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The First Apology
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Chapter 54: Origin of Pagan Mythology.
But those who spread the myths created by the poets offer no proof to the young people who learn them; and we move to show that these myths were spoken under the influence of wicked demons, to deceive and mislead humanity. Having heard the prophets proclaim that Christ was to come and that the ungodly among men would be punished by fire, they presented many who would be called sons of Jupiter, thinking they could make people believe that the stories about Christ were merely marvelous tales, like those told by the poets. These stories were told among the Greeks and all nations where the demons heard the prophets foretelling that Christ would be especially believed in. Yet, as they listened to the prophets, they didn't fully understand and instead imitated what was said of our Christ, like those who are mistaken, which we will clarify.
THE PROPHET MOSES: as we have already mentioned, was older than all writers; and through him, as previously stated, it was predicted: “A ruler from Judah will not fail, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until He comes 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.” The devils, upon hearing these prophetic words, claimed Bacchus was the son of Jupiter, saying he discovered the vine, and they associated wine with his mysteries; and they said that after being torn to pieces, he ascended into heaven.
Because Moses' prophecy did not clearly state 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 “foal” could mean either the foal of an ass or a horse, they, unsure whether the foretold one would bring the foal of an ass or horse as a sign of His coming, nor whether He was the Son of God, as we mentioned, or of man, claimed that Bellerophon, a man born of man, himself ascended to heaven on his horse Pegasus. When they heard the prophet Isaiah say that He would be born of a virgin, and by His own means ascend into heaven, they pretended it referred to Perseus. And when they learned that it was foretold, “Strong as a giant to run his course,” they said Hercules was strong and had traveled over the whole earth. And when they found out that it was foretold He would heal all sickness and raise the dead, they brought forward Æsculapius.
Hear the Scriptures cited in The First Apology
The First Apology quotes or alludes to these Bible chapters more than any others. Each link opens the free audio Bible, where the chapter is read aloud alongside the text, cross-references, and what other early Christian writers said about it.
- Hear Isaiah 52 (audio Bible) — cited 3 times in this work
- Hear Matthew 5 (audio Bible) — cited 3 times in this work
- Hear Genesis 6 (audio Bible) — cited 2 times in this work
- Hear Genesis 49 (audio Bible) — cited 2 times in this work
- Hear Numbers 21 (audio Bible) — cited 2 times in this work
- Hear Psalms 22 (audio Bible) — cited 2 times in this work
- Hear Isaiah 65 (audio Bible) — cited 2 times in this work
- Hear Matthew 19 (audio Bible) — cited 2 times in this work
- Hear Genesis 14 (audio Bible)
- Hear Genesis 18 (audio Bible)
- Hear Genesis 32 (audio Bible)
- Hear Exodus 3 (audio Bible)