anthropomorphic personification

I was sitting on the playground, and the sun was shining. I said, ‘yes, Helios, continue to bless us with your rays.’

‘who’s Helios?’ someone asked.

‘the sun,’ someone else said.

‘or the god of the sun?’

the answer, ladies and gentleman, is both.

Eros is Desire.

Nyx is Night.

Gaia is Earth.

Nike is Victory.

These aren’t just simple deities, these are the gods of their domains while simultaneously being the personification of said domain.

And it can all be put in one single fancy word - which I am very happily welcoming into my daily vocabulary: anthropomorphic personification.1

The primary term for gods being the personification of what they stand for.

I am not here to go on about the terminology behind this, the thought behind this.

No, I am here for the feeling.

Because we all know that this is exactly what sets these gods apart from others. First of all, they are usually Titans. Not many Olympian deities are this intricately linked with their domain.

Yes, you could argue that Aphrodite is love, or Hestia is the hearth. But is it the same as Iris being a rainbow or Hebe being youth?

names

I like to think that Zeus made a conscious decision in not letting the pantheon partake in this particular phenomenon: by giving the gods their own separate Greek names, he could set them apart and make them more important.

But in my eyes, those specimens that are what they stand for, are simply the strongest and most powerful gods.

The Greek word meaning strife is Ερις. Meanwhile, here is Eris herself: the very personification of strife and discord. Doesn’t it add to the vision of her beating torn wings of black feathers?2

The Greek word meaning victory is Νικη. And at the same time, we have Nike in all her glory, laurel wreath in her hair.

Ουρανος (Ouranos) is the Sky, Γαια (Gaia) is the Earth, Νυξ (Nyx) is the Night,Υπνος (Hypnos) is Sleep and Θαναθος (Thanatos) is Death.

Giving gods the same name as their domain has an overwhelming effect: at night, you are overcome by hypnos. This means that while you’re being overcome by sleep, Sleep himself is paying you a visit.

the old gods are here

Indeed they are, and they are stronger than ever. Perhaps the point I am trying - and possibly failing - to make is that the old gods deliver a certain feeling that the new ones cannot. And I believe that it is linked to this concept.

Sure, Athena is wise. But she is not Wisdom.

The Titans are practically not “gods” as we know the term today. They are in all things around us, in all parts of Nature and in Nature herself.

When discussing Titans, we are discussing the world. Everything it is built on, everything built on it. We are personifying things like the sun and the moon, not only giving them personalities but giving them a voice and a face and a mind.

Have you never looked up at the moon and seen a face?3

Have you ever imagined Death as a hooded figure with a scythe, because you’re not the only one. Perhaps your imagination of Death is more abstract: a cloud or a wisp of smoke or a storm. Either way, you’re taking something that is merely a concept and turning it into something real.

Next time you win a race in your Nike shoes, don’t just think of actual victory. Think of Victory, who guided you swiftly.

It isn’t necessarily about gods anymore: it’s about personifying the world around us.

1 Perhaps an easy way to clarify this is by looking at the following example: Artemis is the goddess of the moon, whereas Selene is the moon herself. (Selene also being the Greek word for moon.)

2 I always imagine Eris as Maleficent. In fact, there are many parallels to be drawn between Sleeping Beauty and the story of Eris and the apple. Maleficent, as a result, has been inspired by Eris (perhaps unconsciously)

3 Might I point out that this, in fact, is not utter nonsense. The “face of the moon” is the term we all use, is it not?