A soldier, warned in a dream, directed her (eam supplied) who is married to Fabius to erect this altar to the nymphs to whom worship is due.
THE GODS OF THE MOUNTAINS.
According to either interpretation the altar was erected to the sylphs of the fountain, in consequence of a dream. The lively imagination of the Roman has invested the humble spring where it originally stood with such an air of romance, as to render it a matter of regret that the altar does not still grace the spot.
The adjoining wood-cut represents a small altar found at Rutchester, Vindobala, and now in the Castle of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The inscription reads—To the gods of the mountains, Julius Firminus, the decurion,[[141]] erected this. Epona, to whom the next
altar is dedicated, was the protectress of horses; images of her were to be seen in most stables. Juvenal’s dandy jockey swore by her alone. This altar was found at Carvoran, and is now in the High School of Edinburgh. The accompanying example
is not the only instance of a toad being represented on an altar. This was found at Chesters, Cilurnum, where it is still preserved. Did the Romans stoop so low as to worship reptiles? If so, the superstitious practice has probably been derived from the east. Dr. Kitto remarks, ‘The importance attached to the frog, in some parts of Egypt, is shewn by its being embalmed, and honoured with sepulture in the tombs of Thebes. In the Egyptian mythology, the frog was an emblem of man in embryo.’
