Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism
by Thomas Inman, M.D. (1874)

(The views and opinions expressed these pages are those of Thomas Inman and do not necessarily reflect those of seiyku.com)

Before Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code, et al.) made it trendy to squint at religious art and cry “conspiracy!” there was Dr Thomas Inman, a Victorian-era physician who looked at a cross and asked, “But is it really a cross… or something a bit ruder from Mesopotamia?”

Published in the 19th century (a time when beards were scholarly and symbolism was a contact sport) Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism is Inman’s bold attempt to explain how many of the sacred images hanging in churches might have roots less in divine revelation and more in fertility cults, sun worship, and the enthusiastic stonework of ancient goat herders.

With a microscope in one hand and a pagan carving in the other, Inman explores a world where every halo has a backstory, every sacred fish might be a fertility glyph, and no phallic monument is left unexamined (literally — his book has a lot of them).

If you’ve ever looked at a caduceus, a dove, or a circle inside a triangle and thought, “Surely this means more than meets the eye?” — congratulations, you're either reading Inman or have accidentally wandered into a Masonic lodge.

This book is half scholarly treatise, half eyebrow-raising scavenger hunt through religious iconography, and entirely the kind of thing your priest would rather you didn’t bring up during Bible study.

So grab your Victorian spectacles, prepare to clutch your pearls, and dive in to where Christianity meets classic paganism. The symbolism is rarely subtle and never boring.

Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism
By Thomas Inman, M.D.

Second Edition,
Revised And Enlarged,

With an essay on Baal Worship, on the Assyrian sacred Grove, and other allied symbols. By John Newton, M.R.C.S.E., etc.

Index

• Preface
• Introduction
• Pagan and Christian symbolism:

  - Plate I	- Plate II	- Plate III
  - Plate IV	- Plate V	- Plate VI
  - Plate VII	- Plate VIII	- Plate IX
  - Plate X	- Plate XI	- Plate XII
  - Plate XIII	- Plate XIV	- Plate XV
  - Plate XVI	- Fig. 1	- Fig. 2
  - Figs. 3-4	- Figs. 5-6	- Fig. 7
  - Figs. 8-9	- Fig. 10	- Figs. 11-12
  - Figs. 13-14	- Figs. 15-16	- Fig. 17
  - Fig. 18	- Fig. 19	- Fig. 20
  - Figs. 21-22	- Figs. 23-24	- Figs. 25-27
  - Fig. 28	- Figs. 29-32	- Fig. 33
  - Fig. 34	- Figs. 35-36	- Fig. 37
  - Figs. 38-45	- Figs. 46-49	- Fig. 50
  - Figs. 51-60	- Figs. 61-62	- Figs. 63-66
  - Figs. 67-69	- Figs. 70-71	- Figs. 72-73
  - Figs. 74-79	- Fig. 80	- Fig. 81
  - Fig. 82	- Fig. 83	- Fig. 84
  - Figs. 85-86	- Fig. 87	- Fig. 88
  - Fig. 89	- Fig. 90	- Fig. 91
  - Fig. 92	- Fig. 93	- Fig. 94
  - Fig. 95	- Fig. 96	- Fig. 97
  - Fig. 98	- Fig. 99	- Figs. 100-101
  - Figs. 102-104	- Figs. 105-106	- Figs. 107-109
  - Figs. 110-111	- Fig. 112	- Fig. 113
  - Fig. 114	- Figs. 115-116	- Fig. 117
  - Fig. 118	- Figs. 119-120	- Fig. 121
  - Fig. 122	- Fig. 123	- Fig. 124
  - Figs. 125-127	- Fig. 128	- Figs. 129-131
  - Fig. 132	- Fig. 133	- Fig. 134
  - Figs. 135-136	- Figs. 137-138	- Figs. 139-153
  - Fig. 154	- Figs. 155-156	- Fig. 157
  - Figs. 158-159	- Figs. 160-162	- Fig. 163
  - Figs. 164-165	- Fig. 166	- Fig. 167
  - Fig. 168	- Fig. 169	- Fig. 170
  - Fig. 171	- Fig. 172

• Appendix: The Assyrian Grove and other emblems