Presentation on the myths of ancient Greece. Myths of ancient Greece. Who are called heroes in myths

  • 21.04.2020

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    The most ancient were the deities that embodied the forces of nature. From the union of Gaia - the earth and Uranus - the sky, the titans appeared, the eldest was the Ocean, the youngest was Kronos. According to mythology, Kronos decided to take revenge on his father for imprisoning his Cyclopes brothers in tartar. While Uranus slept, Kronos dealt him a heavy blow and became the king of all the gods. The children of Kronos - the gods led by Zeus in a fierce battle with the titans won and shared power over the world.

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    Gods

    Mount Olympus was considered the home of the twelve supreme gods, led by Zeus. The Thunderer Zeus became the king of the gods and people, Poseidon - the seas, springs and waters, Hades - the gloomy underworld. Hera - the wife of Zeus - was the patroness of marriage and family, Zeus's sister - Demeter - the goddess of fertility, another sister - Hestia - the patroness of the house. The beloved daughter of Zeus, Athena, was revered as the goddess of military wisdom and wisdom in general, she patronized knowledge and crafts.

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    Heroes

    In addition to the myths about the gods, there were legends about heroes, the most beloved of which was Hercules, who performed twelve great feats. Myths and legends about gods and heroes developed into whole cycles, which later became a source of plots for literature, dramaturgy and sculptures.

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    Childhood of Hercules

    Alcmene, the mother of Hercules, who is descended from Perseus, and Zeus is the father - the king of the gods. Zeus tells the gods that the next baby, who belongs to the genus Perseus, will be the lord of the Peloponnese. Hera, the wife of Zeus, realizes that her husband has deceived her. She delays the birth of Hercules and hastens the birth of Eurystheus. Zeus cannot break the oath, and Eurystheus receives power. So Hercules has been in the service of his cowardly relative for many years. When Hercules was a baby, Hera sent two snakes to his cradle. She wanted to kill Hercules. The brother of Hercules, the son of Alcmene and Amphitryon, seeing the snakes, squealed, and Hercules grabbed and strangled the snake with his bare hands.

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    12 Labors of Hercules

    Strangulation of the Nemean lion Killing of the Lernaean hydra Extermination of the Stymphalian birds Capture of the Kerinean fallow deer Taming of the Erymanthian boar and battle with the centaurs Cleaning of the Augean stables Taming of the Cretan bull Victory over King Diomedes (who threw foreigners to be devoured by his horses) Theft of the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons apples from the garden of the Hesperides The taming of the guardian Hades - the dog Cerberus The suffocation of the Nemean lion The killing of the Lernean hydra The extermination of the Stymphalian birds The capture of the Ceryneian fallow deer The taming of the Erymanthian boar and the battle with the centaurs Cleaning the Augean stables The taming of the Cretan bull , queens of the Amazons The abduction of the cows of the three-headed giant Geryon The abduction of golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides The taming of the guardian Hades - the dog Cerberus

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    Strangulation of the Nemean lionHeracles receives an order from Eurystheus, he must get the skin of a lion that lives near the city of Nemeus. No weapon can hurt this lion.

    Hercules tries to hit the lion with arrows, but to no avail. Then Hercules decides to drive the lion into his lair and stuns him with a club and strangles him with his hands. With the claws of the same dead lion, he removes the skin. Hercules puts on the skin of a Nemean lion, and he becomes invulnerable

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    Taming the Erymanthian Boar

    The Erymanthian boar was the most terrible beast for the inhabitants of Psofis, because through the fault of this beast, people lost most of the crop. The Mycenaean king Eurystheus ordered Hercules to catch a boar. Hercules pursued the boar, driving him into deep snow, tied him up and brought him to Mycenae.

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    Animal Farm of King Avgiy

    According to legend, Avgiy possessed numerous herds, for which huge stables were built in the barnyard, the manure was not taken out from here for years; cleaning the barnyard of Avgii in one day became one of the exploits of Hercules: he blocked the river Alpheus with a dam and directed its waters to the barnyard. According to the condition, he was supposed to receive a tenth of his herds as a reward from Avgiy, but Avgiy did not give up the promise. The expression "Augean stables" has become winged and means "strong disorder, neglect in business."

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    Apples of the Hesperides

    On the shore of the Ocean, at the very edge of the earth, a wonderful tree grew, which brought golden apples. This tree grew in the beautiful garden of the giant Atlanta, holding the sky on his shoulders. This magical tree was looked after by the nymphs of Hesperides, the daughter of a giant, and it was guarded by a terrible hundred-headed dragon named Ladon, whose eye could see even in a dream. After long wanderings, Hercules came to the country where the giant Atlas held the sky on his shoulders. Atlas promised Hercules to get golden apples for him if he agreed to hold the heavenly vault on his shoulders for this time. Hercules agreed and put the sky on his mighty shoulders. Atlas went at this time for apples and brought them to Hercules. He offered the hero to hold the sky for more, and he himself promised to take the golden apples to distant Mycenae in return. Hercules figured out the trick of Atlas, and was able to deceive him. Having received the apples, the hero returned to Mycenae.

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    Dog Cerberus

    Upset, Eurystheus realizes that he will not be able to get rid of Hercules. The twelfth feat for Hercules: he must bring Cerberus, who guards the kingdom of Hades, to Eurystheus. In the hope that Hercules will not return from the kingdom, but Hercules copes with this feat. To do this, Hercules has to strangle the dog, and then release him into the kingdom of shadows, so that he guards the kingdom. Hercules strangles Cerberus, the three-headed dog guarding Hades, with his mighty hands.

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    Hercules and DejaniraHercules has completed his exploits, but his trials are not over. He chooses Princess Dejanira as his wife. Traveling, they need to swim across the river, which has overflowed. Dejanira sits on the back of the centaur Nessus, this centaur wants to kidnap her. Then Hercules decides to shoot an arrow at the centaur, dying, the centaur advises his wife to collect his blood in order to save her husband's love. But a few years later, Hercules falls in love with another woman. Then Dejanira decides to use the centaur's magical blood. But the blood of Ness, who died from an arrow smeared with poison, has already turned into poison. Death of a hero Writhing in pain, trying to tear off all the clothes that are soaked in the blood of Ness and are torn off along with the skin. Dejanira realizes that she herself killed her husband, commits suicide. Hercules throws himself into a large fire to get rid of torment. He becomes a hero whom the gods allow to Olympus and endow with immortality. Hercules dies in fire and gains immortality. He remains the most celebrated Greek hero.

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    The image of Hercules in art

    Hercules is a very popular hero, they make films about him, create music, even computer games.

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Myth and mythology. Myth is a peculiar form of the attitude of an ancient person, the desire for knowledge of the world. Myth as an aesthetic phenomenon. The main categories of myths. The rise of myths. Myth (from the Greek mythos (“mythos”) - legend, legend) is the oldest form of presentation by a person of his worldview. Mythology 1) A set of myths (stories, stories about gods, heroes, demons, spirits, etc.), reflecting the fantastic ideas of people in pre-class and early class society about the world, nature and human existence. 2) The science that studies myths (their origin, content, distribution).

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In the process of transferring knowledge from generation to generation, information about ordinary and unusual phenomena, a special form of fixing the memory of mankind is formed - a myth. myths ancient man in the form of myths, legends, he tried to answer such global questions as the emergence of the most important phenomena of nature, animals and humans. A significant part of the mythology was cosmogonic myths dedicated to the origin and structure of the universe as a whole. great attention in myths, it is given to various stages of people's lives, the secrets of birth and death, the knowledge of posthumous existence or non-existence, various tests that a person undergoes on life path. A special place is occupied by myths about the achievements of people: making fire, the invention of crafts, the development of agriculture, the domestication of wild animals, etc.

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Etiological myths (lit. "causal", that is, explanatory) are myths that explain the appearance of various natural and cultural features and social objects. Cosmogonic myths tell about the origin of the cosmos as a whole and its parts connected in unified system. Part of the cosmogonic myths are anthropogonic myths - about the origin of man, the first people, or tribal ancestors (the tribe in myths is often identified with "real people", with humanity). Calendar myths are closely connected with the cycle of calendar rituals, as a rule, with agrarian magic, focused on the regular change of seasons, especially on the revival of vegetation in the spring (solar motifs are intertwined here), to ensure the harvest.

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Myths heroic fix highlights life cycle, are built around the hero's biography and may include his miraculous birth, trials by older relatives or hostile demons, the search for a wife and marital trials, fighting monsters and other feats, the hero's death. Eschatological myths about the “last” things, about the end of the world, arise relatively late and are based on models of calendar myths, myths about the change of eras, and cosmogonic myths. In contrast to cosmogonic myths, eschatological myths do not tell about the emergence of the world and its elements, but about their destruction - the death of the land in the global flood, the chaos of space, etc.

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Mythological heroes and characters. Heroes (from the Greek ἥρωας, “valiant husband, leader”) are the children of a deity or descendants of a deity and a mortal person. Usually mythological heroes were endowed with great physical strength and cruelty. The main difference between heroes and gods is that heroes are mortal. Most heroes are warriors who destroy ancient monsters and fight among themselves. With the development of ancient culture, heroes, in addition to traditional military prowess, began to be endowed with special wisdom, musical gift or cunning. Soothsayer heroes stand out (Tiresias, Amphiarai, Kalkhant, Trophonius, Pug (soothsayer), Branch, Idmon), master heroes (Dedalus, Zeth and Amphion), musician heroes (Orpheus, Lin), legislators (Theseus). A peculiar niche was occupied by Odysseus, the cunning hero. The hero is called upon to fulfill the will of the Olympians on earth among people, ordering life and introducing justice, measure, laws into it, despite the ancient spontaneity and disharmony. Usually the hero is endowed with exorbitant strength and superhuman abilities, but he is deprived of immortality, which remains the privilege of a deity. Hence the discrepancy and contradiction between the limited possibilities of a mortal being and the desire of the heroes to assert themselves in immortality.

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Olympus Olympus (O l u m p o z) is a mountain in Thessaly where the gods live. The name Olympus is of pre-Greek origin (possibly related to the Indo-European root ulu / uelu, "to rotate", i.e. an indication of the roundness of the peaks) and belongs to a number of mountains in Greece and Asia Minor. 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 (daughters of Zeus and Themis) as they ride out in golden chariots. Olympus is thought of as a symbol of the supreme power of a new generation of Olympian gods who defeated the titans.

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Zeus Zeus, Diy (Z e u z) supreme deity, father of gods and people, head of the Olympian family of gods. Zeus is a native Greek deity; his name is of purely Indo-European origin and means "bright sky". In antiquity, the etymology of the word "Zeus" was associated with the roots of the Greek words "life", "boiling", "irrigation", "that through which everything exists." Zeus is the son of Kronos (hence the names Zeus Kronid, Kronion) and Rhea, he belongs to the third generation of gods who overthrew the second generation - the titans.

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Zeus's father, fearing to be deposed by his children, each time swallowed the child just born to Rhea. Rhea deceived her husband, allowing him to swallow a wrapped stone instead of the born Zeus, and the baby, secretly from his father, was sent to Crete to Mount Dikta. According to another version, Rhea gave birth to Zeus in a cave of Mount Dikta and entrusted his upbringing to the Curetes and Corybantes, who fed him with the milk of the goat Amalthea. It was in Crete that the most ancient fetishistic symbols of the veneration of Zeus of Crete were preserved: a double ax (labrys), a magical weapon that kills and gives life, destructive and creative power.

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Apollo Apollo, in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and the Titanides Leto, the twin brother of the virgin goddess of the hunt, Artemis. He occupied one of the main places in the Greek and Roman traditions and was considered the god-arrower, soothsayer, luminiferous patron of the arts.

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Dionysus Dionysus, (Roman Bacchus, Bacchus) in Greek mythology, the eternally young god of the fruitful forces of the earth, vegetation, viticulture and winemaking, known as the "god with bull horns", because he liked to take the form of this mighty animal, the son of Zeus and the Theban princess Semele. Zeus, who appeared before the princess in a flash of lightning, accidentally incinerated his mortal beloved, but managed to grab the premature Dionysus from the flame and sewed him into his thigh. In due time, God gave birth to a child and gave it to the nymphs to raise. Having matured, Dionysus, wandering through the candle, met Ariadne, abandoned by Theseus, and married her. Dionysus was famous as a god who frees people from worries and removes the fetters of measured life, so the procession of Dionysus was of an ecstatic character; it was attended by satyrs, bacchantes and maenads.

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Neptune Neptune is one of the most ancient gods of the Roman pantheon. He was identified with the god of Greek mythology, Poseidon. In ancient Rome, on July 23, they celebrated a holiday in honor of the god Neptune, hoping in this way to save the crop from drought. Almost nothing is known about the origin of this god, but there is no doubt that Neptune has always been associated with water. The retinue of the god included such deities as Salacia and Vanilla. Salacia among the Romans was identified with the Greek goddesses Thetis and Amphitrite. Basically, Neptune was revered by people who were somehow connected with the sea: sailors, merchants, fishermen. This god was also credited with patronage of horses. In honor of the equestrian Neptune, festivities and equestrian competitions were held.

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Jupiter Jupiter, in Roman mythology, the almighty god of the sky, the king of the gods. Jupiter was revered as the supreme deity, the lord of thunder and lightning. One of his nicknames - Lucetius ("light-giver") - suggests that he was also considered the god of light. The image of Jupiter combined the features of many ancient Italian deities. He was credited with the patronage of agriculture, the protection of borders; God monitored the observance of oaths and granted the generals victory in battle. Roman military leaders, returning in triumph from campaigns, brought thanksgiving sacrifices to Jupiter and carried laurel wreaths to his temple.

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Aurora Aurora in ancient Greek mythology, the goddess of the dawn. The word "aurora" comes from the Latin aura, which means "pre-dawn breeze". The ancient Greeks called Aurora the ruddy dawn, the pink-fingered goddess Eos. Aurora was the daughter of the titan Gipperion and Theia (in another version: the sun - Helios and the moon - Selena). From Astrea and Aurora came all the stars burning in the dark night sky, and all the winds: the stormy northern Boreas, the eastern Eurus, the humid southern Not and the gentle western Zephyr wind, which brings heavy rains.

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Athena Athena, in Greek mythology, the goddess of wisdom, just war and crafts, the daughter of Zeus and the Titanides Metis. Zeus, having learned that his son from Metis would deprive him of power, swallowed his pregnant wife, and then he himself gave birth to a completely adult Athena, who came out of his head with the help of Hephaestus in full combat attire. Athena was, as it were, part of Zeus, the performer of his plans and will. She is the thought of Zeus put into action. Her attributes are a snake and an owl, as well as an aegis, a goat-skin shield adorned with the head of a snake-haired Medusa, which has magical powers, frightening gods and people. According to one version, the statue of Athena, palladium, allegedly fell from heaven; hence her name - Pallas Athena.

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Themis Themis, in ancient Greek mythology, the goddess of justice. The Greeks called the goddess by different names, such as Themida, Themis. Themis was the daughter of the sky god Uranus and Gaia, the second wife of Zeus and the mother of numerous offspring. Her daughters were the goddesses of fate - moira. In one of the legends, Themis acts as the mother of the titan Prometheus, who initiated her son into the secret of the fate of Zeus. The Thunderer was supposed to die from one of his children born to Thetis. The myth of Prometheus tells that the hero discovered this secret only after thousands of years of torment, to which Zeus doomed him. In Olympia, the inhabitants of Ancient Greece set up altars to Zeus, Gaia and Themis side by side, which shows how much they honored this goddess of law and order.

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Hades Hades, Hades, Pluto ("invisible", "terrible"), in Greek mythology, the god of the kingdom of the dead, as well as the kingdom itself. Son of Kronos and Rhea, brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. When the world was divided after the overthrow of his father, Zeus took the sky for himself, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the underworld; the brothers agreed to rule the land together. The second name of Hades was Polydegmon ("recipient of many gifts"), which is associated with the countless shadows of the dead that live in his domain. The messenger of the gods, Hermes, forwarded the souls of the dead to the ferryman Charon, who transported only those who could pay for the crossing through the underground river Styx. The entrance to the underground kingdom of the dead was guarded by the three-headed dog Kerberos (Cerberus), who did not allow anyone to return to the world of the living.

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Hercules Hercules - in Greek mythology - a Greek folk hero, the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. In the service of Eurystheus, Hercules performed twelve labors: -1- strangled the Nemean lion with his hands; -2- killed the Lernean hydra -3- caught the Erymanthian boar alive; -4- caught the Kerinean doe; -5- exterminated the Stymphalian birds; -6- got the belt of the Queen of the Amazons Hippolyta; -7- cleared the stables of Augius; -8- mastered the Cretan fire-breathing bull; -9- defeated King Diomedes; -10- stole the cows of Gerion and the three-headed giant; -11- got the golden apples of the Hesperides; -12- defeated the guardian of Hades, the infernal dog Kerberos. Hercules was portrayed: - as a child strangling snakes; - young men resting after a feat or performing a feat; - a mighty bearded man, armed with a club and dressed in the skin of the Nemean lion he killed

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Achilles Achilles, Achilles (A c i l l e u z) one of the greatest heroes of the Trojan War, the son of Peleus, king of the Myrmidons, and the sea goddess Thetis. In an effort to make her son invulnerable and thus give him immortality, Thetis tempered him in the fire at night, and rubbed him with ambrosia during the day. One night, Peleus, seeing his young son on fire, snatched him from his mother's hands (Apollod III 13, 6). According to another version (Stat. Ach. III I 269 next), Thetis bathed Achilles in the waters of the underground river Styx in order to make him invulnerable in this way, and only the heel by which she held him remained vulnerable (hence the expression "Achilles' heel") . Insulted by the intervention of Peleus, Thetis left her husband, and he gave Achilles to be raised by the wise centaur Chiron, who fed him with the insides of lions, bears and wild boars, taught him to play the sweet-sounding cithara and sing

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Odysseus Odysseus (O d u s s e u z), Ullis (Ulixes) king of the island of Ithaca, son of Laertes and Anticlea (Homer "Iliad", IX 308). The genealogy of Odysseus is closely connected with the general character of the hero - smart and cunning. According to some versions of the myth, Odysseus is the son of Sisyphus (Soph. Philoct. 417, 1311; Eur Iphig. A. 524), who seduced Anticlea even before her marriage to Laertes (Schol. Soph. Ai. 190). Moreover, the father of Anticlea Autolycus - "the great perjurer and thief" (Hom. Od. XIX 396 next) was the son of Hermes and helped him in all tricks (396-398); hence the hereditary, coming from Hermes, the mind, practicality, dexterity of Odysseus.

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Medea Medea, in ancient Greek mythology, a sorceress, daughter of the Colchis king Eeta and the oceanic Idia, granddaughter of Helios.

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Europe Europe, in Greek mythology, the daughter of the Phoenician king Agenor, who became the object of passion of the Thunderer Zeus. Flying over the city of Sidon, Zeus saw girls dancing in the meadow and weaving wreaths of bright flowers. Europe was the most beautiful of all - the daughter of the local king. Zeus descended to earth and appeared in the guise of a wonderful white bull, located at the feet of Europa. Europe, laughing, sat down on his broad back. At the same moment, the bull rushed into the sea and carried her to the island of Crete, where Europe gave birth to Zeus three sons - Minos, Radamanthus and Sarpedon, and then married the local king Asterius ("starry"), who adopted her sons from God. Zeus graciously granted his rival the mighty copper pelican Talos, who was supposed to guard Crete, bypassing the island three times a day. And he placed the divine bull in the sky - the constellation Taurus, as a reminder to Europe of his great love for her.

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Narcissus Narcissus, in Greek mythology, the extraordinarily beautiful son of the Boeotian river god Cefiss and the nymph Liriope. When the parents asked the soothsayer Tiresias about the future of the child, the sage replied that Narcissus would live to old age if he never saw his face. Narcissus grew up a young man of rare beauty, and many women sought his love, but he was indifferent to everyone. Among those rejected by him was the nymph Echo, who dried up from grief so that only her voice remained from her. Offended by the inattention of Narcissus, the women demanded the gods punish him, and the goddess of justice, Nemesis, heeded their prayers. One day, returning from hunting, Narcissus looked into a clear source and, seeing his reflection in the water, fell in love with him. The young man could not tear himself away from the contemplation of his face and died of self-love. According to legend, a field of amazing plants and herbs appeared at the site of the death of Narcissus, in the center of which a healing flower grew, marked by strict beauty, which was named after the young man.

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Ancient myth: the origin of the world and the gods: "The Birth of Zeus", "Olympus". "In the beginning was the word... Everything began to be through it..." The Gospel of John (Chapter 1) Initially, there was only eternal, boundless, dark Chaos. It contained the source of life. Everything arose from the boundless Chaos - the whole world and the immortal gods. He was, as it were, the raw material from which everything that ever existed came into existence. Obeying an unknown force that made it rotate and create, Chaos gave rise to the most ancient thing that was in our incipient Universe - Time. The Hellenes called him Chronos. And now everything happened in time, because. the space is still in its infancy. Chronos gave birth to three elements - Fire, Air and Water. But this is after the Earth appeared. Following Chronos, Eros and Anteros arose simultaneously as twin brothers. (Subsequently, such a double birth is very common and was considered almost sacred by the Greeks) Eros - Love, and Anteros - Denial of Love.

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Chaos, on the other hand, gave birth to something similar to itself - Erebus, as the embodiment of Darkness. Behind him - Niktu - a dark starless Night. And also the Incomprehensible Abyss - Tartarus. Tartarus was emptiness itself, a black hole. Throughout history, the Gods have used its depths as punishment for the downtrodden. No one could escape from the Abyss on their own. Tartarus was the most terrible place in the universe. But from Darkness and Night were born Eternal Light - Ether and Shining Day - Hemera. "Black Night and gloomy Erebus were born from Chaos. Night Ether gave birth to the shining Day, or Gemera: She conceived them in the womb, uniting with Erebus in love." Hesiod: "The Origin of the Gods" Erebus and Nikta also had children: the gloomy Charon, a ferryman across the river Styx in the realm of the dead, and three daughters - the twins of Tisiphon, Alecto and Megara - the goddess of vengeance Erinia. The remnants of the primordial Chaos were already spinning at great speed and turned into an Egg. The egg was the germ of the earth. But here it is split into two parts. The top half of the shell is starry sky- Uranus, lower - Mother Earth - Gaia. And the liquid that spilled over the body of the Earth - the Endless Sea - Pontus. He became the first husband of Gaia. The second was Uranus-Sky. All the Olympian gods are descended from their marriage.

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Homer Homer is an ancient Greek poet. Until now, there is no convincing evidence of the reality of the historical figure of Homer. According to ancient tradition, it was customary to represent Homer as a blind wandering singer-aed; seven cities argued for the honor of being called his homeland. He probably came from Smyrna (Asia Minor), or from the island of Chios. It can be assumed that Homer lived around the 8th century BC. Homer is credited with the authorship of two of the greatest works of ancient Greek literature - the poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey". In ancient times, Homer was recognized as the author of other works: the poem "Batrachomachia" and a collection of "Homeric hymns." Modern science assigns to Homer only the Iliad and the Odyssey, and there is an opinion that these poems were created by different poets and at different historical times. Back in ancient times, the “Homeric question” arose, which is now understood as a set of problems related to the origin and development of the ancient Greek epic, including the relationship between folklore and literary creativity proper in it.

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Biographical information about Homer given by ancient authors is contradictory and hardly plausible. “Seven cities, arguing, are called the homeland of Homer: Smyrna, Chios, Colophon, Pylos, Argos, Ithaca, Athens,” says one Greek epigram (in fact, the list of these cities was more extensive). Regarding the time of Homer's life, ancient scholars gave various dates, starting from the 12th century BC (after the Trojan War) and ending with the 7th century BC; there was a legend about a poetic contest between Homer and Hesiod. Most researchers believe that Homeric poems were created in Asia Minor, in Ionia in the 8th century BC, based on mythological tales of the Trojan War. There is late antique evidence of the final edition of their texts under the Athenian tyrant Peisistratus in the middle of the 6th century BC, when their performance was included in the festivities of the Great Panatheneas.

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"Iliad" and "Odyssey" The works of Homer, the poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey", are the first monuments of ancient Greek literature known to us in time, and at the same time, in general, the first monuments of literature in Europe. Containing a huge number of different kinds of legends and being very significant in size (in the Iliad there are 15693 poetic lines, in the Odyssey there are 12110 of them), these poems could not appear suddenly, in the form of a work of only one brilliant writer. Even if they were compiled by one poet, they were compiled on the basis of centuries-old folk art, in which modern science establishes a reflection of the most diverse periods of the historical development of the Greeks. These works were recorded for the first time only in the second half of the 6th century. BC e. Consequently, the folk materials for these poems were created even earlier, at least two or three centuries before this first recording, and, as modern scholarship shows, the Homeric poems reflect even more ancient periods of Greek or perhaps even pre-Greek history. The plot of the Homeric poems are different episodes of the Trojan War. Troy and the area where this city was the capital, Troad, were located in the northwestern corner of Asia Minor and were inhabited by the Phrygian tribe. The Greeks who inhabited the Balkan Peninsula fought wars in Asia Minor for many centuries. One such war, namely with Troy, was especially imprinted in the memory of the ancient Greeks, and many different literary works were devoted to it, and, in particular, several special poems. They told about the Trojan War, about the reasons that caused it, about the capture of Troy and about the return of the victorious Greeks to their homeland. To understand the contents of the Iliad and the Odyssey, it is necessary to know in general all the legends about the Trojan War, since both poems depict only certain moments of this war.

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Greek myths tell that the Earth, weighed down by an overgrown population, asked Zeus (the supreme deity of the ancient Greeks) to spare her and reduce the number of people living on it. For the sake of the request of the Earth, by the will of Zeus, the Trojan War begins. The immediate reason for the war was that Paris, the son of the Trojan king Priam, kidnapped Helen, the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus. To avenge this kidnapping and bring Elena back, the brother of Menelaus and the king of Argolis, neighboring Sparta, Agamemnon, advises Menelaus to gather all the Greek kings with their squads and start a war with Troy. Among the attracted Greek kings, the swift-footed Achilles, the king of Phthia, and Odysseus, the king of the island of Ithaca (to the west of the Balkan Peninsula), are especially distinguished. All Greek tribes send their troops and their leaders to Aulis, from where the general Greek army moves through the Aegean Sea and lands near Troy, which is several kilometers away from the coast. Agamemnon is elected supreme leader of the entire Greek army. The war has been fought with varying success for 10 years. And only after 10 years the Greeks manage to get into the city itself, burn it, kill the men, and take the women prisoner. In the Iliad and the Odyssey, only allusions to the war in general are scattered. But in the poems there is no special narrative either about the causes of the war, or about its first 9 years, or about the capture of Troy. Both poems are each devoted to a special plot, namely, "Iliad" - one episode from the tenth year of the war, and "Odyssey" - legends about the return of Odysseus after the war to his homeland.

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"Odyssey". The main content of the "Odyssey" is the legend of the return of Odysseus to Ithaca after the end of the war with Troy.

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Ancient Greek mythology - the mythology of the ancient Greeks, closely intertwined with their religion. It had a huge impact on the development of culture and art around the world and laid the foundation for countless religious ideas about man, heroes and gods.

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Hercules (The Labors of Hercules) Hercules is a national Greek hero. The great ancient Greek hero Hercules was the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene, daughter of the king of Mycenae. From the very birth, Hercules was pursued by the wife of Zeus, the goddess Hera, angry that her husband entered into a relationship with Alcmene. On the day before the birth of Hercules, Zeus announced that the baby who first appeared on that day in the descendants of Perseus would rule over all relatives. Hera, having learned about this, hastened the birth of Perseid's wife Sthenelus, who gave birth to the weak and cowardly Eurystheus. Zeus involuntarily had to agree that Heracles, born after this Alcmene, obey Eurystheus - but not all his life, but only until he performs 12 great feats in his service.

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The first feat of Hercules: Hercules strangled the huge Nemean lion, which was born by the monsters Typhon and Echidna and devastated Argolis. The arrows of Hercules bounced off the thick skin of a lion, but the hero stunned the beast with a club and strangled it with his hands. In memory of this first feat, Hercules established the Nemean Games, which were celebrated in the ancient Peloponnese every two years.

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The second feat of Hercules: Hercules killed the Lernean hydra - a monster with the body of a snake and 9 heads of a dragon, which crawled out of the swamp near the city of Lerna, killed people and destroyed entire herds. In place of each hydra's head cut off by the hero, two new ones grew, until Hercules' assistant, Iolaus, began to burn the necks of the hydra with burning tree trunks. He also killed a giant cancer that crawled out of the swamp to help the hydra. In the poisonous bile of the Lernean hydra, Hercules soaked his arrows, making them deadly.

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The third feat of Hercules Stymphalian birds attacked people and cattle, tearing them apart with copper claws and beaks. In addition, they dropped from a height, like arrows, deadly bronze feathers. The goddess Athena gave Hercules two tympanums, with the sounds of which he frightened the birds. When they flew up in a flock, Hercules shot some of them with a bow, and the rest flew away in horror to the shores of Pontus Euxinus (Black Sea) and never returned to Greece.

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The fourth feat of Hercules The Kerinean doe with golden horns and copper legs, sent to punish people by the goddess Artemis, never knowing fatigue, rushed around Arcadia and devastated the fields. Hercules chased the doe at a run whole year, reaching in pursuit of her the sources of Istra (Danube) in the far north and then returning back to Hellas. Here Hercules wounded the doe with an arrow in the leg, caught it and brought it alive to Eurystheus in Mycenae.

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The Fifth Labor of Hercules The Erymanthian boar, possessing monstrous power, terrified all the surroundings. On the way to battle with him, Hercules visited his friend, the centaur Fall. He treated the hero to wine, angering the rest of the centaurs, since the wine belonged to them all, and not to Foul alone. The centaurs rushed at Hercules, but he forced the attackers to hide from the centaur Chiron with archery. Pursuing the centaurs, Hercules broke into the cave of Chiron and accidentally killed this wise hero of many Greek myths with an arrow. Finding the Erymanthian boar, Hercules drove him into deep snow, and he got stuck there. The hero took the bound boar to Mycenae, where the frightened Eurystheus, at the sight of this monster, hid in a large jug.

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The sixth feat of Hercules King Avgiy of Elis, the son of the sun god Helios, received from his father numerous herds of white and red bulls. His huge barnyard has not been cleared for 30 years. Hercules offered to clear the stall for a day for Augeas, asking for a tenth of his herds in return. Considering that the hero could not cope with the work in one day, Avgiy agreed. Hercules blocked the rivers Alpheus and Peneus with a dam and diverted their water to the barnyard of Avgius - all the manure was washed away from it in a day. Greedy Avgiy did not give Hercules the promised payment for the work. A few years later, already freed from the service of Eurystheus, Hercules gathered an army, defeated Avgii and killed him. After this victory, Hercules established the famous Olympic Games in Elis, near the city of Pisa.

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The seventh feat of Hercules God Poseidon gave the Cretan king Minos a beautiful bull to sacrifice himself. But Minos left a wonderful bull in his herd, and sacrificed another to Poseidon. The angry god sent rabies on the bull: he began to rush all over Crete, destroying everything along the way. Hercules caught the bull, tamed it and swam across the sea from Crete to the Peloponnese on his back. Eurystheus ordered the bull to be released. He, again enraged, rushed from Mycenae to the north, where he was killed in Attica by the Athenian hero Theseus.

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The eighth feat of Hercules The Thracian king Diomedes owned horses of marvelous beauty and strength, which could only be kept in a stall with iron chains. Diomedes fed his horses with human meat, killing strangers who came to him. Hercules led the horses by force and defeated Diomedes, who rushed in pursuit, in battle. During this time, the horses tore to pieces the companion of Hercules, Abder, who guarded them on the ships.

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The ninth feat of Heracles The queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta, wore a belt given to her by the god Ares as a sign of her power. The daughter of Eurystheus, Admet, wished to have this belt. Hercules with a detachment of heroes sailed to the kingdom of the Amazons, to the shores of Pontus Euxinus (Black Sea). Hippolyta, at the request of Hercules, wanted to give the belt voluntarily, but other Amazons attacked the hero and killed several of his companions. Hercules slew the seven strongest warriors in battle and put their army to flight. Hippolyta gave him the belt as a ransom for the captured Amazon Melanippe.

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The tenth feat of Hercules At the very western edge of the earth, the giant Geryon, who had three torsos, three heads, six arms and six legs, grazed cows. By order of Eurystheus, Hercules went after these cows. The long journey to the west itself was already a feat, and in memory of him Hercules erected two stone (Hercules) pillars on both sides of a narrow strait near the shores of the Ocean (modern Gibraltar). Geryon lived on the island of Erithia. So that Hercules could reach him, the solar god Helios gave him his horses and a golden boat, on which he himself swims daily through the sky.

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Eleventh feat of Hercules On the orders of Eurystheus, Hercules descended through the abyss of Tenar into the gloomy kingdom of the god of the dead Hades in order to take away his guard from there - the three-headed dog Cerberus, whose tail ended in the head of a dragon. At the very gates of the underworld, Hercules freed the Athenian hero Theseus, rooted to a rock, who, together with his friend, Perifoy, was punished by the gods for trying to steal his wife Persephone from Hades. In the realm of the dead, Hercules met the shadow of the hero Meleager, whom he promised to become the protector of his lonely sister Dejanira and marry her. The lord of the underworld, Hades, himself allowed Hercules to take Cerberus away - but only if the hero manages to tame him. Finding Cerberus, Hercules began to fight him. He half strangled the dog, pulled him out of the ground and brought him to Mycenae. The cowardly Eurystheus, at one glance at the terrible dog, began to beg Hercules to take her back, which he did.

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The twelfth feat of Hercules Hercules had to find a way to the great titan Atlas (Atlanta), who holds the vault of heaven on his shoulders at the edge of the earth. Eurystheus ordered Hercules to take three golden apples from the golden tree of the Atlas garden. To find out the way to the Atlas, Hercules, on the advice of the nymphs, guarded the sea god Nereus on the seashore, grabbed him and held him until he showed the right way. On the way to the Atlas through Libya, Hercules had to fight the cruel giant Antaeus, who received new powers by touching his mother, Earth-Gaia. After a long fight, Hercules lifted Antaeus into the air and strangled him without lowering him to the ground. In Egypt, King Busiris wanted to sacrifice Hercules to the gods, but the angry hero killed Busiris along with his son.

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Herodotus Herodotus is an ancient Greek historian, nicknamed the "father of history". One of the first geographers and travel scientists. On the basis of what he saw and questioned information gave the first general description then known world. To write his famous "History", it is assumed that he traveled almost all the famous countries of his time: Greece, South Italy, Asia Minor, Egypt, Babylonia, Persia, visited most of the Mediterranean islands, visited the Black Sea, Crimea (up to Chersonesos ) and in the country of the Scythians. The author of works devoted to the description of the Greco-Persian wars, outlining the history of the Achaemenid state, Egypt, etc., gave the first description of the life and way of life of the Scythians.

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The legend of Arion This story is told in Corinth and on the island of Lesbos. In former times, Arion lived in the city of Mephimna, famous for his incomparable playing of the cithara. For many years he served under Periander, the ruler of Corinth. But the time came when he wanted to go to Italy and Sikelia. Having earned great wealth there, Arion got ready to go back. He hired a ship from the Corinthian sailors, who turned out to be dishonest people. They envied the wealth of Arion and planned to throw him overboard on the high seas. No matter how Arion pleaded with the shipbuilders, it was not possible to soften their hearts. They ordered the poor fellow to either take his own life or immediately throw himself into the sea. Then Arion asked for his last wish: to allow him to sing in full attire of a singer, standing on the rowers' bench. Having finished the song, "he, as he was in all his attire, rushed into the sea." The ship sailed. Despair gripped Arion's heart, but he was not destined to drown. A dolphin picked him up on his back and carried him to Tenar. Rejoicing at the unexpected rescue, Arion went ashore and headed straight for Corinth. In his homeland, he told Periander everything that had happened to him, but the tyrant (ruler) did not believe the story. He took Arion into custody, and then ordered the sailors to be brought to him. At first, the sailors wanted to deceive Periander. They said that Arion lives and is well somewhere in Italy. But suddenly, Arion suddenly appeared before the shipbuilders in the same robe in which he threw himself into the sea. "The amazed shipbuilders could no longer deny their guilt, since they were caught." Greedy shipbuilders were punished, and Arion returned his wealth. Since then, there has been a sacrificial gift of Arion on Tenar - a copper statue depicting a man on a dolphin.

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Homer "The Odyssey" In "The Odyssey" Homer tells how the Greeks quarreled with the Trojans and went to war with them (all their kings). Odysseus did not want to go, but he was forced, for the company. When the Greeks won the war, Odysseus went home by sea, but because of the resentment of the god Poseidon against him, he constantly got into trouble (Scylla and Charybdis ate the ships, the witch turned the satellites into pigs, some were killed by the Cyclops). Finally, Odysseus for some time already remained alone on the island with one nymph, but he really wanted to go home and she gave him a raft. Returning home, Odysseus realized that he was considered dead and a crowd of admirers was following his wife. He changed clothes, made up, entered his house and killed them all. And then he lived with his Wife Penelope happily ever after.

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Religious ideas of the ancient Greeks about the world of the gods Religious ideas and religious life of the ancient Greeks were in close connection with their entire historical life. The gods lived on Mount Olympus. There was a hierarchy between them, as between people: there were main Gods, secondary, demigods (heroes in Greek mythology, for example Hercules). The gods were present in the life of the Greeks as naturally as all Greek nature. They often interfered in people's lives, competed with each other for influence on a person.




THE BIRTH OF ZEUS Kronos was not sure that power would forever remain in his hands. He was afraid that the children would rise up against him and find him the same fate that he condemned his father Uranus to. He was afraid of his children. And Kron ordered his wife Rhea to bring him newborn children and mercilessly swallowed them. Rhea was horrified when she saw the fate of her children. Kronos has already swallowed five: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades (Hades) and Poseidon.


Rhea did not want to lose her last child. On the advice of her parents, Uranus - Heaven and Gaia - Earth, she retired to the island of Crete, and there, in a deep cave, her youngest son Zeus was born. In this cave, Rhea hid her son from a cruel father, and gave him a long stone wrapped in swaddling clothes to swallow instead of his son. Kron did not suspect that he was deceived by his wife.


Zeus, meanwhile, was growing up in Crete. The nymphs Adrastea and Idea cherished the little Zeus, they fed him with the milk of the divine goat Amalthea. Bees carried honey to little Zeus from the slopes of the high mountain Dikty. At the entrance to the cave, young Kuretes struck shields with swords whenever little Zeus cried, so that Kron would not hear his cry, and Zeus would not suffer the fate of his brothers and sisters.


ZEUS OVERTHROWS THE CROWN. THE FIGHT OF THE OLYMPIAN GODS WITH THE TITANS The beautiful and mighty god Zeus grew up and matured. He rebelled against his father and forced him to bring back the children he had devoured into the world. One by one, the monster from the mouth of Kron his children - gods, beautiful and bright. They began to fight with Kron and the titans for power over the world.






Finally, Zeus decided to free from the bowels of the earth the hundred-armed giants - hekatonkheires; he called them for help. Terrible, huge as mountains, they came out of the bowels of the earth and rushed into battle. They tore off entire rocks from the mountains and threw them at the titans. Hundreds of rocks flew towards the titans when they approached Olympus. The earth groaned, a roar filled the air, everything shook around. Even Tartarus shuddered from this struggle.


Zeus threw one fiery lightning after another and deafening roaring thunders. Fire engulfed the whole earth, the seas boiled, smoke and stench shrouded everything in a thick veil. Finally, the mighty titans faltered. Their strength was broken, they were defeated. The Olympians bound them and cast them into the gloomy Tartarus, into eternal darkness. At the indestructible copper gates of Tartarus, hundred-armed hecatoncheirs stood guard, and they guard so that the mighty titans do not break free again from Tartarus. The power of the titans in the world has passed.


THE FIGHT OF ZEUS WITH TYPHON But the struggle did not end there. Gaia - the Earth was angry with the Olympian Zeus because he acted so harshly with her defeated children - the titans. She married the gloomy Tartarus and gave birth to the terrible hundred-headed monster Typhon. Huge, with a hundred dragon heads, Typhon rose from the bowels of the earth.


With a wild howl he shook the air. The barking of dogs, human voices, the roar of an angry bull, the roar of a lion were heard in this howl. Stormy flames swirled around Typhon, and the earth shook under his heavy steps. The gods shuddered in horror, but Zeus, the Thunderer, boldly rushed at him, and the battle caught fire.




Hundreds of fiery arrows rained down - lightning of the thunderer Zeus; it seemed that from their fire the very air was burning and dark thunderclouds were burning. Zeus burned all of Typhon's hundred heads to ashes. Typhon collapsed to the ground; such heat emanated from his body that everything around him melted.


Zeus raised the body of Typhon and cast it into the gloomy Tartarus, which gave birth to him. But even in Tartarus, Typhon threatens the gods and all living things. He causes storms and eruptions; he gave birth with Echidna, half-woman - half-snake, the terrible two-headed dog Orff, the hellish dog Cerberus, the Lernean hydra and the Chimera; Typhon often shakes the earth.










The great Thunderer Zeus saw her, fell in love with her and stole her from Thetis. The gods magnificently celebrated the wedding of Zeus and Hera. Irida and the Charites dressed Hera in luxurious clothes, and she shone with her young, majestic beauty among the host of the gods of Olympus, sitting on a golden throne next to the great king of gods and people, Zeus.


All the gods brought gifts to the sovereign Hera, and the goddess Earth - Gaia grew from her depths a marvelous apple tree with golden fruits as a gift to Hera. Everything in nature glorified Queen Hera and King Zeus. Hera reigns on high Olympus. She commands, like her husband Zeus, thunder and lightning, at the word of her dark rain clouds cover the sky, with a wave of her hand she raises terrible storms.


The great Hera is beautiful, hairy, lily-armed, from under her crown marvelous curls fall in a wave, her eyes burn with power and calm majesty. The gods honor Hera, and her husband, the cloud-breaker Zeus, also honors her, and often consults with her. But quarrels between Zeus and Hera are not uncommon. Hera often objects to Zeus and argues with him on the advice of the gods. Then the thunderer becomes angry and threatens his wife with punishments. Then Hera falls silent and restrains her anger. She remembers how Zeus subjected her to scourging, how he bound her with golden chains and hung her between earth and sky, tying two heavy anvils to her feet.


Mighty is Hera, there is no goddess equal to her in power. Majestic, in long luxurious clothes woven by Athena herself, in a chariot harnessed by two immortal horses, she leaves Olympus. The chariot is all of silver, the wheels are of pure gold, and their spokes sparkle with copper. The fragrance spreads on the ground where Hera passes. All living things bow before her, the great queen of Olympus.


APHRODITE Aphrodite - originally was the goddess of the sky, sending rain, and also, apparently, the goddess of the sea. The myth of Aphrodite and her cult were strongly affected by Eastern influence, mainly the cult of the Phoenician goddess Astarte. Gradually, Aphrodite becomes the goddess of love. The god of love Eros (Cupid) is her son. Not the pampered, windy goddess Aphrodite to interfere in bloody battles. She awakens love in the hearts of gods and mortals. Thanks to this power, she reigns over the whole world.


No one can escape her power, not even the gods. Only the warrior Athena, Hestia and Artemis are not subject to her power. Tall, slender, with delicate features, with a soft wave of golden hair, like a crown lying on her beautiful head, Aphrodite is the personification of divine beauty and unfading youth. When she walks, in the splendor of her beauty, in fragrant clothes, then the sun shines brighter, flowers bloom more magnificently.


Wild forest animals run to her from the thicket of the forest; flocks of birds flock to her when she walks through the forest. Lions, panthers, leopards and bears meekly caress her. Aphrodite walks calmly among wild animals, proud of her radiant beauty. Her companions Ora and Harita, goddesses of beauty and grace, serve her. They dress the goddess in luxurious clothes, comb her golden hair, crown her head with a sparkling diadem.


Near the island of Cythera, Aphrodite, the daughter of Uranus, was born from the snow-white foam of the sea waves. A light, caressing breeze brought her to the island of Cyprus. There, the young Ores surrounded the goddess of love, who emerged from the sea waves. They dressed her in golden robes and crowned her with a wreath of fragrant flowers.


Wherever Aphrodite stepped, flowers flourished there. The whole air was full of fragrance. Eros and Gimerot led the wondrous goddess to Olympus. The gods greeted her loudly. Since then, the golden Aphrodite has always lived among the gods of Olympus, forever young, the most beautiful of the goddesses.


APOLLO The god of light, the golden-haired Apollo, was born on the island of Delos. His mother Latona, driven by the wrath of the goddess Hera, could not find shelter anywhere. Pursued by the dragon Python sent by the Hero, she wandered all over the world and finally took refuge on Delos, which at that time was rushing along the waves of a stormy sea. As soon as Latona entered Delos, huge pillars rose from the depths of the sea and stopped this deserted island.




But then the god of light Apollo was born, and streams of bright light spilled everywhere. Like gold, they poured the rocks of Delos. Everything around bloomed, sparkled: the coastal cliffs, and Mount Kint, and the valley, and the sea. The goddesses gathered on Delos loudly praised the born god, offering him ambrosia and nectar. All nature around rejoiced along with the goddesses.


THE FIGHT OF APOLLO WITH PYTHON AND THE FOUNDATION OF THE DELPHI ORACLE Young, radiant Apollo rushed across the azure sky with a cithara in his hands, with a silver bow over his shoulders; golden arrows jingled loudly in his quiver. Proud, jubilant, Apollo rushed high above the earth, threatening all evil, all generated by darkness. He aspired to where the formidable Python lived, pursuing his mother Latona; he wanted to take revenge on him for all the evil that he had done to her.


Apollo quickly reached the gloomy gorge, the dwelling of Python. Rocks rose all around, reaching high into the sky. Darkness reigned in the gorge. A mountain stream, gray with foam, was swiftly rushing along its bottom, and mists swirled above the stream. The terrible Python crawled out of its lair. Its huge body, covered with scales, twisted between the rocks in countless rings. Rocks and mountains trembled from the weight of his body and moved.


Furious Python betrayed everything, he spread death all around. Nymphs and all living things fled in horror. Python rose up, mighty, furious, opened his terrible mouth and was ready to devour the golden-haired Apollo. Then there was a ringing of the bowstring of a silver bow, as a spark flashed in the air, a golden arrow that did not know a miss, followed by another, a third; arrows rained down on Python, and he fell lifeless to the ground.


The triumphant victorious song (pean) of the golden-haired Apollo, the winner of Python, sounded loudly, and the golden strings of the cithara of the god echoed it. Apollo buried the body of Python in the ground where sacred Delphi stands, and founded a sanctuary and an oracle in Delphi in order to prophesy to people the will of his father Zeus.


From a high shore, far out to sea, Apollo saw the ship of the Cretan sailors. Under the guise of a dolphin, he rushed into the blue sea, overtook the ship and, like a radiant star, flew up from the sea waves to its stern. Apollo brought the ship to the pier of the city of Chrisa and through the fertile valley led the Cretan sailors, playing on the golden cithara, to Delphi. He made them the first priests of his sanctuary.


ARES The god of war, the frantic Ares, is the son of the Thunderer Zeus and Hera. Zeus does not like him. He often tells his son that he is the most hated by him among the gods of Olympus. Zeus does not love his son for his bloodthirstiness. If Ares were not his son, he would have cast him long ago into the gloomy Tartarus, where the titans languish. The heart of the ferocious Ares pleases only fierce battles. Furious, he rushes amid the roar of weapons, screams and groans of battle between the combatants, in sparkling weapons, with a huge shield. Behind him rush his sons, Deimos and Phobos - horror and fear, and next to them the goddess of discord Eris and the goddess Enyuo, who sows murders.


Boils, battle rumbles; Ares rejoices; warriors fall with a groan. Ares triumphs when he slays a warrior with his terrible sword and hot blood rushes to the ground. Indiscriminately he strikes both to the right and to the left; a pile of bodies around a cruel god. Ferocious, violent, formidable Ares, but victory does not always accompany him. Ares often has to give way on the battlefield to the militant daughter of Zeus, Athena - Pallas. She defeats Ares with wisdom and a calm consciousness of strength.


Often, even mortal heroes defeat Ares, especially if they are helped by the bright-eyed Athena - Pallas. So the hero Diomedes struck Ares with a copper spear under the walls of Troy. Athena herself directed the blow. The terrible cry of the wounded god resounded far through the army of the Trojans and Greeks. As if ten thousand warriors screamed at once, entering into a furious battle, Ares, covered with copper armor, screamed in pain. The Greeks and Trojans shuddered in horror, and the frantic Ares rushed, shrouded in a gloomy cloud, covered in blood, complaining about Athena to his father Zeus. But Father Zeus did not listen to his complaints. He does not love his son, who enjoys only strife, battles and murders.


POSEIDON AND THE DEITIES OF THE SEA Deep in the abyss of the sea stands the wonderful palace of the great brother of the Thunderer Zeus, the shaker of the earth Poseidon. Poseidon rules over the seas, and the waves of the sea are obedient to the slightest movement of his hand, armed with a formidable trident. There, in the depths of the sea, lives with Poseidon and his beautiful wife Amphitrite, the daughter of the sea prophetic elder Nereus, who was kidnapped by the great ruler of the sea depths Poseidon from her father. He saw once how she led a round dance with her sisters - Nereids on the coast of the island of Naxos. Deep in the abyss of the sea stands the wonderful palace of the great brother of the Thunderer Zeus, the shaker of the earth Poseidon. Poseidon rules over the seas, and the waves of the sea are obedient to the slightest movement of his hand, armed with a formidable trident. There, in the depths of the sea, lives with Poseidon and his beautiful wife Amphitrite, the daughter of the sea prophetic elder Nereus, who was kidnapped by the great ruler of the sea depths Poseidon from her father. He saw once how she led a round dance with her sisters - Nereids on the coast of the island of Naxos.


The god of the sea was captivated by the beautiful Amphitrite and wanted to take her away in his chariot. But Amphitrite took refuge with the titan Atlas, who holds the vault of heaven on his mighty shoulders. For a long time Poseidon could not find the beautiful daughter of Nereus. At last the dolphin opened her hiding place to him; for this service, Poseidon placed the dolphin among the celestial constellations. Poseidon stole the beautiful daughter of Nereus from Atlas and married her.


Since then, Amphitrite lives with her husband Poseidon in an underwater palace. High above the palace, the waves of the sea roar. Hundreds of sea deities surround Poseidon, obedient to his will. Among them is the son of Poseidon, Triton, who causes terrible storms with the thunderous sound of his pipe from the shell. Among the deities are the beautiful sisters of Amphitrite, the Nereids. Poseidon rules over the sea. When he rushes across the sea in his chariot drawn by marvelous horses, then the ever-noisy waves part and give way to the lord Poseidon.


Equal in beauty to Zeus himself, he quickly rushes across the boundless sea, and dolphins play around him, fish swim out of the depths of the sea and crowd around his chariot. When Poseidon waves his formidable trident, then, like mountains, the sea waves rise, covered with white ridges of foam, and a fierce storm rages on the sea. Then the sea waves beat with noise against the coastal rocks and shake the earth. But Poseidon stretches his trident over the waves, and they calm down. The storm subsides, the sea is calm again, exactly like a mirror, and splashes a little audibly near the shore - blue, boundless. Equal in beauty to Zeus himself, he quickly rushes across the boundless sea, and dolphins play around him, fish swim out of the depths of the sea and crowd around his chariot. When Poseidon waves his formidable trident, then, like mountains, the sea waves rise, covered with white ridges of foam, and a fierce storm rages on the sea. Then the sea waves beat with noise against the coastal rocks and shake the earth. But Poseidon stretches his trident over the waves, and they calm down. The storm subsides, the sea is calm again, exactly like a mirror, and splashes a little audibly near the shore - blue, boundless.


Many deities surround the great brother of Zeus, Poseidon; among them is the prophetic sea elder, Nereus, who knows all the innermost secrets of the future. Nereus is alien to lies and deceit; only the truth he reveals to the gods and mortals. Wise advice given by the prophetic elder. Nereus has fifty beautiful daughters. Young Nereids splash merrily in the waves of the sea, sparkling among them with their divine beauty. Holding hands, they swim out of the depths of the sea in a string and dance on the shore to the gentle splash of the waves of a calm sea quietly running ashore. The echo of the coastal rocks then repeats the sounds of their gentle singing, like the quiet roar of the sea. Nereids patronize the sailor and give him a happy voyage.


Among the deities of the sea is the elder Proteus, who, like the sea, changes his image and turns, at will, into various animals and monsters. He is also a prophetic god, you just need to be able to catch him unexpectedly, take possession of him and force him to reveal the secret of the future. Among the satellites of the oscillator of the earth Poseidon is the god Glaucus, the patron saint of sailors and fishermen, and he has the gift of divination. Often, emerging from the depths of the sea, he opened the future and gave wise advice mortals. The gods of the sea are mighty, their power is great, but the great brother of Zeus Poseidon rules over all of them.


All the seas and all the lands flow around the gray Ocean - a god - a titan, equal to Zeus himself in honor and glory. He lives far on the borders of the world, and the affairs of the earth do not disturb his heart. Three thousand sons - river gods and three thousand daughters - oceanids, goddesses of streams and sources, by the Ocean. The sons and daughters of the great god of the Ocean give prosperity and joy to mortals with their ever-rolling living water, they water the whole earth and all living things with it.


THE KINGDOM OF THE DARK HADES (PLUTO) Deep underground reigns the inexorable, gloomy brother of Zeus, Hades. His kingdom is full of darkness and horrors. The joyful rays of the bright sun never penetrate there. Bottomless abysses lead from the surface of the earth to the sad kingdom of Hades. Dark rivers flow in it. There flows the ever-chilling sacred river Styx, by whose waters the gods themselves swear.


Cocytus and Acheron roll their waves there; the souls of the dead resound with their groaning, full of sorrow, their gloomy shores. In the underworld, the source of Lethe also flows, giving oblivion to all earthly water. Through the gloomy fields of the kingdom of Hades, overgrown with pale flowers of asphodel, the incorporeal light shadows of the dead rush. They complain about their joyless life without light and without desires. Their moans are quietly heard, barely perceptible, like the rustle of withered leaves driven by the autumn wind. There is no return to anyone from this realm of sorrow. The three-headed hellish dog Kerber, on whose neck snakes move with a formidable hiss, guards the exit. The stern, old Charon, the carrier of the souls of the dead, will not be lucky through the gloomy waters of Acheron not a single soul back to where the sun of life shines brightly. The souls of the dead in the gloomy kingdom of Hades are doomed to an eternal joyless existence.


In this - that kingdom, to which neither light, nor joy, nor sorrows of earthly life reach, the brother of Zeus, Hades, rules. He sits on a golden throne with his wife Persephone. He is served by the implacable goddesses of vengeance Erinyes. Terrible, with scourges and snakes, they pursue the criminal; do not give him a moment's rest and torment him with remorse; nowhere can you hide from them, everywhere they find their prey. At the throne of Hades sit the judges of the kingdom of the dead - Minos and Rhadamanthus. Here, at the throne, the god of death Tanat with a sword in his hands, in a black cloak, with huge black wings.


These wings blow with grave cold when Tanat flies to the bed of a dying man in order to cut a strand of hair from his head with his sword and tear out his soul. Next to Tanat and gloomy Kera. On their wings they rush, furious, across the battlefield. The Keres rejoice as they see the slain heroes fall one by one; with their blood-red lips they fall to the wounds, greedily drink the hot blood of the slain and tear out their souls from the body.


Here, at the throne of Hades, is the beautiful, young god of sleep, Hypnos. He silently rushes on his wings above the ground with poppy heads in his hands and pours sleeping pills from his horn. He gently touches the eyes of people with his wonderful wand, quietly closes his eyelids and plunges mortals into a sweet dream. The god Hypnos is mighty, neither mortals, nor gods, nor even the Thunderer Zeus himself can resist him: and Hypnos closes his menacing eyes and plunges him into a deep sleep.


Worn in the gloomy kingdom of Hades and the gods of dreams. Among them there are gods who give prophetic and joyful dreams, but there are also gods of terrible, oppressive dreams that frighten and torment people. There are gods and false dreams, they mislead a person and often lead him to death. The kingdom of the inexorable Hades is full of darkness and horrors. There roams in the darkness the terrible ghost of Empusa with donkey's feet; it, having lured people into a secluded place in the darkness of the night, drinks all the blood and devours their still trembling bodies.


The monstrous Lamia also roams there; she sneaks into the bedroom of happy mothers at night and steals their children to drink their blood. The great goddess Hecate rules over all ghosts and monsters. She has three bodies and three heads. On a moonless night, she wanders in deep darkness along the roads and at the graves with all her terrible retinue, surrounded by Stygian dogs. She sends horrors and heavy dreams to the earth and destroys people. Hekate is invoked as an assistant in witchcraft, but she is also the only helper against witchcraft for those who honor her and bring her at the crossroads, where three roads diverge, as a sacrifice of dogs. Terrible is the kingdom of Hades, and it is hateful to people.