Homeric poems, and from which even the gods are not exempt, Schlegel
well observes, "This power extends also to the world of gods-- for
the Grecian gods are mere powers of nature--and although immeasurably
higher than mortal man, yet, compared with infinitude, they are on
an equal footing with himself."--'Lectures on the Drama' v. p. 67.

66 It has been observed that the annual procession of the sacred ship
so often represented on Egyptian monuments, and the return of the
deity from Ethiopia after some days' absence, serves to show the
Ethiopian origin of Thebes, and of the worship of Jupiter Ammon. "I
think," says Heeren, after quoting a passage from Diodorus about the
holy ship, "that this procession is represented in one of the great
sculptured reliefs on the temple of Karnak. The sacred ship of Ammon
is on the shore with its whole equipment, and is towed along by
another boat. It is therefore on its voyage. This must have been one
of the most celebrated festivals, since, even according to the
interpretation of antiquity, Homer alludes to it when he speaks of
Jupiter's visit to the Ethiopians, and his twelve days'
absence."--Long, "Egyptian Antiquities" vol. 1 p. 96. Eustathius,
vol. 1 p. 98, sq. (ed. Basil) gives this interpretation, and
likewise an allegorical one, which we will spare the reader.

67 --_Atoned,_ i.e. reconciled. This is the proper and most natural
meaning of the word, as may be seen from Taylor's remarks in
Calmet's Dictionary, p.110, of my edition.

68 That is, drawing back their necks while they cut their throats. "If
the sacrifice was in honour of the celestial gods, the throat was
bent upwards towards heaven; but if made to the heroes, or infernal
deities, it was killed with its throat toward the ground."-- "Elgin
Marbles," vol i. p.81.

"The jolly crew, unmindful of the past,
The quarry share, their plenteous dinner haste,
Some strip the skin; some portion out the spoil;
The limbs yet trembling, in the caldrons boil;
Some on the fire the reeking entrails broil.
Stretch'd on the grassy turf, at ease they dine,
Restore their strength with meat, and cheer their souls with
wine."

Dryden's "Virgil," i. 293.

69