in mythology, (from κούκος, "dog," and κεφαλή, "head"), a kind of baboons, or animals with heads like those of dogs, which were wonderfully endowed, and were preferred with great veneration by the Egyptians in many of their temples. It is related, that by their assistance the Egyptians found out the particular periods of the sun and moon; and that one half of the animal was often buried, while the other half survived; and that they could read and write. This strange history, Dr Bryant imagines, relates to the priests of Egypt, styled cahen, to the novices in their temples, and to the examinations they were obliged to undergo, before they could be admitted to the priesthood. The Egyptian colleges were situated upon rocks or hills, called caph, and from their consecration to the sun, caph-el; whence the Greeks deduced κεφαλή, and from cahen-caph-el they formed κυνοκεφαλος. So that cahen-caph-el was some royal seminary in Upper Egypt, whence they drafted novices to supply their colleges and temples. By this etymology he explains the above history. The death of one part, while the other survived, denoted the regular succession of the Egyptian priesthood. The cunocephali are also found in India and other parts of the world. These and the acephali were thus denominated from their place of residence and from their worship.