[41] Wellhausen, History of Israel, pp. 492-493.
[IX]
WHY WAS THE MOCK-KING OF THE SACÆA WHIPPED AND HANGED?
Though I have tried to argue against Mr. Frazer's theory of the cause of the 'sacrifice' of the mock Sacæan king, I am not prepared to offer a dogmatic counter-theory. The Sacæan case is unique, is isolated; we are acquainted with no other similar examples, and thus a rite which has an isolated existence may have had a singular cause. The cause may be hidden behind the scenes of history. Though I have not a firm hypothesis as to that cause, I shall end this chapter by throwing out a conjecture, for what it may be worth.
Meanwhile it may be asked why I call the adventure of the Sacæan mock-king 'isolated and unique.' Have we not other examples of temporary kings, holding office for three or four days, in a period of festivity and unreason? Certainly we have such kings, but all of them 'scape whipping and hanging. And none of them was a slave or a criminal. These are not mere verbal, and probably not mere accidental, variations from the solitary Sacæan type. But we have the legend of St. Dasius? Yes, but, accepting the truth of that legend, it rather adds to than diminishes the difficulty of getting a clue to the origin of the Sacæan mock-king and his doom. Let us tabulate the facts:
| A. SACÆA | B. SATURNALIA |
| 1. A condemned criminal. | 1. A freeman selected by lot. |
| 2. King of a thirty days' revel. | 2. King of a five days' revel. |
| 3. Is stripped and scourged. | 3. Is not stripped or scourged. |
| 4. Is hanged. | 4. Is sacrificed at the altar of Saturn; or sacrifices himself. |
| 5. Is guessed to represent (a) a Tammuz god, or (b) the king of Babylon; or both. | 5. Represents Saturn. |
| 6. Has a pseudo-resurrection. | 6. Has no known pseudo-resurrection. |
| 7. Lies with (a) the royal concubines, (b) with a sacred harlot. | 7. Does not lie with royal concubines or with a sacred harlot. |
| 8. In a period of topsy-turvy licence to slaves and free. | 8. In a period of topsy-turvy licence to slaves and free. |
| 9. Which is supposed to commemorate a victory over the Sacæ. | 9. Which is supposed to commemorate the Golden Age of Saturn. |