Beauty is a high valued virtue in Greek mythology - Essay Example

Beauty is a high valued virtue in Greek mythology. There is no doubt that beauty is one of the questions thatis addressed by the Greek mythology. The Greek mythology offers compelling stories that provide illustrations on what beauty is. In his works, Evslin present stories of different context that illustrate how beauty is viewed in the Greek mythology. Whereas beauty can be argued to be moral, the Greek mythical stories prove that beauty is a physical trait. In one of the stories, Evslin gives an account of Zeus who thought that Leto’s children are very beautiful to be noticed.

In this story, it is revealed that despite the fact that Father Zeus lacked attentiveness, the beauty of Leto’s children made them stand out. In the text, Zeus believed that Leto’s children were beautiful, a quality that made them be attractive before him (Evslin 14). Father Zeus was delighted by Leto’s children whose faces shone brightly above other children on earth. This story reveals the physical trait of beauty that the Greek held in society. In this story, the quality of beauty has not been ascribed to any moral trait, but physical traits as shown.

In another story, Evslin gives an account of how Father Zues perceived beauty among the maidens. In the story of Aphrodite, Father Zeus was impressed by the beauty of Aphrodite who was regarded as the goddess of love. In the description presented in the text, all the beauty of the Aphrodite is depicted in the physical sense. Evslin gives the description of the maiden as tall and beautiful with golden hair (Evlslin 21). From Father Zeus description of Maiden—the goddess of desire, most of her beauty were reflected in the physical sense.

The description of the goddess, who Father Zeus brought to Olympus does not reflect moral, but instead a physical trait.The story of Eros and Pysche, also gives a vivid illustration that the Greek regarded beauty physical and not a moral trait. Evslin gives an account of a king who had three daughters; with one being more beautiful than Aphrodite. In the story, Aphrodite was so jealous of this beautiful Lady that she was not happy with her. In fact, the story reveals that Aphrodite asked Psyche why she was “pretending to be beautiful” like her, because she thought that she was the only one endowed with beauty in the whole of Olympus (Evslin 39).

The story also depicts Pysche as being beautiful because her eyes were huge and brilliant. The use of this description demonstrates that Pysche was indeed beautiful because of her physical trait, and not from a moral perspective. Without doubt, the stories presented in the text underscore the fact that beauty is physical and cannot be considered as a moral trait. In the first story, Father Zeus was impressed by the beauty of Leto’s children whom he brought to Artemis. Father Zues believed that the children had bright faces and that made them shine above other children.

In another story, Zeus is attracted to the beauty of a maiden who is beautiful and has slick hair. Zeus was so impressed that he brought her to Olympus. Beauty as a physical trait is also indicated by the conflict between the goddess of desire and Pysche who was considered to be having beautiful body and hair that made Aphrodite jealous. All these stories underscore that fact that the Greek view beauty as physical and not moral. Works CitedEvslin, Bernard. Heroes, gods and monsters of Greek myths.

Toronto: Bantam Books, 1975.