Dec. 1801. j 



The Origin of Brahmanism. 



275 



the Satyrs. He effected the subjugation of the country. The 

 poet Dionysius thus refers to the adventure of Bacchus : 



" There is moreover, wonderful to tell, 



lu the rich region, which the Ganges laves, 



A pass esteem'd most sacred : this of old 



Bacchus is said, in wrathful mood, distress'd, 



To have traversed, what time he changed 



The soft Nebrides for a shield of brass ; 



And for the Thyrsus, bound with ivy round, 



He couched the pointed spear." 

 Indian account of the Invasion. 

 Rama a conqueror of the highest renown, and extirpator of the 

 indigenous royal races in India, delivered nations from tyrants, and 

 subjugated the Deccan at the head of an army of monkies, the 

 general of which was Hanumunta. The throne of Rama was 

 usurped by his brother Bharata, and he wandered far in search of 

 his consort Sita. 



Expedition to India derived eeom: Egyptian sources.* 

 In the history of Osiris he appears as a great conqueror, who 

 travelled over the face of the whole earth, winning new territories 

 wherever he came. He is said to have been the son of Rhea; and 

 his chief attendants were Pan, Anubis, Macedo, and Maro a great 

 planter of vines. The people of India claim Osiris as their own. 

 Many make him a native of Egypt, and mention his travels 

 through Arabia and Ethiopia to India, which he conquered ; whence 

 he turned back to Egypt. He built cities in various parts of which 

 the most remarkable was Hecatompulus or Theba. He is parti- 

 cularly stated to have introduced the vine everywhere in his ex- 

 cursions, which appears to identify him with Bacchus. He was 

 esteemed a great blessing to the Egyptians both as a lawgiver, and 

 as a King. The people of Memphis shewed his Taphos, or high 

 altar tomb under which he was supposed to be buried. The 

 solemnities at the burial of Osiris were distinctly Bacchic. The 



pri ts wore panther skins, carried Thyrsus staves, and convulsed 

 themselves like the Bacchautes. His throne was usurped by his 



* We are indebted for the preservation of this portion of Egyptian 

 history chiefly to Herodotus, Diodorus, Plutarch, and Eusebius, 



