Posted on 11/27/2009 11:17:40 AM PST by SunkenCiv
Few activities in life are as seemingly mundane yet vitally important as eating... Ritual feasts and banquets in the Biblical world and beyond were particularly important occasions for showing devotion to a deity, solidifying social relationships and ranks, as well as teaching lessons. In antiquity, even the gods had to eat. Temple officials in ancient Babylon and Egypt were tasked with the daily feeding of their deities. The statues of these deities were more than just depictions for their worshipers; they were themselves divine, and they needed to be fed, bathed, clothed and cared for. An elaborate ritual known as the Opening of the Mouth transformed manmade cult statues into "living" deities. The ritual included offering choice meats, honey, fruit and beer for the god's statue to eat and drink, and even water to wash with after the meal.
(Excerpt) Read more at bib-arch.org ...
|
|
|||
Gods |
To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. |
||
|
· Discover · Nat Geographic · Texas AM Anthro News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · Google · · The Archaeology Channel · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists · |
|||
Could it be that the brown uglies benieth the finger nails were not socally acceptible.
Most interesting...esp. the history about the seder and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Never knew that.
Why I stopped reading 'Black Athena'...I was both struck and amazed by Bernal' s point that fish were central to the Last Supper. Not trusting my memory, I went back to the description of this event in the New Testament, and I will here only refer my readers to Matthew 26:26, 27 and Mark 24:22, 23. Bread and wine are the substance of the Eucharist and there is no mention of fish. So, I (who, incidentally, am an atheist) turned to John. There is no mention of the Eucharist in John.
by L. Pearce Williams
How, then, did Bernal write what he wrote? I think this is a crucial point in the criticism of Bernal's whole approach to his subject. He seeks out only those facts that support his interpretation, but this time he stumbles badly. His footnote to support his contention that fish are central to the Last Supper and the Eucharist refers to John 21: 1-14.
...Bernal's critics, I included, may perhaps be criticized for not recognizing his true eminence, for, in almost 2,000 years, no one before Bernal has discovered the Last Breakfast! This example of Bernal's scholarship is literally inexcusable. The Eucharist has been, as Bernal states, a central part of Western civilization from the birth of Christianity until the modern era. That he would not even bother to ask a knowledgeable Catholic scholar what the Eucharist was, or to interrogate his own Irish ancestors about this matter, indicates his scorn for scholarship and objective truth. It was at this point that I closed Black Athena and relegated it to the trash heap of politically and racially inspired garbage.
Good stuff. Thanks.
Thanks for the L. Pearce citation. However, I can’t make the link work.
I wonder if the priests later ate the food, like parents eating the Santa Claus cookies?
That’s exactly what they did. :’)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
