Mythology Explained

Do Gods Die When People Don't Believe in Them? - Greek Mythology Explained


Listen Later

Hey everyone, welcome to Mythology Explained. In today's episode, we're going to dive into a very interesting question, which is whether Greek gods can be brought to death when people no longer believe in them.

Let's get into it.

Now, I can't say for certain whether a lack of worship can result in a Greek god plunging through death's gates, passing on to the next world or being erased by oblivion, but I can say that there are two myths - the Greek creation myth and the myth of the great flood - that serve as very strong arguments, showing Greek gods to be immune to death in a world devoid of exaltation and worship being paid to them. Let's take a look at these myths.

The Greek creation myth rejects the notion that gods die when no one believes in them because, simply put, it describes gods existing before humans. At this point, You might be asking yourself, what does this have to do with anything? Well, if gods existed before there were humans to worship them, then doesn't it follow that gods would be equally unaffected if there were humans who didn't worship them, as was the case when pagan religions were eventually superseded by Monotheism? I feel like it's fair to extrapolate from the Greek creation myth, which shows gods to be unaffected by a lack of worship, and conclude that gods would be equally unaffected by a lack of worship resulting from absolute disregard by humanity.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Mythology ExplainedBy Mythology Explained

  • 3.8
  • 3.8
  • 3.8
  • 3.8
  • 3.8

3.8

5 ratings


More shows like Mythology Explained

View all
Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,962 Listeners

The Joe Rogan Experience by Joe Rogan

The Joe Rogan Experience

228,897 Listeners

Philosophize This! by Stephen West

Philosophize This!

15,251 Listeners

The New Yorker: Fiction by The New Yorker

The New Yorker: Fiction

3,368 Listeners

Myths and Legends by Jason Weiser, Carissa Weiser, Nextpod

Myths and Legends

23,457 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

112,321 Listeners

Up First from NPR by NPR

Up First from NPR

56,692 Listeners

Huberman Lab by Scicomm Media

Huberman Lab

29,219 Listeners

Gone Medieval by History Hit

Gone Medieval

1,884 Listeners

Mysteries of Mythology by Mysteries of Mythology

Mysteries of Mythology

3 Listeners