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Sanchuniathon relates these things, a very ancient man and older than the Trojan times, as they say, whom they testify was approved for the accuracy and truth of his Phoenician history; and Philo of Byblos, not the Hebrew, translated his entire work from the Phoenician tongue into the Greek language and published it. The one who composed the plot against us mentions these things in the fourth book of his treatise against us, testifying to the man in these exact words: 1.9.21 “Sanchuniathon of Berytus relates the history of the Jews most truthfully, because it agrees with their places and names, having received the records from Hierombalus the priest of the god Ieuo; who, having dedicated his history to Abibalus, king of the Berytians, was approved by him and the examiners of truth under him. Their times fall before the Trojan times and are near to those of Moses, as the successions of the kings of Phoenicia indicate. And Sanchuniathon, who, according to the Phoenician dialect, as a lover of truth, collected all the ancient history from the city records and the inscriptions in the temples and wrote it down, lived in the time of Semiramis, the queen of the Assyrians, who is recorded to have lived before the Trojan war, or at least at that very time. And Philo of Byblos translated the works of Sanchuniathon into the Greek language.” 1.9.22 Thus spoke the aforementioned, testifying both to the truth and the antiquity of the theologian. But as he proceeds, he theologizes not about the god over all, nor indeed the gods in heaven, but mortal men and women, not even refined in character, such as would be worthy on account of virtue to be accepted or emulated in philosophy, but clothed in the wickedness of all baseness and depravity. And he testifies that these are the very ones who are still even now considered gods by all people both in the cities and the 1.9.23 countrysides. But receive the proofs of these things from his writings. For Philo, having divided the entire work of Sanchuniathon into nine books, says these things about Sanchuniathon in the preface of the first book in these very words: 1.9.24 “This being the case, Sanchuniathon, who was a very learned and inquisitive man, and desiring to know from everyone the things from the beginning, from when all things were established, with much care sought out the writings of Taautus, knowing that Taautus was the first of all who have been under the sun, the one who devised the invention of letters and was the first to write records, and from him, as it were, laid the foundation of discourse, whom the Egyptians called Thoyth, the Alexandrians Thoth, and the Greeks translated as Hermes.” 1.9.25 After saying these things, he criticizes the more recent authors after him, for how they forcibly and untruthfully reduce the myths about the gods to allegories and physical accounts and theories. And so he says as he proceeds: 1.9.26 “But the most recent of the sacred writers rejected the events that had happened from the beginning, and having devised allegories and myths and having fabricated a relationship with cosmic phenomena, they established mysteries and brought upon them great obscurity, so that one could not easily perceive what had truly happened. But he, having come upon the secret writings of the Ammouneans composed from what was found in the shrines, which were certainly not known to all, practiced the learning of them all himself. And putting an end to the matter, setting aside the original myth and the allegories, he accomplished his purpose, until again the priests who came later in time wished to hide it and restore it to the realm of myth; from which the mystery emerged, not yet having reached the Greeks.” 1.9.27 After these things he says: “These things we have found, having desired to know carefully the affairs of the Phoenicians and having searched through much material, not that among the Greeks; for it is discordant and composed by some more contentiously than with a view to truth.” 1.9.28 And after other things: “And so it seemed good to us to be persuaded that things are as he has written, seeing the discord among the Greeks. Concerning which, for me

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Ἱστορεῖ δὲ ταῦτα Σαγχουνιάθων, ἀνὴρ παλαιότατος καὶ τῶν Τρωϊκῶν χρόνων, ὥς φασι, πρεσβύτερος, ὃν καὶ ἐπ' ἀκριβείᾳ καὶ ἀληθείᾳ τῆς Φοινικικῆς ἱστορίας ἀποδεχθῆναι μαρτυροῦσιν· Φίλων δὲ τούτου πᾶσαν τὴν γραφὴν ὁ Βύβλιος, οὐχ ὁ Ἑβραῖος, μεταβαλὼν ἀπὸ τῆς Φοινίκων γλώττης ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα φωνὴν ἐξέδωκε. μέμνηται τούτων ὁ καθ' ἡμᾶς τὴν καθ' ἡμῶν πεποιημένος συσκευὴν ἐν τετάρτῳ τῆς πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὑποθέσεως, ὧδε τῷ ἀνδρὶ μαρτυρῶν πρὸς λέξιν· 1.9.21 «Ἱστορεῖ δὲ τὰ περὶ Ἰουδαίων ἀληθέστατα, ὅτι καὶ τοῖς τόποις καὶ τοῖς ὀνόμασιν αὐτῶν τὰ συμφωνότατα, Σαγχουνιάθων ὁ Βηρύτιος, εἰληφὼς τὰ ὑπομνήματα παρὰ Ἱερομβάλου τοῦ ἱερέως θεοῦ Ἰευώ· ὃς Ἀβιβάλῳ τῷ βασι λεῖ Βηρυτίων τὴν ἱστορίαν ἀναθεὶς ὑπ' ἐκείνου καὶ τῶν κατ' αὐτὸν ἐξεταστῶν τῆς ἀληθείας παρεδέχθη. οἱ δὲ τούτων χρόνοι καὶ πρὸ τῶν Τρωϊκῶν πίπτουσι χρόνων καὶ σχεδὸν τοῖς Μωσέως πλησιάζουσιν, ὡς αἱ τῶν Φοινίκης βασιλέων μηνύουσι διαδοχαί. Σαγχουνιάθων δὲ ὁ κατὰ τὴν Φοινίκων διάλεκτον φιλαλήθως πᾶσαν τὴν παλαιὰν ἱστορίαν ἐκ τῶν κατὰ πόλιν ὑπομνημάτων καὶ τῶν ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς ἀναγραφῶν συναγαγὼν δὴ καὶ συγγράψας ἐπὶ Σεμιράμεως γέγονεν τῆς Ἀσσυρίων βασιλίδος, ἣ πρὸ τῶν Ἰλιακῶν ἢ κατ' αὐτούς γε τοὺς χρόνους γενέσθαι ἀναγέγραπται. τὰ δὲ τοῦ Σαγχουνιάθωνος εἰς Ἑλλάδα γλῶσσαν ἡρμήνευσεν Φίλων ὁ Βύβλιος.» 1.9.22 Ταῦτα μὲν ὁ δηλωθείς, ἀλήθειαν ὁμοῦ καὶ παλαιότητα τῷ δὴ θεολόγῳ μαρτυρήσας. ὁ δὲ προϊὼν οὐ τὸν ἐπὶ πάντων θεὸν οὐδὲ μὴν θεοὺς τοὺς κατ' οὐρανόν, θνητοὺς δὲ ἄνδρας καὶ γυναῖκας, οὐδὲ τὸν τρόπον ἀστείους, οἵους δι' ἀρετὴν ἄξιον εἶναι ἀποδέξασθαι ἢ ζηλῶσαι τῆς φιλοσοφίας, φαυλότητος δὲ καὶ μοχθηρίας ἁπάσης κακίαν περιβεβλημένους θεολογεῖ. καὶ μαρτυρεῖ γε τούτους αὐτοὺς ἐκείνους εἶναι τοὺς εἰσέτι καὶ νῦν θεοὺς παρὰ τοῖς πᾶσιν νενομισμένους κατά τε τὰς πόλεις καὶ τὰς 1.9.23 χώρας. δέχου δὲ καὶ τούτων ἐκ τῶν ἐγγράφων τὰς ἀποδείξεις. ὁ δὴ Φίλων εἰς ἐννέα βίβλους τὴν πᾶσαν τοῦ Σαγχουνιάθωνος πραγματείαν διελὼν κατὰ τὸ προοίμιον τοῦ πρώτου συγγράμματος αὐτοῖς ῥήμασι προλέγει περὶ τοῦ Σαγχουνιάθωνος ταῦτα· 1.9.24 «Τούτων οὕτως ἐχόντων ὁ Σαγχουνιάθων, ἀνὴρ δὴ πολυμαθὴς καὶ πολυπράγμων γενόμενος καὶ τὰ ἐξ ἀρχῆς, ἀφ' οὗ τὰ πάντα συνέστη, παρὰ πάντων εἰδέναι ποθῶν, πολυφροντιστικῶς ἐξεμάστευσεν τὰ Τααύτου, εἰδὼς ὅτι τῶν ὑφ' ἥλιον γεγονότων πρῶτός ἐστι Τάαυτος, ὁ τῶν γραμμάτων τὴν εὕρεσιν ἐπινοήσας καὶ τῆς τῶν ὑπομνημάτων γραφῆς κατάρξας καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦδε ὥσπερ κρηπῖδα βαλόμενος τοῦ λόγου, ὃν Αἰγύπτιοι μὲν ἐκάλεσαν Θωύθ, Ἀλεξανδρεῖς δὲ Θώθ, Ἑρμῆν δὲ Ἕλληνες μετέφρασαν.» 1.9.25 Ταῦτα εἰπὼν ἐπιμέμφεται τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα νεωτέροις, ὡς ἂν βεβιασμένως καὶ οὐκ ἀληθῶς τοὺς περὶ θεῶν μύθους ἐπ' ἀλληγορίας καὶ φυσικὰς διηγήσεις τε καὶ θεωρίας ἀνάγουσιν· λέγει δ' οὖν προϊών· 1.9.26 «Ἀλλ' οἱ μὲν νεώτατοι τῶν ἱερολόγων τὰ μὲν γεγονότα πράγματα ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀπεπέμψαντο, ἀλληγορίας δὲ καὶ μύθους ἐπινοήσαντες καὶ τοῖς κοσμικοῖς παθήμασιν συγγένειαν πλασάμενοι μυστήρια κατέστησαν καὶ πολὺν αὐτοῖς ἐπῆγον τὸν τῦφον, ὡς μὴ ῥᾳδίως τινὰ συνορᾶν τὰ κατ' ἀλήθειαν γενόμενα· ὁ δὲ συμβαλὼν τοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν ἀδύτων εὑρεθεῖσιν ἀποκρύφοις Ἀμμουνέων γράμμασι συγκειμένοις, ἃ δὴ οὐκ ἦν πᾶσιν γνώριμα, τὴν μάθησιν ἁπάντων αὐτὸς ἤσκησεν· καὶ τέλος ἐπιθεὶς τῇ πραγματείᾳ, τὸν κατ' ἀρχὰς μῦθον καὶ τὰς ἀλληγορίας ἐκποδὼν ποιησάμενος, ἐξηνύσατο τὴν πρόθεσιν, ἕως πάλιν οἱ ἐπιγενόμενοι ἱερεῖς χρόνοις ὕστερον ἠθέλησαν αὐτὴν ἀποκρύψαι καὶ εἰς τὸ μυθῶδες ἀποκαταστῆσαι· ἐξ οὗ τὸ μυστικὸν ἀνέκυπτεν οὐδέπω φθάσαν εἰς Ἕλληνας.» 1.9.27 Τούτοις ἑξῆς φησι· «Ταῦθ' ἡμῖν εὕρηται ἐπιμελῶς εἰδέναι τὰ Φοινίκων ποθοῦσι καὶ πολλὴν ἐξερευνησαμένοις ὕλην, οὐχὶ τὴν παρ' Ἕλλησι· διάφωνος γὰρ αὕτη καὶ φιλονεικότερον ὑπ' ἐνίων μᾶλλον ἢ πρὸς ἀλήθειαν συντεθεῖσα». 1.9.28 Καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα· «Οὕτως τε ἔχειν πεπεῖσθαι ἡμῖν παρέστη ὡς ἐκεῖνος γέγραφεν, τὴν διαφωνίαν ὁρῶσι τὴν παρ' Ἕλλησι. περὶ ἧς μοι