Whan I asked how many yeres the seyntuarye hadde dured, and who thei wenden that here supposed Goddesse were, manye stories weren tolde, both prestes lore and lewede folkes, and verraye fables; and some weren outlandissche, but othere somme acordeden to hem of Grece. Alle thise seyinges schalle reherce, but I beleve hem not in no kynde.

The more partie seyn, Deucalioun, the Scythe,

Deucalion in the réle of a Scythian is odd. Hence Buttmann, rightly recognising that the tale is close akin to the Babylonian flood-story, proposed the reading Σισύθεα, considering Sisythes a possible variant of the name that in Berossus is Xisouthros. This is tempting, and has been widely accepted; but the mistake, if there be one, is quite as likely to be due to Lucian or to his informant as to a scribe.

This generacioun, the men of now a dayes, nas not the firste, but that firste generacioun al perissched, and thise ben of the seconde generacioun that cam of Deucalioun and multiplyed eftsones. Of tho firste men, thei seyn that thei were right felonouse and didde wikkede dedis, for thei ne kepten not non othes, ne herberweden no straungers, ne receyveden harno fugityves; and for that skylle the grete tribu- cause lacioun cam upon hem. Anon the erthe sent forthe moche water and grete reynes were made and the ryveres flowede gretli and the see wex wondur high, in to tyme that alle thinges weren chaunged to water and alle men weren dede, outtaken Deucalioun that was laft unto the seconde generacioun for his gode conseil and his gode werkes. And his deliveraunce cam in this wyse. In to a gret arke that he hadde he putte his children and his wyves, and thanne entrede, and at entrynge ther camen to him swyn and hors and lyouns kynd and serpentes and alle bestes that lyven on erthe, two and two. And he resceyvede as hem alle, and thei diden him non harm, but betwene hem was great charitee fro the goddes, and in oon; arke thei alle seyleden whyl the water prevayled. So seyn Grekes of Deucalioun.

In spite of Lucian’s repeated assurance, the story is more Semitic than Greek. On the West Semitic origin of the flood-story, see Clay, where also a translation of the Babylonian tale according to Berossus may be found (p. 82 sq.).

But of that that sewede, men of the Holy Cytee sotiowed tellen a tale that is worthy of gret merveylle, how that in here londe opnede a huge hole and resceyvede alle the water; and whan this happed, Deucalioun leet maken awteres and leet bylden over the hole a atars temple halowed to Iuno.

At Gezer, not far from Jerusalem, “there is a living tradition that the waters of the flood burst forth in the neighbourhood” (Cook, p. 107). Likewise at Athens, within the enclosure of Olympian Zeus, in the precinct of Olympian Earth: ‘here the ground is cloven to a cubit’s width; and they say that after the deluge which happened in Deucalion’s time the water ran away down this cleft. Every year they throw into it wheaten meal kneaded with honey” (Pausanias 1, 18, 7, Frazer’s translation).

In tokene of that storie thei don thus. Twyes eech yeer water cometh fro the See in to the temple. And not prestes only bryngen it, but al Surrye and Arabye; and fro beyonden Eufrate gon manye men to the See and bryngen alle watre, that anon thei scheden out in the temple, and thanne it goth adoun in to that hole; and al be it that the hole is smal, natheles it taketh inne gret plentee of water. And in doynge thus thei seyn that Deucalioun made suche ordeynaunce for the seyntuarye in memorie of that tribulacioun and that benefice.

Further details of this rite are given in ¢. 48. Frazer's note on Pausanias l.c. compares an Athenian Hydrophoria connected with the memory of the flood; also the annual water-pouring in the Temple at Jerusalem on the Feast of Tabernacles. The performance was not simply commemorative; the offering at Athens of meal and honey was chthonic, and so was the water-pouring there (Cleidemus in Athenaeus 5, p. 410a). At Hieropolis the object was to quell evil spirits, according to Melito. “But touching Nebo, which is in Mabug, why should I write to you; for lo! all the priests which are in Mabug know that it is the image of Orpheus, a Thracian Magus. And Hadran (i.e. Hadaranes, a double of Hadad) is the image of Zaradusht, a Persian Magus, because both of these Magi practised Magism to a well which is in a wood in Mabug, in which was an unclean spirit, and it committed violence and attacked the passage of every one who was passing by in all that place in which now the fortress of Mabug is located; and these same Magi charged Simi, the daughter of Hadad (cf. c. 33), that she should draw water froin the sea, and cast it into the well, in order that the spirits should not come up,” etc. (Cureton, Spicil, Syr. 44 sq.) Early modern travellers have seen seawater poured into a brook (Baudissin, Studien, ii, p. 181), and it is perhaps significant that nowadays the Jans are angry if water is spilled on the hearth (Baldensperger, Jmmovable East, p. 85). Cf. Baudissin, p. 437, 3.

But othere men , trowen that Semiramys of Babyloyne, of the which sothely ben manye werkes in Asye, sche made this foundacioun, and not for Iuno but for hir owne Moder, that hadde to name Derketoun.

A legend of Ascalon made Semiramis the daughter of Derceto by a Syrian youth with whom Aphrodite (i.¢. Astarte) made Derceto fall in love. In her grief and shame, Derceto destroyed the youth, exposed the daughter, and herself leaped into a pool and was turned into a fish. Semiramis was miraculously attended by doves until she was discovered and handed over to Simmas, a royal overseer; eventually she married Ninus (Ctesias, quoted by Diodorus Siculus 2, 4). She was intimately connected with temple traditions at Hieropolis: two statues of her stood near the temple, with one of which the story was connected that she had once tried to usurp the place of the goddess (cc. 39, 40), and some thought that the “token” of c. 33 represented her.

Ther is also an other holy storie that I herde from a wys man, how that the goddesse is Cibella and the servys founded of Attis. Attis was a Lydien of kynde, that first leet teche the ceremonyes that longen to Cibella. And alle rytes that Phrygiens and Lydiens and Samothracyens perfourmen, tho rytes lerneden thei of Attis. For whan Cibella gelt him, he cessed to lede the lyf of a man, but chaunged to femele schappe, and did on wommenes clothynge, and goynge to every londe perfourmed ceremonyes and reherced what betyd him and preysed Cibella in songes. Ther with alle cam he to Surrye, and for als moche as the peple beyonden Eufrate resceyvede him not, ne his cerimonyes nouther, he founded the seyntuarye in this place. And for a signe thereof, the goddesse for the most partie ressembleth Cibella, for lyouns drawen hir and sche holt a timbre and bereth tours on hir hede, right as Lydiens formen Cibella. Also he spak of Galles that ben in the temple, seyinge that Galles gelden hem and counterfeten Attis not at alle for no worschipe of luno but for worschipe of Cibella.

This identification of the Dea Syria with Rhea has been spoken of as a temple-legend. Is it not rather a simple deduction of Lucian’s “wise man,” based upon general resemblance and upon the presence of Galli in both cults? The resemblance, however, was real, and the identification was not unusual; a striking instance is in Bardesanes, where the Syriac version (Cureton, 31) has Tharatha, the Greek, as quoted by Eusebius, Rhea. It has been revived by modern scholars, notably Meyer, and with good reason; but whether the “Mother-goddess” is Semitic in origin, as he formerly held, or non-Semitic (Hittite), as he now argues, is still, it seems to me, an open question. See note below on Combabus.

But after myn avis, al be it that this is wel semynge, it is not trewe, for I have herde an other cause whi thei gelden hem that is a gret dele mo to beleven.