Dagestan

“ In the Assyrian pantheon he is associated with Anu, who rules the heavens, Dagan supervising the earth. It is strange to observe a [Pg 217] deity, whose sphere must originally have been the sea, presiding over the terrestrial plane, and this transference it was which cost Dagan his popularity in Assyria, for later he became identified with Bel and disappeared almost entirely from the Assyrian pantheon. ”

“ Dakianos, whose pride this flattered, and who had nothing more to desire of human greatness, promised him to consent to everything.
"Let your throne be placed upon the shore of the sea," pursued the old man.
What he desired was executed. And when Dakianos was placed there, "Prince," said the genie to him, "there is at the bottom of the sea a fish, the bigness of which is known only to Allah, and which every day comes to land. It remains there till noon to adore the Almighty. No person interrupts its prayers: when they are finished, it plunges again to the bottom of the sea." ”

“ He stalked through the world as a god, for no earthly weapon could harm him, and to him a century was like an hour. In his wanderings he came upon a primitive people inhabiting the island of Dagonia, and it pleased him to give this race culture and civilization, and by his aid they built the city of Dagon and they abode there and worshipped him. ”

“ On the banks of the Kuban, and on the Euxine shores, the strife has never been so desperate, and so dangerous for the Russians, as in Daghestan, Lesghistan, and the land of the Tshetshens. The Abchasians, Mingrelians, and other Circassian tribes, dwelling on the southern slopes of Caucasus, and on the margin of the Black Sea, are of more peaceable and passive character than their brethren to the North and East. The Tshetshens, by far the most warlike and enterprising of the Caucasians, have had the ablest leaders, and have at all times been stimulated by fierce religious zeal. ”

“ Male figures, with a horned cap on the head, and ending in a fish, and priests with fishskins hung above them, are often found on the monuments of Nineveh. As the word Dag means "fish," we may with confidence find in the god Dakan the fish-god of the Babylonians; the god who out of moisture gives plenty, fertility, and increase. That the Canaanites also worshipped Dagon is proved by the names Beth-Dagon and Kaphar-Dagon, which occur near Joppa and Sichem. The Philistines also on the coast of the Mediterranean invoked the same god. ”

“ The Dagon of the Philistines and of the inhabitants of the Phœnician coast was worshipped, according to the united opinion of the Hebrew commentators on the Bible, under the same form. [141] When the ark of the Lord was brought into the great temple of the idol at Ashdod, and the statue fell a second time, “the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the fishy part of Dagon was left to him.” [142] His worship appears to have extended over Syria, as well as Mesopotamia and Chaldæa. ”

“ Daghestan was the most costly province ever added to the Russian Empire. It cost thirty-five years of war and the sacrifice of 200,000 soldiers to subdue the fierce mountain warriors, the Lesghians, the Teherkess and the other tribes, who were the fiercest fighters in Europe, and are said to be the descendants of the Hittites of the Old Testament. ”

“ Happy for us if the knowledge make us turn to One who is over all, God exalted for ever!
But it is not always that sorrow and disappointment wean the soul from the world. We too often find Dagon set up again on his shrine, and as ardently worshipped as ever. Yes, even the gray-headed, the weary-hearted, who from repeated trials know the hollowness of the world and its sinful pleasures—who have, as it were, but the stump of the idol left—too often, even to the last, fondly worship that stump! ”

“ DAGHESTAN, a province of Russia, Transcaucasia, occupying the triangular space between the Andi ridge, the south-east division of the main Caucasus range, and the Caspian Sea. It has the province of Terek on the N.W., the government of Tiflis on the S.W., and that of Baku on the S.E. With the exception of a narrow strip along the sea-coast and a small district in the N., it is entirely mountainous. Area, 11,332 sq. m. The snow-clad Andi ridge, belonging to the system of transverse upheavals which cross the Caucasus, branches off the latter at Borbalo Peak (10,175 ft.) ”

“ Elak said, wincing as the wizard's nail dug into his wrist. "But go on."
"These things hate man, for they feel that man has usurped their kingdom. Their greatest hope is to sink the continents again, so that the seas will roll over all the earth, and not a human being will survive. Their power will embrace the whole world, as it once did eons ago. They are not human, you see, and they worship Dagon. They want no other gods worshipped on Earth. ”

“ Elak asked again. "Tell me, before I go mad thinking hell has loosed its legions on Atlantis."
"They are the children of Dagon," Zend said. "Their dwelling-place is in the great deeps of the ocean. Have you never heard of the unearthly ones who worship Dagon?"
"Yes. But I never believed——"
"Oh, there's truth in the tale. Eons and unimaginable eons ago, before mankind existed on earth, only the waters existed. There was no land. And from the slime there sprang up a race of beings which dwelt in the sunken abysses of the ocean, inhuman creatures that worshipped Dagon, their god. ”

“ There are very many fine true Daghestans and Kubas, as well as very many poor ones, the old examples being relatively much handsomer than the modern. The ordinary Daghestan border repeats itself far too often, and its commonness mars many an otherwise valuable work of art. Next to the Meccas, the Daghestans are probably among the most 38crooked of the products of Eastern looms, and numberless specimens of extraordinary sheen and rare design and coloring are virtually spoiled on this account. ”

“ Third Scene, Gorgeous sleeping apartment in an Oriental style. An ottoman and an escutcheon at the right side. Fourth Scene, Hall for private worship of the Idolaters. Dagon's statue stands in the background; before him stands a small altar.
FOURTH ACT.—Dark walled prison—a heavy block with chains at the side.
FIFTH ACT.—First Scene, the Court before the Dagon's Temple. Second Scene, The open Dagon's Temple. Dagon stands—the fire glowing in the back ground. It is a figure with a misshaped face of a man—long chin, beard and large cross-eyes. ”

“ On the north-west this rugged highland region is well defined by the distinctive transverse ridge of Andi, which to the east of Kasbek strikes off from the Caucasus range almost at right angles. The rest of the Daghestan region consists of a series of roughly parallel folds, of Jurassic or Cretaceous age, ranging in altitudes from 7500 up to 12,500 ft., separated from one another by deep gorge-like river glens which cut it up into a number of arid, treeless plateaus which have something of the appearance of independent ranges, or rather elongated tablelands of a mountainous character. ”

“ How could they attribute their victory to the power of Dagon when Dagon himself could not keep his own ground before the ark? But they are resolved Dagon shall be their god still, and therefore set him in his place. Bishop Hall observes hence, It is just with God that those who want grace shall want wit too; and it is the work of superstition to turn men into the stocks and stones they worship. Those that make them are like unto them. ”

“ You say it was the bribe which the Philistine lords offered to Delilah and her treachery and Samson's sin that put him in the enemy's hand. You say, Surely the most ignorant man in Gaza must have seen that Dagon had nothing whatever to do with the result. And yet it is very common to ascribe to God what is nowise His doing. There are indeed times when we almost shudder to hear God thanked [328] for that which could only be attributed to a Dagon or a Moloch. ”

“ You have lived to see the Dagon before which you and your friends have for so many years cheerfully prostrated yourselves fall to the ground, and lie a helpless, hopeless ruin on the very threshold of the temple where it lately stood defiant and dominant. ”

“ Dagon, I pray
Thy raving wrath confuse her daring mind.
[DELILAH ascends the altar, and places the child in Dagon's arms; then she remains kneeling.]
SAMSON: [From within.] Lord Sabaoth! Be blessed for evermore,
That Thou no heathen hast created me
CHORUS: Devoted to Dagon's holy bliss
The flesh and blood of mankind is,
If it ascends a sacrifice
'Gainst thund'ring wrath 'tis calming spice. ”

“ He is frequently mentioned in the texts apart [Pg 198] from Ea and Bel, and is occasionally alluded to along with Ramman, the god of thunder and storms, who of course would naturally stand in close relationship with the sky. We also find him connected with Dagan of Biblical celebrity. But in this case Dagan appears to be the equivalent of Bel.
There is also a host of lesser deities, the majority of whom are no more than mere names. They do not seem to have achieved much popularity, or if they did it was an evanescent one. ”

“ In the temple of Rama, in India, there is a representation of Vishnou which answers perfectly to that of Dagon. [82:3] Mr. Maurice, in his "Hist. Hindostan," has proved the identity of the Syrian Dagon and the Indian Fish Avatar, and concludes by saying:
"From the foregoing and a variety of parallel circumstances, I am inclined to think that the Chaldean Oannes, the Phenician and Philistian Dagon, and the Pisces of the Syrian and Egyptian Zodiac, were the same deity with the Indian Vishnu." ”

“ No more were men in female habit seen,
Or they in men's, by the lewd Syrian queen;
No lustful maids at Benos' temple sit,
And with their body's shame their marriage get.
The double Dagon neither nature saves,
Nor flies she back to the Erythraean waves.
The travelling sun sees gladly from on high
His chariots burn, and Nergal quenched lie.
The King's impartial anger lights on all,
From fly-blown Accaron to the thundering Baal. ”

“ But the Dagda, with some companions, went in pursuit of it, and when they reached the hall the Dagda called to his harp, saying: "O holder of summer and winter, of sleep and joy and sorrow, come to me." Immediately the harp rushed down from the wall and hurried to its master, killing those of the Fomorians who were in its way. Then the Dagda touched the magic wires, and the first music that he played made the Fomorians sorrowful; the women and children, and even the great warriors, wept and lamented as though all they held dearest had gone from them. ”

“ In the first place, where is Turkestan? It is a tract of country in Asia, lying on the east of the Caspian Sea, and having Persia and Afghanistan on the south. On the north, is that inland sheet of water known as the Sea of Aral, into which runs the river Oxus or Amu Daria. Near the left bank of this river, which drains Turkestan, is situated Khiva, the capital of the country. We should have heard little of this obscure Asiatic region but for the possibility of the Russians some day pushing their conquests onward through Afghanistan to India. ”

“ Samson, too, shall sacrifice to Dagon. A boy is told to lead him where all can witness his humiliation. Samson feels that the time for retribution upon his enemies is come. He asks to be led between the marble pillars that support the roof of the temple. Priests and people, the traitress and her dancing women, the lords of the Philistines, the rout of banqueters and worshippers—all hymn the praise of Dagon. ”

“ Without loss of time he assembled his troops; but before he put himself at their head to march towards the confines of Greece, he returned this answer to Dakianos:
"Can a man so despicable as thou art have possibly conquered Greece? Thou hast betrayed me—I, who am thy King, and who am seated upon the golden throne of my ancestors. Thou hast attacked me, notwithstanding the gratitude and fidelity thou owest to me. I am upon my departure to cause even the very memory of thee to perish, to restore Greece to her former situation, and to deliver her to her lawful sovereign!" ”

“ Some very interesting terra-cotta figures representing the Fish-god, Dagan, are preserved in the British Museum (cf. Fig. 86, A, B) . These small images are only a few inches high, but the humanly conceived face of the god is treated with less conventionalism than is the case with the sculptured portraits of human beings during the Assyrian period, a fact which of course may possibly be due to the plasticity of clay as compared with stone. These little figures are probably Assyrian and not Babylonian in workmanship ”

“ So in his name Dagon had imposed new rents on the people, and the active movement on which he had been looking while moving along the shores was the extortion of rents. It was clear that the man whom they had been beating on the shore had nothing to pay with. The children who were crying bitterly in the boat were sold at a drachma per head for a twelvemonth, and that woman who was wading in the water to her waist and weeping was their mother.
“Women are very unquiet,” said the prince to himself. “Sarah is the quietest woman; but others love to talk much, to cry and raise an uproar.” ”

“ The earth shook and the trees bent and twisted with terror. The Pooka instantly turned himself into a dead leaf and dropped into a fold of the Dagda's cloak; the Dagda hid the leaf in his bosom and turned his cloak so that the nine capes were inside. He did it all in a moment, and the next moment the wood was full of Fomorians--ugly mis-shapen beings with twisted mouths and squinting eyes. They shouted with joy when they saw Balor's son, but they knew the Dagda was one of the De Danaans and rushed at him with their weapons. ”