The constellation Ursa Major is associated with infernal or chthonic deities in ancient cultures. The foreleg of this constellation in Ancient Egypt was identified with Seth, whose cult developed long before the Second Kingdom. Seth was once a very popular god who did not evoke sinister associations: he was revered as the patron of Upper Egypt along with Horus, the ruler of Lower Egypt. The constellation Ursa Major in Egypt was interpreted as the Typhonic Beast, Seth's totem animal. This hypothesis is supported by the long tail with which the Ursa Major was subsequently depicted on star maps. In the Testament of Solomon, the Persian equivalent of Seth, Aishma-Deva, known as Ashmedai or Asmodeus, is associated with Ursa Major. In ancient Sumer, the stars of this constellation were associated with the seven greatest demons, or the seven heads of the Dragon, the constellation of which included the stars of the Big Dipper. The seven-headed Egyptian dragon Apop was identified with the Sumerian Tiamat, the great dragoness killed by Marduk.

The animal of Set, Sha. Because Set was identified with the Greek monster Typhon, this animal is also known as the Typhonian animal or Typhonic beast. Drawing by Ernest Budge after the original

The ancient cult of the Great Bear is known in the traditions of many peoples, as  the World Center, symbolically represented by the North Star.

The connection of the Big Dipper asthe World Center is not surprising: this association came among all peoples living in northern latitudes. The World Center was not always identified with the North Star, although in one form or another tis present in many cultures. However, the Big Dipper was associated with the World Center long before the Little Dipper shifted to the area of the North Pole of the sky. It should be emphasized that the latter happened relatively late. About three thousand years ago, in the era of Ancient Sumer and Ancient Egypt, the North Pole was marked by the star Thuban - the brightest star of the constellation Draco, which wraps its rings around both Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

The slow shift of the starry sky, as a result of which one or another star appears at the North Pole, is called precession in astronomy, or the advance of the equinoxes. The same phenomenon explains the shift of the zodiacal constellations relativly to the equinox points.

The average time ofmthe equinox point stays in one zodiacal constellation is about 2000 years. This is also the reason for the change of astrological eras (for example, the transition from the current era of Pisces to the coming era of Aquarius). Aries is traditionally considered the sign of the vernal equinox, but in reality the equinox point moved from the constellation of Aries to the constellation of Pisces many centuries ago. Before the long-awaited era of Aquarius arrives, the equinox point must pass about a third of the constellation of Pisces.

The legend of the dragon slayer is associated with the shift of the North Pole of the sky from the star Thuban to the North Star Polaris. It is noteworthy that many dragon slayers have names associated with the image of a bear: for example, the name "Beowulf" means "bee wolf", that is, "bear", and the name "Arthur" comes from the Latin "bear". At the same time, the family name of King Arthur, Pendragon, means "dragon's head". Other dragon slayers are associated with the constellation Orion, which is sometimes depicted as trampling the head of a dragon (although this dubious honor is more often attributed to the constellation Hercules). Orion and Hercules are two of the most important characters in star legends: they were identified with the consorts and co-rulers of the Goddess.

In Ancient Egypt, the Orion constellation was interpreted as an image of Osiris, and the Hare constellation located below it was interpreted as the burial boat of this god. The Draco constellation was assigned the role of Apop. The prototype of all dragon-slayers was the Sumerian god Marduk, to whom the later images of Adad, Melkart, and so on go back. By killing the dragon, the god thereby asserts his dignity and turns from a doomed, dying deity into an immortal co-ruler of the Goddess or even the supreme god.

A better-known image of the underworld boat is the constellation Argo, which, along with the star Sirius and the constellations of Orion and Canes (Great and Small), has attracted the attention of many authors. However, the same authors often overlooked the two Ursa Major and the key place they occupy in stellar mythological cycles. An example of the role that the Ursa Major played in the mysterious cults of antiquity is the witches' counter-solar dance. In all likelihood, this practice is associated not with the movement of the Sun, deliberately reversed, but with more ancient ritual dances that imitated the movement of the Ursa Major around the North Pole of the sky. This constellation marks the four quarters of the year - the four main Sabbaths.

Modern followers of the witchcraft traditions, like their predecessors, especially revere the northern part of the sky - the circumpolar region, which includes the constellations of Draco and Ursa Major.

The Yezidis also revere the north as a sacred side of the world, practice counterclockwise circular motion, and so on. The origin of such rites should undoubtedly be sought in one of the ancient cultures knowledgeable in astronomy.

The Sabaeans inherited their knowledge of the starry sky from the Chaldeans, that is, from late Babylonian sources, which in turn originated in Ancient Sumer. The Yezidis as an ethnic group (and not as a religious community) claim descent from the Assyrians, another people who retained many of the cultural traditions and beliefs of the Sumerians.

The calendar dates of the witches' sabbaths deserve special attention: the constellations through which the Sun passed in ancient times on these days constitute a very remarkable group. Any more or less educated occultist knows that symbolic living creatures are associated with the four cardinal directions: Taurus (Bull), Leo, Eagle (or Snake) and Man, which, in turn, are associated with the constellations of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius. The third of these symbols is ambiguous for the reason that three animals are associated with the constellation of Scorpio: the Eagle, the Snake and, actually, Scorpio. In general, this quartet of archetypal symbols dates back to the era when the point of the vernal equinox fell on the constellation of Taurus. Accordingly, Leo denoted the summer solstice, Scorpio - the autumn equinox, and Aquarius - the winter solstice. However, due to precession, the position of these constellations relative to the equinoxes and solstices has changed, and now they fall on the dates of the four main witches' sabbaths:

(The name of the month "Shvat" comes from "Shabbatu", the ancient Babylonian month corresponding to Aquarius.)

In the Northern Hemisphere, the dates of the Sabbaths coincide with remarkable and very appropriate astronomical phenomena. Thus, on Walpurgis Night, the constellation of the Dragon reaches the highest point of its annual cycle.

The position of the two Bears and the Dragon on Walpurgis Night

Capricorn reaches the highest point of its annual cycle on Lammas, and Orion on Halloween. On the winter solstice, Sirius reaches its maximum southern declination and becomes visible for a time in northern latitudes.

As noted above, the Big Dipper is clearly associated with the "left hand" deities - infernal or chthonic deities. In particular, the front leg of this constellation in Ancient Egypt was identified with Seth, whose cult developed long before the Second Kingdom. Seth was once a very popular god and did not evoke ominous associations: he was revered as the patron of Upper Egypt along with Horus, the ruler of Lower Egypt. The corresponding constellation, apparently, was interpreted not as a bear, but as the Typhonic Beast - Seth's totem animal. This hypothesis is supported by the long tail with which the Big Dipper was subsequently depicted on star maps.

Typhonic Beast superimposed on the stars of Ursa Major

In the Testament of Solomon, the Big Dipper is associated with the Persian equivalent of Seth, Aishma-Deva, known in demonology as Ashmedai or Asmodeus. In ancient Sumer (and later in the Assyro-Babylonian tradition), seven demons were associated with the stars of this constellation: Idpa (Fever), Namtar (Underworld Magician), Utuk (Spirit), Alal (Destroyer), Gigim (Spirit), Relal (Evil Demon/Warrior), and Uruku (Bloodsuckers). In the Middle East at that time, they were considered the greatest of demons.

These demons were considered as the archetypal seven heads of the Dragon, whose constellation included the stars of the Big Dipper. Apop, the seven-headed Egyptian dragon, was identified with Tiamat, the Sumerian great dragon who was killed by Marduk. This primeval goddess is the prototype of the biblical monster Leviathan. Few people know that this same dragon appears unnamed in the pages of the Apocalypse and, of all the biblical books, is the only one described as having seven heads. Many later biblical books go back to Ugaritic literature and find numerous parallels in it. In some biblical texts, Tiamat or Leviathan appears as the personification of the "city of sins", so it is not surprising that in the Apocalypse the whore of Babylon sits on a seven-headed dragon.

The most famous constellations are included in the zodiac belt: almost everyone knows their names these days. Many can even list the zodiac constellations in order, but few are able to recognize them in the sky. These groups of stars were identified in ancient times; in their current composition, they were mostly known to the Babylonians, who, in turn, inherited the astronomical knowledge of the Sumerians, which developed in the era when the North Pole of the sky was Thuban as a north celestial pole in constellation of Dragon. Among the most ancient constellations are Cancer and Capricorn, which in itself is quite curious, because these groups of stars are not very remarkable and are not particularly spectacular even when observed through a telescope. However, in ancient times, these two constellations marked the points of the summer and winter solstices. In Chaldean -Babylonian astronomy, the constellation Cancer was called the Gate of Men: it was believed that souls seeking to incarnate in human bodies entered through it. Capricorn, for its part, was called the Gate of the Gods: through it souls ascended to heaven.

The cycle of myths about the constellations of this part of the sky, based on Greco-Egyptian symbolism, but going back to even more ancient times, is briefly as follows: The Milky Way personifies the river of the underworld and serves as its celestial double. In two places, namely, in the constellations of Cancer and Capricorn, it intersects with the ecliptic, along which the zodiac belt is located. The boat of the underworld - the boat of the Egyptian Ra and the Greek Charon - is represented in the form of the stellar Ship Argo, whose fifty oars are symbolically connected with the cycle of Sirius B - a satellite of the star Sirius. (In addition, the Great Year in ancient times was measured in centuries, that is, double fifties, with the only amendment that the years were counted according to the lunar, not the solar calendar.)

The same oars symbolize the Sumerian spirit judges, the Anunnaki. The god of the underworld is Orion, sitting in his own boat, the image of which was considered to be the modern constellation of the Hare. The gatekeeper of the underworld - the Greek Kerberos or Egyptian Anubis - is represented by the constellation Canis Major and its main star, Sirius(Sopdet - also known as Sothis) The underworld itself, reflected in the zodiac belt, is divided into twelve parts, and you can only exit it in two places: through the Gate of People or through the Gate of the Gods. They lead from one river (the zodiac) to another (the Milky Way). These two heavenly rivers are reminiscent of the four underground or heavenly rivers from Greek and Semitic mythology, and also evoke associations with the White and Blue Niles of Egypt. Initially, they were associated with two Sumerian rivers - the Tigris and Euphrates. Some researchers identified the goddess Tiamat - the heavenly dragon - with the Milky Way. But in reality, the Underground Dragon, through whose body the traveler passes on his afterlife journey, has always been associated with the zodiac. Tiamat herself in Ancient Sumer was identified with the fog that rose above the rivers of Mesopotamia and crawled across the plain like a giant snake. But it is still more likely that this chthonic goddess had two correspondences - not only physical, earthly, but also heavenly.

Sirius' position in the winter solstice sky

The zodiac dragon is by definition annular:. According to legend, a dragon not only encircled the world with its body, but also coiled around the World Mountain or World Tree. In Greek and Semitic mythology, a dragon  guards the forbidden fruit on a tree growing in the center of the world. The constellation Draco was identified with all these mythological dragon guardians. It is also worth adding that in the Sumerian-Babylonian star myths, heavenly spirits were divided into two categories.

The first category included the children of Anu, the underground judges, the Anunnaki, who can be identified with the fifty rowers of the Argo Navis. These are the spirits of the stars located below the horizon, in the underworld. The second category included the Igigi, the spirits of the stars located above the horizon. They were also associated with Anu, the Sumerian god of the sky. In Mesopotamia (and further north), the Igigi included the Dragon, the Big Dipper, and other circumpolar ever-setting constellations. On the other hand, Canis Major, the Argo Navis, and Orion, which remain invisible most of the time in northern latitudes, were considered Anunnaki. Tiamat combines both functions: as a celestial dragon, she belongs to the Igigi, and as an underground river, to the Anunnaki.

The stars of the Big Dipper are the Igigi: they represent the seven heads of the dragon and the seven gods of the World Center, or World Mountain, the most sacred place of the star cults, associated with the North Pole of the sky. Negative functions were attributed to these seven gods, or spirits, much later, after the North Star came to the North Pole of the sky. Initially, these stars were identified with the seven sages, the seven great teachers (like the seven spirits of Mount Meru, the Indian World Mountain, located in the north), and in some cultures, especially in the shamanic traditions of Siberia and Mongolia, they retained this high status, in India they called the seven sages.

Seven Sages

In the shadow of the "civilizing" gods, there remain little-known mysterious creatures, references to which have been preserved in many ancient cultures. These are the so-called seven sages. The origins of the legend should be sought in ancient Sumer - this is where the most ancient and least distorted information is found. In Sumerian mythology, the seven sages-assistants of the god of wisdom Enki were called Abgallu ("great father", "old man"). In Akkadian, they were called Apkallu ("sage, advisor"). The ancient Indian Rigveda also tells of the seven main "great rishis". Here they bear the epithet of "divine", "fathers" and are mentioned together with the gods, identifying with the seven stars of the Big Dipper. In ancient Iranian mythology, which has common roots with Indian, the seven sages were transformed into "holy immortals" - Amesha-Spenta. From the Mesopotamian Abgallu and the holy immortal spirits of Amesha-Spenta, the legend of the seven supernatural beings migrated to Judaism. Jerusalem Talmud (Rosh Hashanah I, 2; Bereishit Rabbah, 48): "The names of the angels were brought by the Jews from Babylon."

The Seven Sages (ancient Greek: οἱ ἑπτὰ σοφοί) of the ancient Greek tradition are especially revered politicians and public figures, thinkers of the 7th-6th centuries BC.

The myths of many nations contain a plot about how gods pass on knowledge, technology and culture to people. Such gods can be conventionally called "civilizers". But the role and essence of mysterious creatures who also had a "civilizing" function, the so-called "seven sages", are not so obvious.

The origins of the legend should, as usual, be sought in ancient Sumer. It is there that the most ancient, and the least distorted information about the seven sages is found.

In Sumerian mythology, the seven sages and assistants of the god of wisdom Enki were called Abgallu (abgal, abba-gal "big father", that is, "old man"). In Akkadian, they were called Apkallu (apkallu or tin-talku, "sage, adviser"). According to legend, these sages were created by Enki and came to people from the world ocean Abzu, which is reflected in their name (Ab - water, Gal - big, Lu - man). References to the Abgallu are found in the "Uruk list of kings and sages" (165 BC), Berossus's "Babylonica", the "poem of Erra" and in tablets with spells.

There were distinctions between pre-flood and post-flood sages. The first Sumerian kings (who ruled before the Great Flood) were served by the Abgallu sages as advisers and ministers, and were also priests of the god Enki. But, apparently, they were not just selfless assistants and benefactors, but were assigned by the gods to the kings to perform a control and supervise. It is no coincidence that in the "Uruk List of Kings and Sages" next to the name of each ruling king there is always the name of a "curator"-sage. Moreover, before the flood, the seven sages are called "Abgallu", and after the flood, the word "ummanu" (ummianu, "master, mentor") is used, meaning a wise man, which separates and distinguishes them from the semi-divine Abgallu.

The names and brief characteristics of each Abgallu have come down to us, which, however, does not make them any more understandable:

Uanna, "who completed the plans for heaven and earth", Uannedugga, "who was endowed with all-round intelligence", Enmedugga, "who was destined for a good destiny", Enmegalamma, "who was born in a house", Enmebulugga, "who grew up in a pasture", An-Enlilda, "the magician of the city of Eridu", Utuabzu, "who ascended to heaven". The sages founded the first seven Sumerian cities and were also the keepers of the divine "me" or "tablets of fate". The Sumerian word "me" or "me" means mysterious and powerful divine powers, knowledge, technology, concepts. The Sumerians believed that some of the "me" were transmitted to people by the gods through their intermediaries - the seven sages of Abgallu, who also taught people the crafts and arts received from Enki, who, in turn, received the "me" from the god Enlil. They were considered the priests of Enki, born in the river, builders of temples and executors of divine plans for the arrangement of Heaven and Earth. They were the recognized architects of the Uruk temple of Eanna.

In Sumerian times, Abgallu were depicted as long-bearded humanoids dressed in fish scales. In Assyrian and Babylonian art, they were depicted as half-human, half-fish, people with bird heads and/or wings. Of course, the presence of some mythical creatures only among the Sumerians does not prove anything. However, legends about the seven wise men are also found in other regions, for example, in Ancient Egypt.

The Builder Texts (c. 200 BC), inscribed on the walls of the Temple of Edfu in Upper Egypt, tell the story of the Temple of Edfu itself, describing its rooms and their ritual purpose and importance. The Temple of Edfu in its present form was built over a period of almost two centuries (between 237 and 57 BC); however, it contains elements dating back to the Pyramid Age, and the texts on its walls may themselves recount a very ancient tradition.

The Edfu Builder Texts mention "sages", of whom there were seven. Their special role was that they were "the only divine beings who knew how to create temples and holy places in general". They were the initiators of construction on the "Great Primeval Mound". This work, in which Thoth also took part, included the layout and construction of the first "mythical" temple of the First Time. The structure erected under the guidance of the seven sages was called hwt - ntr, which means "the palace of the god", quote: "Erected quickly" they called it. Inside it is a sanctuary called the "Great Throne", and all its chapels are arranged as they should be. Unfortunately, of all the ancient Egyptian texts, references to the "seven sages" have survived to this day only in the Edfu Builder Texts.

According to the Edfu texts, the Seven Sages and the other gods came from an island, the “homeland of the primeval ones.” The texts insist that the island was destroyed by a flood, that it perished suddenly, and that most of its “divine inhabitants” drowned. Arriving in Egypt, the few who survived became “the builder gods who ruled over everything in the primeval age, the lords of Light… the phantoms, the ancestors… who raised the gods and men… the elders who arose in the beginning, who illuminated this land as they walked together.”

The Vedic Indians also knew about the sages. The Hindu religious tradition considers the Vedas to be “apaurusheya” — “uncreated by man,” eternal divinely revealed scriptures that were given to humanity through holy sages. The Vedas — from the Sanskrit word meaning “knowledge” or “wisdom” — are believed in India to be the custodians of prehistoric teachings that are older than any surviving written copies. According to modern Indological scholarship, the oldest Vedic text, the Rigveda, was first written down around the 16th century BCE, but was at least a thousand years in the making. The Vedas are believed to have been passed down orally “by inheritance through select families in the Brahmin communities of India” for thousands of years before being compiled into the “books” that have come down to us.

The Rigveda already tells of the seven main "great" rishis. There they bear the epithet of "divine", "fathers" and are mentioned together with the gods. They do not yet have specific names. In the Shatapatha-brahmana they are already individualized and receive names. The seven Rishis were identified with the seven stars of the Big Dipper.

Manu saves Saptarishi from the Flood. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The seven spiritual sons of Brahma in Indian mythology are called Manasa-putra (in Sanskrit "sons of the spirit"). They are considered the creators of the Universe and the progenitors of all living beings.

These sages are so important that during the Great Flood, the gods order them to be saved first. The Mahabharata (Book of the Forest, Chapter 185) retells the Matsyaka Purana, which tells how Brahma, in the form of a fish, orders the Indian "Noah" Manu to take seven holy sages and plant seeds into a boat to save them from the Flood.

The Rig Veda also mentions the Adityas, the seven cosmic deities headed by Varuna. These lower deities resided in the sky and were considered the sons of Aditi ("infinity") and the sage Kashyapa. There have been attempts to draw a parallel between them and the Zoroastrian Ameshaspends.

In the mythology of the ancient Iranians, which has common roots with the Vedic Indian, the seven sages were transformed into "holy immortals", in the Avestan language - Amesha-Spenta. In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha-Spentas are the six highest spirits of the kingdom of light, patrons of good: from them comes the creation of all visible, good things and by their decision everything perfect and good is realized and preserved. And although there are six Amesha-Spentas themselves, but together with the god Ahura Mazda (in Avestan - "Wise God"), whose closest assistants and confidants they are, the Amesha-Spentas make up the "holy seven" (seven).

In the later Persian religion, each of the Amesha Spentas was credited with patronage over a specific area of life's creativity. To explain the essence of the Amesha Spentas, the metaphor of six candles lit from one candle is usually used. Perhaps this metaphor is the origin of the symbol of the menorah, or seven-branched candlestick of the Jews, described in the Bible as "six branches coming out of a lampstand" (Ex. 25:31-36).

From the winged messengers of the Abgallu of Mesopotamia and the holy immortal spirits of the Ameshaspents of Persia, the legend of the seven supernatural beings migrated to the religion of the Jews. This is even recognized by the rabbinical tradition: “The names of the angels were brought by the Jews from Babylon” (Jerusalem Talmud, Rosh Hashanah I, 2; Bereishit Rabbah, 48).

The Greek word "angelos" is a direct translation of the Hebrew "malakh" (messenger, envoy). Of the seven angels of the Jewish religion, only three are named in the Tanakh (Old Testament): Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. The other four, Oriel, Reguel, Sariel, and Jerahmiel, are mentioned in non-canonical literature (the Book of Enoch).

In the Orthodox tradition of Christianity, the names of the seven angels (archangels) are revealed to people: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Jehudiel, Selaphiel, Varahiel. At the same time, the first four Angels are considered "biblical", that is, their names are directly named in the Scripture, and the last three are known from the Holy Tradition.

The Seven Archangels as chiefs over the myriads of angels (the heavenly host) are also called archistratigs in the Christian tradition. Seven angels are mentioned in the book of Tobit: "I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who offer up the prayers of the saints and ascend before the Glory of the Holy One" (12:15). And in the Apocalypse: "the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches" (1:20).

Cathedral of the Seven Archangels. Russian icona. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In Islam, angels are called by the Hebrew word "malak". The companion and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, Ibn Abbas, mentions the angels of the seven heavens - Ismail, Mikail (or Shamail), Saidayil, Salsail, Kalkail, Samkhail and Rufail (or Barmail).

But the memory of the seven wise men lived not only in the religious tradition. It is known that the culture and science of Ancient Greece were greatly enriched by borrowings from Mesopotamia. Having become acquainted with the Babylonian legends about the seven wise men, the Hellenes began to call their outstanding people that way. Since the 7th century BC, the list of "seven wise men" included especially revered thinkers, politicians, and public figures. And not only Hellas. It can be assumed that the title of "seven wise men" in Hellas was a "position" and not a title, since ancient sources provide various combinations of names, and only four are invariably included. Some authors mentioned the mythical poet Orpheus in this list. Echoes of the memory of the first teachers of humanity reached the Far East.

India and China are among the oldest civilizations in the world and have coexisted side by side for thousands of years. Since ancient times, there has been a cultural exchange between India and China. The first records of contacts between China and India appeared in the 2nd century BC. With the spread of Buddhism from India to China in the 1st century AD, contacts between the two cultures became more intense. During the Han Dynasty (2nd century), serious adaptation of Indian goods and ideas into the empire began. And not only via the Great Silk Road, but also by sea. Thus, the legend of the seven Indian rishis sailing on a boat could have entered the Chinese tradition from India. In the Celestial Empire, they became the Eight Immortals of Taoism.

Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Eight Immortals are a group of legendary sages in Chinese mythology. Each of them was the patron of a certain type of activity or social group, professional or age. The word "immortal" meant a saint, a celestial being, a sage.

While cults dedicated to various Taoist immortals date back to the Han Dynasty, the popularity and fame of the Eight Immortals as an established group first appeared during the Jin Dynasty (12th-13th centuries).

Why did the seven Indian sages become eight in China? There may be two explanations.

Firstly, Hindus love to exaggerate. If the Rigveda describes 33 deities, then in later sources one can find references to 330 million deities. Likewise, if the Rigveda mentions seven rishis, then in the Vayu and Vishnu puranas one more rishis is added to the seven, and in the Gopatha Brahmana (1.2.8) there is already talk of nine rishis. In such cases, one should trust more ancient sources.

Secondly, the time when the concept of the "seven sages" began to penetrate into Chinese soil (2nd century) and the time when the first mentions of the Eight Immortals (12th century) were recorded are separated by a thousand years. During this time, the Chinese civilization transformed the Indian sages beyond recognition, changing their names, images, characters, roles and even the number of rishis. As always happened in China, they filled the alien form with their content. Why were there eight sages? The fact is that eight is almost a sacred number even for modern Chinese. Eight is the number of wealth, prosperity and fertility. It is no coincidence that there were eight trigrams. According to Feng Shui, the number 8 is used as a protective sign. I think that the Chinese could not resist the temptation to add one sage to the seven "canonical" ones.

From India and China, the legend reached Japan, where the seven sages turned into the seven gods of happiness. They can still be seen today as netsuke figurines on the shelves of souvenir shops. Being representatives of three religions – Shinto, Buddhism and Taoism, they became part of Japanese New Year folklore. The seven gods of happiness sail on the mythical ship Takarabune, which means “treasure ship”. Their educational function is expressed in the fact that they carry “treasures” – magical objects, technologies and scrolls of books of wisdom and life. That is, knowledge. It is curious that all seven gods of happiness are of non-Japanese, Indian or Chinese origin, except for Ebisu. But his name also comes from the term “foreigner” or “barbarian”, so his Japanese origin is questionable.

Takarabune with the Seven Lucky Gods. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The memory of the seven wise men spread from India to the West. But in this direction the story degenerated into a fairy tale, in which the essence, role and context of the "seven wise men" were completely forgotten, only the concept itself was preserved. Overcoming borders, language barriers and religious strife, the book of the seven wise men (the Book of Sinbad, Sinbad-name, Michelet Sindabar, the Book of Sintipa, Dolopatos) traveled through countries and centuries. The story was written in India in Sanskrit, then translated into the Avestan language, from Avestan into Syriac and Arabic, and then into European languages. Hundreds of versions are known, including Hebrew, Armenian, Georgian, Turkish and Latin. Since neither the Indian original nor the Middle Persian intermediate link have survived, it is difficult to judge the content of the book. Here too, the tendency to increase the number of sages is evident: in early versions of the story there are exactly seven, and in later versions there are up to ten. The book about the seven sages has reached our times in the form of a fairy tale about a prince who was slandered by his stepmother and sentenced to execution, which is postponed due to the instructive and symbolic stories of the seven wise advisers of the king. In medieval Europe, translations (reworkings, alterations) appeared in abundance in all medieval European languages. The Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary states that in terms of the number of translations, except for the Bible, no book can compete with the story of the Seven Sages. In all these literary works, the seven sages act as a frame, that is, a means of mechanically combining disparate stories into a single whole. The original Indian tale may have its origins in ancient folklore and lie at the origin of works with a similar framing structure, such as the Indian Panchatantra, and may have served as a model for later works, from the tales of the Arabian Nights to Boccaccio's Decameron.

The plots of ancient legends in the centers of origin of civilizations converge in many details. Sumerian clay tablets tell of "seven sages" who "lived before the flood" and built the walls of the sacred city of Uruk. Egyptian texts are dominated by images of a "flood", the "primordial waters" of which, retreating, gradually reveal the "Great Primeval Mound". The ancient authors of the Vedas, through millennia, conveyed to us the message of seven sages - maharishis, who survived the flood in order to preserve and pass on to future generations the wisdom of the antediluvian world. The flood is also hinted at by such an indispensable attribute as the boat of the Eight Immortals in China and the "treasure ship" of the seven gods of happiness in Japan. And the sages always appear in the guise of enlighteners who escaped from a cataclysm that wiped everything off the face of the earth, after which they start from scratch at the dawn of a new era.

If we separate the bits of information from the later layers and mythical husks, we can conclude that the seven sages were demi-gods, possibly children or students of a curator god (Enki, Thoth, Brahma ets), to whom the gods passed on knowledge and technology for restoring civilization after the flood. Having ensured that the state and temple systems built by the gods functioned as they should, and having made sure that people had assimilated the knowledge and technology passed on to them, the demigods left the historical scene, leaving only a shaky memory of themselves.

Source: https://lah.ru/sem-mudrecov/