Humanities Midterm Complete Essays - Deities, Mythology,

Griggs Hum 1- Midterm The Power of the Gods It's no surprise that Greek Gods and goddesses had such a major impact in the lives of early man. There was just about a god for everything in life. A god of the ocean, god of love, and even a god of wine. Anything that was beyond human control was left in the hands of the gods. Stories to explain natural phenomenon were plentiful and served to teach lessons about avoiding the troubles of life and what the consequences were for those that did not listen to the warnings. These gods and goddesses were so influential that their reaches were even adopted by the Roman Empire when the empire conquered Greece. In my opinion, the two gods that had the most influence on people were Zeus/ Jupitar and Apollo. Zeus/Jupitar was the god of thunder but more importantly the "king of gods" as he was regarded as the father of men and gods. His role was to uphold order and justice in the world. He was often represented as the symbol of power and absolute justice. His likeness in paintings and statues was that of a strong, older, mature man often boasting his strength. To the early Greeks, Zeus was not to be trifled with as he was often associated with stormy weather such as heavy rain, winds, and lightning storms. This was attributed to his easily upsetting attitude and great anger when provoked. In terms of everyday life, his role would've been to influence people to do the right thing as doing some mischievous could provoke the "wrath of Zeus". People's good deeds would be rewarded with good fortune and bad actions would be punished. I believe that Zeus is important because his likeness could very easily be used to strike fear in people and get them to do whatever you wish. As everyone was superstitious as well, it would not be farfetch'd to believe that polytheism was often manipulated for power. But to the common man, his anger alone causing storms could be also interpreted as Zeus/Jupitar being upset at the gods as well as this was a very common occurrence in Greek mythology. Greek polytheism was based on the notion of stories to explain the occurrence of natural events in everyday life. The gods and goddesses had very complex relationships that explained why things would happen. Zeus was often a pivotal character in these stories. One such story explained that his father Cronus was afraid that one of his children would revolt against him, so in order to avoid this prophecy Cronus would eat all his children. When it came time for Zeus's turn, his mother Rhea tricked Cronus into eating a stone which he though was Zeus. After being nurtured to health by nymphs until he was man, Zeus eventually defeated his father with the help of Poseidon and Hades also tricked Cronus into freeing his other siblings. This origin explains how the gods divided the world into 3 major separate parts which were ocean, sky, and underworld. It also displays Zeus's strength and leadership as through his order the new gods defeated Cronus and his titans to rule Olympus. Afte r their 10-year war, it was unanimously agreed amongst the gods that Zeus would be their leader. This tale served to teach Greeks how the hierarchy of the gods was formed and how their roles were assigned. By humanizing the gods, it brings them closer to our understanding. The gods were highly regarded but were also capable of making mistakes such as Zeus and his numerous affairs with different humans and goddesses. By doing this the humans could learn from their mistakes and respect the gods for their decisions in life. Because even if the most noble and powerful leader of the gods makes a mistake and learns from it, humans could do so to albeit on a smaller scale. Another god that was highly regarded in Greek culture and life was Apollo, son of Zeus and Leto, the god of music, medicine and the sun. Apollo was responsible for a lot of things that persisted in everyday life. First, he oversaw the sun which was crucial for