Tessa Boyd
HST 301
Professor Gaughan
Walking a Faint Line
The Olympian gods during the Classical period were seen and depicted as perfect. Plato described the gods as, “beauty, wisdom, goodness, and the like.”1 Their primary role was to control mortal lives and establish order. During the Hellenistic period, almost every discipline reflected a changing image of the gods. The gods began to be depicted as more fallible, while men were often portrayed as close to perfection. Such depictions reflected the way that the relationship between the gods and man was changing in real life. In Hellenistic literature, the portrayal of gods, rulers and individuals demonstrate that the line between mortals and immortals was becoming increasingly permeable throughout Hellenistic society.
In the Argonautica, the gods are depicted as if they were, “commonplace Greek nagging relatives.”2 The scene where Hera and Athena approach Kypris to ask for her son’s help is just laughable! Plato’s description of the immortals does not present the image of people sitting around complaining about how their kids are acting. That is something that humans do, as they have a tough time with their kids. The reason for the goddess's complaints are clearly demonstrated in the unusual depiction of Eros as a child.
Eros is not merely a child physically; in the Argonautica; he acts like a child might. He is playing a game with Ganymede and his mother must then bribe him with a toy, in order to get him to shoot Medea with one of his arrows.3 Similarly, Callimachus depicts a playful Artemis when she is, “still just a slip of a goddess.”4 An immature child would not have been the way to represent a god in the era prior to the Hellenistic. This is because although there were myths about the birth of the gods, there was not a preoccupation with their childhood (if they had one). Such representations mean that Eros and Artemis were perceived as growing up like mortal humans instead of as having always been powerful, independent, and perfect immortals.
The gods were not the only beings who experienced a changing image in society and literature. The reign of Alexander the Great, followed by the introduction of the Diadochoi, had paved the way for the creation of ruler cults. According to Hellenistic philosopher Euhemerus this was a natural practice since he proposed that the kings would eventually be gods, just as the Olympian gods had once been kings.5 Writers during the Hellenistic period often found themselves seeking the favors of these rulers and they took advantage of this theory to do so.
Callimachus is starkly blunt in his depiction of Ptolemy Philadelphos as Zeus himself and possibly also as Apollo.6 He refers to Zeus as a “Benefactor and Savior.”7 The dynastic cults, which began with Ptolemy and Arsinoe II, led them to be referred to as Savior and Benefactor Gods.8 By using Ptolemy's cult name to refer to Zeus the poet is elevating Ptolemy to the status of Zeus, something that could only be accomplished in ancient Egypt where a Pharaoh is synonymous with a god or in a time where humans could be gods. Of course Callimachus’ own motivation is also revealed in the hymn: “Dispense goodness and wealth/ Wealth without goodness is a worthless increase/ and goodness needs substance/ Bless us with both, Zeus.”9 Apparently, Callimachus felt this mortal could provide him with just as much as an immortal; hence the line became even less distinct.
Callimachus reflects the frustration with gods, which are not right in front of him and this could be one reason that once the line had begun to fade, the idea became easier to accept. "The god is no longer far.../ Magnificent to see the god/ and graceless not to see him [Ptolemy]."10 Besides the poet's own personal reward for writing such lines, it is logical to assume that individuals in general would find it comforting to have a more personal relationship with a god(s). Such relationships are demonstrated in the mystery religions, which seemed to be so alluring in the Hellenistic period.
In association with the rising popularity of mystery cults, the practice
of magic boomed. Magic gave
individuals the opportunity to personally alter fate itself, thereby holding the
power of a god. Curse tablets,
magical papyri and spells flooded the Hellenistic world in an attempt
to, "overturn the laws of nature and bypass all human institutions."11
By
possessing such individual authority over events,
The Argonautica, although it is a story involving extraordinary mortals, also reflects the blurring line of the Hellenistic period. In the Argonautica, Medea is a practitioner of magic and thus, joins Athena and Hera in aiding Jason throughout his journey. As Medea flees from her house, the Moon goddess reveals just how much power this individual has, "How many times your treacherous incantations caused me to hide…/ But now you yourself, it would seem, are a victim of a / madness like mine."12 Not only do the statements by the moon goddess (probably Selene) demonstrate that Medea's magic can affect a goddess, but the goddess even compares the priestess' situation to her own. Although the stories surrounding Medea and magic predate the Hellenistic period, the point remains just the same. The revelations disclosed in the Argonautica through Medea take Euhemerus' theory a step forward. Since kings are mortal before they reach a godly status, why can’t other mortals possess the qualities and powers of gods as well?
Although the Olympian gods were still worshipped in the Hellenistic period, their powers did not generate the same awe they had before. Scientific advances had ensured that "no one in Apollonius's day would, in his heart of hearts, attribute the thunder to Zeus."13 Mortals were creating new ideas for the creation of events around them, which left the gods out completely. For instance, the introduction of the “atomic theory of nature” during the Hellenistic period attributed the creation of the universe to random scientific processes.14 By diminishing the power of the gods, it became easier for mortals to elevate their own power. Therefore, mortals reached for immortality, as the gods seemed to be forced to hang out on Mt. Olympus and act human. Hellenistic literature reflects these changes and how all beings in the Hellenistic period were walking a faint line.
1Plato, Phaedrus.
11 April 2001. http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/texts/phaedrus.html
2Peter Green, From
Alexander to Actium. (Berkeley
& Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1990)
205.
3Apollonius of Rhodes, Jason and the Golden Fleece, trans. Richard Hunter (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1993) 3: 122-134.
4Callimachus,
Hymns, Epigrams, Select Fragments,
trans. Stanley Lombardo & Diane Rayor (Baltimore,
MD: John Hopkins University Press, 1988) Hymn I: 8
5Green 55.
6Callimachus
Hymn I & II
9Callimachus
Hymn I: 125-128
10Callimachus
Hymn II: 9, 12-13.
11Green 600.
12Apollonius
IV: 55-56, 59-60
13Green
207.
For more on Gods in Literature: Ptolemaic Egypt: From Greek to Gods