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Whether time co-existed with heaven, or Heaven himself was the father of Kronos, and time came after him, yet before all these was God, the cause of all things and creator of both heaven and time. But if this is so, Zeus could not be 3.10.26 the third from Heaven. How then, among all Egyptians and Phoenicians and Greeks and philosophers, is the creative mind of the universe traced as the third from Heaven? The philosopher's fiction has been detected, and will be detected even more from what he adds, saying as follows: 3.11.1 "And they have made Hera the consort of Zeus, having named the ethereal and aerial power Hera. For aether is the most fine-particled air." 3.11.2 Above, the verses indicated that the mind of Zeus was the aether, but now the argument defines what aether is, saying that it is the most fine-particled 3.11.3 air. But air is a body, and aether much more so. Therefore the mind of Zeus is proven to be a body, even if the most fine-particled of all things. And how could body and mind be conceived as the same thing, when they are diametrically opposed in their natures? 3.11.4 Then, somehow forgetting the verses which expressly stated: 'His mind is unerring, the royal, imperishable aether, by which all things are encompassed and considered, nor is there any voice or cry or noise or even rumor, which escapes the ear of Zeus, the exceedingly mighty son of Kronos.' 3.11.5 Through which verses it is clearly stated that the aether is the mind of Zeus. But he says that Hera, in turn, is the ethereal and aerial power. Then making a distinction he adds: "And the power of all the air is Hera, so named from the air; but Leto is a symbol of the air below the moon that is illuminated and darkened; for she is forgetfulness because of the senselessness during sleep, and because forgetfulness of the divine accompanies souls that have come to be under the moon; and for this reason she is also the mother of Apollo and Artemis, who are the causes of illumination in the night." 3.11.6 And in these statements he says that the mother of the sun and moon is the air under the moon; for this, he says, is Leto. And how could the air become the mother of the causes of illumination, being itself affected rather than affecting? For the sun and moon at different times change the air in different ways. And again, proceeding in order, he says: 3.11.7 "And the ruling principle of the chthonic power is called Hestia, whose virgin statue is set up on a hearth of fire; and insofar as the power is fertile, they represent it by the form of a woman with prominent breasts. They named Rhea the power of the rocky and mountainous earth, and Demeter that of the level and fertile land. And Demeter is in other respects the same as Rhea, but differs in that she conceives Kore from Zeus, that is, the satiety from the dry seeds. For this reason also her image is crowned with ears of corn, and poppies are around her as a symbol of her great fertility." 3.11.8 And here again, consider how he has brought down Rhea, who is called mother of the gods and of Zeus himself, to somewhere low around rocks and earth, and confusing everything, says she is the same as Demeter, except that she differs, inasmuch as, he says, Demeter conceives Kore from Zeus, just as the level earth conceives satiety from the dry seeds. Behold for you again, Zeus is transformed into dry 3.11.9 seeds. To these things he adds in order, saying: "And since there was also a certain power of the seeds cast into the earth, which the sun draws up as it goes around the lower hemisphere at the winter solstice, Kore is the seed-bearing power, and Plouton is the sun going under the earth and traversing the unseen world at the winter solstice, who is said to abduct 3.11.10 Kore, whom Demeter longs for while she is hidden under the earth, and the power of fruit trees and of growing things in general is named Dionysus. But look also at their images. For Kore bears symbols of the putting forth of the growths from the fruits above the earth, while Dionysus has horns in common with Kore, and is of female form, indicating the male-female power concerned with the generation of fruit trees. 3.11.11 And Plouton, the abductor of Kore, has a helmet as a symbol of the unseen pole, and the shortened sceptre is a sign of his sovereignty over the things below; and his dog indicates the generation of the fruits, divided into three parts, into

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εἴτε δὴ ἅμα οὐρανῷ συνυπέστη χρόνος εἴη τε αὐτὸς ὁ Κρόνου πατὴρ Οὐρανὸς καὶ χρόνος μετὰ τοῦτον, ἀλλὰ πρό γε τούτων ὁ τῶν ὅλων αἴτιος καὶ οὐρανοῦ καὶ χρόνου δημιουργὸς θεός. εἰ δὲ τοῦτο, οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο ὁ Ζεὺς 3.10.26 τρίτος ἐξ Οὐρανοῦ. πῶς οὖν παρὰ πᾶσιν Αἰγυπτίοις καὶ Φοίνιξιν Ἕλλησί τε καὶ φιλοσόφοις τρίτος ἐξ Οὐρανοῦ γενεαλογεῖται ὁ τῶν ὅλων δημιουργικὸς νοῦς; πεφώραται δὴ τοῦ φιλοσόφου τὸ πλάσμα καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον φωραθήσεται ἐξ ὧν ἐπιφέρει λέγων ὧδε· 3.11.1 «Τὴν δὲ Ἥραν σύνοικον τῷ ∆ιὶ πεποιήκασιν, τὴν αἰθέριον καὶ ἀέριον δύναμιν Ἥραν προσειπόντες. ἔστι γὰρ ὁ αἰθὴρ ἀὴρ ὁ λεπτομερέστατος.» 3.11.2 Ἀνωτέρω μὲν ἐδήλου τὰ ἔπη τὸν νοῦν τοῦ ∆ιὸς εἶναι τὸν αἰθέρα, νυνὶ δὲ ὁ λόγος τί ποτ' ἐστὶν ὁ αἰθὴρ διορίζεται, ἀέρα λέγων εἶναι αὐτὸν λεπτο3.11.3 μερέστατον· σῶμα δὲ ὁ ἀὴρ καὶ πολὺ πρότερον ὁ αἰθήρ. ὁ δὴ νοῦς ἄρα τοῦ ∆ιὸς ἐλήλεγκται σῶμα τυγχάνων, εἰ καὶ τὸ πάντων λεπτομερέστατον. καὶ πῶς ἂν ταὐτὸν ἐπινοηθείη σῶμα καὶ νοῦς κατὰ διάμετρον ταῖς φύσεσι 3.11.4 διεστῶτα; εἶτ' οὐκ οἶδ' ὅπως τῶν ἐπῶν ἐπιλελησμένος διαρρήδην φησάντων· Νοῦς δέ οἱ ἀψευδής, βασιλήϊος ἄφθιτος αἰθήρ, ᾧ δὴ πάντα κυκλεῖ καὶ φράζεται οὐδέ τίς <ἐστιν> αὐδὴ οὔτ' ἐνοπὴ οὔτε κτύπος οὐδὲ μὲν ὄσσα, ἣ λήθει ∆ιὸς οὖας ὑπερμενέος Κρονίωνος. 3.11.5 δι' ὧν σαφῶς ὁ αἰθὴρ νοῦς ἀνείρηται ὢν τοῦ ∆ιός. ὁ δὲ τὴν Ἥραν πάλιν τὴν αἰθέριον καὶ ἀέριον δύναμιν εἶναί φησιν. ἔπειτα διαιρῶν ἐπιλέγει· «Καὶ τοῦ μὲν παντὸς ἀέρος ἡ δύναμις Ἥρα τοὔνομα ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀέρος κεκλημένη· τοῦ δὲ ὑπὸ σελήνην φωτιζομένου καὶ σκοτιζομένου ἀέρος ἡ Λητὼ σύμβολον· ληθὼ γὰρ αὐτὴν εἶναι διὰ τὴν κατὰ τὸν ὕπνον ἀναισθησίαν καὶ ὅτι ψυχαῖς ὑπὸ σελήνην γενομέναις λήθη ξυνομαρτεῖ τοῦ θείου· διὰ τοῦτο δὲ καὶ μήτηρ Ἀπόλλωνός τε καὶ Ἀρτέμιδος, τῶν αἰτίων φωτισμοῦ τῇ νυκτί.» 3.11.6 Καὶ ἐν τούτοις ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης μητέρα φησὶν εἶναι τὸν ὑπὸ σελήνην ἀέρα· τοῦτον γὰρ εἶναι τὴν Λητώ. καὶ πῶς ἂν ὁ ἀὴρ γένοιτο μήτηρ τῶν αἰτίων φωτισμοῦ, μᾶλλον αὐτὸς γινόμενος ἢ ποιῶν; ἥλιος γὰρ καὶ σελήνη ἄλλοτε ἄλλως τὸν ἀέρα μεταβάλλουσιν. πάλιν δὲ προϊὼν ἑξῆς λέγει· 3.11.7 «Καὶ τὸ μὲν ἡγεμονικὸν τῆς χθονίας δυνάμεως Ἑστία κέκληται, ἧς ἄγαλμα παρθενικὸν ἐφ' ἑστίας πυρὸς ἱδρυμένον· καθὸ δὲ γόνιμος ἡ δύναμις, σημαίνουσιν αὐτὴν γυναικὸς εἴδει προμάστου. τὴν δὲ Ῥέαν προσεῖπον τὴν τῆς πετρώδους καὶ ὀρείου γῆς δύναμιν, τὴν δὲ ∆ήμητραν τὴν τῆς πεδινῆς καὶ γονίμου. ἡ ∆ημήτηρ δὲ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ ἔχει τῇ Ῥέᾳ, διενήνοχε δὲ ὅτι αὕτη κυεῖ τὴν Κόρην ἐκ ∆ιός, τουτέστι τὸν κόρον ἐκ τῶν φρυγανωδῶν σπερμάτων. διὸ καὶ κατέστεπται τὸ βρέτας αὐτῆς τοῖς στάχυσιν, μήκωνές τε περὶ αὐτὴν τῆς πολυγονίας σύμβολον.» 3.11.8 Κἀνταῦθα πάλιν σκόπει τίνα τρόπον τὴν Ῥέαν μητέρα θεῶν λεγομένην καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ∆ιὸς κάτω που περὶ πέτρας καὶ γῆν καταβέβληκεν καὶ πάντα φύρων τὴν αὐτὴν εἶναί φησι τῇ ∆ήμητρι, πλὴν ὅτι διενήνοχεν, καθό, φησίν, ἡ ∆ημήτηρ ἐκ ∆ιὸς κυεῖ τὴν Κόρην, ὥσπερ οὖν ἡ πεδιὰς γῆ τὸν κόρον ἐκ τῶν φρυγανωδῶν σπερμάτων. ἰδού σοι πάλιν ὁ Ζεὺς εἰς τὰ φρυγανώδη 3.11.9 σπέρματα μεταβέβληται. τούτοις ἑξῆς ἐπισυνάπτει λέγων· «Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ τῶν εἰς γῆν βαλλομένων σπερμάτων ἦν τις δύναμις, ἣν ἥλιος περὶ τὸ κάτω ἡμισφαίριον ἰὼν ἕλκει, κατὰ τὰς χειμερίους τροπάς, Κόρη μὲν ἡ δύναμις ἡ σπερματοῦχος, Πλούτων δὲ ὁ ὑπὸ γῆν ἰὼν ἥλιος καὶ τὸν ἀφανῆ περινοστῶν κόσμον κατὰ τὰς χειμερίους τροπάς ὃς ἁρπάζειν λέγεται τὴν 3.11.10 Κόρην, ἣν ποθεῖ ἡ ∆ημήτηρ κρυπτομένην ὑπὸ γῆν, τῶν δὲ ἀκροδρύων καὶ ὅλως τῶν φυτευτικῶν ἡ δύναμις ∆ιόνυσος ὀνομάζεται. ὅρα δὲ καὶ τούτων τὰς εἰκόνας. σύμβολα γὰρ ἡ Κόρη φέρει τῆς προβολῆς τῶν κατὰ τοὺς καρποὺς ὑπὲρ τὴν γῆν ἐκφύσεων, ὁ δὲ ∆ιόνυσος κοινὰ μὲν πρὸς τὴν Κόρην ἔχει τὰ κέρατα, ἔστι δὲ θηλύμορφος, μηνύων τὴν περὶ τὴν γένεσιν τῶν ἀκροδρύων ἀρρενόθηλυν 3.11.11 δύναμιν. Πλούτων δὲ ὁ Κόρης ἅρπαξ κυνῆν μὲν ἔχει τοῦ ἀφανοῦς πόλου σύμβολον, τὸ δὲ σκῆπτρον τὸ κολοβὸν σημεῖον τῆς τῶν κάτω βασιλείας· ὁ δὲ κύων αὐτοῦ δηλοῖ τὴν κύησιν τῶν καρπῶν εἰς τρία διῃρημένην, εἰς