Helena of Adiabene As The Magdalene - The Tower Motif In Mythology?

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yakovzutolmai
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Helena of Adiabene As The Magdalene - The Tower Motif In Mythology?

Post by yakovzutolmai »

I have a hypothesis of Christian origins that traces from the end of the Seleucid kingdom up until the beginning of the High Priesthood of Simon Boethus. I can trace from Theudas through James to the Jewish Christians and Gnostics of Syria. Via a national cult centered in the royal household of Adiabene.

There are two things I cannot do:
1) Demonstrate that the pre-existent Arab triad of Father-Christ, Mother and Son is connected to Adiabene.
2) Connect the Boethusians to the James community (Bathyrans), except speculatively.


We can reasonably conclude that both the Gnostics and later Islam draws from the solar triad tradition, and at best orthodox Christianity has built its pseudo-history as a reaction to it. However, I cannot say that Jewish Adiabene was a specific catalyst for an identification of an historical Christ. We could identify Gnostic Christianity as purely mythicist, incorporating historicist elements as a reaction to orthodoxy. On the other hand, there are essential elements of the historical narrative that clearly derive from a mythicist origin.

Consider the three Marys.
The mother, the sister-wife, and the virgin beauty represent three aspects of a single divinity. The virgin-whore-crone motif is common for Arabian moon goddesses. The three Marys are not reflecting a historical fact, but rather represent a mythological motif. These are the consorts of the Christ-god.

Consider Joseph and Asenath:
http://markgoodacre.org/aseneth/translat.htm
In this text, both Joseph and Asenath from the Genesis narrative are dressed up as the Syrian sun god and moon goddess. These same common mythological motifs are even applied to Mary the Mother of Jesus in the Catholic faith (crown of stars, Queen of Heaven, etc.).

I have to conclude that the Gnostic, mythicist narrative is not independent from some historical basis for Christianity, and then later reacts to it. The historicist narrative is incorporating mythicist elements.

That said, the most likely case for a historical Jesus would be a real-world figure who is identified as an important incarnation of the mythical Christ-god. This is where the mythicist narrative enters history, and anchors mythicist motifs to a loose historical and geographical (or at least factional) context.

Returning to Joseph and Asenath, what is remarkable is that Asenath is hid away in a tower. This connects with the "Magdala" of Magdalena. I believe that I have understood the various tower motifs (e.g.: Rapunzel) to have derived via (dubious) "Sangreal" legends that allegedly secretly insert the history of Mary Magdalene into European folk stories. Otherwise, I'm not sure if the maiden in the tower motif shows up anywhere. I'd prefer to think that the Moon Goddess of Syria/Arabia is associated with some celestial tower, but I cannot find an example of this.

If you are aware of any context for the maiden in the tower, please share.

Returning to the time of Simon Boethus, the issue of Mariamne Boethus's son Herod confuses (his wife Herodias is a somewhat essential historicist link to John the Baptist). Herod disappears from Josephus's narrative, and yet Philo seems to be aware of more prominent Herodian princes ca. 33 CE than Josephus is.

There is also Cleopatra of Jerusalem, who has a son Herod mentioned only once and never again (one assumed he died in childhood), and the other son is the famous Philip the Tetrach. We have no context for who this Cleopatra is or why she was married to Herod. There are rather bizarre speculations of her being a secret daughter of Caesar.

Finally, Mariamne and Simon are disgraced, along with Herod Boethus.

I would prefer to speculate that the following is true:
1) Cleopatra is a relation of Simon Boethus, perhaps his sister, and her elevation coincides with his. I link Simon Boethus's elevation to the peace deal Rome and Parthia struck in 23 BCE, and I hold the Parthian rebel Tiridates as a key negotiator (whom I believe is Philip II of Seleucia/Philippion of Chalcis/Ma'nu III Saflul of Osrhoene). I would like to think Simon and Cleopatra are his relations (perhaps, via Ptolemy Menneus's marriage to Alexandra the Hasmonean).
2) Herod Boethus is actually the Herod of Cleopatra, whereas Mariamne was never married to Herod the Great for being too young. Instead, Mariamne marries Archelaus. Perhaps the last minute change to Herod's will which reinserts Archeleus is due to a political alliance stemming from a marriage to Mariamne.

This would assume Josephus is lying, and his reasons for doing so (Nicolaus of Damascus is the source) relate to a simple political phenomenon. Zamaris the Babylonian Jew is living in Galilee with a capable army of Parthian horse archers. It would probably be the case that this alliance of convenience (contra robbers) arose as part of the same deal in which Manu Saflul's family members join Herod's dynasty.

To boot Simon Boethus was an attempt to lash out at the Babylonian faction. We might assume Philip's reputation was intact due to his being away at training in Rome. Towards the final days of his life, Herod the Great concedes to a new alliance in which:

1) Archelaus marries Simon's daughter Mariamne, reuniting the families.
2) Joazer Boethus will become High Priest and the office will return to the family.
3) Zamaris's army will support Archelaus as ruler of Judea.

This factional explanation aligns with the context at the time of Herod's death, and explains the situation with the Boethusians. Josephus/Nicolaus misreport the wives of Herod with three purposes in mind:

1) To conceal the political and military power of Adiabene supporting Herod - i.e.: giving a false reason for Simon's ascension to the throne.
2) To insulate Philip - a reputable Herodian - from the shame of the Boethusians (thus Mariamne is given Cleopatra's shame).
3) To place Mariamne Boethus in the wrong generation to conceal the biggest story of all.

We also see that Josephus mentions two separated rebels named Judas the Galilean: Judas of Sepphoris, son of Hezekiah and father of Menahem who rebelled in 4 BC, and Judas of Gamala, father of James and Simon, who rebelled in 6 CE. I have seen many historians assume these are the same person, but I don't think there's nearly any evidence to say that. It could be Josephus's intention to confuse his ignorant readers, or perhaps an interpolator hoping to do so.

All this suggests a missing story related to the shame and removal of Archelaus.

I would propose that:
  • Mariamne married Archelaus. Though Joazer was removed due to the 4 BC rebellion, Eleazar Boethus took his place. Thus the Boethusians retain power in Jerusalem.
  • Zamaris is present in Jerusalem as muscle to protect the Boethusians, but also to help Archelaus keep his rights in spite of the ambitions of Antipas.
  • The relationship between Zamaris and Archelaus turns foul.
  • Zamaris leaving Jerusalem is at least linked to the turmoil leading to the census of Quirinus, Archelaus loses his power base without him, the Boethusians lose power in Jerusalem and are replaced by the Ananians.
There is a catalyst for this event. The divorce of Mariamne by Archelaus for Glaphyra.

There is a woman from Josephus's account of the Babylonian Jews Anileus and Asineus whom I believe is Helena of Adiabene:
A certain Parthian, who came as general of an army into those parts, had a wife following him, who had a vast reputation for other accomplishments, and particularly was admired above all other women for her beauty.
If I have to imagine the career of this woman before being captured and married to "King Abgar", I could think of this hypothetical Mariamne, about whom Josephus wrote:
There was one Simon, a citizen of Jerusalem, the son of one Boethus, a citizen of Alexandria, and a priest of great note there; this man had a daughter, who was esteemed the most beautiful woman of that time; and when the people of Jerusalem began to speak much in her commendation, it happened that Herod was much affected with what was said of her; and when he saw the damsel, he was smitten with her beauty
The description is apt for a "Helena", and Anileus's capture of her certainly provides justification of the epithet. Queen Helena of Adibene's alleged sarcophagus bore the inscription "Tzara Malchata". There are some explanations for this which differ, but I have wondered if it may have a personal meaning "Queen Sarah".

Sarah and Abraham's story parallels that of Joseph and Asenath. In Egypt, Sarah pretends to be Abraham's sister.

Thus, I would like to think that Zamaris, who may be Bazeus of Adiabene, masqueraded as Mariamne Boethus's brother. This would allow him access to her household as a protector in spite of her marriage to Archelaus.

Helena is named as Bazeus's sister-wife by Josephus.

What is so interesting about sister marriage is that it is connected to mythicist motifs. The divine parents of the Syrian/Arab triad are sibling spouses. This is partly why the Ptolemys were among the few practitioners of sibling marriage: they were considered living deities. It is highly unusual for Bazeus and Helena to have been sibling spouses.

Consider also the legends surrounding Simon Magus:
Justin and Irenaeus are the first to recount the myth of Simon and Helen, which became the center of Simonian doctrine.[citation needed] Epiphanius of Salamis also makes Simon speak in the first person in several places in his Panarion, and the implication is that he is quoting from a version of it, though perhaps not verbatim.[24]

As described by Epiphanius, in the beginning God had his first thought, his Ennoia, which was female, and that thought was to create the angels. The First Thought then descended into the lower regions and created the angels. But the angels rebelled against her out of jealousy and created the world as her prison, imprisoning her in a female body. Thereafter, she was reincarnated many times, each time being shamed. Her many reincarnations included Helen of Troy, among others, and she finally was reincarnated as Helen, a slave and prostitute in the Phoenician city of Tyre. God then descended in the form of Simon Magus, to rescue his Ennoia, and to confer salvation upon men through knowledge of himself.
(wiki)

This relates to the doctrine of the Simonians which is very similar to the Elchasaite doctrines about the mythicist Christ-god. The direct reference to Helen of Troy, in the context of this hypothetical history of Helena of Adiabene, is remarkable. The prostitute motif corresponds to Asenath's representation of that mythical motif in Joseph and Asenath.

My instinct is that Joseph and Asenath could have been pre-Christian, and was from the Jewish mystical tradition that invented the Christ-god.

Thus, having Bazeus rescue his alleged sister from the tower of the son of Pharaoh, the daughter of Pharoah's (Herod's) High Priest, and then marry her, allows mystics and cultists to claim that Bazeus and Helena are literal incarnations of the cosmic archetype portrayed in Joseph and Asenath. Moreover, the argument would be that Joseph and Asenath were themselves earlier incarnations of the same divine spirits. History repeating is just divine forms reincarnated upon current events.

Zamaris may also have been a popular and stabilizing force in Judea and Galilee, who contrasted nicely with the controversial Herod.

It's particularly easy to see Helena/Mariamne come to be recognized - in her own lifetime - as the reincarnation of the divine Sophia. This would lead to the particular reputation she had, according to Josephus. We see Anileus tries to marry her, Ananias tries to convert her. She is forced into multiple periods of Nazarite asceticism.

Of course, the western Jesus takes on certain attributes of Theudas's history and ministry, in my opinion. However, the eastern Christ is fully Bazeus. This is the divine person who ascended the seven layers of heaven from Jerusalem as Mohammed did. This is the angel-prophet Elchasai.

I feel as if this hypothesis can be confirmed so long as the identity of Helena and the reason for her reputation can be identified. If she was Mariamne, and this is the same once married to Archelaus, then the entire story (almost) can be reconstructed.

I'll pose the question again: whence the maiden in the tower?

A first century source or earlier would take away from my hypothesis. However, if Mariamne was hidden away in one of Herod's three towers, and the fame of the beauty in the tower who was rescued by her brother-husband is actual history, it could be the provenance of the motif.
Giuseppe
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Re: Helena of Adiabene As The Magdalene - The Tower Motif In Mythology?

Post by Giuseppe »

I had speculated about a tower in Jerusalem built by Herod, the only tower survived to 70 CE, named Mariamne.

The idea was that who survived to Israel (=Jesus crucified) was only a tower named Mariamne.

In the famous coin of Judea capta, you have a Jewish woman (personification of Judea) under the palm of Roman victory and a Roman soldier.
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Baley
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Re: Helena of Adiabene As The Magdalene - The Tower Motif In Mythology?

Post by Baley »

The maiden in the tower motif is also present in the pseudo Clementine writings on Simon Magus. See Recognitions, book II, chapter XI:
Therefore, after the death of Dositheus Simon took Luna to himself; and with her he still goes
about, as you see, deceiving multitudes, and asserting that he himself is a certain power which is
above God the Creator, while Luna, who is with him, has been brought down from the higher
heavens, and that she is Wisdom, the mother of all things, for whom, says he, the Greeks and
barbarians contending, were able in some measure to see an image of her; but of herself, as she is,
as the dweller with the first and only God, they were wholly ignorant. Propounding these and other
things of the same sort, he has deceived many. But I ought also to state this, which I remember
that I myself saw. Once, when this Luna of his was in a certain tower, a great multitude had
assembled to see her, and were standing around the tower on all sides; but she was seen by all the
people to lean forward, and to look out through all the windows of that tower.
Many other
wonderful things he did and does; so that men, being astonished at them, think that he himself is
the great God.
In this story, Luna equates with Sophia/Helena/Ennoia - the maiden that Simon set free from a brothel (the material world that holds God's first Thought captive and defiles her); see Irenæus (Contra Hæreses, I. xxiii. 1-4). Another Helena! All of this, as you know, links to gnosticism and supposedly to the Ebionites.
yakovzutolmai
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Re: Helena of Adiabene As The Magdalene - The Tower Motif In Mythology?

Post by yakovzutolmai »

Baley wrote: Fri Sep 03, 2021 2:01 am The maiden in the tower motif is also present in the pseudo Clementine writings on Simon Magus. See Recognitions, book II, chapter XI:
Therefore, after the death of Dositheus Simon took Luna to himself; and with her he still goes
about, as you see, deceiving multitudes, and asserting that he himself is a certain power which is
above God the Creator, while Luna, who is with him, has been brought down from the higher
heavens, and that she is Wisdom, the mother of all things, for whom, says he, the Greeks and
barbarians contending, were able in some measure to see an image of her; but of herself, as she is,
as the dweller with the first and only God, they were wholly ignorant. Propounding these and other
things of the same sort, he has deceived many. But I ought also to state this, which I remember
that I myself saw. Once, when this Luna of his was in a certain tower, a great multitude had
assembled to see her, and were standing around the tower on all sides; but she was seen by all the
people to lean forward, and to look out through all the windows of that tower.
Many other
wonderful things he did and does; so that men, being astonished at them, think that he himself is
the great God.
In this story, Luna equates with Sophia/Helena/Ennoia - the maiden that Simon set free from a brothel (the material world that holds God's first Thought captive and defiles her); see Irenæus (Contra Hæreses, I. xxiii. 1-4). Another Helena! All of this, as you know, links to gnosticism and supposedly to the Ebionites.
Wow, thanks!

Obviously, Helen/Sophia is at least partly syncretized with the Moon Goddess. I would think that the tower myth is part of mystical cosmogeny. The tower being a representation of the world tree or cosmic mountain, kind of an Olympus for Sophia. So, I don't think the tower needs a historical explanation. However, it definitely seems to derive from Gnostic symbolism, making me wonder whether a historical tower was symbolically overlain on top of the cosmic mountain.

Other than the Pyramids and Ziggurats, there weren't towers of great size until the Hellenistic period. Of course the goddess could reside in her Ziggurat, but is that not a symbolic mountain? I think the case exists that the symbolism of the tower comes during the Hellenistic period.

I find it very fascinating that Simonian types refer to the masses gathered around to see the Goddess. This was part of my thought process.

Imagine if people today literally believed in a reincarnating goddess. They, obviously, would identify Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, etc. as her current incarnation. Whoever is popular. There's even a hint (look at the name Madonna), that some esoteric or cultural remnant of the goddess cult continues and these women of pop culture are being consciously identified as the goddess.

Thus, imagine a Mariamne in a tower of Herod's palace. You could easily see people coming from Galilee for Passover, climbing on their cousin's rooftop to see if they could catch a glimpse of the famed beauty. She also survives as an unwanted wife. Archelaus locks her away because he loves Glaphyra, which would contribute to Mariamne's allure and the gossip surrounding it. There is no particularly unreasonable gap between the common popularity of that generation's sensation of beauty and a later identification with the reincarnating goddess. The identification of Zamaris as Joseph for the disaffected pseudo-Jews of Transjordan, the brother-sister relationship and its parallels with mystical types, that all contributes to the myth.

Thus, the historical basis for Christ comes through Helena. She derived her reputation as almost a pop cultural icon, and then later the myth of the holy family is built around her. Zamaris himself doesn't need to be particularly holy or even very Jewish, it's Helena who drives the myth.

If it is that case that Helena is driving the myth of the holy family, then that provides some dating clues. Although Bazeus and Izates may be dead by the time Helena is in Jerusalem again, one can think that the cult will take hold after her own death when the full triad can achieve apotheosis. We see Helena and Izates given lavish funerals at one of Jerusalem's most impressive tombs. Around 48-50 CE. This, then, becomes a good starting date for the religious cult of a "Christ and Sophia".

I'd like to think that Simonian beliefs are being misrepresented. Then again, maybe Simon the Samaritan really did try to apply the religious conceits of the Christ cult to himself.

We do see James called "pillar" by Paul, and through this line of thinking Origen blames the Jewish Revolt on the death of James. This is an esoteric conceit. The spirit of Logos abides with James, and so his presence on Earth upholds peace and order in the nation. His death is a spiritual event, the collapse of the pillar, allowing demons and such to come in and bring war and discord to Judea.

So we see that the successors in this religious cult are given the attributes of the divine avatar. If it is a mystery cult, then this is simply the succession of initiated "key-holders" or some such. Cults like this can claim an ancient heritage - i.e.: handshakes in the desert for 1000 years starting with Abraham. They can also claim divine intervention - i.e.: Bazeus ascended to meet Enoch and the keys were reintroduced to the Earth.

Simon Magus could be claiming that he somehow possesses this authentic authority, and then claims Helen as his esoteric wife.

It would be interesting to know for sure, and I suppose we never will.
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Baley
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Re: Helena of Adiabene As The Magdalene - The Tower Motif In Mythology?

Post by Baley »

Obviously, Helen/Sophia is at least partly syncretized with the Moon Goddess.
Please give us a citation on this assertion.
Other than the Pyramids and Ziggurats, there weren't towers of great size until the Hellenistic period.
A simple check on Wikipedia shows otherwise. Of course there were towers before the Hellenistic period. Not only in mythology (the tower of Babel for example) but in architecture as well. "Great size" being of course in the eye of the beholder.
Thus, the historical basis for Christ comes through Helena.
Highly speculative, all the more so because it doesn't logically follow from the rest of your contribution.

I like the thought provoking character of your posts but think you should either bring more evidence or make less assertions. Btw, I agree that the tower motif in religion and legend is probably more symbolical than historical.
yakovzutolmai
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Re: Helena of Adiabene As The Magdalene - The Tower Motif In Mythology?

Post by yakovzutolmai »

Baley wrote: Sat Sep 04, 2021 7:31 pm
Obviously, Helen/Sophia is at least partly syncretized with the Moon Goddess.
Please give us a citation on this assertion
Other than the Pyramids and Ziggurats, there weren't towers of great size until the Hellenistic period.
A simple check on Wikipedia shows otherwise. Of course there were towers before the Hellenistic period. Not only in mythology (the tower of Babel for example) but in architecture as well. "Great size" being of course in the eye of the beholder.
Thus, the historical basis for Christ comes through Helena.
Highly speculative, all the more so because it doesn't logically follow from the rest of your contribution.

I like the thought provoking character of your posts but think you should either bring more evidence or make less assertions. Btw, I agree that the tower motif in religion and legend is probably more symbolical than historical.
1) Joseph and Asenath.
2) Tower of Babel was based on the Ziggurat, which symbolized the cosmic mountain. The Pentateuch is of the Hellenistic era. The difference between a tower and Ziggurat? One merely sequesters away a chamber from the reach of mundane Earth. The other is the cosmic mountain and god's house. I'm not being pedantic. Show me the evidence of tower symbolism connected to the maiden, prior to the first century. I think it probably exists, but let's see it. I'm suspecting that the use of a prison-tower in place of the cosmic mountain is a bit askew from the common usage. Which is why it may be an interpolation derived from a historical event.
3) Christ is derived from the esoteric tradition, this is abundantly clear. If there's any basis for historicity, when and why were historical characters connected to the divine counterparts? This is a practice well attributed in ancient Mesopotamia. When and why would it have occurred in first century Judea? I was stating, not a fact, but the conclusion of my hypothesis. The goal is to identify figures with popular appeal, which would then logically explain the popularity of the cults which are associated with them. I was concluding that the fame of a beautiful young woman whom men commonly gather in crowds to catch sight of is a sufficient explanation for popular appeal.
4) 1900 years have passed and we've yet to solve the puzzle of historicity. A little imagination isn't harmful. New hypotheses require a big picture to demonstrate how they organize the evidence. Which is not evidence in and of itself. I would trust people to sort out the difference.

Keep in mind that people believe that there was an episcopal church structure from 50 AD, and that the early missionaries were mostly illiterate. Speculation is the name of the game.
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Re: Helena of Adiabene As The Magdalene - The Tower Motif In Mythology?

Post by davidmartin »

FYI In the Syriac version of Clementines Helena aka Luna is called Sarai (the wife of Abraham before being renamed Sarah by God). Sarai/Sarah means princess
I suppose Sarah is a Jewish equivalent of the Greek Helena
The quantity of legends and similarities between both her and Magdalene and various famous women (daughter's priests, rulers consorts, etc) i found impossible to keep track of. I think it's even worse than for Jesus himself!

The "tower" and looking out on all sides at once is possibly a corruption of this type of teaching "It looks to every side and sees itself from itself" Eugnostos the blessed.

I think you might also appreciate this piece of obscurity. I've forgotten which church father recorded this. Rufinus? It's an extract from a longer piece he claims a temple had preserved from the time of Christ and quotes from it
He said the temple of Hera received this greeting:
"Mistress Pege, the great Sun has sent me to make the announcement to you, and at the same time to serve you in your giving birth—as he produces blameless offspring with you, who are becoming mother of the first of all ranks of being, bride of the single divinity with three names. And the child born without seed is called the Beginning and the End: the beginning of salvation, and the end of destruction"

The temple recorded a debate:
"The females say to the males, disparaging the matter, Pege is she who was loved; for it was not Hera, was it? She espoused a carpenter.' And the males say, 'She has rightly been called Pege, we admit. But her name is Myria; for she bears in her womb, as in the sea, a vessel conveying a myriad. And if she is also Pege, let it be understood thus: This stream of water sends forth a perennial stream of spirit; it contains but a single fish, taken with the hook of divinity, and with its own flesh sustaining the whole world, while it dwells there as though in the sea. You have well said, "She has a carpenter"—but not a carpenter whom she bears from a marriage-bed. For this carpenter who is born, the child of the chief carpenter, framed by his most sagacious skill the triple-constructed celestial roof, and established by his word this dwelling with its triple habitations"
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Re: Helena of Adiabene As The Magdalene - The Tower Motif In Mythology?

Post by Baley »

davidmartin wrote: Mon Sep 06, 2021 2:06 am FYI In the Syriac version of Clementines Helena aka Luna is called Sarai (the wife of Abraham before being renamed Sarah by God). Sarai/Sarah means princess
That's an interesting addition. For your quote on Pege, see
https://books.google.nl/books?id=Fp8xDw ... 22&f=false

More food for thought for @yakuvzutolmai:
Helena = Luna = Sophia = Ennoia = Helena of Adiabene = Sarai/Sarah = Asenath = Mariamne = Pege/Myria = Karia the Bethlehemite = Mary = etcetera; behind all of whom supposedly looms the figure of the Moon Goddess.
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Re: Helena of Adiabene As The Magdalene - The Tower Motif In Mythology?

Post by yakovzutolmai »

Baley wrote: Mon Sep 06, 2021 3:37 am
davidmartin wrote: Mon Sep 06, 2021 2:06 am FYI In the Syriac version of Clementines Helena aka Luna is called Sarai (the wife of Abraham before being renamed Sarah by God). Sarai/Sarah means princess
That's an interesting addition. For your quote on Pege, see
https://books.google.nl/books?id=Fp8xDw ... 22&f=false

More food for thought for @yakuvzutolmai:
Helena = Luna = Sophia = Ennoia = Helena of Adiabene = Sarai/Sarah = Asenath = Mariamne = Pege/Myria = Karia the Bethlehemite = Mary = etcetera; behind all of whom supposedly looms the figure of the Moon Goddess.
Thanks to you both. The case evidence is building, but the ruling hasn't been decided.

The carpenter/tekton question is an interesting one. I was just reading about Simo Parpola's theories of Assyrian religion. In fact, I was reading a critique of them. The man is praised and the theories are treated as valuable, but with a heavy dose of skepticism.

The main theory is that Babylonian gods are assigned to positions in an esoteric Sefirotic Tree, and different configurations of the tree are taught to initiates. Supposed exoteric representations of these configurations are seen in the many tree motifs of Assyrian religious carvings. Asshur is treated as the ineffable power above or beyond the tree of life.

Parpola's theory is that the cult of Ishtar is the center of focus, where it serves as a salvation cult. Bel, Ishtar and Nabu are the triad/trinity of this system of salvation. He tries to identify major Christian and Neoplatonic elements already present in the Neo-Assyrian cult, where Ishtar already is almost exactly in the role of Sophia. This is in contrast to Babylonian religion which he considers more closely polytheistic.

I mention this because I have been trying to explain the relationship of Arab tribes to the dynasty of Adiabene (from Arbela to Hatra). The best explanation I have comes from a system of sworn oaths with religious significance. Somehow, the Adiabenian/Hatrene royals receive the respect of pagan Arabs. We can pinpoint the ancient center of Arab religion at Sogmatar/Harran, which was also the final capital of Neo-Assyria.

I'm speculating that the rise of Adiabene saw also the return of the Assyrian esoteric cult from whichever mountain or valley it was hiding. From Parpola, that Judaism and Arab religions are partly derived from the old Imperial cult. So it is the return of post-Neo-Assyrian royalty that catalyzes Gnostic and Christian enthusiasm.

One think Parpola supposedly gets right is the connection of the Assyrian caste of prophets with the Jewish ones. Both systems of prophecy seem to work the same way, and how often do Israelite prophets go preach at Ninevah?

So, Joseph the Carpenter might be in possession of certain cultic keys derived from the old Assyrian system, which some Jewish holy men still recognize. This is part of the overall big picture.

Of course, the main alternative to Parpola's theory is that there is simply a common and ongoing interchange of religious ideas in the ancient world, and that one nation's system isn't actually derived from another's in spite of overlapping elements. Even so, I will continue to stress the possible importance of Assyrian culture in the development of these religious ideas. I wonder if some of the schools at Alexandria, some of which are unapologetically oriental, claim a Babylonian character?
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Re: Helena of Adiabene As The Magdalene - The Tower Motif In Mythology?

Post by davidmartin »

i don't know. at a certain point i don't think one can remain an objective observer
if there are underlying truths seen in repeating patterns it's becomes less accurate to flag them as belonging to any one tradition and even counter productive, it would be impossible to trace back to one source ultimately
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