Christ myth theory and Guardians of Ga'Hoole: Difference between pages

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'''''Guardians of Ga'Hoole''''' is ''[[The New York Times]]'' bestselling{{Fact|date=September 2008}} [[children's fiction]] [[book series]] written by [[Kathryn Lasky]] and illustrated by Richard Chowder. There is also an upcoming movie of the same name, based on the series. Most of the main characters are [[owl]]s, and the series is a cross between animal fiction such as ''[[Watership Down]]'' and epic fantasy. In the October/November months of 2008, the main series ended with fifteen books, the most recent book in the series being ''The War of the Ember''. However, the series will continue with more accompanying books, including the already-released ''Guide Book to the Great Tree'' and the upcoming book ''Lost Tales of the Great Tree'' - a sneak peek was provided at the end of book fifteen. The accompanying series is written by Kathryn Huang Knight.
{{POV|date=May 2008}}
:''"Jesus myth" links here. For a comparison between Jesus Christ and pagan mythology see [[Jesus Christ and comparative mythology]].''
{{jesus}}
The '''Jesus myth hypothesis''', also referred to as the '''''Jesus myth theory''''', the '''''Christ myth''''' or the '''''Jesus myth'''''
is an argument against the [[historicity of Jesus| historical authenticity of Jesus]]. It holds that there is a lack of historical evidence for the existence of the Jesus of the Bible, with significant [[Jesus and comparative mythology|mythological parallels]] between the [[New Testament view on Jesus' life|narrative of Jesus]] in the [[gospel]]s and [[Mystery cult|mystery religion]]s or myths of [[life-death-rebirth deity|rebirth deities]] of the [[Roman Empire]] such as [[Mithraism]], and that this suggests that the figure of Jesus is a non-historical construct of various forms of ancient mythology or a mythical [[composite character]] based on earlier historical persons. A related hypothesis is that the stories of Jesus found in the New Testament are transfers from and embellishments on the life of an earlier religious teacher who lived sometime during the 1st or 2nd century BCE.


Ga'Hoole, in the fictional owl language, means "Great Spirit of Hoole".
The [[hypothesis]] was first proposed by the French Enlightenment thinkers [[Constantin-François Chassebœuf|Constantin-François Volney]] and [[Charles François Dupuis]] in the 1790s but was not addressed by scholars until 1840 when historian and theologian [[Bruno Bauer]] began work which would become influential in biblical studies during the early 20th century. Authors such as [[Earl Doherty]], [[Robert M. Price]] and [[George Albert Wells]] have recently re-popularised the argument, though it carries little weight among the majority of biblical historians and scholars.<ref>'Virtually all biblical scholars acknowledge that there is enough information from ancient non-Christian sources to give lie to the myth (still, however, widely believed in popular circles and by some scholars in other fields - see esp. [[G. A. Wells]]) which claims that Jesus never existed.', Green, Joel B, Mcknight, I, and Marshall, Howard (editors), ''Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels: A Compendium Of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship'', page 292 (New England:1992) ISBN 978-0851106465</ref><ref>'The denial of Jesus' historicity has never convinced any large number of people, in or out of technical circles, nor did it in the first part of the century.', Weaver, Walter P, 'The historical Jesus in the twentieth century, 1900-1950', page 71 (Pennsylvania:1999) ISBN 978-1563382802</ref><ref>'Among New Testament scholars and historians, the theory of Jesus' nonexistence remains effectively dead as a scholarly question.', [[Robert E. Van Voorst|Van Voorst, Robert E]], 'NonExistence Hypothesis', in Houlden, James Leslie (editor), ''Jesus in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia'', page 660 (Santa Barbara: 2003) ISBN 978-1576078570</ref>


==History==
== Novels ==
The term ''Jesus myth'' covers a broad range of ideas which all support the conclusion that the figure of Jesus of Nazareth portrayed in the [[Gospel]]s is not a historical person. Current theories arose from nineteenth century scholarship resulting from the [[quest for the historical Jesus]], particularly the work of [[Bruno Bauer]], which drew in part from the burgeoning field of mythography in the work of writers such as [[Max Müller]]. Mythography continued to influence 20th century philosophy and anthropology, for example, in [[Arthur Drews]], and [[Claude Lévi-Strauss]].


#''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 1: The Capture|The Capture]]''
Müller argued that religions originated in mythic stories of the birth, death, and rebirth of the sun.<ref>Jaan Puhvel, ''Comparative Mythology'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, p.14</ref> [[James Frazer]] further attempted to explain the origins of humanity's mythic beliefs in the idea of a "sacrificial king", associated with the sun as a [[dying and reviving god]] and its connection to the regeneration of the earth in springtime. Frazer stated in 1900 that his hypothesis assumed "the historical reality of Jesus of Nazareth as a great religious and moral teacher" and that the doubts which have been cast upon the historical reality of Jesus are "unworthy of serious attention", arguing that the testimony of the gospels "appears amply sufficient to establish these facts to the satisfaction of all unprejudiced enquirers" and that it is "only the details of the life and death of Christ that remain, and will probably always remain, shrouded in the mists of uncertainty."<ref name=Frazer1900>{{cite book|last=Frazer|first=JG|title=The Golden Bough - A Study in Magic and Religion|date=2005|publisher=Cosimo|isbn=978-1596056855}}</ref> The earlier works by [[George Albert Wells]] drew on the [[Pauline Epistles]] and the lack of early non-Christian documents to argue that the Jesus figure of the [[Gospels]] was symbolic, not historical.<ref>{{cite book
#''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 2: The Journey|The Journey]]''
| last = Wells
#''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 3: The Rescue|The Rescue]]''
| first = G.A.
#''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 4: The Siege|The Siege]]''
| year = 1998
#''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 5: The Shattering|The Shattering]]''
| title = The Jesus Myth
#''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 6: The Burning|The Burning]]''
| publisher = Open Court
#''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 7: The Hatchling|The Hatchling]]''
| isbn = 0-8126-9392-2 }}</ref> [[Earl Doherty]] proposed that [[Christ]] is a myth derived from Middle Platonism with some influence from [[Merkabah#Ma'asei Merkavah|Jewish mysticism]], while [[John M. Allegro]] proposed that [[Christianity]] began as [[shamanism|shamanic]] religion based on the use of [[hallucinogenic mushrooms]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Allegro|first=John M.|authorlink=John Marco Allegro|title=The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross: A Study of the Nature and Origins of Christianity Within the Fertility Cults of the Ancient Near East|year=1970|publisher=Hodder and Stoughton|location=London|id=ISBN 0-340-12875-5}}</ref> Most recently [[Timothy Freke]] and [[Peter Gandy]] have popularized the Jesus-myth concept in their book ''[[The Jesus Mysteries]]''.<ref name="Freke">{{cite book|last=Freke|first=T|coauthors=Gandy, P|title=The Jesus Mysteries: Was the "Original Jesus" a Pagan God?|publisher=Three Rivers Press|date=2001|isbn=978-0609807989}}</ref> Some, including Freke and Gandy, have suggested that the idea that Jesus's existence is legendary is itself as old as the [[New Testament]], pointing to [[Second Epistle of John|2 John 1:7]], though scholars of the period believe that this passage refers to [[docetism]], the belief that Jesus lacked a genuinely physical body, and not the belief that Jesus was a completely fabricated figure.<ref>{{cite book|last=Elwell|first=WA|title=Evangelical Dictionary of Theology|date=2001|publisher=Baker Academic|isbn=978-0801020759}} </ref><ref>{{cite book|first=DC|last=Duling|coauthors=Perrin,N|title=The New Testament: Proclamation and Parenesis, Myth and History|date=1993|publisher=Harcourt|isbn=978-0155003781}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Docetism|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9030754/Docetism|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica Online|accessdate=2007-03-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=J.N.D|last=Kelly|title=Early Christian Doctrines: Revised Edition|date=1978|publisher=HarperSanFrancisco|isbn=978-0060643348}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ccel.org/bible/phillips/CPn24John2.htm|title=Book 24 - John's Second Letter|first=JB|last=Phillips|accessdate=2007-03-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Arendzen|first=J. P.|encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia|title=Docetae|url =http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05070c.htm|accessdate=2007-01-07|year=1909|publisher=Robert Appleton|volume=Volume V|location=New York}}</ref>
#''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 8: The Outcast|The Outcast]]''
#''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 9: The First Collier|The First Collier]]''
#''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 10: The Coming of Hoole|The Coming of Hoole]]''
#''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 11: To Be a King|To Be a King]]''
#''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 12: The Golden Tree|The Golden Tree]]''
#''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 13: The River of Wind|The River of Wind]]''
#''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 14: Exile|Exile]]''
#''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 15: The War of the Ember|The War of the Ember]]''


'''Accompanying Books'''
==Limited acceptance==
*''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole: A Guide Book to the Great Tree]]''
Richard Burridge and Graham Gould state that the Jesus Myth hypothesis is not accepted by mainstream critical scholarship.<ref name=Burridge>"There are those who argue that Jesus is a figment of the Church’s imagination, that there never was a Jesus at all. I have to say that I do not know any respectable critical scholar who says that any more.” Burridge, R & Gould, G, ''Jesus Now and Then'', Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2004, p.34.</ref> [[Robert E. Van Voorst]] has stated that biblical scholars and historians regard the thesis as "effectively refuted".<ref name=voorst> "The nonhistoricity thesis has always been controversial, and it has consistently failed to convince scholars of many disciplines and religious creeds... Biblical scholars and classical historians now regard it as effectively refuted." - Robert E. Van Voorst, ''Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence'' (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000), p. 16.</ref> [[Graham N. Stanton]] writes, "Today nearly all historians, whether Christians or not, accept that Jesus existed and that the gospels contain plenty of valuable evidence which has to be weighed and assessed critically. There is general agreement that, with the possible exception of Paul, we know far more about Jesus of Nazareth than about any first- or second century Jewish or pagan religious teacher."<ref>Graham Stanton, ''The Gospels and Jesus'' (Oxford University Press, 2nd ed., 2002), p. 145.</ref> Atheist New Testament scholar William Arnal writes, "No one in mainstream New Testament scholarship denies that Jesus was a Jew." <ref> William Arnal, ''The Symbolic Jesus: Historical Scholarship, Judaism, and the Construction of Contemporary Identity'' (Equinox, 2005), p. 5.</ref>
*''Guardians of Ga'Hoole: Lost Tales of the Great Tree''


==Legends of Ga'Hoole==
Jesus-myth proponent [[Earl Doherty]] agrees that "Van Voorst is quite right in saying that 'mainstream scholarship today finds it unimportant.' Most of their comments (such as those quoted by Michael Grant below) are limited to expressions of contempt."<ref name="Dohertyms"/> But, Doherty disagrees with the mainstream scholars on the strength of the case against the hypothesis, and comments that the widespread "contempt" in which the hypothesis is held "is not to be mistaken for refutation." He states that "interests, both religious and secular, have traditionally mounted a campaign against it",<ref name="Dohertyms">{{cite web|title=Responses to Critiques of the Mythicist Case Four:Alleged Scholarly Refutations of Jesus Mythicism|url=http://jesuspuzzle.humanists.net/CritiquesRefut3.htm|first=Earl|last=Doherty|accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> and states that mainstream scholarship is guilty of a "notable lack of proper understanding of the mythicist case",<ref name="Dohertynps"> Earl Doherty, "Responses to Critiques of the Mythicist Case: One: Bernard Muller"</ref> leading to "the non-professional scholar" and "well-informed amateur on the internet" becoming those who he regards as "quite educated (meaning largely self-educated) in biblical research".<ref name="Dohertynps"/>


A spin-off book series was planned to begin, entitled "Legends of Ga'Hoole". However, the series was canceled, and all books that were planned as part of the series were moved to the original "Guardians of Ga'Hoole" series, with the titles unchanged. The [[advance copy]] editions show the subtitle on the covers, although the books were not released with this feature.
==Early proponents==
Doubt about the historical existence of Jesus became possible when critical study of the [[Gospel]]s developed in the 18th century,<ref>Goguel (1926a) 11.</ref> and some English [[deism|deists]] towards the end of this century are said to have believed that no historical Jesus existed.<ref>Goguel (1926a) 14; Van Voorst (2000) 8.</ref> However, the "great forerunners" of the nonhistorical hypothesis are usually identified as two thinkers of the French [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], [[Constantin-François Chassebœuf|Constantin-François Volney]] and [[Charles François Dupuis]].<ref>Schweitzer (2000) 355; similarly Weaver (1999) 45.</ref> In works published in the 1790s, both argued that numerous ancient myths, including the life of Jesus, were based on the movement of the sun through the zodiac.<ref>Wells (1969); more briefly Schweitzer (2000) 527 n. 1.</ref><ref>Constantin-François Volney, ''Les ruines, ou Méditations sur les révolutions des empires'' (Paris: Desenne, 1791); English translation, ''The Ruins, or a Survey of the Revolutions of Empires'' (New York: Davis, 1796).</ref><ref name="Dupuis">C. F. Dupuis, ''Origine de tous les cultes'' (Paris: Chasseriau, 1794); English translation, ''The Origin of All Religious Worship'' (New York: Garland, 1984).</ref>


The three books - nine through eleven - are about the legendary young king Hoole, and his mentor, the first collier Grank. Grank was the first to find the Ember of Hoole, and King Hoole was the first to find the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. Hoole came under the protection of Grank because his mother was a close childhood friend of Grank's.
Dupuis identified pre-Christian rituals in [[Greater Syria|Syria]], [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] and [[Persian Empire|Persia]] as representing the birth of a god to a virgin at the [[winter solstice]], and connected this to the winter rising of the constellation of [[Virgo (constellation)|Virgo]]. He believed that this and other annual occurrences were allegorised as the life-histories of [[solar deity|solar deities]], who passed their childhoods in obscurity (low elevation of the sun after the solstice), died (winter) and were resurrected (spring [[equinox]]). Jewish and Christian myth could also be interpreted according to the solar pattern: the [[Fall of Man]] in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] was an allegory of the hardship caused by winter, and the [[Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]] of Christ the "paschal lamb" at Easter represented the growth of the Sun's strength in the sign of [[Aries (astrology)|Aries]] at the spring solstice.<ref>Wells (1969) 153&ndash;156.</ref> Dupuis rejected the historicity of Jesus entirely, explaining the 2nd-century Roman historian [[Tacitus]]' reference to his execution under [[Pontius Pilate]] as based only on the inaccurate Christian beliefs of Tacitus' own day.<ref>Wells (1969) 159&ndash;160.</ref>


==Characters from the Books==
Volney, who published before Dupuis but made use of a draft version of his work,<ref>Wells (1969) 151.</ref> followed much of his argument. He differing in thinking that solar myths, rather than being deliberate extended allegories, were compiled when simple allegorical statements like "the virgin has brought forth" were misunderstood as history.<ref>Wells (1969) 155.</ref> Unlike Dupuis, Volney believed that confused memories of a historical but obscure Messianic claimant could have contributed to Christianity when they become linked with solar mythology.<ref>Wells (1969) 157.</ref>
'''The Band'''
*[[Soren (Guardians of Ga'Hoole)|Soren]] – A male [[Barn Owl]], part of "the Band." He was snatched by patrols from [[St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls]] (St. Aggies) and he escaped with his friend Gylfie. He is now a Guardian of Ga'Hoole, a member of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree and the ryb of the colliering chaw. He is also Coryn's close advisor and uncle. He was the start of "The Chaw of Chaws." He becomes the new king of the tree after Coryn dies in The War of The Ember
*[[Gylfie]] – A female [[Elf Owl]] who is Soren's best friend and part of the "the Band." She was hatched in a cactus in the Desert of Kuneer, and she was snatched by patrols from St. Aggie's. She escaped with Soren the Barn Owl, and came to the Great Ga'hoole tree. She is now the navigation ryb. Gylfie is both articulate and intelligent, although this is emphasized less once Otulissa enters the series.
*[[Twilight (Ga'Hoole)|Twilight]] – A male [[Great Grey Owl]] and part of "the Band." He claims that he taught himself everything about surviving and was abandoned within hours of hatching.It is revealed in The War of the Ember that he has two brothers that he had never met, as they left before he was born. He is very confident and boastful, and is constantly singing songs about himself, but he still has a very good heart. He is now a Guardian of Ga'Hoole at the Ga'Hoole Tree in the search-and-rescue chaw.
*[[Digger (Ga'Hoole)|Digger]] – A smart tracking [[Burrowing Owl]] who is part of "the Band." He was separated from his parents when St. Aggie's attacked them and killed his brother. He is now a Guardian of Ga'Hoole at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree in the tracking chaw. He is a very deep thinker, and can often come up with things that others can not.


'''Owls in the Great Tree'''
The works of Volney and Dupuis went rapidly through numerous editions,<ref name=goguelb117>Goguel (1926b) 117.</ref> and [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]] may have been basing his opinion on Volney's work when he stated privately that the existence of Jesus was an open question.<ref>Schweitzer (2000) 356.</ref> However, their influence even in France did not outlast the first quarter of the nineteenth century.<ref name=goguelb117/> They had based their views on limited historical data, and later critics showed, for example, that the birth of Jesus was not placed in December until the 4th century.<ref>Solmsen (1970) 277&ndash;279, not disputed by Wells (1973) 143: "The question of a date of birth I mention (155) in connection with the views of Dupuis, who did deny Jesus' historicity on grounds which ... I regard as inadequate."</ref>
*Boron (deceased) - A male Snowy Owl - the King of Hoole before Coryn arrived; died of old age as Coryn came to the Great Tree of Ga'Hoole. He often told wet poop jokes, and was known to consort with seagulls, which was considered very disrespectful, but he was loved all the same; mate of Barran.
*Barran (deceased) - A female Snowy Owl - the Queen of Hoole before Coryn came to the Great Tree of Ga'Hoole; died of old age as he came to it. She was the ryb of the search-and-rescue chaw, and was the mate of Boron.
*[[Ezylryb]] (deceased) – A male Whiskered Screech Owl who was the wise old mentor at the Great Ga'Hoole tree. Also known as Lyze of Kiel when he was the warrior of the Kielian League. He was the ryb of the weather interpretation before he died of old age. He also told wet poop jokes and spoke with seagulls. Soren is Ezylryb's ward.
*[[Coryn]] (deceased as of The War of the Ember)(aka Nyroc) – A male Barn Owl; Kludd and Nyra's chick; now the new monarch (king) of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree; Soren's nephew. Died of blood loss from a wound inflicted by the Striga.
*[[Otulissa]] – A female Spotted Owl; the Ga'Hoolology ryb at the Great Tree also chief ryb, a member of the Chaw of Chaws, very prim and proper, but also very smart and intelligent. Had eye damaged in battle and now wears an eye patch. Mate of Cleve.
*[[Ruby (Guardians Of Ga'Hoole)|Ruby]] – A female [[short-eared owl]]; a member of the Chaw of Chaws, a spectacular flyer in the colliering and weather interpretation chaw.
*[[Martin (Guardians Of Ga'Hoole)|Martin]] – A male Northern Saw-Whet Owl; a member of the Chaw of Chaws; a Guardian at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, a member of he colliering and weather interpretation chaw.
*[[Eglantine (Ga'Hoole)|Eglantine]] – A female Barn Owl, Soren's younger sister, well loved by Soren, best friends with Primrose.Eglantine is a member of the search and rescue chaw.
*Primrose – Female Pygmy Owl, Eglantine's best friend, member of the search and rescue chaw.
*[[Madame Plonk]] – A Female Snowy Owl, the elegant singer of the great tree. Doc Finebeak's mate.
*Elvan - an owl that was unwholesomely in thrall to the Ember of Hoole while Coryn and the Band were away, ryb of the colliering chaw
*Mrs. Plithiver – Female blind snake, formerly the nest-maid for Soren's family; now a member of the harp guild at the Great Ga'Hoole tree
*Octavia – Female Kielian snake; nest maid for many years for Ezylryb and Madame Plonk; aka Brigid
*Doc Finebeak – A male Snowy Owl famed free lance tracker once in the employ of the Pure Ones; now at the great tree; Madame Plonk's companion, and now new mate (as of Book 14).
*Bubo - A male Great Horned Owl - The blacksmith at the Great Ga'hoole tree, close friends with Madame Plonk.
*Strix Struma (deceased) - Female Spotted Owl - A very respectable ryb at the great Ga'hoole tree, and ryb of the Navigation chaw before she was killed by Nyra in The Siege.
*Sylvana - A young female burrowing owl, ryb of the tracking chaw
*Dewlap - A female burrowing owl, ryb of the Ga'Hoology chaw before Otulissa. Dewlap betrayed the great tree during The Siege.
*Matron - A Female Short-Eared Owl, the head caretaker of wounded owlets at the Great Ga'hoole tree.
*Poot - Male Boreal Owl - First captain of the weather intepretation chaw, becomes the leader when Ezylryb is captured.
*Trader Mags - A female magpie that comes around about one time a year to sell her wares.
*Bubbles - Trader Mags' assistant
*Silver - Male Lesser Sooty Owl - A member of the Weather Interpretation Chaw, rescued from the Great Downing.
*Nut Beam - Male Masked Owl - A member of the Weather Interpretation Chaw, rescued from the Great Downing.
*The Rogue Smith of Silverveil (deceased) - A Snowy Owl - A Blacksmith not attached to any kingdom in the owl world in any way. Killed by Nyra; Madame Plonk's sister.
*Pellimore - Barn Owl - Sorens mate (As of book 8,The Outcast)


'''The Pure Ones'''
The first scholarly proponent was probably the [[19th century|nineteenth century]] [[historian]], [[philosopher]] and [[theologian]] [[Bruno Bauer]], a [[Hegelian]] thinker who concluded "that the Alexandrian Jew [[Philo]], who was still living about A.D. 40 but was already very old, was the real father of Christianity, and that the Roman stoic [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] was, so to speak, its uncle."<ref>Engels, Frederick, "Bruno Bauer and Early Christianity" ''Sozialdemokrat'' May 4-11, 1882 republished in Marx and Engels, ''On Religion'', Progress Publishers, 1966</ref> Bauer theorized that Philo had adapted the Greek concept of the "[[logos]]" to Judaic tradition, initiating the process that led to the fully developed Christian narrative. He argued that what we now know as Christianity was a form of ancient socialism, and was only clearly defined in the reign of the emperor [[Hadrian]], when, in his view, the earliest gospel - Mark - was written. Bauer "regarded Mark not only as the first narrator, but even as the creator of the gospel history, thus making the latter a fiction and Christianity the invention of a single original evangelist".<ref name = "otto">Otto Pfleiderer, ''Development of Theology'', p. 226 Quoted in the Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition.</ref><ref>Douglas Moggach, ''The Philosophy and Politics of Bruno Bauer'', 2003, Cambridge University Press, p.184</ref> Mark, according to Bauer, was an Italian, influenced by Seneca's [[stoicism|Stoic]] philosophy.<ref name = "otto"/>
*[[Kludd]] (deceased) – Male Barn Owl - Soren's older brother, leader of the pure ones; later killed in '' The Burning'' by Twilight; aka Metal Beak and High Tyto. Mate of Nyra
*[[Nyra (Guardians of Ga'Hoole)|Nyra]] (deceased) – Female Barn Owl - Kludd's evil mate; suspected of being a hagsfiend, made leader of the Pure Ones (who she later deserts) after Kludd's death, slayer of Strix Struma and Philip, and the Rouge Smith; mother of Nyroc (aka Coryn); killed by Soren.
*Wortmore (deceased) – Male Barn Owl - a Pure One lieutenant
*Uglamore (deceased) – Male Barn Owl - a Pure One lieutenant; deserts the Pure Ones and sacrifices himself for Coryn in '' The Outcast''
*Stryker (deceased) – Male barn owl - a Pure One lieutenant major under Nyra, second in command later in the series; killed by Tengshu
*Dustytuft (deceased) - Male Greater Sooty Owl - a low caste owl of the Pure Ones; became friend of Nyroc (AKA Coryn) at his hatching; also known as Phillip; killed by Nyra
*Tarn (deceased) - Male Burrowing Owl - 1st in command under Nyra. Killed by Tengshu


'''Saint Aegolius Academy For Orphaned Owls'''
Other authors included [[Edwin Johnson (historian)|Edwin Johnson]], who argued that Christianity emerged from a combination of liberal trends in Judaism and [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] mysticism. Other versions of the argument developed under Bible scholars such as A. D. Loman and G. I. P. Bolland. Loman argued that episodes in Jesus's life, such as the [[Sermon on the Mount]], were fictions written to justify compilations of pre-existing liberal Jewish sayings. Bolland developed the hypothesis that Christianity evolved from Gnosticism and that Jesus was a symbolic figure representing Gnostic ideas about God.<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/story/pagels.html
*Skench (deceased) - Female Great Horned Owl - the evil Ablah General of the academy, killed by Soren
The Gnostic Gospels, PBS]</ref><ref>[http://www.egodeath.com/BollandGospelJesus.htm G.J.P.J. Bolland: The Gospel Jesus]</ref>
*Spoorn (deceased) - Male Western Screech Owl - Skench's first lieutenant
*Jatt (deceased) - Male Long-Eared Owl - a sublieutenant of St. Aegolius; also a warrior and enforcer, killed by Soren, Twilight, Streak, and Zan
*Jutt (deceased) - Male Long-Eared Owl - a St. Aegolius sublieutenant; a warrior and enforcer and the cousin of Jatt, killed by Soren, Twilight, Zan, and Streak
*Aunt Finny (aka "Auntie") (deceased) - Female Snowy Owl - Soren's pit guardian while he was at the academy. Finny is the owl that Soren feared most when he infiltrated St. Aggie's. She is also a [[cannibal]] and tried to murder Hortense and Gylfie.
*Unk - Male Great Horned Owl - Gylfie's pit guardian while she was at the academy with Soren
*Grimble (deceased) - Male Boreal Owl - A brave owl that was captured as an adult by the St. Aegolius patrols; held hostage and was promised that his family would be spared; taught Soren and Gylfie how to fly so that they could escape, killed by Skench as Soren and Gylfie escaped
*47-2 (deceased) - A female western screech owl; a picker at the pelletorium in St. Aggies, vicious fighter
*Hortense (aka Mist) - Female Spotted Owl - originally from Ambala; was snatched by the St. Aggies patrols; trained as a broody owl in the eggorium of the academy; helped save some of the eggs that the patrols had snatched. Pushed off a cliff by Auntie, but is saved by the eagles Streak and Zan.


'''Dire Wolves'''
By the early [[20th century|twentieth century]] a number of writers had published arguments in favour of the Jesus myth hypothesis, ranging from the highly speculative to the more scholarly. These treatments were sufficiently influential to merit several book-length responses by historians and New Testament scholars. The most influential of the books arguing for a mythic Jesus was [[Arthur Drews]]'s ''The Christ Myth'' (1909) which brought together the scholarship of the day in defense of the idea that Christianity had been a Jewish Gnostic cult that spread by appropriating aspects of [[Greek philosophy]] and Frazerian [[Life-death-rebirth deity|death-rebirth deities]]. This combination of arguments became the standard form of the mythic Christ argument. In [[Why I Am Not a Christian]] (1927), [[Bertrand Russell]] stated: "Historically, it is quite doubtful whether Christ ever existed at all, and if He did we do not know anything about Him, so that I am not concerned with the historical question, which is a very difficult one." Others, like Joseph Wheless in his 1930 ''Forgery In Christianity'', went even further and claimed there was an active effort to forge documents to make the myth seem historical beginning as early as the 2nd century.<ref>[http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/joseph_wheless/forgery_in_christianity/ Forgery In Christianity<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
*Duncan MacDuncan - leader of the MacDuncan clan of dire wolves in Beyond the Beyond
*Dunleavy MacHeath - leader of the MacHeath clan of dire wolves in Beyond the Beyond; known vyrwolf; recruited members of the MacHeath clan to come with him to become vyrwolves
*Gyllbane - member of the MacHeath clan; her pup, Cody, was maimed by Dunleavy MacHeath
*Cody (deceased) - Gyllbane's son; died when saving the book of Kreeth
*Hamish - in the MacDuncan clan; a gnaw wolf of the Sacred Watch; friends with Coryn, has a weak leg.


'''Other Characters'''
==Recent proponents==
*[[Bess (Ga'Hoole)|Bess]] – a Boreal Owl; daughter of Grimble; also known as "The Knower"; discovered Middle Kingdom
In recent years, the Jesus myth hypothesis has also been advocated by [[Timothy Freke]] and [[Peter Gandy]], who are both popular writers on mysticism, in their books '' [[The Jesus Mysteries]]'' and ''Jesus and the Lost Goddess''. [[Earl Doherty]] also promotes the idea in his book [[The Jesus Puzzle]]. GA Wells believed that the [[Jesus]] of these earliest Christians is not based on a historical character, but a pure [[mythology|myth]], derived from the mystical speculations based on the Jewish Wisdom tradition. However Wells' latest book, 'The Jesus Myth' (1999), departs from his earlier insistence that Jesus did not exist, acknowledging the postulated [[Q document]] as early historical evidence.<ref>'A final argument against the nonexistence hypothesis comes from Wells himself. In his most recent book, The Jesus Myth (1999), Wells has moved away from this hypothesis. He now accepts that there is some historical basis for the existence of Jesus, derived from the lost early "gospel" "Q" (the hypothetical source used by Matthew and Luke). Wells believes that it is early and reliable enough to show that Jesus probably did exist, although this Jesus was not the Christ that the later canonical Gospels portray. It remains to be seen what impact Wells's about-face will have on debate over the nonexistence hypothesis in popular circles.', Van Voorst, Robert E, 'NonExistence Hypothesis', in Houlden, James Leslie (editor), 'Jesus in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia', page 660 (Santa Barbara: 2003)</ref>
*Cleve of Firthmore - a male Spotted Owl healer and prince from the royal Hollow of Snarth in the Northern Kingdoms. Mate of Otulissa (as of Book 14).
*Mist – a female Spotted Owl who lives with the eagles Streak and Zan in Ambala who once saved eggs from the St.Aggies; also known as Hortense
*Striga ( A.K.A Orlando) – Blue snowy Owl a former dragon owl from the Middle Kingdom seeking a more meaning full life; Betrays Coryn and the Great Ga'Hoole Tree; previously saves Soren and Pelli's owlet Bell.
*Tengshu – Blue Long- Eared Owl qui master and sage of the Joushenkyn
*Slynella - a green iridescent flying snake of Ambala; friend of Mist; helped save Soren and Twilight when they were injured badly
*Stingyll - a green iridescent flying snake of Ambala; friend of Mist; helped save Twilight when he was injured badly
*Rabbit (deceased) - a webreader that Coryn meets. He reads things in spiderwebs and names are the easiest things to read. He is killed during a skirmish between Coryn, Kalo, and two owls of the Blue Brigade.
*Noctus Alba (deceased) - Soren, Kludd and Eglantine's father
*Marella Alba (deceased) - Soren, Kludd and Eglantine's mother
*Streak - Bald Eagle, friend of Hortense, mate of Zan
*Zan - Bald Eagle, had her tongue ripped out in a fight with Skench and Spoorn, mate of Streak
*Simon (deceased) - A male [[Brown Fish Owl]], a pilgrim of the Glauxian brother's retreat; killed by Kludd


===Characters from the Legends===
There are many different views regarding the nature of the early texts. Doherty suggests that the earliest descriptions of Christian beliefs, the earliest epistles, are best explained if Jesus is a mythic figure created out of Middle Platonism with elements from the [[Old Testament]], whom the early Christians experienced in visions. He believes that the writer of the Gospel of Mark was the first to place Jesus Christ in a specific historical context.
*[[Hoole (Ga'Hoole)|Hoole]](deceased) – the legendary Spotted Owl of the Time of the Legends; raised by Grank. May have died of old age out of the books. Mate of Emerilla.
*H'rath (deceased) – Spotted owl, King of N'rythghar; the father of Hoole
*[[Siv]] (deceased) – Spotted owl, H'rath's mate, Queen of N'rythghar, killed by hagsfiends; the mother of Hoole.
*[[Grank]](deaceased) – Spotted owl who raised Hoole; was the first collier and has firesight; first owl to find the ember.Died of old age in his deathbed.
*Theo(deaceased) – Great horned owl, helped raise Hoole; was Grank's apprentice and the first blacksmith; a gizzard resister, invented battle claws. May have died of old age out of the books.
*Lord Rathnik (deaceased) - an officer of the Ice Regiment; member of the Great Tree's parliament. Died in the battle of short day long night.
*Shadyk – Theo's brother; a mad usurper of King H'rath's throne in the Ice Palace.
*Phineas(deaceased?) – a friend of Hoole that had great pluck. May have died of old age out of the books.
*Berwyck(deaceased?) – Hoole and Grank's friend; also a member of that Glauxian Brothers. May have died of old age out of the books.
*Myrrthe (deceased) – Snowy Owl, faithful servant of Queen Siv, killed by hagsfiends while hunting for lemmings.
*Rorkna – Spotted Owl, Glauxess of the Glauxian Sisters Retreat on the island of Elsemere; cousin of Siv.
*The Snow Rose - a snowy owl and gadfeather; also a renowned singer that becomes the Plonk family.
*Emerilla – Spotted owl, daughter of Strix Strumajen and mate of Hoole;excellent fighter with the short blade; everyone thought that she was lost in a skirmish over the Ice Fangs; possibly related to Otulissa (Strix Emerilla?), mate of Hoole.
*Strix Strumajen - a spotted owl Hoole made the teacher of the first weathering chaw, killed Lutta; Emerilla's mother
*Kreeth (deceased) – a female hagsfiend that had very strong powers of nachtmagen; created Lutta, created a book full of her evil spells; friend of Ygryk; killed during the battle of short light and long night.
*Lutta (deceased) – changeling, created by Kreeth, murdered by Strix Strumajen for impersonating Emerilla. Fell in love with Hoole.
*Penryk - male hagsfiend and an ally of Lord Arrin
*Ygryk - a female hagsfiend; Pleek's mate
*Ullryck - a female hagsfiendand; very deadly assassin; serves Lord Arrin
*Pleek - enemy of King H'rath; known to consort with hagsfiends and took one, Ygryk, as his mate
*[[Lord Arrin]] – Snowy Owl (Once thought to be a Spotted Owl), traitor to H'rath, part hagsfiend; killed H'rath
*Namara MacNamara– A.K.A. Hordweard. Dire Wolf from Beyond the Beyond and Dunleavy MacHeath's oldest mate. After she renames herself she kills him for revenge. Her clan is MacNamara, (named after her mother) which she also names after herself.
*Fengo (deceased) – Dire wolf, chief of all wolf clans and a friend of Grank. Slaughtered by hagsfiends in [[To Be a King]].
*Dunleavy MacHeath (deceased) – Dire wolf, Fengo's enemy. Tried to gain an alliance with Lord Arrin to rule the S'yrthghar. Killed by Namara MacNamara on broken talon point.
*Svenka - a polar bear in the Bitter Sea; friend Queen Siv.
*Svarr - polar bear; father of Svenka's cubs; a listener at smee holes


== Historical Allusions ==
Advocates of the Jesus-myth hypothesis also do not agree on the dating and meaning of the early Christian texts, with advocates like Doherty holding to traditional scholarly dating that puts the gospels toward the end of the [[1st century|first century]], and others, like [[Hermann Detering]] (''The Fabricated Paul''), arguing that the early Christian texts are largely forgeries and products of the middle to late [[2nd century|second century]].
*Ezylryb's speeches in ''The Siege'' are loosely modeled after Sir [[Winston Churchill]]'s (the Prime Minister of Britain during the [[Second World War]]).
*The Battle of Short Light and Long Night is based on the [[Normandy Invasion]].
*The evil Pure Ones, who believe that only Barn Owls are pure, may be an [[allusion]] to the [[Nazis]], who had similar beliefs about purity based on lineage.
*Kludd's name is another name for a chaplain in the [[Ku Klux Klan]].
*In the legends, a place named H'rathghar might be an allusion to a character in [[Beowulf]] that goes by a similar name, Hrothgar.
*In ''The Golden Tree'', Ezylryb's words are repeated by Fleemus, the Saw-Whet Owl, who says, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself": words famously spoken by [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]].
* In ''The Golden Tree'', Madame Plonk's "Coronation Teacup" says 1953, and has the name "Queen E" on it. This was probably a reference to the coronation of [[Queen Elizabeth II]] of the United Kingdom.
* The Middle Kingdom, or Jouzhenkyn, is based on [[China]], which the author had visited prior to writing ''The River of Wind''. "The Middle Kingdom" is also an alternate name for China.
* In the book "Exile" the owls in a city known as "Brad" have found fragments of the novel [[Fahrenheit 451]] by Ray Bradbury and are memorising books just as the characters in his book did, as an owl from the Middle Kingdom is burning them.


== Locations ==
[[Robert M. Price]], a biblical scholar, does not style himself as a Jesus-myth proponent but tries to demonstrate that if we apply the critical methodology (which has been developed in the area) with "ruthless consistency" then we should come to complete agnosticism regarding Jesus' historicity,<ref name="Priceagnost"> "... their own criteria and critical tools, which we have sought to apply here with ruthless consistency, ought to have left them with complete agnosticism ...", p. 351 in {{cite book|last=Price|first=Robert M.|title=The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man: How Reliable is the Gospel Tradition?|year=2003|publisher=Prometheus Books|location=Amherst, N.Y.|id=ISBN 1-59102-121-9}} </ref> and that the burden of proof is on those holding to Jesus's historicity.<ref name="Burden> {{cite web|title=The Quest of the Mythical Jesus|url=http://www.mountainman.com.au/essenes/article_005.htm|first=Robert|last=Price|accessdate=2007-12-09}}</ref>
''Guardians of Ga'Hoole'' takes place in a noticeably post-human time, with Soren mentioning that the "Others" (Humans) were around at the time of the first Glaux. Thus, the Earth has likely been dramatically changed, meaning the places in ''Ga'Hoole'' are likely landmasses that have been altered over the years. However, some locations can be compared to present locales.


[[The Great Ga'Hoole Tree]] – The main place where the story takes place. It is the only known tree with Ga', the Great Spirit.
D.M. Murdock (publishing in part [[pseudonymous]]ly as "Acharya S") is another proponent of the Jesus myth hypothesis who has published three books in support of the hypothesis.<ref>''The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold,'' (ISBN 978-0932813749), 1991; ''Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled,'' (ISBN 978-1931882316), 2004; and ''Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ'' (ISBN 978-0979963100), 2007.</ref> In her online article, "The Origins of Christianity," Murdock states:


St. Aegolius Canyons – A canyon- filled area where Zan, an eagle, originates from. It contains a so-called school called [[St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls]], once ruled by Skench, Ablah General. In truth, St. Aggies' was a center for brainwashing to carry out Skench's evil plan-to rule the entire owl world. By ''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 6: The Burning|The Burning]]'', St. Aggie's had fallen to the Pure Ones and is the location of the battle. It is located far south and west in the owl world and mainly consists of canyons. It is here that Nyroc/Coryn (the heir of King Hoole) is hatched. It may be that it was based off of the Grand Canyon.
<blockquote>
"...the most enduring and profound controversy in this subject is whether or not a person named Jesus Christ ever really existed.... when one examines this issue closely, one will find a tremendous volume of literature that demonstrates, logically and intelligently, time and again that Jesus Christ is a mythological character along the same lines as the Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Sumerian, Phoenician, Indian or other godmen, who are all presently accepted as myths rather than historical figures."<ref>"The Origins of Christianity"{{cite web|title=The Origins of Christianity|url=http://www.truthbeknown.com/origins.htm|first=Acharya|last=S}}</ref></blockquote>


Beyond the Beyond – A place where dire wolves live. It plays a major role in Book 8, ''The Outcast'', when Coryn retrieves the [[Ember]] of Hoole, and in Books 9 and 10, when Grank and Hoole do the same. It is known for harboring rogue smiths/colliers, and hireclaws.
The hypothesis is actively discussed on the internet, both on websites and on [[Usenet]].<ref>Van Voorst (2000), p. 7.</ref>


The Middle Kingdom – The newly discovered sixth kingdom of owls (by Bess). Unknown evil and good lurks there. It is in the 13th book, ''The River of Wind''. The Striga is from the sixth kingdom. The Middle Kingdom seems to be based on [[Tibet]].
==Arguments==
===Earliest recorded references===
Tyto – This is the kingdom in which Soren hatched. The [[Pure Ones]] make their base in ''The Rescue'' in an old castle here.
The earliest references to Jesus are by Christian writers (in the New Testament, [[Apostolic Fathers]] and [[New Testament Apocrypha|the NT Apocrypha]]).

====New Testament epistles====
The [[authorship of the Pauline epistles|letters]] of [[Paul of Tarsus]] are among the earliest surviving Christian writings. The epistles do not discuss Jesus's life and ministry in level of detail used by the Gospels, though they do make several claims that he was human; for instance, "... concerning his Son who was a descendant of David with reference to the flesh..",<ref>Romans 1:3</ref> "... By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh ..."<ref>Romans 8:3</ref> or "Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified..".<ref>Galatians 3:1.</ref> Barnett lists 15 details gleaned from Paul's letters including: 1) descent from Abraham, 2) direct descent from David, 3) 'born of a woman', 4) lived in poverty, 5) born and lived under the law, 6) had a brother called James, 7) led a humble life style, 8) ministered primarily to Jews, etc.<ref>Barnett,P (1997). ''Jesus and the Logic of History'', Apollos, ISBN 978-0851115122, pp. 57-58.</ref>

R.T. France disagrees with the notion that the [[Apostle Paul]] did not speak of [[Jesus]] as a physical being. He argues that [[argument from silence|arguments from silence]] are unreliable and that there are several references to historical facts about Jesus's life in Paul's letters, such as Romans 1:3 <ref name="France"/>.{{Vague|date=August 2008}}

[[George Albert Wells|G. A. Wells]] suggests that the level of discussion of the historical Jesus in the [[Pauline epistles]], except for the [[pastoral epistles|Pastorals]], as well as in [[Epistle to the Hebrews|Hebrews]], [[Epistle of James|James]], [[First Epistle of Peter|1 Peter]], the [[Johannine epistles]] and [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]] supports his position. In these works, Wells argues, Jesus is presented as "a basically supernatural personage only obscurely on Earth as a man at some unspecified period in the past".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wells|first=GA|year=1999|month=September|title=Earliest Christianity|journal=New Humanist|volume=114|issue=3|pages=13–18|url=http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/g_a_wells/earliest.html|accessdate=2007-01-11}}</ref> Wells considers this to be the original Christian view of Jesus, based not on the life of a historical figure but on the personified figure of [[Wisdom]] as portrayed in Jewish [[wisdom literature]].

A more radical position is taken by [[Earl Doherty]], who holds that these early authors did not believe that Jesus had been on Earth at all. He argues that the earliest Christians accepted a [[Middle Platonism|Platonic]] cosmology that distinguished a "higher" spiritual world from the Earthly world of matter, and that they viewed Jesus as having descended only into the "lower reaches of the spiritual world".<ref name=doherty>{{cite journal|last=Doherty|first=E|year=1997|month=Fall|title=The Jesus Puzzle: Pieces in a Puzzle of Christian Origins|journal=Journal of Higher Criticism|volume=4|issue=2|url=http://jesuspuzzle.humanists.net/jhcjp.htm|accessdate=2008-06-05}}</ref> Doherty also suggests that this view was accepted by the authors of the Pastoral epistles, [[Second Epistle of Peter|2 Peter]], and various second-century Christian writings outside the New Testament. Doherty contends that apparent references in these writings to events on earth, and a physical historic Jesus, should in fact be regarded as allegorical metaphors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pages.ca.inter.net/~oblio/supp08.htm|title=Christ as "Man": Does Paul Speak of Jesus as an Historical Person?|accessdate=2007-01-11|last=Doherty|first=E|work=The Jesus Puzzle: Was There No Historical Jesus?}}</ref> Opponents regard such interpretations as forced and erroneous eg in the Pastoral letter to Timothy the author speaks of Jesus as being 'revealed in the flesh'.<ref>1 Timothy 3:16.</ref>

====[[Apostolic Fathers]]====
In the letter called [[1 Clement ]], written "sometime during the last two decades of the first century"<ref name=Holmes2007>Holmes, M, (2007), ''The Apostolic Fathers'', Baker Academic, p.37</ref> the author speaks of Jesus as someone who was physically present eg 1 Clement 16 (quoting Is.53:1-12)<ref>Holmes(2007),p.49</ref>.

In the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignatius_of_Antioch#Letters Letters of Ignatius] written around c.110, Ignatius speaks of Jesus as someone of whom we should "be fully convinced about the birth and the suffering and the resurrection that took place during the time of the governorship of Pontius Pilate" (Ignatius to the Magnesians, ch.11)<ref>Holmes(2007),p.106</ref>. In his [[Letter to the Trallians]] (ch.9) he writes about Jesus "who was of the family of David, who was the son of Mary; who really was born, who both ate and drank; who really was persecuted under Pontius Pilate, who really was crucified and died ... who, moreover, really was raised from the dead ..."<ref>Holmes(2007),p.110</ref>

Similarly [[Polycarp]] in his Letter to the Philippians (ch.7), written c.110, writes "... that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh ..."<ref>Holmes(2007),p.138</ref>.

====Early non-Christian references to Jesus====
{{details|Historicity of Jesus#Greco-Roman sources}}

Four early writers are typically cited in support of the actual existence of Jesus: [[Josephus on Jesus|Josephus]], [[Tacitus on Jesus|Tacitus]], [[Suetonius]], and [[Pliny the Younger]].

* The ''Antiquities'' of [[Josephus]] (37 [[Common Era|CE]] - c. 100 CE), written in 93 CE contain two references to Jesus. The text comprising the first reference, the [[Josephus on Jesus|Testimonium Flavianum]], states that Jesus was the founder of a sect, but the verse is believed to have been [[Interpolation (manuscripts)|interpolated]]. Grammatical analysis indicates significant differences with the passages that come before and after it, while some phrases would be inconsistent with a non-Christian author like Josephus. This leads scholars to believe the Jesus reference was either altered or added by persons other than Josephus. The second reference states that in the year 62 CE, the newly appointed high priest "convened the judges of the [[Sanhedrin]] and brought them a man called [[James the Just|James]], the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ, and certain others. He accused them of having transgressed the law and delivered them up to be stoned."<ref name="France"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=2359&pageno=648|title=Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus|}}</ref> However, Kenneth Humphreys has argued that, based on successive lines, the Jesus talked about in this passage is not the Jesus of the Bible, but rather another man with the name of Jesus who also had a brother named James:<ref>Kenneth Humphreys. ''Jesus Never Existed''. Historical Review Press (December 2005). ISBN 0906879140.</ref>
:<blockquote>''"Whereupon Albinus complied with what they said, and wrote in anger to Ananus, and threatened that he would bring him to punishment for what he had done; on which king Agrippa took the high priesthood from him, when he had ruled but three months, and made Jesus, the son of Damneus, high priest."''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=2359&pageno=648|title=Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus|}}</ref></blockquote>

* [[Tacitus]] (circa 117) in the context of the [[Great Fire of Rome]] refers to "some people, known as Christians, whose disgraceful activities were notorious". The originator of that name, Christus, had been executed when [[Tiberius]] was emperor by the order of [[Pontius Pilate]]. But this deadly cult, though checked for a time, was now breaking out again."<ref>{{cite book|last=Tacitus|first=Cornelius|title=The Annals of Imperial Rome|publisher=Digireads.com|date=2005|isbn=978-1420926682}}</ref> However it has been pointed out by experts on both sides there is no way to tell where Tacitus got the information for this passage and state there are hints in the passage that suggest that the information did not come from Roman records.<ref name="France"/><ref>For example R. T. France, writes "The brief notice in Tacitus Annals xv.44 mentions only his title, Christus, and his execution in Judea by order of Pontius Pilatus. Nor is there any reason to believe that Tacitus bases this on independent information-it is what Christians would be saying in Rome in the early second century ... No other clear pagan references to Jesus can be dated before AD 150, by which time the source of any information is more likely to be Christian propaganda than an independent record." The Gospels As Historical Sources For Jesus, The Founder Of Christianity, ''Truth Journal'' [http://www.leaderu.com/truth/1truth21.html]</ref>
* [[Suetonius]], who wrote in the second century, made reference to unrest among the Jews of Rome under [[Claudius]] caused by "instigator Chrestus".<ref>[[Suetonius]], ''[[On the Life of the Caesars#Life of Claudius|Claudius]]'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Claudius*.html#25.4 25.4].</ref> This has sometimes been identified with Jesus Christ, though in this case it must refer to indirect posthumous effects and gives no biographical information. Critics argue that "Chrestus" was in fact very common Greek name and may have been a person of that name living under Claudius rather than a misspelling of Christ. Also it is pointed out that Suetonius refers to ''Jews'' not Christians in this passage even though in his ''Life of Nero'' he shows some knowledge of the sect's existence indicating that "Chrestus" was not "Christus".<ref>Kenneth Humphreys. ''Jesus Never Existed''. Historical Review Press (December 2005). ISBN 0906879140.</ref>
* There are references to Christians in the letters of [[Pliny the Younger]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/texts/pliny.html|title=Pliny, Letters 10.96-97|accessdate=2007-03-18}}</ref>, but they give no specific information about the founder of this movement.

The ''Babylonian [[Talmud]]'' contains [[Yeshu|several references]] that have been traditionally identified with Jesus of Nazareth. <!---records "It is taught: On Passover Eve they hanged [[Yeshu]]&nbsp;... because he practiced magic and led Israel astray."<ref name="France"/> There are other references to Yeshu which talk about his disciples being put to death, of him being "repulsed with both hands", and of people healing and teaching in his name.--->However, these same passages have been used to show that the biblical Jesus is based upon an earlier figure who lived about 100 BCE.<ref>Mead, G.R.S.: "Did Jesus Live 100 B.C.?" 1903</ref><ref>Gil Student, [http://talmud.faithweb.com/articles/jesusnarr.html The Jesus Narrative In The Talmud]</ref> Furthermore, tradition has the Babylonian Talmud being compiled in the late third to early fourth century limiting its value to determining events of the 1st century CE.

The worth of these sources as decisive refutations of the Jesus-myth theory can be doubted. Thus Charles Guignebert, Professor of the History Of Christianity at the Sorbonne, who does believe that Jesus of the Gospels existed and lived in Gallee during the reign of the Emporeor Augustus, discounts the worth of all the non-Christian sources as proof of the exsitence of Jesus. Thus "all the pagan and Jewish testimonies, so-called, afford us no information of any value about the life of Jesus, nor even any assurance that he ever lived ...
<ref name=guignebert>''Jesus'' by Ch. Guignebert (Translated from the French by S. H. Hooke, Samuel Davidson Professor of Old Testament Studies, University of London), University Books, New Yory, 1956, p22</ref>

====Apparent omissions in early records====
Many proponents of the Jesus-myth hypothesis claim that there is an unusual lack of non-Christian documents that make reference to Jesus before the end of the first century, and note the survival of writings by a number of Roman and Jewish commentators and historians who wrote in the [[1st century|first century]] but which lack mention of events described in the Gospels, taking this as evidence that Jesus was invented later. Opponents of the hypothesis argue that [[argument from silence|arguments from silence]] are unreliable.<ref name="France"/>

[[Justus of Tiberias]] wrote at the end of the first century a history of Jewish kings, with whom the gospels state Jesus had interacted. Justus' history does not survive, but [[Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople|Photius]], who read it in the 9th century, stated that it did not mention "the coming of Christ, the events of His life, or the miracles performed by Him."<ref>{{cite book |author=Photius |authorlink=Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople |others=trans. J. H. Freese |title=The library of Photius |url=http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/photius_02preface.htm |accessdate=2007-01-03 |year=1920 |publisher=SPCK |location=London |chapter=33: Justus of Tiberias, ''Chronicle of the Kings of the Jews'' |chapterurl=http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/photius_03bibliotheca.htm#33 }}</ref> The Jewish historian [[Philo]], who lived in the first half of the 1st century also fails to mention Jesus, as do other major contemporary writers<ref>Wells, G.A. (1971) ''The Jesus of the Early Christians, A Study in Christian Origins'', Pemberton Books, page 2.</ref>

In response to Jesus myth proponents who argue the lack of early non-Christian sources, or question their authenticity, [[R. T. France]] counters that "even the great histories of [[Tacitus]] have survived in only two manuscripts, which together contain scarcely half of what he is believed to have written, the rest is lost" and that the life of Jesus, from a Roman point of view, was not a major event.<ref name="France">{{cite book|authorlink=RT France|last=France|first=RT|title=Evidence for Jesus (Jesus Library)|publisher=Trafalgar Square Publishing|date=1986|isbn=0340381728|pages=19-20}}</ref>{{Vague|date=August 2008}}

[[James Charlesworth]] writes "No reputable scholar today questions that a Jew named Jesus son of Joseph lived; most readily admit that we now know a considerable amount about his actions and basic teachings ..."<ref>Charlesworth (2006), p. xxiii.</ref>

R.T. France states that Christianity was actively opposed by both the [[Roman Empire]] and the Jewish authorities, and would have been utterly discredited if Jesus had been shown as a non-historical figure. He argues that there is evidence in [[Pliny the Younger|Pliny]], [[Josephus]] and other sources of the Roman and Jewish approaches at the time, and none of them involved this suggestion.<ref name="France"/>{{Vague|date=August 2008}}

===Influenced by the Old Testament===
Advocates of the Jesus-myth believe that the gospels are not history but a type of [[midrash]]: creative narratives based on the stories, prophecies, and quotes in the Hebrew Bible. Doherty has argued that when the midrashic elements are removed, little to no content remains that could be used to demonstrate the existence of a historical Jesus.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pages.ca.inter.net/~oblio/partthre.htm|title=THE JESUS PUZZLE Was There No Historical Jesus?|first=E|last=Doherty|accessdate=2007-03-18}}</ref><ref>*{{cite book|last=Doherty|first=Earl|authorlink=Earl Doherty|title=[[The Jesus Puzzle]]: Did Christianity Begin With a Mythical Christ?|year=2000|edition=rev. ed.|publisher=Canadian Humanist Publications|location=Ottawa|id=ISBN 0-9686014-0-5}}</ref>

A majority of scholars{{Who|date=July 2007}} explain the similarities between the Gospels of [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]], [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] and [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] using the [[two-source hypothesis]], according to which, Matthew and Luke derived most of their content from Mark and from a lost collection of Jesus' sayings known as the [[Q document]]. In the small amount of additional material unique to Matthew, Jesus is presented with strong parallels to Old Testament figures, most noticeably [[Moses]].{{Fact|date=June 2007}} Some{{Who|date=July 2007}} argue that there is no reason to assume that the sayings attributed to a postulated [[Q document]] originated with Jesus.

Though believing that the gospels may contain some creativity and midrash, opponents of the Jesus-myth argue that the gospels are more akin to ancient [[Greco-Roman]] biographies.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} Such works attempted to impart historical information about historical figures but were not comprehensive and could include legendary developments.

===Comparisons with Mediterranean mystery religions===
Some proponents of the Jesus Myth argument have argued that many aspects of the Gospel stories of Jesus have remarkable parallels with [[life-death-rebirth deity|life-death-rebirth gods]] in the widespread [[mystery religion]]s prevalent in the [[Hellenistic]] culture in which Christianity was born. However [[James H. Charlesworth]] writes,<ref>Charlesworth (2006), p. 694.</ref> "It would be foolish to continue to foster the illusion that the Gospels are merely fictional stories like the legends of [[Hercules]] and [[Asclepius]]. The theologies in the New Testament are grounded on interpretations of real historical events...".

The central figure of one of the most widespread, [[Osiris-Dionysus]], was consistently localised and deliberately merged with local deities in each area, since it was the ''mysteries'' which were imparted that were regarded as important, not the method by which they were taught. In the view of some advocates of the Jesus Myth, most prominently [[Timothy Freke|Freke]] and [[Peter Gandy|Gandy]] in ''[[The Jesus Mysteries]]'', Jewish mystics adapted their form of Osiris-Dionysus to match prior Jewish heroes like Moses and Joshua, hence creating Jesus.<ref name="Freke"/>

Several parallels are frequently cited by these advocates, and often appear, mixed with other parallels, on internet sites. The most prominently cited parallels are with [[Horus]] and [[Mithras]]. Horus was one of the life-death-rebirth deities, and was connected and involved with those of [[Osiris]].

Worship of [[Isis]], Horus' mother, was a prominent cult, and there is a proposal that this is the basis of ''[[veneration]]'' of [[Mary, the mother of Jesus|Mary]], and more particularly [[Blessed Virgin Mary|Marian Iconography]]. {{Fact|date=August 2007}}

[[Mithraism]] was a mystery religion widespread in parts of the Roman Empire in the second and third centuries.<ref>{{cite book|last=Beard|first=M|authorlink=Mary Beard (classicist)|coauthors=North, J; Price, S|date=1998|title=Religions of Rome, Volume 1: A History|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|pages=279&ndash;280|isbn=0-521-31682-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Turcan|first=R|date=1996|title=The Cults of the Roman Empire|publisher=Blackwell|location=Oxford|pages=196&ndash;203|isbn=0-631-20047-9}}</ref> Mithraic sanctuaries ("Mithraea") feature images of the [[tauroctony]], the killing by Mithras of a bull. These appear to include astrological elements, possibly associating Mithras with the Sun.<ref>Beard ''et al.'', vol. 1, 285&ndash;286.</ref> Initiates progressed through seven grades associated with planets, and may have conceived their souls as ascending away from Earth and the material world.<ref>Beard ''et al.'', vol. 1, 285, 290.</ref> An inscription from the Mithraeum at [[Santa Prisca]] has an uncertain text but may refer to the shedding of the bull's blood as having "[[salvation|saved]] us".<ref>Turcan, 226; {{cite book|last=Beard|first=M|authorlink=Mary Beard (classicist)|coauthors=North, J; Price, S|date=1998|title=Religions of Rome, Volume 2: A Sourcebook|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|pages=no. 12.5h(xii)|isbn=0-521-45646-0}}</ref>

Mithraic practices have been compared to those of Christians, including baptism, confirmation and communion.<ref>Bromiley, Geoffrey William. "Mithras". ''The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Q-Z''. Pg 116. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing (1995). ISBN 0802837840.</ref> However, Mithraists may not have sanctified Sunday as the day of the Sun.<ref>Turcan, 229 ("It is not certain if they sanctified Sunday, the day of the Sun, as [[Franz Cumont|Cumont]] supposed.")</ref> Images in Mithraea show Mithras being born from a rock, and it has been conjectured that his worshippers celebrated his birth on [[December 25]], since this is known to have been regarded as the "birthday" of [[Sol Invictus]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Beck|first=RB|date=2004|title=Beck on Mithraism: Collected Works with New Essays|publisher=Ashgate|location=Aldershot|pages=55|isbn=0754640817}} Beck calls the conclusion "reasonable but not self-evidently correct" (p. 55 n. 2).</ref> The Christian apologist [[Justin Martyr]] referred to the use of bread and water in Mithraic ritual, which he regarded as a demonic imitation of the Christian [[Eucharist]].<ref>[[Justin Martyr]], ''First Apology'' [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.viii.ii.lxvi.html 66].</ref> Grape-imagery in Mithraea has been taken to show that wine was also consumed by Mithraists.<ref>Turcan, 234.</ref> Mithraea included bathing pools or basins,<ref>Turcan, 219.</ref> and [[Tertullian]], discussing non-Christian rituals comparable to Christian baptism, referred to Mithraic initiation "by means of a bath".<ref>[[Tertullian]], ''[http://www.tertullian.org/articles/evans_bapt/evans_bapt_text_trans.htm On Baptism]'' 5.</ref> [[Papyrus]] fragments preserve what may be a kind of Mithraic "[[catechism]]", "in which an officiant questions an initiate, who must give the required answers".<ref>Beard ''et al.'', vol. 1, 303.</ref>

In 1962, scholar of Judaism Samuel Sandmel cautioned against what he described as "Parallelomania": "We might for our purposes define parallelomania as that extravagance among scholars which first overdoes the supposed similarity in passages and then proceeds to describe source and derivation as if implying a literary connection flowing in an inevitable or predetermined direction."<ref>{{cite journal|first=S|last=Sandmel|title=Parallelomania|journal=Journal of Biblical Literature|volume=81|issue=1|date=1962|doi=10.2307/3264821|pages=1–13}}</ref>

Opponents of the Jesus Myth theory regularly accuse those who advocate the existence of such parallels of confusing the issue of who was borrowing from whom, a charge which was also made in ancient times by prominent early Christians.<ref name="Freke"/> More recently in the book ''Reinventing Jesus'', the authors put forth the position that "Only after 100 A.D. did the mysteries begin to look very much like Christianity, precisely because their existence was threatened by this new religion. They had to compete to survive."<ref>{{cite book|last=Komoszewski|first=JE|coauthors=Sawyer, MJ & Wallace, DB|date=2006|title=Reinventing Jesus|publisher=Kregel Publications|pages=237|isbn=978-0825429828}}</ref>

However, some prominent early Christians, e.g. [[Irenaeus]] and [[Justin Martyr]] actually argued for the existence of some of these parallels; Justin specifically used several to attempt to prove that Christianity was not a new cult, but that it was rooted in ancient prophecy which had been "diabolically imitated".{{Fact|date=January 2008}}


The Beaks - A strange uninhabited area filled with small pockets of forest and "beaks", large beak shaped formations. It is here that a Ga'Hoole slipgizzle, or spy, warned the Band of Kludd in ''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book 2: The Journey|The Journey]]''.
[[Michael Grant (author)|Michael Grant]] does not see the similarities between Christianity and pagan religions to be significant. Grant states that "Judaism was a milieu to which doctrines of the deaths and rebirths, of mythical gods seemed so entirely foreign that the emergence of such a fabrication from its midst is very hard to credit."<ref name="Grant">{{cite book|title=Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels|first=Michael|last=Grant|date=1995|publisher=Scribner|pages=199|isbn=978-0684818672}}, first published 1977. Grant refers to S. Neill, ''What we know about Jesus'' (Eerdmans, 1972 ed), p. 45 to support this view.</ref>. He also states the Christ Myth Hypothesis fails to satisfy modern critical methodology, and is rejected by all but a few modern scholars.<ref name="Grantmajority">''Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels'' (Scribner, 1977, 1995), with reference to Roderic Dunkerley, ''Beyond the Gospels'' (Whitefairs Press, 1957), p. 12.</ref>


Ambala - An area that was being devastated by St. Aggie's' egg snatching as of ''The Capture''. An owl, Hortense, snuck herself into St. Aggie's to rescue eggs, with help from Zan. She was caught by Auntie and thrown off a cliff.
===Historiography and methodology===
[[Earl Doherty]] argues that the gospels are inconsistent concerning "such things as the baptism and nativity stories, the finding of the empty tomb and Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances" and contain numerous "contradictions and disagreements in the accounts of Jesus' words and deeds". He concludes that the evangelists freely altered their sources and invented material, and therefore could not have been concerned to preserve historical information.<ref name=doherty/>


Ice Narrows - An icy straight leading to the Northern Kingdoms and the Everwinter Sea. The Band became stuck here, and lived with some puffins for a few days in ''The Journey.''
A similar tack works from the claim that the dates in canonical and non-canonical sources do not match up.<ref>eg [[The God Who Wasn't There]]</ref> For example it is stated in the [[Talmud]] that Jesus was killed under [[Alexander Jannaeus]],<ref>Mead, G.R.S.: "Did Jesus Live 100 B.C.?" 1903</ref> and Luke and Matthew have different birth dates that are nearly a decade apart. However the value of using the Talmud, which was written between the 3rd and 6th century, as a reliable witness in this matter is both highly questionable<ref>Dunn, JDG, (2003), p.142</ref> and inconsistent if one questions the validity of works whose dating range put them as close as being written within 20 years of Jesus's supposed death.


Kuneer - Where Gylfie's and Digger's hollows are and where Jutt, Jatt, and 47-2 (Three high-ranking St. Aggie's lieutenants) '''ate''' Digger's two brothers (Cunny and Flick) and killed his parents. In ''The Capture'' chapter "Desert Battle", the newly formed Band killed the [[lieutenants]]. Kuneer seems to be based on the [[Sonoran Desert]] of the [[American Southwest]]
This criticism has frequently been answered by the observation: "The fact of Christianity's beginnings and the character of its earliest traditions is such the we could only deny the existence of Jesus by hypothesizing the existence of some other figure who was a sufficient cause of Christianity's beginnings - another figure who on careful reflection would probably come out very like Jesus!"<ref name=Dunn1986>[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hfAcOPGt69YC&pg=PA29&lpg=PA27&sig=ACfU3U27Zru8QmcSwDkCYvZ3UlDDDVbtaA Dunn (1986), JDG, 'The Evidence for Jesus',Westminster John Knox Press, p.29 ISBN=0664246982]</ref>


Silverveil- This verdant forest is known for its many mosses and other vegetation. When Martin was an owlet, the Guardians rescued him from a forest fire here. This is where the [[Snowy owl]] Rogue Smith of Silverveil, whose name is unknown, lived. She was the only female smith. Silverveil seems to be based on the [[temperate rain forests]] of [[New Zealand]].
==See also==
*[[Historicity of Jesus]]
*[[Osiris-Dionysus]]
*[[Life-death-rebirth deity]]
*[[List of virgin births]]
*[[List of demigods]]
*[[Jesus Christ in comparative mythology]]
*[[Criticism of Jesus]]
*[[Historical Jesus]]
*[[New Chronology (Fomenko-Nosovsky)]]
*[[The God Who Wasn't There]] - 2005 documentary
*[[Zeitgeist, The Movie]] - 2007 documentary


Shadow Forest- This is one of largest forests in the Southern Kingdoms. The Place of Mist is Found here where Bess learns about the 6th Kingdom.
==Footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}
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<references/>
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==Further reading==
==Movie==
[[Zack Snyder]] (''[[300 (film)|300]]'', ''[[Watchmen (film)|Watchmen]]'') is set to direct a [[computer animation|computer animated]] movie '''''Guardians of Ga'Hoole'''''. The movie will be made by [[Cinema of Australia|Australian]] [[animation studio]] [[Animal Logic]], of ''[[Happy Feet]]'' fame.<ref>{{cite web|author=AAP|title="Animal Logic wins $100m film contract" |work= news.com.au website|publisher=News Limited||date=2008-04-16|url = http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23548773-29277,00.html|accessdate=2008-08-12}}</ref>
*{{cite book|last=Allegro|first=John M.|title=The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Christian Myth|year=1992|edition=2nd rev. ed.|publisher=Prometheus Books|location=Buffalo, N.Y.|id=ISBN 0-87975-757-4}}
The film will focus on the first three books in the series. The film is set to be released on July 9, 2010.[http://www.filmjerk.com/earlyreport/article.php?id_eol=565].
*{{cite book|last=Atwill|first=Joseph|title=The Roman Origins of Christianity|year=2003|publisher=J. Atwill|id=ISBN 0-9740928-0-0}}
*{{cite book|last=Atwill|first=Joseph|title=Caesar's Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus|year=2005|publisher=Ulysses|location=Berkeley, Calif.|id=ISBN 1-56975-457-8}}
* Barnett,P (1997). ''Jesus and the Logic of History'', Apollos, ISBN 978-0851115122
* {{cite book|last=Bauckham|first=Richard|authorlink=Richard Bauckham|title=Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony|publisher=Wm B Eerdmans Pub Co|year=2006|id=ISBN 978-0802831620}}
* {{cite book|last=Bovon|first=François|authorlink=François Bovon|title=The Last Days of Jesus|others=trans. Kristin Hennessy; Louisville: Westminster|publisher=John Knox|year=2006|id=ISBN 0664230075}}
*{{cite book|last=Brodie|first=Thomas L.|title=The Crucial Bridge: The Elijah-Elisha Narrative as an Interpretive Synthesis of Genesis-Kings and a Literary Model for the Gospels|year=2000|publisher=Liturgical Press|location=Collegeville, Minn.|id=ISBN 0-8146-5942-X}}
*{{cite book|last=Brunner|first=Constantin|authorlink=Constantin Brunner|title=Our Christ: The Revolt of the Mystical Genius.|year=1990|publisher=Van Gorcum|location=Assen|id=ISBN 9023224124}} Originally published in German in 1919 as ''Unser Christus : oder Das Wesen des Genies''. Appendix is a critique of the Jesus myth hypothesis.
*{{cite book|last=Burridge|first=Richard A.|authorlink=Richard A. Burridge|title=Four Gospels, One Jesus? A Symbolic Reading|publisher=Grand Rapids:Eerdmans|edition=2nd edn.|year=2006|id=ISBN 0802829805}}
*{{cite book|last=Charlesworth|first=James H. (ed.)|authorlink=James H. Charlesworth|title=Jesus and Archaeology|publisher=Grand Rapids: Eerdmans|year=2006|id=ISBN 080284880X}}
*{{cite book|last=Dunn|first=James D.G.|authorlink=James D.G. Dunn|title=Christianity in the Making Vol 1: Jesus Remembered|publisher=Wm B Eerdmans Pub Co|year=2003|id=ISBN 978-0802839312}}
* {{cite book|last=Dunn|first=James D.G.|authorlink=James D.G. Dunn |title=A New Perspective On Jesus: What The Quest For The Historical Jesus Missed (Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology)|publisher=Baker Academic |location=Grand Rapids, Mich |year=2005 |isbn=0-8010-2710-1 |oclc= |doi=}}
* Eddy, PR and [[Gregory A. Boyd|Boyd, GA]], (2007), ''The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition'', Baker Academic, ISBN 978-0801031144
*{{cite book|last=Ellegård|first=Alvar|authorlink=Alvar Ellegård|title=Jesus: One Hundred Years Before Christ: A Study in Creative Mythology|year=1999|publisher=Century|location=London|id=ISBN 0-7126-7956-1}}
*{{cite book|last=Evans|first=Craig A.|authorlink=Craig A. Evans|title=Fabricating Jesus|origyear=2006|year=2006|publisher=IVP Books|location=|isbn=978-0830833184}}
*{{cite book|last=Freke|first=Timothy|authorlink=Timothy Freke|coauthors=and [[Peter Gandy]]|title=[[The Jesus Mysteries]]: Was the 'Original Jesus' a Pagan God?|year=1999|publisher=Thorsons|location=London|id=ISBN 0-7225-3676-3}}
*{{cite book|last=Grant|first=Michael|authorlink=Michael Grant (author)|title=Jesus|origyear=1977|year=1999|publisher=Phoenix|location=London|isbn=0-75380-899-4}}
*{{cite book|last=Harpur|first=Tom|authorlink=Tom Harpur|title=The Pagan Christ:Recovering the Lost Light|year=2005|publisher=Thomas Allen Publishers|location=Toronto, Canada|id=ISBN 0-88762-195-3}}
*{{cite book|last=Historicus|first=(pseudonym for Jacob Benjamin)|title=Did Jesus Ever Live --- or Is Christianity Founded Upon a Myth|year=1972|publisher=United Secularists of America|location=Los Angeles, CA|url=http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/historicus}}
*{{cite book|last=Komoszewski|first=J. Ed|authorlink=J. Ed Komoszewski|coauthors=et al|title=Reinventing Jesus|year=2006|publisher=Kregel Publications|location=|id=ISBN 082542982X}}
*{{cite book|last=Meier|first=John P|authorlink=John P. Meier|title=A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus|edition=3 vols.|publisher=Doubleday|location=New York}}
*#{{cite book|title=The Roots of the Problem and the Person|year=1991|id=ISBN 0-385-26425-9}}
*#{{cite book|title=Mentor, Message, and Miracles|year=1994|id=ISBN 0-385-46992-6}}
*#{{cite book|title=Companions and Competitors|year=2001|id=ISBN 0-385-46993-4}}
* Porter, Stanley and Bedard, Stephen(2006), ''Unmasking the Pagan Christ: An Evangelical Response to the Cosmic Christ Idea'', Clements
*{{cite book|last=Price|first=Robert M.|authorlink=Robert M. Price|title=Deconstructing Jesus|year=2000|publisher=Prometheus Books|location=Amherst, N.Y.|id=ISBN 1-57392-758-9}}
*{{cite book|last=Price|first=Robert M.|title=The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man: How Reliable is the Gospel Tradition?|year=2003|publisher=Prometheus Books|location=Amherst, N.Y.|id=ISBN 1-59102-121-9}}
*{{cite encyclopedia|last=Price|first=Robert M.|title=New Testament narrative as Old Testament midrash|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Midrash: Biblical Interpretation in Formative Judaism|editor=[[Jacob Neusner]] and Alan J. Avery-Peck|year=2005|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden|id=ISBN 90-04-14166-9}}
*{{cite book|last=Sanders|first=E. P.|authorlink=E. P. Sanders|title=The Historical Figure of Jesus|year=1993|publisher=Allen Lane|location=London|id=ISBN 0-7139-9059-7}}
* Seznec, Jean. 1972, ''The Survival of the Pagan Gods'', Princeton University Press, ISBN 0691017832
*{{cite book|last=Theissen|first=Gerd|authorlink=Gerd Theissen|coauthors=and Annette Merz|title=The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide|year=1998|others=trans. John Bowden|publisher=Fortress Press|location=Minneapolis|id=ISBN 0-8006-3123-4}}
*{{cite book|last=Thompson|first=Thomas L.|title=The Messiah Myth: The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David|year=2005|publisher=Basic Books|location=New York|id=ISBN 0-465-08577-6}}
*{{cite book|last=Volney|first=Constantin-François|authorlink=Constantin-François Chassebœuf|title=The Ruins, or, Meditation on the Revolutions of Empires and the Law of Nature|year=1796|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1397|publisher=Davis|location=New York, N.Y.}}
*{{cite book|last=Wells|first=G. A.|authorlink=George Albert Wells|title=The Historical Evidence for Jesus|year=1982|publisher=Prometheus Books|location=Buffalo, N.Y.|id=ISBN 0-87975-180-0}}
*{{cite book|last=Wells|first=G. A.|title=The Jesus Myth|year=1999|publisher=Open Court|location=Chicago|id=ISBN 0-8126-9392-2}}
*{{cite book|last=Wright|first=NT|authorlink=NT Wright|title=The New Testament and the People of God
|year=1996|publisher=Augsburg Fortress Publishers|location=|id=ISBN 0800626818}}


==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.kathrynlasky.com/ Kathryn Lasky's Official Website]
===Websites arguing for the Jesus myth ===
*[http://scholastic.com/gahoole/ Guardians of Ga'Hoole Official Website]
* [http://www.jesuspuzzle.com/ "The Jesus Puzzle: Was There No Historical Jesus?"] by Earl Doherty
* [http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/richard_carrier/jesuspuzzle.shtml "Did Jesus Exist? Earl Doherty and the Argument to Ahistoricity"] by Richard Carrier
* [http://www.ffrf.org/news/2006/debunkingJesus.php Debunking the Historical Jesus] by Dan Barker, Freedom from Religion Foundation
* [http://www.vexen.co.uk/books/jesusmysteries.html "The Jesus Mysteries"] by Freke/Gandy
* [http://www.rationalrevolution.net/articles/jesus_myth_history.htm Jesus Myth - The Case Against Historical Christ] by R. G. Price, rationalrevolution.net
* [http://www.luigicascioli.it/home_eng.php The Fable of Christ by Luigi Cascioli] in Italian
* [http://www.jesusneverexisted.com Jesus Never Existed.com]


{{Ga'Hoole}}
===Websites arguing for a historical Jesus===
* [http://www.bede.org.uk/price8.htm "A History of Scholarly Refutations of the Jesus Myth"] by Christopher Price
* [http://www.garyhabermas.com/books/historicaljesus/historicaljesus.htm#ch9 The Historical Jesus - Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ] by [[Gary Habermas|Gary R. Habermas]]
* [http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/docs/rediscover2.html The Evidence For Jesus] by Dr. [[William Lane Craig]]


[[Category:Biblical criticism]]
[[Category:Series of children's books]]
[[Category:Historicity of religious figures]]
[[Category:Animal tales]]
[[Category:Jesus and history|Myth hypothesis]]
[[Category:Novel series]]
[[Category:Perspectives on Jesus]]
[[Category:Novels by Kathryn Lasky]]
[[Category:Hypotheses]]
[[Category:Fictional owls]]
[[Category:Guardians of Ga'Hoole| ]]


[[ja:ガフールの勇者たち]]
[[de:Jesusmythos]]
[[es:Mito de Jesús]]
[[fr:Thèse mythiste]]
[[it:Mito di Gesù]]
[[nl:Jezusmythe]]
[[sv:Jesusmyten]]
[[zh:虚构的耶稣]]

Revision as of 00:37, 13 October 2008

Guardians of Ga'Hoole is The New York Times bestselling[citation needed] children's fiction book series written by Kathryn Lasky and illustrated by Richard Chowder. There is also an upcoming movie of the same name, based on the series. Most of the main characters are owls, and the series is a cross between animal fiction such as Watership Down and epic fantasy. In the October/November months of 2008, the main series ended with fifteen books, the most recent book in the series being The War of the Ember. However, the series will continue with more accompanying books, including the already-released Guide Book to the Great Tree and the upcoming book Lost Tales of the Great Tree - a sneak peek was provided at the end of book fifteen. The accompanying series is written by Kathryn Huang Knight.

Ga'Hoole, in the fictional owl language, means "Great Spirit of Hoole".

Novels

  1. The Capture
  2. The Journey
  3. The Rescue
  4. The Siege
  5. The Shattering
  6. The Burning
  7. The Hatchling
  8. The Outcast
  9. The First Collier
  10. The Coming of Hoole
  11. To Be a King
  12. The Golden Tree
  13. The River of Wind
  14. Exile
  15. The War of the Ember

Accompanying Books

Legends of Ga'Hoole

A spin-off book series was planned to begin, entitled "Legends of Ga'Hoole". However, the series was canceled, and all books that were planned as part of the series were moved to the original "Guardians of Ga'Hoole" series, with the titles unchanged. The advance copy editions show the subtitle on the covers, although the books were not released with this feature.

The three books - nine through eleven - are about the legendary young king Hoole, and his mentor, the first collier Grank. Grank was the first to find the Ember of Hoole, and King Hoole was the first to find the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. Hoole came under the protection of Grank because his mother was a close childhood friend of Grank's.

Characters from the Books

The Band

  • Soren – A male Barn Owl, part of "the Band." He was snatched by patrols from St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls (St. Aggies) and he escaped with his friend Gylfie. He is now a Guardian of Ga'Hoole, a member of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree and the ryb of the colliering chaw. He is also Coryn's close advisor and uncle. He was the start of "The Chaw of Chaws." He becomes the new king of the tree after Coryn dies in The War of The Ember
  • Gylfie – A female Elf Owl who is Soren's best friend and part of the "the Band." She was hatched in a cactus in the Desert of Kuneer, and she was snatched by patrols from St. Aggie's. She escaped with Soren the Barn Owl, and came to the Great Ga'hoole tree. She is now the navigation ryb. Gylfie is both articulate and intelligent, although this is emphasized less once Otulissa enters the series.
  • Twilight – A male Great Grey Owl and part of "the Band." He claims that he taught himself everything about surviving and was abandoned within hours of hatching.It is revealed in The War of the Ember that he has two brothers that he had never met, as they left before he was born. He is very confident and boastful, and is constantly singing songs about himself, but he still has a very good heart. He is now a Guardian of Ga'Hoole at the Ga'Hoole Tree in the search-and-rescue chaw.
  • Digger – A smart tracking Burrowing Owl who is part of "the Band." He was separated from his parents when St. Aggie's attacked them and killed his brother. He is now a Guardian of Ga'Hoole at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree in the tracking chaw. He is a very deep thinker, and can often come up with things that others can not.

Owls in the Great Tree

  • Boron (deceased) - A male Snowy Owl - the King of Hoole before Coryn arrived; died of old age as Coryn came to the Great Tree of Ga'Hoole. He often told wet poop jokes, and was known to consort with seagulls, which was considered very disrespectful, but he was loved all the same; mate of Barran.
  • Barran (deceased) - A female Snowy Owl - the Queen of Hoole before Coryn came to the Great Tree of Ga'Hoole; died of old age as he came to it. She was the ryb of the search-and-rescue chaw, and was the mate of Boron.
  • Ezylryb (deceased) – A male Whiskered Screech Owl who was the wise old mentor at the Great Ga'Hoole tree. Also known as Lyze of Kiel when he was the warrior of the Kielian League. He was the ryb of the weather interpretation before he died of old age. He also told wet poop jokes and spoke with seagulls. Soren is Ezylryb's ward.
  • Coryn (deceased as of The War of the Ember)(aka Nyroc) – A male Barn Owl; Kludd and Nyra's chick; now the new monarch (king) of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree; Soren's nephew. Died of blood loss from a wound inflicted by the Striga.
  • Otulissa – A female Spotted Owl; the Ga'Hoolology ryb at the Great Tree also chief ryb, a member of the Chaw of Chaws, very prim and proper, but also very smart and intelligent. Had eye damaged in battle and now wears an eye patch. Mate of Cleve.
  • Ruby – A female short-eared owl; a member of the Chaw of Chaws, a spectacular flyer in the colliering and weather interpretation chaw.
  • Martin – A male Northern Saw-Whet Owl; a member of the Chaw of Chaws; a Guardian at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, a member of he colliering and weather interpretation chaw.
  • Eglantine – A female Barn Owl, Soren's younger sister, well loved by Soren, best friends with Primrose.Eglantine is a member of the search and rescue chaw.
  • Primrose – Female Pygmy Owl, Eglantine's best friend, member of the search and rescue chaw.
  • Madame Plonk – A Female Snowy Owl, the elegant singer of the great tree. Doc Finebeak's mate.
  • Elvan - an owl that was unwholesomely in thrall to the Ember of Hoole while Coryn and the Band were away, ryb of the colliering chaw
  • Mrs. Plithiver – Female blind snake, formerly the nest-maid for Soren's family; now a member of the harp guild at the Great Ga'Hoole tree
  • Octavia – Female Kielian snake; nest maid for many years for Ezylryb and Madame Plonk; aka Brigid
  • Doc Finebeak – A male Snowy Owl famed free lance tracker once in the employ of the Pure Ones; now at the great tree; Madame Plonk's companion, and now new mate (as of Book 14).
  • Bubo - A male Great Horned Owl - The blacksmith at the Great Ga'hoole tree, close friends with Madame Plonk.
  • Strix Struma (deceased) - Female Spotted Owl - A very respectable ryb at the great Ga'hoole tree, and ryb of the Navigation chaw before she was killed by Nyra in The Siege.
  • Sylvana - A young female burrowing owl, ryb of the tracking chaw
  • Dewlap - A female burrowing owl, ryb of the Ga'Hoology chaw before Otulissa. Dewlap betrayed the great tree during The Siege.
  • Matron - A Female Short-Eared Owl, the head caretaker of wounded owlets at the Great Ga'hoole tree.
  • Poot - Male Boreal Owl - First captain of the weather intepretation chaw, becomes the leader when Ezylryb is captured.
  • Trader Mags - A female magpie that comes around about one time a year to sell her wares.
  • Bubbles - Trader Mags' assistant
  • Silver - Male Lesser Sooty Owl - A member of the Weather Interpretation Chaw, rescued from the Great Downing.
  • Nut Beam - Male Masked Owl - A member of the Weather Interpretation Chaw, rescued from the Great Downing.
  • The Rogue Smith of Silverveil (deceased) - A Snowy Owl - A Blacksmith not attached to any kingdom in the owl world in any way. Killed by Nyra; Madame Plonk's sister.
  • Pellimore - Barn Owl - Sorens mate (As of book 8,The Outcast)

The Pure Ones

  • Kludd (deceased) – Male Barn Owl - Soren's older brother, leader of the pure ones; later killed in The Burning by Twilight; aka Metal Beak and High Tyto. Mate of Nyra
  • Nyra (deceased) – Female Barn Owl - Kludd's evil mate; suspected of being a hagsfiend, made leader of the Pure Ones (who she later deserts) after Kludd's death, slayer of Strix Struma and Philip, and the Rouge Smith; mother of Nyroc (aka Coryn); killed by Soren.
  • Wortmore (deceased) – Male Barn Owl - a Pure One lieutenant
  • Uglamore (deceased) – Male Barn Owl - a Pure One lieutenant; deserts the Pure Ones and sacrifices himself for Coryn in The Outcast
  • Stryker (deceased) – Male barn owl - a Pure One lieutenant major under Nyra, second in command later in the series; killed by Tengshu
  • Dustytuft (deceased) - Male Greater Sooty Owl - a low caste owl of the Pure Ones; became friend of Nyroc (AKA Coryn) at his hatching; also known as Phillip; killed by Nyra
  • Tarn (deceased) - Male Burrowing Owl - 1st in command under Nyra. Killed by Tengshu

Saint Aegolius Academy For Orphaned Owls

  • Skench (deceased) - Female Great Horned Owl - the evil Ablah General of the academy, killed by Soren
  • Spoorn (deceased) - Male Western Screech Owl - Skench's first lieutenant
  • Jatt (deceased) - Male Long-Eared Owl - a sublieutenant of St. Aegolius; also a warrior and enforcer, killed by Soren, Twilight, Streak, and Zan
  • Jutt (deceased) - Male Long-Eared Owl - a St. Aegolius sublieutenant; a warrior and enforcer and the cousin of Jatt, killed by Soren, Twilight, Zan, and Streak
  • Aunt Finny (aka "Auntie") (deceased) - Female Snowy Owl - Soren's pit guardian while he was at the academy. Finny is the owl that Soren feared most when he infiltrated St. Aggie's. She is also a cannibal and tried to murder Hortense and Gylfie.
  • Unk - Male Great Horned Owl - Gylfie's pit guardian while she was at the academy with Soren
  • Grimble (deceased) - Male Boreal Owl - A brave owl that was captured as an adult by the St. Aegolius patrols; held hostage and was promised that his family would be spared; taught Soren and Gylfie how to fly so that they could escape, killed by Skench as Soren and Gylfie escaped
  • 47-2 (deceased) - A female western screech owl; a picker at the pelletorium in St. Aggies, vicious fighter
  • Hortense (aka Mist) - Female Spotted Owl - originally from Ambala; was snatched by the St. Aggies patrols; trained as a broody owl in the eggorium of the academy; helped save some of the eggs that the patrols had snatched. Pushed off a cliff by Auntie, but is saved by the eagles Streak and Zan.

Dire Wolves

  • Duncan MacDuncan - leader of the MacDuncan clan of dire wolves in Beyond the Beyond
  • Dunleavy MacHeath - leader of the MacHeath clan of dire wolves in Beyond the Beyond; known vyrwolf; recruited members of the MacHeath clan to come with him to become vyrwolves
  • Gyllbane - member of the MacHeath clan; her pup, Cody, was maimed by Dunleavy MacHeath
  • Cody (deceased) - Gyllbane's son; died when saving the book of Kreeth
  • Hamish - in the MacDuncan clan; a gnaw wolf of the Sacred Watch; friends with Coryn, has a weak leg.

Other Characters

  • Bess – a Boreal Owl; daughter of Grimble; also known as "The Knower"; discovered Middle Kingdom
  • Cleve of Firthmore - a male Spotted Owl healer and prince from the royal Hollow of Snarth in the Northern Kingdoms. Mate of Otulissa (as of Book 14).
  • Mist – a female Spotted Owl who lives with the eagles Streak and Zan in Ambala who once saved eggs from the St.Aggies; also known as Hortense
  • Striga ( A.K.A Orlando) – Blue snowy Owl a former dragon owl from the Middle Kingdom seeking a more meaning full life; Betrays Coryn and the Great Ga'Hoole Tree; previously saves Soren and Pelli's owlet Bell.
  • Tengshu – Blue Long- Eared Owl qui master and sage of the Joushenkyn
  • Slynella - a green iridescent flying snake of Ambala; friend of Mist; helped save Soren and Twilight when they were injured badly
  • Stingyll - a green iridescent flying snake of Ambala; friend of Mist; helped save Twilight when he was injured badly
  • Rabbit (deceased) - a webreader that Coryn meets. He reads things in spiderwebs and names are the easiest things to read. He is killed during a skirmish between Coryn, Kalo, and two owls of the Blue Brigade.
  • Noctus Alba (deceased) - Soren, Kludd and Eglantine's father
  • Marella Alba (deceased) - Soren, Kludd and Eglantine's mother
  • Streak - Bald Eagle, friend of Hortense, mate of Zan
  • Zan - Bald Eagle, had her tongue ripped out in a fight with Skench and Spoorn, mate of Streak
  • Simon (deceased) - A male Brown Fish Owl, a pilgrim of the Glauxian brother's retreat; killed by Kludd

Characters from the Legends

  • Hoole(deceased) – the legendary Spotted Owl of the Time of the Legends; raised by Grank. May have died of old age out of the books. Mate of Emerilla.
  • H'rath (deceased) – Spotted owl, King of N'rythghar; the father of Hoole
  • Siv (deceased) – Spotted owl, H'rath's mate, Queen of N'rythghar, killed by hagsfiends; the mother of Hoole.
  • Grank(deaceased) – Spotted owl who raised Hoole; was the first collier and has firesight; first owl to find the ember.Died of old age in his deathbed.
  • Theo(deaceased) – Great horned owl, helped raise Hoole; was Grank's apprentice and the first blacksmith; a gizzard resister, invented battle claws. May have died of old age out of the books.
  • Lord Rathnik (deaceased) - an officer of the Ice Regiment; member of the Great Tree's parliament. Died in the battle of short day long night.
  • Shadyk – Theo's brother; a mad usurper of King H'rath's throne in the Ice Palace.
  • Phineas(deaceased?) – a friend of Hoole that had great pluck. May have died of old age out of the books.
  • Berwyck(deaceased?) – Hoole and Grank's friend; also a member of that Glauxian Brothers. May have died of old age out of the books.
  • Myrrthe (deceased) – Snowy Owl, faithful servant of Queen Siv, killed by hagsfiends while hunting for lemmings.
  • Rorkna – Spotted Owl, Glauxess of the Glauxian Sisters Retreat on the island of Elsemere; cousin of Siv.
  • The Snow Rose - a snowy owl and gadfeather; also a renowned singer that becomes the Plonk family.
  • Emerilla – Spotted owl, daughter of Strix Strumajen and mate of Hoole;excellent fighter with the short blade; everyone thought that she was lost in a skirmish over the Ice Fangs; possibly related to Otulissa (Strix Emerilla?), mate of Hoole.
  • Strix Strumajen - a spotted owl Hoole made the teacher of the first weathering chaw, killed Lutta; Emerilla's mother
  • Kreeth (deceased) – a female hagsfiend that had very strong powers of nachtmagen; created Lutta, created a book full of her evil spells; friend of Ygryk; killed during the battle of short light and long night.
  • Lutta (deceased) – changeling, created by Kreeth, murdered by Strix Strumajen for impersonating Emerilla. Fell in love with Hoole.
  • Penryk - male hagsfiend and an ally of Lord Arrin
  • Ygryk - a female hagsfiend; Pleek's mate
  • Ullryck - a female hagsfiendand; very deadly assassin; serves Lord Arrin
  • Pleek - enemy of King H'rath; known to consort with hagsfiends and took one, Ygryk, as his mate
  • Lord Arrin – Snowy Owl (Once thought to be a Spotted Owl), traitor to H'rath, part hagsfiend; killed H'rath
  • Namara MacNamara– A.K.A. Hordweard. Dire Wolf from Beyond the Beyond and Dunleavy MacHeath's oldest mate. After she renames herself she kills him for revenge. Her clan is MacNamara, (named after her mother) which she also names after herself.
  • Fengo (deceased) – Dire wolf, chief of all wolf clans and a friend of Grank. Slaughtered by hagsfiends in To Be a King.
  • Dunleavy MacHeath (deceased) – Dire wolf, Fengo's enemy. Tried to gain an alliance with Lord Arrin to rule the S'yrthghar. Killed by Namara MacNamara on broken talon point.
  • Svenka - a polar bear in the Bitter Sea; friend Queen Siv.
  • Svarr - polar bear; father of Svenka's cubs; a listener at smee holes

Historical Allusions

  • Ezylryb's speeches in The Siege are loosely modeled after Sir Winston Churchill's (the Prime Minister of Britain during the Second World War).
  • The Battle of Short Light and Long Night is based on the Normandy Invasion.
  • The evil Pure Ones, who believe that only Barn Owls are pure, may be an allusion to the Nazis, who had similar beliefs about purity based on lineage.
  • Kludd's name is another name for a chaplain in the Ku Klux Klan.
  • In the legends, a place named H'rathghar might be an allusion to a character in Beowulf that goes by a similar name, Hrothgar.
  • In The Golden Tree, Ezylryb's words are repeated by Fleemus, the Saw-Whet Owl, who says, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself": words famously spoken by Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
  • In The Golden Tree, Madame Plonk's "Coronation Teacup" says 1953, and has the name "Queen E" on it. This was probably a reference to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
  • The Middle Kingdom, or Jouzhenkyn, is based on China, which the author had visited prior to writing The River of Wind. "The Middle Kingdom" is also an alternate name for China.
  • In the book "Exile" the owls in a city known as "Brad" have found fragments of the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and are memorising books just as the characters in his book did, as an owl from the Middle Kingdom is burning them.

Locations

Guardians of Ga'Hoole takes place in a noticeably post-human time, with Soren mentioning that the "Others" (Humans) were around at the time of the first Glaux. Thus, the Earth has likely been dramatically changed, meaning the places in Ga'Hoole are likely landmasses that have been altered over the years. However, some locations can be compared to present locales.

The Great Ga'Hoole Tree – The main place where the story takes place. It is the only known tree with Ga', the Great Spirit.

St. Aegolius Canyons – A canyon- filled area where Zan, an eagle, originates from. It contains a so-called school called St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls, once ruled by Skench, Ablah General. In truth, St. Aggies' was a center for brainwashing to carry out Skench's evil plan-to rule the entire owl world. By The Burning, St. Aggie's had fallen to the Pure Ones and is the location of the battle. It is located far south and west in the owl world and mainly consists of canyons. It is here that Nyroc/Coryn (the heir of King Hoole) is hatched. It may be that it was based off of the Grand Canyon.

Beyond the Beyond – A place where dire wolves live. It plays a major role in Book 8, The Outcast, when Coryn retrieves the Ember of Hoole, and in Books 9 and 10, when Grank and Hoole do the same. It is known for harboring rogue smiths/colliers, and hireclaws.

The Middle Kingdom – The newly discovered sixth kingdom of owls (by Bess). Unknown evil and good lurks there. It is in the 13th book, The River of Wind. The Striga is from the sixth kingdom. The Middle Kingdom seems to be based on Tibet.

Tyto – This is the kingdom in which Soren hatched. The Pure Ones make their base in The Rescue in an old castle here.

The Beaks - A strange uninhabited area filled with small pockets of forest and "beaks", large beak shaped formations. It is here that a Ga'Hoole slipgizzle, or spy, warned the Band of Kludd in The Journey.

Ambala - An area that was being devastated by St. Aggie's' egg snatching as of The Capture. An owl, Hortense, snuck herself into St. Aggie's to rescue eggs, with help from Zan. She was caught by Auntie and thrown off a cliff.

Ice Narrows - An icy straight leading to the Northern Kingdoms and the Everwinter Sea. The Band became stuck here, and lived with some puffins for a few days in The Journey.

Kuneer - Where Gylfie's and Digger's hollows are and where Jutt, Jatt, and 47-2 (Three high-ranking St. Aggie's lieutenants) ate Digger's two brothers (Cunny and Flick) and killed his parents. In The Capture chapter "Desert Battle", the newly formed Band killed the lieutenants. Kuneer seems to be based on the Sonoran Desert of the American Southwest

Silverveil- This verdant forest is known for its many mosses and other vegetation. When Martin was an owlet, the Guardians rescued him from a forest fire here. This is where the Snowy owl Rogue Smith of Silverveil, whose name is unknown, lived. She was the only female smith. Silverveil seems to be based on the temperate rain forests of New Zealand.

Shadow Forest- This is one of largest forests in the Southern Kingdoms. The Place of Mist is Found here where Bess learns about the 6th Kingdom.

Movie

Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) is set to direct a computer animated movie Guardians of Ga'Hoole. The movie will be made by Australian animation studio Animal Logic, of Happy Feet fame.[1] The film will focus on the first three books in the series. The film is set to be released on July 9, 2010.[1].

References

  1. ^ AAP (2008-04-16). ""Animal Logic wins $100m film contract"". news.com.au website. News Limited. Retrieved 2008-08-12. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

External links

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