_Æsculapius_, the great performer of miracles,[128:5] was supposed to be the son of a god and a worldly mother, Coronis. The Messenians, who consulted the oracle at Delphi to know where Æsculapius was born, and of what parents, were informed that a god was his father, Coronis his mother, and that their son was born at Epidaurus. Coronis, to conceal her pregnancy from her father, went to Epidaurus, where she was delivered of a son, whom she exposed on a mountain. Aristhenes, a goat-herd, going in search of a goat and a dog missing from his fold, discovered the child, whom he would have carried to his home, had he not, upon approaching to lift him from the earth, _perceived his head encircled with fiery rays, which made him believe the child was divine_. The voice of fame soon published the birth of a miraculous infant, upon which the people flocked from all quarters _to behold this heaven-born child_.[128:6] Being honored as a god in Phenicia and Egypt, his worship passed into Greece and Rome.[128:7] _Simon the Samaritan_, surnamed "_Magus_" or the "Magician," who was contemporary with Jesus, was believed to be a _god_. In Rome, where he performed wonderful miracles, he was honored as a god, and his picture placed among the gods.[129:1] Justin Martyr, quoted by Eusebius, tells us that Simon Magus attained great honor among the Romans. That he was believed to be a _god_, and that he was worshiped as such. Between two bridges upon the River Tibris, was to be seen this inscription: "Simoni Deo Sancto," _i. e._ "To Simon the Holy God."[129:2] It was customary with all the heroes of the northern nations (Danes, Swedes, Norwegians and Icelanders), to speak of themselves as sprung from their supreme deity, _Odin_. The historians of those times, that is to say, the poets, never failed to bestow the same honor on all those whose praises they sang; and thus they multiplied the descendants of Odin as much as they found convenient. The first-begotten son of Odin was Thor, whom the Eddas call the most valiant of his sons. "Baldur the Good," the "Beneficent Saviour," was the son of the Supreme Odin and the goddess Frigga, whose worship was transferred to that of the Virgin Mary.[129:3] In the mythological systems of _America_, a virgin-born god was not less clearly recognized than in those of the Old World. Among the savage tribes his origin and character were, for obvious reasons, much confused; but among the more advanced nations he occupied a well-defined position. Among the nations of Anahuac, he bore the name of _Quetzalcoatle_, and was regarded with the highest veneration.