We have now enumerated the zodiacal constellations in the order of the direct motion (from west to east) of the sun, moon, and planets which traverse them. They marked at the epoch of their formation, the monthly passage of the sun into each of them. The distribution of the stars in figurative groups was the first truly hieroglyphical writing; it was engraved on the firmament in indelible characters.
The zodiac has played a great part in the ancient history of every nation—in the formation of the calendar, in the appointment of public festivals, and in the constitution of eras. The zodiac of Denderah, discovered by the French savants in Egypt at the end of the Eighteenth Century, was at first believed to have an antiquity of 15,000 years; but it is now proved that it is necessary to deduct from that number of years half the cycle of precession—that is to say, nearly 13,000 years—which brings down the date of this sculpture to 2,000 years before our epoch; and this in fact corresponds with the evidence of archæology. It is remarkable that all the ancient zodiacs and calendars which have been preserved to us begin the year with the constellation of the Bull, as we have already noticed. The zodiac of the Elephanta Pagoda (Salsette) has at the head of the procession the sign of the sacred Bull, the ox Apis, Mithra—of which the promenade of the fat ox, which is still performed in the environs of Paris, is a vestige. The ceiling of a sepulchral chamber at Thebes shows the Bull at the head of the procession. The zodiac of Esne, the astronomical picture discovered by Champollion in the Ramesseum of Thebes, carries us back to the same origin, between two and three thousand years before our era; Biot supposes the date of this to be the year 3285, the vernal equinox passing through the Hyades on the forehead of Taurus. Father Gaubil has proved that from ancient times the Chinese have referred the beginning of the apparent motion of the sun to the stars of Taurus; and we have a Chinese observation of the star η of the Pleiades as marking the vernal equinox in the year 2357 before our era. Hesiod sings of the Pleiades as ruling the labors of the year, and the name of Vergilia, which the ancient Romans gave them, associates them with the beginning of the year in spring.
Fig. 11
Without entering into any details of the different zodiacs which have been preserved to us from the most ancient and diverse nations, a glance at those which are reproduced here will lead us to appreciate the part which they have played in ancient religions. Several zodiacal signs have become veritable gods. The zodiac represented by Fig. 11 was engraved, in the Thirteenth Century, on an Arabic magic mirror, and dedicated to the sovereign prince Aboulfald, “Victorious Sultan, Light of the World,” if we are to believe the bombastic inscription which encircles it. Fig. 12 shows an ancient Hindoo zodiac. Fig. 13 shows a Chinese zodiac stamped upon a talisman, even now in use. The twelve signs differ from ours; they are: the Mouse, the Cow, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Serpent, the Horse, the Ram, the Ape, the Hen, the Dog, and the Pig. Fig. 14 represents a Chinese medal, on which we see the constellation Teou, the Great Bear[9] (which they call the Bushel), the Serpent, the Sword, and the Tortoise. This is a talisman intended to give courage; it appears that it is in great demand among the Chinese, and is as well circulated as the medals of the Immaculate Conception are in France.
Fig. 12.—Ancient Hindoo Zodiac
Of all the zodiacal constellations, that of the Bull has played the principal rôle in ancient myths; and in this constellation it was the sparkling cluster of the Pleiades which appears to have regulated the year and the calendar among all the ancient nations. The Mosaic deluge itself, referred to 17 Athir (November), in commemoration of an important inundation, had its date coincident with the appearance of the Pleiades.[10]
Fig. 13.—Chinese Zodiac, from Fig. 14.—Chinese Medal, showing
a Talisman the Great Bear