The Life of Tycho Brahe

which is visible on the back of the Bull; I merely touch upon the fact that one of them was Maia, from whom was born Mercurius, who is said to have transferred the science of the stars into Egypt. From there, clearly, comes that saying of Manilius regarding the Astronomy of the Egyptians: 1. Astror. "You, Cyllenian [Mercury], are the prince and author of such great and sacred science." Although from another source, the Ethiopians, when they wish the Egyptians to be their colony, as is understood from Diodorus, contend that they themselves received the science of the stars, as it is in Lucian. Lib. de Astrol. It is certainly worth noting what Cicero says regarding Cepheus, the King of the Ethiopians, just as he says of Atlas and Prometheus, when he says: 5. Tuscul. "Nor indeed would Atlas be said to sustain the heaven, nor Prometheus be affixed to the Caucasus, nor the starred Cepheus be handed down with his wife, son-in-law, and daughter; if the divine knowledge of the celestial bodies had not drawn their names into the error of the fable." Now, regarding Saturn, another son of Heaven, who, having left Africa, ruled in Italy, Sicily, and Crete, this is almost the argument that he followed his father's pursuits, in that the slowest of the Planets was gifted with his name; perhaps because he was the first of all to discover its motion, and he was called Κρόνος (Cronus), as if χρόνος (time), from the fact that no other of the celestial circuits was observed to be longer. However, when of his sons, Pluto was more inclined toward agriculture and Neptune toward seafaring, it may be considered that Jupiter succeeded to the nobler care; and therefore chose the mountain held to be the highest of all, namely Olympus, from where he might observe the stars; so that he himself was also called Olympius; and the denomination of the mountain Olympus was transferred to Heaven, and because he had a clear view of its laws, he was therefore believed to reign in Heaven.