Glacial gravels are well seen near Antrim town, and as drumlins between Ballymena and Ballycastle. The drift-phenomena connected with the flow of ice from Scotland are of special interest. Recently elevated marine clays, of post-glacial date, fringe the south-eastern coast, while gravels with marine sh.e.l.ls, side by side with flint implements chipped by early man, have been lifted some 20 ft. above sea-level near Larne.
Rock-salt some 80 ft. thick is mined in the Trias near Carrickfergus.
The Keuper clays yield material for bricks. Bauxite, probably derived from the decay of lavas, is found between Glenarm and Broughshane, a.s.sociated with brown and red pisolitic iron-ores; both these materials are worked commercially. Bauxite occurs also near Ballintoy. The Ballycastle coal is raised and sold locally.
_Industries._--The climate is very temperate. The soil varies greatly according to the district, being in some cases a rich loam, in others a chalky marl, and elsewhere showing a coating of peat. The proportion of barren land to the total area is roughly as 1 to 9; and of tillage to pasture as 2 to 3. Tillage is therefore, relatively to other counties, well advanced, and oats and potatoes are largely, though decreasingly, cultivated. Flax is a less important crop than formerly. The numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry are generally increasing. Dutch, Ayrshire and other breeds are used to improve the breed of cattle by crossing. Little natural wood remains in the county, but plantations flourish on the great estates, and orchards have proved successful.
The linen manufacture is the most important industry. Cotton-spinning by jennies was first introduced by Robert Joy and Thomas M"Cabe of Belfast in 1777; and an estimate made twenty-three years later showed upwards of 27,000 hands employed in this industry within 10 m. of Belfast, which remains the centre for it. Women are employed in the working of patterns on muslin. There are several paper-mills at Bushmills in the north; whisky-distilling is carried on; and there are valuable sea-fisheries divided between the district of Ballycastle and Carrickfergus, while the former is the headquarters of a salmon-fishery district. The workings at the Ballycastle collieries are probably the oldest in Ireland. In 1770 the miners accidentally discovered a complete gallery, which has been driven many hundred yards into the bed of coal, branching into thirty-six chambers dressed quite square, and in a workman-like manner.
No tradition of the mine having been formerly worked remained in the neighbourhood. The coal of some of the beds is bituminous, and of others anthracite.
_Communications._--Except that the Great Northern railway line from Belfast to the south and west runs for a short distance close to the southern boundary of the county, with a branch from Lisburn to the town of Antrim, the princ.i.p.al lines of communication are those of the Northern Counties system, under the control of the Midland railway of England. The chief routes are:--Belfast, Antrim, Ballymena (and thence to Coleraine and Londonderry); a line diverging from this at White Abbey to Carrickfergus and Larne, the port for Stranraer in Scotland; branches from Ballymena to Larne and to Parkmore; and from Coleraine to Portrush.
The Ballycastle railway runs from Ballymoney to Ballycastle on the north coast; and the Giant"s Causeway and Portrush is an electric railway (the first to be worked in the United Kingdom). The Lagan Ca.n.a.l connects Lough Neagh with Belfast Lough.
_Population and Administration._--The population in 1891 was 208,010, and in 1901, 196,090. The county is among those least seriously affected by emigration. Of the total about 50% are Presbyterians, about 20% each Protestant Episcopalians and Roman Catholics; Antrim being one of the most decidedly Protestant counties in Ireland. Of the Presbyterians the greater part are in connexion with the General Synod of Ulster, and the other are Remonstrants, who separated from the Synod in 1829, or United Presbyterians. The princ.i.p.al towns are Antrim (pop. 1826), Ballymena (10,886), Ballymoney (2952), Carrickfergus (4208), Larne (6670), Lisburn (11,461) and Portrush (1941). Belfast though const.i.tuting a separate county ranks as the metropolis of the district. Ballyclare, Bushmills, Crumlin, Portglenone and Randalstown are among the lesser towns. Belfast and Larne are the chief ports. The county comprises 14 baronies and 79 civil parishes and parts of parishes. The constabulary force has its headquarters at Ballymena. The a.s.size town is Belfast, and quarter sessions are held at Ballymena, Ballymoney, Belfast, Larne and Lisburn.
The county is divided between the Protestant dioceses of Derry and Down, and the Roman Catholic dioceses of Down and Connor, and Dromore. It is divided into north, mid, east and south parliamentary divisions, each returning one member.
_History and Antiquities._--At what date the county of Antrim was formed is not known, but it appears that a certain district bore this name before the reign of Edward II. (early 14th century), and when the shiring of Ulster was undertaken by Sir John Perrot in the 16th century, Antrim and Down were already recognized divisions, in contradistinction to the remainder of the province. The earliest known inhabitants were of Celtic origin, and the names of the townlands or subdivisions, supposed to have been made in the 13th century, are pure Celtic. Antrim was exposed to the inroads of the Danes, and also of the northern Scots, who ultimately effected permanent settlements. The antiquities of the county consist of cairns, mounts or forts, remains of ecclesiastical and military structures, and round towers. The princ.i.p.al cairns are: one on Colin mountain, near Lisburn; one on Slieve True, near Carrickfergus; and two on Colinward. The cromlechs most worthy of notice are: one near Cairngrainey, to the north-east of the old road from Belfast to Templepatrick; the large cromlech at Mount Druid, near Ballintoy; and one at the northern extremity of Island Magee. The mounts, forts and intrenchments are very numerous. There are three round towers: one at Antrim, one at Armoy, and one on Ram Island in Lough Neagh, only that at Antrim being perfect. There are some remains of the ecclesiastic establishments at Bonamargy, where the earls of Antrim are buried, Kells, Glenarm, Glynn, Muckamore and White Abbey. The n.o.ble castle of Carrickfergus is the only one in perfect preservation. There are, however, remains of other ancient castles, as Olderfleet, Cam"s, Shane"s, Glenarm, Garron Tower, Redbay, &c., but the most interesting of all is the castle of Dunluce, remarkable for its great extent and romantic situation. Mount Slemish, about 8 m. east of Ballymena, is notable as being the scene of St Patrick"s early life. Island Magee had, besides antiquarian remains, a notoriety as a home of witchcraft, and was the scene of an act of reprisal for the much-disputed ma.s.sacre of Protestants about 1641, by the soldiery of Carrickfergus.
ANTRIM, a market-town in the west of the county Antrim, Ireland, in the south parliamentary division, on the banks of the Six-Mile Water, half a mile from Lough Neagh, in a beautiful and fertile valley. Pop. (1901) 1826. It is 21 m. north-west of Belfast by the Northern Counties (Midland) railway, and is also the terminus of a branch of the Great Northern railway from Lisburn. There is nothing in the town specially worthy of notice, but the environs, including Shane"s Castle and Antrim Castle, possess features of considerable interest. About a mile from the town is one of the most perfect of the round towers of Ireland, 93 ft.
high and 50 in circ.u.mference at the base. It stands in the grounds of Steeple, a neighbouring seat, where is also the "Witches" Stone," a prehistoric monument. A battle was fought near Antrim between the English and Irish in the reign of Edward III.; and in 1642 a naval engagement took place on Lough Neagh, for Viscount Ma.s.sereene and Ferrard (who founded Antrim Castle in 1662) had a right to maintain a fighting fleet on the lough. On the 7th of June 1798 there was a smart action in the town between the king"s troops and a large body of rebels, in which the latter were defeated, and Lord O"Neill mortally wounded.
Before the Union Antrim returned two members to parliament by virtue of letters patent granted in 1666 by Charles II. There are manufactures of paper, linen, and woollen cloth. The government is in the hands of town commissioners.
ANTRUSTION, the name of the members of the bodyguard or military household of the Merovingian kings. The word, of which the formation has been variously explained, is derived from the O.H.Germ. _trost_, comfort, aid, fidelity, trust, through the latinized form _trustis_. Our information about the antrustions is derived from one of the _formulae_ of Marculfus (i. 18, ed. Zeumer, p. 55) and from various provisions of the Salic law (see du Cange, _Glossarium, s._ "trustis"). Any one desiring to enter the body of Antrustions had to present himself armed at the royal palace, and there, with his hands in those of the king, take a special oath or _trustis_ and _fidelitas_, in addition to the oath of fidelity sworn by every subject at the king"s accession. This done, he was considered to be _in truste dominica_ and bound to the discharge of all the services this involved. In return for these, the antrustion enjoyed certain valuable advantages, as being specially ent.i.tled to the royal a.s.sistance and protection; his _wergeld_ is three times that of an ordinary Frank; the slayer of a Frank paid compensation of 200 _solidi_, that of an antrustion had to find 600. The antrustion was always of Frankish descent, and only in certain exceptional cases were Gallo-Romans admitted into the king"s bodyguard. These Gallo-Romans then took the name of _convivae regis_, and the _wergeld_ of 300 _solidi_ was three times that of a _h.o.m.o roma.n.u.s_. The antrustions, belonging as they did to one body, had strictly defined duties towards one another; thus one antrustion was forbidden to bear witness against another under penalty of 15 _solidi_ compensation.
The antrustions seem to have played an important part at the time of Clovis. It was they, apparently, who formed the army which conquered the land, an army composed chiefly of Franks, and of a few Gallo-Romans who had taken the side of Clovis. After the conquest, the role of the antrustions became less important. For each of their expeditions, the kings raised an army of citizens in which the Gallo-Romans mingled more and more with the Franks; they only kept one small permanent body which acted as their bodyguard (_trustis dominica_), some members of which were from time to time told off for other tasks, such as that of forming garrisons in the frontier towns. The inst.i.tution seems to have disappeared during the anarchy with which the 8th century opened. It has wrongly been held to be the origin of va.s.salage. Only the king had antrustions; every lord could have va.s.sals. The antrustions were a military inst.i.tution; va.s.salage was a social inst.i.tution, the origins of which are very complex.
All historians of Merovingian inst.i.tutions and law have treated of the antrustions, and each one has his different system. The princ.i.p.al authorities are:--Waitz, _Deutsche Verfa.s.sungsgeschichte_, 3rd ed.
vol. ii. pp. 335 et seq.; Brunner, _Deutsche Rechtsgeschichte_, vol.
ii. p. 97 et seq.; Fustel de Coulanges, _La Monarchie franque_, p. 80 et seq.; Maxirne Deloche, _La Trustis et Vantrustion royal sous les deux premieres races_ (Paris, 1873), collecting and discussing the princ.i.p.al texts; Guilhermoz, _Les Origines de la n.o.blesse_ (Paris, 1902), suggesting a system which is new in part. (C. Pf.)
ANTWERP, the most northern of the nine provinces of Belgium. It is conterminous with the Dutch frontier on the north. Malines, Lierre and Turnhout are among the towns of the province. Its importance, however, is derived from the fact that it contains the commercial metropolis of Belgium. It is divided into three administrative districts (_arrondiss.e.m.e.nts_), viz. Antwerp, Malines and Turnhout. These are subdivided into 25 cantons and 152 communes. The area is 707,932 acres or 1106 sq. m. Pop. (1904) 888,980, showing an average of 804 inhabitants to the square mile.
ANTWERP (Fr. _Anvers_), capital of the above province, an important city on the right bank of the Scheldt, Belgium"s chief centre of commerce and a strong fortified position.
Modern Antwerp is a finely laid out city with a succession of broad avenues which mark the position of the first enceinte. There are long streets and terraces of fine houses belonging to the merchants and manufacturers of the city which amply testify to its prosperity, and recall the 16th century distich that Antwerp was noted for its moneyed men ("Antwerpia nummis"). Despite the ravages of war and internal disturbances it still preserves some memorials of its early grandeur, notably its fine cathedral. This church was begun in the 14th century, but not finished till 1518. Its tower of over 400 ft. is a conspicuous object to be seen from afar over the surrounding flat country. A second tower which formed part of the original plan has never been erected. The proportions of the interior are n.o.ble, and in the church are hung three of the masterpieces of Rubens, viz. "The Descent from the Cross," "The Elevation of the Cross," and "The a.s.sumption." Another fine church in Antwerp is that of St James, far more ornate than the cathedral, and containing the tomb of Rubens, who devoted himself to its embellishment.
The Bourse or exchange, which claims to be the first distinguished by the former name in Europe, is a fine new building finished in 1872, on the site of the old Bourse erected in 1531 and destroyed by fire in 1858. Fire has destroyed several other old buildings in the city, notably in 1891 the house of the Hansa League on the northern quays. A curious museum is the Maison Plantin, the house of the great printer C.
Plantin (q.v.) and his successor Moretus, which stands exactly as it did in the time of the latter. The new picture gallery close to the southern quays is a fine building divided into ancient and modern sections. The collection of old masters is very fine, containing many splendid examples of Rubens, Van Dyck, t.i.tian and the chief Dutch masters.
Antwerp, famous in the middle ages and at the present time for its commercial enterprise, enjoyed in the 17th century a celebrity not less distinct or glorious in art for its school of painting, which included Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordaens, the two Teniers and many others.
_Commerce._--Since 1863, when Antwerp was opened to the trade of the outer world by the purchase of the Dutch right to levy toll, its position has completely changed, and no place in Europe has made greater progress in this period than the ancient city on the Scheldt. The following figures for the years 1904 and 1905 show that its trade is still rapidly increasing:--
+------+-------------------------+-------------------------+Exports.ImportsYear.+-----------+-------------+-----------+-------------+Tonnage.Value.Tonnage.Value.+------+-----------+-------------+-----------+-------------+19046,578,55871,349,6788,427,89479,539,10019057,153,65580,032,3559,061,78191,194,517+------+-----------+-------------+-----------+-------------+
The growth of its commerce in recent times may be measured by a comparison of the following figures. In 1888, 4272 ships entered the port and 4302 sailed from it. In 1905, 6095 entered the port and 6065 sailed from it--an increase of nearly 50%. In 1888 the total tonnage was 7,800,000; in 1905 it had risen to 19,662,000. These figures explain how and why Antwerp has outgrown its dock accommodation. The eight princ.i.p.al basins or docks already existing in 1908 were (1) the Little or Bonaparte dock; (2) the Great dock, also constructed in Napoleon"s time; (3) the Kattendijk, built in 1860 and enlarged in 1881; (4) the Wood dock; (5) the Campine dock, used especially for minerals; (6) the Asia dock, which is in direct communication with the Meuse by a ca.n.a.l as well as with the Scheldt; (7) the Lefebvre dock; and (8) the America dock, which was only opened in 1905. Two new docks, called "intercalary"
because they would fit into whatever scheme might be adopted for the rectification of the course of the Scheldt, were still to be constructed, leading out of the Lefebvre dock and covering 70 acres.
With the completion of the new maritime lock, ships drawing 30 ft. of water would be able to enter these new docks and also the Lefebvre and America docks. In connexion with the projected _grande coupure_ (that is, a cutting through the neck of the loop in the river Scheldt immediately below Antwerp), the importance of these four docks would be greatly increased because they would then flank the new main channel of the river. When the Belgian Chambers voted in February 1906 the sums necessary for the improvement of the harbour of Antwerp no definite scheme was sanctioned, the question being referred to a special mixed commission. The improvements at Antwerp are not confined to the construction of new docks. The quays flanking the Scheldt are 3 m. in length. They are constructed of granite, and no expense has been spared in equipping them with hydraulic cranes, warehouses, &c.
_Fortifications._--Besides being the chief commercial port of Belgium, Antwerp is the greatest fortress of that country. Nothing, however, remains of the former enceinte or even of the famous old citadel defended by General Cha.s.se in 1832, except the _Steen_, which has been restored and contains a museum of arms and antiquities. After the establishment of Belgian independence Antwerp was defended only by the citadel and an enceinte of about 2 m. round the city. No change occurred till 1859, when the system of Belgian defence was radically altered by the dismantlement of seventeen of the twenty-two fortresses constructed under Wellington"s supervision in 1815-1818. At Antwerp the old citadel and enceinte were removed. A new enceinte 8 m. in length was constructed, and the villages of Berchem and Borgerhout, now parishes of Antwerp, were absorbed within the city. This enceinte still exists, and is a fine work of art. It is protected by a broad wet ditch (plans in article FORTIFICATION), and in the caponiers are the magazines and store chambers of the fortress. The enceinte is pierced by nineteen openings or gateways, but of these seven are not used by the public. As soon as the enceinte was finished eight detached forts from 2 to 2 m. distant from the enceinte were constructed. They begin on the north near Wyneghem and the zone of inundation, and terminate on the south at Hoboken. In 1870 Fort Merxem and the redoubts of Berendrecht and Oorderen were built for the defence of the area to be inundated north of Antwerp. In 1878, in consequence of the increased range of artillery and the more destructive power of explosives, it was recognized that the fortifications of Antwerp were becoming useless and out of date. It was therefore decided to change it from a fortress to a fortified position by constructing an outer line of forts and batteries at a distance varying from 6 to 9 m. from the enceinte. This second line was to consist of fifteen forts, large and small. Up to 1898 only five had been constructed, but in that and the two following years five more were finished, leaving another five to complete the line. A mixed commission selected the points at which they were to be placed. With the completion of this work, which in 1908 was being rapidly pushed on, Antwerp might be regarded as one of the best fortified positions in Europe, and so long as its communications by sea are preserved intact it will be practically impregnable.
Two subsidiary or minor problems remained over. (1) The much-discussed removal of the existing enceinte in order to give Antwerp further growing s.p.a.ce. If it were removed there arose the further question, should a new enceinte be made at the first line of outer forts, or should an enceinte be dispensed with? An enceinte following the line of those forts would be 30 m. in length. Then if the city grew up to this extended enceinte the outer forts would be too near. To screen the city from bombardment they would have to be carried 3 m. further out, and the whole Belgian army would scarcely furnish an adequate garrison for this extended position. A new enceinte, or more correctly a rampart of a less permanent character, connecting the eight forts of the inner line and extending from Wyneghem to a little south of Hoboken, was decided upon in 1908. (2) The second problem was the position on the left bank of the Scheldt. All the defences enumerated are on the right bank. On the left bank the two old forts Isabelle and Marie alone defend the Scheldt. It is a.s.sumed (probably rightly) that no enemy could get round to this side in sufficient strength to deliver any attack that the existing forts could not easily repel. The more interesting question connected with the left bank is whether it does not provide, as Napoleon thought, the most natural outlet for the expansion of Antwerp. Proposals to connect the two banks by a tunnel under the Scheldt have been made from time to time in a fitful manner, but nothing whatever had been done by 1908 to realize what appears to be a natural and easy project.
_Population._--The following statistics show the growth of population in and since the 19th century. In 1800 the population was computed not to exceed 40,000. At the census of 1846 the total was 88,487; of 1851, 95,501; of 1880, 169,100; of 1900, 272,830; and of 1904, 291,949. To these figures ought to be added the populations (1904) of Borgerhout (43,391) and Berchem (26,383), as they are part of the city, which would give Antwerp a total population of 361,723.
_History._--The suggested origin of the name Antwerp from _Hand-werpen_ (hand-throwing), because a mythical robber chief indulged in the practice of cutting off his prisoners" hands and throwing them into the Scheldt, appeared to Motley rather far-fetched, but it is less reasonable to trace it, as he inclines to do, from _an t werf_ (on the wharf), seeing that the form _Andhunerbo_ existed in the 6th century on the separation of Austrasia and Neustria. Moreover, hand-cutting was not an uncommon practice in Europe. It was perpetuated from a savage past in the custom of cutting off the right hand of a man who died without heir, and sending it as proof of _main-morte_ to the feudal lord. Moreover, the two hands and a castle, which form the arms of Antwerp, will not be dismissed as providing no proof by any one acquainted with the scrupulous care that heralds displayed in the golden age of chivalry before a.s.signing or recognizing the armorial bearings of any claimant.
In the 4th century Antwerp is mentioned as one of the places in the second Germany, and in the 11th century G.o.dfrey of Bouillon was for some years best known as marquis of Antwerp. Antwerp was the headquarters of Edward III. during his early negotiations with van Artevelde, and his son Lionel, earl of Cambridge, was born there in 1338.
It was not, however, till after the closing of the Zwyn and the decay of Bruges that Antwerp became of importance. At the end of the 15th century the foreign trading gilds or houses were transferred from Bruges to Antwerp, and the building a.s.signed to the English nation is specifically mentioned in 1510. In 1560, a year which marked the highest point of its prosperity, six nations, viz. the Spaniards, the Danes and the Hansa together, the Italians, the English, the Portuguese and the Germans, were named at Antwerp, and over 1000 foreign merchants were resident in the city. Guicciardini, the Venetian envoy, describes the activity of the port, into which 500 ships sometimes pa.s.sed in a day, and as evidence of the extent of its land trade he mentioned that 2000 carts entered the city each week. Venice had fallen from its first place in European commerce, but still it was active and prosperous. Its envoy, in explaining the importance of Antwerp, states that there was as much business done there in a fortnight as in Venice throughout the year.
The religious troubles that marked the second half of the 16th century broke out in Antwerp as in every other part of Belgium excepting Liege.
In 1576 the Spanish soldiery plundered the town during what was called "the Spanish Fury," and 6000 citizens were ma.s.sacred. Eight hundred houses were burnt down, and over two millions sterling of damage was wrought in the town on that occasion.
In 1585 a severe blow was struck at the prosperity of Antwerp when Parma captured it after a long siege and sent all its Protestant citizens into exile. The recognition of the independence of the United Provinces by the treaty of Munster in 1648 carried with it the death-blow to Antwerp"s prosperity as a place of trade, for one of its clauses stipulated that the Scheldt should be closed to navigation. This impediment remained in force until 1863, although the provisions were relaxed during French rule from 1795 to 1814, and also during the time Belgium formed part of the kingdom of the Netherlands (1815 to 1830).
Antwerp had reached the lowest point of its fortunes in 1800, and its population had sunk under 40,000, when Napoleon, realizing its strategical importance, a.s.signed two millions for the construction of two docks and a mole.
One other incident in the chequered history of Antwerp deserves mention.
In 1830 the city was captured by the Belgian insurgents, but the citadel continued to be held by a Dutch garrison under General Cha.s.se. For a time this officer subjected the town to a periodical bombardment which inflicted much damage, and at the end of 1832 the citadel itself was besieged by a French army. During this attack the town was further injured. In December 1832, after a gallant defence, Cha.s.se made an honourable surrender.
See J.L. Motley"s _Rise of the Dutch Republic_; C. Scribanii, _Origines Antwerpiensium_; Gens, _Hist. de la ville d"Anvers_; Mertens and Torfs, _Geschiedenis van Antwerp_; Genard, _Anvers a travers les ages_; _Annuaire statisgue de la Belgigue_. (D. C. B.)
ANU, a Babylonian deity, who, by virtue of being the first figure in a triad consisting of Anu, Bel and Ea, came to be regarded as the father and king of the G.o.ds. Anu is so prominently a.s.sociated with the city of Erech in southern Babylonia that there are good reasons for believing this place to have been the original seat of the Anu cult. If this be correct, then the G.o.ddess Nana (or Ishtar) of Erech was presumably regarded as his consort. The name of the G.o.d signifies the "high one"
and he was probably a G.o.d of the atmospheric region above the earth--perhaps a storm G.o.d like Adad (q.v.), or like Yahweh among the ancient Hebrews. However this may be, already in the old-Babylonian period, i.e. before Khammurabi, Anu was regarded as the G.o.d of the heavens and his name became in fact synonymous with the heavens, so that in some cases it is doubtful whether, under the term, the G.o.d or the heavens is meant. It would seem from this that the grouping of the divine powers recognized in the universe into a triad symbolizing the three divisions, heavens, earth and the watery-deep, was a process of thought which had taken place before the third millennium. To Anu was a.s.signed the control of the heavens, to Bel the earth, and to Ea the waters. The doctrine once established remained an inherent part of the Babylonian-a.s.syrian religion and led to the more or less complete disa.s.sociation of the three G.o.ds const.i.tuting the triad from their original local limitations. An intermediate step between Anu viewed as the local deity of Erech (or some other centre), Bel as the G.o.d of Nippur, and Ea as the G.o.d of Eridu is represented by the prominence which each one of the centres a.s.sociated with the three deities in question must have acquired, and which led to each one absorbing the qualities of other G.o.ds so as to give them a controlling position in an organized pantheon. For Nippur we have the direct evidence that its chief deity, En-lil or Bel, was once regarded as the head of an extensive pantheon. The sanct.i.ty and, therefore, the importance of Eridu remained a fixed tradition in the minds of the people to the latest days, and a.n.a.logy therefore justifies the conclusion that Anu was likewise worshipped in a centre which had acquired great prominence. The summing-up of divine powers manifested in the universe in a threefold division represents an outcome of speculation in the schools attached to the temples of Babylonia, but the selection of Anu, Bel and Ea for the three representatives of the three spheres recognized, is due to the importance which, for one reason or the other, the centres in which Anu, Bel and Ea were worshipped had acquired in the popular mind. Each of the three must have been regarded in his centre as the most important member in a larger or smaller group, so that their union in a triad marks also the combination of the three distinctive pantheons into a harmonious whole.
In the astral theology of Babylonia and a.s.syria, Anu, Bel and Ea became the three zones of the ecliptic, the northern, middle and southern zone respectively. The purely theoretical character of Anu is thus still further emphasized, and in the annals and votive inscriptions as well as in the incantations and hymns, he is rarely introduced as an active force to whom a personal appeal can be made. His name becomes little more than a synonym for the heavens in general and even his t.i.tle as king or father of the G.o.ds has little of the personal element in it. A consort Antum (or as some scholars prefer to read, Anatum) is a.s.signed to him, on the theory that every deity must have a female a.s.sociate, but Antum is a purely artificial product--a lifeless symbol playing even less of a part in what may be called the active pantheon than Anu.
For works of reference see BABYLONIAN AND a.s.sYRIAN RELIGION.
(M. Ja.)
ANUBIS (in Egyptian _Anup_, written _Inpw_ in hieroglyphs), the name of one of the most important of the Egyptian G.o.ds. There were two types of canine divinities in Egypt, their leading representatives being respectively Anubis and Ophois (Wp-w"-wt, "opener of the ways"): the former type is symbolized by the rec.u.mbent animal [Hieroglyph], the other by a similar animal (in a stiff standing att.i.tude), carried as an emblem on a standard [Hieroglyph] in war or in religious processions.
The former comprised two beneficent G.o.ds of the necropolis; the latter also were beneficent, but warlike, divinities. They thus corresponded, at any rate in some measure, respectively to the fiercer and milder aspects of the dog-tribe. In late days the Greeks report that [Greek: kunes] (dogs) were the sacred animals of Anubis while those of Ophois were [Greek: lykoi] (wolves). The above figure [Hieroglyph] is coloured black as befits a funerary and nocturnal animal: it is more attenuated than even a greyhound, but it has the bushy tail of the fox or the jackal. Probably these were the original genii of the necropolis, and in fact the same lean animal figured _pa.s.sant_ [Hieroglyph] is s"b "jackal"
or "fox." The domestic dog would be brought into the sacred circle through the increased veneration for animals, and the more p.r.o.nounced view in later times of Anubis as servant, messenger and custodian of the G.o.ds.