re　one　and　the　same；　the　god；　in　fact；　SACRIFICED　HIMSELF　OR　HIS　REPRESENTATIVE。　And　Mithra　was　the　hero　who　first　won　this　conception　of　divinity　for　mankindthough　of　course　it　is　in　essence　quite　similar　to　the　conception　put　forward　by　the　Christian　Church。
  As　illustrating　the　belief　that　the　Baptism　by　Blood　was　accompanied　by　a　real　regeneration　of　the　devotee；　Frazer　quotes　an　ancient　writer＇1＇　who　says　that　for　some　time　after　the　ceremony　the　fiction　of　a　new　birth　was　kept　up　by　dieting　the　devotee　on　MILK；　like　a　new…born　babe。　And　it　is　interesting　in　that　connection　to　find　that　even　in　the　present　day　a　diet　of　ABSOLUTELY　NOTHING　BUT　MILK　for　six　or　eight　weeks　is　by　many　doctors　recommended　as　the　only　means　of　getting　rid　of　deep…seated　illnesses　and　enabling　a　patient's　organism　to　make　a　completely　new　start　in　life。
  ＇1＇　Sallustius　philosophus。　See　Adonis；　Attis　and　Osiris；　note；　p。　229。
  〃At　Rome；〃　he　further　says　（p。　230）；　〃the　new　birth　and　the　remission　of　sins　by　the　shedding　of　bull's　blood　appear　to　have　been　carried　out　above　all　at　the　sanctuary　of　the　Phrygian　Goddess　（Cybele）　on　the　Vatican　Hill；　at　or　near　the　spot　where　the　great　basilica　of　St。　Peter's　now　stands；　for　many　inscriptions　relating　to　the　rites　were　found　when　the　church　was　being　enlarged　in　1608　or　1609。　From　the　Vatican　as　a　centre；〃　he　continues；　〃this　barbarous　system　of　superstition　seems　to　have　spread　to　other　parts　of　the　Roman　empire。　Inscriptions　found　in　Gaul　and　Germany　prove　that　provincial　sanctuaries　modelled　their　ritual　on　that　of　the　Vatican。〃
  It　would　appear　then　that　at　Rome　in　the　quiet　early　days　of　the　Christian　Church；　the　rites　and　ceremonials　of　Mithra　and　Cybele；　probably　much　intermingled　and　blended；　were　exceedingly　popular。　Both　religions　had　been　recognized　by　the　Roman　State；　and　the　Christians；　persecuted　and　despised　as　they　were；　found　it　hard　to　make　any　headway　against　themthe　more　so　perhaps　because　the　Christian　doctrines　appeared　in　many　respects　to　be　merely　faint　replicas　and　copies　of　the　older　creeds。　Robertson　maintains＇1＇　that　a　he…lamb　was　sacrificed　in　the　Mithraic　mysteries；　and　he　quotes　Porphyry　as　saying＇2＇　that　〃a　place　near　the　equinoctial　circle　was　assigned　to　Mithra　as　an　appropriate　seat；　and　on　this　account　he　bears　the　sword　of　the　Ram　＇Aries＇　which　is　a　sign　of　Mars　＇Ares＇。〃　Similarly　among　the　early　Christians；　it　is　said；　a　ram　or　lamb　was　sacrificed　in　the　Paschal　mystery。
  ＇1＇　Pagan　Christs；　p。　336。
  ＇2＇　De　Antro；　xxiv。
  Many　people　think　that　the　association　of　the　Lamb…god　with　the　Cross　arose　from　the　fact　that　the　constellation　Aries　at　that　time　WAS　on　the　heavenly　cross　（the　crossways　of　the　Ecliptic　and　Equator…see　diagram；　ch。　iii）；　and　in　the　very　place　through　which　the　Sungod　had　to　pass　just　before　his　final　triumph。　And　it　is　curious　to　find　that　Justin　Martyr　in　his　Dialogue　with　Trypho＇1＇　（a　Jew）　alludes　to　an　old　Jewish　practice　of　roasting　a　Lamb　on　spits　arranged　in　the　form　of　a　Cross。　〃The　lamb；〃　he　says；　meaning　apparently　the　Paschal　lamb；　〃is　roasted　and　dressed　up　in　the　form　of　a　cross。　For　one　spit　is　transfixed　right　through　the　lower　parts　up　to　the　head；　and　one　across　the　back；　to　which　are　attached　the　legs　＇forelegs＇　of　the　lamb。〃
  ＇1＇　Ch。　xl。
  To…day　in　Morocco　at　the　festival　of　Eid…el…Kebir；　corresponding　to　the　Christian　Easter；　the　Mohammedans　sacrifice　a　young　ram　and　hurry　it　still　bleeding　to　the　precincts　of　the　Mosque；　while　at　the　same　time　every　household　slays　a　lamb；　as　in　the　Biblical　institution；　for　its　family　feast。
  But　it　will　perhaps　be　said；　〃You　are　going　too　fast　and　proving　too　much。　In　the　anxiety　to　show　that　the　Lamb…god　and　the　sacrifice　of　the　Lamb　were　honored　by　the　devotees　of　Mithra　and　Cybele　in　the　Rome　of　the　Christian　era；　you　are　forgetting　that　the　sacrifice　of　the　Bull　and　the　baptism　in　bull's　blood　were　the　salient　features　of　the　Persian　and　Phrygian　ceremonials；　some　centuries　earlier。　How　can　you　reconcile　the　existence　side　by　side　of　divinities　belonging　to　such　different　periods；　or　ascribe　them　both　to　an　astronomical　origin？〃　The　answer　is　simple　enough。　As　I　have　explained　before；　the　Precession　of　the　Equinoxes　caused　the　Sun；　at　its　moment　of　triumph　over　the　powers　of　darkness；　to　stand　at　one　period　in　the　constellation　of　the　Bull；　and　at　a　period　some　two　thousand　years　later　in　the　constellation　of　the　Ram。　It　was　perfectly　natural　therefore　that　a　change　in　the　sacred　symbols　should；　in　the　course　of　time；　take　place；　yet　perfectly　natural　also　that　these　symbols；　having　once　been　consecrated　and　adopted；　should　continue　to　be　honored　and　clung　to　long　after　the　time　of　their　astronomical　appropriateness　had　passed；　and　so　to　be　found　side　by　side　in　later　centuries。　The　devotee　of　Mithra　or　Attis　on　the　Vatican　Hill　at　Rome　in　the　year　200　A。D。　probably　had　as　little　notion　or　comprehension　of　the　real　origin　of　the　sacred　Bull　or　Ram　which　he　adored；　as　the　Christian　in　St。　Peter's　to…day　has　of　the　origin　of　the　Lamb…god　whose　vicegerent　on　earth　is　the　Pope。
  It　is　indeed　easy　to　imagine　that　the　change　from　the　worship　of　the　Bull　to　the　worship　of　the　Lamb　which　undoubtedly　took　place　among　various　peoples　as　time　went　on；　was　only　a　ritual　change　initiated　by　the　priests　in　order　to　put　on　record　and　harmonize　with　the　astronomical　alteration。　Anyhow　it　is　curious　that　while　Mithra　in　the　early　times　was　specially　associated　with　the　bull；　his　association　with　the　lamb　belonged　more　to　the　Roman　period。　Somewhat　the　same　happened　in　the　case　of　Attis。　In　the　Bible　we　read　of　the　indignation　of　Moses　at　the　setting　up　by　the　Israelites　of　a　Golden　Calf；　AFTER　the　sacrifice　of　the　ram…lamb　had　been　institutedas　if　indeed　the　rebellious　people　were　returning　to　the　earlier　cult　of　Apis　which　they　ought　to　have　left　behind　them　in　Egypt。　In　Egypt　itself；　too；　we　find　the　worship　of　Apis；　as　time　went　on；　yielding　place　to　that　of　the　Ram…　headed　god　Amun；　or　Jupiter　Ammon。＇1＇　So　that　both　from　the　Bible　and　from　Egyptian　history　we　may　conclude　that　the　worship　of　the　Lamb　or　Ram　succeeded　to　the　worship　of　the　Bull。
  ＇1＇　Tacitus　（Hist。　v。　4）　speaks　of　ram…sacrifice　by　the　Jews　in　honor　of　Jupiter　Ammon。　See　also　Herodotus　（ii。　42）　on　the　same　in　Egypt。
  Finally　it　has　been　pointed　out；　and　there　may　be　some　real　connection　in　the　coincidence；　that　in　the　quite　early　years　of　Christianity　the　FISH　came　in　as　an　accepted　symbol　of　Jesus　Christ。　Considering　that　after　the　domination　of　Taurus　and　Aries；　the　Fish　（Pisces）　comes　next　in　succession　as　the　Zodiacal　sign　for　the　Vernal　Equinox；　and　is　now　the　constellation　in　which　the　Sun　stands　at　that　period；　it　seems　not　impossible　that　the　astronomical　change　has　been　the　cause　of　the　adoption　of　this　new　symbol。
  Anyhow；　and　allowing　for　possible　errors　or　exaggerations；　it　becomes　clear　that　the　travels　of　the　Sun　through　the　belt　of　constellations　which　forms　the　Zodiac　must　have　had；　from　earliest　times；　a　profound　influence　on　the　generation　of　religious　myths　and　legends。　To　say　that　it　was　the　only　influence　would　certainly　be　a　mistake。　Other　causes　undoubtedly　contributed。　But　it　was　a　main　and　important　influence。　The　origins　of　the　Zodiac　are　obscure；　we　do　not　know　with　any　certainty　the　reasons　why　the　various　names　were　given　to　its　component　sections；　nor　can　we　measure　the　exact　antiquity　of　these　names；　but　pre…supposing　the　names　of　the　signs　as　once　givenit　is　not　difficult　to　imagine　the　growth　of　legends　connected　with　the　Sun's　course　among　them。
  Of　all　the　ancient　divinities　perhaps　Hercules　is　the　one　whose　role　as　a　Sungod　is　most　generally　admitted。　The　helper　of　gods　and　men；　a　mighty　Traveller；　and　invoked　everywhere　as　the　Saviour；　his　labors　for　the　good　of　the　world　became　ultimately　defined　and　systematized　as　twelve　and　corresponding　in　number　to　the　signs　of　the　Zodiac。　It　is　true　that　this　systematization　only　took　place　at　a　late　period；　probably　in　Alexandria；　also　that　the　identification　of　some　of　the　Labors　with　the　actual　signs　as　we　have　them　at　present　is　not　always　clear。　But　considering　the　wide　prevalence　of　the　Hercules　myth　over　the　ancient　world　and　the　very　various　astronomical　systems　it　must　have　been　connected　with　in　its　origin；　this　lack　of　exact　correspondence　is　hardly　to　be　wondered　at。
  The　Labors　of　Hercules　which　chiefly　interest　us　are：　（1）　The　capture　of　the　Bull；　（2）　the　slaughter　of　the　Lion；　（3）　the　destruction　of　the　Hydra；　（4）　of　the　Boar；　（5）　the　cleansing　of　the　stables　of　Augeas；　（6）　the　descent　into　Hades　and　the　taming　of　Cerberus。　The　first　of　these　is　in　line　with　the　Mithraic　conquest　of　the　Bull；　the　Lion　is　of　course　one　of　the　most　prominent　constellations　of　the　Zodiac；　and　its　conquest　is　obviously　the　work　of　a　Saviour　of　mankind；　while　the　last　four　labors　connect　themselves　very　naturally　with　the　Solar　conflict　in　winter　against　the　powers　of　darkness。　The　Boar　（4）　we　have　seen　already　as　the　image　of　Typhon；　the　prince　of　darkness；　the　Hydra　（3）　was　said　to　be　the　offspring　of　Typhon；　the　descent　into　Hades　（6）generally　associated　with　Hercules'　struggle　with　and　victory　over　Deathlinks　on　to　the　descent　of　the