Modern Scholarship: Nature of Olympian Gods

What does Redfield argue about the gods in the Iliad?

Argues that they are a "chief source of comedy in the Iliad"

What does Allan argue about the morality of Homer's gods?

The gods are not portrayed as being amoral but instead offer divine justice

What does Kirk say about the gods and avoiding monotony?

"these divine scenes successfully avert the theatre of monotony, because they provide a total change of atmosphere and behaviour… all sorts of not very heroic qualities are allowed to enter the lives of the gods"

What does Griffin say about Homer's epics?

they are full of "really impressive gods" who deserve the worship

What does Garland say about invoking oaths with the gods?

"The gods were invoked as witnesses when taking a solemn oath. To break an oath was therefore to take the names of the gods who had been invoked in vain"

What does Gibbon say about the gods and moral behaviour?

"The gods did not impose a code of moral behaviour which they demanded humans should follow"

What does Parker say about hero gods?

"The tendency of the Greeks to appeal to a plurality of gods, to recruit a team, appears in this area or life more clearly than in any other"

What does Lloyd-Jones say about the distinguishing factor about gods?

"Gods were by no means all good; their distinguishing quality was not goodness, but power - legend depicted them as being actuated by human passions"

What does Garland say about the humanity of the gods?

"The gods were all-too-human - they were everything that the average human would be if he was given the chance"