Taken from:
http://www.academia.edu/4317456/David_as_Cadmus_Part_Three_
For
Part One, see:
http://www.academia.edu/3856448/David_as_Cadmus_Part_One_
David as Cadmus (Part Three)
By John R. Salverda
The reign of King Cadmus (David?)
Many of the motifs making up the Greek myth that covers the later part of King Cadmus’ reign, have clearly been borrowed from the Israelite history of the end of King David’s reign. The Greek myth is familiar to us largely through “The Bacchantes” (or “Bacchae”) a well known ancient play that was written by Euripides (c. 410 BC.), and also somewhat from Ovid’s retelling of the tale in his “Metamorphoses” (Book III. 511-733, c. 8 AD.). A partial list of themes that appear to have been appropriated from Israelite history for use in the Greek myth are; a licentious procession of the god where the King partakes of the dance (2nd Samuel 6:14), a lady who was inadvertently seen while she was bathing (2nd Samuel 11:2) and through whose apparent scheming a Prince of the Kingdom was killed (1st Kings 2:19-25), and another Prince who assumes the abdicated Kingship (2nd Samuel 15:13), was caught in a tree and killed by a throng that was loyal to the old king (2nd Samuel 18:9-15) and had retreated to a wooded area outside the city (2nd Samuel 15:14). Generally speaking these points, in and of themselves, are remarkably comparable enough, but in my view the details of these events, combined with the story of the founding of Thebes by Cadmus, leave little doubt that the Greek myth of King Cadmus originates with the Hebrew story of King David.
As I hope the reader may come to realize, literally scores of whole quotations could be lifted verbatim from the Bacchae and be applied, just as accurately, to the Scriptural account concerning the revolt of Absalom. But first, let us set the stage by comparing the story of the introduction of the rites and religion of the Greek god Dionysus into the city of Thebes, a main theme in Euripides’ play, with the introduction of the religious reforms of King David into the city of Jerusalem.
David’s Dance, Dionysian Processions
Perhaps the most difficult hurdle to overcome in recognizing the idea that the Greek mythological character Cadmus may be based upon the Hebrew historical figure David, is in accepting the notion that the great Israelite King could have had a role in promulgating the lewd dionysian rite of the phallic procession. But, on the other hand King David was notoriously famous for dancing naked in front of the Ark, in the company of other “worthless fellows,” exposing themselves to the slave girls (2nd Samuel 6). Was this not, at least some form of a phallic procession? Samuel Sharpe (1799-1881), the famed Egyptologist, bluntly tells us; “The ark of Osiris (identified by the Greeks with Dionysus), with the sacred relics of the god, was ‘of the same size as the Jewish ark, ... carried by priests with staves passed through its rings in sacred procession, as the ark round which danced David, the King of Israel.” In the Scriptural account, King David seems to be giving his approval to the adoption of a more vulgar form of worship than, based upon the stark disparagement of Michal, the Israelites had been accustomed to. In fact, this is just the kind of licentious revelry which one would expect to have occurred when Dionysus entered Thebes, and Cadmus danced as in Euripides and his “Bacchae.”
David could not have acted on his own initiative alone in this regard, he must have had significant public support to make such drastic religious reforms. We do know that there were, among the Israelites, those who had observed the teachings of Balaam regarding the heresy of Baal Peor; “Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, ...” (Numbers 31:16). The religion of Baal Peor was certainly orgiastic, and it was a direct competitor for the hearts of the Israelites (who were, at the time, in the process of changing their lifestyle, from nomadic herdsmen into city dwelling farmers, and perhaps genuinely believed that they needed a "fertility" religion to help them with their transition). The story of Zimri and Cozbi (numbers 25:6-18) is an obvious allusion to the ritual of "sacred marriage" (hieros gamos), a well attested to fertility rite that was used all over the Mediterranean, in Egypt, and in Babylon. Perhaps Michal was righteously indignant in her criticisms of the King in this case. And even though it was certainly David’s intention to “bless his household” with her, David had to be content to get his “honor” by his maidservants instead. It was perhaps at the insistence of Michal, and not necessarily by the sanction of David, that there was no "sacred marriage" ritual, or fertility, in their house for the rest of her life; “Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.” (2nd Samuel 6:20-23). It could be that Michal was speaking for all of those who were opposed to the new religious reforms that were instigated by David at the time.
Cadmus also is credited with the instigation of the phallic procession by the Greeks. According to Herodotus, Melampus (who spread the calf god religion among the Greeks just as Balaam had done among the Israelites,) learned and received the worship of Dionysus from Cadmus; “My belief is that Melampus got his knowledge of them (the name of Bacchus, the ceremonial of his worship, and the procession of the phallus) from Cadmus the Tyrian, and the followers whom he brought from Phoenicia into the country which is now called Boeotia.” (Histories Book 2.49). Euripides also depicts Cadmus as promoting Dionysus. (Eur. Ba. 181.) As did Nonnus as well, "He (Cadmus), showed forth the Euian secrets of Osiridos (Osiris) the wanderer, the Aigyptian Dionysos. He learned the nightly celebration of their mystic art, and declaimed the magic hymn in the wild secret language, intoning a shrill alleluia." (Nonnus, Dionysiaca 4. 268 ff)
A main part of these practices was a sacred procession that included indecent dancing, in which a specially appointed priesthood provided music and carried a chest-like container as a cultic object. to quote Oppian (c. 220 AD.) “... they laid the holy child in a coffer of pine and ... they danced the mystic dance and beat drums and clashed cymbals in their hands, to veil the cries of the infant. It was around that hidden ark that they first showed forth their mysteries, and ... they arrayed a gathering of their faithful companions to journey ... at the instance of Dionysus who delivers from sorrow. Then the holy choir took up the secret coffer ...” (“Cynegetica,” page 181). Take note that it was the “holy choir” that had the job of carrying the “coffer.”
Now, having covered some of the similarities between the religious reforms imposed upon the Hebrews at Jerusalem by King David, and the introduction of Dionysus among the Greeks of Thebes by King Cadmus, let us examine and compare the two accounts that tell of the latter parts of their respective reigns. The Scriptural version found in the second book of Samuel is commonly referred to as "The Revolt of Absalom," while the Greek was largely, but not exclusively, known from a play that was written by Euripides and is called "The Bacchae."
The “Revolt of Absalom” as the “Bacchae”
The King Abdicates
In both cases the old King had voluntarily abdicated the throne while he was still alive, leaving his ambitious Prince to be set in his place. Although it is clear that Pentheus had become king during the lifetime of Cadmus I can find no story describing the circumstances surrounding his coronation. It is however evident, according to Euripides, that the old King left off without too much fuss. “Now Cadmus has given his honor and power to Pentheus,” (Eur. Ba. 43). Similarly there is no story about the anointing of Absalom. However, we do learn, after the fact, that he was indeed officially anointed as king. “And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king (the old King David) back?” (2nd Samuel 19:10). There is also an allusion to the possibility that Absalom may have been crowned during an absence in Hebron.
We are informed by the Scriptures that Absalom had been away in Hebron when David decided to lead the people out of Jerusalem. "... So he arose, and went to Hebron. But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron.” (2nd Samuel 15:9-10). Upon hearing that Absalom, had assumed the Kingship while he was away in Hebron, David gathered up his loyalists and fled the city. It was, no doubt, the aforementioned “spies” of Absalom, that informed him of David’s “mischief.” Compare this detail to the words of Pentheus in the Greek play, who also, had been away from the Kingdom when he heard rumors, of the sudden departure, of a large number of the Theban citizenry; "I had left my kingdom for a while, when tidings of strange mischief in this city reached me" (Eur. Ba. 215-216).
There Was No Temple to House the God
Ovid gives us another clue that helps us to equate Cadmus with David when he makes the prophet say to Prince Pentheus; “all hail the new god Bacchus! Either thou must build a temple to this Deity, or shall be torn asunder ... And all shall come to pass, as I have told, because thou wilt not honour the New God.” (Meta. Book III 522) Here we can see that, according to Ovid, there was no temple built yet at the time of the rebellion of Pentheus. Even though Herodotus, Nonnus, and others claim that Cadmus was instrumental in instituting the rites of Dionysus, he had not yet built a temple. A temple was called for, “thou must build a temple” however neither Pentheus nor Cadmus would build it. This, of course, parallels the history of King David as well, who had, as yet, built no temple to house the Ark at the time of Absalom. David wanted to build it but he was not allowed to. The Temple was built shortly thereafter by another of David’s princes, Solomon (1st Chronicles 28:3-6).
The Populace Departs
A large portion of the populace had deserted the city, against the wishes, and in rejection of, the former Prince's newly acquired regal authority. They took up harbor outside the city, beyond a river, in a nearby wooded area that was associated with a mountain. “Wherefore these are they whom I have driven frenzied from their homes, and they are dwelling on the hills ... and there they sit upon the roofless rocks beneath the green pine-trees, ...” (Eur. Ba. 33-38) The vacating people of Jerusalem took up a very similar expedition; “ And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.” (2nd Samuel 15:23). Now the citizens of Jerusalem passed over the Kidron (and the Jordan) as they were headed for the wooded area in the mountainous region of Ephraim (see 2nd Samuel 18:6 and Joshua 17:15), while those of Thebes crossed the Asopus as they retreated to the woods in the mountain, or hills, of Cithaeron. “we had left the homesteads of this Theban land and had crossed the streams of Asopus, we began to breast Cithaeron’s heights,” (Eur. Ba. 1044-1045). Also coincidental is the following, admittedly trite, detail; "And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up." (2nd Samuel 15:30). Presumably they all followed David's lead in going barefoot as well, for one of the spies of Pentheus informs him; "I have seen, O king, those frantic Bacchanals, who darted in frenzy from this land with bare white feet" (Eur. Ba. 665).
The old King sides with those who had left
In the Scriptures, we find that the old King David himself had led the people out of Jerusalem in fear of what the new King Absalom might do to them “And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.” (2nd Samuel 15:14). Regardless of this verse, it was not only “his servants” that left with him. All the Cherethites and Pelethites, 600 men of Gath, The throng attached to Ittai the Gittite, and all the Levites, were among those who departed, and at 2nd Samuel 15:23, the phrase “... all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people...” is used to describe those who were with him. But why? Surely Absalom did not seek to kill everyone. He may have wanted David out of the way, but the Scriptural account doesn’t really give an adequate explanation for the entire group to have retreated to the wilderness. David even tried to excuse and dismiss many of them who would seemingly be able to return with apparent impunity, but they steadfastly refused. They wanted to remain absent from their homes in the hills with David for some reason, but it probably was not for fear of their lives.
In the Bacchae by Euripides a large portion of the citizenry had left Thebes in order to celebrate the newly established religious rites without fear of it’s prohibition by Pentheus, who says; “... I hear that our women-folk have left their homes on pretence of Bacchic rites, and on the wooded hills rush wildly to and fro, honouring in the dance this new god Dionysus” (Eur. Bac. 215-221). Just before Cadmus deserted Thebes with his people, he tried to reason with Pentheus, but his stubborn Prince would not be placated. Pentheus responded to the appeasements of Cadmus thusly; "Don't lay a hand on me! Go off and hold your revels, but don't wipe your foolishness off on me." (Eur. Ba. 344) Here we learn that Cadmus had not only abandoned the city with those of his citizenry who were in defiance of their newly empowered potentate, but we can tell by the phrase, "Go off and hold your revels," that he most likely took a leading role in the event. Although the old King Cadmus participated in them (Eur. Ba. 180-185), not everyone accepted the newly introduced religious practices.
Freedom of Religion and Women's Suffrage
Despite the many remarkable resemblances between the Greek and Hebrew accounts of the nature of the civil strife, there are at least two striking differences that seem to defy a satisfactory resolution. First there is the fact that the Greek version blames the unrest squarely upon the Prince's rejection and banning of a recent religious reformation, while the Hebrew original doesn't seem to mention it. The second diversion is that of gender. Among the Greeks the retreating revellers are mainly characterized as the Theban women, while among the Hebrews it was not. Perhaps a little closer reading of the Scriptures will render a solution. We do know that David had indeed instituted religious reforms that some found controversial, but these don't seem to be mentioned in regards to the revolt of Absalom; or do they?
Consider Shimei who, as David went out of Jerusalem, came out and cursed him. He was "a man of the family of the house of Saul" and had a retinue of at least a thousand men (2nd Samuel 19:17). The words of his curse were; "The LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man." (2nd Samuel 16:8). Notice how Shimei, in taunting David, was touting Absalom. His apparent endorsement of Absalom, coupled with the fact that he had a large following, would seem to indicate that Shimei was somewhat of a spokesman for a sizeable faction of the populace, namely those, disenfranchised, former Saul supporters, who were dissatisfied with the administration of David's Kingship, and now felt comfortable in promoting, as their champion, Absalom.
The resentments that built up during the civil war between David and Saul was still a matter of contention in the Kingdom, and Absalom no doubt, took full advantage of the schism by pandering to the "Saulite" constituency. The "house of Saul" and his partisans were not only disgruntled over the vengeful treatment that they had received at David's hand, but also at issue, if we consider the complaint of Michal, Saul's daughter, was the matter of the King's recent religious reforms; "And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart." (2nd Samuel 6:16). Furthermore, the charge of Pentheus, so saying that the rites of Dionysus were, "... introducing a new complaint amongst our women, and doing outrage to the marriage tie" (Eur. Ba. 355), could have come out of Michal's own mouth! For Michal's marriage to David was ruined due to his introduction of these new, rather salacious, religious ceremonies, "Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death." (2nd Samuel 6:23).
When King David went out of Jerusalem with his supporters, it was in a procession of the Ark, just as it was when he first brought the Ark into Jerusalem; "And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off. ... And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city." (2nd Samuel 15:17,24). Shimei, interrupts this somber procession, and in doing so displays, like Michal, an utter disrespect for the King and his solemnities. Shimei was portrayed by Ginzberg in his “Legends of the Jews,” as a staunch opponent to Egyptian influences in Israel, Ginzberg goes on to place Jeroboam’s calf god clearly within the category of such Egyptian influences; “So long as Shimei, who was Solomon's teacher, was alive, he did not venture to marry the daughter of Pharaoh. When, after Shimei's death, Solomon took her to wife, the archangel Gabriel descended from heaven, and inserted a reed in the sea. About this reed more and more earth was gradually deposited, and, on the day on which Jeroboam erected the golden calves, a little hut was built upon the island. This was the first of the dwelling-places of Rome.” (Ginzberg, “Legends of the Jews,” Volume IV. Chap V. in the article entitled, “The Marriage of Solomon”). Therefore it is not unreasonable to assume that, at least to some degree, the Absalom supporters such as Shimei, who had remained in the city, had as part of their grievance, a rejection of King David’s (Egyptian style) religious reforms. This is of course, was just as the attitude of Pentheus was toward the new rites of Dionysus, as the revellers were being led out of Thebes in their similar ritualistic procession (keeping in mind that, according to Oppian from “Cynegetica,” page 181, a Dionysian procession also involved a sacred choir carrying an Ark that was the locus of the god).
Next let us turn our attention to the discrepancy of gender. We can tell from Euripides, Ovid, and others, that not only did the women of Thebes abandon the city; “... have I driven raving from their homes, one and all alike ... mingling amongst the sons of Thebes.” (Eur. Ba. 33-38); “The crowd all run, fathers, mothers, young girls, princes and people, mixed together, swept towards the unknown rites.” (Ovid Meta. Book III. 528). However, the Greek myth definitely emphasizes the female involvement in the Dionysian movement, even to the point of assigning major leadership roles to them. Furthermore the Scriptural account seems to indicate that it was not only David and his “mighty men” that fled Jerusalem at that time; "He took his household with him, his wives and children, that he might protect them in this day of danger, and that they might be a comfort to him in this day of grief. Masters of families, in their greatest frights, must not neglect their households." (“Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary,” on 2nd Samuel, 15:13-23) "Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible" has this to say about the term "little ones" at 2nd Samuel 15:22; "and all the little ones that were with him; that belonged to him and his men, and no doubt their wives also." Likewise the "Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament" has this to say about the same verse; By "the little ones" (taph) we are to understand a man's whole family, as in many other instances (see at Exodus 12:37).
The ancient religion of Dionysus held a particular appeal for women. For them it was a refreshing change from the, mostly patriarchal, forms of worship that were largely unavailable to them at the time. And it was not so strictly female as were the religions of the mother goddesses, such as those of Rhea, Cybele, and Demeter. The religion of Dionysus welcomed all, men and women alike. It had a male god who was the son, and a duplicate of, the previously existing chief of the gods Zeus. And it also claimed the “mother goddess religion” as its own origin; it took pride in the fact the rites and rituals of the mother goddess had been appropriated by Dionysus and were being used in his worship. It was a very "Democratic" and all inclusive religion. At first, it was not well accepted, eventually however, as in the case of Thebes, it had become widely recognized and tolerated. King David also took care to include the women in his religious reforms. At the time of David's famous procession of the Ark, when he reinstalled the Korahites and introduced his well known "dance," he supplied the makings of a feast to both man, and notably, to women; “And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house.” (2nd Samuel 6:19) “And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. (1st Chronicles 16:3) The phrase so saying that King David included the women, seems to be inserted into the statement as a significant novelty, for it does not say simply "the whole multitude of Israel" or "every one of Israel" but rather, the point is emphasized in order to make sure that we understand, even the women were included in the revelry.
In the approximately 400 years between the time that the story of King David, as King Cadmus, was brought to Thebes by the "Phoenicians," and Euripides wrote his play, the story evidently underwent a process which may be termed transgenderization. This process occurred under the influence of traditional mythic convention, whereby the introduction of the god Dionysus was invariably initiated by, and largely spread amongst, the females of the population. This mythic norm had been established long before the time of Euripides and manifests itself regularly throughout the corpus of Greek mythology. This convention appears to have gotten its origin, as a result of an attempt by earlier mythographers to stick to the traditional form, of the various Greek versions of the Hebrew event, that is known Scripturally as "the incident of Baal Peor." In accordance with "the teachings of Balaam," women displayed what the Greeks would later describe as madness, by setting up operations on the outskirts of the camp and engaging in drunken licentiousness, in an attempt to lure the male population out of the congregation of Israel in order to engage them in the raunchy worship of Baal Peor (Numbers 25). This story was widely known in Greece, and practically every group of "Phoenician" immigrants who settled there, brought their own version of the tale with them.
I propose that the Thebans had originally received the story of Absalom's revolt, in much the same form as we have in the Scriptural narrative, indeed, as I hope the reader will realize, they had preserved quite a bit of it intact, all the way down until the days of Euripides. However, the earlier mythographers were not satisfied with the story, they had apparently determined that it lacked a few essential religious/symbolic elements that were, what they considered to be, absolutely necessary in telling a story about the introduction of the Dionysian rituals. So they tweaked the story a bit to include a few of the usual motifs, such as, the role of the maddened women, as well as the theme of the three daughters of the king. These elements were known to them, from other Greek myths, such as the Argive story of the three daughters of Proetus, the three daughters of Minyas, and the Athenian story the three daughters of Cecrops. In each of these tales we have three daughters of the king, one of whom is obliged to undergo a deadly ordeal. The Cadmeans harbored a special affinity toward the Danaans of Argolis, thus the story of the three daughters of Proetus most closely resembles the story of Pentheus. In both cases the women, under the influence of Dionysus, abandon the city for the nearby hills; and, the son, of one of the three daughters, is dismembered by the three. This is the form of the tale that was apparently adopted by the Thebans, and was skillfully edited into their own version of a well established doctrine. Thus, in transgenderizing it, the Greeks were simply altering the story to conform with, and to better suit, their understanding of the way that the rites of Dionysus were introduced amongst the populace originally.
The exiled throng were divided into three companies
The exiled throng were divided into three companies, one of which was led by the eventual killer of the Prince. In the Scriptures we have; “And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. ...” (2nd Samuel 18:2). While the corresponding line from the Greek myth has; “I saw three companies of dancing women, one of which Autonoe led, the second your mother Agave, and the third Ino.” (Eur. Ba. 680). It was Joab who speared Absalom in his tree, while it was Agave who speared Pentheus in his tree.
The Usurping Prince is Deceived by Seditious Counsel
The feigned capitulation of the Ark and the god
In the Hebrew Scriptures the God was represented by the Ark which was being carried in a kind of procession out of the city to be with His worshippers who were accompanying King David. But David sent the Ark (the objectification of God) back to Absalom under the idea that the priests would mislead his recalcitrant Prince under interrogation, and give bad advice and misinformation. “And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city. And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city ... Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem” (2nd Samuel 15:24, 25 and 29). We have learned that King Cadmus, like King David, had accompanied the absented populace retreating to Mount Cithaeron (Eur. Ba. 344). But we also find that the god was, just at first, going with them, for as Dionysus says; " I myself will go to the folds of Cithaeron, where the Bacchae are, to share in their dances." (Eur. Ba. 63). But then, just as did the Ark in the Scriptural account, he “consents” to be returned to Thebes. Of course as in both stories, the people’s “focus of worship,” had returned to their respective cities with an ulterior motive.
Like Pentheus, Absalom may have deluded himself into thinking that he had “captured” the “God” and His priesthood, however, just as in the Euripides’ rendition of the tale, the “god and priest” had returned to the city willingly and with a deceitful plan in mind. In the Greek story of Pentheus, it was Dionysus, in the guise of a mortal stranger, who claimed to be a divinely ordained priest and said to the Prince; “Dionysus, the son of Zeus, initiated me. ... face to face he entrusted his mysteries to me." (Eur. Ba. 466 and 470). According to the servant of Pentheus, the disguised god, or rather “the stranger,” as he is here called, “was docile in our hands and did not withdraw in flight, but yielded not unwillingly. He did not turn pale or change the wine-dark complexion of his cheek, but laughed and allowed us to bind him and lead him away. He remained still, making my work easy” (Eur. Ba. 436-441). The plan was to mislead the Prince with deceitful counsel so as to bring evil down upon him.
Interrogating an operative of the Divine
In both stories we have a scene where the Prince, seeking counsel, began questioning one who “spoke the words of g/God” and was given “foolish” misinformation designed to mislead him to his doom. The two Scriptural characters, Hushai and Ahithophel, appear to have been merged into one by the Greek mythographers. Thus the Greeks usually have only one figure who is interviewed by Pentheus. In Euripides it is, as we have said, Dionysus in the guise of his priest, but in Ovid and others it is a mortal priest who speaks for, or does the bidding of, the god. This is much more like the Scriptural original but even there, we will find that the mortal is being completely directed by God in order to accomplish the Princes’ demise.
Much of the Greek tragedy of the Bacchae is devoted to the interrogation by Pentheus of Dionysus disguised as the mortal priest of the god. A very similar scenario is presented in the Hebrew story of Absalom's rebellion, where Absalom spends some time questioning Ahithophel the prophet, who speaks the word of God ("And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had enquired at the oracle of God: ..." 2nd Samuel 16:23), and Hushai the Archite, a spy sent by David. Now, Ahithophel's counsel had been turned into "foolishness" by God, in accordance with a request made by David (2nd Samuel 15:31). Thus, while Pentheus was unknowingly being misdirected by the god Dionysus, Absalom was listening to Ahithophel without knowing that his counsel was being completely subverted by God. In each case the questioning eventually shifts into the Prince taking deceitful advice from the operatives. Hushai is particularly artful and elusive under Absalom’s examination (2nd Samuel 16:16-19), his cunning responses being remarkably reminiscent of the exchange between Pentheus and the “stranger” (Dionysus) which prompted Pentheus to finally remark “Again you diverted my question well, speaking mere nonsense.” (Eur. Ba.479), and further, “How bold the Bacchant is, and not unpracticed in speaking!” (Eur. Ba.491).
In comparing the Scriptural account to the Greek Bacchae, one cannot help but notice the similarities between the respective presumptive Princes' interrogations of the corresponding priests. For, in each case, the mortal who was speaking the words of the god, was attempting to "buy time" for the evacuees. He had to squelch the notion that the prince should immediately send out an army to bring back the people by force, and instead convince the Prince to go himself, in person, to retrieve the wayward citizens. Dionysus is portrayed as saying; “But if ever the city of Thebes should in anger seek to drive the the Bacchae down from the mountains with arms, I, the general of the Maenads, will join battle with them. On which account I have changed my form to a mortal one and altered my shape into the nature of a man.” (Eur. Ba.50-55). It was evidently the intention of Pentheus to take immediate martial action as he is made to say; “all who are gone forth, will I chase from the hills” (Eur. Ba. 228). And; “But we must not hesitate. Go to the Electran gates, bid all the shield-bearers and riders of swift-footed horses to assemble, as well as all who brandish the light shield and pluck bowstrings with their hands, so that we can make an assault against the Bacchae.” (Eur. Ba. 780-785) Similarly Absalom, under the advice of Ahithophel, wanted to send out an army immediately, “this night,” to retrieve his citizens; “... Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night: ... And I will bring back all the people unto thee ... And the saying pleased Absalom well, ... ” (2nd Samuel 17:1,3,4). However, both Pentheus and Absalom were persuaded by subversive counsel against this hasty course of action, they were both told that their opponent was receiving divine assistance; “... For the LORD had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.” (2nd Samuel 17:14). While Dionysus tells the Prince how the revellers are favored by god; “Pentheus, though you hear my words, you obey not at all. Though I suffer ill at your hands, still I say that it is not right for you to raise arms against a god, but to remain calm. Bromius (the god Dionysus) will not allow you to remove his votaries from the mountains where they revel.” (Eur. Ba. 788-792). And the two were respectively warned against the possibility of a slaughter; Absalom was told, “... it will come to pass, when some of them be overthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom.” (2nd Samuel 17:9). Likewise Dionysus tells Pentheus, “sacrifice to the god rather than kick against his spurs in anger, a mortal against a god.” to which Pentheus replies, “I will sacrifice, making a great slaughter of the women, as they deserve, in the glens of Cithaeron.” Dionysus then warns, “You will all flee. And it will be a source of shame that you turn your bronze shields away from the thyrsoi of the Bacchae.” (Eur. Ba. 794-799). Finally they each opt to take the treacherous advice in favor of undertaking an alternate mission, in person; “Therefore I counsel ... that thou go to battle in thine own person.” (2nd Samuel 17:11) “ I will go openly; thou wert right to say so.” (Eur. Ba. 818).
The incestuous desires of the Prince
Also, in each case, the Prince was advised to engage in a strange voyeuristic sexual enterprise with his mother and his aunts. In the Scriptures Absalom was told to set up a tent, in full view of the populace, move his father's harem into it, and have sex with them in front of the whole city (2nd Samuel 16:21). In the Greek version Pentheus is advised that he could “look upon” his mother and aunts, "going at it like rutting birds," engaging in the usual licentious activities that he would expect from women in a Bacchic orgy, " clutching each other as they make sweet love" (Eur. Ba. 597). Pentheus was all for it, exclaiming that he would, "give an enormous amount of gold for that!" (Eur. Ba. 811). When the god brought Pentheus to the gathering of his mother and aunts, he complained that, "from where we are standing I cannot see," and further insisted, "on the hill, ascending a lofty pine, I might view properly the shameful acts" (Eur. Ba. 1060). It seems as though the Greeks modified the tale to take away the shock factor of the Prince actually taking his mother and her “sisters” as wives. And yet, the Greeks who retold the story must have looked upon this indiscretion as most heinous, for they make this sin to be the one that directly causes the death of Pentheus in his tree. It is entirely plausible that the Hebrew tellers of the original tale may also have blamed the death of Absalom on the fact that he “went in unto his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel,” for it is widely admitted that this was indeed the ultimate act of usurpation.
The similarities are evident but the differences may also be quite telling, for while it is admitted that Absalom actually had sexual relations with his own father's harem, Pentheus is accused only of "looking upon" or "seeing" his mother and aunts. This particular inconsistency may very well help to identify the origin of the tale as Hebrew, for it is well known that, among the Hebrews, the term, "seeing nakedness" is an often used and attested to sexual euphemism, indicating illicit sex or rape. This expression for sexual union is used throughout the incest prohibitions in Leviticus 18:1-18, 20:17-21,9 where, for example, we read: "And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; ..." (20:17) "seeing nakedness" inferring "having sex with." Thus we can easily see how the Prince's indiscretion could have been softened by the Hebrew tellers of the tale as, "looking upon" his mother and aunts, while the Greek listeners took the euphemism literally.
Wives or Daughters
Now, the reader may wonder why the wives of King David should be portrayed as the daughters of his Greek counterpart King Cadmus. This may not be so much of an inconsistency as it looks to be at first glance. For the wives, or concubines, of David may very well have become his “daughters,” not actually, but legally. Absalom had been anointed as King in David’s stead, as such, he took the King’s harem and used them as his wives; “So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.” (2nd Samuel 16:22). This appears to be in accordance with the customs of the time and even recognized by David when Absalom had died and David returned to the Kingship; “And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and fed them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.” (2nd Samuel 20:3). This may not have been so much an act of vainglorious cruelty, as many modern commentators have suggested, but merely a legal formality. For his erstwhile wives were now his daughters in law, so he “went not in unto them” and, even though he was still alive, the women were consigned to “widowhood” because their husband, David’s son, had died. Presumably, Maacah, the mother of Absalom was among those women. Thus, when the Greeks told the story, they may have been a bit confused about the relationships between the King and the women; they became the daughters of Cadmus and Pentheus as one of their sons, became one of Cadmus’ grandsons.
The Death of the Stubborn Prince
The Fateful Tree
In each case the Prince got stuck in a tree where he was spotted by the exiles. Each was speared and brought down from the tree alive. Where each would be brutally dispatched by a group of awaiting insurrectionists. We can thank Ovid for recording the fact that Pentheus was speared while up in the tree. “his mother was the first to see Pentheus, the first roused to run at him madly, the first to wound him, hurling her thyrsus.” (Ovid Meta. Book III. c.710). Then the other Bacchantes mobbed him and tore him to pieces; "all the eager host of Bacchanals ... each one with blood-dabbled hands was tossing Pentheus’ limbs about." (Eur. Ba. 1131-1137). The Scriptures relate a very similar story about the death of Absalom; “And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away. And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak. ... Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. And ten young men that bare Joab's armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.” (2nd Samuel 18:9,10 and 14,15). Note the peculiar and enigmatic phrase, "up between the heaven and the earth" because there must have been some symbolic significance therein. For it was apparently either important, or at least impressive, enough to have been remembered, and repeated, in the Greek version as well. For when Dionysus wanted to make sure that Pentheus was seen in his tree, the god shined a miraculous light upon him "between heaven and earth." As Euripides puts it; "He (Pentheus in his tree) was seen by the Maenads more than he saw them, for sitting on high he was all but apparent, and the stranger was no longer anywhere to be seen, when a voice, Dionysus as I guess, cried out from the air: “Young women, I bring the one who has made you and me and my rites a laughing-stock. Now punish him!” And as he spoke he raised between heaven and earth a dazzling column of awful flame." (Eur. Ba.1075-1085) Admittedly, this is perhaps just a coincidence but it is certainly a remarkable one, and it may be just one more bit of evidence of how much the Greek story relied upon the Hebrew original (even the column of flame is a well known Hebrew motif).
The King’s Proverbial Lament
Even though the treacherous Prince had conspired against his own displaced subjects, the mourning of the old King for his dead Prince was proverbial in each case. As Cadmus laments In the Bacchae; “O grief beyond measuring, one which I cannot stand to see, that you have performed murder with miserable hands. Having cast down a fine sacrificial victim to the gods, you invite Thebes and me to a banquet. Alas, first for your troubles, then for my own. How justly, yet too severely, lord Bromius the god has destroyed us, though he is a member of our own family.” (Eur. Ba. 1244-1252). So we learn of David’s anguish in the Scriptural account; “And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son. And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!” (2nd Samuel 19:1-4) Both stories tell of how the King, so wronged by his Prince, was never-the-less quite inconsolable.
Furthermore, the reactions of the respective killers can be compared. For Joab could not see what he had done wrong in killing Absalom, and he was ashamed that David was so distressed about it; “And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. ... And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, ...” (2nd Samuel 19:1,5). Neither did Agave realize that what she had done was wrong, nor could she understand why Cadmus was so distressed about it, as she says to him; "But what of these matters is not right, or what is painful?" (Eur. Ba. 1264)
The Head of Pentheus
The story of the death of the fractious Prince was followed up, in each case, with an account of how his body was abused. Absalom’s body was mutilated by a mob and “tossed” into a pit, while Pentheus was torn to pieces by the Bacchantes and “scattered.” But the Greek tale goes on to tell how the severed head of Pentheus was brought back to Cadmus who looks upon it, as he cries his lament over his lost Prince. While the Scriptural narrative says nothing about the dismemberment of Absalom. There is however a legendary account that was well known enough to be included in Ginzberg’s "The Legends of the Jews," that does indeed affirm that Absalom’s head was taken off, the quote from Ginzberg runs thusly; "David's intercession had the effect of re-attaching Absalom's severed head to his body." (Volume IV. Chap IV. in the article entitled, "Absalom's Rebellion"). Ginzberg’s account further indicates that this divine miracle was granted “on account of David's eightfold repetition of his son's name in his lament over him.” We can plausibly assume therefore, that the legend is here indicating that the famous lament of King David was, in part, a reaction to his finding out that Absalom’s head was severed, for the miracle of re-attaching it was done on David’s behalf and in response to his cries.
However, we need not rely solely upon the Jewish legend, compelling as it may be, to account for the Greek myth about the head of Pentheus. For the Greek tale, which ends with the treatment of the Princes’ head by Agave as a trophy; "No, but I (Agave), wretched, hold the head of Pentheus." (Eur. Ba. 1284); may very well have been embellished with a story that was appended onto the Hebrew original, about the head of Sheba ben Bichri.
Joab, who had taken the lead in killing Absalom, did receive a head as a trophy. Perhaps not Absalom's head, but the head of Sheba ben Bichri. For the death of Absalom was not quite the end of the revolt of Absalom, as Sheba resumed the rebellion and presumably sought to convince Israel to make him king in Absalom's stead. The Scriptures liken Sheba to Absalom; "... shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom ..." (2nd Samuel 20:6). Noteworthy is the fact that an unnamed "wise woman" was responsible for the decapitation of Sheba; "Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. ... And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king." (2nd Samuel 20:22) Presumably Joab brought with him the head to show the King, and thus we have a plausible parallel, however garbled the Greeks seem to have gotten it, to the myth of the aftermath of Pentheus' death. The confusion seems to have occurred due to the fact that Joab killed Absalom and, shortly thereafter, carried back the head of the next "Absalom," Sheba, to King David as a trophy. In the Greek version the two figures, Absalom and Sheba, seem to have become merged into the one character Pentheus. The two fatal deeds, first the spearing in the tree, and then the consequent dismemberment of Pentheus, are written into the Bacchae as a continuous action, both committed by a woman, the mother of Pentheus, Agave.
Now, Agave has previously been compared with Joab (Hebrew Yo-av, not so dissimilar to the Greek Ag-ave with a soft "G,"); they both led one of the three companies into which the dispersed people had been divided; they both speared the stubborn Prince in the tree; and, appended onto each version of the rebellion, is an episode where they both carried a dismembered head back to the city and the King. Furthermore, Joab is one of the "sons of Zeruiah" ("And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel ..." 2nd Samuel 2:18. Joab and the other “sons of Zeruiah” are referenced as such, over 20 times throughout the Scriptures, mostly in the books of Samuel.) who were in turn, foremost among the mighty men of David. Now, the name "Zeruiah" can be interpreted to mean "the sown one of Yah" (as in the name "Zerubbabel" which means "the one sown of Babylon"), thus it is analogous to the Greek term "Spartoi" meaning "the sown ones." The Greek Spartoi were to Cadmus, as the mighty men were to David. While Agave was obviously not one of the Spartoi, she was however married to the chief of the Spartoi, Echion who sired Pentheus upon her; "Pentheus, son of Echion and Agave, denied that Dionysus was a god, and refused to introduce his Mysteries." (Hyginus, Fabulae 184).
Admittedly, the idea that the soldier Joab, a man, could have been transformed by the Greeks into Agave, a woman, no matter how militant, seems difficult to grasp, perhaps even ridiculous. But the early Greek mythographers determined that they needed to incorporate, what they considered to be a very important motif, that of the triple daughters of the king, into the myth. And, as this motif usually included the idea that one of the three daughters had to undergo a deadly ordeal, in this case the sacrifice of her own son, they developed the character Agave to play the role of Joab. As Joab was a prominent member of David's mighty men, so Agave was married to the chief of Cadmus' Spartoi. Thereby, in accordance with regular Greek symbolism, it was one of the three daughters of the king who killed the prince, her son.
Miscellaneous Resemblances
The length of hair and “beauty” of the Prince
Dionysus says to Pentheus while preparing him to go to the fatal tree, “Upon thy head will I make thy hair grow long.” (Eur. Ba. 831). Philostratus of Lemnos (c. 190 AD - ? also known as Philostratus the Elder) describes a painting he saw, that depicted the general beauty and hair of the Prince; "Pentheus, ... very youthful, with delicate chin and locks of reddish hue, ... From those locks he derived his vigour, and he imparted vigour to them; but this itself was his madness, that he would not join Dionysus in madness." (Philostratus the Elder, 1. 18, "Bacchantes"). Take note of the “family resemblance” to David who, when a youth, also had “locks of a reddish hue”; ”... he (David) was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. ...” (1st Samuel 16:12). Also notice how Goliath describes David in his youth, as “ruddy, and of a fair countenance.” (1st Samuel 17:42). Furthermore take note, that according to Philostratus, Pentheus "derived his vigour" from, and "imparted vigour to" his hair, which became the cause of the "madness" that he had in not joining Dionysus. And compare this to the Rabbinical opinion wherein it is said that, the vanity with which he displayed his beautiful hair, became his snare and his stumbling-block. From the Mishnah we have; "By his long hair the Nazarite entangled the people to rebel against his father, and by it he himself became entangled, to fall a victim to his pursuers" (Mishnah Soṭah, i. 8).
Of Absalom’s hair it was said, “And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight.” (2nd Samuel 14:26). From Rabbinical tradition we have; "As for his marvellous hair, the account of it in the Bible does not convey a notion of its abundance. Absalom had taken the vow of a Nazarite. As his vow was for life, and because the growth of his hair was particularly heavy, the law permitted him to clip it slightly every week. It was of this small quantity that the weight amounted to two hundred shekels." (Louis Ginzberg "The Legends of the Jews," Volume IV. Chap IV. in the article entitled, "Absalom's Rebellion"). It is noteworthy in this quote from Ginzberg’s “Legends” as well as the Mishnah, that Absalom is referred to as a “Nazarite.” This is perhaps due to his custom, in accordance with the usual Nazarite vow, to let one’s hair grow long, with the intention of offering it in sacrifice before the Temple, at an annual polling. That this tradition was not unfamiliar to the Greeks may be obscurely alluded to in the Bacchae, where Pentheus threatens to shear the hair of Dionysus who replies; “My locks are sacred; for the god I let them grow.” (Even more noteworthy is the fact that a Nazarite, such as Absalom, must abstain from wine; thus, another resonance with his Greek counterpart Pentheus, who similarly disdained the rites of the wine god.)
Now, as to the fabled beauty of Absalom it was said; “But in all Israel there was not a man so comely, and so exceedingly beautiful as Absalom: from the sole of the foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.” (2nd Samuel 14:25). Perhaps the “manly” Greeks (among whom “Greek love” and pederasty were proverbial, compare; Prince Ganymede, Prince Hyacinth, and Prince Pelops.), upon hearing of the luxuriant hair and celebrated beauty of Absalom, considered such flamboyant characteristics to be attributes of an effeminate affectation. For in their retelling of the tale, they give Pentheus, almost derisively, the disguise and aspect of a woman. Dionysus says; “I want him to be a source of laughter to the Thebans, as he is led through the city in women's guise” (Eur. Ba. 855). The god further remarks upon the appearance of Pentheus made up as a woman; “... wearing the clothing of a woman, ... In appearance you are like one of Cadmus' daughters.” (Eur. Ba. 915-918).
Oak or a Pine?
In the Scriptures the calamitous tree of Absalom was an oak, but in the Bacchae it was a pine, so why the discrepancy between the Hebrew oak and the Greek pine? Whether the death of the Prince occurs in an oak, as in the Scriptural story, or a pine, as in the Greek, it is never-the-less in one of the top two, insofar as sanctity goes, of Dionysus’ sacred trees. And in the Bacchae, the ritualistic use of either pine or oak, is apparently a matter of personal or local preference, rather than of divine edict. For, in the Bacchae, the worshippers of Dionysus are given the choice between them; “Crown yourself in honor of Bacchus with branches of oak or pine.” (Eur. Ba. 109,110). Even though the pine is more prevalent in Greece, and Euripides names it as the chosen sacrificial tree of Pentheus, he does perhaps leave us a hint that there may once have been an alternate account of the death scene, for, near the end of the play, he has Cadmus say; “I turned back to the mountain to bring from thence my son who was slain ... in the oak-groves” (Eur. Ba. 1225-1230). Thus, the “discrepancy” is made to seem rather insignificant.
The Mule
Another conspicuous distinction between the Greek and Hebrew tales has to do with how the respective princes had gotten into their respective fateful trees. The Hebrew original has Absalom, going out personally to retrieve those who have left the city. This was in accordance with the bad advice given to him during his interrogation of David’s spy. He rides upon a mule. It is the mule itself that is responsible for placing him in the tree (2nd Samuel 18:9,10). The Greek myth makes Dionysus, disguised as a mortal priest, advise Pentheus to go on a similar personal mission. Dionysus leads him out to the revellers, and it is the god himself that places him in the tree. As a witness to the death of Pentheus reports; “And then I saw the stranger perform a marvelous deed. For seizing hold of the lofty top-most branch of the pine tree, he pulled it down, ... doing no mortal's deed. He sat Pentheus down on the pine branch, and let it go upright through his hands steadily, taking care not to shake him off. The pine stood firmly upright into the sky, with my master seated on its back.” (Eur. Ba. 1063-1075) (No doubt the Hebrews too, saw the “hand of God” in their version of this incident.) An observant student of Greek mythology will have no trouble reconciling the two accounts, for the mule is the familiar companion to Dionysus, his counterpart, or alter ego, so to speak (See Nonnus, Dionysiaca 37. and Hyginus, "Poetica Astronomica" II, 23). Therefore the “divinely commissioned” mule of the Hebrew original, was easily understood by the Greek mythographers to be Dionysus himself.
Ahijah and Teiresias
Among the Israelites there was a very famous prophet, whose name was Ahijah. Ahijah was blind. "Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were set by reason of his age" (I Kings, xiv. 4). Ahijah was said to have been active as early as the time of David and to have been an important official of his. He was supposed to be identical with Ahijah the Levite, who was placed by King David in charge of the treasures of the house of God and of the treasures of the dedicated things (I Chron. xxvi. 20; see B. B. 121b, Rashi). According to II Chron. ix. 29, the history of Solomon's reign was written by him. Ahijah was regarded as having lived an unusually long life. Abraham ben David of Posquières, in his notes to Maimonides, says that Ahijah was, "a member of David's court of justice". "Ahijah was ... a disciple of David; and finally he became the teacher of Elijah before his death." (Maimonides, in the introduction to his "Yad ha-ḤazaḲah,") From David (born about 1040 BC.) to Elijah (died about 850 BC.) is about 190 years, easily seven generations.
The city of Thebes was also said to be served by a very similar and well known prophet whose name was Teiresias. To quote Apollodorus; “Now there was among the Thebans a soothsayer, Tiresias, ... and he had lost the sight of his eyes. ... He also lived to a great age.” (“Library” 3.6.7). “Tiresias ... decided in Jove’s favour, Juno with the back of her hand angrily blinded him, but Jove because of this gave him seven lives to live, and made him a seer wiser than other mortals.” (Hyginus Fabulae 75) “But now he is speaking of Teiresias, since it is said that he lived seven generations -- though others say nine. He lived from the times of Cadmus down to those of Eteocles and Polyneices.” (Tzetzes on Lycophron, 682) Eteocles and Polyneices are the sons of Oedipus (Identified by Velikovsky as Tutankhamen and Smenkhkare the sons of Akhenaten; Who are, in turn further identified by Damien Mackey as Jehoram and Ahaziah the sons of Ahab).
Although Ahijah was indeed said to have lived a very long life, there is one other aspect of his legend that the Greeks may have taken in attributing to Tiresias his mythical longevity. In the Rabbinical literature Ahijah was purported to have been; “one of the seven long-lived saints whose successive lives extend over the whole history of mankind; each having transmitted the sacred lore from his predecessor to the one succeeding him, while shielding the generations of his time by means of his piety.” (Ab. R. N. version B. xxxviii., Seder 'Olam R. i., and B. B. 121b For the underlying idea, see Ḥag. 12b, and Yoma, 38b, with reference to Prov. x. 25, Heb.). According to this tradition Ahijah lived over six hundred years, having received his "wisdom" from ... Serah, the daughter of Asher (From the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia article “Ahijah the Prophet”). Here Ahijah is portrayed as part of a continuum existing since the beginning of human history. Noteworthy also, insofar as our identification between Ahijah and Tiresias goes, is the concept that Ahijah’s immediate predecessor in this continuum was a woman, Serah. This circumstance may serve to explain why it was said that Tiresias had, previous to his career with Cadmus, been a woman. It was this story, that Tiresias had lived previously as a woman, for which he was once called upon to settle a dispute between Hera and Zeus, as to who received more pleasure from love making, men or women. He famously answered; "If the pleasures of sex would be counted as ten; Then nine go to women, one only to men.”
Actaeon as Adonijah
The Woman Seen Bathing
The scriptural editors could easily have omitted the episode of King David's indiscretion with Bathsheba. However, presumably in the interest of historical accuracy, they left it in, even at the expense of their great king's reputation. The Greeks however, had no such scruples. The reputation of their great King Cadmus remained intact, for they apparently protected the reputation of their king. As there was a woman, in the Greek myth, who was seen bathing, but it was not King Cadmus who saw her, it was one of his princes whose name was "Actaeon." In the scriptures King David was punished in regards to Bathsheba, one of his princes was killed. Later in the story of King David, another of his princes is put to death through the conniving intervention of Bathsheba, his name was Adonijah.
The fate of Actaeon is not fully delineated by Euripides in the Bacchae, however he does refer to it a few times incidentally. It is a bit disappointing to me that Euripides doesn’t seem to endorse the version of the Actaeon tale that includes him inadvertently catching sight of the bathing goddess. Other mythographers have related the “bathing woman” version of the story though, such as Ovid, Seneca, Apollodorus, Callimachus, and Aeschylus. Hyginus tells it in this way; "Actaeon, ... saw Diana bathing and desired to ravish her. Angry at this, Diana made horns grow on his head, and he was devoured by his own dogs." (Hyginus, "Fabulae" 180). And again; "When Diana, ... was bathing in the stream called Parthenius (of the Maiden), Actaeon, ... caught sight of the goddess, and to keep him from telling of it, she changed him into a stag. As a stag, then, he was mangled by his own hounds." (Hyginus, "Fabulae" 181).
The, "woman seen bathing" theme, was apparently a popular one among the "Phoenicians" that founded Thebes, because another myth, from the Theban cycle, uses a similar motif. For it is said that the prophet and counsellor of King Cadmus, Tiresias, was blinded for seeing Athena as she bathed. (cf. Callimachus, "Hymns" v. 57 ff.). Nonnus refers to the same motif when he tells of how Zeus became smitten with Persephone thusly; "Persephone ... moistened her skin with a refreshing bath, floating in the cool running stream, and left behind her threads fixt on the loom of Pallas. But she could not escape the all seeing eye of Zeus. He gazed at the whole body of Persephone, uncovered in her bath." ("Dionysiaca" Book 5. 597-610 ff.) This has relevance to the Theban cycle of mythology also in that Zeus, unable to resist her beauty, ravaged her and their issue was Zagreus (otherwise known as Sabazios), the original Dionysus, whom Cadmus is credited with promoting. Furthermore the name "Persephone," based, as I suppose, upon the name of the Israelite city of "Beersheba" is like the name "Bathsheba," and it is not beyond reason that both David, and his great queen Bathsheba, may have been deified by some of those apostate Israelites, as the "Phoenicians," who told the tale originally.
While He was Hunting, He Saw The “Goddess”
It is generally accepted that Actaeon was in the act of hunting when he came upon the bathing beauty; "Actaeon, ... when weary with hunting, ... looked while Artemis was bathing" (Pausanias, "Description of Greece" 9.2.3). Similarly, we find in the rabbinical literature, that King David was performing an act of hunting when he chanced to see the bathing Bathsheba; “Bathsheba was making her toilet on the roof of her house behind a screen of wickerwork, when Satan came in the disguise of a bird; David, shooting at it, struck the screen, splitting it; thus Bathsheba was revealed in her beauty to David” (Sanh. 107a). Now, it is true that, in the Greek myth, the bathing beauty was a goddess, while the Scriptural Bathsheba was simply a mortal woman. It may well be that we are underestimating the esteem, with which King David's great queen, was held by the israelite population, notably those who had emigrated to Greece. That the Israelites looked upon Bathsheba as something more than simply an ordinary mortal woman is evident from a further reading of the previously cited rabbinical literature where it goes on to say; “Bathsheba was providentially destined from the Creation to become in due time the legitimate wife of David.” Here we are led to believe that Bathsheba, had a special creation, at the time of the garden of Eden, to be incarnated at the time of David, when she was predestined to be his queen. In Greece, the transplanted Israelites would have no qualms about deifying their great queen of Zion. In fact, the well known alternate name for Artemis, "Diana," is a plausible transliteration of the name "Zion," which is in turn, a widely accepted allegorical feminine personification of the city of Jerusalem.
The King’s Concubine
In the Greek myth it was not Cadmus, but his prince Actaeon, who committed the indiscretion of seeing the bathing woman, and was accordingly killed by her. In the scriptural account Bathsheba, at least two times, attempted to have Adonijah killed by bringing a damning account, concerning him, to the king. First, she informed the aging King David as to Adonijah's ambition, to become his heir; "And Bathsheba went in unto the king ... And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne. And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not" (1st Kings 1:15-18). This attempt was unsuccessful however, because neither David nor the new king Solomon, took any punitive action against Adonijah. Later, after the death of King David, Bathsheba informed her son, King Solomon, of Adonijah's desire to take one of old King David's concubines, Abishag the Shunammite (1st Kings 1:3,4), as a wife; "Bathsheba therefore went unto king Solomon, ... And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife. And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also ..." (1st Kings 2:19-22). The Scriptures make it seem as though Bathsheba was asking on behalf of Adonijah, however, she must have realized how her son Solomon would react to such a seditious request, and she certainly would not be amenable to having her own son replaced as heir to the throne (she displayed this disposition earlier when she tattled to King David against Adonijah’s ambition). As could be predicted this request was seen as an act of usurpation, and so King Solomon had Adonijah executed.
Not every ancient Greek account agrees as to the crime of Actaeon. And, just as it was not Adonijah who saw Bathsheba bathing, some versions of the Actaeon myth, perhaps based upon a better understanding of the original, omit the bathing beauty narrative. Indeed, Euripides himself, as we have said, does not seem to ascribe to it, he blames Actaeon's punishment on his boast to be superior to Artemis, in hunting. And, just as Adonijah was executed over his choice of a royal bride, so, some Greek mythographers described Actaeon's crime in similar terms; "Stesichorus of Himera says that the goddess cast a deer-skin round Actaeon to make sure that his hounds would kill him, so as to prevent his taking Semele to wife." (Pausanias, "Description of Greece" 9. 2. 3). Apollodorus weighs in on the subject; "Actaeon, ... was devoured on Cithaeron by his own dogs. He perished in that way, according to Acusilaus, because Zeus was angry at him for wooing Semele;." (Apollodorus, "Library" 3.4.4). And another ancient source has; "Actaeon, who, as the myths relate, was torn to pieces by his own dogs.The reason for this bad turn of fortune of his, as some explain it, was ... he purposed to consummate the marriage with Artemis" (Diodorus Siculus, "Library of History" 4. 81. 3-5). Stesichorus, as reported by Pausanias, and Apollodorus call the forbidden woman Semele, an earthly concubine of Zeus and the mother of Dionysus. However, for the purposes of this article, she was another one of the “daughters” of Cadmus. As such, the relation of Semele to Actaeon was not unlike the relation of Adonijah to Abishag; the mother of Adonijah, Haggith, was the “sister” of Abishag by virtue of the fact that they were both wives of David, his father. The identification between the “daughters” of Cadmus, and the “wives” of David has been speculated earlier, and this version of the story of Actaeon fits it nicely. Even in the account that is told by Diodorus Siculus, where Actaeon desires to wed the goddess Artemis (“Diana”) herself, we may find a, however dim, recollection of the Scriptural narrative wherein Adonijah seeks to wed a “queen” of “Zion” in order to consolidate his claim to the throne of David.
The Fifty Runners, Hunters? Dogs?
The punishment of Actaeon was executed through his fifty dogs, who were turned upon him; "Actaeon, ... was later eaten up on Cithaeron by his own ... fifty hunting dogs" (Apollodorus, "Library" 3. 30). Ovid names more than thirty of them, with names like; Melampus (Blackfoot) swift as the wind, Ichnobates (Tracker), Oribasos (Ranger), Nebrophonos (Rover), Theron (Stalker), Laelaps (Storm), Agre (Hunter), Aello (Tempest), and Pterelas (Flight) unsurpassed for speed, (Ovid, "Metamorphoses" 3. 138 ff.); and then Ovid goes on to say; "and many more too long to tell." The fifty dogs of the Greek myth, is a bit reminiscent of the Scriptural story of Adonijah, who had also employed a pack of fifty, not dogs, but runners; “Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.” (1st Kings 1:5). Having a pack of fifty runners, was apparently a meaningful prerequisite for anyone aspiring to become a king in those days, for the same thing was said of Absalom when he was attempting to usurp the throne; “Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.” (2nd Samuel 15:1). Some translations of these verses refer to the runners, as royal guards, or body guards.
The Roman emperors had employed such runners, footmen who would precede the chariot at full speed, (they referred to them as “cursores”). The Egyptians and the Persians also used runners before the king's horse. Adonijah hoped by this display of regal pomp to win the esteem of the people. That the tradition of the Roman cursores was a direct byproduct of the Hebrew convention is revealed by the reporting of a very particular practice. The highly respected, Louis Ginzberg, in his, "The Legends of the Jews," Volume IV. Chap IV. in the article entitled, "the family of David" says; “The fifty men whom he (Adonijah) prepared to run before him had fitted themselves for the place of heralds by cutting out their spleen” (see also, Sanh. 21b; 'Ab. Zarah, 44a). Cutting out the spleen? About a thousand years later we find that the Romans were performing the same weird operation; “With the view of increasing the swiftness of runners the Romans used to eradicate their spleen either by performing the operation of extracting that organ or by administering drugs supposed to have the effect of destroying it.” (Pliny, "The Natural History," XI. 37) “... Laurentius Pignorius understood that in his own time (c. 1631 AD.) extraction of the spleen was practised upon the runners of the Grand Sultan” (from Tract de Servis).
The "runners" of the Hebrew Kings were apparently the same as the "cursores" of the Roman Emperors, right down to their eradicated spleens. The Roman Emperors also employed them as footmen, porters, and couriers. Among the French they were called chasseurs, a word which indicates not only "footmen" but also "hunters," one of their duties was to chase down outlaws that were wanted by the crown, for which purpose they kept and used dogs. In fact, the concepts of a runner, and a hunter, seem to be closely related, we can see the relationship in words like, chase, drive, stalk, and tracker.
The fact that the usurping princes of King David kept a pack of fifty runners, or royal guards as they are sometimes called, perhaps has significance in regards to the fifty dogs of Actaeon. However, there is no hint in the scriptures that David's prince was killed by his runners. On the other hand, it is not unreasonable to suppose that the fifty runners of Adonijah, had turned upon him when they heard of the installation of Solomon as king, as did the rest of his retinue; "And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way." (1st Kings 1:49). In this way, his fair-weather entourage, had plausibly earned the metaphoric title "dogs," in exhibiting an expedient loyalty that faltered when it became no longer convenient. In the very next verse Adonijah, who had been a bold and dashing young chieftain, displayed a craven act of cowardice by taking possession of the horns of the altar; "And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar." (1st Kings 1:50). The worst thing that one who seeks to master a pack of "dogs" can do, is to display cowardice, and the loss of his following is a normally expected consequence. The Greek myths also, make something of the sudden fear that overcame the prince. In fact, the motif of "being turned into a deer" may itself be allegorical of his "suddenly becoming fearful." Thus, we read in Ovid; "his courage turned to fear. The brave son of Autonoe took to flight, ... Fear made him hesitate to trust the woods, and shame deterred him ... While doubting thus his dogs espied him there" (Ovid, "Metamorphoses" 187-206 ff.). And, a little more explicitly, in Fabius Planciades Fulgentius (a late 5th – early 6th century mythological commentator,) who quotes Anaximenes and Homer as his sources; "Anaximenes, ... says that Actaeon loved hunting, but ... he grew afraid. He had the heart of a stag, as Homer says: “Heavy with wine, having the eyes of a dog and the heart of a stag.” But while the excitement of the hunt left him, he did not love the qualities of dogs, for in idly gratifying them he lost all his substance; for this reason he is said to have been devoured by his own hounds." (Fulgentius, "Mythologies" Book 3.3).
Perhaps something can be gleaned about the dogs of Actaeon from a study of “the Telchines,” usually depicted as “dog headed,” they are are variously described as, a family, a class of people, or a tribe. Eustathius states that originally they were the dogs of Actaeon, who were changed into men. (from his, “Commentaries on Homer's Iliad and Odyssey” p. 771). Strabo, and others, indicate that the Telchines were the same as the Kouretes; "Some represent the Corybantes, the Cabeiri, the Idaean Dactyls, and the Telchines as identical with the Kouretes, ... they represent them, one and all, as a kind of inspired people and as subject to Bacchic frenzy, and, in the guise of ministers, as inspiring terror at the celebration of the sacred rites by means of war-dances, accompanied by uproar and noise and cymbals and drums and arms, and also by flute and outcry." (Strabo, “Geography” 10. 3. 7). Here Eustathius and Strabo combine to transform the “dogs of Actaeon” into a “class of people” who, as the “Kouretes,” can be looked upon as some sort of “ministers.” For the Kouretes, the guards of Zeus, were the prototype of the royal guard "The Kouretes in full armour, guarding the infant (Zeus) in the cave, beat their shields with their spears that Cronus might not hear the child’s voice." (Apollodorus, "Library" i. 4,).
While, as we have said, the Scriptures give us no indication that Adonijah was killed by his own royal guard, they do say that he was killed by one, "Benaiah." However, this Benaiah must have been a very influential individual among the "royal guard guild," for he was the overall head of the kings royal guard. Benaiah was a priest (1st Chronicles 27:5) who commanded the Cherethites and Pelethites (2nd Samuel 8:18, 20:23); and was placed by King David over the guard (1st Chronicles 11:25; 2nd Samuel 23:23). In Adonijah's attempt at the kingship, Benaiah sided with Solomon (1st Kings 1:8-44 f.) and took part in proclaiming the latter king. On the death of David, Solomon ordered Benaiah to put Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei, to death (1st Kings 2:25, 34, 46). As we can see, it was within his duties, as the head of the royal guard, to track down and execute those outlaws who were wanted by the crown.To those who retold the story, it may have seemed especially ironic that one who had previously been protected by the royal guard, should in the end, be dispatched by them. It may have been this circumstance that was responsible for the idea that the “dogs” of Actaeon had turned upon their former master.
When the conspiracy of Adonijah was made known, David summoned Benaiah into his presence and ordered him to put Solomon on “the King’s mule” and go to the fountain of Gihon (an apparent coronation ritual). He ordered the entire bodyguard under Benaiah to accompany them. This “bodyguard” was called “the servants of your lord” at 1st Chronicles 1:33, but further clarified a few verses later, at 1:38, as “the Cherethites, and the Pelethites.” Thus the phrase "Cherethites and Pelethites" was referring to the bodyguard of David; If, as is often suspected, the Carites (Carians) and Cherethites (2nd Kings 11:4) are identical, then the same troop was still in existence in the time of Athaliah. (The Egyptian kings Psammetichus and Amasis used Carian mercenaries and the Carians also formed the bodyguard for the kings of Lydia.) The Septuagint, in the Prophets, translates "Cherethites" by "Cretans." Carians, the famous mercenaries of Greek antiquity, are mentioned, by Herodotus ii. 152, 171; Thucydides, iv. 8; Hesychius, under "Karitai" and "Archilochus." Herodotus says that "Carians" served King Minos of Crete. Perhaps Strabo took the Carians or Cherethites of Crete, for the Kouretes whom he says were the same as the “dog headed” Telchines. "In Crete, not only these rites, but in particular those sacred to Zeus, were performed along with orgiastic worship and with the kind of ministers who were in the service of Dionysos, I mean the Satyrs. These ministers they called Kouretes” (Strabo, Geography 10. 3. 11). This would at least, help to connect the dots between the "dogs" who killed Actaeon, and the Cherethites under Benaiah who killed Adonijah.
Actaeon is like Pentheus as Adonijah is like Absalom.
If you weren't careful you might think that the expression "and his mother bare him (Adonijah) after Absalom" (1st Kings, 1:6), is indicating that Absalom and Adonijah were born of the same mother (we learn elsewhere in the Scriptures that they came from two different mothers), or that it is a simple chronological reference. However, according to the Rabbinical literature, the statement is used to indicate that both these sons of David were of the same type and that their actions were similar (B. B. 109b, Midr. Teh. on ii. 7). According to Euripides, both princes of Cadmus, Pentheus and Actaeon, were torn to pieces at the same spot on Mount Cithaeron. (Eur. Ba. 1291 f.). In Nonnus the death of Actaeon even further mirrors the death of Pentheus by his placing Actaeon up in a tree for the fatal episode; “For as he sat up in a tall oak tree amid the spreading boughs, he had seen the whole body of the Archeress bathing” (Nonnus, Dionysiaca, Book 5, 291 f.). Take note that it was an oak tree this time, as it was in the story of the Absalom, and not a pine as in the story of Pentheus. Nonnus also treats the scattering of the torn apart body in much the same way as the myth of Pentheus does; “Often you passed that tree where lies what is left of Actaeon; often you went by those pitiable bones of a dappled fawn, disjointed, scattered on the ground far apart," (Nonnus, Dionysiaca, Book 5, 497 f.). Later Nonnus changes the tree from oak to olive (a much more “messianic” symbol); “Like a fool I ... scrambled up a handy branch of the pure olive, to spy out the naked skin of Artemis ... I slipped down from the tree headlong into the dust," (Nonnus, Dionysiaca, Book 5, 473 f.).
Possessing “Horns”
There does seem to be an inordinate amount of attention paid to the mention of the term "horns," among the Greek mythographers who told the story of Actaeon; "What of the doom of Cadmus' grandson, when the antlers of the long-lived stag covered his brow with their strange branches, and his own hounds pursued the master? ... he gazed into the still pool’s water and saw his horns" (Seneca, Oedipus 751 ff.) "Diana made horns grow on his head, and he was devoured by his own dogs." (Hyginus, "Fables," 180) "Oh, it was pitiful to witness him, his horns outbranching from his forehead" (Ovid, "Metamorphoses," 138) "she fixed the horns of a great stag firm on his sprinkled brows; ... He saw his horns reflected in a stream and would have said, “Ah, wretched me!” but now he had no voice, and he could only groan." (Ovid, "Metamorphoses," 187). Notice that he was not simply changed into a deer, but many sources seem to go out of their way to point out that Actaeon “got” or “possessed” horns. Perhaps there was an early version of the tale that Seneca, Hyginus, and Ovid, had relied upon, that was taking a bit of poetic licence with an original account whereby the arrogant prince, intimidated by the defection of his erstwhile chasseurs, had sought protection by “taking hold” of the “horns” of the altar; ”And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way. And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, ...” (1st Kings 1:49-51).
The Prophet Nathan and the Myth of Actaeon
The story of Actaeon does not appear to be naturally a part of the story of Pentheus, Euripides does mention it incidentally a few times but it doesn't play a major part in the story. Pentheus, as he is being torn apart, does try in an attempt to gain her pity, to remind his aunt Autonoe of the fate of her son Actaeon. It does seem as though a different source supplied this story. Perhaps the story of Actaeon was taken from the lost, so called,"Book of Nathan the Prophet." Nathan is named as the writer of a history of the reigns of David and Solomon; “Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer” (1st Chronicles 29:29, see also, 2nd Chronicles 9:29). Now, nobody knows what was written in the lost book of Nathan the prophet. However, it is probable that the book dealt, at least, if not exclusively, with episodes in the life of David in which Nathan himself took part. There are really only four such episodes; Firstly, Nathan appears to have been responsible for helping King David to institute, the previously refer to, "dionysian" religious reforms; “And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets.” (2nd Chronicles 29:25). Secondly, it is the Prophet Nathan who informs King David that he will not be allowed to build the temple (2nd Samuel 7:4-16); Thirdly, Nathan reproves David for his indiscretion in the Bathsheba affair (2nd Samuel 12:1-7); And finally Nathan, working closely with Bathsheba, takes a hand in motivating the king when he seems apathetic in the face of Adonijah's insurrection (1st Kings 1:5-39). Take note, that besides the temple episode, Nathan seems to have dealt with the very parts of King David's story that seemed to have served as the origin for the Greek myth of Actaeon.There does seem to have been what we may fairly call “the Nathan source.” One that included a synopsis of the stories of Bathsheba and Adonijah as seen through the eyes of the prophet Nathan. This source was available to the writers of 2nd Samuel, but apparently was not available to, or not trusted by, the editors of Chronicles which otherwise seems to be a mere retelling of the story found in 2nd Samuel. For Nathan is not mentioned in Chronicles in connection with the Bathsheba episode nor with that of the anointment of Solomon.
A Summary and Conclusion of “David as Cadmus”
Now, the story of Cadmus was carried to Greece by the "Phoenicians," it was accompanied by the arrival of the alphabet. The arrival of the alphabet can be dated by its form, since it most closely resembles the style of letters that was used on the Mesha stele, it has been dated to the ninth century BC. At that time the Hebrews also used this same alphabet, no doubt the biography of King David was originally written in it. It certainly does not stretch the imagination to suppose that stories such as that of King David, came to Greece along with, the so-called, Phoenician letters.
It is perhaps an obstacle to some that the Greeks called these people Phoenicians, the Hebrew Scriptures do not use the term Phoenicians they use instead Canaanites, or men of Tyre. But this obstacle is easy to overcome when we realize the fact that King David had a close ally in Hiram of Tyre, and that King Solomon had a fleet of ships stationed at Joppa that plied the Mediterranean with a mixed crew of Israelites and Tyrians. The Hebrew alphabet, along with the story of King David, could easily have come to Greece on one of these ships.
Consider the following list of separate motifs offered in chronological order, concerning the myth of Cadmus;
- He was a culture hero and an obvious Messianic character
- His commission was to search out and bring home Europa (whom I suppose to be named after Jeroboam, the first king of the northern ten tribes of Israel,) who had been lost among the nations (Ezekiel 37:21-24).
- He was from “Phoenicia” otherwise known as “Canaan” and “Israel” (Genesis 17:8)
- He killed a gigantic monster
- He knocked it out with a thrown stone,
- and cut off it’s head with a sword. (1st Samuel 17:49-51)
- He raised up a group of “Mighty Men,” the Spartoi.
- These elite warriors would become his aristocracy (2nd Samuel 23:8-39)
- He sent a task force of his men on an expedition to get water.
- The water was guarded and the attempt to retrieve it put the men at great risk.
- He poured the water out as a libation. (1st Chronicles 11:15-19)
- Before he founded his capital city he was counselled by a prophet while he was in a cave. (1st Samuel 22:5)
- A cow marked the location of his future capital.
- He bought the cow from the farmer who owned it,
- and sacrificed it upon an altar at the site of the new city. (2nd Samuel 24:22-25)
- He built the city, named it “Cadmea” (the “city of Cadmus”), after himself, and it became an annex to his larger capital of Thebes. (as did David with his “city of David” at Jerusalem, both were citadels built upon a hilltop that was within the precinct and associated with the larger city).
- He was largely responsible for introducing the rites of Dionysus among the Greeks.
- He danced in the procession which brought the god into the city of Thebes.
- In a Dionysian procession, indecent dancers were accompanied by a sacred choir of warrior priests, called the Kouretes, loudly clashing cymbals and timbrels, carrying an ark (2nd Samuel 6:14,15).
- Compare the Greek Kouretes with the Hebrew Korahites (1st Chronicles 15:19 and 26:1)
- Dionysus, identified by the Greeks with Osiris, was therefore one of the gods of the Egyptians (whom the Israelites also worshipped, see Joshua 24:14).
- Near the end of Cadmus’ reign, and while he was yet alive, his prince took over the kingdom (2nd Samuel 15:9-10).
- He abandoned his former city with a group of his people, and their god, against the will of the presumptuous prince who had usurped the throne.
- The “ark carrying” religion was with him. (2nd Samuel 15:17,24)
- They crossed over a river (2nd Samuel 15:23),
- and went to a wooded area in a mountainous region (the mountainous region of Ephraim, see 2nd Samuel 18:6 and Joshua 17:15)
- The exiled throng were divided into three companies (2nd Samuel 18:2).
- The god consented to be returned to the city in order to face the insolent Prince. (2nd Samuel 15:24, 25 and 29)
- There was a covert strategy to foil the plans of the Prince by giving him bad advice. (2nd Samuel 15:31)
- The Prince was deceitfully advised to go out and see the revelers for himself. (2nd Samuel 17:11)
- The Prince desired to go and “look upon” his mother and aunts as they engaged in their sexual activities. (2nd Samuel 16:21)
- The Prince was up in a tree “between heaven and earth” when he was caught and killed. (2nd Samuel 18:9,10 and 14,15)
- He was speared (2nd Samuel 18:14)
- His head was taken off. (Ginzberg’s "The Legends of the Jews," Volume IV. Chap IV. in the article entitled, "Absalom's Rebellion")
- Cadmus cried out a poignant lament when he found out that his Prince had been killed. (2nd Samuel 19:1-4)
- The killer could not understand the grief of Cadmus. (2nd Samuel 19:5)
- Another of Cadmus’ Princes was killed through the conniving machinations of a great woman who was seen bathing. (1st Kings 2:25)
- This Prince had sought to wed one of the “daughters” of Cadmus. (1st Kings 2:19-22)
Now, I submit that there is no way that this entire list of intricately detailed corresponding motifs could have occurred both, among the Greeks, for inclusion in their ancient mythology, as well as among the Hebrews, for inclusion in their scriptures, without any cultural connection between the two. The similarities are just too many, the resemblances are too close, the plots are too well aligned, and the degree to which the respective order of the events match is too exacting. The story that the Greeks tell of their great culture hero Cadmus, is obviously based upon the same story that we can read about in the Hebrew scriptures concerning their great King David.
-John R. Salverda
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