The basis, source of inspiration for European poets, playwrights and artists, were the Greek gods and goddesses, Greek heroes, myths and legends about them. Therefore, it is important to know their summary. The legends and myths of ancient Greece, the entire Greek culture, especially in the late times, when both philosophy and democracy were developed, had a strong influence on the formation of European civilization as a whole. Mythology has evolved over time. Legends and legends became famous because reciters roamed the paths and roads of Hellas. They carried more or less long stories of the heroic past. Some gave only a brief summary.
The legends and myths of ancient Greece gradually became familiar and loved, and what an educated person knew by heart and knew how to quote from any place. Greek scholars who sought to streamline everything began to work on the classification of myths, and turned disparate stories into a coherent series.
The main Greek gods
The very first myths are devoted to the struggle of various gods among themselves. Some of them had no human features - these were the creatures of the goddess Gaia-Earth and Uranus-Heaven - twelve titans and six more monsters that terrified his father, and he plunged them into the abyss - Tartarus. But Gaia persuaded the remaining titans to overthrow her father.
This was done by the insidious Kronos - Time. But, marrying his sister, he was afraid of the children 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 could not swallow the baby. And Zeus was securely hidden in Crete. This is only a summary. The legends and myths of ancient Greece scary describe the events.
Zeus War of Power
Zeus grew up, matured and forced Kronos to return to the white light his swallowed sisters and brothers. He encouraged them to fight with a cruel father. In addition, part of the titans, giants and cyclops took part in the struggle. The struggle lasted ten years. The fire was raging, the seas were boiling, nothing was visible from the smoke. But the victory went to Zeus. The enemies were overthrown in Tartarus and taken into custody.
Gods on Olympus
Zeus, to whom the Cyclopes shackled lightning, became the supreme god, all the waters on earth obeyed Poseidon, Hades - the underworld of the dead. This was the third generation of gods from whom all the other gods and heroes descended, about whom stories and legends would begin to be told.
The oldest belong to the cycle of Dionysus, the
god of wine and winemaking, fertility, the patron saint of the night mysteries, which were held in the darkest places. The mysteries were scary and mysterious. So the struggle of the dark gods with the light began to take shape. There were no real wars, but the
dark gods began to gradually give way to the bright sun god Phoebe with his rational beginning, 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. Goddess Hera, wife of Zeus, patronized the family.
Ares - war, Athena - wisdom, Artemis - the moon and the hunt, 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 the pre-revolutionary gymnasiums of Russia. Only now, when people are mostly concerned with earthly concerns, if necessary, they pay attention to neither their brief content. The legends and myths of ancient Greece are fading into the past.
To whom the gods patronized
They do not really favor people. Often envied them or lusted for women, they were jealous, were greedy for praises and honors. That is, they were very similar to mortals, if we take their description. Tales (summary), legends and myths of Ancient Greece (Kun) very contradictory describe their gods. “Nothing pleases the gods so much as the collapse of human hopes,” Euripides believed. And Sophocles echoed to him: "The gods are most willing to help a person when he goes towards his death."
All gods obeyed Zeus, but for people he mattered as a guarantor of justice. It was when the judge judged unjustly that a person turned to Zeus for help. In matters of war, only Mars dominated. The wise Athena patronized Attica.
Poseidon all the sailors, going to sea, made sacrifices. In Delphi one could ask for favor from Phoebe and Artemis.
Myths about heroes
One of the favorite myths was about Theseus, son of the king of Athens, Aegeus. He was born and raised in a royal family in Tresen. When he grew up and was able to get his father’s sword, he went to meet him. On the way, he destroyed the robber Prokrust, who did not allow people to pass through his territory. Once at his father, he learned that Athens pays tribute to the girls and boys of Crete. Together with another batch of slaves, under mourning sails, he went to the island to King Minos to kill the monstrous Minotaur.
Princess Ariadne helped Theseus through the labyrinth in which the Minotaur was located. Theseus fought with 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 was dead, and from unbearable grief rushed into the depths of the waters above which stood his palace. The Athenians rejoiced that they were forever freed from tribute, but they also cried when they heard of the tragic death of Aegeus. The myth of Theseus is long and colorful. This is his summary. The legends and myths of Ancient Greece (Kun) will give an exhaustive description of it.
Epos - the second part of the book of Nikolai Albertovich Kuhn
Legends about the Argonauts, the Trojan War, about the travels of Odysseus, about Orestes' revenge for the death of his father and the misfortunes of Oedipus in the Theban cycle make up the second half of the book written by Kuhn, "Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece." Chapters are summarized above.
Returning from Troy to his native Ithaca, Odysseus spent many long years in dangerous wanderings. It was difficult for him to get home on a stormy sea.
God Poseidon could not forgive Odysseus that, saving his life and the life of his friends, he blinded Cyclops,
son of Poseidon, and sent unheard of storms. On the way, they died from sirens, captivating with their unearthly voices and sweet-sounding singing.
All of his companions died in travels by sea. All was destroyed by an evil fate. In captivity, the nymph Calypso Odysseus languished for many years. He begged to let him 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 Odyssey were created by Homer in his poems - "The Iliad" and "Odyssey", myths about the campaign for the golden rune to the shores of the Pontif Evsinsky are described in the poem of Apollo Rhodes. Sophocles wrote the tragedy "Oedipus the King", the tragedy of Arrest - the playwright Aeschylus. They are summarized in The Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece (Nikolai Kun).
Myths and legends about gods, titans, numerous heroes disturb the imagination of the artists of the word, brush and cinematography of our days. Standing in a museum near a painting written on a mythological theme, or hearing the name of the beautiful Elena, it would be nice to imagine at least a little what is behind this name (a huge war) and to know the details of the plot depicted on the canvas. The Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece can help. The summary of the book will reveal the meaning of what he saw and heard.