Are The Gods 12 Twelve?

[eriunios]

The Olympians are a group of 12 gods who rule after the overthrow of the Titans. All the Olympians are related in some way. They are named from their dwelling, Mount Olympus

 

[Hubert]

I think they are all related, I know many of them are, but I can't swear to that, and yes they are named for their dwelling.

 

[eriunios]

Η λέξη Όλυμπος προέρχεται απο την λέξη "ολόλαμπρος".

The word "Olympus" comes from the word "ολόλαμπρος" - "ololampros". Which means full of glow.

 

[Lady]

There are some interesting coincidences between Zeus and the Old Testament god Ba'al as is shown here in (ahem...) Wikipedia:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal

 

[eriunios]

Twelve Olympians. In Greek religion , the Twelve Olympians are the major deities of the Greek pantheon, commonly considered to be Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus.

NOTHIG TO DO WHITH BALAAM , ABRAHAM, ZALAHAM , Hamburger,

ΤΣΙΖ BURGER and phony testaments!

 

[Sunshine]

Zeus/Jupiter comes from the phrase "deus pater" or "father god." There is also an archetypal "mother god" in every ancient civilization, although the names vary a bit more. "Demeter," the goddess of earth and grain is more likely the original Greek version of the "deus mater" than "Hera/Juno" or "Aphrodite/Venus," even though they were both assocated with human fertility.

I have been interested in mythology for most of my life, and these divine archetypes and others show up in most ancient civilizations, including Sumerian/Babylonian/Assyrian, Egyptian, even Hindu and Ancient American cultures. The "divine son," the "virgin/daughter," the "war god," the "goddess of death and/or war," the "resurrected god," the "goddess of darkness/magic," the list hardly slows at twelve, much less stopping, even for the Greeks.

While most archaeologists and anthropologists would credit this phenomenon to psychological tendencies, it does beg the question: were there real entities upon whom these deities were based? Surely the humans living at the time wouldn't have gone through the enormous and multi-generational efforts of building giant stone temples, creating, memorizing and writing stories and manuscripts, and sacrificing animals and even other humans, to made-up characters?

I've come across a few passages in the Bible, the Baghavad Gita, Sumerian texts and even the Koran which would lead one to believe that there were some kind of beings, either acting or posing as "gods," back in ancient, probably what we consider prehistoric times. And given what we VCers know about demonic activity and the immense possibilities of alien interaction, it would not surprise me in the least if we were sometime in the future presented with incontrovertible evidence of such occurrences. Every myth is built around grain of truth, and no matter how fanciful they my seem to our modern sensibilities, we must never completely discredit the legacy of our ancestors.

What is even more interesting is that as far as cutting edge anthropology can tell, the earliest religious iconography is of a monotheistic nature. Which hints that all this polytheism is the result of some kind of interference from outside sources at a later time. I can only speculate as to the nature of such beings, and anyone who knows for sure isn't sharing that info with the rest of us, but it certainly is food for spiritual thought.

 

[TMT]

What is even more interesting is that as far as cutting edge anthropology can tell, the earliest religious iconography is of a monotheistic nature. Which hints that all this polytheism is the result of some kind of interference from outside sources at a later time. I can only speculate as to the nature of such beings, and anyone who knows for sure isn't sharing that info with the rest of us, but it certainly is food for spiritual thought.

I don't think there is any solid proof that monotheistic iconography came first, established science would lean towards polytheism coming first. Nature/Spirits/Woman were probably some of the first things "worshiped" and ancient female carvings support this.

However all human spirituality is of a solar nature, and solar worship is common to all religions no matter how it is masked.

 

[Etagloc]

 

[TonyVanDam]

I don't think there is any solid proof that monotheistic iconography came first, established science would lean towards polytheism coming first. Nature/Spirits/Woman were probably some of the first things "worshiped" and ancient female carvings support this.

However all human spirituality is of a solar nature, and solar worship is common to all religions no matter how it is masked.

ONE WORD: Astro-theology!

1. Judaism is Saturn/Knonus.
2. Christianity is the Sun.
3. Islam is Venus/Aphrodite/Freyia.

 

[eriunios]

The Statue of Liberty is the Sun God

 

[eriunios]

The United States: A Country founded on the Greek religion

Pagan n. 1. A person of the Greek religion.
--The American Heritage Dictionary, 1st edition
Although the common meaning of Paganism seems to imply atheism, a Pagan can worship any other god not common to the god of the Torah, the Bible or the Koran. This also includes those who worshiped gods before the advent of the Judeo-Christian religions. As Mortimer Adler put it: "Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and Cicero were adherents of the Greek religion. The Western peoples of pre-Christian antiquity were all of the Greek religion. Many remained in the Greek religion during the early centuries of the Christian era; and from the 16th century on, the number of pagans living in communities that were predominantly Christian or Muslim has steadily increased." [Adler]

 

[eriunios]

Polytheistic reconstructionism (Reconstructionism) is an approach to paganism first emerging in the late 1960s to early 1970s, which gathered momentum starting in the 1990s. Reconstructionism attempts to re-establish historical polytheistic religions in the modern world, in contrast with neopagan syncretic movements like Wicca, and "channeled" movements like Germanic mysticism or Theosophy.

Nova Roma sacrifice to Concordia at Aquincum (Budapest), Floralia 2008

 

[JoChris]

View attachment 1267The United States: A Country founded on the Greek religion

Pagan n. 1. A person of the Greek religion.
--The American Heritage Dictionary, 1st edition
Although the common meaning of Paganism seems to imply atheism, a Pagan can worship any other god not common to the god of the Torah, the Bible or the Koran. This also includes those who worshiped gods before the advent of the Judeo-Christian religions. As Mortimer Adler put it: "Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and Cicero were adherents of the Greek religion. The Western peoples of pre-Christian antiquity were all of the Greek religion. Many remained in the Greek religion during the early centuries of the Christian era; and from the 16th century on, the number of pagans living in communities that were predominantly Christian or Muslim has steadily increased." [Adler]

Evidence that the first settlers i.e. pilgrims from Europe/ England were really pagans please. http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/colonial/jb_colonial_subj.html

 

[UnderAlienControl]

I'll see your hand of Greek gods and raise you some older Sumerian gods... (<>..<>)

 

[mecca]

I don't understand the title of this thread.

 

[UnderAlienControl]

I don't understand the title of this thread.

The title is debating whether there is one God or in reality 12 Gods. Polytheism vs monotheism and the pagan roots of mainstream religions. And for the record they were still debating whether there was one God or many at the time of the scribing of The Bible...

 

[eriunios]

Hear me, O illustrious and renowned Graces, Daughters of Zeus and full-bosomed Eunomia, Aglaia, Thalia and blessed Euphrosyne, Lovely, wise and pure mothers of joy, Many-shaped, ever-blooming, beloved of mortals, We pray that each in her turn, spell-binding and with petal-soft face, Come, ever accessible to the initiates, to confer prosperity.

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

Zeus/Jupiter comes from the phrase "deus pater" or "father god." There is also an archetypal "mother god" in every ancient civilization, although the names vary a bit more. "Demeter," the goddess of earth and grain is more likely the original Greek version of the "deus mater" than "Hera/Juno" or "Aphrodite/Venus," even though they were both assocated with human fertility.

I have been interested in mythology for most of my life, and these divine archetypes and others show up in most ancient civilizations, including Sumerian/Babylonian/Assyrian, Egyptian, even Hindu and Ancient American cultures. The "divine son," the "virgin/daughter," the "war god," the "goddess of death and/or war," the "resurrected god," the "goddess of darkness/magic," the list hardly slows at twelve, much less stopping, even for the Greeks.

While most archaeologists and anthropologists would credit this phenomenon to psychological tendencies, it does beg the question: were there real entities upon whom these deities were based? Surely the humans living at the time wouldn't have gone through the enormous and multi-generational efforts of building giant stone temples, creating, memorizing and writing stories and manuscripts, and sacrificing animals and even other humans, to made-up characters?

I've come across a few passages in the Bible, the Baghavad Gita, Sumerian texts and even the Koran which would lead one to believe that there were some kind of beings, either acting or posing as "gods," back in ancient, probably what we consider prehistoric times. And given what we VCers know about demonic activity and the immense possibilities of alien interaction, it would not surprise me in the least if we were sometime in the future presented with incontrovertible evidence of such occurrences. Every myth is built around grain of truth, and no matter how fanciful they my seem to our modern sensibilities, we must never completely discredit the legacy of our ancestors.

What is even more interesting is that as far as cutting edge anthropology can tell, the earliest religious iconography is of a monotheistic nature. Which hints that all this polytheism is the result of some kind of interference from outside sources at a later time. I can only speculate as to the nature of such beings, and anyone who knows for sure isn't sharing that info with the rest of us, but it certainly is food for spiritual thought.

I would go with the "real entities" view... If they exist, however, then you might expect them to be described differently depending on whether the view of a culture was positive or negative towards these gods with a little 'g'.

 

[eriunios]

I’d love to watch a tv show about the I’d love to watch a tv show about the Greek gods. Not a documentary, but a legitimate television show with plot-line and character development as they portrayed every classic myth side-by-side the ones we hardly know of. And maybe with a few jokes here and there, so I could tune in every Tuesday to ...

 

[eriunios]

Orphic Hymn to Hestia Queen Hestia, daughter of mighty Kronos, Mistress of ever burning and peerless fire, you dwell in the house center. May you hallow the initiates of these rites and grant them Unwithering youth, riches, prudence and purity. You are the home of the blessed gods and men’s mighty buttress, Eternal, many-shaped, beloved and grass-yellow. Smile, O blessed one, and kindly accept these offerings, Wafting upon us prosperity and gentle-handed health.