An Examination of God and Nature in Ancient Greek Philosophy

This essay delves into the intricate relationship between God and nature in ancient Greek philosophy. Beginning with the contributions of Thales of Miletus, the essay explores the evolution of Greek philosophical thought and its connection to religion and mythology. It examines the polytheistic worldview of the Greeks, their pantheon of Olympian gods, and the role of myths in explaining natural phenomena and human morality. The essay analyzes key myths, such as the stories of Pandora, Phaeton, and the abduction of Persephone, to illustrate how the Greeks perceived the influence of the gods on the natural world and the consequences of human actions. It highlights the Greek belief in the necessity of respecting nature to avoid calamities, emphasizing the direct correlation between human morality and the state of the natural world. The essay draws upon various philosophical and historical sources to provide a comprehensive understanding of the Greek perspective on the interplay between the divine and the natural realms.

Running head: RELATION BETWEEN GOD AND NATURE IN GREEK PHILOSOPHY
Relation between God and Nature in Greek Philosophy
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1RELATION BETWEEN GOD AND NATURE IN GREEK PHILOSOPHY
Greek philosophy came into existence in the 7th century BC when the Greek
philosophers started to look for deeper understanding of the nature of world. Thales of
Miletus is considered to be the father of philosophy. It is traditionally maintained that
astronomical science was introduced into Greece by his noble endeavour (Buber, 2015). The
ancient Greek world made important contributions in the field of religion along with that of
philosophy. The philosophy delved deep into the arena of truth and the moral values. The
word “philosophy” has its origin from the Greek world after combining the word philia (to
love) with that of Sophia which means wisdom (Deleuze & Guattari, 2014).
Ancient Greeks used to believe that everything starting from air to that of earth was
under the divine power of the God. The Greeks had polytheistic worldview and a major
portion of their myths concerned the relationship between that of humans and nature. The
ancient Greeks had a large variety of myths that laid bare the phenomena in the aspect of
behaviour of deities and regarding their strength and weakness.
Every Greek polis (city-state) had their individualized state of gods and their
distinctive way to honour the gods. Most of the Greeks singled out a pantheon that comprised
of main twelve deities. This set of Gods was collectively called the Olympian gods who
dwelled on Mount Olympus situated in northern Greece (d'Entreves, 2017). The primary
focus of Greek philosophy was on the arena of objective enquiry and it dealt with asking
questions.

2RELATION BETWEEN GOD AND NATURE IN GREEK PHILOSOPHY
The main focus of the philosophy was on objective inquiry and it was concerned
about asking questions that were unbiased and would lead to no particular outcome. In The
period between that of Homer and in between 450 BC, there was the existence of scale of
power against which the position of mortal and deity was ascribed to. Both of them resented
any such attempt of someone in a subordinate position moving to that of higher position on
the scale. It was termed as “hubris” which stands for excess amount of pride. For example,
someone proclaiming that he will be able to enjoy a safe voyage irrespective of the will of
God would account for hubris (Zeller, 2014).
It was held that pollution was caused on account of certain experiences like that of
childbirth and death. Divine world pertaining to the Greeks was divided by horizontal line.
The top hierarchy was occupied by the Olympians who were the Gods of life and Daylight.
Underneath this, were the gods of underworld or the chthonic gods.
Most of their myths depicted nature to be both deadly along with having life-giving
properties. They stressed the necessity of the humans to treat nature with a lot of reverence.
The early Greeks believed that when the humans came into existence then nature at that point
of time was free of any kind of hardship (Zeller, 2014). The world became a difficult place to
live in when Titan Prometheus stole fire from Gods and offered it to the humans.

3RELATION BETWEEN GOD AND NATURE IN GREEK PHILOSOPHY
To punish the humans for going beyond their boundaries a beautiful woman by the
name of Pandora was created. She was meant to be the wife of Epimetheus, Prometheus’s
brother. Pandora was given a jar and was asked not to open it. She soon succumbed to
curiosity and opened jar. By committing this act, she released pain and disease within the
world. Nature soon became an inhospitable force (Schiappa, 2013).
Soon the humans learnt how to control and manipulate fire. Even Phaeton who is the
son of Phoebus Apollo failed to control the sun. On meeting Apollo, Phaeton wanted to drive
the chariot of Apollo, the sun. Apollo cautioned him against the danger that arose after
controlling the steeds that was pulling the chariot of the sun. Phaeton could not be sure which
path he should follow. He flew far away from the earth and thus he risked burning the stars
and on the other hand when he went so close that he made the rivers to dry. Zeus was
unwilling to permit the foolish boy from damaging the earth and threw a lightning bolt
towards Phaeton. This myth brings to fore the foolishness of the human race.
The Greeks used to perceive the natural phenomena to be like drought or heat waves.
They were held to be the outcome of the emotions and action of God. Nature became even
more atrocious when the God of underworld who is Hades abducted Persephone, the daughter
of agricultural goddess, Demeter.

4RELATION BETWEEN GOD AND NATURE IN GREEK PHILOSOPHY
Feeling sad on account of the loss of daughter, Demeter decried that the world should
be plunged into a state where there was endless winter and did not allow the plants to grow.
Famine soon spread however Demeter permitted growth to be normal after finding
Persephone (McGrath, 2016). Persophene soon came to the underworld during one third of
every consequent year. Demeter stopped all the growth of crops during this time but she was
kind enough to assist the humans in expanding their knowledge regarding agriculture. It was
done since he did not want the humans to suffer from another bout of famine (Copi, Cohen &
McMahon, 2016).
One of Apollo’s son by the name of Asclepius got enlightened about a difficult lesson
that was centered around humility. He also wanted to imitate his father however he did not
feel the urge to control sun. Asclepius only wanted to take up the role of healer. He proved
himself proficient in the role of a doctor and it was partially on account of the fact that he was
helped by the serpent to unravel healing properties in relation to certain herbs (Van der
Leeuw, 2014).
Asclepius unfortunately became so skilful in his duty that he succeded in reviving the
dead. Zeus became irritated with son of Apollo since he had interfered with that of nature
along with human mortality and threw a thunderbolt towards Asclepius and thus killed him.
The humans continued to place Asclepius on a pedestal. (Clements & Koenig, 2014).

5RELATION BETWEEN GOD AND NATURE IN GREEK PHILOSOPHY
The Greek myths depicted nature as both deadly and also possessing life-giving
properties at the same time. According to the early Greek mythology, it was necessary that
humans treated nature with a lot of respect in order to avert any calamity. Nature being
treated in the right manner would eventually give birth to benevolent world (Cohen, Curd &
Reeve, 2016).
The morality of the human race was directly related to the upheaval taking place in
the natural world. Ancient Greek dramas often showed a storm wreaking havoc which was
the direct resultant of the loose morality of the human race. There was hence a direct co-
relation between that of man and nature. Pandora was provided a jar and strictly prohibited
to open it. However, she fell prey to curiosity and could not control her innate urge which led
her to open the jar. By committing this act, she released pain and disease within the world.
Nature became furious on account of the devious act of humankind and punished them
grossly.
The foolishness of human race was punished grossly by Apollo as is evident from the
story involving Phaeton. Phaeton was warned by Apollo that he would fail to control the
steed. He failed to understand this and Zeus had to throw a lightning bolt towards Bolton in
order to prevent any calamity. When Hades abducted Persephone, daughter of agricultural
goddess, Demeter she grew furious. Demeter as punishment ordained that crops should not
grow and as a result famine gripped the earth.

6RELATION BETWEEN GOD AND NATURE IN GREEK PHILOSOPHY
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