Essay Compare and contrast Greek and Hindu Gods

Vedic and Hellenic are two ancient religions and have a definite connection between the deities. I believe there`s a possibility of a common civilization ancestor between the two cultures. The Vedic period began when the Aryans migrated into India, bringing with them their own culture and customs. The Rig Veda begins by both acknowledging and addressing all the gods. The language characterizing the Vedic period and its beginning indicates a strong idolization of and dependence upon the gods for survival alone. The pantheon as a whole is significantly diverse, in all ways. This diversity is represented by the triad existence between Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva as the Three Faces of God's Masculine Form. There is the Creator, on one extreme, there is the Destroyer, on another, and there is the Sustainer, pervading both and all. This initial diversity marking the triad becomes a major diversity marked by the 330 million faces of God that celestially deduce from this initial triadic principle. Although there certainly aren`t such a number of Greek deities, there definitely are remarkably similar ones.

The Greek pantheon relates to the Hindu pantheon first in that it is a pantheon, and second in that this pantheon manifests itself in the form of stories and myths passed down, a family tree of gods and goddesses, and the celestial feel accompanying the Olympian gods, titans, heroes, myths, creatures and other gods. Perhaps both traditions honor the same supposed forces, except use different names and deities to represent them. If the latter statement were true, then one can identify five strong connections between the two systems and deities within them. These strong connections together present the definite connection between them as systemic wholes which begs the question of how to account for this liaison aside from the possibility of a common civilization ancestor.

To illustrate the similarities and differences in the relationship between the four pairs of Hindu Greek deities let`s begin with Indra and Zeus. Indra is king of the gods and heavens. One of his trademarks is the lightning bolt, representing immense power and influence. He is yellow in appearance because of his drinking Soma. Indra is associated with rain, wind, and storms. He performs heroic deeds but he also does things to the contrary, such as chastising his own son and having bad relations with his family in general. Nonetheless, Indra is characterized significantly as power. Zeus, too, is a weather god. The name Zeus relates to the Greek word dios for bright. If being bright means having authority, then the name for this god holds true since he is indeed King of the Olympians and master of justice and order. He is affirmed with thunder and lightning, the lightning bolt as his primary weapon. Also like Indra, Zeus does not have optimal familial relations, having to overthrow his father, Cronus, and kill several other family members. The relation between these two deities, then, should appear simple. Both symbolize, and are, power and authority, above all. The differences are Indra's reputation is the king of the Devas. He rides on a white elephant Iravata. Zeus on the other hand is the final and Supreme God of the Greek mythology.

The next strong connection is between Yama and Hades. Yama is the lord of death. He lives in an underworld palace and follows predestination while being able to bring death to anyone at will. Yama chooses to follow predestination, and dharma, and not to go out of sync with it. The Rig Veda states that he is the first son of the sun and the first mortal man. Despite the cosmic role that he plays as a guardian of the south, he isn`t immoral because of his strict adherence to dharma and order. Hades is king of the underworld. He is brothers with Zeus and Poseidon, who together had to reconcile which one of them would rule which world, following the death of Cronus. With his power,