Jupiter

JUPITER. Jupiter was the son of Saturn and Rhea, or Opis, and born at the same birth with Juno, who became his wife. Opis hid him after his birth, in order to conceal him from the knowledge of Saturn, who by virtue of an agreement made between him and his brother Titan, devoured all his male children. He was brought up by the Curetes in a Den at Mount Ida, and fed with the milk of the Goat Amalthea. He afterwards drove his Father out of Heaven, and divided the Empire of the world with his brothers. For himself, he had Heaven and Earth; Neptune had the Sea and Waters; and Pluto Hell. Some assert, that this whole fable includes the History of Noah and his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. According to this system, Noah is Saturn, who saw all men perish in the waters of the deluge, and who in some sort swallowed them up by not receiving them into the Ark, which he had built for himself and family¹. Jupiter is Ham; Neptune, Japhet; Shem, Pluto. We have in another place explain’d ourselves more at length on this subject.

The Titans undertook to dethrone Jupiter, as he had dethroned his father. These Titans were Giants, sons of Titan and the Earth; they declared war against Jupiter, and heap’d mountains upon mountains, in order to scale Heaven; but their efforts were unsuccessful; Jupiter overthrew them with his thunder, and shut them up under the waters and mountains, from whence they were not able to get out. These Titans represent to us the old Giants, who built the tower of Babel, and whose pride and presumption God confounded, by changing their languages, and pouring out the spirit of discord and division among them.

The name of Jupiter, or Jovis-Pater, is derived, probably, from Jehovah, pronounced with the Latin termination Jovis instead of Jova. We meet with Jovis in the nominative as well as oblique cases; for example, in Medals, Jovis custos, Jovis propugnator, Jovis Stator. To this Pater was added; and instead of Jovis Pater was used Jupiter; and as Jehovah or Jova is the true name of God, his incommunicable name, that which signifies his essence, God essentially, and in the way of excellency, distinctly from the Gods, Angels, Princes, and Judges who are sometimes so called, because they act in God’s name, and exercise part of his authority upon earth; so among the Heathens the first and greatest of the Gods is called Jovis, to shew his independence and superiority; for which reason it is affirmed, that Jupiter is the Baal of the Phœnicians, the Belus of the Assyrians and Babylonians, the Zeus of the Greeks, the Moloch of the Ammonites, the Marnas of the inhabitants of Gaza: in short, the ancients adored all nature under the name of Jupiter.

The ancient Christian Fathers maintained against the heathen, that Jupiter was a mere man, born in the isle of Crete. They Tullius l. ii. de natura Deorum.who are called divines, says Cicero, reckon up three Jupiters, the first and second were born in Arcadia; the third is the son of Saturn, who was born in Crete, where his sepulchre is shewn. Tertium Cretensem Saturni filium, cujus in illa insula sepulcrum ostenditur. Some pretend that he reigned in this island, and it is said that there were even two Kings of this name in the before-mentioned island; it being impossible that one man only should have been able to do all that is attributed to Jupiter. For example, it is certain, that the Jupiter who was brought up by the Curetes, is not the same with him who ravished Europa the daughter of Agenor King of Phœnicia, more modern by many ages than the former. Varro, as Tertullian relates, reckoned up three hundred Jupiters. It is Tertull.probable that he counted the number of his Epithets, and the places where he was adored; for it is true that he goes by an infinite number of sirnames. The eagle was principally consecrated to him; it is described with Jupiter’s thunder in its talons.

The name of Jupiter was not known to the Hebrews till the reign of Alexander the great, and the Kings his successors. Antiochus Epiphanes commanded the idol of Jupiter the Olympian to be placed in the Temple of Jerusalem, and that of Jupiter the defender of strangers in the Temple of mount Gerizim. While S. Paul and S. 2 Macc. vi. 2.Barnabas were at Lystra, a city of Lycaonia, they were taken for Gods, because they cured one who had been lame from his birth immediately, and with a word only. S. Paul was taken for Mercury, probably by reason of his eloquence, and S. Barnabas for Jupiter, because of his good mien. See hereafter Acts xiv. 11, 12.our remarks upon Olympian. Jupiter Olympius.

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