The Worship of the Dead - Or the Origin and Nature of Pagan Idolatry and Its Bearing Upon the Early History of Egypt and Babylonia #219830

The intimate relation of the ancient Paganism to the early history of mankind, and its influence on the fate and fortunes of the human race, gives no little interest and importance to any inquiry into its origin and nature, and many learned men, during the last sixty years, have carefully collected and compared the traditions and archaeological remains relating to it in various countries. But, although their works form a valuable literature on the subject, they are not only too voluminous to be consulted by the ordinary reader, but they fail to supply a succinct and comprehensive history of its origin, development and exact nature, without which its true character and significance cannot be fully recognised. In the present work the author has endeavoured to supply this want, and, while availing himself of the researches of previous writers, has endeavoured to compress into a moderate compass and readable form, the facts and archaeological discoveries which show the relation of the gods and religious systems of various nations to each other, and to point out the significance and interpretation of the ancient traditions and mythological stories, and their bearing on the events of actual history.