RACIAL MYTHS IN EGYPT AND EUROPE
There are several "myths" concerning the role of the "worship of animals" in antiquity. Were these animals viewed as "holy" or "sacred" divinities?
I shall consider the following in regards to this question.
"On a particular date demons are let loose, and the peasant is warned not to lead an ox with a rope at any time during the day, lest one of them should enter the animal and cause it to gore him. An animal, therefore, was not feared or worshipped for its own sake, but because it was liable to be posessed by a good or evil spirit."
In reference to the crocidile...
"In certain parts of Egypt the crocidile was also worshipped, and was immune from attack, in others it was ruthlessly hunted down. As late as Roman times the people of one nome waged war against those of another because their sacred animals being slain by the rival religious organization."
This scenario is a far cry from the "peace and balance" that some would mis-lead us to believe existed in this context.
Let us now consider the "pig".
"Certain animals or reptiles were regarded as the protectors of certain districts. A particular animal might be looked upon by one tribe as an incarnation of their deity, and another as the incarnation of their Satan. The black pig, for instance, was associated by the Egyptians with Set, who was the god of a people who conquered and oppressed them in pre-Dynastic times. Horus is depicted standing on the back of the pig piercing its head with a lance; its legs and jaws are fettered with chains. But the pig was also a form of Osiris, "the good god".
However, "The Egyptians regarded the pig as an unclean animal. Herodotus relates that if they touched it casually, they at once plunged into water to purify themselves."
So, can one reasonably argue that ancient Egyptians did NOT eat the pig because of its "divine nature" while it was viewed as "unclean swine"?
"In the Highlands, even in our own day, there survives a strong prejudice against pork, and the black pig is identified with the devil."
Why is the BLACK "pig" identified with the devil?
Upon further examination, "In the Golden Bough, Professor Frazer shows that the pig was tabooed because it was at one time a sacred animal identified with Osiris. Once a year, according to Herodotus, pigs were sacrificed in Egypt to the moon and to Osiris. The moon pig was eaten, but the pigs offered to Osiris were slain in front of house doors and given back to the swineheards from whom they were purchased."
"When the Egyptians, therefore, sacrificed a pig to the moon, and feasted upon it like Set, they ate the god. They did not eat the pig sacrificed to Osiris, because apparently it represented the enemy of the god; they simply slew it, and thus slew Set."
Concerning the tradition of the "fish fry", "Once a year, on the ninth day of the month of Thoth, the Egyptians ate fried fish at their house doors; the priests offered up their share by burning them. Certain fish were not eaten by the ancient Britons. The eel is still abhorred in Scotland: it was sacred and tabooed in Egypt also."
What about the "divinity" of birds.
"We have referred in the Introduction to the goose which laid the sun egg. Apparently this bird was at one time sacred. Although it was a popular article of diet in ancient Egypt, and was favored especially by the priests, it was probably eaten chiefly in the winter season."
http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/eml/eml08.htm
In most of instances, these animals were somehow identified with "the corn spirit", and CORN was a staple of the Egyptian diet.
There are several "myths" concerning the role of the "worship of animals" in antiquity. Were these animals viewed as "holy" or "sacred" divinities?
I shall consider the following in regards to this question.
"On a particular date demons are let loose, and the peasant is warned not to lead an ox with a rope at any time during the day, lest one of them should enter the animal and cause it to gore him. An animal, therefore, was not feared or worshipped for its own sake, but because it was liable to be posessed by a good or evil spirit."
In reference to the crocidile...
"In certain parts of Egypt the crocidile was also worshipped, and was immune from attack, in others it was ruthlessly hunted down. As late as Roman times the people of one nome waged war against those of another because their sacred animals being slain by the rival religious organization."
This scenario is a far cry from the "peace and balance" that some would mis-lead us to believe existed in this context.
Let us now consider the "pig".
"Certain animals or reptiles were regarded as the protectors of certain districts. A particular animal might be looked upon by one tribe as an incarnation of their deity, and another as the incarnation of their Satan. The black pig, for instance, was associated by the Egyptians with Set, who was the god of a people who conquered and oppressed them in pre-Dynastic times. Horus is depicted standing on the back of the pig piercing its head with a lance; its legs and jaws are fettered with chains. But the pig was also a form of Osiris, "the good god".
However, "The Egyptians regarded the pig as an unclean animal. Herodotus relates that if they touched it casually, they at once plunged into water to purify themselves."
So, can one reasonably argue that ancient Egyptians did NOT eat the pig because of its "divine nature" while it was viewed as "unclean swine"?
"In the Highlands, even in our own day, there survives a strong prejudice against pork, and the black pig is identified with the devil."
Why is the BLACK "pig" identified with the devil?
Upon further examination, "In the Golden Bough, Professor Frazer shows that the pig was tabooed because it was at one time a sacred animal identified with Osiris. Once a year, according to Herodotus, pigs were sacrificed in Egypt to the moon and to Osiris. The moon pig was eaten, but the pigs offered to Osiris were slain in front of house doors and given back to the swineheards from whom they were purchased."
"When the Egyptians, therefore, sacrificed a pig to the moon, and feasted upon it like Set, they ate the god. They did not eat the pig sacrificed to Osiris, because apparently it represented the enemy of the god; they simply slew it, and thus slew Set."
Concerning the tradition of the "fish fry", "Once a year, on the ninth day of the month of Thoth, the Egyptians ate fried fish at their house doors; the priests offered up their share by burning them. Certain fish were not eaten by the ancient Britons. The eel is still abhorred in Scotland: it was sacred and tabooed in Egypt also."
What about the "divinity" of birds.
"We have referred in the Introduction to the goose which laid the sun egg. Apparently this bird was at one time sacred. Although it was a popular article of diet in ancient Egypt, and was favored especially by the priests, it was probably eaten chiefly in the winter season."
http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/eml/eml08.htm
In most of instances, these animals were somehow identified with "the corn spirit", and CORN was a staple of the Egyptian diet.