Sodomorum et Gomorrhæ

“But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.” Lk. 17:19 (NIV).

In the biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, were filled with wicked and sinful people. This greatly displeased God, who decided thus to destroy these cities. When the Patriarch Abraham found out about this, he pleaded to God on Sodom’s behalf.

The two came to an agreement: if there could be found 10 righteous men within the city of Sodom, then God at least would not destroy that city. So, two angels disguised as men were sent by God to investigate Sodom. Upon arriving, they were greeted by a righteous man named Lot. The angles agreed to stay the night at Lot’s house, but before they got to go to bed, his house was surrounded by all the men of the city. These men desired to have sex with Lot’s newfound guests and Lot tried desperately to defend them. It was no use, the men wouldn’t listen, so the angles pulled Lot back inside the house and struck the men outside with blindness.

The angels quickly informed Lot that they were going to destroy the city and urged him to flee with his family, commanding them not to look back. Lot quickly fled with his wife and two daughters and as they ran, God rained burning sulfur upon both Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot’s wife, ignoring the angels’ command, looked back—and was turned into a pillar of salt.

Although the depravity of both Sodom and Gomorrah was so base that God himself intervened to put an end to it (there weren’t even 10 righteous men in Sodom!), because of Abraham’s pleading, God didn’t destroy the righteous few alongside the wicked, but rather, He saved the lives of Lot and his two daughters.

“Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!” Is. 1:10.

This narrative has become a rather famous story from the bible, appearing specifically in Genesis and sharing fame among other stories from that book such as the Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, the Tower of Babel, Noah’s Arc and more. This story specifically showcases God’s justice while also giving us a glimpse of God’s mercy and as such, there are many themes present within it.

A member of my group found that this story exemplified mob violence towards outsiders. Part of the sin of Sodom was that the citizens of the city collectively, as a mob, tried to assault two innocent visitors that visited their city. This theme of mob violence is not that uncommon to mythical narratives of the past, and finds itself mirrored in the Ancient Greek tragedy of The Bacchae.

In that tale, the King of Thebes, Pentheus, is tricked by the god Dionysus into dressing up as a woman so as to spy upon the women of his city who have been driven mad into worshiping Dionysus. The women, including his own mother, found out about him, and in their madness teared up his body into pieces.

Another member of my group pointed out that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah possesses the theme of exhibiting destruction while sparing the pious and obedient family. This theme is seen more prominently later on in the book of Genesis, in the story of Noah’s Ark.

At this time in the story (taking place many years after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah), the wickedness and sinfulness of people spread across the entire earth. God therefore, in his wrath decided that the only remedy for such unredeemable wickedness was to flood the earth whole. Nevertheless, God spared the life of the virtuous Noah and his family whom He ordered to build an ark so as to survive. This very same theme is also prevalent in another Greek myth, the myth of Philemon and Baucis.

In this myth, Zeus and Hermes, disguised as peasants visit a town seeking a place to stay for the night. They are rejected by all but the very poor old Baucis and her husband Philemon. In gratitude for their hospitality, Zeus and Hermes allow the old couple to escape, while they destroyed the town in vengeance. It’s worth pointing out that this story shares this second theme in common with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah—powerful beings dwelling among human beings in disguise. This theme, I think, is one of the most common themes prevalent among myths worldwide. For example, in one of the videos we watched for class, we learned that the mythical beings, Jinns, sometimes take on the form of human beings.

Another theme that the Sodom and Gomorrah story shares with yet another Ancient Greek Myth is the theme of harsh punishment as a result of disobedience. Because Lot’s wife disobeyed and turned back, she was turned into a pillar of salt. In the Greek myth of Prometheus, the titan Prometheus himself was harshly punished for his own disobedience.

Having stolen fire and given it as a gift to humanity against the wishes of Zeus, Prometheus was bound in chains, doomed forever to have an eagle gnaw at his ever-renewing liver. Luckily for Prometheus however, he was eventually saved from his torture by Heracles. This video below provides a more in-depth overview of the myth:

“Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.” Matt. 10:15.

Now, a component that stood out for me from the narrative is the theme of the righteous man begging and praying on the behalf of sinners. I think this specific theme (concerning Abraham in the story) goes on to form the basis of a teaching of certain Christians, most notably Catholic and Orthodox Christians. This teaching being the intercession of the saints. These Christians believe that the holy saints pray on the behalf of Christians to God and in fact, there exists many stories and legends of these saints helping those in need.

One such story is one concerning Joan of Arc. While a Priest was anointing the sick who had come on a pilgrimage to Lourdes in the summer of 1909, he asked Joan of Arc to pray for an unconscious woman. Upon the first invocation he made to the saint, the woman opened her eyes. Upon the second invocation, the woman sat up on her stretcher and on the third invocation, the woman was healed of her disease. This miracle is made more impressive when one learns of the severe disease that the woman had—she had tuberculosis in her lungs and an abdominal cavity which was complicated by an organic lesion in the mitral valve of her heart!

“As Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown, along with their neighboring towns,” says the Lord, “so no one will live there; no people will dwell in it.” Je. 49:18.

To conclude this blog post which consisted primarily of a venture through various stories with similar themes from Greek, Jewish and Christian religions, I would like to take the time to reflect on how fascinating it is that the straightforward story of Sodom and Gomorrah can be analysed so as to reveal so many rich themes hidden within it. In this blog posts alone, my group members and I have discovered 5 different themes present within the story and have related these themes to 6 different stories/myths. Perhaps this is why some religious people can spend so much time meditating upon certain texts. There is always something new to be found from every reading!

Sources:

Bileski, Olga. Icon of Abraham, father of Ishmael and Isaac, husband of Sarah. Egg tempera on board. https://i.pinimg.com/236x/d9/49/92/d94992d9bdf698b797ae29ce6c93512b.jpg.

“Death of Pentheus.” Detail from an Attic red-figure clay vase, c.480 BC. New York. https://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/dictionary/Dict/ASP/dictionarybody.asp?name=Pentheus.

Gillespie, Iseult. “The Myth of Prometheus.” TED video, 4:46, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_u91SjrEOE.

Greek Mythology. “Baucis.” https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Mortals/Baucis/baucis.html.

Hicks, Edwards. Noah’s Ark. Oil on canvas, 668.78 mm x 772.67 mm. Philadelphia Museum of Art. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edward_Hicks,_American_-_Noah%27s_Ark_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg.

Hoet, Gerard. “The Sodomites are smitten with blindness.” Illustration from the 1728 Figures de la Bible. 1728. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Figures_The_Sodomites_are_smitten_with_blindness.jpg.

Martin, John. The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. 1852. Oil on canvas, 136.3 x 212.3 cm. Laing Art Gallery. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Martin_-_Sodom_and_Gomorrah.jpg.

Piffard, Harold. Joan of Arc. Oil on canvas, 91.5 cm x 72.2 cm. Art Renewal Center Museum. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Harold_piffard_joan_of_arc.jpg.

“Prometheus and Atlas.” Detail from A black-figure Lakonian kylix, c. 570-560 BC. Vatican: Gregoriano Etrusco Museum. https://www.ancient.eu/image/1149/prometheus–atlas/.

Saint Joan of Arc Center. “What were the miracles that the Vatican accepted to raise Joan of Arc to the official rank of Canonized Saint?” http://www.stjoan-center.com/FAQ/question7.html.

SparkNotes. “The Bacchae.” Plot Overview. https://www.sparknotes.com/drama/bacchae/summary/.

Van Oost, Jacob. Mercury and Jupiter in the House of Philemon and Baucis. Oil on canvas, 166.1 cm x 234.3 cm. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jacob_van_Oost_(I)_-_Mercury_and_Jupiter_in_the_House_of_Philemon_and_Baucis.jpg.