I realize that this article is controversial, but I think
that the evidence speaks for itself. My argument is that the earliest
depictions of Christ were actually based on those of Alexander III 'The Great',
King of Macedonia [b. 356, r. 336-323 BC] . I have chosen four images, two
"pagan", two Christian [labeled A-D] for analysis and comparison.
Image A is a plaster
cast of an archetypal 4th century BC coin of Alexander. Together with statues,
the most well-known sculpted by Lysspius, coinage [esp. that issued by
Lysimachus, one of his generals, in 297 BC] established the familiar image of
the king. Instantly recognizable are the mane-like hair, the tilted back head
and large eyes gazing heavenward [his doctor told him this would cure his
defective sight]. These pronounced features give the king's "strong,
handsome face a hint of pathos and fatalism" [Civilization: Ancient
Treasures from the British Museum, Canberra, 1990, pg 152.] He was only 32 when
he died in Babylon.
Alexander claimed to
be the son of the Zeus-Ammon, the Greco-Egyptian combination of their chief
deities. [In later Ancient Egyptian religion Ammon-Re was a Sun god.] The
king's divinity was proclaimed at the temple at the Oasis of Siwa, Egypt, in
331. On his coins he is depicted wearing the ram's horns of the god. I feel that
the loop of the horn combined with the Macedonian royal sunburst is the origin
of Chi Rho [XP], Christ's initials in Greek [see Image C].
Image B, probably the
most famous of Alexander, comes from the Battle of Issus Mosaic in the National
Museum, Naples. Taken from the House of the Faun, Pompeii, it was executed c.80
BC, and based on sadly no longer extant fresco. Judging by the armor, which is
close in design to the breastplate found in his father's [Philip II] tomb in
1977, the painting may've been executed during Alexander's lifetime, or shortly
after.
Alexander's images
influenced the portraiture of Constantine I [b. 272 AD], Roman emperor from
307-337 AD. Although he was the first to convert to Christianity, Constantine's
pagan beliefs, like the Ancient Egyptian's, had centered around solar worship.
The Roman Sun God was Sol. Could this have been behind Constantine's vision of
the Holy Cross on the Sun before the Battle of Miluvian Bridge near Rome in 312
AD? He believed that Christ had given him victory over Maxentius by inspiring
him and his army with the promise "by this sign you will be
victorious" [usually given in Latin, "in hoc signo vinces"].
Image
C [my rendition] is the central feature of a 4th century AD mosaic at Hinton St
Mary, Dorset. The style is typically Byzantine, and comparable to the Issus
mosaic. Image D [my rendition] is a detail from an ivory tablet of c.420 AD,
one of the earliest extant depictions of the Crucifixion. These images are
striking in two ways. Firstly, Christ is beardless, as he continued to be
depicted into the 11th century and later. [Also note the Roman toga in C].
Secondly, and I think most shocking of all, is that His face is an exact
replica of Alexander's, particularly noticeable in D!! [Regarding, the
Crucifixion, a side note: we tend to think of this style of punishment as being
Roman, yet Alexander the Great executed 2000 men from Tyre in 332 BC, when
their city refused to surrender to him, as a dire warning to others.]
The
halo in D could easily be a solar disc [think of the Egyptian gods], thereby
making the Son of God the Sun God Apollo. I believe this idea lay behind
Michelangelo's clean-shaven Christ in the Sistine Chapel's Last Judgement.
{Luini also painted a youthful and beardless Jesus in "Christ Among the
Doctors" (1512-32), and Caravaggio in "The Supper at Emmaus"
(1601). Both are in the National Gallery, London.] On a block excavated at Troy
by Heinrich Schliemann, in June 1872, Apollo is shown in his chariot crowned by
solar rays. [Schliemann dated the image to c.306 BC, and said it may've once
adorned a Trojan temple]. These are similar to the ones round the brow of the
Colossus of Rhodes [Chares of Lindus, 292 BC], whose face, incidentally, was
said to have been modelled on Alexander's. [The Statue of Liberty, New York, is
based on the Colossus]. Is it possible that the rays were transformed into the
Crown of Thorns?
• Readers wishing to discuss any points raised by the
. .author of this article can e-mail JJ at: DSh8521036@aol.com
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