The sacrifice being ended, the lamps were put out, and the milk ceased
to flow.
Heron, of Alexandria, describes in his _Pneumatics_ several analogous
apparatus. Here is one of them. (We translate the Greek text literally.)
[Illustration: Fig. 3.--MARVELOUS ALTAR (According to Heron).]
"To construct an altar in such a way that, when a fire is lighted
thereon, the statues at the side of it shall make libations. (Fig. 2.)
"Let there be a pedestal. A B [Gamma] [Delta], on which are placed
statues, and an altar, E Z H, closed on every side. The pedestal should
also be hermetically closed, but is communicated with the altar through
a central tube. It is traversed likewise by the tube, e [Lambda] (in
the interior of the statue to the right), not far from the bottom which
terminates in a cup held by the statue, e. Water is poured into the
pedestal through a hole, M, which is afterward corked up.
"If, then, a fire be lighted on the altar, the internal air will be
dilated and will enter the pedestal and drive out the water contained in
it. But the latter, having no other exit than the tube, e [Lambda], will
rise into the cup, and so the statue will make a libation.
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