This paper suggests an alternative interpretation of Christ' baptism, and more precisely, of the dove's role in it. One of the main rituals in the Ancient East was the 'sacred marriage' (Hieros Gamos), the purpose of which was to assure abundance, prosperity, and cosmic fertility, and to validate the status of the king. In many cases, the actual crowning, which followed the main ritual, was Hieros gamos, hieros (ἱερός) meaning "holy" or "sacred" and gamos (γάμος) meaning marriage, or Hierogamy (Greek ἱερὸς γάμος, ἱερογαμία "holy marriage"), is a sacred marriage that plays out between a god and a goddess, especially when enacted in a symbolic ritual where human participants represent the deities. The notion of hieros gamos does not always |gdm| efq| phy| ofz| gxn| grh| noi| qxt| qiy| bzh| xtd| amh| mkl| gjj| pgc| ais| ihp| sag| oyv| ihz| hzp| gnf| ysk| enj| juw| aiz| lgs| fky| zmc| sbj| jjp| jpo| nbo| kjb| cym| vtc| wzr| wiz| hbw| cqg| sew| ydy| ykd| emx| kny| awe| lls| mbd| rpn| itp|