The Ancient Greeks And Ancient Hebrews

The Olympian gods shared all of mankind's virtues and faults. They were severe, punishing every unjust act, while protecting and assisting the just and the pious. They even had their own likes and dislikes which governed their behavior towards mortals. This was made very clear during the Trojan War (as portrayed in Homer's Iliad) when the gods got involved and assisted either Achaeans or Trojans, depending on whom each of them favored. The gods were vengeful but also excessively generous, while at the same time being propitiated by the material sacrifices they were offered by the faithful. The Greek deities had supernatural powers, particularly over human life, but were severely limited by the relentless force of fate (Moira).

In almost all instances of war the cause has been related to greed, or the gaining of land and possessions. Greed is presented in the very first book of Homer’s “The Iliad.” It isn’t displayed by the cowards, but the “heroes” of the war such as Agamemnon, Achilles, and Pandarus. The entire cause of the Trojan War is the result of the greedy and cowardly behavior of Paris. There are many factors that had sparked the war, including the interference of the gods; however, the main factor to be blamed for the war is greed.

The Greek and Roman religions were the two major religions that were established in the ancient world. Greek religion was the first to be recognized and instituted, followed by the Roman religion. Many people believed that the Romans mimicked the Greek religion; however this was a common misconception, even though they appeared to be the same there are many distinctions between the Romans and the Greeks. Even the similarities between the two religions had slight distinctions, like their gods, they had similar functions but some of their gods were completely unique to one culture (Ferguson 154). Roman religion also had different concepts like religio, ideas about afterlife and gods that emphasis on household religion. The Romans integrated certain aspects of Greek religion into their own practices, they also maintained their own ideas which made it unique and separated the Romans from the Greeks.

During the time of the ancient Greeks we read about their remarkable achievements; whether it be social, political, or cultural, we would not understand their accomplishments if it weren’t for their precise interpretation of text and the development of a lasting language. When looking at our lives today, the lack of credit which goes to our ancient descendants is beyond decent; for the lives in which they established for themselves, only furthered our capability and our potential of exceeding what was never imagined. A civilization where individuals look to the text, the mathematical equations, and the records from that of the ancient Greeks and learn from it. Between their development of the written word, the idea of the recorded time, as

(A Discussion on Scenes of Violence in the Iliad and Their Effect on the Text as a Whole)

When you look back on history there were many defining religions, beliefs and values among different cultures and societies. The beliefs varied from believing in one single God to multiple gods, from being patriarchal to matriarchal. When discussing difference you can see numerous among the Ancient Hebrew culture and the Archaic Greeks. Greeks believed in multiple gods, the Olympians and the Chthonian whereas Ancient Hebrew’s believed in one God whose name shouldn’t even be pronounced it was so sacred. These two cultures perceived the world and their surrounds in a completely different way.

In the ancient societies of Greece, war means many things; power, glory, honor. The idea of fighting is not just a daily task for the Greeks but a necessity. In

Towering mountains. Bright blue seas. Glittering white temples dedicated to the gods. Though Ancient Greece was made up of many different regions and colonies, these 3 things were almost always in view. The ancient Greeks worshiped many different gods and goddesses that each controlled something in the mortal world. What was different about their gods and goddesses was that they were very human like. They looked like mortals, had thoughts like mortals, and they even quarreled with each other like we do. Ancient Greek religion is also known as Greek Mythology, Classical Religion, and Classical Mythology. Though whatever people call it, decisions made in Ancient Greece were heavily influenced by their religion.

The desire for power is a common struggle in both the human world and Ancient Greek myth. Hesiod’s Theogony is a classic piece of Greek literature that details the history and stories of Greek myth, including the relationship between the gods Ouranos, Kronos, and Zeus. Many humans are able to attain power by simply working towards their goals, while others often resort to betrayal. The only way a Greek god can rise to power is by overthrowing their predecessors. The battle between established gods and aspiring rulers exists because of their immortality. Since a Greek god cannot be killed, violent attacks are planned in order to take their power. The struggle between each of these generations constructs much of the Theogony related to power.

They were always at war with each other having no law or safety in the land. In the Bible, God saw how evil men were and how there was nothing but immorality in mans' heart. The depravity and iniquity of man are what led to God and Zeus’s wrath. Men became lawless, it was as if every man was for themselves. This corruption is what made God and Zeus to become weary and to regret ever creating man.

However why would the ancient Greeks choose to create a god that is wrathful, vengeful, and has an uncontrollable temper? As the myths go, Zeus has lightning and thunderbolts that are formed by the Cyclopes that he is able to wield, and do with as he pleases. By examining, these myths in a Nature myth standpoint the Greeks created the myth of Zeus’s lightning and thunderbolts to explain certain weather occurrences. While today, a storm is not necessarily a major problem or catastrophe because we have warning systems and fortified shelters and housing, that was definitely not the case in ancient Greece. The ancient Greeks did not have a weather radar to warn them of an upcoming storm nor did the really understand what caused a storm to hit them. When a bad storm hit, it could lay waste to several homes and people. Furthermore, because of the location of Greece they were frequently hit by all kinds of storms. Through creating the god Zeus and his lightning bolts, the Greeks could attribute to what they thought the abrupt nature of storms to Zeus’s faulty personality. Also by making the incidences of bad weather due to Zeus, the ancient people also thought they might be able to appease him by making sacrifices, and therefore receive fair skies and weather in return. However due to the fact that the Zeus was created to make some sort of explanation for lightening, thunder and storms these sacrifices in actuality did nothing and this also attributed to the idea of

Looking back, we can see glimpses of the lives of those who lived in the Ancient Near East, known as the ANE, through their stories and myths that have survived over centuries of time. Many of these stories contain unique elements that make each one personal to the civilization that they belong to, but there are common themes and ideas that are virtually shared between the traditional stories stemming from this region of the world. In fact, these parallels even extend into Old Testament literature; laced within the stories that we’ve come to know and love. It is not surprising that the Old Testament contains similarities found within ANE tradition, seeing that

The Greek gods are highly partisan beings in the Iliad. The Greek gods side with different armies there is no side that is more 'moral' or favored by the gods than the other. The Trojan War itself was largely begun because of a rivalry between Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera. The gods also favor certain mortals Athena prefers Odysseus, for example, while Aphrodite adores Paris. This favoring is not based upon the moral behavior of these particular humans but is instead based in the gods' own prejudices. The gods do not act as moral guides in a Judeo-Christian sense. They are anthropomorphically rendered, jealous, unpredictable, and at times vengeful. They have more power than humans and demand humans' respect, but that respect is commanded by their greater power, not their greater morality. The gods also deliberately insert themselves into human affairs, egging on the Trojan War when it seems to be flagging, or favoring one side over another. "Make all haste, and invent/Some mean by which the men of Troy, against the truce agreed, /May stir the glorious Greeks to arms, with some inglorious deed" (59). However, even the gods have limits Achilles mother Thetis, although a goddess, cannot prevent her son's death, which she knows is inevitable. Q2.In Book 1, with whom is Achilles angry? Why? What does Achilles vow to do in response?

With these events, Homer tries to maintain that dealing with the divine power with the limited abilities of mortals will only result in harm to humans. Therefore, he points the danger of the involvement of the anger of gods. Initially human actions initiated events in the Iliad.

There is a gathering with the people of Troy and the people of Greece that hold a toast to being allies with no intention of war of any sort. But when Paris expresses his love for Helen, the wife of Menelaus, she sails off with the Trojan army is secret. Hector is oblivious to wrongdoing of his brother Paris. He knows that with that incident, the Greek army will go into battle with the mighty Troy. Before the Trojans can return Helen to Menelaus, Greece has already set their mind on war. That being said, this will be the greatest war ever fought. The Trojan war.