Ευδενδροιο ῥηθεν ματερος.—
In other words, it proceeded from the stately grove of Hestia, where stood an oracular temple.
In respect to the omphalus of Ammon, which Curtius has translated umbilicus, and garnished with gold and jewels, the whole arises from a mistake in terms, as in the many instances before. It was Omphi El, the oracle of Ham, or the Sun: and the shrine, from whence it was supposed to proceed, was carried in a boat. The Pateræ, represented as so many silver basons, were in reality the interpreters of the oracle. They were the priests, who in the sacred processions walked on each side, and supported both the image and the boat in which it was carried. They are said to have been eighty in number; and they pretended to bear the Deity about, just as they were by the divine impulse directed. The God, says [[754]]Diodorus Siculus, is carried about in a ship of gold by eighty of his priests. They bear him upon their shoulders, and pursue their way by instinct, just as the divine automaton chances to direct them. These persons, who thus officiated, were probably the same as the Petipharæ of the antient Egyptians, but were called Pateræ by the Greeks. It was a name, and office, by which the priests of Delphi, and of many other places besides those in Egypt, were distinguished: and the term always related to oracular interpretation. Hence Bochart describes these priests, and their function, very justly. [[755]]Pateræ Sacerdotes Apollinis, oraculorum interpretes. Pator, or Petor, was an Egyptian word; and Moses speaking of Joseph, and the dreams of Pharaoh, more than once makes use of it in the sense above. It occurs Genesis. c. 41. v. 8.—v. 13. and manifestly alludes to an interpretation of that divine intercourse, which the Egyptians styled Omphi. This was communicated to Pharaoh by a dream: for the Omphi was esteemed not only a verbal response, but also an intimation by [[756]]dreams—Ομφη, φημη θεια, θεια κληδων—ονειρου φαντασματα. Hesychius. So it likewise occurs in Eusebius; who quotes a passage from the oracles of Hecate, wherein the Gods are represented, as insensibly wafted through the air like an Omphean vision.
[[757]]Τους δε μεσους μεσατοισιν επεμβεβαωτας αηταις
Νοσφι πυρος θειοιο ΠΑΝΟΜΦΕΑΣ ηυτ' ΟΝΕΙΡΟΥΣ.
These Omphean visions were explained by Joseph; he interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh: wherefore the title of Pator is reckoned by the Rabbins among the names of Joseph. There is thought to be the same allusion to divine interpretation in the name of the apostle Peter: Πετρος, ὁ επιλυων, ὁ επιγινωσκων. Hesych. Petrus Hebræo sermone agnoscens notat. Arator. From these examples we may, I think, learn that the priest was styled Petor, and Pator: and that it was the place, which properly was called Patora. The Colossal statue of Memnon in the Thebaïs was a Patora, or oracular image. There are many inscriptions upon different parts of it; which were copied by Dr. Pocock[[758]], and are to be seen in the first volume of his travels. They are all of late date in comparison of the statue itself; the antiquity of which is very great. One of these inscriptions is particular, and relates to the Omphi, which seems to have frightened away some ill-disposed people in an attempt to deface the image:
[[759]]Εικονα λωβητηρες ελυμηναντ' ὁτι διαν
Θειοτατου νυκτωρ ομφην επι Μεμνονος ηλθον.
One of the most famous oracles of Apollo was in Lycia: and in consequence of it the place was named Patara. Patra in Achaia was of the same purport. I should imagine, that the place where Balaam the false [[760]]prophet resided, was of the same nature; and that by Pethor and Pethora was meant a place of interpretation, or oracular temple. There was probably a college of priests; such as are mentioned to have existed among the Amonians: of whom Balaam had been by the king of Moab appointed chief Petora, or priest. It seems to have been the celebrated place in Arabia, famous in after times for the worship of Alilat, and called by the Romans [[761]]Petra.
The custom of carrying the Deity in a shrine, placed in a boat, and supported by priests, was in use among the Egyptians, as well as the [[762]]Ammonites. It is a circumstance which deserves our notice; as it appears to be very antient, and had doubtless a mysterious allusion. We have three curious examples of it among [[763]]Bishop Pocock's valuable specimens of antiquity, which he collected in those parts. He met with them at Luxorein, or [[764]]Lucorein, near Carnac, in the Thebaïs; but mentions not what they relate to: nor do I know of any writer who has attended to their history. The accounts given above by Curtius, and Diodorus, are wonderfully illustrated by these representations from Egypt. It is plain that they all relate to the same religious ceremony, and very happily concur to explain each other. It may be worth observing, that the originals whence these copies were taken are of the highest antiquity; and, probably, the most early specimens of sculpture in the world. Diodorus mentions that the shrine of Ammon had eighty persons to attend it: but Dr. Pocock, when he took these copies, had not time to be precisely accurate in this article. In his specimens the greatest number of attendants are twenty: eighteen support the boat, and one precedes with a kind of sceptre; another brings up the rear, having in his hand a rod, or staff, which had undoubtedly a mystic allusion. The whole seems to have been emblematical; and it will be hereafter shewn, that it related to a great preservation, which was most religiously recorded, and became the principal subject of all their mysteries. The person in the shrine was their chief ancestor, and the whole process was a memorial of the deluge; the history of which must have been pretty recent when these works were executed in Egypt.