They've Got What it Takes: Canonized Pagans & Other Legends
According to Barbara Walker 1, the canonization of saints is the christian counterpart to Greco-Roman "apotheosis", whereby mortals are elevated to godlike-status. The creation of a canon of saints makes christianity a polytheistic realm of demi-gods and goddesses.
Many saints are simply christianized versions of pagan predecessors. Annexing pagan gods and goddesses to the christian canon of saints fulfilled a symbolic function as well as a tactical one, since pagan shrines and cities that were overtaken by christians would be able to retain their patrons and deities, simply under different conditions, titles, and sometimes names. Walker notes that "the multitude of phony or commercial saints are treated by modern catholic scholars with a rather amused tolerance, as if the saint-makers' fantasies held something of the same charm as tales invented by bright children."
The existence of a multitude of saints provided a source of financial prosperity for the church given the mandatory system of pilgramages and other donations in the name of a given saint-deity.
Below are some examples of these fictional saints along with a brief description of their pre-christian roots. Most of the information provided here is derived from Barbara Walker's The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets.
As with all politico-historical accounts, Sister Galaxina encourages you to make your own connections and meanings by interrogating all explanations offered by any institution, mythology, book or website!
| St. Faith | A virgin-martyr variety saint. Based on "Bona Fides," Roman patron of legal agreements. |
| St. Catherine | Barbara Walker writes:"One of the most popular saints of all time
-- despite the fact that she never existed. The famous Catherine Wheel
hails from the Sinai region where she was depicted as the "Dancer
on the Fiery Wheel" at the center of the universe. Greek "kathari"
or "pure ones" performed dances in honor of this wheel of karmic progression. |
| St. Josaphat | "Christian corruption of the title Bodhisat; an inadvertent canonization
of siddhartha Buddha." |
| St. George | The patron saint of England is also known as "Green George," a
spirit representing the spring season. Geoge's feast day is also known
to ancient Romans as the "Feast of Pales," a raucous fertility festival. |
| St. Restituta | The name means "restored one." Walker says that this saint's legend
is most likely based on the vandalization of a pre-christian "half-burned"
goddess statue "found on the isle of Ischia and replaced in her temple.
According to Christian myth, Restitua as a 'virgin martyr' slain in
Africa and considnged to a boat filled with burning pitch. The boat
drifted ashore on Ischia where her remains were taken up by Christains"
and care for. Walker offers a likelier explanation that the Ischians
restored the statue to its original place after the christian attack
on the icons in the temple. |
| St. Ursula | Ursula is the ancient Saxon deity represented as a she-bear -- a title shared by Artemis. |
| St. Blaise | Canonized around the 8th century, Blaise is equivalent to the Slavic horse-god "Vlaise," one of Diana's lunar consorts. In England, he is known as "Blazey." |
1. Source: Barbara Walker, Women's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets
