How Did The Greek Gods Influence Popular Culture

Final Essay - Prompt #2

Whether comparing their impacts upon popular culture or within the modern religious landscape, the Gods of the Greek Mythos have provided a strong basis for Western Spirituality to follow. Needless to say, debates surrounding the nature of the holy world were just as widespread as those in modernity. If we have never seen what a God has looked like, how should we go about respecting such an esteemed being? When comparing and contrasting the representations of Gods under Sophocles’s Oedipus the King or Euripides’s Bacchae, the Greek Gods are demonstrated to be immovable forces directing the interests of Greek Society. Sophocles represents the Gods as metaphysical beings asserting their demands upon humanity in portraying

While the Gods may appear immensely powerful over the common mortal, said deities still rely upon the servitude of entire societies in ensuring dominion over our world. Under Sophocles’s interpretation, the full realization of Apollo’s prophecy leaves Oedipus utterly traumatized. Oedipus shares how, “Apollo has revealed what he desires. Everything is clear. I killed my father, I am polluted and unclean. I must die,” (Berg and Clay 90). Upon realizing that he is the metaphorical pollutant of his own nation, Oedipus’s former stability as king is completely upended. The woeful king ascertains that he has no choice but to banish himself from his home nation. While not directly stated, Oedipus realizes that he stands no chance when compared to the commands of the Gods. This relationship underscores the greater power Gods hold over the hearts of men when juxtaposed to that of even

While just as awe-inspiring as the Gods represented by Sophocles, the Gods found in the Bacchae directly attain their needs through their own devices. This is most clearly viewed in Dionysus’s decision to incarnate as ‘nobody’. In fact, the opening passage of the Bacchae starts with Dionysus’s own introduction as to what his plans are. The God starts with, “I have taken human form and come back here,” and that king Penthus, “offers no libations, makes no mention of me in prayer. So I must teach this Pentheus, teach all of Thebes, what kind of god I am. Once I am established here I will move on to other lands and show myself there,” (Euripides, 1-3). Unlike Oedipus the King, Dionysus makes clear that he is directly seeking retribution for Pentheus’s lack of worship. The God treats himself as a messenger of his own intentions through the announcement of his intended pilgrimage across Greece in garnering respect. While he does not intend to directly reveal himself as a divine being, his method of incarnating as a mortal paints the God as somewhat down-to-Earth when compared to the Apollo according to Sophocles. Euripides thus paints the Gods as approachable beings in spite of their grand powers who are just as deserving of pious praise as those represented by Sophocles. While both Gods set out in leaving lasting impacts upon