Elijah

The Statesman has some text that could be an influence on the Jesus story.

"STRANGER: There may be something strange in any servant pretending to be a ruler, and yet I do not think that I could have been dreaming when I imagined that the principal claimants to political science would be found somewhere in this neighborhood."

I think the story of the crucifix comes from the Greek history of Codrus, not from the expectations of philosophers or Jewish prophets. The political system and metaphysical outlook (trinity) is being influenced by Plato, but the sacrifice is being imitated from historical figures like Codrus and story of Socrates' trial.

Horatio Parker

And Achilles

I hope that as the MJ movement grows, more effort will be made towards studying scripture as literature. Likely there are more connections.

stephan huller

Jesus is identified as the Stranger by the Marcionites

sotto voce

No doubt the feeling is mutual.

sotto voce

The history of paganism.

Elijah

I'm not sure about the relation to Achilles. The influence on Jesus made by the last King of the Greeks and their most famous philosopher I can see in Jesus' sacrifice, but I'm not sure about the story of Achilles.

Elijah

As Jesus the Man, or as the Christ (Logos) the spirit?

stephan huller

The Marcionites didn't have a 'Jesus the Man.' Just the Stranger or the Stranger God. The term appears most often in Syriac texts and those attributed to Ephrem. Nevertheless it has been demonstrated that Ephrem was very knowledgeable about Greek philosophy and translated the terminology into Syriac.

Horatio Parker

Achilles went knowingly to his death. A noble death, like Socrates.

Other than that, I agree Achilles is not much of a model for a Savior. Sacker of Souls?

GakuseiDon

Stephen already hinted at this, but Justin Martyr writes on Plato placing the Son of God on the Cross, and on Plato's apparent doctrine of the Trinity (God, Logos and Spirit of God), this before the concept was even formalized by Christians themselves! From here:
http://www.earlychristianwritings.co...stapology.html

CHAPTER LX -- PLATO'S DOCTRINE OF THE CROSS.

And the physiological discussion concerning the Son of God in the Timoeus of Plato, where he says, "He placed him crosswise in the universe," he borrowed in like manner from Moses... that Moses, by the inspiration and influence of God, took brass, and made it into the figure of a cross, and set it in the holy tabernacle, and said to the people, "If ye look to this figure, and believe, ye shall be saved thereby." And when this was done, it is recorded that the serpents died, and it is handed down that the people thus escaped death. Which things Plato reading, and not accurately understanding, and not apprehending that it was the figure of the cross, but taking it to be a placing crosswise, he said that the power next to the first God was placed crosswise in the universe. And as to his speaking of a third, he did this because he read, as we said above, that which was spoken by Moses, "that the Spirit of God moved over the waters." For he gives the second place to the Logos which is with God, who he said was placed crosswise in the universe; and the third place to the Spirit who was said to be borne upon the water, saying, "And the third around the third." And hear how the Spirit of prophecy signified through Moses that there should be a conflagration. He spoke thus: "Everlasting fire shall descend, and shall devour to the pit beneath." It is not, then, that we hold the same opinions as others, but that all speak in imitation of ours.

The background to this is that by the Second Century many well-educated pagans were converting to Christianity, so was trying to show how Greek philosophy did not consider Christianity "foolishness", but in fact the philosophers had been promoting Christianity all along. From Minucius Felix's "Octavius":
http://www.earlychristianwritings.co.../octavius.html

Therefore in his Timoeus Plato's God is by His very name the parent of the world, the artificer of the soul, the fabricator of heavenly and earthly things, whom both to discover he declares is difficult, on account of His excessive and incredible power; and when you have discovered Him, impossible to speak of in public. The same almost are the opinions also which are ours...

I have set forth the opinions almost of all the philosophers whose more illustrious glory it is to, have pointed out that there is one God, although with many names; so that any one might think either that Christians are now philosophers, or that philosophers were then already Christians...

Why should I refer to those old wives' fables, that men were changed from men into birds and beasts, and from men into trees and flowers?--which things, if they had happened at all, would happen again; and because they cannot happen now, therefore never happened at all.