great Skill in judiciary Aftrology, who had foretold Arbaces the Conqueft of the Alyrian Empire, was afterwards by him made Prefect, or Governour of Babylon.

S.5. The Followers of Annius, among whom are Sle- Whether dan and Nicholaus Reufnerus, are of Opinion that Phul was Phul,of whom mention is made in the Holy scripture, 2 the fame Kings 15. v. 19. 1 Chron. 5. v. 26. was the fame with with Belochus. Belochus mentioned by Annius as the Monarch of Babylon. But the contrary may be demonftrated if it be confidered that Sardanapalus lived about the year 3839 of the Julian Period, and that Menahem the King of Ifrael was made Tributary to Phul the King of Affyria in the year of the ful an Period 3944, which is above 100 years difference. Befides that, Phul is dignified with the Title of King; whereas we have fhewed already that Belochus or Belefis was only Governour of Babylon.

S. 6. Some are very follicitous about the Hiftory of How to acthe Affyrian and Chaldean Kings, of whom mention count for is made in the Scripture after the Death of Sardana- the Alyri palus, to which I answer, that it is very probable that an Kings after the Death of Arbaces, the Affyrians might in mentioned fome measure recover their ancient Liberty, and be in Sacred governed by their own Kings, tho' fcarce any Foot- History, as Iteps of them are to be found in prophane Hiftory, reigning and of this Orofius L. 1. c.19.has given us this compen- Death of after the dious Account : Thus was the Affyrian Monarchy trans- Sardana ferred to the Medes; but foon after heavy Wars were palus. carried on among these Nations with various fuccefs; fometimes the Scythians, fometimes the Chaldæans got the upper hand; but at last the Empire fell: again to the Medes.

S. 7. Herodotus, with fome of his Followers, make Dejoces Dejotes the firft Monarch of the Median Empire; But was not the as it has been alledged before, there are other Authorsfirst King who having been more careful in infpecting the Au- after Sarthentick Hiftory of the Affyrians, ought to be pre- danapalus

ferr'd in this Point before Herodotus. We have quoted the Words of Diodorus Siculus concerning Arbaces, before, whofe Teftimony is confirmed by fu stin L. 1.c.3, 4. who fays exprefly that Arbatus (Arbaces) formerly Governour of Media, was made King after Sardanapalus. And this feems alfo the most pro

R 3

bable,

Concern

bable, if it be taken into Confideration, that a Democratical Government appeared in all Ages contrary to the Genius of the Afiaticks: So that rò que deWOTOF of the Medes, was ufed as a Proverb among the Poets; witnefs Lucan and Virgil Georg. l. 4. In fine, the Obfervation made by Reinerus Re neccius upon this Paffage of Herodotus feems to be very agreeable to the Truth; to wit, that perhaps the Medes enjoyed a great fhare of Liberty under their firft Kings; which by degrees being degenerated into a Licentioufness, Dejoces was the first who re-established the Royal Pre rogative and Authority.

$. 8. The Eclipfe of the Sun mentioned before out ing the So- of Herodotus and Clemens Alexandrinus, has been like lar Eclipfe the Pomum Eridis among the Aftronomers and Chromentioned nologers, there being as many Opinions as Heads aby Hero- bout it, too many to be enumerated here; however

actus.

The appli cation of the Reigns

of theje Kings to the Jul.

Period.

we give the preference to that of Clemens Alexandrinus and Pliny, who affirm that this Eclipfe of the Sun did not happen(as Herodotus relates) in the Reign of Cyaxares, but in that of Aftyages, in the year of the Julian Period 4129, on the 28th of May, towards Sun-fet; and that it appeared the more terrible to the Medes and Lydians engaged in the Heat of Battle, that the Sun was fo near its Period, and that declining day did not allow 'em time to fee the Sun recover its primitive fplendour.

§. 9. The following Table fhews the congruity betwixt the Reigns of each of the Median Kings, and the years of the Julian Period, according to our and Petavius's Computation; unto which we have added the Calculations of fofeph Scaliger and William Lange as being fomewhat different from ours.

Number

1. An Olympiad is an Interval of four Greek unequal years, at the Expiration of which the Olympiad Games dedicated to Jupiter Olympius were folemnized among the Greeks.

2. The Olympiad Epocha is confirmed by very famous and unquestionable Characters, particularly by feveral Eclipfes related by Thucydides L. 2. 4. 7. annd others. From whence it is evident that the Olympiad Epocha began in the year of the Julian Period 3983, in Summer, Cycle . 18.

>.5.

3. To have a juft Connexion of the years of the Olympiads with the Julian Period, fubtract one from the Number of the Olympiads, the Refidue multiply by 4, unto which add the Number of years of the Running Olympiad; and the Product will fhew the number of years fince the beginning of this Epocha: If to thefe you add 3937 years and

R4

The first

6 Months, the whole will be correfpondent to the year of the Julian Period.

4. But if you have before you a certain year of the Julian Period, and would find out what year of any Olympiad is correfpondent to it, fubtract from the Number of years of the Julian Period 3937 years and fix Months; divide the Refidue by 4, and the Quotients and Super-plus will shew the year of the Olympiad correfpondent to it.

Founder of §. 1.THE firft Author of the Olympian Games is the Olymfaid to be one Pifus, of whom nothing is pianGames left but the Name. But Pelops the Son of Tantalus is much more famous in Hiflory, who ordered them to be celebrated in Honour of Jupiter Olympius. They were afterwards revived by Atreus and Hercules, and dedicated to the Memory of Pelops. Laft of all phitus the Son of Praxonides did once more re-establish this Solemnity, after it had been neglected for a confiderable time before; from which time they were continued without Interruption, and the Olympian years were called Iphitean years from Iphitus.

The cer zainty of

S. 2. The Olympid Epocha is fo much celebrated for its Certainty, that fome account the Number of this Epocha Olympiads among the Chronological Characters, yet it is not free from all Dispute: For, according to the Teftimony of Phlegon and Plutarch in vit. Lycurg, the Olympian Games were inftituted in the time of Iphitus and Lycurgus., Now, Eufebius Lb. pofter. Chron. makes Lycurgus contemporary with Feb, and his time coincident with the 1130th year or the Epocha of A braham lo that according to this Computation, Lycurgus and Iphitus flourified about the year of the Fu Lian Period 3827. Further, moft of the Chronologers agree with Caius Julius Solinus, who affirms that Iphitus revived thefe Olympian Games in the 408th year after the Deftruction of Troy. Now, if both thefe Computations be compared, it follows from thence, that Lycurgus and Iphitus flourished both in the year of the Julian Period 3827, and in the year 3938, which is above one hundred years difference. To obviate this Difficulty, I fee no better cxpedient than to fuppofe

fuppofe that even after the time of Iphitus the faid Games were fometimes difcontinued till the time of Eleus Corobus, who, according to Paufanias and Phlegon, was the first that got the Victory in the the Olympian Games. If any Body can fhew us a more convenient Explication,we are ready to joyn with him.

cha.

§. 3. The Olympian Games are like fo many An- Concernnals, by which the ancient Greeks computed not only ing the ufe their own, but alfo the Hiftories of other Nations; fulness of from whence Varro borrowed his three remarkable this EpoDiftinctions of Time,viz.anaov,before the Deluge;uʊSo, before the Olympiads, and isoginov, fince the beginning of the Olympian Epocha: And Fuftin Martyr and Africanus agree thus far with Varro, that before the time of this Epocha, nothing of folid History was written in Greece.

:

Where

S. 4. The Olympian Games were celebrated in the Elan Fields near the River of Alpheus in the Pelopon- thofe nefus, which is now called Morea. Paufanias relates, Games that the Pifaans did alfo attempt once to inftitute the mere celeOlympian Games among them, but that the Eleans ne- brated. ver reckoned them among the Number of Olympiads.

s. 5. There is a great difference betwixt an Olym- of how ma pias and an Olympian year: Olympias is called both the years Game it feif and the Quadriennial Interval; after the Olympiad Expiration of which thefe Games were always renew-ws ed. Some Authors there are however, who have taken pofed. it for a Quinquennial Cycle; particularly Ovid L. 4. Eleg. 6. and Seneca in Herc. Fur. But Seneca feems not to fpeak of the compleat, but running fifth year : And as for Ovid he confounded his Roman Luftrum with the Greek Olympiad, from whence I conclude that an Olympiad confifted of four years; and that an Olympian year, contained the fourth Part of an Olympias.

What time

of the year

76. 6. The Olympiad Games were fixed to a complex Character; to wit, to the Full Moon, next after they the Summer Solstice, But by reafon of the Ignorance celebrated of the ancient Greeks in Aftronomy, the fixed Days of the first Olympiads remain uncertain: And even after the calculation of time according to the Mo-tion of the Sun and Moon, introduced by Meto and

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