The theology of the Phoenicians contains the aforementioned character; and it is from this that the saving Gospel-word proclaims that we must flee without turning back, and pursue instead the healing of the mental derangement of the ancients.
But that these things are not myths and fabrications of poets containing some hidden theory in their underlying meanings, but are the true testimonies of wise and ancient theologians, as they themselves would claim, containing matters more ancient than all poets and prose-writers, and bringing with them credibility of their accounts from the designation and history of the gods which still to this day prevails in the cities and villages throughout Phoenicia, as well as from the mysteries celebrated among each people—this would be clear also from the agreement of the remaining writers, and indeed of those reputed to be theologians, by which they testified that the ancients and the first to establish the accounts concerning the gods did not refer them at all to physical allegorical interpretations, nor did they allegorize the myths concerning the gods, but preserved the histories according to the literal sense alone.
For these are the things that the previously cited testimonies of what has been said made clear: that it is no longer necessary to search out forced physical interpretations of these matters, since the facts themselves bring a clear refutation deriving from them.
Such, then, is the theology of the Phoenicians. It is time, having passed on, to examine also the affairs of the Egyptians, so as to understand accurately and perceive by careful examination whether our withdrawal from them is not established as a judicious and reasonable one, and one accomplished in no other way than solely through the demonstration of the Gospel, addressed first of all to the Egyptians themselves, and then also to those who think alike with them.
Now the whole of Egyptian history has been rendered at length into the Greek language, and in particular the affairs concerning their theology, by Manetho the Egyptian, both in the sacred book which he wrote and in his other treatises.
Nevertheless, Diodorus, whom we mentioned before, having gathered together the histories from many sources and, as far as possible, having accurately investigated the customs of each nation, a distinguished man who acquired no small reputation for learning among all lovers of literature, having also brought together the whole of ancient history and joined the earliest events to those that followed, made the beginning of his entire work from the theology of the Egyptians; from which I think it better to make the citation of the matters before us, since his writing is more familiar to the Greeks. He recounts these things, then, word for word:
The Egyptians, then, say that at the original coming-into-being of the universe, the first men came into existence in Egypt, both because of the temperate climate of the region and because of the nature of the Nile. For this river, being highly fertile and providing food that grows of itself, easily nourished the creatures that were brought to life.
And they say that the gods were originally mortal men, but on account of their wisdom and the benefits they conferred in common upon mankind, attained immortality, some of whom also became kings. And when their names are translated, some of them are homonymous with the heavenly bodies, while others retained a name of their own—Helios and Kronos, and further Zeus, called by some Ammon, and besides these Hera and Hephaestus, and further Hestia, and lastly Hermes.
And first Helios reigned as king over the people of Egypt, being homonymous with the star in heaven. But some of the priests say that Hephaestus was the first to reign, having become the discoverer of fire.
After this Kronos ruled, and having married his sister Rhea, begot, according to some, Osiris and Isis, but according to most, Zeus and Hera, who reigned over the whole world on account of their excellence.
And from these were born five gods: Osiris and Isis and Typhon, and Apollo and Aphrodite. And Osiris, they say, is Dionysus, and Isis is very nearly Demeter. And she, having married Osiris and succeeded to the kingship, accomplished many things for the benefit of the community.
And Osiris founded a city in the Thebaid with a hundred gates, which some called Diospolis, others Thebes. And he also established a temple for his parents, Zeus and Hera, and golden temples for the other gods as well, to each of whom he assigned honors, and he appointed priests to have charge over them.
And by him Hermes was honored most of all, being endowed with an outstanding nature for the invention of things capable of benefiting the common life. For he became the discoverer of letters, and arranged the sacrifices to the gods, and discovered the lyre, and taught the Greeks the interpretation of these matters; wherefore he was named Hermes (i.e., 'interpreter').
And he also discovered the plant of the olive. And Osiris, having gone over the whole inhabited world, established Busiris over Phoenicia, and Antaeus over Ethiopia and Libya. And he himself campaigned together with his brother Apollo, who, they say, discovered the plant of the laurel.
And his two sons, Anubis and Macedon, campaigned together with Osiris; and he also took along Pan, who was held in special honor by the Egyptians, and after whom the city of Panopolis is named. And as he was passing near Taphosiris, the race of Satyrs was brought to him.
And being a lover of the arts, he led about with him a multitude of musicians, among whom were nine maidens capable of singing and skilled in other accomplishments as well — those called among the Greeks the Muses, whom Apollo led.
And he passed on also through the other nations of Phrygia, and crossed the Hellespont into Europe. And he left his son Macedon behind as king of Macedonia, while he entrusted to Triptolemus the tillage of the land in Attica.
And after this, having passed from among men into the gods, he obtained from Isis and Hermes sacred honor and the other most illustrious honors accorded among the gods. And these two instituted the initiatory rites and introduced many things concerning him in a mystical manner.
And he was slain by his brother Typhon, a wicked and impious man, who, having divided the body of the murdered man into twenty-six parts, gave to each of his fellow conspirators a share, wishing them all to partake in the guilt.
And Isis, who was the sister and wife of Osiris, avenged the murder, her son Horus joining in the struggle. And having destroyed Typhon and his accomplices near the place now called the village of Antaeus, she became queen of Egypt.
And having found all the parts of the body except the private member of Osiris, they say that she fashioned around each part a human-shaped image, resembling Osiris in size, made of spices and wax, and gave it to the priests throughout all Egypt for veneration. And she also consecrated, from among the animals born among them, whichever one they wished.
And the sacred bulls, the one called Apis and Mneuis, were consecrated to Osiris, and these were to be worshiped as gods, a practice established in common for all the Egyptians. For these animals had assisted those who discovered the fruit of the grain in its sowing and in agriculture generally.
And Isis swore that she would never again accept intercourse with any man; and she too, having passed from among men, obtained immortal honors and was buried at Memphis.
The parts of Osiris that were recovered, then, they say were deemed worthy of burial in the manner described; but as for the private member, they say it was cast into the river by Typhon, yet it was deemed worthy by Isis of honors equal to the gods, no less than the other parts.
For in the temples, having fashioned an image of it, she instituted rites of honor and mystic ceremonies, and made the sacrifices offered to this god the most honored of all. Wherefore also the Greeks, having received from Egypt the customs concerning the orgiastic rites and the Dionysiac festivals, honor this member in the mysteries and in the rites and sacrifices of this god, calling it the phallus.
But those who say that the god was born in Boeotian Thebes of Semele and Zeus speak carelessly. For Orpheus, having journeyed to Egypt and having shared in the initiation and the Dionysiac mysteries, adopted them into his own teaching; and being a friend of the Cadmeans and honored by them, he transposed the birth of the god, so as to gratify them, while the crowds, partly through ignorance and partly through wishing the god to be called a Greek, received the initiations and mysteries favorably.
And Orpheus had grounds for this transposition of the god's birth and rite of the following kind: Cadmus, who was from the Egyptian Thebes, begot, along with his other children, also Semele; and she, having been seduced by someone or other, became pregnant, and after seven months had passed bore an infant such as the Egyptians believe Osiris to have been.
And when the infant died, Cadmus gilded it, and offered the fitting sacrifices for it, and attached its birth to Zeus, thereby exalting Osiris and removing the slander against the woman who had been seduced. Wherefore also a story was given out among the Greeks, that Semele, the daughter of Cadmus, bore Osiris of Zeus.
And afterwards, when the mythographers came upon the scene, they filled the theaters with the tale, and it became for those who came later a strong and unshakeable conviction. And in general, they say, the Greeks appropriated to themselves the most illustrious heroes and gods of the Egyptians.
For indeed Heracles, being Egyptian by race, traversed much of the inhabited world because of his valor. And they claim him as their own — though he is in fact different from the Heracles born of Alcmene, who arose among the Greeks at some later time.
And they say also that Perseus arose in Egypt, and that the Greeks transferred the birth of Isis to Argos, mythologizing that she was Io, who was transformed into the shape of a cow. And this same goddess some consider to be Isis, others Demeter, others Thesmophoros, others Selene, and others Hera.
And they say that Isis became the discoverer of many remedies and of the science of medicine; and she also discovered the drug of immortality, by which she not only restored to life her son Horus, who had been plotted against by the Titans and found dead in the water, giving him back his soul, but also caused him to partake of immortality.
And Horus, being the last of the gods, reigned over Egypt. And when his name is interpreted, they say he is Apollo, and that, having been taught medicine and the art of divination by his mother Isis through oracles, he benefited men through his cures.
And it is agreed by most that, in the age of Isis, at the time of the gods associated with Zeus and Osiris, certain giants of huge bodily size, of monstrous appearance, stirred up war. And it is said that the Egyptians made it law to marry their sisters, because Isis was married to Osiris, who was her own brother.
Such, then, are the things they relate concerning these matters. But concerning the animals consecrated in Egypt, some such account as the following is held among them. Some say that the gods who arose in the beginning, being few in number and overpowered by the multitude and impiety of earth-born men, made themselves like certain irrational animals, and thus escaped; and afterward, in gratitude for their deliverance, they consecrated the very natures of the animals to whose likeness they had assumed.
Others say that in their engagements with enemies, the leaders, having fashioned images of the animals which they now honor, wore these upon their heads, and had this as a mark of their authority; and in the victories over their enemies, since the animals whose images they wore were regarded as the cause of the victory, they deified them.
Others give a third reason, saying that these animals were honored on account of their usefulness. For the cow, being female, bears young and ploughs; sheep bear young and provide covering, as well as nourishment through milk and cheese; and the dog hunts alongside men and is protective — wherefore the god called among them Anubis has the head of a dog, signifying that he was the bodyguard of Osiris and Isis.
And the cat is well suited for use against asps and the other biting reptiles, while the ichneumon crushes the eggs of crocodiles, and destroys the crocodiles themselves by rolling in mud and leaping into their gaping mouths, and, by devouring their internal organs, renders them dead.
And among the birds, the ibis is useful against snakes and locusts and caterpillars, while the hawk is useful against scorpions and horned serpents and the small biting creatures, and also because it contributes to divination; and the eagle is honored because it is royal.
And they say that the goat was deified, just as Priapus was among the Greeks, on account of its generative member; for this animal is most inclined of all toward intercourse, and the part of the body responsible for generation is fittingly honored as being, as it were, the primal source of the nature of living creatures. And in general, not only the Egyptians but not a few other peoples as well have consecrated the private member in their rites, as being the cause of the generation of animals.
And the priests in Egypt who inherited their priesthoods from their fathers are initiated in the mysteries of this god. And they say that the Pans and Satyrs also are honored among men for the same reason; wherefore also most set up their images in the temples with the member erect, resembling the nature of the goat — for this animal is reputed to be the most vigorous for intercourse.
And the sacred bulls, Apis and Mneuis, were honored in a manner similar to the gods, in part because of their service to agriculture, and in part because the discovery of the crops was attributed to them.
And wolves were honored on account of the similarity of their nature to that of dogs, and also because, as they say, in ancient times, when Isis together with her son Horus was about to do battle with Typhon, Osiris came from Hades as a helper to his child and wife, having assumed the likeness of a wolf.
And others say that the Ethiopians, when they made war against Egypt, were put to flight by a multitude of wolves; wherefore also the land was called Lycopolis. And they say the crocodile is venerated because the robbers coming from Arabia and Libya do not dare to swim across the Nile for fear of the crocodiles.
And they say that a certain one of their kings, being pursued by his own dogs, fled for refuge into the lake, and thereupon, being marvelously taken up by a crocodile, was carried across to the other side.
And some say there are also other reasons for the honor paid to irrational animals. For when the populace of old rose up against their kings, and agreed together no longer to be ruled by kings, someone devised the plan of providing them with various objects of veneration from among the animals, so that, since each group would revere what was honored among themselves while despising what was consecrated among others, all the people throughout Egypt might never be able to come to agreement.
And whenever one of the aforementioned animals dies, they wrap it in fine linen, and, beating their breasts with lamentation, bury it in sacred coffers. And whoever willingly destroys any of these animals is liable to death — except in the case of killing a cat or an ibis; for these, whether one kills them willingly or unwillingly, he is liable to death without exception.
Moreover, in whatever house a dog is found to have died, all the inmates shave their entire body and observe mourning; and if wine, or grain, or any of the necessities of life happens to be stored in the house, they would no longer bring themselves to make use of it.
And they rear Apis at Memphis, and Mneuis at Heliopolis, and the goat at Mendes, and the crocodile in the Lake of Moeris, and the rest of the animals within sacred precincts, offering them fine wheat flour, or groats boiled in milk, and cakes of every kind kneaded with honey, and goose meat, some of it boiled and some roasted.
And to the flesh-eating ones they throw many of the birds, and for each of the animals they rear along with it the most beautiful females, which they call concubines.
And whenever Apis dies and is buried magnificently, they seek out another one like him; and when he is found, the multitude is released from its mourning, and the calf is first led to the city of the Nile. And then, and only then, do the women, standing before him face to face, look upon him, and, uncovering themselves, display their own generative organs; but at every other time it is altogether forbidden for them to come into the sight of this god. And they say that the soul of Osiris passed into this animal after his death.
Such, then, is the shameful godlessness of the Egyptians, rather than theology — a thing against which it is even shameful to argue. And having rightly spat upon it, we have turned away from it, having found deliverance and freedom from so many evils in no other way than through the saving and evangelical teaching alone, which brought the good news of recovered sight to minds that were blind.
And as for the more solemn theories and natural explanations of these same matters, we shall examine them a little later, when we have also dealt with the Greek material. Thus, then, with Egyptian mythology having run together intermixed with Phoenician, the superstition of the ancient delusion has, understandably, prevailed among most of the nations.
But now we must speak also of the Greek material. The solemn parts of Egyptian mythology have been treated in the manner set forth above; but that the Greek material is in fact fragments and mishearings of these very things has already been said many times, and also through the examination of the authors already cited.
Nevertheless, this may also become evident from Greek theology itself, since in their own records concerning the gods they introduce nothing of their own, but rather the myths of those encountered from abroad.
For they are shown to make use of similar carved images and the very same mysteries, as one may learn from the account of these matters given by the man who gathered the libraries together into one — of whom I have made mention before — who relates this in the third and fourth books of his aforementioned work, having made the beginning of his history from the times of Cadmus.
And that Cadmus came after Moses is established by the accurate successions found in the chronographies, as we shall demonstrate at the proper time. So that Moses is shown to be prior even to the Greek gods, if indeed he is prior to Cadmus, while the gods are shown to have arisen at an age more recent than that of Cadmus. Hear, then, the very words of the historian.
They say that Cadmus, son of Agenor, was sent forth from Phoenicia by the king in search of Europa, who had been carried off by Zeus; and not having found her, he came into Boeotia and there founded Thebes, and, having married Harmonia, the daughter of Aphrodite, begot of her Semele and her sisters.
And Zeus, having had intercourse with Semele, was entreated by her to make his embraces with her like those with Hera. And when he approached her in a manner befitting a god, with thunder and lightning, Semele, being pregnant, could not endure it and miscarried the infant, and she herself perished from the fire.
And Zeus, having taken up the infant, gave it to Hermes, who conveyed it to the cave in Nysa, situated between Phoenicia and the Nile. And Dionysus, having thus been reared by the nymphs, became the discoverer of wine, and taught men the cultivation of the vine.
And he also discovered the drink made from barley, called zythos [beer]; and he led about an army consisting not only of men but also of women, and he punished those men who were unjust and impious. And he campaigned in India for a period of three years.
From this the Greeks established triennial sacrifices to Dionysus, and believe that it is at this time that the god makes his appearances among men; and all men worship him for the gift of wine, just as they worship Demeter for the discovery of grain as nourishment.
And they say there is also another Dionysus, much earlier in time than this one, called by some Sabazius, born of Zeus and Persephone; and they conduct his birth-rites, sacrifices, and honors by night and in secret, because of the shame attending the intercourse that begot him.
And they represent him as the first to attempt the yoking of oxen, on which account they also depict him as horned. But the one born of Semele, being younger, they say was delicate of body, excelled in comeliness, and was prone to amorous pleasures, and on his campaigns led about with him a multitude of women, armed with lances, who journeyed at his side.
And they say that the Muses also journeyed with him — maidens who were exceptionally well educated — who delighted the god with song and dance. And his tutor Silenus contributed greatly to his excellence. And to guard against the headaches caused by excessive wine, his head was bound with a fillet.
And they call him 'twice-mothered,' because, while there was but one father to the two Dionysi, there were two mothers. And they attach to him the narthex-wand, because the men of old, drinking their wine unmixed, became frenzied and struck one another with clubs, so that some were even killed; whence they also introduced the use of narthex-stalks in place of wood.
And he is called Bacchius, from the Bacchae; Lenaeus, from the treading of the grapes in the wine-vats; and Bromios, from the roar that arose at his birth.
And they say that Satyrs also accompanied him in the dances and in the tragedies, providing him with delight and pleasure, and that he introduced the theater and the arrangement of musical performances. Such, then, are the things told concerning Dionysus.
And they say that Priapus is the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite, because those who become intoxicated with wine are aroused toward amorous pleasures. But some say that the ancients used to call the private member of men generally by the name 'Priapus.'
And some say that the generative member is the cause of the generation of men, and for this reason it has obtained immortal honor for all time — just as also the Egyptians said that Isis, when seeking the limbs of Osiris and unable to find his private member, ordained that it be honored as a god, and dedicated an image of it, erect, in the temple.
But also among the Greeks, not only in the Dionysiac rites but in all the others as well, this god [Priapus] receives some honor, being brought in amid laughter and jesting during the sacrifices — as also Hermaphroditus, who, having been begotten of Hermes and Aphrodite, received his name.
And they say that this god appears among men at certain times and is born having a bodily nature mixed of both male and female; and some say that such prodigies do occur, being rarely born, and signify at times evils, at times good things.
And the Muses are, they say, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne — though some say of Uranus and Gaia. And most mythologize them as maidens, and say they obtained their name from 'initiating' (myein) men, that is, from teaching what is noble.
Concerning Heracles the Greeks relate the following: Of Danae, daughter of Acrisius, and Zeus, was born Perseus; of Perseus and Andromeda, Electryon; and of him was born Alcmene, with whom Zeus had intercourse and begot Heracles. And in having intercourse with her, Zeus made the night threefold in length; and this union of Zeus alone came about not for the sake of erotic desire, as in the case of his other women, but chiefly for the sake of begetting offspring.
And Hera, being jealous, held back the birth-pangs of Alcmene, and brought Eurystheus to the light before his due time, since Zeus had foretold that whoever was born on that day would be king over the race of the Perseids.
And Alcmene, having given birth, exposed the infant, as they say, out of fear of Hera. And Athena, admiring the infant, persuaded Hera to offer it her breast. And when the child, beyond his age, drew too violently at the breast, Hera, in pain, flung the infant away; but Athena, taking it up, urged the mother to rear it.
After this, Hera sent two serpents to destroy the infant; but the boy, without being terrified, gripped each of them by the neck with his hands and strangled the serpents. And when Heracles had grown to manhood, Eurystheus, who held the kingship of the Argive land, commanded him to accomplish twelve labors.
And having fallen into great perplexity over the labors, he was visited by Hera with a fit of madness; and he, being tormented in soul, fell into insanity. And as the affliction grew worse and he was beside himself, he set about to kill his companion and nephew Iolaus; but when Iolaus fled, he shot down with arrows his own children, whom he had had by Megara, the daughter of King Creon, taking them for enemies.
And after this, having calmly composed himself again, he performed the twelve labors in service to Eurystheus. And he also destroyed the Centaurs, among whom was Chiron, celebrated for his skill in medicine.
And they say a peculiar thing happened concerning the birth of this god. For Zeus had intercourse with a mortal woman first with Niobe, the daughter of Phoroneus, and last with Alcmene, the mother of Heracles; and they reckon her as the sixteenth generation from Niobe. And with her he brought his intercourse with mortal women to an end.
But when Heracles had completed his labors, he gave his own wife Megara in marriage to his nephew Iolaus, on account of the calamity concerning the children; and he himself, having asked for Iole, the daughter of Eurytus, in marriage — and her father not giving her — fell ill, and received an oracle that he would be freed from the disease if he would first sell himself and serve as a slave.
Having sailed then to Phrygia, he is sold by one of his friends, and becomes a slave of Omphale, who then ruled over the Maeonians, now called the Lydians. During the time of his slavery a son, Cleolaus, is born to him from a slave woman. And having married Omphale, he also has a child by her.
And after this he again married Deianira, the daughter of Oeneus, Meleager already being dead. And having taken captive the daughter of Phyleus, he lay with her and begot Tlepolemus. And while dining at the house of Oeneus, he struck with his fist the servant who had erred in some matter, and killed him.
And when, journeying, he came to the river Euenus, he came upon Nessus the Centaur, who ferried travelers across the river for a fee. This Nessus, having first ferried Deianira across, and having fallen in love with her because of her beauty, attempted to violate her. And when she cried out to her husband, Heracles shot the Centaur with an arrow; and Nessus, while in the midst of the act, and dying at once because of the sharpness of the wound, told Deianira that he would give her a love-charm, so that Heracles might not wish to draw near to any other woman.