December 28, 1899] 



NATURE 



203 



that on the other hand his numerous mechanical devices 

 need to be insisted upon in order to obtain an adequate 

 idea of his varied capacity. But the result is, neverthe- 

 less, to present Hero simply as the maker of philosophic 

 toys. 



Mr. Schmidt sketches for us^ but without sufficient 

 explanation, the devices by Which fountains were made 

 to flow, and doors to open by unseen mechanical agency, 

 but one's enthusiasm is scarcely ro'used though Hercules 

 may shoot at an apple and a serpent be >nade to hiss his 

 discontent with the arrangement (Fig. l). But the author 

 does ample justice to the description of the automatic 

 marionettes, whose behaviour and contortions iffoVded 



Fig. 2. — Showing the raichinery for moving the Bacchante, &c. 



sincere delight to the spectator. Two of these automatic 

 theatres, in which some attempt at dramatic action was 

 made, are described in detail, and we learn how the fire 

 was suddenly kindled on the altar of Dionysius, while 

 from the Thyrsus cup spouted respectively milk and 

 wine, the Bacchantes urging their wild career at the same 

 timef (Fig. 3). The legend, too, of Nauplius seems to have 

 been illustrated with great care and nicety in a succession 

 of scenes, in which were represented the departure of 

 he Greek ships, the rising of a storm, and the luring of 

 :he lU-fated Greeks by lighted torches to the dangerous 

 l)romontory of Caphareus where they suffered shipwreck. 

 All this tale is told, with the proper accompaniment of 

 NO. 1574. VOL. 61] 



hghtnmg and thunder, % means of moving and hidden 

 machmery. Even Ajax is made to swim towards the 

 land, and subsequently to perish tn one of various ways 

 accordmg to the fancy of the stage manager. That 

 Hero should devote himself to the construction of the 

 necessary tricks, required to reproduce these scenes, 

 when he seemed clearly capable of higher intellectual 

 flight, does not increase our respect for his memory ; but 

 Mr. Schmidt, whose philological tastes seem to be in 

 advance of his scientific, seems to think it would be 

 worth while to reconstruct the machinery, and play the 

 little drama over again to a select audience. He admits 

 the difficulties, both in following the original MSS. and 

 in filling up some necessary lacunns, but considers the 

 labour would be well spent, since rt would illustrate in a 

 most realistic manner the airtusenients of the dncient 

 inhabitants of Alexandria. ' ■' 



A 



' THE SITU A TION OF OP MIR. - 

 REUTER'S correspondent has had an interview 

 with Dr. ,CaVl Peters on the subject of the re-dis- 

 covery and identification of the ancient gold-bearing site 

 now so vvell known by the name of Ophir. According to 

 the eminent German traveller, this much discussed 

 locality is situated on or near the Zambesi river, and he 

 is confident that the theories which would place Ophit- 

 either in India or in Arabia are both wrong. Dr. Peter^ 

 is not the first who has convinced himself that Ophir lay 

 somewhere on the east coast of Africa, for the late Mr. 

 Bent and other recent writers believed that they had 

 identified the famous emporium whence Solomon, the 

 king of Israel, obtained gold for the temple at Jerusalem, 

 it must, of course, be admitted that remains of extensive 

 gold workings undoubtedly exist in the locality, and 

 that these possess considerable antiquity cannot be 

 denied. It is, however, open to discussion whether the 

 ruins and workings are "-of undoubtedly Semitic type," 

 and also whether the emblems which Dr. Peters identi- 

 fies as phallic are really connected with "the ancient 

 Semitic sun worship." Until Dr. Peters distinctly states 

 hi? case in print, and gives his reasons for the faith 

 which is in him, we can do little more than point out 

 that up to the present the theory which would place 

 Ophir, or Aphar, or Sophir (i Kings ix. 28; x. 1 1 ; 

 2 Chron. viii. 18 ; ix. 10) the great metropolis of the 

 Sabeans, which is described in the " Periplus" attributed 

 to Arrian, on the Gulf of Akabah, has not been dis- 

 proved. The theory which would place Ophir in India, 

 on the banks of the Indus, has much in its favour, and 

 when it is remembered that the precious stones and 

 a/w/i^jf trees, which are mentioned with the gold of Ophir, 

 are the peculiar products of India, it is a little difficult 

 not to accept it without more ado. On the other hand, 

 the apes and peacocks (or parrots as some would trans- 

 late the word tukkiyyim), which were brought to Solomon 

 from the neighbourhood of Ophir, indicate that its site 

 was nearer Palestine than India ; for it is well known 

 that peacocks would not survive a long voyage which 

 must have lasted several months, and must also have 

 been made in an open boat. The fact is that many 

 places can produce, and must always have produced, 

 gold in great abundance, and we are driven irresistibly 

 to the conclusion that more than one place bore the 

 name of Ophir. 



It is not necessary for the Ophir, whence Solomon 

 obtained gold, to have been situated as near as the 

 northern end of the Red Sea, for it is most likely 

 that the seamen, who traded through Hiram, with him 

 obtained the goods which they had to sell from the 

 larger boats which sailed through Bab el-Mandeb either 

 to India, or to ports on the north-east and east coasts 01 

 Africa. Meanwhile Dr. Peter's claim to the discovery 

 of the Ophir mentioned in the BibleAvill evoke consider 



