Category: Mythology
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The Crucifixion, Adam and the Tree of Eden
Numerous Christian authors from the third and fourth century onwards made the connection between the crucifixion, Golgotha and Adam. The church father Origen (185 – 254 CE) wrote, ‘I have received a tradition to the effect that the body of Adam, the first man, was buried upon the spot where Christ was crucified.’ (Commentary on…
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The Exodus as Allegory
Much of the biblical narrative relating to the bondage and exodus of the Israelites and the conquest of Canaan is clearly mythological. If there wasn’t a historical Exodus, as the archaeological evidence suggests, is there a possible allegorical meaning to the story? Allegory is after all the lingua franca of mythology and religion. A possible metaphorical…
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Noah and the Cycle of Flood and Conflagration
Flood myths were found all over the ancient world, but there’s no concrete evidence to suggest any of them ever represented a factual event. Many historical catastrophes have been proposed as the root of the myths, these include; a tsunami that might have followed the volcanic eruption of Thera in 1600 BCE; the sea level…
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Sky Gods Battling Dragons
We find a battle between sky god and dragon or serpent in numerous ancient religions and myths. In the Babylonian creation myth, Marduk fought and defeated the primeval dragon Tiamat, then split her body in two to create the sky and earth. In the Enuma Elish, Marduk twists and weaves Tiamat’s tail into the durmah…
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Further Adventures of the Serpent in the Tree
The motif of the serpent in the tree probably originates in ancient Mesopotamia. We find a possible allusion to it in The Myth of Etana. Tablet II tells of ‘A shrine for Hadad, the god. In the shade of that shrine a poplar was growing. In its crown an eagle settled, a serpent settled at…
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The Garden of Eden
The story of the original fall and the Garden of Eden is an easy myth to understand once one realises that a serpent (or dragon) in a tree is a scene that has parallels elsewhere in ancient mythology. The tree has been an important mythological metaphor for the world axis in many religious traditions. The…
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The World Tree and Holy Mountain
In religion, many symbols have been used to represent the world axis and the pole. These include the tree, column, ladder, cross, swastika, mountain, mill, whirlpool and hearth. Of these many motifs, the tree has probably been the most historically important, and it’s a simple metaphor to visualize. The trunk represented the central axis of…
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The Sacred Numbers Seven and Twelve
The numbers seven and twelve played a central part in ancient religion, particularly those from the first millennium BCE. In Greek mythology, Pan had seven reeds in his pipe, Zeus had seven consorts, and there were originally seven Titans. In Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq), the Babylonian goddess Ishtar removed seven items of clothing in her descent…
World Axis 