I just finished reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Theif by Rick Riordan. I was very impressed with all the mythology mixed into it and all in all it was a great story. I loved how the different locations, i.e. Olympus, the Underworld, had a modern feel to them, like the gods evolved with the times. I also liked the discriptions of the gods, very cool; Zues in a pinstripe suit, hilarious! There were a few dry spots where things didn't seem to flow quite as well as they could have, but it was still a great story.
It got me thinking back to the Classic Mythology course I took a while ago and I was amazed at how much I remember! All the different characters and stories about the gods, it's crazy! They were lustful, devilish, greedy, tempermental, vindictive, everything we love to hate about mankind. I have this theory, about the gods and why we think the Greeks worshipped them. The gods could have been important people in the Greek society that were highly thought of, so much so that to us today, it appears that they were worshipped. For instance, in our society today, people are so interested in celebrities, what their doing, their latest scandal, who they slept with and had a bastard child with, perhaps we could theorize that the Greeks felt the same way about people in their society that would have been rich and privilaged. That's why the gods could get away with so much, the lies, cheating, etc. We do the same for celebrities today. They get minimal punishment for their crimes and yet we still admire them!
...Kind of a sad state for our society to be in.
Don't get me wrong, the myths are fascinating. You've got heroes, villians, nature, man, the furthering of western civilization with cosmic help, drama, tragedy; what's not to love?
