Greek Mythology Revisited

Since the earliest days of mankind, when our cave-dwelling forebears first sat trembling in the darkness after an angry peal of thunder from above, people have sought to create a belief system that brought order and understanding to a frightening and uncertain world.

But it took a Greek named Homer to weave the tangled lineage of stories and legends into classic form around 750 BC, giving the people around him the closest thing they had to a bible. And it’s the divine yet often flawed inhabitants of these tales who enliven a scholarly but entertaining overview of this world in tonight’s History Channel documentary “Gods and Goddesses” (9 p.m.).

Using sweeping vistas of historic ruins as a backdrop, the special explores day-to-day life in ancient Greece and the intricate tales that served as the collective unconscious of the civilization.

“Life was felt to be fairly precarious, and you needed to do anything you could to get whatever powers that ruled the world on your side,” says USC professor Greg Thalmann. “Many of them lived one drought away from starvation, and you just didn’t mess around with a world like that.”

The complex hierarchy of the gods, with Zeus and Hera ruling supreme, is laid out in sometimes lurid detail in the two-hour program. There evidently was plenty of sleeping around up on Mt. Olympus, and the gods and goddesses weren’t hesitant to share their divine favors with the flatlander mortals, either.

Yet, the documentary notes that the Greeks were comfortable with the concept of gods who weren’t always perfect or ethical, which is perhaps why unlike in many cultures, the Greek deities were envisioned as having human form.

The story of Hercules, we learn, is a key example. The product of a dalliance between Zeus and a mortal woman, the legendary strongman largely dedicated his life to doing the right thing, while avoiding the enmity of Zeus’ betrayed mate, Hera.

Upon his death, Hercules, by virtue of his good deeds (and with considerable lobbying by Dad), was allowed to ascend to Mt. Olympus.

Hundreds of years later, when the apostle Paul began spreading the word of Jesus, the program says, he found a receptive audience among the Greeks, to whom the concept of a figure born of a mortal mother and a divine father was part and parcel of their own ancient culture.

But perhaps not wishing to step on any ecclesiastical toes, “Gods and Goddesses” explains that the Greeks, already moving toward monotheism by 300 BC, accepted Paul’s message on its own merit, and not merely as an extension of their own polytheistic heritage.

But what a fascinating heritage it is.

“Gods and Goddesses” airs tonight from 9 to 11 p.m. on the History Channel.