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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 Phcenician 
Cabiri, or Mariners, cultivated the science of navigation. 
Minos, the king of Crete, became enamoured of Brito- 
martis, or Dictynna, and demanded seven youths and seven 
virgins annually, from the Athenians, to be devoured by the 
Minotaur ;—in plain language to work in the mines. The name 
of Minos may be from mjanac a@ miner, or mjon just, aor 
sage. 'The Minotaur was from mjana, mines, cojpn, pursuit, 
search. ‘The devouring by the monster is thus appositely 
explained. Britomartis signifies Judgments of life, bneaca 
marc aojy. Dictynna—Hot, fierce fires, vayz cena. 
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 Dictynna. 
This lady is said to have been born in Pheenicia, 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 labpad, 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 néw obvious. Had they been known, the sources 
of the wealth of the Phcenicians 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. 
