THE METAMORPHOSES OF PUBLIUS OVIDIUS NASO

264 F. OVIDII N ASONIS LIBER IV
Stagna Palaestini credunt celebrasse figura:
An magis, ut sumptis ilJius filia pennis,
Extremes altis in turribus egerit annos:
Na'is an ut cantu, nimiumque potentibus herbis
Verterit in tacitos juvenilia corpora pisces :
Donee idem passa est. An, quse poma alba ferebat,
Ut nunc nigra ferat contactu sanguinis arbor.
Haec placet: hanc, quoniam vulgaris fabula non est,
Talibus orsa modis, lana sua fila sequcnte.
(de), which signifies the, and the word cetut
(cetia), with the assumption of r for eupho
ny, we will have the word Dercetis, signi
fying the sea-monster. Hestod, in his 'I he-
ogony, speaking of whnt the Sea gave rise
to, evidently alludes to Noah, under the
character oi NereuB to the central waters
of the earth, or " fountains of the great
deep" that were broken up, under ihe
character of Thaumas (own, Thaum, the
' abyss), and to ihe Ark, under the personi
fication of Ceto:
The Sea gave Nereus life, unerring seer.
And true; most ancient of hie race, whom all
Hail as ihe sage, lor mild and blameless he:
Remembering Elill the riglu; still merciful
As juf,t in fouiutds. Then embracing Earth,
He fashioned the grent Tliaumas, Phorcys
Btronq, *
And blooming Ceto. THEOGONY, 233.
NOT^E.
See note on Sacra, page 255, in which
Dercetis is plainly shown to be the Ark.
46. Fulastini. The inhabitants of Pa
lestine, a province of Syria, and now a part
of Asiatic Turkey.
47. Filia. Semiramis, the wife of Ninus,
who built Nineveh. After her husband's
death, she enlarged the empire by con
quest, and is saia by some to have built
Babylon. There is much diversity of
opinion relative to her character and era.
Many consider her altogether fabulous.
She was doubtless an emblem of the Flood,
and worshipped as such, at Hierapolis;
hence the sanctity with which doves were
regarded. On Mount Eryx, in Sicily, was
a temple to the Marine Venus, where sa
cred doves were kept, with which two
festivals were connected, the one called
'Avaydfyw, when they were let out, and flew
over sea: and the Karay^ym, when they re
turned to the shrine of the goddess. On
the occasion of the latter, were great re
joicings. This no doubt commemorated
the joy on the return of the Noachic dove.
The doves of Eryx were carrier doves, it
is to be presumed Nonnus, in his Diony
siacs, plainly refers to the return of the
Dove to the Ark:
She first unbarred
Her friendly window to ihe auspicii :iouB Dove,
Returning from ihe sen
50
SI. An nt arbor qnra
fcrebat alba pome,
nunc fcrnt nigra con-
tuctu Banguima.
Clemens Alexandrinus says that the Syro
Phenicians reverence doves and fish as the
people of Elis do J upiter :
Of jur raj ireptOTepas bl 61 TOvg l\5vt, OVTU
oiflovct srepirrws, ws HXciot rdv &ia. — COHORT.
Xenophon speaks of the same worship :
'IxSwwv ovS oi £ijpoi ,
CIVK ciuv, oiieji rnf irefiicrcpaf. — ANABASIS.
Hyginus mentions the same worship :
Syri pisces et columhus ex Deorum numero
habent; non edunt. FAB. cxcvii.
Diodorus mentions the worship of the
Dove:
&ii