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(...) but I'm sticking with the Greeks because of the philosophy. The elves seem so philisophical to me. Someone please tell me if I'm wrong, or, if you believe I am right...please tell me why!
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My take on this: during the "enlightenment" of Greece, as she became more scientific and "philosophical" (for lack of a better word), she slowly lost her faith in her theologies. Elves, on the otherhand, are said to be extremely enlightened and "philosophical", yet they still have great faith in the Valar and Eru.
Some people believe that one cannot be "philosophical" and still be a believer in a religion. Philosophy, as some define it, is the belief in asking questions--like "what is my purpose?" or "is there really a god?"--that a belief in a diety would prove kind of redundant. We would like to say that the elves were philosophical because we like them so much ... that is a valuative term to us. To be "philosophical" is to be a high-thinker, intelligent, a challenger of the status quo. But really, in that context, I don't think that the elves were really THAT kind of philosophical. They didn't need to ask those kind of questions that the greeks did, to try and explain the happenings of morality and the world around them without any relationship to a higher being. They knew how things worked in relationship to the Valar. They were one with the creative force that made nature and with nature herself ... something that the Greeks failed at in their quest for knowledge. From the theological standpoint, they (the Greeks) couldn't see the forest for the trees, and therefore differed greatly from the Elves. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
-'Vana
[ April 21, 2003: Message edited by: DaughterofVana ]