Posted on 10/06/2008 11:02:05 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
A team of scientists led by renowned French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio recently announced that they have found a bowl, dating to between the late 2nd century B.C. and the early 1st century A.D., that, according to an expert epigrapher, could be engraved with the world's first known reference to Christ... The full engraving on the bowl reads, "DIA CHRSTOU O GOISTAIS," which has been interpreted by French epigrapher and professor emeritus Andre Bernand as meaning either, "by Christ the magician" or "the magician by Christ." ...He and his colleagues found the object during an excavation of the underwater ruins of Alexandria's ancient great harbor. The Egyptian site also includes the now submerged island of Antirhodos, where Cleopatra's palace may have been located...
While not discounting the Jesus Christ interpretation, other researchers have offered different possible interpretations for the engraving, which was made on the thin-walled ceramic bowl after it was fired, since slip was removed during the process. Bert Smith, a professor of classical archaeology and art at Oxford University, suggests the engraving might be a dedication, or present, made by a certain "Chrestos" belonging to a possible religious association called Ogoistais. Klaus Hallof, director of the Institute of Greek inscriptions at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy, added that if Smith's interpretation proves valid, the word "Ogoistais" could then be connected to known religious groups that worshipped early Greek and Egyptian gods and goddesses, such as Hermes, Athena and Isis. Hallof additionally pointed out that historians working at around, or just after, the time of the bowl, such as Strabon and Pausanias, refer to the god "Osogo" or "Ogoa," so a variation of this might be what's on the bowl. It is even possible that the bowl refers to both Jesus Christ and Osogo.
(Excerpt) Read more at dsc.discovery.com ...
Honestly now, do you really think you can look at one photo and tell better than dozens or even hundreds of experts who have examined it in person? I think not.
Yes, magus (μάγος) is correct.
There doesn't seem to be any online reference to "goistais" aside from stories related to this find.
:’) that’s what I wuz shootin’ fer.
Thanks to all who have replied, great comments!
La scritta e molto interesante.
“Goeteia” is the usual word for malicious sorcery or witchcraft:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goetia
Everyone knows that this issue of Jesus being nothing more than a rural magician was exhaustively explored and definitively settled in the movie “the Silver Chalice” starring Jack Palance as Simon, an evil aspiring magician determined to undermine the Christian cult.
Paul Newman played a gullible sexy young hunk and Virginia Mayo played a non-virginia.
I guess someone must have held the Mayo, huh?
“La scritta e molto interesante.”
Grazie per le sue gentili parole.
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