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How many Greek deities were non-anthropomorphic?

• YeGoblynQueenne 8y ago
  That doesn't make any difference. The article claims that animistic beliefs are absent from Greek thought. The OP quotes four examples that very clearly say they are instead embraced by the most prominent Greek philosophers, like, ever. As to the belief that humans are "special" - well, you only have to look at the philosophy of the cynics, like Diogenes (the most prominent cynic of all). Or, to the legend of Hades and how the dead are shades without personality or memory- including the most important personnages like heroes and kings (in the Odyssey, Ulysses indulges in a bit of necromancy and calls forth Achiles' shade, by offering it blood from a sacrifice. The poet explains that the blood reminds the dead of who they were in the land of the living. When the rite is over, they go back to being person-less shades). Hardly a "humans are special" kind of vibe, there. In Greek mythology, Gods are special. Humans, not so much. Unless they're heroes, which means, invariably, humans descended from the gods.
  • Barrin92 8y ago
    >That doesn't make any difference. The article claims that animistic beliefs are absent from Greek thought. The OP quotes four examples that very clearly say they are instead embraced by the most prominent Greek philosophers, like, ever. This is needlessly nitpicky. While there is animism in Greek thought, it quickly faded in the West and has been irrelevant for most of the last say, 1500 years. So while you can probably get into a long scholastic discussion about animism in Greek antiquity, it is accurate enough to say that modern Western thought (especially in the context of industrialisation and robotization) has lived with a mindset that is distinctly non-animist. This eradication of animism never happened in many Asian societies, so the authors point stands.