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Articles

No. 2(3) (2012): Ancient Sources of the Social Sciences

Simplified Heritage. Moderns and Hellenic Conception of the Divine Anthropomorphism

  • Lucyna Kostuch
Submitted
10 June 2020
Published
01-11-2012

Abstract

The article analyses the Hellenic conceptions related to anthropomorphisation of deities, as well as our modern views – both popular and scientific – related to Greek belief in the possibility that gods could exist in human form. The author tries to answer the following questions: Did the Hellenes consistently believe in deities as being in human form? Are the simplified images of Greek deities, with attributes known from studies of mythology, the result of the subsequent epochs only? Or maybe the Greeks contributed to creation of such simplifications. It appears that although Greek deities were presented in human form and anthropomorphic gods in the form of a statue were a permanent element of the cult, it was paradoxically believed that a divine shape was elusive for a human being. The presently well known Greek deities, with their own characteristic appearances, specific attributes and patronages over given areas of life, are not the invention of the subsequent periods in Greek history. They were introduced by ancient Greek authors, with Homer himself at the head.

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