Here is an example of the sort of myth I am talking about.
Dionysus was the son of Zeus and a mortal called Semele. He was the Greek god of wine and was know by the Romans as Bacchus.
The following two paragraphs are from a work by Pausanias who described a miracle performed by the priests of Dionysus. Does it ring any bells?
[6.26.1] XXVI. Between the market-place and the Menius is an old theater and a shrine of Dionysus. The image is the work of Praxiteles. Of the gods the Eleans worship Dionysus with the greatest reverence, and they assert that the god attends their festival, the Thyia. The place where they hold the festival they name the Thyia is about eight stades from the city. Three pots are brought into the building by the priests and set down empty in the presence of the citizens and of any strangers who may chance to be in the country. The doors of the building are sealed by the priests themselves and by any others who may be so inclined.
[6.26.2] On the morrow they are allowed to examine the seals, and on going into the building they find the pots filled with wine. I did not myself arrive at the time of the festival, but the most respected Elean citizens, and with them strangers also, swore that what I have said is the truth. The Andrians too assert that every other year at their feast of Dionysus wine flows of its own accord from the sanctuary. If the Greeks are to be believed in these matters, one might with equal reason accept what the Ethiopians above Syene say about the table of the sun.
This Dionysian wine ritual turns up early in John's gospel in the rather odd sounding events at the wedding feast at Cana. In this way John establishes Jesus divinity in the minds of his readers from the beginning of his ministry.
Of course you will be wanting to tell me that the stories are completely different becasue Dionysus made wine appear in three empty post but Jeus turned three pots of water into wine. Please remember what I said about the "West Side Story" and "Romeo and Juliet" parallels.
