76 THE MAGIC OF JEWELS AND CHARMS
In
prehistoric times meteorites were quite naturally supposed to possess a
special sanctity, and were indeed regarded as animated by the very
essence of some divinity. The name baetylus, given to these stones by
Greeks and Romans, is derived from the Hebrew
(bethel) or
"house
of God," a term indicating clearly enough the belief held by the
ancient Hebrews in regard to meteorites, or supposed meteorites.
However, long before this designation had reached the Greeks, certain
meteorites had been accorded a peculiar reverence, and even worship.
One of these was a black stone, called the Omphalos of Delphi. This was
said to be the stone given by Ehea to Kronos when she substituted a
stone for her offspring Zeus, to save him from being devoured by
his father, Kronos. Zeus himself (or Kronos) threw it down to the Earth
and the spot where it struck was supposed to be the centre of the
Earth, hence the name Omphalos, or "navel-stone." Meteorites probably
played an important part in the development of civilization, for it is
believed that the earliest iron tools and weapons were made from
meteoric iron, apparently the only supply available before the art of
treating iron ores had been evolved.7
While
there is admittedly but scant evidence of the existence of a Stone Age
in China, and still less to indicate that Chinese civilization passed
through such a period, a certain number of stone artefacts, all
polished, have been found within the limits of China. However,
curiously enough in view of this state of things, we find that here, as
almost everywhere else, these objects were popularly regarded as
"thunderbolts." Thus Chien Tsang-Ki, the author of a Materia Medica, composed in the first half of the eighth century of our era, states that objects of this
* Miere, " Fall of Meteorites in Ancient and Modern Times," Science Progress, vol. vii, No. 8, July, 1898, p. 351.
