of his son Aetes 'Titania Tellus,' his chamber beneath the Ocean bed 'Titania antra,' &c. 51. Persis, sc. terra. The sun was an object of worship among the ancient Persians, as presenting a symbol of the pure fire or light, the sacred element of Ormuzd. Xenophon in his Cyropaedia, 8. 3, 12, gives an account of a magnificent sacred procession:- First of all came bulls crowned with garlands, and after the bulls horses were led along, an offering to the Sun.' It is curious that the cause here assigned by Ovid for the sacrifice of the horse is the same with that adduced by Herodotus in reference to a similar rite among the Massagetae, 1. 216:-'The only god worshipped by them is the Sun, to whom they offer horses; and the reason is this, they present to the swiftest of the gods the swiftest of mortal creatures.' 53. Triplici...Dianae. If we trace back Grecian mythology to its earliest forms, we shall find that Selene (Luna) the Moon-goddess, Artemis (Diana) the Huntressgoddess sister of Apollo, Persephone (Proserpina) daughter of Demeter (Ceres) and wife of Hades or Pluto, were all considered separate divinities, while Hecate, who by Hesiod in the Theogony 1 and subsequent writers, was represented as distinct from these, is merely another name, or rather epithet, of Artemis. In process of time a strange and complicated combination arose. Apollo being mixed up with Helios the Sun-god, his sister Artemis was considered the same with Selene the Moon-goddess; Hecate, again, was confounded with Persephone, and being, as we have seen, originally the same as Artemis, she was worshipped as a threefold power. Again, the Latin Diana was identified with the Greek Artemis, and hence with Hecate, who is thus spoken of by the poets as a ‘Diva triplex,' Luna in heaven, Diana on Earth, Proserpina in the infernal regions; thus Dido in Virgil, Ae. 4. 510, when about to die, 'Ter centum tonat ore deos, Erebumque, Chaosque, Tergeminamque Hecaten, tria virginis ora Dianae.' And Hor. Od. 3. 22 'Montium custos nemorumque, Virgo, Quae laborantes utero puellas Ter vocata audis, adimisque leto, Diva triformis.' 1 409. The genuineness of the passage is more than doubtful. 53. Pro virgine. Iphigenia. We have already alluded briefly to this sad history in the Introduction to 2. According to Euripides, the sacrifice of the maiden was not 'consummated; but at the moment when the knife was about to be plunged into her bosom, Artemis bore her away to Tauris, leaving in her stead a doe before the altar. The tale was invented after the time of Homer, who merely mentions the name ‘Iphianassa' as that of one of the three daughters of Agamemnon. 55. The Sapaei were Thracians who dwelt in the mountains around the valley of Nestus (Karasou) immediately to the north of Philippi. ́Ovid passed through their country on his way to Tomi, the place of his banishment. 56. Haemus (The Balkan) was the general name given to the whole of the eastern portion of the great chain of mountains by which Thrace and Macedonia were separated from the valley of the Danube. The range, as it extended westward, bore the names of Mons Scomius, Mons Orbelus, Mons Scardus, Mons Bertiscus, &c. Dogs were sacrificed at Rome also, on the Robigalia and Lupercalia. See 23. 36, and Plutarch. Quaest. Roman. 57. 'The stern guardian of the country' is Priapus, a deity whose statues adorned the gardens and pleasure-grounds of the Romans, but who was a stranger to the mythology of Italy, and unknown to the earlier Greeks. He is not mentioned either by Homer or Hesiod, nor does his name occur in the work of Apollodorus, who flourished 140 B. C., while Strabo expressly asserts that his rites were introduced at a late period. The principal seat of his worship, from which it spread westward, was the Mysian city of Lampsacus on the Hellespont, well known in Athenian history 2, and peculiarly celebrated for its vineyards, on which account it was assigned by the great king to Themistocles, to supply his table with wine, in like manner as Magnesia furnished him with bread, and Myus with pulse. Among the Greeks and Romans, Priapus was regarded simply as a rural deity who protected flocks and herds, and exercised an especial superintendence over gardens and bees. Thus Virgil Ecl. 7. 33 'Sinum lactis, et haec te liba, Priape, quotannis 1 Lib. 13. 2 The Lampsacenes, in later times, offered a strenuous resistance to Antiochus, and were received into alliance by the Romans, 170 B. C. Nunc te marmoreum pro tempore fecimus, at tu, and in G. 4. 109 'Invitent (sc. apes) croceis halantes floribus horti, while Ov. Trist. 1. 10, 25, applies to him the general epithet 'ruricola' 'Dardaniamque petit, auctoris nomen habentem, Et te ruricola, Lampsace, tuta deo.' By Martial, 8. 40, he is treated with little respect, being appointed guardian of a thicket kept for fire-wood, and threatened with being himself cut up into billets should he neglect his charge. In the Anthology we find that fishermen considered him one of their patrons. Moschus, in his lament for Bion, classes Priapi (in the plural) along with Satyrs and Pans, while in Theocritus his statue is placed by shepherds near a shady spring in company with the Nymphs. But although in foreign lands the attributes of Priapus were thus restricted, he received higher homage in his own city, the inhabitants of which honoured him above all gods, declaring that he was the son of Dionysus (Bacchus) and Aphrodite (Venus). According to other authorities his mother was a Naiad, or Chione; while by the Roman comic writer Afranius, he is called 'the son of a long-eared father,' which some interpret to mean Pan, others a Satyr, others an Ass! The last-mentioned animal was offered to him in sacrifice, as we learn from the passage before us. Priapus was usually represented with a falx, or crooked gardener's knife, in his hand, and sometimes a cudgel to drive away thieves; his lap was filled with all kinds of fruit. A cornucopia was placed in his arms, and his figure was distinguished by other emblems of fruitfulness. Those who may wish for further information regarding this deity will find everything of importance in Voss's Mythologische Briefe, B. 75. 65. Dis proxima. In reference to birds flying aloft towards the abodes of the gods. Nunc penna...nunc...ore. Hence in the discipline of the augurs, birds were divided into 'praepetes' and 'oscines;' the former yielded omens by their flight, the latter by their cries. 71. Defensa... Capitolia. See the account given in Livy 5. 47. Plutarch tells us that, even in his time, in commemoration of this event, there was an annual procession, in which a dog was borne along impaled upon a stake, and a goose was carried in a litter as if in triumph. Plin. H. N. 10, 22 'Est anseri vigil cura, Capitolio testata defenso, per id tempus canum silentio proditis rebus. Quamobrem Cibaria anserum in primis Censores locant.' 72. Inachi. Io, daughter of Inachus, who fled from Argos to avoid the jealous fury of Juno, and upon the banks of the Nile bore Epaphus to Jupiter. She was afterwards confounded with the Egyptian goddess Isis, the wife of Osiris. Juvenal speaks of the goose as an offering to the latter, S. 6. 540 'Vt veniam culpae non abnuat, ansere magno Scilicet, et tenui popano corruptus Osiris.' 73. Iecur. The ancient epicures attached peculiar importance to the liver of the goose, and, like those of modern times, had recourse to various expedients, by means of which it became diseased and swelled to an enormous size 1. As the most dainty morsel it was offered to Isis. 74. Compare Ov. Met. 11. 596, describing the abode of sleep 'Non vigil ales ibi cristati cantibus oris Evocat Auroram, nec voce silentia rumpunt 19. FEBRVA. FAS. II. 19. THE poet, before entering upon a description of the festivals celebrated during the second month of the year, discusses the meaning of the word 'Februarius,' and adds some remarks upon the nature and use of expiations and purifications. The following passages from Varro and Festus will serve to illustrate the commencement of this extract. Varro L. L. 6. 3 'Rex cum ferias menstruas Nonis Februariis edicit, hunc diem Februatum appellat. Februum Sabini purgamentum, et id in sacris nostris verbum.' Again, after giving the etymology of the names of the ten months which composed the year of Romulus, he continues, L. L. 6. 4 1 See Athenaeus 9. 32, Hor. S. 2. 8, 88, Plin. H. N. 10. 22, Martial 13. 58, Juvenal 5. 114. 'Ad hos qui additi, prior a principe Deo Ianuarius appellatus; posterior, ut idem dicunt scriptores, ab Diis inferis Februarius appellatus quod tum his parentetur. Ego magis arbitror Februarium a die februato, quod tum februatur populus, id est Lupercis nudis lustratur antiquum oppidum Palatinum gregibus humanis cinctum.' The words of Festus are to the same purpose 'Februarius mensis dictus, quod tum, id est, extremo mense anni, populus februaretur, id est, lustraretur ac purgaretur. * * * Quaecumque deinde purgamenti causa in quibusque sacrificiis adhibentur, Februa appellantur. Id vero quod purgatur, dicitur februatum.' 1. Piamina. The word 'piamen,' if the reading be correct, is manifestly equivalent to 'piaculum,' and signifies an atonement or purification of any description. 'Piamentum' occurs in Pliny in the same sense. 2. Rege. The 'Rex Sacrorum,' 'Rex Sacrificiorum,' or 'Rex Sacrificulus,' as he is variously denominated, was a priest appointed after the expulsion of Tarquinius to superintend certain holy rites which had always been performed by the kings in person'. His wife was termed Regina,' and the place where he offered sacrifice 'Regia 2.' Flamine. The 'Flamen Dialis,' the peculiar priest of Jupiter, who, among other rights and privileges, was attended by a lictor (see v. 5), and had a seat in the senate in virtue of his office. His wife, the 'Flaminica' (see v. 9), was invested with a sacred character, since her assistance was required in performing certain ceremonies, and consequently, if she died, the Flamen was obliged to abdicate his office. 3. The custom here mentioned is not elsewhere described, but fleeces of wool were employed for many solemn purposes, as, for example, to form the tufts on the summit of the priest's cap'Apex,' to encircle the olive branches which formed the badges of suppliants, to wreathe the head of the victims led forth to sacrifice, &c. 4. Mica. See note on line 4 of preceding Extract. 1 Liv. 2. 2, Dionys. Hal. 4. 74. 2 See Fest. in verb.; Serv. Virg. Ae. 8. 363; Ascon. in Orationem pro Milone c. 14; Macrob. S. 1. 15. P |