A New System; or, an Analysis of Antient Mythology Volume I Part 12

These terms were thought to relate to a navel: but, if such an interpretation could have been made to correspond with the history of any one place, yet that history could not have been reiterated; nor could places so widely distant have all had the same reference. What was terminated ?fa??? was [752]Omph-El, the oracle of G.o.d, the seat of divine influence: and Al-Omphi was a name given to mountains and eminences upon the same account. An oracle was given to Pelias in Thessaly: and whence did it proceed? from the well wooded omphalus of his mother Earth.

[753]???e de ?? ????e?

?????? a?te?a ???

?a?a es?? ?fa???

??de?d???? ???e? ate???.--

In other words, it proceeded from the stately grove of Hestia, where stood an oracular temple.

In respect to the omphalus of Ammon, which Curtius has translated umbilicus, and garnished with gold and jewels, the whole arises from a mistake in terms, as in the many instances before. It was Omphi El, the oracle of Ham, or the Sun: and the shrine, from whence it was supposed to proceed, was carried in a boat. The Paterae, represented as so many silver basons, were in reality the interpreters of the oracle. They were the priests, who in the sacred processions walked on each side, and supported both the image and the boat in which it was carried. They are said to have been eighty in number; and they pretended to bear the Deity about, just as they were by the divine impulse directed. _The G.o.d_, says [754]Diodorus Siculus, _is carried about in a ship of gold by eighty of his priests. They bear him upon their shoulders, and pursue their way by instinct, just as the divine automaton chances to direct them._ These persons, who thus officiated, were probably the same as the Petipharae of the antient Egyptians, but were called Paterae by the Greeks. It was a name, and office, by which the priests of Delphi, and of many other places besides those in Egypt, were distinguished: and the term always related to oracular interpretation. Hence Bochart describes these priests, and their function, very justly. [755]Paterae Sacerdotes Apollinis, oraculorum interpretes.

Pator, or Petor, was an Egyptian word; and Moses speaking of Joseph, and the dreams of Pharaoh, more than once makes use of it in the sense above.

It occurs Genesis. c. 41. v. 8.--v. 13. and manifestly alludes to an interpretation of that divine intercourse, which the Egyptians styled Omphi. This was communicated to Pharaoh by a dream: for the Omphi was esteemed not only a verbal response, but also an intimation by [756]dreams--?f?, f?? ?e?a, ?e?a ???d??--??e???? fa?tasata. Hesychius.

So it likewise occurs in Eusebius; who quotes a pa.s.sage from the oracles of Hecate, wherein the G.o.ds are represented, as insensibly wafted through the air like an Omphean vision.

[757]???? de es??? esat??s?? epeea?ta? a?ta??

??sf? p???? ?e???? ?????F??S ??t' ???????S.

These Omphean visions were explained by Joseph; he interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh: wherefore the t.i.tle of Pator is reckoned by the Rabbins among the names of Joseph. There is thought to be the same allusion to divine interpretation in the name of the apostle Peter: ?et???, ? ep?????, ?

ep?????s???. Hesych. Petrus Hebraeo sermone agnoscens notat. Arator. From these examples we may, I think, learn that the priest was styled Petor, and Pator: and that it was the place, which properly was called Patora. The Colossal statue of Memnon in the Thebas was a Patora, or oracular image.

There are many inscriptions upon different parts of it; which were copied by Dr. Poc.o.c.k[758], and are to be seen in the first volume of his travels.

They are all of late date in comparison of the statue itself; the antiquity of which is very great. One of these inscriptions is particular, and relates to the Omphi, which seems to have frightened away some ill-disposed people in an attempt to deface the image:

[759]?????a ???t??e? e????a?t' ?t? d?a?

Te??tat?? ???t?? ?f?? ep? ?e????? ?????.

One of the most famous oracles of Apollo was in Lycia: and in consequence of it the place was named Patara. Patra in Achaia was of the same purport.

I should imagine, that the place where Balaam the false [760]prophet resided, was of the same nature; and that by Pethor and Pethora was meant a place of interpretation, or oracular temple. There was probably a college of priests; such as are mentioned to have existed among the Amonians: of whom Balaam had been by the king of Moab appointed chief Petora, or priest.

It seems to have been the celebrated place in Arabia, famous in after times for the worship of Alilat, and called by the Romans [761]Petra.

The custom of carrying the Deity in a shrine, placed in a boat, and supported by priests, was in use among the Egyptians, as well as the [762]Ammonites. It is a circ.u.mstance which deserves our notice; as it appears to be very antient, and had doubtless a mysterious allusion. We have three curious examples of it among [763]Bishop Poc.o.c.k's valuable specimens of antiquity, which he collected in those parts. He met with them at Luxorein, or [764]Lucorein, near Carnac, in the Thebas; but mentions not what they relate to: nor do I know of any writer who has attended to their history. The accounts given above by Curtius, and Diodorus, are wonderfully ill.u.s.trated by these representations from Egypt. It is plain that they all relate to the same religious ceremony, and very happily concur to explain each other. It may be worth observing, that the originals whence these copies were taken are of the highest antiquity; and, probably, the most early specimens of sculpture in the world. Diodorus mentions that the shrine of Ammon had eighty persons to attend it: but Dr. Poc.o.c.k, when he took these copies, had not time to be precisely accurate in this article. In his specimens the greatest number of attendants are twenty: eighteen support the boat, and one precedes with a kind of sceptre; another brings up the rear, having in his hand a rod, or staff, which had undoubtedly a mystic allusion. The whole seems to have been emblematical; and it will be hereafter shewn, that it related to a great preservation, which was most religiously recorded, and became the princ.i.p.al subject of all their mysteries. The person in the shrine was their chief ancestor, and the whole process was a memorial of the deluge; the history of which must have been pretty recent when these works were executed in Egypt.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Pl. IV. The Ship of Isis Biprora with an Ark._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Ship of Isis and Image. From Poc.o.c.k's Account of Egypt. Pl. XLII._]

From the shrines of Amon abovementioned we may derive the history of all oracles; which, from the Deity by whom they were supposed to be uttered, were called Omphi and Amphi, as I have shewn: also, Alphi, Elphi, Orphi, Urphi, from El, and Orus. The Greeks adhered religiously to antient terms, however obsolete and unintelligible. They retained the name of Amphi, though they knew not the meaning: for it was antiquated before they had letters. That it originally related to oracular revelation is plain from its being always found annexed to the names of places famous on that account; and from its occurring in the names of men, renowned as priests and augurs, and supposed to have been gifted with a degree of foreknowledge. We read of Amphiaraus, Amphilocus, Amphimachus, persons represented as under particular divine influence, and interpreters of the will of the G.o.ds. Amphion, though degraded to a harper, was Amphi-On, the oracle of Apollo, the Sun: and there was a temple, one of the antient ?pa???a, dedicated to him and Zethus, as we may read in Pausanias. Mopsus, the diviner, is styled ?p???d??, Ampucides; which is not a patronymic, but a t.i.tle of the oracular Deity.

[765]???a ?a? ?p???d?? a?t? e?? ?at? ?????

???e??? ??e p?t??? ade??ea d' ?? f??e? a?sa?

?a?t?s??a??? ?? ?a? t?? ap?t??p?? ?a?at???.

Idmon, the reputed son of Abas, was a prophet, as well as Mopsus: he was favoured with the divine Omphe, and, like the former, styled Ampucides.

[766]???a e? a?sa pa?es?e ?ataf??s?a? d?? f?ta?, ?p???d?? ?d??a, ??e???t??a te ??f??.

What his attainments were, the Poet mentions in another place.

[767]?e t?t' ?a?t?? pa?? ????? ????e ?a?te??? ?d??, ??? ?' ?p???ssae?? te?e? ?p?????? a?a?t?

???s??? pa?a ??a fe?et???? ??t?a?e??a, ?? ?a? ?????SY??? ep??e, ?a? ?esfat?? ??F??.

To say the truth, these supposed prophets were Deities, to whom temples were consecrated under these names; or, to speak more properly, they were all t.i.tles, which related to one G.o.d, the Sun. That they were reputed Deities, is plain, from many accounts. Dion Ca.s.sius speaks of ?f??????

???st?????: and the three princ.i.p.al oracles mentioned by Justin Martyr are [768]a?te?a--?f?????? ??d????, ?a? ??????. We have a similar account from Clemens Alexandrinus. [769]?????sa? ??? ?a? t?? a???? a?t????, a???? de a?????, ta a???sta ???st???a, t?? ??a????, t?? ??????, t?? ?f?a?e?, t??

?f??????. The Amphictuons were originally prophetic personages, who attended at the temple at Delphi. Hesychius observes: ?f??t???e?--pe??????? ?e?f??, p??a???a?, ?e??????e?. Minerva, heavenly wisdom, is by Lycophron styled [770]Amphira; which is a compound of Amphi-Ur, the divine influence, or oracle of Orus. Of this name there was a city near Olympia in Elis: for many places were in this manner denominated, on account of their being esteemed the seat of prophecy. In Phocis was the city Hyampolis: and close to it [771] Amphissa, famous for the oracle of an unknown G.o.ddess, the daughter of Macaria. Amphrysus, in Botia, was much famed for the influence of [772] Apollo; and Amphimallus, in Crete, was well known for its [773] oracle. Amphiclea, in [774] Phocis, had Dionusus for its guardian Deity, whose orgies were there celebrated; and whose shrine was oracular.

I imagine that this sacred influence, under the name of Amphi, is often alluded to in the exordia of Poets, especially by the writers in Dithyrambic measure, when they address Apollo. Taken in its usual sense (af? circ.u.m) the word has no meaning: and there is otherwise no accounting for its being chosen above all others in the language to begin hymns of praise to this Deity, who was the princ.i.p.al G.o.d of prophecy. We have one instance of it in the Nubes of Aristophanes:

[775]?f? ?? a?te a?a?, ????e, ?????a? e???

????e?ata pet?a?.

Periander is mentioned as beginning a hymn with a like exordium: ?f? ??

a???? a?a?ta: And Terpander has nearly the same words: [776]?f? ?? a????

a?a??' ??at?????. Apollo was so frequently called ?f? a?a?, that it was in a manner looked upon as a necessary proemium. Suidas observes, ?f?a?a?t??e?? t? p?????a?e??: And Hesychius, ?f?a?a?ta, a??? ????

???a??d????. Much the same is told us in the Scholia upon the pa.s.sage above from Aristophanes: [777]??e?ta? de (???st?fa???) t?? ?????a?? ta p?????a? s??e??? ?a? ????ta? ta?t? ?e?e?? d?? af?a?a?ta? a?t??? ?a???s?.

However, none of these writers inform us why this word was so particularly used; nor tell us what was its purport. In the short hymns ascribed to Homer this term is industriously retained; and the persons who composed them have endeavoured to make sense of it, by adopting it according to the common acceptation.

?f? ?? ??e?a? f???? ????? e??epe, ???sa.

?f? ???s?????? ?????p?de? espete, ???sa?.

?f? ?????s?? See??? e????de?? ????

[778]???s?a?.

These hymns were of late date, long after Homer; and were introduced in Ionia, and also in Cyprus and Phenicia, when the Grecians were in possession of those parts. They were used in the room of the antient hymns, which were not understood by the new inhabitants. One of them is confessedly addressed to the G.o.ddess called Venus Ourania, in Cyprus; and was designed to be sung by the priest of that G.o.ddess upon the stated festivals at Salamis.

[779] ?a??e, Tea, Sa?a???? e??t?e??? ede??sa, ?a? pas?? ??p???? d?? d' ?e??essa? a??d??, ??ta? e?? ?e? se?? ?a? a???? ??s?' a??d??.

We may perceive, from what has been said, that the word Amphi was a term of long standing, the sense of which was no longer understood: yet the sound was retained by the Greeks, and used for a customary exclamation. In respect to the more antient exordia above quoted, especially that of Terpander, I take the words to be an imitation, rather than a translation, of a hymn sung at Delphi in the antient Amonian language; the sound of which has been copied, rather than the sense, and adapted to modern terms of a different meaning. I make no doubt but that there were many antient hymns preserved in those oracular temples, which were for a long time retained, and sung, when their meaning was very imperfectly known. They were, for the most part, composed in praise of Ham, or the Sun; and were sung by the Homeridae, and Iamidae. They were called after his t.i.tles, Ad, Athyr, Amphi, which the Grecians expressed Dithyrambi. They were strains of joy and exultation, attended with grand processions: and from the same term, dithyrambus, was derived the ???a?? of the Greeks, and the triumphus of the Romans. We are informed that triumphs were first inst.i.tuted by [780]Bacchus, who was no other than Chus: the history, therefore, of the term must be sought for from among the Cuseans. That it was made up of t.i.tles, is plain, from its being said by Varro to have been a [781]name; and one that was given by the Amonians among other personages to Dionusus: for they were not in this point uniform. Diodorus takes notice that it was a name, and conferred upon the person spoken of: [782]T??a??

de a?t?? ???as???a? fas?: _They say, that one of the t.i.tles given to Dionusus was Thriambus_. Ham, in the very antient accounts of Greece, is called Iamus, and his priests Iamidae. His oracle, in consequence of this, was styled Iamphi, and Iambi, which was the same term as Amphi, of which we have been treating. From the name Iambi came the measure ?a??, Iambus, in which oracles were of old delivered. Ham, among the Egyptians, was called [783]t.i.thrambo, which is the same name as the Ditherambus of Diodorus.

There is a remarkable pa.s.sage in the Scholia upon Pindar concerning Ham, under the name of Iamus, and also concerning his temple, which is represented as oracular. [784] ?a?te??? ?? e? ???p??, ?? a?????? ?e???e?

?a??, t? d?a ep???? a?te??, ? ?a? e??? t?? ??? ?? ?a?da? ????ta?.

_There was in Olympia an antient temple, esteemed a famous seat of prophecy, in which Iamus is supposed to have first presided; and where the will of the Deity was made manifest by the sacred fire upon the altar: this kind of divination is still carried on by a set of priests, who are called Iamidae._ ?a?? a?????? was in reality the Deity; and his attendants were [785]Iamidae, persons of great power and repute. ?? ?? p?????e?t?? ?a?'

???a??? ?e??? ?a?d??. Pindar. Iamus was immortal, and was therefore named a?a?at??.

[786]?a? ?atafa??e? ?a?e?s?a? ??

????? s?pa?t? at??

??a?at??.

From hence we may be a.s.sured, that he was of old the real Deity of the place.

I have mentioned, that in the sacred processions in early times the Deity used to be carried about in a shrine; which circ.u.mstance was always attended with shouts, and exclamations, and the whole was accompanied with a great concourse of people. The antient Greeks styled these celebrities the procession of the [787]P'omphi, and from hence were derived the words p?p?, and pompa. These originally related to a procession of the oracle: but were afterwards made use of to describe any cavalcade or show. In the time of Herodotus the word seems in some degree to have retained its true meaning, being by him used for the oracular influence. He informs us that Amphilutus was a diviner of Acharnan; and that he came to Pisistratus with a commission from heaven. By this he induced that prince to prosecute a scheme which he recommended. [788] ??ta??a ?e?? p?p? ??e?e??? pa??stata?

?e?s?st?at? ?f???t??.--Te?? p?p? is a divine revelation, or commission.

Ham was the Hermes of the Egyptians, and his oracle, as I have shewn, was styled Omphi: and when particularly spoken of as _the_ oracle, it was expressed P'omphi, and P'ompi, the p?p? of the Greeks. Hence Hermes had the name of p?pa???, which was misinterpreted the messenger, and conductor: and the Deity was in consequence of it made the servant of the G.o.ds, and attendant upon the dead. But p?pa??? related properly to divine influence; and p?p? was an oracle. An ox, or cow, was by the Amonians esteemed very sacred, and oracular: Cadmus was accordingly said to have been directed p?p? ???.

[789]???a ?a? e??as?? p?p? ???, ?? ?? ?p?????

Opase a?t?s???s? p?????te??a? ?d???.

Many places were from the oracle styled P'ompean: and supposed by the Romans to have been so named from Pompeius Magnus; but they were too numerous, and too remote to have been denominated from him, or any other Roman. There was indeed Pompeiae in Campania: but even that was of too high antiquity to have received its name from Rome. We read of Pompeiae among the Pyrenees, Pompion in Athens, Pompelon in Spain, Pompeditha in Babylonia, Pomponiana in Gaul. There were some cities in Cilicia and Cappadocia, to which that Roman gave the name of Pompeipolis: but upon, inquiry they will be found to have been Zeleian cities, which were oracular: go that the Romans only gave a turn to the name in honour of their own countryman, by whom these cities were taken.

Besides the cities styled Pompean, there were pillars named in like manner; which by many have been referred to the same person. But they could not have been built by him, nor were they erected to his memory: as I think we may learn from their history. There are two of this denomination still remaining at a great distance from each other: both which seem to have been raised for a religious purpose. The one stands in Egypt at [790]Alexandria; the other at the extreme point of the Thracian Bosporus, where is a communication between the Propontis and the antient Euxine sea. They seem to be of great antiquity, as their basis witnesses at this day: the shaft and superstructure is of later date. The pillar at the Bosporus stands upon one of the Cyanean rocks: and its parts, as we may judge from [791]Wheeler, betray a difference in their aera. It was repaired in the time of Augustus: and an inscription was added by the person who erected the column, and who dedicated the whole to that Emperor.

[792]DIVO. CAESARI. AUGUSTO.

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