Jesus and Achilles

[All-American]

There are a surprisingly large number of ideological links between Jesus and Achilles. For example:

Both are born of a mixed parentage; one parent being mortal, another immortal. Even the mortal lineage was a royal one: Jesus, through Mary, was the son of David, while Achilles, through his father Peleus, king of the Myrmidons, was himself the son of Zeus. I wonder if this adds significance to the fact that the geneologies of Matthew and Luke trace Jesus' lineage not only to Adam, but to God. Both are the designated saviors of their people, and both are born into the world in order to be sacrificed. Both are gifted above and beyond what a normal human being is capable of; among other things, both seem unusually able to discern the thoughts of others. Some sayings are similar.

It seems fairly evident that the Gospel of Mark, in particular, portrays Jesus in a manner that hearkens back to the archetypal heroes that readers would recognize. It's quite interesting, given the discussion we had a few weeks ago regarding Hellenism's effect on Christianity.