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Single Idea 7348

[filed under theme 29. Religion / A. Polytheistic Religion / 2. Greek Polytheism ]

Full Idea

The Jews drew an absolute distinction between the human and the divine; the Greeks constantly elevated the human - they were Promethean - and lowered the divine.

Clarification

Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans

Gist of Idea

The Jews sharply distinguish human and divine, but the Greeks pull them closer together

Source

Paul Johnson (The History of the Jews [1987], Pt II)

Book Ref

Johnson,Paul: 'A History of the Jews' [Phoenix 1993], p.102

A Reaction

An intriguing observation. The Greek idea runs right through European culture, surfacing (for example) in 'Faust', or 'Frankenstein', or the films of James Cameron. I'm with the Greeks; I want to see how far humanity can be elevated.

The 13 ideas with the same theme [early Greek religion, centred on Zeus and others]:

1742 Thales said the gods know our wrong thoughts as well as our evil actions [Thales, by Diog. Laertius]
15659 Purifying yourself with blood is as crazy as using mud to wash off mud [Heraclitus]
1522 It is wretched not to want to think clearly about the gods [Empedocles]
12097 There are as many eternal unmovable substances as there are movements of the stars [Aristotle]
22729 The concepts of gods arose from observing the soul, and the cosmos [Aristotle, by Sext.Empiricus]
9287 Bruno said that ancient Egyptian magic was the true religion [Bruno, by Yates]
14827 The Greeks saw the gods not as their masters, but as idealised versions of themselves [Nietzsche]
7208 Paganism is a form of thanking and affirming life? [Nietzsche]
14864 The Greeks lack a normative theology: each person has their own poetic view of things [Nietzsche]
7348 The Jews sharply distinguish human and divine, but the Greeks pull them closer together [Johnson,P]
20666 Most polytheist recognise one supreme power or law, behind the various gods [Harari]
20667 Polytheism is open-minded, and rarely persecutes opponents [Harari]
20665 Mythologies are usual contracts with the gods, exchanging devotion for control of nature [Harari]