The traditions surrounding the birth of Christ have been around for the last two thousand years. According to the Christian Orthodox traditions, Christ was born in a manger in a cave, surrounded by animals that gave him warmth. The story further states that the reason why Jesus was born in a humble manger instead of at home where he should have been is that King Herod issued an order to kill all the newborn boys at the time to eliminate any contenders to the throne.
Even though the Christian Nativity story has been in existence for two thousand years, there actually exists a very similar tale, except that the setting of this tale occurred hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. This tale is none other than that of the birth of Zeus.
Zeus, as most people know, is the king of all the gods of Olympus. The other gods of the Greek pantheon bend over his might. But this chief of Greek gods was also born in humble circumstances, and these circumstances closely parallel those of Jesus Christ.
Where Christ was born in a manger in a cave, Zeus was also born in a cave. Where Christ was surrounded by animals that gave him warmth when he was born, Zeus was brought sustenance by the she-goat Amalthea. Where Christ was hidden from King Herod, Zeus was also hidden, this time from his father Cronus, who ate his other children whole.
Furthermore, Christians believe that Christ was crucified, died and was resurrected. The myths of Crete in Greece have it that the Cretan-born Zeus died in the autumn of each year and was reborn again in spring.
It may be uncanny to the layman just how similar the Nativity story and the story of the birth of Zeus are. But experts think differently;
Thus, even though Christians now worship Christ and celebrate his birthday on December 25, people before them – the Greek pagans, if you will – venerated Zeus in Christ’s stead. But old traditions die hard, especially if they have stood the test of time.
On December 25, as people from all over the world commemorate the birth of Christ, it would simply be interesting to think that once, long ago, long before Christ was even born, there was another god who occupied his place.
