God and Nature in Homer

A History of Western Philosophy - The Classical Mind
W.T. Jones
1980

Chapter 1 - Pre-Socratic Philosophy

Philosophy has murky beginnings, not because of lost records, but because by the very nature of philosophy as process and gradual change. There is a continuum; thus, no definitive beginning to western philosophy.

God & Nature in Homer

In Homer, Zeus is not an all-powerful god. He is beseeched by his children, prayed to by both other gods and men. The gods of Homer were a reflection of the Homeric state. "The Greek state, as Homer described it, was monarchial in principle, but the king was by no means an absolute monarch. Public opinion, as represented by the warriors and nobles - not the 'people', of course - clearly played a part in limiting the royal prerogative" (Jones, 4). But, this limited royal prerogative could be overridden by the ruler as there was no law checking the king/chieftain. [Side note, make this the government of the Future Modern Ancient Greeks].

Homer did not believe in a regularly ordered cosmos. The irregularities of nature like thunderstorms, severe winters, unexpected winds, accidents that flew in the face of ordered cosmos were attributed to the whims of the gods. Simply put, there were regular occurrences and an ordered cosmos to an extent, but "the gods can never be counted on not to interrupt this order" (Jones, 4). Plus, Zeus, the supreme authority was impulsive in nature and likely to throw a monkey wrench in the plans of other gods and men.

Key to Homeric beliefs is the virtue of moderation and the vice of hübris. In Greek society, even when the king overrides the majority opinion, the men do not protest for they know that punishment will come down from above. While some of the irregularities in the natural order are caused by the gods' whims, mean-spirited nature and infighting, some are attributed to the gods' punishment of man's hübris.

The worship of the gods comes about not because the gods are inherently good and deserving of worship, but because the gods have power over men. Prayers and offerings are lifted up to the gods because it is expedient to do so. It's good to have a god on your side when you're out and about.

When the gods punish men it isn't because they've done something immoral or wrong. They punish because the man has annoyed the gods in some manner by violating the regulations of those gods. In Homer, the regulations that gods hand down to men are not to ensure good for man, but good for the gods.

In this way, the prayers and petitions of men to the gods functions like a tit-for-tat kind of thing. Prayers  and sacrifices are offered to get a desired outcome. The gods accept it and should reward the man. If the gods fail to reward the man, then the man is justified in expressing his outrage.

Homer's gods are causal agents. They cause the regularly ordered cosmos and the interruptions of those ordered events. But, above the gods is fate, which even Zeus must yield to.