IDENTIFIED IN THE MYTH OF ADONIS. 57 



was the father of Adonis, and the word often designates Adonis himself, 

 being plainly a dynastic name. As late as the time of Pompey, we are 

 informed by Strabo that a tyrant of Byblus, the city of Adonis, bore 

 this name;^^^ and a class of priests called Ginyrads long disputed with 

 the Tamyrads the religious supremacy in Cyprus.^^- Thus we have 

 found four instead of three pairs of names that exhibit unmistakeable 

 signs of a common origin: 



I. I ^h'^^'^us [ — Coneharis. III. Thammuz.— Gingras. 



jj f Thummosis ■) ( Acencheres. . Tamyras | ^. 



^^- i Thothmosis I - i Ceocberes. IV. | ,^^^^^ -^ } -Cinyras. 

 '^ -' (_Cingcris. *- J J 



There are other names of Adonis which cannot very well be consi- 

 dered apart froiii llio story of his birth and parentage. Before leaving 

 this part of the subject, however, the consideration of the names already 

 jnentiaaed may furnish us with a confirmation of the relevancy to the 

 story of Adonis of the Egyptian Maneros in its double aspect of music 

 and mourning. Thamyris himself is the disciple of Linus, the van- 

 quished of the Muses, the blinded for his presumption. Gingras is the 

 name of a small flute, and is applied to querulous tones, such as might 

 be produced by an instrument of the kind; and from Cinyras come the 

 Greek verb kinuromai, meaning to utter a plaintive sound, lament, 

 wail, &c., and other words of similar signification.^^^ 



The story of the birth of Adonis and the names of his parents are 

 given with great variations by different authors. Apollodorus, among 

 Greek writers, and Ovid, among the Latins, are the chief authorities on 

 these points; but before investigating their statements it will be well 

 to dispose of the composite accounts given by Newton and Le Clerc. 

 Sir Isaac Newton says that the Venus of Syria was Calycopis, daughter 

 of Otreus, king of Phrygia, who married Thoas or Vulcan, surnamed 

 Cinyras, who was king of Cyprus and Byblus. Vfith this Venus, 

 Adonis is joiaed.^^* M. Le Clerc's is given by the Abbe Banier, who 

 accuses Newton of building his story upon a short passage in Tacitus. 



151 Strabo, Lib. xvi, c. xi, § IS. 



152 Guingniaut ii, 211, 1021. 



153 A very remarkable musical connection, whicli, while it draws Cinyras and Thamyris 

 together, exhibits the enmity of the Greek towards the supposed king of Byblus, is found in 

 Eustathius. He says that CinjTas was cursed by Agamemnon, engaged in a musical pontest 

 with Apollo and i3erished by his hand. Guigniaut, ii, 219. 



154 The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended, cited by Banier, Vol. ii, 160. 



