Definition of ancient Greek gods. Greek Mythology: A Brief Overview

In Ancient Greece, two groups of gods are distinguished: the Titans, the gods of the second generation, and the Olympian gods, or Olympians, the gods of the third generation. That is, there were only two main groups of gods:

Titans - gods of the second generation

• Six brothers - Oceanus, Kay, Crius, Hipperion, Iapetus, Kronos.
• Six sisters - Thetis, Phoebe, Mnemosyne, Theia, Themis, Rhea.

Those who gave birth to a new generation: Prometheus, Atlas, Helios (personification of the sun), Leto, Menoetius, Asterius, Selene (personification of the moon), Electra, Eos (personification of the dawn), Epimetheus.

Olympic gods (Olympians) - gods of the third generation

• The Olympians included the children of Kronos and Rhea: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus, as well as their descendants - Hephaestus, Hermes, Persephone, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Athena, Apollo and Artemis. The supreme god was Zeus, who deprived his father of Kronos of power.
• The Greek pantheon of the Olympian gods traditionally included 12 gods, but the composition of the pantheon was not very stable and sometimes numbered 14-15 gods.
• Usually these were: Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Demeter, Hestia, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Dionysus, Hades.
• The Olympian gods lived on the sacred Mount Olympos in Olympia, off the coast of the Aegean Sea.

Details

The main gods in Ancient Hellas were recognized as those who belonged to the younger generation of celestials. Once upon a time, it took away power over the world from the older generation, who personified the main universal forces and elements (see about this in the article The Origin of the Gods of Ancient Greece). The older generation of gods are usually called titans. Having defeated the Titans, the younger gods, led by Zeus, settled on Mount Olympus. The ancient Greeks honored the 12 Olympian gods. Their list usually included Zeus, Hera, Athena, Hephaestus, Apollo, Artemis, Poseidon, Ares, Aphrodite, Demeter, Hermes, Hestia. Hades is also close to the Olympian gods, but he does not live on Olympus, but in his underground kingdom.

• Zeus is the main deity of ancient Greek mythology, the king of all other gods, the personification of the boundless sky, the lord of lightning. In Roman religion, he was associated with Jupiter.
• Poseidon is the god of the seas; among the ancient Greeks, he was the second most important deity after Zeus. As the personification of the changeable and turbulent water element, Poseidon was closely associated with earthquakes and volcanic activity. In Roman mythology he was identified with Neptune.
• Hades is the ruler of the gloomy underground kingdom of the dead, inhabited by the ethereal shadows of the dead and terrible demonic creatures. Hades (Hades), Zeus and Poseidon made up the triad of the most powerful gods of Ancient Hellas. As ruler of the depths of the earth, Hades was also involved in agricultural cults, with which his wife, Persephone, was closely associated. The Romans called him Pluto.
• Apollo was originally the god of sunlight, whose cult then acquired a broader meaning and connection with the ideas of spiritual purity, artistic beauty, medical healing, and retribution for sins. Like a patron creative activity considered the head of the nine muses, as a healer - the father of the god of doctors, Asclepius. The image of Apollo among the ancient Greeks was formed under the strong influence of Eastern cults (the Asia Minor god Apelun) and carried refined, aristocratic features. Apollo was also called Phoebus. He was revered under the same names in Ancient Rome.
• Hermes is the most ancient pre-Greek god of roads and field boundaries, all borders separating one from the other. Due to his primordial connection with the roads, Hermes was later revered as a messenger of the gods with wings on his heels, the patron of travel, merchants and trade. His cult was also associated with ideas about resourcefulness, cunning, subtle mental activity (skillful differentiation of concepts), knowledge of foreign languages. The Romans have Mercury.
• Ares is the wild god of war and battles. In ancient Rome, Mars.
• Eros is the son of Aphrodite, a divine boy with a quiver and a bow. At the request of his mother, he shoots well-aimed arrows that kindle incurable love in the hearts of people and gods. In Rome - Cupid.
• Hymen is the companion of Aphrodite, the god of marriage. After his name, wedding hymns were called hymens in Ancient Greece.
• Hephaestus is a god whose cult in the era of hoary antiquity was associated with volcanic activity - fire and roar. Later, thanks to the same properties, Hephaestus became the patron of all crafts associated with fire: blacksmithing, pottery, etc. In Rome, the god Vulcan corresponded to him.
• Dionysus is the god of winemaking and those violent natural forces that drive a person to crazy delight. Dionysus was not one of the 12 “Olympian” gods of Ancient Greece. His orgiastic cult was borrowed relatively late from Asia Minor. The common people's veneration of Dionysus was contrasted with the aristocratic service to Apollo. From the frenzied dances and songs at the festivals of Dionysus, ancient Greek tragedy and comedy later emerged.
• Pan is the god of forests, patron of herds and shepherds. Has goat legs, beard and horns. A distinctive attribute of Pan is the pipe (syringa) in his hands.
• Asclepius - ancient Greek god of healing
• Proteus is one of the sea deities of the Greeks. The son of Poseidon, who had the gift to predict the future and change his appearance
• Triton is the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, the messenger of the depths of the sea, blowing the shell. By appearance- a mixture of man, horse and fish. Close to the eastern god Dagon.
• Dike - in Ancient Greece - the personification of divine truth, a goddess hostile to deception
• Tyukhe is the goddess of luck and good fortune. For the Romans - Fortuna
• Morpheus - the ancient Greek god of dreams, son of the god of sleep Hypnos
• Plutos - god of wealth
• Phobos (“Fear”) – son and companion of Ares
• Deimos (“Horror”) – son and companion of Ares

The gods were immortal, but very similar to people - they were characterized by human traits: they quarreled and made peace, committed meanness and intrigue, loved and cunned.

Legends about the Olympian gods passed from generation to generation and had a huge impact on world culture. Stories from ancient Greek mythology were present in literature, poetry, painting, sculpture, and music. They “exerted” influence on almost all spheres of human life, as they reflected people’s ideas about the structure of the world.

The information that has reached our times about the legends and tales of Ancient Greece came from the works of Homer, Ovid, Nonnus, and Euripides. Thus, by the “Olympic” period of the development of society, all myths were associated with Mount Olympus, where 12 deities headed by Zeus sat (although their number does not always coincide).

According to ancient Greek myths, before the “central” Gods ascended to Olympus, Chaos existed on Earth, which gave birth to Eternal Darkness and Dark Night. From them came the Eternal Light and the bright Day. So, night began to give way to day, and day to night, forever and ever.

A long time ago - so long ago that even time then flowed in the opposite direction, the ancient Hellenes lived on the Balkan Peninsula, who left a rich heritage to the peoples of the whole world. These are not only majestic buildings, beautiful antique wall paintings and marble statues, but also great works of literature, as well as ancient legends that have survived to this day - the myths of Ancient Greece, which reflect the ancient Greeks’ idea of ​​​​the structure of the world and, in general, about all processes occurring in nature and society. In a word, their worldview and worldview.

Greek mythology evolved over several centuries, passed from mouth to mouth, from generation to generation. Myths have come to us already in the poetry of Hesiod and, as well as in the works of the Greek playwrights Aeschylus, and others. That is why they had to be collected from a variety of sources.

Mythographers appeared in Greece around the 4th century BC. These include the sophist Hippias, as well as Heraclitus of Pontus and many others. For example, Dionysius of Samoia compiled genealogical tables and studied tragic myths.

In the heroic period, mythological images are centralized around myths associated with the legendary Mount Olympus.

According to the myths of ancient Greece, you can recreate a picture of the world in the view of its ancient inhabitants. So, according to Greek mythology, the world was inhabited by monsters and giants: giants, one-eyed cyclops (Cyclops) and mighty Titans - formidable children of the Earth (Gaia) and Heaven (Uranus). In these images, the Greeks personified the elemental forces of nature, which were subdued by Zeus (Dias) - the Thunderer and Cloudbreaker, who established order in the world and became the ruler of the Universe.

Jean-Baptiste Moses
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

In the beginning there was only eternal, boundless, dark Chaos , which contained the source of the life of the world: everything arose from Chaos - the whole world, the immortal gods, and the goddess Earth - Gaia, who gives life to everything that lives and grows on her; and the mighty force that animates everything is Love - Eros.

Deep under the Earth, the gloomy Tartarus was born - a terrible abyss full of eternal darkness.

Creating the world, Chaos gave birth to the Eternal Darkness - Erebus and the dark Night - Nikta. And from Night and Darkness came the eternal Light - Ether and the joyful bright Day - Hemera (Imera). The light spread throughout the world, and night and day began to replace each other.

The mighty, blessed Gaia gave birth to the boundless blue Sky - Uranus, which spread over the Earth, reigning over the whole world. The high Mountains born of the Earth proudly rose towards him, and the ever-noisy Sea spread widely.

After the Sky, Mountains and Sea arose from Mother Earth, Uranus took the blessed Gaia as his wife, from whom he had six sons - powerful, formidable titans - and six daughters. The son of Uranus and Gaia is the Titan Ocean, flowing around the entire earth like a boundless river, and the goddess Thetis gave birth to all the rivers that rolled their waves to the sea, as well as sea goddesses - the Oceanids. Titan Hipperion and Theia gave the world the Sun - Helios, the Moon - Selene and the ruddy Dawn - rose-fingered Eos. From Astraeus and Eos came all the stars that burn in the night sky, and all the winds: the northern wind - Boreas (Βορριάς), the eastern - Eurus (Εύρος), the southern Not (Νοτιάς) and the western, gentle wind Zephyr (Ζέφυρος), carrying abundant rain clouds.

Noel Coypel

In addition to the titans, the mighty Earth gave birth to three giants - Cyclops with one eye in the forehead - and three fifty-headed, hundred-armed giants - Hecatoncheires, against whom nothing could resist, because their elemental power knew no bounds.

Uranus hated his giant children and imprisoned them in the bowels of the Earth, not allowing them to come into the light. Mother Earth suffered from the fact that she was crushed by a terrible burden contained in the depths of her bowels. Then she summoned her children, the Titans, to persuade them to rebel against Uranus. However, the titans were afraid to raise a hand against their father. Only the youngest of them, the treacherous Kronos, overthrew Uranus by cunning, taking away his power.

As punishment for Kronos, the goddess Night gave birth to Tanat - death, Eris - discord, Apata - deception, Ker - destruction, Hypnos - a dream with nightmare visions, Nemesis - revenge for crimes - and many other gods who brought Kronos into the world, who reigned on the throne of his father , horror, strife, deception, struggle and misfortune.

Kronos himself did not have confidence in the strength and durability of his power: he was afraid that his children would rebel against him and he would suffer the fate of his own father Uranus. In this regard, Kronos ordered his wife Rhea to bring him the children that were born, five of whom he mercilessly swallowed: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon.

Noel Coypel
Charles William Mitchell

Rhea, in order not to lose her last child, on the advice of her parents, Uranus-Heaven and Gaia-Earth, retired to the island of Crete, where she gave birth to her youngest son Zeus in a deep cave. Having hidden the newborn in a cave, Rhea allowed the cruel Kronos to swallow a long stone wrapped in swaddling clothes instead of his son. Kronos had no idea that he was deceived by his wife, while Zeus grew up in Crete under the supervision of the nymphs Adrastea and Idea, who fed him the milk of the divine goat Amalthea. The bees brought honey to little Zeus from the slopes of the high mountain Dikta, and at the entrance to the cave the young Kuretes struck their shields with their swords every time little Zeus cried, so that the all-powerful Kronos would not inadvertently hear his cry.

The Titans were replaced by the kingdom of Zeus, who defeated his father Kronos and became the supreme deity of the Olympian pantheon; the ruler of the heavenly powers, commanding thunder, lightning, clouds and showers. Dominating the universe, Zeus gave people laws and guarded order.

In the minds of the ancient Greeks, the Olympian gods were like people and the relationships between them resembled the relationships between people: they quarreled and made peace, envied and interfered in people’s lives, were offended, took part in wars, rejoiced, had fun and fell in love. Each of the gods had a specific occupation, being responsible for a specific area of ​​\u200b\u200blife:

1. Zeus (Dias) - the ruler of the sky, the father of gods and people.
2. Hera (Ira) - the wife of Zeus, the patroness of the family.
3. Poseidon is the lord of the seas.
4. Hestia (Estia) - protector of the family hearth.
5. Demeter (Dimitra) - the goddess of agriculture.
6. Apollo is the god of light and music.
7. Athena is the goddess of wisdom.
8. Hermes (Ermis) - the god of trade and the messenger of the gods.
9. Hephaestus (Ifestos) is the god of fire.
10. Aphrodite is the goddess of beauty.
11. Ares (Aris) is the god of war.
12. Artemis is the goddess of the hunt.

People on earth turned to the gods - to each according to his “specialty”, erected temples for them and, in order to appease them, brought gifts as sacrifices.

Introduction

The importance of ancient Greek mythology for the development of culture can hardly be overestimated. Ancient Greece is called the cradle of all European culture. And therefore, the study of ancient Greek mythology acquires special significance - it is a study of the origins, primarily the origins of European culture, but it is also obvious that it had a huge influence on the entire world culture. Ancient Greek myths were not only widely disseminated, but were subjected to deep understanding and study. It is impossible to overestimate their aesthetic significance: there is not a single type of art left that does not have in its arsenal themes based on ancient mythology - they are found in sculpture, painting, music, poetry, prose, etc.

For the most complete understanding of the significance of ancient Greek mythology in world culture, it is necessary to generally trace the significance of myth in culture.

A myth is not a fairy tale, it is a way of explaining the world. Mythology is the main form of worldview of peoples at the most ancient stage of their development. Mythology is based on the personification of the forces of nature (nature dominated, was stronger than man). Mythology as a dominant way of thinking and behavior disappears when man creates real means of domination over the forces of nature. The destruction of mythology speaks of a fundamental change in man's position in the world.

But it is from mythology that scientific knowledge, religion and the entire culture as a whole grow. The mythology of ancient Greece became the basis for the entire ancient culture, from which subsequently, as we have already said, the entire European culture grew.

Ancient Greek is the name given to the mythology of civilization that developed from the 6th century. BC e. on the territory of modern Greece. The basis of ancient Greek mythology is polytheism, that is, polytheism. In addition, the gods of ancient Greece are endowed with anthropomorphic (i.e. human) features. Concrete ideas generally prevail over abstract ones, just as in quantitative terms humanoid gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines prevail over deities of abstract meaning (who, in turn, receive anthropomorphic features).

Legends, traditions and tales were passed down from generation to generation by Aed singers and were not recorded in writing. The first recorded works that brought to us unique images and events were Homer’s brilliant poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey”. Their recording dates back to the 6th century BC. e. According to the historian Herodotus, Homer could have lived three centuries earlier, that is, around the 9th-8th centuries BC. But, being an aed, he used the work of his predecessors, even more ancient singers, the earliest of whom, Orpheus, according to some evidence, lived approximately in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC. Thus, the mythology that has come down to us is in many ways an experience that has already been processed and rethought by subsequent generations. One way or another, the main sources for studying Greek mythology are Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.

Homer presents myth as an objective phenomenon, the reality of which the author has no doubts about. Hesiod, who lived during the formation of the Greek polis system and ideology, had a different attitude to mythology. He collects and brings together the myths and genealogies of the gods, sets out the cosmogonic system in connection with the history of the origin of the gods (“Theogony”). Material for the study of Greek mythology is also contained in Greek lyrics, comedies and tragedies. And also in the works of Roman authors (Ovid, Virgil, Horace, Lucretius Carus, Tibullus, Propertius, Apuleius, Statius, Lucian, Silius Italicus). Ovid's Metamorphoses is essentially a mythological encyclopedia. Of course, many years ago, many original sources were lost, distorted and came to us in later copies, and yet they make it possible to get an idea of ​​​​ancient Greek mythology. In our work we will use more encyclopedias and textbooks on the history of ancient culture, of which ancient Greek mythology is a part.

The purpose of our work is to present a general picture of ancient Greek mythology and understand its influence on the development of European and world culture.

In ancient Greek mythology, there is a pre-Olympic period and an Olympic period, which in turn is divided into the classical and heroic periods. During the heroic period, mythological images centralize around the mythology associated with Mount Olympus, and the transition to an artistically developed and strict heroism begins. As the communal-tribal system decomposed, refined forms of heroic Homeric mythology emerged. Subsequently, naive mythology - a kind of the only form of primitive thinking - perishes as an independent creativity and acquires a service character, becoming one of the forms of artistic expression of various kinds of religious, socio-political, moral and philosophical ideas of the slave-owning polis ideology, turns into a philosophical allegory, and is widely used in literature and art. In accordance with these periods, we will structure our work, that is, the first part will be devoted to the pre-Olympic period, the second to the Olympic period, that is, we will trace the development of ancient Greek mythology. And in the third part of our work we will list the main gods and heroes as they entered the culture. Our task does not include only a presentation of the material, but also an analysis of the significance of the period under consideration for the further development of culture. At the end of the work we will draw conclusions about the place of ancient Greek mythology in world culture.

1. Pre-Olympic period

Mythology is the main form of worldview of peoples at the most ancient stage of their development. It is based on the personification of the forces of nature (nature dominated, was stronger than man). Mythological consciousness is characterized by syncretism, everything in it is in unity and indivisibility: truth and fiction, subject and object, man and nature. At the same time, at a later stage it is anthropomorphic in nature. One way or another, a person does not separate himself from the world, he humanizes the world and nature. The main task of myth is to set patterns, models for every important action performed by a person; myth serves to ritualize everyday life, allowing a person to find meaning in life, which is perceived by the primitive consciousness in a disorderly heaped form.

The earth with its constituent objects appears to the primitive consciousness to be alive. Animated, producing everything from itself and nourishing everything with itself, including the sky, which it also gives birth to from itself. Just as a woman is the head of the clan, mother, nurse and teacher during the period of matriarchy, so the earth is understood as the source and womb of the whole world, gods, demons, people. That's why ancient mythology can be called chthonic (chthonic (Greek chton, “earth”), associated with the earth, the underworld.).

Fetishism

In the development of chthonic mythology, separate stages can also be distinguished. The first stage is fetishism. At an early stage, consciousness is limited to direct sensory perception, only to those things that are directly visible and tangible. These things become animated. Such a thing, on the one hand, thoroughly material, on the other hand, animated by primitive consciousness, is a fetish. Fetish was understood as the focus of magical, demonic, living force. But since the entire objective world seemed animate, the entire world was endowed with magical power, and the demonic creature was in no way separated from the object in which it lived. Thus, various deities were worshiped in the form of stone pyramids or rough planks (in the form of a column, a log, etc.). That is, the deity and the object are inseparable. Worship of animate, deified objects is fetishism. Even during the period of greatest flowering of Greek civilization, many deities continued to be worshiped in the form of stones and pieces of wood.

A striking example of a fetish is the Delphic omphalos. According to legend, this is the stone that the goddess Rhea gave to Kronos instead of the newborn Zeus. Kronos, fearing that his children might overthrow him, as he overthrew his father Uranus, decided to get rid of them - to eat them. But instead of Zeus, he ate a stone and then vomited it up. The stone was placed in Delphi as the center of the earth and began to be revered as a shrine, it was dressed in various clothes and anointed with incense.

Another example of fetishism is the identification of the god Dionysus with the grapevine. This is evidenced by the many epithets of Dionysus associated either with this plant itself or with wine as a product of the vine. “Grape”, “multiple”, “wine bearer”, “wine pourer”, etc. are the main epithets of Dionysus.

The serpent and snake are the most typical chthonic animals and not only in ancient mythology. Even such bright and beautiful goddesses as Pallas Athena had their own serpentine past.

Animals generally played an important role in mythology. Many animals were identified with certain gods and were their embodiment. In the chapter dedicated to the gods, we will return to that issue.

Man himself was thought of fetishistically. His body was identified with spiritual life. Individual parts of the body could be endowed with a certain magical power, not thanks to the spirit, but on their own. The eyes of the Gorgon Medusa are turned into stone, the ancestors of the Theban kings emerge from the teeth of the dragon, blood is the carrier of the soul.

Fetishistic ideas were transferred not only to an individual person, but to the entire clan community. People thought that this entire genus was represented by some animal, some plant, or even an inanimate thing (for example, the origin of the Myrmidons was thought to be from ants). The fetishistic understanding embraced the whole of nature, the whole world, which was presented as a single living body, at first necessarily female. Heaven and earth, land and sea, sea and the underworld differed very little from each other in the primitive consciousness - this is called syncretism, which we talked about at the beginning of this chapter.

The next stage in the development of ancient Greek mythology is characterized by the separation of the “idea” of a thing from the thing itself, roughly speaking, the separation of the soul. Soul in Greek anima. Thus, the transition to animism took place. At first, people believed that the soul of a thing (or its demon) was so inseparable from the thing itself that with its destruction it also ceased to exist. Subsequently, the idea of ​​the independence of these demons grew, which not only differ from things, but are also able to separate from them and persist for a more or less long period after the destruction of these things.

Initially, animism is associated with some impersonal force. These are abstract demons, acting here and now, having no appearance and therefore it is not clear how to talk to them. We noted that initially man was subject to the forces of nature. But gradually he emerges from this subordination. And the demons take on some kind of appearance, it is already possible to somehow come to an agreement with them, that is, to come into contact with nature, not only as a victim, when he does not understand what force he is dealing with, but can influence these forces. From the moment when a previously impersonal demon receives one or another individualization, the final transition to animism occurs. We will talk about ancient animistic demons in more detail in the third chapter of our work. During the classical era of Greece, these images were relegated to the background.

In developed animism, as we have already said, the transformation of a demon or god leads to an anthropomorphic, that is, humanized, understanding of them. However, no matter how perfect the anthropomorphic image of a god, demon or hero in Greek mythology, it always contained features of an earlier, purely fetishistic development (for example, a grapevine or ivy is constantly associated with Dionysus).

Let's summarize everything said in this chapter. So, first of all, we determined that at the early stage of the formation of mythology, human consciousness is not allocated to nature, man recognizes himself as a part of nature, and that nature is stronger than him, it frightens man. And the person understands her as alive. Man worships the living forces of nature, but not abstract ones, he does not yet have abstract ideas, he understands only what he sees and feels. And these objects, visible and felt by him, become animated, he worships them - this is the first stage of the pre-Olympic period - fetishism. Gradually, the “idea” of a thing separates from the thing itself and animism arises. Gradually, impersonal demons acquire anthropomorphic features, and here we move on to the Olympian period of ancient Greek mythology - a period more understandable to us, since here man clearly distinguishes himself from nature, soul from body, god from man, despite the anthropomorphic appearance of gods and forces nature.

. Olympic period

Classical period

In the previous period we considered, the main gods and demons of ancient Greek mythology were formed. We also said that man begins to escape the power of natural forces. And in mythology, heroes appear who deal with monsters and bogeymen that once frightened the imagination of man, crushed by an incomprehensible and omnipotent nature. Apollo kills the Pythian dragon, Otha and Ephialtes, Perseus kills Medusa, Bellerophon kills the Chimera, Meleager kills the Calydonian boar. Hercules performs his twelve labors.

During this period, instead of small gods and demons, one main, supreme god Zeus appears, to whom all other gods and demons obey. They all live on Olympus (hence the concepts of “Olympic gods”, “Olympic mythology”). Zeus himself fights various kinds of monsters, defeats the Titans, Cyclopes, Typhon and the giants and imprisons them underground, in Tartarus. A new type of gods appears. Female deities, formed from the multifaceted ancient image of the mother goddess, received new functions in the era of heroism. We will talk about the gods and their functions during this period in the third part of the work.

Not only gods and heroes, but all of life began to be seen differently. This is due, first of all, to the fact that man has ceased to be afraid of nature. And those demons and spirits that previously seemed hostile to humans now look completely different. Now man is not afraid of nature, but uses it for his needs and admires it. If earlier nymphs of rivers and lakes - naiads or nymphs of seas - nereids, as well as nymphs of mountains, forests, fields, etc. - are the embodiment of wildness and chaos, now nature appears peaceful and poetic. Nymphs scattered in nature become objects of poetic admiration. This is how they entered world culture. Beautiful nymphs were sung not only by ancient poets, but also by the poets of the Renaissance (this era was called the Renaissance precisely because it sought to revive ancient beauty and ancient ideals). And today the nymph is certainly associated with someone beautiful, although danger may lurk in this beauty, as there always is danger even in the most beautiful nature. The man was never able to completely get rid of this fear. And therefore the nymphs could joke and sometimes quite evilly.

Zeus ruled everything, and all elemental forces were in his hands. And man undoubtedly felt his dependence on the gods. But at the same time, he already felt his strength to enter into dialogue with the gods. As for the lower demonic creatures, myths appear that tell of the victory of mortal man over nature, such as the 12 labors of Hercules. The theme of the victory of mortal man over nature is also heard in other Greek myths of the Olympic period. When Oedipus solved the riddle of the Sphinx, she threw herself off the cliff. When Odysseus (or Orpheus) did not succumb to the mesmerizing singing of the sirens and sailed past them unharmed, the sirens died at that very moment. When the Argonauts sailed safely among the rocks of the Symplegades, which until then had continually converged and diverged, the Symplegades stopped forever.

Heroic period

This period is characterized by a transition from the old, harsh heroism to a new, refined one. We find the characteristic features of this period in Homer. The heroes in this mythology noticeably become bolder, their free communication with the gods increases, they even dare to enter into competition with the gods. Most often, they are punished for their insolence, but the fact itself is important. It is important that now people look at the gods completely differently.

Two myths are indicative here: the myth of Dionysus and the myth of Prometheus. Dionysus is the son of Zeus and a mortal woman. At an earlier stage, Dionysus was the patron of nature in general, and, as we said, was associated with ivy and the vine, as a result of which he began to be perceived as the god of winemaking. But in mythology, his image is firmly entrenched as the image of a god who organizes orgies, the god of the bacchantes, the god of the holiday. This cult of Dionysus spread throughout Greece and united all classes. The ecstasy and exaltation of fans of Dionysus created the illusion of internal unity with the deity and thereby, as it were, destroyed the impassable gap between gods and people. Therefore, the cult of Dionysus, while strengthening human independence, deprived it of its mythological orientation.

Another type of mythological self-denial arose in connection with the image of Prometheus. Prometheus, like Dionysus, is a deity. Prometheus gave people fire and was punished by Zeus for his help to people. Zeus chained him to a rock. Prometheus's punishment is understandable, since he is an opponent of Olympian heroism, that is, the mythology associated with Zeus. Therefore, throughout the entire heroic age, Prometheus is chained to a rock. But now the heroic age is coming to an end, shortly before the Trojan War - the last great act of the heroic age - Hercules frees Prometheus. A great reconciliation takes place between Zeus and Prometheus, which signifies the triumph of Prometheus, who gave people fire and the beginnings of civilization, making humanity independent of God. Thus, Prometheus, being a god himself, destroyed faith in deity in general and in the mythological perception of the world.

The Olympic period in general and the heroic stage in particular are characterized by artistic processing of images. We haven't talked much here about emerging comedies, tragedies and other literary and artistic works. But it is necessary to talk about them, since the appearance of such literature indicates that mythology is perceived differently. In this literature, mythology is no longer an end in itself, as in ancient legends, parables and tales; here literature acts only as a means. This is especially evident in the late heroic period, and this is how the myth enters world culture.

The genre of transformations, which was embodied in Ovid’s work “Metamorphoses,” became especially popular. Usually this refers to a myth that, as a result of certain twists and turns, ends with the transformation of heroes into some objects of the inanimate world, into plants or animals. For example, Narcissus, withered from love for his own image in water, turns into a flower, etc. All natural phenomena were animated and considered living beings in the distant past - a mythical time, but now in this late heroic age they have lost their mythicality, and only the human memory of late antiquity retained the memory of the mythical past, finding in it only artistic beauty.

Let's summarize everything said in this chapter. Man begins to emerge from the power of natural forces, what he was previously afraid of, gradually becomes equal to him, although it is too early to talk about complete equality, but in any case, man separates himself from nature and begins to communicate with it, putting forward his demands, and not only by getting involved in spontaneous natural chaos. This change in consciousness gave birth to mythological heroes who defeated demons personifying the souls of nature, and in the later period, the gods (Dionysus, Prometheus) themselves went over to the side of people, becoming their accomplices, and not those whom people fear. Thus, gods and people become closer, although the distance still remains - the gods remain gods.

It was the classical period of ancient Greek mythology that had the greatest influence on the development of European culture. During this period, the idea of ​​Olympus and the Olympian gods was formed. And this is how they will go down in cultural history. We have already said that the perception of nymphs as beautiful and sweet maidens, and not as evil demons of nature, has been preserved in culture. But here it is important to note that European and world culture drew from Greek mythology not only images of gods and demons, but in many ways thinking itself. European philosophy and culture were formed in the depths of Greek mythology. If we turn to the history of philosophy, we will see that in its formation we can trace the same process of separating man from the natural world, the continuation of the transition from the emotional and sensory perception of the world to its rational understanding. Ancient Greek mythology, and we could see this, is the first stages of the formation of ancient (of which ancient Greek culture is a part) philosophy, based on a rational understanding of nature. It was thanks to this process and its consistent development that the priority of reason was established in Europe. Of course, not right away. Of course, European culture first went through the dark ages of scholasticism, but with the Renaissance, the ideals of antiquity again became significant, proclaiming reason, human value, the desire for beauty and the enjoyment of life. But we are already getting very ahead of ourselves. First, let's look at the main gods of Greek mythology, whose images are still relevant in all types of art.

ancient greek mythology self-denial zeus

3. Gods and demons of Greek mythology

In this part of the work I would like to devote Special attention to the gods of the Olympian period, since they have greater cultural significance, the gods that arose in an earlier period and personified the forces of nature were still terrible at that time. All Greek mythology begins with the words “in the beginning there was chaos,” and from this chaos the Cosmos, the Ocean, etc. stand out, which are perceived as living beings that suppress man. We talked a lot about this in the first part of the work and will not repeat it here. Let’s just name them briefly, since they appear before us as presented by N. Kuhn:

“The goddess Earth, Gaia, also came from Chaos.<…>Far underground<…>the gloomy Tartarus was born - a terrible abyss full of eternal darkness. From Chaos, the source of life, was born the mighty force that animates everything, Love - Eros. The world began to form. Boundless Chaos gave birth to the Eternal Darkness - Erebus and the dark Night - Nyukta. And from Night and Darkness came the eternal Light - Ether and the joyful bright Day - Hemera. The light spread throughout the world, and night and day began to replace each other.<…>Mother Earth gave birth to the Sky, Mountains and Sea, and they have no father. Uranus - Sky - reigned in the world. He took the fertile Earth as his wife. Uranus and Gaia had six sons and six daughters - powerful, formidable titans. Their son, the Titan Ocean, flowing around the entire earth like a boundless river, and the goddess Thetis gave birth to all the rivers that roll their waves to the sea, and the sea goddesses - the Oceanids. Titan Hipperion and Theia gave the world children: the Sun - Helios, the Moon - Selene and the ruddy Dawn - pink-fingered Eos. From Astraea and Eos all the stars came<…>and all the winds: the stormy northern wind Boreas, the eastern Eurus, the humid southern Notus and the gentle western wind Zephyr, carrying clouds heavy with rain. In addition to the titans, the mighty Earth gave birth to three giants - Cyclops with one eye in the forehead - and three huge, like mountains, fifty-headed giants - hundred-armed (hecatoncheires)<…>. Uranus hated his giant children; he imprisoned them in deep darkness in the bowels of the Earth goddess and did not allow them to come into the light. Their mother Earth suffered. She was oppressed by this terrible burden contained in her depths. She summoned her children, the Titans, and convinced them to rebel against their father Uranus, but they were afraid to raise their hands against their father. Only the youngest of them, the treacherous Kron, overthrew his father by cunning and took away his power. As punishment for Kron, the Goddess Night gave birth to a whole host of terrible substances: Tanata - death, Eris - discord, Apata - deception, Ker - destruction, Hypnos - a dream with a swarm of dark, heavy visions, Nemesis who knows no mercy - revenge for crimes - and many others. Horror, strife, deception, struggle and misfortune brought these gods into the world where Cronus reigned on the throne of his father.” In this short passage we see how the universe and the main phenomena of nature are explained: where the sky and sea come from, why day and night alternate. Similar myths exist in all cultures in their early stages. In addition, the narrative we have given illustrates in the best possible way everything that we talked about in the first part of our work: this is the gloominess of the characters - only Hemera (Day) and Eos (Dawn) are called joyful and bright, the rest of the deities are frightening, even Hypnos, who now does not carry the meaning that it was filled in those days. Then the following happens in mythology - Zeus, saved by his mother (we cited this myth already in our work), overthrows Kron (Cronus, Kronos, - the god of time) and reigns on Olympus.

Gods of the Olympic period

We will not be able to consider all the Olympian gods here. There were a great many of them, but let's focus on the most significant images. But first, about Mount Olympus itself. Olympus is a mountain in Thessaly where the gods live. On Olympus are the palaces of Zeus and other gods, built and decorated by Hephaestus. The gates of Olympus are opened and closed by the Oras as they ride out in golden chariots. Olympus is thought of as a symbol of the supreme power of the new generation of Olympian gods who defeated the Titans.

Subsequently, under Olympus, people began to understand not one mountain, but the whole sky. It was believed that Olympus covers the earth like a vault and the Sun, Moon and Stars wander along it. When the Sun was at its zenith, they said that it was at the top of Mount Olympus. They thought that in the evening, when it passes through the western gate of Olympus, that is, the sky closes, and in the morning it is opened by the goddess of dawn Eos.

Zeus is the supreme deity, the father of gods and people, the head of the Olympian family of gods, the son of Kronos and Rhea. Three brothers - Zeus, Poseidon and Hades - divided power among themselves. Zeus got dominance in the sky, Poseidon - the sea, Hades - the kingdom of the dead. IN ancient times Zeus combined the functions of life and death. However, later Zeus began to personify only the bright side of existence.

Zeus can perform all the functions of any other gods, so we meet him both as the progenitor of all living things, and as a warlike Zeus and a Zeus who asserts justice. Later, many of his functions were transferred to other deities. These deities become, as it were, intermediaries between man and the supreme and unattainable god Zeus.

The life of Zeus and other gods on Olympus is very similar to human life: Zeus constantly struggles for power (in the early stages, anyway). Olympian Zeus is considered the father of gods and people, but his power over the Olympian family is not very firm, and the dictates of fate are often unknown to him, and he recognizes them by weighing the fate of heroes on golden scales. Zeus has several wives and many children. We will talk about some of them later in our work.

Zeus gives laws to people and later this function becomes the most significant. Olympian Zeus is the father of many heroes who carry out his divine will and good intentions. Being the “father of men and gods,” Zeus is at the same time a formidable punitive force. At the behest of Zeus, Prometheus was chained to a rock, having stolen a spark of Hephaestus's fire to help people doomed by Zeus to a miserable fate. Several times Zeus destroyed the human race, trying to create a perfect man. He sent a flood to the earth, from which only Deucalion, the son of Prometheus, and his wife Pyrrha were saved. The Trojan War is also a consequence of Zeus' decision to punish people for their wickedness. Zeus destroys the Atlantean race, who had forgotten about the veneration of the gods. Zeus sends curses to the guilty. So Zeus takes on more and more obvious moral traits. The beginnings of statehood, order and morality among people are connected, according to the legends of the Greeks, not with the gifts of Prometheus, because of which people became proud, but with the activities of Zeus, who put shame and conscience into people, qualities necessary in social communication.

Zeus corresponds to the Roman Jupiter.

Hera is the wife and sister of Zeus. Hera's marriage determined her supreme power over the other Olympian goddesses; she is the first on Olympus and the greatest goddess; Zeus himself listens to her advice. This image reveals the features of a female local deity of the pre-Olympic period: independence and independence in marriage, constant quarrels with Zeus, jealousy, and terrifying anger.

In the myths first conveyed by Homer and Hesiod, Hera is a model of marital fidelity. As a sign of this, she was depicted in a wedding dress. Hera on Olympus is the defender of her own family hearth, which is endlessly threatened by Zeus's amorousness.

In Roman mythology, Hera is identified with Juno.

Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty. Aphrodite was glorified as the giver of abundance to the earth, the peak “goddess of the mountains”, a companion and good helper in swimming, the “goddess of the sea”, i.e. land, sea and mountains are embraced by the power of Aphrodite. She is the goddess of marriages and even childbirth, as well as the "baby feeder". Gods and people are subject to the love power of Aphrodite. Only Athena, Artemis and Hestia are beyond her control. Aphrodite patronizes everyone who loves. Her look is beautiful and flirty. Aphrodite is the goddess of love, who entered world culture under the Roman name Venus.

Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, brother of Artemis. He was endowed with a wide variety of functions - both destructive and beneficial. We meet Apollo the soothsayer, Apollo the healer, musician, Apollo the shepherd and guardian of the flocks. Sometimes these functions of Apollo are also connected by myths about Apollo’s service to people, to which Zeus sends him, angry at his son’s independent disposition. Apollo is a musician. He is the patron of singers and musicians. Apollo enters into relationships with goddesses and mortal women, but is often rejected. His favorites were the young men Hyakinth (Hyacinth) and Cypress, also considered as hypostases of Apollo.

From the Greek colonies in Italy, the cult of Apollo penetrated to Rome, where this god took one of the first places in religion and mythology; Emperor Augustus declared Apollo his patron and established centuries-old games in his honor; the temple of Apollo near the Palatine was one of the richest in Rome.

Dionysus. We have already talked a little about the cult of Dionysus and what significance it had. Dionysus is one of the gods closest to people. They also pointed out that Dionysus is the god of the fruitful forces of the earth, vegetation, viticulture, and winemaking. Dionysus, as a deity of the agricultural circle, associated with the elemental forces of the earth, was constantly opposed to Apollo - as, above all, the deity of the tribal aristocracy. The folk basis of the cult of Dionysus was reflected in the myths about the illegitimate birth of a god, his struggle for the right to enter the ranks of the Olympian gods and for the widespread establishment of his cult.

Dionysus found a grapevine. Jealous Hera instilled madness in him, and he, wandering through Egypt and Syria, came to Phrygia, where the goddess Cybele-Rhea healed him and introduced him to her orgiastic mysteries.

From the religious rituals dedicated to Dionysus (Greek tragodia literally “song of the goat” or “song of the goats”, that is, goat-footed satyrs - companions of Dionysus), an ancient Greek tragedy arose. In Rome, Dionysus was revered under the name of Bacchus (hence Bacchantes, Bacchanalia) or Bacchus.

Unfortunately, the volume of work does not allow us to consider in more detail even the most significant deities.

It would, of course, be worth paying attention to Demeter, the goddess of fertility, and Ares, the god of war, Hermes, the patron of travelers and trade, and many others, whose images still appear in one form or another throughout world culture.

But still, we see our task as establishing emphasis on how ancient Greek mythology was formed and developed, what processes took place and how these processes influenced the further development of world culture. In order to consider the dynamics of individual images, a separate study is necessary, since the deities of ancient Greek mythology were not static, their images developed, endowed with new functions, sometimes very different from the initial ones (and we could see this in the example of Zeus or Apollo).

But it was more important for us to note the general processes and why these changes occurred at all. And we gave an answer to this question in the first two parts of our work, when we traced how human consciousness changed with the development of nature, with changes in tribal relations, with the emergence of the state.

Based on the results of a brief review of some deities of ancient Greek mythology, we can draw one very important conclusion - these images have been preserved for centuries and continue to inspire the inspiration of many people of art.

Conclusion

We considered in our work in general outline the process of development of ancient Greek mythology and some of the central images of this mythology. Sometimes we talked about ancient mythology, instead of ancient Greek, strictly speaking, ancient mythology is a broader concept, since it also includes Roman mythology, but if we turn to the material in the third chapter, we will see that many Roman gods were borrowed from Greek mythology. And it is not by chance that we are talking about this here. This fact is significant. Because Roman culture, based on ancient Greek, gave rise to the entire European culture (and we talk about this constantly in our work - since this is the key point of the topic we are considering). But what is important here is not only the borrowing of images and some cults, the very structure of thinking is important. And we examined how gradually a person moves from a sensory perception of the world to a rational understanding of nature, confirming the triumph of reason. And all this was a consequence of the peculiarities of the development of ancient Greek mythology. We noted in the course of the work that the primitive ideas of the ancient Greeks are very similar to the ideas of other primitive civilizations. However, further development is very different. In Eastern mythologies, and later in Eastern philosophy, a person remained included in nature much longer, he was a practical person, closely connected with matter, but it was ancient philosophy that affirmed the triumph of reason. And this statement remains unshakable to this day. Of course, there are many theories that formulate a different point of view, but it is rational comprehension that is the central line in the development of all European culture from the Renaissance to the present day.

In addition to the priority of reason, ancient mythology (we will speak more broadly here) gave European culture a love of life, and the cult of Dionysus played an important role here.

And finally, the last thing I want to note is that we talked a lot about heroes and their exploits. Ancient Greek heroes inspired the exploits of many heroes of later times. And the myth of the beautiful Helen of Troy finds its echoes in battles in the name of the beautiful lady. And many, many more such parallels can be found in the life of society, which once again confirms that ancient Greek mythology gave the world not only a heap of images, but largely determined the rules of behavior and way of thinking - that is, culture in all its manifestations. First of all, all this concerns, of course, European culture, but European culture had a huge influence on the development of Russian culture, not to mention American culture, which largely grew out of European culture, which was brought to America by the first settlers. There are, of course, connections with eastern culture and these connections are very ancient, but still, eastern cultures stand somewhat apart.

Bibliography

1.Bonnard A. Greek civilization - M: Art, 1992.

2.Kun N. Legends and myths of Ancient Greece - Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 1998.

.Myths of the peoples of the world - a mythological encyclopedia in two volumes, ed. Tokareva S.V., vol. 1 - M: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1980.

.Philosophy - a textbook for universities, ed. Lavreneva - M: Unity, 2002.

Tutoring

Need help studying a topic?

Our specialists will advise or provide tutoring services on topics that interest you.
Submit your application indicating the topic right now to find out about the possibility of obtaining a consultation.

Ancient Greek mythology was one of the most striking phenomena that reflected throughout world civilization. It already appeared in the primitive worldview of the ancient Greek tribes during the period of matriarchy. Mythology immediately absorbed animistic and fetishistic ideas.

The cult of ancestors and totemism, which the ancient Greeks also did not escape, were subject to mythological justification. In a word, the religion of the ancient Greeks began with mythology, found its best expression in mythology, reached its perfection in Olympian mythology.

Olympic mythology- this is already the pan-Greek mythology of the patriarchy period. The researchers noted an interesting point: the names of local gods or places of their veneration became epithets of common gods.

Olympic Pantheon headed by the “father of all gods and men” Zeus. He lives on Olympus, all the gods are completely subordinate to him. All Olympian gods are anthropomorphic, not only as a general image, but, so to speak, in detail: they are physically identical to people, they have all human qualities, including negative ones, which sometimes disgrace these gods. They eat and drink, swear, are born and die.

Next to the Olympic pantheon of gods, a significant number of mythical heroes appear who tame monsters that harm people. The anthropomorphism of ancient Greek mythology was evidence of awareness of their place in the world, the growth of their power over the forces of nature, and a sense of its social significance.

Subsequently, anthropomorphic Greek gods increasingly gain importance as personifications of the abstract forces of nature and society.

In Hellenistic literature, and then in Roman epic, mythology, in addition to religious, acquires literary and artistic significance; it provides the artist with material for allegories and metaphors, and creates images of types and characters.

But the main thing for ancient Greek mythology is its functionality - it becomes the basis for the formation of ideas, determines the fetishism and magic of the ancient Greek religion.

Ancient Greek mythology, full of harmony and a sense of real life, becomes the basis of realistic art not only in ancient times, but also later, during the Renaissance, right up to our times.

Brought up on strict observance of laws and norms, the ancient Greeks were careful about the implementation of religious provisions. The cult of the god of the sun, light, wisdom and art of Apollo gained great importance in them; a sanctuary was dedicated to him in the Deltas. The Delphic priests and the oracles of Apollo had great authority, could interfere in government affairs and seriously influence events.

Another significant cult of that time was the cult of Demeter, the goddess of fertility and agriculture, as well as legislation, since agriculture required a settled and stable life. A sanctuary was dedicated to him at Eleusis, near Athens. In this sanctuary traditionally, for hundreds of years, mysteries took place - mysterious rites with the participation of only initiates. The first stage of initiation was songs and dances at night on the feast of the Great Eleusis. At the second stage, they gathered in the sanctuary itself, where a dramatic performance was performed about the abduction of the god of the underworld Hades of Demeter’s daughter - Persephone(Cora). It was a symbolization of the dying and germinating grain, the primordial act of fertility, the mystery of eternal life. Initiates in cult Demeters gained rights to eternal life after death. True, at the same time, practical Greeks did not forget about the requirements of a pious, virtuous life. TO the Eleusinian mysteries They did not allow, for example, those who shed someone's blood. It was also required to fulfill state and public duties. Subsequently, Greater Eleusinia was recognized as a national holiday.

In the archaic era, a significant change took place with the cult of Dionysus, he became the god of vegetation, viticulture and production, he was placed on a par with Apollo, he began to personify ideas of immortality human soul.

A religious and philosophical movement is associated with the cult of Dionysus and Demeter Orphics, which was allegedly founded by the mythical singer Orpheus, the son of the river god Eagre and the muse Calliope. The myth tells of the death of his wife Eurydice, who was bitten by a snake. Wanting to bring his beloved woman back to life, Orpheus descended into the underworld. By playing the kifri and singing, he charmed the guardian of the underworld, Kerberus, as well as Persephene. Orpheus was allowed to take the woman with him. But he, leading her upstairs, must not look back. But curiosity defeated him, he finally looked back (not at the beautiful Persophene?) and lost Eurydice. But Orpheus acquired knowledge about the soul. He told people that the soul is the beginning of good, part of the deity, and the body is the secret of the soul. After the soul is released from the mortal body, it continues to exist and is reincarnated. Orpheus is even credited with the doctrine of metempsychosis - the transmigration of the soul from one body to another.

Teaching Orphics in the following it was perceived by philosophers (Neoplatonists) and Christian theologians.

In characterizing the mythology of the archaic era, we must pay attention to its connection with philosophy, as was just discovered when considering the ancient Greek doctrine of the immortal soul. The mythological, lushly described ancient Greek religion did not have time to acquire frozen dogmatic forms in the same way as it was, for example, in Judaism. She did not have time to sharply separate herself from philosophy and science in general. The priesthood was not formed social group, did not become cast. Rational thinking, which became an essential feature of the culture of that period, did not pass through religious thought and was present in mythology. So philosophical, scientific and religious thinking went side by side. Sometimes they interfered with each other, sometimes they complemented each other. It was a single stream spiritual development, which crystallized in the rich spiritual culture of the ancient Greeks.

Religion of Greece and religious holidays

A peninsula in northeastern Greece, the eastern protrusion of the Halkidiki peninsula, extending far into the emerald waters of the Aegean Sea for approximately 80 km in length and about 12 km in width, is called Holy Mount Athos. This is a mountainous area covered with forest and numerous rocky ravines. The southeastern part of the Holy Mountain is occupied by Mount Athos, which has raised its peak to 2033 m above sea level.

Holidays in Greece. Hitchhiking in Greece: is it real?

Hitchhiking in Greece is a very interesting way of traveling. The opportunity to see new countries with a minimum of costs and things will allow you to get new impressions, meet interesting people, and see life in all its diversity.

The extraordinary ancient Greek Acropolis

In the center of the most ancient part of the capital of Greece, Athens, there is a rocky, steep hill rising above the city to a height of more than 130 m. The first settlements on this hill date back to the Stone Age, i.e. several thousand years BC, the current era. During the period of the so-called Mycenaean culture, in the second millennium BC, a fortress was built here.

Historical heritage of ancient Macedonia

Imagine the majestic building of an ancient Greek amphitheater... A festive procession dedicated to the wedding of Cleopatra, the daughter of the Macedonian king Philip II and the king of Epirus Alexander. Hundreds of people, who had already taken their seats in the dark, suddenly witnessed a striking and terrible picture at dawn: 12 statues of the main Olympic gods, skillfully made by the best architects of Greece, solemnly appeared on the square.

Ancient Greek mythology was formed in the south of the Balkan Peninsula and became the basis of the worldview of the peoples of the Mediterranean in antiquity. It had a strong influence on ideas about the world in the pre-Christian era, and also became the basis for many later folklore stories.

In this article we will look at who the gods of Ancient Greece were, how the Greeks treated them, how ancient Greek mythology was formed and what influence it had on later civilizations.

The origins of Greek mythology

The settlement of the Balkans by Indo-European tribes - the ancestors of the Greeks - occurred in several stages. The first wave of settlers were the founders Mycenaean civilization, which we know from archaeological data and Linear B.

Initially, the higher powers in the minds of the ancients did not have personification (the element did not have an anthropomorphic appearance), although there were family ties between them. There were also legends about the universe, linking gods and people.

As the settlers settled in a new place, their religious views also modified. This happened thanks to contacts with the local population and events that had a strong impact influence on the life of the ancients. In their minds, both natural phenomena (change of seasons, earthquakes, eruptions, floods) and human actions (the same wars) could not do without the intervention or direct will of the gods, which is reflected in literary works. Moreover, later interpretations of events, when their participants were no longer alive, were based precisely on divine intrigue (for example, the Trojan War).

Influence of Minoan culture

The Minoan civilization, located on the island of Crete and a number of smaller ones (Thira), was partly the predecessor of the Greek one. Relatives The Minoans did not come to the Greeks. They, judging by archaeological data, originated from prehistoric Asia Minor from Neolithic times. During their life on Crete they formed unified culture, language (it is not completely deciphered) and religious ideas, based on the maternal cult (the name of the Great Goddess has not reached us) and the worship of the bull.

The state that existed on Crete did not survive the crisis of the Bronze Age. Climate change on mainland Eurasia has led to mass migrations from the mainland, which Crete did not escape; Pelasgians and other so-called “peoples of the sea” (as they were called in Egypt) began to settle on it, and later - the second wave of Greek settlers - the Dorians. The volcanic eruption on the island of Thira led to a protracted economic crisis, from which the Minoan civilization never recovered.

Nevertheless, the religion of the Minoans had strong influence similar to that of the Greeks who moved here. The island fits firmly into their ideas about the world, there they placed the homeland of many of their gods, and the legend of the Minotaur (a remnant of the bull cult) survived both Ancient Greece and subsequent eras.

Names of the gods of Mycenaean Greece

In the tablets written in Linear B, it was possible to read the names of some gods. They are also known to us from later inscriptions, already classical. The difficulty in reading these tablets was that the letter itself was borrowed o (like all letter systems) from Minoan, which, in turn, was a development of the old hieroglyphic characters. First, people from mainland Greece who lived in Knossos began to use the letter, and then it spread to the mainland. It was used most often for economic purposes.

The structure of the letter was syllabic. Therefore, the names of the gods below will be given in this version.

It is unknown to what extent these deities were personified. A priestly stratum existed in the Mycenaean period, this fact is known from written sources. But some circumstances are suggestive. For example, name of Zeus occurs in two variants - di-wi-o-jo and di-wi-o-ja - both masculine and feminine. The very root of the word - “div” - has the meaning of a deity in general, which can be seen in parallel concepts in other Indo-European languages ​​- remember, for example, the Iranian devas.

In this era, ideas about the creation of the world from Mist and Chaos, which gave birth to the sky (Uranus) and the earth (Gaia), as well as darkness, the abyss, love, and night, also disappear. In later beliefs of some developed cults of these gods and titans we don’t see - all the stories with them have been preserved in the form of myths about the universe.

Pre-Greek cults of mainland Greece

It should be noted that a number of areas of life of the ancient Greeks that we attribute to them are not Greek in origin. This also applies to the cults that “controlled” these areas. All of them belonged earlier to the peoples who lived here before the first wave of Greek Achaean settlers. These were both Minoans and Pelasgians, Cycladic Islanders and Anatolians.

Definitely, the pre-Greek manifestations of the cult include the personification of the sea as an element and concepts associated with the sea (the word θάλασσα is most likely of Pelasgian origin). This also includes the cult olive tree.

Finally, some of the deities were originally of external origin. So, Adonis came to Greece from the Phoenicians and other Semitic peoples.

All this existed among the peoples who lived in the eastern Mediterranean before the Greeks, and was adopted by them along with a number of deities. The Achaeans were people from the continent and did not cultivate olives, nor did they possess the art of navigation.

Greek mythology of the classical period

The Mycenaean period was followed by a decline in civilization, which was associated with the invasion of the northern Greek tribes - the Dorians. After this comes the period of the Dark Ages - so called due to the lack of written sources in Greek dating from that period. When the new Greek writing appeared, it had nothing in common with Linear B, but arose independently from Phoenician alphabet.

But at this time, the mythological ideas of the Greeks formed into a single whole, which was reflected in the main source of those times - Homer’s poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey”. These ideas were not completely monolithic: there were alternative interpretations and variants, and they developed and supplemented in later times, even when Greece was under the rule of the Roman Empire.

Gods of Ancient Greece

Homer in his poems does not explain where the gods and heroes of his works came from: from this we can conclude that they were known to the Greeks. The events described by Homer, as well as the plots of other myths (about the Minotaur, Hercules, etc.) were considered by them to be historical events, where the actions of gods and people are closely intertwined.

Ancient Greek gods

The gods of Ancient Greece during the polis period can be divided into several categories. The Greeks themselves divided the other world depending on the “relevance” of a particular god at the current moment, his sphere of influence, and also his status among other gods.

Three generations of gods

The world, according to the Greeks, arose from Mist and Chaos, which gave birth to the first generation of gods - Gaia, Uranus, Nikta, Erebus and Eros. In the classical period, they were perceived as something abstract, and therefore they did not have any developed cults. Nevertheless, their presence was not denied. So, Gaia (earth) was a chthonic force, ancient and indomitable, Eros in the main source of those times - the embodiment of physical love, Uranus represented the sky.

The second generation of gods were the Titans. There were many of them, and some of them became the progenitors of people and other gods. Some of the most famous titans include:

• Kronos is the father of the Olympian gods;
• Rhea - mother of the Olympian gods;
• Prometheus - who gave fire to people;
• Atlas - holding the sky;
• Themis is the giver of justice.

The third generation is the gods of Olympus. It was them that the Greeks revered, the temples of these gods were placed in cities, it is they who are the main characters of many myths. The Olympian gods also assumed a number of functions of the older gods: for example, Helios was originally the god of the Sun, and later he was brought closer to Apollo. Because of this duplication of functions, it is often difficult to give a "crossword" concise definition of a Greek god. Thus, both Apollo and Asclepius can be called the god of healing, and both Athena and her companion Nike can be called the goddess of victory.

According to legend, the Olympian gods defeated the Titans in a ten-year battle, and now rule over people. They have different origins, and even their lists differ from one author to another. But we will tell you about the most influential of them.

Olympian gods

Let's imagine the Olympian gods in the following table:

The information indicated in the fourth column is ambiguous. In different regions of Greece there were different versions of the origin of the Olympians who were not the children of Kronos and Rhea.

The Olympian gods had the most developed cults. Statues were erected for them, temples were built, and holidays were held in their honor.

The Olympus mountain range in Thessaly, the highest in Greece, was considered the habitat of the Olympian gods.

Minor gods and goddesses

They were the younger generation of gods and also had different origins. Most often, such gods were subordinate to the older ones and performed some specific function. Here are some of them:

This is a separate category of revered objects of Greek mythology. They are heroes of myths and represent people of semi-divine origin. They have superpowers, but, like people, they are mortal. Heroes are favorite characters in ancient Greek vase paintings.

Of all the heroes, only Asclepius, Hercules and Polydeuces were awarded immortality. The first was elevated to the rank of gods because he surpassed everyone in the art of healing and gave his knowledge to people. Hercules, according to one version, received immortality thanks to the fact that he drank the milk of Hera, with whom he later feuded. According to another, it was the result of an agreement on ten labors (in the end he performed twelve).

Polydeuces and Castor (the Dioscuri twins) were the sons of Zeus and Leda. Zeus gave immortality only to the first, because the second had died by that time. But Polydeuces shared immortality with his brother, and since then it was believed that the brothers lie in the tomb for a day, and spend the second on Olympus.

Other heroes worth mentioning are:

• Odysseus, king of Ithaca, participant in the Trojan War and wanderer;
• Achilles, a hero of the same war, who had one weak spot - his heel;
• Perseus, conqueror of Medusa the Gorgon;
• Jason, leader of the Argonauts;
• Orpheus, a musician who descended to his dead wife in the underworld;
• Theseus visiting the Minotaur.

In addition to gods, titans and heroes, in the beliefs of the Greeks there were also entities of a smaller order, representing a place or element. Thus, the winds had their own name (for example, Boreas is the patron of the north wind, and Not - the southern wind) and the sea elements, and rivers, streams, islands and other natural objects were under the power of the nymphs who lived there.

Supernatural beings

Appear regularly in myths and poems. Here are some of them:

• Gorgon Medusa;
• Minotaur;
• Basilisk;
• Sirens;
• Griffins;
• Centaurs;
• Cerberus;
• Scylla and Charybdis;
• Satires;
• Echidna;
• Harpies.

The role of the gods for the Greeks

The Greeks themselves did not consider the gods to be something distant and absolute. They weren't even all-powerful. Firstly, each of them had his own area of ​​​​activity, and secondly, they argued among themselves and people, and victory was not always on the side of the former. Gods and people were connected by a common origin, and people considered the gods to be superior to them in strength and abilities, hence the worship and peculiar ethics of treating the gods: they could not be angered and they could not be proud of victories over them.

An illustration of the latter was the fate of Ajax, who escaped the wrath of Poseidon, but the latter still caught up with him and broke the rock to which he was clinging. And also a symbolic description of the fate of Arachne, who surpassed Athena in the art of weaving and was turned into a spider.

But both gods and people were subject to fate, which was personified by the three Moirai, weaving the thread of fate for every mortal and immortal. This image comes from the Indo-European past and is identical to the Slavic Rozhanitsy and Germanic Norns. For the Romans, fate is represented by Fatum.

Their origin is lost; in ancient times there were various legends about how they were born.

At a later time, when Greek philosophy began to develop, the concepts of what governs the world began to develop precisely in the direction of a certain higher world that has power over everything. First, Plato outlined the theory of ideas, then his student, Aristotle, substantiated the existence of a single deity. The development of such theories paved the way for the spread of Christianity later.

Influence of Greek mythology on Roman

The Roman Republic, and then the Empire, absorbed Greece quite early, in the 2nd century BC. But Greece not only avoided the fate of other conquered territories that underwent Romanization (Spain, Gaul), but also became a kind of standard of culture. Some Greek letters were borrowed into the Latin language, dictionaries were replenished with Greek words, and knowledge of Greek itself was considered a sign of an educated person.

The dominance of Greek mythology was also inevitable - it was closely intertwined with Roman, and Roman became, as it were, its continuation. The Roman gods, who had their own history and characteristics of the cult, became analogues of the Greek ones. Thus, Zeus became an analogue of Jupiter, Hera - Juno, and Athena - Minerva. Here are some more gods:

• Hercules - Hercules;
• Aphrodite - Venus;
• Hephaestus - Vulcan;
• Ceres - Demeter;
• Vesta - Hestia;
• Hermes - Mercury;
• Artemis - Diana.

Mythology was also subsumed under Greek models. Thus, the original god of love in Greek mythology (more precisely, the personification of love itself) was Eros - among the Romans it corresponded to Cupid. The legend of the founding of Rome was “tied” to the Trojan War, where the hero Aeneas was introduced, who became the ancestor of the inhabitants of Lazio. The same applies to other mythical characters.

Ancient Greek mythology: influence on culture

The last followers of the cult of the ancient Greek gods lived in Byzantium back in the first millennium AD. They were called Hellenes (from the word Hellas) in contrast to the Christians, who considered themselves Romans (heirs of the Roman Empire). In the 10th century, Greek polytheism was completely eradicated.

But the myths and legends of Ancient Greece did not die. They became the basis of many folklore stories of the Middle Ages, and in countries completely distant from each other: for example, the story about Cupid and Psyche became the basis for the fairy tale about beauty and the beast, presented in the Russian corpus as “The Scarlet Flower.” In medieval books, pictures with scenes from the mythology of the Greeks - from European to Russian - are not uncommon (in any case, they are in the Litsevoy Vault of Ivan the Terrible).

All European ideas about the pre-Christian era were associated with the Greek gods. Thus, the action of Shakespeare’s tragedy “King Lear” dates back to pre-Christian times, and although at that time the Celts lived on the territory of the British Isles and there were Roman garrisons, it is the Greek gods that are mentioned.

Finally, Greek mythology became a source of subjects for the works of artists, and for a long time it was a plot from Greek mythology (or, as an option, the Bible) that was supposed to be the topic of the examination paper at graduation from the Academy of Arts in the Russian Empire. The future members of the Itinerants Association who broke this tradition became famous.

The names of the Greek gods and their Roman analogues are used to name celestial bodies, new types of microscopic creatures, and some concepts have firmly entered the vocabulary of citizens far from Greek mythology. Thus, inspiration for a new business is described as the convergence of the muse (“for some reason the muse does not come”); the mess in the house is called chaos (there is even a colloquial version with the emphasis on the second syllable), and the vulnerable spot is called the Achilles heel by those who do not know who Achilles is.