José Saramago
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Mary Magdalene is often referred to as a prostitute, but she was never called one in the New Testament.
This image of Mary as a prostitute was followed by many writers and artists until the 20th century. Even though it is less prevalent nowadays, the identification of Mary Magdalene with the adulteress is still accepted by some Christians. This is reflected in Martin Scorsese's film adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis's novel The Last Temptation of Christ, as well as in José Saramago's The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and Hal Hartley's The Book of Life.
One possible explanation for the labeling of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute is that there has been confusion between her and Mary of Egypt. Another possible explanation is that it has been deliberately used to camouflage the close relationship between Jesus and Mary.
