Not only did the Greeks fear and respect the mythological gods and goddesses that they created, but they also related to the stories and characteristics of each god. The Greeks primarily used Mythology to better understand the world around them, but a few of the stories were purely for entertainment. Those who disliked the irrational, but loved facts created mythology. These mythologies consisted of the gods and goddesses encountering struggles, love, pain, and almost any human interaction. The Ancient Greeks applied the stories to overcome similar struggles in their own lives. Although the Greeks respected these mythological deities, they did not view the gods as religious figures. Almost every god or goddess had a mythology that featured …show more content…
An inadequate amount of punishment would pursue, and another god would have to step into the big responsibilities that Zeus once possessed. Many of the other gods and goddesses looked to Zeus during a time of need for answers and guidance. Also, Zeus had many offspring that had many prominent roles in mythology. For example, Athena was Zeus’ daughter who embodied the characteristics of wisdom, courage, inspiration, justice, strategy, and protection. The Greek mortals, just like many people today, liked to feel secure, and that was another role that Zeus played as the ruler of the Heavens. The theoretical absence of Zeus shows how different the Greek mythologies would be without this powerful …show more content…
Another key significance about this story is that it exhibited the human tendency to seek power. Even today, there are instances where employees, students, and influential figures take great steps to elevate themselves to a higher position in society. Some people may even resort to illegal actions to increase their own personal gain. Human nature is always developing, but this specific myth highlighted a human desire to have control and
In conclusion, the Greeks had many fear, but they had more fear for the gods. The Greeks feared the sea for it ability of taking life. And life turns out to be one of the greatest possessions for the Greeks. Ancient Greeks feared the Gods because they also had the ability to take life away. The gods were frightening powerful immortals that were inconsiderate toward the puny little Greeks. For example, Poseidon a reckless god, he ravaged Odysseus and caused him to wander off at sea. He took no pity on him; he just wanted to torture him for not sacrificing in his name. Calypso as beautiful and charming as she was, her obsession caused her to be a meddlesome goddess. Athena as clever she was in helping Odysseus to find his way home, she was also a meddlesome God.
There is no doubt in mythology that the king of gods, Zeus, is the most supreme and powerful, ruling the sky. He controls the thunderbolt, a symbol of power feared by both gods and mortals. The Greeks and Romans honored Zeus above all other gods. He is without mistake, the god of all gods. Their stories of Zeus are plenty; his designs have molded mythology from his birth. Zeus' victory in outwitting his intelligent wife, Metis, by swallowing her pregnant, was the gateway used by the Greeks and Romans to show Zeus as the greatest god to come since his father and grandfather. However, as the stories of the gods and goddesses unfold, the Greeks and Roman's interpretation of Zeus' characteristics are different. Zeus is always upheld as the king of gods, but his other personal attributes to his godly rein are conflicting. Zeus' characteristics of fearfulness of female deities, cunningness and use of trickery, and lust in Ovid's Metamorphoses compared to the Theogony are opposed due to Hesiod's true respect of Zeus versus Ovid's lack of respect of Jupiter in Roman mythology.
The Greek gods were portrayed as humans, which meant that they were not perfect. That is, the gods made mistakes, felt pain (e.g. Aphrodite in love with the mortal Adonis), and succumbed to anger and their tempers (e.g.
Mythology was very important to the men and women of ancient Greece. They worshipped the gods and goddesses, wrote poems about them, and based a great deal of art work off of them. The people of Greece looked to the gods and goddesses for help in all aspects of their lives; including health, agriculture, and war. Reading about Greek mythology can inform people about the society of Greece itself because the Greek gods were created by the people of Greece. Three main goddesses who were worshipped by the Greeks were Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. These three goddesses represent three different types of women in Greek society. Sarah Pomeroy, author of Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, believed that “the goddesses are archetypal images of human females, as envisioned by males” (8). Pomeroy understands the significance in the differences between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, and what those differences meant for the women of Greece who were required to follow three important rules. The first rule was for the women to live a life of domesticity and motherhood. This was very important to the men in the society. The women were the only ones able to bear children. Also, if they were forced to stay in the house, men could keep a greater control on their wives, and not have to worry about them having affairs. The second important trait was virginity until marriage. Its importance to the Greek culture lied in the fear of a woman’s power. The men of the society felt it best that a woman remained a virgin until she was married; however this same attribute was not required of a man. Their belief can be explained by this quote written by P. Walcot in the article “Greek Attitudes Towards Women: The Mythological Evidence”: “The Greeks believed women...
The relationship between gods and mortals in mythology has long been a complicated topic. The gods can be generous and supportive, and also devastating and destructive to any group of humans. Mortals must respect the powers above them that cannot be controlled. The gods rule over destiny, nature, and justice, and need to be recognized and worshipped for the powerful beings as they are. Regardless of one's actions, intentions, and thoughts, the gods in Greek myth have ultimate power and the final decision of justice over nature, mortals, and even each other.
The gods and goddesses were thought to control different parts of the universe. For example, Zeus is the king of the gods, controlled weather. Or like Athena who was the goddess of wisdom. You learn about different gods and goddesses in myths. A myth is a story about a god or goddess. Homer, a blind poet, is famous for telling myths. He told myths because no one could read or write.
The desire for power is prevalent in our day to day life from wanting control over little insignificant aspects to control over others. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is
Ancient Greek religion was a polytheistic religion that believed in many gods and goddesses. To Greeks, these gods and goddesses would be able to control everything. Each god or goddess had his or her own distinct personality and territory. “Greek myths explained the origins of the gods and their individual relations with mankind” (Hemingway). Unlike current religions, like Christianity and Judaism, Greek gods were not known for being moral or being truly good or evil. Many of the Greek gods and goddesses were disorganized and self-contradicting. Although this was apparent to the Greeks, the Greeks believed that their religion was to brighten their own lives, rather than give them godlike guidance. The best example of a self-contradicting Greek god is Zeus – father of all gods and humans (Cunningham and Reich 32-33).
When we look at Greek Mythology we often run into the gods of that era. Sometimes they are merely backdrops to the human element of the story but in stories such as The Odyssey the gods play a prominent if not vital role to the central themes of the story.
From the displays of power that have been shown through out this essay, we see that this story is a story about power. Power is the story is primarily about peoples need for some small amount of power to survive in life and to feel that hey have a purpose within their society which every society it may be whether its is Gilead or Nazi Germany or modern day Britain.
To many ancient cultures, including the Greeks, mythology was a literal part of their histories. The Greeks in particular used myths to explain natural phenomena and many other occurrances (Greek Mythology...). The foremost way that this was done was by attributing such occurrances to either the wrath or pleasure of gods created to lord over various dominions. One of these gods revered by the Greeks was Hermes, the winged messenger of the gods.
The concepts of the gods and fate were created to explain things. In Ancient Greece there was a lot that was not understood; science was in its infancy and everything that happened could be explained by the will of the gods or fate. The gods were the height of power; they supposedly existed since the beginning of time. They were immortal, omnipresent and omnipotent. However, the different gods had different personalities. In this sense they were anthropomorphic. Having such mastery of the world would enable them to control man's behavior, as is shown in King Oedipus.
Greek Mythology: Whenever people go somewhere, they see things about Greek mythology and it excites kids especially with the history of the culture, and society. For generations people have viewed and researched Greek mythology and have been excited and amazed by the history of it. For instance, Athena is a Goddess of wisdom and crafts; Calypso, Goddess-nymph of the mythical island of Ogygia; Fatal Flaw/Hubris, state of arrogance, extreme pride. The characters that I have in Greek mythology are all important because they are all from thousands of years ago and they all have a part in the text The Odyssey. Athena is very important because she is one of the most known but also most influential Goddesses of all.
Greeks have been telling mythology stories for centuries. There are plenty of different uses for the many stories told long ago by the Ancient Greeks. However, the major purpose of these stories was to help the Greeks come up with explanations for why things are the way they are. Some examples of Greek mythology doing this is when they used their stories to interpret why a plant is a certain color, where some animals come from, what the stars in the sky represent, etc..
To begin with, the ancient Greeks explained the creation of the universe, in particular the Earth and its elements, by a system of anthropomorphism in which their gods are human-like and are representatives of these elements. For example, Zeus is the god of heaven while Hades is the underworld lord (Hesiod, p.145). Unlike the Christians’ god who is “flawless”, the ancient Greeks’ divinities are portrayed as humans and are far from perfect. Their gods behave like ordinary people except they are immortal and have supernatural powers. Like any human being, the Greeks’ gods have love, jealousy, sadness, etc. For instance, in Euripides’ Bacchae, Zeus falls in love with Semele, which makes Hera becomes jealous and tries to kill Semele and Dionysus (Euripides, p.209). The Greeks even have a physically imperfect god, Hephaestus. This is to say that the gods’ attitude toward mortals is affected by how people treat them as the Greeks’ gods have emotions like humans.