Heroes of ancient Greek myths. Ancient heroes of Greece and their exploits. Myths about the exploits of Hercules

(or their descendants) and mortal people. Heroes differed from the gods in that they were mortal. More often they were the descendants of a god and a mortal woman, less often - a goddess and a mortal man. Heroes, as a rule, possessed exceptional or supernatural physical abilities, creative talents, etc., but did not possess immortality. The heroes were supposed to fulfill the will of the gods on earth, to bring order and justice into people's lives. With the help of their divine parents, they performed all sorts of feats. Heroes were highly revered, legends about them were passed down from generation to generation.
Heroes ancient Greek myths were Achilles, Heracles, Odysseus, Perseus, Theseus, Jason, Hector, Bellerophon, Orpheus, Pelops, Phoroneus, Aeneas.
Let's talk about some of them.

Achilles

Achilles was the bravest of heroes. He participated in the campaign against Troy led by the Mycenaean king Agamemnon.

Achilles. Greek antique bas-relief
Author: Jastrow (2007), from Wikipedia
Achilles was the son of the mortal Peleus, king of the Myrmidons, and the sea goddess Thetis.
There are several legends about the childhood of Achilles. One of them is the following: Thetis, wanting to make her son immortal, immersed him in the waters of Styx (according to another version, in fire), so that only the heel by which she held him remained vulnerable; hence the proverb "Achilles' heel" that exists to this day. This saying denotes someone's weak side.
As a child, Achilles was called Pyrrisius ("Ice"), but when the fire burned his lips, he was called Achilles ("lipless").
Achilles was raised by the centaur Chiron.

Chiron teaching Achilles to play the lyre
Another teacher of Achilles was Phoenix, a friend of his father Peleus. The centaur Chiron returned Phoenix's sight, which was taken from him by his father, who was falsely accused by a concubine.
Achilles joined the campaign against Troy at the head of 50 or even 60 ships, taking with him his tutor Phoenix and childhood friend Patroclus.

Achilles bandaging the hand of Patroclus (picture on the bowl)
The first shield of Achilles was made by Hephaestus, this scene is also depicted on vases.
During the long siege of Ilion, Achilles repeatedly launched raids on various neighboring cities. According to the existing version, he wandered the Scythian land for five years in search of Iphigenia.
Achilles is the main character in Homer's Iliad.
Having slain many enemies, Achilles in the last battle reached the Skean gates of Ilion, but here an arrow shot from the bow of Paris by the hand of Apollo himself hit him in the heel, and the hero died.

Death of Achilles
But there are later legends about the death of Achilles: he appeared in the temple of Apollo in Fimbra, near Troy, to marry Polyxena, the youngest daughter of Priam, where he was killed by Paris and Deiphobes.
Greek writer of the first half of the 2nd century AD. e. Ptolemy Hephaestion tells that Achilles was killed by Helen or Penthesilea, after which Thetis resurrected him, he killed Penthesilea and returned to Hades (the god of the underworld of the dead).
The Greeks erected a mausoleum for Achilles on the banks of the Hellespont, and here, in order to pacify the shadow of the hero, they sacrificed Polyxena to him. For the armor of Achilles, according to the story of Homer, Ajax Telamonides and Odysseus Laertides argued. Agamemnon awarded them to the latter. In the Odyssey, Achilles is in the underworld, where Odysseus meets him.
Achilles was buried in a golden amphora, which Dionysus presented to Thetis.

Hercules

A. Canova "Hercules"
Author: Lucius Commons - foto scattata da me., from Wikipedia
Hercules is the son of the god Zeus and Alkmena, the daughter of the Mycenaean king.
Numerous myths have been created about Hercules, the most famous is the cycle of legends about 12 exploits performed by Hercules when he was in the service of the Mycenaean king Eurystheus.
The cult of Hercules was very popular in Greece, from where it spread to Italy, where he is known by the name of Hercules.
The constellation Hercules is located in the northern hemisphere of the sky.
Zeus took the form of Amphitryon (husband of Alcmene), stopped the sun, and their night lasted three days. On the night when he was to be born, Hera made Zeus swear that today's newborn would be the supreme king. Hercules was from the Perseid family, but Hera delayed the birth of his mother, and his cousin Eurystheus was the first to be born (premature). Zeus concluded an agreement with Hera that Hercules would not be under the rule of Eurystheus all his life: after ten labors performed on behalf of Eurystheus, Hercules would not only be freed from his power, but even receive immortality.
Athena tricks Hera into breastfeeding Hercules: having tasted this milk, Hercules becomes immortal. The baby hurts the goddess, and she tears him from her breast; the splashed stream of milk turns into the Milky Way. Hera was the adoptive mother of Hercules.
In his youth, Hercules accidentally killed Lin, brother of Orpheus, with a lyre, so he was forced to retire to the wooded Kiteron, into exile. There, two nymphs appear to him (Depravity and Virtue), who offer him a choice between the easy road of pleasures and the thorny path of labors and exploits. Virtue convinced Hercules to go his own way.

Annibale Carracci "The Choice of Hercules"

12 Labors of Hercules

1 Strangling the Nemean Lion
2. Killing the Lernaean Hydra
3. Extermination of Stymphalian birds
4. Capture of the Kerinean fallow deer
5. Taming the Erymanthian boar and the battle with the centaurs
6. Cleaning the Augean stables.
7. Taming the Cretan Bull
8. The abduction of the horses of Diomedes, the victory over King Diomedes (who threw strangers to be eaten by his horses)
9 The Abduction Of The Girdle Of Hippolyta, Queen Of The Amazons
10. The abduction of the cows of the three-headed giant Gerion
11. Theft of golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides
12. Taming the guardian of Hades - the dog Cerberus

Antoine Bourdelle "Hercules and the Stymphalian Birds"
Stymphalian birds are birds of prey that lived near the Arcadian city of Stymphalus. They had copper beaks, wings and claws. They attacked people and animals. Their most formidable weapons were feathers, which the birds poured on the ground like arrows. They devoured crops in the area or ate people.
Hercules performed many other feats: with the consent of Zeus, he freed one of the titans - Prometheus, to whom the centaur Chiron gave his gift of immortality for the sake of liberation from torment.

G. Fuger "Prometheus brings fire to people"
During his tenth labor, he places the Pillars of Hercules on the sides of Gibraltar.

The Pillars of Hercules - The Rock of Gibraltar (foreground) and the mountains of North Africa (background)
Author: Hansvandervliet - Own work, from Wikipedia
Participated in the campaign of the Argonauts. Defeated the king of Elis Avgii and established the Olympic Games. At the Olympic Games, he won the pankration. Some authors describe the struggle of Hercules with Zeus himself - their contest ended in a draw. He established the Olympic stages 600 feet long. In running, he overcame stages without taking a breath. Accomplished many other feats.
There are also many legends about the death of Hercules. According to Ptolemy Hephaestion, having reached the age of 50 and finding that he could no longer draw his bow, he threw himself into the fire. Hercules ascended to heaven, was accepted among the gods, and Hera, reconciled with him, marries her daughter Hebe, the goddess of eternal youth, to him. Happily lives on Olympus, and his ghost is in Hades.

Hector

The bravest leader of the Trojan army, the main Trojan hero in the Iliad. He was the son of the last Trojan king Priam and Hecuba (the second wife of King Priam). According to other sources, he was the son of Apollo.

Return of Hector's body to Troy

Perseus

Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danae, the daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos. He defeated the monster Gorgon Medusa, was the savior of the princess Andromeda. Perseus is mentioned in Homer's Iliad.

A. Canova "Perseus with the head of the Gorgon Medusa." Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
Author: Yucatan - Own work, from Wikipedia
Gorgon Medusa - the most famous of the three Gorgon sisters, a monster with woman's face and snakes instead of hair. Her gaze turned a man to stone.
Andromeda is the daughter of the Ethiopian king Cepheus and Cassiopeia (had divine progenitors). Cassiopeia once boasted that she surpassed the beauty of the Nereids (sea deities, daughters of Nereus and the oceanids of Dorida, according to appearance reminiscent of Slavic mermaids), the angry goddesses turned to Poseidon with a request for revenge, and he sent a sea monster that threatened the death of Kefey's subjects. The oracle of Ammon announced that the wrath of the deity would be tamed only when Cepheus sacrificed Andromeda to the monster, and the inhabitants of the country forced the king to decide on this sacrifice. Chained to a cliff, Andromeda was left to the mercy of the monster.

Gustave Doré "Andromeda Chained to a Rock"
In this position, Perseus saw her. He was struck by her beauty and promised to kill the monster if she agreed to marry him (Perseus). Andromeda's father Kefey gladly agreed to this, and Perseus accomplished his feat by showing the face of the Gorgon Medusa to the monster, thereby turning him into stone.

Perseus and Andromeda
Not wanting to reign in Argos after the accidental murder of his grandfather, Perseus left the throne to his kinsman Megapenthus, and he himself went to Tiryns ( ancient city on the Peloponnese). Founded Mycenae. The city got its name due to the fact that Perseus lost the tip (mike) of the sword in the vicinity. It is believed that among the ruins of Mycenae, the underground spring of Perseus has been preserved.
Andromeda bore Perseus a daughter, Gorgofon, and six sons: Perseus, Alcaeus, Sthenelus, Eleus, Mestor, and Electryon. The eldest of them, Persian, was considered the ancestor of the Persian people.

most famous ancient hero is Hercules (Hercules), born of the mortal woman Alcmene from the supreme god Zeus. Due to his semi-divine origin, Hercules was endowed with extraordinary power. Due to the deceit of the jealous wife of Zeus Hera, Hercules was forced to serve King Eurystheus, in whose service the hero made his famous. After his death, Hercules was accepted among the gods.

Another ancient hero with unsurpassed courage and strength is Achilles (Achilles). He was born to the sea goddess Thetis from a mortal male, Peleus. To make her son invincible, Thetis plunged him into the waters of the sacred river Styx. Only, for which she held little Achilles, remained vulnerable to weapons. Mature Achilles took part in the Trojan War, where he defeated many enemies. The hero was killed by an arrow shot in his heel by the god Apollo, who took the side of the Trojans.

A mythological hero of a completely different kind, who asserted himself not by force and weapons, but by intelligence and skill, is the talented inventor Daedalus, who studied with the very wisdom of Athena. The most famous inventions of Daedalus include the labyrinth, artificial wings, the folding chair in the temple of Athena, and the statue of Aphrodite on Delos.

The king of Ithaca Odysseus (Ulysses) became famous for his intelligence, cunning, resourcefulness and oratory. He was one of the most famous heroes The Trojan War, which is reflected in Homer's Iliad. It was thanks to the ingenious invention of Odysseus - the Trojan horse, that the Greeks managed to win the war that lasted for a whole decade. Numerous adventures of Odysseus, which the hero experienced during his return to his homeland after the war, are described in another poem by Homer "Odyssey".

Slavic heroes

The central hero of ancient Russian myths is the hero Ilya Muromets, who embodied the ideal of a warrior. Until the age of 33, Ilya could not control his arms and legs until he was healed by pilgrim elders. After a miraculous recovery, Ilya entered the service of Prince Vladimir, where he became famous for his unprecedented strength and great deeds.

The second most popular hero of the Slavic epic after Ilya Muromets is Dobrynya Nikitich, who was also in the service of Prince Vladimir. Dobrynya Nikitich is famous not only for his courage and remarkable strength, but also for his "knowledge", that is, courtesy and diplomatic skills. Often he performed delicate personal assignments of the prince, which turned out to be unbearable for other heroes.

The third most important hero in Russian epics is Alyosha Popovich. The hero was distinguished not by physical strength, but by resourcefulness, ingenuity and dexterity. He defeated the evil hero Tugarin Zmeevich. In general, the image of Alyosha is rather contradictory and ambivalent, since his jokes sometimes turned out to be not only funny, but also evil. Comrade heroes often blamed Alyosha for excessive boastfulness and slyness.

Thanks to them, we with exceptional joy recognize the names and exploits of Hercules, Oedipus, Theseus, Achilles, Odysseus or Hector. In Death of Heroes, recently edited by Turner, Carlos García Gual narrates the death of 25 heroes. It is a lapidary book: it speaks of her vicissitudes and, above all, of how they died, of the beginning of their fame as immortal. And while no hero manages his fate, they all participate in their superhuman acts: there are those who seek glory in battle, others in conquest, others in travel and adventure, and there are those who already choose to defend their community. . his family.

ajax- the name of two participants in the Trojan War; both fought near Troy as applicants for the hand of Helen. In the Iliad, they often appear side by side and are compared to two mighty lions or bulls.

Bellerophon- one of the main characters of the older generation, the son of the Corinthian king Glaucus (according to other sources, the god Poseidon), the grandson of Sisyphus. Bellerophon's original name is Hippo.

Heroes, except for Orpheus, do not sing: they are sung and remembered by epic, tragedy and Greek lyrics. Carlos García's Guala's book declares that young andrew in battle forms a vital part of the warrior-hero profile and yet does not delineate a heroic death. It's not enough to be brave, you can see between its pages. There are several cases of heroes who deserve a "beautiful death". Paphos controls the life and death of heroes over the hills, glory. From this strange state tragedy draws its raw material: the hero suffers from a hybrid that exalts triumphs and strengthens character, but also immobilizes the hero in the face of inevitable agony.

Hector- one of the main characters of the Trojan War. The hero was the son of Hecuba and Priam, the king of Troy. According to legend, he killed the first Greek who set foot on the land of Troy.

Hercules- national hero of the Greeks. Son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. Gifted with mighty strength, he performed the most difficult work on earth and accomplished great feats. Having atoned for his sins, he ascended Olympus and achieved immortality.

Thus, Garcia Gual reveals the fragile and ambivalent state of the characters. On the one hand, power is in the hands, and on the other, a sealed fate. Only the gods know the exact moment of death. On that day, deep sorrow. Patroclus weeps profusely by Achilles. Hector, horse tamer and man killer, claims his father after desecrating his corpse.

Achilles is killed by an arrow fired by Paris. Peter Paul Rubens and his workshop "Death of Achilles". The talent, humanism and vision of Professor García Guala is so broad that he recreates the myths and deaths of heroes from the most traditional versions of themes that are more anecdotal. Stories about mythical heroes are not always taken from primary sources, in some cases the author refers to later texts.

Diomedes- the son of the Aetolian king Tydeus and the daughter of Adrasta Deipyla. Together with Adrast he took part in the campaign and the ruin of Thebes. As one of Helen's suitors, Diomedes subsequently fought near Troy, leading a militia on 80 ships.

Meleager- the hero of Aetolia, the son of the Calydonian king Oineus and Alfea, the husband of Cleopatra. Member of the campaign of the Argonauts. Meleager was most famous for his participation in the Calydonian hunt.

Accounting for their deaths is unusual: Oedipus dies, according to Sophocles' version, a victim of exile, blind and unfortunate, to contemplate the death of Jocasta, his wife and mother. Hercules dies throwing himself on the fire of lamas, after putting on the tunic that his dear Deyair sent him with the blood of the centaur Neso. Perseus dies directing the Gorgon's head to himself. Orpheus, who goes to Hades in search of Eurydice, succumbed to the Bakkhans. Jason was crushed under the mast of the Argo and died instantly. Alcmaeon dies from family intrigues. Theseus, the hero of Athenian democracy, reaches his destination by stumbling and falling from a ravine.

Menelaus- King of Sparta, son of Atreus and Aeropa, husband of Helen, younger brother of Agamemnon. Menelaus, with the help of Agamemnon, gathered friendly kings for the Ilion campaign, and he himself put up sixty ships.

Odysseus- "angry", king of the island of Ithaca, son of Laertes and Anticlea, husband of Penelope. Odysseus is the famous hero of the Trojan War, also famous for his wanderings and adventures.

Campaign of the Seven against Thebes

Sisyphus suffers one of the three endless punishments of the gods: forever pushing a stone up a mountain to see it fall again and again. Belerophon falls from Mount Pegasus, his winged horse, in an attempt to join the assembly of the gods and comes to his death.

On the other hand, the Homeric world experiences blood, tears and smells of death. There is no song in the Iliad that does not speak of the death of some warrior. The myth says that Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, brother of Menelaus, husband of Helen, sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia before going to Ilion. His wife, Clytemnestra, will take part in this scene. Together with Egisto, he plotted to kill Agamemnon with a double-edged axe. tragic story this family ends with the death of Clytemnestra at the hands of his son, the vengeful Orestes.

Orpheus- the famous Thracian singer, the son of the river god Eagra and the muse Calliope, the husband of the nymph Eurydice, who set trees and rocks in motion with his songs.

Patroclus- the son of one of the Argonauts Menetius, a relative and ally of Achilles in the Trojan War. As a boy, he killed his friend during a dice game, for which his father sent him to Peleus in Phthia, where he was brought up with Achilles.

Achilles dies, according to each version, by ambush, arrow or spear. His fate is different from the fate of other heroes who come to the Trojan War. Son of the Titanide Tethys and a mortal Peleus, he knows that when he goes to Troy, his death will be safe. He is a cruel, angry and majestic warrior who decides to go to war because the glory will be great and he knows that his glory will make him immortal.

Garcia Gual is seduced by Hector's death. He is the heir of Priam, loves his wife Andromache; love your son, Astinax; loves his community and does his duty to protect the land of Troy. Homer sings his death with the same glory as the victory of the Hellenes. The Trojan hero dies, pierced by a spear in the fight with the veil, and, unfortunately, his body is dragged between the stones. However, despite the damage, his corpse will never lose its beauty. The gods love him and support him even in death.

Peleus- the son of the king of Aegina Aeacus and Endeida, the husband of Antigone. For the murder of his half-brother Phocus, who defeated Peleus in athletic exercises, he was expelled by his father and retired to Phthia.

Pelops- the king and national hero of Phrygia, and then the Peloponnese. Son of Tantalus and the nymph Euryanassa. Pelops grew up on Olympus in the company of the gods and was the favorite of Poseidon.

The Trojan War - a brief retelling

Thus, Garcia Gual chooses the death of heroes and treats them with special care. Like a ripe fruit that refuses to fall, the author dedicates several pages to the three heroines of the Greek world, Clytemnestra, Cassandra, and Antigone, before closing the book. All three were punished for displaying insomnia and for women's freedom.

Come from Greece, Rome or any other culture, myths populate our lives. From cinemas to comics passing through literature. Cover: Gods and Heroes of Greek Mythology. The action takes place in a distant time, in Greece and the regions bordering the Mediterranean. And we will find the following characters: the gods of Olympus and heroes.

Perseus- the son of Zeus and Danae, daughter of the king of Argos Acrisius. Slayer of the Gorgon Medusa and savior of Andromeda from the dragon's claims.

Talphibius- a messenger, a Spartan, together with Eurybatus was the herald of Agamemnon, carrying out his instructions. Talthybius, together with Odysseus and Menelaus, gathered an army for the Trojan War.

Teucer- the son of Telamon and the daughter of the Trojan king Hesion. The best archer in the Greek army near Troy, where more than thirty defenders of Ilion fell from his hand.

The book opens with the author's prologue, which speaks of the appeal and validity of the myths. Recall that a myth is a traditional story that tells about unusual events performed by characters of a divine or heroic nature. For the people who conceived them turn out to be sacred narratives, because they are part of their religion, value system and beliefs, suggested by some models of behavior.

It should be noted that the myth can perform different functions: to explain the appearance of certain elements; to answer basic questions about the functioning of man and the world around him, and in this sense to ensure peace in the face of existence; and finally legitimize certain social structures and activities.

Theseus- the son of the Athenian king Aeneas and Ethera. He became famous for a number of exploits, like Hercules; kidnapped Helena with Peyrifoy.

Trophonius- originally a chthonic deity, identical with Zeus the Underground. According to popular belief, Trophonius was the son of Apollo or Zeus, the brother of Agamed, the pet of the goddess of the earth - Demeter.

Phoroneus- the founder of the Argos state, the son of the river god Inach and the Hamadryad Melia. He was honored as a national hero; sacrifices were made at his grave.

Frasimede- the son of the Pylos king Nestor, who arrived with his father and brother Antiloch near Ilion. He commanded fifteen ships and took part in many battles.

Oedipus- the son of the Finnish king Lai and Jocasta. He killed his father and married his mother without knowing it. When the crime was discovered, Jocasta hanged herself, and Oedipus blinded himself. Died pursued by Erinyes.

Aeneas- the son of Anchises and Aphrodite, a relative of Priam, the hero of the Trojan War. Aeneas, like Achilles among the Greeks, is the son of a beautiful goddess, a favorite of the gods; in battles he was defended by Aphrodite and Apollo.

Jason- the son of Aison, on behalf of Pelias, went from Thessaly for the Golden Fleece to Colchis, for which he equipped the campaign of the Argonauts.

Kronos, in ancient Greek mythology, was one of the titans, born from the marriage of the sky god Uranus and the earth goddess Gaia. He succumbed to the persuasion of his mother and castrated his father Uranus in order to stop the endless birth of his children.

To avoid repeating the fate of his father, Kronos began to swallow all his offspring. But in the end, his wife could not stand such an attitude towards their offspring and let him swallow a stone instead of a newborn.

Rhea hid her son, Zeus, on the island of Crete, where he grew up, fed by the divine goat Amalthea. He was guarded by kuretes - warriors who drowned out the cry of Zeus with blows to the shields so that Kronos would not hear.

Having matured, Zeus overthrew his father from the throne, forced him to rip out his brothers and sisters from the womb, and after a long war took his place on the bright Olympus, among the host of gods. So Kronos was punished for his betrayal.

In Roman mythology, Kronos (Chroos - "time") is known as Saturn - a symbol of inexorable time. In ancient Rome, festivities were dedicated to the god Kronos - saturnalia, during which all rich people changed their duties with their servants and fun began, accompanied by abundant libations. In Roman mythology, Kronos (Chroos - "time") is known as Saturn - a symbol of inexorable time. IN Ancient Rome festivities were dedicated to the god Kronos - saturnalia, during which all rich people changed their duties with their servants and fun began, accompanied by abundant libations.

Rhea("Ρέα", in ancient myth-making Greek goddess, one of the Titanides, the daughter of Uranus and Gaia, the wife of Kronos and the mother of the Olympic deities: Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter and Hera (Hesiod, Theogony, 135). Kronos, fearing that one of his children would deprive him of power, devoured them immediately after birth. Rhea, on the advice of her parents, saved Zeus. Instead of a born son, she planted a swaddled stone, which Kronos swallowed, and secretly from her father Rhea sent her son to Crete, to Mount Dikta. When Zeus grew up, Rhea attached her son to Kronos as a butler, and he was able to mix an emetic potion into his father's cup, freeing his brothers and sisters. According to one version of the myth, Rhea deceived Kronos at the birth of Poseidon. She hid her son among the grazing sheep, and gave Kronos the foal to swallow, referring to the fact that it was she who gave birth to him (Pausanias, VIII 8, 2).

The cult of Rhea was considered one of the very ancient, but was not very common in Greece itself. In Crete and Asia Minor, she mingled with the Asian goddess of nature and fertility, Cybele, and her worship came to a more prominent plane. Especially in Crete, the legend about the birth of Zeus in the grotto of Mount Ida, which enjoyed special reverence, was localized, as evidenced by the large number of dedications, partly very ancient, found in it. In Crete, the tomb of Zeus was also shown. The priests of Rhea were here called Curetes and identified with the Corybantes, the priests of the great Phrygian mother Cybele. Rhea entrusted them with the preservation of the baby Zeus; clattering with their weapons, the curets drowned out his crying so that Kronos could not hear the child. Rhea was depicted in a matronal type, usually with a crown of city walls on her head, or in a veil, mostly sitting on a throne, near which sit the lions dedicated to her. Its attribute was the tympanum (an ancient musical percussion instrument, the forerunner of the timpani). In the period of late antiquity, Rhea was identified with the Phrygian Great Mother of the gods and received the name Rhea-Cybele, whose cult was distinguished by an orgiastic character.

Zeus, Diy ("bright sky"), in Greek mythology, the supreme deity, the son of the titans Kronos and Rhea. The almighty father of the gods, the lord of the winds and clouds, rain, thunder and lightning caused storms and hurricanes with a blow of the scepter, but he could also calm the forces of nature and clear the sky of clouds. Kronos, fearing to be overthrown by his children, swallowed all the older brothers and sisters of Zeus immediately after their birth, but Rhea, along with her youngest son, gave Kropos a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, and the baby was secretly taken out and raised on the island of Crete.

The matured Zeus sought to pay off his father. His first wife, the wise Metis ("thought"), the daughter of the Ocean, advised him to give his father a potion, from which he would vomit all swallowed children. Having defeated the Kronos who gave birth to them, Zeus and the brothers divided the world among themselves. Zeus chose the sky, Hades - underworld the dead, and Poseidon is the sea. The land and Mount Olympus, where the palace of the gods was located, were decided to be considered common. Over time, the world of Olympians changes and becomes less cruel. Ores, daughters of Zeus from Themis, his second wife, brought order into the life of gods and people, and Charites, daughters from Eurynome, the former mistress of Olympus, brought joy and grace; the goddess Mnemosyne gave birth to Zeus 9 muses. Thus, law, sciences, arts and moral norms have taken their place in human society. Zeus was also the father of famous heroes - Hercules, Dioscuri, Perseus, Sarpedon, glorious kings and sages - Minos, Radamanth and Aeacus. True, Zeus's love affairs with both mortal women and immortal goddesses, which formed the basis of many myths, caused constant antagonism between him and his third wife Hera, the goddess of legal matrimony. Some children of Zeus born out of wedlock, such as Hercules, were severely persecuted by the goddess. In Roman mythology, Zeus corresponds to the omnipotent Jupiter.

Hera(Hera), in Greek mythology, the queen of the gods, the goddess of the air, the patroness of the family and marriage. Hera, the eldest daughter of Kronos and Rhea, raised in the house of Oceanus and Tethys, sister and wife of Zeus, with whom, according to Samos legend, she lived in a secret marriage for 300 years, until he openly declared her his wife and queen of the gods. Zeus honors her highly and communicates his plans to her, although he keeps her on occasion within her subservient position. Hera, mother of Ares, Hebe, Hephaestus, Ilithyia. Differs in imperiousness, cruelty and jealous disposition. Especially in the Iliad, Hera shows quarrelsomeness, stubbornness and jealousy - character traits that have passed into the Iliad, probably from the oldest songs that glorified Hercules. Hera hates and pursues Hercules, as well as all the favorites and children of Zeus from other goddesses, nymphs and mortal women. When Hercules was returning on a ship from Troy, she, with the help of the god of sleep Hypnos, put Zeus to sleep and, through the storm she raised, almost killed the hero. As punishment, Zeus tied the treacherous goddess to the ether with strong golden chains and hung two heavy anvils at her feet. But this does not prevent the goddess from constantly resorting to cunning when she needs to get something from Zeus, against whom she can do nothing by force.

In the struggle for Ilion, she patronizes her beloved Achaeans; the Achaean cities of Argos, Mycenae, Sparta are her favorite places of residence; she hates the Trojans for the Judgment of Paris. The marriage of Hera with Zeus, which originally had an elemental meaning - the connection between heaven and earth, then receives a relation to the civil institution of marriage. As the only legal wife on Olympus, Hera is the patroness of marriages and childbirth. A pomegranate apple, a symbol of marital love, and a cuckoo, a messenger of spring, the pores of love, were dedicated to her. In addition, the peacock and the crow were considered her birds.

The main place of her worship was Argos, where stood a colossal statue of her, made of gold and ivory by Polykleitos, and where the so-called Hereias were celebrated every five years in her honor. In addition to Argos, Hera was also honored in Mycenae, Corinth, Sparta, Samos, Plataea, Sicyon and other cities. Art represents Hera as a tall, slender woman, with a majestic posture, mature beauty, a rounded face, bearing an important expression, a beautiful forehead, thick hair, large, strongly opened "cow" eyes. The most remarkable image of her was the above-mentioned statue of Polikleitos in Argos: here Hera was sitting on a throne with a crown on her head, with a pomegranate in one hand, with a scepter in the other; at the top of the scepter is a cuckoo. Above the long tunic, which left only the neck and arms uncovered, a himation was thrown over, entwined around the camp. In Roman mythology, Hera corresponds to Juno.

Demeter(Δημήτηρ), in Greek mythology, the goddess of fertility and agriculture, civil organization and marriage, daughter of Kronos and Rhea, sister and wife of Zeus, from whom she gave birth to Persephone (Hesiod, Theogony, 453, 912-914). One of the most revered Olympian deities. The ancient chthonic origin of Demeter is attested by her name (literally, "mother earth"). Cult references to Demeter: Chloe ("greenery", "sowing"), Carpophora ("giver of fruits"), Thesmophora ("legislator", "organizer"), Sieve ("bread", "flour") indicate the functions of Demeter as goddess of fertility. She is a goddess gracious to people, of a beautiful appearance with hair the color of ripe wheat, an assistant in peasant labors (Homer, Iliad, V 499-501). She fills the farmer's barns with provisions (Hesiod, Opp. 300, 465). They call on Demeter so that the grains come out full-fledged and that the plowing is successful. Demeter taught people plowing and sowing, combining in a sacred marriage on a thrice-plowed field of the island of Crete with the Cretan god of agriculture Jason, and the fruit of this marriage was Plutos, the god of wealth and abundance (Hesiod, Theogony, 969-974).

Hestia-goddess of the virgin hearth, the eldest daughter of Kronos and Rhea, the patroness of unquenchable fire, uniting gods and people. Hestia never returned her advances. Apollo and Poseidon asked for her hands, but she vowed to remain a virgin forever. One day, the drunken god of gardens and fields, Priapus, tried to dishonor her, sleeping, at a festival where all the gods were present. However, at the moment when the patron of voluptuousness and sensual pleasures, Priapus prepared to do his dirty deed, the donkey screamed loudly, Hestia woke up, called for the help of the gods, and Priapus turned in fear and fled.

Poseidon, V ancient Greek mythology god of the underwater kingdom. Poseidon was considered the ruler of the seas and oceans. The underwater king was born from the marriage of the goddess of the earth Rhea and the titan Kronos and immediately after birth was swallowed up by his father, who was afraid that they would take away his power over the world. Zeus later freed them all.

Poseidon lived in an underwater palace, among a host of gods obedient to him. Among them was his son Triton, Nereids, Amphitrite's sisters and many others. The god of the seas was equal in beauty to Zeus himself. By sea, he moved in a chariot, which was harnessed to wondrous horses.

With the help of a magic trident, Poseidon controlled the deep sea: if there was a storm on the sea, then as soon as he held out the trident in front of him, the enraged sea calmed down.

The ancient Greeks greatly revered this deity and, in order to achieve his location, brought many sacrifices to the underwater ruler, throwing them into the sea. This was very important for the inhabitants of Greece, since their well-being depended on whether merchant ships would pass through the sea. Therefore, before going to sea, travelers threw a sacrifice to Poseidon into the water. In Roman mythology, it corresponds to Neptune.

Hades, Hades, Pluto ("invisible", "terrible"), in Greek mythology, the god of the kingdom of the dead, as well as the kingdom itself. Son of Kronos and Rhea, brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. When the world was divided after the overthrow of his father, Zeus took the sky for himself, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the underworld; the brothers agreed to rule the land together. The second name of Hades was Polydegmon ("recipient of many gifts"), which is associated with the countless shadows of the dead that live in his domain.

The messenger of the gods, Hermes, forwarded the souls of the dead to the ferryman Charon, who transported only those who could pay for the crossing through the underground river Styx. The entrance to the underground kingdom of the dead was guarded by the three-headed dog Kerberos (Cerberus), who did not allow anyone to return to the world of the living.

Like the ancient Egyptians, the Greeks believed that the kingdom of the dead is located in the bowels of the earth, and the entrance to it is in the extreme west (west, sunset are symbols of dying), beyond the Ocean River, washing the earth. The most popular myth about Hades is associated with the abduction of Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and the goddess of fertility Demeter. Zeus promised him his beautiful daughter without asking her mother's consent. When Hades took the bride away by force, Demeter almost lost her mind from grief, forgot about her duties, and hunger seized the earth.

The dispute between Hades and Demeter over the fate of Persephone was resolved by Zeus. She must spend two thirds of the year with her mother and one third with her husband. Thus, the alternation of the seasons was born. Once Hades fell in love with the nymph Minta or Mint, who was associated with the waters of the realm of the dead. Upon learning of this, Persephone, in a fit of jealousy, turned the nymph into a fragrant plant.

Mythology Ancient Greece built on myths about the pantheon of gods, about the life of titans and giants, as well as about the exploits of heroes. In the myths of ancient Greece, the main active force was the Earth, giving rise to everything and giving everything a start.

What was first

So she gave birth to monsters personifying dark power, titans, cyclops, hecatoncheirs - hundred-armed monsters, the many-headed serpent Typhon, the terrible goddesses Erinnia, the bloodthirsty dog Cerberus and the Lernean hydra and three-headed chimeras.

Society developed and these monsters were replaced by the heroes of ancient Greece. Most of the heroes parents were gods, they were also people. Part of the culture of Greece is the myths about the exploits of these heroes, and some of the names of the heroes of Ancient Greece are well known.

Hercules

Hercules - popular, strong, courageous was the son of the god Zeus and Alcmene, a simple, earthly woman. He became famous for his twelve feats accomplished in his entire life. Zeus gave him immortality for this.

Odysseus

Odysseus is the king of Ithaca, he became famous for his deadly risky journeys from Troy to his homeland. Homer described these exploits in his poem The Odyssey. Odysseus was smart, cunning and strong. He managed to escape not only from the nymph Calypso, but also from the sorceress Kirk.

He managed to defeat the Cyclops by blinding him, he survived a lightning strike, and when he returned to his homeland, he punished all the "suitors" of his wife Penelope.

Perseus

It is impossible not to remember Perseus, if we talk about the names of the heroes of Ancient Greece. The son of Queen Danae and Zeus is Perseus. He accomplished a feat by killing Medusa Gorgon - a winged monster, from the look of which everything turned to stone. He accomplished the next feat when he freed Princess Andromeda from the clutches of the monster.

Achilles

Achilles became famous in the Trojan War. He was the son of the nymph Thetis and King Peleus. When he was a baby, his mother bought him in the waters of the river of the dead. Since then, he has been invulnerable to enemies, with the exception of his heel. Paris, the son of the Trojan king, hit him in this heel with an arrow.

Jason

The ancient Greek hero Jason became famous in Colchis. Jason went for the Golden Fleece to distant Colchis on the Argo ship with a team of brave Argonauts, married Medea, the daughter of the king of this country. They had two sons. Medea killed him and her two sons when Jason was about to marry a second time.

Theseus

The ancient Greek hero Theseus was the son of the sea king Poseidon. He became famous for killing the monster that lived in the Cretan labyrinth - the Minotaur. He got out of the labyrinth thanks to Ariadne, who gave him a ball of thread. In Greece, this hero is considered the founder of Athens.

The names of the heroes of Ancient Greece are also not forgotten thanks to the filmed animated and feature films.