Divine Machineryin Homeric Epic

The Divine AssemblyParthenon Frieze

Athena

AnthropomorphismThe 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 GodsThe Sky-godGod of JusticeXenios (God of Strangers)God of Suppliants

Sexually PromiscuousFather of Apollo, Hermes, Dionysus, Athena, Perseus, and Heracles, among others.Also Bisexual: Ganymede

The Divine Pantheon

Polytheism Genealogy

Assemblies of the Gods

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 ZeusJean Auguste Ingres (1780-1867)

The Role of the Gods in HomerThe 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 and Artemis slay the children of Niobe5th century red-figure; detail

Apollo directs the hand of ParisAttic red figure pelike 460 B.C.

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

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

ATHENAHERAPOSEIDON

TROJANS

APHRODITEAPOLLOARES

NEUTRAL

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 FiorentinoItalian Mannerist Painter, ca.1495-1540 Pitti Palace, Florence

Thetis Dipping the Infant Achilles Into Water from the StyxAntonio Balestra Italian Baroque Era Painter, 1666-1740

17th - 18th century engraving-etching

Johann Balthasar Probst

For more images: http://www.philipresheph.com/demodokos/achilles/achil.htm

Calchas

in Iliad, see esp Book I

The Sacrifice of Iphigeneia on a Pompeian wall fresco.The prophet Calchas is at right.

Prophets and Prophecies in Greek Mythology

Gods and Humor

Marriage of Zeus and Hera

Annibale Carracci1560-1609

Hieros GamosZeus and HeraTemple MetopeSelinus, Sicily