Greek philosophy Essay

For many years, philosophers around the world to ask questions about the meaning and understanding of morality. The term morality was introduced by Cicero and means socially accepted notions of good and bad, right and wrong, good and evil, as well as a set of rules of conduct arising from these views. The key word here is society. This implies that the concept of morality was different in various cultures and in different periods of history. Homer in the Odyssey laid that concepts of morality, which for the modern reader may seem strange and even incomprehensible. It should also borne in mind that the main source of morality in the modern world is religion. In the holy scriptures accurately declared the rules that should comply to be highly moral person. In ancient Greece, did not exist similar code of rules, and therefore the concept of morality were more abstract. Morality was manifested in the relationship between the gods of Olympus and the mortals. At the same time, some virtues are unchanged, such as loyalty. In order to grasp the concept of Homer's morality, it is necessary considered in further detail the various aspects of it.
The action of the Homeric poems deployed among the heroes and gods. First live on land, float across the seas, to them from the peak of Mount Olympus descend the gods. Occasionally the gods appear in their zoomorphic form, as, for example, Athena which turned into a bird. Usually, the gods are anthropomorphic and are endowed with human passions and vices, but the scale is disproportionately large compared to mortal men. The gods are arguing, fighting, jealous, deceiving each other, and in all they are considered only their whims. At the same time, the gods dictate their will to the heroes. Those dreaming, watching the flight of birds, see the signs during the sacrifices, meaning by this the manifestation of the gods' will. Zeus determines the fate of Hector; he puts on the scales two lots, and an inheritance among Hector falls down. Although the poem "The Iliad" says that throughout an accomplished revealed will of Zeus, story reflected a lot by ancient ideas about fate, or share. The power of fate is parallel to power of the gods, but there are times when the fate rules over gods and they are powerless before it. Thus, Zeus could not save his son Sarpedon from the death, and in the dewdrops of blood falling from the sky, expressing his grief. Unlike the gods from "Iliad", the gods in "Odyssey" are the guardians of morality, the guardians of good and justice. These gods, with the exception of Athens patroness of Odysseus, separated from the people, and people are freer in their actions, more enterprising and energetic than in the "Iliad." But despite this, all the characters are trying to please the gods of Olympus, through sacrifice, prayer and libations. Therefore gods' will is one of the determining factor

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