Chapter V: Syria

BIBLIOGRAPHY: The Syrian religions have been studied with especial attention to their relation with Judaism: Baudissin, _Studien zur semitischen Religionsgeschichte_, 2 vols., Leipsic, 1876. The same author has published veritable monographs on certain divinities (Astarte, Baal, Sonne, etc.) in the _Realencyclopädie für prot. Theol._, of Herzog-Hauck, 3d ed.--Bäthgen, _Beiträge zur semitischen Religionsgeschichte_, Berlin, 1888.--W. Robertson Smith, _The Religion of the Semites_, 2d. ed., London, 1894.--Lagrange, _Etudes sur les religions sémitiques_, 2d ed., Paris, 1905. The results of the excavations in Palestine, which are important in regard to the funeral customs and the oldest idolatry, have been summarized by Father Hugues Vincent, _Canaan d'après l'exploration récente_, 1907.--On the propagation of the Syrian religions in the Occident, see Réville, _op. cit._, pp. 70 _et passim_; Wissowa, _Religion der Römer_, pp. 299 ff.; Gruppe, _Griech. Mythol._, pp. 1582 f.--Important observations will be found in Clermont-Ganneau, _Recueil d'archéologie orientale_, 8 vols., 1888, and in Dussaud, _Notes de mythologie syrienne_, Paris, 1903. We have published a series of articles on particular divinities in the _Realencyclopädie_ of Pauly-Wissowa (Baal, Balsamem, Dea Syria, Dolichenus, Gad, etc.). Other monographs are cited below.

1. Lucian, _Lucius_, 53 ff.; Apul., _Metam._, VIII, 24 ff. The description by these authors has recently been confirmed by the discovery of an inscription at Kefr-Hauar in Syria: a slave of the Syrian goddess "sent by her mistress ([Greek: kuria])," boasts of having brought back "seventy sacks" from each of her trips (Fossey, _Bull. corr. hell._, XXI, 1897, p. 60; on the {242} meaning of [Greek: pêra], "sack," see Deissmann, _Licht von Osten_, 1908, p. 73).

2. Cf. Riess in Pauly-Wissowa, s. v. _Astrologie_, col. 1816.

3. Cato, _De agric._, V, 4.

4. On dedication of Romans to Atargatis, see _Bull. corr. hell._, VI, 1882, p. 497, No. 15; p. 498, No. 17.

5. Since the year 187 we find the Syrian musicians (_sambucistriae_) mentioned also at Rome. Their number grew steadily (Livy, XXXIX, 6; see Friedländer, _Sittengesch._, III^6, p. 346.)

6. Florus, II, 7 (III, 9); cf. Diodorus Sic., fr. 34, 2, 5.

7. Plut., _Vit. Marii_, 17.

8. Juvenal, VI, 351; Martial, IV, 53, 10; IX, 2, 11, IX, 22, 9.

9. _CIL_, VI, 399; cf. Wissowa, _op. cit._, p. 201.--Suetonius, _Nero_, 56.

10. A temple of the Syrian gods at Rome, located at the foot of the Janiculum, has been excavated very recently. Cf. Gauckler, _Bolletino communale di Roma_, 1907, pp. 5 ff. (Cf. Hülsen, _Mitt. Inst. Rom_, XXII, 1907, pp. 225 ff.); _Comptes Rendus Acad. Inscr._, 1907, pp. 135 ff.; 1908, pp. 510 ff.; 1909, pp. 424 ff., pp. 617 ff.; Nicole and Darier, _Le sanctuaire des dieux orientaux au Janicule_, Rome, 1909 (Extr. des "Mél. Ecole franç. de Rome," XXIX). In it have been found dedications to Hadad of the Lebanon, to the Hadad [Greek: akroreitês], and to Maleciabrudus (in regard to the latter see Clermont-Ganneau, _Rec. d'archéol. or._, VIII, 1907, p. 52). Cf. my article "Syria Dea" in Daremberg-Saglio-Pottier, _Diction. des antiquités gr. et rom._, 1911.

11. I have said a few words on this colonization in my _Mon. rel. aux myst. de Mithra_, I, p. 262. Courajod has considered it in regard to artistic influences, _Leçons du Louvre_, I, 1899, pp. 115, 327 ff. For the Merovingian period see Bréhier, _Les colonies d'orientaux en Occident au commencement du moyen âge_ (_Byzant. Zeitschr._, XII), 1903, pp. 1 ff.

12. Kaibel, _Inscr. gr._, XIV, 2540.

13. _Comptes Rendus Acad. Inscr._, 1899, p. 353 = Waltzing, _Corporations professionelles_, II, No. 1961 = _CIL_, III S., {243} 14165^8.--Inscription of Thaïm of Canatha: Kaibel, _Inscr. gr._, XIV, 2532.

14. Gregory of Tours, _Hist. Fr._, VIII, 1.--On the diffusion of the Syrians in Gaul, see Bréhier, _loc. cit._, p. 16 ff.

15. Cf. Bréhier, _Les origines du crucifix dans l'art religieux_, Paris, 1904.

16. Adonis: Wissowa, p. 300, n. 1.--Balmarcodès: Pauly-Wissowa, _Realenc._, s. v.; Jalabert, _Mél. fac. orient. Beyrouth_, I, p. 182.--Marnas: The existence at Ostia of a "Marneum" can be deduced from the dedication _CIG_, 5892 (cf. Drexler in Roscher, _Lexikon_, s. v., col. 2382).--On Maleciabrudus, cf. _supra_, n. 10.--The Maiuma festival was probably introduced with the cult of the god of Gaza, Lydus, _De Mensib._, IV, 80 (p. 133, Wünsch ed.) = Suidas s. v. [Greek: Maioumas] and Drexler, _loc. cit._, col. 2287. Cf. Clermont-Ganneau, _Rec. d'archéol. orient._, IV, p. 339.

17. Cf. Pauly-Wissowa, s. v. "Damascenus, Dusares."

18. Malalas, XI, p. 280, 12 (Bonn).--The temple has recently been excavated by a German mission; cf. Puchstein, _Führer in Baalbek_, Berlin, 1905.--On the Hadad at Rome, cf. _supra_, n. 10.

19. _CIL_, X, 1634: "Cultores Iovis Heliopolitani Berytenses qui Puteolis consistunt"; cf. Wissowa, _loc. cit._, p. 504, n. 3; Ch. Dubois, _Pouzzoles antique_, Paris, 1906, p. 156.

20. A list of the known military societies has been made by Cichorius in Pauly-Wissowa, _Realencycl._, s. v. "Ala" and "Cohors."

21. _CIL_, VII, 759 = Buecheler, _Carmina epigr._, 24. Two inscriptions dedicated to the Syrian Hercules (Melkarth) and to Astarte have been discovered at Corbridge, near Newcastle (_Inscr. gr._, XIV, 2553). It is possible that Tyrian archers were cantoned there.

22. Baltis: Pauly-Wissowa, _Realencyclop._, s. v.

23. Pauly-Wissowa, _Realenc._, s. v. "Aziz"; cf. Wissowa, _op. cit._, p. 303, n. 7.

24. On the etymology of Malakbel, see Dussaud, _Notes_, 24 ff. On the religion in the Occident see Edu. Meyer in Roscher, _Lexikon_, s. v. {244}

25. Kan, _De Iovis Dolicheni cultu_, Groningen, 1901; cf. Pauly-Wissowa, _Realencycl._, s. v. "Dolichenus."

26. Réville, _Relig. sous les Sévères_, pp. 237 ff.; Wissowa, _op. cit._, p. 305; cf. Pauly-Wissowa, s. v. "Elagabal."--In a recent article (_Die politische Bedeutung der Religion von Emesa_ [_Archiv für Religionsw._, XI], 1908, pp. 223 ff.) M. von Domaszewski justly lays stress on the religious value of the solar monotheism that arose in the temples of Syria, but he attributes too important a part in its formation to the clergy of Emesa (see _infra_, n. 88). The preponderant influence seems to have been exercised by Palmyra (see _infra_, n. 59).

27. Cf. _infra_, n. 59.

28. Cf. Curtiss, _Primitive Semitic Religion To-day_, Chicago, 1902; Jaussen, _Coutumes des Arabes du pays de Moab_, Paris, 1908, pp. 297 ff.

29. Cf. Robertson Smith, _passim_; Lagrange, pp. 158-216; Vincent, _op. cit._, pp. 102-123; 144 f.--The power of this Semitic litholatry equaled its persistence. Philo of Byblus defined the bethels as [Greek: lithoi empsuchoi] (2, § 20, FHG, III, p. 563): Hippolytus also tells us (V, 1, p. 145, Cruice), that in the Syrian mysteries ([Greek: Assuriôn teletai]) it was taught that the stones were animated ([Greek: hoi lithoi eisin empsuchoi; echousi gar to auxêtikon]), and the same doctrine perpetuated itself in Manicheism. (Titus of Bostra, II, 60, p. 60, 25, de Lagarde ed.:

[Greek: Ouk aischunetai de kai tous lithous epsuchôsthai legôn kai ta panta empsucha eisêgoumenos]).

During the last years of paganism the neo-Platonists developed a superstitious worship of the bethels; see Conybeare, _Transactions of the Congress of Hist. of Rel._, Oxford, 1908, p. 177.

30. Luc., _De dea Syria_, c. 41. Cf. the inscription of Narnaka with the note of Clermont-Ganneau, _Etudes d'arch. orient._, II, p. 163.--For bull worship in Syria cf. Ronzevalle, _Mélanges fac. orient. Beyrouth_, I, 1906, pp. 225, 238; Vincent, _op. cit._, p. 169.

31. Philo Alex., _De provid._, II, c. 107 (II, 646 M.); cf. Lucian, _De dea Syria_, 54.

32. For instance on Mount Eryx in Sicily (Ael., _Nat. Anim._, {245} IV, 2).--Cf. Pauly-Wissowa, _Realenc._, s. v. "Dea Syria," col. 2242.

33. Tibullus, I, 7, 17.

34. Lucian, _De dea Syria_, 14; 54. Cf. Diodorus, II, 4, 2; Ovid, _Met._, IV, 46; V, 331.

35. Pauly-Wissowa, _loc. cit._, col. 2241; W. Robertson Smith, p. 175.

36. The ancient authors frequently alluded to this superstition of the Syrians (the texts have been collected by Selden, _De dis Syris_, II, C. 3, pp. 268 ff., ed. of 1672). W. Robertson Smith (_loc. cit._, p. 449), is right in connecting it with certain ideas of savages. Like many primitive beliefs, this one has continued to the present day. It has been pointed out to me that at Sam-Keuï, a little west of Doliché, there is a pond fed by a spring and well stocked with fish, which one is forbidden to take. Near the mosque of Edessa is a large pond where catching fish is prohibited. They are considered sacred, and the people believe that any one who would eat them would die instantly. (Sachau, _Reise in Syrien_, 1883, pp. 196 ff. Cf. Lord Warkworth, _Diary in Asiatic Turkey_, London, 1898, p. 242). The same is the case at the mosque of Tripoli and elsewhere (Lammens, _Au pays des Nosaïris_ [_Revue de l'Orient chrétien_], 1908, p. 2). Even in Asia Minor this superstition is found. At Tavshanli, north of Aezani on the upper Rhyndacus, there is to-day a square cistern filled with sacred fish which no one is allowed to take (on the authority of Munro). Travelers in Turkey have frequently observed that the people do not eat fish, even when there is a scarcity of food (Sachau, _loc. cit._, p. 196) and the general belief that their flesh is unhealthful and can cause sickness is not entirely unfounded. Here is what Ramsay has to say on the subject (_Impressions of Turkey_, London, 1897, p. 288): "Fish are rarely found and when found are usually bad: the natives have a prejudice against fish, and my own experience has been unfavorable.... In the clear sparkling mountain stream that flows through the Taurus by Bozanti-Khan, a small kind of fish is caught; I had a most violent attack of sickness in 1891 after eating some of them, and so had all who partook." Captain Wilson, who spent a number of years in {246} Asia Minor, asserts (_Handbook of Asia-Minor_, p. 19), that "the natives do not eat fish to any extent." The "totemic" prohibition in this instance really seems to have a hygienic origin. People abstained from all kinds of fish because some species were dangerous, that is to say, inhabited by evil spirits, and the tumors sent by the Syrian goddess were merely the edemas caused by the poisoning.

37. On the [Greek: Ichthus] symbolism I will merely refer to Usener, _Sintflutsagen_, 1899, pp. 223 ff. Cf. S. Reinach, _Cultes, mythes_, III, 1908, pp. 43 ff. An exhaustive book on this subject has recently appeared: Dölger, [Greek: ICHTHYS], _das Fischsymbol in frühchristlicher Zeit_, I, Rome, 1910.

On sacred repasts where fish was eaten see Mnaseas, fragment 32 (_Fragm. histor. graec._, III, 115); cf. Dittenberger, _Sylloge_, 584: [Greek: Ean de tis tôn ichthuôn apothanêi, karpousthô authêmeron epi tou bômou], and Diog. Laert., VIII, 34. There were also sacred repasts in the Occident in the various Syrian cults: _Cenatorium et triclinium_ in the temples of Jupiter Dolichenus (_CIL_, III, 4789; VI, 30931; XI, 696, cf. _Mon. myst. Mithra_, II, p. 501); _promulsidaria et mantelium_ offered to the Venus Caelestis (_CIL_, X, 1590); construction of a temple to Malachbel with a _culina_ (_CIL_, III, 7954). Mention is made of a [Greek: deipnokritês, deipnois kreinas polla met' euphrosunês], in the temple of the Janiculum (Gauckler, _C.R. Acad. Inscr._, 1907, p. 142; _Bolletino communale_, 1907, pp. 15 ff.). Cf. Lagrange, _Religions sémitiques_, II, p. 609, and Pauly-Wissowa, _Realenc._, s. v. "Gad."

38. W. Robertson Smith, pp. 292 ff.

39. An inscription discovered at Kefr-Hauar (Fossey, _Bull. corr. hell._, 1897, p. 60) is very characteristic in this respect. A "slave" of the Syrian goddess in that inscription offers his homage to his "mistress" ([Greek: kuria]).

40. Notably at Aphaca where they were not suppressed until the time of Constantine (Eusebius, _Vit. Const._, III, 55; cf. Sozom., II, 5).

41. Much has been written about the sacred prostitutions in paganism, and it is well known that Voltaire ridiculed the scholars who were credulous enough to believe in the tales of Herodotus. But this practice has been proven by {247} irrefutable testimony. Strabo, for instance, whose great-uncle was arch-priest of Comana, mentions it in connection with that city, (XII, 3, 36, p. 559 C), and he manifests no surprise. The history of religion teaches many stranger facts; this one, however, is disconcerting. The attempt has been made to see in it a relic of the primitive promiscuity or polyandry, or a persistence of "sexual hospitality," ("No custom is more widely spread than the providing for a guest a female companion, who is usually a wife or daughter of the host," says Wake, _Serpent Worship_, 1888, p. 158); or the substitution of union with a man for union with the god (Gruppe, _Griech. Mythol._, p. 915). But these hypotheses do not explain the peculiarities of the religious custom as it is described by more reliable authors. They insist upon the fact that the girls were dedicated to the temple service while _virgins_, and that after having had _strangers_ for lovers, they married in their own country. Thus Strabo (XI, 14, § 16, p. 532 C.) narrates in connection with the temple of Anaitïs in Acilisena, that [Greek: thugateras hoi epiphanestatoi tou ethnous anierousi parthenous, ais nomos esti kataporneutheisais polun chronon para têi theôi meta tauta didosthai pros gamon, ouk apaxiountos têi toiautêi sunoikein oudenos]. Herodotus (I, 93), who relates about the same thing of the Lydian women, adds that they acquired a dowry in that manner; an inscription at Tralles (_Bull. corr. hell._, VII, 1885, p. 276) actually mentions a descendant of a sacred prostitute ([Greek: ek progonôn pallakidôn]) who had temporarily filled the same office ([Greek: pallakeusasa kata chrêsmon Dii]). Even at Thebes in Egypt there existed a similar custom with striking local peculiarities in the time of Strabo (XVII, 1, § 46), and traces of it seem to have been found in Greece among the Locrians (Vurtheim, _De Aiacis origine_, Leyden, 1907). Every Algerian traveler knows how the girls of the Ouled-Naïl earn their dowry in the _ksours_ and the cities, before they go back to their tribes to marry, and Doutté (_Notes sur l'Islam maghrébien, les Marabouts_, Extr. _Rev. hist. des relig._, XL-XLI, Paris, 1900), has connected these usages with the old Semitic prostitution, but his thesis has been attacked and the historical circumstances of the arrival of the Ouled-Naïl in Algeria in the eleventh century render it very doubtful (Note by Basset).--It seems certain (I do not know whether this explanation has ever been offered) {248} that this strange practice is a modified utilitarian form of an ancient exogamy. Besides it had certain favorable results, since it protected the girl against the brutality of her kindred until she was of marriageable age, and this fact must have insured its persistence; but the idea that inspired it at first was different. "La première union sexuelle impliquant une effusion de sang, a été interdite, lorsque ce sang était celui d'une fille du clan versé par le fait d'un homme du clan" (Salomon Reinach, _Mythes, cultes_, I, 1905, p. 79. Cf. Lang, _The Secret of the Totem_, London, 1905.) Thence rose the obligation on virgins to yield to a stranger first. Only then were they permitted to marry a man of their own race. Furthermore, various means were resorted to in order to save the husband from the defilement which might result from that act (see for inst., Reinach, _Mythes, cultes_, I, p. 118).--The opinion expressed in this note was attacked, almost immediately after its publication, by Frazer (_Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, 1907, pp. 50 ff.) who preferred to see in the sacred prostitutions a relic of primitive communism. But at least one of the arguments which he uses against our views is incorrect. Not the women, but the men, received presents in Acilisena (Strabo, _loc. cit._) and the communistic theory does not seem to account for the details of the custom prevailing in the temple of Thebes. There the horror of blood clearly appears. On the discovery of a skull (having served at a rite of consecration) in the temple of the Janiculum, see the article cited above, "Dea Syria," in _Dict. des antiquités_.

42. Porphyry, _De Abstin._, II, 56; Tertull., _Apol._, 9. Cf. Lagrange, _op. cit._, p. 445.

43. Even in the regions where the cities developed, the Baal and the Baalat always remained the divinities [Greek: poliouchoi], the protectors of the city which they were supposed to have founded.

44. Le Bas-Waddington, 2196.--Suidas, s. v. [Greek: Phularchês] (II, 2, col. 1568, Bernhardy). Cf. Marquardt, _Staatsverwaltung_, I, p. 405, 409.

45. Hippolytus, Adv. Haeres., V, II, § 7: [Greek: Assuriôn teletai]; § 18: [Greek: Assuriôn mustêria] (pp. 145, 148, ed. by Cruice). Cf. Origen, _Contra Celsum_, I, 12. Pognon (_Inscrip. sémitiques_, {249} 1907, No. 48) has recently published a Syrian epitaph that is unfortunately mutilated, but which seems to be that of an adept of the pagan mysteries; see Nöldeke, _Zeitschrift für Assyr._, XXI, 1907, p. 155.

46. On the Semitic notion of purity, W. Robertson Smith has written admirably and convincingly (pp. 446 ff. and _passim_). The question has been taken up from a different point of view by Lagrange, pp. 141 ff.--The development of the notion of purity in the ancient religions has been recently expounded by Farnell, _The Evolution of Religion_, 1905, pp. 88 ff., especially pp. 124 ff. Cf. also _supra_, p. 91 f. An example of the prohibitions and purifications is found in the Occident in an inscription, unfortunately mutilated, discovered at Rome and dedicated to Beellefarus (_CIL_, VI, 30934, 31168; cf. Lafaye, _Rev. hist. relig._, XVII, 1888, pp. 218 ff.; Dessau, _Inscr. sel._, 4343). If I have understood the text correctly it commands those who have eaten pork to purify themselves by means of honey.--On penances in the Syrian religions see ch. II, n. 31.

47. M. Clermont-Ganneau (_Etudes d'archéologie orientale_, II, 1896, p. 104) states that the epithet [Greek: hagios] is extremely rare in pagan Hellenism, and almost always betrays a Semitic influence. In such cases it corresponds to [Hebrew: QRSH], which to the Semites is the epithet _par excellence_ of the divinity. Thus Eshmon is [Hebrew: QRSH]; cf. Lidzbarski, _Ephemer. für semit. Epigraph._, II, p. 155; Clermont-Ganneau, _Recueil d'archéol. orient._, III, p. 330; V, p. 322.--In Greek Le Bas-Waddington, 2720, has: [Greek: Oi katochoi hagiou ouraniou Dios]. Dittenberger, _Orientis inscript._, 620, [Greek: Zeus hagios Beel bôsôros]. Some time ago I copied at a dealer's, a dedication engraved upon a lamp: [Greek: Theôi hagiôi Arelselôi], in Latin: J. Dolichenus _sanctus_, _CIL_, VI, 413, X, 7949.--J. Heliopolitanus _sanctissimus_, _CIL_, VIII, 2627.--"Caelestis _sancta_," VIII, 8433, etc.--The African Saturn (= Baal) is often called _sanctus_.--_Hera sancta_ beside Jupiter Dolichenus, VI, 413.--Malakbel is translated by _Sol sanctissimus_, in the bilingual inscription of the Capitol, VI, 710 = Dessau, 4337. Cf. _deus sanctus aeternus_, V, 1058, 3761, and _Comptes Rendus Acad. Inscr._, 1906, p. 69.--See in general Delehaye, _Analecta Bollandiana_, 1909, pp. 157 ff. {250}

48. As curious examples of Greco-Syrian syncretism we may mention the bas-relief of Ed-Douwaïr in the Louvre, which has been analyzed in detail by Dussaud (_Notes_, pp. 89 ff.), and especially that of Homs in the Brussels museum (_ibid._, 104 ff.).

49. Macrobius, I, 23, § 11: "Ritu Assyrio magis quam Aegyptio colitur"; cf. Lucian, _De dea Syria_, 5.--"Hermetic" theories penetrated even to the Sabians of Osrhoene (Reitzenstein, _Poimandres_, 166 ff.), although their influence seems to have been merely superficial (Bousset, _Göttingische gelehrt. Anzeigen_, 1905, 704 ff.)--The existence of [Greek: katochoi] at Baetocécé and elsewhere appears to be due to Egyptian influence (Jalabert, _Mélanges de la fac. orient. de Beyrouth_, II, 1907, pp. 308 ff.). The meaning of [Greek: katochos] which has been interpreted in different ways, is established, I think, by the passages collected by Kroll, _Cat. codd. astrol. graec._, V, pars 2, p. 146; cf. Otto, _Priester und Tempel_, I, p. 119; Bouché-Leclercq, _Hist. des Lagides_, IV, p. 335. It refers to the poor, the sick and even the "illumined" living within the temple enclosures and undoubtedly supported by the clergy, as were the refugees of the Christian period who availed themselves of the right of sanctuary in the churches (cf. _Comptes Rendus Acad. Inscr._, 1907, p. 454).

50. Cf. _infra_, n. 59.

51. Strabo, XVI, 1, 6. Cf. Pliny, _H. N._, VI, 6: "Durat adhuc ibi Iovis Beli templum." Cf. my _Mon. myst. Mithra_, I, pp. 35 ff.; Chapot, _Mém. soc. antiq. de France_, 1902, pp. 239 ff.; Gruppe, _Griech. Mythol._, p. 1608, n. 1.

52. Lucian, _De dea Syria_, c. 10.

53. Harnack, _Dogmengeschichte_, I, pp. 233 ff. and _passim_.

54. On the worship of Bel in Syria cf. _Comptes Rendus Acad. Inscr._, 1907, pp. 447 ff.--Cf. _infra_, n. 59.

55. On the Heliopolitan triad and the addition of Mercury to the original couple see Perdrizet, _Rev. études anc._, III, 1901, p. 258; Dussaud, _Notes_, p. 24; Jalabert, _Mélanges fac. orient. de Bayrouth_, I, 1906, pp. 175 ff.--Triad of Hierapolis: Lucian, _De dea Syria_, c. 33. According to Dussaud, the three divinities came from Babylon together, _Notes_, p. 115.--The existence of a Phoenician triad (Baal, Astarte, Eshmoun or {251} Melkarth), and of a Palmyrian triad has been conjectured but without sufficient reason (_ibid._, 170, 172 ff.); the existence of Carthaginian triads is more probable (cf. Polybius, VII, 9, 11, and von Baudissin, _Iolaos_ [_Philothesia für Paul Kleinert_], 1907, pp. 5 ff.)--See in general Usener, _Dreiheit_ (Extr. _Rhein. Museum_, LVIII), 1903, p. 32. The triads continued in the theology of the "Chaldaic Oracles" (Kroll, _De orac. Chald._, 13 ff.) and a threefold division of the world and the soul was taught in the "Assyrian mysteries" (_Archiv für Religionswiss._, IX, 1906, p. 331, n. 1).

56. Boll, _Sphaera_, p. 372.--The introduction of astrology into Egypt seems to date back no further than the time of the Ptolemies.

57. The Seleucides, like the Roman emperors later, believed in Chaldean astrology (Appian., _Syr._, 28; Diodorus, II, 31, 2; cf. Riess in Pauly-Wissowa, _Realenc._, s. v. "Astrologie," col. 1814), and the kings of Commagene, as well as of a great number of Syrian cities, had the signs of the zodiac as emblems on their coins. It is even certain that this pseudo-science penetrated into those regions long before the Hellenistic period. Traces of it are found in the Old Testament (Schiaparelli; translation by Lüdke, _Die Astron. im Alten Testament_, 1904, p. 46). It modified the entire Semitic paganism. The only cult which we know in any detail, that of the Sabians, assigned the highest importance to it; but in the myths and doctrines of the others its influence is no less apparent (Pauly-Wissowa, _Realencycl._, s. v. "Dea Syria," IV, col. 2241, and s. v. "Gad"; cf. Baudissin, _Realencycl. für prot. Theol._, s. v., "Sonne," pp. 510-520). To what extent, for instance, the clergy of Emesa had been subjected to its ascendency is shown by the novel of Heliodorus, written by a priest of that city (Rohde, _Griech. Roman_^2, p. 464 [436]), and by the horoscope that put Julia Domna upon the throne (_Vita Severi_, 3, 8; cf. A. von Domaszewski, _Archiv für Religionsw._, XI, 1908, p. 223). The irresistible influence extended even to the Arabian paganism (Nöldeke in Hastings, _Encyclop. of Religion_, s. v. "Arabs," I, p. 661; compare, _Orac. Sibyll._, XIII, 64 ff., on Bostra). The sidereal character which has been attributed to the Syrian gods, was borrowed, but none the less real. From very early times the Semites worshiped the sun, {252} the moon, and the stars (see Deut. iv. 19; Job xxxi. 25), especially the planet Venus, but this cult was of secondary importance only (see W. Robertson Smith, _op. cit._, p. 135, n. 1), although it grew in proportion as the Babylonian influence became stronger. The polemics of the Fathers of the Syrian Church show how considerable its prestige was in the Christian era (cf. Ephrem, _Opera Syriaca_, Rome, 1740, II, pp. 447 ff.; the "Assyrian" Tatian, c. 9 ff., etc.).

58. Humann and Puchstein, _Reise in Klein-Asien und Nord-Syrien_, 1890, pl. XL; _Mon. myst. Mithra_, I, p. 188, fig. 8; Bouché-Leclercq, _Astrol. gr._, p. 439.

59. Cf. Wissowa, _op. cit._, p. 306-7.--On the temple of Bel at Palmyra, cf. Sobernheim, _Palmyrenische Inschriften_ (_Mitt. der vorderasiat. Gesellsch._, X), 1905, pp. 319 ff.; Lidzbarski, _Ephemeris_, I, pp. 255 ff., II, p. 280.--Priests of Bel: Clermont-Ganneau, _Recueil d'arch. orient._, VII, p. 12, 24, 364. Cf. _supra_, n. 54. The power of Palmyra under Zenobia, who ruled from the Tigris to the Nile, must have had as a corollary the establishment of an official worship that was necessarily syncretic. Hence its special importance for the history of paganism. Although the Babylonian astrology was a powerful factor in this worship, Judaism seems to have had just as great an influence in its formation. There was at Palmyra a large Jewish colony, which the writers of the Talmud considered only tolerably orthodox (Chaps, _Gli Ebrei di Palmira_ [_Rivista Israelitica_, I], Florence, 1904, pp. 171 ff., 238 f. Cf. "Palmyra" in the _Jewish Encycl._; Jewish insc. of Palmyra; Euting, _Sitzb. Berl. Acad._, 1885, p. 669; Landauer, _ibid._, 1884, pp. 933 ff.). This colony seems to have made compromises with the idolaters. On the other hand we see Zenobia herself rebuilding a synagogue in Egypt (_Revue archéologique_, XXX, 1875, p. III; _Zeitschrift für Numismatik_, V, p. 229; Dittenberger, _Orientis inscript._, 729). This influence of Judaism seems to explain the development at Palmyra of the cult of [Greek: Zeus hupsitos kai epêkoos], "he whose name is blessed in eternity." The name of Hypsistos has been applied everywhere to Jehovah and to the pagan Zeus (_supra_, p. 62, 128) at the same time. The text of Zosimus (I, 61), according to which Aurelian brought from Palmyra to Rome the statues of [Greek: Hêliou te kai Bêlou] (this has been wrongly changed to read [Greek: tou kai Bêlou]), proves that the {253} astrological religion of the great desert city recognized a supreme god residing in the highest heavens, and a solar god, his visible image and agent, according to the Semitic theology of the last period of paganism (_supra_, p. 134).

60. I have spoken of this solar eschatology in the memorial cited _infra_, n. 88.

61. This opinion is that of Posidonius (see Wendland, _Philos Schrift über die Vorsehung_, Berlin, 1892, p. 68, n. 1; 70, n. 2). It is shared by the ancient astrologers.

62. This old pagan and gnostic idea has continued to the present day in Syria among the Nosaïris; cf. Dussaud, _Histoire et religion des Nosaïris_, 1900, p. 125.

63. The belief that pious souls are guided to heaven by a psychopompus, is found not only in the mysteries of Mithra (_Mon. myst. Mithra_, I, p. 310), but also in the Syrian cults where that rôle was often assigned to the solar god, see Isid. Lévy, _Cultes syriens dans le Talmud_ (_Revue des études juives_, XLIII), 1901, p. 5, and Dussaud, _Notes_, p. 27; cf. the Le Bas-Waddington inscription, 2442:

"[Greek: Basileu despota] (= the sun), [Greek: hilathi kai didou pasin hêmin hugiên katharan, prêxis agathas kai biou telos esthlon]."--

The same idea is found in inscriptions in the Occident; as for instance in the peculiar epitaph of a sailor who died at Marseilles (Kaibel, _Inscr. gr._, XIV, 2462 = _Epigr._, 650):

"[Greek: En de [te] tethneioisin homêguri [es] ge pelousin]
[Greek: doiai; tôn heterê men epichthoniê pephorêtai,]
[Greek: hê d' heterê teiressi sun aitherioisi choreuei,]
[Greek: ês stratiês eis eimi, lachôn theon hêgemonêa]."

It is the same term that Julian used (_Césars_, p. 336 C) in speaking of Mithra, the guide of souls: [Greek: hêgemona theon]. Cf. also _infra_, n. 66 and ch. VIII, n. 24.

64. The Babylonian origin of the doctrine that the souls returned to heaven by crossing the seven planetary spheres, has been maintained by Anz (_Zur Frage nach dem Ursprung des Gnostizismus_, 1897; cf. _Mon. myst. Mithra_, I. pp. 38 ff., p. 309; Bousset, _Die Himmelsreise der Seele_ [_Archiv für Religionsw._, IV], 1901, pp. 160 ff.) and "Gnosis" in Pauly-Wissowa, _Realencyclopädie_, col. 1520. It has since been denied by Reitzenstein (_Poimandres_, p. 79; cf. Kroll, _Berl. philol. Wochensch._, {254} 1906, p. 486). But although it may have been given its precise shape and been transformed by the Greeks and even by the Egyptians, I persist in believing that it is of Chaldean and religious origin. I heartily agree with the conclusions recently formulated by Bousset, (_Göttingische gelehrte Anzeigen_, 1905, pp. 707 ff.). We can go farther: Whatever roots it may have had in the speculations of ancient Greece (Aristoph., _Pax_, 832, Plato, _Tim._, 42B, cf. Haussoullier, _Rev. de philol._, 1909, pp. 1 ff.), whatever traces of it may be found in other nations (Dieterich, _Mithrasliturgie_, pp. 182 ff.; _Nekyia_, p. 24, note; Rohde, _Psyche_, II, p. 131, n. 3), the idea itself of the soul rising to the divine stars after death certainly developed under the influence of the sidereal worship of the Semites to a point where it dominated all other eschatological theories. The belief in the eternity of souls is the corollary to the belief in the eternity of the celestial gods (p. 129). We cannot give the history of this conception here, and we shall limit ourselves to brief observations. The first account of this system ever given at Rome is found in "Scipio's Dream" (c. 3); it probably dates back to Posidonius of Apamea (cf. Wendland, _Die hellenistisch-römische Kultur_, p. 85, 166, n. 3, 168, n. 1), and is completely impregnated with mysticism and astrolatry. The same idea is found a little later in the astrologer Manilius (I, 758; IV, 404, etc.). The shape which it assumed in Josephus (_Bell. Judaic._, V, 1, 5, § 47) is also much more religious than philosophical and is strikingly similar to a dogma of Islam (happiness in store for those dying in battle; a Syrian [_ibid._, § 54] risks his life that his soul may go to heaven). This recalls the inscription of Antiochus of Commagene (Michel, _Recueil_, No. 735, l. 40):

[Greek: Sôma pros ouranious Dios Ôromasdou thronous theophilê psuchên propempsan eis ton apeiron aiôna koimêsetai].

It must be said that this sidereal immortality was not originally common to all men; it was reserved "omnibus qui patriam conservaverint adiuverint, auxerint" (_Somn. Scip._ c. 3, c. 8; cf. _Manil._, I, 758; Lucan, _Phars._, IX, 1 ff.; Wendland, _op. cit._, p. 85 n. 2), and this also is in conformity with the oldest Oriental traditions. The rites first used to assure immortality to kings and to make them the equals of the gods were extended little by little as a kind of privilege, to the important {255} persons of the state, and only very much later were they applied to all who died.

Regarding the diffusion of this belief from the beginning of the first century of our era, see Diels, _Elementum_, 1899, p. 73, cf. 78; Badstübner, _Beiträge zur Erklärung Senecas_, Hamburg, pp. 2 ff.--It is expressed in many inscriptions (Friedländer, _Sitteng._, III, pp. 749 ff.; Rohde, _Psyche_, p. 673, cf. 610; epitaph of Vezir-Keupru, _Studia Pontica_, No. 85; _CIL_. III (Salone), 6384; _supra_, n. 63, etc.) It gained access into Judaism and paganism simultaneously (cf. Bousset, _Die Religion des Judentums im neutest. Zeitalter_, 1903, p. 271, and, for Philo of Alexandria, Zeller, _Philos. der Griechen_, V, p. 397 and p. 297).--During the third century it was expounded by Cornelius Labeo, the source of Arnobius and Servius (Nieggetiet, _De Cornelio Labeone_ [Diss. Munster], 1908, pp. 77-86). It was generally accepted towards the end of the empire; see _infra_, n. 25.--I hope soon to have the opportunity of setting forth the development of this sidereal eschatology with greater precision in my lectures on "Astrology and Religion in Antiquity" which will appear in 1912 (chap. VI).

65. According to the doctrine of the Egyptian mysteries the Elysian Fields were in the under-world (Apul., _Metam._, XI, 6).--According to the astrological theory, the Elysian Fields were in the sphere of the fixed stars (Macrobius, _Comm. somn. Scip._, I, 11, § 8; cf. _infra_, chap. VIII, n. 25). Others placed them in the moon (Servius, _Ad Aen._, VI, 887; cf. Norden, _Vergils Buch_, VI, p. 23; Rohde, _Psyche_, pp. 609 ff.). Iamblichus placed them between the moon and the sun (Lydus, _De mens._, IV, 149, p. 167, 23, Wünsch).

66. The relation between the two ideas is apparent in the alleged account of the Pythagorean doctrine which Diogenes Laertius took from Alexander Polyhistor, and which is in reality an apocryphal composition of the first century of our era. It was said that Hermes guided the pure souls, after their separation from the body, [Greek: eis ton Hupsiston] (Diog. Laert., VIII, § 31; cf. Zeller, _Philos. der Griechen_, V, p. 106, n. 2).--On the meaning of Hypsistos, cf. _supra_, p. 128. It appears very plainly in the passage of Isaiah, xiv, 13, as rendered by the Septuagint: {256}

[Greek: Eis ton ouranon anabêsomai, epanô tôn asterôn thêsô ton thronon mou ... esomai homoios tôi Hupsistôi.]

67. Originally he was the thunder-god, in Greek [Greek: Keraunos]. Under this name he appeared for instance on the bas-relief preserved in the museum of Brussels (Dussaud, _Notes_, p. 105). Later, by a familiar process, the influence of a particular god becomes the attribute of a greater divinity, and we speak of a [Greek: Zeus Keraunios] (cf. Usener, _Keraunos_, Rhein. Museum, N. F., LX, 1901).--This Zeus Keraunios appears in many inscriptions of Syria (_CIG_, 4501, 4520; Le Bas-Waddington, 2195, 2557 _a_, 2631, 2739; cf. Roscher, _Lexikon Myth._, s. v. "Keraunos").

He is the god to whom Seleucus sacrificed when founding Seleucia (Malalas, p. 199), and a dedication to the same god has been found recently in the temple of the Syrian divinities at Rome (_supra_, n. 10).--An equivalent of the Zeus Keraunios is the Zeus [Greek: Kataibatês]--"he who descends in the lightning"--worshiped at Cyrrhus (Wroth, _Greek Coins in the British Museum_: "Galatia, Syria," p. 52 and LII; Roscher, _Lexikon_, s. v.)

68. For instance the double ax was carried by Jupiter Dolichenus (cf. _supra_, p. 147). On its significance, cf. Usener, _loc. cit._, p. 20.

69. Cf. Lidzbarski, _Balsamem, Ephem. semit. Epigr._, I, p. 251.--Ba'al Samaïn is mentioned as early as the ninth century B. C. in the inscription of Ben Hadad (Pognon, _Inscr. sémit._, 1907, pp. 165 ff.; cf. Dussaud, _Rev. archéol._, 1908, I, p. 235). In Aramaic papyri preserved at Berlin, the Jews of Elephantine call Jehovah "the god of heaven" in an address to a Persian governor, and the same name was used in the alleged edicts of Cyrus and his successors, which were inserted in the book of Esdras (i. 1; vi. 9, etc.)--If there were the slightest doubt as to the identity of the god of thunder with Baalsamin, it would be dispelled by the inscription of Et-Tayibé, where this Semitic name is translated into Greek as [Greek: Zeus megistos keraunios]; cf. Lidzbarski, _Handbuch_, p. 477, and Lagrange, _op. cit._, p. 508.

70. On the worship of Baalsamin, confused with Ahura-Mazda and transformed into _Caelus_, see _Mon. myst. Mithra_, p. 87.--The texts attesting the existence of a real cult of {257} heaven among the Semites are very numerous. Besides the ones I have gathered (_loc. cit._, n. 5); see Conybeare, _Philo about the Contemplative Life_, p. 33, n. 16; Kayser, _Das Buch der Erkenntniss der Wahrheit_, 1893, p. 337, and _infra_, n. 75. Zeus [Greek: Ouranios]: Le Bas-Waddington, 2720 _a_ (Baal of Bétocécé); Renan, _Mission de Phénicie_, p. 103.--Cf. _Archiv für Religionswissenschaft_, IX, 1906, p. 333.

71. Coins of Antiochus VIII Grypus (125-96 B. C.); Babelon, _Rois de Syrie, d'Arménie_, 1890, p. CLIV, pp. 178 ff.

72. All these qualities ascribed to the Baals by astrological paganism ([Greek: hupsistos, pantokratôr], etc.), are also the attributes which, according to the doctrine of Alexandrian Judaism, characterized Jehovah (see _supra_, n. 66). If he was originally a god of thunder, as has been maintained, the evolution of the Jewish theology was parallel to that of the pagan conceptions (see _supra_, n. 69).

73. On this subject cf. _Jupiter summus exsuperantissimus_ (_Archiv f. Religionsw._, IX), 1906, pp. 326 ff.

74. Ps.-Iamblichus, _De mysteriis_, VI, 7 (cf. Porph., _Epist. Aneb._, c. 29), notes this difference between the two religions.

75. Apul., _Met._, VIII, 25. Cf. _CIL_, III, 1090; XII, 1227 (= Dessau, 2998, 4333); Macrobius, _Comm. somn. Scipionis_, I, 14, § 2: "Nihil aliud esse deum nisi caelum ipsum et caelestia ipsa quae cernimus, ideo ut summi omnipotentiam dei ostenderet posse vix intellegi."--[Greek: Hêlios pantokratôs]: Macrob., I, 23, 21.

76. Diodorus, II, 30: [Greek: Chaldaioi tên tou kosmou phusin aidion phasin einai k. t. l.]; cf. Cicero, _Nat. deor._, II, 20, § 52 ff.; Pliny, _H. N._, II, 8, § 30. The notion of eternity was correlative with that of [Greek: heimarmenê]; cf. Ps.-Apul., _Asclep._, 40; Apul., _De deo Socratis_, c. 2: "(The planets) quae in deflexo cursu ... meatus aeternos divinis vicibus efficiunt."--This subject will be more fully treated in my lectures on "Astrology and Religion" (chaps. IV-V).

77. At Palmyra: De Vogüé, _Inscr. sem._, pp. 53 ff., etc.--On the first title, see _infra_, n. 80.

78. Note especially _CIL_, VI, 406 = 30758, where Jupiter Dolichenus is called _Aeternus conservator totius poli_. The {258} relation to heaven here remained apparent. See _Somn. Scip._, III, 4; IV, 3.

79. Cf. _Rev. archéol._, 1888, I, pp. 184 ff.; Pauly-Wissowa, s. v. "Aeternus," and _Festschrift für Otto Benndorf_, 1898, p. 291.--The idea of the eternity of the gods also appeared very early in Egypt, but it does not seem that the mysteries of Isis--in which the death of Osiris was commemorated--made it prominent, and it certainly was spread in the Occident only by the sidereal cults.

80. The question has been raised whether the epithet [Hebrew: MR' `LM'] means "lord of the world" or "lord of eternity" (cf. Lidzbarski, _Ephemeris_, I, 258; II, 297; Lagrange, p. 508), but in our opinion the controversy is to no purpose, since in the spirit of the Syrian priests the two ideas are inseparable and one expression in itself embraces both, the world being conceived as eternal (_supra_, n. 76). See for Egypt, Horapoll., _Hieroglyph._, I (serpent as symbol of the [Greek: aiôn] and [Greek: kosmos]). At Palmyra, too, the title "lord of all" is found, [Hebrew: MR' KL] (Lidzbarski, _loc. cit._); cf. Julian, Or., IV, p. 203, 5 (Hertlein): [Greek: Ho basileus tôn holôn Hêlios], and infra, n. 81; n. 87. Already at Babylon the title "lord of the universe" was given to Shamash and Hadad; see Jastrow, _Religion Babyloniens_, I, p. 254, n. 10. Nöldeke has been good enough to write me as follows on this subject: "Daran kan kein Zweifel sein, dass [Hebrew: `LM] zunächst (lange Zeit) Ewigkeit heisst, und dass die Bedeutung 'Welt' secundär ist. Ich halte es daher für so gut wie gewiss dass das palmyrenische [Hebrew: MR' `LM'], wenn es ein alter Name ist, den 'ewigen' Herrn bedeutet, wie ohne Zweifel [Hebrew: 'L `WLM], Gen., xxi. 33. Das biblische Hebräisch kennt die Bedeutung 'Welt' noch nicht, abgesehen wohl von der späten Stelle, Eccl. iii. 11. Und, so viel ich sehe, ist im Palmyrenischen sonst [Hebrew: `LM'] immer 'Ewigkeit,' z.B. in der häufigen Redensart [Hebrew: LBRYK SHMCH L`LM']. Aber das daneben vorkommende palmyr. [Hebrew: MR' KL] führt allerdings darauf, dass die palmyrenische Inschrift auch in [Hebrew: MR' `LM'] den 'Herrn der Welt' sah. Ja der syrische Uebersetzer sieht auch in jenem hebräischen [Hebrew: 'L `WLM] 'den Gott der Welt.' Das Syrische hat nämlich einen formalen Unterschied festgestellt zwischen _'[=a]l[)a]m_, dem Status absolutus, 'Ewigkeit,' und _'[=a]lm[=a]_ [_[=a]l^em[=a]_] dem Status emphaticus 'Welt.'--Sollte übrigens die {259} Bedeutung Welt diesem Worte erst durch Einfluss griechischer Speculation zu Teil geworden sein? In der Zingirli-Inschrift bedeuted [Hebrew: BTSLM] noch bloss 'in seiner Zeit.'"

81. Cf. _CIL_, III, 1090 = Dessau, _Inscr._, 2998: "Divinarum humanarumque rerum rectori." Compare _ibid._, 2999 and Cagnet, _Année épigr._, 1905, No. 235: "I. O. M., id est universitatis principi." Cf. the article of the _Archiv_ cited, n. 73. The _Asclepius_ says (c. 39), using an astrological term: "Caelestes dii catholicorum dominantur, terreni incolunt singula."

82. Cf. W. Robertson Smith, 75 ff., _passim_. In the Syrian religions as in that of Mithra, the initiates regarded each other as members of the same family, and the phrase "dear brethren" as used by our preachers, was already in use among the votaries of Jupiter Dolichenus (_fratres carissimos_, _CIL_, VI, 406 = 30758).

83. Renan mentioned this fact in his _Apotres_, p. 297 = _Journal Asiatique_, 1859, p. 259. Cf. Jalabert, _Mél. faculté orient. Beyrout_, I, 1906, p. 146.

84. This is the term (_virtutes_) used by the pagans. See the inscription _Numini et virtutibus dei aeterni_ as reconstructed in _Revue de Philologie_, 1902, p. 9; _Archiv für Religionsw._, _loc. cit._, p. 335, n. 1 and _infra_, ch. VIII, n. 20.

85. _CIL_, VII, 759 = Bücheler, _Carm. epig._, 24.--Cf. Lucian, _De dea Syria_, 32.

86. Macrobius, _Sat._, I, 23, § 17: "Nominis (Adad) interpretatio significat unus unus."

87. Cicero, _Somnium Scip._, c. 4: "Sol dux et princeps et moderator luminum reliquorum, mens mundi et temperatio." Pliny, _H. N._, II, 6, § 12: "Sol ... siderum ipsorum caelique rector. Hunc esse mundi totius animam ac planius mentem, hunc principale naturae regimen ac numen credere decet," etc. Julian of Laodicea, _Cat. codd. astr._, I, p. 136, l. 1:

[Greek: Hêlios basileus kai hêgemôn tou sumpantos kosmou kathestôs, pantôn kathêgoumenos kai pantôn ôn genesiarchês.]

88. We are here recapitulating some conclusions of a study on _La théologie solaire du paganisme romain_ published in _Mémoires des savants étrangers présentés à l'Acad. des Inscr._, XII, 2d part, pp. 447 ff., Paris, 1910. {260}

89. The hymns of Synesius (II, 10 ff., IV, 120 ff., etc.) contain peculiar examples of the combination of the old astrological ideas with Christian theology.