1898.] SMYTH — PERICLES AND APOLLONIUS. 289 



King Hiram of Tyre helps in the building of Solomon's temple 

 (see I Kings v. i). Solomon sends a messenger to Hiram, demand- 

 ing, " Send me a learned man," and Hiram replies, " I have sent to 

 thee a prudent and wise man (a cunning man indued with under- 

 standing) of Hiram my father's" (2 Chron. ii. 13) [misi ergo tibi 

 virum prudentem et scientissimum Hiram patrem meum]. The 

 Vulgate here merely translated the half name. Chiram Abi (Heb.) 

 signifies literally " my father noble born," and so Churam abiv is 

 equivalent to '' his father is noble born." According to the Vulgate 

 the passage (2 Chron. ii. 13) would seem to mean that the architect 

 Hiram was the father of King Hiram, and then again the father of 

 Solomon. In close connection with this passage is the famous 

 description of the wisdom of Solomon (i Kings iv. 29-34): '^Dedit 

 quoque Deus sapientiam Solomoni, et prudentiam multam nimis et- 

 latitudinem cordis quasi arenam, quae est in litore maris. Et 

 praecedebat sapientia Salomonis sapientiam omnium orientalium et 

 ^gyptiorum, et erat sapientior cunctis hominibus, sapientior Ethan, 

 Ezrahita et Heman, et Chalcol et Dorda, filiis Mahol, et erat nomi- 

 natus in universis gentibus per circuitum. Locutus est quoque 

 Salomon tria millia parabolas, et fuerunt carmina ejus quinque et 

 mille et disputavit super lignis a cedro, quae est in Libano, usque ad 

 hyssopum quae egreditur de pariete et disseruit de jumentis et volu- 

 cribus et reptilibus et piscibus, et veniebant de cunctis populis ad 

 audiendam sapientiam Salomonis et ab universis regibus terrae, qui 

 audiebant sapientiam ejus." 



In this Biblical Mahol Hofmann sees the later romantic Marcol, 

 Marcolf, Morolf, who disputes with Solomon in riddles. And he 

 adds, " Wenn man erwagt, wie gewaltig die Namen des alten 

 Testamentes in der Septuaginta, Vulgata, bei Flavins Josephus und 

 sonst verandert werden, so wird die Verwandlung von Mahol 

 (Machol) in Marcol, vielleicht unter Einwirkung von Chalcol, 

 nicht besonders auffallen." 



The saga made an ambassador of this King of Tyre who com- 

 peted with Solomon in riddles, and who on the one hand occupies the 

 place of the architect, Hiram Abi, and on the other that of Marcol 

 and his sons. This myth developed in the first century after 

 Christ and is mentioned by Josephus (Bk. viii, Chap, v) after 

 Menander who translated the Tyrian originals out of Phoenician 

 into Greek. After the death of Abibal, says Josephus, his son 

 Hiram succeeded. At this time the youngest son of Abdemon 



