Plutarch assures us, that Homer was not known to the Athenians till the time of Hipparchus, about the 63d Olympiad, yet some writers make him three, some four, some five hundred years before that æra. It is scarce possible that he should have been so unknown to them if they had been acquainted with letters. [556] Eusebius. Chron. p. 24. [557] Eusebius. Chron. p. 19. Syncellus. p. 148, 152. The kings of Sicyon were taken from Castor Rhodius. [558] Και χρη τον νουνεχη συνιεναι κατα πασης ακριβειας, ὁτι κατα την Ἑλληνων παραδοσιν ουδ' ἱστοριας τις ην παρ' αυτοις αναγραφη· Καδμος γαρ--μετα πολλας γενεας. κλ. Tatianus Assyrius. p. 274. [559] Clemens Alexand. l. 1. p. 352. and Diogenes Laertius, from Dicæarchus, and Heraclides. [560] Strabo. l. 17. p. 1160. [561] Ælian mentions, that the Bull Onuphis was worshipped at a place in Egypt, which he could not specify on account of its asperity. Ælian de Animalibus. l. 12. c. 11. Even Strabo omits some names, because they were too rough and dissonant. Ου λεγω δε των εθνων τα ονοματα τα παλαια δια την αδοξιαν, και ἁμα την ατοπιαν της εκφορας αυτων. l. 12. p. 1123. [562] Μετα ταυτα πλανην Ἑλλησι αιτιαται (ὁ Φιλων) λεγων, ου γαρ ματαιως αυτα πολλακως διεστειλαμεθα, αλλα προς τας αυθις παρεκδοχας των εν τοις πραγμασιν ονοματων· ἁπερ ὁι Ἑλληνες αγνοησαντες, αλλως εξεδεξαντο, πλανηθεντες τῃ αμφιβολιᾳ των ονοματων. Philo apud Eusebium. P. E. l. 1. c. x. p. 34. [563] Bozrah, a citadel, they changed to βυρσα, a skin. Out of Ar, the capital of Moab, they formed Areopolis, the city of the Mars. The river Jaboc they expressed Io Bacchus. They did not know that diu in the east signified an island: and therefore out of Diu-Socotra in the Red-Sea, they formed the island Dioscorides: and from Diu-Ador, or Adorus, they made an island Diodorus. The same island Socotra they sometimes denominated the island of Socrates. The place of fountains, Ai-Ain, they attributed to Ajax, and called it Αιαντος ακροτηριον, in the same sea. The antient frontier town of Egypt, Rhinocolura, they derived from ρις, ρινος, a nose: and supposed that some people's noses were here cut off. Pannonia they derived from the Latin pannus, cloth. So Nilus was from νη ιλυς: Gadeira quasi Γης δειρα. Necus in Egypt and Ethiopia signified a king: but such kings they have turned to νεκυας: and the city of Necho, or Royal City, to Νικοπολις and Νεκροπολις. Lysimachus in his Egyptian history changed the name of Jerusalem to Ιεροσυλα: and supposed that the city was so called because the Israelites in their march to Canaan used to plunder temples, and steal sacred things. See Josephus contra Ap. l. 1. c. 34. p. 467.