HUM/105 – WORLD MYTHOLOGY Version 3

HUM/105 – WORLD MYTHOLOGY Version 3

Original question: “In general, how do the gods and goddesses described in the myths resemble human men and women? How do they differ? Are the similarities and differences important to their divine status? Explain why or why not, using supporting examples from your text.”

Original work only, internet and copied work will not get receive payment!!!

Please respond to each part (120-150 each)

PART1:

I believe that the gods and goddesses that are described in the myths are similar to people in many ways.  For instance, after reading various stories about the fire goddess Pele, I discovered a lot of human characteristics that she had such as impulsive, unstable, and passionate. Leonard and McClure (2004) mentions different human characteristic s by stating that her skin was rugged and black and that her hair was the color of cinders. The way the book describes her skin and hair color makes me associated her with a human person.  Leonard and McClure (2004) goes on and describes her looks after she came out the pit of fire stating that she looked like a lovely woman no longer being a hag. Just like humans the fire of goddess has family members, Leonard and McClure (2004) denotes that Pele has several sisters. In addition, Pele and her sisters also eat and sleep which is another comparison to human beings.  Her similarities to humans are recognized through her human characteristics just like other gods and goddesses. The differences between Pele and other gods and goddesses are revealed with their remarkable powers.  

Reference

Leonard, S., & McClure, M. (2004). Myth & knowing: An introduction to world Mythology. New York: McGraw-Hill

PART2:

There are many stories about how the Greek gods behaved and interacted with human, and these myths were even used to help explain the unknown and sometimes teach a lesson.  The Greeks created gods in the image of human, and their gods had many human qualities.  For example, the gods constantly fought among themselves, behaved irrationally and unfairly, and were even often jealous of each other.  Zeus was rarely faithful to his wife, while Hera would plot against and even punish Zeus and his mistresses.  The gods were emotional and sometimes behaved immoral; their religion also did not have a standard set of morals, there were no Judaic Ten Commandments (US history, 2014).
I feel that there are many similarities from the gods to humans and I feel that these Greek stories were told so that the people of Greece and Athens had something to look up to and so that their behavior would be more like the gods that they worshiped, but that being said I also feel that all though there were gods that many worshiped there were also those who believed in their own ways of doing things that these were just stories and they were free to feel the way they chose.  I also feel that even though these were Greek gods, many of these behaviors flooded many other regions and beliefs and many other individuals believed in the myths of Greek gods no matter where they resided.

US History. (2014). Ancient Greece, Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes. Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/civ/5c.asp