The Gods are not their myths!
Let's talk about Greek mythology in relation to Hellenic Polytheism.
Let me preface this by saying that I'd like to clear some things up since I am simply tired of people attacking Hellenic polytheists and straight-up shitting on the Gods we worship because of myths, their interpretations or modern depictions. However in this post specifically I'll focus on mythology.
This especially happens with myths involving some form of violence being used, sexual assault, etc.
I'm not trying to justify these behaviours nor would I ever want to. In the eyes of modern-day society, they're obviously considered unacceptable if we take the myths literally, but when we take into account the ancient societal "norms" and "customs", such behaviours were far more acceptable and quite common, as terrible as it may sound to us nowadays.
Societal moral standards do change over time, so it is undeniable that people today vary in their moral thinking but it seems we often ignore or forget about how moral thinking has been changing over time. As cultures evolve and societies develop, people's ways of thinking about what's '"good" or "bad" also transform.
Wanting to reconstruct an ancient religion does not mean wanting to reconstruct the society it came from!
We live in a Christian hegemonic society thus are accustomed to mythic literalism but although mythology is indeed connected to this religion the Venn diagram of mythos and religious practice is not a circle!
Let's not forget that the ancient Greek religion is othopraxic, not orthodoxic, meaning religious behaviour is valued more than privately held beliefs.
I think it's also important to mention that these stories came from plenty of different locations, varying in culture and customs of what would now be considered Ancient Greece and were passed down orally for ages until they were finally written down and often, thus also resulting in the creation of many different versions that we're familiar with today.
They were written by humans for humans. It's a human explanation of the divine and let's not forget these stories are also a reflection of the society and time they were created in. On top of that, we even have evidence that ancient Greeks themselves did not exactly take the myths literally but saw them more as teaching tools and explanatory mechanisms of the way their society functioned, so although they do contain truths about the gods, ultimately these stories are more about us and the distinction between us and the gods as well as for the purpose to explain why we are the way we are.
Given that these stories were written within the cultural context in order to explain cultural phenomena as it made it easier to get a grasp on it through the inspiration which potentially came from divine source through the eyes of that culture, it is provable that the myths are not literally true and are not to be taken too literally.
So, no, this or that deity is not literally a predator but was portrayed this way by the ancients due to their own understanding of their culture and how men and women related to one another within that culture.
Then, there are later translations, interpretations and depictions of myths in art which were also heavily influenced by Christianity, misogyny and white supremacy. These things also can and do influence how the gods are seen nowadays (especially strong emphasis on interpretations and art but that's a topic for a whole another post because, oh boy, there's a lot we need to talk about).
Questioning someone's belief in a certain divinity based on reading modern morals into ancient stories is just not ok.
So, let's talk about belief, how it worked in ancient times and how the ancients believed in Theoi.
Curiously, for people so religiously minded, theĀ Greeks had no word for religion or belief itself in the modern sense; instead, for example, Herodotus speaks of the Hellenes as having "common shrines of the gods and sacrifices, and the same kinds of customs."
The nearest ancient terms were eusebeia (Īµį½ĻĪĪ²ĪµĪ¹Ī±) [piety] and threskeia (ĪøĻĪ·ĻĪŗĪµĪÆĪ±) [cult].
There are also two other words, the first one being doxa (Ī“ĻĪ¾Ī±). It comes from dokeinĀ (Ī“ĪæĪŗĪµįæĪ½), ['to appear, to seem, to think] and roughly means "a common opinion" which could also seem to be close but was not used in this context as well as another word which is Pistis (Ī ĪÆĻĻĪ¹Ļ). It started out as the name of the personification ofĀ good faith, trust and reliability and only later, in Christianity and in the New Testament,Ā pistisĀ began to be used as the word for "faith" or "belief".
Fun fact: yes, Hellenismos is a relatively new word to identify this religion. Although it did appear in ancient pieces of writing, scientists believe it was most likely not employed in a religious manner, but is used in the context of proper Greek grammar.
But the fact that there was no directly translatable word does not mean the concept did not exist. So, yes, of course, the Greeks believed in their gods, traditions and practices and we know that because they existed and continue to exist.
The Ancient Greeks actively and fully participated in their religious practices, understood and respected their gods and thought they existed. From the beginning, writing in ancient Greek talks about their gods, what they're like and the kinds of relationships people formed with them. Oftentimes, it details sacrifices and other religious practices.
A very interesting example of this could be the so-called Cup of Nestor found on the island of Ischia, the ancient Pithekoussai dating from around 700 BC. On the cup, there is a three-line inscription saying: "I am a cup of Nestor good for drinking. Whomever drinks from this cup, desire for beautifully crowned Aphrodite will seize him instantly." As far as we know, it is neither a prayer to Aphrodite nor was the cup reserved for religious occasions. But it certainly gives us a hint of how people thought of Aphrodite and her influence over them.
So, the ancients are talking about their relationship with the gods, direct and indirect, that is what we would call religion!
Alongside this, there are countless references in literature and art showing that the gods are not just characters in stories but are present in people's lives and directly influenced the lives, communities, culture and society of real people in the ancient Greek world.
Here's a great video that further explains the relation of mythology to religion in the cultural context. I wholeheartedly recommend you watch it too: LINK
To conclude, mythology is not literal and when it comes to Hellenic Polytheism, practice is more important than the belief itself.
It's just wrong to blatantly disrespect one god or another as well as their worshippers because of the mythology, things like your own biases or just for whatever other reason. This also applies to other religions! All deities should be respected as should the religions that they come from. It's not ok to just go around saying: "X deity is shit". If you don't worship them or do not like them, at least understand this deity to be sacred and important for somebody else.
Personally, I see divinity as something that allows people to connect to something bigger than themselves. It brings them comfort, hope, peace and even the will to face another day. I encourage you to think about that before you decide to talk ill about someone else's god or gods.
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