Identifier: mythologyofallra03gray (find matches)
Title: The Mythology of all races ..
Year: 1918 (1910s)
Authors: Gray, Louis H. (Louis Herbert), 1875-1955 Moore, George Foot, 1851-1931 MacCulloch, J. A. (John Arnott), 1868-1950
Subjects: Mythology
Publisher: Boston, Marshall Jones Company
Contributing Library: Wellesley College Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Wellesley College Library

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2). In the oak, whichremained green summer and winter, and which wasscreened from profane gaze, were the idols of thegods, each with his emblem before him: the head ofa man, a horse, and a cow before Patollus; a perpetualfire of oak before Perkunas (cf. Part III, Note 10 onthe oak as his sacred tree); and a pot containing aserpent, carefully fed by the priests, before Potrym-pus (the cult of the household snake, probably theharmless common ringed snake of Europe, was animportant part of ancient Baltic religion). In theopen spaces are piles of wood for the sacred fire, andthe houses of the Waidelots, or ordinary priests,surround the whole. We have, however, no evi-dence that the ancient Prussians possessed idolsof their gods, and in many respects the statementsof Grunau are open to grave doubt. After a picturein C. Hartknoch, Selectae dissertationes historicae devariis rebus Prussicis, appended to his edition ofthe Chronicon Prussiae of Peter of Dusburg (Frank-fort and Leipzig, 1679).
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CHAPTER IWORSHIP OF THE GODS SACRIFICES of animals, grain, and food were offered to thegods and genii; and in time of war captives were slaugh-tered in their honour,^ These sacrifices were performed byfathers of families, by chieftains of clans, and by princes;but the existence of a special and highly developed priesthoodis proved only among the Elbe Slavs, where the head priestreceived the same honour as the king himself,^ The Elbe Slavs worshipped their idols ^ in temples adornedwith great taste and splendour; ^ and In addition to this,trees and groves were consecrated to the gods, both amongthe Elbe Slavs and among the Russians.^ Such a svatobor, forexample, was on the island of Riigen;^ while between Star-gard and Liibeck stretched a great oak grove, guarded by awooden fence provided with two gates. This grove was fullof idols in whose honour sacrifices and feasts were held; andwhoever concealed himself there when threatened by deathwas considered inviolable, being under the prote

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