What are the SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES between HINDU and GREEK MYTHOLOGY???

Question

Apparently, the Hindu mythology shares many striking similarities with the ancient Greek mythology. Many have argued that the Greek deities are simply different versions of hindu deities.

What do y'all think???

Answer 1

Hinduism (Sanskrit: Sanātana Dharma सनातन धर्म "eternal law"[1] ) is a religion that originated on the Indian subcontinent. With its foundations in the Vedic civilization, it has no known founder,[2][3] being itself a conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions. It is considered the world's "oldest extant religion,"[4] and has approximately a billion adherents, of whom about 890 million live in India,[5] placing it as the world's third largest religion after Christianity and Islam. Other countries with large Hindu populations include Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia.



Hinduism provides a vast body of scriptures. Divided as revealed and remembered and developed over millennia, these scriptures expound on a broad of range of theology, philosophy and mythology, providing spiritual insights and guidance on the practice of dharma (religious living). Among such texts, Hindus revere the Vedas and the Upanishads and consider these as being among the foremost in authority, importance and antiquity. Other major scriptures include the Tantras and the sectarian Agamas, the Purāṇas and the epic Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa. The Bhagavad Gītā, a treatise excerpted from the Mahābhārata, is widely considered a summary of the spiritual teachings of the Vedas.





Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and their own cult and ritual practices. Modern scholars referred to the myths and studied them in an attempt to shed light on the religious and political institutions of ancient Greece and, in general, on the ancient Greek civilization.[1]



Greek mythology consists, in part, of a large collection of narratives that explain the origins of the world and detail the lives and adventures of a wide variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines, and other mythological creatures. These accounts were initially fashioned and disseminated in an oral-poetic tradition; the Greek myths are known today primarily from Greek literature. The oldest known literary sources, the epic poems Iliad and Odyssey, focus on events surrounding the Trojan War. Two poems by Homer's near contemporary Hesiod, the Theogony and the Works and Days, contain accounts of the genesis of the world, the succession of divine rulers, the succession of human ages, the origin of human woes, and the origin of sacrificial practices. Myths are also preserved in the Homeric hymns, in fragments of epic poems of the Epic Cycle, in lyric poems, in the works of the tragedians of the 5th century BC, in writings of scholars and poets of the Hellenistic Age and in writers of the time of the Roman Empire, for example, Plutarch and Pausanias.



Monumental evidence at Mycenaean and Minoan sites helped to explain many of the questions about Homer's epics and provided archaeological proofs of many of the mythological details about gods and heroes. Greek mythology was also depicted in artifacts; Geometric designs on pottery of the 8th century BC depict scenes from the Trojan cycle, as well as the adventures of Heracles. In the succeeding Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear to supplement the existing literary evidence.[2]



Greek mythology has had extensive influence on the culture, the arts and the literature of Western civilization and remains part of Western heritage and language. It has been a part of the educational fabric from childhood, while poets and artists from ancient times to the present have derived inspiration from Greek mythology and have discovered contemporary significance and relevance in classical mythological themes.

Answer 2

Hinduism And Greek Mythology

Answer 3

As a Hindu, I find many similarities between Hinduism and the ancient Greek religion. In ancient Greek religion, there were the Titans, which were essentially personified elements of the earth or nature deities.



Similarly, in Hinduism, the pantheon consisted of nature deities, including Indra, god of rain, thunder, and lightning, and Prithvi (also known as Bhumi and Dharti), mother earth. These deities have often been compared to the Greek Zeus and Gaia, respectively.



Both followers of the ancient Greek religion and Hinduism performed fire rituals and offered libations to the gods. Further, in Hinduism when a "baptism" or "christening" take place, the spiritual leader (guru) tells you who your personal or guardian god is and the prayer (mantra) that you should chant when offering prayer or supplication. In the ancient Greek religion, my understanding is that a similar initiation takes place and the devotee's guardian god (eg, Poseidon) is revealed as well as the hymn that the devotee should say/sing in prayer or supplication.



In terms of legend and mythology, there are a wealth of similarities. However, for brevity, I shall give one example. In both the Ramayana and the Odyssey, the hand of a maiden is won by stringing a bow. In the Odyssey, in her husband's long absence, the queen of Ithaca, Penelope's house become overrun by suitors who wished to marry her. She was able to deter them for a long time but eventually was backed into a corner and had to respond. At her wit's end, she announced a contest: Whoever could string her husband's bow and shoot an arrow through twelve axe shafts may have her hand. In the end, Odysseus is able to make it back to his queen, with some help from the gods, and save his wife. In the Ramayana, Sita's father, Janaka, announces that whomsoever could lift and string Lord Shiva's bow (a feat that no mortal man could do) would be worthy of marrying his daughter. Prince Rama was able to do so and Sita accepted him as her husband. Note, however, that where Odysseus was a mortal man aided by the gods, Rama was an incarnation of one of the Trimurti (Vishnu, one of the 3 major gods in modern Hinduism) who, although human, was of divine essence (sort of like Jesus).



As there are similarities between the two religions, the major difference lies in the mythology. Where the legends of the ancient Greeks revolved around mortals, those in Hinduism revolve around the gods themselves or the incarnations of the Trimurti. Once the modern gods of Hinduism (Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma) are introduced, that is when the greatest deviation from the ancient Greek religion is observed.



Hope this helps!

Answer 4

The same as the difference between those mythologies and ancient Hebrew mythology.

Answer 5

I disagree. Really, the only "similarity" is that they are both polytheistic. It is easily a coincidence. You only have two choices, the other being monotheism! The gods and goddesses themselves are very culture-specific. Hinduism has gods and goddesses with elephant heads, multiple arms, and various India-specific symbols. They exist in a spiritual way that is very distinct from the Greeks. The Greek gods were essentially immortal humans with supernatural powers. You could make an argument that they both had gods symbolizing fertility, war, wisdom, etc... but what else would they represent? What else is there? The similarities are only the result of human similarities. The cultures and characters themselves, however, suggest a very different progression in history and development. By the time the Greeks and Indians were in regular communication with one another, their religions had been established for centuries. I just don't see a link.

Answer 6

they dont really share many striking similarities when you read further into each religion.

The only similarities they possess are that they are both polythestic.

Another reason could be that both civilizations (and plenty of others) used gods to explain natural phenomenom. So, Many of the gods would possess similar powers or personalities, since they experience similar natural phenomenom.... for example, the sun, weather, the cycles of the seasons, fertility and birth.......

Answer 7

on the issues of humanity they are similar

Answer 8

Both are Appropriate imaginations....!

Answer 9

i don't believe in mythology

Answer 10

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