It would seem also that the ultimate development of the Cushite idolatry in Egypt, although partly due to the Ethiopians of Upper Egypt, received a wave of influence from the Ethiopians of India, who came to Egypt at the latter part of the eighteenth dynasty, when, for the first time, the Pharaohs adopted the Indian title of "Rameses," and the worship of Osiris was substituted for that of Set. The Hindus also have a tradition that their four sacred books were taken to Egypt.2 The principal gods of the Vedas were "Indra," the god of rain, "Surya," the Sun, and "Agni," the god of fire,3 and Max Müller says that these gods were not represented by idols. Ultimately, however, they were more or less identified with the Cushite gods. Surya is represented, like the Sun god in Greece, as drawn by a chariot and horses. He is identified with Agni, the god of fire, and the latter, like Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, was represented as old and deformed, and just as Vulcan, king of the Cyclops, was represented to be an eater of human flesh, so also was Agni. Siva, although not mentioned in the Vedas, is by the Puranas declared to be " Rudra,” who is the same as Agni.7 Fire also was recognised as having the same purifying efficacy as in other forms of the Cushite idolatry. The Suttees, who devoted themselves on the funeral pyres of their husbands, were considered to become pure by burning, and a worshipper is represented, according to the sacred books, as addressing the fire, "Salutation to thee, O Fire, who dost seize oblation, to thee who dost shine, to thee who dost scintillate, may thy auspicious flame burn our foes, mayest thou, the purifier, be auspicious to us."9 With regard to other Indian gods, it is evident that "Dyauspiter ("Heaven Father"), the god of lightning, is identical with Jupiter, the god of lightning, who was also called "Diespiter." "Juggernaut" is the Indian Moloch, and, like him, required human victims. Again, although Saturn was the father of the gods in Greece and Rome, he was said to be the son of "Coelus" and "Terra," "Heaven" and "Earth," while Cronus was similarly represented to be the son of the 3 Wilkins' Hindu Mythol., p. 7. 7 Ibid., pp. 220, 221. • Moor's Pantheon, "Siva," p. 43; Hislop, p. 315. • Colebrooke's "Religious Ceremonies of Hindus" in Asiatic Researches, vol. vii p. 260. 10 Lenormant's Anc. Hist. of East, vol. ii. p. 12. same parents by their Greek appellations, "Ouranos" and "Ge." Similarly the Indian "Dyaus" and "Prithivi," "Heaven" and 'Earth," are said to be the parents of all the gods.' "Krishna" is the Indian Apollo or Horus, and, as we shall see later on, is represented as taking the same part in the ultimate development of idolatry as Horus and Apollo. He is a herdsman like Apollo. He is represented with a flute, as Apollo is with a harp, is an archer like Apollo, and, like Apollo, is the destroyer of the serpent.2 "Cama deva" is a youth like Cupid, and, like Cupid, is the son of the Indian Venus, "Luksmi." Like Cupid, he carries a bow and arrows, and with his arrows creates desire, and, as the god of desire, is invoked by brides and bridegrooms. He is represented as sitting on a deer to show his swiftness.3 "Parvati Dvorgu" is the Indian Minerva. She derived her surname from the giant "Dvorgu," whom she slew, just as Minerva obtained the name of "Pallas" from the giant " Pallas" whom she slew.4 "Luksmi" is the Indian Venus. She springs, like Venus, from the froth of the sea, and, as in the case of Venus, her beauty is so great that all the gods are enamoured of her, while, like Venus, no bloody sacrifices are allowed on her altars.5 "Yuni" is the Indian Juno or June, and the symbol, the "Yoni," worshipped with the "Lingam," is evidently derived from her name. She is identified with the ship Argha (the Ark), and with the dove called "Capoteswari," as in the case of Juno and Semiramis. 6 The gigantic bulls of Babylon and Assyria were, we know, symbols of their great god, and the same symbol existed in Egypt in the forms of the bulls Apis and Mnevis, the symbols of Osiris or Horus. Thus in a dedicatory inscription, in the temple of Luxor, to Amenhotep III., who, as vice-regent of the god, was identified with him,? it is said, "I am Horus, the strong bull, who rules by the sword and destroys all barbarians." He is "king of Upper and Lower Egypt, 'Wilkins' Hindu Mythol., p. 10. 2 Nightingale's Religions and Ceremonies, chap. x. p. 373, and Lemprière, Apollo. 3 Nightingale, chap. x. p. 375. 4 Ibid., p. 370. 6 Faber, vol. i. p. 372 ; vol. iii. pp. 31, 32. 5 Ibid., p. 372. 7 Lenormant remarks, "The Egyptian monarchs were more than sovereign pontiffs, they were real deities. They styled themselves 'The Great God,' 'The Good God,' they identified themselves with the great deity Horus, for as one inscription says, 'The king is the image of Ra, the Sun god among the living."" He also quotes Diodorus Siculus as saying, "The Egyptians respect and adore their kings as the equal of the gods."—Anc. Hist. of East, vol. i. p. 294. I absolute master, son of the Sun.": Like the sacred bull "Apis" in Egypt, the sacred bull " Nanda" was similarly the symbol of the god in India. His altar is attached to all the shrines of Iswara and of Siva.2 The wife of Siva, "Cali," is a form of the goddess "Parvati Dvorgu," "Doorga" or "Durgu," 3 the Indian Minerva. The wife of Siva is also known as "Uma," who, like Minerva, is the goddess of Wisdom.4 Doorga is also known as Maha Maia, the Great Goddess Mother, who, like Minerva, is represented as slaying the giants who rebelled against the gods.5 This episode, of which there are many traditions in the mythology of India, and which are in very exact correspondence with the similar traditions of Egypt and Greece, will be more fully noticed hereafter. The Indian "Yama" seems to be another form of Osiris. Like the latter, he is the judge of the dead, and weighs their good actions against their bad actions, in order to decide their fate. He is also the Indian Pluto, or Dis, the king of Hades, another form of Osiris, Nin, etc., and, like Pluto, has two dogs to guard the road to his abode." The Indian Cupid, "Cama," is represented as having been seized by a demon, Sambara, and put into a box and cast into the ocean, where he is discovered by his wife "Reti," who was also his mother, and who brought him up until he acquired strength to destroy the demon.7 In like manner Osiris was killed by Typhon, the evil spirit of the Egyptians, and shut up in the ocean for one year, when he comes to life again as Horus, and by his aid his mother, Isis, who is also his wife, overcomes Typhon. The identity of Camas with Horus and Osiris is additionally confirmed by a remark of Plutarch, who says that the elder Horus, i.e., Osiris, was the god "Caimis," and that his wife was "Rhytia," who are manifestly the same as Cama and Reti. So also Cama, like Osiris, dies and is shut up in the ship Argha, and is lamented by "Reti," 10 just as Osiris was lamented 1 9 'Lenormant, Anc. Hist. of East, vol. i. p. 237. 3 Faber, Pag. Idol., vol. i. p. 375; Wilkins, Hind. Myth., p. 257-264. 4 Wilkins, Hind. Myth., p. 240. 5 Ibid., pp. 247-250. 6 Ibid., pp. 67-74. 8 7 Faber, vol. ii. pp. 407, 408. Cama was originally Kham or Ham, but, as in other cases, was ultimately identified with his grandson Nimrod. by Isis, which further emphasises the identity of Cama with Osiris and Horus. From these remarks it is clear that the mythology and gods of India are practically identical with the mythology and gods of Babylon, Egypt, Greece and Rome, and must have been derived from the same original source. CHAPTER VI THE GODS OF EASTERN ASIA Buddhism THE religion of the nations of Eastern Asia is known as Buddhism, and its followers are said to number nearly five hundred millions of the human race. For this reason, and because it has certain features which distinguish it from the religions of other Pagan nations, it requires particular notice. The principal representatives of this religion are the Chinese and people of Thibet, and its founder is generally spoken of as "Sakya Muni," or "Gautama," a Brahmin of India, who is supposed to have lived about 500 B.C. But whatever influence Sakya Muni may have had upon the religion of these countries, it is quite clear that he did not originate it. In most of its salient features it is similar to other systems of Paganism, with an elaborate ritual, and, like them, it has orders of priesthood, gods and goddesses, idols, worship of the dead, etc. Sakya Muni, on the other hand, was a reformer, opposed to ritual observances, priestly castes, sacrifices, and, as some assert, to the worship of the gods, although the latter point is doubtful. He taught a severe asceticism and the necessity of subduing every natural desire, not only those which are unlawful, but those which are lawful, requiring his followers to abstain from marriage, wine and animal food, and to relinquish all their worldly goods; the ultimate object being the attainment of "Nirvana," or a state of placid indifference to everything, which was supposed to be accompanied by certain magical powers. His moral teaching included some excellent precepts of kindness to men and animals, together with others which were false and extravagant; but, with the exception of abstaining from taking any form of animal life, his moral principles have had very little influence on his professed followers. Sakya Muni is called "Buddha." But "Buddha" is a title which was in existence before it was applied to him. It was a title of the Supreme God, similar to such titles as "The Almighty," "The SelfExistent," and meant "The Omniscient" or " All Wise"; and the old |