Greek Mythology?

Ever wondered why in Greek Mythology they portrayed the gods and goddesses of Olympus as whiny, vengeful beings who would rather run you through with a lightning bolt than look at you?





Yet their stories are told in more detail than let's say the story of Echo and Narcissus. This story also did not end well kudos to the ever-bitchy Hera.





Why do we still honor those who aren't the greatest of role models? This is also seen today with our political leaders. Is America taken a more caveman, early-century approach to life?





Or was there just something terribly wrong with the Greeks?

Greek Mythology?
Your question seems a bit confused, so my apologies if I haven't correctly understood it.


There was nothing that I know of that was more wrong with the Greeks than with contemporary people. Perhaps the ancient Greeks may have even had a better appreciation of their needs than we have of ours. It was the Greeks, after all, who gave the world some of its earliest and most poetic literature, plus the invention of geometry, formal logic, biology, and other scientific practices, plus democracy, and we admire and use all these to this day. We really owe a great deal to the Greeks.





As for Greek mythology, you are correct that the pantheon was full of very human-like deities. Perhaps the Greeks were merely projecting the normal virtues and vices of humans onto their gods. Just btw, the Hebrew/Jewish "one god" is another interesting example of a persona with rather, shall we say, "colorful" characteristics. He is vindictive, mean-spirited to his own people, jealous of other gods, and not above a little blood-thirsty trickery. So please don't think that the Greeks were alone in inventing their gods to be "all too human." Same goes for the Indian Vedic pantheon.





Most modern people no longer "honor" the Greek gods, but in the West at least, students and scholars find great satisfaction in appreciating how the Greek imagination was formed. The Odyssey especially shows the human failing of hubris balanced against the human virtue of humility. And there are many other insights into ourselves that we can gain by studying the Greek myths.
Reply:Now i live in Canada and LOVE Greek Mythology..i don't think reading about Zeus cheating on his wife and creating a son is the best book to be reading to you children but as a 21 year old i find the stories fun to read..i think the problem with the US and Canada for that matter is people to often blame certain material for screwing up there children but Where are the parents at..i mean kids are allowed to read and play anything these days, while the parents are playing bingo and watching dr.Phil laughing at other dumb people..I think we all need to take responsibility in our kids and our siblings and watch what they read and play..dont ban items that do not harm a fully developed human being. For the greeks i think they were awsome! Who doesnt love a good story
Reply:i dont think we honor them...and the stories are told in detail because the greeks actually recorded their history, so we know alot about them. not like those egyptians.
Reply:Nothing wrong with the Greeks. What passes for truth today will be fiction and perhaps mythology tomorrow--look how fast the Iraq War came undone when the mythology of the WMDs were discovered as a ruse just to invade Iraq. We've dumbed-down politics in order to make everyone happy, don't forget Amerika is the home of warm and fuzzy and happy people, or so the propaganda goes.

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