What about so-called "crucified pagan godmen" which supposedly were "crucified" before Jesus Christ?
Justin Martyr writing in 147 AD was not aware of any pre-christian crucifed pagan god-men.
"But in no instance, not even in any of those called sons of Jupiter, did they imitate the being crucified; for it was not understood by them, all the things said of it having been put symbolically. And this, as the prophet foretold, is the greatest symbol of His power and role; as is also proved by the things which fall under our observation." The First Apology of Justin Chapter LV.- Symbols of the Cross http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-01/anf01-46.htm#P3593_620967
Dionysus
Dionysus/Bacchus was torn apart by titans, boiled, and eaten. Justin Martyr was apparently aware of this account: "Bacchus too, after he had been torn limb from limb" The First Apologoy of Justin chapter Chapter XXI.-Analogies to the History of Christ However, he was not aware of a Dionysus "crucifxion" account: "But in no instance, not even in any of those called sons of Jupiter, did they imitate the being crucified; . . . " The First Apology of Justin Chapter LV.-Symbols of the Cross
The below picture of Dionysus on a cross like object is commonly used to imply that Christianity may have borrowed from Dionysus for the crucifixion. However this item is dated several hundred years after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. (Some "pagan origin" sources point this out, some however do not.)
"Now let us add in those unique items posited by Freke and Gandy. We should first note the most obvious, for it graces the cover of their work: Based on "a small picture tucked away in the appendices of an old academic book" (though what the cite is for this book, we are not told), they feature a drawing of "a third-century CE amulet" with a depiction of a crucified figure which names "Orpheus Bacchus" as the figure, another name for D. According to Freke and Gandy, this shows that "To the initiated, these were both names for essentially the same figure." [12-13] To which we reply: That's the initiated's problem. The uncritical syncretism of a single person (the maker/wearer of the amulet) provides no evidence for the copycat thesis; least of all when the evidence dates several hundred years after the time of Christ (as does indeed all their evidence of D being crucified [52]). They also state incorrectly that there are no representations of the crucified Jesus before the fifth century; as Raymond Brown noted in Death of the Messiah, there are about a half-dozen depictions of the crucified Jesus dated between the second and fifth century, and even if this were not so, the literary depiction in the Gospels amounts to the same thing. Freke and Gandy chose rather a poor examplar to feature on their cover." http://www.tektonics.org/tekton_04_02_04_DDD.html
Since the original legend of Dionysus has him being torn apart by titans, and since the "crucifixion" evidence is post-christian, I think that is was the followers of Dionysus that did the "borrowing" and not the other way around.
Krishna
Krishna was mistaken for a deer and was shot in the foot by a hunters arrow. Was Krishna crucified? Even the atheistic infidels site has this to say about Krishna being a pre-Christain crucified deity.
In fairness, however, one purported similarity needs to be discredited. Skeptics sometimes cite Kersey Graves in Sixteen Crucified Saviors or Godfrey Higgin's Anacalypsis (which Graves drew from) in asserting that Krishna was a crucified deity. No such event occurred in the Gita or in any recognized Hindu scripture. Given the pronounced syncretic tendency of Hinduism, it is safe to assume that any odd tales of Krishna's being crucified arose only after the existence of Christian proselytism, in imitation of the Christian narrative. It is neither authentic to Hinduism nor is Hinduism the source of that portion of the Christian narrative. The same may be said for most of the purported nativity stories. In my opinion, both Higgins and Graves are highly unreliable sources and should be ignored. http://www.infidels.org/library/magazines/tsr/1994/3/3hare94.html
The following discusses the "crucifixion of Krishna" claims of Acharya S (Murdock):
What about Ms. Murdock?s claim that Krishna is so similar to Jesus that Christianity must have borrowed from Hinduism? Dr. Edwin Bryant, Professor of Hinduism at Rutgers University is a scholar on Hinduism. As of the writing of this paper, he has just translated the Bhagavata-Purana (life of Krishna) for Peguine World Classics and is currently writing a book to be titled, In Quest of Historical Krishna.
When I informed him that Ms. Murdock wrote an article claiming that Krishna had been crucified, he replied, "That is absolute and complete non-sense. There is absolutely no mention anywhere which alludes to a crucifixion."(22) He also added that Krishna was killed by an arrow from a hunter who accidentally shot him in the heal. He died and ascended. It was not a resurrection. The sages who came there for him could not really see it.(23)
Then I read a statement by Ms. Murdock from her article "Krishna, Crucified?" an excerpt from her forthcoming book, Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled.(24) In it she states, "it appears that Krishna is not the first Indian god depicted as crucified. Prior to him was another incarnation of Vishnu, the avatar named Wittoba or Vithoba, who has often been identified with Krishna." To this Bryant responded, "She doesn?t know what she?s talking about! Vithoba was a form of Krishna worshipped in the state of Maharashtra. There are absolutely no Indian gods portrayed as crucified." Then he became indignant and said, "If someone is going to go on the air and make statements about religious tradition, they should at least read a religion 101 course."(25) http://www.risenjesus.com/articles/index.asp?pagea=acharya-s&pagea2=website
Prometheus
There are apparently two main legends for the story of Prometheus. In one by Aeschylus he was was chained to a crag high on a cliff, in the other he is bound to a pillar.
Prometheus bound to a rock cliff
Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus
HEPHAESTUS
Here are the iron bracelets for his arms.
KRATOS
Fasten them round his arms with all thy strength!
Strike with thy hammer! Nail him to the rocks!
HEPHAESTUS
'Tis done! and would that it were done less well!
(continued) at http://classics.mit.edu/Aeschylus/prometheus.html
One myth site makes the following claim: "Yet even in the extant translations of Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus, the god is plainly crucified, albeit on a rock:
Force: Seize his hands and master him.
Now to your hammer. Pin him to the rocks.
Drive stoutly now your wedge straight through his breast, the stubborn jaw of steel that cannot break.
Now for his feet. Drive the nails through the flesh."
http://www.askwhy.co.uk/awmob/awpagan/pag240RELOtherSaviours.html
I have not been able to find this phrase in any online version of Prometheus bound by Aeschylus. It would be interesting to know the source and date of this version.
Promethus bound to a Pillar
This version is from an ancient source named Hesiod. In his account prometheus is bound to a pillar.
Prometheus bound to a tree?
Many myth sources claim that prometheus was bound to a "tree". I have not been able to find any ancient written account of this. Though it is claimed to be found in ancient artwork, the artwork that I have looked at seems to have prometheus bound to an engraved pillar/column. The material that the pillar/column is made from is speculative. It could be stone, wood, etc.
Many myth sites also publish a poem/hymn about Prometheus such as this:
An anonymous poet describes a scene like it, thus:
Lo! streaming from the fatal tree
His all atoning blood,
Is this the Infinite??Yes, 'tis he,
Prometheus, and a god!
Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And veil his glories in,
When God, the great Prometheus, died
For man the creature's sin.
http://www.askwhy.co.uk/awmob/awpagan/pag240RELOtherSaviours.html
The original source for this hymn seems to come not from an ancient Prometheus author but from an Isaac Watts (1674-1748) Christian hymn!
Was it for crimes that I had done He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! grace unknown! And love beyond degree! Well might the sun in darkness hide, And shut his glories in, When God, the mighty Maker, died For man, the creature's sin. http://www.ccel.org/w/watts/psalmshymns/II.9.htm
Mithras
I have not seen any pre-christian primary source documentation for any death of Mithras let alone a "crucifixion" account. Holding comments:
Wynne-Tyson [Wyn.MFC, 24; cf. Ver.MSG, 38] also refers to a church writer of the fourth century, Firmicus, who says that the Mithraists mourn the image of a dead Mithras -- still way too late, guys! -- but after reading the work of Firmicus, I find no such reference at all!) Acharya adds the assertion of Dupuis that Mithras was killed by crucifixion, but from the description, either Dupuis or Acharya are mixing up Mithra with Attis! http://www.tektonics.org/tekton_04_02_04_MMM.html
Attis
Some pagan myth sources claim that Attis was crucified. Some of Holding's comments ( I have re-ordered them):
On "Black Friday," he was crucified on a tree, from which his holy blood ran down to redeem the earth. I have found utterly no verification for any of this -- Attis died under a tree, not crucified on it; there is no reference to it happening on a Friday, much less a "Black" one; Attis did shed blood, but all it did was make flowers (especially violets), in some stories -- if you want to call that "redeeming" the earth, then maybe your local farmer is doing the same thing by rotating the crops. It sure didn't "redeem" anything or anyone with reference to sin or do those of us outside the floral business a heck of a lot of good.
Doane is recorded as saying that Attis was represented as a "a man tied to a tree, at the foot of which was a lamb, and, without doubt also as a man nailed to a tree..."
What about Doane's story? The closest I can find to this is a story reported by Frazer [Fraz.AAO, 288] in which a Phrygian satyr who was a good flute player vainly challenged Apollo to a fluting contest and lost -- and so was tied to a tree, then flayed from limb to limb. Frazer suggested, because the satyr was also a comforter of Cybele, that he was somehow to be equated with Attis, but this seems more like creative writing by Frazer than sense. And there is no lamb in the story at all.
Jackson is reported as saying that on March 22nd, a pine tree was felled and "an effigy of the god was affixed to it, thus being slain and hung on a tree..." Later the priests are supposed to have found Attis' grave empty.
Based on a calendar dated to 354 AD, there were six Roman celebrations to Attis -- dated March 15, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28. The one on the 22nd was indeed as Jackson relates -- a pine tree was felled, and the figure of Attis attached, although it represents his death under the tree -- the figure being affixed to the tree therefore being no more than a matter of practically depicting the scene, since the figurine of Attis isn't just going to float along while the tree is carried by the processioneers. The problem with all of this, though, is that the only one of the six feasts known certainly to have crossed paths with Christianity was the one on the 27th, which is the only festival attested on a calendar dated 50AD. A sixth-century writer says that the Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD) instituted the festival on the 22nd. (The 23rd was a day of mourning; on the 24th the priests of Attis would flagellate themselves.) http://www.tektonics.org/tekton_04_02_04_PPP.html
Sixteen Crucified Saviors ?
Even the atheistic infidels site has this to say about Graves "Sixteen Crucified Saviors" book
All this is not to say Graves didn't have some things right. But you will never be able to tell what he has right from what he has wrong without totally redoing all his research and beyond, which makes him utterly useless to historians as a source. For example, almost all his sources on Krishna long postdate Christian-Nestorian influence on India. No pre-Christian texts on Krishna contain the details crucial to his case, apart from those few that were common among many gods everywhere. Can you tell from Graves which details are attested by early evidence, and which by late? That's a problem. http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/richard_carrier/graves.html
In my opinion, both Higgins and Graves are highly unreliable sources and should be ignored. http://www.infidels.org/library/magazines/tsr/1994/3/3hare94.html
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
