138 Votes in Poll
'll tell I why they should be held accountable
Because they ARE gods, the humans at the time, ancient Greek followed the ways of their gods, the gods being leaders of theses people, Zeus especially, should set examples especially with the justice system of the time,
Zeus was the god of justice FOR HUMANS and so should have set a better example FOR HUMANS
What? The Ancient Greeks did not just blindly follow the Gods' example. Zeus never told anyone to do what he did. Also, The Ancient Greeks themselves believed the Gods were outside the concepts of human morality. In fact, I believe that the ancient Greeks would view those crimes as evil if they were committed by humans, but since the gods were gods, they were outside human law, and incondemnable. Zeus was not at all responsible for any of the bad things that happened back then, it was the human rulers, and all those tyrants, and etc. The Ancient Greeks did not believe what the Gods did was the absolute good.
Also, people didn't just blindly follow what religious characters said. Biblical moral values are very different from Ancient Greek Mythological ones. There is a huge difference between the two. Zeus never told his worshipers to act like him, did he?
The Ancient Humans had free will to make their own choices, they did not blindly follow everything the gods did.
@SimonDedalus would have replied sooner but I've been very busy with so many quizzes in school
Anyway, I think you misunderstood me(maybe because I was being sarcastic with my questions of not blaming humans because u don't blame the gods), I never said animals should be held accountable for what humans do, I said humans should be held accountable for what they do to another species, just like the gods should be held accountable for what they do to another species (humans) do u get what I mean?
Most people who say the gods can't be blamed like u, argue that humans don't really matter to some of the gods and therefore u can't blame them
So if animals don't matter to some humans does that make it ok for them to hurt animals? No
I think I did understand you well enough, but my point was that you were right in saying that animals should not be blamed. This truth, however, does not automatically mean that the same is true with humans, for the circumstances are completely different from one another, with animals being unable to control their actions with reason and humans being able to.
Also, I never said that humans don't matter to gods, and thus the gods are exempt from blame; I said that gods act in a way that does not encourage or command humans to imitate them, whereas humans literally force animals to do things under the punishment of death. Zeus never said "do what I'm doing, or else you will die", but instead left that choice to humans, who were perfectly capable of choosing one thing or the other, and having this choice, are censurable for their own actions.
The gods killed lots of humans
And it's not just killing a different species humans and gods have in common, it's also harming them, how does humans making decisions for themselves change make it different from humans harming animals, also animals CAN make decisions for themselves, many of them are smart.
Humans also don't act in a way that encourage animals to imitate them or if they do, how do u know that?
Oh and Zeus did force people to do what he wants, that is basically what r*pe is
Now I think that you are misunderstanding me, and that the discussion is moving obliquely; I will therefore try to sort this out.
The original point of disagreement was whether or not Zeus was a bad role model for humans, whom you claimed acted only as they did because they saw what Zeus was doing, and imitated him. You likened this to how animals are affected by humans, claiming that as humans are to be blamed in the latter situation, so are gods in the first.
Now, the only animals affected by humans are those who are directly affected by the deed itself. All other animals in the vicinity who are not directly injured do not respond at all or change themselves. However, if what you say is true about Zeus being the cause of human immorality, it was not only the humans directly raped by Zeus, but all the Greeks who would have acted in this manner; therefore the analogy does not present sufficient similarity for examination, and may be put aside.
Also, if only the affected animals respond or change, you can see that it is the humans' fault, because the link between their actions and the animals' actions is too strong to be coincidental.
However, since all humans in Ancient Greece, by your reasoning, deemed rape to be more acceptable than today, and not only the directly raped individuals, it implies that it is not the gods who caused this, but the humans themselves, especially since they have the guidance of reason to act otherwise, and there is no evidence or irrefutable correspondence between the gods' actions, and the humans' actions. Rather, the humans' bad customs are nigh-ubiquitous and not only present in those who were directly touched by the gods.
Also, you are right in saying that some animals can make their own decisions, but they have no alternative choice than to obey their basest impulses: to flee pain, seek food, and physical satisfaction. They have no reason, and therefore are slaves to passion and cannot fully evaluate not only the present, but also the potential future of a situation, thus further disproving the analogy, since humans do possess such things.
No, my original argument was against what @RavenOfDarkness72 said, Raven said and I quote;
"Actually, Modern human morals. The gods by a more ancient morallity would be much better.
Also, since they are gods, why should they follow human law? Do humans follow the law of ants? No.
Also, what u are saying about animal behavior, human can be like that too, humans want hope that things will be better and that there is are super natural powers that can answer all their prayers, which is why the gods are worshipped and why humans tended to obey them
I thought the original argument began when you wrote:
"Zeus especially, should set examples especially with the justice system of the time, u know with Zeus being the god of justice for humans, rape was not considered to be so bad by the law"
So naturally, that is what I replied to. If I was mistaken, then I apologize for wasting your time.
Also, as you say, humans can act like animals, but the point is that they have the potential to not be so; they have the capacity for rational deliberation which animals simply lack. And thus they cannot be compared to the rest of the animals, in analogy or actuality.
I'm just going to say this
Some animals are much smarter than you realize
Perhaps they are, for I am no expert on animals, but the fact remains that (non-human) animals and humans are still incomparable in terms of intelligence and of sophistication.
(I too grow somewhat weary of arguing, and so I will stop here)
What do you think?