Greek Gods: Humans, but with Powers and Cool Stuff

Greek mythology has been one of the well-known mythologies in the world. Sometimes, the stories are used or referenced in other literary pieces such as novels, plays, and dramas that keep its essence alive, even sewn in most modern education curriculums in various countries. The constant study, enactment, and adaptation of most Greek myths allowed its essence to remain even until today. For example, Homer's the Illiad and The Odyssey are studied in the basic education here in the Philippines. This allows us to see the rich culture of ancient Greece and the importance of literature in preserving history.

One of the stories in Greek mythology that builds and establishes the entire mythological series is Hesiod's Theogony. In this synthesis of Greek narratives, Hesiod details the beginning of the universe and its successive myths through the Greek lens. From the beginning of Chaos to the stories of their descendants, the Theogony attempts to recap everything that probably happened to the world and why it is like this today.

However, in the grand scheme of things, looking at the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus would certainly make one reader feel how in some occasions, these higher being acted no more than humans. In fact, a lot of their actions resemble most humans (some, the worst humans) and their natural reaction to everything.

Sometimes, you might find yourself asking: Are they even worthy of a god's title?

These gods and goddesses feel jealousy, hatred, greed, envy, and joy, lust, longing, and love just as most humans do. The only thing that probably makes them deities are their...powers.

While there are times when they do act as a guide to humans in their journey (shoutout to Heracles and Perseus), one would wonder why Zeus has a lot of children with different...beings, or how the gift of fire from Prometheus was deemed punishable by none other than the gods. Why did Athena punish Medusa for being pretty and praised? Why was Aphrodite jealous over Psyche's beauty? Why would a god constantly rape and kidnap women (sometimes, turn them into cows so the wifey doesn't notice), commit adultery, and still be called a "god"?

All of their attributes, emotions, and reactions to worldly events do not differ from that of humans. They felt what we felt, did what we did, and reacted the way we reacted---they were humans in most of their actions. Strip them from their status and power and voila! a human.

Perhaps most monotheistic concepts of gods such as those of Christianity and Islam warped that way gods or divine beings a perceived. Compare them to the God of Christians who is deemed as omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent, the Greek gods would all seem like mythical humans with superpowers and cool stuff. 

At the end of the day, one might wonder how godly beings with human attitudes sit high up and are worshipped by humans. The answer is: don't think about it! These Greek gods are the answer of the early Greek civilization to the natural phenomena of the world. Human attributes or not, they are all mythical creatures unknown and unperceived by human beings. But most certainly, if I were a god and humans were disrespecting me, I would probably get angry, too. Maybe a storm and a flood?