Up, rise up, thou moon—
Rise up, ye stars, rise up above Hara-Berezaita
And produce light for the world,
And mayest thou, O man, rise up along the path made by Mazda—
Along the way made by the gods,
The watery way they opened.”
RIVERS.
In the mythology of every people we find mystic rivers in connection with the worship of their divinities. They are winding everywhere through the enchanted land of fable. Often born in the highlands of the celestial mountains, they are represented as coming down to earth with the glint of the sunlight on their waves. The great river of Egypt, which is supposed to give life to the gods as well as men, is thus fabled to have sprung from the mountains of the sky, and a “Hymn to the Nile,” recorded on a clay tablet, begins with the words:
“Adoration to the Nile!
Hail to thee, O Nile!