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Greek Mythology: Bodies
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The Twelve Olympians by Monsiau, circa late 18th century. In the wide variety of myths and legends that Greek mythology consists of, the deities that were native to the Greek peoples are described as having essentially corporeal but ideal bodies. According to Walter Burkert, the defining characteristic of Greek anthropomorphism is that "the Greek gods are persons, not abstractions, ideas or concepts".[32] Regardless of their underlying forms, the ancient Greek gods have many fantastic abilities; most significantly, the gods are not affected by disease, and can be wounded only under highly unusual circumstances. The Greeks considered immortality as the distinctive characteristic of their gods; this immortality, as well as unfading youth, was insured by the constant use of nectar and ambrosia, by which the divine blood was renewed in their veins.[33]
Greek Mythology is an extensive body of often-contradictory narratives (often because there was no unified Greek culture until the Romans conquered the region), dominated by heroes, deities, and monsters. These myths document aspects of the ancient Greek religion and provide one of the earliest bases of literature. Though most accounts were passed down through the oral-tradition, Greek mythology as it is understood today derives from the written works of such authors as the Greek writer Hesiod, the Roman poet Ovid, the Greek playwright Sophocles, and the Greek poet(s) Homer. Such creatures as the cyclops, satyrs, and centaurs have their origins in Greek myth.
In ancient Greek mythology the Sphinx was depicted as a single, unique creature with the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the head and breast of a human female. Apparently it was not an ugly creature, but it was vicious and single-minded. It is not reported as having unusual or monstrous size, so the Sphinx was probably imagined as the size of a large lion, possibly with the human head and eagle wings larger than normal to retain proportion.
In Greek mythology the Curetes were attendants of Rhea. They were supposed to have saved the infant Zeus from his father Cronus and then to have become a sort of bodyguard of the god.
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