The Jesus story has a striking similarity to the much older Tammuz/Adonis myth of the ancient Near East. These were the original fertility Gods of spring, known for their exceptional beauty and perfection, who were slain by jealousy and resurrected by stronger Gods. The Jesus story is similar in that Easter, the celebration of his crucifixion and resurrection, is our primary fertility festival for the spring. The crucifixion borrows Adonis' slaughter at the hands of those who envied him, while his resurrection relates to him being reborn by a God after traveling to the underworld. Note that we are only relating the events in Jesus' story and not his personality or teachings.
Tammuz and Adonis festivals were celebrated in the spring and summer. The spring festival celebrated the growing of crops, while the summer one celebrated the harvest. In the Adonis myth, he spends a third of the year in the underworld, represented by winter; another third with his father in "heaven", represented by summer; and the other third with whomever he chooses, most likely a fertility goddess of spring since the thirds mark the two festivals above. These "thirds" are related to the number of days it took Jesus to return after his crucifixion: three.
The real meaning of this extension to Jesus is subtle but revealing. Man crucifying Jesus when spring began is likened to the season of agriculture ending rather than starting. It coincides with Adonis rising from the ground to begin his earthly fertilization. Later in summer, Adonis' return to the underworld was understood as the violent harvesting of crops, which could be interpreted as a sacrifice for the benefit of mankind. Jesus dying for the sins of humankind resembled vegetation (Adonis by extension) dying for the natural sin of hunger. Therefore, the shearing of crops in summer was symbolic of the slaughtering of both Adonis and Jesus. His resurrection three days later suggested another year would come, despite being a much shorter period than his predecessor's whole year.
The result is an archetypal compression of older myths that taught the importance of the seasons. As for Christmas, I find it convenient that our other major Jesus holiday- this time celebrating his birth- symbolizes a wider return to the underworld, where crops lay dormant before spring. It says to me that the extension is better summarized by both major holidays being involved in the Jesus version, not simply his death and resurrection. It's totally backwards that his birth would celebrate the death of life and his death would celebrate rebirth, but it fits the timeline better.
No comments:
Post a Comment