Glycon and the Ancient Sock Puppet Relgion,In the annals of history there have been many strange and

Glycon and the Ancient Sock Puppet Relgion,In the annals of history there have been many strange and unusual religions, but perhaps the most bizarre was the worship of Glycon in the 2nd century AD, a creation of a so called prophet named Alexander of Abonoteichus.  Alexander of Abonoteichus was a swindler, con man, and flim flam artist who traveled across the Roman Empire looking for nefarious ways to make an easy drachma or denarius.  Around 150 AD Alexander decided to settled down in his home city of Abonoteichus in Anatolia (Turkey) where he orchestrated the greatest swindle of his career; the creation of his own religion.  Alexander styled himself a prophet, and predicted to the people of Abonoteichus that the son of Apollo, Asclepius, would be reborn in the foundations of the nearby temple.  There in the foundations of the temple was found an egg, out of which hatched a newborn snake.  Alexander declared the snake a new god, which he named “Glycon”.  He rushed off with the baby snake, naming himself caretaker of Glycon, and sequestered himself with the newborn god.  Months later, Alexander appeared in public with Glycon wrapped around his body and arms.  Glycon had supposed possessed Alexander, and would speak through Alexander to the people.  Immediately people bowed in worship, praising the name of Glycon, who would perform miracles such as healing the sick and prophesying the future.  Amazingly, Alexander was able to pull off this con by constructing a large puppet, formed like a snake with a humanoid head.  A series of strings allowed Alexander to articulate the mouth, eyes, and tongue, which convinced many that the puppet was indeed a real god.  Alexander would also chew the roots of a soapwort, thus causing him to foam at the mouth giving the appearance that he was possessed or in a prophetic frenzy. There were some critics, mostly Christians and Epicurians.  His most vocal critic was the Greek rhetorician and satirist Lucian, who provides most of the details of Alexander and the Cult of Glycon. According to Lucian and other critics, his oracles were mostly vague and cryptic prophecies that could be interpreted to mean anything, and most of his miracle cures were hoaxes and frauds.Despite the critics, the Cult of Glycon became a wildly popular religion, spreading across Greece, Turkey, and the Middle East.  Alexander made out extremely well, a Roman governor married his daughter, coins were struck bearing his and Glycon’s image, and most importantly he had earned a fortune by gypping people with his sock puppet god.  On his busiest year, he was said to given oracles to 80,000 people, each of whom paid one drachma and two oboli (silver coins) as a fee. Among his most popular clients was none other than the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius for a prophecy on the success of a military campaign against the Germans.  In 170 AD, Alexander of Abonoteichus died due a gangrenous infection of the leg, however his religion continued to live on.  The Cult of Glycon lived on throughout the 3rd century, finally dying out around the end of the 4th century. -- source link

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