Abstract
When Greco-Roman deities appeared among human beings in anthropomorphic shapes, their outward form and gait soon revealed their true identity. By contrast, the Markan Jesus has no ‘inescapably divine’ demeanour. His unassuming presence, his hurried walk and his interactions with people of low public standing and honour place a constant question markover his identity. Paradoxically, his purposeful walk in obscurity, which ends on the cross, reveals his true character as the suffering Son of God who ransoms his life for many. The risen Jesus, whose divine nature Mark does not express in terms of a glorified body, continues his enigmatic walk before his disciples en route to Galilee.
Highlights
When deities appeared in the ancient Greco-Roman world, they often adopted human shapes
Deities moved, talked and dressed differently from human beings. Their gait was ‘... inescapably divine’ (Jenkyns 2013:148). Even when they tried to disguise themselves, such as the goddess Venus who takes on the appearance of a huntress in Virgil’s Aeneas (I. 405), their incessus or gait eventually revealed their true identity
The same happened when Poseidon disguised himself as a priest
Summary
Read online: Scan this QR code with your smart phone or mobile device to read online. The most visible and immediately present of all the gods, the deus praesentissimus so to speak (cf Kobel 2011:237–238), loved to appear in disguised form, but his demeanour, gait and dress frequently gave away his identity. Individuals such as Acoetes in Ovid’s Metamorphoses (3.609–610) know that they do not resemble mortal men. In the ancient Mediterranean world, epiphanies were visual encounters, albeit in dreams or visions, while people were awake The eyes of those with whom deities chose to interact were enlightened to both allow for their recognition and facilitate the necessary θάμβος or astonishment.. As visible representations of the gods statues established a physical ‘mnēma’ or a visible memory, and served as physical activations of their presence
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