The Mythology of Yesterday and Today
Since the beginning of human existence, there has been a system of religion. The first centered around spirits that inhabited the world and created the wind, fire, rain, lightning and any other natural occurrence. As time passed and civilization emerged, religion evolved. It grew more organized with a set of priest and priestesses, all serving their patron god or goddess. The presentation of gods and goddesses has been prevalent throughout history, but the way they are represented has differed greatly from ancient times to today.
Gods and Goddesses were presented in a highly exalted manner in ancient times. The Greeks often depicted their gods as very beautiful men and women. Statues and friezes today give insight into how important their gods were. The deities in all ancient religions were something for the people to look up too. They were displayed through sculpture and paintings as amazingly beautiful, frightfully powerful and even dangerously human. A distinguishing factor to ancient religions was the portrayal of gods and goddesses as having human traits and weaknesses. Lust, love, anger; all emotions displayed by their human worshippers (Fiero 79). Worship was very important to the daily life of people, most civilizations were centered around their religious beliefs. The people lived and breathed to attempt to please their numerous gods. Often sacrificing what they needed to survive just to keep from facing the wrath of their deities. Of course, it made little difference when a terrible storm swept through, but people just assumed they not pleased the gods and they deserved their punishment.
Today gods and goddesses play a very different role. Having fallen from the ranks of powerful beings to a world of myth and legend, ancient deities now are portrayed in the media for entertainment purposes. A popular Science fiction program known as Stargate has placed an interesting spin on the old myths by taking gods and goddesses from all cultures and turning them into aliens who once had enslaved Earth. Novels take a great advantage of the ancient myths by using the already made characters to their own means. One of the most heavily used gods and goddesses has been the Greek deities. Their tales have survived and continue to inspire with a strong influence in the western world. Video games do a great deal with gods and goddesses. God of War pits a player against the gods of Greece; Final Fantasy uses several names from ancient myth to generate powerful spirits to help players in battle. Odin has appeared throughout the Final Fantasy franchise, “[he] is a god of war and death…” which is probably why he is able to cause instant death to his enemies in game (Odin n. pag.). In a time where the ancient gods are no longer truly worshipped, they have become a centerpiece to many peoples imagination. Shiva, one of the triad of great Hindu gods, is a prime example of human imagination altering ancient ideas. Shiva is the destroyer and often depicted with demons and other dark and terrible images (Shiva n. pag.). In Final fantasy, Shiva is shown as a beautiful woman with the power over ice, a far stretch from the Shiva of Hindu myth.
With such a massive number of polytheistic religions in the ancient world it is interesting how it has shifted to a more monotheistic society. Much of this is due to the rise of Christianity, it spread far and wide during the Roman Empire; it has most likely had the greatest impact on the western worlds shift to monotheism as it offered a more comforting view of the world. The ancient gods did not die out though; they were retained for their symbolism of moral virtue. They did lose their grace and proportion and soon fell into a state of acceptance rather than worship (Gauss 531). The rise of Christianity only helped seal the deal however; already there was a growth in rational and philosophical thought that pushed the polytheistic religions further from importance. “The triumph of Christianity [is] linked to a corresponding decline in the vitality of Hellenism and a shift in cultural emphasis – a movement from reason to emotion and revelation” (Perry 104).
Religions have changed and evolved over the centuries. One of the most notable changes is the change from a pantheon of gods to a single god. While the gods of long ago have not vanished, they have fallen from something to be worshipped to an interesting story to read. The impact of the ancient gods and goddesses continues today through television, video games and the imaginations of thousands. Virtues and stories of heroes have followed the ancient tales to instill the traits of honor and righteousness in today’s people. Even if the ancient gods and goddesses are nothing more than myth, the stories they carry with them should never be overlooked or forgotten as they are a true testament to the human creativity and have survived long enough to prove they are an important part of the western world.
Works Cited
"Odin." Encyclopedia Mythica. 2007. Encyclopedia Mythica Online. 06 Dec. 2007 <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/o/odin.html>.
"Shiva." Encyclopedia Mythica. 2007. Encyclopedia Mythica Online. 06 Dec. 2007 <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/s/shiva.html>.
Fiero, Gloria K. The Humanisitc Tradition vol. 1. 5th ed. Mcgraw-Hill: New York, NY. 2006
Gauss, Charles Edward. “The Survival of Pagan Gods” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism vol. 12 no. 4. Jun., 1954; p. 531 JSTOR. SFCC Library Avon Park, FL. 6 Dec. 2007 <www.jstor.org>
Perry, Marvin. Western Civilization: A Brief History. 5th ed. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, MA. 2005
