Ancient Greek god morals?

Question

The greatest god during the time--Zeus (from Greece, aka Jupiter in Rome)--married his SISTER Hera, had sexual liaisons with MANY OTHERS, and did so when disguised as various ANIMALS (swan, bull, horse).

Did the ancient Greek/Romans think incest, cheating, and beastiality were okay?

Answer 1

Great question, and the things they did certainly do seem shocking, but we need to remember the context of the mythology:

1. INCEST: Although it's instinctual knowledge to us that incest is wrong, genetics research was not quite up to speed in 500 B.C... Also, the Greeks explained away the incest of the gods by saying that deities were free from any genetic deficiencies. We would still consider it to be socially awkward because the stigma is so strong in our culture, but from a purely scientific standpoint, there would be nothing wrong with marrying your brother or sister if there were no genetic ramifications. (That being said, no thank you very much!)

2. THEIR CHEATING HEARTS: The men sure did get around in Olympus - and so did the women, although not as much. Of course, we can chalk this up to the same phenomenon that makes us love James Bond even though he's such a cad! The men behind the myths were not so very different from the men we know and (mostly) love today, but without some of that social veneer that keeps their shirts tucked into their Levis. Then, as now, they write their heroes doing all the things that they can't get away with themselves - kill, blow things up, and have sex with lots of different people.

That's an oversimpification, but if you strip away all the bravado of our hollywood action movies, you'll see the same kernel of desires and extremities of human nature that fascinated the ancient greeks.

How different are the worst of our serial murder movies (think "Seven" with Brad Pitt and Kevin Spacey, or "Kill Bill" and any other Quentin Tarantino movie for that matter) from stories of Cronos castrating his father and then swallowing his children? (Okay, this *is* a bit disturbing.)

3. BEASTIALITY. These stories were also allegorical - when the Gods sleep with 'animals', they are usually deities or humans who have been transformed into animals; Zeus turned himself into a swan for Leda and a bull for Europa - but he was not actually either of those animals. In an era when man was not as separated from nature as we are now, animals held much more symbolic and important roles - that doesn't mean they were actually sleeping with them. (Well, some might have been!)

The answer to your question isn't black and white. By modern standards (and maybe by ancient greek standards), some of their heroes were not good role models. But they weren't necessarily supposed to be. Storytelling is not necessarily meant to reflect reality or always to serve a moral message; sometimes it tests the limits of possibility; and it helps us understand our humanity better by experimenting on paper with what's beyond it.

So let your moral qualms go and enjoy the mythology!
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Answer 2

There are lots of misconceptions about the Greek gods!

Brother-Sister marriages are common in all polytheistic pantheons of gods. Mainly because the story of creation begins with two gods who produce more, who then marry each other. Since the gods sit at the top of the genealogical triangle, brother-sister marriages were the norm.

People did worship them as gods of morality, and they guided every aspect of daily life in the ancient world. However, the collection of myths we have today is a combination of stories from hundreds of different kingdoms and a period of over 1000 years.
The average Greek in the ancient world had a smaller collection, so the number of romantic encounters for gods like Zeus was much smaller.

But there were huge cultural differences. E.g. the role and rights of women, who were regarded as property.

Also when the gods simply represent forces of nature they are morally neutral. E.g. Apollo as the god of plague killing lots of people is not an evil god, just a natural force.

Answer 3

I've wondered about this myself; some of the ancient Greeks themselves thought most people were morally superior to the gods.

At the same time, the gods could be quick to punish evil and take care of the faithful.

I think we see the reflection of early civilization itself--and as people became more civilized and aware of good and evil, the myths themselves changed. In other words, you have a relatively late Zeus, Father of Gods and Men, Wielder of Lightning, Scourge of the Wicked, etc, clumsily painted over Zeus the Saturday Night ladies man. [I think that's as graphic as I dare get on here, but you know what I mean, wink wink nudge nudge].

So no, the Greeks didn't think they were OK for themselves, but were saddled with these gratutitous legends about gods who had gotten more sophisticated, and pretty much had to explain them away and live with them.

[This does not include some of the 'mystery religions' like of Dionysius or Eleusis, whose ceremonies were basically drunken orgies. Different story there.]

Answer 4

The ancient Greeks had a very different culture from what we have today. I don't think you can directly apply our cultural values to theirs without uncovering some odd spots.

For the ancient Greeks, the gods were not a moral, guiding force in the people's lives. They were explanations of why things were the way they were. For instance, there is a story about Zeus fighting with a nasty monster call Typhon who could breath fire. Zeus imprisoned Typhon under a mountain, identified as Mt. Etna. It is Typhon, still alive under the mountain that causes Mt Etna to erupt. (Mt. Etna is the most active volcano in Europe by the way).

The ancient Greeks did not generally approve or try to emulate the behaviors of their gods. They understood that gods can pretty much do what they want, and live outside the rules of human society.

In addition to killing his father, marrying his sister, changing himself into weather systems and animals and seducing just about anyone he came in contact with, Zeus had a cup-bearer, named Ganymedes, who was his servant and lover. Ganymedes was a young Trojan who Zeus basically stole from his family because Zeus thought Ganymedes was attractive.

The ancient Greeks understood that no mere mortal could keep up with sort of life style. They worshipped their gods, not because they were behavior models; but because they were powerful. To ignore the power of the gods was to invite bad luck or punishment.

Similarly Christians worship because they feel God, the creator, is all powerful. We don't worry about whether he is a good behavior model; as a god he is beyond human morality.

Answer 5

Human morality, varying somewhat from one culture and era to another, preceded the invention of organized religion. And all societies, from primitive tribal on up, have had injunctions and sanctions that they live by, even if they did not have any more than some legends about how the world began, as their "religion". Fundamentalists don't care how people think and act, because unless/until they accept the Biblical God, they are still evil "heathens" to the true believers. Scary.

Answer 6

They thought the gods could do it because they were divine and could do no wrong. Incest with another god was okay for divine families but not for mortals. Zues said it was for the good of Greece adn humanity that he mate with other women because he was spreading the human populous.

Answer 7

Excuse me, weren't these the people who participated in orgies on a regular basis??? They did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. It was considered an honorable thing to be a prostitute. And what about the public baths where they had young boys as servants? They lived a very immoral existence by today's standards.

Answer 8

Truthfully which would a sane person choose. A God that chooses love and sex or a God that chooses War and sacrificial death of unbelievers or their own child.

Answer 9

Only if you were one of the gods. For some reason, they felt that the gods were "above" that stuff. That it wasn't bad if you were a god.

Answer 10

Read some history books. They thought anything and everything was ok. The emperors were probably the worst. They often intermarried and were incestuous. They also believed themselves gods, so nothing about their theology surprises me.