When the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans uncovered the ruins of ancient Minoan Crete, a remarkable object of worship came to light. At Knossos, Phaestos and elsewhere in Crete, the archaeologists came upon SUBTERRANEAN CRYPTS -- dark underground chambers, the central feature of which was always a HEAVY STONE PILLAR!

It was noticed that many of these crypts lay beneath surface buildings; and a number of experts claimed that the large CENTRAL PILLARS were supports for the buildings above. Then the realization set in that these pillars were far more substantial than was needed to support the superstructure. The "support" theory was finally thrown out of the window when an enterprising worker scaled one of the pillars and discovered it to be freestanding -- there was a large GAP between the top of the pillar and the building above.

According to Agnes Carr Vaughan:

"Such pillars as these, which are among the earliest examples of the use of MONOLITHIC PILLARS in crypts, were later replaced by columns made of separate blocks of stone neatly fitted together. The striking thing about these particular pillars is that they, like many others discovered in crypts, were MORE MASSIVE THAN THEY NEEDED TO BE AS STRUCTURAL SUPPORTS. Scholars have often pointed this out. They have also pointed out that some of the underground pillars, whether monolithic or not, were obviously NOT EVEN INTENDED FOR SUPPORT, since THEIR TOPS DO NOT REACH TO THE CEILING" (The House of the Double Axe: The Palace at Knossos. Doubleday & Co., N.Y. 1959, p. 177).

If these pillars were not supports for overhead buildings WHAT, then, was their purpose?

The archaeologists found a clue when they uncovered a crypt at Knossos -- the royal capital of Crete: "In a pillar crypt belonging to a building on the Gypsades Hill at Knossos, 200 small conical OFFERING CUPS were found, still containing remains of vegetable matter. Under the floor of the pillar crypts in the West Wing at Knossos were deposited the ashes of ANIMAL SACRIFICES: the pillars above were incised repeatedly with the sacred double-axe symbol" (Minoans: Life in Bronze Age Crete, by Rodney Castleden. Routledge, London & New York. 1993, p. 149).

Upon further examination the excavators noticed that NARROW CHANNELS in the floor led from the pillars to shallow vats. This, and the discovery of the remains of SEVERAL SKULLS OF URUS BULLS, led the archaeologists to believe that BLOOD SACRIFICES were performed in these crypts.

In a SACRIFICIAL SCENE pictured on a sarcophagus from Hagia Triada (central coast of Crete), PILLARS are a part of the ritual. A bound BULL on an altar seems to watch sadly his own life-blood drain away into a vessel below. A priestess then pours the blood into a second vessel that stands between the PILLARS. It has been suggested that her next act would be to EMPTY THE BLOOD FROM THE RITUAL VESSEL AT THE FOOT OF ONE OR BOTH OF THE PILLARS.

The similarity between this scene and that depicted by Plato in his work Critias, immediately comes to mind. In his depiction of the mythical ATLANTIS Plato records:

"In the sacred precincts of Poseidon there were BULLS at large; and the TEN PRINCES, being alone by themselves, after praying to the God that they might capture a victim well-pleasing unto him, hunted after the bulls with staves and nooses but with no weapon of iron; and whatsoever bull they captured they led up TO THE PILLAR and cut its throat OVER THE TOP OF THE PILLAR, raining down blood on the inscription. And inscribed upon the PILLAR, beside the laws, was an oath which invoked mighty curses upon them that disobeyed. When then, they had done sacrifice according to their laws and were consecrating all the limbs of the bull, they mixed a bowl of wine and poured in on behalf of each one a gout of blood, and the rest they carried to the fire, when they had first purged the pillars round about." -- 119C-120A.

WHY were pillars a part of the ritual practiced by the ancient Minoans AND the inhabitants of mythical Atlantis? WHERE did this custom come from? The answer will surprise you!

Notice what Rodney Castleden says: "...we can only presume that the PILLAR had a SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE to the Minoans....Certainly, instances of STONE WORSHIP are not unknown in antiquity, and they may preserve a vestige of the even earlier belief-system of the megalith-builders. The Old Testament speaks of A STONE RAISED BY JACOB on the spot where he experienced a mystic vision; Jacob worshipped the STONE and ANOINTED IT WITH OIL. Similarly, LIQUID LIBATIONS WERE OFFERED TO THE PILLARS IN THE PILLAR CRYPTS by the Minoans...." (Minoans: Life in Bronze Age Crete, p. 149).

Going now to Stylianos Alexiou (Minoan Civilization) we find the same concept expressed: "Evans and others indeed maintained that THE ACT OF WORSHIP performed within the crypt was DIRECTED TOWARDS THE PILLAR. We know of other instances of stone worship: the Baetyls and the Hermes of classical antiquity, THE STONE OF ZEUS displayed at Delphi [in Greece], and THE STONE PILLAR RAISED BY JACOB, according to the Old Testament, on the spot where he saw the heavens open. JACOB WORSHIPPED THIS STONE BY ANOINTING IT WITH OIL and probably SIMILAR LIBATIONS WERE OFFERED TO THE PILLARS OF THE MINOAN CRYPTS" (p. 83).

Could it be possible that Jacob's pillow-stone has some sort of CONNECTION with the Minoan pillar-cult of Crete and Atlantis?

The great seven-year famine mentioned in Genesis 41 and 42 not only affected Egypt, but also surrounding countries. Eventually Canaan was also languishing under drought conditions and Jacob was forced to send his sons down to Egypt to buy food. When Joseph, who was " A RULER THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT," revealed himself to his brothers, he directed them to return to Canaan and bring his father JACOB with them to Egypt.

"Hasten and go up to my father, and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph: "God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry. You shall dwell in THE LAND OF GOSHEN, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children's children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine" (Genesis 45:9-11).

The pharaoh of Egypt -- Wah-ku-Re Achtoy IV -- was almost as excited as Joseph, and provided wagons for Joseph's brothers so that they might bring Jacob and his entire household to Egypt.

When Jacob heard the news he could not believe that his son Joseph was still alive. But, when finally convinced, the 130-year-old Jacob exclaimed: "It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die" (Genesis 45:28).

Later, on the way to Egypt with his household, Jacob had a vision from YEHOVAH God at Beer-sheba. In the vision, YEHOVAH gave Jacob His divine approval for the move and told him: "I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes" (Genesis 46:4). Joseph, therefore, was to be the one to close Jacob's eyes after his death. Since the FIRSTBORN customarily did this, YEHOVAH God thereby revealed that Joseph was to receive THE RIGHT AS FIRSTBORN.

When Joseph was advised by Judah of his Father's arrival within the borders of Egypt, he prepared his chariot and went to meet Jacob IN GOSHEN.

With Jacob when he arrived in Egypt was a MYSTERIOUS STONE -- a stone that was destined to travel to the ends of the earth and become the center of legends and traditions that have been preeminent amongst various Celtic tribes.

The story of this stone begins early in the life of Jacob:

"Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. AND HE TOOK ONE OF THE STONES OF THAT PLACE AND PUT IT AT HIS HEAD, and he lay down in that place to sleep." -- Genesis 28:10-11.

During the night Jacob dreamed of a ladder going up to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. YEHOVAH God then made certain promises to Jacob regarding the future of his descendants and the greatness they were to attain.

"Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, 'Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it'....Then Jacob rose early in the morning, AND TOOK THE STONE THAT HE HAD PUT AT HIS HEAD, SET IT UP AS A PILLAR, AND POURED OIL ON TOP OF IT....Then Jacob made a vow, saying, 'If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. And THIS STONE which I have SET AS A PILLAR shall be God's house...." (Genesis 28:16, 18, 20-22).

According to John Michell and Christine Rhone, legend has it that "Jacob's PILLOW WAS TAKEN TO EGYPT and thence, by way of Spain, to Ireland. There it became the oracular CORONATION STONE OF TARA on which, for about a thousand years, the kings of Ireland were crowned" (Twelve-Tribe Nations. Phanes Press, 1991, p. 160).

A number of other historians, including Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, record the removal of Jacob's stone TO EGYPT: "The stony pillar on which Jacob slept at Bethel was by his countrymen TRANSPORTED TO EGYPT" (Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey. John Murray, London. 1876, p. 57).

Also, author Raymond F. McNair notes: "Tradition identifies this stone [the Coronation Stone in Westminster Abbey, London] with the one upon which JACOB RESTED HIS HEAD AT BETHEL....Jacob's sons CARRIED IT TO EGYPT...." (Quoted in the manuscript "In Search of the Lost Ten Tribes" from the Westminster Abbey Official Guide).

After Jacob and his household were settled in GOSHEN, tradition seems to indicate that a building or temple was built to house the stone which, according to the "Cronicon Rythmicum," became known as the "LAPIS PHARAONIS" or "PHARAOH'S STONE."

Why was Jacob's pillow-stone known as "Pharaoh's Stone"? Because Jacob was a KING in Egypt!

A tradition arose in the land of Egypt of a "VOCAL-STONE" that "ROARED" whenever a prince of the ROYAL LINE OF THE HEBREWS sat or stood on it: "If it would make a noise under the person who sat on it, it was an infallible sign of his accession to the crown; but if it proved silent, it precluded him from any hopes" (Ogygia, or a Chronological Account of Irish Events, by Roderic O'Flaherty. Translated by James Hely. W. M'Kenzie, Dublin. 1793, pp. 66-68).

Ancient authors have made mention of a "vocal-stone" which was evidently housed in a statue of an Egyptian king (Jacob?) which was afterwards broken by Cambyses II when he invaded Egypt, circa 525 B.C.

After greeting his father when he arrived in Goshen -- Joseph, along with five of his brothers -- requested an audience with Pharaoh Achtoy.

The Bible dictionary Insight On the Scriptures relates what transpired in the presence of the pharaoh:

"As directed by Joseph, his brothers identified themselves as herders of sheep and requested to reside as aliens IN THE LAND OF GOSHEN. Pharaoh granted their request, and Joseph, after introducing his father to Pharaoh, settled Jacob and his household IN THE VERY BEST OF THE LAND. (Ge. 46:28-47:11) Thus, wisely and lovingly Joseph made the best of an Egyptian prejudice against sheepherders. It resulted in safeguarding Jacob's family from being contaminated by Egyptian influence and eliminating the danger of their being completely absorbed by the Egyptians through marriage" -- page 109.

Now WHERE exactly was the land of Goshen?

Modern scholars try to tell us that "the best of the land" was a small, semi-desolate region east of the Nile -- halfway between the Nile and the Suez Canal today. More generous scholars, such as G. Ernest Wright, allow that it was the Wadi Tumilat: "This Wadi (the Arabic for a river bed which is usually dry except in the rainy season) is A NARROW VALLEY BETWEEN THIRTY AND FORTY MILES LONG, connecting the Nile with Lake Timsah. In both ancient and modern times the area around the Wadi Tumilat, especially to the north of it, was one of the richest sections of Egypt [outside of the Fayum], truly 'the best of the land,' as it is described in Gen. 47:11. The great American explorer, Edward Robinson, reported in 1838 that it yielded more revenue at that time than any other province in Egypt, and that there were more flocks and herds there than elsewhere. The population was half migratory, large numbers of people still retaining their nomadic habits. This was exactly the situation in Joseph's day, as we infer both from the Bible and from Egyptian texts. If there is any place in Egypt where the Hebrew shepherds should have settled, THIS was the region" (Biblical Archaeology, p. 56).

The question is, how could an area such as this between the Nile and the Suez Canal support a population of 600,000 Israelite men -- excluding women and children -- at the time of the exodus? Similarly, how could a narrow wadi between thirty and forty miles long support such a population? These areas probably could not have sustained more than 6,000 men (exclusive of women and children) along with all their cattle! So -- is the Bible wrong? No, the so-called scholars simply have not understood WHERE the land of Goshen was!

Let Herman L. Hoeh explain:

Genesis 46:28 tells us more of the story. "And he (Jacob) sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen." Jacob was coming down from Beersheba in Palestine into Egypt. "And they came into the land of Goshen. And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went UP (NORTHWARD) to meet Israel his father, TO GOSHEN, and presented himself unto him."

"Did you notice that Joseph was not in the land of Goshen? Joseph dwelt where Pharaoh was. AND PHARAOH WAS AT MEMPHIS, the [administrative] capital of lower Egypt. 'Joseph made ready his chariot, AND WENT UP TO MEET ISRAEL his father.' He went up to Goshen. He was going NORTH. Therefore, the land of Goshen was NORTH of the capital of Egypt at this time. -- Compendium of World History, vol. II. Ambassador College, 1963, pp. 224-225.

If we turn to Genesis 46:33 and 34 we read: "So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, 'What is your occupation?' " Here Joseph instructs his father to reply: "...you shall say, 'Your servants' occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers'..." Why did Joseph tell Jacob to say this? "...that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians." The Egyptians quite often hired foreigners to take care of their cattle; so the purpose was to have the children of Israel live in the land of Goshen and tend the Pharaoh's cattle there.

The story continues in Genesis 47:5. "Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, 'Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell IN THE BEST OF THE LAND; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock."

Herman Hoeh asks: "did you notice that Pharaoh said to the children of Israel, 'The land of Egypt is before you, THE BEST OF THE LAND, the land of Goshen.' This is the portion of Egypt that Pharaoh is actually turning over to the children of Israel because of what Joseph did!"

We should recall that YEHOVAH God told Abraham (Gen. 15:18) that his descendants were going to control land all the way to the river of Egypt -- the Nile! YEHOVAH was now beginning to fulfill that promise.

So the land of Goshen was NORTH of Memphis and stretched all the way from the Nile to the eastern border of Egypt. Since the river Nile had many branches where it approached the Mediterranean, the land of Goshen must have stretched to the WESTERNMOST BRANCH -- therefore the ENTIRE DELTA REGION was included in the land of Goshen!

If we read verse 11 of Genesis 47, we learn that the land of Goshen was also called "THE LAND OF RAMESES": "And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, IN THE LAND OF RAMESES, as Pharaoh had commanded."

The best of the land, in verse 6, is called "the land of Goshen," while in verse 11 the best of the land is called "the land of Rameses." Obviously, then, the land of Goshen and the land of Rameses are the same! It is the ENTIRE delta region of Egypt!

One of the titles belonging to rulers of the Delta and the ISLAND OF CRETE was "Rameses." This title was used by these rulers LONG BEFORE the pharaoh "Rameses the Great" came on the scene, and can be found mentioned in the Book of Sothis by Syncellus. Manetho (Egyptian priest and annalist during the reigns of Ptolemy I and II) does not mention them because their SEAT OF GOVERNMENT WAS ON CRETE. When Wah-ku-Re Achtoy IV pacified the Delta region of Egypt he took control of Goshen away from "Rameses" and made it his own personal property or estate. It was THIS land that he gave to the father and brothers of Joseph!

As Herman L. Hoeh notes:

"Ancient Egypt was a feudalistic world. In feudalism the king claims theoretically to own everything. He leased the land out to his princelings and lords (who leased parts of their land to others of still lower rank), but the king reserves a certain portion for himself.

Pharaoh naturally reserved the BEST land for himself -- the land of Goshen. IT BELONGED PERSONALLY TO PHARAOH. So Pharaoh was not taking land leased to his lords. He is granting this territory to Joseph, who was next highest in the kingdom, for his services. The fee for receiving the land of Goshen or Rameses is stated in verse 6: 'And if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers of MY cattle.' Compendium of World History, Vol. II, p. 227.

So by the command of Pharaoh Wah-ku-Re Achtoy IV all the land of Goshen (the land of Rameses), including THE ISLAND OF CRETE, was given to the children of Israel as partial fulfillment of YEHOVAH God's promise that Abraham's seed should extend to the river of Egypt -- to the Nile!

Concludes Herman L. Hoeh --

"Egypt was a vast Mediterranean power in the days of Jacob. One of the areas early settled by Egyptians was the ISLAND OF CRETE, an important naval gateway in the Mediterranean. From CRETE -- Caphtor in Hebrew -- came the Philistines (Jer. 47:4 and Amos 9:7). The Philistines descended from Mizraim [Menes] father of the Egyptians (Gen. 10:13-14.) Ruling over the Egyptians and Philistines IN CRETE AND THE...NILE DELTA was a little known dynasty of Egyptian kings. They are mentioned in the "Book of Sothis" by Syncellus. Manetho does not include them among true Egyptian dynasties because their seat of government WAS ON CRETE. The CRETAN KING of this dynasty, who was subject to the jurisdiction of the great Pharaoh in Egypt, was RAMESES (1744-1715). Because of Joseph's service to the Egyptian government, the Pharaoh TRANSFERRED TITLE OF THE LAND from the line of Rameses TO THE LINE OF ISRAEL -- and that included not only Goshen, but CRETE! And that is how ISRAEL (JACOB) OBTAINED TITLE TO THE ISLAND OF CRETE." -- Compendium of World History, pp. 45-47).

Not only did Jacob receive title to the land of Rameses, he also REPLACED the then reigning king of the LINE of Rameses. He became the KING OF GOSHEN -- the Delta region of Egypt and the island of Crete! And, it is more than likely his sons also had rulership in the land of Atlantis!

Author Cyrus H. Gordon states that "at the beginning of MIDDLE MINOAN I, a wave of HIGHLY GIFTED NORTHWEST SEMITES [HEBREWS] occupied CENTRAL AND EASTERN CRETE, bringing with them a knowledge of art, architecture and writing FROM THE NILE DELTA [LAND OF GOSHEN]" (The Common Background of Greek and Hebrew Civilizations. W. W. Norton and Co., N.Y. 1965, p. 206).

It is of more than passing interest that the beginning of Middle Minoan I (using Arthur Evans chronology) is equivalent to the First Intermediate Period of Egypt -- the time when Jacob and his household arrived and started to multiply in the land of Egypt!

The link between the land of Goshen and the island of Crete can be seen in the words of the late Professor Percy Newberry. In a speech to the British Association in 1923, he pointed out that at the time of Middle Kingdom the CULT OBJECTS of the PEOPLE OF THE NORTH-WESTERN DELTA (or, north-western GOSHEN) "included (1) THE HARPOON, (2) THE FIGURE OF EIGHT SHIELD with crossed arrows, (3) the Mountain and probably, (4) THE DOUBLE AXE and, (5) a Dove or Swallow. With the exception of the Harpoon ALL THESE CULT OBJECTS ARE ALSO FOUND IN CRETE." And even the Harpoon may have been later modified into the familiar MINOAN TRIDENT, which appears on the walls of Knossos and Phaestos.

Jacob was a man of renown in Canaan, and scarabs (personal seals shaped like a beetle) have been unearthed showing that he was a chief or king in the land. One such scarab, unearthed in a Middle Bronze Age IIB tomb at Tell Shiqmona near Haifa in Israel, has been dated to circa 1730 B.C. Allowing for error inherent in the dating methods, this could place the scarab right in the time-frame of Jacob's sojourn in Canaan!

When Jacob moved to Egypt and took up residence in Goshen, he also became KING over the newly acquired territory!

Notice:

"The king [of Egypt] with the unmistakable Hebrew name YAAKOV, as JACOB is pronounced in Hebrew, PROVIDES A PARALLEL to the biblical name of the father of Joseph. The name YAAKOV appears on NUMEROUS SCARABS OF THE PERIOD FOUND IN EGYPT, [and] in NUBIA (biblical Kush)...in the form of the Egyptian transliteration Y'QBHR.... Another scarab, almost identical to that of the Shiqmona [one], was published by Martin Pieper in 1930 and so closely resembles the Shiqmona scarab it appears to be produced by the SAME artisan. The SINGLE DIFFERENCE between the two scarabs is, however, highly significant: THE NAME Y'QBHR IS FRAMED ON THE LATTER SCARAB BY A CARTOUCHE, THE USE OF WHICH INDICATES ROYALTY AND IDENTIFIES THAT YAAKOV AS A KING IN EGYPT...."(The Eighth Day: The Hidden History of the Jewish Contribution to Civilization, p. 67).

From the time of the First Intermediate Period comes an inscription that tells of the terrible famine of Joseph's time. Called the "stela of the Butler Merer of Edfu" it records a curious fact:

"An offering which the king gives (and) Anubis, who is upon his mountain and in the place of embalming, the lord of the necropolis, in all his good and pure places: an offering for the revered one, the Sole Companion, Butler and Overseer of the slaughterers of the House of Khuu in its entirety, who says:

'I was the priest for slaughtering and offering in two temples on behalf of THE ruler. I OFFERED FOR THIRTEEN RULERS without a mishap ever befalling me....

I buried the dead and nourished the living, wherever I went IN THIS DROUGHT WHICH HAD OCCURRED.' " -- Ancient Egyptian Literature, p. 87.

Now the sentence "I offered for THIRTEEN RULERS without a mishap ever befalling me" poses a problem for historians. Obviously, Butler Merer could not have "offered" for 13 consecutive kings -- he would not have lived long enough! The historians explain this away by saying: "The point Merer is making is that he served his superiors without ever making a mistake. These superiors may have been dead rulers for whom he performed funerary sacrifices."

As far as I am concerned the "historians" can explain it away any way they like -- the fact remains that Merer meant what he said! He offered for 13 rulers all right -- not consecutive or dead rulers but 13 CONTEMPORARY ONES!

Who could these 13 rulers possibly be? They were JACOB AND HIS 12 SONS!!

Let's examine the evidence. The Icelandic LANGFEDGATAL, which traces the ancestry of the famous Odin, shows that he was descended from KING SATURNUS OF KRIT. Who was this Saturnus of Krit?

Herman L. Hoeh provides the answer --

"In modern English the name would be SATURN OF CRETE. There were many Saturns in antiquity, often confused with one another. Usually the name was applied to a man who FLEES or who HIDES himself.

Saturn is a Latin word derived from a root meaning TO FLEE INTO HIDING. The Greek term was KRONOS. This particular SATURN OF CRETE was so famous that the Phoenician historian Sanchoniathon spoke of him. Fragments of his works have been preserved by Eusebius in Preparation of the Gospel, book i, ch. x. Here are his words: 'For Kronos or (Saturn), whom the Phoenicians call ISRAEL....' ("Corey's Ancient Fragments of the Phoenician, Carthaginian, Babylonian, Egyptian and other Authors," by E. Richmond Hodges, page 21.)

ISRAEL was the name of JACOB....But why was Jacob called Saturn? Because Jacob became famous for fleeing or hiding from his enemies. Jacob's mother warned him of his brother Esau's wrath: 'Now, therefore, my son, hearken to my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother in Haran' (Genesis 27:43). 'And it was told Laban...that Jacob was fled' -- this time back to Palestine. (Gen. 31:22).

But how is one to account for the title to Crete in Jacob's name? Certainly Jacob did not have title to it prior to descending into Egypt. The answer is, JACOB OBTAINED IT FROM PHARAOH IN EGYPT." -- Compendium of World History, vol. II, pp. 44, 45-46.

Since Crete was part of Goshen, JACOB WAS THEREFORE KING OF THIS NEWLY ACQUIRED TERRITORY! He was the overall king, or HIGH-KING of Goshen!

Now what about the other 12 KINGS mentioned by the Butler Merer of Edfu?

"According to the History of Herodotus, THE EGYPTIANS WERE THE FIRST PEOPLE TO RECOGNIZE A PANTHEON OF 12 GODS and to divide the solar year into 12 months, each month being dedicated to one of the gods. Later they divided all Egypt into 12 regions and appointed a king over each. THIS COMMEMORATED A PREVIOUS ERA WHEN THE GODS RULED IN PERSON OVER THE 12 PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. The 12 kings were UNITED BY FAMILY TIES and also by a strict treaty which they renewed at regular formal meetings IN ONE OF THE 12 TEMPLES." -- Twelve-Tribe Nations, p. 38.

Clearly, when Jacob and his 12 sons received title to the land of Goshen, Jacob divided the land into 12 districts or nomes and placed his sons over each of the divisions! It also seems evident that the Israelites built a TEMPLE in each of the nomes.

The memory of the rule of Jacob and his 12 sons over the land of Goshen was incorporated into Egyptian folklore, with Jacob becoming known as HEPHAESTUS (the god who limps) and Judah becoming known as the Egyptian and Cretan ZEUS. According to Greek mythology Hephaestus became lame because of a quarrel with Zeus about Heracles. "Zeus threw him down from Olympus. Hephaestus' fall lasted for A WHOLE DAY: towards the evening, he hit the ground in the island of Lemnos, was rescued by the Sintians and restored to life, BUT HE REMAINED LAME" (The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology, London. 1991, p. 180).

Homer adds some detail when he says: "Once before, when I [Hephaestus] was anxious to help you, HE SNATCHED ME UP BY THE FOOT and flung me headlong down...." (The Iliad. Oxford University Press, N.Y. & Oxford. 1991, p. 22)

This myth parallels the story of Jacob in Genesis 32, where he wrestled with an angel for THE BEST PART OF A NIGHT and, as a consequence, became LAME for the rest of his life! Not only that, but in Genesis 25 we read that JACOB, when he was born, "TOOK HOLD OF ESAU'S [his twin brother] HEEL; so his name was called Jacob," meaning "One Who Takes the Heel" (verse 26). The similarities here are too great to be coincidental -- Hephaistos of Greek and Egyptian legend WAS Jacob!

It is recorded by Eustathius (Byzantine scholar and author -- died circa 1193 A.D.) that every year the ancient Ethiopians used to "fetch the images of Zeus, and other gods from the great temple of Zeus at Thebes. With these images they went about a certain period in Libya, AND CELEBRATED A SPLENDID FESTIVAL FOR TWELVE GODS" (Eustathius on Homer's Iliad, lib. i. II, pp. 423-425).

After the death of Jacob the Egyptians (and probably some of the Israelites too) began worshipping the mysterious stone he brought with him into Egypt. It is not difficult to realize that a "vocal-stone" that "roared" when a prince of the royal line of the Israelites sat or stood on it must have had a profound effect on the superstitious Egyptians.

There is some evidence that Jacob's pillow-stone was worshipped in Egypt proper after the death of Jacob -- and the memory of it as late as 525 B.C.! When the Persian ruler Cambyses invaded Egypt he found a Jewish temple standing on the island of Elephantine in the Nile, on the ancient boundary between Egypt and Nubia. Notes Bezalel Porten: "Manasseh's reign was accompanied by much bloodshed (2 Kings 21:10-16) and it may be surmised that priests as well as prophets opposed his paganization. Some of these priests FLED TO EGYPT, joined the Jewish garrison at Elephantine, and there inspired by Isaiah's prophecy of A PILLAR to the Lord at the border of Egypt, erected the Temple to YHW" (BAR, May/June 1995, p. 62).

Poten further adds: "Isaiah's prophecy may well have inspired the Elephantine Jews during the oppressive years of Manasseh's reign. I conjecture that a SACRED PILLAR to the Lord, in fulfillment of this prophecy, may have stood in the ADYTUM [INNERMOST SANCTUARY] of the Elephantine temple, just as a SACRED PILLAR was placed in the adytum of the TEMPLE TO YAHWEH [YEHOVAH] THAT ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE EXCAVATED IN ARAD" (p. 62).

The worship of Jacob's pillow-stone developed into a full-blown cult on Crete -- particularly in the eastern part of the island. From here it spread to the ISLAND OF MALTA, where archaeologists have found evidence of an elaborately organized cult WITH PILLARS AS THE CHIEF OBJECT OF WORSHIP.

Also, in the Mycenaean and Etruscan civilizations (both of which were Israelitish) the PILLAR played a prominent part in their religion and symbolism. At Mycenae, above the famous LION GATE, can be seen the symbol of the city and the royal house -- a PILLAR mounted upon a Minoan style altar and flanked by protecting LIONS. As all Bible students know, lions are the SYMBOLS of the royal tribe of JUDAH! In northern Italy the ETRUSCAN PILLAR TOMBS of Casal Maritima, or of the Pietrera at Vetulonia, contain a SQUARE PILLAR which was obviously the center of worship in these areas.

When Gathelus and his royal wife Scota took the stone of Jacob from Egypt in the days of Moses (see our article The Stone That Roared -- The Incredible Story of Lia Fail!) the children of Israel were without this symbol for many centuries. The prophet Hosea speaks of this time when he wrote: "The children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a sacrifice, and WITHOUT AN IMAGE"" or, as the marginal reading gives it, "WITHOUT A STANDING PILLAR." Young's Exhaustive Concordance gives "MEMORIAL STONE" and "PILLAR" as definitions of the original Hebrew word, while other authors give us "PILLAR-ROCK" and "PILLAR-STONE" as the correct rendering.

As the Israelites migrated from Egypt and Crete to Greece and Italy, and eventually across Europe, they no longer had Jacob's pillow-stone with them. However, they remembered it in their religious practices and symbolism.

One of the things that characterized the Minoan culture more than anything else was their OBSESSION with the BULL. Arthur Evans and other archaeologists found stylized BULL HORNS to be the predominant feature of Minoan architecture; and many of the roofs were edged with the two-pronged SYMBOL of bull-horns. Jewelry, too, DEPICTED THE BULL. BULL IMAGES appeared repeatedly on Minoan pottery, and on frescoes decorating their buildings. At Knossos they built multi-storied buildings containing courtyards and gardens, storefronts and BULL ARENAS. Minoan tombs yielded teacup-shaped vessels with scenes of BULL FIGHTS engraved on their sides. Similar scenes were depicted on the palace walls of Knossos.

The pervasiveness of the bull horns in the royal city of Knossos impressed the archaeologists uncovering the ancient city. Proclaims Agnes Carr Vaughan:

"Stylized HORNS formed the coping of the House of the Double Axe. In the Miniature Frescoes they form the low parapets. They seem TO HAVE RENDERED SACRED any building to which they were attached. Part of the proof that the large building at the port of Nirou Khani served a RELIGIOUS PURPOSE comes from the discovery there of a great PAIR OF HORNS. Though the horns were in fragments it was clear that they had stood on a kind of dais in a paved court around which the building had been constructed.

Remains of a gigantic pair of RITUAL HORNS were found in the east hall of the Third Palace, where it is thought that a nine-foot statue of the Mother Goddess once stood. These HORNS, now in the Candia Museum, may have been placed on the floor before the statue. The PRESENCE OF THE HORNS, added to other evidence, justifies in feeling that the east hall had many of the characteristics of AN ANCIENT TEMPLE." -- The House of the Double Axe: The Palace at Knossos, p. 165.

The strange thing is, the stylized or ritual BULL HORNS did not appear in Minoan art or architecture BEFORE THE MIDDLE MINOAN AGE -- the time of the Middle Kingdom in Egypt! According to archaeologists the BULL-CULT appeared full-blown in Crete with the rise of the 11th Dynasty of Egypt. The 11th Dynasty was the first dynasty of the Middle Kingdom during which time the ISRAELITES WERE IN EGYPT! Was there any connection? Did the bull-cult arrive full-blown in Crete FROM EGYPT?

Notice --

"While there seems to have been more or less continuous Near Eastern influence on the AEGEAN...its intensity varied considerably at different periods. The first 'peak' of which we have any trace was the 21st century [I disagree here -- their chronology is out, see our article "Chronology of Confusion"]. It was then that Egypt recovered from the breakdown of the FIRST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD, and the so-called MIDDLE KINGDOM was established by the new 11th DYNASTY. This not only reunited Egypt but ATTACKED THE LEVANT and is known from archaeological evidence to have had WIDE-RANGING CONTACTS FURTHER AFIELD, CERTAINLY INCLUDING CRETE and possibly the mainland. The succession of Upper Egyptian black pharaohs sharing the name MENTHOTPE had as their divine patron the hawk and BULL GOD MNTW or MONT. It is DURING THIS SAME CENTURY that the CRETAN PALACES were established and one FINDS THE BEGINNINGS THERE OF THE BULL-CULT which appears on the walls of the palaces....It would therefore seem plausible to suppose that the Cretan developments DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY REFLECTED THE RISE OF THE EGYPTIAN MIDDLE KINGDOM." -- Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization, p. 18.

Author Martin Bernal goes on to say --

"...the lack of evidence of a BULL-CULT IN CRETE in the Early Minoan Period...makes it very UNLIKELY that there is any continuity from the bull-cult found in 7th-millenium [?] Anatolia. Furthermore, mountainous CRETE can in NO WAY be considered natural cattle country. Apart from THE SUDDEN APPEARANCE of the bull-cult there, the COINCIDENCE OF TIMING, the known expansion of Egyptian influence during the reigns of the various pharaohs named MENTHOTPE OF THE 11th DYNASTY, and the archaeological evidence of contacts between Egypt and the Aegean at this time, there is also LEGENDARY EVIDENCE to suggest Egyptian influence on Crete at this point." -- Ibid., p. 63.

It is interesting to note that "at or near the beginning of the 12th DYNASTY, the Egyptian royal cult changed from that of the hawk/BULL MNTW to one of the ram Amon" (ibid., p. 64). While CRETE kept the BULL-CULT as central to its religious system for quite some time, EGYPT ABANDONED THE ROYAL CULT OF MONT WITH THE RISE OF THE 12TH DYNASTY -- WHY?

Because, records Josephus, "the crown...now [came] into another family"! (Antiquities of the Jews, chap. IX, section 1). Amenemhet I, the first pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty, was not of royal descent and "there is NO INDICATION of any relationship between the kings of the twelfth and those of the eleventh dynasty" (History of Ancient Egypt, by George Rawlinson. Dodd, Mead & Co., N.Y. 1882, p. 146).

The fact that the 12th Dynasty was a "maverick" dynasty -- one that did not conform to the royal blood line of the pharaohs -- was well known in the 18th Dynasty. And, according to Josephus, the NEW line had "forgotten the benefits they had received from Joseph." If the new dynasty forgot about Joseph or chose to ignore the benefits the nation had received from him, they also forgot or ignored Jacob!

The pharaohs of the 11th Dynasty, in their very names, kept alive the memory of Jacob! Notes Martin Bernal:

"Mntw was ASSOCIATED WITH THE GODDESS R't, whose name we know, from Mesopotamian sources, to have been vocalized RIA. This would then seem a very plausible ORIGIN for the name of the GODDESS RHEA, who played a CENTRAL ROLE IN CRETAN RELIGION" (Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization. p. 63).

Now Rhea was the WIFE OF POSEIDON in Cretan mythology, so Mntw was the EGYPTIAN EQUIVALENT of the Cretan Poseidon; and the BULL-CULT introduced into Crete from Egypt was the SYMBOL of Mntw as it was the symbol of Poseidon in Crete!

WHO, then, was POSEIDON?

In the Heraklion Museum, on the island of Crete, can be seen a gem showing TWO RAMPART LIONS with their forepaws perched upon an altar. At the center, in place of the PILLAR found above the Lion Gate at Mycenae, is an unmistakable RAYED SUN which is one of the manifestations of POTEIDAN.

In the underground crypts some of the pillars are incised with the SIGN OF THE TRIDENT -- the insignia of the god POSEIDON, with whom the Greeks often associated the BULL. Not only was Poseidon a principal god of Crete, but during the Mycenaean period he was the principal god of mainland Greece where he received large-scale sacrificial offerings at Pylos.

Actually, the names "POTEIDAN" and "POSEIDON" are the same -- Poteidan being the earlier form. According to Martin Bernal, "the etymology...for POSEIDON is p3(w) or Pr Sidon, 'HE OF' or 'HOUSE OF SIDON.' SID, the patron god of Sidon, derived his name from the root Vswd, 'TO HUNT.' He was a divinity of hunting, fishing, chariots and the sea...(Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization. Rutgers University Press, N.J. 1987, p. 67).

This places Poseidon's origins in CANAAN where JACOB lived for many years before going down into Egypt.

We have just seen that the Greeks often associated the BULL with Poseidon. According to Alexander Hislop the word that signified a BULL, also signified A RULER OR PRINCE -- "hence the 'HORNED BULL' signified 'THE MIGHTY PRINCE' " (The Two Babylons, p. 33). Now KRONOS signifies "THE HORNED ONE" and Kronos as the student of the classics is well aware, IS APPLIED TO SATURN as the "father of the gods" -- a title applied to HEPHAISTOS, the god who limped! And what name was Jacob known as in the ancient genealogies? SATURN OF KRIT (CRETE)!

A further clue to the identity of Kronos or Saturn is found in a strange (if not bizarre) legend mentioned by Agnes Carr Vaughan: "The parents of Zeus were KRONOS and RHEA. Kronos had been in the habit of devouring his children as fast as Rhea bore them. HE HAD ALREADY SWALLOWED ELEVEN BY THE TIME ZEUS WAS BORN" (The House of the Double Axe: The Palace at Knossos, p.31).

Since tradition mentions Zeus was the LAST-BORN, Kronos and Rhea had a total of 12 SONS -- the EXACT same number that Jacob sired! Mere coincidence?

A Dictionary of Symbols, by J. E. Cirlot, shows "that THE BULL...is a symbol FOR THE FATHER" (p. 35) and, according to Angelo Procopiou, "the BULL was sacred in Crete and SYMBOLIZED THE POWER OF THE ROYAL HOUSE OF KNOSSOS" in Crete!"

William F. Dankenbring, in his book Beyond Star Wars, early saw the connection between POSEIDON and JACOB:

"Before its submergence beneath the sea, this island kingdom of Atlantis, Plato tells us in Critias, was divided into ten portions, each ruled by one of the ten sons of the founder, whom he called POSEIDON; the firstborn was king over all the rest, and was named Atlas. One of the sons named was GADEIRUS. It is interesting to note that in Biblical antiquity, the patriarch JACOB had TEN SONS by his wife Leah, her handmaid, and Rachel's handmaid, and one of them was named 'GAD.' COULD IT BE THAT POSEIDON WAS ANOTHER NAME FOR JACOB, whose name was changed by God to 'Israel,' meaning 'A PRINCE OF GOD,' or 'champion of God' (Genesis 32:24-30)." -- Triumph Publishing Co., Altadena, CA 1978, p. 91.

Everything dovetails together! In the crypts of Crete the blood of BULLS (which symbolize JACOB) was poured on, or at the foot of, the standing PILLARS which, on the gem in the Heraklion Museum, was replaced by the RAYED SUN -- one of the manifestations of POTEIDAN (POSEIDON) who was Saturn or Jacob! On the sides of some of the pillars in Crete were incised TRIDENTS, the insignia of POSEIDON who was Saturn or Jacob! Everything points back to JACOB. The worship of the pillars in the Cretan crypts, along with the symbolism involved in the ritual, clearly indicates that the ancient Minoans were WORSHIPPING JACOB AND THE MYSTERIOUS STONE he brought from Canaan!

And what could be more natural?

When the archaeologists uncovered the pillar crypts on the island of Crete, they discovered that many of the pillars were incised with a DOUBLE-AXE. What did this SYMBOL represent?

In Roman mythology JANUS was one of the oldest gods in their pantheon, and was known as the god of doors and gateways, and also of beginnings -- which the Romans believed ensured good endings. His principal temple in the Forum had doors facing east and west for the beginning and ending of the day, and between them stood his statue with TWO FACES -- ONE LOOKING FORWARDS AND THE OTHER BACKWARDS.

Now the SYMBOL of Janus was a CLUB, "and the name of 'A CLUB' in Chaldee comes from the very word which signifies 'to break in pieces, or SCATTERER ABROAD' " (The Two Babylons, p. 27). Hislop goes on to say: "The word there used for scattering abroad is HEPHAITZ, which in the Greek form becomes HEPHAIZT, and hence the origin of the well-known but little understood name of HEPHAISTOS... 'THE FATHER OF THE GODS.' " And who was known as Hephaistos, the father of the gods? JACOB!

Taking this a step further, it can be shown that the word "club" from which the name HEPHAISTOS is derived, can be rendered "BATTLE-AXE." In Proverbs 25:18 the Hebrew word for CLUB is "MEPHAITZ" (note how similar to "HEPHAITZ" this is); and in Jeremiah 51:20 the EXACT SAME WORD, without the Jod, is translated BATTLE-AXE.

Hislop further notes that "when TWO-HEADED JANUS WITH THE CLUB [ALSO, "BATTLE-AXE"] is represented, the TWO-FOLD REPRESENTATION was probably intended to represent old Cush, and young Cush or Nimrod, as combined. But [and note this] the two-fold representation with other attributes, had reference also TO ANOTHER 'FATHER OF THE GODS,' afterwards to be noticed, WHO HAD SPECIALLY TO DO WITH WATER" (Ibid., same page). WHO was known as "father of the gods" and was closely associated with water? POSEIDON, of course! And who was Poseidon? JACOB!

The two-fold nature of the DOUBLE-AXE probably represented the OLD POSEIDON and the YOUNG POSEIDON who was ZEUS -- in other words JACOB AND JUDAH, through whom the royal line passed!

This is verified by Homer in The Iliad, where he records --

Then KING AGAMEMNON

Stood up among them, holding the SCEPTER which HEPHAESTUS

Had made with much labor. HEPHAESTUS GAVE IT TO ZEUS,

The lordly son of CRONOS. ZEUS GAVE IT TO HERMES,

The speedy slayer of Argus. LORD HERMES GAVE IT

TO PELOPS, lasher of horses, and PELOPS GAVE IT

TO ATREUS, shepherd of the people. Atreus, dying,

LEFT IT TO wealthy THYESTES, owner of many

Flocks, and THYESTES left it to KING AGAMEMNON

To bear throughout his rule over many islands

And all of Argos. -- Translated by Ennis Rees. Oxford University Press, N.Y. & Oxford. 1991, p. 26.

The double-axe, therefore, became the SYMBOL OF AUTHORITY of the royal line of Judah!

Further proof is furnished by an old Greek tradition "that HEPHAESTUS once used A DOUBLE-BLADED AXE to open the head of his father....And no sooner had Hephaestus complied with his father's request than out sprang the goddess Athene. The myth occurs frequently in Greek literature and seldom without mention of THE DOUBLE-AXE" (The House of the Double Axe: The Palace at Knossos, p. 168).

Rodney Castleden surmises that "perhaps the DOUBLE-AXE was like the SACRAL HORNS, an epiphany or SYMBOL OF POTEIDAN [POSEIDON] ....the Greeks were later to picture BOTH ZEUS AND POSEIDON WIELDING A DOUBLE-AXE...." (Minoan Life in Bronze Age Crete, p. 135).

Notes McDonald and Thomas in their book Progress into the Past: The Rediscovery of Mycenaean Civilization, "Minos [mythical Cretan hero and king] was above all the Priest-King....He is the representative of the BULL GOD [JACOB], the incarnation of the Minotaur....The king, like the god, HAD AS INSIGNIA THE SCEPTRE AND THE DOUBLE AXE" (Indiana University Press, Bloomington & Indianapolis. 1990, p. 182).

Clearly, then, the double-axe is a SYMBOL of JACOB and the ROYAL HOUSE OF JUDAH!

The whole religious structure of Crete, including the pillar-cult, the bull-horn symbols, the double-axe and the preeminence of the Cretan Zeus and his mother, developed after the death of Jacob and was built around the memory of Jacob and his mysterious pillar, his son Judah (the Cretan Zeus) and his wife.

As a symbol of power, the BULL was worshipped above all others, and vestiges of Bronze Age bull rituals were carried by the descendants of Jacob into Europe. These rituals persisted in Europe for thousands of years and can be found today in Italian jewelry's good luck charm -- a golden bull horn. Also, in Spain, we find bullfights which have become a national pastime.

The Danites in particular carried the symbol of Jacob with them, and are pictured in the reliefs of Ramesu II and Ramesu III as the SHERDEN wearing bull-horn helmets. The SARDINIANS also wore bull-horn headgear; and their descendants the VIKINGS continued the practice.

Among the "first inhabitants of Britain" were the KYMRY, a branch of the KIMMERIANS who were themselves descended from Israel or Jacob. Sharon Turner points out that "The Kymbri [Kymry] swore by a BRAZEN BULL, which they carried with them" (History of the Anglo-Saxons, Vol. I, p. 34).

Adds author Raymond McNair:

"Keep this fact in mind because a number of historical sources show that the early inhabitants of Britain swore by the BRAZEN BULL, and used the SYMBOL OF AN OX OR A BULL commonly, AS A REPRESENTATIVE FIGURE FOR THEIR PEOPLE. This all ties in with the early history of Israel, who, even in the time of Moses and Aaron, set up the GOLDEN CALF and worshipped it. At the time when the Ten Tribes of Israel revolted from the leadership of the throne of David, the first thing that Jeroboam, the ruler of the northern Kingdom, did was to set up TWO GOLDEN CALVES, one in Dan, and the other in Beersheba (I Ki. 12:28). THE TRIBAL EMBLEM OF JOSEPH WAS A BULL and/or heifer according to various accounts. The people of Britain still use this SYMBOL on the coat of arms. It is there called a unicorn. Also "JOHN BULL" is SYMBOLICAL for the nation or people of Britain" (from the unpublished manuscript, In Search of the Lost Ten Tribes, p. 100).

This clearly indicates that the roots of the British people are to be found in ancient Crete and the Egyptian Delta; and as sons of Jacob they bear his sign and symbol.

As an insignia of the royal line of Judah, the DOUBLE-BLADED AXE migrated to Greece with the Israelites and became "one of the commonest RITUAL SYMBOLS...in...MYCENAEAN CULTURE" (Discovering the World of the Ancient Greeks, by Zofia Archibald. Facts On File, N.Y. 1991, p. 92).

In Anatolia and in Caria in Asia Minor there was a ZEUS LABRANDEUS, who was a representation of JUDAH wielding a double-axe. The Hittite weather-god Teshub, adopted from the Hurrites, carried a double-axe in one hand; and archaeological sites that have yielded similar deities MOUNTED ON BULLS leave a migratory trail of dots across the map of Europe in a route that runs from the Syro-Hittite area, along the Danube, to the Lower Rhine and the British Isles.

A Dictionary of Symbols, by J. E. Cirlot, indicates that the "double-headed axe is to be found in a host of works of art FROM INDIA TO ENGLAND, and ESPECIALLY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES -- IN AFRICA AND CRETE. Very often it is located OVER THE HEAD OF AN OX, JUST BETWEEN ITS HORNS...." (p. 21).

In the Etruscan civilization the double-headed axe was an insignia of ROYALTY --

"But an even more DEFINITIVE MANIFESTATION OF SOVEREIGNTY was provided by the lictors who, carrying the FASCES over their shoulders, walked before the KING. We are assured that each of THE TWELVE ETRUSCAN KINGS had no lictor at his disposal, but when in the event of war the supreme power was delegated to only one of them, this king was entitled to ALL the twelve lictors with their fasces. There were indeed twelve fasces brought to Tarquinius by the Etruscans, ALONG WITH OTHER ROYAL INSIGNIA, as tokens of the submission, not of one particular city, but of the entire nation. And we know that in the Roman republic each of the two consuls, HEIRS OF KINGS, had the right to twelve lictors.

This BUNDLE OF RODS WITH AN AXE IN THE MIDDLE which the Etruscans handed down to certain Roman magistrates as a SYMBOL of their coercive power or IMPERIUM is well documented among the oldest records in their history. According to a poet of the Flavian era...it was the Etruscan city of Vetulonia that invented the curule chair, the toga praetexta, the military trumpet and the FASCES:

Vetulonia, formerly the pride of the Lydian race, was the first city to place THE TWELVE FASCES at the head of processions and to ADD TO THEM the silent menace of the AXES.

Now by a curious coincidence it was at Vetulonia that there was discovered, in a seventh century [B.C.] tomb, the most ancient example of such fasces, an ex-voto in iron, in miniature proportions and displaying this PECULIARITY, that, unlike the Roman fasces, THE AXE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RODS IS A DOUBLE-HEADED AXE, A BIPENNATE ONE....it was above all IN CRETE that the DOUBLE-HEADED AXE had been the object of a general cult: it was placed in tombs, dedicated in sacred grottoes and represented at the side of gods in rites and ceremonies.

The BI-PENNATE FASCES from Vetulonia, found LIKEWISE in a tomb, CANNOT BE DISSOCIATED FROM AEGEAN PRACTICES. Yet the association with double-headed axes, which is even more closely connected with the attributes of a Roman magistrate, suggests A SIGNIFICANCE MORE POLITICAL THAN RELIGIOUS: some leader, PERHAPS A KING, having died, his followers had wanted to bring back to his last resting-place THE POWER with which he had been invested in his lifetime." -- Daily Life of the Etruscans, by Jacques Heurgon. Translated by James Kirkup. The Macmillan Co., N.Y. 1964, pp. 44-45.

Finally, the battle-axe, as a SYMBOL of the royal line of Judah, can be seen in the history of Great Britain:

"According to HOMER, Agamemnon was attacked by Peisander with such a weapon. In the 11th century THE DANISH BATTLE-AXE was a regular part of THE EQUIPMENT OF FIGHTING MEN IN ENGLAND and under the Statute of Winchester of 1285 CERTAIN CLASSES WERE REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN THESE WEAPONS. In the 14th century the classic example of its effective employment was when ROBERT THE BRUCE felled Sir Henry de Bohun with a single blow the day before the battle of Bannockburn (June 23, 1314). It was sometimes the custom to secure the AXE to the wrist by a chain to ensure its retention. THE OLDEST BODY-GUARD OF THE ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS, THE HONOURABLE CORPS OF GENTLEMEN-AT-ARMS, INTRODUCED BATTLE-AXES INTO ITS EQUIPMENT IN 1526 and for centuries all their duties were ordered to be carried out 'WITH THEIR AXES' or 'with their pole-axes.' AT THE FUNERAL OF A SOVEREIGN THE AXE WAS CARRIED IN THE LEFT HAND, REVERSED AND DRAPED. In 1520 'THE BATTLE-AXE GUARD OF IRELAND' came into existence with duties similar to those of the Yeoman of the Guard. It was disbanded in 1833. There is in the Royal Artillery a battery known as 'THE BATTLE-AXE COMPANY' which is the descendant of the Artillery Company which distinguished itself at the capture of Martinique in 1809 and was granted a BATTLE-AXE in commemoration of the service. The original axe is now in the possession of the 25th Medium Battery, Royal Artillery, THE BATTLE-AXE COMPANY." -- Encyclopedia Britannica, 1943 edition. Vol. 3, p. 219.

They say "all roads lead to Rome"; so also do all the roads lead to Great Britain from the island of Crete and the Egyptian Delta -- the land of GOSHEN mentioned in the book of Genesis. Jacob's pillow-stone, the bull cult and the double-axes are but a few of the customs or rituals that clearly and firmly stamp the SYMBOL of Jacob upon his descendants in the United Kingdom and Northwestern Europe -- and the nations or territories they spawned.

Hope of Israel Ministries -- Taking the Lead in the Search for Truth!

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