Chapter LIV.—Origin of heathen mythology.

But those who hand down the myths which the poets have made, adduce no proof to the youths who learn them; and we proceed to demonstrate that they have been uttered by the influence of the wicked demons, to deceive and lead astray the human race. For having heard it proclaimed through the prophets that the Christ was to come, and that the ungodly among men were to be punished by fire, they put forward many to be called sons of Jupiter, under the impression that they would be able to produce in men the idea that the things which were said with regard to Christ were mere marvellous tales, like the things which were said by the poets. And these things were said both among the Greeks and among all nations where they [the demons] heard the prophets foretelling that Christ would specially be believed in; but that in hearing what was said by the prophets they did not accurately understand it, but imitated what was said of our Christ, like men who are in error, we will make plain. The prophet Moses, then, was, as we have already said, older than all writers; and by him, as we have also said before, it was thus predicted: “There shall not fail a prince from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until He come for whom it is reserved; and He shall be the desire of the Gentiles, binding His foal to the vine, washing His robe in the blood of the grape.”115    Gen. xlix. 10. The devils, accordingly, when they heard these prophetic words, said that Bacchus was the son of Jupiter, and gave out that he was the discoverer of the vine, and they number wine116    In the ms. the reading is οἶνον (wine); but as Justin’s argument seems to require ὄνον (an ass), Sylburg inserted this latter word in his edition; and this reading is approved by Grabe and Thirlby, and adopted by Otto and Trollope. It may be added, that ἀναγράφουσι is much more suitable to ὄνον than to οἶνον. [or, the ass] among his mysteries; and they taught that, having been torn in pieces, he ascended into heaven. And because in the prophecy of Moses it had not been expressly intimated whether He who was to come was the Son of God, and whether He would, riding on the foal, remain on earth or ascend into heaven, and because the name of “foal” could mean either the foal of an ass or the foal of a horse, they, not knowing whether He who was foretold would bring the foal of an ass or of a horse as the sign of His coming, nor whether He was the Son of God, as we said above, or of man, gave out that Bellerophon, a man born of man, himself ascended to heaven on his horse Pegasus. And when they heard it said by the other prophet Isaiah, that He should be born of a virgin, and by His own means ascend into heaven, they pretended that Perseus was spoken of. And when they knew what was said, as has been cited above, in the prophecies written aforetime, “Strong as a giant to run his course,”117    Ps. xix. 5. they said that Hercules was strong, and had journeyed over the whole earth. And when, again, they learned that it had been foretold that He should heal every sickness, and raise the dead, they produced Æsculapius.

[54] Οἱ δὲ παραδιδόντες τὰ μυθοποιηθέντα ὑπὸ τῶν ποιητῶν οὐδεμίαν ἀπόδειξιν φέρουσι τοῖς ἐκμανθάνουσι νέοις, καὶ ἐπὶ ἀπάτῃ καὶ ἀπαγωγῇ τοῦ ἀνθρωπείου γένους εἰρῆσθαι ἀποδείκνυμεν κατ' ἐνέργειαν τῶν φαύλων δαιμόνων. ἀκούσαντες γὰρ διὰ τῶν προφητῶν κηρυσσόμενον παραγενησόμενον τὸν Χριστόν, καὶ κολασθησομένους διὰ πυρὸς τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, προεβάλλοντο πολλοὺς λεχθῆναι λεγομένους υἱοὺς τῷ Διΐ, νομίζοντες δυνήσεσθαι ἐνεργῆσαι τερατολογίαν ἡγήσασθαι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τὰ περὶ τὸν Χριστὸν καὶ ὅμοια τοῖς ὑπὸ τῶν ποιητῶν λεχθεῖσι. καὶ ταῦτα δ' ἐλέχθη καὶ ἐν Ἕλλησιν καὶ ἐν ἔθνεσι πᾶσιν, ὅπου μᾶλλον ἐπήκουον τῶν προφητῶν πιστευθήσεσθαι τὸν Χριστὸν προκηρυσσόντων. ὅτι δὲ καὶ ἀκούοντες τὰ διὰ τῶν προφητῶν λεγόμενα οὐκ ἐνόουν ἀκριβῶς, ἀλλ' ὡς πλανώμενοι ἐμιμήσαντο τὰ περὶ τὸν ἡμέτερον Χριστόν, διασαφήσομεν. Μωυσῆς οὖν ὁ προφήτης, ὡς προέφημεν, πρεσβύτερος ἦν πάντων συγγραφέων, καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ, ὡς προεμηνύσαμεν, προεφητεύθη οὕτως: Οὐκ ἐκλείψει ἄρχων ἐξ Ἰούδα καὶ ἡγούμενος ἐκ τῶν μηρῶν αὐτοῦ, ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ ᾧ ἀπόκειται: καὶ αὐτὸς ἔσται προσδοκία ἐθνῶν, δεσμεύων πρὸς ἄμπελον τὸν πῶλον αὐτοῦ, πλύνων τὴν στολὴν αὐτοῦ ἐν αἵματι σταφυλῆς. τούτων οὖν τῶν προφητικῶν λόγων ἀκούσαντες οἱ δαίμονες Διόνυσον μὲν ἔφασαν γεγονέναι υἱὸν τοῦ Διός, εὑρετὴν δὲ γενέσθαι ἀμπέλου παρέδωκαν, καὶ οἶνον ἐν τοῖς μυστηρίοις αὐτοῦ ἀναγράφουσι, καὶ διασπαραχθέντα αὐτὸν ἀνεληλυθέναι εἰς οὐρανὸν ἐδίδαξαν. καὶ ἐπειδὴ διὰ τῆς Μωυσέως προφητείας οὐ ῥητῶς ἐσημαίνετο, εἴτε υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ παραγενησόμενός ἐστι, καὶ εἰ ὀχούμενος ἐπὶ πώλου ἐπὶ γῆς μενεῖ ἢ εἰς οὐρανὸν ἀνελεύσεται, καὶ τὸ τοῦ πώλου ὄνομα καὶ ὄνου πῶλον καὶ ἵππου σημαίνειν ἐδύνατο, μὴ ἐπιστάμενοι εἴτε ὄνου πῶλον ἄγων ἔσται σύμβολον τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ εἴτε ἵππου ὁ προκηρυσσόμενος, καὶ υἱὸς θεοῦ ἐστιν, ὡς προέφημεν, ἢ ἀνθρώπου, τὸν Βελλεροφόντην καὶ αὐτὸν ἐφ' ἵππου Πηγάσου, ἄνθρωπον ἐξ ἀνθρώπου γενόμενον, εἰς οὐρανὸν ἔφασαν ἀνεληλυθέναι. ὅτε δὲ ἤκουσαν διὰ τοῦ ἄλλου προφήτου Ἠσαίου λεχθέν, ὅτι διὰ παρθένου τεχθήσεται καὶ δι' ἑαυτοῦ ἀνελεύσεται εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, τὸν Περσέα λεχθῆναι προεβάλλοντο. καὶ ὅτε ἔγνωσαν εἰρημένον, ὡς προλέλεκται ἐν ταῖς προγεγραμμέναις προφητείαις, Ἰσχυρὸς ὡς γίγας δραμεῖν ὁδόν, τὸν Ἡρακλέα ἰσχυρὸν καὶ ἐκπερινοστήσαντα τὴν πᾶσαν γῆν ἔφασαν. ὅτε δὲ πάλιν ἔμαθον προφητευθέντα θεραπεύσειν αὐτὸν πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ νεκροὺς ἀνεγερεῖν τὸν Ἀσκληπιὸν παρήνεγκαν.