Chapter I. Incense And Libations. The Power : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE POWER OF THE EYE. In attempting to understand the peculiar functions attributed to the eye it is essential that the inquirer should endeavour to look at the problem from the early Egyptian's point of view. After moulding into shape...
Chapter I. Incense And Libations. Appendix A : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], APPENDIX A. On re-reading the discussion of the significance of the "ka" I realize that, in striving after brevity and conciseness--to keep the size of my statement within the limits of the "Bulletin of the John Rylands Library", generously...
Chapter I. Incense And Libations. Incense : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], p. 36 INCENSE. So far I have referred in detail only to the offering of libations. But this was only one of several procedures for animating statues, mummies, and food-offerings. I have still to consider the ritual procedures...
Chapter Ii. Dragons And Rain Gods. The Drag : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE DRAGON IN AMERICA AND EASTERN ASIA. In the early centuries of the Christian era, and probably also even for two or three hundred years earlier still, the leaven of the ancient civilizations of the Old World was at work in Mexico, Central...
Chapter Ii. Dragons And Rain Gods. The Ram : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE RAM. The close association of the ram with the thunder-god is probably related with the fact that the sun-god Amon in Egypt was represented by the ram with a distinctive spiral horn. This spiral became a distinctive feature of the god...
List Of Illustrations : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], p. xvi p. xvii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FACING PAGE Fig. 1.--The conventional Egyptian representation of the burning of incense and the pouring of libations 2 Fig. 2.--Water-colour sketch by Mrs. Cecil Firth, representing a restorati...
Untitled : * This is a set of three connected essays on the symbolism and development of the concept of the dragon in world mythology. The author, Grafton Elliot Smith (b. 1871, d. 1937), was Australian by birth, and an anatomist by profession. Smith wrote this while a Professor of Anatomy in Manchester...
Chapter Ii. Dragons And Rain Gods. The Thunder : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE THUNDER-WEAPON. 1 In the development of the dragon-story we have seen that the instruments of destruction were of a most varied kind. Each of the three primary deities, Hathor, Osiris and Horus can be a destructive power as well...
Chapter Ii. Dragons And Rain Gods. Cert : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], p. 135 CERTAIN INCIDENTS IN THE DRAGON MYTH. Throughout the greater part of the area which tradition has peopled with dragons, iron is regarded as peculiarly lethal to the monsters. This seems to be due to the part played by the "smiths" who...
Chapter I. Incense And Libations. The Significance : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LIBATIONS. The central idea of this lecture was suggested by Mr. Aylward M. Blackman's important discovery of the actual meaning of incense and libations to the Egyptians themselves. 1 The earliest body of literature...
Chapter Iii. The Birth Of Aphrodite. The Pig : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], p. 216 THE PIG. I have already referred to the circumstances that were responsible for the identification of the cow with the Great Mother, the sky, and the moon. Once this had happened, the process seems to have been extended to include...
Chapter Ii. Dragons And Rain Gods. Introduction : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], p. 76 CHAPTER II. DRAGONS AND RAIN GODS. 1 An adequate account of the development of the dragon-legend would represent the history of the expression of mankind's aspirations and fears during the past fifty centuries and more. For the drag...
Chapter I. Incense And Libations. Appendix C : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], APPENDIX C. Prof. Barton's statement ("supra", p. 64) is typical of a widespread misapprehension, resulting from the confusion between sexual relations and the giving of life. At first primitive people did not realize that the manifestations...
Chapter I. Incense And Libations. The Worship : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE WORSHIP OF THE COW. Intimately linked with the subjects I have been discussing is the worship of the cow. It would lead me too far afield to enter into the details of the process by which the earliest Mother-Goddesses became so closely...
Chapter I. Incense And Libations. The Beginning : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE BEGINNING OF STONE-WORKING. During the last few years I have repeatedly had occasion to point out the fundamental fallacy underlying much of the modern speculation in ethnology, and I have no intention of repeating these strictures here...
Chapter Ii. Dragons And Rain Gods. The Dragon Myth : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE DRAGON MYTH. The most important and fundamental legend in the whole history of mythology is the story of the "Destruction of Mankind". "It was discovered, translated, and commented upon by Naville ("La Destruction des hommes par les...
Preface : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], p. v PREFACE. Some explanation is due to the reader of the form and scope of these elaborations of the lectures which I have given at the John Rylands Library during the last three winters. They deal with a wide range of topics...
Chapter Iii. The Birth Of Aphrodite. Part 07 : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE SEARCH FOR THE ELIXIR OF LIFE. BLOOD AS LIFE. In delving into the remotely distant history of our species we cannot fail to be impressed with the persistence with which, throughout the whole of his career, man (of the species "sapiens")...
Chapter Iii. The Birth Of Aphrodite. Gold : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], GOLD AND THE GOLDEN APHRODITE. The evidence which has been collected by Mr. Wilfrid Jackson seems to suggest that the shell-cults originated in the neighbourhood of the Red Sea. With the introduction of the practice of wearing shells...
Chapter Ii. Dragons And Rain Gods. The Ethical : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE ETHICAL ASPECT. So far in this discussion I have been dealing mainly with the problems of the dragon's evolution, the attainment of his or her distinctive anatomical features and physiological attributes. But during this process...
Chapter Iii. The Birth Of Aphrodite. Part 03 : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE MEASUREMENT OF TIME. It was the similarity of the periodic phases of the moon and of womankind that originally suggested the identification of the Great Mother with the moon, and originated the belief that the moon was the regul...
Chapter Iii. The Birth Of Aphrodite. The Swastika : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE SWASTIKA. Houssay ("op. cit. supra") has made the interesting suggestion that the swastika may have been derived from such conventionalized representations of the octopus as are shown in Fig. 23. This series of sketches is taken...
Chapter Iii. The Birth Of Aphrodite. The Octopus : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE OCTOPUS. Aphrodite was associated not only with the cowry, the pearl, and the mandrake, but also with the octopus, the argonaut, and other cephalopods. Tmpel seems to imagine that the identification of the goddess with the argonaut...
Chapter Iii. The Birth Of Aphrodite. Part 05 : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE ORIGIN OF CLOTHING. The cowry and its surrogates were supposed to be potent to confer fertility on maidens; and it became the practice for growing girls to wear a girdle on which to suspend the shells as near as possible to the org...
Corrigenda : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], CORRIGENDA. P. xix (also the description of Fig. 25 facing p. 184 and the footnotes on pp. 189 and 225). "For" Blinckenberg "read" Blinkenberg. P. 77. Yung Jung. P. 82. Tristam Tristram. P. 137. Pl. VI. Fig. 17. PI. VII. Fig. 16. P. 158...
Chapter I. Incense And Libations. Introduction : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], p. 1 CHAPTER I. INCENSE AND LIBATIONS. 1 "The dragon was primarily a personification of the life giving and life-destroying powers of water. This chapter is concerned with the genesis of this biological theory of water and its relationship...
Chapter I. Incense And Libations. The Mo : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], p. 56 THE MOON AND THE SKY-WORLD. There are reasons for believing that the chief episodes in Aphrodite's past point to the Red Sea for their inspiration, though many other factors, due partly to local circumstances and partly to contact with...
Chapter I. Incense And Libations. The Breath : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], p. 41 THE BREATH OF LIFE. Although the pouring of libations and the burning of incense played so prominent a part in the ritual of animating the statue or the mummy, the most important incident in the ceremony was the "opening of the mouth,"...
Chapter I. Incense And Libations. Early Mummies : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], EARLY MUMMIES. In the earliest known (Second Dynasty) examples of Egyptian attempts at mummification 2 the corpse was swathed in a large series of bandages, which were moulded into shape to represent the form of the body. In a later...
Chapter Iii. The Birth Of Aphrodite. Pearls : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], PEARLS. During the chequered history of the Great Mother the attributes of the original shell-amulet from which the goddess was sprung were also changing and being elaborated to fit into a more complex scheme. The magical properties...
Chapter Iii. The Birth Of Aphrodite. The Mandrake : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE MANDRAKE. We have now given reasons for believing that the personification of the mandrake was in some way brought about by the transference to the plant of the magical virtues that originally belonged to the cowry shell. The problem...
Chapter Iii. The Birth Of Aphrodite. Part 04 : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE MOTHER POT. In the lecture on "Incense and Libations" (Chapter I) I referred to the enrichment of the conception of water's life-giving properties which the inclusion of the idea of human fertilization by water involved. When this event...
Chapter Ii. Dragons And Rain Gods. The Evoluti : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], p. 104 THE EVOLUTION OF THE DRAGON. The American and Indonesian dragons can be referred back primarily to India, the Chinese and Japanese varieties to India and Babylonia. The dragons of Europe can be traced through Greek channels...
Chapter Iii. The Birth Of Aphrodite. Introduction : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], p. 140 CHAPTER III. THE BIRTH OF APHRODITE. 1 It may seem ungallant to discuss the birth of Aphrodite as part of the story of the evolution of the dragon. But the other chapters of this book, in which frequent references have been made...
Chapter Iii. The Birth Of Aphrodite. Part 02 : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE SEVEN-HEADED DRAGON. I have already referred to the magical significance attached to the number seven and the widespread references to the seven Hathors, the seven winds to destroy Tiamat, the seven demons, and the seven fates. p. 212...
Chapter I. Incense And Libations. Summary : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], p. 71 SUMMARY. In these pages I have ranged over a very wide field of speculation, groping in the dim shadows of the early history of civilization. I have been attempting to pick up a few of the threads which ultimately became woven ...
Title Page : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE EVOLUTION OF THE DRAGON Published for the John Rylands Library at THE UNIVERSITY PRESS (H. M. McKechnie, Secretary) 12 LIME GROVE, OXFORD ROAD, MANCHESTER LONGMANS, GREEN ">Manchester: AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS LONGMANS, GREEN ">Lond...
Chapter Iii. The Birth Of Aphrodite. Part 06 : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE COWRY AS A GIVER OF LIFE. Blood and its substitutes, however, were not the only materials that had acquired a reputation for vitalizing qualities in the Reindeer Epoch. For there is a good deal of evidence to suggest that shells also...
Chapter I. Incense And Libations. The Diffusi : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], p. 62 THE DIFFUSION OF CULTURE. In these pages I have made no attempt to deal with the far-reaching and intricate problems of the diffusion abroad of the practices and beliefs which I have been discussing. But the thoughts...
Advertisements : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], The following unnumbered pages of advertisements appeared at the end of the original book, published in 1919. They are included for completeness.--JBH. RECENT AND FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS OF THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY. CATALOGUE OF THE DEMOTIC...
Chapter Iii. The Birth Of Aphrodite : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE SERPENT AND THE LIONESS. When the development of the story of the Destruction of Mankind necessitated the finding of a human sacrifice and drove the Great Mother to homicide, this side of her character was symbolized by identifying her...
Chapter I. Incense And Libations. Appendix B : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], APPENDIX B. I should like to emphasize the fact that my protest (on p. 63) was directed against the claim that the custom of offering food and drink to the dead was inspired "primarily" to prevent them from troubling the living. Its original...
Chapter Iii. The Birth Of Aphrodite. Aphrodite : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], APHRODITE AS THE THUNDER-STONE. As a surrogate of the Great Mother, the Eye of Re, the thunder-weapon was also identified with any of her varied manifestations. The thunderbolt is one of the manifestations of the life-giving...
Chapter I. Incense And Libations. Early Biological : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], EARLY BIOLOGICAL THEORIES. Before the full significance of these procedures can be appreciated it is essential to try to get at the back of the Proto-Egyptian's mind and to understand his general trend of thought. I specially want to make it...
Chapter Iii. The Birth Of Aphrodite. Artemis : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], ARTEMIS AND THE GUARDIAN OF THE PORTAL. Sir Gardner Wilkinson states (see text-figure, p. 179, "b") that "a basket of sycamore figs" was originally the hieroglyphic sign for a woman, a goddess, or a mother. Later on (p. 199) I shall refer...
Chapter Ii. Dragons And Rain Gods. The Deer : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE DEER. One of the most surprising features of the dragon in China, Japan and America, is the equipment of deer's horns. In Babylonia both Ea and Marduk are intimately associated with the antelope or gazelle, and the combinati...
Chapter Iii. The Birth Of Aphrodite. Sharks : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], SHARKS AND DRAGONS. When the life-giving attributes of water were confused with the same properties with which shells had independently been credited p. 158 long before, the shell's reputation was rationalized as an expression of the vital...
Chapter I. Incense And Libations. The Orig : * "Evolution of the Dragon", by G. Elliot Smith, [1919], THE ORIGIN OF EMBALMING. I have already explained 2 how the increased importance that came to be attached to the corpse as the means of securing a continuance of existence led to the aggrandizement of the tomb. Special care was taken...