Since yesterday was “Friday the 13th”, I got to thinking about why there was superstition surrounding the number thirteen. As it turns out, I ran across an article on the CSICOP website which addressed just that. (CSICOP is the “Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal”, is a pro-science group.)
How did thirteen get such a bad reputation? To understand, one needs to know the history of twelve, says CSICOP Senior Research Fellow Joe Nickell. “The number twelve has traditionally represented completeness in mythologies and religions around the world,” says Nickell. “There are twelve months of the year, twelve chief gods of Olympus, twelve signs of the zodiac, and twelve apostles of Jesus. Thirteen exists just one digit beyond twelve, and is symbolic of the first departure from divine completeness or the initial step towards evil.” […]
Now for the chicken-and-the-egg thing, I’m left wondering whether thirteen was thought to be unlucky and then the number of apostles was recorded as twelve, or if it happened the other way around :-/.