http://www.mythology-art.com 1 The Senate was instituted by Romulus, to be the perpetual council of the republic, and at first consisted only of one hundred, chosen from the Patricians. They were called Patres, either on account of... ROMAN ANTIQUITIES http://www.mythology-art.com/antiquities/the_senate.html Fri, 07 Mar 2008 03:36:16 -0500 That the Patricians and Plebeians might be connected together by the strictest bonds, Romulus ordained that every Plebeian should choose from the Patricians any one he pleased, for his patron or prote... ROMAN ANTIQUITIES http://www.mythology-art.com/antiquities/other_divisions_of_the_roman_people.html Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:47:30 -0500 Pwyll Prince of Dyved was lord of the seven Cantrevs of Dyved; and once upon a time he was at Narberth his chief palace, and he was minded to go and hunt, and the part of his dominions in which it ple... The Mabinogion http://www.mythology-art.com/mabinogion/pwyll_prince_of_dyved.html Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:50:26 -0500 IT would be easy to extend the list of royal and priestly taboos, but the instances collected in the preceding pages may suffice as specimens. To conclude this part of our subject it only remains to s... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/our_debt_to_the_savage.html Tue, 04 Mar 2008 09:26:23 -0500 SO much for the animal embodiments of the corn-spirit as they are presented to us in the folk-customs of Northern Europe. These customs bring out clearly the sacramental character of the harvest-suppe... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/on_the_animal_embodiments_of_the_cornspirit.html Sun, 02 Mar 2008 13:23:55 -0500 FURTHER it has been shown that in folk-tales the life of a person is sometimes so bound up with the life of a plant that the withering of the plant will immediately follow or be followed by the death ... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/the_external_soul_in_plants.html Sun, 02 Mar 2008 13:11:47 -0500 THE ISLAND of Cyprus lies but one day's sail from the coast of Syria. Indeed, on fine summer evenings its mountains may be descried looming low and dark against the red fires of sunset. With its rich ... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/adonis_in_cyprus.html Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:50:00 -0500 THE LAST animal embodiment of the corn-spirit which we shall notice is the pig (boar or sow). In Thüringen, when the wind sets the young corn in motion, they sometimes say, “The Boar is rushing throug... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/the_cornspirit_as_a_pig_boar_or_sow_.html Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:45:50 -0500 IN THE FIRST place we may observe that the awful sanctity of kings naturally leads to a prohibition to touch their sacred persons. Thus it was unlawful to lay hands on the person of a Spartan king: no... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/iron_tabooed.html Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:50:48 -0500 FROM THE FOREGOING survey of custom and legend we may infer that the sacred marriage of the powers both of vegetation and of water has been celebrated by many peoples for the sake of promoting the fer... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/numa_and_egeria.html Fri, 29 Feb 2008 06:26:28 -0500 THE CUSTOM of eating bread sacramentally as the body of a god was practised by the Aztecs before the discovery and conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards. Twice a year, in May and December, an image of t... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/eating_the_god_among_the_aztecs.html Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:29:27 -0500 TYPH... ROMAN ANTIQUITIES http://www.mythology-art.com/antiquities/the_condemned_in_hell.html Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:14:29 -0500 IN THE POPULAR customs connected with the fire-festivals of Europe there are certain features which appear to point to a former practice of human sacrifice. We have seen reasons for believing that in ... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/the_burning_of_men_and_animals_in_the_fires.html Thu, 28 Feb 2008 03:59:51 -0500 IN ANCIENT Egypt, within historical times, the pig occupied the same dubious position as in Syria and Palestine, though at first sight its uncleanness is more prominent than its sanctity. The Egyptian... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/osiris_the_pig_and_the_bull.html Wed, 27 Feb 2008 19:42:42 -0500 THUS regarding his sacred chiefs and kings as charged with a mysterious spiritual force which so to say explodes at contact, the savage naturally ranks them among the dangerous classes of society, and... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/mourners_tabooed.html Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:58:09 -0500 THE CUSTOM of kindling bonfires on the first Sunday in Lent has prevailed in Belgium, the north of France, and many parts of Germany. Thus in the Belgian Ardennes for a week or a fortnight before the ... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/the_lenten_fires.html Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:33:55 -0500 THUS in primitive society the rules of ceremonial purity observed by divine kings, chiefs, and priests agree in many respects with the rules observed by homicides, mourners, women in childbed, girls a... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/the_meaning_of_taboo.html Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:47:50 -0500 The mental condition of savages the basis of the irrational element in myth--Characteristics of that condition: (1) Confusion of all things in an equality of presumed animation and intelligence; (2... Myth, Ritual, and Religion http://www.mythology-art.com/myth_ritual/alias7797.html Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:58:12 -0500 COMPARED with the Corn-mother of Germany and the Harvest-maiden of Scotland, the Demeter and Persephone of Greece are late products of religious growth. Yet as members of the Aryan family the Greeks m... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/the_double_personification_of_the_corn_as_mother_and_daughter.html Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:08:49 -0500 Diana, daughter of Jupiter and Lat?na, and sister of Apollo, was born in the island of Delos. She had a [102]threefold divinity, being styled Di?na on earth, Luna, or the moon, in heaven, and Hec?te... ROMAN ANTIQUITIES http://www.mythology-art.com/antiquities/goddesses_of_the_woods.html Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:57:16 -0500 THE PRECEDING investigation has proved that the same union of sacred functions with a royal title which meets us in the King of the Wood at Nemi, the Sacrificial King at Rome, and the magistrate calle... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/departmental_kings_of_nature.html Mon, 25 Feb 2008 02:11:14 -0500 WE have now concluded our examination of the general principles of sympathetic magic. The examples by which I have illustrated them have been drawn for the most part from what may be called private ma... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/the_magician_s_progress.html Sun, 24 Feb 2008 05:37:04 -0500 THERE is a priestly king to the north of Zengwih in Burma, revered by the Sotih as the highest spiritual and temporal authority, into whose house no weapon or cutting instrument may be brought. This r... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/sharp_weapons_tabooed.html Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:46:30 -0500 The right of liberty comprehended not only liberty from the power of masters, but also from the dominion of tyrants, the severity of magistrates, the cruelty of creditors, and the insolence of more po... ROMAN ANTIQUITIES http://www.mythology-art.com/antiquities/private_rights_of_roman_citizens.html Fri, 22 Feb 2008 04:39:23 -0500 Madawc the son of Maredudd possessed Powys within its boundaries, from Porfoed to Gwauan in the uplands of Arwystli. And at that time he had a brother, Iorwerth the son of Maredudd, in rank not equal... The Mabinogion http://www.mythology-art.com/mabinogion/the_dream_of_rhonabwy.html Tue, 19 Feb 2008 20:42:08 -0500 WE can therefore understand why those general clearances of evil, to which from time to time the savage resorts, should commonly take the form of a forcible expulsion of devils. In these evil spirits ... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/the_occasional_expulsion_of_evils.html Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:13:22 -0500 If you were born in the time of ancient Greece, what would your house have looked like? Would your social status have made any difference in the kind of house you lived in? Ancient Greece houses d... Ancient Greece http://www.mythology-art.com/ancient_greece/ancient_greece_houses.html Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:05:50 -0500 THE INSTANCES which in the preceding chapters I have drawn from the beliefs and practices of rude peoples all over the world, may suffice to prove that the savage fails to recognise those limitations ... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/_incarnate_human_gods.html Mon, 18 Feb 2008 09:22:01 -0500 IN THE CENTRAL Highlands of Scotland bonfires, known as the Beltane fires, were formerly kindled with great ceremony on the first of May, and the traces of human sacrifices at them were particularly c... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/the_beltane_fires.html Sun, 17 Feb 2008 14:45:08 -0500 HOWEVER we may explain it, the fact remains that in peasant folk-lore the corn-spirit is very commonly conceived and represented in animal form. May not this fact explain the relation in which certain... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/dionysus_the_goat_and_the_bull.html Sun, 17 Feb 2008 09:45:38 -0500 IN PHRYGIA the corresponding song, sung by harvesters both at reaping and at threshing, was called Lityerses. According to one story, Lityerses was a bastard son of Midas, King of Phrygia, and dwelt a... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/killing_the_cornspirit.html Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:52:54 -0500 ANOTHER of those gods whose supposed death and resurrection struck such deep roots into the faith and ritual of Western Asia is Attis. He was to Phrygia what Adonis was to Syria. Like Adonis, he appea... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/the_myth_and_ritual_of_attis.html Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:59:26 -0500 WE have seen that among the many taboos which the Flamen Dialis at Rome had to observe, there was one that forbade him to have a knot on any part of his garments, and another that obliged him to wear ... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/knots_and_rings_tabooed.html Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:25:39 -0500 AT BABYLON the imposing sanctuary of Bel rose like a pyramid above the city in a series of eight towers or stories, planted one on the top of the other. On the highest tower, reached by an ascent whic... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/the_marriage_of_the_gods.html Fri, 15 Feb 2008 20:31:36 -0500 IN THE CALIFORNIAN, Egyptian, and Fernando Po customs the worship of the animal seems to have no relation to agriculture, and may therefore be presumed to date from the hunting or pastoral stage of so... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/killing_the_sacred_turtles.html Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:04:55 -0500 ANOTHER occasion on which these fire-festivals are held is Easter Eve, the Saturday before Easter Sunday. On that day it has been customary in Catholic countries to extinguish all the lights in the ch... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/_the_easter_fires.html Tue, 12 Feb 2008 17:06:16 -0500 Ancient Greece lived on a time and place where religion & superstition come into play. Divine and semi-divine beings lived with the common people. Gods and goddesses were believed to have influenced... Ancient Greece http://www.mythology-art.com/ancient_greece/art_of_ancient_greece_revisited.html Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:06:29 -0500 THE BURDENSOME observances attached to the royal or priestly office produced their natural effect. Either men refused to accept the office, which hence tended to fall into abeyance; or accepting it, t... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/divorce_of_the_spiritual_from_the_temporal_power.html Tue, 12 Feb 2008 07:57:29 -0500 Maxen Wledig was emperor of Rome, and he was a comelier man, and a better and a wiser than any emperor that had been before him. And one day he held a council of kings, and he said to his friends, “I... The Mabinogion http://www.mythology-art.com/mabinogion/the_dream_of_maxen_wledig.html Tue, 12 Feb 2008 04:41:56 -0500 The cradle of civilization is also the cradle of science and technology. Although humans try to adapt to the environment by instinct, the ancient Greeks seemed to adapt more too well. Ancient Greece... Ancient Greece http://www.mythology-art.com/ancient_greece/technology_back_in_time_ancient_greece_technology.html Mon, 11 Feb 2008 04:17:39 -0500 Templum was a place which had been dedicated to the worship of some deity, and consecrated by the augurs. Ædes sacræ were such as wanted that consecration, which, if they afterwards received, they ... ROMAN ANTIQUITIES http://www.mythology-art.com/antiquities/places_of_worship.html Mon, 11 Feb 2008 02:38:30 -0500 AGAIN, men sometimes play the part of scapegoat by diverting to themselves the evils that threaten others. When a Cingalese is dangerously ill, and the physicians can do nothing, a devil-dancer is cal... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/the_transference_to_men.html Sat, 09 Feb 2008 10:10:38 -0500 The mental condition of savages the basis of the irrational element in myth--Characteristics of that condition: (1) Confusion of all things in an equality of presumed animation and intelligence; (2... Myth, Ritual, and Religion http://www.mythology-art.com/myth_ritual/alias1907.html Sat, 09 Feb 2008 09:55:59 -0500 DOUBT also hangs at first sight over the meaning of the bear-sacrifice offered by the Aino or Ainu, a primitive people who are found in the Japanese island of Yezo or Yesso, as well as in Saghalien an... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/killing_the_sacred_bear.html Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:35:24 -0500 IN THE CASES hitherto described, the divine king or priest is suffered by his people to retain office until some outward defect, some visible symptom of failing health or advancing age, warns them tha... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/kings_killed_at_the_end_of_a_fixed_term.html Fri, 08 Feb 2008 13:42:37 -0500 WE are now perhaps in a position to understand the ambiguous behaviour of the Aino and Gilyaks towards the bear. It has been shown that the sharp line of demarcation which we draw between mankind and ... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/the_egyptian_and_the_aino_types_of_sacrament.html Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:34:44 -0500 PRIMITIVE man creates his gods in his own image. Xenophanes remarked long ago that the complexion of negro gods was black and their noses flat; that Thracian gods were ruddy and blue-eyed; and that if... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/names_of_gods_tabooed.html Wed, 06 Feb 2008 01:57:02 -0500 Chapter I. recapitulated--Proposal of a new method: Science of comparative or historical study of man--Anticipated in part by Eusebius, Fontenelle, De Brosses, Spencer (of C. C. C., Cambridge), and... Myth, Ritual, and Religion http://www.mythology-art.com/myth_ritual/new_system_proposed.html Tue, 05 Feb 2008 05:50:43 -0500 ANOTHER form which the corn-spirit often assumes is that of a cock. In Austria children are warned against straying in the corn-fields, because the Corn-cock sits there, and will peck their eyes out. ... The Golden Bough http://www.mythology-art.com/golden_bough/the_cornspirit_as_a_cock.html Sun, 03 Feb 2008 11:56:39 -0500 Why do the ancient Greece Olympics participants take off their clothes before competing? Do their clothes get in the way when they wrestle each other? Are you a sports-minded person? If you love t... Ancient Greece http://www.mythology-art.com/ancient_greece/ancient_greece_olympics.html Sun, 03 Feb 2008 10:52:40 -0500