E112 Ass Worship

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You read that right. 1800 years ago, a Roman youngster etched a taunting cartoon of a classmate raising his hand to salute a figure on a cross. This graffito, labeled "Alexamenos worshipping his god," is remarkable for two reasons: it is the oldest known artistic depiction of Jesus, and it happens to depict the Christian Messiah as a man with the head of a donkey.

This artistic choice might seem perplexing, but actually reflects an ancient pagan stereotype. In this Gladio Free Europe solo episode, Liam explores a three-thousand-year-old allegation: that Yahweh, the all-powerful God of Israel, was actually an ignoble ass. 

Despite being outright false, the idea that Judaism and Christianity had something to do with the worship of donkeys was a strong conviction of many ancient writers, even capable scholars like Tacitus and Posidonius. In fact, this myth goes back incredibly far into ancient history, with roots in Egyptian mythology and the cultural memory of the Hyksos, a Bronze Age dynasty of Levantine origin who appear to have actually included onolatry into their practice.

The story of ass worship, as an allegation and a practice, is as nearly as old as the history of civilization, with unexpected connections to Greek mythology, gnosticism, and the beginnings of Mesopotamian Kingship. Listen to this episode of Gladio to see why maybe the dutiful donkey really does deserve some veneration after all!