While watching a History Channel show on the cultural history of Hell and Satan, it occurred to me that Satan is often pictured with a somewhat goatish head. And I’ve heard a famous evangelical preacher say that on Judgement Day God will separate the sheep from the goats, making it clear that when that day comes, you want to be a sheep, not a goat.
But what’s wrong with goats? Of course, they will nibble the earth barren given the chance, leaving no grassroots to regenerate–but so will sheep. Of course, sheep do get considerably better press in the Bible, but still the question remains: What’s wrong with goats?
I think it’s a hand-me-down from satyrs, who aren’t exactly paragons of abstemious piety. Also, goats are very horny (both literally and figuratively), and have rather large male organs for their size. As do satyrs, who were often depicted as being absurdly well-endowed. Wanton sexuality and all that. It’s not much of a leap to get from slutty satyrs to Satan being the king of impure temptations, a Sex God, which is meant in the worst possible way.
They have those eyes. <shudder> That’s more of a ‘humble opinion’ than an answer, but a wild guess would have to include those oddly-shaped pupils. Same with cats–unusual pupils, associated with ‘witchcraft’.
are no smaller than those on goats. I’ve spen a lot of time working with and keeping them both, including removing said bits. The sheep’s bits are just as big as those of the goat. However, if we are talking about short haired goats (which we probably are if it they are in an area also inhabited by sheep and bible writers) then the bits are not covered by hair, in a ram they are. BTW, rams are just as horny as bucks and does are just as innocent and sweet as ewes.
I just realized that last part is probably going to be confusion without a little elaboration. Abraham’s sacrifice was not, AFAICT, a sacrifice of atonement.
In Leviticus 16:3, it is specified that the goat is the sin offering and the ram is the “burnt offering”. In the Genesis story, the ram is also identified as a “burnt offering”.
The bull, btw, was a sacrifice for Aaron’s (the priest’s) sin, to make him clean before he may then offer the goat as atonement for the people.
Interesting. While in Ireland and New Zealand, I got to see a lot of sheep. I mean, a lot of sheep. Driving through the country on the South Island of NZ, you can see huge fields absolutely full of shorn sheep. Thousands, maybe more, just a sea of rather naked looking creatures munching away on grass. Never once did I notice their genitalia. Every male goat I remember always seemed to have a very prominant package.
I don’t doubt you at all, I’m just trying to figure out why penii are seemingly concealed even on shorn sheep. Is it the way they’re built? Do their hind legs somehow screen the view while grazing, perhaps because their penii are set a bit further back? I wasn’t really trying very hard to scope out sheep penii, I must admit, so perhaps I just didn’t notice the obvious. If only this thread had come up before I went!
Sheep have similar rectangular pupils, as you can see in this picture:
In fact, many ungulates have horizontally extended pupils, including cows and horses which have oval pupils. You tend not to notice it on those animals because their irises are so dark that the pupil doesn’t stand out very well.
Well, the link has already been posted, and people mentioned it, but I feel the need to repeat:
Also, that is the view I took in starting a piting. I see alot of people disagreed, saying that my view was too simplistic, but I feel it is simple: “Christian leaders doen’t like followers who ask question.” Sheep are handy symbol for people who ask too many questions.
Goats seem to have more personality and curiosity than sheep. I have noticed while going to the state fair, the sheep will attempt to avoid contact with people, to avoid being touched. Goats will more often allow complete strangers to pet them, and show more curiosity. This trait makes goats appear more intelligent than sheep.
I’m assuming you meant that sheep are a symbol for people who won’t ask too many questions and/or that goats are a symbol for people who do…
It doesn’t make any sense to work backward from how we use these symbols today.
If you want to address the OP and answer how it is that goats came to be symbolic of evil, you have to go back. Way back.
The earliest mention of sheep as pleasing to God comes in Genesis 4, when Abel’s sacrifice of juicy sheep bits was accepted, but Cain’s burnt offering of some sort of vegetable matter was given a pass. (God’s graces didn’t do Abel much good, btw.)
It is unlikely that the ancients who first told this story (and I mean centuries before it ever got written down) would even recognize today’s forms of organized worship as religion. Their world view, including government, communications, and social organization, were radically different from ours.
Exactly why the goat and bull were sacrificed for sin, or why the sheep was a sacrifice of thanksgiving and renewal, is not known. And likely never will be. But there can be little doubt that New Testament iconography which portrays those cast into perdition for their sins as goats, and those found pleasing in the sight of God as sheep, has its roots in ancient Hebrew ritual.
There are many biblical allusions to Christ as the good shepard or even as the lamb of God. The goat, on the otherhand, gets some serious negative discrimination:
