Customer Reviews

The Saturn Myth: A Reinterpretation of Rites and Symbols Illuminating Some of the Dark Corners of Primordial Society

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Talbott has laid the cornerstone for a revolutionary and brilliant approach towards explaining mythology and ritual from a historical point of view. His work is clear and convincing, though several details cannot be maintained. Unlike Velikovsky's he works his ideas out in detail and opens the way for multitudes of new ideas. This book might even exceed Velikovsky's work in importance as it does certainly so in scope.

"In the earliest age recalled by the ancients the planet -- or proto-planet -- came forth from the cosmic sea to establish dominion over the entire world. The planet-god ruled as the solitary, central light, worshipped as the god One -- the only god in the beginning.

"Saturn's epoch left a memory of such impact that later generations esteemed the god as the Universal Monarch, the first and ideal king, during whose rule occurred the prehistoric leap from barbarianism to civilization. Throughout Saturn's era of cosmic harmony no seasonal vicissitudes threatened man with hunger or starvation and men suffered neither labor nor war.

"Saturn 'came forth in overwhelming splendour. In the land it became day.' This does not equate Saturn with the 'sun on the horizon.' It means that the coming forth of Saturn inaugurated the archaic day, which began at sunset. So long as the solar orb was visible, the fiery globe of Saturn remained subdued, unable to compete with the sheer light of the former body. But once the solar orb sank beneath the horizon, Saturn and its circle of secondary lights acquired a terrifying radiance." -- excerpt, from the dust jacket

David Talbott has written a well-researched, interesting, and provocative book. At one time Saturn was much more visible than it is now; it rivaled the sun in its visual splendor and thereby tugged on the human imagination with comparable force. The difficulty with this picture of the past is that Talbott never explains how Saturn subsequently ended up as a small point in the sky lacking all the grandeur it supposedly once possessed. One can only guess at a Velikovsky-type scenario, but this is not plausible from an astronomical point of view. Talbott, with much learning, seems to be writing between the cracks of ancient Near East history and modern physical science, and his thesis lacks scientific backing. I suspect it also fails to persuade Egyptologists and ancient Mesopotamian scholars--those best situated to pass judgement on its historical and mythic content. This is to say that it is highly idiosyncratic. Still, it is much more stimulating and responsible than Velikovsky and von Daniken. Sometimes its fun to turn the kaleidoscope and Talbott lets you do that.

Mr. Talbott has researched this book well, but his interpretation is that Saturn was once revolving around the Sun in Earth`s orbit. From the standpoint of planetary physics, this could not have happened. The graphic symbols in question most likely represent the Earth revolving around its crystalline inner core. This is still a book well worth reading for the documentation of historical artifacts.