Hell, this Orius being of a morofe and gloomy difpofition.

Ceres has ever been the favourite deity of the Sicilians. She chofe her feat of empire in the center of the island, on the top of a high hill called Enna, where the founded the city of that name. It is ftill a confiderable place, and is now called Caftragiovanni; but little or nothing remain of the ruins of Enna.

Cicero gives a particular account of this place. He fays, from its fituation in the center of the ifland, it was called Umbilicus Sicilia, and defcribes it as one of the most beautiful and fertile Spots in the world. The temple of Ceres at Enna was renowned all over the heathen world, and pilgrimages were made to it, as they are at prefent to Loretto. Fazzello fays, it was held in fuch veneration, that when the city was surprised and pillaged by the slaves and barbarians, they did not prefume to touch this facred temple, although it contained more riches than all the city befides.

There have been violent disputes amongst the Sicilian authors, whether Proferpine was carried off near the city of Enna, or that of Ætna, which stood at the foot of that mountain, but it is of mighty little confequence, and more respect, I think, is to be paid to the fentiments of Cicero, who gives it in favour of Enna, than the whole

of them. Diodorus too is of the fame opinion, and his defcription of this place is almost in the very words as thofe of Cicero. They both paint it as a perfect paradife; abounding in beautiful groves, clear fprings and rivulets, and like Ætna, covered with a variety of flowers at all seasons of the year. To these authorities, if you please, you may add that of Milton, who compares it to paradise itself.

Nor that fair field

Of Enna, where Proferpine gathering flowers,
Herself a fairer flower, by gloomy Dis
Was gathered.

If you want to have a fuller account of this place you will find it in Cicero's pleadings against Verres, and in the fifth book of Diodorus. I have converfed with feveral gentlemen who have been there; they affure me that it still answers in a great measure to the defcription of these authors. Medals, I am told, are still found, with an elegant figure of Ceres, and an ear of wheat for the reverfe; but I have not been able to procure any of them.

There was another temple in Sicily not lefs celebrated than this one of Ceres. It was dedicated to Venus Erecina, and, like the other too, was built on the fummit of a high mountain. The ancient name of this mountain was Eryx, or as the Sicilians call it Erice, but it is now called St.

Juliano. Both mountain and temple are often mentioned by the Greek and Latin hiftorians, and happily the Sicilian ones have no dispute about its fituation or origin, which they make to be almost as ancient as that of Ceres. Diodorus fays that Dedalus, after his flight from Crete, was hofpitably received here, and by his wonderful skill in architecture added greatly to the beauty of this temple. He enriched it with many fine pieces of fculpture, but particularly with the figure of a ram of fuch exquifite workmanship that it appeared to be alive. This, I think, is likewife mentioned by Cicero..

Æneas too in his voyage from Troy to Italy, landed in this part of the island, and according to Diodorus and Thucydides, made rich presents to this temple; but Virgil is not satisfied with this; he must raise the piety of his hero still higher, and, in oppofition to all the hiftorians, makes Eneas the founder of the temple.* Its fame and glory continued to increase for many ages; and it was still held in greater veneration by the Romans, than it had been by the Greeks.. Fazzello fays, and quotes the authority of Strabo, that seventeen cities of Sicily were laid under tribute, to raise a sufficient revenue to support the

* Tum vicina aftris Erycino in vertice fede Fundatur Veneri Idaliæ, tumuloque facerdos Et lucus late facer additur Anchifæo.

dignity, and enormous expences of this temple. Two hundred foldiers were appointed for its guard, and the number of its priests, priestesfes, and minifters male and female, were incredible.

At certain feasons of the year, great numbers of pigeons, which were supposed to be the attendants of Venus, used to pass betwixt Africa and Italy; and resting for fome days on mount Eryx, and round this temple,it was then imagined by the people that the goddess herself was there in perfon; and on these occafions, he says, they wor shipped her with all their might. Festivals were inftituted in honour of the deity, and the most modest woman was only looked upon as a prude, that refused to comply with the rites. However, there were not many complaints of this kind; and it has been alleged, that the ladies of Eryx were fometimes feen looking out for the pigeons long before they arrived; and that they used to scatter peas about the temple to make them stay as long as poffible.

Venus was fucceeded in her poffeffions of Eryx by St. Juliano, who now gives his name both to the city and mountain; and indeed he has a very good title, for when the place was clofely befieged, the Sicilians tell you, he appeared on the walls armed cap-a-pie, and frightened the enemy to such a degree, that they instantly took to their heels, and left him ever fince in quiet poffeffion

of it. It would have been long before Venus and her pigeons could have done as much for them.

Many medals are found in the neighbourhood, but there is not the least vestige of this celebrated temple. Some marbles with infcriptions and engravings that have been found deep below ground are almost the only remaining monuments of its existence. Suetonius fays, that it had even fallen to ruins before the time of Tiberius; but as Venus was the favourite divinity of that emperor, he had ordered it to be magnificently repaired; however, it is fomewhat difficult to reconcile this with Strabo's account; who tells us, that even before his time it had been totally abandoned; and indeed this feems most probable, as every veftige of it has now disappeared, which is not commonly the cafe with the great works of the age of Tiberius.

Æneas landed at the port of Drepanum, at the foot of this mountain. Here he loft his father Anchifes; in honour of whom, on his return from Carthage about a year after, he celebrated the games that make fo great a figure in the Æneid, which Virgil introduces with a good deal of addrefs as a compliment to the piety of Auguftus, who had inftituted games of the same kind in honour of Julius Cæfar, his father by adop

tion.