Chapter II

Ancient Cosmologies of Non-Hebrew Civilizations

The purpose of this chapter is to sketch the astronomical orientation of various ancient peoples. The parallels between these peoples' cosmologies will be considered as general substantiation for our thesis of the Earth-Mars interactions, even though these cosmologies are general rather than specific, and their historicity has been partly lost with the passage of, and with the ravaging of, ancient libraries and societies.

This chapter will also show both the astronomical origin of, and the parallelism between, these ancient cosmologies. These incomplete records from Greece, Rome and the Teutons will by comparison show the care and tenacity of the Hebrew nation as historians.

The Decline of the Planetary Deities

AFTER the year 701 B.C., Mars was sufficiently “bumped” or perturbed in its orbit by Earth to throw its orbit out of 2:1 resonance. It subsequently arrived into its current orbit, which is 1.88 in its period compared to Earth's orbital period. This change will be discussed later. Here, it is sufficient to note that the heavens then “settled down.” Astronomical peace came to our planet. This is reflected in several ways in the histories of the ancients.

IN GREECE. The mathematician Thales (640?-546 B.C.) occupied himself with the analysis of the Earth scheme, the new latitude of Greece, the new number of days in the calendar, the new apparent solar path, the new lunar period, the periodicity of eclipses and so forth. Meanwhile later Greek philosophers, such as Socrates, began to doubt the import or the veracity of the Olympic deities. The Olympic deities included Ares (Mars), Aphrodite (Venus), Zeus (Jupiter), Apollo (originally Mars, but later the Sun), Hermes (Mercury), Cronos (Saturn), and Poseidon, god of earthquakes and tidal waves.

Ares was less and less feared and honored; Zeus (Ares' celestial “father”) became less and less significant, as did Aphrodite. With the cessation of planetary catastrophes, Greek civilization flowered after 700 B.C. Its pantheon of planets declined in import, not because Greek thinkers had become more intelligent, but rather because, with astronomical peace, civilization was disrupted no more. The study of astronomy-astrology as a “science” and the role of the augurs and seers predicting catastrophes was no longer critical to their national survival.

IN ROME. This same tendency is observable in the history of the republican state of Rome, founded about 750 B.C. Originally, Rome as a state was dedicated to the celestial war-god Mars, with annual Mars festivals, a fraternity of astronomical augurs or priests, celestially-related icons or symbols, planet deities and cosmological lore in abundance. ¹ The first month of the year of the Roman republic was originally “Martius' month,” ² or in the shortened English version, March.

Three centuries later (by 364 B.C.) the original astronomical events such as the periodic holocausts of the vernal equinox became so vague that the Roman calendar was reorganized. No longer was March 21 the New Year day, celebrating the passover of Mars, but rather January 1, celebrating the winter solstice when the Sun began to return northward. January, after Janus, became the first month; originally, it had been the eleventh. Still later, by the time of Augustus (63 B.C.-14 A.D.), only two ancient temples dedicated to Mars were left in the imperial city. Time was revising the ancient cosmic-oriented traditions, lores, and religious rites. The change reflects the settling down of Mars in the solar system after going out of orbital resonance with Earth.

The cosmological deities also reigned supreme in Northern Europe in the second millennium and first half of the first millennium B.C. The Teutonic planet-deities were originally not considered dormant deities; they were deities of either action or interaction. Like the planet-deities of the Greeks and Romans, they occasionally intervened in human affairs to the advantage or disadvantage of one dynasty or another, one settlement or another, one person or another.

By way of interaction, Freyia, or Frigga (Venus) was considered the “wife” of Odin (Mercury). (We have suggested Mercury interacted with the Earth-Moon system about 2500 B.C. causing the Deluge catastrophe; it went into an inner orbit and interacted with Venus before achieving its current intra-Venus orbit.)

Even as in ancient times Mercury interacted with Venus and the two were considered to be related, so Mars in its orbit appeared to go out into the remote heavens and “meet” Jupiter in a lineup every two years. Hence it is not surprising that the Teutons considered Tyr (Mars) ³ the deity of cosmic battle, nor is it surprising that Tyr was considered the “son” of Thor (Jupiter). In Graeco-Roman mythology Mars was considered a brother of Venus, both being offspring of Jupiter.

The Teutonic tribes were converted to (or conquered by) Christendom variously between 400 A.D. and 1300 A.D., roughly 1,000 years after the end of the cosmic wars with Mars. As Christendom absorbed or conquered these fiercely independent peoples of the northern forests, the literatures of the Teutons (along with their traditions, lores, locations of worship, rites of worship and pagan priesthoods) were largely obliterated. Sketchy remains of their ancient cosmologies survive in various languages, such as our English names for the days of the week: “Sun-daeg” or Sunday; “Moon-daeg” or Monday; “Tiwes-daeg” (Mars'-day) or Tuesday; “Odens-daeg” (Mercury’s-day) or Wednesday; ”Thors-daeg” (Jupiter's-day) or Thursday; “Freyia-daeg” (Venus'-day) or Friday; and Saturn's-day or Saturday.

In Norwegian ancient lore, the royal house claimed ancestry from Odin, or Mercury. On the surface this may be considered fanciful genealogy. However, bear in mind our thesis that Mercury, in heavy interaction with the Earth, caused the Deluge. (See Patten, The Biblical Flood and the Ice Epoch, p. 143.) Bear in mind also the lineage from Noah to the ancestors of the Teutons passed through Noah, Japheth, Gomer and Ashkenazy. Gomer is the root word for “Germanica” and “Germany” whereas Ashkenazy is the root word for “Saxony” and “Scandinavia.” Hence, the tradition that Mercury or Oden was involved in the establishment of the house of Norway is not without a core of truth. Similarly Mars-Tyr, son of Thor, periodically marauded the earth. For an ancient German hero-figure (Balder) to reportedly be descended from Thor is also not without a core of truth. These are vestiges of the era when there was cosmic warfare in the heavens.

Teutonic and Celtic Cosmologies

Our analysis indicates that Njord was considered the keeper of the cosmos, the gates of heaven (and from this root word comes our “north” and “Norway”). Perhaps Njord had something to do with the region of the several polar stars of ancient times. ⁴ That planetary deities were in a place of preeminence in Teutonic lore is unquestionable; the examples of the naming of the days of the week and the reported celestial relationship with ancient Teutonic houses has already been mentioned.

In England, an astronomical temple at Stonehenge was built on the Salisbury plain near Southampton. It was probably built between 1900 B.C. and 1600 B.C., and was probably a response to the two catastrophes of the twentieth century B.C. It was built to help the ancient priesthood to augur the new era, to predict not only eclipses of the Moon but eclipses and close fly-bys of Mars in its ancient orbit. ⁵ See figure 36, in Chapter IX.

Like the Olympic deities in Greece and the planetary pantheon in Rome, later generations in England forgot the ancient catastrophic scene. Now, the druid rites of astrology and augury are gone. The royal houses claiming celestial relationships in their origin are either gone, or have neglected their ancient celestial traditions, but Stonehenge remains.

Another remnant of the ancient catastrophic scene is our English “week” (originally wicon or wicu). As has been previously mentioned, its elements are named after the planets even as the elements of the Roman calendar, the months, were named after the planets. Table II reflects this. (See below in this chapter.)

Today perhaps only one person in 100 can find Mars in the nocturnal heavens, even in our age of space exploration. This is because its location may be interesting but is inconsequential. Perhaps one in 1,000 can find Jupiter, and perhaps one in 10,000 can locate the dim Saturn. Planet prominence must have been great in Teutonic thought since not only the days of the week, but also children and even dynasties were attributed to, or named in honor of, certain planets.

TABLE II

TEUTONIC DAYS AND TEUTONIC DEITIE

+NOTE: Our research indicates Saturday was named after the Roman planet-deity, Saturn rather than the Teutonic counterpart, Ullr. The reason for this we do not know.

Of the theology of druidism, Caesar tells us that the Gauls, following the druidic teaching, claimed descent from a god corresponding with Dis ⁶ in the Latin pantheon, and it is possible that they regarded him as a Supreme Being; he also adds that they worshipped Mercury, Apollo, Mars, Jupiter and Minerva [Venus], and HAD MUCH THE SAME NOTION ABOUT THESE DEITIES AS THE REST OF THE WORLD. ⁷ (Bold ours, capitalization for emphasis.)

Why did these planets play such an important role? In our resonance orbit model, Mars in its ancient orbit crossed or intersected Earth's orbit twice. The final intersection was on the day March 20/21, the current and the ancient vernal equinox. This was the catastrophic day the Romans under Numa chose for their New Year Day. The other location of orbital intersection or celestial peril was on or about October 25. Some ancient peoples selected this day of catastrophism (or perhaps more correctly, the day after the catastrophe) as their New Year day.

The Long Day of Joshua Catastrophe and the earlier Tower of Babel Catastrophe were among the panic-filled episodes of ancient times which fell on the October date. The Romans chose the March date for their New Year Day; some ancient peoples chose the October date. The Celtics were among the latter group.

In Latin countries the evening of October 31 is observed only as a religious occasion, but in Great Britain, Ireland and the United States, ancient Halloween folk customs persist alongside the ecclesiastical observance. Evidence that Halloween reflects influences from the festival of Pomona is scanty, but the occasion shows clear connections with the religion of the Druids in pre-Christian Ireland and Scotland. The Celtic year ended on October 31, the eve of Samhain, and was celebrated with both religious and agrarian rites. For the Druids, Samhain was both the “end of summer” and a festival of the dead. ... Divination and auguries for the new year were practiced at Samhain. ... It was also an occasion when fairies, witches and goblins terrified the populace. ... Bonfires were lighted on hilltops on the eve of Samhain. ⁸

There is a long and deep tradition of Halloween ⁹ as the time of bad luck, black cats, witches flying on broomsticks in the sky, astrologies, auguries, cosmic rites and so forth. (The Druid rituals in our judgment are interrelated with Baal and Ashtoreth worship by the Phoenicians. Baal, as we shall demonstrate, was the Phoenician deity for Mars; Ashtoreth was the deity for Venus.)

It is well established that medieval Christian clergymen endeavored to eradicate these rites and traditions with varying degrees of success in various locales. What is not so well known is our thesis that real cosmic warfare antedated the seventh century B.C. and is the basis for the ancient astrologies. Half of the ancient catastrophes occurred or threatened on or about October 25, the same time as the Celtic Samhain. The witch-and-broomstick theme is merely another vestige of ancient times wherein Mars was visible with its tiny satellites and former meteor streams, some of which shot into Earth's atmosphere during these cosmic crises in dramatic displays and sometimes deadly destruction.

On one or two occasions of the Mars fly-bys, Mars was as close as 70,000 miles from Earth, and at such a distance would appear 50 times as large as the Moon, would reflect 100 times as much sunlight as the Moon (since its albedo or reflectivity is 15% compared to the lunar 7%). Mars at that distance would create tidal effects possibly as much as 350 times as intense as the average lunar tides experienced today, ¹⁰ Thus earthquakes plus blizzards of meteors were experienced. Under such circumstances ancient Teutons might well implore Thor to control his “celestial son” Tyr or Tiwes.

Roman Cosmology

In the Roman planetary pantheon, the three supreme deities were Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus. Mars was the “son” of Jupiter, and Quirinus is the phonetic equivalent of the Greek Chronos (Saturn,) but identification is not certain. Mars was the deity of celestial warfare in Rome, and so it also became the god of military warfare on Earth, through the peculiar and martial circumstances of Rome's early history. (Much of Roman cosmology originates from the earlier Etruscan cosmology.) March 21 was the traditional day of Martian peril (and the day of the catastrophe of 701 B.C.). Therefore, on March 21, military leaders would gather in the temple of Mars and inquire of the astrological icons and augurs whether they should undertake war during the coming summer season. If so, war would be undertaken in the name of Mars. (Our word “martial” is a derivative of Mars [other forms, martis, marspiter, mavors], which is related to the era of planetary rather than political warfare.)

As a war cult, Mars had its warrior priests, called flamens, who had various kinds of religious hardware such as the ancilia or “sacred shields,” hasta or “sacred spears or thunderbolts,” and other emblems representing Mars or its assaults on Earth. One of the rites was to have a race among pairs of horses. One member of the winning pair would be sacrificed at the altar of Mars on March 21, the festival called tubulustrium. The second of the annual festivals for Mars, armilustrium, occurred in the third week of October, very close to the time of the most severe of the ancient orbital intersections about October 25.

In addition, the Roman lapides sileces are believed to represent the Martian meteors or meteor streams. These pieces of divine hardware, possibly thunderbolts, also helped the Romans to divine or augur whether or not to go to war for the summer season. The lapides sileces were consulted during the March 21 festival, tubulustrium, a military holiday.

The circumstances surrounding Rome's founding are important in understanding Rome's official self-dedication to the deity Mars. Rome was founded about 750 B.C. ¹¹ Within a generation, by 720 B.C., the founder (Romulus) had fortified the town, supervised the building and dedication of temples to at least the planets Jupiter, Mars and Saturn. The temple dedicated to the dim Saturn became the Roman treasury; the temple dedicated to Jupiter became the political capitol (Capitoline hill), and the temple dedicated to Mars, located in Campus Martius, on a grassy plain, became the military headquarters. It would be an interesting survey as to how many educated Romans of the twentieth century could locate the dim Saturn, Jupiter or even Mars in the nocturnal heavens. Yet the ancient Romans thought these celestials sufficiently important and feared them enough to sight them, track them, build temples to them, and even to center the rites of state around them.

Rome, being founded circa 750 B.C., was founded between the last two Mars catastrophes, and perhaps just six years after the dreadful Joel-Amos Catastrophe of October 25, 756 B.C. Details of how this catastrophe was feared and experienced in Palestine are reserved for Chapter V. We will preview that chapter by saying that those catastrophic times included meteoric streams or blizzards falling across large portions of Earth, and very intense earthquakes in Italy, Palestine and elsewhere.

Why should Rome be founded 15 miles inland and upstream on the Tiber instead of on the seacoast where more commerce could be generated? This inland location would make sense if indeed earlier catastrophes generated tidal waves of 50, 100 or even 200 feet high on the Mediterranean Sea, inundating and destroying coasts and seaport cities. We shall see in a later chapter that at least one such event actually did occur in the eastern Mediterranean, ¹² and other lesser tidal waves during other catastrophes also probably occurred.

The Tyrrhenian Sea, the sea between Italy, Sardinia, Sicily and Corsica, the sea into which the Tiber empties, does contain such volcanic islands as Lipari, Stromboli and Vulcano. Lipari is where the legendary Aeolus kept winds confined in caves. Vulcano last erupted in 1890. Stromboli is still active. Marine volcanic activity during a close Martian fly-by would be certain, and marine volcanic activity can create enormous tidal waves.

The founding of Rome upstream from the seacoast is to be noted, but even more important, why should Rome be founded at all? A powerful, successful Etruscan civilization existed in Italy in the eighth century B.C. It was centered in the Arno River Valley area, the Florence-Leghorn-Pisa area, but it extended substantially into Northern and Southern Italy. Why should that government or civilization allow a rival city, a militaristic province, to exist on its southern fringe?

The leading city of the southern portion of the Etruscan civilization was a city known as Volsinium. Today it is known as Bolsena. It is about 60 miles north of Rome. Bolsena is on the shore of the present Lake Volsinium (Lago di Bolsena), a shallow, elliptical-shaped or oval-shaped lake seven by nine miles. Its oval shape is unusual. The lake is also unusual in that the bottom of the lake abounds with lava and volcanic ash; yet there is no talus of a volcano to suggest a source of the recent ash and lava deposits.

We theorize that during the Joel-Amos Catastrophe October 25, 756 B.C., a meteor perhaps one-third mile in diameter hit Central Italy, leaving a seven to nine mile crater from its impact. It hit the ancient Volsinium, and destroyed it in a matter of seconds, if not less. ¹³

Pliny says also that a bolt from Mars fell on Bolsena, “the richest town in Tuscany,” and the city was entirely burned up by this bolt. He refers to Tuscan writings as the source of his information. By Tuscan writings are meant Etruscan books. ¹⁴

The catastrophes of that century brought the great Etruscan civilization into sudden decline and launched the migrations of newcomers to Italy leading to the founding of Rome. The Etruscans, as cited by Censorinus and quoted in the Section on “The World Ages,” thought that celestial prodigies augured the end of each age. “The Etruscans were versed in the science of the stars, and after having observed the prodigies with attention, they recorded these observations in their books.” ¹⁵

Velikovsky suggested an interplanetary electrical discharge as the basis for the sudden destruction. We believe the basis was a large meteor and its resultant astrobleme, or crater, the present Lake Volsinium. If this is a correct conclusion, then there is no question that at least the southern part of the Etruscan Empire was in shambles, and perhaps the northern part also. (The Hebrew prophets, Joel and Amos, describe this same catastrophe of 756 B.C. in terms of earthquakes, meteor streams and significant depopulation in Palestine; this subject will be discussed in Chapter V.)

Romulus

About 810 B.C. prior to the founding of Rome, Amilius was a local chief of the region which became Rome. He expelled his older brother, Numidor, and seized the office by conspiracy and force. He slayed his nephews, who were potential rivals, but he dealt more leniently with his niece, Rhea Silvia. She was allowed to become a vestal virgin.

...under pretence of doing honor to his brother's daughter, Rhea Silvia, having made her a Vestal, by a vow of perpetual virginity he deprives her of all hope of issue. ¹⁶

However, the unforeseen occurred here, unforeseen at least by Amilius. The vestal Rhea was “deflowered by force.”

But, in my opinion, the origin of so great a city, and the first establishment of an empire, in greatness next to the kingdom of the gods, was due to the fates. The Vestal Rhea, being deflowered by force, when she had brought forth twins, declares MARS to be the father of her doubtful offspring, either because she really thought so, or because a god was a more creditable author of her transgression. ¹⁷

Romulus and Remus were the twin baby boys, and Romulus, in opposition to Amilius, was to found the great city and give it his own name. In what way could Mars indeed be the “father” of her twin boys? This undoubtedly was a source of humor to the ancient Romans, which Livy indicates. However, to dismiss the story in rowdy jest may be something less than adequate.

In the Hebrew Talmud, it is noted that another important baby boy was born during another night of severe astronomical phenomena, very likely another close pass of Mars. (This was Abraham, born circa 2030 B.C., quite possibly the night of an- other ancient fly-by or Passover.) ¹⁸ If Mars were passing close to Earth the night of the birth of the twin boys, it might have been as close as 120,000 miles. At this distance, Mars would cause tidal distortion about 70 times the normal intensity of the lunar tidal effect. Anxieties would be extreme and we suspect such anxieties produced a rush of births among near-term pregnant women.

Tides would have occurred in the oceans where they may have risen from 15 to 150 feet above normal high tide. Tides would have occurred in the ionosphere where the plasma may have stretched hundreds of kilometers. Tides of abnormal proportions would have occurred in Earth's inner and outer core, and in its crust. Major tides would have occurred in the fluid magma, effecting Earth's thin crust. See Table VII, Chapter VIII.

If such anxieties were the case, Mars (in a fly-by over Earth) might be correlated not with the conception but rather with the delivery of the two baby boys. Perhaps Rhea was providing a correlation with the day of her boys' births, and not just trying to divert attention from the conception. This kind of phenomenon is also indicated in one of the Psalms which describes catastrophism, Psalm 29.

The voice of the Lord is upon the waters, The God of glory thundereth ... The voice of the Lord is powerful ... The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars ... The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness ... THE VOICE OF THE LORD MAKETH THE HINDS [the heifers] TO CALVE ... The Lord sitteth upon the FLOOD ¹⁹ ... (Psalm 29:3-10, King James ²⁰ )

Amilius, the power-hungry conspirator, was upset with the birth of the children who were potential rivals. He did not order their immediate execution; yet he displayed a jealous reaction similar to that of Nimrod who was upset over the birth of Abraham, and of Herod, upset over the birth of the Christ-child. Amilius caused the baby boys to be left to the elements, exposed to the weather and the forest fauna on the bank of a river which was expected to flood. Subsequently the survival of the two baby boys was ascribed variously to the wolf star Lupus Martius, to a female wolf (Canis Lupus), and/or to Faustulus, a lonely shepherd. How seriously Romulus took his alleged ancestry is difficult to determine. (However, we should note the parallel to Teutonic sagas such as the house of Norway, its origin allegedly ascribed to Mercury-Odin, and the house of the Germanic Balder, allegedly originated from Thor-Jupiter.) Later, when Romulus won various military victories over the neighboring tribes, he frequently celebrated by leading the dedication of yet another temple to Mars or another luminary.

This discussion is given in order to help understand the era of Rome's founding, an era of catastrophism, an era of tides and earthquakes, of planet worship and astrological auguries. This is all evidence for the forthcoming model of the resonance orbit. It is also evidence that at least one planetary orbit, that of Mars, was either in disorder or in another cyclic order.

Numa's Role in Roman Cosmology

Romulus, the first king of Rome, was a sort of brigand. He was succeeded by the more literate, academic Numa Pompilius, who reigned during the Isaiahic Catastrophe of 701 B.C., of which more will be said in Chapters III and IV. Numa's talents lay in the direction of statesmanship. He formalized the religious motifs, largely from Etruscan culture. He established the triad of celestial, or planetary, deities. He appointed the astrological priesthood, the flamens for these celestial cults. He organized the religious hardwares or icons and possibly helped design the lupides sileces, thought to represent falling meteors or “thunder-bolts” from Mars. He consulted with the ancilia also on whether or not to make war in the name of Mars each new spring season.

During Numa's reign, another important function, the calendar, required reorganization. As a result of the Isaiahic Catastrophe, Earth's spin rate changed and Earth's orbit expanded ever so slightly. The net result was that, after the cosmic holocaust of 701 B.C., 365¼ days were required for one orbit-year, whereas previously 360 completed an orbit-year. Numa had to reorganize the calendar either by adding five days each year, or one month every six years, or one day about every second month, or some other intercalary adjustment.

The ancient Romans also reckoned 360 days to the year. Plutarch wrote in his Life of Numa that in the time of Romulus, in the eighth century, the Romans had a year of 360 days only. Various Latin authors say that the ancient month was composed of thirty days. ²¹

In his Isis and Osiris Plutarch describes by means of an allegory the change in the length of the year: “Hermes playing at draughts with the moon, won from her the seventieth part of each of her periods of illumination, and from all the winnings he composed five days, and intercalated them as an addition to the 360 days.” Plutarch informs us also that one of these epagomena days was regarded as inauspicious; no business was transacted on that day, and even kings “would not attend to their bodies until night-fall.” ²²

Numa did what we might consider the most logical adjustment; he added five days per year. As we shall see, his contemporary, King Hezekiah of Jerusalem, made a different kind of adjustment. He added one month every six years, an adjustment which later rabbis have recorded and then pondered. ^{23 24}

At this point, another parallelism should be observed. The Celts in Great Britain in ancient times considered one catastrophic day (October 25) to be New Year Day while the Romans under Numa considered the other catastrophic day (March 21) to be New Year Day. This is a difference in date but a similarity in purpose. The Celtic Samhain or New Year Day may well date back to the end of October of 1930 B.C., the day we estimate the Tower of Babel was engulfed in meteorites and earthquakes; or it may possibly correlate with the Long Day of Joshua, another October 25 date of ancient catastrophism, the latter in 1404 B.C. Naturally, Celtic cosmologists or augurs would favor the last week of October for their New Year Day if one of these October catastrophes preceded the time when they recalculated or reformed the calendar in Britain.

By the same logic, Numa would naturally prefer the March 21 day, since he was living and ruling in 701 B.C. during the March 21 catastrophe of that year. (Actually the dreaded day was March 20, the day preceding the New Year Day, and it was a day of apprehension, fasting and mourning. This is yet another parallel to the Celtic dread of the evening of Samhain, or Halloween.) It would appear that in their thinking, the ancients felt that once this critical day had passed, a new year or perhaps even a new era of astronomical peace could be expected or forecast.

In Rome, Numa named the first four months after planets beginning with Mars (March or Mars' month), followed by Aphrodite (April or Aprilla's month), Mercury (May or Maius' month), and Jupiter (June or Juno's month). Why Saturn was not similarly honored with the fifth month is a moot question. However, these names are another indication of the cosmic veneration in the eighth century B.C.

Ovid, a later Roman poet, described the era of the founding of Rome poetically. His descriptions also contain a substantial core of cosmological truth.

And Phaethon, his ruddy hair on fire, falls streaming down the long trails of the air. A star, sometimes, falls from clear heaven ... ²⁵ [Echoes of Volsinium]

After Saturn was driven to the shadowy land of death, and the world was under Jove [Jupiter], the Age of Silver came in, lower than gold, better than bronze. Jove MADE THE SPRINGTIME SHORTER, ADDED WINTER. ... [Echoes of the lengthened March]

Heaven was no safer. Giants attacked the very throne of Heaven ... mountain on mountain, up to the very stars. Jove struck them down with thunderbolts. ...

He was about to hurl his thunderbolts at the whole world, but halted, fearing Heaven would burn from fire so vast, and pole to pole break out in flame and smoke. ...

And Jove was witness from his lofty throne. In awful indignation he SUMMONED THEM TO COUNCIL [a conjunction or line-up of planets?]. No one dawdled. Easily seen when the night skies are clear, the Milky Way shines white. Along this road the gods move toward the palace of the thunderer. ²⁶

It is more important to realize that the Celts and Teutons, the Romans and the Greeks, the Phoenicians and the Egyptians experienced war in the heavens on cyclic occasions for more than 1,500 years. Rites, traditions, lores, calendars, architectures and astrologies have persisted down to the present in various forms. It is also important to realize that Rome was founded between the twin catastrophes of the eighth century B.C., even as it is important to realize that Israel was founded between the twin catastrophes of the fifteenth century B.C. ²⁷ Under these conditions it is easier to understand why Romans venerated Mars and other planets so much. Also it is easier to understand why other ancients looked heavenward in panic and fear for themselves, and yet sometimes in hope, that is hope that their enemies or rivals would be consumed. Within this system of thought, it should be no surprise that ancient architectures, calendars, religious themes and even military campaigns were all centered around this repeating cosmic drama.

Indo - Aryan Cosmology from India

This development on Indo-Aryan cosmology will be brief, not because the data is lacking, but partly because our space in this book is limited, and partly because an author of East Indian origin will be far more competent to develop the theme in depth relative to ancient Indian literature, architecture, calendars, folklore, rites, astrologies, word studies, and so forth. It is hardly necessary to recall that surviving even today in Hinduism are astrologies, fears of eclipses, venerations of zodiacs, adoration of planets, mountains, rivers, wind systems and other prominent natural phenomena.

The Indo-Aryan word for our Jupiter is Dyaus Pitar, father of the gods. This corresponds to the Greek Zeus-pater or Zeus in its shortened form. This same root word has led to the Latin deus for divinity, to the Lithuanian devas and the Teutonic tiwes for Mars ²⁸ (Indeed these words suggest a common origin of all of these European languages. The root language, we suspect, is Sanskrit, which may well have been at least similar to the language spoken on the Ark by the eight survivors of the ante-diluvian age.) Planet worship developed early in Egypt, England, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Persia, Philistia and other locations, by peoples who migrated out of the Ararat-Urartu area a few generations after the Flood Catastrophe.

Europa in Greek mythology gave her name to the continent of Europe. Europa was a Phoenician beauty. She excited Zeus, who in his fired love carried her from Phoenicia to Crete where she became the mother of Minos and matriarch of the Minoan Kingdom. Similarly the subcontinent of India has a name also of astral origin, for Indra corresponds to Mars, Agni corresponds to Venus or Aphrodite, Mitra to the Sun or Helios.

Indra is represented with four arms and hands. Two hands hold spears, two others hold cosmic thunderbolts (which recall the lapides sileces and the hasta of the Roman cosmic religion). The four arms may possibly picture the ancient scene of multiple auroras, wing-like auras, because planetary geomagnetic sheaths were not just passing by, but were deeply clashing.

Sometimes Indra is depicted with 1,000 eyes. This depicts the era, circa 2000 B.C. when thousands of Mars-asteroids or meteors circled the red planet. These ancient meteors are themselves vestiges of when Mars, in a former orbit nearer to Jupiter, encountered a smaller planet which fragmented. Some of these fragments revolved around Mars and assaulted Earth cyclically. These fragments were called Maruts in India. Most of these fragments revolve around the Sun and remain there today as asteroids. Thus the Maruts of India must be considered in relation to meteors and the fire and brimstone, the pestilence and the hot hail falling from the skies reported in the Biblical accounts of those catastrophic scenes. ²⁹

Calendaric Correlations

We cannot say definitely how ancient the 360 day calendar is, but its usefulness terminated in 701 B.C. Its usefulness may have originated as a consequence of the twin catastrophes of the fifteenth century B.C.

INDIA

The texts of the Veda period know a year of only 360 days. “All Veda texts speak uniformly and exclusively of a year of 360 days, Passages in which this length of the year is directly stated are found in all the Brahmanas.” It is striking that the Vedas nowhere mention an intercalary period. ³⁰

Here is a passage from the Aryabhatiya, an old Indian work on mathematics and astronomy: “A year consists of twelve months. A month consists of 30 days. A day consists of 60 nadis. A nadi consists of 60 vinadikas.” ³¹

PERSIA

The ancient Persian year was composed of 360 days or twelve months of thirty days each. In the seventh century five Gatha days were added to the calendar. ³²

CHALDEA

The astronomical tablets from the period ante-dating the Neo-Babylonian Empire compute the year at so many days, without mention of additional days. That the ancient Babylonian year had only 360 days was known before the cuneiform script was deciphered: Ctesias wrote that the walls of Babylon were 360 furlongs in compass, “as many as there had been days in the year.” ³³

ASSYRIA

The Assyrian year consisted of 360 days; a decade was called a sarus; a sarus consisted of 3600 days. ³⁴

EGYPT

In the fifth century Herodotus wrote: “The Egyptians, reckoning thirty days to each of the twelve months, add five days in every year over and above the number, and so the completed circle of seasons is made to agree with the calendar.” ³⁵

The number 360 shows up in other interesting ways, for instance in architectures. There were 360 icons in the gnostic genii, 360 gods in the theology of the Greek Orpheus, 360 idols in the palace of Dairi in Japan, 360 statues surrounding Hobal ³⁶ in ancient Arabia. In geometry, the 360° circle is another vestige of the former era, this particular vestige in mathematics, being of Chaldean origin, of the era of 2000 B.C.

Maori (Polynesian) Cosmology of New Zealand

Both the eastern and the western hemispheres contain peoples who had fire and brimstone cosmologies. The Maoris, a branch of the Polynesian race, thought to have been long isolated, also have a fire and brimstone cosmology in their remote Southern Hemisphere location. The story of Maui bears resemblances to the daytime catastrophes of the Bible such as the Long Day of Joshua or Sodom-Gomorrah. However, daytime in Palestine is nighttime in New Zealand. Therefore, the evening or midnight catastrophes of the Bible may well describe the day-time Maui story. The Exodus Catastrophe, for instance, was about midnight in Palestine, and 3:00 P.M. in New Zealand.

....this set Maui to thinking how the days might be made longer. It was his opinion that they were shorter than they needed to be, and that the sun crossed the sky too quickly. So he said to his brothers: Let us catch the sun in a noose and make him move more slowly....' His brothers said it was impossible....

And so they waited there in the darkness at the place where the sun rises. At length the day dawned, a chilly gray at first, then flaming red. And the sun came up from his pit, suspecting nothing. His fire spread over the mountains, and the sea was all glittering.... He rose out of the pit until his head was through the noose, and then his shoulders. Then Maui shouted, and the ropes were pulled, the noose ran taut. The huge and flaming creature struggled and threshed, and leapt this way and that, and the noose jerked up and down and back and forth; but the more the captive struggled, the more tightly it held.

Then out rushed Maui with his enchanted weapon, and beat the sun about the head, and beat his face most cruelly. The sun screamed out, and groaned and shrieked, and Maui struck him savage blows until the sun was begging for mercy.. . Then at last when Maui gave the signal they let him go, and the ropes came loose, and the sun crept slowly and feebly on his course that day, and has done ever since. Hence the days are longer than they formerly were.

It was during this struggle with the sun that his second name was learned by man... That was his name, meaning Great Son the Day, which was never known before. After this feat of laming the sun, Maui and his brothers re- turned to their house and dwelt there. ³⁷

The Maori story of Maui, coming from the vast reaches of Oceania, is not greatly different from the Greek tradition of Phaethon.

Phaethon, in Greek mythology, was the son of Helios, the sun-god, and the nymph Clymene (Gr., phaethon, “shining,” “radiant”). He persuaded his father to let him drive the chariot of the sun across the sky, but he lost control of the horses and, driving too near the earth, scorched it. To save the world from utter destruction Zeus killed Phaethon with a thunderbolt. He fell to earth at the mouth of the Eridanus, a river of northern Europe....The story is most fully told in the Metamorphoses of Ovid (i, 750, ii, 336, and Nonnus, Dionysiaca, xxxviii) ³⁸

American Indians of both Americas have ancient astronomical lores, traditions and in some cases architectures. The Phoenix-bird story of ancient Egypt is merely one more version of Phaethon-Maui-Long Day of Joshua narrative. The celestial dragon motif of China is yet another example. In Japanese lore, there is the tradition that camphor boats sail into the celestial (not oceanic) deep, bearing deities.

We do not propose that the Maui catastrophe scene is the Long Day of Joshua. Indeed, we presume it is not. It is merely another of the cycles of catastrophism, one which enveloped Oceania in the daytime. The Long Day of Joshua occurred during the late evening or night hours of Oceania.

It is not the purpose of this book to compile an exhaustive list of ancient literatures and lores which reflect astronomical catastrophism, but it should be observed that there is a great harmony of motifs, though the particular story varies in details. Moreover, of more concern than any collection of accompanying facts, is the overall concept of ancient catastrophism. (Filling in the grid with details is a labor and a privilege reserved for future enterprising scholars in their fields of specialty.)

An interesting collection of facts is stimulating and valuable, but a model of the series of ancient astronomical holocausts is essential. Our model of these ancient times is best seen in the Isaiahic Catastrophe, Chapter IV. The model lays the foundation for a long-needed unified theory of catastrophism,

NOTES