Jesus' birth story isn't his only myth. Other gods and goddesses played an important role in history throughout history, such as Attis or Dionysus. In fact, some of the earliest myths of Jesus were inspired by ancient Egyptian gods. We'll be looking at some of these characters and their stories in this article.
Horus
There is a great deal of debate about the similarities between Horus, Jesus and others. Both deities were popular in ancient Egypt and many of their stories are similar to Jesus. Both are distinct entities. While Christians often view Jesus as "savior of mankind", Egyptians considered Horus to have been a literal savior, who saved them from the venomous scorpions.
Historical evidence supports the similarity between Jesus Christ Christ and Horus. John the Baptist was the one to baptize them, but they did have no name for the Baptizer. Jesus was not able to identify all of his followers. Horus had at most four disciples.
Dionysus
There are a few Dionysus stories that are similar to the stories of Jesus, but there are some differences. The Greek god Dionysus was not crucified like Jesus, and his trials were not as public as those of Jesus. Dionysus was resurrected by Zeus and Rhea after he died, but Jesus did not die for our sins.
Jesus and Dionysus shared common interests. There were also many similarities between them and other ancient religions. Both shared the concept of divine birth, resurrection, and celebration. Both religions allowed women and children to participate. An initiation ritual was also part of the cult, which involved a winnowing bag full of phallus. This ritual was used to make a male initiate or neophyte and then to resurrect the initiate.
Attis
Many people argue that Attis stories resemble Jesus stories. In fact, Attis' resurrection myth is quite different. Attis is hanged from a tree and killed before being resurrected three days later. This is according to Greek mythology. Attis' mother is a virgin goddess like the Virgin Mary, but unlike Jesus.
In one version of the story, the god Dionysus puts wine in Agdistis' water and makes him sleep by tying a rope around Agdistis' genitals. He wakes up to find fruit from the pomegranate trees. According to Attis stories Cybele was Attis’ mother and rival to Mary.
Dionysus’ mother
Dionysus (Greek god) is the gods of fertility, ritual dance, mysticism, and mythology. He is mysterious, contradictory, and both gentle and terrifying at the same time. Euripedes, the ancient poet, called him "the gentlest yet fiercest". Euripides examines the god’s relationship with the JudeoChristian tradition in this play.
Dionysus' mother, according to the Odyssey is a woman. After conceiving Dionysus, she gave birth to him. His mother was named Semele. Her husband found out about her pregnancy and threw her child into a sea. She was later found dead, and Dionysus was raised by Ino in Brasiae. The plain of Brasiae was later known as the Garden of Dionysus.
Dionysus’ resurrection
Dionysus' and Jesus' resurrection stories are very similar. Both deities were killed and buried and then resurrected within three days. The myth of Dionysus' resurrection was likely corrupted, but some aspects of the myth were shared by the two gods. Dionysus’ resurrection story is more likely based in an older myth. It involves Attis, a god that was born of Nana. He died three days later and was then reborn in the same body. This is similar with Christian beliefs.
While the stories of Jesus' resurrection may seem very similar, they are quite different. Dionysus' resurrection story was based upon a myth that was written in the first century of AD, which was more than two thousand years after Jesus was born. A similar story was also shared by Prometheus, a mythological god of light and fire.