On the Ancient HELLENES. 143 
van *, high prieft of the Hellenes. Of what Hellenes? Surely not 
of the Grecian Hellenes, but of the Midianitith, that is, of the 
Midianites who were worfhippers of the fun, moon and ftars. 
On the upper recefs of the Arabian gulf, there ~was a city 
called Elana, and fometimes Ailane. On the oppofite fide are 
fountains, called by the Arabians E/-Aza to this. day. El-Ain, 
the very peafants of the neighbourhocd know to import /ontes 
folis, ‘‘ the fountains of the fun.” This fact again furnifhes a 
very plaufible argument in favour of the etymology propound- 
ed above. : 
Tue invafion and conqueft of Egypt by the Paftor Kings, is. 
an event generally known, and as generally admitted. Arrt- 
cANus } calls thefe people, Tomeves “EAAgves and Bacireis “EAAn- 
vec, ‘* Hellenic fhepherds and Hellenic Princes.’? It cannot be 
pretended, that thofe foreigners had the moft diftant relation to 
the Hellenes of Greece, except from the identity of name. 
No; they were only worfhippers of Hel-an, “ the fountain of 
“‘ light.””, For the fame people are called Aurite and Orite, 
from Aur and Or, originally light, heat, and, by a very com- 
mon metonomy, the fun. Thofe intruders were probably ad- 
diéted to the worfhip of the folar Deity, and were confe- 
quently ftyled Hellenes, Aurite and Orite, that is, Swnites, or 
votaries of the fun. It then appears, that there were Hellenes 
in Chaldza and Arabia at a very early period, (for I take it for 
granted, that the Paftors who invaded Egypt were Arabians),. 
and in Midian ; and that, from the import of the term, thefe 
Hellenes were fo denominated from their being addiéted to the 
worfhip of the heavenly bodies. 
As there were Hellenes in the countries above mentioned in: 
the very firft ages after the flood, fo it will appear by the fol- 
lowing quotations, that there were Hellenes likewife in Egypt 
much about the fame period of time. Puno Judzus, in his 
life 
PSO s 7 76 {¢ Apud Syncerium, p. 61. 
