‘The miraculous birth of Jesus could be viewed as analogous to that of Horus, whom Isis conceived posthumously from Osiris, and Mary was closely connected with Isis by many other shared characteristics(1)’
Who are these the words of? Helena Blavatsky? Jordan Maxwell? Manly P Hall? No. These are the words of renowned Egyptologist Dr. Erik Hornung of the
Firstly, it is important for us to examine where the epithet Meri comes from, what it means, and where it is appropriately used in Hieroglyphs. It is important to note, that such an appellation was in no way exclusive to Isis, in fact, as asserted by Dr. Denise Doxey: ‘Among the most common epithets found in the Middle Kingdom inscriptions are those introduced by a form of the verb mri, ‘love’(3). However, to have the audacity to assert that such an appellation was never possessed by
Meri simply means ‘beloved’, ‘desired’, ‘delight’, ‘lover’, or ‘loving’(4) etc, and thus one would expect such a term to be used frequently in Egyptian scripture, often in reference to government officials, priests and Deities themselves. However, one should pay close reference to the context of ‘divine love’ being used, as before the New Kingdom such love was never issued by a subordinate, moreover it was passed on to subordinates by those of higher power (such as the deities themselves)(5). During the New Kingdom however, divine love was reciprocal, such as a King being loved by his people, and the King loving his people; this lead to the increasingly frequent application of such an epithet to the Deities themselves(6) - Resulting in them being invoked through divine love, and thus being known as ‘Mery’, or ‘Meri’. Doxey remarks that ‘Mry, followed by the name of a God or a Goddess is the second most common form of epithet referring to Deities’(7). As stated previously, Kings often had the epithet of Mery applied to them, usually in combination with that of a God or Goddess’, such as ‘Auset-Meri’(8), and ‘Ast-Meri’(9), literally translating as Isis Meri. Thus the King (here the subordinate) is receiving divine love from
It has been established that those said to be ‘loved by Isis’ would carry such an epithet accordingly, which in turn would leave
Regardless of this, the question is; would the Egyptian word ‘Mery’, have influenced the naming of the Christian successor, ‘Mary’? One should note that in the original Greek, the New Testament asserts Mary’s name to be, in actuality, Maria(14). Why then, was the name shortened to Mary? Could it be perhaps due to
‘Mary’ is often asserted to come from the Hebrew’ Miriam’, meaning ‘rebellion’. However, surely such a title would be nothing less than a misnomer? Mary certainly was no ‘rebel’ by any means, if anything she was the opposite – completely subservient to the will of God. Surely the term ‘the beloved’ would make much more sense, especially as Mary was a subordinate of God’s, thus perfectly adequate in receiving ‘divine love’ from a higher power. The Catholic Encyclopaedia itself asserts: ‘it is possible that their sisters name Mary was also of Egyptian origin…’(15).
As is perpetually clear, there is much evidence for this contention, although such evidence is all too quickly shunted aside by those who do not wish to hear it. For the sake of time, and conciseness I shall move on from this and now assess whether
I shall start with the Pashcal Chronicle, a Christian source, compiled in the 3rd cent. CE and finished around 6th century. Regarding this, Arthur Thompson states: ‘The Chronicle of Alexandria has preserved the traditions of the practice of exhibiting the sun on the supposed day of his birth as a new-born infant being held sacred in the mysteries of Egypt’, he then goes onto quote the Paschal Chronicle; ‘Up to the present time Egypt has held sacred the delivery of a virgin and the birth of her son, who is exposed in a cradle to the adoration of the people. King Ptolemy having asked the reason for this practice, the Egyptians told him that it was a mystery taught to their ancestors by a venerable prophet’(16). The original Greek is also provided from Thompson’s rendition – the word translated as virgin, is ‘parthenos’ thus verifying the rendition. The mention of Ptolemy is also of importance as it indicates that such a custom dates back to at least the time of the Ptolemies, that is; centuries prior to the Common Era. The custom being a ‘mystery’ also indicates that it wasn’t necessarily stressed to the masses; hence a less abundant record demonstrates such things
Furthermore, the solar hero being born in a manger, or crib, is further attested to by the Book of the Dead, in which reference is made to ‘the cradle of Osiris’, which Renouf identifies as ‘where Osiris renews his birth’(17), which, of course would be Harpocrates (Horus the child). A ‘birth stool of Osiris’ is also mentioned at Coffin Text Sp286(18).
Next we turn to the Egyptian Book of the Dead, in which the deceased identifies himself as Horus in chapter 66 and states ‘I know that I have been conceived by Sechit and that I am born of Neith’(19). Sekhet is another form of the dawn Goddess(20) who throughout mythology is dubbed inviolable, and thus a perpetual virgin; giving birth to the Sun every morning. Neith being presented as the mother of Horus gives a further indication of a virgin birth, or birth through parthenogenesis, as Neith’s tale is an example of ‘female parthenogenetic cosmogenesis’(21). Even the most mainstream of sources asserts Neith’s virginity, an astonishing admission; declaring her to be the ‘Great Virgin’(22). In Egyptian Neith is also transliterated as Nut or Mut, mother of Osiris and Horus the Elder(23). As per James Allen, Nut was the Sky Goddess, who gave birth to the Sun at dawn ‘between her thighs’, after the night-time in which the sun gestates in her womb(24). As we have previously noted, the dawn Goddess motif constitutes a virgin birth, Nut’s association with inviolability is furthered by Dr. Schmidt, who also relates Nut to the constellation of Virgo which shall be brushed upon later(25).
Another important Goddess to keep in mind is Mut, who is seemingly associated with Neith, especially in regard to their attributes. Mut was regarded as the ‘Mother Goddess of all
Dr. Cornelius P. Tiele, a professor of the History of Religions at the
The Goddess Neith was adorned in
Neith being associated with Athena is also indicative. Athena’s virginity was so highly esteemed that the name of her temple in
Regarding the dawn Goddess, it is perhaps important to also point out that numerous scholars have equated Isis and Neith with the sky, and thus the Dawn. Budge declares that Isis and Neith are ‘names of the sky, especially at sunrise and sunset’(40) He also remarks ‘As a nature Goddess she (Isis) is seen standing in the boat of the Sun, and she was probably the deity of the dawn’(41). Lockyer, concurs ‘
Now I’m sure you’ve all heard the myth of
The word for ‘virgin’ in Egyptian (in particular) is hwn’t(45), and as related by the Theological Dictionary; in a text in the Abydos Temple of Seti,
In closing, allow me to demonstrate Isis’ association with the constellation of Virgo since the first century C.E. Unfortunately, we have lost all works written by astronomer, and librarian of Alexandria, Eratosthenes. However, in the first century a work entitled ‘Placing among the Stars’ was attributed to him, which is generally considered to be written by a ‘Pseudo-Eratosthenes’. In Chapter 9, under the heading ‘Parthenos’, we find a discussion regarding the constellation of virgo, who, funnily enough, is related to
Much more information can be discovered in regards to this subject, and I would advise all interested to purchase ‘Christ in
(1) Hornung, SLE, p75
(2) See ‘debunking Zeitgeist’, or ‘A Scholarly Response to Zeigeist’, arguably, self proclaiming something to be ‘scholarly’ brings such ‘works’ into question. Such contentions will be demonstrated to be bogus in this video series.
(3) Doxey, ENEMK, p131
(4) See Allen J, AEPT, p97, 170; Faulkner, CDME, p111; Budge, EHRB, p429; Budge, EHD I, 310
(5) Doxey, ENEMK, p131, 132, 136
(6) Doxey, ENEMK, p132
(7) Doxey ENEMK, p132
(8) Budge, Mummy (1994), 102ff; Brugsch, EUP, xxv.
(9) Renouf, EBD, p113
(10) Proceedings for the Society of Biblical Archaeology XI, p272
(11) Budge, BD, p430; Faulkner, EBD, p120
(12) Griffiths, IB, p350
(13) Witt, IAW, p130ff, 133
(14) Murdock, CIE, p135
(15) CE XV, p464a
(16) Thompson, MOD, p481
(17) Renouf, EBD, p131-132; Faulkner, EBD, p108; Budge, BD, p235
(18) Faulkner, AECT I, p214
(19) Renouf, EBD, p128; Bunsen/Birch, EBD, p210; Budge, BD, p228
(20) Lockyer, DA, p31
(21) van Binsbergen, ST, p35
(22) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neith
(23) Morris, NW, p88-92
(24) Allen J, AEPT, p9
(25) Schmidt, BJUTBC, p52-53
(26) West, TAKE, p70
(27) Origen/Chadwick, CC, p36
(28) Budge, EHD I, p295
(29) Tiele, CHEMR, p204
(30) Temporini, ANR, p950; Zitman, E:IH, p192
(31) Bunsen/Birch, EPUH, p418-419
(32) Bonwick, EBMT, p113
(33) Plutarch/Babbit, p25
(34) Diehl, I, p97
(35) Turcan, CRE, p90
(36) Miscellaneous Notes and Queries, X, p66
(37) Ray, RO:LAE, p63
(38) Cicero/Brooks, p183-184
(39) Raphals, NW, p217
(40) Budge, AGFSER, p2
(41) Budge, EBD, cxiv
(42) Lockyer, DA, p29, p31
(43) Assman, DSAE, p25
(44) Curl, ER, p15
(45) Botterweck, TD, p338
(46) Botterweck, TD, p338-339
(47) Condos, SMGR, p205
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