Anthropomorphism In Greek Mythology

Mythology is best known for creating symbolisms behind the circle and giving human-like qualities to god-like figures. The circle is a symbol with no beginning or ending. Such is true with mythologies that reference the circle and its symbolic meaning. In mythology, the circle can represent anything from the process of being born, breathing your last breath, and being reborn, to the never-ending process of the classical elements of the world; water, fire, earth, and air. These four elements of the world constitutes a circle that does not have a starting point nor does it contain a set ending point; just a continuous spectrum that does not finish. Anthropomorphism is the process of giving god-like figures, human-like qualities. By giving gods …show more content…
This gives humans the ability to bring a godly figure down to earth in order to make the god or goddess more like humans. By making godly figures act, think, and look like humans, humans can then relate to these godly figures. This anthropomorphic process of non-human gods is important in mythology and religion. Teofil Chodzidlo states that giving gods and goddesses human qualities has its roots in Greek religion and mythology where the “Anthropomorphic understanding of god’s essence and of the phenomena of the non-human world is a consequence of the imperfection of human knowledge and has a basis in man’s spiritual and sensual nature.” In Christianity, humans ascribe god as a man. This is due to humans having to believe that there is a higher being other than man but due to the lack of knowledge of the existence of god, humans have to rely on faith. In other words, because humans do not know every answer to every question and cannot prove that god(s) exists, humans have to compensate for this lack of knowledge by making god(s) more human to interact with. Chodzidlo also gives examples of mythologies that use anthropomorphism by stating, “According to the people of the Andaman Islands, God is an elder with a long beard who sleeps and is bored in his solitude.” However, there are criticisms in using anthropomorphism in mythology. According to the Believe Religious Information Source, Greek philosopher Xenophanes, “He [Xenophanes] concluded that anthropomorphic representations of the gods invariably reveal more about human beings who make them than reveal about the divine.” This means that mythologies that use anthropomorphism are revealing humans’ selfishness through the stories they tell. In addition, this indicates the accusation that man created god rather than god creating man. The Believe Religious Information Source also