This early legend may well be a related to that of James. The underlying idea is that the priests of the dominant local religion (in this case Serapis) fulfill the prophesy regarding the death of an 'ox' in Genesis 49:6 which ultimately leads to God's vengeance against the wicked community.And on the first day of the week, the day of the Easter festival of the Lord Christ, which fell that year on the 29th of Barmudah, when the |146 festival of the idolatrous unbelievers also took place, they sought him with zeal, and found him in the sanctuary. So they rushed forward and seized him, and fastened a rope round his throat, and dragged him along the ground, saying : «Drag the ox through the cattle-yard! (Σύρωμεν τὸν βούβαλον ἐν τοῖς Βουκόλου)» But the saint, while they dragged him, kept praising God and saying : «Thanks be to thee, O Lord, because thou hast made me worthy to suffer for thy holy name». And his flesh was lacerated, and clove to the stones of the streets; and his blood ran over the ground.
Note also that the story has Mark killed on the Pascha (Easter) celebration - https://books.google.com/books?id=ou8_A ... ah&f=false But notice that story here has a Serapis festival also fall on the same day. This may have been referenced to allow the Serapis vs Christianity narrative to supplant the traditional Judaism vs Christianity narrative found in the James tradition.
