Since classes began last week, I have noticed that three of my classes are covering some similar material and ideals. Polytheism, for example, is the most common theme discussed. Polytheism as we well know is defined as the belief in many gods. I am sure you are thinking Yes, Samantha, we know this. We are in honors English. Please bear with me; I do have a point. Well, I decided I wanted more than the Webster's definition of polytheism, so I did what any self-respecting teenager would do, I Googled "define: polytheism". I scrolled the list of many answers and found one that really struck a chord with me. It read as follows: "belief that there are many gods vying for my attention." Now I am switching gears...
So, we've been reading about these ridiculous gods and goddesses that seem to have no self-control that interfere with the lives of men in the middle of war. They confuse these men, plant ideas in their heads, redirect their arrows, and even fight with/among them. These supposed divine beings are jealous of one another, "vying" for attention if you will. They fight and bicker amongst themselves, especially with Zeus who is, in theory, in charge of it all. Yeah, whatever. They are all about the same in my opinion, but I digress.
In addition to those many gods and goddesses who are unworthy of the terms on an ethical and moral level, you have these mortal humans who worship and pray to the immortals. The thing about Ancient Greek theology is that it is all about what the mortals can do for the gods in order for the gods to do something for them. If it doesn't work out with one god, they can try their hand with another god until their desire is satisfied. In short, we've got mortal men (and women) running around searching for favor and acceptance from any and every god or goddess they can appease, attempting to fill some void in their lives. Now I am bringing it all together...
Reading Homer's song for Ilion has put a lot into perspective for me concerning our lives today. We run around, to this thing or that, trying to fill voids and desires in our own lives. We ourselves possess the same mentality of the Ancient Greeks What can that do for me? What can I get out of this? We have the same gods and goddesses they had, we just give them different names: money, travel, sex, wisdom, love, sports, music, beauty, and so on. All of these gods are vying for our attentions when only One is worthy as He is the only one who can fill a void simply because He is the all we actually need. Even knowing this, we still cling to the polytheistic chaos we have been reading about in The Iliad. I, for one, am absurdly guilty.
Take any of this as you will, but I needed it on the table. The word polytheism is attacking my daily studies, whether I am reading from The Iliad, The Western World Philosophy, The Western Experience, or the Bible. No joke. This morning I went to read from Leviticus 19 and, low and behold, verse four: "Do not turn to idols or make cast images of gods for yourselves; I am the LORD your God." Frankly, it is a tad bit frustrating to hear about polytheism every day, but I am taking it as a hint. So, thank you UM professors for drilling me with polytheism.
P.S. Commented Mallory's(:
Wow, this puts so much into perspective! This explains why the gods do the things they do in the book, such as favoring one side or the other or even giving a soldier superhuman strength. They all want to be appeased and beloved by the humans they support. This once again proves how human the gods really are because they all wanted to be accepted and have their existence validated, just like us. They want glory for themselves and their fellow gods (enemies) shamed, JUST LIKE US! The Bible says to avoid idols, and your comparison of the Olympian gods to all the earthly things that we care and strive for is dead on perfect. Indeed, thanks UM professors for your neverending insistance on polytheism! The Iliad is so much more meaningful to me because of it.
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