GRPJEK TEMPLES AND THE DATES OF THEIR FOUNDATION. 
47 
stars, taking 1850 as the standard year, are plotted down. On this I lay a sheet of 
tracing paper with a straight line drawn upon it, and in the first position placed so 
as to coincide with the solstitial colure of the projection. Then, having found for 
any particular temple, by calculation from the orientation measures, the sun’s 
declination and the corresponding vernal and autumnal places, I mark two points on 
the tracing paper having the same parallel of declination as the sun, but witli their 
right ascensions less by the difference of the hour angles of the two bodies—for a 
first trial one hour’s difference may generally be taken. I then turn the tracing 
paper round upon the pole of the ecliptic as a centre, following the direction of the 
hours of R.A. on the projection, until the straight line above-mentioned having 
started from the solstitial colure, makes an angle -with it, corresponding to a sultal^le 
time within arch geological limits. If, during that operation, ozie of the points 
marked as above, falls very near to one of the stars on the projection, it may be 
presumed that that star now" occupies the place both in R.A. and declination of the 
heliacal star sought for, and has then to be examined more minutely. If the 
coincidence is so close that an adjustment of the amplitude within the narrow limits 
of the field of view will make it exact, it will give a solution of the problem for an 
heliacally rising star. Should, however, no star be found within range, search must 
be made in an almost identical manner for a setting star. (I liave been, howev^er, 
accustomed to search for a setting star in all cases, even after finding a suitable 
rising one.) The difference between the two cases will be, that wdien a setting star 
has been used its R.A. wall differ from that of the sun by the sum of the sun’s hour 
angle added to that of the star, and the declination wull, in general, have a dirferent 
sign from that of the sun. 
Although, in working out the former list with these four lines of trial, in no case 
more than one solution was to be found—in the trials for the present list, in the case 
of two temples (viz., temple A at Selinus (p, G2), and that attributed to Minerva at 
Syracuse), the claims of more than one star, found in the preliminaiy searcli, have had 
to be considered. The former temple could have agreed either with the setting of 
Spica, the setting of a Arietis, or the rising of y Pegasi. The first, however, was 
found to he quite inadmissible from its date, 1400 e.c., which would reach back far 
beyond any other Sicilian example, a Arietis would he acceptable for date, but I 
give the preference to y Pegasi ; on the ground that the two temples, called C and 
I), close adjoining, are evidently following the movement of a Arietis and are adapted 
for autumnal festivals ; whereas y Pegasi would provide for one in the spring, and is 
quite as acceptable in respect of date. In the case of tlie temple at Syracuse, 
a Arietis had to be considered as well as Spica—both rising—but the derived date 
(the former about 400 years earlier than the latter) as well as the greater lirilliancy 
of the star, give Spica decidedly the preference. Besides these two temples I hav-e 
met with no other uncertainties of this nature, and the two lists contain all the 
temples of which I have obtained sufficiently complete particulars, wuth the exception 
