Persian and Chinese mythology

Guan-Yin, goddess of Mercy

CAVEAT LECTOR:  This is not the place to go if you are seeking a fastidiously detailed account of the Persian or Chinese cults, gods, goddesses, rites or ceremonies. This is TheBibleNet. The brief notes collected here are a landing-place for those aspects of those three cultures that come up in relation to the Tanach and the Christian Bible. The page will continue to be updated as and when more items need the landing-place.

In Chinese mythology their equivalent of Mercury is the planet of the element water and of the north; Venus of metal and the west; Mars of fire and the south; Jupiter of wood and the east. Saturn, the planet of the element Earth, is in the centre. This ties in neatly with YHVH. India too has a doctrine of five elements attributed to the sage Kapila (8th century): this works by the five senses: ether = hearing; air = touch; fire = sight; water = taste; earth = smell; the Greek Empedocles reduced this to four elements.

Sun = yang: source of light and heat, masculine, positive

Moon = yin: negative, feminine

These two together produce the Tao, equivalent to Halachah.

PERSIAN GODS


Two contrary powers rule the world: Ahura Mazda the Lord of Life, Wisdom and Light; Angra Mainyu, also known as Ahriman, the Demon of the Lie - so Dualism, which Christianity continues, unlike the Tao and Halachah, which combine the two in one and seek to reconcile the opposites.

There was also a pair known as Amesha Spentas and Daevas, the first a variant of Ahura, the latter of Angra; the word Daevas gives us our devil, both in name and character; Amesha is precisely what we think of as the angels.

Did you notice how much the image at the top of the Daevas link looks like an Eye of Ra or an Eye of Horus (illustration below)? And Aztec Quetzlcóatl also has exactly the same plumage!

And this, because I need to put it somewhere:


Dr H Ostermann, report on the 5th Thule Expedition (1921-24); quoting the Eskimo Najagneq:

"A power that we call Sila, one that cannot be explained in so many words. A strong spirit, the upholder of the universe, of the weather, in fact all life on Earth - so mighty that his speech to Man comes not through ordinary words, but through storms, snowfall, rain showers, the tempests of the sea, through all the forces that Man fears, or through sunshine, calm seas or small, innocent, playing children who understand nothing. When times are good Sila has nothing to say to mankind. He has disappeared into his infinite nothingness and remains away as long as people do not abuse life but have respect for their daily food. No one has ever seen Sila. His place of sojourn is so mysterious that he is with us and infinitely far away at the same time."

Sila in full is Silap Inua.

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