Dr. Donald Blake & Thor Odinson (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fandomhigh2024-11-18 09:55 am
ifwebeworthy) wrote in fandomhigh2024-11-18 09:55 am
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The Various Gods & You, Monday, First Period
"Have you ever noticed how the Roman pantheon is mostly the Greek pantheon wearing new hats?" Don opened by asking the class.
"Was it conquest or trade that caused them to mirror the Greeks," Jane added. "Or was it just more common back then and most of the surviving texts are from Greek and Roman sources."
Food for thought!
"You do see it a lot, albeit usually not quite so...wholesale.." Don said. "Some of the Greek deities, in fact, were 'borrowed' from other cultures further to the east, and in Christianity you have Easter, which is ostensibly about the resurrection of Christ but takes its name from the West Germanic goddess of spring Eostre. And don't get me started on Christmas. Or there's Saint Brigid in the Catholic Church."
"It can be a form of conversion," Jane said. "A 'we have what you're familiar with here too' kind of thing."
If the class could gesture at Christmas some more... it would.
"Or it can be a bid for legitimacy, which is what's going on with Rome," Don explained. "The Romans adopted a revised origin story where their city was founded by people fleeing the destruction of Troy, so of course they were a continuation of Greek culture!...even though Troy wasn't Greek...but the thing I want you to consider is, how does this work when you're talking about real gods? Are there two people, Jupiter and Zeus? Does Zeus sometimes slap on a fake mustache and an Italian accent?"
"...that'd actually be pretty funny." Guys, no. "Better to just take this as a thought exercise because the implications are something."
And they didn't have time to unpack all of that.
It was Monday morning. No one wanted to do that. "So, yeah," Don said. "Discuss!"
"Was it conquest or trade that caused them to mirror the Greeks," Jane added. "Or was it just more common back then and most of the surviving texts are from Greek and Roman sources."
Food for thought!
"You do see it a lot, albeit usually not quite so...wholesale.." Don said. "Some of the Greek deities, in fact, were 'borrowed' from other cultures further to the east, and in Christianity you have Easter, which is ostensibly about the resurrection of Christ but takes its name from the West Germanic goddess of spring Eostre. And don't get me started on Christmas. Or there's Saint Brigid in the Catholic Church."
"It can be a form of conversion," Jane said. "A 'we have what you're familiar with here too' kind of thing."
If the class could gesture at Christmas some more... it would.
"Or it can be a bid for legitimacy, which is what's going on with Rome," Don explained. "The Romans adopted a revised origin story where their city was founded by people fleeing the destruction of Troy, so of course they were a continuation of Greek culture!...even though Troy wasn't Greek...but the thing I want you to consider is, how does this work when you're talking about real gods? Are there two people, Jupiter and Zeus? Does Zeus sometimes slap on a fake mustache and an Italian accent?"
"...that'd actually be pretty funny." Guys, no. "Better to just take this as a thought exercise because the implications are something."
And they didn't have time to unpack all of that.
It was Monday morning. No one wanted to do that. "So, yeah," Don said. "Discuss!"
Sign In
Re: Sign In
Re: Sign In
Re: Sign In
During the Lecture
Wait.
Discuss!
Re: Discuss!
He smirked, then his face turned thoughtful. “But it’s not just them. You look at Egyptian gods, and you see echoes, too. Like Ra, their sun god, shining bright like Apollo from the Greeks. Sure, Ra’s got that whole bird-head thing going on, but at the core, it’s the same gig. Norse gods? Same deal. Odin? Basically Zeus with a little more edge and the ability to keep it in his pants.”
Dean dropped the chair back onto all four legs with a thunk. “Thing is, people had the same fears and needs, no matter where they were. They wanted gods to explain the unexplainable. So, the gods ended up being variations on a theme. Power, family drama, big egos. Only difference? Some were more hands-on. Trust me, when you’ve tangled with enough of them, you see the patterns. Gods might be divine, but man, they’re predictable.”
He then added with a smirk, “But if I had to pick? Norse gods win on style. I mean, who doesn’t love a good hammer and mead combo?”
He might be biased.
Talk to Jane & Don
OOC