Jonah and the big fish

[ellion]

i am suprsed M*W had so little to say about the symbolism of fish.
an enlightening time for old jonah.

 

[Medicine*Woman]

i am suprsed M*W had so little to say about the symbolism of fish. an enlightening time for old jonah.

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M*W: The symbolism and myths of the fish gods are very ancient and prolific. Ea ruled the waters of the deep in Babylonian myth. He arose every morning and dropped behind the Earth each evening beneath the waves like a fish. Ea is depicted as half-man half-fish, and most likely evolved from the myth of the Constellation Aquarius.

In later myths, Ea appears as Ioannes and the fish god Dagon who was worshipped by the Philistines. Ea/Ioannes were symbols of the primeval sun god who created and nurtured the Earth.

Hindu Brahamism worships the god Vishnu who allegedly appeared to man in the form of half-man half-fish exactly as Ioannes or Dagon were represented among the Chaldeans. In the Indian version, Manu, the Hindu Noah, was saved by Vishnu in the form of a fish and saved Manu by dragging his boat to the top of a rock. Sounds hauntingly familiar like Noah's Ark atop Mt. Ararat). Then we have Davkina, the consort of Vishnu who seems to be the same name of Dav-ki or Damkina, the consort of Ea.

The Greek myth of Hercules and Hesione the daughter of King Laomedon of Troy) tells of the slaying of darkness by the sun god. The King bound his daughter to rocks by the sea as a sacrifice to Poseidon's destroying monster of darkness. Hercules represents the sun who saved the king's daughter by leaping into the fish's wide mouth and cutting his way through the monster's belly. This same myth is found in the rescue of Andromeda by Perseus.

Jonah being swallowed by the whale then thrown on shore at Joppa three days later is very similar to the myth of Hercules and Hesione. The same myth applies to Oannes being swallowed by Tiamat, the dragon of darkness, at the time of the winter solstice.

In Tylor's Primitive Culture, he explains... "In early Christian centuries, a Greek scculpture of Andromeda's monster was used as a model for Jonah's whale. In Pliny's time, the remains of Andromeda's chains were exhibited on a rock along the shore at Joppa and the bones of a whale were taken to Rome as relics of the monster."

In the Talmud, the coming Messiah is called Dag (remember Dagon)?. The stories of the myth of Jesus from childhood onward relate to incidences with fish and fishermen, and the story of Jesus walking on water, puts him right there on the sea. During the first four centuries christians were called "Pisiculi" or "Little Fishes," and Jesus was called the "Big Fish." This myth of Jesus has been symbolized by fish and appeared in homes and household objects. Fish symbols also appeared on the walls of the catacombs in Rome. Pope Clement in the second century urged christians to have a fish engraved upon their seals to distinguish them from the pagans.

Ancient Egyptian artists depicted paintings of female figures with fish-shaped eyes in the belief that fish were symbolic of their sexual nature.

In Scandinavia, the fish was the symbol of Frija, the goddess of marriage that was derived from the name of the sixth day of the week (Friday). Joshua of the bible is described as the son of Nun, a word which in Hebrew denotes both a fish and a woman, or more specifically, the sexual parts of a woman. I wonder if this is why Catholics call their holy sisters Nuns? Well, that puts a whole new light on the holy sisterhood! Let's also not forget the bishop's mitre resembling the ancient fish-god's head! I'm beginning to wonder where that snide sexual comment originated from about a woman smelling "fishy!"

The ancient custom of eating fish on Friday is associated with the belief that eating fish promoted lustfulness and virility.

According to Sir Austin Henry Layard, "the Druses of Lebanon, in their secret vespers, offer a true worship of the sexual parts of the female and pay their devotions every Friday night. Mohammedan husbands who failed to fulfill their conjugal duties on this day not only violated the code of Mahomet; they risked a disruption of domestic harmony as well."

The design of two fish in a circle is called the Great Monad. It is one of the oldest symbols of the male and female principles and it is found throughout the Far East. In India and China, it is called the Yin and Yang. In Japanese, the Yin and Yang are called the In and Yo. Reversed and conjoined, they read it as Yo-Ni. The sign of the fishes, Pisces, seems to have the same significance as the Great Monad. Fish gods and symbols, sex gods and symbols, honestly, it all boils down to sun-moon worship.

If anyone has any questions about this, I shall try to answer them.

References:

Ernest Busenbark, Symbols, Sex, and the Stars in Popular Beliefs, 1997.

James Legge, Sacred Book of China, 1882.

Edward B. Tylor, Primitive Culture, 1891.

Sir Austin Henry Layard, Sur Le Culte De Venus, (date unknown).

Mrs. M.J.M. Murray-Aynsley, Symbolism of the East and West, (date unknown).

Stephen H. Langdon, Mythology of All Races, (date unknown).

Morris Jastrow, Aspects of Religious Beliefs & Practices in Babylonia & Assyria,1911.

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M*W's Friendly Atheist Quote of the Day:

"We are here because one odd group of fishes had a peculiar fin anatomy that could transform into legs for terrestial creatures; because the earth never froze entirely during an ice age; because a small and tenuous species, arising in Africa a quarter of a million years ago, has managed, so far, to survive by hook and by crook. We may yearn for a "higher" answer--but none exists." ~ Stephen Jay Gould