Mythemes I

Virgins And Flying Horses:

Virginity in another theme that has universal resonance; as it intimates PURITY (physical as well as spiritual).  Apocryphal tales of a virgin birth (that is: immaculate conceptions) have been ubiquitous since time immemorial.  Preternatural birth has been a common leitmotif in virtually every culture to ever exist.  Immaculate conception holds special appeal not only because it is fantastical, but because it involves purity.  It is no surprise, then, that the notion of a virgin mother has been commonplace in myths around the world.

The notion of a son-of-god via a blessed (mortal) woman could be found in ancient Greek lore with Dionysus–who was sired by Zeus, yet borne via preternatural means by the ill-fated Phoenician maiden, Semele (at a far-off place known as “Nysa”).  This was originally a Thracian / Phrygian myth; yet the mytheme clearly resonated throughout the Greek world; and was even adopted by the Etruscans.

The preoccupation with PURITY has existed since time immemorial–and can be found in most religions.  Sikhs consider their community to be the brethren of the pure [“khalsa”].  Wahhabis have dubbed themselves the “Brethren of Purity”. Etc.  Folkloric figures considered virginal is one of many mythemes.

In the Abrahamic tradition, there has typically been an emphasis on purity with respect to WOMEN.  Take, for example, the Torah: “When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening” (Leviticus 15:19).  The emphasis on women can be explained, in large part, by the urgency that the sex that carries embryos for nine months should be clean and healthy.  (A dirty man’s sperm can be just as good as a clean man’s.)

Generally speaking, virginity and purity go hand-in-hand for obvious reasons.  This is why the Greek goddess of purity, Astraea, was a virgin.  (Hestia was also a virgin; as well as her Roman counterpart, Vesta.)  Virginity was also attributed to Athena (Greek), Minerva (Roman), and the great Anatolian heroine, Artemis.  Also note the Arcadian princess / huntress, Atalanta; as well as the Romans’ reverence for their “Vestal Virgin” priestesses–who maintained the sacred fire of Vesta.

In Hindu lore, there are the “Panch[a]-Kanyas” [five virgin heroines]: the beautiful Puru princess, Ahalya; Draupadi of Panchala; Sita of Videha (alt. Kunti / Pritha of Hastinapur[a]); Queen Tara of Kishkindha; and Queen Mandodari of Lanka.

Tales of virgin births have been ubiquitous since time immemorial–starting with the Sumerian myth of the birth of Eabani / Enki-ta / Enki-du, conceived from clay via the saliva from the mother-goddess, Aruru.  The Cretans of Knossos worshipped a female godhead who was both mother and virgin.  Persian legends about the prophet, Mani, also incorporated claims of a virgin birth.  And practitioners of Yarsanism (known as the “People of Truth”) believe their prophet, Sultan Sahak was born of a Kurdish virgin named “Dayerak Rezbar” (alt. “Khatun-e Rezbar), who was divinely impregnated while sleeping under a pomegranate tree.

In Greek lore alone, we find five instances of virgin births:

• Dionysus from Semele {29}
• Adonis from Io
• The perpetually-renewed virginity of Hera
• Perseus / Adonis from Myrr[h]a {30}
• Helen of Troy from Leda, who was impregnated via preternatural means by Zeus

A variation of the aforementioned Sumerian legend was Enki, who was birthed by the virgin goddess, Nammu.  Here are twenty other examples of auspicious figures–be they corporeal gods or special humans–said to have been born of virgins:

• Ra from Neith (Egyptian)
• Horus from Isis [alt. Meri] (Egyptian) {31}
• Amenkept III from Queen Mut-em-ua (Egyptian)
• Marduk from Damkina (Akkadian / Babylonian)
• Tammuz from Semiramis (Assyrian)
• Zoroaster [“Zarathustra”] from Dughdova (Persian) {34}
• Baal from Ashteroth (Canaanite)
• Mithra[s] from Anahita (Hittite) {32}
• Dushara from Kaabu (Nabataean)
• Attis from Nana (Phrygian) {33}
• Romulus and Remus from Rhea Silvia of Alba Longa (Roman; Republic) {35}
• Emperor Caesar Augustus from Atia [who was impregnated via preternatural means by Apollo] (Roman; Empire)
• Lao-Tsu (Chinese)
• Qi (a.k.a. “Hou-ji”, patriarch of the Zhou) from Jian Yuan; at the behest of the godhead, “Shang-di” (Chinese)
• Krishna from Devaki (Hindu)
• Rama from Kausalya (Hindu)
• Siddhartha Gautam[a] from Queen [Maha-]Maya of Deva-daha (Theravada Buddhist)
• Mon King Kalupa [founder of the Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar] (Mon / Burmese)
• Huitzilopotchli from Coatlicue (Aztec)
• Quetzalcoatl from Chimalman (Aztec)

In Judaic lore, allusions are made to a virgin birth of Jacob and Esau from Rebekah, who was described as “almah” in Classical Hebrew (typically translated as “young maiden”).  This likely inspired the passage in the Book of Isaiah (7:14-17), pertaining to the Kingdom of Judah’s war against the Aram-Ephraim coalition in the 730’s B.C.  The former was out of Damascus in Syria; the latter was under the aegis of the (pagan) Kingdom of Israel in Samaria.  It is addressed to the King of Judah, Ahaz, regarding a sign of protection that would be given from the Abrahamic deity.  That war would have post-dated said virgin birth by almost a millennium.  Later, the term, “almah” was mistakenly rendered “parthenos” in Koine Greek (then “virgo intacta” in Vulgar Latin).  The actual term for a virgin in Classical Hebrew was “na’ara”.

The most influential tale of a virgin birth was the Jewish carpenter from Galilee, Yeshua ben Yosef of Nazareth (refashioned the “Kristos” in Pauline theology).  Jesus of Nazareth was held to be the archetype of innocence, divinely begotten rather than biologically made.  So the need to posit an immaculate conception was encountered.  This would later be taken to new heights in Nicene Christianity–especially with the eventual fetishization of the “madonna” in Roman Catholicism.  (The association of sexual purity with spiritual purity influenced the Roman Catholic Church’s decision that clergy remain celibate.)

The equating of sexual purity with spiritual purity has always existed.  In Christianity especially, the doctrine of “original sin” was primarily about a loss of innocence–a kind of STAIN.  The moniker for the “virgin Mary” was “Ma-donna” [My Lady], which associated the mother of the Christ with a regal ALL-MOTHER (alternately considered a Queen of Heaven in other idioms).  In the second letter to the Corinthians, Saul of Tarsus even describes the church as a virgin.

The Christian fixation on the virginity of the “holy mother”, Miriam, is exemplified by the miscellany of Mariolatries around the world (see my essay on “Pilgrimage”).  In the Philippines, the (virgin) mother of Jesus of Nazareth (qua Christ) has been deified as “Mama Mary”, thereby rendering her a sort of demi-god.  It seems Filipinos–like so many others–could not quite curb the polytheistic impulses of their animistic past.

In Christendom, virginity continued to be salient in folklore.  It also played a role in the legend of Margaret of Antioch (alt. “Margarita”; “Marina”).  It seems to have become a fetish (hence the use of chastity belts in the Middle Ages).  Of course, this peculiar fixation dates back to the Torah–wherein we are instructed to stone a maiden to death on her doorstep if she is found to not be a virgin on her wedding night.

This virginal Miriam continued on into Islam.  In the Koran, passages like 3:47 and 19:19-20 reaffirm the immaculate conception of Jesus.  But while virginity has played a significant role in Abrahamic lore, those who crafted Mohammedan hagiography did not see fit to incorporate the leitmotif into their legend of the Seal of the Prophets.  Mohammed’s biological mother died when he was an infant.  This may have forestalled any inclination to ascribe preternatural features to Mohammed’s birth.

Mohammed himself seemed not to focus much on a woman’s virginity; at least not nearly as much as it was an issue in Judaic lore (Deuteronomy 22:13-21).  This makes sense, as there was so much emphasis on taking women as sex slaves; and thinking fo them as property.

Unsurprisingly, there were various outlandish fables about Mohammed of Mecca concocted during the earliest generations of Islam.  It’s worth exploring one of the more fantastical tall-tales; as an illustration of the ways in which farce is sometimes incorporated into legend. 

Here, let’s look at the so-called “Night Journey” (dubbed the “Isra al-Mi’raj”)…on which the self-proclaimed prophet embarked c. 620 or 621 (i.e. a year or so prior to the “hijra” to Yathrib); with his favorite angel, Gabriel, as his tour-guide (17:1).  In the first part of the fantastical voyage (referred to simply as the “Isra”), Mohammed travelled from Mecca to “the farthest mosque” (“masjid al-aqsa”)–which contemporary Muslims usually identify with the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.  This sounds marvelous…except that there was no mosque in Jerusalem in 620; there was only a Byzantine Church (i.e. Church of the Sepulcher)…which was about to be taken over by the (Zoroastrian) Sassanians…and then given to the Jews.  Note that the opening verse of chapter 17 describes the sojourn as being from the “sacred place of worship” to the “remote place of worship”.  The former, which refers to a “masjid” that is “haraam”, is (dubiously) presumed to be Mecca.  The latter, which refers to a “masjid” that is “aqsa”, is (credibly) presumed to be Jerusalem.

In the second part of the fabulous voyage (the “Mi’raj”), Mohammed toured both heaven and hell. {36}  During this leg of the trip, Mohammed was afforded the opportunity to converse with Adam (but not Eve), Abraham (Ibrahim), Joseph (Yusuf), Moses (Musa) and his brother Aaron, John the Baptist (Yahya), Jesus of Nazareth (Isa), and other Abrahamic prophets.  All of this happened in one night.  In the Koran, this is alluded to in 53:6-18. {37}

The biggest problem with this particular tale is that it claims Mohammed reached the upper limit of all human knowledge (at the so-called “Lote Tree”). {38}  According to this claim, there is nothing–NOTHING–that the Enlightenment conferred upon mankind that had not already been provided by Mohammed of Mecca (via the Sunnah).

The fantastical tale of the “Miraj” likely originated with a popular book (retroactively referred to as simply as the “Kitab al-Mi’raj”) composed by an author from Nishapur in the 11th century–four centuries after Mohammed’s lifetime.  But where did THAT author get the idea?  Lo and behold: the Persian tale of “Arda” [Just] Wiraz[a] (the Book of Arda Viraf) had been put into book form well over a century before. 

The Persians told tales of the magical sojourn of the fabled Zoroastrian prophet, Viraf.  One night, he goes on a “dream journey” to the next world, where he engages in dialogues with angels (notably: Atar) and past prophets (notably: Sraosha, a variant of the “Saoshyant” figure); and even meets the godhead, Ahura Mazda.  The godhead tells the prophet that  Mazda-ism is the one true Faith, the only way to salvation.  Viraf is also given a glimpse of hell, so that he might witness the torments visited upon the damned.  All this should sound very familiar.

The Persian tale of Arda Viraf’s celestial journey (ref. the “Arda Wiraz Namag”) involved the protagonist being offered libations, holding court with the godhead, and–sure enough–being given a guided tour of hell.  It is telling that the Mohammedan adaptation retained all the key plot points of its Zoroastrian precursor.  As with so much in Mohammedan lore, it was lifted from Pahlavi and/or Syriac sources–material that was widely available at the time. {40}

In the Mohammedan version, part of the sojourn in heaven included a stop at the “Bayt-al-Mamur” [House of piety; conventionally taken to be a celestial manifestation of the Kaaba].  Mohammed of Mecca is also said to have engaged in negotiations with the Creator of the Universe, talking the deity down to just five obligatory prayers per day–as if such an entity would be one to barter on ANYTHING.  The audience is asked to believe that there were no more judicious use of the Abrahamic deity’s time than to haggle over the number of daily propitiations.  (Indeed, when it came to how mankind should behave, we are to suppose that there were no more pressing matters in need of addressing than frequency of “salat”.)

None of this was original.  In the “Apocalypse of Abraham”, Abraham makes a sojourn to heaven for a guided tour.  Other prophets, like Baruch and Levi were also given guided tours in apocryphal texts.  In each case, an angel is typically the tour-guide.

But what of the creature that took Mohammed of Mecca on this fantastical journey?  It is here that we come to FLYING HORSES.  As the story goes, the prophet was whisked away on a winged horse named the “Buraq” [literally: “lightning”, based on the Persian “barag”]…transported first from the Hijaz to “the farthest masjid”…and then on up to the heavens.  We are given a description in Bukhari’s Hadith of a “white beast smaller than a mule, bigger than a donkey” (4/54/429).

The use of preternatural steeds is not uncommon in ancient myth; which is to say that the idea was not unfamiliar to those in the Middle East when Mohammedan lore was first being concocted.  Indeed, the leitmotif goes back to ancient Persia (as so many things do); which is where the Arabians likely got the idea.  Let’s look at TEN MORE well-known instances of flying horses in folklore across the globe:

ONE: The Achaemenid (Persian) Shah, Xerxes the Great is known for having fetishized magical white horses.

TWO:  The Greeks told of the winged horse, Pegasus.

THREE:  In Kushan lore, Kanishka the Great is said to have ridden a magical white horse (ref. the “Sridhama Pitika” c. 470 A.D.)

FOUR:  In Hindu myth, “Uchchaihshravas” is a white, flying horse (often depicted with seven heads) ridden by the sun-god, Surya.  Also, the final incarnation of Vishnu (“Kalki”) arrives on a magical, white horse–leading an army of righteous souls to combat the forces of evil (thus ushering in a new epoch of peace).

FIVE:  Winged horses also appeared in ancient Turkic myths (“tulpar”)…and are featured thereafter in Turkish, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Mongolian myths.

SIX:  In Mahayana Buddhist myth, Kumarajiva of Kucha (the monk who brought Buddhism to China) is said to have been transported by a magical white horse referred to as “Tian-liu” [Heavenly Liu; referencing the clan of legendary Chinese Emperor Yao].  Tales of winged horses could also be found in ancient Chinese myths of the “qianli-ma” [“cholli-ma” in Korean, “senri-ma” in Japanese]; alternately rendered as “tian-ma” [celestial horse; horse of heaven] or “long-ma” [dragon-horse].

SEVEN:  In Confucian / Taoist lore, a unicorn (“qilin”) attended the birth of “Master K’ung”. {39} 

EIGHT:  In Siamese lore, legends are told of the flying horse (“ma-ninmangkorn”) whisking away the hero (“Sudsakorn”) when he embarks on his quest.

NINE:  In Celtic mythology, the divine maiden “Rhiannon” rode a magical, white horse (ref. the “Mobinogi[on]” from the 12th century) to and from the Isle of Skye.  That story is based on legends dating back to “Taliesin” in the 6th century.  In the Irish legend of the princess Niamh of Munster (a.k.a. “Nieve of the Golden Hair”), a flying horse is used to whisk her lover, Oisin away to the magical land of eternal youth, “Tir na-n-Og” (a.k.a. “Mag Mell”).  The steed is generally known as a “selkie”.

TEN:  In Norse mythology, Odin rode a magical horse named “Sleipnir”.  The Viking hero “Sigurd” rode a magical horse named “Grani”.  And the golden maned horse “Gulltoppr” was used by the shining god, Heimdallr to bring the blessings of the gods to humanity.

Tales of flying horses also appear in the pseudo-Arabian anthology, “A Thousand And One Nights” [“Alf Layla” in Arabic], itself based on the Pahlavi (Persian) story-collection: “Hazar Afsan”.

So what’s the big deal with HORSES?  Well, one can ride them.  The Thracians and Dacians associated their gods with horses.  Interestingly, however, the Mongols–to whom the horse was more central than any culture in history–did not opt to deify the animal (though they did associate it with vaunted status).

The most deluded Muslims take the tale of the “Mi’raj” literally–and presumably wonder whether or not a winged horse was able to also whisk Mohammed down to hell…or if some kind of magical gopher might have been required for that leg of the journey.  (Was Satan privy to the visit?  Did Mohammed solicit dialogue with any djinn during the sojourn to the underworld?  And, gosh-golly, how did the guided tour protect Mohammed from all that fire?)

As it happens, tales of an auspicious figure making a sojourn to hell date back to the 2nd millennium B.C. with the Babylonian account of Inanna’s journey.  The theme is timeless.  It was found in Homer’s “Odyssey” (late 8th century B.C.)…and was then incorporated into Roman lore by Virgil in his “Aeneid” (1st century B.C.)…which was eventually incorporated into Christian lore by Dante in his “Inferno” (early 14th century A.D.)  Thus: Sumerian to Greek to Latin to Tuscan (medieval Italian).  In each iteration, the hero is given a guided tour of the underworld.

Enough of farcical equestrian hijinks.  In part II of this essay, we will explore archetypes like thunder god and sun gods.  We will then look at Flood stories from around the world.  We will conclude with one of the most pervasive motifs in mythology: the trinity.