The Pantheon.

The Meat and

fide over all the Actions of Life from the Cradle to the Grave.

THE Sixth Clafs were thofe call'd Demi-Gods and Heroes, who were very numerous; as Hercules, Thefeus, Perfeus, Æfculapius, Prometheus, Atlas, Orpheus and Amphion, Achilles, Ulyffes, Orion, Caftor and Pollux, Jafon; and a Multitude of others, of whom it were tedious to recount an hundredth Part of what is recorded of their valiant Exploits, and heroic and incredible Atchievments; which you may read at leifure in the Fabulous Poets.

THE Seventh and laft Clafs of Heathen Deities were thofe I term'd Modal Deities; and are the fame as mention'd under the fixth Species of Idolatry before-going, of which I fhall fay no

more.

THE Temple which the Romans built, and therein placed the Images of all the Gods and Goddeffes, was called the Pantheon, or Temple of all the Gods; which when it came into the Hands of Chriftians, Pope Boniface III. dedicated to the Virgin Mary and All Saints; which was analogous to its former Ufe and Honour. But this is only one Thing in which the Papifts heathenize, amongst many others.

THO' the Pagans had fuch a Multiplicity of Drink of the Deities, not one of them could live without EatGods, Ambrofia and Nectar. ing and Drinking; but to folve this, they artfully found out a Food call'd Ambrofia, and a Drink call'd Nectar; both which, befides the most sweet and delicious Tafte and Flavour, had the Property of communicating Immortality: With these therefore they had the good Manners to feed their Gods; and by this means, of mortal Men they made what Number of immortal Deities they pleas'd; the chief of which are those we now difcours'd of.

THE

THE Festivals and Solemnities of the Heathen Of the Heawere neceffarily very many, fince almost every then Feftivals. particular Deity was allow'd thofe facred Honours: As the Saturnalia, Feaft of five Days Continuance dedicated to Saturn; Adonia, to Adonis ; Ambarvalia facred to Ceres; Bacchanalia and Orgia, Liberalia, Dionyfia, all the Feafts of Bacchus; Cerealia, others of Ceres; Lemuria, of the Lemures or Night Ghofts; Lupercalia, of the God Pan; Munychia, of Minerva; Faunalia, of the Fauns; Antbefphoria, of Proferpine; Megalefia, of Cybele; Floralia, of Flora; with numberless others; all which were celebrated in a Manner fuitable to their Notions of the Deities to which they were dedicated.

THE Pagans diftinguifhed the Priests peculiar Pagan Pricfts. to each Divinity by different Appellations alfo. Thus the Luperci were the Priefts of Pan; Flamen Dialis, the Priest of Jove; Flamen Quirinalis, of Romulus; Flamen Martialis, of Mars; Virgines Veftales, or the Vestal Virgins, Priefteffes of Vesta; Galli, Priests of Cybele; Phabades, of Apollo, &c.

THE different Heathen Nations of the World The Names of give the following Names to the Priests, viz. Priefts in feThe Romans call theirs Flamines; the ancient veral Nations. Britons theirs Druids; the Indians theirs Brachmans; the Mogul's Indians theirs Daroes or Harbods; the Perfians theirs Sedre; the Tartarians theirs Lama; the Moroccos theirs Alfaquis; and the Canada West-Indians theirs Pawwaws; the Chinese and Japonefe call theirs Bonzes.

IN Sacrifices, the Beafts offer'd to the Celestial The Beafts apGods were white, and thofe to the Infernal ones propriated in Sacrifices. black: To Jupiter they facrificed a white Ox; to Neptune, Mars, and Apollo, a Bull, Ram, and Boar; to Ceres they offer'd Milk, Honey, and the Sow-Pig; to Efculapius Goats and Poultry;

to

The Beafts, Fowl, Trees, &c. facred to

the Gods.

to the Lares a Cock; to the Sun and Mars an Horfe; to Juno a She-Lamb; to Venus a Dove or Pigeon; to Diana a Crow; to Pan and Minerva She-Goats; and Kids to the Fauns.

OF Beafts, the Lamb was facred to Juno; Lions to Vulcan; the Hind to Hercules; the Wolf to Apollo; the Horfe to Mars; the Calf to Ifis; Dogs to the Lares; Serpents to Æfculapius; the Grafhopper to Apollo; the Dragon to Minerva, Bacchus, &c. Among the Birds, the Hawk was facred to Apollo; the Eagle to Jove; the Goofe to Juno; the Dove to Venus; the Crow to Apollo; the Cock to Efculapius, Minerva, and Mars; Owls to Minerva; the Vultur to Mars; the Phoenix to the Sun. Among the Trees, the Fir was facred to Bacchus; the Cyprefs to Pluto; the Cedar to the Furies; the Afh to Mars; the Oak to Jove; the Laurel to Apollo; the Myrtle to Venus; the Olive to Minerva; the Poplar to Hercules; the Pine to Cybele; the Rofe to Venus; the Vine to Bacchus, &c.

Of

Of MYTHOLOGY; or the
EXPLANATION of the FABULOUS
HISTORIES of the HEATHEN
GODS and HEROES.

M

YTHOLOGY is the Interpreta- Mythology, tion of the Fabulous Stories con- what. cerning the Pagan Deities, Heroes, Monsters, &c. according to the Hiftorical, Moral, and Philofophical Meaning and Signification of each, couch'd under and disguised by Poetic Fiction and Romantic Circumstances of various forts.

MOST of thefe Fables and fictitious Relations The Origin of took their Rise from the facred Scriptures of the Heathen FaOld Testament; as plainly appears from Hefiod's bles from the Theogony or Genealogy of the Gods, and Ovid's Scriptures. Metamorphofes. For Hefiod deduces the Pedigree of all his fabulous Deities originally from Chaos, Chaos. which he makes the First of all the Gods. Thus Mofes derives the World with all its Beauties and Glory from an original Chaos, or a confused and undigefted Heap of Matter; which he fays was without Form and void.

Mofes's Hi

HESIOD tells us, that immediately after The Analogy Chaos, appear'd Tellus, Tartarus and Amer; by between Tellus he meant the Earth, by Tartarus the un-fory and Hefeen Abyss in or under the Earth, and by Amer fod's Fiction, the lovely Beauty and Harmony of the World. in his Theogony.

Ι

Agreeably

Heficd's The

ocony a Porti

cal imitation of Moles's

Cofmogony or

World.

Agreeably to this Mofes, after he mentions the Chaotic State of the Earth, fpeaks of the Face of the Deep or Abyss, and then the regular Difpofition and beautiful Order of the World by the divine Wifdom and Power of the Creator enfued; in which things there is an evident Analogy between them.

AGAIN, Hefiod tells us that Chaos brought forth Erebus and Nox, that is, Gloominess and Night: And Mofes fays, that while the Earth was in the Chaos, a Gloomy Darkness overfpread it, and all was Night; for there was no Light. Again Hefiod fays, From Nox, or Night, fprang Ether and Hemera, that is, Air and the Day; and that they were produced, when Amor and Erebus were mix'd together; that is, when Light was divided from the Darkness, and both together made one Day. All which exactly anfwers Mofes's Account of the Creation of the Firmament, the Day and the Night.

HESIOD farther tells us that Tellus begat Cœlum, every way equal to itfelf, and beft with Stars, and which cover'd the whole Earth, and was the Seat of the bleed Gods. That is in Creation of the Mofes's Words, God made and call'd the Dry Land Earth (Tellus,) and the Firmament he call'd Heaven (Cælum,) in which are the Stars, which he made alfo. He farther tells that the Earth (Tellus,) begat high Mountains and delightful Caves of the Goddeffes Nymphs; as alfo Pelagus and Pontus (Seas ;) agreeable to the Mofaic Account of the Dry Land, and the Seas. Then he relates the Birth of Oceanus (the Ocean,) and a vaft Progeny of other Deities, amongst which was Saturnus, from the Embraces of Tellus and Calum, or the Energy and prolific Influences of the Earth and the Heavens; and by this Means he fills the World as full of terrestrial, celeftial, and marine

Gods,