Classical mythology - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages However, when Greek myths [stories] are mentioned, most Christians and other contemporary religions shun them as mere fantasy, or fictional stories that never existed but were rather coined from human imagination. This and other disagreeing points exist when Greek mythology is being compared to other systems. However, the similarities are evident in some cases too. This paper will conduct a comparative research on Greek mythology and Christianity (as a non-Greek system), and in the comparison highlight significant emergent similarities and differences.
Religion is the comparable element between Greek mythology and Christianity. Multiple differences and similarities are evident here. One similarity is that in Christianity and in the Greek system, there was a supreme being. In ancient Greek, there was Zeus, who was the god above all gods, and the Supreme Being that ruled over fate, order, law, the weather, and the sky. Although defined in terms of humanistic features such as being a sturdy man with a dark beard and one who depicted maturity, he held supernatural powers. He was attributed to the eagle, royal scepter, and a lightning bolt. Additionally, there were other gods under Zeus, such as the god of war, the god of fertility, and the god of love1.
Similarly, the Christians have a Supreme Being, their God, who is the creator of mankind and rules over all creation. He is referred to as Yahweh, Jehovah, or simply “God”. The Christian God is referred to as “He” and is also attributed human features such as the famous Christian principle that says humans were made in God’s image2. Unlike Zeus, however, he has no specific attributes such as a beard, since He is spiritual and not visible to human eyes. Christians do not have lesser gods like the Greek in that Yahweh is the one and only God recognized by the religion. However, there is the definition ...Download file to see next pagesRead More