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174 Memnon. his person, and in his violent death, which snatches him away at the height of his power and glory. As to the beauty of Minos, I need only mention his adventure with the traitress Scylla^^. But what renders this legend remarkable is, that it occurs again in a different scene, and with different per- sons. In the expedition of Amphitryon against the Taphians, Comaetho is seduced, like Scylla, to cut off the fated golden hair from the head of her father Pterelaus^^. According to Apollodorus the seducer on this occasion was Amphitryon himself: but according to another version it was his ally Cephalus^^ And Cephalus is beloved by Aurora, as his wife Procris must have been by Minos, since he gave her the hound which was alone capable of overtaking the Cad- mean fox^^ These coincidences are singular, though they may possibly be accidental. The death of Minos in Sicily seems to be a legend of similar import with that of the death of Hercules in Spain, though perhaps it admits of a more precise interpretation, into which however it would be un- seasonable to enter here. It now only remains to add a few remarks on the origin of the tradition on which, according to the hypothesis here proposed, the legend of Memnon was founded. Buttmann has endeavoured to shew that the names Menu, Menes, Minos, &c. originally signified nothing more than our word man^ and that these mythical persons were at first only representa- tives of their several nations, or of mankind in general, who afterwards became kings and lawgivers ^^. To this view of the subject I have no objection, and would only observe that it is perfectly consistent with the early existence of a tra- dition, that one of these kings was a mighty conqueror who came out of the East. By what means such a tradition was connected with the name of Memnon, it is scarcely possible to ascertain, and is therefore of very little use to inquire, 53 Hence Nonnus xxv. 165^ surrounds Minos with a host of Cupids, and adds, MiVo)? /iihu TrToXtiropdo^ kco TroTe KaWei yvfxvtM 'Xcr/JLLvrj's TeXo? ^vpe, Kal ov viKrjffe fTLOijpcoy 'AXXa TToOo) /cat epwTL. ^"^ ApoUod. II. 4. 7- The hair of Pterelaus is of gold, that of Nisus purple (Pau- san. I. 19. 4). It is the same variation which occurs about the golden fleece: see Mueller Orchom. p. 172. ^ Tzetz. ad Lye. 034. ^ ApoHod. 11. 4. 7. "'"^ Mythologus II. p. 230.