Not evil...just A-holes.
The Greek Gods were evil
Not evil...just A-holes.
This.
They were too blinded by their own greed and selfishness. They also lacked human-like emotions. Like most gods, some ruled through love; others through fear.
Not evil...just A-holes.
This.
They were too blinded by their own greed and selfishness. They also lacked human-like emotions. Like most gods, some ruled through love; others through fear.
that sounds pretty evil to me.
@avenging_x_bolt: Then you consider humans evil as well.
@avenging_x_bolt: Then you consider humans evil as well.
the ones who kill and rape for petty reasons? hell yes.
Any of us could be considered both "good" and "evil"; gods are beyond such limited constructs. Besides, classical mythos were intended as analogies understood contextually within the era and culture of their original telling, usually with a moral to the story.
@avenging_x_bolt: Then you consider humans evil as well.
the ones who kill and rape for petty reasons? hell yes.
The gods ruled mankind. Like most rulers back then, they were self-absorbed jerks.
Any of us could be considered both "good" and "evil"; gods are beyond such limited constructs. Besides, classical mythos were intended as analogies understood contextually within the era and culture of their original telling, usually with a moral to the story.
False. Gods are created by humans. They're not above anything.
Pretty much most gods are evil or quite nasty. Look at the ones people still worship today.
How many times has Thor saved Earth? Show some gratitude.
lol
XD I FREAKING DIED READING THIS!!
I'm a Christian, but LMAO!!!!!!!!!!
I'm a Christian as well. The God of Earth will keep his promise in due time.
Pretty much most gods are evil or quite nasty. Look at the ones people still worship today.
How many times has Thor saved Earth? Show some gratitude.
lol
XD I FREAKING DIED READING THIS!!
I'm a Christian, but LMAO!!!!!!!!!!
I'm a Christian as well. The God of Earth will keep his promise in due time.
lol
@avenging_x_bolt: Then you consider humans evil as well.
the ones who kill and rape for petty reasons? hell yes.
The gods ruled mankind. Like most rulers back then, they were self-absorbed jerks.
no argument here. evil and self absorbed
They weren't evil, they were tyrannical. If we're going off of mythology, the gods were higher than us. They did what they wanted and what they liked because they were gods and we couldn't stop them. Think of it like this, are we evil for treating animals the way we do. I'm sure the horse doesn't like being kidnapped from their home field to be forced to drag a some-odd ton wagon for miles (I know this is dated, but whatever). I sure keeping animals locked up in zoos could be considered wrong. Haveing dogs and cats that live solely for our amusements is kind of evil.
Of course we can say "Well, they're animals, they don't have the same rights as us.". But the gods could say the same thing. "They're morals, they don't have the same rights as us.". So they did what they wanted, because they were higher beings than us.
And as for a more real answer to your question. The ancient would was a lot different from the modern world. We're talking about a time when people left their infant young on cliff tops because they were considered 'ugly'. Child labor and slavery wasn't looked down upon. War and death wasn't considered bad. The gladiators were men who fought to the death for the amusement of others.
So of course in a world of people who were pretty harsh themselves. Their gods, whom were basically symbolic personification of the cruel, harsh, merciless world around them, would be uber-super harsh. By ancient Greek standards, they weren't considered harsh.
P.S. Zeus is considered a rapist on Ancient Greek standards. 'Rape' had a different meaning then it does now. Back than, rape meant to 'to carry off'. He simply seduced a woman into sleeping with you was rape. Zeus never really forced any of them to have sex with him.
d^_^b
(Shoot, bro that was longer than I intended it to be. I'm actually not disagreeing with you. They definitively were harsh, but not evil.)
@superstay: Tyranny is a form of evil
They were petty, insecure, selfish, greedy, lustful, violent, spiteful, aggressive, and flawed. In short, they were just like humans.
@mightythor: I assumed it would be clear that was meant as a joke
Not necessarily
Again, I using ancient Greek meaning. Which meant.....A individual person or group, good or bad, who have sole ruler ship.
I'll say this, many ancient words, of every ancient language, had their meaning changed when/if they became English words; And definitely the words that meant something good or bad. Many words, developed extreme meaning once they were converted to English. 'Tyrant' was one among many; now meaning..."Cruel and oppressive government or rule.". But is the ancient world, that was different.
A person could rule a huge empire. They could never had done anything wrong. The empire flourished and grew to remain a empire for years to come. The people loved him, and he kissed their babies and everything. Never went to war and killed anyone. But he would still be a tyrant because he was the sole source of law in the kingdom. Everything that happened in his empire had to be given the 'Yes' by him.
Of course I exaggerated with the baby stuff ect, but the point is that tyrants aren't evil. They are just regular men who get control over a whole civilization. Everyone in a kingdom have different morals and ethics. So if the king ethics that a third of his people have, than he already has half of his people hating him; And after awhile more people with start to dislike him, until he's thought up as a 'Hitler'. Now, I'm not saying tyranny is good. Even if a king had the ethical code of Superman, one source should not rule a nation of many. Their should be a set rule that sits above all, even the ruler.
d^_^b
@mrdecepticonleader: There does seem to be a bit of confusion (at least in the Western world) as to whether or not Buddhism is even a full on religion or just a branch of Hinduism. I was under the impression it was similar to the relationship between Judaism and Christianity.
Buddhists do not worship a pantheon of gods. Hindus do.
Buddha is not a god, by the way.
@jedixman said:
@mrdecepticonleader: There does seem to be a bit of confusion (at least in the Western world) as to whether or not Buddhism is even a full on religion or just a branch of Hinduism. I was under the impression it was similar to the relationship between Judaism and Christianity.
Buddhists do not worship a pantheon of gods. Hindus do.
Buddha is not a god, by the way.
Agreed, I think that Buddhism had saints were because it was mixed in other countries like China and Japan which it was mixed with local beliefs to get to a bigger audience. Otherwise, it's only for spiritual enlightment mainly.
@joshmightbe: I know. I think it's my least favorite bible story, apart from the fella who touched the Ark of Covenant and died for trying to stop it from falling down
God flooded the earth killing many people and rained fire and brimstone. I guess he is evil, too?
OT God is evil as hell.
@cybrilious4: Goku is a world class terrible father
@innervenom123: I can agree. I think.
@nefarious: some people seem to be taking this way more seriously than I thought they would.
Pretty much most gods are evil or quite nasty. Look at the ones people still worship today.
How many times has Thor saved Earth? Show some gratitude.
lol
Jesus has been slacking off.
I agree with this. Every time I read about or was told Greek mythology I couldn't help but think the Greek gods were total dicks.
The Greek gods are pretty much humans with powers that make them above us. If anything, they are better than us considering that some humans (with enough bullets) will start killing a lot of people just to maintain and showcase their power.
Really, like the person above of me has stated, the Greek gods were just massive dicks.
All gods are evil, and no Buddha isnt considered a god.
All gods are evil, and no Buddha isnt considered a god.
Balder was pretty nice, tho he did get killed with mistletoe
@joshmightbe: Sorry, I just thought of something.
Uh, the whole premise of Greek mythology is that the gods are not man. So they cannot be judged my man's standards. In other words, the gods did whatever the fuck they want because they be gods. Good enough logic for me :P
Than there was the whole theory that the Greek gods were actually old kings and royalty (much like how Pharaohs were treated), making all those old legends a bit more darker and twisted. Zeus was pretty much the west equivalent to Genghis Khan as far as rape goes.
Humans are bound to the law of sin whereas the Gods are seemingly above it even though they sin. That's power for you, like when Zeus punished Prometheus for giving humans fire to stop them from freezing. But there were cults and temples for these gods in those days so why would people worship evil beings? Maybe they didn't consider them evil. Some philosphers would argue that some like Apollo was good. But nonetheless, these gods were imperfect and acted waaay to human.
Humans are bound to the law of sin whereas the Gods are seemingly above it even though they sin. That's power for you, like when Zeus punished Prometheus for giving humans fire to stop them from freezing. But there were cults and temples for these gods in those days so why would people worship evil beings? Maybe they didn't consider them evil. Some philosphers would argue that some like Apollo was good. But nonetheless, these gods were imperfect and acted waaay to human.
To that I'd point out once again that time Apollo skinned a dude and used the skin to make a damned seat cushion because the guy was a better musician than him, how is that not evil? I'm not referring to standards that change over time, they do things that have been almost unanimously seen as evil by all cultures since recorded history began even if you discount the rapes and murders. The ancient Greeks worshiped out of fear not love or respect.
The Greek Gods were very petty, arrogant, and dangerous. Many stories were basically "don't mess with the Gods", and that's where most of the myths about them being d***s come from.
They had their good moments, but because of cultural context many of those moments seem just as bad.
Overall I'd say the Greek Gods aren't evil, they're just very very human, usually in the worst ways.
Think about it Zeus and Poseidon were confirmed rapists, Hades was a kidnapper who was willing to let the whole world die so he could get laid, Demeter was willing to kill the world because she couldn't find her kid, Athena turned a woman into one of the most famous and horrible monsters in Mythology in order to punish her for being raped (That's how Medusa came to be), Hera tried to kill babies, Aphrodite was pretty much the biggest slut in the universe and Apollo had a dude skinned for playing a lyre better than him.
I get why you bring up the other things, but is this really evil? That seems a bit harsh.
she had the absolute most loving, gentle and loyal husband there is and she cheated on him hundreds of times without remorse. that is evil.
That, plus she technically started the Trojan War when she told Paris of Troy to go take Helen of Sparta from her husband. Although Hephaestus didn't really help his predicament by being a ferociously codependent fool who constantly tried winning her love with random trinkets. To be fair to him though, his family treated him like shit since the day he was born despite the fact him and his Cyclops blacksmiths were the only reasons the Greek gods were... well gods.
The best way to view the Greek gods is to see them as a super powered political family. Like the Kennedy's, but immortal and possessing random powers. They were narcissistic, codependent, rapists, thieves, liars, murderers, etc. The Greek gods are some of the least likeable gods in all of mythology or religion. Oddly enough though, the Romans polished them up a bit and made them a little better, with the most notable example being Mars who was more of an honorable warrior than the bloodthirsty coward Ares.
Think about it Zeus and Poseidon were confirmed rapists, Hades was a kidnapper who was willing to let the whole world die so he could get laid, Demeter was willing to kill the world because she couldn't find her kid, Athena turned a woman into one of the most famous and horrible monsters in Mythology in order to punish her for being raped (That's how Medusa came to be), Hera tried to kill babies, Aphrodite was pretty much the biggest slut in the universe and Apollo had a dude skinned for playing a lyre better than him.
I get why you bring up the other things, but is this really evil? That seems a bit harsh.
she had the absolute most loving, gentle and loyal husband there is and she cheated on him hundreds of times without remorse. that is evil.
That, plus she technically started the Trojan War when she told Paris of Troy to go take Helen of Sparta from her husband. Although Hephaestus didn't really help his predicament by being a ferociously codependent fool who constantly tried winning her love with random trinkets. To be fair to him though, his family treated him like shit since the day he was born despite the fact him and his Cyclops blacksmiths were the only reasons the Greek gods were... well gods.
O.K. but my comment was just about calling someone evil for "being a slut".
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