The celebrated city of Corinth appears to have derived its name likewife from the prevailing worship of Cor, the Sun. It was fuppofed to have been founded by Aletes, one of the Heraclidæ or Heliadæ°; whence Pindar calls the Corinthians Taides Aλara, the children of Aletes P. Thefe Heraclidæ 9, Aletæ, or Titans, fo celebrated throughout the whole world, are faid by Sanchoniatho, as we have already obferved, to be the children of Cronus or Agruerus, the fcriptural Noah: and it is remarkable, that, as the Titans were denominated Heliade, fo the two great Rajah families in Hindoftan ftyled themfelves Surya-Bans and Chandra-Bans, or children of the Sun and be produced of the Ark being designated by titles derived from the feveral appellations of the Sun. • Αλήτης ήγησατο της αποικίας των Ηρακλειδων, ὅτε οἱ Ἡρακλείδαι κατησαν εις Πελοποννησον, και αυτος εἷς ων των Ηρακλειδων — Οὗτος Expaτnos Kopide. Schol. in Pind. Olymp. xiii. ver. 17. Keates ὁ Αλήτης, και ωνόμασεν αυτην Διος Κορινθον. Schol. in Pind. Nem. vii. ver. 155. Aletes is merely Al-Ait, the god of fire, and he is the fame mythological character as his fuppofed anceftor Hercules. In reference to the union of the two fuperftitions, he is faid to have been the fon of Hippotes, or HippaDus, the god of the Ark. Conon. Narrat. 26. Corinthus is Cor-Ain-Thus, the divine folar fountain of beat. P Pind. Olymp. xiii. ver. 17. Their father Hercules is Erech-El, the arkite deity; and he is the fame perfon as Ofiris, as fhall be fhewn hereafter. T Ang. Children of the Sun. Moon. Moon. The fame notion prevailed in Peru, the Yncas of which boafted of their descent from the two great luminaries of heaven, or, in other words, from Noah and the Ark, worshipped in conjunction with the Sun and Moon. Nor fhall we wonder at this fimilarity of religious opinion, when we confider the very remote period, at which the union. of the folar and arkite worship took place; a period fo remote, that we cannot fix it later, than the age of the tower of Babel, which feems in fact to have been erected for the purposes of this very idolatry. Such then being the import of the word Corinth, we shall be at no lofs to understand the meaningof the contest between Neptune and the Sun, which was reported to have been carried on for the ifthmus of that city. It evidently alludes to the refiftance made, in the early ages, to the union of the two primeval fuperftitions. Accordingly, as I fhall take occa Λεγουσι δε και οἱ Κορίνθιοι Ποσειδώνα έλθεῖν Ήλιῳ περί της γης ες appientnow. Pauf. Corinth. p. 112. The ancients had a variety of fimilar legends refpecting contefts between their gods, which I think may be divided into two claffes, as allufive to two entirely different events, the deluge, and the union of the two fuperftitions. I have already noticed the conteft of Neptune and Juno for the fovereignty of Argos, and have referred it to the first of thefe events. That of Minerva and Neptune for the territory of Athens has a fi fion to fhew hereafter, we find in the history of the Corinthians, traces no lefs of the arkite, than of the folar worship. From the fame adoration of Cor or Cur, Crete was formerly called Curetis", and a milar allufion to the hiftory of the deluge. Hence, in both thefe inftances, Juno and Minerva are equally described, not as vanquished, but as having gained the fuperiority over Neptune. The Trezenians however preserved a tradition, which feems to be a corrupted compound both of the conteft which relates to the flood, and of that which defcribes the union of the two fuperftitions. They efteemed Horus the first of men; and believed, that a conteft for their country between Neptune and Minerva took place during the reign of Althepus, the fon of Neptune, and fucceffor of Horus. This is evidently the counterpart of the Athenian legend, and is confequently to be referred to the hiftory of the deluge, Minerva being a perfonification of the divine wifdom, which preferved the Ark; but, when we find, that the iffue of the Trezenian conteft was not a victory gained by Minerva over her adverfary, but an agreement between the parties jointly to poffefs the country, this part of the tradition feems rather to allude to the junction of the arkite worship with that of the Sun. Pauf. Corinth. P. 181. " Dofiades eam a Creta nympha Hefperidis filia, Anaximander a rege Curetum, Philiftides Mallotes Crates primum Æriam dictam, deinde poftea Curetin. Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. iv. cap. 12. Οι μεν φασιν απο το κόρης Κορητην, και Κρητην κατα συγκοπην· οἱ δε απο Κρητος το Διος και Ιδαίας νύμφης παιδος· οἱ δ' απο Κρήτης μιας των Εσπερίδων· οἱ δ' απο τινος γηγενους Κρητος. Steph. Byzant. de Urb. p. 479. Crete is the fame word in reality as Curetis; for, as Stephanus juftly obferves, Crete is merely the fyncopated form of Curete. The fame obfervation may be extended to the fuppofed earth-born monarch Cres, who diftrict in Afia Minor Caria. It is remarkable, that the citadel of Megara was likewise denominated Caria, as it was fuppofed from Car the fon of Phoroneus, in the time of whofe father Inachus the deluge happened *. In a fimilar manner, and with a fimilar allufion to the united fuperftitions, a city of Chios, which bore the name of Carides, was faid to have been built by Macar, and the perfons, who escaped from the flood of Deucalion ". Another title of the Sun, to return from this digreffion refpecting the fyllable Cur, or Cor, was Phaethon, or Ph'Aith-On, the burning folar orb. Thus Sophocles: Πε ποτε κεραυνοί Διος, η Ει ταυτ' εφορώντες Κρυπτεσιν έκηλοι Where is thy lightning, Jove? and where thy power, is evidently the folar deity Cures. The mythological history of Crete will be refumed hereafter, chap. vi. * Εκαλείτο δε και ή Μεγαρων ακροπολις Καρία από Καρος το Φορων EW. Steph. Byzant. de Urb. p. 449. ν Καρίδες περι Χιον την νησον. Έφορος εν τη πρώτη ίσορες, κτίσαι φασκων αυτην τις διασωθεντας εκ τε επί Δευκαλίωνος γενομένου κατα κλυσμό μετα Μακαρος" και μέχρι νυν τον τοπον καλείσθαι Καρίδας. Ibid. p. 451. Macar is Ma-Car, the great Sun. 2 Elect. ver. 825. All All-feeing Phaethon? if this foul deed Phaethon indeed is ufually described as the Ωκεανος κελάδων μιτρεμενος αν τυγα κοσμε ής επι μορφή, Καμνε πυρος ταμίης έτερα τυρι The folar Noah was adored likewife under the name of Ares or Mars. Hence the title Clymenè is also faid to have been the mother of Atlas, and for the very fame reason. Vide fupra p. 113, 115. b Nonni Dionyf. lib. xxxvii. p. 639. Ares, |