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BULFINCH'S MYTHOLOGY
THE AGE OF FABLE
OR STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES
by Thomas Bulfinch
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CHAPTER XXXIV
PYTHAGORAS
SYBARIS AND CROTONA
EGYPTIAN DEITIES
ORACLES
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ùٸ ũ
Ʈ ŵ
Ź()
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PYTHAGORAS
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THE teachings of Anchises to AEneas, respecting the nature
of the human soul, were in conformity with the doctrines
of the Pythagoreans. Pythagoras (born five hundred and
forty years B.C.) was a native of the island of Samos,
but passed the chief portion of his life at Crotona
in Italy. He is therefore sometimes called "the
Samian," and sometimes "the philosopher of
Crotona." When young he travelled extensively, and it
is said visited Egypt, where he was instructed by the
priests in all their learning, and afterwards journeyed to
the East, and visited the Persian and Chaldean Magi, and
the Brahmins of India.
[see also: Map
- Mathematicians born in Samos]
[see also: Avesta
- Zoroastrian Archives]
[see also: Priests,
Priestcraft and Magic (and succeeding chapters)]
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Ű ̳̾ƽ ΰ ȥ Ͽ ߴµ, ħ ǶŸ м ġ ̾. ǶŸ ̾, ǻ κ Ż ũ濡 ´. Ƿ ״ ó < >̶ Ҹ ϰ ũ öڶ Ҹ Ѵ. ״ θ ߴ. ϴ ٿ ϸ Ʈ 湮Ͽ κ й Ŀ Ͽ, 罺ƿ Į ε ٶ 湮ߴٰ س ´.
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At Crotona,
where he finally established himself, his extraordinary
qualities collected round him a great number of disciples.
The inhabitants were notorious for luxury and
licentiousness, but the good effects of his influence were
soon visible. Sobriety and temperance succeeded. Six
hundred of the inhabitants became his disciples and
enrolled themselves in a society to aid each other in the
pursuit of wisdom, uniting their property in one common
stock for the benefit of the whole. |
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ħ ״ ũ濡 ϰ Ǿµ, ̰ ڵ Ҵ. ũ ֹε ġ Ǹ Ҵµ, ǶŸ ȭ ٷ Ÿ ߴ. پ ٶ Ͼ ֹε ڰ ǰ ߱ϱ Ͽ . |
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They were required to
practise the greatest purity and simplicity of manners.
The first lesson they learned was silence; for a time they
were required to be only hearers. "He [Pythagoras]
said so" (Ipse dixit), was to be held by them
as sufficient, without any proof. It was only the advanced
pupils, after years of patient submission, who were
allowed to ask questions and to state objections.
[see also: Pythagoras
and the Pythagoreans]
[see also: Diodorus,
Historical Library - Pythagoras]
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ϰ ˼ Ȱ õϵ 䱸Ǿ. <ħ>̾. а ⸸ ؾ ߴ. <[ǶŸ] Ͽ(Ipse dixit)> ϸ, ƹ ȵǾ. ϰ ݴ ǰ ϴ ⵿ γ ڿ ߴ. |
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Pythagoras considered numbers as the essence and
principle of all things, and attributed to them a real and
distinct existence; so that, in his view, they were the
elements out of which the universe was constructed. How he
conceived this process has never been satisfactorily
explained. He traced the various forms and phenomena of
the world to numbers as their basis and essence. The
"Monad" or unit he regarded as the source of all
numbers. The number Two was imperfect, and the cause of
increase and division. Three was called the number of the
whole because it had a beginning, middle, and end. Four,
representing the square, is in the highest degree perfect;
and Ten [The
"Decad"], as it contains the sum of
the four prime numbers, comprehends all musical and
arithmetical proportions, and denotes the system of the
world.
[see also: A
Brief History of the Pythagorean Theorem]
[see also: Right
Triangles]
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ǶŸ () ̸ ν ü и ϴ ̶ ߴ. ؿ ϸ ҿ ̴. װ ߴ ؼ . ״ ¿ ̸ μ ϴ Ҵ. <>, <1> ٿ̶ ߴ. <2>ϴ ҿϰ ̾. <3> ʿ ߰ ֱ ҷ. <4> ǥϴ μ . <10> ⺻ հ . <10> ⺻ հ(1+2+3+4=10) ϰ Ƿ ̰ ϸ, ǥϰ ִ ̶ Ѵ. |
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As the numbers proceed from the monad, so he regarded
the pure and simple essence of the Deity as the source of
all the forms of nature. Gods, demons, and heroes are
emanations of the Supreme, and there is a fourth
emanation, the human soul. This is immortal, and when
freed from the fetters of the body passes to the
habitation of the dead, where it remains till it returns
to the world, to dwell in some other human or animal body,
and at last, when sufficiently purified, it returns to the
source from which it proceeded. This doctrine of the
transmigration of souls (metempsychosis),
which was originally Egyptian and connected with the
doctrine of reward and punishment of human actions, was
the chief cause why the Pythagoreans killed no animals.
Ovid represents Pythagoras addressing his disciples in
these words: |
κ ϴ ٿ ǶŸ ż()̶ ϰ Ϳ ۵Ǵ ̶ . ŵ Ǹ ְ Ϳ ܳ ̴. ° ܳ ΰ ȥ̴. ȥ Ҹ̰ ü ӹ ó ٽ ΰ̳ ü ӿ ϱ ƿ װ ӹ. ȭǾ ħ ʿ ٿ ȯѴ. ̷ ȥ Ʈ ̰ ΰ ִ ε, ǶŸ ͵ źϰ ־ Ŀٶ . 콺 ǶŸ ڵ鿡 ߴٰ ϰ ִ. |
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"Souls never die, but always on quitting one
abode pass to another. I myself can remember that in the
time of the Trojan war I was Euphorbus, the son of
Panthus, and fell by the spear of Menelaus. Lately being
in the temple of Juno, at Argos, I recognized my shield
hung up there among the trophies. All things change,
nothing perishes. The soul passes hither and thither,
occupying now this body, now that, passing from the body
of a beast into that of a man, and thence to a beast's
again. As wax is stamped with certain figures, then
melted, then stamped anew with others, yet is always the
same wax, so the soul, being always the same, yet wears,
at different times, different forms. Therefore, if the
love of kindred is not extinct in your bosoms, forbear,
I entreat you, to violate the life of those who may
haply be your own relatives."
[see source: Ovid's
Metamorphoses, Book XV, Pythagorus, lines 241 -
269] |
"ȥ ʰ, ó ٸ ó žư. ڽŵ Ʈ̾ Ƶ µ, ڶ â ¾ Ѵ. ֱٿ Ƹ ÿ ִ ִµ װ ϴ а ǰ Բ ɷ ִ Ҵ. ̿ õ ϳ ʴ´. ȥ ̰ žư ̹ ü, ü ӹ ΰ ִ. ʰ ٰ ٽ ٽ ο ʴ ó ȥ ȥ̸, װ ¸ Ѵ. Ƿ Ҳ ʾҴٸ, װ ڽ ģô ״ϱ ̴." |
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Shakespeare,
in the "Merchant
of Venice," makes Gratiano allude to the
metempsychosis, where he says to Shylock:
"Thou almost mak'st me waver in my faith,
To hold opinion with Pythagoras,
That souls of animals infuse themselves
Into the trunks of men; thy currish spirit
Governed a wolf, who, hanged for human slaughter,
Infused his soul in thee; for thy desires
Are wolfish, bloody, starved and ravenous."
[Act
IV, scene I]
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The relation of the notes of the musical scale to
numbers, whereby harmony results from vibrations in equal
times, and discord from the reverse, led Pythagoras to
apply the word "harmony" to the visible
creation, meaning by it the just adaptation of parts to
each other. |
(ͭ) (ݬ) 迡 ؼ ȭ Ϳ ȭ µ ̷ 迡 ǶŸ ̴ Ϳ <ȭ> ϰ κ ϰ ִ ¸ ǹϰ Ǿ. |
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This is the idea which Dryden
expresses in the beginning of his "Song for St.
Cecilia's Day":
"From harmony, from heavenly harmony
This everlasting frame began;
From harmony to harmony
Through all the compass of the notes it ran,
The Diapason closing full in Man." |
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In the centre of the universe (he taught) there was a
central fire, the principle of life. The central fire was
surrounded by the earth, the moon, the sun, and the five
planets. The distances of the various heavenly bodies from
one another were conceived to correspond to the
proportions of the musical scale. The heavenly bodies,
with the gods who inhabited them, were supposed to perform
a choral dance round the central fire, "not without
song." |
߽ɿ (ǶŸ ϸ) ߽ ־. ߽ ް ¾ ټ ѷο ־. õü Ÿ ʿ ġϴ Ǿ. õü ӿ ϴ ŵ Ҿ ߽ 鼭 <뷡 θ ʴ > â ϰ ִٰ Ǿ. |
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It is this doctrine which Shakespeare alludes
to when he makes Lorenzo teach astronomy to Jessica in
this fashion:
"Look, Jessica, see how the floor of heaven
Is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold!
There's not the smallest orb that thou behold'st
But in his motion like an angel sings,
Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubim;
Such harmony is in immortal souls!
But whilst this muddy vesture of decay
Doth grossly close it in we cannot hear it."
Merchant of Venice [Act
V, scene I]
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The spheres were conceived to be crystalline or glassy
fabrics arranged over one another like a nest of bowls
reversed. In the substance of each sphere one or more of
the heavenly bodies was supposed to be fixed, so as to
move with it. As the spheres are transparent we look
through them and see the heavenly bodies which they
contain and carry round with them. But as these spheres
cannot move on one another without friction, a sound is
thereby produced which is of exquisite harmony, too fine
for mortal ears to recognize. |
õ Ȥ Ǿ ְ ֹ ó ִ Ǿ. õ ο ϳ Ȥ μ õü پ ־ õ Բ Ǿ ִ ̶ Ǿ. õ ϹǷ 츮 õ Ͽ װ پ Բ ִ õü ȴ. ̷ õ װ Ƿ ؼ ϴµ, װ Ƿ Ƹٿ ȭ , ʹ Ƹٿ ΰ Ϳ 鸮 . |
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Milton,
in his "Hymn
on the Nativity," thus alludes to the music of
the spheres:
"Ring out, ye crystal spheres!
Once bless our human ears
(If ye have power to charm our senses so);
And let your silver chime
Move in melodious time;
And let the bass of Heaven's deep organ blow;
And with your ninefold harmony
Make up full concert to the angelic symphony." |
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Pythagoras is said to have invented the lyre. |
ǶŸ ߸ߴٰ ִ. |
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Our own
poet Longfellow,
in "Verses to a Child," thus relates the story:
"As great Pythagoras of yore,
Standing beside the blacksmith's door,
And hearing the hammers as they smote
The anvils with a different note,
Stole from the varying tones that hung
Vibrant on every iron tongue,
The secret of the sounding wire,
And formed the seven-chorded lyre."
See also the same poet's "Occultation of
Orion"-
"The Samian's great AEolian lyre."
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[see source: Ovid's
Metamorphoses, Book XV, Pythagorus]
[see also: Ethics
of Greek Culture - Pythagoras and Early Philosophy]
[see also: Pythagoras:
Music and Space]
[see also: Pythagoras
- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry]
[see also: Pythagoras
of Samos - History of Mathematics entry]
[see also: Pythagoras
- Directory and Bibliography] |
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SYBARIS AND CROTONA
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Sybaris,
a neighbouring city to Crotona,
was as celebrated for luxury and effeminacy as Crotona for
the reverse. The name has become proverbial.
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ùٸ ũ濡 ÷ ġ
ߴ. ũ ݴ ߴ Ͱ , ùٸ ̸ ü ġ
Ӵ㿡 .
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J.
R. Lowell uses it in this sense in his charming little
poem "To the Dandelion":
"Not in mid June the golden-cuirassed bee
Feels a more summer-like, warm ravishment
In the white lily's breezy tent
(His conquered Sybaris) than I when first
From the dark green thy yellow circles burst."
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A war arose between the two cities, and Sybaris was
conquered and destroyed. Milo,
the celebrated athlete, led the army of Crotona. Many
stories are told of Milo's vast strength, such as his
carrying a heifer of four years old upon his shoulders and
afterwards eating the whole of it in a single day. The
mode of his death is thus related: As he was passing
through a forest he saw the trunk of a tree which had been
partially split open by wood-cutters, and attempted to
rend it further; but the wood closed upon his hands and
held him fast, in which state he was attacked and devoured
by wolves.
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̿ Ͼ, ùٸ ϰ ıǾ. з̶ () ũ 븦 ̲ Ա ̴. з Ŵ ؼ ̾߱Ⱑ ִµ, ϼҸ ް , ߿ Ҹ Ϸ ȿ Ծ ȴٴ ̾߱Ⱑ ִ. Ҵٰ Ѵ. װ Ϻκ ɰ ٱⰡ . װ ɰ ϴٰ ٱ · ״ ħ ٴ ̴.
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Byron,
in his "Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte," alludes to
the story of Milo:
"He who of old would rend the oak
Deemed not of the rebound;
Chained by the trunk he vainly broke,
Alone, how looked he round!"
[see also: reference
to Milo(n) in Herodotus - Histories, Book III]
[see also: references
to Sybaris in Herodotus - Histories, Books V and VI]
[see also: references
to Croton(a) in Herodotus - Histories, Books III
and V]
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EGYPTIAN DEITIES
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The Egyptians acknowledged as the highest deity Amun,
afterwards called Zeus, or Jupiter Ammon. Amun manifested
himself in his word or will, which created Kneph and
Athor, of different sexes. From Kneph and Athor proceeded
Osiris and Isis.
(note: Bulfinch may have relied on now
outdated sources. Current sources now regard Geb
and Nut
as the parents of Osiris and Isis)
Osiris
was worshipped as the god of the sun, the source of
warmth, life, and fruitfulness, in addition to which he
was also regarded as the god of the Nile,
who annually visited his wife, Isis
(the Earth), by means of an inundation. Serapis or Hermes
is sometimes represented as identical with Osiris, and
sometimes as a distinct divinity, the ruler of Tartarus
and god of medicine. |
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Ʈ ε ְ μ ϸ Ͽ. Ŀ 콺 Ȥ ϸ̶ θ ŵ̴. ϸ ̳ ν ڽ ǥϿµ, ũ 丣 âߴ. κ ø ̽ý źߴ. ø ¾ , ±(Ѩ) dz õμ Ǿ Ӹ ƴ϶, ϰ ε Ǿ ų Ŵν ó ̽ý[] ̶ Ǿ. ǽ[ϸ 츣] δ μ, ŸŸν[٢ݤ] ڿ, Ǽ Ǿ. |
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Anubis
is the guardian god, represented with a dog's head,
emblematic of his character of fidelity and watchfulness. Horus
or Harpocrates was the son of Osiris. He is represented
seated on a Lotus flower, with his finger on his lips, as
the god of Silence. |
ƴ ȣμ Ӹ ִµ, Ӹ ǰ ¡ϰ ִ. ȣν Ȥ ϸũ ø Ƶ̾. ״ ħ μ հ Լ · ǥȴ.
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In one of Moore's "Irish Melodies" is an
allusion to Harpocrates:
"Thyself shall, under some rosy bower,
Sit mute, with thy finger on thy lip;
Like him, the boy, who born among
The flowers that on the Nile-stream blush,
Sits ever thus,- his only song
To Earth and Heaven, 'Hush all, hush!'"
[see also: Goddesses
and Gods of Ancient Egypt]
[see also: The
Egyptian Galleries]
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MYTH OF OSIRIS AND ISIS
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Osiris and Isis were at one time induced to descend to the
earth to bestow gifts and blessings on its inhabitants.
Isis showed them first the use of wheat and barley, and
Osiris made the instruments of agriculture and taught men
the use of them, as well as how to harness the ox to the
plough. He then gave men laws, the institution of
marriage, a civil organization, and taught them how to
worship the gods. After he had thus made the valley of the
Nile a happy country, he assembled a host with which he
went to bestow his blessings upon the rest of the world. |
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, ø ̽ý ֹε鿡 ູ ְ Ǿ. ̽ý 鿡 ʷ а ְ, ø³() ־, ⸦ ҿ ־. ø ΰ ȥ ȸ ο, ŵ ϴ ־. ״ ̿ ູ Ŀ, õ ٸ κп οϱ ؼ . |
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He conquered the nations everywhere, but not with weapons,
only with music and eloquence. His brother, Typhon (Set)
saw this, and filled with envy and malice sought during
his absence to usurp his throne. But Isis, who held the
reins of government, frustrated his plans. Still more
embittered, he now resolved to kill his brother. This he
did in the following manner: Having organized a conspiracy
of seventy-two members, he went with them to the feast
which was celebrated in honour of the king's return. He
then caused a box or chest to be brought in, which had
been made to fit exactly the size of Osiris, and declared
that he would give that chest of precious wood to
whomsoever could get into it. The rest tried in vain, but
no sooner was Osiris in it than Typhon and his companions
closed the lid and flung the chest into the Nile. |
״ ó ֹε , װ ν ƴ϶ ǰ ߴ.
ø Ƽ ̰ ǿ , װ ڸ ̿ ߴ. ð ִ ̽ý ȹ ״. ̸Ͽ ѿ 繫ģ Ƽ ħ ̱ ߴ. װ Ǿ. ״ Ͽ, ͱ ϴ ߴ. ״ ̸ ø ° ū ˸ ߴ. ӿ ִ ڿ ˸ ϰڳ ߴ. غ ʾҴ. ø ʰ Ǿ װ , Ƽ Ѳ ݰ ˸ ϰ .
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When Isis heard of the cruel murder she wept and mourned,
and then with her hair shorn, clothed in black and beating
her breast, she sought diligently for the body of her
husband. In this search she was materially assisted by Anubis,
the son of Osiris and Nephthys.
They sought in vain for some time; for when the chest,
carried by the waves to the shores of Byblos, had become
entangled in the reeds that grew at the edge of the water,
the divine power that dwelt in the body of Osiris imparted
such strength to the shrub that it grew into a mighty
tree, enclosing in its trunk the coffin of the god. This
tree with its sacred deposit was shortly after felled, and
erected as a column in the palace of the king of Phoenicia.
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̽ý ҽ ϸ Ӹ , ġ ü ãҴ.
׳, Ž ־ ø Ƽ ̿ ¾ Ƶ ƴκ Ҵ. Ž 翴. ֳϸ ˰ ĵ Ƿ ν ؾȤ ڶ 뿡 , ø ü ӿ ӹ ִ ŷ() 뿡 ̻ ־. ֳϸ ڶ Ÿ Ǿ ٱ ӿ Ǿ ̴. ʾ ż ä äǾ Ű () Ǿ. |
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But at length by the aid of Anubis and the sacred birds,
Isis ascertained these facts, and then went to the royal
city. There she offered herself at the palace as a
servant, and being admitted, threw off her disguise and
appeared as the goddess, surrounded with thunder and
lightning. Striking the column with her wand she caused it
to split open and give up the sacred coffin. This she
seized and returned with it, and concealed it in the depth
of a forest, but Typhon discovered it, and cutting the
body into fourteen pieces scattered them hither and
thither. After a tedious search, Isis found thirteen
pieces, the fishes of the Nile having eaten the other.
This she replaced by an imitation of sycamore wood, and
buried the body at Philoe (Philae),
which became ever after the great burying place of the
nation, and the spot to which pilgrimages were made from
all parts of the country. A temple of surpassing
magnificence was also erected there in honour of the god,
and at every place where one of his limbs had been found
minor temples and tombs were built to commemorate the
event. Osiris became after that the tutelar deity of the
Egyptians. His soul was supposed always to inhabit the
body of the bull Apis, and at his death to transfer itself
to his successor.
[see also: The
Story of Isis and Osiris]
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̽ý ħ ƺ ϴ Žϰ ŰƷ . , ׳ ձ ϳ ߴ. , ׳ ڼҸ ҿ ѷο · Ÿ. տ ̷ ġ ɰ ż Դ. ׳ ƿͼ ߾ ξ, Ƽ ̸ ߰Ͽ ü 丷 ߰ ߶ ѷȴ. ̽ý ã 丷 ãҴµ 丷 Ⱑ Ծ ̴. ׳ ȭ κ ظ ʶ ߴ. ĺ Ǿ ڰ . ̰ ø , ̶ ߰ߵ й , ļ ߴ. ø Ʈ ȣ Ǿ. ȥ ſ() ǽ ӹ Ұ ҿ ž ٰ Ǿ.
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Apis, the Bull of Memphis, was worshipped with the
greatest reverence by the Egyptians. The individual animal
who was held to be Apis was recognized by certain signs.
It was requisite that he should be quite black, have a
white square mark on the forehead, another, in the form of
an eagle, on his back, and under his tongue a lump
somewhat in the shape of a scarabaeus or beetle. As soon
as a bull thus marked was found by those sent in search of
him, he was placed in a building facing the east, and was
fed with milk for four months. At the expiration of this
term the priests repaired at new moon, with great pomp, to
his habitation and saluted him Apis. He was placed in a
vessel magnificently decorated and conveyed down the Nile
to Memphis, where a temple, with two chapels and a court
for exercise, was assigned to him. Sacrifices were made to
him, and once every year, about the time when the Nile
began to rise, a golden cup was thrown into the river, and
a grand festival was held to celebrate his birthday. The
people believed that during this festival the crocodiles
forgot their natural ferocity and became harmless. There
was, however, one drawback to his happy lot: he was not
permitted to live beyond a certain period, and if, when he
had attained the age of twenty-five years, he still
survived, the priests drowned him in the sacred cistern
and then buried him in the temple of Serapis. On the death
of this bull, whether it occurred in the course of nature
or by violence, the whole land was filled with sorrow and
lamentations, which lasted until his successor was found. |
ǽ ȲҶ θ ǽ Ʈ κ 踦 Ҵ. ǽ Ǵ Ҵ ǥ Ͽ а ־. İ ̸ ũ ְ ũ ְ, ؿ (ˣ) Ȥ ־߸ ߴ. װ ã Ư İߵ 鿡 ̿ ũ ȲҰ ߰ߵǸ Ҵ ǹ ȿ ġǾ 4Կ 淯. Ⱓ ߴ 㿡 ϰ ǽ ߰ Ұ ִ Ҹ ǽμ ߴ. Ҵ Ǹϰ ĵ 迡 ¿ ǽ ݵǾ.
װ ä Ŀٶ Ҹ غǾ ־. ǽ , ų ѹ Ǹ [] ǽ ź ϴ ȴ. ϴ ٿ ϸ Ⱓ ȿ Ǿ鵵 糪 ظ ġ ٰ Ѵ. ǽ ѵ ־. ǽ Ⱓ ̻ ʾǷ 25 ص Ҹ ż ־ ͻŰ ǽ ߴ. Ұ װ ڿ̵ ̵ ź Ǵµ, ź İڰ ߰ߵ ӵǾ.
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We find the following item in one of the newspapers of
the day:
"The Tomb of Apis.- The excavations going on at
Memphis bid fair to make that buried city as interesting
as Pompeii. The monster tomb of Apis is now open, after
having lain unknown for centuries."
Milton, in his "Hymn
on the Nativity," alludes to the Egyptian
deities, not as imaginary beings, but as real demons, put
to flight by the coming of Christ.
"The brutish gods of Nile as fast,
Isis and Horus and the dog Anubis haste.
Nor is Osiris seen
In Memphian grove or green
Trampling the unshowered* grass with lowings loud;
Nor can he be at rest
Within his sacred chest;
Nought but profoundest hell can be his shroud.
In vain with timbrel'd anthems dark
The sable-stoled sorcerers bear his worshipped
ark."
* There being no rain in Egypt, the
grass is "unshowered," and the country depends
for its fertility upon the overflowings
of the Nile. The ark alluded to in the last line is
shown by pictures still remaining on the walk of the
Egyptian temple to have been borne by the priests in their
religious processions. It probably represented the chest
in which Osiris was placed.
Isis was represented in statuary with the head veiled,
a symbol of mystery. It is this which Tennyson
alludes to in "Maud,"
IV. 8:
"For the drift of the Maker is dark, an Isis hid
by the veil," etc.
[see also: Ancient
Egypt]
[see also: Egyptology
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions about Egyptian Mythology]
[see also: The
Egyptian Book of the Dead - Budge translation]
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ORACLES
Oracle was the name used to denote the place where answers
were supposed to be given by any of the divinities to
those who consulted them respecting the future. The word
was also used to signify the response which was given.
The most ancient Grecian oracle was that of Jupiter
(Zeus) at Dodona.
According to one account, it was established in the
following manner: Two black doves took their flight from
Thebes in Egypt. One flew to Dodona in Epirus,
and alighting in a grove of oaks, it proclaimed in human
language to the inhabitants of the district that they must
establish there an oracle of Jupiter. The other dove flew
to the temple of Jupiter Ammon in the Libyan Oasis, and
delivered a similar command there. Another account is,
that they were not doves, but priestesses, who were
carried off from Thebes in Egypt by the Phoenicians,
and set up oracles at the Oasis and Dodona. The responses
of the oracle were given from the trees, by the branches
rustling in the wind, the sounds being interpreted by the
priests.
But the most celebrated of the Grecian oracles was that
of Apollo at Delphi,
a city built on the slopes of Parnassus
in Phocis.
It had been observed at a very early period that the
goats feeding on Parnassus were thrown into convulsions
when they approached a certain long deep cleft in the side
of the mountain. This was owing to a peculiar vapour
arising out of the cavern, and one of the goatherds was
induced to try its effects upon himself. Inhaling the
intoxicating air, he was affected in the same manner as
the cattle had been, and the inhabitants of the
surrounding country, unable to explain the circumstance,
imputed the convulsive ravings to which he gave utterance
while under the power of the exhalations to a divine
inspiration. The fact was speedily circulated widely, and
a temple was erected on the spot. The prophetic influence
was at first variously attributed to the goddess Earth, to
Neptune, Themis,
and others, but it was at length assigned to Apollo, and
to him alone. A priestess was appointed whose office it
was to inhale the hallowed air, and who was named the
Pythia. She was prepared for this duty by previous
ablution at the fountain of Castalia (Castaly),
and being crowned with laurel was seated upon a tripod
similarly adorned, which was placed over the chasm whence
the divine afflatus proceeded. Her inspired words while
thus situated were interpreted by the priests.
[see image: 53K - Sibylla
Delphica - painting by Edward Coley Burne-Jones]
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Ŭ̶, ſ ̷翡 Ϸ , 亯 κ ־ٰ Ǿ Ű ̴. κ ־ 亯 ϴ 쿡 .
ŹҴ ִ 콺 Źҿ. Ͽ ϸ װ ǸǾٰ Ѵ. ѱⰡ Ʈ ̷κ ƿԴ. ̷ν ߿ ִ ư װ ɾ װ ֹε鿡 ΰ װ 콺 ŹҸ Ǹ϶ ߴ. ѱ ƽý ִ ϸ ư װ ߴٰ Ѵ. ٸ Ͽ ϸ ѱⰡ ƴ϶, (ҳ) Ѵ. ׳ Ʈ ̷κ Ű ο ġǾ ƽý ŹҸ Ǹߴٰ Ѵ. Źҿ 亯 κ ־. ٶ ϸ Ҹ ؼߴ.
Ź ̿ ִ Źҿ. ̴ Ű ִ ĸҽ ο ÿ.
˷ ִ , ĸҽ Ǯ ִ Ҵ ο ִ ϰ ƴ ٰ ݵ ڱ Ų. ̰ ϴ Ư ̾µ, () ڱⰡ Ͽ. ߵ ⸦ ϴ, Ұ ҿ ״. ̿ ֹε ˼ Ƿ ¿ Ҹ ̶ ߴ. θ ˷, װ ̴. ó ̳ Ǵ ̵, ̽, ŵ , ħ ̶ ϰ ǰ Ÿ Ǿ. װ డ Ǿµ, ׳ ӹ ż (Ѩ) Ƶ̴ ̾, ǪƼƶ Ǿ.
׳డ ӹ ñ ؼ 켱 īŻ Ӹ , ﰢ(߲ʭ) öɾҴ. װ ƴ ־µ, ƴ Ⱑ Դ. ̷ ɾ ִ ȿ ׳ ϴµ, ؼߴ.
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ORACLE OF TROPHONIUS
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ƮϿ Ź
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Besides the oracles of Jupiter and Apollo, at Dodona and
Delphi, that of Trophonius in Boeotia
was held in high estimation. Trophonius
and Agamedes were brothers. They were distinguished
architects, and built the temple of Apollo at Delphi, and
a treasury for King Hyrieus. In the wall of the treasury
they placed a stone, in such a manner that it could be
taken out; and by this means, from time to time, purloined
the treasure. This amazed Hyrieus, for his locks and seals
were untouched, and yet his wealth continually diminished.
At length he set a trap for the thief and Agamedes was
caught.
Trophonius, unable to extricate him, and fearing that
when found he would be compelled by torture to discover
his accomplice, cut off his head. Trophonius himself is
said to have been shortly afterwards swallowed up by the
earth.
The oracle of Trophonius was at Lebadea in Boeotia.
During a great drought the Boeotians, it is said, were
directed by the god at Delphi to seek aid of Trophonius at
Lebadea. They came thither, but could find no oracle. One
of them, however, happening to see a swarm of bees,
followed them to a chasm in the earth, which proved to be
the place sought.
[see also: Pausanias,
Description of Greece - Boeotians at oracle of
Trophonius]
Peculiar ceremonies were to be performed by the person
who came to consult the oracle. After these preliminaries,
he descended into the cave by a narrow passage. This place
could be entered only in the night. The person returned
from the cave by the same narrow passage, but walking
backwards. He appeared melancholy and dejected; and hence
the proverb which was applied to a person low-spirited and
gloomy, "He has been consulting the oracle of
Trophonius."
[see also: Pausanias,
Description of Greece - oracle of Trophonius at
Lebadea]
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̿ ִ 콺 Ź ܿ ̿Ƽƿ ִ ƮϿ Źҵ ߵǰ ־. ƮϿ ư . డμ, ϸ װ ߴ. â װ ֵ Ҵ. ij´. ¦ . ڱ ڹ質 ƹ ̻ µ, پ ̴. ħ ġߴµ, ư ̿ ɷȴ. ƮϿ , ߰Ǹ ڱ 巯 ηϿ ư ߶. ƮϿ ڽ ʾ ٰ .
ƮϿ ŹҴ ̿Ƽ ٵ̾ƿ ־. ū ־ , ϸ ̿Ƽ κ ٵ̾ ø Ҵٰ Ѵ. װ , ŹҸ ߰ . 쿬 ڸ , 鿡 ƴ ־. ˰ ̰̱ ã ̾.
Źҿ Ź Ư ǽ ȵǾ. ǽ ״ . ߿ ־ κ ƿ ް Ͽ ɾԴ. ϰ Ͱ . ̷κ DZħϰ <״ ƮϿ Ź ϰ Դ.> , Ӵȭƴ.
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ORACLE OF AESCULAPIUS
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ƽŬǿ Ź
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There were numerous oracles of AEsculapius, but the most
celebrated one was at Epidaurus. Here the sick sought
responses and the recovery of their health by sleeping in
the temple. It has been inferred from the accounts that
have come down to us that the treatment of the sick
resembled what is now called Animal Magnetism or
Mesmerism.
Serpents
were sacred to AEsculapius, probably because of a
superstition that those animals have a faculty of renewing
their youth by a change of skin.
[see also: The
Symbols of Medicine - valuable article on staff of
AEsculapius and caduceus of Hermes - caution: huge
graphic files]
The worship of AEsculapius was introduced into Rome in a
time of great sickness, and an embassy sent to the temple
of Epidaurus to entreat the aid of the god.
AEsculapius was propitious and on the return of the ship
accompanied it in the form of a serpent. Arriving in the
river Tiber, the serpent glided from the vessel and took
possession of an island
in the river, and a temple was there erected to his
honour.
[see also: Etruscan
and Roman Medicine - caption for Antonius Pius medallion]
[see also: Healer
Cults and Sanctuaries]
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ƽŬǿ ŹҴ ־µ, Ǵٿν ִ ̾. ̰ ڵ ȿ ν Ź 亯 ϰų ġų ߴ. ϴ ٿ ϸ, ̷ ġ ó ڱ(ڪѨ), Ǵ ̶ָ θ Ͱ ȴ. ƽŬǿԴ ־. װ Ƹ 㹰 ν û ã ɷ ִٴ ̽ſ ̾. ƽŬǿ 谡 θ Ұ ħ θ 뿪(ܻ) ϰ . θ ڰ Ǵٿν İߵǾ ûߴ ̴. ƽŬǿ û ְ, 谡 ƿ , · ٲٰ Բ .
Ͽ Ƽ , 迡 ִ ڸ Ҵ. ̰ ƽŬǿ ̴.
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ORACLE OF APIS
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ǽ Ź
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At Memphis the sacred bull Apis gave answer to those who
consulted him by the manner in which he received or
rejected what was presented to him. If the bull refused
food from the hand of the inquirer it was considered an
unfavourable sign, and the contrary when he received it.
It has been a question whether oracular responses ought
to be ascribed to mere human contrivance or to the agency
of evil spirits. The latter opinion has been most general
in past ages. A third theory has been advanced since the
phenomena of Mesmerism have attracted attention, that
something like the mesmeric trance was induced in the
Pythoness, and the faculty of clairvoyance really called
into action.
Another question is as to the time when the Pagan
oracles ceased to give responses. Ancient Christian
writers assert that they became silent at the birth of
Christ, and were heard no more after that date.
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ǽ ż Ȳ ǽ, Ź 鿡 亯 ϰ ־. ҿ ģ ϴ źϴĿ Ÿ. Ұ ϴ տ Ƶ̱⸦ źϸ ұ ¡̰ Ƶ̸ ¡ Ǿ. Ź 亯 ΰ ٸ糽 Ȥ Ƿ ۿ , ſ ǰ 켼ߴ. ָ ָDZ ĺʹ ̷ Ǿ. ϸ ָ ȥ¿ ¿ õȰ ɷ ȯȴٴ ̴.
ϳ ̷ θ Ź 亯 ʰ ñ ̴. Ź ħϰ ź ̸, ׳ ķδ Ǿٰ Ѵ.
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Milton
adopts this view in his "Hymn
on the Nativity," and in lines of solemn and
elevated beauty pictures the consternation of the heathen
idols at the advent of the Saviour:
"The oracles are dumb;
No voice or hideous hum
Rings through the arched roof in words deceiving.
Apollo from his shrine
Can no more divine,
With hollow shriek the steep of Delphos leaving.
No nightly trance or breathed spell
Inspires the pale-eyed priest from the prophetic
cell."
In Cowper's
poem of "Yardley Oak" there are some beautiful
mythological allusions. The former of the two following is
to the fable of Castor and
Pollux; the latter is more appropriate to our present
subject. Addressing the acorn he says,
"Thou fell'st mature; and in the loamy clod,
Swelling with vegetative force instinct,
Didst burst thine egg, as theirs the fabled Twins
Now stars; two lobes protruding, paired exact;
A leaf succeeded and another leaf,
And, all the elements thy puny growth
Fostering propitious, thou becam'st a twig.
Who lived when thou wast such? O, couldst thou speak,
As in Dodona once thy kindred trees
Oracular, I would not curious ask
The future, best unknown, but at thy mouth
Inquisitive, the less ambiguous past."
Tennyson,
in his "Talking
Oak," alludes to the oaks of Dodona in these
lines:
"And I will work in prose and rhyme,
And praise thee more in both
Than bard has honored beech or lime,
Or that Thessalian growth
In which the swarthy ring-dove sat
And mystic sentence spoke;" etc.
Byron
alludes to the oracle of Delphi where, speaking of Rousseau,
whose writings he conceives did much to bring on the
French revolution, he says,
"For then he was inspired, and from him came,
As from the Pythian's mystic cave of yore,
Those oracles which set the world in flame,
Nor ceased to burn till kingdoms were no more."
[Childe
Harold's Pilgrimage, Canto III, verse LXXXI, line
761]
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Back to Chapter XXXIII, Part II
On to Chapter XXXV |
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