elyaqim:Passover mythologyHow does Eliyyahu (a.k.a Elijah/Elias) manage to get to absolutely every P

elyaqim:Passover mythologyHow does Eliyyahu (a.k.a Elijah/Elias) manage to get to absolutely every Passover seder? Why it must be with his chariot of fire drawn by horses of fire (rekeb ēsh wə‐sûsê ēsh רכב אש וסוסי אש)! The Greeks identified Elias with the sun god Helios due to a superficial similarity in their names and in their conveyances (although their names are etymologically unrelated, אליהו Ēliyyāhû being Afro‐Asiatic and Ήλιος Hēlios Indo‐European), and Eliyyahu is frequently portrayed in a fire chariot not unlike Helios’ sun chariot.This is a detail of a fresco in Rila Monastery, Bulgaria, portraying Eliyyahu (Saint Elias) and his chariot of fire (from a larger picture on Wikimedia, in the public domain).──────────────────────[I]t is easily seen how, by a scarcely perceptible change of sound, the great god Helios could be transmuted into Elias. Helios drove round the world in his fiery chariot, drawn by horses. Elias went up to heaven in a similar conveyance. Helios produced rain and storm, and so did Elias by the fervor of his prayer on Mount Carmel. Elias brought down fire from heaven and so did the great sun‐god. Hence the parallel between the two was too tempting to be passed over.—J. Theodore Bent, “Paganism in England,” The Gentleman’s Magazine 262, Jan. 1887, 36.we talked a lot about Elijah last night at Ruach HaYam, specifically his transformation from “high-strung/depressive prophet” to “magical Jewish grandpa” - his chariot of fire was also briefly mentioned & it’s super interesting to see a (Christian) depiction of that!i went looking for Jewish artists’ takes on Elijah, and we can possibly add “lion” to his modes of transportation:(painting by Zalman Kleinman - here’s some interesting info on the symbolism of lions in Judaism)also, this other work by Kleinman is too amazing/ominous not to include:Elijah is a very large Jewish magical grandpa -- source link

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