-7 3 -o A N T E D I L 
plain, they v.ev.e imfliedlately captivated by the beauty of 
the women, who were naked, and with whom they defiled 
themfelves; and this is what is meant by the intermarriage 
of the tons of God with the daughters of men, mentioned 
by Motes. The example of thefe apoftate tons of Seth 
was foon followed by others; and from time to time great 
numbers continued to defcend from the mountain, who in 
like manner took wives from the abandoned race of Cain. 
From thefe marriages fprung the giants (who, however, 
according to Mofes, exiffed before) ; and thefe, being as 
remarkable for their impiety as for their ftrength of body, 
tyrannized in a cruel manner, and polluted the earth with 
wickednefs of every kind. This defection became at laft 
fo univerfal, that none were left in the holy mountain, ex¬ 
cept Noah, his wife, his three fons and their wives. 
Berofus, a Chaldean hiftorian, who flourifned in the 
time of Alexander the Great, enumerates ten kings who 
reigned in Chaldea before the flood ; of whom the firft, 
called Alores, is fuppofed to be Adam, and Xiliithrus, the 
laft, to be Noah. This Alorus declared that he held his 
kingdom by divine right, and that God himfelf had ap¬ 
pointed hint to be the pallor of the people. According to 
this hiftorian, in the firft year of the world, there appeared 
out of the Red Sea, at a place near the confines of Baby¬ 
lon, a certain irrational animal called Oannes. He had his 
whole body like that of a fifli: but beneath hisfilh’s head 
grew another of a different fort (probably a human one). 
He had alfo feet like a man, which proceeded from his filh’s 
tail, and a human voice, the picture of .him being prefer- 
ved ever after. This animal converfed w ith mankind in 
the day-time, without eating any thing: lie delivered to 
them the knowledge of letters, lciences, and various arts: 
he taught them to dwell together in cities, to ereCt tem¬ 
ples, to introduce laws, and inftrubted them in geometry : 
he likewife fliewed them how to gather feeds and fruits, 
and imparted to them whatever was neceflary and conve¬ 
nient for a civilized life; but after this time there was no¬ 
thing excellent invented. When the fun fet, Oannes re¬ 
tired into the fea, and continued there all night. He not 
only delivered his inftraclions by word of mouth, but, as 
our author allures us, wrote of the origin of things, and of 
political economy. This, or a (imilar animal, is alfo men¬ 
tioned by other authors. Of Alafporus, the fecond king, 
nothing remarkable is related. His fucceflor, Amelon, or 
Amillarus, was of a city called Pantabilla. In his time ano¬ 
ther animal refembling the former appeared, 260 years af¬ 
ter the beginning of this monarchy. Amelon was fucceed- 
ed by Metalarus; and lie by Daonus, all of whom were of 
the fame city. In the time of the latter, four animals of a 
double form, half man and half fifn, made their appear¬ 
ance. Their names were, Euedocus, Enei/gamus, Encubulus, 
and Anemcntus. Under the next prince, who was likewife 
of Pantabibla, appeared another animal of the fame kind, 
whofe name was Odacon. All tlief’e explained more par¬ 
ticularly what had been concifely delivered by Oannes. 
In the reign of the tenth king, Xifuthrus, happened the 
great deluge, of which Berofus gives the following ac¬ 
count : Cronus, or Saturn, appeared to Xiliithrus in a 
dream, and warned him, that on the 15th day of the month 
Da.-lius mankind would be deflroyed by a flood ; and there¬ 
fore commanded him to write down the original, interme¬ 
diate ftate, and end, of all things, and bury the writings 
under ground in Sippara, the city of the fun; that he 
fhould alfo build a ihip, and go into it with his relations 
and deareft friends, having firft furnifhed it with provifi- 
ons, and taken into it fowls and four-footed beafts; and 
that w hen he had provided every thing, and w'as alked 
whither he was failing, he fhould anlwer, To the gods, to 
pray for happinefs to mankind. Xifuthrus did not difobey; 
but built a vellel, wliofe length was five furlongs, and 
breadth two furlongs. He put on-board all he was di¬ 
rected ; and went intoitwith his wife, children, and friends. 
The flood being come, and foon ceafing, Xifuthrus let out 
certain birds, which finding no food, nor place to reft up¬ 
on, returned again to the Ihip. Xifuthrus, after fome 
U V 1 A N S. 
days, let out the birds again;'but they returned to the 
fhip, having their feet daubed with mud : but, when they 
were let go the third time, they came no more to the (hip, 
whereby Xifuthrus underflocd that the earth appeared 
again ; and thereupon he made an opening between the 
planks of tlie (hip, ai-d, feeing that it refted 011 a certain 
mountain, he came out with his wife, and his daughter 
and his pilot: and having worfliipped the earth, and rail¬ 
ed an altar, and facrificed to the gods, he and thole who 
went out with him dilappeared. They who were left 
behind in the Ihip, finding that Xifuthrus and the perfons 
that accompanied him did not return, went out themfelves- 
to feek for him, calling him aloud by his name ; but Xi- 
luthrus was 110 more to be feen by them : only a voice 
came out of the air, which enjoined them, as their duty 
was, to be religious; and informed them, that on account 
of his own piety he was gone to dwell with the gods, and 
that his wife and daughter and pilot were partakers of the 
fame honour. It alfo direClcd them to return to Babylon, 
and that, as the fates had ordained, they fhould take the 
writings from Sippara, and communicate them to man¬ 
kind; and told them that the place where they were was 
the country of Armenia. When they had heard this, 
they offered facrifice to the gods, and unanimouliy went to 
Babylon; and, when they came thither, they dug up the 
writings at Sippara, built many cities, railed temples, and 
rebuilt Babylon. 
The Egyptians, who would give place to no nation in 
point of antiquity, have aifo a feries of kings, who, as is 
pretended, reigned in Egypt before the flood ; and, to be 
even with the Chaldeans, began their account the very 
fame year that theirs does according to Berofus. There- 
was an ancient chronicle extant among the Egyptians, not 
many centuries ago, which contained 30 dynafties of prin¬ 
ces who ruled in that country, by a feries of 113 genera¬ 
tions, through an immenfe fpace of 36,525 years, during 
which Egypt was fucceflively governed by three different 
races; of whom the firft were the Auritae, the fecond the 
Meftrrei, and the third the Egyptians. But this extrava¬ 
gant number of years Manetho, to whofe remains we mu ft 
chiefly have recourfe for the ancient Egyptian hiftory, 
lias not adopted, however in other refpefts he is fuppofed 
to have been led into errors in chronology by this old chro¬ 
nicle, which yet feems to have been a compofition fmeg 
Manetho’s time* 
The account given by Berofus is manifeftly taken from 
the writings of Mofes; but we have another account of 
the firft ages of mankind, in which no mention is made of 
the flood at all. This is contained in fome fragments of 
a Phoenician author called Sancboniatho, who is by fome 
laid to have been contemporary with Gideon, by others to 
have lived in the days of king David; while fome boldly 
aflert there never was fuch a perfoo, and that the whole is 
a fiiftion of Philo-Biblius, in oppofition to the books of Jo- 
fephus, written again!! Apion. To gratify the reader’s 
Quriofity, however, we have fubjoined an account of the 
firft ten generations mentioned by him, which are ftippa- 
fed by the compilers of the Univerfal Hiftory to corres¬ 
pond to the generations mentioned by Mofes before the 
flood. Sancboniatho having delivered his cofmogony, or 
generation of the other parts of the world, begins bis hif¬ 
tory of mankind with the production of the firft pair of 
mortals, whom Philo, his tranflator, calls Protogonus and 
/Eon ; the latter of whom found out the food which was 
gathered from trees. Their illue were called Genus and 
Genoa, and dwelt in Phoenicia: but, when the great 
droughts came, they ftretched forth their hands to hea¬ 
ven towards the fun ; for him they thought the only God 
and Lord of heaven, calling him Beclfamen , which in Phoe¬ 
nician is Lord of heaven, and in Greek Zeus, 
Afterwards from Genus, the fon of Protogonus and 
JEon, other mortal iflue was begotten, whofe names were 
P/ios, Pur, and Phlox ; that is, Light, Fire, and Flame . 
Thefe found out the way of generating fire, by the rub¬ 
bing of pieces of wood againft each other, and taught men 
the 
