Jan.14] PROCEEDINGS. [1890archaicintercoursebetweenSouthernBabyloniaandIndia,* it was
as easy for the word makarato have beenexported,as for the word
sindhu(' muslin'), "which is found in an ancient Babylonianlist of
clothing,"to have beenimported; and when we remember the very
remarkable agreement in the important point of commencement
betweenthe Tablet andthe Tamil mouth-list,t we see how greatly
this inference is strengthened. But the investigation of this archaic
eastern sea-traffichasonlyjustbegun; and doubtlessmuchwill be
revealedby subsequent researches.
If, however, Makharand the Goat-fishare, as is possible, two
distinctasterisms,thenwe may identifythe former withthe Dolphin,
of which Aratossays:—
" Now nearthe Goat the Dolphin speedsalong,
Dimin the midst ; and round it lie four stars
Whichparallelare fixed by two and two" ;\
his Dolphin occupying the space now filled by Delphinus and
Equuleus(theColt). TheAkkadiannamefor ' dolphin ' is unknown,
but its Assyrian name was nakhira, from the Syriac word for
' nostril,' " in reference to the animal's blow-hole."§
Theregentdivinitiesof the constellation of the Goat-fish are the
gods Nabiu(Nebo,the " Proclaimer ") and Urmetum(" Hero-who-
proclaims") ; and theseare evidently onedivinity,the former name
beingSemitic,the latter Akkadian,just as Makhar and Munaxa are
probablyone constellation. Nebo, in origin, is "the Sun of the
Dawn,"whoproclaimsthe day, the solar Goatclimbingthe heavenly
steepout of the abyss (sea)of the Underworld, night,andeast,and
so half fish ; and, thus,as an ultimate analysis,NeboandCapricorn
are identical.
Thus, by means of the constellation of the Goat-fish,with its
adjoining stars of the Sea, the Fish, and the Foundation, we are
enabledto determine the beginning andthe end of the Thirty Stars
andwe further observethatthisbeginning indicatesa year com
mencing at the wintersolstice, several other examples of which
I have mentioned.|| Amongst others,the old Athenian yearbegan
* Vide Sayce,Ret.And.Babylonians,137-8.
t Vide sup.p. 141. % Phainomcna, 316-18.
§ Rev. Win.Houghton,in Transactions, V, 363.
|| Vide Sup.p. 141.
IS'