According, to
Herodotus, they were introduced by the Hyksos; and Proclus, the Platonic
philosopher, connects them with the science of astronomy--a science
which, he adds, the Egyptians derived from the Chaldeans. Hence we may
reasonably infer that they served as well for temples for planetary
worship as for observatories. Subsequently to the descent of the
shepherds, their hallowed precincts were invaded by royalty, from
motives of pride and superstition; and the principal chamber in each was
used as tombs."
The pyramidal imitations, dear to the hearts of colonists of the sacred
mountain upon which their gods dwelt, was devoted, as perhaps the
mountain itself was, to sun and fire worship. The same writer says:
"That Sabian worship once extensively prevailed in the New World is a
well-authenticated fact; it is yet practised to some extent by the
wandering tribes on the Northern continent, and was the national
religion of the Peruvians at the time of the Conquest. That it was also
the religion of their more highly civilized predecessors on the soil,
south of the equator more especially, is evidenced by the remains of
fire-altars, both round and square, scattered about the shores of lakes
Umayu and Titicaca, and which are the counterparts of the Gueber dokh
mehs overhanging the Caspian Sea.
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