Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 8.djvu/136

126 land, and throughout the greater part of Northern Eur0pe and Asia. They are specially abundant in Siberia, where the tusks are so plentiful and so well preserved as to form an important article of trade, supplying, it is said, almost the whole of the ivory used in Russia. In Malta the remains of two pigmy elephants—the one 4% feet high at the shoulder and the other only 3 feet—have been discovered. The mastodons differed from the true elephants chieﬂy in their dentition, having a greater number of molars, and having these crowned with prominent tubercles arranged in pairs; they had also tusks in both jaws, those in the lower, however, never attaining great length, and often falling out during the lifetime of the mastodon. 1em  ELEPHANTA ISLE, called by the natives Gharipur, a small island between Bombay and the mainland, is situated about seven miles from Bombay, 18° 57' N. lat. and 73° E. long. It is nearly ﬁve miles in circumference, and the few inhabitants it contains are employed in the cultivation of rice, and in rearing sheep and poultry for the Bombay market. The island was, till within recent times, almost entirely overgrown with wood; it contains several springs of good water. But it owes its chief celebrity to the mythological excavations and sculptures of Hindu super- stition which it contains. Opposite to the landing—place is a colossal statue of an elephant, cracked and muti- lated, from which the island received from the Portuguese the name it still bears. At a short distance from this is a. cave, the entrance to which is nearly 60 feet wide and 18 high, supported by pillars cut out of the rock; the sides are sculptured into numerOus compartments, containing repre- sentations of the Hindu deities, but many of the ﬁgures have been defaced by the zeal of the Mahometans and Por- tuguese. In the centre of the excavations is a remarkable bust, thought to represent the Hindu Triad, namely, Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Siva or Mahadeva the Destroyer, but now supposed by some to be a triform representation of Siva alone. The heads are 6 feet in length, and are well cut, and the faces, with the exception of the under lip, are handsome. The head- dresses are curiously ornamented; and one of the ﬁgures holds in its hand a cobra di capella snake, whilst on the cap are, amongst other symbols, a human skull and a young infant. On each side of the Trimurti is a pilaster, the front of which is ﬁlled up by a human ﬁgure leaning on a dwarf, both much defaced. There is a large com- partment to the right, hollowed a little, and covered with a great variety of ﬁgures, thelargest of which is 16 feet high, representing the double ﬁgure of Siva and Parvati, named Viraj, half male and half female. On the right is Brahma, four-faced, on a lotus,—one of the very few representations of this god which now exist in India; and on the left is Vishnu. On the other side of the Trimurti is another compartment with various ﬁgures of Siva and Parvati, the most remarkable of which is Siva in his vindictive character, eight-handed, with a collet of skulls round his neck. On the right of the entrance to the cave is a square apartment, supported by eight colossal ﬁgures, containing a gigantic symbol of Mahadeva or Siva cut out of the rock. In a ravine connected with the great cave are two other caves, also containing sCulptures, which, however, have been much defaced owing to the action of damp and the falling of the rocks. This interesting retreat of Hindu religious art is said to have been dedicated to Siva, but it contains numerous representations of other Hindu deities. It has, however, for long been a place, not so much of worship, as of archaeological and artistic interest alike to the European and Hindu traveller. It forms a wonderful monument of antiquity, and must have been a work of incredible labour. Archaeological authorities are of opinion that the cave must have been excavated about the tenth century of our era. The island is much frequented by the British residents of Bombay; and during his tour in India in 1875, the Prince of “Tales was entertained there at a banquet. (See Rousselet’s Blade, and FergussOn’s History of Architecture.)  ELEPHANTIASIS (synonyms, Elephantiasis Arabum, Barbados Leg, Boucnemia), a term applied to a disease which is characterised by a peculiar over-growth of the skin and subjacent textures. This condition appears to arise from repeated attacks of inﬂammation of the skin and con- current obstruction of the veins and lymphatic vessels of the part. It may attack any portion of the body, but most commonly occurs in one of the legs, which becomes so enlarged and disﬁgured by the great thickening of its textures as to resemble the form of the limb of an elephant, whence the name of the disease is derived. The thickening is due to excessive increase in the connective tissue, which results from the inﬂammatory process, and which by pressure on the muscles of the limb causes them to undergo atrophy or degeneration. Hence the limb becomes useless. This disease is most frequently seen in tropical climates. When affecting the scrotum it frequently produces a tumor of enormous dimensions. There is in general little pain attending elephantiasis, which is essentially a chronic disease. The health, however, ultimately suffers, and serious constitutional disturbance is apt to arise. In the earlier stages of this disease great relief or even a cure may be effected by the persistent employment of wet bandages applied tightly to the limb from the toes upward, as recommended by Hebra. Ligature of the main artery of the affected limb has also been employed successfully, while amputation, which was formerly the only remedy employed may occasionally be called for. In the case of tumors such as those already referred to the only remedy is excision. This disease is totally different from the so- called Elepliantiasis Groecorum, or true leprosy, which will be afterwards described.  ELEUSINIA, a festival with mysteries in honour of the goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone, so named, it was supposed, from the celebration of the most ancient of these festivals at Eleusis. The institutional legend con- nects the festival at Eleusis directly with the mythical in- cidents arising out of the rape of PerSephone, known pre- eminently as Kore or the Maiden. Mourning bitterly for the loss of her child, who has been borne away by Hades or Aidoneus to the regions beneath the earth, the goddess Demeter wanders over sea and land in a vain search, until she comes to Eleusis. Here seated on a stone, and absorbed in her grief, she is accosted by the daughters of the Eleusin- ian king Celeus, and by them brought into his house, where she ﬁnds a home and becomes the nurse of his only son Demephoon. To make the child immortal she plunges him each night into a bath of ﬁre; but before the Work is done, the process is seen by his mother Metanira. Her terror excites the wrath of the mysterious stranger, who, throwing off her garment of humiliation, exhibits herself in all her majesty, and, rebuking the folly which has marred the fortunes of Demophoon, promises to prescribe the rites to be celebrated in the temple which is to be built to her honour on the hill above the fountain. In this temple she