How to Contrast Greek Myths to Bible Stories

Zeus was the ruler of the Greek gods and the god of thunder.

Both Greek myths and the Bible outline belief systems of specific cultures. While most people now read Greek myths for pleasure, the Bible is the cornerstone of the Christian religion. Both the Bible and Greek myths deal with how humans interact with higher powers and the history of mankind itself. According to Hubpages, most Christians believe the stories of the Bible to be historical events, while most people believe Greek myths to be mere stories.

Instructions

1. Compare the origin stories from the Bible and Greek mythology. In the Bible, God creates the Earth, its features, and its inhabitants over seven days. According to Pantheon, in Greek mythology, the world was created by the titan Chaos, father of the gods.

2. Compare the gods in both types of stories. In the Bible, the Christian God is omniscient and omnipotent, and opposes Satan, another supernatural figure he cast out of heaven. In Greek myth, there is an entire Pantheon of gods who are related and interact with each other, some more powerful than others.

3. Analyze the allegories of the Bible and Greek mythology. Both stories use allegories, a way of teaching a lesson about the world. By interacting with man in the Bible, God determines the ten commandments that each man should live by. Conversely, in Greek mythology, the gods are often tricksters who take advantage of man's weakness and faults.

4. Compare and contrast characters from the Bible with those of Greek mythology. In both stories, there are human characters who are heroes, villains, martyrs, saints, and many other types. Determine which characters have similar functions and which are unique to one type of story.

Tips & Warnings

• Read different versions of the Bible and Greek myths to gain insight on how these stories vary within different interpretations.

• Implying that Bible stories are like fictional myths can inadvertently offend Christian followers.

References

• Pantheon: Greek Creation Myths