Greek and Egyptian

Introduction

From early in their history, both the Greek and the Egyptians believed in the concept of life after death. Egyptians believed that Amen-Ra died with the setting of the sun each evening, only to be "reborn" each morning with the sunrise. Hathor was the personification of the sky, represented as a star-studded cow or as a woman with the head of a cow. The myths of these gods also referred to the sky. Zeus on the other hand, only gave counsel to those he considered special, and it was often to his benefit. The ancient Egyptians as well had a complex belief containing many deities and personified aspects of nature. This palace served as meeting places for the gods, and as an observation deck. He intervened strictly for the benefit of the king.

Unfortunately, this was not enough for Zeus, who caused a flood that destroyed all of mankind. Their greatness began around 4,500 B. After tricking his brother, he kills him and has his body parts scattered throughout Egypt. These gods have negative connotations surrounding them, despite Prometheus' reputation as protector of humans. This resulted in the creation of Pandora, damning mankind and causing its permanent unhappiness. Amen-Re differs from Zeus in that he is viewed as the actual creator of the world (Alan, 25).

Gods and Goddesses (The History of Greek Mythology)

Gods and goddesses are an integral part of Greek mythology. Our formal knowledge of the ancient Greek deities can be traced back to the writings of Homer in the Iliad and the Odyssey (8th century BC) (Mallory, 44). In addition, many scholars believe that the myths were heavily influenced by the Mycenaean culture that existed in Greece between 1700 and 1100 BC. Remarkably, there is evidence that the beginnings of Greek mythology can be traced back to the ancient Middle Eastern cultures of Mesopotamia and Anatolia. There are many similarities between the mythology of these ancient Middle Eastern cultures and the ancient Greeks (Alan, 30).



Gods and Goddesses - The Religious & Social Background of the Greeks

The gods and goddesses of ancient Greece were created by man to explain the world around them, act as a means of exploration, provide legitimacy and authority to Greek aristocracy, and provide entertainment for the masses. The religion of the ancient Greeks did not have a single source of written scripture such as the Bible or the Qur'an (Mallory, 46). Furthermore, the ancient Greeks did not believe in absolute truth as practiced by modern faiths such as Christianity and Judaism. Generally, a Greek city-state would devote itself to a particular god or set of gods.

Many city-states erected temples to their particular deities, and these deities were honored in festivals and animal sacrifices. The Greek gods and goddesses normally took on human form and lived in a society similar to human society. They exhibited all the emotions of human beings and frequently intervened in human history. The most significant difference between the Greek gods and humans was that the gods were ...