Tears and Fragrance for the God’s Death and Resurrection: The Funerary Syncretism of Mary...

Tears and Fragrance for the God’s Death and Resurrection: The Funerary Syncretism of Mary Magdalene with Isis

—Margaret Merisante, Ph.D.

Presented at the 2015 Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM) Symposium. April 11, 2015, Portland, OR.

Abstract: This paper looks at ancient Egyptian funerary practices and the widely-known Egyptian funeral myth of Isis, Nephthys, Osiris, and Set to draw new lines of connection with the Christian mythos around Mary Magdalene and her role during the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Particularly, this paper presents that the mythic figure of Mary Magdalene shows startling correlations in ritual and myth to Isis’s funerary roles in the Isis-Osiris myth. Through rituals of anointing and mourning, together with mythological and historical criteria that determined the right to rule, the mythic synchronicities between the nascent Christian myth of Jesus and Mary Magdalene with the ancient Isis-Osiris myth are compelling.

Key Words: Mary Magdalene, Isis, Osiris, Jesus, christos, anoint, hair, fragrance, oils, spikenard, ancient Egyptians, mourners, mourning, weeping, women, New Testament, Gospels, death, funerary rituals.

© Margaret Merisante, Ph.D. 2015 1

Myths hold the paradox of preserving traditions while embracing change. Within this paper,

I look into the mythological currents of change that may have charged the banks of religious

tradition particularly around the New Testament figure of Mary Magdalene together with the

ancient Egyptian goddess Isis.

Whatever speculation there is about who Mary Magdalene was (and there is so much fervid

speculation that seems a cottage industry), Mary Magdalene’s purpose appears quite clear. She shows

up in the New Testament gospels to lead the mourning over Jesus’ death, conduct funeral rites for

him, and attend to his subsequent resurrection. Mythologically, her actions show striking similarities

to the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis—specifically in her funereal role and purpose regarding the god

Osiris.

Isis

I begin with Isis—one of Egypt’s prehistoric goddesses. Isis is featured in Egypt’s oldest

texts: the Pyramid Texts circa 2465-2150 BCE. Of course, in ancient Egyptian oral culture and 1

artwork, Isis’s history stretches much further back. Her name, Isis or A set means knowledge. As

Egyptologist E. A. Wallis Budge explains, her name means “knowledge and understanding of the

eternal and self-existent Being.” Thus, Isis represents the comprehension of life as immortal being, 2

and as intelligent, continually unfolding existence.

From this understanding, we can see why Isis was the key figure to prepare Osiris for eternal

life, and why the worship of her was broad and long-standing. The active worship of Isis appears to

extend from the fourth millennium BCE to approximately 350 CE. Furthermore, Isis, arguably,

became the most prominent goddess throughout the entire Mediterranean and Near Eastern regions

from third century BCE to third century CE.

Hassan, 98.1

200.2


Symbolically, two of the brightest “stars” in our skies—Venus and Sirius—represent Isis.

Each July, the helical rising of Sirius, i.e. the power of Isis, “announced the rising of the flood

waters of the Nile, through which the world-renewing grace of the dead and resurrected lord Osiris

was to be fired over the land.” The myth of Isis and Osiris is known to us through ancient 3

Egyptian artwork, hymns, hieroglyphic inscriptions, festival rites, and magical spells as well as from

accounts written by ancient Greek and Roman writers. 4

Stripping this particular myth down to its bare bones, so to speak, Osiris was slain by his

brother Set who tricked Osiris into lying down into a cedar sarcophagus. Set nailed the lid shut, and

sent the cedar coffin forth from the Nile into the Mediterranean Sea. After a long journey, it came to

rest on the shores of Byblos. There a fragrant myrrh tree grew around it, enclosing Osiris and the

sarcophagus from view. This myrrh tree was then cut down and made into a pillar for the royal

palace at Byblos.

Isis, upon hearing of the death of Osiris, “immediately cut off one of the locks of her hair

and put on [the clothes of] mourning.” Weeping, she searched all over for her husband's coffin until 5

she found it in Byblos. There, she was exceedingly kind to the queen’s women, braiding their hair

and tending to them. The women returned to the queen with the fragrance of Isis permeating their

hair and bodies. The queen invited Isis to the palace whereupon Isis requested that the pillar be cut 6

open to remove the coffin. Osiris in his sarcophagus was brought back to Egypt by the aid of strong

winds, which Isis commanded with her perfumed breath.

Campbell, 339.3

Notable ancient Egyptian sources are the Pyramid Texts (24th c. BCE), the Coffin Tests (2055-1650 BCE), the Book of the 4

Dead (1550-1070 BCE), and the Great Hymn to Osiris (1550-1290 BCE). Ancient Greek and Roman sources include Herodotus’s The Histories (5th C. BCE), Diodorus Sicluus’s Bibliotheca Historia (1st c. BCE), and Plutarch’s De Iside et Osiride ( 2nd c. CE).

Budge, 220.5

Budge, 221-22.6


She hid him in the Nile’s marshy delta while she gathered spices, resins, and oils. However,

Set discovered Osiris’s hidden body, cut it into fourteen pieces, and spread them across the land.

Weeping, Isis and her sister Nephthys carefully retrieved the pieces of Osiris’ body, made him whole

again, and wrapped him in linens and

preserving resins to lay him to rest in a

tomb. Finally, in the form of kites, Isis and

Nephthys fanned the air over Osiris with

their vivifying spirits. Osiris was resurrected

through Isis’ love and magic to become

Egypt’s eternal King of Heaven and Lord

of the Underworld.

ISIS AND NEPHTHYS IN THEIR FORMS OF KITES AND GODDESSES PERFORMING FUNERAL RITES FOR

OSIRIS. KITES: TOMB OF SENNEDJEM; WOMEN: TOMB OF NAKHTAMON-XIX DYNASTY. PUBLIC DOMAIN.

NEPHTHYS, OSIRIS, AND ISIS. THE TEMPLE OF HATHOR, DENDERA, EGYPT. CC FRANCESCO GASPARETTI, 2006.


Pertinent to the particulars of this paper, three key factors are prominent in this Isis myth.

Further, the myth of Mary Magdalene neatly mirrors these three key points.

1. The importance of fragrance coupled with the fact that Isis (and later Mary) is the keeper or originator of spiced fragrance.

2. As sister and lover to Osiris, Isis also assumes the rites of the death goddess. In the Biblical tellings, this is Mary Magdalene’s primary mythic role.

3. The goddess of love (Isis / Mary Magdalene) weeps for the dead leader and restores him to eternal life as the risen god of the underworld.

As Rosemary L. Gates reminds us, “in Egyptian funerary symbolism, the goddesses Isis and

Nephthys were pictured both inside and outside of every coffin . . . in such a way that their open

arms received the head and feet of the corpse. The two goddesses were called protectresses of the

dead and receivers of the soul. Isis, as Nature, represented love and protection, as well as life and

rebirth.” This ritual position of the sister goddesses is then mirrored by Mary Magdalene in her 7

anointing of both Jesus’ feet and head with oil. Additionally, “the bird as emblem of and messenger 8

to the soul . . . the anointing of the tomb with perfumed breath, and the presence of fragrance to

soothe the emotions and make the soul ready for peace were all features of every Egyptian

funeral.” 9

The Pyramid Texts state that Isis’s consort and brother, Osiris, was “regarded as the first god-

king of Egypt.” Specifically, through Isis’s power and agency, Osiris becomes Egypt's first god-10

king, thereby setting the criteria for human rulership endorsed by the gods. Therefore, the only way

for a male to become the Pharoah, or assume kingship (i.e., the right to rule), came through an

23.7

See Matthew 20:2, 26: 6-13; John 12: 1-10; and Mark 14:3-9.8

Gates, 27.9

Ibid.10


intimate association with Isis. Osiris was the lover and brother of Isis. After Osiris was killed, he 11

became the lord of the netherworld. From this point forward, Isis symbolically birthed each new

Pharoah as a Horus, i.e., a resurrected Osiris. The Horus would champion Osiris and Isis on Earth

and lead the peoples. Consequently, Horus is a divine title establishing the Pharoah as Isis’s

legitimate child conceived with the invisible underworld Osiris. The Pharoah or Horus, the

“supreme lord in the land, [could] thus claim a descent through Isis” and by proxy, through Osiris. 12

What this symbolic narrative created was a powerful mythological lineage that neatly linked divine,

religious, and political rulership of the heavens (Isis) , the underworld (Osiris), and the land (Horus/

Pharoah).

Archaeology scholar Fekri Hassan states that, “as Egypt passed from the rule of its native

kings to the Ptolemies, Isis became an official goddess of the new state cult.” Consequently, Isis

“infiltrated the Graeco-Roman world” and became “identified with other primordial divine mothers

of Asia Minor.” Both the Ptolemaic Greeks and, later, the Romans, eagerly adopted Isis, featuring 13

her in their statuary, myths, and mural paintings. Egyptologist James Dennis states that, just within

the walls of Rome, “three great temples [were] erected to her cult.” 14

Ruling families were especially keen to merge Isis with other goddesses such as Io, Diana,

Ishtar, Hera, and Cybele because each of these goddesses provided the necessary link to divine

lineages with their corresponding right to rule. Assimilating other sovereignty goddesses with Isis

both legitimized and widened traditional royal genealogies to include ruling over various lands. 15

Religious scholar Everett Ferguson declares that elite and public fervor over Isis and Osiris was so

The length of this paper precludes discussion on this point, but I must note that these combined terms of “bother 11

and lover” are markers of a matrifocal society’s designations, not indications that incest played any cultural role.

Ibid.12

Ibid, 99.13

Dennis, 13.14

Ibid and Davison, 61., quoted in Balch, 45.15


strong in the Mediterranean and surrounding regions, that “during the first two centuries of the

common era, they [Isis and Osiris] were the most popular and widespread of the non-Greek

deities.” Perhaps not coincidentally, the first two centuries of the common era were also the 16

periods of the birth, rise, and fall of Jesus of Nazareth, together with the start of Christianity.

Isis and Mary Magdalene

Joseph Campbell reminds us that “the recurrent mythological event of the death and

resurrection of a god, [ . . .] had been for millenniums the central mystery of all the great religions

of the nuclear Near East.” Further, “it is clear,” he says, “that, [. . .] the moving legend of the 17

Crucified and Risen Christ was fit to bring a new warmth, immediacy, and humanity, to the old

motifs of the beloved Tammuz, Adonis, and Osiris cycles.” The cycles that Campbell refers to 18

here are the interplay between the cycles of bios (birth, life, and death) together with zoë (immortality

or eternity). Unfortunately, within the Christian myth of Jesus as the dying and risen god, Mary

Magdalene has been strangely separated from her ancient mythological ties to the other

corresponding goddesses of immortality.

Commenting on the widespread acknowledgement that Isis “paved the way for the worship

of the Virgin Mary,” Mircea Eliade notes that, “the great popularity of the Egyptian Mysteries 19

during the first centuries of the Christian era” led to early Christians borrowing from Isis “certain

features” of her “iconography and mythology” to meld into that of the Virgin Mary. Again, tying 20

the Virgin Mary to Isis was efficient symbolically and mythically as a swift way to establish and

legitimize a divine lineage in order to rule any foreign or captured peoples spiritually and politically.

Ferguson, 249. Quoted in Balch, 44.16

Campbell, 334.17

Campbell, 362.18

Ibid.19

Eliade, 294.20


Oddly, the additional associations of the mournful Isis with the grieving Mary Magdalene

has not been properly explored. When we look for Mary Magdalene, only glimpses of her rise to

the surface within the Christian New Testament gospels. Within these texts however, she appears 21

and acts at key critical junctures in Jesus’ history. Mary Magdalene appears in the gospels at the exact

occasions that mark the transformation of Jesus into a dying and risen god. She stands out as: 1. the

anointer of Jesus granting him the title of christós; 2. the principal mourner of his death; and 3. the

consistent, constant witness to his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.

Isis’ and Mary Magdalene’s roles as death goddesses correlate on a number of items:

• Both Isis and Mary Magdalene are portrayed as the beloved of the dying and risen god.

• Both gather up the dead body of their god, weep profusely for him, join their sister to

prepare him for burial, and recognize him when resurrected.

• As part of the burial process of their consort, Isis and Mary Magdalene anoint their

brother/lover with fragrant oils, resins, and spices.

• Both are the first witnesses to the dead Osiris or Jesus as a resurrected god of the

netherworld or heavens.

• Isis does follow and Mary Magdalene appears to follow ancient Egyptian funerary

practices regarding burial preparation and mourning rituals.

Each gospel states that Mary Magdalene is a prominent witness to the crucifixion. 22

Religious scholar Cynthia Bourgeault writes that, “in Matthew, Mark [and Luke] the emphasis is on

distance” —meaning that Mary Magdalene and the other women witness are portrayed as viewing 23

Jesus’ crucifixion a little ways away. However, she notes that “the Gospel of John moves the action

Due to length restrictions, this paper discusses Mary Magdalene’s presence only within the New Testament canonical 21

gospels, not the apocryphal Gospel of Mary which itself offers further evidence of links to Isis.

See Matthew 27:55-56, Mark 15:40, Luke 23: 49, and John: 19:25 In Luke, Mary Magdalene is not explicitly named at 22

the crucifixion, but it is implicitly understood that she is part of the female witnesses.

Bourgeault, 12.23


up close [where . . .] Mary Magdalene stands at the foot of the cross” with the Virgin Mary and 24

Mary, the wife of Cleophas. Furthermore, it is important to recognize that from the crucifixion, to

the burial, and to the resurrection, Mary Magdalene is constantly present and “accompanied by at

least one or two other women, also named Mary.” 25

Historian and mythographer Marina Warner calls the other Marys “ a muddle of Marys” due

to the New Testament ambiguity about who these Marys actually were. Mythographers Anne 26

Baring and Jules Cashford agree that “certainly, the profusion of Marys is arresting, . . . given the

derivation of the name from the sea, and the number three suggesting the symbolism of the lunar

trinity.” Lunar symbolism also surrounds the Egyptian figure of Osiris . However, for the newly 27 28

formed Christian myth, lunar representation transferred

to the figures of Mary, Star of the Sea, recalling “the

three visible phases of the moon, the trinity of goddesses

of destiny.” Additionally, it seems apparent that the 29

Marys (the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Mary of

Bethany/Mary, wife of Cleophas) together represent

mother, lover, and sister as a tripartite mythological

figure, whereas in Egyptian mythology, Isis alone

represented all three.

THREE MARYS AT THE TOMB OF CHRIST. MIKOLAJ HABERSCHRACK, 15TH C. PUBLIC DOMAIN.

Ibid, 13. 24

Ibid, 9. Luke names Mary Magdalene prior to the burial scene (8:2) and just after (24:10). 25

Warner, 344-5.26

589.27

See Cashford, 34-7.28

Baring and Cashford, 565.29


Mourning / Weeping

Mourning, lamenting, or weeping is a key characteristic of Isis in her funereal role. Likewise,

“the image of weeping was also one of [Mary Magdalene’s] defining qualities, for the word

‘maudlin’, which passed into the English language via the French, [is] derived from her name.” Isis 30

weeps profusely during her search for Osiris as well as during the burial rites. Mary Magdalene

mourns profusely at the anointments, the crucifixion, the entombment, and the resurrection of

Jesus. Baring and Cashford state that “the picture of a sorrowful woman holding a jar of anointing

oil is the one most characteristic of Mary Magdalene in early Renaissance paintings . . . .” 31

The grief that Mary Magdalene displays clearly echoes

that of Isis. One notable instance occurs when Mary

Magdalene cannot find the dead body of Jesus. Instead,

Mary Magdalene sees two angels sitting at the head and

foot of where Jesus was laid. (Here we see a symbolic

mirroring of Isis and Nephthys as birds stationed at the

head and feet of Osiris.) The angels ask Mary Magdalene,

“Woman, why are you weeping?” She replies, ‘They have

taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have

laid him.’” 32

MARY MAGDALENE DEPICTED AS A MYRRHBEARER. “CHRIST IS RISEN” WRITTEN IN GREEK AT THE TOP. VICTOR VASNETSOV 1898. PUBLIC DOMAIN.

Ibid, 591.30

Ibid.31

John 20:11-14.32


Recollecting the Isis-Osiris myth, Isis also did not know where Osiris’s dead body was taken.

The weeping, searching, and finding of the dead lover in order to prepare him to be the newly risen

ruler of the Otherworld is a consistent theme in these Egyptian and Christian myths. Further, it is

important to note that this mournful Mary Magdalene, with

her anointing oils and spices in hand, is the one who

witnesses and grieves the disappearance of Jesus’ body,

the one who sees him as a risen god, and finally, the one

who proclaims that resurrection to his disciples. Each of

these actions additionally mirrors the myth of Isis in her

funereal role.

Isis is joined in mourning by her sister Nephthys

during Osiris’ funeral rites. The following excerpt of The

Laments of Isis and Nephthys reveals it to be quite 33

poignant, as well as strikingly similar to the story of Jesus

and Mary Magdalene.

NEPHTHYS (LEFT) AND ISIS (RIGHT) MOURNING THE DEATH OF OSIRIS. PUBLIC DOMAIN.

“Glorify his soul! Establish his dead body! Praise his spirit! Give breath to his nostrils and to his parched throat! Give gladness unto the heart of Isis and to that of Nephthys; . . . Behold now, Isis speaketh, Come to thy temple, . . . Come to thy temple, for thine enemies are not Behold the excellent sistrum-bearer--come to thy temple!

Lo I, thy sister, love thee—do not thou depart from me! . . . Lo, I am prevented from beholding thee— . . . Gods, and men before the face of the gods, are weeping for thee at the same time, when they behold me!

Anonymous, The Burden of Isis.33


Lo, I invoke thee with wailing that reacheth high as heaven,-- Yet thou hearest not my voice. Lo I, thy sister, I love thee more than all the earth-- And thou lovest not another as thou dost thy sister . . .

Behold now, Nephthys speaketh,-- Behold the excellent sistrum-bearer! Come to thy temple! Cause thy heart to rejoice, for thy enemies are not! All thy sister-goddesses are at thy side and behind thy couch, Calling upon thee with weeping--yet thou art prostrate upon thy bed! Hearken unto the beautiful words uttered by us and by every noble one among us! . . . Sweeten our hearts when we behold thee, oh prince! Beautify our hearts when we behold thee I, Nephthys, thy sister, I love thee: Thy foes are subdued, there is not one remaining. Lo, I am with thee; I shall protect thy limbs for ever, eternally.”

Anointment and Fragrance

The New Testament states that the anointing of Jesus was a three part act. Initially, Jesus’

feet were washed with tears and anointed with costly spikenard ointment contained in an alabaster

jar by an unnamed weeping woman whose hair was loosened. Interestingly, the woman’s loosened 34

hair reflects Egyptian mourning rites; rites marked specifically by loosened hair. Women were the

primary sacred mourners for the dead. While weeping in grief, the female priestess shook her hair

over her face and then pulled or cut it, marking the beginnings of the rituals of mourning and

burial. 35

The next anointment of Jesus, again with costly spikenard carried in an alabaster jar, by

another unnamed woman (or Mary of Bethany), was applied to his head. This anointment was

performed in the manner of declaring a christós, i.e. an anointed king, prophet, or divinely appointed

male. Thus, it is clear that the divine Mary figure bestows the right to rule through the combination 36

Luke 7:37-50. John 11:2 names this woman as Mary of Bethany.34

Martín documents these ritual nwn gestures in “Mourning Women” & “Professional Mourners”35

Examples are found in Leviticus 4:3-5, 4:16, 6:20; Psalm 132:10; Psalm 105:15; 1 Kings 19:16; 1 Chronicles 16:22; 1 36

Samuel 16:13; 2 Samuel 2:4.


of ritual anointment and intimate association. In biblical scholarship and in popular imagination,

each woman who anoints has been declared a Mary: either Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany, or

both. Importantly, Mary Magdalene holds and performs the role of the divine anointer while also

being identified symbolically or literally as the dying god’s lover, sister, or both.

Therefore, this personal yet divine act marked Jesus, as a ruler of his people, and as one who

was about to be transformed into a divine ruler. When the disciples protested this act, Jesus chided

them soundly. He reminded them that “she hath poured this ointment on my body, [and] she

PIETA OF VILLENEUVE-LES-AVIGNON BY ENGUERRAND QUARTON, C. 15TH CENTURY. OIL ON WOOD. PUBLIC DOMAIN.

did it for my burial.” Therefore, these two anointments of Jesus are dual in nature: divine 37

leadership is bestowed through a goddess figure and burial rites have ensued, events again matching

those of Osiris. Finally, Mary Magdalene and the other Marys prepare the third and final

anointments for the entombment of Jesus. 38

Matthew 26:11-12, Mark 14: 3-8, John 11:237

Matthew 27:61 (implied), Mark16:1, Luke 23:55-56.38


Egyptian artifacts and iconography demonstrate that their burial rites used copious amounts

of fragrant resins and spices. Egyptologist Lisa Manniche states that “scent had an important role in

temple and funerary ritual . . . and “was released in the form of incense” or through perfumed oils

and ointments. “Scent [also] played a major part in the erotic imagination of the Egyptians at many 39

levels, from love poems to theogamy [divine courtship] tales where the identity of a god is revealed

through the perfume he exudes . . . .” Osiris was encased in both cedar and myrrh trees, symbolic 40

of the resins these trees exude. Cedar and myrrh were common resins for both anointing and

embalming purposes. Isis embodies fragrance itself. She emits fragrance through her breath, her

touch, her control of the earth’s winds, and through the fluttering of her wings as a kite. Her love,

symbolized by her own fragrance as well as the aromas of the anointing oils she uses, causes Osiris

to be transformed into a risen god.

SAMPLES OF PLANTS IN THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF THUTMOSE III AT KARNAK. (18TH DYNASTY). PUBLIC DOMAIN.

Of course, the power of fragrance for both erotic and funerary purposes was not exclusive

to the Egyptians . In the Hebrew Bible’s Song of Songs , the bridegroom declares: 41

1.39

Ibid., 5.40

However, there are theories that the Song of Songs may have originated from Egyptian love-songs. See Keel, 4-5.41


“I will hasten to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. / You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you. . . ./ How sweet is your love, my sister, my bride! . . ./ Your lips distill nectar, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue; the scent of your garment is [cedar]. . . . / Your channel is . . . henna with nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense , myrrh and aloes . . . a well of living water , and flowing streams from Lebanon.” 42

Of the herbs and spices mentioned above, spikenard, saffron, calamus, cinnamon and aloes

were all traded from India while frankincense and myrrh traditionally came from the land of Punt. 43

Typical Egyptian funerary herbs and spices included frankincense, myrrh, chamomile, sweet flag,

mint, cyprus grass, and pistachio resin. 44

Additionally, the Greek hero Achilles in The Iliad specifically used fragrance for funeral rituals

when he profusely mourned Patroclus, his comrade in arms. Achilles ordered that Patroclus’s dead

body be washed, anointed with oil and a strongly-scented unguent, and wrapped in linen. Then,

before burying his friend, Achilles cut off his long-hair. Finally, Aphrodite, the goddess of love,

protected the dead body of the Trojan hero Hector from Achilles. She anointed and consecrated the

dead Hector with “the ambrosial oil of roses” That this early Greek funeral ritual displays the 45

themes of profuse and public grief, loosened and cut hair, together with a love goddess who anoints

and grants immortality to a fallen leader demonstrates the antiquity, longevity, and diffusion of these

rites.

The sacred anointing oil of the Hebrews, used to consecrate their temple and spiritual

leaders utilized the same spices and resins as their Mediterranean neighbors. They created their holy

oil from myrrh, cinnamon, spikenard, cassia, and olive oil. Through this process, they were 46

4:6-7, 4:10-1542

Dobbs-Allsopp,964 and Manniche, 1.43

Manniche, 2.44

18: 400-14; 23:50-3, 23: 13-15.45

Exodus 30:22-25.46


adopting an ancient widespread ritual. However, int the patriarchal mythologies of Gilgamesh, and

Yahweh, the monotheistic Hebrew god as the Israelite political and spiritual ruler, openly rejected

the goddess who was the longstanding source of eternal life and the divine right to rule.

Currently, through recent biblical and feminist scholarship, we now know that, despite the

ban from Yahweh on worshipping goddesses, this very same practice remained strong, if hidden

within Judaism. By the historical time of Jesus, the widespread reverence of the goddess of love and

life refused to stay hidden in the Hebrew religion. Is it surprising that Mary Magdalene, identified

through Gnostic Gospels as sister, teacher, and lover, would also be the mourner and anointer of

Jesus? Bolstered by the pervasive worship of Isis throughout the Greco-Roman world, it is not

surprising at all that Mary Magdalene should come to the fore as a goddess figure that tenderly

anoints and cares for her divine consort and raises him to become the god of the underworld or

heavens. Indeed, I see that the Marys—mother, sister, and lover—were a mythic response to the

crying need within the early Christian movement to have an Isis of their own.


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Tears and Fragrance for the God’s Death and Resurrection: The Funerary Syncretism of Mary...

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