CHAP. XV. THE NINE DAYS. 331 



sembly ; ' because tlien the worshippers first met 

 together. 



" 2. The second was named AXaSs Mua-rcci, that 

 is, ' to the sea, you that are initiated ;' because (I 

 suppose) they were commanded to purify them- 

 selves by washing in the sea. 



" 3. Upon the third they offered sacrifices, con- 

 sisting chiefly of an Oxonian mullet (in Greek 

 rpi^Avj*), and barley out of Rharium, — a field of 

 Eleusis, in which that sort of corn was first sown. 

 These oblations were called ^ua, and accounted so 

 sacred that the priests themselves were not allowed 

 (as in other offerings) to partake of them. 



** 4. Upon the fourth they made a solemn pro- 

 cession, wherein the xaXaStov, or holy basket of 

 Ceres, was carried in a consecrated cart ; crowds 

 of people shouting as they went along, X'^^P-* 

 Ar)[ji.r}r£pf ' hail, Ceres.' After these followed certain 

 women, called Hi(rro<pQf>oi, who (as the name im- 

 plies) carried baskets, containing sesamin, carded 

 wool, some grains of salt, a serpent, pomegranates, 

 reeds, ivy-boughs, a sort of cake called (pSois, 

 poppies, and other things. 



*'5. The fifth was called H tmv Xa/xTraoojv 7]jUepa, 

 * the torch day ; ' because at night the men and 

 women ran about with torches in their hands. It 

 was also customary to dedicate torches to Ceres, 

 and to contend who should present the largest ; 

 which was done in memory of Ceres's journey, 

 when she sought Proserpine ; being conducted 



* The Triglia of the modern Italians. 



