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t
NEW SYSTEM
OF
MYTHOLOGY,
IN THREE VOLUMES;
GIVING A FULL ACCOUNT OF
THE IDOLATRY OF THE PAGAN WORLD:
ILLUSTRATED BY
Analytical Tables, and 50 elegant Copperplate Engravings,
Representing more than 200 subjects.
In a fourth volume, particularly adapted to the capacity of
Junior Students,
C03IPII.I3D, DIGESTED, ^9 AIIRAXGED,
BY ROBERT MAYO, M. D.
Author of a Vieio of Ancient Geogi^aphy, &c.
PRINTED FOR GEO. MAYO & CO.
Bu J.rCcirt!! c^ Davis, S. W. corner of Fifth and Cherrv xtreetst.
PHILADELPHIA.
1816.
^**^'
»-»->»*»,s*,-
m^'(>
DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA, TO WIT:
A4vwwwvx.jg lie it Remembered, That on the fourteenth day of De-
? \ cember, in the forty-first year of the independence of the
I SEAL. ^ United States of America, A. D. 1816, GEO. MAYO &
j([wx,vwvw^ CO. of the said District, have deposited in this office,
the title of a Book, the right whereof they claim as Proprietorsj in the
words following, to wit:
" Jl new System of Jilythology, in three volumes,- g-iving a full account
of the Idolatry of the Pagan World: Illustrated by Analytical Tables, and
50 elegant copperplate engravings, representing more than 200 subjects, in
a fourth volume, particularly adapted to the capacity of junior students:
. Compiled, digested, and arranged, by Robert jSIayo, J\'I. D. Author of a
Vienv of Ancient Geography, tifc."
In Conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entl-
taled "An act for the encouragement of Learning, by securing the copies
of Maps, Charts, and books to the Authors and Proprietors of such co-
pies during the tinies therein mentioned." And also to the Act entitled,
•'Ah Act supplementary to an Act, entitled "An Act for the Encourage-
ment of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books,
to the Authors and Proprietors of such copies, during the times therein
mentioned, and extend'ng the benefits tliereof to tlie arts of designing,
engraving and etcliing liistorical and other Prints."
D. CALDWELL,
Clerk of the JJistrict of Pennsylvania,
NEW SYSTEM
MYTHOLOGY.
VOL. II.
AlWERTISEMENT.
THIS Work has unavoidably exceeded the bounds which
were originally prescribed to it; for which it would be not only
useless but impertinent to offer any other apology than the ag-
gregated subjects which compose it.
The present Volume is confined to the Idolatry of the Bar-
barians, if we may adopt the degrading epithet applied to all
foreign Nations by the more refined and enlightened Greeks
and Romans, whose Mythology occupies the third Volume ex-
clusively.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTiON.
OF THE DEITY;— THE PARAH GODS; THE DEMONS; THE CliASSII'ICATIOH OF THE
GODS;— THEIR PROGEHT.
page
1st. The sentiments of tlie ancient Philosophers about the nature of
the Deity. 1
The opinions of these Philosophers divisible into three classes, to which
Epicurus, Zeno, and Piato, were fathers. Their absurdity, which
is frequently worse than Polytheism itself, exposed.
2d. Of the J^ature of the Pagan Gods. 5
The Pagan Deities were of two kinds, viz. 1st, Natural Gods; as the
Sun, JMoon, Stars, and Elements, g^c. 2d, Animated Gods; or such
as had been Jliew,—- according to the Greeks, — according to the La.
tins, — according to the Phenicians and EgyptiaTis — and according
to the Sacred Wnti7igs. What description of Men were deified.
od. Of the J\"ature of the Demons. 10
Origin and functions of the Demons. Plato's opinion about them.
PoRPHTRx's letter to Anebo on that and other questions; is answered
by Jamblicus his pupil. Two sort of Demons, good and evil, preside
over each person: — The genius of Socrates. They were ultimately
worshipped as Deities — which was subverted by the Fathers.
Ath. Of the classification of the Pagan Gods. 16
The Pagan Gods, though numberless and an ill-matched whole, are
thrown into classes. The three classes of Herodotus, after the
Egyptians. Three other classes generally received among the Greeks
an»l RomaTis. Three classes according to Cicero. Three classes
according to Trisjiegistus. Other three classes according to other
authors. Seven classes according to Clemens of Alexaiidria. Eight
classes according to Jamblicus. Two classes according to other
Platonic Philosophers. Two other classes, viz: public and private
Gods. Two otlier classes, viz; kno-wn and tinknoivn Gods. Two other
classes, viz: natiiral and animated Gods. Three other classes, viz:
Celestial, TerresUial and Infernal. Other partial associations of Dei-
ties, as the Cabiri, he.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION".
Sth. Of the Progeny of the Gods. 21
The Progeny of the Gods, according to the Egyptians and Greeks.
Also several classes of the human race descended of the Gods, viz:
1st. Kings and Princes. 2d. The offspring of the stolen embraces
of Princes and Princesses. 3d. The offspring of the stolen em-
braces of Priests. 4th. Those whose character resembled some
God. 5th. Most of the heroes of antiquity. 6th. Those found ex-
posed in the Temples and Sacred Groves. 7th. Those who raised
themselves from obscurity to eminence.
CONTENTS.
EGYPTIAN IDOIATKT.
MYTHOLOGY.
CHAPTER I.
EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. '
SECTION I.
page
. THE EGYPTMJV EELIGIOJV IJV GEJVERAL. 25
The beginning of Idolatry, after the Flood, was in Egypt. JklosES
speaks but little, and in general terms, of the Egyptian Deities.
What Herodotus says of the Egyptian Deities and ceremonies of
their worship; which were less numerous, and more simple in earlier
times; the monstrous figures of their Deities, especially, arose after-
wards from priestcraft, the doctrine of metempsychosis, &c. &c.
The great Gods and other Deities of Egypt. Other Deities not enu-
merated — The account of the great Gods deferred. The Egyptians
interred Idols with their dead — Their Oracles. A remai-k upon the
Onental Mythology in general.
SKOTION II.
OSIRIS AJ^D ISIS. 3,4
Ohder of the subject. 1st. What Osiris and Isis were esteemed to be.
2d. What there is historical concerning them. 3d. The Egyptian
Mythology concerning them. 4th. The fables which the Greeks
intermixed with their history. 5th. The worship the Egyptians paid
them.
SECTION III.
TYFHOJV. 44
Vakious conjectures about Typhon,- who he was in reality. His death.
The Greek fables concerning him. Explanatory remarks upon the
foregoing fables. His representations explained; — his worship, &€.
SECTION IV.
ORUS. 52
Who was On<s,— his death, restoration, and glorious deeds. He was
a symbol of the Sun. How was he represented.
CONTENTS.
EGTPTIAlf IBOIATRT.
SECTION V.
page
JTABFO CRATES. 54
Harpocrates was the God of silence. His history, representation, and
symbols, prove him to be Orus.
SECTION VI.
MACEDO AJVJ3 AJVUBIS. 57
Wnd was Jllocedo? The Greeks and Romans confound Amcbia with
Trismegistus. He was the brother or the son of Osiris.
SECTION VII.
CAJ^OPUS. 59
Canopus was the God of the waters, or of the JS/tle: proven by an anec-
dote related by Ruiiirus.
SECTION VIII.
JPAJ\r. 61
Pan, a very ancient Deity, was the God of nature and fertility. The
Greek fables concerning him. He was represented under the figure
of a Goat; on what account. Improperly confounded with Sylvajiue
and Faunus. — Sometimes regarded as a symbol the Sun, &c.
SECTION IX.
SERAPIS. 65
Was Serapis a foreign God? Arguments for the affirmative. Argu-
ments for the negative. Who he was; and how represented.
SECTION X.
TEEIR DEIFIED AM'IMALS. 6S
I'uAT the Egyptians worshipped Animals, is attested by grave as
well as satyrical authors, who reproach them severely. Among
other animals, they worshipped the Ox, tlie Goat, the Dog, the Cro-
codile, the Cat, the Lion, the Ichneumon, the Hawk, the TVolf, and
the Monkey. Several Cities and Noxnes were called after these sa-
cred animals; but those Animals worshipped in the one, were of-
fered in sacrifice by the other. Their great care of the sacred Ani-
mals, both while living and after death. But what was the true
nature and end of this worship.'' Their motives to that worship, ac-
CONTENTS.
— r^
ETHIOPIAN AND ARABIAN IDOIATRT.
page
cording to some, were gratitude and fear; — but in reality, as appro-
priate symbols of their Deities. Why Animals preferred as symbols
— Plutarch's opinion. Three other reasons — 1st. drawn from their
Astrology. 2d. Drawn from their History. 3d. Drawn from their
Theogony. When this worship began is uncertain.
SECTION XI.
THE ISMC TABLE. 80
This Table represents the Egyptian Gods, their symbols, 8cc. — Its ma-
terials;—its plan; — its discovery and loss. The figures of this Ta-
ble are explained by several Antiquaries, under several heads, viz. —
1st. The figures of the middle Compartiment, with their symbols.
2d. The figures of the lower Compartiment, with their symbols.
3d. The figures of the upper Compartiment, with their symbols.
The figures and monsters contained in the Border of this Table, viz.
— Ist. Those contained in the upper margin; — 2d. The figures con-
tained in the right hand margin; — 3d. The figures contained in the
lower margin; — 4th. The figures contained in the left hand margin.
CHAPTER n.
ETHIOPIAN IDOLATRY.
SECTION I.
. HERCULES, JPAjy, ISIS, AJVB ASSJBIJVUS. 92
Gods immortal aind mortal, or natural and animated. Their consecra-
tion of the cinnamon-tree to the Sim.
CHAPTER HI.
ARABIAN IDOLATRY.
section i.
DIOjYTSIUS, AjYD^ URAjYIA, &c. 95
Sabism was probably their first step in Idolatry. They at first acknow-
ledged two Gods, symbols of the Sun and Moo?i. Afterwards they
had several, as their kin,afs and great men. Their sacred offerings,
as incense, &c. .
CONTENTS.
SXRIABT IDOLATRY.
CHAPTER IV.
SYRIAN IDOLATRY.
SECTION I.
C Chaldean Deities. J ■
page
THE STARS, FIRE, AJ\'D GR^AT MEA'. 99
Gods JVatural, Gods Animated.
SECTION II.
C Babylonian Deities. J
1st. BELUS. 100
The founder of Babylon received divine honors. He was the great Di-
vinity of all Syria, and symbol of the Sun.
SECTION III.
2d. MERODACff AjYD jyABO. 102
JPIerodach, an ancient king of Chaldea, deified. JVabo, an ancient Pro-
phet of Chaldea, deified.
SECTION IV.
3d. DERCETO OR ATERGATIS. 103
Aiergatis or Derceto, who is to be distinguished from Astarte, — sup-
posed by the Babylonians, ^c, to be transformed into a Fish, which
they adore as her symbol.
SECTION V.
4th. SEMIRAMIS. X05
Semiramis, her birth and nurture. Her death; and the fable of jier
transfiguratioHj — whence 9. veneration for Pigeons,
SECTION VI.
fGods of Tad7nor or Palmyra. J
AGLIBOLUS AJSTD MALACHBELUS. 107
The Palmyrians worshipped the Sun and Moon, as Aglibolus and Ma-
lachbelus, •'^which is the opinion of M. Spon. The Palmyrians adopt-
gid other Deities in later times, •,
CONTENTS.
SYHIAN idolatht.
SECTION VII.
fPhenician Deities. J
page
1st. ASTARTE AKD ADOKIS. 110
Adonis and Astarte, royal personages of Phenicia, deified after death,
and became symbols of the Sv,n and Moon. The fable which Ovid
intermixed with their history. The fable of PnuRiiruTUS on this sub-
ject preferred by M. Le Ciehc and others to the above. M. Le
Clerc and others maintain that Adonis and Astarte, were Osiris and
Isis. But nearly every trait in their parallel prove them different.
The festival and worship of Adonis at JByblos,- whence it is propa-
gated throughout Syria and the neighbouring countries; celebrated
at Alexandria; — celebrated at Babylon, &c; — celebrated by the Jexvs; —
celebrated at Athene, &c. Other ceremonies of the festival of Adonis.
The ceremonies of that festival explained, riie worship of Astarte;
her sacred groves, temples. Sec. The manner of representing these
two Divinities. The Greek temple of Astarte at Hierapolis; which
bore many traits, in its construction and rites, of Solomon's temple.
SECTION VIII.
2d. THE CABIRI. 127
The Cabiri of Phenician origin, whence their worship was propagated
to Samothracia, &c. Opinions vary as to the number of the Cabiri,
from two to eight; — who they were. The mysteries of the Cabiri
mucli in vogue with the princes of those times; — mode of initiation.
Those mysteries so highly revered, were never fully revealed. The
Cabiri not to be confounded with the Corybantes, Cureies, Dactyli,
Telchines, &c.
SECTION IX.
'3d THE AJVACTES. 137
DiVEHSiTT of opinion as to the number and identity of the Anacies.
Their name derived from their ancestor, the giant Anak king of
Jlebrofi.
SECTION X.
ith. THE.PATAICI. 140
The Patttici resembled Pygmies, the Cabiri, and Penates; and were set
upon sterns of ships as patrons. Their name derived from the Plw-
nicittu word patacJi, or batach, to engrave, or confide in.
CONTENTS.
SYBIAJT rpODATBI.
SECTION XI.
page
4t/i. THE PJiLICI. 142
The fable of ^schyles, which gives the Palici a Sicilian origin. But
the better opinion attributes them to Phenicia. Their temple and
consecrated lakes in Sicily, where oaths were taken in the decision of
controversies;— also where these Gods delivered oracles and received
human sacrifices.
SECTION XII.
CPhilistian Deities. J)
Ist. DAGOJV. US
The origin of Dagon is very ancient; he was the inventor of agricul-
tui'e, and the God of com. Various opinions about the mode of re-
presenting him: — in the human figure most probably. His magnifi-
cent temples: — that at Gaza pulled down by Sampsoii upon the Phi.
tistines.
SECTION XIII.
2d. MARMAS. 147
Maniasy one of the Gods of Gaza, became famous in Crete.
SECTION XIV.
fSome other Synan Deities, knoiun only In Scripture. J
\st. GAD. 148
Gad was the God oi fortune, invoked by Leah, at the birth of Zilpah's
son Gad.
SECTION XV.
2d. THE TERAPHIMS. 148
The Teraphims were private idols of the Chaldeans, of human and pyg-
my stature. They were worshipped as Deities and used as amidets,
as well as talismans in divination. In what manner they were used
as talismans for discovering futurity. They were symbols of tlie Sun
and Moon.
SECTION XVI.
3d. MOLOCH. 152
Moloch, a principal Deity of the Ammonites: his representation and sa-
crifices. His worship introduced into several other countries. Sup-
CONTENTS.
STBIAN mOlATRT.
page
posed to have been Abraham, or Saturn, ov a symbol of the Sun. He
most probably represented the seven planets.
SECTION XVII.
4:th. BAAL OR BEL. 155
Baal, a God of the Ammonites, the same as Moloch, &c. And Seldeit
proves tliat he was the Sim: was he the original of Pbito, and of
Pnapus? His worship, which was very extensive, was forbid the
Je-.vs, by the prophets, and exposed by Daniel.
SECTION XVIII.
5th. CEAMOS. 157
Chamos, established by Solomon, and worshipped by the Moabites, and
Ammonites, wus the same as BeeLPhegor or the Sun, &c.
SECTION XIX.
6lh. BEEL.ZEBUT. 158
Beel'Zebnt was worshipped at Accaron as the God of flies.
SECTION XX.
7ih. BAAL-BERITH. 160
Serith was a God -or Goddess of covenants or oaths among the -Te-i^s.
Who he was is uncertain.
/ SECTION XXI.
KTUJ^. • 16!
jfiTm?!, mentioned by tlie prophet Amos, very imperfectly knov/n.
SECTION XXII.
f Other Gods less knovm, likewise mentio7ied in Scripture. J
SUCCOTH.BEJ^OTH, &c. 162
Succoth-Benoth, JVergel, Ashima, &c; who they were. JVibbas, sup-
posed to be Anubis, restored by Julian: — Moazim probably restored
by Antiochus. Several other Gods not particularly named.
CONTENTS.
PERSIAIf IDOIATRX.
CHAPTER V.
PERSIAN IDOLATRY.
SECTION I.
page
THE PERSLlJ\r RELIGIO^r IJV GEjYERAL. 166
The Persians invoked the Sun, Fire, &c, as Deities, notwithstanding
a difFerent opinion of M. Hyde. According to what Heroitotus says
about their religion, they worshipped also the JMoon, the Earth, the
Wind, and Water; without temples, statutes, or altars. Afl which is
confirmed by what Strabo says upon the same subject. Remarks
upon the above. Two principles, good and evil, which the Persians
called Oromazes and Jlrimanius, symbols of light and darkness.
SECTION II.
MITHRAS. 172
The worship of Mithras brought by Pompey to Rome, where he repre-
sented the Sun, as with tlie Persians. No Persian monuments of
Mithras; all Italia?!-., — an account of some of them which differ:
wliich evidently refer to the Sjm, and to the Heavens over which he
rules; as their explanation proves. Two other figures and their
symbols, explained. Several variations in his representation; some
according to the caprice of the Artist. The Persians worshipped
also tlie celestial Venus under the name of JMithras. The inscrip-
tion of J^'ama Sebesio explained. The mysteries of Mithras, of which
the principal feast celebrated his nativity: — the forms and trials of
initiation into those mysteries. The sacrifices to Mithras, were hu-
man victims and horses. His wor.ship became very generally dif-
fused in Asia, Africa, and Europe — His birth.
SECTION III,
rSome other Gods of the Persians; among -whom we include those of the
Medes, Parthiaiis, Cappadocians, Annenians, &c, as having been
subject to the Persian poiuer.J
AJ^AITIS, OMAJVUS, AJ^AJ^BRATUS, AJVI) RELLOJVA. 190
Anaitis, Omanus, and Anandratus, Persian Deities, were also worship-
ped by the Medes, Lydians, &c. They were physical Deities; Oma-
nus and Anaitis being the Sun and the Moon. The pillage of the
CONTENTS.
SCYTHIAN IDOtATRT.
page
temple of Anaitis by Antony, enriched the soldiers. Bellona, woi*.
shipped in Cappadocid and Pontns, to whom each consecrated a city
called Comana, was the same as Diana or the Moon. The Par-
thians had Gods nahiral and animated; — of the latter was Arsaccs,
their first king-.
CHAPTER VI.
SCYTHIAN IDOLATRY.
SECTION I.
THE SCYTHUjY RELIGIOJV /JV' GEJ^TEEAL. 195
Gbxehal remark upon the northern Nations, and their religion; con-
cerning which last, Heiiodotus gives some particulars, such as their
Deities and sacrifices. Who those Deities most probably were. The
superstitious rites of the Scythians, particularly of tiieir Sooth-
sayers. No monuments remaining of tlie Religion of the Scythians.
SECTION II.
fThe Helicon of the People of Tauris. )
DIAJ\rA T AURIC A. 201
/ jyiana Taurica.— the particulars of whose worship are reserved for the
history of her priestess Iphigenia.
SECTION III.
CThe Religion of the Hyperborejans.J
tTYPERBOREAX APOLLO.
The Hyperboreans sent annual offerings to Apollo at Bclos, of tlie first
fruits of the earth, by young men and virgins; but a disaster befall,
ing those pilgrims, induced that people to transmit their presents by
travellers, 8cc. Their particular veneration for Apollo, who is said
to esteem tlieirs as his country. Probably they communicated his
worship to Greece, having Uiem.selves derivcl-it, from %/,//-/
0
201
CONTENTS.
GALLIC IDOLATBT.
SECTION IV.
CThe Religion of the Issedons.J
page
DECEASED PARENTS. 205
The Jlesh of deceased Parents served up at theit funerals, aiid tlie head
honored as an Idol, by the Issedmi».
SECTION V.
fThe Religion of the Sarmatians.J
POGWIB, TESSA, LACTO, &c. 205
Sevekal Deities, natural and animated, worshipped by the Saiynatiaiis.
SECTION VI.
CThe Religion of the People ivho lived about the Oby.J
THE OLD WOMAJy OF GOLD. 206
1'hose Scythians in the vicinity of the Obt/, worshipped the old -woman
of gold.
SECTION VII.
CThe Religion of the Getes, Dacians, Thracians and JUassagetes.J
ZAMOLXIS, ORPHEUS, LIjYUS, &c. 207
Zomolxis, was the God of the Getes, and the Dacians. Besides Za-
molxis, Orpheus and Linus were Gods of the Thracians,- who had also
PemirGods. The Sun v/as the great Divinity of the JV^assagetes.
CHAPTER Vn.
GALLIC IDOLATRY.
SECTION I.
THEIR RELIGIOjY IJ^ GEJ^ERAL. 209
The sources of information upon the religion of the Gaids, are limited:
Greek and Roman authors; — Druids,- — and Moderns. This religion
considered under two periods of time, viz.— before and after the con-
quest of Julius C;bsar. Fikst period-— Its primitive tenets were
CONTENTS.
GALLIC IDOLATRY.
page
simple and innocent, when the Gaids worshipped the elements and .
ather parts of nature. It originated not from the Britons,- nor from
the Greeks, or Momafis, or Phenicians, or Egyptians: nor was it pecu-
liar to the Gauls themselves; — but it originated from ancient Persia.
Parrillel between the Persian Mctgi and the Gallic Druids.- — either
of wiiose rites underwent changes; while the Druids became devoted
to raagic and other superstitions, and offered human victims. Se-
cojfn PEKioD — During which the Gauls adopted most of the Gods
and I'eligious ceremonies of the Romans.
SKCTION II.
THEIR SACRED FORESTS JUYD GROVES. 219
Their forests and trees served as temples, altars, and statues, of their
Gods. Nor did they adopt the usages of other nations in construct-
ing temples, 8cc, till after the conquest of Cjesak. Their venera-
tion for their forests and trees endured after the adoption of tern-
pies, Rcc; and was very difficult to be abolished. Whence that vene-
ration for the oak among the Gauls? — supposed to have arisen from
the oak of Mamre: but it was as universal, as it was ancient, and
perpetual.
SECTION III.
THEIR MIJsTISTERS OF RELIGIOJV, ESPECIALLY THE
DRUIDS. 224
The names of these several ministers, and their functions. The origi-
nal and antiquity of the Dmids,- who were modelled after tlie Per-
sian JMagi. Their manner of living; their chief Colleges and their
habit: — their political authority; — tlieir religious functions. Their
SCIENCE, viz. — 1st. Their maxims and philosophy. 2d. Their doc-
trine of the immortality of the soul; which is a variety of that of the
J\ietempsychosis. These were inculcated upon their noviciates; the
more sprightly of whom were sent to Britain to complete tlieir edu-
cation. Their superstitionsj — viz. 1st. Their pretentions in the
iiealing art. 2d. Their superstitious notions respecting a mysteri-
ous egg of serpents. Sd. Their superstitious notions respecting
certain phenomena, supposed to be occasioned by tlie death of great
men. 4th. Tiieir, sacrifice ot' human victims to some of their Gods.
5th. Their superstitious ceremonies of gatlierlng tlie misseltoe, and
their notions of its use. Tliis ceremony was probably performed in
the woods of the Carmites. The hig;h esteem the Druids ct^nceived
for tlie number nix.
COXTENTS.
GALLIC IDOLATHT.
SECriON IV.
page
THE DRUIDESSES. 240
The Druidesses were held in high esteem, and participated in the seve-
ral functions of tlie JDmids. There were several classes of Divides-
ses. Their great reputation for prophecj' — examples of which in
several predictions addressed to emperors. Their establishment in
the Islands, distinct from those possessed by tlie Druids, where they
applied particularly to magical operations. At what time was Drui-
dism completely abolished.
SECTION V.
GALLIC SUPERSTITIONS WHICH SURVIVEB THE
DRUIDS. 24"
1st. The annual masgtierade of the ^st of January. 2d. The worship
of some favourite Deity, as that of Diana Jlrduina. 3d. The prac-
tice of enchantment, fortune telling, &:c, perpetuated by women of
mean birth. 4th. A superstition practised towards the Rhine, to
discover tlie infidelity of wives. 5th. The Gauh were also addicted
to augury, and several other superstitions, long after they embraced
Christianity. 6lh. Some superstitious rites connected with their
funerals.
SECTION VI.
BAS-RELIEFS DUG UP IJV THE CATHEDRAL
AT PARIS. 247
The discovery of these monuments; — their material; — ihe purpose to
which they had been applied. Thougii they were much defaced,
they excited the efforts of learned Antiquaries to explain them; — or-
der of the subject. Fikst Stoxe. — The frst face contains an In-
scription expressive of its dedication. The seco7id and third faces
represent the Traders on the Seine, designated by the word Eicrises,
who erected the monument. The fourth face represents the Druids,
as is proven by the words Senani Veilo. Second Stone. — The first
face represents Vulcan, with the inscription Volcanus. The second
face represents Jupiter with t!ie Inscription Jcvis. The tUrd face
represents Es^is, the principal Deity of tlie Gauh; their God of war,
with his name engraved. rh# fourth face represents a Bull with
three Cranes upon him, and the names Tauros Trigarantis. Third
Stoke. — Tlie first and second faces represented Castor and Pollux,
with two horses, but their names are effaced. The third face repre-
sents an unknown God, with the name Cenmnnos inscribed. The
CONTENTS.
GALLIC IDOIATHT.
page
fourth face represents Hercules engaging a serpent; his name is ef-
faced, except the letters OS. Fourth Stone. — Each face of this
stone is exceedingly injured.
SEeTION VII.
THE GALLIC GODS WHOM CJESAR MENTIONS. 264
Cjesar speaks of but five Gallic Gods. 1. Mercury or Teutates;
whom they propitiated by human sacrifices: — his origin was derived "
from the Egyptian That, through the Carthaginians and the Spa-
niards:— his figures. 2. Apoilo, Belebtus, or Abeliio, &c: — the
propog^tion of his worship from Aquileia: — theoriginof his worship,
not from the Syrian God Bel, but from Helenus the son of Priam.
3. Minerva or Beiisana: — the inventress of the arts, was derived to
the Gauls from Egypt in a manner uncertain: — her representation
was different firom that of the Greek and Roman M,nerva: — her ha-
man sacrifices.
SECTION. VIII.
PEJVIjYUS, DOLICHEJVIUS, AJVD MITHRAS, SYMBOLS
OF THE SUjY. 269
1. Pexinus, or the Sun; — worshipped by the Penini of the Alps: — a
statue and marble pillar topped with a light, dedicated to him.
2. DoiicHENius Sol: — a statue of him in armour found at Marseilles,
— mistaken for Mars or Jupiter: — his name is Asiatic. 2. Mithras
or the SuN; — the statue found at Lyons possibly represented Mithras
as the Moon, which the Persians also did.
SECTION IX.
SATURN, BACCHUS, CYBELE, CERES, DIANA,
LUNA, ISIS. 272
1st. Saturn: — fable of his imprisonment: — his worship probably re-
ceived from the Carthaginians on account of human victims offered
him. 2 Bacchus: — his orgies celebrated by women at the mouth
of the Zojre, probably brought from Asia, to which they make addi-
tions. 3. Cyiiele or Berecynthia: — her festival celebrated among
the Gauls: — the same was celebrated among the Romans, from whom
the former derived her worship; — two monuments of this Goddess.
4. Ceres;' — an altar and a temple dedicated to her, prove that she
was worshipped in the Gauls, at least after their conquest. 5. Di-
ana or Auuvixa:— a virgin Goddess, received particular worsliip,
CONTENTS.
IDODATKT or THE BRITOSS. CHAP. Till.
page
and of great duration, in the forest of Arduenna. 6. Luxa or the
Jifooti: — distinguished from Diana, was worshipped throughout
Gaul; — and particularly in the island of Sain, where she had an ora-
cle, served by young virgins, who were celebrated for sorcery, &.c.
7. Isis: — surnamed JHedica, — ^niany proofs of her having been wor-
shipped in Gaul and the neighbouring countries.
SECTION X.
PLUTO, PltOSERPIA^E, AjXB OTHER LATEPJ^TAL GOBS. 279
1. Plvto: — few proofs of his having been worshipped by the Gaids.
2. PRosERnsE. 3- Erebus and the Parcje. 4. Vests, Mars, and
Mercurt.
SECTION XI.
FAUjYS, SATYSS, GEjYIT, ctfr. 281
1. The Faiins, the Satyrs, the Genii or Diisii: — they frequent houses,
and court the company of women. 2. A monument at Clermont, re-
presents neither ^lednsa, Venus Celestis, nor Belenus, but the Sun.
3. Leheven, Boccus, Bacurdvs, propiiiovs Gods, Avevtia, JMovistar.
gus, SJc; according to several inscripiions.
SECTION XII.
BEIFIEB CITIES. 284
1. Bibracte the capital of the Edid, now Autun, was a deified City.
2. Vasio, now Yaison, was a deified City; besides many others.
3. Biirdigalla, now Bordeaux, had a guardian Goddess called Tutda,
— her temple. The Gauls had also tutelar Genii for their Provinces
or Cantons-
CHAPTER Mil.
IDOLATRY OF THE BRITONS.
SECTION I.
THEIR RELIGIOJK" BY GE.YEEAL. 286
(PE religion of the Britons the same with that of the Gauls; — a pa-
rallel of their Priesthood, their Deities, and human sacrifices, &c.
Two remarks which affect the Bntons peculiarly; wh.etlier as to
changes wrought by early invasions, or commerce.
CONTENTS.
IDOLATET OF THE IBERIANS OB SPANIAIIIIS.
CHAPTER IX.
IDOLATRY OF THE IBERIANS OR SPANIARDS.
SECTION I.
page
THEIR RELIGIOJV IJ\/' GEJ^ERJIL. 289
Little is known of this religion, which probably originated from the
Phenicians and Carthaginians, the monuments being chiefly defaced.
Hercules; — the fact is certain, as to his origin from Phenicia. Endo.
vellicus is a name that occurs on monuments; but it is uncertain
what God he was. Pluto ov Mouth, was here worshipped as among
the Pheiiicians. Mercury or Teutates; — the origin of liis worship; —
his human sacrifices. Mars or JVeton, to whom captives were sacri-
ficed, was represented as the Sun. The unknoivn God of the Celtl-
berians. Though the religion of the Spaniards had some affinity to
that of the Gauls, they had no Dndds.
CHAPTER X.
IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS.
SECTION I.
THEIR RELIGIOjy IJ\r GEJVERAL. 294
The origin of the Germans being the same with that of the Gauls,
their respective religions are very similar. Nevertheless tl\ere are
some points of difference between them. What Cjesar says of the
religion of the Germans. The sams according to Tacitus, under se-
veral heads, viz. — 1st. The origin of the Gennans from their God
Tuiston 2d. Mars, Mercury, Hercides, Cybele, Aids, Isis, principal
Divinities of several German nations. 3d. Their religious custom in
honor of Cybele: — their observance of the auspices, lots, &c: — their
human sacrifices. Recapitulation of the principles of their religion.
SECTION II.
SUPERSTITIONS OF THE AJ^CIEXT GERMAJVS. 30?
1, Respecting the Almn^e, winch were six inch figures, with imaginary
powers over the lives and fortunes of men; — the origin of the plant
from which they are formed, and the ceremony of plucking it: — the
CO'NTENTS.
IDOLATRY or THE AllTCIENT GERMANS.
page
possession of them supposed to confer all sorts of blessings: — they
were objects of traffic; and were scrupulously nursed as children
are: — this ancient superstition is of uncertain original, but of long
duration. 2. Respecting visits of the Gods to men, and festivals
prepared for them. 3. Their bond of friendship. 4. Respecting di-
vination, of which women made public profession, and were deified
after death. 5. Respecting the immortality of souls, provision for
them after death,,and letters addressed to the dead.
SECTION III.
IRMIJ\rSUL. 308
His temple destroyed by Charlemagne: his statue, symbols, and other
endowments of the temple. The above account as it regards the
statue, erroneously disputed. Various opinions about Imdnsul, who
was probably their God of war, whether Mars, or their general Ar-
minius. His festival accompanied with military parade, and court
martial, in which the Priests preside and punish.
SECTION IV.
jYEITALEJVJ\rM. 310
vSbverai, statues of this Goddess found near Zeland, in 1646; — their ge-
neral characteristics and symbols. She was also known in Britain
and other places, as is proven by inscriptions. She was probably
one of the JMother- Goddesses,- — she was invoked for navigation.
SECTION V.
ISIS. 312
Her worship very extensive under various names, but how the Sitevi
came by it is uncertain. They represented her under the figure of
a ship, but for what reason is also uncertain, as is the nature of her
sacrifices.
SECTION VI.
TUISTOJV AJ\rD MAJVJ\rUS. 315
1. Tuisto7i, the founder of the Germans, who taught them the use of
letters, &c, was deified; — and supposed by some t© be the same as
Pluto, the father of the Gauls. 2. Manmis, his son, the father of the
Ingxvones, &c. also deified; — their worship.
CONTENTS.
IDOLATBT OF THE AJfCIENT GERMANS.
SECTION VII.
page
SOME OTHER GERMAJ\^ 1)EITIES. 317
Remarks upon the singular figures which represent the following Dei-
ties, viz. 1. Chkodo; — his statue and symbols; — supposed to be <SV;- -
turn. 2. PaoifO; — his statue and syjitibols; — supposed to be a God
of justice. 3. Trigla; — supposed to be Diana Trivia. 4. Pop.evith;
— his statue and symbols; — supposed to be a God oi-uar. 5. SuAif-
ToriTH; — who possibly was the Sun, Apollo, or Mars. 6. Radisast ;
his statue and symbols. 7- Siwa; — her statue and symbols; — was
probably Pomona, but supposed to be Venus. 8. Fltas; — his three
Statues and symbols in many respects differ 9. Latobius; — the-Es-
culapius of the Carinthians.
SECTION VIII.
THEIR HEROES. 320
//eratfes, king of the Boii, took the lion for his symbol, and was deified
after his death, as a God oi-ivar. Irminstd and other Hci'oes of se-
veral other German nations.
SECTION IX.
THEIR COJSrSECRATED CITIES
Hambourgh, Marspurg, &c, were consecrated to certain Deities. Some
Provinces had particular Deities as well as those they worshipped
in common.
SECTION X.
THE MOTHER GODDESSES.
•Disposition of the subject under four heads, \iz:- -ist:- Tii'e Moi^'-c-
Godclesses, who were originally thkee, were possibly, the pAijcij: —
but several countries conferred tlie same honor upon several heroine:^.
2. They were worshipped in many countries besides Germany, Gaul,
Spain, and Britain. 3. They originated from Phenidai A. 'I'hey
were worshipped as rural Goddes.ses, and a Goddess oi' /wdli/i. Re-
capitulation of the foregoing conjectures.
CONTENTS.
IDOLATUT OF THE JfORTHEKN BAEBARIAJTS.
CHAPTER XL
IDOLATRY OF THE NORTHERN BARBARIANS.
SECTION I.
page
THEIR SUFERSTITIOjYS I^Y GEJVERAL. 333
1st. TaE inhabitants of the coasts of JVonvay; — their pretended in-
fluence over the -wbids. 2d. The Laplahders and Siberians,- — their
superstition respecting; er^Y Genii. \ Sd. The Tartars :-^ih&\t gross' ■
idolatry, and the fantastical figvires of their Idols^ Several authors
who may be consulted upon the northern Antiquities.
CHAPTER XII.
IDOLATRY OF SEVERAL NATIONS OF AFRICA.
SECTION I.
CJRTHAGIJVMJSr DEITIES: AJS'B RELJGIOdX. 336
The Gods ofthe Carthaginians were the same as those of their mqther
country Pheniciu; but the knowledge of them is handed to us by
Greeks and RoinanSi who confound them with their own. I'Jieir Sa- ,
tiim was the same as Molochi to whom they annually offered h.uman
sacrifices, which /was with mucli difficulty abolished. They wor-
shipped JVeptiijie nw^ JI polio. Juno and Fem/s were their principal
Deities. They worshipped Mars and ATercurt/, Ceres and^Proser-,
pine. They v/orshlpped' tlie Tyrianllercules. They worshipped .,
Pluto and ^^scnlupius. They also paid divine honors to the manes
of- tlieh- !^-reat men."
SECTldN II.
DEITIES OF THE LIBYJjYS. 341
:lmjnGn and JWpHine, the principal Deities ofthe Libyans.
CONTENTS,
IDOIATBT OF SEVERAl If ATIONS OP AFRICA. CHAP. XII.
SECTION III.
page
GOD OF THE CYEEJVMJVS. 342
The God of the CyreniansyVf&s Battus, their founder.
SECTION IVo
DEITIES OF AFRICA PROPiBR. 342
The Gods of Africa proper were JMopsiis and the emperor Severus.
SECTION V.
DEITIES, OF THE AUGILITES, &c. 343
The Gods of the Augilites and the J\^asamones, were the Manes of their
Ancestors.
SECTION VI.
DEITIES OF THE MOORS. 344
The. Gods of the Moors were the Maries of their Kinj^-!:.
INTRODUCTION.
OF THE DEITY;— THE PAGAN GODS;— THE DEMONS;— THE
CLASSIFICATION OF THE GODS;— THEIR PROGENY.
AS nothing can be more "appropriate to a treatise upon
the Gods and Fables of the ancient nations, than an introduc-
tory account of the sentiments entertained by the ancient Phi-
losophers respecting the Deity; of the nature of the Pagan
Gods; of the nature of their Demons; of the arrangement of the
Pagan Gods under several classes; and of their Progeny or
offspring — we thei'efore, here give a concise view of those sub-
jects.
Ist, The sentiments of the ancient Philosofihers about the nature
of the DEifr.
„, . . THERE is nothing in the world about which
1 he opinions °
cf these Philoso- the ancient Philosophers reasoned so much as
phers divisible in- about the nature of the Deity; but we are very
to thi-ee classes, . pi • i • i , • ,
to which Epicu- imperlectly acquainted with their systems; and
BUS, Zeko, & Pla. had it not been for Diogenes Laertius and
TO, weie Cicero, who have preserved to us a history of
their opinions, the one in the lives of the Philosofihers, the other
in his treaties of the nature of the Gods., we should have been
entirely in the dark about them.— These Philosophers may be
divided into three classes. ThQ first is that of the Materialist^^
as Epicurus, STRATO,and others, who believed that mere inan-
imate matter, void of sense and reason, was infinite, eternal,
and self-existent; or was capable of forming the world, whe-
ther that one of the elements produced all the rest, as Thales
VOL. II. A
INTRODUCTION.
THE NATURE 0¥ THE DEITY.
asserted of water', or that matter being divided into an infinity
of atoms, these, by dancing fortuitously through the infinity
of space, at length, by a Trappy concourse, arranged themselves
into regv;lar forms, as Epicurus dreampt. The second were
those more enlightened Philosophers, as Zeno and his disciples
the Stoics, who rose to more sublime conceptions, and from the
beautiful order of the universe, inferred, that it must be the ef-
fect of an Intelligent Cause, but also material; not being able to
comprehend the idea of Intelligence distinct from matter: and
this perfection or intelligence they attribute to the atherial Fire,
or the Fire of the more subtilized and more agitated matter.
The third class, is that of those Philosophers, as Anaxagoras
and Platq, who, finding that this Intelligence could not be ma-
terial, maintained that this divine principle is absolutly dis-
tinct from all bodily or material form; but at the same time
they believed that matter existed independent of this Intelli-
gence, whose power was necessary to animate and arrange it in
order. — Those of the two former classes were undeniably athe-
ists; those of the third more enlightened and more rational, er-
red to be sure in not believing a creation; allowing matter to be
independent and eternal, as well as the Intelligence who there-
of formed the world.
Their absiirdT ^^ ^^^ plainly that it is not in the systems of
ty, which is frer these" ancient Philosophers, we are to look for a
.T^"^^^7. , w"-""^ J^st idea of the Deity; and if ever they wan-
than Polytheism . ' •
itself, exposed. dered in vam speculations, as the Apostle re-
■ ■■■ ■ ' ■-..-»»- proaches them, it is especially when they at-
tempted to speak of Divinity. They even shook off the
gross idolatry of Greece and Rome, only to take up with
vain subtilties in its room; for the systems they devised were
frequently even worse than Polytheism itself. Indeed, let
us run over the whole of Cicero's work; let us examine
the sentiments of these Philosophers which he had recited
with so much learning, and we shall find that they who are
the most orthodox, that is, who suppose a Being indepen-
dent of matter, an infinite and eternal iNfELLiGENCE-, a first
viover who gave the ivorld Us present conspicuous order; sup-
INTIlODUCT]foN.
THE NATURE OF THE DEITY;
pose at the same time, the eternity of that matter; and that none
of them comprehended or admitted a creation: — and this, upon
impartial enquiry, will be found to be the intrinsic amount
of the opinions of all the Philosophers. We must further
observe, tljat the Philosophers studied the nature of the De-
ity only with a reference to objects of sense, the origin and
formation whereof, they w«re curious enough to know; and in-
stead of subjecting Physics to Divinity, they only founded their
Divinity upon Physics: thus the different ways in which they
conceived of the arrangement of the universe, made up their dif-
fereijt creeds about the Dsii'r. For, let it be said with Tha-
lES, " that water is the principle of all things, and that God is
the Intelligence by whom the universe was formed of water;" it
will be replied to him, that this Litelligence did not form th-e
water which it made use of. If one alledged with Anaximan-
DER, " that the Gods had a communicated existence, that they
are born, and die after long intervals, and that these are so ma-
rxy numberless worlds;" might it not be justly r-ejoined Avith
Cicero, how can he be admitted to be God who is not eter-
nal? — Let a disciple of Anaximenes pretend, " that the air is
CrOD, that he is produced, that he is immense and infinite, that
he is always in motion;" and I would ask who will not per-
ceive the inconsistency of these allegations? besides, to say
that he is produced, is it not to say that he is perishable? An-
AXAGORAS, a pupil of Anaximenes, was no doubt nearer the
truth, since he maintained, '-' that the system and disposition of -
the Universe were the effect of the power and wisdom of an in-
finite Being;" but then, he held, " that that Avise and power-
ful Being had not 7nade that universe which he disposed in
such a beautiful order." If Pythagoras, as Cioero reports,
believed, " that God was the soul diffused through all the
bounds of nature, and he from whom human souls were deriv-
ed;" besides, that this system is nothing but the pure material-
ism of Strato and some ot^iers, how easy would it be to tri-
umph with Cicero, in objecting to him, that if this were the
case, God must necessarily suffer pain, be torn and rent in pie-
ces, \vhen those souls are detached from him? ButGop is inca-
INTRODUCTION.
THE NATURE OF THE DEITY.
pable of suffering; and besides, why is the mind of man ignd-
rant of any thing, if it partakes of the Deity? — If Parme-
NiDEs enters the lists to prove, " that God is like unto a
crown, a luminous uninterrupted circle, which encompasses
the Heavens;" he will be asked, with Cicero, where he finds
the Divine figure in that circle, and how thought can possibly
be there? If the same Philosopher deifies ivar, discord, concufii-
scence, and a thousand other things; which instead of being im-
mortal, sickness, or sleep, oblivion, or time alone will destroy;
may not such hypotheses as these be justly treated as visions
and mere chimaeras. — If Democritus gives the title of God,
both to the images of objcts which affect our senses, and to na-
ture, which furnishes and conveys those images, and to the
ideas which they impress our minds with; when after this he
asserts that nothing is eternal, because nothing continues eter-
nally in the same state: is not all this, to use Cicero's words,
at once to destroy all the opinions Avhich establish the idea of
the Deity? — As for Plato, says Cicero, it would require a
long discourse to shew how he varies upon this subject. In his
Timaus, he says, "the Father of this universe cannot be nam-
ed:" and in his books of the laws, " that we ought not curious-
ly to inquire what God is." When he holds that God is in-
corporeal, if is to make way for his conclusion, " that God is a
being absolutely incomprehensible, neither capable of sensation,
nor wisdom, nor pleasure;" attributes essential to the Deity.
He likewise says, both in the Timxus, and in his treatise of the
laws, " that the world, the heavens, the stars, the earth, the
souls of men, the Divinities who teach us the religion of our
fathers, all these are God:" opinions which, continues Cicero,
considered separately, are evidently false, and taken all to-
gether, are prodigiously inconsistent. — Again, says Cicero,
Xenocrates, whose master was Plato, reasons no better than
he upon this subject, since he admits eight Gods, whereof the
planets make five.— The Sm^s also, as well as some of the Pla-
tonists, added illustrious men to the number of the Gods, as
will be presently seen.— I shall only add here that the ancient
Egyfitian Philosophers comprehended under the name of Cneph,
INTBODUCTION.
THE NATURE OF THE PAGAN GODS.
the God of Thebois, the idea of an eternal Being from whose
mouth proceeded the primitive egg whence all nature sprung.*
— And had not the Philosophers, then, more consistent notions
of the Deity? It is certain that the most of them were atheists^
or acknowledged no other God but Nature. All of them be-
lieved that matter was uncreated, and they allowed that God
had no other part in the formation of the world, but to disentan-
gle the Chaos: nor do they even decide, whether it was God
Avho presided over that operation, or Nature herself.
2d, Of the Nature of the Pagan Gods.
- „, p^- p ■ But it was not upon the foregoing specula-
ties were of two tions, that the Pagan theology was formed at'
kinds, VIZ. 1st, (^j.g(.^ .Qjj ^^le contrary, it was only to polish
Natukai Gods; , ,. , , . . i
as the Sun, Moon, ^^^ refine that gross system, which actuated
Stars, and Ele- the Philosophers to devise so many different
™^^ ^' ^' ■ ■. ones of their own. Let us reflect on what was
"Said upon the origin and progress of Idolatry in the beginning
of the former volume. It has already there been made to appear,
that Idolatry at first, was far from being so monstrous, as it came
to be in after days; that the pure idea of the first Being, the
Creator of the Universe, having been insensibly effaced from
the minds of men, they in the like gradual manner, first affixed
a notion of the Deity to sensible objects; that the heavenly bo-
dies, such as the Sun and Moon, Tjrhose resplendent beauty
made a more lively impression upon their minds, and whose
influence seemed to act more immediately upon them, had at-
tracted the first Idolatrous homage, as Deities; that ft'om the
adoration of the Stars^ they had passed on to the worship of the
* Those who wish to be more fully instructed in the opinions of the Phi-
losophers, as to the Divinity, may consult, besides Diogenes Laerthts and
Cicero, Enfield's History of Philosophy, the History of Philosophy by Stan-
h-y, and CudtvortKs Intellectual Sj'stehi.
INTRODUCTION.
THE NATURE OF THE PAGAN GOPS.
elements^ the rivers, the fountains^ in a word, to the woi'ship of
universal nature. This was the opinion of most of the Philoso-
phers; and Cicero, giving the opinion of Chrysippus, says,
he maintained that the air was Jupiter, that the sea was JVep-
tune, the earth -was Ceres, Sec. Zeno, according to Diogenes
Laertius, had much the same notions, since, according to that
chief of the Stoics, it was the universal soul of the world, who
assumed different names, according to the different relations of
his power: that it was called Dios because it was the spring of
all operations; Athene, because its empire was in the Heavens;
Hera, because it was the mistress of the Universe; Vulcan, as
presiding over the Fire; and Posiedon, to express its power
over the Waters.
• There were also considerable sects of Philo-
GoDs'or such as sdphers who embraced the opinion^ot deified
had been raen; — Men; as the Stoics and the PlatoniSts of the
according to the j^^^^ ^-^^^^ Cicero, who in his second book of
Greeks, —
5^5s^^^^= the Nature of the Gods, displays so ingeniously
the opinions of the former, says they allowed an universal Soul,
a Fire, active, vital, intelligent, which animated all nature; and
that every being wherein any singular virtue was to be seen,
or wherein this active principle seemed to manifest itself more
conspicuously, deserved the name of Divinity; and by conse-
quence, this title ought to be conferred upon great men, in
whose souls that divine Fire shone forth with a brighter lustre.
Jamblichus, who laboured so much to refine the prevailing
system of Paganism, could not, however, but admit a class of
animated Gods, or deified men. — Indeed the Greeks, according
to the historians and poets, had hardly any other Gods but dei-
fied men. Herodotus, speaking of the Persians, says, " They
have neither statues, nor temples, nor altars; and those who
have them, they tax with folly. What I take to be their rea-
son, continues he, is, they do not believe, like the Greeks, that
the Gods ai-e of the human race.'' Herodotus therefore sup-
poses that th^ Greeks believed the Gods derived their origin
from raen, or that they had been men. Diodorus Siculus,
throughout the first books of his history, supposes the Gods to
INTRODUCTION.
THE NATURE OF THE, PAGAN GODS.
have been men. It cannot be denied that he has considered
Saturn, jitla&; Jufiitev, Apollo.^ Bacchus, &c. as the primary
Gods of Paganism, yet he speaks of them as of illustrious men,
enters into the detail of their actions and conquests, and for-
gets not the history of their bii'th amd of their death. In a
word, all the historians, mythologists, and poets, have delivered
the same sentiments with Diodorus, upon this subject. No
body will doubt but that Jufiiter was the greatest Deity of the
Greeks and Romany; and yet we are told the history of his
birth, and the stratagem which Rhea, his mother, made use of
to rescue him from the cruelty of Saturn. They tell us of his
education, his conquests, his amours, his offspring: in fine, of
his death, and the place where his tomb was erected. And si-
milar to this, are their accounts of the other gods — It may be
objected that the poets, at least such as Hesiod and Homer,
ought not to be taken into the number of those whom we cite
for proof of this truth; but as they did not invent what they
say of the Gods, having only followed the established notions of
the times, they ai^e to be looked upon as the first and most an-
cient witnesses to this ti'aditioh, that the Pagan Gods had been
7ne?i.
===== jf from the testimonies of the Greeks, we
•7— accordiner to , p i »■ . ■ i ■, ■,,
the Latins — P'^^^ ^^ those ot the L.at,in authors, we shall
, find this matter still more clearly established
by their authority. Vauro, as St. 'Augustin has it, went a
little too far, in asserting that one would be at a loss to find, in
the writings of the Ancients, Gods who had not been men. —
Cicero in like manner says, that in every period of time, it
had been a custom to rank among the Gods, those who had
taught men the use of proper food and other necessaries for the
preservation of life. The books of Labeo, which Servius speaks
of, were they extant, would also prove this proposition. That
work was entitled, De Diis cjuibus Origo animalis est; of the
animated Gods, and consequently supposed the distinction men-
tioned above, between JVatural Gods, such as the Stars, and
animated Gods, such as Men, whom a kind of consecration had
raised to the order of Gods.
INTRODUCTION.
THE NATURE OF THE PAGAN GODS.
"'"■ But it was not only the Greeks and the Ro-
--accor^ mg^^^^o ^^^^^ ^jjg ^^2,6. these sentiments about the Gods;
and Egyptians — the Phenicia7is and Egyfitians entertained the
I — — same idea of them. Sanchoniathon had in
his work composed the history of the ancient Princes whose
merit had raised them to divine honors; and who are thought by
very learned men to be the ancient Patriarchy themselves. —
Philo of Byblos^his translator, observes that Thaautus had
in like manner written the history of the ancient gods, which
authors in succeeding ages had turned into allegory. Then he
lays down a distinction v*?hich sufficiently proves the proposi*
tion we are endeavouring to establish. " The Ancients, says
he, had two sorts of Gods; the one were immortal, as the Sun^
the MooTif the Stars^ and the Elements; the others were mortal,
that is to say, the great men who by the merit of their glorious
actions, or by the services they had done to mankind, had been
advanced to divine honors, and had as well as they who were
by nature immortal, teniples, columns, a religious worship, 8cc."
s===== The same truth may be demonstrated from
—and according' the Sacred Books, which, by informing us that
Writings. the sacrifices of the Pagans were only sacri-
■ I fices to the dead, suppose at the same time
that they to whom such sacrifices were offered, had been men.
I might subjoin the passage of the book of Wisdom, wherein
mention is made of a father, who caused a figure to be made, re-
presenting a son whom he had lost, whom he honoured as a God,
and who became afterwards, a public Divinity. — ^^In fine, we may
oppose to those who stand out against all of these proofs, the au-
thority of the primitive fathers of the Church, and of the apolo-
gists for the Christian religion; persons of learning, who have
combated the Pagan system with so much advantage, and, to-be-
sure, were better informed in the nature of it than we, who are
too remote from the time when it was the predominant religion,
to be able to judge of it so well as they. The strongest objec-
tion which the Philosophers made to them, was, that the ac-
counts which their Poets had given of the Gods, were only to
^e looked upon as fictions created in their own brain; and that
INTRODUCTION.
THE NATURE OF THE PAGAN GODS.
in truth, the public worship was ultimately directed to the im-
mortal Beings^ and superior Intelligences, who presided over
and govorned the world: as a proof whereof, said they, Euhe-
MERUS was universally I'eputed an atheist, for having alledged
that all the Gods had been mortal men. But our Apologists
did not allow themselves to be dazzled with this specious re-
ply: they proved to those Philosophers, that allegory had come
too late; that it was a figure of their own invention, which they
employed only to renne a system equally monstrous and absurd.
They shewed them by an uninterrupted and generally received
tradition, that the first race of men who were rude and illite-
rate, were far from having made such refinements in religion,
but had, in the sincerity of their hearts, paid divine homage to
those, who had taught them the necessary arts of life, or done
them some other important service: and to prove it with more
success, they hadx'ecourse to the testimonies ofVARRO, Cicero,
and others; for this article of the Pagan system is what they
have most enlarged upon, and proved with most solidity. It
is then evident according to these different authorities, that
among the Pagan Gods, there were some who had been men.
' But should I now be asked, what descrip-
What descnp- ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ those were whom the ancients
tion of mea were
deified. placed in the number of the Gods? the answer
is, that they were the five following: viz. 1st,
They mere the ancient kings; and as, according to Lactantius,
they had no knowledge of any before Uranus and Saturn, this
is the reason why they were looked upon as the most ancient
Deities. 2nd, They ivho had done considerable services to the
world; whether by the invention of some art necessary to the
comforts of human life, or by. their victoi'ies, conquests, 8cc.
3d, The ancient founders of Cities. 4th, Those who had dis-
covered so7ne country, or had conducted colonies thither, 5lh,
Those whom flattery firomoted to that rank; and of this number,
were the Roman emperors, whose apotheosis was ordered by
the Senate. In fine, whoever became the object of public grati-
tude.— But though I contend, that the Gods not only of the
Greeks, but of the nations from whom they received them, as
the Phenicians and Egyptians, were all Alen, except the Stars
vol,, ir, B
iO INTRODUCTION.
THE NATURE OF THE DEMONS.
and other parts of the universe which were deified; yet I am far
from giving into the notion of a learned Italian prelate, who
says, that by the several Gods of Homer for example, we are
to understand the kings of each particular country, or the coun-
try itself where they r.eignedi that Jufiiter was Sesostris and
his successors; Juno,, Syria; JVeptuncy Asia Minor; Ajiollo^ Ba-^
bylon; Diana., the Amazons; Mars, Armenia; Mercury, Pheni-
cia; Venus f the island of Cyprus; Mynerva, Egypt, Sec. Upon
this Perizonius may be consulted, who finds it no difficult
matter to refute that learned author.
3d, Of the J\''ature of the Demons,
The opinion of the existence of Demons is
t"ons^of^the "oe* ^^^^^ ancient than Plato, and it would be dif-
mons. ficult to trace its original. Perhaps it was
•-~~^~-~-~— ~ brought from the same source whence the au-
thor of the book oi Enoch had taken what he relates of the An-
gels; that is, from the tradition, (though corrupted and altered)
of the rebellion of these Angels. Certain it is, there was a gene-
rally received opinion, that there were multitudes of these spi-
rits, inferior indeed to the supreme Being, to whom they were
a kind of ministers and mediators, but superior to man, whose
guardians they were. — The Gods, say some of the Philosophers,
are removed at too great a distance from men, to be capable of
holding a correspendence or union with them; and it is only
through the intervention of those powers, which are of a middle
nature between Gods and men, that this correspondence and
union can be established. It is they who present our prayers to
the Gods, who lay our vows before them, and who at the same
time communicate to men the blessings v/hich the Gods vouch-
safe to dispense unto them. — But how ridiculous is it to ima-
gine beings of a middle nature, as mediators between the Gods
and men; which supposes recluse Deities, who, being shut up
in the heavens, were not every where present themselves by
their immensity, but had need of the ministration of other pow-
ers, to know and relieve our exigencies.
INTRODUCTION. 11
THE NATURE OF THE DEMONS.
■ Apuleius, in the work which he composed
abourtliem^'"''^'' upon the Demon of Socrates, after having
■ told us, that Demons were Sfiirits who had ne-
ver been united to any body, thus lays open the opinion of
Plato upon this subject. "Of these Demons, says he, Plato
reckons that every man has his own, who is his guardian, and
the witness not only of his actions, but of his very thoughts;
that at death, the Demon delivers up to judgment, the person
who had been commited to his charge; and if, when the person
is interrogated by the Judge, his answer is found to vary from
the truth, the Genius reprimands him very severely; as on the
other hand, he pronounces an encomium upon him when he ad-
heres to the truth; and it is upon the approbation of the Genius
that his doom is pronunced; for he knows whatever passes in
the man, even hiR mnst servp't .tVinr«ght<;."
The Platonic Philosophers, in the latter ages
Porphyry s let- of Paganism, bemg attached to the theureic
ter to Anebo on • , • . j- , .
that, and other magic, which, according to them, raised the
questions^ soul to the most sublime speculations, and ena-
■ bled it to contemplate the Deity himself, with
whom it brought man into the most intimate union; propagatedthe
doctrine oi Demons, whose power they imagined to extend over
the concertis of this lower world, particularly over human af-
fairs; whereof those which appertained to men were called
Genii, and those which belonged to the women were called Ju^
nones. Porphyry, the most celebrated of these philosophers,
wrote a long letter to Anebo, the Egyptian priest, requiring he
would give him light -upon many of the most important subjects
of religion, and particularly as to that of the Demons. Jambli-
cHUS his disciple, under the name of Abamon, another Egyp-
tian priest and master of Anebo, answered this letter; and this
answer is the subject of that author's book of mysteries. As
Porphyry's letter is nothing but a consultation, that Philoso-
pher does not always discover in it what are his own senti-
luents; for, having a mind to deal tenderly with the scmpulous
conscience of Anebo, who looked upon all the questions pro-
posed to him as so many mysteries of religion, seems to lay
'hem before him, only as doubts which he Avished lo have re
1:2 INTRODUCTION.
THE NATURE OF THE DEMONS.
solved. At present we have occasion only for what relates to
■ the Demons; thus, passing over the other subjects treated of in
that letter, we observe that Porphyry, though he has delivered
himself with reserve, has yet informed us in many particulars
about the nature of those S/nrits^ and the effects that are at-
tributed to them. Firsts says he, we are not to settle their re-
sidence in the <et/ier^ or that pure air which the Gods inhabit;
but in an air more gross, or even in our earthly globe. He
dares not even ascribe to the Demons., all the impostures ancl
bad actions, which are laid to their charge, and with which that
Philosopher is justly shocked; but being unwilling to speak his
sentiments openly against a received opinion, he owns that
there are good Demons.^ though in general, they have all of them
a share of impudence ajid folly. Secondly, having made this
distinction between the De^'-ms and the Gods, adding that those
have bodies, whereas these have none, he interrogates Anebo,
whether the men who predict future events, or who produce
some other wonderful and extraordinary effect, ought to ascribe
the cause thereof to their own souls, or to those intelligences:
but he himself seems to decide the question, and to be per-
suaded that such effects are to be attributed to the Demons;
which makes him say, that some persons believe there is a
certain order of them who hear our prayers, but who after all,
are capable only of carrying on imposture and delusion; that
these Spirits assume all sorts of forms; immitating the Gods
themselves, and the souls departed: that these Sfiirits are they
who work all manner of wickedness without producing any
good; that they give bad counsels, set themselves in opposition
with all their power against good actions, and bear a remark-
able hatred to virtuous persons; that they love the scent of
flesh, and of the blood of animals, and that they delight in being
flattered. Finally, he mentions all the impostures of these ma-
lignant S/iirits who delude mankind, whether they be asleep or
awake. — This letter is artfully written, and there can be no
doubt, but Porphyry therein declares against the existence and
power of these Demons: yet it would seem in some plac^, that
lie admits them, and that he is not always representing the
INTRODUCTION. 13
THE NATURE OF THE DEMONS.
sentiments of others, but often his own, at St. Augustin ob-
serves, who has examined the contents of it.
________-_^ Be that as it will, Jamblichus answered his
is answered by letter, article by article, and speaking in the
pupTl""''''^ ^'^ ^^^^^ section, of what regards the Demons, he
;;;£==:== seems equally persuaded of their existence and
power. He introduces himself with an acknowledgement, that
the subject is very perplexed, and embarrassed with great diffi-
culties. For, says he, it is believed that every man may have
his Genius, and every woman her Junone, either by the'influ-
ence and aspect of the Stars which preside over their births, or
are associated to them by theurgic magic. He adds, that the first
of these means has nothing in it but what is natui^al; but that the
second depends, upon causes supernatural: and he severely cen-
sures the author of the letter, though he does not name him, for
having mentioned only the first of those means, on which he
inakes all his difficulties to turn, without ever touching upoi^^
that which is the only true one. Then having, proved the un-
certainty of what is called horoscope, and all the other arts of
Astrology, he endeavours to shew, that theurgy, and nothing
else, can lead to any certain knowledge. " It is not, then, con-
cludes he, from the position of the Stars at the time of our birth,
that we have the Genius or Junone sent to us, who is to preside
over our lives; it had an existence before us, and it is that which,
at the moment of conception, makes itself master of the soul,
and unites it to the body. All our thoughts proceed from it,
and we only act conformably to the ideas which it gives us.
In fine, he governs us entirely, till the soul, trained up to per-
fection by the speculations of theurgy, or that divine magic
which unites us with God, is released from the bondage of this
Demon, who then either abandons, or becomes a slave to the
soul in its turn. This jD^jhow, continues Jamblichus, is not
ourselves; it is a being independent upon us, of an order supe-
rior to our soul, and not a part of it, as Porphyry seemed to
think. As it is not sent to us from any part of the universe,
such as the Stars, but by the universality of nature, it presides
over all our thoughts, all our actions, all our affections: thus
there is no occasion, as the author of the letter insinuates, for
14 INTRODUCTION.
THE NATURE OF THE DEMONS.
our having several of them, one for health, another for beauty,
Sec; one alone suffices, and it is ridiculous to admit one for the
soul, and another for the body. In vain therefore it is, that
some persons have instituted different forms of prayers for their
Demons; there is no need of any more than one, since God who
sends to each of us our Genius or Junone, is one in his nature."
— Thus rsasoned Jamblichus against his master Porphyry,
who did not seem so fully persuaded as he, of the existence of
those Demons.
=====^ Though Plato and Jamblichus were of opi-
nions ° ^■^oof/ and "'^^"J ^^^^ every individual had but one of those
evil, preside over Genii to conduct him, and preside over all his
each person:— actions; other Philosophers however, of the
The genius oi bo- ' '^ '
ORATES. same school, were persuaded that each person
===== had two, the one good and the other ewY; and
this is what we learn from Servius. That learned com-
mentator, upon tbis passage of Virgil, quisque suos patiinur
7nanes, says, " They will have it that every one has two Genii,
the one good, and the other evil; that is reason which always
excites men to good deeds, and lust which always excites them
to evil ones: the former is what they call Lar or good Genius;
ihe latter Larva or evil Genius." — Every man therefore, accord-
ing to the principles of this theology, had his particular Genius,
or even two of them; and this is what makes Pliny say, that the
number of the Gods, for he expressly takes the Genii and Juno-
ncs into the number, was so great that it exceeded the number
of the human race. — Of the number of good Demons was the
Genius of Socrates, upon which Plutarch and Apuleius
have each composed a particular treatise; a Genius who, as he
himself said, forewarned him when his friends were going to en-
gage in any bad enterprize, who stopped him, hindered him
from action, but never instigated him to it. But after all the
reasoning about tliis pretended Demon, I adopt the opinion of
the Abbe Fraguier, who ascribes all that has been said about
it, to the wisdom and prudence of that Philosopher, which made
him foresee many things which a man of less discernment than
he would never have thought of; for, firud£nce, says Cicero, is
a kind of divination. " It is very probable, conchides the learn-
INTRODUCTION. 15
THE NATURE OF THE DEMOKS.
ed Abbe Fraguier, that the Demon of Socrates, a Demon of
which so many various accounts have been given, as even to
make it a question whether it was a good or a bad Angel, meant
nothing, after all, but the prudence and wisdom of that Philo-
sopher in piercing into futurity; which he, according to his
ironical turn of mind, reduced to fiure instinct, as, in the Poets
and Rhapsodists, it is fio e tic al fury, and in the Divines, it is
firophe tic fury; which filling both the one and the other with an
illumination, the mean between knowledge and ignorance, some-
times enables them to hit aright."
====== It must be gillowed, however, from all ap-
They were ul- , , t^, ., , t ,
tUnately worship- pearances, that those Philosophers did not be-
ped as Deities — lieve the Demons were Gods; but, a.s Idolatry
th F^hers^ ^ ^^^ ^^ bounds to superstition, those very De-
^ss^=ss=^=^ Tnons were afterwards looked upon as Divini-
ties, and had their share in the worship that was paid to the
Gods. Hence the temples, chapels, and altars, which antiquity
informs us, were consecrated to them: hence too, those inscrip-
tions so common, as, Genio loci; Genio Augusti; Junonibus, 8cc.
It is true, those Demons were reckoned in the lowest class of
Gods, and among Avhat Ovid calls the Plebian Gods; but never-
theless they had divine honors. And the very reason which
was given for worshipping them, was founded upon the refine-
ment of some Philosophers, who advanced, " that God, being
supremely happy, was incapable of any degree of resentment;
but that those intermediate beings between God and man were
often pevish and out of humour, wherefore it was necessary to
offer incense and victims to appease them." — To conclude; as
this mysterious philosophy concerning Demons., drav.'n from
Plato's school, and supported by some doctrines of the Chris-*
tian religion ill understood, made considerable progress in the
two first ages of the Church, the primitive Fathers applied them-
selves to combat it, and found it no hard matter to triumph over
the vain reasonings of the Sophists who maintained it.
16 INTHODUCTION.
CLASSIFICA-TION OF THE PAGAN GODS.
4?A. Of the Classification of. the Pagan Gods.
:=:=: Though the number of the Pagan Gods, was
The Pagan Gods ahnost infinite; and, taken m the aggregate
thouarh number- , . ,, ,,'",,
less and an ill- sense, they constitute an ill-matched nvholc,
matched whole, which was never a work of meditation, invent-
are thrown into ^ ^ . ^j^^ g^j^g persons, at the same time, or in
classes. < t- . ? '
■ one country, with any Auew to consistency;
yet Mythologists have thought, that in order to speak of them
with any clearness and precisix)n, they must be arranged into
several classes; accordingly, this is what has been very vai'ious-
ly done by those writers, both ancient and modern, in their in-
defatigable endeavours to reduce to system, the very monstrous
subject of the Pagan Theology. But we shall conform to none
of these in this treatise, except in the analytical Tables with
anpotations which will accompany the Plates in a distinct vol-
ume; where we shall endeavour to do them ample justice.
,.„ Hehodotus, after the Egyhtians^ distri-
1 he three das- ^ , • , m. , v.
sesofHERaDOTus, butes the Gods into three classes. Tothe^rsf
after the Bgyp- class he gives eight; to the second twelve, and
" to the third he assigns all the rest, whom he
considers as the progeny of the former. Thus it is he express-
es himself in relation to Hercules. " Among the Greeks.^ says
he, Hercules and Pan are the last of the Gods. But among
the Egyfitians, Pan is a very ancient God, and of the number
of the eight, who are the first of all: Hercules is in the second
fclass, who are twelve in number: And Bacchus is in the third
'class, consisting of those who are the offspring of the great
Gods." — It is to be regretted, that this author had not given us
the names of the Gods who composed these three classes; as we
should then have had a better insight into the Egijfitian My-
thology.
: ■■ - Certainly in a great measure corresponding
Three other ^.^ ^^^ probably constructed upon the foregoing
classes generally , *^ ■' . ^ ^ °
received among division, are the following three classes so much
the Greeks and referred to by the Greeks and Romans. The
Hommis. ^ . ,, , r^ j,^ • ^ /-I J
_^^^^^^^_^ first, IS called Dii Majorum Gentium, or Gods
INTRODUCTION. 17
CLASSIFICATION OF THE PAGAN GODS.
of greater nations: they were also called Dii Selecti, or select
Gods. These were the gi'eat Gods acknowleged especially in
Greece and Iialy, but not in equal numbers; the Greeks claiming
only twelve, whose names Ennius has preserved to us, as fol-
lows, Juno, Vesta, Mmer-ua, Ceres, Diana, and Venus; Mars
Mercury, Jupiter, JVep-tune, Vulcan, and Apollo. These tivelvc
Gods were supposed to preside over the twelve months of the
year; to each of whom one was allotted, thus: Juno presided over
January, JVeptune over February, Mi7ier-va over March, Venus
over April, Apollo over May, JVLercury over June, Jupiter over
July, Ceres over August, Vulcan over September, Mars over
October, Diana over November, and Vesta over December: or,
in other words, they presided over the twelve signs of the Zo-
diac. One of the whimsies of Alexander, was, a wish to be ad-
mitted into the number of the great Gods, and be ranked the
thirteenth. To these twelve great Gods the Romans added eight
others; as Janus^ Saturnus, Genius, Sol, Bacchus, Telliis, and
Luna; making twenty Gods of this class. These Gods had the
exclusive privilege to be represented in gold, in silver, and in
ivory: but this is to be understood only of the later times; as in
the beginning, they used nothing in the figures of the Gods, but
timber and shapeless stones. — The second class is called Dii Mi-
norum. Gentium, or Gods of lesser nations. These were Gods
of a lower order, because they shone with a less degree of glo-
ry; but have been placed among the Gods by their own merits,
whence they wei'e called also Adscriptitii Dii. These Gods were
peculiar to certain people; whence, likewise, they were called In-
digetes: such was the Quirinus of the Romans, the Semo-Sancus
of the Etrurians, &c. Sec. — The third class according to this ar-
rangement of the Gods, was called Semones, or Semi-hoinines, or
Semi- Dii, who were not esteemed of sufficient dignity, to be in-
habitants of Heaven, though they deserved a better place than
the Earth; as Priapus, Hippona, Vertumnus, and all the Heroes.
====== Cicero distributes all the Gods into three
Three classes classes. The Jirst, is that of the Celestial
according to Cr- "^ '
cERo. Gods; Avho may likewise be called Majorum
' Gentium Dii. The second, is that of those
who had been raised to that dignity by their merit; who may
VOL, II. C
18 INTRODUCTION.
CLASSIFICATION OF THE PAGAN GODS,
therefore be called the Semones, and Indigetes. The thirds is
that of the Virtues^ which exalt us to Heaven, and have tfiem-
selves been deified.
■ Some will have it that Tkismegistus al-
Three class- lowed three- classes of Gods. In the /?rs?, were
es according to
Tkismegistus those whom he called Celestial Gods. In the
' second, were his Empyrial Gods. And the
third consisted of the jEtherial Gods. That celebrated author,
it is said, had composed a thousand volumes upon the Gods of
the ^rst class, and a hundred- volumes upon each of the other
two.
"^ There are authors who divide the Gods still
Other three into other three classes. The Jirst, is compo-
classes accordini? , p , , i -r. i • . j
to other authors'. ^^^ ^^ those whom the Poets have invented;
'•• the second, consists of those of the Philoso-
phers: and in the t/m-d, are placed those of the Legislators and
Politicians.
e , Clemens of Alexandria, thousrht all the Pa-
oeven classes . °
according to Cle- gan Gods might be reduced to seven classes.
^lENs Of Jiiexan- jn the Jirst, he reckons the Planets^ or those
■■ ' I ■ Gods who are their symbols. In the second,
he places the Fruits of the earth, or the Gods who presided
over them, as Ceres, Pomona, Vertumnus, Bacchus, Isfc. The
third, includes the Gods of punishment and correction, as the
Furies, the Harfiies, and others. In the fourth, he places the
Gods of the passions, and affections, such as Love, Shame, &c.
The Jifth, is composed of the Gods of virtues, as Concord,
Peace, Sec. The sixth, only, is occupied by the great Gods,
or Dii Majorum Gentium. Lastly, the salutary Gods, as -^s-
culapius, Hygieia, Tclesphorus, and some others, constituted the
seventh class.
■ Jabiblichus, the Platonic Philosopher, di-
Eight classes yided the Gods into eicjht classes. In Xhe first,
according to Jam- V, , , , , •
BLicHTJs u6 reckone-d the great Gods, who though in-
' ■ visible in their nature, are present in all the
parts of the universe; meaning, no doubt, the universal Spirit,
of whom we have already spoken. In the second, he placed
supei'ior Spirits, whom he called Archangels. To the third, he
INTRODUCTION. 19
CLASSIFICATION OF THE PAGAN GODS.
gave other Spirits of an inferior order, the Jngels. In the
fburthy he disposed the Demons. In thejifth^ were they whom
he calls greater Archons^ that is, the Demons who presided over
the sublunary world, and over "the elements. The seventh^
was occupied by the Heroes: and lastly, the souls of men rank-
ed among the Gods, were in the eighth class.
H ■ Other Philosophers of the same sect compre-
Two classes ac- bended all the Gods of the Pagan world, or if
pile ^Phiioso! yo^ ^i"' a" the Genu under two classes,
phers; Those whom they designated as Immaterial and
.1 _ ■ Material, occupied the Jirst class: and those
whom they called Mundane and Su/iramundane, occupied the
second class.
====== The Gods were also divided into public and
Two other class- A^^i^ate. The first were those whose worship
es, viz:/)Moac and ■< " r
pnvate Gods. was authorised and established by the laws.
. The second, were they whom every one chose
to be tlie objects of their own private worship: such were the Gods
Lares, the Penates, and the Sotils of one's ancestors, whom every
private man was allowed to worship, in whatever way he thought
proper.
. ■ Varko maintained that there were Gods
Two other clas- j^nowra and Gods unknown; and to these two
ses, viz. kiioiun Sc i ,1 1 ^ 1 p i /-t .,
unJaww7i Gods. classes he reduced all the Gods 01 the Gentiles.
■ ' In the Jirst, were those whose names, functions,
&c> were known; as the Sun, the Moon, Jufiiter, Afiollo, and
the rest. In the second, were placed those, concerning whom
nothing certain was known, and to whom, nevertheless, altars
were raised and sacrifices offered. — Pausanias, Cicero, and
Hesychius, with several others, speak of altars raised to un-
knoivn Gods: and we see in the Acts of the Apostles, that St.
Paul says to the Athenians, " As I passed by and beheld your
devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To the unknown
Gods. Whom, therefore, you ignorantly woi^ship, him declare
I unto you." Epimenides, that great prophet of the Cretans,
was he who founded this superstition. Being consulted by the
Athenians how they might appease the Gods, and put a stop to
the plague which was hying their country waste; he answered,
2.0 INTRODUCTION.
CLASSIFICATION OF THE PAGAN GODS.
that they should let go into the fields, black sheep, and cause
the Priests to go behind them and mark where they stopped,
and there offer them up in sacrifice. Thence forward, as Dio-
genes Laehtius remarks, several altars were to be seen in
the fields, erected to unknotvn Gods; that is to say, from the
27th Olympiad according to that author; or if we believe Sui-
DAS, from the 42nd Olympiad.
' The most general distribution of the Gods
Two other clas- -^ -^^^ jYatural and Animated. By the former
ses,v\z. natural lis ■'
animated Gods. are understood, the Stars and other physical
=^=^=== objects: by the latter, are intended the Souls
of men departed, who, by their heroism and other virtues,
won divine honours.
_ In fine, that division which is most generally
Celestial ^T^^^^' adopted, and seems most consistent with me-
triai, und Infernal, thod, particularly in regard to the Deities of
' the Greeks and Romans., disti'ibutes the Gods
of those ancient people into three classes, viz. Celestial., Terres-
trial and Infernal: and of the Terrestrial in particular, there
are several subdivisions, such as the Rural Deities, Sea Deities,
JVymphsy Sec.
-'- Besides the foregoing classifications of the
Other partial Gods, which respect the whole of them, there
associationsof De- . , • ,
ities, as the Cabi- ^^'^ several classes which respect only partial
'"' ^'^- associations of Deities, in which joint capaci-
■ ty they will be treated of in the sequel. Of
this description were the Gods denominated Cadiri, as if to say
associated; who were also erroneously called Corybantes, Curetes,
and Idtei Dactyli; these names being in truth, proper to their
priests. The Dii Palici, whose worship was famous in Sicily^
are likewise of this description. So are the Pataici, whose figures
served for ornaments to the prows^of ships, whereof they were
the Patrons.
INTRODUCTION.
21
THE PROGENY OF THE GODS.
5ih. Of the Progeny of the Gods.
. There is nothing more obscure in fabulous
The Progeny of history, than what concerns the offspring of the
tlie Gods, accord-
ing to the Egyp-
tians and Greeks.
Gods. Herodotus, who distinguishes the
Gods, according to the tradition of the Egyp-
===== tians., into three classes, having assigned eight
to XhQ first, and twelve to the second^ says, those of the third, as
Bacchus, Sec, were the offspring of the other two. Thus, accord-
ing to this distinction, it is plain that the Egyfitians regarded as
the Progeny of the Gods, all those who were neither of theirs;
nor second class. — For the Progeny of the Gods according to
the Greeks, we refer the reader to the theogony of Hesiod, no-
ticed in the Introduction to the first volume of this work,
page 2rth.
It remains now to enumerate several classes
of avowedly human personages, who were dis-
tinguished by a place among the Progeny of
the Gods.
1st. Most of the Princes who were ranked
among the Gods, claimed some one or other of
them for their fathers or ancestors.
2nd. When any Prince was concerned to con-'
ceal a scandalous intrigue, flatterers were sure
to father the offspring upon some God. Thus
Pratus, having got into the tower where Acri-
sius king of ./^r^os, affrighted with the prediction
of an oracle, had shut up his daughter Danae; they fabled that
Jujiiler had transformed himself into a shower of gold, to se-
duce that Princess, and Perseus prssed for the son ^f that God.
— Just so Amulius having found a way to convey himself secret-
ly into the prison where JVumitor had confined his daughter
Rhea Sylvia, Romulus and Remus^who sprung from the embraces
of that Prince with his niece, were passed upon the world for
the sons of Mars. — The seci'et gallant of Alcmena was taken for
Jufiiter, and Hercules was always looked upon as the son of that
God. — 3^.neas owed his title of son of Venus, upon which the
Also several
classes of the hu-
man race descend-
ed of theCiodsjviz.
l&t. Kings and
Princes.
2d. The ofi-
spring of the sto-
len embraces of
Princes and Prin-
cesses.
%% INTRODUCTION.
TBI? PilQP3EJf¥ OF THE ^ODS,
'mmmmmmmam
Romans so much valued themselves, to the report which his
father Anchises industriously spread abroad, of his having had
a son by that Goddess in the forest of mount /c?a.— The same
sentiments we are to entertain of Castor and Pollux, Leda's
twins, as well as of a world of others whom it would be tedious
to menlion.—Olymfiias exerted all her efforts to make the world
belive, that Jujiiter was the father of her son Alexander; but
so long as that Princess lived, people were not so credulous;
nor did that sham story stop the mouths of evil speakers.
. 2d, They who were the offspring of the stolen
3cl, The off- embraces of Priests, with the wamen whom
spring,' ot the j j • i
stolen embraces they seduced in the temples, were fathered
of Priests. upon the Gods. The temple of Belus at Baby-
•"' '' '•" ' ' ' ••' Ion, which Herodotus mentions, is not the
only one where it was a custom with the Priests to introduce
every night, one of the most charming women of the city. The
fsame game was played, according to the same historian, at
Thebes in Egypt, at Patera in Lycia, and no doubt in several
other places. Thus wicked Priests imposed upon the credulity
of the ignorant people, making the children which sprang from
their villanous commerce, to pass for the offspring of the Gods.
" ' 4th, He whose character resembled that
4th, Those ^f some God, passed for his son. Did one
whose character , . , , ,. , , -ir i
resembled some excel m the heaung art; or was he a skiltul
<^o-^- musician? he had Apollo for his father, as Ms-
■ - -' culapius; Orpheus, and Linus. — Was he elo-
quent? was he subtle or designing? in the former case he would
likewise have Apollo for his father, and in the latter Mercury:
thus it was fabled, that Chione, the daughter of Dedalion, had
been mistress to Apollo and Mercury, because she had two sons,
the one of whom, Philamon, excelled in eloquence; and the
other, called A7ttolicus, was a dexterous thief. — In like manner,
they who were brave, claimed Mars fof their father; as Oeno-
maus, Ter€us_ Romulus, &c. — Much the same account may be
given of those who are said by the Poets to be the Progeny ei-
ther of the Rivers, or of the Mountains; as Daphne, the daugh-
ter of the river Peneus; Oenone of t"he river Cebrenics; also Av-
endnus, Tyberinus, Inachus, and numbers of others, by whom
INTRODUCTION.
THE PROGENY OF THE GODS.
we are to understand, as Lactantius explains it, the children
of those who bore the names of those Rivers or Mountains.
====== 5th, Almost all the Heroes of antiquity, had
5th, Most of Q^^g ^j. jg^^^ £qj, ^jjg-j. ancestors, and they past
the heroes ot an- . ■> j r
tiquity. chiefly for their sons or grand-sons; for you
' need but trace their genealogies a little, when
you will will find them terminating in some God.
6th Those ^'■^' They who were found exposed in the
found exposed in Temples and Sacred Groves, were attributed
the Temples and ^^ ^^^^ q^^j ^^ ^j^^-^, i^^.heY. Thus Ericiho-
Sacred Groves.
■ nius passed for the son of Mmerva and Vul-
can, as St. AuGusTiN has remarked.
"rth Th h ^^'^' They who, from an obscure original,
raised themselves raised themselves to eminence, were reputed
from obscurity to sons of the Earth; as Tages, that celebrated
' Etrurian, who was looked upon as the inven-
tor of the Tuscan Divination, and of the religious ceremonies
used in the Auguries. — The Giants in fabulous history, were
likewise, for the same reas6n, looked upon aS sons of the Earth,
NEW SYSTEM
OF
MYTHOLOGY.
CHAPTER I.
EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY.
SECTION FIRST.
THE EGYPTMJV RELIGIOJV IJ\r GEJ^ERAL.
WE have seen in the commencement of the
The beginning-
of Idolatry, after first volume of this work, that Idolatry, having
£ p|. ' existed in Cain's family before the flood, very
I early after that memorable period resumed its
influence over the hearts of men in Egypt^ in the family of
Ham^ from whose son this country took its Scripture name of
Mitzrain. We have also there seen, that the germ of this
Idolatry was simply Sabism^ or the worship of the heavenly bo-
dies, to which the Chaldeans joined the worship oijire. But
it was not long before Sabism gave rise gradually to a more
corrupt Idolatry, by the institution of human figui'es as sym-
bols of those luminaries, as was that of their first king Menes
or Osiris, the symbol of the Sun.
■•^- We might expect to have the history of the
but little Tndin ^SVpHan religion delivered in the books of
general terms, of MosEs, as the Hebrews dwelt a long time in
the Egyptian Dei- "
ties. Egyfit, where they sometimes suffered them-
' selves to be drawn away by the superstitions
vol,. IT. D
26 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I.
- ■ ■■•' •■*■ ' . - , ,
THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION IN GENERAL. SECT. I.
of that idolatrous people, with which the prophet Ezekiel up-
braids them, and as appears from the golden Ca// which they
worshipped in the wilderness: and, though the Pentateuch
seems principally written for the extirpation of Idolatry; though
the author of this book is every now and then using exhorta-
lions, prayers, and threatenings; though he therein nam^s with
indignation, the Gods of the nations whom the Israelites were
to conquer; yet Moses enters not into any particular account
of the Egyfitiari Deities: only pointing at them in general terms,
and enveloping the whole history of the idolatry of that ancient
people in the general name of the Abominations of £gy/it,he
contents himself with the precepts which he prescribed to the
Jeivs, to fill them with all the abhorrence for those false Divini-
ties, which they deserved. Perhaps he declined to- revive so
unhappy a remembrance, knowing how dangerous it might
have been with respect to the fickle and inconstant nation he
had to govern. — From what he says, however, of those Gods in
a general way, Selden has been able to trace an affinity be-
tvi^een the words of Moses, and what antiquity informs us of
the Egyfitian Deities. Accordingly, Avhen the sacred legislator
tells the Jewsy that theij had seen no figure^ and no image,
vjhen God spake to them in Horeb, lest being corrupted thereby,
they should make to themselves representations of man or wo-
man, it would seem that this alludes to the figures of the Gods
which were represented by the Egyptians under a human form.
When he subjoins, nor the similitude of any animal that is upon
the earth, he seems to bear in mind the oxen Aftis and Mnevis,
the Goat worshipped at Me7ides, the Cats and Dogs which re-
presented the Goddess Bubastis and the God Anubis. And when
he further adds, nor of birds which fly in the airy regions, it is
obvious he is alluding to th? birds worshipped in the same
country, such as the Ibis, the Ichneumon, and some others.
As also by these words, or of reptiles which crawl upon the
CHAP. I. EGYPTLVN mOLATRY. 27
SRGT. I. THE EGYPTIAN REDtGlON IN GENERAL.
earth, or of fishes 'which are in the waters, he means the Oxy-
rinchusf the Crocodile, in a word, all the Fishes and Insects
which were objects of worship to that superstitious people. In
fine^ when he says to his people, lest thou lift up, thine eyes unto
heaven, and nvhen thou seest the Sun, and the Moon, and the
Stars, even all the host of heaven, thou shouldst be enticed to wor^
shift them, and serve creatures which God hath created to be ben'
eficial to all the nations under heaven,\X.y^Qv\^ seem that he had
a mind to point out Sabism, and guard the Jews against that sort
of Idolatry, which he mentions last, though probably it was the
first religion of the Egyptians, who, as has been remai'ked with
respect to them in particular, as well as all the idolatrous nations
of the east, offered adoration to the heavenly bodies, before they
began to worship other parts of nature, and at last to deify men
and beasts, Sec,
- ■ The most ancient of th£ Profane historians
Tus savs of "the however, and he who speaks in the most learn-
Egyptian Deities ^^ manner of the religion of the Egyptians, is
and ceremonies oi
their worship; Herodotus. The Egyptians, according to
■ him, are the first people in the world who
knew the names of the twelve great Gods, and from them the
Greeks had learnt them. They too are the first who erected
altars to the Gods, made representations of them, raised temples
to them, and had Priests for their service, excluding wholly the
other sex from the priesthood. Never was any people, contin-
ues he, more religious. They even had two sorts of writing,
the one common, and the other sacred; and this last is set apart
solely for the mysteries of religion. Their priests shave their
whole body every third day. Clothed in linen, with sandals
made of the plant papirus, they are not allowed to wear other
apparel, nor other covering for their feet. They are obliged
to bathe themselves in cold water twice a day, and as often by
night. So scrupulously exact must the Priests be in the choice
28 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I.
THE EGYPTIAN REl«GION IN GENERAL. SECT. I.
• — -
of the victims which they are to offer to their Gods, that they
are punished with death if they offer up any which have not the
qualities requisite. The victim being led to the altar, they kin-
dle a pile, and afted having offered a libation of wine, they kill the
sacrifice, cut off its head, and flay the rest of the body: as for
the head, after having loaded it with curses, they carry it to the
market to sell it to the Greek merchants; and when none of that
nation are to be found there, they throw it into the river. The
curse which they vent upon this part of the victim, is to this
purpose: Jf there be any evil to come upon any fiart of Egyfit^
may it light ufion this head. Thus it is, continues Herodotus,
that they sacrifice through the whole kingdom, and hold the
heads of victims in such detestation, that they even abstain from
eating that of any animal. The victim being flayed, and the
Priests having put up some prayers, they take out the intestines
and kidneys, leaving the rest of the viscera with the fat, cut off
the legs of the beast, and his shoulders; they then stuff its body
with pure loaves, honey, raisins, figs, incense, myrrh, and other
odours; and after having poured oil thereon, they distribute the
victim for the feast. The priests always offer sacrifices fasting,
and all the victims must be males, the females being consecra-
ted to Isis. — The same historian adds several other circumstan-
ces respecting the religion of the Egyptians fXhitw festivals, and
their sacrifices, which will be noticed in their proper places.
======= I am fully persuaded, as has been said in the
which were less
numerous, and first volume, that Idolatry was not so encum-
^rSr ^tim^" ^" bered with ceremonies in the beginning as it
• was afterwards; and that the Egyptians admit-
ted at first but a small number of Gods, such as the principal
Stars and Elements. And if we credit Plutarch, we must not
confound, with the rest of Egypt, the Deities and ceremonies of
ThebaiSf whose religion was much purer than that of the other
Egyptians, The inhabitants of Thebais, says this author, ac-
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. 29
SECT. I. THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION IN GENERAL.
cording to the correction of Vossius, are exempt from those su-
perstitions, since they acknowledge not any mortal God, admit-
ting for the first principle, only the God Cnefih^ who has no
beginning, and is not subject to death.
===~f It is even certain, that so many monstrous
the monstrous fi-
gures of their De- figures under which the Egyptians afterwards
arose afterwards represented their Gods, were either the effect
from priestcraft, ^ Priestcraft, or owinec to the reveiies of those
the doctrine of ' =>
metempsychosis, of their Philosophers who believed the trans-
. migration of souls, or the product of the ima-
gination of Painters and Sculptors. Cicero says of the Roman
Gods, that they exhibit such figures as the Painters and Sculp-
tors have been pleased to give them. This licence, however,'
does not respect the earlier times, when perhaps the Egyptians
themselves had not so much as dreamed of represe'nting their
Gods under the figures of men and animals. This last mode of
representation, owes its origin chiefly to the doctrine oi metemp-
sychosis, which taught that the soul passed after death, into the
body of animals. Hence those monstrous figures of so many
Egyptian Divinities, whereof some of them appeared with the
head of a Cat, others with that of an Ape, a Hawk, an Ibis, a
Dog, &c, Sec, which will be more fully explained in a future
section, upon their worship of Animals.
'^^^^p^T^^TTT Herodotus speaks frequently of the great
and other Deities Gods of Egypt, which he sometimes accounts
of Egypt.
■ to be eight, and sometimes twelve in number;
but he does hot name them exactly. Perhaps his indifference
as to their number is owing to the term^-?-^'^; being applicable to
both the first and second classes, which have these numbers, as
we have seen in the foregoing Introduction. Though Isis and Osi'
ris, according to this author, and all the Ancients, were the
most reverenced Gods of Egypt, and were honored throughout
the country, whereas the others were worshipped only in parti-
30 EGYPTIAN mOLATRT. CHAP. I.
THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION IN GENERAL. SECT. I.
cular JVomes or districts; yet it seems that they were neither the
chief, nor the most ancient ones, for they are not mentioned in
the list of the twelve great Gods of Egypt y but are placed at
the head of the third class. But perhaps this is an inconsisten-
cy which the veneratioA of the Egyfitians for Osiris and Isis
would not justify; at which we will be less surprised too, when
we notice that Cnefih, the God of Thebais, is likewise omitted;
a Being whom the people of that district considered eternal and
immortal; and whom they regarded as the author of all things,
being represented at Dios/iolis under the figure of a man, with
a plume of feathers upon his head, a scepter and girdle in his
hand, and out of his mouth proceeding an e^g from which
sprung forth the world. At least, Osiris must have been more
ancient than any of the twelve great Gods, if they were created
to perpetuate the memory of renowned human personages, as
he was evidently Ham or Menes, the first king of Egyfit, to
whom these must have been posterior. Here follows the order
in which these two classes of Egyptian Deities are put by My-
ihologists, (which should seem to be the second and third, ac-
cording to the arrangement of Herodotus above referred to)
viz. Vulcan, Vesta, Saturn, Rhea, Ceres, Keith or Minerva, the
Nile or Ocean, Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Hammon or Jupiter Ham
mon, and a third Jupiter surnamed Uranius or the Celestial,
am informed, says Herodotus, that the Egyptians took their
Hercules into the number of their twelve great Gods; for as to
the Greek Hercules, adds he, I have been able to learn nothing
of him in the country. From this we may conclude that it was
not from the Greeks that the Egyptians received the name of
that God: but on the contrary, that the former had learnt it from
the latter; as also that Amphitryon and Alcmena, whom the
Greeks state to be the father and mother oi Hercules, were na-
tives of Egypt. — After these twelve gftat Gods, the other list
follows in this order -viz. Osiris, Isisy Typhon, JVepthe his wife
CHAP. I. EGYPTLiN ffiOLATRY. 31
SECT. I. THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION IN GENERAL.
Venus, Orus, ArueriSy* Canofius, Bubastis or Diana, Harfiocra-
(es, Anubis,-\ Macedo, Pan or Mendes, Maro, Triptolemus,
Hercules, Mercury Trismegistus, Antaus, Busiris, Prometheus,
and lastly Serafiis, whom some authors confound with Osiris. —
The great chronicle cited by M. Fourmont, gives quite a dif-
ferent list, and seems to confine the number of the Egyptian
Gods to eight, and their Demi-Gods to nine. The former are,
Memnon, Vulcan, the Sun, Agaihodaemon, Chronos, Isis, Osiris,
and Typhon. The Demi-Gods are Orus, Mars, Anubis, Hercu-
les, Apollo, Amman, Tithois, Sosus, and Jupiter. But it must be
remarked ^rs if, that this chronicle cannot be of primitive anti-
quity; for Herodotus, speaking of the Gods adored in Egypt,
makes no mention of their Demi-Gods: on the contrary he even
positively says, that the Egyptians were not acquainted with any
Hero, that is, with any Demi-Gods. Secondly, that this chron-
icle contradicts the soundest antiquity, since it ranks among the
Demi-Gods Jupiter and Apollo, who certainly were of the num-
ber of the great Gods among the Egyptians. But, thirdly, it is
necessary, in oi'der to understand the history of all the religions
which were the offspring of Paganism, to observe that they un-
derwent many changes; that new Gods were added to them; and
that the worship of the Ancients was sometimes entirely abol-
ished. Thus it is not surprising to find the lists which are
given of the Gods of some nations, and the rank which they hold
therein, to be so different.
' Besides these two lists, we might add an i:i-
Other Deities
not enumerated finite number of other Gods, whom every one
The account of chose according to his own humour, to be the
the great Gods ^ '
deferred. objects of his worship; or those whom the doc-
"■■■'■■"■~~^~* trine of the metempsychosis had given rise to.
* The model of the Apollo of the Greeks,
t The model of the Greek JJferrart',
52 EGYPTIAN roOLATRY. CHAP. I.
THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION IN GENERAL. SECT. I.
by teaching that the souls of great men passed into the Stars,
into Animals, or into simple Plants. It was upon this founda-
tion they fabled that the soul of Jsis dwelt in the Dog-star,
which they named Sothis; that of Orus in Orion; that of Osiris
in ^/lis and Mnevis; that of Typhon in the constellation of the
Bear; those of Mercury^ Diana^ Apollo^ Venus., and Saturn or
Chronos, &c, in the planets which bear their name. But there
would be no utility in pursuing the subject through its mi-
nutest ramifications. With this general view then of the reli-
gion of the ancient E^yfitians we will be content for the pre-
sent, except as it relates to the principal of their Deities whose
worship was always confined to Egypt, or whi^ch was not ad-
mitted till very late into Greece and Italy; of these we shall
here proceed to give a particular account. The history of their
twelve great Gods and such others whose worship was early in-
troduced into Greece by the ancient Colonies, who new- mo-
delled the religion of that people, shall be given when they are
treated of as Deities of Greece, where care shall be taken to
mark the time of their transportation.
. I must take notice however, before we close
The Eg-yptians
interred Idols this head, that there have been, and yet con-
— Their Grades'^ ^^^^^ ^° ^^ discovered, by opening the pits of
i the Egyptian Mu7ntnies, a world of Idols,
which represent their Gods. Some of those Idols have the
head of a dog, some that of a lion, and others that of a wolf, or
a cat; which it is easy to perceive represented their Anubis,
Diana Bubastis, &c; but then they sometimes present figures
so odd, and very fantastical, that they appear to be rather mon-
sters than Gods, as are to be seen in the representations of An-
tiquaries. Father Kircher who has discoursed of those
Idols, in his (Edipus, says, they were interred with the dead to
preserve and protect them against the bad Demons, who were
believed to disturb the Manes of the dead; which seems to be
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. 33
SECT. I. THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION IN GENERAL.
the most probable account that can be given. — We have seen,
when speaking of Oracles, that the Egyptians had several of
them, which they consulted upon all occasions. Herodotus
speaks of those of Jupiter, Minerva, Latona, Apollo, Diana,
Mars, and Hercules: other authors mention those of Jpis, of
the Lion, the Goat, and the Crocodile.
■" We now proceed to treat of the Egyptian
A remark upon --, , . . . t, , , , «
tlie Oriental My- *JfOds m particular. But we should first re-
thology in gene- njove a seeming inconsistency, Avhich might
• otherwise obscure, from the threshold, the
subject of the Oriental Mythology in general, by remarking,
that the same Gods were frequently worshipped by different
people, under different names, and with different ceremonies:
as, for example, the Oriental nations, generally speaking, had
scarcely any other Gods but the Sun, the Moon, and the Plan-
ets, whom they worshipped under names and ceremonies pecu-
liar to each of them. Indeed we shall see that nearly all the
Eastern nations directed their worship to the two principal lu-
minaries. 1st. The Sun was the Osiris of the Egyptians, the
Hammon of the Libyans, the Saturn of the Carthagenians, the
Adonis of the Pheniciansj the Baal or Belus of the Assyrians,
the il/o/ocA' of the Ammonites, the Dionysius or Urotal of the
Arabians, the Assabinus of the Ethiopians, the Mithras of the
Persians, Sec, Sec. 2nd.- Just so the Moon was the Isis of the
Egyptians, the Astarte of the Phenicians, the Alilat of the Ara-
bians, the Mylitta of the Persians, Sec, Sec. Indeed these lumi-
naries were the Divinities of almost every nation both in the
old and new world. Macrobius goes yet further, since he
contends that all the Gods whom Paganisin adored, owed their
Brigin to the Sun and the Moon.
VOL, II. E
EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I.
OSIRIS AND ISIS. SECT. II.
SECTION SECOND.
.0 SIB IS AjYB ISIS.
' ••■ To give some light to a subject so perplex-
Order of the ^^ ^Y^^,t of Osiris and Isis, we will 1st, an-
subject. 1st. .' '
What Osiris and novmce what they were esteemed to be in
Isis were esteem-
ed to be. general; 2d, inquire what there may be Ms'
■^~~^~~-~— -— ~ torical concerning them; 3d, recite the Egyp-
tian Mythology concerning them; 4th, explain \}c\& fables which
the Greeks have intermixed with it; 5th, speak of the ivorshifi
which the Egyjitians paid to those Divinities. — 1st. According
to Herodotus and all the Ancients, Osiris and Isis were the
two great Divinities of Egypt, and the most generally worship-
ped in all the country; and almost the whole Mythology of this
angient people is included in what their priests fabled about
them. Sometimes they considered Odris as the Sun, and Isis
as the Moon, the first objects of their Idolatry: sometimes as
persons who had formerly governed Egypt with a great deal of
wisdom and prudence; at other times as immortal beings who
had framed the world, and arranged matter in the form which
it retains at this day. — They who make Osiris and Isis to have
been human persons, are all agreed, that they were brother and
sister: but they differ about their parents. The most common
opinion is that which Diodorus Siculus reports. The Sun,
according to this historian, was the first who reigned in Egypt ^
to whom succeeded Vulcan-, and then Saturn, who having mar-
ried Rhea his sister, had by her Isis and Osiris.
■ 2nd, To determine now who this Osiris
2d, What there ^^g. ^.^^ -j^ what time he lived, is a matter of
IS historical con-
cerning them. some difficulty. Some authors alledge that he
■~~~" is Joseph, that ancient Patriarch so famous in
Egypt for having saved it from a famine; and for governing it
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY.
SEGT. II. OSIUIS AND ISIS.
with SO much wisdom. — Others will have him to be Moses: but
how beautiful soever the parallels are, which have been made
between these two great men and Osiris, it suffices to take no-
tice, that this king o^ Egypt was more ancient than they, and
that his worship was established in their time through all
Egypt; since the Israelites imitated the ceremonies thereof in
the adoration of the golden Calf. — Another opinion states that
Osiris is the same with Mizraim the son of Ham, who peopled
Egypt some time after the deluge, and who after his death,
was taken into the number of the Gods, from which might have
originated the custom of raising to that dignity those who
founded empires; and that the reason why the ancients some-
times called him the son of Jupiter, is, that he was the son of
Ham or Hamrnon, afterwards called Jupiter Hammon, whom
himself acknowledged as a God. — Marsham takes Osiris to be
Ham himself, known under the name of Menes or Mnevis, at
the head of the dynasties, who succeeded to the Gods and
Demi-Gods; and he confirms his opinion, by the remark which
Afrioanus had drawn from Manetho, concerning the first
king of Egypt, whom a Crocodile had devoured; which agrees
perfectly to Osiris slain by Typhon, who was represented under
the figure of that cruel animal. The Egyptians themselves,
who believed that the Gods first, and then the Demi-Gods, had
reigned among them for several ages, are all agreed that men
succeeded the Demi-Gods in the kingdom, and that he whom
they put at the head of the dynasties of men was called Menes,
or Mnevis. The name of Osiris however, does not occur in
those dynasties: but Diodorus Siculus, who has transmitted
down to us with great care the most ancient traditions of the
Egyptians, assei'ts that this prince is the same with Menes, the
first king of Egypt. And the Ox Mnevis, consecrated to
Osiris, or the Su?i, whereof Osiris was the symbol, seems to
carry an allusion to the name of that ancient king called either
EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CKAI'. I.
OSIRIS AND ISIS. SECT. II.
Menes, Menus, ov Meneus: jElian even names this Ox, Menesy
which leaves no room to doubt of its having been called after
the name of the king to whom it was consecrated; and this king
being Osiris., as all are agreed, it is evident that Osiris and
Menes are but one and the same person. The Egyptians, ac-
cording to DioDORus SicuLus and Plutarch, assert that
the princess Isis was born in their country; that she match-
ed with Osiris, that they lived together in perfect harmony;
and that both of them made it their business to polish and civi-
lize their subjects, to teach them agriculture, und several othe^:
necessary arts of life. Diodorus adds that Osiris having formed
a design of making an expedition to the Indies, to conquer
them, not so much by force of arms as by gentle means, raised
an army made up of men and women; and after having appoints
ed Isis regent of his kingdom, and left about her Mercury and
Hercules, the former to be her chief councellor, and the other
the lieutenant of his provinces, he set out upon his expedi-
tion, wherein he was so successful, that all the countries Avhi-
ther he came, submitted themselves to his empire: his journey
was a perpetual triumph. The same author says, he first over-
ran Ethiopia, whevQ he raised dykes against the inundations of
the Nile; that from thence he traversed Arabia, the Indies, and
came next into Europe, invaded Thrace and the neighbouring
countries, left every where marks of his beneficence, reduced
men entirely savage, to the sweets of civil society, taught them
agriculture, to build cities, and returned crowned with glory,
after having caused columns and other monuments to be erect-
ed in the places he had passed, upon which his exploits 'ivere
engraved.* — This prince having returned to Egypt, found that
his brother Typhon had formed a party against the government,
* Here, by the by, are the conquests so much celebrated by tl.e poets,
of the famous Bionysius or Bacchus, as shall be proven elsewhere.
CHAP. 1, EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. 37
SECT. II. OSIRIS AND ISIS.
and made himself quite formidable; and Julius Firmicus adds
that he had even debaucl>ed his sister-in-law Isis. Osiris, who
was a pacific prince, attempted to calm the ambitious spirit of
Typhon; but instead of submitting to his brother, Tyfihon
thought of nothing but persecuting him, and laying in ambus-
cades for him. Plutarch informs us in what manner he at
last took away his life. Tyfihon, says he, having invited him to
a sumptuous entertainment, proposed to the guests after the
repast, that they would measure themselves in a chest of ex-
quisite workmanship, promising to give it to him who was of
the same length; Osiris having entered into it in his turn, the
conspirators shut the chest and threw it into the Nile. Isis in-
formed of her husband's tragical end, went about in search of
his corpse; and being informed that it was in Phenicia, hid un-
der a tamarind tree, where the waves had thrown it out from
the sea, she went to the court oi By bios, where she entered into
the service of Astarte, to have the better opportunity of disco-
vering it. At length, after infinite pains, she found it, and made
such heavy lamentations, that the king of Byblos's son died
through grief for her; which affected the king to such a degi-ee,
that he allowed Isis to carry off the body and return to Egypt.
Tyfihon, informed of the mourning of his sister-in-law, opened
the chest, divided the body of Osiris in pieces, and caused the
several members to be carried into different places of Egyfit.
Isis carefully re-collected his dissipated members, inclosed
them in a coffin, and consecrated a representation of the privi-
ties, which she could not find: hence the use of the Phallus so
celebrated in all the religious ceremonies of the Egyfitians.
In fine, after having shed a flood of tears, she caused him to be
interred at Abydos, a town situated west of the Nile. The An-
cients however, assign other places for the tomb of Osiri?, which
is owing to Isis having caused one to be erected for ever/ part
of her husband's body, in the very place where she had found
38 EG YPTUN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I.
OSIRIS AND ISIS. SECT. II.
it.— In the meau time Tyfihon was contriving how to secure his
new empire, but Isis being recovered somewhat from her dis-
tress, drew her troops together in haste, and putting them un-
der the conduct of her son Orus, the young prince pursued the
tyrant, and vanquished him in two pitched battles.
3rd. The Egyfitians seeing good and e,vit
3d. The Egyp- equally prevalent in the world, and not being
tian Mythology , , . , . ... , ,
concerning them; ^^le to conceive a being essentially good to be
"~— "~~°~" capable of permitting evil, far less to be the au-
thor thereof, were the first who invented these two principles,
and introduced this error, which has since made such progress.
They represented the §*oo£/;^7'i/zayz/e under the name of Osiris,
and the evil firincifile under that of Tyfihon; having reference to
the wars and persecutions of the latter against the former,
whom he at length deprived of his life. As they attributed all
the evil that reigned in the world to Tyfihon, so they considered
Osiris as the author of all good. The creation of the world by
the good firincifile was for a long time disputed and retarded by
the machinations of the evil priiicifile. Its final accomplish-
ment together with the order and harmony which afterwards
prevailed on the one hand, were the work of Osiris; while the
truobles, the horrors, the wars, and in a word, all the evils that
ravaged the universe on the other hand, proceeded from Tyfihon.
— Plutarch, who in his treatise oi Isis and Osiris, has preserved
to us ancient traditions which are no where else to be found,
says, three qualities were acknowledged in the good firincifilc,
of which one performed the office oi father, and this alluded to
Osiris; another performed the office of mother, which refers to
Isis; while the third discharged the duties of son, and this was
represented by their Orus, the first production of the father and
mother. The Egyfitians invented, according to the same author,
a thousand other fables upon the same subject which may be
seen in the treatise just quoted; but the most extravagant of all>
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY.
SECT. II. OSIRIS AND ISIS.
in my opinion, is that notion of /sjs and Osiris having been con-
ceived at the same time in the same womb, and there married;
by which marriage, Isis at her very birth was pregnant with
Arueris. Their priests related, in a thousand different ways, the
wars and persecutions of Tyfihon against his brother and sister-
in-law; and my suppressing a particular account thereof, is only
to save the reader the trouble of surveying things contradictory,
or an extremely gross system of physics. — All the Egyfitian
theology was concealed under the symbols of those two Deities.
Osiris, among them was the Sun, the first object of their Idol-
atry; and Isis was the Moon. Their very names too, have a re-
ference to these planets, since in the Egyptian language, Osiris
denotes, one who sees clear, which is applicable to the Sun; and
Isis denotes the ancient, an expression which among them sig-
nified the Moon. All the learned agree, that the oxen A^iis and
Mnevis consecrated to Osiris and Isis after their apotheosis,
were the symbols of the Sun and Moon. Thus, whether it was
that the Egyfitian priests, to cover the history of this prince from
the eyes of the people, gave out that he was really the Sun; or
whether, acknowledging Osiris to have been a mortal man who
had governed Egyfit, and conferred many blessings upon it,
they were willing to pass it upon the rest of the woi'ld, that his
soul was gone to reside in that orb: it is at least certain, they
agreed that he had become that radiant luminary, who by the
benign influences of his beams, diffuses fertility and plenty over
all things; and that to him, voivs, prayers, and sacrifices, were
to be addressed; whereby was the worship of Osiris confounded
with that of the Sun, and that of Isis with what was paid to the
Moon. Thus they had the art of making Idolatry not so gross,
by saying it was not a mortal man^ but an eternal luminanj
which was the object of public adoration. The Greek and La-
tin authors extended still further the Egyptian Mythology
concerning Isis and Osiris, since according to them, they com-
40 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I
OSIRIS AND ISIS.
prehended all Nature, all the Gods of that ancient people.
There is in the hands of the Antiquaries, a monument which had
been raised by Arrius Balbinus, where this inscription is to be
seen: Goddess Isis, who -art one and all things. Plutarch
says, that at -Scis, in the temple of Minerva, whom he takes to
be the same with Isis, there was one to this effect: I am what-
ever has been, is, and shall be; and none among mortals has ever
taken off my veil. Apuleius puts these words in the mouth of that
Goddess: I am nature, the mother of all tilings, the mistress of
the elements, the beginning of ages, the sovereign of the Gods,
the queen of the Manes. My Divinity, uniform in itself, is wor-
shipped under dfferent names, and by different ceremonies: the
Phrygians name me Pessinuntian, mother of the Gods; the Athe-
nians 7iame me Ceropiaii Minerva; the people of Cyprus call me
Venus; those of Crete, Diana Dictynna; the Sicilians, Proser-
pine; the Eleusinians, the ancient Ceres; so?ne others, Juno, Bel-
lona, Hecate, Rhamnusia; lastly, the Egyptians and their neigh-
bours call me Isis, which is my true name. According to Hero-
dotus, the Egyptians took Isis for Ceres, and believed that
Apollo and Diana, were her children; and that Latona had only
been their nurse, contrary to the opinion of the Greeks, who
looked upon her as their mother. According to the same au-
thor, Apollo and Orus, Diana, and Bubastis, Ceres and Isis, are
reciprocal or the same; hence it is, continues he, that ^schy-
Lus makes Diana the daughter of Ceres. In fine, the Mytholo-
gists assert that Isis and Osiris included under different names,
almost all the Gods of Paganis?n, since according to them, Isis
is the Moon, Terra, Ceres, Juno, Minerva, Cybele, Venus, Di-
ana, and in one word, all nature; and this they give for the rea-
son why that Goddess was called Myrionyma, that is, who has a
thousand names. Just so in their opinion, Osiris is Bacchus or
Dionysius, the Sun, Serafiis, Pluto, Atnmon, Pan, Apis, Adonis,
Sec. But it is time to come to the fables which the Greeks in-
termixed with th-s ancient Mythology of the Egyptians,
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN roOLATRY 41
SECT. II. OSIKIS ADD ISIS.
■■■'•■ 4th. As the Greeks would reduce all anti-
4th. The fables
vvhich tlie Greeks quity to their history, they have not been want-
thS"hSor ' ^'^^^ ^"S ^° ^^^^^'^ ^'^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ °^ ^^^^ ^^^^ originally
' ■■' from Greece, and therefore have confounded
that Goddess with lo^ the daughter of Inachus king oi Argos.
Ovid, who had collected in his metamorphoses, most of the an-
cient traditions of the Greeks, thus recites this fable: " Jujiitcr
fell in love with /b, and to escape the fury of Juno, who was
jealous [of this intrigue, he changed her into a heifer. JunOf
who affected to be touched with the beauty of this fair heifer,
asked her of him, and Jufiiter, not daring to refuse her, for fear
of increasing her suspicions, she gave her to the custody oi Ar-
gus, who had an huftdred eyes, enjoining him to use all his en-
deavours that she might not be stolen from him. But Jupiter
dispatched Mercury, who having laid the vigilant keeper fast
asleep by the soft music of his flute, cut off his head, aqd set lo
at liberty. Juno incensed, sent a Fury to persecute that un-
happy princess, who was so tormented with her stings, that no
where could she be at rest: she wandered from place to place;
crossed over the sea; came first to Illyricum, passed mount
Hmmus, arrived in Scythia, and in the country of the Cimmeri-
ans; and after having wandered through^several other countries,
she stopped at last in Egyfit on the banks of the Nile; when
Jupiter, having appeased Juno, restored her former figure.
Here it was that she brought forth Epaphus; and having died
some time after, the Egyptians worshipped her under the name
of Isis." — It is easy to see that this is a true history distorted by
fictions intermixed with it; but to come to a full discovery of its
truth, is exceedingly difficult. We grant there was in Greece
a princess named lo, whether she was the daughter of Inachua
or of lasus, that she was beloved "by a prince who bore the
name of Jupiter, and that he is the same with Jupiter of Argos,
so called by the ancient Mythologists. We even allo\Y what
VOL, IT. F
4£ EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I.
OSIRIS AND ISIS. SECT. II.
Herodotus says in the beginning of his history, that this prin-
cess was carried off by Phenician merchants, in reprisal for the
rape of Eurofia the daughter of ^rgos, king of Phenicia: but
she never passed into Egyjit^ and cannot be confounded with
IsiSf who is more ancient than she by several ages, without
overthi'owing all the traditions of the Egyfitians. lo was per-
secTuted by Juno in such a manner as made her wander over the
whole face of the earth; but Isis, who met with the same treat-
ment from her brother-in-law Typhon^ never came out oi Egyfit.
The one, after having been mistress to a king of Argos^ was
carried off by strangers; the other was married to her brother
Osiris and lived with him in great concord and harmony, Isis
taught the Egyptians several useful arts of life; we have no such
account given of lo. What then could have given the Greeks
a handle to confound these two persons? I answer, it was the
introduction of the worship of Isis into Greece, especially into
the city of Argos. For, as Herodotus judiciously remarks,
the introduction of the v/orship of some God into a foreign coun-
try, was considered as the birth of that same God, in the place
where that worship was established. Inachus taught the Greeks
to pay honor to Isis, and the Greeks looked upon her as his
daughter. Cecrops afterwards brought into Attica the worship
of MiJierva, who was the Goddess of Sais his native town in
Egypt; and this in like manner gave rise to the fable, that the
Goddess whom the Greeks named Athene, was that prince's
daughter. Hence we see how just the above reflection of He-
rodotus is, and at the same time, that we need seek for no
other origin of this fable. As for the persecutions of Juno,
which Ovid so particularly describes, we may say with a great
deal of probability, that the poet alludes to the jealousy of Ina-
chus's wife, who perhaps caused her rival to suffer many sever-
ities; and if the husband wasxalled Jupiter, the wife might verv
v;ell have passed under the name of Juno.
CHAP. 1. EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY.
SECT. II. OSIRIS AND ISIS.
■ 5th. Isis having died sometime after her son's
5th. Tlie WOT- . ^ rri . 1 ^1 ^ . T ,
ship the Egypti. Victory over Typhon^ the Egyptians paid ado-
craypaid them. ration to her, with her husband Osiris, as to
Divinities: and because they had applied them-
selves, during their reign, to teach agriculture, the Ox and the
Cow became their symbols. The Ox which represented Osiris
at Memfihis was called Afiis.* Besides him, there was another
at Heliofiolis, called Mnevis, which was likewise worshipped as
the symbol of Osiris, if we credit Diodorus; though several
authors will have it, that the former was consecrated to Osiris,
and the latter to Isis. This much is certain, that the supersti-
tions of the Egyptians in relation to the Ox Apis, were carriad to
the greatest excess. They honored him as a God, and con-
sulted him as an Oracle: for when he took what food was offer-
ed to him, it was a favourable responce, and his refusing it, was
looked upon as a bad presage. Pliny observes, that he had
declined to eat \yhat the unfoitunate Germanicus offered to him;
and this prince actually died very soon after, of poison adminis-
tered by the command of his uncle Tiberius, instigated by a
jealousy of his rising fame. In^like manner as to the two lod-
ges or stalls that were built for Apis; when he entered one, it
was an auspicious omen for all Egypt, and unlucky when fancy
led him into the other: to such extremity did that people, so
famed for politeness, carry their superstition. Pausanias says,
that they who were to consult him, burnt incense beforehand,
upon an altar filled with oil of the lamps that were lighted on the
occasion, and laid upon the altar a piece of money at the right
side of Apis' statue. Then having applied their ear to the mouth
of the God, to interrogate him, they withdrew, stopped both
• For the whimsical motives which determined the choice of the Ox that
was to receive divine honors, and the ceremonies of liis deification, the rea-
der is I'eferred to ih^ festival of Osirh, page 299, of the preceding volume.
44 EGYPTIAN mOLATRY. CHAP. I.
TYPHON. SECT. III.
their ears till they got without the bounds of the temple, and
then whatever they heard first, they took for the response of the
God. — This Bull was almost always confined to one of his
lodges, and came but seldom abroad, except into a meadow^
which v/as also inclosed, where he was left for some time; and
there it was that strangers came to see him. When, upon special
occasions, he was led through the town, he had officers to guard
him, who kept off the crowd, while children went before singing
hyms to his praise. We have seen, when treating of the festival
of Osiris; in the first volume, in what manner the priests drown-
ed his symbol A^iis^ in the Nile, when they judged he ought not
to live any longer, with the ceremony of substituting another in
his place; but when he died a natural death, they gave him mag-
nificent obsequies, where they were so lavish in their expense,
that they who were appointed for his retinue, ruined their for-
tunes by it. It once happened in the time of Ptolemy, the son
of Lagus, that fifty talents were borrowed to defray the charges
of his funeral rites. — Such, according to ancient tradition, is the
history of Osiris and Lns, and the ceremonies of their worship;
which the Greeks long afterwards adopted into the history of
their Bacchus^ who was only a copy of these ancient Egyfitians
Deities, which will be more fiilly shown on another occasion.
SECTION THIRD.
TTPHOM
■ * " Modern authors have offered conjectures
Various conjee- , , . <• m . i • , i
tures about Ty. upon the history ot Tyfihon^ which do not ap-
phxm;^ who he ^^^ ^^ agree with the true tradition. Some,
was in reality. i o
==^5=5== among whom is Gerard Vossius, are of opi-
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN mOLATRY. 45
SECT. III. TYPHON.
nion that he was the same with Og, king of Bashany a country
Avhich the Scripture calls the Land of Giants. O^, their king,
of whom it is said, that he, who alone remained of the race of
Giants, was so bulky, as to have a bed of nine cubits in length,
and four in breadth. The Rabbins have given such extravagant
accounts of the stature of this Giant, as are too ridiculous to re-
peat here. — Bochart imagines that Typhonwa.?, the same with
JinceladuSy relying upon this, that the Poets name the one in-
differently for the other, and make them perish in the same
manner in the island of Sicily: but it still remains a question who
this Enceladus was. There are authors who will have it that
Typhon was a king of Sicily; for which the reader may consult
BoccACE on the genealogy of the Gods, who quotes for this
opinion, Theodontius, whose writings are lost. There are
likewise some who take him to be the same as Esau^ and they
have been at pains to find out a conformity between them. —
HuETius, who cannot help thinking that Moses was the sole
object of all the poetical fables, insists at veiy great length, to
prove that Typhon was the legislater of the Hebrews, grown ex-
tremely odious to the Egyptians^ by the destruction of their
first-born; but without entering into the consideration of a paral-
lel, in which most of the heads seem not very natural, I shall
only make one remai-k, namely, that Typhon and Osiris, were
much more ancient than Moses, and that the idolatrous wor-
ship of the Oxen ^pis and Mnevis, consecrated to Osiris, was
spread throughout Egypt before the exody, since it was upon
this model, that Aaron made the golden Calf which the Jeivs
worshipped in the wildernes. — It is certain, from the most un-
questionable testimonies we have now remaining of profane
authors, especially from Diodorus and Plutarch, that Typhon
was an Egyptian, and the brother of Oisris. Plutarch, on tlie
authority of Manetho, calls him Sebon, This prince, dissatis-
fied with his brother Osiris, who had confined him in the Lower
46 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I.
TYPHON. SECT. III.
■Egypt in the neighbourhood of Pclusium towards the extremity
of the Delta, conceived a hatred against him, which wrought in
his breast till he had taken away his life, as we have related.
' We are not very certain as to the circum- 'h-^
His death-
— ;;^—— --—-—— — stances of lyfihon s death; but whether he was
drowned in the marshes of the lake Serbonis, where Herodo-
tus says the Egyfitians had a story among them, that he lay
concealed; or whether he died in the battle which he fought
with his nephew Orus, as is much the most probable, the Egyfi-
tian priests made the people in after times, believe that the
Gods had interested themselves remarkably in avenging Osiris,
and had destroyed with a thunder-bolt his cruel persecutor.
Stephanus gives this for the reason why the city of Hierofio-
lis near the lake Serbonis, was called the city of blood, because
there it was that the tyrant had been thunderstruck: hence the
mysterious fable of Tyjihon having been swallowed up in a
whirl of fire. It is very probable that Tyfihon was only a sur-
name of this prince, given him after his death, in allusion to the
tradition of his having been consumed by fire. And here we
may see whence came the opinion of the ancient Poets, that
thunder was the most formidable instrument of Divine ven-
f^eance, and that those were impious persons who were struck
with it; wherefore the Egyfitians had reported, in order to ren-
der Tyfihon the more odious, that this was the manner in which
the Gods had punished him; though the better opinion is, that
he had lost his life in his last battle with his nephew Orus. — ■
Thus perished the cruel tyrant of Egypt. By his death he
left the kingdom to young Orus under the regency of his
mother Isis.
The fable of Typhon is one of the darkest
The G-reeh fa- mysteries of Mythology. The Greeks and La-
bles concerning-
him. ^ins, Avho were not entirely ignorant ot tlie tra-
. dition of the Egyptians upon this subject, have
CHAP, I. EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. 47
SECT. III. TYPHON.
only darkened it the more by endeavouring according to their
custom, to bring it over to their history; for it is evident thai!
all the fables they have delivered about their 7''i/fihon and Py-
thon, are to be referred to this tradition. Thus they made of
Tyfihon a monster equally horrid and fantastical, whom the jea-
lous Juno, say they, had produced from the earth, to be aveng-
ed of Latona her i-ival. — According to a Hymn which is com-
monly ascribed to Homek, that Goddess, provoked that Jupiter
should have become father of Minerva without her, resolved
that she would in turn be a mother without the assistance of
her husband. To bring this about, she went to the assembly of
the Gods and complained that while she alone was deemed
worthy to share Jupiter's bed, this God had slighted her so far
as to bring into the world, without her concurrence; the fairest
and wisest Goddess of Olympus, while during the whole time
of their conjugal state, they had only had a God so ugly, that
they were obliged to banish him from heaven. After this
speech she came down to the earth, whence she caused va-
pours to arise, which formed the tremendous Python. — He •
siou, without having recourse to Juno''s resentment, says only
that this Giant was the son of Tartarus and Terra. — Ovid
makes the serpent Python spring from the steams of the mud
which the deluge had left upon the earth; and in this, he is
plainly making an allusion to Typhon, whose name is the same
by a simple transposition, and who, we shall presently see, was
represented with serpents entwined about him. In making
Python spring from the slime of the deluge, does not the Poet
point out thereby the noxious steams which rise in Egypt after
the waters of the Nile have subsided? In fine, when he says
that Apollo slew him with his aiTows, does he not conceal un-
der this emblem, the victory of Orus over Typhon, or at least
the triumph of the sun-beams over the vapours of the Nile? —
Apollodorus makes Typhon the most terrible of all monsters.
48 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I.
TYPHON. SECT. III.
He had, says our author, an hundred heads, and from his hun-
dred mouths issued devouring flames, and howlings so dreadful
that he equally terrified Gods and men. His body, whose up-
per part was covered with feathers, and the lower entwined
with serpents, was so vast that he touched the skies with his
head. He had to wife, Echidna^ and his offspi'ing were, the
Gorgons, Geryon, Cerberus, the Hydra of Lerna, the SfiinXy
and the Eagle which preyed upon the liver of the unfortunate
Prometheus; in a word all the monsters that were produced in
the country of fables. — Hesiod, who in his theogony distin-
guishes Tyfihoe from Tyfihon^ paints the former much in the
same way, and says, that from him sprung the boisterous winds:
then speaking of Tyfihon, he says, that he was married to Echid-
na, in the dens of Syria, and had by her the children just men-
tioned.— Typ/ion, adds Hyginus, no sooner sprung from the
earth, than he resolved to declare war against the Gods, and to
revenge the overthrow of the Giants. Wherefore he advanced
against heaven, and so affrighted the Gods by his dreadful figure,
that they all fled. Egyfit, whither they took refuge, seemed a
proper place to screen them from the attacks of this formidable
enemy; but, as he gave them no respite, they were obliged to
assume the figure of different animals. Jupiter transformed
himself into a ram; Apollo into a rauen; Bacchus into 2. goat;
Diana into a cat; Juno into a cow; Veiius into a Jish; and Mer-
cury into a sTvan. But Jupiter, having resumed his courage,
darted a thunder-bolt against Typkon, and M'ith an adamantine
scythe which he had in his hand, so terrified him, that he obli-
ged him to give way. The God pursued him as far as mount
Casius, in the extremity of Syria; but Typhon having seized
him by the middle of the body, ^vrested from him the scythe;
and having cut off his legs and arms therewith, carried him to
Cilicia, there shut him up in a cave, and put him under the cus-
tody of a monster, half woman and half serpent. Mercury and
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN ffiOLATRY. 49
'- iT
SECT. III. TYPHON.
Pan having found means to surprise the vigilance of this keep-
er, restored to Jupiter his legs and arms, who mounting a cha-
riot drawn by winged horses, pursued Tyfihon with thunder-
bolts to the very inmost recesses oi jirabia. Thence he brought
him back to T/u-ace, where that Giant having plucked up a
mountain by the roots, darted it at Jujiiter, who drove it back
upon him with a thunderbolt; and the blood with which it was
covered, occasioned it to be called mount Hemus. Typhon
having at last retired into Sicily was there buried under mount
^tna.
^::==:==. But if the Gn-eek poets set Tyfihon at the
Explanatory re- head of the Giants in their war with the Gods,
marks upon the
foregoing fables, do they not manifestly allude to the persecu-
' tions of that prince against his brother, who
has always been looked upon as the great Divinity of Egypt?
If they make all the Gods to fly into this kingdom, where, to
shelter themselves from the pursuits of that moHstrous Giant,
they are obliged to lay concealed under the figures of several
animals; is not this the ground of their fiction, that the Gran-
dees and Satraps of Egypt^ who were of Osiris' s party, upon the
death of that prince, hid themselves in the most remote caves,
and perished most of them by the arms of the conspirators?
The figures which the Poets make them assume perhaps de-
note that Osiris having divided his army into different corps,
had given them for ensigns, the figures of those animals, as we
learn from Plutarch. What other meaning has Apollodo-
Rus, when he relates so mysteriously that Mercury and Pan
restored to Jiipiter his legs and arms, which Tyfihon had cut off;
but that these two princes, whom Diodorus acknowledges to
have lived under the reign of Osiris, and whom he speaks of as
persons exceedingly wise, by their prudent management recov-
ered his affairs which were in a very bad situation, regained his
troops which his brother had debauched from him, and by sup-
VOL. II. G
30 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I.
TYPHON. SECT. III.
plying him with money, which constitute the sinews of war, for-
tified his declining party? — -Although the Greek poets and histo-
rians make Tyjihon perish in different places out of ^^-z/;^?, where
is certain he died, yet we see by the circumstances which they
join to his fable, that they follow the traditions of that people,
Avhich informed us that he was killed by lightning, or which
comes to the same thing, that he was swallowed up in a fiery
whirlwind. Strabo says that 7'z//iAo« was thunder-struck near
Antioch, and that his being there buried in the earth, was the
cause of the river Orontes springing from thence, which in for-
mer times bore the name of this monster. The other Poets are
not agreed as to the place where Tyfihon perished, but they all
allude to his sad catastrophe. Accordingly, Pindar informs us
that Jupiter kept him imprisoned in the caverns of mount uSltna,
where, according to Ovid, he vomitted those torrents of flames
which rise from the cavities of that mountain. SiLius Itali-
cus even gives mount JEtna the very name of Typhon. And
what the poets, such as Virgil, Statius, Claudian, Corne-
lius Severus, gee, say of Enceladus., is to be understood of Ty-
jihon^ since, according to Philostratus and the more learned
Mythologists, Typhon and Enceladus denote the same person. —
Those of the ancients who have not looked upon Sicily and
mount JEtna as the tomb of Typhon^ depart not far at least from
the same tradition, since they have always chosen for that ob-
ject, places of a sulphureous quality, distinguished by subterra-
neous fires and earthquakes, as in Campania^ or rather near
mount Vesuvius, as Diodorus ailedges; or in the -Phlegreean
plain, as Strabo relates; or in a place in Asia, whence there
springs out of the earth, sometimes water, and at other times
fire, as Pausanias has it. In a word, in all the mountains, and
in every other place which was remarkable for exhalaiions or
eruptions, as is well remarked by the ancient scholiast upon
Pindar, after the historian Artemon, who says, every nwun-
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN roOLATRY. 51
SECT. III. TYPHON.
tain that throws out Jire, buries under it the unhafifiy Ttphon,
who is there devoured by thejlam.es; circumstances which, par-
rying an allusion to the name of Tyfihon, and to the account
which the Egyptians gave of the manner of his death, and to
the allegories which they draw from it, inform us, that the poets
and historians, both Greek znd Latin, have, amidst their most
absurd fables, transmitted to us the traditions of that ancient
people.
=r=r=;== As Ty/ihon had persecuted Osiris, whose
His representa- j-eign had made the fine arts flourish, and was
tions explained; "
—his worship, &c. a model of justice, and mild administi'ation,
"' whereas that of Tyfihon had been nothing but
a series of crimes and cruelties; the Egyfitians took a great
deal of pains to bring an odium upon the memory of the latter,
whom they represented as a monster. But in vain have they
darkened their ancient tradition; truth finds its way through the
fables which they have intermixed with it. In fact, by the hun-
dred heads with which they represented him, we learn in what
manner he had earried on his pernicious designs, and how many
persons of power and interest he had actually drawn into his
party, while the number of hands they gave him, denote his
strength and that of his troops. The serpents they feigned
were wreathed around his extremities, represented his cunning
and address; while the scales and feathers they represented up-
on his body, equally denoted the rapidity of his conquests, and
his invincible force; to which the enormity of his stature, and
the length of his arms, which were said to I'each the extremities
of the world, were of similar import. By the clouds they feign-
ed to encompass his head, they would represent that the whole
business of his life had been to embroil the state; and by the
fire they represented as issuing from his mouth, that he carried
devastation wherever he went. For the same reason he was
represented at Cynofiolis, under the figure of a wolf; and though.
52 EGYPTIAN roOLATRY. CHAP. I.
ORUS. SECT. IV.
Strabo, who takes notice of the worship which that city paid
to that animal, does not assign the reason, it is probable how-
ever, that it was in order to appease Tyfihon, who is said by
Plutarch to have been transformed into a wolf: but he was
more frequently represented under the figure of a Crocodile, on
account of his resemblance to that animal, equally formidable
for his wiles and cruelties: or under the figure of a Hififiopota-
mus; which makes Plutarch say that the Egyjitiayis consecrat-
ed to Tyjihon the most stupid of animals, namely, the As&; and
two of the greatest fierceness, the Crocodile and the Hijifiofiota-
mus. — Indeed Tyfihon was become so odious to the Egyfitians^
that they even had an abhorrence to every thing that bore any
resemblance to him; for which reason they had an annual cus-
tom of throwing over a rook, all the red Asses, because they
resembled that tyrant, who had red hair. The sea was likewise
an abomination to them, because they believed it was Tyfihon.
SECTION FOURTH.
ORUS.
===== Ones, according to Herodotus, was the son
Who was Orus;
his death, res- of Osiris and Isis, and the last of the Gods who
rkms' deeds'^ ^^°" reigned in Egy/it. After he had put Tyfihon
• to death, he mounted the throne. Diocorus,
who so far follows Herodotus, subjoins that the Titans having
put him to death, his mother, who possessed the most rare
secrets of medicine, even that of giving immortality, searched
for, and found his body in the Nile, whither it had been thrown
by the Titans, restored life to it, and rendered him immortal.
After this she taught him medicine, and the art of divination.
With these talents, continues Diodorus, Orus rendered him-
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN mOLATRY. 53
SECT, IV. ORUS.
self famous, and multiplied his blessings upon the world. — We
have already given an account in the history of Typhon., in what
manner Orus, by the advice of Isis, revenged the death of his
father, by taking away the tyrant's life, whom he destroyed in
the Lower Egyfit.
===:==: The Greeks, as Diodorus has it, pretended
bol of the \mj^' ^^^^ their Apollo was the same as the Orus of
===== the Egyptians. Apollo was in reality like Orus
expert in medicine, and in the art of prediction; and this God
among thenx was the Sun, as Orus was in Egypt. According-
ly, we find him often called by the ancients, Orus Apollo. It
would be to no purpose to object, that it was Osiris, who in
Egypt represented the Sun, since the answer is easy, that this
luminary, the first and greatest of the Gods, had several names,
not only in the different countries where he was worshipped,
but frequently in the same. It would also be in vain to object,
that the symbols of Osiris were different from those of Orus;
for it is known that the Egyptian mythology confounds Gods
Avho are very different from one another, and that sometimes it
distinguishes the same by particular attributes. It is certain,
for instance, as the most learned antiquaries hold, that Harpo-
crates represented the Sun among the Egyptians, as well as
Osiris and Orus, though the figures under which these Gods
were represented, had no manner of I'esemblance to one ano-
ther. \
■ Let that be as it will, Orus occurs in the
prSenteTr*'^'^^" ^*^'"^'^ ^'^^^^' ^^"^^^ ^^® ^^^re of an infant
' swathed about, and covered from head to foot
in an odd kind of habit figueredwith lozenges. He holds, with
both hands, a staff terminating in a bird's head; and another
smaller one, which probably is designed for a whip, resembling-
that which is to be seen on some figures of Osiris. In a manu-
script of M. de Peiresc, preserved in the library of S. Victor,
54 EGYPTIAN IDOLATKY. CHAP. I.
HARPOCRATES. SECT. V.
the same Orus is seen in a group, between Isis and Osiris:
there he is represented as a young child, habited in a tunic.
Though the head of Osiris is wanting, that of Isis is there, dis-
cernible by her head-dress, upon which is the lotus-leaf in
form of a crescent. We may observe, before we finish this ar-
ticle, that in all the figures of Orus we have now remaining, he
is always represented as a child, doubtless, to point out to us
that he was but very young when Ty/i/ion put his father to
death, and that Isis his mother was obliged to defer the punish-
ment of the tyrant, till her son was in a capacity to be the in-
strument of her revenge.
SECTION FIFTH.
HARPOCRATES.
By surveying the figures of Harfiocraies^
JIarpocrates was vi'hereof we have a sufficient quantity remain-
the God of si-
lence, mgj It IS easy to judge that he was the God of
^=^===' silence^ since in all of them he is represented
in an attitude, holding a finger upon his lips; the Egyfitians^
whose mythology was exceedingly mysterious, intending therby
to denote, that the Gods were to be adored with respectful si-
lence; or, as Plutarch has it, that they who knew those Gods
were not to speak of them rashly. There was even a law, ac-
cording to Varro, which forbid under pain of death, to say that
Serafiis had been a mortal man: and, as in the temples of Isis
there was an idol, that is, an Har/iocrates putting the finger to
his mouth, the same Varro was of opinion, that he was there
to recommend silence as to that article.
CHAP. I. EGYPTL\N mOLATRY. 55
SECT. V. HARPOCRATES.
====== The ancients agree that Har/iocrates was the
His history, re- ' ,
pi-esentation, and son of Isis, and that his mother having lost
symbols, prove ^^^ when he was very young, she formed a
liim to be Orus. •* •' °'
. resolution to search for him over sea and land
until she should find him. They tell us that it was upon this
occasion she invented sails and ships, instead of the oars that
were used before; this is what we learn from Hyginus. Cas-
siODORUs says the same thing, and seems to have copied Hy-
ginus; with this difference, that in place of Harfiocratcs he
puts Harpocras: and this, to mention it by the by, is what gave
that Goddess the epithet of Pelagia^ which is to be seen iri an
ancient inscription quoted by Guuterus. — This circumstance
of searching for Harfiocratcs bears too great a resemblance to
what we have reported of Orus, from Diodorus Siculus, not
to make us believe that Orus and Harfiocratcs were the same
person; and this is the opinion of the most knowing mytholo-
gists. In Diodorus, it is true, Orus is slain by the Titans, and
Isis restored him to life; whereas, according to Hyginus, Har-
fiocratcs had only wandered; but considering what surprizing
diversity there is among authors, in relation to those ancient
pieces of history, there is nothing strange in Diodorus's say-
ing that Orus had been slain, and that his mother finding his
dead body, had restored him to life, though in reality he had
only wandered. And the illustrious M. Cuper, who has com-
posed a ti^eatise upon Harfiocratcs, full of leai'ned researches,
doubts not but this was the same adventure, differently related
by the ancients; and makes but one person of Orus and Harfio-
cratcs: and as the first was among the Egyfitians the symbol
of the Sun, he concludes, that the second represented the same
luminary too. Accordingly you see him upon some antiques,
under the figure of a child, rising out of the flower of lotus,
his head encompassed with rays, and a whip in his hand, to de-
note the rising Sun. And though this proof were not suffi-
56 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I.
HARPOORATES. SECT. V.
ciently convincing, yet this luminary and the Moon which are
drawn in the same antique, would leave no room to doubt of it;
the attitude of the finger upon the mouth, evidently proves
that it is a Harfiocrates. This God is represented in much the
same way in the flower of loius, upon the medal of Antoninus.
Though those two monuments, whereof the one is an Abraxas
of the Basilidians, the other is a medal of the emperor just
mentioned, are not of sufficient antiquity to prove, that they
were an expression of the sentiments of the Egyfitians^ yet
Plutarch asserts, that he was thus represented in Egypt; not
that they believed he had been born of the flower of lotus, as
Tristan thought, but to inform us that the Sun was nourished
by vapours. The finger which this God holds to his mouth,
in both those figures, was always an indication that the rtiyste-
ries of religion and philosophy were to be concealed from the
people. — The same author adds a Avorld of other reasons to
prove, that Harfiocrates was the Sun, which the.reader may see
in his work itself. I would only observe, before I have done,
that there are figures of this God truly Egyptian, where he ap-
pears to have his head covered with rays or with horns; some,
where he has wings; others, where he holds a whip in his hand;
others, in short, where he carries a coi'nucopia: symbols, which
all denote that he was taken for the Sun, and that he was the
same as Orus or Apollo. The owl too which accompanies him-
in some of those attributes, and which is behind the figure, sig-
nifies, according to M. Cuper, that the Sun turns his back
upon night, represented by that fowl. The poppy which some-
times accompanies him, was, according to Porphyry, the sym-
bol of fertility, vv^hich the Sun produces. The cornucopia has
the same signification: his quiver and arrows represent the rays
of the Sun; and the serpent, which winds his crooked folds
around a pillar at the foot of some of those figures, images the
obliquity of the ecliptic. All the monuments that we have re-
«
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. 57
SECT. VI. MACEDO AND ANUBIS.
maining of this God, maybe seen 'in the work of M. Cuper,
and in the second volume of Montfaucon's Antiquities Ex-
plained,
SECTION SIXTH.
MACEDO AJ\'I) AMUBIS.
• ... -.' ■ Osiris, in his expedition to the Lidies, had
Who was Ma- taken with him persons of the greatest distinc-
■::;^^s=s::;==i tion in Egyfit, and left others to be Isis''s privy-
council during her regency. Diodorus Siculus, who in-
structs us in this part of Osiris' s history, says, that Macedo,
Anubisi and Pan, accompanied him in his expedition. The.
same author adds, that he appointed Busiris governor of the
provinces that were upon the side of Phenicia, and Antxus
governor of those that lay towards Ethiopia and Libya. There
are authors who alledge that Macedo was the son of Osiris; but
Diodorus Sigulus says that he was one of his generals, and
that he wore for his warlike attire a wolf's skin, and Anubis
that of a dog; and this he gives for the reason why the Egyptians
had so great a veneration for those animals. This is all that we
know of Macedo; but mythology informs us in several particu-
lars with regard to Anubis, which are not to be omitted.
• This God, whose worship was propagated
Romans confound to Greece, Italy, and even through the whole
Anubis with Tns- j^Q^^an empire, was in those different countries
me^stus. "^
■ taken to be the- same as Mercury^ that is
Hermes or Trismegistus; and accordingly you see him with his
caducezcsm his hand, in one of the figures of him which Bois-
SARD has preserved to us. Plutarch is of the same mind,
Avhen he says, he was called Herm-Aniibis, that is to say? Mer-
vor.. II. H
38 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I
MACEDO AND ANUBIS. SECT. VI.
cury-Anubis. Servius, interpreting the verses where Virgil
terms this God Latrator-Anubis^ tells us, that that prince was
so named, because be is represented with the head of a dog;
and that he was taken for Mercury^ because of all animals the
dog has most sagacity. Apuleius calls ^n«6j«, "the inter-
« preter of the Gods of heaven, and of hell. His face, con-
^< tinues that author, is sometimes swarthy, sometimes of a gold
" complexion. He lifts on his large dog's head, carrying in
'' his left hand a caducous, and in the right brandishes a green
"^ branch of the palm-tree." — Thus it is that the Greek mytho-
logy has often confounded every thing. Anubis, the first Egyfi-
tian Mercury, never was the famous Trismegistus, who was
their second Mercury, so celebrated in the history of that coun-
try for his glorious discoveries, for the invention of characters,
and for the prodigious number of books which he composed
upon all sciences. We ought not to lay much stress upon the
figures of this God which carry the caduceus; they are incon-
testably Greek or Roman, as well as the medals of Gorlay^
where Anubis appears with the symbol of the Greek Mercury;
the other representations which are Egyptian, give him no
such thing. In truth, if Anubis is always imaged with the
dog's head, it is either because he wore the skin of that animal
in the expedition to the Indies, or to represent by the symbol
of that animal, that having been captain of Isis and Osiris'a
guards, as Diodorus has it, he had discharged that office with
remarkable fidelity. Moreover, a circumstance which places
the distinction between them beyond controversy, is, that Anu-
bis accompanied the expedition to India, while Osiris placed
TrismegislJis at the head of Isi.-i's council during his absence.
; Plutarch, who has handed down to us, an-
He was the bro- cient traditions about the family of Osiris, tells
ther or the son ot
Osiris. US, that Anubis was believed to be the son of
" ' ' ~- J^''efihte, who was delivered of him before her
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN ffiOLATRY. 5S
SECT. VII. CANOPUS.
time, by the fright which she got from her husband Tyfihon^
and that it was he, though yet very young, who first informed
/«!*, his aunt, of the news of Osiris's death. But whatever be
in that, Anubis was in the number of the great Gods of Egypt;
this is the idea of him which Isias had, who dedicated to him
the fine statue which we have said is in Boissaud. Isias, it
would seem, was not of Plutarch's opinion, since he took
Anubis for Osiris's brother. Accordingly we read in the in-
scription which is over that statue, the brother Gods; and you
see that of Osiris on the left of Anubis, who has the head of a
dog; and upon his right, that of ^he bull Jjiis with its horns,
both of them with the calathus of Sera/iis: these then are the
three brother-Gods, Serapis, or perhaps Osiris, jlfiis and Anu'
bis. The inscription which is below his figure, with the name
of the high-priest Isias, calls these Gods, the synthronian Gods
of Egyfit; that is, who shared the same throne, or the same ho-
nours.— We may take notice by the by, that some mythologists
take for Anubis^s, all the figures cynoce/ihali, that is, with dog's
heads; wherein they are mistaken; for the cynocephalus, of
which Herodotus and some naturalists make mention, was a
kind of savage animal, which was believed to have eyes upon
the breast.
lECTION SEVENTH.
CAJi'OPUS.
■ Canopua had been the pilot, or rather admi-
CaTio^Mswasthe ^.^j ^^ Osiris's fleet, in the time of his Indian
God of the ^va-
ters,ovo{thejVi!e: expedition; and upon his death, having been
==s=5s== ranked among the Gods, they gave out, as
Plutarch has it, that his soul was removed into the star whic:h
60 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I.
CANOPUS. SECT. VII.
bears his name. Mythologists are persuaded, that Canofius
was, in Egypt, the God of the •waters, at least of the ivaters of
the JVile; and the bare figures of this God are enough to prove
it. For he is always I'epresented in th^ Egyptian monuments
that now remain, under the form of those -vases wherein the
Egyfitians kept the water of that river till it refined. From
these vases, whose surface is full of hieroglyphical figures,
comes out the head of a man or woman, sometimes with two
hands, and frequently with no visible member but the head.
Such are the representations which we have of Canojms, as
may be seen in Boissard, and in the cabinet of M. de la
Chausse.
- ■ RuFiNus, in his Ecclesiastical History, re-
proven by an j^^gg ^j^^^. ^^e Chaldeans, who adored fire, car-
anecdote related
by lluFmus. ried their God into several countries, to try
^==^= his power over the Gods of other nations. He
baffled the images of brass, gold, silver, wood, or whatever
other materials they were of, by reducing them to dust; and
thus his worship was almost every where established: but the
priest of Canofius bethought himself of a stratagem, which
made the God whom he served, superior to that of the Chal-
deans. The pitchers, in which the Egyptians used to refine
the waters of the JV^/e, having been perforated on all sides with
small imperceptible holes, he took one of them, and stopped all
those small holes with wax, painted it of different colours, and
having filled it with water, he fitted to the mouth of it the head
of an idol. The Chaldeans having arrived in Egypt, kindled
Jire near the vase, whose heat having ixielted the wax, made
way for the water to run out, which extinguished the fire.
Thus Canopus vanquished the God of the Chaldeans. Among
the Abraxas, which Chifflet gives account of, we find a vase
bored with several holes, through which the water that is
poured into it runs out: this is a Canopus whose head and feet
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN mOLATRY. 61
&ECT. VIII. PAN.
rise out of the two extremities of the vase; which might con-
^rm the story we have now related. That the Egyfitiana paid
a religious worship to ivater in general, or at least to that of the
Nile, is what appears to be out of doubt. In their Philosophy,
water was the principle of all beings, as they taught Thales,
who made this the foundation of his system. We shall examine
this subject in the history of the Sea-Gods.
SECTION EIGHTH.
===^== The Egyptians, after having adored the Sun,
• ^^'^7^^y *"■ underthe names of Osiris, Orus, and Harhocra-
cient Deity, was j j y
the God of nature fgg. ^nd the Moon under that of Isis; and Wa-
snAfertilily.
^^^^^__^^_ ter, under that of Canofius; made all nature the
object of their adoration under the symbol of Pan, who is to be
considered as one of the most ancient Divinities of the Pagan
world. We find him in Egyfit at the time when the Gods, at-
tacked by the Giants, fled thither for refuge; and, according to
Plutarch, the Pans and Satyrs were the first who deplored the'
death of Osiris. Diodorus adds, that Pan accompanied Bac
chus in his conquest of the Indies: now the Bacchus who made
that conquest was an Egyptian, since it was Osiris himself.—^
It is not to be doubted, therefore, whatever the Greeks may say
of him, but that the Egyptian Pan is the most ancient of all, and
that it was by their colonies they received the knowledge of
him and his worship,
__________^ They fabled however, that Pan was the son of
The Greek fa- ilfcrcwrw by Pene/o/ie, for whom that God trans -
bles concerning
him. formed himself into a goat upon mount Tayge-
"'^"""''"'~"'~" tiis, where this nymph was keeping the flocks
M EGYPTIAN roOLATRY. CHAP. I.
PAN. SECT. VIU.
of hei* father Icarius. Thus, of a God who originally represent-
ed nature and fertility, they made a God of woods and Jieldsy
solely taken up about the pleasures of a country life, dancing
continually with the fauns and satyrs, and ininning after the
nyfnji/is, to whom he was a terror. — It was he, according to
them, who invented the flute with the seven pipes; and upon this
occasion they delivered the fable, which I am going to relate.
That God one day pursuing a nymph named Syrinx, the daugh-
ter of the v'lver Z.adon, with whom he was in love, the nymphs
of that river transformed her into reeds. Pan heaved many a
deep sigh near those reeds, and they, gently moving by the ze-
phyrs, repeated his complaints; which suggested to him the
thought of pulling some of them, whereof he made the flute
with the seven pipes, which was called after the name of that
nymph. But this is a mere fable invented by the Greeks; which
may import, that some one of those to whom they gave the name
of Fan, had employed the I'eeds of the river Ladon, to make that
sort of flute: I say, of those to whom they gave the name of Pan,
for iii reality there were several of tliem; Nonnus reckons up
no less than twelve. — The Greeks also attributed to the God
Pan, the original of that sort of sudden consternation which
seizes upon people, without knowing whence it proceeds. It
was by such an unaccountable terror, that the army of Brennus,
the leader of the. Gauls, was put to flightj but Plutarch and
PoLYENus refer the source of it to the God Pan of the Egyp-
tians. The first of these authors says, the Pans and Stayrs af-
frighted with the death of Osiris, whom Ty/ihon had inhumanly
murdered, made the banks of the Nile resound with their bowl-
ings and lamentations; and ever since, they have called that
vain fear which surprises people unawares, by the name of panic
terror, Polyknus ascribes the origin of those terrors to the
stratagem which Pan, Osiris's Lieutenant General, made use of
to extricate the army of that prince, when it was surprised in
GHAP. I. EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. 63
SECT. VIII. PAN.
the night by the barbarians in a valley; he ordered them to raise
shrieks and terrible bowlings, which put the eaemy into such
a consternation that they fled. Bochart pretends indeed that
there is no other reason for making Pan the author of those ter-
rors, than that the Hebrew word Pan or Phan^ denotes a man
under consternation.— It will not be out of place here to notice
that extraordinary voice, which, according to Plutarch, was
heard towards the Echinades islands, in the Ionian Sea, and
whJG^ pronounced these words, The Great Pan is dead. The
Astrologers of that time, consulted by Tiberius, upon the credit
of a pilot named Thamus, who avered that he had heard it, told
that prince that it meant Pan, the so7i of Penelofie. It is proba-
ble that Thamus had been suborned to terrify the emperor; un-
less we would rather choose to say with Eusebius, that this
voice was supernatural, and that God was pleased by it to inti-
mate to the world the death of the Messiah, which happened
under the reign of that emperor.
■ The Egyptians, says Herodotus, sacrifice
He was repre-
sented under the neither he-goats, nor she-goats, because tney
fiK-are of a Goat.- i^gpresented the God Pan; and thev paint him
on what account. * • '■
with the face and legs of a Goat; wherein the
Greeks have imitated them: not that it was believed in Egijfit,
that he bore any resemblance to Goats, but for reasons which it
would not be agreeable to repeat. Those of Mendes, continues
the same historian, hold the he and the she-goat, especially the
former, in singular veneration, as likewise the goat-herds who
keep them; among whom there is one, who is more honored
tlian the rest; and his death causes great mourning through all
the country. Pan and the he-goat, in the Egyptian language,
are called Mendes. — Diodorus Siculus says that Pan was so
much honored by the Egyptians, that his statues were to be
seen in all the temples; and that to his honor they had built in
Thebais the city of Chemmis, that is to say, the city of Pan.
04 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I.
PAN. SECT. VIH.
7
This author, who takes no notice of Mendes in Lower Egyfit,
where that God was in high veneration, adds, that he had ac-
companied Osiris in his expedition to the Indies^ together with
Anubis and Macedo, which Herodotus says nothing of.
Though Herodotus durst not tell why the Egyptians repre-
sented the God Pan under the figure of a Goat, yet ancient My-
thologists assure us, that what induced them to it, was, that Pan
.having found the Gods ill Egypt, whither they had fled from the
Giants; advised them, as a means to prevent their discovery, to
disguise themselves with the figures of different animals; and as
an example, he himself assumed that of a Goat. They also tell
us, that he even fought very resolutely in their behalf against
Typhon; and for his reward, the Gods whom he had so stoutl)^
defended, gave him a place in Heaven, where he forms the sign
of Capricorn.
===== Here it is proper to reinark, by the by, that
foundeKhhT/. several learned men confound Pan with Eau-
vamcs a.nd Fmmiig. nus or Sylvanus, and believe they were but one
— Sometimes re-
garded as a sym- and the same Divinity, worshipped under these
bol of the Sun, Trr ^ -r< <.u --r-
j^g ' different names, rather 1 homassin proves it
" by several ancient authorities; to which he
might have joined that of Probus in his commentaries upon
Virgil, of Fenestella and several others. The Lupercalia
were equally celebrated in honor of those three Divinities,
who were indeed different in their original, though in time they
came to be confounded. — It must be owned however, that the
fable of Pan came to be greatly allegorized, and that this God
was looked upon by the Egyptians, as the symbol of Nature.
And his name even in Greek signifies all; accordingly he was
imaged with horns on his head, to represent, say Mythologists,
the rays of the Sun, as the vivacity and ruddiness of his com-
plexion mark the brightness of the heavens: the star which he
wears upon his breast, is the sytnbol of the firmaments^ and his
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN ffiOLATRY. 65
SECT. IX. SERAPIS.
feet and legs overgrown with hir, denote the inferior part of
the world, the earth, the trees, and plants.
SECTION NINTH.
SERJPIS.
' The learned are iriuch divided with respect
Was Serapis a , p .. o ^- r i.-'
foreign God/ ^° Serafiis or Sara/iis, tor his name is written
' either way. So/ne take him for ^foreign God^
whose worship was unknown in Egyfit till the time of Ptolemy
the son of Lagus; others, gmong whom is M. CupSir, will have
it, that he had been kno^m and worshipped in Mgyfit from the
earliest periods of time; that the Egyptians looked, upon him a§
one of their greatest Gods, and that he was the same with Osi-
ris. A short display of the reasons of both, will enable the rea-
der to determine for himself.
======= 1st. Those of the former appear very plau-
the affirmative. sible. First, Herodotus, who is so full upon
II ■ the Egyptian Gods, makes no mention oi Se-
rapis: would he have forgot him, had he been, as some learned
men pretend, one of the great Divinities of that people? Second-
ly, The Isiack Table, upon which many figures of Egyptian Dei-
ties appear, presents us with nothing that resembles Serapis.
Thirdly, There are preserved in the cabinets of the curious, and
in books of the antiquaries, several figures oi Osiris and Serapis:
and it is easy to see that those of the former are as different
from those of the latter, as their names. In fine, what Tacitus
relates, as it would seem, ought entirely to decide the qviestion.
Serapis, says that historian, appeared in a dream to Ptolemy,
under the figure of a young tnan exquisitely b.eautiful, and or-
dered him to send two of his most faithful friends to SinopeyV
vor,. II, I
66 EGYPTIAN IDOlyATEY. CHAP. I,
" ' ■ - ■ " ' ' ■■ —
SEEAPIS. SECT. IX.
city of Pontus, where he was worshipped, and to bring his sta-
tue from thence. Ptolemy having communicated this vision,
deputed a select embassy to Sino/ie, and from thence was the
^^.atue of that God brought: whence it is easy to conclude, that
he vras unknown in Egyjit before this event.
-■ ^= 2nd. On the other hand, the illustrious M.
the nefrative^ ^^' Cuper does not yield to these arguments, but
Ml. I = advances others perhaps more solid, to maintain
that Serapis was one of the great Gods of Egyfit^ where he had
been worshipped long before .he tinne of the Ptolemys. Besides
that the proofs of his antagonists have not shaken his opinion,
that which they bring from Tacit-js, in \}c\t, first place, he con-
siders weak: for, before it can have any force, it must be proved,
that Serapis was the God ivhom they wotHkipped at Sinope.^ which
he says, can never be made to appear; as, though the God to
whom that city paid adoration, was Pluto, the name of Serapis
wa^ not given him till his statue was brought into Egypt. Se-
condly, when that God came into Egypt, continues he, Timo-
theus, master of the cevemonies, and Manethon, the Sebennite,
seeing his statue, and observing there the cerberus and a dragon,
judged him to be Dis or Pluto, and persuaded Ptolemy that it
was the same with Sei'apis; who was indeed the Egyptian Plu-
to. In addition to this, Plutauch gives a similar account; as
when speaking of that God, he says he had not the name of Se-
rapis when he came into Egypt; but upon his arrival at Alexan-
dria, he took that name, which the Egyptians gave to Pluto,
Thirdly, when Pausanias relates that the Alexandrians receiv-
ed from Ptolemy the worship of Serapis, he says at the same
time, that there was already at Alexandria a magnificent temple
of that God; and another not so grand, but of very great antiqui-
ty, in the city of Memphis. And Tacitus himself, when he
says that Ptolemy, after Serapis was brought to Egypt, built a
stately temple to him in a place named Racotis, asserts also,
CHAP^. EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. 67
piCT. IX. SERAPIS.
that there was another lesser one, consecrated to the same God,
and to Isis; which proves, not that Serafiis was not worshipped
in Egypt till the time of the embassy to Sinofie^ but only, that
the worship of that God, perhaps neglected for a long time, was
re-established there with solemnity. — As M. Cuper takes, no
notice of two objections, the one drawn from the silence of
Herodotus, and the other from that of the Isiack Table^ I shall
answer them for him. 1st. Though it is ti'ue that that histo-
rian set apart his second book for the history of the Egyptian
religion, yet we cannot be sure that he has omitted none of their
Gods. Besides, having spoken fully of Osiris, who was perhaps
the same with Serapis, he considered it unnecessary^ to say any
thing particularly of the latter. 2nd. The same thing may be
said as to the Isiack Table; though a great number of figures of
Egyptian Gods are there to be found, yet it cannot be affirmed
that they are all there, far less that they can all be distinguished
by their particular symbols. — The proof which is drawn from
the diversity of representations, is yet less conclusive. The
Egyptians varied exceedingly with I'espect to the figures of
their Gods, and the symbols which they joined to them. Their
figures frequently bore a vast number of attributes, which could
not agree to a single Divinity; these were what were called the
Pantheon figures, which represented several Deities, as one
may be convinced by viewing some of those of Isis, of Harpo-
crates, and others. — M. Cuper next refutes the opinion of Ma-
OROBius, who says that the Egyptians were compelled by the
Ptolemys to embrace the worship of Serapis brought from Sin-
ope; for he ougiit to have proved that this was the name of the
God worshipped in that city of Pontus, which was not the fact.
■ It is then very probable, whatever several
Who he was; learned antiquaries say to the contrarv, that
and how repre- ^ r-. n ,
sented. Serapis was an Egyptian God, known and wor-
shipped by that people long before the Ptok
6^ EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. 1.
THEIR DEIFIED ANIMALS. SECT. X
== = \
mys; and' that he was the same with Pluto; for though the tes-
timonies of Tacitus and Plutarch were less conclusive as to
this point, than they are, yet one of the finest statues of that
God, given by Tabretti to M. Cuher, at whose feet we see the
three-headed cerberus, leaves no room to doubt it. — We have in
the antiquaries several other figures, which are always known
to be those of Serafiis by the calathus, a kind of bonnet, which
he wore upon his head. Sometimes he is joined by Isis and
represented like a young man, when he is taken for Osiris or
the Sun, Frequently he is represented as a bearded old man,
very much resembling Jufiiier, whose name he also bore; at
least from the time that the Greeks were masters of Egtj/it,
SECTION tenth.
THEIR DEIFIED AJ^IMALS'.
That the £;§^j/>- Though the Idolatry of the Egyfitians com-
tiaiis worshipped menced with the worship of the Planets^ and
Animals, js attest- , , -.
ed by grave as ^"^ Manes of great men, yet they very early,
authors who"^el ^^^ ^^^^ extensively introduced Animal figures
proach them se- of every description as types or symbols of
. their Deities; and in process of time, they be-
stowed upon them divine honors and public worship to such ex-
tent, as to have their temples crowded with the images of nearly
^11 the Animals their country produced. The fact of this wor-
ship, which was of a public nature authorised by the laws, cannot
be called in question: and the Egyfitians have been so reproach-
ed with it, that the satire which they have suffered upon that
account from the Greeks and Romans^ is known to all the
world. Juvenal rallies them upon this occasion, and reproach-
es thein with not daring even to eat either leeks or onions: and
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. 69
SECT. X. THEIR DEIFIED ANIMALS.
LuoiAN, in his Dialogues, often ridicules this foolish supersti-
tion. Yet, were it only Poets and Satirists who rally them upon
this account, it might be thought that these had not so much
consulted truth, as their own satirical or poetic humour; but
the gravest and most judicious Historians have loaded them
with the same reproaches. Heuodotus, Diodorus Siculus,
and several others, speak of the different Animals which that
ancient people worshipped, ^lian gives some particular in-
stances of it, with no other view than to expose so foolish a su-
perstition. Plutarch, who has endeavoured to excuse the
Egyptians f allows however, that a worship which has mere An-
imals for its object, appears at first sight to be quite absurd and
ridiculous. Indeed, what can we think of a people whose tem-
ples were filled, as just remarked, with nearly "all the Animals
which their country produced? What other notion could one
have, but that those Animals were the objects of a truly religious
worship, which he saw nc^urished and lodged with such particular
care, as were the Ox at Memphis, the Crocodile at Arsinoe, the
Cat at Bubastis, the Goat at Mendes, Sec, &c. And when we add
to this, that the sacred Birds and Animals were embalmed after
their death, in order to be deposited in the catacombs which were
set apart for them; we shall be constrained to say with Cicero,
that the Egyptians had more respect and veneration for Animals,
than the Romans had for the temples and statues of their Gods. —
In fine, when we know that they punished, with death, those who
killed any of the sacred AiAmals, who can help believing that
thty carried this superstition to the -y-eatest excess? That they
did inhkt this punishment is a certain n«tter of fact; and though
we had not the authority of Diodorus Sicui^-ts to depend upon;
who tells the story of a Roman soldier, who, foi slaying a Cat,
was torn in pieces by the furious mob, in spite of all that Ptole-
my could do to rescue him, as he was inclined to have done,
knowing how much it was his interest to cultivate good terms
70 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I.
THEIR DEIFIED ANIMALS. SECT. X.
with the Senate: though we had not this authority, I say, yet
the testimony of Moses would be sufficient to prove it be-
yond a scruple. That sacred legislator, asking Pharoah's per-
mission to go and sacrifice in the wilderness, tells him, that if
he sacrificed in Egypt the Animals which were worshipped
there; he would be 'stoned by the populace. Thus Josephus
too, disputing against Apion, had good reason to say to him, that
if the world had embraced the Egyptian religion, it would soon
have become destitute of human inhabitants, and be wholly peo-
ple'd by Animals. — But in order to set this article of the Egyp-
tian theology in a better light, we will descend to a few par-
ticulars.
===== We have already seen in what manner the
animTCfhey^woT- ^SVPtians worshipped the Oxen Apis and
shipped the Ox, Mnevis, symbols of their Osiris and Isis; their
the Goaf, the JDog-,
the Crocodile,— God Pan under the figure of a Goat; and
—— ^ Anubis under that of the Dog, at least with
the head of that animal: indeed their veneration for the Dog
was carried to such length, that when one died, all the mem-
bers of the family where this accident hapened, shaved their
heads and the whole body. — It is likewise known, that at Arsi-
?ioe, otherwise called CrocodilopoHs, a town situated near the
lake Moeris, they had a great veneration for the Crocodiles, nou-
rished them with particular care, embalmed them after their
death, and interred them in the subterraneous cells of the La-
byrinth. The Priests had always a tar^^ Crocodile which they
named Suchus. They adorned txin with gold and jewelsj an^^
they who came to see hi^j made him an offering of breach and
wine.
— r At Bubastis in lower Egypt, the Cats were
-— • ie a ,— -^ \iQ\ii in such veneration, that it was forbidden,
under {j^in of death, to kill them. Herodotus remarks upon
this occasion, that when a fire happens in the city, the Cats
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN mOLATRY. 71
SECT. X. THEIR DEIFIED ANIMALS.
■= '
are actuated by ? divine commotion, and that those who are en-
trusted with tire keeping of them, neglect the fire to observe
the movements with which those animals are then inspired; and
he subjoins, that in spite of all their efforts to hold them, im-
pelled by a strange fury, they get away, and throw themselves
into the fire: then, continues that author, the Egyptians put on
mourning, and deplore the loss they have sustained. The same
iiistorian fiu'ther remarks, that when a Cat dies a natural death,
the people of the house shave their eye-brows in token of grief.
When the days of mourning are over, they embalm the Cats
and attend them to their place of interment at Bubastis. — Diana
Bubastis and Mlurua were Deities whom they worshipped un-
der the form of a Cat^ whereof several representations are to be
found in the Antiquaries; though they are more frequently to
be found in the human figure with a Cat's head.
■ The Lion^ the Ichneumon, the Hawk, the
Idmeimon!' the ^"^^'Z' the Monkey, and other Animals, were
Hawk,- the Wolj, equally the objects of religious worship with
the Monkeif. I ! J & i
the Egyptians; which makes Herodotus say,
that they looked upon all the Animals as sacred, that tlteii'
country brought forth^ the number whereof however was not
very considerable, though in the neighbourhood of lAbya, which
abounded with them to excess. Hence so many monstrous
fi^^ui'es of Egyptian Deities which we meet with in the Anti-
quaries, with the head of a Cat, a Dog, a W(Af^ a lAon, a Mon-
key, 8cc, 8cc.
■ One very infallible proof of the respect and
Several Citiea . , . , , _ . i c ,
and Nomes were veneration which the Egyptians had tor those
called after these Animals, is that the towns which honored
sacred ammals.
• • them, were called by their names; such as Bil-
bastis, Mendes, Crocodilopolis, Leoyitopolis, and several others,
which were so denominated, from their singular adoration for
the Cats, the Goats, the Crocodiles, the Lions, &c. Several
79. tGYPTIAN IDOLATRY CHAP. L
THEIR DEIFIED ANIMALS. SECT. X.
Komes also, in the same country, were disinguished by the
names of the Animals that were worshipped ttj^rein: the Oxy-
rinchian was so called upon account of the fish Oxyrinchus;
the Lycofiolitan^ from the Wolf; the Cynocephalus, iiom the
Dog, See.
_ I would not dwell longer upon this part of
but those Am- ^^^ subject, which is so well known; but I car.-
mals worshipped ••
in the one, were not forbear remarking with Herodotus,' that
offered in sacri- , . .
fice by the other, while one city ranked certain Animals among
' their Gods, another held them in abomination.
Thus, the inhabitants of Mendes, who worshipped the Goat, sa-
crificed to him the Sheep, which were the objects of veneration
to those of Sais, who in their turn offered the Goats in sacrifice
to their Ju/iiter Hanimon. Just so, the Crocodiles, so highly
honored at Crocodilofiolis^ were looked upon with horror and
detestation throughout the rest of Egypt^ where they believed
the soul of Typhon had passed into that amphibious Animal.
Hence those religious wars mentioned by Plutarch, of one
province against another, which originated at first, from a poli-
tical contrivance of one of their kings; who, as we learn from
DioDORus SicuLus, Seeing his people somewhat intractable and
inclined to revolt, distributed them into different prefectures
or J^omes, in each of which he established the worship of some
Animal, and forbid the use of it for food; in order that each of
those provinces, bigotted to its own worship, might contemn
that of its neighbours, and, with the mutual hatred thereby en-
gendered, prove an insuperable barrier to their acting in con-
cert against lus government.
_ The Egyfitians could not possibly take more
Their great care ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^j-^j ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ Animals,
or tlie sacred Am- '
mals, both while They had public parks, where they were main-
living and after
death. tained at vast expense under the supermten-
—————— dance of keepers appointed for that purpose;
taAF. I. EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. fS
SECT. X. THEIR DEIFIED ANIMALS.
who fed them with fine paste diluted in milk and honey, with
duck's flesh well dressed, or with other nourishment scrupu-
lously chosen: and their bodies were purified with bathing and
perfumes. The apartments to which they retired were both
commodious and adorned. Upon the death of one of those
Animals, after the mourning which the law prescribed, they
were embalmed and then interred in the catacombs. It even
frequently happened, that the funerals of those Animals were
so expensive, . as to exceed the ability of those whose office it
was to solemnize them. Diodorus Siculus observes, that
they who had this charge, expended a hundred talents in one
year. Further, those guardians of tKe sacred Animals were
held in great respect, and well received .every where; and, so
far from being ashamed of their employment, they wore charac-
teristic marks to distinguish the several sorts of Animals that
were committed to their trust: sometinaes they even fell down
upon their knees to them, when passing by them. — They who
were engaged in a foreign war, even brought back with them
upon their return, the Cats and other Animals which had died,
in order to bestow upon them an honorable burial. — Allowing
all this extravagance its full force, we will not be struck with
admiration at being informed, that when Egypt was extremely
distressed with famine, so as to reduce the people even to the
hard necessity of eating human flesh, nobody durst touch that
of the sacred Animals.
■ But is it possible that a people so enligh-
But what was
the true nature tened and refined as ' the Egyfitians were,
and end of this j ^^ ^^^^ learned men of Greece visited
worship?
— in order to be instructed in philosophy and
matters of religion, whose laws were so wise and so well ob-
served; that such a people, I say, carried superstition so far as
to worship Animals, Insects, and the very Fla?its of their gar-
dens? Ought we not rather to disbelieve the authors who h.ave
VOL. II. K.
74 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I.
THKIU DEIFIED ANIMALS. SECT. X.
insulted them upon this account? Are strangers fit persons to
inform us of the religion of a country where the priests were so
solicitous to keep' its mysteries concealed? If the Egyp.tian&
have met with critics, who turned their religion to ridicule,
have they not also found patrons to defend them? Let us ex-
amine this matter thoroughly: let us see what was the true na-
ture of that worship which the Egyfitians paid to Animals, and
weigh the reasons why they were induced to pay them divine
honors. And, though it is not my design to defend them, yet
we shall see that their superstition was not so extravagant in
this respect as we are apt to believe; that it was a natural con-
sequence of their principles; and that their blindness in this
matter ought rather to be an object of our compassion, than a
subject of our raillery.
, . DioDORus SicuLus, who is not satisfied
Their motives
to that wor- with giving the history of so singular a wor-
ship, according , . , , , . ,
to some, were ship, has endeavoured to assign several reasons
gjatitude and f^^j, j^ ^^^ of them is, the benefit that accrues
jear; —
' from those Animals. This, Herodotus had
touched upon before him; who, speaking of the veneration
Avhich the Egyptia7is had for the Ibis^ says, the cause of it was,
that in the spring season, there came from Arabia swarms of
flying-serpents^ which overspread Egypt, and would have done
infinite execution there, had it not been for those birds, whiclv.
banished or entirely destroyed them. Cicero is of the same
apinion Avith Herodotus. " The Egyptians., says he, whom
Ave are apt to ridicule so much, conferred honors however
upon Animals, only in proportion to the advantage Avhich they
derived from them; thus their reason for Avqrshipping the Ibis,
was because it. destroyed the serpents. I might take notice,
continues he, of the advantages they reaped from the Ichneu-
mon, from the Crocodile, and the Cat; but I have no mind to be
tedious." — We readily grant, that the progress which the wor-
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. 75
SECT. X. THEIR DEIFIED ANIMALS.
ship of Animals made in Egypt was owing to this considera-
tion; but I do not believe that it was the foundation of it. We
know indeed that gratitude and fear introduced Idolatry into
the world; and we are far from disowning the great advantages
that are derived from several animals; we are also aware of
what Vossius, in his excellent treatise on Idolatry, says upon
this subject; but would this single consideration have been suf-
ficient to raise monsters and insects to Divinities? Let us not
rely too much upon Greek and Latin authors, who are not al-
ways well instructed in the Egyptian mysteries, which the
priests concealed from them as from profane persons who came
into their country out of mere curiosity. They are not perhaps
to be more believed upon this subject, than as to the calumnies
with which they loaded the Jeias^ accusing them of having wor-
shipped swincy from whose flesh they abstained; and of paying
devotion to an jiss, whose figure, according to them, was pre-
served in massy gold, in the temple of Jerusalem.
_ Let us endeavour to unfold the Egyptian
but in reality, as . .-',,,,. <- i -
appropriate sym- mysteries, and see it the odd figures of their
tS °^ ^^^"^ ^' Divinities, which provoked the raillery and con-
==;^== tempt of Cambyses, will not help us to find
out the true reasons of the worship which they paid to them.
We take the worship which the Egyptian Priests ascribed to
Animals, to have been purely relative^ and that it was ultimately
directed to the Divinities, oj" whom they were the symbols. But
to shew that we are not advancing this proposition without
foundation, we shall prove it by unquestionable testimonies.
We know, that the Ox Apis Was, among the Egyptians, the
symbol of Osiris, and that Osiris himself was the Sun. . Hence
the adoration of ^/2Z5 and Mnevis; the first of them consecrated
to the Sun, and the other to the Moon, who were the great Di-
vinities of that country. Herodotus, enquiring into the reason
Avhy the Egyptians represented Jupiter, with a ram^s head, al
7Q EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I.
THEIR DEIFIED ANIMALS. SECT. X.
ledges, it was owing to that God having appeared under that
for«i to Hercules, who was desirous to see him. The same
author, speaking of the worship which the inhabitahts of
Mendes ■paid to Fan, says, they represented him under the
figure of a Gqat, for mysterious reasons, though they well
knew that he I'esembled the other Gods. Diodorus Siculus
discovers this mystery, which Herodotus probably had no
mind to unfold: that under the symbol of that animal, the people
adored the firolijic principle of universal nature, which was re-
presented by the God Pan. We see then it was Osiris and
Isis, Jupiter and Pan, and by no means the Ox and the Cow,
the Ram and the Goat, that were the true objects of worship
to the inhabitants of Memphis, Heliopolis, Thebes, and Mendes.
Plutarch judiciously remarks, that vigilance, a quality com^
moi) in the Dog, led the Egyptians to consecrate that animal to
the most cunning and vigilant of all the Gods; or, in other
ivords, the only reason why they imaged Mercury with a dog's
head, was, as Servius has it, because this is one of the most
vigilant of Animals. — We see from these examples the true
reason of the doctrine of the consecration of Animals, and that
this sort of religious worship terminated not in them, but in the
Gods they represented. Herodotus decides the question,
when he says, " The Egyptians offered their vows to those
Animals, when they addressed their prayers to the Gods to
whom they were consecrated." And if we would know what
were those vows which were addressed to Animals, this judi-
cious author informs us, that they consisted in an offering of
money, which was given them for their maintenance. DioDOr
Kus SicuLus says the same thing, and explains this mystery
more clearly: " the Egyptians, says he, offered to the Gods
vows for the cure of their sick chiidrenj and when they were
out of danger, they conducted them to the temple; and having
cut off their hair, they put it into a balance with a sum of
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN mOLATRY. 77
SECT. X. THEIR DEIFIED ANIMALS.
money of the same weight, which they gave to those who had
the cai'e of feeding the sacred Animals." Lucian, after having
rallied the Egyptians for serving up several of their Gods upon
Caesar's table, subjoins, however, that the priests being interro-
gated by that prince about the worship which they paid to those
Animalsj gave him to understand, that in them they worshipped
the Divinity of whom they were the symbols.
^^=====- But why make choice of Animals in order to
"Why Animals ^ , -, t-.
preferred as sym- represent the Gods? For what reasons were
bols— Plutarch's ^^^^ Animals preferred to others? Plutarch
opinion. *^
s^=555555=5ss answers in general, " It is upon account of the
affinity which those Animals have with the Gods whom they
represent. For, (to make use of his comparison) the image of
God shines forth in some of them, as that of the Sun is reflect-
ed in the drops of water which are struck with his beams: thus,
the Crocodile having no tongue, is considered as the symbol of
the Divinity, who, by his silent influence, imprints the laws of
equity and wisdom on our minds. And indeed, adds this learned
author, if numbers, which have neither body nor soul, were
thought by the Pythagoreans to be proper types of the Deity,
is it not more reasonable that beings which are endued with
both, should be considei^ed as images wherein he has been plea-
sed to make himself visible to our eyes? And if nature itself .
be but a mirror, in which the Divinity, that glorious Sun, paints
himself with his various attributes, does not this still hold truer
of the Animate creatures; and what statue, even of the most ex-
quisite workmanship, was ever capable of representing the su-
preme Being to better advantage than the smallest organized
body."
' • To this excellent reason of Plutarch, we
Three other rea- . .
sons— 1st. ch-awn shall subjom three others, which are draAvn,
fi-om tlieir .'htroL j^^^ ^^.^^^^ ^j^^ Astrology of the Egyiitians; 2nd
from iheir History; and 3i'd from their Theol-
78 EGYPTIAN mOLATRY. CHAP. I.
*> • ■ . i
THEIR DEIFIED ANIMALS. SECT. X.
ogy — 1st. LuciAN, after having said that the Egyptians hzA
calculated the course of every Star; and divided the year into
jnonths and seasons, regulating the one by the course of the
■Smw, and the other by that of the Moon; subjoins, that having
divided the heavens into twelve parts; they represented each
constellation by the figure of some Animal.'" Here then, in the
first place, we have the twelve signs of the zodiac, represented
by so many Animals, substituted in the place of the StarSf which
latter are, as I have said, the first Divinities of the idolatrous
world. The same author after this, adds, <' that the Egyptians
revered the Ox Apis, in memory of the celestial Bull. &c." It
is true, the Vulgar did not always carry their views hea-ven-ward,
there to adore those primary Gods, but frequently terminated
their worship in the symbols themselves; but the question is not
about the religion of the Vulgar, but about that of the Priests
and Egyptian Sages: and I do not believe there ever was a re-
ligion in the world that was exempt from reproach, if regard
was had only to popular usages, which are frequently nothing
but the grossest superstition, though sometimes a little more
enlightened.
^^^^^^____ 2nd. The ancient history of Egypt informs
2d. Drawn us, that the Gods having been once pursued by
,,„ Typhon, had concealed themselves under the
===== figures of different Animals, as we read in
OviD, in Manilius, and in Diodorus Siculus. Nothing was
more proper to found the worship we are speaking of, than this
history: for, whether the Eyptians believed that in reality the
grandees and princes of Osiris's parts, whom his brother Ty-
phpn persecuted, had been in after-times deified — or rather, that
this mysterious transmigration of the Gods into the bodies of
Animals, was an ingenious allegory, holding forth that the ce-
lestial Gods came down sometimes to dwell in those symbols
which represented them; still they were obliged to have a high
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. 79
SECT. X. THEIR DEIFIED ANIMALS.
veneration for the Animals, and a dread of violating the sacred
shrine of the Divinity itself. — The only reasonable objection
that lies against this conjecture, is, that the fable is originally
Greek, and that we have it only from Greek and Latin authors:
but not to insist here, that most of the fables of both these peo-
ple came from £gyfitj it is certain that of the combat of the
Giants in particular, is nothing but a distorted tradition of the
history of Tyfihon and Osiris.
____^_____^ 3rd. The doctrine of the metemfisychosis, op
3rd. Di-awn of the eternal circulation of souls into different
from their Theo-
gony. bodies, originated in Egypt. Pythagohas
taught it in Greece and Italy, towards the
Oltimfiiad lxi; but whether he inculcated it in the natui'al
sense, or, as M. Dacier ingeniously thinks, in a moral and al-
legorical sense, it is certain that he was not the inventor of it.
He himself had learned it from the Egyfitian priests, among
whom, if we credit Diogeves Laertius, he resided a long
time, in order to be instructed in their mysteries, into which he
was initiated. Herodotus leaves no room to doubt of what we
have advanced. " The Egyptians, says he, ai'e the first who
maintain that the soul of man is immortals that after death it
passes successively into the bodies of Animals, terrestrial, aqua-
tic, and aerial, whence it returns to animate the body of a jnan,
and finishes this circuit in three thousand years. There are
Greeks, says he, who have delivered the same doctrine, some
sooner, some later, as if it had been theirs originally." Hence
undoubtedly, their care to embalm the bodies after death, and to
appropriate to them lasting monuments for burial. It is there-
fore certain, that this doctrine was originally from Egypt; and
it was certainly attended with these two great effects. First, it
served as a foundation for the doctrine of the immortality of the
soul; and by teaching that souls passed into other bodies, noble
or ignominious, according to the merit of their actions, it ren-
80 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I.
THE ISIACK TABLE. SECT. XI.
dered vice odious, and virtue amiable. Secondly, and which is to
our point, it naturally led to the worship and veneration which
was afterwards paid to Animals, since it taught to consider them
as the receptacles not only o^ great men, but of the Gods them-
selves. Accordingly, Diodokus Siculus asserts that they
were persuaded in Egyp.t that the soul of Osiris had. passed into
that of an Ox; and we learn from JElian, that the aversion which
the inhabitants of Helio/iolis had to the Crocodile, was founded
upon their belief that Tyfihon had put on the figure of that
animal.
==== After having laid open the reasons which in-
When this wor- duced the Egyfitians to pay to Animals a reli-
ship began is un-
certain, gious worship, this would be the proper place
, to examine at what time this sort of idolatry
began; but all I can say, is, that it was in vogue through all
Egypt in the time of Moses, as is proved, Ist, fi'om the per-
mission which he asked to go to sacrifice in the wilderness, lest
his offering up victims J'or which the Egyptians had a veneration,
should have caused them, to stone him, 2nd. From the idolatry of
the- golden Calf, which was an imitation of that of the Ox Apis.
What happened before the sojouring of the Israelites in Egypt^
is so little known, that it would be needless to inquire further
upon this subject.
section eleventh.
THE ISM CK TABLE.
. Though this monument belongs more pro-
Thib Table re- ^^^,1^. ^^ Antiquaries than to the Mythologists,
Han Gods, their yet it will be of use to give a short account of
synibols, g^c. — its . ' ■, r •
materials; its It here, because thereni are represented Isis,
plan;— Its disco- ^^^ Qsiris, with a vast number of other Gods of
very and loss. '
;^==== Egypt^ with their symbols, which will conduce
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. 8 1
SECT. XI. THE ISIACK TABLE.
to a further illustration of what has been said of those Deities,
— It was a plate of copper or brass ground, overlaid with black
enamel artificially intermixed with small plates of silver.-^It
was divided into three horizontal Compartiments or Partitions,
of which the middle was a third part broader than either of the
others, which were equal. In each of these Compartimenis
were contained different Scenes or Actions; of which in the first
there are ybwr; in the second three; and in the third ybwr; mak-
ing, as it were, eleven scenes of one Act; whose principal per-
sonages are repetitions of /sis and Osiris or their son Orus. The
forijEier being represented, in one instance, in a manner para-
mount to thie rest, seated upon a throne in the center of the mid-
dle compartiment, gave occasion to apply the term Isiack to this
Table. These compartiments are distinguished, not by single
lines, but by two very broad ^sa'jc or bands, which are fiill of
hieroglyfihicks,} that mysteries writing, consecrated by the an-
cient Egyp.tian priests to the mysteries of their religion. The
four sides of the plate are enclosed by a very wide Border, which
is filled up with a multitude of figures of the Egyptian Gods
ai;)d a great number of hieroglyjihicks. — When, in the year 1525,
the constable of Bourbon took the city of Rome, a locksmith
bought this monument from a soldier, and then sold it to cardinal
Bembo, after whose death it came into the hands of the duke of
MantuOf and was kep^ in that family till it was lost at the taking
of that city by the Iniperialists in the year 1630: nor has it been
ever heard of since. By good luck, however, it had been en-
graved in its full proportion, and with all possible exactness, by
JLneas Vico of JPar/Kc.
■■ It is a question not easy to detemnine, whe-
The figures ot
this Table is ex- ther this Table only represents the mysteries
AnUmiarfer^ ^un- ^^ ^^^^^ whose figure is so often repeated in the
der several lieads, ground, whereof, one occupies in a most con-
viz. —
, ■ ■ ■ '. ' spicuous manner the centre; or if it contain';
VOL. TI. L
a2 £GYPTL\M IDOLATRY. CrtAP. I.
THE ISIACK TABLE. SECT. Xt.
the principal poijQts of the whole Egyptian theology, which is
most probable, since a great number of their Gods and hiero-
glyjihicks are likewise represented in the fascits or bands be-
tween the compartinients, and in the spacious border which inclo-
ses the whole Table. Indeed every thing about itbeai's a mysteri-
ous and enigmatical appearance.- Several learned authors have
attempted to explain this mysterious Table; and among those
who have best succeeded, is Pignorius, who, being entreated
by his friends to undertake that arduous task, yielded even,
against his own inclination, to their importunate solicitations:
accordingly, there is always to be seen an air of diffidence in all
the conjectures which he offers in his work upon this subject,
entitled iV/ensa Isiaca. Father Kircher, after Pignorius, ex-
plained the whole in his CEdi/ius, with that air of assurance
wherewith he was inspired by the superiority of his genius, and
that profound knowledge he possessed of the religion of the
Egyptians. Lastly, Chifflet added new conjectui'es to those
of the learned Jesuit. — — A short sketch of what has been deli-
vered in relation to this monument, by those three learned Anti-
quaries, will serve as a supplement to what has here been said
of the Gods oi Egypt ^ and shew their symbols more particularly.
We shall commence with a desci'iption of the Scenes of the
middle Compartiment, which is evidently the principal one; next
describe those of the lower; then those of the upper; and con-
clude with a brief account of the objects in the Border: passing,
in each instance, the impenetrable Idtroglyjihicks^ which are so
abvuidant in every part of the monument.
■ 1st. The middle Compartiment, which con-
1st. The Sg-ures tains fifteen personaeres, is divided perpendicu-
of the middle _ ^ ^ ' ,
(Jompaitiment, — larly into three Scenes by two fascia^ which
with their sym- ,•,,..,, r^.
Ijylg_ are not so broad as those which divide the 1 a-
• ble horizontally, but like them, are filled with
hierogly picks. First^ the middle Scene consists of seven
€HAP. I. EGYPTIAN roOLATRY. 83
SKCT. XI. THE ISIACK TABLK.
figures, whereof the principal one is that, of Zsf«, in the centei',
seated upon a throne, whose cornice is supported by two columns.
The Goddess holds in her right hand, a scepter terminating at
the upper ejctremity of the flower of lotus, which was her ordi-
nary symbol; and the left hand she elevates, as one jesticulates
when speaking. She wears a singular ornament upon her head
which is a bird couchant, whose wings displayed, reach as far as
her shoulders. This bird, which appears all speckled, is, accord-
ing to PiGNORius, the J^umidian lien, called by Martial the
JSTumidia guttata. Above the bird, upon its back as it were, are
two stalks, probably of the lotus, which, instead of flowers, have
as yet only buds; and the whole is surmounted by two great
horns, closed by a line, with a discus in the space inclosed be-
tween them. The ornaments of the head, which the Goddess
wears in the statues we have of her, are always very high, and
of an extraordinary^ nature: for she appears sometimes even with
an Ox's head, with large horns; but more frequently with the
flower of lotus forming a crescent, with a globe in the middle.
As she represented the Moon, it is easy to see that both the
horns of the Ox, and the stalks of the lotus, placed as we have
just said, were intended to image the crescent of that planet, as
the globe was intended to represent the earth around which it
revolves. At the base of the throne is a Cawo/zws, with acres
cent upon his head embracing a globe; also a Griffin couchant,
who has upon his head a crescent encompassing a radiant Sun, of
which that fictitious animal was a symbol. The other six figures
of this Scene are distributed into two parties of three on either
side of the throne, with their faces turned towords the Goddess.
The tAvo who are standing nearest the throne may be reckoned
as her life-guards, from the great spears they hold in their hands.
The one who stands on the left of the throne is a man; but the
one on the right is a woman. Their head dresses are, as in all
succeeding instances, exceedingly lofty and mysterious: nor
84 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. I.
THE ISIACK TABLE. SECT. XI.
need more be said of them. Between these two body-gngirds
and the throne, one on either side of it, are two serpents, one
entwined and the other springing, upon a sort of columns. The
two figures next beyond the foregoing, who are sitting, are two
Osi7'ises, each with the ordinary plume or head dress, but the
one on the left has the head of an Ibis 4 Each of them have in
one hand a ring, attached to which appears a well formed cross;*
and in the other, a staff, of which one terminates in the head of
a sparrow-hawk, a bird sacred to IsiSj while the other, held by
the Ibis headed O&iris, terminates in a human head. Under the
seat of this latter Osiris, are two crocodiles; and corresponding
to these, under the seat of the Osiris on the right, is a lion with
several hyeroglyphicks. Above the staffs held by these two
Osirises, are two birds, with wings expanded; the one on the
left, which is a sparrow-hawk, holds some hyeroglyphick inits*
talons; and that on the right, which is the JVumidian hen, holds
in like manner, the ring and cross which so frequently occur,
together with a small staff, resembling a shepherd's crook. The
two figures which stand at the extremes of this Scene, are pret-
ty singular: they are women, supposed by Pignorius to be
Tsises, who entirely resemble each other, both in their apparel
and in the symbols which they bear. Their head attire is com-
posed of a great plume, with large horns inclosing a discus
whei'eon are represented the marks of that operation by which
Osiris was made an eunuch. They have a profusion of hair, and
prodigious wings upon their haunches, which extend conside-
rably forward, reaching nearly to the base whereon they stand.
Each of them have one hand raised in the attitude of jesture;
while they hold in the other, a sort of sabre, brandished towards
• That the Cross is to be found among the symbols of the Egyptian Dei-
ties is evident, whatever Justus Lirsius may say to the contrary, not only
from the figures we have remaining, but from obelisks which time has pre-
.?erved to us.
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN roOLATRY. 85
1 • . .=
SECT. XI. THE ISIACK TABLE.
two vases, which are upon two little pillars, and seem to be offer-
ing a sacrifice to Isis: and this makes it probable that they are
two priestesses, instead of the Goddess herself, as Pignorius
supposed. Above her who is on the right of the throne, is a
sparrow-hawk, isolated and without action. Above her who is
on the left, is another bird having the visage of a woman, and
horns upon its head. This bird is taken by Pignorius for a
Siren; and it Sufficiently resembles the figures given of the Si-
rens and Harpies by Antiquaries, for them to have been borrowed
from this, which is more SLncient.—r— Secondly and Thirdly^ at
the two extremities of this Compartiment, are two other Scenes,
separated likewise ipto two, which bear a very exact similitude
to one another. In the upper division of either is the Ox ^fiisf
with two priests to each, who have their eyes attentively fixed
upon him. Pignorius will have it, that they are observing if
he has the proper tnarks that were required in the representa-
tive of Osiris J but as the priest Who is before the Ox, holds in the
one hand a vase, and in the other food which he presents to him,
it is evident that they are observing with all possible concern if
he takes what is offered him to eat; for, as has been said, they
drew a good omen from his eating, and a bad one from his re-
jecting the food offered him: therefore I am suprised, that Pig-
norius, and after him very able Antiquaries could mistake as to
this article. Before each of thes&jbulls^ which are of different
colours, and before others that occur in the border of the Table,
is a stand not unlike a trough; but what it is in reality, and for
what purpose designed, is not easy to resolve. We must not
omit to remark, that the bull On the left is considerably marked
with black, while the other is mostly white; which makes some
regard the former as jifiis, and the latter as Mnevis, but with
what propriety we cannot determine. The lower part of each
of these Scenes represent two Priestesses who are offering to
Jsis a sacrifice.
86 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. ]
THK ISIACK TABLE. SECT. XI.
- 2nd. The lower Compartiment contains
2rtd. Thefiff'ures _ . ^ •-,•'■, , ,-
of the lower Com- lourtcen personages, and is divided perpendi-
partiment witJi cularly by imaginary lines into four Scenes,
tlieir symbols. j j s> j
The ^rsty beginning on the left, consists of
three figures, whereof the middle one is an Orus, swathed, yet
so as to have both his hands disengaged, holding an augural
staff, and another instrument which may be a whip badly repre-
sented, together with a long staff exactly reserhbling that of
Osirus, terminating in a hawk's head, below which it is traversed
by a short bar forming a cross. This God, as well as his father,
represented the Sun as we have said in its proper place; accord-
ingly he has the symbols of that luminary, who in his car ani-
mates his horses with a whip. On each side of Orus are two
figures, which some have taken for two Isises; but it is more
probable they are two priestesses in the habit of that Goddess
offering a sacrifice: accordingly one of them presents with one
hand a goblet to the young God, and the other presents him
a small tablet supported by both hands, on which are five vases.
The former, who stands behind Orws, holds in the other
hand the staiF of Isis terminated by the flower of lotus; an^
the latter, standing in front of the God, has her head perched
uppn by a sparrow-hawk. The second Scene represents
Isis sitting between two figures of Osiris, one of them pre-
senting to Isis a bird, while the other, and in like manner Isis,
hold their ordinary symbols, that is their respective scepters,
with the ring and cross appendant. The third Scene exhi-
bits an Osiris with a hawk's head sitting between two Isises,
whereof one appears to be offering Osiris a vase and a plume of
some bird, while the other, and in like manner Osiris, holds their
ordinary symbols, as in the former scene, except the ring and
cross in respect to Osiris, who elevates an empty hand to the
Goddess that offers him the vase and plume. This latter
Isis has an ornament upon her head quite peculiar; it is an
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. 87
SECT. XI. THE ISIACK TABLE.
ill formed head of a cat, adorned with flowers and buds of
the lotus displayed on each side of itras so many rays. The
other I^is has for her head dress the Kmnidian hen couchant,
as in a former case, with two large horns resting upon its back,
and embracing a radiant Sun. The, fourth Scene contains five
figures, whereof the principal is an Isis with a lion's head.
Hard hy her is aii AnubisyWith. the head of a dog and figure of
a man; and beyond him is an Osiris, who holds a large lance in.
one hand, and in the other the marks of his emasculation, ^c-
hin^ Osirus is another Orus, swathed; and above him is a cat ov
the God ^lur us, springing a sistrwn or timbrel upon end by
the pressure of his foot. Lastly, you see another Osiris, at the
other exti'ernity of the Scene, behind the lion-headed Isis, hold-
ing a staff terminating in the form of a crosier; and having upon
his head a serpent surmounted with a Sun, which no doubt de-
not,es the seemingly oblique course of that luminary. ■
' ' ■ 3rd. The upper Compartiment contains
3rd. Tlie figures , ,.,..., ,.
of the upper Com- twelve personages, and is divided perpendi-
partiment, with ^ularly by imat>;inary lines, into four Scenes,
their symbols. j j o j ■>
==;===:= The first, beginning, on the left, consists of
three figures, whereof the first is that of Osiris holding his
usual symbols, that is the ring with the cross attached, and the
hawk headed scepter. After this you see a Priest sacrificing a
roe-buck upon an altar, to Isis, who stands opposite to him be-
yond the altar; whilst he regai'ds her with a steadfast look,
which she returns. Ibis is there represented holding in one
hand a ring with the cross appendant like that of Osiris, and in
the other her scepter terminating in the flower of lotus. The
ornament of her head is somewhat different from what she
wears in other figures. The second Scene consists of three
figures, of which the first is act Osiris, holding a lance in one
hand, while with the other he presents a bird to an Isis; who,
in her tura, presents him with a vase in the form of a goblet.
88 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CBAP I.
THE ISIACK TABLE. SECT. XI.
Behind the Goddess is the figure of a man who holds in one
hand a vase like that which Isis has in hers, and in the other
hand a crooked knife not unlike a lopping-knife. Between Isis
and Osiris, in the upper part of the Scene; is a he-goat, wor-
shipped under the 'name of Mendes, which he communicated
to the city which conferred on him divine honors; and in the
lower part, is a kind of ape called Circofiithecus, to whom di-
vine honors were also paid. The third Scene consists like-
wise of three figures, of which an Isis is the first. Upon her
head is a serpent with a bird's head; in one hand she holds a
branch, and in the other a staff crooked at the upper end in the
form of a crosier. Osiris, with the symbols he wears in the
other figures, occurs next, and is looking steadfastly upon ano-
ther Isis, who holds a flower in her hand, while the Griffin, con-
seci-ated to the Sun, is between them: — —The fourth Scene,
which terminates the Compartiment, has likewise three figures,
of whom one is also an Osiris, another an Isis, and the third,
who is between the former, and regarding Osiris, is a Priest,
holding a staff in one hand, and some kind of offering in the
other, which we cannot distinguish. Osiris and Isis in this
Scene have their ordinary symbols.
,. The Border which incloses the Isiack Table
lie tiguies, an ^^ also very mysterious. In the four cor ners
monsters contain- ^ ^
ed in the Border of this Border, are four roses which separate
of this T;ible, viz.
—1st, those con- the four sides of the Border. T^e side above
ame in le up- j 'p^^i^jg rcckonina: from the left, commences
}ier margin; — ' z> »
■ with the God Mlurus in the figure of a cat;
then succeeds a bird with the human visage; a lion; a priest upon
his knees, before the marks of Osiris' s emasculation; a serpent
with the head and wings of a sparrow-hawk; a frog upon a table
or altar; a winged sphinx; a man half kneeling, with a crescent
upon his head, and holding a plume of some bird, which so fre-
quently occurs. Here a boat occupies the middle of this mar-
CHAP. I. EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. 89
SECT. XI. THE ISIACK TABLE.
gin, in one extremity of which, we see a man impelling it with
an oar; the bull Apisi before a kind of stand above mentioned, is
in the center; and another human figure is seen in the other
extremity of the boat, with a crescent upon his head, and a
plume in his hand.*; After these, are a man kneeling before a
flower of lotus; a sparrtow-hawk; the head of a goat upon an
altar; a man kneeling, who holds in one hand a goblet, and in
the other a kind of obelisk; a ram, which, beneath its proper
horns, has also those of a goat; the Cerofiithecus or ape, sitting,
with a crescent upon his head, and holding a goblet; a Priest
before an altar charged with several things in a pile, among
which are discernible two goblets, and the whole surmounted
by a well formed cross: after this, is a Canofius; then a Sphinx
with a bird's head, upon which she has a crescent and a discus,
after the manner of the Egyfitain Deities: so ends the upper
band.
^ -. ' ■ ■ The margin next in succession, upon the
Slid l^liG fififiirGS
contained in the ^ig^^^» commences with the figure of a Sphinx
right hand mur- ^yi^h the head of a bird, after the manner of
gm;—
■ the last; then succeeds an altar which has an
erect point in the center, in the form of an obelisk, and on ei-
ther side of this, a goblet containing a "branch or plant; a priest
kneeling before this altar, holds a branch in one hand, and ele-
vates the other; next is a lion couchant, with a crescent upon his
head, and a goblet before him; a frog upon an altar; a bird with
human visage and a vase upon its head, expands a pair of large
wings, while others are folded upon its body; a priest kneeling
before a lotus, has upon his head the horns of a goat, in one
hand a goblet, and elevates the other towards the lotus: next
we see a sphinx, with the head and wings of a sparrow-hawk;
an Ibis; a winged serpent with a wotnan's head; an altar upon
which is a tall vase surmounted with a cross, and from a spout
on each side of it runs a liquor into two goblets; another bird
VOL. II. M
90 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. i.
THE ISIACK TABLE. SECT. XI.
which PiGNORius takes to be the JVumidian hen, finishes this
band.
■■ ■■ The third side of the Border, which is at
3rd. The figures ^^iq bottom of the Plate, commences with the
contained in tiie '
lower margin; — figure of a man kneeling ,|fWho resembles an
— "~~''^~~~~ Osiris, having a staff iike a shepherd's crook
in the right hand, while he extends the other towards a lotus
springing in a vase; then we see a dragon or serpent with thg
head of a woman, and expanded wings: now occurs a kind of
monster, with the human head, extended upon a bed supported
by four legs like those of a lion, with a head of the same animal;
under this bed are three Canofius's, one with the head of a dog,
another with that of a sparrow-hawk, the third with that of a
man and horns of a goat: next we recognise a frog upon an
altar; a man sitting upon his heiels, who has the horns of a goat,
and supports upon one hand the figure of an obelisk; an Afiisj
having upon his back the JVumidian hen couehant, with its
wings hanging over his sides like the skirts of a saddleja large
vase placed upon an altar, terminate above in a cross, and has
on each side, a goblet containing a plant; a man sitting upon his
heels, holds in his left hand a goblet, and in his right a vase^
from which runs a liquor into another goblet; a bird with the
head of a man; then a winged sphinx. Now succeeds a boat
Qorresponding to that in the upper margin, in which is a man.
sitting upon his heels, while he impels it with an oar; and a
vam with two heads, upon which are the horns of a goat. Af-
ter which, we see a sphinx; a head of a goat upon an altar; a
man, with the horns of a goat, sitting upon his heels, has upon
one hand the miniature of an obelisk; a goose or swan, bearing^
a crescent upon its head; an Anubis, sitting upon his heels, has
the right hand raised, as if to strike a lion which is next be-
fore him, humbling his head towards a goblet; an altar, upon
which is a luxuriant lotus^ a man sitting upon his heels, ex-
€HAP. I. EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY. 91
■ - —
SECT. XI. THE ISIACK TABLE.
tends his hands towards a betle, which has the head of a man,
with a crescent upon it. The next figure which closes this
margin, is that of a dog, supposed by Pignorius to be the same
which lais employed in searching for her husband Osiris.
— ■ . The fourth margin, or that which is on the
4th. The figures left hand, commences with the figure of a
contained m the
left hand margin, man, who has the horns of a goat, and holds a
" flower of lotus: then succeeds a serpent, which,
as often as it has occurred in the Isiack Table^ has its thorax or
chest laid open. The figures which follow, are, a bird with
the human head, and horns of a goat, two large wings expand-
ed and two folded on its body; an Osiris with the head of a spar-
row-hawk supporting a crescent, who bi-andishes a sort of
sWord; an, ./ifiis like that in the lower margin; a man sitting
upon his heels, who holds a goblet before a lotus; a bird some-
what resembling a turkey; an Anubis grasping the stalk of a
plant; a crab with the head and arms of a man; a winged sphinx;
an Osiris who has pierced a Hippopotamus, which concludes
the margin. This animal, which was taken for Tyfihon or the
e-vil firincifile in some parts of Egypt^ was nevertheless, honored
as a Deity in the Novie or district of Parfiremis. We hope
the reader will derive some compensation, for pei'using so dry a
description as we have given of the Isiack Tablcy from the il-
lustration which that singular piece of antiquity affords to the
Rgyfitian theology in general.
CHA'PTER II.
E>THIOPIAN IDOLATRY.
SECTION FIRST.
HEBCULES, PAJSr, ISIS, AJ^'I) ASSABIXUS.
IT would seem, that the subject of the EtfU-
Gods immortal -r^ . . . , i, i r ^' •
and mortal, or ofiian Deities is hardly worthy of a distinct ar-
natural and ani- ^-^j^^ Indeed, all that can be said of them
mated.
I may be expressed in a few words, which is de-
rived chiefly from Strabo. " The Ethiopians, says that learn-
ed {geographer, acknowledge an immortal God, who is the prin-
ciple of all things, and a mortal God, who has no name: but com-
monly they look upon their benefactors, and those who are dis-
tinguished by their birth, as Gods. Among those who inhabit
the torrid zone, there are some who pass for atheists, because
they actually hate the Sun; whom they curse at his rising, be-
cause he scorches them with his heat to such a degree that they
are forced to shelter themselves in moist and marshy places.
The Inhabitants of Meroe adore Hercules, Pan, and Isis, with
another foreign God. Some among them throw their dead into
the river, while others keep them in their houses in large glass
vessels; others in short, put them into coffins of baked earth,
arid inter them about their temples." We see from this pas-
sage, that the Ethiofiians, after the example of other nations,
had Gods natural and Gods animated: that they took the latter
CHAP. 11. ETHIOPIAN IDOLATRY. 93
SECT, I. HERC>ULES, PAN, ISIS, AND ASSABINUS.
from among their great men, whom they deifiedj and that they
had bX)rrow£d the former probably, from the Egyfitians their
neighbours, since like them, they worshipped the ilibore under
the name of /sis, and universal Nature under the name of Pan.
As for the 5mw, they adored him so highly, as to repute them to
be atheists who did not acknowledge him for a God, as has
been said by Strabo. However, they did not stile him Osiris^
as the Egyfitians.,h\xtAssabinus: and because he was their great
Divinity, the Greeks and Romans gave him the name of Ethio-
pian Jupiter; and with so much, the more reason, remarks the
learned Vossius, because in all the East, and among the na-
tions of Africa^ Jupiter not only represented the Heavens^ but
also the Sun in particular.
• The Ethiopians consecrated to the 5wn, the
Their consecra- . j t i i_ i • i
tlon of the cinna- cinnamon-tree^ an odoriterous shrub which grew
mon-tree to the '^^ their country. The singular manner in which
Sun.
■ they gathered it, is told, though with some va-
riatiohyby Theophrastus, Pliny, and Solinus; it amounts to
this: the Priests, and none but they were allowed to gather that
harvest, which was always ushered in with sacrifices; and they
were not to begin this work till after the Sun's rising, and it was
to be finished before his setting. The crop being gathered, they
divided it into three parts, with a spear, which was never used
but upon that occasion. They carried away two portions of it,
and left on the spot where they had made the division, that por-
tion which fell to the Suti; and forth with ,^ they say, if the divi-
sion had been made with equity, the Sun's portion took fire of
itself, and was consumed. Theophrastus considers this last
circumstance to be a fable; but Pliny and Solinus subjoin no
reflection to their recital. For my part, it seems probable, that
the Priests secretly conveyed some combustibles under the heap
that was allotted to the Sun, which might be so contrived as to
take fire about the moment of their retirins;.- — —This is all that
94 HTHIOPIAlSr IDOLATRY. CHAP. 11.
HERCULES, PAN, ISIS, AND ASSABINUS. SECT. I.
we know from the Ancients, of the religion of the Ethiofiians.
And as they were unacquainted with the interior of Africa, we
can say nothing of the Idolatry of those nations. The case was
quite otherwise, however, as to the maritime parts of that conti-
nent, that is, such as skirt the Mediterranean sea west of Egyfit:
these were very well known to the Ancients, who make frequent
mention of the religion of the inhabitants, which shall be noticed
after that of the northern Barbarians,
CHAPTER m.
ARABIAN IDOLATRY,
SECTION FIRST.
SlOJVrSIUS, AJVD URAKIAy ^c
_^ - THE Arabians, whose mode of life was al-
iS«6ism was pro- ways rambling and unsettled, frequently chan-
bably their first , , . , ,. . » i •
step in Idolatry, g^" their state and religion. As they were
"^~~~^^~^~~" descended from Ishmael, the son of Abraham^
it is reasonable to believe that at first they had no other creed
but that of their founder; but Idolatry, which diffused itself at
that time over nearly all the earth, doubtless penetrated very
soon into Arabia. We are ignorant, however, as to the time
when the Arabians embraced the worship of false Gods: only,
this maybe said, that as Sabism was the predominant religion of
those early times, so it is probable that this was the religon
they followed. It is even not to be doubted but that the Sabe-
ans, an Arabian nation, had received their name from that sort
of worship.
' Be that as it will, here is what Herodotus
They at first ao-
knowledged two says of the religion of that ancient people,
^heSuI^^toot Which probably applies to the early stage of it.
" No people in the world have a stricter regard
to their plighted faith, than the Arabians, "they enter into en-
96 ARABIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. Ill
DIONYSIUS, AND URANIA, &C. SECT. I.
gagements with this ceremony: some one of them sits himself
between the two parties who are to make a treaty with each
other, holding a sharp stone, with which he makes some inci-
sions into the palm of their hands; then taking a piece of their
garments, he dips it into the blood which issues from those
wounds, and anoints with it seven stones which he had placed
between them, invoking in the time of this operation, Dionysius
or Bacchus, and Urania. The Arabians, continues this author,
believe there are no other Gods but those two. They shaved
heir temples, and cut their hair," because they believed Bacchus
treated himself in that manner. Dionysius they called Urotal,
and Urania they called Alilat." Upon this latter circum-
stance it is proper to make two remarks. First, that this au-
thor, who, in this passage, says their Goddess Urania was also
called Alilat, had called her, in his second book, Mylitta. Se-
condly, that though he gives in one place the name of Ap.hrodite
to this Venus, and in another, that of Urania; yet it is evident
that he does not distinguish the one from the other.. We may
add, that Bacchus was evidently the Sun; and Urania or the Ce-
lestial, otherwise Alilat was the Moon; and it was in reality those
two luminaries they odored. Stephen of Byzatium, likewise
relates a fact, which, as it shews us the vanity of Alexander, so
it proves at the same time, what Herodotus says about the
Arabians having two Deities. That hero being informed that
this people worshipped only tivo Gods, proposed that they
would make him the third, since he was comparable to Bacchus,
whose conquests and expeditions he had equaled.
Though the only objects of Idolatry at first,
Afterwards they , „ , ,^ • i- i
had several, as were the Sun and Moon, yet, as it did not long
*'^^at men^^ ^"'^ Continue in that state of primitive simplicity,
■ .1 1 1 ■ I III! we need liot be sdrprised that other authors of
less antiquity have given the Arabians a greater number of Gods.
Thus Beger names Jive celestial Gods who he says held the
CHAP. III. ARABIAN DEITIES. 97
SECT. I. DIONYSIUS AND URANIA, ScC.
first rank among the Gods of that people; viz. Fuodd, among
the Kelibites; Scuvac among the Hadeilites; JSfesv among the
Duikelaites; Jagut and Jaug. It is also known that about the
Kaaba^ the temple of Mecca, there were three hundred and
sixty statues. But the question is whether they represented the
Gods, or only the great men of the nation? This much at least
is certain, that several of these statues were not only I'espected,
but adored; for the testimony of Arabian authors, as M. FouR-
MONT has it, suffers us not to doubt it. According to those aU'
thors, adds this ingenious academic, the Idolatry of the Arabia7is
is even older than the deluge. These five Gods whom we have
just named, were, according to Budauvi, virtuous men who had
lived before the flood, and whose worship after that event had
been established among the Arabians. 1 shall not dwell any
longer upon the Gods of that people. A list of them may be
seen in Pocock and M. Fourmont; and I am the more willing
to suppress that catalogue, as it is not very instructive. I shall
only observe that such of those Gods as had no relation to the
Planets and Stars, were derived from some illustrious men,
whom they thought entitled to a religious worship; and among
these doubtless were Abraham and Ishmael, from whom the
Arabians descended. But be that as it may, this appears clear,
that the Arabians had at first only two Divinities, as Dionysius
and Alilat; who were natural Gods, being no others than the
Sun and Moon, as Gerard Vossius fully proves: but in after
times they joined to these two, several animated Gods, such as
their kings, or great men; and they at length adopted the Gods
of their neighbours.
====== To conclude; none of the authors we have
Their sacred cited, mention eithei' the form of Arabian
offerings, as in-
cense. Sic. sacrifices, or the victims which they offered
— ^— — up. Strabo only informs us, that they made
a daily offering of incense to the Sun or Dionysius, upon an al-
voL, It. N
98 ARABIAN IDOLATRY. GHAP. Itt
DIONTSIUS AND URANIA, 8cC. SECT. I.
tar which was in a covered place; and Theophrastus long be-
fore him, had said, that the Sabeans carefully collected myrrh
and incense, to offer it in the temples of that God; which prac-
tice was common to them and the Ethiofiiansy who, as we have
seen, also worshipped the ^wra, though under a different name.
CHAPTER I\^
SYRIAN IDOLATRY.* ,,,..
SECTION FIRST.
(Chaldean Deities.)
THE STARS, FIRE, AJVD GREAT MEJV.
====== HOWEVER we may be unable to deter-
Gods JVatural.
, mine the precise time when, and the particular
country where, Idolatry commenced; this much is certain, that
Chaldea was infected therewith from the earliest ages. We
have shown that Paganism commenced with the worship of the
Stars f which is called Sabism; and as it is universally allowed that
the Chaldeans were among the first who observed their motions,
it is not improbable-that they were as early as the Egyptians in
paying them divine honors. However that may be, they cer-
tainly carried their devotion for these luminaries further than a
simple worship. They even attributed to them a fatal influence
over the good or evil destinies of mankind; and upon this super-
stition they constructed a system of Judicial Astrology, called
Fatum mathematicum,\ or Fatum Chaldaicuntj from the coun-
• Stria, according to the vague acceptation of the term, extends be-
tween the Euphrates, mount Tanrus, the Mediterranean, and Arabia.
t Mathexatics, in the sense of those times, included Astrolo£-y.
100 SYRIAN IDOLATRY. CHAR. IV.
BELUS. SECT. II.
try that gave it origin; hence their credulity towards Astrologers
and Soothsayers.) who amused them with vain predictions, as
they are reproched by the Prophets. It was in this country
also, that Sabism was first extended to the principle of Fire^ the
worship of which afterwards became so prevalent in the East.
The city of Uz was infected with this worship in the time of
Abraham^ who was obliged on that account to relinquish his na-
tive city.
====== Besides the natural Gods, such as the Pla-
Gods Animated.
=^:s=^^^=^= 'f-^t^ and Fire^ &c, the Chaldeans had also an-
imated Gods; that is, their first kings and great men recieved
deification. An account of these will be seen immediately in
the following article, as being the same with those of Babylon^
which was for some time the metropolis of that country; but
whose religion, in consequence of the subsequent renown of that
city, deserves a distinct article here. We are likewise to
reckon in the number of the most ancient Deities of Chaldea
the Terafihims, who will be noticed under an article set apart
for the consideration of those Syrian Deities which are spoken
of only in Scripture.
SECTION SECOND.
(^Babylonian Deities.)
ist. BELUS.
__^ Babylon is reputed to have been the most
The founder of idolatrous city in the ancient world: this is the
Babylon received
divine honors. character the Scripture gives of it. The pro-
—"■^""^■"""^ phet Jeremiah paints it with a single stroke,
when he calls it a Land of Idols. And it is highly probable that
it had adopted most of the Gods of its neighbours, not even ex-
CHAP. IV= SYRIAN mOLATRY. 101
SECT. II. BELUS.
cepting the monsters of Egyfit. Besides the superstitious
principles of Sabism with which the Babylonians were also in-
fected jointly with their neighbours, they conferred deification
upon their early benefactors; the first of whom was Belus, the
founder of their city. To this famous prince Diodorus attri-
butes the first invention of arms, and the art of marshalling
troops in battle; whom the Scripture calls JVimrod, that mighty
hunter before the Lord. Thus, having practised his skill upon
wild beasts, he turned it against men, whom he subdued, and
declared himself their king. Justin ascribes to JVynusj and
the chronicle of Alexandria to Thalus one of his descendants,
what DiODORus says of Belus. And we learn from Hyginus,
that the name of Belus was given to this ancient king, because
he was the first who waged war with animals. Wherefore, as
one would suppose, several princes having borne the name of
Belus^ My tholo gists are at a loss to determine which of them
was the first who received divine honors. Should we follow the
opinion of Berosus, preserved to us by Syncellus upon the
authority of Polyhistor, we should find princes and gods of
that name even before the deluge.
===== But not to insist upon such a futile opinion
He was the great
Divinity of all .V^- as this, which I take to be without foundation;
ria, and symbol of .^ . ^ • ^u ^ d ; ^u ^ t»- • •
the Sun. ' ^^ ^^ certain, that Belus was the great Divmi-
===== ty of the Chaldeans and Assyrians.) worshipped
at Babylon as the symbol of the Sun; and that the like honors
were paid him throughout that extensive tract of country im-
properly called Syria. The Assyrians worshipped him under
the name of Baal-Gad; the Syrians-firo/ier, under the name of
Baal-Pehor; and the Moabites, under that of Baal- P/iegor, that
is to say, the Baal worshipped upon mount Phegor, as Theo-
doret remarks. The worship of this God was propagated
even into Africa, probably with the colony of Dido; and the Car-
thaginians called him Bal or Brl^ as we learn from Servius;
102 SYRIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. IV.
MERODACH AND NABO. SECT. III.
which undoubtedly gave rise to their custom of adding by way
of honor, the title of Bal to the names of their great men, as in
those of Anni-Bal, Asdru-Bal, and others. The Temple of
Selus, the most ancient in the world, with many others, is
spoken of in the first Volume.
SECTION tHlRD.
2ncl. MERODACH AJ^TD J\^AB0.
Jeremiah reckons Merodach among the
Merodach,^n^n. Q^^jg ^f Babylon. Says he, « declare ye among
cient kmg of CAa^. y j 7 j zt
ilea, deified. the nations, and publish, and set up a standard,
* publish and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken,
Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces, her Idols are
confounded, her images are broken in pieces." This is a pre-
diction that foretells the greatest calamities, and an entire deso-
lation, that were to come upon Babylon. Is it to be understood
of the sacking of that city, and is Merodach the king under
whom it was taken? That he was, is not at all probable, since
historians give another name to that prince, who was conquered
by Cyrus when he made himself master of Babylon. And the
manner in which the Prophet expresses himself, leaves us no
room to doubt, but that in the passage just quoted, he means a
Divinity worshipped at Babylon, as Belus was. — Selden, who
treats of the Gods of Syria with so much erudition, owns that
he has found nothing in antiquity to clear up the history of
Merodach; for it seems he laid no stress upon what the Rabbins
say of him. But the most satisfactory opinion is that of Theo-
DORET, who says that Merodach had been an ancient king of
Chaldea, and that he was deified for his merit, as well as Belus.
And this is the reason why his name was commonly joined to
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. 103
SECT. IV. DERCETO OR ATERGATIS.
that of the princes who reigned after him; for some interpreters
alledge that this name was common to the Babylonish princes,
as Bal was with the great men of Carthage. Accordingly we
see some of their names compounded of Merodach; such as Me-
rodach-Beladan, whom the prophet Isaiah speaks of; and Evil-
Merodach, mentioned in the second book of Kings, &c.
■ ■ JVabo or J^ebo was likewise one of the great
JVabo, an ancient Divinities of Babylon, upon the authority of
Prophet of Chal- y ■> i 3
dea, deified. the first verse of the forty-sixth Chapter of
-— --^— ^^— — -= Isaiah, which says, " Bel is broken in pieces,
JVabo is reduced to ashes " &c: for it is evident, whatever inter-
preters may say to the contrary, that the Prophet in this place
is speaking of two great Divinities whose worship was at some
day to be entirely abolished, and their Idols overthrown. Ac-
cording to the opinion of Grotius, he had been some Prophet
of the country, conformably to the etymology of his name;
which, as we learn from St. Jerom, signifies, one who firesides
over firo/ihecy. And could the Chaldeans, a people entirely
devoted to Jstrology, fail to deify one who excelled in that art?
Most of the Babylonish princes, as a mark of honor, bore the
name of that God joined to their own, as Nabo-Nassar, Nabo-
Polassar, Nabu-Chodonosor.
SECTION FOURTH,
:ird. DERCETO OR ATERGATIS.
Though persons of very great learning are.
ceio'^^ who ""'is to determined by apparently solid reasons, to
be distinguished think that Decreto or Jtergatis is the same
from Astavte, —
■■ with Astarte, of whom we shall presently speak;
We are however induced from the authority of Luoian who ap
104 SYRIAN roOLATRY. cHAP. VI.
DERCETO OR ATERGATIS. SECT. IV.
pears to be thoroughly instructed in the religion of the Syrians
to believe that they are to be distinguished. " I have seen,
says he, in Phenicia the figure of Derceto, which represented
a woman from the waist upwards, and the lower parts terminate
in the Jish's tail; but the statue in the temple of Hierafiolis
(the statue of Astarte) bears the resemblance of an entire
woman." Nothing is more distinct than this passage, and it is
plain the author was persuaded of the distinction we are to
make between those two Goddesses. — Diodokus Siculus
thus relates the history of this Goddess Derceto. " There is in
Syria a city called Ascalon, nigh to which is a large and deep
lake, abounding with fishes, and a temple dedicated to a famous
Goddess, whom the Syrians call Derceto; she has the head and
face of a woman, but all the rest of the body is of a ^s/i. As
for the reason of this form, the more ingenious of the nation
say that Venus having been offended by Derceto, infused into
her a violent passion for a young priest who was very hand-
some. Derceto having had a daughter by him, became so
ashamed of her frailty, that she put the young man out of the
way, and having carried the child into a desert full of rocks,
threw herself into the lake, where her body was transformed
into 2. fish: hence the Syrians to this very day abstain from that
food, and revere the^sAe.s as Gods.'' From these two authori-
ties we see thet Astarte, of whom no such account is given,
was quite different from Derceto; whose body was that of a J^e-
reid, part woman and part fish, while that of Astarte bore the
figure of an entire woman.
■ But we must examine more norrowly into
supposed by the t^g mythology of the Syrians, with respect to
Babylonians, ^c,
to be transformed Derceto, and inquire what were the reasons of
into a Fish, which , . , . , .,• r i v .
they adore as her their havmg such veneration tor the fishes. —
symbol. ^jj ^.j^g Ancients are unanimously agreed, that
""""""""""" they abstained from eating them; they are not,
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. 105
SECT. V. SEMIHAMIS.
however, all of one mind, as to the motives of this abstinence: Xe-
NOPHON, DioDORUS, Clemens oi JlexancMa, and some others,
for example, believe it was because they adored them as Gods;
whereas Antipater, and Mnaseus, quoted by Atheneus,
relate that a Queen of Syria named Jtergatis, loved fish to such
a degree that she forbade her subjects to eat of them. Hence,
says. Atheneus, the custom of consecrating in the temple of
that Goddess, fishes of gold and silver, and of sacrificing, or
presenting real ones to her every day. But is it not more pi'o-
bable that this custom took its rise from a persuasion that for-
merly the Gods, to escape the persecution of the Giants, had
assumed the figure of various animals, as has been said in the
history of the Gods of Egypt? Now from this fable they
learned, that Venus^ the same as Atergatis or Derceto^ had
transformed herself into a Jish: Jiisce Venus latuit, as Ovid has
it. The same poet asserts that this was the opinion of the peo-
ple of Babylon, and Palesti7ie. The inhabitants of Palestine,
says he, believe that the 5fl6i//ornan jDerce^o is transformed into
a Jish<y and inhabits the lakes; which might have given rise to
their veneration for the whole of the finny tribe.
section fifth.
Ath. SEMIBJMIS.
■ We have just been told in the preceding ar-
Sernimnds htr ^. j^ j Derccto exposed her daughter: this
' daughter was no other than the famous Setni-
rainis. Some shepherds having found her, carried her to Simma,
wife of the master-shepherd of the king of the country, who
gave her the name of Semiramis, signifying, in the Syrian lan-
VOL. 11. O
i06 SYRL\]S1 IDOLATRY. CHAP. IV.
SEMIRAMIS. SECT. V.
guage, a pigeon. Hence, probably, came the fable of her hav-
ing been nursed by pigeons, and transformed mto that bird,
which since that time, was in high veneration among the As-
syrians.
■ I shall not enlarge upon the history of that
Her death; and famous heroine, who, after the death of her
the fable of her
transfiguration,— husband Ninus, the founder of the first ^sst/-
whence a venera- . , , , .
t'on for Pie-eons. ''^'^^ monarchy, made so many gloi'ious con-
' quests, and raised those celebrated gardens,
which have passed for one of the seven wonders of the worldj
as also the walls of Babylon^ whereof so many historians have
given a description. I am to speak of her only in so far as her
history has a relation to mythology. Her son Ninias having
a mind to put her to death, she made no resistance, calling to
mind the oracle whereby she had been foretold, that while that
prince laid snares for her, she should disappear, and afterwards
be adored as a Goddess. Accordingly, whether it was that
Ninias, to favour that error, had concealed the body of- his mo-
ther; or that some pigeons had been seen to fly out of the pa-
lace while they "were assassinating her, it was given out that
she had flown away under that figure, and from that time the
pigeons, were consecrated among the Assyrians, who bore them
in their ensigns. To this veneration for those birds, painted on
the standards of the Assyrians, the scripture alludes, in that pas-
sage which siLy%,fugite a facie gladii Columb(£, fly from the face
of the sword of the pigeon. The inhabitants of Ascalon had
a profound reverence for the pigeons: they neither durst kill or
eat them, for fear of feeding upon their Gods themselves.
Philo assures us, he had seen, in that city, a prodigeous num-
ber of /i/^cows, which were maintained, and held in peculiar
veneration. Lucian speaking of a statue of Semiramis, which
was in the court of the temple of the Syrian Juno or Astarte at
Hierafiolis, says she was there represented in the attitude of a
€HAP. IV. SYM AN IDOLATRY. 107
SECT. VI. AGLIBOLUS AND MALACHBELUS.
persons stretching forth the hand, and pointing to the temple;
whereof, says he, the reason was, that having appointed a day
when she alone was to be worshipped in all her donainions, she
was plunged into deep calamities; which, having brought her to
wise reflections, she commanded her subjects to worship Juno
instead of herself: and that therefore she stretched out her hand
to intimate, that religious worship is to be paid only to the
Goddess who was in the temple.
SECTION SIXTH.
(Gods of Tadmor or Palmyra.)
AGLIBOLXTS ':AjyD MALACHBELUS,
*
^===: The celebrated city of Tadmor or Palmyra,^
Th^ Palmy nans ^^j^^^h doubtless" followed the Jewish religion
worshipped the "^
iS'/mand Moon, as at the time of its foundation, being the work
AglibobisAnAMa. ^ -r m j
lachbelus; oi oolomon according to JosephUs, sunered
====^= itself to be drawn away at length, by the su-
perstitions of Paganism; but we cannot point out the time when
it became idolatrous: we can only say, that it worshipped at first
the principal Gods of the Syrians in general, especially JBelus
or the Sun, for whom it had a magnificent temple. Though
the Palmyrians adored the Sun and Moon after the manner of
the other Syrians, yet they had names for these two Divinities
peculiar to themselves as appears from a fine monument that
was formerly in the gardens called the Horti Carjiences, Avhich
has this legend: "Titus Aurelius Heliodorus Adrianus oi Pal-
myra, son to Antiochus, offered and consecrated at his own ex-
pence, to Aglibolus and Malachbelus, the Gods of his country,
this marble, and a sign or small silver statue, for the preserva
108 SYRIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. IV.
AGLIBOLUS, AND MALACHBELUS. SECT. VI.
tion of himself, his wife and children, in the year five hundred
and forty-seven, in the month Peritus." This Bas-relief was
published in the year 1685 by M. Spon, with the inscription that
accompanies it. But Montfaucon procured a more exact copy
of it with better figures thail those that are in the hands of the
other antiquaries. It represents the frontispiece of a temple,
supported by two columns, on which are two figures of young
persons, between whom is a tree which some antiquaries take
for a pine; but it is more probably a palm-ti^ee, which suits bet-
ter to the city of Palmyra^ whose name was taken from that
tree. On the right side of the tree is the God Jglibolus, under
the figure of a young man habited in a turnic tucked up from
the waist, so that it reaches only down to the knee; and over it
he has a kind of cloak; holding in his left hand a little stick of
cylindrical form. The right hand wherewith he probably held
some other symbol, is broken off. On the opposite or left side
of the tree, is the God Malachbelus, Represented likewise as a
young man, dressed in a military habit, with a cloak about his
shoulders, a radiant crown upon his head, and behind him a
crescent, whose two horns project on either side of him.
■ The inscription upon this monument suffi-
nion of M. 'spoI-. ^iently informs us indeed that ylgliholus and
' Malachbelus were two '/Syrian Divinities, since
they are called Gods of his country who had consecrated to
them that monument, and Palmyria was in Syria; but what Gods
did they represent? Let us hear the learned Spon, whose opi-
nion has not been contradicted. Some authors, says he, will
have it, that those two figures represented the summer and
winter Sun; but as one of the two has a crescent behind him,
it is more credible they are the Sun and Moon. Nor is thei^e
any thing strange to find the Moon represented by a young man,
since it is certain that both sexes are frequently given to the
Gods, and there was the God Lunus, as we learn upon the au-
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN roOLATRY. 109
SECT. VI. AGLIBOLUS ANB MALACHBELUS.
thority of Spartian and other authors. As to Aglibolus^
there is no doubt, but he was the Sun^ or Belus, for the Syrians
might very probably pronounce this name so, as others called
him Baal, Belenus, Bel, or Belus. Further, that the Palmy'
rians worshipped the Sun, is a fact not to be doubted. Hero-
DiAN, after describing the happy success of Aurelian, who
made himself master of Palmyra, tells us he built at Rome in
memory of that victory, a stately temple, where he put the
spoils of the Palmyriajis, and among other things, the statues
of the Sun and of Belus. rAs for Malachbelus, as this word
is compounded of two others, viz. Malach which signifies king.^
and Baal which imports Lord, and as this God is represented
with a crescent and crown, it is certain he represents the Moon
or the God Lunus.
===== According to the Abbe Renaudot, there is
The Pahnynam amonff the inscriptions of Palmyra the name
adopted otherDei- o r
ties in later times, of Jufiiter the thunderer; but these perhaps
■~"~~~""~"~^ are only of the time when the Romans were
masters of it. In fine, that people, superstitious to the last de-
gree, doubtless I'eceived all the Gods whom their conquerors
worshipped, and carried flattery so far as to pay divine honors
to Alexander and Hadrian, when they came to Palmyra.
liO SYRIAN IDOLATHIY. CHAP. IV.
ASTARTE AKD ADONIS. SECT. VII.
SECTION SEVENTH.
(Phenician Deities.)
1st. ASTARTE AJVD ADOjXIS.
■ Aatarte was a Phenician princess born at
Adonis and As. ' . ...
tarte, royal pec. -iyfus where she espoused the prince Adorns,
sonages of Phe. ^^^ ^^^^ Adonis beinff passionately fond of the
mcia, dejned aiter " *^ •'
death, and be- chase was one day hunting in the forests of
came symbols of
the Sun m^Moon. mount Lebanus, where a boar wounded him
"■"^■■~~~~~~~ in the groin; the news was quickly brought ta
Astarte that his wound was mortal. Her affliction, upon this
occasion, was inexpressible: she filled the whole city with her
groans and complaints, and all her kingdom went into mourn- .
ing. In order to immortalize the memory of that prince, and in
some measure to sooth the anguish of the queen, divine ho-
nours and solemn festivals were instituted to his manes. We
learn also in relation to the princess Astarte, that she endeared
herself so much to her subjects by her extensive benificence,
that after death they raised her likewise to divine honours. It
being the received opinion of those early times, that the souls
of great men, and above all, of such as had taught the neces-
sary arts of life, were gone to reside in the Stars, their subjects
were easily persuaded, that the souls of the prince and his
spouse had taken the Sun and Mopn for their mansions; accord-
ingly, in process of time, they were adored as those luminaries
themselves, which worship was already established. Their
worship was also introduced into other countries by the colo-
nies, and commercial intercourse, of the Phenicians; and this
circumstance has given ground to Ovid's fable of Venus and
Adonis of the island of Cyprus, whither their worship came
from Phenicia. For though history has not transmitted to us
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. Ill
SECT. VII. ASTARTE AND ADONIS.
exact accounts of those ancient princes who rose to the rank of
Gods, the monuments that contained them being lost; yet it is
easy to see that the fables handed down to us, carry an allusion
to the history of those royal characters.
=== Ovid says that Adonis sprung from the eift-
The fable which , „ _. . c n j -^i, u-
Oyii) intermixed "^aces ot Ctnyras, a prince oi Cyfirus, with his
with their histu- daughter Mijrrha. That princess, constrained
===== to fly from her father's anger, (who had lain
with her without knowing who she was, at a time when the
queen had gone from her husband to celebrate a festival) retir-
ed into Arabia; where the Gods, touched with her misfortunes
and repentance, transformed her into a tree, Avhich bears the
precious perfume called after her name. It was in that state
she brought forth the young Adonis^ whom the neighbouring
nymphs took into their care at his birth, and nursed in the caves
of Arabia. Adonis^ grown up, repaired to the court of Byblos.
in P/ieniciUj where he became the brightest ornament. Venus
or Astarte became desperately in love with the youth, prefer-
red the conquest of him, to that of the Gods themselves; and
abandoned the mansions Cythera, Amathus, a.nd Fa/ihos, to follow
Adonis in the forests of mount Lebanus, whei^e he used to go a
hunting. Mars, jealous of the preference given by the Goddess
to that young prince, in revenge, had recourse to the assistance
of Diana, who raised a boar that destroyed Adonis. Venus,
coming to the knowledge of this sad accident, gave demonstra-
tions of the deepest sorrow. In the mean time the young
prince descended into Pluto's kingdom, and inflamed Proser-
liint with the soft passion. Venus ascends to heaven to procure
his return, from her father Jupiter; but the Goddess of hell re-
fused to give him back. The father of th^Gods, puzzled with
so nice an affair, referred the decision thereof to the muse Cal-
liofie, who hoped to satisfy the two Goddesses by delivering
him up to them alternately: the Hours were sent to Pluto to
112 SYRIAN roOLATRY. CHAP. IV.
ASTARTE AND ADONIS. SECT. VII.
bring back Adonis; and from that time he continued every year
six months upon earth with his beloved Venus, and six months
with Proserpine in hell.
,p, n , J c But M. Le Clero, after Selden and Mar-
Phtjustjtus on sHAM, havipg been more inclined to take this
this subject pre- -,,- „ ,,,,,,.
ferred by M. Le table irom Phurnutus and other Mythologists,
Clekc and others ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ve\^.tts and explains it thus:
to the above. ^
II Cinnyrus or Cinyras, the grand-father oi AdO'
nis, having* drank one day to excess, fell asleep in an indecent
posture. Mor or Myrrha, his daughter-in-law, Amman's wife,
accompanied with her son Adonis, having seen him in this pos-
ture, apprised her husband of it. He, after Cinyras had become
sober, informed him of what had happened; which so provoked
him, that he poured imprecations upon his daughter-in-law and
his grandson. Here, without going further, says M. Le Clerc,
is the foundation of the pretended incest of Myrrha, which Ovid
speaks of; that poet having represented the indiscreet curiosity
of that princess as a real incest. Myrrha loaded with her fa-
ther's curses, I'etired into ./frafiic, where she abode for some time
and this again, is what gave the same poet ocasion to say, that
this was the country where she was delivered of Adorns be-
cause that young prince happened to be educated there. Some
time after, continues M. Le Clerc, Adonis with Amman his
i^Xhev, and Myrrha his mother, went into JSgy/it; where, upon
A?nmon's death, that young prince applied himself wholly to the
improvement of that people; taught them agriculture, and en-
acted many excellent laws concerning the property of lands.
Astarte or Isis, his wife, was passionately fond of him; and they ,
lived together like a lover and a mistress. . Adonis having gone
into Syria, was wounded in the groin by a boar; in the forest of
mount Lebanus where he had been hunting. Astarte appre-
hending his wound to be mortal, was so deeply afiected with
grief, that the people believed he was actually dead, and all
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. US
SECT. VII. ASTARTE AND ADONIS.
E^ypt and Phenicia bewailed his death: however, he recovered
(by the skill of his physician Cocytus, the disciple of the centaui^
Chiroii) and their mourning was changed into joy. To perpet-
uate the memory of this event, an annual festival was instituted,
during which they first mourned for the death of Adonin^ and
then rejoiced as for his being again returned to life. Adonis,
procured his deification. After the death of Adonis, A&tarte
governed Egyfit with peaceful sway, and acquired for herself
divine honors. The Egyfitiane, whose theology was all symbo-
lical, represented them both afterwards, under the figure of an
Ox and a Coiv, to inform posterity that they ha.d taught agri-
culture. As to the flight of Myrrha, which Ovid mentions, it
means no more, says M. Le Clerc, but the curse which she had
bi'ought upon herself, and her retreat into Arabia and Egyfit
with her husband: and the story of her transformation into a
tree, owed its rise to the equivocal meaning of her name Mor,
which' among the Arabs imported Myrrha^ or myrrh.
■ r From this explanation it is evident, that the
M. Le Cleac learned M. Lr Glerc was persuaded that Ado-
and others main- *^
tain that Adonis nis and Astarte were the same as Osiris and
and Astarte, were
Osiris and Ms. Isis; nor is he alone in this opinion, which
' wants not some probability: Lucian and Plu-
tarch, among the ancients, Selden, Marsham, and several
others, among the moderns, have advanced it before him. Ac-
cordingly, M. Le Clerc brings several arguments in proof of
his opinion, which may be seen in the third volume of his Bib-
liotheque Universelle. The chief of them are these: that while
the festival of Osiris was celebrated in Egyfit, another like it
used to be kept in Phenicia for Adonis. There was mourning
for them both as dead; and then rejoicing as though they had
risen again. But what is still more decisive, we are assured by
ancient authors, that the Egyptians, during the celebration of
VOL. II. P
114 SYRIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. IV
ASTARTE AND ADONIS. SECT. VII.
their festival, used to set upon the Nile an osier basket, wherein
was a letter, which, by the course of the waves, was conveyed to
Phenicia, neai' to Byblos, where, as soon as it had arrived, the
people gave over their mourning for .ddonis, and began to re-
joice for his return to life. The festival must therefore have
been the same; and as there is no doubt but it was celebrated in,
jig-i//ts-- 111 ii'jii"i- <-»x ^^.~ «... « , -- • J —
Syrians celebrated it for them too, under names suitable to their
own language. — — To these proofs we might add, that Adonis
and Jstarte, among the Phenicians, were the symbols of the Sun
and Moon, as Osiris and Isis were in Egyfit; and that Mtarte.
was represented on monuments, with a cow's head, or at least
with the skin of that animal, as Isis was among the Egyp.tians:
in fine, that in the festivals of Adonis and Astarte, obscene em-
blems were carried in pi'ocession, as in those of Osiris and Isis.
These are the arguments of those who maintain this opinion,
set forth in their whole force.
- '■ ■■ I am, however, persuaded that these four
But nearly eve-
ly trait in their personages are to be distinguished, of whom
t'hem ^differenr^ t"^^° reigned in £gyfit, and the other two in
' Phenicia; though both the one and the other
became the symbols of the Sun and Moon, up>on account of the
blessings they had conferred upon their people. I am far from
denying, that there was a great affinity in religion between two
people, so near neighbours, as the Egyfitians and Phenicians ;.
but this affinity proves not the sameness of their kings and
Gods; and if there are some passages in their history, resem-
bling one anothei', there are likewise many more that are quite
diflFerent: for, in short, what is there in the story of I&is analo-
gous to what we are told of Cinyras and his incest; a piece of
history plainly borrowed from what the Scriptures tells us of
JVoak and his son? Do we find in the history of Isisy that she
Vas obliged to fly from her father's wrath, and retire into Arabia,
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. 115
'■ ' ' .... I
SECT. VII. ASTARTE AND ADONIS.
like Myrrha and Adonis? Besides, all antiquity agrees that Osi-
ris was the brother and husband of Isis; and M. Le Clerc is
obliged to own that Adonis was only the son of Aatarte. Osi-
ris is slain by Tyfi/wn his brother, in the manner that has been
said; Adonis is slain either by a boar, or in a battle. Isis col-
lects the scattered remains of her husband's body, and erects se-
pulchral monuments to them in all the places where she finds
them: is any thing parallel to this told in the history of Astarte?
The return of Adonis from hell, was a symbolical repre-
sentation of his cure, as shall be said afterwards: the return of
Osiris signified nothing else but that an Ox had appeared with
marks like the one that was drowned. In Egyfit the rejoicing
is at finding again a young bull, distinguished by certain marks:
in Phenicia it is .because Adonis, whom they believed dead, is
really cured by means of Cocytus the physician. Adonis., ac-
cording to Jujiiter's decree, remains six months in hell with
Proserfiine, and six months upon earth with Venus; nothing
like this^s related by the Egyptians concerning their Osiris.
Venus could not be one moment separate from her beloved
Adonis: Osiris left Isis to go into the Indies, and several other
countries. Isis and Osiris reigned in Egypt, as all the woi'ld
allow; Astarte, Adonis, and his grandfather Cinyras, were kings
oi Phenicia, the capital whereof, according to Strabo and Lu-
ciAN, was By bios, where these two authors say the events hap-
pened that are the subject^ of this history. In fine, the one
was a warlike conquering prince, the other a peaceful king,
who delighted only in hunting. What I am going to say of
the worship paid to Adonis and Astarte, compared with that of
Isis and Osiris, will also prove that they were different from one
another.
115 SYRIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. IV.
ASTARTE AND ADONIS. SECT. VII.
at ^t/ifos, whence there, undoubtedly it was, they washed the
it is propagated
throughout Sijria wound of that prince; and as its streams
. .. - There was, according to Lucian, a river
Tihe fest^^al and ^^^ Byb/os, thajt bore the name of Jdonis:
worship or Adorns :/»"*-
&iByblos; whence
it is propagated
throughout Syria
^unigcountS; ^^^ ^^''^^^^ ^ed by the soil blown into it from
«---^''— *— -^-— «— mount Lebanus, at a-ceitain season of the year,
as Lucian learned from an inhabitant of the country, hence peo-
ple wei'c induced to believe, that this change was produced from
the blood of Adonis; and they even chose that season of the year
for celebrating hi§ festival. First of all, the whole city went
into mourning, and gave public signs of grief and affliction: no-
thing all around was heard but groans and lamentations: the
women who ministered in this piece of worship, were obliged to
shave their heads, and beat their breasts while they ran through
the streets, and such was the impiety of that superstitious usage,
that those who would not join in the ceremony, were obliged to
prostitute themselves for a whole day, and to apply what money
they earned in that infamous traffic, to the service of the new
God. On the last day of the festival, their mourning was turn-
ed into joy, and everyone made merry as \i Adonis had risen to
life. The first part of this solemnity was called the disapfiear-
ance^ during which they mourned, or bewailed the prince's
death; and the second, the discovery, when joy succeeded to
grief. This ceremony continued eight days, and was cele-
brated at the same time in Lower Egypt, as we have seen.
Lucian observes, upon this occasion, whereof he himself
was an eye-witness; that the Egyptians exposed upon the
sea a basket of osier, which being carried by a favourable
wind, arrived thereby upon the coasts of Phenicia, where the
women of Byblos, who waited for it with impatience, carried it
into the city; and then it was that the public sorrow ended, and
the festival was concluded with transports of universal joy.
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. IIT"
SECT. VII. ASTARTE AND ADONIS.
We have said that the worship of Adonis spread,
celebrated at Alex- .^ ,p • . ^i • i •
^^^^•^ itselt very soon into the neighbouring coun-
■ tries. Theo&ritus describes the Ladies of
Syracuse^ embarking for Alexandria^ where they were to cele-
brate the festival in honor of Adonis. Nothing was so noble and
grand as the apparatus of this ceremony. Arsinoe, the sister
and wife of Ptolemy Philadelphus, bore the statue of Adonis
herself, in the procession. She was accompanied by women of
the greatest distinction in the city, holding in their hands, bas-
kets full of cakes, boxes of perfumes, flowers, blanches of trees,
and all sorts of fruit. This solemn procession was closed by
other ladies bearing rich carpets, whereon were two beds, em-
broidered with gold and silver, the one for Venus and the other
for Adonis. The statue of that young prince, exhibited on this
occasion, had a ghastly paleness in its looks, which yet did not
quite efface the charms that had rendered him so amiable.
The procession marched along the sea coast to the sound of
trumpets, and all sorts of instruments, that accompanied the
===^=== voices of musicians. The same ceremony
'hylon^%c "' "' ^^^ diffused through all Syria, as we are in-
" ■ ' I formed by Macrobius. It is undoubtedly to
the same festival celebrated at Babylon, that the prophet Ba-
RucH alludes, when he says, the priests of that city sat in their
temples with their heads uncovered and shaved, their vestments
torn, and mourning as at a feast of the dead. The interpreters
of Scripture are persuaded that Moses, when he forbids the
Israelites to shave their heads for the dead, is alluding to the
mourning and festivals o{ Adonis; and that in the counsel which
Balaam gives to Balac king of the Moabites, to entice the He-
brews to the festivals of his Gods, wherein, after the feast, all
sorts of disorders were committed without control, he has an eye
to those of the same God, whose worship was propagated to the
dominions of that prince. This is what Ammianus Marcelli-
118 SYRIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. IV .
ASTARTE AND ADONIS. SECT. VII.
NUS tells us of the city of Antioch in particulai'; Evenerant au-
tem iisdem diebus, anno cursu Adonia ritu veteri celebrari, and
that author shows at the same time, that the ceremonies practi-
sed in that city, were the same as those at the funerals of per-
sons of distiction; comparing the funeral pomp of a young
prince slain in combat, to that of the festival of Adonis, which
the women celebrated with so many tears, and heavy lamenta-
-- tions. Judea was too near A/ssyria and Egypt,
cee lae if le ^^^ ^.j^^ Jews had too strong a biass towards
• strange superstitions, not to have celebrated
the festivals of this false Dvinity in their turn. The prophet
EzEKiEL, in one of the divine transports wherein God revealed
to him the abominations of Israel, saw near the gate of the tem-
ple that faced to the north, the women sitting and mournig for
Thammus{\hdX is Adonis). As to the signification of this name
interpreters are divided; and the Rabbins have invented a thou-
sand ridiculous fables upon this occasion: but we ought to rely
upon the authority of St. Jerom, and some other fathers of the
church, who have rendered the word Thammus by that oi Ado-
nis, and were of opinion, with a great deal of reason, that those
women oi Judea mourned the death of that prince, and celebra-
ted his festival much in the same manner as the neighbouring
nations of whom we have been speaking. The authorof the
chronicle of Alexandria confirms this sentiment, tanslating the
===== same word by that of Adonis. From 8yria
', .. ' and Palestine, the worship of Adonis was pro-
' pagated to Persia, to the island of Cy finis, and
at length to Greece, especially to Athens, where this festival
was celebrated with a great deal of magnificence. When the
time for the festival was arrived, care was taken, as Plutarch
remarks, to place in the several quarters of the city, represen-
tations of dead bodies, resembling a young man who had died in
the flower of his age. Then came women dressed in mourn-
CHAP. IV.
SYRIAN IDOLATRY. tl9
SECT. VII. AST ARTE AND ADONIS.
ing robes,, and carried them off to celebrate their funeral rites,
weeping and singing doleful songs, expressive of their affliction.
Their tears were accompanied with shrieks and groans, as we
are told by Aristopha:nes and Bion, and which is handsomely
noticed by Ovid. Plutauch adds that the days w^-^ --"is
^ . , , , , --^„vv,^ u.iiiucky days, and that the
festival was celenra^o'* — tr j . -i
-Athenian fleet's settjng sail at that season from Sicily, was ta-
ken for a bad omen: and Ammianus Marcellinus makes the
same remark upon the empei*or Julian's entrance into the city
Antioch. 'Ovid elegantly describes the festival of Adonis^ and
his. transformation into a Jiotver. He makes Venus, disconso-
late for the death of her paramour, thus address herself to cruef
Destiny: " No, my dear Adonis shall not be subject to thy pow-
er; posterity shall at least preserve an eternal monument of his
disaster and my distress. The festival that shall be celebrated
yearly in memory of so dismal an accident, shall continually
keep up the remembrance of my grief whereof he is the cause,
and from the blood of my darling youth shall spring a fiower.
Then, pouring nectar upon the blood that flowed from the wound
of Adonis, in less than an hour, there sprung from thence a crim-
son flower, like that of the Pomegranate. This flower is short-
lived, since the same winds which make it blow, soon blow it
away." According to Punt, this flower was the Anemone, so
called after the wind which made it blow.
=::^:=:=== We fiud amoug other ceremonies of the
Otiiev ceretno- festival of Adonis, that they carried young corn
njes of the festi-
val oi Adorns. in earthen vessels, which they had sowed thercj
"— — together with flowers, sprouting grass, fruits,
young trees, and lettuce. Suidas, Hesychius, and Theo-
PHRASTUS, inform us of these circumstances, and add; that at the
end of the ceremony, they went and threw those portable gar-
dens either into a fountain, or into the sea, when they were near
it, as it is remarked by Eustathius, and the scholiast upon
120 SYRIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP IV
ASTARTE AND ADONIS. SECT. VII.
Theocritus. And this was a kind of sacrifice they made to
Adonisj as we learn from Hesyoiiius.
==s==========— -= It is easy to account for these ceremonies;
of-^^tbaT'Sial '^^y ''^''''^ ^" allusion to the life and death of
e^t.^.^^^ ^flQjilg. ^j^^ J know not why they should be
^^^^ — ^-.<.^,„ "pjjg snrouting grass, the
new sprung corn, which soon withered, were emblems ot that
Prince's having died in the flower of his age, of his having been
^owed down by tlie cruel hand of death, like a young and ten-
der plant. As for the usage of carrying lettuce at the same
festival, the Ancients have assigned various reasons. Some aU
ledge it was owing to a tradition, that Venus had concealed her
dear Adonis among lettuce after his wound, as we learn from
Herychius. We have even a fragment of Eubulus, pre-
' served to us by Atheneus, which gives the same reason for it.
" Don't serve me with lettuce, says one of the speakers to a
woman, for they say Venus concealed her dear lover after his
death, among lettuce:'' and the same author calls that vegetable
the food of the dead. NicA"nder of Colofihon, as may likewise
be seen in Atheneus, was also of this opinion, since, in relat-
ing how AdoniSf to escape the boar that pursued him, had con-
cealed himself behind a plant which the Cyfirians called bren-
tim, he has translated this barbarous word by that of lettuce.
But M. Le Clerg happily corrects that author, alledging that
the Phenician word signifies a Fir-tree^ a more suitable sanc-
tuary to shelter Adonis^ than lettuce. ^To finish the expla-
nation of the circumstances of the worship of Adonis, it remains
to examine the reason why in his festival, they commenced
with demonsti'ations of extreme sorrow^ and concluded with
those oi rejoicing. Phurnutus, Lactantius, Macrobius, and
some others, have attempted to prove, that Adonis being no
other than the Sun, the mysteries celebrated to his honor,
ought to be referred to that luminary; so that the death of
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. 121
SP:CT. VII. ASTARTE AND ADONIS.
Adotiis according to them, denoted the Sun^s distance in the
winter tinne; as the joy for his being restored, figured the re-
turn of that luminary; who, having travelled through the south-
ern signs, and descended, as it were, into the dismal kingdom
of Pluto, returned at the end of six months through those of
the north, and brought back mirth and gaiety with his sum-
mer's rays. It will be sufficient to remark of this explanation,
that it might suit well enough to the regions of Lapland; but
not at all to those of Syria, where the winter is more support-
able than the summer, and the difference in the length of their
days but slight. The same reasoning will confute those vyho
alledge, that Adonis denoted the grain which is lodged for six
months in the bowels of the earth, as if it were in the arms of
Proserpine; whence at the expiration of that time, it came to
visit its dear Venus, when it began to grow. 1 am inclined
to believe however, that the foundation of this double ceremony
oi grief iLnA. joy, was constructed upon the tradition, that Adoiiis
did not die of the wound he received upon mount Lebaniis, but
was cured by Cocytus the physician, contrary to all expecta-
tion. For it is in this sense that we are to understand a Greek
verse of Euphorion's hyacinth, which says, that " this physi-
cian alone, the disciple of Chiron, washed the wound of Adonis;''
that is to say, he alone was employed in so difficult a cure,
otherwise this verse would have no rational meaning. This
case was looked upon as a kind of mii'acle, and in their tans-
ports of joy, no doubt they would say, the prince was restored
to life, that he was come back from hell and the grave; meta-
phorical expressions common enough on such occasions. Thus
we may with good reason believe, that J'enus's grief, upon the
first news of the wound oS Adonis, was so great that the report
spread through all Phenicia, that the prince was dead. They
mourned for him as such, while he was in danger; nor did they
begin to rejoice till he was perfectly recovei'ed: of which lur.
VOL. 11. Q
1^2 SYFIIAN IDOLATPy. CHAP. IV.
ASTARTE AND .'VDONIS. SECT. VII.
circumstances the memory was preserved in the two parts of
i]^e ceremony instituted upon that occasion; for we know that
ercat everts gave rise to the institution of festivals, as we
l^arn both from sacred and profane history. But if any one
le tenacious of the opinion that Adovi/s died of his wound, we
Loay account for that joy which succeeded the'mourning on the
last day of the festival, by saying it imported, that that prince
was promoted to divine honors, after which there was no
lonsrer occasion for sorrow, on the contrary, having mourned
his death, they were now to rejoice at his deification.
Though the v-orship of Jdonis had a reference to the 5«w,
whose symbol in process of time he had become; yet, to trace
the fable back to its source, I can find nothing in its origin, but
the monuments v.'hich love and giatitude had consecrated to
the honor of a beloved prince.
■ After the death of Adonis, Astarte\ having
I'he worship ol i i •
. 'v.','?'^; I, (I- ,-,:i- governed the kmgdom with a great deal of
cred eri-oves, tern- -i i i •<. i • i i i • , i .
, r malnncss and enu)tv, which we have hinted at
^ "— i.^-^^— in the begi':ning of tliis article, was deified and
honored with a peculiar worship as he had been before. This
worship was at first pure enough; but it was blended after-
wards Avi'h infamous rites, which are unworthv to be described.
This Goddess was chiefly worshipped in the sacred groves
which the holy wnit calls Aserim; and St. Jeuom always ren-
ders that word by Pria/?uf, to denote the. abominations that
were committed there. We may add, t'.:at the groves conse-
crated to this Divinity, were always near the temple of Baal, as
her worship was also blended with his, and while bloody sacri-
fces were offered to him, even of human victims, she was pre-
sented v.'ith nothirg but cakes, liquors and perfumes: but in
further honor to her, they abandoned themselves (o the vilest
prostitutions, in tents made for the purpose, or in caverns that
were in her consecrated groves. The worshippers of this false
CHAP. IV. SYlilAN IDOLATRY. 12£
SECT. VII. ASTABTE AND ADONIS.
Divinity, caused the figure of a tree to be imprinted upon their
flesh, and were therefore called dendrofihori^ or tree bearers;
which wonderfully agrees to what the sacred writ says of Anta-
rothy whose name Asera^ given her by the piophets, signifies
trees, or a grove. Besides sacred groves, this- Goddess had
her temples. Herodotus mentions that of Afcalov^ which
v.'as dedicated to her, being, according to that author, the most
ancient of her temples. She had others likewise in the islands/
of Cyprus and Cythera^ and doubtless in many other places.— — -.
It was usual likewise to set up tables to her upon the tops of
houses, at the gates, or in the vestibules, as also in the cross-
streets. And on the first day of each moon, a supper was pre-
pared for the Goddess; and this, by the by, is what the Greeks
called the supper of Hecate: the same repasts were likewise
])repared for Adonis. Astartt having become the symbol of
the Moon, as Adonis was that of the Suv, the inspired writings
always joined the worship of Baal, who represented that lumi-
nary, with that oi Astaroth; which is the name they applied to
that Goddess. And to shew in a few words to what excess the
Syrian superstitions towards these two Idols was carried, it
suffices to mention that Ahab had four hundred and fifty Pro-
phets or Priests of Baal, and that Jezebel his spouse, who in-
troduced into Israel the worship of Asera or of Astarte, had
four hundred belonging to that Goddess, whose high Priest was
her father Itobal the king of Tyre, as we learn from Mknan-
DER of Efihssus quoted by Josephus.
, The manner of representing tin sc two Di-
iiienKinnerorie- vi'nilies was different, accordiig to the plixts
i-iv'-eri'Liiig- iliosf <
two Divi'uties. which had adopted their worship. Soiiie'.inics
' ", ' Baal or the Svii, was di'f ss/d iike a woina:.;
while A fit arte or the Afcon, appeared armed, and with a bc'iif!.
But tliC latter appeared more frcqueittly under the fi~\!ie ot a,
womaii^ having fur her nead-drcss an Ox's !ieud with Use lii)i,..s.
124 ^ SYTvIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. IV.
ASTARIE AND ADONIS. SECT. VII.
cither to denote her royalty, as Porphyry has it in Eusebius,
or to represent the crescent of the Mjon, just as I^iis in Egyjit^
who was the symbol of the same planet. Macrobius gives
us the desci'iption of the Venus Architis^ who was worshipped
upon mount Lebanus. She Avas, according to him, in the pos-
ture of an afflicted and disconsolate woman, having her head
covered and leaning upon her left hand, insomuch that you
would have thought you saw her tears flowing; a lively and ex-
pressive image of the distress in which Asturte was, upon the
first news of Adonh's being wounded. In fine, the medals
of the city of Tyre., struck in honor of Demetrius, the second
king o{ Syria, represent Astarte, or the Tyrian Veiius dressed
in a long habit, over which she wore a mantle tucked up on
the left shoulder. She has one hand stretched forth, as if com-
manding with authority, while with the other she holds a crook-
ed staff, having the form of a ci'oss. Among the flowers,
the rose was consecrated to this Goddess, because it had been
tinged with the blood of Ado?iis, whom one of its thorns had
pricked. They added that this'flower, formerly while, had be-
come red from that moment, as we see in Ovid.
:^==_— ___ Astarte, in process of time was stiled the
pie of Mta7^te^t '^««J/""" Juno, as we are assured by Lucian.
Hierapoiis: But according to that author, this was not her
name; nor was it given her till the time when
they began to celebrate the high mysteries to her honor. We
learn from the same author, that of all the towns in Syria, Hie-
rapoiis, or the sacred City, was that wherein Astarte was most
honored: and as he was a native of Syria, and advances nothing,
as he says himself at the beginning of his curious and learned
treatise upon that Goddess, but what he had either seen, or
learned from her priests, his authority here ought to be of
great weight. The following is the description he gives of the
magnificeiU temple that Goddess had at Hiera/wlis; but it was
CHAP, n^ SYRIAN IDOLATRY. - 1£5
SECT. VII. ASTARTE AND ADONIS.
not the ancient one which time had destroyed, as he says him-
self. It was that which had been built by Stratonice whom An-
tiochus resigned to his son, who was desperately in love with
her: accordingly, it bore all the marks of a temple built by the
Greeks, since it had in it, statues of Jupiter, Juno, and the other
Deities of Greece. " Of all the Temples of Syria, says he, the
most celebrated, and most august one, is what belongs to that
City: for besides the works of great value, and the offerings
which are there in great number, there are marks of a Divinity
who presides there. There you see the statues sweat, move
of themselves, deliver Oracles; and there, sounds are frequently
heard while the gates are shut: iris also the richest of any that
I have been acquainted with." Here he delivers the various
opinions about the founder of that stately temple, and thus
proceeds to the description of it. " It fronts to the east, and
rises two toises above the gi'ound whereon it stands, and the
ascent to it is by a stone stair. First there is a grand portico
of an admirable structure. The gates of the Temple are gold;
as is also the roof; not to mention the inside, which shines all
around with the same metal. The edifice is divided into two
parts, the one whereof is for the sanctuary; and is higher than
the other; but none are permitted to enter thither except the
priests, and but the chief of them too. In this sanctuary are
two golden statues, one is that of Jupiter supported by Oxen,
and the other is Juno supported by Lions. This last is a kind
of Pantheon that bears the symbols of several other Goddesses;
holding in one hand a scepter, and in the other a distaff, her
head withal being encircled by rays, and crowned with turrets.
In the same Temple are likewise to be seen several other
statues, as those of Apollo, Atlas, Mercury, Lucina, &c. On
the outside of the Temple was a large altar of brass, accom-
panied with several statues made by the best masters. Tiicre
were upwards of thi-ee huiidred Priests employed solely in
126 SYKIAN IDOLATKY. (JllAP.lV.
ASTARTE AND ADONIS. SECT. VII.
i =
the care of the sacrifices, besides numbers of other subaltern
ministers. The Priests were clothed in white, and the high
Priests in purple with a tiara of gold. Sacrifices were offered
in this Temple twice a day; and there were festival days when
sacrifices were offered with more solemnity than on ordinary
days."
■■■• It appears evident, both from the construc-
wh.ch bore nuiny ^^^^ ^j.- ^^-^^ Temple, and from the service of
traits. 111 its con- •
struction and the Goddess who was worshipped in it, that
rites, of Solo-
mon's \emple. tJiey had borrowed many circumstances from the
~""'"" "" Temple of Solomon. For, Jirst, each of these
Temples were dividided into two parts; the one was the temple
properly so called, and the other the sanctuary, whither none
but the chief Priests were permitted to enter. Secondly, eacii
of them was emcompassed with two courts. Thirdly^ there was
at the gate of either of them a brazen altar. Fourthly, the
ministers of the Syriayi Goddess were divided into two orders,
namely, the Priests and the high Priests: it was the same case
with those of Jerusalem. The Priests of Hierafiolis wei'e
clothed in white, and the high Priests in purple with a tiara of
gold: such also was the habit of the Jewish Priests and high
Priest. Fifthly, Lucian adds, that besides these Priests, there
were in the temple of the Sijrian Goddess, a multitude of other
ministers who served in the ceremonies, and a vast number of
others who played upon flutes and several other instruments:
and sucli were the functions of the Levites, who served the
Priests, sung and blew the trumpet during the sacrifices. Sixth-
ly, sacrifices were offered twice a day at Hierafiol's, morning
and evening; it was the same at Jerusalem. Seventhly, in the
ceremony of the festivals of Hierafiolis, they used to draw water
fiom the sea, to pour it as a llbatiou in honor of the Goddess:
uiid v/hat was this but an imitation of that effusion of water at
Jinisulem, as v/as the custom at ti;e feast of Tabernacles.
CHAP. IV. SYRIAX IDOLATRY. 127
SECT. VIII. THE CABIRI.
Eig-/it/ily, accordig to Lucian, the animals sacrifice^ in the
Temples oi Hierapolis, were the ox, the sheep, and the goat.^ but
no swine were to be offered there: it is plain that this usage was
taken from the Jews, who sacrificed no four footed animals but
those just mentioned. Kinthly, the greatest festival of Hiera-
polis, according to the same author, happened in the spring sea-
son, and they who joined in it sacrificed a sheep, dressed it, and
ate it at their own houses whither they had carried it, after hav-
ing presented it at the altar and made libations: nothing surely
bears a greater resemblance to the feast of the Passovei', which
was also celebrated in the spring of the year. Tenthly, there
was at Hierafiolis, says the same author, another sort of sdcri-
fice, wherein the victim was crowned, then let loose, when it
threw itself down from the top of a rock, whereon the Temple
was built: this no doubt is an imitation of the feast of atone-
ment, on which occasion they carried Azazel, or the scafie-goat,
into the wilderness, crowned with a fillet of scarlet, and threw
him down from the top of a rock. This parallel might still
be carried further, but here is enough to satisfy us that the Sy-
rians, at least as to the time whereof Lucian speaks, had bor-
rowed from the Jetus several ceremonies that were practised at
Jerusalem.
SECTION EIGHTH.
2:ul THE CABIRI.
-— Though these Gods were known in Greece
The Cabiii of
Tlicniciaii oiig-ip, from the earliest ages, yet as their original is
whence their vvor- „,.... • ,, i • .i
ship was propaga- Phemcmn, it is proper to give them a place in the
ted to Samothra- ^.j^^g ^f ^j^g ^Syrian and Phenecian Gods.
cia, &c. "^
■ ' Nothing is more ceU:l)rated in antiquity than
128 SYRIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. IV
THE CABIRI. SECT. VUI.
the Cabiri and their mysteries; though at the same time nothing
is more uncertain than the origin of these Gods. The Pelasgi,
an unsettled and vagrant people, had learned from strangers the
worship of the Gods we are now speaking of; but if we may be-
lieve Sanohoniathon, the Cabiri were natives of Phejiicia.
That author makes them to be descended from Sydik, and con-
founds them with the Dioscuri, the Corybantea and the Samo-
thracef!. From Syclik, says he, came the Dioscuri, likewise call-
ed Cabiri, Corybantes, Samothraces. In the second place where
he mentions the same Gods, he tells us that Chronos gave two
of his citiea, namely Byblos- to the Goddess Baaltis, and Beryta
to Nelitune and the Cabiri, Sec. It appears therefore from that
ancient author, that the Cabiri were the sons of Sydik, and that
they dwelt at Beryta of Phenicia; and as the descendants of this
Sydik, whoever he was, were deified, it is highly probable the
Cabiri were so too, and that it was in the city now named, they
first received religious worship. It is therefore certain that the
Cabiri were P/icnic'an Gods; their very name is a proof of it, as
I shall presently show. Damesius speaking of Escula/nus,on(i
of the sons of the same Sydik, expressly says: " Esculapius,
who was at Beryta, is not an Egyfitian, but a Phmician by birth;
for among the sons of Sydik who were styled Dioscuri or Cabiri,
the eighth was called E.smunus or Esculafiius.^' Three an-
cient authors, Herodotus, Pherecydes, and Nonnus, give
Vulcan, the most ancient of the Egyptian Gods, for the father
of the Cabiri: with this differcr.ce, however, that the two last
ass(^rt it, while the first only says it was the opinion of the F.gyfi-
tiani^, '.vho had erected to the honor of these Gods, a temple at
Mcm/i/d.'.-: and this author, having given an account of the con-
duct of Cambyses in the temple of Fulca?i, adds, that he enter-
ed likewise into that of the Cabiri, to which none but the priests
were allowed to have access, and that after having made a jest
of those Godp, he ordered them to be burnt. Acf.silavs th.e
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. 129
SECT. VIII. THE CABIUI.
Argive, whose sentiment is quoted by Straeo, aliedg-es that
the Cabiri were not the sons, but the grandsons of Vulcan, and
that Camillus, whom others reckon in the number of the Cabiri
themselves, was tlieir father. These authors tell us further,
that their mother was called Cabiras, and Pherecydes adds
that she was the daughter of Proteus. Stka.eo, who has made
a large collection of the sentiments of the Ancients about the
Gods now in question, adopts none of them: and the article
wherein he speaks of them, though otherwise curious, wants
that critical niceness which raises the dignity of the subject.
Certain it is, that the Cabiri were Gods come from the East;
and as IIeuodotus delivers the opinion of the Egyfitians, with-
out seeming to adopt it, we may hold to what Sanchoniathon
says of them, at least in respect to their country; and from him
it is incontestible that Phenicia is the country, and Beryta the
place in particular, where we must search for the origin of these
Gods, and of the worship that was paid to them. The Pheni-
cians, who settled in several islands of the Mediterranean and
Archipelago, brought with them the mysteries of these Gods,
especially into Sajnothracia, where they became very famous
afterwards; and the Pelasgi, who dwelt there at that time, hav-
ing come into Greece, made them known to the Athenians.
Their name is not originally Greek, it comes from the Hebrew
and Arabic, since in those two languages as the learned Bo-
chart remarks. Caber imports great, fioiverful. Varro, and
^fter him Tertullian, were undoubtedly acquainted Avith this
etymology, since they call the Cabiri, the powerful Gods; which
likewise agrees with the epithet given them by Orpheus in his
hymn to the Curetes, and with that of great Gods, as they are
commonly styled.
R
130 SYRIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. IV.
THE CABIRI. SECT. Vlll.
If we would know in the next place how
Opinions vary /-. i • ■ ^i. j i, ^ ..u •
as to the number ^^"7 Cabtri there were, and what their names,
of the Cabin, ^g shall find arreat diversity of opinion among:
from two to eight- _ ° _ °
— who they were, the ancients. As the sons of Sydik, according
....I, I— ..i... ■».■..»»-„ j-Q Sanchoniathon, were denominated Cabiriy
we must admit eight of them, if we follow his opinion, since
Esculapius was his eighth son. Strabo reckons only three Cu-
hiri; and though he subjoins three nymphs Cabaridaj that does
not increase the number of these Gods, since they had either
sex indifferently given them. Tertullian likewise restricts
their number to three. Some authors admit only two Cabiriy
to whom they also gave different names; for some call them
Ju/iite?" and Bacchus, and others Calus and Terra. The old
scholiast upon Apollonius assures us that Manaseas reckon-
ed three Cabi7i,to which DioNYSioDORUsadds a fourth; of whose
names, Bochart, of all the moderns, has given the most happy
interpretation. He derives them from the Phenician language,
and thinks thej^rs^ denotes Ceres; the second, Proserfiine; the
third, Pluto; and the fourth, Mercury: The arguments he
brings for his opinion are in the twelfth chapter of the first book
of his Canaan. Reland, who has made a learned dissertation
upon the Cabiri, admitting the names of the four to be as I have
given them, concludes they were the Gods of the dead: that
Ceres was the earth, who received them; Pluto and Proserjiine
the infernal regions, where they came to dwell; and Camillus or
Mercury, the God who conducted them thither. The An-
cients owned yet other Cabiri. The Greeks in particular, who
reduced every thing to tiieir own religion, had quite a different
idea of the Cabiri from the Egyjitians, from whom they had
partly derived the knowledge of them. The tradition of the
Thebans, for example, imported, as Pausanias has it, " that
there had once been a city and men called Cabiri: that Prome-
theus, one of them, and his son Etneus having had the honor to
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. 131
SECT. VIII. THE CABIHI.
lodge Ceres, that Goddess committed to them a dcfiositu?n, in-
forming them what use to make of it. The thing itself, conti-
nues he, I am not at liberty to divulge: but this much we may
take for granted, that the mysteries of the Cabiri are founded
upon this present which they had from Ceres." Says the same
author, " When the Epigoni had taken Thebes, the Cabiri hav-
ing been expelled by the Argives, the worship of Ceres Cabiria
was interrupted for a long time. Sometime after, Pelarge the
daughter of Potneus, and Istnias her husband, restored it, but
at the same time they transferred it to a place called Alexiares,
without the ancient limits where it had been instituted. Forth-
with, Telondes and the other Cabiri whom the war had disper-
sed, met together in this place. To conclude, the religion of
the Cabiri and the sanctity of their ceremonies never have been
violated with impunity." Thus it is evident Pausanias would
confound the ministers of the Cabiri with the Gods themselves.
' The Greeks seldom give the Cabiri any
The iiiv 'teries of , , , r > r, , • r^ ^
the C cibiri m\xc\\ Other name than that oi the Aamci^/^raciaw Gods,
in vog-ue with the ijgcause their worship having been propagated
princes oi those "^
times; — mode of from East to West, was especially established
initiation. . , . ,. , • ,
;;;;;;s;;;;iiiii;;iii;i; ixi thc island of Samotkracia, and in hnbros which
is not far from it, as we learn from Step h an us, and as may be
proved from its having been the custom of those times for most
princes to travel thither to be initiated into the awful mysteries
of these great Divinities. Accordingly we learn from Diodo-
Rus, that Cadtnus went into that country, and there married
Hermonia or Hermione, after having participated in those myste-
ries. Orpheus, Hercules, Castor and Pollux, and some of the
Argonauts, likewise made a journey thither, to fulfil a vow they
had made in time of a great storm. Ag;amemnon, Ulysses, and
other heroes of the Trojon war, were desirous to receive the
same honor, as we have it from historians. Macrobius in-
forms us, that Tarquinius, the son of Demaratus the Corinthian,
SYRIAN IBOLA'I KY. CHAP. lY
THE CABIRI. SECT. VIII.
Avas also initiated into those mysteries, as likewise Philip the
father of Alexander tlie great, and several others. The Athe-
nians who, according to Herodotus, were the first who receiv-
ed the mysteries of Samot/iraca, sent their children thither to
partake of the same; and in this they were imitated by the other
people of Greece. Terence in his Phorjnio alludes to this cus-
tom. " When the mother is delivered, says he, how many pre-
sents must be made which she appropriates to herself. One
when the child is born; another on the day of celebrating the
nativity: a third at the ceremony of initiation, &c." Donatus,
expounding this passage of the poet, says he alludes to the cus-
tom of of sending the children at a certain age to Samothracia^
there to be initiated, as we are told by Apollodorus. What
led them to this practice was not only the notion they had of re-
ceiving great assistance from the Gods Cabiri in dangerous ex-
peditions, especially when exposed to storms, as we learn from
the scholiast on Apollonius, but likewise the high reputation
those were in who had participated in those mysteries, as Dio-
DORUS SicuLus asserts. We learn from the ancients what
were the ceremonies in use upon this occasion. The person to
be initiated was seated on a throne^ had a crown of olive set upon
his head, his belly bound with a purple ribband, and the rest of
the initiated danced around him.
. The mysteries of the Cabiri, and of the Sa-
Those mj stories
so higliiy revered, mothracians, were in high veneration, and since
re^-^e I'd ^^ " '^ those islanders had learned the worship of the
.1 Phenicians and Egyptians, it is not improbable
that all were prohibited to enter their temple, at least their
sanctuary, except the priests; as Herodotus tells us with re-
gard to that of the Cabiri in Egypt; and it seems they took
particular care not to expose the Divinities to the profane view
of spectators, as the Egyptians had done to Cambyses. Accord-
ingly Pausanias having mentioned the Cabiri of Greece, makes
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. 133
SKCT. VIIX. THE CABIRI.
apology for being obliged to be silent with respect to their mys-
teries. Stephanus informs us that there was in the island of
Samoilirace a cave called Zerinthus^ consecrated to the Cabiri,
wherein, if we believe Lycophron and Suidas, they offered
dogs to Hecate: and that Goddess, who was afterwards confound-
ed with Proser/iine^ Ceres, or Terra, was of the number of the
Cabiri. But what made those mysteries still more venerable is,
that the priests of those Gods were called Coes, a word derived
from the Hebreiv word coAew, which imports a priest. Accord-
ingly, nothing was more celebrated in antiquity than these mys-
teries, as appears from the zeal that people had to be initiated
into them; but the authors who were able to instruct us in the
ceremonies that were then practised, withlield by I know not
what religious awe, dare not enter particularly into the subject.
By good fortune they have only concealed frpm us the know-
ledge of those scandalous rites that accompanied those myste-
ries, over which we should willingly draw a veil, though they
had discovered them to us. Herodotus gives us sufficiently
to know the nature of them, since, in that passage where he
says that the Pelasgi had brought the mysteries of those Gods
to Athens, he says they had taught the Athenians to represent
Mercury, one of the Cabiri, in a manner quite obscure and quite
indecent. Accordingly the night-time was chosen for celebra-
ting those mysteries, as Cicero has it. The Pelasgi, who
doubtless were acquainted with these Gods by means of the
Egyptians, or which amounts to the same thing, by the priest-
esses of Dodona, established their worship in Samothrace, and
from thence among the Athenians; but no doubt they blended
their mysteries with several obscenities unknown to the Jigyji-
tians, since Herodotus, in the passage where he says i!ie
Greeks had received from the ligy/idans most of the ceremo-
nies of their religion, also intimates that we were to except
their scandalous manner of representing Mercury, which they
134 SYRIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. IV.
THE CABIRI. . SECT. VIII,
got from the Palasgi, who after having put it in practice in
Samoihrace, communicated it to the Athenians, whence it
was 'afterwards propagated to the rest of Greece. " They
who are initiated, says he, into the mysteries of the Ca-
bin, which the Samothracians celebrate, and which they have
communicated to the Pelasgi, know well enough the truth of
Avhat I advance." There was no place in the world where the
worship of the Cabiri became more famous than in Samothrace,
where the Pelasgi had established it. There it was that those
hideous mysteries were celebrated, which got their name from
the same island, and were called Orgies too. The obscenicies
that accompanied those mysteries must indeed have been very
abominable, since, as we have already seen, the ancients who
were led to mention the Cabiri and their worship, protest that
they durst not reveal them. Pausanias, after having told us
that the temple which the Cabiri had in Beotia was only seven
stadia from the sacred grove of Ceres., Cabiri, and Proserfiine
subjoins, " the reader wifl pardon me if I do not satisfy his cu-
riosity about the Cabiri, nor as to the ceremonies of their wor-
ship, and of that oiCybele," 8cc. S. Clemens oi Alexandria, in
order to combat Paganism with more advantage, thought fit to
reveal a part of those horrid rites; but as what he says can an-
swer no such purpose now, I cannot be blamed for suppressing
it. Arnobius informs us that in the celebration of those
mysteries, they slew one of the initiated; probably to offer him
as a sacrifice to the Cabiri. And Firmicus seems to have co-
pied Arnobius, when he tells us that in the mysteries of the
Corijbantes, murder was honored, it having once happened that
one of the initiated was slain on that occasion by two of his
brethren. " Whoever, continues he elsewhere, has a mind to
shed the blood of his brother, may participate in the mysteries
of the Corybantes," But, without pretending to justify those
mysteries, it is most probable that the fact related by Arnobius,
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. 135
SECT. VIII. THE CABIRI.
and after him by Firmicus, refers to an accident that had hap-
pened in the enthusiastic fury of some of the initiated who had
killed their brother. And indeed, thei-e is nothing like this to
be found in the ancient historians: this only is certain, that per-
sons guilty of homicide, went to Lemnos to be expiated from
that crime, as we learn from Hesychius. But waving this, the
festival of the Cabiri, instituted first at Lemnos, was adopted
by the inhabitants of the neighbouring isles, and then passed
into Greece, especially to Thebes, were it became very famous.
■■ In fine, the last question we are to examine
The Cabin xmt ^g -whether we are to confound the Cabiri with
to be conrounded
with the Coryban- the Corybantes, the Curetes, the Idxi Dactyli,
tes, Cxiretes, Dac-
tyli,Telchines, gcc. ^''^^ the Telchines: And here we must freely
'— ~ own that many Ancients do not distinguish
them from one another. Strabo, gives the sentiments of Scep-
sius and of some other authors, who maintain it, and among
the moderns, Vossius and M. Altori have followed the same
opinion. For my part, I think we are to distinguish them, and
my reasons are these. First, Sanciioniathon, Herodotus,
Pherecydes, and Nonnus, who speak of the Cabiri, and give
their genealogy, make mention neither of the Corybantes, Dac-
tyli, nor Curetes. Secondly, according to all the Ancients the Ca-
biri wei'e of the number of the great Gods: now, no such thing is
said of the Corybantes or of the others just mentioned. The
account which the best authors give of the Daciyli, is, that they
were natives of the island of Crete; that they were the first
who found out the art of forging iron, after the burning of
mount Ida; an event which makes one of the epochs in the
Parian marbles. In fine, that they were five in number, as
their name, derived from the fingers of the hand, undeniably
proves. Sure this notion of them is nothing like what is given
of the Cabiri by Sanchoniathon, Herodotus, and the other
ancients.— — The account given of the Curetes, that they had
156 " SYRIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. lY,
THE CABIRI. SECT. VHI.
the cai'e of Ju/iiter in his infarxy, "^vho made it their business to
hinder his cries from being heard, by clashing upon their
spears, and dancing about him, by no means agrees v/ith what
antiquity relates of the Cabiri. The Tclchines were account-
ed a sort of wizzards, who travelled the country to tell foi'tunes,
and to attract the admiration of the populace, who are always
apt to admire what carries an air of the marvellous. As for
the Corybantes, these were priests of Cybele, who in the mys-
tei'ies of that Goddess leaped and danced about her, and inade
a wild kind, of noise with their arms. But, it will be said,
the mysteries of Samothrace, or of the Cabiii, are frequently
called the mysteries of the Corybantcs. This is the very thing
that possibly has misled the authors I am now confuting. The
Corybantcs were the ministers of those mysteries, not only at
Lemnos and at Imbros, but also throughout all Phrygia and
elsewhere: what wonder then that they have been indifferently
called the mysteries of the Cabiri, or the mysteries of the Co-
rybantes? It is therefore certciin that we must not confound
the Cabiri with the Corybarites, the Dactyli, Sec: nor mistake
for those Gods who were so highly respected in antiquity, the
ministers of their worship; ministers who by their conduct made
themselves extremely despicable. We shall speak at more
length of these Corybantcs in the history of Cybelc, whose
ministers they were. But what shall we think of an ancient in-
scription quoted by M. Altori, whereby it appears that the
Cabiii were confounded w iih the Dioscuri? " Caius, the son of
Caius an Acarnanian, who was made priest of the great Gods
Dioscuri Cabiri, erected this monument in the year when Dio-
nysius was Archon after Liciscus." Thus it would seem, that
the Cabiri were sometimes confounded with the Dioscuri, as
also with the Anaces or Anactes; a sentiment adopted by the
antiquary just cited, and which he endeavours to prove from a
passage in Cicero. But still I am of opinion they are to be
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. 137
SECT. I5C. THE ANACTES.
distinguished from one another, as their genealogy proves. Ac-
cording to Cicero, the A7iaces and the Dioscuri were sons of
Jufiiter the ancient: The Egyptians gave those Gods Vulcan
for their father; and the Phenicians gave them Sydik. I know
that, according to many learned moderns, this Sydik was the
same as that ancient Jufiiter; but what ground had they to think
so? for my part I know none. Besides the author whom I have
now cited, gave to those three Anaces the names of Tritopa-
treuSf Eubuleus^ and Dionysius, but we see the ancients gave
quite different names to the Cabiri. We are also to observe
that they who reckon Castor and Pollux, Jasion and Dardanus^
in the number of the Cabiri, are certainly mistaken; and what
may have led them into this error is, that these heroes had got
themselves initiated into the mysteries of those ancient Divini-
ties; and the last had perhaps brought their worship into Phry-
g'ia, with that of Cybele, who was the same with Terra, or Pro-
serpine, and the chief of the Cabii% as we learn from Varro.
The worship and ceremonies of that Goddess passed from
thence into Italy, whither ^neas brought them with his house-
hold Gods, who according to Macrobius and Varro, were the
same with the Gods Cabiri: And this opinion wants not proba-
bility, since, as shall be said when we come to the Pataici, the
figures of all those Divinities very much resembled those of
the Penates.
SECTION NINTH.
2rd. TffE AJVA C T E S.
■ Several authors, among whom are Plu-
Diversity of op'r , ^ , ,
nionastothenum- tarch and Theodoret, reckon among the
ber and identity of q^^^ Anactes or Anaces, none, but Castor and
the Anactes.
===== Pollux the two Dioscoj-ides or sons of Jupiter;
VOL. II. S
1*38 SYRIAN roOLATRY. GHAP. IV.
THE ANACTES. SECT. 1X»
whose history shall be given when we come to the Argonauts,
Avhom they accompanied to the conquest of the golden Jleece.
But CicEiio, more exact in this matter, speaks of three sorts of
Jnaces. Theirs? were the sons of an ancient Jufiiter\m^ of
Athens, and of Proserfiine; their names were, Trito/iatreus,
Eubuteus, and Dionysiiis. The second were the sons of the
third Jufiiter and Leda; these were Castor and Pollux, The
last were Alto and Melamp.us Emolusy the sons of Atreus.
Some Ancients reckon a much greater number of them, since
they confound them with the twelve great Gods. Accordingly
Pausanias tells. us that Hercules fSiiiev having pillaged Elis, to
be avenged of Augias, set up six altars to the twelve great
Gods or AnacteSf so that there were two of these Gods for
each altar. The ancient scholiast upon Pindar names some
- of these Anactes: but the passage where he speaks of them, ia
too much corrupted for one to draw any certainty from it.
- Authors are not more agreed about the ety-
. Their name de- j^oiogy of the name given these Gods. Vhv-
nved h'om theu" ^■' °
uncestor,the Efiant tarch- thinks it was given to the Tyndaridesy
' Atiak kins' of Jle- , . „ i r. , , ■ .
5^(„j that is Castor and Pollux, either upon account
I ot their having procured peace, or because
they had been placed among the Stars, (which makes Horace
say, sic fratres Helena lucida Sidera) or for other no better
reasons. This is the passage in which he ^speaks of them.
" Castor and Pollux, says he, being masters of Athens, demand-
ed only to be initiated. Wherefore they were admitted into the
fraternity of the great mysteries, after having been previously
adopted-by Aphidnes, as Hercules had been by Pylius. They
now had divine honors paid them and were designated Anaces,
either from having put an end to the war, or bec&use they had
taken such great care of the Athenians, that although the city
was full of troops, yet none of the inhabitants had received any
injury; for this word is derived from a term which signifies, to.
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. 139
SECT. IX. THE ANACTES.
protect^ to be careful; and from thence perhaps, kings have
been called Anactes^ as being protectors or fathers of their peo-
ple. There are some^ however veho tell us, that this name was
given to the Tyndaridce upon account of their constellations
which appear in the heavens; for the Athenians call anecas and
anecathen, what others call ano and anothen, importing above."
— — Castor and Polluoc were indeed very justly taken into the
number of the Gods Ajiactes^ for the reasons which shall be
given hereafter; but they were not the sole nor the most ancient
Gods of that name, which indeed was not known to the Greeks
till the arrival of the Phenicians^ among whom the descendants
of Anak (who had reigned at Arbe^ or Hebron^ as we see in
Joshua)^ were famous, as we shall observe in speaking of the
Giants. Inachus was of that race. There is even a great deal
of probability that Inachus was not the proper name of him who
conducted the first colony into Greece, and that it was given
him only in allusion to his ancestor Anak; but we shall discuss
this point more particularly in another place. Further, I am
persuaded that Anactes was not a name given to all kings in
general, as Plutarch would insinuate, although in the Greek
language that word properly imports kings; but to such of
Inachus's descendants as distinguished themselves by their il-
lustrious deeds. Vossius is also firmly of opinion, that the
name of the Gods Anactes was originally from Fhenicia; but
he thinks it had been brought into the West hy Cadmus, or by
the Canaanites, whom Joshua by his conquests had obliged to
quit Phenicia, and who had retired into Greece; and he adds,
that the Sjiartiata who called themselves allies of Israel, as we
learn from Josephus, were a colony of the Canaanites, who
were mostly descended from Abraham by Hagar and Keturuh:
and this is the reason why the most famous of the Greek Anac-
tes were Castor and Pollux, natives of S/iarta, the Lacedemo-
nians having given thejn th-at name to honor the memory oi
140 SYRIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. IV.
THE PATAICI.
Anak's descendants, of whom they had heard so many wonder-
ful stories. It is certain the Greeks had some knowledge of
this Anakj who is mentioned in the sacred books, and knew he
had been a man of an extraordinary stature, and the father of a
gigantic race This seems to be the most probable account
of the Gods Anactes, so noted among the Greek poets.
SECTION TENTH.
4;/i. THB PATAICI.
- • - _ The Pataici or Patted.) for this name is ei-
TliG Pdtcvicz re*
sembled Pygmes, t^^r way pronounced, were, according to He-
?^iaS-tnclwere SYCHius, Phenician Gods represented as/zz/^--
set upon sterns of jnies, whose statues used to be placed upon
ships as patrons.
■ the Sterns of shi/is. If We credit Herodotus,
they had a great deal of resemblance, as to their figures at least,
to pygmies; and they were so. ugly that they were the occasion
of provoking the scorn of Cambyses, when he entered into the
temple of Vulcan in Egypt, where he perceived the statue of
that God resembled them. The account given of this, by that
ancient historian, is as follows. " Cambyses having one day en-
tered into the temple of Vulcan, offei-ed a thousand insults and
indignities to the image of that God, because it resembled
those Gods whom the Phenicians calle^d Pataici, and which they
set upon the prows of their ships. By the way, I would inform
those who have not seen them, that they are made like pyg-
mies. He entered also into the temple of the Cabiri, to which
jnone are allowed access, but the Pi'iest; and he ordered all the
statues that were there, to be burnt, after having made a jest of
them; for they resembled those of Vulcan, from whom they say
ihe Cabiri are descended." ]Jpon this we may remark, Jirst,
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN roOLATRY. 141
SECT. X. THE PATAICI.
that the statues of the Gods Pataici and of the Cabiri, had a
great resemblance to one another, and that among the Egyfi-
tiansf Vulcan^ th^ most ancient of their Gods, was represented
as they were; as were also, in later ages, the Gods Penates
among the Greeks and Romans. Secondly, that Herodotus
is mistaken, when he says the Phenicians «et up their Gods
Pataici upon the firoigs of ships, whereas it was upon the sterns,
as Hesychius, Suidas, and after them, Scaliger and Bochart
agree; and neither the Phenicians, nor the Greeks to whom this
custom was communicated, ever inverted that oi'der. Accord-
ingly they always placed upon the .stern the image of one of
these Gods, who was reckoned the patron and protector of the
ship. Whereas they put nothing upon the firoiv but the figure
of some animal or of some monster, which communicated its
name to the ship. For this reason they had a custom of adorn-
ing the stern with flowers and garlands, as the place conse-
crated to the Divinity by whom it was protected, as we learn
from Virgil; which was never practised as fo the ^row, where
was only to be seen the figure of some animal or monster as we
have said, which had no title to such homage.
' If you ask the origin of this name, I answer.
Their name de-
rived from tlie our most learned authors derive it cither from
Plienidan word .■l.tti. xi nt • ■ rp.! , ,
patach, or batach, ^^^ Hebrew or the Phenician. The learned
to engrave, or Scaliger will have it to be from the Hebrenu
confide in.
■■ word Jiatac/i, to engrave; but Bochart derives
it from batach, to refiose trust, or to confide in; either of which
etymologies perfectly agrees to the use which the Phenicians^
and after them the Greeks made of the Gods Pataici.— n—1 shall
only add further, that the usage of giving ships the names of
animals represented upon the firoiv, was very ancient; accord-
ingly we see thatViRGiL names those which composed ^neas's
fleet, the Centaur^ the Whale, Sec.
14'2 SYRIAN IDOLAIRY. CHAP. IV,
THE PALICI. SECT. XI.
SECTION ELEVENTH.
5th. T HE P ALI C I.
'■ - Macrobius in h\s Saturnalia, says that .ffiiS-
The fable of , ^ . , , , . , ^
.EscHTLEs, which CHYLES the Sicilian poet m his tragedy entitled
gives the Palici a ^^ -^ ^^^ g^^^ ^^j^^ ^^^ -^^ ^^^ original of
Sicilian origin. ° °
;^====;^ these Gods so well known in Sicily, to this ef-
tect. " It was. near the river Symetha in Sicily, that Jufiiter fell
in love with a nymph called ^tna, others name her Thalia, who,
to conceal from Juno the knowledge of her intrigue, and to es-
cape her vengeance, entreated her lover to hide her in the bow-
els of the earth; which request she obtained: and when the
time of her delivery had arrived, there sprung from the earth
two children, who were called Palici, as if one would say, sfirung
from the earth into which they had been conveyed. These two
children were afterwards deified." But this is a mere fable,
founded upon the equivocations of the name of these Divinities:
and this was the ordinary resource of the Greeks, when they
would trace the origin of their Deities in the etymologies of a
language which th^y did not understand.
===== But the name, and doubtless the worship, of
But the better ^j^^ ^^^^ j^^^.^. ^^^^ f^,^^ Phenicia. It is
opinion attributes
them to Phenicia. very probable that it is derived from the He-
'—-'—-—— —"^ l^rciv y/ovd fialichin, which signifies venerable,
as BocHART proves; which the poet ^Esohyles, from whom
Macrobivs has borrowed the fable, seems to insinuate, when
lie said Jupiter ordered the Gods Palici to have the title vene-
rable given them. Hesychius also confirms the happy conjec-
ture of BocHART, since he says Adratius, whose name is like-
wise Phenician, was father of the Palici; for I can hardly think
the reader will give into the ridiculous error of some of the
learned, who are of opinion that in Hesychius we ought to read
OHAP. IV. SYRIAN roOLATRY. 143
SECT. XI. THE PALICI.
Adrian instead of Adranus, as if that Roman emperor, who was
not deified till forty years after the coming of Christ, could be
the father of these ancient Divinities, whose worship was cele-
brated in Sicily many ages before he was born; and give his
name to the river Adranus, which was so called long before.
There is reason to think that Adra7ius was the same as Adram-
elech, who is mentioned in the books of Kings, and whose name
im^OYX.s aniagnijicent king, and that his worship, as also that of
the Palici, was brought into Sicily by the Syrian or Phenician
colonies, who settled there; this is what we learn from Bochart,
and his conjectures appear highly probable.
■ It is certain, the Palici were vei-y much ho-
and ^consecrated nored in Sicily; and Diodorus assures us they
lakes in Sicily t^^^ ^ temple near the city Ericc, revered both
where oaths were
taken in the deci- for its antiquity, and for the wonderful things
sion of controver. , , ... , ^■ ■, ^ i t
sies;— that happened m it. Accordmgly we are tola
^==^===' by Macuobius, after JIschyles and Diodo-
rus, that there were near this temple two small lakes of boiling
and sulphurous water, always full without overflowing, which
were called Delli, and held in the highest veneration by the cre-
dulous people, who imagined that they were the brothers of the
Palici, or rather that this was the place whence they themselves
had sprung, when their mother delivered them. Ovid like-
wise describes them. It was near these two pools that solemn
oaths used to be made, and there controversies were determi-
ned that could not otherwise be e^ily decided. Those who
were called to take this oath, purified themselves; and after hav-
ing given security to pay, if the Gods condemned them, they
approached the pools, and swore by the Divinity who presided
over them. If their oath was sincere, they went off unhurt; but
perjurers were punished upon the spot, as all autliors who have
mentioned it, are agreed, though they are not quite agreed as to
the nature of the punishment. Macrobius will have it that
144 SYRIAN IDOLATRYi^ CHAP. IV '
THE PALICI. SECT. XI.
they fell into one of the lakes and were drowned; Polemon
asserts that they died suddenly; Aristotle and Stephanus
say they were consumed by a secret fire; and according to Dio-
DORUS, there were only some of them that lost their lives.
Whether these diffei'ent punishments were real, or only feigned
to terrify perjurers, as would seem from the diversity of opi-
nions; it is certain that none approached those pools and the al-
tars of thos6 implacable Gods without a great deal of terror, and
the place was a secure sanctuary for oppressed slaves; their
masters being obliged before they could get them back, to pro-
mise to treat them with more humanity, which they religiously
observed for fear of bringing some terrible punishment upon
themselves. We must not omit to observe that the ancient
inhabitants of Sicily called these two lakes Delli, from an Arabic
Avord, which imports to make discovery; because the oaths taken
there discovered the truth; or, as is more probable, from the
Hebreiu word daal^ to draw out. I am inclined to adopt this
etymology, because it seems to agree better with what Aris-
totle says upon the oaths we have mentioned. According to
that philosopher, they wrote the oath which they made to those
Gods in the form of a note, which floated on the surface of the
water, if the party swore to a truth; but it sunk to the bottom,
when he perjured himself. As the custom of those oaths came
from the East, as also the worship of the Gods Palici, it is veiy
probable it was an imitation of what is written in the book of
JVumbe7's, concerning the trials of the water that was given to
adulterous women to drink; and the punishments, mentioned by
these authors, were nothing else perhaps but a tradition of what
befel those who were guilty of the crime whereof they were
accused.
CHAP. IV.
SYRIAN IDOLATRY.
145
SECT. XII.
But here we must add4;hatthe temple of the
also where these Pa/fci was not only venerable upon account of
Gods delivered
oracles and re- all that I have been, saying, but also for the
crifices'^""^'^" ^^' prophecies'that were delivered there from time
is^i=:^:^^=^= to time. Macrobius, after Xenagoras, tells
us that Sicily being distressed with famine, they consulted the
oracles of the Palici, and were answered, that if they sacrificed
a cQiTtain hero, whom authors do not name, the famine would
cease; which accordingly happened. The Sicilians, in acknow-
ledgement of this blessing, heaped fruits and presents upon the
altars of those propitious Deities. Their superstition was af-
terwards carried so far as to offer up to those Gods human vic-
tims. But this barbarous custom, was at length abolished, and
the Palici contented themselves with common offerings.
SECTION TWELFTH.
(Philistian Deities.)
1st. DAGO.Y.
:^zLsr: , . BagOTi was onc of the most celebrated Di-
Ths origin of
iJa^-ore is very an- vinities of the Philistines, and one of those
inventor of agri- whom the Scripture most frequently mentions,
culture, and the If we may believe Sanchoniathon, the origi-
God of corn. i
' nal of this God is very ancient. Calus, says
that author, had many sons, and among the rest Dagon, so called
from the word dagan which in Phenitian signifies wheat. As
he was the inventor of the plough, and taught men the use of
corn for bread, he was deified after his death, as the God of corn,
and surnamed Jupiter jlgr^tes, or the labourer.
VOL. ir. T
146 SYRIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. IV
DAGON. SECT. ill.
■ BocHART, persuaded that it is to the Pheni-
Various opin- r i •
ions about the f^^ author we must have recourse for the on-
ting him;— -in the S^"^ o^ ^hfe Gods of his own country, is conse-
human figure quentlv in the rieht to look upon all that has
most probably. ^ •' ° ^
^ been delivered about the figure of Dagon, as
so many Rabbinical fables. And indeed, some of those doctors
of the law, confounding that God with Atergatis or Derceto, say
he was represented as a man, in the upper part of his bodyj and
as a fish from the waist downward; while others, on the contra-
ry, will have it, that he had the form of a fish above, and a hu-
man figure in the lower extremities. Some again, alledge, that
he was all fish; others, that his figure was that of a man from
head to foot; and these, doubtless, have most reason. This is
the account given of him in Scripture, when it tells us, that at
the presence of the ark of the Lord, which the Philistines had
placed in the temple of that God, after the defeat of the Israel-
ites, his idol was overthrown, and that his head and hands were
found upon the threshold of the gate of the temple, while the
rest of the body remained upon the pedastal.
■■ But be that as it will, the P/iilistinea had a
His magnificent
temples ; that high veneration for Dagon, and his temples
dow^b;%'4- ^vere magnificent. That which he had at Gaza
tjpon the Philis- must indeed have been vastly large, since -Saw/i-
■ ■■ son (whom they conducted thither, after taking
him out of prison, to insult that formidable enemy, imagining he
had lost all his strength by the treachery o{ Dalila) having pulled
down the pillars that supported it, buried in its ruins more than
three thousand men. The temple which this God had at Azoth
was no less famous, there was the ark of the Lord deposited,
and there the miracle happened which'l have above related. The
head of 8aul was also placed in one of the temples of the same
God, as we see from the book of Samuel^ and his arms in that
HAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. 147
SECT. XIII. MARNAS.
of jistaroth; a new proof to mention it by the way, that Dagon
and Astaroth were two distinct Divinities.
SECTION THIRTEENTH.
2nd. MARJfAS.
■ ■ ■ The Philistines had another Divinity, of whom
Mar-nas, one of
the Gods of Gaza; St. Jerom gives US no high idea, since he says
became famous in .i- /-< j i .. • i • .. i
Crete. ^■^^^ Ood, shut up in his temple, was m conti-
■■' ntial fear of its downfall. But it is probable that
holy doctor had a mind in this, as in many other passages, to ral-
ly, the Pagans upon their false Gods. For in truth,. Mamas was
looked upon by the inhabitants of Gaza, as one of their great
Gods, since, among them he was Jufiiter himself. His name,
in the Syriac language, imports Lord; which is very applicable
to the father of Gods and men. But who was this Jufiiter, who
had the surname of Mamas? This is no easy matter to deter-
mine. The learned, however, are of opinion, that it was the
Jufiiter of Crete (the same who carried off JEurofia, and this is
the sentiment of Stkphanus) that is to say, Minos, the first of
the name. Some authors will have this Mamas to have been
secretary to that prince, who employed him to digest the co^e
of his laws, as shall be said in his history. He who carried off
Eurofia to convey her into Crete, probably brought Marnas with
him; for to be sure be must have been born in Syria, as his
name demonstrates. The same name became famous in the
island of Ctete, and it was given to the young women, who were
called Mama, as much as to say madam. Murnas was high-
ly honored in the city of Gaza: there he had a temple, and
games and chariot-faces were celebrated to his honor. Gaza
joined sometimes the name of that God in her medals together
with her own.
%
148 SYRIAN roOLATRY. CHAP. IV.
GAD. ' SECT. XIV.
SECTION FOURTEENTH.
CSome other Syrian Deities, knoivn only in Scrifiture.)
\st. GAD.
~--:-^-:-^--—-~. Vad was the first of the Pagan Divinities
Gad WAS the mentioned by Moses. He was invoked as the
God or joriune,
invoked by Leah, God 0^ fortune by Leah, when Gad, the son of
at the birth of , , _ . ,
Zilpwh's son G..d. "^^^ handmaid Zilfiah, was born, who therefore
received that name. Selden says, the He-
hreivs explained this term as meaning profiitious star; and that
in Arabic, Gad sigm&es ffood fortune. St. A ugustin main-
tains that Leah on the above occasion, spoke after the mannef
of idolaters, and invoked the /irofiitious star.
section fifteenth.
2nd. THE T E R .1 P H I M S.
. •' ■ The Terafihims were a species of private
weTe^prJltS '^'^'^ ^^ ^^^^ ^"^^" ^g^^^' worshipped by the
of the Chaldeans, Chfildeans as early as the time of Laban and
of human and pyg-
my stature. " " Jacob, answering to the idea we have of the
_ Penates of Greece and Rome, whither they
gradually progagated through the Greek colonies of Asia Minor,
only changing their name; and like these, every one had of
them in his house for the preservation of his familjt. Some of
them were large and others sinall; since on the one hand, Mi-
chol put one of them into David's bed, that his keepers might
think it were David himself asleep — and on the other hand,
although Rachel had stolen several of them from her father, yet
she concealed them under the pannel of her camel, setting
CHAP. IT. SYRL\N IDOLATRY. 149
SECT. XV. THE TERAPHIMS.
upon them. And had they been public Gods, Lahan would not
have said, why have you stolen my. Gods? nor would he have
been alone in the pursuit of Jacob; the whole people having
concern in that theft, would have seconded him.
■ The Terafihims wei'e very celebrated in those
They were wor-
shipped as Deitits ancient times. But authors are not pertectly
t^, lTL\\Tta. agreed as to the notion people had of them.
Usmans in divina- The Scripture interpreters, and the Rabbins,
lion.
■ have offered a great number of conjectures
about the nature of those Terafihims, and Selden has hardly
omitted any thing material upon the subject. Some alledge
they had a religious worship paid them, while others will have
it that they were looked upon as so many Talisvians which were
used in divination — a species of superstition with which all the
East is to this day greatly infatuated: for there is not a man in
Persia and the neighbouring countries, who does not bear about
with him Talismans or Amulets; and sometimes they have vast
numbers of them, which consist in some mysterious words,
written upon paper, or engraved upon wood or precious stones,
with some signs or celestial constellations under which they
have been made. Since the Scriptures called these Terafihimc
Gods, it is probable they were honored as such; and the author
of the second book of Kings, leaves no room to doubt of their
having served for divination, when he says, " Josias entirely
destroyed in his kingdom, the spirit of Python, the Fortune-
tellers, and the Terafihim.^' As in the opinion of the Rabbins
they served for divination, Rachel, according to them had no
other design in her theft, but to hinder Laban by their means
from knowing the way they had taken at setting out from his
house, and consequently to prevent his pursuing them. St.'
AuGusriN seems to favour the opinions of these Rabbins. And
to this purpose Laban had said to Jacob, I have divined that
Cod hath blessed me for thy sake. Some interpreters are of
130 SYRIAN IDOLATRY CHAP. IV.
THE TERAPHIMS. SECT. XV.
opinion that Rachel, though instructed by her husband in the
■worship of the true God, had yet some byass towards idolatry;
but there are others, and those by far the most numerous, who
judging more favorably of Rachel's piety, say, she carried
away her father's Idols, only to take from him the objects of a
criminal worship.
======= But in what manner were the Terafihima
In what manner , „ ,. . „ . , ___ ,
they were used as used lor discovermg tuturityr Were they
taUs7r,ans for dis- consulted as Oracles? How were the re-
covering' uitunty.
I - sponses given to the requests that were de-
manded of them? These are questions which are not decided
by authors who have treated of the subject. As for the conjec-
tures of Interpreters and the Rabbins, they are not worth re-
peating. EzEKiEL, relating how Nebuchadnezzar, having stop-
ped in a place where two ways met, had recourse to divination,
that he might be determined to which side he should turn his
arms, tells us he interrogated the Terafihims But he does not
inform us how those idols answered him; and as he adds that,
after this operation of the arrows, and Terafihims, the lot fell
upon Jerusalem, which determined him to go against that city;
and as we know further, that divination by arroivs consisted in
mixing them after a certain manner; it would seem that the
Terafihims being a kind of talismans, on which perhaps were
engraved the heavenly signs and constellations, they thought by
applying them in a certain manner to the aspects of those con-
stellations and signs, they might divine what events they were
curious to luio'w. We also find in the eighteenth chapter of
the book of Judges, that the Terafihims were consulted for the
knowledge of some future event, since the deputies sent by the
tribe of Dan to spy out the land, having come to the house of
Micha, who had the Terafihims and a Levite to serve them
by way of priest, prayed him to consult them that they might
know v/hether their journey would be prosperous.-— —On^f/o«,
CHAP. IV. SYttUN IDOLATRY. 151
SECT. XV. THE TERAPHIMS.
the Syriac, the Rabbins, and after them Grotius and several
other interpreters, had therefore good reason to believe, that
the Terafihims were talismans, that is to say, figures of metal,
melted down and engraved under a certain aspect of the pla-
nets; to which several virtues were ascribed, and by means
whereof they thought they had a power of divining. Maimo-
NiDES, says they were anciently molten of gold and silver; that
the first were consecrated to the Sun, and the second to the
Moon: and that they attributed to them the virtue of averting
evils and foretelling what was to come. We are assured that
the ancients had some of those magical figures that were au-
tomatons, and delivered oracles; a thing likewise common among
the Egyptians and Arabians, who boasted of having the secret
of confining in those figures the Demons and Gods, and of forc-
ing an answer from them when they were consulted. The tes-
timony of the prophet Zechariah would seem to favour the
opinion which I impugn, since he plainly says the Terafihims
spoke: but provided it be granted ' that they revealed future
events iu any manner whatever, his assertion shall have all its
force.
'■ Whether the Terafihims, when worshipped
They were sym- as Divinities, were adopted as representations
and Moon. of natural objects, such as the Planets; or ani-
' ■ mated objects, such as the Souls of men de-
funct, has never been determined, though some learned men
strenuously contend for the latter, and have even conferred the
intended honor upon the manes of J^oah and Shem. But on
what proofs can such an allegation be established? Upon this
hypothesis the author is obliged to say there were in every
house but two Terafihims, to represent those two Patriarchs; but
as the Scripture mentions these Gods without specifying their
number, I do not think they can be restricted to two. This
much we know, that if the Gods Penates derived their original
152 SYRIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. IV.
MOLOCH. SECT. XVI.
from these ancient TerafihimSi as we cannot doubt, it was free
to every one to have as many of them as he might wish. But
if we may credit Maimqnides, the question is clearly decided
in favour of their having been symbols of the Sun and Moouy
and not of Souls departed, as he has informed us that those
made oi gold were consecrated to the first, and those of silver
to the second of these luminaries.
SECTION SIXTEENTH.
Srd. MOLOCH.
. ■ ..-■.■-.,,.. ■ Moloch^ one of the principal Gods of the
ei if Deit -^of tlrj East, was especially worshipped by the Am-
..immonites. -his re- moniles, who represented him under the mon-
presentation and f r j t-i
sacrifices. strous figure of a man and a calf. There
"■ were contrived about the feet of this statue,
seven cells or furnaces, in which so many objects of his sacri-
fice were consumed. One of them received the Jlower for the
offering; another received turtle doves; in a third was offered a
lamb; in a fourth they sacrificed a ram; the fifth was the recep-
licle of a calf; the sixth received an ox; and the seventh was
set apart for the still more horrible sacrifice of a child, who was
therein burnt alive. While those unhappy victims that were
roasted in the furnances, sent foi-th most doleful cries, the
priests beat drums, to hinder their wailings from being heard.
From this noise, the valley where those abominations were
committed, was denominated the valley of Tofihet^ as much as
to say, the valley of dreadful sounds.
^===== The infamous worship of Moloch was pro-
His worship in- . , , \-
troduced into se- pagated into several countries, and the Jeivs
veral other coun- themselves adopted it in the time of Moses,
tnes. *^
■ since that sacred legislator prohibits them to
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. 153
'
SECT. XVr. MOLOCH.
consecrate their children to that Divinity; de senvne tuo non
dabis ut consecretur Idolo Moloch. And God threatens to ex-
tirpate the whole race of those who should commit that abomi-
nation. The Israelites must indeed have been addicted to this
cruel superstition before they came out of Egyfit^ since the
pi-ophet Amos, and after hinn St. Stephen, i-eproach them for
having borne the tabernacle of that God.
■• The Interpreters of the Bible, and some
Supposed to have , , , , , i ■ ,> ,
hc.en Mr aham, or Other learned men h?,ve endeavoui'ed to find
Saturn, or a Hym- q^^. y^]^^ ^.j^jg MqIq(-/i y/as. Some have been of
bol or the Sun.
' ' • ■ opinion with Antonius Forseca, that he was
the same as Priapus. Gerard Vossius has attempted to
prove that he was the Sun, But the most common opinion i§
supported by the confoi'mity of human sacrifices, which were
offered equally to Moloch and Saturn. Nevertheless, as the fa-
ble of this last is borrowed in many of its circumstances from
the history of Abraham, there is no doubt but that the former
had also been modelled upon what the Pagans bad learned of
the history of that holy Patriarch. Thus Selden, father
KiRCHER, Beger, and several others have reasoned upon this
head; but no body has proved this opinion with more-force than
M. FouRMONT. Moloch, says he, was a furnace according to
the opininion of all the Orientals. Now this idea was taken from
that particular furnace which was said to have been kindled in
Ur, a town of the Chaldeans, therein to consume Abraham, as
we are told by the Rabbins: and as the name of that city is the
same with that oi fire, instead of saying that this holy Patriarch
had come out of Ur of the Chaldeans, they fabled that he had
been taken out of the fire or furnace. So that here is one
leading circumstance shewing the connection between the
origin of Moloch and the history of Abraham. 'Again, in the
sacrifices of Moloch, infants were offered up; is not this an imi-
'^ation of the sacrifice of Isaac, which the Pagans always
vol.. II. U
154 SYRIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. IV.
MOLOCH. SECT. XVI.
thought to have been performed according to the very letter?
In the sacxifices of Moloch^ together with the human victims,
others were offered, namely, turtle doves or pigeons, a sheep or
a lamb, a ram or a goat, a calf or a bull, to which they added
floui'. Here the author puts the question, whence those cir-
cumstances had been derived? To which he answers that the
history of the Patriarch exhibited all this apjiaratus. Take
for me, says Abraham^ a heifer of three years old, a ram of the
same age, a turtle dove and a pigeon. Besides these, there was
the ram offered up in place of Isaac, the flour, or rather loaves
baked under the ashes, which we read of in the history of the
same Patriarch., and the calf he slew for the entertainment he
gave the Angels^ and it can hardly be refused, that all the cir-
cumstances of the sacrifices offered to Moloch., were expres-
sive of Abraham^ s adventures. But they who take Moloch
to be Saturn, want not proofs to support their opinion. Indeed
the Saturn adored by the Carthaginians, had a great deal of
resemblance to the God of the Ammonites, since, according to
DiODouus SicuLus, he was represented by a figure in bronze,
the palms of whose hands were turned up and sloping towards
the earth, insomuch that when they put a child into his arms to
consecrate it to him, it fell down that moment into a fire kindled
at the feet of the idol, where it was very soon consumed. No-
thing is more celebrated in antiquity than the human sacrifices
offered to Saturn,, not only at Carthage, and in several other
places of Africa, as Minutius Felix remarks, but also in
Phenicia; though that God was repfesented there in a manner
different from what we have been now speaking of, since to his
statue were added eyes and wings: and this barbarous custoni
of offering those sorts of victims to that God, lasted till the
time of Tiberius, as Tertullian relates. Those who will
have it, that Moloch was the Sun, have yet stronger arguments
in their favour, as may be seen in Vossius's second book con-
€IIAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. 155
SECT. XVII. BAAL OR BEL.
cerning the origin and progress of idolatry. Father Calmet
alledges that Moloch represented the Sun and Moon promis-
cuously.
■' I think these various opinions may be re-
Hemostproba- conciled, by saying that Moloch was one of
bly represented ^ o
th» seven planets, those Divinities whom the Greeks called Pan-
" thean; and, that among the Ammonites he re-
presented the seven planets. The proof of my opinion is takeji
from the seven cells that were framed within his statue, and
from the seven sorts of sacrifices that were offered to him.
And indeed had he been only the Sun\ or Saturn, for what de-
sign would those seven little chambers have been made, and
why would so many victims have been offered to him? It must
therefore have been the seven planets which the Ammonites
worshipped in the single idol of Moloch, to each of which they
offered such victims as superstition had consecrated to them.
SECTION SEVENTEENTH.
Ath. BAAL OR BEL.
======= I asserted in the preceding article, that the
Baal, a God of
the Ammonites, Scripture seems to confound Bel or Baal with
, , 'p il/o/ocy^, and now it remains to be proven. Je-
— REMiAH taxes the tribe of Judah and the inha-
bitants of Jerusalem, with having built a temple to Baal, there
to burn their children in the lire; and then that prophet,
subjoins; " Wherefore the time cometh when this place shall
no more he called Tophet, nor the valley of the sons of Hinnom,
but the valley of carnage." But we have also seen that it was
to Moloch they offered up those innocent victims, and the val-
ley of the sons of Hinnom was the place where that abomina-
156 SYRIAN mOLATRY. CHAP. IV.
BAAL OR BKL. SECT. XVH.
tion was committed; consequently Bel or Baal was the same
God with Moloch. The same conclusion may be drawn from
the similitude of their names, which signify both of them, the
King, ihe Lord; titles applicable to the Sun; worshipped pro-
miscuously under the name of Baal, or of Moloch. We have
seen that he was the same with Belus of the Babyloniaiis ; and
that the Syrians in general adored him under the name of Baal-
Pehor, and the Moabites in particular under the name of Baal-
Phegor.
. They who made it their business to inquire
And Seldex
proves that he into the original of this Divinity, were divided
was the Sun: was • ^u • • • c t? t-
he the ori«-inal of ^ ^"^^^ opmions. Servius, EusEBius, 1 he-
Phito, sn^i oi Pri- oPHiLus oi Antioch, and some others, have
apus.'
^s=i=5=ss^ss; taken him for Saturn. Vossius and Selden,
as has been said, thought he was the Sun; and the latter con-
firms his opinion by several very plausible arguments; among
others, what he draws from the name of Heliogabal, priest of
the Sun, is not the weakest; since that emperor seemed to have
joined the two names which the Greeks and 5t/na7z5 gave to
that luminary, called by the Greeks Helios, and by the Syrians
Bel, or Belus. Others have fancied that Baal vv^as the same
with Stygian-Ju filter, or Pluto; and they found their opinion on
a passage in Scripture, where the Holy Ghost calls the sacri-
fices of Baal-Phegor, the sacrifices of the dead; for, as St. Au-
GUSTiN remarks, by the sacrifices of the dead, we are to under-
stand those that were offered to the infernal Gods. Rusixus,
St. Jerom, and some others confound this God with Priafius of
the Greeks and Romans, whose abominable worship was copied
by those people, from that of the Syrian Deity. These authors
advance several reasons to confirm this opinion. Among others-,
they state that Beel-Phegor imports, a naked God, an Idol of
hard stone, to which Priafius bears considerable affinity. Also
\\\dA fornication, as we see in the book of A'^umberSf was conse*
CHAP. IV.
SYRIAN IDOLATRY.
157
SECT. XVIII.
crated to Beel-Phegor; and this is a principal characteristic of
Priapus, the infamous Divinity of Lampsacus. Again, the vul-
gate translates the word Mifiheletzethy which is of the same
import with Beel-Phegor^ by Priafius; and as that Hebreiu word
also signifies terror, nothing is more applicable to that God,
whose figure was set up in the gardens for a scare-crow, as w^e
learn from Horace and Tibullus.
:=:=== The worship of this false Divinity was often
His worship, £-oj.|3-jj ^Yie Jewish people by the Prophets,
which was very r r j r-
exteiisive, was The impious jihab built a temple to him at Sa-
forbid the Jeivs
by the prophets, maria, and the prophet Elijah destroyed four
DAm^^"^*^'^ ^^ hundred and fifty of his priests; which shews
- '■ - ■ - us the magnificence of the worship of this
Idol, before whom almost the whole earth bowed the knee, as
we are told in Scripture. Among the ceremonies of the wor-
ship of this God, we may remark that of serving meat every
day before his image, which the priest took care to carry oiF,
entering into the temple by passages under ground; as the pro-
phet Daniel discovered to the king of Babylon, to the utter
confusion of those wicked impostors.
SECTION EIGHTEENTH.
5th. CHAMOS.
' — ~ ~ Accordina: to St. Jerom, Chamos, whose
(Jhamos, estab- *-•
lished by Solomon, name comes from zxi Arabic root that signifies
and worshipped • t,
by the Moabites, ^0 hasten, to go quickly, was the same as Beel-
wfs thf^sTrnfas ^'^^S-or; and the MoabUes worshipped him
Beel-Phegor or sometimes Under that name, as may be seen in
the Sun, Sic.
^==i=si that book of Kings, where this idol, whose
worship Solomon established, is styled the abomination of
158 SYRIAi^; IDOLATRY. CHAP. IV.
BEEL-ZEBUT. SECT. XIX.
the Moabites whom the Scripture calls the people of Chamos:
Wo to thee Aloab, thou art undoJie, 0 people of Chamos; he hath
put his sons to Jiight; saith the Lord by the mouth of Moses.
. Solomon^ who established the worship of that God, built
him a temple, to please one of his wives which was afterwards
destroyed. The Ammonites likewise worshipped this Di-
vinity, as appears from the words of Jeptha to the king of the
people: " What your God Chemosh, says that judge of Israel,
has given you, belongs to you: why should you have us not pos-
sess what our God hath given us?" To know now who this
God of the Moabites was, is no easy matter. The resemblance
of his nam€ to that of Ammon, has induced severaflearned men
to think they were the same; and as the last, according to Ma-
cROBius; was the Sun; Chemosh must also have represented the
same luminary, since his worship was propagated from Egypt
and Lybia, to Arabia, where the Moabites lived. To be sure
the name Chamos, importing, as has just been said, to make
haste, to go fast, perfectly well agrees to the Sun, of whom the
Scripture says, Exultavit ut gigas ad curreiidamuiam. I adopt
the opinion of St. Jeuom, who says, as we have seen, that this
God is the same with Beel-Phegor, and that he was worshipped
under those two names by the Moabites. I adopt likewise the
conjecture of Vossius, who alledges that the Chamos of the_
Moabites and the Comus, or the God of revels, of the Greeks
and Romans^ are the same.
SECTION nineteenth.
6th. BEEL.ZEBUT.
Beel-Zebut was
Beel-Zebut, the God of the Accaronites, is
wofs'hi'p^d" ''at one of those whom the Scripture most fre-
Accaron as tlie quently mentions. This name signifies either
God of fiies.
■- the God Fly, or as S. Augustin will have it,
CHAP. ly. SYRIAX roOLATRY. 159
SECT. XIX. nEEL-ZEBUT.
the firince of the Flies: But we know not, as Selden and Gro-
Tius remark, if this was the name which the people of Accaron
gave to that idol, or if the /ews "called him so by way of dei'i-
sion, as the prophets changed the name of Bethel, which signi-
fies the house of the Lord, into Beth-aven, which imports the
house of iniquity, because there Jeroboam had set up one of his
golden calves. It is probable however, that that people called
their false God by this name, either because his temples were
exempt from flies, or because he had power to drive them away
from places they frequented. Accordingly we learn from Pli-
ny, that the Cyreniana offered victims to the God Achor, for
their deliverance from those insects, which sometimes occa--
sioned contagious distempers in their country. This author
remarks that they died after offering sacrifices to that idol,
These two were not the only people who acknowledge a Fly-
destroying God, since the Greeks, the most superstitious of all
people, had likewise their Jufiiter and their Hercules Myodes,
or Muyagrus, or Fly-hmiter. If we believe Pausanias, the
origin of the worship they paid to that Divinity was this; Her-
cules, being molested by those insects while he was about to of-
fer sacrifices to Olym^iian Jupiter in the temple, offered a vic-
tim to that God under the name of Muyagrus, upon which all
the flies flew away beyond the river Alpheus. Pliny even asserts
that it was the constant practice as often as they celebrated the
Olympic Games, to sacrifice to the God Myodes lest the flies
disturb the solemnity. Be that as it will, Beel-Zebut is call-
ed in Scripture the prince of Devils, which shews us that he
was one of the principal Divinities of the Syrians. When Aba-
sias sent to consult him, the prophet Elias thus expostulated
with his servants: Is there not a God in Israel? Why then go
to consult Beel-Zebut the God of the Accaronitea?
160 SYRIAN IDOLATBY. CHAP. IV.
BAAL-BERITH. SECT. XX.
SECTION TWENTIETH.
7th. BAAL-BERITH.
.^_,..^ This God would be wholly unknown were it
Berith was a ^^^ fQj. ^ passage in the book of Judges^ where
God or Goddess f &
of covenants or it is said, that after the death of Gideon^ " the
°^yl_ Israelites forsook the Lord, and made a cove-
' nant with Baal that he might be their God."
The Hebrew text imports, « and they set up Baal-Beriih, over
them, that he might be their God." We read also in the same
book, that this God had a temple in Sichem^ whence the inhabi-
tants of that city took seventy pounds of silver and gave it to
Abimilech the son of Gideon. The interpreters of Scripture
have offered many conjectures to help us to the knowledge of
this God. Father Calmet thinks he was the same as Derceto,
or .Dagon, or Diana- Britomaris^ and that the worship passed
from the island of Crete to the Philistines^^ and from thence had
been propagated to Sichem: but this is not the course the fa-
bles took. The worship of the Pagan Gods, as has been so
often said, having taken its rise in the eastern countries, passed
into the islands of the Mediterranean, and from thencp into
Greece and the adjacent countries. Thus we shall once more
have recourse to Sanchoniathon: that author, or rather Phi-
Lo of Byblos, his interpreter, tells us, that Elion and Berith^
were two Divinities of Phenida. The first of these names im-
ports the most high, and is sometimes attributed to the true
God, by the sacred Avriters: Bel or Baaly signifies the Lord:
Beruth, which has a very plain affinity with Berith^ signifies the
covenant; thus Elion*Beruthy or Baal-Berith^ will be the true
God, or Goddess of the covenant. Accordingly, we are told in
Scripture, that the Israelites made a covenant with that God, as
we have seen in the passage which I have quoted. The an-
CflAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. 161
SECT. XXI. KIUN.
cients, we know, had several Gods who presided over covenants,
and it seems every one was free to choose whom he pleased, to
be the guarantee of what he was going to promise. However
the Greeks and the Romans commonly made choice of Jiifiiter^
who was therefore surnamed Jupiter over oaths. Pausanias
informs us that in the city of Olymp-ia was to be seen Jufiiter
brandishing the thunderbolt in his hand, ready to discharge it
against those who violated their oaths. Nothing was more noted
among the Romans.) than the form of swearing by Jufiiter Stone;
which Apuleius alludes to thus. Quid igitur jurabo? fier Deum
Ldpidem^ Romano -uetustissimo more.
• But who then was this God of the covenant?
Who he WdS is rr., . . • m i ^ £ J ^ r n
uncertain This is impossible to find out: tor Bochart
^==i=;=: does not satisfy us, when he says Bevith is the
same with the Goddess Beroe, of whom Nonnus makes men-
tion, calling her the daughter oi'Venus and Adonis, or accord-
ing to others, of Tethys and Oceanus. We shall be but little
wiser for knowing that this God or Goddess gave her name to
the, city Berithy where she resided.
SKCTION TWENTY-FIRST.
Kiujs:
- ■ ■ \ ' All the knowledge we have of Kiun ov Rem-
Kiun, mention,
e J by the prophet pham^ is owing to a passage of the prophet
perfectly kifovv™' Amos, where it is said, « You have borne the
===== tabernacle of your God Moloch, and Kiun your
images, and the Star of your Gods whom ye have made." St.
Luke rehearsing a discourse of St. Stephen, calls this God,
after the septuagint, " the Star of your God Remjiham." And
ihis has put interpreters to the rack, upon account of the differ-
VOL. II. X
162 SYRIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. IV.
SUCCOTH-BENOTH, &C. SECT. XXII.
cnce there is between the Hebrew text, and that of the septua-
gint. I shall not enter here into a discussion of their argu-
ments, but leave the reader to consult for himself: nor shall I
examine whether this Star of Remjiham was the same with that
of TewMs, with worshipping whom the prophets upbraid the
Moabit es; or if it was the Moon^ as some authors maintain; or
lastly, the planet Saturn^ as is most probable, since Kaivan^
Avhich is much the same word with Kiun, signifies Saturn among
the Persians — and Ram, whence comes Rempharii, imported
Ai^//, exalted., among the Phenicians, agreeing to Saturn's situ-
ation in regard to most of the planets.
SECTION TWENTY-SECONI>.
f Other Gods less known, likewise mentioned in Scripture. J
SUCCOTff.£EJVOTff,&c.
The better to understand what I have to say
J\''ere-el ' 'jlsMma ^" ^^^^ article, we must know that the Cutheansj
Scc; who tiiey -whom Salmanaza sent to re-people Samaria,
were.
_„:..__—„_», after the dispersion of the tribes, brought thi-
ther several of their idols, whose Avorship the Israelites fre-
quently embraced, as they are taxed by the prophets upon
several occasions. A passage from the second book of Kings,
ma.kes us acquainted with a vast number of them, as follows.
" Every one of those nations (whom Assaradon had sent to peo-
ple the cities of Samaria) made Gods of their own, and put them
in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made,
every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. The men of
Babylon made Succoth-Benolh; the Cutheans made Nergel; the
men of Haratfi made Ashima; and the Avites made JVibbaz and
Tariak: but those of Sefiharvaim burat their children in the fire,
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. 163
SECT. XXII. SUCCOTH-BENOTH, ScC.
to Adramelech and Anamelech." A short commentary on this
passage, will bring us to the knowledge of all these Divinities.
— 1st. The terms Succoth Benoth, signify the tents of the
virgins; which made Selden think the Scripture in this chap-
ter had an eye to the temples of Fenus, or Astarte, that were at
Babylon, and in which the virgins, according to Herodotus
and Stiiabo, prostituted themselves to strangers. The prophet
Jehemiah speaks of this detestable custom, in the letter which
he wrote to Babylon, and he informs us that these young vir-
gins repaired thither with garlands on their heads, and retired
into little chambers, or sat in the high way, severely reproch-
ing those whose beauty did not allure the embraces of passen-
gers.— 2nd, The JVergel of the Cutheans was probaly the
sacred fire worshipped by the ancient Persians; which corres-
ponds to his name, the import whereof is a fountain of fire. —
3rd, Chamanin was also an idol that represented the Sun, whose
worship, as has been said, was abolished by Josiah. — 4th, The
Asima of the people ol Emath, was represented under the figure
of a he-goat, and was probably the same with the God Pan of the
Egyptians. — 5th, The Mb/iaz of the Avites was JVebo, that
great Divinity of Babylon, whom we have spoken of under that
head. — 6th, Tartak, according to some authors, was the same
with the Tyfihon of the Egyptians. The Syrians honored him
with a peculiar worship, and his festival bore the title of sacred.
— 7th. As to Adramelech and Anamelech, if they were not an-
cient kings of the country, as their names incline me to believe,
-since the former signifies a powerful king, and the latter a mag-
nificent king, I would be inclined to think they were the Sun
and Moon; for I cannot be of their opinion wlio take Adrame-
lech for Juno, because that God was represented under the figure
of a peacock, a bird consecrated to the spouse of Jupiter; for to
say it once more, it was very late before the Syrians received
164 SYRIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. IV.
SUCCOTH-BENOTH, 8cC. SECT. XXII.
the Divinities of the western nations, and long after the latter
had adopted thos'e of the East.
===== The Syrians and their neighbours worship-
A'ibbas, suppo-
sed to be Anitbis, ped several other Divinities, of whom we know
— mli?"^ r^'b"' l^ardly any thing certain; for we must not give
bly restored by ear to the Rabbins who have devised thou-
Antiochus. ^ c ■ , ■ • i, r
• sands ot conjectures on this occasion, all oi
them frivolous and ridiculous; slich was one JVibbas, who is
thought to be the same with the God Anubis. The emperor Ju-
lian, after having renounced Christianity, was zealous for resto-
ring the almost neglected worship of this ancient Divinity; he
even caused his image to be engraved upon his coin, holding a
caduceus in one hand, and an Egyfitian sc ep.tr e in the other. — ■ —
Such also was Moazim., whose worship the wicked Antiochus
restored, if the following allusion of Daniel be not to the Ro'
man Eagle; for that Prophet is the only one who speaks of this
God, and what he says of him is very obscure. In one of his
visions, where he foretells what was one day to befal the kings
of Syria, he speaks of a prince, who is thought to be Antiochus
Epiphanes, who was to " forsake the God of his fathers, and to
substitute in his room a God whom they did not know." The
version of ThiJouontion has kept the same name given to tliat
God by the vulgate, but other versions have only the God of
forces 2Xi^ fortifications, which has made several interpreters
believe Moazim was the same with the God Mars, since his
name is compounded of Dazas, which imports strong; which
perfectly agrees to the God of war, whom the Jews called Mo-
din, by a change of letters, which is common enough with them.
The author of the critical history of worships, after having de-
livered the opinion of interpreters upon this passage, thinks for
his own part that Moazim is to be referred to the Eagle of the
Romans, whom Antiochus appeased by gifts, and by resigning
to them the provinces which he possessed on this side of mount
CHAP. IV. SYRIAN IDOLATRY. 16$
SECT. XXII. SUOCOTH-BENOTH, 8cC.
Taurus; and that the Roman Eagle was that God unknown to
his fathers, whom he worshipped, that is to whom he was
obliged to submit by a treaty of peace, whereof the Romans
reaped all the advantage. This opinion, which that author sup-
ports by solid reasons, is not without probability.
:====s=r To conclude; the Scripture makes mention
Several other Qf several other Gods, which are only known
Gods not porticu-
larly named, by the names of the cities where they were
=^=^=^^^ . worshipped; such as the Gods of Emath, of
Arfihad^ of Sepharvaim, of Avia, of Seir, of Eva., and several
others, whose worship made a part of those abominations with
which the nations are so often reproached, and sometimes the
Jews themselves, especially the Israelites who followed the su-
perstition of Jeroboam and afterwards adopted most of the Di-
vinities of their neighbours. M. Fourmont has omitted none
of all those Gods, on whom I shall not further enlarge, that I
may not fill this work with etymologies; frequently controvert-
ed, and always of but little use. That author has however
some very happy ones^ which may be seen in his work.
CHAPTER V.
PERSIAN IDOLATRY.
SECTION FIRST.
THE PERSMjY BELIGIOJV /JV GEJVERJL.
•,, • IF we may ^ive credit to Thomas Hyde, a
The Persians in- . ■ '
voked the S%m, learned English gentleman, who has composed
Fire, &c, as Dei- , ^. . , ... « ,
ties,notwithstand. ^ treatise concernmg the religion of the an-
ing-adifFerentopi- cient Persians, a work full of the most pro-
nion of M. Htbe. ^
found erudition, the religion of that people, of
whom he tells us some remains are still to be found in Asioy
under the name of Pharsis or of Guebres, was much more re-
fined than that of their neighbours, nor did they worship vain
Idols like them. According to him, they acknowledged only
one Supreme Being, of whom Fire was the symbol, and though
they gave a religious worship to that element, yet it was only
relative to the Deity whom it represented. But however
learned the remarks of that author are, it is certain that Anti-
quity has ever reckoned the Persians as a people who adored,
not only the Sun, and Fire, but also other natural objects, as
Divinities. Herodotus says the Persians believed Fire to be
a God, and that their reason for not burning their dead, was,
that they would have thought themselves guilty of sacrilege,
if they had caused a dead body to be consumed by a God.
CHAP. V. PERSLVN mOLATRY. 167
SECT. I. PERSIAN RELIGION IN GENERAL.
Plutarch, speaking of the two principles Oromazes and Ari-
manfws, the one good., and the other evil, adds that the Persians,
according to the law of Zoroaster, worshipped Mithras, and
invoked him as the mediator between those two Divinities.
But if this be not sufficient evidence, I might addthatof Quin-
Tus CuRTius, who tells us that Darius, upon the point of en-
gaging with Alexander, to inspire his troops With courage, in-
voked the Sun, Mithras, and Fire. Besides, if this Mithras
was the -Smtz, as we shall prove hereafter, it is certain they
adored that luminary, to whom they offered hoirses in sacrifice,
as Justin tells us from Trogus Pompeius. The same au-
tiiqr relates in what manner Artaxerxes Mnemon obliged As-
pasia, with whom both he and his son were in love, to become
priestess of the Sun. Thus we see that the Persians invoked
the Sun, offered sacrifices to him, addressed their prayers to
him, and had priests set apart for his service: and he who is an
object of religious worship, of vows, supplications, and prayers,
is esteemed a God. Therefore the Persians worshipped the
Sun, and Fii'e probably as representing the Sun, who was evi-
dently their great Divinity. And Herodotus attributes the
same worship to the Massagestes, a neighbouring people to
the Persians.
. ,. But in order to srive an abstract of the reli-
^ According to ^
what Hehodotus gion of the Persians, we must cite what is said
says about their , , . , _^ , _
reliq'ion.theywor- upon that subject by Herodotus, and Stra-
shipped also the ^^ jj^g ^^^ Ancients who seem to have been
Mooii, the Earth, '
t\\&Wind,?LndLWa- best acquainted with that ancient people.
ter; without tern- m i <- p i i •
pies, statues, or ai- " ^^"8, says the former of these authors, is
^"''^" what I have learned concerning the religious
ceremonies of the Persians. They believe it is not lawful to
have either statues, temples, or altars; and they look upon
those who use them, as foolish, because they do not think as the
Greeks do, that the Gods have a human shape. They have a
168 PERSIAN roOLATBY. CHAP. V.
• ' -■ ■ '■ " -' '
PERSIAN RELIGION IN GENERAL. SECT. I.
custom of sacrificing to Jufiiter upon the highest mountains,
calling him the vast expansion of the heavens. They sacrifice
to the Sun, the Afoow, the Earth, the Fire, and the T^nrfs; and
these are the only Gods to whom they offered sacrifices from
the earliest ages: but besides these, they have learnt from the
Assyrians and Arabians to saci'ifice likewise to Urania; whom
the first of those two nations call Venus Mylitta, the second,
Alitta, and the Persians call her Mum.* In these sacrifices
they erected no altars, kindled no fire, and used neither liba-
tions nor cakes; but when one is to offer a sacrifice, he leads
his victim to a place clean and pure, and implores the God to
whom he is to offer it, having upon his head a tiara encircled
with myrtle. No one is permitted to offer sacrifice for himself
alone; he must pray for all the Persians, and especially for the
king. When the sacrificer has offered the victim, and cut it
into pieces, he lays it upon the most tender grass, giving pre-
ference to the trefoil or clover. The parts of the victim being
thus disposed of, the Magus-, who assists in the sacrifice, says
the theogony; which the Persians look upon as a sort of incan-
tation; and they are not permitted to sacrifice without z. Magus.
Some time after, he who offered the victim carries off the flesh
and applies it to what use he pleases. Of all the days of the
year, that which they observe with most solemnity is the day of
their nativity. Then the wealthy roast an ox or a horse, a
camel or an ass, for a public entertainment; while the poorer
class content themselves with giving some paultry sheep."
The same author adds in the 138th chapter of the same Book,
that the Persians have also a high veneration for the Rivers,
into which they neither durst spit, or void their urine. It is no
* That is Mithras, this being a mode peculiar to Herodotus, for writing
that name, which, as we sliall see, the Persians applied to Diana or the
Moon, as well as to the Smi:
CHAP. V. PEHSIAN idolatry. 169
SECT. I. PERSIAN RELIGION IN GENERAL.
doubt for the same reason they are forbid to extinguish Fire
with IFater, using nothing but earth for that purpose, as you
may see in M. Hyde's treatise spoken of above.
■ • ■ Stuabo, who had travelled into Cappadocia,
All which is con- ■ n .
filmed by what ^ country once subject to the Persians^ is very
Strabo says ui,.m f^^jj ^ ^^^ relit-ion of this ancient people:
tlie same subject. '^ ^ i i ->
■ I __^_^ and what he says of them ought to have the
more weight with us> since he agrees in every thing with what
has just been related from Herodotus. " The Persians, says
he, have neither statues, nor altars, but sacrifice in high places.
They believe the heavens to be Jufiiter; they worship the Suti
whom they call Mithras, also the Moon or Venus, the Fire, the'
Earth, the Winds, and Water. The place where they sacrifice
must be pure; the victim they offer is ci'owned, and they pray
over it by way of further consecration. When the Magus has
cut it into pieces, each of the .company takes his part of it, and
they leave nothing for the Gods, believing that they require
from them only the soul of the victim: we are told however,
adds he, that semetimes they throw a part of the fat into a fire.
They sacrifice chiefly to the Fire, and Water. " To the Five
they offer dry wood, whose bark they ttike off after having
poured oil upon it. They kindle it not by blowing it with the
mouth, but by making a wind with a kind of fan. If any one
blew it, or threw any filth into it, he was punished with death.
Their manner of sacrificing to the Water, continues Strabo,
was thus; — When they came near a lake, a river, or 2l fountain,
they made a ditch, and there immolated the victim, taking great
care that the blood spurt not into the Water, when all would be
defiled. After this, mixing the flesh with myrtle and laurel,
the Priests order the whole to be burnt; and after some prayers,
they pour oil and milk mixed with honey, not upon the Fire nor
the Water, but upon the Earth. While the Priests are saying
prayers, which consumes a considerable time, they hold in their
VOL. II. V
170 PERSIAN roOLATRY. CHAP. V.
PERSIAN RELIGION IN GENERAL SECT. I.
. ~
hands a bundle of tamarind. In Capfiadocia^ where are to be
found a great number of the Persian Magi, who are called
Pyrethi, they strike not the victim with a knife, but knock it
down with a club.' ' The Fire-temples, according to the
same author, Avere large iuclosures, in the middle whereof was
an altar. There the Magi preserved the Fire with the ashes,
and went thither every day to offer up their prayers, with the
bundle of tamarind as above mentioned in their hands, and their
heads covered with mitres whose strings hung down over their
faces. This especially was the practice in the temples of
Anaitis and Omanus, for these Deities had their temples, and
the statue of the latter was carried with a great deal of pompt
and ceremony. This says Strabo, speaking of the Cafipado-
ciana, is what I have seen myself." What this author adds af-
terwards about the veneration which that people had for Water,
wherein they durst not even wash their hands, far less the bo-
dies of the dead, nor throw any filth into it, he owns l>e had
from others.
: Upon these passages of Stuabo, we may
the above ^ "^"" remark, that if he confounds the religion of
■■ I I the Persians, of which he had heard, with that
of the Cafipadocians, whose ceremonies he had seen, and with
whose Magi he had conversed; he may be justified by their
great similitude, as their shades of difference in most respects
are scarcely worth the distinction. Our author seems also to
contradict himself in one particular; for after he had said that
the Persians had neither temples nor statues, he mentions both
the temples and statues of Omanus and Anaitis: but we may
equally justify him in this, by saying that the first part of his
narration is to be understood of the ancient and primitive reli-
gion of the Persians, who had then neither temples, nor statues;
and that the latter part respects the times when they had al-
tered the simplicity of the more ancient worship. The first
CHAP. V. PERSIAN IDOLATRY. 171
- — —
SECT. I. PERSIAN RELIGION IN GENERAL.
part seems to be copied from Herodotus; while in the latter
the author delivers the state of that worship in his own time, a.
period of four hundred years after Herodotus: now it is no
wonder if in that interval, the ancient religion of that people
had undergone some change. And the fact itself is not to be
doubted, since Clemens of Alexandrm asserts upon the autho-
rity of Berosus, that the Persians^ after a long course of years,
had begun to pay divine worship to human statues; a practice
which was introduced by Artaxerxes, the sun of Darius and.
father of Ochus. It was he, continues that author, who first
erected at Babylon^ Ecbatana^ and Susa^^ the statue of Venus
Tanais, and by his own example taught the Persians, the J5ac-
trians, and the people of Damaa and Sardes, that this statue was
to be worshipped as a Goddess. By the by this is not to be
looked upon ars the introduction of the worship of that Goddess,
who was known in Persia in the time of Herodotus, when
there were no statues of the Gods in that country; but rather
that the Prince whom Clemens of Alexandria mentions, added
to her worship the statue of that Goddess, as Strabo has said
of those of Omanus and Anaitis. It is certain that it was very
late before the Persians had temples, altars or statues; and
hence doubtless the fury which Xerxes exerted against the
temples of Athens which he burnt: it is indeed credible that he
intended to revenge himself upon the Athenians, by destroying
whatever they held most sacred; but would he not also revenge
the injury done to the Gods, whom he thought affronted by the
nature of that worship which was paid to them in Greece?
Plutarch, explaining, according to the
,W°Hnir'^S doctrine which Zoroaster, the king and
whicli the Per- lawgiver of Bractria, the ancient opinion of
sians called Oro-
mazes and Jlrima- the two principles, the one good, or the prm-
gg^an^'tL:^ ciple of Light, and the other e.i^ or the
■■"■ -■' -"■ principle of Darkness, says, the ancient Per-
172 PERSIAN iDOLATRY. CHAP. V.
MITHRAS SECT. II.
siaiis added a third, which they termed Mithras. They invoke,
continues that author, the God Pluto or Darkness^ after this
manner. Having pounded in a mortar the plant called Omomi^
they intermixed with it the blood of a wolf just sacrificed,
and carried this composition into a place of obscure darkness
where the Sun never shines. Besides this, they have a notion
that some trees and plants belong to the good principle, and
others to the evil principle: and that among animals, the dogs,
the hedg-hogs, and the birds, are subject to the dominion of the
former of these two principles; while they maintain that all such
animals as live in the water, belong to the lattel*. Oromazes the
good principle, according to them, continues Plutarch, is
sprung from the purest light, and Arimanius the evil principle,
from the profoundest darkness, and these two principles have
always been at war with one another. Such are the testimo-
Tiies of the Ancients respecting the religion of the Persians;
and notwithstanding the variety we find among them, they all
agree at least in this, that this ancient people paid adoration to
the Sun and Fire. But the whole Persian mythology will be
better understood from the following Section upon their God
MithraSf
SECTION SECOND.
MITHRAS.
Mithras, an ancient God of the Persians, was
The worship of „„. n i • i^ .,, , .
Mithras brought "°^ ^^^^ k"°^" 1" Euro^ie, till his worship was
by Pompey to brought to Rome; which happened, accordine-
Jiotne, where lie x-i ? ^
represented the to Plutarch in his life of Pompey, at the
Sun, as with the • r i
Persians. ^ime ot the piratic war, A. U. C. 682, or 76
' = years before Christ. It is from this epoch, but
CHAP. V. PERSIAN IDOLATRY. 173
SECT. n. MITHUAS.
more especially from the time of the second and third century
of the Christian Mra^ that the worship and mysteries of this
Divinity were celebrated at Rome. Van Dale, who contends''
that the worship of Mithras was not known in Greece and Rome
till after the coming of Jesus Christy had undoubtedly not con-
sidered this passage in Plutarch's life of Pompey. It is
beyond doubt that the Romans took Mithras for the Sun and
worshipped him as such. This is evident from the inscriptions
that are upon monuments representing this Divinity; Deo Soli
invicto Mythrx; to the invicible God Mythras the Sun. This
epithet invincible is fret^uently given to the Su7i upon other
monuments, and it denotes that lumhiary to be the first, and the
Lord of all the rest. It would be needles to cite the Greek
and Roman authors, who assert that this God represented the
Sun: all of them agree to it; and their sentiment, being con-
formable to what we learn as to this, fi'om the inscriptions trans-
mitted to us by antiquity, leaves no room to doubt of it.
■ It is a misfortune that the monuments of
No Persian mo- . . ^
numents of Mi- MzYAras we have remammg, and which are very
thras; all Italian,-
—an account
'^ numerous, were all done in Italy., and that we
some of them have no Persian figure of that God: for I do
which differ:
■ not think he is to be found among those which
Chardin, and after him Corneillk le Brun copied at Chilmi-
near, which is reckoned to be the ancient Perse/iolis. Some
antiquaries, however, think he is to be seen in three of those
figui'es, representing three men with long beards standing up-
right, having upon their heads a kind of bonnet resembling a
turban, flat at the top. These thi'ee priests plunge a dagger in-
to the belly ,of three animals, thought to be a lion, a griffin, and
a horse: as to the two first there is no dispute; and the third
appears plainly from the head and feet to be a horse, but the
tail is different from the tail of that animal. If the God Mi-
thras was thus represented by the Peruans, the Romans, who
174 PERSIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. \
MITHRAS. SECT. 11.
derived from them his worship and mysteries, must indeed
have considerably changed the manner of characterizing him;
for we have now extant several mohumejrts of that Divinity,
which bear little or no resemblance to that which we have just
described. Those monuments were mostly dug up at Antium,
now Nettuno, and have been learnedly explained by Mr. Della
Torre, afterwards bishop of Hadria. All these images i^esem-
ble one another, only with this difference, that some bear more
figures than others. The most compounded, whose descrip-
tion will serve for the rest, was in the hbuse of Octavio Zeno.
It represents a young man with a Phrygian bonnet, a tunic,
and a cloak which rises out waving from the left shoulder.
This young man holds his knee upon a bull that is stretched on
the ground, and while he holds him muzzled with the left hand,
with his right he plunges a dagger into his throat. On the
right side of this monument are two youths, whose habits arid
caps are like those of Mithras., who is upon the bull. Each of
these young men holds a torch, the one raised up, the other with
the lighted end directed downwards to the ground. A dog
comes up to the throat of the bull as if to lick the blood that
flows from the Avound. Near the dog is a serpent stretched at
full length and without action. A lion couchant by the serpent,
appears there likewise without any determined action. Under
the belly of the bull is a scorpion grasping the privities of the
bull in his ^^^ o claws. Before the head of this animal is a tree,
to which is fastened a lighted torch, and whence hangs the head
of an Ox. Behind Mithras is a tree with a scorpion, and a
torch, whose lighted end is turned downwards. Higher up over
against the head of Mithras is a raven. The upper part of this
bas-relief is also very singular. It is a series of figures upon
the same line, whereof the first is a radiant Sun with wings, in
a chariot drawn by fcur horses, which appear in violent agita
tion, and look towards the four quarters of the world: near the
CHAP. V. PERSIAN ffiOLATRY. 179
SECT. ir. MITHRAS.
chariot is a naked man, around whom a serpent twines with four
wreaths from foot to head. After this you see two flaming al-
tars, and between those altars three large square vials; then
another naked man, intwined like the first, by a serpent: this
last has wings, and a pike intwined with his left hand: next are
four altars, with as many vials. The Moon in her chariot drawn
by two horses, that appear exceedingly fatigued, closes the
scene. She stands erect in her chariot, with wings, and the
figure of a crescent upon her head.
- All these monuments of Mithras .prove he
refer to the ^m was the same as the Sun^ not only among the
' Persians, but also among the Greeks and Ro-
mans. The last, by whom the worship of this God was carried
further than by others, had instituted mysteries to his honor, as
shall be said afterwards; and it was in the celebration of these
mysteries, that Mithras was honoi^ed under the different sym-
bols which the monuments represent. There is no doubt but
they designed tq figure thereby the course of that luminary,
his power and his other operations. I consider therefore the
monuments that we have of that God, not as the representation
of the real sacrifice of a bull that was offered up to him, but as
a kind of celestial planisphere designed to denote the Sun^s
force, by painting him in the attitude of a young man, thrusting
a dagger into the throat of one of the strongest and fiercest ani-
mals. This, no doubt, is the reason why they engraved upon
bas-reliefs the signs and constellations. We see in the work of
Mr. Hyde, upon one of these monuments, the crab, the scor-
pion, the serpent, the dog, the dolphin, the arrow, and the dra-
gon, several constellations very well designed, and also the
lion and several other signs of the zodiac, as likewise the planets,
at least their symbols. Thus we see that the bare description
of the figures, that represent Mithras, evidently declares that
they refer to the -Sm«, to his power, and to his influences. St a-
176 PERSIAN IDOLATRY, CHAP. V.
MITHRAS. SECT. II.
Tius, in an invocation which he addressed to that luminary, and
his learned commentator, have very well comprehended this
mythology. " O Siin^ be propitious to me — whether you choose
to be invoked under the name of refulgent Titariy or of fructify-
ing Osiris, or under that of Mithras, when, in the caves of Per-
sia, he presses the horns of the bull, disdaining to follow him."
LucTATius, explaining this passage, says, the Persians were
the first who worshipped the S^in in dens and caves^ and that,
to denote the eclipses of this luminary: that the bull, whose
horns Mithras holds with one hand, denotes the Moon, who
scorning to follow her brother, goes before him, and hides his
light; but the Sun, by that violent action, shews his superiority
bver that planet.
====== It was the heavens, over which the Su7i
and to the Heav- , ^, , i • j , i
ens over which he ''ules, that were designed to be represented on
rules; as their ex- ^^^ bas-relief of which I am now speakina;; for
planation proves. r- o?
===== what is the import of this action of Mithras,
who, under the figure of a strong robust young man, is killing
the bull, as appears iij all these monuments; or who, in another
quoted by Mr. Hyde, stands upon that animal, holding a dagger
in the right hand, and a globe in the other? My notion of it is
this: The Sun, after having run over the southern signs, with-
out strength and heat dming the winter season, recovers a new
vigour when he approaches our ti'opic, at the beginning of
spring; he first passes through the ram, and, entering into the
sign of the bull, begins to put forth his strength, which is mark-
ed by cutting the bull's throat. Then it is indeed that nature
assumes new vigour; for, according to Macrobius, the true
spring is what Virgil describes, when the Sun enters into the
sign of the bull. This, to mention it by the by, is the reason of
putting upon the leg of the same bull, the inscription, Deo Soli
jnvicto Mithrx; an inscription repeated upon the altars of that
God, and upon other monuments that represented him, with
CHAP. V. PERSIAN mOLATRY. 177
SECT. II. MITHRAS.
some little variation, as Soli invicto Mithrx; Kumini invicto Soli
Mithrte ara, Sec. All this pointed out that the Sun, who subdues
that sign, ffom that time diffuses heat and fruitfulness over
all, and raises mankind to the hope of a plentiful harvest, as
James Gronovius observes in the explication of these figures.
This fruitfulness is disigned yet more plainly upon one of these
marbles, where the tail of the bull has at its extremity ears of
com.' The other figures that accompany these monuments of
Mithra6'^v& easy to be explained. The crab, gnawing the pri-
vities of the bull, denotes his haste and eagerness to thrust out
that sign, the Sun being to travel through him very soon after.
The serpent stretched out below the figure of the lion, is ser-
pentarius, which occupies so great a space in the heavens.
The other signs of the zodiac are there, to point out that the
Sun is to run through them during the summer. The lion,
which was one of the particular symbols of Mithras., (as ap-
pears from an antique, whereon that God is represented under
the figure of a lion, accompanied with his star, and this inscrip-
tion, Leo Mithriacus) ought especially to be there, as he is in-
deed, because the Sun is in his greatest strength when he en-
ters into that sign. The other stars and constellations are
thei'e also, as they ought to be in a celestial globe. — -The two
young men, whose habit and headdress are like those oi Mithras,
the one of them holding his lighted torch aloft, while the other
turns his towards the ground to extinguish it, are cet-tainly, as
antiquaries are unanimously agreed, the symbols of the rising
and setting Sun, and it is needless to insist longer upon this.
In the same way are we to explain the two torches, the one lift-
ed up, and the other lowered to the ground, which in one of the
monuments of Mithras are fastened to two trees, the one before,
and the other behind the bull slain. As little is it to be doubt-
ed that the two stars that are upon the heads of the young men
we have been speaking of, in a marble explained by Guuter,
VOL. II. Z
178 PERSIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. V.
MITHRAS. SECT. II.
are the morning and evening Star, as says that learned antiqua-
rian upon one of those mai'bles quoted by Thomas Hyde. The
young man holding the torch aloft, is standing, and he ought to
be in that attitude, since he is to cafry light over the earth. He
who is extinguishing his torch, is sitting, and appears quite
overcast with sorrow; to signify that his light is going to disap-
pear, and that men are in pain and uneasiness while the earth is
wrapped up in clouds and darkness. — Of the two trees^ to
which the torches are fastened, the dne upon the right side of
the rising Sun has only leaves, while the other, by the setting
Sun, is loaded with fruits; by which are represented the Spring
and Autumn. — The Sun in his chariot, at the top of the mar-
ble, whose horses appear panting, marks the Sun at noon, and
in all his strength; as the Moon, likewise in her chariot, whose
horses seem tired and spent, signifies that she is eclipsed by the
Su7i, and obliged to hide her head. — The two figures entwi-
ned with serpents, point out the obliquity of the ecliptic; which
maybe confirmed by a singular monument, whereof Montfau-
coN has given a draft, on which you see the signs of the zodiac
cut by a serpent, which wreaths itself around it with many spires.
— The altars and vials, that form a kind of cornice at the top
of the marble, inform us of what use they were in the myste-
ries oi Mithras, that were always accompanied with sacrifices.
— The raven that is to be seen upon the same monument, is
to be considered as a bird consecrated to the Sun, or to Mithras,
as we are assured by all the ancients it was. Even the priests
of Mithras were styled coraces, that is ravens, and hierocoraces,
or sacred ravens, because this bird was consecrated to that God,
as also they were called leontici, because the lion was his par-
ticular symbol, as has been said.
CHAP. V. PERSIAN IDOLATRY. 179
SECT. II. MITHRAS.
: • The othel" figures of iV/iMras, exhibited by
Two other fit^- , . . , ., , . i
iires and tlieir ^'^^ antiquaries, may be easily explained.
symbols, explain- Mqntfaucon in his travels through Italy, hsiS
• two of them very remarkable. The one repre-
sents a, man with a lion's head, whom a serpent, after having
twined about his neck and shoulders, overtops by the head: Su-
perat ca/iite is" cervicibus aids. This figure has four wings, two
whereof fall down to the earth, and the other two are raised to-
wards heaven. Out of the lion's mouth proceeds a long fillet
that hangs waving in the wind. — The other figure is mounted
upon a globe; the serpent wreaths around it from the bottom of
the globe, till it surmounts the head, and then winding about to
the face, thrusts its head into the mouth of the figure. This
figure has also four wings disposed in like manner with the for-
mer, that is, two let down and two elevated: but inistead of
torches it holds two keys in its hands. — These two figures are
unquestionably the God Mithras. Several authors assure us he
was represented with a lion's head, as we learn from Tertul-
LiAN and from St. Jerome. Luctatius too, whom we have
mentioned before, tells us that Mithas in a Persian habit, had
a lion's head, adorned with a tiara, and that he grasped the horns
of a bull with his hands. — The other symbols of these two
figures may be thus explained. The four wings denote the ra-
pidity of the Sun's course; the two that are lifted up to heaven
point out his rising., and the two that are let down, his setting;
the serpent intwining those figures, signifies the obliquity of the
ecliptic, whence that luminary never deviates: the keys in the
hands of one of the figures, denote that the Sun opens and
shuts the gate of day, and is Lord of nature: in fine, the globe
beneath its feet marks the world, around which that luminary
revolves, scattering his light and benign influence over our
whole svstcm.
186 PERSIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. V.
MITHRAS. SECT. II.
====== There are also several variations as to these
Several variati-
ons in his repre- ancient monuments. Upon a marble in the
according to^The Justinian Gallery, and upon two others, of
caprice of the Ar- which one is in Beger, and the other is quo-
tist.
■ ted in M. Delxa Torre's work; the figures
of Mithras cutting the bull's throat are nvinged; as also is the
figure of the young man bearing the lighted torch: which only
confirm what we have advanced, that thereby was intimated
the rapidity wherewith the Sun makes the round of the world.
— — We have also in the Justinian Gallery a Bacchic Mithras
of a very singular nature, and quite different from the rest. It
represents a y^ungman naked, unarmed, having a Persian bon-
net, and holds in his right hand a cluster of grapes towards
which he turns his eyes. He is accompanied with two young
men, one of whom holds his torch aloft, while the other lowers
his towards the ground. He has by him a bow, an arrow, a qui-
ver, and the dagger also apart, wherewith, in the other bas-re-
liefs he slays the bull; and together withal is the word JVama.)
which will be understood presently.— —There are still some
other variations in these monuments, which are perhaps owing
to nothing but the caprice of the Artist. Thus, sometimes the
young men who- bear the lighted torches, ha v^e them both
turned upwards, while at other times they are both reversed:
sometimes also, he who represents the rising Sun, is behind the
bull, while the one who represents the departing day is before
him. '
=========== Herodotus alledges that among the Per-
The Persians . i ^r c Tt/r-^i. u-
worshipped also si'^^s under the name oi Mithras, was worship-
the celestial Ve- jyed Veniis Urania, or the celestial Venus; and
-/IMS under the .
n^mo. .oiJVEthras. subjoins that they had received her worship
. from the Assyrians and Arabians, the former of
whom called her Mylitta, and the latter Alitta. To this pur-
pose, it is proper to observe, that among the bas-reliefs oi Mi-
CHAP. V. PERSIAN roOLATRY. 181
SECT. II. MITHRAS.
thras^ there are three, wherein, instead of the young man slay-
ing the bull, is a woman with wings performing that operation;
of which one is taken from thje Justinian Gallery, the second
from Beger, and the third is quoted by M. Della Torre. In
two of these marbles, are the two young men bearing torches,
to denote the morning and the evening; in that of Beger there
is but one altar. But these three monuments do not represent
the God -Mithras^ for I see there neither the signs, nor the con-
stellations that are upon the others. We must therefore refer
them to the sentiment of Herodotus who tells us that the Per-
sians worshipped under the name of Mithras, the c elesHal
Venus. Hence we may conclude that the Romans, who had re-
ceived from the Persians the knowledge and worship of Mi-
thras, used also, in their mysteries, the types and represen-
tations of the ce/es^iaZ Venus, as worshipped by that ancient
people.
■ The bas-relief of the Villa-Borghesa, besides
The inscription the inscription of, Soli Deo invicto Mithm, up-
of JVama S'ebesio
explained. on the thigh of the bull, has, near the place
"^~~~~~~~~" where Mithras plunges the dagger into his
throat, these barbarous words, J\''ama Sebesio, which have put all
the Antiquaries to the rack. The most reasonable of them, too,
profess them to be quite unintelligible. It will be burthensome
and useless to insert here all the conjectures of the learned upon
this subject. We shall only notice, that Maffei, not satisfied
with these conjectures, has offered a new one of his own. First
of all, he remarks the place Avhere the words in question stand.
Says he, " they are not after the inscription Deo Soli invicto
]\Iithrce, where however there was room to insert them; they
must not therefore be read continuedly, as if they were new epi-
thets given to the Sun, besides that of invincible. They are
opon the neck of the bull, and just in the place where the blood
flows plentifully from the wound which Mithras gives him.
182 PERSIAN IDOLATllY. CHAP. V
MITHRAS. SECT. 11.
The design of writing them in this place, was therefore, to
point out either the name, or the property of the thing near
which they are engraved. What then is their meaning? JVama
Sebesian, in good Gi-eek imports august sfiririg^ new liquor j sa-
cred Jiuid. Could any thing be put there more suitable to
figure the action of Mithras who is cutting the bull's throat?
True, the last letter is wantin,g in the word Sebesion: but that is
because there was not room enough for it, or that it is de-
faced," Sec. -To this explanation, two insuperable objections
maybe made:./??-*/', that this action of Mithras is not arepi'esen-
tation of a real sacrifice, it being only a symbol or expression of
the Sun's power. Secondly^ that these two words, A^a?na Sebt-
sio, belong not to the Greek tongue: the latter especially, is vi-
sibly the epithet of Sabasius given to Bacchus or Dioni/sius,
who in the ancient mythology was the Sun, whom the Persian's
named Mithras. That this name, Scbasius, was given to that
God, is a fact not to be denied: and to be convinced of it, wc
need but read the third book of Diodorus Siculus; Lucian's
dialogue intitled the counsel of the Gods; Aristophanes, in
his play called the Wasp; Cicero, and a variety of other au-
thors. This comedy of AiiisToPHAKEs, it is true, is lost; but
the authority of Cicero, who had read it, supplies that loss.
And as this God was foreign to the Greeks, we must also look
for the root of this name in foreign languages; accordingly we
find it in the Sabaoth of the Hebrew, which signifies militia, ex-
ercitus. This epithet is frequently given to God, v/ho assumed
to himself the title of God of hosts, because he indeed is the
Lord of Heaven and Eeath, and of every Creature. The Per-
sians gave this name also to their Mithras, who was the Sun,
as the Greeks had done to Dionysius or Bacchus, who also re-
presented the same luminary; and the Romans,- who had re-
ceived the worship of the former- from ihc;Persians, as likewise
the names which they gave him, made use of that of Sabesius or
C1L\P. V. PERSIAN idolatry'. 18'
SECT. II. MITHRAS.
Sebasius, which is found upon the marble in question. For,
•what the' we find the name differently spelled in the Ancients,
since it was derived from a language they understood not; ac-
cordingly we find it written Sebesius, Sebasius, and even in Ma-
caoBius, Sebedius. But if you choose rather with the learned
BocHART to seek for the root of Sabasius, in the Hebre%-j word
Saboe, which signifies to be drunk, and which consequently be-
longed to the God Bacchus, I shall not oppose it; since this epi-
thet will then have the same signification as that of Methijm-
nius, which is also given to Bacchus. The epithet Sebasius is
also sometimes given to Jujiiier, because that God, according
to Macrobius, likewise represented the Sun. From the east-
ern nations this name passed into Greece and Italy, either as
Vossius alledges, by means of the Thracians, and by Orpheus,
who had himself learnt it from the Egyptians or Syrians; or by
means of the colonies that came from these two countries into
Greece and Italy. As for the word JVa77ia, it is certainly one
of the names oi Diana or the Moon, who, according to Hero-
dotus, was adored by the Persians, and was narned by ancient
authors either J\''ana or Jnaitis. We ougTit not to puzzle our-
selves with the fault of the artist, who, in transcribing this
name, put an ni instead of an n; which indeed might easily hap-
pen to a barbarous word, probably not understood by those who
ordered the work, the like of which too having often happened
to words of languages in use in the life time of such artists.
And we have said, that there is to be seen upon bas-reliefs both
the figure of a man, who i?, Mithras or the Sun, and that of a
woman, Avho is the Venus calestis or Diana, each of whom is
plunging the dagger into the bull's throat. Now, to do the
more honor to these Deities, it was judged necessary to give
them the same names they had in the countries whence they
came, rr— These things being supposed, nothing hinders us
from adopting the opinion that the barbarous names of the 5?/??
484 PERSIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. Y.
MITHRAS. SECT. II.
and Moon were designed to be put upon the marble I have
been speaking of, and that the inscription may be read, to JVana,
and- to Se basins or Mithras, that is, to the Sun, and to the
Moon, The change of Anaitis or JVana, to JVama, is no diffi-
cult thing to believe, since its fellow Sebasius has undergone
much greater.
■ Though his worship had been brought to
The mysteries of Rome in the time of Pompey, yet the mysteries
Mithras, ot which / r n ] :>
the principal feast of that God were not well known till about the
celebrated his na- , , ,, , , .1
tivity.— second century 01 the vulgar sera. As the
— — — Persians YidA no temples, but celebrated the
mysteries of Mithras in caves, as the monuments of which we
have been speaking represent; which they had learned from
theii" legislator Zoroaster, who first, according to the testi-
mony of Porphyry, chose for that purpose a den watered with
springs- and covered witii turfs; so the Romans, after their ex-
ample, celebrated the same mysteries of that God in dens and
caves,; and though this were not apparent from the marbles
themselves which we have now remaining, where Mithras is
represented in a cave, with the symbols I have explained; and
though all antiquity were not agreed about this matter, as they
really are, yet the inscriptions now extant, would leave no room
to doubt of it. The priests who were initiated into the mys-
teries of that God, assumed several names. Thus we find in
the writings of the ancients, they v/ere called Coraces, or Ra-
vens, Hierocoraces, or sacred Ravens; Leones, or Lions; and
the priestesses -Le^en^e or Lionesses; iov Mithras had his priest-
esses too, as appears from that passage in the second book of
Justin, where it is said; that. Artaxerxes consecrated Astasia to
the worship of that God. AH these priests wore the figures of
the animals whose names they bore. The L.eontini alone, as
Porphyry seems to insinuate, had a right to assume the figures
of any animals they pleased. Hence the mysteries themselves
CHAP. V. PERSIAN IDOLATRY. 185
SECT. II. MITHRAS.
• ■
were called Coracia, JLeonticay Gryfihia^ Persica^ Heliaca, &c.
There were also stated days for the celebration of these
mysteries, as for other festivals, which we leam from an inscrip-
tion cited by Chifflet, where we are told that Nonius and Vic-
tor celebrated the Persica on the 4th of April; the Heliaca, on
the 16th of April; and the Gryphia on the 24th of the same
month. Another inscription informs us that the Leontica were
celebrated on the 9th and 17th of March; and the Coracia on
the 8th of April; whence we are to conclude not only that those
festivals had their stated days, but also that the ceremonies of
them were different. For .why should they have borne differ-
ent names on the different days when they were celebrated? It
is equally clear that the priests named Coraces presided over
the Coracia, the Leontini over the Leontica.^ and so of the rest.
Those priests celebrated the different mysteries, in the habits
that distinguished their priesthood; that is to say, whereon were
painted the animals whose names they assumed, or that were
made of their skins; which must indeed have presented a most
ridiculous spectacle, and very becoming the extravagance of
the mysteries of Paganism; as we ai'e given to imderstand by
AncHELAUS 'Risho^ oi Mesopotamia, in upbraiding J?/ancs, who
had himself celebrated the mysteries of Mithras, saying that he
had there played the part of a buffoon. We may remark be-
fore we be done with this article, that the principal feast oi Mi-
thras was, that of his nativity, which a Roman calendar places
on the 25th of December, a day on which, besides the myste-
ries that were celebrated with the greatest solemnity, were like-
wise exhibited the games of the Circus, which were consecrat-
ed to the Sun, or to Mithras. We must not however imagine
from this particularity, either that they affected to celebrate
that festivarian the same day that the Church celebrates that of
the nativity of JesMs Christ; far less say with father Hardouin
that the Christians in the west, upon account of this feast, trans-
voi.. II. A a
186 PERSIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. T
MITHRAS SECT. II.
ferred to the same day that of Christmas; whhich according to
him, they celebrated before in the month of Sefitember; for
M. DELLA Torre demonstrates that the feast of Jesus Christ's
nativity \fa.s always fixed by the Latin Church to the 25th of
December. The only reason the Romans had for fixing the na-
tivity of Mithras to the same day, was taken from physiology
and astronomy. They intended thereby to signify that the Su7i,
after having been at a distance from our hemisphere since the
autumnal equinox, approached towards it, and comes, after the
winter solstice, to warm and fructify this other half of the globe.
For it is by no means to be doubted, after Avhat has been said in
explaining the bas-reliefs of Mithras.^ that there were many
physical and astronomical ideas intermixed with the attributes
of that God,
===== It is almost inconceivable to think what
— the forms and
trials of initiation pains, tortures, and hardships, one was obliged
in o lose }s e- undereco in order to be initiated into the
ries. "
■- mysteries of this God: He who aspired at this
honor was tried by such severe impositions, that he often sunk
under them, and died in the execution. Nonnus says he was
to pass through four and twenty sorts of trials. That they
might not scare those who presented themselves to be initiated,
says that author, they began with such pieces of probation as
had the least difficulty. First of all they made them bathe
themselves; then they were obliged to throw themselves into
the fire; next they were confined to a desert place, where they
were subjected to a rigid fast, which, according to Nicetas,
lasted fifty days. After this, continues the author last quoted,
they were whipped for two whole days; and for twenty more
they were put into snow. Among the other ceremonies of ini-
tiation, they lodged a serpent in the person's bosom who was to
participate in the mysteries of this God; but Arnobius tells trs
that this serpent was of gold. This animal we know, that re-
CHAP. V, PERSIAN IDOLATRY. ISf
SECT. II. MITHRAS.
news its vigour every yeai', by changing its skin, was one of the
symbols of the Smi^ whose heat is renewed in the spring, when,
he visits the northern signs. Another trial was, to affright
him who desired admission into the mysteries, by presenting to
him the point of a sword, as if he was really going to be stab-
bed; which actually happened to a candidate at the hands of
Comjnodus when performing this trial of initiation: and this
gave Lampridius occasion to say, that this emperor had re-
stored the human sacrifices connected with these mysteries,
which Adrian had abolished. Having undergone all these
trials, they were at length admitted to the mysteries of Mithras.
These mysteries were no less impious than abominable.
Accordingly to give them the more credit, in the first ages of
Christianity, the time when they were most in vogue, they
would even imitate therein the holy rites of the Christians,
chiefly bafitism^ and the mysteries of the eucharist; and for
that purpose they threw "Mater upon the initiated, and present-
ed them with bread and wine; in order, said they, to regenerate
them, and give them a new life,
. These mysteries, I repeat it, were no less
Tlic sscrinccs to
jl-Fithras,weT<i\ui- impious than abominable, since human victims
man victims and ^^^^ j^^^^^ -^^^^ hinted, were therein offered
horses. J '
=!===== up to Mithras. Porphyry insinuates as much;
and the fact which Socrates relates in his ecclesiastical his-
tory leaves no room to doubt it, since that author tells us that
the Christians of ./Alexandria, having discovered a cave that had
been a long time shut up wherein, according to tradition, had
formerly been celebrated the mysteries now in question, as was
confirmed by the name of the place, called Mithrius, they there
found human bones, such as skulls &c, which they conveyed
thenoe to show them to the people of that great city.
C.ELIUS Rhodiginus. was of opinion that the bull was sacrificed
to Mithras; but this author is mistaken, since it is certain from
188 PERSIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. V.
MITHRAS.
the testimony of all the Ancients who have spoken of Mithras.^
that they ofi'ered horses to him, and not oxen or bulls. The
only example that can be cited in favour of that opinion, is
drawn from Stobeus after Agathaucides oi Scanos, who,
in his Fe7'sics, reported that Agesilaus, the spy of the Greeks,
having slain Mardunius instead of Xerxes; and having been
taken prisoner and carried before that prince, while he was of-
fei'ing up a bull to the Sim, he obliged him to thrust his hand
into the fire that was upon the altar: after it was burnt off,
Agesilaus presented the other, but Xerxes, struck with so re-
markable an instance of unshaken fortitude and courage, re-
lented of his revenge, and dismissed him. But, besides that
we may be sure that the religion of the ancient Persians was
greatly changed by the time of that prince's reign; this example
does not destroy the general custom of sacrificing horses' only,
to Mithras; and far less does it prove the action of that God,
who is plunging a daggar into the bull's throat, to be the ex-
pression of a real saci-ifice,' Are the Gods ever represented as,
themselves, sacrificing the victims which are offered to them?
This circumstance of itself may convince us that the cepresen-
tations oi Mithras express not a real sacinfice, but the Sun's
force that subdues the fiercest of animals.
~~r:. ~ r~ In fine, we mav observe that the worship of
His worship be' \ ■^ ^
came very g-ene- il/z7Arc.9 made great progress in after ages, and
rally diffused in .
Asia Africa and Passed mto several coiintnes. IhisbxRABO
Europe— -IIis asserts as to Capfiadocia, whither he had travels
bu'th.
■r=:_ , ■ ■ lea, and saw a great number of.the Magi. The
same worship had also made its w?.y into Media, since Lucian,
in his dialogue of the counsel of the Gods, says Mithras was a
Median God. This Mithras, says he, who wears a candys or
cloak, and a tiara, cannot speak Greek, nor understand even
when you drink to his health. S. Epiphanius speaks of a
priest of Mithras in the island of Cre-te. His worship was
CHAP. V. PERSIAN IDOLATRY. 189
SECT. II. MITHRAS.
also known in Greece, and Pompey brought the knowledge
thereof to Rome, as we have seen, whence after having spread
through Italy, it was propagated to the other provinces of that
vast empire. This is what the marbles and inscriptions that we
find in so many different places, undeniably prove. For, not to
mention those that have been discovered at Antium, at A''a;liles,
at Milan ^ and in several other cities of Italy, as may be seen in
Gruter^ nor that, which accoi'ding to M. Spon, was dug up at
Z-yonsj others have been found among the Daci in Pannonia,
where Aurelius Justinianus re -built a temple of that God; anda-
mong the JVoricl, a people in the neighbourhood of Ca'rint/iia — So-
crates and SozoMEN, prove that 'the Egy/itians, and the people
oi Alexancb-ia in particular, worshipped the same Divinity; thus
it is not to be doubted but that the worship of this God was very
extensive. It likewise continued very long, and was not des-.
troyed when the emperors embraced Christianity, since we have
inscriptions, where mention is made of those Avho celebrated
these mysteries in the time of Valens and of young Valentinian,
Anno 376, as appears by the consultations that are there speci-
fied. At length this worship was quite abolished by means of
Gracchus, prefect of the city i?07«e, the year oi Jesus Christ
378, as is proved by the learned bishop oi Hadria. We will
conclude this long article, by observing, that when the Persians
said Mithras was born of a stone, they meant either the fire
which proceeds from the flint-stones struck against each other,
scmina fiammx abstrusain venis silicisj or that this was the way
they came by the first use of fire; which amounts to the same
thing. And this coincides with the fable related by Plutarch
who.tells us that Mithras, born himself of a stone, and desiring
to have a son without the commerce of woman, had lain with a
stone, whereof he had a son named Diorjihus or Light.
190 PERSIAN roOLATKY CHAP. V.
ANAITIS, OMANUS, &C. SECT. III.
-
SECTION THIRD.
( Sdme other Gods of the Persians; among Hvhom tue include
those ojf the Medes^ Parthiansy Capfiadotians^ Armenians^ tJ'c,
as having been subject to the Persian fiower.)
AJ\rAITIS, OMAjXUS, AjYJIjYDRATUS, JIjYD BELLOjYA.
The Gods of the Medes, Parthians, Cappa-
Jinctttis, Oma- . ■,-,■, j
nus, and Anandra- docians, &c, are very little known to us, and
tvs, Persian Dei- jj^g ancients speak of them only occasionally.
ties, were also '■ •'
worshipped by Having been respectively subject to the Per-
the tMedes, Lydi-
ans, &c. sian domination, it is even highly probable that
===== these people had received their religion from
the Per dans J wherein each of them had made some changes of
their own. Accordingly the Goddess Anaitisy and the Gods
Omanus and Ana7idratus, whom we shall speak of in this sec-
tion, and who were worshipped by the Medes, the Lydians, and
the Armenians, came originally from Persia as Strabo asserts.
He says, among the Scythians who lived near the Caspian sea,
there were some called Sacx. These Saca made excursions
into Persia^ and penetrated sometimes sO far into the country,
that they came even into Bactria and Armenia, and made them-
selves masters of a part of this latter province which they callr
ed after their own name Sacasene; whence they advanced next
into Cappadocia, which borders upon the Euxine sea. One day
as they were celebrating a festival, the king oi Persia having at-
tacked them, gave them a total rout. The Persians, to perpet-
uate the memory of this victory, raised a heap of earth upon a
stone, whereof they formed a small mountain which they sur-
rounded with walls, and built in the adjacent ground a temple
wliich they consecrated to the Goddess Anaitis, and to the Gods
CHAP. V. PERSIAN IDOLATRY. 191
SECT. III. ANAITIS, OMANUS, 8cC.
Omanus and Anandratusy who are the Genii of the Persians;
and in honoi' to them they instituted a festival called Saca^
Avhich is still celebrated among . those who inhabit the countiy
of Zela; for this is the name they give to that place."
'-■ •■ But in what class, of Divinities are we to
. TJ^^y ^.^^^ pl>y- reckon Anaitis.. Omanus. and An(mdraius,whoin
steal Deities; O- ' '
manus and Anaitis the author I have now quoted makes mention
being- the iSziJi and „. i . r- 1 • i i ^
the Moon. oim several parts ot his work, and reckons m
^^=^=^= the number of the Gods of the Persians and
the Cafipadocians? There is no doubt but they were physical
Gods, for we do not find that the Persians admitted any other
at first. We have seen that their first Divinities were the Sun^
the Moon, the Fire, the Water, the Eartk, -and that they knew
no animated Gods in the earlier times. Thus the most learned
mythologists have taken Omanus for the Sun, and Anaitis for
the Moon. However, Gerard Vossius is not of their mind
Omanus, says he, is always joined by Strabo with Anaitis, who
is undoubtedly Venus, or Diana; thus that God is not the Sun,
whom the Persians worshipped under the name of Mithras;
but the' symbol of that God, that is the perpetual Fire, which
the Persians preserved \\rith so much care in their Fire-temples,
as the true representation of the Moon, which is the Fire by way
of pre-eminence. But with all due respect to this learned au-
thor, his remark is not just; it proves on the contrary, that \i Ana-
itis is Diana or the Moon, as she really is, Omanus must be the
Sun, who perhaps went vmder that name, as well as that of Mi-
thras, among the old Persians, or rather among the Capfiado-
ciaMf who had derived from them -almost all the tenets of their
religion. "I add among the Ca/ifiadociansf, for Strabo, as we
have already observed, confounds the Gods of these two nations.
Plutarch makes it evident that Anaitis Avas the same with
the iVfooM, since he says in the life of Artaxerxes Mnemon, that
Aspasia his concubine was appointed by that prince to be priest-
192 PERSIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. T
ANAITIS, OMANUS, ScC. SECT. III.
ess of Diana, (whom the inhabitants of Ecbatana cd\\ Anaitis^^
that sh(^ might pass the rest of her days in chastity and retire-
ment. ,Were there need of further proofs in confirmation of
this truth, I might quote Pausanias, who informs us that the
Lydians had a temple to Diana under the name of Anaitis.
It is true Strabo mentions some things concerning that God-
dess which agree better, to Venus than to Diana, or the Moon;
since he speaks of her thus: " The Medes and Armenians have
a high veneration for the Gods of the Persians; and the latter
especially, worship Anaitis in a rery peculiar manner, to whom
they built a temple in AcUisena, and in other places. They con-
secrated to that Goddess theii' slaves, both man and woman,
which is not very surprising; but, which is much more so, the
chief of the nation consecrated to her their daughters; who, af-
ter they have prostituted themselves in honor of that Goddess,
enter into a married state, and no body makes the least scruple
of wedding them." — This custom has surely a great affinity
with what was the practice in the temples of Venus; . but it is
not surprising that the Armenians and Cap/iadocians made some
alteration in the worship of a Goddess, the knowledge of whom
they had from the Persians; far less that they confounded the
worship oi Diana and Venus, that is, of the two planets that
went by these names. Still it is certain that Omanus and Anai-
tis were natural Gods, as were all those of the primitive idolaters.
: But I must not finish this article, without
The pillage of relatins: a passaee in history with respect to
the temple of .^- 5 i fa ] if
?iaitis by Antony, the Goddess vye are now upon: it is borrowed
enriched the sol- ~ „ „ _ j.. i • . a
^jgps from Pliny. « In an expedition , which An-
- •• tony made against Armenia, the temple of
Anaitis was pillaged, and her statue, which was of gold, broke
in pieces by the soldiers. Which enriched many of them. One
of them who had settled at 5oM/o^wa in Italy, had the good for-
tune to receive Augustus one day into his house, and to give
CHAP. Vv PERSIAN IDOLATRY. 193
SECT. III. ANAITIS, OMANUS, 8cC.
hinx a supper. " Is it true, says that prince to him during the
repast, that he who first sti^uck the Goddess, presently lost his
sight, was disabled in all his limbs, and expired upon the spot?"
" If that were so, replied the soldier, I should not have the
happiness to see Augustus with me now, since I was the man
who gave her the first blow, which was an advantageous blow
to me; for all I possess in the world is owing to that Goddess;
and it is upon one of her limbs, my Lord, you sup at present.^'
— , — After all these reflections, as we have no knowledge of
Omanus and Anandratus bnt from Strabo, and are only told by
that author that they were Genii among the Persians, it is need-
less to make vain inquiries, or to offer groundless conjectures
about them.
, The Goddess Bellona was also highly wor^>
Bellona, yaov-
shipped in Ca/;j&a- shipped at Ca/j/zarfocja, especially at Co ffzcnc.
docia &ni. Pontus, —,, ^ ..... <-,, ,
to whom each There were two principal cities ot that name;
consecrated a city ^j^g Q^g jj^ Cafifiadocioy and the other in the
callea Comana, —
————^-—~——- kingdomofPo?2i!Ms; they were both consecrated
to that Goddess, and they observed much the same ceremonies
in the worship they paid her. The temple which she had at
Comana in Cappadocia, indued with a great deal of ground,
was sei'ved by a vast many ministers, under the authority of a
Pontiff, a man of great esteem, and of such dignity, that he
stooped to none but the king himself, and was comnionly taken
from the royal family: his office was for life. Strabo, who
mentions the worship paid by the Capfiadocians to that God-
dess, tells us that at the time of his travelling into that country,
there were more than six thousand persons, men and women
together, consecrated to the service of the temple of Comawa.
• As this author adds, that Orestes and Iphi-
— was the same *
as Diana or the genia were thought to have introduced into
JMoon.
- Cappadocia the worship that was paid to
Diana in Tauris, whence they came, it is probable the Bellona
VOL. II. B b
194 PERSIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. V.
ANAITIS, OMANUS, KC. SECT. III.
now in question, was the same as Dia7ia. What confirms my
conjecture is, that the same authoi', speaking of the city Casta-
belta^'xYi Cilicia, says there was a temple o? Diana P^rasic, where
the priestesses, said they, walk bare-foot upon the burning coals
without receiving harm, and that this was believed to be the
scehe of Orestes's adventure with Diana, surnamed Tauropolis,
and that she got the designation of Perasia because she had
passed the sea at that place. I shall not at present examine
what course Orestus and Iphigenia took, when they left Taurisy
to return to Greece; but I belive I may take it for granted that
they landed in Pontus, where they established the w orship of
Diana, chiefly in the city of Comana, whence it passed to the
other city of that name in Cafipadocia, and from thence into
Cilicia and the neighbouring provinces. To confirm this con-
jecture, the same Strabo asserts that Afiollo was worshipped
throughout all Cajipadocia, as was Jupiter in a pecular manner
by the people called Fenasini, among whom was a magnificent
temple, three thousand priests, and a high-priest, whose au-
thority was almost as great as that of the pontiff of Comana.
But as the people now named, had received the worship of these
Gods from the Greeks, I resdrve the account of them for a
future occasion.
- ' ' ■ It is not known whether the Parthians, who
The Parthians
had Gods natural suceeded the Persians, had the same religion
and animated; of . , , , t i
the latter was Ar- With them. It is probable they borrowed sev-
gces, their first g^al of their tenets, and added new ones of their
== own. We only know they used to deify their
kings; and Ammianus Marcellinus informs us, that Arsaces,
after death, was placed among the stars; therefore, after the
example of other nations, they had their natural and animated
Gods. The great Divinity of the Armenians, as of the Per-
sians, was the Sun, to whom they offered, like them, a horse in
sacrifice, as we learn from Strabo.
CHAPTER VI.
SCYTHIAN IDOLATRY.
SECTION FIRST.
TBE SCTTHMJ\r RELIGIOJ^T IJ^T GEJ^'ERAL.
THOUGH the northern countries were
General remark
upon the northern peopled by a great number of different nations,
religion'— ^^ ^^^ Greeks, who were but little acquainted witl>
'■ them, comprehended them all under the gene-
ral name of Scythians and Celts, or Celto-Scythians. By the
former they understood all those who possessed the northern
parts of Mia; and by the latter, those who were in the north of
Eurofie. The religion of those people, who were mostly ram-
bling and unsettled, would be quite unknown, were it not for
Herodotus who teaches us some particularities about it; but
then we know not to which of the Scythians in particular we are
to attribute what he says.
======== That historian, after having spoken at some
ccfricerning which
last, Herodotus length of these people and their conquests,
gives some par- , . , ,. .
ticulars, such as monies to their customs and rehgious ceremo-
their Deities and ^ies. " They offer no sacrifices, says he, but
sacrnices. ■' j j 7
s=s. to the following Gods. First, to Vesta; then to
Ju/iiter, and to Terra whom they reckon the wife of that Godl
196 SGYTHUN IDOLATRY. CHAP. VT
THE SCYTHIAN RELIGION IN GENERAL. SECT. I.
After these they worship Aliollo^ Venus Urania, Mars, and Her-
cules, whom all the iicythians take to be in the nuntiber of the
Gods. Those who are denominated the roijal Scythians, sacri-.
fice also to Neptune. They call Vesta, in their language, Ta-
hiti; Jufiiter, Papeus; the Earth, Api; Apollo, Etosyrus: Ve-
nus Urania, Artimfiesa; and J^eptune, Thamimasades. They
have neither idols^ nor altars, nor temples, except for the God
Mars. They offer all their sacrifices in the same manner, and
with the same ceremonies. They present the victim having the
two hind feet bound together; he who is to offer it up stands
behind; and after having taken off his tiara, he strikes it; and
while it is falling, he begins to invoke the God to whom it is
offered. After this he puts a cord about its neck, which he
twists with a stick, and draws it till it be strangled; all this is
done while the fire is not kindled, nor yet any libation made.
After having flayed the victim, he prepares himself to dress it;
which being accomplished, the sacrificer throws upon the
ground a part of the entrails, as the firstlings of the sacrifice.
The victims are of oxen and other animals, but chiefly of horses.
These sacrifices, continues Herodotus, were destined to
the Gods in general; but there were peculiar ceremonies for
Mars. As he was the only God who had temples among
them, their manner of building them was to pile faggots of vine-
branches one above the other. These temples were three fur-
longs in length, and as much in breadth; but they Avere not very
high. The roof of them was very fiat, and formed a perfect
square. On three sides of the temple those walls of faggots
were perpendicular, and on the other side the wall was an in-
clined plane, so that it was accessible on that side. On the top
of this edifice was placed an old iron sword; which served for
the statue of Mars, arid to this sword they sacrificed every year
sheep and horses in greater numbers than to any of the other
Gods. After these they sacrificed to him a hundredth part of
CHAP. VI. SCYTHLVN mOLATRY. 197
SECT. I. THE SCYTHIAN RELIGION IN GENERAL.
all their prisoners of war: but this sort of sacrifice was different
from the i"est. After pouring wine upon the heads of those
who were to be offered up, they put them into a large vessel,
where they cut their throats, and then carried them to the top
of the temple, and poured their blood upon the sword which we
have mentioned: this is what passed in that place. Below, be-
foi'e the temple, they cut off the right shoulder, with the hands
and arms of those unhappy victims, and tossed them up in the
air. Then every one retired, leaving these limbs in the places
where they chanced to fall.'' Such, according to Herodo-
tus, were the Gods of the Scythians, and the form of their sa-
crifices, Clemens of Alexandria agrees with this histoi'ian,
that these people offered religious worship to a sword; and Lu-
ciAN, without naming the other Gods that Herodotus speeks
of, only says they worshipped the sword, and Zamolxis who
was their legislator.
===^== But to illustrate what we have now been
Who those Dei- quoting, it is necessary to add some reflections
ties most probably ^ <^
were. upon it. — The Gree/ts, who were little acquaint-
' ed with the religion of foreign nations, ima-
gined the Gods v/orshipped by them to be the same with their
own; and the smallest resemblance either in the name or in the
worship, sufficed to persuade them of it. Thus they heard that
the Scythians, a warlike nation, had a relgious veneration for a
sword; and therefore made no doubt but they worshipped their
God Mars under that emblem. They knew that they paid a
religious worship to Fire; and they needed no more to convince
them that they worshipped their Vesta. They probably found
some resemblance also between the woi'ship which that people
ascribed to a God they called Pafiaus, and their Jupiter; be-
tween that of ^//ic and their Goddess 7Vrraj- between Etosy-
rus, and JJiollo; Artimfiesa, and Venus; between Thawimasadcs
and .Ye/itunc: and this was foundation enough lortheir belie v-
198 SCYTHIAN HWLATRY. CHAP. VI
THE SCYTHIAN RELIGION IN GENERAL. SECT. I.
ing them to be the same Gods. Nevertheless We may say
with a great deal of probability, that the Scythians, after the ex-
ample of all the other nations, had for their first Gods, the
Stars, the Earth, the Water and the other elements: for, to say
it once more, these were the primitive Gods of the Pagan
World. To these Gods they had given barbarous names; but
these names are indifferent, and every nation gave them such
as they preferred. We may therefore conclude that they wor-
shipped the Fire, the Sun, the Earth, the Air, the Water; Di-
vinities which the Greeks called Vesta, Terra, Apollo, Jufiiter,
J\refitune. Perhaps too that warlike nation at first had no other
God but the sivord; but in process of time adopted those of her
neighbours. For in speaking of the religion of ancient nations
we must always distinguish the times. We know not positively
whence the Scythians* derived their original; for dovibtless the
reader Avill not be satisfied with that which Diodorus gives
them: " The fables of the Scythians, says he, give account that
they had among them a virgin, born of the earth, who. had the
head and half the body of a woman, but from the waist down-
ward the form of a serpent. Jufiiter fell in love with her, and
had a son by her called Scythes, who having risen to great re-
nown, communicated his name to the whole nation of the Scy-
thians.'' But still it is certain that this people was very an-
cient. They did not continue always shut up in the extremi-
ties of the north; but departing thence spread themselves over
the higher Asia, and having conquered the Medes in a pitched
* The reader may consult Johx Pixkertojj's Bissertion on the Goths or
Scythians, for a very satisfactory account of the orig'in of this people: a
work that we shall have occasion to refer to ui treating' of the religion of
the Gauls, who Mr. P. regards as a branch of those Scythians. Suffiice it
to say here, that he jnakes the original of this powerful nation to emerge
from the north o^ Persia, 2160 years before Clirist; in consequence of the;
incroachments of Ninus.
CHAP. VI. SCYTEUAN IDOLATRY. 199
SECT. I. THE SCYTHIAN RELIGION IN GENERAL.
battle, possessed themselves of their country, which they kept
for eight and twenty years, as we learn from Herodotus.
During their abode in Media^ the Scythians., no doubt, worship-
ped the Gods of the Modes; for, what uses to be most re-
spected in conquered nations is their religion, which politics
forbid to be meddled with. The worship of Fire especially was
very diffusive: this was the great Divinity of the Persians and
Cafifiadocians., and probably of the Modes too; thus it is not sur-
prisihg that Herodotus has assured us of their having wor-
shipped Vesta. True it is, that learned historian says, that the
Scythians had a great aversion to foreign customs and ceremo-
nies, and that it cost Anacharsis his life, who was slain by king
Saulius his brother, while he was celebrating the feast of the
mother of the Gods, with the same ceremonies that the Cysice-
nians used, to accomplish a vow which he had made when he
passed to Cysicum. It is likewise true that. Scyles king of the
Scythians lost his crown, for having attempted to celebrate the
Bacchanalia after the manner of the Greeks^ as we are told by
the same historian: but they were not perhaps always so scru-
pulous, and these same attempts prove that endeavours were
used to introduce.into Scythia. both the customs and ceremo-
nies of the neighbouring nations.
■ ■ ' ' As idolatry was always accompanied with
tious rites'of'^ihe several superstitious rites, there is no doubt
Scythians, parti- \,x\i the Scythians had a great number of them,
cularly of tlieir
Soothsayers. as well as other idolaters; but history has
■~~~~~~~~~~~ only preserved those that concerned the sooth-
sayers. " Besides, says Herodotus, there are among these
people numbers of soothsayers, who perform their divinations
by rods of willoiv, wei'eof they carry bundles into a certain
place, and there untie them; then separating the rods., they pro-
nounce their oracles, and thereafter put them together again.
As for the Enarii and Androgyniy who practise the some art, it
200 SCYTHIAN IPOLATIIY. CHAP. VI,
THE SCYTHIAN RELIGION IN GENERAL. SECT. I.
is alledged, continues the historian, that Venus taught them
divination, which they practised by mixing between their fingers
leaves of the linden tree, which they cut into three parts. When
the king of the Scythians is sick, he sends for several of these
soothsayers, who tell him that some Scythian.^ whom they name,
has sworn by the king's throne, and perjured himself. Upon
which the unhappy person, who is alledged to be the cause of
the king's sickness, by taking a false oath, is instantly brought
forward. If he denies the fact, other soothsayers are called, and
if he be convicted, his head is cut off, and his effects divided
among the accusers; but if he be declared innocent, the accusers
themselves are put to death in the following manner. They fill
a chai'iot with faggots, fasten the soothsayers to it with an iron
chain; then after having kindled the faggots,- they liberate the
oxen that are yoked to the chariot; and leave the calumniators
to perish in the flames."
■ The reader may easily believe that we have
No monuments
remaining' of the uow no monument remaining of the religion of
e igion ^^ Scythians, who had no other statues but
> the sword that represented Mars, nor temples
but such as were made oi faggots. Some antiquaries however
think they have found out three statues of the Gods of that peo-
ple, in the three busts borne by three Camels upon Theodo-
sius's column, at Constantinople. But though it were true,
which can hardly be proven, that that column represents the tri-
\imph of that emperor over the Scythians, it could not be denied
but their religion had undergone some change from the time
of Herodotus, a thing not without example in other nations,
as has been observed with respect to the ancient Persians,
CHAP. VI. SCYTHIAN IDOLATRY. 201
SECT. II. DIANA TAUUICA.
SECTION SECOND.
(The Religion of the People of Tauris.)
BIAMA T AURIC A.
The Scythians, as has been said, consisted
—the particulars ^^ ^ ^^^* number of different nations; those
of wlioss worship .^yh6 inhabited the Taurica Chersonesus, that
are reserved for
the histor3- of her is to say, the peninsula that is between the
„2-^ ^''■^^' JEuxine sea and the Palus Meotis, which is at
^^^^^^^^^^^~^^^^^^^^ this day called Crim Tartary, paid adoration to
Diana, whose worship was performed by a priestess; and to her
they sacrificed all the strangers who came into their country;
circumstances we learn from Herodotus, Euripides and se-
veral an^cient authors: but I reserve a more particular account
of them for tlie history of Ifihigenia, who was priestess of the
Diana Taurica, under the reign of Thoas. As the Ancients
make no -mention of the religion of these Scythians, but upon oc-
casion of Iphigenia, and of Orestes who came to Tauris to carry
off the statue of Diana, we know not if they worshipped any
other Divinities.
SECTION THIRD.
(The Religion of the Hyperboreans.)
HYPERBOREAJ^r APOLLO.
■ There were also in the northern countries
relt'sJTnn^X ^^^^l^^r people called the Hyperboreans, with
offerings to Apol- -whose religion the Greeks were acquainted by
h at Delos, of the
first fruits of the the report of Hecateus, one of the most an-
mln'2\Jv^ml "ent historians. They were accounted the
"— most rpligious people in the world. They paid
VOL. II. C C
202 SCYTHIAN IDOLATPiY. CHAP. Vl,
HYPERBOREAN APOLLO. , SECT. III.
a peculiar worship to Ajwllo^ who for that reason was surnamed
Hyfierborea7i.y and they sent every year to Delos, an island in
the Egean sea, offerings that they made him of the first fruits
of the earth. At first there were two or three virgins chosen,
accompanied by a hundred young men of approved courage and
virtue, who carried these offerings. Herodotus and Calli-
MACHUS are our vouchers for both these circumstances. This
custom continued till the laws of hospitality were violated in the
persons of those pilgrims, which made the Hyperboreans re-
solve to convey these offerings from one hand to another, as far
as Delos, by means of people that w^ere travelling through their
country in their way to that island, as we learn from Pliny;
who speaks of those young virgins without naming them, but
other authors inform us of their names. Herodotus mentions
four of them, O/z/s, and Erge or rather Heca-Erge as Calli-
machus calls heVf Hifierboche, and Laodice: Callimachus adds
a fifth, whom he calls Loto.
■ After that disaster had befallen those young
but a disaster be- . . f. , i i ..i i r ^
faUino- those pil- "^'^^'gi^s, none of whom had the good fortune to
gTims, induced i^eturn to her own countrv, as we are told by
that people to
transmit their the poet just mentioned, the Hyperboreans
p-esents by tra- . , , • r,. • - ,
^•ellei-s j^c. took a resolution to send their offermgs m the
. m.anner as has been said. They had two ways
of conveying their offerings thereafter from their own country
to Delos, and both of them are sufficiently described by the An-
cients. Pausanias says they gave their offerings first into the
hands of the Ariviafjpes; that these delivered them to the Issidons,
who transferred them to the Scythicms: these carried them to Si-
nope, where v.'ere always Greeks vaio conveyed them to Pra-
sis; whence the Athenians took care to transmit them to Delos.
• The other course is described by Caliimachus, who, ad-
dressing himself to Delos in one of his hymns, says: " To you
the Hyperboreans send their first fruits. These offerings that
CHAP. VI. SCYTHIAN mOLATRY. £03
SECT. III. HYPERBOREAN APOLLO.
came so far, are first i-eceived by the Pelasgi of Dodona, who
carry them over the mountains into Melis, whence they are con-
veyed by sea to Euboea, and thence they are easily transported
to your ports." To conclude; these ofFei'ings, which the An-
cients call the firstlings of the fruits, Avere sheaves and bundles
of corn, and to this all antiquity agree: in the meantime, Sal-
MASius alledges it was what we call in Latin partes firtecisa^
the parts that are first cut ojff, as the firstlings of a victim; as to
Avhich you may consult Crenius Avho refutes him.
■■■ But be that as it will, it appears that the Hy-
Then- particu- /j^^-^oreaw* had a veiT particular veneration fot
lav veneration ior ^ ^
^/jo«o, who is said Apollo, and if we credit Diodorus SicuLus,
to esteem theirs
as his country. the Boreades, the descendants of Boreas, were
. ' in possession of the priesthood which was
united to the royalty. And here it is proper to remark that the
virgins, who were sent at firet to Delos, were of the royal and
sacerdotal line, since Callimachus, v/ho names three of them,
Heca-Erge, Ojiis, and Loto, calls Ijhem the daughters of Boreas.
If it be asked now, why the Hyperboreans were so devoted to
Apollo, I answer with Diodorus Siculus, that Latonci was
born in their country, and consequently it is no wonder that
they honored her son with a peculiar worship. Accordingly,
continues that historian, not only had they instituted feasts to
his honor, but also consecrated to him a whole city. " Apollo
again on his part, as the Abbe Gedoyn has it, reckoned him-
self a native of their country, vouchsafed to honor them with his
presence, and took more pleasure in being with them, than any
where else. Thither he I'esorted, when banished heaven for
his resentment against Jufiiter, Avho had thunderstruck his son
Msculapius, as we learn from Apollonius Rhodius, who for
that reason calls the Hyperboreans a sacred people. The opi-
nion of Apollo's sojourning in the country of the Hyperboreans
was so universal among \.\\q Greeks, that according to ^^Elian,
204 SCYTHIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. VI.
HYPERBOREAN APOLLO. SECT. III.
or rathei' Aristotle cited by that author, Pythagoras, whose
wisdom and virtue was admired by the Crotoniates, was taken
by them for Hyfier/iorean Aiiollo." The Greeks, who vented
several other fables in relation to this Apollo, said he came
from their country to the relief of Deljihos, at the time when
that city was besieged by the Gauls, as Pausanius relates.
Cicero, though he mentions not tlie motive which brought
that God to Deljihos, yet asserts that he came thither, since in
giving the geneology of the Gods, as his manner is, he says;
" The third Afiollo was the son of the third Jupiter, and he who
is said to have come from the Hyperboreans to Delphos"
=== As these pretended em^igrations of the Gods,
Probably tliey
communicated his ^^ well as their birth in certain countries, de-
worsbip to Greece ^^^^^A according to Herodotus, the institu-
havmg themselves ' ^ _
derived it from tion of their worship in those countries; we
^^ ' may therefore infer from this fable, that the
worship of Apollo had been propagated from the Hyperboreans
to Greece, perhaps before the colonies that came thither from
Egypt and Phenicia. But whence had the Hyperboreans them-
selves received the knowledge of that God? I answer that the
Hyperboreans, who in ray opinion, inhabited the country about
the Phasis, came originally from the colony which Herodotus
tells us Sesostris left there; and consequently that it is not to be
wondered if they themselves worshipped Apollo, one of the
God?, oi Egypt, and communicated the knowledge of him to
the Greeks, from whom they were at no great distance. But
as this is no more than conjecture, though not without some
foundation, I willingly submit it to the judgment of the learned
Chap. vi. scythian rooLATRY. 205
SECT. IV. DECEASED PARENTS.
SECTION FOURTH.
(The Religion of the Issedons.)
DECEASED PAEEJVTS.
- The Issedons, in the neighbourhood of the
ceAsed Pare?it's Hyfierboreans, had probably no other Gods but
served up at their their ancestors; since Herodotus, who speaks
funerals, and the
head honored as of their customs and religion, says, when any
Issedons.' one of them has lost hisya^Aer, all the relations
====== bring him a number of cattle, whose carcases
having been cut into pieces, they in like manner cut the body
of the deceasedya^/ter, and havingmixed all the flesh together,
serve them up at an entertainment, reserving only the head of
the defunct, which they set in gold, and make it an idol, offering
to it solemn sacrifices every year.
SECTION FIFTH.
f The Religion of the Sarmatiahs,)
JPOGTFID, TESSA, LACTO, &c.
Several Deities '^^^ Sarmatians, after the example of mcst
natural & anima- other idolatrous nations, had Gods natural, and
ted, worshipped
by the Sarmati. Gods animated. The first were the Sun and
"^ the Moon; Pogwid, or the Ji?-: Tessa, or Ju/ii-
ter; Lacto, or Pluto; Ma, or Ceres; Marzane, or Venus; and
Zicuonia, or Diana. But we are to observe that they are Polish
•historians, who inform us that these Gods were Jupiter, Pluto.
Diaiia, 8c c. And no great credit is to be given to their testi-
mony, since they may through partiality to their progenitors, be
easily deceived by some slight resemblance between those
206 SCYTHIAN IDOLATRY. CHAP. VI.
POGV/ID, TESSA, LACTO, &C. SECT. V.
Gods and the Gods of Greece: this is what most of the ancients
did, when they were to speak of the Gods of other nations, having,
from the smallest affinity, given them the names of those of
their own country. — —But passing that; besides these natural
Gods, the Sar?natians had likewise animated ones, among whom
were Lelus and Folitus, whom the same historians will have to
be Castor and Pollux: and though the worship paid by the Sar-
matians to these two heroes, was entirely abolished, when the
Poles, who posses in part the country which belonged to the
Sarmatians^ embraced Christianity, yet they still retain their
names, which they pronounce in token of joy at their feasts.
If you ask the reason of their confounding these two Divinities
with Castor and Pollux, I answer with Vossius, that the Sar-
matians might have become acquainted with them by holding
commerce with the people settled on the banks of the Danube;
and since the Greeks had erected an altar in honor of Alexan-
der, and the Romans another to Augustus, near the Boristhenes,
as we learn from Ammianus Marcellinus, it was easy for
either of these people to make the Sarmatians acquainted with
the two heroes now mentioned. Thus reasons that learned au-
thor: though, indeed, not quite satisfied with that conjecture,
he would also insinuate that Lelus and Politus, among the iScr-
fnatians might represent the heavens and the earth; but as he
gives no proof of this, I take the first account to be the best.
SECTION SIXTH.
(The Religion of the People mho lived about the Oby.)
Tim OLD JVOMJJY OF GOLD.
~^^ 7r~r. The same author, upon the authority ol
1 nose iScythians ' ^ ^
\n the vicinity of Paul Oderborne, says that the people who
the Oby, M'orship- .
pad the oW wo?Kfl?t lived near the river Oby, worshipped a God-
.°^'. dess underthe name of the Old Woman of Gold;
CHAP. VL SCYTHIAN IDOLATRY. £07
SECT. VI. THE OLD WOMAN OF GOLD.
and he takes not upon him to determine whether it was Eve her-
self, or Terra that was the object of their worship. But, however
that be, the historian now quoted tells us that Goddess delivered
oracles. Clemens Adamus informs us as to their manner of
consulting that Goddess. " When the country, says he, is af-
flicted with any calamity, such as war, pestilence, or famine,
those idolaters have recourse to that Goddess: they prostrate
themselves before her idol, and setting a drum in the midst of
the assembly, with the model of a toad in silver above it, they
fall a beating the drum; and he of the company nearest whom
the toad falls when it is made to leap to the ground by the beat-
ing of the drum, is put to death: but they bring him to life again
by some sort of witchcraft, and^ then he lays open the cause of
the calamity that affects the country."
SECTION SEVENTH.
(The Religion of the Getes, Dacians, Thracians and Massa-
getes.)
ZAMOLXIS, ORPHEUS, LLYUS, &c.
■ Whether the Geles or Dacians had any phy-
Zomolvis, was
the God of the sical Gods, is what we cannot determine; but
Gefc., and the Z>a- -^ is certain they paid divine honors to their
Clans. J r
'I legislator Zamolxis^ as may be seen in Plato's
dialogue, entitled Charmedes; in Diogenes Laertius; in Stra-
Bo; and in Lucian.
- The Thracians, besides the same Zamol-
Besides Zamol- z-i i
■ris, Orpheus and ■^'•^ whom they adored as a God according to
Lmus vm-e Gods lucian, raised to the same rank Orjihcus and
01 the 1 hracians; '
who had also De- Linus, as we learn from Terttjllian. By
mi-Gods.
■-■ Or/iheus, I mean that famous Argonaut, whom
208 SCYTHUN IDOLATRY. CHAP. VI.
ZAMOLXIS, ORPHEUS, LINUS, ScC. SECT. VII,
I shall speak of more particularly in the history of the golden
Jleece. Let it not be said that Orpheua was worshipped only as
a demi-God, since Conon positively asserts that after the hon-
ors due to heroes had been paid him, near the tomb wherein his
head was contained, the place grew insencibly into a temple,
whei'e all the ceremonies of the worship of the Gods were per-
formed; a new argument for what we have already said, thkt the
heroes sometimes became to be esteemed as real Gods.
Temesius of Clazomeme may perhaps be likewise reckoned
demi-Gods among the Thracians, since Herodotus tells us
that the Thracians having led a colony to Abdera whereof he
was reckoned the founder, paid to him the honors due to he-
roes. The same thing may be said of Ordrysius, from
whom the T/iracians, according St. Epiphanius, derive their
original; and oi Plestorus, to whom, according to the testimony
of Herodotus, they sacrificed Oebazus the Persian who had
fled to them for refuge. Vossius, who grants that Plestorus
was of the number of the Divinities worshipped-by the Thra-
cians, says he knows not whether he was an animated God or a
natural God; but for my part I take him to have been one of
their great men, of whom however we learn nothing particular
in history.
„,. ,, Lastly the Massascetes looked upon the Sun
1 he 07/H was / o r
tlie great Divinity ^s their great Divinity, and perhaps as the on-
oHhe Massagetes. ° j7 i f
;;;;s===i=: Iv oue; and sacrificed horses to him, as we
learn from Strabo, after the manner of the Persia?is in honor
of their God Mithras, their symbol of the Sim.
CHAPTER YII.
GALLIC IDOLATRY.
SECTION FIRST.
THEIR BBLIGIOK IM GBKBBAL.
THERE are but few of the Ancients, ex-
The sources of
information upon cept C^sar, Diodorus Siculus, Mela,
the religion of the „ ,^ , , i r
Gauls are limit- '>5trabo, and Plutarch, who have lett us any
ed;— Greek and j^ j^^ ^g ^^ jj^g reliff ionof the GauU : and not only
Moman authors; '-' o , '
—Bi^icls; — ^and is what they say of them inconsiderable, but
Moderns.
=s===== withal, they even speak of the Gods of that peo-
ple conformably to their own ideas: that is to say, whenever
they observe in any of those Gods, some attribute or symbol
resembling those of their own Divinities, they are sure to give
them the same names. Thus, according to them, such a one
was Hercules, or Afiollo, or Mercurij; because he had some-
things of affinity with their Mercury, Apollo or Hercules. Upon
this principle it was, that C^sar spoke of their Gods under
names familiar to himself. He says, " Of all their Gods, he to
whom they pay the highest veneration, is Mercury, whom they
take to be the inventor of all the arts, the guide of travellers,
and he who gives most assistance in carrying on trade, and in
acquiring riches by means thereof. To Mercury they join other
Gods, such as Afiollo, Mars, Jufiit er, Q.nd Minerva; of whom
they have much the same sentiments with other nations. They
VOL. It. D d
210 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. VII-
THE GALLIC RELIGION IN GENERAL. SECT. I.
believe for example, that Afiollo averts diseases; that Minerva
was the inventress of manufactures and other arts; that Tw/ji^fr
has for his lot the empire of Heaven; that Mars makes war, and
therefore when they go to battle they make a vow to offer to
him the whole spoil."* Besides endeavouring to identify the Gods
of the Gauls, with those whom they themselves adored, these
authors often contradict one another. The historian Josephus
even reproaches them for having spoken of a religion wherein
they neither were nor could be well informed. So that the first
Gods of that ancient people must have been quite unknown to
the Greeks and Romans.) since Lucia n too, in one of his dia-
logues, makes Mercury say, that he knows not what course to
take in inviting those Gods to the assembly of the other Gods, be-
cause being unacquainted with their language, he could neither
understand them, nor make them understand him. If, as a
supplement to the short hints on this subject given us by the
Greeks aud Romans^ we should have recourse to the Gaula
themselves, we might hope to trace out the origin and founda-
tions of their religion; but the Druids.^ the sole depositaries of
their mysteries, who wrote nothing, industt^iously concealed
from the people the grounds of their religion, and contented
themselves with charging their own memory, and afterwards that
of their probationers who aspired at the same dignity, (whereof
they were extremely jealous), with a prodigious number of ver-
ses containing their theology — verses barbarous with respect to
the Romans, to be sure, which they hardly understood, and pro-
bably would have had no great value for, though they had un-
derstood them. Add to this, that these Druids, concealed in
the heart of the woods, whence they seldom came abroad, were
far from being eommunicative; and were especially averse from
revealing their mysteries to strangers, Avhich they kept secret
^ We shall see what Gods of the Gauls these were, hereafter.
CHAP. VII. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 211
SECT. I. THE GALLIC RELIGION IN GENERAL.
from the Gauls themselves. True it is, that several monu-
ments dug up from time to time, have excited the curiosity of
learned moderns; but they have only given a bare explication
of them, without attempting to penetrate into the religion of the
people who had erected them in honor of their Gods. Soh.«-
Dius, who has composed a treatise upon the religion of the an-
cient Germans^ has indeed drawn together all the passages of
the Ancients wherein that of the Gauls is mentioned; but, ba-
ting the long commentary he has made upon those authorities,
where he almost always deviates from his subject, he has added
little or no light upon their religion, it not being the principal
subject of his book. Montfaucon, who explains antiquity by
figures, has given the greatest number of figures of the Gallic
Gods; but the reflections he has added to them are but few
Lastly, one of his learned fellows, Don James Martin, making
use of the same figures, undertook to give a complete treatise of
the religion of that people, which he published in 1727, in two
quarto volumes; and we may say, that no body before him en-
tered so far into the Gallic mysteries; but it were to be wished
he had observed more method, and made fewer repetitions.
„_m In order to give an exact idea of the religion
This relig-ion ^ ^j Gauls, we must consider it under two
considered under '
two periods of different periods of time, namely; before the
time, viz,. — before u ^t. i .
and after the con- conquest ofJv Lius C^sar, when they worship-
quest of Julius pg^j ^j^g Gods of their ancestors; and after that
C;bsar,
■ memorable event, when their worship becarne
gradually modelled upon that of their conquerors. Not but that
the Gauls were known to the Greeks and Romans long before
this prince carried the seat of war into the very heart of their
country; since, on the one hand, they once became masters of
Rome itself; and, on the other, they had overran and plundered
Greece. But those sudden and transient irruptions, instead ol
having settled apy commerce between these nations, served only
212 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. VII.
TH^ GALLIC RELIGION IN GENERAL. SECT. I.
to make the Gauls be reckoned barbarians by the Greeks and
Romans, (not dreaming that their power could ever prove fatal
to them both;) while the Gauls, on their part, little thought, in
those irruptions, of informing themselves in the religion of a peo-
ple whose temples and houses they profaned, only to enrich them-
selves by plunder. But when Caesar, after a ten yeai's war,
had at last made himself master of the Gauls, and that fine coun-
try became a Roman province, he made vast alterations in the
religion of that people, who adopted most of the Roman Gods,
and at length abandoned almost all their own ancient ceremo-
nies, to follow those of their conquerors.
^ The ancient Gauls were extremely I'eliariouS
First pekiod — ■" ^
Its primitive te- and as their ministers, the Druids, treated
nets were simple ....
& innocent, when their religion in a manner peculiarly grave and
shmned'^ihe ^le" ^^""^o^^' ^^ ^'"'^7 inspired a most profound ven-
ments and other eration for it. Let us not therefore expect to
parts of nature.
, ■ find in the religion of this ancient people, those
absurd and impious fables with which that of the Greeks and
Romans abound, far less a lascivious Venus, an incestuous Ju-
piter, and those impure mysteries which profane authors durst
not even reveal. Accordingly it was at first of great purity; and
we are told by Clemens of Alexandria, that it was a religion of
Philosophers like that of the primitive Persians. That people,
especially the Druids, who were the repositaries of their reli-
gion, had much more just and spiritual apprehensions of the
Deity than either the Greeks or Romans. Tacitus, Maxi-
Mus Tyrius, and others inform us, that these Druids were per-
suaded that the supreme Being was to be worshipped no less
by silent veneration of the heart, than by external sacrifices.
However this may be, we may at least assert, that tliey had a
purer idea of their Gods than other Idolaters, since they belie-
ved it impossible to represent them under any figure, or to
confine their majesty within edifices: accordingly they had
CHAP. VII. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 21 i
SECT. I. THE GALLIC RELIGION IN GENERAL
neither statues nor temples for their Gods. Added to this,
they preferred for the exercise of their religion solitary
and solemn woods, whose very aspect inspired one with some-
thing of a religious awe. 1 am persuaded too, that after
the example of the Persians^ from whom we shall see they de-
rived the first principles of their religion, they began v/ith the
Stars and Elements, as the sole objects of their adoration: thus
we know, they gave a particuhir worship to the Sun^ distinct
from that of Apollo; that they paid a homage to the Moo?7,
which they plainly distinguished from their Diane; and that
they likewise paid a religious worship to the Earth, which they
looked upon, like other idolatrous nations, as the mother of
Gods and Men. The eternal Eire which they preserved in
their forests, which served them in the stead of fire -temples,
and the veneration which they had for Mithras, shov/ that they
paid to that element the same worship with the Persians.
They had also a religious regard for the Lakes and Marshes,
which they looked upon either as so many Divinities, or at
least as places which they made choice of for their residence.
They even gave those Lakes, as well as Trees, the names of
some particular Divinities. The most celebrated of those
Lakes was that of Toulouse, into which they threw, either in
specie, or in bars and ingots, the gold and silver they had taken
from their enemy. Gregory of Tours tells us of a large Lake
at the foot of a mountain, consecrated to the Moon under the
name of Elane, where they assembled every year from the
neighbourhood, to throw into it the oblations that were made to
the Goddess. Strabo also speaks of a famous Lake of the
Gauls, which was called the Lake of the two Ravens, because
there were two fowls of that kind that haunted them, of which
they told a thousand ridiculous stories: but this much is certain,
that in quarrels which happened, the two parties repaired thi-
ther, and threw each a cake to those birds; and he who«e cake
£14 GALLIC roOLATRY. CHAP. VH.
THE GALLIC RELIGION IN GENERAL. SECE. I.
they ate up, neglecting the other, gained the cause. To the
M'orship of the Lakes and Marshes^tht Gauls joined that of the
Rivers, and Fountains, which they believed to be so many Divi-
nities. Indeed they paid divine honoi's to Water, and offered
sacrifices to it, as other idolatrous nations. They tlirew clothes
and other things into running Water, and drowned in the Gulfs
the horses which they had taken from their enemies. It is
needless to multiply here the testimonies of t\ie Ancients in
proof of this proposition; they are all unanimous as to the fact,
and those fine verses are well known, which Ausonias has made
in honor of the celebrated fountain of Bourdeaux, which was
called Dlvona or the divine fountain. But as the Egyfitians
worshipped the Mle, and the Indians the Ganges, the Gauls
had a greater veneration for the Rhine than for other rivers;
and from a persuasion that he animated them in battle, they
depended a great deal upon his assistance. But, above all,
what was most sacred and revered in the religion of the Gauls,
were the Woods and Forests: and the Oak was the tree in par-
ticular, for which, of all others, they had the greatest venera-
tion, as we shall see in speaking of their sacred Groves.
■ As to the origin of the Gallic religion CiE-
It originated g^j^ ^^^^ Tacitus contradict one another; the
not from the Bn~
ions;— first alledging it came from Britain, while the
=====^ second maintains that the Gauls in peopling
that island, -had introduced their mysteries thither; and the fact
declares in favour of Tacitus, in regard to the earliest stage of
their religion at least, since we have the most incontestible evi-
dence \.h?LVBritain was peopled from the neighbouring shores
of the continent.* But to reconcile these two authors, we may
•• See Pi>-KEET03f's Dissertation upon the Goth's, or the migrations of an-
cient nations; of which I have given an abstract in the form of Introduction
to my View of Ancient Geography.
CHAP. Vn. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 515
SECT. I. THE GALLIC RELIGION IN GENERAL.
say, that though the Gauls passed over into Britain and there
established their religion, yet those islanders, who kept more at
home than they, preserved it in all its purity, while among the
Gauls, who by their frequent wars were led into a commerce
with other nations, it underwent some alteration. Accordingly
we see that in later times, the Gallic Druids had a high vene-
ration for those of Britain, and often sent thither their pupils to
be by them thoroughly instructed in their own religion.
____;____-__ It remains then a question, whence the Gauls
nor from t e (jg^ived their religion at first, if it were not from
Greeks, or Ho- " '
mans, or Phemci- ^^g Britons? and as this point is very obscure
ans, or Egyptians:
nor was it pecu- in itself, it is no wonder that we find such di-
liar to the Gauls , „ . . , ,
themselves; versity of opmion among those who have con-
^^^^^^~~^^~~~" sidered it. All are agreed however, that be-
fore the conquest of Caesar, the difference between it, and that
of the Greeks and Romans, was too wide for it to have been de-
rived from them; and the generality are of opinion, that it came
from Egypt or Phenicia. In support of this sentiment, they
alledge; ^rs?, Some kind of resemblance they find between the
worship of the Egyptians and Phenicians, and that of the Gauls;
which supposes that they, and all the other western nations of
Europe, had received their religion from those two people, who
trafficed, especia lly the former, on all the Gallic coasts as far
as Cadiz, where so many traces of their ancient religion have
been found. Secondly, The, figures of lais and some other
Egyptian Deities, dug up from time to time in Gaul. Some
modern authors are persuaded that this religion came from no
other country, but was peculiar to the Druids, and that they
alone were the founders of it. But to prove this allegation, it
would be necessary to prove that those Avho came to people this
country, were without i^eligion and without worship, — which is
among the least credible of incredible things; so universally
are mankind inclined to devotion.
216 GALLIC roOLATRY. CHAP. Vlf,
THE GALLIC RELIGION IN GENERAL. SECT. I.
—-—-———-———. For my part I am not only fully convinced
—but it orig-inat- that the primitive religion of the Gauls was
ed from ancient
Persia. derived from the Asiatics; but that it was pro-
'■' pagated through the course of the migration,
during several ages, of their Scythic ancestors from ancient Per-
sia.* The Scythians, from whom the Gauls descended, were
extremely pov/erful, and for several centuries possessed most
of the north of A&ia and Eurofie, whence they spread them-
selves westward and southward, and took possession also, of the
country Avhich the Romans called Gallia, dispossessing the abo-
riginal Celts almost at pleasure. Their empire, if one may so
term a dominion, such as that of the ancient Scythians, extend-
ed from the northern parts of Asia Minor, to the western coasts
of Gaul, and even into Britain and Ireland. They doubtless
brought their religion with them from their mother country;
and the resemblance which the Gallic religion actually has to
that of the Persians, led Pliny to say, that one would be apt to
think it had been derived from thence, were it not that the dis-
tance and impossibility of commerce between those two peo-
ple stood in opposition to this notion. But this distance should
not, under a more correct view of the subject, imply such a
difficulty. The world, by the deluge, was reduced to one fa-
mily anemone belief; and all the modes of worship which have
been propagated since, are but corruptions of the true one.
Men removed by degrees to a distance from the place of their
original, peopled the earth, and in various manners corrupted
the purity of the primitive religion. Some came by land
towards the north, and under the name of Scythians, Sarma\.
tians, 8cc, peopled those vast tracts of country; while others
miore adventurous, braved the dangers of the ocean; and toihis
• The migration .of the Scythians, is especially and lucidly treated by
John Pinkebtos, in his IHssertation on the Goths.
CHAP. VII. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 2 1 7
SECT. I. THE GALLIC RELIGION IN GENERAL.
effect we have innumerable proofs to evince, that first the Phe-
nicians and then the Carthaginians, penetrated to the very ex-
tremities of the west. Hence, no doubt, that resemblance of
worship and religious ceremonies between nations, separated
by so many seas and such vast tracts of land. But this com-
mercial intercourse was subsequent to the Scythian migration
from ancient Persia, and could only have mixed a few strange
ceremonies with the fundamental principles of that religion
which the forefathers of the natives had brought from Persia.
And that this was the principal origin of the religion of the an-
cient Gauls, will be further evinced, by a brief parallel between
the Persian Magi and the Gallic Druids, as the result of it Avill
also account for that affinity which has been so often traced be-
tween those Priests. We shall speak more particularly of the
Druids hereafter.
•" It is no wonder then, that those Priests, or
Parallel between
\he Persian Magi if you will, those Philosophers, had so much
Druids— " '^ resemblance to one another. They were both
■" ■ ■" ■ " of them in high repute in their own country,
and were consulted upon all important occasions; being the sole
ministers of religion, all other persons were prohibited from in-
termeddling with it. In fine, both of them held a very austere
and very retired life. Both of them governed the state, as the
king never failed to advise with them in all critical conjunc-
tures. Being great lovers of justice, they either administered
it themselves, or had cognizance over the conduct of those who
were vested with that office. The immortality of the soul was,
both in Persia and among the Cauls, an essential article of be-
lief. The Magi opposed by every means in their power, the
opinion which gave the Gods a human original, and which di-
vided them into male and female Deities; just so it was with the
Druids, especially in their earlier days. Anciently neither the
one nor the other had temples nor statues; and it is thought
VOL. II E e
218 GALLIC mOLATRY. CHAP. YIL
THE GALLIC RELIGION IN GENERAL. SECT. II.
that this usage was still kept up among the Gauls, even when
Cesar conquered them, and that the temples whereof some re-
mains are yet to be seen in several places, belong only to the
second period of their religion: their only temples therefore at
first were the woods and forests or sacred groves, as shall be
seen hereafter. The Persians^ worshipped the^reasthe sym-
bol of their principal Divinity: the Gauls, as Ave are told by
PoLYHisTOR cited by SoLiNUs, preserved upon their alters a
perpetual ^re; and Mithras was a God equally revered by the
one and the other. The Persians gave peculiar worship to
water, as we have seen; and history informs us that the Gauls
paid the same honor to that element, as we shall see afterwards.
This parallel might be extended further, but the want of con-
viction I presume cannot require it.
■ It is true there were some rites "Avherein
either of whose those two nations were quite different from
rites underwent
changesiwhile the one another; but to repeat what has been
devoted to ma'^ic shown elsewhere, the religion of the Persians
and other super- ^ggif underwent several alterations by time;
stitions, and oner- '
ed human victh-ns and there is no doubt but the same religion,
=====^ propagated into countries so remote, would
suffer still more considerable changes. Accordingly the pri-
mative simplicity of the Gallic religion was not of long duration,
and the Gauls, even before their subjection to the Roinans, had
altered it so far, that there was scarcely a wreck of it left. The
Druids themselves so esteemed for their wisdom and know-
ledge by all nations who had heard of them, became devoted to
divination, magic, and all sorts of superstitions; and were there
no other circumstances than the human sacrifices which they of-
fered to their Esus, Teutates, and Saturn, as we learn from Ta-
citus, Lagtantius, and Lucian, a practice which was still
subsisting in the time of Dionysius of Halicarnassus this of
itself v,'ould be sufficient to convince us, that the religion of that
CHiVP. Vir. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 219
SECT. II. THEIR SACRED FORESTS AND GROVES.
people came short at length of no other, m superstition and
cruelty. Such were the /irincijiles, original and changes^ of
the Gallic religion, which appertain to its first period.
■I' ■ ■ The second period of that religion elapsed
SeCOXJ) period f .1 ^ (• T f^ i 4.1
• -IJurino- whicl "'^'^'^ the conquest ot Julius C^sar to the es-
tl.e Ga«is adopted tablishment of Christianity among the Gauls.
most of the Gods
and religious ce- And in that interval, the same religion under-
^RimT^^ ^ went several alterations; which commenced b^
I the adoption of most of the Gods of their con-
queroi-s, as Vulcan, Jufiiter, Hercules, Castor and Pollux, &c.
The monument erected in the time of Tiberius, which we shall
speak of hereafter, as it px'oves this truth, so it shews that it was
not long after the conquest of Julius C^sar that these Gods
were introduced into this country. In short, during this period,
the Gauls conformed themselves in almost every thing to the
religious rites of the Romans. They followed their example
in building temples, and chapels, and in makiog statutes of their
Gods; not to mention a thousand superstitious rites which al-
most identified the one religion with the other, the particulars
of which will occur occasionally in the sequel of this Chapter.
SECTION SECOND.
THEIR SACRED FORESTS A.^TD GROVES.
^^^^______ The Gauls in ancient times had no other
Thftir forests temples but the woods and forests, no other
and trees sewed
as temples, altars, statues of their Gods, nor other altars, but the
and StaUnes, of r.i <• t • i . , ',. o
tlieirGods- trees ot those torests. It was in the middle of
~~ those groves that they offered sacrifices, and
held all their religious assemblies. They were so sacred
among them that it was not permitted to cut them down, nor
£20 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP, VH.
THEIR SACRED FORESTS AND GROVES.
even to approach them but with a religious awe. They only
presumed to adorn them with flowers and trophies, and to hang
upon them the remains of the victims offeredto the Gods whom
they represented. It Avas not even allowed to make use of cer-
tain trees, even when they had fallen down through decay, or by
any other accident. In a word, the forests and trees were their
temples, their altars, and the statues of their Gods. Taci-
tus, speaking of the Semones, who followed the same religion
with the Gauls, confirms what we have just said. " Those peo-
ple says he, have no other temple but a forest, where they dis-
charge all the duties of religion. No body enters into the wood
unless he brings with him a chain, as a badge of his depen-
dence, and of the supreme dominion which God has over him."
■ . It was very late, even after the conquest of
dopt^^the usages J'-'^i^'s CiESAR, before they gave into the usa-
of other nations g-gg ^f other Pagan nations as to the construc-
m constructing ^
temples &c, till tion of their temples, altars, and statues. Ac-
of Cjfsar. cordingly C^sar says nothing about the tem-
' pies, altars, or statues of their Gods; and we
have a hundred other proofs of this truth, which render the fact
incontestible. However, some ancient historians speak of the
temples of the Gauls, at the very time of the conquest of Ju-
lius Caesar. Suetonius says, "that conqueror pillaged and
sacked those temples which v/ere full of treasures." Strabo
likewise mentions the temples and oratories of the Gauls. But
we may answer that these authors speak the language of their
nation, and according to their own prejudices: for through the
Gauls had places set apart and especially consecrated to the
worship of their Gods; where they performed their religious
ceremonies, offered sacrifices, &c; yet those temples, if we
must call them so, were not edifices like those of the Greeks and
Romans. They were the woods and groves; and at Toulouse
in particular, the banks of a lake,, consecrated by religion, serv-
CHAP. Vn. GALLIC mOLATRY. 221
SECT. II. THEIR SACRED FORESTS AND GROVES.
ed for a temple. These were the places where they laid up
their treasures. Thus the author just quoted had reason in one
sense, to say, that C^sar had pillaged their temples; as he
really did pillage the places they used as such. And it is ac-
cording to this distinction we are to understand what Strabo
says, " that it was in their temples the Gauls sacrificed the man
whom they offered up to their Gods;" namely, in those very for-
ests which served them for temples. For, suppose edifices ever
so spacious, how would those colosses of osier have entered into
them, A^ithin which they lodged either the criminals or captive
enemies; and what disorder would have been there occasioned by
the fire that consumed them? It was not therefore till after the
Romans had invaded Gaul, that they began to build temples
there; nor was the use of them at first general. But they conti-
nued, notwithstanding those new temples, to sacrifice in the
forests, and even to make use of trees to represent their Gods;
and this usage lasted a long time, since Maximus Tyrius says
the statue of their Jupiter was nothing but a very tall Oak.
• ^, . ' Nothing is so celebrated in the history of
Their venera- ^
tion for their for- the ancient Gauls as the woods of the Carnutes,
est and trees en- .
dured after the which were, it 1 may use the expression, the
adoption of tern- metropolis of the country, where they assem-
ples . 8cc.; and was ^ •" ^
very difficuh to bled from all quarters, as well for the ceremo-
be abolished. . „ ;. , „ _, .
;:;;;:;i;i;:::;;:;:^^;:^::^^ nies 01 religion, as tor aftairs of state; as shall
be said at more length in the history of the Druids; and the
forest which was near Marseilles, rendered sacred by the pos-
session of the second college of those priests, was the most fre-
quented next to that of the Carnutes. This veneration for
forests, and even worship paid to trees, was very ancient, and
consequently, so difficult to be abolished, that notwithstanding
the canons of several councils, and the reiterated admonition of
Prelates, who used all their endeavours to suppress it; it still
subsisted in some provinces of Gaulj long after Christianity had
222 GALUC roOLATllY. CHAP. YfT
THEIR SACRED FORESTS AND GROVES. SECT. II.
• •■ ' - ' ' ';
triumphed over idolatry: and some remains thereof were still to
be seen in the time of Charlemagne. Church history makes
frequent mention of the trees which holy persons caused to be
cut down, because they were still the objects of public venera-
tion; and it informs us in particular that St. Severns of Vienna
caused one to be taken up by the roots, which represented a
hundred of their Gods, aS appeared from the inscriptions they
set up in the church that was erected in the place where that
tree stood. But the Gauls were so habituated at last to the
manners and customs of their conquerors, that they erected
every where temples in great numbers, where were deposited
both the statues which represented the ancient Gods of the
country, and those which represented the Gods of the Roma^is.
The antiquaries, and especially Montfaucon, have given fig-
ures of the remains of several of those temples, which may be
seen in their works. It is observable, that almost all of them
are of around figure, or octagonal, as though they had believed
the sovereigns of the world were only to be lodged in places
that resembled it in its globular form.
— The learned have carefully inquired whence
Whence tlmt ve- ^^^^ ^^^ vQ^^v^i the Gauls had for trees, and
neration for ttie °
oak among the especially for the oak, which they held in such
Gaids ! — suppos-
ed to have arisen high veneration, that it may be said to have
S/ISJ^'^ ""^ "^ ^^^^ ^1^^"" temple and their God; and the gen-
===== erality are persuaded that it took its rise from
the oak of Mamre, under which Abraham, ?iS we read in the book
of Genesis, invoked the name of the Lord. Nor indeed can it
be denied that this oak became very famous; and it would be but
lost time to accumulate testimonies to prove it. In after limes
ther even kept a fair there, where merchants from several
neighbouring nations assembled, with a great concourse of peo-
ple. This oak, which the father of the faithful consecrated,
having been so well known, it is probable, say the advocates for
CHAP. VII. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 22^
SKCT. II. THEIK SACRED FOUESTS AND GROVES.
the above opinion, that the colonies which came from , Stjria,
and the othei' neighbouring countries to people the west, pre-
served the memory of it, and made choice of that tree in the
places where they came to settle, in preference to any
other, to celebrate the mysteries of their religion. In like
manner it cannot be disowned, say they, that the religion of the
Gauls had, in its begining at least, a great deal of affinity with
that of the Jews. Porphyry aviled himself of this affinity,
and improved it as a ground of reproach against the Christians-
opposing the antiquity of the Druids, to the novelty of the Chris-
tian i-eligion.
- ■ - '■ ' But I believe it is in vain to seek for myste-
but It was as uni- , _,, , n , , • ,
versal as it was ry here. The earth ot old was quite covered
ancient, and per- ^^^^j^ ^Q^^g. ^nd they who settled in any unin-
I I . habited country, clearing only so much of it as
was necessary for the immediate purposes of life, appropriated
the woods and forests as most convenient for celebrating their
mysteries. Besides, dark and solitary places seem to inspire a
kind of sacred awe, which makes them more venerable than sit-
uations more exposed. And we may judge of the old world by
the new; where, all relations inform us, in one extended forest,
the Savages, without knowing any thing of the oak o^ Mamre,
performed at the roots of trees, their religious ceremonies.
But not to insist on this, nothing is more ancient in the Pagan
world, nor more universal than this respect for AYoods and for-
est, which served for temples to primitive mortals; insomucli
that even when they began to build real ones, they seldom fail-
ed to plant groves around them: hence, no doubt, the origin of
those sacred groves, /wcz, so universally celebrated in antiquity,
and whose use continued so long.-— — Moreover, when the whole
earth was full of temples, taking that word in its proper accepta-
tion, not only the poets designated these also by the word lucus a
grove, but so did the historians, and even the very architecjts:
224 k GALUC IDOLATKY. CHAP. YH.
THEIR MINISTERS OF RELIGION. SECT. III.
thus, with respect to the latter, Vitruvius, speaking of the
proportion that ought to be observed in structures of the Tus-
can order, and giving for example the temple of Diana Arieina,
calls that edifice, Aricina nemori Diana, The grove 0/ Diana.
section third.
T/fEIR MIjYISTERS OF RELIGIOJ^, ESPECIALLY THE
BRUIBS.
. The Druids were the principal ministers of re-
The names of . .
these several min- ligion among the Gauls; but they were not the
f\mctk)nT ^ ^^"^ ^"'^ ones, for there were different degrees in
-^— their hierarchy. The Ancients reckon among
those several ministers., the Bardi, the Sarronides, the Eubaces,
the Fates, and the Druids. The latter were the chief, and the
others were only subalterns, who assisted them in their minis-
tration, and were in every thing much inferior to them. — The
Bardi, or Bards, whose name in the Celtic language, according
to Festus, imports a Soneteer, celebrated in verse the immor-
tal deeds of great men, and commonly praised them upon mu-
sical instruments. Their verses were in such high esteem that
they were sufficient to immortalize the memory of those whom
they undertook to praise; and the Bards themselves were so
esteemed, that if they presented theniselves when two armies
were ready to engage, or though the battle were even already
begun, both parties presently laid down their arms to hearken
to what these sacred personages had to pi'opose. Besides their
ordinary employment of celebrating the praises of their heroes
and benefactors, they took upon themselves to censure the actions
of private persons, especially when their conduct did not corres-
pond to their duty. — The Sarronides instructed the youth., and
CHAP. vrr. GALUC ibOLATHY. 225
SECT. III. THEIR MINISTERS OF RELIGION.
instilled into their minds virtuous sentiments. — The Vates, or
JEubages, had the care' of the sacrifices, and applied themselves
to the contemplation of nature. The other functions of these
ministers are but litde known, and Diodorus Siculus even
confounds the Sarronides with the Druids. But the latter were
so far superior to the others, that not only were they invested
by their station with the care of every thing that concerned re-
ligion, but they also had the absolute command of the subaltern
ministers, who could not exercise their office, but by their per-
mission, and were obliged to withdraw whenever they appear-
ed, unless they had leave from them to stay: and in process of
time they united in their body almost all the functions of the
others, those especially, that regarded religion, leaving to them
only the care of other things. The pruids therefore, whose
name is certainly derived from the Celtic word deru, signifying
an oak, were, among the ancient Gauls, the chief ministers of
religion. The Ancients design them sometimes by other names,
but such as always express their functions: thus Diodorus Sic-
ulus speaks of them at considerable length vinder the name of
Sarronides, and others under that oi Samothei, while Diogenes.
Laertius and Suidas inform us that they were also denomina-
ted Sevinothei,^ name which designated.their profession of wor-
shipping the Gods, and being consecrated to their service, as
that of Sarronides alluded to the oaks, near which they spent
their lives. In fine, the monuments dug up in the Cathedral of
Paris, give them the name of Senani, which shall be explained
when we speak of those monuments.
■ As to the antiquity and origin of the Druids,
- The original and jj^Qgg ^^j^^ l-^J^yg enquired most narrowly into
antiquity or the '■
Braids; who were the subject, are re ed to own that they have
modelled after . . , • i
the Persian Magi, attained to no certainty about it, but must con-
===== tent themselves with conjecture. Shall we say
with some authors, that the Druids were descended from thT'
VOL. II. F f
226 GALLIC roOLATRY. CHAP. VII.
THEIR MINISTERS OF RELIGION. SECT. III.
ancient Indian Gymnosofihists? But we have no traces left in
history of any commerce between people so remote from each
other, whatever intercourse might have existed between their
forefathers of Persia and those Indian philosophers. Were
they the disciples of Pythagoras, whose doctrine has so much
affinity with that of those Gallic priests? for in short it was in
Italy at Crotona, where that philosopher published his doctrine,
and the Gauls arc near enough to Italy for that doctrine to
have passed the Jl/is. But it is much more probable that Py-
thagoras had himself adopted several opinions of the Druids:
though it is not true that the doctrine of that philosopher has so
much affinity as is believed with that of the Druids; and as to
the principal article, that of the transmigration of souls, which
Pythagoras had brought from Egyfit, and which even in his
time was diffused over all the Indies^ it does not appear, as we
shall presently see, that they had copied each other: and
though the distance of the Gauls from Italy is not very consi-
derable, yet the Italians had little or no commerce with them,
whom they accounted barbarians., and only sought to defend
their frontiers against them. As it is already proved to be
very probable, that the northern Scythians or Goths, the fathers
of the Gauls, had brought the fundamental part of their
doctrines from Persia, so we may presume that the Druids had
framed then selves upon the model of the Magi; and to be sure
they have a more remarkable resemblance to them than to all
the other philosophers in the world. Accordingly several of
the Ancients were of this opinion, without troubling themselves
to consider by what way the Persian religion might have pene-
trated into the extremity of the west. After all, the origin of the
Druids seems to be lost in the darkness of antiquity; and all
that we can know positively, is, that the Greek philosophers, as
Aristotle, Sosion, and others before them, by whom they are
■mentioned, for they were known in the earliest ages, speak of
CHAP. VIL GALLIC mOLATRY. 227
SECT. III. THEIR MINISTERS OF RELIGION.
them as a wise class of people, very profound in matters of re-
ligion, and consummate philosophers in speculation. So deeply
were the Ancients impressed with the extensive knowledge and
antiquity of the Druids, that Cicero says it was by them My-
thology was invented; and consequently we would infer they
ought to pass for the teachers, in some measure, of the primi-
tive inhabitants of Greece and Rome, who originated by various
ramifications from the western or parental Scythians, if we may
credit Mr. Pinkerton, on the authority of many Ancients. But
it will appear too evident hereafter, (for truth requires us to
reveal their bad as well as their good qualities) that their wis-
dom was but folly, that they were addicted to studies equally
frivolous and pernicious, to Magic, to divination, to childish and
superstitious rites: and what made them pass for the wisest of
men, is, that mankind commonly admire those who are most
dexterous at imposing upon them.
^ The Druids led a very recluse and austere
Tlieii' manner
of living; their life in appearance at least. Being shut up m the
thefrlSbit— ^' '^ ^^^^'"^ °^ the woods, they came seldom abroad.
;====;^ but confined themselves to their wild recesses*
where the whole nation came to consult them. This austere life
struck Julius Caesar with admiration; even C^sar, who hardly
admired any thing but ostentatious virtues; and he was impressed
with them to such a degree, that he could not but esteem them.
Though they formed several Colleges in Gaul, yet that of
the country of the Carnutes, as we have said, was always ac-
counted the most considerable, and the head of that College was
the high Priest of the Gauls. It was in the woods of this coun-
try that the great sacrifices were offered, and all the grand ce-
remonies of their religion were performed: there it was too that
the grandees of the country assembled, and held the Conven-
tion of Estates. Next to this College, that of Marseilles was
the most considerable. The description given by Luc i an of
228 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. Vn.
THEIR MINISTERS OF RELIGION. SECT. III.
this wood, where their Druids assembled,, when he relates how
Cesar ordered the trees of it to be felled, inspires one with a
kind of religious awe and horror, in despite of liis better judg-
ment. Though the Druids^ both old and young, had one and
the same spirit, it appears, however, from the monuments which
represent them, that they had not all the same kind of garb.
Whether they were permitted to follow the mode of the pro-
vince, or if their different habits expressed the different de-
grees to which the candidates arrived before they were profes-
sed, is what I cannot determine. Only this much is certain,
that after the ceremony of admission, for it was by receiving
formal admission from the Druids that the novices becanae pro-
fessed, the candidate laid off the secular Aa6z7, and put on that
of a Druid; Avhich consisted of a sort of tunic that reached no
lower than the mid-leg. This habit^ as well as the robe that
was under it, was open in front, and the candidate, before his
admittance, was obliged to throw it aside, lest there should be
an imposture in the case, and the priesthood should perchance
vest in a female.
- So great Avas the authority of the Druids,
— their political — . p . , , '
authority:— ^^^^ "^ atlair oi importance was undertaken
— — —^--^^^^ till they were consulted. They presided in
the Estates; declared war, and made peace; superintended the
observance and execution of the laws, and enacted neAv ones
according to occurrences; confirmed or annulled the election of
Kings, and Vergobrets, which latter in certain provinces of Gaul
were like the Arcons of Athens^ but only with an annual powei ;
they had also the right of creating an annual magistrate to
govern in every city. Thus they were the first of the Nobility
of whom the Commonwealth was composed, and all bowed be-
fore them: umpires in all the differences and interests of the
Njition, they equally decided public affairs and those of private
persons, punished crimes and adjudged a controverted property
\llA-p. Vn. GALLIC roOLATRY. 229
SECT. III. THEIR MINISTERS OF RELIGION.
to him whom they thought intitled to it; and those who re-
fused to yield to their decisions were anathematized — ^were in-
terdicted from all sacrifice, and accounted profane by the rest
of the Nation, none daring so much as to frequent their com-
pany. Added to this, as they formed a body distributed through
all the provinces of Gaul, by means of their Colleges, so they
were enti'usted with the education of the youth of the first qua-
lity in the kingdom.
■ The Druids had the entire charge of all mat-
— their religious „ . . . r ? •
funciions. ters of religion, which was the means ot their
' being vested with such unlimited political
power: as, the sacrifices, offerings, prayers, public and pri-
vate; the privilege of predicting future events; of consulting the
Gods, and giving responses in their names; of knowing their at-
tributes, and their number; to all which privileges they added
that of studying universal nature. They had a dispensation
from going to war, and were exempt from all sorts of tribute;
which invited a great number of candidates, for all persons
were, capable of admission into their Body, of whatever rank or
profession, except women: and their number would have in-
creased still more, had it not been for the severities of a long
state of probation, and the necessity which the young candidates
were under of learning that prodigious number of verses, which
contained their maxims of religion and political government.
In remote times, the Gallic women enjoyed a part of these
political and religious prerogatives, as we shall see in speaking
of the JDruidesses in particular; and they were still in the pos-
session of them when Annibal passed through the Gauls, since
one of the articles of the treaty he made with that people stipu-
lated, that if a Gaul had any matter of complaint against a Car-
thaginian, the offended party should lay his complaint before the
General, or the Magistrate whom the Senate of Carthage had
established in Spain; and that when a Gaul had wronged a
230 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. VU.
THEIR MINISTERS OF RELIGION. SECT. III.
Carthaginian, the cause should be brought before the tribunal
of the Gallic women. In succeeding ages the Druids entirely
usurped that authority, but the precise date of that usurpation
is not known.
^ As the Druids did not write any thing, tra-
TaEIR SCIEXCE,
viz. — Ist. Their dition has preserved to us few or none of the
los^phv ^" "^ ^ many maxims contained in that vast number
==^== of verses which they made their pupils learn:
however we are told that all their maxims tended to make men
more wise and just, religious arid valiant. The fundamental
points of their doctrine were reduced to these three. 1. To
adore the Gods; 2. To injure no body; 3. To be bra-ve and cou-
ragioiis. Pomponius Mela, speaking of their philosophy,
says they professed to know the form and magnitude, of the
eaith, and in general of the whole universe; as also the course
of the stars; and that their retired life in the caves and woods,
where they had their habitation, allowed them full time to me-
ditate upon all these points.
■ It is not to be doubted but the Druids, and
2nd Their doc- , ^ , . , i ,• j i • ,•
trine of the im- "^^ Gauls m general, believed the immortality
mortality qf the q£ ^t^q soul; and it was this persuasion which
soul; which IS a
variety of that of made them rush upon death, as a sure means
the Jiletempsiicho-
sis. " of attaining a more happy life. It is true they
■' also made a great distinction between those
who died a natural death in the midst of their friends, and those
who sacrificed their lives in the service of their country. The
first were silently interred, without any encomiums, or such fu-
neral songs as were composed in praise of the dead: as the
others, on the contrary, who had sacrificed themselves to the
common interest, were believed to have survived their bodies,
and to have gone to enjoy eternal felicity in the mansions of the
Gods; and it was only for these, that the Priests durst raise
tombs, and compose epitaphs. But we are not to conclude
CHAP. VII. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 231
SECT. III. THEIR MINISTERS OF RELIGION.
from this, that they did not believe the former to be immortak
the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is not to be believed
by halves, and there are few philosophers who taught it more
clearly than the Druids. The reason of their conferring so
much honor upon warriors, was owing to the genius of that va-
liant Nation, and to the value they had for those who followed
the profession of arms. The others according to them, seemed
to die altogether, that is they left no memorial of themselves.
This, according to some modern authors, was not the doctrine of
the Meiemfisychosis; but, as CiESARj Diodortjs Siculus, Lu-
ciAN, Valerius Maximus, and some others, alledge that the
Druids believed that doctrine, and taught it to their disciples, I
am more inclined to be swayed by these authors, who had a
better opportunity to be informed in the sentiments of those
Gallic priests, especially the first who dwelt so long among
them, than by the arguments of these modern writers, who are
not so, convincing as they pretend. But I am fully persuaded,
in the first place, that it was not from Pythagoras, and far less
from his disciples, that the Druids had learnt this doctrine
(which was known long before him in Egypt, and almost
throughout the oriental countries), since they taught it in the
Gauls long before the birth of that philosopher; nor is it the
less true on that account, that they really taught it, though
with some variations; for, how many forms and modes did this
doctrine assume! The strongest argument of those authors, is,
that the Ancients, except those above named, take no notice of
it: but, besides that they speak of the Druids very superficially,
were they as well informed in what concerned them as those
whom I have mentioned, especially Caesar? and do those au-
thors say any thing that destroys what these relate to us upon
this subject? It is true, they tell us, especially Pomponius
Mela, that the Gauls, in burying their dead, or the ashes of
those whom they have burnt, put into their tombs their mov-
232 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. Vll,
THEIR MINISTERS OF RELIGION. SECT. III.
ables, their accounts, and the bills of money which they had
lent, to serve them in the other world; that they eveti wrote let-
ters to their dead friends; customs, say they, which that people
never would have observed, had they been persuaded that their
souls passed into new bodies. But is it not well known that
the partizans of the doctrine of Metempsychosis taught, that it
was not always immediately after death that the soul was intro-
duced into a new body; that it first went to Hell to expiate its
faults; that from thence it often passed into the Elysian fields^
where, after some stay, as to the duration whereof they varied
a great deal, it drank of the water of Lethe^ which obliterated
the memory of all that had passed, and then it returned into this
World to inhabit a new body, more or less honorable, according
to the merit of its actions? Nothing is more celebrated among
the Ancients than those expiations, whereof Virgil fixes the
time a thousand years. It was therefore to be of use to them
in this interval, that the Gauls put movables, clothes, and bills,
into the tombs of their dead, with letters, which they had full
time to deliver to those to whom they were addressed. What
Valerius Maximus says, that the Gauls frequently lent mo-
ney to be paid in the other world, makes as little against the be-
lief of tra7ismigration: and to this we may apply the same an-
swer, that in such a case the money would serve the lender
against the time of his expiation; and add, that negative proofs
and inferences, however they may appear necessary, are weak
against the positive proofs of cotemporary authors of good cre-
dit. Straho however informs us, that the Druids also
taughc, that all things were at some future time to be destroyed
by Jire and water.
CHAP. VII. GALLIC IDOLATRY,
SECT. III. THEIR MINISTERS OF RELIGION.
— — — Such were the sciences and doctrines of the
1 nese were in-
culcated upon Druids.) which they endeavouixd to inculcate
their noviclateti; , . ... , . _ , .
the more spri"'iit- iipo" their candiaates, 'Whose time ot probation
XntZ^'BHtlTio ^^^ ^*^^y ^°"^- ^^ they wrote nothing, and
complete tlieir all their knowledge was digested into verses,
education. _ . . . ■
.. . they obliged their noviciates to commit them
to memoryj^ and these verses were, so numerous, that sometimes
fifteen or twenty years were necessary to accomplish the task.
. JuLius CjESar, who relates this fact, gives two reasons for it:
the first is, that the doctrine of the Druids might not be known
to others, but might appear the more mysterious; the second
is, that the young candidates who were to learn those verses,
might be the more careful to improve their memories.
When any one of those candidates had a more happy genius foi?
speculative sciences than their companions, their masters sent
them into Britain for their further advances in these matters;
for ^hQ Druids of that island were accounted the most accom-
plished of all: but notwithstanding this distinction, they main-
tained a regular correspondence with those of Gaw/, each con-
sulting the other upon all important occasions.
■ ' '■ ' Besides the study of politics, religion, and
Their supersti-
tions;— viz — 1st. philosophy, the Druids affected to be also
m the heahnVart! skilled in medicine. But they owed all their
' reputation in this, to the idea people enter-
tained of their being skilled in the influence of the Stars, and
that they had an insight into futurity; for, as we have seen,
those sages, who were so much revered, addicted themselves
to astrology^ divination, and magic — sciences so much to the
taste of the people, that though always deluded, yet they would
never have recovered from their prejudices by the force of their
own discernment. The Druids it is true made some use of
botany, but they corrupted it with so many superstitious rites,
that it was impossible they should ever be any great proficients
VOL. rt. G g
^34 (iALLlG IDOLATRY. CHAP, YII.
THEIR MINISTERS OF RELIGION. SECT. HI.
therein. And indeed what opinion are we to form of the know-
ledge of those pretended sages, when Pliny tells us " that in
order to gather a certain plant, which is thought to be the black
hellebore, a knife was not to be used, but that it was to be pluck-
ed up with the right hand which was to be covered with a part
of the robe, then to be conveyed secretly into the left hand, as
if it had been stolen^ and lastly, that a necessary preparation for
it was, to be clad in white, to be bare-footed, and to oflPer be-
forehand an oblation of bread and wine. The Druids were es-
pecially conceited of the pretended virtues of vervain, a
plant so much in use in magical operatians; and we find,
they never gathered or employed it without connecting with it
many superstitious rites. In the first place, they said it was to
be gathered at the rising of the dog-star, and that at the break
of day, or before the rising of the sun, and after off'ering an ex-
piatory sacrifice to the Earth, wherein fruits and honey were
employed. And then what virtue did they not ascribe to that
plant! By rubbing themselves with it they pretended to obtain
every thing they desired; it banished fevers, cured all sorts of
maladies, and by a wonderful charm reconciled the heai'ts of
those Avho were at enmity; in fine, being sprinkled by way of
aB{)ersion upon their guests, it had the virtue to make those
who were so favoured, more gay and better pleased than the
rest — as if the bare persuasion of such influence of the plant
had not been sufiicient to produce that eff'ect.
::===^= Another superstition of these pretended
2nd Their su- ^^ regard the e^~g which they called an-
perstitious no- o d oo j
tions respecting a guinum, produced, as they say, from the slime
mysterious egg of
serpents. of serpents; of ^vhich great numbers met to-
'"—™"~''~~''— "" gether for coppulation at certain seasons of the
year. So soon as this egg was formed, the Druids alledged
that upon the hissing of the serpents, it rose into the air, and
that in order to preserve its virtue, it was necessary to catch it
CHAP. VII. GAIAAC IDOLATRY. 235
SECT. III. THEIR MINISTERS OF RELIGION.
before it f^ io the ground, then to mount on horse-back and
get away as fast as possible, because the serpents, jealous of
their production, would be sure to pursue the person who car-
ried it off, till some river arrested their course. When any
one was so happy as to catch one of these effgs in the air on a
certain day of the moon, an experiment was performed to
ascertain whether it was genuine, by throwing it into a vessel
of water entompassed with a small circle of gold; and if it
swam upon the surface it was considered genuine. When the
experiment succeeded, which probably never failed in conse-
quence of some secret means with which we are unacquainted,
the Druids present at the ceremony, declared, that this egg had
the virtue, of making a person gain his cause in all pleas he
might have, and that by its means he would obtain free access
to the king. Pliny, who asserts that this whole affair was but
a piece of vain superstition, informs us that the emperor Clau-
dius put to death a Roman knight in Dauphimj, merely upon
account of his carrying in his bosom one of those eggs^ with a
view to gain a process he had depending. The ceremony of
catching this mysterious egg is thought to be represented upon
the monuments dug up in the ctdhedral at Paris, which we
shall examine hereafter: but this at least is certain, that it oc-
curs upon a tomb, whereof a print is given by MontfaucoNj
upon which you see two serpents, one of them holding an egg
in his mouth, while the other fashions it with his slime.
„,„,.. We may also reckon among the supcrstir
3rd. Iheir su- ■' or
perstitious no- tions of the Druids, the opinion they main-
tions respecting . , , , , , p ,
certain phenome- tamed, that at the death ot great men there
na, supposed to be ^j^^yg happened some considerable change in
occasioned by the j i i &
death of great nature, and that their souls hardly evc^ failed
men.
.jiL,-.^ to raise storms, extraordinary Avinds and tem-
pests; that they produced the dreadful noise of thunder-, the
menacing flashes of lightning, the fiery meteors that infected t)u*
236 GALLIC IDOLATllY. CHAP. A 11,
THKIR MINISTERS OF RELIGION. SECT. III.
air, and caused epidemical distempers. Plutar* t«^ in his trea-
tise on the cessation of Oracles, makes them reason upon this
subject in a way. that will convince but few. "The souls of
great men, say they, are as a candle, which while it burns pro-
duces only good effects, but being extinguished raises an offen-
sive smell." Were there any truth in this reasoning, the souls
of the wicked ought to occasion the greatest of evils. It is true,
and we may remark it by the way, that sometimes great men
have been flattered by an idea, that nature went out of her ordi-
nary course to do them honor; nor have they all been so rational
upon such occasions, as cardinal Mazarin, who, being told that
the Comet which appeared some days before his death was un-
doubtedly a happy prognostic for him, said with a smile, th^t
the Comet did him a great deal of honor.
===== But of all the superstitions of the Druids,
4th. Their sa-
crifice of human the most cruel and revolting was that which
victims to sotiie of i i ..u^^™ * -pi • • , r
their Gods them to sacrifice human victims to some of
' their Gods — a barbarous custom, which lasted
a long time among them, and was with great difficulty abolished.
Some authors however, alledge that we ai'e imposed upon as to
this article, and that the Romans themselves were deceived,
taking for real sacrifices the death that was inflicted upon cri-
minals. But nothing is more certain than the- fact we here
state; all antiquity gives testimony to it, and it would be super-
fluous to cite authorities to prove it. In vain did the Rovian
emperors endeavour, by bloody edicts, to banish so barbarous a
custom; it still continued, at least in some provinces of the
Gauls, until the entire destruction of Druidisin. We might
here add, what they affected to think as to those miserable
victims which they offered up to their Gods; but I presume it
was rather an effect of policy that persuasion. They impressed
them with a belief that their sacrifice had a purifying virtue, to
CHAP, VII. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 237
SECT. III. THEIR MINISTERS OF RKLIGION.
divest them of all that was mortal in their nature, and to raise
them to a conformity with the Gods.
' Of all the ceremonies however, which were
5th. Their super- , , , x, , ,
stitious ceremo- performed by the Druids, the most solemn
'th^ iS^/lnd ^^S' *^^ °^ gathering the Missdtoe, which
tlielr notions of xh^y believed the Gods had brought down from
its use
' heaven for the felicity of mankind. The mis-
seltoe which the Latins called Viscum, is a parasitical plant,
and not the legitimate production of the tree to which it ad-
heres. It is not to be found upon the surface of the earth, but
grows upon the oak, the apple, the pear, the plum, the beech,
and. some other trees. For this shrub, especially when it grows
upon the oak, the Druids had an infinite value. They extract-
ed from it a juice which they esteemed a sovereign remedy
against all sorts of maladies. But as superstition entered into
all the practices of those Priests, at first they had no value for
any other kind but that which grows upon the oak, believing, as
Pliny says, that God had made a particular choice of this tree
to bear that plant. They therefore sought after it with great
assiduity in the forests which they inhabited; and, as it was then
probably less common upon the oak than it is now, they bless-
ed themselves, when, after immense labour, they had the good
luck to meet with some plants of it, as if they had really found
a treasure.. However, the time of gathering it was not indif-
ferent; it was in the month of December alone, which among
them was a holy month, and on the sixth day of the moon, when
it was allowable to pluck it. They assembled together for this
ceremony, which was performed with great parade, and march-
ed in solemn procession to the place where this precious plant
had been discovered. The soothsayers went foremost, singing
hymns and songs in honor of the Gods. Next came a herald
with a rod in his hand; and he was followed by three Druids
bearing the things necessary for the sacrifice. After these ap-
238 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CJ^AP. VII,
THEIR JNJINISTgRS QE I4ELXGI0N. SECT. HI.
peared the chief of those Priests, clothed in a white robe, and
fallowed by a crowd of people. When the procession had come
up to the place appointed, the chief of the Druids clambered up
the oak, under the admiring gaze of the by-standers, and cut
the misseitoe with a golden sickle, which the other Druids re-
ceived with great reverence into the sagum, or a white cassock.
Then followed the sacrifice of two white bulls; to which suc-
ceeded a feast; then prayers were put up to the Gods, as Pliny
tells us, to make this plant a mean of communicating prosperity
to those who should partake of it. On the first day of the year,
after having blessed and consecrated the misselioe, they distri-
buted it among the people, promising and wishing them a hap-
py new year. The form made use of for that purpose, has
been preserved in these words. The new year to Misseitoe. As
nothing is more difficult to root out than customs founded on
superstition, they have still nearly the same cry in Ficardy, The
new year to Misseitoe filant^ when they wish a plenteous and
fruitful year. In Burgundy and other provinces, the children,
who have a custom on the first day in the year, of asking their
new-year's gift, make use of the same cry. There was even
established in several places, a quest, or a kind of begging on
the first day in the year, where they made use of the same
phrase, The new year to Misseitoe, in asking people to give alms.
■ Though Pliny has given a pretty full ac-
This ceremony count of this ceremony, yet he has said nothing
was probably per-
formed in the of the place where it was performed; but the
..^^f^g author of the history of the religion of the
■ .,„ ;,ii I, .1 I. I ' Gauls, is of opinion that it was in the country
of the Carnutes, ior the following reasons: T^^s?, Because, ac-
cording to Pliny, it was performed during the assembly of the
Estates General — and it is known that this is the country where
those meetings were held, once a year. Secondly, Because the
ceremony in question being the most solemn of all, it is very
GHAP. VII. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 239
SECT. III. THEIR MINISTERS OF RELIGION.
probable that it was performed in this metropolis, where was
also held the principal College of those Priests of the Gauls.
Thirdly, As Cjesar observes, that the Gauls repaired thither
with a vast concourse at that time, so. it is probable that they
improved that conjuncture, to make those who were then upon
the spot, partakers of the most sacred of their ceremonies.
• " ' As to what remains, respecting the super-
The high es- . .
teem the Druids stitions ot the Druids^ I know not what was the
conceived for Uie foundation of the religious respect which they
number six. o i j
' had for the number six; but it is certain they
preferred it to all other numbers. It was on the sixth day of
the moon, that they performed their principal ceremonies of
religion; and that they began the year; they went six in number
to gather the Misseltoe;* and in monuments now extant, we of-
ten find six of these Priests together.
* The following maxims attributed to the Druids, are collected by Goi-
LX7T. But as those Priests wrote nothing, it is probable that these maxims
have been drawn up from the accounts of iheir doctrines which we have in
antiquity; and they are in a great measure confirmed by what has been
said above.
1. Every thing tliat is born, derive* its origin from Heaven.
2. The Misseltoe ought to be gathered with great respect, and if possible
at the sixth moon; and a golden sickle is to be used for that purpose..
3. The Misseltoe. beaten to powder, makes women fruitful.
4. The secret of Sciences is not to be committed to writing but to the
memory.
5. Great care must be taken in the education of children.
6. It is necessary to be educated in the Groves by the sacred Priests.
7. Children are to be educated till the age of foutteeh years, at a distance
from their fathers and mothers.
8. The disobedient ought to be removed frotn sacrifices.
9. Let the disobedient be cast out; let them have no justice done them;
let them be received into no company, nor be admitted into any office.
240 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. VH.
THE DRUIDESSES. SECT. IV.
SECTION FOURTH.
THE BRUIDESSES.
' _ . , Those who have read C^sar^s Conime7itaries,
L he JJrmdesses
were held in high JqczYms, and some other Ancients, know what
esteem, and par-
ticipated in the regard the Gauls, and also the Germans, had
several functions for their wives. Those of the ZJrwirf/ especi-
or the JJruids. ^
===== ally, shared the authority of their husbands,
though with some dependance; and intermeddled like them, not
only in political affairs, but also in those of religion. As there
were in the Gauls, from the time of the Roman conquest, tem-
ples into which men were denied access, in them the Druidesses
10. All heads of families are kings in their own houses: they have power
of life and death over their wives, their children, and their slaves.
11. Souls are immortal.
12. Souls pass into other bodies after the death of those which they have
animated.
13. If the world perishes, it will be by/;'e or ivater.
14. On extraordinary occasions, a mail must be sacrificed: and according
as the body falls, or according as it moves when fallen; according as the
blood flows, or according to the opening of the wound, shall future events
be predicted,
15. The Prisoners of war are to be slain upon the altars, or to be shut up
in apartments of osier, to be burnt alive to the honor of the Gods.
16. There is another world; and they who kill themselves to accompany
their friends thither, shall live there with them.
17. Money lent in this world, shall be repaid to creditors in the next.
18. The letters given to the dying, or thrown into the funeral pile of the
dead, are faithfully delivered in the other world.
19. Foreign commerce must not be permitted.
20. He who comes last to the Assembly of the Estates is to be punished
with death.
21- The ^loon cures all, as her name in Celtic implies.
CHAP. VII. GALLIC IDOLATRY. f241
SECT. IV. THE DRUIDESSES.
presided, and regulated whatever belonged to the sacrifices and
other ceremonies of religion: all this howevei', is to be under-
stood, with regard to different times.
==^=^^^^^^^ These Druidesses may be distinguished into
There were se-
veral classes of three sorts, 'thejiist lived in celibacy. The
"" second, though naanied, dwelt regularly in the
temples which they served, except during one day of the year,
when they were permitted to have an interview with their hus-
bands. The third order lived constantly with their husbands,
and took care of the private affairs of their family. We may
divide these Druidesses again into two classes: in the Jirst of
which, were the Priestesses; while those who constituted the
second^ were an inferior sort of ministers, subject to the com-
mands of the former.
■ ■ As nothing giveg more reputation than the
Their great re- pj-g^gnded knowledge of futurity, so we may
putation tor pro- ^ "^ •' ' ■'
phecy— examples judge of that of these Priestesses, who were
of which in sev-
eral predictions believed to be possessed of that gift in an em-
addressed to em- .^j . T1..U- ^.•
nerovs ment degree. Accordmgly their reputation
■ was not confined within the Gauls; it was also
diffused through foreign countries. People came from all quar-
ters to consult them with great confidence, and their responses
were reckoned oracles. The emperors themselves, when they
were masters of the Gauls, did not disdain to consult them; and
though it is certain that they were not the only ones, history
however informs us only of their consultations, as if those of
private persons had not deserved to be transmitted to posterity.
Of these predictions which were addressed to the emperors, I
shall here give two or three pretty remarkable ones. 1st. Alex-
ander Severus setting out upon that expedition which was the
last of his life, one of these Priestesses came to him, and said;
My Lord, do 7iot hofiefor victory, arid be on your guard against
your own soldiers. Accordingly that prince was assassinated in
VOL. II. H h
■Z^9. UALUC IDOLATRY. CHAP. VH.
THE DRUIDESSES. SECT. IV.
that same campaign. 2nd. The emperor Aurelian consulting
some of these Priestesses; to know if the empire would be long
in his family, they ansAvered him simply, that the family of
Claudius was to be one day the most illustrious ; and indeed that
of Aurelian did not subsist long. 3rd. Dioclesian, when he was
but an officer in the Gauls, was amusing himself one day in
casting up his accounts, when his hostess, who was a famous
Druidess, thus addressed him, In truth, sir, ypu are too covet-
ous. Well, replied Dioclesian, I shall be liberal when I come
Lo be emperor. You shall be so, rejoined the hostess hastily,
'ivhen you have slain a Boar, (cum Afiruvi occideris.) Dioclesi-
an struck with this answer, applied himself thereafter to the kill-
ing of those animals, without arriving, howevei', at the imperial
dignity: but at last, bethinking himself that the equivocal Latin
Avord Afier, which signifies a Boar, might refer to Arius Aper,
the father-in-law of Numerian, he put him to death and then
became emperor. True it is, as has been observed in speak-
ing of the Druids, they took upon themselves the same profes-
sion; but whether their wives were more expvert in it, or knew
better hov/ to deceive, they had abandoned this function almost
wholly to them.
• The Druidesses were established. in al-
Their estab-
liahment in the most all tlie islands upon the Gallic coasts,
Islands, distinct , ^, ..i .. t v i ^ ,.
from those pos- ^^'■^ "P°^ *°^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^'' ±.ngland} except,
aessed try tlie that in those where Druids were, there were
Druids, where
ihey applied par- no Druidesses, and -vice re7-fia, their haunts be-
t-kal'^^operations' ^S ^^'^'^^^ distinct. All those islands vere con-
^^^s=^=^=:s: se crated to some particular Divinity, whose
iiames they bore. The miiiisters of either sex performed there
the same functions, as were practised in the rest of Gaul. It
is thought too, that they applied themselves more particularly
there than elsewhere, to magical operations; and it was an opi-
nion spread through all the Gauls, that they, as masters of the
wind, raised storms and tempests when they had a mind so to do.
€iIAP. VII. GALLIC IDOLATRY, 24£
&ECT. V. GALLIC SUPERSTITIONS.
======= In fine, to conclude what relates to those
At what time . , o . , . .
was Bruidism ministers of either sex, it is proper briefly to
SsS^*^^^ ^^°^' examine at what time they were abolished.
-■■ Suetonius, Aurelius Victor, and Seneca,
maintain that it was under the empire of Claudius; which is
erroneous, since we find they still subsisted a long time after;
but it is probable they mean only the human sacrifices, from the
celebration of which they Avere absolutely prohibited by that
emperor, and this is the most rational sense that can be put up-
on the words of the former of these three authors. Tiberius
^had passed a. decree against them, but it was no better execu-
ted than that of Augustus had bqen before. Adrian too, made
an edict to abolish the human sacrifices that were offered up to
Mithras and Jufiiter; but this edict had no more relation to the
Druids than to the other Priests of the empire. The Druids
were still subsisting in the time of Eusebius of Ctssaria, who
reproaches the Gauls with these cruel sacrifices; as also in the
time of Asonius, who speaks the praises of some of thera who
were his cotemporaries. Lastly, there were of them still remain-
ing, at least in the country of the Carnutea, down to the middle
of the fifth century; and it is probable that their order Avas not
quite abolished till Christianity had triumphed fully in the Gauls
over the superstitions of Paganism, which happened but late in
some provinces.
section fifth.
GALLIC SUPERSTITIONS WHICH SURVIVET} THE DRUIDS.
' ■■> The abolition of the Druids did not draw af-
,na%*„mSeTt"h1 ^^^ ^^ that of all the superstitions which they
frst ofJannarxj. had diffused through all Gaul: they had taken
"-—————''^ ^n deep a root there, that the introduction of
.244 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. VIL
GALLIC SUPERSTITIONS. SECT. V.
Christianity itself was not able to put a stop to their detestible
practice. That of the 1st o^ January , which consisted in cov-
ering themselves with the skins of several animals, and in run-
ning thus through the streets, lasted to the seventh century of
the Christian aeraj in spite of all the efforts of the bishops, the
prohibitions of the fathers, and the canons of councils, which en-
deavoured to abolish it. This abominable rite, at least in its
beginning, is what was called Cervoles and Vetula. There, to
the disgrace of nature, you might see people transform them-
selves into beasts, and counterfeit, in their mad rambles, the
Stag, the Fawn, and other animals. But in vain was it to re-
monstrate against that usage; they still went on in their usual
way, and with infinite difficulty were those ridiculous masque-
rades at length abolished.
, The worship of some Divinities that were
2nd. The wor- pecular, and dearer than others, to the ancient
ship of some fa-
vourite Deity, as Gauls, also continued some time after the es-
ilv^t of Diana .dr- , , ,. , ,,„,... • ,, , r
(liiij^a tabhshment oi Christianity, especially that of
Diana Arduina, to be spoken of hereafter — she
whom that people, passionately fond of hunting, took for their
protectress. Some time ago, there was discovered a small sta-
tue which was thought to represent that Goddess, and which
probably was the household God or particular Genius of some
famous huntsman. This Idol represents a woman half covered,
with a kind of cuirass or breastplate, holding in one hand a bow
unbent, and-having a dog near her.
: The abominable practice of magic and en-
ord. The prac- ,.,..,.
tice of enchant- chantments Subsisted likewise a long time.
nient, fortune tel- ^^ ^^ ^^,^^ brought into general vogue by the
hng, &.C, perpetu- . ° ^ o /
ated by women of Driiidesses, the women, after the extinction of
'mean birth. . • i , , .
. those Priestesses, continued to observe their
vites, and hence it is obvious how difficult it must have been to
abolish them. Those women actually believed they went to
CHAP. VII. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 245
SECT. V. GALLIC SUPERSTITIONS.
nocturnal witch meetings, and that Diana furnished them l^Jr
night with vehicles to carry them swiftly through the air; and
it is well known how long that fond credulity lasted, if indeed it
may he said to be fairly abolished even to this day among some
women of the meaner sort. — And when the masquerade we
have been speaking of came to be destroyed, the feasts of the
\st of January did not entirely cease: these women only chang-
ed the object, and instead of running about under the skins of
beasts, they introduced the custom of telling fortunes on that
day, and of employing several superstitious rites of magic and
divination. In short, it is not to be doubted but all those ma-
gical rites, as well as the notions of nocturnal visits, and expe-
ditions, See, are derived from the ancient Gauls, and from the
Druidesses who practised them first.
====== Another very singular piece of superstitipn
4th. Asupersti- ^^^ ^^^^ which the Gauls practised towards
tion practised to- ^
wards the Rhine, the Rhine. When they suspected the fidelity
to discover the in-
fidelity of wives, of their wives, they obliged them to expose
— -— — — ^^— -— - upon that river the children which they doubt-
ed to be theirs; and if they were swallowed up in the stream
the wife was punished with death as an adultress: if on the con-
trary, they floated above, and came back to their mother, who
followed along the bank, the husband, persuaded of her chas-
tity, restored her his confidence and love. The emperor Ju-
lian, from whom we learn this fact, says this river-God by his
discernment, avenged the injury that was offered to the mar-
riage-bed.
■ The Gauls, addicted to the science of au-
were'alTo tddlct! S^^X' particularly by the flight and chirping of
ed to auguri/, and birds, as much at least as the Greeks and Ro-
several other su-
perstitions, long mans, consulted likewise the entrails of vie-
after they embrac- . , . 1 • r 1 • ,
ed Christianiw. tims, and were m general so mtatuated with
■■ — 'm I... every sort of divination, that they payed an in-
246 GALUC IDOLATRY. CBAP. VII.
GAiXIC SUPERSTITIONS. SECT. V.
finite deal of respect to all who professed to know and foretell
future eyentS'. A treatise by S. Eloi, and the authors of ec-
clesiastical history, inform us of several other sarts of supersti-
tions practised by our ancient Gauls, and which lasted most of
them a long time after they had embraced Christianity; for in
short, nothing is so difficult to be abolished as superstitious
customs. We see by those authorities that they still consulted
the auguries, that they were attentive to observe the flight of
birds; the lucky and unlucky days; the days of the moon; that
they still masked on the 1st of January^ and continued to prac-
tise a part of the fooleries which we have spoken of; that they
observed the solstices, from thence drew omens, and at that
time sung -loose sonnets; that they still invoked the names of
some Pagan Gods; celebrated the days of the dedication of ci-
ties; went with lighted tapers to the land marks, there as it
were to do honor to the God Terminus; practised several sorts
of lustrations; cast charms upon the herbs and fruits; swore by
the names and surnames of the sun and moon, which were called
the Lord and Lady; that in diseases they put less faith in the
Physicians than in spells, talismans, &c.
i===== Though the Gauls did not carry supersti-
6th. Some sii- , . . r ^ i- i .i.
perstitious rites tious rites m lunerals so tar as several other
tSh-^Sntrals"^'* idolatrous nations, yet they did not fail to per-
' form some pretty singular ones upon those oc-
casions, as we have hinted at before. Thus, for instance, they
put the arms and bucklers of the dead into their tombs, as also
several other utensils which they thought would be of use to
them in the world to come — a circumstance which was disco-
vered upon opening some of those monuments. They were
even wont to intrust the dead with letters for their deceased re-
lations. But in all appearance the tombs and the inscriptions
engraved upon them, are not of greater antiquity than the con-
quest of. the Romans, who practised the same superstitions.
CHAP. Vn. GALUC mOLATRY. '^47
SECT. VI. BAS-REUEFS RUG UP AT PARIS.
We see in these monuments of the Gauls, as well as in those
qf their conquerors, the ordinary form of, D. M. to (he Gods
Manes; Diis Inferis, to the infernal Gods, is'c It is now
time to give the history of the Gods of the Gauls; and in doing
this I shall begin with those who are upon the monuments dug
up in the Cathedral at Paris, where we find some who were un-
known to the Roman historians.
SECTION SIXTH.
BAS-RELIEFS DUG UP IJV THE CATHEDRAL AT PARIS.
While Lewis xiv, . to execute the vow of
The discovery
of these monu- Lewis xiii, was setting about the building of
terial-— the pur- ^^^^ magnificent altar of the Cathedral at Paris.
poseto which they jt was found necessary to change the burial
had been applied.
- place of the Archbishops. In opening the
earth for their sepurture, on the 16th of March 1711, there was
discovered a wall nearly three feet thick; and a little deeper,
there was yet another wall, which was formed partly of stones,
upon which were perceived Inscriptions and Figures. Those
stones* were eagerly taken up, and were ascertained to have
been originally but four, with four faces to each. Being as it
were in the form of pedestals, it was judged that they had
sei;ved in that capacitj, as a base to some altar; and that the
figures engraved upon the faces of each of those stones, repre-
sented Gallic Deities: which conjectures were actually confirm-
ed by further examination.
• Which are now deposited in one of the halls of the Academy of Belles^
Lettres,
248 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. VII.
BAS-RELIEFS DUG UP AT PARIS. SECT. VI.
, . Whatever injuries these stones had suffered,
Though they j^q^j^ ]^y ^-^^g ^^^ ^y -workmen, "who to adapt
were much de- -^ j ^ r
faced, they excit- them to the wall where they were employed,
ed the efforts of , , , , , i r i
learned Antiqua- "^" made no scruple to cut and deiace them,
nes to explain ^^^ sometimes even to divide them: yet the
them: — order of ■'
the subject. discovery of them made a great noise, and in-^
. vited the Antiquaries, who came from all quar-
ters to examine them. From their examining them, to the
making of dissertations upon them, but a short time intervened.
M. Baudelot, member of the Academy of the Belles-Lettresy
had those Bas-reliefs engraved, and, together with their figures,
published a dissertation in order to explain them. M. Moreau,
member of the same Academy, soon followed his brother, and
happened to be as different from him in the figures as in the
explication of them, which he published in his turn. But it
must be owned that those two dissertations betray, in some de-
gree, the precipitancy of their authors to bring them to light.
F. Daniel also made a dissertation upon the subject: but that
learned writer, who might, had he been so disposed, have cast
great light upon this monument, applied himself only to clear
up what concerned the company of Waterman, or rather of
Traders, who had erected it. M. Leibnitz having entered the
lists, vigorously attacked the dissertation of M. Baudelot.
Montfaucon, without entering into a detail of particulars, con-
tented himself with giving draughts of those monuments in his
Antiquities Explained, Avith all possible exactness. F. Lobi-
NEAU having no mind to leave his history of Paris without so
considerable an ornament, inserted prints of the same Bas-re-
liefs, accompanied with his own conjectures. In fine, Don
James Martin, in his history of the religion of the Gauls,
published the same figures, with explications, which, of all
others, are the most satisfactory. The conjectures of others,
though often not very well founded, yet open and enlarge their
CHAP. VH, GALLIC IDOLATRY. 249
SKCT. VI. HAS-RELIEFS DUG UP AT PARIS.
views, and sometimes carry them further than those had ax'rived
who went before them in the same inquiry. -We shall now
speak of each of these monuments in that order which the dig-
nity of their respective subjects demand: that is to say, the In-
scription, with other circumstances, will give precedence to
that which bears it: secondly, that which bears, among other
figures, those of Vulcan and Jufiiter^ will next occupy our atten-
tion: in the third place we shall speak of that which with others,
has tlie figures pf Castor and Pollux: and. finally, of thg fourth
we can say but little, as it is exceedingly defaced.
:- . ■ The first of these Stones that we propose to
First Stone. examine, contains an Inscription expressive of
The /)•«; /ace con- ' , ^ ^
tains an Inscrip- the dedication of the entire monument. This
tion expressive or' . . . r r i ' j
its dedication. Inscription occupies one face oi tne stone at\<i
s==== is conceived in these terms—
Tie,J2j£.sare..
Aug. Jovi QPTUM.
Maxumo Aram.
JVAUfJE. Parisiaci.
PUBLICE POSUERUNJ".
Under the reign of Tiberius Ccesar^ the society of Watermen_or
Trafficern ufion the. River, erected this Altar to Jufiiter, supreme-
ly good and great.— The, authors above cited, vary a little in the
translation of this Inscription, but this is the true sense of it.
, ' In ail appearances the figures upo,n the thre,e
The second and ^^ ■ ^ ^
third faces repre-' other faces of this Stone, represent the cere-
sent the Traders r- , j ,. • ri^i r^i i
on the Seine de- niony ot the dedication, 1 hose ot the second
signaled by the ^^^ \_\i\vdi faces particularlv, are representa-
word Lunncs, who * '
erected the monu- tions of several Gauls armed Avith spears and
ss=s===!=s bucklers. The bucklers are hexagonal after
the manner of those of the Dacians and Germans, as we see
upon the columns of Trajan and Antonine. They wear bonnets
also, quite similar tp those used by these two natious. All ol
VOL. If. I i
250 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. VII.
JAS-RELIEFS DUG UP AT PARIS. SECT. VI.
those on the second face appear quite young, with smooth
chins; while those upon the third face have long beards: and
the foremost of these last carries a kind of circle or large ring,
which seems to make a part of the ceremony. From the
word Eurisea inscribed upon the third face of this stone, the
figures of these two compartiments, are unquestionable the
principal Traders upon the- Seine, who attended this dedication
which was executed at their expence; for, this word, as is fully
proved by the learned F. Daniel, is of Celtic original and com-
posed of Gie7; good luck, and Reiser, Waterman. The Greeks,
adds he, have a word like it, composed of the same letters, and
has a similar signification, that is, one who has the waves fa
■vourable to him. These, people in arms, therefore, who first
offer themselves after the inscription of the dedication, are the
leaders of the exterprize. The ai^ms which they bear, denote,
what is strictly true, that the Gauls never were present at the
performance of any act of religion, nor in the management of
any public affair, but in arms; and indeed they seldom laid
them aside. The great circle which one of those Gauls bears,
was probably a crov/n or a kind of diadem for Jupiter, to whorh
the Altar was consecrated.
■ - After the Traders on the Seine, follow the
The fourth Jace jDj-uids who are represented on the fourth face
represents the '
Druids, as is prov- of this stone. At least we there have several
en by the words , r '
Sencmi Vdh. figures oi men dmerent irom the former, inso-
much that they are without arms, are clad in a
gi'ave and majestic habit, and have crowns upon their heads.
But though their apparel, which is different from that of the
other Gauls, did not prove them to be Druids, yet as we have
seen that the Druids were the chief ministers of religion among
the Gauls, they must necessarily have been present at this so-
lemn dedication; arid it v/ould evince quite a surprizing defi-
ciency, not to find them there. The first of these words, Senani
tJHAh VH. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 2ol
SECT. VI, BAS-RELIEFS DUG UP AT PARIS.
Veiloy which are at the feet of those figures, ought then to de-
sign them; but truely it is difficult to make a satisfactory expla-
nation of the inscription. M. Baudelot says, that the word
Senani is the same with Sequani, and likewise denotes the Wat-
erman; but what probability is there, that after having designed
the Watermen by the word Eurises, they would again design
them by the word Senani? It is therefore to be inferred that
they are the Druids who are designed by this word in particu-
lar. F. Daniel with more plausibility, says that this word is
the same with Seniones, the old Men — a term quite apposite to
those ministers of religion, for whom the Gauls had so much
veneration. The same aiithpr thinks that from this word had
been formed Senatus a.nd Senatares. According to his conjec-
ture also, the word Feilo was the name which the Gauls gave
to the Misseltoe of the oak. If I be asked why the Misseltoe
is named in this ceremony, I answer, that it was in such great
venei'ation among the Gaiils, that not content with distributing
it to the people, and extracting from it a salutary water, they
blended it most probably in all their religious rites. This bar-
barous wordj it is true, is joined to that of Senani^ upon a face
where this plant does npt appear; but it may have been written,
and defaced as the stone is very much damaged; besides which,
we are certain of its being represented upon two other places of
the same monument, as we shall see in the sequel. It is also
owing to the bad condition in which the stone is found, that it
is hard to say how many Druids were designed upon the face
in question. M. BaudElot sets six of them, but others cannoj
find so many. Had M. Baudelot really better eyes than the
other Antiquaries who have explained this monument? It-
would indeed be a strong additional evidence of their being
Druids^ if six of them could be found there, that number being
held sacred among those Priests, and the Gauls in general.
252 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. \H,
BAS-KELIEFS BUG UP AT PARIS. SECT. VI.
^- Upon -the first face of the second stone -we
Si;co>D Sto^o. — ggg Vulcan, with the inscription Volcanus.
The first face re-
presents Vulcan, That God is here represented just as he is
with the inscrip , ,, ^ -^i
tio'i Volcamis. ^een to be upon Roman monuments; with a
— — — habit which descends not quite to the knees,
a bonnet upon his head, holding in one hand his hammer, and
in the other his pincers. We must not however, iftiagine, that
the Gauls had received the worship of that God,from their con-
querors only— they payed adoration to him 15t) years before Ju-
lius Cesar had entered into their country. Plutarch ac-
cordingly informs us, that those people having declared war
against the Romans-, their king Viridomarus made a vow to"
consecrate to that God all the arms he should take from them.
The success, it is true, did not answer his desires, since his
army v/as put to the rout, and himself slain by the consul; but
it is not the less true that they then acknowledged that God in
Gaul. Their skill in working metals, the art of tinning over so
cmiously the vessels of copper, that they were apt to be mis-
taken for silver, as we are told by Pliny; and that of enamelling
which they applied to gold and silver; all this had made them
adopt the God of smiths, though v.e know ncft by what inter-
course they became acquainted with him.- We m'ay remark,
in finishing this article, that the Gallic God Volcanus^ who is
further known to us only by an inscription found at Nantz^ and
by a manuscript, is not Belenun^ as several of the learned pre-
tend, but Vulcan; .the proofs whereof may be seen in the historv
of the religion of the Gauls (.vol. ii.) by Don James Martin.
^, Upon the second face of this stone, is Jufii-
I lie seco7uI face _ ,
represents J://>zYer /^r, designed almost after the same manner in
with tlie inscrip- . ^
tion Juvis. Avhich he was represented by the Romans. He
■i has his bosom and his right arm naked, a spear
in the left hand, and probably held the thunder in his right hand,
which is broden. The name Joxns. is eneraved above His head.
CHAP. Vn. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 253
SECT. VI. BAS-RELIEFS BUG UP AT PARIS.
So, that Jupiter was known and worshipped by the Gauls-, is a
thing not to be doubted: and besides this bas-relief, C^sar also
puts him ameng the Gods of that nation. The word Jou, where-
of Jovis is the genitive case, is his true name, since the Celtx
called him Jb«, or the youth. Mount Jou^ in the Alfis, called by
the Latins, Mons Jovis, which was consecrated to him, and still
bears the same name, proves both that this God was held in ve-
neration among the Gauls, and that Jou was his true name. TJtie
day of the week which went by his name Dies Jovis, Thursday,
is pronounced in all the southern provinces of France D.i-Jou.
But whether was this (God known to the Gauls, only from the
time of the Roman conquests, or in more ancient times? Upon
this question opinions are divided: it is however most probable
that the Gauls worshipped this God as eai^ly as the Romans;
for that prince having conquered Gaul, and penetrated into the
heart of Spain, as shall be said in the history of the Titans, it is
reasonable to suppose that his worship was received in all the
bounds of his empire from the time of his deificatioji. The Gauls
gave him the name of Tarani», as we are told by Lucian, and
offered to him human sacrifices as they did to Esus: and the
surname of Taranis answered to that of the Thunderer among
the Romans, which proves that both these people looked upon
him as the God who had the thunder and lightning at his com-
mand. However that warlike nation did not esteem Jupiter or
Taranis the first of their Gods; we shall presently see that Esus
or Mara was their first and greatest Divinity. In the mean time
we may suppose, as the author of the History of the religion of
the Gauls remarks, that from the time the Romans became mas-
ters of Gaul, the worship of Esus gradually diminished, and that
of Jupiter in like manner gradujilly gained preference, so that
no later than the time of Tiberius, he had become the gi*eatest
Deity of the Gauls. As for the statues of the Jupiter of that
people, the Antiquaries justly look upon them as monuments
2^4 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. VII.
BAS-RELIEFS DUG UP AT PARIS. SECT. VI.
that did not begin to appear till they were conquered by the
Romans: for in ancient times they worshipped that God only
under the form of a majestic old Oak: whereas, the statues that
aiNp^ transmitted to us resemble pretty much those of the Ro-
mans^ both in taste and in their symbols, as we have said res-
pecting that which is upon the stpne now under consideration.
Another figure of the same, God which was formerly at mount
Jbzf, represented him slightly covered with a cloak which hung
over his left shoulder, with his arms extended, a radiant crown
upon his head, and the thunderbolt in his light hand. Time has
preserved to us solue others, but there is nothing singular in
them.
-^ The third face represents to us the ancient
The third face q^^ ^f ^j^g Gauls, Esus, as his name is there
, represents Ems,
the. principal Dei-, written without the aspirationj tliough it is
ty of the Ganb, . i * •
their God of war, sometimes written Hesus. As the Ancients
^'ave^!^ "^""^ ^"' S^v^ "s ^^^^ '^"1^ account of this God, the
■ learned have framed several conjectures about
him; but they all agree that he was the God of war. However
the author of the History of the Gallic religion, gives us quite
a different idea of Esus. He takes him to have been among
tliat people the supreme Being, the unknown God; adding
that they adored him with high veneration, though they
liad no figure of him, unless he was represented by the oak
—that tree so respected by the Druids, and in gehesal by all
the Gauls. Tt was in the woods, continues he, and at the foot
of Oaks, that they offered sacrifices and addressed their vows
»nd prayers to him. — It must be owned that this author sup-
ports his opinion by happy Conjectures, and by etymologies that
are no less so; but though it were true, as he says, that the word
Esus in Gallic, and Msar in the Tuscan language, signify God,
would this prove tha*^ it signified the God, by way of eminence,
the sovereign God of all nature? As etymologies and conjee-
CHAP. Vn. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 255
SECT. VI. BAS-RELIEFS DUG UP AT PARIS.
tares are no proofs, the author not only recedes from the most
generally received opinion, but even from the idea which the
Ancients give us of Esus, whom they reckoned a cruel and sa-
vage God, who could only be appeased by the sacrifice of hu-
man victims — an idea which agrees better to the God of war,
than to a Being spiritual, invisible, all powerful, and omni-pre-
serit. Again, is it not more natural to believe that the Gauls^
a courageous, warlike nation, worshipped the God of battles?
and we find none among them but Esiis, to whom this title can
be applied. Besides, is not their offering to him the prison-
ers of war, preferably to other human victims, a proof that it
was to thank him, and pay him homage for the advantages they
had obtained in war? It is certain that Esus had statues, sine©
we find him represented upon -this bas-relief i though it was vefry
late before they began to niakeVrepresentations of him, and this
custom was quite new in the time of Tiberius, the Druids hav-
ing prevented it as long as it was in their power. This figure,
however, exhibits nothing that suits with the God of war, since
he there appears like a young man with a smooth chin; his
shoulders naked; and one hand lifted up, wherein possibly was
an instrument of some sort, which is defaced; while the one
hand is upon a branch of Misseltoe. Accordingly the Antiqua-
ries who have explained this monument, will have it that this
God is in the act of cutting the Misseltoe: but what inconsisten-
cy is there in saying that as he was the great Divinity of the
Gauls, so to him w^as attributed the most sacred function of their
religion, and that thereby it was intended to depote, that the 'chief
<of the Druids, to whom alone it belonged to gather that plant,
was only to be reckoned the instrument which Esus made use
of to communicate to then a plant which had so many virtues,
and which he himself had brought down from heaven for their
benefit? But waving this, Esus was one of the greatest Gods
of the Gquls, whom they honored with a peculiar worship.
256 GALLIC IDOLAIJBi'. CHAP. VH.
BAS-RELIBFS DUG UP AT PARIS. SECT. VI.
When they were upon the point of giving battle, they vowed to
offer up to him not only all the spoils and horses, which they
should win from the enemy, but also all the captives; and no-
thing was more faithfully put into execution than this promise.
For, so. soon as the battle was over, they sacrificed to him all
the horses, and gathered into a heap the arms and other spoils,
which they consecrated to him, and which nobody durst toUth.
Indeed if any one was convicted of applying to his own use any
part of those spoils, he was condemned to lose his life; which
sentence was executed without mercy. But the manner of pay-
ing their vow as to the captives was not uniform; contenting
themselves sometimes with offering up the choice of them, such
as the young and handsome, and killing the rest with their ar-
rows; while upon other occasions .they sacrificed them all with-
out distinction of age or birth. Their devotion for this God, or
rather their fuiy, was sometimes carried to such excess, as to
sacrifice to him their wives and children. This is what Jiappen-
ed, according to Justin, at least in tlic expedition which they
made into Asia^ when^being ready to fight with Antigonus king of
Macedonia^ they consulted the entrails of victims, and finding all
their presages fatal, they took the barbarous resolution to cut the
throats of their wives and children. So great was their rage,
accoi'dingto the judicious remark of that historian, "That they
did not spare even what the enemy themselves would have spa-
red, turning against the mothers and their tender children, those
very arms which they ought to have taken up in their defence.'^
- The last figure of the second stone, is a very
The^ fourth face . t. ti • i • i
represents a Bull singular one. It represents a Bull in the midst
witli three Cranes ^^ ^ wood, with three Cranes, whereof one is
upon him, and. '
the names Tauros upon his head, another upon the middle of his
Tngaranus.
. back, and the third upon his rump; together
with which is this inscription; Tauros Trigaranus^ the Bull
ivith three Cranes. It is certain that those birds are Cranes,
CHAP. MI. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 257
SECT. VI. BAS-RELIEFS DUG UP AT PARIS.
since in the ancient language of the Celtx, tri signifies three^ and
garan a Crane; as likewise does taro in the same language sig-
nify a Bull. Here however, is a difficulty in the Gallic reli-
gion not easy to be explained. As the Bull is joined with the
other Gods of that people^ and is upon the same stone with Vul-
can^ Jufiiter^ and Esus, it would seem that the Gauls paid a re-
ligious worship to that animal. Nor is this a bare conjecture:
Gregory of Tours, after having told us that the forefathers of
the Gauls had made Divinities of the forests, the ivaters, the
birds, and animals, adds, " Alas! had they been but capable of
comprehending what dreadful vengeance God inflicted upon the
Jews for the crime they were guilty of in worshipping the gal'
den calf!" which certainly intimates, that the Bull was included
in the number of the animals which they adored. That the Bull
appears upon this monument, surrounded by trees, is a further
proof that he was one of their Gods, since it was in the groves,
which in early times served the Gauls as temples, that their
mysteries were celebrated. Lastly, Plutarch, speaking of the
treaty made with the Romans, by that terrible army of Barba-
rians, composed of Teutons, Cimbri, or Celtx, Sec, which was
designed to besiege Rome, says, they swore to the observance of
it by their brazen Bull; which they probably earned about in
their armies, since Catulus, after having defeated them, caused
one of those Bulls to be carried to his house as a glorious spoil,
and the most certain mark of his victory As for the Cranes
that are upon the sacred Bull, it is sufficient to observe, that
since the Gauls bore them upon their ensigns as the Romans j
did the Eagles, it is no wonder that they blended them with the
mysteries of their religion and paid a degree of veneration to
them.
VOL. II. K k
258 G.VLLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. VU.
BAS-RELIEFS DUG UP AT PARIS. SECT. VI.
_—-———__—_ Upon the first and second faces of the third
The first and «Z Stone, are Castor and Pollux^ with their usual
cond faces repre- habit and bonnet, each holding in his left hand
sented Castor and
Pottux, with two a spear, restin-g their right upon their horses'
names'are"efrlced! h^^ds: hence it is evident, that these two he-
~ roes were worshipped in the Gauls; but are
they in this dedication made by the Watermen, as the Gods of
navigation? This is what cannot be supposed, since the horses
that accompany them, have no relation thereto; and it would
rather be in quality of wrestlers that they are there represent-
ed, as the GauU might have chosen them to preside over the
Games and other exercises that were to accompany this dedi-
cation. But whatever truth be in this, we know not whether
their worship passed into Gaul since the conquest of the Ro-
mans, or if they had received it before. It is rather to be pre-
sumed however, that the knowledge of those Gods, of Grecian
original, had come to the Gauls from Greece, and that it was by
such of the Gauls as escaped the dangers to which their army
was exposed under Brennus, this knowledge of them and their
Avorship was brought into Gaul. This conjecture is at least as
plausible as that of those who alledge, that the Gauls had known
the Argonauts, who are said by Timoeus and Apollonius
Rhodius to have re-embarked upon the Tanais, whereby enter-
ing the jPa/us Maotisj they thence held their course till they
passed the straights of Hercules or Cadiz, and then coasted
along the Gaulsf when our two heroes made themselves ac-
quainted with the natives, and were deified by them. Is there
in all this the smallest probability? and is not the return of the
Argonauts by the Ocean and the Danube a mere chimaera?
- ,^, , . , , Upon the third face of the third stone of this
The tlwd Juce *
represents an iin- monument, appears a Gallic Divinity, repre-
known God, with
the name Cemim- sented under the figure of a man; who has up-
nos inacn e . ^^ j^.^ hQ3id the ears of a beast, and horns which
CHAP. VII. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 259
SECT. VI. BAS-RELIEFS DUG UP AT PARIS.
are hung with several rings, and have a pretty strong resem-
blance to those of a stag: the inscription of Cernunnos is above
the figure. M. de Matour had another figure not unlike to
this Gallic God, which was naked, that is, with no other cover-
ing but a small drapery upon the left shoulder, which is wrap-
ped about the arm; whose horns were wreathed towards their
root and terminated in two crescents: and M. de Chazelles
had another entirely clothed, wlK)se horns had several branches,
much like a palm; in addition to which, this figure bore upon
one arm a little animal which resembled a kid or lamb. But it
is no rarity to see horned Gods in Paganis7n. Such was Ju-
piter Amman, Pan, the Fauns, the Satyrs, 8cc. This horned God
of the Gauls however, is known under the name of Cernunnos,
only since the discovery oi the bas-reliejs oi JVotre-Dame Church,
now under discussion; therefore we need not be surprized if
the learned, both in France and Germany, who have attempted
to explain this monument, differ exceedingly from one another
respecting this God. The two most probable sentiments upon
this subject, are, that of the author of the History of the Gallic
religion, and that of M. Eccart. The former takes Cernunnos
to have been a rural God, who among the ancient Gauls presi-
ded over hunting; as Alces, or Aids, according to Tacitus, was
the God of the same exercise in the province of ancient Germa-
ny, which was possessed by the JVaharyali. The strongest ar-
gument which he brings in support of his opinion, is, that the
horns of Cernunnos, the diadem which he. wears upon one of his
figures, and the animal which he supports upon his arm, in that of
M. DE Chazelles, are all characters of a God of hunting, as is
justified by several figures of Diana, the Goddess of the same
exercise among the Greeks and Romans, where we find all these
symbols. M. Eccart thinks this God represents Bacchus, or
Dionysius — an opinion which wants not probability: but after all
the subject must abide in conjecture and uncertainty. To
260 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. VH.
BAS-RELIEFS DUG' UP AT pARIS. SECT. VI.
conclude; the name of Cernunnos is composed of two Celtic
words, wherof the first, cern, imports a horn; and the second,
yna, or ona, signifies a spear.
• The last face of this stone presents the bust
The fourth face
represents Heiru- of a naked man holding a kind of club in the
peirt" hirnaine^is I'ig'^t hand, which is lifted up as if threatening
effaced, ^^ept ^-q strji^e a serpent that is opposite to him, and
the letters OS. *^ *^^ '
■■ seems to be rearing itself against him. The
inscription above him is almost effaced, and it is read different-
ly. M. Baudelot has decyphered in it only these two letters
05; and Don James Martin finds Seni ri os. As the figure is
unquestionably Hercules^ who was highly adored in the Gauls
under the name of Ogmius or Ogmios, so I am persuaded
that the two letters os are the last of the name of that God
which was there engraved; the rest being almost effaced, one
may find, in them whatever he fancies. The serpent which
seems to be rearing itself against Hercules, is probably either
one of those which that hero slew when in the cradle, or one o&
the heads of the Hydra of Lerna., the rest either having not been
added, or being defaced, as is the greatest part of the bas-relief.
That Hercules travelled into the Gaulsy that he had chil-
dren there, and that he was there honored with peculiar wor-
ship, are truths attested by all antiquity. But the question is,
whether this was Alcides the Greek Hercules^ or the Egyfi-
tian Hercules.^ or another Hercules; for, n.s we shall see in the
sequel of this Mythology, there were a great number of them.
However this may be, I shall only observe that the GauU
had quite a different idea of this God, from that which the
Greeks conceived of him, since they represented him otherwise;^
and reckoned him, not a subduer of monsters, and a redresser
of wrongs, but as the God of eloquence — and an eloquence so
sweet, and so persuasive, that there wias no possibility of resist-
ing it. Lucian, who had travelled into the Gauls, has left us a
CHAP, Vn. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 261
. SECT. VI. nAS-RELIEES DUG UP AT PARIS.
picture of this God, which gives us a just notion of him. " The
Gauls, says he, call Hercules in their langnage Ogmios, and re-
present him in a manner altogether extraordinary. He is a de-
crepit old man, almost bald, and the few hairs he has are grey:
sun-burnt and wrinkled like our old sailors, he was taken for
Charon} but yet if one considers his lion's skin, his club which
he has in his right hand, his quiver and his bow, which he has
in his left, he has all the air of Hercules. What is most singu-
lar therein, is, that he draws along with him a multitude of per-
sons whom he holds fitstened by the ears. Their chains are of
gold and amber; and though they are very fine and slender, yet
it does not appear that any one of those who are fastened to
them, makes the smallest effort to break them, or to extricate
himself from them; on the contrary, all those who are chained,
in the height of good humour follow their leader with so much
eagerness that the chains are quite slack, and do not appear to
draw. The hands of Hercules is entangled, as has been said,
and the Painter not knowing where else to fasten the extremity
of the chains, made a hole in his tongue, and to that they are
fastenedi in the figure." From this picture it is easy to per-
ceive that the Gauls looked upon Hercules as a God of elo-
quence, and the fact is beyond doubt. However, the author of
the History of the religion of the Gauls, will have it, that this
figure represented Mercury, who, according to him, was the
God of eloquence among that people, instead of Hercules. But
besides, that all who have spoken of the Gallic Hercules, give
him this Celtic name, and that Lucian, who appears to be well
informed, says, Ogmios was very notable by his club, his bow, and
his lion's skin; also, what a Gallic philosopher said to that author,
leaves no room to doubt of it: for, when Lucian was express-
ing his surprise at a figure so extraordinary, a philosopher of
that country, as he says himself, accosted him, and spoke in this
manner; " Your astonishment will cease, so soon as I have ex-
£62 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP, VII.
BAS-RELIEFS DUG UP AT PARIS. SECT. VI.
plained to you the whole mystery. We Gauls are of quite a
different opinion from the Greeks, who make Mercury the God
of eloquence: according to us it is Hercules, because he sur-
passes Mercury in strength. We paint him advanced in years,
because eloquence never shows itself more powerful and ani-
mating than from the mouths of old men. The connection there
is between the ear and the tongue, justifies the picture we
make of this old man, who with his tongue draws men held
fast by the ear.*
* Hercules Maguzan, Hercules Duisaniensis, i^c.
While we are upon that part of this monument which i elates to Hercules,
it will not be amiss to remark, tliat, in several places of the Gauls, in Ger-
many, and in countries still more notherly, there have been found figures of
that €rod with surnames pretty singular. He was hardly known under the
name of J\Iagusan, but by some medals struck under the reia^ of the em-
peror Comraodus, when in 1514, tliere was discovered upon the sea coast at
WestCapello a town in the island of Telhaven in Zealand, a very large
statue, which represents a man of middle age, very strong and robust, with
symbols not well known. The drapery, which flows chiefly behind, forms
upon his head a kind of kerchief, which falUng down upon the left slioul-
der, divides itself and reaches to the feet. The figure holds in its right
hand a dolphin, and in its left a kind of scepter which terminates at the up-
per end in two grains. On the right of the statue is a square altar whence
flames arise, and on its left a small sea monster which is not known. — I
doubt if ever Hercules would have been known under a figure so fantastical,
and so remote from that of the Greeks and Romans, were it not for tlie in-
scription, which bears tliese words; Herculi Maguzano, M. T. Primis uis
Tertius. V. S. L. JM. that is, JMarcus Primus or Primilhis, has paid tJw tow
•wJdch Jw had made to Hercules J\faguzanus.—— The Jesuits at Brussels have,
at the entrance of their Librarj'^, an inscription where is also mentioned a
vow made to Hercules Maguzan,- and as the same name occurs upon some
medals of Posthumius, Herculi Maguzano, on which that Hero is represent-
ed with his club in one hand, a bow in the other, and a kind of skin upon
his shoulders, there is no doubt of his having been worshipped in the Gavk.
in Germany, and in some other more northern countries.
CHAP. Vn. GALUC mOLATRY. 263
SECT. VI. BAS-RELIEFS DUG VV AT PARIS.
. The fourth stone of this monument has also
Fourth Stone, r r i p i • i i i r
£j^(.l, fj^gg of tour faces, each or which shows the traces ot
this stone is ex- ^^^ ^^ more fiffures; but they are so much m-
ceedingly inj ured. *-'
jured and defaced that one can scarcely draw
any conclusion from them. We may, with difficulty, there
see perhaps the figure of a man and a woman, upon each face.
We also perceive that some of these men have a helmet, of
which one can scarcely distinguish the form however; so much
has this stone been abused by the all-destroying hand of time.
Thus we must conclude what we had to say, whether denion-
The learned are puzzled in explaining the surname ofJMaguzan given to
Hercules. The autktir of the History of the religion of the Gauls, takes it
to be derived frora the Celtic, and that it may possibly design Posthumius
himself, who struck the medals in honor of that God. But as, upon another
medal struck by the same emperor in honor of Duisanian Hercules, that
Hero appears with tlie same attributes, and as the surname Didsaniaisis
which is given him, is also that of a place called Dtdz, it is very probable
that J[fagiizan is likewise derived from a local name, though we know not
of any place so called. But as for the odd symbols which accompany this
Hercides of Zealand, wc need not be much at a loss about them; tliose Is-
landers having given to Hercules, whom they worshipped, attributes suit-
able to a God of the sea. Indeed, had it not been for the name that is in the
inscription, I would be inclined to take the figure for a JVeptune, though
his scepter has but two prongs, since sometimes that of Pluto ]iad three,
while it ought to have but two. Besides, every country frequently varied
as to the symbols of their Gods. The medals of Posthumius representing
the JMag^izan Hercules, have preserved the attributes of that God bettei than
the above monument, though they carry an air of the time when they were
struck.
The Gauls and Germans gave yet other surnames to Hercides. Upon a
statue of bronze found at Strasburg, that God bears the name of Krutsa-
nam, which imports a valiant man,- and upon an altar found in Lorrain, and
represented in F. Calmet's History, that God is named Sascav, or Hercules
of the rocks.
264 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. Vll.
MERCURY, APOLLO, MINERVA. SECT. VH.
strable or conjectural, respecting the fragments of this Altar of
Jupiter^ found at Motre-Dame Church. — —We proceed now to
treat of those Gods of the Gauls whom CiESAR mentions; with
t^e exception of Mars or rather Esus^ and Jufiiter; a sufficiently
full account of whom having been anticipated in this section in
consequence of their being found upon the monument we have
discussed.
SECTION SEVENTH.
THE GALLIC GODS WHOM CJESAR MEJTTIOjYS
==== A conqueror embarrassed with a thousand
C.T3SAK speaks cares, has but little time to inform himself
of but five Gallic
Gods. about the religion of a people whom he sub-
^==:^==^ dues. Consequently it is no matter of surprise,
Jirst That Julius Cjesar names but five of the Gallic Gods;
besides whom we have seen several others in the last section,
and shall yet see many more in the sequel of this chapter: or
secondly^ That he says, Mercury was their principal Divinity;
since it is certain that it was Eaus who held this rank in their
theology. These are the five whom he mentions, viz. Mercury,
^fiollo, Minerva, Mars, and Jufiiter; upon the fourth and fiftli
of whom we have spoken in the last article.
■ " The Gauls, says our author, pay the high-
TECT!S;!!wbora ^^^ worship to their God Mercury, of whom
they propitiated they have a great number of statues, and make
by human sacri-
fices:— him the inventor of the arts, the god of trad-
~^"^~~~~~~' ers and merchants." C^sar does not say
that the Gauls gave this God another name; whereas, they an-
ciently knew him not under the name of Mercury, but under
that of Teutates; but as he saw the resemblance between the
latter and the Mercury of the Romans, he gave him the same
CHAP. Vn. GALLIC ffiOLATRY. o6S
SECT. VII. MERCURY, APOLLO, MINERVA.
name that they did, without troubling himself about the name
-which that God bore in the country. For, in short, it is certain
that the Gauls called him Teutates, as we are told by Lucian,
and that they sacrificed to him human victims, as well as tb
Esus. Lactantius speaks of him in the same manner as Lu-
cian: " the Gauls, says he, propitiated their God Teuiates, by
the effusion of human blood." Minutius Felix says the same
thing, as do all who have made mention of this God.
====== As the Sfianiards likewise worshipped Teu-
— his origin was ...
derived frorti the tates, whose name is plainly derived from T/wt,
tSgh' thenar! ^^^ Mercurij of the Egyptians and of some
thaginians and other neighbouring nations, I am persuaded
Spaniards: his
iigures. that they had the knowledge of him from the
■~~~'~"~~~~'~ Carthaginians^ and communicated it to the
Gauls; for the religion of the Spaniards and Gauls, had a great
deal of affinity, as we shall see hereafter. It will, no doubt, be
objected however, that most of the figures of Mercury which ^
have been dug up at different times, resemble those of the
Greeks and Romans, bearing the same symbols, and conse-
quently, that it was from them, and not from the Egyptians or
Carthaginians, that the Gauls received the knowledge of hirri.
But I answer, we must have recourse to the two periods of
time we have distinguished in the religion of those people. In
the first of which, they kH?§w Mercury only under the name of
Teutatcsf and made no representations of him that we have any
knowledge of, as we have no figures of the Gods of the ancient
Gauls when they! were free and lived according to their own
laws. In the cornmencement of the second period when they
were subject tofthe Romans, they represented him in several
ways, all of them pretty singular, as may be seen in Montfau-
con's Antiquities Explained, who has given those figures very
exactly. These representations, however, they gradually im-
proved into a very exact imitation of the idea which their coU-
VOL. II. T^ 1
266 GALLIC IDOLAtRY. CHAP. Vll;
■;.... jT ' ■*" ■ ■ ■■ . ••
MERCUKY, APOLLO, MINERVA. SECT. VII.
querors had of Mercury. But even had the Gauls made repre-
sentations of this God before the Roman conquest, as the Greeks
and the Romans themselves, had all received the first knowledge
of him from Egypt ^ though by different colonies, they must in
like manner, have conceived originally, very similar ideas of his
attributes, since the Egyptians also, had accounted him the
inventor of letters, of arts, of commerce, Sec.
■ ■ CiESAR, when he says the Gauls worshipped
2. Apollo, Bl-
lExus, or Abel- jipollo, adds, that they had much the same
^°Z 4.-'^'.r~^J^^u'\^ sentiments of that God with other nations; be-
pagatiofi ot Ills '
worship from Ueving him to be the God who removed dis-
Jlqidleia: —
'-■ eases. He also neglects however, to mention
the name under which the Gauls worshipped this God, Avhich
was Belenus, as is asserted by almost all the Ancients. M.
Della Torre has made a learned dissertation xx^on Belenus^
wherein he proves that this God had been highly adored at
Aquileia in Cisal/iine Gaul (as it respects Italy), which is veri-
fied by a great number of inscriptions found in that city, and
quoted by Gruter and Reinesius. From Aquileia, accord-
ing to M. Della Torre, the worship of Belenus was intro-
duced among the people of Noncum, as he proves from Ter-
TULLiAN, who says in his Apollogetic, '• Every people, every
city has its tutelar God; the Syrians have their Astarte, the
Arabians their Disares, the people of JVoricum their Belenus"
&c. This worship, continues Della Torre, after having been
received in several other countries, passed at last into the
Gauls, where Belenus became one of the great Divinities of
that people: but of all the provinces in Gaul, there were none
in which he was more revered than in Auvergne, where his
name however was a little changed, since upon an inscription
quoted by Gabriel Simeoni he is called Bellinus: in Aquitain
also, he had a particular worship paid him, as may be proven
by the authority of Ausonius of Bourdcaux, who was very ca-
CHAP. VII. ^GALLIC IDOLATRY. 267
SECT. VII. MERCURY, APOLLO, MINERVA.
pable of knowing the Gods and religion of that province. M.
• DE Valois, in his account of the Gauls, finds also in several
other provinces of those people, vestig*es of the worship of Be-
lenus; and neither he, nor M. Della Torre, nor the other
authors who speak of this God, make any doubt of his being
the same with the Jfiollo whom C^sar speaks of, as is con-
firmed by the inscriptions, which usually join the the name of
Belenus to that of Ajiollo, as Apollini Beleno. The Gauls
communicated the knowledge of Belenus to the inhabitants of
Britain, who worshipped him as we are told by Seldek, under
the name oi Belertucades. Reinesius does not make the wor-
ship of Belenus to have been propagated in the above oi'der.
He pretends, on the contrary, that it passed from the Gauls to
.4quileia: but his sentiment is overthrown by M. Della Torre.
_ If it be now asked, whence came the wor*
— the origin of his or.
worship, not from ship of Belenus to Aquileia? as from thence it
Bel burf" // passed to the other countries we have men-
lenus the son of tioned above; I might answer, with Vossius,
Priam.
- that it was propagated from Phenicia, and that
his name is the same as Bel or Beelsemen, that is to say, the
Sun. And that author is not alone in this opinion; Boohart,
Selden, Reinesius, Spon, in a word all the mythologists
agree to it, so that to quote testimonies would be needless.
But though these authorities be of very great weight to prove
that Belenus was the Bel of the Syrians, yet M. Della Torre
does not coinside with them; on the contrary, he projects quite
a new opinion, which, nevertheless, seems to hit j:he truth. He
proves, in the first place, the distinction between the Sun and
Afiollo: that Belenus was the same with Afiollo, and quite dis-
tinct from the Sun — the inscriptions designing Afiollo Belenus,
but never Sol Belenus, and by consequence he could not be the
Bel of the Syrians, who in truth was the Sun, and not A/ioUo,
nor could he be derived from that part of the east, where an-
368 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. Vif-
MERCURY, APOLLO, MINERVA. SECT. VII.
ciently they knew not the Aliollo of the Greeks. After having
demonstrated this article, this learned prelate advances the
opinion, that Belenus is the same with Helenus the son of Pri-
am— the change of the aspiration into the consonant -S, being a
very small affair. Anterior., says he, and Pyrrhia being about
to set out from Troy., both bf them consulted Helenus., who, as
every body knows, practised the art of prediction; and he in-
formed tnose leaders of the course of their adventures. An-
tenor having crossed the Adriatic sea, ( for Pyrrhus settled in
the western parts of Greece, which from thence bore his name),
came into the northern parts of Italy^ pretty near Aquileia,
where he settled, and there caused Helenus to be worshipped
as a God, for his insight into futurity; which was the reason of
his being confounded afterv/ards with Apollo. From that part
of Italy the worship of Helenus gradually passed into the Gauls,
as has been said; or perhaps, adds our author, some of the Tro-
jans who accompanied Antenor, left him at the time he cross-
ed the Adriatic gulf, and proceeded immediately to Gaul, there
settled, and established the worship of this new God. In
the country of the Ccmin^^ei, they adored a God called Abellis,
as appears from three inscriptions quoted by Gruter. That
Antiquary, followed herein by Reinesius, is persuaded that
this God was the same with Belenus, worshipped through all
Gaul; and the latter pretends even to derive the name of Abel-
lio from that of Belenus.
■==^=== C-esar in the next place mentions Minerva
BELisA^-A-^^the ^™o^g ^^ Deities of the Gauls: but we learn
mventress of the nothing concerning her from antiquity, as to
arts, was derived
to tlie Gmds from the questions, whether that people had got her
E.gypt in a manner , . r , r- • , i t^ , .
uncertain;— worship irom the Jbgyfitians by the Pheni-
— — cians, or Carthaginia7is, Avho trafficed upop
their coast? or if they only received it from the Romans after
they became masters of their country? and what idea they ha4
CHAP. VIT. GALLIC IDOLATRY, 269
SECT. VIII. PENINUS, DOLICHENIUS, MITHRAS.
of this Goddess? This much however we know, that this God-
dess was called in the Gauls, Belisana, and that she was by that
people reckoned the inventress of the arts.
" The Antiquaries think they find upon Cus-
lierrepresentation .
was different from si's pillar, the Gallic Minerva. The helmet
1 "o ^^ '^.f • she wears is ornamented with a tuft of feathers,
and Roman JMi- '
jierva:—h&v hu- ^^d the Goddess is leaning upon the trunk of
man sacrifices.
a tree, clad in a tunic without sleeves, over
which is a robe or peplum, which covers the whole figure ex-
cept her arms She has her feet across, and her head reclining
upon her right hand. Thus her attitude is that of a person in pro-
found meditation; and bating this, she has no resemblance to the
Greek and Ro^nan figures of this Goddess, nor has she the Egis,
which is a principal symbol with them. To conclude; as
among the figures that are represented upon the pillar just
mentioned, the last is that of a man who has his hands bound,
with a sad and dejected air, seeming to await the coming of the
Druid to give the deadly blow, as he is undoubtedly a prisoner
whom they are going to sacrifice, it follows, that it was not only
JEaus and Teutates, to whom human sacrifices were offered, but
^ho 3Iinerva or JBelisana, whose figure is upon this monument.
SECTION EIGHTH.
I
PEjYIjYUS, DOLICHE.YIUS, .^JVjD MITHRAS, SYMBOLS OF
THE SUJ\^.
=================== ^Ve have seen in the preceding section
]. Pesixus, or ^ ^
the Sun:— Wor- that the Gauls worshipped J/iollo under the
shipped by tlie i • /-, i
Penini ofthe Alps: name of Belenus, and that this God was not the
ma^rble^pillar top^ '^""- however, they paid divine honors to that
ped with a light, luminary under other names. Thus the Pern-
dedicated to liim.
' ni, inhabitants of the jllps, owned for the Sun,
270 GALLIC IDOLATRY, CHAP. VIF.
PENINUS, DOLICHENIUS, MITHRAS. SECT. VIII.
the God Peninus or Penin, from whom that chain of mountains,
the Permine Alps, derived its name, as we learn from Titus
Livius. GuicHENON, in his History of Savoy y has preserved
to us the inscription that was upon the pedestai of a fine statue
representing this God under the figure of a naked young man,
which was conceived in these terms; L. Lucilius Deo Penino
optimum maximum donum dedit. L. Lucilius dedicated this
monument to the God Peninus, supremely good and great. We
must not however, dissemble that we are told by Cato and
Servius, that this was not a God, but a Goddess; whom the one
calls Penina, and the Apenina: but both the figure and the in-
scription inform us of the contrary. The historian of Savoy
subjoins these words: " Upon the mountain of Little Saint Ber-
nard which belongs to the valley of Aoste, is a pillar of marble
fourteen feet high, dedicated formerly to the God Peninus, upon
V, hich was a carbuncle or light, called Peninus' s eye. The sta-
tue of that God being afterwards carried off fi'om that vicinity,
and the statue of Jupiter being put in its place, tli£ carbuncle
upon the pillar was then called Jupiter's eye." It is certain,
liowever, that notwithstanding this change, the worship of Pe-
Tiinus v/as not abolished; for the mountaineers continued to pay
adoration to him. The leai'ned are at a loss to determine
what God this Peninus was. It would appear at first sight
however, that he was Jufiiter himself, as the epithets of optimus
maximus seem to insinuate; but the author of the History of the
Gallic religion, proves with solidity, that he was the Sun, and
that the idea of Peninus' s eye, above mentioned, was taken from
that of the eye of Osiris, who in Egypt, represented the Sun.
■ ^ In digging the port of Marseilles, there was
Sol:^A statue of found a group of marble eleven or twelve feet
him in armour , , y-, , r. , ,
found at Mar. high, which represented the God JJolichemus
7l^M^^ovt^. standing upon a bull, below which was an eagle
ter.—h\s name is displayed. Charles Patin had this fine marble
Asiatic.
• engraved, and then the learned Spon with it
CHAP. Vn. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 271
SECT. VIII. PENINUS, DOLICHENIUS, MITHRAS.
adorned his curious Miscellanies of Antiquity. As the figure
of the God is in complete armour, he was taken at first for
Mars. The author of the History of the Gallic religion is per-
suaded that it is the Sun, or at least Jupiter Sol: while the sen-
timent of Spon would have it to be Jupiter himself, relying upon
an inscription consecrated to that God, with this surname, Jovi
afitimo maximo Dolicheno, See: but would it have been inconsis-
tent with Pagan extravagance, to have added to the symbol of
the Sun the surname of Jupiter by way of eminence? The
name of Dolicheniua came from Asia, and from the province of
Comagena in Syria, in particular, where, according to Stepha-
Njtrs, peculiar worship was paid to Jupiter Dolichenius, whence
the inhabitants themselves were denominated Doiichenians. But
t-his does not militate against his being a symbol of the Sun,
whose worship was so universal in the east.
^ ," That the Persian God Mithras was worship-
2. Mithras or ^
the Suif.— the shipped in the Gauls, is an uncontested fact.
Lzjons possibly A figure of this God found at Lyons, and de-
represented JJ^. • ^^^ , Gabriel Simeoni, and then by
thi'as I'js the Moon t> j 7 j
which the Per- SpoN, and F. Menestrier, upon which is the
i-ians also did.
==5=5;^ inscription Deo invicto Mithrce Secundinus dat,
proves it sufficiently. When SiMseNi got the print of this fig-
ure, it had the head of a woman, which pei^plexes the Aniiqu^
ries; for, in short, say they, Mithras was not a Goddess, but a
male God, and the inscription so designs him. But, not to men-
tion that they may have mistaken for a woman's face, that of a
young man who never waxes old, whereby the Sun was repre-
sented; it is certain that among the Perians, as has been proven
by the authority of Herodotus, Mithras likewise represented
the Moon: thus the Gauls might have intended, in this instance,
to figure Mithras as a woman.
2f2 EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY CHAP; I
SATURN, BACCHUS, CYBELE, ScC. SECT. IX.
SECTION NINTH.
SATURM, BACCHUS, CTBELE, CERES, DIAJWl, LUJ\\1, ISIS.
;===== We have said that the Gauls, after the Ro-
r 1-1 " c^7^^^- ^ctn conquest, adopted a arreat number of the
Table of his im- -i j i o
prisonment : — his Qods of the Greeks and Romans; they also
worship proh-ably
received from the adopted at the same time a great many of their
Carthamnians on - , , r < • i ^ r ^^ • • i •
account of kuman fables, of which the following is a very plain
victims offered example. Plutarch makes one Demetriufe
him. ^
.. say, that having visited a certain island in the
neighbourhood of Britain, he was told that Saturn was in antr-
ther island not far off, buried in profound sleep which served
as chains to him, where Briareus was his keeper. It is easy
to see the affinity which this fiction bears to the fable of Sa-
turn's nvooUen chains, to be noticed hereafter, in the history
of the Titans; but yet I am convinced that it was not imme-
diately from the Greeks and Romans, but from the Carthagi-
nians that the Gaul& had received the worship of ^iaturn. The
ground of this opinion is very obvious, since the Gauls, after the
manner of the Carthagiriians, offered up to him human sacrifi-
ces; whereas when the Romans had conquei'ed the Gaills, this
impious and savage custom had been for a long time abolished
amongst those conquerors.— That the Gauls did offer such vic-
tims to Saturn may however be doubted. But Dionysius of
Halicdrhassus expressly testifies the fact; and St. Augu.:tin
informs us not only that Varro v/as of this opinion, but also
that he himself believed they offered in sacrifice adult men;
while the Carthaginians, (who had adopted the worship paid by
the Phenicians to Moloch, the prototype of their Saturn) sacri-
ficed to him children only.
CHAP. VII. GALLIC IDOLATRY.
SECT. IX. SATURN, BACCHUS, CYBELE, 8cC.
- Bacchus was peculiarly worshipped in the
his org-ies celebra- Gauls, as is proved by several monuments
ted by wbmen at ^ , ,.„ , , . „
the mouth of the lound at oiiierent places; and more especially
Loire probably g^ -^^ ^ jj^jg jgiand situated at the mouth of the
brought from ~i-
«(i, to which they Loire, where he had a temple that was served
make adduinns.
=:=:=:^^== by women, who celebrated the orgies there
much after the manner of the Greeks: and from the circum-
stance of this ceremony, it is probable that they had received
his worship from the Orientals. Strabo, who speaks of this
Island, and of the worship therein paid to Bacchus, adds that
these women who had the care of the temple and ceremonies,
tdbk off, every year, and replaced, on the same day, the roof of
this edifice, between the rising and setting of the sun;, and that
in the same space of time they celebrated the orgies, and were
agitated with a fanatic fury which was wont to seize them; so
that if any one of them, by a thrust from the rest, or by any
other accident, let fall the load which she was carrying, either
in taking off, or putting on the roof, her companions fell upon
her, and tore her in pieces — a madness unknown to the Greeks,
which proves that every country added or i-etrenched something
in the worship they had received from other people. — — Seve-
ral Antiquaries take the Bacchus of the Gauls to have been the
same with Cermmnos, because both of them had horns; but as
other Gods also had horns, this I presume is no reason for eon-
founding them.
■ Saint Gregory of Tours informs us, that
3. CrBELE or ^}^g Gauls worshipped Cybele, whom they
her festival cele- called Berecijnthia, from the name of mount
brated among the
Gauls: Berecynthus in Phyrgia, where she was said
=^=----— ^'^ -= to have been born; adding that their idolatry
towards this Goddess was continued down even to the fourth
century. On a certain day, says that writer, as they were lead-
ing Berccynthia through the fields and vineyards, in a chariot
VOL. ir. M m
274 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. VU.
SATURN, BACCHUS, CYBELE, ScC. SECT. IX.
drawn by oxen, for the preservation of the fruits of the earth,
and. as the multitude that followed sung and danced before that
Idol, S. SiMPLicius, affected at the blindness of that idolatrous
herd, having prayed and made the sign of the cross, the statue
fell to the ground, and the oxen remained immovable. They
offered victims, and beat the oxen to make them go forward;
but all their efforts were in vain; on which account some of
them abandoned that foolish superstition for ever, and embraced
the Christian religion. The Acts of S. Syjviphorian, published
by Don Ruinarte, confirm one part of the recital of St. Gre-
gory, since we there read, that on a day consecrated to the fes-
tival of that Goddess, her statue was drawn by oxen. But bgp
sides these two authorities. Antiquaries think they discover the
ceremony which the Gauls practised in honor of this Goddess
in a coin quoted by Bouterouse, which on one side repre-
sents a chariot whereon is a Goddess standing, drawn by two
oxen.
■-. As the Romans celebrated much the same
the same was ce-
lebrated among- feast in honor of Cyhele, it is probable that it
the Rommis from ^^^^ j^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ g,^^^^ j^^^.^^^ ^j^^ ^^^,^
whom tne lormer
derived her wor- ghip of this Goddess. Amianus Marcelli-
ship: —
=^=^== Nus tells us, that the emperor Julian, when he
was going to Persia^ having arrived at Collinice a city in Syria,
on the sixth day before the kalends of Jpril, or the 27th of
Marchf a day on which the Romans celebi^ated the feast in ques-
tion, stopped there to perform the ceremony after the manner
of the Romans — who carried about in procession the statue of
the mother of the Gods in a chariot, and washed her in the
river Almon near Rome. This feast marked in the Roman cal-
endar, and mentioned also by Ovid, was called Lavatio.
ViBius Sequester, speaking of the brook Almon, says that it
was the custom to wash therein, in the spring of every year,
the statue of the mother of the Gods. The poet Prudentius,
CHAP. Vn. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 275
SECT. IX. SATURN, BACCHUS, CYBELE, &C.
who also gives a description of this feast, observes that all the
people of quality in Rome attended the ceremony bare-footed;
and others inform us, that it was frequented by the whole neigh-
bourhood. Upon their return, the procession re-entered Rome
surrounded by burning torches. As every people retained or
rejected what they pleased of the ceremonies of foreign wor-
ships which they adopted, so it does not appear that the Gauls
had retained this in particular, of washing the statue of their
Berecynthia. But be that as it will, this festival celebrated by
the Romans, and then by the Gauls, was derived, like most
other superstitious ceremonies, from the Egyptians, who, as we
read in Clemens of Alexandria, carried about in their proces-
sions, the golden statues of their Gods, two Dogs, a Hawk, and
an Ibis.
______:;==:==== We may observe, in concluding this article,
two monuments of ^.^^^^ -^^ ^j^^ ^ggg ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ -^ ^^^
this Goddess. ^
■, garden of M. Berrier at the depth of twelve
feet, under the ruins of an old tower, a fine head of Cybele.
This figure, whose face is larger than the life, was mistaken at
first for that of Isis, a Goddess peculiarly worshipped at Paris,
as shall be said at the end of this section; but it is more pro-
bable that it is Cybele, though these two Goddesses were often
confounded with one another. There has been another head
of this Goddess dug up since, at the foot of Montmatre, which
is of bronze. The face thereof is smaller than that of the other
just mentioned, and the turret upon the head is somewhat dif-
ferent. Such are the monuments and authorities that prove the
ancient Gauls had received the worship of Cybele.
===== It sometimes happens that Avhen authorities
4. Ceres: — an « ., • i j ^ i-
•iltar and a temple *^"' recourse is had to some monuments dis-
dedicatsd to her, covered in a country, to prove that the Gods
prove that snu was
worshipped in tlie represented by them have been worshipped
Gflw/s, at least af- , , •., • > -i i .1 . .^i
ter their conquest, there; though it is possible that those monu-
■' ments may have been brought fvoni some
276 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. VU.
SATURN, BACCHUS, CYBELE, ScC. SECT. IX.
Other place, and there buried under the ruins of houses and
temples, where they had been deposited either through design
or otherwise, exclusive of any motive of public veneration: this
is what we are to think of Ceres, supposed to have been wor-
shipped in the Gauls. Montfaucon in his Antiquities ex-
plained, has given a print of an altar, upon one face of which is
a Ceres with a torch in each hand, a symbol that alludes to the
great pains she had taken in searching for her daughter, whom
Pluto had stolen. It is true, however, that there was a tem-
ple to Ceres and Froser/iine, in a srnall Island near the coast of
Britain, and the worship of those two Divinities, as we are told
by Artemidorus, cited by Strabo, had a mixture of that
which was paid them by the Sa7not/iracia7is; but in ancient
times the Gauls had no temples, and whatever knowledge they
may have had of Ceres must have been subsequent to their con-
quest by the Romans.
■ Diana was highly adored in the Gauls, espe-
5. DiASA or Ar-
i,x=;i>'a: a virgin cially in the forest of Arduenna, whence she
Goddess, received • i ^i c ^ r ■ ^ i • i
particular wor- acq^u-ed the name of Arduina, under which
ship, and of great gj-,g ^y^^ known to that people. This forest,
duration, in the
forest of Ardu- very spacious of old, was consecrated to her,
' and was properly her temple. Accordingly,
says the author of the History of the Gallic religion, we may
judge of the antiquity of the worship of Diana among the Gauls,
from the antiquity of her name; for it is not to be doubted but
that the Celtic name Arduina is derived from the name of the
forest called Arduenna, a word which imports black, gloomy,
and is therefore applicable to forests: and it is certain that she
had this name long before the Romans were masters of Gaul.
Though after their arrival the Gauls accommodated their ideas
of their Gods to those of their conquerors, yet the worship
which they paid to this Goddess was long kept up, and still re-
tained her orisrinal name: those also who left the Gauls, and
CHAP. VII. GATJ.TC IDOLATRY. 277
SECT. IX. SATURN, BACCHUS, CYBELE, 8cC.
settled elsewhere, still preserved her name and worship; so
faithful were they to their ancient customs, as to observe them
religiously in the midst of strangers; and this is confirmed by
some inscriptions found in Italy.^ whereon Diana is always
named Arduina. But the Gauls had mvicli the same senti-
ments of their Arduina, as the Greeks and Romans had of Di-
ana^ whom they esteemed to be a chaste and virgin Goddess,
who made hunting her whole study. As nothing is more diffi-
cult to be abolished than ancient religious customs, the wor-
ship of Arduina continued in the Ardennes, and in the neigh-
bouring countries upon the Rhine, even a considei'able time af-
ter Christianity had got footing, when several Saints, Bishops,
and others, found the greatest difficulty imaginable to eradi-
cate it.
■ Though antiquity has often confounded Di-
6. LujfA or the
Moon : distin- <z"« With the Moon, yet it is certam that they
guisie rom «- ^q-^q more frequently distinguished; and whe-
ana, was worship- n / & '
ped throughout ther the Gauls had received part of their reli-
Gmd; —
:^;;ss;;;;;==: gio^j from the Persians, or from some other
oriental nation, they distinguished like them, those two Divini-
ties. Don James Martin, in his History of the Gallic reli-
gion, proves by a great number of testimonies, that the worship
of the Moon was diffused over all Gaul.
, ,. , ' It was this Goddess according to him, that
— and particular- ° '
ly in the island of was particularly worshipped in the island of
Sain, where she
had an oracle, Sain, situated upon the south coast of Lower
served by young Bj-it^ny, though M. De Volois will have it to
virgins, who were j ' o
celebrated forsor- be Mercury that was worshipped in that island.
eery gcc.
=:^===:=; It IS true, PoMPONius Mela, who speaks of
the oracle of that island, does not name the Deity who delivered
it, but there are so many proofs of its having been the Moon, that
there is no refuting the opinion. This oracle was served by
young virgins, who were nine in number, though at first they
278 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. VII.
SATURN, BACCHUS, CYBELE, &C. SECT. IX.
were but six. Those virgins, Druidesses by profession, vowed
inviolable chastity to the Goddess whom they served, and lived
much after the manner of the Roman Vestals. If we may rely
upon the accounts given of these virgins by several authors, they
were often consulted, especially for navigation, and it was firmly
believed that good or bad weather depended upon them, and
that the winds and tempests were at their disposal. The notion
that prevailed of their being able to mount up into the air at
pleasure, to disappear with incredible velocity, and to become
visible at any moment they had a mind so to do, contributed not
a little to the great reputation they had acquired. Nothing was
so much talked of as their nocturnal assemblies, and the prodi-
gies they wrought: in a word, they were looked upon by the
Gauls as real witches who kept their sabbaths. — — Those pre-
tended sorceresses, who were so celebrated among the ancients,
were denominated Gallica. They were also named Sena, ei-
ther from their being at first only six in number, or because
this name, which was originally Celtic, signified respectable^
venerable: and from this name was the island which they in-
habited called Sain.
____________ Most of the writers upon the antiquities of
^' Is^i^:— surnam. p^^^^ alledge that the name of this city or of
ed Medica, — ma- ' ° ^
ny proofs of her the island whereon it is partly built, was de-
having been wor- . , _ ^ , , ,
shipped in Gaul rived from Isis: but whether there be truth in
and the neigh- ^^. .j. .^ ^^ j^^^^. ^^^^^:^^ ^^at that Goddess
bouring^ countries. '
\ was highly adored in the Gauls. Her statue,
which was formerly in the church of 5. Germain des Prez, and
which Cardinal Briconnet, who was the abbot thereof, caused
to be demolished and reduced to ashes; an inscription found at
Soissons; the city of Melun, formerly Melodunum, which, upon
receiving the worship of this Goddess, changed its name into
that of Iseas, or Isea; the town of Issi, near Paris, whose name
seems evidently derived from that of Isis; the statue dug up in
CHAP. Vn. GALLIC IDOLATRY, 279
■ • ■ ■-
SKCT. X. PLUTO, PROSERPINE, &C.
the ground of M. Berrier, which resembles that of Isis as much
as Cybele's, if indeed Isis and Cybcle were not one and the same
Divinity; in fine, the worship of this Goddess established in
Germany., chiefly among the Suevi, whose religion had a very
great affinity to that of the Gauls, and whose original was the
same with theirs — all these facts are undeniable proofs that
Isis had a very extensive worship in the Gauls; where she was
taken for a Goddess who presided over health by the name of
Isis Medica, -as she was among the Egyptians.
SECTION TENTH.
PLUTO, PROSERPIJVE, AMD OTHER IJ\rFERJVJlL GODS.
As we are told by Ctesar that the Gauls pre-
1. Pluto: — few
proofs of his hav- tended to be descended from Pluto, we might
ped by "thTSaX expect in the history of their religion to meet
==^=^=— — = with several vestiges of the worship they paid
to this God; yet we find little or nothing of it. An inscription
upon the fi'ontispiece of a temple, quoted by Guuter, but
whose antiquity is controvei-ted; a dubious statue upon the pil-
lar of Cussi; an expression in S. Eloi, who lived about the end
of the seventh century, who name Pluto among the other Gods
of Gaul — these are all the proofs of his having been worship-
ped by that nation.
===== As to Proserfiine,yfh.oTCii\\e Gauls reckoned
2. Proserpine.
s=s=^=== their mother, we have seen on the authority.
of Artemidorus cited by Straiio, that she and Ceres had a
temple on the coast of Britain, which was served after the man-
ner of the Samothracians.
280 GALLIC roOLATRY. CHAP. VH.
PI.UTO, PROSERPINE, 8cC.
;-.^- An Inscription found at JVismes, and another
the Parc^^^ ^" at -Mij^z, prove that the Gauls also paid reli-
' gious worship to the Parcts, and to Erebus.
" ■ ' . Another Inscription upon a monument dug
4. Vesus, Mabs, „ „ , ,.,,,, T,
and Mercury. ^P ^* Bellesme, and explamed by M. Baude-
■~~^— -—--—--" LOT, informs us that the Gauls ranked Venus,
MarSf and Mercury, among the Infernal Deities. That Inscrip-
tion is conceived in these terms;
Diis Inferis
Veneri
Marti
ET
Mercurio
Sacrum.
— It is easy to see the reason why they esteemed Venus of
that number, especially when they confound her with Libitina;
the Ancients informing us, that at funeral obsequies the same
victims used to be offered to Venus Libitincea in/era, as to
Pluto, Proserpine, and the other Infernal Gods. As for
Mars, I do not know that the Greeks and Romans ever reckoned
him in the order of the Infernal Gods. Perhaps the ancient
Gauls might have intended thereby to point out, that so
bloody a Deity, who was continually peopling Pluto^s realms,
had as good title as any to be ranked among the Gods of Hell.
But there is no manner of doubt as to Mercury: that God,
who was sometimes in Olymfius, sometimes in the regions of
the dead, whither he conducted the souls of the defunct, was
equally a celestial and infernal God.
CHAP. Vn. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 281
SECT. XI. FAUNS, SATYRS, GENII, &C.
SECTION ELEVENTH.
FAUA^S, SATYRS, GEJVII, &c.
. The ancient _Gauls adored several otlter
.v,^' c^^ ^°T' Gods, and rural Demi-Gods, not unlike the '
the iSatyrs, tlie
Genii or Dusii:'- Fauns^ and Satyrs of the Greeks and Romans;
they frequent
houses, and court also Genii, called among them, Dusii, whom
the company of ^j^^ believed to frequent houses, and to love-
women. ■> ^ '
• the commerce of women. St. Augustin)
speaking of those Genii, compares them for their incontinence,
with the Sylvans, tlie Fauns, and Satyrs, and even goes the
length of asserting, that after the testimony concerning those
spirits given by persons worthy of credit, it would be impu-
dence to deny that there are some Demons that court the com-
pany of women. But it can afford no entertainment or valuable
instruction to enlarge upon this subject, or the reveries of a
sect of mystics, which is founded only upon these and the like
fantastic notions. I shall only remark, that there never was
any opinion more general, nor of longer duration, than that
which admitted those spirits of which the world was believed
to. be full. — Some antiquaries pretend that the God Sileianus,
known only by an inscription found at Feurs, in the forest, was
one of those Dusii above mentioned. But it is more probable
that this is the God Silvanus, who was worshipped in the Gauls,
where he had a College of Priests, as at Rome, and in several
other places.
■ Upon the gate of the Hotel-Dieu of Cler-
2 A monument
at Clermont, re- mont in Auvergne, was formerly a very singu-
lleZlv^Ts^cl lar figure, representing a Gallic Divinity,
lestis, nor Belemis, •\vhereof Gabriel Simeoni has given a print
but the Szin.
55;5;s==s== in his Histoire de la Limagne d' Auvergne.
This figure is a woman's head with wings displayed above, and
VOL. II. N n
282 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. Vn.
FAUNS, SATYRS, GENII, &C. SECT. XI.
two large scales which rtse out of her temples; it is also encom-
passed with two serpents, whose tails lose themselves in the
two wings. SiMEONi, seeing these two ser-pents, took the head
to be tha:t oi Medusa; and it is indeed that of a young and beau-
tiful person, as that Gorgon was before her crime had so pro-
voked the indignation of Minerva, who transformed her fine
hair into serpents: but here the head has its hair in very good
order, and the serpeiits do not seem to make a part of it. The
author of the History of the Gallic Religion, who gives the
name of Onuava to the Divinity whom this head represents, is
persuaded that it is the Venus Celestis, or the Derceto of the
Phenicians, who, as Diodorus Siculus tells us, was worship-
ped at Ascalouy under a figure which has a woman's head, and
the rest of its body terminating in a fish. That author adds,
that as this figure is only a bust, the rest of the body might
have been a fish; and that the scales, which we have men-
tioned, give us plainly to understand what it would have been,
had the figure been represented at full length. Then, having
recourse to what antiquity informs us concerning Oannesy Oen,
and other sea-monsters, the lower part of whose body termi-
nated in a fish's tail, and concerning serpents that were acknow-
ledged for Divinities in several places, he displays a great
deal of erudition. Marcel, in his History of France, takes
this figure to have been a hieroglyfihicy and a lively expression
of the mysteries of Belenus, one of the great Gallic Divinities,
as we have seen. — But I am persuaded that this head is neither
Medusa, for reasons above expressed; nor yet was it Derceto,
for it is a mere conjecture, and quite without foundation, to al-
ledge that the rest of the body would have been represented
like a fish had it been drawn at full length: nor is it Belenus,
whom I have proved to have been distinguished from the Sun,
not only among the Greeks and Romans,hvit also among the an-
cient Gauls. But I am inclined to the opinion that it was the
CHAP. VII. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 283
FAUNSj SATYRS, GENII, 8cC. SECT. XI.
Sun himself; for, in the first place, no more than a head is de-
signed, as indeed any more would have been improper; it is a
full expression of what it was intended to represent: and be-
sides that one is inclined to judge thus at first sight, from his
youthfulness (so as to be taken for a woman), and radiant air,
his wings sufficiently express the rapidity of his course, and
the serpents that twine themselves about his head, plainly de-
note his apparent course around the world in an oblique Circle.
May we not further presume that the two scales, or rather fins,
point out that this luminary surveys the sea as well as the land?
===== I shall say but little of some other Gods of
cm, Bacurdus, ^he Gauls, whose names occur upon Inscrip-
propitious Gods, tions, since antiquity gives us no information
Aventia, Movis- -l j z>
targus, &ci ac- about them. Such is the God Leheven, in ho-
cordine to several <• , -r^ . , ^ ^ ,.
inscriptions. ^^^ ^^ whom Domesticus, the son of Rufus,
" ■" ■■'■■■■■ — ■'"— " paid the vow which he had made to him, as
appears by an Inscription found at St. Bertrand, the capital of
the country of Cominges. Keisler, indeed, alledges that he
was a sea God, but upon what foundation we know not. — Ano-
ther Inscription found in the same country names Boccus,
whom Gruter, who quotes it, takes to be a God; but this is
all he informs us about him; or about Bacurdus, whose name is
read in an Inscription at Cologne; or about the firo/iitious Gods,
PROPitiis Deis, who are mentioned upon another Inscription
of Narbonne. Whether these last were particular Gods, or all
the beneficent Deities in general, is difficult to determine.
The reader will be little wiser, when I have named the Goddess
jlventia, whose name appears upon some Inscriptions found in
the Swiss Cantons; and Mo-vistargus, whose name also occurs
upon another Inscription dug up at Alise in Burgundy: and
though it may give him a little more light concerning the Gods
called Aghoni, to know that they were worshipped in Gascony,
and that they wei'e supposed to preside over the games and
284 GALLIC IDOLATRY. CHAP. VU.
DEIFIED CITIES. SECT. XII.
combats; yet I should but lose time and the reader's patience, to
insist upon a Verjugodamnus worshipped at Amiens^ or in that
neighbourhood, where was found the Inscription (quoted by-
Due ange-
SECTION TWELFTH.
DEIFIED CITIES.
- ■ " The Gauls, once subjected to the Ro7nan
1. Bibracte the
capitalof theEfiwe, yoke, adopted not only many of their Deities,
^\\ d^'t"' ^^^^ ^ ^^ ^^ have remarked more than once, but they
I also adopted their custom of deifying their Ci-
ties. Thus they ranked among their Goddesses the ancient
City of the Edui, which C^sar and Strabo call Bibracte., and
which is thought to be Autun, though M. De Valois will have
it to be another City; but as the Inscription that speaks of this
Goddess, and begins with these words, Dem Bibracte, was
found at Autun itself: in the bottom of a well which had been
filled up time immemorial, it is probable that Bibracte and Au-
tun were the same City, but at a considerable interval of time,
in which it had also been called Augustodunum.
Another Inscription dug up at Vaison, for-
2. Vasio, now , • ^. , ,
Vaison, was a dei- nierly called Vasio, confirms that this City had
fied City; besides ^j^^ received the honor of deification. The
many others.
, Inscription was conceived in these terms;
MARfE
Ef
V AS ION I
Tacitus.
Several other Cities might be enumerated, as Perigueux,
Msmes, &'c, but these instances with one more remarkable,
which I shall add, will suffice.
CHAP. VII. GALLIC IDOLATRY. 285
SECT. XII. DEIFIED CITIES.
, . Tutela, the guardian Goddess of the City of
3. Burdigalla,
now Tiourdeaux, Burdigalla^ now Bourdeaux, had there a mag-
Goddess ^"called '^ifi'^®"^ temple; if indeed she was a particular
Tutela,--~h.ev tem- or local Divinity, for this name appears to be
pie.
===^= rather a general term than an appellative.
Learned Antiquaries take her to have been a Divinity peculiar
to sailors and merchants who trafficed upon the rivers, as it was
a common practice among the ancients to put upon their ships
the figures of certain Gods who gave names to them, and were
called by the general term Tutela JVavis, that is, the tutelar
Divinity of the ship, as has been fully explained when we were
upon the subject of the Pataici: but it is more probable that
this Tutela was the patroness of the City of Burdigalla.
However this may be, this Goddess had a temple in that City,
which is still called the Pillars of Tutela. It was an oblong
peristyle, each face of Avhich was supported by eight columns,
and the two extremities by six. Each of those columns were
so high as to overtop the highest edifices of the City. Lewis
XIV. ordered the arched roof of this temple to be demolished,
which timcx had already damaged, in order to form the ^/am
which is before the Chateau Tromfiete.
==^== Besides their deified Cities, or the tutelar
The Gauls had _v • • r i • y~i. .
also tutelar Genw Deities' of their Cities, the Gauls acknow-
for their Pro- igfj^gd Genii who took care of each particular
vinces or Cantons. ° *^
===== Province and Canton, as is proven by an in-
scription quoted by the learned father Sirmond in his notes
upon SiDONius Apollinaris; Genio Averjsiorvm Sex, &c.
The ancient Gauls adored several other Divinities, such as
the Mother Goddesses, of whom I shall defer the account, for
the conclusion of the Idolatry of the northern Barbarians, be
cause they belonged equally to the Gauls, the Britons, the
Spaniards, and the Germans — the Inscriptions that make mei\-
tion of them, having been dug up in these several countries.
CHAPTER Vm.
IDaLATRY OF THE BRITONS.
SECTION FIRST.
THEIR BELIGIOJ\r IJV GETTER AL.
— , I shall not insist lonej upon the religion of
The rehgion of _ or o
the Bntons the the ancient jBn^ons or Angles^ because there
same with that ■■. i t,,» , . , ,
of the Gauls;— -i "^^^ ^^^7 "ttle dilterence between it and that
pai-allel of their ^f tjje Gauls— \ht,ir Deities, their Worship,
Priesthood, their '^^
Deities, and hu- and their Priesthood, being the same. Taci-
man sacrifices, &c. , ^ , . i ,
-————;^^;;;;;;;^ Tus expressly says, that the Angles had the
same Superstitions with the Gauls, as also the same fierceness
in battle, and much the same language. C^sar had much the
same opinion with Tacitus, and the other historians differ
from them but little. With respect to the priesthood, we
have seen in the last chapter, that the Druids were equally
respected in Britain as in the Gauls; that among both they
were the ministers of religion, and that those of the former
were even accounted more learned and intelligent than those of
the Gauls, who sent their students to be instructed by them in
the more profound mysteries. The Angles or Britons, as well
as the Gauls, had other subaltern ministers, the Bards and the
Eubages, who had tlie same functions among both. It has
CHAP. Vm. roOLATRY OP THE BRITONS. 287
SECT. I. THEIR RELIGION IN GENERAL.
also been remarked that the Britons as well as the Gauls paid
a particular worship to the Mother Goddess, and that their
monuments have been dug up among them as well as in the
the Gauls. According to Cambden and Selden, their God
Balatucadua was the same with the Belenus or Apollo of the
Gauls, and that both nations paid him the same worship; that
they both worshipped Z)is or Pluto, and Samothes. In fine,
Tacitus and Dion Cassius tell us that they both offered to
their Gods human victims. To complete this parallel, we
are, in the religion of the ancient Britons, to apply the same
distinction which we had recourse to in the history of the reli-
gion of the Gauls, namely, that of two periods of time; for,
the religion of the Britons could not but assume a new shape,
upon their being conquered by the Romans, who undoubtedly
introduced among them also, the knowledge of several of
their Gods.
. It is proper however, before we dismiss this
which affect the subject, to make two remarks which affect the
Britons peculiar- i^eligion of the ancient Britons in particular,
lyj whether as to
changes wrought 1st. That as these Islanders were successfully
by early invusiong, ..,,,.— . . ,, , ,
or commerce. invaded by different nations, especially by the
—— ■— ■ Picts and Saxons, not to mention others, it is
very probable that those conquerors introduced thither the
knowledge of some of their Gods: and of this number perhaps
was their Andate, the Goddess of victory, to whom they paid
particular worship. 2nd. That as it is certain the Phenicians
from the earliest times had a considerable commerce with Brit-
ain, whence they shipped every year a vast quantity of tin, they
perhaps had left them the knowledge of some of their Gods. I
say perhaps, because no vestiges thereof have been found in
the country; besides it is not usual for merchants to talk about
subjects of religion with those among whom they have come
only for the purposes of trade, and in whose ports they only
288 roOLATRY OF THE BRITONS. CHAP. Vm.
THEIR RELIGION IN GENERAL. SECT. I.
spend as much time as is necessary for making up their car-
goes. And this accounts for our being so little acquainted
with the Gods of that people, to whom we should have been
yet greater strangers had it not been for their nearness to the
Gauls whose religion is better known.
CHAPTER IX.
lf)OLATRY OF THE IBERIANS OR SPANIAtlDS'.
SECTION FIRST.
THEin ItELIGIOJSr lA'' GEATERAL.
EITHER for want of ancient historians, or
Little is known
of this religioh, for want of curiosity on the part of the inhabi-
which probably o- ^ , _ , • • ^i . i
riffinated from the tants, there are few countries m the world
Phenicians and -^yhose l'eIie;ion is less known to us than that
CarthaginianSythe ^
monumtnts being of the ancient S/ianiards. The historians, es-
chiefly defaced.
^ pecially Mariana, who make S/iain to have
been peopled by a colony planted by the patriarch Tubal, about
131 years after the Deluge, vent nothing but fables, no less
gross than ill matched. Not but that some ancient monuments
have been dug up in that country from time to time; but most
of these have been quite mangled, and all we can draw from
them is mere conjecture almost destitute of proof. Yet it is
not, I think, to be doubted that the ancient Sfianiards got the
principles of their religion chiefly from the Phenicians and Car-
thaginians. It is certain, as M. Huet has proved, in his learn-
ed treatise upon the Co?nmerce of the Ancients, that both those
nations had great commerce with the Sjiatiiards, especially with
those who inhabited Betica, the present Andalusia, where they
came principally to traflic in gold, which was then very common
290 • roOLATRY OF THE IBERIANS. CHAP. IX,
SECT. I. THEIR RELIGION IN GENERAL.
in that country. This being supposed, it appears evident, that
both those nations would communicate to them a part of their
religion, by introducing among them the worship of some of
their Gods.
■ ' The fact is certain at least in regard to the '
Hercules; — the _, -^ „ , .
fact IS certain as Phenician Hercules^ he who is said to have
to his origin from ^^^^^^ ^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^l^g ^^^^^ ^1^^^^ f^,
r'hemcia. '^
— — ~- mous pillars, to show that this was the ex-
tremity of the known world, and that there was no passing fur-
ther. This Hercules accordingly, was highly adored after-
wards in the country, and antiquity makes mention more than
once of the famous temple he had at Gades, now Cadiz. Sev-
eral monuments also, have been dug up in different places,
with Hercules's name inscribed upon them; which prove that
the worship of that God had passed from GadeS) where it was
first established, into the neighbouring provinces.
— ' — - We also read upon many more monuments
Endovelliciis is
a name that oc- that are to be seen in Gruter and Reinesius,
curs on monu- ^^ ^ Endovellicus joined with that of
nients, but it is J
uncertain what Hercules, and sometimes by itself; and most of
God he was.
;;s===i^^ those monuments have been dug up near the
city Osca, the present Villa Viciosa. No one doubts but this
Endo-uellicus was a God peculiar to Spain; but whether he was
the same with Hercules, as some authors alledge, or some other
God, is not easy to determine. However, as in one of those In-
scriptions we read,
Hercvli p.
Endovell.
TOLE'T. V. V.
Deis TuTelaeibus.
it v/ould seem that these two Gods were distinguished in S/iains
for if they were considered the same, we should have had the
two last words of this Inscription in the singular number, and
CHAP. IX. IDOLATRY OP THE IBERIANS. 291
SECT. I. THEIR RELIGION IN GENERAL.
not in the plural, as they are, implying that both Hercules and
Endovellicus were tutelary Gods. As Ave know not what
sort of God this Endovellicus was, whom they worshipped in
Spain, the only country where his name has been found, the
learned have given themselves scope, and advanced several con-
jectures on this subject. Some are of opinion that it was the
God Mars, who was worshipped in Spain, as we shall presently
see; others have alledged, that he was the Cupid of the ancient
Iberians, or Hercules himself, both their names being found in
one of those inscriptions: but it. is useless to dwell upon so
doubtful a matter.
■ We also learn from the Ancients that the
Pluto or Month, ^ , , . , r^ . ^.
was here worship* Spaniards worshipped Pluto, ov rather Juom?A,
pad as umong the ^^ Death, as did the Phenicians. And accord-
~ ing to the history of. the Titans, as we shall
give it in the sequel of this work, one will find no difficulty to
believe, that they worshipped this pi'ince in this country, which
fell to his lot, and where he ended his days.
____________ Mercury or Teutates was a God very much
Mercury or reti. j.gvered among the Sha?iiards, as we have seen
tales; — the origm *^
of his worship; — he was among the Gauls. Titus Livius tells
his human sacri-
fices. US there Avas at JVew Carthage an eminence,
~~~~ which was called Mercury Teutates; and it is
not to be doubted, as we have already said, that the Spaniards had
received the knowledge of this God immediately fi'om the Phe-
nicians, and afterwards communicated it to the Gauls; but whe-
ther the Spaniards offered to him human sacrifices, as did the
Gauls, is not known. It is however very probable that both of
them gave him the same worship, since it was derived to them
both through the same channel. Besides, we learn from Stra-
Bo that the Lusitanians, now the Portugueze, offered to their
Gods the captives whom they had taken in war. He says,
" the Lusitanians frequently offer sacrifices, and carefully consi-
£92 IDOLATRY OF THE IBERIANS. OIAP. IX.
THEIR RELIGION IN GENERAL. SECT. I.
der the entrails of the victims, '■.vithout however making any
incision upon them. They observe with the same attention the
veins, especially those of the sides, and make use of the same
entrails in divination, by touching them with the hand. To the
same use they apply those of the captives whom they have of-
fered in sacrifice, after having covered their dead carcasses
with cassocks. After they have cut out their entrails, the
sooth-sayer draws the oiiien from the carcasses alone; then cut-
ting off their hands, they conseer^ite them to their Gods,"
.^__^___^^^^___^^ That people worshipped likewise Mars, the
Mars or J\'eton, God of War, as we are told by the same au-
to whom captives
were sacrificed, thor; and to him they sacrificed goats, horses,
Avas represented .... . _, «» i i .
as the Sun. a^« their captives m war. They offered him,
^ also, after the manner of the Greeks, heca-
tombs upon certain occasions. What was singular herein,
the inhabitants of Gades represented this God like Apollo, or
rather the Sun, having his head encircled with rays, from a be-
lief that the heat of the blood and violent motion of the spirits,
^vhich, according to them, formed warriors, were immediately
produced by the Sun. Strabo does not inform us what name
they gave to the God of war, but as Magrobius says, the Acci-
tanians, another people of Spain, paid also a particular worship
to the same God, whom they called Keton, it is very probable
that the Lusitanians gave him the same name.
The Celtiberians, as we are told by Strabo,
The unknoivn and those Tribes who inhabited the northern
God of the Celti. ^ , . ,
benans. parts of Spain, worshipped an anonymous
^^'^^''^^''^^^'''^ God, a God unknown. And the worship
which they paid to him, consisted in assembling together, in
families, at the full of jthe Moon, to dance all night at the gates
of their houses.
CHAP. IX. IDOLATRY OF THE IBERIANS. 29^
THEIR RELIGION IN GENERAL.
T To conclude; as the ancient S/ianiarda or
liffion°of the Spa- Iberians had received several of their Gods
niards had some {Yova the Gauls, as well as communicated to
affinity to that of
the Gauls, they them the knowledge of some of theirs, hence
had no Druids.
■ the religions of these two nations bore a con-
siderable^ resemblance to each other: but we no where find that
the Spaniards had Druids, and consequently their priesthood
was different from that of the Gauls,
CHAPTER X.
IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS.
SECTION FIRST.
THEIR RELIGIOJV IJV GEJ^ERAL.
FROM the sameness in the original of the
the ^Gerniam be- ^"^^®"* Gauls and Germans, as is clearly pro-
ing the same with yen by John Pinkerton, in his Dissertation
that of the Gauls,
their respective Upon the Goths, we might expect to find a
shnUai"^ ^^^ ''^^^ great conformity in their religion. Accord-
===== ingly the affinity is so great, that they wor-
shipped almost the same Gods, saving but a few exceptions.
Neither of them had any other temples but the sacred groves,
for which they had a, high veneration; nor other statues of their
Gods, but the trees, reckoning it derogatory to the Divinity to
represent him in any manner whatsoever; but this is to be un-
derstood of both, only in regard to their primitive religion.
These groves bore also the names of the Gods to whom they
were consecrated. It was in these sacred groves, after the
manner of the Gauls, that the ancient Germans kept the repre-
sentations of their Gods, whatever those representations were,
nor were they permitted to place them elsewhere. In those
groves did both these people offer their sacrifices, and of all
trees the oak was most respected by each nation: no sacrifice
CHAP. X. roOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. £95
SEOT. I. THEIR RELIGION IN GE^IERAL.
was offered either in Gaul or Germany till they had covered
the altar with leates of that tree. The Greeks, to mention it
by the way, practised the same ceremony; Apollonius Rho-
Dius, speaking of the solemn sacrifice offered by the Argo-
nauts befox'e their setting out, says, after raising an altar upon
the sea-shore, they covered it with branches and leaves of the
oak. 1 might pursue the parallel between the religion of
those two people to a much greater length; but it will suffice
to instance two other very similar characters. The j^rsi is,
that in their religious assemblies, as well as in those that w'ere
merely civil, Jjoth these people had a custom of appearing in
arms. The second is, that unhappy conformity in human sa-
crifices which both of them offered up to their Gods. Some
modern authors will have it that those two nations did not
really sacrifice men to their Gods; that the ground of the mis-
take is, that they actually did put to death their captives, shut
up in tliose large machines of osier, which, as we have said,
they made use of upon such occasions; but that this barbarous
custom was not a sacrifice — a mere allegation which all antiquity
denies; for not only Caesar, but Tacitus, Strabo, Lucan, and
many others declare the fact so pei'emptorily, that it is not
possible to clear those people from the imputation.
___________ However, as every people take the liberty
Nevertheless ^f making what innovations they think proper
there are some .
points of dif- in the religion of their forefathers, frequently
ference between .'. ^i-, , r-u
tiiem. mtroducmg new Gods in the place or old
======= ones; and as they seldom fail to adopt those
of the countries which they come to inhabit, so we shall find
some difference between the religion of the Gauls and that of
the Germans. Their Priesthood accordingly was not the
same; for, the Germans had not Druids as the Gauls and the
inhabitants of Britain; though they had, like them, a great res-
pect for their Priests. Indeed this respect was so great, ac-
296 IDOLATRY OP THE ANCIENT GERMANS. CHAP. X.
THEIR RELIGION IN GENERAL. SECT. 1,
cording to Tacitus, that their Priests alone were permitted to
chastise offenders, even to bind and castigate them; and, for the
most part, it was not to punish the person for the faults he had
committed, nor was it in obedience to the orders of their su-
periors, that the castigation was inflicted, but, as they said, be-
cause such was the pleasure of the Gods. Again, it was the
province of their Priests to remove from the sacred groves, the
representations of their Gods, which they carried into the field
of battle. What those representations of their Gods were, the
author does not say; he only assures us, that they had no sta-
tues, so that it seems difiicult to reconcile the two passages,
which allude to those repi-esentations, and deny them statues.
They were probably some rough symbols, such as the sword,
by which the Scythians represented the God Mars. The au-
thor of the History of the Gallic Religion, is of opinion that the
custom of carrying the images of their Gods to war, which
was among several nations of Germany^ particularly among the
Celts^ had been derived from the Fhenicians, who in like man-
ner carried their Gods to war; or even from the Hebrews, who
had frequently in their camp the ark of the covenant.
•■ As Julius C^sar, of all the Ancients, has .
What C.^SAR . , r 11 r . . ,.
says of the reli- given the lullest account of the religion ot
gion of the Ger. ^^^ Qauls, SO Tacitus is the historian who
■ has enlarged most upon that of the Germans.
For, whether it was that Cesar did not sufficiently know that
people, or that not having conquered them, he was the more
indifferent about studying their manners and religion; or lastly,
that from his time to that of Tacitus, the religion and man-
ners of that ancient people had undergone many changes, the
former only says upon the subject of their religion, that " The
Germans own no other Gods but those whom they see, and
from whom they derive some sensible benefit, as the Sun, Vnl~'
CHAP. X. roOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. 297
SECT. I. THEIR RELIGION IN GENERAL.
can^ (that is, /rej, and the Moon: as to others, they have not
so much as heai'd of their names.
z=;:=^=== But Tacitus, in his book entitled De Mo-
cord'ne Tb" Taci- ^*^"* Germanorum, and in several parts of his
Tus, under sevei-iil History, is very full and particular upon this
heads, viz. — 1st.
The origin of subject; and I cannot do better than bring to-
the Germans from ^ , , ^, , , r . ^ i
Wx^iv God Tuiston. S^ther here, the whole of what he says upon
~ ' the subject, with some additional reflections.
In the first place, he says, in the beginning of that book, " The
Germans acknowledged a God Tuistoriy who derived his original
from the Earth, and had a son named Mannus, of whom that peo-
ple were descended. This Mannus had three sons, who gave their
names to the Ingtevones, the Henniones,^ and the Ista-vones, to
whom were also joined the Marsi, the Gambrivii, the Suevi,
and the Vandals. As the Germans wrote nothing, any more
than the Gauls, it was in verses committed to memory, that
those ancient genealogies were contained." The German
authors, and Schoedius in particular, who has composed a very
learned treatise upon the Ger?nan Gods, have tortured them-
selves in explaining these genealogies, alledging that they dis-
covered in the words quoted by Tacitus, terms of the Teutonic
language, which is not without foundation. For my part, I am
inclined to think that Tuiston, as to his original, was quite un-
known, and that this is the reason why he was said to be the
son of the Earth. As for his son Mannus, it signifies in the
language of the country, a man.
■ Tacitus tells us that " An ambassador of
2nd. Jilars, Mer-
cury, Hercules, Cy- the Tencteri, a German nation near the Rhine,
priiicipul bivini- g^^e thanks to the Gods of the country, and
ties ot several particulai'lv to Mars:'^ hence we might con-
C^rman nations. ir j o
====: elude that Mars was the first and principal
God of that warlike nation; and Vossius thinks he was among
the Gerinans the same with the Sun: but, in opposition tathis
VOL. n. P p
298 IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. CHAP. X.
THEIR RELIGION IN GENERAL. SECT. I.
inference, we have it from Tacitus, in another part of his
book, that Mercury was their chief God, " Deorum maximum
Mercurium colunt" and that they offered to him human sacri-
fices. Hercules^ according to the same author, Avas one of
the great Gods of the Gernzcns, and to him, as to Mars, they
offered animal sacrifices; " Hcrculem ac Martem concisis ani-
inalibus placant." " A remote people in the extremities of
Germany " says our author," worship Cybele in a singular man-
ner, since their ceremony consists in carrying, in the feasts of
that Goddess, the figures of boars} which serve instead of arms,
offensive and defensive, to those who carry them, and shelter
them from eveiy danger, even in the midst of fire and slaugh-
ter." Tacitus, in this place, undoubtedly speaks conformably
to the ideas of the Romans. We may however presume that
this nation paid particular worship to the Earthy regarded by
all idolaters as the common mother of Gods and men. Those
Barbarians were probably much addicted to hunting, and lived
in a great measure upon the boars they slew, those animals
being common in the forests, and likewise made offerings of
them to her in sacrifice; for the victims were commonly taken
from such things as were used for food. The Nahar-vali,
another German nation, had a consecrated grove, whose Priest
was dressed like a woman. The Roman historians believed
that they worshipped therein the Gods Castor and Pollux.
But in their country the God to whom this grove was conse-
crated was named Mcis, and no statue of him was to be seen:
nor had those historians any other foundation for believing Cas-
tor and Pollux were there adored, but a tradition that the .dr-
g'onauts in their "return from Colchis, had embai'ked again, and
bad even entered into the northern seas. Probably also from
the long wanderings of Ulysses, they fancied that there were
vestiges of his having been in this country, and that certain
honors were there paid him: but the .historian himself who re*
CHAP. X. IDOLATRY OP THE ANCIENT GERMANS. -299
SECT. I. THEIR RELIGION IN GENERAL.
lates this fable, seems to give no credit to it. " A part of
the Suevi" says our author again, " sacrifice to Isia. How
they came to adopt that foreign Divinity I know not: only the
figure of a galley under which they represent her, shows that
she had been brought to them from some other place, by sea.
— The same people," continues he, " worship the Earth, or
Cybele^ the mother of the Gods, whom they call Herta.
. Taoitus, having spoken of the Gods of the
ligious custom Tii ^nciejit Germans, goes on to mention several
honor of Cybek.— religious customs that prevailed among them.
their observance
of the auspices. One of the most singular is that, according to
human sacrifices. ^^^^ historian, which was practised in honor
- of Herta or Cybele, in an island of the ocean
inhabited by Germans. « In an island of the ocean," says he,
" is a sacred grove, in the midst whereof a covered chariot is
religiously preserved, which none are permitted to touch but
the Priest; and he alone knows the precise time when the Divi-
nity of the place vouchsafes her presence therein. Then that
minister yokes in the chariot two heifers, puts them forward,
and accompanies them with profound veneration. In every
place which the Divinity deigns to visit, all occupations cease
for a time, and give place to festivals and rejoicings: war also
ceases, when they lay down their arms, and this is the only pe-
riod that they enjoy peace and quiet; which continues no longer
than till the Priest, perceiving the Goddess to grow sick with
the society of mortals, leads her back to the sacred grove,
where the chariot, the veil with which it was overspread, and
the Goddess herself, if you will take their word for it, are
plunged into a secret lake, into which the ministers throw
themselves after her. Hence arises among that people a reli-
gious terror, and a holy ignorant admiration of what those may
be supposed to see, who thus resolutely perish. These peo-
ple," continues Tacitus, " are more observant than any other
500 IDOLATRY OF THE AXCIENT GERMANS. CHAP. X
THEIR RELIGION IN GENERAL. SECT. I.
nation, of the fiight of birds. They also make use of lots, in
which they put great faith, though their manner of taking them
is very simple: they cut clown a branch of a fruit tree, and divide
it into several small parts, on each of which they put a particu-
lar mark, and then throw them all at I'andom upon a white
vestment. If the consultation be public, he who presides is
the chief Priest of the nation; if it be private, the master of the
family officiates, who, after putting up a prayer to the Gods
and I'aising his eyes to heaven, takes up the twigs three times,
and mterprets them according to the marks with which they
are distinguished. If they be not favourable, they consult no
more for that day; if, on the contrary, they prognosticate good,
they likewise have recourse to the auspices, which they take
from the flight and chirping of birds, and from horses, which
are maintained at the public charge in those sacred groves.
These horses are white, and are never employed in any labour.
The Priest, with the king or head of the nation, yoke them in
a sacred chariot, put them in motion, and observe, their snort-
ing and neighing; nor is there any omen upon which they lay
greater stress, than upon that which they take in this way.
They have also another sort of omen, to which they have re-
course in time of war in order to know the event. For this ef-
fect, they endeavour by all means to get one of the enemy into
their hands, wl7om they match in a duel with one of their own
party, and they believe that the general advantage will bc^on
his side who gains the victory in single combat. The Suevi,
continues the same author, assembled together by their depu-
ties, at a certain season of the year, in a wood which the reli-
gion of the country had consecrated, and ushered in their ce-
remonies, by the horrid one of putting a man to death.*
* To theae passages touching the religion of the ancient Germans, Taci-
Tus adds others with respect to their manners, which are not to our pur-
CHAP. X. IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. 301
THEIR RELIGION IN GENERAL.
■ From what we have said on the authority of
of ^ie''pltpies ^^^^^ ^^ Tacitus, for the other Ancients,
of their religion, as Strabo, Mela, and in a word, all those who
"~~~"'^"^~~ speak of this ancient people, are quite silent
as to their religion, it appears, 1st. That the Germans, espe-
cially in the earlier times, worshipped the physical objects, as
the Sun, and Moon, the Earth, and Elements, which were the
fi-rst Gods of all idolatrous nations. 2nd. That they wrote no-
thing, contenting themselves with committing to memory what-
ever concerned religion and the worship. of the Gods. 3rd.
That their only temples, as well as those of the Gauls, were
the forests, which they hardly durst look upon, so great was
their veneration for those sacred places. 4th. That they were
forbid to picture and make images of their Gods; and, yet that
they had certain representations of those Gods, which they car-
ried to the field of battle^ though we know not what those sym-
bolical representations were. 5th. That in their sacrifices they
offered up living victims as all other idolatrous nations. 6th,
That their principal Divinities were the Su7i, the Moon, Vul-
can or Jire, Tuiston the son of the Earth, or au unkiionvn God,
Mars, or the God of War, Mercury or Teutates, Hercules, Ai-
ds, Cybele or Herta, that is the Earth, and Isis. 8th. That
they were much addicted to the science of Augury, to Divina-
tion, and to other superstitions that were peculiar to them-
selves. Lastly, that they had a high veneration for their
pose. However, I shall subjoin that respecting- their deportment to their
women i^commonly as handsome and pretty as they were chaste and vir-
tuous), because it is so exemplary. " The Germmis, says he, have a vast
respect and value for their women, in whom they think they discern some-
thing heavenly and divine. They impart to them the knowledge of their
most secret and most important affairs, and often even entrust them wit!i
the care thereof, as well as with the administration of what concern tlie
public good. However they do not go so far as to account them Divinities."
3Q2 roOLATRY OP THE AJSTCIENT GERMANS. CHAP. X.
THEIR SUPERSTITIONS. SEOT. II.
Priests, who had a vast influence over them. This is the
amount of what the Ancients knew concerning the religion of
the Germans; and it is not surprising that it is so limited,
since those people were very little known to them, and were
not subdued till very^ late; whence I think one may conclude
with a great deal of reason, that they preserved their primitive
religion longer than the Gauls, who were subject to the Ro-
mans long before them. However, as they were at last sub-
dued in their turn, there is the highest probability that they
adopted afterwards -a part of the religion of their conquerors,
and as time has preserved to us some monuments that exhibit
Gods whom neither CissAR nor Tacitus were acquainted with,
of these I shall speak at some length, after giving some ac-
count of the superstitions of that ancient people.
SECTION SECOND.
SUFERSriTIOJ\rS OF THE ^J^CIEJVT GERMJJ^'S.
- One of the most ancient superstitions of the
th ^Zr^w^which Crermana, and at the same time the most ge-
were six inch fi- neral; since it was also common to the Swedes
gures, with imagi-
nary powers over and Danes, is that of the Alrunx. This su-
ihe ives an ^or- pg^-stj^Q^ consisted in having in their houses
'i I small figures from six inches to a foot, and
very rarely a foot and a half in height, representing some ma-
gicians, which they believed to have so great virtues, as to have
at their disposal the lives and fortunes of men. These small
figures were made of the roots of the toughest plants, espe-
cially of the mandrake; and they gave them commonly the
figure of a woman, but rarely that of a man: they dressed them
immediately, and kept them laid up in some secret place.
CHAP. X. IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. 3.03
SECT. II. THEIR SUPERSTITIONS*.
whence they were never taken out but to be consulted. Figures
of them may be seen in Keisler's Celtic Antiquities. Lam-
BEcius, in his Catalogue of the Imfierial Library, has given
others that are all rough and overgrovm with hair.
- , It vifould be but a waste of time to insist on
the origin of jhe ^jj ^j^^ fabulous Stories that have been and
plant irom which
they are formed, still are delivered about the origin of these
and t]ie ceremony ,. , „
of plucking it: uttle figures; and I should be ashamed to re-
~^^^~~^~^~~^ late seriously any part of such impertinent
stuff: what we shall notice however may have its use, and mor»
tify the pride of man, by showing him into what absurdity and
extravagance weak and criminal curiosity may be carried
These figures are thought to be formed of a plant that grows
under the gibbet, from the urine that drops from a man who
had been unjustly hanged. The root of this plant we are told
entirely resembles the human figure; as is said, though with-
out foundation, of that of the mandrake. To pull it up is an en-
terprise of danger; for, say they, when one forces it to leave
the soil where it is nourished, it raises such a loud cry as to
kill the man who plucks it. To prevent this accident, he stops
his ears close with wax, as Ulisaea did, that he might not
hear the fatal song of the Sirens; then he fastens the plant to
the tail of a black dog, and by presenting to that animal pieces
ef meat or bread suspended above him, he makes an effort to
jump up to it, by which motion he draws with him the fatal
root, and drops down dead with the noise that it makes. As
the occasion, just mentioned, to which the growth of these
Mrunce was owing, made them very rare, they fell upon a way
to find other originals for them; but for the most part they are
roots, as we have said, of the toughest plants, which they pol-
ish, and to which they adapt members, hair, &c, to fashion them
to such a resemblance as they desire.
304 IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. CHAP. X.
THEIR SUPERSTITIONS. SECT. II.
- When one has the good luck to have such
the possession of
them supposed to figures in his house or about his person, he
blesshies-— "^ ^ ° reckons himself happy, he is no longer appre-
• hensive of danger, but expects from these
figures all sorts of blessings, especially health, for it is chiefly
to that purpose they are employed. They steep them in water
to procure fruitfulness tp barren women, and a happy delivery
to those who ai'e pregnant. Diseases the most obstinate against
remedies, even those of cattle and domestic animals, yield in-
stantaneously to this pretended specific. Let a judge be ever
so adverse to a party, he changes his mind in his favour so
soon as he procures one of those figures and keeps it about his
person: but what is still more wonderful, it discloses all the se-
crets of futurity, and that either by a motion of the head, or
even by expressing itself in a manner very intelligible to the
happy persons who have it in their possession.
, We will not be surprized after this, at their
they were objects esteeming them the most considerable of their
of tratnc; and °
were scrupulously house-hold Gods or Lares; at their paying re-
nursed as children . . ....
are: ligious duties to them, and even at their being
■ fain to purchase them at a vast price rather
than be without them — for the quacks made a public traffic of
them. The religious duties which, they paid to them, consist-
ed in changing their clothes every new moon; in putting into
small chests, wherein they were kept, silk and wool for them
to lie soft upon; in washing them every Saturday with wine and
water, and in giving them at every meal a mess of meat and
drink, otherwise they would cry, as we are told, like children
who suffer thirst or hunger.
GHAP. X. roOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. 305
THEIR SUPERSTITIONS.
The learned have not spared their labour in
this ancient su- searching into the origin of so ancient a cus-
perstition is of un-
certain original, tom in Germany^ which they trace back to the
tion'' ""^ "'* '^^^Y time of their first idolatry; though in
' ■ later times they added to this rite a great
many superstitions unknown to the ancient Germans. Some of
these authors think the origin of those little fi^^ures is owing to
a similar conception which the first people entertained of the
ark of the covenant; and as these people believed that Moses
had inclosed therein figures that were not known, though their
virtue was such that the ark brought prosperity to all the
places where it rested, so they would feign that the Germans
made those little images which they kept handsomely inclosed
in little chests. Others who do not trace their original so far
back, derive it from the use which the Greeks made of the
mandrake. Were not these figures more probably the work of
German women, who were accounted to have the gift of pre-
diction, and^ere called Alrunx, which signifies, all mysterious?
Upon this principle, might they not have been so many house-
hold Gods, or Lares, Avho took care of houses and the persons
who dwelt in them? In this case we must conclude that they
were not so ancient as some pretend, since, according to Taci-
tus, the Germans in the earliest ages had no images, no hu-
man figures of their Gods, but represented them only by some
symbols. Be that as it may, this superstition so often con-
demned by councils, still continues among that people, so diffi-
cult is it to extirpate error that has been perpetuated from age
to age.
VOL. II. Q q
306 IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. CHAP. X.
THEIR SUPERSTITIONS. SECT. II.
:=;:::==== Tacitus informs us that the Germans for-
visitt oHh^Gcds ^^^^Y believed that the Gods sometimes ap-
lo men, and festi- peared under a human figure and conversed
vals prepared for
them. 3. Their with men, joined in their affairs, and even
bond of friend- ^^-^^^^^ ^^ partake of the food that they set
■I before them. The same author, followed
herein by Gregory of Tours^ says of these people, that in ho-
nor of their Gods they had stated festival days, during which
they prepared for their feasts whatever they had rare and ex-
quisite in its kind; that they divided the dishes of meat, and af-
ter leaving a part thereof for the Gods, the guests who were in-
vited to the feast ate the rest — a custom which has a great re-
semblance to the lectisternia of the Greeks and Romans^ whereof
we shall give some account in its proper place. A supersti-
tious custom still more remarkable, was that which the ancient
Germans pi'actised at their meals, where, as a bond of inviola-
ble friendship, they drew blood from each one of the company,
and all drank of it one after another.
"■■ Another superstition of this people, upon
4. Respecting di-
vination, of which which I shall also insist a little, was divination,
women made pub- ^ i • i ,i ^^ • , i j r,-.,
lie profession, and to which they were rehgiously devoted. Ihe
\yere deified after -vvomen were the persons who dealt in it, and
death. ^
^==:==i there was no sorcery nor hellish art which they
had not recourse to for the vain knowledge of future events,
which they made public profession of, foretelling to those who
came to consult them. The opinion which prevailed of their
having an insight into futurity, was one of the chief causes of
that high veneration and vast regard, which, as we have said on
the authority of Tacitus, the Germans had for their women;
and the reason why that historian says something divine was
thought to be discerned in them, was undoubtedly from the
intercourse they were imagined to have with the Gods, who
disclosed to them what was to come. The death of those wo-
CHAP. X. IDOLATRY OP THE ANCIENT GERMANS. 307
SECT. H. THEIR SUPERSTITIONS.
men did not put a period to the respect that was paid to them;
on the contrary it increased it; and from mere civil respect,
raised them to the honor of adoration. Indeed most of them
after death were regarded as Divinities, and had the same wor-
ship paid them with the other Gods. It is true, Tacitus names
among those deified women none but Velleda; but no doubt
there were others. And the German authors are even of opi-
nion that the Mother Goddesses, of whom we shall speak at the
end of this chapter, and of whom several monuments have
been discovered in many provinces of Germany, were no other
but those soothsaying women who after their apotheosis^ were
invoked for the health of private persons, and of the emperors.
■'■ As the Germans were also of opinion, as
5. Respecting
the immortality of well as the other Pagans, that the souls of the
them'after^death^ ^^^^ assumed an aerial form, and delighted f4-
and letters addres- ^j^gj. [^ tjjg tombs, or in wandering about, they
sea to the dead.
===== took care to supply them with meat and drink;
a custom which they probably had received from the Scythians,
who practised it of old, as we are told by Herodotus. Hence
those pots, those vases, those knives, and so many other uten-
sils which are daily discovered in the ancient tombs of the Ger-
mans, Gauls, and some other people. I shall add further, as a
superstition which was common to the Germans and the Gauls,
that when they burnt their dead, they threw into the pile, let-
ters which they had written to their friends in the other world.
308 IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. CHAP. X.
IRMINSUL. SECT. HI-
SECTION THIRP.
IBMIJVSUL.
v; ■ — The learned, and particularly Abbe Veutot,
Hib temple ile- .
stroyedbyCliarle- have made dissertations upon this Saxon God,
tnagne: hisstatue, ^^ ^j^^^ ScH^Dius had said something before.
syiTibols, and o- °
tiier endowments jj^ t^^t part of ancient Germany inhabited by
of the temple.
' the Westfihalian Saxons, near the river Dime-
lia, is a high mountain, upon which stood a temple of this
God, in the middle of the citadel or fortress of Erisbourg.
Charlemagne, in one of his expeditions into Saxony in the year
772, having taken this fortress, destroyed the temple of Irmin-
sul, and the idol of that God. This edifice, as we are told by
Meibonius, was equally esteemed for the elegance of its ar-
chitecture, as for the veneration of the people who had enriched
it with their offerings, which Charlemagne knew how to make
good use of — drawing from it vast sums in gold and silver.
The statue of the God, holding in one hand a standard whereon
was pictured a rose, and in the other a pair of scales, was
placed upon a column of exquisite workmanship. The first of
these two symbols denotes the unfading honor that is acquired
by true valour; the second the uncertainty of victory, which de-
pends sometimes upon the mjerest trifle, as the least thing is
capable of turning the scale when the balance is in equilibrio.
The figure of a bear which Irminsul wore upon his breast, and
that of a lion upon his buckler,, intimated the necessity of
strength, courage, and address, in all great enterprizes.
^ Thus the statue of Irminsul is described by
The above ac-
count as itregaids Kransius, and the figures belonging to it ex-
Lously d^Tsputed." P'^ined; but as he gives this description with
"■'-— "t— I f out citing any authority, it is considered by
CHAP. X. roOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. 309
SECT. III. IRMINSUL.
some to be a mere creature of imagination. The ancient Ger-
mans^ according to Tacitus, had no statues of their Gods; it is
therefore, say they, without foundation that the German author
mentions that of Irminsul, which the Abbe D*Esperh, who
lived in the thirteenth century, says was nothing but a bare
trunk of*a tree. But may we not vindicate Kransius, by say-
ing, that from the time of Tacitus to that of Charlemagne, the
religion of the ancient Germans had undergone various changes,
and that those people, once subdued, embraced, like others, the
usages and rites of their conquerors? An undeniable proof of
those changes is, that Tacitus likewise says the Germans had
no other temples but the woods, and yet we learn from history
that in the time of Charlemagne, Irminsul had a temple upon
the top of a hill, which that emperor demolished. Findin-g
himself master of Erisbourg, Charlemagne built a chapel upon
the ruins of this temple, and buried the statue with the column
that supported it. This statue being afterwards dug up by
Louis le Debonaire, it was transported to Hildersheim^ and from
that time the memorial of the destruction of that Idol has been
celebrated every year in that city, on the eve of the fourth Sun-
day of lent.
====: The learned are also divided as to the ques-
aw""'/n«w! t^°" who this God was. According to some,
who was proba. he was Mercury or Hercules, as his name
bly tlieir God
of war, whether seems to insinuate. But according to others,
n&vl\ Arndnki^^' ^.tisbourg being also named Marsfmrg, which
~^~~^^^~~~~ signifies the ybr; of Mars, we may very readily
believe that the ancient Saxons, a warlike people, worshipped
the God of war, as did the Scythians and other northern na-
tions. Wernehus Rosevincius took this statue for a Pan-
theon figure, representing at the same time Mars, Mercury,
Jfiollo, and Hercules. Some authors take this God to be the
same with Annhiius, the general of the Cherusci, who, after he
SIO IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. CHAP. X.
, tmw^ I ' :■ ..■" I,. 1. ■ I . ' , I , . , .11 —
NEHALENNIA. SECT. IV.
■w«««i^"i"^"""ipiii"^^^«"""i»^i""^"""ii"i»i»"ii™i""i"iiiii^i"iii""""ii"i"ii"™i^"i"^""""ii"""""iii"""i»p"
had defeated three of Vdrus's legions and obliged that general
to fall on his own sword, was esteemed the deliverer of his
country, and became its tutelar God: such is the opinion of
SojEDius, which is followed by Vertot.
■.- Irminsul had his Priests and Priestesses,
coSpaS'tuh ^ho had each their different functions. At
military parade, t^e feasts which were celebrated to his honor,
and court martial,
in which the the nobility made their appearance on horse-
Priests preside , , . , i r i
and punish. back, m complete armour, and alter a caval-
■ cade which they made around the column
whereon the Idol stood, they alighted, kneeled down, and of-
fered gifts to the Priests, who, according to Meibonius, were
chosen from among the most considerable of the nation. On
this occasion they examined into the conduct of those who had
served in the last war, and the Priests punished such as had
not done their duty, by beating them with rods. This severe
discipline they carried so far, as even to put to death those ge-
nerals who had lost a battle through bad conduct.
SECTION FOURTH.
JVEIMLEJVJVM.
••• ■ ■'-" - This Goddess, worshipped in the northern
of this Goddess parts of Germany, was quite unknown till on
found near Ze- ^^le 5th oi Januaru. 1646, an east wind blow-
la?id, m 1646; — ••' '
their general cha- ing violently towards Zelancl, the sea-coast
symbols. became dry near Doesburg, in the island of
===== Valchren, and thereupon were perceived the
ruins of houses that had been under water. Among those
ruins were altars, vases, urns, and statues^ of which last there
CHAP. X. roOLATRY OP THfi ANCBENt GERMANS. 311
SECT. IV. NEHALiENNIA.
were several that represented the Goddess J^ehalennia^ with
inscriptions bearing her name. These treasures of antiquity
were very soon made known to the curious; and Urge, in his
History of the Counts of Flanders^ has givfen the figures of
fourteen of the statues, all of them bearing the name of this
Goddess, one only excepted. Nor has Montfaucon neglected
them; of which you may find several figures in his Antiquities
Exfilained. Don James Martin also, has been at the pains
to give us all the attitudes in which this Goddess is represented
by those several stiatues; sometimes sitting, sometimes stand-
ing, an air always youthful, and a habit that covers her from
head to foot, are her general characteristics. The symbols that
surround her are usually a eornucofiia, fruits which she carries
in her lap, a basket, a dog, &c.
■ ." As one discovery commonly makes way for
known i?L;ii° Others, M. Keisle^ says, that upon a careful
and other places, examination of other Idols that are still in
as is proven by
inscriptions. Zeland, some were observed to have all the
""""""■""""* air of JVehalennia, though it was never once
suspected before. This at least is certain, that this Goddess
^wifis known in other places besides that province, since Guu-
TER quotes ati inscription found elsewhere, which is conse-
crated to this Divinity by Eriattius the son of Jucundus: Dea
N'ehal. Criattius Jucundi firo se et suis vatum solvit libens me-
rito: for there is no doubt but this is the name of JVehalennia
contracted. But though this should not be agreed to, it is how-
ever certain that this Goddess was worshipped in Britain,
since an insci'iption has been found there that bears her name
at full length. Some too will have it that an image in Mosaic
dug up at J^ismesj represents her; but this is very far from
being certain.
312 IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. CHAP. X.
'■ ■ The authors who have treated of this God-
She was proba-
bly one of the dess mostly agree that she was the Moon, or
Mother.Goddesses; ^^^^^^^ ^^^ Nevi-Moon; but all things being
— she was in- ' ° ^
voked for naviga- well considered and examined, it is more pro-
tion.
- . bable that she was one of the Mother-God-
desses, whom we shall speak of hereafter. The fruits, the
cornucopia, the dog, in a word, all the symbols that accompany
her, have a much greater relation to a rural Deity, as the Mo-
ther-Goddesses were, than to the Moon, with which certainly
they have no affinity. Monuments of those Mother-Goddesses
have been found in France, England, Italy, and Germany; no
wonder then that some of them have been found in Zeland, for
their worship was very extensive. JVefitune is three times
joined with the figure of Nehalennia, which gives ground to
believe that this Goddess was also invoked for navigation; and
this is confirmed by the inscription discovered in England,
wherein Secundus Sylvanus declares that he has fulfilled the
vow he had made to this Goddess for his success in carrying
on his trade in chalk.
SECTION FIFTH.
ISIS.
■ ■'■'- ■■ Of all the Divinities of the Pagan World,
Her worship ve-
ry extensive un- perhaps thei'e was not one whose worship was
ShrtheTii "«"■= g™"="y -■'"P'^l *an that of I,U.
came by it is un- Not that the various nations which embraced
(;ertain.
■ ' her worship adored her under the same name>
but in effect she was still the same, whether she was taken for
Tsis, for the Earth, for Cybele, for Diana, or for the Moon, See.
CHAP. X. roOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. 3 13
SECT. V. ISIS.
Hence those thousand names she was said to bear. Taci-
tus, who informs us that her worship had been propagated
even to the Suevi, a people distinguished among the ancient
Germans^ owns that he does not comprehend how it had passed
into so remote a countiy; and we may add, a country with which
they had so little commerce. What appeared difficult to the
Roman historian, may seem equally so to us; but such difficul-
ties serve only to stimulate the curiosity of the learned, and
give them special occasion for displaying their penetration.
Accordingly, how many conjectures have been offered as to the
manner in which those remote people might have come to the
knowledge of Isis? " If this Goddess," says Vossius, " is Eve,
(as in fact she is, since her name comes from the Hebretv word
ischa, which imports ivoman — by way of eminence), where is
the difficulty to. account for her being worshipped by so many
nations that knew her name by tradition?" " Why," says Clu-
vEuius, " might not the worship of Isis, known through all
jlsia, have been propagated to the extremities of Germany,
with the colonies that settled there?" The Sue-ui, according to
Don Pezron, having come from Asia, had, doubtless, embraced
the religion of that people. If Osiris, in those great expedi-
tions which DioDonus and other Ancients relate of him, pene-
trated to the very source of the Danube,^ according to the
opinion of M. Huet, might not gratitude have determined the
people of that country which he had visited, to deify him and
his spouse Isis, as well as other countries whei'e he had been,
whence his worship was even propagated throughout all Ger-
many, the Gauls, and Sjiain? It is true the name of Osiris was
unknown to those people, but they were no strangers to Bele-
niis, and the Sun, who were the same with that ancient king of
JEgyfit. Though none of these conjectures want probability,
for I take no notice of that of Aventinus, who in his annals of
the Boil, asserts, against the authority of all the Ancients, that
VOL. II. R r
314 IDOLATRY OP THE ANCIENT GERMANS. CHAP. X.
ISIS. SECT. V.
Isis accompanied her husband in his expeditions, and travelled
with him into Germany, to see Suevus, who reigned there at
that tinje; yet I am rather inclined to think the worship of this
Goddess might have been propagated to Germany, either by
means of Sesostris, who certainly penetrated not only into Col-
chis, where, according to Heuodotus, he left a colony, but even
into Thrace, where he left another under the conduct of Mars,
as we learn from Diodorus; or rather by means of the Gatds,
who had themselves received the worship of that Goddess
either from the Phenicians, who, in their way to Cadiz, had often
stopped upon the coasts of the Gaulsj or else from the Cartha-
genians, who, for a long time, had commeixe with the Gauls,
and introduced among them the worship of Saturn and some
other Deities, as we have already said. This last opinion I
take to be the most probable, and the figure of a galley, under
which they worshipped this Goddess, proves that her worship
had been brought by sea, and in all probability, immediately into
Gaul, whence it passed into Germany.
====== We need not be surprised that the Suevi
They represent-
ed her under the represented this Goddess under the figure of
but^for"what^rea- ^ ^^^P' since, as Tacitus observes, the an-
son IS also uncer- cient Germans were not permitted to picture
tain, as is tlie na-
ture of her sacri- their Gods under a human figure; yet they
' were allowed to have other symbolical repre-
sentations of them, as has been said. Accordingly, they took
the ship for the symbol of Isis, possibly to signify in what man-
ner her worship had been introduced into the west. For, what
some authors alledge, may be regarded as a mere improbable
conjecture, that the heavenly bodies, (those first Divinities),
were believed to be carried forward in their career in vehicles
like ships; so that Isis also, being taken physically for the
Moon, must, according to this conjecture, have had hers, which
induced the Suevi to represent her under the figure of a ship.
\
CHAP. X. IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. 315
SECT. VI. TUISTON AND MANNUS.
The ancient Germans certainly were not so well skilled in my-
thological fable, as to give into this refinement. I should ra-
ther think it was the fable which imports that this Goddess had
not only improved the arts but had given rules for navigation
and even invented sails, which made sailors put themselves
under her protection, and consecrate little ships to her upon
their return from their voyages, and deposit them in the tem-
ples; it being certain that the Egyptians paid religious venera-
tion to the ship of Jsis, as we learn from Lactantius the my-
thologist, circumstances too public not to be known to those
who embraced her worship: I should rather be inclined, I say,
to think' that this is what induced the Suevi to choose a ship,
rather than any other thing, for the symbol of this Goddess,
they not being permitted at least to represent her under a hu-
man figure. To conclude; as we know not what kind of
worship the Suevi paid this Goddess, Tacitus only saying
that they offered up sacrifices to her, all conjectures upon this
matter would be to no purpose, and we miist be content to
know as little on the subject as the Roman historian.
SECTION SIXTH.
TUJSTOJ\' AJ^D MAJ^MUS.
■ Among the Gods of the ancient Germans,
1. Ttdston, the m t^ r ^
founder of the Tacitus names Tuiston, the son ot the Earthy
t^rhTthetn'^the ^'^°^^ descendants by his son Man or Man-
use of letters, nus, peopled a great part of the country. The
Sec, was deified; —
;^^=::^=^=^ German authors make no doubt but tliis l^uis'-
ton, who passed for the son of the Earth only because his ori-
ginal was not known, had arrived in Germany from the first
316 IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. CHAP. X.
TUISTON AND MANNUS. SECT. VI*
ages. ScH^Dius is even of opinion that he was one of the
sons of J^'oah, and that he had introduced into Germany the
knowledge of the true God and the religion of the patriarch.
Nor does he stop here; but asserts that it was he who commu-
nicated to that country the use of writing and the alphabet, a
long time before Cadmus had made the same present to the
Greeks. In fine, if we may believe him, Tuiston is the true
father of the ancient Germans; he governed them, gave them
lawsj established their religious ceremonies, and acquired such
high veneration among his people that he was deified after his
death; which we may presume, says our author, for he does not
assert it, did not happen till after a long time: After having
thus given his opinion, Sch^dius quotes a long passage from
JosEPHUS, about the long life of the patriarchs, so lavish is
this author of his learning. As Tuiston, says he, saw that no-
thing he had devised Was capable of keeping his people within
bounds, he digested the laws into verses, which he obliged
them to sing both in public and private, that every one having
them always present in their minds, it might not tignossible to
forget them.
^^-—-—-—-——^ As the Germans had the same original with
—and supposed ^j^g Gauls, the learned are persuaded that
by some to be the
same as Paito, Tuiston, the founder of the German nation,
the father of the , • , xi, , r . r i
QauU. was the same with Pluto, the lather oi the
'~~"~~^~*~"~~ Gauls; and indeed there is a passage in Ce-
sar's Commentaries, which tends to confirm this conjecture.
" The Druids," says he, " give ont that the Gauls are come
from Dis or Pluto, who, after his death, was worshipped by
both nations as their father and founder, by the Gauls under
the name of P/m^o, and by the Germans under that of Tuiston,
and both of them erected statues to him in the woods."
CHAP. X. IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. 317
SECT. VII. SOME OTHER GERMAN DEITIES.
^^ Mannus succeeded his father, and had
2. Mannusy his three sohs, from whom, says Tacitus, des-
son, the father of ,
the Inff<svones,&.c. cended three nations; the Ingavones, the Ista-
also deified: ■ , , ,_ . ,, tt 1 1 ,,
their worship. vonesy and the Hermiones, He adds, " many
"~~~~ taking advantage of the free scope left to ima-
gination by a history of such antiquity, assert that this God had
other sons, whence descended the Marsii, the Gambrivii, the
Suevi, and the Vandali." In short, if etymology be sufficient
to prove the descent of those people from the grandsons of
Tuiston, the German authors and-. those of the neighbouring
countries will give us enough of them. They pretend too, that
in all those names are traces of the Teutonic language; and in
truth, some of their conjectures are not without foundation.
One of the principal ceremonies of the worship paid by
the ancient people of Oermany to their founder, and his son
Manrmsy was to sing their praises in verses, which Tacitus
says were very ancient.
section seventh.
SOME OTHER GERMJ!J\r DEITIES.
Samuel Gro^ser,^ in his .History of Lusa-,
Remarks upon (ja^ has given the figures of some Divinities
the singular fig-
ures which repre- of that country, from Avhom Montfaucon has
Deities^ viz, ^'"^ repeated them in the second volume of his ^n-
' tiguities Exfilained. Sch^dius had undoubt'
edly seen the like figures, since he makes mention of all those
Gods. Most of their statues are very singular, as well as the
symbols that accompany them; but one glance of the eye is bet-
ter than the most minute descriptions. Their names bear no
318 IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. CHAP. X.
SOME OTHER GERMAN DEITIES. SECT. VII.
manner of resemblance to those of the other Gods of the Pagan
world, and it is no easy matter to find out their significations.
====== The first of these figures, which bears the
1, Chhodo; — his
statue and sym- name of C/trodoy represents an old man, hc^v-
to be"^a?"m ^^^'^ headed, and standing bare-footed upon the
' back of a large fish which rests upon a pedes-
tal- He is covered with a robe that leaves no part exposed but
the head, the hands, and the feet; and is girt about the waist
with a scarf. In his left hand he holds a wheel, and in the
right a basket full of fruits and flowers. As this statue, with
its pedestal, was found in the fort of Harsbourg, formerly called
Salsbourg; Henninius and Grosser take it to be a Saturn who
was worshipped by the Saxons under the name of Seater, from
whom our Saturday is named; but if it be Saturn, the mytho-
logy of the Saxons must have been quite different from that of
the Greeks and Romans, who never represented that God with
such symbols. Grosser tells us this God was also adored in
the Hercinian forest by the Sla-vonians.
_ The second figure is that of the God Prono,
' 2. Phono;— liis ^j^q holds in one hand a spear, which is wrap-
statue and sym-
bols;— supposed ped about with a kind of flag. In the other
^Hce^^ ° ° ^ ' ^^i^d ^^ holds a scutcheon, which nearly re-
. sembles those of latter ages, and from which
we may infer that this Idol was adored in this country till very
late. Grosser alledges that this God presided over the courts
of justice, as also over the public market, that every thing
might be sold there with equity.
_________-__: The third figure represents the Goddess
3. Tbigia; — Trigla, who has three heads. This was, un-
supposed to be
IHana Tnvia. doubtedly, Diana, sumamed Trivia, and who
sss^=^^^:^= many consider to be the same as Hecate. She
is naked, with both hands raised to her breast.
CHAP. X. roOLATEY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. 319
SECT. VII. SOME OTHER GERMAN DEITIES.
, Porevithj who is represented by the fourth
4. Porevith;— g^at^g js a ygj.y singular idol. He has five
his statue and ' •' °
symbols; sup- heads, and the representation of a sixth upon
posed to be a God , ,., i • i ,, ^^
of -war. his breast, much like that which Minerva bore
^=^===^ upon her egis. He seems to be dressed in a
cuirass, and his five heads have one common covering, resem-
bling an ill shaped hat. His arms are extended on either side,
and his hands are empty. Around the pedestal which supports
the statue of this God, are a great number of swords, spears,
and a variety of other arms; which make some of the Ancient^.
think he had the charge of the spoils that were taken from the
enemy: probably he was a God of war.
.. The fifth statue represents Suantovith, who
5. SCANTOVITH; — • t-t
who possibly was "^s four heads, and is clad in a cuirass. Gros-
or Mars' °' ^^^ ^^y^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ the -Swn, or Afiollo^ the
=-====--———--—■ principal Deity of Lusatia; but we may also
take him for Mars.
... The Deity which is represented by the sixth
6. Radigast;— figure is called Radigast, who bears the head
his statue and ^ --. •
symbols. of an Ox upon his breast, an eagle upon his
"~~~~~~~~^~' head, and holds a spear in his left hand.
■ The Goddess Shva is represented by the
7. SiwA; — her
statue and sym. seventh statue. She is naked; her hair falls
bols; — was proba- i i • j , i , j • , ,
bly Pomona but "Chind as low as her knees; and m one hand
supposed to be gj^g holds a bunch of grapes, while in the other
I enus.
^s;;;;;^^^;^;;^^; shc lias an apple. Shc is takctt for Venus., or
for the Goddess of health. But her symbols would indicate her
to be a rural Divinity, perhaps the Pomona of Lusatia.
• The eighth figure is that of the God Flijas;
8. Fltas; — his
three statues and who is represented in three manners so differ-
respects dHTer^"^ ^"^> ^'^^* ^^^''^ ^^ "°* ^^^ ^^^ same name which
' occurs upon the three statues, we should be at
a loss to recognize them as being the same Divinity. For, in
320 IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. CHAP. X.
■' ■ —
THEIR HEROES. SECT. VIII.
one he appears as a robust man covered with a great cloak;
bearing partly upon his head, and partly upon his left shoulder,
a lion, one of whose hind feet he supports with his left hand,
while in his right hand he holds a flaming torch. Upon the se-
cond he appears in the form of a skeleton, half covered with a
cloak, with the lion and the torch as in the first. Lastly, upon
the third, he is like a man deformed, sitting upon a|^hair, with
his head crowned, his feet of a monstrous shape and armed with
talons, and the torch in the left hand.
___________ To conclude; we find in Grosser inscrip-
9. Latobius; — tions dug up in Carint/iia^ whereon mention is
the ^sadapius of j r i ^ , t
the Carinthians. made ot the God Latobius; and by the same
===== inscription, it appears that he was invoked as
the God of health, and that he was the Msculapms of the Ca-
rinthians. We might enumerate names of several other
Deities which occur upon inscriptions dug up in this and the
neighbouring countries, without being able to shed any further
light upon the subject-r— so infinite were objects of idolatry in
ancient times.
SECTION EIGHTH.
THEIR HE ROE S.
Hercules, king
Every country having had its Heroes and
f ihe Hoii took S^'^^^^ Men, who were insensibly promoted to
the lion for his divine honors by their fellow-citizens, we may
symbol, and was
deified after his well suppose that such would not be wanting
ea 1, asa o o ^j^qj^™ ^j^g warlike Germans; and from this
' source, indeed, the greater part of their Dei-
ties, of whom we have been speaking, originated. Among
other Heroes they had a Hercules; for in what country is not
CHAP. X. IDOLATRY OP THE ANCIENT GERMANS. 321
SECT. VIII. THEIR HEROES.
that name to be found as the honorary appellative of some war-
like prince? and we have seen that Tacitus reckons him among
the principal Divinities of the ancient Germans. This Hercules,
we are told, was called Allemannus ; he was king of the Boii,
who always esteemed him as the father and founder of their na-
tion. If we may rely on Aventinus, he is the last king of
Germany that Berosus mentions. We know not in what pe-
riod of time he lived; but we are told by Eusebius and St. Je-
ROM, that he was the most ancient Hercules of all. Be that as
it will, this prince was truly heroical and courageous, and had
therefore taken the lion for his symbol, wherein he has been
imitated by several kings of the country. His subjects deified
him after his death, looked upon him as the God of war, and in-
voked him always from that time, before they gave battle, mak-
ing the army resound his praises, which they sung with great
solemnity.
■ The other German nations had also each of
other Heroes of them their Heroes, whom they in process of
several other Ger- ^^^^ worshipped as real Divinities. Thus Ir-
man nations. *
- minsul was the Hero of the Saxons. Radagai-
su^ was also the Hero of the Heruli; that warlike Radagaisua
who invaded Italy with a formidable army, and was defeated by
Stilicho. Basin, king of the Francs, is likewise reckoned
among the Heroes, and was promoted to divine honors after
his death.
Ss
522 roOLATEY OF THE ANCrE^^T GERMANS. CHAP. X,
THEIR CONSECRATED CITIES. SECT. IX.
SECTION NINTH.
THEIR COJ\rSECRATED CiriES.
r ■ ■ ' Among the Cities of ancient Germany which
Hambourg,Mars- . , ^. . .
purg, &c, were were consecrated to some particular Divimty-y
consecrated to • reckoned Hambourg. which is thoueht to have
certain Deities. -s' =>
s==^=^=- been consecrated to Jupiter Hammon; Mars^
fiurg, or the town of Mars; and LuneSourg, which plainly bears
the name of the Moon. Besides these Cities which were
called after the names of the Gods who were regarded as their
patrons or protectors, there were many others which it would
be needless to enumerate.
===== Particular Provinces, also, had certain tu-
Some Provinces
had particular telary Gods in preference to others. Thus the
those they wor- ^''aharvales, as we have said on the authority
shipped in com- ^f Tag IT US, gave particular worship to Castor
mon.
. and Pallux} the Sueui to Isis; and the Boii to
Hercules. Venus was especially worshipped at Magdebourgi
Trigla or Diana Triformis among the Faridals, who in honor to
her bred a black horse; which the Priests, to whose care he was
committed, led forth to the field, of battle, to draw predictions
by his means. These people paid divine honors also to Bel-
buch, and to Zeomebuch, whom they looked upon as the good
and evil Genii; for the names of those tw o Genii signify, the
•white God, and the black God. In short, as these people
with other Pagan nations had their particular or topical Gods,,
so they had common ones who were worshipped in all^the
country, such as the Sun^ thQ Moon^^hCy as we have already
seen.
CHAP. X. roOLATRY OP THE ANCIENT GERMANS. 323
SECT. X. THE MOTHER GODDESSES.
SECTION TENTH.
THE MOTHER GODDESSES.
-. . In this SECTION, which I set apart for the.
Disposition of consideration of the Mother-Goddesses, who
the subject under
four heads, viz;— were wprshipped equally by the Germans, the
* Gauls, the Spaniards, and the Britons, besides
many other ancient people, I shall examine — 1st. who those
Goddessed were? 2nd. where they were worshipped? 3rd. what
was their original? 4th. what sort of worship was paid them:
and in the course of these inquiries we shall necessarily have
allusion occasionally to their functions. Bat, in order to con-
duct the investigation to greater advantage, we will first re-
count the monuments we have remaining, which have reference
to those Goddesses. Among those monuments there are some
bas-reliefs, and a vast number of inscriptions. 1st. The first of
the bas-reliefs is at Metz upon the frontispiece of an ancient
temple. There we see three figures of women standing; of
whom two are holding fruits like pine-apples in their hands,
wJiile the third seems to have some of them wrapped up in
her robe: and the -whole is explained by an inscription Xp this
effect, Those of the streets, or cf the Village of Peace, have con-
secrated to t'he Mothers this monument of the glory of the impe-
rial House. 2nd. The second is at Lyons, wgon the.gate of the
Church of Aisnay. It represents likewise three women, but
in a sitting posture, with much the same air, and the same
draperies as those on the monument of Metz. She who sits
in the middle holds in her hand a cornucopia, and fruits in her
lap; the other two hold an apple in each hand. The inscription
which is brief, is Matribus Augusti. -^rd. The third bas-rclipf
324 IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. CHAP. X
THE MOTHER GODDE&SES. SECT. X.
is that of Munster-Eilden in the dutchy of Juliers. There we
also see three Goddesses sitting, whose laps are full of fruits.
The inscription upon this monument is to this effect, Tiberius
Claudius Maternus has discharged his -void to the Mothers or
Matrons of Valchendorf. At the bottom of these bas-re-
liefs are to be seen a Priest and Priestess accompanied with a
Camillus, or subordinate minister. 4th. The fourth and last of
these bas-reliefs was found in a town oiZ eland. It represents
three Goddesses sitting, by whom is a Priestess standing,
while the Camillus who accompanies her is pouring a liquor
upon the altar, whose sides are charged with cornucopias.
■ From these monuments and inscriptions the
1st The Mother j ^^g^j j^ delivered their conjectures with
Goddesses, who •*
were originally respect to the Mother-Goddesses. In the
THREE, were pos-
sibly the Parc^:-- first place, it is evident that they were three
'—————"-^ jjj number; as those bas-reliefs unanimously
testify. F. Menestrier, who is of opinion that they were but
three in number, supposed at first that they denoted the
three Gauls: but he had not considered that the three Gauls
were represented by three men's heads, as may be seen upon a
medal of Galba, with these words, Tres Gallia: accordingly
that author quitted this notion afterwards. M. Keisler
wrote a Dissertation to prove that the Mother-Goddesses were
the wives of the Druids, who were in such high veneration
among the ancient Gauls; and he chiefly relies upon Caesar's
calling them Matres Familias, and upon Plutarch's giving
them the epithet of sacred. But we may ask this author, why
the Gauls had deified only three of those Priestesses? Were
they not all equally consecrated to the worship of the Gods?
Did they not all pi'ofess to have the gift of prediction? And did
not their ministration render them all equally respected? The
answers to these questions will refute the idea of their having
been exclusively the wives of the Druids, if anv of those
GHAP. X. IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. 325
SECT. X. THE MOTHER GODDESSES.
Priestesses had that honor conferred on them.— — Bochart,
and after him, F. Menestrier, would have those three God-
desses to be the same with the Parca; and this opinion, which
those two authors had not thoroughly examined, has been sup-
ported with a great deal of erudition by Don James Martin in
his History of the Religion of the Gauls. But as we cannot
make their original correspond with what we shall say of that
of the Parce in the next volume, we cannot confirm the opinion
of their identity with these powerful Goddesses; (which never-
theless, carries with it great probability, and which possibly
might be established, except for the loss of facts) nor afe there
any traces of similitude observable in their symbols. At least
it seems to have been a prevailing opinion that they terrified
people by their apparitions; and this perhaps is the reason why
Theocritus, speaking of three nymphs, who were probably
the same with the Mother-Goddesses, says they were a terror to
the country people: and they might well be esteemed a terror
to timid persons, as we shall see that they in all probability ori-
ginated from the ancient idea of the world being filled with
good and evil Genii. Other authors have contented them-
selves as to the question who these Goddesses were, by saying
that they were rural Divinities, who were honored in the Gauls
and in Germany by the country people; but though they were
rural Deities, their worship was equally known in the cities;
for, were there no other circumstances but the monuments of
Metz and of Lyons in proof of it, from these it would be cer-
tain that celebrated cities worshipped those Goddesses.
■ Besides these general conceptions of the
but several coun- Mother-Goddesses, there were ranked amonp-
tries conierred "
the same honor them several women by their respective na-
upon several he- , . . , . , ,. . .
roiiies. tions, m whose services they had distinguished
""■~~~~~~~~" themselves either by their valour, or by the in
vention of some useful art, or by some other rare virtues. Thus
326 IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. CHAP. X.
THE MOTHER GODDESSES. SECT. X.
the Egyfitians had their Isis^ the Africans had their Minex-va
THtQ7iia, the Phenicians their Derceto, the Greeks their Plas-
tena, and the Germans their Velleda. In regard to the Gaulsj
it seems that the daughters of Cadmus were, among them,
reckoned in the order of Mother-Goddesses; for, in an inscrip-
tion found some time ago near Cologne, upon an altar dedicated
to the Goddess Semele and her sisters, we find the Regina Ma-
terna, that is, the Priestess who had the care of the worship of
the Mother-Goddesses, is designed Priestess of the Ladies or
Mother-Goddesses of the filace, and that she herself had erected
that monument in acknowledgment of the honor done her in
being invested with the Priesthood, as the inscription expresses
it, Regina Materna ob honorem sacri Matratus arum posuit.
Hence we may conclude, that the daughters of Cadmus, as Se-
mele, Antonoe, Ino, and Agave, were looked upon in the Gauls,
and probably in Germany, as Mother-Goddesses, since Regina
Materna values herself on being Priestess of the Mother-God-
desses in the inscription of this monument dedicated to the .
daughters oi Cudmus; for the reasoning of the author of a Dis-
sertation upon this inscription, appears just. " I suppose,"
says the author, "that the Sacer ik/a^rc^us implied, the right of
sacerdotal dignity or of Priesthood to the Goddesses to whom
the altar in question is dedicated; and as it was to Semele and
her sisters, and as this Materna is there said to be Mother
born, and further, to bei honored with the sacred dignity of the
Matratus, it is natural to conclude from hence, that the same
dignity related also to Semele and her sisters, who consequently
iiaust have been Mother-Goddesses of the canton where the in-
scription was dug up." But whatever be in that, it is certain
from the discovery of this monument, that the worship of the
daughters of Cadmus had been propagated to the Gauls and to
Germany, and that we are to reckon those four Goddesses
among the Deities who were there objects of admiration.
CHAP. X. IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. 327
THE MOTHER GODDESSES.
" Several antiquaries, among whom are Bo-
2. Tliey were
worshipped in CHART and F. MenestrieRj maintained that
Ses G™7S t^^ Mother-Goddesses were only known in
Gaul, Spain, and Gaul and Germany^ since, say they, we hardly
==s^s=^^s55 find either inscriptions or monuments of them
out of these two countries. They also maintain that their wor-
ship was of no great antiquity, since the most ancient inscrip-
tion now extant, reaches no higher than the time of Septimius
Severus. But these two opinions are equally, erroneous; the
former of which I shall immediately controvert by facts^ and
the latter I shall afterwards refute, when I enquire into the
original of these Goddesses. It is certain in the first place,
that they were known in Sfiaiiti as proofs of which we have
three inscriptions; one found at Gironne, another at Arragon^
and the third in Gallicia. Selden gives account of three also
that have been discovered in England. Here then, without
going further, is sufficient proof that the worship of those
Goddesses was established likewise in Sfiain and Britain. It
will not be objected that these two nations had I'eceived it im-
mediately from the Germans and Gauls, for this would be beg-
ging the question; though it might be alledged with as much
probability, that the Spaniards had the knowledge of these
three Goddesses from the Phenicians, who had travelled into
Sfiain long before the Gauls had penetrated thither. At least
it is very probable that both of them had received this worship
from the Romans and other people of Italy , among whom we
find a vast number of such inscriptions to the honor of the Su-
levte, the Mothers, the Matrons, the Junones, Sec, which bear
an evident allusion to the Mother-Goddesses. But the Ro-
mans themselves were not the first who worshipped these God-
desses; they had learned from the Greeks, to whom those Di-
vinities were also known, to pay them religious worship: and
this has been but little considered by those who have treated
528 IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. CHAP.X,
THE MOTHER GODDESSES. SEOT. X.
upon the subject; for, not to mention their Mother Flastena,
who, according to Pausanias, had a temple upon Mount Syfii-
lusy Spon has preserved to us a Greek inscription of the Mo-
ther-Goddesses, which may be rendered in these terms, To
Mars, to the Mothers, and to the Dioscuri.
.. We have occasion again to repeat, that the
3. They origi- Qreeks received most of their Deities from
nated from PAe-
nicia. the Egyptians and Phenicians, by the colonies
=s=s^=. ^hich came from those countries and settled
among them. Those colonies, before they arrived in Greece,
had left traces of their religion in the island through which
they passed; and if in some of those islands we find the know-
ledge of the Mother Goddesses, it is not to be doubted but that
their worship was oiuginally from Phenicia, or Egypt. Accord-
ingly, a passage of Plutarch, in his life of Marcellus, evident-
ly prove that they were very well known in Sicily, and that they
had acquired the knowledge of them from the Cretans, who
were a Phenician colony. « There is in Sicily, says that author,
a city called Enguia, which is of great antiquity, and especially
famed for the appearance of the Goddesses whom they call Mo'
thers. We are assured that their temple was founded by the
Cretans. There are to be seen in it great spears and helmets
of brass, whereof some bear the name of Merlon, others that of
Ulysses, who had consecrated them to those Goddesses. Then
Plutarch tells us, " that this city favouring the Carthaginians,
JVicias, one of the principal citizens who was in favour of the
Romans, finding they had a design to deliver him up to the
enemy, thought of a singular stratagem to extricate himself.
He began by talking dishonorably of those Mother-Goddesses
and their pretended apparitions; then, as the people were one
day assembled, he feigned all of a sudden to be delirious and
frantic, crying out with all his might, that he saw those God-
desses ready to take vengeance upon him. He then fell to
V
CHAP. X. IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GEEIVIANS. 3^9
SECT. X. THE MOTHER GODDESSES.
running about, and while all made way for him, he by this
means got out of the city, and repaired to a place where his
wife and his whole family were waiting for him." From this
passage it appears that the Phcnicians were worshippers of the
Mother-Goddesses, and that from the earliest times; for, since
it was they, according to Plutarch, who built the temple of
Enguia in honor of these Goddesses, we may conclude that
they had a high veneration for them. To what we have just
cited on the authority of Plutarch, Diodorus Siculus adds,
" that Merion, after the siege of Troy, having gone to Sicily
with some Cretans, built a temple in honor of these Goddesses,
which was afterwards in high veneration. We are told, con-
tinues this historian, that it was from Crete, where these God-
desses were exceedingly revered, that their worship had been
brought into Sicily. The Mythologists, adds the same author,
relate that it was by these Goddesses Jufiiter had been nursed
without the knowledge of his father Saturn; and that in recom-
pence for this piece of service, that God had given them a
place in heaven, where they form the constellation of the great
bear; and the poet Aratus' had followed this tradition in his
poem called Phxnomena. We could not pass over in silence,
continues he, the high honor which the devotion of many peo-
ple has conferred upon these Goddesses; for not only the inha-
bitants of Enguia, but their neighbours also, offer to them cost-
ly sacrifices, and pay them extraordinary honors. Several ci-
ties were even enjoined by the oracles of Ap.ollo to give them
homage, with a promise of long life and all kinds of prosperity
to their inhabitants for so doing." In fine their worship was
so much in vogue, that while Diodorus was yet writing his
history, the inhabitants of the country continued to bring them
numerous oblations of gold and silver, and but a few years be-
fore had erected them a temple, which was distinguished not
only for its grandeur, but also for the elegance of its architec-
VOL. if. T t
330 IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERM-S.N3. CHAP. X.
THE MOTHER GODDESSES. SECT. X.
ture. This temple became extremely opulent, since among its
revenues were reckoned three thousand oxen, and a vast extent
of ground. Phenicia therefore is the country whence the
worship of the Mother-Goddesses had derived its original; and
this is likewise the opinion of Selden, though he confounds
them with Astarte., who, according to him, was the mother of
all the Gods. Indeed the Syrians multiplied their Astarte and
made several of them, whence other people formed their Cy-
dele, their Festa, and their Mother-Goddesses. The facts
which prove that the knowledge of these Goddesses was
brought from the eastern nations, equally establish their anti-
quity; in confirmation of which, we may refer again to the
Greek inscription of them now remaining, and to one of those
found in England^ wherein they are joined with Mars and the
Dioscuri, or the sons of Jufiiter. But if we would push the in-
vestigation to the earliest possible original of these Goddesses,
we should perhaps find it in the ancient tradition, which al-
ledged that the Avorld was filled with benijicent and malignant
Genii, who terrified people by their apparitions. Never was
tradition more universal. To this is owing the original also of
Elves and their dens, of Sylphs, of Gnomes, and the like wild
notions.
- As to the worship that was paid to those
4. The}' were Goddesses, which is the last question to be
worslupped as ru-
ral Goddesses, here examined, we know nothing materia!,
and a Goddess of . • , , r i
health. ^o doubt It was the same with that of other
' rural Divinities; and we may very well con-
jecture, from their carrying flowers and fruits in their hands,
upon the bas-reliefs we have now extant, that these were the
matter of the sacrifices that were offered to them, as well as to
other rural Deities. Honey and milk were ingredients in the
oblations that were made them. We may conclude too, from
the bas-reliefs of Zeland, that there were Priests and Priest-
CHAP. X. roOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. 331
SECT. X. THE MOTHER GODDESSES.
esses consecrated to them; as indeed we have seen that on the
monument found near Cologne, the sacerdotal dignity or the
priesthood was termed Sacer Matratus, as if to say the sacred
order of the Mother. And it is probable that the liquor which
the minister pours out upon the altar in the ban-reliefs of Ze-
land, consists of milk, or honey, or wine. They also sacrificed
to them the hog. This is what appears in the bas-reliefs of
Home, upon which are represented ministers killing one of
those animals as an offering to the Goddesses, who are there
named Suleva and Camfiestres, the same with the Matrons or
Mother-Goddesses. We may remark by the way, that the hog
was sacrificed to Bacchus, and to the rural Divinities, because
that animal makes great devastation in the fields, gardens, and
vineyards; and for the same reason the sow used to be sacrificed
to Ceres. 'But these Goddesses were not worshipped as
rural Deities only. They were also invoked as conservators of
health, whether in behalf of the emperors and their families, or
for the health of private persons. In proof of this I shall offer
two examples; of which the first is taken from an inscription
found in Pannonia, to this effect, T. Pomfiilianus, tribune of the
soldiers of the first legion of Minerva, has discharged his -vow
by offering an altar and a table to the Matrons of Offen, and to
the Mothers of Pannonia and Dalmatia, which voiv he had
made for the preservation of the cmfieror Sept. Severus, and
his whole family. The other insciuption, which relates to pri-
vate pversons, may be rendered in these terms, Julius Regulus,
soldier of the sixth legion the Antonian, cheerfully pays the vow
which he had made to the JMother-Goddesses, for himself and his
family. The Gauls, who paid particular worship to the Mo-
ther-Goddesses, built for them little chapels, which were termed
Cancelli, brought thither their offerings, lighted small tapers in
them, and after pronouncing some mystical words over bread
and certain herbs, they withdrew those offerings from the
33i2 IDOLATRY OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS. CHAP. X.
TJl^ MOTHER GODI>£S!r£S. SECT. X.
chapel and hid them in trunks of trees, believing that by so
doing they secured their flocks from contagious distempers,
and even from death itself. To this rite they also joined seve-
ral other pieces of superstition.
————--———— From these conjectures about the Mother-
Recapitulation Goddesses, who have been but little noticed by
of the foregoing '
conjedures. Mythologists, we may draw these general con-
^^~~^^^^~^^^ elusions; 1st. That the Mother-Goddesses nvere
three in number; for they were so represented upon several
monuments. 2nd. That the names which they bear in inscrip-
tions ivere the names of places where they were worshiptied;
thus those wherein we read Matribus Gallaicisy denoted the
Mother Goddesses of Gallicia; accordingly the monuments up-
on which this inscription occurs, was found at Corona, a city of
Gallicia; and so of others. 3rd. That- the Mother-Goddesses
were often confounded with the particular Genii or Junonea cf
each place; with the Sule-uce, the Commodevce, the Matrons, the
Silvaticte, and other such rural Deities; of which we have
proof in the bas-reliefs of Rome, and those of the Gabians. 4th.
That the Mother-Goddesses were Divinities common to several
Mitions; as the monuments found in them, respectively, prove.
5th. That their true original is to be traced to Fhenicia; whence
ca^e most of the Gods known in the west. 6th. That they
presided over the fields and the fruits of the earth; whereof the
cornucopia which they bear upon monuments, and the fruits,
and the hog, that were offered to them in sacrifice, are con-
vincing proofs. 7th. That their worship was not limited to ru-
ral concerns, but extended to the preservation of health, and
even the prevention of death; since they were invoked not only
for the health ef the emperors and their families, and that of
private persons, but to secure their flocks from distempers
and death. 8th. That they were served by Priests and Priest-
esses, styled Sacer Matratus, or the sacred order of the Mother.
CHAPTER XL
IDOLATRY OF THE NORTHERN BARBARIANS.
, SECTION FIRST.
THEIR SUPERSTITIOJVS JJV GEJ^ERAL.
■'-'■' ' " WE shall now take only a cursory view of
1st. The inhabi- , ., , , _ , , t^ ,
tantsofthe coasts the Idolatry of the more northern Barbarians.
preTSeT"£ ^^^ ^^^ ""^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^"PP°^®' ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^'
ence over the ing the subject so slightly, he shall lose any
~uinds.
=^=^== thing either instructing or worthy of his curio-
sity. For, in those remote regions, we should find nothing but
an Idolatry which has a modern aspect, having come in the
place of the more ancient system, and for the sake of which
those people seem to have abandoned the Gods of their fa-
thei's; (such as the Stars, the Elements, &c, which were the
universal objects of worship to all the Pagans) devoting
themselves to foolish sufierstitions, to that odious magic whereof
they make public profession, to all sorts of charms and en-
chantments. Some of those people, particularly those who in-
habit the coasts of JVorway, even pretended to have the winds
at their disposal, to be able to withhold them, and, when they
had a mind, to raise storms and tem/iests: they even made a
traffic of this pretended influence, to sea-faring people, who
are more credulous to be sure than those who carry on that
public commerce.
334 IDOLATRY OF THE NORTHERN BARBARIANS. CHAP. XI.
THEIR SUPERSTITIONS IN GENERAL. SECT. I.
. Should we in the next place lake a survey
lande nd Sibe ^^ ^^^ immense coast inhabited by the three
nans,— their su- sorts of Lafilanders and Siberians, we should
perstition respect-
ing' evil Genii. see people who fancy themselves to be eter-
■ nally infested with evil Genii that are always
endeavouring to blast their hopes in hunting, to bewitch their
diildren, and to disturb the sad repose which they enjoy in
their grotts and dens; and who are therefore always striving
by prayers and paultry sacrifices to appease their malice and
render them firopitious: in a word, who have no other oracle,
nor other God, but the spirit of darkness and delusion.
„ , Lastly, if we enter into those vast plains pos-
^a?'.s/— their gross sessed by the several Tartarian nations, we
idolatry, and the , . , i i
fantastical figures shall thei-e find either the populace groaning
of their Idols. ^^^g^ ^j^g weight of an Idolatry equally gross
and ridiculous, or the pretenders to more discernment following
the dreams of their Bonzes and of the great Lama; — an Idola-
try which leads to that truth attested by the sacred Books, omnes
Da Gentium D<emonia. It is true, there are dug up from
time to time Idols in those vast climes, and Montfaucon re-
ceived a considerable number of them from M. Chamaquer,
librarian to the Czar Peter the Great, whereof he has given
the figures in his Antiquity Explained^ but he has not thought
fit to give any explanations of them. And indeed, what could
one make of such figures, which are more fantastical than the
monsters in whom Old Egypt glorified herself, dug up in a
country where the most profound ignorance reigns; what could
one make of them, I say, but offer some random conjecture,
without foundation, and without any certain rule to direct their
judgment.
CHAP. XI, roOLATRY OF THE NORTHERN BARBARL\NS. 335
SECT. I. THEIR SUPERSTITIONS IN GENERAL.
^^^_^_______ If, however, there are any who are curious
Several authors ^.q |jg more particularly acquainted with the
who may be con-
sulted upon the Idolatry of those people who inhabit the ex-
northern An tiqui- . . - , , , ,, ,. ,
^jgg tremities oi the north, we shall direct them to
i==^^=^^ what authors they may have recourse. 1st.
For the people of Sweden and the adjacent countries, they may
read the volume of Rudbekius's Atlantic, entitled JllfanAdwz,-
guarding however against the systematic spirit which prerails
to a fault in that work. 2nd. For the other northern Antiqui-
ties, see the works composed upon that subject by the inge-
nious M. Keisler, Meibonius, and others. 3rd. For the
Gods of Iceland and other northern islands, see the Mythology
of Snorron-Sturl or Sturleton, printed by Resenius in
1665. 4th. For the Laplanders, see Scheffer's Lafifionia:
and' in addition to these, the historians of those several coun-
tries may be consulted. But whoever has this curiosity, may
be assured before hand, that he will meet with nothing in those
works but the history of a Religion extremely gross, without
either principles, system, or connection; being, as we might
say, the pitiful persuasion of a people groaning under the ty-
ranny of the spirit of darkness, who as to them, is not yet in
chains: in short, that he will find nothing therein to lead him
back to true and valuable Antiquity, and to the understanding
of any author of the better ages; which should be one of the
principal motives for the study of Mythology. From these
inhospitable, superstitious, and benighted regions, we shall
make a transit to the mediterranean coasts of Africa, and with
a brief view of their ancient Religion, conclude the present
volume, and the Idolatry of the Barbarians — so to term all
other ancient Nations in respect to the Greeks and Romans.
CHAPTER Xn.
IDOLATRY OF SEVERAL NATIONS OF AFRICA.
SECTION FIRST.
CARTHAGIJ^MjY deities JIJVD RELIGIOjY.
'•• THE Carthaginians were a colony from Fhe-
The Gods of ^
the Carthaginians nicia, under the conduct of Eliza surnamed
those oAhe^rrS ^'^^^i consequently the first Gods of Carthage
ther country P/ie- were the same as those who were adored at
nicia.
' Tyre and Sidon. For we well know, as we
have often repeated, that emigrants carry with them the reli-
gion of their mother country, to their new plantation; except
they are driven, by religious intolerance, to seek for new set-
tlements, and even then the changes they might introduce
would never affect the fundamental principles of their worship:
so natural is it for mankind to have a strong attachment for
what they imbibed, as it were, with their mother's milk.
■ But it is our unhappiness, that the little we
edge of them^is' ^"°^ °^ ^^® religion of the Carthaginians, is
handed to us by transmitted to US by Greeks and Romans, who
Greeks and So-
mans, who con- have either given, the names of their own
theif 0*^°" ^'*^ ^°^^ ^° ^^°^^ °^ '^^^ people; as, among the
==^^=^=^= Gods of Carthage we find Saturn, Jupiter,
Neptune, Apollo, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Hercules, Ceres, Pro-
CHAP. XII. IDOLATRY OF SEVERAL NATIONS OF AFRICA. 337
SECT. I. CARTHAGINIAN DEITIES AND RELIGION.
serpine^ Juno, and jSsculafiius,- all of them Gods worshipped in
Greece and Italy: or else they confounded the Gods they had
communicated to the Carthaginians about the time of the Punic
wars, with those brought from Phenicia by Dido's colony; for
we are not to think that the Greeks and Romans had themselves
received these Gods from the Carthaginians^ since the Egyp-
tian and Phenician colonics, who brought the knowledge of
them into Greece^ many ages before Dido's time. Supposing
however, that the Greeks and Romans actually confounded the '
Gods of the Carthaginians from their earliest times, with the
appellations which they gave to their own; then, what might
have led them into that mistake is probably this. In the com-
merce which they had with the Carthaginians, they were in-
formed, that they sacrificed children to one of their Gods, and
hence they made no doubt but that God was Saturn; whereas,
had they known the original of their own Gods, they had seen
that their Saturn, as well as that of the Carthaginians, was Mo-
loch, the great Divinity of the Ammonites. In like manner,
they understood that the Carthaginians had a God to whom
they addressed their oaths; and as themselves swore by Jupiter,
so they made no doubt but that God was the same; whereas,
at Carthage it was the Baal-Berith of Phenicia, of whom we
have spoken in its proper place. The same reflections may be
made on most of the other Gods who were worshipped at Car-
thage. But to be more particular. —
' ' All Antiquity agrees, that the Carthaginians
Their Saturn
was the same as worshipped Saturn; who, we have just said,
Stnn*ua% 0?- ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^'^ Moloch; and that they sa-
fered human sa- crificed to him their children. That he was
crifices, which
was with much the same as Moloch, all the learned^ among
difficulty abolish- , , i^ i t. ir
g^ •' whom may be consulted Bochart, Vossius,
' and Selden, are agreed; and M. Fourmont
has put this fact beyond a doubt. The detestable custom of
vol,. It. U u
338 IDOLATRY OF SEVERAL NATIONS OF AFRICA. CHAP. XII.
CARTHAGINIAN DEITIES AND RELIGION. SECT. I.
sacrifi'cing every year human victims to that God, lasted even
after the overthi'ow of that people, notwithstanding all that
their conquerors could do to abolish it. Justin relates that
Darius the son of Hystaspes had commanded them to lay aside
those barbarous sacrifices; but his orders were indifferently
obeyed. Plutarch adds that Gelon, the tyrant of Syracuse,
did not make peace with them, till he had laid them under the
same prohibition, as the first condition of the treaty; and ac-
cording to Tertullian, Tiberius gave orders to hang all the
Priests who exacted those barbarous sacrifices.
■ As to JVefiiune, the Carthaginiaris, as well
They worship-
ped J\'eptime and as the Greeks and Romans, had received the
' " worship of him from the Libxjans; for that
God, as we learn from Herodotus, was originally from Africa.
ArpioN says that the same people paid adoration to Afiollo,
who had a temple at Carthage; and Plutarch adds that the
statue of that God was brought to Rome.
====== Juno and Venus were two of the great-
Juno and Veiin^
Avere their prmci- est Carthaginian Divinities. St. Augustin
^^ speaking of the latter of these two Goddesses,
says Carthage was the place where she had established her
reign: and Virgil informs us that Juno preferred that city to
all others, even to Samos itself.
' As to Mars, we have the testimony of Si-
They worship-
ped Mars and Lius Italicus, who tells US that Anmbal in-
Mercinij, Ceres ^^^^^^ j^.^_ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^j^^^ ^j^^ Cartha-
and I'roserpine .
• ginians honored Mercury under the name of
Sumes. Would ever that people, who supported themselves
chiefly by commerce, have neglected the worship of the God
of mercli^nts and thieves? We have two authorities which
prove, that they likewise paid homage to Ceres and Proserpine.
Silius Italicus tells us that the statues of those two God-
CHAP. XII. IDOLATRY OF SEVERAL NATIO>rS OP AFRICA. 339
SECT. I. CARTHAGINIAN DEITIES AND RELIGION.
desses were in the temple of Dido; and Virgil informs us
that this princess sacrificed to Ceres.
^, Nothing is more celebrated in ancient his-
They worship- °
ped the Tynan tory than the Tyrian or Phenician JFIercules,
Hercules.
__ whose worship was brought to Carthage by
Dido, and which diffused itself afterwards over all the mediter-
ranean coasts of Africa, and as far as Gades or Cadiz, where
he had a rnagnificent temple. We shall defer any further ac-
count of him here, as we shall treat the subject at some length
under the head, of the Gi'ecian Hercules, with whose history
that of all others beai'ing the same name is blended by mytho-
logists.
■ SiLius Italicus reckons likewise Dis, or
They worship-
ped Pinto and Pluto, or Erebus, among the Gods of the Car-
..cu apius. t/iaginiansi and Polybius informs us that he
was invoked by them as the God of Hell. JEsculafiius, as
we are told by Strabo, Apuleius, and Appion, was likewise
in great veneration at Carthage, and had there a magnificent
temple. Vossius proves by good authority that the worship of
this God came from Tyre; but I would not aver that they had
not likewise known the Greek, ar Messenian JEsculapius.
■ Such were the Gods whose worship the
divme honors to Carthaginians received, first from the Phieni-
lhema«es of their ^^ j^g^j f^o^ the Greeks and Romans.
great men.
— — — But not content with the religion of their fa-
thers, they would also imitate the other nations in deifying
their great men. Dido, their foundress, received this honor,
which she herself, according to Ovid, had conferred upon Si-
cheus, her husband, and became one of the great Divinities of
Carthage. Anna, according to the same poet, shared divine
honors Avith her sister. The Carthaginians also adopted Amil-
car into the number of their Gods as we may see by the fol-
lowing passage from Herodotus: for though that author does
340 IDOLATRY OF SEVERAL NATIONS OF AFRICA. CHAP. XII.
CARTHAGINIAN DEITIES AND RELIGION. SECT. I.
not positively say that he was ranked among the Gods, he tells
us, that sacrifices were instituted to his honor, and monuments
were consecrated to his memory, possibly as a Hero; nor is
there a great disparity between these honors and those con-
ferred upon the Gods themselves. " Amilcar, says he, having
been vanquished by Gelon, vanished, and could never ittore be
found either alive or dead, whatever pains his vanquisher was
at in causing search to be made for him. The Cart^iaginiansy
who have a great veneration for him, say that during the eh-
gagement between the Barbarians and the Sicilian Greeks,
A7nilcar, having staid in the camp, there offered sacrifices of all
sorts of animals, and, seeing the rout of his army, threw him-
self into the fire; but whether he died in that way or not, it is
certain that the Carthaginians offered sacrifices to him, and
erected monuments to his honor, wherever they had colonies,
and principally in Carthage."- We may form the same opi-
nion in regard Bomilcar ■axxd Jmilco, thoiigh the Ancients tell
us nothing in that respect of them; for there is no denying,
after Avhat is said above, that the Carthaginians, like other na-
tions, ranked their great men among the Gods. The exam-
ple of the two Philxni is a further proof of it. These two bro-
thers as we have it in Sallust, Pomponius Mela, and Vale-
rius Maximus, -having been sent by the Carthaginians to
make peace with the Cyrenians, with whom they were at war,
sacrificed themselves for their country, which in gratitude
raised altars to them, and conferred upon them divine honors.
CHAP. Xn. IDOLATRY OF SEVERAL NATIONS OF AFRICA. 341
DEITIES OF THE LIBYANS.
SECTION SECOND.
DEITIES OF THE LIBYJJVS.
^ We can say but little more here, of the
Ammon and JVep- ^
tune, the princi- Gods 01 Libya, than what has already been
^Libyan^^^^ ^ *^ ^^^^ °^ them incidentally upon several occa-
'■'■ sions.. Ammoriy or Jupiter Ammqn, the princi-
pal Deity of the Libyans, whom they represented with a ram's
head, was worshipped in a canton* environed by the sandy de-
sert, where he had that famous oracle, of which we have spoken
in the first Volume. The learned have enquired who this Am-
mon was, and they all agree that he was Ham himself, whose
name, softened by dropping the first letter, was pronounced
Am, or Amman. Indeed, it is certain that Ham pr his son Miz-
raim, came and settled in Egypt; and as the Scripture calls
that country the Land of Mizrdim, so it frequently makes men-
tion of the name of Ham or Amman, or JVo-Aman, in respect to
some distinguished places, as Alexandria, Thebes, Sec. And if
we take Diodorxjs Siculus's authority, Ammon had been king
of a part of Libya, in conjunction with his other dominions, and
had married Rhea, the daughter of Uranus, and sister of Chro-
nas or Saturn. Let us then conclude with Vossius, who judi-
ciously remarks that all this agrees to Ham, also called Am-
mon, who, after his death, was numbered with the Gods, and
adored under the name of Jupiter Ammon. Nor should we be
surprised that the name of Jupiter was given to Ammon, after
* " This place is described by the writers of antiquity, as comprising differ-
ent quarters in a triple enclosure; and the Jlmmonians having been governed
by kings, according to Herodotus, had their dwellings in one of these
quarters. What we. find in modern geography under tlie name of Santrich,
must represent it, as the nature of the country admits no other object to
embarrass the choice." — IM. D'Ajtyille's .1ncl''nt Gcnc^-ragh]!.
M8 MJQLATRY lOF SE VERAl. NATIONS OF AFRICA. GHAP. XII.
DJEI.TJBS .OF AF'RIPA *-ROPJ&iR. SErCT. JV.
his apotheosis at least, since the principal Gods of antiquity, as
also their princes, bore that name. We shall say nothing
here about JVefitune, the knowledge and woi'ship of whom, ac-
cording to Herodotxjs, was brought into Greece from Libya^
where he had been worshipped from time immemorial. His
subject shall be fully treated under the head of the Greek Ido-
latry, together with that of several other Deities of this portion
of ^ricc, who have been spoken of u> the Theogony of the At-
lantidx.
SECTION THIRD.
GOT? OF THE CYREJ^MJSrS.
- .... We learn from Herodotus that the inhabi-
TheGodofthe _ ^ -, ,. • i «
Cyrenians was tants oi Cyrene paid divme honors to Battusj
Bams, their foun- ^q. ^^^i^^ they built temples. It is known that
I ' Battus came from the island of Thera in the
JEgean sea, had led a colony into that part of Africa, and had
there founded the kingdom df Cyrene. Demonax, who, on ac-
count of an oracle at Delfihos, had been sent to Cyrene by the
Mantineans his countrymen, was the person who there estab-
lished the worship of Battus.
SECTION FOURTH.
DEITIES OF AFRICA PROPER.
- The diviner Mopsus was also honored as
The Gods of ^ Qq^ j^ Africa profier, or in the part of that
. ifrica proper,
were Mopsus and continent which extends on the west side of
^v^rJ'^^^^''^ ^^' Cyrene to Mauritania. There were two per-
===== sons of the name of Mo/tsus, the one the son of
CHAP. XII. IDOLATRY OF SEVERAL NATIONS OF A^M€A. 343
SECT. V. DEITIES OF THE AtTGlLlTES, &C.
Manto and grandson of Tiresias, the other the son of Ampycus.
The first had an Oracle, and was worshipped in Cilicia; the se-
cond was a famous Argonaut., who died in Africa proper., and
there received divine honors, as we learn from Apuleius, who
was a native of that country. The enaperor Severus., if we
believe S parti an, received likewise divine honors in this part
of Africa^ which had given him birth.
SECTION FIFTH. -
DEITIES OF TTIE AUGILITES, &c.
— The Augilites or Augile.Sj a people lying be-
The Gods of the t^ggn the Garamantes and the Troglodytes.
Aug-ihtes and'tlie o ? ?
JVasamorws, were according to PoMpoNius Mela, had no other
the Manes of their
Ancestors. Gods but the Manes. It was by them that
' they swore; they consulted them as their Oi'a-
cles, and received. their responses by sleeping near their tombs.
Pliny differs from Mela only in calling those Infernal Gods,
whom the geographer has called Divinity Manes. And both
the one and the other have only copied Herodotus, with this
difference, that they ascribe to the Augilites what the Greek
historian had said of the JVasa7none8; but these people were so
near to one another, that it was easy to confound them; or pos-
sibly they had both the same Gods, that is, the souls of their
ancestors. Mela speaks in the same Chapter, of the reli-
gion of the Catabathmi^ a small nation between Libya and
Egypt; but as he says only that this people adored the Gods of
their own country after the manner of their fathers, it is not
possible to divine whether those Gods were the natural Gods,
such as the Stars, Sec, or the Souls of their ancestors, as we
have seen was the case with those of the Augilites and Alasa-
mones.
344 IDOLATRY OF SEVERAL NATIONS OF AFRICA. CHAP. XH.
DEITIES OF THE MOORS.
SECTION SIXTH.
DEITIES OF THE MOORS.
" The Moors, if credit may be sriven to the
The Gods of ^ . ^ ^ ^ ^ j\ , • x^.
the Moors were Ancients, had no other Gods but their Kings:
Xhe Maries oHheiv ^j^-^ j^ ^^^^. ^^ ^^^^,^ f^,^^ LacTANTIUS, Ter-
. TULLiAN, and St. Cyprian; and as the two
last were Africans, their testimony ought to be of great weight.
Lactantius, speaking upon this subject, says, " it Was for this
reason the Moors deified their Kings" 8cc. Tertullian al-
ledges to the Pagans, that every country and every town had
its particular Gods: " Syria, says he to them, has its Astarte;
Arabia its Disares; the people- of Noricum, their Belenus; the
Moors their Kings;" &c. Among those deified ki1;^gs was the
famous Juba, as we learn from Minutius Felix. Tertul-
lian reckons also in the number of the Deities of the Moors,
the Goddess Versotina, who is quite unknown: she was proba-
bly one of their queens or some other woman who signalized
herself by her glorious actions. We must be silent about
the religion of several other people of Africa, who were un-
known to the Ancients.
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Andrew Klett,
J. Kersey, M. D.
W. Levan,
Robert M. Lewis,
Samuel Long,
Isaac T. Longstreth,
Joseph Montgomery,
I^aac N. Mason,
H. Marks,
H. D. Mandeville,
John Myers,
David M'Clure,
William Milnor^
John Pemberton,
Joseph Pyie,
Richard Povall, M. D.
M. Phillips, M. D.
■James Rush, M. D.
Adam^Ramage,
J. B. Reynolds,
Edward Rutter,
Eli Rising,
William Rawle, sen'r.
Th. Rotch, .
Joseph G. Shippen, M. I).
William Smith,
T.Sully,
Philip Tuchett,
H. S. Tanner,
James Trumanj
J. M. Thomas,
Benjamin Trott,
F. Vincent,
Geo. Uhler, M. D.
William M. Walker,
James Webster,
Joseph H. Wilson,
Israel Whelen,
Barthw. Wistar,
J. Wiat,
Jo. Wood,
James Woodward,
Nathaniel Waples,
Thos. Whitecor,
Thomas Williams,
William M. Wallan,
Jno. Wells,
E. H. C. Wilson.
J. Coats, M. D. Doivningtoivn.
Jerard Irwin, Sunbury.
Emanuel Brink, Pike county.
F. Regnault, Philadelphia do.
E. H. Price, Westchester.
N. Richardson, Pittsburgh.
Jno. C. Pegran, M.D. do.
J. S. Zell, Lancaster.
SUBSCRIBERS.
347
IfEW-yOKK.
NEW- YORK.
Wm. Harris, D. D. Pre*, of
Columbia College.
P. Wilson, L. L. D. Prof. Gr.
and Lat. Columbia College.
J. H. Hobart, D. D.
Phil. Mel. Whelpley, D. D.
Daniel D. Tompkins,
Gen. Winfield Scott,
Gen. J. G. Swift,
Gen. J. Morton,
Jeremiah Austin,
Thos. Ashborne,
H. Agnel,
Geo. Araelecrius,
A. J. Battin,
Geo. Washington Arnold,
A. Blecker,
John Bacon,
John D. Blanchard,
A. Bruce, M. D.
R. J. Barou,
C. Bedel,
Archd. Bulkley,
M. R. Bartlett,
G. Bogert,
Henry Barclay,
Archd. Bryce,
J. S. Brainerd,
James Cropsey,
C. Davis, junr. A. B.
Dd. Codwise,
Wm. M. Carter,
James Colles,
J. W. Cook,
Anthony Benezct Cleveland,
James Conklin,
Matthew Carter,
Saml. W. Coates,
Saml. Cupples,
Charles Dbwoise,
J. Dick,
Chas. De Forest,
Eastburn Kirk & Co.
Zebulon Elliott,
David Ely, jr.
John Forbes,
Fay & Van Wyck,
Jona. Fisk,
Wm. J. Furman,
Wm. Geib,
John Geib, jr.
Isaac Guernsey,
David Graham,
F. Sc S. W. Green,
Joseph Graham,
Amory Gamage,
Jno. Grisnold,
Geo. Gibbs,
David Hosack, M. D.
W. Howell,
Thos. Hertell,
Michl. Henry,
John A. Hawesj
Saml. Hawkins,
D. S. Jones,
B. Irvine,
Isaac A. Isaacs,
Joseph Joseph,
B. Livingston,
Wm. Lee,
SUIJSGRIBERS.
NEW-TORK.
George Lorillard,
Charles Laring M. D.
Wm. G. Lloyd,
Francis F. Luqueer,
Chas. Lothrop,
Francis Mallaby,
Henry Mead, M. D.
R. M'Dermut 8c Arden,
G. Manigault,
Valentine Mott, M. D.
Saml. Marsh,
John W Mott,
Jno Neilson, M. D.
James Nash,
James Otterson,
Benj. Ogden,
A. Picket,
Prior 8c Dunning,
H. M. Piatt,
Geo. Puffer,
Isaac J. Pearson, jr.
Thads. Phelps,
Robert F. Parker,
Stiles Phelps,
Chas. Pindar,
Edward C. Quinn,
Mr. Riley,
D. Rapelye,
F. Rogers,
H. M. Romeyn, '
Mr. Robbins,
L. C. Soissonsj
W. A. Seely,
Henry Smith,
Saml, Thistle,
J. Slocomb,
John G. Schotz,
John Shilleber, jr.
Saml. Smith,
S. P. Schumerhorn,
John P. Schumerhorn^
Thos. Stagg, jr.
H. H. Tullidge, M. D
Jas. Thompson, jr.
Arthur Tappan,
Charles Town,
W. P. Tames,
Chas. W. Taylor,
John Vanderlyn,
Isaac T. Van WyCk,
Nathl. Wells,
Corns. P. Wyckoff,
Charles West,
John Wortendyke,
E. Wheaton,
Ebenz. E. Weed,
Will. Weyman,
William W. Winthrop,
Samuel Woodhull,
M. Q. Wood.
Nathaniel Allen, Ontario cty.
Micah Brooks,
C. V. Boughton, Canandagua.
John G. Camp, Buffaloe.
Westel Willoughby, jr.
Evan Beynon, Brooklin.
John Sproull.
SUBSCRIBERS.
349
NEW-JEHSET AST) BALTIMORE.
NEW-JERSEY
Ashbel Green, D. D.
Nassau Hall.
Saml. Miller,
J. Beckley Grimball,
George A. Snyder,
Edgar Everton,
Jabez G, Goble,
Robert C. Harrison,
Samuel. B. How,
Garret D. Walle,
Wm. J. Brown,
Jared D. Fyler,
James E. Slack,
Pearson Hunt,
NASSAU-HALL.
Pres. of Edward Smith,
John Adamson,
Robert Ustick Lang,
Hopkins U. Brewer,
Peterson O. Goodwyn,
Thomas H. Dunn,
James A. Bayard,
W. D. Snodgrass.
TRENTON.
John Titus, jr.
Charles Higbee,
Charles Ewing,
Samuel Dickinson,
Westley P. Hunt,
Charles Kinsey, Paterson,
BALTIMORE.
James Keiftp, D. D.
James Inglis, D. D.
William E. Wyate, D. D.
Alfred Griffith, D. D.
Daniel Kurtz, D. D.
John Glendy, D. D.
Thomas Amoss,
Jacob Albright,
Daniel Bartling,
William H. Bates,
Theophilus Burrill & Co.
Gordon Bigham,
William Baartscheer,
John Barron, jr.
John Borgor,
Jacob Brown,
A. Boughdn,
Nathan Gregg Bryson,
Frederick Baughman,
Jno. Geo. Bier,
Joseph Boyd, jr.
Thos. Boyer, M. D.
James Campbell,
Andrew Clements,
Andrew Castello,
Joseph Chippi, M. D.
Larkin Cox,
James A. Cole,
John Corwine,
Isaac Cooper,
350
SUBSCRIBERS.
BALTIMORE.
John Coleman,
Joseph Coleman,
John Chance,
James Cunningham,
William Dimond,
Joseph Doxey,
Dan. Donnelly,
E. Denison,
M. L. Descaves,
H. Didier, jr.
Warren H. Duvall,
John De Grushy,
Leopold Donsee,
William Edwards,
William Frick,
Richard Falls,
Joshua Fort,
James Fulton,
Edward Fitzgerald,
James Frazier,
Matthew French,
William Grandcham,
Thomas Gallagher, jr.
M. Godefroy,
Frederick E. Graf,
Isaiah Green,
John M. Gray,
Edward Griffiss,
David Hoffman,
Pliny Hamilton,
Henry Hart,
Ebenz. Hubball,
J. M. C. Hawkins,
R. M. Hall,
John Helmling,
John Haynie,
William Hogiier,
Asakel Hussey,
James Hendricks,
John Howser,
Davice Holland,
John D. Harriss,
Robert Hezlett,
John Hayse,
Daniel Harrington,
Jason Jenkins,
M. P. & Eliza Janney,
J. E. Jackson,
William Jones,
Daniel James,
Henry Johnson,
Henry Kline,
Mrs. Perchel King,
John Krauth,
Charles Kurtz,
Mrs. Jane Lewis,
Frederick Leypold,
Thomas Lenox,
Walter M. Millar,
J. Martin,
Edward Morgan,
Julius C. Mann,
William Myers,
Mrs. M'Key,
George Myers,
Joseph Mayo 8c Co.
George M' II vain,
J. M'Quinn,
Thomas M'Elderry,
William D. M'Kim,
Jacob Merhle,
Edmund Meskurul,
John Moriarty,
George Milemon,
Mark Moore,
Timothy D. Meagher,
John Magee,
Thomas Mackenzie,
SUBSCWBERS.
351
BALTIMORE.
John MuUekin,
Samuel B. Martin, M. D.
Joseph Norris,
S. C. Norris,
Anthony Nagle,
Joseph Nattali,
John G. Neale,
Robert D. Oldson,
David W. C. Olyphant,
John Oliver,
Daniel Okaine,
Charles P. F. O'Hara,
Thomas Poe,
John Pindell,
James Page, M. D.
Jno. G. Pogue,
Nathl. Potter, M. D.
Lewis Price,
M. S. Parker,
Joseph Paslree,
Henry Remey,
P. Reigart,
John C. Richards,
T. C. Rolinson,
Samuel Robertson,
John F. Reys,
Edmund J. Reis,
John P. Rose.
Barney Struthoff,
Daniel Steever, jr.
Martin Simpson,
William Stewart,
William Stansbury,
Larkin H. Smith,
F. Sorrell,
M. D. G. Shade,
Robert Stewart,
John Stewart,
William Sterett,
John Swaany,
William T. Shriek,
James Stewart, St. P.'s Lane,
James Stewart, M^E.'s ivharf^
Thomas Townson,
Thomas Tenant,
Gabriel Thomas,
Benjamin Thomas,
Isiiac Taylor,
James Y. Tomkins,
Robert Taylor,
Henry Valleau,
Fielding Vanhorn,
W. W. Walls, M. D.
John Wilhelm,
H. V. Wells,
Peter L. White,
C. L. White,
Hesa. Waters,
Jonab White,
Jeremiah Warmigem,
Benjamin Williams,
Archd. Walker,
John Wallis, jr.
Andrew E. Warren,
Edwerd H. Warrell, M- D.
W. Winchester,
John T. Worthington,
John Weaver,
J. Lewis Wampler,
Duncan Young.
Richd. Hopkins, M. D. Ann-
Arundel county.
Thos. W. Howard, Baltimore
county.
Jas. 8c Thos. Symington, King
Tammany.
John Hughes, Fredericktown.
352
SUBSCRIBERS.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
R. Johnson, Queen-Ann.
F. Newman, Port-Tobacco.
Saml. Sprigg, Prince-Edward.
Philip Stuart, Charles-City.
John Irwin, Williams-Port.
John Leech, Elkton.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
James Monroe,
M. D. Addison, D. D.
William Mathews, D. D.
William H. Wiliner, D. D.
Mrs. C. Howard,
Mrs. Fitshugh,
Eliza Dougherty,
John C. Baum,
Nicholas Berteau,
Stephen Bloomer Bach,
J. M. Carter,
William Brent,
Samuel Barkley,
Alexander H. Boteler,
George Boyd,
Benjamin M. Belt,
James H. Blake,
John Brunner,
O. B. Brown,
Samuel Barkley,
Benjamin Burch,
James D. Barrette, M. D.
J. M. Carter,
John Chalmers,
Daniel Cawood,
George Cooke,
William Cooke,
John Conoway,
David Clendenen,
Thomas Cookenorfer,
James S. Collins,
Geore Clarke, M. D.
John Campbell,
Andrew Coyle,
Daniel Carroll,
Joseph H. Clarke,
John Crabb,
Edward W. Clark,
J. Crossfield,
James C. Dun,
Thomas Dougherty,
James Dougherty,
Thomas Ewell, M. D.
Nathan Frye,
P. R. Fendall, jr.
Andrew Fagan,
Robert French, M. D.
John Green,
William Grindage,
John Grassi,
Joseph Gales, jr.
Charles Glover,
Edv/ard Henry,
Benjamin Ho mans,
Gustavus Harrison,
P. Harrison,
Pendleton Heronimus,
Henry W. Hardey,
John Hersey,
Richard M. Johnson,
SUBSCRIBERS.
553
VIRGINIA.
John Jackson,
Dudley Kimball,
George Kneller,
William King, jun.
James C. Lackland,
Andrew Leddy,
John Lindsay,
John M. Moore,
R. S, Meigs, jun.
Alexander M'Williams, M. D.
Alexander M'Cormick,
Samuel M'Chesney,
Henry Mayer,
Wm. G. Mills,
Joseph Milligan,
Thomas Munroe,
Edwd, W. Murphy,
Geo. W. May, M. D.
Wm. O. Neale,
Benj.G. Orr,
Richard Parrott,
Commo. D. Porter,
Commo. Jno. Rodgers,
W. A. Rind,
Wm. H. Rind, jun.
G. T. Rhodes,
Temple W. Ross,
Wm. Ramsay,
Thos. Sim, M. D.
S. H. Smith,
Henry Smith,
Edward M. South,
Richard Skinner,
John Snyder,
J. P. Todd,
Geo. Travers,
Charles Tyler,
John Tayloe,
Edwd. D. Tippett,
John P. Van Ness,
Lund Washington,
Thos. L. Washington,
Geo. Way,
W. G. D. Worthington,
Wm. Worthington, jr.
John Ward,
Hilleany D. Wilson,
Townshend Waugh,
N. S. Wise, "
Jno. Underwood.
VIRGINL\.
HICHJIOND,
John Buchanan, D. D.
John H. Rice, D. D.
Rev. Wm. H. Hart,
Rev. John Bryce,
Col. J. Ambler,
Col. John Mayo,
Leroy Anderson,
Geo. Mos. Allen,
Chas. Z. Abraham,
Y y
James Brown, sen.
James Brown, jun.
Philip Budlong,
Wm. Buston, jun.
James Barnes,
James Bosher,
Robert Balding,
Richard L. Bohannan, M. D.
Henry Banks,
354
SUBSCRIBERS
riRGIXIA.
Martin Baker, jun.
Isbon Benedict,
Joseph Carter,
Wm. H. Cabell,
C. Cook,
A. B. Carrington,
Curtis Carter,
John H. Cunliffe, M. D.
Thos. B. Conway,
Saml. Carlile,
John Clopton,
John G. Daniel,
John Dove, M. D.
Rivers Drake,
Peyton Drew,
Thos. Diddep,
Geo. Dyball,
Richd. Denny, jun.
Ph. Duvall,
Saml. Estabrook,
Robert French,
William Frost,
Ballard Ford,
Robert B. Fife,
Joseph Grubb,
L. H. Gerardin,
Claiborne W. Gooch,
Benj. T. Hollins,
Danl. Higginbotha-m,
Wm. W. Henning,
John R. Horn,
John L. Harris,
John Hendree, M. D.
Stephen A. Hopkins, M. D.
!|^icholas Hewlett,
Wm. Hide,
Thos. Herd,
Horatio T. Harris,
Richard Harris,
Ruben Johnson,
John Johnson,
Chas. A. Jacobs,
Robert R. Jones,
Saml. M'Craw,
John M'Cart,
William M'Kim,
A. M'Robert,
Joseph A. Myars,
Wm. Mayo,
James Drew M'Caw, M. D.
Anderson Miller,
David Mims,
B. B. Morrison,
Wm. M'Kinnon,
Chas. M. Mitchell,
Wm. Mitchell,
James A. Oswald,
John B. Ogg,
Samuel P. Parsons,
Dr. Thomas Peers,
James Pleasants,
N. W. Price,
Richd. E. Parker,
Thomas S. Pope,
Robert Priddy,
Robert M. Pulliam,
Samuel Pleasants, M. X>.
George Pickett, sen.
Thomas Pulling,
John T. Pleasants,
T. H. Prosser,
William Price,
James D. Riddle,
David Ross,
Thomas Richardson,
M. H. Rice,
Thomas Ritchie,
Richard Randolph 5
SUBSCRIBERS.
555
Wm. Richardson,
Dr. Rice,
Herman B. Sneed,
Samuel G. Swann,
Walter Shelton,
J. W. Smith,
Linnseus Smith,
WiTi. Shelton,
Samson & Tucker,
Robert C. Smith,
P. A. Sabbatton,
Joseph Trent, M. D.
D. Trueheart,
Wm. Venable,
Jacob Valentine,
Daniel Warwick,
Robert Wi41iamson,
George Walter,
Ptolemy L. Watkins,
Edmund P. White,
H. L. Wight,
Barnet Wicker,
James Winston,
George Williamson,
Jesse C. Wilbourne,
George Wells.
MANCIIESTEH.
John Kirkpatrick, D. D.
Benjamin Lewis, M. D.
Colin Macrae,
Mansfield Watkins,
Stephen D. Watkins,
James G. Gordon,
Richard Long,
Samuel Sizer,
James A. Patterson,
James Lang,
E. V. Crandal,
Erancis N. Branch.
PETERSBURG.
Rev. R. PL Rice,
Thomas Atkinson,
A. S. Naustedler,
J. H. Brewer,
John S. Barbour,
John Gordon,
John Stith,
Thomas E. Gary,
Daniel Duggin,
Edmond Parrish,
D. Mackenzie,
W. Kerr,
Benj. B. Jones,
Pc vto;-i R. Rose.
Nathan Harned,
Wm. E. Turnei',
Daniel Dodson,
Roger M. Byrne, M. D.
Roger Atkinson,
Roger Malory,
F. J. Mettauer, M. D.
James Baker,
Henry D. Pegram,
John H. Osborne,
James Morrow,
A. B. Spooner,
Rd. Rambaut,
Ilcnrv W. Adams,
556
SUliSClilBERS.
Edward Toole,
Thomas Sliav/,
John Taylor,
Thomas Robinson,
Lewis B. Dunn,
John Urquhart,
David Robertson,
Wm. Robertson, jun.
Thomas Robinson, M. D.
Wm. Bradley,
John H. Frazer,
Stith E. & John B. Burton,
Thomas Shore,
Justus Smith,
Adolphus Peticolas,
Elisha Courtney.
NORFOLK.
Samuel Low, D. D.
Thomas Newton,
Samuel K. Jennings, M. D.
Charles K. Mallory,
George Kelly,
R. C. Jennings,
W. Gwathmey, jun.
Wm. Maxwell,
Luke Wheeler,
John Warren, jun.
Wm. D. Henley,
Ralph Rogers, M. D.
Henry Caurrach,
R. S. Cieland,
J. Wilkinson,
Wm. P. Foster,
Arthur Taylor,
John W. Henop,
Peter Y. Hellen,
Lawson Puckett,
Robert L. Edmonds,
Asa Frost,
Norfolk Lancaster School,
Thomas West,
John Thompson,
James Mitchell,
John Farley,
John Mountfort,
W. T. Niveson,
John West,
Archd. Burns,
L. Hansford, M. D,
Jacob Valentine,
John S. Jobson,
Saml. Myers,
John C. Robertson,
Wm. C. Holt,
Robert Grifith,
D. A. Reynolds,
Lion Hesdras,
Robert Tait,
George Webb,
William Moffat, jun.
Thomas B. Swift,
Walter G. Anderson,
Bartley Potts,
Charles P. Krauth,
Wm, Pollard, jun.
Severn Watson,
Edmund M'Guire,
Charles L. Bealc,
Lovitt Fentress,
Crawley Finney,
John PuUen,
Edwd. Hall,
Wm. P. Robinson.
SUBSCRIBERS.
mr
YiaGINIA.
JVames promiscuously given.
John G. Mosby, Henrico cty.
Charles F. Woodson, Do.
W. Dandridge, Do.
D. M. Wharton, M. D. Powha-
tan cty.
Branch T. Archer, M. D. Do.
Charles W. Lewis, M. D. Do.
Thomas Tabb, Do.
Samuel Jones, Do.
Henry W. Leckett, M. D. Ches-
terfield cty.
William Gholson, Gholsonville.
Thomas Miller, Goochland cty.
Benj. P. Watkins, M. D. Do.
Archd. B. Lewis, Do.
Wm. D. Taylor, Hanover cty.
John Thorn, Culfiefier cty.
John Lewis, Do.
_Augustine Coune, Do.
Randolph Ross, Boteout cty.
James Breckenridge, Do.
C. F. Mercer, Loudon cty.
Temple E, Demoville, Charles
City ctrj.
B. C. Beard, U. S. agent.
Dr. Wm. B. Johnson, Columbia.
James Graves, Louisa cty.
J. P. Moon, Campbell cty.
Landon Cabell, J\'elson cty.
Edmund Pate, Bedford cty.
James Laneer, Gholsonville.
Edward L. Tabb, Mecklenburg.
John R. Lucas, M. D. Do.
Robert King, Do.
P. Doddridge, Brook cty.
John Stokley, Wood cty.
Colin Buckner, Lynchburg.
Samuel F. Adams, Dumfries.
D. Sheffy, Abingdon.
John M. Lowrey, Do.
Augustus Werninger, Morgan-
town.
Sterling Niblett, M. D. Lunen-
burg.
Moses Shepherd, Wheeling.
H. V. Snyder, Romney.
Francis H. Smith, JVorthamfiton.
cty.
George Powell, Do.
Wm. Guirey, Caroline cty.
Mr. Ay re. Eastern Shore.
John F. Parke, Fredericksburg.
M. W. M'Kean, Do.
John Mundell, Do.
P. E. Tabb, Mathews cty.
John M. Walker, Buckingham
cty.
Jacob B. Fowler, Goochland.
Michael Gainer Hall, Hamjiton:
A. G. Goodlet, M. D. U.S.Armn.
358
SUBSCRIBERS.
IfOIlTH CAROXINA AND KENTUCKI.
NORTH CAROLINA.
William Miller,
William M'Pheaters.
John Haywood,
William J. Polk, M. D
B. W. Daniel,
Jonathan Otis Freeman
John F. Goneke,
William Peck,
Rev. Willis Reeves,
RALEIGH.
Thomas Falconer, M. D.
D. D. J. Marling,
J. Scott,
Jeremiah M. C. Rea,
• John T. Scott,
J. M. Patrick,
N. J. Pride,
Benjamin A. Barliam,
Wm. H. Fowler.
SALISBURY.
Henry M. Kerr, D. D.
Jno. M'Cieland,
Stephen L. Ferrand, M. D.
Thos. L. Cowan,
Michael Brown,
Jno. Travis,
John Fulton,
A. Plunkett, Warreiiton.
Wm. D. Freehian, Bo.
John D. Bobbit, Louisburg.
Robert A. Taylor, Do.
Luke G. Lamb, Elizabeth.
John Giles,
Robert Lock,
Moses A. Lock,
James Fitzsimmons,
Charles Fister,
Charles Thienemann,
John M'Rae, Fayette-ville.
Jas M. Henderson, M. D. Do.
J. W. Clark, Tarborough.
Gen. Andw. Joiner, Halifax cty
Tho. Holliday, JVewbern,
KENTUCKY.
H. Claj^ Lexington.
Leonard Wheeler, Do.
Col. G. Crogan, Louis-ville.
Isliam Talbot, FrankforU
Col. S. J. Hawkins, Do.
Jno. L. May, Do.
A. M'Kean, Mecklenburg clu-
E. Rutter, Washington cty.
SUBSCRIBERS. 359
OHIO, &C.
OHIO.
Amos Stafford, Fort Meigs. Joseph Stanbery, jr. Do.
Paul D. Butler, Delenvare. Hugh Glen, Cincinnati.
John M'Dougle, Chillicotke. Jacob Rush, J^eiv Lancaster.
Geo. W. Jackson, Zanesville.
TENNESSEE.
Gen. Andw. Jackson, JVashville. James Edington, Knoxville.
MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY.
Gen. Edmund P. Gaines, St. Col. Gilbert C. Russell, Fort
Jojin Fisher, Do. \_Stephens. [Stoddart.
NEW ORLEANS.
James Brown, William Cochran, M. D.
M. A. Gauvain, Major A. Lacarriere Latour
William Flood, M. D. Thos. B. Robertson.
GEORGIA.
Peter Bennock, Augusta. Ralph Thomas, Augusta.
SOUTH CAROLINA.
John Gaillard, Charleston. Wm. Carloss, Marlborot^gh.
Nicholas West, Do.
#
ERRATA.
Passing over a few typographical errors, which cannot mislead the reader,
we invite his attention to the following.
F„,. T«« read Tfei.i. page i^i»^ir'.?^'r;! Ll^fSZlT^^S 30
Posieuoii
Ceropian
M. CuiiEii
of
were '
Afoon
Severns
Poseidon
Cecropian
M. Cupeh
in
where
Sun
Sever us
6
40
68
135
191
223
12
14
4
4
9
29
5I
reed [in some copies'^ forced 225 30
sepvirture sepulture 247 15
who name names 279 ^
Criattius Eriattitis 311 -^4
colonies who brought, read colo-
pies brought page oo7 Ime 7
^-
^
^tm^
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ypi:
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