Ancient Greek mythology expressed a vivid sensory perception of the surrounding reality with all its diversity and colors. Behind every phenomenon of the material world - thunderstorm, war, storm, dawn, lunar eclipse, according to the Greeks, there was an act of one or another god.
Theogony
The classical Greek pantheon had 12 Olympian deities. However, the inhabitants of Olympus were not the first inhabitants of the earth and the creators of the world. According to the Theogony of the poet Hesiod, the Olympians were only the third generation of gods. At the very beginning there was only Chaos, from which eventually came:
These forces should be considered the first generation of the Greek gods. The children of Chaos entered into marriages with each other, giving birth to gods, seas, mountains, monsters and various amazing creatures - hekatoncheirs and titans. The grandchildren of Chaos are considered to be the second generation of the gods.
Uranus became the ruler of the whole world, and Gaia, the mother of all things, became his wife. Uranus was afraid and hated his numerous children-titans, therefore, immediately after their birth, he hid the babies back into the womb of Gaia. Gaia suffered greatly from the fact that she could not be born, but the youngest of the children, the titan Kronos, came to her aid. He deposed and castrated his father.
The children of Uranus and Gaia were finally able to come out of their mother's womb. Kronos married one of his sisters - the titanide Rhea and became the supreme deity. His reign became a real "golden age". However, Kronos feared for his power. Uranus predicted to him that one of the children of Kronos would do the same to him as Kronos himself did to his father. Therefore, all the children born to Rhea - Hestia, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Demeter - were swallowed by the titan. The last son - Zeus - Rhea managed to hide. Zeus grew up, freed his brothers and sisters, and then began to fight with his father. So the titans and the third generation of gods, the future Olympians, clashed in the battle. Hesiod calls these events "titanomachia" (literally "Battles of the Titans"). The struggle ended with the victory of the Olympians and the fall of the titans into the abyss of Tartarus.
Modern researchers are inclined to believe that the titanomachy was not an empty fantasy based on nothing. In fact, this episode reflected important social changes in the life of Ancient Greece. The archaic chthonic deities - the titans, who were worshiped by the ancient Greek tribes, gave way to new deities who personified order, law and statehood. The tribal system and matriarchy went into the past, they are being replaced by the polis system and the patriarchal cult of epic heroes.
Olympian gods
Thanks to numerous literary works, many ancient Greek myths have survived to this day. Unlike Slavic mythology, which has been preserved in fragmentary and incomplete form, ancient Greek folklore has been deeply and comprehensively studied. The pantheon of the ancient Greeks included hundreds of gods, however, only 12 of them played the leading role. There is no canonical list of Olympians. In different versions of myths, different gods may enter the pantheon.
Zeus was at the head of the ancient Greek pantheon. He and his brothers - Poseidon and Hades - cast lots to divide the world among themselves. Poseidon got the oceans and seas, Hades got the kingdom of the souls of the dead, and Zeus got the sky. Under the rule of Zeus, law and order are established throughout the earth. For the Greeks, Zeus was the personification of the Cosmos, opposing the ancient Chaos. In a narrower sense, Zeus was the god of wisdom, as well as thunder and lightning.
Zeus was very prolific. From goddesses and earthly women, he had many children - gods, mythical creatures, heroes and kings.
A very interesting moment in the biography of Zeus is his struggle with the titan Prometheus. The Olympian gods destroyed the first people who lived on earth since the time of Kronos. Prometheus created new people and taught them crafts, for their sake, the titan even stole fire from Olympus. Enraged, Zeus ordered Prometheus to be chained to a rock, where an eagle flew daily, pecking at the liver of a titan. In order to take revenge on the people created by Prometheus for their self-will, Zeus sent Pandora to them - a beauty who opened a box in which diseases and various misfortunes of the human race were hidden.
Despite such a vengeful disposition, in general, Zeus is a bright and fair deity. Next to his throne are two vessels - with good and evil, depending on the actions of people, Zeus draws gifts from the vessels, sending either punishment or mercy to mortals.
The brother of Zeus - Poseidon - the lord of such a changeable element as water. Like the ocean, it can be wild and wild. Most likely, Poseidon was originally an earthly deity. This version explains why the cult animals of Poseidon were completely "land" bull and horse. Hence the epithets with which the god of the seas was endowed - “shaking the earth”, “land holder”.
In myths, Poseidon often opposes his thunder brother. For example, he supports the Achaeans in the war against Troy, on the side of which Zeus was.
Almost the entire commercial and fishing life of the Greeks depended on the sea. Therefore, rich sacrifices were regularly made to Poseidon, throwing them directly into the water.
Despite the huge number of connections with a variety of women, the closest companion of Zeus all this time was his sister and wife, Hera. Although Hera was the main female deity on Olympus, in fact she was only the third wife of Zeus. The first wife of the Thunderer was the wise oceanid Metis, whom he imprisoned in his womb, and the second was the goddess of justice Themis - the mother of the seasons and moira - the goddesses of fate.
Although the divine spouses often quarrel and cheat on each other, the union of Hera and Zeus symbolizes all monogamous marriages on earth and the relationship between a man and a woman in general.
Distinguished by a jealous and sometimes cruel disposition, Hera was still the guardian of the family hearth, the protector of mothers and children. The Greek women prayed to Hera to send them a good husband, pregnancy, or an easy birth.
Perhaps Hera's confrontation with her husband reflects the chthonic nature of this goddess. According to one version, touching the earth, she even gives birth to a monstrous snake - Typhon. Obviously, Hera is one of the first female deities of the Peloponnesian Peninsula, an evolved and reworked image of the mother goddess.
Ares was the son of Hera and Zeus. He personified the war, and, moreover, the war was not in the form of a liberation confrontation, but a senseless bloody massacre. It is believed that Ares, who absorbed part of the chthonic rampage of his mother, is extremely treacherous and cunning. He uses his power to sow murder and discord.
In the myths, Zeus's dislike for the bloodthirsty son can be traced, however, even a just war is impossible without Ares.
The birth of Athena was very unusual. One day, Zeus began to suffer severe headaches. To alleviate the suffering of the Thunderer, the god Hephaestus strikes him on the head with an ax. From the resulting wound comes a beautiful maiden in armor and with a spear. Zeus, seeing his daughter, was very happy. The newborn goddess was named Athena. She became the main assistant to her father - the keeper of law and order and the personification of wisdom. Formally, the mother of Athena was Metis, imprisoned inside Zeus.
Since the warlike Athena embodied both the feminine and the masculine, she did not need a spouse and remained virgin. The goddess patronized warriors and heroes, but only those of them who wisely disposed of their strength. Thus, the goddess balanced the rampage of her bloodthirsty brother Ares.
Hephaestus - the patron of blacksmithing, crafts and fire - was the son of Zeus and Hera. He was born lame in both legs. Hera was unpleasant to an ugly and sick baby, so she threw him off Olympus. Hephaestus fell into the sea, where Thetis picked him up. On the seabed, Hephaestus mastered blacksmithing and began to forge wonderful things.
For the Greeks, Hephaestus, thrown from Olympus, personified, although ugly, but very smart and kind god, helping everyone who turns to him.
To teach his mother a lesson, Hephaestus forged a golden throne for her. When Hera got into it, the fetters closed on her arms and legs, which none of the gods could unchain. Despite all the persuasion, Hephaestus stubbornly did not want to go to Olympus in order to free Hera. Only Dionysus, who intoxicated Hephaestus, managed to bring the blacksmith god. After her release, Hera recognized her son and gave him Aphrodite as his wife. However, Hephaestus did not live long with a windy wife and entered into a second marriage with Charita Aglaya, the goddess of goodness and joy.
Hephaestus is the only Olympian who is constantly busy with work. He forges lightning bolts for Zeus, magic items, armor and weapons. From his mother, he, like Ares, inherited some chthonic features, however, not so destructive. The connection of Hephaestus with the underworld is emphasized by its fiery nature. However, the fire of Hephaestus is not a destructive flame, but a hearth that warms people, or a blacksmith's forge, with which many useful things can be made.
One of the daughters of Rhea and Kronos - Demeter - was the patroness of fertility and agriculture. Like many female deities who personify Mother Earth, Demeter had a direct connection with the world of the dead. After the abduction by Hades of her daughter, Persephone, with Zeus, Demeter fell into mourning. Eternal winter reigned on the earth, thousands of people died of hunger. Then Zeus demanded that Persephone spend only one third of the year with Hades, and return to her mother for two thirds.
It is believed that Demeter taught people how to farm. She also gave fertility to plants, animals and people. The Greeks believed that the mysteries dedicated to Demeter blurred the boundaries between the world of the living and the dead. Archaeological data show that in some areas of Greece, Demeter even made human sacrifices.
Aphrodite - the goddess of love and beauty - appeared on earth in a very unusual way. After the castration of Uranus, Kronos threw his father's reproductive organ into the sea. Since Uranus was very prolific, the beautiful Aphrodite emerged from the sea foam that formed in this place.
The goddess knew how to send love to people and gods, which she often used. One of the main attributes of Aphrodite was her wonderful belt, which made any woman beautiful. Because of the changeable disposition of Aphrodite, many suffered from her charms. The vengeful goddess could severely punish those who rejected her gifts or offended her in some way.
Apollo and Artemis are the children of the goddess Leto and Zeus. Hera was extremely angry with Summer, so she pursued her throughout the earth and for a long time did not allow her to be born. In the end, on the island of Delos, surrounded by Rhea, Themis, Amphitrite and other goddesses, Leto gave birth to two twins. Artemis was the first to be born and immediately began to help her mother in the birth of her brother.
With a bow and arrows, Artemis, surrounded by nymphs, began to wander through the forests. The virgin hunter goddess was the patroness of wild and domestic animals and all life on earth. Both young girls and pregnant women, whom she protected, turned to her for help.
Her brother became the patron of the arts and healing. Apollo brings harmony and tranquility to Olympus. This god is considered one of the main symbols of the classical period in the history of ancient Greece. He brings elements of beauty and light into everything he does, gives people the gift of foresight, teaches them to heal diseases and play music.
Unlike most of the cruel and vindictive Olympians, Zeus' older sister, Hestia, was distinguished by a peaceful and calm disposition. The Greeks revered her as the keeper of the hearth and sacred fire. Hestia adhered to chastity and refused all the gods who offered her marriage.
The cult of Hestia was very widespread in Greece. It was believed that she helps to hold sacred ceremonies and preserves peace in families.
The patron of trade, wealth, dexterity and theft - Hermes, most likely, was originally an ancient Asia Minor demon-rogue. Over time, the Greeks turned the petty trickster into one of the most powerful gods. Hermes was the son of Zeus and the nymph Maya. Like all children of Zeus, he demonstrated his amazing abilities from birth. So, on the very first day after his birth, Hermes learned to play the cithara and stole the cows of Apollo.
In myths, Hermes appears not only as a deceiver and a thief, but also as a faithful assistant. He often rescued heroes and gods from difficult situations, bringing them weapons, magical herbs, or some other necessary items. A distinctive attribute of Hermes were winged sandals and a caduceus - a rod around which two snakes twined.
Shepherds, merchants, usurers, travelers, swindlers, alchemists and fortune-tellers revered Hermes.
Hades - the ruler of the world of the dead - is not always included among the Olympian gods, since he did not live on Olympus, but in gloomy Hades. However, he was certainly a very powerful and influential deity. The Greeks were afraid of Hades and preferred not to pronounce his name out loud, replacing it with various epithets. Some researchers believe that Hades is a different hypostasis of Zeus.
Although Hades was the god of the dead, he also bestowed fertility and wealth. At the same time, he himself, as befits such a deity, did not have children, he even had to kidnap his wife, because none of the goddesses wanted to descend into the underworld.
The cult of Hades was almost not widespread. Only one temple is known, where only once a year sacrifices were made to the king of the dead.
Ancient Greece, before the arrival of the Greeks, was inhabited by Pelasgian peoples. They never assimilated further with the Greeks, having gone into oblivion. Thanks to them, according to Herodotus, the ancient Hellenes had a religion with the gods of ancient Greece in its modern sense.
With the emergence of the first statehood of Hellas, approximately 3000 BC, religion began to play an increasingly important role in the life of the ancient Greeks. The main gods were the titans, who personified the elements of nature.
The supreme god of the titans, Kronos, in the struggle for power, killed his father. He feared the same fate and therefore devoured his sons. One of them was saved by Rhea, the wife of Kronos. His name was Zeus. When Zeus grew up, he forced his father to return the swallowed sons from his womb and, joining forces with other gods, began the fight against the titans.
In these numerous battles, according to the myths of Ancient Greece, the gods, led by Zeus, won. After the victory, they shared power and went to live on the sacred Mount Olympus.
Rice. 1. Statue of Zeus on the island of Poseidon.
Rice. 2. Apollo.
The religion of ancient Greece did not carry symbols of immortality, the gods, like people, had completely human features: they fell in love, suffered, were capable of mercy or betrayal. In the view of the ancient Greeks, the gods conquered the world from the elements, made this world a better place and became its patrons and protectors.
All Olympian gods and goddesses led a joyful life, indulging in intrigues and passions. Each of the gods was powerful in its own way, so strife very often ended in compromise.
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The elder gods had children, this generation was more numerous than the previous one, some of them:
Rice. 3. Colossus of Rhodes.
According to the religion of ancient Greece, you can recreate a picture of the life of the ancient Greeks.
The following table provides a brief list and description of the gods of Ancient Greece:
god name |
What was managed |
Characteristic |
Sky, lightning and thunder |
He was the first of the gods to invest in people the concepts of honesty, conscience and shame. Possessed a punishing power. |
|
Poseidon |
Seas and oceans |
Depicted with an angry face. He did not tolerate objections, did not endure insults. |
Underworld of the dead |
Often portrayed as generous and hospitable. |
|
hearth |
Jealous and power-hungry Hera severely punishes for adultery. |
|
Artemis |
He loves animals, although he patronizes hunting. |
|
He patronizes blacksmithing, made lightning for Zeus himself, because he himself was an unsurpassed master blacksmith. |
||
Vegetation |
He patronized theaters, winemaking and dancing. |
|
justice |
She was the first prophet. Convoked the council of the gods of Olympus. She was considered the most impartial and fair judge. |
The veneration of the god Dionysus, which came from the north of the Balkans, developed separately from the rest of polytheism. Over time, this worship became monotheistic (monotheism is one god). It is generally accepted by historians that the worship of Dionysus was the first harbinger of the formation of the Christian religion.
The religion of Ancient Greece, which is studied in grade 5, unlike other religions, endowed the gods with human features, which brought them closer to people and allowed contemporaries to better know the life of the ancient Greeks. In addition, although the Greeks believed in an afterlife, this did not serve as the basis for worshiping the gods for them.
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Each of the peoples of the Ancient World had their own deities, powerful and not very powerful. Many of them had unusual abilities and were the owners of miraculous artifacts that gave them additional strength, knowledge and, ultimately, power.
Country: Japan
Essence: Goddess of the Sun, ruler of the heavenly fields
Amaterasu is the eldest of the three children of the progenitor god Izanaki. She was born from the drops of water with which he washed his left eye. She took possession of the upper heavenly world, while her younger brothers got the night and the watery kingdom.
Amaterasu taught people how to cultivate rice and weave. The imperial house of Japan traces its lineage from her. She is considered the great-grandmother of the first Emperor Jimmu. The rice ear, mirror, sword and carved beads presented to her became sacred symbols of imperial power. By tradition, one of the emperor's daughters becomes the high priestess of Amaterasu.
Country: China
Essence: Supreme Lord, Emperor of the Universe
Yu-Di was born at the moment of the creation of the Earth and the Sky. He is subject to both the Heavenly, and the Ground, and the Underworld. All other deities and spirits are subordinate to him.
Yu-Di is absolutely impassive. He sits on a throne in a robe embroidered with dragons with a jade tablet in his hands. Yu Di has the exact address: the god lives in a palace on Mount Yujingshan, which resembles the court of Chinese emperors. Under it, heavenly councils function, which are responsible for various natural phenomena. They perform all sorts of actions, to which the lord of heaven himself does not condescend.
Country: Central America
Essence: Creator of the world, lord of the elements, creator and teacher of people
Quetzalcoatl not only created the world and people, but also taught them the most important skills: from agriculture to astronomical observations. Despite his high status, Quetzalcoatl sometimes acted in a very peculiar way. For example, in order to get maize grains for people, he entered the anthill, turning himself into an ant, and stole them.
Quetzalcoatl was depicted both as a serpent covered with feathers (the body symbolized the Earth, and feathers - vegetation), and as a bearded man in a mask.
According to one legend, Quetzalcoatl voluntarily went into overseas exile on a raft of snakes, promising to return. Because of this, the Aztecs initially mistook the leader of the conquistadors, Cortes, for the returned Quetzalcoatl.
Country: Middle East
Essence: Thunderer, god of rain and elements. In some myths - the creator of the world
Baal, as a rule, was depicted either in the form of a bull, or a warrior jumping on a cloud with a lightning spear. During the festivities in his honor, mass orgies took place, often accompanied by self-mutilation. It is believed that human sacrifices were made to Baal in some areas. From his name came the name of the biblical demon Beelzebub (Ball-Zebula, "Lord of the Flies").
Country: Middle East
Essence: Goddess of fertility, sex and war
Ishtar, sister of the Sun and daughter of the Moon, was associated with the planet Venus. The legend of her journey to the underworld was associated with the myth of annually dying and resurrecting nature. Often she acted as an intercessor of people before the gods. At the same time, Ishtar was responsible for various feuds. The Sumerians even called the wars "the dances of Inanna." As a goddess of war, she was often depicted as riding a lion, and probably became the prototype of the Babylonian harlot sitting on a beast.
The passion of the loving Ishtar was fatal for both the gods and mortals. For her many lovers, everything usually ended in big trouble or even death. The worship of Ishtar included temple prostitution and was accompanied by mass orgies.
Country: Assyria
Essence: God of War
Ashur - the main god of the Assyrians, the god of war and hunting. His weapon was a bow and arrows. As a rule, Ashur was depicted with bulls. Another of his symbols is the solar disk above the tree of life. Over time, when the Assyrians expanded their possessions, he began to be considered the spouse of Ishtar. The Assyrian king himself was the high priest of Ashur, and his name often became part of the royal name, as, for example, the famous Ashurbanipal, and the capital of Assyria was called Ashur.
Country: Mesopotamia
Essence: Patron of Babylon, god of wisdom, lord and judge of the gods
Marduk defeated the embodiment of chaos Tiamat, driving the "evil wind" into her mouth, and took possession of the book of fate that belonged to her. After that, he cut the body of Tiamat and created Heaven and Earth from them, and then created the entire modern, ordered world. Other gods, seeing the power of Marduk, recognized his supremacy.
The symbol of Marduk is the dragon Mushkhush, a mixture of a scorpion, a snake, an eagle and a lion. Various plants and animals were identified with the body parts and entrails of Marduk. The main temple of Marduk - a huge ziggurat (step pyramid) became, probably, the basis of the legend of the Tower of Babel.
Country: Middle East
Essence: The only tribal god of the Jews
The main function of Yahweh was to help the chosen people. He gave laws to the Jews and strictly enforced them. In clashes with enemies, Yahweh provided assistance to the chosen people, sometimes the most direct. In one of the battles, for example, he threw huge stones at the enemies, in another case, he canceled the law of nature by stopping the sun.
Unlike most other gods of the ancient world, Yahweh is extremely jealous and forbids worshiping any deity other than himself. Severe punishment awaits the disobedient. The word "Yahweh" is a substitute for the secret name of God, which is forbidden to be spoken aloud. It was impossible to create his images. In Christianity, Yahweh is sometimes identified with God the Father.
Country: Persia
Essence: Creator of the World and all the good that is in it
Ahura Mazda created the laws by which the world exists. He endowed people with free will, and they can choose the path of good (then Ahura Mazda will favor them in every possible way) or the path of evil (serving the eternal enemy of Ahura Mazda Angra Mainyu). Ahura Mazda's helpers are the good beings of Ahura created by him. He stays in their environment in the fabulous Garodman, the house of chants.
The image of Ahura Mazda is the Sun. He is older than the whole world, but at the same time, forever young. He knows both the past and the future. In the end, he will win the final victory over evil, and the world will be perfect.
Country: Persia
Essence: The embodiment of evil among the ancient Persians
Angra Mainyu is the source of everything bad that happens in the world. He spoiled the perfect world created by Ahura Mazda, introducing lies and destruction into it. He sends diseases, crop failures, natural disasters, gives rise to predatory animals, poisonous plants and animals. Under the leadership of Angra Mainyu are the devas, evil spirits that fulfill his evil will. After Angra Mainyu and his henchmen are defeated, an era of eternal bliss must come.
Country: India
Essence: God is the creator of the world
Brahma was born from a lotus flower and then created this world. After 100 years of Brahma, 311,040,000,000,000 Earth years, he will die, and after the same period of time, a new Brahma will spontaneously arise and create a new world.
Brahma has four faces and four arms, which symbolizes the cardinal directions. His indispensable attributes are a book, a rosary, a vessel with water from the sacred Ganges, a crown and a lotus flower, symbols of knowledge and power. Brahma lives on the top of the sacred mountain Meru, moves on a white swan. The description of the operation of the Brahma weapon Brahmastra is reminiscent of the description of a nuclear weapon.
Country: India
Essence: God is the guardian of the world
The main functions of Vishnu are the maintenance of the existing world and opposition to evil. Vishnu manifests in the world and acts through his incarnations, avatars, the most famous of which are Krishna and Rama. Vishnu has blue skin and wears yellow clothes. He has four arms in which he holds a lotus flower, mace, conch and Sudarshana (a spinning fiery disc, his weapon). Vishnu reclines on the giant many-headed serpent Shesha, which swims in the world Causal Ocean.
Country: India
Essence: God is the destroyer
The main task of Shiva is the destruction of the world at the end of each world cycle in order to make room for a new creation. This happens during the dance of Shiva - Tandava (therefore, Shiva is sometimes called the dancing god). However, he also has more peaceful functions - a healer and deliverer from death.
Shiva sits in a lotus position on a tiger skin. There are snake bracelets around his neck and wrists. Shiva has a third eye on his forehead (it appeared when Shiva's wife, Parvati, jokingly covered his eyes with her palms). Sometimes Shiva is depicted as a lingam (an erect penis). But sometimes he is also depicted as a hermaphrodite, symbolizing the unity of the male and female principles. According to popular beliefs, Shiva smokes marijuana, so some believers consider this activity a way of knowing him.
Country: Egypt
Essence: God of the Sun
Ra, the main god of Ancient Egypt, was born from the primary ocean of his own free will, and then created the world, including the gods. He is the personification of the Sun, and daily, with a numerous retinue, passes through the sky in a magical boat, thanks to which life in Egypt becomes possible. At night, the boat of Ra sails along the underground Nile through the afterlife. The Eye of Ra (sometimes considered an independent deity) had the ability to pacify and subdue enemies. The Egyptian pharaohs were descended from Ra, and called themselves his sons.
Country: Egypt
Essence: God of rebirth, lord and judge of the underworld.
Osiris taught people about agriculture. His attributes are associated with plants: the crown and boat are made of papyrus, in his hands are bundles of reeds, and the throne is twined with greenery. Osiris was killed and cut to pieces by his brother, the evil god Seth, but was resurrected with the help of his wife and sister Isis. However, having conceived the son of Horus, Osiris did not remain in the world of the living, but became the lord and judge of the kingdom of the dead. Because of this, he was often depicted as a swaddled mummy with free hands, in which he holds a scepter and a flail. In ancient Egypt, the tomb of Osiris enjoyed great reverence.
Country: Egypt
Essence: Goddess intercessor.
Isis is the embodiment of femininity and motherhood. With pleas for help, all segments of the population turned to her, but, first of all, the oppressed. She especially patronized children. And sometimes she also acted as a defender of the dead before the afterlife court.
Isis was able to magically resurrect her husband and brother Osiris and give birth to his son Horus. The floods of the Nile in folk mythology were considered the tears of Isis, which she sheds about Osiris, who remained in the world of the dead. The Egyptian pharaohs were called children of Isis; sometimes she was even depicted as a mother feeding the pharaoh with milk from her breast.
The image of the "veil of Isis" is known, meaning the concealment of the secrets of nature. This image has long attracted mystics. No wonder the famous book by Blavatsky is called Isis Unveiled.
Country: Northern Europe
Essence: God of war and victory
Odin is the main god of the ancient Germans and Scandinavians. He travels on the eight-legged horse Sleipnir or on the ship Skidbladnir, the size of which can be arbitrarily changed. Odin's spear, Gugnir, always flies to the target and hits on the spot. He is accompanied by wise crows and predatory wolves. One lives in Valhalla with a retinue of the best fallen warriors and warlike Valkyrie maidens.
In order to gain wisdom, Odin sacrificed one eye, and for the sake of comprehending the meaning of the runes, he hung for nine days on the sacred tree Yggdrasil, nailed to it with his own spear. The future of Odin is predetermined: despite his power, on the day of Ragnarök (the battle preceding the end of the world), he will be killed by the giant wolf Fefnir.
Country: Northern Europe
Essence: Thunderbolt
Thor is the god of the elements and fertility among the ancient Germans and Scandinavians. This is a god-bogatyr who protects not only people, but also other gods from monsters. Thor was portrayed as a giant with a red beard. His weapon is the magic hammer Mjolnir ("lightning"), which can only be held in iron gauntlets. Thor girds himself with a magical belt that doubles his strength. He rides across the sky in a goat-drawn chariot. Sometimes he eats goats, but then resurrects them with his magic hammer. On the day of Ragnarok, the last battle, Thor will deal with the world serpent Jörmungandr, but he himself will die from his poison.
We offer a list of the most famous ancient Greek gods with brief descriptions and links to full articles with illustrations.
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 of 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 impact it had on later civilizations.
The settlement of the Balkans by Indo-European tribes - the ancestors of the Greeks - took place in several stages. The founders were the first wave of immigrants Mycenaean civilization, which is known to us from archaeological data and Linear B.
Initially, the higher powers in the view 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 changed. This happened due to contacts with the local population and events that had a strong 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).
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 Minoans were not Greeks. They, judging by the data of archeology, originated from prehistoric Asia Minor since the Neolithic. During their life in Crete, they formed common culture, language (it is not completely deciphered) and religious ideas based on the maternal cult (the name of the Great Goddess has not come down to us) and bull worship.
The state that existed in Crete did not survive the crisis of the Bronze Age. Climate change in 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 Thera led to a protracted economic crisis from which the Minoan civilization never recovered.
Nevertheless, the religion of the Minoans had a strong influence on that of the Greeks who moved here. The island has firmly entered 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.
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 the Minoan, which, in turn, was the development of old hieroglyphic signs. At first, immigrants 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.
By its structure, the letter was syllabic. Therefore, the names of the gods below will be given in this version.
It is not known to what extent these deities were personified. The priestly layer 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 versions - 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 - to recall at least the Iranian devas.
In this era, ideas about the creation of the world from Mist and Chaos, which gave rise to heaven (Uranus) and earth (Gaia), as well as darkness, the abyss, love, and night, also disappear. In the later beliefs of some developed cults of these gods and titans we do not see - all the stories with them have been preserved in the form of myths about the universe.
It should be noted that a number of areas of the life of the ancient Greeks, which we attribute to them, are not Greek in origin. This also applies to the cults that "control" these realms. 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, inhabitants of the Cyclades and Anatolians.
Definitely, the pre-Greek manifestations of the cult should include the personification of the sea as an element and concepts related to 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. Thus, 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. Achaeans were people from the continent and did not cultivate the olive, nor did they possess the art of navigation.
Following the Mycenaean period, the decline of civilization follows, which is associated with the invasion of the northern Greek tribes - the Dorians. After this comes the period of the Dark Ages - as it was called due to the lack of written sources in Greek dating from that period. When the new Greek script appeared, it had nothing to do with Linear B, but originated independently from Phoenician alphabet.
But at that time, the mythological ideas of the Greeks were 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.
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.
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. However, 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. Of the most famous titans can be noted such as:
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. Due to this duplication of functions, it is often difficult to give a "scandal" short definition of a Greek god. So, 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 vary by different authors. But we will tell about the most influential of them.
Imagine the Olympian gods in the following table:
Greek name | Accepted in the literature | What patronizes | Parents | Who is Zeus |
Ζεύς | Zeus | thunder and lightning, supreme god | Kronos and Rhea | |
Ἥρα | Hera | marriage and family | Kronos and Rhea | sister and wife |
Ποσειδῶν | Poseidon | chief sea god | Kronos and Rhea | brother |
Ἀΐδης | Hades | patron of the realm of the dead | Kronos and Rhea | brother |
Δημήτηρ | Demeter | agriculture and fertility | Kronos and Rhea | sister |
Ἑστία | Hestia | hearth and sacred fire | Kronos and Rhea | sister |
Ἀθηνᾶ | Athena | wisdom, truth, military strategy, science, craft, cities | Zeus and the Titanides Metis | daughter |
Περσεφόνη | Persephone | wife of Hades, patroness of spring | Zeus and Demeter | daughter |
Ἀφροδίτη | Aphrodite | love and beauty | Uranus (more precisely, the sea foam that formed after Kronos castrated Uranus and threw the cut into the sea) | aunt |
Ἥφαιστος | Hephaestus | blacksmithing, construction, invention | Zeus and Hera | a son |
Ἀπόλλων | Apollo | light, art, medicine | Zeus and Titanide Leto | a son |
Ἄρης | Ares | war | Zeus and Hera | a son |
Ἄρτεμις | Artemis | hunting, fertility, chastity | Zeus and Leto, sister of Apollo | daughter |
Διόνυσος | Dionysus | viticulture, winemaking, religious ecstasy | Zeus and Semele (mortal woman) | daughter |
Ἑρμῆς | Hermes | dexterity, theft, trade | Zeus and the nymph Maya | a son |
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 Olympic gods had the most developed cults. Statues were erected for them, temples were built, holidays were held in their honor.
The Olympus mountain range in Thessaly, the highest in Greece, was considered the habitat of the Olympic gods.
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 of their allocated function. Here are some of them:
This is a separate category of revered objects of Greek mythology. They are the heroes of myths and are people of semi-divine origin. They have superpowers, but, like humans, they are mortal. Heroes are the favorite characters of drawings on ancient Greek vases.
Of all the heroes of immortality, only Asclepius, Hercules and Polydeuces were awarded. The first was elevated to the rank of gods for having surpassed everyone in the art of healing and gave his knowledge to people. Hercules, according to one version, received immortality due to the fact that he drank the milk of Hera, with whom he later quarreled. According to another, it was the result of an agreement on ten feats (as a result, he performed twelve).
Polydeuces and Castor (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.
Of the other heroes, it should be noted such as:
In addition to the gods, titans and heroes in the beliefs of the Greeks, there were entities of a smaller order, representing some place or element. So, the winds had their own name (for example, Boreas is the patron of the north wind, and Noth is the patron of the south) and sea elements, and rivers, streams, islands and other natural objects were dominated by the nymphs who lived there.
They appear regularly in myths and poems. Here are some of them:
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 field of activity, and secondly, they argued between themselves and people, and the victory was far from always on the side of the first. 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 the attitude towards the gods: they could not be angry and proud of victories over them.
An illustration of the latter was the fate of Ajax, who escaped the wrath of Poseidon, but the latter nevertheless caught up with him and broke the rock to which he clung. And also symbolic is the 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 Moira, weaving the thread of fate to every mortal and immortal. This image comes from the Indo-European past and is identical to the Slavic Rozhanitsy and the German Norns. Among the Romans, fate is represented by Fatum.
Their origin is lost, in ancient times there were different 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 rules 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 set the stage for the spread of Christianity later.
The Roman Republic, and then the empire, swallowed up Greece quite early, in the 2nd century BC. But Greece not only escaped 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 the very possession of Greek was considered a sign of an educated person.
The dominance of Greek mythology was also inevitable - it was closely intertwined with the Roman one, and the Roman one became, as it were, its continuation. The Roman gods, which had their own history and features of the cult, became analogues of the Greek ones. So, Zeus became an analogue of Jupiter, Hera - Juno, and Athena - Minerva. Here are some more gods:
Mythology was also brought under the Greek models. So, the original god of love in Greek mythology (more precisely, the personification of love itself) was Eros - among the Romans, Amur corresponded to him. 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 goes for other mythical characters.
The last followers of the cult of the ancient Greek gods lived in Byzantium as early as the first millennium of our era. They were called Hellenes (from the word Hellas) as opposed to Christians who considered themselves Romans (heirs of the Roman Empire). In the 10th century, Greek polytheism was finally eradicated.
But the myths and legends of Ancient Greece did not die. They became the basis of many folklore plots of the Middle Ages, and in countries completely distant from each other: for example, the plot about Cupid and Psyche became the basis of the fairy tale about the beauty and the beast, presented in the Russian corpus as "The Scarlet Flower". In medieval books, pictures with plots from the mythology of the Greeks are not uncommon - from European to Russian (in any case, they are in the Facial Code 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" is attributed to pre-Christian times, and although at that time the Celts lived on the territory of the British Isles and Roman garrisons stood, it is Greek ones who are mentioned as gods.
Finally, Greek mythology became a source of plots for the works of artists, and for a long time it was the plot from Greek mythology (or, alternatively, the Bible) that should have been the subject of the examination canvas at the graduation from the Academy of Arts in the Russian Empire. The future members of the association of the Wanderers who violated this tradition became famous.
The names of the Greek gods and their Roman counterparts are called celestial bodies, new types of microscopic creatures, and some concepts have firmly entered the lexicon of citizens far from Greek mythology. So, 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 an accent on the second syllable), and the vulnerable spot is called the Achilles' heel by those who do not know who Achilles is.
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