It was not uncommon for fable to assert that the first civilizers of earth were half man, half serpent.

Thus was Fohi of China [49] represented, and thus Cecrops of Athens.
XVII.

But the most remarkable feature of the superstition of Greece was her sacred oracles.

And these again bring our inquiries back to Egypt.

Herodotus informs us that the oracle of Dodona was by far the most ancient in Greece [50], and he then proceeds to inform us of its origin, which he traces to Thebes in Egypt.