Classification of Animal Cults
When a god is respected or worshipped by means of a representative animal, an animal cult is formed (Teeter et al., 2002, p. 355). Such cults may result from early man's awareness of his essential equality with animals (Raglan, 1935, p. 331). Given this fundamental equality, it was just as reasonable for them to represent their gods in animal form (Gilbert, Qtd. in Raglan, 1935, p. 331).
Animal cults may be classified in two ways:
- according to their outward form;
- according to their inward meaning, which may of course undergo transformations.
Read more about this topic: Animal Worship
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