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Hercules and Jesus

GT/CS

Illuminator
GT/CS
Joined
Jul 22, 2007
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Sorry if the connection between Jesus and Hercules has been discussed and if it has please let me know in which thread. If it hasn't been discussed in detail I think it's interesting that the story of Jesus is basically the story of Hercules.

- Both were born by a mortal woman from a male god
- Both traveled the world performing miracles
- Kings wanted to kill both of them
- Both died and rose to heaven

The bible writers were the most notorious plagiarizers in history.
 
The literary style at the time demanded that a hero was required to have a magical birth. Thus, Moses gets floated down a river; Caesar is born so outlandishly the procedure was named after him; and Jesus gets a virgin and wise men. Christians weren't plagiarizing, they were creating a narrative that fit their sense of aesthetics.
 
GT/CS said:
Sorry if the connection between Jesus and Hercules has been discussed and if it has please let me know in which thread. If it hasn't been discussed in detail I think it's interesting that the story of Jesus is basically the story of Hercules.

- Both were born by a mortal woman from a male god
- Both traveled the world performing miracles
- Kings wanted to kill both of them
- Both died and rose to heaven

The bible writers were the most notorious plagiarizers in history.
Click to expand...
Even early Christians like Justin Martyr noted the similarities of Jesus with Hercules. From Justin Martyr's First Apology: http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/justinmartyr-firstapology.html

And when we say also that the Word, who is the first-birth of God, was produced without sexual union, and that He, Jesus Christ, our Teacher, was crucified and died, and rose again, and ascended into heaven, we propound nothing different from what you believe regarding those whom you esteem sons of Jupiter. For you know how many sons your esteemed writers ascribed to Jupiter: Mercury, the interpreting word and teacher of all; AEsculapius, who, though he was a great physician, was struck by a thunderbolt, and so ascended to heaven; and Bacchus too, after he had been torn limb from limb; and Hercules, when he had committed himself to the flames to escape his toils; and the sons of Leda, and Dioscuri; and Perseus, son of Danae; and Bellerophon, who, though sprung from mortals, rose to heaven on the horse Pegasus...

And when they heard it said by the other prophet Isaiah, that He should be born of a virgin, and by His own means ascend into heaven, they pretended that Perseus was spoken of. And when they knew what was said, as has been cited above, in the prophecies written aforetime, "Strong as a giant to run his course," they said that Hercules was strong, and had journeyed over the whole earth...​
Coincidences? Or plagiarisms?
 
Jesus Christ said that the meek shall inherit the earth and died on the cross to redeem the sins of all humanity.

I missed that about Hercules?
 
MikeG said:
Unsupported assertion. Try to do better.
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It does not matter a hoot that it can or cannot be proved . He is reported to have said it .
End of .
And if it was actually said , then it proved a damned savvy way to build a club .
Looks like a win/win for Jesus and/or his campaign managers
 
Malbec said:
It does not matter a hoot that it can or cannot be proved . He is reported to have said it .
End of .
Click to expand...

Did anyone who heard him speak during his life actually write anything down at the time?

Malbec said:
And if it was actually said , then it proved a damned savvy way to build a club .
Looks like a win/win for Jesus and/or his campaign managers
Click to expand...

Yep, you've fallen for the spin.
 
Now guys let's be nice to 16.5, he seems to have retired from a couple of threads, (a little battered perhaps), so let's see if we can cox him into doing a bit of independent, original thinking, on this one.
 
Thor 2 said:
Now guys let's be nice to 16.5, he seems to have retired from a couple of threads, (a little battered perhaps), so let's see if we can cox him into doing a bit of independent, original thinking, on this one.
Click to expand...

:D The little guy who sits at the back of a boat bellowing.
 
16.5 said:
Jesus Christ said that the meek shall inherit the earth and died on the cross to redeem the sins of all humanity.

I missed that about Hercules?
Click to expand...

But, but, but, 16.5, can you see the similarity in the story about Hercules and Jesus? One story is not going to be word perfect in relation to the other but there are a number of common points.

This is the way religious texts evolve, one culture borrows stuff from another, and a complete new thing is born.

Nice to see you here again.:) You seem to have vanished from another couple of threads.
 
GT/CS said:
Sorry if the connection between Jesus and Hercules has been discussed and if it has please let me know in which thread. If it hasn't been discussed in detail I think it's interesting that the story of Jesus is basically the story of Hercules.

- Both were born by a mortal woman from a male god
- Both traveled the world performing miracles
- Kings wanted to kill both of them
- Both died and rose to heaven

The bible writers were the most notorious plagiarizers in history.
Click to expand...

I would say the work was derivative, not exactly plagiarized.
 
Craig4 said:
I would say the work was derivative, not exactly plagiarized.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't exactly accuse Mark of plagiarism either. These Heraclean snippets, for example, didn't find their way into the biography of Jesus related in the canonical gospels.
After killing his music tutor Linus with a lyre, he was sent to tend cattle on a mountain by his foster father Amphitryon ...
Later in Thebes, Heracles married King Creon's daughter, Megara. In a fit of madness, induced by Hera, Heracles killed his children by Megara ...​
HeraclesWP.
 
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Thor 2 said:
But, but, but, 16.5, can you see the similarity in the story about Hercules and Jesus? One story is not going to be word perfect in relation to the other but there are a number of common points.

This is the way religious texts evolve, one culture borrows stuff from another, and a complete new thing is born.

Nice to see you here again.:) You seem to have vanished from another couple of threads.
Click to expand...

Yeah, humans are pretty good at seeing similarities and coincidences were none exist. Unfortunately you, like like numerologist share suffering from the same fallacious reasoning.

Correlation does not equal causation.

Zomg there are five words in that last sentence and the Roman number for five is v which stands for victory. Think it through sheeple!
 
Loss Leader said:
The literary style at the time demanded that a hero was required to have a magical birth. Thus, Moses gets floated down a river; Caesar is born so outlandishly the procedure was named after him; and Jesus gets a virgin and wise men. Christians weren't plagiarizing, they were creating a narrative that fit their sense of aesthetics.
Click to expand...

That one I'm pretty sure wasn't a thing at the time. Such a thing was known at the time but would definitely have killed the woman at the time and Gaius Julius Caesar's mother is well known to have lived well into his adulthood. I think the story arose much later.

ETA:Reading further it seems to actually have referred to a distant ancestor by the same name.
 
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