Baphomet firstcame to power in the early 14th century with the Knights Templar. He was an extremely controversial deity, especially since he may have had his roots in the Islamic and/or Egyptian religions. The timeline of the creature’s emergence is still a bit unclear, although it is still possible to get a general idea of the inspiration behind the deity.
With the head of a goat and the body of a man, Baphomet remains one of the most controversial deities in history. Often confused with Satan and with a dark history, the goat-headed man is a mystery that dates back hundreds of years. Although his story is known to have begun with the Knights Templar, the creature is believed to have its origins in other religions.
The first mention of Baphomet
The first historical record of Baphomet comes from a letter written by a crusader in 1098. In the letter, he explains that the enemies of the crusaders were often heard invoking him. There is also a record that says that mosques were called “Bufmarias.” These connections suggest that the word may have been a mispronunciation of the name “Muhammad.”
If Baphomet is, in fact, a mispronunciation of Muhammad, that would explain why he is seen as an evil entity by many today. This would imply that by worshipping him, the Knights Templar were adopting Islamic practices—a crime that would not be ignored by the Catholic Church. To truly understand the dynamics behind its creation, it is important to look at the Knights Templar and the Crusades.
The Knights Templar
The Knights Templar were one of the most skilled warrior groups to fight in the Crusades. These missions—which aimed to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslim rule—put the Templars in the Middle East for quite some time. During these years, they interacted with people who believed in Islamic teachings. This is where they are believed to have first come into contact with him.
When the Knights Templar faced the troops of the Islamic forces, records show that they often heard their enemies shouting and invoking his name before entering battle. However, it is believed that they were actually calling out to Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. There are several rumors that the Knights Templar adopted Baphomet as their idol and began worshipping him abroad. However, it is also speculated that the Knights Templar never adopted Islamic practices and were unjustly accused.
King Philip IV of France accuses the Knights Templar
After the Holy Wars, the Knights Templar were one of the most popular and powerful groups in early Europe. Up to 90 percent of their group was made up of non-combatants who were responsible for forming a monetary organization that could well have been one of the first multinational corporations to be formed.
However, this posed a problem for King Philip IV of France after the end of his country’s war with Great Britain. He was in debt to the Templars and was not sure he could get the money to pay the group. However, he did not want to risk not paying because ignoring the debt could result in a military coup by the Templars. Instead, he thought of another way not to pay.
In 1307, King Philip IV accused many of the Knights Templar of worshipping Baphomet and other crimes such as spitting on the cross. The knights were tortured until they confessed to the crimes (many of which were false) and were then burned at the stake. Almost all of the knights admitted to worshipping Baphomet, although curiously none of them could agree on what this new idol looked like.
This led many to believe that King Philip IV accused the Knights Templar of adopting Islamic practices in order to cause panic among the public and get rid of their debt without too many questions being asked. This was similar to what happened with the worship of the Chimera in some religions, where it was believed that it had superpowers.
Possible connections to Banebdjedet
There are also those who believe that Baphomet may have been partially inspired by the Egyptian god Banebdjedet. This is partly due to the similarity in appearance between the two—Banebdjedet is often portrayed as a ram god—which would have made it fairly easy to transform him into a goat. Furthermore, Banebdjedet is known for being a god who was often sought after for his wisdom—a trait he would inherit several centuries later.
Baphomet is remade in the 19th century
In 1818, he reappeared when he was discovered by Joseph Freiherr von Hammer-Purgstall, who researched the deity and his connection to the Knights Templar in an essay titled “Discovery of the Mystery of the Baphomet, by which the Knights Templar, like the Gnostics and Ophites, are condemned for Apostasy, Idolatry, and Moral Impurity, by their own Monuments.”
The essay examines the image of Baphomet in the art surrounding the Knights Templar and the eventual demise that befell them as a result. He hoped to discredit the reputation of the Knights Templar and their Masonic work—and the Freemasons along with them. However, there were also those who challenged his conclusions. Rival theorists thought it was likely that the images had been forged by occultists.
Eliphas Levi gives a face
In the 1850s, Eliphas Levi included in a two-volume occult publication known as ‘Dogma and the Rituals of High Magic’. In this publication, he included a hand-drawn representation of Baphomet that would become the defining image of the creature. His image depicted a humanoid creature with goat and female breasts. It also showed that he had a large pair of wings, horns, and a pentagram on his forehead.
This Baphomet came with an intricate description of what the image represented in occultism. The pentagram sign was on his forehead, which also contained the Hebrew letters of Leviathan. His hands formed the symbol of the occult and pointed to the two moons (the white moon of Chesed and the black moon of Geburah).
He was also given the flame of intelligence and indicated that his soul was above matter even though he was bound to the earth. There was also a symbolism of eternal life with a rod replacing the genitals and representing water, the atmosphere, and humanity’s quest for the occult sciences.
Although Eliphas’ representation has no obvious connection with the descriptions of the creature recorded in the trial of the Knights Templar, it is possible that his inspiration for the image came from the grotesque artwork known to be present in the churches of the Knights Templar, and there is also an interesting connection to the Egyptian deity Banebdjedet because Levi called his image the Goat of Mendes. This is possibly one reason why Levi’s Baphomet has many differences from the Baphomet of the Knights Templar.
The origin of the myth
Although there are still many questions surrounding the mystery of the half-goat, half-man creature, it is agreed that the figure was invented as a way to accuse Christians of converting to Islam. The infamy that the figure gained through the accusations made against the Knights Templar only served to attract more curiosity towards the deity and speculation about the possible powers that the creature has.
This shows that the Baphomet worshipped today was largely influenced by the desire to rediscover a possible magical deity that managed to survive the spread of Christianity. This is probably why the image bears little resemblance to the idol described by the Knights Templar during their torture and trials.
