De Syria dea

Than Combabe mad his weye safly ; and whan thei were comen to the Holy Cytee thei gan bylde the temple besily, and thei spenten three yeres in the werk, and in tho yeres that Combabe dredde befel. For in companyinge with him a gret whyl Stratonice began for to love him, and thanne sche wex right wode over him. Men of the Holy Cytee seyn that Iuno was voluntarie cause thereof, to the entente that Combabes godeness scholde not lye hidde and Stratonice scholde ben punissched be cause that sche ne behight not the temple buxomly (readily).

Atte firste sche was mesurable and hyd hir maladye; but whan as hir miseyse becam to gret for pees, sche sorwede openly and wepte everyche day, and cryde on the name of Combabe, and Com-

Right as hir thoghte, right so sche didde. For aftre mete sche wente to the house wherin Combabe was logged, and besoghte him and embraced his knees and avowed hir love. But he resceyved hir wordes rudeliche, and wolde not assente to the dede, and reprevede hir of dronkenesse. But whan sche made manace to don hirself som gret harm, thanne for fere he told hir alle the storie and descryved al his owne cas and discovered his doynge. And whan Stratonice saughe that hir ne thoghte never fulness to seen, sche stente of (desisted from) hir wodenesse, yit sche forgat desisted not at alle of hir love, but companyed with him “™ alle weyes and in that gyse solacede the love, therin sche mighte not speden. That maner love abydeth yit in the Holy Cytee, and is mad now a dayes; wommen coveyten Galles and Galles wexen wode for love of wommen; natheles is no man ialous, but hem thenketh this thing right holy.

Now that that had happened in the Holy Cytee touching Stratonice scaped not the kyng in no kynde, but manye that retorneden acuseden hem and reherceden here doynges; wherfore the kyng was grevously troubled and sompnede Combabe fro

Whan the tidinges were come to the Holy Cytee, and Combabe lernede the acusaccioun, he wente boldely, for because he had laft his answere-at home. And at arryvinge, anon the kyng bond him and kepte him in prisoun; and after, whan his frendes there weren that there weren beforn, whan Combabe was sent forth, he ladde him in presence and began for to blamen him, reprevinge him of avowtrie and vileinye ; and in sore bitternesse of herte he putte him in remembraunce of feythe and frendschipe, seyinge that Combabe didde three fold wrong be cause he was avowtrer and brak feyth and synned ayeyns the goddesse in whoos servys that he so wroughte. And manye stode forth and made witnessing that thei sanghen hem companye togider openly. And atte laste alle demeden that Combabe scholde dye right anon, for his dedis disserveden dethe.

In this tyme he stondynge seyde noght. But whan thei wolde leden him to his dethe, he spak,

At this seyinge that other youled and toke him in armes and wepynge seyde: “O Combabe, wherfore hastow wrought gret mescheef? Wherfore hastow don thiself suche a despyt that never yit no man ne sayde? I preyse this not at alle. O herde herte, that wast hardy for to don suche thinges, that I wolde thou hadde neer soffred ne I neer seen! Me wantede not this answere. But for als moche as it was goddes wille, first shaltow han vengeaunce of oure grace, the dethe of thi false chalengeres hem self, and after schal comen a gret yifte, moche gold and gret plentee silver and Assuriene clothes and rialle destreres (royal chargers). And thou shalt come before me withouten that ony man presente thee, and noon schalle lette thee fro sight of me, thoghe I be abedde with my wyf.”[*](A plain reminiscence of Herodotus3, 84 and118, with the significant change of fv uh yuraki to οὐδ᾽ ἣν γυναικί (Allinson). ) Right as he seyde, right so he didde. Tho weren ladde to dethe anon, but to him the yiftes were goven and grettere frendschipe

And after, ther as he besoghte to finissche the remenant of the temple, for he hadde laft it unfinissched, he was sent eftsones and broght it to an ende, and abood there fro thens fromward. And be cause of his vertue and wel doynge, the kyng vouchede saf that his ymage in brasse scholde ben set in the seyntuarye. And so for gerdon Combabe dwelleth yit in the close, formed of brasse be crafte of Ermocle the Rodien, lyk a womman in schappe, but clothed as a man.[*](Hermocles of Rhodes is known only from this passage ; his name must have been preserved by an inscription on the statue, which we may be sure was the restoration of an older statue of the putative originator of the Galli and possibly real founder of the temple, installed in connection with the Seleucid restoration of the temple itself. )

The storie telleth that his beste frendes, for solas of his wo, chosen to parte his lot; for thei gelten hem and ladde that same manere lyf. But othere men rehercen prestes lore to this matere, how that Iuno lovynge Combabe putte it in the thoghtes of manye to gelden hem, in the entente that he scholde not mourne allone for manhode.

But evermore sithen that this custom was first establissched, it abydeth yit, and everyche yeer manye men gelden hem in the close and becomen as wommen, wher it be that thei solacen Combabe or reioysen Iuno. Algates thei gelden hem. And thise no lenger clothen hem as men, but weren wommenes wedes and don wommenes werkes. And as I herde, the blame of this also is leyde on Combabe; for a thyng befel him in this wyse. A straunge womman that cam thider on pilgrimage saughe him whyl he was fayre and clad yit as a man, and sche was seysed of gret love. But after, whan sche lernede

Of Combabe have I seyd ynow, and of Galles I schalle make mencioun sone in another partie of my boke,[*](C. 50-53. ) how that they ben gelded, and in what manere that thei ben buryed, and wherfore thei entren not into the temple. But first it listeth me to telle of the site of the temple and his gretnesse, and therfore I schalle don right so.

The place therinne the temple sytt isa hille ; and * it liggeth wel in the myddes of the cytee, and two walles enviroune it. Oon of tho walles is auncien, but the tother is not mocheles elder than oure tyme. The entree of the holy place maketh out toward the Septemtryon, wel a 100 fadmes of largenesse; and in that entree stont tho yerdes that Bachus leet set, on heighte a 300 fadmes.[*](Some reduce these 300-fathom emblems to 30 by conjecture, but it is in unimportant details like this that Lucian ves rein to his inclination to parody. Mandeville gives the Howe of Babel the modest height of 64 furlongs—eight miles. ) A man goth up the oon

The manere of his goynge up is this. He putteth a schort corde abouten himself and the yerde, and thanne he climbeth on peces of wode ynaylled on the yerde, bigge ynow for to lette setten (set his toes) on his toon; and ther as he climbeth he throweth up the corde with bothe hondes right as he mighte schake the reynes of a charre. If ony ther be that hath not seen this thing, but hath seen men that climben trees of palme in Arabye or in Egypte, or elles where, he undirstondeth wherof I speke.[*](This method of climbing palms is alluded to by Pliny, 13, 29. )

Whan he is comen to the ende of his weye, he letteth falle an other corde that he hath, that is long, and draweth uppe what him list, wode and clothes and purveyaunce, of the whiche he frameth a sete lyk as a nest, theron he sytteth and abydeth for the space of the before seyde dayes, And manye comynge putten gold or silver or peraunter brasse, that thei usen for here moneyes, in to a vesselle that lyeth there neer, seyinge everychon his name. Thann oon that stondeth there beside calleth it uppe ; and whan that other resceyveth the name of eech, he preyeth for him, and in preyinge schaketh a thyng of brasse that souneth gret and schrille whan it is stered.[*](Very likely the bronze sistrum ; fragments of these have been found in Phoenicia (Cook 45). The object was to scare away evil spirits, which as Lucian says elsewhere (vol. iii, p. 343), take flight if they hear a chink of bronze or iron. ) And he ne slepeth never. For if that ever he falle on slepe, a scorpioun goynge up awaketh him and doth him pitous harm; and that is the peyne that is leyde on him for slepynge.[*](There is probably special significance in the scorpion. Not only does it occur frequently on Babylonian seals, and later become the sign of the Zodiac, but in the Gilgamesh Epic (Frazer, Folklore,i, 112), the mountain, where the sun goes down (i.e. Antilian on ; Schrader-Zimmern, p. 573), is guarded by a scorpion man and woman. ) Now this tale that is told of the scorpioun is a holy tale and wel semyng, but wher it be trewe or non, I wot neer. Natheles, me semeth that drede of fallynge avayleth moch to wakfulnesse.

Now thanne, of yerde-climberes have I seyd y now.

But as touching the temple, it loketh ayenst the sonnes rysynge, and the form and makyng therof is right as thei bylden temples in Ionye. A gret platte forme ryseth fro the erthe 2 fadmes of highte, where on the temple sytt. The weye up to

And with inne, the temple is not oon, but in it is mad an other chambre, to the which is an other weye up, that is but schort. That chambre is not dight with dores but liggeth alle open ayens thee. In to the grete temple comen alle men, but in to the litylle chambre the prestes only, and not alle the prestes, but only thei that ben most nyghe to the Goddes and han in governaunce alle the servys of the temple. And in that chambre arn throned the ydoles, that oon Iuno and that other that is Tove, algates thei clepen him be another name.[*](The other name, the right one, is Hadad, or Ramman, god of the lightning and of the waters (rains and floods), known from very early times to the Semites, to the Mitani folk under the name of Teshub, and to the Hittites, upon whose monuments he is conspicuous, with the axe and the thunderbolt for attributes. He underlies not only Jupiter Heliopolitanus but Jupiter Dolichenus. Consequently his identification here also with Jupiter was inevitable, and it is chiefly in virtue of this that his spouse was identified with Juno (cf. Dussaud, Pauly-Wissowa, s.v., and Schrader- Zimmern, p. 447). ) And both ben of gold, and both sytten, but lyouns beren Iuno, and that other sytt on boles.[*](Lucian’s statement is borne out by the coins; see Head, Hist. Numm., 2nd ed., p. 777. Atargatis is seen sometimes riding on a lion, sometimes enthroned between two of them ; Hadad (not Baal Kevan) is seated between two oxen. ‘On an inscription from North Syria (eighth century) Hadad has horns, and with this agrees the association of the bull with the god . . . we may conjecture that the small heads of bulls unearthed by the excavations are connected with his worship” (Cook, 90; cf. Schrader-Zimmern, p. 778). Compare Tobit, 1, 5. The lion appears also in connection with Ata, with “Kadesh,” who stands upon a lion in an Egyptian representation of her, and with several Babylonian deities, as well as with Cybele. )

And certeynely the symulacre of Iove ressembleth Iove in alle pointes, as heed and garnements and throne; and thou mightest not lyknen him unto no thing elles, and thou wolde.

But whan thou lokest on Iuno, sche wil schewe thee grete dyversitee of semblauntz; for al be it that the hool, trewely considered, be luno, natheles it conteyneth some dele of Minerve and Venus and Luna and Cibella and Deane and Fortune and Parcas.[*](Compare Plutarch, Crassus, 17, 6: “And the first warning sign came to him from this very goddess, whom some call Venus, others Juno, while others (cf. Cornutus 6) still regard her as the natural cause which supplies from moisture the beginnings and seeds of everything, and points out to mankind the source of all blessings. for as they were leaving her temple (where, Plutarch says, he had been taking an inventory of the treasures), first the younger Crassus stumbled and fell at the gate, and then his father fell over him” (Perrin’s translation). The identification with Aphrodite, which occurs on inscriptions from Delos, is due to her Astarte side ; to Lucian in this case it is of course particularly suggested by the famous cestus. What suggested the other goddesses is not clear to me in the case of Athena or of Nemesis; the rays indicate Selene, the distaff Artemis, and the sceptre the Parcae, or Moirai (Fates). cestus ) And in that oon hond sche holt a troncheon, and in that other a distaf; and on hir hede sche bereth rayes, and a tour, and that ceynt that men arayen with Venus Celestial allone. And abouten hir sche hath mo gold and precious stones right costlewe, some whyte and some watry, and manye lyk wyn and manye lyk fuyr; and therto sardoynes withouten nombre and berylles and emeraudes. Thise stones bryngen men of Egypte and Inde and Ethyope and Medye and Ermonye and Babyloyne. But I schal devyse you a thyng that is yit mo to speke of. Sche bereth on hir hede a ston that hight Lampe and hath his name after that that it doth. That ston schyneth in the nyght with grete claretee and serveth all the temple with light, right as it were of lampes. In the daye his schyninge is feble but

And betwene hem stont a symulacre of gold, not lyk the othere symulacres in no kynde, that hath no propre schap but bereth the qualitees of the other goddes. And the Assuriens hem selve clepen it Tokene, for thei han not goven him no propre name ; in sothe thei mowe not seyn whens it cam ne what maner thyng it is. But some beleven, it is of Bachus, ~ and othere that it is of Deucalioun, and othere that it is of Semiramys. And for sothe a dowve of gold stont on his hede, and so thei devisen that it is Semiramys Tokene. And it doth iorney twyes eech yeer to the See, for to fecchen that water aforseyde.[*](It is clear from the passage in Melito quoted above that Lucian’s “token” (semeion) rests upon a misunderstanding of the name of a goddess, Simi, Simia, Semea (Néldeke ; cf. Hoefer, s.v. Semea in Roscher). The name also figures in the Semiramis-Derceto myth, for the royal overseer is called Simmas. Note also that the figure has a dove on its head. A Talmudic gloss cited by Drusius says: ‘“Samaritanus circumcidit in nomine imaginis columbam referentis quam inventam in vertice montis Garizim certo quodam ritu colunt” (Selden, de Dis Syris, p. 275). See Montgomery, Samaritans, p. 320. )

In the temple himself on the left syde in entrynge is first a thron of Elye the sonne, but noon ymage of him sytt there on. For of Sonne and Mone only schewen thei non symulacres, and I lernede wherfore thei folwen this usaunce. Thei seyn that of othere goddes it is leful to lete make symulacres, for that

And ther nyghe this throne is sett a symulacre ~ of Apollo, not lyk as he is wont to ben formed. For alle othere Jeven Apollo yong and formen him as a stripling, but thise allone schewen a symulacre of Apollo berded. And doynge this thei preisen hem selve and repreven Grekes and alle othere men that worschippen Apollo in lyknesse of a child. And the resoun is, for it semeth hem gret folye to maken schappes of Goddes inperfyt, and al that is yong thei demen yit inperfyt. And here Apollo hath other novelrye; for thei allone arayen him with clothynges.[*](Apollo is Nebo, whose statue, bearded and clothed, erected at Kelach by Adad-Nirari III, son of Semiramis, may be seen at the British Museum (illustrated in Roscher, Lexikon, I, p. 49). The inscription that it bears implores long life for Adad-Nirari, king of Assyria, and for Sammuramat, the Lady of the Palace. Nebo was highly favoured by Semiramis, and also, in later days, by Antiochus Soter, who rebuilt his temple at Borsippa in 268 B.c. At Edessa, near Hieropolis, his worship continued until the coming of Christianity (Cureton, Ancient Syriac Documents, pp. 14, 22, 41). Contemporary testimony to its existence at FReropolie is furnished by Melito; see above, p. 353, note 3. Thestatue at Hieropolis that we find described in Macrobius seems to be a later one; for though it was bearded and clothed, as in Lucian’s day, there was a calathus on the head, a spear topped with a little figure of Victory in the right hand, a flower in the left, a breastplate on his body, and over it a snaky aegis; also, two eagles near by (Saturn, 1, 17, 67-70). )

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

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. )