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     Jeanne La pucelle, known to us today as Joan of Arc, the maid of Orleans, was neither a witch nor a saint, but by curious circumstances her life and death fulfilled the requirements of both. Whether or not it was conscious to this brave and unique woman that she was doing so, for a short time she became the divine king of France, and her death became more than a simple act of martyrdom. It became the ritual act of the cult of the dying god. 

     The cult of the dying god is described by Sir James Frazer in his mammoth work The Golden Bough, and is further elaborated by other scholars, most notably Dr. Margaret Murray in her books The Witch-cult in Western Europe and The God of the Witches. Although today Murray is considered to have been somewhat of a crack-pot and her works have been denounced by critics, the theory of the dying god is historically accurate, and examples of it are predominant throughout history. The cult of the dying god was a highly important dogma of early, pre-Christian societies, one that was so strong that it continued well into the Christian era, and in some primitive countries into the 20th century. The belief was simple: a god or a deity could become incarnate, or be manifested into a man, a woman, or an animal, and that the incarnate god must die in order to guarantee continual life and fertility for the world. 

     The belief in the death of a god is an essential part of most Western mythology, whether Roman, Greek, Norse, or Egyptian. Tales from the north of Europe speak of the day of Ragnorak, when the gods of Valhalla would die, in Egypt the god Osiris was killed, dismembered and brought back to life again, and the Greeks worshipped at the tombs of Zeus and Apollo. But it is reported that the worshipers didn't care if their god was dead as long as their religion was alive, for like most ancient cultures, the Greeks saw in their gods the workings and happening of the world around them. Viewing their natural world in awe and superstitious wonder, early people assumed the gods had lives similar to their own and associated the changing of the seasons and the life and death of their crops with the lives and deaths of their gods. From this came the fertility cult of the god who dies and is reborn, whose birth and death are reflected in the cycle of the seasons and the cycle of the crops. 

     The origin of this cult appears in Neolithic times, where evidence shows that people of old Europe worshipped a "sorrowful god," who must die in order to be born again in the spring. Statues of the sorrowful god from around 5000 - 6000 B.C.E. were made as masterpieces and show great care and reverence for the image. The figures are almost always the same: that of an old man, sad and in contemplation. 

     That a god could become incarnate in man was not an unusual concept to early societies, who not only attributed god-like qualities to nature but to themselves. A person who seemed to have extraordinary powers, such as a magician or a healer, or one who was greatly skilled in fighting or hunting was considered god-like, and eventually came to be considered as a god. Some people, it was believed, could temporarily be given the knowledge and power of the gods and others had permanent god-powers. Those who were so divinely inspired were able to hold extreme importance and power. In short, they became both god and king in one. 

     These incarnate god-kings were supposedly blessed with supernatural abilities and were responsible for the sun and the rain and could make the crops grow. The health and happiness of the incarnate god was beneficial to the people as it guaranteed a successful harvest, a prosperous economy, victories in battle, etc., and the god was treated with due respect. In Egypt the king went so far as to claim the title of "the great god" and had a supposed command over the entire earth and every living creature. Unfortunately this divine position had its drawbacks as well. As soon as the king showed signs of age, poor health, or became weak, he was killed to ensure that the spirit of the god would not grow weak as well. The god then would be incarnated into the king's successor and life would go on as normal in the world. Some societies didn't wait for the king to grow old or debilitated but instead killed their kings at regular intervals. This guaranteed that the king would die while still in good health. These intervals occurred in Europe every seven or nine years, and among the Greeks every eight. If the god-king so desired a substitute could die in his place. The mock king would temporarily be given the power of the true king and would briefly rule in his place, until the time of the sacrifice. Those sacrificed had no qualms about what they were doing: they gave their lives to ensure a successful and continual seasonal cycle and to benefit the well-being of the people. After their deaths they would become one with the gods. There were three ways the divine sacrifice took place: by fire, then throwing the ashes in a field or running water; by killing in such a way that blood is spilled on the ground; by asphyxiation, then the body was dismembered and cast in a field, or burned and the ashes scattered.