Tag Archive - greek

#3: Gods and Goddesses

May 4, 2009 in Angels and Myth with 2 Comments

zeusThe story of gods and goddesses always involve strife.  There’s always a few gods (and goddesses) to start the party, then they have kids, and their kids generally succeed them in gruesome fashions because of power, greed, etc.  Or, a group of gods finds another group of gods from another land… and war ensues.

This is the general story of gods and goddesses in mythology.  In the Greek mythology, the Titans were the ruling gods of the land with the leader being Kronos.  Well, in general, you don’t hear about the Titans as much because they were quickly overthrown by Kronos’ own son, Zeus.  In Norse, there were the Aesir and the Vanir (oh, and humans).  They didn’t get along… so much so that the Aesir is pretty much all you hear about.  I’m sure you’ve heard of Odin… or maybe his son, Thor?  (Especially since the comic book line of Thor comics, is actually fairly decent to the terms from the myth itself.)

The Bible has different versions of gods in it too.  There the most popular Baal (although, upon further examination, this name actually just means “god”), there were others too though.  One of which, Molech, I found while perusing the concordance in my Bible who people sacrificed children to in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, which the word Gehenna comes from… 

I’ve always had a fascination with other cultures’ gods and always took note of the ways that they related to each other, never broke away from where they were, and some of the ways that mimicked the story of Jesus.

Think about it, the Greek gods of Mt. Olympus stayed, for the most part, on Mt. Olympus, and when they weren’t there, they were messing with human life, direct interaction-style.  One place at a time.  Zeus, the top-dog, had a son.  His son was powerful, stong.  The strength of a god, all the flaws of a human.  A hero.

The Aesir stayed in Asgard.  If they wanted to war or go somewhere else, they had to go there, one place at a time.  Odin, had a son.  Also powerful, also strong.  A fearless warrior, completely flawed.  A hero.

The Bible calls God the Lord of Lords.  Why would it need to do that?  The Almighty God.  Why?  

If the other “gods” weren’t real, then why call God the One True God? It would seem redundant.  Right?

Well, I think that the gods and goddesses of other cultures are imposters!  I think that they are regional fallen angels set up to try to achieve the greatness of God by “ruling” their own people group.  Think about it.  Remember in Genesis 6, where the “sons of God” were hooking up with the “daughters of men” they were creating Nephilim.  The Bible says this about the Nephilim:  ”They were the heroes of old, men of renown.”

So, we have multiple stories of Zeus seducing the ladies all over Greece, and producing a son that becomes a hero of old.  Same story, no?

In another part of the Bible, Daniel 10, Daniel sees an angel of the Lord, and this angel says something I find very interesting:  ” …the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.”

The prince of the Persian kingdom?  I truly do not believe this to be a literal prince, and I don’t think it’s referring to the videogame series.  I believe that it’s referring to a fallen principality that has dominion over that area of Persia.  In Ephesians 6, Paul warns that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

I think these princes, powers, and rulers of darkness have been trying to mimic God for a long time, and it’s been working for a long time.  I believe that nowadays, they take different shapes in order to achieve the same affect, but I believe they’re still out there, deceiving people and keeping them from the truth of the Lord of Lords, the One True God who brought forth his son who committed no sins, was powerful but did not fight, and sacrificed himself for every single one of us.  It’s the only story of the son of a god out there where that happens. 

So, I guess the question is, what shape do they take nowadays?

#2: Giants

March 21, 2009 in Angels and Myth with 3 Comments

The river flowed smoothly over the rocks.  David knew the size he needed for his sling, but he didn’t want to mess this up.  He pulled out the sling and checked it’s capacity.  The rocks were colored and sized differently.  He stooped to pick one up.  This one looks about right.

He fitted it in the sling.  Perfect.  Four more, just in case.  He repeated the process four more times and put each in his satchel.
A part of him wished that the king’s armor had fit, or that he had his own to wear.  The Lord protected him though.  
The Philistine army engulfed the hillside.  Their shouts and jeers rang out, echoing off the mountains.  ”Cowards!”
“Where’s your God?”
“Come out and fight!”
As David approached, he could clearly see the reason for Israel’s fright.  At the front of the army, towered a monster more than a man.  Nearly ten feet of muscle and bronze armor challenged anyone who drew near.  His spear alone must have weighed more than David.  The giant, Goliath, stomped his foot in protest, quaking the ground.  ”What is this joke?  You send a boy?”
David pulled his sling from his satchel.
“Come here boy and lets make you food for the vultures and dogs!”
Loading the sling, David said nothing.  He finished and looked up to Goliath.  ”I come against you not with just this sling, but with the Lord Almighty.  This is the day that you, a warrior-giant, were defeated by a boy and the God of Israel.  I will give the bodies of your army to the vultures and dogs.  The whole world will know of the Lord Almighty’s strength.”
Goliath bellowed a laugh that shook David’s insides.  Suddenly, the giant lunged forward to attack.  David ran forward also.  He swung the stone around.  The stone sailed through the air and smashed through Goliath’s skull.  
The giants feet tripped themselves as blood gushed from his forehead.  He slammed face-first to the ground, shaking the ground.  Silence fell over the Philistine army.  No shouts or jeers could be heard.
David jumped atop the giant and pulled Goliath’s huge sword from his scabbard.  David raised the sword over his head and with one swipe of the heavy weapon.  Screams of fear cascaded down the hill.  The Philistines scattered like flies.
Frankly, I’m not sure if I would have the same nerves of steel that David proved to have when faced with a real-live giant.  The Bible says that Goliath was “six cubits and a span” (Samuel 17:4) which translates into over 9 feet tall!  Granted, 9 feet tall isn’t quite the mammoth that I imagined him as a kid, with arms as thick as oak trees and 5-stories tall.
But in the Bible, Goliath wasn’t the only giant.  In some versions of Genesis 6:4 (Yes, the same one that I listed last week for Nephilim…  Coincidence?) it replaces the word “Nephilim” with “giants”:  ”There were giants on earth in those days…” (NKJV).
Well, if the Bible talks about giants roaming the Earth as early as Genesis… then is it so hard to believe that perhaps the stories of giants that live on in mythology around the world are based on truth?  
In Greek mythology, there are stories of all kinds of giants.  I’m not talking about the Titans or the god’s of Olympus.  No, I think they’re a different story altogether, which I might just get to next week.  For now, we’re talking giants.  There was Talos, a gigantic defender of the island of Crete.  A whole race of one-eyed giants called Cyclopes who appeared in many stories including The Oddessy.  Not to mention, almost every god had a giant son!
Norse mythology had giants too.  They even classified them.  If you’re a reader of Science Fiction/Fantasy books or played Dungeons and Dragons, then you’re familiar with Frost Giants.  Well, guess what, they’re from Norse myth!  (Here come some hard to pronounce names…)  Hrungnir was the strongest frost giant and owned a horse with an awesome name:  Golden Mane (Gullfaxi).  There were even frost giantesses!  Gerda was supposed to be a beautiful one!
The thing is, giants must have been real, but where’d they go?  Are they extinct?  How were they created?
I think they were a part of the Nephilim, and I believe their families were a bit… supernatural.
What are your thoughts?

#1: Orientation

March 14, 2009 in Angels and Myth with 4 Comments

Welcome one and all to my first, official author blog.  My name is Brian C. Russell, but most of my posts will likely be signed “bman.”  I am a 24 year old male Christian author who lives in Florida.  

Some of you may remember me from previous blogs.  From The Underfold or White Board Artwork where I am primarily silly and occasionally non-sensical.  While I will not discount the fact that there may still be some of that here, this blog is primarily for my novel-writing endeavours.

Hence the title of this blog is Angels and Myth.  For those of you who don’t know me personally, which is hopefully a lot of people, I have always been fascinated with mythology.  For a long time it was primarily Greek mythology, but over the years it has grown to include many more civilizations than I can remember.    
I can still remember checking out the same book over and over again in the library at my elementary school.  It was a simple encyclopedia of mythological creatures, and I loved it.  The idea that there were creatures of the fantastic variety living around the world at one point in time.  Minotaurs are still my favorite, especially after watching the new Chronicles of Narnia movies!
I can hear some of you questioning my reasoning back there about the creatures roaming around for real in the past.  It’s true, I still believe in those creatures.  But, let me explain…
When I was in college, I took a Mythology course and got my first real taste of what “mythology” was for more than just me.  For me, myths were awesome stories of heroes and gods and goddesses and huge monsters that needed to be destroyed.  For many people, they were just stories.  And, the Bible was a myth too.
At first, I clearly remember having that shock of, “What do you mean the BIBLE is a myth?  Its not possible!”  I’d been raised to believe that the Bible was truth, and here was this teacher going over the story of Adam and Eve like it was just another story to go on the shelf with Prometheus and his fire of the gods or Zeus seducing the ladies as a cow (don’t ask).  I couldn’t believe it.
But my interest had been piqued.  I had this feeling that there was a kernel of truth in what she said.  Not that the Bible was “just another story” but that the other stories still fit with it’s story.
Genesis 6:2, the first chapter of the Bible, speaks of angels coming down from Heaven to take human women as wives.
“…the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive.  And they took as their wives any they chose.” (ESV)
Sound familiar?  Zeus, one of the Greek gods, often came to, well, be with human women.
Genesis 6:4 speaks of the Nephilim, or the children of angels and human women.
“The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of man and they bore children to them.  These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.”  (ESV)
Mighty men?  Men of renown?  Like, Hercules?  The son of Zeus and a human woman?
Interested?  Join me throughout this blog.  I will be crafting stories for your entertainment, posing questions for your thoughts, giving updates on my current book projects, and hopefully open your eyes to the spiritual world that’s constantly battling around you.
Since this is Orientation, are there questions?  Suggestions?  Let me know!