Classical Theology.—Lxxvii.

CLASSICAL THEOLOGY . —LXXVII .

JUNO AND JANUARY . In the fiftieth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah there is this record— "The word that the Lord spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet . Declare ye

among the nations , and publish , and set up a standard ; publish and conceal not : say , Babylon is taken , Bel is confounded , Merodach is broken in pieces ; her idols are confounded , her images are broken in pieces . ... A drought is upon

her waters ; and they shall be dried up : for it is the land of graven images , and they are mad upon their idols . " But besides , if not before , Bel and Merodach ( which latter is supposed to have been a vei-y ancient king of Chaldea , deified

by the honours of translation in divos relatus ) , was the great goddess Succoth , Benoth , or Mylitta , who was honoured as the daughter of the sun , the Babylonish Juno Ourania , or Venus . The supremacy of this goddess was held in

such high veneration that all native women , whatsoever their dignity ancl position , were under imperative obligation to offer themselves once in their lifetime a sacrifice of purity in her temple ; and until the devotee had admitted some admirer

to her acceptance she could not be redeemed from this obligation . Ancl although we cannot reconcile such an act of devotion with virtue , maidens both young and old considered it no small , mark of the goddess's favour -when they were selected

before their companions to receive the embraces thus eagerly sought , for which distinction the less attractive had often many years to wait and sigh for . Something after the fashion of the girls exposed in a Turco slave market destined for

the harem they sat , slightly girded with silken cords , against the temple , with various flowers and fruits they had purchased for offerings to the goddess to whom they were in bondage . On being led away by a stranger or a lover , they were

so proud of the honour that they frequently triumphed over their less fortunate associates . This religious conformance was required , without exemption , of all the Babylonian women , whatever their rank , riches , and beauty . But

those of the first class were a little more exclusive and refined in their behaviour . They were brought into the temple in covered conveyances , in which they remained until removed by their gallants , who were generally on the look-out , near at hand , awaiting them . Likewise on the high

festival days of the goddess numbers of the most beautiful ofthe daughters of Babylon , arrayed in the most captivating styles with braided tresses crowned with coronals of the rarest efilora and aroma , placed themselves in a line

on either side of the doorway of the temple , through the midst of which the male assemblage had to pass , that they might be selected by them . Though we cannot approve it such was a duty of their religion . No one of the fair sex who had thus once exhibited herself could return to her

home , undisgraced unless some man had let fall money into her bosom and had selected her . General history is barren respecting those ancient times ; but we are told that on presenting the coin , the selector or lover had to make use of

some declaration similar to this— " 0 , my fair one , my chosen , I supplicate the goddess Mylitta for thee . " And the self devotedness of these demosels was so strict that even the fairest of them

dared not refuse the money or the suitor , however distasteful to her inclinations , it being held a dedication so sacred as to be unlawful under any circumstances to reject it . In fact , this strange custom appears to have been instituted as a sort

of nuptial ceremony . At all events , it was so far a taking in marriage that , after some other ceremonies , the women returned to them homes , and from that time forth they were bound by the enactments of their religion on no terms to receive the attentions of another suitor .

Like the Brahmins of India , the Chaldeans filled all the offices of the priesthood , and had the entire arrangement and government of all religious affairs of the Babylonian empire . They were its only learned men . They are often mentioned in

the Bible , it is true , as commendable for their astrology and idolatry ; but as we have already stated , their time was much occupied in the search after all manner of knowledge . They are said to have been the inventors of judicial astrology

-When Alexander overcame Babylon , we are told by Calisthenes , that astronomical observations were found there for 1 , 903 years , as far back as 115 years after the Deluge , that is , to the fifteenth year from the building of their wondrous work ,

the tower of Babel . They believed that the planets and moon , as well as the sun , were bodies of fire ( therefore their fire worship ) , and that the government of the world was under a Divine Majesty , yet still that matter was eternal . They