coffer that he had, in which pigs, horses, lions, serpents, and all
other terrestrial animals came to seek refuge with him. He received them
all; and while they were in the coffer Zeus inspired them with
reciprocal amity, which prevented their devouring one another. In this
manner, shut up within one single coffer, they floated as long as the
waters remained in force. Such is the account given by the Greeks of
Deucalion.

"But to this, which they equally tell, the people of Hierapolis add a
marvellous narrative: That in their country a great chasm opened, into
which all the waters of the Deluge poured. Then Deucalion raised an
altar, and dedicated a temple to Hera (Atargatis) close to this very
chasm. I have seen it; it is very narrow, and situated under the temple.
Whether it was once large, and has now shrunk, I do not know; but I have
seen it, and it is quite small. In memory of the event the following is
the rite accomplished: Twice a year sea-water is brought to the temple.
This is not only done by the priests, but numerous pilgrims come from
the whole of Syria and Arabia, and even from beyond the Euphrates,
bringing water. It is poured out in the temple and goes into the cleft,
which, narrow as it is, swallows up a considerable quantity. This is
said to be in virtue of a religious law instituted by Deucalion to
preserve the memory of the catastrophe, and of the benefits that he
received from the gods. Such is the ancient tradition of the temple."

"It appears to me difficult," says Lenormant, "not to recognize an echo
of fables popular in all Semitic countries about this chasm of
Hierapolis, and the part it played in the Deluge, in the enigmatic
expressions of the Koran respecting the oven (tannur) which began to
bubble and disgorge water all around at the commencement of the Deluge.
We know that this tannur has been the occasion of most grotesque