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Comparison of the contributions of the Greeks and Christians
Greco-Roman religions and Christianity
Ancient greece religion and mythology
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Greek and Christian Gods
Throughout the ages religion has been a very important part of history. It shaped many cultures and allowed us to further understand numerous civilizations. Through art we have been able to interpret the beliefs, and value of each culture. Two of these cultures include the Christians and Greeks. Both which had many similarities and differences in their beliefs and their depiction of God/gods.
The concepts of Christianity and the religious concepts of the Greek gods are comparatively alike. To begin, in both religions, humans believe that there are speakers for their God/gods. These people include priests and nuns in Christianity and tellers or prophets in Greek times. Furthermore, the people believed that their God or gods are above all human rank. Both cultures believed a god is above all and listens to people when they need help. This then explains why both the Christians and the Greeks prayed to their gods for forgiveness. Another similarity between both cultures is that they preached that their God/gods decide either before or after a person’s life...
The religion of this culture group involved many gods. Unlike the present-day United States of America where the running of the country depends on the separation of church and state, religion, including the pleasing of the gods, heavily influenced the government of the ancient Greeks. Of all the gods they had, the most important gods of this religion emerged
Religion reinforces the beliefs of individuals within a society. Additionally, religion has played a vital role in society since it influenced the way they lived and the rituals they may or may not have practiced. Different regions of the world during ancient time held a distinct set of beliefs, each based on different or similar principals. Deriving from the polytheistic set of beliefs, monotheism came in place of many Gods, holding just one god accountable for the creation and the existence of mankind. Christianity and Buddhism share similarities and differences, but most importantly the impact that each had on the culture is what is mostly referred to.
The Olympian religion lacked the presence of true sentimentality, and the gods were not seen as forgiving or "flawless" as the Christian God is often portrayed. 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.
Many Greek gods were seen as both benefactors and tormentors, typically it depends on which god or goddess you are researching about. The seemingly contradictory behavior of the gods, acting as both benefactors and tormentors of man, can readily be explained when viewed in light of the prime directive for man, to worship the gods and not “overstep,” and the ensuing “Deus ex Mahina” which served to coerce man to fulfill his destiny as evidenced by the myths: “Pandora,” “Arachne, and “Odysseus.” Humankind and it’s range of vision over the gods beauty and power portrayed them to be benefactors but unseemingly it depicted their affliction towards humans.
In the Odyssey there is a distinct relationship that is shared between the mortals and the Gods. In the link with Christian faith, the Gods in the Odyssey are physically present. The Gods help, lend assistance, support and mentor the mortals. They can be ‘compared to that of a guardian angel’ (FORP). In comparison, the gods have their favourites which my result in the negativity towards a mortal from a particular God. As so the mortals are at the mercy of Gods. Majority of the time the mortals benefit greatly from the Gods and can be seen to transform for the better.
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.
It has been known that the Romans and the Greeks have had many interactions with each other, whether it would be due to trading or just plain traveling, the stories of their myths have crossed each other in one way or another. This is may be the reason why there are many similarities between Greek and Roman Mythology. Even though a Greek god or goddess may have a different name in Roman Mythology they still performed similar tasks and were worshiped for similar reasons. I will compare and contrast Greek gods with their Roman equivalences to see how similar they truly are to each other. Probably the most famous Greek god, Zeus, was the god of all gods. Born to Cronus and Rhea, he was the ruler of the sky, and had the power to create thunderstorms and lightning as well as earthquakes. As the story goes he overthrew his father, Cronus, and became the ruler of Mount Olympus to head the new line of Gods. Jupiter, also known as Jove, was very much like Zeus. He was the predominant power holder among the Roman Gods. According to Tripp, Jupiter is a “contraction of two words meaning ‘Heavenly Father.’”(Pg. 332) He ruled the sky, controlled all of the weather, and had thunderbolts as a weapon. Tripp also wrote “Jupiter’s cult and his general character were, however, well established in Italy before the Greek religion became influential there.” (Pg. 333) This implies that the idea of Zeus, Jupiter and Jove had very little influence on each other since they were created before the Greek myths and Roman myths had started to cross paths. Hera, the wife and sister of Zeus, was the goddess of marriage, childbirth, and the queen of the heavens. She gave birth to Ares, Hebe, and Eileithyia. She also gave birth to Hephaestus, but it has been believed that she bore him without the aid of Zeus. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, she was extremely jealous of the affairs that her husband had and she often tormented or harmed Zeus’s mistresses. Juno, the feminine version of Jupiter’s name, is Hera’s counterpart. Juno had many names that served for different purposes. As Juno Pronuba, she was goddess of marriage, as Juno Lucina, she was the goddess of childbirth, and as Juno Regina, she was the special counselor and protector of the Roman state. (Roman Mythological Characters, Juno) In Tripp, there was also a Juno Moneta that was governed finances. (Pg. 332) It seem...
Unlike Greek mythology, Christianity has one God, who is good and peaceful, and Satan who was evil. Unlike Christianity, Greek gods and goddesses were both good and evil, similar to humans.The Greek gods have flaws that caused them to appear almost human-like and not so much as a god (Schmucker). The most common thought of a god is that they are powerful and without mistake, which contradicts the appearance of Greek gods/goddesses (Burns). They have been known in stories, such as the one with Zeus turning a woman (Io) he had an affair with into a cow, to lie and cheat for their own personal enjoyment (Hamilton 78-80). The saying “humans make mistakes” and if the Greek gods and goddesses did too, then why did the Greeks worship them. Almost all of the gods had flaws such as lust, adultery, and even hatred. The Greek gods acted so much like humans that the only major difference between the two is that the gods/goddesses had powers. The Greeks putting all of their faith and reliance in these flawed gods and goddesses created an unstable foundation which would have easily been why their religion died. The followers of Greek mythology didn’t always obey what the gods/goddesses told them to do out of love, but sometimes out of fear (“Powerful”). All of the sexual harassment and cruelty in Greek mythology could have led to the Greeks leaving mythology and
They had similar beliefs, but also immeasurable differences. It was composed of many meaningful gods and goddesses that all played a part in the everyday life of the average Roman and Greek person of that time.
The idea of gods and goddesses began as far back as the ancient Egyptians, but the ancient Greeks were the first group to form a religion based on gods and goddesses. They believed that the gods and goddesses were not different from humans. Some of the few ways humans were different from gods were that the gods were stronger and lived forever. Since the Greeks believe in many gods, they are Polytheists.
So it’s in this aspect that the Greek gods served to justify man by taking on the guilt were as, God in Christianity takes on the punishment or Christian’s mortal sin.
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).
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.
Relationship between Greeks and Gods in Hippolytus The play Hippolytus by the Greek playwright Euripides is one which explores classical Greek religion. Throughout the play, the influence of the gods on the actions of the characters is evident, especially when Aphrodite affects the actions of Phaedra. Also central to the plot is the god-god interactions between Artemis and Aphrodite.
...ed was a reaction of these gods. In contrast, in modern society, a very small amount of people believe in numerous gods and that every god has a specific job or role in life. Nevertheless, the religious beliefs of the Greeks then and people in modern society are similar in a way. Both societies believe that gods are the higher power in life and that they are superior to others.