The anthropomorphism in Greco-roman mythology
After reading <Appreciating Greco-roman mythology>, we can see many phenomenon including anthropomorphism, especially in the primary story like <Iliad> and <odyssey> ,as well as in some branching stories or the continuation of the main story.
Providing that body of contemporary human is not changing greatly contrast to the
ancient people in Greece or Rome, most gods except Cyclops, the guide of forest—Pan, Karon and so on share the same shape, same face with human. In the story that Prometheus creates human, human is created by imitating the shape of gods, which explains the confusion why human and gods have the same body by mythology itself.
In additional, according to the paintings, sculptures and other forms describing the
Greco-roman mythology, we could tell no difference between human and gods by comparing their bodies merely. During the time of ancient Greece or before, the arts always focus on gods and elegant people, among which there are two famous sculpture created by the same artist called Phidias. And there are more paintings if comparing, to illustrate, the book <Appreciating Greco-roman mythology> chooses many paintings like the birth of Venus, Jupiter and Juno, Diana and Jacobian. Considering these, we can find there is no difference between human and gods by comparing their bodies.
If insist there are differences, gods is a more perfect exist on a body way. In 19th century, an aesthetician called Dana wrote a book named <artistic philosophy> saying that the Greece people spare no time modeling beautiful bodies, considering them as idols, heroes, gods. Therefore, whether heroes and gods, they have the same bodies with human.
As for the same emotion, there is not a clear border between gods and human as well. Gods like human have complicated feelings like anger, jealous, sadness, happiness etc. For example, Zeus is the most powerful god of 12 main gods and keeps the justice in the world. However, he has problems on his behavior. He always indulges his sexual desire through
coituses with human ladies. As legal wife of Zeus, Hera is jealous of the lasses and always spy on Zeus, even punishing the lass who has sex with her husband and her child.
Some behaviors committed by gods can be seen as an exaggerating way of human. We can explain the anthropomorphism by analyzing the origin of Greco-roman mythology. The Greco-roman mythology is a form of ancient people explain and understanding the world surround, which is a exploration to nature. They imagined the existence above human and nature which or who control them and nature. It creates the nature, human and everything, making it reasonable that it should control everything. And it is so called gods. So the
anthropomorphism is the desire that human want to become the controller. They want to be mortal, powerful, and beautiful. What gods is like is what human want to be.
In all, whatever is gods create human or human imagine the existence of gods, they are both the reflection of anthropomorphism.