Andrew Brazzale CLCV 115 Discussion Reading Response Gods are supposedly beings of great power and influence,

yet mankind has continuously labeled them with such physical constrictions of being male or female. In all mythology and religion there is a deity that is more powerful than us, yet cannot seem to ascend away from the function of having certain organs or features. It is foolish to say that a god is male or female, a god simply is. We have evolved our sexual characteristics over time through evolution to attract mates and procreate, deities do not need such characteristics as they are simply above it. Even if the deities must procreate amongst themselves, why would they bother with the importance of gender. Surely such powerful and omnipotent beings see past such things as gender being a separation and not simply a difference meant for the longevity of the species. Putting gender on deities is an extremely human concept that we put on them to make them more understandable and relatable. The Greeks called Hephaestus a man because he worked in a forge, and the ancient men of Greece mainly worked the forges. Casting the representation of the forge and craftsmanship as a woman would make it less believable. It's not because Grecian culture felt men were better at craftsmanship than women, it was just men were more prevalent in it. This would lead to a better understanding of the forge and its product, which is really what a religion like the Greeks' were trying to produce. Spirituality began with a female deity, it's right there in the archeology, but when the argument of male deities began to appear to put down women that claim is simply laughable. Things change across thousands of years, and more things are realized. Gender separation was one of them. Not only in physical differences but in sexuality did men and women begin to identify themselves, and therefore it would make sense that if a pantheon expanded it would include both male and female deities. That is not even saying that at times ancient female deities were extremely powerful. Athena was a highly respected goddess of wisdom, warfare, and technology, having a whole city dedicated to her. Whole inventions that advanced the Greek weaponry and society were owed up to her for inspiring their inventors. To say male deities began arising with the advance of civilization because of some masochistic complex is laughable again. I mean if male deities were not arising, could we not say that women were not allowing men to be represented in the religion as well? We could, and then the tables would just be reversed.