every other year, which made their _Dieteris_; and because this reckoning
made their year too long by a month in eight years, they omitted an
intercalary month once in eight years, which made their _Octaeteris_, one
half of which was their _Tetraeteris_: And these Periods seem to have been
almost as old as the religions of _Greece_, being used in divers of their
_Sacra_. The [55] _Octaeteris_ was the _Annus magnus_ of _Cadmus_ and
_Minos_, and seems to have been brought into _Greece_ and _Crete_ by the
_Phœnicians_, who came thither with _Cadmus_ and _Europa_, and to have
continued 'till after the days of _Herodotus_: for in counting the length
of seventy years [56], he reckons thirty days to a Lunar month, and twelve
such months, or 360 days, to the ordinary year, without the intercalary
months, and 25 such months to the _Dieteris_: and according to the number
of days in the Calendar year of the _Greeks_, _Demetrius Phalereus_ had 360
Statues erected to him by the _Athenians_. But the _Greeks_, _Cleostratus_,
_Harpalus_, and others, to make their months agree better with the course
of the Moon, in the times of the _Persian_ Empire, varied the manner of
intercaling the three months in the _Octaeteris_; and _Meton_ found out the
Cycle of intercaling seven months in nineteen years.

The Ancient year of the _Latines_ was also Luni-solar; for _Plutarch_ [57]
tells us, that the year of _Numa_ consisted of twelve Lunar months, with
intercalary months to make up what the twelve Lunar months wanted of the
Solar year. The Ancient year of the _Egyptians_ was also Luni-solar, and
continued to be so 'till the days of _Hyperion_, or _Osiris_, a King of
_Egypt_, the father of _Helius_ and _Selene_, or _Orus_ and _Bubaste_: For
the _Israelites_ brought this year out of _Egypt_; and _Diodorus_ tells
[58] us that _Ouranus_ the father of _Hyperion_ used this year, and [59]
that in the Temple of _Osiris_ the Priests appointed thereunto filled 360
Milk Bowls every day: I think he means one Bowl every day, in all 360, to
count the number of days in the Calendar year, and thereby to find out the