Herodotus states (iii, 16) that the Persians regarded fire as a god, and sacrificed to it, as also to the heavenly bodies, and the other terrestrial elements (i, 131), using the tops of mountains or hills, for they had no temples or altars for the worship of their deities. Among the ancient Persians and Medes fire-worship was practised in very early times by their religious teachers, the Magi, though pyrea or fire-temples probably date no further back than Zoroaster. "Adrammelech, the fire-god of Scpharvaim Chemosh, the fire-god of Moab Urotal, Dusares, Sair, and Thyandrites, of the Edomites and neighboring Arab tribes, and the Greek Dionysus, were worshipped under the symbol of a rising flame of fire, which was imitated in the stone pillars erected in their honor" (Movers, Phonizier, i, c. For the ceremonies of this worship, SEE MOLECH. Solomon and Aliaz were notable instances of such apostasy, and from the terms employed to describe the conduct of the latter, ",and burnt his children in the fire after the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before-the children of Israel" (2Ch 28:3), we learn that the worship of Molech in the time of Ahaz was the same as in that of the old Canaanites. The prevalence of pyrolatry among the Canaanites is frequently referred to in the Scriptures, and the people of God are solemnly and repeatedly warned against forsaking his worship to join in the abominations which belonged to the worship of Molech, the fire-god of these people (Le 18:21 Le 20:2-5 De 12:31 1Ki 11:7 2Ki 16:3 2Ki 23:10,13 2Ch 28:3: Ps 106:37-38 Jer 7:31 Jer 19:5-6 Jer 30:24 Eze 16:20-21 Eze 23:37) yet, despite the' denunciations of divine wrath and punishment, the Israelites sometimes apostatized to this worship, and caused their seed to pass through or be burnt in the fire to Molech. The violence of the winds at Tyre, by rubbing the branches of trees together, caused this element to manifest its presence, and Usous thereupon erected rude altars to fire and wind, and made libations thereon of the blood of animals captured in the chase. If we attach any credit to the statements of the reputed Sanchoniathon, Usous, whose name reminds us of the Biblical Uz, the son of Aram, was the first to introduce the worship of fire. Under varying conceptions, was the symbol of purity, or of the divine presence and power, or as one of the constituent elements, or as typifying the destructive principle in nature, fire was early and among many nations an object of religious worship. We attempt here only a brief sketch of the origin and extent of pyrolatry among ancient nations. Fire-Worship For an account of the fire-worshippers of modern times, the reader is referred to the article PARSEES.
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