100 



No one of the ancient writers, neither Hero- 

 dotus nor Strabo*, Diodorus nor Pausanias-f~, 

 ArrianJ nor Quintus Curtius§, asserts, that the 

 temple of Belus was erected according to the 

 four cardinal points, like the Egyptian and 

 Mexican pyramids. Pliny observes only, that 

 Belus was considered as the inventor of astro- 

 nomy: Inventor hie fuit sideralis scientice ||. 

 Diodorus relates, that the Babylonian temple 

 served as an observatory to the Chaldeans. " It 

 must be admitted," says he, " that this building 

 was of an extraordinary height, and that here 

 the Chaldeans made their observations on the 

 stars, the rising and setting of which might be 

 exactly perceived, on account of the elevation 

 of the edifice. The Mexican priests, (teopioc- 

 qui) made observations also on the stars from the 

 summit of the teocallis ; and announced to the 

 people, by the sound of the horn, the hours of 

 the night^f. These teocallis were built in the 

 interval between the epocha of Mahomet and the 

 reign of Ferdinand and Isabella ; and we cannot 



* Strabo,lib. 16,211. 



t Pausanias, lib. 8, ed. Xylandri, p. 509, n. 31. 

 X Arrianus, lib. 7, 17. 

 § Quint. Curt. lib. 5, 1 et 37. 

 || Plin. Hist. nat. lib. vi, 30. 



IF Gama, Description cronologica de la Piedra calen- 

 deria ; Mexico, 1792, p. 15. 



