THEORY OF THE EARTH. 225 



M. de Paravey considered these zodiacs in a 

 new point of view, which embraced at once both 

 the revolution of the equinoxes, and that of the 

 great year. Supposing that the circular plani- 

 sphere of Dendera must have been set to the east, 

 and that the axis from north to south is the line of 

 the solstices, he found the summer solstice at the 

 second of the Twins, and that of winter at the 

 buttock of the Sagittary, while the line of the 

 equinoxes would have passed through the Fishes 

 and the Virgin, from which he obtained for date 

 the first century of our era. 



According to this method, the division of the 

 zodiac of the portico could no longer refer to the 

 colures, and the mark of the solstice must be 

 sought for elsewhere. M . de Paravey having 

 remarked that there are between all the signs 

 figures of women bearing a star upon their heads, 

 and marching in the same direction, and obser- 

 ving that the one which comes after the twins, is 

 alone turned in a direction contrary to the others, 

 judged that it indicates the conversion of the 

 sun or the tropic, and that this zodiac corres- 

 ponds in this way with the planisphere. 



By applying the idea of easting to the small 

 zodiac of Esne, the solstices would be found be- 

 between the Twins and the Bull, and between 

 the Scorpion and Sagittary ; they would even be 

 marked by the change of direction of the Bull, 



