Divine Dependence: From Greek Mythology to Islamic Theology

Abstract

Generally, God is understood as the Almighty Being who is entirely independent of His creatures. However, in the historical development of thought, this concept has not always appeared in an absolute form. In Greek mythology, the relationship between gods and humans is reciprocal and transactional, where the legitimacy and influence of the gods are connected to the intensity of worship and ritual practices. Meanwhile, in Islamic theological discourse—particularly in Mu‘tazilite thought—there emerges the idea that God is “obligated” to fulfill His promises as a consequence of His attribute of justice. This condition raises a philosophical question concerning the limits of divine absoluteness and the possibility of God’s being bound to rational principles attached to His attributes. This study aims to comparatively analyze the idea of divine dependence in Greek mythology and Islamic theology by examining the construction of the god-human relationship and the concept of divine justice and obligation in Mu‘tazilite thought. This article is a library-based research employing a qualitative approach and descriptive-analytical method. The findings indicate that in Greek mythology, divine dependence is cultural and socio-religious in nature, whereas in Islamic theology, the debate concerning God’s “obligation” is conceptual and rational rather than ontological.