Deities are actuators of phenomena. The ruleset that is responsible for what it is that makes water water, fire fire, etc. Deities are symbols, idealities, sources of quality, not actual physical beings.
Spirits, nymphs, fairies, are the same thing but on an individualized level. So there can be a spirit of a brook or river, but only one deity of brooks and rivers, as far as that one culture is concerned.
Fedoras who can't grasp this are as guilty of shallow anti-intellectualism as any biblethumper.
It's really nothing new to anyone who's done the least bit of research in spirituality, mythology, pantheons, mysticism, animism, etc OP. That's kind of the point of making fun of "fedoras", they haven't even done a bit of research and refuse to believe that they might be complete plebs.
You wrote a lot without saying very much
>>873469
Good to see another anon who gets it
This thread will turn into pic related.
what would stop an actuator of phenomena into getting a physical body or many?
>>873521
Gods are just formal "sub-causes" subordinate to the First Cause/Absolute. Poseidon is therefore a symbol for the qualities water, the ocean, the earth, etc. suggested itself to the Greek mind.
I'm not actually implying there are agents consciously actuating phenomena, but as to your question, Idk mane reality's strange
>>873444
What makes you think ancient people actually thought this? In their stories the deities are always physical beings. You're just projecting your modern scientific worldview onto them.
>>873636
>In their stories the deities are always physical beings
Citation needed!
>>873636
Do not confuse the exoteric forms for the deeper meaning. the average pleb probably thought there actually was a guy with seaweed in his hair living in a palace under the sea, but the more in-depth understanding was only revealed with direct and unfiltered perception of phenomena.
