• give two examples of the gods in ancient myths

The concept of God developed and progressed as human beings developed and learned more about the world in which they lived.
Mythical to rational.

“Pantheon” = refers to a particular recognised gods of a particular culture. The
Greek Pantheon gives us insight into the values of that culture.

Zeus:King of gods
powerful
vengeful
many lovers (human & divine)
Thunder god (ruler of rain and storm)
Forgiving.
Not human. (DIVINE)

SIDE NOTE
Celts believed in a god called Taranis (from Irish word torann/ thunder). All life depended on the sky because rain was needed for crops.

Norse gods
Darker Colder (part of Europe)
Similar e.g. war, king of gods, thunder gods, god of heart & love
fight with giants (chaos)
Moral good & bad

Thor
Thunder god
War god
Hammer
Thor’s day
Thursday
Violent, brave, rough, smart.huge bearded figure, who was
armed with a hammer, iron gloves and a girdle of strength. He was an outspoken god with an
enormous appetite for food and drink!
Freyja- fertility.

This god of thunder has a huge appetite. The loss of the hammer could represent a drought and consequent crop failure. Recovery of the hammer could be the coming of spring, arrival of hope.

The thunderbolt, a symbol associated with both Zeus and Jupiter,
indicates their control of rain and storms and their vast power to protect or destroy fertility.
Storms manifest the great creative force of a god. The thunderbolts of lightning were used to
punish those who broke the moral and social codes.