It depends on what you mean by “evidence.”

If you mean, is there any credible, non-mythological evidence that Jesus even died on that calendar day, the answer is no.

If you mean, is there any credible, non-mythological evidence that if Jesus died on that calendar day then he must have died in either of those two years, the answer is “sort of.”

It depends on which calendars were being used and on what you do with the Gospel of John, which changes which day he died. Most calculations find the only suitable dates to be 30 or 33 A.D. (per John) and 27 or 34 A.D. (per the Synoptics). The year 31 is calculated in a far less credible way (on a stack of other assumptions for which there is no evidence), so it has far less support in external evidence.

But since an execution on a high holy day is legally impossible at that place and time, and the choice of day has obvious theological functions, there is no reason to believe that’s when Jesus died. Which eliminates any ability to know the year (beyond “when Pilate served,” which was 26–36 A.D.; except the Eastern chronology has Jesus killed a hundred years earlier under Alexander Jannaeus, so you’d have to decide what to do with that datum).

See my discussion of all of this in the “Date” heading of Crucifixion Quake!

Oh. Well spotted. Thank you for adding that here.

That being a Medieval legend, I can’t speak to whether it was a lift from Christianity or not, suitably adapted to local culture and mores. But regardless, you are right to ask about the differences: what Odin is doing actually looks more admirable and clever than what Jesus is doing. The Christian explanation of his death suffers a great many moral and pragmatic deficits, as many have poked fun at for a while now.

I concur. Many ancient heroes and sages do. IMO Aesop, Solon, Epicurus, Apollonius, Diogenes, Musonius would all make better company and have more a moral behavior and philosophy.

Prometheus, likely as well, though I have not read the plays all through so I don’t know how he is depicted in them in every respect; and those I think (?) are our only sources that attribute specific dialogue to him (I could be wrong about that). Otherwise, we just have “third hand” style accounts of things he did.

But yes, even judging by that, Prometheus seems far more an ally of humankind than Jesus (who is actually quite an awful person). For example, Jesus wants to burn to death most of us, and for the rest of us to follow even more impossible moral codes that deny almost all the purpose of living. Not exactly a great negotiator with God on our behalf, when you think about it.

You’re right, that was the Nahal Hever scroll (same period). Article emended.