Greek and Christian Gods

Throughout the ages religion has been a very important part of history. It shaped many cultures and allowed us to further understand numerous civilizations. Through art we have been able to interpret the beliefs, and value of each culture. Two of these cultures include the Christians and Greeks. Both which had many similarities and differences in their beliefs and their depiction of God/gods.

The concepts of Christianity and the religious concepts of the Greek gods are comparatively alike. To begin, in both religions, humans believe that there are speakers for their God/gods. These people include priests and nuns in Christianity and tellers or prophets in Greek times. Furthermore, the people believed that their God or gods are above all human rank. Both cultures believed a god is above all and listens to people when they need help. This then explains why both the Christians and the Greeks prayed to their gods for forgiveness. Another similarity between both cultures is that they preached that their God/gods decide either before or after a person’s life on earth where the person will live in the afterlife, depending on each person’s values. They believed one would either go to Hell or Hades, or Heaven. Likewise both believe in the afterlife which is eternally chosen.*******

Anther similarity in both cultures was the depiction of their God/gods in their traditional mythological or divine situations. For example, in Euphronios’ ‘Hercules wrestling Antaios’ and in the Christian "Miracle of the loaves and fishes." In the first Hercules is shown in his battle against the Libyan giant, Antaios. Interestingly though the painter did not depict much detail of the fight and shows only a moment in the battle. In the latter Christ is shown after he miraculously increased the supply of fish and bread to feed the crowd. Like in the first art work the artist did not try to show details of the event. Here the focus is on the power of Christ’s’ divinity.

Even though many similarities existed between the Greek and Christian God/gods, there were numerous differences between the two. First of all, Christians believe in one almighty God who is above all humans. Greeks however believed in many gods, most of which seemed to personify some natural phenomenon, such as, the moon, sun, wind and water. Furthermore, unlike the omnipotent God that the Christians portrayed in their art, the Greeks portrayed their gods in a more human like manner. They gave their divinities superhuman power and yet showed they were not free from human frailty. For example in Lysippos’ Weary Herakles. The Greek hero, shown with exaggerated muscular development, looks weary as he leans on his club for support. The humanization of their gods became a common theme in Greek art.

Another notable difference between both religions was the absence of any established religious rules or authoritative revelation such as, for example the Bible in Christianity. The Greeks seemed to be less preoccupied with religion than the Christians were.

Furthermore, Christian iconography, unlike the Greek, seemed to dominate the art of the western world in the Middle Ages. Although Christian’s art was not depicted in certain periods, when it was, it held a monopoly in the art theme. The Greeks on the other hand did not only portray their gods and goddesses in their art. They rather had a more expanded subject matter and did not focus only on religion. For example it was common for art to portray the athletes, philosophers, statesmen, and narratives of war during the classical period.

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