He mentions a like
circumstance at the Prutaneion in Elis[731]: [Greek: Esti de hei Hestia
tephras kai aute pepoiemene, kai ep' autes pur ana pasan te hemeran, kai en
pasei nukti hosautos kaietai.] Attica at first was divided into separate
and independent hamlets: each of which had its own Prutaneion, and Archon.
These Archons were priests of the [732]Prutaneia; and were denominated from
their office. Archon is the same as Orchon, and like Chon-Or signifies the
God of light, and fire; from which title the priests had their name. In
Babylonia, and Chaldea, they were called Urchani.

As in these temples there was always a [733]light, and a fire burning on
the hearth, some of the Grecians have varied in their etymology, and have
derived the name from [Greek: pur], Pur. Suidas supposes it to have been
originally called [Greek: Puros tameion]. [734][Greek: Prutaneion, puros
tameion, entha en asbeston pur.] The Scholiast upon Thucydides speaks to
the same purpose. [735][Greek: Alloi de phasin, hoti to Prutaneion puros en
tameion, entha en asbeston pur.] _Others tell us, that the Prutaneion was
of old called Puros Tameion, from [Greek: pur], pur: because it was the
repository of a perpetual fire_. It was sacred to Hestia, the Vesta of the
Romans; which was only another title for Damater: and the sacred hearth had
the same name. [736][Greek: Hestian d' an kuriotata kaloies ten en
Prutaneioi, eph' hes to pur to asbeston anaptetai.] I have mentioned, that
these places were temples, and at the same time courts of justice: hence we
find, that in the Prutaneion at Athens, the laws of Solon were
[737]engraved. These laws were described upon wooden cylinders: some of
which remained to the time of [738]Plutarch.

Many of these temples were dedicated to the Deity under the name of
Persephone, or Proserpine, the supposed daughter of Ceres. They were in
reality the same personage. Persephone was styled [Greek: Kora], Cora;
which the Greeks misinterpreted [Greek: Parthenos], the virgin, or damsel.
How could a person, who according to the received accounts had been
ravished by Pluto, and been his consort for ages; who was the reputed queen
of hell, be styled by way of eminence [Greek: Parthenos]? [Greek: Kora],
Cora, which they understood was the same as Cura, a feminine title of the
sun: by which Ceres also was called at Cnidos. However mild and gentle
Proserpine may have been represented in her virgin state by the Poets; yet
her tribunal