To Theorize Incessantly

I recently watched the movie Wrath of the Titans where Zeus’ son Perseus has to fight off Ares and other creatures to prevent the elemental Titans from returning to Earth. During the movie, Zeus expresses his concern to Perseus that the Gods are loosing their powers because humans did not pray to them anymore. I wondered how would prayers from humans give power to a God? It seemed like a strange concept since this is not a power or ability that humans possess. How can simply thinking of someone give them extraordinary powers? Although, when groups do pray together, do we not feel stronger somehow?

Aside from this mystery, I have always wondered how does a Christian God who seems to cry out for animal sacrifice and praise in the old testament of the Bible, turn into a less vengeful and more patient, gentle God in the new testament? This movie seemed to give an insight into this “mood change.” Just as people grow more wise when they grow older, so too might Gods. In the movie, Zeus was known as a very vengeful and “do what I want” God. As his power lessened, he began to realize what he was doing, and like humans had regret for what he had done and tried to do better for humankind.

Ironically being vengeful and flighty with mankind is what made humans despise the Gods and stop praying to them, making them weak. As the Gods became too weak, a single act of power was enough to make them turn to dust and the immortal God became mortal and died. I did not recall these stories in my history classes and was shocked when I saw the immortals turn to dust. I realized this could be the answer to my question of how a world full of Gods could turn into a world where most religions believed in one “single, true” God. Could it be that the Christian God is simply one “ancient” Greek or Roman God that survived this tumultuous time. This God was able to reincarnate himself into a kindlier, more forgiving God that the humans at the time needed? He realized in time what humans needed in a God and was able to convince us to continue praying for him, allowing him to remain immortal and even gain power.

Following this line of thinking leads one to wonder if the One True God is an ancient mythical God from the Greeks and Romans, then which one is it? Could it really be Zeus, the God of Law, Order, and Justice, or is it another lesser known God that thought quickly and took over the reins of power?

Just as Pompeii was buried by a volcanic pyroclastic flow, Atlantis also could have met its end by an explosive volcanic event. History has shown that large areas can be destroyed when Krakatoa blew its top and its pyroclastic flow destroyed Sumtran, which was 30 miles away. If the Atlantians were as advanced as Plato described, then they might have been arrogant enough to believe that they could outrun any eruption. Why would a society build their city around a volcano? You simply need to look around the world today. The Hawaiian Islands are a perfect example. Here people actually traveled thousands of miles by ocean and decided these volcanic islands would be perfect. Volcanic soil is extremely fertile, so aside from the occasional lava flow or pyroclastic flow, you can be guaranteed enough food to eat. Volcanic islands tend to have steep mountainous areas that can be easily protected. Simple answers to why. Suppose there was another reason that Atlantians chose to live on a volcanic island. What if they were able to utilize the geothermal characteristics of the volcano. Steam engines were created before the gasoline versions. On a volcanic island, the power of heat and steam would have been easily observed and could have been utilized.

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