As was pointed out earlier, the epic of Gilgamesh is not only one of the oldest recorded stories known to man, but it was also familiar to Israel and may have been rewritten into the Old Testament. It should come as no surprise that, in addition to the New Testament, elements from the epic of [...]

Pythagoras is one of the most intriguing and mysterious figures in ancient history. Although today known only by his mathmatical legacy, he was much more than a philosopher or mathematician – he was also the founder of a very secretive spiritual cult with serious political influence, focusing on initiation of the worthy, purification, and salvation.
Born [...]

Osiris, Horus and Isis were three Egyptian gods that became increasingly popular in Greece and Rome; they formed a ‘holy family’ of sorts; Osiris was the father of Horus and the brother/Husband of Isis.
Osiris was Egyptian god of the dead, but also a vegetation and resurrection god. Although the story of Osiris is already told [...]

Orpheus was regarded in antiquity as the founder of mystery-religions; the first to reveal to men the meaning of rites of initiation (W.K.C. Guthrie). His father was Apollo (or Oeagrus, a Thracian river god) and his mother Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry. His magic power was his perfection of music – with his song [...]

“The correspondence between Christianity and the other mystery religions of antiquity are perhaps more startling than the differences. Orpheus and Christ share attributes in the early centuries of our era; and of all the major ancient deities, Dionysus has most in common with the figure of Christ. It was the son of Apollo, however, Asclepius, [...]

Tammuz (Sumerian Dumuzi) was the consort of Ishtar. He is mentioned, already in the Epic of Gilgamesh, as a suffering lover of the goddess, a shepherd beloved and scapegoat of the netherworld. When Ishtar tries to become Gilgamesh’s lover, he points out that her past lovers have not fared well. “Dumuzi, the lover of your [...]

The Story:
Cybele, (a Phrygian mother goddess whose cult was introduced into Greece by the 5th century BCE) rejected Zeus as a lover; but he spilled his seed on her while she was sleeping and she gave birth to Agdistis – a wild demon. The gods feared him so they cut off his testicles. From the [...]

Despite obvious similarities between Dionysus and Jesus Christ, like wedding wine miracles and Jesus’ statements about being “The one true vine”, these two figures may seem completely opposite: Jesus the meek and humble savior, and Dionysus the ecstatic, sexually active founder of wild, drunken parties… however on closer examination, there are themes that run between [...]

“The question will arise, By whom is to be interpreted the sense of the passages which make for heresies? By the devil, of course, to whom pertain those wiles which pervert the truth, and who, by the mystic rites of his idols, vies even with the essential portions of the sacraments of God. He, too, [...]