On the Ancient HELLENES. 143 



wv *, high prieji of the Hellenes. Of what Hellenes ? Surely not 

 of the Graecian Hellenes, but of the Midianitifh, that is, of the 

 Midianites who were worfhippers of the fun, moon and flars. 



On the upper recefs of the Arabian gulf, there was a city 

 called Elana, and fometimes Ailane. On the oppofite fide are 

 fountains, called by the Arabians El-Ain to this day. El- A in, 

 the very peafants of the neighbourhood know to import fontes 

 foils i " the fountains of the fun." This facl again furnifhes a 

 very plaufible argument in favour of the etymology propound- 

 ed above. 



The invanon and conquefl of Egypt by the Pallor Kings, is- 

 an event generally known, and as generally admitted. Afri- 

 ca nus f calls thefe people, Hoiking 'EKhqvig and Baa-iXstg 'EAAtj- 

 vsg, " Hellenic fhepherds and Hellenic Princes." It cannot be 

 pretended, that thofe foreigners had the mofl diflant relation to 

 the Hellenes of Greece, except from the identity of name. 

 No - P they were only worfhippers of Hel-an, " the fountain of 

 " light." For the fame people are called Aurita and Oritce, 

 from Aur and Or, originally light, heat, and, by a very com- 

 mon metonomy, the fun. Thofe intruders were probably ad- 

 dicled to the worfhip of the folar Deity, and were confe- 

 quently ftyled Hellenes, Auritas and Oritse, that is, ^unites, or 

 votaries of the fun. It then appears, that there were Hellenes 

 in Chaldaea and Arabia at a very early period, (for I take it for 

 granted, that the Pallors who invaded Egypt were Arabians), 

 and in Midian ; and that, from the import of the term, thefe 

 Hellenes were fo denominated from their being addicled to the 

 worfhip of the heavenly bodies. 



As there were Hellenes in the countries above mentioned in 

 the very firfl ages after the flood, fo it will appear by the fol- 

 lowing quotations, that there were Hellenes like wife in Egypt 

 much about the fame period of time. Philo Judams, in his 



life 

 * P- 7 6 > 77- \ Apud Syncellum, p. 61.. 



