Note 79 — FIRST SECTION.

Geogr. Bk. XVII, ch. 46. Τῷ δὲ Διΐ, ὃν μάλιστα τιμῶσιν, εὐειδεστάτη καὶ γένους λαμπροτάτου παρθένος ἱερᾶται, ἃς καλοῦσι οἱ Ἕλληνες Παλλάδας· αὕτη δὲ καὶ παλλακεύει, καὶ σύνεστιν οἷς βούλεται, μέχρις ἂν ἡ φυσικὴ γένηται τοῦ σώματος κάθαρσις· μετὰ δὲ τὴν κάθαρσιν δίδοται πρὸς ἄνδρας. (And to Zeus, whom they reverence most, a maiden, most beautiful and of highest lineage, is consecrated, and these priestesses the Greeks call Pallades. And she acts as a courtesan, and lies with whom she pleases, until the natural purging (menstruation) of the body begins. And after this she is given in marriage). So here we find brought into connection with the Zeus of the Egyptians the same practice we observed amongst Asiatics in the Venus cult.