Christianity v.s The Olympic Religion

I researched the similarities between Christianity and the Olympian religion because both were popular in their time. What I found was most surprising. Here is my paragraph I used in my essay:

Although Christianity is viewed as being the polar opposite to the Olympian religion, there are enough similarities between the two faiths that suggest Christianity was influenced by the Greek religion. Christianity is most commonly known to have been founded from Judaism, and many of the stories before Jesus Christ have been derived from that religion. However the parallels between the stories from the bible and tales from Greek myths are unprecedented, particularly with themes such as the treachery of women, the first people, and the great flood. In both the bible and the Olympian religion, the first women were the cause of all suffering on earth because of their weakness: curiosity and inability to follow instructions set by the gods. In the bible stories of Christianity, it is an accepted story that it was Eve, the first woman created by God, who took the forbidden fruit form the tree and ate it. She also, “gave some to her husband, and he also ate it”[1], and therefore they gained wisdom at the expense of, “the Lord God sent them out of the Garden of Eden and made them cultivate the soil”[2], and they could not return to paradise or have internal life.  Similarly, the first woman in the Olympian religion, named Pandora, was created by Zeus[3] to punish man. She, “possessed a sealed urn”[4], which she was instructed not to open, but eventually her curiosity drove her to open it. As a result, “she scattered its contents throughout the world: toil, disease, an earthly death”[5], hence she brought agony and hardship as well as a shortened the lifespan of man. Another theme that is common with both religions is that the first people lived in a perfect world of peace and prosperity with no pain or sadness before wickedness was commenced from the first woman. In the Olympian religion, the first people were the golden race of mortals who, “lived free from all cares and worries, eternally young”[6], and they lived in peace and prosperity until the wars between gods destroyed them. Correspondingly, Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden, which is considered a paradise, before they ate the forbidden fruit and were banished from the garden. The Great Flood is the most commonly known to be the most similar between the Olympian religion and Christianity, as well as having the most similarities. Both floods were caused by the superior gods[7] to wipe out humanity because sin has taken over where worship once was. Only a few humans chosen by the gods were allowed to survive and, “repopulate the world, passing on their knowledge, skills and high moral standard”[8], to avoid such a catastrophe again. In the case of the Olympian religion, “Zeus disguised himself as a traveller”[9], and went to a common oikos[10] to assess the development of humanity. What he found were the people of the oikos serving a meal of human flesh, which enraged Zeus and he became, “determined to destroy the human race. He decided to do so by the means of a deluge that would inundate the earth, drowning all the people”[11], and nearly all the people on earth died, either from starvation or drowning. Only two humans remained, Deucalion, son of Prometheus and king of Pthia and his wife Pyrrha. They had been pre-warned by Prometheus, whose duty as a god was to protect the human race, and hence they were able to build a boat that was plentiful with supplies before the storm hit. Likewise in Christianity, “The Lord saw how wicked everyone on earth was and how evil their thoughts were all the time, he was sorry that he had ever made them and put them on the earth”[12], and summoned a great flood to destroy all of humanity. Before doing so, the Lord approached Noah, knowing that he was a loyal disciple and told him to, “build a boat for yourself out of good timber”[13], so that he, his family and two of all animals on earth can survive on the boat as the floods destroy the evil that humanity had created. Despite the appearance of being completely different religions and faiths, the stories that are presented in the Bible of Christianity have some parallels with the Olympian religion, such as the themes of the treachery of women, the first people who lived in paradise, and the great flood.

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[1]Good News Bible. The Bible Society in Australia, Canberra. 1983. P. 4.

[2] ibid. P. 5.

[3] The god of the sky and the King of the Greek gods.

[4] Ruck, C. and Staples, D., The World of Classical Myth: Goods and Goddesses, Heroines and Heroes. Carolina Academic Press, North Carolina, 1994. P. 41.

[5] ibid.

[6] Allan, T. and Maitland, S., Titans and Olympians: Greek and Roman Myth. Duncan Baird Publishers, London. 1997. P. 36.

[7] It was the Lord for Christianity and Zeus for the Olympian religion that created the Great Flood.

[8] ibid. P. 38.

[9] Ruck, C. and Staples, D., The World of Classical Myth: Goods and Goddesses, Heroines and Heroes. Carolina Academic Press, North Carolina, 1994. P. 42.

[10] Greek word for ‘household’

[11] Allan, T. and Maitland, S., Titans and Olympians: Greek and Roman Myth. Duncan Baird Publishers, London. 1997. P. 38.

[12] Good News Bible. The Bible Society in Australia, Canberra. 1983. P. 6.

[13] ibid. P. 7.

Plan for My Essay

I have slightly changed my question to:

To what extent did the Olympian religion influence other religions?

Just because the question I had before was a little bit broad, I wanted to narrow it down just so it appears that I am answering the question in my essay. Here are the three points that I will be talking about in my essay:

Roman Mythology v.s Greek Mythology

It is common knowledge that Greek mythology had a heavy influence over Roman Mythology, but of course it is the question of how much influence. For example, I know that the Romans changes the names of the immortals when they introduced the Greek mythology, but I wondered why and where did the names come from. 

Christianity v.s. Greek Mythology

I chose Christianity as another paragraph because I knew that Christianity was created during the time where Greek mythology was popular and I wondered is their was any parallels between the two different religions.

Hellenistic Religion v.s. Greek Mythology

I only found out about this religion when I was researching for any other religions that were influenced by the Greeks. Its not so much of a religion. but it is a belief system used by the people that was mostly influenced by the Greeks, but it also has other religions incorporated with it as well, such as the Romans and Egyptology. I don't know a lot on this religion like the others, but I plan to find out. 

Roman Mythology v.s. Greek Mythology

Here is my paragraph on the influence that Greek mythology had on Roman Mythology. Tell me what you think:

The Roman religion is the most well-known example of a religion adopting the Olympian beliefs and stories and merging them with their own mythology. During the developing stages of the Roman Empire, particularly in the early stages at approximately 500 B.C., “the eastern provinces were steeped in the culture of Greece”[1], due to contact with nearby Greek colonies. Because of this, many Romans, “adopted many of its religious and philosophical beliefs together with its elaborate mythology”[2], and merged it with their own beliefs as they were nowhere near as elaborate and colourful. Unlike the Greeks, the Romans were not creators of myth. Their belief was that objects and events had a supernatural force and were labelled as gods, but they were not of human form and the Romans did not worship them in the earlier times. When the Roman Empire had expanded to cover the Greek nation by 146 B.C., the Greek gods could have diminished into insignificance, however the, “Roman religion was very open ended”[3], and this left, “the Greek family of gods more or less unchanged, merging their personalities with characteristics of their own native powers and spirits”[4], and thereby preserving the ancient Greek culture. The Olympian immortals attained Roman counterparts[5], and in the development of these characteristics, many of the native Roman gods emerged with their status greatly increased. For example, in Roman mythology, Venus[6] was a minor figure, but the connection to Aphrodite turned her into a popular and sacred goddess. In reverse, Ares’[7] importance was increased by his association to Mars, as the Romans regarded him over many of the other deities. With the rapid increase of popularity with the gods and the wealth of material suddenly opened up to them, Roman poets, “began retelling the Greek tales in Latin, substituting the Roman names for the gods”[8], and this also assisted in the preservation of the Olympian religion: despite the poets frequently elaborated the stories, they rarely invented new material. Regardless of all this borrowing from the ancient Olympian religion, “the Roman religion remained a separate entity, with its own distinct atmosphere and identity”[9], because most of the foundation for their gods was from the original Roman beliefs. For instance, “while Greek religion was a civic faith, Roman worship had domestic roots in the farms and estates of the city’s agricultural hinterland”[10], because the early Romans were farmers and relied upon the land for their survival and prosperity. As the Roman Empire grew, the Olympian religion was adopted into Roman society and became a large part of the Roman lifestyle, however the Romans continued to use their own names for the gods and the religion remained a separate entity.

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[1] Usher, K., Heroes, Gods and Goddesses from Roman Mythology. Hodder & Stoughton Pty, New South Wales. 1983. P. 12.

^[2]ibid.

[3]ibid. P. 13.

[4]ibid.

^[5] For example: Zeus became Jupiter; Hera, Juno; Hermes, Mercury; Persidon, Neptune; Athena, Minerva. (Allan, T. and Maitland, S., Titans and Olympians: Greek and Roman Myth. Duncan Baird Publishers, London. 1997. P. 138.)  

[6] The Roman Goddess of  love, beauty, fertility and marriage.

[7] The Greek God of  war.

[8] ibid. P. 15.

[9] ibid. P. 16.

[10] ibid. P. 17.