Divine Machinery in Homeric Epic The Divine Assembly

Divine Machinery in Homeric Epic The Divine Assembly Parthenon Frieze Athena

Anthropomorphism The Greek gods are EXTRAORDINARY IMMORTALS. Their identity is not associated with moral goodness. They are like humans in every way except that they do not die. Zeus (Juppiter) King of the Gods The Sky-god God of Justice Xenios (God of Strangers) God of Suppliants Sexually Promiscuous Father of Apollo, Hermes, Dionysus, Athena, Perseus, and Heracles, among others. Also Bisexual: Ganymede

The Divine Pantheon Polytheism Assemblies of the Gods Genealogy

Gods and Humans in Mythology GODS: Extraordinary Immortals HEROES: Extraordinary Mortals HUMANS: Ordinary Mortals

The Role of Gods in Myth • Objects of Worship and Reverence • Active Engagers in Human Life – Sexual Encounters – Divine Aid Thetis and Zeus Jean Auguste Ingres (1780 -1867)

The Role of the Gods in Homer The gods operate at several different levels: (1) as characters in the story (de-mythologized); (2) as true religious forces; (3) as symbols of a human's abilities or disabilities Apollo directs the hand of Paris Attic red figure pelike 460 B. C. Apollo and Artemis slay the children of Niobe 5 th century red-figure; detail

The Gods as Human Psychology The presence and intervention of a god in the story on behalf of a human is an indication of the human's own innate talent. Homer's society ascribed extraordinary powers and skills as gifts of the gods because their understanding of human psychology was not so developed as to explain concepts like differing degrees of intelligence, creativity, motivation, etc. How can Zeus’ false dream in Book II of the Iliad , be interpreted in terms of understanding Agamemnon and the Greeks? What does the reaction of the army tell us?

Athena and Achilles' anger appeased by Athena Drawing by Flaxman (1888)

Minerva Preventing Achilles from Killing Agamemnon, from 'The Iliad' by Homer, 1757 (fresco) Tiepolo, Giovanni Battista (Giambattista) (1696 -1770)

Divine Machinery in Homer • Involvement in the Plot – (Gods take sides in the Trojan War) • Divine Assistance or Impediment – Apollo Helps Paris Kill Achilles • Motivation (Athena and Achilles) • Inspiration (Muse) GREEKS TROJANS NEUTRAL ATHENA HERA POSEIDON APHRODITE APOLLO ARES ZEUS

Fate in Greek Mythology Moirai (The Fates) Clotho (the Spinner), Lachesis (Measurer), Atropos (Cutter) Achilles: “Doomed to a short life, you have so little time. / And not only short, now, but filled with heartbreak too, / more than all other men alive - doomed twice over" (Iliad 1. 496 -98). Rosso Fiorentino Italian Mannerist Painter, ca. 1495 -1540 Pitti Palace, Florence

Thetis Dipping the Infant Achilles Into Water from the Styx Antonio Balestra 17 th - 18 th century engraving-etching Johann Balthasar Probst Italian Baroque Era Painter, 1666 -1740 For more images: http: //www. philipresheph. com/demodokos/achilles/achil. htm

Prophets and Prophecies in Greek Mythology Calchas in Iliad, see esp Book I The Sacrifice of Iphigeneia on a Pompeian wall fresco. The prophet Calchas is at right.

Gods and Humor Marriage of Zeus and Hera Hieros Gamos Zeus and Hera Temple Metope Selinus, Sicily Annibale Carracci 1560 -1609