traces of greek mythology in islam
AGAMEMNON'S DAUGHTER TURNS INTO IBRAHIM'S (ABRAHAM) SON.
In ancient Greece and Rome, animal sacrifice was performed as a ritual to communicate with the gods, heroes, and other divine beings. Such rituals were meant to ask the divine recipients for favours, protection, and help, or to appease them. Animal sacrifice, in which prayer was central, was also a way for human worshippers to know the will of the gods and often concluded with the distribution and consumption of the meat.
Today, animal sacrifice is mostly associated with the religion of Islam, but few people know that its roots are in the Jewish religion and its connection in Greek mythology.
Qurban as referred to in Islamic law, is the ritual animal sacrifice of a livestock animal during Eid al-Adha. The word is related to Hebrew word qorbān, "offering" .In Islamic Law, udhiyyah would refer to the sacrifice of a specific animal, offered by a specific person, on specific days to seek God's pleasure and reward. The word qurban appears thrice in the Quran in the sense of sacrificing an animal or in any act which may bring one closer to God.
The most well-known story is the legend of the Jewish prophet Abraham (Abraham) sacrificing his son Isaac in line with the will of God. however, at the very moment of the sacrifice, the god becomes sure of Abraham's faith and sends a ram with one of his angels to be sacrificed in place of his son Isaac. By the way, of course, it is not questioned why God is so insistent on seeing blood.
in Exodus 22:28 it is writtten;
''You shall not put off the skimming of the first yield of your vats. You shall give me the first born. You shall give Me the firstborn among your sons. 22:29 You shall do the same with your cattle and your flocks; seven days it shall remain with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.''
This text could just mean giving the firstborn son to the Temple or local shrine to serve as a priest. But besides that, the word ''same'' in the text “ You shall do the same with your cattle and your flocks; seven days it shall remain with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.” direcly makes people think of a sacrifice.
Later on, Exodus 34:19 modifies the law by suggesting that firstborns are not to be given to God, but should be redeemed/replaced by something else which is not cleaar whether a livestock or money.
''Every first issue of the womb is Mine, from all your livestock that drop a male as firstling, whether cattle or sheep.34:20 But the firstling of an ass you shall redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem it, you shall break its neck. And you must redeem every firstborn among your sons. None shall appear before Me empty-handed.''
Although the frescoes are the monastery's most exciting feature, the warren of rooms are must to see either. The complex is entered via a rock-cut passage, which opens onto a large courtyard with reservoirs for wine and oil. There is also a kitchen and a refectory. A small hole in the ground acts as a vent for a 9m-deep shaft leading to two levels of subterranean rooms. wisitors can descend through the chambers or climb to an upstairs bedroom.
If we take a look at the legend about Agamemnon and his daughter Iphigenia, we can see that this exaggerated story that took place in the two major religions of the Middle East is actually a good plagiarism, Just as we all know that the famous legend of ''Moses and the basket'' was plagiarized from the legend of the Assyrian king Sargon's ''Basket floating on the river '' Story.
While gathering a Greek fleet in Aulis to prepare for war against Troy, Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks, accidentally kills a deer in a grove sacred to the goddess Artemis. Artemis punishes Agamemnon by stopping the winds, and the fleet cannot sail to Troy. Calchas the seer tells Agamemnon that to appease Artemis, he must sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphigenia. At first he refuses but, pressured by the other commanders, agrees.
Iphigenia and her mother Clytemnestra are brought to Aulis, under the pretext that Achilles will marry the her. Iphigenia remains unaware of her imminent sacrifice until the last moment. She believes until the moment of her death that she is being led to the altar to be married.
In the earlier version of the story by Aeschylus (484 BCE), Iphigenia begs her father for her life, but still Agamemnon sacrifices her and the boats sail. After the trojan war ended & Agamemnon was back to Athens his wife Clytemnestra kills him to get Iphigenia's revenge.
In another version of the story by Euripides (414-412 BCE), Iphigenia accepts her fate and beseeches her father to accomplish the act. As he is about to kill her, Artemis magically substitutes a deer for her. Iphigenia tells her story on the altar there
''High was I placed, and o’er me gleamed the sword.
Aiming the fatal wound; but from the stroke
Diana snatch’d me, in exchange a deer.''
The Resemblences of the Myths of Moses And The Great Sargon of Assyrians
