What kind of relationship did the ancient greeks have with their gods?
This is a very complex question. Among the Greeks, much like today, there were a variety of stances on the gods. There were those who believed and worshipped in temples with sacrifices and offerings; some practiced magic, invoking Hecate, Hermes, and other gods of the underworld. Others worked in cults of resurrection or orgy. Some didn’t believe in the gods at all. There is an anthropomorphic understanding of the Greek gods, i.e. the standard Olympian deity. In this, the gods were human-like, lived on the top of Olympus, and were jealous beings who didn’t like pride in men. This is the understanding garnered from a literal reading of Classical texts. Another, more plausible, explanation is elemental. For example, a sailor observing a choppy sea remarks, “Poseidon is angry.” The sea itself, the water, waves, and spray *is* Poseidon–they are in direct contact with him. Gaia is not a goddess somewhere; she is the goddess beneath your feet. Her body is the earth. The episode in the Iliad
