Being "Greek" for so many years, I've learned not to choose favorites. Things never turned out well for me if I said "I like Hermes more than Zeus". They are full of themselves, and think higher above than any pantheon. I could say that I have been working with Hermes more lately than Aphrodite and Zeus. But those three are my rock; my support.
I abandoned my faith completely within them because of their pedestal attitude. Apollo seemed to abandon me completely when drawing a picture of Isis. Athena seems compassionate...only when she gets what she wants. Hecate was too obscure. Never talked, visited, or done anything in general, yet expected a golden statue and a temple dedicated to her.
I have cleansed my pantheon and opened up to Isis; she is definitely a motherly figure, and sort of does "my own thing; join if you'd like, I won't make you; worship is worship."
Anyways, I did have a high favoritism of Athena. She did guide me throughout most of my life. But I can't say Isis didn't. I've always considered Isis just an interest while Athena was actually branded an actual event in motion, if you get me. I will always love her though.
My Gods scold me whenever I'm being disrespectful of other Gods. I wouldn't get away with calling anyone "petty or childish" and I've come to find myself not wanting to think of them in that way. It's not only distasteful, but immensely disrespectful.
I think winterleaf has hit the Greek pantheon on the head. They expect to much. And don't give enough back. And your connection to your god/goddess(s) may ask that you refrain from insulting others. But it's the personal connection that counts. And once again, only my opinion.
Isis is technically an English translation of the Hellenic/Greek version of a Kemetic/Egyptian goddess. So by praying to Isis (which comes from the Greek Ese), you are praying to a Greek goddess.
I am saying that as I'm not sure you are talking to Aset (the original Kemetic version of Isis), who demands respect for herself and self-respect of her followers. If you have the right amount of self-respect, tearing down other beings (human or otherwise) becomes purposeless. You are high enough in your own respects. The Isis I've met by herself and through others tends to be a fluffy bunny goddess of motherly and wifely love; something Aset is not.
On another note: If you are working with deities to "get something out of it" that seems rather based upon a capitalist notion that relationships should only be pursued to self benefit.
No. I only refer (I've know it as Iset and Isa; I'll be aware of Aset) Isis this way because would anyone truly know whom I talk about? I'd have to explain in every post of what it means.
She is a motherly figure. You definitely are right when she demands respect. But what Goddess doesn't demand respect. She helps me out when she sees fit, and she is actually very just in when she feels the need to intervene within my decisions. But she is motherly over her followers. She is very picky when it comes to her altar, but I can understand this. She has less and less followers with each century. I wouldn't want to tell my follower to put a pretty bunny on m altar if I'm trying to restore my faith. I think she truly cares for the well-being of her followers.
That's how I perceive Isis. She loves tradition, and that earns my respect.
Anyways. Back to the Greek God discussion.
I do actually despise the Greek gods for they are kind of "daedric" in this situation. A reference from the Elder Scrolls games, Daedra have their own opinions on morality and use mortals usually for their own gain. They reward their followers only to keep their talons in their shoulders. But, when you put little mortals in the hands of higher beings who become incredibly bored, what else would you do? It is like the Sims. But this is exactly why I tend to aim away from the Greek gods because we can simply be their entertainment. There is good and evil on both sides, though, so I can't judge the whole Greek pantheon on three gods I use to worship.
I want to here your thoughs on Hecate. I never had proper responses from her. Like in my earlier post, she aas very obscure about her actions and his herself from the sunlight. How has she been in your experiences?
Most of the Daedric Princes from the Elder Scrolls games simply don't care about mortals. Boethiah is an example in that she simply does not have enough time for anyone but her chosen Champion. It's only the more "evil" Daedric Princes who act like that. Pushing the bad association aside, I don't think it's right to demonize Gods like that. Yes, in Hellenismos, the Greek and Roman Gods are higher than any other Gods, and they have had their share of squabbles, but to compare them to video games is massively missing the point of it being a sacred religion.
Have you ever stopped to think that there's more to Gods then attributes created by humans? That logic alone should be enough to not call them "petty" or "childish".
Actually, Azura would be a better example.
She may indeed care for her followers' well-being. She had saved them from the Red Year with her visions of the mountain's eruption. But she did this so she wouldn't lose her followers. She didn't want to be all alone. And in Skyrim, how she had cut many lives short just for the sake of revenge. Then, she has you attack loner necromancers to rescue her star. It is restored, and now that she had revenge, she abandons her current follower and forsakens the gift of foresight to her. She didn't even take back her star, no. She let her champion keep it. It was all for revenge. The same with the Nerevarine prophecy. You mess with Azura, Azura will get revenge. She is benevolent aswell, but it's only when nobody puts her on trial. And when she wants revenge, she risks the lives of her followers.
But there is good and evil on both sides. The Greek gods were emphasized of being born of our world, but they're gods. I'd wonder if these gods feel the need to have worshippers and to be "great" because they were born in a world of silly and powerless mortals. Or they could see that because they were born in a world of mortals, then they may feel the need to help mortals because of their powerlessness. But I do really think some gods use mortals for entertainment or for their own greatness and needs. Godly motives will always be obscure to us, though. We don't know if they obtained their morality from us, or if we learned it from them. Or even if they do possess morality. They may see our standard as sinister and theirs' as justified. That's why I labeled them "daedric". They help and hurt as they see fit.
To be honest, I tend to take a rather literalist interpretation of many of the stories. Some I think are symbolic, mistranslated, or biasly written. But with that being said, for personal reasons I can only bond with Ares. He is not only the only one who has ever come to visit me that I am aware of. But upon looking into his stories...I couldn't find one thing I disagreed with. Not one thing raised a red flag. Not one thing did I find inconsistency with. I could understand it all in a deeper level. I could see the pattern of what he wanted and his good intentions. Just how I see it though of course.
