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OANNES

Volume 16 · 80 words · 1842 Edition

a being in Chaldaic mythology, represented as half a man and half a fish. According to Berosus and other fabulous writers, this monster was the civilizer of the Chaldæans, to whom he is said to have taught a system of jurisprudence so perfect as to be incapable of further improvement. In discharging the duties of his office, he is said to have spent the day on dry land, but to have retired every night into the ocean or the river.