adrian_89

Humans didn't assign the gods forms of their own likeness, because to be human is to fall from beauty into decay, to be injured in battle, or to be riddled with disease; rather, the gods are given forms of extreme radiance and physical beauty, free from disease or old age, to illustrate their godly powers, with each god's appearance being unique to that god and somewhat defined by his abilities (Hermes winged sandals).  Because of this, in ancient Greece the human body was much more than just the table that carries our brains around, but was actually worn and displayed like a decoration, a symbol of a warrior's power, an athlete's grace and performance, or a woman's desirability.  Therefore, while still flawed, it would make sense that the more beautiful or physically fit or intimidating a person looked, the closer their appearance would be to a deity, giving that appearance not necessarily a more powerful social influence than in modern times, but an influence pointed in an entirely different direction.  And another important thing to note, unlike modern Christians, who commonly maintain that no one can ever know what God actually looks like, the Greeks gave their gods personality through physical stature, characteristics and accessories, and god's could and did reveal themselves to humans (albeit in varying shapes, sizes, and situations), which at least gave the Greeks some idea of what their gods looked like, like a face to a name.

"Thus, for the Greeks of the archaic period, man's misfortune is not that a divine and immortal soul finds itself imprisoned in the envelope of a material and perishable body, but that his body is not fully one.  It does not possess, completely and definitively, that set of powers, qualities and active virtues which bring to an individual being's existence a constant, radiant, enduring life in a pure, totally alive state, a life that is imperishable because it is free from any seed of corruption and divorced from what could, from within or without, darken, wither, and annihilate it."