OF SUPERIOR MEN, GODS, IDOLS & RELIGION

OF SUPERIOR MEN, DEMI GODS, GODS, IDOLS & RELIGION

Around 600 – 700 BC the existence of Demi-Gods and Gods is documented according to Greek Mythology.

Their origins starting with Gaea [earth] emerging out of the void alongside other primary divine beings like Eros [love], the Abyss & the Erebus.

Gaea gave birth to 3 children Uranus [the Sky], Ourea [the mountains] & Pontus [the sea] without male assistance.

First Gaea and Uranus bonded to give birth to 18 children, the first 12 were the Titans – 6 males & 6 females:

Coeus, Crius, Cronus, Hyperion, Lapetus & Oceanus [males]

Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Rhea, Theia, Themis & Tethys [females]

Shortly after she bore the 3 Cyclopes [round eye] – Brontes, Steropes and Arges;

then the 3 Hecatoncheires [hundred hands] – Cottus, Briareos & Gyges.

Afterwards Gaea mated with Pontus and gave birth to 5 more children: Nereus, Thaumus, Phorcys, Ceto & Eurybia.

Gaea had conflicts with her son Uranus; her son Cronus helped her and cut off Uranus’s genitals when he tried to sleep with Gaea once again.

Later Gaea had a conflict with her grandson Zeus – helped by fellow Olympians Zeus won and became the third ruler of the Gods.

The Olympians, Zeus and their peers were known to have corporeal but ideal bodies with fantastic abilities, significantly they were not affected by disease & could not be wounded in ordinary circumstances – a sort of immortality and unfading youth.

Most Gods were associated with specific aspects of life:

Aphrodite – Goddess of love and beauty [= Venus – Roman]

Ares – God of War

Athena – Goddess of wisdom & courage = Minerva – Roman]

Helios – Sun God [= Mars – Roman]

Hestia – virgin Goddess of hearth – the right ordering of domesticity

Apollo – son of Zeus

Artemis – Goddess of the hunt [= Diana – Roman]

Demeter – the agricultural Goddess [= Ceres – Roman]

Dionysus – son of Zeus born to a mortal mother [ = Bacchus – Roman]

Hades – ruler of the world of the dead

Hera – the Queen Goddess of Olympus – both a wife and sister of Zeus [ = Juno – Roman]

Hermes – protecting livestock, music, fertility, luck & deception [= Mercury – Roman]

Poseidon – sea God [= Neptune – Roman]

Zeus – control over weather – married to sister-wife Hera but infidelity with mortal women like Helen of Troy [ = Jupiter – Roman]

Numerous Temples in Greece & neighbouring areas displayed the main/ popular Gods.

In ancient Roman times, a new roman mythology was born through syncretization of numerous Greek & foreign Gods. The Cult of Sun was introduced to Rome after Aurelian’s campaigns in Syria. The Asiatic divinities Mithras [Sun] [inspired by Zoroastrians] and Ba’al were combined with Apollo & Helios into one Sol Invictus with conglomerated rites & compound attributes.

There are a lot of similarities between Greek [& Roman] Gods and Hindu Gods with mirror equivalents of most Gods:

Starting with the mighty God Kings – Zeus’s equivalent is Indra – both have control over the weather; both are Monarchs among Gods with great power; Indra dwelled in sacred land above Mount Meru whilst Zeus lived in the majestic Mount Olympus; both valiant in deeds;

Eros & Kamadeva – both personify love – Eros was born to Aphrodite & the God of war Ares, & Kamadeva was created by Brahma, the creator God;

Apollo & Surya – Apollo is the God of Sun, light & prophecy & Surya of wisdom, light & astrology;

Hermes & Narada – among other similarities both have invented musical instruments;

Athena & Saraswati – both representing law, warfare and wisdom [Athena is said to have emerged fully grown when Hephaestus split open God Zeus’s skull; Saraswati sprang out from the mouth pf God Brahma;

Poseidon & Varuna – both controlled the aquatic regions – rivers, etc;

Rhea & Aditi – motherhood and expansive, boundless uninterrupted flow;

Achilles & Bhisma – both warriors had a similar tale of births & survival – mothers of both had 6 children and both mothers tried to either burn or drown all – only Achilles & Bhisma were rescued by their fathers.

In the West/Europe the above was all replaced and suppressed after the Roman Emperor Constantine starting in AD 313 in the proclamation of the Edict of Milan declared tolerance for Christianity in the Roman Empire – he became Baptised as a Christian & is known as the First Christian Emperor.

In earlier years he is known to have been anti-Christian, banning Christianity.

This was the start of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Roman Catholic movement lost ground to other movements, mainly like the Protestants, starting with Martin Luther of Germany in the 16th century who started the Lutheran Protestant movement, followed by King Henry of England who became the head of the Church of England; taxes which traditionally went to the Roman catholic Church/ establishment were effectively diverted [collected in] to Germany and England rather than in Rome.

By Prof Naresh Sethi 29th July 2021