ey attributed the whole to the hero of Thebes: and as he was supposed to
conquer wherever he came, they made him subdue Geryon; and changing the
Tor, or Towers, into so many head of cattle, they [232]describe him as
leading them off in triumph over the Pyranees and Alpes, to Hetruria, and
so on to Calabria. From thence, for what reason we know not, he swims them
over to Messana in Sicily: and after some stay he swims with them through
the sea back again, all the while holding by one of their horns. The bulls
of Colchis, with which Jason was supposed to have engaged, were probably of
the same nature and original. The people of this country were Amonians, and
had once a [233]mighty trade; for the security of which they erected at the
entrance of the Phasis towers. These served both as light-houses, and
temples; and were sacred to Adorus. They were on this account called
Tynador, whence the Greeks formed Tyndarus, Tyndaris, and Tyndaridae. They
were built after some, which stood near the city [234]Paraetonium of Egypt;
and they are alluded to by the geographer Dionysius:

[235][Greek: Par de muchon Pontoio, meta chthona Tundaridaon,]
[Greek: Kolchoi naietaousin epeludes Aiguptoio.]

Colchis was styled Cutaia, and had been early occupied by the sons of Chus.
The chief city, whence the country has been in general denominated, was
from its situation called Cal-Chus, and Col-Chus, the hill, or place of
Chus. This by the Greeks was rendered Colchis: but as travellers are not
uniform in expressing foreign terms, some have rendered what was Colchian,
Chalcian, and from Colchus they have formed [Greek: Chalkos], brass. The
Chalcian towers being moreover interpreted [Greek: tauroi], bulls, a story
took its rise about the brazen bulls of Colchis. Besides this, there was in
these towers a constant fire kept up for the direction of ships by night:
whence the bulls were said to breath fire.

We however sometimes meet with sacred towers, which were really denominated
Tauri from the worship of the mystic bull, the same as the Apis, and Mneuis
of Egypt. Such was probably the temple of Minotaurus in Crete, where the
[236]Deity was represented under an emblematical figure; which consisted of
the body of a man with the head of a bull. In Sicily was a promontory
Taurus, mentioned by Diodorus Siculus; which was called also Tauromenium.
He acquaints us, that Hanno the Carthaginian sent his Admiral with orders
[Greek: paraplein epi ton lopho