[1193] Lucan. l. 3. v. 187. The same is mentioned by the poet Dionysius.

  [Greek: Keinon d au peri kolpon idois perikudea tumbon,]
  [Greek: Tumbon, hon Harmonies, Kadmoio te phemis enispei,]
  [Greek: Keithe gar eis Ophion skolion genos ellaxanto.] v. 390.

[1194] Geog. Vet. vol. 1. p. 9. Here were [Greek: Petrai Plagtai].

[1195] Nonni Dionys. l. 44. p. 1144.

[1196] Nonnus. l. 25. p. 646.

[1197] [Greek: Laineen poiese korussomenen Ariadnen.] Nonnus. l. 44. p.
1242.

[1198] Pausan. l. 9. p. 743.

[1199] See Goltius, Vaillant, and Suidas, [Greek: Herakles].

[1200] [Greek: ---- lithois chorion periechomenon logasin Opheos kalousin
hoi Thebaioi kephalen.] Pausan. l. 9. p. 747.

[1201] Pausan. l. 7. p. 579.

[1202] [Greek: Timas theon anti agalmaton eichon argoi lithoi.] Ibid.

[1203] [Greek: Kadmos Phoinix lithotomian exeure, kai metalla chrusou ta
peri to Pankaion epenoesen oros.] Clemens. Strom. l. 1. p. 363. See Natalis
Comes of Cadmus.

[1204] Nonnus. Dionys. l. 4. p. 128.

[1205] Clemens. Alex. l. 6. p. 753.

[1206] Styled [Greek: paides Heliou] by Diodorus. l. 5. p. 327.

[1207] Diodorus. l. 5. p. 328.

[1208] Herodotus. l. 2. c. 109.

[1209] [Greek: E ton Thoraion, Ptoon, Oriten, theon.] Lycophron. v. 352.

[1210] Scholiast. Ibid.

[1211] Strabo. l. 10. p. 683.

[1212] Quaestiones Graecae. p. 296.

[1213] Strabo. l. 10. p. 685.

[1214] Harpocration.

[1215] Strabo. l. 10. p. 683. Polybius. l. 11. p. 627.

[1216] [Greek: En tei Oriai kaloumenei tes Histiaiotidos.] Strabo. l. 10.
p. 683.

Oria is literally the land of Ur.

[1217] Strabo. l. 10. p. 683. He mentions a domestic quarrel among some of
this family, and adds, [Greek: tous Oritas--polemoumenous hupo ton
Ellopieon], _that the Oritae were attacked by the Ellopians_.

[1218] Antoninus Liberalis. c. 25. p. 130.

[1219] [Greek: He Huria de tes Tanagrikes nun esti, proteron de tes
Thebaidos, hopou ho Hurios memutheutai, kai he tou Orionos genesis.]
Strabo. l. 9. p. 620. He is called [Greek: Hurieus] by Euphorion. See
Homer. [Sigma]. Scholia. v. 486.

[1220] [Greek: Esti kai Orionos mnema en Tanagra.] Pausan. l. 9. p. 749.

[1221] [Greek: Esti d' he men Huria pros ton Euripon.] Steph. Byzant.

[1222] Pausanias. l. 2. p. 181.

[1223] Europus is the same as Oropus, and signifies Orus Pytho. Ops, Opis,
Opus, Opas, all signify a serpent. Zeus was the same as Orus and Osiris;
hence styled Europus, and Europas; which Homer has converted to [Greek:
Euruopas], and accordingly styles Jupiter [Greek: Euruopa Zeus.]

[1224] Pausanias. l. 3. p. 245. [Greek: einai de autous Huraiou paidas.]

[1225] L. 2. c. 4. p. 87.

[1226] Nonnus. l. 4. p. 136.

[1227] [Greek: O gar de chronos ekeinos enenken anthropous cheiron men
ergois, kai podo tachesi, kai somaton rhomais, hos eoiken, huperphuous, kai
akamatous.] Plutarch. in Theseo. p. 3.

[1228] [Greek: Esti de kai phulon ti ton Chaldaion, kai chora tes
Babulonias hup' ekeinon oikoumene, plesiazousa kai tois Arapsi, kai te kata
Persas legomene thalattei. Esti de kai ton Chaldaion ton Astronomikon gene
pleio; kai gar Orchenoi tines prosagoreuontai.] Strabo. l. 16. p. 1074.

[1229] Lucian de Astrolog. p. 987.

[1230] [Greek: Chous, ex hou Aithiopes.] Euseb. Chron. p. 11.

[1231] [Greek: Polon men gar, kai gnomona, kai ta duodeka merea tes hemeres
para Babulonion emathon Hellenes.] l. 2. c. 109.

[1232] L. 1. p. 32.

[1233] Nonnus. l. 1. p. 38.

[1234] Romae Inscriptio Vetus.

  [Greek: TOIS NOMIOIS THEOIS.] Gruter. xcii. n. 4.

[1235]

                  Omne benignum
  Virus odoriferis Arabum quod doctus in arvis
  Aut Amphrysiaco Pastor de gramine carpsi.
                  Statii Sylv. l. 1. Soteria. v. 104.

[1236] [Greek: Rea, henika Poseidona eteke, ton men es poimnen
katathesthai, diaiten entautha hexonta meta ton arnon.] Pausan. l. 8. p.
6l3.

[1237] Scholia in Lycophron. v. 879.

[1238] Pausanias. l. 4. p. 337. So also says Eustathius. [Greek: Hoi de
phasi ton ekei Dia Ammona klethenai apo tinos homonumou Poimenos,
prokatarxantos tes tou Hierou hidruseos.] Schol. in Dionys. v. 211.

[1239] Apollonius Rhodius. l. 2. v. 515.

The same Poet of the nymph Cyrene.

  [Greek: Entha d' Aristaion Phoiboi teken, hon kaleousin]
  [Greek: Agrea, kai Nomion poluleioi Haimonieeis] l. 2. v. 568.

[1240] Syncellus. p. 156.

[1241] Homer. Odyss. l. 1. Pastor Polyphemus of Virgil.

[1242] Macrobii Saturn. l. 1. c. 21. p. 210.

[1243] Hyginus. Fab. 68. Euri, and Eueris Filius. He is by Theocritus
styled [Greek: Mantis Euereides.] Idyl. 24. v. 70.

[1244] Nonni Dionys. l. 40. p. 1038.

[1245] Herodotus. l. 2. c. 128.

[1246] Cleanthes [Greek: peri Thromachias], quoted by Plutarch de Flum.
[Greek: Phasis.]

[1247] Plutarch de Flum. [Greek: Ismenos.]

[1248] Herodotus. l. 5. c. 61.

[1249] Plut. de Fluv. Inachus.

[1250] Virgil. AEneid. l. 7. v. 678.

[1251] T. Livius. l. 1. c. 7.

[1252] Virgil. l. 8. v. 198.

[1253] [Greek: He Poimandris estin he aute tei Tanagrikei.] Strabo. l. 9.
p. 619.

[1254] [Greek: Poimandria polis Boiotias, he kai Tanagra kaloumene.] Schol.
Lycoph. v. 326. [Greek: Poimandria] is by some interpreted mulctrale: but
that was not the original purport of the word.

[1255] Hermes Trismegistus, sive [Greek: Poimandres].

[1256] Syncellus. p. 126. Eusebius. Chron. p. 24.

[1257] By which are meant the Syrians, Arabians, and Armenians. [Greek: To
men gar ton Armenion ethnos, kai to ton Suron, kai ton Arabon pollen
homophulian emphainei kata te ten dialekton, kai tous bious, kai tous ton
somaton charakteras ktl.--eikazein de dei kai tas ton ethnon touton
katonomasias emphereis allelais einai.] Strabo. l. 1. p. 70.

[1258] Zonaras. l. 1. p. 21.

[1259] Tacitus. Hist. l. 5. c. 2.

[1260] It should perhaps be proximas urbes. The same history is alluded to
by Eusebius. [Greek: Epi Apidos tou Phoroneos moira tou Aiguption stratou
exepesen Aiguptou, hoi en Palaistine kaloumene Suriai ou porrho Arabias
okesai.] Euseb. Chron. p. 26.

[1261] Lucian de Dea Syria.

[1262] They were in each country styled the mourning for Thamas, and
Thamuz.

[1263] [Greek: Echousi de kai allo Phoinikes Hiron, ouk Assurion, alla
Aiguption, to ex Helioupolios es ten Phoiniken apiketo. kl.] Lucian de Dea
Syria.

[1264] In Boetica they were called Oritani. Strabo. l. 8. p. 204.

There were Oritae in Epirus. Dicaearchus status Graeciae. [Greek: Meta touton
eisin Oreitai.] p. 4. v. 45.

Oritae in Persis. Arrian. l. 4. c. 26. also in Gedrosia. See Auctor Peripli
Maris Erythraei.

[Greek: Pros ton dusin tou Indou potamou Oritai.] Schol. Dionys. v. 1095.
[Greek: Oritai ethnos Indikon.] Steph. Byzant. There were Oritae in Persis,
hard by the Cutha of Josephus. Ant. l. 9. c. 4. and c. 15.

[1265] Clemens. Alexand. Strom. l. 1. p. 382.

[1266] Diodorus Siculus. l. 1. p. 24.

[1267] Ex Diodori. l. xl. apud Photium. p. 1152.

[1268] A similar account is given by the same author. l. 1. p. 24.

[1269] Zonaras. v. 1. p. 22. Also Syncellus. p. 102.

[1270] He is very full upon this head. Contra Apion. l. 1. p. 443. and 444.

[1271] Plato. Critias. vol. 3. p. 110.

[1272] Legatio. p. 279.

[1273] [Greek: Kai apo ton onomaton de enion to barbaron emphainetai.
Kekrops, kai Kodros, kai Aiklos] (read [Greek: Arklos]) [Greek: kai Kothos.
k. l.] l. 7. p. 495.

       *       *       *       *       *


Corrections made to printed original.

(Cahen, near ref. 93) [Greek: anthereones]: '[Greek: antheriones]' in
original

(ibid., near ref. 99) instances: 'intances' in original

(Chus, near ref. 110) [Greek: poluchrusos]: '[Greek: polochrusos]' in
original

(ibid., near ref. 145) represented: 'respresented' in original

(Canaan, near ref. 193) Aristotle: 'Asistotle' in original

(Temple Science, near ref. 210) [Greek: geographikon]: '[Greek:
geographikon]' in original

(ibid., near ref. 228) [Greek: periaugous]: '[Greek: eriaugous]' in
original

(Tar, near ref. 226) [Greek: toi ge]: no space in original

(Tit, near ref. 316) worshipped a serpent: 'woshipped a sepent' in original

(Cuclopes, near ref. 607) [Greek: Akmonidan]: '[Greek: Lkmonidan]' in
original

(Temple Rites, near ref. 647) [Greek: kataschisthenta]: '[Greek:
kataschithenta]' in original

(ibid., near ref. 660) [Greek: ten (anthropon)]: '[Greek: tee]' in original

(Hippa, near ref. 694) [Greek: chremetismos]: '[Greek: chrematismos]' in
original

(Damater, near ref. 763) [Greek: epekertomei]: '[Greek: epekeratomei]' in
original

(Campe, near ref. 773) taken: duplicated over page end in original

(Myrina, near ref. 823) [Greek: aipeia]: '[Greek: aipuia]' in original

(Ninus, near ref. 912) period (after 'all to be crucified'): comma in
original

(ibid., near ref. 916) title: 'titled' in original

(Zoroaster, near ref. 1005) analogous: 'analagous' in original

(Cadmus, near ref. 1142) country: 'county' in original

(ibid., near ref. 1237) [Greek: mathematikos]: '[Greek: mathematekos]' in
original

(ibid., near ref. 1264) Phenicia,: repeated word (on 2 lines) in original

(Note 1.) soliti suos: 'solitei sos' in original

(Note 50.) [Greek: thaptesthai]: '[Greek: thappesthai]' in original

(Note 226.) corde: 'codre' in original

(Note 229.) [Greek: eueklostoio]: dialytika on [Greek: e] in original

(Note 401.) [Greek: kai 'go]: no space in original

(Note 534.) Theologico: 'Tehologico' in original

(Note 538.) [Greek: dunasteusai]: '[Greek: dunastusai]' in original

(Note 552.) [Greek: erem']: apostrophe printed as comma in original

(Note 752.) [Greek: tes (Alopes)]: '[Greek: tks]' in original

(Note 781.) sollerti: 'solerti' in original

(Note 803.) [Greek: kataschesin]: '[Greek: kataschsein]' in original

(Note 854.) [Greek: (Argeiou) Herakleous]: '[Greek: Heerakleous]' in
original

(Note 1136.) l. 3. Sec.. 7.: 'l. Sec.. c. 7.' in original, cf. previous note

(Note 1175.) [Greek: kephalai]: '[Greek: kephelai]' in original

(Note 1177.) [Greek: eikosi]: only '[Greek: ikosi]' legible in scan (at
start of line)






End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A New System; or, an Analysis of
Antient Mythology. Volume II. (of VI.), by Jacob  Bryant

*** 