Veritas Card #6 (green) - Homer and Greek Mythology

Homer and Greek Mythology

    The time period is around 900 B.C., still a long way before the coming of the Messiah that people were waiting for. During this time, the kings of Israel and Judah were ruling in Israel. In this same time period, in Greece, there was a bard named Homer. A bard was a professional poet who recited poems. Homer may have been blind, but he did write The Iliad and The Odyssey. His stories are some of the oldest stories of Greek literature. He probably wrote down his works toward the end of his life.
   Every culture has a worldview, or a way of thinking that helps them interpret the world around them. In order for the Greeks to understand the world around them, they had myths or legends. Some examples of this are Zeus, Artimis, Athena, and Ares, who were gods and goddesses of Greek mythology. These gods and goddesses were thought to be much like humans, but with more power. The Greeks believed that these gods lived forever. The difference between them and people was that people died and the Greek gods didn't. But that begs the question then, where are these gods and goddesses today? There was obviously some insightful literature written about them, but it only pertained to that time period. The gods are still not alive and we can compare this literature with the Bible, and the One that did come back to life, and is alive today, and will come back for His people one day.