All this the most ancient nations had a knowledge of, from patriarchal tradition. When they laps’d into idolatry, they applied these good notions to their new idolatry, and made statues from the symbolical and figurative forms of speech, us’d in true religion. Their sacrificing the ram on the festival day of Jupiter, their beating the ram, putting his head on the statue of their deity, burying him in a sacred urn: all most evidently pointing out the notions they had, in the most early times, of the suffering state of the Messiah. And such was the origin, in short, of Jupiter Ammon. But it appears, by what learned authors write, on Curtius’s description of his statue, that a magnetical compass box made one considerable part of his sacreds. This we read in Hyde Pers. relig. p. 495. in Curtius publish’d by Pitiscus, and by Rader the jesuite, and Schottus in Ortelius, by Fuller, Herwart and others. “This compass box with the statue of the deity, was set in a golden ship (the golden cup of Hercules) and carried in procession on the shoulders of the priests, accompanied by women singing an hymn in their own language.” I doubt not, but the circumstance of carrying this golden ship, on the shoulders of the priests, is an imitation of the Mosaic ark in the march of the Israelites, thro’ the wilderness, during their forty years pilgrimage. Tho’ they mistook the reason of the thing; the Jewish church then being in a military and travelling state. But where the camp rested, the ark was reposited, in the adytum of the tabernacle: so likewise when in possession of the land of Canaan. This is sufficient proof, that the Lybians herein, copied after the Israelites, not vice versa, as our moderns are willing to think, in these cases.
Curtius tells us, the habit of Ammon’s statue was made of Smaragd and other precious stones, wrought in Mosaic work. Which I take to be too, in imitation of the pontifical attire, under Moses’s administration: particularly of the sacred, oracular pectoral, made of Mosaic work, with gems. I apprehend, that beside the statue of Ammon, there was a figure of (the upper part at least of) a ram, on the compass box: which was the oracle. And it is easy to guess how this may be managed for the purpose; even beyond the trick of Januarius’s blood, and other Popish devices.
Hence we may better understand the famous golden fleece, which occasioned the Argonautic expedition, one of the earliest and most memorable Æra’s of the Grecian history. If we suppose this golden fleece to be a compass box, we see the reason why the choice youth of Greece set out upon that voyage: which, as all other matters of ancient history, among the Greeks, is so unaccountably puft up with the leaven of fable. It became navigators to run any hazard for such a treasure. If we enquire into its origin, it is thus. Phrixus son of Athamas and Nepheles (according to the Greeks) had a ship given him by his mother. The ship is call’d in the fable a golden ram, or the ram with a golden fleece (the same thing as Hercules’s golden cup.) In this, he and his sister Helle, flying the ill-usage of their mother-in-law Ino, sail away by sea. Helle affrighted in the voyage, falls overboard and gives name to the Hellespont. Phrixus continues the voyage, and goes to Æetes king of Colchis, where he hangs up his golden ram in the temple, to Jupiter Phyxius, (one would be apt to imagine they meant Pyxius, alluding to the box.) Jason made his far-fam’d expedition thither afterward, and stole it. But the ram was placed in the heavens, among the constellations, as a memorial; the first sign in the Zodiac: which shews the high antiquity of the story.
This account manifestly pretends very great antiquity, and some signal event. I observe this Ino their mother-in-law, is said to be the nurse of Bacchus, and throwing herself with her son Melicerte into the sea, became a goddess, under the name of Leucothea. Her son became a god, under the name of Palæmon. This Melicerte is allowed by all the learned, to be no other than our Melcartus above-mention’d. Palæmon is Hercules, says Hesychius. Palæmon is his name of deification. Pausanias in the beginning of his corinthiaca informs us, this apotheosis of Ino and Melicerta was the occasion of founding the famous Isthmian games. Plutarch says the same, and Phavorinus. Again, I observe, Phrixus is said to be son of Nephele (a cloud) whence call’d nubigena by Columella. We must hence expect somewhat very secret and obscure. Further, all writers say openly this ram or ship of Phrixus was oracular and could speak upon occasion. So all the writers of the Argonautics too will have the ship Argos to be loquacious and oracular. Magnes another name of the load-stone is often call’d Adamas, which seems to be no other than Athamas. Apollodorus makes Magnes the son of Æolus, who marrying Nais, inhabited the isle Seriphus. Æolus was a great sailor, invented sails, and studied the winds, therefore deified and made the god of the winds. I suppose it all ends in the mysterious invelopement of the knowledge of the magnetic compass.
I hope for the readers candour, in reciting thus much from antient fable, which I did as concisely as possible. But in matters of obscure antiquity, we must make use of all helps. And in heathen antiquity we have no other. A strictly historical way of writing in former times, is only to be expected in the sacred canon of the Jews. And what is remarkable, after God’s holy spirit had deserted them, their writers became the greatest fablers in the world, and, if possible, out-did the Greeks, in that way.
Stukeley d.
A Prospect of the barrows in Lake field called the Eleven barrows & lately the prophets barrows.
2d. Sepr. 1723.
A. Stonehenge .P. barrow open’d by. L. Pembroke. SS. by Stukeley.
One would imagine, the fashion of these most antient charts, was to divide the circle into 12 parts, and affix the celestial signs of the zodiac to them; beginning with the east at aries, where the sun rises at the equinoxes; and thence they might call the box by the name of aries, as shewing the east where aries is plac’d. As now the Turks and Arabians call it kibla noma, i. e. shewing the kibla, or south point, the way toward which they turn their faces in devotion. So we only enquire for the north point; and call it the lode-stone, because it shews the lode-star or north pole. But ’tis all one; any one point in a circle being found, the rest are found too.