Based on the conflict between Artemis and Aphrodite in Hippolytus, the conclusion which can be drawn is that the Greeks perceived their gods to be selfish, amoral, vengeful and petty, pursuing their own goals in disregard of the moral and responsible path and killing humans to attack the deities which favored said humans; the conflict between Demeter and the rest of the Olympian gods in Hymn to Demeter reinforces the notion that the gods did not care for mortals when solving conflicts between each other, and used mortals as a way to attack each other; and from the conflict between Apollo and the Furies in The Furies, the conclusion is that the Greeks believe the deities will not go to the point of actually harming each other directly, but will
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Demeter, Persephone’s mother, wants her daughter back from the underworld, and because of that she comes in conflict with almost literally every Olympian god. After finding out that her daughter was given to Hades by Zeus, Demeter goes to live with the mortals for a while, then has a temple built for herself in Eleusis. She secludes herself in the temple, and, being the goddess of harvest and agriculture, makes it so that no seed grows for a whole year. The world is in famine, and Demeter “would have made away with humankind, and all the splendid things it gives and sacrifices to Olympus” (Unknown, Hymn to Demeter, 310-312), had Zeus not taken action to stop her. This shows how ruthless and amoral the Greeks perceived their gods to be, willing to wipe out mankind from the face of the earth over a dispute between themselves in which no mortals are involved. The same quote also reveals that the Greeks believed their gods only valued them for the sacrifices the Greeks dedicated to Olympus, since this is the reason they intervene with Demeter’s annihilation of mankind. Demeter has no medium through which she can take revenge for having her daughter kidnapped or make a formal request that her daughter be returned, so she in turn has to threaten all the gods with the annihilation of the mortals who give them tribute. It is clear that the Greeks perceived the gods to have little regard to mortals …show more content…
This is the Greeks’ aetiological myth for the seasons of the year, spring happens when Persephone returns from the underworld, making Demeter happy again so she blesses the fertility of plants and agriculture. The resolution to this conflict is also interesting, especially in contrast to the resolution of the conflict in Hippolytus. In Hippolytus, the conflict between Artemis and Aphrodite is never resolved, the reader knows that Artemis plans to smite a mortal dear to Aphrodite, but there is no way to tell they stopped after that, or if they continued on this cycle of revenge. In the Hymn to Demeter, there is a clear solution to the conflict, with each of the conflicting parties managing to concede a bit and come to terms. This shows that the Greeks believed their gods were not that petty and obsessed with vengeance, but were able to communicate and reach
Demeter, Persephone’s mother, wants her daughter back from the underworld, and because of that she comes in conflict with almost literally every Olympian god. After finding out that her daughter was given to Hades by Zeus, Demeter goes to live with the mortals for a while, then has a temple built for herself in Eleusis. She secludes herself in the temple, and, being the goddess of harvest and agriculture, makes it so that no seed grows for a whole year. The world is in famine, and Demeter “would have made away with humankind, and all the splendid things it gives and sacrifices to Olympus” (Unknown, Hymn to Demeter, 310-312), had Zeus not taken action to stop her. This shows how ruthless and amoral the Greeks perceived their gods to be, willing to wipe out mankind from the face of the earth over a dispute between themselves in which no mortals are involved. The same quote also reveals that the Greeks believed their gods only valued them for the sacrifices the Greeks dedicated to Olympus, since this is the reason they intervene with Demeter’s annihilation of mankind. Demeter has no medium through which she can take revenge for having her daughter kidnapped or make a formal request that her daughter be returned, so she in turn has to threaten all the gods with the annihilation of the mortals who give them tribute. It is clear that the Greeks perceived the gods to have little regard to mortals …show more content…
This is the Greeks’ aetiological myth for the seasons of the year, spring happens when Persephone returns from the underworld, making Demeter happy again so she blesses the fertility of plants and agriculture. The resolution to this conflict is also interesting, especially in contrast to the resolution of the conflict in Hippolytus. In Hippolytus, the conflict between Artemis and Aphrodite is never resolved, the reader knows that Artemis plans to smite a mortal dear to Aphrodite, but there is no way to tell they stopped after that, or if they continued on this cycle of revenge. In the Hymn to Demeter, there is a clear solution to the conflict, with each of the conflicting parties managing to concede a bit and come to terms. This shows that the Greeks believed their gods were not that petty and obsessed with vengeance, but were able to communicate and reach