nt among the Amonians, by which they called
their [Greek: lophoi], or high places. This was Taph; which at times was
rendered Tuph, Toph, and Taphos. Lower Egypt being a flat, and annually
overflowed, the natives were forced to raise the soil, on which they built
their principal edifices, in order to secure them from the inundation: and
many of their sacred towers were erected upon conical mounds of earth. But
there were often hills of the same form constructed for religious purposes,
upon which there was no building. These were very common in Egypt. Hence we
read of Taphanis, or Taph-Hanes, Taph-Osiris, Taph-Osiris parva, and contra
Taphias, in Antoninus; all of this country. In other parts were Taphiousa,
Tape, Taphura, Tapori, Taphus, Taphosus, Taphitis. All these names relate
to high altars, upon which they used oftentimes to offer human sacrifices.
Typhon was one of these; being a compound of Tuph-On, which signifies the
hill or altar of the Sun. Tophet, where the Israelites made their children
pass through fire to [385]Moloch, was a mount of this form. And there seem
to have been more than one of this denomination; as we learn from the
prophet Jeremiah, [386]_They have built the high places of Tophet, which is
in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters
in the fire._ And in another place: _They have built also the high places
of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt-offerings unto Baal._ These
cruel operations were generally performed upon mounts of this sort; which,
from their conical figure, were named Tuph and Tupha. It seems to have been
a term current in many countries. The high Persian [387]bonnet had the same
name from its shape: and Bede mentions a particular kind of standard in his
time; which was made of plumes in a globular shape, and called in like
manner, [388]Tupha, vexilli genus, ex consertis plumarum globis. There was
probably a tradition, that the calf, worshipped by the Israelites in the
wilderness near Horeb, was raised upon a sacred mound, like those described
above: for Philo Judaeus says, that it was exhibited after the model of an
Egyptian Tuphos: [389][Greek: Aiguptiakou mimema Tuphou]. This I do not
take to have been a Grecian word; but the name of a sacred orbicular mount,
analogous to the Touphas of Persis.

The Amonians, when they settled in Greece, raised many of these Tupha, or
Tapha, in different parts. These, beside their original name, were still