Synthesis of the data in "Zeus"

by Arthur B. Cook (1925)

jwr47
The fears of the Celts for a collapsing sky
The fears of the Celts for a collapsing sky must have been compensated for the greatest hope to
provide themselves with strong pillars, which have been found in all civiliations! The most sacred
place on earth was the location of the central pillar in the central omphalos!
"trabon and #rrian
$
both tell us that in the year %%& '!C! the Celts of the #driatic, men
of great stature and a haughty disposition, sent envoys to sue for the friendship of
#le(ander! The )acedonian monarch received them in state and asked them what they
dreaded most, e(pecting the obvious answer * +ou!* To his chagrin they replied that they
had but one fearlest the sky should some day fall upon them
2
!ther statements of the fear for a fallin" sky
#
The national oath by which the Celts bound themselves to the observance of their covenant with
#le(ander is remarkable! ,f we observe not this engagement," they said, "may the sky fall on us
and crush us, may the earth gape and swallow us up, may the sea burst out and overwhelm us!"
The -lster heroes declare to their king, who wished to leave them in battle in order to meet an
attack in another part of the field ".eaven is above us, and earth beneath us, and the sea is round
about us! $nless the sky shall fall with its showers of stars on the ground where we are camped, or
unless the earth shall be rent by an earth/uake or unless the waves of the blue sea come over the
forests of the living world, we shall not give ground!
4
"
$ 0tolemy "oter recorded this in his history of the wars of #le(ander! 0tolemy, a friend, and probably, indeed, half1
brother, of #le(ander, was doubtless present when this incident took place! .is work has not survived, but is /uoted
by #rrian and other historians! The Celts said2 "3e fear no man 2 there is but one thing that we fear, namely, that the
sky should fall on us4 but we regard nothing so much as the friendship of a man such as thou!" Chapter ,2 The Celts
in #ncient .istory
5 0age && in Zeus a "tudy in #ncient 6eligion 7ol 5 0art , 81925) by #rthur 'ernard Cook
% Chapter ,2 The Celts in #ncient .istory
4 from the "T9in 'o Cuailgne," in the 'ook of :einster, ;The 'ook of :einster is a manuscript of the twelfth century<
Fig. 1: The temple's facade at Delphi featuring
an E at the center
Apollo Agyies
,n ancient .ellas the =reek civiliation had been based on trading! Trading routes heavily depend
on #pollo, whose name is found in many trading posts such as #pollonia in ,llyria 8#lbania>,
#pollonia in #carnania 8?pirus @> and #pollonia in #itolia
&
!
The Aeltoi, :ucian says, regarded amber as the tears, not of the poplars, but of #pollon!
B
! #nd also the
island of Tenedos, directly nearby Troy, must have played a leading role in trading! The important
trading goods are not unveiled! "lavery however always has been a by1product!
.erodotus describes the trading stuff as sa%red thin"s wrapped in wheaten straw! .e names some
trading posts such as Codona, Aarystos, #ndros, Tenos, Celos! 0ausanias describes trading
materials as first&fruits hidden
7
in wheaten straw and names 0rasiai en Celos
D
as trading posts! The
transports used a relay system, in which goods were to be transported by local people between
borders!
The holiest of the all in .ellas must have been the sanctuary at Celphi, which officially had been
devoted to #pollo!
Apollo Agyie s had been the protector of roads and had been represented by a pillar! The Agyie s1
cult was aniconic, and this facet of #pollo was worshiped in the form of a pointed column or
obelisk
E
Agyie s-pillars are to be found on the road to Celphi in #pollonia, Frikos, Flympe,
#mbracia
$G
!
,n ancient eras the Celts feared the sky might fall down, which had to be prevented by trees such as
the ,rminsuls )aypoles, pillars of Ciana respectively Agyie s. ,n fact all these pillars had been invented
to carry the sky over a flat earth! 0oles and especially )aypoles had been fertility symbols as well!
The E-inscription at the omphalos in Delphi
11
The old mphalos 8navel>, found by H! Courby in $E$%, had been engraved with four archaic letters,
referable to the seventh century '!C! 8fig! $5G>, of which the last three give us in the genitive case the name
of the earth1goddess 'a 8or 'as, respectively 'a(
12
> and the first appears to be the mystic symbol )!
The letter ? has been documented by 0lutarch in IThe ? at CelphiJ, in which it became clear the
#pollo1priests already had lost the understanding of the symbolic letter J?K!
$%
)any suggestions
have been made about this letter, but generally these have been based on the assumption that the
sanctuary of Celphi had been designed as an #pollo1temple, which does not seem to have been the
case
$4
!
& near Laupactus
B :ucianus in het boek On Amber or Swans. Geciteerd op2 page 4D4 in Zeus a "tudy in #ncient 6eligion 7ol 5 0art ,
81925) by #rthur 'ernard Cook
7 3hy should it be hidden anyway@
D 'y the time of the Fdyssey the island was already famous as the birthplace of the twin gods #pollo and #rtemis!
E #gyie s
$G The very name #mbracia already indicates #mber1trading
$$ The ?1,nscription at the Fmphalos of Celphi M published 5& N & N5G$4
$5 #nother depiction is given in 7arieties of -nreligious ?(perience2 The E at Celphi
$% The )eaning of the ? at Celphi
$4 The ?1,nscription at the Fmphalos of Celphi 1 Lotes 8$>
The holiest of all temples
$&
at Celphi represents three religious phases! The archaic phase started
with Zeus Aphesios and !e Themis 8=aia>, to be followed by the Cionysos1era! Cionysos simply is
another word for Jnew godK 8Dios "ysos# that is Dios 'the $ounger.'>! The Cionysos1period is to be
followed the the #pollo1era! #pollo is a comparatively late comer into =reece, he stands out in
.omer, almost in his full development, with a cosmopolitan character
$B
!
The cult of #pollon came into =reece along the older #mber 6oute from the land of the
.yperboreans, which is best located near the source of the Canube
$7
! ,n contrast Zeus and =e are
pure .ellenic characters!
Friginally the temple must have been a Zeus1 O =e1sanctuary, in which the omphalos from the
beginning had been devoted to %eus 8as a sky1god> and !e Themis 8the earth goddess>
$D
! The
omphalos may have been a base of an #gyePs1post as a depository for the navel1string of Zeus
$E
!
The engraved letters J?K en J=aK may have belonged to Zeus and =aia which had been documented
in the coins* symbolic letter J?K!
,n later eras people manufactured three letters J?K 8a wooden, a brone and ultimately a golden
letter> for the temple*s facade!
#t an old marble piece also a sculptor had engraved ,F- respectively ,? +Z
5G
! These inscriptions
are similar to what Cante had documented as the first divine names in his Civina commedia 1
0aradiso, Canto QQ7,
5$
! Fbviously it had been an archaic custom to use a vocative of a divine
name as a nominative
55
! These divine names are rather short and consist of lots of vowels!
)y "uggestion2 The letter J?K in the name Zeu and ,?- is e/uivalent to the central letter
J#K in ,#R, respectively . in +.7 8Sehovah>!
,n many cases bi1faced gods 8such as the 6oman creator god Sanus and the Celtic deity Cis, which
had been mentioned by Caesar in his 'ello =allico> have been documented
5%
! These forms of
bipolarity may suggest to consider the leading and trailing characters 8such as , and R in ,#R> as
antipodes or twins
54
! :eicester and #/uileia seem to have been important centers for these forms of
religion!
$& "ee the sketch in The .oliest "pot in #ll .ellas 1 Lotes 8%>
$B "ource2 page 4&E in Zeus a "tudy in #ncient 6eligion 7ol 5 0art , 81925) by #rthur 'ernard Cook
$7 "ource2 page 4EB in Zeus a "tudy in #ncient 6eligion 7ol 5 0art , 81925) by #rthur 'ernard Cook
$D Zeus a "tudy in #ncient 6eligion 7ol 5 0art , 81925) by #rthur 'ernard Cook
$E 0age D4G in Zeus a "tudy in #ncient 6eligion 7ol 5 0art , 81925) by #rthur 'ernard Cook
5G ,n the Lame of Zeus 1 Lotes 85>
5$ source 2 Civina commedia 1 0aradiso, Canto QQ7,
55 Tuotation 8in =erman> from2 0! Aretschmer in !lotta $EGE i! 57 f!
5% Sanuslike Ceities 1 Lotes 84>
54 "ource2 page %7D in Zeus a "tudy in #ncient 6eligion 7ol 5 0art , 81925) by #rthur 'ernard Cook
Janus
,anus was commonly recognied as the oldest god of ,taly! Suvenal addresses ,anus 0ater as *most
ancient of the gods!*
5&
! ,n Corian language San had been e(pressed as Zan, which was to be the
Cretan sky1god
5B
, to be followed by Zeus! ,nitially neither Zan nor lanus was anthropomorphic
57
!
,anus was represented as a vault or archway with four supporting pillarsUa mimic sky which gave
rise to the 6oman triumphal arch
5D
! 3hen lanus became iconic, he was figured as a double1faced
deity standing beneath his arch! The double face, a characteristic of other sky1gods, showed a
tendency towards differentiation 8beardless &. bearded, blonde &. black1haired, etc!> and perhaps
signified that the divine "ky was bright by day and dark by night!
The sky*s pillars later transformed to twins such as the Cioskouroi! # flat earth overarched by a
solid sky resting on side1props had to be replaced by another concept of a round planet with a bright
daylight and dark nighttime! # recurring feature in such cases is the comparative feebleness of one
of the Twins, a feebleness sometimes amounting to effeminacy, which therefore paves the way for
the recognition of Twins male and female, resulting in the supposed twinship of #pollon and
#rtemis!
=iven the impact of the idea of the sky*s pillars we should check the names Sanus and Zan for
indications of symbolic support pillars, which have been symbolied by letters!
To my opinion the letter J?K, which had been engraved at the omphalos, symbolies the core
8JnavelK> of the divine names Zeus en Seu1piter!
These core letters may be compared to the dentral letters J#K in JSanK and JZanK, respectively
J,ARK, or J.K in S*7 8Sehovah>, which later had been replaced J?K in Zeus and Seu1piter,
respectively an JFK in Sou1piter!
,n this case etymology uses the letter J#K, the first and most important of the alphabet, as a
symbolic sky1pillar for the universe in JSanK, JZanK, J,ARK!
The double ax
"ir #rthur ?vans, without indulging in such subtleties, risks a similar conjecture a propos of the
same ring2 * The curious reduplication of the a(e blades
5E
suggests indeed that it stands as an image
of the conjunction of the divine pairUa solar and a lunar divinity!
%G
*
0ersonally #rthur 'ernard Cook understands the double a(e as the union of the "ky1father with the
?arth1mother, and claims that an ordinary double a(e on its wooden handle came to be received as a
symbol of like significance!
The double a( also plays an important role at the island
%$
, which is interconnected to Celphi
%5
!
3hen the 'rone #ge succumbed to the ,ron #ge, the *)inoan* Aronos was succeeded by the
.ellenic Zeus, who became the inheritor of the double a(e over a wide area of the ancient world
%%
!

5& Sanuslike Ceities 1 Lotes 84>
5B "ource2 page %4& in Zeus a "tudy in #ncient 6eligion 7ol 5 0art , 81925) by #rthur 'ernard Cook
57 Leither Zan nor lanus was, to begin with, anthropomorphic! 1 0age D4G in Zeus a "tudy in #ncient 6eligion 7ol 5
0art , 81925) by #rthur 'ernard Cook
5D 6etrospect 1 Lotes 8B>
5E 6etrospect 1 Lotes 8B>
%G 6etrospect 1 Lotes 8B>
%$ 0age BBE
%5 6etrospect 1 Lotes 8B>
%% 6etrospect 1 Lotes 8B>
The heritage of the a( had been symbolied at the coins of Tenedos, in which a sky1god and an
earth goddess had been displayed! Their names are Tenes 8or Tennes> respectively .emithea
%4
!
The a( symbolies se(ual intercourse between the sky1father and the earth goddess
%&
! 0enelope*s
marriage1test perhaps presupposed the same set of half1forgotten ideas by inviting her guests to
shoot an arrow through the holes of $5 subse/uent a(es
%B
!
The double a( may also be a fore1runner for the Christian labarum1symbool with its chi and rho1
letters
'(
!
ggdrasil !this section has not been included in "#eus"$%
,n the symbol +ggdrasil we may already have recognied the central pillar 8a(is mundi>, which by
the way has not been described by #rthur 'ernard Cook! Traditionally +ggdrasil is named an Jash
treeK although it may have been an evergreen yew 8ta(us>
%D
!
,n old1?nglish the letter ), which is named )sc 8"ash tree"> is covering an important set of words
such as la*, scripture, ceremony, custom, marriage and in Lorwegian the word is used for Jalways,
eternalK!
,n Lorway the word ) is used for a personal pronoun of the first person singular 8ego1pronomen>
%E
,
which according to +orris ,*adesh is the most important word! "wadesh composed the ,*adesh
lists, in which the ego1pronomen is found at the most prominent first location!
,n =ermanic languages the - grapheme 8a . e / )> therefore symbolied the world*s a(is
$ggdrasil, in old ?nglish la*, scripture, ceremony, custom, marriage and in Lorwegian dialects the
ego1pronoun J,K!
%4 6etrospect 1 Lotes 8B>
%& page B77
%B 0age BEG
%7 0age BGD in Zeus a "tudy in #ncient 6eligion 7ol 5 0art , 81925) by #rthur 'ernard Cook
%D Ta(us baccata
%E + , , 8first1person singular personal pronoun>8dialectal, mostly found in TrVndelag, northern Lorway, and parts of
western and southern Lorway>!
&ynthesis
The book Zeus by #rthur 'ernard Cook 8$E5&> still is a good lecture with numerous e(cellent
graphics, although it is being loaded with lots of footnotes!
The book documents the historical impact of 6omanN=reek trading and the religious boundary
conditions of SanusNZan as the world*s support pillars, their successors Sou1 respectively Seu1
piterNZeus, who gradually have been replaced by younger successors!
The fear for a collapsing sky must have been compensated by a most sacred pillar in a most sacred
omphalos!
The omphalos 8navel>, which had been found in Celphi probably had been designed as a symbolic
pillar like +ggdrasil, in which the navel1string of Zeus had to be stored!
The navel represented the world*s a(is as a supporting piller! ,n ?nglish the JnaveK is an JnavelK1
a(is for a rotating wheel!
The world*s pillars may still be identified in the )aypoles, which are the remaining fertility1
symbols from ancient eras! ,n later eras the pillar symbols have been personified by twins such as
#pollo and #rtemis!
The letter J?K, which had been engraved at the omphalos 8navel> symbolies the core 8Jthe navelK>
of the names Zeus and Seu1piter!
These core symbols may be compared to the central letters J#K in JSanK and JZanK, respectively
J,ARK, or J.K in S*7
4G
8Sehovah>, which in later eras had been replaced by an J?K in Zeus and
Seu1piter, respectively an JFK in Sou1piter!
,n etymology the letter symbol J#K, the first and most important alphabetical symbol, is the original
world*s pillar in the symbolic universe JSanK, JZanK, J,ARK!
,n =ermanic languages the - grapheme 8a . e / )> therefore symbolied the world*s a(is
$ggdrasil, in old ?nglish la*, scripture, ceremony, custom, marriage and in Lorwegian dialects the
ego1pronoun J,K!
'ased on this information the letter J?K at the omphalos and temple of Celphi be understood as the
core letters in the divine names JSALK, JZALK, J,)-K, JZ)-K, JS!-K, J,ARK, JS*7K and J+K!
The original symbolic world*s pillar J#K 8in JSALK, JZALK> transformed in the course of time to an
J?K or JFK 8in J,)-K, JZ)-K, JS!-K> and in =ermanic territories to the grapheme J-K! ,n the
.ebrew system the central vowel is an J#K 8in J,ARK respectively JS*7K
4$
>!
Contents
The fears of the Celts for a collapsing sky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!$
Fther statements of the fear for a falling sky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!$
#pollo #gyiePs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!5
The ?1inscription at the omphalos in Celphi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!5
Sanus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!4
The double a(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!4
+ggdrasil 8this section has not been included in "Zeus"W>!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!&
"ynthesis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!B
4G #ccording to the )ater lectionis we may read the letter .e 8J.K> in JS.7K as X, Y, Z, [, \ but mostly as - or e
4$ #ccording to the )ater lectionis we may read the letter .e 8J.K> in JS.7K as X, Y, Z, [, \ but mostly as - or e