Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/677

Rh A L T A II 639 &amp;lt;rv/x/?w/xot, each having a separate part of the altar, if we may judge from that at the Amphiareum at Oropos (Pau- sanias, i. 34, 2). Deities of an inferior order, who were conceived as working together e.g., the wind gods had an altar in common. In the same way, the &quot; unknown gods&quot; were regarded as a unit, and had in Athens and at Olympia one altar for all (Pausanias, i. 1, 4; v. 14, 5; Acts of Apostles, xvii. 18). An altar to all the gods is mentioned by ^Eschylus (Suppl. v. 225). Among the excep tional classes of altars are also to be mentioned those on which fire could not be kindled (/?w//.ot airupoi), and those which were kept free from blood (/?o&amp;gt;//,ot di/cu/wiKTOi), of which in both respects the altar of Zeus Hypatos at Athens was an example. The rria was a round altar ; the eo-^apa, one employed apparently for sacrifice to inferior deities or heroes, or on comparatively unimportant occasions, as was also the ara among the Romans ; though ara is sometimes used with the same signification as altare, and etymo- logically would have the same meaning if it is correctly derived from detpw, not from ardere; while altare is con nected with altus, &quot; high.&quot; gyptian Egyptian altars were monoliths, in the form of a truncated .Itars. C one about four feet in height. Some are extant, made of granite, others of green basalt; in almost every case they bear hieroglyphical inscriptions. In the temple of Jupiter at Babylon there was an altar of massive gold. Assyrian, Egyptian, and Persian altars were either square or oblong, iblical The most ancient altars of which any record has been Itars. preserved are those mentioned in the Bible. As sacrifice implies an altar, there must have been altars for those of Cain and Abel ; but the first which is mentioned is that which Noah after the flood &quot;builded unto Jehovah&quot; (Gen. viii. 20). The three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are repeatedly said to have built an altar in the different parts of the land of Canaan in which they sojourned ; and though it is not stated expressly, yet it may be inferred from there having evidently been a place where Abraham was accustomed to &quot;stand before Jehovah&quot; (ibid. xix. 27), that, once built, it remained during the whole period of the encampment at the particular place, and was frequently used for the purpose of sacrificing. But the most remarkable altar mentioned in the book of Genesis is that which Abraham built for the sacrifice of his son Isaac, from which we glean several particulars relative to the patriarchal worship. The altar was evi dently something distinct from the wood by whose fire the sacrifice was to be burnt, for Abraham &quot; built an altar and laid the wood in order,&quot; which he had brought with him from Beersheba, as if he could not count upon finding it at the place. The victim also was bound, laid upon the wood, and there slain. This was contrary to the practice under the Levitical dispensation, when the fire on the top of the altar was kept continually burning, and the animal was killed before being carried up to it ; but it is pro bably alluded to in a verse of *-he Psalms, which has given much trouble to commentators who have tried to reconcile it with the precepts of the Mosaic law &quot; Bind the sacrifice with cords unto the horns of the altar &quot; (Ps. cxviii. 27). To this simple patriarchal ritual belong also the rules about the construction of altars given to the Israelites shortly after they left Egypt (Exod. xx. 24-26). While sojourning in that country they do not seem to have offered any sacrifice to Jehovah, till, just as they were leaving it, they were commanded to sacrifice the passover. It is not unlikely that they might have despised the simple altars of their forefathers, and tried to imitate those which they had seen in Egypt, as they so soon copied their late oppressors in a still graver matter, the making a supposed likeness of the Deity. They were therefore ordered to make their altars of earth. Stones might also be used, but they were not to be hewn, nor were the altars to be so high as to require the offerer to go up by steps to arrange the sacrifices upon them. The first altar that is mentioned as having been built after these directions were given, was the one for the solemn covenanting sacrifice between God and the Israelites (Ex. xxiv. 4-8). There it is mentioned that Moses &quot; builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.&quot; Its being under the hill may have been a significant protest against the prevalent heathen error of localising the Deity in the sky, and the twelve pillars or rough blocks of stone appear to have been a principal part of the materials used in constructing it. They may be compared with the &quot; twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob,&quot; with which Elijah built his altar on Carmel (1 Kings xviii. 31). We seem to learn from these examples that when an altar was to be constructed for a special occasion, it was fitting that it should bear a symbolism of all in whose name the sacrifice was offered. It is to be observed that this precept about making altars of earth or of unhewn stones was anterior to the Levitical ceremonial, and was superseded by it. After the sin of making the golden calf, the whole ceremonial of the worship of the Israelites was altered. According to the new ritual, two different altars were required, and they were permanent, being carried about in the people s wanderings, and replaced by others, similar, but larger and more costly, when the ark was placed in the temple on Mount Moriah. The first of these altars was that for burnt offerings. For the tabernacle this was hollow, made of boards of shittim-wood, covered with brass. It was three cubits or about five feet high, and five cubits or eight feet square. It had a horn at each corner, and was carried about by means of staves. The corresponding altar in the temple was of greatly larger dimensions, ten cubits or about 1 8 feet high, and in the first temple 20 cubits square, and in the second 24 cubits. The tradition of the Jews is, that it was 32 cubits (about 50 feet) square at the base, contracting to 24 at the top, by several ledges round it at different heights. It must therefore have been an immense struc ture, and though called &quot; an altar of brass,&quot; was probably built of stones, and merely covered with plates of that metal. From the account of the building of the altar in the second temple given in 1 Mace. iv. 45-47, it is pro bable that it consisted merely of a mass of masonry of the proper form. Ezekiel, in his vision of the temple, gives a description of the altar of burnt- offerings, from which we learn that it was surrounded by several ledges or steps, each a cubit broad. The uppermost of these was two cubits (about 3 feet) below the top of the altar, so that, standing upon it, the priest was able to arrange the sacrifice upon the fire, which was kept always burning, to supply it with fuel, and to remove the ashes. The lower ledges were to enable him to sprinkle the blood on the sides of the altar, which (according to the Levitical ritual) was sometimes to be done on the upper part of the altar, and sometimes on the lower part. The lowest step is said to have had a raised ledge on the outside, by which the blood poured upon it was confined till it ran through a hole into a subterranean pipe. One of the most difficult questions about the Levitical altars is their having horns ; for these do not seem to have been used in that ritual, yet they are specially ordered to be made, not only in the altar of burnt-offerings, but also in that of incense ; and on certain solemn occasions they were sprinkled with blood, as if they were not mere append ages or ornaments of the altar, but had a special signi ficance of their own. From the way they are spoken of in the book of Exodus, we see that they must then have been