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Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology & the Ancient World
Brown University
Box 1837 / 60 George Street
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: (401) 863-3188
Fax: (401) 863-9423
[email protected]
What is the most interesting thing to me about the relationship with the Greeks and their gods is that people in modern times can never fully comprehend their connection. There are no entities or gods in our society in which interact and pertain to us on a daily basis. While their religion seems absurd to us, they used it as their explanation for the questions of "why?" For them these stories were not only stories, they were truly intimate with the way they lived their lives. It's funny to us to actually read these stories, such as Zeus's headache, and laugh about how ridiculous they are, but to them these were very believable, real stories.
Another way in which the Greeks related to their Gods were through their humanly portrayal. The Gods were depicted as humanly as possible I believe to make them accessible to all Greeks including the lower class. By having their perfect musculature it displays their dominance and power among the humans which makes them easy to worship. While they are other-worldly, the fact that they are in the human form makes the relatable to humans in their everyday life which in turn makes them more prevalent throughout their lives.