Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion (Part I)

When discussing the Ancient Greeks and their religion, an integral element is the mythology that accompanied it. From tales of great heroic deeds to stories of gods behaving outrageously, for readers in the present day, they are a great source of entertainment and are regarded as brilliant literature. However, the myths we have gained from the Ancient Greeks are fascinating to discuss, in their own right, and in conjunction with religion and culture.

As said previously, these myths were often outrageous or provided quite immoral messages. Quite unlike modern religion, myths that involved gods showed them to be very similar to humans. An example of this is the tale of Zeus and Semele, in which Zeus seduces Semele and Hera exacts her revenge by suggesting that Semele should ask to see Zeus’ true form. When he finally agrees, Semele bursts into flames, a gruesome story which ends with the birth of Dionysus. To those familiar with Greek mythology, this example could be seen as a formula for myths involving Zeus and Hera; Zeus has an affair and Hera avenges herself through the torture of his lover. To a modern reader, this all seems unethical and, even more unusually, gods are the ones behaving like this. Where we would usually find guidance and examples of morality, we witness actions we would normally condemn and acts which demonstrate poor character, leading us to question how the Greeks could have justified it or worshipped such gods.

In reality, the answer is that they didn’t justify it! In many poleis, or city-states, adultery was frowned upon. In Athens especially, it was viewed as worse than rape. This then leads to a dissonance between the morals they believed in, the laws they upheld and the stories they passed down. On one hand, they despised adultery, yet on the other hand, the king of the gods, Zeus himself, was the guiltiest of it. There are several explanations for the lack of harmony between culture and religion, one such reason is the separation between the gods in their religion and the myths surrounding them. For religion was seen as a matter of national faith, there was no question of whether they wanted to participate, it was law to worship and celebrate them to bring good harvest, luck in battles among other things. Thus, it could be said that they did not necessarily believe every myth or use it for guidance and to shape their morals, similar to how people use the Bible. More, they believed unequivocally in the existence of the gods and the effect they could have, and used them as a way to explain the aspects of the world they did not quite understand.

(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part II)
(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part III)
(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part IV)
(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part V-1)
(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part V-2)

(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part V-3)