Tonight, we are going to have a blast from the past. This article was originally published on Freemasons Network. If you are unfamiliar with the Freemasons Network, it is essentially Facebook for Freemasons. Eventually, I will talk about the Freemasons Network, my personal take on the whole ordeal. As of right now, I would like to take you down memory lane with me as we take a look at a piece I wrote in my first blog ever, Cornerstone Central. It is no longer in operation on Freemasons Network, but it is what sparked the interest in what would become Celestial Brotherhood. It is amazing to look back and see where my mind was at one point in time and to see the style, the prose and everything else involving both Crafts that I have learned to love and enjoy, Freemasonry and writing. Please enjoy this piece discussing religion, Roman and Greek myth.
Religion and Freemasonry
By: Bro. Aaron Gardner
Original post on Cornerstone Central (Freemasons Network)
Today I would like to talk to you about Christianity and past religions/cults. Now, as a Catholic this will go against all of my teachings and up bringing. Yet, I think it would be important to discuss the similarities and how religion plays a role in our daily lives and has since the time of man.
I am not going to go back too far. I would like to start with one of my favorite Pagan religions and that is Greek/Roman Mythology. I love to study this because it still plays an important role in our lives. As we all know the star constellations are named after Greek gods, the planets are named after Roman gods. These two Pagan religions are extremely alike, which makes sense, considering where they come from. Over time the Greek god Zeus; the almighty, the brother of multiple main and minor gods became known as Jupiter through the Roman eyes. In description, Zeus is a loving, caring god of the people as well as all the Greek gods with a few exceptions. In Roman times as Jupiter, he isn’t too fond of the people and is distant. It was part of Greek culture to be more caring of others and not so much into war. Therefore, the Greek version of these gods reflected how the people were. It was an easy way to relate to the supreme beings which governed their lives. Hence why when the Romans took over, the gods transformed into more distant war like gods. It reflected how the Romans acted upon their lives.
The few distinctions between the two, though very few, were very different indeed. Hades in Greek form was a feared god. Turned Roman, became Pluto and a main god. A god that was most loved by the Romans than by their counterparts in Greece. The next is Poseidon. A god of the sea, helping men travel across the vast oceans. In Rome, he was known as Neptune. Not such A loving god known to man. The Romans were deathly afraid of traveling over the seas because of this god.
The one god that didn't change so much is my favorite to mention, as for he represents my Zodiac and planet. Aries in Greece was the war god. Prayed to before a battle, colors were of the blood shed on the battlefield, not a nice god in Greece but a little understanding. He then became Mars in Rome. Loved and admired by the Romans. He was the god of war, protector of the wheat fields. Yet again, lets look at Roman culture. Nobody really refers to Rome without mentioning their supreme power and might on the battlefield. They were a war hungry nation of people, ready to conquer anything they wanted.“Veni, vidi, vici” is the exact quote from Julius Caesar, which refers to how they lived their lives. If you're not fresh on your latin it means “I Came, I Saw, I Conquered," in the best translation possible. Being that I don’t speak Latin I cannot tell you how accurate the translation is, but I am sure that it meant more than it appears.
Now, in reference to the gods of Roman and Greek era we can begin to see how the gods reflected how the people felt. Knowing Catholicism, I can show you that these gods did not disappear as many think they have. We all know that the Vatican is in Rome, which should lead us to believe that there will be some kind of similarity between Roman Mythology and Catholicism. Well, there is. Catholics pray to more than God or Jesus. They pray to what are called Saints, one being Saint Martin. He is the saint that protects farmer's fields… Sounds pretty similar to a protector of wheat fields known by Rome, the god Mars— that’s just a minor comparison. Let’s go into something a little deeper and more known by the majority. We know the Saint of the Blessed Mother Mary, the Virgin who gave birth to the believed Messiah, Jesus of Nazarene.
Let me take a step back because this may get rather confusing. You see, when Christianity came about many of the gods/goddess were merged. There are a few gods/goddess and stories that math Mother Mary’s attributes. First, anyone can tell you, rather you are Muslim, Jewish or Christian, Jesus was a messenger of God. He taught the Word to the people.
Who In Greek And Roman Mythology was known as the “Messenger of God”? None other than Hermes/Mercury, here’s a question for you... Who Is The Father Of Hermes/Mercury? None other than the biggest god of all the brothers, Zeus/Jupiter.
The story goes on with Zeus impregnating a mortal who feared the gods in the still of the night. Her name? Maia. Does that sound like any God fearing woman who gave birth to God’s son that we know of today? Doesn't it sound like a little Jewish girl by the name of Miriam in Hebrew, Maria in Latin or commonly referred to as Mary in English?
Next, let's talk about a woman named Alcmene. She is known as the devout wife of Amphitryon. She is also the unwed mother of Hercules. Zeus came to her disguised and seduced her. While giving birth to Hercules, she had complications. Hera postponed the birth to 7 days, according to myth.
Now, Let's Look At The Birth Of Jesus. At the beginning an Angel appeared to Mary and proclaimed to her that she would become pregnant with God’s child. Later, her husband Joseph was called to his home town for the census. Traveling with the, then pregnant, woman from Nazareth to Bethlehem would be difficult by necessary task. If you look at the distance between cities it is about 65 miles. It would be probably that the distance the couple could travel would be about 10 to 12 miles a day. This would have them arriving in Bethlehem (birth site of Jesus) around a week or so. The same amount of time that took Alcmene to give birth to Hercules.
Since I have already started talking about Hercules, let’s go into a little more depth of his role in Mythology. He was supposed to be this great hero that would rule Greece. However, due to the complications of his birth, his brother was born first and was raised to take over as the ruler of Greece. We have already discussed his birth, but what about his life? I will just talk about a little bit of it because his life was extraordinary. What I would like to talk about begins with the murder of his beloved wife, Megara, and his children. Hercules, was driven mad and murdered his own family. Feeling guilty of his sin, he asked an oracle what to do in order to rid of it. Oh how the might have fallen. The oracle suggested he go into servitude to his brother, Eurystheus, for twelve jobs. One of those jobs required him to travel to the underworld to capture the guardian of the gates, Cerberus. Who, of which was a three headed dog. He did many things on this mission, one was to roll away a stone in which Demeter imprisoned Aschalapus.
Now, this may sound a little familiar too. Just in a different context, Christians believe that the day Jesus died, he went to hell (The underworld), his main mission was to die for our sins, pay the price in Hell and rise again, so we will not have to go to Hell ourselves. In other words, he holds the key to our salvation of our afterlife. When he died God saw all the sins as his own and turned His head away from His son. He descended into the gates of Hell and formed a bridge for sinners like you and I to Cross into heaven. When he rose to the over world (Earth) it was Three days later, he rolled away the stone that imprisoned his body and visited different people, he then ascended into heaven to be seated at the right hand of God.
Key Point Comparison:
12 Working men (Disciples).. 12 Labors
3 Days until Resurrection to bring the possibility of not going to the underworld... 3 headed dog guarding the Underworld
The Birth complications of Jesus... The birth, complications of Hercules.
As you can see there are a lot of similarities that I have pointed out between Christianity and Mythology. There are many more which I haven't even begun to Scratch the surface oh how similar they truly are. Such as the methods in which Emperor Constantine performed to convert Pagans. But, I can not be the person to show them all to you. I encourage my audience to look into these things themselves and find what they can. After all, Masonry is about your own quest into Enlightenment. I know I haven't covered hardly any religion besides Christianity, even then I only just touched it. Please feel free to go ahead of me and look into other religions rather be your own or someone else’s. If you find anything that you find interesting inform me.
Now, if you began reading about Christianity and the similarities between mythology, my question to you: Is it ironic that these similarities have occurred between the myths, legends and Christianity; or are we worshipping the same deity in which the name and characteristics have changed to better fit our view? Through Masonry we find symbols that belong to pagan religions that are also a part of Christianity. Is it our mission as Masons to use these symbols in the proper and original context in which they were intended?
——————————————-End of Article——————————————-
I hope you enjoyed traveling back in time, to view some of my first ever articles. I hope it stimulates some thoughts and questions you have. I know it has awoken some in my own mind. Throughout the publishing of this article I edited a little bit here or there and added images, but my intention was to keep it as close to the original as possible just reflect on the past. Looking back at the ashlar I once was as a writer, and seeing the work I must still accomplish today as a writer.
—AG
