# Why Were The Greek Gods So Nasty? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 8, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065 "2010-09-08T16:32:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/21 "2010-09-08T22:48:42Z")
The Gods were ‘Humans On Steroids’. Basically personifications of Human behavior, as one would expect that WE would be if we had their power. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/22 "2010-09-08T22:52:33Z")
The Greek gods were saints compared to the Norse gods. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/23 "2010-09-08T22:55:51Z")
I thought Agamemnon making a human sacrifice out of his daughter for favorable sailing winds might have pissed the gods off more than wearing purple. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/24 "2010-09-08T23:09:33Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > > [@ralph124c](#): > > > > Why did they hate humans so much? > > I can think of two reasons. > > One, it more accurately reflects reality. If the gods are powerful enough to stop bad things happening to you, you’d have to ask youself why bad things are happening to you. “Because Zeus is a dick” works quite well. > > Two, it makes it easier for a priest to collect bribes on their god’s behalf. An evil god might be persuaded to make your life better by such demonstrations of your devotion, while a good god would be doing his best anyway. It also gives powerful people a lot more license to fuck with less powerful people, because the gods take the rap. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/25 "2010-09-08T23:11:35Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > I thought Agamemnon making a human sacrifice out of his daughter for favorable sailing winds might have pissed the gods off more than wearing purple. Killing Iphigenia was the gods’ idea. But then, Yahweh punishes David for conducting a census on Yahweh’s orders, so your point would hardly be unique. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/26 "2010-09-08T23:26:05Z")
The women seem to get the worst fates, the worst treatment in myths. I assume it reflects the status of women in society in those times. Low. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/27 "2010-09-09T01:17:49Z")
> [@](#): > > Yes, but most mythologies give a reason, don’t they? Nope. Gods is arbitrary and unapologetic. the stories of Job and Abraham have spoiled you. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/28 "2010-09-09T01:20:56Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Yes, but most mythologies give a reason, don’t they? > > Nope. Gods is arbitrary and unapologetic. the stories of Job and Abraham have spoiled you. Wait, there was a [good/justifiable] reason God was a complete dick to Job and Abraham?! I must have missed it. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/29 "2010-09-09T03:39:23Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > Wait, there was a [good/justifiable] reason God was a complete dick to Job and Abraham?! I must have missed it. I’m pretty sure in Abraham’s case, God was nudging the angels like “dude, dude, check this out, I totally just told Abraham it’d be really freaking sweet if he sacrificed his son, let’s see if he’ll do it…holy shit, he is! Look, he’s got the altar and everything! There, see, he’s got a knife, looks pretty sharp…wait…shit, DUDE, ABRAHAM, CHILL OUT, BRO, IT WAS JUST A JOKE, OKAY? I DIDN’T ACTUALLY MEAN IT. DON’T SACRIFICE YOUR SON. I MEAN IT THIS TIME. NO, SERIOUSLY. BUY THE KID AN ICE CREAM OR SOMETHING.” And Job? Job was a dare. By the devil. Who was all “I bet you fifty shekels Job’s gonna dump your ass if you do let me do bad shit to him.” “You’re on.” _The devil pisses in Job’s cornflakes. Mightily._ “OH SHIT DUDE HE’S STILL PRAISING ME, YOU TOTALLY OWE ME FIFTY SHEKELS, MAN.” Yes, in my head, God and the devil are the douchebags you knew in high school. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/30 "2010-09-09T03:45:33Z")
fuck. see next post. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/31 "2010-09-09T03:46:42Z")
> [@Maiira](#): > > Yes, in my head, God and the devil are the douchebags you knew in high school. They’ve got more in common than different, that’sferdamsure. Like J. Edgar and the mob. They fucking _need_ each other. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/32 "2010-09-09T12:51:41Z")
Were the Titans that Zeus defeated also so human-like? If not, I could see a theme of humanity beating out the more powerful. Also, if you’re at all familiar with the New Testament, you’d know that Christians believe that the whole thing about sacrificing Isaac was a test of faith, and a test of devotion. As for Job–that was just a long explanation for why bad things happen to good people. My problem is that the message seems to be that should be an upright person, but no so upright that Satan takes notice of you. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/33 "2010-09-09T14:05:12Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Why did they hate humans so much? I’ll tell you a secret. Something they don’t teach you in your temple. The Gods envy us. They envy us because we’re mortal, because any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/34 "2010-09-09T14:30:19Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Yes, but most mythologies give a reason, don’t they? > > Nope. Gods is arbitrary and unapologetic. the stories of Job and Abraham have spoiled you. Yup. Most mythologies are just collections of stories, many of which are different versions of the same story. Often they are the compiled oral traditions of newly literate societies. Sometimes the compilation was done by Christian clerics because their audience hadn’t bothered to figure out that “writing” thingie done by peoples they’d been fighting & trading with for centuries; one reason European mythology is somewhat spotty. Mostly, morals weren’t included. The myths weren’t dogma. Later writers in the traditions might add moral lessons–or they might adapt the more tittilating bits to amuse a decadent audience. Of course, the Greeks & Romans were champions here! Once again, I’m going to recommend [The Greek Myths](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140171991/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0385015836&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1BNN2275ZG90HF4Z3SAY) by Robert Graves. He recounts each variant of every story & gives the sources. Of course, his Goddess Worship makes his personal interpretations very, umm, “personal.” Just a reminder that the myths aren’t dead. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/35 "2010-09-09T15:24:47Z")
They resented human ego. When a human thought they he was special (godlike) ,they had to be taught a lesson. The lessons were severe. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/36 "2010-09-09T16:08:55Z")
What baffles me is not that the gods of a given tradition were dickish, but that they were often dickish by the standards even of the societies that worshiped them. I have some idea how Christians rationalize some of their god’s major dick moves, though I find it unpersuasive. But how did the Greeks manage it? I know from the [Euthyphro](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthyphro) that people seriously considered pleasing the gods to have moral value, despite all they knew about the bastards. How is it that religion wasn’t spoken as a matter of “fucked if you do, fucked if you don’t”? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/37 "2010-09-09T18:54:16Z")
> [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > What baffles me is not that the gods of a given tradition were dickish, but that they were often dickish by the standards even of the societies that worshiped them. I have some idea how Christians rationalize some of their god’s major dick moves, though I find it unpersuasive. But how did the Greeks manage it? I know from the [Euthyphro](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthyphro) that people seriously considered pleasing the gods to have moral value, despite all they knew about the bastards. How is it that religion wasn’t spoken as a matter of “fucked if you do, fucked if you don’t”? One has to worship the gods one has, not the gods one might like to have. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/38 "2010-09-09T19:55:18Z")
> [@Maiira](#): > > Yes, in my head, God and the devil are the douchebags you knew in high school. There ain’t no Devil, there’s only God when he’s drunk. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/39 "2010-09-09T22:26:25Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Were the Titans that Zeus defeated also so human-like? If not, I could see a theme of humanity beating out the more powerful. I’ve got the vague idea that the Titans were more clearly defined and restricted in their roles, but I’m not qualified to answer that. Interesting idea though. > [@](#): > > Also, if you’re at all familiar with the New Testament, you’d know that Christians believe that the whole thing about sacrificing Isaac was a test of faith, and a test of devotion. I know. I don’t see how that excuses Yahweh’s actions at all. > [@](#): > > As for Job–that was just a long explanation for why bad things happen to good people. My problem is that the message seems to be that should be an upright person, but no so upright that Satan takes notice of you. I don’t agree. Why did Yahweh have to go along with the whole charade? He’s supposed to be the premier god after all. The only deduction to be drawn from this tale is that God is a sociopath. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065/40 "2010-09-10T01:08:50Z")
I don’t know that it’s really true that the Greek gods are giant dicks. Most of the time when people get punished, it’s like **Skald** says, because they “did not pay proper heed to the laws of nature and the limits of human power”. They inflate themselves above their station and try to act like the equals to the gods. So, Arachne, for instance, boasts that she’s a better weaver than Athena, and in punishment, she’s turned into a spider. Niobe claims she’s superior to Leto, because Niobe had 14 children, while Leto only had two, Apollo and Artemis, so her children are killed. Ixion tries to seduce Hera when he’s a guest of Zeus, so he’s bound to a firey wheel for all eternity. Adonis is killed when he boasts he’s a better hunter than Artemis, and Actaeon is killed when he spies on Artemis bathing. The Aloadae are killed by Artemis after they boast they’ll kidnap and rape Artemis and Hera. (Artemis kills a lot of people who want to rape her or spy on her bathing. She’s turns one into a woman.) Promethius teaches men to trick the gods by giving them bones wrapped in fat for sacrifices instead of the better portion which man keeps for himself, and then interferes with Zeus’s punishment by stealing back the fire that Zeus takes from men and is punished by the vulture and the liver thing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-were-the-greek-gods-so-nasty/553065.md?page=3)