The Worship of the Dead or The Origin and Nature of Pagan Idolatry, and It's Bearing Upon the Early History of Egypt and Babylonia.
London: Chapman & Hall, Limited, 1909. New Cheaper Edition [ Second edition ]. Hardcover. Large thick octavo. xxxviii + 422pp. Original red cloth with black titling to spine, black rules and titling to upper board, appendixes, index, b&w plates, fold-out and in-text line drawings. The second "cheap" edition of this massive work in which the author attempts to use historical and archaeological evidence of ancient beliefs and religions, particularly those of the ancient Near-East, to re-examine the myths and ancient traditions that have come down to us. The author was a Colonel in the Royal Engineers, a prominent British Israelite, who wrote voluminously on the pyramids, the interpretation of myth, etc. PART I. The Pagan Gods and Goddesses. Chapter I. Introductory. — The Deluge; Chapter II. — The Gods of Babylon, Egypt, Greece, etc.; Chapter III. — The Great Goddess; Chapter IV. — The God Kings of Egypt and Babylon; Chapter V. — The Gods of India; Chapter VI. — The Gods of Eastern Asia — Buddhism; Chapter VII. — The Gods of Other Nations — Ancient Germans, Celts, Mexicans and Peruvians. PART II. Origin and Nature of Pagan Idolatry: Chapter VIII — The Teaching of Hermes — Magic, Necromancy, etc; Chapter IX. — The Nephilim; Chapter X. — The Sun, the Serpent, the Phallus and the Tree; Chapter XI. — The Worship of the Stars. PART III. Overthrow of the Primitive Paganism and its Relation To The Early History of Babylon and Egypt. Chapter XII. — The Death of the Pagan God; Chapter XIII. — The Shepherd Kings and the Pyramid Builders; Chapter XIV. — The Shepherd Sculptures; PART IV. Resuscitation and Development of the Primitive Idolatry. Chapter XV. — Resuscitation of Idolatry; Chapter XVI. — General Features of the Revived Idolatry; Chapter XVII. — The Moral Aspect of Paganism. APPENDIX A. Sir Gardner Wilkinson on the Egyptian Religion. APPENDIX B. Cannes and the Annedoti. APPENDIX C. Speculations Regarding the Antiquity of the Human Race. APPENDIX D. The Accadians. APPENDIX E. " History of Sanchoniathon." Cloth lightly darkened & rubbed, spine ends and corners bruised and chafed with some very light fraying, a couple of tiny tears at upper spine, owner's name and date on front blank, paper lightly toned. Overall a tight, very clean VG+ copy (no dust jacket). Quite scarce. Item #61581
Sold