II PART 4. Octennial Tenure of the Kingship, Spartan kings liable to be deposed on the appearance of a meteor at the end of eight years, Superstitions as to meteors and stars, Octennial period of king's reign connected with the octennial cycle of the early Greek calendars, which in turn is an attempt to reconcile solar and lunar time, The octennial cycle in relation to the Greek doctrine of rebirth, Octennial tenure of the kingdom at Cnossus in Crete, Sacred marriage of the King and Queen of Cnossus (Minos and Pasiphae) as representatives of the Sun and Moon, Octennial tribute of youths and maidens to the Sun, represented by the Minotaur, at Cnossus, Octennial festivals of the Crowning at Delphi and of the Laurel-bearing at Thebes, both being dramatic representations of the slaying of a waterdragon, Theory that the dragons of Delphi and Thebes were kings who personated dragons or serpents, Greek belief in the transformation of gods and men into animals, Transformation of Cadmus and Harmonia into serpents, Transmigration of the souls of the dead into serpents and other wild animals, African kings claim kinship with powerful animals, The serpent the royal animal at Athens and Salamis,The wedding of Cadmus and Harmonia at Thebes perhaps a dramatic marriage of the Sun and Moon at the end of an eight years' cycle, This theory confirmed by the astronomical symbols carried by the Laurel-bearer at the octennial festival of Laurel-bearing, The Olympic festival based on the octennial cycle, The Olympic victors, male and female, perhaps personated the Sun and Moon and reigned as divine King and Queen for eight years.
