"The change brought with it a new exhilaration and a new terror. All previous manifestations seemed tenative and cautious by comparison; they hadn't risked the boldest of adventures, which is precisely that of the gods' disguising themselves as human in a human world, having passed through the whole gamut of metamorphoses. Then this last disguise was more exciting than the others. More exciting and more dangerous. For it might well be that the gods' divinity may no longer be grasped in its fullness. On earth they would meet people who treated them with too much familiarity, maybe even provoked them." (54)
Calasso brings up an interesting point in this passage. The relationship between humans and their gods has been ever-changing throughout history, which in turn changes the way gods are portrayed in mythology. In my opinion, this stage of contact is the most interesting for the purpose of weaving tales about the gods, because if the gods appear in human form we humans can relate the best to them.
The second part of the quote refers to the "danger" of this change. It is dangerous for the gods, because if they lose their temper, or get embarrassed, or do any of a multitude of other things that modern society has come to think of God(s) as "above," they could lose some of their detachment to the world, and therefore some of their power (having personally invested themselves in it). This approach to religion obviously didn't work out, because now beliefs in god normally place him in a location distinctly separate from earth (Heaven) and not appearing to humans ever in their mortal lives. But it sure makes good stories!
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