482 
M Y T H O L O G Y. 
two words of an import naturally applicable to the lunar 
planet: J'em, a fign ; and ramah, high. It was a general 
praftice among the Orientals to denominate their facred 
animals from that deity to which they were confecrated. 
Hence, the Moon being called Semiramis, and the pigeon 
being lacred to her divinity, the latter was called by the 
name of the former. As the bounds prefcribed to this ar- 
tle render it impoilible for us to do juftice to this intereft- 
ing piece of mythology, we imift beg leave to refer our 
readers for farther information to Diod. Sic. lib. ii. Hy- 
ginus Poet. Aftron. Fab. 197. Ovid. Metam. lib. iv. 
Athen. in Apol. Izetzes, Chil. ix. cap. 275. and Selden de 
Diis Syr. 
In .Egypt we find idolatry, theology, and mythology, 
almoft inleparably blended together. The inhabitants of 
this region, too, as well as of others in the vicinity of the 
centre of population, adhered for feveral centuries to the 
worlhip of the true God. At laft, however, confcious of 
their own ignorance, impurity, imperfeftion, and total 
unfitnefs to approach an infinitely-perfeft Being, diftant, 
as they imagined, and invifible, they began to call about 
for forne beings, more exalted and more perfedt than them- 
felves, by whole mediation they might prefer their prayers 
to the Supreme Majelty of heaven. The luminaries of 
heaven, which they imagined were animated bodies, na¬ 
turally prefented themfelves. Thefe were fplendid and 
glorious beings. They were thought to partake of the 
divine nature : they were revered as the fatraps, prefects, 
and reprefentatives, of the Supreme Lord of the univerfe. 
They were vilible, they were beneficent; they dwelt 
nearer to the gods ; they were near at hand, and always 
acceflible. Thefe were, of courfe, employed as mediators 
and interceffors between the Supreme Divinity and his 
humble fubje&s of this lower world. Thus employed, 
they might claim a fubordinate lhare of worlhip, which 
was accordingly afiigned them. In procefs of time, how¬ 
ever, that worlhip, which was originally addrelfed to the 
Supreme Creator by the mediation of the heavenly bodies, 
was in a great meafure forgotten, and the adoration of 
mankind ultimately terminated on thofe illultrious crea¬ 
tures. To this circumltance, we think, we may afcribe 
the origin of that fpecies of idolatry called zabiifm, or 
the worlhip of the holt of heaven, which overfpread the 
world early and almoft univerfally, In Egypt this mode 
of worlhip was adopted in all its molt abfurd and molt 
enthufiaftic forms ; and at the fame time the molt hetero¬ 
geneous mythology appeared in its train. The mythology 
of the ancient Egyptians was fo various and multiform, 
fo complicated and fo mylterious, that it would require 
many volumes, even to give a fuperficial account of its 
origin and progrefs, not only in its mother-country, but 
alio in many other parts of the eaftern and weftern world. 
We hope, therefore, our readers will not be dilappointed, 
if, in a work of this nature, we touch only upon fome of 
the leading ormoft interefting articles of this complicated 
fubjech 
The Egyptians confounded the revolutions of the hea¬ 
venly bodies with the reigns of their moft early monarchs. 
Hence the incredible number of years included in the 
reign of their eight fuperior gods, who, according to them, 
filled the Egyptian throne l'ucceftively in the moft early 
periods of time. To thefe, according to their fyftem, 
iucceeded twelve demigods, who likewife reigned an 
amazing number of years. Thefe imaginary reigns were 
no other than the periodical revolutions of the heavenly 
bodies preferved in their almanacs, which might be car¬ 
ried back, and a&ually were carried back, at pleafure. 
Hence the fabulous antiquity of that kingdom. The 
imaginary exploits and adventures of thefe gods and de¬ 
migods furnilhed an inexhauftible fund of mythological 
romances. To the demigods Iucceeded the kings of the 
etpiic cycle, perfonages equally chimerical with the former. 
The import of this epithet has greatly perplexed critics 
and etymologifts. We apprehend it is an oriental word 
importing royal dignity, elevation of rank. This appel¬ 
lation intimated.- that the monarchs of that cycle, admit¬ 
ting that they actually exifted, were more powerful and 
more highly revered than their fucceffors. After the 
princes of the cynic cycle comes another race, denomi¬ 
nated Ncliyes, a title likewife implying royal, fplendid, 
glorious. Thefe cycles figure high in the mythological 
annals of the Egyptians, and have furnilhed materials for 
a variety of learned and ingenious difquiiitions. The 
wars and adventures of Ofiris, Oris, Typhon, and other 
allegorical perfonages who figure in the Egyptian rubric ; 
the wanderings of Ifis, the lifter and wife of Ofiris; the 
transformation of the gods into divers kinds of animals; 
their birth, education, peregrinations, and exploits ;— 
compofe a body of mythological fictions fo various, fo 
complicated, fo ridiculous, and often fo apparently ab¬ 
furd, that all attempts to develope and explain them have 
hitherto proved unfuccefsful. All, or the greatelt part 
of, thofe extravagant fables are the offspring of hiero- 
glyphical or allegorical emblems deviled by the priefts 
and fages of that nation, with a view to conceal the 
myfteries of their religion from that clafs of men whom 
they ftigmatized with the name of the uninitiated rabble. 
The worlhip of brute-animals and of certain vegetables, 
univerfal among the Egyptians, was another exuberant 
fource of mythological adventures. The Egyptian priefts, 
many of whom were likewfife profound philofophers, ob- 
ferved, or pretended to obferve, a kind of analogy be¬ 
tween the qualities of certain animals and vegetables, and 
thofe of fome of their fubordinate divinities. Such ani¬ 
mals and vegetables they adopted, and confecrated to the 
deities to whom they were l'uppofed to bear this analogi¬ 
cal refemblance ; and in procefs of time they confidered 
them as the vifible emblems of thofe divinities to which 
they were confecrated. By thefe, the vulgar addrelfed 
their archetypes : in the fame manner as, in other coun¬ 
tries, pictures and ftatues were employed for the very 
fame purpofe. The mob, in procefs of time, forgetting 
the emblematical charafter of thofe brutes and vegetables, 
addrelfed their devotion immediately to them; and, of 
courfe, thefe became the ultimate objeCts of vulgar ado¬ 
ration. 
After that thefe objefts, animate or inanimate, were 
confecrated as the vifible fymbols of the deities, it foon 
became fafhionable to make ufe of their figures to repre- 
fent thofe deities to which they were confecrated. This 
practice was the natural confequence of the hieroglyphical 
ftyle which univerfally prevailed among the ancient 
Egyptians. Hence Jupiter Ammon was reprefented un¬ 
der the figure of a ram, Apis under that of a cow, Ofiris 
of a bull. Pan of a goat, Thoth or Mercury oFan ibis, 
Bubaftis or Diana of a cat, See. It was likewife a com¬ 
mon pra&ice among thofe deluded people to dignify thefe 
objefts, by giving them the names of thofe deities which 
they reprefented. By this mode of dignifying thefe fa¬ 
cred emblems, the veneration of the rabble was coniider- 
ably enhanced, and the ardour of their devotion inflamed 
in proportion. From thefe two fources, we think, are de¬ 
rived the fabulous transformations of the gods, fo gene- 
rallyxelebrated in the Egyptian mythology, and from it 
imported into Greece and Italy. In confequence of this 
practice, their mythological fyftem was rendered at once 
enormous and unintelligible. 
Their Thoth, or Mercury Trifmegiftus, was, in our 
opinion, the inventor of this unhappy fyftem. This per- 
fonage, according to the Egyptians, was the original au¬ 
thor of letters, geometry, aftronomy, mufic, architecture, 
in a word, of all the elegant and ufeful arts, and of all 
the branches of fcience and philolophy. He it was who 
firlt difeovered the analogy between the divine affec¬ 
tions, influences, appearances, operations, and the cor- 
refponding properties, qualities, and inltinCt, of certain 
animals, and the propriety of dedicating particular kinds of 
vegetables to the fervice of particular deities. The priefts, 
whole province it was to expound the myfteries of that 
allegorical hieroglyphical religion, gradually loft all 
knowledge 
