Who is real Mary? Is there a historical Mary? Is
there a character in Josephus or Talmud that could be distantly alluded to from
which the character of Mary of gospel accounts can be based upon? Could the
character of Mary be modeled around the last princess of Hasmonean dynasty to
survive, Mariamne I? Now Mariamne is a very unique character. She is the last
of the heirs of Hasmonean dynasty that survived when Herod took control of
Judea as the new Jewish king under Roman control. Josephus mentions that she
was a very young and beautiful woman and Herod was smitten by her beauty. But
obviously she hated Herod as he was responsible for the deaths of her father,
grandfather and her father’s brother. Now Josephus says that Herod was able to
marry Mariamne after a period of betrothal which extended for around 2-3 years.
Talmud says Mariamne committed suicide before Herod was able to marry her. And
Herod mourned over her death. But according to Josephus, Herod married Mariamne and
had two sons with him, Alexander and Aristobulus both of whom were murdered by
Herod in 7 BCE. But Herod murdered Mariamne before that because she suspected
her of an affair with Joseph, who is said to be a procurator or administrator
with Herod. There is no other information about this Joseph, other than he is
somehow related to Herod. Antiquities says that he is the brother of Herod
while Wars says that he is the husband of Herod’s sister Salome. Here comes my
whacky hypothesis. But could Joseph be Roman procurator of Syria, Gaius Sosius? Joseph
is also understood as Joses, Hoses, Hosius and it could well be Sosius too. Sosius
assisted Herod in his takeover of Judea from Hasmonean hands. That makes him co-ruler
of the region along with him. If Herod was smitten by the beauty of Mariamne,
so could have been Sosius too. We know that Mariamne hated Herod, but had to
agree to the marriage to him due to pressure from her mother Alexandra. Now if
alleged affair of Mariamne with Joseph (in this case Sosius) happen to occur
during the period when Herod was betrothed to Mariamne, he would have been mad
at Mariamne and would have killed her or she might have committed suicide
before the marriage with Herod as Talmudic account says. Now how about gospel
writers were imaginative enough to hypothesize that Mariamne indeed was found to
be with a baby in the womb from the affair before Herod could have a union with
her? Sosius could have helped her from being killed by Herod. He could have
secretly helped her escape into Egypt where his close friend Mark Antony is
ruling along with Cleopatra. As Mariamne is sole heir of Hasmonean dynasty, if
a son is borne to her, he would be a legitimate heir for being king of Jews as
Jews did not consider Herod as a legitimate Jew as he was an Idumean. If such a
child existed, it would be no wonder that Herod would want to kill that son if
Mariamne conceived. That indeed seems a good motif for a plot for a story even if these
events may not have occurred.
Now one other way Mariamne I is tied to the gospels
is the surname of another Mary, Mary Magdalene. The surname Magdalene is most
likely derived from the Hebrew name Magdalos, which means tower. Now when Herod
had murdered Mariamne I, he regretted over her death for many months. He
couldn’t get over the fact that he lost her even though he was responsible for
her murder. So he built a tower in her name in Jerusalem and the tower is
called Mariamne tower (Mary Magdalos). Maybe Mary Magdalene was originally the
name of Jesus’ mother and later an additional Mary was constructed as his
mother and Mary Magdalene might have been converted into his disciple. That is
a possibility.
One other story that the above story would match
would be adultery of Jesus’ mother with Roman general in non-Christian sources
of historical Jesus. Both Talmud and Celsus accuse that Jesus was born out of
wedlock with a Roman General. Roman General who is the culprit in Talmud and
Celsus was Tiberius Iulius Abdes Pantera. But if the above story is right, it could
be the Roman Procurator of Syria, Gaius Sosius. Since Mariamne I was Jewish
princess, it would be shameful to have a child with adultery with Roman
general. Hence if Mariamne I actually had a child following adultery, it is
natural to describe it as virgin birth.
I am not saying that this happened this way. It might just be a whacky
hypothesis. But this is a possibility that this could have happened or at least
became an inspiration for initial aspect of gospel story. Just a thought. Maybe
a whacky one too.
