SEYFFARTH PLANETARY CONFIG. ON CYPRIAN ANTIQ_. 399 



\2 9' +° retrograding \2 9^ 26° retrograding 



:^ 8'+° H 8' 11° 



% 10' +° % 10^ 14° 



9 gs 4-0 retrograding 9 9' 21° retrograding 



5 8' +° near the sun ^ 8^ 17° near the sun 



The objection that the Greeks and Romans would not have 

 •observed planetary configurations in the manner of the barbarous 

 Egyptians is removed by the fact that, e.g., the following classic 

 monuments contain astronomical observations, expressed in the 

 same way. See the author's " Berichtigungen der alten Ge- 

 schichte," etc., Leips., 1855, p. 28. 



The Olympian Altars 777 B.C. March 29 



Rome's Nativity 752 " May 25 



Jupiter Olympius 489 " Sept. 25 



Parthenon Frieze 479 " March 26 



Lectisternium, Livy v. 13 396 " Dec. 26 



" " xxii. 10 216 " " 24 



Ara Albani 62 " Oct. 27 



Puteolian Basis ; 39 " Dec. 23 



Puzzuoli Sarcophagus 26 " " 23 



Pompejian Wall 22 " March 24 



Capitolian Puteale 9 " Dec. 23 



Borghesian Ara 7 " March 22 



Gabinian Ara 9 A. c. " 23 



And so on down to 131, 137, 138, 255 a.d. 



We are now ready to proceed to the analysis of quite a new 

 class of astronomical monuments represented by the bronze bowl 

 of Cyprus. 



1. The signs of the Zodiac. 



The first question is : What signify those eleven female per- 

 sons of which ten bear garlands of ivy round their heads? These 

 virgins being very decently vested, it is obvious they cannot be 

 priestesses of Venus Paphia, as was surmised. From the follow- 

 ing ancient rejDorts we shall learn that the Muses were originally 

 the signs of the Zodiac ; in the second instance, the correspond- 

 ing months of the solar year ; and finally, the arts and sciences 

 cultivated during the more pleasant nine months of the year. 



The ancients bear witness that the' Muses were represented 

 with garlands of ivy or laurel, as our Cyprian bowl shows. 



Pausanias (v. 18, i) reports that on the chest of Kypselos the 

 Muses were expressed by dancing virgins, each linking hands 



