The (Mortal) Gods

I don’t know about y’all, but growing up as an older sibling, my mom often reminded me to be a good influence on my younger siblings, because they looked up to me, and because it’s a natural thing to look to someone you look up to for direction.  If we apply this concept to Greek behavior, it’s not hard to realize how a people following a flawed view of perfection turned out a far cry from perfect.

I always find it fascinating how the gods in ancient mythology constantly fight with each other and never come to full agreement. In most cultures, the god figure is generally what a people group is taught to imitate. And in the case of the Greek gods, if you strive to become more like them, that which you strive to gain is generally worthless. You are taught to strive for power. To long for Immortality. To gain material profit.  It seems fitting that the more authority and power you gain, and the more you become like the Greek gods, the less “good” you become.

In the Greek god system, there is no such thing as security. Even the gods themselves have to worry about each other’s wrath. Take for example in this weeks reading, where Athena will only come out and help Odysseus once Poseidon leaves the scene, and still doesn’t reveal herself. Obviously, there is no constant level of perfection, or even security amongst the highest authorities, and they aren’t worth modeling one’s life after. The Greeks modeled their gods after what they knew and understood: mortal man.

Given this observation, it honestly shouldn’t be surprising that the Greeks didn’t always live morally. When your life’s ideals are based off of striving to model yourself after a flawed being, that’s exactly what you will become. It is only when we strive to model our own lives after someone who is perfect, the true God, that our lives can be radically changed.

P.S. ~ I commented on Caleb Zessin's post.