Ask Panayote 2 — Ancient Greek Gods
Panayote Dimitras is the Co-Founder and Spokesperson of the Humanist Union of Greece, and a Board Member of the European Humanist Federation.
Here we talk about Greek culture and freethought, and more.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Greek culture invented many gods in ancient history. What did the gods represent to the ancient Greeks? What do those gods represent to the Greeks, in general, now?
Panayote Dimitras: Gods in polytheistic cultures, ancient and/or contemporary, in my opinion reflect people’s needs to manage phenomena they could not explain and/or fear.
In contemporary Greece for a very small minority ancient gods are venerated as such by “dodecatheists” [followers of twelve gods]; for the majority they are part of ancient history and elements of the tourist industry.
Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Panayote.
Photo by Ivan Bertona on Unsplash
