Crucifixion legends are found in the stories of Khrisna,Thammuz, Esus (Druid) and Mithra. What do you make of this, and why?
Here are some other images:
Dionysus
Krishna
Also, as everybody knows, the symbol of the cross played a role in many pre-Christian religions, even when not directly associated with crucifixion. Comments or observations?I don't have definite answers to this, but it intrigues me. I've been fascinated by the Aztec dieties Quetzalcoatl and Tonantzin from my early days in Mexico.
Here's a depiction of the Mayan cross in Palenque, Mexico:
The illustration below seems to me to suggest the most satisfactory explanation for the crucifixion of sun gods in religions around the world:
10 comments:
I don't know how that could have ever escaped my awareness, but I never even knew that other deities had crucifixion scenes as part of their religions.
I knew the Ankh stuff, but certainly not the rest.
Fascinating.
Is that where the Romans may have gotten the idea to use crucifixion as a method of execution? Romans were an assmilation culture, conquering everyone and absorbing cultures from all corners of the known world.
It makes sense to me that they would use something that was recognizeable and ubiquitous to cement their role as consolidator of the common peoples that they conquored.
CV, I'm glad this was of interest to you! I had a very interesting conversation about syncretism and volitionism with some of the lawyers I hung out with last weekend. That, and the article you sent me about the Phillipines, got me thinking about this subject.
I added to my post as part of my response to your comment.
that's alot of 'isms'
I can tell you hang out with lawyers.
Don't let them rub off too much.
I put a sort of response to your post on my blog.
thanks for posting this
Ouch, CV! That really hurt! lol
A wheel rolls across the sky every day. It it too bright to look at closely, but all wheels have spokes in them right? If somehow we could look directly at the wheel, we would see the spokes....like a great swastika rolling across the sky. But we somehow can't.....quite.....look at it without being blasted and blinded, perhaps even forever.
Sometimes we see the great beams which make up the brilliance, and the strong posts which illuminate the clouds.
Every day, the diety which rides that wheel is born. Rises in the East. The earth warms, becomes fruitful, the chill of the night is banished. Its time is short however, for if it lingers, the earth becomes too hot, it dries out and the crops die. So in order that we may live, the diety dies instead.
But as the chill of the evening descends upon the earth, and we prepare ourselves for our own "little death" of sleep, there is always the hope, the assurance that tomorrow, the sun will rise again, and we shall wake to a new day.
Sounds reasonable to me.
Interestingly enough, most chariot wheels on steles inscribed throughout Egypt and Mesopotamia show the chariot wheels with four spokes. Don't know what excuse the ancient Mexicans (Incas) had though....since neither they, nor the Aztecs posessed knowledge of the wheel. But their representation of the sun was always a swastika.
Just a comment. Don't read too much into it. Regards
stag
That is interesting. I don't know that I thought crucifixion was just part of Christianity. I may be wrong but I also don't think the prophecys of the Messiah ever said how he would be killed. Just that he would lay down His life.
Well, McMom...there's the Zachariah (?) reference of "they pierced my hands and my feet..." etc, that some people believe to be a reference to the crucifixion.
What piques my interest is the number pre-Christian legends of crucified/atoning saviors.
Stag, the spokes observation is interesting! In addition to the daily birth, death, and resurrection of the sun and of all living creatures you referenced, there is also the equinox and solstice shown in the chart, around which the seasons and holidays revolve. The sun "dies" in the winter and is "resurrected in the spring, etc.
When I was in junior high, I had a science teacher who would only shave on the Vernal Equinox.
Totally off topic, but I have never forgotten it. He looked a little like Al Borland from 'Home Improvement'
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