Goddess of hard work in Greek mythology. Goddesses and Gods of Ancient Greece: a detailed list and description with pictures

Known to many since childhood. Some were seriously fascinated by the myths of ancient Greece, while others were instilled with a love of ancient culture at school. It would seem strange to transfer this knowledge into adulthood, because all this is actually a myth.

Brief introduction:

However, the ancient Greek gods and the events that happen to them are reflected in many works of literature and cinema; almost all modern plots are taken precisely from antiquity.

Knowledge of the gods of ancient Greece- a necessary condition for understanding many philosophical issues. That is why every person is simply obliged to know as much as possible about the famous gods from Olympus.

Generations of gods of ancient Grtions

Distinguish several generations ancient Greek gods.

At first there was only darkness, from which Chaos was formed. Having united together, darkness and chaos gave birth to Erob, who personified darkness, Nyukta, or as she is also callednight, Uranus - the sky, Eros - love, Gaia - mother earth and Tartarus, which is the abyss.

I generation of gods

All heavenly gods appeared thanks to the union of Gaia and Uranus, the sea deities originated from Pontos, the union with Tartas led to the emergence of giants, while earthly creatures are the flesh of Gaia herself.

In principle, all the ancient Greek gods originated from her; she came up with the names, giving life.

Usually the goddess of the earth was depicted as a rather large woman who towers half over the planet.

Uranus was the ruler of the universe. If it was depicted, it was only in the form of an all-encompassing bronze dome covering the entire world.

Together with Gaia they gave birth to several titan gods:
The ocean (all the world's waters, represented a horned bull with a fish tail),
Tethys (also titanide), Thea, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne like the goddess of memory,
Crius (this titan had the ability to freeze), Kronos.
In addition to the Titans, the Cyclopes are considered children of Uranus and Gaia. Hated by their father, they were sent down to Tartarus for a long time.
For a long time, the power of Uranus was beyond comparison; he single-handedly controlled his children, until one of them, Kronos, otherwise called Chronos, decided to overthrow his father from his pedestal.

The Time Lord managed to depose his father Uranus by killing him with a sickle. As a result of the death of Uranus, the great titans and titanides appeared on earth, who became the first inhabitants of the planet. Gaia also played a certain role in this; she could not forgive her husband for expelling the firstborn of the Cyclops to Tartarus. From the blood of Uranus appeared the Erinyes, creatures who patronized blood feuds. Kronos thus achieved unprecedented power, but the expulsion of his father did not go unnoticed by his own personality.

Kronos's wife was his sister, the Titanide Rhea. When Kronos became a father, he was madly afraid that one of his children would also turn out to be a traitor. According to thisTitan devoured his offspring as soon as they were born. Kronos's fears were justified by one of his sons, the great Zeus, who sent his father into the darkness of Tartarus.

II generation of gods

The Titans and Titanides are the second generation of ancient Greek gods.

III generation of gods

The most famous and familiar to modern man is third generation.

As is already clear, the main one among them was Zeus, he was the unconditional leader, all life on earth strictly obeyed him.

Besides Zeus t third generation of gods Ancient Greece has 11 more Olympian gods.

Their wide popularity is justified by the fact that thesethe gods, as the legends say, came down to people and participated in their lives, while the titans always remained on the sidelines, living their own lives, each performing their functions separately.

All 12 gods lived , based on myths, on Mount Olympus. Each of the gods performed its own specific function and had its own talents. Each had a unique character, which was often the cause of human sorrows or, conversely, joys.

And now about the most famous gods in more detail in a brief summary...

Zeus

Poseidon

The rest of the gods

Each of the gods described was incredibly powerful and very revered in ancient Greece, but they were not the only ones who made up the third, most famous generation.
The descendants of Zeus also joined him. Among them are the common children of the Thunderer and Hera.
For example, Ares personified masculinity and was often called the god of war. Ares never appeared alone anywhere; he was always accompanied by two faithful companions: Eris, the goddess of discord, and Enyo, the goddess of war.
His brother Hephaestus was worshiped by all blacksmiths, and he was also the master of fire.
He was unloved by his father because he was very ugly in appearance and had a limp.
Despite this, he had a total of two wives, Aglaya, and the beautiful Aphrodite.

Aphrodite

Hera was the last, but not the only wife of Zeus. His second wife Themis was consumed by the Thunderer even before Athena was born, but this did not prevent the birth of one of the great goddesses.

Athena was born from her father, Zeus himself, and came out of his head. It personifies war, but not only. She is also known as the embodiment of wisdom and crafts. All the ancient Greeks turned to her, but especially the residents of the city of Athena, since the young goddess was considered the patroness of this locality.

Less known in wide circles is the other daughter of Zeus and Themis, Ora, who personified the seasons. In addition, the three goddesses Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, who together were simply called Moira, are also credited as daughters of Zeus and Themis.

First, Clotho spun the threads of life, Lachesis determined human destiny, and Anthropos personified death. However, not all sources of information call the Moiras daughters of Zeus; there is another version, according to which they were daughters of the night.

One way or another, all three sisters were constantly close to the supreme god, helping him keep track of people, and predetermining many different destinies.

This is where the children of Zeus, born in a legal marriage, end, and a whole galaxy of illegitimate, but no less revered and respected descendants begins. These are the twin brother and sister Apollo, who was the patron of music and a predictor of the future, and Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.

They appeared to Zeus after his relationship with Leto. Artemis was born earlier. Speaking about her, not only the image of a huntress pops up in my head, but also a pure and immaculate maiden, since Artemis embodied chastity, was not loving, or more precisely, there is not a single confirmation of her possible romances.

But Apollo, on the contrary, is known not only as a golden-haired youth and the embodiment of light, but also for his numerous love affairs. One of the love stories became very symbolic for the young god, leaving an eternal reminder of himself in the form of a laurel wreath crowning the head of Apollo.

Another illegitimate son, Hermes, was born from the galaxy of Maya. He patronized merchants, speakers, gymnasiums and sciences, and was also the god of livestock. During life, the ancient Greeks asked Hermes for the gift of eloquence, and after death they relied on him as a faithful guide on their final journey. It was Hermes who accompanied the souls of the dead to the kingdom of Hades. Widely known thanks, among other things, to his constant attributes: winged sandals and an invisibility helmet and a staff decorated with metal weave in the form of snakes.

In addition, it is also known about the illegitimate daughter of Zeus Persephone, born from the goddess Demeter, as well as about the son Dionysus, who was born by a mere mortal woman Semele. Dionysus, nevertheless, was a full-fledged god, the patron of the theater.

Ariadne became his wife, which brought Dionysus even closer to greatness, making him also one of the most famous gods of ancient Greece. There are other known children of Zeus born from mortal women. This is, for example, Perseus, who was born by the Argive princess Danae, the famous Helen, also the daughter of Zeus, her mother was the Spartan queen Leda, the Phoenician princess gave the Thunderer another descendant of Minos.

All the Olympian gods led a calm, measured lifestyle, succumbing to hobbies, mortal passions, and fleeting amusements, without forgetting to fulfill their direct duties. Life on Olympus was not so simple, due to numerous feuds and intrigues between various gods. Each sought to prove their power without encroaching on the other’s responsibilities, so sooner or later a compromise was reached. But not all the gods of ancient Greece were lucky enough to live on Mount Olympus; some of them lived in other, less well-known places. These are all those who, for whatever reason, fell out of favor with Zeus or simply did not deserve his recognition.

In addition to the Olympian gods, there were others. For example, Hymen, who was the patron saint of marriage. Born thanks to the union of Apollo and the muse Calliope. The goddess of victory Nike was the daughter of the titan Pallatus, Iris, personifying the rainbow, was born of one of the oceanids, Electra. Ata can also be distinguished as the goddess of the gloomy mind; her father was the famous Zeus. The child of Aphrodite and Ares Phobos, the god of fear, lived separately from his parents, just like his brother Deimos, the lord of horror.

In addition to the gods, ancient Greek mythology also includes muses, nymphs, satyrs and monsters. Each character is thoughtful and individual, carrying some kind of idea. Everyone has a certain type of behavior and thinking, perhaps it is because of this that the world of myths is so much more multifaceted and arouses special interest in childhood.

In conclusion I must say...

The gods described above are just a short version. Naturally, this list of gods cannot be called complete. Hundreds of books are not enough to tell about all the gods of ancient Greece without exception, but everyone must know about the existence of the ones described above. If for the inhabitants of ancient Greece the pantheon of gods served as a justification for all sorts of objects and phenomena, then for modern people the images themselves are curious.

It is not their material environment and not the reasons that prompted the birth of such heroes, but precisely the allegories that they evoke. Otherwise, it will be impossible to understand all the ancient Greek myths and legends. Almost any text written in antiquity has references to one or more of the main gods of both the first, second and third generations.

And since all literature and theater of our time are in any case built on ancient ideals, every self-respecting person is obliged to know these ideals. The images of Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo have long become household names; today they are very archetypal, and, oddly enough, understandable to everyone.

Simply because you don’t have to be seriously interested in Greek mythology in order to know the famous story about the Apple of Discord. And there are many such examples. Therefore, the gods of ancient Greece are not just passing characters from childhood, this is something that absolutely every educated adult should know.

According to the myths about the gods of Ancient Greece, the basis of the universe was Chaos - the original emptiness, world disorder, from which, thanks to Eros - the first active force - the first ancient Greek gods were born: Uranus (sky) and Gaia (earth), who became spouses. The first children of Uranus and Gaia were hundred-armed giants, surpassing everyone in strength, and one-eyed Cyclopes (Cyclopes). Uranus tied them all up and threw them into Tartarus - the dark abyss of the underworld. Then the Titans were born, the youngest of whom Kronos castrated his father with a sickle given to him by his mother: she could not forgive Uranus for the death of her firstborns. From the blood of Uranus, Erinyes were born - a terrible-looking woman, the goddess of blood feud. From the contact of a part of the body of Uranus, thrown into the sea by Kronos, with sea foam, the goddess Aphrodite was born, who, according to other sources, is the daughter of Zeus and the Titanide Dione.

Uranus and Gaia. Ancient Roman mosaic 200-250 AD.

After the god Uranus separated from Gaia, the titans Kronos, Rhea, Oceanus, Mnemosyne (goddess of memory), Themis (goddess of justice) and others came to the surface of the earth. Thus, the titans turned out to be the first creatures to live on earth. The god Kronos, thanks to whom his brothers and sisters were freed from imprisonment in Tartarus, began to rule the world. He married his sister Rhea. Since Uranus and Gaia predicted to him that his own son would deprive him of power, he swallowed his children as soon as they were born.

Gods of Ancient Greece – Zeus

Gods of Ancient Greece - Hera

See separate article.

The goddess Hera, considered in Ancient Greece to be the sister and wife of Zeus, was glorified as the patroness of marriage, the personification of marital fidelity. In ancient Greek literature, she is portrayed as a guardian of morality, brutally persecuting its violators, especially her rivals and even their children. So, Io, the beloved of Zeus, was turned by Hera into a cow (according to other Greek myths, the god Zeus himself turned Io into a cow to hide her from Hera), Callisto - into a bear, and the son of Zeus and Alcmene, the mighty hero Hercules, was pursued by Zeus' wife his entire life, starting from infancy. Being the protector of marital fidelity, the goddess Hera punishes not only the lovers of Zeus, but also those who try to persuade her to be unfaithful to her husband. Thus, Ixion, taken by Zeus to Olympus, tried to win the love of Hera, and for this, at her request, he was not only thrown into Tartarus, but also chained to an ever-rotating fiery wheel.

Hera is an ancient deity, worshiped on the Balkan Peninsula even before the Greeks arrived there. The birthplace of her cult was the Peloponnese. Gradually, other female deities were united in the image of Hera, and she began to be thought of as the daughter of Kronos and Rhea. According to Hesiod, she is the seventh wife of Zeus.

Goddess Hera. Hellenistic period statue

One of the myths of Ancient Greece about the gods tells how Zeus, irritated by Hera’s attempt on the life of his son Hercules, hung her in chains from the sky, tying heavy anvils to her feet, and subjected her to scourging. But this was done in a fit of strong anger. Usually, Zeus treated Hera with such respect that other gods, visiting Zeus at councils and at feasts, showed high respect to his wife.

The goddess Hera in Ancient Greece was assigned such qualities as lust for power and vanity, which pushed her to deal with those who put their own or others’ beauty above hers. So, throughout the entire Trojan War, she assists the Greeks in order to punish the Trojans for the preference given to Aphrodite by the son of their king Paris over Hera and Athena.

In her marriage to Zeus, Hera gave birth to Hebe, the personification of youth, Ares and Hephaestus. However, according to some legends, she gave birth to Hephaestus alone, without the participation of Zeus, from the scent of flowers, in revenge for the birth of Athena from his own head.

In Ancient Greece, the goddess Hera was depicted as a tall, stately woman, dressed in a long dress and crowned with a diadem. In her hand she holds a scepter - a symbol of her supreme power.

Here are the expressions in which the Homeric hymn glorifies the goddess Hera:

“I glorify the golden-throned Hera, born of Rhea,
An ever-living queen with a face of extraordinary beauty,
Loudly thundering Zeus's own sister and wife
Glorious. All on the great Olympus are blessed gods
She is reverently revered on a par with Kronidou
(v. 1–5; trans. V.V. Veresaev)

God Poseidon

The god Poseidon, recognized in Ancient Greece as the ruler of the water element (he received this destiny by lot, like Zeus - the sky), is depicted very similar to his brother: he has the same curly, thick beard as Zeus, and the same wavy shoulder-length hair , but he has his own attribute by which he can be easily distinguished from Zeus - a trident; with it he sets in motion and calms the waves of the sea. He rules over the winds; Obviously, the idea of earthquakes was associated with the sea in Ancient Greece; This explains the epithet “earth shaker” used by Homer in relation to the god Poseidon:

“He causes the land and the barren sea to sway,
It reigns on Helikon and on the wide Eglas. Double
Honor, O Earth Shaker, has been granted to you by the gods:
To tame wild horses and save ships from wrecking"
(from Homer’s hymn to Poseidon, vv. 2–5; trans. V.V. Veresaev).

The trident, therefore, is needed by Poseidon in order to cause a shaking of the earth, and in order to, by moving apart the mountains, create valleys abundant in water; The god Poseidon can hit a rock with a trident, and a bright spring of clean water will immediately flow out of it.

Poseidon (Neptune). Antique statue of the 2nd century. according to R.H.

According to the myths of Ancient Greece, Poseidon had disputes with other gods over the possession of this or that land. Thus, Argolis was poor in water because during the dispute between Poseidon and Hera, the Argive hero Inachus, appointed as a judge, transferred this land to her, and not to him. Attica was flooded due to the fact that the gods decided the dispute between Poseidon and Athena (who should own this country) in favor of Athena.

She was considered the wife of the god Poseidon Amphitrite, daughter of Ocean. But Poseidon, like Zeus, also had tender feelings for other women. Thus, the mother of his son, the cyclops Polyphemus, was the nymph Foos, the mother of the winged horse Pegasus - the gorgon Medusa, etc.

The magnificent palace of Poseidon was located, according to ancient Greek legends, in the depths of the sea, where, in addition to Poseidon, there lived numerous other creatures that occupied secondary places in the world of the gods: the old man Nereus- ancient sea deity; Nereids (daughters of Nereus) - sea nymphs, among whom the most famous are Amphitrite, who became the wife of Poseidon, and Thetis- mother of Achilles. To inspect his possessions - not only the depths of the sea, but also islands, coastal lands and sometimes even lands lying in the depths of the mainland - the god Poseidon set out in a chariot drawn by horses that had fish tails instead of hind legs.

In Ancient Greece, the Isthmian Games on the Isthmus, the Isthmus of Corinth, by the sea, were dedicated to Poseidon, as the sovereign ruler of the seas and the patron of horse breeding. There, in the sanctuary of Poseidon, there was an iron statue of this god, erected by the Greeks in honor of their victory at sea when the Persian fleet was defeated.

Gods of Ancient Greece – Hades

Hades (Hades), called in Rome Pluto, received the underworld by lot and became its ruler. The ancients’ idea of this world is reflected in the ancient Greek names of the underground god: Hades - invisible, Pluto - rich, since all wealth, both mineral and plant, is generated by the earth. Hades is the lord of the shadows of the dead, and he is sometimes called Zeus Katakhton - the underground Zeus. Considered in Ancient Greece to be the personification of the rich bowels of the earth, it was no coincidence that Hades turned out to be the husband Persephone, daughter of the fertility goddess Demeter. This married couple, who had no children, in the minds of the Greeks, was hostile to all life and sent a continuous series of deaths to all living things. Demeter did not want her daughter to remain in the kingdom of Hades, but when she asked Persephone to return to earth, she replied that she had already tasted the “apple of love,” that is, she had eaten part of the pomegranate she received from her husband, and could not return. True, she still spent two-thirds of the year with her mother at the behest of Zeus, because, yearning for her daughter, Demeter stopped sending the harvest and taking care of the ripening of the fruits. Thus, Persephone in the myths of Ancient Greece personifies the interaction between the goddess of fertility, who gives life, forcing the earth to bear fruit, and the god of death, who takes away life, dragging all the creatures of the earth back into her bosom.

The kingdom of Hades had different names in Ancient Greece: Hades, Erebus, Orcus, Tartarus. The entrance to this kingdom, according to the Greeks, was either in southern Italy, or in Colon, near Athens, or in other places where there were failures and chasms. After death, all people go to the kingdom of the god Hades and, as Homer says, they drag out a miserable, joyless existence there, deprived of the memory of their earthly life. The gods of the underworld preserved full consciousness only for a select few. Of the living, only Orpheus, Hercules, Theseus, Odysseus and Aeneas managed to penetrate Hades and return to earth. According to the myths of Ancient Greece, an ominous three-headed dog Cerberus sits at the entrance to Hades, snakes move on his neck with a menacing hiss, and he does not allow anyone to leave the kingdom of the dead. Several rivers flow through Hades. The souls of the dead were transported across the Styx by the old boatman Charon, who charged a fee for his work (therefore, a coin was placed in the mouth of the deceased so that his soul could pay Charon). If a person remained unburied, Charon did not allow his shadow into his boat, and it was destined to wander the earth forever, which was considered the greatest misfortune in Ancient Greece. A person deprived of burial will forever be hungry and thirsty, since he will not have a grave at which relatives would make libations and leave food for him. Other rivers of the underworld are Acheron, Pyriflegethon, Cocytus and Lethe, the river of oblivion (having swallowed water from Lethe, the deceased forgot everything. Only after drinking sacrificial blood, the soul of the deceased temporarily regained its former consciousness and the ability to speak with the living). The souls of a very few chosen ones live separately from other shadows in Elysia (or on the Champs Elysees), mentioned in the Odyssey and in the Theogony: there they remain in eternal bliss under the protection of Kronos, as if in the Golden Age; later it was believed that everyone initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries went to Elysia.

Criminals who have offended the ancient Greek gods in any way suffer eternal torment in the underworld. Thus, the Phrygian king Tantalus, who offered the meat of his son as food to the gods, eternally suffers from hunger and thirst, standing up to his neck in water and seeing ripe fruits next to him, and also remains in eternal fear, because a rock is hanging over his head, ready to collapse . The Corinthian king Sisyphus is forever dragging a heavy stone up the mountain, which, barely reaching the top of the mountain, rolls down. Sisyphus is punished by the gods for self-interest and deceit. The Danaids, daughters of the Argive king Danaus, forever fill a bottomless barrel with water for the murder of their husbands. The Euboean giant Titius lies prostrate in Tartarus for insulting the goddess Latona, and two kites eternally torment his liver. The god Hades administers his judgment over the dead with the help of three heroes famous for their wisdom - Aeacus, Minos and Rhadamanthus. Aeacus was also considered the gatekeeper of the underworld.

According to the ideas of the ancient Greeks, the kingdom of the god Hades is immersed in darkness and inhabited by all sorts of terrible creatures and monsters. Among them are the terrible Empusa - a vampire and a werewolf with donkey legs, Erinyes, Harpies - the goddess of the whirlwind, the half-woman, half-snake Echidna; here is the daughter of Echidna, the Chimera, with the head and neck of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a snake, and here are the gods of various dreams. The three-headed and three-body daughter of Tartarus and Night, the ancient Greek goddess Hecate, rules over all these demons and monsters. Her triple appearance is explained by the fact that she appears on Olympus, on earth, and in Tartarus. But, predominantly, she belongs to the underworld, is the personification of the darkness of the night; she sends people painful dreams; she is invoked when performing all kinds of witchcraft and spells. Therefore, the service to this goddess was performed at night.

The Cyclopes, according to the myths of Ancient Greece, forged an invisibility helmet for the god Hades; Obviously, this thought is associated with the idea of the invisible approach of death to its victim.

The god Hades is depicted as a mature husband, sitting on a throne with a rod or bident in his hand, with Cerberus at his feet. Sometimes the goddess Persephone with a pomegranate is next to him.

Hades almost never appears on Olympus, so he is not included in the Olympic pantheon.

Goddess Demeter

The ancient Greek goddess Pallas Athena is the beloved daughter of Zeus, born from his head. When Zeus's beloved oceanide Metis (the goddess of reason) was expecting a child who, according to prophecy, was supposed to surpass his father in strength, Zeus with cunning speeches made her shrink in size and swallowed her. But the fetus with which Metis was pregnant did not die, but continued to develop in his head. At the request of Zeus, Hephaestus (according to another myth, Prometheus) cut his head with an ax, and the goddess Athena jumped out of it in full military armor.

The birth of Athena from the head of Zeus. Drawing on an amphora from the second half of the 6th century. BC

"Before the aegis-powerful Zeus
She quickly jumped to the ground from his eternal head,
Shaking with a sharp spear. Under the heavy jump of the bright-eyed one
The great Olympus hesitated, they groaned terribly
Around the lying lands, the wide sea trembled
And it boiled in crimson waves..."
(from the Homeric hymn to Athena, vv. 7–8; trans. V.V. Veresaev).

As the daughter of Metis, the goddess Athena herself became "Polymetis" (many-minded), the goddess of reason and intelligent war. If the god Ares revels in all bloodshed, being the personification of a destructive war, then the goddess Athena introduces an element of humanity into the war. In Homer, Athena says that the gods do not leave unpunished the use of poisoned arrows. If the appearance of Ares is terrifying, then the presence of Athena in battle disciplines, inspires and brings reconciliation. Thus, in her person the ancient Greeks contrasted reason with brute force.

Being an ancient Mycenaean deity, Athena concentrated in her hands the control of many natural phenomena and aspects of life: at one time she was the mistress of the heavenly elements, and the goddess of fertility, and a healer, and the patroness of peaceful labor; she taught people how to build houses, bridle horses, etc.

Gradually, ancient Greek myths began to limit the activities of the goddess Athena to war, introducing rationality into the actions of people and women's craft (spinning, weaving, embroidery, etc.). In this respect, she is related to Hephaestus, but Hephaestus is the elemental side of the craft, associated with fire; For Athena, reason prevails even in her craft: if to give nobility to the art of Hephaestus, his union with Aphrodite or Charita was needed, then the goddess Athena herself is perfection, the personification of cultural progress in everything. Athena was revered everywhere in Greece, but especially in Attica, which she won in a dispute with Poseidon. In Attica, she was a favorite deity; the main city of Attica was named Athens in her honor.

The name "Pallada" apparently appeared after the fusion of the cult of Athena with the cult of the ancient deity Pallant, who in the minds of the Greeks was a giant defeated by Athena during the war of the gods with the giants.

As a warrior she is Pallas, as a patroness in peaceful life - Athena. Her epithets are “blue-eyed”, “owl-eyed” (the owl, as a symbol of wisdom, was the sacred bird of Athena), Ergana (worker), Tritogenea (an epithet of unclear meaning). In Ancient Greece, the goddess Athena was depicted in different ways, but most often in a long sleeveless robe, with a spear and shield, wearing a helmet and with an aegis on her chest, on which is mounted the head of Medusa, given to her by Perseus; sometimes with a snake (a symbol of healing), sometimes with a flute, since the ancient Greeks believed that Athena invented this instrument.

The goddess Athena was not married, she was not subject to the spell of Aphrodite, therefore her main temple, located in the acropolis, was called “Parthenon” (parthenos - maiden). A huge “chryselephantine” (i.e., made of gold and ivory) statue of Athena with Nike in her right hand (the work of Phidias) was installed in the Parthenon. Not far from the Parthenon, inside the walls of the acropolis stood another statue of Athena, a bronze one; the shine of her spear was visible to the sailors approaching the city.

In the Homeric hymn, Athena is called the defender of the city. Indeed, in the period of ancient Greek history we are studying, Athena was a purely urban deity, unlike, for example, Demeter, Dionysus, Pan, etc.

God Apollo (Phoebus)

According to the myths of Ancient Greece, when the mother of the gods Apollo and Artemis, the beloved of Zeus, Latona (Leto) was supposed to become a mother, she was cruelly persecuted by Hera, the jealous and merciless wife of Zeus. Everyone was afraid of Hera's wrath, so Latona was driven away from everywhere she stopped. And only the island of Delos, wandering like Latona (according to legend, it was once floating), understood the suffering of the goddess and accepted her to his land. He was, moreover, seduced by her promise to give birth to a great god on his land, for whom a sacred grove would be laid out and a beautiful temple erected there, on Delos.

On the land of Delos the goddess Latona gave birth to twins - the gods Apollo and Artemis, who received the epithets in his honor - Delius and Delia.

Phoebus Apollo is the oldest deity of Asia Minor origin. Once upon a time he was revered as the guardian of herds, roads, travelers, sailors, as the god of medical art. Gradually he took one of the leading places in the pantheon of Ancient Greece. His two names reflect his dual essence: clear, bright (Phoebus) and destructive (Apollo). Gradually, the cult of Apollo replaced the cult of Helios in Ancient Greece, originally revered as the deity of the sun, and became the personification of sunlight. The rays of the sun, life-giving, but sometimes deadly (causing drought), were perceived by the ancient Greeks as the arrows of a “silver-bowed”, “far-striking” god, therefore the bow is one of Phoebus’s constant attributes. His other attribute of Apollo - the lyre or cithara - is shaped like a bow. God Apollo is a most skilled musician and patron of music. When he appears with the lyre at the feasts of the gods, he is accompanied by the muses - the goddesses of poetry, arts and sciences. The Muses are the daughters of Zeus and the goddess of memory Mnemosyne. There were nine muses: Calliope - the muse of epic, Euterpe - the muse of lyricism, Erato - the muse of love poetry, Polyhymnia - the muse of hymns, Melpomene - the muse of tragedy, Thalia - the muse of comedy, Terpsichore - the muse of dance, Clio - the muse of history and Urania - the muse of astronomy. Mounts Helikon and Parnassus were considered the muses' favorite places to stay. This is how the author of the Homeric hymn to Apollo of Pythia describes Apollo-Musagetes (leader of the muses):

“The clothes of the immortals are fragrant on God. Strings
Passionately under the plectrum they sound golden on the divine lyre.
Thoughts quickly transferred from earth to Olympus, from there
He enters the chambers of Zeus, the assembly of other immortals.
Immediately everyone has a desire for songs and lyres.
The beautiful Muses begin the song in alternating choirs..."
(vv. 6–11; trans. V.V. Veresaev).

The laurel wreath on the head of the god Apollo is a memory of his beloved, the nymph Daphne, who turned into a laurel tree, preferring death to the love of Phoebus.

Apollo's medical functions gradually passed to his son Asclepius and granddaughter Hygieia, the goddess of health.

In the archaic era, Apollo the Archer became the most popular god among the ancient Greek aristocracy. In the city of Delphi there was the main sanctuary of Apollo - the Delphic oracle, where both private individuals and government officials came for predictions and advice.

Apollo is one of the most formidable gods of Ancient Greece. The other gods are even a little afraid of Apollo. This is how it is described in the hymn to Apollo of Delos:

“He will pass through the house of Zeus - all the gods, and they will tremble.
They jumped up from their chairs and stood in fear when he
He will come closer and begin to draw his shining bow.
Only Leto remains near the lightning-loving Zeus;
The goddess opens the bow and covers the quiver with a lid,
From Phoebus's powerful shoulders he removes weapons with his hands
And a golden peg on a pillar near the seat of Zeus
Hangs up the bow and quiver; Apollo sits in a chair.
In his golden cup, welcoming his dear son,
Father serves nectar. And then the rest of the deities
They also sit in chairs. And Summer's heart rejoices,
Rejoicing that she gave birth to a bow-bearing, powerful son"
(Art. 2–13; trans. V.V. Veresaev).

In Ancient Greece, the god Apollo was depicted as a slender young man with shoulder-length wavy curls. He is either naked (the so-called Apollo of Belvedere has only a light covering falling from his shoulders) and holds a shepherd’s crook or bow in his hands (Apollo of Belvedere has a quiver of arrows behind his shoulders), or in long clothes, in a laurel wreath and with a lyre in his hands - this is Apollo Musagetes or Cyfared.

Apollo Belvedere. Statue by Leochares. OK. 330-320 BC.

It is noteworthy that although Apollo was the patron of music and singing in Ancient Greece, he himself plays only stringed instruments - the lyre and the cithara, which the Greeks considered noble, contrasting them with the “barbaric” (foreign) instruments - the flute and pipe. It was not for nothing that the goddess Athena refused the flute, giving it to a lower deity - the satyr Marsyas, since when playing this instrument her cheeks puffed out unsightly.

Gods of Ancient Greece – Artemis

God Dionysus

Dionysus (Bacchus), in Ancient Greece - the god of the plant forces of nature, the patron of viticulture and winemaking, in the 7th–5th centuries. BC e. gained enormous popularity among the common people as opposed to Apollo, whose cult was popular among the aristocracy.

However, this rapid growth in the popularity of Dionysus was, as it were, the second birth of the god: his cult existed back in the 2nd millennium BC. e., but then was almost forgotten. Homer does not mention Dionysus, and this indicates the unpopularity of his cult in the era of the dominance of the aristocracy, at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e.

The archaic image of Dionysus, the way God was thought to be, apparently, before the change in the cult, is a mature man with a long beard; in the V–IV centuries. BC e. The ancient Greeks depicted Bacchus as a pampered, even somewhat effeminate young man with grapes or an ivy wreath on his head, and this change in the appearance of the god indicates a change in his cult. It is no coincidence that in Ancient Greece there were several myths that told about the struggle with which the cult of Dionysus was introduced, and about the resistance that met its appearance in Greece. One of these myths forms the basis of Euripides' tragedy The Bacchae. Through the mouth of Dionysus himself, Euripides very plausibly tells the story of this god: Dionysus was born in Greece, but was forgotten in his homeland and returned to his country only after he had gained popularity and established his cult in Asia. He had to overcome resistance in Greece, not because he was a stranger there, but because he brought with him an orgasm alien to Ancient Greece.

Indeed, Bacchic festivities (orgies) in the classical era of Ancient Greece were ecstatic, and the moment of ecstasy was obviously the new element that was introduced during the revival of the cult of Dionysus and was the result of the fusion of the cult of Dionysus with the eastern deities of fertility (for example, the cult coming from the Balkans Sabasia).

In Ancient Greece, the god Dionysus was considered the son of Zeus and Semele, daughter of the Theban king Cadmus. The goddess Hera hated Semele and wanted to destroy her. She convinced Semele to ask Zeus to appear to his mortal lover in the guise of a god with thunder and lightning, which he never did (when appearing to mortals, he changed his appearance). As Zeus approached Semele's house, lightning slipped from his hand and struck the house; Semele died in the flames of a fire, giving birth to a weak child who was unable to live. But Zeus did not let his son die. Green ivy grew from the ground and protected the child from the fire. Zeus then took the rescued son and sewed him into his thigh. In the body of Zeus, Dionysus grew stronger and was born a second time from the thigh of the thunderer. According to the myths of Ancient Greece, Dionysus was raised by mountain nymphs and the demon Silenus, whom the ancients imagined as an eternally drunk, cheerful old man, devoted to his pupil-god.

The secondary introduction of the cult of the god Dionysus was reflected in a number of stories not only about the god’s arrival in Greece from Asia, but also about his travels on the ship in general. Already in the Homeric hymn we find a story about the move of Dionysus from the island of Ikaria to the island of Naxos. Not knowing that God was in front of them, the handsome young man was seized by robbers, tied with rods and loaded onto a ship to sell him into slavery or receive a ransom for him. But on the way, the fetters of Dionysus’s hands and feet fell off of their own accord, and miracles began to happen before the robbers:

“Sweet, first of all, is everywhere on a fast ship
Suddenly fragrant wine began to gurgle, and ambrosia
The smell rose all around. The sailors looked in amazement.
Instantly they reached out, clinging to the highest sail,
The vines hither and thither, and the clusters hung in abundance...”
(Art. 35–39; trans. V.V. Veresaev).

Turning into a lion, Dionysus tore the pirate leader to pieces. The rest of the pirates, with the exception of the wise helmsman, whom Dionysus spared, rushed into the sea and turned into dolphins.

The miracles described in this ancient Greek hymn - the spontaneous falling off of shackles, the appearance of fountains of wine, the transformation of Dionysus into a lion, etc., are characteristic of ideas about Dionysus. In the myths and visual arts of Ancient Greece, the god Dionysus is often represented as a goat, bull, panther, lion, or with attributes of these animals.

Dionysus and the satyrs. Painter Brigos, Attica. OK. 480 BC

The retinue of Dionysus (thyas) consists of satyrs and bacchantes (maenads). The attribute of the Bacchantes and the god Dionysus himself is the thyrsus (a stick entwined with ivy). This god has many names and epithets: Iacchus (screaming), Bromius (wildly noisy), Bassareus (the etymology of the word is unclear). One of the names (Liey) is obviously associated with the feeling of liberation from worries experienced when drinking wine, and with the orgiastic character of the cult, freeing a person from ordinary prohibitions.

Pan and the forest deities

Pan was in Ancient Greece the god of forests, the patron of pastures, herds and shepherds. The son of Hermes and the nymph Dryope (according to another myth - the son of Zeus), he was born with goat horns and goat legs, because the god Hermes, caring for his mother, took the form of a goat:

“With the light nymphs he is goat-legged, two-horned, noisy
Wanders through the mountain oak groves, under the dark canopy of trees,
Nymphs from the tops of rocky cliffs call him,
They call upon the lord with curly, dirty fur,
God of merry pastures. The rocks were given to him as his inheritance,
Snowy mountain heads, paths of flinty cliffs"
(from the Homeric hymn to Pan, vv. 2–7; trans. V.V. Veresaev).

Unlike satyrs, who had the same appearance, Pan was depicted by the ancient Greeks with a pipe in his hands, while satyrs were depicted with grapes or ivy.

Following the example of the ancient Greek shepherds, the god Pan led a nomadic life, wandering through the forests, resting in remote caves and instilling “panic fear” in lost travelers.

There were many forest gods in Ancient Greece, and in contrast to the main deity, they were called paniskas.

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

Gods of Ancient Greece. Video

God Poseidon (Neptune). Antique statue of the 2nd century. according to R.H.

Olympian goddess Artemis. Statue in the Louvre

Statue of Virgin Athena in the Parthenon. Ancient Greek sculptor Phidias

Venus (Aphrodite) de Milo. Statue approx. 130-100 BC.

Eros Earthly and Heavenly. Artist G. Baglione, 1602

Hymen- companion of Aphrodite, god of marriage. After his name, wedding hymns were also called hymens in Ancient Greece.

- daughter of Demeter, kidnapped by the god Hades. The inconsolable mother, after a long search, found Persephone in the underworld. Hades, who made her his wife, agreed that she should spend part of the year on earth with her mother, and the other with him in the bowels of the earth. Persephone was the personification of grain, which, being “dead” sown into the ground, then “comes to life” and comes out of it into the light.

The abduction of Persephone. Antique jug, ca. 330-320 BC.

Amphitrite- wife of Poseidon, one of the Nereids

Proteus- one of the sea deities of the Greeks. Son of Poseidon, who had the gift of predicting the future and changing his appearance

Triton- the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a messenger of the deep sea, blowing a shell. In appearance it is a mixture of a man, a horse and a fish. Close to the eastern god Dagon.

Eirene- goddess of peace, standing at the throne of Zeus on Olympus. In Ancient Rome - the goddess Pax.

Nika- goddess of victory. Constant companion of Zeus. In Roman mythology - Victoria

Dike- in Ancient Greece - the personification of divine truth, a goddess hostile to deception

Tyukhe- goddess of luck and good fortune. For the Romans - Fortuna

Morpheus– ancient Greek god of dreams, son of the god of sleep Hypnos

Plutos- god of wealth

Phobos(“Fear”) – son and companion of Ares

Deimos(“Horror”) – son and companion of Ares

Enyo- among the ancient Greeks - the goddess of frantic war, who arouses rage in the fighters and brings confusion into the battle. In Ancient Rome - Bellona

Titans

Titans are the second generation of gods of Ancient Greece, generated by natural elements. The first Titans were six sons and six daughters, descended from the connection of Gaia-Earth with Uranus-Sky. Six sons: Cronus (Time among the Romans - Saturn), Ocean (father of all rivers), Hyperion, Kay, Kriy, Iapetus. Six daughters: Tethys(Water), Theia(Shine), Rhea(Mother Mountain?), Themis (Justice), Mnemosyne(Memory), Phoebe.

Uranus and Gaia. Ancient Roman mosaic 200-250 AD.

In addition to the Titans, Gaia gave birth to Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires from her marriage with Uranus.

Cyclops- three giants with a large, round, fiery eye in the middle of their forehead. In ancient times - personifications of clouds from which lightning flashes

Hecatoncheires- “hundred-handed” giants, against whose terrible strength nothing can resist. Incarnations of terrible earthquakes and floods.

The Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires were so strong that Uranus himself was horrified by their power. He tied them up and threw them deep into the earth, where they are still rampaging, causing volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The presence of these giants in the belly of the earth began to cause terrible suffering. Gaia persuaded her youngest son, Cronus, to take revenge on his father, Uranus, by castrating him.

Cron did it with a sickle. From the drops of blood of Uranus that spilled, Gaia conceived and gave birth to three Erinyes - goddesses of vengeance with snakes on their heads instead of hair. The names of Erinny are Tisiphone (the killing avenger), Alecto (the tireless pursuer) and Megaera (the terrible). From that part of the seed and blood of castrated Uranus that fell not on the ground, but in the sea, the goddess of love Aphrodite was born.

Night-Nyukta, in anger at the lawlessness of Krona, gave birth to terrible creatures and deities Tanata (Death), Eridu(Discord) Apata(Deception), goddesses of violent death Ker, Hypnos(Dream-Nightmare), Nemesis(Revenge), Gerasa(Old age), Charona(carrier of the dead to the underworld).

Power over the world has now passed from Uranus to the Titans. They divided the universe among themselves. Cronus became the supreme god instead of his father. The ocean gained power over a huge river, which, according to the ideas of the ancient Greeks, flows around the entire earth. Four other brothers of Cronos reigned in the four cardinal directions: Hyperion - in the East, Crius - in the south, Iapetus - in the West, Kay - in the North.

Four of the six elder titans married their sisters. From them came the younger generation of titans and elemental deities. From the marriage of Oceanus with his sister Tethys (Water), all the earth's rivers and Oceanid water nymphs were born. Titan Hyperion - (“high-walking”) took his sister Theia (Shine) as his wife. From them were born Helios (Sun), Selena(Moon) and Eos(Dawn). From Eos were born the stars and the four gods of the winds: Boreas(North wind), Note(South wind), Marshmallow(west wind) and Eurus(Eastern wind). The Titans Kay (Heavenly Axis?) and Phoebe gave birth to Leto (Night Silence, mother of Apollo and Artemis) and Asteria (Starlight). Cronus himself married Rhea (Mother Mountain, the personification of the productive power of mountains and forests). Their children are the Olympic gods Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Zeus.

The Titan Crius married the daughter of Pontus Eurybia, and the Titan Iapetus married the oceanid Clymene, who gave birth to the Titans Atlas (he holds the sky on his shoulders), the arrogant Menoetius, the cunning Prometheus (“thinking first, foreseeing”) and the feeble-minded Epimetheus (“thinking after").

From these titans came others:

Hesperus- god of the evening and the evening star. His daughters from the night-Nyukta are the nymphs Hesperides, who guard on the western edge of the earth a garden with golden apples, once presented by Gaia-Earth to the goddess Hera at her marriage to Zeus

Ory- goddesses of parts of the day, seasons and periods of human life.

Charites- goddess of grace, fun and joy of life. There are three of them - Aglaya (“Rejoicing”), Euphrosyne (“Joy”) and Thalia (“Abundance”). A number of Greek writers have different names for charites. In Ancient Rome they corresponded to grace

Each of the peoples of the Ancient World had their own deities, powerful and not so powerful. Many of them had unusual abilities and were the owners of wonderful artifacts that gave them additional strength, knowledge and, ultimately, power.

Amaterasu ("Great Goddess Who Illuminates the Heavens")

Country: Japan
Essence: Sun Goddess, ruler of the heavenly fields

Amaterasu is the eldest of three children of the progenitor god Izanaki. She was born from 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 ancestry from her. She is considered the great-grandmother of the first Emperor Jimmu. The rice ear, mirror, sword and carved beads given to her became sacred symbols of imperial power. According to tradition, one of the emperor's daughters becomes the High Priestess of Amaterasu.

Yu-Di (“Jade Sovereign”)

Country: China
Essence: Supreme Overlord, Emperor of the Universe

Yu-Di was born at the moment of the creation of Earth and Heaven. The Heavenly, Terrestrial, and Underground worlds are subject to him. All other deities and spirits are subordinate to him.
Yu-Di is absolutely emotionless. He sits on a throne in a robe embroidered with dragons and holding a jade tablet in his hands. Yu Di has an exact address: the god lives in a palace on Mount Yujingshan, which resembles the court of the Chinese emperors. Under it there are celestial councils responsible for various natural phenomena. They perform all sorts of actions that the Lord of Heaven himself does not condescend to do.

Quetzalcoatlus ("Feathered Serpent")

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 an anthill, turning into an ant himself, and stole them.

Quetzalcoatl was depicted both as a feathered serpent (the body symbolizing the Earth, and the feathers representing vegetation) and as a bearded man wearing 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 conquistador leader Cortes for the returned Quetzalcoatl.

Baal (Balu, Baal, "Lord")

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 as a bull or as a warrior riding 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 also made to Baal in some areas. From his name comes the name of the biblical demon Beelzebub (Ball-Zebula, “Lord of the Flies”).

Ishtar (Astarte, Inanna, "Lady of Heaven")

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. Associated with the legend of her journey to the underworld was the myth of nature dying and reborn every year. She often acted as an intercessor for people before the gods. At the same time, Ishtar was responsible for various feuds. The Sumerians even called wars “the dances of Inanna.” As a goddess of war, she was often depicted riding a lion, and was probably a prototype of the Whore of Babylon riding on a beast.
The passion of the loving Ishtar was destructive for both 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.

Ashur ("Father of the Gods")

Country: Assyria
Essence: God of War
Ashur is the main god of the Assyrians, the god of war and hunting. His weapon was a bow and arrow. As a rule, Ashur was depicted together with bulls. Its other symbol is the solar disk above the tree of life. Over time, as the Assyrians expanded their possessions, he began to be considered the consort of Ishtar. The High Priest of Ashur was the Assyrian king himself, and his name often became part of the royal name, as, for example, the famous Ashurbanipal, and the capital of Assyria was called Ashur.

Marduk ("Son of Clear Sky")

Country: Mesopotamia
Essence: Patron of Babylon, god of wisdom, ruler 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 destinies that belonged to her. After that, he cut Tiamat's body and created Heaven and Earth from them, and then created the entire modern, ordered world. The other gods, seeing the power of Marduk, recognized his supremacy.
Marduk's symbol is the dragon Mushkhush, a mixture of scorpion, snake, eagle and 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) - probably became the basis of the legend of the Tower of Babel.

Yahweh (Jehovah, "He Who Is")

Country: Middle East
Essence: Single tribal god of the Jews

Yahweh's main function was to help his chosen people. He gave the Jews laws and strictly monitored their implementation. In clashes with enemies, Yahweh provided the chosen people with assistance, sometimes the most direct. In one of the battles, for example, he threw huge stones at his enemies, in another case he abolished the law of nature, stopping the sun.
Unlike most other gods of the ancient world, Yahweh is extremely jealous, and forbids the worship of any deities except himself. Severe punishments await those who disobey. The word “Yahweh” is a replacement for the secret name of God, which is forbidden to be spoken out loud. It was impossible to create his images either. In Christianity, Yahweh is sometimes identified with God the Father.

Ahura-Mazda (Ormuzd, “God the Wise”)

Country: Persia
Essence: Creator of the World and all that is good 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 Ahura Mazda's eternal enemy Angra Mainyu). Ahura Mazda's assistants are the good beings of Ahura created by him. He is surrounded by them 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, eternally young. He knows both the past and the future. In the end, he will achieve the final victory over evil, and the world will become perfect.

Angra Mainyu (Ahriman, "Evil Spirit")

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 birth to predatory animals, poisonous plants and animals. Under the command of Angra Mainyu are the devas, evil spirits, who carry out his evil will. After Angra Mainyu and his minions are defeated, an era of eternal bliss should begin.

Brahma ("Priest")

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 earthly years, he will die, and after the same period of time a new Brahma will self-generate and create a new world.
Brahma has four faces and four arms, which symbolizes the cardinal directions. Its indispensable attributes are a book, 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 Mount Meru and rides on a white swan. The descriptions of the action of Brahma's weapon Brahmastra are reminiscent of the description of nuclear weapons.

Vishnu ("All-encompassing")

Country: India
Essence: God is the keeper of the world

The main functions of Vishnu are maintaining the existing world and opposing evil. Vishnu appears 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 hands in which he holds a lotus flower, a mace, a conch shell and Sudarshana (a rotating disk of fire, his weapon). Vishnu reclines on the giant multi-headed snake Shesha, which swims in the world's Causal Ocean.

Shiva ("Merciful")

Country: India
Essence: God is the destroyer
Shiva's main task is to destroy 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 a deliverer from death.
Shiva sits in lotus position on a tiger skin. There are snake bracelets on his neck and wrists. On Shiva's forehead there is a third eye (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 to understand him.

Ra (Amon, "Sun")

Country: Egypt
Essence: Sun God
Ra, the main god of Ancient Egypt, was born from the primordial ocean of his own free will, and then created the world, including the gods. He is the personification of the Sun, and every day with a large retinue he travels across the sky in a magic boat, thanks to which life in Egypt becomes possible. At night, Ra's boat sails along the underground Nile through the afterlife. The Eye of Ra (sometimes considered an independent deity) had the ability to pacify and subjugate enemies. The Egyptian pharaohs traced their origins to Ra, and called themselves his sons.

Osiris (Usir, "The Mighty One")

Country: Egypt
Essence: God of rebirth, ruler and judge of the underworld.

Osiris taught people agriculture. His attributes are associated with plants: the crown and boat are made of papyrus, he holds bundles of reeds in his hands, and the throne is covered with greenery. Osiris was killed and cut into pieces by his brother, the evil god Set, but was resurrected with the help of his wife and sister Isis. However, having conceived the son Horus, Osiris did not remain in the world of the living, but became the ruler 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 flail. In Ancient Egypt, the tomb of Osiris was highly revered.

Isis ("The Throne")

Country: Egypt
Essence: Intercessor Goddess.
Isis is the embodiment of femininity and motherhood. All segments of the population turned to her with pleas for help, but, first of all, the oppressed. She especially patronized children. And sometimes she 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. In popular mythology, the floods of the Nile were considered the tears of Isis, which she shed for Osiris, who remained in the world of the dead. The Egyptian pharaohs were called the children of Isis; sometimes she was even depicted as a mother feeding the pharaoh with milk from her breast.
The well-known image is the “veil of Isis,” meaning the concealment of the secrets of nature. This image has long attracted mystics. No wonder Blavatsky’s famous book is called “Isis Unveiled.”

Odin (Wotan, "The Seer")

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 changed at will. Odin's spear, Gugnir, always flies to the target and hits on the spot. He is accompanied by wise crows and predatory wolves. Odin lives in Valhalla with a squad of the best fallen warriors and warlike Valkyrie maidens.
In order to gain wisdom, Odin sacrificed one eye, and in order to understand the meaning of the runes, he hung on the sacred tree Yggdrasil for nine days, nailed to it with his own spear. Odin's future is predetermined: despite his power, on the day of Ragnarok (the battle preceding the end of the world) he will be killed by the giant wolf Fefnir.

Thor (Thunder)

Country: Northern Europe
Essence: Thunderer

Thor is the god of the elements and fertility among the ancient Germans and Scandinavians. This is a hero god who protects not only people, but also other gods from monsters. Thor was depicted as a giant with a red beard. His weapon is the magic hammer Mjolnir (“lightning”), which can only be held with iron gloves. Thor is girded with a magic belt that doubles his strength. He rides across the sky in a chariot drawn by goats. 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 Jormungandr, but he himself will die from his poison.

The life of the ancient Greek gods on Mount Olympus seemed to people to be pure fun and a daily celebration. The myths and legends of those times represent a storehouse of philosophical and cultural knowledge. Having looked at the list of gods of Ancient Greece, you can plunge into a completely different world. Mythology surprises with its uniqueness; it is important because it pushed humanity to the development and emergence of many sciences, such as mathematics, astronomy, rhetoric, and logic.

First generation

Initially there was Mist, and out of it Chaos arose. From their union came Erebus (darkness), Nyx (night), Uranus (sky), Eros (love), Gaia (earth) and Tartarus (abyss). All of them played a gigantic role in the formation of the pantheon. All other deities are somehow connected with them.

Gaia is one of the first deities on earth, appearing along with the sky, sea and air. She is the great mother of everything on earth: the heavenly gods were born from her union with her son Uranus (sky), the sea gods from Pontos (sea), the giants from Tartaros (hell), and mortal beings were created from her flesh. She was depicted as an obese woman, half rising from the ground. We can assume that it was she who came up with all the names of the gods of Ancient Greece, a list of which can be found below.

Uranus is one of the primitive gods of Ancient Greece. He was the original ruler of the universe. He was overthrown by his son Kronos. Born by one Gaia, he was also her husband. Some sources call his father Akmon. Uranus was depicted as a bronze dome covering the world.

List of gods of Ancient Greece, born of Uranus and Gaia: Oceanus, Cous, Hyperion, Crius, Thea, Rhea, Themis, Iapetus, Mnemosyne, Tethys, Kronos, Cyclopes, Brontes, Steropes.

Uranus did not feel much love for his children, or rather, he hated them. And after birth, he imprisoned them in Tartarus. But during their rebellion he was defeated and castrated by his son Kronos.

Second generation

The Titans, born of Uranus and Gaia, were the six gods of time. The list of titans of Ancient Greece includes:

Ocean - tops the list of gods of Ancient Greece, titanium. It was a large river surrounding the earth and was the reservoir of all fresh water. Oceanus's wife was his sister, the Titanide Tethys. Their union gave birth to rivers, streams and thousands of oceanids. They did not take part in the Titanomachy. The ocean was depicted as a horned bull with a fish tail instead of legs.

Kay (Koi/Keos) - Phoebe's brother and husband. Their union gave birth to Leto and Asteria. Depicted as a celestial axis. It was around her that the clouds revolved and Helios and Selene walked across the sky. The couple were thrown by Zeus into Tartarus.

Crius (Krios) is an ice titan capable of freezing all living things. He shared the fate of his brothers and sisters, thrown into Tartarus.

Iapetus (Iapetus/Iapetus) - the most eloquent, commanded the titans when attacking the gods. Also sent by Zeus to Tartarus.

Hyperion - lived on the island of Trinacria. He did not take part in the Titanomachy. The wife was the titinide Thea (thrown into Tartarus along with her brothers and sisters).

Kronos (Chronos/Kronus) is the temporary ruler of the world. He was so afraid of losing the power of the supreme god that he devoured his children so that not one of them would lay claim to the throne of the ruler. He was married to his sister Rhea. She managed to save one child and hide him from Kronos. Overthrown by his only saved heir, Zeus, and sent to Tartarus.

Closer to people

The next generation is the most famous. They are the main gods of Ancient Greece. The list of their exploits, adventures and legends with their participation is very impressive.

They not only became closer to people, descending from heaven and emerging from chaos to the top of the mountain. The gods of the third generation began to contact people more often and more willingly.

Zeus especially boasted about this, who was very partial to earthly women. And the presence of the divine wife Hera did not bother him at all. It was from his union with man that the well-known hero of myths, Hercules, was born.

Third generation

These gods lived on Mount Olympus. They got their title from its name. There are 12 gods of Ancient Greece, the list of which is known to almost everyone. They all performed their functions and were endowed with unique talents.

But more often they talk about fourteen gods, the first six of which were the children of Kronos and Rhea:

Zeus - the main god of Olympus, the ruler of the sky, personified power and strength. God of lightning, thunder and creator of people. The main attributes of this god were: Aegis (shield), Labrys (double-sided axe), Zeus' lightning (double-pronged pitchfork with jagged edges) and an eagle. Distributed good and evil. Was in an alliance with several women:

Metis - the first wife, the goddess of wisdom, was swallowed by her husband;
Themis - goddess of justice, second wife of Zeus;
Hera - the last wife, the goddess of marriage, was the sister of Zeus.

Poseidon is the god of rivers, floods, seas, drought, horses and earthquakes. His attributes were: a trident, a dolphin and a chariot with white-maned horses. Wife - Amphitrite.

Demeter is the mother of Persephone, sister of Zeus and his lover. She is the goddess of fertility and patronizes farmers. Demeter's attribute is a wreath of ears.

Hestia is the sister of Demeter, Zeus, Hades, Hera and Poseidon. Patron of sacrificial fire and family hearth. She took a vow of chastity. The main attribute was a torch.

Hades is the ruler of the underworld of the dead. Consort of Persephone (goddess of fertility and queen of the kingdom of the dead). The attributes of Hades were a bident or a rod. Depicted with the underground monster Cerberus - a three-headed dog who stood guard at the entrance to Tartarus.

Hera is the sister and at the same time the wife of Zeus. The most powerful and wise goddess of Olympus. She was the patroness of family and marriage. A mandatory attribute of Hera is a diadem. This decoration is a symbol of the fact that she is the main one on Olympus. All the main gods of Ancient Greece, the list of which she headed, obeyed her (sometimes reluctantly).

Other Olympians

Even if these gods did not have such powerful parents, almost all of them were born from Zeus. Each of them was talented in their own way. And he coped well with his duties.

Ares is the son of Hera and Zeus. God of battles, war and masculinity. He was a lover and then the husband of the goddess Aphrodite. Ares' companions were Eris (goddess of discord) and Enyo (goddess of furious war). The main attributes were: helmet, sword, dogs, burning torch and shield.

Apollo, the son of Zeus and Leto, was the twin brother of Artemis. God of light, leader of the muses, god of healing and predictor of the future. Apollo was very loving, he had many mistresses and lovers. The attributes were: a laurel wreath, a chariot, a bow and arrows and a golden lyre.

Hermes is the son of Zeus and the galaxy of Maya or Persephone. God of trade, eloquence, dexterity, intelligence, animal husbandry and roads. Patron of athletes, merchants, artisans, shepherds, travelers, ambassadors and thieves. He is the personal messenger of Zeus and the guide of the dead to the kingdom of Hades. He taught people writing, trade and bookkeeping. Attributes: winged sandals that allow him to fly, invisibility helmet, caduceus (a rod decorated with two intertwined snakes).

Hephaestus is the son of Hera and Zeus. God of blacksmithing and fire. He was limping on both legs. Hephaestus's wives are Aphrodite and Aglaia. The attributes of the god were: blacksmith's bellows, tongs, chariot and pilos.

Dionysus is the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Semele. God of vineyards and winemaking, inspiration and ecstasy. Patron of the theater. He was married to Ariadne. Attributes of God: a cup of wine, a wreath of vines and a chariot.

Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and the goddess Leto, twin sister of Apollo. The young goddess is a hunter. Born first, she helped her mother give birth to Apollo. Chaste. Attributes of Artemis: a doe, a quiver of arrows and a chariot.

Demeter is the daughter of Kronos and Rhea. Mother of Persephone (wife of Hades), sister of Zeus and his lover. Goddess of agriculture and fertility. Demeter's attribute is a wreath of ears.

Athena, the daughter of Zeus, completes our list of gods of Ancient Greece. She was born from his head after he swallowed her mother Themis. Goddess of war, wisdom and craft. Patroness of the Greek city of Athens. Her attributes were: a shield with the image of the Gorgon Medusa, an owl, a snake and a spear.

Born in foam?

I would like to say something separately about the next goddess. She is not only a symbol of female beauty to this day. Moreover, the history of its origin is hidden in mystery.

There is a lot of controversy and speculation about the birth of Aphrodite. First version: the goddess was born from the seed and blood of Uranus castrated by Kronos, which fell into the sea and formed foam. Second version: Aphrodite arose from a sea shell. Third hypothesis: she is the daughter of Dione and Zeus.

This goddess was in charge of beauty and love. Spouses: Ares and Hephaestus. Attributes: chariot, apple, rose, mirror and dove.

How they lived on the great Olympus

All the Olympian gods of Ancient Greece, the list of which you see above, had the right to live and spend all their free time from miracles on the great mountain. The relationship between them was not always rosy, but few of them decided on open hostility, knowing the power of their enemy.

Even among the great divine creatures there was no permanent peace. But everything was decided by intrigues, secret conspiracies and betrayals. It's very similar to the human world. And this is understandable, because humanity was created precisely by the gods, so they are all similar to us.

Gods who do not live on top of Olympus

Not all deities had the chance to reach such heights and climb Mount Olympus to rule the world there, feasting and having fun. Many other gods either could not earn such a high honor, or were modest and content with ordinary lives. If, of course, you can call the existence of a deity that way. In addition to the Olympian gods, there were other gods of Ancient Greece, a list of their names is here:

Hymen is the god of marriage (the son of Apollo and the muse Calliope).
Nike is the goddess of victory (daughter of Styx and the Titan Pallant).
Iris is the goddess of the rainbow (daughter of the sea god Thaumant and the oceanid Electra).
Ata is the goddess of darkness (daughter of Zeus).
Apata is the mistress of lies (heir to the goddess of night darkness Nyukta).
Morpheus is the god of dreams (son of the lord of dreams Hypnos).
Phobos is the god of fear (descendant of Aphrodite and Ares).
Deimos - Lord of Terror (son of Ares and Aphrodite).
Ora - goddesses of the seasons (daughters of Zeus and Themis).
Aeolus is the demigod of the winds (heir to Poseidon and Arna).
Hecate is the mistress of darkness and all monsters (the result of the union of the titan Persian and Asteria).
Thanatos - god of death (son of Erebus and Nyukta).
Erinyes - goddess of revenge (daughter of Erebus and Nyukta).
Pontus is the ruler of the inland sea (heir to Ether and Gaia).
Moiras are goddesses of fate (daughters of Zeus and Themis).

These are not all the gods of Ancient Greece, the list of which can be continued even further. But to get acquainted with the main myths and legends, it is enough to know only these characters. If you want to read more stories about each, we are sure that the ancient storytellers came up with a lot of intertwining of their destinies and details of the divine life, in which you will gradually get to know more and more new heroes.

Meaning of Greek Mythology

There were also muses, nymphs, satyrs, centaurs, heroes, cyclops, giants and monsters. This whole huge world was not invented in one day. Myths and legends have been written for decades, with each retelling acquiring new details and never-before-seen characters. More and more new gods of Ancient Greece appeared, the list of whose names grew from one storyteller to another.

The main goal of these stories was to teach future generations the wisdom of their elders, to tell in an understandable language about good and evil, about honor and cowardice, about loyalty and lies. Well, besides, such a huge pantheon made it possible to explain almost any natural phenomenon that had not yet been scientifically substantiated.