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Ancient calendars and constellations,

3 1924

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ANCIENT CALENDARS AND CONSTELLATIONS

ANCIENT CALENDARS AND CONSTELLATIONS


By the Hon.

EMMELINE

M.

PLUNKET

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET,
1903
a

W.

PREFACE
The
some
series

Papers

here

collected

and reprinted,

with

alterations,
;

were not originally written as a


in fact,

but they do,

form one, inasmuch

as" the opinions put forward in each

Paper were by following

arrived

at,

one

after the other, simply

one leading

clue.

This clue was furnished by a consideration of


statements
contributed

made by
by him

Professor Sayce in an article


in

1874 to the Transactions

of the Society of Biblical Archeology.

At page
"

50 he thus wrote

The

standard

astrological

work

of

the

Babylonians and Assyrians was one consisting of


seventy tablets, drawn up for the Library of Sargon,

king of Agane,

in the i6th

century b.c."


viii

PREFACE

And again at page 237 "The Accadian Calendar was


:

arranged so as
;

to suit the order of the Zodiacal signs

and Nisan,
Zodiacal
point of

the
sign.

first

month, answered
the sun
still

to

the

first first

Now

entered the

Aries at the vernal equinox in the time of Hipparkhus, and


B.C.

From

would have done so since 2540 that epoch backwards to 4698 B.C.
it

Taurus, the second sign of the Accadian Zodiac,

and the

second

month

of

the

Accadian

year,

would have introduced the spring.


of the equinoxes thus enables us to
limit

The
fix

precession

the extreme

of the

antiquity of the

ancient

Babylonian

Calendar, and of the origin of the Zodiacal signs


in that

country."
after this sentence

Not many years


penned,
evidence,

had been
of

archaeologists,

as
firm

the

result

much
the

came

to

the

conviction
far
it

that

date

of

Sargon of Agane was


at first

earlier

than

had been

supposed

and

was placed by

them, not "in the

i6th century B.C.," but at the


B.C.

high date of 3800


It

was

in

endeavouring to account for the choice

PREFACE
by Accadian astronomers of Nisan
of the
year, as
first

ix

month

and of Aries as

first

constellation of

the Zodiac, at a date


stellation could not

when

that

month and con-

have "introduced the spring,"

that a possible solution of the difficulty presented


itself

to

my mind namely,
solstice,

the

supposition

that

the Accadian calendar had been originated


the

when

winter

not
sun's

the

spring
into

equinox,

coincided
stellation

with
Aries.

the

entry

the

conas

This coincidence took


us, at the date, in

place,

astronomy teaches
of 6000
B.C.
first

round numbers,

In the

Paper here reprinted


;

this supposition

was put forward


above

and

in the course of following, as

stated, the

clue afforded
in

by

it,

the various

subjects

discussed

successive

Papers claimed

always more insistently

my

attention, as

by degrees
the

detached
calendars
fitted

pieces

of

information
nations the

concerning
to

of ancient

came

hand,

and

themselves,

like

pieces

of a

dissected

map, into one simple chronological scheme.

PREFACE
The
study of calendars marked by
necessitates

Zodiacal

constellations

an

acquaintance

with

the
to

position of those constellations as they

were

be

observed

through

the

many ages during


office of

which they held the important


over the year and
its

presiding

changing seasons.

Such

acquaintanceship would have involved very careful

and accurate calculations were


help of a precessional globe,
it

it

not that, by the

was possible by easy


without the trouble

mechanical adjustment to
of thinking

see,

them

out,

what were the changes pro-

duced
after

in

the scenery of nightly skies, millennium

millennium, by the slow apparent revolution

of the "Poles of
tions

heaven" through the


referred
to

constella-

a
more

revolution

by

English

astronomers as "the precession of the equinoxes,"

and

graphically

and
as

epigrammatically
"le

by
des

French
fixes."

astronomers

mouvement

In the second part of this book diagrams have

been given, made from a precessional globe, and

PREFACE
in

xi

the

explanatory notes

which

accompany the

Plates attention has been directed, not only to the

chronological

problems which
I

may be

discussed

with great advantage, as


of such a globe, but also

believe,

by the help

to various astronomical

explanations of ancient myths which occurred to

me

in

the

course

of

studying

the

position

of
at

Zodiacal
different
I

and

extra-Zodiacal

constellations

ages of the world's history.


Oriental myths
if

can only read Classic and

in

translations,

and

feel

very sure that

any

of the astronomic explanations here suggested for

ancient
ones,
in

legends

should
in

prove
the

to

be

the

right

scholars

versed

original
if

languages

which these legends were written,


their
linguistic

they supple-

ment

knowledge

by

astronomic

considerations, will be able quickly


to

and with ease

develop the suggested explanations much further


it

than

has been possible for

me

to

do

and ex-

planations of other astronomic myths


that
is,

astronomic,
doubtless

and not merely

solar

myths

will

xii

PREFACE
to

come

their

minds as they follow similar

lines

of enquiry.

The

steps by which

travellers arrive at a far-

reaching view are often very steep and arduous.


I

fear that

many

readers of this book will find the


it

separate Papers in
selves
;

dull

and technical

in

themsteep

but

if

they be considered only as


to

and roughly-cut steps leading up


of

vantage points
observation,
I

chronological

and

historical

believe that the ruggedness of the path will soon

be forgotten

in the

absorbing interest of the results


it.

to be obtained

by following

CONTENTS
PART
I.

THE ACCADIAN CALENDAR


THE CON.STELLATION ARIES
GU,
.

...
.

PAGE
I

II.

24
ZODI.\C
.

III.

ELEVENTH CONSTELLATION OF THE

44

IV.

THE MEDIAN CALENDAR AND THE CONSTELLATION TAURUS


ASTRONOMY
NOTES.
IN

...
.

V.
VI.

THE RIG VEDA


MAZDA, ETC.

-56 .88
-149 .162
1

AHURA

VII.
VIIl.

ANCIENT INDIAN ASTRONOMY

THE CHINESE CALENDAR, WITH SOME REMARKS WITH REFERENCE TO THAT OF THE CHALDEANS

85

PART
PLATES PLATES
XV., XVI., XVII.,

II

AND

XVIII.

-215
226 230
239
245

XIX., XX.
. .

PLATE XXI.

PLATE PLATE

XXII.
XXIII.
.

....

PLATE XXIV.

248 257

INDEX

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PLATE

I.

xvi

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
DRAWN FROM
.

OUTLINES OF TWO CARVED SLATES


PLATES
I.

AND

IIL

IN

T/ie

Proceedings of the

Society of Biblical Archceology

THE CONSTELLATION PEGASUS


PLATE XV.
. .

...

FOR MAY 1900

Page 237

250

.At End

PLATE PLATE
PLATE

XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.

PLATE XIX. PLATE XX. PLATE XXI. PLATE PLATE


XXII.
XXIII.
.

PLATE XXIV.

ANCIENT CALENDARS AND CONSTELLATIONS


PART
I

THE

ACCADIAN

CALENDAR

[Reprinted from the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical


Archceology,

January 1892]
in

Epping and Strassmaier,

their

book Astronothree

misches mis Babylon, have lately translated

small documents, originally inscribed on clay tablets


in the

second century

B.C.

From

these tablets,

we

learn that the Babylonians of the above date pos-

sessed a very advanced knowledge of the science


of astronomy.
that

Into the question of the extent of


further

knowledge we need not here enter

THE ACCADIAN CALENDAR


it

[part

i.

than to say that

enabled the

Babylonian as-

tronomers to draw up almanacs for the ensuing


year
;

almanacs

in

which the eclipses of the sun


full

and moon, and the times of the new and


were accurately noted, as
planets

moon,

also the positions of the

throughout

the

year.

These

positions
in

were indicated by the nearness of the planet

question to some star in the vicinity of the ecliptic,

and the
groups,

ecliptic

was

portioned

off
in

into

twelve

coinciding the

very closely

position

and

extent with
as

twelve divisions

of

the

Zodiac

we now know them. As to the calendar or mode of reckoning the year, we find that the order and names of
:

the twelve months were as follows

Nisannu

(or

Nisan), Airu, Simannu, Duzu, Abu, Ululu, Tischritu,

Arah-samna, Kislimu, Tebitu, Sabatu, Adaru.

Of
doubled

these
as

months Ululu and Adaru could be


Ululu
(the

Sami
last
:

(the

second Elul), and

Adaru Arki
years

Adar).
that
is

The Babylonian
to

were

soli-lunar

say,

the

year

of twelve lunar months, containing three hundred

and
year

fifty-four

days,

was

bound

to

the

solar

of three

hundred

and

sixty-five

days

by

PART

I.]

CALENDAR
as

200 B.C.
required,

intercalating,

occasion

thirteenth

month.

Out

of every eleven years

there

were seven

with twelve months, and four with thirteen months.

The

first

day of the year being,

like

some of our
of

church

festivals,

dependent on the time

the

new moon, was "moveable"


Strassmaier,
spring."^
"

[schwankende).

The
in

year, according to the tablets before

Epping and
hence
the

began

with

Nisan,

This
in

is

a sketch

of the Babylonian calendar


B.C.,

the

second century
of

as

drawn

from

the

work
named.

the

two

learned

Germans

above-

Now we
number
the

find

in

the British

Museum
of

a great
to

of trade

documents which, according


"cover
a
period
are

Catalogue,
years."

over
of

two
the
;

thousand

There

"tablets

time of Rim-sin,
tablets

Hammurabi, and Samsu-iluna

of

the

time of the Assyrian supremacy,

of the time of the native kings, and of the time


^

"Was den Anfang

des Jahres

betrifft,

so

haben wir schon

gezeigt, das die seleucidische Aera, wie


vorliegt,

sie in

unseren drei Tafeln

ihre Jahre mit dem Nisan, also im Friihjahr begann." (Epping and Strassmaier, Astronomisches aus Babylon, p. 181).

THE ACCADIAN CALENDAR


;

[part

i.

of the Persian supremacy

tablets of the times of


-"^

the Seleucidae, and the Arsacidcc."

These documents are


king's

all

dated

in

such and

such a month of such and such a year of some


reign
;

the

months are the same


Accadian names
^)

(at first

under their
'

earlier
to the

as those

we
The

See Guide

Nimroud Central
B.C. e.g.
B.C.

Saloon, B.M., 1886.


:

dates of the rulers mentioned are as follows

Rim-sin, about 2,300

Hammurabi, about 2,200


Samsu-iluna, about 2,100

Assyrian supremacy from about 1275 to 609

B.C.

The
-

latest tablet in the collection is dated,


b.c.

according to the

Catalogue, 93

Assyrian.
'

Accadian month names, and translations.


f-S''"'''

1.

Ni'sannu,
Airu,
'Sivanu,
^;-

....
'

(or

Bar) sig-gar ("the


").

sacrifice of

'

'

"

righteousness
jT/irtr-jz'^/ ("

2.

the propitious bull")-

3.

Tsivan,

/^^-.?-'^
.

("of bricks"), and


(" seizer of
fire

Kas

("the

\
45-

twins").
6*/^ /f'/^/-7Z(!

Duzu, Abu,
Uhilu,
Tasritu,
. .

seed

").

^(5 rt^-^rtr("
. .

that

makes

fire").

6.
7.
8.

("the errand of Istar"). Tul-cu (" the holy altar ").


6^z>2^z>-
,

A7

Arahk-samna ("thel .,. , (the 8th month ") I ^P'"-'^'^


CisiHvu, or Cuzallu,
.

bull-like founder?").

9.

10. 11.
12. 13.

Dharbitu, Sabahu,

....
.
. .

Can ganna very cloudy "). ^/j^^ (?',-/;^ ("the father of light "). ^j (!-(" abundance of rain ").
(" the
5<'-/f'z-7

Addaru,

("sowing of seed").
^""'^ f"^'""''^] "^ =''"g ")
1

Arakh-makru

("the"i

incidental month"),/

""'''''

c-

j-

/<ij
^

.1

Records of the

Past, vol.

i.

p. 166.

PART

I.]

CALENDAR
the

2000 B.C.

find

in

almanacs translated by Epping and

Strassmaier, and

we meet

in

them, and

in

other

historical inscriptions, with the intercalary

months,
It

the second Elul, and the second Adar.

would

seem, then, that


in the

it

was the same


its

calendar,

worked

same way,

that held

place through these

two thousand years.


^

As evidence

of the antiquity of a fixed calendrical

method

of counting the year, and of a method closely resembling, if not identical with, that used in the latest periods of Babylonian
history, the

can scarcely be over-rated.


four thousand years ago.

importance and trustworthiness of these documents They were inscribed on soft clay
fire),

(which was afterwards baked either by sun or

many

of

them

No

correction or erasure can have

been made

in

them
is

since that date.

translation of one of
the

these tablets as given at p.

Central Saloon,
others.

Guide to here given as an example of the


75 in the

style of

Nimroud many

"No. 3. Tablet and outer case inscribed with a deed of partnership or brotherhood between Sini-Innanna and Iriba-Sin. "Tablet. Sini-Innanna and Iriba^-Sin made brotherhood; they took a judge for the ratification, and went down to the temple of the sun-god, and he answered the people thus in the temple of the sun-god They must give Arda-lustamar-Samas and Antu-lislimam, the property of Iraba-sin, and Ardu-ibsinan and Antu-am-anna-lamazi, the property of Sini-Innanna.' He proclaimed [also] in the temple of the sun-god and the moongod: 'Brother shall be kind to brother; brother shall not be evil towards, shall not injure, brother and brother shall not harbour any angry thought as to anything about which a brother has
'
:

disputed.'

"They have invoked

the

name

of Innannaki, Utu,

Marduk,

THE ACCADIAN CALENDAR

[iart

i.

But, further, there are astrological works copied


for the library of

Assurbanipal from ancient Baby-

lonian originals.
originals
is

The

compilation of

many
B.C.

of these

placed by scholars in the reign of Sargon


at the

of

Accad/

remote date of 3,800


name
of

Lugal-ki-usuna, and the


king."

Hammurabi

[Kimta-rapastu] the

Here

follow the

names of eight witnesses.


;

The translation of the

on the outer case is much to the same purpose, and need not here be quoted the names of nine witnesses are appended to it. The Guide continues, after some other explanations, as follows
inscription
:

"The whole of the first paragraph (except a few ideographs) is in Semitic Babylonian. The invocation is in Akkadian. The list of witnesses,' again, is in Semitic Babylonian, and the date in Akkadian. The tablet is dated in the same way as the other documents of this class Month Adar of the year when Hammurabi the king made (images of) Innanna and Nana.'"
'
. . .

'

Sargon

I.

of

Accad was

of Semitic race.

as ruler in the city of Accad,

He was established and there reigned over a great


inscriptions styled
tell us,

non-Semitic race, in ancient cuneiform

the

Accadai (Accadians).

This word, as scholars

carried the
this fact
it

meaning of
is

" highlanders," or " mountaineers."

From

inferred they were not indigenous to the low plain surrounding

the city of Accad, to which they gave their name. Their language contains few words for the productions of the almost tropical climate of Babylonia, but it shows familiarity with those
of higher latitudes. or

At the time when Sargon,

either

by peaceful

was established as ruler over the Accadians they were already a very highly civilized people. They possessed a literature of their own, which embraced a wide variety of subjects. The learning of the Accadians was highly esteemed
warlike
arts,

vA-RTi.]

CALENDAR
these

3800 B.C.

In

ancient astrological works, the same

calendar referred to in the trade documents, and


in the late

Babylonian almanacs, appears to obtain.

We

find

in

them the same year of twelve lunar


in-

months, reinforced at intervals by a thirteenth


tercalated month, and, which
is

very important, the

order of the months

is

always the same.

Nisan
as

(Accadian

Barzig-gar),

everywhere
is

appears

"the

first

month," and

distinctly stated

to be

"the beginning of the year."^

As

early

as

the

year

1874,

Professor

Sayce

pointed out that there was

good reason

for sup-

posing that the twelve Babylonian months corre-

sponded

to the twelve divisions of the Zodiac.

page
and

161

of

his

Paper,

At T^e Asironomy and


made
of important

translations into the Semitic language were

Accadian works. These works, down to the latest days of Babylonian power, were preserved and venerated, and many copies of them were made and preserved in public libraries in Babylonia and Assyria. The Accadian after Sargon's date gradually dropped out
religious

and

scientific

and became a " learned " language, holding amongst Babylonians and Assyrians much the same position as Latin and Greek amongst Europeans.
of general
use,

See Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archczology, 1874. Paper entitled. The Astronomy and Astrology of the Babylonians, Prof. Sayce, p. 258, W.A.I, iii. 60,
^

THE ACCADIAN CALENDAR


Babylonians,

[fart

i.

Astrology of the

we

read

"

Now

a slight inspection of the calendar will show that


the Accadian months derived their
signs of the Zodiac."

names from the

He

then proceeds to discuss and compare the

meanings of the

Accadian

and
in

Semitic

month

names, and to point out those


to the

which a reference

Zodiac might most clearly be traced.


constellations of the Zodiac

That the
potamia

were from

a remote age recognized by the dwellers in Mesois

scarcely to be doubted.
in the British

We

find

on the

boundary stones
tions of

several

of their

Museum representafigures. The Bull, the

Tortoise (in lieu of the Crab), a female figure^with


wings,
are
all
t'

Scorpion, the Archer, and the Goat-fish,

portrayed, not only on boundary stones, but

also on cylinder seals

and gems.
astrological

Again,

in the

old

works,

we

find

mention of the
Goat-fish "

Scorpion

" Gir-tab,"

and of

the
to

Muna-xa," and as planets are said


to,"

"approach

and "linger
it

in,"

the stars of Gir-

tab and of Muna-xa,

may

well be supposed that


still

they

were the Zodiacal constellations

repre-

sented under the forms of Scorpion and Goat-fish.

PART

I.]

ANCIENT CALENDAR SIDEREAL


of the

Out

many

star-groups mentioned in the

old tablets, only a few have as yet been certainly


identified

with their modern equivalents.

As

to

the identity of others,

we may

guess.

For

instance,

when
tion

it is

said "

Mercury^ lingered
that

in the constella-

Gula,"

we may guess
in
"

Gula represents
Strass-

Aquarius, which sign

the

Epping and

maier tablets figures as

Gu."

From
mapped
drawn
sions

all

these sources of information,

we

orather

that the twelve divisions of the ecliptic

had been

out at the time the astrological works were

up,

and that some

(at least)

of these divi-

corresponded exactly
celestial globes.

to

those

now

repre-

sented on

The
fessor

suggestion, therefore, put

forward^
to

Pro-

Sayce and other scholars, that the twelve

Accadian

months
of

corresponded
the

the

twelve

constellations

Zodiac,
in

and that we may


instances

trace

resemblance
of the

some
in

between

the

name

month

the old Accadian laninto

guage and the constellation


at that

which the sun


is

time of the year entered,

not in

itself

improbable.
Infra, p. 47, note.

10

THE ACCADIAN CALENDAR


The
ist

[part

i.

followinsf
is

months are those


:

in

which

this

resemblance

very striking

month, Bar zig-gar (" the


"),

sacrifice

of right-

eousness

Aries.
bull"),

2nd month, Khar-sidi ("the propitious


Taurus.
3rd

month
month,

(sometimes

called)

Kas

(" the

Twins"), Gemini.
6th
I

Ki

Gingir-na

("the

errand

of

star"), Virgo.

We

know from

the

Epping and Strassmaier


that

tablets as a matter of fact,

the

months and

the constellations of the Zodiac did in the second


century,
B.C.,

correspond with each other in order


as

and sequence
research

above suggested, and


establish

if

further

should
in

the
time,

fact

that

they so

corresponded

Sargon's

then as
all

we

find

Nisan (Bar zig-gar)

throughout

these

ages

holding the place of "first month," and marking

"the beginning of the

year,"

it

will

necessarily

follow that the Accadian, Babylonian,

and Assyrian

calendars dealt with a sidereal and not a tropical


year.

Ours

is

a tropical year, that

is

to say, accordino-

PART

I.]

MODERN CALENDAR TROPICAL


bound
to the seasons,

to the Julian calendar (afterwards

amended by Pope
and
its

Gregory)

it is

months and the


about

maintain a constant relation to the four oreat divisions

of

the

ecliptic,

i.e.

the

solstices

equinoxes.

The

winter solstice always

falls

the 22nd of December, the spring equinox about

the 2 1 St of March, the


2
1

summer

solstice

about the

St

of June, and the autumnal equinox about the

23rd of September.

But

(as

has been suggested) the Accadian year


year,

was a sidereal
constant
sions of the
constellations

and

its

months maintained a
they are called, the

relation

to the
or,

twelve star-marked divias

ecliptic,

of the
closely

Zodiac.
as

Nisan always

cor-

responded
to

(as

a lunar month

might)

the

time during which the sun traversed the


;

constellation Aries
it

Airu

to the time during


;

which

traversed the constellation Taurus

and so on

through the twelve months of the year.

The

equinoctial

points

are,

however,

always,

though slowly, changing

their position
ecliptic.
still

amongst the

twelve constellations of the


therefore,

The months,
in the

which

in

3,800 b.c, and

second

century

B.C.,

corresponded to the same star-groups,

12

THE ACCADIAN CALENDAR


above noted, must have held
in

[part

i.

as

different ages

very different positions in regard to the four great


divisions or seasons of the year.

We

find

in

the tablets translated by Epping


"with

and Strassmaier the year " beginning


hence in the spring''
less natural

Nisan,
or

and

this

seems a more

season from which to count the year

but when, taking the precession of the equinoxes


into account,

we

find that the year in

Hammurabi's
two

time (2,200

B.C.)

must have commenced one month,


B.C.)
feel

and

in

Sargon's time (3,800


spring

months

before the

equinox,

we

surprised and

perplexed to find that the year must then have

begun without any reference


four great

to the

seasons

the
of

and most

easily

observed divisions

the ecliptic.
It
is

difScult to

imagine that the astronomers


its

who

so skilfully divided the ecliptic into

twelve

parts,

and who originated the wonderful Accadian

calendar

calendar so well thought out that,


to believe,
it

as

we have seen reason


is

resisted

all

the

shocks of time for nearly four thousand years


difficult to

it

imagine that such astronomers should have taken no note of the four prominent divi-

PLATE
FIG.
1.

I.

"""""'flSTwiNTEB

MONTH

FIG. 2.

.#/

'*'"'AfCF,BSTSIRIN0or1^

The

and last months of the Accadian, months of the Gregorian, tropical, year
first

sidereal, year,
:

at 6,000 B.C.

compared with the and at 600 .\.d.


Vfo/ace p.
13.


PART
I.]

SOLSTICE IN ARIES 6000


of
the

B.C.

13
i.e.

sions

year

and

of

the

ecliptic,

the

solstices

and the equinoxes.


is,

There
anomaly,
if

however, a way to account for


rather,

this

or,

there

is

a supposition which,

adopted, will allow these astronomers of old to

have taken note, not only of the months, but also of


the seasons of the year,
their

when

first

they drew up

mighty scheme.

Let us suppose that the calendar which, as we

may
in

learn from the astrological tablets,


well

was already

Sargon's time a

known and venerated


drawn up
the
at a date

institution,

had been

originally

much
when
6,000

earlier than Sargon's,

when

first

month

(Bar zig-gar), was not the


it

first

spring month, but

was the

first

winter month of the year.


i)

This date (see Plate


B.C.
;

I., fig.

would have been about

for then the

sun entered the constella-

tion Aries at the winter solstice


well,
if

a
the

season equally

not better suited than the spring equinox


first

to hold the
'

place in the calendar.

Under

this

After this paper had appeared in

Proceedings
this

Society of Biblical Archceology,

a corroboration of

of the opinion

occurred to the writer's mind, suggested by a further study of the

month names

in the

The

twelfth

month

Accadian calendar. It is as follows is named " sowing of seed." Seed may be


:

14

THE ACCADIAN CALENDAR


it

[part

i.

supposition,

would
the

no

longer

be

difficult

to

imagine

why

ancient

Accadian astronomers
first

should have chosen Aries as the

constellation
first

of the Zodiac, and Nisan (Bar zig-gar) as the

month, and the "beginning of the year."

Nor need we throw


and
time.
is,

discredit

on

the

early

sown in many latitudes in spring, and also in winter "Sowing of seed" might therefore describe a month at
:

the ending of an equinoctial or of a solstitial year


{i.e.

but the thirteenth

the occasionally intercalated)

sowing."

This

epithet

dark,

month is named that of " dark added to the "sowing" of the


a
solstitial

twelfth month, very plainly points to

or midwinter

ending of the year.

The thirteenth month in a luni-solar year, whose beginning should be bound to the vernal equinox, must always cover some of the concluding days of March and some of the first days of April
and those days are certainly much lighter, not darker than those of the preceding month, covering parts of February and March,
whereas, the thirteenth intercalary

month

in a luni-solar year,

whose

beginning should be bound to the winter solstice, must always cover the concluding days of December and those at the beginning of January ; and might well be distinguished by the epithet dark, not only from the days of the preceding month, but indeed

from those of any other month of the year (see Plate


It is

I., figs,

i, 2.)

of interest here to note that this insistence in Accadian


thirteenth month,

month nomenclature on the darkness of the

tends to confirm the already formed opinion of scholars, that the Accadians were not indigenous to Babylonia, but had descended
it from more northern latitudes, where darkness is a more marked concomitant of winter than in the nearly tropical lati-

into

tude of Babylonia.

PARTI.]

STARS RECEDE FROM SEASONS


if

15

calendar makers 6,000 b.c,

we

take for granted

that they were not acquainted with the fact that

slowly but inevitably the seasons must change their


position
this,

amongst the

stars,

and

that,

not knowing

they believed that

in

making the beginning of


into
it

the

year dependent on the sun's entry


were also binding

the

constellation Aries, they

to the

season of the winter

solstice.

As
stars

centuries rolled by, however,

and slowly the


solstice,

of Aries

receded from the winter


first

Bar zig-gar was no longer the


sense of being the
authority of the
first

month

in the

winter month.

Still,

the

originators

of the calendar held

sway
the
still

provision had been only


;

made

for counting

the year as a sidereal year

and Bar

zig-gar, or

month

in

which the sun entered Aries, was


month, and looked on as the

called the first

beginning of the year.

To
taking.

carry out the reformation of any long estabis,

lished calendar

we know,
secular

not a

trifling

under-

Even on
encounters

grounds, any proposed


opposition.

reform

strong

But

the
also

calendar in Babylonia was not only a

civil, it

was

a religious, institution.

Its

origin

was attributed

"

THE ACCADIAN CALENDAR


and
as the

[part

i.

to the Creator,
is

work of the Creator,

it

described in one of the old Babylonian tablets/


"

For each of the twelve months


"

He
^

fixed three

stars

(or

groups of

stars).

"

From

the day

when

the year issues forth to the close."

The
up
for

astronomical and astrological texts drawn


entitled "

Sargon of Accad are


and
still

The

Illumina-

tion of Bel,"^

as late as the second cen-

tury
"

B.C., all

Babylonian almanacs bore the heading:


of

At

the

command
*

my Lord
it

Bel and

my Lady
suppose,

Beltis, a decree."

Thus

was,

we may

that under the protection of the gods the Accadian

calendar

continued unchanged

throughout

all

the

changing ages.
1

Records of tlie Past. New series. Vol. i. p. 145. In modern works we find the terms "useless," "fanciful,"

and "inconvenient," applied to the Zodiac and its constellations; and for regulating a tropical year the constellations af-e " useless and "inconvenient," but the theory that the reckoning of the year and all its religious festivals depended on the observance of the Zodiacal star-groups, would help to account for the widely spread veneration in which they were held throughout so many ages and by so many nations.
^

Transactions of the
150,
151.

Society

of Biblical

.Irchceology,

1874,

pp.
*

Epping
6 1.

and

Strassmaier,

Astronomisches

aus

Babylon,

p.

{Auf

Geheiss von

Bel

uiid Beltis meiner Herrin, eine

E?ttscke idling.)

PART

I.]

EQUINOX
duringall

IN ARIES 200
the

B.C.

17

But

ages the winter

solstice

moved on
century
the
1

steadily

through

almost a quarter of

the great circle of the


B.C.,

ecliptic,^

and

in the

second

the spring equinox was not far from


ecliptic

same point of the star-marked

where

the great

This moving of the equinoctial point through a quarter of circle may perhaps explain the tradition to which Syncellus twice alludes, once when he states that Eusebius was

aware of the Greek opinion that many ages, or rather myriads of years had passed since the creation of the world, during ihe mythical retrograde movement of the Zodiac, from the beginning of Aries, and its return again to the same point {Chronographia, p. 17.) And again at p. 52, he refers to "the return of the Zodiac to its original position, according to the stories of the Greeks and

from one point back again minute of the first division of the equinoctial sign of the Zodiac, which is called K/oibs (Aries) by them, as has been stated in the Genica of Hermes and in the Cyrannid books." He goes on to say that this is the ground of the chronological
Egyptians, that
is

to say, the revolution

to the

same

point,

which

is

the

first

division of Claudius Ptolemy.

Jean Silvain
ning of which

Bailly,

speaking of the Indian Zodiac, the beginfirst

is

placed by the Brahmins at the

point of

Aries, suggests that a similar tradition

may have

prevailed amongst

the Indians and other ancient nations to account for the pre-

eminence so generally accorded


" Mais premiere?

to Aries.

He

says

pourquoi
11 est

ont-ils

choisi

cette

constellation

pour

la

evident que c'est une affaire de pr^jug^ et de superstition ; le choix du premier point dans un cercle est arbitraire. lis auront ^te d^cid^s par quelque ancienne tradition, telle par example que celle que Muradi rapporte d'apres Albumassar et deux anciens livres egyptiens, oil on lisoit que le monde avoit ^t^

THE ACCADIAN CALENDAR


zuinter
solstice

[part

i.

the

had

been

when
the

first

the

calendar-makers

had

"fixed"

constellations

"for the twelve months from the day


year issues forth to the
close,"

when the and we who now

read the almanacs drawn up at that late period of

Babylonian history are not (as has been said above)


surprised to find the year " beginning with Nisan,

hence in the spying."

(See Plate
contained

I.,

fig.

2.)

The
these
I.
:

propositions

in

this

Paper are

The Accadian year was counted The Accadian


first

as a sidereal

year.
II.

calendar was

first

thought
B.C.

out and originated at a date not later than 6,000

The

proposition

is

founded on the opinion,

renouvelle apres le deluge lorsque le soleil ^toit au 1 du holier, D'Herbelot ne parle regulus etant dans le colure des solstices. mais il dit que selon Albumassar les sept point de rdgulus planetes etoient en conjonction au premier point du holier lors de la creation du monde. Cette tradition, sans doute fabuleuse, qui venoit des memes prejug^s que celle de Berose, etoit asiatique, Elle a pu suffire, ou telle autre du meme genre, pour fonder la preference que les brames, ou les anciens en general, ont donnee
;

la constellation

du

belier,

en I'etablissant

la

premiere de

leur

lis ont cru que ce point du zodiaque etoit una zodiaque. source de renouvellement, et ils ont dit que le zodiaque et I'ann^e se renouvelloient au meme point ou le monde s'dtoit (Bailly, Histoire de F Astronomic Ancienne, pp. 482, regenere."

483-)

PART

I.]

ARIES,

LEADER OF THE
many

SIGNS

19

long ago expressed by


the

Oriental scholars, that


in

Accadian months corresponded

very early

ages with the constellations of the Zodiac, Nisan

the month during which the


history, and, presumably,

sun was

in

conjuncthe
first

tion with the constellation Aries

holding

place then, as also in the latest times of Babylonian

through the intervening

period.

But even
second,
it

if

the

first

proposition
is

is

granted, the

must be confessed,

only an opinion

based on the unlikelihood that the old Accadian

and

sidereal year, otherwise so skilfully dealt with

in the calendar,

should have begun,

in

what would

appear to be a haphazard manner, at no definite


season of the year.
It

may seem

that too

much weight has been


is

attached in this Paper to what can only be called

a guess
desire

but where

there

so as

much
yet

that

we
the

to

know, and so
the
early

little

absolutely

known

of

history

of astronomy,
is

temptation to

make such guesses

great.

It is to their earliest

heroes and to their gods

that

the

ancient

heathen nations attributed the

invention

of

astronomy,

and amongst the Jews

20
also,

THE ACCADIAN CALENDAR

[part

i.

according to Josephus, the children of Seth


first

were looked upon as being the


science.^

teachers of the

Modern astronomers
terms
"

often

speak

in

general
in

of

their

science
in

as

having existed

hoar antiquity," and

"prehistoric times."
it

But
rise,

questions as to when, and where

took
last

its

are

still

unanswered.

During

the

hundred

years these questions have been keenly discussed.

Babylon, Egypt, Greece, India, and China,

have

each been claimed as "the cradle" of the science.

Some few
Jean

writers (and
Bailly,

prominent amongst them


brilliant

Silvain

scholar and an
for the view

eminent astronomer) have contended


that not by
in

any one nation were the chief advances


races

astronomy made, but that before the great

of mankind separated from the parent stock, and

spread themselves over the globe, the phenomena


of

astronomy

had

been
for

closely

observed,

and

scientific

methods
Bailly

measuring time had been


"

adopted.

speaks of

une astronomic

per-

fectionn^e," of which only "les debris" are to be

met with

in
1

possession

of the
I.

civilized
2,

races of

Antiquitates Judaica,

3.

PART

I.]

ANTEDILUVIAN ASTRONOMY

21

antiquity.

He

claims an antediluvian race as the

originators of astronomic science.


It

may seem
B.C.,

a bold suggestion

to

place

the
as

formation of the

calendar at a date so high


it

6,000

a date exceeding as

does by 2,000

years that given to us in the margin of our Bibles


for the story of the fall of

man and
following
the

his expulsion

from

Eden.

It

was

in

Archbishop

Usher's

calculations that

date
it

of 4,004

was
in

adopted

and placed, where


But the
of

still

remains,

our English Bibles.


ing the early
dates

difficulty of

determin-

Bible

history
"
it is

has always

been

felt to

be very great, and

quite possible
for

to believe that

Genesis gives us no certain data

pronouncing on the time of man's existence on the


earth."
^

Scholars, in basing their calculations on the

authority of Scripture, have arrived at very different


conclusions.

Some only demand

3,616, others 6,984


for

years, as required

from Scriptural sources

"the

years of the world to


1

the birth of Christ."^

Introduction to the Pentateuch, by E. Harold Browne, D.D.,

Bishop of Ely.
^

Holy

Bible, with

Commentary, edited by

F. C.

Cook, M.A., Canon of Exeter.

The

following extracts are taken from the Preface to


to the

An

Universal History from the Earliest Account of Time

Present

22
It will

THE ACCADIAN CALENDAR

[part

i.

be seen that the earlier of these dates

leads us back to an even


that in which,
if

more remote age than


is

the theory here proposed

a true

one, the marvellous achievement of the formation of

a scientific sidereal calendar was accomplished.

To

attribute to the dwellers in

Eden

or to their

immediate descendants

intellectual gifts that should

enable them to perfect so grand a scheme, does


certainly not contradict the story of the
Compiled from Original Authors \Etc\ Dublin Editors : M,dcc,xliv.
:

fall,

but

Printed by

Edward Bate for the


They

are interesting as showing that even before archaeological

research had extended

the

limits

of ancient history, as

it

has

done during the


a
far

last

fifty

years,

many

biblical scholars assigned

history of
P.

higher date than Archbishop Usher's 4,004 years for the Adam's race on earth.
Ixv.

et seq.

"So

that

tion of the antiquities of nations,


left us,

on a strict view and due examinaand the records that have been
. .
.

those of the Jews, exclusive of their divine authority, will evidently appear to be the most certain and authentick. However it must be confessed that there is no certain uniformity in the

Jewish computation, and that the several copies of their records, viz., the Hebrew, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Septuagint differ very much from one another. This variety of computations hath left room for Chronologers to enlarge or contract the space of time betwixt the flood and the birth of Christ, by adhering to one copy rather than another or by rejecting or retaining the whole numbers, or the particulars, just as it suited their humour of making the Sacred History agree with the Prophane or otherwise of reducing the Prophane to the Sacred, and as the disagreement among the heathen writers is great also, and every author hath followed the historian he liked best, hence a wide difference
. . .

PART

I.]

"

KNOWING GOOD AND

EVIL;'

23

rather

may open up for us fresh lines of thought, when we read of that transgression in which the

pride of intellect played so important a part.


hath arisen amongst modern Chronologers as appears by the which we here give as collected by various computations It would be endless as well as StrauchiuSj Chevreau, and others. unnecessary here to examine into the particular causes of this great difference amongst authors, every one still pretending to ground his system on the authority of the Scripture.
.
.

Table of the years of the world to the birth of Christ, according to the computations of several chronologers.
Alphonsus, King of Castile, The same, in Strauchius Onuphrius Panvinius Suidas
Lactantius, Philastrius
in Muller's

Tables

6,984 6,484 9 months 6,310 6,000


5,801

Nicephorus Clemens Alexandrinus

The author

of the Fasti Siculi Isaac Vossius, and the Greeks


Etc. etc."

5,700 5,624 5,608 9 5,598

months

II

THE CONSTELLATION ARIES


[Reprinted from the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical
Archaology,

March 1893]
of
the

In
the

the

January number

Proceedings
for

of

Society

of Biblical Archcsology

last year,

under the

title

The Accadian Calendar, two


:

pro-

positions were advanced


I.

The

Accadian

year

was

counted

as

sidereal year.
II.

The Accadian

calendar was

first

thought

out and originated at a date not later than 6,000


B.C.

The

fact

that

the

sun's

entry

into

the

con-

stellation Aries

appears to have marked through


the beginning of the Accadian

many millenniums
year,

was

cited in support of the first proposition,


fact that the sun's

and the
cided

entry into Aries coin-

about
relied

6,000
to

B.C.

with the
the

winter

solstice,

was

on

support

probability

of the

tART

I.]

ARIES NOT CONSPICUOUS

2$

second proposition, namely, that at the above date


the calendar, which so honoured the inconspicuous
constellation Aries,
If

was

first

drawn

up.

we now

find this inconspicuous

part of the

heavens equally honoured by several

nations

in

very ancient times, we shall be led to think either


that

these

nations,
to

independently of each other,

happened

observe

and

mark out

the

sun's

annual course through the heavens at exactly the

same

date,

and therefore chose the same point as


solstice
;

marking the winter

or

we must suppose
and knowledge of

that they derived their calendar

the

Zodiac from observations originally made by


civilized race.

some one

The Brahmins
for the science of

of India claim a high antiquity

astronomy

in their country,

and

their observations

and calculations profess


millennium
B.C.

to date

back
the the

to the fourth

The names
are,

of

Indian constellations are preserved to


Sanscrit language,
identical with

us in

and these names


those that

so

to speak,

we use

at the

present day
Zodiac.

when we speak

of the figures of the

Many

scholars of to-day believe that only

after Alexander's conquests in

India did the know-


26

THE CONSTELLATION ARIES

[part

i.

ledge of the twelve-fold division of the Zodiac penetrate into that country.

Some, on the other hand,


be proved to have existed
a

maintain the opposite opinion, namely, "that the

names
in

of the signs can

India
^

at

as

early

period

as

in

any other

country."

Jean Silvain
antiquity

Bailly,

whose opinions

as to the

of the

science of astronomy have been

already quoted in the foregoing Paper, in his work

on the history of ancient astronomy, speaking


the Brahmins of India,

of

the initial point of whose

Zodiac

is

at the first star in the constellation Aries,


:

writes as follows
^

"

V.

p. 90.
initial

The

point of the

Hindu Zodiac

(see Plate III.)

is

about

9^ degrees to the west of the boundary line of the constellation Aries, as it is drawn on our celestial globes. One foot of Aries,
however, extends beyond the boundary line, and touches a line drawn through the initial point of the Hindu Zodiac and the poles of the ecliptic. At page 132, the question of the date of the fixation of this initial point is discussed, and a high antiquity for it is claimed. There are many considerations which may lead us to the opinion that not only in India, but amongst the ancients
generally, the
first

Hindu
the

initial

point,

degree of the constellation coincided with the and not with the boundary line of the conB.C.,

stellation, as
first

colures,

Greek and Latin authors, writing in the solstitial and equinoctial as being "at the eighth degree of the Zodiac," and these
it is

now drawn.

century

speak of

PART

1.]

ARIES WIDELY HONOURED

27

"

Mais pourquoi
la

ont-ils choisi cette constellation


c'est
le

pour

affaire

du
lis

premiere ? II est evident que de prejuge et de superstition premier point dans un cercle est auront ete decides par quelque

une

choix

arbitraire.

ancienne

tradition."

Dupuis, writing at nearly the


Bailly,

same date as
in conflict

about a hundred years ago, and

with him on

many
in

points relating to the Zodiac,


this

was

also struck

by the choice of

same inconby

spicuous

point

the great circle of the ecliptic,


India, but also

not only

by the Brahmins of

other ancient nations.

He

further explains
initial
is

that

the difference in the choice of

point by the

Chinese, and by the other nations,


parent, and not a real difference.
ful

only an apthe wonderin their

On

agreement shown by so many nations,


of
the
of
stars their

choice

by which they marked


Zodiacs,

the
to

beginning
statements,
perplexity

Dupuis

relied

caused modern commentators much Handbuch der Klassischen Alterthumsivissenschaft ; Zeitrechnung der Griechen und Jidmer, Unger), may be easily explained, if we realize that they, in all hkelihood, counted the degrees of the Zodiac from the same initial point as that in use amongst Hindu astronomers, which in the first century b.c.

which have

(see

was eight degrees to the west of the equinoctial point.

28

THE CONSTELLATION ARIES


views concerning the
unity
all

[fart

i.

support his

of

the

astronomical and religious myths of

nations.

At the end of

his work,
in
;

Mdmoire Explicatif
a diagram several

du Zodiaque, Dupuis gives

Zodiacs in concentric circles


twelve,
parts.

some divided
by
a

into

some

into

twenty-seven or twenty - eight


the
colures
cross

He

represents
these

which

quarters

concentric

Zodiacs,

and

speaking of the twenty-seven- and twenty-eightfold divisions,

he observes as follows

remarque d'abord, que ces divers systemes lunaires, tires de I'Astronomie de dififerens peuples, s'accordent tous a placer dans les cases correspondantes a-peu-pres les
s'en assurer,
la

"

On

memes

etoiles.

II suffit,

pour

meme

de comparer les etoiles designees dans case de la division de chaque peuple.


qu'ils

On

remarque aussi

ont pris

tous,

excepte
initial

les Chinois, les

memes

etoiles,

pour point

de

la division, savoir, celles

de

la tete

du

Belier.
initial

Chinois, au contraire, ont fix6 le point


la partie

Les dans
les

du
la

ciel

diametralement opposee, vers


et pres I'Epi
" (p.

pieds de

Vierge

4).

Dupuis' arguments, drawn from the choice by


several

nations
point

of the
of the

first

division

of Aries as

the

initial

Zodiac and year, are of

PART

I.]

ARIES

MARKED A SEASON

29

equal cogency in support of a calendar such as he


suggests,

drawn up more than 12,000


the

B.C.,

for a

year beginning at

mUtmin equinox;
in this

or

for

a calendar, as suggested

Paper, drawn up

about 6,000
at

B.C.,

and dealing with a year beginning


solstice ;

the

winter

and

it

may be
while

claimed

that

the facts

brought to

light

by the study of
greatly

the

ancient

Accadian

calendar,

strengthening the ground for Dupuis' opinion concerning the early acceptance by
stars of Aries as a

many
in

nations of the

mark

for the

beginning of the year


favour of the

in prehistoric times,
first

seem more

month

of that year having been counted from

the winter solstice than from the

autumn

equinox.

Quotations from authors like Bailly and Dupuis

may seem nowadays somewhat


of their
all

out of date

for

though they were amongst the foremost scholars


time,

they were necessarily ignorant of


discoveries
that

the archaeological

have

suc-

ceeded each other with such rapidity during the


last century.

Unless, therefore, the brilliant guesses

and astronomical speculations of these writers can


find

confirmation

in

the

results

of

modern

re-

searches,

their theories

may

well be disregarded.

30

THE CONSTELLATION ARIES


it

[part

i.

But

seems

to

me
to

that

many
of

of their

theories

are meeting with such confirmation.

Turninof

first

some

the

facts

which

archaeology has

taught us

regarding the ancient


if

Egyptians,

it

will

be interesting to see

there are

any indications honour paid

in their

astronomy or mythology of
connexion

to the constellation Aries in

with the progress of the sun and


the figures of the Zodiac.
It
is

moon through

true that the acquaintance of the ancient


is

Egyptians with these figures


dispute,

a matter

still

in

and the various methods of counting the


difficulties

year followed by them also present great


to

scholars.

It

is,

however, admitted that they

were a people much given to the observation and


worship of the heavenly bodies,

and

that

their

astronomy

and

mythology

were

very

closely

interwoven with each other.


In the time of the the
as

Middle Empire,
year were not

it

seems,

months
lunar

in

the

civil

counted

months,

but as

months of
as

thirty

days

each.

The year was

not counted

a sidereal

year, but as

one of three hundred and sixty days


of thirty

twelve months

days

with

five

days

PART

I.]

TWO CALENDARS
at

IN

EGYPT

31

added

the end of each year to

bring up the

number

to three

hundred and
to the

sixty-five days.

No

attention

was paid

odd hours and minutes

over and above the three hundred and sixty-five


days, vi^hich are occupied by the sun in completing
his annual course.

Mr
the

Griffiths

has remarked

in

the

number of
Biblical

Proceedings

of

the

Society

of

Archesology for
for

March
suggest

1892, that the hieroglyph lunar

month
I

points to

an originally
that

month,
the

and
first

w^ould

the

star

under
a

crescent

seems

to

point

also
i.e.,

to

month

originally counted

sidereally,

dependent upon
in

the

conjunction

of the

sun and

particular star-group of the

moon ecliptic. As

some

a matter
civil

of

fact,

the Egyptians

made use

not only of a

year such as has been above described, but also of


a sidereal year, counted from the heliacal rising of
Sirius,

and

it

is

perhaps possible that the months

in this sidereal

year were counted as lunar months,


soli-lunar

and the year treated as


In

and

sidereal.

these

two Egyptian calendars

so

far

as
to

they are at present understood no


the
constellation

reference

Aries seems

to

be

discernible.

32

THE CONSTELLATION ARIES

[part

i.

The agricultural importance of the season of the summer solstice in Egypt, coinciding as it does with the rising of the Nile, may have induced calendarmakers
at

some very

early date to re-arrange the

order of the year, so as to

make

it

begin at the

Slimmer rather than the ivinter


as
it is

solstice

the

season,

contended
B.C.

in

these Papers, originally chosen


in

6,000

by astronomers
of

more

northern

latitude than that

Egypt

as the starting-point of

of a year sidereally

marked by the conjunction

the sun with the constellation Aries.

But

if

we

turn to the Egyptian mythology, the

importance of the Ram, or rather of the head of the

Ram,

as

it is

revealed in the monuments, and in the

pictorial art of the ancient


ally strike the student of

Egyptians, must continu-

Egyptian symbolism.
triad

Amen,

the

great

god of the Theban


is

(Amen, Maut, and Chons),


as ram-headed

sometimes represented
always

his boat and his sceptre are


conjunction

adorned with a ram's head, and the great temple


to

him,

in
is

with

the

sun,

i.e.

to

Amen-Ra,
gigantic

approached through an avenue


sphinxes,
the

of
also

ram-headed
as

and
of

this

is

the

case

regards

temple

Chons

the

PART

I.]

AMEN'S RAM-HEADED SYMBOLS

33

moon-god

at right angles,

and

in close proximity,

to the great

temple of Amen-Ra.
tell

Scholars

us that
triad

Horus,

Isis,

and

Osiris,

the
and
have
it

Memphian

symbolized
other

the diurnal
bodies,

motion of the

sun and

heavenly

need not appear improbable that the great


triad,

Theban
of those

Amen, Maut, and


symbolized
the

Chons,

should
course

originally

annual

same bodies through the


This would account

constellations
for the

of the Zodiac.

pro-

minence of the
of this triad
in

Ram

in

connexion with the worship


as
I

the
first

Ram, which,

have argued,

many

countries,

and possibly

in

Egypt

also,

marked the

division of the Zodiac and year.


is

prayer to

Amen

translated

by G. Maspero
Proceedings
^
;

in the April

number

for

1891

of the

of the Society of Biblical Archceology


translation
to
it

from

this

would appear that


calendar
year.

Amen

is

implored
real

bring the

into
If

touch with the

seasons of the
1

Amen
dont

represented
du

"

II

ne

me

reste plus qu'a


iv.,

donner
1-5),

la traduction suivie

texte

(Papyrus Anastasi,

p. 10.

je viens d'expliquer le

sens et le developpement littdraire. "Viens a moi, Amon, me delivrer de I'annee facheuse, oii le dieu Shou (Shou dtait, a I'^poque des Ramessides et plus tard, le dieu du soleil solstitial, du soleil d'et^, comme Brugsch I'a

34
sidereally

THE CONSTELLATION ARIES


marked point
in

[part

i.

the

yearly

course of

the sun, such a prayer might suitably have been

addressed to him by the Egyptians.

The

great
as

temple

to

Amen-Ra
stated

at

Thebes,
through
oriented

approached,

has been

above,
is

an avenue

of

ram-headed

sphinxes,

to the setting

sun of the season so important to

Egyptians, that of the


fact

summer
opinion
in

solstice,

and

this

strengthens
to

the

that

Amen
its

was

considered

be a god
of
is

some way presiding


year
that

over

the

course
It

the
true

and
this

right

measurement.
of his
light

orientation

temple precluded

the

possibility

of

the

from

any

star

of the

constellation
;

Aries
it

ever shining into the shrine of the god

but

is

perhaps possible that the ceremony of "the great


montr^
etait \'6te,

ingtjnieusement) ne se leve plus, ou vient I'hiver oil les mois s'en vent hors leur place, ou les heures se brouillent, ou les grands t'appellent, 6 Anion, ou les petits te cherchent, ou ceux meme qui sont encore dans les bras de leur Amon trouve Donne les souffles nourrice, ceux-la (crient)
fort

ou

'

'

Amon
les

ecoute,
;

agr^ables
la palette

il

Amon est me donne

le sain

devant qui marchent

les

souffles

d'etre

comme

I'aile

du vautour, comme

chargee des discours des Esprits pour les bergers dans champs, pour les laveurs sur la berge, pour les garde-chasse qui sortent au territoire des gazelles afin de lacer (le gibier)."

M. Maspero
and
difficult to

states that the latter lines of the text are injured

decipher or to understand.

"

35

PART

I.]

AMEN AND EGYPTIAN YEAR

feast-day of

Anion Father," described by Ebers,


devised by the votaries of

may have been


as a

Amen

means whereby they could honour the god,

as one presiding over the most propitious season of the year, and also recall the sidereal connexion
of the

god of

the

year with the, from times im-

memorial highly reverenced, constellation Aries.

At

pp.

277 and

278

of Egypt,
ii.,

Descriptive,

Historical,

and

Picturesque, vol.
figures
in

Ebers, having

referred to

some

represented on the walls

of a

Memnonium
II.,

the

Nekropolis erected by

Rameses

exactly opposite to the Great


:

Temple

of Karnak, observes
"

Of

these figures

the

inscription

says

As
'

they approach the king their arms are


choice produce and stores, and
all

filled

with

the

that the earth brings forth are gathered


to

good things by them

add

to the joy

on the great feast-day of Amon,


refer to the great 'feast of the

the father.'

"These words

Valley' {heb en-ant), when, on the 29th day of the

second month of the inundation, the statue of

Amon

was brought

forth

from the sanctuary with much

magnificence and solemnity, and conveyed across


the Nile to the Nekropolis, that the god might there

7,6

THE CONSTELLATION ARIES


priests of the

[part

i.

offer sacrifices to his ancestors in the other world.

house of Seti received the procession with the splendid bark Sam, the most sacred of all the vessels that were preserved in the temple of

The

Karnak
borne

in this the statue

of the god was placed, and


of Seti, and then round

first to

the

Memnonium
the

about the Nekropolis, preceded by a crowd of temple


servants,

who strewed

way with

sand.

The

solemnities ended with a grand nocturnal spectacle,

on the great sacred lake of which traces may still be seen to the extreme south of the Nekropolis. " The Egyptian religion prescribed to all its

tombs of their dead and bring offerings, in grateful remembrance of their parents and forefathers and as, day after day, millions of suns had gone to rest as men do behind the realm of tombs in the Libyan hills, the god himself was brought to do honour to his departed ancestry, and to sacrifice to them."
followers that they should visit the
;

The
closely

rising of the Nile in

Egypt
the
II.

coincides very
solstice.

with
date

the
of

season

of

summer
date

At

the

Rameses
on

not

yet

unanimously agreed

by

scholars,

but

which
B.C.

may
in

be safely placed between 1,400 and 1,100


at the season of the

the sun
the

summer

solstice
II.),

was
and

constellation

Cancer (see

Plate

CO ^ u .n ^ "> ^ CO

"J

-s
(J

i;rSS

p"'

,..'''

*m

-^

OT tt to tM tM

.^

IVJ

QC

\rriz^
So"" u. I O I- e
z^
V) U.

O
ro

oS

e\j

hi^

-^
::;

<^-

<

-^g

H
Ah

>,t*

'

lis

5:2

^1^
a.

a O

: fc
, '

.'V-

o a.
O UJ
L

1-<L

PART

I.]

AMEN AND
later
its

ARIES

37

two months
posed
point

place in the ecliptic was a

few degrees to the west of a point exactly opto the first stars of Aries

and

to the initial

of

the

Indian

Zodiac.

On

the

evening,

therefore,

of the

29th day of the second month

of the

inundation,

when
hills,

the sun

had now sunk

behind the Libyan


sufficiently

and daylight had faded


to

to

allow
of

them

show

their

light,

the

first

stars

Aries

rose

above the eastern

horizon,

and

at

midnight attained to the southern

meridian.

Thus
of the of

at

the

season

of

all

the

year,

when
statue

Aries specially dominated

the ecliptic, the


as

god
his

Amen
dark
the

was,

we

learn,

brought
in

out

temple shrine
Nekropolis,

and carried

procession

to

from whence

the

constellation

walls

and

not columns was


Aries

hidden
fully

by
;

obstructing

visible

and there
to "

honour was done and


Father."

sacrifice offered

Amon

But
stand
'

it

may

be

said

that

we should underthe

"the

second
is

month

of

inundation"
stars in

When

the sun

about 7 below the western horizon,

the opposite quarter of the heavens begin to be visible.

"

38 to refer

THE CONSTELLATION ARIES


to

[part

i.

the

second
counted

month of the
from
the

Egyptian

sidereal
(fixed)
Sirius.

year

the

ist

Thoth
of

and

marked
the

by

hehacal

rising

At

date of

Rameses the beginning


as

of this

sidereal

year

fell,

may be
the

proved, a
Plate
II.),

fortnight after the

summer
29th

solstice (see

and
of

still

on

the

of

second
Aries

month
might
its

this

sidereal

year the stars of


in

be seen rising
first

the

east

no

longer

only

stars,

but nearly the whole constellation then


visible
stars,

becoming
brightest

and
and ^

at

about

midnight
culminated
the

its

Arietis,

on

the of

meridian.

Whether,
"

therefore,
at

" Feast

the

Valley

was
of
the

held

the

end

of
or

the
of

second
the
stars

month
of

actual

inundation,
sidereal
its

second

month

of

the

year,

the

Aries

presided

over

" nocturnal

solemnities.

Some
festivals

scholars claim, however, that

all

Egyptian

were swept round through the seasons,


stars

and the
course

that

marked those seasons,


firmly

in

the

of fourteen or fifteen hundred years, inasas

much

they were

bound

to

the

vagtie

calendrical year of 365 days.

If this

was indeed

PART
so,

I.]

FIXED AND VAGUE YEARS


would be
II.

39
I.

it

difficult

to

imagine that Seti

or

Rameses

could

have established the

festival

in question

as in

any way connected with honour


;

to be paid to the constellation Aries

for

though

during the reign of


early
fixed

Seti,

and perhaps during the


vague
closely

part

of that

of

Rameses, the

and
(see

years
II.),

coincided

more
apart

or

less

Plate

yet before the death of


far

Rameses they
ist

were already so
(vague)
solstice,
fell,

that

the

Thoth

not a fortnight later than the


;

summer

but about a fortnight earlier

and therehave

fore

on the 29th day of the second month of the


stars

vague year the


risen
until

of

Aries would

not

long after sunset, nor would any one

of

them

have

culminated

on

the

meridian

at

midnight.
If

now we
unlike

turn
at

our attention to the temple


Simbel,

to

Amen-Ra
is

Aboo
to

we may observe
at

that,
it

that

the

same god
definite

Karnak,
of the

not

oriented
rising

to

any

season
it

year.

The

sun shines into


into the

now,

and

must always have shone


of that

Holy

of Holies

rock-hewn temple on the morning of a

day

somewhat

more

than

two

months

distant

40

THE CONSTELLATION ARIES


solstice,

[part

i.

from the winter


a

and somewhat

less

than

month before the season of the spring equinox,


on
the

namely,

morning of the 26th

February

(Gregorian)/

The sun now


in the

(1893 a.d.)

is,

at the
;

season named,
if

constellation
to

Aquarius

but

we

calculate

back
1,100

date

anywhere
find

between
(see

1,400
III.)

and
that
to

B.C.,

we

shall
II.

Plate
this

when
1

Rameses
was fortunate
to

dedicated

temple

" I
visit

in seeing

another wonderful thing during


great temple
is

my

Aboo

Simbel.

The
it

dedicated to
is

Amen-Ra,
both
halls

the sun-god,

and on two days


sends a

in the year the sun

said to rise at such a point that


till

beam

of light through

it

falls

on the shrine
are

itself in

the very

Holy

of

Holies.

Many

theories

based on the orientation of the

temples, and Captain


in the spring

of the year the

Johnston wished to find on which day phenomenon took place ; so he

took his instruments, and we all went up to the temple before The great hall, with its dawn. It was the 26th February.
eight Osiride pillars, was

wrapped
shrine.

in semi-darkness.

Still

darker

were the inner


gods,

hall

and

Behind the

altar sat

the four
deified.

Amen, Horus,

Ptah, and
rosy

Rameses
flush
;

himself,

now

All

the

East was a deep


filled

then

that

paled,
it

and
grew,

a hard white light


till,

the sky.

Clearer and whiter

with a sudden joyous rush, the sun swung up over the low ridge of hill, and in an instant, like an arrow from the bow of Phoebus Apollo, one level shaft of light pierced
the great hall and
fell

in living

glory straight

upon the
Gazette,

shrine

itself" A.
April,

F.

[Extract

from the

Pall Mall

20th

1892.]

-^
iM

a. LJ

s z u
o
1^;
,

H 2 5

'if

Pt-'
^^V'y>

Pi

a u

6.^i'
Oh

S
<U

u
<
i^l

Z N
^l!t

z u o h z
tn a.

o s
o
:

^r^^
I-

o " Sig N O CD Z u < ao < X


I<->

'

bo

.S

L.

q:

hH

SV

PARTI.]

TEMPLE ORIENTED TO ARIES


the sun
the

41 into

Amen-Ra,
shrine of

when
at
first

it

penetrated

the
in

temple
the
this

Aboo Simbel was


stars

conjunction with
tion

of the
it

constella-

Aries,

and
to

fact

must,

would
put

seem,

encourage us

adopt the opinion

forward
II.

above concerning the desire of Rameses

to

honour that

constellation

in

connexion with the

god Amen.
It

would seem then that there are

indications

in

the

mythology
of

and

in

the
to

history

of

the

Egyptians,
Aries,

honour

paid

the

constellation

and as we further study the

records
I

of

antiquity,

now

within our reach,

it

will,

believe,

become evident
also
all

that not only the Egyptians, but

the

great civilized

nations

of the

East,

had

traditions of a year beginning

when

the sun

and moon entered the constellation Aries


year as 'that
in

such

use amongst the Babylonians during

their long existence as a nation,

and such as that


in

which

is

used by the

Hindus

India to

this

present day.
If
will

we

allow weight to these considerations,


to

it

be

difficult

think that such a


it

method of

reckoning the year

involving, as

did, the recog'.

42

THE CONSTELLATION ARIES


under the

[part

i.

nition of the ecliptic star-groups

fanciful
at

figures of the Zodiac

should

have been arrived

by each of these nations independently.


whether some "
this

Whether
bequeathed
is still

one nation borrowed these ideas from another, or


earlier

race of

men
not

"

knowledge

to their

many

descendants,

an

open question.

Scholars have

unanimously

awarded the palm of

seniority in civilization to

any

one nation, and we are not at variance with proved


facts, if

we

elect to

adopt the theory of a

common
If,

stock,

from which the divergent races sprang.


it

then,

should appear that these races possessed and


into their

incorporated
of the
as

mythologies a knowledge
first

Zodiac, and

of the

degree of Aries

its initial

point, their separation

from the parent

stock must have been subsequent to the formation


of the scheme that dealt with a calendar based on

an observation of the colure of the winter


at that point,

solstice

and under

this supposition the date of

6,000

B.C.

becomes a foothold

for the

chronology of

ancient history.
the

We should

also be led to think of

common

ancestors of the civilized races not as

ignorant barbarians, but rather as

men graced

with

high intellectual

gifts

men

whose teachings have

PART

I.]

ZODIAC PREHISTORIC
all

43
to
this

been handed down through


present
day, and of

the ages

whose imaginings the Zodiac

remains as the most ancient monument of the work


of intelligent man.

Ill

^*

{GU), ELEVENTH CONSTELLATION OF THE ZODIAC


[Reprinted from the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archceolog)', February 1896]

In the astronomical tablets (of the


B.C.
)

ist

and 2nd

cent.

translated

by Epping and Strassmaier, the twelve


of the
to.

constellations

Babylonian Zodiac are con-

stantly referred

Their names appear under very


the tablets, and are as follows }

abbreviated forms
1.

in

][Ey

{ku{sarikku))

aries.

2.

j^y {te{mennu))
]f-

=
= = = = = = = = =

taurus.

3.
4.

>^ (masu)
{jpulukku)

gemini.
cancer.
leo.

-^K,

5.
6.
7.

{aril)
(seriT)

JEJ"*

virgo.
libra.

^\ {zibanitu)
**
rif:

8.
9.

^^
(fa)

{aqrabu)

scorpio.
arcitenens.

10.

J^

jJ^J (enzu)

caper.

11.

JJ^i^

(gu)

amphora
pisces.

[aquarius].

12
1

Zeitschrift fiir Assyriologie, v


41

Band, 4 Heft, Oct. 1890,

p. 351.

PART

I.]

MEANING OF GU UNCERTAIN
in

45

Also

Epping-

and

Strassmaier's

work,

Astronornisches

aus
des

Babylon,

under the heading


pp.

Die
and

Zeichen

Thierkreises,
Stei^ne,

170,
175,

171,

Namen

der

pp.
in

174,

the

twelve abbreviations

met with

the tablets are

discussed at some length.

From

a study of the
to,

list

here given
it

and of
has been

the passages referred

we

learn that

found possible to suggest

for

some of the abbreand


in the

viations suitable terminations,

completed

words thus obtained, the familiar constellations of


the Zodiac,
recognized.
as

we know them,
of the

are easily to be

As
sign

regards other
that of

abbreviations,

and

amongst them

^^
it

(Gu) for the eleventh

(Amphora
;

or Aquarius),

no termination has

been suggested
p.

171:

" Gu
Epping
thus

and of
ist

Strassmaier thus writes }


fast

sonst

ausschliesslich

nur
dis-

als

Silbenzeichen gu bekannt";

and Jensen,

cussing
list,

and
of the

Strassmaier's

constellation

writes

abbreviation

Gu

for
'

the

eleventh

constellation:^
^

"Ob Gu
p.

einen

Was-

Astronornisches aus Babylon.

Kosmo logic

der Babylonier,

314.


46
sereimer,'
nicht.
'

ELEVENTH CONSTELLATION

[part

i.

Schopfeimer,' bezeichnen kann, weiss ich

Die bisher veroffentlichten Texte geben


a probable completion for the abbreviation
is

keinen Aufschluss dariiber."

As
In

Gu, the following suggestion


the
ancient

here put forward


tablets

astrological
in

translated

by Professor Sayce

his

Paper,

The Astronomy

and Astrology of the Babylonians} pp. 189, 190, " the star of Gula" is mentioned. The first syllable of this word is composed of the same cuneiform
group
as that

used in the abbreviation for the

eleventh constellation of the Zodiac in the astro-

nomical tablets of the

first

and second centuries


it

B.C.

above referred would


to

to.

But

this fact, if

stood alone,
point
late

not

be

enough

to

do more than
of

possible

identification

Gu

in

the

tablets with

Gula

in the ancient astrological works.

Amongst the name

the
of

many

constellations in the heavens

more than one


however,

mio-ht

have begun

with the syllable Gu.

We

find,

at

a later page (206) of


this

Professor

Sayce's Paper,
III.

sentence translated

from W.A.I.,
1

57,

:
iii.,

Transactions^ Biblical Archaology, vol.

February 1874.

PART

I.]

GU=GULA=BAU
Gula
lingers."

47

" Jupiter^ in the star of

None

of

the five planets

known

to the

Babylonians could ever

with

truth

have been described as appearing or


in

"lingering"

any part of the heavens outside


"

the band of the Zodiac stars.


stellation) of Gula,"

The

star (or con-

we must

therefore assume,

was

a Zodiacal star or constellation.

This restriction
it

of the position of the "star of Gula" renders


scarcely a rash

conclusion to arrive
is

at,

that the

Zodiacal
for the

Gu

of the later tablets

an abbreviation

Zodiacal Gula of the ancient astrological

works.

As
known
that

to

mythological

reason

for

the

choice

of the goddess Gula to preside over the constellation


to

us as Aquarius,

we

find

it

in

the fact
the god-

Gula appears

as another
(or

name

for

dess

Bau and Bau


^

Bahu) was a personification

of the dark water, or chaos.


If

we adopt

this

identification of the

star or

constellation

Gula with the

constellation, or
it

some

star in the constellation, Aquarius,

will

throw light
Strassmaier,

Or,

rather,

"Mercury."
Babylon,
p.

See
112

Epping
et seq.
p.

and
i,

Astronomisches
2

aiis

Maspero,

Dawn

of Civilization,

672, notes

2.

48

ELEVENTH CONSTELLATION

[part

r.

on many of the inscriptions found on statues and


other
the

monuments
Lagash).
find

at Telloh (the

modern name of

mound which

covers the ruins of the ancient

city of

We
as

from these inscriptions that the

deities

especially worshipped at

Lagash were not the same


foremost
places

those

who
in

held

the

contem-

poraneously
in the

the Accadian,

and

at a later time

Babylonian Pantheon.
consort,"

Ningirsu and "his


Bau,
received
in

beloved

the

goddess
honours.

Lagash the

highest

On

one of the

statues of Gudea,

"the priestly governor of La-

gash," this inscription occurs }


"
[this

To
is

Ningirsu, the powerful warrior of Ellilla

dedicated] by Gudea, priestly governor of

Lagash,
"

who has

constructed the temple of Eninnu,

consecrated to Ningirsu.

For Ningirsu, his lord, he has built the temple of Ekhud, the tower in stages, from the summit of which Ningirsu grants him a happy lot. " Besides the offerings which Gudea made of his free will to Ningirsu and to the goddess Bau, daughter of Anna, his beloved consort, he has made others to his god Ningiszida.
1

Evetts, JVeiv Light

Ofi

the Bible, p. 162,

PART

I.]

NINIB

AND BAU

49

That year he had a block of rare stone brought from the country of Magan he had it carved into a
"
;

statue of himself
"

On
:

the day of the beginning of the year, the

day of the festival of Bau, on which offerings were made one calf, one fat sheep, three lambs, six full grown sheep, two rams, seven pat of dates, seven sab of cream, seven palm buds. " Such were the offerings made to the goddess Bau in the ancient temple on that day."
Ningirsu, the god

so

highly exalted

in

this

and

in

other inscriptions found in the


identified with the

mounds

of

Telloh

has been

god Ninib^ of

the Babylonians.
vails as to

Much

difference of opinion pre-

what astronomical ideas were connected

by the ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia with the

god Ninib.
Jensen admits that the generally received opinion
as to Ninib sun."^
is

that he represents

the

"southern

He, however, contends, with great eageris

ness, that this


is

a mistaken opinion, and that Ninib

really the eastern or rising sun.

Many

of Jen-

sen's

arguments against the


'

possibility

of Ninib

Maspero,

Dawn

of Civilization, pp. 637, 645.


p.

Jensen, Die Kosmologie der Babylonier,

460.

so

ELEVENTH CONSTELLATION
the

[part

i.

representing

southern sun are based on

the

assumption that the epithet "southern," applied to


the sun, denotes the power of the

mid-day sun

whereas, in other descriptions of Ninib, he appears


as struggHng with,

though

in

the end triumphant

over, storm,

and cloud, and darkness.


in his daily course attains the

The sun

southern

meridian at noon, and that

may

well be described

by Jensen as the "alles verzehrenden und versen-

genden Siid-oder Mittagssonne," but


sun
the
"

if

we

think

of the sun in his annual course, the words "southern

may more

fitly in

an astronomical sense mean

struggling and finally triumphant sun of the

winter solstice.

And

if

we so understand

the ex-

pression, the apparently contradictory references to

Ninib are easily explained.

At mid-winter

the sun rises and sets more to


;

the south than at any other time of the year

at
is

noon on the day of the winter


heavens than
If,

solstice the

sun

forty-seven degrees nearer to the south pole of the


it is

at the

summer

solstice.

instead of adopting Jensen's contention, and

looking upon Ninib as the eastern rising sun, we


revert to the generally held opinion that Ninib

was

PART

I.]

WINTER SOLSTICE

IN

AQUARIUS
if

51

the

god

of the southern sun, and


its

we understand
sense as the

the southern sun in


winter,

astronomical

or

more

strictly

speaking the mid-winter

sun,

it

will naturally lead us to the conclusion that

"the day of the beginning of the year," the day


of the festival of Bau, Ningirsu's
(

= Ninib's)

"be-

loved consort," was held at the time of the winter


solstice.

Speaking
B.C.,

in

round numbers, from 4,000

to 2,000

the winter solstice took place


in conjunction

when
its

the sun

was

with the constellation Aquarius,

which

constellation, or

some one
called

of

stars,

was,

as has been suggested,

by the Babylonian

astronomers, Gula, Gula being another


It is

name

for Bau.

not therefore surprising to find that those

rulers of

Lagash, whose dates


B.C.,

fell

between 4,000
associated
that
B.C.,

and 2,000
together

should have

so
;

often

Ningirsu

and
is

Bau

and

further,

Gudea, whose rule

placed at about 2,900

should on "the day of the beginning of the year"

have kept high

festival in

honour of Bau, as the

beneficent deity presiding in conjunction with Ningirsu over the revolving years.

The

precession

of the equinoxes must neces-

52
sarily
in

ELEVENTH CONSTELLATION
the

[part

i.

course of ages

introduce confusion
into all ritual

into all Zodiacal calendars,

and

and

mythological symbolism founded on such calendars.

From
in

2,000

B.C.

down

to the

beginning of our

era,

the winter solstice took place

when

the sun was

conjunction with Capricornus, not with Aquarius.


if

In those later days, celebrated their


solstice,

the inhabitants of
year's festival at

Lagash
the

still

new

winter

Bau

= Gula = Aquarius)

could only have

laid a traditional claim to preside

over

it.

In accordance with these astronomical facts,


learn

we
the
in

from the teachings of the tablets that the


reverence
inscriptions

especial

paid

to

Bau = Gula,
to

in

Lagash

was not extended


even

her

later times.

As
later

to

Ninib,

we know

that

at

Gudea's
in

date in the

neighbouring state of Accad, and

times in Babylon, he did not hold the preto

eminent position accorded


of Lagash.

him by the

early rulers

This difference

in

the religious observances of

Accad and Lagash regarding Ninib


him
to

be the god of the winter

we suppose solstice may also


if

receive an astronomical explanation.

PART

I.]

ARIES AND AQUARIUS


to

53

According

the evidence the

of

The Standard
of

Astrological Work,

compilation
the

which
e.g.,

is

generally attributed to

date

3,800

and

according to the evidence of


the year in

many
in

other tablets,

Accad and afterwards

Babylon began

not at the winter solstice,

but on the ist day of

Nisan, and Nisan (Ace. Bar zig-gar), the month


of " the sacrifice of righteousness," was, as
suggests, the
its

name

month during which


date,

the sun was in

conjunction with the constellation Aries.

At Gudea's
Nisan,
if
it

about 2,900

B.C.,

the

ist of

was

dependent on the sun's


fallen

entry

into Aries,

must have

about midway between

the winter solstice and the spring equinox, and as

century succeeded century, the ist of Nisan must


slowly but surely have receded
solstice

further

from the
to the

and have approached more and more

equinoctial point.

In Accad, therefore, neither at Gudea's nor at

any

later

date,

did the year begin at the winter


in that

solstice,
state,

and hence we can understand why


in
in

and afterwards

Babylon, Ninib was not as

highly honoured as
his

Lagash, and

why he and
to as

consort

Bau

= Gula)

were not referred

54

ELEVENTH CONSTELLATION
deities

[part

i.

the
year.

presiding over the

beginning of the

In a

former number of these Proceedings^


to the

drew attention

Accadian calendar.
first

It

was

there suggested that the choice of the


of Aries
originally

degree

as

the

initial

point

of the

Zodiac was

made when
B.C.

the winter solstice coincided


into

with the sun's entry

that

constellation,

i.e.

about 6,000
If that

suggestion, and

the

present one conin

cerning
accepted,

the
it

new
will

year's

festival

Lagash
that

are the

be

easy to

imagine

Lagash observance betokened a


reform the sidereal calendar
it

sort of effort to

in

use in Accad, and

may be
In

elsewhere.
to

Accad the calendar makers clung


instituted

the

originally

star-mark

for

the

year,

and

made

it

begin with the sun's entry into Aries


the beginning
of their year

therefore by degrees

moved away from


first

the winter solstice, and in the

century

B.C.

coincided

very closely with the

spring equinox.
In Lagash, on the contrary, the calendar makers
1

January 1S92, V.

p. 13.

PART

I.]

RIVAL CALENDARS

55

clung to the originally established season of the


year,

and made

it

begin at the winter solstice


year

therefore by degrees the beginning of their

moved away from

the constellation Aries, and in


festival

Gudea's time the new year's

was held

in

honour of the goddess Bau = Gula = Aquarius.

IV
THE MEDIAN CALENDAR AND THE CONSTELLATION TAURUS
[Reprinted from the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical
Archceolog)',

June 1897]

In

former

number^

of

these
I

Proceedings

contrasted as follows, what

believed to be the
the
in-

calendar of the

Accadians with that of


:

habitants of Lagash " In

Accad the calendar makers clung


instituted

to

the

originally

star-mark
the

for

the

year,

and
[the

made

it

begin with
;

sun's

entry

into

constellation] Aries

therefore by degrees the be-

ginning of their year


solstice,

moved away from


century
b.c.

the winter

and

in

the

first

coincided very

closely with the spring equinox.

"In Lagash, on
makers clung
56

the

contrary,

the

calendar
season

to

the originally
'

established

V.

p. 54.

PART

I.]

EQUINOX
year,
;

IN
it

TAURUS
begin
at

57

of

the

and

made

the

winter

by degrees the beginning of their year moved away from the constellation Aries, and in Gudea's time [about 2,900 B.C.] the new year's festival was held in honour of the goddess Bau = Gula = Aquarius,"
solstice

therefore

now
used,
;

desire to

draw attention
to

to the

Median
from
or
in

calendar,
that

which
as

appears

have
in

differed

above suggested,

Accad

Lagash

inasmuch as the beginning of the Median

year was not dependent on the sun's entry into


the constellation Aries, as in
fixed
to

Accad

nor was
as

it

the

season of the "winter

solstice

in

Lagash.

The beginning
to the

of the Median year was fixed

season
to

of the spring equinox, and remainthat

ing true

season,

followed

no

star-mark.

The
that

great importance,

however,

of Tauric

sym-

bolism in Median art seems to point to the fact

when

the equinoctial

year was

first established

the spring equinoctial point was in the constellation Taurus.


case,

Astronomy teaches us
in

that

was the
to

speaking
B,C.

round numbers, from 4,000

2,000


THE MEDIAN CALENDAR
It
is

58

[part

i.

true that

we have no documentary proof


Median equinoctial calendar
in
in

of the existence of a

the remote past, such as that which

we

possess

the

Babylonian

standard

astrological

works

re-

garding the ancient

sidereal

Accadian
the

calendar. repre-

We

have,

however,
of the

among

modern
a

sentatives
distinctive

Medes, the

Persians,

very

calendrical observance, namely, that of


festival

the

Nowroose, or the

of the

new year

and we have the Persian


tion of this festival

tradition that the instituantiquity.


:

was of fabulous

quote from Ker Porter's remarks on this subject

"The

St

of March,

the

impatiently antici-

pated day of the most joyous festival of Persia,


at last arrived.
It
is

called the feast of the

roose,

or that of the
its

commencement of
is

the

Nownew

year; and

institution

attributed to the cele-

brated Jemsheed, who, according to the traditions

and the fragments yet preserved of its early native historians, was the sixth in descent from Noah, and the fourth sovereign of Persia, of the race of Kaiomurs, the grandson of Noah. But to return to the feast of the Nowroose. It is acknowledged to have been celeof the country,
. . .

brated from the earliest ages, in Persia, indepen-

PART

I.]

PERSIAN NOWROOSE
;

59

dent of whatever religions reigned there whether the simple worship of the One Great Being, or under the successive rites of Magian, Pagan, or

Mahomedan

institutions."

{Travels, vol.

i.

p.

316.)

This equinoctial and solar year, as the writer


proceeds to point out,
sians,
is

adhered

to

by the Percele-

though they, being Mahomedans, also


festivals,

brate

Mahomedan lunar purposes make use of


It is

and

for

many
lunar

the

Mahomedan

year.

easy to see

how

greatly the Persian

roose

differs

from the purely lunar

NowMahomedan
the

anniversaries
of about

anniversaries
circuit

which

in

course

thirty-two

and a half years necessarily


through the seasons.
so
solar

make a complete
difference,

The
exists
all

though
the

not

marked,

which

between
soli-lunar

purely

Nowroose,
the

and

festivals,

such as those of
of.

Babylast,

lonians, should also be taken note


like our

These

Easter, were dependent on the phases of


therefore "moveable."

the moon, and were

The
is

Persian Nowroose, like our Christmas Day,

an

"immoveable"
sprmg equmox.

festival

fixed

to

the

day of the


6o

THE MEDIAN CALENDAR


Modern
tradition

[part

i.

concerning the distinctively

Persian custom of celebrating the


if
it

Nowroose would,
but historical

stood alone, furnish very slight grounds on


;

which to found a far-reaching theory

evidence confirms this tradition to a great extent,

by teaching us that the Median and Persian worshippers of

Ahura Mazda, and of Mithras,


Sassinide
dynasty,

certainly

under

the

and

almost with

equal certainty under the Achaemenid kings, kept


their
tivals

calendar and
in

celebrated their religious


differing
their

fes-

manner
;

from that of the

sur-

rounding nations
their years

months were not

lunar,

were not

soli-lunar but distinctly solar,


to

and the spring equinox was the date

which as

closely as possible the beginning of their year


fixed.

was

In Darmesteter's translation of the the Persian months are treated of in


p. 33,

Zend Avesta
Appendix
C,

and

in
:

Appendix D,

p.

37,

we read

of the

Persian years
"

L'annde

etait divisee

en quatre saisons, corre-

spondant aux notres.

Cette division ne parait guere


;

que dans
I'Avesta

les textes

post-avest^ens

mais

il

y a dans

meme

des traces de son existence ancienne,

PART

I.]

MITHRAS AND EQUINOX

6i

La

division normale de I'annee est, dans I'Avesta,


;

en deux saisons, 6t et hiver I'et^, hama, qui comprend les sept premiers mois (du i" Farvardin au 30 Mihr, soit du 21 mars au 16 octobre).
.

Cette division a une valeur religieuse, non seule-

ment pour

le

rituel,

mais aussi pour

les pratiques,

qui varient selon la saison."

The worship
was introduced
fall

of the

Persian

sun-god Mithras

into

Rome

about the time of the


far this

of the Republic.

How

worship differed

from that

taugfht in the Zoroastrian writing's


;

we need
been,

not inquire
it

however changed

it

may have

was evidently derived

originally from a Persian


in in

The worship of Mithras, spite of much opposition, gained many followers Rome. The birthday of the sun-god was kept
or a

Median

source.

at

the winter solstice, but the great festivities in his

honour, ''the mysteries of Mithras,^' were as a rule


celebrated at
^

the

season of the spring equinox,^


volume of
his

Cumont,

in the first

Monuments figuris

relatifs

aux
"

mysteres de Mithra, p. 326, having spoken of the solstitial


:

honour of the birthday of the god, observes as follows certaines raisons de croire que les equinoxes etaient aussi des jours feries ou I'on inaugurait par quelque salutation le Les initiations avaient lieu de preretour des Saisons divinisees. ," ference vers le debut du printemps, en mars ou en avril.
festival in

Nous avons

62

THE CONSTELLATION TAURUS


famous even among

[part

i.

and were

Roman

festivals.

Let us now turn our attention to the Tauric symbolism so closely connected with Mithraic obser-

vances

in

Rome.
in

AthencBum thus describes a Discovery was made during some excavations at Ostia of a handsome house containing among its various rooms a mithr(Bum. Into the kitchen opens a narrow and tortuous passage, from which by a small half-concealed stairwriter

the
}

Roman Mithraeum

"

case the rnithrcBum

is

reached

...
is

it

is

quad-

rangular and regular in shape, as


in buildings o of the kind.

usually the case

of the two lateral


side opposite the

Almost the whole length o walls run two seats, and on the
door
is

seen a

little

elevation,

which served as the place


Mithras
arity
in

for the usual statue of

the act of thrusting his dagger into the


Bull.

neck of the mystic


of this
little

very singular peculiis

Ostian mithrceum

that

it

is

entirely

covered with mosaics


alike.

pavements,
figrures
all
is

seats,

and walls

The

various

and

the
in

symbols are splendidly drawn, and


black tessercB on a white ground.
a genius bearing a lamp, that
1

executed

Upon each

side

of the seats, turned to the entrance door,


is,

figured

the genius of the


6.

Athenaum, 1886, October 30 and November

PART

I.]

MITHRAS SLAYS BULL

63

spring- equinox,

with the face raised, and that of


. .

the autumn equinox, with the face cast down.


It is

whole myth of Mithras is related to the phases of the sun hence are represented in the ground below the seats all the twelve signs of the zodiac, by means of the usual symbols, but each accompanied by a large star."
in fact, that the
.
.

known,

In the

many

sculptures of the Mithras group

similar to that

above described, which have been


in

so

well

figured

Lajard's
are

Culte

de

Mithras,

various

heavenly bodies

represented.

The

Scorpion (the constellation Scorpio of the Zodiac

opposed

to

Taurus) joins with Mithras

in his attack

upon the

Bull,

and always the genii of the spring


in

and autumn equinoxes are present


mournful attitudes.
In

joyous and

looking at these plates

the conviction

is

clearly forced
sistently, and,

upon our minds that the


it

Bull so per-

by Mithras

in

may be added, so serenely, slain these Roman representations, is the


it

Zodiacal Bull, overcome, and as

were destroyed
daytime by the

or banished from heaven, in the

sun-god, and at night by Scorpio, the constellation


in

opposition.

With almost equal

conviction

we

64

THE CONSTELLATION TAURUS

[part

i.

arrive at the conclusion that this triumph of Mithras

was associated
could

traditionally

in

Roman

days

it

only have

been traditionally

with
in

the oc-

currence, at a remote date, of the spring equinox

during the time that the sun was


with the constellation Taurus.
In the ruins

conjunction

of Persepolis, ruins of buildings

designed, erected, and decorated by the worshippers

of the supreme
friend

God Ahura Mazda, and

of his

and representative Mithras, Tauric symbolism

abounds.

We

do not amongst these ruins

find por-

trayals of Mithras as a youth


cap,

wearing a Phrygian

and "thrusting

his

dagger into the neck of

the mystic Bull," but again and again, in the basreliefs

adorning the

walls,

we do
into

find a colossal

being thrusting his


still

dagger

the body of a

more

"

mystic

"

creature than the Bull of the creature

Roman
instance

sculptures
at
least

a
the

combining
of
Bull,

in

one
Lion,

attributes

Scorpion, and Eagle, and frequently those of two


or

more of these animals.


Perrot and

Chipiez

have supposed
to

this

con-

stantly

repeated

scene
1

represent

imaginary

See Plate IV.

li^

Persepolis.

Combat du

roi et

du

griffon.

Palais n

3.

Perrot et Chipiez.

Histoire de I'Art dans rA7itiqintc,


v.

Tome

opposite page 547.


\To /ace p.
64.

PART

I.]

BULL LION SCORPION EAGLE


between the reigning
or

65

contests
possible

monarch
but

and
a

all

impossible

monsters,

very

different impression

was produced on the mind of

Ker Porter by
plain them, he

these

same

bas-reliefs

and though
to ex-

he did not adopt a purely astronomic theory

was

firmly convinced that the

combat

depicted was not one

waged between an ordinary


ordinary or extraordinary

human being and an


animal, but that
it

was a symbolical representation


on by Ormuzd

of the combat

constantly carried

(Ahura Mazda), and by

his representative Mithras,

against the powers of evil and darkness.^

With the astronomic


1

clue to Persian symbolism


is

"The man who

contends with the animals ...

repre-

sented as a person of a singularly dignified mien, clad in long


draperied robes, but with the arms perfectly bare. His hair, which is full and curled, is bound with a circlet or low diadem and his sweeping pointed beard is curled at different heights, in the style that was worn by majesty alone. The calmness of his air, contrasted with the firmness with which he grasps the
. .

and beyond anything that would have been in the power of more elaborate action or ornament to effect. From the unchanged appearance of the hero, his unvaried mode of attack, its success, and the unaltered style of opposition adopted by every one of the animals in the contest, I can have no doubt that they all mean different achievements towards one great aim.
animals,

and

strikes to his aim, gives a certainty to his object,


figure,

a sublimity to his

."

Ker Porter's Travels,

vol.

i.

p.

672.

66

THE CONSTELLATION TAURUS


Roman
it

[part

i.

put into our hands by the

sculptures, of

which mention has been made, and by a study


of the researches of Lajard,
is

not

difficult to

recognize in the composite animals represented on


the bas-reliefs allusions not only to the
Bull,

Zodiacal
spring

traditionally

associated
to

with
other
the

the

equinox,

but
the

also

three
of

constellations

which

at

same date
4,000 to

world's

history

(namely, from
or
less

2,000

b.c.)

marked more
i.e.

accurately

the remaining

colures,

the

Lion, the Scorpion, and the Eagle.

The
there

constellations of the

Lion and the Scorpion,

can
for

be
the

no

doubt,

were

appropriate
seasons,

star

marks

summer and autumn


was
in

when

the spring equinoctial point


as

the Bull,^ but

regards the
it

Eagle

it

must be admitted that


point was

though

adjoins the Zodiacal Aquarius (the conin

stellation

which the winter


its

solstitial

then situated), yet

principal stars lie consider-

ably to the north and west of that constellation.

A
^

reason

for

the

substitution

of

the

Eagle

(Aquila) for the Zodiacal

Water-man

or Water-jar

The

solstitial

and

equinoctial colures were situated, speaking


in the constellations Taurus,

in

round numbers, for 2,000 years Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius.

PART

I.]

EAGLE FOR WATER-MAN

67

(Aquarius or Amphora) may, however, be found


in

the

fact

of

the

very great brilliancy of


It
is

the
first

star Altair in the

Eagle.

a star of the
there
is

magnitude.

In
third.

the

Water-man
Persians,

no

star

above the

The

we

are told, had

a tradition that four brilliant stars marked the four


cardinal points
{i.e.

the colures).

In Taurus, Leo,

and Scorpio we
there

find stars of the first

magnitude

was

therefore

no

temptation

for

Mithraic

calendar makers and mythologists to seek for an


extra- Zodiacal
spring,
star
to

mark and

represent
;

the

summer, or autumn seasons

but for the

winter solstice the only stars of the


within at
all

first

magnitude
to the

suitable distance

were Aquila,

north-west, or

Fomalhaut

to the south of Aquarius.


far to the north as the

For a nation dwelling as

Medians are supposed


(when the winter
far to the

to

have done, Fomalhaut

solstice

was

in

Aquarius very

south of the equator) would have been

rarely visible.

The

choice by a

Median astronomer

and symbolic

artist in

search of a very brilliant star


re-

mark

for the solstice

would therefore have been

stricted to the constellation of the Eagle, containing

the conspicuous Altair, a star of the

first

magnitude.

68

THE CONSTELLATION TAURUS


The very
constant
association,
in

[part

i.

not

only

in

Persian and

Median, but also

the mythologic

art of other nations, of the

Lion and the Eagle,


i.e.

seems
that

to

confirm the view here put forward,


constellations

the

of

Leo and Aquila

rather

than of Leo and Aquarius were sometimes chosen


to symbolise the

summer and winter


Lion
and
an

solstices.

The
sun,

Griffin,

a fabulous animal sacred to the


Eagle,
is

composed of a
in

well-known figure
In
glyptic

ancient classic

art.

Babylonian
art

and
is

Assyrian
often

sculptured

and
in

Merodach

represented as

conflict with a Griffin.

Merodach has been claimed

by Jensen and. other writers as a personification


of the sun of the spring equinox.

The
is

for

ever

recurring triumph of spring over winter

probably

figured in Merodach's triumph over the Griffin.

The

association

of

Eagle and Lion

is
;

to

be

noticed in the arms of the city of Lagash

they

were "a double-headed Eagle standing on a Lion


passant or on two demi-lions placed back to back."
^

In Lagash, as was pointed out in a former paper, the

new

year's festival appears to


^

have been held


p.

at the

Maspero,

Dawn

of Civilization,

604.

TART

1.]

GRIFFIN
:

AND

SOLSTICES

69

winter solstice

such a supposition would furnish an

astronomical interpretation for the arms of Lagash.^

Mythological references to the Eagle alone are


also to be

met with which point

to

the Celestial

Eagle (Aquila) marking the winter

solstice in lieu

of the constellation Aquarius, as for instance the

Babylonian legend of the ambitious storm-bird, Zu,^

who

stole the tablets of destiny,

and thus sought

to

vie in

power with

" the great gods."

Here we may

find allusions to the substitution


1

(deemed by some,
passage

In

this

connexion
p.

the

following
:

from Sayce's

Hibbert Lectures,

261,

is

interesting

A
at

text copied for Assur-banipal,

from a tablet originally written

Babylon, contains part of a


"

the presence of
.
.

hymn which had to be recited " in Bel-Merodach ... in the beginning of Nisan,"
.

O Zamama,
thou not take thy seat
?

Why dost
He

Bahu, the Queen of Kis, has not cried

to thee."

adds in a note that Zamama was the Sun-god of Kis, and was consequently identitied with Adar by the mythologists. On a contract-stone he is symbolized by an eagle, which is said to be

"the image of the southern sun of Kis." It was claimed in a former paper (Feb. 1896) that " the Southern sun " was " the sun of the winter solstice" and that Gula ( = Bahu) was the name of the constellation, or of some stars in the constellaIn these lines Bahu, as I have suption Aquarius (V. p. 50). posed, Aquarius, and Zamama, symbohsed by the Eagle, the
image of the Southern sun or winter solstice, are closely associated. 2 Maspero, Dawn of Civilization^ p. 666.

70

THE CONSTELLATION TAURUS

[part

i.

no doubt, unauthorized) of an extra- Zodiacal


Zodiacal constellation.

for a

Again,

in

Grecian mythology the Eagle


carry
to
is

is

sent

by Zeus
in

Ganymede up Grecian astronomy Ganymede


to
It

heaven, and
placed in the

constellation Aquarius.

does not therefore seem

unreasonable to suppose that the Eagle associated


in

the Persepolitan bas-reliefs with

the
is

Lion, the
the con-

Bull,

and the Scorpion

(as at Plate IV.),

stellational

Eagle, symbolizing the winter solstice,


is

and that the compound animal

emblematic of
it

the four seasons of the year, and also,


of the four quarters of the world.
If to

may

be,

the composite monster of the bas-reliefs

we
to

ascribe an astronomic motive,

we

shall

be ready

grant the
in
full

same

to

other

Tauric symbolisms

prominent

the Persepolitan ruins.

With

conviction

we

shall recognize

in

the

demi-bulls which crowned the columns in Persepolis

and Susa representations of the demi-bull of the


Zodiac.
are

The resemblance
required
to

is

so striking that words


it

scarcely

point

out

when once
compared
of these

the outlines of the two figures have been


(Plate
v.).

In

the

spirited

description

PLATE

V.

THE CONSTELLATION

TAURUS

CAPITAL

FROM SUSA
[To /ace p.
70.

PART

I.]

PERSEPOLITAN DEMI-BULLS

71

capitals,

quoted here from Perrot and Chipiez,^ are

some

lines,

marked with
to

italics,

which might be
demi-bulls
of the

applied
Zodiac.

with exactness

the

On ne saurait cependant ne point admirer le grand gout et I'art ingdnieux avec lequel, dans ses bustes de taureau, il [I'artiste perse] a p\\6 la forme vivante au necessit^s de la decoration architecturale.
"
II

a su la simplifier sans
;

lui

enlever I'accent de

la

vie

les

traits

caracteristiques

de

I'espece

sur

laquelle s'est porte

son choix restent franchement

accuses, quoique les


ils

menus

details soient dlimin^s

auraient

regard.
I'epaule,

de distraire et de troubler le Les polls de la nuque et du dos, de des fanons, et des flancs sont reunis en
risqu6

masses d'un ferme contour, auquelles la frisure des boucles dont elles se composent donne un relief plus
vigoureux
col,
;

en

meme

temps

le collier

qui

pend au
ce sont

orn6 de rosaces et d'un riche fleuron qui tombe


;

sur la poitrine, 6carte toute idee de realitd


la

des etres sacres et presque divins, que I'imagina-

tion

de

I'artiste

comme

crees a

nouveau

et

modeles
qu'il soit

a son gre pour les adapter a la fonction qu'elle leur

donnait a remplir.

Cependant, tout place

en dehors des conditions de


1

la nature, I'animal n'a

ffistoire

dfT Art dans

rantiquite, Perse, p. 519.

72

THE CONSTELLATION TAURUS


Dans
le

[part

i.

pas perdu sa physionomie propre.

mouveet

ment de
cotd,

la tete, Idgerement inclince en

avant

sur

la

on sent la force indompt^e qui anime ce corps


et

ample

puissant.

struction et la

Hardiment indiquees, la conmusculature des membres infdrieurs,


se

replUs sous

le

ventre, laissent deviner de quel elan le

taureau se leverait et

dresserait

en pied,
J 'en

s'il

venait a se lasser de son eternel repos.

ai fait

plusieurs fois I'experience au Louvre, devant la partie de chapiteau colossal que notre musde doit a M. Dieulafoy parmi les visiteurs qui se pressaient dans
:

salle, parmi ceux memes qui semblaient le moins prepares a eprouver ce genre d'impressions, il n'en est pas un qui n'ait subi le charme, qui de maniere ou d'autre, n'ait rendu hommage a la noblesse 'Strange beaute de ce type et a

cette

singulier."

For the exquisite columns crowned by these


Tauric capitals the same writers have claimed a
distinctively
tain
at

Median

origin.

This claim they sus-

great length, and with

much

architectural

learning.
in

They show
differed

that in their proportions,

and

every detail of their ornamentation, the Perse-

politan

from

the

Ninevite,

Grecian,

or

Egyptian column.

They

also point out that no-

where except

at

Persepolis

and

at

Susa

is

the

PART

I.]

MEDIAN AND ASSYRIAN ART


of the
capital
to

73
;

demi-bull
yet

be

met
that

with
this

and

they express
is

the

opinion
to

feature,

so far as

known proper

Persia,

was mainly

derived

from, or

helped at least by, the models

of Assyria.

Very

close resemblances can indeed be traced in


to

Medo- Persian

Assyrian

art,

and as the Medo-

Persian buildings, whose ruins are at Persepolis and


Susa, were erected certainly at a later date than the

palaces of the
site of

Assyrian kings discovered on the


it

Nineveh,

is

natural to attribute, as Perrot


all

and Chipiez, and nearly


ject
attribute,

writers

on the sub-

such resemblances to imitations of


of the

Assyrian art and symbolism on the part


Medo-Persians.

There

are,

however, some considerations which


to

make

it

difficult

adopt

this view.

In the

first

place, the

symbolism supposed

to

have been copied

by the Medo-Persians was religious symbolism, and


the religion of the
different

Aryan Medo-Persians was very


kings

from that of the Semitic Assyrians.

The Achsemenid
at

who

built

their palaces

Persepolis

claimed

constantly

that

they were

worshippers of the one great Lord Ahura Mazda,

;4
of

THE CONSTELLATION TAURUS


whom

[part

i.

Mithras was the friend and representative.

That these kings should have adopted from the


polytheistic

Assyrians not only the Tauric symdescribed,

bolism
gested,

above
the

but

also,

as

it

is

sug-

emblem of Ahura Mazda from that


I,

their

one

great

Lord

of Assur (see Plate VI.

figs.

2,

3),

would

in

itself

be strange, but that


all

they should have done so


followers

when Assur and


vanquished

his

had

been

utterly

by

the
still

victorious worshippers of

Ahura Mazda, seems

more improbable.

From
see the
that,
city,
it

the state in which the ruins of

Nineveh
easy to

were when discovered

by

Layard
most

it

is

from the very day of


it

the
part

sacking of

had
It

for

the

been
of

left
its

just as

fell.

may have been


but
its

rifled

material

wealth,
left

literary

and

artistic

treasures were

uncared for and undesired.


later the

few hundred years

very

site of

Nineveh

was unknown.

The
to
it

great city would not have been treated with


artists

such neglect had the Medo- Persian


for

turned

inspiration

and

for

themes of symbolic

art with

which to decorate the palaces of Persepolis.

PLATE
FIG.
1.

VI.

god ^he Assyrian


FIG. 2.

Assur.

god The Assyrian

Assur.

PLATE

VI.

FIG. 3.

The Median god Ahura Mazda.

FIG. 4.

Western portion

of Constellation Sagittarius

and the
74.

Constellation Corona Australis.


[To face p.

PART

I.]

ASSYRIANS COPIED MEDES


resemblance,

75

The

however,
art
is

between

Medomust
one

Persian and Ninevite


striking that

in

many

instances so
for
it

some way of accounting

be sought, and those who are

dissatisfied with

explanation will naturally look about to find some


alternative suggestion.

The
pose
is

alternative suggestion

would now pro-

that the progenitors of the Assyrians at an

early period of the world's history borrowed Tauric

and other

religious symbolisms

from

the ancestors of

the Medes.

In support of this theory the following considerations are put forward


:

Tauric symbolism,

if

it

is

at

all

astronomic,
its

points us back to a very remote date for


institution, to

first

a date considerably earlier than that

at

which the existence of the Assyrian people as


is

an independent nation

generally put.

The symlatest,

bolism already discussed must, at the

have

been originated about 2,000


as a nation

B.C.

Of

the Assyrians
earlier

we have no monumental proof


B.C.

than 1,700

But
I

further, in the

symbol of Ahura and Assur,

believe

an astronomic reference may be traced

;6
to

THE CONSTELLATION TAURUS


the position of the
colures

[part

i.

amongst the con-

stellations,

a reference which points us back not


B.C.,

merely to a date between 4,000 and 2,000


rather,

but

and with curious

precision, to the

furthest
B.C.

limit of the time

mentioned, namely to 4,000

To
of

penetrate into the meaning of this symbol

Ahura we must study both the Median and


the
figure

Assyrian representations of
over the winged
disc,

presiding

and we may

also seek for

further light to be thrown

upon

it

by other

refer-

ences in Assyrian art to the god Assur.

Ahura presiding over the winged


in his

circle

holds
ex-

hand a ring or crown


is

Assur
;

in

some

amples

similarly furnished

but more often he


In this figure,
the

appears armed with


variously

bow and
1

arrows.
that

equipped,

believe

heavenly
fig. 4),

Archer, the Zodiacal Sagittarius (Plate VI.


is

to

be recog'nized

Sao-ittarius, the constellation in

which the autumnal equinoctial point was


speaking
in

situated,

round numbers, from 6,000

to 4,000 B.C.

The

fact that

a crown or wreath or ring often


in the

replaces the

bow and arrows

hand of Ahura
us doubtful

and of Assur might

at first sight

make

as to the connexion of the figure with the constella-

PART

I.]

AHURA MAZDA AND ASSUR


make

Tj

tion Sagittarius, but a glance at the celestial globe


will rather

this fact tell in favour of the astro:

nomical suggestion here made


close to the

for there

we

find

hand of the Archer the ancient

Ptole-

maic constellation Corona Australia (the Southern


Crown), actually incorporated with the Zodiacal constellation Sagittarius.

Not only do

Assur's

bow and crown remind


tiara,

us of Sagittarius, but his horned

resembling

so closely that worn by the man-headed Assyrian


bulls,

inclines us to look for

some astronomic and


and

Tauric
symbol.

allusion

in

this

Assyrian

Median
Gemini

True
opposed

it

is

that,
is

speaking

generally,

and not Taurus


to

the constellation of the Zodiac

Sagittarius,

but owing to the

irregu-

larity in the

shape and
to

size of the portions assigned

in the ecliptic

the

Zodiacal constellations, the

extreme western degrees of Sagittarius are opposed


to the

extreme eastern degrees of Taurus.

There-

fore about 4,000 B.C. the

equinoctial colure passed


Bull.
in

through the constellations of the Archer and the


In the

Assyrian

Standard

(depicted
Plate

Layard's

Monuments of Nineveh,

XXII.)

78

THE CONSTELLATION TAURUS


see

[part

i.

we
of

the

figure
Bull,

of

an

Archer
in

above

that

galloping

and

another

Assyrian

Standard, that of Sargon

II.,

we

find

not only

PLATE

VII.

Standard of Sargon
Perrot et Chipiez.

II.,

King of Assyria, 722-705

B.C.

Histoire de

PArt dans

t'Antiqidie,

Tome

v.
79.

opposite page 508.

\Tojacep.

PART I]

ARCHER, BULL, LION, WATER-MAN


Bull,

79

the

Archer and the


4,000
B.C.

the

two constellations
equinoctial colure,

which
but

marked the
at the

we may
solstitial

also clearly trace a reference to

the

two constellations which


the
colure,

same date marked


those
of the

namely,

Lion

and the Water-man (Plate VII.).

Here the Archer dominates over a

circle

in

which symmetrically duplicated Bulls appear, and


duplicated Lions' heads emerge out of what appears
to

be a hollow vessel resembling a water jar ; the


lines that traverse the disc

wavy

suggest streams

that unitedly pour their waters into this jar.

Below

the jar

again are to be seen halved and doubled

heads, partly Lion and partly Bull.

This Standard of Assur


politan

may

(like

the Perse-

monster

earlier

described)

be

considered

as an astronomic
constellations

monogram

representing the four

which marked the four seasons of

the year, and the four quarters of the earth.

The monogram

of the Standard refers us back,


for
its

however, to an earlier date

origin

than
in

does the monogram of the composite animal

the Persepolitan bas-relief, for in the Standard the

Archer

is

opposed

to

the

Bull, in

the bas-relief

8o

THE CONSTELLATION TAURUS

[part

i.

the Scorpion takes the place of the Archer, and the Eagle takes the place of the Water-man.

The
east
to

precession of the equinoxes advances from

west amongst the

stars.

Therefore the

Scorpion marked the colure at a later date than


did the Archer.

The

Eagle, as has already been

pointed out,

is

considerably to the west of Aquarius,

and could scarcely have been chosen as a substitute


in
its

for that

constellation

when

the colure was

extreme eastern degrees.


Plate

At

VIII.

is
;

given the position of the


not

colures at

4,000

B.C.

much

earlier or

much

later than this date

can

we

place the origin of the


at Plate VII.

symbolism
Earlier
Pisces,

in

the

Standard shown

not

Leo

and Aquarius, but Virgo


the
solstitial

and

would have marked

colure.
in

Later not Sagittarius, but Scorpio, would have


opposition to Taurus

marked the
B.C.,

equinoctial colure.

At
curious

this

date,

4,000

suggested with such

accuracy

by

this

Assyrian Standard,

we

have absolutely no trace of the existence of the


Semitic nation of the Assyrians in Northern Mesopotamia.
the In

Babylonia two hundred years


I.

later

Semitic Sargon

ruled

at

Accad.

In

the

PLATE
c,CC&.^o.

VIII.

^4bT^
Position of Colures amongst the Constellations at the dates

4,500-4,000 and 3,500 B.C.


[

To face

p. 80.

PART

I.]

MANDA PROBABLY MEDES


work drawn
up,
if

8i

astrological

not for Sargon yet,

as

we may judge from

internal evidence, for


is

some

king of Accad, no mention


nation.

made

of the Assyrian

The

Phoenicians,
"

the

Hittites,

the

Kings of

Gutium, and the

Umman Manda"

are then the

dreaded foes of Accad.


follows
:

"

the land.

Of the Manda we read as The Umman Manda comes and governs The mercy seats of the great gods are
Bel goes to Elam."
is

taken away.

Professor Sayce
the

opposed

to

the view

that

Manda
;

are

necessarily

identical

with

the

Medes

but he admits that Herodotus, following

the authority of Medo-Persian writers, claimed as

Median the
If

victories of the

Manda.^

now on

the authority of Herodotus and the

Medo-Persian writers we
possibility,

assume,

at

least

as

that

these

Manda were Medes, we


all

should expect to find them worshippers of Ahura

Mazda.

Ahura,

it

is

on

hands admitted,

is

the

Iranian form of the Vedic Asura, just as Mithras


is

the Iranian form of the Vedic Mitra.

At what-

ever date the separation between Iranian and Vedic


1

Proceedings, vol.

xviii.

Part

vi.

pp. 176, 177.

82

THE CONSTELLATION TAURUS


took
place,

[part

i.

Aryans

the

worship of Ahura

(still

probably under the form Asura) must have existed

amongst the

Iranians;

indeed,

many have
all

sup-

posed that the monotheistic reform which placed

one great Ahura or Asura above

other Asuras,
separation

and above the Devas, occasioned


of these two great
It
is

the

Aryan
Lord
in

races.

for

the

Ahura,
times,

called,

as

here

supposed,

Asura,
that
I

early

by the

Aryan
circle of

Manda,

would

claim

the

astronomical

symbol of the Archer presiding over the

the ecliptic, or, in other words, over the circle of the


year,

and of a year beginning


year, as has already

at

the

spring
out,

equinox

been pointed

distinctively

Median.
to this supposition,
in

According then

a powerful
vicinity
B.C.

Median

race

was established
in

the

of

Babylonia early
race

the

fourth millennium

the

who worshipped one great Lord, first under name of Asura, afterwards under that of
for these

Ahura.
It is

Aryan Manda

or

Medes
in

that

would claim,

at the date of 4,000 u.c, the original

conception of the astronomic

monogram

which

PART I]

SYMBOLIC STANDARD MEDIAN


may

83

so plainly

be read an allusion to the four con-

stellations of the Zodiac,

which

at that date

marked
i.e.

the four seasons and the four cardinal points,


Sagittarius

and Taurus, Aquarius and Leo.


as a Standard

This

monogram was used

thousands of

years later by the Semitic Assyrians.

To

the

Manda

or

Medes,

also,

would,

as

has been suggested, attribute the


of the astronomic

first

imagining

emblem common
divine

to

Ahura and

Assur

that

of the

Being presiding over

the circle of the ecliptic.

Berosus mentions a Median dynasty as having


reigned in Babylon for one or two hundred years.

Let us now suppose that the

Manda

for

more

than a thousand years held power in Northern

Mesopotamia, but that at


turned, and after
in

last the tide of

conquest

many

struggles with the Semites

the south the Aryans were finally driven from

the

land

now known

as

Assyria, and

a Semite

race firmly settled in the regions from

whence

in

Sargon's time the

Umman Manda
Kingdom
b.c.

had threatened

the inhabitants of the


this

of Accad.

That

was the case about 2,200

may perhaps be

gathered from the monuments of Hammurabi, the

84

THE CONSTELLATION TAURUS


and

[part

i.

Semitic king of Babylon, for he refers in his letters


to his troops in Assyria,
in

a lately discovered

inscription of this

king he speaks of restoring to


its

the

city

of

Assur

propitious

genie,

and

of

honouring Istar

in the city of

Nineveh.

To
nation,

account for the existence of the Assyrian


their

close

resemblance

in

language

and

race to the ruling

Semitic class in Babylon, and

yet to explain the great difference in the religion


of these two peoples, has always been a difficulty.

The

Assyrians worshipped, and worshipped with


all

enthusiasm,

the

Babylonian

gods

but

high

above the whole Babylonian Pantheon they placed


as
their

supreme and great Lord Assur


is

Assur

whose very name


lonian mythology.
in the following

not to be met with in Baby-

This

difficulty

would explain

manner.
had, by

When

the

Medes

Hammurabi

or his

successors, been driven out of

Northern Mesoposettlers

tamia, they were replaced


(like

by Semitic

who

the settlers sent into Samaria


later

more than a

thousand years

by a king of Assyria) adopted,

to a certain extent, the religion of the nation

whom
read

they had dispossessed.

In 2 Kings xvii.

we

PART

I.]

ASSUR,

THE "GOD OF THE LAND"

85

that in this parallel instance " the king of Assyria

brought

men from

Babylon, and from Cuthah, and

from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim,

and placed them

in the cities of
:

Samaria instead of
Later in the same

the children of Israel

and they possessed Samaria,

and dwelt
chapter

in the cities thereof."

we read

that in order to appease, as they

believed, the wrath of the "

God
it

of the land," these


full

idolatrous settlers, retaining in


all

the worship of

their

own

gods, added to

a worship of the

Lord of the dispossessed


I

Israelites.

would suppose then

that

the

polytheistic
settled in

Semites,

who

in

Hammurabi's time were


had acted
in

Northern
manner.

Mesopotamia,

similar

Coming

into

a region where for nearly

2,000 years the monotheistic

Medes

or

Manda had
extent his

been established, they,

to avert the

wrath of the

god of

the land, adopted to a

certain

worship.

In

fact, like

the Samaritans, " they feared

the Lord [Asura], and served their

own

gods."
religion

This explanation of the difference

in

between the Babylonians and the Assyrians seems


to yield

also an explanation

of the resemblances

between the Assyrian and

Median

religions,

or

86

THE CONSTELLATION TAURUS


the

[part

i.

rather of the resemblances between


art of the

religious
to the
in this

two peoples
proposed
for

and thus we return


discussion
earlier

problem
Paper,

namely,

the

inadequacy of the generally

held opinion which accounts for the resemblances


in

Persepolitan
that

and
the

Ninevite

symbolic

art

by
the

supposing
Assyrians.

Medes

borrowed

from

In

support
at
p.

of
75,

the

alternative the

suggestion put

forward

that

progenitors

of the

Assyrians at an early period of the zvorld's history

borrowed Tauric and other

religious
I

symbolisms
that

from
the

the ancestors of the Medes,

would claim

Assyrians

borrowed not only religious sym-

bolisms, but even the very

name
look

of their

god Assur

from the Medes.

For

upon Assur as a

"loan word" adopted from the Aryan Asura.

To

the

Medes
in
B.C.,

or

Manda, who were,


in

as

has

been argued,
about 4,000
the

power
I

Northern Mesopotamia

have attributed the origin of

astronomic Assyrian
them,
first

and

Ahurian
I

emblem.
attribute

To
the

on

the

same
of the

grounds,

imagining

astronomic

Assyrian

Standard, and the devising of the man-headed and

PART I]

ASSUR DERIVED FROM ASURA


monsters
;

87

winged
Bulls
"

so
I

well

known

as
full

"Assyrian
conviction,

and

to

them

would, with

leave the honour of having invented, and not bor-

rowed, the idea of the magnificent Tauric capitals


that

crowned the columns of Persepolis and Susa.


all

To
a

these

conclusions
of

have been led by


equinoctial

consideration

the

distinctively

character of the

Median

calendar, taken in conin

nexion with the importance given


to the constellation Taurus.

Median

art

V
ASTRONOMY
IN

THE RIG VEDA

[Reprinted from the Report of the Acies of the Twelfth Oriental

Congress held

at

Rome]

Not much more

than

hundred years ago the

Sanscrit language began to yield to the study of

Europeans some of

its

literary treasures.

Almost
to

on the moment, a controversy arose as


antiquity
for

the

of the

science

of astronomy in
to find
in
this

India
already

scholars

were amazed
language

long dead
treatises,

many

learned

astronomical

besides complete

instructions for calculalso

ating, year

by year, the Hindu calendar, as

for calculating horoscopes.

Some
vealed,

then proclaimed the wonderful facts

re-

and extolled the antiquity


science,

and accuracy
European

of this Indian

while others, noticing the

many

points

of

resemblance

between

and Indian methods, supposed, and warmly advoss

PART

I.]

GREEK
the
opinion,
in

V.

INDIAN SCIENCE much


of the

89

cated

that

astronomy

contained

Sanscrit

works had been borrowed

from the Greeks.


Sir

William Jones was amongst the


lists

first
;

to

enter the

against this

Grecian theory

and

he thus throws down


antiquity

his glove in defence of the

and
in

originality

of

the

science

of

as-

tronomy
"
I

India.

engage to support an opinion (which the learned and industrious M. Montucla seems to treat with extreme contempt) that the Indian division of the Zodiack was not borrowed from the Greeks or Arabs, but, having been known in this country (India) for time immemorial, and being the same in part with that used by other nations of the old Hindu race, was probably invented by
the
first

progenitors of that race before their dis^

persion."

Since Sir William Jones wrote this challenge,

and

supported

it

with

whatever
at his

linguistic

and

scientific resources

were

command, volumes
authors have been

of heated controversy by

many

devoted to the same subject.


^

On
i.

the Antiquity of the Indian Zodiack.

Complete Works,

vol.

p.

333.

90

ASTRONOMY

IN

THE RIG VEDA

[part

i.

Just at present, however, an almost indifferent

calmness has taken the place of the excited interest


formerly
manifested.

The

majority

of
to

scholars,

both

European and Indian, appear


as

have

ac-

cepted,

an axiom, the opinion that much of

Indian astronomy,

and certainly the


twelve-fold
to

Indian
of

ac-

quaintance with
Zodiac,
is

the

division

the

to

be attributed

Grecian influence.
hold the view advo-

minority of writers

still

cated by Sir William Jones about a hundred years


ago, and thus reiterated by Burgess (the translator
of the

Indian

standard
in

astronomical

work
of

the
this

Silrya-Siddhdnta)
(twelve-fold)

i860.

"The

use

division,

and the present names of any other country."^


this

the signs, can be proved to have existed in India


at as early a period as in

The
in

minority

who hold
been
in

view are so few


majority rest

at present that, as has

said, the
all

their

opposed opinion

the

calmness of

conviction.
I

will

now

as

briefly

as

possible

state

the
this

chief arguments put forward, for


conviction.
^

and against,

Journal of the American Oriental

Society, vol. vi. p. 477.

FART

I.]

SOLAR ZODIAC GRECIAN


In

91
intro-

I.

favour of the comparatively late


into

duction

India of the
it

twelve-fold division of

the Zodiac,

is

contended that the divisions of


so closely resemble those

the Indian Solar Zodiac

of the Grecian (the Zodiac which


depict on celestial globes),
to

we
is

to this

day

that

it

not possible
sets

believe

that

two nations or two

of as-

tronomers could independently of each other have

imagined the same


sequent
series.

fanciful

and apparently incon-

History does not

tell

of communication between
to

Greece and
similarity

India,

sufficient

account for this


till

of

astronomical

method,

after
b.c.

the

date of Alexander's conquest

about 300
have

The

Greeks could not

at that late date

first

become

acquainted with the figures of the Zodiac, for in

Grecian literature of a much earlier age the figures


of the Zodiac and other constellations are alluded
to as already perfectly well

known.
all

As

the Greeks

therefore could not have learnt


lore

their astronomic

from the Indians, the Indians must have learnt


from the Greeks at some date
later

theirs

than

Alexander's Eastern conquests.

corroboration of this opinion

is

drawn from

92

ASTRONOMY

IN

THE RIG VEDA

[part

i.

the consideration that, in the most ancient Sanscrit

work

in existence

the

purely Indian
taint

Rig Veda,
twelve-fold

containing-

no
of the

Grecian

the
to

divisions

Zodiac appear

be unknown.

This opinion as to the Rashis or constellations


of the Solar Zodiac
the age
of any
is

so generally adopted,

that

Sanscrit
is

work
once

in

which mention

of these Rashis occurs


its

at

claims

to

antiquity

may

no matter what be set down as not


modern date
of

earlier

than

the

comparatively

300

B.C.
II.

As regards the Indians make use at


poses,

Indian Lunar Zodiac.


present for

The

calendrical pur-

not only of the

twelve-fold Solar

Zodiac,

they have also a series of 27 Nakshatras, or Lunar

mansions

(this

is

for

convenience sake designated


It
is

by European writers as the Lunar Zodiac).


admitted on
all

hands that the Nakshatra


sources.
initial

series
it

was not derived from Grecian

But

is

contended that the fixation of the


this

point of

Lunar Zodiac

(a point at the

end of Revati
of

and the beginning of AswinI, 10 degrees west


the
to
first

point of our constellation Aries)

was due

an astronomical reform of the Hindu calendar,

PART

I.]

HINDU CALENDAR

570 A.D.

93

probably carried out under Grecian auspices at a


date not

much
of

earlier than
is

600

a.d.

very clear

statement of this opinion


(the

thus given by

Whitney
Surya

editor

Burgess' translation

Siddhdnta)

of the

"The initial point of the fixed Hindu sphere from which longitudes are reckoned, and at which the planetary motions are held by all schools of Hindu astronomy to have commenced at the creation, is the end of the asterism Revati, or the
beginning of A9vini.
Its

situation

is

most nearly
. .

marked by
that
f

that of the principal star of Revati


is

star

by
us,

all

authorities

identified

with

Piscium,

of which

the longitude at present, as the

reckoned
17 54'.

by

from

Vernal

Equinox,

is

(of the

equinoxes),

Making due allowance for the precession we find that it coincided in


century, or

position with the vernal equinox, not far from the

middle of the sixth

about

a.d.

570.

As

such coincidence was the occasion of the point being fixed upon as the beginning of the sphere, the

time

of

its

occurrence marks
of

approximately the
of

era of the fixation of the sphere, and of the com-

mencement
astronomy."^
^

the

history

modern

Hindu

Journal of the American Oriental

Society, vol. vi. p. 158,

94

ASTRONOMY

IN

THE RIG VEDA


view

[part

i.

In further corroboration of this

deduced
which
I

from

the

astronomical

supposition
italics)

(to

have drawn attention by


this extract
to.

put

forward in
is

ancient Sanscrit
lists

literature

appealed

Hymns and
to
in

referring to the Nakshatras


in

are

be met with

the

Yajur and Atharva

Vedas,

which Krittika, now the third Nakshatra,


first

holds the

place.

The Nakshatra stars known to us


brilliant

Krittika contains the group of


as

the

Pleiades.

The most

stars
in

in

the

Nakshatra Aswini are the

two
(the

stars

the

head of the constellation Aries


to

Ram), known

astronomers

as

and p
about
It
is

Arietis.

The
2,000

vernal equinoctial

point

coincided
Krittika.

B.C.

with

the constellation

considered to be
of this

most probable that on account


early

coincidence, at the

date

when

the

hymns
series,

and

list

in

question

were

composed,

Krittika was chosen as the leader of the Nakshatra

and hence a

similar reason

for
it

the

later

choice of AswinT as leader relegates

to a date

not

much

earlier

than 570 a.d.


I

These very

briefly, as far as

have been able


PARI
I.]

INDIAN

V-

GREEK SCIENCE
arguments

95
in favour

to gather them, are the chief

of
(i)

The Grecian The


date
point
of

introduction

of the
B.C.

twelve-

fold

Zodiac into India about 300


(2)

570

a.d.

for

the fixation of
for

the
the

initial

of the of

Indian
the

Zodiacs, and
of

commencement

history

Indian

astronomy.

These propositions are based on cogent reasonings,

and are maintained by very high


of the

authorities.

The opponents

modern theory have brought


:

and bring forward the following considerations

"The Brdhmans were

always too proud

to

borrow their science from the Greeks, Arabs, Moguls, or any nation of MlSchcKhas, as they call those who are ignorant of the Vtfdas, and have not
studied the language of the

quoted to

me

(Sir

an
{ita

old

verse,

Gods they have often William Jones) the fragment of which they now use proverbially
;

nicho yavandtparah),

or,

'

no base creature can be

lower than a Yavan,' by which name they formerly meant an Ionian or Greek, and now mean a

Mogulr
1

Sir

William Jones, The Antiquity of the Indiati Zodiack,


Works,
vol.
i.

Complete

p.

345.


96

ASTRONOMY

IN

THE RIG VEDA

[part

i.

Again the same writer points out that the" resemblance between the Indian and the Greek
Zodiac
" not
is

which has often been observed between our Gothick days of the week and those of the Hindus, which are dedicated to the same luminaries, and (what is yet

more

extraordinary than

that,

same order Ravi, Mangala, Tuisco Sdma, the Moon the Sun Budha, Woden Vrihaspati, Thor Sucra, Freya more
singular) revolve
;

in

the

Sani, Sater

yet no

man

ever imagined

that the

Indians borrowed so remarkable an arrangement

from the Goths or Germans."

These
William
reflection

considerations

put

forward

by by

Sir

Jones
that

are

further

emphasized

the

not

only does the Grecian theory


of the proud and jealous
their

entail the improbability

Brahmins adopting

into

science
;

and

their

mythology the teachings of foreigners


it

but that

also entails the greater improbability of the

two

rival

Hindu

sects.

Brahmins and Buddhists, having

at

the

same

date

and

with

equal

enthusiasm

adopted into their science and religious symbolism

and calendars the same innovations.


PART
I.]

WEEK-DAYS OLD WRITERS


of the

97

Again the opinion


beginning of our era

Greek

writers at the

may be quoted
was held

as showing

the high estimation in which, at that time of the


world, Indian astronomy
in the life of
:

as for instance
(written about

Apollonius of

Tyana

210A.D. by Philostratus), the wisdom and learning


of Apollonius are set high above those of
all

his

contemporaries
is

but from the sages

of

India

he

represented as learning
^

many

things, especially

matters of astronomy.

This high opinion held by Greeks


to

in

regard

Indian astronomy

may be

contrasted with the


the

very moderate praise bestowed on


science by Garga, a

Grecian
supposed,

Hindu

writer

of, it is

the

first

century

B.C.

He

says

"The Yavanas
science (astronomy)

(Greeks) are MIechchas (nonbut

Hindus, or barbarians),
is

amongst

them

this

well established.
;

Therefore

they are honoured as Rishis (saints)

more then an astronomer who

is

how much a Brahman ? " ^

Somewhat
'

to the

same

effect

speaks a Hindu

author of a later date, Varahamihira,


Apollonius of Tyana,

who wrote

Book

iii.

chapter 13.

Romesh Chunder

Dutt, Ancient India, p. 136.


98

ASTRONOMY

IN

THE RIG VEDA

[part

i.

an astronomical dissertation treating of

five different

works known

to

him on the science of astronomy.

He

says

"There
Paulisa, the

are

the

following

Siddhantas

The

Romaka, Out of these five, the first two (the Paulisa and Romaka, which appear to have been European treatises) have been explained by
the

the Vasistha, the Saura, and

Paitamaha.

Latadeva.
accurate,

The Siddhanta made by


near to
{STlrya
it
;

Paulisa

is

stands

the

Siddhanta
is

pro-

claimed by
(Saura)
^

Romaka

more accurate

the Savitra

Siddhanta,

the Hindit standard


are far from the

work)
truth.

the two remaining ones

"2

This moderate, and, as


of Varahamihira,

it

reads, judicial opinion

touching the superiority of the

native

Surya

Siddhanta

over

the

Paulisa

and

Romaka

Siddhantas,

may

be appealed to as not

' This opinion of Varaha has been confirmed by modern European scholars. Burgess (from whose translations of the Surya Siddhanta we have already quoted) remarks, " in regard to the amount of the annual precession of the equinoxes, the relative size of the sun and moon as compared with the earth, the greatest equation of the centre of the sun, the Hindus are more nearly correct than the Greeks." {Journal of the American
. .

Oriental Society,
2

vol. vi. p.

480.)

The Pancliasiddhaniikd.

Edited by G. Thibaut, ch.

i.

3.

PART

I.]

VARAHAMIHIRA BENTLEY
the
co
-

99

conveying
wrote
his

impression
religionists

that

when
avidity,

Varaha
were

and
with

scientists

accepting,

wholesale

and

Grecian
already
that

astronomic methods in place of their


well-established
in

own
is

native

science.

It

true

Varaha's work
are
to

many words
;

evidently of Grecian

origin

be met with
that these "

and some

scholars

have claimed
in

Greek terms occurrine


proofs

Varahamihira's writings are conclusive

of the Greek origin of

Hindu astronomy."
in

That
of

such terms should occur


a
resunid
of five

a work professedly
treatises

astronomic

some

them

Indian,

and some European

can

scarcely be

considered as conclusive proof that in the writer's

time no purely Indian astronomic science existed.

Varaha's writings suggest


in

an

author

interested

comparing the resemblances and the differences


be met with
in

to

home and

foreign methods, rather


first

than one introducing for the

time

important

astronomic truths to the notice of his readers.


It

may

be further urged that the claims to

anti-

quity in

Sanscrit astronomical

works are so well

known, that those who adopt the Grecian theory

must necessarily throw

discredit in a very wholesale

lOO

ASTRONOMY
all

IN

THE RIG VEDA


Bentley's

[part

i.

manner on
diatribes

their

authors.

furious

may be quoted
in
is

as an extreme example of

the

way

which the evidence of such Sanscrit


sometimes dealt with
;

claimants to antiquity
it

and

may be

pointed out that such violent denuncia-

tion cannot be looked

on as convincing argument.
Bentley,

"The
hardly

fact

is,"

writes

"that

literary

forgeries are

now so common in India, that we can know what book is genuine, and what not
is

perhaps there
probably
in

not one book in a hundred, nay,


is

a thousand, that
;

not a forgery, in
that

some
to

point of view or other

and even those

are allowed or supposed to be genuine, are found

be
:

full

of interpolations, to answer

some
all

particular

ends

nor need

we be

surprised at

this,

when

we
in

consider the

facilities

they have for forgeries,

as well as their

own

general inclination and interest


;

for to give the appearance of antiquity to their books and authors

following that profession

increases their value, at least in the eyes of some.

Their universal propensity


the introduction of the

to forgeries, ever since

modern system of astronomy


years, in a.d. 538, are but

and immense periods of


too well

than

those

restraint

any further elucidation They are under no of laws, human or divine, and subject to
to require

known

already

given.

PART

I.]

NEW

SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE
if
i

loi

no punishment, even
Hterary impositions."
It is

detected in the most flagrant

unnecessary

now

to further pursue the pros

and cons of what has hitherto been


on the vexed questions as
to the

said

and written

originaHty and

antiquity of astronomy in India, and especially as


to

the

Indian acquaintance

with

the

twelve-fold
fixation

divisions of the Zodiac,

and the date of the

of the
that
is

initial

point in their Zodiac.

We

have seen

by the majority the Grecian and modern theory


quarter of a century, however,
into

the favoured one.

Within the

last

an unexpected reinforcement has come


field, in

the

aid of the disheartened

and nearly silenced

minority,

who

still

believe in a great antiquity for

the science of astronomy in India.

The
have of

researches of archaeologists in Western Asia


late

brought to our knowledge vast hoards


inhabitants

of information concerning the ancient

of

Babylonia and Assyria,


;

and the surrounding

highlands and plains


cerning
the
science

amongst other matters, conof astronomy

possessed by

these peoples.

Historical View of the

Hindu Astronomy,

etc., p.

i8i.

I02

ASTRONOMY

IN

THE RIG VEDA

[part

i.

In 1874, a Paper entitled The

Astronomy and

Astrology of the Babylonians was read by Professor

Sayce before the " Society of

Biblical Archaeology,'

and since

that date other Papers,

by various authors,

dealing with the subject have appeared in the same


Society's

Proceedings.

Also

in

the

Zeitschrift

fiir Assyriologie,

articles

have

been

contributed

by such writers as Epping and Strassmaier, Oppert,


Mayer, Mahler, Jensen, Lehmann, and others,
in
in

which the calendars and astronomical methods


use
in

Mesopotamia are discussed.

Epping and Strassmaier's Astronomisches aus Babylon and Die Kosmologie der Jensen's
Babylonier,
these
are

important

volumes

devoted

to

same

matters.
else

Whatever
cussion,

concerning the subject of

all

these writings remains uncertain and open to dis-

some
age

facts

are

clearly

established.

We
fourth

now know
remote
millenium

that the inhabitants of Babylonia in a


(certainly

as

early

as

the

b.c.)

were acquainted with the twelve


Zodiac, and
that

divisions of the

these

divisions
in

were imagined under figures closely resembling


almost every instance those

now

depicted on our

PART

I.]

ZODIAC IN ASIA, The

3000 B.C.

103

celestial globes.

calendar used by the Acca-

dians,

and

later

by the Semitic Babylonians and

Assyrians, was indeed based on the observance of

the Zodiacal constellations and of the journeyings

through them of the sun and moon.


positions of the
Jupiter,

The

varying
Mars,

planets,

Mercury,

Venus,

and Saturn are also noted by references


:

to the Zodiacal asterisms

and not only Zodiacal,

but several of the extra-Zodiacal ancient constellations are represented

on the monuments.

All this information gained from the cuneiform


tablets

concerning

the

science

of astronomy
affect

in

Western Asia must undoubtedly

the judg-

ment of enquirers
science in India,

into the

history

of the

same
and

Now

that

it is

clearly

proved that 3,000

b.c.

earlier the twelve-fold

fanciful

signs of the Solar

Zodiac were
it

known

to the inhabitants of Babylonia,

cannot
the

any

longer

be

asserted

dogmatically

that
till

inhabitants
B.C.

of India

must have waited


from

300

to learn this twelve-fold division

Grecian astronomers after the date of Alexander's


conquest.

But again as regards the

fixation of the initial


ASTRONOMY

I04

IN

THE RIG VEDA


"end
is

[part

i.

point of the distinctively


circle of the

Indian Lunar Zodiac, or


of Revati,
to
say,
at

Nakshatras, at the

and the beginning of A9vini," that


a point not far from the
first

degree of Aries

cuneiform tablets teach us the important fact that


long
before the
equinoctial

point

coincided

with

any of the degrees of Aries, that constellation was


the the
leader of the

Zodiacal

series

inasmuch

as

month Bar

zig-gar (Accadian) the " Sacrifice of


is,

righteousness," that

the

month when the sun


year.^

was

in conjunction
ist

with Aries, always in the tablets

appears as the

month of the

These

late

revelations of archaeology

seem
relied

to

strike at the root of the

main arguments

on

by the advocates of the Grecian and modern


possible to turn with unbiassed
is

origin

of astronomic science in India; and this being the


case,
'

it

is fact

minds
first

This

admitted (see

art.

" Zodiac," sub-heading "


it

sign," Encyclopedia Briian?iica).

But

is

a fact opposed to the "

hitherto received opinion

touching the necessary connexion of


initial
is

the equinoctial point and of the


prehistoric reform
"

point of the Zodiac.

of the calendar

supposed, and corrections


suggested.

of

the ancient texts to suit this reform, are

Until
exist,

and corrections can be shown to the evidence of the tablets may still be cited as pointing
traces of such reform

to a

counted from the sun's entry into Aries, ages of Babylonian civilization.
year

in

the earliest

PART

I.]

ARIES LEADER, 3000


consideration

B.C.

105

to

of the

teachings

of Sanscrit

literature,
is

and endeavour

to learn

from them what

the real truth as to the acquaintance of ancient

Indian authors with the figures of the Zodiac and


other astronomic phenomena.

The

opinion has been very generally adopted,

as has been said, that in the Rig

Veda

there

is

no

mention of any of the twelve figures of the Solar


Zodiac.

Some
this

few writers have contended that

occasional references to these figures are to be met


with,

and

question

has

been

argued
ignorance

on
of
all

etymological
the
Sanscrit

grounds.

My

entire

language prevents

me

from
in

at

following
cussion.

the

arguments employed
here
that
it

this

dis-

And
with

may

be

said,

and said with


of
points

good

reason,

for

the

discussion

connected

Vedic
in

literature,

writers ignorant

of the language

which the Vedas were comfor the task.

posed are but


step
I

ill

equipped

At every
;

keenly

feel

my own
;

disqualifications

but

many
Veda
broad

translations

and commentaries on the Rig and without entering


it

are in existence

into

etymological questions,

has seemed to
of

me
of

that

astronomic

explanations

some

the

io6

ASTRONOMY

IN

THE RIG VEDA


if

[part

i.

myths might be

supplied,

only the possibility

of the Vedic Rishis having been acquainted with

the strange figures of the celestial sphere should

be

admitted.

In

this

paper

am

anxious to

draw the attention of those who can study Vedic


texts in their

original

language to these possible

explanations.
really

Those only who know Sanscrit are


to

qualified

judge

finally

whether the sugon further

gestions

here
into

made can be
the

sustained
If

enquiry
of Vedic

Vedas.
here
will

the

interpretations

myths

proposed

are

correct no
in

doubt corroboration
Sanscrit
If

be found for them

the

names and

epithets of mythic personages.

no

such

corroborations
in

are

to

be met with,

the
the

probabilities

favour of the correctness of


will

astronomic

interpretations

be

greatly

diminished.

But

to return to our subject.

It

is

sometimes

argued that the Vedic bards could not have been


acquainted
Zodiac,
as

with

the

twelve-fold

division

of the

otherwise

these

great
their
this

constellations

would surely have claimed at

hands clear

and

outspoken
fully

notice.

With

argument

cannot

agree.

Even

before

pointing out

PART

I.]

ZODIAC IN VEDA DENIED


I

107

the

important place which


in the

believe astronomical
I

phenomena hold
received and

Rig Veda,

would draw

attention to the fact that according to the generally

non

astronomic explanation of the


that
still

myths,
striking

it

is

necessary to suppose

more
the

and important natural phenomena than


with
the
constellations

those

connected

of

Zodiac

phenomena
true

with which the Vedic bards

must certainly have been acquainted


entirely ignored
It
is

were

almost

by the authors of the Rig Veda.

that

some

great

scholars
for

claim

on

linguistic

grounds a solar origin


;

imagery and nomenclature


are examined
in

yet

much Vedic when the hymns


the notes

translations,

and

and

commentaries which accompany these translations


are
studied,

the

impression

left

on the mind of

any reader unacquainted with Sanscrit must be


that sun,

very

little

attention

or honour

is

given to

moon, or

stars, in

comparison to that so freely


fire,

lavished

on the elements of

air

and water,

and on the mysterious properties of the juice of


the

Soma plant. The beauty

of

the

dawn
to

is

almost
appeal

the only

celestial

glory that appears

with

any

io8

ASTRONOMY
to

IN

THE RIG VEDA


of

[part

insistence
Rishis.

the

imaginations

the

Vedic

If out of the

more than one thousand hymns of


is

the Rig Veda, not one

addressed to the moon,


calculation

and on the most


less
it

liberal

considerably

than a hundred to the sun, under any aspect,


for

need not be cause

wonder

if

the constellations

of the

Zodiac are not remembered.

The

poets

of the Rig Veda, however ignorant of astronomy,

and

at

whatever age they

lived,

must have somefire

times lifted their eyes above the sacrificial


its

and

smoke, above the rain and storm-clouds, above

their altars

and

libations

of

Soma.
it

They must
shined
if

have often seen "the sun when


"the moon walking
rarely
in brightness,"

"

and

and

they so

hymned
it

these great luminaries with whose

appearance and existence they so certainly were


acquainted,

would prove no ignorance on

their

part of the twelve-fold division of the Zodiac


its

and

quaintly imagined
all

figures,

were

it

indeed the
is

case that

mention of these figures

absent

from the Rig Veda.

But as has been stated above,

my

desire

is

to

draw

attention

to

possible

astronomic

interpre-

PART

1.]

ZODIAC IN VEDA CLAIMED


of

109

tations

many

of

the

Vedic

myths,

and

the

adoption of such interpretations would necessarily


entail

a reversal of the dictum that


is

all

mention of

the twelve-fold Zodiac

Those who
mysterious

have

absent from the Rio^ o Veda. studied this wonderful and

collection

of

hymns

most constantly
that
it

and deeply are obliged


very
imperfectly

to confess

is
it

still

understood,

and

though

is

agreed unanimously that the Gods of the Veda


are personifications of the yet
as
to

phenomena

of nature,

the

exact

phenomena underlying
there
is

the

various

Vedic

myths

among
is

scholars

much
to

difference of opinion.
in

It

impossible not

feel

reading
notes,

speculations,

hymns and the many and comments appended to


the
all

them,

that

notwithstanding

the

labour
of

and
this

research
ancient

bestowed

on

the

work,

much

Veda

still

remains a cypher, for the right


the

understanding of which
not possess the key.

modern reader does


of archaeology,

Guided

by

the

teachings

now make the suggestion that the key to this cypher may perhaps be found in crediting the authors of the Veda with a somewhat advanced

"

10

ASTRONOMY

IN

THE RIG VEDA

[part

i.

knowledge of astronomy, and an acquaintance with


the,

to us, apparently fanciful constellations of the

celestial

sphere
figures

and

Zodiac

and

in

assuming

that

the

of the

" ancient

constellations

often supplied the basis of Vedic imagery.

To
that

pursue

this possible clue


it

towards the underto

standing of the myths,


all

were much

be desired

students should

be acquainted with the

names and
" ancient "

positions in the heavens of the forty-five

constellations

so

well distinguished

by the epithet

and
easily

that they should master

some

of

the

more

observed conditions of their diurnal

and annual apparent movements, as also those of


the sun and moon,

and further that they should


in

have learnt what changes


heavens

the

scenery of the

have

been brought about by the slow


to

movement known
Classical

astronomers as the "precession

of the equinoxes."

and

philological

scholars have
to

howfrom

ever so rarely time and attention


their

spare

own

intensely

interesting

and

important
are

studies that as a rule astronomical

phenomena
by them.
a

not

much observed

or considered

The

accompanying diagrams drawn

from

celestial

PART I]

INDRA IN THE RIG VEDA


it

1 1

precessional globe may,

is

hoped, enable those,

who have
subjects,
to

not

as

yet
for

devoted

thought to

such

judge

themselves of the reason-

ableness or

otherwise of the following astronomic

suggestions concerning the most important of the

Vedic gods.

According
late

to

A. A.

Macdonell
has

who

in

his

work
scholars
is

Vedic

Mythology

summed

up

clearly

and compendiously the opinions of a host


on the nature of the Vedic gods
favourite national

of

Indra

the
is

god

of the

Rig

Veda; he

celebrated in 250 hymns, a greater


that

number than
of

"devoted
^

to

any other god,


total

and very nearly one-fourth of the

number

hymns
Indra,

in the

Rig Veda."

What may
of
relate
that,

be called the central myths related


of
all

stripped

epithet

and ornament,
draughts
of

invigorated
fights

by

copious

Soma, Indra
from

with,

overcomes, and drives


a

heaven and earth

demon
snake.

called

Vritra

or Ahi,

who
for,
1

is

represented under the form of a


or

dragon,
searches

serpent

water

Indra

also

finds,

and

releases

cows which had


p.

Macdonell, Vedic Mythology,

54.

112

ASTRONOMY

IN

THE RIG VEDA


(or

[part

i.

been stolen from the gods


commentators,
Indra
ings
rain.

according to some
or
priests).

from

the

angirasas,
all

bestows on his worshippers


of
plenty,

the

bless-

especially

he

is

the

dispenser of

According

to

the

usual

non

astronomic

ex-

planations of these myths, Indra, an "atmospheric

god,"

is

" primarily

the

thunder

god

"

who
the

conquers
or
again,

" the

demons of drought or darkness,"


^

" Indra

is

personification

of

phenomena of
metaphorically
clouds

the

firmament, particularly in the

capacity of sending

down

rain.

This property
conflict

is

described
are
until

as

a
to

with

the
their

which
stores

reluctant
assailed

part

with

watery
the

and
; .
.

penetrated
.

by
is

thunder
as

bolt

of

Indra

the

cloud

demon named Ahi or Vritra ... a popular myth represents him (Indra) also
personified

as

the discoverer and rescuer of the cows, either


priests

of the
stolen

or of

the

gods which had been


or Vala."

by an

A sura

named Pani

Macdonell, alluding to the same incident,


1

ob-

Macdonell,
Wilson,

Ve-^ic

Mythology,

p. 66.

Rig Veda, Introduction,

pp. xxx.-xxxi.

PART

I.]

INDRA AN "ATMOSPHERIC GOD"

113

serves:^
in

These "cows released by Indra may,


cases,

many
that

refer
latter

to

the waters,

for

we have
compared

seen

the

are

occasionally
is

with lowing cows.

Thus Indra

said to have

found the cows for


. .
.

But the

man when he slew the dragon. cows may also in other cases be
with
Indra's

conceived as
light,

connected

winning of
issuing from
cattle

for

the ruddy

beams of dawn
dark

the

blackness of night are


their

compared with
stalls.

coming out of

Again, though

clouds play no great part in the Rig


their literal

Veda under

name

{abkra, etc.),

it

can hardly be denied

that, as containing the

waters, they figure mytho-

logically to

a considerable extent under the name


as
well
as udder (iidhar)
. . .

of
the

cow

{go),

thus
it

rain-clouds

are

probably meant when

is

said that the

cows roared

at the birth of Indra."

At
of the

the close of the section devoted to Indra,

Macdonell refers to the probably pre-Vedic origin


Indra myths.

He

says:^

"The name

of

Indra occurs only twice in the

A vesta.

Beyond

the fact of his being no god, but only a demon,


1

Vedi'c
Jbid.,

Mythology,
pp. 66.

p. 59.

14

ASTRONOMY
is

IN

THE RIG VEDA

[part

i.

his character there

uncertain.

Indra's distinctive

Vedic epithet vrtrahan [Vritra-slayer] also occurs


in the
is,

Avesta

in

the form of verethraghna, which

however, unconnected with Indra or the thunder-

storm myth, designating merely the

God

of Victory.

Thus
of the
that

it

is

probable that the Indo-Iranian period

possessed a god

approaching to the Vedic form


It
is

Vrtra-slaying Indra.
the

even possible
the
as

beside
-

thundering god of heaven,

Indo

European period

may have known who

distinct conception

a thunder-god, gigantic

in size,

a mighty eater and drinker,

slays the dragon

with his lightning bolt."


In reading the Indra
in

hymns

in

the Veda, and

trying to

fit

them
quoted,
is

to

the explanation given in

the

passages

a constant

and very
imagination

dis;

agreeable

strain

put

on

the

it

must, for instance, attempt to grasp and hold, at


the

same

time,

two very

far

apart opinions as
Vritra
is

to

the nature of the

demon

Vritra.

to

be

thought of

as

demon
;

of

darkness,

and as a

demon

of drought

the cows are clouds, they are


light

also ruddy

beams of

Darkness and drought

are

not

to

be

easily


PART
I.J

INDRA,

GOD OF SUMMER SOLSTICE


Drought
is

115

bracketed together.
not excepted,
of bright and

in all lands, India

connected with a long continuance


stainless
skies.

The appearance
hand"
is

then of a

little

cloud "like a man's

the

joyously hailed precursor of " the sound of abund-

ance of

rain."

Again, the driving away of a snake-like cloud


is

no

forcible simile

by which

to describe in

myth

the advent of rain in India

rain

which to be of

any use

is

no mere refreshing shower, but a long-

continued
dispersed.

downpour

from

clouds

not

hastily

Indra's action

first

in driving
in

away

the cloud-

demon

Vritra,
is

and then

seeking for the beneficial

cloud cows,

also contradictory.

For the reconciling of many of these contradictions the astronomic interpretation of the Indra-

Vritra myths
all

is

as follows

Indra

may

still

retain

his atmospheric attributes of sending

down

rain

but

Indra

is

primarily and essentially a personisolstice.


is

fication

of the summer

The summer

solstice in India
;

an all-important
it

agricultural epoch

it

brings

with

" the

rainy

sea^son," the real spring of the Indian year.

Before

16

ASTRONOMY

IN

THE RIG VEDA


is

[part

i.

this season all

the land

parched and

arid,

and

vegetation

is

at a standstill.

The
India
is

punctuality of the rains in

many

parts of

so exact that

the

farmer foretells their


In
lasts

arrival not only to the day, but to the hour.

good years heavy and almost incessant


for

rain

two or even three months.


of the
is

Indra, as a per-

sonification

season

which

so

punctually

brings the rain,


of the
:

an atmospheric god, the enemy

demon of drought. But Indra is more than many praises are bestowed on Indra in the this Rig Veda for deeds which cannot easily be explained on the simple atmospheric theory.
is

" Indra

the

highest of
;

all "

is

the

refrain

of

many
in the

Vedic verses
sky,"

" Indra placed the

sun high
of

" Indra

tore

off

one

wheel

the

sun's

chariot,"

"Indra stopped the tawny coursers of

the

sun."

Now

all

these

phrases are at once

and

clearly to

be interpreted

as the personification of the


especially of

we think of Indra summer solstice, and


if

the solstice in India,

where
to

at that

season
zenith,

of the year

the sun

attains

the

very

and thus

Indra

associated
is

with the sun

under one figure of speech

spoken of as "highest

PARTI.]

VRITRA AND HYDRA


and
in

117

of

all,"

a slightly varied figure associated


is

with the season,

said to

have ''placed the sun


translating into

high
the

in the sky."

Or again
to

myth
''the

very meaning of the word solstice


being

or

stm

made

stand,"

we

read

that

Indra
sun,"
is,
I

"tore off the wheel of the chariot

of the

and "stopped
cannot
but
is

his

tawny coursers."
not

Indra

believe,

merely an atmospheric
solstice.

god
if

he

the

god of the summer


of the solstitial

And
Vritra

this
?

should be the case, what then


Is the

may

be

demon

Indra personiIt is

fied as

only a snake-like cloud?

impossible

to think so.

The astronomic
propose
is

interpretation of the

myth

would

that

a
is

snake-like

constellation,

not a snake-like cloud,

the repre-

sentation of the

demon

Vritra.

On
dragons

the

celestial

sphere
but

many
the
all

serpents
far

and

are

represented,

reaching
its

constellation

Hydra exceeds
from

the others in
tail.

enormous length
brilliant

head
the

to

No
nor
in

very
the

stars
its

mark
stars

asterism,

grouping of
snake-like.
to the

is

there anything especially


its

For some reason other than

appeal
all

eye did astronomers of old invest with

Ii8

ASTRONOMY IN THE RIG VEDA


horrors
of the

[part

i.

the

Hydra-form the monotonous


with almost
of

length of this space on the vauk of the skies.

This
certainty,

reason
in

may be

arrived

at,

studying,

with the

help

pre-

cessional globe, the position in the heavens of this


constellation in different ages of the world's history.

So
to

studying,

we

shall

find that

4,000

B.C.

or
for

be

more

precise,

one or
its

two hundred years

earlier

Hydra
90

extended

enormous length
along

more than
nomically
matical line

symmetrically

one

astro-

important

(though

invisible)

mathe-

the
the

line of the

heavenly equator
accurately

and was

at

same

date

bisected
line,

by another equally
Plate IX.).

important mathematical
the

namely the colure of

summer
it

solstice

(see

Almost

irresistibly,

as

appears to me,

the

conviction forces itself on the mind, in considering

the

position
B.C.,

held
it

by

the

constellation

Hydra

4,000
figure

that
first

was

at that date that this baleful

was
fitly

traced in imagination on the sky,

there

to represent the

power of physical (and


?)

may we

not suppose also, of moral


terrible

darkness

great and

power

but

a power ever and

PARTI.]

HYDRA AND DARKNESS


to

I19

ever again

be

conquered

by

the

victorious
this

power of
of

light.

In astronomic myth

power
of

was represented
its

as that of the sun at the season

highest
solstice.

culmination,

the

season
in the

the

summer
winter,

For an observer
length

temperate

northern zone

all

through the long nights of midof the


dreadful

the whole

Hydra
the

was

at the date

named

visible

above the horizon.


therefore

The dark midwinter season was


time of the

Hydra's

greatest

glory.

season of the year, except at that of

At every midsummer,

some portion
solstice
itself for

of the

monster's

form was visible

during some part of the night.

But

at the

summer

no star

in

the

constellation

might show

ever so short a time.^


latitude of the observer in

The supposed
IX.
is

Plate

40 N., a latitude considerably to the north


;

of any part of India


that the

but

it

is

to be

remembered

Indra-Vritra

myth cannot be claimed with

any certainty as a purely and originally Indian myth,


for,
^

as Macdonell points out (as quoted above), there


Plate

IX. represents the constellations above the horizon,

but invisible at noon at the


represents those

midsu?nmer

solstice.

It

therefore

above the horizon,

and

visible

at

midivinter

midnight.

120
is

ASTRONOMY

IN

THE RIG VEDA

[part

i.

a probability that "the Indo-Iranian period pos-

sessed a god approaching to the Vedic form of the


Vrtra-slaying Indra," and that "it
that
is

even possible
heaven,
the
as

beside

the

thundering god of
period

Indo

European

may have known


who
slays the

distinct conception a thunder-god, gigantic in size,

a mighty eater and drinker,


with his lightning bolt."
^

dragon

For the origin

of this world-wide myth, therefore,

we should
but
it is

not look to the tropical

Indian Zone

in

Indian latitudes that

we should

look for

an explanation of the physical phenomena hymned


by Vedic bards in the distinctly Indian development

of the Indra- Vritra myth.


tracing the course of the

believe that in thus

Indra story from

tem-

perate to tropical latitudes,


for

we

shall find a reason

the

contradictory
Vritra,

attributes

assigned
of

to

the

demon
drought. In

namely

those

darkness

and

northern
;

latitudes

winter

is

distinctly

the

dark season
perceptible

in tropical India there is little or

no
of
dis-

difference

between
But
in

the

darkness
is

winter and summer.


1

India winter

V. p. 114.

> H W

PART

I.]

HYDRA AND DROUGHT


the

i3i

tinctly

dry

season.

Midsummer

is

the

all-

important season of the rains.

Indra's

conquest

over Vritra, or the arrival of

solstitial rains,

marked

by the disappearance of the constellation


from the sky, was mythologically
described as
Indra's
still

Hydra
Vedas

in

the

conquest

over the

demon
power of

of drought, but
tradition
is

traditionally
in

for the

great

even

India Indra retained the

attributes

of the

conqueror over the

demon

of

darkness.

At

Plate X. a drawing

is

given of the southern

heavens

and

of

the

constellations
at

invisible

at

midsummer and
3000
B.C.,

visible

midwinter, above

the

horizon of an observer in latitude 23 N. at the date

a thousand years later than

the

date
will

referred to in Plate IX.

For reasons which


about

appear more clearly when we come to the discussion


of the

Soma

myth,

it

is

to

this date that

would attribute the composition of many of the


Vedic hymns.

But
the

if

Indra

is

to

be considered as representing

summer

solstice,

and Vritra as representing the

constellation

Hydra, we must surely expect some

astronomic interpretation for

Soma Soma by which

122

ASTRONOMY
mighty Indra
is

IN

THE RIG VEDA


demon.

[part

i.

the

invigorated and enabled

to
to

trmmph
trial

gloriously over the

According

non-astronomic explanations, "the concrete terresplant


"

and the

intoxicating

juice

extracted

therefrom

are considered to be the basis of the


It is
is

mythology of Soma.
Vedic
literature
is

admitted that
a regular

in post-

Soma

name

of the

moon, which

regarded as being drunk up by

the gods, and so waning.

Some
in

writers point to

the possibility
the

that

even

the

Rig Veda,
and the
few

" in

Soma hymns
.

there

may

occasionally

lurk

veiled
.
.

identification

of arnbrosia

moon,

but on the whole, with


it

the

exceptions
certain

generally admitted,
to
is

appears to be

that

the

seers

of

the

Rig Veda the god


the
terrestrial

Soma
and

a personification

of

plant

juice.

One German
"often

writer, Hillebrandt,

very strongly

upholds the view that


personifies
to

Soma
this
all

in

the

Rig

Veda
114

the
is

moon,"^
the

and
case
in

especially

according

him

the

hymns

of
^

Mandala

IX.,

addressed to
"p.

Soma

Macdoncll. Ve die Mythology,


Ibid.

113.

PARTI.]

SOMA PAVAMANA = THE MOON


for

123

pavamana, or "purified Soma," prepared

and

quaffed by Indra to invigorate him for the Vritra

combat.

That Soma

in

the

Rig Veda
is

is

primarily the

moon, and that the moon

symbolized and always


to
in

more

or
to

less

directly
fits

referred
in,

the

Vedic
to

hymns
the
theories
Indra's

Soma,
of

as

must be evident
with
If

readers

this

paper,
in
it.

the

astronomic

advocated

we

consider that

conquest over Vritra represents the god

of the

summer

solstice,

with his bright weapons,

conquering,

and driving from heaven and earth

the constellation Hydra,

we can

easily understand

how

in this

contest

Indra might be strengthened


i.e.

by copious draughts of Soma,


light of the full

by

the bright

moon

flooding the
all

heavens with
the
brightest

radiance
stars.

and

enfeebling

but

But a further confirmation of the lunar character


of Soma, and an elucidation of the imagery of the

Soma pavamana hymns


found
if

of

Mandala

IX., are to be

still

crediting

the Vedic Rishis with

knowledge of the ancient constellations


the
position

we
the

study
date

of

these

constellations

at

124

ASTRONOMY
B.C.

IN

THE RIG VEDA


At

[fart

i.

3,000

(see Plate XI.)^

that date the

full

moon
With
so

of the

midsummer
in

or solstitial

season was
Aquarius.

always to be observed
this

in the constellation

thought
of

our mind as
IX.,
in

mystical
is

hymns

Mandala
as

we read the which Soma


to

often

described

rushing impetuously

the vase or pitcher, and as surrounded by celestial


waters,

with

many

other

such

expressions,

we

easily recognise

an allusion to the midsummer full

moon
further

in

the

constellation

Aquarius;

and

when
to

we read

the legend so often repeated, that

the

eao;le brousfht the

Soma
to

to

Indra, or
at

the

sacrifice,

we have only

look

the

celestial
its

globe to see the eagle (Aquila) directing

flight

towards the pitcher of Aquarius


that the very night before the
celestial

and
moon

to

remember

attained the

vase,

it

would have been


constellation

on the same
;

meridian

as

the

Aquila

and the
it

imaginative Vedic bard might then describe

as

borne along

by the

eagle,

one
full

of the

most

glorious constellations in that part of the sky.


^

Lunar dates are


solstice

variable.

The
in

moon

nearest to the

summer
east

might have been observed somewhat to the


of
its

or

the

west

position

the

diagram,

but always

in the constellation

Aquarius.

'^::y..

PART

I.]

THE MOON
hymn

IN

AQUARIUS

125

In one

especially devoted to the legend

of the Soma-bearing eagle (or hawk), allusion to the small but well-marked-out constellation Sagitta
(the arrow)
lation of "

may be

detected.
(vol.

In Wilson's transiii.

Mandala IV. 27

p. 174),

we

read

When the hawk

screamed (with exultation) on

his

descent

from heaven, and (the guardians of the


that the

Soma) perceived
by
it,

Soma was

(carried

away)

then, the archer Krisdnu, pursuing with the


let fly

speed of thought, and stringing his bow,

an

arrow against

it."

Now
Agni.

to turn to

another important Vedic deity,

Agni
terrestrial

is

classed, according to Macdonell,

amongst
in

gods, but

he points out that


be identified
with

some
sun.

passages

he

is

to

the

Wilson describes Agni as comprising' "the element


of Fire under three aspects
:

i",

as

it

exists
fire,

on

earth, not only as culinary or religious

but as

the heat of digestion and of


principle

life,

and the vivifying


as
in
it

of

vegetation
or
3'''^,

2"'^,

exists

in

the

atmosphere,
;

mid-heaven,
as
it

the

form
in

of the

lightning
1

and

is

manifested
vol,
i.

Wilson, Eig Veda, Introduction,

pp. xxvii.-xxviii,

126

ASTRONOMY
light,

IN

THE RIG VEDA

[part

i.

heavens, as
bodies."

the sun, the dawn, and planetary

And
the
adds,

having
"still,

enumerated various

deities

who
sun

in

hymns appear

as manifestations of the

he

however, the
place
in

sun does not

hold that prominent

the

Vaidik liturgy
of the ancient
as

which he seems
Persians,

to

have done
is

in that

and

he

chiefly

venerated

the

celestial representative of Fire."

The
as given

classification of

Agni

as a terrestrial god,

given by Macdonell, and the order of his "aspects,"

by Wilson, are not


here
is
it

in

accordance with
according
to

the

theory

advocated,

nor,

Macdonell,

the classification or order always

adhered to by Vedic authorities.

For some very puzzling myths concerning Agni,


thereby the position of Agni
than in the
last,

believe an astronomic interpretation may be given, and


in \}a& first place, rather

as a celestial god,

may be

established.

The Vedic
Waters,
is

deity

Apam Napat

the

son

of

by Macdonell as an atmospheric god, and he says,^ "In the last stanza of the Apam napat hymn, the deity is invoked as Agni, and must be identified with him," and again, ^ " Agni's
classed
>

Vedic Mythology,

p. 70.

/^/^_^ p. 92.

PART

I.]

AGNI IN THE WATERS


in
'

127

origin

the of

aerial

waters
'

is

often

referred

to.

The

son

waters

has,

as

has

been shown,

become a

distinct deity."

Then

turning to other

legends regarding Agni he says, "In such passages


the Hghtning form of

Agni must be meant. Some of the later hymns of the Rig Veda tell a legend of Agni hiding in the waters and plants, and being found by the gods. ... In one passage of the Rior Veda also it is stated that Asjni rests in all streams and in the later ritual texts, Agni in the
;

waters

is

invoked

in

connexion with ponds and

even in the oldest Vedic period, the waters in which Agni is latent, though not those from which he is produced, may in various passages have been regarded as terrestrial. ... In any case the notion of Agni in the waters is prominent throughout the Vedas." To explain this legend, Wilson makes other suggestions. He writes:^ " The legend of his (Agni's) hiding in the waters, through fear of the enemies of the gods, although alluded to in more than one place,
water-vessels.

Thus,

is

not very explicitly related

....

the allusions of

the Sit-ktas (hymns)

may

be a figurative intimation

of the latent heat existing in water, or a misappre-

hension of a natural phenomenon which seems to have made a great impression in later times the

Wilson, Rig Veda, Introduction,

vol.

i.

p. xxx.

128

ASTRONOMY

IN

THE RIG VEDA


air,

[part

i.

emission of flame from the surface of water either


in the

shape of inflammable

or as the result

of submarine volcanic action."


It

cannot but be admitted that these myths are

puzzling,

and that

to

account for the


of " of

notion so
in

prominent throughout the Vedas


waters,"

Agni

the

the

various

suggestions

"lightning,"

"latent

heat existing in water," "the emission of

flame from the surface of the waters, either in the

shape of inflammable

air or as the result of

sub-

marine volcanic action," are inadequate to explain


the
fact

that

Agni,

whose
fire "
^

very name "is the


should
in

regular designation of

the

hymns
are the
" to

be so closely associated with water.


difficulties

Nor

concerning

"

Agni

in

the waters

be

overcome by the tempting and poetic suggestion,


put forward by some writers, that in these passages reference
is

made
at

to the

sun rising

in the
itself

morning out of the ocean, and again hiding


beneath the waves
of the
sunset.

The composition
to

Rig Veda

is

attributed

Aryan

settlers

" scattered
to

over the

Punjaub and regions


"
:

lying

the

west of the Indus


'

by such
p. 88.

settlers the

Macdonell, Vedic Mythology,

PART

I.]

THE SUN

IN

AQUARIUS

129

sun could never have been seen rising out of the


ocean, for no ocean bounded their horizon on the
east.
itself at

Even

the

phenomenon

of the sun hiding

evening

in the water,

could only have been


coast,

observed by those who lived on the western

and

it

is

therefore not easy to imagine


in

why

sunrise

and sunset should


But

India have been so closely


horizon.

and constantly associated with a sea


if

once the acquaintance of the originators

of the Agni
admitted,
relating to
is

myths with the Zodiacal


astronomic
in the

figures

is

the

interpretation
is

of those
;

Agni
:

waters

not

difficult

it

as follows

Agni

is

the personification of
is

fire,

but his chief


"

personification

as the

fire

of the sun.

Agni
the

in the waters " is especially the fire

of the sun in
3,000
B.C.

the celestial waters of Aquarius.

sun was

in conjunction

with Aquarius at the time

of the winter solstice}

Those hymns
rising

therefore

which dwell upon the myths of Agni hiding himself


in,

being born
^

in,

and

out of the waters,

The

position of the sun at the winter solstice 3,000 B.C.


at Plate

was identical with that represented


the
full

XI. as the position of

moon

at the

summer

solstice.

130

ASTRONOMY
considered as

IN

THE RIG VEDA

[part

i.

may be
tion

hymns

referring to the sun at

the winter solstice in conjunction with the constella-

Aquarius, and therefore as hymns especially

suitable for use

on the occasion of a great yearly


season of the year.

festival held at that

European

writers often describe the mid-winter


itself,

sun as hiding
itself

or as every day withdrawing In poetic similes,

more and more from view.

the snows of winter often

crown the head of the


is

aged out-going year, while the in-coming year


represented as a babe or infant.
ness of such similes
calendrical
is
is

The
the

appropriatethat our

due

to

fact,

new year
solstice.

fixed within a few days of

the winter

Again, in
the

sober

prose,
is

the
said,

sun at the time of

winter

solstice
to

having attained
its

its

lowest point,
ecliptic.

rise
It is

or begin
therefore
Rishis,

tipward course on the


difficult

not

to

understand

how

the Vedic

who appear

to

have combined the characteristics

of poets and of scientific observers of the heavens,

should have 3,000


solstitial

B.C.

described
in,

the fire

of
in,

the

sun,

as

hiding

being

born

and

rising out of the celestial ivaters of the constellation Aquaritts.

PART

I.]

VEDIC IMAGERY OUT OF DATE


this

131

In

Agni myth,
which the

as

in

that

of Indra,

we

may

perceive traces of a pre-Vedic origin.


Rig-

The
are
to

latitudes in

Veda was composed


is

not those in which attention


the

forcibly

drawn

diminution of the

strength

and

visibility

of

the sun at the winter season.

In the Rig Veda,

however,
well

Indra's

conquest
is

over

darkness

as

as

over

drought

celebrated,

and
for

the

same traditional cause may be assigned


description of

the

Agni hiding himself

at the

time of

the winter solstice in the waters of Aquarius.


Indra,

Soma, and Agni


in

no longer hold the

important place

the

Hindu Pantheon which


this
fact

they appear to have held in Vedic times, and on


the astronomic
theory,

may

partly

be

accounted for by noticing

how slow

but inevitable

changes

in

the scenery of the


of

heavens, produced
gradually

by

the

precession

the

equinoxes,

obscured more and more completely the meaning


of the imagery employed
deities.
stice,
still is

in

the

hymns
as

to these
sol-

Indra,

if

he represents the summer


as

indeed

still

powerful

ever,

and
but

triumphs over
is

the

demon
well

of

drought,

no longer

that

demon

represented

by the

132

ASTRONOMY

IN

THE RIG VEDA


Hydra
;

[part

i.

snake-like constellation

for

on the night
set,

of the

summer

solstice, after
is
still

the sun has

the

whole of Hydra

above the horizon.

No

longer does the mid-summer full moon bathe its o brightness in the celestial waters of Aquarius,

nor does the mid-winter sun hide

itself in

them.

The hymns
to, exist

remain, the

phenomena they

referred

no longer.

But leaving now the subject of the " ancient


constellations "

and of reference

to

them

in

the

Rig Veda,
argument

let

us turn to the second section of the

in

favour

of

the

modern

orig-in

of

Hindu astronomy

as stated above. ^

It is

a claim

made
that

for
for

the

very modern date of 570 a.d. as


fixation

the

of the

initial

point of the

Indian

Zodiac at
of

the

"end

of

Revati and the


I

beginning
oppose.
It

A9vini."

This

claim

desire

to

has been admitted by scholars, but almost


is

with a sort of reluctance, that mention

some of the Nakshatras


hymns.

in
is

a few of the
rather
is,

made of Rig Veda


than

The

matter

avoided

cordially enquired into.


^

It

however, a question

V.

p. 92.

PART

I.]

INITIAT.

POINT OF ZODIAC
interest
to

133
if

of great and
possible,

important

ascertain,

whether the

circle of the

Nakshatras was

known
as

to the

Vedic Rishis, and


initial

if it

were known,

whether the

point

was

fixed there,

where

we have

read, all schools

of Hindu astronomy

agree in declaring that the planetary motions com-

menced at the creation}

We
that

have learnt from Babylonian archaeology


are no longer forced to

we

assume that only


could this
initial

at the

date of about

570

a.d.

point
It

have

been

fixed

by Indian

astronomers.

therefore

need no longer be looked upon as


to

an unreasonable quest
pages of the Rig Veda
important
astronomical

search

in

the

ancient
this

for

indications that

point
as

had
the

been

fixed,

even before
of a

Vedic

times,

starting-point

calendrical
find

and

sidereal
in

year

and
Rig

if

we
the
in

should

such

indications

the

Veda,

they

may

well

out-weigh

arguments

against

antiquity of this fixation, based


later works, such as the

upon passages

Yajur and Atharva Vedas.


itself,

From
be drawn

the
in

Yajur Veda

arguments may

favour of a year beginning in the


1

V.

p. 93.

34

ASTRONOMY

IN

THE RIG VEDA

[part

i.

month
In

Chaitra,^ at or before the date of the

com-

position or compilation of that Veda.

the

Taittiriya

Sanhita
^

(contained

in

the

Yajur Veda) a passage occurs

which

is

translated

and commented upon by

B. G.
p.

Tilak (The Orion,


et seq.).

or Antiquity of the Vedas,

46

In this of

passage

is

discussed

the

superior

suitability

three different days

on

which worshippers might


for

consecrate

themselves
of these

the

yearly

sacrifice.

Not any one


nexion
with
conjunction

three

days has any conor

the

spring
Krittika.

equinox

the

sun's

with

The

choice
lie

of date
first,

for the yearly sacrifice

appears to
"

between,

the " Ekashtaka (day)

of

some month not named,


second, the
full

but one

in the
i.e.

"distressed," or "reversed" period

of the year,
full

the mid-winter season


;

moon

of PhalgunI

and

third,

the Chaitra

moon.

B. G.

Tilak, after

some pages of comment


states in his

on the passage referred


1

to,

summing
Hindu

Chaitra

is

tlie

month which

begins, as closely as a luni-solar


initial

month may,
Zodiac
^ ^

at the sun's arrival at the

the beginning of Aswini.


vii. 4.

point of the

Taittiriya Sanhita,

8.

At

in this

48 he quotes authorities in favour of the Ekashtaka (day) passage meaning the 8th day of the dark half of Magha.
p.

PARTi.i

ASWINI

r.

KRITl'IKA

135

up,

amongst

others, the following" conclusions


at.

which

he has arrived

" i", that in the

the winter solstice


of the dark half of

days of the Taittiriya Sanhita occurred before the eighth day

Magha

and that through-

out the whole passage the intention of sacrificing at


the beginning (real, constructive, or traditional) of the year
is

quite clear

2""^,

that the year


"
3"''',

then commenced with the winter solstice":


that

as

there

can

not be

three

real

beginnings
each, the

of the year, at an interval of one

month

passage must be understood as recording a tradition about the Chitra full moon and the Phalguni
full

moon being once

considered as the

first

days

of the year."

This

is

B.

G.

Tilak's

conclusion

merely

judging from the translation, the passage might,


as
it

seems

to

me, be understood as unreservedly


as

recommending the full-moon of Chaitra


most suitable
for

the

the

beginning of the
Sanhita

sacrifice,
it

for in the text of the Taittiriya

is

said

of

it,

"It has no
in

fault

whatsoever."

But

whichever sense the words are under-

stood, this passage from the


set against the

Yajur Veda may be


in the

hymns and

lists

Yajur and

136

ASTRONOMY
Vedas,
is

IN

THE RIG VEDA


alluded
in
to,^

[part

i.

Atharva
Krittlka
in the

above

in

which

celebrated

the

first,

and AswinI

twenty-seventh place.
fact that the
in

The
is,

evidence as to the beginning

of the year "


as
it

the days of the Taittiriya Sanhit^,"

seems, so uncertain, and so contradictory

to the opinion

based on the

hymn
add

in the Taittiriya

Brahmana concerning
the

Krittika being the leader of


to

Nakshatras,

seems

interest

to

the

question whether there are, or are not, indications


in

the

Rig
^

Veda

that

the

Indian

year

was
as

counted from the


at present
?

same point on the


seems
to me,

ecliptic

And
to

at once, as

it

on turning to the

Rig Veda, on page


be met with.

after page,

such indications are

The

first

Nakshatra

in the

Indian series

is

named
Nakbe

Aswini (Aswins).
shatra are
1

The two
twin
stars,

chief stars in that

the

as

they

may

fairly

V.

p. 94.

At present the month Chaitra

in

most
to the

parts of India

is

the
is

first

month
:

of the

Hindu

year.

The beginning

of the year

measured by the return of the sun


Zodiac
at

same point in the present the beginning of the Lunar Mansion Aswini.
p. 45.)

(See Indian Calendar,

PARTI.]

ASWINI,
a

tt

AND

fS

ARIETIS
of

137

called,

and

fi

Arietis

stars

almost
to

equal
the

radiance.

The joyous hymns addressed


I

twin heroes, the Aswins,

would claim as newhonour of these


sunrise
s^ars,

year

hymns composed
appearance

in

whose

before

heralded

the

approach of the great festival-day of the

Hindu
counted

new year. The Hindu year


at present in

is

a sidereal year.

It is

most parts of India from a fixed point


not

on

the

ecliptic,

from

season.

It

is

calendrical not a cosmic year.

Only one apparently


and again

small change in the

method of counting the years


to

would now require

be made,

the

Aswins might be hymned by the Hindus as the


"wondrous," and "not untruthful,"
s i ars,

mdirking

by

their

heliacal
to

rising

new

year's

festival
full

festival

be held on the

15th, or

moon's

day.

The Hindu year is now counted from the new moon immediately preceding the sun's arrival at the initial point of the lunar Zodiac. The first of
Chaitra (the
falls later
first

of the light half of Chaitra) never

than the 12th of April, and


If the

may

arrive a

month

earlier.

year were to be counted from

138

ASTRONOMY
same
initial point,

IN

THE RIG VEDA


first

[part

i.

the

but from the

new moon

following instead of that preceding the sun's arrival


at that point,

there would be the difference of a


in

whole month

the range of the


its

month

Chaitra.

The

first

day of

bright half would then never


fall

arrive before the

12th of April, and might

month

later.

For the
the Aswins
that
I

interpretation of the Vedic

hymns

to

would make the provisional suggestion,

when these hymns were composed, the year was so counted from the new moon folloiving and
not from that preceding the arrival of the sun at

"the end of Revati and the beginning of A9vini."


In support of this provisional theory,
let

us

first

read the

summing up

of the Aswini myths,

and of and
of

the difficulties and uncertainties surrounding them,

according to the present modes of explanation

then

let

us

consider

the

astronomic

method

interpretation

above proposed.
"

and Soma, the twin deities named the Asvins are the most prominent in the Rig Veda, judged by the frequency They are celebrated with which they are invoked.
to Indra, Agni,
1

We read that^

Next

Macdonell, Vedic Mythology,

p. 49.

PARTI.]

THE ASWINS
fifty

IN

THE VEDA

139

in

more than
times.

entire

several others, while their

hymns and in parts of name occurs more than


and
their

400
is

Though
deities

they hold a distinct position


appellation
definite

among

the

of light

Indian,

their

connexion
light
is

with

any

phenomenon
preters

of

so

obscure,

that

their

original nature has

from
it

been a puzzle to Vedic interthe earliest times. This obscurity


is

makes
to

probable that the origin of these gods


in

be sought

a pre- Vedic period

The

Asvins are young, the T. S. (Taittirlya Sanhita) even describing them as the youngest of the gods.

They
hued
occult

are

at

the

same time

ancient.

They

are

bright, lords of lustre, of golden brilliancy,

and honeyThey possess profound wisdom and power. The two most distinctive and fre-

quent epithets of the Asvins are dasra, 'wondrous,' which is almost entirely limited to them, and
ndsatya,
'

which
.
.

is
.'

generally

explained

to

mean

not untrue.
It

heaven.

Their car .... moves round traverses heaven and earth in a single

day as the car of the sun and that of Usas (the

Dawn)
'

are also said to do.


is

The

time of their

appearance
darkness

often said to be the early dawn,

when
'

still

stands

among

the ruddy cows

and

they yoke their car to descend to earth and receive


the
offerings

of worshippers.

Usas

(the

Dawn)

140

ASTRONOMY

IN

THE RIG VEDA

[part

i.

awakes them. They follow after Usas in their car. At the yoking of their car Usas is born. Thus their relative time seems to have been between dawn and sunrise. But Savitr (the sun) is once said to set their car in motion before the dawn.
Occasionally
the

appearance
fire,

of

the

Asvins,

the

kindling of the sacrificial

the break of dawn,

and sunrise seem

to

be spoken of as simultaneous.

The Asvins
not only at

are invoked to
their

come

to the offering;'

natural time,

but

also

in
.

the
.
.

evening or at morning, noon, and sunset.


In the A. B. (Aitareya
well as

Brahmana) the Asvins

as

dawn

Usas and Agni are stated to be gods of and in the Vedic ritual they are connected

with sunrise

The Asvins may


finding-

originally

have been conceived as

and

restorinof or

rescuing the vanished light of the sun.

In the

Rig Veda they have come


ing divinities."
adds,
.

to

be typically succourp.

Again, at

51,

the writer

"Quite a number of legends illustrating the Asvins are referred to in the Rig Veda." Here follows an enumeration many miraculous of "protections," and cures, and then^ "The opinion of Bergaigne and others that the various miracles attributed to the Asvins are anthropomorphized forms of solar phenomena (the
succouring power of the

Macdonell, Vedk Mythology,

p. 53.

PART

I.]

A PUZZLE TO C;OMMENTATORS
man
thus

141

healing of the blind

meaning the

release

of the sun from darkness), seems to lack probability.

At

same time the legend of Atri may be a reminiscence of a myth explaining the restoration
the

of the vanished sun.

As

to the physical
is

basis of

the Asvins, the language of the Rsis


that they themselves

so vague

do not seem

to

have underrepresented

stood

what phenomenon these


they
actually

deities

.... what

represented

puzzled

even the oldest commentators mentioned by Yaska. That scholar remarks that some regarded

them

(the Asvins) as

Heaven and Earth

(as

does

Brahmana), others as Day and Night, others as sun and moon, while the legendary writers took them to be two kings,
the S. B.
'
' '

Satapatha

performers of holy
obscure."
In contrast to

acts.'

Yaska's

own

opinion

is

all

these vague and often contrathe


to

dictory

explanations,

astronomical

suggestion

made
of-fact

at

page 137 may


prosaic.

some appear too matterscientific

and

But that a firm and


mythical
reality

base

should

underlie

and

imaginative

similes

does

not

in

detract

from
fitness,

their

poetic excellence.

Indeed, an
is

added
to

and

therefore
in

an added beauty,

be
can

recognized
think
of

the

Aswin

hymns,

when we

142

ASTRONOMY
as

IN

THE RIG VEDA


new year

[part

i.

them
deities

addressed to well-known and beneficent

presiding over the

deities
dawn
to

who

manifested themselves in the earliest

of the

new
and

year's

morning under the form of two beautiful

easily to be recognised stars,

and

whom

their

worshippers appealed for "protection," through the

unknown dangers
I

of the future year.


that

give two diagrams to illustrate the fact

the time of the rising of the stars a


necessarily,

and

/?

Arietis

must

on such a new year's

festival as

above

proposed, have taken place in some years before


the
first

intimation of dawn, in others a few minutes

before the time of sunrise.


It
is

of course to be borne in
luni-solar.

mind

that the

Vedic years were

The

actual

point

therefore on the ecliptic at which the conjunction

of sun and

moon

or

new moon

took

place,

and
in

from

which

each

year

was counted,

varied

different years to the extent of nearly


i

30 degrees.

The diagram, Plate XII. Figs, and 2, represents the maximum and minimum distance between the rising of the Yoga stars of the Nakshatra AswinI, and of
the sun on the
1

5th or full-moon's day of the


;

first
first

month of a

luni-solar year

counted from the

PART

I.]

NEW YEAR

DIVINITIES

143

conjunction of sun and


arrival at the "

moon following

the sun's

end of Revati and the beginning of

A9vini."
It will

be seen from the diagram that something


interval that,

more than two hours was the longest

according to the presumed method of counting the

Vedic year, elapsed between the appearance of


yS

u.

and

Arietis

and of the sun above the horizon.


for the

This astronomic interpretation accounts


varying times noted
of the Aswins.
for
It

in

the

hymns

for the
it

appearance
to

also accounts, as

seems

me,

the general tone of the hymns, but as regards

the long series of miraculous "protections" of the

Aswins, accorded by them to


decrepit

many
not

sick,

aged, and
first

personages,

it

does

at

sight

account.

We

have seen that Bergaigne and others have


"

opined that the various miracles attributed to the

Aswins are

anthropomorphized
this

forms

of

solar

phenomena," and with


interpretation,

view the astronomic


its

when

fully

followed out to

logical

end, agrees.

But
the

at first sight

we wonder how

the sun at
in

beginning of the calendrical year could,

144

ASTRONOMY

IN

THE RIG VEDA


way

[part

i.

Vedic times, be described as in any


sick, aged, or decrepit.

especially

3,000
solstice

B.C.,

when, as we have seen, the winter


in

was

Aquarius,

the
as

Indian

calendrical

and

sidereal

year,

such
at
its

has

been supposed,
a month and a
at

would have begun

earliest

half after the solstice. ^


solstice,

The sun
is,

the winter

may

be,

and often
;

described as pale,

weak, sick and old


calendrical
solstice, the

but at

the

beginning of a

year,

a month

and a half after the

sun no longer could have been thought


the

of as requiring

miraculous protection of the

heralding Aswins.

To
The

help in solving this

difficulty,

recourse

may
lore.

again wisely be had to Babylonian astronomic


fanciful

legends regarding the Aswins, con-

sidered only by themselves, can scarcely yield a


sufficiently

firm foundation
I

on which

to build the

far-reaching theory
'

now

desire to bring

forward
new moon
initial

If the

Hindu

year were noiv counted from the

following instead of t\\2it precedhtg the sun's arrival at the

point

of the Zodiac, owing to the precession of the equinoxes, the year

would begin
Since 3,000

at earliest
b.c.

twenty-one days after the spring equinox.

the seasons have advanced by

more than two

months, as regards their position amongst the

stars.

PART

I.]

THE ACCADIAN CALENDAR


;

145
I

concerning them

a theory on

all

fours with one

ventured some years ago to propound


to

in reference

Babylonian
"

astronomy,

in

a
It

Paper

entitled

the

Accadian Calendar."^

was there sug-

gested that the probable date for the origin of


that Calendar

was about 6,000

B.C.

The

fact

was

pointed out that Aries, in the most ancient Accadian

and Babylonian astronomical works, always appears


as leader of the signs

and of the year, and

stress

was

laid

on the unlikelihood that

this constellation

should have been chosen for this leading post at


a date

when

the sun's entry into

it

did not corre-

spond with any one of the four well-marked natural


divisions of the year,
i.e.

the solstices or equinoxes.


tablets Aries appears as

But as on the cuneiform

leader long before the time


in that constellation

when

the sun sojourned

during the

first

month following
it

the equinox,
solstitial not

it

was suggested
the

that

was when the


with

equinoctial point coincided

the

first

degree

of

Aries,

that

the

Accadian

calendrical

scheme

had
B.C.

first

been

drawn
put

up

namely about 6,000

A
1

corroboration

of the

view

then

for-

Proceedings of Society of Biblical ArchcEology, January 1892.

146

ASTRONOMY
is

IN

THE RIG VEDA


The

[part

i.

ward

to

be drawn from a further study of the


first

Accadian month names.


names,
in

three

month
have

Accadian,

referred,

as

scholars

pointed out, to the


Zodiac.
(i.)

first

three constellations of the

The month
to Aries.

of the " sacrifice of righteous-

ness

"

(2.)

The month

of the

"propitious

Bull"

to

Taurus.
(3.)

The month
twelfth
to

The
series

Twins" to Gemini. and thirteenth names in the same


of "the
refer

seem

equally

clearly
at
:

to

year

originally
solstice.

counted

as

beginning

the

winter

"

They are called respectively 1 2th. The month of sowing of seed."


of sowing."
cereals,

"

13th.

The dark month

For the sowing of most


crops however are

late

autumn

and early winter are the favoured seasons.

Many
There

sown

in

early spring.
" the

might then be a doubt whether

month of

sowing of seed" more


sowing of seed
year,

fitly

described the spring

in the twelfth

month of a

luni-solar

counted

from
in

the equinox,

or

the

winter

sowing of seed

the twelfth

month

of a luni-solar

PART

I.]

AS WIN LEGENDS, PRE-VEDIC


counted

147

year,

from

the

solstice.

But when

we

find this

twelfth

month followed by a
to

thirteenth,
is

of which the
there can, as
that

especial
it

and added epithet


me, be
little
if

dark,

seems

any doubt
different
to

the winter

month whose range


from
12th
of

in

years extended

December
the

22nd

January

is

better

described by

epithet dark,

than the rapidly brightening month whose range

extended from 12th March to 22nd April.

Very

curiously, then,

and accurately does the


its

Accadian calendar give us the date of

origin,

and of the

first

naming of
solstice

its

months,

as
the

that

when

the

winter

coincided with

suns

entry into the first degree of the constellation Aries'"

the date
To
to

in

round numbers of 6,000

B.C.

this

same date

it

is,

as

believe,

that

the miraculous protections accorded by the Aswins

the

distressed

solstitial

sun
fully

and

moon and

earth

appear to point,
opinion
in

and

does this view

corroborate the

that

the

Aswin-legends

took their
1

rise

pre-Vedic
now

times.

They

also,

The

winter solstice

coincides very closely with the

sun's entry into Sagittarius.

It precedes the sun's entry into Aries

by almost a third of the whole

circle of the ecliptic.

14^

ASTRONOMY
the
origin

IN

THE RIG VEDA


northern

[^art

i.

as do
their

Indra and Vritra myths, refer us for


to

more

latitude
is

than

tropical
less

India.

In the tropics the sun


in

scarcely

powerful

winter

than

in

summer.

The

astronomers

who drew up
the

the Accadian calendar,

and the myth-makers of the Aswin-legends, must,


according to
in

astronomic theory,

have dwelt

temperate zones and formulated calendar and


b.c.

myths about 6,000

VI
NOTES.

AHURA MAZDA,

ETC.
the Sociely

[Ahura Mazda, a note reprinted from the Proceedings of


of Biblical Archaology, February 1900]

Professor

Hommel

in the

March number
"

for

1899

of these Proceedings calls attention in his Assyriological

Notes to the name " Assara Mazas


list

appear-

ing in a
list in

of Assyrian gods.
this

The

section of the

which

of

foreign

name appears contains " a number sounding names " belonging to gods
in

honoured, presumably,

out-lying portions of the

Assyrian dominions.
Professor

Hommel

claims "that this god (Assara

Mazas)

is

no other than the Iranian Ahura Mazda,"


his

and he thus concludes


this

opinion "concerning

arguments

in

favour of
I

Assara-mazas,

should

like to

remark

in

closing this paragraph, that

we

have here the same older pronunciation of Iranian


149

150

NOTES. AHURA MAZDA, ETC.


in the Kassitic Surias,
'

[part

i.

words as

sun' (later

A Aura
surid),

and Hvarya, but comp. Sanscrit Asura and


which
the
is

of the highest importance for the history of In the


B.C.,
I

Aryan languages.

same Kassitic

period,

between 1,700 and 1,200

suppose was borrowed

by the Assyrians the Iranian god Assara-mazas."


In a Paper entitled

The Median Calendar and


June num-

the Constellation Taurus, printed in the

ber for 1897 of these Proceedings,


similar claim for the derivation of

made a very the name of the


I

great god of the Assyrians

Assur.
"

The

claim put forward was not based only on

the resemblance in sound of " Assur

and

"

Ahura,"
virtual

but was in the


identity of the

first

place founded on the

emblems of Assur and Ahura Mazda.


it

For the origin of these emblems (referring as


suggested they did to the

was

Zodiacal constellation
was, on

Sagittarius) a date as high as 4,000 B.C.

astronomic grounds, assumed, and

it

was pointed

out that at that date there was no evidence of the


existence of the Assyrian nation as

a nation, nor
;

any trace of a Semitic worship of the god Assur


whereas, on the other hand, as early as 3,800
there
is

b.c.

evidence that a powerful Aryan race

the

PARTI.]

ASSARA-MAZAS AND ASSUR

151

Manda

rivalled

the

power,

and threatened the

Semitic rule of Sargon of Agane.

The

opinion that the symbol of

Ahura Mazda,

and of Assur, was of ancient Aryan

origin, naturally

suggested the further thought that the name Assur,


so closely resembling the earlier Indo-Iranian form

Asura, of the Iranian Ahura, had, together with the

emblem
settlers

of the god, been borrowed from the

Aryan

ancestors

of

the

Medo- Persians
in

by the Semitic
B.C.,

who, early

the second millennium

established themselves to the north of Babylonia.


It

may

here be pointed out that

no very certain
field

Semitic derivation at present holds the


the

which

proposed
to
"

Aryan
some

derivation
it

would

occupy.

According
signifying

scholars

comes from a word


According
is

a well-watered plain." the

to

Professor

Hommel,

name Assur
meant

derived from

a word
host."

which

originally

"

the

heavenly

Professor

Hommel, quoting

as his authority the

opinions of the Sanscrit scholar Oldenburg, and reinforcing Oldenburg's opinions

by arguments from

other sources, further maintains the high probability


of the

Median god Ahura Mazda having been

the

152

NOTES.AHURA MAZDA, ETC.

[part

i.

representative of the Vedic Varuna, and also that

Varuna was the moon.


Vedic scholars are divided
physical
is

in opinion as to

what

phenomenon

is

represented by Varuna.

He

very generally supposed to personify " the vast

extent of the encompassing sky,"


the sky at night-time
divinity,

some say

especially

others

claim him as a solar

whilst Oldenburg, as

we have

seen, sup-

poses him to be the moon.

It is

not to the question,

however,

what phenomenon Varuna represented,

but to that of the probability or improbability of


his original identity with the

Median Ahura Mazda,


though

that

would now draw

attention.

It is

said that " the parallel in character,

not in name, of the god the

Varuna

is

Ahura Mazda,

Wise

Spirit."

But a variety of considerations

may
ter
is

lead us to entertain the possibility of a Vedic


parallel in charac;

god other than Varuna being the


and
also
in epithet of
still

Ahura Mazda
clearly to

a parallel which
if

more

be recognized
for,

we

adopt the view, above contended


of Assur, the a^xher

of the identity

god of Assyria, with Ahura


Varuna, an Asura

Mazda.

The Vedic god Rudra

is,

like

PART

I.]

RUBRAASURA MAHA
He
is

153

or Spirit.

described as " the wise," and his

votaries are encouraged to worship

him

" for a

comone

prehensive and sound understanding."

But

in

passage
recalling

the
to

epithet

" asura

maha," so
of
the

curiously

our ears
is

the

name

Avestan

"Ahura Mazda,"
a parallel to
^

actually applied to him.^

As

a wise and great Asura, Rudra seems to be as close

Ahura Mazda

as
i,

Varuna
6.

the resem-

Wilson, Jitg Veda, Mandala


scholars as to the exact

ii.,

Uncertainty prevails

among

Ahura Mazda.

The Rev.

L.

meaning to be given to the name H. Mills, D.D., under the heading


:

" Zend," writes thus in Chambers's Encyclopedia

"

The Supreme
'

Deity Ahura Mazdah, the Living


hving,'
(niaz
'life,'

God

or

'

Lord

(ahu

'

the

or 'spirit'

root

,^

= 'to

be'), the

Great Creator
su-medhds).'"

+ da = Sansk. mahd + dM),

or 'the

Wise One'

{cf.

Again, the same writer in his book on the G^ithks, pubhshed in


1894, gives on p. 3 in his "verbatim translation,"

"O

magnifor

donator

(?)

(vel)

Sapiens

(?),"

as

alternative
to

meanings
regards

Mazda.

Similar
to

uncertainty
to the

seems

prevail

as

the

meaning

be attached

words of the passage


i.e.,

Veda
Siikta
vol.

to
i.,

which reference has been made above,


verse 6.

in the Rig Mandala ii.,

ii.,

p.

2ir,

we
:

read: "Thou, Agni,


"

In Wilson's translation
art
:

of the

Rig Veda,

Rudra, the expeller


in his note to this
is

(of foes) from the expanse of heaven "

and

passage he says

Twam Rudro

asuro

maho divah : asura


.
.

explained satrun^m nirasiti, the expeller of enemies, divas, from

heaven
(

or

it

may mean,

the giver of strength.

."

Macdonell

Fedic Mythology, p. 75) says that

Rudra

is

called in this passage

" the great asjira of heaven."

154

NOTES.AHURA MAZDA, ETC.

[part

i.

blance of epithet in the case of Rudra


parallelism closer.

makes the

Varuna indeed
but considering

in

Vedic estimation held a much

higher and more commanding position than Rudra,

how opposed

the Avestan was to

Vedic mythology on important points, we ought not


to expect that the

god elevated by the Medians

above
place

all

others should have held a very exalted


India.

amongst the Brahmins of


it is

But

when we

turn our thoughts not only to


his

Ahura Mazda but

to

Assyrian representative

Assur, that the parallelism between him and Rudra

becomes more marked.

Rudra
an archer.
bow."i
strong
In

is

not only a wise and great Asura, he


else celebrated in the

is

above everything

Rig Veda as

He
is

has "the

sure arrow, the strong

He
the

"the divine Rudra armed with the


fast flying arrows."^

bow and

Paper

already

referred

to,

it

was

suggested that an astronomic observation of the


equinoctial colure passing through the constellations

Sagittarius
1

and Taurus was the probable origin of


v., x. (xlii.),

Wilson, Rig Veda, Mandala


lb.,

ii.

Mandala

vii., xiii.

(xlvi.), i.

PARTI]

RUDRA, AN ARCHER GOD


(as

155

Median and

derived from

Median) Assyrian
Assur.

symbolism concerning Ahura Mazda and


This observation could, as was pointed

out,

only

have been made


4,000
It

at the date, in

round numbers, of

B.C.
is

a very tempting enterprise to seek in the


nations for
allusions
to

mythologies of European
this

same astronomic observation

an

observation

made, as we may believe, when the ancestors of the


Iranian and Indian Aryans, and possibly the ancestors of the

European

nations,

were

still,

if

not

all

dwelling together, at least within easy intellectual

touch of each other.

we have the Centaur (the Bullkiller) Chiron giving his name to the constellation Sagittarius, and in this fable we may, as it would
In Grecian fable

seem, find a better astrono7nic explanation of the

term

Bull-killer

than that usually given concerning

the well-mounted Thessalian hunters of wild cattle.

The

constellation Sagittarius, an archer, half


is

man,

half horse,
It is to

not a

figure

of Grecian invention.

be met with depicted on Babylonian monuunmistakably the archer


of

ments,

our
it

celestial

sphere

and

this constellation,

when

rises in the


156
east,

NOTES. AHURA MAZDA, ETC.


[parti.

always drives below the western horizon

i.e.,

mythically exterminates, the last stars of the constellation

Taurus.
"

To
is

Chiron, the chief Centaur, the epithet " wise

especially given,
in

and "he was renowned


"
;

for his

skill

hunting, medicine, music, gymnastics, and

the art of prophecy

of these not altogether con-

gruous attributes Rudra the Vedic god possessed


three of the most important.

He

was

wise,

he was

an archer, and he was famed as "a chief physician

among
" Praise

physicians."^

In a verse, part of which has

been already quoted,^ worshippers are exhorted to

him who has the sure arrow, the strong


all

bow, who presides over

sanitary drugs

worship

Rudra
ing,

for a

comprehensive and sound understand-

adore the powerful divinity with prostrations."

Apollo the far-darter, Artemis the goddess of


the silver bow,
also

shared these same attributes,


to place

and Grecian legend would lead us


the

them

in

same part of the heavens as


i.e.,

that allotted to

Chiron
to

Sagittarius.

Apollo prompted Artemis


at

aim a shaft from her bow


^

a point on the
xxxiii., 4.

Wilson, Rig Veda, Mandala


2b.,

ii.,

Mandala

v., x.

(xlii.),

ri.

PARTI.]

CHIRON APOLLO ARTEMIS


and
this point

157

horizon,

was the head of the hunter


Orion
of
is is

Orion.
in

Now

the
to

constellation

exactly

opposition
the

the
is

bow

stars

Sagittarius
plainly
to

that

legend
its

astronomical
in

be

inferred from
is

variant form,

which Artemis
to

represented
to death.

as

sending
stars

Scorpion

sting

Orion

The

marking the Scorpion's

sting are in very close proximity to the


Sagittarius.

bow

stars of

Returning to Indian myths, the name of Siva


does not occur in the
Sanscrit works Siva
is

Rig Veda

but

in

later

the representative of Rudra.

In a

hymn
it is

to Siva,^ the following passages occur,

and
of

difficult to

read them and not be reminded


figures

the

sculptured

of

Artemis,

crescent-

crowned and leading a stag by the horns.

(Allowin

ance must be made, however, for the tendency

Hindu
"

art to multiply the heads, arms,

and features

of their gods.)
I

worship the great Mahesa,


:

who
is

shines like
triple

ten million suns

who

is

adorned with
:

eyes

who
^

is

crowned with the moon


to Siva, prefixed to

who

armed with

Hymn

"An M

Exposition of the Principles

of Sanskrit Logic," by Bodhanundanath Swami, Calcutta.

iS8

NOTES. AHURA MAZDA, ETC.


the

[part

i.

the trident,

bow,
:

the

mace,

the

discus,

the

goad, and the noose

Who Who
Kaila9e
crescent
;

is
is

the eternal Lord


bright as the

snowy summit of Mount


hair
is

whose matted

ablaze

with

the

moon

Whose hands
battle-axe
;

hold the head of a deer and a

Whose moon Whose


;

forehead

is

adorned with the bright

half-

fingers

are

interlaced

to

typify

deer

For the explanation of the Roman myths of


Dianus and Diana (varying forms as the dictionary
tells

of Janus and

Jana)

we may
origin, as
divinities.

naturally seek
for those

for the

same astronomic

con-

cerning" the

Grecian archer

Janus indeed has not, so

far as

know, ever

been represented as an archer or a Centaur.


attribute for

The
is

which he

is

especially

renowned

that

of "opener of the year," and this attribute, on the

astronomic theory here proposed, would furnish the

PART

I.]

SIVADIANA JANUS

159

connecting link between the varying forms of the


Italian deities

above mentioned.
still

The many and


successive
rulers,

imperfectly
in

understood
year by

changes that were made

the

Roman

have effaced the connexion of

that year with the stars which

must have
But

originally
tradition

presided over

its

opening.
lines

Roman

embodied
Bull
"

in

Virgil's

speaks of

" the bright


^

who

"

with his gilded horns opens the year."

The golden star-tipped horns of the Bull are as we know exactly opposed to the westernmost degrees
of Sagittarius
to the sun,
;

and that

constellation, in opposition

would therefore have marked the open-

ing of just such a vernal year as that alluded to by


Virgil.

Whether

this vernal
still

year before the Julian

reformation was
is,

the calendrical year in

Rome

however, very doubtful.

Janus

is

represented with two heads, sometimes

even with

four,

"to typify the seasons of the year."


in

The

full moon

Sagittarius 4,000

b.c.

marked the

season of the spring equinox


in conjunction

the

sun then being

with the stars marking the horn tips

of the Bull.
'

The new moon


Virgil, Georg., Lib.

in Sagittarius at the
I.,

217, 218.

i6o

NOTES AHURA MAZDA,


date
Sagittarius
:

ETC.

[part

i.

same

marked the autumn equinox.


in

The

half waning moon

marked the season

of the winter solstice


crescent or

and the half moon of the

waxing moon marked the season of the

summer
the

solstice.

The

four

heads of Janus

may

thus have referred to the four seasons

marked by

moon in Sagittarius. The fact that the Indian

archer Rudra

Siva)

and the Grecian archer Artemis, were represented


as crowned by the half, not the full moon, would
refer these

myths

to

an

ndo- Iranian, not to a someIt

what

later

Iranian

source.

was not

to

the

reformed Iranian equinoctial year that they pointed,


but to the sun's triumph at the
the
later
solstitial

season.

In

Roman
Median

Janus myth we
influence,

may

rather detect the


it

and suppose that

referred
Sagit-

to a year beginning with the full


tarius,

moon

in

a year opening in the spring,

when

the sun

was

in

conjunction with the "gilded horns" of "the

bright Bull."
All these mythological indications, derived from

Median,

Assyrian,

Indian,

and

classical

sources,

though each of them looked

at separately

may

not

speak with much insistence, yet considered together

PART I]

THE MOON
to point us

IN

SAGITTARIUS
clearly as
b.c.

i6i

seem

more and more

we study

them, to the fact that about 4,000

a very im-

portant and authoritative observation of the colures

(amongst the Zodiacal constellations) was made, and


that

upon

this observation

much

of the mythology

of ancient nations

was founded.

VII
ANCIENT INDIAN ASTRONOMY
[Reprinted from the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archeology, February 1900]

It

is

only

on Talmudic authority,

think,

that

astronomy can be denied a place, and indeed an


important
place,
in

researches

connected

with

Biblical Archaeology.

On

Talmudic authority we are told

that, as a

protest against the sun-, moon-,

and star-worship of
not peror by

surrounding nations, the Hebrews were


mitted to calculate in any
scientific

way beforehand,

methods based on the movements of the

heavenly bodies, their days, their months, or their


years.

The end
could
stars

of the day and beginning of the night

only

be definitely ascertained
visible to the observer.

when

three

were
162

The moon must

PART

I.]

ASTRONOMY
its

IN

THE TALMUD
some watcher
of the
year,

163

have shown
heavens,

pale sickle to

of the

before

the

first

of the

month could be

announced.
also told,

The beginning

we

are

was dependent on the


a sufficiently advanced

earliness or late-

ness of the agricultural season, for three


corn,
in

ears of

state

of growth,

were
the
year.

to

be presented

to the priest

and waved before


first

Lord on a fixed day of the


This

month of the
^

is

what some passages of the Talmud

1 iii.

pp. 239

Bible Educator, edited by Rev. E. H. Plumptre, M.A., vol. and 240. " It may have been with a view to render
impossible,
that

astrology

the

Jews were forbidden to keep a


as the length of the lunation,
half,

calendar in the Holy Land,


or lunar month,
it
is,

...

roughly speaking, twenty-nine days and a

is easy to know, from month to month, when to expect the crescent to become visible. Six times in the year the beginning of the month was decided by observation of the new moon. On two months of the year the determination of the new moon was of such importance, that the witnesses who observed the
. .
.

crescent were authorized


to

to

profane the Sabbath by travelling

These occasions were the records that on one occasion as many as forty pairs of witnesses thus arrived on the Sabbath at Lydda. Rabbi Akiba detained them, but was reproved When the evidence was for so doing by Rabbi Gamaliel satisfactory, the judges declared the month to be commenced, and a beacon was lighted on Mount Olivet, from which the signal was repeated on mountain after mountain, until the whole country was aglow with fires."
give information at

Jerusalem.
.
.

months Nisan and

Tisri.

The Mishna

164

ANCIENT INDIAN ASTRONOMY


to teach
;

[parti.

seem
it

but from Old Testament Scriptures,

is

not possible to infer these calendrical restric-

tions with
trary,

any degree of
is

certainty.

On

the con-

there

much

in the

Scriptures to lead us

to

an opposite conclusion.

On
also
"

the very

first

page of the Bible we read of


lesser lights,"

" the greater

and the

and of

" the stars

set in the heavens, to


for

be "for signs, and for

seasons, and

days and years."


this first page,

And

scarcely

have we turned

statement that " in process of


that

when we meet the time it came to pass,


of the ground an

Cain brought of the

fruit

offering unto the Lord.

And

Abel, he also brought

of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof

And

the

Lord had respect unto Abel and


In the margin

to

his

offering."

the

words "in process


In

of time" are rendered "at the end of days."

considering this passage


into

we seem

to

be brought
year
;

touch
at

with

definitely

established

and
the

once archaeology and astronomy enter into


of Biblical research, to
tell

field

us of a remotely

old calendar
origin

astronomic indications
calendar at about

would date the


B.C.

of this
this

6,000

and

from

calendar

we

learn that at "the end of


PART
I.]

ASTRONOMY

IN

THE BIBLE
of

165

days
there

"

the

end of the dark days of the year


a
:

followed

month

''the

sacrifice

of

righteousness "

a sacrifice,

we may

well suppose,

of the firstlings of the flock, as the stars in conjunction with the sun during this
first

month were
under

imagined by the

institutors

of the calendar

the form of a lamb or

ram ready

for sacrifice.

To

this calendrical

first

month our

attention

is

again drawn

when we

read, in the

book of Exodus,
of the

of the institution at God's


festival, to

command

Hebrew

be held on the 14th and 15th days of

the

month Abib.
This month Abib,
it

is

generally assumed,

is

the equivalent of the

month Nisan, spoken


archaeology

of in

some of the

later

books of the Old Testament.

Astronomy

and

again

claim

a
the

hearing on this point.

The month

Nisan,

Semite equivalent of the Accadian month Bar

zig"),

gar (the month of the "sacrifice of righteousness

we may
tablets,

gather from the evidence of the cuneiform

had been the

first

month Moses

of a calendrical
for millenniums,
;

year in Babylon for

many centuries

perhaps

before

the date of

and therefore

archseology would teach us that the children of Israel


ANCIENT INDIAN ASTRONOMY
recalled,

66

[part

i.

were being

from strange Egyptian modes

of reckoning, to the observance of an ancient


patriarchal year

and

and

festival,

that for
year,
to

them Abib was

to

and that on the 14th

when they were told be the first month of the of that month, "a night

be much observed,'' they were to sacrifice of the


of their flock, and were to hold the great

firstlings

festival of the
If

Passover on the fifteenth day.


"

"Abib,"

Nisan,"

and "Bar zig-gar" are


to designate

names used by various nations


the

one and

same month, Abib could not have been, as has


been supposed,
a month

very generally

varying

according to the uncertain ripening of agricultural

name from the ears of corn presented to the priest, and waved before the Lord on some fixed day of that month but rather it must have been (as we know, from Babylonian
crops,

and one taking

its

sources that Nisan was) a well calculated soli-lunar

and

sidereal

month.

Now,

if

we adopt

this view,

we must find some month name Abib.


difficult

alternative derivation

for

the

Nor

is

it

by any

means

so to do.
the fourteenth

On

Bar zig-gar, Nisan, or

Abib

night of the
"

first

month

a night to be

much

PART I]

ABIB REFERS TO SPICA


rather,

167

observed," or
reading,
star

according to

the

marginal
bright
in

"a

night

of

observations"

the

Spica,

which marks the ears of corn


the
west,

the

Virgin's hand, rose

above the eastern horizon as

the sun set

in

and

at

midnight must
;

have shone down brilHantly on the Hebrew hosts


for Spica
is

so bright a

star, that

even the beams

of the

full

moon
its

riding close
lustre.

at

hand could not


months from
are
in

have obscured

The
the

Indians of to-day
in
to,

name

their

stars

their

lunar

Zodiac
in

which

opposition

not

from those

conjunction with,

the sun.

The

close resemblance of the

Arab and
the

Indian lunar Zodiacal series suggests the thought


that

the

Arabs

may have
it

followed
the

same

system

of
this

month

nomenclatiLre as

Indians

and

if

were the case

would furnish a reason

why Moses, who had


the

so lately returned from his

forty years' sojourn in Arabia, should

in

recalling

Hebrews

to

the

observance of such a year


their

as that which
forefathers

was presumably followed by


Isaac,

Abraham,
first

and Jacob

have

yet

spoken of the
to

month

of the

year according

a non- Baby Ionian method of nomenclature, and

68

ANCIENT INDIAN ASTRONOMY


have
called
it

[part

i.

should

Abib,

after

the

star

in

opposition to the sun.


If

now we adopt
the
itself

the opinion that an astronomic


in

method of counting the year did


amongst
present

reality
difficulty

obtain

Hebrews,
to

great
in

must
the

our

minds

regard

to

generally accepted theory that only on a fixed day

of the first
reaped
Lord.

month of
of

the

year might
be

the

first

handful

corn

waved

before

the

The
than
in

seasons in Palestine are not more punctual


other countries.

To

restrict

a husbandman

to a fixed

day of a year (even such a year as


which he might
corn,

ours)

before

not

begin to put
felt

his sickle into the


ful
'

would be
;

as a hurt-

and arbitrary regulation


to

but to restrict the


in

husbandman
would be
a

a fixed

day

luni-solar year

still

more

hurtful

regulation.

The
to

beginning of a soli-lunar, year


extent of a

may vary
late

the

whole month.

A
vice
in

beginning of
a

such

year might coincide with


season,

very early

agricultural

and

versa

an

early

calendrical year

might occur

a late agricultural

season.

PART

I.]

NOT TO FIRST RIPENED CORN


of this

169

Considerations
to inquire carefully

nature

may

incline

us

whether the
the

" generally accepted

theory

"

(concerning

waving of the ears of

corn before the


rests

Lord during the Passover week)

upon Scriptural authority or on Talmudic and


teachinaf.

traditional

As

ag-ainst
it is

an almost

un-

broken array of commentators,

possible in this

connexion to quote from the work of a learned

Hebrew

scholar a

clearly

expressed opinion that


it

from the Scriptures themselves,


to infer directly a

is

not possible

connexion

in date

between the
festival.^

wavinsf of the
1

first fruits

and the Passover


Nouvelle,

Pentateugite,
3.

Traduction

par

Rabbi

Wogue
to the

(Lazare), torn.

Discussing an important difference of opinion

which

exists

amongst Jewish scholars and commentators as


"

exact day of the Passover festival, on which the priest was to wave

the sheaf before the Lord, the writer says

Le

texte porte

'Le

Lendemain du Sabbat,' indication qui a donne


importante entre
les

lieu
.

a une dissidence
.
.

Pharisiens et les Saduceens.

Nous avons
des Septante,
;

adopts

le

systeme talmudique, qui a pour


et I'usage

lui I'autorite

des targoumim, de Josephe,


cririons a

immemorial de la Synagogue

mais, a ne consulter que les textes sans parti pris, nous ne sousr

aucune des deux doctrines. Ni la ceremonie de Tomer, comput des semaines, ne sont mis par nos textes en rapport avec la Paque, mais uniquement avec les moissons, soit ici, soit dans le Deut^ronome (xvi. 9). Des la recolte de I'orge, le divin
ni le

L^gislateur veut qu'on lui fasse


c^reale
;

hommage

des premices de cette

il

n'indique point de date, parceque la moisson, pas plus


et pas plus

que

la

vendange,

en Palestine

qu'ailleurs,

ne

commence

170

ANCIENT INDIAN ASTRONOMY


But
if

[part

our enquiries should lead us to accept,


the existence in

as at least a probability,

Mosaic

times

of an astronomically counted
this

Hebrew year,
right

and

if

admission should require us to change


opinions

long-held

regarding

the

observ-

ance

Hebrew festivals, on the other hand, the fact that we might then trace Arabian rather than Babylonian influence in the name of Abib
of

would have
the

its

weight on the conservative side of

controversy concerning the post or pre-exilic

date of the books of

The

fact

that in

Exodus and Deuteronomy. India the months are named

after the stars in

opposition to the sun suggested

the above

proposed explanations of the


as that of the

month name Abib


sun was
in

Hebrew month when the

conjunction with the constellation Aries,

and

in

opposition to the star Spica, marking the

Zodiacal ears of corn.


a jour
tion
;

But there

is

a further point

fixe.

Mais une
les
les

fois ouverte, elle se

continue sans interrup-

et

comme

semaines apres,

sent coupes sept pr^mices du froment doivent etre offertes au


Palestine,

froments, en

bout de sept semaines.


tenant de quel
'

L'Omer et
'

la

Pentecote sont done mobiles


fixe.

par exception, mais cette derniere est relativement

Mainici

Sabbat

est

il

question

Puisque tout

est

subordonn^ a rouverture de
Sabbat qui

la moisson, ce sera naturellement le

suit cette ouverture."

PART

I.]

ABIB
to

AND CHAITRA
be

171

of

connexion

observed

between

Indian
that

astronomy and
the first

Biblical

archeeology,

namely,
is

month
the

of the

Indian year

at

the
is

present date
in

month during which


Chaitra,

the sun

conjunction with the constellation Aries.


is

This

month

called

which
it

is

the

Sanscrit
the

name

of the star Spica, and

is

in fact

same
the

sidereally

marked month, which, according


was the
first

to

opinions here advocated,


the ancient
years.
It

month of

Accadian,

Babylonian,

and

Hebrew

must, therefore, be a question of interest to


if

Biblical students to determine,


this

possible,

whether

Indian first month has only so been counted

(as

some

scholars
it

tell

us) since about

570

a.d.,

or

whether

has so

been counted from the same


zig-gar,

remote time as was the Accadian month Bar


that
is,

possibly, from about 6,000 B.C.

This question as to the month Chaitra forms


part only of a larger controversy which

has been

long waged concerning the antiquity, or otherwise,


of the whole science of astronomy in India.

To
tion in

this larger

controversy

have drawn atten-

my

Paper, Astronomy in the

Rig Veda, read

172

ANCIENT INDIAN ASTRONOMY

[part

i.

before

the Congress of Orientalists assembled


in

at

Rome

1899.
in

In that Paper, arguments are put

forward

support of the opinion that the Vedic

bards possessed an acquaintance with the science


of astronomy, and
the the
that

much

of the imagery

of

hymns bore
Zodiac.

reference to the constellations of


Indra,

For the gods


astronomic
the

Soma, Agni,
are
it

and

the
;

Aswins,

interpretations

proposed

and
is

finally

question,

which as

seems

to

me

one specially deserving the attention


Biblical

of the Society of

Archaeology

the
it

quesfirst

tion of the position of the

month Chaitra as

month
times

of the Indian year in Vedic


is

and pre- Vedic


was, and

discussed,

and the claim that


the Accadian

throughout remote ages had ever been, virtually


the

same month

as

Bar zig-gar

is

insisted upon.

Pursuing further the controversy concerning the


antiquity of astronomy

amongst the Aryan


(p. 152),
I

races, in

the note on

"Ahura Mazda"

proposed an

identification of the

Vedic Rudra with the Median


equi-

god

the

god who presided over the Median

noctial year,

marked by observation of the

full

moon

in the constellation Sagittarius.

PARTI.]

THE MARUTS
of the

173

Continuing then our enquiries into the astro-

nomic myths
attention
to

ancient

India,

let

us

turn

our

sons

of

Rudra

the

Maruts.

They
Vedic

are a group of gods very prominent


deities,

among
is

and

it

is

to

be noted that Rudra

oftener alluded to in the Rig

Veda

as the father of

the Maruts than in almost any other capacity. the

Now

Maruts

the

stormy

troop

of

Maruts

are

celebrated as the companions and friends of Indra.

They

are

"associated

with

him
it

in

innumerable

passages."

Here, at

first

sight,

might seem that


of Indra
personifi-

the proposed astronomical

identification

and Rudra as
cations

solstitial

and equinoctial
;

must

break down

for

how

should

the
as

sons of the equinoctial

Rudra always appear


however,
a

the devoted companions of the solstitial Indra?

On
itself.

further

examination,

very

interesting

explanation of this difficulty presents

From

hymn

(quoted at

p.

157) to Siva,

the

Hindu

representative of the Vedic Rudra,


crescent

we

learn that the

half-moon blazes on the


the crescent half-moon, in

forehead of Siva.

Now

the western degrees of the constellation Sagittarius,

would, 4,500

B.C.,

have marked the month of the N

174

ANCIENT INDIAN ASTRONOMY


solstice;
for

[part

i.

summer
quarter"

the

moon,

in

its

"first

in the first

degrees of Sagittarius, must


later,

attain to "full

moon" seven days


Aquarius
or

either in

the
full

constellation

Pisces,

and

the

moon

in

one or other of those two constellasolstice

tions

marked the season of the summer


earlier

somewhat

than

4,000

b.c.

The Maruts

are often spoken of in the


in

Veda

as a troop, seven

number, or as seven troops of seven, or as


seven
in

three times

number.

The
days

astronomical
the seven

thought therefore suggests

itself,

that

Maruts represent

the

seven

that

elapsed

between the crescent half-moon, blazing on the brow


of Rudra, and the
full

or

Soma pavamana

moon Soma

of the

summer

solstice,

purified in the celestial


this explanation of

waters (see Plate XIII.).

And

the Maruts does not contradict, but rather agrees

with and

includes

the usual

non-astronomic ex-

planations held regarding them, namely, that they

are

storm winds;

for

we know
in

that

the

days

which accompany the setting


rainy season in

of the

solstitial

India are the days in which the

fierce tropical hurricanes or

monsoons

prevail.

Now

let

us turn from the Maruts to another, as

PLATE

XIII.

CKXXXX]

"

Outer circle divided into 360 degrees. 2nd circle. The names and extent of the Nakshatras " or divisions of the Lunar Zodiac.
3rd
circle.

twenty-seven
Indian

Indian
or

Names and

extent

of

the

twelve

"Rashis"

divisions of the Solar Zodiac.

at

4th circle. Proposed three-fold division of the Vedic Season of Summer Solstice.

Lunar Month

Proposed identification of " Maruts " with Moon's Nakshatras" at Season of Summer Solstice. The Constellations here appear as drawn on the celestial globe they have not been reversed as in the other illustrations, hence an apparent, though not real, contradiction ensues.
Section of 5th
circle.

course through seven "

[To /ace p.

174.

PART

I.]

TRITA APTYA
to

i;S

it

seems

me, lunar and

solstitial

myth, namely,

that of Trita Aptya.

Trita Aptya

is

a friend of the Maruts, and

is

said to have appeared on the

same

car with them.

He

is

constantly,

in

the hymns,

associated

with

Indra, and feats recorded in one passage

as per-

formed by Indra, are

in

another passage of the

same hymn
Trita
;

attributed to Trita.
also
in the

is

often

spoken of together

with

Soma and we read of

ninth Mandala, again and again

the ten " maidens, or fingers," of Trita

preparing the

Soma

juice for Indra.

All these attributes of Trita, and others to be

mentioned
astronomic

later,

are

easily

explainable

on
in

the the

theory
of

already
Indra,

propounded

identifications

of

Soma,

and

of

the

Maruts.
In the
of the

name number

Trita there
three,

is

certainly a suggestion
in his
it

and Macdonell,
to

Vedic

Mythology^ brings proof


felt

show "that
"

was
is,

to

have the meaning of the third

that

in

order of sequence.

But though the

third,
1

in

this

sense,

does not

P. 69.

176

ANCIENT INDIAN ASTRONOMY


it

[part

i.

actually carry with

the
in

meaning of third of a
search of an astronomical

whole ;

yet, to

any one
the

explanation

of

Trita

myth,

the

reiterated

mention of the ten fingers of Trita quickly suggests the thought of a whole

divided

into

three

chief parts, each part containing ten lesser divisions

a whole therefore of thirty parts. Now the lunar month reality


in

consisting of

twenty-nine and a
fractions

half
in

solar

days

(with

some
usage

over)
into

is

Hindu

calendrical

divided
" tithis,"

thirty

equal

portions of time called


;

which are considered as lunar days


it

and

here, as

would seem, we arrive

at the physical

basis of the Trita myth.

Trita Aptya, or Trita in

the waters (or of the waters), appears as the third


part of the

lunar

month

the

part

during which
;

the

moon

is

to be seen in the celestial waters

and

as Trita

is

so closely connected with


that third part

Indra and

Soma pavamana,
full ")

must have been

the ten lunar days (five before and five after " the

during which the

moon

is

at its brightest,

and

in the constellation If

Aquarius.

we

think of Trita

Aptya as a

personification

of the triumphant third of the moon's course through

PART

I.]

TRITA AND FULL MOON

177

the constellations of the Zodiac at the season of the

summer member

solstice

(see

Plate XIII.),

and

if

we
full

re-

that the
in

moon during
" third "

the ten lunar days


to
its

contained

that
in

came

in

Aquarius or
juncture
of

Pisces,

sometimes indeed

at

the

these

constellations,

we

shall

be able

to understand

much

of the figurative language of

the Veda, which associates Trita with the stormy

Maruts, with the victories of Indra over Vritra,

and with the effulgence of Soma pavamana.

There

is

a legend concerning Trita not related

but alluded to in the Rig Veda.


us that Trita

This legend

tells

was one of three brothers (Ekata,


and over the mouth of the

Dvita, and Trita), and that he was pushed into a


well by his brothers,
well

a circular covering was placed with intent to keep


Trita

down and drown


there can be
little

him.

But through the

circular covering the ever-triumphant Trita burst.

Here
the

doubt

is

a mythic descrip-

tion of the
full

temporary disaster of eclipse overtaking


of the

moon
of

summer
or

solstice in the celestial

waters

Aquarius

Pisces.
else

The

circular
circular
full

covering can be

nothing

than the

shadow of the earth covering the

disc of the

178

ANCIENT INDIAN ASTRONOMY


Trita's triumph

[part

i.

moon, and

may

well

remind us of
it

the serene victoriousness of the

moon when

has

emerged from
sky.

eclipse

and

rides

unharmed along the


corresponds

In

the

Zend Avesta Thrita


with
the

in

many
also

points

Vedic
under

Trita.

Thraetona
of
his

represents

Trita
is

some

other

aspects,

and mention

made
slay

of Thraetona's " two

brothers

who seek
facts
is
it

to

him on the way."i


inferred
that

From
Trita

these

may

be

the

myth

pre-Vedic.
to

We
of

need
of
it

not, therefore,
in

be surprised
mythologies.

find

traces

European
only a

The name
termination,

Trita,

with
the

change
Triton,

of

appears
at

as

Greek
in

and we may guess

an allusion

the

sculptured forms of Greek and


half

Roman
in

Tritons

men and

half fish

to

the

two watery conwhich


the

stellations,

Aquarius

and

Pisces,

Vedic Trita Aptya (son of waters) made

his abode.

The Roman rendering of especially, may recall to


basis

these composite figures,

our

minds the Zodiacal


fish

of

the
in
'

myth

the
art,

two
as

of

Pisces
fish-tails

appearing

Italian

the

two

Macdonell, Vedic Afythology,

p. 69.

PART

I.]

TRITA,

TRITONEKATA, HECATE

179

which terminate the human-headed figure of the


Triton.

Again Hecate, as has been pointed out


bears a close

by

scholars,

resemblance
;

in

name
of the

to Ekata.

Hecate was a lunar divinity


to at

she was

worshipped and sacrificed


month.

the

close

We

may

therefore

suppose she repreis

sented the waning moon.

She

further said to

have been the daughter of Perseus and Asteria.

Looking
Plate),

at the figures of the celestial sphere (see

we may

trace the third part of the moon's


its

course

the ten days of Ekataand observe how


Sanscrit Trita

waning appropriated

to

this portion of its course

began

close to the constellation Perseus.

myth may explain

the

Thus the name and

parentage of the Grecian Hecate.^

A
the
1

study of ancient European calendars may, on

the other hand, eke out our knowledge concerning

astronomic scheme in which


It is

Trita

and

his

solstice

not to be supposed that only the month of the summer was divided into the three parts, personified by Ekata,
:

Dvita,

and Trita
(or,

the legend of Trita Aptya, that


is

is,

Trita in the

waters

of the waters),

necessarily restricted to that season


full

in which the or Pisces.

moon came to its Some interesting

in the constellations

Aquarius

indications in

Indian and Greek

mythology seem to point to a similar division of other months, but the subject is surrounded with uncertainties and difficulties.

i8o

ANCIENT INDIAN ASTRONOMY


such important parts.

[part

i.

brothers played

We

read
into

that in the Attic year " each

month was divided

three decades," and the statement


in the

may

confirm us

opinion that, following an almost too mathe-

matically imagined calendrical method, the ancestors

of the

Aryan

race

in

remote ages counted their

months,

not as

containing twenty-nine-and-a-half

solar days, but as a portion of time containing three

great equal divisions, the


third

first,

the second, and the of these

Ekata,
should

Dvita,

Trita

each

three
tithis.

parts being again subdivided into ten equal


If

this

have been the

case,

it

would be

interesting to note that the


also, as

Greeks (and the Romans

shown by

their

cumbrous system of Kalends,

Nones, and Ides) retained the plan of a threefold


division of the months, but lost the originally con-

comitant arrangement of the ten equal divisions of

each part into


for

tithis,

whence much
alike in
thirty

difficulty

ensued

Greeks and Romans

counting lunar

months of alternately

and twenty-nine days.

Indian astronomers, on the other hand,


the accurate and elaborate
into equal tithis,

who

retain

division of the
lost the

month

must have long ago

thought

of

its

originally threefold partition, for the Indians


PART I]

ATRI AND THE

NEW MOON
half.
^

i8i

count each month as composed not of three periods


of time, but of a light

and a dark
Vedic

To one more
direct

lunar
:

personage

let

us

our attention

namely, to

Atri Atri who,


Trita,

unlike the
is

conquering and
celebrated
for

ever-victorious
misfortunes.

chiefly

his

Agni,
his

Indra,

and especially the Aswins, moved by

misfortunes,

come

to

the

help

of

Atri,

and by

means of a hundred
extricate

acts,

a hundred devices, they

him from

captivity,

whether from a dark

cavern or from a burning chasm.

They make

the

time of his captivity even pleasant to him, giving

him refreshing

drink.

One
In
the

of our

own

poets

may

help us to under-

stand the Vedic metaphor of Atri's darksome cave.

Samson Agonistes of Milton, the

hero,

describing his blindness, says


"

The sun to me is dark And silent as the moon When she deserts the night,
Hid
in

her vacant interlunar cave."

"

The

Luni-Solar year

is
;

used for the regulation of festivals


it

and domestic arrangements


instant

of conjunction
Chaitra.

month

commences at present at the Sun and Moon in the Sidereal The Hindu Lunar months invariably consist of
of the

82

ANCIENT INDIAN ASTRONOMY


Atri
is,
I

[part

i.

believe, a personification of the

New
is

Moon, and thus we may understand how he


sometimes described as hidden
while at other times he
is

in

a dark
in

cave,

spoken of as
in

a fiery

chasm, when the uppermost thought


poet's
at

the Vedic

mind

is

the close conjunction of the the

that

time with

burning sun.
Atri
is

moon From his


delivered
sacrifice
in

dark cave, or burning chasm,

by the "hundred acts" of worship and


which
it

was the custom

in

India,
at

as

many

other countries, to offer

up

the time of
festivals

New

Moon,

especially

at

the

marked

of the

winter and

summer

solstice,

or the

beginning of
^

the calendrical year.


thirty Tithis, or

On

one occasion

we hear

of

Lunar days ; and the whole month is divided into two equal parts of fifteen Tithis each, the one called Shukla or Shuddh Paksha the bright half or increase of the Moon the the dark half or decrease of the other Krishna or Vadya Paksha Moon." (The Indian Calendar for the year 1892.)

Wilson's

Rig
with

Veda,

vol.

iii.

p.

297,

"

5.

When,

Silrya,

the

son

of

the
the
his

Asura
worlds
place.

Mandala, V. xl. Swarbhanu overwere


6.

spread

thee

darkness,

beheld

like

one

bewildered,

knowing

not

thou wast dissipating those illusions of

When, Indra, Swarbhanu which were


dis-

spread below the Sun, then Atri, by his fourth sacred prayer,

covered the Sun concealed by the darkness impeding his functions. (Siirya speaks) Let not the violator, Atri, through hunger 7.
swallow with fearful (darkness)

me who am

thine

thou

art Mitra,

PART

1.]

ATRI AT THE SUN'S ECLIPSE


assistance of the sun,

183

Atri coming to the

which
This
to

had been hidden by the demon Swarbhanu.


darkening of the sun
refer to a solar eclipse.
is

generally understood

solar eclipse can only


It is

take place at the time of


puzzling to find Atri,
if

new moon.
from
;

little

Atri personifies the


eclipse

new
of

moon, saving

the

sun

instead

being the cause of the disaster

but as in the Rig

Veda

Atri

always appears as
light

friend,

not

an

enemy, of the gods of


the Aswins

Agni,
It

Indra,

and

we

may suppose

that the Vedic bard


at,

chose to represent him as being present

rather

than causing the sun's eclipse.


that a certain

may

also

be

number of
in
it

divisions of lunar time


Atri,

were considered as personified by


an eclipse terminated
those divisions
"
;

and

that

the

third

or

fourth

of

so that

could be said that Atri


"

by

his

fourth

sacred
is

prayer

discovered
difficult

the

sun.

The passage
is

no doubt a
royal
(Atri),

one
protect

whose wealth
me.
8.

truth

do thou and the

Varuna both

Then

the

Brahman

applying the stones together,

propitiating the gods with praise,

and adoring them with reverence,


;

placed the eye of Surya in the sky


of Swarbhanu.
9.

he dispersed the delusions


the Asura, Swarbhanu, had
;

The

Sun,

whom

enveloped with darkness, the sons of Atri subsequently recovered

no others were able

(to effect his release)."

84

ANCIENT INDIAN ASTRONOMY

[part

i.

still

the fact that Atri was present at the eclipse


tell

of the sun seems to

rather in favour of than

against the supposition that


cation of the time of

Atri was a personifi-

new moon.
Maruts,
with
Trita

The
posed
Atri,

four astronomical interpretations here pro-

for

Rudra,
all

the

Aptya, and

are

harmonious

and supplemental
at

to the four discussed in

my

Paper read

Rome,

and
must

entitled

Astronomy

in the

Rig
or

Veda.
fall

They
indeed

to a great extent all stand

together.
if

They have been very

briefly stated,

but

an astronomic basis does, as suggested, underlie


Vedic imagery, Sanscrit scholars, with the science
of etymology at their
to follow

command,

will

easily

be able

up and pronounce upon the value of the

clues here hazarded.

VIII

THE CHINESE CALENDAR, WITH SOME REMARKS WITH REFERENCE TO THAT OF THE CHALDEANS
[Reprinted from the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical
Arckaology, December 1901]

The
star

Chinese

Lunar Zodiac

is

divided

into

28

groups named Siou.

Gustav Schlegel

in his

Uranographie Chinoise having enumerated these 28


siou

or
:

as
"

he translates that term,

"domiciles"

says
voyant

La premiere chose
le

qui nous frappe en


c'est
la

la liste

des 28 domiciles,
domicile Kio, ou

quelle com-

mence par

Vierge,

preuve

positive que c'etait avec ce domicile

que I'annee a

du commencer primitivement,"
quotes from "
as follows
''
:

and further on he

le

Eul-ya cette antique dictionnaire,"


constellations, c'est
p. 79.
1S&

L' Ancien des

Kio

et

'

Uranographie Chinoise,

86
. .

THE CHINESE CALENDAR


.

[part

i.

Kang
tions
:

ils

sont les
les

chefs

des domiciles, et a
lancien des constella'

cause de cela on
et
'

nomme

le

signe d'Ancien des constellations

est

exactement
adds
:

les domiciles J^zo et

Kang."^

Schlegel

"

Ce nom de Ancien
celui

des constellations r6pond


les

exactement a

de Princeps Signorum que

astrologues remains donnerent au bdlier ; a lepoque

ou cette constellation
printemps.
le

etait

signe de lequinoxe du

C'est-a-dire que le signe qui annoncait

commencement de
1'

I'annee
le

etait

le

premier,

le

Princeps signorum,
tions.

Ancien,

Chef, des constella-

Mais ces

etoiles

de

la

Vierge portent encore


fait

d'autres

noms

qui tous ont rapport au

astrono-

mique que
'

I'asterisme
'

Kio ouvrait
les
.

I'ann^e.

Le
quatre

Sing-king
les

les

nomme

Chefs
.

des

regions,

Legions

celestes.

Elles president
elles sont traver-

aux metamorphoses de
sdes

la creation

par

l^cliptique et les

sept clartds
elles."

(7 playlets)

commencent {leur revolution) par

The
I

concluding words from the Sing-king which


in
italics

have marked

giving

as they

do the

opinions held by ancient Chinese writers respecting


the
first

divisions
^

of their

Lunar Zodiac
p. 87.

may

Uranographie Chinoise,

PART

I.]

CHINESE AND HINDU LORE

187 astro-

remind us of the opinions held by Indian

nomers as

to their first division of the Zodiac.

In Whitney's comments on the Sdrya Siddhdnta

he observes

"

The

initial

point of the fixed

Hindu

sphere, from which longitudes are reckoned,

and at

which the planetary motions are held by all schools of

Hindu astronomy
is

to

have commenced at the creation,

the end of the asterism Revati, or the beginning

of Acvini."!
It
is

impossible to read of these two traditions


initial

concerning the
the

point of the Chinese and of

Hindu

ecliptic series of constellations,

without
to

suspecting
traditions.

some underlying cause common

both

The Chinese and Hindu


metrically opposite
to

initial

points are diaecliptic.

each other on the

Calendrically speaking, such opposite points

may be

taken to mark the same season and the same month

as

for instance, in the old

Accadian calendar the


stars
in conjunction

month names
with the sun.

referred to the

The month

of the sacrifice of right-

eousness corresponded to the month during which


the sun was in conjunction with the sacrificial
1

Ram.

V.

p.

93.


THE CHINESE CALENDAR

88

[part

i.

This same month counted (theoretically) from the


arrival of the

sun at the end of Revati and beginning


initial

of

AswinI the

point of the Indian Zodiac

is in

India called, after the star group in opposition,

Chaitra.

Spica {a Virginis)

is

the chief star of the


is

Nak-

shatra Chaitra, and Spica also

the chief star of

the Chinese siou Kio, " Fastdrisme," which, according


to the tradition

above recorded,

" ouvrait I'annee,"

and which (together with the neighbouring "siou


Kang), president aux metamorphoses de
" sont traversees la creation,"

par I'ecliptique, et les sept clart^s

commencent

leur revolution par elles."

To any
of the

interested in the history of the Chinese

calendar, or rather to

any interested

in the history

human
it

race, the question as to the

reason for

the choice of this point and for the equal honour in

which

was held

(as

we have

seen) by the Accadian,


is

the Hindu, and the Chinese nations,

a question

worthy of close attention.


In former Papers contributed to these Proceedings,
I

have drawn attention

to the

many

indications

in ancient

cuneiform and Indian literature,

which
B.C.,

seem

to point to the conclusion that

about 6,000


PART
I.]

"

KIO,

CHAITRA, SriCA
and
in

189

in

some

part of Asia

a latitude probably as

far north as

40 degrees, a calendar was instituted by


that this calendar dealt

"

some ancient race of men,"


and that the
stars

with a year beginning- at the season of the winter


solstice,

which

at that date

were

chosen to mark the


first

solstitial

year were those

in the

degrees of the constellation Aries

in conjunction

with

and
I

the bright star Spica in opposition to

the sun.

suggested that the Accadians and later

Babylonians, as also the Aryans of India, continued


to follow as star-marks for their years the constella-

tions

chosen

by the

institutors

of

this

ancient

calendar,

and that therefore

in the course of

ages

the beginning of the years of these peoples

moved
winter

gradually
solstice,

away from

the

season of

the

approaching always nearer to the vernal

equinox, close to which point


at

we

find

it

"

bound

the time of the

fall

of the Babylonian power


is
still

while in India, where the star-mark Spica


followed, the year

now begins about twenty days


Mesopotamian and Indian
to
litera-

after the spring equinox.

Indications in

ture have
clusions.

seemed

me

to point to the

above con-

The opposed

view, held by most writers

I90

THE CHINESE CALENDAR


subject,
is

[part

i.

on the

that only at the late date (about

the beginning of our era)

when

the stars of Aries in


opposition,

conjunction, and the star of Spica in

marked the
marks
and Hindus
I

equinoctial season,

were they adopted as

for the

beginning of the year by Babylonians

respectively.

think that the position held by the star Spica

in

Chinese ancient astronomical tradition


in

may be

claimed as telling strongly


solstitial as

favour of an originally
equinoctial

opposed

to

an originally

beginning of the sidereal years of the

Accadian,

Hindu, and Chinese nations,

for

never has the claim

been made that the Chinese years were counted from


the vernal equinox
;

but on the contrary the opinion

has been very generally held and expressed by

Chinese scholars that at some remote date the new


year's festival

was held

in

China

at the season of

the winter solstice.

Gustav Schlegel, one of the


subject
that,

latest writers

on the

of Chinese astronomy, though


I'opinion

he admits
chinoise

"selon

g6n6rale

I'annee

commence
ally

toujours avec le

solstice

d'hiver,"

has

put forward a view entirely opposed to this generheld

opinion

according

to

his

theory,

the


PART
I.]

16,916 B.C.

191

Chinese have from the most remote times counted


their

years, as

they count them at present


to the season

i.e.,

from the new moon nearest


between the winter solstice

mid-way

and as he

is

convinced

and the spring equinox as we have seen that the

beginning of the Chinese year was originally marked

by the asterism Kio, he demands as the lowest


possible date for this origin of the Chinese calendar, that of 16,916 B.C.,

when

the constellation Kio

marked, by
solstice

its

heliacal rising, the

mid-season between

and equinox.

Schlegel brings forward

many

learned and

in-

genious arguments drawn from Chinese literature to


support this
theory.
in
It

would be impossible

at

second hand, and

a small space, to state


to

fairly his

arguments with a view


volumes are
full

rebutting

them.

His

of valuable information concerning


it

the " Uranographie Chinoise," but


to

has not seemed

me when

reading and re-reading his work, that

the grounds

on which

he

relies

are

sufficiently

established to support the high claims to antiquity

which he puts forward

for the origin of the

modern

Chinese method of counting the year from the midseason between solstice and equinox.

192
It

THE CHINESE CALENDAR


has on the contrary seemed to

[part

i.

me

that on
at

historical

grounds a theory may be arrived

which

will furnish

a reasonable explanation of the present


calendrical methods,

somewhat exceptional Chinese


and which
will, if it
is

accepted, strongly reinforce

the grounds for holding the already general opinion


that the year in ancient times in

China was

solstitial.

That opinion once established must lead us with


increased confidence to attribute the honour traditionally paid
initial

by Hindus and Chinese


have

alike to the

point of their respective ecliptic series of star


to,

groups

as

said, their

common
b.c.

acquaint-

ance with a calendar established on high authority


at the date in

round numbers of 6,000


in

The

year

China

is

luni-solar,

and

it is,

as has

been pointed

out,

counted from the season exactly

midway between
equinox.
It is

the winter solstice and the spring

counted from this mid-season and not from


to,

the sun's opposition

or

conjunction with, any


It
;

particular star or star group.

is
it

therefore not
is

a sidereal but a tropical year


at

and
is

estimated

exactly the

same length

as

our

European

Gregorian year,

PART I]

GREGORIAN YEAR,

1582 A.D.

193

We

here in Europe are not yet tired of conthe scientific success at-

gratulating ourselves on

tained by Pope Gregory XIII.,

with the help of


established,

many
a

learned

when men and


the

in

1582 he,

astronomers,
Julian

as

reform

of

earlier
all

calendar, a

method of securely binding

recurring

airniversaries

civil

and

ecclesiastical

to the exact

same

season of the year.


for the

Calculations

arrangement of the Julian

calendar had strained the scientific powers of the

astronomers of Greece and

Rome

in Caesar's time,

but the length of the year estimated by them was

twelve minutes greater than that arrived at by the

astronomers of Gregory's later date.

To
with

find, as

we

do,

in

the far east of Asia a

people counting the length of their luni-solar year


the

same accurate exactness


us surprise,

as

that

only

attained to as late as 1582 a.d. in Europe, might


well cause

were

it

not that history

furnishes us with an easy explanation of this exact


identity of Chinese
lations,

and European calendrical


that the calendar
their years,

calcu-

by teaching us

by which

the Chinese

now count

and by which

they have counted them for nearly three hundred

194
years,

THE CHINESE CALENDAR


was
really

[part

i.

compiled at

Peking by

Roman

ecclesiastics, to

whom
for

the Gregorian methods were

well

known, and

whom,

indeed, the study of

these methods must

have possessed the charm of


intrinsic utility

novelty added to
interest.

its

and

scientific

Two
In 1600

learned

Jesuit

Fathers obtained

in

the

17th century great influence at the Chinese Court.


A.D.,

Matteo Ricci was allowed with

his

companions

to settle at Peking,
life

where he spent the

remainder of his
other sciences.
In
1610,

in

teaching mathematics and

Johann

Adam
"was

von

Schall,

another
partly
in

learned

Jesuit

Father,

sent

out

consequence of his knowledge of mathematics and

astronomy
to the

to

China," and was ultimately " invited

Imperial

Court

at

Peking, where he was

entrusted

with the
direction

reformation
of

of the calendar
mathematical

and

the
^

the

public

school."

Under
"
'

these circumstances,

when we read
the

that

according to the Chinese work, Wan-nian-shu, or

Ten thousand-year
'

Calendar,' in which

ele-

Chambers's Encyclopedia, 1901.


PART
I.]

CHINESE CALENDAR,

1624 A.D.

195
a.d. until

ments of the Chinese calendar from 1624


192
r

A.D. are calculated

by the Astronomical Board

at

Peking, the earliest date of the Chinese

New

Year's

Day is January 21st, and the latest February 20th "^ when we read this and remember that Johann
von Schall was
in

Adam

1624

in

charge of the

reformation of the calendar at Peking,

we need
279

feel

no surprise

to

find

" the

elements of the Chinese


for
tropical,

calendar" calculated in advance


that
is

Gregorian, years.

Indeed the influence of


in

the European ecclesiastic

these calculations

is

clearly to be recognized in their very form, for

we

are easily reminded by

it

of the

"

Table

to find

Easter from the present time to


year
of
a.d. inclusive," prefixed to

such

and such a

our English Books

Common
when

Prayer.

And we may
the

be tempted to
conservative
unwittingly

smile

we

see

jealously

Chinese nation so peaceably

accepting a
^

perhaps

reformation of their calendar at the


this accept-

hands of foreigners, and contrast with

ance the turbulent opposition with which for so

On

special regard to the Chinese

Chronology and the Construction of the Calendar, with Compictation of Time compared with

the European.

By

Dr. K. Fritsche.

'

196

THE CHINESE CALENDAR

[part

i.

long the introduction of the


into

Gregorian calendar

the

many European countries was resisted. It may well be that the Jesuit Fathers to whom Emperor entrusted the reformation of the

calendar were themselves not aware of the magni-

tude of the reformation they were introducing into

Chinese

methods,

for

they found

the

luni-solar

festival of the

new

year, as

we may

learn from the

Chinese literature of that date, occurring close to


that season to
it.

which they then so

scientifically

bound

But, according to the theory which in this Paper

am

anxious to advocate, this season


solstice

midway

be-

tween

and equinox had not been chosen


first

with definite intention as the


Chinese,

of the year by the


at,

but had only

been arrived

in

con-

sequence of an age-long following on their part of


a star group, chosen thousands of years earlier, by

one of

their ancient emperors, as that

from which the This


star

beginning of their year was to be counted.

group was the Siou (domicile) Hiu, the eleventh


sion of their
stars
^

divi-

Lunar Zodiac, and


a Equulei.

it is

marked by

the

^ Aquarii and
The

(See diagram.)
many

28 Siou are not of equal extent, and there are

discrepancies in the Chinese tables which profess to give the

PART

I.]

TCHUEN-HIO,
is

2510-2431 B.C.

197

There

in

the

great

History

of

China

description given of a reformation of the calendar


carried

out

by the Emperor Tchuen-Hio, whose


e.g.

date

is

placed at ^2510-2431

The

conjunction
is in

of the sun and

moon

close to the Siou

Hiu

this

description clearly referred to as a

mark given
fact

for

the beginning of the year.

But the

of this

choice of the
scholars,

star

been

mark Hiu has, for European obscured by a most unfortunate


Mailla,

paraphrase made use of by Pere de


translator into
la Chine.

the

French of the Histoire Gdndrale de


gives us in the passage describing

He

Tchuen-Hio's

reformation

the

phrase,

"15

du

Verseau," instead of the Chinese expression, " the

Siou Hiu."i

The Siou Hiu extends over some


number
of degrees attributed to each.

eisfht

or ten

In the diagram, therefore,

only the stars which compose the three adjoining domiciles, Niu, Hiu, and Wei are noted, and they are connected by straight
according to Chinese astronomical custom.
^

lines,

The

fact that P.

de Mailla has so paraphrased the Chinese


attested

original

has thus plainly been

by the

late

Professor

Legge.

In answer to a question addressed to him on the subject,

he wrote, in December 1894, to Mr. H. W. Greene, Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, as follows " In the passage from
:

P.

de Mailla's History, that writer

is

both translating and para-

phrasing 'the star group Hiu.'"

PARTI.]

"15

DU VERSEAU"

199

degrees of the

ecliptic in the constellation

Aquarius

to restrict to one degree the given star

mark was an

inaccuracy serious enough in an astronomical state-

ment, but this inaccuracy

is

as nothing

when comof facts

pared with

the

further

entire

distortion

occasioned by P. de Mailla's use of the ambiguous


phrase, " 15 du Verseau,"

ambiguous because

it

can

be taken
the
sign,

to refer either to the fifteenth degree of

or

of

the

constellation

"du Verseau"

(Aquarius).

The

Siou Hiu

is

situated, as stated above, in

the constellation Aquarius (see diagram), but astro-

nomers reading

P.

de

Mailla's
in its

translation
sense,

have

understood the phrase

technical

and

have therefore been led


peror

to

believe that the

Emthe

Tchuen-Hio
year to

fixed
1

the

beginning
sign

of

Chinese

the

of the

Aquarius
speaking,
to

and

as,

astronomically

and

technically

the 15 Aquarius (sign) has


star

no reference
only that

any
of

or

constellation,

but

is

point

the ecliptic to which the sun attains exactly at the

mid-season

between

winter

solstice

and

spring
b.c.

equinox, they have taken for granted that 2,500

the Chinese year began at that point, and therefore

200
at

THE CHINESE CAEENDAR


the

[part

i.

same season

as

it

does

at

the

present

time.

But as we now learn on the high authority of


Professor
that

Legge

that
is

it

was

to the star

group Hiu

Tchuen-Hio

recorded to

have bound the


if

beginning of the year, we know that


is

the record

true, the

year in Tchuen-Hio's time must have

begun
season,

at the winter solstice,

and not

at the

mid-

between

it

and the equinox.

When due
has been

correction of P. de Mailla's paraphrase


in the

made
in the

passage recording Tchuenstill

Hio's reform, there remains

a difficulty to be
in the

overcome

account of this event given


I

Histoire Gdn^rale de la Chine, or rather

should

say that

it is

when we have

corrected P. de Mailla's

paraphrase that this difficulty appears.


history
it is

For

in the

stated that

it

was from the new moon

at

the beginning of spring, and near to the star group

Hiu, that the year was then and henceforth to be


counted, and this statement contains an astronomical
contradiction.

Our knowledge

of the precession of

the equinoxes teaches us that the star group

Hiu

in

Tchuen-Hio's time did not mark the beginning of


spring,

but

rather

the

very middle of winter.

PARTI]

"THE STAR GROUP HIU"


we throw

201

Unless, then,

aside as worthless the whole

record of Tchuen-Hio's reform of the calendar,


are driven to suppose that

we

some Chinese

historian,

ignorant of the precession of the equinoxes, and


writing at a date when, owing to that
precession,

the

first

new moon
from

of spring was indeed close to

the star group Hiu, and that of the winter solstice


far distant
it

that

this historian

made what
and
the

he
in

may
the

well

have considered a necessary correction


which he was
dealing,
"

record with
the

substituted

" first

day

of

spring

for

"mid-winter season."

him
find

for

Nor need we much blame making such a correction, when we


driven

ourselves

by

stress

of

modern

en-

lightenment to correct his correction, and to read


" mid-winter " where he has written "beginning of
spring."

Let us now read with due corrections, between


square brackets, the record of Tchuen-Hio's reformation of the calendar as given in the Histoire Gdn^rale

de la Chine.

"Tchuen-Hio
jouissoit I'empire,

profitant

de

la

paix

dont

transfera
ville,

sa

cour a

Kao-yang,

Ce

fut

dans cette

que toujours passionn^ pour

202
la

THE CHINESE CALENDAR


connoissance des astres,
il

[part

i.

etablit

une espece

d'acad^mie, composee des Lettr^s les plus habiles

en cette science.

On

recueillit toutes les

observa-

tions anciennes qu'on


et

compara avec

les

modernes,

on poussa I'astronomie a un degre de perfection

surprenant.

Les regies sdres

qu'ils
soleil,

etablirent pour

supputer

les

mouvements du

de

la lune,

des

pianettes, et des ^toiles fixes, acquirent a

Tchuen-

Hio
que
nous.
"

le

titre

glorieux de restaurateur, et
la vraie

meme

de

fondateur de
ces

astronomic.
soient

C'est une perte

regies

ne

pas

venues jusqu'

Apres plusieurs anndes de

travail,

Tchuen-Hio
la

determina

qua

I'avenir I'annee

commenceroit a

lune la plus proche du premier jour du printems

[proche du solstice d'hiver] qui vient vers

le 15

du

Verseau

[vers le Siou Hiu] et

comme

il

savoit par

le calcul qu'il

en avoit

fait,

que dans une des annees


devoient se joindre dans

de son regne

les pianettes

la constellation
le ciel,
il

Cke

(constellation qui occupe 17 dans

dont

le

milieu est vers le 6 des Poissons)

choisit

cette ann6e-la

pour

la

premiere de son

calendrier, d'autant plus


soleil

que

cette

meme

annee

le
le

et

la

lune se trouvoient en conjonction,

PART

I.]

TCHUEN-HIO'S REFORM
jour
'

203

premier
d'hiver]."
It

du

printems

[le

jour

du

solstice

may, of course, be objected to the proposed


:

correction of the season in this passage as follows

granting that either the star mark Hiu, or the spring


season said to have been chosen by Tchuen-Hio,

must have been erroneously recorded


statement

in the

Histoire

Gdndrale, the probabilities are equal as to which

element

in the

is

or

is

not true.

Tchuenfirst

Hio may have chosen the moon


tion other than

nearest to the

day of spring, and may have named some

constella-

Hiu near

to

which

this first
late

moon

was

in conjunction with the sun.

The

Chinese

historian,

instead of tampering as above supposed

with the recorded season,

may have

substituted the
at

name

of the

star

group Hiu, which

his date

marked the beginning of


chosen by Tchuen-Hio.

spring, for that

"other"

But the

probabilities

on

this point are in reality


first

not equally balanced.

For, in the

instance,

we

must take

into consideration the very general opinion

that the year in


solstice,

China anciently began


fact that this
*

at the winter

and the

season was in Tchuen33.

Vol.

I. p.

204

THE CHINESE CALENDAR


Wei and Hiu
the
star

[part

i,

Hio's time so accurately marked by the junction of


the star groups
(see diagram),

and

we must
references

further take into consideration the


to

many

group

Hiu
it

in

ancient

Chinese hterature, which connect


with traditions
Hio.

very specially

concerning the

Emperor Tchuenof the


effect,

Many

passages in the works


this

Pere
for

Gaubil are to be met with to


instance

as

where

he
in
la

thus
the

quotes
Eul-ya.

and

comments
designe
(sic)
;

on

statement

"On
Hui

Hiuen-hiao par
appelle
adds,
"

Constellation

on

encore ce

Signe

Tchouen-Hio."

Gaubil

Le Signe Hiuen-Hiao est celui que nous appelons Amphora. Le dictionnaire [Eul-ya] met
dans ce Signe
le

la Constellation

Hiu

c'est-a-dire

que

Signe commen^oit par quelque d6gr6 de cette


L'Histoire

Constellation.
I'eau est le

Chinoise

asseure

que
{sic).

symbole du r^gne de Tchouen-Hiu

L'Eul-ya

dit

formellement que Hiuen-hiao Signe

Celestedu Zodiaquedesigne I'Empereur Tchouen-Hiu


{sic)y^

Schlegel also

tells

us that the Chinese placed

the soul of
'

Tchuen-Hio

in the constellation

Hiu.
redigees

Observations

Mathimatiques, Astronomiques,
Etienne Souciet, tome
iii.

&c.,

et publiees par le P.

pp. 31-33.


PART
I.]

TCHUEN-HIO AND HIU


is

205

But not only

Hiu

in

Chinese

literature closely
:

associated with the

Emperor Tchuen-Hio

it is

also

closely bracketed with the season of the winter solstice.

Schlegel gives

many

quotations to this effect


all

from Chinese authorities, but he would refer


allusions to the far

such

back time between 14,000 and


in opposition to the
it

13,000
at

B.C.,

when Hiu was


in

sun
at

that

season, not
date.

conjunction with

as

Tchuen-Hio's

Of Hiu he

writes

Hiu, ou Tertre fundraire}


" C'est

cet

asterisme

dont

la

culmination

I'heure
d'hiver.

tsze
'

{\\^ de la nuit) annongait le solstice

Au

solstice

d'hiver,'
'

dit le

M^moire
soleil
ils

sur

la

divination par la tortue,

la

course du

et des astres n'est pas encore complete, et

sont

consequemment
et vides

delaisses

comme

des orphelins [Kou)


d'hiver
la

{Hiu).'

Le

solstice

dtait

done

consider^ par les Chinois


'

comme

position d'un
. .
.

tombeau de ses parents.' pere Noel a traduit {Hiu) par Vacuum, Vide
orphelin

au

Le

mais

nous

pref^rons

traduire

litdralement

par

Tertre

funeraire."^
^

Uranographie Chinoise,

p.

214.

"

Ibid. p. 217.

206

THE CHINESE CALENDAR


Taking these various passages

[part

i.

into consideration,

we

are,

think, led to feel that the probabilities in

favour of Tchuen-Hio having chosen the star group

Hiu

to

mark,

in

conjunction with the sun, the winter

solstice, are

greater than those in favour of a comthat star

paratively

modern choice of

group as a

mark

for the

beginning of spring.

Reading the passage of the Histoire G^ndrale as


corrected above,

we may assume

that

Tchuen-Hio

intended to establish sure rules by which the Chinese

were

for the future to

count their years from the

solstice,

and from the conjunction of sun and moon


group Hiu.

close to the star

But we also know that

the following of these sure rules

was an

impossibility.

Either the season or the star mark must in the long


course of ages have been abandoned.
It

would

be a
tain

difficult,

perhaps an impossible, task to asceror in

how far, made under

what manner, the attempt was

successive dynasties to carry out the

injunctions of

Tchuen-Hio.
in

We

read
to his

in

the Con-

fucian Analects that

answer

"disciple,"

who had asked


as the
first

him,

"

how

the government of a

country should be administered," the Master said


of five rules

"Follow

the seasons of

PART

I.]

HIU

2205 B.C.-1600 A.D.

207

Hsia."
tor says,

And

in his

note on this text the commentarule of the

"Confucius approved the

Hsia
the

dynasty.

His decision has been the law of


^

all

dynasties since the Ch'in."


turies
in
i.e.,

During

all

the cen-

which the

Hea

or

Hsia dynasty held


B.C.,

sway,
of

from 2205 to 1766

the sure rules

Tchuen-Hio might have been

carried out with-

out

much

difficulty, for at the

new moon
still

nearest to
in or

the winter solstice the sun would

have been

near

to the constellation

Hiu

(see diagram),
b.c, this
final

though

at the date of Confucius,

551-479

was no
result,

longer the case.

Judging from the


take
it

we may,

think,

for

granted

that

the

Chinese followed the star mark and not the season


appointed for the beginning of the year by TchuenHio.

And

thus following the star mark, the begin-

ning of their year imperceptibly receded from the


solstice,

and approached the spring equinox, so


A,D. the Jesuit fathers

that
still

in

1600

found the year


le

beginning at the new moon, "vers

Siou Hiu,"
the winter

and hence
solstice
'

at the season

midway between

and the spring

equinox.
i.,

Legge, Chinese Classics, vol.

Confucian Analects, book

xv.,

ch. X.

2o8

THE CHINESE CALENDAR

[part

i.

In a former Paper contributed to these Proceedings^


I

suggested that

in

the inscription engraved

on Gudea's

diorite statue

we had evidence
Gudea's

of a

reform of the already existing Accadian calendar


in

use from a date

much

earlier than

in the

neighbouring Babylonian kingdom.

Gudea's date

is

placed by scholars at about 2800

B.C. not much

earlier than at that

claimed in the

Chinese History for Tchuen-Hio.

Much honour
Lagash
" to

is

given by this priestly ruler of

Ningirsu, and to the goddess Bau, his

beloved consort," and the concluding lines of the


inscription run as follows
"
:

On
:

the day of the beginning of the year, the


festival of
calf,

day of the

Bau, on which offerings were


sheep, three lambs, six
full

made

one

one

fat

grown sheep, two rams, seven pat of


sab of cream, seven
"

dates, seven

palm buds.
offerings

Such were the

made

to the

goddess

Bau, in the ancient temple on that day."

The
(Ninib)

generally received opinion as to Ningirsu


is,

that he
I

was the god of the "southern


in

sun"; and, as

contended
1

my

Paper, the southern

February 1896, V.

p. 54,

PART

I.]

GUDEA AND TCHIIEN-HIO


we
think of the sun in
its

209

sun,

if

yearly, not merely

in its daily course,

may

fitly

represent the sun of the


is

winter solstice, while the goddess Bau = Gula

the

goddess

by whose very name

the

constellation
in the

Aquarius, as

we may assume, was designated


texts.

Accadian astrological
If

from Gudea's inscription concerning the new

year's festival a reform in the calendar of

Lagash

may

be inferred, by which the beginning of the year


stars of Aries to those of

was transferred from the


Aquarius,
tion,

we should

find that the

Lagash
tell

inscrip-

and the great History of China,


story

us the

same

the

Lagash

inscription supplementing

the Chinese History in this important point

that
long

whereas the account of Tchuen-Hio's reform has

been manifestly more or


descent through
year's
festival

less
:

garbled

in

its

human hands
is

that of Gudea's

new

a contemporaneous and utterly


account.
It
is

untampered - with

also

of

some
in

moment

to note

one curious point of resemblance

the idea connected with the stars of Aquarius, by

the astronomers of countries so far distant from each

other as China and Mesopotamia.


learnt,

Hiu, as

we have

may be

translated as

"

Vacuum," and the


THE CHINESE CALENDAR
of the goddess
as

210

[part

i.

name

Bau

or

Bahu bears the same


translated
in

signification

the
"

Hebrew word

Genesis
If

i.

by

void."^

we now

accept Tchuen-Hio's reformation as a

re-adjustment of a previously-existing sidereal and


originally solstitial

calendar,

we

are at once given

the clue to the two so similar


traditions

Hindu and Chinese


initial

quoted above, concerning the


:

point

of their Lunar Zodiacs

and we
Spica

shall recognise that

Kio

containing
first

the star

in

opposition

to,

and the

degrees of Aswini, z conjunction with,

the sun, obtained the posts of leaders of the lunar


series for the

same reason

namely, that they marked


at the winter solstice

the beginning of the


B.C.

year

6000

To

this

same cause

have here, and elsewhere,

attributed the fact that in the Accadian calendar the


stars of Aries held the

same

position,

and marked
of the

the first

month

of the year, as the

month

"sacrifice of righteousness."

In thus tracing back the history of the calendars of the ancient nations of the East, in observing the
'

Sayce, Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archceology,

February 1874.

PARTI.]

"BEHOLD THE PEOPLE

IS

ONE"

211

identity of their earliest astronomical traditions,

and

noting the curious points of contact and divergence


in

their later scientific

and mythological
itself

ideas, the

impression seqms to force

upon us more and

more
were

definitely, that " scattered

before the races of mankind

abroad upon the face of the whole

earth," their ancestors

were capable of great

scientific
intel-

achievements, and possessed in


lectual aspirations.

common

high

We

in these later days, so picturing to ourselves

the past,

may be

freshly struck
tell

by the words of the

ancient history, which

us of the time

when "the
of

whole earth was of


speech,"

one

language and

one

PART

II

PLATES.

PART
PLATES
of
the

II.

XV., XVI., XVII., and XVIII.


in

In the foregoing pages arguments have been urged


view
that

support
date

the

ecliptic

circle,

at

the

remote
divisions;

(speaking in round numbers) of 6000

B.C.,

had been portioned and

by

some "ancient race

of

men"

into

twelve

that the twelve constellational figures


also

of the Zodiac had then


less

been imagined under forms more or

closely resem-

bling those which

we recognize

in the

heavens

at the present day.

Most of the arguments


sarily

in favour of this opinion are neces-

based on considerations connected with the phenomena of


of the

the heavens, effected in the long course of ages by a slow revolution


earth's
axis.

Astronomers

during

the

thousand years have carefully observed the


the causes of this slow terrestrial
tell

effects

last two and studied

movement, and they can now

us with confidence and exactness that the space of 25,868


is

years

required for the accomplishment of one such revolution


axis.

of the earth's

In our enquiry into the astronomy of the ancients not at


all

we need

turn our minds to the difficult subject of the causes, or


fact,

indeed even to the


axis, further

of this slow
its

movement
effects

of the earth's

than to realize fully that

have been to pro-

duce a slow but continuous change


fixed stars, a

in the

apparent position of the

but in their

change not in their position relatively to each other, distances from the heavenly equator and its poles.
to fully realize these effects

The

effort

by means of careful
to

calculations

and measurements astronomer a most arduous task


;

must
but,

prove

any but an

by aid of the mechanical

contrivance called a " precessional globe,"

much

of the difficulty
215

2i6
of the task

PLATES XV, XVI, XVII,


may be overcome.
from a precessional

XVIII.

The accompanying diagrams


globe,

have been drawn

which can

be

adjusted so as to show the position of the poles and equator amongst the fixed stars, at dates distant from each other by
intervals of
I

538 years.^ have shown in continuous outline those constellations for whose first imagining it seemed to me as early a date might be
claimed as that referred to
in dotted outline.
in

each diagram

all

others are given

The

strange figures of the " ancient constella-

drawn as they are represented on the globe ; but the fixed stars which mark these figures for observers of the heavens, I have not ventured to indicate, as to do so would have required great accuracy of drawing and measurement.
tions " are here
It
is

not for a

moment

to

be contended that

all

the ancient

under the forms by which we have learnt to know them from classic representations, from Variants the poem of Aratos, and from the star list of Ptolemy.
constellations were imagined exactly

of

many

of the

figures

are to

be met with in astronomical


;

atlases

and on the
is

celestial

globes in use to-day

and

to estab-

lish the relative

claims concerning the antiquity of these variant


itself

forms

a branch to

of research.

That these constellations have indeed been well denominated " ancient " is scarcely to be denied, and our only wonder, when studying the subject, must be, not that some differences are to be met with as to the exact form under which, at different dates and

by

different nations, these figures

were delineated in the heavens,

but rather the wonder must be that (as archaeological research is always more and more clearly establishing) through many

thousands of years, and by nations long and widely separated,


the
stars,

which

scattered in wild
^

to an unaccustomed observer seem to be and random profusion on the sky, should have

1800 A.D.

is

the date to

which the globe in question originally

refers

the

intervals of 538 years can

be reckoned backwards or forwards from

this date.

ANTIQUITY OF CONSTELLATIONS
been divided into the same
representing the
distinct groups,

217
as

and thought of

same mysterious

beings.

But though

it

may be

impossible to maintain that the Grecians

have handed down to us in an absolutely unchanged form the


figures of the ancient constellations as they in

were

first

imagined

remote ages, yet many proofs may be cited


that

in favour of the
artists

opinion,

not lightly or arbitrarily did astronomical

venture to tamper with the Zodiacal and extra-Zodiacal figures.

Some

of these proofs have already been pointed out in the

foregoing Papers.

Attention will be drawn to others in the con-

sideration of the diagrams here given.

In Plates XV., XVI., XVII., and XVIII., the positions of the


solstitial

and equinoctial colures amongst the


B.C.

constellations are
I

given at the date 5744


liked to have

Had

it

been possible,

should have

because such as

it is

drawn these diagrams as at 6000 b.c. not only easier to deal with and to remember a round number
but also because at that date the
solstitial

that,

colure
initial

passed through the ecliptic only one degree distant from the
point of the Indian Zodiac

point which there seems good


point of many, other than Indian,

reason to believe was the


ancient Zodiacs.

initial

Owing
it

to the mechanical restrictions of the precessional globe,


it

was not possible to adjust

to

any more accurate date than

that of 5744 b.c.


It will

not be necessary here to reiterate the considerations

in

favour of the opinion already advanced that the calendrical


its

importance of the constellation Aries in some nations, and


symbolical importance in the mythology of others,

may

best be

explained by the supposition that the choice of this constellation as " Prince and Leader " of the signs was made not when its stars

marked the
solstice.

spring equinox, but

when they marked the winter


as a working hypothesis,

Let us rather take

this

opmion

and

2i8

PLATES

XV., XVI., XVII., XVIII.

turn our attention to the importance, in ancient symbolism, of


the four constellations Aries, Cancer, Libra,

and Capricornus

which, according to this hypothesis, marked \\i<tfour seasons, and


the cardinal points 6000 B.C.

Next
tortoise,

in

this

order to Aries comes Cancer, The Crab (see


it

Plate XVI.).

In Babylonia,

seems to be established that

not a crab, represented the fourth constellation of the

Zodiac.

In Egypt, as we learn from the Zodiacs of Esneh and


it

Denderah,

was the scarabaus beetle that held the place given


Grecian sphere.
a sort of outward resemblance between these three

to the crab in the

There

is

creatures, wide apart as they are anatomically

from each

other.

They

are

all

hard-shelled,

creeping,

and
it is

insignificant-looking

animals.

Why

under any of these three forms a constellation of


difficult to

the Zodiac should have been depicted,

conjecture;

but

if

we have

to

admit that

in

Egyptian astronomy the beetle

played the important part of marking as a constellation one of the


quarters of the ecliptic circle, this admission will furnish us with

an adequate reason for the extraordinary honour paid in Egyptian


symbolic
art to this lowly,

and

in itself unattractive, insect.

The
the sun,

scarabKus, according to our hypothesis, marked in ancient

calendrical tradition the spring equinox

when

in conjunction with
it.

and the autumn equinox

in opposition to

And

it

was

as presiding visibly in opposition that


it

we may reasonably suppose


spring,

gained such honour in Egypt.


in that

For the autumn, not the

is

land the time


all

when

vegetation begins to burst into hfe,


I

and when

Egypt

rejoices.

think, moreover, that facts conwill further

nected with the worship of the Apis Bull


opposition to the sun to

strengthen

the opinion that the Egyptians considered the constellations in

be those which presided over particular

seasons and months.'

To

trace allusions in the symbolic art of


'

Egypt

to Libra

the

See below, pp. 234, 235.

CRAB = SCARAB^US, SCALES = PLUMES


third in order of the constellations

219

we
I

are

now

discussing (see

Plate XVII.)

is, it

must be confessed, not so simple a matter,


put forward the following
find in the

and

it

is

with some diffidence that


i.e.,

suggestion

that

we may perhaps

"two

feathers,"

so prominent in Egyptian mythologic imagery, a reference to the

two scales of the Balance (Libra).


In allegorical language
ive

speak often of

the even scales of Justice, and in art the god-

dess

is

always represented with the Balance

in her hand.
art, I

In Egyptian symbolism and


In

think the two feathers represented the

equal weights of the scales of Justice.

the great judgment hall of Osiris, the souls

of

men were weighed


or
heart,

in the balance.

The

soul,

of the

dead Egyptian was

placed in one scale, while a feather


figure of the

or the

goddess Mait, wearing on her

head a

single

plume or

feather

occupied

the other.

Mait was the goddess of Justice,


'

and we

often read also of

the two Maits


Truth.''

who

preside over Justice


is

and
in
p.

There

woodcut

Prof.

Maspero's
in

Dawn

of

Civilization,

130,

which

the head-dress

the

symbolic head-dress
in

so often to be

met with
is

Egyptian mytho-

logic representations,
It

very clearly drawn.

was

in

studying this woodcut that the idea


itself to

The Didu

dressed.

first

suggested

my

mind, that in
four

this

head-dress

find

a reference
first

to

the

constellations

we may which, when the

Zodiac was
quarters

imagined, marked the four colures

of the

heavens

that

the

four

it

was

in

fact

an astronomic

monogram, combining four


In
this

figures in one.

head-dress very plainly are to be seen the horns of a

220

PLATES

XV.,

XVI,

XVII., XVIII.

ram, and those of a goat.

Less convincingly, perhaps, the disc from which spring the goat's horns suggests " the disc enclosing
a scarabeus,"
is
'

under which form the sun as Khophri


outline clearly

" He who
to

"^

was sometimes represented by the Egyptians.


feathers in

The two

show themselves, but


is

connect these two feathers with the scales of Libra

only adven-

tured as a possible means of giving an astronomic value to the so


often repeated combination of the forms in this head-dress.

As to Capricornus (the fourth of the constellations which marked the colures 6000 B.C.), (see Plate XVIII.), we do not meet with any representations, so far as I know, of a goat-fish on Egyptian monuments, but on Babylonian boundary stones and engraved gems this monster is often to be seen, exactly represented in form and attitude as on the Grecian sphere. The goat's horns are all we find portrayed in ancient Egyptian art, and when they are portrayed they appear together with the ratn's horns, and often springing out of a ram's head. For this curt reference to the goat (Capricornus) a reason may be found by remembering that
this constellation, in opposition,

presided

traditionally over

the

least

honoured season of the Egyptian year

the

arid

season

preceding the inundations.


It should be borne in mind that all the Egyptian mythologic symbolism we have been considering must necessarily have only

embodied
6000

traditions already
;

even under the

earliest

dynasties

extremely ancient
B.C. that

for

it

was, as

may be

seen in the Plates, about

the colures touched the extreme western degrees of

the constellations Aries, Cancer,

and Libra
it is

and
more
B.C.

a point

some

degrees to the west of Capricornus, as

now drawn.
to

In each
the west,

succeeding century the colures

moved

still

through the

stars,

and from 6000 down

to

4000

they were no

longer to be observed in the four already

named

constellations,

but in Pisces, Gemini, Virgo, and Sagittarius.


'

Maspero,

p.

139.

"

Ibid. p. 138.

TWINSEQUAL DAY AND NIGHT


It is

221

curious to note that there seems to be no pronounced

allusion in Egyptian art or literature to these four constellations,

though there are indications


B.C.,

(see pp.

230-238) which may lead us


of the later date,

to believe that the astronomical

phenomena

4000

were closely observed, and seem to have formed the basis of


of the mythology of Egypt.
facts

much

These
all

tend to confirm the conclusion

cated in this

book

so often advo that the ancestors of the Egyptians, as also of


many

the great civilized nations of antiquity, followed through

long ages the same sidereal calendar


tion

one

based on the observa-

of the colures amongst the fixed stars 6000 B.C. And it would seem that not till about 4000 B.C., when the colures had traversed, from east to west, the constellations Pisces, Gemini, Virgo, and Sagittarius, and had arrived at the eastern degrees of Aquarius, Taurus, Leo, and Scorpio, did astronomic authorities in Egypt direct their attention to a reform of the calendar and introduce into it, and into religious observances, references to these

four last-named constellations.

Turning
colure,

to

Plate

XVI. we may
it

notice that the equinoctial

marking out as

does the extreme western limits of the


help to explain

constellation Cancer, passes also through a part of the constellation Gemini.

This fact may,

I think,

some of

the

legends connected with the twins Castor and Pollux in ancient


lore.

A
stars
;

very brilliant star glitters on the head of each twin.

These
of twin

stars are of almost

equal lustre and well deserve the


easily

name

and so we can

suppose how
in

it

was that the imaginaquestion,

tive

astronomers who, at the early date

mapped out

the figures of the Zodiac, noticing that the equinoctial colure

passed between these two bright

stars,

should have elected to

represent them as marking the heads of twin figures, which they

determined should symbolize the equal day and night of the


season over which they presided.

222

PLATES

XV., XVI., XVII, XVIII.

These two stars, thousands of years after they had ceased to mark the equinox, were still associated by the Greeks with the twin heroes Castor and Pollux brothers who, according to the

legend, were " possessed of an immortality of existence so divided

among them, that as one dies, the other revives." The learned Dr Barrett has pointed out that " this furnishes a complete description of Day and Night.'' This remark of Dr Barrett's becomes especially interesting if we attribute the first symbolizing of day and night by these stars to the work of astronomers at a date when
the day and night these stars symbolized were of exactly equal
length,

and when,

therefore, the equal stars


fitly

and equal alternation

of light and darkness might both be

symbolized as twins.
occupies

At Plate XVIII.
colure,

it

is

to

be observed that the equinoctial


Capricornus,

instead

of adjoining

an almost
This

central position in the preceding constellation, Sagittarius.


fact,

together with other considerations, has led

me

to think that

originally only the

bow and arrow


;

of Sagittarius were imagined for

that division of the ecliptic

and

that the

the archer

huge composite figure of


to the original

half

man and

half horse

was added

design in later ages, by astronomers

who chose

the spring equinox

instead of the winter solstice for the beginning of the year.

In discussing the Median calendar, the importance which seems to have been given by the ancestors of the Medes to the
constellation Sagittarius, at a date

when

it

marked

the spring

equinox, was dwelt upon.

It will, I think,

appear

likely,

when we
B.C.

come

to study Plates

XIX. and XX.,

that as early as

4600

constellations were imagined to as well as the solstitial seasons.

honour and mark the equinoctial


Sagittarius was

Perhaps then,
extended to
into
like
its

at

that date the constellation


;

present dimensions

and

it

may be

centuries later,

when the

colure of the winter solstice

that some had passed

the

constellation
of

Aquarius,

Gudea

Lagash and Tchuen-Hio

some astronomers desired in China to honour that

DRACO
season, and to

Ai\D BOOTES
It

223

make

it

the beginning of the year.

may be

that

such astronomers dealt with the eleventh constellation of the


Zodiac, as earlier ones had dealt with Sagittarius, and that they

added

to

what was possibly originally only a water jar, Amphora,

the figure of the water potcrer Aquarius.

These ideas are put forward very speculatively. They were partly suggested by noticing that in the Indian Zodiac the name of
the constellation Sagittarius
is

merely Dhanus (arrow), and the


jar).

name

of Aquarius

is

Kumbha

(water

it will be observed that only the twelve figures of the Zodiac, and two of the

In the diagrams which we have been discussing,

extra-Zodiacal constellations, are given in continuous outline, one

of these two

is

Draco

the Pole of the Ecliptic

the dragon or serpent whose folds surround the central point of the of the
circle

Zodiac.

That the astronomers who traced out the circle of the Zodiac on the heavens, and imagined its twelve strange figures, should also have devoted attention to, and marked out, its central point,
is

not improbable.
is

The

Pole of the Ecliptic, unlike the Pole of

immoveable amongst the fixed stars. At 6000 B.C., at the present date, the stars of Draco surrounded this point as a point not itself marked by any conspicuous star. We have not,
the Heavens,

however,

think, at present sufficient

grounds

for deciding at

what

exact date the constellation Draco was imagined under the form
it

now

holds.

But

that

it is

very ancient there

is

no doubt.

For the

first

depicting on the vault of heaven of the figure of

Bootes, I claim with


B.C.,

much

stronger conviction the date of 6000

and the

latitude of 45" north.

For then and there Bootes


solstice,

might be seen at midnight of the summer


right

standing up-

on the northern horizon, his head reaching nearly to the Pole of the Heavens. Never since that date has he held so commanding a position in the sky, nor at any more southern latitude

could his whole figure have been represented as standing on the


horizon.

224

PLATES
Not,

XV.,

XVI,

XVII., XVIII.

One
to

further suggestion as to this constellation I


it is

am

tempted

make.

true,

as those put forward


figure,

for

on the same firm astronomical grounds the date of the first imagining of the

but a suggestion based on the Greek

name

of the con-

stellation.

The name Bootes


him Aratos
says
:

has been translated as ox-driver, and of

" The Bear-ward, whom mankind the Ploughman call, Because he seems to touch the wain-like Bear.'''' '
bright stars which mark the tail and part of the Bear are often spoken of as " the Plough," and the Great of body

The seven

in the large remaining space allotted


stellation

Ursa

harnessed to
I

on the sphere to the conwould not be difficult to include oxen the brightly marked celestial plough.
jMajor,
it

have said that at midnight of the summer solstice the conBootes presided
if

stellation

we suppose

it

to

have been imagined

at

6000
learnt

B.C.

visibly over the northern sky.


in the
it

But we have

from the month names

Accadian calendar that the


in his daily

astronomers

who

instituted

always directed attention to the

constellations which invisibly

accompanied the sun

journeyings from east to west, rather than to those which (in opposition)
all

were visible through the hours of the night.

For examplesacrifice

through the mid-winter month of the sacrifice of righteousness,

the stars of the


invisible,

Ram the
in

celestial

symbol of that

were
like

hidden
I

the overpowering light of the sun.


that at the close of the

In

manner,
year

think,

we may assume

Accadian

in the

month
ible
1

of sowing,"

"month of the sowing of seed" or in "the dark when mortal husbandmen were following on

earth their ox-drawn ploughs, Bootes, the ox-driver, though invisto

the bodily eye, appeared to the mental vision of the

verse

The Phainomena or " Heavenly Display " of Aratos, done into English by Robert Brown, Jun., F.S.A., line 92.

BOOTES THE PLOUGHMAN


sky.

225

astronomer, following unweariedly the ox-drawn plough in the

The

various suppositions here put forward will lead those

who

accept them as probably correct, to picture to themselves the


existence, at the early date of

6000

B.C.,

in latitude 45 N., of a

race of

men

not savages, and


who
and whose

not merely pastoral

nomads
its

but
fruits

a race of agriculturists

tilled

the ground and reaped

a race possessed of high


and
justice,

intellectual

religion

power taught them

who respected
to offer to their

law

god

" sacrifices of righteousness."

'

PLATES
In Plate XIX.,
latitude
fig.

XIX. AND XX.


known
in the

i, it is

the constellation

Grecian

sphere as Hercules that claims our attention.

above named, this constellation, if been imagined, culminated gloriously on the northern meridian at midnight of the spring equinox. The head of the hero, or demifitted to

At the date and then it had already

god, touched the very zenith, and with his club brandished aloft

he must have seemed well


dragon coiled beneath his

triumph over, not only the

feet,

but over every opposing power.

As was said at p. 223 about Bootes, 6000 B.C., so it may here be repeated of Hercules, 4667 B.C., "never since that date has he held so commanding a position in the sky."
At the present date of
Hercules "
will

writing,

and
^

in our English latitudes,

ever

rise

reversed,"

and through the summer

and autumn months his kneeling figure is always to be seen hanging head downwards in the southern quarter of the sky. Grecian writers, some centuries B.C., were already puzzled to account for this "reversed" position of "the Kneeler." Aratos, from whom I have quoted above, thus further wonders as to this constellation. At line 63 we read
:

"

like a toiling

form.
to

Of it

man, revolves can no one clearly speak,


he
is

Nor

what

toil call

attached

but, simply,
his knees,

Kneeler they

him.

Labouring on
"
;

Like one who sinks he seems

and again

at line "

614
far distant

The Kneeler He who is ne'er


Whoe'er

from the Lyre,


heavenly forms

this stranger of the

May
1

be."

verse

The Phainomena or " Heavenly Display '' of Aratos, done into English by Robert Brown, Jun., F.S.A., line 669.

226

HERCULES, CORONA, HYDRA, ORION

227

4600 B.C. no such difficult speculations could have presented themselves to the minds of those who, in the joyous springtime
of the year, beheld in imagination, night after night, the grand

and conquering

figure of this

god or

hero, typifying for them, as

we may

easily suppose, the ever-increasing

triumph

at that season

of the power of light over darkness.


Plate XIX.,
fig.

2.

It

was perhaps
in circle "
'

at this

same date

that the

cluster of stars " led


tarius,

round

close to the

bow

of Sagit-

and

exactly marking the equinoctial colure, was figured as a

crown, and that so depicted, as I have contended at page 76, this

suggested the symbolic circle, crown, or wreath which sometimes takes the place of the bow in Assur's hand, and which almost always is present in the hand of Ahura Mazda in
constellation

Median
as
it

representations of that figure.


fig. i,

At Plate XX.,

have drawn the constellation Hydra

would have appeared

at the date

4667

B.C.

Atpagesri7,

118,

the reasons which led

me
2, it

to

suppose that
seen

this constellation

was

then

first

imagined have been given.


fig.

At Plate XX.,
fact

may be

how 4667

B.C.

the figure

of Orion very accurately

marked the equinoctial

colure,

and

this

may

incline us to

suppose that the giant hunter

so

often,

according to Grecian legend, in conflict with the powers of high

Heaven

was

depicted about this date by ancient astronomers


strength of the adverse powers which, at the

to represent the

autumnal season in the mythologies of northern nations, appear in combat with, and temporarily triumphant over, the powers of light.
In favour of the high date here claimed for the imagining of
Orion's
figure

under very much the same form as that

still

depicted on our globes, there are some indications to be observed


in the Sanscrit

<Pi
^

names of the Nakshatra, which contains the i.e., the stars marking the head of Orion. p2 Orionis
"

stars,

verse

The Phainomena or " Heavenly Display by Robert Brown, Jun., F.S.A., line 401.

of Aratos, done into English

228
This Nakshatra
different
crit

PLATES XIX, XX.


is

known

in

Hindu astronomy under two


and Agrahayani.

quite

names

viz, Mrigasliirsha

The

Sans-

word, Mrigashirsha, means

literally

"Wild

beast's head,"

and

B. G. Tilak, in his work. The Orion; or, Antiquity of the Vedas, basing his opinion upon many ingenious and recondite arguments, supposes that ancient Indian astrono-

Researches into the

mers gave the name of Mrigashiras


fixed

to the stars of Orion,

which
trans-

they imagined portrayed in the sky an "Antelope's

head"

by an arrow

the

arrow being marked by the three bright


in Sanscrit

stars so well

known

to us as Orion's Belt.
it

Mriga, there can be no doubt, carries often with


literature the

meaning of "antelope": but Tilak expressly says at p. 97, "Though I have translated the word Mrigashiras by 'Antelope's head,' I do not mean to imply that Mriga necessarily

meant 'an antelope' in the Vedic literature." Again, at p. 151, he says "The word Mriga in the Rigveda, means according to Sayana both a lion and a deer." Again, as to the other name of the Nakshatra Agrahayani it In a has the meaning of "first-going" (of the sun) understood. long dissertation on this name, Tilak contends that it marked an important point in the annual course of the sun, and then further seeks to derive the Greek name Orion from the Sanscrit word, Agrahayani. Of the value of the etymological arguments advanced, I am quite unable to judge, but on astronomic grounds it would not seem an improbable derivation. But the acceptance of Tilak's contention as to the derivation of the name Orion would make it reasonable to suppose that not
:

only the
might,
in

name but
the

also the configuration

of the constellation

astronomy of the Greek

and

Indian nations,

and thus we should be more ready to beheve that Mrigashirsha referred to the lion's head on Orion's arm, and not to an "antelope's head" a head which, as depicted by Tilak at p. 100, would alone have filled nearly all the space in
resemble each other;

ORION, MRIGASHIRAS,
known

AGRAHAYANI

229

the heavens occupied in the Grecian sphere by the huge figure of

the giant hunter

to us as Orion.

The
names,
ing and

indications furnished by these two Sanscrit Nakshatra


if

they are followed, must lead us to attribute the imaginnaming of the constellation Orion to a time before that

when
here

the ancestors of the Greeks


east,

ways to the west and to the

made

for

and Indians went their separate and so will strengthen the claim the depicting of the constellation on the sky as

early as

4600

B.C.

It will

be noted that in the suggestions here offered concern-

ing Hercules, Corona Australis, Hydra, and Orion, a change in the symbolic methods followed by earlier astronomers, 6000
B.C.,

must be supposed.
It

was to the constellations invisibly accompanying the sun

that the originators of the Zodiac appear to have directed their


attention.

But the symbolic


it

figures

we have now been studying


doubt

there
mark

can,

seems to me, be

little

were

designed to

visibly,

and, therefore, in opposition to the sun, the various

seasons of the year.

A
4600

great astronomic activity, a sort of astronomic renaissance,

in fact,

seems

to manifest itself as

we

study the celestial globe at


attribute

B.C.,

and

to this date I

would

the origin of the

astronomic myths of

many

nations.

PLATE
which seemed to
b.c.

XXI.^

put forward considerations drawn from


sources,

In The Median Calendar and the Constellation Taurus I have Median and Assyrian

me

about the date 4000


position of the colures

to lead to the conclusion that at very close attention was given to the

amongst the fixed stars, and that at that honour was given by the ancestors of the Medes the constellation which at the to the constellation Sagittarius spring equinox was in opposition to the sun, and therefore visible I need not here reiterate what was there all through the night. advanced on this point concerning Median and Assyrian symdate very special

bolism, but rather I


in

Egyptian
is

art

draw attention to the existence and mythologic teaching of what I cannot but
desire to

now

think

very constant reference to the position of the colures, as

they might have been observed

speaking

in

round numbers

from 4000 down to 2000


It will

B.C.

be seen

at

Fig. 4 that the equinoctial colure, at the

earher of these dates, touched the confines of the constellation

and might even then, with almost equal right, have been claimed as adjoining those of Scorpio. We can well imagine that the astronomic school which carried out the reformation in
Sagittarius,

method discussed above


the extension, as
I

(pp. 222,227),

ing of the constellations Hercules

which resulted in the imaginand Corona Australis, and in

suggested, of the boundaries of Sagittarius

we can

well

imagine that this

school

would with reluctance

admit the baleful image of Scorpio to take the post of leader But from 4000 B.C. of the year, so long held by Sagittarius.

onwards to 2000
1

B.C.

the constellations that did actually mark


have been drawn from the globe adjusted to the

The

figures in this Plate

date, 4128 B.C., Lat. 40 N.

230

BULL, SCORPION, LION,

WATER-MAN

231

the equinoctial and solstitial colures, were Taurus, Scorpio, Leo, and Aquarius. Volumes of controversy have been written concerning the astronomic teachings of the ceilings of the temples of Denderah and Edfu, as to the position of the colures amongst the fixed
stars,

suggested by the arrangement of the figures of the Zodiac

in

both these temples.

The

date astronomically referred to in

these designs was claimed by

when

it

some to be about 4000 b.c, but was proved that these temples had been restored in
first

Ptolemaic times, and the ceilings probably redecorated then, the


high claims put forward for the

imagining of these astro-

nomic designs could no longer with

certainty be upheld.

strong

reaction in opinion then took place,

and

it

was again and again


of the ecliptic

asserted that the Egyptians were probably not even acquainted

with the so-called Grecian


till

twelve-fold

division

after the introduction of

European culture

into Egypt.

To
dis-

seek for allusions in ancient Egyptian mythology or art to any of


the twelve Zodiacal
constellations was,
therefore, a

much

couraged attempt.

But
temples

if

the testimony of the ceilings of the

Denderah and Edfu

is

rendered suspect by their Ptolemaic restoration, the


raised against the evidence borne by

same objection cannot be

the ceiling of an ancient Egyptian building, which has certainly

not been restored in Ptolemaic times.

In the Description de

rEgypte^ we

find a careful drawing of a " Tableau astronomique


I'un

au Plafond de

des tombeaux des

rois."

In the central portion

on

either side of this ceiling a

monstrous hippopotamus and croco-

dile are represented, together with various beings depicted

on a
refer-

much

smaller scale. groups,

In the drawing here given, of one of these


find,

central

we

as

it

seems

to

me, very clear

Description de r Egypte,

lo

vols.,

Paris,

MDCCCXII.-XXIII., Vol.

I.,

Antiquites, planche 95.


THE BULL
ence to the four figures
(

APIS

233
Leo, and Aquarius

Taurus,

Scorpio,

= Amphora).
The monstrous hippopotamus and
crocodile here depicted
I

are,

am

strongly

inclined

to

believe,

representations,

not

of

any particular
but
rather

conof

stellation,

the solstitial and


colures
all,
;

equinoctial
at
re-

and the four not


of
the

except astronomically,
figures

lated

Bull,

Scorpion,
jar,

Lion, and

Waterin

are here very clearly

evidence.

BULL APIS
" It was regarded as a
Isis,

In Egyptian mythology the

Apis Bull held a very important place.

symbol and incarnation of

Osiris, the

husband of

and next
tell

to

Ra, the great divinity of Egypt."


the Apis Bull was black, with

Grecian authorities
distinctive white

us that
;

some

markings

and on

its

back

(or tongue, according to variant accounts) the

be observed. From a drawing in we may, however, gather, as I think I have seen it elsewhere stated, that the Apis Bull was marked by equal areas of black and white. Such equal areas would fitly symbolize the equal day and night of the equinoctial season, and
figure of a scarabseus

was

to

Ebers' Egypt, Vol.

I.,

p. 121,

the presence of the scarabaeus on the back or tongue of the Bull


if

the suggestion

made

at p.

218 should prove to be correct

would point

to the traditional

connexion of that creature with the


that the golden calf set

same equinoctial season. It has often been assumed


worshipped
in

up and

the wilderness by the Israelites was a representa;

tion of the Apis


set

god of Egypt and up by Jeroboam in Bethel and

that so also were the calves


in

Dan on

his return

from

234
Egypt.
feast
.
. .

PLATE XXI.
We
read in
i

Kings

xii.

32,

"And Jeroboam

ordained a

in

the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month."

Ver. 33, " So he offered

upon

the altar which he

had made
the

in

Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in


of his
:

month which he had devised


feast

unto the children of Israel

and ordained a and he offered upon the altar,


heart
;

own

and burnt incense."

Now, from our knowledge of


its

the Babylonian calendar, and

correspondence with that in use in Palestine, we

that the "eighth

may conclude month" (Marchesvan), devised by Jeroboam,

was that during which the sun traversed the constellation Scorpio, and during which Taurus was dominantly visible all night and when in this constellation the full moon of the fifteenth or festival day was to be observed. This mention of the eighth

month

in

connexion with the worship of the golden calves

worship, as has been supposed, copied from Egyptian practice


greatly strengthens the opinion that the Apis Bull was in Egypt looked upon as a living representative of the Zodiacal Bull the

constellation which in the time of the early dynasties marked, in

opposition to the sun, the autumnal equinox.

ance of Tauric symbolism


the

In Median mythology and art we have seen the great importbut there is a wide difference between
:

Medes and the Egyptians. Mithras, Median sun-god, again and again triumphs over and slays the Bull. In Egypt, on the contrary, the Sacred Bull is honoured and worshipped during its lifetime, and reverently embalmed, and with all pomp and glory buried after its death.
the Tauric symbolism of the

This difference

in the

mythologic conceptions of Media and


I

Egypt may be attributed,


In
fruitful

think, to the diff"erence of chmatic

conditions in the two countries.

Media,

spring m Egypt, autumn is the


rise,

season of the year.

joyous and In the early ages, when Median and

Egyptian mythologies took their

Taurus was

at

the spring

THE BULL
its

IN

EGYPT AND

IN

MEDIA

235
by

equinox in conjunction with the sun, and was, therefore,

slain

overwhelming brightness;
In

but at the autumn equinox that

same

constellation, in opposition, rose

when

the sun

set,

and

all

night long was visible.

Median
is

art, it is

the Bull immolated

by the sun
bolism,
in the
it is

in springtime that

represented.

In Egyptian sym-

to the Bull triumphantly traversing the sky

by night,

autumn

season, that attention

is

directed.
it is

In the light of these astronomic considerations,


to think of the fanatical act of as

interesting

Cambyses

in slaying the

Apis Bull,

one prompted not only by fury

at seeing the

high honour paid

to the Egyptian god, but also by

an insane pride, which made

him
god

desire to imitate the triumph of Mithras

over the Bull


even

the

Persian sun-

in the heavens,

by

killing its earthly represen-

tative, the

Apis Bull.

when Apis worship prevailed in when the children of Israel, in imitation of this worship, set up the golden calf in the wilderness, the raison d'itre for the honour paid to Taurus as a star mark of the autumnal season no longer existed for we know that about 1800 B.C., the equinoctial colure had left that constellation, and had entered the eastern degrees of the constellation Aries.
In the days of Cambyses,
still

Egypt, and

earlier

Egyptian history assures


in the far back ages

us,

however, that the institution of the


iirst

Apis worship was effected by some king of the

dynasty

and Aquarius did actually preside over the four seasons of the year. Moretombs of kings over, the recent discoveries of the and other
Scorpio, Leo,

when Taurus,

personages, in the

first

Egyptian dynasty, lead us back to the


B.C.,

remote

date

of

4000

when

the

very

earliest

observa-

tions of the colures in the four

above-named

constellations could

have been made.


In these ancient tombs, amongst other objects, have been

found

slate

slabs of various
it

shapes some of them,

in

their

general outline, as

appears to me, representing

in the flat the

236
form of a
jar or vase.

PLATE XXI.
In the accompanying cuts, a proposed

restoration of the broken-ofif top of

one of the

slates

is

given,

and is
finely

distinguished from the existing portion of the slate by being drawn


in dotted lines.

Both

sides of these slabs are covered


in relief.

by

executed carvings, not incised but


reliefs

The

subjects of the

are very varied, but prominent


is

repeated more than once,


his feet,

the figure

amongst them, and exactly of a bull trampling under

and preparing
upper

to gore with his horns, a fallen

human

foe.

Lions are also portrayed in

many

attitudes,

and on one
is

slate,

where
below

in the
it

register this

triumphing bull

represented,
jar are to
slate,

in a crenellated cartouche a lion

and an urn or

be seen in close proximity to each other.


scorpion
is

On

another

delineated above a crenellated cartouche; and repre-

sentations of scorpions carved in relief


jars,

on mace-heads and on
in

and scorpions carved

in the

round, have been met with

great

numbers

in the excavations at

Hierakonpolis

the

site also

of the discovery of one of the most important of the carved slates

here described.
It is difficult, I

think, to resist the conclusion that

we have

in

the carvings on these ancient slate objects references not to merely


terrestrial bulls, lions, scorpions,

and water

jars,

but rather to the

imagined under those forms, whose stars, at the date when these carvings were made, marked in conjunction
constellations, already

with,
year.'
1

and

in

opposition

to,

the sun,

the

four

seasons

of the

In the centre of many,


the

carved on

if not of all, of the slates under our notice, there is obverse a ring surrounding a depression. "Mr Quibell's
still

theory, which

is

adhered

to

by Professor

Petrie, is that this ring


it

was

intended to receive the green paint with which

is

supposed the earhest

Egyptians painted their faces," but Mr Legge in his Paper, from which I have here quoted (contributed to the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archttology. May 1900, pp. 137, 138), puts forward a different view, which, if it is correct, would lend support to the astronomic interpretation above proposed
for

some

of the carved representations.

Mr Legge

considers that the rings

CARVED SLATES

237

><>

en

(5,"^

T3
lU

T3

>

238

PLATE XXI.

represented the sun, and that " it is quite possible that this significance was heightened by the introduction of some bright substance, such as gold foil."

He points out that the composite monsters of the slates, all of which are represented on certain ivories, which he names, are always associated with the sundisk.

He

believes these figures to have a symbolic meaning, though he does


I

not in his Paper claim the especial astronomic interpretations


advocated.

have above

PLATE
Grecian sphere

XXII.i

In Grecian legend Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, the seamonster (Cetus), and Perseus are associated together, and on the
five

neighbouring constellations represent the

actors of the legend.

Studying these constellations as they must have appeared to


observers of the heavens at different dates,

we

shall, I think, see

some reason

to attribute the imagining of the figure of the hero

Perseus to a later age than that of the other members of the


group, and, on the other hand, there are considerations which

may

make

us hesitate whether

we should not
at

place the origin of the

constellation

Andromeda

an even

earlier

date than those of

Cepheus, Cassiopeia, and the sea-monster.


the precessional globe

One

point in

the

legend, however, finds strong astronomic support from a study of

namely, the

fact that
i.e.,

Cepheus and Cassio-

peia were personages of Ethiopian


It will

of tropical provenance.
i,

be seen in Plate XXII.,

fig.

that only in a latitude

as far South as i8
early date of

N. could the
b.c.

figure of Cassiopeia

6000

have been imagined

even

at the

as that of a

queen

seated in royal dignity, and visible in the northern quarter of the


heavens.

By

referring to Plate

XV., we may learn that

in Lat. 45

N, at

would have appeared in the southern quarter of the sphere, head downwards, while the figure of Cepheus could only have been observed by turning first to one and then to the other quarter of the sky. As, however, the head of Cepheus would have marked so exactly the solstitial colure 6000 B.C., it seemed
that date, Cassiopeia
1

This plate has been drawn from the globe adjusted

to

the dates and

latitudes of
^

5744 B.C. Lat. 18 N., and of 3588 See below at p. 246, and pp. 242, 243.

B.C., Lat.

23 N.

239

240
to

PLATE

XXII.

me

only right to seek for a latitude in which his figure and that

of his queen should appear upright and in the

same quarter of the

heavens

latitude, therefore, in

which

it

might be possible to

suppose these constellations had been originated as star-marks of


the solstitial season.
set the

To

attain this object

it

was necessary to

globe to the very low latitude of i8 N.

To
human
seemed
if for

suppose
race,

at

6000
also

b.c.

so wide a diffusion, not only of the

but

of astronomical science

and

authority,

to

involve an historical unlikelihood.

Moreover, even

the sake of suitably establishing the dignity of this regal pair

one were tempted to suppose the great improbability of schools of


astronomy
existing,

and with equal authority

instituting constella-

tions as star-marks for the year, in regions as far north as Lat.

45 N. and as far south as 18

N. even
is

so, I

do not think

the

position of the constellations themselves in relation to the solstitial

colure as

shown

in the

diagram

by any means so convincingly


B.C. for their

symmetrical as to force us to accept the date 6000


origin.

The head only

of Cepheus appears on the meridian, his


lie

figure

and the whole constellation of Cassiopeia


these circumstances
at
it is

considerably

to the east of that line.

Under

satisfactory to find at a later,


still

and therefore

a more historically probable date, and

in

an

Ethiopian (tropical) latitude, a meridian line on and about which


the constellations

Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, and Cetus

form a well-balanced group. This meridian,


but
it is it is true, is not that of a solstice or an equinox one which marked a very important astronomical moment

namely, the commencement


(See Plate XXII.
,

of the calendrical year

the

year

counted from the entry of the sun into the constellation Aries.
fig.

2.)

Of

the high calendrical importance attached through thousands

of years to this point in the sun's annual course

by the Accadian and Babylonian nations and by the Hindus down to the present

CASSIOPEIA
day, astronomic records
traditions also, as I
fore,

AND SEA-NYMPHS
refer to
it
:

241

testify.

Egyptian mythology and Chinese


it

have claimed,

need
to

not, there-

surprise

us

to find constellations imagined

mark the

beginning of a year counted from that point, even at a date virhen this beginning did not coincide either with solstice or equinox.

3500

B.C. is

the approximate date

would suggest

in a latitude

not far from 23 N. for the origin of the constellations Cepheus,


Cassiopeia, and probably also for that of Cetus.

The legend
nereids.

tells

us that Cassiopeia by boasting of her

own

or

of her daughter's surpassing beauty incurred the enmity of the

She

is

"...
To
The
It

that starr'd Ethiop

set her beauty's praise

queen that strove above


'

sea-n)Tnphs, and their power offended."

seems

to

me

that for this legend, as for

many

others,

an

astronomic basis

may be

assigned.

3500

b.c.

the solstitial colure

passed through the constellation Aquarius.

The

stars of that

constellation might then not unfitly have been likened to sea


divinities,

and

rival

schools of astronomers and calendar keepers

may have

exalted the praise, on the one hand, of the stars that


of those that

marked a calendrical, and, on the other hand, marked a solstitial year.

curious fact as to the lines in which Aratos refers to the

must here be noted. Aratos versified " the Fhainotne?ia of the astronomer Eudoxos, who lived cir. B.C. 403-350." It has often been pointed out that
constellation Cassiopeia

the facts concerning the constellations which Aratos and

Eudoxos

record " are to a great extent traditional and archaic, and belong to another and far earlier epoch." What is said of Cassiopeia is a
case in point
;

for thus the poet deplores her pride


et seq.

and

its

punish-

ment

at line

654

Mihon,

// Penseroso.

242
"

PLATE XXn.
And now
she, too, her daughter's form pursues,
;

Sad Kassiepeia

nor seemly
like a

still
;

Show from

her seat her feet and knees above

But she head foremost

tumbler

sits

With knees divided

On

boasts to equal

since a doom must fall Panope and Doris." ^


:

Now in Eudoxos' time and in his latitude, though Cassiopeia's head did by a few degrees extend into the southern heavens, yet her position was not so deplorably ignominious as the poem would
Three thousand years earlier the pity for her expressed by Aratos would have been more appropriate, for then her whole figure for observers in lat. 35 N. would have been visible in the
suggest.

southern quarter of the sky, and her


Lat. 23 N.),

feet,

not her head (as at

would have been on the

zenith.

These considerations may lead us to suppose that the idea of i.e., her reversed Cassiopeia's pride, and the fit punishment of it form in northern must have assumed position in the heavens,
latitudes almost at as early a date as the constellation figures were
first

imagined in tropical
If this

latitudes.

be

so,

it is

indeed curious to find a legend which emrivalry

bodied the atiimus of astronomic


scientific

3500

B.C.

handed down
B.C.,

for

thousands of years, and repeated in what professed to be a somewhat


treatise at a date

between 400 and 300


classic

when

the

astronomic facts no longer tallied with those narrated in the legend.

As

to

Andromeda, the

story describes
;

her as the
itself

daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia

but the constellation

except on legendary grounds might equally well


the beginning of a solstitial year 6000
B.C.,

have naarked

or of a non-solstitial

and calendrical year 3500

B.C.

The
and

terrible prevalence of

at the solstices especially,

representation of a

human sacrifices in ancient times, may make us almost fear that the chained human victim had its place in the
(solstitial) date.
"

sphere at the earlier


^

The Phainomena or " Heavenly Display

of Aratos, ub, supr.


ANDROMEDA
The
staples to the sky.

6000

OR

3500 B.C.

243

chains which bind Andromeda's arms are fastened by

They appear

(at fig. i) at

driven into two important astronomic lines

i.e.,

6000 B.C. as though one of them into


solstitial colure.

the line of the equator, the other into that of the

This may, of course, be a mere coincidence, and should not be allowed to weigh at all heavily in the almost evenly adjusted
balance of probabilities regarding the date of the origin of the
constellation

Andromeda.

Her

story

is

so interwoven, not only

with that of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, but also with that of the sea-

monster Cetus, that we should not hastily attempt to dissociate


the

members of this group. The very interesting question

as to

what southern people

first

depicted the Ethiopic king and queen on the sphere cannot be

answered on astronomic grounds.

AVe know that the latitude in


tropical,
if

which these

figures

were imagined must have been

the

date of their imagining was as early as 3500 B.C.


learn from the celestial globe
in

But we cannot

which they were so imagined.


lie

what was the longitude of the land Ethiopia proper, and parts of
these countries.
in opinion as to

Arabia and India,


in classic writings,

within the tropics, and the term Ethiopia,


all

embraces

Etymologists are, I beUeve, divided

what

language the rather un-Grecian names, Cepheus and Cassiopeia,

were derived from.


the Sanscrit

Some

writers

have suggested
:

for their origin


if,

names Capuja and Cassyape

and

as

have

already urged, the Aries-year was followed in ancient Vedic times


in India, the Sanscrit derivation suggested will
likely one.

seem not an unit

Nor under these suppositions would


Sanscrit
origin
for

be

difficult to

propose a possible

the

name Andromeda,
is

though
not the
it

for this

purpose we should have to deprive the legend of


Cassyape, in Sanscrit story,

all its classic

and romantic charm.

name

of a gloriously beautiful queen, but of a " sage,"


also,

and

might be that the constellation Andromeda Indian astronomers, represented merely a human

for ancient

sacrifice,

not that

244

PLATE

XXII.
Though in the woman, yet in it
to the sacrifice,

of the beautiful daughter of a beautiful mother.

Rig Veda there is no legend of the sacrifice of a we meet with seven consecutive hymns referring
real or symbolical, of

Sunahsepas, the son of a

rishi or sage,

who,

according to the commentators, had consented to yield his son up


to this cruel fate.

The

prayers of the victim, addressed to

many

gods, at last result in his deliverance.

Two

other

hymns

in the

Rig Veda

relate to the great


I

ceremony
p.

of the sacrifice, real or symbolical, of a horse.

give at

252

some of the considerations which have convinced


praises of the

me

that the

winged steed

i.e.,

of the constellation Pegasus,

and not merely the praises of an earthly horse, are the subject of these two hymns. The ceremony in question bore the name of Aswamedha, literally Horse-Sacrifice.
In reading and comparing these two series of sacrificial hymns, some points of contact present themselves, and, observing

me that some Sanscrit word ending in Mcdha and conveying the meaning of huma?i sacrifice, might by ancient Indian astronomers have been attached to the constellation, which for us represents the hapless Andromeda for if we suppose that the constellations Cassiopeia and Cepheus were imagined in India, but adopted with an appropriate legend the names of the personages in the into the Grecian sphere legend at the same time suffering a Grecian change it would be
this,

it

occurred to

i.e.,

sacrifice,

easy further to suppose that the Indian

name

of the constellation

near to them, transformed and misunderstood,


in

came

to represent

Grecian story not merely a

human

sacrifice,

but that of the

much-to-be-pitied daughter of the proud Cassiopeia.

Whether these

fanciful speculations

concerning the names of

the actors in the ancient legend be adopted or not need not affect

our judgment as to the reasonableness, or otherwise, of the date,

3500 B.C., and of Lat. 23 N. group here discussed.

for the origin of the constellational

PLATE
The
probable dates for the
first

XXIII.i
imagining of four constellations
Centaur,

are here given

namely,

for

the

Ophiuchus,

Auriga,

and Perseus. For the Centaur the date


i) is

in

suggested:
in

at that date

his

round numbers of 3500 B.C. (fig. huge figure would have well

marked,
year
;

opposition,

the beginning of the calendrical Aries-

or, in

conjunction with the sun, the beginning of the seventh

month
figure
:

of the

same

year.

It

is

not necessary, at that date, to

attribute a low latitude to the astronomers


in that of 35

who designed

this

N., as

shown

in

the diagram, the whole

would then have been well above the horizon. The B.C. might perhaps be claimed for the Centaur. At that date, as I have assumed, the calendrical and (Compare Plate XVII. and Plate the solstitial year coincided. IX.) As between 6000 and 3500 B.C. I have often hesitated, but
constellation
earlier

much

epoch of 6000

on the whole
the
Fig.
2.

have come to think the


at

later date, as here given,

more probable.

Again

the

date

3500

B.C.

and

in
it

the latitude

35 N. I have drawn the constellation Ophiuchus as

would have

appeared
equinox
;

in opposition to the

sun

at the

season of the spring

triumphing over the powers of darkness

namely, the

scorpion on which he treads and the serpent which he crushes


with his hands.

Although

at the

date in question Hercules' posi-

was not quite so commanding and years earlier (see Plate XIX.), yet thousand symmetrical as it was a XXIII., fig. 2) the heads of (Plate in the lower latitude given here
tion in the northern heavens
^

The
B.C.,

figures in this plate

following dates and latitudes.

have been drawn from the globe adjusted to the Fig. 3, Figs, l and 2, 3589 B.C., Lat. 35 N.
1443 b.c, Lat. 40 N.

3050

Lat. 35 N.

Fig.

4,

245

246

PLATE

XXIII.

these brothers might have been seen,

Hercules and of Ophiuchus would have been on the zenith, and one of them in the northern
in the

and the other


ing

southern quarter of the sky, strongly combatforces

and conquering the


Fig.
3.

of winter and

darkness at the

season of the spring equinox.

B.C., for

have suggested the later date of 3000 then the bright star Capella, the most important star in
I

For Auriga,
in

the constellation and one of the brightest in that part of the sky,

was on the meridian


spring equinox

conjunction with the sun at noon of the


at mid-night of the

and

in opposition

autumn

equinox.

The star Capella has, by several writers, been identified with the star " Icu of Babylon " mentioned in many of the Babylonian
astrological texts. If this

identification

of Capella and " Icu

of Babylon

" should be estabfished as correct,

we

ought, I suppose,

to credit Babylo7iian astronomers with the delineation of the figure

Auriga.
Fig. 4.

Unless we adopt
B.C. for

Cassiopeia,
will

on the authority of the Cepheus, and Andromeda legend the date 3500 for Perseus, it

seem, I think, almost necessary to attribute the


Perseus
its

much
fig.

later

one of 1433

the designing of this constellation.

At the
2
;

earlier date the position of

see

Plate XXII.,

mihtates against the likelihood of


as part of the figure of Perseus

having then been imagined

would have been

visible in the

northern and part in the southern hemisphere.


In favour of the later date
figure of Perseus has

we may note the way


it

in

which the

been

fitted in, as

were, between alreadyit

named
still

constellations, so that

though restricted to a small space

retains heroic proportions.

whose strange alternations of magnitude may some malignant monster, was imagined by the astronomers who drew the figure of Perseus, as on the brow of the Gorgon Medusa. It
star Algol,

The

well have suggested to the ancients the winking of the eye of

CENTAUR, OPHIUCHUS, AURIGA, PERSEUS


will

247

be seen in the Plate how,

at the

date there given, this mysteri-

ous star exactly marked the equinoctial meridian. The northern latitude 40 N., suitable for the imagining of this
constellation,

and

its

name

Perseus, seem to point to an Iranian

school of astronomers as the probable originators of this figure.

PLATE XXIV.
be seen that by consulting the precessional globe it has been possible to suggest dates at which the various simple and composite human figures, represented on the (Grecian) sphere
It
will

could have been originally imagined in an upright position, either

on the northern or southern meridian


of the year

at

some well-marked time

that
at

is

of either a cosmical or a calendrical year.

That many other of the remaining ancient constellations Canis Major and Canis Minor, Aquila, Cygnus, &c., were depicted
and named
very remote dates, there can,
traditions
I

think,

be

little

doubt.

The wide-spread

connected with these figures demand


It is

an early origin for them.


of the
night,

probable that the heliacal rising of

certain bright stars in these constellations at


year, rather

some

special season

than

their

culmination at

?ioo?i

or at mid-

may have been

the

occasion for the interest taken in

them.

A
ing of

further study of the precessional globe with

this

thought

present would probably suggest approximate dates for the imagin-

some

of these constellations, small in extent but

marked by

bright stars.
I will

now

only allude to the two remaining ancient constella-

to Argo and Pegasus. (Astronomy in the Rig Veda) the almost upright and symmetrical position of Argo 3000 B.C. may suggest the likelihood that at that date or perhaps a few hundred years later, and in a latitude about 12 higher than that given in

tions of

wide extent
at

namely,
X.

Glancing

Plate

the diagram, this constellation was imagined.


that all the stars of Argo, even the bright

It will

be observed

and southern Canopus at 35 N. would have been above the horizon and visible at midnight of the winter solstice. At noon of the summer solstice
248

ARGO AND PEGASUS

249

they would have been above the horizon, but invisible in conjunction with the sun.

But now turning our thoughts


difficulty confronts

to the constellation Pegasus, a


b.c.

us at every date from 6000

downwards

even to

this present a.d.


still

1903

Pegasus as depicted on the globe

has held and

holds a reversed position in the heavens.


all

The

very fact that for

the other ancient constellations which repre-

sent living beings, it has been possible to find some season and some date at which they could have been observed upright in the sky, makes it a more imperative need to seek for some explanation of the anomalous treatment meted out by astronomers of old to the winged steed.

In

this

stress

of

difficulty,
first

venture to

make

a suggestion
fanciful,
this

which
book.

will, I fear, at

sight,

appear far-fetched and

and quite out of

line with other suppositions

put forward in

My
and

suggestion

is

that an error concerning the right depicting

of this constellation was fallen into by


that this error

some astronomers of

old,

was handed down to us through the Grecian

school.
If

on some

clear

autumnal or winter night we search


on a globe or

for the

constellation Pegasus, not

map

but in the southern


it

quarter of the actual sky,

very bright stars which


very extensive

we may quickly recognise mark the corners of an almost square on the vault of heaven. Then
this

by four

exact and
stretching
still

away from the lower and western corner of


towards the horizon and to the west,

square

farther

we may

trace the faint stars

which mark the neck, and the somewhat brighter star which marks the head of the Demi-Horse while starting from the upper western
:

corner of the square and stretching

still

higher towards the zenith,

and

to the west

we

detect the lines of fainter stars which

mark

the

and the hoofs of Pegasus. If we allow the four stars of the " square of Pegasus " still to mark the body of the horse, and
fore legs

250

PLATE XXIV.
its

think of the upper lines of faint stars as marking

neck and head

and of the lower ones


constellation, with the

as

marking
still fit

its

fore legs

and hoofs, the

figure exactly reversed will

within the hmiting lines of the


that

satisfactory result
its

the winged steed,


alert, will
its

not miserably floundering on

back but upright and

be seen

in

our mental vision night after night pursuing

course

from east to west across the heavens.

rORE LEGS

THE SQUARE
OF

PEGASUS

WEST.

^^<

<>

AQUARIUS
But even
to arrive at so satisfactory a result,
its

dare to propose without some other plea than


so arbitrary a

we might scarcely mere desirabihty,


position of

method of dealing with the reversed

Pegasus, as that of thus correcting a supposed error on the part of


early astronomers.

There is, however, I think, in Grecian and in Vedic legend some support to be found for the opinion that the original position of Pegasus was upright and not reversed.


PEGASUS ALWAYS REVERSED
Though on
reversed,

251

the Grecian astronomic sphere Pegasus appears

on no artistic monument, vase, or coin is he thus represented, and in Grecian legend he is ever a glorious and highly-prized friend and helper of gods and heroes. Amongst other achievements, we read of him that he produced with a blow of his hoof
the inspiring fountain Hippocrene.

In the Rig
Aswins,

Veda we read of a swift horse, belonging to the who from his hoof filled a hundred vases of sweet liquor.
Miiller has pointed out that the

Max
called

Aswins possessed a horse

Pagas.

The

stars

a and

/3

Arietis are in

Hindu

astro-

nomy

called the "Aswins,"

these stars in

and at p. 137 I have contended that Vedic times symbohsed the twin heroes, the Aswins,

the possessors, according to

Max

Miiller, of the

horse Pagas.

If

we look
appear,

at

Pegasus in the sky, and observe


that

how

closely following

that constellation the bright stars

mark the head of Aries


in front

we

shall easily

understand how these Aswins might have

by Vedic bards been imagined as possessing and driving


of

them the

swift steed Pegasus.


:^

In two hymns addressed to the Aswins we read as follows

Mandala
"

I.

Svikta cxvi.

and verse

7.

You

filled

from the hoof of your vigorous steed, as


jars

if

from a

cask, a

hundred

of wine."

And again in the next hymn, cxvii. verse 6 " You filled for the (expectant) man a hundred
(liquors)

vases of sweet

from the hoof of your


is

fleet horse."

As Pegasus
(see Plate

now
his

represented his hoofs touch no well or

fountain, cask or vase.

But

if

we

depict

him

as suggested

above
in the

XXIV.),

hoof would indeed appear as almost

act of striking the vase in the constellation Aquarius, from which

the abundant waters gush forth.


1

Wilson's Uanslation of the Rig Veda.

252
I

PLATE XXIV.
have already alluded to the Aswamedha hymns
in the

Rig

Veda

as probably referring not merely to the sacrifice of

an actual
quote

horse, but rather to a symbolic sacrifice of the

winged horse of
I will

the constellation Pegasus.

In support of this opinion


:

from the hymns

in question

Mandala
"
I.

I,

Sukta

clxii.

Let neither

MITRA

nor

VARUNA, ARYAMAN, AYU,


:

INDRA, RIBHUKSHIN,
we proclaim
"
2.

nor the Manits censure us

when

in the sacrifice the virtues of the swift

horse sprung

from the gods.

When

they, (the priests), bring

the prepared offering to

the presence (of the horse),

who

has been bathed and decorated


-

with rich (trappings), the various

coloured goat going before

him, bleating, becomes an acceptable offering to

INDRA

and
is

PtlSHAN.
"
3.

This goat, the portion of


first

PUSHAN,

fit

for all the gods,

brought

with the

fleet

courser, so that

TWASHTRI

may

prepare him along with the horse, as an acceptable preliminary


offering for the (sacrificial) food."

Looking

at Plate

XXIV.,

Figs,

i,

2,

we may observe how

the

constellation Capricornus " goes before " that of Pegasus,

and we

may understand
After
details

the aspiration that Twashtri

may prepare him

along with the horse as an acceptable preliminary offering.

many
the

of

verses entering into minute and rather horrible "immolation" and even of the cooking of the

sacrificial

horse the 19th verse adds

is one immolator of the radiant horse, which is and these words seem to carry us back from thoughts of an actual to a, in some way, symboHcal sacrifice, especially when

" There
"
;

Time

at verse 2

we read

PEGASUS AND ASWAMEDHA


" Verily
at

253
art

this

moment thou

dost

not

die

nor

thou

harmed

for thou goest

by auspicious paths to the gods.

The
(to

horses of

INDRA,
(to

the steeds of the


shall

Maruts

shall

be yoked

their cars),

and a courser

be placed

in the shaft of the ass of

the

ASWINS
The

bear thee to heaven)."

following

hymn

(Ixiii.) I

give in extenso

Mandala
1.

I.

Sukta
is

clxiii.

Thy

great

birth,

Horse,

to

be glorified; whether

first

springing from the firmament or from the water, inasmuch


hast neighed (auspiciously), for thou hast the wings of

as thou

the falcon and the limbs of the deer.


2.

TRITA
first

harnessed the horse which was given by

YAM A

INDRA
reins.
3.

mounted him, and

GANDHARBA

seized

his

Vasus, you fabricated the horse from the sun. Thou, horse, art thou art A'DITYA

YAMA
:

thou art

TRITA
The
three
4.

by a mysterious act

thou art associated with

SOMA.
;

sages have said there are three bindings of thee in heaven.

They have
upon earth
;

said that three

are thy bindings in heaven

and three

in the firmament.

Thou

declarest to

me, Horse, who art (one with)


called thy
5.

VARUNA,

that

which they have


these
;

most excellent birth. have beheld, Horse, these thy purifying (regions)

impressions of the feet of thee,

who

sharest in the sacrifice

and

here thy auspicious reins, which are the protectors of the


preserve
6.
it.

rite that

recognise in

my mind

thy form afar

off,

going from

(the

earth) below,
aloft,

head soaring
I

by way of heaven, to the sun. I behold thy and mounting quickly by unobstructed paths,
thy

unsullied by dust.
7.

behold

most

excellent

form

(receive) thy food in thy (holy) place of earth

coming eagerly to when thy attend-

254

PLATE XXIV.

ant brings thee nigh to the enjoyment (of the provender), therefore greedy, thou devourest the fodder.
8.

The

car follows thee,


;

follow thee

the loveliness

Horse of maidens

men
(waits)

attend thee

cattle

upon thee

troops

of demi-gods following thee

have sought thy friendship; the


his feet are of iron

gods themselves have been admirers of thy vigour.


9.

His mane

is
is

of gold

and

fleet

as

thought,

INDRA

his inferior (in speed).

to partake

of his

(being

offered

as)

The gods have come oblation; the first who


high-spirited,

mounted the horse was INDRA.


10.

The

full-haunched,

slender-waisted,

and

celestial

coursers (of the sun), gallop along like swans in rows,

when

the horses spread along the heavenly path.

11.

Thy

body, horse,

is
;

made

for

motion;

thy

mind

is

rapid
in

(in intention) as the

wind the hairs (of thy mane) are tossed manifold directions and spread beautiful in the forests.
;

12.

The
led

swift

horse approaches

the

place
;

of immolation,

meditating with

him

is

mind intent upon the gods the goat bound to before him after him follow the priests and the
;

singers.
13.

The
:

horse

proceeds to that assembly which

is

most

excellent

to the presence of his father

and

his

mother (heaven

and

earth).

Go, (Horse), to-day rejoicing to the gods, that (the


yield blessings to the donor.

sacrifice)

may

referring to Trita

this hymn, such as those in verse 3 and Soma, may suggest corroborative astronomic observations,^ but I would here especially refer to the description,

Many

passages

in

verse

i,

of the horse possessing "the wings of the falcon,"

verse 6 to

the words,

"I behold thy head soaring


I

aloft,

and in and

mounting quickly by unobstructed paths, unsullied by dust."

As

read these

hymns
'

cannot think merely of an actual

V. pp. 176, 177.

PEGASUS ERECT IN THE SKY


horse led to sacrifice, but of the winged celestial Pegasus
it
;

255
nor
is

easy to think of that celestial horse as

it is

at present depicted,

reversed in the sky.

The Vedic

previous verse he has said,

poet beheld his head soaring aloft, but in the " I have beheld Horse, those
.

impressions of the feet of thee

"
;

and

if

" these " impressions

were the

stars
I

which, on the Grecian sphere, marked the horse's

head, but, as

have contended,

originally

marked

his hoof, then

we

shall

understand how, associated with Soma,


i.e.,

and

identical

with Trita by a mysterious act


solstice,

at the

season of the
in

summer

and when the moon was

at its

full

the constellation

Aquarius, ancient astronomers imagined to themselves the horse

Pegasus producing with his hoof the sweet exhilarating waters of


the fountain Hippocrene.

The
Pegasus

date of this particular legend concerning the hoof of


I

should be inclined to place at about 3000

B.C.,

when

the solstitial colure


sions of the feet"

was so closely
of the

marked by
I

" those impres-

"swift horse sprung from the gods."


think that of 4000
i,

For the
B.C. is

first

imagining of the constellation


(see Plate

more probable

XXIV.,

Figs,

2).

01

l-l

^^^

INDEX
Ab AB-GAR, 4
Abba uddu, 4
Abel, 164 Abhra, 113 Abib, 165, 166, 168, 170 Aboo Simbel, 39, 40, 41 Abraham, 167

Abu, 2, 4 Accad, 6, 52-57, 80.

Apam Napat, 126 Apin-am-a, 4 Apis Bull, 218, 233-235 Apollo, 156 Apollonius of Tyana, 97 Aptya. See Trita Aquarii ;8, 196 Aquarius, 9, 40, 44-47, 51-57, 66-70,
79, 80, 83, 123, 124, 129-132, 144, 174-179, 197, 199, 202, 209, 221-

Set Calendar

AchEemenid Idngs, 60, 73 See Aswini Afvini. Adar, Adaru, 2-6, 69 A'ditya, 253 Agane, 151
Agni, 125-131, 138, 140, 181, 183 Agrahayani, 228 Ahi, III. See Vritra
153, 172,

223, 232-235, 241, 250, 251, 255

Aqrabu, 44
Aquila, 66-70, 80, 124, 248

Arakh-makru, 4 Arakh-samna, 2, 4
Aratos, 216, 224-227, 241, 242 Archer. See Sagittarius Arcitenens, 44

64, 65, 73-76, 8183, 149-155. 172, 227 Airu, 2, 4, II

Ahura Mazda, 60,

Argo, 248
Aries,
1-19, 24-44, 53-57, 92, 94, 104, 145-147, 170, 171, 186-190, 209, 210, 217, 218, 220, 224, 235,

Aitareya Brahmana, 140 Akiba, Rabbi, 163 Albumassar, 17, 18 Alexander, 25, gi, 103
Algol, 246

245. 251

Alphonsus, 23 Altair, 67

and /3, 94, 137, 251. Arsacidse, 4 Artemis, 156, 157, 160
Arietis a

142,

143,

Aru, 44

Amen, 32-41 Amen-Ra, 32-34, 39-41 Amon. See Amen Amphora, 44, 45, 67,
233> 236

Aryaman, 252

As
79, 204,

a-an, 4 Assara Mazas, 149, 150

223,

Assur, 74-79,

83, 84,

86,

150-155,

227
Assurbanipal, 6, 69 Assyrian Standard, 77-80, 83, 86
267

Andromeda, 239-244, 246 Anna, 48

258
Asteria, 179

INDEX
Calendar, Egyptian, 31, 34, 3S, 39 Grecian, 180 Gregorian, 193-196 Hebrew, 162-170, 234 Indian, 88, 92, 96, 104, 132-148, 167,171,176,181-184, 188,217 Lagash, 54, 57

Asura, 81,82,85,86, 112, 150-153, 182, 183 Asura maha, 153 Aswamedha, 244, 251 Aswini, 92-94, 104, 132, 134, 136148, 172, 181, 183, 187, 188, 210, 251. 253 Aswins, the. See Aswin! Atharva Veda, 94, 133, 136 Atri, 141, 181-184 Attic year, 180 Auriga, 245, 246 Ava, 85 Avesta. See Zend Avesta Ayu, 252

Median, 56-87, 222, 229


Persian, 58-61

Roman,

II, 159, 180, 193

Cambyses, 235
Cancer, 8, 36, 44, 218-221 Canis Major, 248 Canis Minor, 248

Canopus, 248
Capella, 246

Babylonia. See Calendar Bahu. See Bau


Bailly,

Jean Silvain,

17,

20, 26, 27,

29
Barrett, Dr, 222 Bar zig-gar, 4, 7, lo, 13-15, 53, 104, 165, 166, 171, 172

Bau, 47-55, 57, 69, 210-212


Bel, 16, 81

Caper, 44 Capricornus, 52, 218, 220, 222, 252 Capuja, 243 Cassiopeia, 239-244, 246 Cassyape, 243 Castor, 221, 222 Centaur, 155-158, 245 Cepheus, 239-244, 246 Cetus, 239-243
Chaitra, 134-138, 171, 172, 181, 188

Bel-Merodach, 69
Bi^lier.

See Aries Beltis, 16 Bentley, Mr, 100 Bergaigne, 140, 143 Berosus, 18, 83
Bethel, 233 Bible, the, 21, 84, 164-170

Che, 202 Chevreau, 23 Ch'in, 207 China, History


Chipiez.

of,

197-209

See Perrot Chiron, 155, 156 Choris, 32, 33


Cisilivu,

Bodhanunddnath Swami, 157


Bootes, 223-226
British Museum, 3, 8 Brown, Robert, 224, 226, 247 Browne, Bishop, 21
Bull.

4 Claudius Ptolemy, 17, 216 Clemens Alexandrinus, 23 Confucius, 206, 207

Brugsch, 33 See Taurus Bulls, Assyrian, 87 Burgess, 90, 93, 98

Cook, 21 Corona Australis, 77, 229, 230 Crab. See Cancer Cumont, 61
Cuthah, 85 Cuzallu, 4 Cygnus, 248 Cyrannid books, 17

Cain, 164
Calendar, Accadian, 1-23, 57-58, 103, 145-147, 187, 208-210, 224 Babylonian, 1-3, 103, 165, 234 Chinese, 185-211

Dan, 233
Darmesteter, 60

Denderah, 218, 232

INDEX
Deuteronomy, Devas, 82 Dhanus, 223 Dharbitu, 4
169, 170

259

Gir-tab, 8

Go, 113
Goat-fish, 8,

D'Herbelot, 18 Diana, 158 Dianus, 158 Doris, 242 Draco, 223 Dupuis, 27-29 Duzu, 2, 4 Dvita, 177-180

220 Golden calf, 233, 235 Gregory XIII., II, 193


Griffin,

68

Griffiths, 31

Gu, 9, 44-47 Gudea, 48-57, 208, 209, 222 Gula, 9, 46-57. 69, 209
Gutiura, 81

Hamath,
Heb

85
3, 4, 6, 12,

Eagle,

64.

See Aquila

gammurabi,
Hecate, 179

83-85

Ebers, 35, 233

en-ant, 35

Eden, 21, 22 Edfu, 232 Ekashtaka, 1 34 Ekata,' 177-180 Ekhud, 48 Elam, 81 ElUlla, 48
Elul, 2, S

Hermes, 17
Hercules, 226, 229, 230, 245, 246 Herodotus, 81 Hierakonpolis, 236 Hillebrandt, 122

Hippocrene, 251, 255 Hiu, 196-209

Eninnu, 48 Enzu, 44

Hommel,
I- 10,

149- 151

Epping and Strassmaier,


45. 1.02

44,

Horus, 33, 40 Hsia, 207 Hvarya, 1 50 Hydra, 1 17-123, 132, 227, 229
Icu, 246
Indra, 111-124, 130, 131, 138, 148, 172-183, 252-254

Equulei,

<x, 196 Esneh, 218 Eudoxos, 241, 242

Eul-ya, 185, 204 Eusebius, 17 Evetts, 48 Exodus, 165, 170

Innanna, 6 Innannanki, 5
Isaac, 167
Isis,

33

Fasti Siculi, 23 Fomalhaut, 67 Freya, 96

Istar, 4, 10,

84

Jacob, 167
Jana, 158 Janus, 158-160 Jemsheed, 58 Jensen, 45, 49, 5, 68, 102 Jeroboam, 233, 234 Jerusalem, 163 Jesuits, 194-196. 207 Tohnston, 40 Jones, Sir William, 89, 9, 95, 96 Josephus, 20, 169 Jupiter, 47, 103

Gamaliel, Rabbi, 163


Gandharba, 253 Gan-ganna, 4 Ganymede, 70 Garga, 97

GatMs, 153 Gaubil, 204


Gemini, 10, 44, 77, 146, 220, 221
Genesis, 21, 210 Genica, 17

26o
KailA^e, 158
Kaiomurs, 58

INDEX
Mars, 103
Maruts, I73-I75> '84, 252, 253

Kang,

186, 188

Kao-yang, 201 Karnak, 35, 36, 39 Kas, 4, 10 Ker Porter, 58, 65


Khar-sidi, 4, 10

Maspero, 33, 49, 68, 69, 219 Ma^u, 44 Maut, 32, 33 Mayer, 102 Medusa, 246

Khophri, 220

Memnonium, 35 Memphian Triad, The, 33


Mercury, 9, 103 Merodach, 68 Mesopotamia, 8, 49, 80, 83-86, 209 Mills, 153 Milton, 181, 241 Mishna, 163 Mithraeum, 62 Mithras, 60-65, 74) 81, 234, 235 Mitra, 81, 252 Mlechchas, 95, 97 Moguls, 95 Montucla, 89 Moses, 165, 167 Mriga, 228 Mrigasbirsha, 228 Miiller, Max, 251 Muna-xa, 8 Munga, 4 Muradi, 17

Ki Gingirna, 4, 10 Kimta-rapaStu, 6 Kio, 185, 186, 188, 191, 210


Kis, 69 Kislimu, 2, 4 Kneeler, The, 226

Kou, 205
Krisnu, 125 Krishna, 182
Krittika, 94, 134, 136 Ku (sarikku), 44

Kumbha, 223
Lactantius, 23 Lagash, 4B-57, 68, 69, 208, 209, 222 Lajard, 63, 66 Latadeva, 98 Layard, 74, 77 Legge, Mr, 234 Legge, Professor, 197, 200, 207 Lehmann, 102 Leo, 44, 64-70, 79, 80, 83, 221, 232, 233, 235, 236 Libra, 44, 218-220 Lion. See Leo. Lugal-ki-uluna, 6
Lydda, 163 Lyra, 226

Nakshatra,

92, 94, 104, 132, 133, 136, 142, 188, 227-229

Nana, 6 Nekropolis, 35-37 Nicephorus, 23 Nile, 32, 35, 36, 37 Nineveh, 73, 74, 84, 86 Ningirsu, 48-51, 208
Ningiszida, 48 Ninib, 49-53, 208 Nisan, 2-19, 53, 69, 163-166 Nisannu. See Nisan

Macdonell,

111-128, 153, 175

Magan, 49 Magha, 134, 135 Mahesa, 157


Mahler, 102 Mailla, Pere de, 197-200 Mait, 219

Noah, 58
Noel, 205

Nowroose, 58-60

Manda.

See

Umman Manda

Oldenburg,
Olivet, 163

151, 152

Mangala, 96 Marchesvan, 234 Marduk, 5

Onuphrius Panvinius, 23 Ophiuchus, 245, 246

INDEX
Oppert, 102 Orion, 157, 227-229

261

Revati, 92, 93, 104, 132, 138, 143, 187, 188

Ormuzd, 65
Osiride pillars, 40
Osiris, 33,

Ribhukshin, 252 Ricci, Matteo, 194

219

Rig Veda, 92,


Rim-sin,
3,

Ostia, 62

105-148, 184, 228, 244, 251-255

153,

171-

Pa, 44 Pagas, 251 Paitamaha, 98 Panchasiddhantika, 98 Pafii, 112 Panope, 242 Panvinius, Onuphrius, 23 Passover, The, 169, 170 Paulisa, 98
See Soma Pegasus, 244, 24S-255 Peking, 194, 195 Perrot and Chipiez, 64, 71, 73 Persepolis, 64, 70, 72-74, 86, 87 Perseus, 179, 239, 245-247

Rishis, 97, 106, 108, 123, 130, 133

Romaka, 98

Roman
Rome,

year, 180
61, 172, 193

Rudra, 152-160, 172-174, 184


Rsis, 141.

See Rishis

Pavamana.

Sabahu, 4 Sabatu, 2 Sabbath, 163, 169, 170 Sadducees, 169 Sagitta, 125
Sagittarius,
8, 76-83, 147, 150-160, 172-174, 220-223, 227, 230

Sam, 36
Samaria, 84, 85 Samaritan Pentateuch, 22

Petrie,

236

Phalguni, 134, 135


Pharisees, 169
Philastrius, 23 Philostratus, 97

Samson Agonistes,
Samsu-iluna,
Sani, 96
3,

181

Phoenicians, 81
Pisces,

44,

80,

174,

177-179,

202,

Sara zig-gar, 4. See Bar zig-gar Sargon I., 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 16, 80,
81, 83, 151

220, 221 Piscium f, 93


Pleiades,

Sargon

II.,

78

94

Sassinide dynasty, 60

Plumptre, 163 Poissons, Les. See Pisces Pollux. See Castor


Ptah, 40

Ptolemy, 17, 216 Pulukku, 44 Punjaub, 128 Pushan, 252

Satapatha Brahmana, 141 Sater, 96 Saturn, 103 Saura, 98 Savitr, 140 Savitra, 98 Sayana, 228 Sayce, 7, 9, 46, 69, 81, 102
Scarabseus, 218, 220 Schall, J. A. von, 194, 195 Schlegel, Gustav, 185, 186, 190, 191,
204, 205 Scorpio, 8, 44, 63-67, 80, 221, 231-

QuiBELL, 236

Ram.

See Aries

Rameses II., 35-40 Ramessides, 33 Rashis, 92 Ravi, 96

236
Se-dir, 4, 13, 14, 146, 147 Se-ki-sil, 4, 13, 14, 146, I47

Seleucidte,

262
Semites, 83-85

INDEX
Theban Triad, The,
Thebes, 34 Thibaut, 98 Thor, 96 Thoth, 38, 39 Thraetona, 178 Thrita, 178
See
32, 33

Sepharvaim, 85 Septuagint, 22 Seth, 20


Seti, 36,

39 Shou, 33 Shuddh Paksha, 182 Shukia, 182 Siddhantas, The, 98. Siddhanta

Surya

Tilak, B. G., 134, 135, 228 Tischritu, 2, 4


Tisri,

163

Simannu,

4 Sing-king, 186
2,

Tithis, 176, 180, 182

Siou, 185, 188, 196, 197, 202, 207


Sirius, 31, 38

Tortoise, 8, 218 Trita Aptya, 175-181, 184, 253-255 Triton, 178, 179

Siva, 157, 173 Slates, 235-238

Soma, 96 Soma, 107,

108,

ni, 121-125,

131,

138, 172-177. 253-255 Souciet, 204

Tsivan, 4 Tuisco, 96 Tul-cu, 4 Twashtfi, 252 Twins. See Gemini

Tyana, 97

Southern Crown, 77 Sphinxes, 32, 34


Spica, 28, 167,
170,

Udhar,
171,

113

1S8-190,

Ululu,

2,

210
Standard, Assyrian, 77-80, 83, 86 Strassmaier. See Epping Strauchius, 23 Sucra, 96 Suidas, 23 Su-kul-na, 4 Sunahsepas, 244 Suria, 150 Surias, 1 50 Surya, 182, 183 Surya Siddhanta, 90, 93, 98, 187 Susa, 70-73, 87 Swarbhanu, 182, 183
Syncellus, 17

Umman

Manda,

81-86, 151

Unger, 27
Universal History, 21 Ursa Major, 224 Usas, 139, 140 Usher, Archbishop, 21, 22 Utu, 5

Vadya Paksha,

Taittiriya Brahmana, 136


Taittiriya Sanhita, 134-136, 139 Talmud, 162, 163, 169 Tasritu, 4

182 Vala, 112 Valley, Feast of the, 36, 38 Varaha, 97-99 Varahamihira. See Varaha Varuna, 152-154, 252, 253 Vasistha, 98 Vasus, 253

Taurus,

8, n, 44, 56-87, 146, 156, 159, 160, 221, 232-236

154,

Tchuen-Hio, 197-210, 222


Tebitu, 2, 4 Telloh, 48, 49 Te (mennu), 44

Vedas, 95, 106, 128. See Atharva Veda, Rig Veda, Yajur Veda Venus, 103 Verethraghna, 114 Verseau. See Aquarius Vierge. See Virgo Virgil, 159 Virginis a, 188
Virgo, 10, 28, 44, 80, 185, 186, 220, 221

INDEX
Vossius, Isaac, 23 Vrihaspati, 96 Vritra, 111-123, 14S, 177

263
94, 133-135

Yajur Veda, Yama, 253


Yaska, 141 Yavan, 95, 97

Vrtrahan, 114

Yoga Wan-nian-shu, 194 Water-jar. See Amphora


Water-man.
See Aquarius
of,

stars,

142

Zamama, 69
Zend Avesta,
60, 113, 114, 178 Zeus, 70 Zib, 44 Zibanitu, 44 Zodiac, 2 et passim Zu, 69

Week, Days

96

Whitney, 93, 187


Wilson, 112, 124-127, 153, 182, 251

Woden, 96 Wogue, 169

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Astronomy

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The Reception

of the Copernican Theory and the Progress of Observation Kepler From Galilei to Newton Universal Gravitation ObservaGalileo Gravitational Astronomy in the iSth tional Astronomy in the l8th Century Century Herschel The 19th Century List of Authorities and of Books for Students Index.

The

Middle Ages

Copernicus

With over 100

Illustrations.

Crown

%vo.

6s.

work which will be of the greatest value Manchester Guardian.

"A

to all serious students of

astronomy."

The
By
Professor
Illustrated.

Stars.

A STUDY OF THE UNIVERSE.

NEWCOMB.
(>s.

Large Crown 8vo.

The Tides and Kindred Phenomena


Solar System.
The Substance of Lectures delivered at the Lowell
Boston, Massachusetts, in 1897.

in the

Institute,

By

GEORGE HOWARD DARWIN,


in the University of

Plumian Professor and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.

With Illustrations. Crown %vo. Ts. 6d. " Professor Darwin has succeeded in giving a very clear and lucid account of the matters Times. of which he treats."

FROM MR MURRAY'S LIST continued.


Egypt under the Pharaohs.
By HEINRICH BRUGSCH-BEY.

CONDENSED AND REVISED By M. BRODRICK.


With Maps, Plans, a7id Illustrations.

Demy%vo,

I'&s.

Outlines of Ancient Egyptian History. By AUGUSTE MARIETTE. TRANSLATED AND EDITED WITH NOTES By MARY BRODRICK.
Second Edition.
With Maps.

Crown

?ivo.

51.

Popular Account of the Ancient Egyptians. By Sir J. GARDNER WILKINSON, F.R.S.


Revised and Abridged from his Larger Work.
Illustrated with yx) Woodcttts.

2 Vols.

Post ivo.

12s.

WORKS
etc.

by the

late Sir A.

HENRY LAYARD.
7s. 6d.

NINEVEH AND ITS REMAINS.


With
lUustrations.

With an Account of a Visit to the Chaldean Christians of Kurdistan, and the Yezedis, or Devil Worshippers,

Crown
:

Svo.

NINEVEH AND BABYLON

a Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Ruins of Assyria, with Travels in Armenia. With Illustrations. Crown Svo. 7s. 6d.

EARLY ADVENTURES
SUSIANA,
Tribes.
24s.

IN

PERSIA, BABYLONIA,
among

AND

including a residence
Portrait,
I

With
in

Also

Vol.

Map, and Crown Svo.

the Bakhtiyari and other Wild Illustrations. 2 Vols. Crown Svo. 7s. 6d.

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND LETTERS OF SIR A. HENRY

LAYARD, G.C.B., D.C.L. From his Childhood until his Appointment as H.M. Ambassador at Madrid. With an Additional Chapter on his Parhamentary career, by the Right Hon. Sir ARTHUR Otv^'AY. Edited by the Hon. William Napier Bruce. With Portraits and
Illustrations.

2 Vols.

Demy

Svo.

25s. net.

".

one of the mosl interesting volumes of Memoirs published in recent years." KaM/^y
are fascinating reading."

Fair.
"

The volumes

Daily Neius.

FROM MR MURRAY'S LISTcoafinued. WORKS OF TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE.


SERVICE AND SPORT ON THE TROPICAL NILE.
Some
Records of the Duties and Diversions of an Officer among Natives and Big Game during tlie Re-occupation of the Nilotic Province. By Captain C. A. Svkes, R.H.A. With a Map, and Illustrations from Photographs and from Drawings made by Major E. A. P. HoBDAV, R.F.A. Square Crown 8vo. I2s.net

ROUND THE HORN BEFORE THE MAST.


8s. net.

An Account of a Voyage from San Francisco round Cape Horn to Liverpool in a FourMasted "Windjammer," with the Experiences of the Life of an Ordinary Seaman. By A. Basil Lubbock. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo.
book that Clark Russell could hardly have given us
in his

"A
IN

palmiest days."

Sunday

Special.

THE ANDAMANS AND NICOBARS.


in

The Narrative of a Cruise Terrapin, with Notices of the Islands, their Fauna, Ethnology, etc. By C. Bodkn Kloss. With Maps and numerous Illustrations from Photographs taken on the spot. Medium 8vo. 2 is.
the Schooner
:

net.

A NATURALIST IN INDIAN SEAS

or, Four Years with the Royal Indian iMarine Survey Ship Investigator. By A. Alcock, M.B., LL.D., F.R. S., Superintendent of the Indian Museum and Professor of Zoology With Illustrations. Demy 8vo. in the Medical College of Bengal.
1

8s. net.

"An
" It

is

exceptionally interesting and important book." Daily News. altogether a delightful volume. ... A bright, picturesque, and informing book.''

Glasg<rjj

Herald.

TEN THOUSAND; MILES


Maps and many
Standard.
Illustrations.

IN PERSIA: A Record of Eight Years' By Major Percy Constant Travel in Eastern and Southern Iran. MOLESWORTH Sykes (Queen's Bays), H.M. Consul at Kerman. With
Medium
8vo.
25s. net.
in

"There has been nothing among recent

publications to compare

interest

and im-

portance with the substantial volume in which Major Sykes has recorded his experiences."

SAVAGE ISLAND
Pacific

an Account of a Mission

to

Niue and Tonga

in the

By Basil Thomson, lately H.M. Special Commissioner. With Map and Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 7s. 6d. net.
Ocean.
"

Mr Thomson

has produced a most valuable and charming account of his


this

visit.

We

heartily Gazette.

recommend

instructive

and diverting volume

to the

reader."

Pall Mall

FINLAND AS

IT IS. By Harry de Windt. With Map and numerous full-page and other Illustrations. Large Crown 8vo. 93. net. the reading of it creates an "... A chatty, lively account of the land and the people
. . . . . .

ardent desire to visit Finland. Publishers' Circular.

No

one should go

to

Finland without

this

book."

THE YANG-TZE VALLEY AND BEYOND.


tions.

An

Account

of

Journeys in Central and Western China, especially in the Provinces of Sze-Chuan and among the Man-tze of the Somo Territory. By Mrs BiSHor (Isabella L. Bird), F.R.G.S. With Map and numerous Illustra8vo.

2 IS. net.

FROM MR MURRAY'S LISTcontinued.


KING MOMBO.
Great Forest,"

By Paul du Chaillu, Author of " The World of the "The Land of the Long Night," " The Viking Age," etc.
7s.

With Illustrations. Large Crown Svo. "An admirable book for boys." AthencEuin.

6d. net.

THE MAKING OF A FRONTIER:

Five Years' Experiences and Adventures in Gilgit, Hunza, Nagar, Chitral, and the Eastern HinduKush. By Colonel Algernon Durand, C.B., CLE., British Agent at Gilgit, Military Secretary to the Viceroy of India, 1S89-1894.

1 884- 1 899. Svo. i6s. With Portrait, Map, and Illustrations. work which is full of life and movement, and gives us many quaint glimpses of the of strange peoples. It is modestly written, as becomes the narration of the author's surprising success in achieving great results for the Empire, and is full of humorous incident. ' /"a// Mall Gazette.
'*

Demy

life

FUNAFUTI
scientific

An Unor. Three Months on a Remote Coral Island. Account of a Scientific Expedition in the South Seas. By Mrs Edgeworth David. With a Postscript on the Continued Work of the Expedition, by Professor Bon.N'EY, D.Sc, F.R.S. With Illustrations. Large Crown Svo. 12s.
;

"We

like

delightful

Mrs David immensely humour in her portrayal of

well.

the island
;

She is never once dull, and bubbles over with and its people." Pa.U Mall Gazette.

AT SCHOOL AND AT SEA


in the P'orties,

Sketches of Life and Character at Harrow and subsequently in the Royal Navy. With Experiences and Adventures on the Australian Station, in the South Seas, in the Black Sea, in the Trenches at Sebastopol, etc. By " Martello Tower," a Naval Officer. With Illustrations. Svo. i6s.
racy and well-written narrative."

"

Daily Chronicle.

A BOY

IN

THE PENINSULAR WAR.

The

Services, Adventures,
in the 28th

and Experiences of Robert Blakeney, Subaltern An Autobiography. Edited by Julian Sturgis.

Regiment,
i6s.

Demy

Svo.

" For the rest, this autobiography not only jub.tifies Mr Julian Sturgis's pious editing, but deserves far more than he claims for it. Amid the crowd of biographies and autobiographies, it has what Sir Joshua with a snap of finger and thumb called 'that.'" A.T.Q.C. in the Speaker.

HAUNTS AND HOBBIES OF AN INDIAN


Mark Thornhill,
in

OFFICIAL.

By

Author of "Adventures of a Magistrate Indian Mutiny." Large Crown Svo. 6s. " Mr Mark Thornhill must be a pleasant man to know, for he has written the
book which shows
Chronicle.

in the
kind of

every line a thoughtful, observant, and kindly personality."

Daily

THE NAVAL PIONEERS OF AUSTRALIA.

By Louis Becke

and Walter Jeffrey. Illustrated. Large Crown Svo. 7s. 6d. "... Delightful to the reader who knows good work when he sees it." Academy.

AMONG THE CELESTIALS:

Narrative of Travels in Manchuria, across the Gobi Desert and through the Himalayas to India. Abridged from " The Heart of a Continent," with additions. By Captain Francis YouNGHUSBAND, C.I.E., Gold Medallist R.G.S., Author of "The Relief of Chitral." With Map and Illustrations. Crown Svo. 7s. 6d.

LIVINGSTONE'S FIRST EXPEDITION TO AFRICA,


With Notes by
it

F. S.

Arnot.

Map

of South Afirica

1840-1856. Containing many New Illustrations and at the time of Livingstone, and another of that

country at the present time.


:

Crown

Svo.

5s.

LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET,

W.

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