Luke Dowell Mrs.

Dunn Comparative Mythology October 18, 2011

Anthropomorphism In Myths
Long ago, the wandering sages and rhapsodes told stories of battle and heroism, love and lust and loss and grief. These stories were of the Gods and Goddesses, the Titans and Giants, and those that served and worshipped them. The Gods and Goddesses were the perfect beings, and yet were flawed at the same time. The anthropomorphism shown in the tales spun by the poets of their age gave a human connection to the deities that governed their daily lives. Major players in the Anthropomorphic game were the Romans, Norse, and Greeks. Anthropomorphism may exist in these cultures to help relate to the religious system itself. It is much easier to understand a person stealing an object from someone rather than explain how fire works. Perhaps even the priests of these cultures modified their different myths into Anthropomorphic style to help teach lessons to young students. Instead of trying to explain ethics and morality or patience to a small child, one only has to tell him the story of Orpheus and his lute. Instead of teaching a child that cleverness is as important as strength, one may tell him stories of Lokis adventures, or the Death of Balder. More than anything, Anthropomorphic style is used as a literary and teaching device. Although Anthropomorphism was a great teaching device, some argued that it actually hindered human development and understanding in the idea of death and transcendence. Francis Bacon said that the tendency to anthropomorphize hinders the understanding of the world, but it is deep-seated and persistent. What Francis was telling everyone is that even though we want to put human faces on our dieties, it is stopping us from truly grasping the idea

of something greater than ourselves. It is almost egotistical, the fact that we cannot let go from the idea of something bigger and better and different from us. The religious systems of various cultures changed as they became more and more advanced. Simple nations religious systems were polytheistic, and their gods tended to be a mix between humans and animals, or were just abstract concepts in themselves. The next stage in this religious development was a polytheistic system that was anthropomorphic. Only the monsters and boogie-men of the myths were animal mixes, like the minotaur in Greek mythology. The ancient Greeks and Norsemen made their religions polytheistic and anthropomorphic because that was all they knew. Today, many of the major religions (Christianity, Islam) have a single God, who is omniscient and omnipotent. Even though these ideas are always changing, we still cannot let go of the idea that there is something bigger and better and different from us. In Christianity, the one God is still anthropomorphic as we say that we were made in his image, which is almost a reverse form of anthropomorphism. The cultures and religions whose stories were made to be human-like are the ones that have stuck with us over time. Ask any child who Zeus is, and he will reply that he is the god of thunder. Ask any child who Ra is, and the likelihood of them knowing is much more slim. Due to the fact that we can understand these gods as human beings rather than abstract concepts, the Epics of ancient times will never be lost to the void. Humanity will always yearn for more tales of Thor and his hammer, or of Athenas glorious adventures. These epic tales will stay with us, and their lessons will live on.

Bibliography

Osiris, Isis, and Horus World Mythology: An Anthology of the Great Myths and Epics. 3rd ed. Ed.

Rosenberg, Donna. Lincolnwood: NTC Publishing Group, 1999. 12-21 Print.

The Creation of the Titans and the Gods World Mythology: An Anthology of the Great Myths and Epics. 3rd ed. Ed. Rosenberg, Donna. Lincolnwood: NTC Publishing Group, 1999. 83-92. Print.

The Death of Balder World Mythology: An Anthology of the Great Myths and Epics. 3rd ed. Ed. Rosenberg, Donna. Lincolnwood: NTC Publishing Group, 1999. 467-. Print.