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The anthropomorphisation of gods was not a Greek original idea; the Egyptians and Sumerians did it a few hundred years before. In lecture we looked at why cultures (specifically the Greeks) did this. Here are some reasons we came up with for anthropomorphism:
- It makes the gods more relatable.
- It's human nature.
- It enables immoral representation
- It's convenient
- It lends itself well to royal lineages and genealogies.
The first and second point listed goes well with
the Xenophanes quote: were oxen able to make up gods, these
gods would be ox-like: (Anthropomorphism . IV. Greco-Roman
Antiquity’ in Encyclopaedia of the Bible and Its Reception (EBR), Walter de
Gruyter (2008–2017)). Of course humans would represent their gods
as humans, why would we as a species represent them as something that doesn't
represent us? I'll return to this point in a few paragraphs, taking it out of
context of Greece into the wider world.
The third point is interesting; the gods are shown
to commit familial murder, sleep around (cough *Zeus* cough) and do things that society would condemn if a normal
mortal was to do it. Is it the fact that the gods are thanatoi - 'deathless'. This
word comes from the plural of Thanatos, the god of death and the Greek method
(which we still use) of adding a letter 'a' to the front of a word to make it
mean the opposite.
An example of the last point would be the two
families of the Spartan kings being descended from the sons of Heracles, ergo
from Zeus as a reason for their right to lead and fierceness in battle. Some of
the Greek leaders at Troy were descended from gods; it's the ancient version of
a claim to fame.
Anthropomorphism, while a cross-cultural idea is also not the only way
that societies can portray their gods, many choose to portray them in a
theriomorphic state, as animals. This is seen in Greece through each god's
sacred animal - the snake and raven for Apollo, eagle and bull for Zeus, owl for
Athena and the horse for Poseidon. The gods can take the form of their sacred
animal; some gods like Nereus and his daughters are known for being shape
shifters and could take the form of any animal. This power most likely applies
to all the gods as seen through the numerous disguises Zeus takes during his
affairs. Turning again to Egypt, their gods were portrayed either as partly
anthropomorphic animals; Tawaret as bipedal hippopotamus for example or as
human bodied with animal heads; Horus with the head of a falcon, Anubis with a
jackal head etc. Each of these could also take the form of the animal they were
usually depicted having the head of. North American tribes had their Spirit
Animal totems, worshipped eagles, bears, wolves and other native animals. In
the East you've got the elephant-headed Ganesh from India and the Monkey King;
Sun Wu-Kong in China as well as a whole host of other divine animals from both
cultures. Below is a Map of World mythology from Tumblr which looks to be
useful for this year. Theriomorphic beings can clearly be seen as the images
for many of the geographical groups across the globe.
The removal of viewing deities as having a
theriomorphic state seems to be through the popularity of monotheism being
introduced and carried around the world, in Genesis mankind is given
'"dominion over... every living thing that moves upon the
earth."' Genesis 1:28. Since then I would argue that gods
have been shown more commonly in an anthropomorphic state.
Another way of portraying gods we discussed in lecture was in their
"true" forms. The common
version of this portrayal is in the story of Semele and Zeus, when
Semele is tricked into asking Zeus to reveal his true form under the promise
that he can't deny her what she asks. He reveals himself to her and she is
incinerated. I assume that his "true" form is elemental, as I imagine
the inside of a cloud during a thunderstorm to be.
Apollo is never really seen in a "true" form like Zeus is in the myth of Semele. This may be because in many of Apollo's myths he is either courting someone (Daphne, Hyacinthus etc.), taking part in a contest (Marsyas) or taking his wrath out on someone (Greek army at Troy and Niobe's male children). For all of these things he needs to have a human form to be able to do so. This may have something to do with Apollo having a godly connection with young males, as he is always depicted as clean shaven. However there are some tales that have Apollo giving off an elemental-esque light. In Euripides’ Ion (887-96), his hair is singled out as a distinctive quality but his presence is manifested too in the golden light that transforms the surrounding area. (Anthropomorphism . IV. Greco-Roman Antiquity’ in Encyclopaedia of the Bible and Its Reception (EBR), Walter de Gruyter (2008–2017)). This shining light could be to do with the fact that Apollo and Artemis had strong links with the sun and moon respectively.
Secondary Sources:
Deacy Article -Anthropomorphism . IV.
Greco-Roman Antiquity’ in Encyclopaedia of the Bible and Its Reception (EBR),
Walter de Gruyter (2008–2017)
Genesis 1:28
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