Baetylus - Revision history

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-{{short description|Type of sacred standing stone}}
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-'''Baetylus''' (also '''Baetyl''', '''Bethel''', or '''Betyl''', from [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] ''bet [[El (deity)|el]]'' "house of god"; compare [[Bethel]], [[Beit El]]) are sacred stones which were supposedly endowed with life, or gave access to a deity. According to ancient sources, at least some of these objects of worship were [[meteorite]]s, which were dedicated to the gods or revered as symbols of the gods themselves.<ref>{{harvnb|Chisholm|1911}} cites [[Natural History (Pliny)|Pliny's ''Natural History'']] xvii. 9; [[Photios I of Constantinople]], ''[[Bibliotheca (Photius)|Myriobiblon]]'', Codex 242.</ref>
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-Other accounts suggest contact with them could give access to [[Theophany|epiphanic experiences of the deity]]. The baetyl has been described by [[Wendy Doniger]] as "the parent form for altars and iconic statuary".{{sfn|Doniger|2000|p=106}} In general the baetyl was believed to have something inherent in its own nature which made it sacred, rather than becoming sacred by human intervention, such as carving it into a [[cult image]]. Some baetyls were left in their natural state, but others were worked on by sculptors. The exact definition of a baetyl, as opposed to other types of [[sacred stone (disambiguation)|sacred stone]]s, "cult stones" and so on, is rather vague both in ancient and modern sources.<ref>Augustine Pagolu, in [https://books.google.com/books?id=vRolnGU5KvAC&dq=Baetyl&pg=PA137 Chapter 4, "Sacred Pillars"] of ''The Religion of the Patriarchs'', 1998 (Bloomsbury Academic, {{ISBN|9781850759355}}) attempts to make distinctions based on ancient sources, arguably with little success.</ref> In some contexts, especially relating to [[Nabataean]] sites like [[Petra]], the term is commonly used for shaped and carved [[stelae]].<ref>[http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/propylaeumdok/1836/1/Wenning_Petra_2001.pdf "The Betyls of Petra"], Robert Wenning</ref>
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{{short description|Type of sacred standing stone}}
[[File:Baetylus (sacred stone).jpg|thumb|right|The Emesa temple to the sun god [[Elagabalus (deity)|Elagabalus]] with baetyl at centre. Roman coin of 3rd century AD.]]

'''Baetylus''' (also '''Baetyl''', '''Bethel''', or '''Betyl''', from [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] ''bet [[El (deity)|el]]'' "house of god"; compare [[Bethel]], [[Beit El]]) are sacred stones which were supposedly endowed with life, or gave access to a deity. According to ancient sources, at least some of these objects of worship were [[meteorite]]s, which were dedicated to the gods or revered as symbols of the gods themselves.<ref>{{harvnb|Chisholm|1911}} cites [[Natural History (Pliny)|Pliny's ''Natural History'']] xvii. 9; [[Photios I of Constantinople]], ''[[Bibliotheca (Photius)|Myriobiblon]]'', Codex 242.</ref>

Other accounts suggest contact with them could give access to [[Theophany|epiphanic experiences of the deity]]. The baetyl has been described by [[Wendy Doniger]] as "the parent form for altars and iconic statuary".{{sfn|Doniger|2000|p=106}} In general the baetyl was believed to have something inherent in its own nature which made it sacred, rather than becoming sacred by human intervention, such as carving it into a [[cult image]]. Some baetyls were left in their natural state, but others were worked on by sculptors. The exact definition of a baetyl, as opposed to other types of [[sacred stone (disambiguation)|sacred stone]]s, "cult stones" and so on, is rather vague both in ancient and modern sources.<ref>Augustine Pagolu, in [https://books.google.com/books?id=vRolnGU5KvAC&dq=Baetyl&pg=PA137 Chapter 4, "Sacred Pillars"] of ''The Religion of the Patriarchs'', 1998 (Bloomsbury Academic, {{ISBN|9781850759355}}) attempts to make distinctions based on ancient sources, arguably with little success.</ref> In some contexts, especially relating to [[Nabataean]] sites like [[Petra]], the term is commonly used for shaped and carved [[stelae]].<ref>[http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/propylaeumdok/1836/1/Wenning_Petra_2001.pdf "The Betyls of Petra"], Robert Wenning</ref>

They had a role in most regions of the [[ancient Near East]] and Greek and Roman religion, as well as other cultures.

==Examples==
[[File:El sueño de Jacob, por José de Ribera.jpg|thumb|Depiction of [[Jacob]]'s dream sleeping on a stone at [[Bethel]], by [[José de Ribera]]]]

With various other sites around the Mediterranean, they were a feature of the Neolithic temple site of [[Tas-Silġ]] and other sites on [[Malta]] and [[Gozo]].<ref>Vella, Horation C. R., in [https://books.google.com/books?id=FaVBAAAAQBAJ&dq=Baetylus&pg=PA315 ''Archaeology and Fertility Cult in the Ancient Mediterranean''], p. 315, 1986, Gruner, {{ISBN|9789027272539}}</ref> The [[Hittites]] worshipped sacred stones called [[Huwasi stone]]s.

In the [[Hebrew Bible]], [[Bethel]] (meaning "House of God"), is where [[Jacob]] had his vision of [[Jacob's ladder]]. Coming upon the place at nightfall, the [[Book of Genesis]] tells the reader that he laid his head on a stone, and had the vision while sleeping,<ref>Marinatos makes the connection with baetyls</ref> then:

{{quote|
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it." He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven." Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. ....

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."|[[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 28:16–22, [[NIV]]}}

[[File:Minoische Siegelringe 03 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Gold [[Minoan seal]] ring, with drawing of design. The goddess in the centre appears to the figure at left, lying on a stone. The worshipper at right is shaking a sacred tree, another way of summoning the deity.]]
In [[Minoan religion]], it has been suggested that rubbing, lying, or sleeping on a baetyl could summon a vision of the god, an event which appears to be depicted on some gold [[Minoan seal]] rings, where the stones are large oval boulders.<ref>[[Nanno Marinatos|Marinatos, Nanno]] (2004), "The Character of Minoan Epiphanies", ''Illinois Classical Studies'', vol. 29, 2004, pp. 32–39, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/23065339 JSTOR]. Accessed 18 February 2021.</ref> A small [[serpentinite]] boulder was excavated very close to the [[Palaikastro Kouros]], the only known Minoan [[cult image]], destroyed around 1450 BC; perhaps it was its baetyl.<ref>MacGillivray, Alexander, and Hugh Sackett. "The Palaikastro Kouros: the Cretan God as a Young Man", p. 166, [[British School at Athens]] Studies, vol. 6, 2000, pp. 165–169. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40916626 JSTOR]. Accessed 22 February 2021</ref>

In the [[Phoenicia]]n mythology related by [[Sanchuniathon]], one of the sons of [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]] was named ''[[Bethel (god)|Baetylus]]''.<ref name=Chisholm>{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Baetylus|volume=3|pages=191-192}} This has further references:
*[[Friedrich Münter]], ''Über die vom Himmel gefallenen Steine'' (1805).
*Bösigk, ''De Baetyliis'' (1854).
*the exhaustive article by [[François Lenormant]] in [[Charles Victor Daremberg]] and [[Edmond Saglio]]'s ''[[Dictionnaire des Antiquités Grecques et Romaines]]''</ref> The worship of baetyls was widespread in the Phoenician colonies, including [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], [[Sidon]], and [[Carthage]], even after the adoption of [[Christianity]], and was denounced by [[Augustine of Hippo]].

A similar practice survives today with the [[Kaaba]]'s [[Black Stone]], which was sacred to the polytheists before Islam.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The life of Muhammad|author=Ibn Ishaq|publisher=The Folio Society|year=1964}}</ref>

===Ancient Greece and Rome===
In [[ancient Greek religion]] and [[Greek mythology|mythology]], the term was specially applied to the [[Omphalos of Delphi]] ("navel"),{{sfn|Doniger|2000|p=106}} the stone supposed to have been swallowed by [[Cronus]] (who feared misfortune from his own children) in mistake for his infant son [[Zeus]], for whom it had been substituted by [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaea]].<ref>{{harvnb|Chisholm|1911}} cites ''[[Etymologicum Magnum]]'', s.v.</ref> This stone was carefully preserved at [[Delphi]], anointed with oil every day and on festive occasions covered with raw wool.<ref>{{harvnb|Chisholm|1911}} cites [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] X. 24.</ref>
[[File:Sanctuary of Aphrodite at Palaepafos, Cyprus - conical stone (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|The baetylus of Aphrodite at [[Sanctuary of Aphrodite Paphia|Palaepaphos]], described by Tacitus.]]

In [[Rome]], there was the stone effigy of [[Cybele]], called {{lang|la|Mater Idaea Deum}}, that had been ceremoniously brought from [[Pessinus]] in Asia Minor in 204 BC.<ref name=Chisholm/> The emperor [[Elagabalus]] who reigned from 218 until 222 (and was probably a teenager for all his reign) came from [[Syria]] and was already the hereditary high priest of the cult of [[Elagabalus (deity)|the god Elagabalus]] there. Once made emperor he brought the god's baetyl to Rome with great ceremony, and built the [[Elagabalium]] to house it. It seems to have been a conical meteorite.

In some cases an attempt was made to give a more regular form to the original shapeless stone: thus [[Agyieus|Apollo Agyieus]] was represented by a conical [[column|pillar]] with a pointed end, [[Meilichios|Zeus Meilichius]] in the form of a [[pyramid]].

According to [[Tacitus]], the ''simulacrum'' of the goddess at the temple of [[Sanctuary of Aphrodite Paphia|Aphrodite Paphia]] at her mythological birthplace at [[Paphos]], on Cyprus, was a rounded object, approximately conical or shaped like a ''[[Meta (Roman circus)|meta]]'' (a turning post on a [[Circus (building)|Roman circus]]) but "the reason for this" he noted, "is obscure".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.loebclassics.com/view/tacitus-histories/1925/pb_LCL111.165.xml|title=Histories|last=Tacitus|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=0-674-99039-0|volume=2|issue=3 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|pages=164–165|translator-last=Moore|translator-first=Clifford H.|oclc=11108482}}</ref>

Other famous baetylic idols were those in the temples of [[Zeus#Roles and epithets|Zeus Casius]] at [[Samandağ|Seleucia Pieria]], and of [[Zeus#Roles and epithets|Zeus Teleios]] at [[Tegea]]. Even in the declining years of [[paganism]], these idols still retained their significance, as is shown by the attacks upon them by ecclesiastical writers.<ref name=Chisholm/>

==See also==
* [[Asherah pole]], Canaanite sacred tree or pole honouring Asherah, consort of El
* [[Bema]] and bimah, elevated platform
* [[Bethel (god)]]
* [[Benben]]
* [[Black Stone]], the venerated stone at [[Kaaba]]
* [[Ceremonial pole]]
* [[High place]], raised place of worship
* [[List of Greek mythological figures]]
* [[Kami]], central objects of worship for [[Shinto]], some of which are natural phenomena and natural objects such as stones.
* [[Lingam]], abstract representation of the Hindu deity Shiva
** [[Banalinga]], stones naturally worn to ovoid shapes in river beds in India
* [[Pole worship]]
*[[Shaligram]], river-bed fossils in India, considered holy
* [[Stele]], stone or wooden slab erected as a monument
* [[Turbah]], small clay or earthen slabs used by [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelver]] Muslims
{{Portal bar|Mythology|Asia}}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{Citation |last=Doniger |first=Wendy |year=2000 |title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions |location=Springfield, Mass. |publisher=Merriam-Webster |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877790440/page/106 106] |isbn=0-87779-044-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780877790440/page/106 }}
*{{Citation |last=Palmer |first=Robert Everett Allen |year=1997 |title=Rome and Carthage at Peace |location=Stuttgart |publisher=F. Steiner |isbn=3-515-07040-0 |page=99}}

==Further reading==
*[https://www.livius.org/articles/religion/baetyl/ "Baetyl"] Jona Lendering, Livius.org
* Uta Kron: "Heilige Steine", in: ''Kotinos. Festschrift für Erika Simon'', Mainz 1992, S. 56–70, {{ISBN|3-8053-1425-6}}

{{commonscat}}

{{Meteorites}}
{{Greek religion|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Middle Eastern mythology]]
[[Category:Meteorites in culture]]
[[Category:Sacred rocks]]