BABYLONIAN LITERATURE. 41 



founder of a religion and benefactor of man- 

 kind, is 'Ao-^X7]7rioV (iEsculapius), 1 or rather 

 'A<rxX7}7ria?)7)s-. The part which is assigned 

 to Asclepius in the apocryphal Hermesian 

 legends is well known. Ibn-Abi-Oceibia 2 takes 

 a singular mythology of JEsculapius from a 

 Syriac work; in another place 3 he connects 

 him expressly with Babylon. It is strange 

 that Dr. Chwolson attaches any importance 



«/ -L 



to such chimeras. He even supposes that 

 his Askolabita 4 must be considered as the 

 prototype of the Asklepios of the Greeks. 

 In the same ephemeral spirit he asks in 

 another place 5 whether Asklepios and Hermes 

 were not, in reality, ancient sages deified 

 after their death. 6 



1 The termination ^-^ J causes very diverse readings. I think 

 that here is to be seen a schin, remains of the final os. M. Quatre- 

 mere reads it Kalousha. 



3 "Journal Asiatique," August-Sept. 1854, p. 181. 

 3 Ibid. p. 185. * Page 19. <* p ag . e 95. 



6 Ibn Wahshiya is often quoted as having translated the Book 

 on Agriculture of Democrates or Democrites, surnamed ^ e \\ 



(Herbelot, Bibl. Orientate, at the word Democrat is ; Wenrich, De 

 Auct. Grcec. vers. p. 92, 93 ; Larsow, De Dialect Syr. reliquiis, 

 p. 12, note). But the conclusions which are attempted to be drawn 

 from this fall to the ground, since the ascribing to Ibn Wahshiya 



