the tradition in its correct form =Croesi filium cum infans esset
locutum=. The omen consists in the fact that the =infant= speaks as in the
cases reported by Julius Obsequens (see above 52). In Herodotus the story
is perverted through the rationalistic touch that the son of Croesus was
dumb for many years (cf. also §§ 34 and 39) but suddenly acquired the
power of speech. The story loses its point by this modification. The
correct form of the story is also given by Lycosthenes, _Prodigiorum ac
Ostentorum Chronicon_ 65. The 'speaking' infant of which Wuelker,
_Prodigienwesen bei den Römern_ 20 gives six instances, was always
regarded as an ill omen, prognosticating some national misfortune.
[199] See above p. 39.
[200] See the writer's article 'The Liver as the Seat of the Soul' in
'Studies in the History of Religions in honor of C. H. Toy' 164 and
Jastrow, _Religion_ II 742. Several of the models are now in the Berlin
Museum, and will, it is hoped, soon be published.
[201] See Herbig's article on the 'Etruscan Religion' in Hastings'
Dictionary of Religion and Ethics. The possibility, indeed, that the
Etruscans belong to one of the Hittite groups is to be seriously
considered, though naturally the problem cannot be approached until
further advances in the decipherment of the Hittite inscriptions shall
have been made, following along the line of R. C. Thompson's recent
attempt "A New Development of the Hittite Hieroglyphics" (Oxford 1913),
which unquestionably marks considerable progress.
[202] See further Jastrow, _Religion_ II 320, 3.
[203] See above 26.
[204] Aristotle, de Generatione IV, 54 refers to a physiognomist who
traced back all such 'malformations' (as Aristotle calls them) to two or
three animals, and whose views he says met with much favor, the assumption
being that such hybrid beings were produced by the union between a woman
and an animal, or by crossing of animals. As a matter of fact intercourse
between a human being and an animal never produces results, and the
crossing of animals only in restricted cases, which do not enter into
consideration in the birth-omens. See above p. 26 note 1.
[205] Cun. Texts XXVII Pl. 29.
[206] Cun. Texts XXVII Pl. 48.
[207] The name given to these demons. See Jastrow, _Bildermappe zur
Religion Babyloniens und Assyriens_ Nr. 62.
[208] See above p. 29 seq.
[209] In the Chronicle of Eusebius (ed. Schoene I 14, 18). See also
Zimmern, _Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament_ II 488 seq.
[210] See Ungnad's translation in Gressmann's _Altorientalische Texte und
Bilder_ I 8.
[211] E. g., horses with the heads of dogs (Cun. Texts XXVI Pl. 48, 9); an
=isbu= (young of animal) with human head (Cun. Texts XXVII Pl. 29, 26 and
31, 8); infants with two faces, four hands and four feet (Cun. Texts XXVII
Pl. 8, 10, 21-22 (K. 7093)); human face and body of a =sedu=, i. e., a
body of a lion or bull with wings (Cun. Texts XXVII Pl. 10, 23 == Pl. 8, 6
== Pl. 15,17); infant with male and female organs (Cun. Texts XXVIII Pl.
5, 11); with the face of an ass (Cun. Texts XXVII Pl. 15, 12);
=isbu=--probably lamb--with feet of a lion (Cun. Texts XXVII Pl. 45, 34);
horse with two tails and mane of lion (Cun. Texts XXVII Pl. 49, 3 (K.
4031)); horse with human head (Cun. Texts XXVIII Pl. 31, 7); animals with
two to seven heads (Cun. Texts XXVIII Pl. 33 (K. 6288 rev.)); =isbu= (here
probably a lamb) with the feet of a lion, head of dog in front, six feet
and bristles of a swine (Cun. Texts XXVIII Pl. 38, 13); with the feet of a
lion, head of a dog and tail of a swine (ib. 1. 15); with two heads, two
tails and feet like those of a dog (ib. 1. 17); two heads, two feet, hair
of a dog (ib. 1. 19), etc.
[212] Tablet IX.
[213] See Jastrow, _Bildermappe zur Geschichte Babyloniens und Assyriens_
Nos. 149, 150, 184 usw.
[214] See Zimmern, _Keilinschriften und das A. T._ II 503 sq.
[215] Jastrow ib. No. 120; other fanciful forms, Nos. 193-199.
[216] See Jastrow, _Bildermappe_ (Gießen 1912), Nos. 36-47 (on Boundary
Stones), 52-53 (dragons), 55-60 (winged human figures and winged human
figure with eagle face), 61 (bull with human head), 62 (winged bull with
human face), 63-64 (winged horses, winged bulls, winged sphinxes, winged
human figures).
[217] See Luschan, _Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli_ IV 330 sq. and 338 sq.
and Pl. LV-LVI.
[218] Jastrow, _Bildermappe_ No. 32 winged hippocentaur with two heads
(man and lion) with scorpion tail and horse's tail and scorpions attached
to the forelegs; No. 33, upright hippocentaur, head, arms and upper part
of the body that of a man, lower part of the body that of a horse with two
feet. Similar figures appear on seal cylinders, e. g. Ward, Seal Cylinders
of Western Asia, 382, and Clay, Dated Cassite Archives, 15 and Pl. XV, No.
6. See Baur, Centaurs in Ancient Art pp. 1-4. A vast amount of material
bearing on the representation of all kinds of monstrous beings in
Babylonian, Assyrian and Hittite art will be found in Ward's valuable work
just quoted, particularly in chapters LI to LV and LXVII to LXIX, but also
chapters VII-XI; XV (Bird-man!) XVIII, XXXVI and XXXVIII.
[219] See e. g. Hirst and Piersol, _Human Monstrosities_ 116 Pl. XXII.
[220] See above p. 40 note 4.
[221] This birth-omen 'if a woman gives birth to a head' actually occurs
in the Babylonian-Assyrian collections, e. g., Cun. Texts XXVIII Pl. 34,
24 (K. 8274). See above p. 37.
[222] See Jastrow, _Religion_ II 943, 1. The vulture eats the liver
because it is the seat of life. The renewal of the liver is the renewal of
life. Prometheus thus suffers perpetual death and is yet condemned to
eternal renewal of life. This view of the liver is incidentally a proof of
the high antiquity of the myth.
[223] See Jastrow, _Religion_ II 320 seq.
[224] Vol. 38 (190), 209-311.
[225] Schwalbe, _Mißgeburten und Mißbildungen bei Menschen und Tieren_ I
39 also favors this view.
[226] See p. 4 and Jastrow, _Religion_ II 740 seq.
[227] See Jastrow, _Religion_ II 937, 2. In Se-ma Tsien's _Memoires
Historiques_ tr. by Chavannes I 13, there is a reference to a monster
which had the body of a man and the head of an ox, and which was born to a
woman through a dragon.
[228] See Spiegelberg, _Geschichte der ägyptischen Kunst_ 17; Maspero _Art
in Egypt_ 40.
[229] _The Evolution of the Aryan_ 101.
[230] Pointed out by Hommel, _Grundriß der Geographie und Geschichte des
alten Orients_ I 113-129 who, however, includes much in his discussion
that is doubtful, and draws conclusions that are entirely too far
reaching.
[231] See Maspero, _Art in Egypt_ 80.
[232] _Geschichte der ägyptischen Kunst_ 35--perhaps to Amenemhat III of
the 12th dynasty.
[233] Hist. Nat. VII 3.
[234] See also Phlegon, Mirabilia (ed. Keller) IV-X including (VI) the
case of a woman turning into a man in the days of Emperor Claudius at
Antiochia.
[235] See Joseph Jacobs, Introduction to his edition of the _Fables of
Bidpai_ (London 1888) XXXIX-LI.
[236] See the references in Ernest Martin, _Histoire des Monstres depuis
l'antiquité jusqu'à nos jours_ (Paris 1880) 7 seq. Martin's book is a mine
of valuable information on this subject.
[237] Banquet of the Seven Sages § 3. The story is placed in the days of
Periander and Thales, and relates the remarkable birth of a centaur in the
herd of Periander. Thales is asked to examine the strange creature, and
after doing so asks the diviner Diocles, whether he does not intend to
make some expiation in order to avert the anger of the gods. The diviner
answers 'Why not?', and assures Thales that the birth of the monster is an
omen of discord and sedition. Thales smiled and looking at the young
shepherd of Periander in charge of the herd advised Periander to keep a
look-out on his young men, or to provide wives for them. The intimation
reflects little credit on Thales' knowledge of the processes of nature.
[238] See for actually occurring human monstrosities, Hirst and Peirsol,
_Human Monstrosities_; Kitt, _Pathologische Anatomie der Haustiere_ (4th
ed.) I Chap. III and Guinard's _Précis de Teratologie_ (Paris 1893), e. g.
in the last named work, a lamb without ears (168), an infant with a caudal
appendix (82), club-foot (131--still called pied d'equin), six toes (128),
a pig with five divisions of the hoof, a lamb with four divisions, a dog
with six etc. (129).
[239] Hist. Nat. VII § 3.
[240] Also such omens as the speaking infant (113. 118), while still in
the womb (175), the talking ox (65. 113. 118. 125. 129. 140. 146. 153.
159. 166. etc.), by the side of the two-headed swine (129), three-footed
mule or horse (150. 157. 166), a five-footed horse or mule (131. 136. 171.
176), two-headed calf (180. 181. 308), lamb with swine's head (135. 136),
swine with human head (124. 136. 138), with human hands and feet (165),
two-headed lamb (138. 139. 197. 198), boy with elephant's head (125),
infant without eyes or nose (141), without arms or feet (142), two-headed
boy (155. 177. 315. 317), with four hands and four legs (163. 165. 172.
317), with three legs (168 and 169), with three legs and three hands
(199), with four legs (175), androgynous infants (125. 135. 170. 175. 181.
187. 196. 198), twins united at the back etc., (198. 284), a child with
beard and four eyes (272), a woman giving birth to an elephant (201), to a
serpent (209-210), a woman giving birth to seven children in days of
Algemundus, first king of Lombards (284), a boy without eyes, no arms and
a fish tail instead of feet (316) etc.
[241] Conrad Gessner, _Allgemeines Thierbuch_ (Deutsch von Conrad Foerer,
Frankfurt 1669) 19.
[242] p. 582. The chronicle is brought down in fact to the year 1557.
[243] p. 32-68.
[244] _Christliche Mystik_ III 440 seq.
[245] Le Diable (Paris 1864).
[246] In the doctrine of the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary,
this factor is involved.
[247] See above 44.
[248] P. 98. Chapter XII, of Martin's work, ('Les Monstres Celebres'),
furnishes many supplements to Lycosthenes work, including some interesting
examples of Hermaphrodites.
[249] Martin p. 100.
[250] The mummy was found in the cemetery reserved for the sacred animals,
from which Martin concludes that the Egyptians shared the general belief
in monsters as due to the combination of the human with the animal. It
would be interesting in view of the present stage of Egyptological
research to determine the exact character of the mummy which was thus
destined to play so important a part in the history of modern medicine.
See Martin, ib Introduction p. V.
[251] See Guinard, _Précis de Teratologie_ (Paris 1854) in which a full
account of the theory of St. Hilaire and of those who followed in his
footsteps is given.
[252] P. T. Barnum, the famous American showman, in his Memoirs tells in a
most frank manner of the manufacture of his monsters--living and dead.
[253] Hist. Nat. VII 3.
[254] Amsterdamer Weekblad voor Nederland, May 28, 1911. The illustration
attached to the description reveals the bogus character of the 'monster'.
Religionsgeschichtliche Versuche und Vorarbeiten
begründet von
Albrecht Dieterich und Richard Wünsch
=herausgegeben=
von
Richard Wünsch und Ludwig Deubner
in Münster i. W. in Königsberg i. Pr.
Vierzehnter Band
1913/1914
Verlag von Alfred Töpelmann (vorm. J. Ricker) in Gießen
Inhaltsverzeichnis des vierzehnten Bandes
Linck, Kurt: =De antiquissimis veterum quae ad Iesum Nazarenum spectant
testimoniis= (1. Heft).
Köchling, Josef: =De coronarum apud antiquos vi atque usu= (2. Heft).
Scheftelowitz, Isidor: =Das stellvertretende Huhnopfer= (3. Heft).
Dirichlet, Gustav Lejeune: =De veterum macarismis= (4. Heft).
Jastrow, jr., Morris: =Babylonian-Assyrian Birth Omens= (5. Heft).
Transcriber's Notes:
Passages in italics are indicated by _italics_.
Superscripted characters are indicated by {superscript}.
Gesperrt text is indicated by =gesperrt=.