CLAS 2000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Ugly God, Polytheism, Anthropomorphism

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Classical Studies
• Course: CLAS 2000
• Professor: John Walsh

Document Summary

Lecture #6 nature of the gods & poseidon. Check learning by going to website on the textbook* Everything had a god attached to it. Lived in a family setting and enjoyed feasting. The olympians were projections of the greek"s themselves. The greek gods represented idealized beauty: they represented perfection. One exception to this is hephaestos was the only ugly god and he labored in the forge creating a comparison that the greeks viewed ugliness in association with manual labour. Could only eat human food when it was sacrificed to them. Greeks feared the gods which is why they worshipped them: bought them favour negotiation. The greeks did not love the gods. Most greeks consumed animal protein so sacrifices were a big deal. The gods of the earth: hades. Poured drinks on the ground to honour the souls of the dead and hades himself: nymphs naiads/dryads. Nymphs were natures divine spirit, they were protectors of nature.