200 



NA TURE 



[December 28, 1893 



of the Scorpion, but later on, when the autumnal equinox 

 coincided with them, the term Balance was applied to 

 them. Although this was used as an additional name, it 

 was only natural that the old term should still be used as 

 an equivalent. But it also indicates the great age of a 

 portion of the zodiac." 



Let us suppose that what happened in the case of Aries 

 and Libra happened with six constellations out of the 

 twelve, in other words, that the original zodiac consisted 

 u.ily of six constellations. We should have — 



u 



list not only classifies 



an unbroken 



The upper 

 manner the Fish-Man, the Goat-Fish, the Scorpion-Man 

 and Marduk of the Babylonians, but we pick up all or 

 nearly all of the ecliptic stars or constellations met with 

 in early Egyptian mythology, Apis, the Tortoise,^ Min, 

 Selk, Chnemu as represented by appropriate symbols. 



Further, the remarkable suppression or small represen- 

 tation of the Lion in both the more ancient Babylonian 

 and Egyptian mythology is explained. I have shown before 

 how the Babylonians with an equinoctial year would 

 take slight account of the solstice, while it also follows 

 that the Egyptians, who were wise enough not to use 

 zodiacal stars for their warnings of sunrise for the reason 

 that stars in the brighter light of dawn near the sun 

 are more difficult to see, might easily neglect the con- 

 stellation of the Lion as first Phact and then Sirius, both 

 southern stars, marked for them the advent of the 

 summer solstice ; on different grounds, then the Lion 

 might well have been at first omitted in both countries. 



Since there is a doubt as to the existence of the Lion 

 among the first Babylonian constellations,- the argument 

 in the following paragraph would appear to refer to 

 observations made at a later time when totemism was 

 less prevalent : — 



"The Lion in the heavens must represent the heat 

 of the summer. He does this most effectually when 

 the summer solstice coincides with the constellation, 

 that is, when its principal stars appear before the 

 sun at the summer solstice. This happened at the 

 time when the vernal equinox lay in Taurus, and when 

 the principal star-group of the Bull appeared before 

 the sun at the time of the vernal equinox. The water- 

 jug (Amphora) — Aquarius must represent symbolically 

 the watery season of winter. It does this most effectu- 

 ally when the winter solstice coincides with it, or its 

 principal star-group appears before the sun at the winter 

 solstice. This happened about the time when the vernal 

 equinox lay in Taurus, and its principal star-group rose 

 before the sun at the time of the vernal equinox." 



The above suggested basis of the Babylonian mytho- 

 logy, regarding the demons of Tiamat, established when 

 the sun was in Taurus at the spring equinox, enables us 

 to understand clearly the much later (though similar) 

 imagery employed when the sun at the equinox had 

 passed from Taurus to Aries — when the Zend Avesta was 

 written, and after the twelve zodiacal constellations had 



- 1 I think I am riglit about the Tortoise, for I find the following passage 

 in Jensen, p. 65, where he notes the absence of the Crab; — " Ganz 

 absehend davon, ob dasselbe fiir unsere Frage von Wichtigkeit werden wird 

 oder n.cht, muss ich daran erinnern, das unter den Emblemen, welche die 

 sogenannten "Deeds of Sale" haufigbagleiten, verschiedene Male wie der 

 Scorpion S3 die Schildkrote abgebildet gefunden wird. . . ." 

 - Jensen, p. 314. 



NO. 1 26 I, VOL. 49] 



been established. We find them divided equally into 

 the kingdoms of Ormuzd and Ahriman. Here I quote 

 Dupuis : ^ 



" L'agneau est aux portes de I'empire du bien et de la 

 lumiere, et la balance a celles du mal et des tenebres ; 

 I'un est le premier des signes superieurs, et I'autre des 

 signes inferieurs. 



" Les six signes superieurs comprennent lessix millede 

 Dieu, et les six signes inferieurs les six mille du diable. 

 Le bonheur de I'homme dure sous les premiers signes, et 

 son malheur commence au septieme, et dure sous les six 

 signes affectes a Ahriman, ou au chef des tenebres. 



" Sous les six signes du regne du bien et de la lumiere 

 qui sont agneau, taureau, gemaux, cancer, lion et 

 vierge ou epi nous avons marque les etats varies de I'air 

 et de la terre, qui sont le resultat de Taction du bon prin- 

 cipe. Ainsi on lit sous l'agneau ou sous le premier 

 mille ces mots, printemps, zephyr, verdure ; sous le 

 taureau, seve et fleur ; sous les gemeaux, chaleurs et 

 longs jours ; sous le cancer, ete, beaux temps ; sous le lion, 

 epis et moissons ; et sous la vierge, vendages. 



" On passant a la balance, on trouve les fruits ; la com- 

 mence le regne du mal aussitot que I'homme vient a 

 cueiller les pommes. La nature quitte sa parure ; aussi 

 nous avons ecrit ces mots. Depouillement de la nature, 

 sous le scorpion on lit froid ; sous le sagittaire, neiges j 

 sous le capricorne, glace et brouillard, siege des tene- 

 bres et de long nuits ; sous le verseau, pluies et frimas ; 

 sous les poissons, vents impetueux." 



We now return for a moment to la. 



Associated with la was an la-star, which Jensen con- 

 cludes may be r) Argus. This we must consider. 



Jensen concluded that the la-star is rj Argus, on the 

 ground that many of the texts suggest a darkening of it 

 now and again ; he next proceeds to point out that a varia- 

 bility in the star is the only point worth considering in 

 this connection, and by this argument he is driven to ?/, 

 which is one of the most striking variables in the heavens, 

 outshining Canopus at its maximum. Speaking gener- 

 ally, everybody would agree that observation by clouds, 

 &c., would not be recorded, but if the star were observed 

 just rising above the southern horizon only, then its 

 absence, due to such causes, would, I should fancy, be 

 chronicled, and it must not be forgotten that this is pre- 

 cisely the place where it would be observed, for in the 

 first place it was to the south of the heavens, what Bi) 

 was to the north, and the temple sacred to it at Babylon 

 was oriented to the south. 



But J? Argus never rose or set anywhere near the south. 

 I have ascertained that its declination was approximately 

 33^"" S. in 6000 B.C., and increased to 40" S. by about 

 2000 B.C. Hence between these dates at Eridu its 

 amplitude varied between 38^ and 47° S. of E. or W. 

 Now here we are far away from the S. point, though 

 very near the S.E. or S.W. point, to which it is stated 

 the Babylonian structures had their sides oriented. 



The question arises whether there was a star which 

 answers the other conditions. There was a series of such 

 stars. First, beginning with the most recent; we have 

 Canopus. 6000 B.C. its declination was 62.3^, it would 

 then have been below the horizon of Eridu, first making its 

 appearance with a declination of 59' nearly at the south 

 point in 4700 B.C. Phact would follow in 5400 B.C. 

 Achenar would make a similar appearance for the first 

 time about 8000 B.C. It may be here mentioned gener- 

 ally that the precessional movement must, after certain 

 intervals, cause this phenomenon to be repeated con- 

 stantly with one star after another. May this explain the 

 "other animals" who subsequently appeared like la 

 (Cannes) ? The whole myth is, I think, clearly one re- 

 lating to men coming (from the south ':) to Eridu in 

 ships. The boat is turned into a " fish man," and the 



" Origine des Cultes," vol. vii. p. 82. 



