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Re: Theory of religion and "the sun" - June 6th 2010, 08:14 PM

Pretty much all of that came from the film "Zeitgeist"...and I'm afraid to say a lot of it is inaccurate from a mythology perspective. Here are a few of the problem areas:

1) The "cross of the zodiac" depicted in the film is a modern zodiac wheel, as shown by the presence of English text on it. The earliest form of English developed in the 6th century CE, placing it at least 500 years after the events of the New Testament. While the zodiac itself has been in use since Roman times, the "cross" is a relatively new development.

2) Horus was not born of a virgin (he was the child of Osiris and Isis, the king and queen of the Egyptian gods), was not visited by 3 wise men/kings, did not have 12 disciples and was certainly not betrayed by Typhon. Typhon is from Greek mythology, not Egyptian - he attempted to destroy Zeus because he had imprisoned the Titans. As Egyptian mythology predates Greek it would be impossible for him to appear in the original Horus story. Finally, he was not crucified and did not rise from the dead - all of this being down to the fact that he was already a god in Egyptian mythology, not a human manifestation of one. The comparison is unsubstantiated.

3) There is nothing within the Greek mythology to say that Nana, Attis' mother, was a virgin or human (she was the daughter of the river god Sangarius), that he was born on the 25th of December or that he was crucified. Indeed, it would be surprising were he born on the 25th of December because the Julian calendar did not exist. Similarly, neither Krishna nor Dionysus were born of virgins or on the 25th of December - Krishna was the son of the princess Devaki and her husband Vasudeva on the equivalent of the 18th or 21st of July, while Dionysus was either born of both Semele and Zeus owing to Semele being killed during pregnancy and Zeus sowing the foetus onto his thigh, or born of Persephone and Semele in the Cretan version. That's Greek mythology for you...In either event, no mention of virginity or reference to the 25th of December exists.

4) While Mithras was indeed born on the 25th of December in mythology, he was born from a rock and not a virgin, and there is nothing within the mythology of Mithras to back up any of the other claims made.

5) The 25th of December has never been definitively claimed to be the actual birth date of Jesus. It was instead chosen to give the early Christians a festival around the winter solstice to celebrate, and awareness of Mithran festivals played a part in this choice. Taking the Biblical aspect of shepherds watching their sheep, the speculated birth date is believed to be around spring or summer - in other words, the complete other side of the year.

6) The association of Virgo with the Virgin Mary was a Middle Ages development by Christians, not an occurrence at the beginning of Christianity. In Roman times the constellation and its respective sign was associated with Demeter-Ceres, who was the goddess associated with wheat. However, the sign of Virgo has never been referred to as "house of bread", and while Bethlehem is referred to as such in Hebrew in Arabic it is actually called "house of meat". Bethelem as a place is referred to in the Amarna letters dated c.1400 BCE, and is also referred to extensively in the Old Testament as the birthplace of King David.

I apologise for such a lengthy post, but it was necessary to explain the inaccuracies in the film. A lot of its claims are either based on misrepresentation or reliance on discredited sources. If you're interested there is a more detailed evaluation of the film's claims here: http://ct.grenme.com/index.php/Zeitgeist_Part_I


"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom

However bleak things seem, however insurmountable the darkness appears, remember that you have worth and nothing can take that away.

Quote:
Originally Posted by OMFG!You'reActuallySmart! View Post
If you're referring to dr2005's response, it's not complex, however, he has a way with words .
RIP Nick