Dying and Rising Gods
An ancient text says, as James Frazer worded it: “Heracles on his journey to Libya had been slain by Typhon and brought to life again by Iolaus, who held a quail under his nose: the dead god snuffed at the bird and revived”. (Frazer, 1922: section 224).
This is a short version of the many accounts of gods and semi-gods who were said to have died and been resurrected, well-documented in the eastern Mediterranean region. This one is associated with the migration of quails who descend in hordes on Palestine/Israel in spring to breed.
James Frazer
The classicist James Frazer (Cambridge University), in his 1890–1915 encyclopedic The Golden Bough, collected a mass of reports of ancient authors and nineteenth-century travelers about archaic rituals, myths, and traditions. It is a classic compendium of fascinating material, highlighting the dying and rising god theme, but he organized it according to lax, speculative nineteenth century standards.
Frazer’s overall thesis was that archaic magic...
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