Note 139 — Chapter IV
Reading edition
Apis was a black calf, with a square white spot on its forehead, the figure of an eagle on its back, a double tuft of hair on its tail, and the figure of the cantharus, the sacred beetle, under its tongue. When an animal bearing these marks was found, or manufactured, the birth of Apis was announced to the people, a temple was built on the spot, where he was fed for four months, and after various ceremonies he was finally conveyed to Memphis, where he spent the rest of his life in a splendid palace, receiving divine honours.