Mythology and Brit-Am
The Ancients identified the People of Israel and the God of Israel as one entity. They equated the Israelites with Seth and Baal Zephon also known as Typhon, Cronos, and Saturn. The People of "Saturn" (meaning Israel) were expelled from the Middle East and made their way to the British Isles!
Were Israelites in Troy?
Mythology
Brit-Am
Replies to Queries
Questions
and Answers
1. Did the Ancients identify the Lost Israelites with Saturn in the British Isles?
Ilkka Olander <ilkkaolander@hotmail.com> wrote:
Dear Yair,
I read in some of your articles:
(Sanchuniathon:)
"Kronos, whom the Egyptians call Thouth, excelled in wisdom among the Phoenicians ...Kronos then, whom the Phoenicians call ISRAEL, who was king of the country and subsequently after his decease was deified as the star Saturn had an only begotten son ..called Jehud...he arrayed his son ...in royal apparel and sacrificed him".
This same passage is circulated around the Internet.
However, I checked the original on:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/af/af01.htm
It goes:
"For Cronus, whom the Phoenicians call IL, and who after his death was deified and instated in the planet which bears his name, when king, had by a nymph of the country called Anobret an only son, who on that account is styled Ieoud, for so the Phnicians still call an only son: and when great dangers from war beset the land he adorned the altar, and invested this son with the emblems of royalty, and sacrificed him.Euseb. Prp. Evan. lib. I. c. 10.lib. IV."
There, very interestingly, the word "Israel" does not appear, instead the word "Il", which is the simple variation of the name El. Of course, one could argue, this is the G-D of the Hebrews, but it is much more likely that it is simply what is appears to be, the pagan deity of the Phoenician pantheon.
Is there yet some other authentic translation with the Israel appearing, or is that just a gross misunderstanding?
Sincerely,
Ilkka Olander
Answer:
Your question concerns (a) the correctness of the quotation we used and by inference
(b) whether (as we have claimed) or not the Ancients identified Israel with Saturn and with inhabitants of the British Isles.
(a) Concerning the quotation:
Our version is taken from "Cory's Fragments".
CORY, I.P. "The Ancient Fragments", London, 1828
What we have of Sanchuniathon is a quotation from Eusebius who in
turn is quoting a quotation from Philo.
In the same way as we sometimes have to be wary of "British-Israel" type writers
becoming over enthusiastic and perhaps misrepresenting the sources
so too do we find the same phenomenon amongst "academics".
I have come across cases where archaeological findings, inscriptions, classical records,
etc could have lead support for our case but the "scholar" responsible
went out of way to understand them differently.
It is some time since I did the research that lead me to accept the version of Cory.
It appeared at the time to be the most authentic.
(b) The point of which version to accept is to determine whether or not
Sanchuniathon said that the Phoenicians identified Cronos with Israel.
Irrespective of Sanchuniathon it seems that they did.
Numerous sources and scholars of the Ancient World including the Egyptian,
Greek, and Roman spheres testify to this. It is not a research revelation
unique to ourselves.
Cronos-Saturn-Baal Zephon-Typhon- were identified as the God of Israel
in the eyes of foreigners and maybe in the eyes of Israelites themselves, e.g.
[Hosea 2:16] AND IT SHALL BE AT THAT DAY, SAITH THE LORD, THAT THOU SHALT CALL ME ISHI; AND SHALT CALL ME NO MORE BAALI.
[Hosea 2:17] FOR I WILL TAKE AWAY THE NAMES OF BAALIM OUT OF HER MOUTH, AND THEY SHALL NO MORE BE REMEMBERED BY THEIR NAME.
KRONOS, SATURN AND THE TITANS
The Greeks (and after them, the Romans) said that Uranus was the first god. Uranus begat the Titans from his wife Thera (i.e. earth). Amongst the Titans was Saturn also known as Kronos and Typhon. In other words Saturn was also known as Kronos and as Typhon and as Baal Zephon. "Typhon" is another form of Zephon
which means "Hidden" in Hebrew (from the root Ts-F-N) and so does Saturn mean "Hidden" (fromt he root S-T-R).
The Egyptians identified Baal Zephon (i.e. Kronos) with Seth who figured in their own mythology as representative of the Hyksos and/or Israelites, cf. Martin Bernal ("Black Athena. The Afro-Asiatic Roots Of Classical Civilisation", Vol.1, London, 1987, p.66) from an Egyptian point of view:
"The Hyksos Seth was the Israelite God".
A source used by Plutarch (Isolde and Osira 31, no.259) says that the Titan, Typhon, fathered "Hierosolymus" [i.e. Jerusalem] and "Iudaeus" meaning Judah: Cronos and Typhon were originally the same.
Tacitus (Hist.v.4) also identifies Saturn as being amongst "the founders of the Jewish nation" .
The god baal was frequently depicted as a two horned deity and the name "Kronos" derives from the Hebrew "Keren" meaning "horn " in Hebrew. Similarly a horned god of the British Celts was known as "Cernunnos".
Saturn (i.e. Kronos) deposed Uranus and became king of the gods in his place. Saturn, in his turn, was also deposed by his son, Jupiter called Jove by the Romans. Jupiter expelled Saturn (from the east) who went to Italy and after a sojourn there continued to Britain where he and the Titans established a kingdom and lived happily ever after.
"Cronus..and all the defeated Titans, except Atlas, were banished to a British island in the farthest west (or some say confined in Tartarus..."R.Graves, "Greek Myths", London 1958, p.40
Other traditions located the Titans and Saturn in the west. One version said that the Titans had been thrown into Tartarus meaning an underground region located (said Homer) in the Atlantic Ocean. Strabo understood Homer as connecting Tartarus with the vicinity of Tartessus (i.e. Tarshish on the Spanish Atlantic coast) and the west.
Schulten quotes Kallimachos (Hymns of Delos, 174) as referring to the GALLI (of Gaul) as Titans. A similar source (Etym.Magnum 220,6) states that Cyclops (one of the Titans) was the father of Galatos (i.e. the Galatians) and ancestor to the Galli. The Galli (Gauls) are also known from Irish sources as settlers in ancient Ireland and are referred to as Galion.
The same root "sater" (to hide) as that found in the name Saturn was also employed by the Prophet Isaiah in connection with Israel:
"Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself [Hebrew:"miStaTeR" derived from the verb-root STR which is also the root of Saturn without the vowels], O God of Israel, the Saviour" (Isaiah 45;15).
Isaiah continues:
"They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols" (Isaiah 45;16).
Pagan religions (especially those of the Northern Israelites) took Hebrew Biblical concepts and confused them with idolatrous ones. The God of Israel was in some cases identified with pagan idols or represented in idolatrous fashion.
This was forbidden but happened:
Whatever the forces of idolatry seemed to offer was only at the very best a weak reflection of the One God who is directly reachable by those who acknowledge him. This truth will ultimately be clear to all and all those who took another path will be confounded.
If your heart turn away, so that you will not hear, but shall be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them.
I denounce unto you this day, that you shall surely perish, and you shall not prolong your days upon the land which you are passing over the Jordan to go to possess it.
(Deuteronomy 30;17-18).
The Lost Tribes of Israel were exiled because they worshipped other gods (2-Kings 17;7 22), they confused Baal with the God of Israel (Hosea 2;16). This confusion was transmitted to foreigners who identified Baal (i.e. Typhon= Kronos= Saturn) with the god or progenitor of Israel. The foreigners also equated him with the god or progenitor of the western Celts especially those of the British Isles. The pagans believed that Kronos and his followers (i.e. the ancient Israelites) had been deposed from the east and had gone to Britain and the west. To some extent these equations were peculiar in application to the Jews and to the Western Celts and were based on fact: Bel (i.e. Baal) and Cernunnos (i.e. Kronos), or Bel in the guise of Cernunnos, were worshipped in the British Isles. The Jews and the western Celts did have a common ancestry and once worshipped the same God. The identification of the Western Celts with Israel is proven by the Bible and through history and so these facts are echoed in Mythology.
In Ancient Pagan thought the god of a nation was identified with that nation.
Saturn (Cronus) being expelled from Israel and going to Britain
represented Northern Israel being exiled and reaching the British Isles.
We quoted Sanchuniathon as identifying Cronos with Israel.
We based this identification on one particular version which we consider correct.
Nevertheless we may have been mistaken.
Even if we were mistaken in accepting the version of Cory in place of alternate
renderings the point we were trying to make still stands.
The Ancients identified the Israelites and the God of Israel with
Saturn. Saturn was expelled and found himself in the British Isles.
See also:
"The Identification of Israel with Saturn"
by John R. Salverda
2. The Importance
of Troy, Foundation of Rome, and the Tribe of Benjamin
Usually we examine legends etc in order to clarify points that we think have
some historical
justification.
In this case we are examining the scenario that the Tribe of Benjamin founded
Troy
and then Rome or just Rome.
WE DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS but after explaining the background we will briefly
discuss its possibilities.
In this little mini-discussion we are not really trying to reach any definite
conclusions.
Sometimes it is worth while just bringing different facts and points of view
(though they
be contradictory) on a subject.
It was fashionable to claim ancestry from Troy.
The Romans claimed descent from Troy.
So did Geoffrey de Monmouth on behalf of the British Celts.
So did the Franks.
And the Saxons of Germany.
So too were the Anglo-Saxons ascribed Trojan ancestry in a European version.
http://www.boudicca.de/teut.htm
Troy historically was a port-city in Anatolia.
It was afterwards known in Roman times as Ilium.
In the 1870s the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavated what he
considered to be the site
of Troy and his identification has since been accepted.
Troy in its time was an important city and finds ascribed to Troy have been
found in Northern Europe.
The Ancient Greeks banded together and fought a war against Troy eventually
taking and destroying it.
An account of this event and circumstances surrounding it became an important
theme in Greek tradition.
Homer wrote the Iliad about it and the Odyssey about Ulysses who had
participated in it.
The works ascribed to Homer are actually a culmination of poetical traditions
that were continuously edited
from ca. 600 BCE (Heortodtous claims from 850 BCE) up until Rman times.
The works of Homer were ascribed a divine-like status and learned by heart for
centuries by Greek and Roman
students. They were ascribed mystical significance and were the central point
for numerous subsidiary legends and commentary.
Not only Homer but many other ancient writers and poets produced works centered
on the theme of Troy.
Virgil (ca. 20 BCE) wrote the Aenid in Latin which tells of
Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the
Romans.
Aeneid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeneid
Virgil took the disconnected tales of
Aeneas' wanderings, his vague association with the foundation of Rome and a
personage of no fixed characteristics other than a scrupulous piety, and
fashioned this into a compelling founding myth or nationalist epic that at once
tied Rome to the legends of Troy, glorified traditional Roman virtues and
legitimized the Julio-Claudian
dynasty as descendants of the founders, heroes and gods of Rome and Troy.
The popularity of Trojan origins continued into European times and was adopted
by various authors on behalf of the Welsh, Franks, Saxons, Scandinavians, and
others.
Different researchers have attempted to link together Medieval Jewish, Roman,
and Greek traditions.
This brings us to the Tribe of Benjamin.
Benjamin, Troy, and Rome
Anatoly T.Fomenko
History: Fiction of Science?
Seems to believe that the Story of the Tribe of Benjamin waging war on all the
other tribes (Judges chs. 19, 20)
served as a model for the Greeks to invent the Story of Troy.
The Book of Judges does describe a war between Benjamin and the other Tribes
in which the Tribe of Benjamin was almost wiped out.
The war between Troy and the Greek states was caused by a Trojan Prince
abducting the wife
of a Greek King.
The war between Benjamin and the other tribes was occasioned due to a group of
Benjaminites
raping to death the concubine of an Ephramite Levi.
Different traditions claimed that a small band of Benjaminities escaped to
Europe.
One of these traditions says they founded Rome.
See:
The Brit-Am Commentory to Judges
http://britam.org/judges/judges20.html
we quote traditions concerning the fate of a group of Benjaminities that escaped the disaster that overtook most of their brethren.
[Judges 20:45] AND THEY TURNED AND FLED TOWARD THE WILDERNESS UNTO THE ROCK
OF RIMMON: AND THEY GLEANED OF THEM IN THE HIGHWAYS FIVE THOUSAND MEN; AND
PURSUED HARD AFTER THEM UNTO GIDOM, AND SLEW TWO THOUSAND MEN OF THEM..
A tradition (quoted by Radak, Megaleh Emukot, Ginzburg) claims that about a
hundred men of Benjamin fled at this time to Rome and Germany where they
increased and multiplied. Another tradition has the Land of "Rumania" in
place of "Rome". Rome and Germany later were considered to be ruled by Esau
but other elements must also have been present as we have mentioned several
times.
It could also be claimed that maybe the Benjaminites first founded Troy and from
there escaped to Rome?
Historical Possibilities
In "The Tribes" and in "Lost Israelite Identity" we explore the
possibility that contingents from
Benjamin, and Dan, were to be found north of the Land of Israel at an early
date.
One of the Three regions that the Sages said the Lost Ten tribes were to be
found in
was Daphne of Antiochia. We have identified Daphne of Antiochia with an offshoot
Hamath
on the North Syrian Coast.
"Brit-Am Now"-257
http://britam.org/now/now257.html
#4. Biblical Proofs: Isles-2
The Fires in the Isles
In our work "Ephraim. The Gentile Children of Israel" we pointed another
possibility that could
be pertinent alongside the identification with Hamath, i.e. the term applied to
two different places
each of which was connected to the Ten Tribes.
There was a place name Daphne opposite Byzantium on the Bosporus dividing Europe
from Asia. Saxo Grammaticus traced the ancestors of the Danes to this area.
The Welsh Triads says it was from here that Hu Gadarn led the Cymry to Britain.
Jerome on Zechariah 10:11
http://britam.org/zechariah.html
quotes a Jewish tradition that the Ten Tribes entered Europe from this point.
The researcher John Hulley identified the Bosporus with the Sambation River
beyond which
the Lost Tribes were to be found.
Our own researches (and Jewish tradition) however identified the Sambation
River with the Don River.
Daphne opposite Byzantium is in the same general area as that of Troy and it
could be that in ancient
times Troy ruled over the region.
Despite all the above the Brit-Am understanding is that Israelites did not found
Troy
and did not found Rome. The descendants of Esau (Edom) traditionally founded
Rome
and certainly played an important part in building its Empire.
Before leave Troy altogether another point worth noting is that:
The traditional date for the fall of Troy is given as:
1193-1183 BCE.
There is an opinion that would place it closer to 700 BCE and we tend to accept
this view.
This would place it around the same time as the Exile of the Lost Ten Tribes by
Assyria.
Was there ever a connection?
Snorri
Sturluson: PROLOGUE
Introduction by Didrik Saemundsson
Written 1220 by Snorri Sturluson born 1178, also called Snorri Godi
because he was one of the chietains, but not a mystical flummy person. Snorri
Sturluson was born into the wealthy and powerful Sturlungar family of the
Icelandic Commonwealth, a sovereign nation, about 1178. By a quirk of
circumstance he was raised from the age of three (or four) by Jan Loftsson, a
relative of the Norwegian royal family, in Oddi, Iceland. Snorri therefore
received an education and made connections that he might not otherwise have
made. He attended the school of Saemundr froki (author to; Saemundar-Edda or The
Older Edda), grandfather of Loftsson, at Oddi.
Snorri quickly became known as a poet, but was also a successful lawyer. In 1215
he became lawspeaker of the Althing, perhaps the highest position an individual
could hold in the Icelandic government. In the summer of 1218, he left the
lawspeaker position and sailed to Norway, by royal invitation. There he became
well-acquainted with the teen-age King Hakon Hakonarson and his co-regent, Jarl
Skeali. He spent the winter as house-guest of the jarl. They showered gifts upon
him including the ship in which he sailed and he in turn wrote poetry about
them. In the summer of 1219 he met his Swedish colleague, the lawspeaker Eskil
Magnusson and his wife Kristina Nilsdotter Blake in Skara and stayed there
during the winter when Eskil was writing down the laws of West-Gouths (Westgotalagarna).
Eskil and Kristina were both related to royalty and probably Eskil gave Snorri
an insight into the history of Sweden and they had the opportunity to compare
their knowledge. He got precious gifts from Eskil when he returned. In 1220
Snorri returned to Iceland and by 1222 was back as lawspeaker of the Althing,
which he held this time until 1232. Snorre Sturlasson was murdered in his home
one night in September 1241, by his former son in law, Gizur Thorvaldsson on
command of kung Haakon in Norway. Twenty years later (1262) we passed our
independence over to the king of Norway and the structure of society became
severely altered.
Extracts from the Prologue of
Snorri
3. From men of Troy/.
Near to the middle of the world was made that house and shelter-room/, that most
precious have been is named Troy there we call Turkey/. This place was much more
made than other places and with more skilfullness on many sides with prices and
treasures/, that came from outside/. there were 12 kingdoms and one Over-king/,
and were each kingdom a federation/. there were in the city 12 chieftains/.
these chieftains were more than all other men/, ?at have been in the world/,
uabout all manhood things/.
One king in Troy is called Munon or Mennon/. he was married to doughter of the
Head-king Priami/. Her name was Troan/. They had a son/. His name was Tror/,
That we call Thor/. He was brought up for education by the Duke of Thrace/,
named Lorikus/, but when he was 10 years/, ?hen he was given his fathers
weapon/. So beautiful was he/, when he came together with other men/, was it
like when an elephant ivory is grafted in an oak/. His hair is more beautiful
than gold/. When he was 12 years/, ?hen he was with full power/. Then he could
lift from earth 10 bear-tunics at the same time/, and then he killed Duke
Lorikum/, the man who brought him up/, and his wife Lora (Loerae) or Glora (Gloerae)/,
and took over the state of Thrace/. That we call Thrudheim/.Then he went over
many countries / and learned to know all the world halves and had alone a
victory over all bear-shirts/, and all giants and one big dragon and many
animals/. ?In north half of the world he found a prophetess named Sibil/, that
we call Sif/, and married her/. No one can tell about Sif?s family/. She was the
most beautiful of all woman/. Her hair was like a gold/. Their son was Loeridi/,
that was like his father line/. His son was Einridi/, his son Vingethor/, his
son Vingener/, his son Moeda/, his son Magi/, his son Seskef/, his son Bedvig/,
his son Athra/, that we call Annan/, his son Ietrmann/, h/his son Heremoed/,his
son Skjaldun/, that we call Skjoeld/ his son Bjaef/, that we call Bjaer/, his
son Jaet/, his son Gudoelfr/, his son Finn/, his son Frieallaf/, that we call
Fridleif/. He had the son/, called Voeden/. That man we call Oedin/. He was a
superior man of all wisdom and strength/. His wifes name was Friegieda that we
call Frigg/.
4.The Journey of
Oeden
(Odin) to North part of world/.
Odinn had a prophesy and also his wife/, and from that wise insight he found/,
/That his name should be remarked in north half of the world and adored above
all kings/. Because of that he wanted to start his way from Turkey together with
great number of people/, young men and old/, men and women/, and with many
precious thing/. But everywhere when they went over the countries/,then they had
a superior curriculum vitae/, so they were thought more like gods than men/. And
they never settle down until they come north to that country/, that now is
called Saxland/. /There dwelled Odinn for a long time and got there a land over
wide area/. There Odin putted three of his sons to protect the land/. was one
named Vedeg/. He was a rich king that regined over East-Saxland/. His son was
Vitrgils/. sons of him were Vitta/, Heingests/father of Heingest/, ok Sigarr/and
Sigarr/, father of Svebdeg/, that we call Svipdag/. Another son of Odin was
named Baldeg/, That we call Baldr/. He had the country/, that now is named
Westfalen/. His son was Brandr/, his son Frjoedigar/, that we call Froeda/. His
son was Freoevin/ , his son was Uvigg/, his son Gevis/, that we call Gave/. The
third son of Oedin/ is named Sigi/, his son Rerir/. This dynasty ruled there/,
now is called France/, and therefrom is the origin of the family/, that is named
Voelsung/(Volsung)/. From all of them many and big families are originated/.
Then Oedin started his journey to North and came to that country/, that they
called Riding-gotaland/, and got in that country everything/ , that he wanted/.
There he gave the country to his son/, with name Skjoeldr/. His son was
Fridleifr/. This is the origin of the family/, that is named Skjoeldungar/.These
are the Danish kings/, and that what is called Jutland/, was that time called
Riding-gotaland.
5.
Sigtum/
Oedin
(Odin) made himself a dwelling place in
Sigtuna/.
After that he went north/, there now is named Sweden/. There was the king/, with
name Gylfi/. But when he is told about the journey of the Asieamen/, /that was
named Aesir/, /Then he went to their front and invited/, /that Oedin should have
that much power in his country/ as he wanted by himself/. OAnd that time
followed their journeys/, that allover the countries they dwelled in/, ?here
were golden years with peace/, and everybody believed/, /that it was in their
regin/, ?because the welthy men saw/, athat they were unlike to other men/,
?they had been seen before/, aboth in beauty and wisdom/. There Oedin liked the
fields and fruitfulness of the landscape and selected there a city place for
him/, where now is named Sigtuin/. He ordered there also the cheftains/, like it
had been in Troy/, putted twelf cheftains in the city to a judge the law and
order of the country/, and so he directed the law and order as it had been in
Troy and the Turks were used to.
After that he went north/, ?ntil he came to the sea/, this they thought/, that
surrounded all countries/, and putted his son to that state/, that now is called
Norway/. This is named Saemingr/, and from him the kings of Norway calculate
their family line and also do the earls and other rich men/, like it is told in
Haeleygjatal/. But Oedinn had with him his son/, with name Yngvi/, that became
king in Sweden after him/, and from him the families originate/, ethat is called
Ynglingar/.
The Aesir married to native women/, but some of them within their families/, and
this families got big in numbers of people/, that over Saxland and there north
over became distributed/, their language of Aesieamen/, was the language of all
these countries/. And men think they understand it from that/, that their
ancestors name are written/, that these names have followed this language that
Aesir came with this name her to the north world/, to Norway and to Sweden/, to
Danmark and to Saxland/, and in England are ancient place-names and area-names/,
?hat can be understood/, that are named from another language than this.
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