ANTIQUITIES. 
Statues, relievos, &c. in an island near 
Bombay ; but the most magnificent and 
extensive are near the town of Ellora, about 
two hundred miles east of Bombay. The 
latter are minutely described and illustrated 
with plates in the sixth volume of the Asiatic 
Researches. The idols represented seem 
Clearly to belong to the present mythology 
of Hindostan; but at wliat period these 
edifices were modelled, whether three hun- 
dred or three thousand years ago, cannot be 
easily ascertained. Several ancient grants 
of land, some coins, and seals, have also 
been found, which, however, do not greatly 
correspond with the exaggerated ideas en- 
tertained concerning the early civilisation of 
this renowned country ; while the Egyptian 
pyramids, temples, and obelisks, strongly 
confirm the accounts preserved by ancient 
historians. Though the mythology of the 
Hindoos may pretend to great antiquity, 
yet their present form of religion is suppos- 
ed to vary considerably from the ancient. 
It is inferred that while the religion of 
Boodha, still retained by the Birmans and 
other adjacent nations, was the real ancient 
system of Hindostan, the religion of the 
Hindoos is artfully interwoven with the 
common offices of life ; and the different 
casts are supposed to originate from Brah- 
ma, the immediate agent of creation under 
the Supreme Power. 
The remains of architecture and sculpture 
seem to prove an early connection between 
India and Africa. Of the ancient arts and 
manufactures little is known, excepting the 
labours of the Indian loom and needle. The 
Hindoos are said to have boasted of three 
inventions, viz. the method of instruction by 
“ apologues,” “ the decimal scale,” and 
“ the game of cliess.” 
Of the antiquities of Greece and Rome 
much has been written that merits' the at- 
tention of the student in literature: these 
are subjects in which every well educated 
youth is made conversant at an early period. 
They are taught in all our classical schools, as 
necessary to the elucidation of those works 
that are read in the attainment of the an- 
cient languages. Potter on the Greek An- 
tiqhities, and Kennet and Adams on those 
of Roman, are familiar to every ear: in 
their kind they are truly respectable, though 
they may be regarded only as elementary 
treatises, calculated rather to excite a taste, 
for the study, than to satisfy the inquirer 
in pursuit of knowledge. 
The first accounts of Greece are derived 
from ages long before the common use of 
letters in the country, so that it is difficult to 
distinguish where fable concludes, and real 
history begins. From the Phoenician and 
Egyptian colonies the Greeks first received 
the culture of humanity. By the Phoeni- 
cians they were instructed in trade, naviga- 
tion, and the use. of letters ; and by the 
Egyptians in civil wisdom, the politer 
sciences, and religious mysteries. The an- 
tiquities of such a country, which became 
in after ages so illustrious in the annals of 
mankind, cannot fail to have excited a con- 
siderable degree of interest in every age : 
they have accordingly been carefully and 
minutely investigated by writers celebrated 
alike for their erudition and industry. Of 
these we can enumerate but a small portion 
in comparison of the many that have treated 
on the subject. Bishop Potter, to whom 
we have already referred, Bos, and others, 
have drawn up systems or abridgments of 
the whole, or at least of whatever relates to 
the religion, the gods, the vows, and the 
temples of Greece : on the public weal and 
magistracy, Stephauns aud Van Dale are 
well worthy of notice : on the laws and 
punishments of Greece, we have Meursius 
and Petit: on military concerns, Arrian and 
.Elian are well known : on their gymnastic 
art and exercises, Joubert and Faber may be 
mentioned : on the theatres and scenic ex- 
hibitions, Scaliger and the abbe Barthelemy 
have written : besides these, we have many 
writers on their entertainments, on their 
marriages, the education of their children, 
and their funeral ceremonies. The best 
relics which display the former splendor of 
the Grecian states, have been preserved bv 
Stuart in his Athens : in the Ionian Anti- 
quities, and in the Voyage Pittoresque de la 
Greece. The finest specimens of its sculp- 
ture in this country, are to be found among 
the Townley marbles : and of its coinage in 
the cabinet of Dr. Hunter. 
It may be worthy of notice, in connection 
with the antiquities of Greece, that the an- 
cient monuments of European Turkey now 
exceed in number and importance those of 
any other country. The remains of ancient 
Athens, in particular, formerly the chosen 
seat of the arts, have attracted the attention 
of many travellers, and have accordinglybeen 
frequently described with accuracy and 
taste. The church dedicated to the Divine 
Wisdom, usually denominated in the page 
of history Sancta Sophia, is a venerable 
monument of antiquity, and has been preserv- 
ed from the sixth century, when it was built 
by Justinian, to the present period. The 
