40
And in that place saughe I also ymages of Eleyne and Ecube and Andromacha and Parys and Ector and Achilles. And I saughe Nireos ymage, that was sone of Aglaye, and Philomele and Progne, that weren yit wommen, and Tereus himself, that was a brid, and an other ymage of Semiramys, and of Combabe that that I spak of, and a right fayr of Stratonice, and oon of Alexaundre lyk as it were the verray man, and there beside him stont Sardanapalle in other schappe and other aparayl.That is, with the figure and clothing of a woman.
41
And in the clos at large pasturen grete boles and hors and egles and beres and lyouns; and thei don no manere harm to men but ben everyche of hem holy and tame.Sacred animals were a common feature of temple-closes in Greece (Gardner-Jevons, Manual, p. 188). Plato introduces sacred bulls into his utopian Atlantis, Critias, 119 p.
42
Prestes thei apoynten withouten nombre, of the whiche some sleen the victimes and some beren the offrynges of licours and some ben cleped Fuyrbereres and some Awtere Prestes. Whan I was there, mo than a 300 weren wont to assemblen hem for sacrifise. Thei ben clothed in whyte robes alle, and thei han a poynted cappe on here hedes.For the pointed cap, see Cumont in Daremberg-Saglio, Dict. des Ant., s.v. Syria Dea, fig. 6698, and the reference in the next note (Abd-Hadad). And everyche yeer a newe chefe preste is sett over hem, that allone wereth a robe of purpre and is crouned with a coronale of gold.Coins of Hieropolis, of the fourth century, B.c. (Babelon, Perses achéménides, No. 315), show the high priest Abd-Hadad in the dress here described. Compare Herodian 5, 3, 6 (costume of Elagabalus; cf. Dio Cassius 79, 11); Cureton, Ancient Syriac Documents, p. 41 (Sharbil, priest of Nebo); Athenaeus 5, 215 8.c. (priest of Sandan at Tarsus).
43
And therto is other gret multytude of religious men, of floyteres and piperes and Galles, and also wommen that ben wode and out of here witte.
