Today is Friday the 13th and BIMA is taking a historical look back at the superstition that has been associated with this specific date.
Today's coincidence of Friday the 13th with the month's day awakens old prejudices for many, bringing to the fore one of the West's most enduring urban myths.
Although in Greek and Spanish-speaking tradition the "unlucky day" is historically identified with Tuesday and the 13th, international culture has imposed Friday as the day of unlucky par excellence, a phenomenon that in psychology is defined as paraskavedekatriaphobia.
The Fall of the Templars: The Historical Starting Point
The most common historical account of the establishment of the prejudice dates back to the 14th century. On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France issued a decree ordering the simultaneous arrest of members of the powerful Knights Templar order.
The Knights, including Grand Master Jacques de Molay, were brutally tortured and forced to confess heresies, eventually being burned at the stake. The violent dissolution of the order and the shroud of mystery surrounding their extermination are considered by many historians and scholars to be the root of the infamy that has accompanied this date in Western Europe ever since.
Religious and mathematical extensions
Beyond historical events, superstition is fueled by biblical tradition and the symbolism of numbers:
Religious Background: According to the scriptures, Good Friday is identified with the Crucifixion of Christ, while in the Old Testament it is associated with the expulsion of the first humans from Paradise and the beginning of the Flood.
The "disturbance" of twelve: In numerology, 12 is considered the number of completeness and harmony (12 Gods of Olympus, 12 Tribes of Israel, 12 Disciples of Christ). The addition of one, leading to 13, is interpreted as the rupture of this balance and the entry into an unknown and potentially dangerous new cycle.
The influence of pop culture and technology
The modern globalization of prejudice is largely due to pop culture. The spread of superstition in the English-speaking world during the 19th century peaked in the 80s, with the huge commercial success of the horror film series "Friday the 13th."
Remarkably, the superstition has even been transferred to the digital world. In 1988, the “Friday the 13th” virus was detected in Israel, which was designed to activate on that day, causing computer systems to malfunction and reminding us that primordial fears can still be applied in the information age.
Source: tovima.gr
