Is Jesus Athene or Odysseus?: Investigating the Unrecognisability and Metamorphosis of Jesus in his Post-Resurrection Appearances

In this study, Max Whitaker investigates the intriguing accounts of Jesus’ resurrection appearances through the lens of Greco-Roman narratives. In both canonical and apocryphal accounts of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances, Jesus appears in an unrecognisable form to other characters, including people who knew him well just before his death. The motif of a character appearing in an unrecognisable form to people he or she knows well is one which exists in folk literature, and in Greco-Roman and Jewish literature from a range of genres. The author investigates a range of stories in which characters appear in an unrecognisable or metamorphic form, and summarises patterns and themes. This throws new light on how Jesus’ post-resurrection stories would have been understood by their original audiences.