Abstract
WE do not understand what Mr. St. Clair means by an “embalmed history,” and we do not think that the work which he calls by this strange title will be of the least use either to archaeologists or ethnologists. Mr. St. Clair starts with the preconceived notion that all myths are of astronomical origin, and argues on the basis of this preconception, e.g., p. 38, “The voyage of the Argonauts was an astronomic quest, as we must surely recognise as soon as we learn that the golden fleece which they sought belonged to the Ram of the Zodiac”(!) The rest of the book is mostly in this strain. The author cannot prove Hera, Leto, Artemis, Hades, Hephaistos or Dionysos to be astronomical, so calmly says (p. 37) “The shifting of pole and equinox and the sponging-out of constellations—which may have been required by calendar-reforms—have made the mythology to appear less astronomical than it was.... Most likely many of the Greek divinities may still be found in the sky, under some alias or disguise.” And so forth.
Myths of Greece explained and dated. An Embalmed History from Uranus to Perseus, including the Eleusinian Mysteries and the Olympic Games.
By George St. Clair. 2 vols. Pp. 796. (London: Williams and Norgate, 1901.) Price 16s.
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Myths of Greece explained and dated An Embalmed History from Uranus to Perseus, including the Eleusinian Mysteries and the Olympic Games . Nature 64, 180 (1901). https://doi.org/10.1038/064180b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/064180b0