[Footnote *: 'The Rise of the Greek Epic,' pp. 127, 128.]
Of course, this explanation of the Minos legend and the story of
the human tribute is in the meantime only a supposition, and not
susceptible of absolute proof; but the constant recurrence of the
nine-year period is, at least, very striking, and it is worth
remembering that a custom precisely similar to that suggested has
existed in connection with several ancient monarchies, and, indeed,
survives to the present day. In the ancient Ethiopian kingdom the
King was obliged to slay himself when commanded to do so by the
priests. A similar custom prevailed in Babylonia and among the
ancient Prussians, while several modern African tribes slay their
King when the first sign of age or infirmity begins to show itself
in him. Professor Flinders Petrie has shown[*] that the greatest of
the Egyptian feasts, the 'Sed' Festival, was a ceremonial survival
of a time when the Pharaoh, the Priest-King and representative of
God on earth, was slain at fixed intervals. The object in all such
cases is manifestly to secure that the incarnation of divinity shall
always be in the prime of his vigour, and shall never know decay.
It is impossible, no doubt, to say that such a feature belonged to
the Minoan religious polity; the evidence is not such as to admit
of certainty, yet it is not unlikely that in a custom similar to
this lies the interpretation of the main features of the Minotaur
legend.
Pages:
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282