442

SUMMARY.

Africa . In every known country of the ancientworld the serpent formed a prominent featurein the ordinary worship, and made no incon-siderable figure in their Hagiographa , enteringalike into legendary and astronomical mytho-logy.

Whence, then, did this only-universalidolatry originate ? That it preceded poly-theism, is indicated by the attribution of thetitle Ops, and the consecration of the symbol-ical serpent to so many of the heathen deities.The title Ops was conferred upon Terra, Vesta,Rhea, Cybele, Juno, Diana—and even Vulcanis called by Cicero, Opas \

In Grecian mythology, the symbolical ser-pent was sacred to Saturn, Jupiter, Apollo,Bacchus, Mars , iEsculapius, Rhea, Juno, Mi-nerva, Diana, Ceres, and Proserpine —that is,the serpent was a sacred emblem of nearly allthe gods and goddesses 2 .

The same remark may be extended to theTheogonies of Egypt, Hindustan, and Mexico —in all of which we find the serpent emblematic,not of one deity, but of many.

1 Bryant, i. 01.

2 Just. Mart. Apol i. 60.