The human nature of ancient gods derived from their creator’s passion for symmetry and moderation. To the Greek way of thinking, no one can have it all – some aspect of one’s life needs to be less than perfect, otherwise, balance is disrupted. Zeus had an impossible wife, Hephaestus was lame, Hades lived in the netherworld, Poseidon lost contest after contest, and so on. It is only natural that the most perfect of them all would have one aspect of his life that was less than perfect. The idea also made sense because, if people would feel one god’s perfection, what would have been left for the other gods? It also fitted with Greek notions about the unpredictable nature of gods whose mentality humans can never fathom. Why do they do the things they do? The answer remains unanswered to this day.
