Greek Mythology and the Seven Deadly Sins

The seven deadly sins can be tracked all the way back to the 4th century, when a monk

named Evagrius Ponticus made a list of basically all the problems he saw in his time. His list

consisted of gluttony, fornication, greed, pride, sadness, wrath, and dejection. Later on Pope

Gregory I would edit this list and add in sloth and envy, and would also rename fornication to

lust, this list of sins has not been changed since. Each of the seven deadly sins was associated

with a punishment in Hell. Greek mythology has played a major role in the development of the

seven deadly sins. Almost every Greek myth you hear can be represented by one of the deadly

sins. Even the gods and goddesses personify the seven deadly sins. Three of the most

interesting sins that can be compared to Greek mythology figures are wrath or strong

vengeful anger, lust or intense sexual desire, and envy or jealousy.

A God that would match perfectly with with the deadly sin wrath would be the

God of War himself Ares. Ares was the child of Hera and Zeus, Hera took a magical herb that

allowed her to have Ares. Zeus really didn't care for Ares, once during infancy Ares had been

abducted by two giants and they they trapped him in a bronze jar. Zeus paid little attention to

this, and Ares was eventually released by Hermes. After this incident Hera decided to move

Ares somewhere safer. She chose Priapus to train and raise Ares until he was a fully grown man.

Ares among the Greeks peoples was least favored because of his brutal nature. He was filled

with rage and a lust for blood. He was known to switch sides during war, just so he could shed

blood and cause war. He had a sibling rivalry with his sister Athen...

... middle of paper ...

...e face so

much that he tried to capture it in the water and died. Poseidon personified greed, continually

seeking more riches for his underwater kingdom (Boone 1). He had palaces in the sea and on

Mount Olympus that were made of gold.

Works Cited

Atsma, Aaron J. "THEOI GREEK MYTHOLOGY & THE GODS." THEOI GREEK MYTHOLOGY, Exploring Mythology & the Greek Gods in Classical Literature & Art. Theoi, 2000. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.

"Olympian Gods”. “Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, Pleasure and Beauty." Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Beauty, Love and Eternal Youth. Greek-Gods.Info, 2005. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.

"The God and Goddess”. The Story of Hera."The God and Goddess. The Story of Hera. God and Goddess, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.

Boone, Dan. "The Traits of the Greek God Poseidon EHow."EHow. Demand Media, 20 May 2011. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.