a special sanctity, and were indeed regarded as animated by the very
essence of some divinity. The name bætylus, given to these stones by
Greeks and Romans, is derived from the Hebrew בֵּית־אֵל(bethel) or
“house of God,” a term indicating clearly enough the belief held by the
ancient Hebrews in regard to meteorites, or supposed meteorites.
However, long before this designation had reached the Greeks, certain
meteorites had been accorded a peculiar reverence, and even worship. One
of these was a black stone, called the Omphalos of Delphi. This was said
to be the stone given by Rhea to Kronos when she substituted a stone for
her offspring Zeus, to save him from being devoured by his father,
Kronos. Zeus himself (or Kronos) threw it down to the Earth and the spot
where it struck was supposed to be the centre of the Earth, hence the
name Omphalos, or “navel-stone.” Meteorites probably played an important
part in the development of civilization, for it is believed that the
earliest iron tools and weapons were made from meteoric iron, apparently
the only supply available before the art of treating iron ores had been
evolved.[138]
While there is admittedly but scant evidence of the existence of a Stone
Age in China, and still less to indicate that Chinese civilization
passed through such a period, a certain number of stone artefacts, all
polished, have been found within the limits of China. However, curiously
enough in view of this state of things, we find that here, as almost
everywhere else, these objects were popularly regarded as
“thunderbolts.” Thus Chien Tsang-Ki, the author of a Materia Medica,
composed in the first half of the eighth century of our era, states that
objects of this kind “have been found by people who explored a locality
over which a thunder-storm had swept and dug three feet in the ground”;
and he adds that some of these stone implements have two perforations.
They were named _pi-li-chen_, “stones originating from the crash of
thunder,” and a still earlier writer, Chang (232–300 A.D.) applies a
similar designation to stone axes and wedges “frequently seen among the
people.” Several centuries later Shen Kun (1030–1093 A.D.) testifies
that the people of his time found many stone “thunder-wedges,” in all
cases after a thunder-storm; these were unperforated. It is generally
believed that most of these stone implements had been made by a
Tungusian tribe, akin to the Manchus.[139]
This is partly due to the fact that it was natural, after a
thunder-shower, for a search to be made. Then again, as thunder-showers
are usually heavy rains, they were apt to loosen the soil and leave on
the surface heavy objects, more especially such materials as jade, of
the density of 2.9, or jadeite, of the density of 3.3. These are much
heavier than the quartz, feldspar and other ingredients of the soil,
which vary from 2.6 to 2.7 and are washed away. Finally, there is the
natural disinclination on the part of the Chinese to dig, from their
belief that it is wrong to explore the soil, and this disinclination on
their part has done much to prevent a better knowledge of the Stone Age,
and our knowledge of the races which must have preceded the civilization
of China; many facts of mining interest have been neglected, as well, on
account of this prejudice. Perhaps within the next twenty years we may
learn something about a prehistoric race in China, for as traces of the
existence of such races have been found in every other country of the
world, there can be little or no doubt that such a race existed in
China, although as yet we have no distinct evidences of it.
The Babylonian royal astrologers taught that the mere fact of the
passage of a meteor across the heavens, whether its course were from
east to west, or from north to south, was a good omen, portending
victory and the successful issue of the royal projects. Especially
favorable was the augury when the meteor was very brilliant and left
behind it a trail that might be likened to the tail of a scorpion. This
not only foretold joy for the ruler and his house, but for the entire
country; evil would be overcome, righteousness would reign supreme, and
prosperity would prevail. A meteor of this type is recorded as having
appeared at the time Nebuchadnezzar laid waste Elam about 1150 B.C. This
refers to the elder Nebuchadnezzar.[140]
A curious series of cuneiform texts treats of the prognostics to be
drawn from the transformations of stars into various animals, metals,
stones, etc. This is explained as referring to the apparent form or hue
of the meteor itself, or of the trail it left behind. The
transformations into stones concern the dushu-stone, porphyry (or some
other dark red or purple stone) and lapis lazuli. This omen is
invariably a favorable one.[141]
The Old Testament offers abundant testimony of the ancient belief that
certain stones were animated by a divine spirit. In regard to this,
Benzinger writes:[142] “It was not Yahweh who found Jacob at Bethel but
rather Jacob who found Yahweh there. He anoints the stone; that is, he
sacrifices to it, for the divinity residing in the stone has caused his
dream.” According to Benzinger’s opinion the Ark of the Covenant
originally served as receptacle for a stone of this type, and was hence
regarded as sheltering a divinity.
One of the very earliest references to meteorites appears in the Book of
Joshua (chap, x, verse 11), where we read, in the account of the battle
fought by the Israelites against the Amorites and their allies, that
“the Lord cast down great stones from heaven” upon the Amorites, so that
more of the latter were killed by these stones than by the weapons of
the Israelites. Admitting the historical character of the account, this
fall of meteorites probably took place in the twelfth century B.C. In an
Assyrian cuneiform inscription, there is mention of the seven black
stones of the city of Urka in Chaldea. These were _bætyli_ and were
regarded as representations of the seven planets.[143]
The fall of meteors is noted frequently in Chinese records, the first
instance dating from 644 B.C. Of a meteor that fell in 213 B.C., we are
told that it descended as “a star which turned to a stone as it
fell.”[144] A meteorite that fell in China in 211 B.C. is said to have
been the indirect cause of many deaths. The event took place during the
reign of the tyrannical emperor Chi Hoang-ti, who had incurred the
resentment of all the Chinese litterati by his wholesale burning of
books. Some believer in the power of sorcery caused an inscription to be
cut on this stone predicting the death of the hated emperor within a
year, and when news of the fact came to the monarch’s ears he gave
orders to have the stone split up, and to put to death all the
inhabitants of the place where it was found, this being no doubt looked
upon as a most effective conjuration of the spell.[145]
In 405 B.C., Lysander won his great victory over the Athenian fleet at
Ægospotami in Thrace, and Plutarch writes, in his life of Lysander,[146]
that a stone which fell from the heavens a short time before the battle
was regarded by many as a portent predicting the dreadful slaughter that
was to ensue. At the time Plutarch wrote (circa 150 A.D.) this stone
could still be seen at Ægospotami, where it was regarded with great
veneration by the Chersonites. The Greek philosopher Anaxagoras is said
to have predicted the fall of this meteorite, as he had observed certain
perturbations in the movements of the heavenly bodies. As Anaxagoras
died in 428 B.C., his prediction must have long antedated the fall of
the meteorite.
A detail given in one of the early recitals might possibly have
constituted the basis of a prediction by some contemporary physicist. In
the latter part of his account of the phenomenon Plutarch quotes from a
Treatise on Religion, by a certain Daimachus, to the effect that, for
seventy-five days before the fall of the meteorite, a vast fiery body
was seen in the heavens, in appearance “like a flaming cloud.” This well
describes the appearance of a great comet, and might be regarded as
significant when we consider the latest modern theory of the origin of
meteors, according to which these bodies are detached particles of a
cometary aggregation. Of this meteoric mass said to have fallen at
Ægospotami, Pliny states that it was as large as a wagon and of a dusky
hue, adding that a brilliant comet was visible at the time of its fall.
Regarding the assertion that Anaxagoras predicted the occurrence, Pliny
declares that this prediction, if true, was a greater miracle than the
fall of the meteor. A portion of the stone was preserved as a venerated
relic in the town of Potidæa.[147]
The site of the city of Seleucia is said to have been determined by the
fall of an aerolite, and this stone is figured on some of the coins of
the Seleucidæ, a thunderbolt appearing in its stead on other coins.
In the Temple of Diana, at Ephesus, there was a stone partly fashioned
into the conventional form of the Ephesian Diana. This, it was asserted,
had fallen down from the heavens. The stone is mentioned in the Acts of
the Apostles (xix. 35), where we read that the city of the Ephesians was
“a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the _image_ which fell
down from Jupiter.” In this text the word “image” has been supplied by
the translators, a more literal rendering being “that which fell down
from the sky.” This clearly shows that the stone only faintly indicated
the human form.
Tacitus says of the stone sacred to the Astarte (or Aphrodite) of
Paphos, that it was a symbol of the goddess, not a human effigy, since
it was an obscurely formed cone.[148] In his life of Apollonius of
Tyana, Philostratus, also, mentions this stone and tells us that when
Apollonius visited Paphos, he admired there “the famous symbolic figure
of Aphrodite.”[149] These “living stones” λιθοι εμψυχοι were often
covered with ornaments and vestments, and it has been conjectured that
these adornments were, in some cases, changed so as to accord with the
garments appropriate to certain special festivals of the respective
gods.[150]
The colossal emerald of the temple of Melkarth at Tyre is designated in
the fragments of Sanchoniathon as an αεροπετῆ ἀστέρα, or star fallen
from heaven. It was said to have been raised up by Astarte, and this
last myth is represented on the silver coins of Marium in Cyprus. Here
the radiance and splendor of the object suggested a stellar or celestial
origin, and we see the same tendency at work in the application of the
name _ceraunia_ (thunder-stones) to certain brilliant gems by
Pliny.[151]
Virgil[152] seems to confound with thunder the detonation of a bolide,
followed by a train of light, and he seems also to confound the bolide
itself with a lightning flash, for he says that its fall diffused a
sulphurous vapor far and wide. Seneca was more critical, for he regarded
the fact of thunder sometimes accompanying the fall of a meteorite as
merely a coincidence.
Although, in the absence of exact and trustworthy contemporaneous
accounts of the fall of these sacred stones, we cannot be absolutely
certain that they were meteorites, the testimony in several cases is
sufficient to render this almost certain, while in many other cases
there is no reason to doubt the substantial accuracy of the tradition.
The choice of some of the _bætyli_, however, was determined by their
form alone, to which was ascribed a religious significance, not exactly
compatible with our religious ideas of to-day, but quite easily
understood when we remember that the divine creative energy was
concretely represented in ancient times by many symbols offensive to our
sense of propriety.
In the treatise “On Rivers,” attributed to Plutarch, a stone is said to
have been found on Mount Cronius, which bore the name of “cylinder.”
When Jupiter thundered, this stone, terrified by the noise, rolled down
from the top of the mountain.[153] This passage is interesting as
suggesting one of the reasons which caused the name “thunderbolt” to be
given to certain stones, for stones adapted to ornamental use might
easily be exposed by the weathering of the rocks, and then detached by
the concussion produced by heavy thunder. Of course, the cylinder-stone
here mentioned must have more especially signified one of the
prehistoric celts, but it is not unlikely that the name was also given
to other, unworked stones, having a similar form.
Before Galba was chosen emperor, and when he was acting as governor of
the Basque provinces in Spain, a thunderbolt descended upon the shore of
a lake in that region. Search was made for the stones which were
supposed to have fallen, and Suetonius tells us that twelve axes were
found. This was regarded as a sure augury of Galba’s elevation to the
imperial dignity,[154] but for the archaeologist the presence of the
axes merely signifies that this was the site of a lake dwellers’
village.
In some cases, the stone which was held to be a dwelling-place of the
divinity was also regarded as a representation, or epitome, of some
sacred mountain. In the earliest stage of this belief, the god was
supposed to have his abode in the mountain, and later he was thought to
animate the stone which had a fancied likeness in shape to the mountain.
A coin of the Roman emperor Elagabalus (204–222 A.D.)[155] bears on its
reverse a representation of one of the sacred stones of Astarte, namely,
that worshipped at Sidon. This is shown resting upon a car, and it seems
probable that it was transported from place to place, so that large
numbers of people could have the privilege of paying reverence to it.
There seems to be fairly strong reasons for the belief that the Black
Stone of the Kaaba at Mecca is an aerolite.[156] If the conjecture be
correct, this stone occupies a unique place among meteoric masses, for
it was an object of worship for many centuries before the advent of
Mohammed, and is to-day regarded with the highest reverence by one
hundred and twenty millions of Mohammedans. One of the most solemn acts
performed by the pilgrims at Mecca is the kissing of the Black Stone,
and should any one doubt that true religious enthusiasm is aroused by
this act, he should read the following words of Ibn Batoutah:[157]
The eyes perceive in it a wonderful beauty, similar to that of a young
bride; in kissing it one feels a pleasure that delights the mouth, and
whoever kisses it wishes he might never cease to do so; for this is an
inherent quality in it and a divine grace in its favor. Let us only
cite the words of the Prophet in this connection: “Certainly it is the
right hand of God on earth.”
For centuries before Mohammed’s time the Kaaba at Mecca had been a
famous sanctuary and a religious centre for the nomadic Arabs. It is
stated that there were 360 idols in the temple, a number which suggests
a connection with the year of 360 days in use among the Arabs. The most
celebrated of these idols bore the name of Hobal, and was the figure of
a man cut out of red agate. There was a tradition to the effect that
this idol had been brought from Belka in Syria. As one of the hands was
broken off, the Koreish, the Arab tribe having charge of the Kaaba,
repaired this defect by attaching a golden hand, in which were held
seven arrows, plain shafts without heads or feathers, similar to the
arrows used for divination by the Arabs. For some occult reason the
agate was supposed to exercise a certain control over meteorological
phenomena, for in Persia it was believed to ward off tempests, while
prayers for rain in time of drought were made to this agate image of the
Kaaba.[158]
[Illustration:
_LE TEMPLE DE LA MECQUE_
THE KAABA AT MECCA
The letter A indicates the place where the Black Stone is inserted in
the wall of the building. From “Histoire générale des cérémonies
religieuses de tous les peuples du monde,” by Abbé Banier and Abbé
Mascrier, Paris, 1741.
]
Much has been written regarding the Black Stone, but perhaps the most
satisfactory description is that given by Burckhardt, who writes:[159]
At the Northeast corner of the Kaabah, near the door, is the famous
“Black Stone”; it forms part of the sharp angle of the building at
from four to five feet above the ground. It is an irregular oval,
about seven inches in diameter, with an undulated surface, composed of
about a dozen smaller stones of different sizes and shapes, well
joined together with a small quantity of cement, and perfectly smooth;
it looks as if the whole had been broken into many pieces by a violent
blow, and then united again. It is very difficult to determine
accurately the quality of this stone, which has been worn to its
present surface by the millions of touches and kisses it has received.
It appears to me like lava, containing several small extraneous
particles of a whitish and of a yellowish substance. Its color is now
a deep reddish-brown, approaching to black.
This description seems to support the conjecture that the stone is a
meteorite. The injuries it has sustained are attributed to various
accidental or intentional causes. In the early part of the Mohammedan
era the Kaaba was damaged by fire, and the intense heat caused the stone
to break into three pieces. This injury was repaired, but some years
later (926 A.D.) the heretic sect of the Carmates captured and sacked
Mecca. Hoping to divert to another place the tide of pilgrims, and the
riches they brought with them, the leader of the sect caused the stone
to be wrenched from its place and borne away to Hedjez. During the sack
of Mecca, or possibly in its violent removal, the stone was broken into
two pieces,—perhaps along the line of one of the old fractures. At first
an offer of 50,000 dinars ($125,000) was made for the return of the
stone, but before many years had passed the Carmates restored it
voluntarily, having been disappointed in their hope of attracting the
pilgrims. The Black Stone was destined to suffer still greater injury.
In 1022 A.D., Hakem, the ruler of Egypt, who suffered from megalomania
and was disposed to claim divine honors for himself, dispatched an
emissary to Mecca to destroy the stone. Mixing with the crowd of
pilgrims, this man approached the revered relic, and crying out “How
long shall this stone be adored and kissed?” struck it a tremendous blow
with a club. The story runs that only three small pieces were broken
from the stone, but as it is also stated that these pieces were
pulverized and the powder made into a cement to fill up the cracks, the
injury was probably much greater than the pious Mohammedans were willing
to admit.[160]
Mohammedan tradition teaches that the Black Stone was sent from heaven
and was once pure and brilliant; it only grew black because of the sins
of men. Legend relates that Abraham stood on this stone during the
construction of the Kaaba. This edifice was erected in a miraculous way,
for the stones came of themselves, all cut and polished, from the
Mountain of Arafat. However, no place was found for the Black Stone, and
it was afflicted and said to Abraham: “Why have not I also been used for
the House of God?” “Be comforted,” replied the Prophet; “for I will see
that you are more honored than any other stone of the edifice. I will
command all men, in the name of God, that they shall kiss you when they
pass in the procession.”[161]
A fragment of the Black Stone of Mecca was brought to Bagdad in 951 A.D.
by order of the Khalif Moti Lillah, and was inserted in the threshold of
the main entrance to the royal palace there. From a balcony directly
above the entrance was suspended a piece of tapestry taken from that in
the Kaaba, and it was so hung that its lower border was about on a level
with the face of anyone entering the portal. All who passed in were
strictly enjoined to touch their eyes with this tapestry and also to
kiss the piece of the Black Stone, upon which no one was permitted to
tread. These details are given in Khondemir’s life of Abu Jafer Al
Mostasem, the last of the Khalifs, who died in 1258 A.D.[162]
The Kaaba at Mecca offers to the adoration of faithful Mohammedan
pilgrims to the shrine, not only the famous Black Stone, which is set in
the eastern corner of the building, but also another sacred stone
inserted in the southern corner at a height of five feet from the
ground. This is designated as the “Southern Stone.” The Kaaba itself is
a small rectangular structure, built of stone from the surrounding
hills, and having a length of 12 metres (39.4 feet), a width of 10
metres (32.8 feet) and a height of 15 metres (49.2 feet). One of the few
Europeans who have been permitted to enter the sacred enclosure, Dr.
Snouck-Hurgronje, does not believe that the Kaaba owes its origin and
sanctity to the Black Stone, but that its foundation was rather due to
the presence of the well Zemzem, whose waters were already reported to
have a therapeutic quality in the early days of Islam, and which may
have earned its repute on this account. If, however, we admit that the
medical properties (of a purgative nature) are due to contamination or
percolation posterior to the primitive time when the well Zemzem first
attracted the reverence of the Arabs of this region, then the purity of
the water may account for its high place in the esteem of the Arabs. Of
the Black Stone, a native of Mecca who saw the stone when it had been
taken out of the wall of the building, in the course of the latest
restoration of the structure, states that its inner surface is of a
grayish hue.[163]
The Kaaba also contained the Maquam Ibrahim, a sacred stone preserved
from pre-Islamite times, and brought into connection with the history of
Abraham by the Mohammedan legends. This stone, enclosed in a receptacle
of like material, was at one time buried in the ground underneath the
building, but receptacle and enclosed stone are now set within the iron
gratings which partition off a part of the space inside the cupola over
the pulpit of the Mosque of Mecca.[164]
An Oriental poem by Assmai detailing the wonderful exploits of the hero
Antar, describes the way in which he became possessed of a matchless
sword. One day he came upon two knights in desperate encounter; on
seeing him they paused in their strife and to his question as to its
cause one of the combatants told him that they were brothers, sons of a
great Arab emir, recently deceased. Their father had once found a black
stone, in appearance like a common pebble, but possessed of such
penetrative power that when a herdsman threw it at a camel it traversed
the animal’s body, inflicting a gaping wound. The emir immediately
recognized that the stone must be a “thunder-stone,” as meteorites were
called; he therefore secured possession of it and commanded his most
skilful smiths to forge a sword from it. When this task had been
successfully performed the emir clothed the smith in a robe of honor,
and then, drawing the new sword from its sheath, cut off his head with a
single stroke. This served at once as a test of the weapon’s quality and
as an assurance that it would not soon be duplicated. On his death-bed
the emir called to him his youngest son and said to him: “My son, take
the sword and hide it from your brother, and when you shall see that he
has seized my goods and is squandering them in riotous living, and sends
you away, without reverence for the Lord of Heaven and Earth, take the
sword away with you. If you bring it to the court of the Persian King,
Khusrau Nushirwan, he will heap gifts and honors upon you, or if you
elect to go instead to the court of the Byzantine Cæsar, monarch of the
Servants of the Cross, he will give you as much gold and silver as you
may ask for.” This was the tale told by the younger knight, who added
that when, after the father’s death, the brother had sought in vain for
the famous sword, he had resorted to torture to extract from the favored
son the secret of its hiding-place, and had brought the latter to this
spot commanding him to find it and give it up, and when he refused so to
do, had attacked him. The hero Antar, like a veritable knight-errant,
took up the quarrel of the oppressed brother and slew his opponent,
securing as a free-will offering of gratitude the magic sword.[165]