Hebrew and Greek Legacy Review

The Hebrew and Greek societies are two very unique cultures. Both are similar,

But yet different compared to each other. One way both of these cultures are similar is by being very religious. But in the same sense they are very different. The Greeks worship many gods whom they believe appeared in human form and yet were endowed with superhuman strength and ageless beauty. The Iliad and the Odyssey are early surviving examples of Greek literature, record men's interactions with various gods and goddesses whose characters and appearances underwent little change in the centuries that followed.

The Greeks attributed these epic narratives to Homer, a poet living at the end of the 8th century BC Each Greek city was normally under the protection of one or more individual deities who worshipped with special emphasis, as, for example, Athens and the goddess Athena.

Now on the other hand, the Hebrew believes in only one God and they call Him Jehovah. Jehovah has many names such as Yahweh Shalom, Yahweh Tsidkenu, Yahweh Shammah, Yahweh Sabaoth, Yahweh Rapha, and several others. The Hebrew believes that God is immortal and very powerful. They also believe that He is the Almighty God and there is none that can compare. God's personal name is spelt Yod Heh Vah Heh in the Hebrew. Another way to see it is Y H V H. The vowels were not written until about the thirteenth century C. E. God's personal name was not spoken in the temple on Yom Kippur after the High Priest had entered the Holy of Holies, and resulted in those hearing falling prone and reciting the second phrase of the Shema, "Blessed be His name (HaShem) whose glorious kingdom shall be for ever and ever."

Daily life for the Greeks and Hebrews are very different and just a little similar. The way they were similar was by the wives were submissive to their husbands. Also, who the women in both cultures were basically slaves. The Greek women had virtually no political rights of any kind and were controlled by men at nearly every stage of their lives. The most important duties for a city-dwelling woman were to bear children--preferably male, and to run the household.

Since men spent most of their time away form their houses, women dominated Greek home life. The wife was in charge of raising the children, spinning, weaving and sewing the family's clothes. The wives also supervised the daily running of the household. In a totally slave-based economy, plentiful numbers of female slaves were available to cook, clean, and carry water from the fountain. Only in the poorest homes was the wife expected to carry out all these duties by her.

The Hebrew lifestyles were different. The entire race