A New System; or, an Analysis of Antient Mythology Volume Ii Part 7

[448]?? de ?? ???

?? ??at?? ?efa?a? ?f???, de????? ??a???t??.

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

[449]?? de ?? ?ss??

Tespes??? ?efa??s?? ?p' ?f??s? p?? aa??sse?

?ase?? d' e? ?efa?e?? p?? ?a?et? de???e????.

But the n.o.blest 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]?? ?????e?t? de p??t?

?stae??? ??f???? es? ???e?t?? e?a????

?e??e? ta?sa pep??t?, ?a? ?e?? ????t? ?ast??

T???e?? ?efeess?? G??a?te??? de ?a?????

F???t?? ae?s???f?? a??? ????a ?e??t??, ???t??? e????e?t? ?e?? e?a??ptet? ???p?. ?t?.

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.

?a?a pa?t? t?? ?????e??? pa?' ??? Te?? ?f?? s????? e?a ?a?

?st????? a?a??afeta?. 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]??a? e?e????, d?' ?? ? p?a??

pa?????????se. But I should think, that Eva was the same as Eph, Epha, Opha, which the Greeks rendered ?f??, Ophis, and by it denoted a serpent.

Clemens acknowledges, that the term Eva properly aspirated had such a signification. [457]?? ???a t? ???a das???e??? ????e?eta? ?f??.

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 manuvres. 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 repet.i.tion of the words, [460]Evoe, Saboe, Hues Attes, Attes Hues, which were t.i.tles of the G.o.d Dionusus. He was peculiarly named ???; and his priests were the Hyades, and Hyantes. He was likewise styled Evas. [461]??a? ? ?????s??.

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 subst.i.tuting 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 devora.s.se pro Jove, quem Graeci a?t????

vocant.--Abdir quoque et Abadir a?t????. Abadir seems to be a variation of Ob-Adur, and signifies the serpent G.o.d 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 st????, or stone pillar; before which they made their vows, and offered sacrifices of another nature. This stone, which they thus subst.i.tuted, 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 G.o.d, with whose worship the world had been so long infected. He is termed by the Evangelist [468]?add??, t?? ???e??? t?? ??ss??, 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 pa.s.sage; 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, h.e.l.lenistae ad verb.u.m ?p??????a, caeteri ?p?????a, dixerunt, sub hac forma, qua miseriam humano generi invexit, primo cultus[470].

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Ophis Thermuthis, sive Ob Basiliscus aegyptiacus c.u.m Sacerdote Supplicante._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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]Te??? t??? e??st???, ?a? a??????? t?? ????, _the supreme of all G.o.ds, 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 pa.s.sed 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]G.o.ds. 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 t.i.tle 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]pa?a F??????? ?a?? ta? af??a?, _from some previous accounts of the Phenicians_. The t.i.tle of his book was the Theology of Ophion, styled Ophioneus; and of his worshippers, called Ophionidae. Thoth, and Athoth, were certainly t.i.tles 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 t.i.tle which more immediately related to that worship, of which the writer treated. _Ath_ was a sacred t.i.tle, 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 princ.i.p.al 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 ?????pe?. 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 G.o.d 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 Euba, a name of the like purport; in which island was a region named aethiopium. Euba 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 G.o.ddess, and were denominated from her t.i.tles.

[481]??p?? te, ???? te, ?a? ??a??? ??ae???.

Hercules was esteemed the chief G.o.d, 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 t.i.tle 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 t.i.tles 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 t.i.tle of Ophites. In Phrygia, and upon the h.e.l.lespont, whither they sent out colonies very early, was a people styled ?f???e?e??, 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]??? ??e??a ?e?es?a? d?a???ta. These reptiles are seldom found in islands, yet Tenos, one of the Cyclades, was supposed to have once swarmed with them. [487]?? t? ????, ?? t?? ????ad??

??s?, ?fe?? ?a? s???p??? de???? e?????t?. Thucydides mentions a people of aetolia called [488]Ophionians: and the temple of Apollo at Patara in Lycia seems to have had its first inst.i.tution 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]?fe??

????sa?, 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 pa.s.sage 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 G.o.ddess 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]??a???, a Dragon.

Others make Cecrops the first who reigned. He is said to have been [502]d?f???, _of a twofold nature_; s?f?e? e??? s?a a?d??? ?a? d?a???t??, _being formed with the body of a man blended with that of a serpent_.

Diodorus says, that this was a circ.u.mstance 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]ap? ?fe?? e?? a????p?? e??e??, _that he was changed from a serpent to a man_. By this was signified according to Eustathius, that Cecrops, by coming into h.e.l.las, 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 t.i.tle 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 Botia, 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]?p?? ?a? e???? e? pe?a? ?a?pa?t?a?, ?at??a?t??, pa?? ?p???????, ????a ??? d' e??a?a??e? ???da??? ??t?f?????.

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 pa.s.sed 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]?? de (fas??) ?t? ?f???? ap? t??

?f???. 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 Stepha.n.u.s, 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 On.o.ba, from Ob, which was of the same purport. Clemens Alexandrinus says, that the term Eva signified a serpent, if p.r.o.nounced 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 Stepha.n.u.s 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_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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]???a? de ?a? ??ta?ata? ?e?es?a?.

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. a.n.a.logous 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 inst.i.tutes, 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 n.o.bis 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 introduc.u.n.t 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 n.o.ble 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, ill.u.s.trated by it.

CUCLOPES OR CYCLOPES.

?a?a??tat?? e? ?e???ta? e? e?e? t??? t?? ???a? (t?? S??e??a?) ?????pe?, ?a? ?a?st?????e? ????sa?? ?? e?? ??te ?e??? e?? e?pe??, ??te ?p??e? e?s?????, ? ?p?? ape????sa?. 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 h.e.l.las 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 princ.i.p.al 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 Clus; 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 G.o.d Alorus, the same as Clus 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]???e?? ?p' ??t?? t? p???sta?t?

?et??. They are represented as a people savage, and lawless, and delighting in human flesh. Hence it is prophesied by Ca.s.sandra, 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 t.i.tles, have brought great confusion upon this history.

The Cyclopians were denominated from ??????, Cyclops, the same as Clus.

According to Parmeno Byzantinus, he was the G.o.d [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 n.o.ble 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]?a? ?a? ?a?' etet??t? pe??????, ??de e??e?