I have done a lot of reach on the favor and love of the gods for various mortal families. I have traced a number of the lineages up and down the vast genealogy tree of mortals in Greek mythology. My hope was to understand the gods' affection for various families; generation after generations. Here's what I came up with;
The love of the gods for the Trojans might simply be based on their manly beauty. It is simply a fulfillment of “Maya’s Law” which states that the Olympians have a marked preference for mating with Ionians and barbarians. There seems to be no lingering affection for other family members of Endymion (immortaized lover of Selene) or Cephalus (mortal lover of Selene's sister and grandfather of Odysseus.)
The gods short lived affection for Tantalus (and his descendants) could be contrasted with their short lived affection for Ixion. After murdering his intended father-in-law Ixion could find no eartly king or minor deity willing to purify him. Zeus to him up to Olympus to perform the ritual. In gratitude Ixion violated the Laws of Hospitality by attempting to rape Hera. The parentage of Thessalian Ixion is disputed and vague but none of his potential parents were beloved of or dear to the gods and certainly none of his children were. The only cause I can suggest for the Olympians love of the Tantalides is that Tantalus was Zeus son.
Few men and their descendants seem as dear to the gods as do the Aeacides. They too were Thessalian. For three generations they were given unheard of honors by the gods. They too are descended from Zeus.
Melampus on the other hand was not the son of Zeus nor was his father a favorite of the gods. Many of his children received divine favor. His abilities as a seer and piety seem equal to the Theban seer Tiresias but the former's family received no such benefits.
So I found no clear proof the gods can't tell individuals apart from a their fathers. Rather the gods' favor seems to fall upon handsome men, pious men, great warriors and wise seers. To honor their father's the gods sometimes confer favors onto the children. The children inherit the favors owed their fathers and maybe their reputations.
But in the end each bread-eating man stands alone before the gods.
You indeed made quite an extensive study!
ReplyDeleteAbout Pirithous, I think that biologically he was son of Zeus rather than Ixion, and gods treated him fairly until he decided to marry no one else but Persephone.
OT: I am now reading "Gilgamesh" and I think I understand why Enlil made Utnapishtim and his wife immortal. He had ordained no mortal to survive the flood, and he didn't want his will to remain unfulfilled. So he had to either kill the survivors or change their mortal status. Other gods were strongly against the killing, actually they already regretted the flood.
ReplyDeleteMaya,
ReplyDeleteI just started reading it. I dont understand the Babylonian gods. At birth they gave Gilgamesh the honor of bedding every virgin in town regardless of rank or gender, and the. Thet are "surprised" at the havoc that causes?
Interesting how love humanizes god-like Gilgamesh and lust humanizes animal-like Enkidu.
"The man answered, saying to Enkidu, ‘Gilgamesh has gone into the marriage-house and shut out the people. He does strange things in Uruk, the city of great streets. At the roll of the drum work begins for the men, and work for the women. Gilgamesh the king is about to celebrate marriage with the Queen of Love, and he still demands to be first with the bride, the king to be first and the husband to follow, for that was ordained by the gods from his birth, from the time the umbilical cord was cut. But now the drums roll for the choice of the bride and the city groans.'"
ReplyDeleteThe narrator does not directly report gods allowing Gilgamesh to rape every woman. We hear a resident saying that Gilgamesh himself said this. I think that Gilgamesh' inflated ego has caused him to misinterpret the gods' will, as will happen time and again in the epic.