VI The Gods and Religion

Abstract

The theme of the gods, of their existence, appearance, and interest in human affairs, was an object of constant attention for the Greeks from the most ancient times. As is widely known, Greek religion presents some highly original features compared with present-day religions: there are no religious texts establishing a body of orthodox doctrines, and no figures to whom worship is officially entrusted. Perhaps precisely because of this fluid situation, the element of the divine marks almost all salient moments in the lives of individuals and cities. This constant presence in itself explains why, from Homer onwards, all writers were so keen to explore the issue of the gods. In particular, many Presocratic philosophers staunchly criticized popular prejudices (often presenting the gods as thieves, adulterers, and seducers) by suggesting alternative and more rigorous conceptions. In doing so, the Presocratics changed the content of the divine, without denying its existence: they opposed the theology of the philosophers to the theology of the poets. The sophists also fit within this broader movement towards the critical redefinition of traditional religiosity, a movement which engaged many leading personalities of the age: let us think of Euripides, of Thucydides’ analysis of the plague, or of the debate on the ‘sacred disease’ (epilepsy) among Hippocratic doctors. In particular, the sophists stand out on account of what we might term their ‘sociological’ perspective: while criticizing the phenomenon of religion, they acknowledged its importance in human life; searching for its causes, they embarked on enquiries into the nature of the gods, the origin of the belief in their existence, their role in people's lives, and myths as a means to convey traditional values.