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OTHER POSSIBLE LINKS BETWEEN MARK & HOMER

The following are set apart as my own views, not MacDonald's. MacDonald has explained his observations in detail, and I have added a little more explanation to mine, too. Several of the comparisons I have listed here are too small to make any case by themselves. But I have thought they might enough distinctive features to give them some interest in the context of the other larger and more demonstrable points of contact between the texts. So the following are a mixed bag of strong and weak. Make of them what you will.

Caveat: My lists are generalized summaries of the texts. As such they inevitably prejudice one's determination of the similarities between the texts. I intend to replace these summaries with more literal English translations and selected Greek words for comparisons as soon as time permits. Meanwhile the accuracy of my summaries can be assessed by Greek texts and English translations at the following sites:

The Perseus site for Greek texts and English translations of the Iliad and Odyssey
Mark Goodacre's Bible translations site for the gospel of Mark

CONTENTS

Other overview arguments Last hours of Jesus and failure of disciples         Sacred holiday settings         Neverending story? Two wilderness settings     John the Baptist         Two 'baptisms'         Calchas and John         Why did John baptize Jesus?         John and Elijah         Strange places, foods and clothing         Historicity note     Jesus in the wildernesses (with John & Satan)         Comparisons with Moses & Elijah         Comparisons with Odysseus         Comparisons with Achilles         Divine parents speak to mortal sons

Beginning of Jesus' ministry (Mark 1-2)         Time has come, kingdom at hand         Callings by the seashore         Calling of Levi         Exorcism in Capernaum         Healing Peter's mother-in-law         Crowds flock at doorway         Cleansing the leper         Healing the paralytic Remainder of pre-Jerusalem ministry (Mark 3-10)         What to take on a journey         Returning from journeys to ghosts & demons Final days of Jesus and end of the world         Prophecies of doom and hope         Rustics compelled to assist with executions         Four Simons         Where do Alexander and Rufus fit in?