The Myths of the Zodiac- Capricorn

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The Myths of the Zodiac- Capricorn

Post by swetha » Thu Mar 16, 2006 9:29 pm

What we call Capricorn is Aegocerus or the "goat horn" and is related to Aegipan, a name of the god Pan, because he had a goat’s feet. One account is that Aegocerus was the goat who was brought up with Zeus and fought with Zeus against the Titans. Aegocerus is thought to have invented the trumpet known as panikos from which we drive the word "panic". The sound of this trumpet inspired the Titans to flee. Panic is that horrible and inexplicable fear that seizes people suddenly and throws them into flight. The fish tail of Aegocerus is his attributed because he discovered the trumpet in the sea, no doubt as a shell, perhaps like that of a Triton. However, Hyginus says that Capricorn showered the enemy with murex shells, his lower body has the shape of a fish.

The Titans were overthrown by Zeus and the Olympians, which made the Olympians very new gods. Moreover, the Olympians had decided to take human form as gods, a very risky thing to do because it was very easy to mistake human for divine and divine for human. Originally, the Titans are also uranian gods, and after they were defeated they were placed underground in Tartarus. But as they had set, there is always the fear that they rise again over the horizon.

Hyginus also tells us that according to some accounts, especially from Egypt, that when the gods had gathered together at the Nile the giant monster Typhon attacked them. The frightened gods turned themselves into shapes: Zeus into a ram; Hermes into an ibis; Apollo into a raven; Artemis into a cat. The Egyptians hold the animals to be sacred, because they are images of the god. During the attack, Pan jumped into the river, presumably the Nile, and changed his hind parts into a fish and the rest of his body into a goat to escape the monster. As Zeus thought this very clever, he later placed that image among the stars.

The great satirist Lucian implies that the Egyptians made up this story to account for the worship of their animals. He quotes a famous line from a now lost Orphic poem about it: "Wouldst thou entire the cause of these doings in order to know it…." (Those who were no initiated into the mysteries were required to go indoors and hide as the emblems of Dionysos were going to pass through the streets.) The Greeks and Romans were very prejudiced against the Egyptians for worshipping animals, and considered it very barbaric. One can sense the near nausea that attends some of these writers when they speak of how Egyptians actually can worship a cat. As the cat is sacred, when fires struck an Egyptian home, the cats had to be saved first, even before the children, and they have the horrible habit of running back into his homes, all nine-lives blazing. They had to be rescued again.

Pan figures in another celestial mystery that is not directly related to Capricorn per se. Plutarch reports of the death of the god Pan:

"As for the death of such beings, I have heard the words of a man who was not a fool nor an imposter. The father of Aemilianus the orator, to whom some of you have listened, was Epitherses, who lived in our town and was my teacher in grammar. He said that once upon a time in making a voyage to Italy he embarked on a ship carrying freight and many passengers. It was already evening when, near the Echinades Islands, the wind dropped, and the ship drifted near Paxi. Almost everyone was awake, and a good many had not finished their after-dinner wine. Suddenly from the island of Paxi was heard the voice of someone loudly calling Thamus, so that all were amazed. Thamus was an Egyptian pilot, not known by name even to many on board. Twice he was called and made no reply, but the third time he answered; and the caller, raising his voice, said, ‘When you come opposite to Palodes, announce that the Great Pan is dead.’ On hearing this, all, said Epitherses, were astounded and reasoned among themselves whether it were better to carry out the order or refuse to meddle and let the matter go. Under the circumstances Thamus made up his mind that if there should be a breeze, he would sail past and keep quiet, but with no wind and a smooth sea about the place he would announce what he had heard. So, when he came opposite Palodes, and there was neither wind nor wave, Thamus from the stern, looking toward the land, said the words as he had heard them: ‘Great Pan is dead.’ Even before he had finished there was a great cry of lamentation, not of one person, but of many, mingled with exclamations of amazement. As many persons were on the vessel, the story was soon spread abroad in Rome, and Thamus was sent for by Tiberius Caesar. Tiberius became so convinced of the truth of the story that he caused an inquiry and investigation made about Pan; and the scholars, who were numerous in his court, conjectured that he was the son born of Hermes and Penelope."

It should be noted that thousands upon thousands of people had seen the death of the god, more than had ever seen death of Jesus or any other god in history. The best explanation of this mystery comes from de Santilla and von Dechend. If we see the story allegorically, and we must consider all stories allegorically, the great boat is the Argo and the pilot on the stern is Thamus, the Egyptian king of Plato’s Phaedrus, who drives home to Thot-Hermes. This is the boat of the dead with Osiris on board. The Great God Pan is a star, possibly Sirius, the dog star, that rose at the same time and place every year, between July 19 and 20 on the Julian calendar, the Egyptian New Year. For ages, it defied the precession of the equinoxes.

One year, that star failed to rise. One of the youngest of the ancient gods, the Great God Pan, the all, had died.


By Kalev Pehme
winshop.com.au/annew/MythsZodiac.html

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