Essay about Behavior Of The Gods In Mythology

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Sarah Alexander

Behavior of the Gods in Mythology

God is often seen as an omnipotent being that is perfect and without flaws. But the gods and goddesses of Greek and Roman mythology were not perfect beings. They possessed many human traits and performed immoral acts while interacting with humans. The reasons these Gods were appealing to the ancients are many and these reasons apply to modern people as well. Morality often comes from the religious customs of the society. The ancient Greeks believed in multiple Gods that were more powerful and insightful than humans but not necessarily perfect. They were not seen as good beings but power was most important for the Gods; in fact power defined the ancient Gods. These Gods were admired and feared but not loved by the people. In the early days of the Roman Empire religion and morality were the foundations for survival of the community. As war came and the Empire spread the Romans became aware of the ancient Greek Gods and incorporated many of the beliefs of the Greeks into their religion. Their morals became more lax and were no longer the basis for society. The ancient Gods were insightful beings who possessed power over goodness, making morality unnecessary for these religions. The ancient Gods possessed many human traits that led to immoral acts. In the story of Cupid and Psyche, the goddess Venus became jealous of Psyche’s beauty. This jealousy led her to command her son to Cupid to make Psyche fall in love with a vile creature. Having a God who displays jealousy to the point of trying to destroy a beautiful girl shows how far Venus would go to punish her for displaying her beauty. Another immoral act can be seen in the story of Artemis, who was the protector of the young. But Artemis liked to display her power as well, and when the Greek fleet sailed to Troy, she demanded that they sacrifice a maiden to her before she would let them sail. This shows how a goddess who was charged with protection actually called for sacrificial death in order to display her power over mere humans. Finally, an example can be found in the story about Zeus, the most powerful of the Greek gods. He commits adultery with many women while using human like traits to hide these affairs from his wife. The Greek gods and goddesses were powerful but they still showed many human traits that led to immoral behavior one would not expect from gods.
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