(4.) As to Mythological Coincidences. — The narrative of Samson's deeds has often been compared with the mythical story of the Greek Hercules. (See especially Vogel, in the Hull, /uici/clop. ii, § vi, 8 sq. ; Riskoff, Die Simsonsage u.d. llerakles-Mythus [ Leips. 1801].) Thus, his combat with the lion is compared with the conquest of the Nemean lion (Diod. Sic. iv, 11 ; Apollod. ii, 5, 1), and another fearful lion on Mt. Cithreron (Apollod. ii, 4, 9); his capture of the jackals with the capture of the stag of Diana (Diod. Sic. iv, 13; Apollod. ii, 5, 3), and of the Cretan bull (Apollod. ii, 5, 7 ; Diod. Sic. iv, 13) ; his slaughter of his paranymphs' friends with the over- throw of the king of the MinyaB, Erginus, and his host, by Hercules, in a narrow pass (Apollod. ii, 4, 11 ; men- tioned, too, by Herod, ii, 45) ; his carrying-off the gates of Gaza with the carrying-away of the Cretan bull (Diod. Sic. iv, 13) ; but, above all, the destruction of Samson by his beloved Delilah has been compared with the over- coming of Hercules through Omphale (Diod. Sic. iv, 81 ; Apollod. ii, 6, 3; comp. Senec. Ilippol. p. 318 sq.) ; in fine, Samson's wonderful birth (Judg. xiii) with that of Hercules (see Bauer, llebr. Myth, ii, 86 sq.). 'I'hose, however, have far less ground who identify Samson with the Phoenician Hercules, the sun-god. Basing the view on the etymology of the name (see Vatke, Bill. TlieoL I, 368 sq.), they labor, viewing the whole story of Samson as a myth, to explain the details by the course and operation of the sun (Borkhausen, in the Coburg. Annal. d. Theol. 1833, iii, 2, 3; iv, 1 ; comp. Je- rome, Ep. ad Philem. vii, 752). There are many other striking parallels in the Greek mythology — e. g. in the Croton Milo and other strong men (Pliny, vii, 19) ; in the deeds of Theseus, especially the destruction of the wild boar at Crommyon (Diod. Sic. iv, 59), and the carrA'ing- away of a living bull to Athens (Bauer, /. c. p. 91 sqi); of king Nisus in Megara, who lost his kingdom at the same time with his hair (Ovid, ]\Iet. viii, 8 sq., 84 sq. ; Virgil, Cir. 120 sq.; Hygar. Fab. 198); of the fountain -Aganippe, which sprang from the footstep of Pegasus, etc. But there is no reason for rejecting the histori- cal existence of Samson ; and his character and deeds accord well with the state of the Israelites in the time of the Judges. Yet the opinion is widely held that the traditions out of which the book of Judges is compiled have exaggerated his exploits (Bauer, flebr. Mijth. ii, 69 sq. ; Hebr. Gesch. ii, 88 sq.). Hence some have undertaken to explain the account from natural causes and commonplace events most fruitlessly (Ila- renberg, in the Brem. u. Verd. Biblioth. ii,302 sq."; Bern, in Semler's Hall. Samml. i, iv, 1 sq. ; Hezel, Schrift- forsch. i, 653 sq. ; Justi, in Eichhorn's Repert. vii, 78 sq. ; also in his Verm. Abhandl. i, 146 sq. ; Diederich, Zur Gesch. Sims. [Giitt. 1778]; Herder, Geist. d. ebr. Poes. ii, 235 sq., 252 sq.). Yet more trifling is the hj'pothe- sis of Kaiser (Commentar. in Priora Genes. Co]), p. 188 sq.) that Samson was striving to mimic and mock the Philistine Hercules. Once more : " Hercules once w^ut to Egypt, and there the inhabitants took him, and, put- ting a chaplet on his head, led him out in solemn pro- cession, intending to offer him in sacrifice to Jupiter. For a while he submitted quietly; but when they led him up to the altar and began the ceremonies, he -put forth his strength and slew them all" (Rawlinson, lie- rod, ii, 45).
The passage from Lycophron, with the scholion, quoted by Bochart {Hieroz. pars ii, lib. v, cap. xii), where Hercules is said to have been three nights in the belly of tlie sea-monster, and to have come out with the loss of all his hair, is also curious, and seems to be a com- pound of the stories of Samson and .Fonah. To this may be added tlie connection between Sanisiin, consid- ered as derived from Shemesh, "tlic sini," and the des- ignation of Moui, the Egyptian Hercules, as " Son of the Sun," worshi|iped also under tlie name <SV?«, which Sir G. Wilkinson compares with Samson. Tlie Tyrian Her- cules (whose temple at Tyre is described by Hemd. ii, 44), he also tells us, " was originally the sun, and the
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