Statue of Marsyas died on a stake?

enigma1863

So JWs have been spreading this picture around claiming it supports the Roman torture stake belief. Does it? This is the statue of Marsyas the satyr, a Greek mythical creature. He lost a challenge to Apollo and was flayed. Then his skin was nailed to a tree. They are always showing statues of pagan gods of Easter and the trinity. If you were consistent wouldn't this show evidence that the stake was of pagan origin as well?

enigma1863

Splash

Marsyus was the son of Olympus and killed by Apollos, so this is a legend, not a true account.

Apollos was a Greek before being adopted as Roman, the earliest temple to him is in Athens from about 600BCE

There were no nails involved, Marsyus was tied.

He was tied to a tree - I don't know what the original Greek wording is used for 'tree' in the tale.

His method of execution was by flaying, not the same as the Romans used on Jesus.

Apart from that, the evidence is quite compelling.

Half banana

Just imagine if you were going to crucify a member of a governing body, how would you do it? Firstly, you must get some timber ready and nail him or her to it, a cross piece looks more dramatic. Whatever type of scaffold you use it is still called crucifixion since the purpose is to torture your victim to death. After all, the saviour Dionysus was crucified on a vine! Funny how Jesus said “I am the vine”............. Jesus though went for the traditional cross probably because the Roman Christ, Mithras (The Good Shepherd and Lamb of God) went for that option too.

If on the other hand you wanted to flay a member of a governing body, firstly you would first have to decide whether you wanted to do it whist they are alive or dead. Either way you then you simply hang them on a stake or any handy support, probably by the hands as with Marsyas, which can be tied together, and then begin flaying. A messier, bloodier option and sounds more frightening but always handy to have as a good threat to keep people on the righteous path.

Listener

Half banana, I'm wondering if I should use the dislike button or the flag on your post.

Village Idiot

Listener:

"Half banana, I'm wondering if I should use the dislike button or the flag on your post." It's just dark humor.

DATA-DOG

JWs are just ignorant and gullible people. There is a picture of a wood carving that depicts a "stake", used as proof that no crossbeam was used.

The same historian also had a wood carving of a stake WITH a crossbeam. The WTBTS dishonestly omits the second picture.

If you had to cucify people all day, it would make more sense to leave the main stake in the ground. Then you could make the prisoner carry the crossbeam and nail their hands to it. Once you lift them up, you nail the feet.

Its all conjecture, of course. The GB lie by omission when they aren't just plain lying.

DD

ScenicViewer

...wouldn't this show evidence that the stake was of pagan origin as well?

It sure would. Watchtower has stated that Jesus was actually murdered because of unfair violations of procedure at his trial. If the cross would not have been used to execute Jesus because it is pagan, as Watchtower says, are we to believe that the torture stake is a Christian instrument of murder? There is no such thing.

Stakes and crosses were both used by pagan societies in the first century. One is no more Christian than the other.

Village Idiot

DATA-DOG

"Then you could make the prisoner carry the crossbeam and nail their hands to it."

jhine

I am assuming (yeah I know ass/ you/ me ) that this picture of Marsyus is from the book by Justus Lypsius .

Justus actually believed that Jesus was crucified on a cross not a stake and states this .Also there are more pictures of crosses than stakes in the book ..

Jan

Statue of Marsyas died on a stake?

Listener:

Share this