Other "Virgin" Births

The point of this page is to show how common miraculous births were in the ancient world. Few of these are virgin births in the manner described in Matthew and Luke, but they are all miraculous - they all point to the individual being superhuman.

Christianity assuredly did not copy pagan religions, but we can be just as sure that it was influenced by them. Converted from paganism wanted their god to have a miraculous birth too! But that miraculous birth had to be fitted into the extant narrative. Jesus was known to have a mother called Mary and several siblings, including the disciple James. The virgin birth was as miraculous as they could reasonably claim, perhaps inspired by - or at least legitimised by - Isaiah 7.
 

Attis

The daemon Agdistis is linked to both the birth and death of Attis. Agdistis had both female and male reproductive organs. The gods feared this and plotted his death. Tricked into swallowing a sleeping potion, the gods tied his male genitalia to his foot. He castrated himself when he woke and stood. His blood fell to earth fertilizing the ground. An almond tree grew where it fell. The daughter of the river god Sangarius, Nana, picked almonds from the tree and carried them at her bosom. The almonds disappeared and Nana became pregnant with Attis.

https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/gods/attis/


Alexander the Great

This one is especially interesting because he was a real person. It is possible his mother invented the story either because she was pregnant before she married the king or to promote her own position, as she was ne of seven or eight wives.

Alexander was the son of King Philip II of Macedon and of Epirote princess Olympias. According to Plutarch (Alexander 3.1,3), Olympias was impregnated not by Philip, who was afraid of her and her affinity for sleeping in the company of snakes, but by Zeus. Plutarch (Alexander 2.2-3) relates that both Philip and Olympias dreamt of their son's future birth. Olympias dreamed of a loud burst of thunder and of lightning striking her womb. In Philip's dream, he sealed her womb with the seal of the lion.

https://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Middleeastweb/factfile/Unique-facts-MiddleEast5.htm


Romulus and Remus

Romulus and Remus were twin brothers. Their mother, Rhea Silvia was the daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa, an ancient city of Latium. Before the twins are conceived, Rhea Silvia’s uncle Amulius takes power, kills Numitor’s male heirs and forces Rhea Silvia to become a Vestal Virgin. Vestal Virgins were charged with keeping a sacred fire that was never to be extinguished and were sworn to chastity.

However, Rhea Silvia conceives the twins. Most accounts claim their father was either the god Mars, or the demigod Hercules. 

https://www.historyhit.com/origins-of-rome-the-myth-of-romulus-and-remus/


Ra

Another Egyptian god, Ra (the Sun), was said to have been born of a virgin mother, Net (or Neith), and to have had no father.

https://www.hope-of-israel.org/originsVBmyth.html


Hephaestus

Hesiod, however, claims that Hephaestus is solely Hera’s child and that she gave him birth by parthenogenesis to get back at her husband who had done the same with Athena.

https://www.greekmythology.com/Olympians/Hephaestus/hephaestus.html


Perseus

Again perhaps a woman who got pregnant when she should not so make up a story.

Akrisios had locked up his daughter in an underground prison made of bronze after an oracle had declared that his future grandson would kill him. Of course, this was no barrier to Zeus who entered the cell as a shower of golden rain. Naturally, when the child was born, Akrisios was unwilling to believe Danae’s far-fetched story of the golden rain.

http://lucianofsamosata.info/wiki/doku.php?id=2013:perseus

 

Horus

After Osiris was brought back to the underworld, Isis now focused on revenge. She was impregnated by nature, which means Horus born of a virgin. Isis had the longest labor and went through many trials and tribulations in bringing Horus into this world safe and sound.

https://www.timelessmyths.com/mythology/when-was-horus-born/



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