Attys, who was called the "Only Begotten Son"[190:9] and "Saviour," was worshiped by the Phrygians (who were regarded as one of the oldest races of Asia Minor). He was represented by them as a man tied to a tree, at the foot of which was a lamb,[191:1] and, without doubt, also as a man nailed to the tree, or stake, for we find Lactantius making this Apollo of Miletus (anciently, the greatest and most flourishing city of Ionia, in Asia Minor) say that:
"He was a mortal according to the flesh; wise in miraculous works; but, being arrested by an armed force by command of the Chaldean judges, he suffered a death made bitter with nails and stakes."[191:2]
In this god of the Phrygians, we again have the myth of the crucified Saviour of Paganism.
By referring to Mrs. Jameson's "History of Our Lord in Art,"[191:3] or to illustrations in [chapter xl.] this work, it will be seen that a common mode of representing a crucifixion was that of a man, tied with cords by the hands and feet, to an upright beam or stake. The lamb, spoken of above, which signifies considerable, we shall speak of in its proper place.
Tammuz, or Adonis, the Syrian and Jewish Adonai (in Hebrew "Our Lord"), was another virgin-born god, who suffered for mankind, and who had the title of Saviour. The accounts of his death are conflicting, just as it is with almost all of the so-called Saviours of mankind (including the Christian Saviour, as we shall hereafter see) one account, however, makes him a crucified Saviour.[191:4]
It is certain, however, that the ancients who honored him as their Lord and Saviour, celebrated, annually, a feast in commemoration of his death. An image, intended as a representation of their Lord, was laid on a bed or bier, and bewailed in mournful ditties—just as the Roman Catholics do at the present day in their "Good Friday" mass.
During this ceremony the priest murmured:
"Trust ye in your Lord, for the pains which he endured, our salvation have procured."[191:5]
The Rev. Dr. Parkhurst, in his "Hebrew Lexicon," after referring to what we have just stated above, says:
"I find myself obliged to refer Tammuz to that class of idols which were originally designed to represent the promised Saviour, the Desire of all Nations. His other name, Adonis, is almost the very Hebrew Adoni or Lord, a well-known title of Christ."[191:6]