- Baetylus
Baetylus or Bethel is a
Semitic word denoting a sacred stone, which was supposedly endowed with life. These objects of worship weremeteorites , which were dedicated to the gods or revered as symbols of the gods themselves [Pliny's Natural History xvii. 9;Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople , "Myriobiblon", Codex 242.] The best known such object is theBlack Stone inMecca , and another one is mentioned asBethel in Genesis . [Robert Everett Allen Palmer. "Rome and Carthage at Peace". ISBN 3515070400. Page 99.]In the Phoenician mythology related by
Sanchuniathon , one of the sons of Uranus was named "Baetylus". The worship of baetyli was widespread in the Phoenician colonies, includingCarthage , even after the adoption ofChristianity , and was denounced by St.Augustine of Hippo .In
Greek mythology , the term was specially applied toOmphalos [Doniger, Wendy. "Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions". ISBN 0877790442. Page 106.] , the stone supposed to have been swallowed byCronus (who feared misfortune from his own children) in mistake for his infant sonZeus , for whom it had been substituted by Uranus and Gaea, his wife's parents ("Etymologicum Magnum ", s.v.). This stone was carefully preserved atDelphi , anointed with oil every day and on festal occasions covered with raw wool [Pausanias X. 24.]In
Rome , there was the stone effigy ofRhea Cybele , orMater Idaea Deum , that had been ceremoniously brought fromPessinus in Asia Minor in204 BCE and placed in the mouth of the statue of the chthonic goddess. Another conical meteorite was enshrined in theElagabalium to personifyElagabalus Sol Invictus .In some cases an attempt was made to give a more regular form to the original shapeless stone: thus
Apollo Agyieus was represented by a conical pillar with pointed end, Zeus Meilicirius in the form of apyramid . Other famous baetylic idols were those in the temples of Zeus Casius at Seleucia Pieria, and of Zeus Teleios atTegea . Even in the declining years ofpaganism , these idols still retained their significance, as is shown by the attacks upon them by ecclesiastical writers.Notes
References
*1911
* Uta Kron: "Heilige Steine", in: "Kotinos. Festschrift für Erika Simon", Mainz 1992, S. 56–70, ISBN 3-8053-1425-6
*cite journal|url=http://www.indigogroup.co.uk/edge/blstone.htm|title=The Black Stone - the Omphalos of the Goddess|author=Bob Trubshaw|journal=Mercian Mysteries|date=February 1993|issue=No. 14
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