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fanatical courage and reckless attitude needed to carry out suicidal missions. But some modern scholars doubt that the Assassins even used hashish at all, and suspect that the stories about it may be based on false accusations made by their enemies. Unfortunately, the truth is hard to determine because most of the original accounts were destroyed when Mongol invaders conquered much of the region in the 13th century.
The Wandering Jew Shortly after Jesus picked up his cross and started walking with it, a Jewish bystander hit him on the back and told him to walk faster. For this evil act, the Jew was condemned to wander the earth alone, homeless and friendless, until the Second Coming of Jesus. Over the centuries many people have reported seeing this wanderer slinking past in the distance. Some think that an increase in these sightings would be a sign that Jesus is about to return. Note: The story of the Wandering Jew has sometimes been used in anti-Jewish propaganda.
This depiction of the Wandering Jew was drawn by the 19th-century American cartoonist Joseph Keppler.
