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first inhabited Rhodes, and were the children of the sea; that 

 Neptune was committed to their care when an infant ; and 

 that they brought him up. In other words, the Phoenician 

 Cabiri, or Mariners, cultivated the science of navigation. 



Minos, the king of Crete, became enamoured of Brito- 

 martiSf or Dictynna, and demanded seven youths and seven 

 virgins annually, from the Athenians, to be devoured by the 

 Mmotaur ; — in plain language to work in the mines. The name 

 of Minos may be from m;<x/i<ic a miner, or m;on just, <X0f 

 sage. The Minotaur was from iD;<xn<i, mines, tojp., pursuit, 

 search. The devouring by the monster is thus appositely 

 explained. Brito7nartis signifies Judgments of life, hf{e<xt<x 

 nxx/ic ^ojf. Dictynna — Hot, fierce fires, boijj te;n<i. 



The Greeks invented the story of Britomartis hiding 

 herself in fishermen's nets, in order to account, by a word of 

 a similar sound in their own language, for the name Dictyrma. 

 This lady is said to have been born in Phoenicia, i. e. the 

 smelting ore by the blast or bellows was invented there ; and 

 Minos was anxious to avail himself of this invention to 

 change his ore into metal, which satisfactorily accounts for 

 this fable. 



This personage was also called Laphria, for Minos is 

 said to have employed her to pronounce his judgments. This 

 is Icib^ab, speech-making, giving sentence. This fact also ac- 

 counts for the name of Britomartis, the judgments of life. 



The initiated of the Cabiri were enjoined to the strictest 

 secrecy respecting the names of the great Gods. The reason 

 of this is n6w obvious. Had they been known, the sources 

 of the wealth of the Phoenicians would have been revealed. 



Sir William Betham then added a short notice of a 

 Hindoo Legend, from a paper in the Asiatic Researches, by 

 Captain Wilford, showing that the Cabiric mysteries existed 

 in India, under the names Cubera or Cuvera, Asyoruca, 

 Asyotcersa, Asyotchrista, Cashmala and Carmala ; and that 

 these deities or genii superintended mining and metals. 



