The gods in Homer: further considerations

In two vital aspects, early Greek epic poetry exactly reflects the nature of Greek religion as far back as it can be known. The system is polytheistic, as in nearly all other ancient societies, with Zeus as merely the mightiest member of the divine family; and the gods are regarded as anthropomorphic. Both facets of this system have important moral implications, which first appear in Homer but pervade all Greek literature. The prehistory of ‘Homeric religion’ was discussed above (vol. II, 1–14), where it was shown that the Greeks tended to elevate and humanize the Mesopotamian beliefs which they largely adopted. Here I will focus on the literary and moral dimensions of these beliefs, and how they are reshaped for the poetic purposes of the Iliad.

The literary and religious aims of Homer's innovations

Like any Greek poet, Homer had the right to adapt myths as he wished, within the wide limits of the traditions he inherited. As Griffin has shown, he de-emphasizes their bizarre and magical aspects, plays up their potential for humour and tragedy, and above all stresses his gods' human nature: they are exactly like us save for their greater power and knowledge, and their freedom from age and death (they can still alter their location and shape at will, but Homer avoids vouching in his own persona for their more bizarre metamorphoses). He widens the gulf between mortal and immortal, which not even Herakles or Akhilleus can cross; even the more optimistic Odyssey vividly depicts the insubstantiality of the souls in Hades, barely alluding to tales that Menelaos and Herakles enjoyed a better afterlife.