In one person is the mortal son of King Troy, and the god Ganymede - which just did not happen with the celestials of Olympus and their favorites. A handsome young man, the Trojan prince served his father and prepared to live like all mortals: in labor, and even in suffering, struggle and illness. And then die. After all, such is the lot of people.
The myth of Ganymede
During the abduction, Ganymede grazed his father’s sheep on a mountainside. Zeus sent his eagle to steal a young man whose rumor of beauty reached even the summit of Olympus. When the bird placed Ganymede in front of the throne of Zeus, he inflamed the article. A handsome boy began to serve ragweed and nectar at the feasts of the Olympians. According to some sources, he was even a lover of Zeus.
Ganymede - the god of what?
Formally, Ganymede was not a god or a demigod (such as Hercules). Therefore, the question: "Ganymede is the god of what?" not quite true. Born by man, even after ascension to Olympus, he did not become the patron saint of a craft, natural phenomenon, city, or social phenomenon, like other gods of ancient Greece.
Ganymede from ancient Greek is translated as “bringing fun”, and he was just a butler at the feasts of Zeus and other celestials. For his beauty, Ganymede received as a gift from the Thunderer eternal youth and immortality - the main attributes of God, and also became one of the chosen inhabitants of Olympus. At his request, Zeus helped Three during the war, suspending the ships of the Achaeans. God Ganymede did not have another “divine” influence on mortal life.
Father Ganymede
Ganymede’s father is entertaining in that he received rich gifts for his son. Some researchers believe that they can be regarded as a ransom. According to Homer’s Iliad, it’s the Trojan king Tros. Despite the fact that the kidnapped child was not the only one, the grief of his father was immense. To console, Zeus revealed to him the future of Ganymede - the eternal youth and immortality of his son, which was to reconcile Tros with loss. Even the Thunderer was generous and gave the king of Troy a pair of beautiful horses and a golden grape branch. It was the work of the best master - the very god of blacksmithing Hephaestus.
So the deal was profitable. After all, many lovers of the supreme god did not receive anything as a gift, and they paid with misery for his adventures. The wife of Zeus, the goddess Hera was jealous and vindictive. She did not have the strength to get even with a divinely strong husband, and she recouped on his passions. Unlike other lovers of the supreme god, Ganymede was lucky - he himself was gifted beyond measure, becoming immortal. He stayed beside Zeus, was loved, caressed, enjoyed life in a paradise. Father also received magnificent gifts.
Sources of the Ganymede myth
The most famous literary source that tells of Ganymede is the Iliad. This is the creation of Homer. There are other sources of myths about Ganymede, and they vary in detail. For example, one claims that Zeus himself turned into an eagle and kidnapped a boy. In later versions of the myth, Zeus had a servant bird that carried the thunderbolt arrows and performed other delicate errands: kidnapped the mistresses for the owner, and gnawed Prometheus' liver.
Any myth has experienced a transformation in time. It was supplemented, expanded, the ending changed. The development of the myth of Ganymede is that initially it fell in love with him and abducted Eos (the goddess of the morning dawn). Her eagle stole a lover for Zeus.
Myth initially, as a folk tradition, could not have a specific author and a rigidly fixed literary source. At different times in the territory of Ancient Greece there were scattered city-states with different supreme gods and their myths, and centralized power, especially after the occupation of the peninsula by the Romans, who brought their own legends. Thus came the idea of the admissibility of sodomy, and Ganymede from the butler was turned into a lover of Zeus.
By the way, the position of a beautiful boy was interpreted differently. Some ancient authors admitted that on Olympus Zeus consumed wine - the fruit of the vine. Someone considered this blasphemy, claiming that only nectar and ragweed are food worthy of the gods. And wine is the lot of mortals.
The story of Ganymede was mentioned by Euripides. The golden age dramaturgy of ancient Greek art absorbed, rethought, preserved and transformed many mythological subjects. And with the development of theatrical art, especially tragedy, despite the paranormal plot and omnipotent heroes-gods or especially gifted mortals, ethical, social and moral issues were still keenly experienced. And most importantly, far from always led to a happy ending.
Further, these subjects penetrated into poetry, the epics of ancient authors. According to Virgil, the eternal life of Ganymede on Olympus was interrupted due to the fault of the jealous Hera.
Ganymede in poetry
According to the poet Virgil and his later version of the myth in the epic "Aeneid", the god Ganymede removed Hebe at the honorary post of cupbearer at divine feasts. She was the daughter of Hera, the evil and jealous wife of Zeus. She, being a goddess, did not cease to be a woman and knew how to get what she wants from her husband. She began to saw the missus. When Zeus was bored with Hera's incessant complaints, he wrapped Ganymede in the constellation Aquarius (pictured), which perpetuated the beauty of his lover among the heavenly bodies.
Ganymede in art
The story of Ganymede has inspired many artists and sculptors. Antique sculptors dedicated statues to him. For example, the ancient Greek god Ganymede (pictured below) is the work of the sculptor Leohar. The statue is known from Roman copies, is called the Vatican Ganymede, and is located there.
In the Renaissance, the abduction of an eagle (or a god who turned into it) Ganymede has repeatedly been the plot in painting. Many masters wanted to glorify their genius by portraying such a beautiful youth that for one beauty he was granted immortality and eternal youth.
Rubens has two paintings about the kidnapping of a boy. The first is very dynamic, contrasting, dramatic: the white body of a frightened young man against a black eagle, assertive and tough. In the second picture, the artist already wrote the arrival of Ganymede, as Hebe gives him a golden cup to serve at a feast. The story is written in bright colors, but much more calm - this is Olympus, the place of the blessed life of the elect.
Another famous Dutchman, Rembrandt, wrote the story realistically, despite the mythological plot. The fear of a young child is expertly conveyed. And in conjunction with the gloomy colors of the canvas - this has a psychological effect. The story seems real and tragic.
Ganymede in Astronomy
The Roman god Jupiter (an analogue of Zeus in Greek mythology) was a polygamist, had numerous mistresses. It is characteristic that the planet with his name has many satellites (currently almost 70 are discovered). The name of the ancient Greek god Ganymede is one of the largest moons of Jupiter. The company is composed of three more companions - other lovers of the supreme voluptuous god - Io, Callisto and Europe.
Pictures, poetic epics, sculptures, even distant stars compete among themselves, but remain only a reflection of the beauty of the mythically beautiful young man - the god Ganymede.