Thread 17948478

What did medieval christians think about the Gods of their ancestors?

>Roma, capital of the Christendom, residence of the Vicar of Christ
>founded by Romulus et Remus, sons of God Mars, grandsons of Jupiter, King and Father of Gods and Men

>>17948478 (OP)
They thought they were great humans that were deified by their descendants

>>17948478 (OP)
The official position of the medieval catholic church was that classic mythology were just fairytales, and adopted a Euhemerism view that prior pagan gods were either deified dead kings, or angels mistaken for god.

>>17948478 (OP)
They just concluded that Romulus and Remus weren't real people and Thor wasn't real. It was, to them, an era of rationality and humanism unseen in history.

>>17948487
This is really the answer.
You could read medieval histories by actual medieval chroniclers instead of posting stupid shit, OP
Every chronicle starts with the “gods” founding some country (whom the author clarifies as simply being great men - sometimes likening them to figures from the early pages of Genesis).

>>17948487
>>17948493
>>17948597
1. But what about the 'nephilim' (semitic term for demi-gods)?

2. Also, if good pagan gods were good angels, why the Church didn't keep thier veneration?
>Mars = Archangel Michael
>Jupiter = Metatron
Etc.

3. Also, 'angel' just means 'messenger' in greek, the name of a job not the name of a species, angels are "gods" since they're "made of light, grace" by "God", God in latin is 'Deus' which came from the PIE 'Dieus' = "made of light, shinning being, to shine".

>>17948771
>But what about the 'nephilim' (semitic term for demi-gods)?
They all died during the flood.
>if good pagan gods were good angels
No one believed this, if they were good they wouldn't have been fine with people worshipping them. They believed that pagan gods were either not real or just demons.

>>17948478 (OP)
That they were demons. Early Christians might not have been exactly vocal about it from the start but all spirits that don't proclaim Christ or his sacrifice on the cross are of the evil one.

>>17948597
>Every chronicle starts with the “gods” founding some country
>whom the author clarifies as simply being great men
You think a single Athenian would've died for Athens thinking it was established by some woman? The relationship between ancestor worship and general European polytheism is far less direct than this. Whereas cases where tribes literally think their ancestor is a deity or a magical animal are as common as dirt.

>>17948777
>They all died during the flood.
Flood wasn't real.
Also the demi-gods are recorded AFTER Deucalion ("hellenic Noah"), not BEFORE him.

>they wouldn't have been fine with people worshipping them
Many greco-roman gods didn't care about it, and the christian difference
>veneration =/= adoration
is retarded.

And ALSO, you forget that 'demon' is just a greek neutral term which means 'spirit'
>Holy Spirit = Holy Demon
>Eu-demon = good spirit
>Caco-demon = evil spirit
>Eu-demonia = wellfare, happiness
Learn etymology.

>>17948893
nta but sybau

>Also the demi-gods are recorded AFTER Deucalion ("hellenic Noah"), not BEFORE him.
The Biblical canon and wider apocryphal literature imply Nephilim were all killed during the flood. There have since been a few new ones, but the absolute majority is long gone.
>>they wouldn't have been fine with people worshipping them
>Many greco-roman gods didn't care about it
Apathy isn't refusal.
>you forget that 'demon' is just a greek neutral term which means 'spirit'
You forget that terms change meaning. Demon being a very clear example. Learn etymology.

>>17948915
>Apathy isn't refusal.
You have gods helping mortals that never prayed to them, just because those gods have good heart.

>You forget that terms change meaning. Demon being a very clear example. Learn etymology.
We're talking about ancient concepts, therefore we must use the proper etymology, not the modern one.

>Biblical Flood
>abrahamicuck detected

>>17948944
>You have gods helping mortals that never prayed to them, just because those gods have good heart.
Do I care?

>We're talking about ancient concepts, therefore we must use the proper etymology, not the modern one.
2000 years old etymology sounds ancient enough

>>17948788
>they were demons
>abraham-cuckism

>>17948969
I'm devastated please take that back.

personally I like anachronistic depictions of the old gods.

>>17948788
>Early Christians might not have been exactly vocal about it from the start
the Throne of Satan spoken of in the Book of Revelation is widely agreed to be the Altar of Zeus at Pergamum.

>>17949317
The woman of the apocalypse is basically the birth of Venus. Its all references to the "goddess" and the disasters she caused when she was hurled in the inner circles.

They viewed Pagan gods as demons.

>>17948478 (OP)
They really didn't care. This pagan vs Christian idea only become mainstream with reformation. They were seeing it like we see it today: cool ancient stuff. There was a bit of chuddery during the Christian take over in the late antiquity, but between 500 and 1500 literally noone gave two fucks about pagan mythogy. Ie all our Nordic shit was written down by curious Christians.

>>17949545
>Eric Clauesson (or Erik Klasson; died 1492) was a Swedish man executed for sorcery, theft and heresy, though in reality he was executed for his paganism. His case illustrates the survival of the pre-Christian pagan Norse religion in Sweden as late as in the 15th century.

>Clauesson worked as a servant to Hans Persson on the Swedish island of Värmdö. In 1492, he was put before the court in Stockholm, where he confessed that he had sworn himself to the old Nordic god Odin to escape poverty and that he had stolen from his master several times. This was a peculiar case; Clauesson was judged for paganism, which could be seen as a form of heresy, but officially for sorcery, an unusual crime in Sweden at this point, and it is hard to determine whether this was a witch trial or a trial of heresy. Clauesson himself clearly meant the old pagan god Odin, but Odin – like other pagan gods – was considered by the church to be a devil, so "Odin" was translated as "Satan" by the court, and Clauesson was thereby judged as a devil-worshipper. This was, by all accounts, a trial of heresy, against paganism.

>The verdict was that he should be executed by the breaking wheel and hanged for the theft. For his other, religious crime, of "the highest matter" against "God and his immortal soul", he was sentenced to be burned at the stake; as the religious crime was more important than the theft, this was the punishment that was to be carried out. While Swedish law did not actually mention such crimes at the time, the verdict can be seen as a sign that the Catholic Church at that point held a strong position in Sweden, similar to that of the continent, where cases of heresy were more common.

>>17949317
My point stands. Early Christians didn't share the innermost mysteries of the faith freely. The literal end of the World would be one such teaching.

>>17948478 (OP)
They associated them with demons and/or legendary kings in the past. People stop actually caring or looking at these things emotionally once they're gone from living memory, so say a German in the 1200s wasn't too concerned about Wotanism or his ancient ancestors.