In Greek Mythology

Prompt #6Anh Kiet Ngo

Section 1H

TA Nathan Kish

Greek mythology, from the creation of the world to the end of the Heroic Age, has always been filled with fantastical gods and goddesses, all with their own unique characteristics. Some of their characteristics were often demonstrated through their physical bodies, in order to compare and contrast them with mortals. In general, the gods get progressively more anthropomorphic with each generation, and become more human like in term of outward appearances, which is demonstrated in Hesiods Theogony. In addition to that, Homers Iliad and Odyssey, as well as the Homeric Hymns, also demonstrated how similar or how different the Olympian gods bodies are from mortals. Starting with Hesiods Theogony, one can see that originally, the gods were primitive and hence, were not described as anthropomorphic. Chaos, one of the Primordial Gods, for example, was described as born first (Th. 116, p. 14), and was also described as it in the same line, as well as lacking any physical description or clear origin throughout the poem. This lack of gender and description demonstrated the first gods ambiguous physical characteristics, and showed the primitiveness of the universe at the beginning: There was no human or any civilization at that time. Just like how the origin of the cosmos remained a mystery, Chaos ambiguous form and vague origin showcased the unstable and non-physical state of the world at that time, as order and culture had not been established, since everything was just beginning.After Chaos was Gaia, who asexually gave birth to Ouranos and engaged in an incestuous relationship with him. Though they were a couple and were identified as male and female, there was no clear description of them being anthropomorphic. Gaia was described as gave birth to tall mountains, enchanting haunts and such, all without a mating partner (Th. 129-132, p. 14). Hence, one can imagine that Gaia was clearly not going to look like human, as she unnaturally gave birth to tall mountains and many other things that would make up the Earth. Also, her size was beyond the scope of mortals, as she is described as giant Earth (Th. 173, p. 15), and the only one who was able to match her was her husband/son, starry Ouranos (Th. 126, p. 14). Both the words Earth and starry are words used to describe nature, not man, but even though both Gaia and Ouranos were probably not anthropomorphic, their descriptions were less vague than Chaos, who lacked any physical description. Gaia and Ouranous advent showed that the world was becoming more physical and stable as they came into being, as opposed to the uncertain and ambiguous beginning that was Chaos.Gaia and Ouranous would later give birth to the second generation of the gods, the Titans. Their physical descriptions, specifically Kronos, were much less vague than the previous generation. Kronos, for example, was asked by Gaia to castrate his father and when he did so, he was described as seizing his father with his left hand, while chopping his genitals with his right hand, and then tossing them behind him (Th. 179-181, p.15). Kronos was definitely much more anthropomorphic than the Primordial Gods, as he was described as not only having hands, but he had one left hand and one right hand, unlike Gaia and Ouranos other children, the hundred-handed giants, who each had fifty heads and one hundred hands on each shoulder, characteristics that are very different from humans (Th. 150-152, p.15). Kronos, as the ruler of his generation, the Titans, succeeding the Primordial Gods, had more human characteristics such as a distinct left hand and right hand and a back, in contrast to the previous gods, who either had ambiguous description or had nonhuman characteristics. His advent and rise signaled the advent of men, being the first god in the Theogony who was described with human body parts, as he reigned over the Golden Age of Men, the first age of the five ages of men (W&D, 110-116, p.68).On the other hand, Kronos and the Titans were not completely anthropomorphic as gods. Rhea, Kronos sister and wife, had a very odd way of giving birth, as her children were said to be leaving from the holy womb toward the knees (Th. 460, p. 22). This is very unnatural, seeing how mortals children would not come out through the knees. Not to mention that Kronos must have had a pretty big stomach to store all the children that he swallowed (Th. 459, pg.22). Hence, despite having human limps and possibly outward appearance, Kronos insides were definitely not like mortals insides. His children, on the other hand, will be more anthropomorphic than him or any god from the previous generations.Kronos children, the Olympians, under the leadership of Zeus, eventually toppled him and established and stabilized a new order. As a trend in the Theogony, the Olympians were perhaps, closer to humans in term of physical outward appearance than the previous generations of gods and their origins were much less vague in term of how they came into the world. The stone that replaced Zeus, who was swapped out by Rhea before being swallowed by Kronos, for example, had swaddling clothes (Th. 486-487, p.23), which hinted at Zeus origin as an infant. Zeus was also nourished on Crete (Th. 480, p.23). This is interesting, since Zeus was perhaps, the first god in the Theogony to be described going through childhood. This makes Zeus even more anthropomorphic than the previous gods, who were either asexually created with a complete body or were just probably born in mature form. Zeus, on the other hand, went through childhood, a stage that all humans go through. It seems more natural and more anthropomorphic for Zeus to be born as an infant and then grow up, rather than having him born as an adult, which is unnatural. Hence, Zeus was closer in term of anthropomorphism, not only in term of physical body, but also in term of the stages of maturity that he had to go through before becoming the king of Olympus and leading the new generation of gods, the Olympians, the most anthropomorphic generation of the gods.Anthropomorphic as Zeus and the Olympians may be, their bodies are, like the previous gods, not completely like human, as demonstrated in Homers Iliad and Odyssey, as well as the Homeric Hymns. They are not bound by the limitations that mortals have, and can switch shapes at will. The stories of Danae and Leda are quite demonstrative of that, as Zeus appeared to Danae and Leda in the guise of a golden shower and a swan, respectively, in order to make love to them. Then there is Demeter, who, in The Hymn to Demeter, tearing at her fair form for a long time, appeared to Metaneiras daughters as an old woman (H. H. Dem. 94-105, p.4). Athena was also fond of taking disguises, as she did in the Odyssey, appearing to Telemachus as two different people, his relative Mentes (Od. 193-203, Book 1, p.6), and later Mentor, Odysseuss old friend (Od. 290-291, Book 2, p.23). Likewise, Apollo appeared to the Cretan sailors in the guise of a dolphin (H. H. Ap. 399-400, p.24) All of these cases demonstrated that though the gods appearances are anthropomorphic, their bodies are more flexible than that of mortals, and are different from mortals in that aspect, as mortals cannot voluntarily change their shape.Another aspect of the gods bodies is that they seem to have an imposing and potent aura surrounding them, an aspect that seemed to be overwhelming to mortals, and thus, made the gods different from them. When Telemachus spoke to Athena when she was in disguise, he knew that he was speaking to Athena all along possibly due to that godly aura around her (Od. 340, Book 1, p.10). In the Hymn to Demeter, when Demeter revealed herself to Metaneira, her house was filled with radiance as if from lighting, and Metaneira herself staggered in awe (H. H. Dem. 280-281, p.8). This just showcases how imposing a goddess can be to a mortal, who was left speechless at the mere sight of the goddess, who left a trail of light in her revealing. Another particular example would be Aphrodite, who appeared to Anchises and slept with him as a mortal woman in the Hymn to Aphrodite. When Aphrodite revealed herself as a goddess the next day, Anchises was seized with fear and turned his gaze aside, and then covered his face with his cloak (H. H. Aphr. 181-183, p.47). He was so scared of Aphrodites potent aura that he did not even try to look at her and even covered his face, as if fearing that the aura might overwhelm him should he accidentally look at her. Aphrodite, as well as the aforementioned goddesses, were all imposing and easily let their presence know to the mortals through that amazing aura around their bodies. Likewise, the other Olympians, particularly Zeus, were also very likely to possess this powerful aura, an attribute that differentiated the immortals from mortals.Immortal and imposing as the gods can be, however, their bodies do have some similarities to mortals, one of which is that they are not completely invulnerable. They can still feel pain and suffer from it just like mortals do, and mortals are perfectly capable of inflicting pain upon the gods. This is showed when Diomedes hunted down and actually wounded Aphrodite, who shrieked in pain and had to leave the battlefield at Troy (Il. 360-370, Book 5, p. 93). Diomedes showed that despite the gods immortal and imposing bodies, mortals can still overcome the gods imposing aura and cause them to suffer by inflicting physical pain upon their bodies, showing how they are immortal, but not invulnerable. One might think that Aphrodite can be hurt simply because she is not as potent as the other gods, since she is not well-versed in war. However, this can be easily contradicted with the case of Ares, who, as the god of war, was trapped by Aloeus sons in a jar for thirteen months, and by the time Hermes got him out, the pain had done him in, possibly mentally scarred him forever (Il. 419-424, Book 5, p.95). Dione, Aphrodites mother in the Iliad, also described how other gods such as Hera and Hades had also been wounded by mortal men and suffered pain (Il. 425-430, Book 5, p.95). What makes those two stand out is that they are often regarded as rulers, with Hera being the queen of Olympus and Hades being the ruler of the dead. They show that there are no exceptions among the gods, as even being the wife of the king of the gods or the king of the dead would not prevent them from getting hurt by mortals. True, the gods are immortal in a sense that they are ageless, but their bodies are still vulnerable to physical damage and pain, even if they are caused by mortals.Seeing how it is possible to inflict pain upon the gods, one can speculate further about whether the gods can be killed. This is a possibility, as Dione mentioned how Aloeuss sons would have destroyed the God of War if Hermes did not rescue him (Il. 421, Book 5, p.95). When the gods bodies are wounded, they need treatment, just like mortals do. Aphrodite had to be healed by Dione (Il. 449-450, Book 5, p.96), and Hades, who got an arrow through his shoulder, had to have Paieon rubbed adonyne on his wound in order to heal it, despite Hades being no mortal (Il. 434-435, Book 5, p.95). The gods are also helpless when they are wounded, as Aphrodite required Ares to lend her his horses so that she can get to Olympus (Il. 388-391, Book 5, p.94), and Ares himself had to be rescued by Hermes when he was imprisoned in the jar (Il. 423, Book 5, p.95), just like mortals would have been helpless should they be severely wounded or imprisoned. The gods wounds also do not magically regenerate by themselves, but need treatments from someone who can heal them, such as Dione and Paieon, who seemed to act as the medics in the Iliad. Since Aphrodites wound did not regenerate, one can wonder what would have happened if Diomedes was able to inflict further damages upon her body. Could Diomedes kill her if she did not run away? What would have happened if Ares was not rescued by Hermes? Even though none of the gods actually died in any of Homers epics, the possibility was very real, with Ares being the prime example, seeing how he could have been destroyed at the hands of Aloeuss sons. Thus, just being immortal does not mean that the gods cannot be killed. Hence, they are also similar to mortals in how they have vulnerable bodies, with the possibility of getting killed.The gods physical aspect had always been one of the attributions that made them stand out from mortals. Their outward appearances gradually become more anthropomorphic with each succeeding generation, as detailed in the Theogony. Their similarities and differences to mortals were also drawn out in Homers works, as well as the Homeric Hymns. The Olympian gods, while sharing the similarity with humans in term of appearance, are not limited to just human forms and are much more imposing and potent. At the same time, their bodies are also vulnerable to physical damages, just like mortals bodies. The gods are very different from mortals as immortal and powerful beings, yet at the same time, are also very similar, sharing their outward appearances, as well as their bodies vulnerability and suffering.