Week 2.4 Nature of Zeus Part 1 Slides PDF

WEEK 2.4 Myth in practice Nature of gods Greek “Religion” DEVELOPMENT OF DIVINE NATURE OURANOS (Uranus) was the primordial god (protogenos) of the sky. The Greeks imagined the sky as a solid dome of brass, decorated with stars, whose edges descended to rest upon the outermost limits of the fl...

WEEK 2.4 Myth in practice Nature of gods Greek “Religion” DEVELOPMENT OF DIVINE NATURE OURANOS (Uranus) was the primordial god (protogenos) of the sky. The Greeks imagined the sky as a solid dome of brass, decorated with stars, whose edges descended to rest upon the outermost limits of the flat earth. Ouranos was the literal sky, just as his consort Gaia (Gaea) was the earth. – theoi.com DIONYSOS (Dionysus) was the Olympian god of wine, vegetation, pleasure, festivity, madness and wild frenzy. He was depicted as either an older, bearded god or an effeminate, long-haired youth. – theoi.com ANTHROPOMORPHISM Gods as idealized humanity relating to both form/looks as well as character/behaviour Elements of the divine, both positive and negative = ***INTENSIFYING HUMANITY*** Like humans, live in settlements and houses. Olympus and aether: Olympians Below and chthonian: Hades and darkness Ambrosia – food. Nectar – drink/wine. Ichor – substance in their veins. Immortal, but suffer physical torment Versatile, but not omnipotent. Zeus subject to the Fates Superhuman knowledge but not all omniscient ANIMAL AFFILIATION In addition to various insignia, each god has a particular animal paring(s) Zeus – Eagle Hera – Peacock Poseidon – Horse Athena – Owl Aphrodite – Dove, sparrow, goose Ares – Boar But animals not worshiped as sacred Handy webpage with list Nymphs HIERARCHY, BUT ALSO EXPANSIVE Nereids Nature spirits Lowerworld deities Divine Supernatural Beasts Zeus Olympians Zeus-Ammon. Roman copy of a Greek original from the late 5th century BC. Antikensammlung München Oceanids Muses Demigods Mixed Parentage Heroes Sometimes demigods… Some characters a bit tough to peg Heracles ZEUS AND MONOTHEISM Supremacy – father, husband, lover, sky, lightning Upholds and represents the highest moral values, order of universe protects family and clan. Protects suppliants, imposes hospitality (no Red Weddings!), upholds oaths Sovereign deity in Hesiod and Homer. Sense of monotheism emerging and tied closely to 1) anthropomorphic Zeus and 2) abstract theories of supreme power developing over time Homer/Hesiod – Zeus as strong sovereign with moral concern. BUT, patriarchy and monotheism is tested by other gods (Hera thwarts plans, Aphrodite enamours, Demeter forces terms, Fates decide). ZEUS AS ABSTRACTION Monotheism present in abstract philosophical theories (although careful with term “sophisticated”, CM p. 138) God/Zeus referred to as a concept with no name: What the concept entailed changes over time and is seen in various author’s works Hesiod, Works and Days, opens with Zeus depicted like an Old Testament prophet, or OT God himself. Xenophanes, pre-Socratic (6th and 5th C BC. Socrates 470-399 BC). Rejects anthropomorphism and suggests there is ONE supreme being Natural to create gods in our image. But that doesn’t reflect actual nature. Note that we only have FRAGMENTS Aeschylus (525 - 456 BC) – “Zeus, whoever he may be” jcingram_abstractart on Insta Abstract Zeus #greekmythology #greekgod #mythology #horsemanofapocalypse #Apocalypsedigitalabstractart #ZEUS #digitalart #abstractArt #picsart CHRISTIAN HIERARCHY God Devil Demons Jesus Divine Seraphim Cherubim Holy Spirit Mortals Pope Priesthood Saints… It’s me. Hi. I’m the problem, it’s me. Everyone BUT WHAT ABOUT GOD… It’s a-me, God! We are God. Resistance is futile. God the Father, Cima da Conegliano, c. 1515 Fridolin Leiber (1853–1912) - The Holy Trinity WHAT’S RELIGION WITHOUT A DASH OF PHILOSOPHY? Humanism: “is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.” A relatively modern construction in terms of referring to an actual school of philosophical thought. No Greek philosopher coined the term. Can it be applied to the Greeks? Pre-Socratic sophist, Protagoras (490-420 BC) “Of all things the measure is Man: of things that are, how they are, and of things that are not, how they are not.” Sextus Empiricus (Adversus Mathematicos VII 60) πάντων τῶν χρημάτων μέτρον ἐστὶν ἄνθρωπος, τῶν μὲν ὄντων ὡς ἔστιν, τῶν δὲ οὐκ ὄντων ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν Sophocles’ Antigone (441 BC), line 332 Wonders are many, and none is more wonderful than man. πολλὰ τὰ δεινὰ κοὐδὲν ἀνθρώπου δεινότερον πέλει. Antigone by Frederic Leighton, 1882 IS HUMANISM…GREEK? Can we make general statements about a culture’s (any culture’s) religious/philosophical underpinnings? What evidence is needed? Corpus of Greek literature suggests a constant reverence for the gods and their supremacy and a surrender to the inevitability of the Fates Greek humanism: idealistic optimism (fueled by conviction that mortals can reach triumphant heights) paired with realistic pessimism (acknowledging power of Fates and pain of human existence) Or “emphasis on the beauty and wonder of mortal achievement, despite the horrible disasters that a vindicative god or fate may dispense at any moment.” CM p. 141 Alanis Morissette levels of Irony Compare to Calvinism in Christianity – struggle between God as omnipotent and Man possessing free will. GREEK HUMANISM A bundle of tragic ironies was pitted against a believe and conviction that mortals are able to reach glorious heights. Idealistic optimism paired with realistic pessimism = Greek Humanism RELIGION OR PHILOSOPHY? Claims: moral relativism of ancient Greeks. No strict dogma with accompanying sense of sin and codified religious text. A sense of innocence and religious freedom, open to many gods and ideas (polytheism) Trouble with looking at past with intermediate lens (Ovid) Morford et al – “Look at all the evidence”, but the evidence they list is all literary. Must consider material culture and look for evidence concerning social strata other than the dead white guy “Greek philosophical thought can hold its own with that of any of the so-called higher religions.” CM, p. 141