MISSING MARY MAGDALENE
by Carol McKay, Author of Blood and Silk: The Hidden Love Story of Mary Magdalene and Jesus of Nazareth
Who after all is Mary Magdalene? After a stream of books, novels and much hype, do we yet know her? The truth of who she is reflected in the details of her daily life, just as the spirit of the seasons is revealed in the way God decorates them. We are endlessly fascinated with facets of the lives of royal people, and rightly so.
We eagerly await the April Royal Wedding of Prince William in London, to the warm, stunning, well-grounded love of his life, Kate. (Kate is now wearing William’s mother’s 18- carat blue sapphire engagement ring.) We “Google” the history of the 1000-year-old Westminster Abbey. There, the Queen and King of England will preside over the wedding. What will Kate wear? Who will design her gown?
Royals embody eras. Such is true about Mary Magdalene, a most influential woman for all time. She is mentioned thirteen times by name in the New Testament. (Peter’s wife is nameless, as are Jesus’ brother’s wives and his sisters)
Western culture, and that of most of the world for the last 2000 years, is largely based on Mary of Magdala’s life story. She supported Jesus’ mission from her means. Unlike almost everyone else, she did not desert Jesus of Nazareth, the Prince of the Royal Line of David and the Tribe of Judah, in his darkest hour. Leading his large royal family, she attended to his funeral arrangements, as was the custom (a necessary precaution at the time); she returned to the tomb to be sure he was dead. Later, she witnessed his resurrection.
In 70CE, Vespasian’s son, Titus, razed Jerusalem, leaving only blood, carnage and rubble. Since then, three religions have ignored or suppressed every bit of evidence of the existence of her royal line that did not suit their theological or political agenda. Until recently, Mary Magdalene and her milieu were a cultural ‘cold case’.
As modern archaeology and interpretation reveal more and more about Roman Judea, and in spite of a growing number of narratives about Mary Magdalene, we turn our faces away from her. Who wants to contemplate a heart broken, filthy woman, grieving over a humiliating family crucifixion? Glamorous Cleopatra (who died one generation before Mary Magdalene was born) is once again our obsession. More is written about Kate Middleton and her pending wedding in Westminster Abby to Prince William, than of Mary Magdalene.
What is sure is that Mary Magdalene did not run around wearing towels and bed sheets, her hair stringing down, as she is depicted in most paintings, films and documentaries. Galilee and Jerusalem, her homes, were not a dust bowl with a few white blockhouses, palm trees and donkeys. In her time, the area was much cooler, wetter and more verdant than it is today.
Her extended family, the Ten Tribes of the Children of Israel (the Diaspora), was influential all over the world. Importantly, they were the only monotheists on the planet. Judea, as the Romans called it, was the home of the royal tribes of Benjamin and Judah. The realm of ancient Judaea was so unique that is nearly impossible to vision it today. This was a Graeco-Roman-Jewish world, replete with villas, theaters and hippodromes.
In contrast, Rome was a dirty, ill organized sprawling metropolis while Cleopatra’s Alexandria and Judea were the most sophisticated places in the Mediterranean world. Herod the Great and Mark Anthony were best friends, trading visits back and forth – their Queens with them. Cleopatra so envied the Royal Balsam Groves at Ein Fasha that Anthony insisted Herod present them to her as a gift. (Anthony and Cleopatra must have visited Hamat Gader, the naturally occurring hot springs in the Yarmouk River. Pompey Magnus had already co-opted the astounding waters and established a private, Roman club there.)
Eastern orthodox Christians tell how the Jewish aristocrat, the Magdalene, enchanted the conflicted and jaded Roman Emperor, Tiberius. Without dispute, Tiberius had a presence around Galilee, and in this rather small area, people knew each other, particularly if they were nobility. The Sea of Galilee was even known as Lake Tiberius. The city of Tiberias boasted an elegant spa, built to entertain travelers on the Silk Road. Tiberius studied epigrams and rhetoric at the Theodorus School in Gadara in the Decapolis, on the east side of the lake not far from Hamat Gader. Theodorus said of his student, Tiberius, that he was like “mud kneaded with blood”. Such a hard man had no use for the ragged, inelegant and poorly educated.
Ben Hur, the epic 1959 film and winner of eleven Academy Awards, is spot on in many respects. Set in 26CE, Prince Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) is presented as a wealthy merchant in Jerusalem. The sets and the world of wealthy citizens of Roman Judea are worth noting, as the depiction of Judah Ben Hur is a far cry from a humble rural riding a donkey. But the film misses the point. Jesus of Nazareth is a Judah as well and he and his brothers and sisters should have been portrayed as part of the aristocracy.
My novel, Blood and Silk is influenced by the marvelous HBO series, Rome. The Graeco-Roman culture of the Roman Empire spread across the known world, much as American culture in our time. It is essential to understand this in order to validly perceive the world of Mary Magdalene. The art direction of Rome, from the standpoint of cultural history, is immaculate. It is, along with Ben Hur, the best piece of film work on the ancient world I have ever seen.
Who is Mark Anthony, the best friend of Herod the Great? For me, it will always be the rakish, sexy James Purefoy from that series. Ciaran Hinds’ (Julius Caesar) part is flawlessly written and acted. But, Rome’s Cleopatra could have been better scripted. She was an infinitely more complex and intellectual woman than portrayed. Lyndsey Marshall could have handled a more multi-faceted role. Classy and sultry, Lyndsey Marshall is my favorite Cleopatra. Her face is a dead ringer for the ancient coin and bust evidence in the Graeco-Roman-Egyptian Museum in Alexandria. It was Lyndsey Marshall’s performance in Rome, and her image, that I had in mind when I wrote in Blood and Silk (2008), the chapter set in Alexandria entitled Symposium.
Questioning her grandmother, Mary inquires, “Eagerly, I asked, “May I ask Antonia Minor (Mark Anthony’s daughter) about Cleopatra?”
“No,” replied my grandmother. “That would be rude. I can tell you, however, that when I was a little girl, I saw Cleopatra walking incognito down the Canopic Way in the company of her servant and constant companion, Charmain. No bigger than a flea, she had a large nose and indistinct chin and was incapable of hiding her royal bearing. When her beautiful round eyes, full of masculine strength, intelligence, and fire fixed on mine, I knew instantly who she was.”
The only other component of Rome I question is that I never pictured Herod the Great as the primping fop depicted by Rome’s executive producer Bruno Heller. Bruno Heller (also producer of The Mentalist), in an article written by Lynette Rice, (March 4, 2010, Entertainment Weekly) confirms that he has almost finished writing the script for a Morning Light Productions film of Rome. I am looking forward to this movie.
Yet, Roman Judea was a place all its own. The people who lived there were descendents of desert dwelling sheiks who carried their embroidered Suzani hangings and fabulous rugs into their house in Jerusalem and Galilee. (Think of Santa Fe New Mexico as disposed Sephardic Jews set the Santa Fe style 300 years ago in Mora County.) Jesus and his brothers would have saddled their horses with embroidered textiles and coordinated fringed headstalls and lined their eyes with black, blue or brown.
The Israelites were lovers of silk Ikat (ee-cot). Nothing else, even jewelry, so defined status. They owned and wore ‘robes of many colors’ that were the envy of the world. Woven to replicate rainbows, clouds, rivers and autumn fields, the production of Ikat garments survives primarily in Central Asia, in Uzbekistan. (See Colors of the Oasis: Tying a Rainbow, currently at The Textile Museum in Washington, DC) But, is Uzbekistan not a Muslim area? That would not matter to the children of Israel. Mohammad was not born until 570CE.
Mary Magdalene’s wardrobe would contain Ikat robes and trousers, perhaps matching her husbands. She might, however, also have coordinated silk Ikat embroidered hats. In the winter, she would have worn goat fluff scarves and shawls. This was her ethnic look. But also there would be timely Graeco-Roman styles. Vintage Mary McFadden and any Fortuney would please her. Then we must get her that Oscar De La Renta silk Ikat trench coat. Also, I have chosen dresses, blouses and trousers from the new Burberry Prorsum Collection for her. I hope she will pay us a royal visit soon. Whether we realize it or not, I think we have been missing her.
The Story of Mary Magdalene