Mystagogvs poeticvs, or, The muses interpreter explaining the historicall mysteries and mysticall histories of the ancient Greek and Latine poets : here Apollo's temple is opened, the muses treasures discovered and the gardens of parnassus disclosed whence many flowers of usefull delightfull and rare observations never touched by any other mythologist are collected / by Alexander Ross.

JUPITER

HEe was the son of Saturne and Ops, and was born in Creta at the same birth with Juno, and was brought up on mount Ida by the Curetes privatly, ••or fear his father should find him, who was devouring his own children: but afterward be drove his father out of his kingdom, and divided the world with his two brothers, Neptune and Pluto; be toke heaven for himself, the sea fell to Neptune, hell to Pluto; be used to change himself into many shapes; and took ••nno his own sister to wife.

The INTERPRETER.

1. JUpiter is so called, quasi juvant pater; because he is a helping father, and Diespiter the father of the day, and in Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, from life; for it is he that gives life to all things: by this name they understood that divine power by which all things are moved and preserved, as may be seen in the Epithets given to him by Virgil, and the other poets, as also by the descriptions of him in Orpheus and others; and by the ancient pictures which they made of him, for they placed him in a throne, to shew his im∣mutabilitie; they crowned him, to shew his authoritie; they clothed him with garments representing light and Rimes of fire, and all besparkled with Starrs, to show his heavenly nature and divine glory; they put a pair of globes in one hand, the one of amber, the other of gold, to signifie that both the globes of heaven and earth are in his power: in the other hand there is a violl or citron, intimating that he is the cause of that admirable harmony that is in the world: his throne is covered with a garment of peacocks tailes, to signifie his providence and omniscience: he hath the look of an ancient man, because he is the ancient of

dayes: his sandals or shoos are green, and he treads upon Neptunes Trident, to shew that sea and land are subject to him. They paint him sometimes with the thunder in his hand, to show that he is the punisher of impietie: some∣time they paint him with a scepter in one hand, and a circle in the other; signifying that he is that great King who rules the world; for which cause they place the eagle by him, who is the king of birds: they give him sometimes the image of victorie in his hand; because conquests and victories are from him; sometimes they make all his upper parts naked, his lower parts clothed, to shew that he disco∣vers himself to the Angels and blessed souls, which he doth not to us mortalls, who see nothing of him but his lower parts; and these clothed, because here wee see him onely in his effects and works, and some of his attribu•••••• but obscurely, and in a dark speech as the Apostle faith: 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Celtae or ancient Galles worshiped Jupiter under the shape of an oake, and so the Romans used to crown Jupiters image with oaken leaves; to shew that he who gave being to all things, doth also feed them; for akorns were the first food of the old world. And for the same cause was he worshiped by the Egyptians and Assyrians under the shape of a ram, to shew us, that it is he who feeds and clothes us; and therefore the horne of his nurse Amaethaes was filled by him with all kinde of food, called therefore cornu copiae, because from him wee have our food, for he openeth his hands and filleth all things with his blessings. And to signifie th••t he both rules and sees all things, they repre∣sented him in their hieroglyphicks by a scepter with an eye on the top of it, called Jovis oculus, Jupiters eye. 2. By Jupiter may be meant kings and judges: for as Jupiter is called king by the poets, so kings were called ••oves. They paint∣ed him sometime without eares, sometime with four years; to shew that kings must have no eares for flatterers, infor∣mers, and slanderers, but must have many eares for com∣plaints and advise: they must never want eares to hear the

grievances of their subjects, nor the wholesome advice of their councellers: they gave him also three eys; whereof one in his forhead, to shew that princes must see more, and high∣er, and further off then private men; their knowledge must be more eminent and sublime. Justice is alwayes painted by Jupiter; to signifie that kings actions must be alwaies just. Jupiter subdued Aegaeon and the rest of the Giants, to shew that kings must not suffer tyrannie and oppression to goe a∣way unpunished. Jupiter taught people who before fed upon mens flesh, to eat akornes, therefore the oake was de∣dicated to him; so princes should endeavour to civillize their people, and to provide by good lawes fit and whole∣some food for them. Jupiter is said to have begot divers daughters which were called prayers, intimating, that Prin∣ces must have a fatherly care of their peoples intreaties and petitions, and not slight them. Jupiter drove away the swarms of ••••ies that infested Hercules (therefore called Mu∣sidarlus) whilest he was sacrificing; so Princes must drive out of their kingdome all busie bodies and disturbers of religion. Jupiter married Me••is, which signifieth counsell, and after hee swallowed her hee conceived Pallas in his brain; so Princes must unite themselves to good coun∣sellours, and by swallowing their good advice, their heads shall be filled with wisdome, and they shall produce wise actions. Jupiter was the father of the Muses, so should Kings be the nursing fathers of learned men. 3. Jupiter may be the type of a Tyrants for his banishing of his father, and usurping his kingdome, and cutting off his testicles, his marrying with his own sister, his devouring of his own wife Me••is, his ravishing of Ganymed, his many whore∣domes and adulteries, his transforming himselfe into so many sh••pes of beasts and birds, as into the cuckow, the swan, the bull, the ram, &c. What, I say, do all these mean, but lively represent unto us the cruell manners and wicked qualities of Tyrants? therefore when hee began to reign, the golden age ceased, the lamb durst play no longer with

the wolfe, men could not live securely and happily as they did before: in his reign began rebellions, when the giants consp••red against him; for what could hee else expect, but that his subject, should rebell against him, who rebelled a∣gainst his own father? His advancing of the Swan his whore, and placing her amongst the starrs, the honour hee gave to the Goat his nurse, in making her a constellation, and in wearing her skin upon his target, called therefore Aegis, doth shew us how Tyrants advance licentiousnesse and wantonnesse, and rapacity also, as they intimated by the ••••gle that still waited on him, and drew his chariot: As Kings may be called Joves, so Tyrants should be called Vei∣ores; who are sicly represented by that picture of Jupiter in the form of a boy, with horns on his head, arrowes in both his hands, and a goat by him, shewing to us the childish, hurtfull, and wanton disposition of tyrants. 4. Jupiter is taken sometime for the air in Poets; sometime for the ele∣ment of fire, and Juno for the air, therefore they made her Jupiters wife, and they used to paint him with a rail fla∣ming about his head: and sometime by Jupiter they meant the heaven, as by Saturn they understood time; so then when they write that Saturn devoured his children, except Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, and Pluto, their meaning was, this Time destroyes all compounded bodies; but the hea∣ven with the element of fire, the air, the sea, and the earth are not subject to Times lawes and tyranny: And because there is no commixtion but between the neighbouring elements, therefore it is, that Jupiter took Juno to wife, but could not be permitted by the rest of the gods to mar∣ry with The••is the sea. 5. Austin (Lib. 3. de Civ. cap. 10.) sh••ws the Gentiles vanities, who held the world was eter∣nall, and yet acknowledged that Jupiter and Juno, that is, heaven and earth to be the children of time; for if they had their beginning of time, then they must acknowledge the creation of the world, and of time also. 6. He laughs likewise at their madnesse, who called Jupiter the chiefest∣of

all the gods, by the name of Pecunia money, the basest of all things; which no wise man will cover, as hee shew∣eth out of Salust, (Lib. 7. de Civil. cap. 12.) and may wee not laugh at them who not onely call, but have also made mo∣ney their great god and Jupiter, which now hath their commanding power of all things: This is that idolatry the Apostle speaks of,; this is that Jupiter that can make p••ssage to Donae through a tower of brasse; who more vio∣lently then a thunder bolt can break through the strongest armies;

Perrumpert amat castra potentius ictu Fulmineo. — Horat,

This is the covetous mans Jupiter S••a••or, and Tereulus, and Liberator, and Elicius, and Invictus, and Omnip••tens too, and Hospitalis, and what not? for hee hath said un••o the wedge, Thou art my hope; and to the gold, Thou art my confi∣dence: But in the house of death the coverous wretch will finde no more comfort in this Jupiter of gold, then the Romans did in their Jupiter of stone, when they swore by him, Jovem lapidem jura••••. 7. Jupiter is said to be born in Crete or Candle, because the people of that Iland were more religious then others; and to shew that God is chiefly to be found there where reli∣gion is most cherished. 8. Saturn could not devou•• his son Jupiter, but devoured a stone in stead of him, to shew us, that Time which destroyeth all things, even the hardest stones, yet cannot consume or destroy that eter∣nall Minde or Deity which they called Jupiter. 9. The Curetes and Coribantes saved Jupiter from his fathers fury, by the sounding of brasse and clashing of arms, that the childes crying might not be heard; even so kingdoms are preserved from outward violence or for∣raigne forces, by armes and military discipline. 10. Ju∣piter had divers titles given to him, as Xenius the god of hospitalitie, Philus the god of love, Heterius the god of fellowship, Homognius the god of kindred, Phras••ius the

god of tribes, and Enhorcius the god of oaths, &c. to shew what care men should have of hospitalitie, love, fellowship, kindred, tribes, and oaths. 11. At Rome Jupiter was wor∣shipped upon the Capitoll, and had a temple there, thence he was called Jupiter Capitolinus: he was named also Jupiter Latialis, and was worshiped by shedding of human blood, as Tersullian and Lactan••ius shews; and he was stiled Jupiter Pistor, or the baker, because hee taught the Romans is their sleep, when the Galles besieged the capitoll, to fling out their bread to them, by which the Galles forsook the siege, supposing the Romans to be stored with bread. May not this fitly be applyed to the Pope, who is now Jupiter of the Roman Capitol, and the Latin Jupiter whose name is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, 666. whose worship consists not in wine, but in blood, in the Eucharist: not to speak how his power and religion have been still maintained by blood of martyrs? and may not he be called Jupiter the baker, who hath cast the bread out of the Sacrament, by which means he hath lost not onely many of the Galls, but also of the Dutch, Eng∣lish, Scots, Swedes, Danes, &c.?