by Quintus Aurelius Orcus on Mon Nov 01, 2004 5:10 pm
Salve Draco
good question. It is one that usually is brought up by a newbie (no offense i'm not taliking about you) or someone interested in Greek and roman mythology. What is lost to many people whn reading these myths is that they forget that they reading stories about Gods and Gods do have a different set of rules, morales than humans do. gods can do things that humans can not do like incest, patricide and matricide. These things are severly punished by Gods and should also be punished by humans for what they did. Orestes killed his mother and her lover, but when he commited this act, he was driven mad by the Furies and Apollon came to his rescue. Oedipus was also punished by the Gods for marrying his mother, killing his father and getting his own mother pregnant.
There is a certain moral code attached to it, not the same one like you find in monotheistic faiths, but its there. The Delphic maxims and Solon's tenets come to mind. Instead of the Gods giving us a certain moral code or codes to live by, we have to create them ourselves and I think in origin, the Delphic maxims were partially divine, and partially human inventing. Zeus and Jupiter do expect from people to be hospitable towards anyone. I think that the moral code or codes can be found in the myths, although not always, sometimes they do show up there.
I don't see the Gods as manifestations of cosmic or natural forces. Those forces might be a part of them, it is however what they truly are. To me the Gods are eternal, immortal. They don't have a beginning, nor do they have an end. So I don't see them as Gods who only have exemplary functions. The Norse Gods aren't like that either. I doubt that the Romans saw their Gods like that. Gods are just to complex to put them in certain corners. The Romans and Greeks probably knew this as do most modern pagans. At least those who are reconstructionists and eclectics.
The aristocracy will probaby hold certain Gods in the pantheon higher in esteem than other Gods. Most aristocratic families did held high profile religious functions. At Eleusis, a aristocratic family was in charge as the priests of the Eleusinian Mysteries. It could partially explain why there isn't much known about certain cults of Haides, Hekate and probably other Gods like Morpheus, etc...
hope it kind of answered your questions.
vale
Romulus
Quintus Aurelius Orcus
Rector ColRel
Rogator
Princeps gentis Aureliae