Christian and Greek Religions: Similarities

[Klark]

I found myself thinking about the similarities between Christianity and the Greek Religion the other day, and I was surprised to find that they had a great deal in common. Even a major event for Christianity happened in the Greek's religion. Let's see if you can figure out the story from this outline.

A son is born unto a mortal mother who has no mortal father.

One line, that's all that's required to get the picture, one would hope. Jesus and Hercules (a.k.a. Heracles) were both sons that were born to mortal women and fathered by immortal beings. God waved his hand (apparently not one for premarital sex) and Mary was pregnant thus giving birth to Jesus. Zeus did the horizontal mambo with Alcmene, but he had disguised himself as Amphitryon (Alcmene's husband), and at any rate, his spawn was Hercules. Hercules twin brother, Iphicles, was the result of Amphitryon's mating with Alcmene after Zeus had done the deed. So, he's left out of the discussion.

Ok, so Jesus and Hercules grow up. Hercules comes to find out that he has the strength of no mortal man, he has the strength of the gods. A gift from his father. Jesus finds that he has the ability to heal people by his very touch, which no other mortal man can do. A gift from his father. So, Jesus heals people, thus saving them, and Hercules rescues people, thus saving them. Very similar, not exact, but still very similar.

The similarities go right down to the fact that they were both killed and resurrected. Jesus was crucified and then three days later he rose from the grave to enter heaven. Hercules was burned to death, however, Zeus bestowed mercy upon Hercules and resurrected him, where Hercules and his step-mother, Hera, reconciled their differences and Hercules went to Olympus.

It is a little difficult to nail the in between's however it's possible that Jesus and Hercules lived similar lives, even from what's not known. For instance, there are a great many years of Jesus' life that is not in the bible. So it's hard to say that he was all 'good' and never bad. Hercules, it's known, was not all 'good'. He did lose his mind for a time, but in order to achieve forgiveness, he set about doing his Twelve Labors.

I just thought that the similarities between the two were quite striking, almost more than one can ignore. I'm currently researching other similarities between the two religions, and I know there are some, but how about ya'll? Have you ever noticed any other similarities?

[DarkWolf]

He did lose his mind for a time, but in order to achieve forgiveness, he set about doing his Twelve Labors
Wasn't that when he killed his own family? You can barely blame Hercules for that when it was Hera who caused him to; out of hatred for him as being another living instance of Zeus's adultery.

And the bible did document when Jesus had a temper tantrum when people were using a temple like a market place: he shouted and threw chairs around and it was his, and only his, will. With Hercules - he had no choice it was Hera who made him insane then.

[Klark]

Of course there are going to be discrepancies (sp). If there weren't, it would be blatently obvious. I was just pointing out how the two of them seemed awfully similar in their beginnings and their ends and maybe a few things in between.

[Frostbeard]

There are tons of similarities like that to be found in most western mythologies. It's nothing new. Anthropologists have put it down to the idea that Western civilization sprouted from one people (Indo-Europeans is what they call them, if memory serves). Psychologists (Jungian ones, anyway) have put it down to the natural expression of archetypes contained in the human collective unconscious.

Personally, I tend to lean towards the Jungian side of things.

[adom]

I first noticed the similarities when I was comparing the Superman story to the Christ story (The Superman movie) and then realized it was just like Hercules. Meaning the Greeks wrote Superman, the Bible fleshed out the idea and we added Kryptonite and Lois Lane.

[Klark]

Uh...Superman's parents weren't the most powerful people in the universe, nor did he kill his own family...and he did have a mortal mother and a mortal father. The only thing that makes Superman so powerful is the yellow sun. Without it, he's a normal man, for the most part. He's an alien, non human. Hercules and Christ were both human. I'm afraid I can't see any similiarities between Superman and any religion.

[J.L.R.]

One problem, Jesus Christ was a real person, who died a real death. Many other religions teach the existance of Christ, but not His deity. Also don't the tales of Hercules, predate that of Christ's life? I'm not sure, but I believe they do.

As for Christ's "tantrum." Christ was the Son of God. The people were making mocking the temple of His Father. Is it wrong for a man to stand up for His Father or mother, if somebody offends them. I sure hope you do... Scripture says, "Get angry, sin not." Christ didn't hurt any of the people, He merely drove them from the temple. As the Son of God, He has the right to Judge, and to be the Judge, because He knows His Father's will and His Father's understanding. Is it wrong for a judge to pass judgement? No, that is what he is there for, so Christ as the righteous Judge, has the right to pass judgement on those who are offending His Father. Is it a sin for a father to punish a child when he or she does wrong? No... The punishment is there to direct the child in the direction he or she needs to go, because the parent knows what is good for them, and thusly doesn't want them to get in further trouble, so Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, and Heir to God's Kingdom is acting out of love. His testemony reveals that He is offended by those who abuse His Father's "House." He Loves His Father, as well as those who were doing the offending. If He had done nothing, then it would have made Him a hypocrite, since He says He loves His Father, but doesn't stand up for Him. The offenders then see Jesus Respecting His Maker, and they to Respect Christ for His stand.

The Bible teaches that ALL religion came from the same source, God. There was once ONE religion that our ancestors followed, however, as the Bible also reveals, as we grew in number, we went our own ways, and with that, the teachings changed as the cultures diversified.... That is sort of the short explanation...

So that is why you will find similarities such as sacrifice and atonement in almost all religions. They are all similar...to a point.

[DarkWolf]

sacrifice and atonement in almost all religionsException of the ancient Greek religion, which was poltheistic and predated Christianity, which didn't teach these values in name of any deity. Deities had power over their own "element" of life (love, earth, memory, etc) and nothing else. They had no associated morals with them and weren't depicted as solely good or evil. They were basically just personifications of things they didn't understand as a method of giving logic to what was previously illogical to them.

[adom]

Uh...Superman's parents weren't the most powerful people in the universe, nor did he kill his own family...and he did have a mortal mother and a mortal father. The only thing that makes Superman so powerful is the yellow sun. Without it, he's a normal man, for the most part. He's an alien, non human. Hercules and Christ were both human. I'm afraid I can't see any similiarities between Superman and any religion.
You have to look at the Superman Movie. The scene in the fortress of solitude when Marlon Brando says he sent his "only son" to Earth to lead man. In Smallville they have the prophecies. Looking for the differences won't help you find the similarities, but they are there nonetheless.