Chapter 9 oak worship

Worshiping the oak or the god of the oak seems to have been the custom of all Aryan peoples in Europe.Both the Greeks and Italians associated the oak tree with their supreme god, Zeus or Jupiter (god of sky, rain and thunder).Perhaps one of the most famous and oldest holy places in Greece is Dodona.People worship Zeus and think that he lives in the mysterious and deep oak forest.It is said that there are more thunderstorms in Dodona than anywhere else in Europe, which indicates that this place is the most suitable home for Zeus. The rustling of oak leaves and the rumble of thunder and lightning are equally gods.The copper bells constantly humming in the wind around the Holy Land seemed to be the roaring thunder in the deep valley surrounded by mountains.As we have already learned, in Boosia [also known as Viotia, a region of ancient Greece. ], the sacred marriage of Zeus, the god of the oak, and Hera, the goddess of the oak, was celebrated with great union by several states.On Mount Lysias in Arcadia, the identity of Zeus as the god of the oak tree and of rain is clearly expressed when his priests perform rain magic (the priest holds an oak branch and dips water in the holy spring) .Since Zeus had the power to bring down rain, it was only natural that the Greeks would often ask him for rain.His sanctuary is often, though not always, high in the mountains, where the clouds are misty and the oaks grow.On the Acropolis of Athens there is a statue of Zeus for people to ask for rain.Whenever there is a drought, the Athenians prayed: "Let it rain, let it rain, dear Zeus, and rain on our wheat fields and plains!" In addition to rain, Zeus also specializes in thunder and lightning.In Olympia and elsewhere he was worshiped and known as Thunder God.There is also an earthen temple dedicated to Zeus, the god of lightning, on the city wall of Athens. On certain days of the year, officials who specialize in priests guard here to observe the lightning over Parnas.In addition, the Greeks used to fence the place struck by lightning and dedicate this place to "Zeus who fell from the sky", which means the god who descended from the sky by lightning.According to inscriptions, there were several such places in Athens.

Therefore, for some ancient Greek kings who claimed to be descendants of Zeus, and even called themselves Zeus, we can reasonably think that they also tried to use their sacred functions to make thunder and rain for the benefit of their own people, and to intimidate and disturb them. enemy.In this respect, the legend of Salmonus mirrors the hypocrisy of the lesser princes of the oak-covered mountain states of ancient Greece.Like their kinsmen, the kings of Ireland, they were expected to fertilize the land and breed the cattle.What else could they have done to live up to what was expected of them but to be their kinsman, the great Zeus who was god of the oak tree and god of the thunderstorm?They claim to be the incarnation of Zeus in the same way that the kings of Italy claim to be the incarnation of Jupiter.

In ancient Italy, every oak tree was dedicated to Jupiter (Zeus in Italy).In the Temple of Jupiter in Rome, Jupiter was worshiped not only as the god of the oak tree, but also as the god of thunderstorms.A Roman writer once compared people's devotion to gods in the good old days with their doubts about gods in today's era, that is, they didn't believe in heaven and dismissed Jupiter.The writer wrote: "In the past, noble ladies often climbed up the long slope of Mount Capitoline with all their feet and reverence, and prayed for Jupiter to give him rain. Sure enough, it rained heavily in an instant, and everyone drenched Go home like a drowned chicken. But," he went on, "today we are no longer superstitious about the gods, and the earth just lies there burning hot."

From southern to central Europe, among the barbaric Aryans who inhabited the vast primeval forests, one can still meet the great god of the oak tree and the god of thunder.Gaul [an ancient country in western Europe, including today's northern Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland. ] Celtic shamans held nothing more sacred than mistletoe [a plant.Western customs often use mistletoe sprigs as Christian Christmas decorations. ] and the oak tree on which it lives, they chose the oak forest as a place of sacred worship, and the branches and leaves of the oak tree must be used in every ceremony.A Greek writer said: "The Celts worshiped Zeus, and the image of Zeus in their minds was a big oak tree." The Celtic conquerors who settled in Asia in the 3rd century B.C. Brought to their new abode.In central Asia Minor, the place where the Senate of Galatians [an ancient country in central Asia Minor] meets has a purely Celtic name called Delemidon, which means "sacred oak forest" or "oak temple". .Authorities also believe that the names of those wizards mostly mean "oak people".

From the above, it can be seen that the main branches of the Aryans in ancient Europe all worshiped a god of oak, thunder and rain, and this god was the main god among the gods they believed in.