Now of the wondres that he doth I can speke largely, but I wol telle only that that is most marveyllous; and first I schalle make mencioun of the oracle. Ther ben manye oracles amonges Grekes and manye amonges Egyptyens, and some in Libye, and also manye in Asye. But thise oracles speken not withouten prestes or prophetes; but that oon meveth be himself and be himself acomplischeth his fercastinge, wher of the maner is right so. Whan heis in wille for to make predicatioun, atte firste he meveth on his thron, and thanne anon the prestes beren him up; but if thei ne beren him not up, he sweteth and meveth ever the more. And whyls thei carryen him on here scholdres, he dryveth hem, tornynge hem in alle weyes and lepynge fro that oon to that other. And atte last the Chefe Preste meteth him and axeth him of alle manere thinges; and gif he wole not that a thyng ben don, he draweth him backwardes; but if he commende a thyng, he dryveth his bereres forwardes right as he were dryvinge a charre.

At Heliopolis, Jupiter Heliopolitanus, who had absorbed “Apollo,” gave oracles in much the same way (Macrobius, Saturn, 1, 28. 13sgq.). So also did Ammon at his great Libyan shrine (Siwa); the description of the procedure when Alexander consulted it (Diodorus, 17, 50-51), somewhat blind in itself, is clear in the light of these parallels. The ikon of the Virgin at Phaneromene, Salamis, is credited with similar owers to-day (Capps), and for a parallel in modern Sierra eone, see Frazer, Folklore, iii, p. 323. .

And I schalle seye you an other wonder that he wroghte in min owene presence. Whan the prestes wolde beren him up and carryen him, he lafte hem doun on the erthe and fleighe in the eyr al be him self.

There beside Apollo is a symulacre of Atlas, and there neer, of Mercure and of Lucine.

This is very likely the same triad of Semitic deities under another set of names, and in slightly different manifestations. For Atlas I would suggest Hadaranes, who according to Melito was worshipped here; a sign of the Zodiac would have sufficed to suggest the supporter of the heavens. Hermes(Mercury) should be Nebo at bottom, because that planet is the planet of Nebo; but the Heliopolitan Mercury who took the place of the Hieropolitan Apollo-Nebo in the triad is thought to have been called Simios (Dussaud). Eileithyia (Lucina), the helper in childbirth, is Mylitta, though here they may not have called her by that name (cf. Schrader-Zimmern, 423, note 7).

Now have I devysed you how that the temple is aparaylled with innen. Withouten is set a gret awtere of brasse, and there nyghe ben othere symulacres of kynges and prestes withouten nombre; and I schalle telle you tho that ben moste worthy of mencioun. At the lefte syde of the temple stont a symulacre of Semiramys schewinge the temple with hir righte hond, the whiche was sett up for this resoun. Sche made ordeynaunce unto alle that duelleden in Surrye that thei scholde worschippe hir as here goddesse, recchynge nought of the othere goddes and [uno hirself. And thei didde right so. But after, for als moche as syknesses and tribulaciouns and peynes weren leyde on hir by the goddes, sche cessed of that folye and knouleched that sche was mortalle and commaunded alle hir subgettes to tornen hem ayen un to Iuno. Wherfore sche stont yit in suche gyse, devysing to alle that comen that thei schulle worschippe luno, and knoulechynge that sche is not goddesse no more, but that other.

There may be some truth in this legend, for Semiramis actually received worship in Carchemish, just north of Hieropolis.

And in that place saughe I also ymages of Eleyne and Ecube and Andromacha and Parys and Ector and Achilles. And I saughe Nireos ymage, that was sone of Aglaye, and Philomele and Progne, that weren yit wommen, and Tereus himself, that was a brid, and an other ymage of Semiramys, and of Combabe that that I spak of, and a right fayr of Stratonice, and oon of Alexaundre lyk as it were the verray man, and there beside him stont Sardanapalle in other schappe and other aparayl.

That is, with the figure and clothing of a woman.