THE ANTIQUITIES OF PALMYRA .

Containing the HISTORY OF THE CITY , and its EMPERORS , From its Foundation to the Present Time .

WITH An APPENDIX of Critical Observations on the Names , Religion , and Government of the Country .

AND A COMMENTARY on the Inscriptions lately found there .

LONDON , Printed for S. Smith and B. Walford , Printers to the Royal Sociey , at the Princes-Arms in St. Paul's Church-Yard . 1696.

THE Learned World having been for some years in expectation of a Description of the Antiquities of Palmyra from some accurate Traveller , whose Curiosity might prompt him to visit those Desarts , that he might enrich Europe with the Rarities of that remote Province of the East , of which the World had had but a very obscure , if any , account ; some worthy English Merchants , pursuant to the Dictates of that nobler Genius , that actuates the generous Members of the Levant Company , overlookt all the Difficulties and Hazards , that accompany such an Enterprize , and attempted the Discovery . And though the first Essay was not crown'd with so good Success , as it deserv'd , through the Treachery and Baseness of the Arab Prince , who at that time govern'd the Country ; the second Voyage was perform'd to the great Satisfaction of Mankind , and 't is to their Munificence , that we owe those Journals , which the Royal Society hath lately publisht . Nor is this the only Instance , wherein those eminent Merchants have been Benefactors to the Commonwealth of Letters ; their Company consisting of Men of good Birth , and gentile Education , of liberal Fortunes , and as large Minds ; and may their Success in their worldly Affairs be suited to their great Deserts , may they always flourish , and always be in a capacity to do worthy Actions .

To the jealous Arabs the Undertaking seem'd ridiculous , that prudent Men should contract a great Expence only to transcribe a few imperfect Inscriptions , and take a view of old Ruines , and perhaps there are some Censors who live nearer than the Desarts of Tadhmur , who are of the same opinion ; but the Men of Judgment in all Ages have entertained different Sentiments , and Providence seems to have been particularly concern'd in the Preservation of many Fragments of Antique Litterature . When L. 2. p. 121. Strabo treats of Olynthus , and other Cities of Greece , which had been utterly destroy'd before his time , insomuch as whosoever travel'd those parts , might justly question whither ever those places had been inhabited ; he subjoins , that the Curious and Inquisitive were pleas'd to visit those Ruines , being desirous to see the Theatres , where so many noble Actions had been perform'd , and to pay Homage to the Ashes of those Illustrious Persons , who lay there buried : ( And what a Spirit of Emulation does it raise in every generous Soul to prompt him to sublime Actions , when he views the Tombs , or hears the Story of the Heroes of former Ages ? ) And in the days of In Charont . Lucian , when many Cities had been swallowed up of Earthquakes , or buried in the Sea , tho' Rivers themselves had been lost , and absorpt , that they never more appear'd , yet the Tomb of Inachus was preserv'd at Argos , a Memorial of the Atchievements of that first King of the Morea .

Neither Strabo , nor Mela , take any notice of Palmyra , nor ( which is more to be admired ) many of the Arabian Geographers , neither Alferganus , nor the Geographer commonly called the Nubian , neither Nasser Eddin nor Vlug Beig , set out by our Learned Mr. Greaves ; its Situation was very remote from both Rome and Athens , in the midst of vast Desarts , which deter'd the curious Traveller ; and its Empire , and Glory were so short-lived , that we cannot expect a large Description of its State and Fortunes from the ancient Writers . But such Memorials , as either they , or the later Historians have afforded , I have taken care to digest into method , and to offer them to the present Age. Had we Domninus the Historian of Antioch , who lived in the Neighbourhood , or Philostratus of Athens , or Nicostratus of Trebizond , who wrote the History of those times , particularly the Affairs of the East , it would have been no difficult Province to have given a more perfect account of that Country ; or had we but that one Oration of the most accurate Longinus , which he wrote in praise of Odaenathus , that no doubt would have furnisht a sufficient stock of Materials toward the writing the Life of that Great Man ; but these are Blessings lost to the World , and , I fear , past retrieving .

It may look like a bold , and daring Undertaking , to adventure to build a Large Structure with so few Materials ; but I have been as careful in my accounts , as I was qualified to be , and according to my Understanding have confin'd my self to the strict Rules of Truth , and exactly followed my Vouchers , ( whom for that reason I have cited in the Margin ; ) for he , who pretends to write History without Authorities , may be said to be Author of a Romance , or a Collector of Dreams , but can never be allowed to be a good Historian . And if I have been , as I take it for granted , mistaken in any of my Conjectures , ( as I have frequently taken that liberty , but no where , that I know of , without some grounds for my so doing ) it is no wonder , and will be easily pardoned , when 't is consider'd , that even the Historians of that Country , and of the early Ages , knew not all the particulars of the Palmyrene Affairs ; that Theodorit himself the Bishop of Cyrus in Cyrrhestica , a Neighbouring Province , in less than two hundred years after the Reign of Odaenathus , is so mistaken , as to affirm , that Zenobia was constituted the Toparch of Syria , and Phoenicia by the Persians , after they had routed the Romans , and that he , who digs in a dark Mine , may be allowed a little failure in his Work ; and I shall thank any Learned Man , who shall correct my Errors , and set the History in a better light .

I have dealt with my Reader , as I love to be treated my self , having been always pleased with a full account of whatever is material on any subject , when profestly handled ; and I have given my Authorities in the Margin , not to make a show of much acquaintance with Books , but to inform the Reader that I have not imposed on him , and to direct him where he may satisfy himself , if he doubts . I have used the words Palmyra and Tadhmur promiscuously , because , though the new name , whither imposed by a Conqueror , or given for any other reason , prevail'd among the Greeks and Romans , yet the old Syriac name kept its Interest among the Natives , and has at this day recover'd an entire Possession , as some other neighbouring Cities in that Country have done : So Caesarea in Palestine is at present call'd , as of old , Paneas ; and Petra in Arabia , is now named Bosra , to omit other Instances . For , as Lib. 14. c. 8. Seleucus Nicator urbes construxit multis opibus firmas , & viribus , quarum ad praesens plereque licet Graecis nominibus appellentur , quae iisdem ad arbitrium imposita sunt conditoris , primogenita tamen nomina non amittunt , quae ex Assyriâ linguâ institutores veteres indiderunt . Ammianus Marcellinus has well observ'd , When Seleucus Nicator rebuilt many old Cities in Syria , ( among whom we may reckon Palmyra ) and gave them Strength and Riches , tho' many of them are still called by the Greek Names , which their Founder Seleucus gave them ; yet they did at the same time among the Natives retain their old Syrian Appellations , which their first Founders imposed . ( Hence came it , that the new name of Adrianople given to Palmyra , was in a little time worn out ; and tho' the Greeks called the Island of Corsica Diod. Sic. l. 5. p. 205. Cyrnus , the Natives still maintain'd the Interest of the true name , and it continues to this day ; Steph. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . and tho' Heraclea was for a while called Plistarchia , in time it asserted its ancient Right , and was called as formerly , Heraclea . ) And I heartily wish , that the Learned Men , who have visited those Oriental Countries had furnisht themselves with Instruments , and spent some time in taking the exact Longitudes and Latitudes of the several Cities .

In the Chronological Accounts , I have followed the commonly receiv'd Epochas , and accordingly fixt my Series of Times , without entring into an over-nice Examination of particular Disputes in Chronology , which was not so consonant to my present Subject , having fixt the year of the Creation according to the Computation of our most Learned Arch-bishop Vsher . I have freely used the names of the Heathen Gods , ( tho' for the most part with a distinguishing Epithet ; ) and besides , the necessity of my Subject , which obliged me to it , I might plead the usual practise in other Languages , that the Fathers did the same ; and some of the antient Christians , who went larger lengths than I ever durst , witness that Epitaph in Gruter 1050. , ( Jovis optimi maximi beneficio hic in spe resurrectionis quiescit ; ) nor can I be perswaded , that such Studies are disagreeable to my Profession , ( if any passage of that kind appears in the History , I here renounce it , and may it be , as if it had never been said or written ) while the Learned Synesius hath publisht the Life of Typhon , and Osiris , St. Ambrose , ( as 't is said ) and Palladius , the History of the Brachmanes , and Nonnus , besides his Paraphrase upon St. John , was the Author of the Dionysiaca . Tho' , after all , I must profess , I expect to be treated rudely by some sowre Criticks ; but having no private design in these Papers , I shall please my self to be corrected by a Man of Sense and Temper , and for the rest of the Tribe , they are beneath Consideration ; it must be acknowledg'd , that a Treatise of this kind ought to have been written in the Learned Language , ( as probably it may be hereafter ; ) but it was requisite to publish the Commentary in the same Language with the Text , and that the Journals having been set forth in English , the History ought to be written in the same Tongue ; and had not a good part of my Papers , when finisht , been unhappily lost past retrieving , my Genius also nauseating the Drudgery of doing the same thing over again , I might perhaps have managed the Subject with more Accuracy . P. 258. I have affirmed , that the Saturns and Jupiters of the Heathens were born after the days of Job and of Joshua , and herein I have followed the Fathers , particularly Theophilus of Antioch , ( an excellent Chronologist , and who by that unanswerable Argument hath ruined all that was then said for the Eternity of the World , and of the Heathen Gods ) who in one place of his excellent Work against Autolycus , ( which for this reason is justly stiled by Lactantius , liber de temporibus ) affirms , L. 2. p. 58. that Saturn , Jupiter , Neptune , and Pluto , were much younger than the Creation ; in a second , L. 3. p. 258. that Jupiter was much younger than Moses , and the Law ; but more expresly in a third , P. 282. that Cronus and Belus , i. e. Saturn , as Thallus says in his History , lived but 322 years before the Trojan War ; whereas Moses lived 630 years before that famous Epocha . And the Chronologer Petavius proves , that when Saturn fled into Italy , driven out by his Son Jupiter , Ehud was then a Judge in Israel , about the year 1330 before Christ ; and that from the time of Janus , to whom Saturn fled , to Aeneas , the whole was not 200 years .

The Arabick Authors , as well as the common People of the Country , are to this day possest with the Opinion , that Tadmur was built by Solomon , and that by the help of Spirits , as was also Baalbec , ( says Benjamin Tudelensis ) the superstitious Jews and Arabs thinking it impossible that Art should perfect a stupendous Building without the assistance of a familiar . If the City were destroy'd by Nebuchadnezzar , before he laid siege to Jerusalem , as John Malela expresly affirms , and in this account we may give him Credit , because he was of that Country , and may be presum'd , not to be ignorant of the Affairs of Syria ) then it is not improbable , that Seleucus Nicator , the Founder of the Syrian Empire , rebuilt Tadhmur , as he did many other Cities ; and that then , in honour to him , and compliance with both their Benefactor and Conqueror ; they dated their publick Writings from the first year of his Empire , the aera Seleucidarum , as it is commonly stiled . The Situation of the City fitted it for a publick Mart , and the Cities Alalis , Sura , Ptol. l. 5. c. 15. and Alamata , being parts of Palmyrene , and built on the Banks of the Euphrates , may be presumed the Ports , where they brought their Goods , either exported , or imported on that noble River , the Cities being subject to the Re-publick . Of what Bigness , and Capacity for carriage the River that did run by its Walls was , we know not , it having been many years since absorpt . That there ran a River there in Ptolemy's time , the Geogragrapher affirms expresly , that many other Rivers have been lost in Earthquakes , to which the Eastern Regions are very subject , no Man doubts ; and some which yet continue to run , are soon buried : L. 1. c. 13. Mela avers , that a great River arises near Corycus in Cilicia ; and having made a great noise , is immediately swallow'd , and disappears ; and the River that runs by Aleppo , is in a few hours afterward buried in the Sands .

When the Romans began to enlarge their Conquests in Syria , I question not but Palmyra was under the Jurisdiction of the Arabs ; for when Pompey the Great , after the Death of the famous Mithradates , marcht against Aretas the King of the Arabs , ( Appian calls him King of the Nabataean Arabs ) ann. V. C. 690. ante Christum 63. his Kingdom reacht from the River Euphrates to the Red Sea , says Dio , L. 36. ( in which compass Palmyra must be included ; ) this Aretas was doubtless one of the Al-Hariths of the Arabians , who were Kings of Gessan , and in later Ages Lords of Taahmur . After which time , I believe , it acknowledg'd the Roman Power , but was govern'd by its own Laws , having under its immediate Jurisdiction , besides the three Cities on the River already mentioned , twelve more in the Inland of Syria . When Trajan made his glorious Expedition into Persia , I conjecture , Palmyra was a Sufferer in the common Calamity of that Country , for Pliny says it was sometime in the Roman , at others in the Parthian Interest , or else it would not have needed Hadrian's assistance to rebuild , and beautify it ; while other Cities tasted of Trajan's Bounty , for from Trajan's Expedition ( in the 8th year of his Reign , of Christ 105. ) the Inhabitants of Bozra and Petra , dated their Writings , says the Author of the Alexandrian Chronicle : L. 3. p. 105. and Zosimus affirms , that at Zaragardia , not far from the Euphrates on the Persian side , in his time there stood a noble Throne built of stone , which the Natives called Trajan's Throne ; erected , I doubt not , in memory of his illustrious Atchievements in that Country . But whatever Palmyra might have suffered under Trajan , was repair'd by his Successor , who gave the City his own name , and they in Gratitude made Vows for his Recovery ; not in the last , the 19th of his Reign , as thro' haste is said , F. 35 , 36. ( he reigned almost 22 years ; ) but in the seventeenth , from which Sickness he recover'd to dye afterwards in greater torment , ( and this I mention here , that I may correct the Mistake in the History : ) To this City Septimius Severus may also be presumed a Benefactor , ( to whom before his famous Expedition against the Parthians , Spart . vit. Septim . p. 67. when he routed Niger , with whom the Arabs , Parthians , and the Inhabitants of Adiabene , join'd their Forces ) the Re-publick gave their assistance against the Allies of the Empire , and adopted his name into their most eminent Families ; after which time , till the Reign of Zenobia , I take them to have been in confederacy with , and subject to the Emperors ; for they assisted both Alexander Severus and Gordian , in their Expeditions into the East against the Persians , as the Inscriptions testify ; only it looks probable , that upon the Captivity of Valerian , the Senate for a while dissembled their Interests , and acknowledg'd the Power of Sapores . In the Battel at Immae , where Zenobia was routed , S. Hierom affirms , that Pompeianus the Frank settled at Antioch , but the Family was unquestionably fixt in that Country long before ; Capitol . Marcus . for when Marcus the Philosopher undertook the German War , he married his Daughter to Claudius Pompeianus , who was of Antioch . This also I mention to correct another Mistake . After the Captivity of Zenobia , the City was a Spectacle of pity ; but being a necessary Frontier , was repair'd , and in Dioclesian's time was the Seat of the Governor of the Province . In the days of Constantius , the Inhabitants were noted , as now , for great Robbers , P. 8. says the old Geographer , set out by Gothofred , and govern'd by Women ; but that I take for granted is an Error , as if , when Zenobia had begun to wield a Scepter , none but her own Sex in that Country durst pretend to command . Malel . part 2. p. 39. Theodosius the Great divided Libanesia from the Sea-coast of Phoenicia , and made it a distinct Province , Emesa being the Metropolis , under whose Jurisdiction Palmyra was put , and so continued , when the Followers of Mahomet had made themselves Masters of that Country , and for many Centuries after ; for in Abulfedas's time , above 1300 after Christ , Tadhmur acknowledg'd Hems , ( Emesa ) its Metropolis , and probably it was so after his time . In the Reign of the same Theodosius , ( if P. 28. ed. Gron. Ethicus , or whoever goes under that name , lived in those days ) or before ( for St. Hierome is said to have translated him ) Palmyra is reckoned among the famous Towns of the East ; as it is also by P. 8. Julius Honorius , who lived before Theodoric ; for Cassiodore mentions him , ( Palmira damascus , read Palmyra , Damascus ) and the Author of the Alexandrian Chronicon among the famous Cities of the fourth Climate , reckons Palmyra , with Apamea , Emesa , &c. in Caele Syria . In Justinian's time it became the Residence of the Governor of the East , and subject to the Constantinopolitan Empire , but 't is probable did not continue long in that State ; for about the year of Christ 640. when Heraclius was Emperor , Jabalah the Son of Al Iham was King of Gassan , and Lord of Tadhmur , ( perhaps a Tributary to Heraclius ) who being overcome by Omar the Caliph , one of Mahomet's Successors ; submitted , and turn'd Mahometan ; but , repenting , he afterward went to Constantinople , Pococ . not . in Specim . hist. Ar. p. 77 , 136. and became a Christian ; and at this time , I believe , Mahometanism settled it self at Tadhmur , the Tribe of Gassan being before those days Christian .

I shall not particularly undertake to demonstrate the Usefulness of Coins and Inscriptions , the Learned World hath been already fully convinc'd of that truth ; how many difficult , and obscure Passages in Chronology have been set in their due light , how many Series of Kings have been regularly deduc't , what Rites and Customs both sacred and civil have been by those helps discover'd , needs no further proof ; though were there nothing , else at Palmyra to be seen , but the noble Ruines of the Temples and Palaces , built according to the best and boldest Rules of the ancient Architecture , I should think a Journey thither on that Errand alone worth the Undertaking . And though the oldest of the Palmyrene Inscriptions is a hundred years younger than our blessed Saviour's Incarnation ( as I have made appear in the Commentary ) yet they are not so contemptible as some have imagin'd , but afford us some Memorials of those times , which no where else occur . And by the same Argument , ( the use of the Greek Ε , which appears not till about Domitian's time ) by which I postpone the oldest Inscription at Tadhmur a hundred years , may we prove the Spuriousness of that Table preserv'd at Rome , which is reported to contain the very Title , which by Pilate's Order was affixt to the Cross of our Lord , for therein 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is written with the same sort of Ε.

It must be confest , that in the Palmyrene Inscriptions are some peculiar words , which occur not in the Lexica , as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. ) of which sort there are more in other old Marbles ; nor is it any wonder , that in a remote part of Syria , where a different Language was spoken , Pric . in Apul. Apolog. p. 67. De foedere Hierapytniorum , & Priansens . sciunt doctiores usquequo huc progredi licet , scripta hoc genus non intra Lexicorum septa coercenda : satisque de Interpretis fide , ac judicio constare , qui sciet , ubi legem sequi , ubi dare oporteat . the Greek should not be so pure , as at Athens ; and in such cases a Critick is left to his own Judgment : nor is it a Disreputation to his Fidelity , or acumen , if he happen to wander , where he has no Guide .

The Usefulness of the Journals and History will never be controverted , when 't is consider'd , that they give us the account of a Country , hardly before known to the present Age , and of many Rites and Cermonies , which the European World counts ridiculous , but will appear very ancient and defensible ; for no Nation under Heaven hath been so tenacious of old Usages , as the Orientals . Of which I shall give a few instances .

That the Arabs should suspect the Europeans , that in those Ruines , among so many Sepulchres , they should seek for Treasures , is no wonder to me , since it was very usual under the Foundations of all magnificent Structures to bury great Sums of Money , probably that the Coin , when the Building was ruinous , might discover the Founder , Talismans also being set up in several places to direct the curious Enquirer . Thus Jamblic . ap. Phot. cod . 94. Rhodanes found a great quantity of Gold by the Directions of a Pillar , upon which was pourtrayed a Lyon ; and a like Story is related in the Life of Aesop : And in David's Tomb , Josephus says , the High-Priest Hyrcanus found a vast Treasure ; but the Author of the P. 364. Alexandrian Chronicle avers , that it was Hezekiah , who first open'd the Tomb to show the Riches of his Ancestors to the King of Babylon's Ambassadors , and that for profaning the Ashes of his Fathers , God devoted his Posterity to Captivity .

That they should account a young Camel drest a noble Feast , will cease to be a Subject of wonder or diversion , when we remember , that Custom is the Judge of good or coarse Meats , that every Nation , even in the civiliz'd parts of Europe , differ in their Notions of preferable Dishes , and that a Treat of the best things the Country affords ought to be reckon'd a Feast . To which we may add , that their Ancestors lived on the same fare ; that L. 16. p. 767. Strabo calls the Arabs of his time Camel-eaters ; that Adv. Jovin . l. 2. c. 6. St. Hierome avers , that the Arabs and Saracens , and all other the barbarous Inhabitants of the Desart , lived upon the Milk and Flesh of their Camels , ( and so says Abulfarajus ) that both Hist. anim . l. 6. c. 26. Aristotle and 11. 41. Pliny reckon the Flesh , and the Milk of Camels , not only among the wholesome , but among delicious Meats ; and that In Clio. Herodotus affirms , that the Persians of quality on their Birth-days , ( which was a solemn Festival among them ) among other Dishes , treated their Friends with a whole Oxe , and a whole Camel drest ; that Apud . Athen . l. 4. Antiphanes says , that a Camel serv'd up hot was a Feast for a King ; and that the Emperor Lamprid. p. 108. Elagabalus ( who was a Native of that part of Syria , where the Emir , who treated the English Merchants , lived ) in imitation of Apicius ( who was no contemptible Judge of luxurious Eating , having spent a fair Estate in the Gratifications of his Palate , and being since his Death quoted as an Author for all the Varieties of the old Cookery ) used to eat the feet of Camels , as an extraordinary Dish ; and when he would appear magnificent , caused to be brought in at Supper entire Camels for the Service of his Friends .

Pilaw ( or Rice ) is another Dish among the Arabs , as also among the Persians , Indians and Turks , and so it was of old , says Lib. 15. Strabo . The Arabs of this Age live as their Ancestors , who wandred up and down with their Families , and Cattel , and fixt for a while , where-ever they found Water for themselves , and Grass , for their Herds ; their Tents are now , as of old , made of Camels Hair , ( the Camel is in truth the most useful of Animals to them ; the Flesh is their Meat , the Milk their Drink , their Tents are made of their Hair , their Carriage is upon Camels , and their Riches a numerous Herd of them ) they marry as many Wives as they are able to maintain ; Am. Marcellin . l. 23. c. 6. generally hate Drunkenness , and avoid it as the Plague ; never make Water standing , nor ease nature , but in a place of great Privacy ; and those , who are military Men , sit arm'd at the Table , and never put off their Scimitars till they go to bed ; all which Customs Ammianus observ'd were practis'd among the old Inhabitants of those Countries . They measure their Journies , not by leagues or miles , but by hours and days , as the old Syrians did ; impaleing is a Punishment usual to this day , and the Criminal is forc't to carry his Stake to the place of Execution , as the Person to be crucified anciently carried his Cross . The Custom of putting the whole Family to Death for the Offence of the Chief of it , ( of notorious and hainous , as the Murder of their Prince , or the like ) is not quite difus'd to this day in Persia ; and as Valerian , and others were flead alive , so was Marc Antonio Bragadini , the Venetian Governor of Famagusta , tortur'd by the Turks , when Cyprus was taken ; his Skin being salted and stuft , according to the old Persian Method . And as the same Valerian , clad in his Royal Purple , with his Back lifted Sapores into the Saddle ; so was Bajazet forc't to assist Tamerlane , when he mounted . The Men of Condition used of old to ride with a Banner , and so they continue to do to this day . A Present of one or more Changes of Raiment was a Mark of Favour among the Aegyptians , Jews and Syrians , as long since as the days of the Patriarch Joseph ; and the Habit ( the Calaat ) sent by the Grand Seignior , or the King of Persia , to any Subject or Foreigner , is now one of the highest Instances of Royal Bounty .

In the Monuments of their Dead the Persians of former Ages placed Magi to keep the Tomb ; Arrian . l. 6. expedit . Alex. p. 144 and in this present Age the Mahometans give a Maintenance to a greater or less number of Moullah's , who read the Law in the Moschees , and take care of the Sepulchres , where their Princes are interr'd . And as of old they hired their Women Mourners to make a solemn Lamentation at Funerals , so now the Jewish Women are hired for the same purpose . I shall add no more , but that at Aleppo , ( as my worthy Friend Mr. Aaron Goodyear informs me , to whom I profess my self indebted for many useful Notices ) in the Month of June the Women go to the River , and with solemn Sorrow bewaile Tammuz , and afterward make themselves very merry ; which is no other , than the practice of one of the oldest Superstitions in the World , of which I shall treat at large .

The Heathen Mythologists affirm , Apollodor . Bibliot . l. 3. c. 13. that Cinyras the Assyrian founded the City of Paphos in the Island of Cyprus ; where , having married the Daughter of the King of that Country , he begat Oxyporus and Adonis ; that Adonis was very beautiful , and beloved by Venus , when an Infant , who , that he might be bred carefully , sent him to Proserpina to be educated ; but when she came to demand him , Proserpina resus'd to deliver her Charge ; whereupon the Controversy was decided by Jupiter , that the Youth should stay a third part of the year with Proserpina , another third with Venus , and the remainder should be at his own Disposal . But Adonis being pleas'd with the Charms of Beauty , chose to spend two thirds of his time with Venus , who passionately loved him ; for which reason Diana being displeas'd with him , sent a wild Boar to assault him , by whose Teeth he fell a Sacrifice to her Indignation . Vid. Cyril . in Is . l. 2. tem. 3. p. 274. But others tell the Story differently , that Cinyras lay with his own Daughter Myrrha , on whom he begat Adonis ; but , being asham'd of his Incest , expos'd the Infant on the top of the Mountains , where the Nymphs nurst and kept him , till he grew a most beautiful Youth , spending most of his time in his Sports ; at which Age Venus seeing him , sell violently in love with him , and chose him her Gallant ; that this created Jealousy in Mars , who turn'd himself into the shape of a wild Boar , and slew him ; which , when Venus heard of , she gave her self up to the extravagant Sallies of an ungovernable Grief , and at last resolv'd to follow him into the Shades to demand him there ; but Proserpina refusing to deliver him , they comprimis'd the Affair , that he should be half the year in the inferior World , and the other half in this ; upon which Venus return'd very joyful , and having inform'd her Followers of the Agreement , they instituted a solemn Festival , which was continued to be celebrated with all the Demonstrations of publick Exultation .

This Story , Plutarc . de Isid. & Osirid . with a little Variation , the Aegyptian Writers ( from whom the Asiaticks deriv'd most of their Superstitious Rites and Observances ) tell us , under the name of Osiris , whom Typhon nailed up in a Chest , ( or Coffin ) which he threw into the Nile , that it might be swallowed up of the Sea ; that Isis , as soon as she heard of it , immediately went upon the search of Osiris , inquiring of all she met , till at last some Children inform'd her , what Typhon had done ; whereupon , taking Anubis with her , she sailed down the River , and through the Ocean , till she came to Byblus in Syria , where she found the Ark ( or coffin ) resting upon a Sprig of Heath , which she carried with her into the Ship , and so return'd to Egypt , and there hid the Coffin at Butis , where her Son Orus was nurst ; that Typhon hunting in those parts by the Light of the Moon , which was then at full , found the Coffin , and cutting the Body into fourteen pieces scatter'd it up and down in several places ; whereupon Isis hearing of the Fact , sailed up and down the Marches in a Boat of Reeds , till she had gather'd up the scatter'd Limbs , which she buried in divers places , to prevent any further Attempts of Typhon , and to create Osiris greater honour . In the Aegyptian Month Athyr , they say , Osiris was slain ; and on the seventeenth of their Month Tybi , Isis return'd from Byblus , having spent almost two Months in the search . From this Original came the practice of the Aegyptian Priests , who upon the first of those Anniversaries pretended , that the Body of Osiris was hid in their Temples , where , no one knew , whereupon they lamented him , as if that had been the very day , wherein he was murther'd by Typhon ; they shav'd , and made bald their Heads , V. Herodot . Euterp . Jul. Firmic . Lucian . de Deâ Syr. Cyril . & Procop. in Isai. 18. &c. ( the Custom of such , as were in the deepest Mourning ) they thumpt their Breasts , they wandred up and down the Streets making heavy Lamentations , ( in imitation of the Mournings , and Peregrinations of Isis ; ) and if there happen'd to be any of the Inhabitants of Caria at that time in Aegypt , they slasht their Faces with Knives and Lancets , ( as the Priests of Baal used to do , when their Idol would not answer them ; ) they cut their Arms , and very often made Incisions into the Wounds of the last year , not quite healed : And after they had done this for some time , ( Plutarch says , for 4 days ) they pretended to find the Body , which they had been so earnestly looking for ; and on the nineteenth day of the Month Athyr , when it was night the Priests made their Procession to the River with an Ark of Gold cover'd with the holy Stole ; upon which , as soon as they had poured Water , the By-standers cried out , ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) we have found him , let us turn our Lamentations into Joy : After this they return'd and made merry , treating themselves with Cakes , whereon they stampt the Figure of a Sea-horse , i. e. Typhon ; and at the same time they wrote an Epistle to the Women of Byblus , that Adonis was found , ( for he , whom the Aegyptians called Osiris , the Phaenicians and Syrians named Thammuz , says St. Hierome , and Adonis , says Cyril and Procopius ; ) this Epistle they put into an Earthen Pot , say the above-named Fathers , ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Lucian calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; ) the Jews say , 't was an Ark , or little Ship made of Reeds or Paper , which , after the performance of some ( probably Magical ) Rites , they seal'd and committed to the Waves , and of its own accord in seven days time it was carried by the Winds to Byblus , but never to any other place on the Sea-coast of Phaenicia : And when the Women of that City received it , they put an end to their Lamentations , and begun their joyful Festival with Dances , and solemn Feasting . As the precise time of the beginning the Festival at Byblus commenc't from the hour , in which they receiv'd the Epistle from Aegypt ; so the exact time to begin the Mourning was fixt , says Lucian , by another extraordinary Circumstance ; the River Adonis at that season , from its rise on the side of Mount Libanus , to its fall into the Sea , being all bloody , the Sea it self also for a considerable space being discolour'd with the same , ( the Natives believing that at that time Adonis was actually slain on the Mountain , and that his Blood alter'd the Colour both of the River and the Ocean ) though one of the more inquisitive Byblians told Lucian , that the bloody face of the Waters proceeded from a reddish sort of Earth , which the strong Winds , that at that time used to blow , brought down into the River , and gave the Streams their Tincture . At this time the Woman began their Mourning , ( having first offer'd the Sacrifices of the Dead to Adonis , as the Aegyptians used to do ) and shaved their Heads , ( which , whoever refus'd to do , was by way of Penance obliged for a whole day to prostitute her self to all Strangers , and whatever she got , was to be spent in a Sacrifice to Venus ) their Lamentations , says L. 19. Ammianus Marcellinus being as extravagant , as those of a Mother for an only Son .

The Epistles sent from Alexandria to give notice , that Osiris or Adonis was found , are mention'd , say the Fathers , by the Prophet Isaiah , 18.2 . Wo to the Land that sends their Ambassadors by the Sea in Vessels of Bull-rushes upon the water ; or , as the Septuagint more pertinently , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) and the mournful Solemnity by the Prophet Ezekiel , 8.14 . who among the abominable Idolatries of the People of the Jews , mentions the Womens weeping for Thammûz : Cyril . in Is . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; ità & Procop. in loc. & Theodorit , in Ezek. 8. Hieron . ib. Stephan . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Procop. ubi supr . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . For from Aegypt the Superstition spread it self over all the neighbouring Countries , over Phaenicia , Syria , and Cyprus ; who challeng'd the mock Deity for their own ; nor did the peculiar People of God , the Israelites , escape the Infection , but they also fell into the same Madness .

The old Arabian Zabii , says Ben Maimon , affirm , that in that night in which Thammùz was slain , all the Idols that were in the World , met at Babylon in the Temple of the Sun , who related to them what had befall'n Thammûz ; whereupon the Images wept , and lamented all night , and the next Morning every one of them flew back to his old station : From whence , says he , came the Custom of Mourning early in the Morning over Thammûz , in the Month called by his name : the Month Thammûz , says St. Hierome , answers to our June ; and the Jewish Astronomers call the Sun's entrance into Cancer , Thekupha Thammuz , the Revolution or Period of Thammuz . The whole Feast was called by the Greeks , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; the Death of the mock God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Search after him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the findhim 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . The Festivals having a place in the old Kalendar ; Gruter , 138 , 139. in which we find Isid. Aavigium , not Lavatio , as Vrsinus reads it , but navigium , as it ought to be read ; and in another Month Heurisis . V. Macrob. Saturnal . l. 1. c. 21. The whole had its Mythological Moral ; for by Adonis , Osiris , and Thammuz , was meant the Sun , who when the Summer Solstice was past , moving backward toward the South , seemed to have deprived the Northern Hemisphere of his Presence , and Influences .