Humanism has been permeated in ancient Greek mythology, and "the same sex between god and man" is the most unique place in ancient Greek mythology. The gods considered by the Greeks are neither "detached from the world" nor "the embodiment of supreme power". The gods in their eyes began to have rich emotions like human beings.
Burns once said: "Greek gods exist for personal benefit, so they praise God to praise themselves." In Greek mythology, those seemingly noble gods still inevitably bring human evil, which is a rare image in the fairy tales of other ancient nations.
While believing in the gods, the Greeks believed in the power of human beings and advocated that human beings could control their own destiny. Therefore, the Greeks endowed the gods with thoughts and emotions, so that human beings were no longer afraid and blind. This thought also promoted the creation of western philosophy, literature and drama to the people-oriented road in the future.
The birth of Homer's epic is the most direct embodiment of this humanistic thought in literature. From the two levels of culture and value, it is fully explained that "literature exists as a person's spiritual ontology and as a crystallization of a person's values and art."
The heroes in Homer's epic have a strong sense of resistance and dare to fight fiercely with fate. Hecktor, the Trojan general, defied the tragic prediction that he would die, resolutely went to the battlefield, and shaped the spiritual core of humanism with his own blood. "The essence of being a human being is that people are free, independent and free from domination and slavery by the outside world and others."
Although the characters portrayed in Homer's epics are different, each story is a celebration of human values and a strong criticism of absolutism. It is through these vivid characters that western humanism is expressed. Homer's hero is "loyal to general human nature" and "in other ways" is extraordinary.
In that era of "the same sex between god and man", the emergence of heroes was no longer limited to a material force, but embodied the people-oriented spirit of an era, and also made people feel the strong awakening consciousness of the ancient Greeks. This masterpiece has a far-reaching influence on the artistic creation of later generations. It "cultivated the hearts and imaginations of generations of Greeks-artists, thinkers and ordinary people."
After Homer's epic, many playwrights began to explore and show people's value from different angles and levels. Most ancient Greek tragedies are based on ancient Greek mythology and Homer's epic, and they are also used to reflecting social phenomena at that time through the deeds of some heroes. The ancient Greeks never believed in fate and the power of God, but they never thought that human beings could go with the flow, but believed that human beings had the responsibility to fight against fate.
It is precisely because this heroic spirit and humanistic thought full of human brilliance are reflected in a large number of ancient Greek tragedies that they are loved by more and more people.
Aeschylus, Sophocles and euripides, the three most famous tragedies in ancient Greece, all created many heroes who fought against fate vividly. They are used to putting the characters in their plays in a huge net woven by fate, which makes them constantly resist fate. This sadness of facing life directly exposes the theme of tragedy more deeply, and also makes people's humanistic thoughts continue to carry forward in the play.