Page:Star Lore Of All Ages, 1911.pdf/41

Rh is indication of design and not chance in the arrangement and configuration. There seems to have been a definite idea in some one's mind respecting them, a desire to perpetuate a vitally important record. It may be of interest to mention a few of the facts that have inclined scholars to this belief:

To begin with, we find many figures duplicated, and in most cases the two figures are close together in the sky. Thus we see the figures of two Dogs, two Bears, two Giants subduing Serpents, each pair in close proximity. Then there are two Goats, two Crowns, two Streams, and two Fishes bound together.

The zodiacal constellations are often clearly connected with neighbouring figures. We observe the Bull attacked by the Giant Hunter Orion, Aquarius pouring a stream of water into the mouth of the Southern Fish, the Scorpion attempting to sting Ophiuchus, and the Ram pressing down the head of the Sea Monster.

Again, one portion of the sky was known to the ancients as "the Sea," and here we find, as we might expect, many marine creatures,—the Dolphin, the Whale, the Fishes, the Sea Goat, and the Southern Fish.

Other features in support of the theory of design are found in the half-figures, Pegasus, Taurus, and Argo, and the so-called Deluge group, comprising the Ship stranded on a rock, the Bird, the Altar, the Centaur offering a sacrifice, and the Bow set in the Cloud.

It is supposed that, at a time far remote, the Akkadians were conquered by the Semitic race, and that the conquerors imposed only their language on the conquered, adopting, it is said, the Akkadian mythology, laws, literature, and system of astronomy.

At an early date in the world's history we find astronomy and astrology flourishing in China, India, Arabia, and Egypt.

The early astronomical annals of the Chinese reveal the fact that, before the year 2357, the Emperor Yao had