Wandering Monk
Well-Known Member
So, I found this really interesting.
The Gospel of Luke says that at the time of Jesus' death the sun was darkened from noon for three hours. (23:44)
But Roman historian Vergil, who died in 19 BC, says that on the day Julius Caesar was assassinated, the sun was also darkened.
Ovid (died about 17 AD), commenting on the death of Julius Caesar says this:
It seems to me that the NT authors borrowed these motifs to set Jesus up as an alternate mythology, an antidote to emperor worship.
The Gospel of Luke says that at the time of Jesus' death the sun was darkened from noon for three hours. (23:44)
But Roman historian Vergil, who died in 19 BC, says that on the day Julius Caesar was assassinated, the sun was also darkened.
Who dare say the Sun is false? He and no other warns us when dark uprising threaten, when treachery and hidden wars are gathering strength. He and no other was moved to pity Rome on the day that Caesar died, when he veiled his radiance in gloom and darkness, and a godless age feared everlasting night. - Vergil, Georgics Books 1–2 – Theoi Classical Texts Library". www.theoi.com.
The Gospel of Matthew says that when Jesus died, there was an earthquake, and the bodies of many holy people were raised from the dead and they appeared to many people in Jerusalem. (27:50-54)
Ovid (died about 17 AD), commenting on the death of Julius Caesar says this:
The Stygian owl sounded its sad omens in a thousand places: in a thousand places ivory statues wept: and incantations, and warning words, were said to have been heard in the sacred groves. No sacrifice was favourable, and the livers were found with cleft lobes, among the entrails, warning of great and impending civil conflict. In the forum, and around men’s houses, and the temples of the gods, dogs howled at night, and they say the silent dead walked, and earthquakes shook the city. Still the gods’ warnings could not prevent the conspiracy, or fate’s fulfillment. Ovid, (Metamophoses, 15)
Jesus death is said to have occurred around 30 AD. That means the stories from Vergil and Ovid PREDATE the NT narratives.
It seems to me that the NT authors borrowed these motifs to set Jesus up as an alternate mythology, an antidote to emperor worship.