Elijah Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==== {{anchor|Helios}}Pagan associations and mountaintops ==== {{See also|Peryn#The cult of Peroun in Peryn and in Novgorod}} Starting in the fifth century, Elias is often connected with [[Helios]], the Sun. The two words have very similar pronunciations in post-classical Greek; Elijah rode in his chariot of fire to heaven<ref name="2 Kings 2:11"/> just as Helios drove the chariot of the sun across the sky; and the [[Holocaust (sacrifice)|holocaust sacrifice]] offered by Elijah and burned by fire from heaven<ref name="bibleverse|1|Kings|18:38|9">{{bibleverse|1|Kings|18:38|9}}</ref> corresponds to the sun warming the earth.<ref>J. Theodore Bent, "The Sun Myths of Modern Hellas", ''The Antiquary'' '''20''' (1889), p. 10</ref> [[Coelius Sedulius|Sedulius]] writes poetically in the fifth century that the "bright path to glittering heaven" suits Elias both "in merits and name", as changing one letter makes his name "Helios"; but he does not identify the two.<ref>Patrick McBrine, translator, Sedulius' ''Carmen paschale'', lines 184–187 [http://www.pmcbrine.com/translations/sedulius_carmen_paschale/cpbk1.pdf PDF] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715101210/http://www.pmcbrine.com/translations/sedulius_carmen_paschale/cpbk1.pdf |date=15 July 2011 }}</ref> A homily entitled ''De ascensione Heliae'', misattributed to [[Chrysostom]], claims that poets and painters use the ascension of Elijah as a model for their depictions of the sun, and says that "Elijah is really Helios". [[Saint Patrick]] appears to conflate Helios and Elias.<ref>K. Sarah-Jane Murray, ''From Plato to Lancelot: a preface to Chrétien de Troyes'', Syracuse 2008, p. 148 [https://books.google.com/books?id=1DLN3x2lrA8C&pg=PA148 Google Books]</ref> In modern times, much Greek folklore also connects Elias with the sun.<ref>Mary Hamilton, "The Pagan Element in the Names of Saints", ''Annual of the British School at Athens'' '''13''': 348–56 (1907) [https://books.google.com/books?id=K2gKAAAAIAAJ&q=Elias&pg=PA355 Google Books]</ref> In Greece, chapels and monasteries dedicated to Prophet Elias (Προφήτης Ηλίας) are often found on mountaintops, which themselves are often named after him. Since Wachsmuth (1864),<ref>C. Wachsmuth, ''Das alte Griechenland im neuen'', 1864, p. 23, cited by [[Hippolyte Delehaye]], ''The Legends of the Saints: An Introduction to Hagiography'', 1907, p. 174</ref> the usual explanation for this has been that Elias was identified with Helios, who had mountaintop shrines. But few shrines of Helios were on mountaintops, and sun-worship was subsumed by Apollo-worship by Christian times, and so could not be confused with Elias.<ref>Delehaye, p. 174</ref> The modern folklore is not good evidence for the ''origin'' of the association of the sun, Elias, and mountaintops.<ref name="cook"/> Perhaps Elias is simply a "natural patron of high places".<ref>F. Lenormant, ''Monographie de la voie sacrée Éleusinienne'', 1864, p. 452 as quoted by Delehaye, p. 174</ref> The association of Elias with mountaintops seems to come from a different pagan tradition: Elias took on the attributes and the locales associated with [[Zeus]], especially his associations with mountains and his powers over rain, thunder, lightning, and wind. When Elias prevailed over the priests of [[Baal]], it was on [[Mount Carmel]]<ref name="bibleverse|1|Kings|18:38|9"/> which later became known as Mount St. Elias. When he spent forty days in a cave, it was on [[Mount Horeb]].<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Kings|19:8|9}}</ref> When Elias confronted [[Ahab]], he stopped the rains for three years.<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Kings|17:1-18:1|9}}</ref><ref name="cook">[[Arthur Bernard Cook]], ''Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion'', 1925, p. 178 [https://books.google.com/books?id=9iShet_ZtHAC&pg=PA178 Google Books]</ref> A map of mountain-cults of Zeus shows that most of these sites are now dedicated to Elias, including [[Mount Olympus]], [[Mount Lykaion]], [[Mount Arachnaion]], and [[Mount Taleton]] on the mainland, and [[Mount Kenaion]], [[Mount Oche]], and [[Mount Kynados]] in the islands. Of these, the only one with a recorded tradition of a Helios cult is Mount Taleton.<ref name="cook" /> Elias is associated with pre-Christian lightning gods in many other European traditions. Among Albanians, pilgrimages are made to mountaintops to ask for rain during the summer. One such tradition that is gaining popularity is the 2 August pilgrimage to [[Ljuboten]] on the Sharr mountains. Muslims refer to this day as ''Aligjyn'' ("Ali Day"), and it is believed that Ali becomes Elias at midday.<ref>{{cite book |last=Elsie |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aAtQZ0vjf5gC&q=%22Ali+day%22+Aligjyni&pg=PA7 |title=A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk Culture |publisher=NYU Press |date=2001 |isbn=978-0814722145 |page=7}}</ref> [[File:Ilia chariot.jpg|thumb|This common depiction of the prophet Elijah riding a flaming chariot across the sky resulted in [[syncretism|syncretistic]] folklore among the [[Slavs]] incorporating pre-Christian motifs in the beliefs and rites regarding him in [[Slavic culture]].]] As Elijah was described as ascending into heaven in a fiery chariot, the Christian missionaries who converted [[Slavic tribes]] likely found him an ideal analogy for [[Perun#Post-Christian Perun|Perun]], the supreme [[Slavic mythology#Pantheon|Slavic god]] of storms, thunder and lightning bolts. In many [[Slavic countries]] Elijah is known as Elijah the Thunderer (''Ilija Gromovnik''), who drives the heavens in a chariot and administers rain and snow, thus actually taking the place of [[Perun]] in popular beliefs.<ref>Lenhoff, Gail. "Christian and Pagan Strata in the East Slavic Cult of St. Nicholas: Polemical Notes on Boris Uspenskij's FilologiÄeskie Razyskanija v Oblasti Slavjanskix Drevnostej." The Slavic and East European Journal. (July 1984) 28.2 pp. 147–63.</ref><ref>McLeish, Kenneth. ''Myth: Myths and Legends of the World Explored.'' London: Facts on File, 1996. p. 506.</ref><ref>Cherry Gilchrist, ''Russian Magic: Living Folk Traditions of an Enchanted Landscape'', {{ISBN|0-8356-0874-3}}, pp. 81ff [https://books.google.com/books?id=uMS2ZTuNGQYC&pg=PA82 full text]</ref> Perun is also sometimes conflated with the legendary hero [[Ilya Muromets|Elijah of Murom]].<ref>Mike Dixon-Kennedy, ''Encyclopedia of Russian and Slavic myth and legend'', {{ISBN|1-57607-130-8}}, p. 218, [https://books.google.com/books?id=eD5AkdM83iIC&pg=PA218 full text]</ref><ref name="mw">''Merriam-Webster's encyclopedia of world religions'', {{ISBN|0-87779-044-2}}, ''s.v.'' "Slavic religion" [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZP_f9icf2roC&pg=PA1016 full text]</ref> The feast of St. Elias is known as ''Ilinden'' in [[South Slavic languages|South Slavic]], and was chosen as the day of the [[Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising]] in 1903; it is now the holiday of [[Republic Day (North Macedonia)|Republic Day]] in [[North Macedonia]]. In [[Estonian folklore]] Elijah is considered to be the successor of [[Ukko]], the lightning spirit.<ref name="mw"/> In [[Georgian mythology]], he replaces [[Elwa]].<ref name="mw"/><!-- can't find corroboration of this figure elsewhere--> A Georgian story about Elijah: <blockquote>Once [[Jesus]], the prophet Elijah, and St. George were going through [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]. When they became tired and hungry they stopped to dine. They saw a Georgian shepherd and decided to ask him to feed them. First, Elijah went up to the shepherd and asked him for a sheep. After the shepherd asked his identity Elijah said that, he was the one who sent him rain to get him a good profit from farming. The shepherd became angry at him and told him that he was the one who also sent thunderstorms, which destroyed the farms of poor widows. (After Elijah, Jesus and St. George attempt to get help and eventually succeed).<ref name="Gabidzashvili">Gabidzashvili, Enriko. 1991. ''Saint George: In Ancient Georgian Literature''. Armazi – 89: Tbilisi, Georgia.</ref> </blockquote> Among other peoples of the Caucasus, including the [[Ossetians]] and [[Kabardians]], Elijah is understood as a kind of [[Uacilla|thunder-divinity named Uac-illa]], Ilia, or Yeli, and was traditionally invoked in "choppa" ritual associated with lightning strikes and certain mental illnesses.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tuite |first=Kevin |date=2004 |title=Lightning, Sacrifice, and Possession in the Traditional Religions of the Caucasus |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40466310 |journal=Anthropos |volume=99 |issue=1 |pages=143–159 |jstor=40466310 |issn=0257-9774}}</ref> If a person or animal was struck by lightning, a [[circle dance]] was performed immediately around the site, even if the storm was still ongoing, and Elijah's name was invoked alongside a nonsense word "choppa" or "coppay". If the victim had died, their family were forbidden from grieving and were required to bury them where they fell instead of in the village cemetery. If the victim survived, their lives were dedicated to Elijah: human survivors were prophets, while animals were released with a mark so that others would know not to take them home. In other versions of this tradition, the one venerated was not Elijah, but other traditional thunder-divinities like Shyble (Щыблэ), Afy (Афы), or Antswa (Анцуа). Elias has other pagan associations: a modern legend about Elias mirrors precisely the legend of [[Odysseus]] seeking a place where the locals would not recognize an oar—hence the mountaintops.<ref>Arthur Bernard Cook, ''Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion'', p. 171</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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