ASTRONOMY OF THE IN CAS. 825 



rays. They said that, being the most brilliant of the stars, the sun 

 would not permit it to be separated from him, and obliged it to 

 attend his rising as well as his going down, just as at the courts 

 of kings only the most distinguished lords and the handsomest 

 ladies were admitted to the ceremonious royal risings and retir- 

 ings. It appears nearly certain that the Incas spoke of Venus 

 under two different names, according as it preceded or followed 

 the sun. To this day the native Peruvians name it, in fanciful 

 language, the eight-hour torch and the twilight lamp. As this 

 star served to show the Indians when it was time to prepare the 

 maize for cooking, they also gave it a name indicative of that act. 

 A chapel in the Temple of the Sun was consecrated to this planet. 



The phases of the moon were well known to the people, and they 

 attributed life and movement to it. When the moon was invisi- 

 ble, during the days preceding the first quarter, they said it was 

 dead, and would rest three days in the tomb, beyond the snowy 

 mountains and the immense ocean. Then it would rise again, to 

 their great joy. To the people of Asia and North America the 

 spots on the moon represented a rodent a hare or rabbit or a 

 human being. The Incas perceived in it a young woman, and said 

 that once upon a time the daughter of the king, walking in the 

 light of the moon in one of those limpid and blue nights peculiar 

 to the tropics and to these latitudes, suddenly fell in love with the 

 star of the night. Desiring to possess him, she went and hid her- 

 self in the top of a mountain by which he would pass, sprang upon 

 him at a favorable moment, and became one body with him.* 

 The moon, called by names which signified sister or wife, was re- 

 garded as the first wife of the sun, and was represented by a silver 

 plate bearing a woman's face. It, too, had its sanctuary, occupy- 

 ing a station of honor in the temple of the supreme god. 



The difference between the seasons not being distinctly marked 

 in Peru by variations either in moisture or temperature, it was im- 

 portant to make very careful observations in order to determine 

 the times for planting and harvest. The only method was by ex- 

 periment. The attention of the ancient Peruvians was particu- 

 larly directed to the time when the sun passed the zenith, for then 

 it cast no shadow at noon. They also observed it very carefully 

 at the June solstice when it was seen nearest to the horizon ; and 

 they succeeded, as we shall see, in giving their observations scien- 

 tific precision.! The solar spots had also been observed. 



In explanation of the circular motion of the sun, the Incas said 

 that it was hung in space by a cord ; that it entered the sea in the 



* Garcilaso. 



f Montesinos, Antiques Memoires du Perou, Book 11, chap, ii, in manuscript at the Library 

 of the Academy of History, Madrid. 



