Ancient myths and legends of Greece. Myths about the ancient gods of Greece

Greek mythology gave the world the most interesting and instructive stories, fascinating stories and adventures. The narrative immerses us in a fairy-tale world, where you can meet heroes and gods, terrible monsters and unusual animals. The myths of Ancient Greece, written many centuries ago, are currently the greatest cultural heritage of all mankind.

What are myths

Mythology is an amazing separate world in which people confronted the deities of Olympus, fought for honor and resisted evil and destruction.

However, it is worth remembering that myths are works created exclusively by people using imagination and fiction. These are stories about gods, heroes and exploits, unusual natural phenomena and mysterious creatures.

The origin of legends is no different from the origin of folk tales and legends. The Greeks invented and retold unusual stories that mixed truth and fiction.

It is possible that there was some truth in the stories - a real-life incident or example could have been taken as a basis.

The source of the myths of Ancient Greece

How do modern people know myths and their plots for certain? It turns out that Greek mythology was preserved on the tablets of the Aegean culture. They were written in Linear B, which was only deciphered in the 20th century.

The Cretan-Mycenaean period, to which this type of writing belongs, knew most of the gods: Zeus, Athena, Dionysus, and so on. However, due to the decline of civilization and the emergence of ancient Greek mythology, mythology could have its gaps: we know it only from the most recent sources.

Various plots of the myths of Ancient Greece were often used by writers of that time. And before the advent of the Hellenistic era, it became popular to create your own legends based on them.

The largest and most famous sources are:

1. Homer, Iliad, Odyssey
2. Hesiod "Theogony"
3. Pseudo-Apollodorus, "Library"
4. Gigin, "Myths"
5. Ovid, "Metamorphoses"
6. Nonnus, "The Acts of Dionysus"

Karl Marx believed that the mythology of Greece was a vast repository of art, and also created the basis for it, thus performing a double function.

Ancient Greek mythology

Myths did not appear overnight: they took shape over several centuries and were passed on from mouth to mouth. Thanks to the poetry of Hesiod and Homer, the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, we can become familiar with stories in the present day.

Each story has value, preserving the atmosphere of antiquity. Specially trained people - mythographers - began to appear in Greece in the 4th century BC.

These include the sophist Hippias, Herodotus of Heraclea, Heraclitus of Pontus and others. Dionysius of Samois, in particular, was involved in compiling genealogical tables and studying tragic myths.

There are many myths, but the most popular are the stories associated with Olympus and its inhabitants.

However, the complex hierarchy and history of the origin of the gods can confuse any reader, and therefore we propose to understand this in detail!

With the help of myths, it becomes possible to recreate the picture of the world as imagined by the inhabitants of Ancient Greece: the world is inhabited by monsters and giants, including giants, one-eyed creatures and Titans.

Origin of the Gods

Eternal, boundless Chaos enveloped the Earth. It contained the world's source of life.

It was believed that it was Chaos that gave birth to everything around: the world, the immortal gods, the goddess of the Earth Gaia, who gave life to everything growing and living, and the powerful force that animates everything - Love.

However, a birth also took place under the Earth: the gloomy Tartarus was born - an abyss of horror filled with eternal darkness.

In the process of creating the world, Chaos gave birth to the Eternal Darkness, called Erebus, and the dark Night, called Nikta. As a result of the union of Nyx and Erebus, Ether was born - the eternal Light and Hemera - the bright Day. Thanks to their appearance, light filled the whole world, and day and night began to replace each other.

Gaia, a powerful and blessed goddess, created the vast blue Sky - Uranus. Spread over the Earth, it reigned throughout the world. The High Mountains proudly stretched towards him, and the roaring Sea spread across the entire Earth.

Goddess Gaia and her titan children

After Mother Earth created the Sky, Mountains and Sea, Uranus decided to take Gaia as his wife. From the divine union there were 6 sons and 6 daughters.

The Titan Ocean and the goddess Thetis created all the rivers that rolled their waters to the sea, and the goddesses of the seas, called Oceanids. Titan Hipperion and Theia gave the world Helios - the Sun, Selene - the Moon and Eos - the Dawn. Astraea and Eos gave birth to all the stars and all the winds: Boreas - northern, Eurus - eastern, Noth - southern, Zephyr - western.

The overthrow of Uranus - the beginning of a new era

The goddess Gaia - the mighty Earth - gave birth to 6 more sons: 3 Cyclopes - giants with one eye in their forehead, and 3 fifty-headed, hundred-armed monsters called Hecantocheirs. They possessed limitless power that knew no limits.

Struck by the ugliness of his giant children, Uranus renounced them and ordered them to be imprisoned in the bowels of the Earth. Gaia, being a Mother, suffered, weighed down by a terrible burden: after all, her own children were imprisoned in her bowels. Unable to bear it, Gaia called on her titan children, persuading them to rebel against their father, Uranus.

Battle of the gods with the titans

Being great and powerful, the titans were still afraid of their father. And only Kronos, the youngest and treacherous, accepted his mother’s offer. Having outwitted Uranus, he overthrew him, seizing power.

As punishment for the act of Kronos, the goddess Night gave birth to death (Tanat), discord (Eris), deception (Apata),

Kronos devouring his child

destruction (Ker), nightmare (Hypnos) and vengeance (Nemesis) and other terrible gods. All of them brought horror, discord, deception, struggle and misfortune into the world of Kronos.

Despite his cunning, Kronos was afraid. His fear was based on personal experience: after all, his children could overthrow him, as he once overthrew Uranus, his father.

Fearing for his life, Kronos ordered his wife Rhea to bring him their children. To Rhea's horror, 5 of them were eaten: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon.

Zeus and his reign

Heeding the advice of her father Uranus and mother Gaia, Rhea fled to the island of Crete. There, in a deep cave, she gave birth to her youngest son, Zeus.

By hiding the newborn in it, Rhea deceived the tough Kronos by allowing him to swallow a long stone, wrapped in swaddling clothes, instead of her son.

As time went. Kronos did not understand his wife's deception. Zeus grew up while in Crete. His nannies were the nymphs Adrastea and Idea; instead of his mother’s milk, he was fed with the milk of the divine goat Amalthea, and hardworking bees brought honey to baby Zeus from Mount Dikta.

If Zeus began to cry, the young Kuretes standing at the entrance to the cave struck their shields with their swords. Loud sounds drowned out the crying so that Kronos wouldn't hear it.

The myth of the birth of Zeus: feeding the milk of the divine goat Amalthea

Zeus has grown up. Having defeated Kronos in battle with the help of the Titans and Cyclops, he became the supreme deity of the Olympian Pantheon. The Lord of the heavenly powers commanded thunder, lightning, clouds and downpours. He dominated the Universe, giving people laws and maintaining order.

Views of the Ancient Greeks

The Hellenes believed that the gods of Olympus were similar to people, and the relationships between them were comparable to human ones. Their lives were also filled with quarrels and reconciliations, envy and interference, resentment and forgiveness, joy, fun and love.

In the ideas of the ancient Greeks, each deity had its own occupation and sphere of influence:

• Zeus - lord of the sky, father of gods and people
• Hera - wife of Zeus, patroness of the family
• Poseidon - sea
• Hestia - family hearth
• Demeter – agriculture
• Apollo – light and music
• Athena - wisdom
• Hermes - trade and messenger of the gods
• Hephaestus - fire
• Aphrodite - beauty
• Ares - war
• Artemis - hunting

From the earth, people each turned to their god, according to their purpose. Temples were built everywhere to appease them, and gifts were offered instead of sacrifices.

In Greek mythology, not only Chaos, the Titans and the Olympian Pantheon were important, there were other gods as well.

• Nymphs Naiads who lived in streams and rivers
• Nereids - nymphs of the seas
• Dryads and Satyrs - nymphs of the forests
• Echo - nymph of the mountains
• Fate Goddesses: Lachesis, Clotho and Atropos.

Ancient Greece gave us a rich world of myths. It is filled with deep meaning and instructive stories. Thanks to them, people can learn ancient wisdom and knowledge.

It’s impossible to count how many different legends exist at the moment. But believe me, every person should familiarize themselves with them by spending time with Apollo, Hephaestus, Hercules, Narcissus, Poseidon and others. Welcome to the ancient world of the ancient Greeks!

Gods of Ancient Greece and Rome

Wikipedia

The Olympic gods (Olympians) in ancient Greek mythology are the gods of the third generation (after the original gods and titans - the gods of the first and second generations), the highest beings who lived on Mount Olympus.

Traditionally, the Olympic gods included twelve gods. The lists of Olympians do not always match.

The Olympians included the children of Kronos and Rhea:

* Zeus is the supreme god, the god of lightning and thunderstorms.
* Hera is the patroness of marriage.
* Demeter is the goddess of fertility and agriculture.
* Hestia - goddess of the hearth
* Poseidon is the god of the sea elements.
* Hades is a god, ruler of the kingdom of the dead.

And also their descendants:

* Hephaestus is the god of fire and blacksmithing.
* Hermes is the god of trade, cunning, speed and theft.
* Ares is the god of war.
* Aphrodite - goddess of beauty and love.
* Athena is the goddess of just war.
* Apollo is the guardian of herds, light, sciences and arts. God is also a healer and patron of oracles.
* Artemis is the goddess of hunting, fertility, patroness of all life on Earth.
* Dionysus is the god of winemaking, the productive forces of nature.

Roman variants

The Olympians included the children of Saturn and Cybele:

* Jupiter,
* Juno,
* Ceres,
* Vesta,
* Neptune,
* Pluto

And also their descendants:

* Vulcan,
* Mercury,
* Mars,
* Venus,
* Minerva,
* Phoebus,
* Diana,
* Bacchus

Sources

The oldest state of Greek mythology is known from the tablets of the Aegean culture, recorded in Linear B. This period is characterized by a small number of gods, many of them are named allegorically, a number of names have female analogues (for example, di-wi-o-jo - Diwijos, Zeus and the female analogue of di-wi-o-ja). Already in the Cretan-Mycenaean period, Zeus, Athena, Dionysus and a number of others were known, although their hierarchy could differ from the later one.

The mythology of the “dark ages” (between the decline of the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization and the emergence of ancient Greek civilization) is known only from later sources.

Various plots of ancient Greek myths constantly appear in the works of ancient Greek writers; On the eve of the Hellenistic era, a tradition arose to create their own allegorical myths based on them. In Greek drama, many mythological plots are played out and developed. The largest sources are:

* Homer's Iliad and Odyssey
* “Theogony” by Hesiod
* "Library" of Pseudo-Apollodorus
* “Myths” by Guy Julia Gigin
* "Metamorphoses" by Ovid
* "The Acts of Dionysus" - Nonna

Some ancient Greek authors tried to explain myths from a rationalistic point of view. Euhemerus wrote about the gods as people whose actions were deified. Palefat, in his essay “On the Incredible,” analyzing the events described in myths, assumed them to be the result of misunderstanding or addition of details.

Origin

The most ancient gods of the Greek pantheon are closely connected with the pan-Indo-European system of religious beliefs, there are parallels in the names - for example, the Indian Varuna corresponds to the Greek Uranus, etc.

Further development of mythology went in several directions:

* accession to the Greek pantheon of some deities of neighboring or conquered peoples
* deification of some heroes; heroic myths begin to merge closely with mythology

The famous Romanian-American researcher of the history of religion, Mircea Eliade, gives the following periodization of ancient Greek religion:

* 30 - 15 centuries. BC e. - Cretan-Minoan religion.
* 15th – 11th centuries BC e. - archaic ancient Greek religion.
* 11th - 6th centuries. BC e. - Olympic religion.
* 6th - 4th centuries. BC e. - philosophical-Orphic religion (Orpheus, Pythagoras, Plato).
* 3rd - 1st centuries BC e. - religion of the Hellenistic era.

Zeus, according to legend, was born in Crete, and Minos, after whom the Cretan-Minoan civilization is named, was considered his son. However, the mythology that we know, and which the Romans later adopted, is organically connected with the Greek people. We can talk about the emergence of this nation with the arrival of the first wave of Achaean tribes at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. In 1850 BC. e. Athens, named after the goddess Athena, had already been built. If we accept these considerations, then the religion of the ancient Greeks arose somewhere around 2000 BC. e.

Religious beliefs of the ancient Greeks

Main article: Ancient Greek religion

Olympus (Nikolai Apollonovich Maikov)

The religious ideas and religious life of the ancient Greeks were in close connection with their entire historical life. Already in the most ancient monuments of Greek creativity, the anthropomorphic nature of Greek polytheism is clearly evident, explained by the national characteristics of the entire cultural development in this area; concrete representations, generally speaking, prevail over abstract ones, just as in quantitative terms humanoid gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines prevail over deities of abstract meaning (who, in turn, receive anthropomorphic features). In this or that cult, different writers or artists associate different general or mythological (and mythographic) ideas with this or that deity.
We know different combinations, hierarchies of the genealogy of divine beings - “Olympus”, various systems of “twelve gods” (for example, in Athens - Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Athena, Ares, Aphrodite, Hermes). Such connections are explained not only from the creative moment, but also from the conditions of the historical life of the Hellenes; in Greek polytheism one can also trace later layers (eastern elements; deification - even during life). In the general religious consciousness of the Hellenes, there apparently did not exist any specific generally accepted dogma. The diversity of religious ideas was also expressed in the diversity of cults, the external environment of which is now becoming increasingly clear thanks to archaeological excavations and finds. We find out which gods or heroes were worshiped where, and where which one was worshiped predominantly (for example, Zeus - in Dodona and Olympia, Apollo - in Delphi and Delos, Athena - in Athens, Hera in Samos, Asclepius - in Epidaurus); we know shrines revered by all (or many) Hellenes, like the Delphic or Dodonian oracle or the Delian shrine; We know large and small amphictyony (cult communities).
One can distinguish between public and private cults. The all-consuming importance of the state also affected the religious sphere. The ancient world, generally speaking, knew neither the internal church as a kingdom not of this world, nor the church as a state within a state: “church” and “state” were concepts in it that absorbed or conditioned each other, and, for example, the priest was the one or state magistrate.
This rule could not, however, be carried out with unconditional consistency everywhere; practice caused particular deviations and created certain combinations. If a well-known deity was considered the main deity of a certain state, then the state sometimes recognized (as in Athens) some other cults; Along with these national cults, there were also individual cults of state divisions (for example, the Athenian demes), and cults of private significance (for example, household or family), as well as cults of private societies or individuals.
Since the state principle prevailed (which did not triumph everywhere at the same time and equally), every citizen was obliged, in addition to his private deities, to honor the gods of his “civil community” (changes were brought by the Hellenistic era, which generally contributed to the process of leveling). This veneration was expressed in a purely external way - through feasible participation in certain rituals and celebrations performed on behalf of the state (or state division) - participation to which in other cases the non-civilian population of the community was invited; both citizens and non-citizens were given the opportunity to seek satisfaction of their religious needs, as they could, wanted and were able. One must think that in general the veneration of the gods was external; the internal religious consciousness was naive, and among the masses superstition did not decrease, but grew (especially at a later time, when it found food for itself coming from the East); But in an educated society, an educational movement began early, timid at first, then more and more energetic, with one end (negative) touching the masses; religiosity weakened little in general (and sometimes even - albeit painfully - rose), but religion, that is, old ideas and cults, gradually - especially as Christianity spread - lost both its meaning and its content. This is approximately, in general, the internal and external history of the Greek religion during the time available for deeper study.
In the foggy area of ​​the original, primordial Greek religion, scientific work has outlined only a few general points, although they are usually posed with excessive harshness and extremes. Already ancient philosophy bequeathed a threefold allegorical explanation of myths: psychological (or ethical), historical-political (not entirely correctly called euhemerical) and physical; She explained the emergence of religion from the individual moment. A narrow theological point of view also joined here, and essentially on the same basis Kreuzer’s “Symbolik” (“Symbolik und Mythologie der alt. Volker, bes. der Griechen”, German Kreuzer, 1836) was built, as were many other systems and theories who ignored the moment of evolution.
Gradually, however, they came to the realization that the ancient Greek religion had its own complex historical origins, that the meaning of myths should be sought not behind them, but in themselves. Initially, the ancient Greek religion was considered only in itself, for fear of going beyond Homer and generally beyond the boundaries of purely Hellenic culture (this principle is still adhered to by the “Königsberg” school): hence the localistic interpretation of myths - from the physical (for example, Forkhammer, Peter Wilhelm Forchhammer) or only from a historical point of view (for example, Karl Muller, German K. O. Muller).
Some paid their main attention to the ideal content of Greek mythology, reducing it to phenomena of local nature, others - to the real, seeing traces of local (tribal, etc.) characteristics in the complexity of ancient Greek polytheism. Over time, one way or another, the original significance of eastern elements in Greek religion had to be recognized. Comparative linguistics gave rise to "comparative Indo-European mythology". This hitherto predominant direction in science was fruitful in the sense that it clearly showed the need for a comparative study of ancient Greek religion and collated extensive material for this study; but - not to mention the extreme straightforwardness of the methodological methods and the extreme haste of judgment - it was engaged not so much in the study of Greek religion using the comparative method, but in the search for its main points, dating back to the time of pan-Aryan unity (moreover, the linguistic concept of the Indo-European peoples was too sharply identified with the ethnic ). As for the main content of myths (“disease of the tongue”, according to K. Müller), it was too exclusively reduced to natural phenomena - mainly to the sun, or the moon, or thunderstorms.
The younger school of comparative mythology considers the heavenly deities to be the result of a further, artificial development of the original “folk” mythology, which knew only demons (folklorism, animism).
In Greek mythology, one cannot help but recognize later layers, especially in the entire external form of myths (as they have come down to us), although they cannot always be determined historically, just as it is not always possible to distinguish the purely religious part of myths. Beneath this shell lie general Aryan elements, but they are often as difficult to distinguish from specifically Greek elements as it is to determine the beginning of a purely Greek culture in general. It is no less difficult to determine with any accuracy the basic content of various Hellenic myths, which is undoubtedly extremely complex. Nature with its properties and phenomena played a big role here, but perhaps mainly a service one; Along with these natural historical moments, historical and ethical moments should also be recognized (since the gods generally lived no differently and no better than people).
The local and cultural division of the Hellenic world remained not without influence; The presence of oriental elements in Greek religion is also undeniable. It would be too complex and too difficult a task to explain historically, even in the most general terms, how all these moments gradually coexisted with each other; but some knowledge in this area can be achieved, based especially on experiences preserved both in the internal content and in the external environment of cults, and, moreover, taking into account, if possible, the entire ancient historical life of the Hellenes (the path in this direction was especially pointed out by Curtins in his "Studien z. Gesch. d. griech. Olymps", in "Sitzb. d. Berl. Akad.", German E. Curtins, 1890). It is significant, for example, the relation in the Greek religion of the great gods to the small, folk deities, and of the supermundane world of gods to the underground; Characteristic is the veneration of the dead, expressed in the cult of heroes; The mystical content of Greek religion is curious.
When writing this article, material was used from the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron (1890-1907).

Lists of gods, mythological creatures and heroes

Lists of gods and genealogy differ among different ancient authors. The lists below are compilative.

First generation of gods

At first there was Chaos. Gods who emerged from Chaos - Gaia (Earth), Nikta/Nyukta (Night), Tartarus (Abyss), Erebus (Darkness), Eros (Love); the gods that emerged from Gaia are Uranus (Sky) and Pontus (inner Sea).

Second generation of gods

Children of Gaia (fathers - Uranus, Pontus and Tartarus) - Keto (mistress of sea monsters), Nereus (calm sea), Taumant (sea wonders), Phorcys (guardian of the sea), Eurybia (sea power), titans and titanides. Children of Nyx and Erebus - Hemera (Day), Hypnos (Dream), Kera (Misfortune), Moira (Fate), Mom (Slander and Stupidity), Nemesis (Retribution), Thanatos (Death), Eris (Strife), Erinyes (Vengeance) ), Ether (Air); Ata (Deception).

Titans

Titans: Oceanus, Hyperion, Iapetus, Kay, Krios, Kronos.
Titanides: Tethys, Mnemosyne, Rhea, Theia, Phoebe, Themis.

Younger Generation of Titans (Children of the Titans)

* Asteria
* Summer
* Astraeus
* Persian
* Pallant
* Helios (personification of the sun)
* Selena (personification of the moon)
* Eos (personification of the dawn)
*Atlant
* Menetius
* Prometheus
* Epimetheus

Olympians

Council of the Gods (Rubens)

The composition of the pantheon has changed over the centuries, so there are more than 12 gods.

* Hades is the main god. Brother of Zeus, Rome. Pluto, Hades, Orcus, Deet. Lord of the underground kingdom of the dead. Attributes: three-headed dog Cerberus (Kerberus), pitchfork (bident). Wife - Persephone (Proserpina).
* Apollo - Greek. Phoebus. God of the sun, light and truth, patron of the arts, sciences and healing, god is a soothsayer. Attributes: laurel wreath, bow and arrows.
* Ares - Rome. Mars. God of bloodthirsty, unjust war. Attributes: helmet, sword, shield. Lover or husband of Aphrodite.
* Artemis - Rome. Diana. Goddess of the moon and hunting, patroness of women in labor. Virgin Goddess. Attributes: quiver with arrows, doe.
* Athena - Greek. Pallas; Rome. Minerva. Goddess of wisdom, just war, patroness of the cities of Athens, crafts, sciences. Attributes: owl, snake. Dressed like a warrior. On the chest there is an emblem in the form of the head of Medusa the Gorgon. Born from the head of Zeus. Virgin Goddess.
* Aphrodite - Rome. Cypris; Rome. Venus. Goddess of love and beauty. Attributes: belt, apple, mirror, dove, rose.
* Hera - Rome. Juno. Patroness of family and marriage, wife of Zeus. Attributes: cloth, tiara, ball.
* Hermes - Rome. Mercury. god of trade, eloquence, guide of the souls of the dead to the kingdom of the dead, messenger of Zeus, patron of merchants, artisans, shepherds, travelers and thieves. Attributes: winged sandals, invisibility helmet with wings, caduceus (a staff in the form of two intertwined snakes).
* Hestia - Rome. Vesta. goddess of the hearth. Attributes: torch. The goddess is a virgin.
* Hephaestus - Rome. Volcano. god of blacksmithing, patron of all artisans and fire. Chromium. Wife - Aphrodite. Attributes: pliers, blacksmith's bellows, pilos (worksman's cap).
* Demeter - rom. Ceres. goddess of agriculture and fertility. Attributes: staff in the form of a stem.
* Dionysus - Greek. Bacchus; Rome. Bacchus. god of viticulture and winemaking, agriculture. Patron of the theater. Attributes: vine wreath, cup of wine.
* Zeus is the main god. Rome. Jupiter. god of sky and thunder, head of the ancient Greek Pantheon. Attributes: one-prong, eagle, lightning.
* Poseidon is the main god. Rome. Neptune. lord of the seas. Attributes: trident, dolphin, chariot, wife - Amphitrite.

Gods and deities of the water element

* Amphitrite - goddess of the sea, wife of Poseidon
* Poseidon - god of the sea
* Tritons - retinue of Poseidon and Amphitrite
* Triton - water god, messenger of the depths, eldest son and commander of Poseidon
* Proteus - water god, messenger of the depths, son of Poseidon
* Rhoda - goddess of water, daughter of Poseidon
* Limnades - nymphs of lakes and swamps
* Naiads - nymphs of springs, springs and rivers
* Nereids - sea nymphs, sisters of Amphitriata
* Ocean - personification of the mythological world river washing the Oecumene
* River gods - gods of rivers, sons of Ocean and Tethys
* Tethys - Titanide, wife of Ocean, mother of oceanids and rivers
* Oceanids - daughters of the Ocean
* Pontus - god of the inland sea and water (son of Earth and Heaven, or son of Earth without a father)
* Eurybia - the embodiment of the sea element
* Thaumant - underwater giant, god of sea wonders
* Nereus - deity of the peaceful sea
* Forkis - guardian of the stormy sea
* Keto - goddess of the deep sea and sea monsters living in the depths of the seas

Gods and deities of the air element

* Uranus is the personification of Heaven
* Ether is the embodiment of the atmosphere; God is the personification of air and light
* Zeus - god-lord of the skies, god of thunder

Main article: Winds in ancient Greek mythology

* Aeolus - demigod, lord of the winds
* Boreas - the personification of the stormy northern wind
* Zephyr - a strong western wind, was also considered the messenger of the gods (among the Romans it began to personify a caressing, light wind)
*Not - south wind
* Eurus - east wind
* Aura - personification of light wind, air
* Nebula - cloud nymph

Gods of Death and the Underworld

* Hades - god of the underworld of the dead
* Persephone - wife of Hades, goddess of fertility and the kingdom of the dead, daughter of Demeter
* Minos - judge of the kingdom of the dead
* Rhadamanthus - judge of the kingdom of the dead
* Hecate - goddess of darkness, night visions, sorcery, all monsters and ghosts
* Kera - female demons of death
* Thanatos - the embodiment of Death
* Hypnos - god of oblivion and sleep, twin brother of Thanatos
* Onir - deity of prophetic and false dreams
* Erinyes - goddess of revenge
* Melinoe - goddess of redemptive donations for dead people, goddess of transformation and reincarnation; mistress of darkness and ghosts, who, near death, being in a state of terrible anger or horror, could not get into the kingdom of Hades, and are doomed to forever wander the world among mortals (daughter of Hades and Persephone)

Muses

* Calliope - muse of epic poetry
* Clio - the muse of history in ancient Greek mythology
* Erato - muse of love poetry
* Euterpe - muse of lyric poetry and music
* Melpomene - the muse of tragedy
* Polyhymnia - the muse of solemn hymns
* Terpsichore - the muse of dance
* Thalia is the muse of comedy and light poetry
* Urania - muse of astronomy

Cyclopes

(often “Cyclopes” - in Latin transcription)

* Arg - “lightning”
* Bront - “thunder”
* Sterop - “shine”

Hecatoncheires

* Briareus - strength
* Gies - arable land
* Kott - anger

Giants

(some of about 150)

* Agrius
* Alcyoneus
* Gration
* Clytius
* Mimanth
* Pallant
* Polybotes
* Porphyrion
*Toon
* Eurytus
* Enceladus
* Ephialtes

Other gods

* Nike - goddess of victory
* Selene - goddess of the moon
* Eros - god of love
* Hymen - god of marriage
* Iris - goddess of the rainbow
* Ata - goddess of delusion, darkness of the mind
* Apata - goddess of deception
* Adrastea - goddess of justice
* Phobos - deity of fear, son of Ares
* Deimos - god of horror, brother of Phobos
* Enyo - goddess of furious and frantic war
* Asclepius - god of healing
* Morpheus - god of dreams (poetic deity, son of Hypnos)
* Himerot - god of carnal love and amorous pleasure
* Ananke - the deity-embodiment of inevitability, necessity
* Aloe is the ancient deity of threshed grains

Non-personal gods

Non-personified gods are “many” gods according to M. Gasparov.

* Satires
* Nymphs
* Ora - three goddesses of the seasons and natural order

A brief excursion into history

Greece was not always called that way. Historians, in particular Herodotus, highlight even more ancient times in those territories that were later called Hellas - the so-called Pelasgian.

This term comes from the name of the Pelasgian tribe (“storks”) who came to the mainland from the Greek island of Lemnos. According to the historiographer’s conclusions, Hellas at that time was called Pelasgia. There were primitive beliefs in something unearthly that would save people - cults of fictitious creatures.

The Pelasgians united with a small Greek tribe and adopted their language, although they never grew from barbarians into a nationality.

Where did the Greek gods and myths about them come from?

Herodotus assumed that the Greeks adopted the names of many gods and their cults from the Pelasgians. At least, the veneration of lower deities and Kabirs - great gods who, with their unearthly power, saved the earth from troubles and dangers. The Sanctuary of Zeus in Dodona (a city near present-day Ioannina) was built much earlier than the still famous Delphic one. From those times came the famous “troika” of Kabiri - Demeter (Axieros), Persephone (Axiokersa, in Italy - Ceres) and her husband Hades (Axiokersos).

In the Pontifical Museum in the Vatican there is a marble statue of these three cabirs in the form of a triangular column by the sculptor Scopas, who lived and worked in the 4th century BC. e. At the bottom of the pillar are carved miniature images of Mithras-Helios, Aphrodite-Urania and Eros-Dionysus as symbols of the unbroken chain of mythology.

This is where the names of Hermes come from (Camilla, Latin for “servant”). In the History of Athos, Hades (Hell) is the god of the other world, and his wife Persephone gave life on earth. Artemis was called Kaleagra.

The new gods of Ancient Hellas descended from the “storks” and took away their right to reign. But they already had a human appearance, although with some exceptions remaining from zoomorphism.

The goddess, the patroness of the city named after her, was born from the brain of Zeus, the main god of the third stage. Consequently, before him, the heavens and the earth's firmament were ruled by others.

The first ruler of the earth was the god Poseidon. During the capture of Troy he was the main deity.

According to mythology, he ruled both the seas and oceans. Since Greece has a lot of island territories, the influence of Poseidon and his cult also applied to them. Poseidon was the brother of many new gods and goddesses, including such famous ones as Zeus, Hades and others.

Next, Poseidon began to look at the continental territory of Hellas, for example, Attica, a huge part south of the central mountain range of the Balkan Peninsula and to the Peloponnese. He had a reason for this: in the Balkans there was a cult of Poseidon in the form of a fertility demon. Athena wanted to deprive him of such influence.

The goddess won the dispute for the lands. The gist of it is this. One day a new alignment of the influence of the gods occurred. At the same time, Poseidon lost his right to land, and the seas were left to him. The sky was seized by the god of thunder and lightning thrower. Poseidon began to dispute the rights to certain territories. He struck the ground during a dispute on Olympus, and water flowed from there, and

Athena gave Attica an olive tree. The gods decided the dispute in favor of the goddess, believing that the trees would be more useful. The city was named after her.

Aphrodite

When the name of Aphrodite is uttered in modern times, her beauty is mainly revered. In ancient times she was the goddess of love. The cult of the goddess first arose in the colonies of Greece, its current islands, founded by the Phoenicians. Worship similar to Aphrodite was then reserved for two other goddesses - Asherah and Astarte. In the Greek pantheon of gods

Aphrodite was more suited to the mythical role of Asherah, lover of gardens, flowers, inhabitant of groves, goddess of spring awakening and voluptuousness in pleasure with Adonis.

Reincarnating as Astarte, the “goddess of heights,” Aphrodite became unapproachable, always with a spear in her hand. In this guise, she protected family loyalty and doomed her priestesses to eternal virginity.

Unfortunately, in later times the cult of Aphrodite became bifurcated, so to speak, the differences between the various Aphrodites.

Myths of Ancient Greece about the gods of Olympus

They are the most common and most cultivated in both Greece and Italy. This supreme pantheon of Mount Olympus included six gods - the children of Kronos and Hera (the Thunderer himself, Poseidon and others) and nine descendants of the god Zeus. Among them the most famous are Apollo, Athena, Aphrodite and others like them.

In the modern interpretation of the word “Olympian,” in addition to athletes participating in the Olympics, it means “calmness, self-confidence, external greatness.” And earlier there was also Olympus of the gods. But at that time, these epithets applied only to the head of the pantheon - Zeus, because he fully corresponded to them. We talked about Athena and Poseidon in detail above. Other gods of the pantheon were also mentioned - Hades, Helios, Hermes, Dionysus, Artemis, Persephone.

Heroes, myths and legends about them. Therefore, it is important to know their brief content. The legends and myths of Ancient Greece, the entire Greek culture, especially of the late period, when both philosophy and democracy were developed, had a strong influence on the formation of the entire European civilization as a whole. The mythology evolved over a long period of time. Tales and legends became famous because reciters wandered along the paths and roads of Hellas. They carried more or less long stories about the heroic past. Some gave only a brief summary.

The legends and myths of Ancient Greece gradually became familiar and beloved, and what Homer created was customary for an educated person to know by heart and be able to quote from anywhere. Greek scientists, who sought to put everything in order, began to work on the classification of myths, and turned disparate stories into an orderly series.

Main Greek gods

The very first myths are dedicated to the struggle of various gods among themselves. Some of them did not have human features - these were the offspring of the goddess Gaia-Earth and Uranus-Sky - twelve titans and six more monsters who horrified their father, and he plunged them into the abyss - Tartarus. But Gaia persuaded the remaining titans to overthrow their father.

This was done by the insidious Kronos - Time. But, having married his sister, he was afraid of the children being born and swallowed them immediately after birth: Hestia, Demeter, Poseidon, Hera, Hades. Having given birth to the last child, Zeus, the wife deceived Kronos, and he was unable to swallow the baby. And Zeus was safely hidden in Crete. This is just a summary. The legends and myths of Ancient Greece terribly describe the events taking place.

Zeus's war for power

Zeus grew up, matured and forced Kronos to return his swallowed sisters and brothers to the world. He called them to fight their cruel father. In addition, some of the titans, giants and cyclops took part in the fight. The struggle lasted ten years. The fire raged, the seas boiled, nothing was visible from the smoke. But the victory went to Zeus. The enemies were overthrown into Tartarus and taken into custody.

Gods on Olympus

Zeus, to whom the Cyclops bound lightning, became the supreme god, Poseidon controlled all the waters on earth, and Hades controlled the underground kingdom of the dead. This was already the third generation of gods, from which all the other gods and heroes descended, about whom stories and legends would begin to be told.

The ancients attributed to the cycle about Dionysus, winemaking, fertility, the patron of night mysteries, which were held in the darkest places. The mysteries were terrible and mysterious. This is how the struggle between the dark gods and the light gods began to take shape. There were no real wars, but they gradually began to give way to the bright sun god Phoebus with his rational principle, with his cult of reason, science and art.

And the irrational, ecstatic, sensual retreated. But these are two sides of the same phenomenon. And one was impossible without the other. The goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus, patronized the family.

Ares - war, Athena - wisdom, Artemis - the moon and hunting, Demeter - agriculture, Hermes - trade, Aphrodite - love and beauty.

Hephaestus - to artisans. Their relationships between themselves and people make up the legends of the Hellenes. They were fully studied in pre-revolutionary gymnasiums in Russia. Only now, when people are concerned mostly with earthly concerns, do they, if necessary, pay attention to their brief content. The legends and myths of Ancient Greece are moving further into the past.

Who was patronized by the gods

They weren't very kind to people. They often envied them or lusted after women, were jealous, and were greedy for praise and honors. That is, they were very similar to mortals, if we take their description. Tales (summary), legends and myths of Ancient Greece (Kun) describe their gods in very contradictory ways. “Nothing pleases the gods more than the collapse of human hopes,” Euripides believed. And Sophocles echoed him: “The gods most willingly help a person when he goes towards his death.”

All gods obeyed Zeus, but for people he was important as a guarantor of justice. It was when the judge judged unjustly that man turned to Zeus for help. In matters of war, only Mars dominated. Wise Athena patronized Attica.

All sailors made sacrifices to Poseidon when they went to sea. In Delphi one could ask for favors from Phoebus and Artemis.

Myths about heroes

One of the favorite myths was about Theseus, the son of King Aegeus of Athens. He was born and raised in the royal family in Troezen. When he grew up and was able to get his father's sword, he went to meet him. Along the way, he destroyed the robber Procrustes, who did not allow people to pass through his territory. When he got to his father, he learned that Athens was paying tribute to Crete with girls and boys. Together with another batch of slaves, under mourning sails, he went to the island to kill the monstrous Minotaur.

Princess Ariadne helped Theseus through the labyrinth in which the Minotaur was located. Theseus fought the monster and destroyed it.

The Greeks joyfully, freed forever from tribute, returned to their homeland. But they forgot to change the black sails. Aegeus, who did not take his eyes off the sea, saw that his son had died, and from unbearable grief he threw himself into the abyss of the waters above which his palace stood. The Athenians rejoiced that they were freed from tribute forever, but they also cried when they learned about the tragic death of Aegeus. The myth of Theseus is long and colorful. This is its summary. Legends and myths of Ancient Greece (Kun) will give a comprehensive description of it.

The epic is the second part of the book by Nikolai Albertovich Kun

The legends of the Argonauts, the voyages of Odysseus, Orestes' revenge for the death of his father, and the misadventures of Oedipus in the Theban cycle form the second half of the book that Kuhn wrote, Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece. A summary of the chapters is indicated above.

Returning from Troy to his native Ithaca, Odysseus spent many long years in dangerous wanderings. The way home through the stormy sea was difficult for him.

God Poseidon could not forgive Odysseus for the fact that, saving his life and the lives of his friends, he blinded the Cyclops and sent unheard-of storms. Along the way, they were killed by sirens, captivated by their unearthly voices and mellifluous singing.

All his companions died while traveling across the seas. All were destroyed by evil fate. Odysseus languished in captivity with the nymph Calypso for many years. He begged to be allowed to go home, but the beautiful nymph refused. Only the requests of the goddess Athena softened the heart of Zeus, he took pity on Odysseus and returned him to his family.

The legends of the Trojan cycle and the campaigns of Odysseus were created by Homer in his poems - “The Iliad” and “Odyssey”; the myths about the campaign for the Golden Fleece to the shores of Pontus Evsinsky are described in the poem of Apollonius of Rhodes. Sophocles wrote the tragedy “Oedipus the King,” and the playwright Aeschylus wrote the tragedy about the Arrest. They are given in a summary of “Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece” (Nikolai Kun).

Myths and legends about gods, titans, and numerous heroes disturb the imagination of artists of the word, brush and cinematography of our days. Standing in a museum near a painting painted on a mythological theme, or hearing the name of the beautiful Helen, it would be good to at least have a little idea of ​​what is behind this name (a huge war) and to know the details of the plot depicted on the canvas. “Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece” can help with this. A summary of the book will reveal the meaning of what you saw and heard.

The most ancient gods of Ancient Greece, known to us from myths, were personifications of those forces of nature, whose activity determines physical life and arouses in the human heart either fear and horror, or hope and trust - personifications of forces mysterious to man, but obviously dominating his fate, which were the first objects of idolization among all peoples. But the gods of Ancient Greece were not only symbols of the forces of external nature; At the same time, they were the creators and guardians of all moral goods, personifications of all the forces of moral life. All those forces of the human spirit by which cultural life is created, and the development of which among the Greek people gave it such great importance in the history of mankind, were invested by him in the myths about the gods. The gods of Greece are personifications of all the great and beautiful powers of the Greek people; the world of the gods of Ancient Greece is a complete reflection of Greek civilization. The Greeks made their gods in myths similar to people, therefore they felt obliged to become like gods; caring about improving was a religious duty for them. Greek culture has a close connection with the Greek religion.

Gods of Ancient Greece. Video

Different generations of gods of Ancient Greece

The basis of the religion of Ancient Greece in Pelasgian times was the worship of the forces of nature, manifested in heaven, on earth, and in the sea. Those gods who were the most ancient personifications of the forces of earth and sky among the pre-Greek Pelasgians were overthrown by a series of catastrophes, the legends of which were preserved in ancient Greek myths about the struggle of the Olympians with the titans and giants. The new gods of Ancient Greece, who took away dominion from the previous ones, descended from them, but already had a completely human image.

Zeus and Hera

So, new humanoid gods began to rule the world, the main one in the myths was Zeus, the son of Cronus; but the former gods, personified forces of nature, retained their mysterious effectiveness, which even the omnipotent Zeus could not overcome. Just as omnipotent kings are subject to the laws of the moral world, so Zeus and other new gods of Ancient Greece are subject to the laws of nature and fate.

Zeus, the main god in the myths of Ancient Greece, is the collector of clouds, sitting on a throne in the heights of the ether, shaking with his lightning shield, Aegis (thundercloud), life-giving and fertilizing the earth, and at the same time the establisher and guardian of legal order. Under his protection are all rights, and especially family rights and the custom of hospitality. He commands rulers to be concerned about the welfare of the governed. He gives prosperity to kings and peoples, cities and families; he is also justice. He is the source of everything good and noble. He is the father of the goddesses of the clock (Or), personifying the correct course of the annual changes of nature and the correct order of human life; he is the father of the Muses, who give joy to the human heart.

His wife, Hera, in the myths of Ancient Greece, is a grumpy goddess of the atmosphere, having as her servants the rainbow (Iris) and clouds (the Greek name for cloud, nephele, a feminine word), and at the same time the establisher of the sacred marriage union, in honor of which the Greeks celebrated celebration of spring, abundant with flowers, solemn ceremonies. The goddess Hera is a strict guardian of the sanctity of the marriage union and under her protection is a housewife faithful to her husband; She blesses marriages with children and protects children. Hera relieves women of the suffering of childbirth; She is assisted in this care by her daughter Eileithyia.

Pallas Athena

Pallas Athena

The virgin goddess Pallas Athena, according to the myths of Ancient Greece, was born from the head of Zeus. Initially, she was considered the goddess of the clear sky, who disperses dark clouds with her spear, and the personification of victorious energy in any struggle. Athena was always depicted with a shield, sword and spear. Her constant companion was the winged goddess of victory (Nike). Among the Greeks, Athena was the guardian of cities and fortresses, and she also gave people correct, fair social and state orders. The image of the goddess Athena personified wise balance, a calm, insightful mind, necessary for the creators of works of mental activity and art.

Statue of Virgin Athena in the Parthenon. Sculptor Phidias

In Ancient Greece, Pallas was most revered by the Athenians, the inhabitants of the city named after this goddess. The public life of Athens was imbued with service to Pallas. A huge statue of Athena by Phidias stood in the magnificent temple of the Athenian Acropolis - the Parthenon. Athena was associated with the famous ancient Greek city by many myths. The most famous of them was the myth about the dispute between Athena and Poseidon for the possession of Attica. The goddess Athena won it by giving the region the basis of its agriculture - the olive tree. Ancient Athens celebrated many festivals in honor of its beloved goddess. The main ones were the two Panathenaic holidays - Great and Small. Both of them, according to the myths of Ancient Greece about the gods, were founded by one of the most ancient ancestors of Athens - Erechtheus. The Lesser Panathenaea was celebrated annually, and the Great Panathenaea once every four years. On the great Panathenaea, all the inhabitants of Attica gathered in Athens and organized a magnificent procession, during which a new mantle (peplos) was carried to the Acropolis for the ancient statue of the goddess Pallas. The procession marched from Keramik, along the main streets, which were crowded with people in white clothes.

God Hephaestus in Greek myths

Hephaestus, the god of heavenly and earthly fire, was close in importance to Pallas Athena, the goddess of the arts, in ancient Greek myths. The activity of Hephaestus was most strongly manifested by volcanoes on the islands, especially on Lemnos and Sicily; but in the application of fire to the affairs of human life, Hephaestus helped a lot in the development of culture. Prometheus, who brought fire to people and taught them the arts of life, is also closely related to the concept of Athena. The Attic festival of running with torches was dedicated to these three gods - a competition in which the winner was the one who would be the first to reach the goal with a burning torch. Pallas Athena was the inventor of those arts that women practiced; The lame Hephaestus, about whom poets often joked, was the founder of the art of blacksmithing and a master in metal work. Like Athena, he was in Ancient Greece the god of the home of family life, therefore, under the auspices of Hephaestus and Athena, a wonderful holiday of the “state family” was celebrated in Athens, the Anaturius holiday, at which newborn children were surrounded by the steeple of the hearth, and this ritual consecrated their acceptance into the family union states.

God Vulcan (Hephaestus). Statue by Thorvaldsen, 1838

Hestia

The importance of the hearth as the center of family life and the beneficial influence of a strong home life on moral and social life were personified in the myths of Ancient Greece by the maiden goddess Hestia, a representative of the concepts of stable settlement, a comfortable home life, the symbol of which was the sacred fire of the hearth. Initially, Hestia was in ancient Greek myths about the gods the personification of the earth, above which the ethereal fire of the sky burns; but later it became a symbol of civil improvement, which gains strength on earth only through the union of earth with heaven, as a divine institution. Therefore, in every Greek home, the hearth was the religious center of the family. Whoever approached the hearth and sat on its ashes acquired the right to protection. Each clan union of Ancient Greece had a common sanctuary of Hestia, in which symbolic rites were reverently performed. In ancient times, when there were kings and when the king made sacrifices as a representative of the people, resolved litigation, gathered noble people and ancestors for council, the hearth of the royal house was a symbol of the state connection of the people; Afterwards, the prytanium, the religious center of the state, had the same significance. An unquenchable fire burned on the state hearth of the prytaneum, and the prytanes, the elected rulers of the people, had to take turns staying constantly at this hearth. The hearth was the connection between earth and heaven; therefore Hestia was also the goddess of sacrifice in Ancient Greece. Each solemn sacrifice began with a sacrifice to her. And all public prayers of the Greeks began with an appeal to Hestia.

Myths about the god Apollo

For more details, see the separate article God Apollo

The god of shining light, Apollo, was the son of Zeus from Latona (who was the personification of the dark night in ancient Greek myths). His cult was brought to Ancient Greece from Asia Minor, where the local god Apelun existed. According to Greek myths, Apollo spends the winter in the distant land of the Hyperboreans, and in the spring he returns to Hellas, pouring life into nature and joy and the desire to sing into man. Apollo was therefore recognized as the god of singing - and in general of that inspiring force that gives rise to art. Thanks to its revitalizing qualities, the cult of this god was also associated with the idea of ​​healing and protection from evil. With his well-aimed arrows (the sun's rays) Apollo destroys all defilement. This idea was symbolically expressed by the ancient Greek myth about the killing of the terrible serpent Python by Apollo. The skillful shooter Apollo was considered the brother of the goddess of hunting Artemis, together with whom he killed the sons of an overly proud woman with arrows. Niobe.

The ancient Greeks considered poetry and music to be the gift of Apollo. Poems and songs were always performed at his holidays. According to legend, having defeated the monster of darkness, Python, Apollo composed the first paean (victory hymn). As the god of music, he was often depicted with a cithara in his hands. Since poetic inspiration is akin to prophetic inspiration, in the myths of Ancient Greece Apollo was also recognized as the supreme patron of soothsayers, who gives them the prophetic gift. Almost all Greek oracles (including the main one, the Delphic one) were founded in the sanctuaries of Apollo.

Apollo Saurocton (killing the lizard). Roman copy of a 4th century statue of Praxiteles. BC

The god of music, poetry, and singing, Apollo, was in the myths of Ancient Greece the ruler of the goddesses of the arts - muses, nine daughters of Zeus and the goddess of memory Mnemosyne. The groves of Parnassus and Helicon, located in the vicinity of Delphi, were considered the main abode of the muses. As the ruler of the muses, Apollo had the epithet "Muzageta". Clio was the muse of history, Calliope - epic poetry, Melpomene - tragedy, Thalia - comedy, Erato - love poetry, Euterpe - lyric poetry, Terpsichore - dancing, Polyhymnia - hymns, Urania - astronomy.

The sacred plant of Apollo was the laurel.

The god of light, purity and healing, Apollo in the myths of Ancient Greece not only heals people from ailments, but also cleanses them from sins. From this side, his cult comes into even closer contact with moral ideas. Even after defeating the evil monster Python, Apollo considered it necessary to cleanse himself of the filth of murder and, to atone for him, went to serve as a shepherd for the Thessalian king Admetus. By this, he gave people an example that those who committed bloodshed must always repent, and became the purifier god of murderers and criminals. In Greek myths, Apollo healed not only the body, but also the soul. Repentant sinners found forgiveness from him, but only with sincerity of repentance. According to ancient Greek customs, the murderer was supposed to earn forgiveness from the relatives of the murdered person, who had the right to take revenge on him, and spend eight years in exile.

Apollo was the main tribal god of the Dorians, who celebrated two great holidays in his honor every year: Carnea and Iakinthia. The Carnean festival was celebrated in honor of Apollo the warrior, in the month of Carnea (August). During this holiday, war games, singing and dancing competitions were held. Hyacinthia, celebrated in July (nine days), was accompanied by sad rites in memory of the death of the beautiful young man Jacinthus (Hyacinth), the personification of flowers. According to the myths of Ancient Greece about the gods, Apollo accidentally killed this favorite of his while throwing a discus (a symbol of how the disc of the sun kills flowers with its heat). But Hyacinth was resurrected and taken to Olympus - and at the festival of Hyacinthius, after the sad rites, cheerful processions of young men and girls with flowers took place. The death and resurrection of Jacinthos personified the winter death and spring rebirth of plants. This episode of ancient Greek myth appears to have developed under strong Phoenician influence.

Myths about the goddess Artemis

Apollo's sister, Artemis, the virgin goddess of the moon, walked through the mountains and forests, hunting; bathed with the nymphs, her companions, in cool streams; was the patroness of wild animals; at night she watered the thirsty earth with life-giving dew. But at the same time, in the myths of Ancient Greece, Artemis was also a goddess who destroyed sailors, so in ancient times in Greece, people were sacrificed to her to appease her. With the development of civilization, Artemis became the goddess of virginal purity, the patroness of brides and girls. When they got married, they brought gifts to her. Artemis of Ephesus was the goddess of fertility, who gave harvests to the earth and children to women; in the idea of ​​it, the myths of Ancient Greece were probably joined by eastern concepts. Artemis was depicted as having many breasts on her chest; this meant that she was a generous nurse of people. At the magnificent temple of Artemis there were many hierodulae and many attendants, dressed in men's clothing and armed; therefore, in ancient Greek myths it was believed that this temple was founded by the Amazons.

Artemis. Statue in the Louvre

The original physical meaning of Apollo and Artemis in the myths of Ancient Greece about the gods was increasingly obscured by a moral one. Therefore, Greek mythology created a special sun god, Helios, and a special moon goddess, Selene. – A special god, the son of Apollo, Asclepius, was also made a representative of the healing power of Apollo.

Ares and Aphrodite

Ares, the son of Zeus and Hera, was originally a symbol of the stormy sky, and his homeland was Thrace, the country of winter storms. Among the ancient Greek poets he became the god of war. Ares is always armed; he loves the noise of battle. Ares is furious. But he was also the founder of the sacred Athenian tribunal, which tried cases of murder, which had its meetings on a hill dedicated to Ares, the Areopagus, and was called by the name of this hill, also the Areopagus. Both as the god of storms and as the furious god of battles, he is the opposite of Pallas Athena, the goddess of clear skies and judicious conduct of battles. Therefore, in the myths of Ancient Greece about the gods, Pallas and Ares are hostile to each other.

In the concepts of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, a moral element was also added to the physical nature of love in ancient Greek myths over time. The cult of Aphrodite passed to Ancient Greece from the colonies founded by the Phoenicians on Cyprus, Kythera, Thasos and other islands. In the myths of the Phoenicians, the concept of the perceiving and giving birth element of the forces of nature was personified by two goddesses, Asherah and Astarte, whose ideas were often mixed. Aphrodite was Asherah and Astarte. In the myths of Ancient Greece about the gods, she corresponded to Asherah, when she was a goddess who loved gardens and flowers, living in groves, the goddess of joyful spring and voluptuousness, enjoying the love of the beautiful young man Adonis in the forest on the mountain. She corresponded to Astarte when she was revered as the “goddess of the heights”, like the stern, spear-wielding Aphrodite Urania (heavenly) or Aphrodite of Acreia, whose places of worship were the peaks of the mountains, who imposed on her priestesses a vow of eternal maidenhood, guarded the chastity of conjugal love and family morality . But the ancient Greeks knew how to combine these opposing ideas and, from their combination, created in myth a wondrous image of a graceful, charming, physically beautiful and morally sweet goddess, delighting the heart with the beauty of her forms, arousing tender affection. This mythological combination of physical feeling with moral attachment, giving sensual love its natural right, protected people from the gross vulgarity of eastern unbridled voluptuousness. The ideal of female beauty and grace, the sweetly smiling Aphrodite of ancient Greek myths and the goddesses of the east, burdened with heavy and precious attire, are completely different creatures. The difference between them is the same as between the joyful service to the goddess of love in the best times of Ancient Greece and the noisy Syrian orgies, at which the goddess, surrounded by eunuchs, was served with unbridled revelry of coarse sensuality. True, in later times, with the depravity of morals, vulgar sensuality penetrated into the Greek service to the goddess of love. Aphrodite of Heaven (Urania), the goddess of honest love, patroness of family life, was pushed aside in the myths about the gods by Aphrodite of the People (Pandemos), the goddess of voluptuousness, whose holidays in big cities turned into revelry of vulgar sensuality.

Aphrodite and her son Eros (Eros), transformed by poets and artists into the oldest among the theogonic gods, into the youngest of the Olympian gods, and who became a young man accompanying his mother, later even a child, were favorite objects of ancient Greek art. The sculpture usually depicted Aphrodite naked, emerging from the waves of the sea; she was given all the charm of a beauty whose soul is full of feelings of love. Eros was depicted as a boy with soft, rounded body contours.

Myths about the god Hermes

With the development of culture in the myths of Ancient Greece about the gods, the Pelasgian god of nature Hermes, to whom Arcadian shepherds made sacrifices on Mount Cyllene, also acquired moral significance; he was among them the personification of the power of the sky, which gives grass to their pastures, and the father of their ancestor, Arcas. According to their myths, Hermes, while still a baby, wrapped in a cradle linen (in the fog of dawn), stole the flocks (light clouds) of the sun god, Apollo, and hid them in a damp cave near the seashore; stretching the strings on the shell of a turtle, he made a lyre and, giving it to Apollo, acquired the friendship of this more powerful god. Hermes also invented the shepherd's pipe, with which he walks through the mountains of his homeland. Subsequently, Hermes became the guardian of roads, crossroads and travelers, the keeper of streets and boundaries. On the latter, stones were placed, which were symbols of Hermes, and his images, which gave the boundaries of the plots holiness and strength.

God Hermes. Sculpture of Phidias (?)

Herms (that is, symbols of Hermes) were originally just heaps of stones piled on boundaries, near roads and especially at crossroads; these were boundary and waymarks considered sacred. Passers-by threw stones back where they had been placed before. Sometimes oil was poured on these heaps of stones dedicated to the god Hermes, as on primitive altars; they were decorated with flowers, wreaths, and ribbons. Subsequently, the Greeks placed triangular or tetrahedral stone pillars as waymarks and boundary markers; over time, they began to give them more skillful decoration; they usually made a pillar with a head, sometimes with a phallus, a symbol of fertility. Such herms stood along the roads, streets, squares, at gates, at doors; They were also placed in palaestras and gymnasiums, because Hermes was the patron of gymnastic exercises in the myths of Ancient Greece about the gods.

From the concept of the god of rain penetrating the earth, the idea of ​​mediation between heaven, earth and the underworld developed, and Hermes became in the myths of Ancient Greece the god who escorts the souls of the dead to the underworld (Hermes Psychopompos). Thus, he was placed in close connection with the gods living in the earth (chthonic gods). These ideas came from the concept of the connection between the emergence and death of plants in the cycle of life of nature and from the concept of Hermes as the messenger of the gods; they served as the source of many ancient Greek myths, which placed Hermes in very diverse relationships to the everyday affairs of people. The original myth already made him a cunning man: he cleverly stole Apollo’s cows and managed to make peace with this god; Hermes knew how to get out of difficult situations with clever inventions. This trait remained an invariable feature of the character of the god Hermes in later ancient Greek myths about him: he was the personification of everyday dexterity, the patron of all activities in which success is given by the ability to speak deftly and the ability to remain silent, hide the truth, pretend, and deceive. In particular, Hermes was the patron god of trade, oratory, embassies and diplomatic affairs in general. With the development of civilization, the concepts of these activities became predominant in the concept of Hermes, and his original pastoral meaning was transferred to one of the minor gods, Pan, "god of the pastures", just as the physical meaning of Apollo and Artemis was transferred to the less important gods, Helios and Selene.

God Pan

Pan was in ancient Greek myth the god of goat herds who grazed the wooded mountains of Arcadia; there he was born. His father was Hermes, his mother was the daughter of Dryope (“forest god”). Pan walks through shady valleys, caves serve as shelter for him; he has fun with the nymphs of the forest and mountain springs, dancing to the sounds of his shepherd's pipe (syringa, syrinx), an instrument that he himself invented; sometimes he himself dances with the nymphs. Pan is sometimes kind to the shepherds and becomes friends with us; but sometimes he causes trouble for them, raising a sudden fear in the herd (“panic” fear), so that the whole herd scatters. God Pan forever remained in Ancient Greece as a merry fellow of shepherd's holidays, a master of playing the reed pipe, funny for the townspeople; Later art characterized Pan's closeness to nature, giving his figure goat legs, or even horns and other animal features.

God Pan and Daphnis, hero of an ancient Greek novel. Antique statue

Poseidon in the myths of Ancient Greece

For more details, see the separate article God Poseidon

The gods of the sea and flowing waters and the gods living underground, more than the deities of the sky and air, retained the original meaning of the personified forces of nature: but they also received human traits. Poseidon - in the myths of Ancient Greece, the divine power of all waters, the god of the sea and all rivers, streams, springs that fertilize the earth. Therefore, he was the main god on the seaside and on the capes. Poseidon is strong, broad-shouldered, and has an indomitable character. When he strikes the sea with his trident, a storm arises, the waves crash against the rocks of the shores so that the earth trembles, the cliffs crack and collapse. But Poseidon is also a good god: he produces springs from the cracks of the rocks to fertilize the valleys; he created and tamed the horse; he is the patron of horse races and all war games, the patron of all daring journeys, whether on horseback, in chariots, by land, or by sea in ships. In ancient Greek myths, Poseidon is a mighty builder who established the earth and its islands, and laid strong boundaries for the sea. He raises storms, but he also gives favorable winds; at his command, the sea swallows ships; but he also guides the ships into the pier. Poseidon – patron of navigation; he protects maritime trade and controls the course of naval warfare.

The god of ships and horses, Poseidon played, according to the myths of Ancient Greece about the gods, an important role in all campaigns and sea expeditions of the heroic age. The birthplace of his cult was Thessaly, the country of the Neptunian formation, horse herds and navigation; then his service spread to Boeotia, Attica, and throughout the Peloponnese, and his holidays early began to be accompanied by war games. The most famous of these games in honor of the god Poseidon took place in the Boeotian city of Onchest and on Isthmus. In Onkhest, his sanctuaries and their grove stood picturesquely on a beautiful and fertile hill above Lake Kopai. The location of the Isthmian Games was a hill near Schoinos, "Reeds", a lowland overgrown with reeds, shaded by a pine grove. Symbolic rituals were introduced into the worship of Poseidon on Isthmus, borrowed from the legend of the death of Melicert, that is, from the Phoenician service to Melqart. – The wind-fast horses of the heroic age were created by the god Poseidon; in particular, Pegasus was created by him. – Poseidon’s wife, Amphitrite, was the personification of the roaring sea.

Like Zeus, Poseidon had many love affairs in the myths of ancient Greece about the gods, many sea gods and goddesses, and many heroes were his children. Tritons, the number of which was countless, belonged to Poseidon's retinue. These were cheerful creatures of various forms, personifications of noisy, ringing, sliding waves and mysterious forces of the depths of the sea, fantastically transformed sea animals. They played on trumpets made from shells, frolicked, and trailed the Nereids. They were one of my favorite objects of art. Proteus, the sea god, prophet of the future, who, according to ancient Greek myths, had the ability to take all sorts of forms, also belonged to Poseidon’s large retinue. When the Greek sailors began to sail far away, then, returning, they amazed their people with myths about the wonders of the western sea: about the sirens, beautiful sea maidens who live there on underwater islands under the bright surface of the waters and with seductive singing insidiously lure sailors to destruction, about the good Glaucus , the sea god who predicts the future, about the terrible monsters Scylla and Charybdis (personifications of a dangerous rock and whirlpool), about the wicked Cyclops, one-eyed giants, the sons of Poseidon, living on the island of Trinacria, where Mount Etna is, about the beautiful Galatea, about a rocky, walled island , where the god of the winds Aeolus lives cheerfully in a magnificent palace with his airy sons and daughters.

Underground gods – Hades, Persephone

The greatest similarity with eastern religions in the myths of Ancient Greece was the worship of those gods of nature who acted both in the bowels of the earth and on its surface. Human life is in such close connection with the development and withering of vegetation, with the growth and ripening of bread and grapes, that worship, folk beliefs, art, religious theories and myths about the gods combined their most profound ideas with the mysterious activities of the gods of the earth. The circle of phenomena of plant life was a symbol of human life: luxurious vegetation quickly fades from the heat of the sun or from the cold; It dies with the onset of winter and is reborn in the spring from the ground in which its seeds hid in the fall. It was easy to draw a parallel to ancient Greek mythology: so a person, after a short life under the joyful light of the sun, descends into the dark underground kingdom, where instead of the radiant Apollo and the bright Pallas Athena, the gloomy, stern Hades (Hades, Aidoneus) and the stern beauty, his wife, reign in a magnificent palace , the formidable Persephone. Thoughts about how close birth and death are to each other, about the fact that the earth is both the mother’s womb and the coffin, served in the myths of Ancient Greece as the basis for the cult of the underground gods and gave it a dual character: there was a joyful side and a sad side. And in Hellas, as in the East, service to the gods of the earth was exalted; its rituals consisted of expressing feelings of joy and sadness, and those performing them had to endlessly indulge in the action of the emotional disturbances they caused. But in the East, this exaltation led to the perversion of natural feelings, to the fact that people mutilated themselves; and in Ancient Greece, the cult of the gods of the earth developed the arts, stimulated reflection on religious issues, and led people to acquire sublime ideas about divinity. The festivals of the gods of the earth, especially Dionysus, greatly contributed to the development of poetry, music, and dance; plastic artist loved to take objects for her works from the circle of ancient Greek myths about cheerful fantastic creatures accompanying Pan and Dionysus. And the Eleusinian mysteries, the teachings of which spread throughout the Greek world, gave profound interpretations to the myths about the “earth-mother,” the goddess Demeter, about the abduction of her daughter (Kore) Persephone by the harsh ruler of the underworld, about the fact that Persephone’s life goes on on earth, then underground. These teachings inspired people that death is not terrible, that the soul survives the body. The forces ruling in the bowels of the earth aroused reverent caution in the ancient Greeks; it was impossible to speak about these forces without fear; thoughts about them were conveyed in the myths of Ancient Greece about the gods under the guise of symbols; they were not expressed directly, they had only to be unraveled under allegories. Mysterious teachings surrounded these formidable gods with solemn mystery, in the secrecy of darkness creating life and perceiving the dead, ruling the earthly and afterlife of man.

Persephone's gloomy husband, Hades (Hades), “Zeus of the underworld,” rules in the depths of the earth; there are sources of wealth and fertility; therefore he is also called Pluto, the “enricher.” But there are all the horrors of death. According to ancient Greek myths, wide gates lead to the vast dwelling of the king of the dead, Hades. Everyone can enter them freely; their guardian, the three-headed dog Cerberus, kindly lets those entering through, but does not allow them to return back. Weeping willows and barren poplars surround the vast palace of Hades. The shadows of the dead hover over gloomy fields overgrown with weeds, or nest in the crevices of underground rocks. Some of the heroes of Ancient Greece (Hercules, Theseus) went to the underground kingdom of Hades. According to different myths, the entrance to it was in different countries, but always in wild areas, where rivers flow through deep gorges, the water of which seems dark, where caves, hot springs and vapors show the proximity of the kingdom of the dead. Thus, for example, there was an entrance to the underworld at the Thesprotian Gulf in southern Epirus, where the Acheron River and Lake Acheruz infected their surroundings with miasma; at Cape Tenar; in Italy, in a volcanic area near the city of Qom. In the same areas there were those oracles whose answers were given by the souls of the dead.

Ancient Greek myths and poetry spoke a lot about the kingdom of the dead. Fantasy sought to give curiosity accurate information that science did not provide, to penetrate the darkness surrounding the afterlife, and inexhaustibly created new images belonging to the underworld.

The two main rivers of the underworld, according to Greek myths, are the Styx and Acheron, “the dully roaring river of eternal sorrow.” In addition to them, there were three more rivers in the kingdom of the dead: Lethe, whose water destroyed the memory of the past, Pyriphlegethon (“Fire River”) and Cocytus (“Sobbing”). The souls of the dead were taken to the underworld of Hades by Hermes. Stern old man Charon transported in his boat through the Styx, which surrounded the earthly kingdom, those souls whose bodies were buried with an obol placed in the coffin to pay him for the transportation. The souls of unburied people had to wander homeless along the river bank, not accepted into Charon’s boat. Therefore, whoever found an unburied body was obliged to cover it with earth.

The ideas of the ancient Greeks about the life of the dead in the kingdom of Hades changed with the development of civilization. In the oldest myths, the dead are ghosts without consciousness, but these ghosts instinctively do the same things they did when they were alive; – these are the shadows of living people. Their existence in the kingdom of Hades was dreary and sad. The shadow of Achilles tells Odysseus that she would rather live on earth as a day laborer for a poor man than to be the king of the dead in the underworld. But making sacrifices to the dead improved their miserable fate. The improvement consisted either in the fact that the severity of the underground gods was softened by these sacrifices, or in the fact that the shadows of the dead drank the blood of the sacrifices, and this drinking restored them to consciousness. The Greeks offered sacrifices to the dead at their tombs. Facing the west, they slaughtered the sacrificial animal over a deep hole deliberately dug in the ground, and the blood of the animal flowed into this hole. Later, when ideas about the afterlife were more fully developed in the Eleusinian mysteries, the myths of Ancient Greece began to divide the underground kingdom of Hades into two parts, Tartarus and Elysium. In Tartarus, the villains, condemned by the judges of the dead, led a miserable existence; they were tormented by the Erinyes, strict guardians of moral laws, who inexorably took revenge for any violation of the demands of moral sense, and by countless evil spirits, in the invention of which Greek fantasy showed the same inexhaustibility as Egyptian, Indian and medieval European. Elysium, which, according to ancient Greek myths, lay near the ocean (or an archipelago on the ocean called the Isles of the Blessed) was the region of the afterlife of heroes of ancient times and the righteous. There the wind is always soft, there is no snow, no heat, no rain; there, in the myths about the gods, the good Cronus reigns; the earth gives harvest there three times a year, the meadows there bloom forever. Heroes and the righteous lead a blissful life there; on their heads there are wreaths, near their hands there are garlands of the most beautiful flowers and branches of beautiful trees; they enjoy singing, horse riding, and gymnastic games.

The most just and wise kings-legislators of the mythical Cretan-Carian time live there, Minos and Rhadamanthus, and the pious ancestor of the Aeacides, Aeacus, who, according to later myth, became judges of the dead. Under the chairmanship of Hades and Persephone, they examined the feelings and affairs of people and decided, based on the merits of the deceased person, whether his soul should go to Tartarus or Elysium. – Just as they and other pious heroes of ancient Greek myths were rewarded for their beneficial activities on earth by continuing their activities in the afterlife, so the great lawless people of mythical stories were subjected by divine justice to punishments in accordance with their crimes. Myths about their fate in the underworld showed the Greeks what bad inclinations and passions lead to; this fate was only a continuation, a development of the deeds they had committed in life and which gave rise to the torment of their conscience, the symbols of which were pictures of their material torment. Thus, the daring Tityus, who wanted to rape the mother of Apollo and Artemis, lies thrown to the ground; two kites constantly torment his liver, an organ that, according to the Greeks, was the seat of sensual passions (an obvious alteration of the myth of Prometheus). The punishment for another mythical hero, Tantalus, for his former lawlessness was that the cliff hanging over his head constantly threatened to crush him, and besides this fear he was tormented by thirst and hunger: he stood in the water, but when he bent down to drink, the water moved away from his lips and dropped “to the black bottom”; fruits hung before his eyes; but when he stretched out his hands to pluck them, the wind lifted the branches upward. Sisyphus, the treacherous king of Ephyra (Corinth), was condemned to roll a stone up a mountain, which constantly rolled down; - the personification of the waves constantly running onto the shores of the Isthmus and running off them. The eternal futile labor of Sisyphus symbolized unsuccessful cunning in ancient Greek myths, and the cunning of Sisyphus was the mythical personification of the quality developed in merchants and sailors by the riskiness of their affairs. Ixion, king of the Lapiths, “the first murderer,” was tied to a fiery, ever-turning wheel; this was his punishment for the fact that, while visiting Zeus, he violated the rights of hospitality and wanted to rape the chaste Hera. – The Danaids always carried water and poured it into a bottomless barrel.

Myths, poetry, and art of Ancient Greece taught people goodness, turned them away from vices and evil passions, depicting the bliss of the righteous and the torment of the wicked in the afterlife. There were episodes in myths that showed that, having descended into the underworld, one can return from there to earth. So, for example, it was said about Hercules that he defeated the forces of the underworld; Orpheus, by the power of his singing and his love for his wife, softened the harsh gods of death, and they agreed to return Eurydice to him. In the Eleusinian mysteries, these legends served as symbols of the idea that the power of death should not be considered insurmountable. Ideas about the underworld of Hades received an interpretation in new myths and sacraments that reduced the fear of death; the gratifying hope of bliss in the afterlife was manifested in Ancient Greece under the influence of the Eleusinian mysteries, and in works of art.

In the myths of Ancient Greece about the gods, Hades little by little became the good ruler of the kingdom of the dead and the giver of wealth; the attributes of horror were eliminated from ideas about it. The genius of death in the most ancient works of art was depicted as a dark-colored boy with crooked legs, symbolically denoting the idea that life is broken by death. Little by little, in ancient Greek myths, he took on the appearance of a beautiful young man with a bowed head, holding in his hand an overturned and extinguished torch, and became completely similar to his meek brother, the Genius of Sleep. They both live with their mother, Night, in the west. From there, every evening, a winged dream flies in and, sweeping over people, showers calm on them from a horn or from a poppy stalk; he is accompanied by the geniuses of dreams - Morpheus, Phantasm, bringing joy to the sleeping. Even the Erinyes lost their mercilessness in ancient Greek myths and became the Eumenides, “Well-wishers.” So, with the development of civilization, all the ideas of the ancient Greeks about the underground kingdom of Hades softened, ceased to be terrible, and its gods became beneficial, life-giving.

The goddess Gaia, who was the personification of the general concept of the earth, generating everything and taking everything back into itself, did not appear in the foreground in the myths of Ancient Greece. Only in some of the sanctuaries that had oracles, and in the theogonic systems that set out the history of the development of the cosmos, was mention of her as the mother of the gods. Even the ancient Greek oracles, which originally all belonged to her, almost all passed under the authority of the new gods. The life of nature developing on earth was produced from the activity of the deities who ruled its various regions; service to these gods, who had a more or less special character, is in very close connection with the development of Greek culture. The power of vegetation, producing forests and green meadows, vines and bread, was explained even in Pelasgian times by the activity of Dionysus and Demeter. Later, when the influence of the East penetrated into Ancient Greece, these two gods were joined by a third, borrowed from Asia Minor, the earth goddess Rhea Cybele.

Demeter in the myths of Ancient Greece

Demeter, “earth-mother,” was in the myths of Ancient Greece about the gods the personification of that force of nature, which, with the assistance of sunlight, dew and rain, gives growth and ripening to bread and other fruits of the fields. She was a “blond” goddess, under whose protection people plow, sow, reap, knit bread into sheaves, and thresh. Demeter gives harvests. She sent Triptolemus to walk all over the earth and teach people arable farming and good morals. Demeter married Jasion, the sower, and bore him Plutos (wealth); she punished the wicked Erysichthon, who “spoils the earth,” with insatiable hunger. But in the myths of Ancient Greece she is also the goddess of married life, giving birth to children. The goddess who taught people agriculture and proper family life, Demeter was the founder of civilization, morality, and family virtues. Therefore, Demeter was the “giver of laws” (Thesmophoros), and the five-day festival of Thesmophoria, “laws,” was celebrated in her honor. The rituals of this holiday, performed by married women, were a symbolic glorification of agriculture and marriage. Demeter was the main goddess of the Eleusinian festival, the rites of which had as their main content the symbolic glorification of the gifts people received from the gods of the earth. The Amphictyon League, which met at Thermopylae, was also under the patronage of Demeter, the goddess of civil improvement.

But the highest significance of the cult of the goddess Demeter was that it contained the doctrine of the relationship between life and death, the bright celestial world and the dark kingdom of the bowels of the earth. The symbolic expression of this teaching was the beautiful myth of the abduction of Persephone, daughter of Demeter, by the ruthless ruler of the underworld. Demeter "The Sorrowful" (Achaia) walked all over the earth, looking for her daughter; and in many cities the festival of Demeter the Sorrowful was celebrated, the sad rites of which bore a resemblance to the Phoenician cult of Adonis. The human heart yearns for clarification of the question of death; The Eleusinian mysteries were an attempt by the ancient Greeks to solve this riddle; they were not a philosophical exposition of concepts; they acted on the feeling with aesthetic means, consoled, aroused hope. Attic poets said that blessed are those dying who are initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries of Demeter: they know the purpose of life and its divine beginning; For them, the descent into the underworld is life, for the uninitiated it is horror. Demeter's daughter, Persephone, was in the myths of Ancient Greece about the gods the connection between the kingdom of the living and the underworld; she belonged to both.

Myths about the god Dionysus

For more details, see the separate article God Dionysus

Dionysus in the myths of Ancient Greece about the gods originally personified the abundance of plant power. It was clearly manifested in the form of bunches of grapes, whose juice intoxicated people. The vine and wine became symbols of Dionysus, and he himself became the god of joy and fraternal rapprochement of people. Dionysus is a powerful god who overcomes everything hostile to him. Like Apollo, he gives inspiration, excites a person to sing, but not harmonious, but wild and violent songs, reaching the point of exaltation - those that later formed the basis of ancient Greek drama. In the myths of Ancient Greece about Dionysus and in the holiday of Dionysius, various and even opposite feelings were expressed: the joy of that time of year when everything blooms, and sadness when the vegetation withers. Joyful and sad feelings then began to be expressed separately - in comedies and tragedies that arose from the cult of Dionysus. In ancient Greek myths, the symbol of the generative force of nature - the phallus - was closely related to the veneration of Dionysus. Initially, Dionysus was a rude god of the common people. But in the era of tyranny its importance increased. The tyrants, who most often acted as leaders of the lower classes in the struggle against the nobility, deliberately contrasted the plebeian Dionysus with the refined gods of the aristocracy and gave the festivities in honor of him a broad, national character.