--------------------- “Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out of Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) “And the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.”[107] The following narrative describes the manner in which the Greeks practised the above law, and represented the crossing of the Red Sea. “This[108] charming season (spring) brought with it festivals still more charming: I mean those which are celebrated every four years in Delos, in honour of Diana and Apollo. The worship of these two divinities has subsisted in that island for a long succession of ages. But as it latterly began to decline, the Athenians instituted, during the Peloponnesian war, games which drew thither a great concourse of people from various nations. “The youth of Athens were eager to distinguish themselves in these, and the whole city was in motion. Preparations were likewise made for the solemn deputation which is annually sent to the temple of Delos, to present a tribute of gratitude for the victory which Theseus gained over the Minotaur. The voyage is made in the same ship which carried that hero to Crete; and already the priest of Apollo had crowned its stern with his sacred hands. The sea was covered with small vessels which were getting under sail for Delos. “On the next day we coasted Scyros, and, leaving Tenos on the left, entered into the channel which separates Delos from the island of Rhenea. We immediately came in sight of the temple of Apollo, which we saluted with new transports of joy; and the city of Delos was almost entirely displayed to our view. “With an eager eye we ran over the superb edifices, elegant porticoes, and forests of columns by which it is embellished; and this prospect, momentarily varying, suspended in us the desire to arrive at the land. “When we had reached the shore, we ran to the temple, which is distant from it only about a hundred paces. It is more than a thousand years since Erisichthon, son of Cecrops,[109] laid the first foundation of this edifice, to which the different states of Greece continually add new embellishments. It was covered with festoons and garlands, which, by the contrast of their colours, gave a new lustre to the Parian marble of which it is built. “Within we saw the statue of Apollo, less celebrated for the delicacy of the workmanship than its antiquity. The god is represented holding his bow in one hand; and to signify that music owes to him its origin and charms, with his left he supports the three Graces, who are represented, the first with a lyre, the second with flutes, and the third with a pipe.