Myths play a critical role in shaping the religious beliefs and the development of a society. Ancient Greece had numerous myths, one of them being the story of the birth of Zeus. According to the story, the world was unified and brought forth the goddess that took the role of creating everything. Eurynome the goddess gave birth to Titans, the children of Uranus. However, Cronus who was one of the Titans, rebelled against his father and castrated him. Uranus cursed his son by saying that his son could dethrone him. The curse came to pass when Zeus defeated his father and became the chief god (Sailors 20). The story of Zeus birth played a major role in influencing the religious practices of the people of ancient Greece during the bronze age, some of which led to development of historical features.
The story of Zeus inspired the Greeks to worship him as a god. The members of the society viewed him as the strongest and most superior god in existence. He had defeated his father Cronus and thus replaced him, making him a god to be feared. He was not only superior to other individuals in his realm, but also all the people in the world. He showed compassion and love to those who were good but punished the humans who were bad and evil. The knowledge acted as a strong basis for religious beliefs and a standard for morality (Langdon 80). For instance, some of the members of the society tended to uphold ethical standards in all they did. For instance, there were minimal killings except in the battle field.
The birth of Zeus led to the worship of numerous gods in ancient Greece. According to the myth, Cronus used to eat his children after their birth to avoid the fulfilment of the curse. The Greeks believed that after Rheus gave birth to Zeus, she hid him and fed his husband a stone, which he thought to be a child. The nymphs took care of Zeus, and after he was old enough, he defeated his father (Larson 153). Cronus had to vomit the children he had swallowed, who then became gods, one of them was the gods of the sea and Hades was the gods of the underworld. The Greeks therefore worship numerous gods, who held numerous responsibilities. For instance, Artemis was the moon god while Zeus was the rule of the Sky (Azad 97).
In ancient Greece, the civilians believed that the gods controlled weather phenomena and changes. As a result, seasons and weathers were viewed as the personification of their gods. The god Zeus was believed to control rain, thunder and lightning alongside playing the role of king of other gods. For this reason, it was common belief that any manifestation of rain, thunder or lightning was connected to the chief god Zeus. This led to the Greeks, especially the farmers, looking up to Zeus for rain, to nourish their crops with rain. The mountainous nature of Greece also led to the Greeks interpreting the mountain peaks as the dwelling place of Zeus. This was because the peaks were always covered in clouds alongside lightning and thunderstorms. Therefore, the highest peaks were considered hallowed unto Zeus as they conveyed his signs to the people (Langdon 80).
The worship of Zeus led to the construction of temples. According to the Greeks, Zeus was the most powerful god because of his ability to defeat his father Cronus. He also resided in the highest mountain in the region, which was the Olympus. To honour him, they created the Temple of Zeus at the mountain. Although he was a god, the Greeks believed that he took a human form and could reside in the building. The believers could worship the god in the temple (Azad 97). The building indicates the architectural development during the time. The temples were rectangular and had pillars that have supported its weight for more than 2000 years. However, there was the building of small circular places of worship (Azad 99). Other temples were also built in honour of other gods, such as the titans and the siblings of Zeus.
The belief and the worship of the different gods also led to the development of sculptures for the different deities. The statues could be placed in temples, where there was the worship of a specific god. For example, the image of Apollos was place in the temple of Delphi (Heller 17). People could move to the region to worship the god, who was the god of music, reason, and poetry. The statues were not only for males but also the female goddesses. For instance, the statue of Athena the wife of Zeus, who was the goddess of marriage, was placed in Parthenon (Azad 97). There was also the placement of small statues in the temples. For example, the Temple of Corfu has small statues placed on the wall. Others were curved into the wall during the building of the temple. The society could use the sculptures of the deities as grave markers (Heller 3). This may have been used to signify the faith of an individual and the preference of one god over the other.
During the bronze age Greece, the belief in the story of Zeus’ birth facilitated the religious practice of sacrificing to gods. Archaeological evidence indicates that there was animal sacrifice during the Aegean period. The society could sacrifice deities to appease them. For example, some sacrificed to goddess Venus so that they could be fortunate in love while others sacrificed to Zeus in the hope of he could control the lightning, which was used to strike those that angered him. According to the evidence, the society could carry young pigs to the burning areas, where some parts could be thrown in the fire while the humans could feed on the meaty sections. The practice led to the building of altars. Azad highlights that the altars were built under the open sky within the premises of the temple (Azad 97). There was the offering of other things such as weapons and helmets.
In conclusion, the story of Zeus’ birth played a major role in influencing the beliefs and practices of the members of the society and gave rise to historical developments that are evident to date. From the myth, the members of the society believed that Zeus was to be worshiped. His ability to rescue his siblings also gave rise to the concept of worshiping numerous gods, to which each was assigned different environmental conditions and natures such as lightning and the stars. The worship of the gods led to the building of temples, statues, and altars, which are present to date. Evidently, the story of the birth of Zeus acted as an inspiration for civilization for the bronze age Greece.
Works-Cited
- Azad, Mohammad. A review analysis of Ancient Greek architecture. Civil and Environmental Research, 2014: vol 6, no.11, 95-103.
- Hamilakis, Yannis & Konsolaki, Eleni. Pigs for the gods: Burnt animal sacrifices as embodies rituals at a mycenaean sanctuary. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 2004: DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0092.2004.00206.x
- Heller, Alexandra. From architecture to graves: The development of emotion in ancient Greek sculpture. Classical Archaeology and Art History Commons, 2015: 981, 1-83.
- Langdon, Merle. A Sanctuary of Zeus on Mount Hymettos. Priceton: New Jersey, 1976.
- Larson, Jennifer. Greek nymphs: Myth, cult, lore. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
- Sailors, Cara. The function of mythology and religion in Ancient Greek Society. Electronic Theses and Dissertations Paper 2110. 2007. http://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2110