the present time, and that it had existed only there. Subsequently, this harmony had been disturbed by the effect of the precession of the equinoxes. He therefore ascribed the invention of the signs of the zodiac to the people who then inhabited Upper Egypt or Ethiopia. His theory as to the origin of mythology in Upper Egypt led to the expedition organized by Napoleon for the exploration of that country. He then contributed to the Journal des savants a memoire on the origin of the constellations and on the explication of myth through astronomy, which was published as a separate fascicle in 1781. He came to the attention of Frederick the Great, who appointed him secretary but died before Dupuis could take up duties in Berlin. The chair of humanity in the Collège de France having at the same time become vacant, it was conferred on Dupuis, where he taught Latin eloquence, and in 1788 he became a member of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres. He now resigned his professorship at Lisieux, and was appointed by the administrators of the department of Paris one of the four commissioners of public instruction. After the start of the French Revolution, Dupuis fled Paris for Évreux, appalled by the massacres of September 1792, only to return when he discovered he had been elected to the National Convention, where he sat on the Council of Five Hundred, and was President of the Legislative Body after the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire. He left political life in 1802. Christ myth theory Dupuis believed in an impersonal God that permeated everything. Charles Bradlaugh has classified Dupuis as a pantheist. The beginnings of the formal denial of the existence of Jesus can be traced to late 18th century France, and the works of Constantin François Chassebœuf de Volney (1757–1820) and Dupuis. Volney and Dupuis argued that Christianity was an amalgamation of various ancient mythologies and that Jesus was a mythical character. In his book, The Origin of All Religious Worship (Origine de tous les Cultes), we find this intriguing reference to Zoroaster and Eiren. Erin/Eireann is Ireland's ancient name. <blockquote>The God of Light and of the good principle, informs Zoroaster, that he had given to man a place of delight and abundance.. this place was called Eiren, which at the beginning was more beautiful than all the world...Nothing could equal the beauty of this delightful place.</blockquote>