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that there appeared from the Red Sea, in the place bordering Babylonia, a senseless animal named Oannes, as Apollodorus also related, having the whole body of a fish, and under the head, another head had grown beneath the fish's head, and feet likewise of a man, growing out from the tail of the fish; and it had a human voice, and its image is preserved even to this day. He says that this animal spent the day with men, taking no food, and handed down to men skill in letters and sciences and arts of all kinds, and the founding of cities and the establishment of temples and the introduction of laws, and taught geometry, and showed them seeds and the gathering of fruits, and in short, it handed down to men all the things pertaining to the civilizing of life. And from that time on, nothing more of importance was invented. And when the sun set, this animal Oannes dived back into the sea, and spent the nights in the deep; for it was amphibious. And later other animals like this one appeared, about which he says he will give an account in the history of the kings. And Oannes wrote about generation and government, and handed down this account to men. He says there was a time in which the universe was darkness and water, and in this monstrous animals with peculiar forms were brought to life. For men with two wings were born, and some with four wings and two faces; having one body but two heads, male and female, and double genitals, male and female; and other men, some having the legs and horns of goats, others with horse-feet, and others with the hind parts of horses but the fore parts of men, who were hippocentaurs in form. And there were also brought to life bulls with human heads, and dogs with four bodies, having fish tails from their hind parts, and dog-headed horses, and men and other animals having the heads and bodies of horses but the tails of fish, and other animals having the forms of all kinds of beasts, and in addition to these, fish and reptiles and serpents, and many other marvelous animals having appearances different from each other; of which the images are set up in the temple of Belus. And a woman ruled over all of these, whose name was Omoroka; this in Chaldean is Thalatth, but translated into Greek is "sea," and by isopsephy, "moon." And when all things were thus constituted, Belus came up and split the woman in the middle, and made one half of her earth, and the other half heaven, and destroyed the animals within her. He says that this was explained allegorically as a discourse on nature. For since the universe was moist and animals had been generated in it, this god took off his own head, and the other gods mixed the blood that flowed with the earth, and formed men; on account of which they are intelligent and partake of divine wisdom. And Belus, whom they interpret as Zeus, cutting the darkness in the middle, separated earth and heaven from each other, and ordered the world. But the animals, not bearing the power of the light, perished. And Belus, seeing a desolate and fruitless land, commanded one of the gods to cut off his own head, to mix the earth with the blood that flowed out, and to form men and beasts that were able to bear the air. And Belus also completed the stars and the sun and the moon and the five planets. Alexander Polyhistor says these things, that Berossus stated in his first book. And in the second, the ten kings of the Chaldeans and the time of their reign, 120 saroi, that is, 432,000 years, until the flood. For the same Alexander says that from the writing of the Chaldeans, again, going down from the ninth king, Ardates, to the tenth, called by them Xisuthros, as follows: When Ardates died, his son Xisuthros reigned for eighteen saroi. In his time a great

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φανῆναι ἐκ τῆς ἐρυθρᾶς θαλάσσης κατὰ τὸν ὁμοροῦντα τόπον τῇ Βαβυλωνίᾳ ζῷον ἄφρενον ὀνόματι Ὠάννην, καθὼς καὶ Ἀπολλόδωρος ἱστόρησε, τὸ μὲν ὅλον σῶμα ἔχον ἰχθύος, ὑπὸ δὲ τὴν κεφαλὴν παραπεφυκυῖαν ἄλλην κεφαλὴν ὑποκάτω τῆς τοῦ ἰχθύος κεφαλῆς, καὶ πόδας ὁμοίως ἀνθρώπου, παραπεφυκότας δὲ ἐκ τῆς οὐρᾶς τοῦ ἰχθύος· εἶναι δὲ αὐτῷ φωνὴν ἀνθρώπου, τὴν δὲ εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ ἔτι καὶ νῦν διαφυλάσ σεσθαι· τοῦτο δέ φησι τὸ ζῷον, τὴν μὲν ἡμέραν διατρίβειν μετὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οὐδεμίαν τροφὴν προσφερόμενον, παραδιδόναι τε τοῖς ἀν θρώποις γραμμάτων καὶ μαθημάτων καὶ τεχνῶν παντοδαπῶν ἐμπειρίαν, καὶ πόλεων συνοικισμοὺς καὶ ἱερῶν ἱδρύσεις καὶ νόμων εἰσηγήσεις καὶ γεωμετρίαν διδάσκειν, καὶ σπέρματα καὶ καρπῶν συναγωγὰς ὑποδεικνύ ναι, καὶ συνόλως πάντα τὰ πρὸς ἡμέρωσιν ἀνήκοντα βίου παραδιδόναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ χρόνου ἐκείνου οὐδὲν ἄλλο περισσὸν εὑρεθῆναι. τοῦ δὲ ἡλίου δύνοντος τὸ ζῷον τουτονὶ Ὠάννην δῦναι πάλιν εἰς τὴν θάλασ σαν, καὶ τὰς νύκτας ἐν τῷ πελάγει διαιτᾶσθαι· εἶναι γὰρ αὐτὸ ἀμφίβιον. ὕστερον δὲ φανῆναι καὶ ἕτερα ζῷα ὅμοια τούτῳ, περὶ ὧν ἐν τῇ τῶν βασι λέων ἀναγραφῇ φησι δηλώσειν. τὸν δὲ Ὠάννην περὶ γενεᾶς καὶ πολιτείας γράψαι καὶ παραδοῦναι τόνδε τὸν λόγον τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. Γενέσθαι φησὶ χρόνον, ἐν ᾧ τὸ πᾶν σκότος καὶ ὕδωρ εἶναι, καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ζῷα τερατώδη, καὶ εἰδιφυεῖς τὰς ἰδέας ἔχοντα ζωογονεῖσθαι. ἀνθρώπους γὰρ διπτέρους γεννηθῆναι, ἐνίους δὲ καὶ τετραπτέρους καὶ διπροσώπους· καὶ σῶμα μὲν ἔχοντας ἕν, κεφαλὰς δὲ βʹ, ἀνδρείαν τε καὶ γυναικείαν, καὶ αἰδοῖα δὲ δισσά, ἄρρεν καὶ θῆλυ· καὶ ἑτέρους ἀνθρώπους τοὺς μὲν αἰγῶν σκέλη καὶ κέρατα ἔχοντας, τοὺς δὲ ἱππόποδας, τοὺς δὲ τὰ ὀπίσω μὲν μέρη ἵππων, τὰ δὲ ἔμπροσθεν ἀνθρώπων, οὓς ἱπποκενταύρους τὴν ἰδέαν εἶναι. ζωογονηθῆναι δὲ καὶ ταύρους ἀνθρώπων κεφαλὰς ἔχοντας καὶ κύνας τετρασωμάτους, οὐρὰς ἰχθύος ἐκ τῶν ὄπισθεν μερῶν ἔχοντας, καὶ ἵππους κυνοκεφάλους καὶ ἀνθρώπους καὶ ἕτερα ζῷα κεφαλὰς μὲν καὶ σώματα 30 ἵππων ἔχοντα, οὐρὰς δὲ ἰχθύων, καὶ ἄλλα δὲ ζῷα παντοδαπῶν θηρίων μορφὰς ἔχοντα, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἰχθύας καὶ ἑρπετὰ καὶ ὄφεις καὶ ἄλλα ζῷα πλείονα θαυμαστὰ καὶ παρηλλαγμένας τὰς ὄψεις ἀλλήλων ἔχοντα· ὧν καὶ τὰς εἰκόνας ἐν τῷ τοῦ Βήλου ναῷ ἀνακεῖσθαι. ἄρχειν δὲ τούτων πάντων γυναῖκα ᾗ ὄνομα Ὁμόρωκα· εἶναι δὲ τοῦτο Χαλδαϊστὶ μὲν Θαλάτθ, Ἑλληνιστὶ δὲ μεθερμηνεύεσθαι θάλασσα, κατὰ δὲ ἰσόψηφον σελήνη. Οὕτως δὲ τῶν ὅλων συνεστηκότων ἐπανελθόντα Βῆλον σχίσαι τὴν γυναῖκα μέσην, καὶ τὸ μὲν ἥμισυ αὐτῆς ποιῆσαι γῆν, τὸ δὲ ἄλλο ἥμισυ οὐρανόν, καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ ζῷα ἀφανίσαι. ἀλληγορικῶς δέ φησι τοῦτο πε φυσιολογῆσθαι. ὑγροῦ γὰρ ὄντος τοῦ παντὸς καὶ ζῴων ἐν αὐτῷ γεγεννη μένων, τοῦτον τὸν θεὸν ἀφελεῖν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ κεφαλήν, καὶ τὸ ῥυὲν αἷμα τοὺς ἄλλους θεοὺς φυρᾶσαι τῇ γῇ, καὶ διαπλάσαι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους· δι' ὃ νοερούς τε εἶναι καὶ φρονήσεως θείας μετέχειν. Τὸν δὲ Βῆλον, ὃν ∆ία μεθερμηνεύουσι, μέσον τεμόντα τὸ σκότος χω ρίσαι γῆν καὶ οὐρανὸν ἀπ' ἀλλήλων, καὶ διατάξαι τὸν κόσμον· τὰ δὲ ζῷα οὐκ ἐνεγκόντα τὴν τοῦ φωτὸς δύναμιν φθαρῆναι. ἰδόντα δὲ τὸν Βῆλον χώραν ἔρημον καὶ ἀκαρποφόρον κελεῦσαι ἑνὶ τῶν θεῶν τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀφελόντι ἑαυτοῦ τῷ ἀπορρυέντι αἵματι φυρᾶσαι τὴν γῆν καὶ διαπλάσαι ἀνθρώπους καὶ θηρία τὰ δυνάμενα τὸν ἀέρα φέρειν· ἀποτελέσαι δὲ τὸν Βῆλον καὶ ἄστρα καὶ ἥλιον καὶ σελήνην καὶ τοὺς πέντε πλανήτας. ταῦτά φησιν ὁ Πολυίστωρ Ἀλέξανδρος τὸν Βήρωσσον ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ φάσκειν. Ἐν δὲ τῇ δευτέρᾳ τοὺς ιʹ βασιλεῖς τῶν Χαλδαίων καὶ τὸν χρόνον τῆς βασιλείας αὐτῶν, σάρους ρκʹ, ἤτοι ἐτῶν μυριάδας μγʹ καὶ βʹ, ἕως τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ· λέγει γὰρ ὁ αὐτὸς Ἀλέξανδρος ὡς ἀπὸ τῆς γραφῆς τῶν Χαλδαίων αὖθις παρακατιὼν ἀπὸ τοῦ θʹ βασιλέως Ἀρδάτου ἐπὶ τὸν ιʹ λεγόμενον παρ' αὐτοῖς Ξίσουθρον οὕτως· Ἀρδάτου δὲ τελευτήσαντος τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ Ξίσουθρον βασιλεῦσαι σάρους ιηʹ· ἐπὶ τούτου μέγαν