A 19th century historian's opinion

  A short while ago I bought a book called The Ancient City by Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges. I thought I had bought a newly written book as the cover seemed to present a new book. I found out that this was in fact a book originally published in 1864. I thought I would see what he said about Ancient Greek Religion. One part particularly interests me as it links very well with my discussion in the first post about whether Poseidon was wild or tamed, and the second post of this blog about how human the gods were.

  'Man, in the early ages, was continually in the presence of nature; the habits of civilised life did not yet draw a line between it and him. His sight was charmed by its beauties, or dazzled by the grandeur. He enjoyed the light, he was terrified by the night; and when he saw the "holy light of heaven" return, he experienced a feeling of thankfulness. His life was in the hands of nature; he looked for the beneficent cloud on which is harvest depended; he feared the storm which might destroy the labor and hope of all the year. At every moment he felt his own feebleness and the incomparable power of what surrounded him. He experienced perpetually a mingled feeling of veneration, love, and terror for this power of nature.' (de Coulanges (2006) 121)


  I find it interesting that I agree with the statement which was written nearly 150 years ago. From studying history and classical civilisation for three years I have witnessed that interpretations of the past frequently change, and to find that I agree with his statement shows that some interpretations are strong enough to stand the test of time. As I said in the first post, gods acquire the characteristics of their domains, whether they be positive or negative. In regards to Poseidon, people would be grateful for the sea's bounty of fish which supplied employment and an extra food source, yet would fear ferocious storms which he could bring about; the Greek gods have to be perceived in a time far removed from our post-enlightenment world. In Ancient Greece there was no understanding of weather patterns or plate tectonics, all they knew is that an event had happened. The most reasonable solution they could provide was that either a god approved of what they were doing, or disapproved.

Sources Used

Fustel de Coulanges, N. D. F., (2006) The Ancient City. Translated from French by Willard Small., 1955. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover.