Essay On The Origin Of Man

Essay on the origin of man

To start, according to what is stated by Angelis & Zordan, the main Greek thinkers related to the conception of the image of man by Greece were Plato and Aristotle, among others.

It was argued that man is a deadly being, which differentiated him from the gods who were immortal. Its earthly form was the body, and it contained a soul, which was the representation of transcendence or divinity of man.

Plato held an orphic conception that argues that the soul is locked in the body as a punishment for a primary crime. This is related to what was stated by Plutarch and Clemente Alejandrino who report that the origin of man was from the ashes of the Titans who devoured the God Dionisio, ashes that were produced by Zeus when eliminating the Titans. Based on this myth, it is argued that man has an evil nature from the Titans and a divine from Dionisio. Hence the mission of the man to purify himself through the Kathamoi, a rite of purification and elimination of his titanic element to become backs and be able to assume the divine condition again.

On the other hand, Plato develops the myth of the winged car, a trichotomic vision of the structure of the soul. It is mentioned that the soul (auriga) which is the rational or intellectual part conducts a car pushed by two horses, one good and another rebel. When the driver loses control of the car, he loses the happy condition of hyperuranium (perfect world) and falls to the earth. At that time the soul joins the body and is available to the passions, imprisoning the soul in the earthly body.

As could be seen in previous lines, the general image of man from the Greek conception is presented. Of the analysis and comparison made with the Christian conception, it can be evidenced that they share certain thoughts detailed below.

The idea of mortality and immortality is a point that I consider is widely shared between both conceptions, where the difference between man and the gods is even determined. Immortality both in the Greek and Christian conception represents divinity.

Another point that conceptions share is the place where man was created and his purpose on Earth. In the two conceptions it is maintained that man was in a place full of happiness and perfection (hyperuranium in the Greeks and Eden in the Christians) and that due to the bad decisions of man and the temptation of passions and evil (The myth of the winged car for the Greeks and the consumption of the prohibited fruit in the case of Christians) was sentenced to earth as punishment of their impure acts. Once on earth, man has the opportunity to redeem himself through rites (Katharmoi in the Greeks and the baptism in Christians) that will allow him.

I consider the point of divergence between the two conceptions is the form of creation of man. In the case of the Greeks, creation was not directly the action of a God, but the result of the destruction of the Titans, which gave rise to it. In the case of Christianity, the creation of man was directly made by God, which gives place the existence of the spirit that is the representation of the breath of life provided by the Lord.