Personification in Greek Myth

[Drich]

Hey all, it's been a while but I'm studying philosophy and mythology again so I figured it would be a good time to come back.

So I'm reading up on Greek mythology and what I'm having a hard time comprehending is what exactly  ancient Greeks were picturing when they imagined their many different gods, particularly those gods that are personifications of the aspects of the natural world? Take Helios, the sun god, for instance. Helios is described as this dude with a flaming chariot drawn by four flying horses. But obviously if you look at the sun you won't see this. You'll just see a glowing orb. So did they think that Helios and his chariot was invisible, with only the flames being visable?

Or take Gaia, aka Mother Earth. She's described as having a humanoid form and does things that humans do like speak, procreate, etc. But at this same time she's supposed to be the actual earth that we all inhabit. How were these two seemingly incompatible things compatable in the minds of the Greeks?

Was it meant literally? Or was it all just metaphorical language? Or did these beings actually exist in humanoid form in some other plane of existence with the natural world being some very imperfect representation of them? What were Greeks thinking?

From a biblical perspective I tend to filter Greek gods through the lens of the bible. And in the bible there was a time described in Genesis that would allow greek and nornordic or even egyptian mythology to kinda unfold. That was the time of wickedness just before the flood. Where the ill titled 'gods' were the fallen angels, and the demi gods the "titans" the bible mentions.

Demons are often time described as being specialized in certain elements or powers. If you can get you mind around Christianity being true and the ark and so fourth, it is very possible that a version of those 'gods' did indeed once live.

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welcome back!