Greek myths. The most interesting myths about the gods of ancient Greece. Poseidon in the myths of ancient Greece

Wikipedia

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

Traditionally, twelve gods were included in the number of Olympians. The lists of Olympians do not always coincide.

The Olympians included the children of Kronos and Rhea:

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

And also their descendants:

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

Roman variants

The Olympians included the children of Saturn and Cybele:

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

And also their descendants:

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

Sources

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

The mythology of the "Dark Ages" (between the decline of the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization and the emergence of the ancient Greek civilization) is known only from later sources.

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

* "Iliad" and "Odyssey" by Homer
* "Theogony" of Hesiod
* "Library" of Pseudo-Apollodorus
* "Myths" Gaius Julius Gigina
* Ovid's "Metamorphoses"
* "Acts of Dionysus" - Nonna

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

Origin

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

Further development of mythology went in several directions:

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

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

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

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

Religious beliefs of the ancient Greeks

Main article: Ancient Greek religion

Olympus (Maikov Nikolai Apollonovich)

Religious ideas and the religious life of the ancient Greeks were in close connection with their entire historical life. Already in ancient monuments Greek creativity clearly shows the anthropomorphic nature of Greek polytheism, which is explained by the national characteristics of the entire cultural development in this area; concrete representations, generally speaking, predominate over abstract ones, just as, quantitatively, humanoid gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines, predominate over deities of abstract significance (who, in turn, receive anthropomorphic features). In this or that cult, various writers or artists associate various general or mythological (and mythographic) ideas with this or that deity.
We know different combinations, hierarchies of the genealogy of divine beings - "Olympus", various systems of "twelve gods" (for example, in Athens - Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Athena, Ares, Aphrodite, Hermes). Such combinations are explained not only from the creative moment, but also from the conditions of the historical life of the Hellenes; in Greek polytheism, later stratifications can also be traced (oriental elements; deification - even during life). In the general religious consciousness of the Hellenes, apparently, there was no definite generally recognized dogmatics. The diversity of religious ideas found expression in the diversity of cults, the external situation of which is now more and more clear thanks to archaeological excavations and finds. We find out which gods or heroes were revered where, and where which one was revered predominantly (for example, Zeus - in Dodona and Olympia, Apollo - in Delphi and Delos, Athena - in Athens, Hera in Samos, Asclepius - in Epidaurus); we know shrines revered by all (or many) Hellenes, such as the Delphic or Dodonian oracle or the Delian shrine; we know large and small amfiktyony (cult communities).
One can distinguish between public and private cults. The all-absorbing significance of the state also affected the religious sphere. The ancient world, generally speaking, did not know either the internal church as a kingdom not of this world, nor the church as a state within a state: “church” and “state” were concepts in it that absorb or condition each other, and, for example, the priest was that the state magistrate.
This rule is not everywhere, however, could be carried out with an unconditional sequence; practice caused partial deviations, created certain combinations. If a certain deity was considered the main deity of a certain state, then the state sometimes recognized (as in Athens) at the same time some other cults; Along with these nationwide cults, there were separate cults of state divisions (for example, the Athenian demes), and cults of private legal significance (for example, domestic or family), as well as cults of private societies or individuals.
Since the state principle prevailed (which did not triumph everywhere simultaneously and evenly), every citizen was obliged, in addition to his private law deities, to honor the gods of his “civil community” (the changes were brought by the Hellenistic era, which generally contributed to the process of leveling). This veneration was expressed in a purely external way - by feasible participation in certain rituals and festivities performed on behalf of the state (or state division), - participation, to which the non-civilian population of the community was invited in other cases; both citizens and non-citizens were given, as they could, wanted and knew how, to seek satisfaction of their religious needs. One must think that in general the veneration of the gods was external; the inner religious consciousness was naive, and among the masses superstition did not decrease, but grew (especially at a later time, when it found food that came from the East); on the other hand, in an educated society, an enlightenment movement began early, at first timid, then more and more energetic, with one end of its (negative) touching the masses; religiosity did not weaken much in general (and sometimes even - albeit painfully - rose), but religion, that is, the old ideas and cults, gradually - especially as Christianity spread - lost both its meaning and its content. Approximately such, in general, is the internal and external history of the Greek religion during the time available for deeper study.
In the foggy realm of the original, primordial Greek religion scientific work outlined only some general points, although they are usually put with excessive harshness and extremeness. Already ancient philosophy bequeathed a threefold allegorical explanation of myths: psychological (or ethical), historical-political (not quite rightly called euhemeric), and physical; it explained the emergence of religion from the individual moment. The narrow theological point of view also joined here, and in essence, Kreutzer’s “Symbolism” (“Symbolik und Mythologie der alt. Volker, bes. der Griechen”, German Kreuzer, 1836) was built on the same basis, as well as many other systems and theories. , ignoring the moment of evolution.
Gradually, however, they came to realize that the ancient Greek religion had its own complex historical origin, that the meaning of the myths should not be sought behind them, but in themselves. Initially, the ancient Greek religion was considered only in itself, being afraid to go beyond Homer and in general beyond the boundaries of a purely Hellenic culture (this principle is still held by the "Königsberg" school): hence the localist interpretation of myths - from the physical (for example, Forkhammer, Peter Wilhelm Forchhammer) or only from a historical point of view (for example, Karl Muller, German K. O. Muller).
Some focused their main attention on the ideal content of Greek mythology, reducing it to local natural phenomena, others on the real, seeing traces of local (tribal, etc.) features in the complexity of ancient Greek polytheism. Over time, one way or another, the primordial significance of the eastern elements in Greek religion had to be recognized. Comparative linguistics gave rise to "comparative Indo-European mythology". This trend, hitherto prevailing in science, was already fruitful in the sense that it clearly showed the need for a comparative study of ancient Greek religion and compared extensive material for this study; but - not to mention the extreme straightforwardness of methodological methods and extreme haste of judgments - it was engaged not so much in the study of Greek religion using the comparative method, but in the search for its main points, dating back to the time of pan-Aryan unity (moreover, the linguistic concept of the Indo-European peoples was too sharply identified with the ethnic ). As for the main content of myths (“diseases of the language”, according to K. Muller), it was too exclusively reduced to natural phenomena - mainly to the sun, or moon, or thunderstorms.
The younger school of comparative mythology considers the heavenly deities to be the result of a further, artificial development of the original "folk" mythology, which knew only demons (folklorism, animism).
In Greek mythology, it is impossible not to recognize later layers, especially in the entire external form of myths (as they have come down to us), although they cannot always be determined historically, just as it is not always possible to single out the purely religious part of myths. General Aryan elements are also hidden under this shell, but it is often as difficult to distinguish them from specifically Greek ones as it is to determine the beginning of a purely Greek culture in general. It is no less difficult to find out with any accuracy the main content of various Hellenic myths, which is undoubtedly extremely complex. Nature, with its properties and phenomena, played a big role here, but perhaps mainly an auxiliary one; along with these natural-historical moments, historical-ethical moments should also be recognized (since the gods in general lived no differently and no better than people).
Not without influence remained the local and cultural division of the Hellenic world; there is also no doubt the presence of oriental elements in Greek religion. It would be too complicated and too difficult a task to explain historically, even in the most general terms, how all these moments gradually got along with each other; but some knowledge in this area can also be achieved, proceeding especially from the experiences that have been preserved both in the internal content and in the external environment of the cults, and, moreover, if possible, taking into account the entire ancient historical life of the Hellenes (the path in this direction was especially pointed out by Curtins in his "Studien z. Gesch. d. griech. Olymps", in Sitzb. d. Berl. Akad., German E. Curtins, 1890). It is significant, for example, the relation in the Greek religion of the great gods to the deities of the small, folk, and the aboveground world of the gods to the underworld; characteristic is the veneration of the dead, expressed in the cult of heroes; curious about the mystical content of Greek religion.
When writing this article, material from the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron (1890-1907) was used.

Lists of gods, mythological creatures and heroes

Lists of gods and genealogy differ from different ancient authors. The lists below are compilations.

First Generation of Gods

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

Second Generation of Gods

Children of Gaia (fathers - Uranus, Pontus and Tartarus) - Keto (mistress of sea monsters), Nereus (calm sea), Thavmant (sea miracles), Phorky (guardian of the sea), Eurybia (sea power), titans and titanides. Children of Nikta and Erebus - Hemera (Day), Hypnos (Sleep), Kera (Misfortune), Moira (Fate), Mom (Slander and Folly), Nemesis (Retribution), Thanatos (Death), Eris (Strife), Erinyes (Vengeance) ), Ether (Air); Ata (deceit).

Titans

Titans: Oceanus, Hyperion, Iapetus, Kay, Krios, Kronos.
Titanides: Tefis, Mnemosyne, Rhea, Teia, Phoebe, Themis.

The younger generation of titans (Children of the titans)

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

Olympians

Council of the Gods (Rubens)

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

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

Gods and deities of the water element

* Amphitrite - goddess of the sea, wife of Poseidon
* Poseidon - god of the sea
* Tritons - retinue of Poseidon and Amphitrite
* Triton - water god, messenger of the depths, eldest son and commander of Poseidon
* Proteus - water god, messenger of the depths, son of Poseidon
* Roda - goddess of water, daughter of Poseidon
* Limnadas - nymphs of lakes and swamps
* Naiads - nymphs of springs, springs and rivers
* Nereids - sea nymphs, sisters of Amphitriata
* The ocean is the personification of the mythological world river washing the Oikumene
* River gods - gods of rivers, sons of the Ocean and Tethys
* Tefis - Titanide, wife of the Ocean, mother of oceanids and rivers
* Oceanids - daughters of the Ocean
* Pontus - the god of the inland sea and water (the son of the Earth and Sky, or the son of the Earth without a father)
* Eurybia - the embodiment of the sea element
* Tavmant - an underwater giant, the god of sea miracles
* Nereus - deity of the peaceful sea
* Phorkis - guardian of the stormy sea
* Keto - the goddess of the deep sea and sea monsters that live in the depths of the seas

Gods and deities of the air element

* Uranus is the personification of Heaven
* Ether is the embodiment of the atmosphere; god personification of air and light
* Zeus - the god-ruler of heaven, the god of thunder

Main article: Winds in ancient Greek mythology

* Eol - demigod, lord of the winds
* Boreas - the personification of the northern stormy wind
* Zephyr - a strong western wind, was also considered a messenger of the gods, (among the Romans, it began to personify a caressing, light wind)
* Note - south wind
* Eurus - east wind
* Aura - personification of light wind, air
* Nebula - nymph of the clouds

Gods of death and the underworld

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

Muses

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

Cyclopes

(often "cyclops" - in Latin transcription)

* Arg - "lightning"
* Bront - "thunder"
* Sterop - "shine"

Hecatoncheires

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

Giants

(some of about 150)

* Agrius
* Alcyoneus
* Gration
* Clytius
* Mimant
* Pallant
* Polybotes
* Porphyrion
* Toon
* Hebrew
* Enkelad
* Ephialtes

Other gods

* Nike - goddess of victory
* Selena - Goddess of the Moon
* Eros - god of love
* Hymen - the god of marriage
* Irida - goddess of the rainbow
* Ata - the goddess of delusion, obscuration of the mind
* Apata - goddess of deceit
* Adrastea - goddess of justice
* Phobos - god of fear, son of Ares
* Deimos - the god of horror, the brother of Phobos
* Enyo - goddess of furious and violent war
* Asclepius - god of healing
* Morpheus - the god of dreams (poetic deity, son of Hypnos)
* Gimeroth - the god of carnal love and love pleasure
* Ananke - the deity-embodiment of inevitability, necessity
* Aloe - the ancient deity of threshed grain

Non-personalized gods

Non-personalized gods - gods-"many" according to M. Gasparov.

* Satyrs
* Nymphs
* Ores - three goddesses of the seasons and natural order

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

Legends and myths of Ancient Greece. Cartoon

Different generations of the gods of ancient Greece

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

Zeus and Hera

So, new anthropoid gods began to rule the world, the main of which was Zeus, the son of Kron, in myths; but the former gods, personified by the forces of nature, have retained their mysterious effectiveness, which even the omnipotent Zeus cannot overcome. As almighty kings are subject to the laws of the moral world, so Zeus and other new gods of Ancient Greece are subject to the laws of nature, fate.

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

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

Athena Pallas

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

Statue of Athena the Virgin in the Parthenon. Sculptor Phidias

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

God Hephaestus in Greek myths

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

God Vulcan (Hephaestus). Statue by Thorvaldsen, 1838

Hestia

The significance of the hearth as the center of family life and the beneficial effect of a strong home life on moral and social life were personified in the myths of Ancient Greece by the virgin goddess Hestia, a representative of the concepts of a strong settled life, a comfortable home life, the symbol of which was the sacred fire of the hearth. Initially, Hestia was in the ancient Greek myths about the gods the personification of the earth, over which the ethereal fire of the sky burns; but later it became a symbol of civil well-being, which receives strength on earth only when the earth is in union with heaven, as a divine institution. Therefore, in every Greek house, the hearth was the religious center of the family. Whoever approached the hearth and sat on its ashes, he acquired the right to patronage. Each tribal union of Ancient Greece had a common sanctuary of Hestia, in which they reverently performed symbolic rites. In ancient times, when there were kings and when the king made sacrifices as a representative of the people, resolved litigations, gathered noble people and ancestors for advice, the hearth of the royal house was a symbol of the state connection of the people; after, the pritaney, the religious center of the state, had the same significance. An inextinguishable fire burned on the state hearth of the pritanei, and the pritanes, the elected rulers of the people, had to take turns being constantly at this hearth. The hearth was the link between earth and heaven; because Hestia was in ancient Greece and the goddess of sacrifice. Each solemn sacrifice began with a sacrifice to her. And all public prayers of the Greeks began with an appeal to Hestia.

Myths about the god Apollo

For more details, see the separate article God Apollo

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

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

Apollo Saurokton (killing a lizard). Roman copy of a statue of Praxiteles, 4th c. BC

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

The sacred plant of Apollo was laurel.

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

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

Myths about the goddess Artemis

Apollo's sister, Artemis, the virgin goddess of the moon, walked the mountains and forests, hunting; bathed with nymphs, her companions, in cool streams; was the patroness of wild animals; at night she irrigated the thirsty earth with life-giving dew. But at the same time, in the myths of Ancient Greece, Artemis was also a goddess who destroyed seafarers, so in ancient times of Greece, people were sacrificed to her to propitiate her. With the development of civilization, Artemis became the goddess of virginal purity, the patroness of brides and girls. When they got married, they brought gifts to her. Artemis of Ephesus was the goddess of fertility, who gave harvest to the earth and children to women; in the idea of it, the myths of ancient Greece were probably joined by oriental concepts. Artemis was depicted as having many nipples on her chest; this signified that she was a generous breadwinner of the people. At the magnificent temple of Artemis there were many hierodula and many servants dressed in a man's dress and armed; therefore, in ancient Greek myths, it was believed that this temple was founded by the Amazons.

Artemis. Statue in the Louvre

Initial physical meaning Apollo and Artemis in the myths of Ancient Greece about the gods were more and more closed by morality. That's why Greek mythology created a special sun god, Helios, and a special moon goddess, Selene. - A special god, the son of Apollo, Asclepius, was also made a representative of the healing power of Apollo.

Ares and Aphrodite

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

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

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

Myths about the god Hermes

With the development of culture in the myths of Ancient Greece about the gods, the Pelasgian god of nature Hermes also received moral significance, to whom Arcadian shepherds made sacrifices on Mount Kyllene; he was with them the personification of the power of heaven, giving grass to their pastures, and the father of their ancestor, Arkas. According to their myths, Hermes, still a baby, wrapped in a lullaby (in the fog of dawn), stole the herds (bright clouds) of the sun god, Apollo, and hid them in a damp cave near the seashore; stringing strings on a tortoise shell, he made a lyre, and by presenting it to Apollo, gained the friendship of this more powerful god. Hermes also invented the shepherd's flute, with which he walks through the mountains of his homeland. Subsequently, Hermes became the guardian of roads, crossroads and travelers, the guardian of streets, boundaries. Stones were placed on the latter, which were symbols of Hermes, and his images, which gave the boundaries of the plots holiness, strength.

God Hermes. Sculpture of Phidias (?)

Hermes (that is, the symbols of Hermes) were originally just heaps of stones, poured on the boundaries, along the roads and especially at the crossroads; these were landmarks and road signs, considered sacred. Passers-by threw stones to those laid before. Sometimes oil was poured on these heaps of stones dedicated to the god Hermes, as on primitive altars; they were decorated with flowers, wreaths, ribbons. Subsequently, the Greeks placed trihedral or tetrahedral stone pillars as travel and boundary signs; over time, they began to give them a more skillful finish, they usually made a pillar with a head, sometimes with a phallus, a symbol of fertility. Such germs stood along the roads, and along the streets, squares, at the gates, at the doors; they were also placed in palestras, in gymnasiums, because Hermes was the patron of gymnastic exercises in the myths of ancient Greece about the gods.

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

God Pan

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

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

Poseidon in the myths of ancient Greece

For more details, see the separate article God Poseidon

The gods of the sea and flowing waters and the gods living underground, more than the deities of heaven and air, retained the original meaning of the personified forces of nature: but they also received human features. Poseidon - in the myths of Ancient Greece, the divine power of all waters, the god of the sea and all rivers, streams, springs that fertilize the earth. Therefore, he was the main god on the coasts and capes. Poseidon is strong, broad-shouldered, and his character is indomitable. When he strikes the sea with his trident, a storm rises, the waves beat against the rocks of the coast so that the earth trembles, the cliffs crack and collapse. But Poseidon is also a good god: he draws springs from the cracks of the rocks to fertilize the valleys; he created and tamed the horse; he is the patron of horseback riding and all military games, the patron of all daring journeys, whether on horseback, in chariots, by land or by sea in ships. In ancient Greek myths, Poseidon is a mighty builder who approved the earth and its islands, laying firm boundaries for the sea. He stirs up storms, but he also gives a favorable wind; at his beckon, the sea swallows up the ships; but he also sees the ships in the pier. Poseidon is the patron saint of navigation; he guards maritime trade and governs the course of maritime warfare.

The god of ships and horses, Poseidon played, according to the myths of ancient Greece about the gods, an important role in all campaigns and sea expeditions of the heroic age. The birthplace of his cult was Thessaly, a country of Neptunian formation, horse herds and seafaring; then the service to him spread to Boeotia, Attica, the Peloponnese, and his holidays early began to be accompanied by military games. The most famous of these games in honor of the god Poseidon took place in the Boeotian city of Onchest and on Isthma. In Onhest, his sanctuaries and their grove picturesquely stood on a beautiful and fertile hill above Kopai Lake. The terrain of the Isthmian games was a hill near Skhina (Schoinos, "Reeds", a lowland overgrown with reeds), overshadowed by a pine grove. Symbolic rites borrowed from the legend of the death of Melikert, that is, from the Phoenician service to Melkart, were introduced into the worship of Poseidon on the Isthm. - Fast as the wind, the horses of the heroic age were created by the god Poseidon; in particular, Pegasus was created by him. - The wife of Poseidon, Amphitrite, was the personification of the noisy sea.

Like Zeus, Poseidon had many love affairs in the myths of ancient Greece about the gods, many sea gods and goddesses, and many heroes were his children. Tritons belonged to the retinue of Poseidon, the number of which was innumerable. They were cheerful creatures of the most diverse forms, personifications of noisy, ringing, sliding waves and the mysterious forces of the depths of the sea, fantastically transformed sea animals. They played trumpets made of shells, frolicked, dragged after the Nereids. They were one of my favorite pieces of art. Proteus, the sea god, the soothsayer of the future, who, according to ancient Greek myths, had the ability to take on all kinds of forms, also belonged to the numerous retinue of Poseidon. When the Greek sailors began to sail far, then, returning, they amazed their people with myths about the wonders of the western sea: about sirens, beautiful sea girls who live there on underwater islands under the bright surface of the waters and seductively lure sailors into death with seductive singing, about the good Glaucus , a sea god who predicts the future, about the terrible monsters Scylla and Charybdis (personifications of a dangerous rock and whirlpool), about the wicked Cyclopes, one-eyed giants, the sons of Poseidon living on the island of Trinacria, where Mount Etna, about the beautiful Galatea, about a rocky, walled island , where the god of the winds Eol lives cheerfully in a magnificent palace with his airy sons and daughters.

Underground gods - Hades, Persephone

In the myths of Ancient Greece, the worship of those gods of nature who acted both in the bowels of the earth and on its surface had the greatest similarity with Eastern religions. Human life is in such close connection with the development and withering of vegetation, with the growth and ripening of bread and grapes, that divine services, popular beliefs, art, religious theories and myths about the gods combined their most profound ideas with the mysterious activity of the gods of the earth. The circle of phenomena of plant life was a symbol of human life: luxurious vegetation quickly withers from the heat of the sun or from the cold; perishes at the onset of winter, and is reborn in the spring from the ground in which its seeds hid in the fall. It was easy to draw a parallel to ancient Greek mythology: so a person, after a short life under the joyful light of the sun, descends into the dark underworld, where instead of the radiant Apollo and the bright Athena Pallas, the gloomy, stern Hades (Hades, Aidoneus) and the strict beauty, his wife, reign in the magnificent palace , formidable Persephone. Thoughts about how close birth and death are to each other, about the fact that the earth - both the mother's womb and the coffin, served in the myths of Ancient Greece as the basis for the cult of the underground gods and gave it a dual character: it had a joyful side, and there was a sad side. And in Hellas, as in the East, the service to the gods of the earth was exalted; its rites consisted in expressing feelings of joy and sadness, and those who performed them had to limitlessly indulge in the action of spiritual unrest caused by them. But in the East, this exaltation led to a perversion of natural feelings, to the fact that people mutilated themselves; and in ancient Greece the cult of the gods of the earth developed the arts, aroused reflection on religious questions, led people to acquire sublime ideas about the deity. The holidays of the gods of the earth, especially Dionysus, greatly contributed to the development of poetry, music, dances; plastics liked to take subjects for their works from the circle of ancient Greek myths about funny fantastic creatures that accompany Pan and Dionysus. And the Eleusinian mysteries, whose teachings spread throughout the Greek world, gave thoughtful interpretations of the myths about the “mother earth”, the goddess Demeter, about the abduction of her daughter (Cora) Persephone by the harsh ruler of the underworld, that Persephone’s life goes on earth, then underground. These teachings inspired man that death is not terrible, that the soul survives the body. The forces ruling in the bowels of the earth aroused reverent caution in the ancient Greeks; these forces could not be spoken of fearlessly; thoughts about them were conveyed in the myths of ancient Greece about the gods under the guise of symbols, were not expressed directly, had only to be guessed under allegories. Mysterious teachings surrounded with solemn mystery these formidable gods, in the concealment of darkness, creating life and perceiving the dead, ruling the earthly and afterlife of man.

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

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

The two main rivers of the underworld, according to the myths of the Greeks, are the Styx and Acheron, "a deafly noisy river of eternal sorrow." In addition to them, there were three more rivers in the realm of the dead: Lethe, whose water destroyed the memory of the past, Piriflegeton (“Fire River”) and Cocytus (“Sobbing”). The souls of the dead were taken to the underworld of Hades by Hermes. Stern old man Charon transported in his boat through the Styx surrounding the underworld kingdom those souls whose bodies were buried with an obol placed in a coffin to pay him for the transportation. The souls of the unburied people had to wander homelessly along the banks of the river, not taken into the boat of Charon. Therefore, whoever found an unburied body was obliged to cover it with earth.

The ideas of the ancient Greeks about the life of the dead in the kingdom of Hades changed with the development of civilization. In the oldest myths, the dead are ghosts, unconscious, but these ghosts instinctively do the same things they did when they were alive; are the shadows of living people. Their existence in the kingdom of Hades was dreary and sad. The shadow of Achilles tells Odysseus that she would rather live on earth as a day laborer for the poor than to be the king of the dead in the underworld. But offering sacrifices to the dead improved their miserable lot. The improvement consisted either in the fact that the severity of the underground gods was softened by these sacrifices, or in the fact that the shadows of the dead drank the blood of the sacrifices, and this drink restored their consciousness. The Greeks offered sacrifices to the dead in their tombs. Turning their faces to the west, they cut the sacrificial animal over a deep hole, purposely dug in the ground, and the blood of the animal flowed into this hole. After, when ideas about the afterlife were more fully developed in the Eleusinian mysteries, the myths of Ancient Greece began to divide the underworld of Hades into two parts, Tartarus and Elysius. In Tartarus, villains led a miserable existence, condemned by the judges of the dead; they were tormented by Erinyes, strict guardians of moral laws, inexorably avenging any violation of the requirements of moral feeling, and countless evil spirits, in the invention of which Greek fantasy showed the same inexhaustibility as Egyptian, Indian and medieval European. Elysium, which, according to ancient Greek myths, lay by the ocean (or an archipelago on the ocean, called the islands of the Blessed), was the area of the afterlife of the heroes of ancient times and the righteous. There the wind is always mild, there is no snow, no heat, no rain; there, in the myths of the gods, the good Cronus reigns; the earth gives harvest there three times a year, the meadows there are forever in bloom. Heroes and the righteous lead a blissful life there; on their heads are wreaths, near their hands are garlands of the most beautiful flowers and branches of beautiful trees; they enjoy singing, horseback riding, gymnastic games.

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

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

In the myths of ancient Greece about the gods, Hades gradually became the good lord of the kingdom of the dead and the giver of wealth; the trappings of horror were eliminated from representations of him. The genius of death in the oldest works of art was depicted as a dark-colored boy with twisted legs, symbolically denoting the idea that life is broken by death. Little by little, in ancient Greek myths, he took on the form of a beautiful young man with a bowed head, holding an overturned and extinguished torch in his hand, and became completely similar to his meek brother, the Genius of sleep. Both of them live with their mother, night, in the west. From there every evening a winged dream arrives and, rushing over people, pours calmness on them from a horn or from a poppy stalk; he is accompanied by the geniuses of dreams - Morpheus, Phantaz, bringing joy to the sleeping. Even Erinyes lost their ruthlessness in ancient Greek myths, they became Eumenides, "Well-wishers". So with the development of civilization, all the ideas of the ancient Greeks about the underground kingdom of Hades softened, ceased to be terrible, and its gods became beneficent, life-giving.

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

Demeter in the myths of ancient Greece

Demeter, "earth-mother", was in the myths of ancient Greece about the gods the personification of that force of nature, which, with the assistance of sunlight, dew and rain, gives rise and ripening to bread and other fruits of the fields. She was a "fair-haired" goddess, under whose patronage people plow, sow, reap, knit bread in sheaves, thresh. Demeter brings forth harvests. She sent Triptolemus to walk all over the earth and teach people arable farming and good morals. Demeter combined with Jasion, the sower, and bore him Plutos (wealth); she punished the impious Erysichthon, "corrupting the earth," with an insatiable hunger. But in the myths of Ancient Greece, she is also the goddess of married life, giving children. The goddess who taught people about agriculture and proper family life, Demeter was the founder of civilization, morality, and family virtues. Therefore, Demeter was the "law-setter" (Thesmophoros), and the five-day feast of Thesmophoria, "laws", was celebrated in her honor. The rites of this holiday, performed by married women, were a symbolic glorification of agriculture and married life. Demeter was the main goddess of the Eleusinian festival, the rites of which had as their main content the symbolic glorification of the gifts received by people from the gods of the earth. The Amphictyonic Union, which met at Thermopylae, was also under the auspices of Demeter, the goddess of civic amenities.

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

Myths about the god Dionysus

For more details, see the separate article God Dionysus

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

The beginning of the world

Once upon a time, there was nothing in the Universe but dark and gloomy Chaos. And then the Earth appeared from Chaos - the goddess Gaia, mighty and beautiful. She gave life to everything that lives and grows on it. And since then everyone calls her their mother.

The Great Chaos also gave birth to the gloomy Darkness - Erebus and the black Night - Nyukta and ordered them to guard the Earth. It was dark on Earth at that time and gloomy. So it was until Erebus and Nyukta got tired of their hard, permanent work. Then they gave birth to the eternal Light - Ether and the joyful shining Day - Hemera.

And so it went from then on. Night guards peace on Earth. As soon as she lowers her black veils, everything is plunged into darkness and silence. And then a cheerful, shining Day comes to replace it, and it becomes light and joyful around.

Deep under the Earth, as deep as one can imagine, the terrible Tartarus was formed. Tartarus was as far from the Earth as the sky, only on the other side. Eternal darkness and silence reigned there...

And above, high above the Earth, stretches the infinite Sky - Uranus. God Uranus began to reign over the whole world. He took as his wife the beautiful goddess Gaia - the Earth.

Gaia and Uranus had six daughters, beautiful and wise, and six sons, mighty and formidable titans, and among them the majestic titan Ocean and the youngest, the cunning Kron.

And then six terrible giants were born to Mother Earth at once. Three giants - Cyclopes with one eye in their foreheads - could frighten anyone who just looked at them. But the other three giants looked even scarier, real monsters. Each of them had 50 heads and 100 hands. And they were so terrible in appearance, these hundred-armed hecatoncheir giants, that even the father himself, mighty Uranus, feared and hated them. So he decided to get rid of his children. He imprisoned the giants deep in the bowels of their mother Earth and did not allow them to come out into the light.

Giants rushed about in deep darkness, they wanted to break out, but did not dare to disobey the order of their father. It was also hard for their mother Earth, she suffered greatly from such an unbearable burden and pain. Then she called her children-titans and asked them to help her.

“Rise up against your cruel father,” she urged them, “if you don’t take away his power over the world now, he will destroy us all.”

But no matter how Gaia persuaded her children, they did not agree to raise a hand against their father. Only the youngest of them, the ruthless Cronus, supported his mother, and they decided that Uranus should no longer reign in the world.

And then one day Kron attacked his father, wounded him with a sickle and took away his power over the world. Drops of the blood of Uranus that fell to the ground turned into monstrous giants with snake tails instead of legs and vile, disgusting Erinyes, who instead of hair on their heads snakes writhed, and in their hands they held lit torches. These were terrible deities of death, discord, revenge and deceit.

Now the mighty implacable Kron, the god of Time, reigned in the world. He took the goddess Rhea as his wife.

But in his kingdom, too, there was no peace and harmony. The gods quarreled among themselves and deceived each other.

Gods war

For a long time, the great and powerful Kron, the god of Time, reigned in the world, and people called his kingdom the golden age. The first people were then only born on Earth, and they lived without knowing any worries. The Fertile Land itself fed them. She gave bountiful harvests. Bread grew by itself in the fields, wonderful fruits ripened in the gardens. People only had to collect them, and they worked as much as they could and wanted.

But Kron himself was not calm. A long time ago, when he was just beginning to reign, his mother, the goddess Gaia, predicted to him that he, too, would lose power. And one of his sons will take it from Kron. That's Kron and worried. After all, everyone who has power wants to reign as long as possible.

Kron also did not want to lose power over the world. And he commanded his wife, the goddess Rhea, to bring her children to him as soon as they were born. And the father ruthlessly swallowed them. Rhea's heart was torn with grief and suffering, but she could not help it. It was impossible to persuade Kron. So he swallowed already five of his children. Another child was soon to be born, and the goddess Rhea, in desperation, turned to her parents, Gaia and Uranus.

“Help me save my last baby,” she begged them with tears. - You are wise and all-powerful, tell me what to do, where to hide my dear son so that he can grow up and avenge such villainy.

The immortal gods took pity on their beloved daughter and taught her what to do. And now Rhea brings to her husband, the ruthless Kron, a long stone wrapped in swaddling clothes.

“Here is your son Zeus,” she told him sadly. - He was just born. Do with him what you want.

Kron grabbed the bundle and, without unwrapping it, swallowed it. In the meantime, Rhea, delighted, took her little son, crept into Dikta in the black dead night and hid him in an inaccessible cave on the wooded Aegean mountain.

There, on the island of Crete, he grew up surrounded by kind and cheerful Kuret demons. They played with little Zeus, brought him milk from the sacred goat Amalthea. And when he cried, the demons began to rumble their spears against the shields, danced and drowned out his cry with loud cries. They were very afraid that the cruel Kron would hear the cry of the child and realize that he had been deceived. And then no one can save Zeus.

But Zeus grew very quickly, his muscles filled with extraordinary strength, and soon the time came when he, mighty and omnipotent, decided to fight with his father and take away his power over the world. Zeus turned to the titans and invited them to fight with him against Kron.

And a great dispute broke out among the titans. Some decided to stay with Kron, others sided with Zeus. Filled with courage, they rushed into battle. But Zeus stopped them. At first, he wanted to free his brothers and sisters from the womb of his father, so that later he would fight against Kron together with them. But how do you get Kron to let his kids go? Zeus understood that by force alone he could not defeat a powerful god. You have to think of something to outsmart him.

Then the great titan Ocean came to his aid, who in this struggle was on the side of Zeus. His daughter, the wise goddess Thetis, prepared a magic potion and brought it to Zeus.

“O mighty and all-powerful Zeus,” she told him, “this miraculous nectar will help you free your brothers and sisters. Just make Kron drink it.

The cunning Zeus figured out how to do it. He sent Kron a luxurious amphora with nectar as a gift, and Kron, suspecting nothing, accepted this insidious gift. He drank the magical nectar with pleasure and immediately spewed out of himself, first a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, and then all his children. One by one they came into the world, and his daughters, the beautiful goddesses Hestia, Demeter, Hera, and sons - Hades and Poseidon. During the time they sat in the womb of their father, they were already quite adults.

All the children of Kron united, and a long and terrible war began between them and their father Kron for power over all people and gods. New gods established themselves on Olympus. From here they waged their great battle.

Omnipotent and formidable were the young gods, the mighty titans supported them in this struggle. The Cyclopes forged for Zeus formidable rumbling thunders and fiery lightning. But on the other hand, there were powerful opponents. The powerful Kron was not at all going to give up his power to the young gods and also gathered formidable titans around him.

This terrible and cruel battle of the gods lasted for ten years. No one could win, but no one wanted to give up either. Then Zeus decided to call for help from the mighty hundred-armed giants who were still sitting in a deep and gloomy dungeon. Huge terrible giants came to the surface of the Earth and rushed into battle. They tore off entire rocks from the mountain ranges and threw them at the titans besieging Olympus. The air was torn apart by a wild roar, the Earth groaned in pain, and even distant Tartarus shuddered from what was happening above. From the heights of Olympus, Zeus threw fiery lightning down, and everything around blazed with a terrible flame, the water in the rivers and seas boiled from the heat.

Finally, the Titans wavered and retreated. The Olympians chained them up and threw them into the gloomy Tartarus, into the deaf eternal darkness. And at the gates of Tartarus, formidable hundred-armed giants stood guard so that the mighty titans could never break free from their terrible captivity.

But the young gods did not have to celebrate the victory. The goddess Gaia was angry with Zeus because he treated her sons-titans so cruelly. As punishment for him, she gave birth to the terrible monster Typhon and sent him to Zeus.

The Earth itself trembled, and huge mountains reared up when the huge Typhon emerged into the light. All his hundred dragon heads howled, roared, barked, shouted to different voices. Even the gods shuddered in horror when they saw such a monster. Only Zeus was not taken aback. He waved his mighty right hand - and hundreds of fiery lightning fell on Typhon. Thunder rumbled, lightning flashed with an unbearable brilliance, water boiled in the seas - a real hell was happening on Earth at that time.

But here the lightnings sent by Zeus reached the goal, and one after another flashed with a bright flame of the head of Typhon. He fell heavily to the wounded Earth. Zeus raised a huge monster and threw it into Tartarus. But even there Typhon did not calm down. From time to time he begins to run amok in his terrible dungeon, and then terrible earthquakes happen, cities collapse, mountains split, cruel storms sweep away all life from the face of the earth. True, Typhon's rampage is now short-lived, he will throw out his wild forces - and calm down for a while, and again everything on earth and in heaven goes on as usual.

This is how the great battle of the gods ended, after which new gods reigned in the world.

Poseidon, lord of the seas

Deep at the very bottom of the sea, the brother of the mighty Zeus Poseidon now lives in his luxurious palace. After that great battle, when the young gods defeated the old ones, the sons of Kron cast lots, and Poseidon got power over all the elements of the sea. He went down to the bottom of the sea, and so he remained there to live forever. But every day Poseidon rises to the surface of the sea to go around his boundless possessions.

Majestic and beautiful, he rushes on his mighty green-maned horses, and obedient waves part before their master. Zeus himself is not inferior to Poseidon in power. Still would! After all, as soon as he waves his formidable trident, a violent storm rises on the sea, huge waves rise to the sky itself and with a deafening roar fall down into the very abyss.

The mighty Poseidon is terrible in anger, and woe to the one who finds himself at such a time at sea. Like weightless chips, huge ships rush along the raging waves until, completely broken and mangled, they collapse into the depths of the sea. Even marine life - fish and dolphins - try to get deeper into the sea in order to wait out the wrath of Poseidon there in safety.

But now his anger passes, majestically he raises his sparkling trident, and the sea calms down. Unprecedented fish rise from the depths of the sea, attach themselves to the chariot of the great god from behind, and cheerful dolphins rush after them. They tumble in the waves of the sea, entertain their mighty master. The beautiful daughters of the sea elder Nereus are splashing in merry flocks in the coastal waves.

One day, Poseidon, as always, raced across the sea in his fleeting chariot and saw a beautiful goddess on the coast of the island of Naxos. It was Amphitrite, the daughter of the sea elder Nereus, who knows all the secrets of the future and gives wise advice. Together with her Nereid sisters, she rested in a green meadow. They ran and frolicked, holding hands, led cheerful round dances.

Poseidon immediately fell in love with the beautiful Amphitrite. He had already sent mighty horses to the shore and wanted to take her away in his chariot. But Amphitrite was frightened by the frantic Poseidon and eluded him. Slowly she made her way to the titan Atlas, who holds the vault of heaven on his powerful shoulders, and asked him to hide her somewhere. Atlas took pity on the beautiful Amphitrite and hid her in a deep cave at the bottom of the Ocean.

Poseidon searched for Amphitrite for a long time and could not find her in any way. Like a fiery whirlwind he rushed across the sea; all this time the fierce storm did not subside on the sea. All the inhabitants of the sea: both fish, and dolphins, and all underwater monsters - went in search of the beautiful Amphitrite in order to calm their raging master.

Finally, the dolphin managed to find her in one of the remote caves. He sailed quickly to Poseidon and showed him the refuge of Amphitrite. Poseidon rushed to the cave and took his beloved with him. He did not forget to thank the dolphin who helped him. He placed it among the constellations in the sky. Since then, the dolphin has been living there, and everyone knows that there is a constellation Dolphin in the sky, but not everyone knows how it got there.

And the beautiful Amphitrite became the wife of the powerful Poseidon and lived happily with him in his luxurious underwater castle. Since then, fierce storms rarely occur at sea, because gentle Amphitrite is very good at taming the wrath of her powerful husband.

The time has come, and a son, the handsome Triton, was born to the divine beauty Amphitrite and the ruler of the seas, Poseidon. How handsome the son of the ruler of the seas, so playful. As soon as he blows into the shell, the sea will immediately become agitated, the waves will rustle, a formidable storm will fall on the unlucky sailors. But Poseidon, seeing the pranks of his son, immediately raises his trident, and the waves subside as if by magic and, gently whispering, serenely splashing, caressing the transparent, clean sea sand on the shore.

The sea elder Nereus often visits his daughter, and her cheerful sisters sail to her. Sometimes Amphitrite goes with them to play on the seashore, and Poseidon is no longer worried. He knows that she will no longer hide from him and will definitely return to their wonderful underwater palace.

dark kingdom

Deep underground lives and reigns the third brother of the great Zeus, severe Hades. He got the underworld by lot, and since then he has been the sovereign master there.

Dark and gloomy in the kingdom of Hades, not a single ray of sunlight breaks through the thickness there. Not a single living voice breaks the sad silence of this gloomy kingdom, only the plaintive groans of the dead fill the entire dungeon with a quiet, indistinct rustle. There are more dead here than living on earth. And they keep coming and coming.

The sacred river Styx flows on the borders of the underworld, on its banks and the souls of the dead fly after death. Patiently and meekly they wait for the carrier Charon to sail for them. He loads his boat with silent shadows and carries them to the other side. He only carries everyone in one direction, his boat always sails back empty.

And there, at the entrance to the realm of the dead, a formidable guard sits - the three-headed dog Kerberos, the son of the terrible Typhon, vicious snakes hiss and writhe on his neck. Only he guards the exit more than the entrance. Without delay, he passes the souls of the dead, but not one of them will come back.

And then their path lies to the throne of Hades. In the middle of his underworld, he sits on a golden throne with his wife Persephone. Once he kidnapped her from the earth, and since then Persephone lives here, in this luxurious, but gloomy and bleak underground palace.

Every now and then Charon brings new souls. Frightened and trembling, they flock together in front of the formidable ruler. Feel sorry for them Persephone, she is ready to help them all, to calm them down and console them. But no, she can't! Here, the inexorable judges Minos and Rhadamanth sit next to each other. They weigh unfortunate souls on their terrible scales, and it immediately becomes clear how much a person has sinned in his life and what fate awaits him here. It is bad for sinners, and especially for those who themselves spared no one during their lifetime, robbed and killed, mocked the defenseless. The inexorable goddesses of vengeance Erinia will not give them a moment of peace now. They rush all over the dungeon after criminal souls, chasing them, waving formidable scourges, hideous snakes writhing on their heads. There is nowhere for sinners to hide from them. How they would like, at least for a second, to find themselves on earth and say to their loved ones: “Be kinder to each other. Don't repeat our mistakes. A terrible retribution awaits everyone after death. But from here there is no way to land. There is only here from the earth.

Leaning on his formidable smashing sword, in a wide black cloak, the terrible god of death Tanat stands near the throne. As soon as Hades waved his hand, Tanat took off from his place and on his huge black wings flies to the bed of the dying man for a new victim.

But now, as if a bright beam swept through a gloomy dungeon. This is the beautiful young Hypnos, the god who brings sleep. He came down here to greet Hades, his master. And then he will rush to the ground again, where people are waiting for him. It happens badly for them if Hypnos lingers somewhere.

He flies above the earth on his light, openwork wings and pours sleeping oil from his horn. Gently touches his eyelashes with his magic wand, and everything is immersed in sweet Dreams. Neither people nor immortal gods can resist the will of Hypnos - he is so powerful and omnipotent. Even the great Zeus obediently closes his menacing eyes when the beautiful Hypnos waves his wonderful wand.

Hypnos is often accompanied in flights by the gods of dreams. They are very different, these gods, like people. There are kind and cheerful, and there are gloomy and unfriendly. And so it turns out: to whom which god flies, a person will see such a dream. Someone will have a joyful and happy dream, and someone will have an anxious, joyless dream.

Also, the terrible ghost of Empusa with donkey legs and the monstrous Lamia roam the underworld, who likes to sneak into children's bedrooms at night and drag little children away. The terrible goddess Hecate rules over all these monsters and ghosts. As soon as night falls, this whole terrible company comes out to earth, and God forbid anyone to meet them at this time. But with the dawn they again hide in their gloomy dungeon and sit there until dark.

This is what it is - the kingdom of Hades, terrible and bleak.

Olympians

The most powerful of all the sons of Cronus - Zeus - remained on Olympus, he got the sky by lot, and from here he began to reign over the whole world.

Below, on Earth, hurricanes and wars rage, people grow old and die, but here, on Olympus, peace and tranquility reign. There is never winter and frost here, it does not rain and winds do not blow. Golden radiance spreads around day and night. In the luxurious golden palaces that the master Hephaestus built for them, the immortal gods live here. They feast and rejoice in their golden halls. But do not forget about the cases, because each of them has its own responsibilities. And now Themis, the goddess of law, has called everyone to the council of the gods. Zeus wanted to discuss how best to manage people.

The great Zeus sits on a golden throne, and in front of him in a spacious hall are all the other gods. Near his throne, as always, is the goddess of peace, Eirene, and the constant companion of Zeus, winged Nike, the goddess of victory. Here is the fleet-footed Hermes, the messenger of Zeus, and the great warrior goddess Pallas Athena. The beautiful Aphrodite shines with her heavenly beauty.

Late always busy Apollo. But here he flies up to Olympus. The three beautiful Horas that guard the entrance to the high Olympus have already opened a thick cloud in front of him to clear the way for him. And he, shining with beauty, strong and powerful, throwing his silver bow over his shoulders, enters the hall. Joyfully rises to meet him his sister - the beautiful goddess Artemis, a tireless hunter.

And then the majestic Hera enters the hall, in luxurious clothes, a beautiful, fair-haired goddess, the wife of Zeus. All the gods rise and respectfully greet the great Hera. She sits next to Zeus on her luxurious golden throne and listens to what the immortal gods are talking about. She also has her own constant companion. This is the light-winged Irida, the goddess of the rainbow. At the first word of her mistress, Irida is ready to fly to the most remote corners of the Earth in order to fulfill any of her orders.

Today Zeus is calm and peaceful. Calm and other gods. So, everything is in order on Olympus, and things are going well on Earth. Therefore, today the immortals have no grief. They joke and have fun. But it also happens differently. If the mighty Zeus gets angry, he will wave his formidable right hand, and immediately a deafening thunder will shake the whole Earth. One after another, he throws dazzling fiery lightning. It is bad for someone who somehow did not please the great Zeus. It happens that the innocent becomes at such moments an unwitting victim of the unbridled anger of the ruler. But there's nothing you can do about it!

And there are two mysterious vessels at the gates of his golden palace. Good is in one vessel, and evil is in the other. Zeus scoops up from one vessel, then from another and throws handfuls on the Earth. All people should get equally good and evil. But it also happens that someone gets more good, and only evil falls on someone. But no matter how much Zeus sends from his vessels of good and evil to Earth, he still cannot influence the fate of people. This is done by the goddesses of fate - moira, who also live on Olympus. The great Zeus himself depends on them and does not know his fate.

One of these inexorable goddesses, Lachesis, even before a person is born, takes out a lot for him without looking. Whoever gets what fate, so be it. Her sister, Moira Clotho, tirelessly spins the thread of life. As soon as it breaks, the life of a person ends. No one can change either the fate or the life span that Clotho and Lachesis assigned to a person, because there is also a third sister, Moira Atropos. She enters into a long list everything that her sisters have appointed. And what is written in the scroll of fate will never change.

Many immortal gods and goddesses live on Olympus. There are cruel and evil among them, just like Ares, for example, the god of an unjust war, and although he is the son of the Thunderer Zeus, his father does not love him for his bloodthirstiness and ferocity. Nothing pleases the heart of the evil and formidable Ares so much as the blood and groans of warriors falling in a mortal battle, without looking, Ares strikes with his terrible sword and sows death and destruction around him. And there are others - bright and kind, like the goddess of a happy fate Tyukhe. She walks the earth with her cornucopia and showers happiness on everyone she meets on her way. For some reason, she only walks along secret paths, and no one knows where they are. But on the other hand, if someone meets with Tyuhe, he will always later be the happiest person in the world. Although such meetings rarely occur, each person hopes that someday he will meet Tyukhe, the beautiful goddess of happiness, on his way.

The picture of the life of the gods on Olympus is given according to the works of Homer - the Iliad and the Odyssey, glorifying the tribal aristocracy and the basileus who lead it as the best people, standing much higher than the rest of the population. The gods of Olympus differ from aristocrats and basileus only in that they are immortal, powerful and can work miracles.

Zeus

Birth of Zeus

Kron was not sure that power would forever remain in his hands. He was afraid that the children would rise up against him and find him the same fate that he condemned his father Uranus to. He was afraid of his children. And Kron ordered his wife Rhea to bring him newborn children and mercilessly swallowed them. Rhea was horrified when she saw the fate of her children. Already swallowed five Kronos: Hestia [ 3Goddess of sacrificial fire and hearth fire, patroness of cities and the state. In Rome, Vesta, the goddess of the hearth, was subsequently identified with Hestia.], Demeter [ 4The great goddess of the fertility of the earth, giving growth to everything that grows on the earth, giving fertility to the fields, blessing the work of the farmer. The Romans named the goddess Demeter after their ancient goddess of the fertile field - Ceres. Myths about Demeter, see below.], Heru, Hades (Hades) and Poseidon [ 5The Romans corresponded to Juno, Pluto and Neptune.].

Rhea did not want to lose her last child. On the advice of her parents, Uranus-Heaven and Gaia-Earth, she retired to the island of Crete, and there, in a deep cave, her youngest son Zeus was born. In this cave, Rhea hid her son from a cruel father, and gave him a long stone wrapped in swaddling clothes to swallow instead of his son. Kron did not suspect that he was deceived by his wife.

Meanwhile, Zeus grew up in Crete. The nymphs Adrastea and Idea cherished the little Zeus, they fed him with the milk of the divine goat Amalthea. Bees carried honey to little Zeus from the slopes of the high mountain Dikty. At the entrance to the cave, young curets [ 6Demigods, guardians and protectors of Zeus. Later, the priests of Zeus and Rhea were called curetes in Crete.] hit shields with swords whenever little Zeus cried, so that Kron would not hear his cry and Zeus would not suffer the fate of his brothers and sisters.

Zeus overthrows Kron.

The struggle of the Olympian gods with the titans

The beautiful and mighty god Zeus grew up and matured. He rebelled against his father and forced him to bring back the children he had devoured into the world. One by one, the monster from the mouth of Kron spewed his children-gods, beautiful and bright. They began to fight with Kron and the titans for power over the world.

This struggle was terrible and stubborn. The children of Kron established themselves on the high Olympus. Some of the titans also took their side, and the first were the titan Ocean and his daughter Styx and their children Zeal, Power and Victory. This struggle was dangerous for the Olympian gods. Mighty and formidable were their opponents the titans. But Zeus came to the aid of the Cyclopes. They forged thunder and lightning for him, Zeus threw them into the titans. The struggle had been going on for ten years, but the victory did not lean to either side. Finally, Zeus decided to free the hundred-armed hecatoncheir giants from the bowels of the earth; he called them for help. Terrible, huge as mountains, they came out of the bowels of the earth and rushed into battle. They tore off entire rocks from the mountains and threw them at the titans. Hundreds of rocks flew towards the titans when they approached Olympus. The earth groaned, a roar filled the air, everything shook around. Even Tartarus shuddered from this struggle.

Zeus threw one fiery lightning after another and deafening roaring thunders. Fire engulfed the whole earth, the seas boiled, smoke and stench shrouded everything in a thick veil.

Finally, the mighty titans faltered. Their strength was broken, they were defeated. The Olympians bound them and cast them into the gloomy Tartarus, into eternal darkness. At the indestructible copper gates of Tartarus, hundred-armed hecatoncheirs stood guard, and they guard so that the mighty titans do not break free again from Tartarus. The power of the titans in the world has passed.

Zeus fighting Typhon

But the fight didn't end there. Gaia-Earth was angry with the Olympian Zeus because he acted so harshly with her defeated children-titans. She married the gloomy Tartarus and gave birth to the terrible hundred-headed monster Typhon. Huge, with a hundred dragon heads, Typhon rose from the bowels of the earth. With a wild howl he shook the air. The barking of dogs, human voices, the roar of an angry bull, the roar of a lion were heard in this howl. Stormy flames swirled around Typhon, and the earth shook under his heavy steps. The gods shuddered in horror, but Zeus the Thunderer boldly rushed at him, and the battle caught fire. Again, lightning flashed in the hands of Zeus, thunder rumbled. The earth and the vault of heaven shook to their foundations. The earth flared up again with a bright flame, as it had during the struggle with the titans. The seas boiled at the mere approach of Typhon. Hundreds of fiery arrows-lightnings of the Thunderer Zeus rained down; it seemed that from their fire the very air was burning and dark thunderclouds were burning. Zeus burned all of Typhon's hundred heads to ashes. Typhon collapsed to the ground; such heat emanated from his body that everything around him melted. Zeus raised the body of Typhon and cast it into the gloomy Tartarus, which gave birth to him. But even in Tartarus, Typhon threatens the gods and all living things. He causes storms and eruptions; he gave birth with Echidna, a half-woman half-snake, the terrible two-headed dog Orff, the hellish dog Cerberus, the Lernean hydra and the Chimera; Typhon often shakes the earth.

The Olympian gods defeated their enemies. No one else could resist their power. They could now safely rule the world. The most powerful of them, the Thunderer Zeus, took the sky, Poseidon - the sea, and Hades - the underworld of the souls of the dead. The land remained in common ownership. Although the sons of Kron divided power over the world among themselves, Zeus, the ruler of the sky, reigns over all of them; he rules over people and gods, he knows everything in the world.

Zeus reigns high on the bright Olympus, surrounded by a host of gods. Here is his wife Hera, and the golden-haired Apollo with his sister Artemis, and the golden Aphrodite, and the mighty daughter of Zeus Athena [ 7Among the Romans, the Greek goddesses Hera, Artemis, Aphrodite and Athena corresponded to: Juno, Diana, Venus and Minerva.], and many other gods. Three beautiful Horas guard the entrance to the high Olympus and raise a thick cloud that closes the gate when the gods descend to earth or ascend to the bright halls of Zeus. High above Olympus, the blue, bottomless sky spreads wide, and golden light pours from it. Neither rain nor snow occurs in the kingdom of Zeus; always there is a bright, joyful summer. And clouds swirl below, sometimes they close the distant land. There, on earth, spring and summer are replaced by autumn and winter, joy and fun are replaced by misfortune and grief. True, the gods also know sorrows, but they soon pass, and joy is again established on Olympus.

The gods feast in their golden palaces built by the son of Zeus Hephaestus [ 8The Romans have Vulcan.]. King Zeus sits on a high golden throne. The courageous, divinely beautiful face of Zeus breathes with greatness and proudly calm consciousness of power and might. At his throne is the goddess of peace, Eirene, and the constant companion of Zeus, the winged goddess of victory Nike. Here comes the beautiful, majestic goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus. Zeus honors his wife: Hera, the patroness of marriage, is honored by all the gods of Olympus. When, shining with her beauty, in a magnificent outfit, the great Hera enters the banquet hall, all the gods stand up and bow before the wife of the Thunderer Zeus. And she, proud of her power, goes to the golden throne and sits next to the king of the gods and people - Zeus. Near the throne of Hera stands her messenger, the goddess of the rainbow, the light-winged Irida, always ready to quickly rush on rainbow wings to fulfill Hera's orders to the farthest ends of the earth.

The gods feast. The daughter of Zeus, the young Hebe, and the son of the king of Troy, Ganymede, the favorite of Zeus, who received immortality from him, offer them ambrosia and nectar - the food and drink of the gods. Beautiful charters [ 9The Romans have graces.] and the Muses delight them with singing and dancing. Holding hands, they dance, and the gods admire their light movements and marvelous, eternally young beauty. The feast of the Olympians becomes more fun. At these feasts, the gods decide all matters, at them they determine the fate of the world and people.

From Olympus, Zeus sends his gifts to people and establishes order and laws on earth. The fate of people is in the hands of Zeus; happiness and unhappiness, good and evil, life and death - everything is in his hands. Two large vessels stand at the gates of the palace of Zeus. In one vessel are gifts of good, in the other - of evil. Zeus draws good and evil from them and sends them to people. Woe to that person to whom the thunderer draws gifts only from a vessel with evil. Woe to the one who violates the order established by Zeus on earth and does not comply with his laws. The son of Kronos will menacingly move his thick eyebrows, then black clouds will cloud the sky. The great Zeus will be angry, and the hair on his head will rise terribly, his eyes will light up with an unbearable brilliance; he will wave his right hand - thunder will roll across the sky, fiery lightning will flash, and the high Olympus will shake.

Not only Zeus keeps the laws. At his throne stands the goddess Themis, who keeps the laws. She convenes, at the command of the Thunderer, meetings of the gods on the bright Olympus, people's meetings on earth, observing that order and law are not violated. On Olympus and the daughter of Zeus, the goddess Dike, who watches over justice. Zeus severely punishes unrighteous judges when Dike informs him that they do not comply with the laws given by Zeus. Goddess Dike is the protector of truth and the enemy of deceit.

Zeus keeps order and truth in the world and sends people happiness and sorrow. But although Zeus sends people happiness and misfortune, nevertheless the fate of people is determined by the inexorable goddesses of fate - Moira [ 10The Romans have parks.], living on the bright Olympus. The fate of Zeus himself is in their hands. Doom rules over mortals and over the gods. No one can escape the dictates of inexorable fate. There is no such force, no such power that could change at least something in what is destined for the gods and mortals. You can only humbly bow before fate and submit to it. Some moira know the dictates of fate. Moira Klotho spins the life thread of a person, determining the duration of his life. The thread will break, and life will end. Moira Lachesis draws, without looking, the lot that falls to a person in life. No one is able to change the fate determined by moira, since the third moira, Atropos, puts everything that her sister’s person was assigned in life to a long scroll, and what is listed in the scroll of fate is inevitable. Great, severe moira are inexorable.

There is also a goddess of fate on Olympus - this is the goddess Tyukhe [ 11The Romans have Fortuna.], the goddess of happiness and prosperity. From the horn of plenty, the horn of the divine goat Amalthea, whose milk Zeus himself was fed, she will send gifts to people, and happy is the person who meets the goddess of happiness Tyukhe on his life path; but how rarely does this happen, and how unfortunate is the person from whom the goddess Tyuhe, who has just given him her gifts, will turn away!

So reigns, surrounded by a host of bright gods on Olympus, the great king of people and gods Zeus, guarding order and truth throughout the world.

Poseidon and the gods of the sea

Deep in the abyss of the sea stands the wonderful palace of the great brother of the Thunderer Zeus, the shaker of the earth Poseidon. Poseidon rules over the seas, and the waves of the sea are obedient to the slightest movement of his hand, armed with a formidable trident. There, in the depths of the sea, lives with Poseidon and his beautiful wife Amphitrite, the daughter of the sea prophetic elder Nereus, who was kidnapped by the great ruler of the sea depths Poseidon from her father. He saw one day how she led a round dance with her Nereid sisters on the coast of the island of Naxos. The god of the sea was captivated by the beautiful Amphitrite and wanted to take her away in his chariot. But Amphitrite took refuge with the titan Atlas, who holds the vault of heaven on his mighty shoulders. For a long time Poseidon could not find the beautiful daughter of Nereus. At last the dolphin opened her hiding place to him; for this service, Poseidon placed the dolphin among the celestial constellations. Poseidon stole the beautiful daughter of Nereus from Atlas and married her.

Since then, Amphitrite lives with her husband Poseidon in an underwater palace. High above the palace, the waves of the sea roar. A host of sea deities surrounds Poseidon, obedient to his will. Among them is the son of Poseidon, Triton, who causes terrible storms with the thunderous sound of his pipe from the shell. Among the deities are the beautiful sisters of Amphitrite, the Nereids. Poseidon rules over the sea. When he rushes across the sea in his chariot drawn by marvelous horses, then the ever-noisy waves part and give way to the lord Poseidon. Equal in beauty to Zeus himself, he quickly rushes across the boundless sea, and dolphins play around him, fish swim out of the depths of the sea and crowd around his chariot. When Poseidon waves his formidable trident, then, like mountains, the sea waves rise, covered with white ridges of foam, and a fierce storm rages on the sea. Then the sea waves beat with noise against the coastal rocks and shake the earth. But Poseidon stretches his trident over the waves, and they calm down. The storm subsides, the sea is calm again, exactly like a mirror, and splashes a little audibly near the shore - blue, boundless.

Many deities surround the great brother of Zeus, Poseidon; among them is the prophetic sea elder, Nereus, who knows all the innermost secrets of the future. Nereus is alien to lies and deceit; only the truth he reveals to the gods and mortals. Wise advice given by the prophetic elder. Nereus has fifty beautiful daughters. Young Nereids splash merrily in the waves of the sea, sparkling among them with their divine beauty. Hand in hand, they swim out of the depths of the sea in a row and dance on the shore to the gentle splash of the waves of a calm sea quietly running ashore. The echo of the coastal rocks then repeats the sounds of their gentle singing, like the quiet roar of the sea. Nereids patronize the sailor and give him a happy voyage.

Among the deities of the sea is the elder Proteus, who, like the sea, changes his image and turns, at will, into various animals and monsters. He is also a prophetic god, you just need to be able to catch him unexpectedly, take possession of him and force him to reveal the secret of the future. Among the satellites of the oscillator of the earth Poseidon is the god Glaucus, the patron saint of sailors and fishermen, and he has the gift of divination. Often, emerging from the depths of the sea, he opened the future and gave wise advice to mortals. The gods of the sea are mighty, their power is great, but the great brother of Zeus Poseidon rules over all of them.

All the seas and all the lands flow around the gray ocean [ 12The Greeks claimed that a stream flows around the whole earth, rolling its waters in an eternal whirlpool.] - a titan god, equal to Zeus himself in honor and glory. He lives far on the borders of the world, and the affairs of the earth do not disturb his heart. Three thousand sons - river gods and three thousand daughters - oceanids, goddesses of streams and sources, near the Ocean. The sons and daughters of the great god of the Ocean give prosperity and joy to mortals with their ever-rolling living water, they water the whole earth and all living things with it.

The kingdom of gloomy Hades (Pluto) [ 13The ancient Greeks imagined the kingdom of Hades, the kingdom of the souls of the dead, gloomy and terrible, and the "afterlife" - misfortune. No wonder the shadow of Achilles, called by Odysseus from the underworld, says that it is better to be the last farmhand on earth than the king in the kingdom of Hades.]

Deep underground reigns Zeus' unforgiving, grim brother, Hades. His kingdom is full of darkness and horrors. The joyful rays of the bright sun never penetrate there. Bottomless abysses lead from the surface of the earth to the sad kingdom of Hades. Dark rivers flow in it. There flows the ever-chilling sacred river Styx, by whose waters the gods themselves swear.

Cocytus and Acheron roll their waves there; the souls of the dead resound with their groaning, full of sorrow, their gloomy shores. In the underworld, the source of Lethe also flows, giving oblivion to all earthly water [ 14Hence the expression: “sunk into oblivion”, that is, forgotten forever.]. Through the gloomy fields of the kingdom of Hades, overgrown with pale flowers of asphodel, ethereal light shadows of the dead are worn. They complain about their joyless life without light and without desires. Their moans are quietly heard, barely perceptible, like the rustle of withered leaves driven by the autumn wind. There is no return to anyone from this realm of sorrow. Three-Headed Hellhound Kerber [ 16 Otherwise, Cerberus.], on whose neck snakes move with a menacing hiss, guards the exit. The stern, old Charon, the carrier of the souls of the dead, will not be lucky through the gloomy waters of Acheron not a single soul back to where the sun of life shines brightly. The souls of the dead in the gloomy kingdom of Hades are doomed to an eternal joyless existence.

In this kingdom, to which neither light, nor joy, nor sorrows of earthly life reach, the brother of Zeus, Hades, rules. He sits on a golden throne with his wife Persephone. He is served by the implacable goddesses of vengeance Erinyes. Terrible, with scourges and snakes, they pursue the criminal; do not give him a moment's rest and torment him with remorse; nowhere can you hide from them, everywhere they find their prey. At the throne of Hades sit the judges of the kingdom of the dead - Minos and Rhadamanthus. Here, at the throne, the god of death Tanat with a sword in his hands, in a black cloak, with huge black wings. These wings blow with grave cold when Tanat flies to the bed of a dying man in order to cut a strand of hair from his head with his sword and tear out his soul. Next to Tanat and gloomy Kera. On their wings they rush, furious, across the battlefield. The Keres rejoice as they see the slain heroes fall one by one; with their blood-red lips they fall to the wounds, greedily drink the hot blood of the slain and tear out their souls from the body.

Here, at the throne of Hades, is the beautiful, young god of sleep, Hypnos. He silently rushes on his wings above the ground with poppy heads in his hands and pours sleeping pills from his horn. He gently touches the eyes of people with his wonderful wand, quietly closes his eyelids and plunges mortals into a sweet dream. The mighty god Hypnos, neither mortals, nor gods, nor even the Thunderer Zeus himself can resist him: and Hypnos closes his menacing eyes and plunges him into a deep sleep.

Worn in the gloomy kingdom of Hades and the gods of dreams. Among them there are gods who give prophetic and joyful dreams, but there are also gods of terrible, oppressive dreams that frighten and torment people. There are gods and false dreams, they mislead a person and often lead him to death.

The kingdom of the inexorable Hades is full of darkness and horrors. There roams in the darkness the terrible ghost of Empusa with donkey's feet; it, having lured people into a secluded place in the darkness of the night, drinks all the blood and devours their still trembling bodies. The monstrous Lamia also roams there; she sneaks into the bedroom of happy mothers at night and steals their children to drink their blood. The great goddess Hecate rules over all ghosts and monsters. She has three bodies and three heads. On a moonless night, she wanders in deep darkness along the roads and at the graves with all her terrible retinue, surrounded by Stygian dogs [ 17Monstrous dogs of the underground kingdom of Hades, from the banks of the underground river Styx.]. She sends horrors and heavy dreams to the earth and destroys people. Hekate is invoked as an assistant in witchcraft, but she is also the only helper against witchcraft for those who honor her and bring her at the crossroads, where three roads diverge, as a sacrifice of dogs.

Terrible is the kingdom of Hades, and it is hateful to people [ 18The underground gods personified mainly the formidable forces of nature; they are much older than the Olympian gods. In folk beliefs, they played a more significant role.].

Hera

The great goddess Hera, the wife of the auspicious Zeus, patronizes marriage and protects the sanctity and inviolability of marriage unions. She sends numerous offspring to the spouses and blesses the mother at the time of the birth of the child.

The great goddess Hera, after she and her brothers and sisters were vomited out of their mouths by the defeated Zeus Krov, her mother Rhea carried to the ends of the earth to the gray Ocean; There she raised Hera Thetis. Hera lived for a long time away from Olympus, in peace and quiet. The great Thunderer Zeus saw her, fell in love with her and stole her from Thetis. The gods magnificently celebrated the wedding of Zeus and Hera. Irida and the Charites dressed Hera in luxurious clothes, and she shone with her young, majestic beauty among the host of the gods of Olympus, sitting on a golden throne next to the great king of gods and people, Zeus. All the gods brought gifts to the sovereign Hera, and the goddess Earth-Gaia grew from her depths a marvelous apple tree with golden fruits as a gift to Hera. Everything in nature glorified Queen Hera and King Zeus.

Hera reigns on high Olympus. She commands, like her husband Zeus, thunder and lightning, at the word of her dark rain clouds cover the sky, with a wave of her hand she raises terrible storms.

The great Hera is beautiful, hairy, lily-armed, from under her crown marvelous curls fall in a wave, her eyes burn with power and calm majesty. The gods honor Hera, and her husband, the cloud-breaker Zeus, also honors her, and often consults with her. But quarrels between Zeus and Hera are not uncommon. Hera often objects to Zeus and argues with him on the advice of the gods. Then the thunderer becomes angry and threatens his wife with punishments. Then Hera falls silent and restrains her anger. She remembers how Zeus subjected her to scourging, how he bound her with golden chains and hung her between earth and sky, tying two heavy anvils to her feet.

Mighty is Hera, there is no goddess equal to her in power. Majestic, in long luxurious clothes woven by Athena herself, in a chariot harnessed by two immortal horses, she leaves Olympus. The chariot is all of silver, the wheels are of pure gold, and their spokes sparkle with copper. The fragrance spreads on the ground where Hera passes. All living things bow before her, the great queen of Olympus.

Hera often suffers insults from her husband Zeus. So it was when Zeus fell in love with the beautiful Io and, in order to hide her from his wife Hera, turned Io into a cow. But this thunderer did not save Io. Hera saw the snow-white cow Io and demanded from Zeus that he give it to her. Zeus could not refuse this to Hera. Hera, having taken possession of Io, gave her under the protection of the sharp-eyed Argus [ 20Stooky Argus is the personification of the starry sky.]. Unfortunate Io suffered, she could not tell anyone about her sufferings; turned into a cow, she was speechless. Sleepless Argus guarded Io, she could not hide from him. Zeus saw her suffering. Calling his son Hermes, he ordered him to kidnap Io.

Hermes quickly rushed to the top of that mountain, where Io was guarded by a hundred-eyed guard. He put Argus to sleep with his speeches. As soon as his hundred eyes closed, Hermes drew his curved sword and cut off Argus's head with one blow. Io was released. But even with this, Zeus did not save Io from the wrath of Hera. She sent a monstrous gadfly. With his sting, the gadfly drove the unfortunate sufferer Io, distraught from torment, from country to country. She did not find peace anywhere. In a frantic run, she rushed farther and farther, and the gadfly flew after her, constantly piercing her body with his sting; the sting of the gadfly burned Io like red-hot iron. Where only she did not run But, in what countries she did not visit! Finally, after long wanderings, she reached in the country of the Scythians, in the far north, the rock to which the titan Prometheus was chained. He predicted the unfortunate that only in Egypt would she get rid of her torment. Io rushed on, driven by the gadfly. She endured many torments, saw many dangers, before she reached Egypt. There, on the banks of the fertile Nile, Zeus returned her former image to her, and her son Epaphus was born. He was the first king of Egypt and the progenitor of a great generation of heroes, to which the greatest hero of Greece, Hercules, also belonged.

Apollo

Birth of Apollo

The god of light, the golden-haired Apollo, was born on the island of Delos. His mother Latona, driven by the wrath of the goddess Hera, could not find shelter anywhere. Pursued by the dragon Python sent by the Hero, she wandered all over the world and finally took refuge on Delos, which at that time was rushing along the waves of a stormy sea. As soon as Latona entered Delos, huge pillars rose from the depths of the sea and stopped this deserted island. He stood firm in the place where he still stands today. All around Delos the sea roared. The cliffs of Delos rose despondently, bare without the slightest vegetation. Only sea gulls found shelter on these rocks and announced them with their sad cry. But then the god of light Apollo was born, and streams of bright light spilled everywhere. Like gold, they poured the rocks of Delos. Everything around bloomed, sparkled: the coastal cliffs, and Mount Kint, and the valley, and the sea. The goddesses gathered on Delos loudly praised the born god, offering him ambrosia and nectar. All nature around rejoiced along with the goddesses.

The struggle of Apollo with Python and the foundation of the Delphic oracle

Young, radiant Apollo rushed across the azure sky with a kithara [ 22An ancient Greek stringed musical instrument similar to the lyre.] in his hands, with a silver bow over his shoulders; golden arrows jingled loudly in his quiver. Proud, jubilant, Apollo rushed high above the earth, threatening all evil, all generated by darkness. He aspired to where the formidable Python lived, pursuing his mother Latona; he wanted to take revenge on him for all the evil that he had done to her.

Apollo quickly reached the gloomy gorge, the dwelling of Python. Rocks rose all around, reaching high into the sky. Darkness reigned in the gorge. A mountain stream, gray with foam, was swiftly rushing along its bottom, and mists swirled above the stream. The terrible Python crawled out of its lair. Its huge body, covered with scales, twisted between the rocks in countless rings. Rocks and mountains trembled from the weight of his body and moved. Furious Python betrayed everything, he spread death all around. Nymphs and all living things fled in horror. Python rose up, mighty, furious, opened his terrible mouth and was ready to devour the golden-haired Apollo. Then there was a ringing of the bowstring of a silver bow, as a spark flashed in the air, a golden arrow that did not know a miss, followed by another, a third; arrows rained down on Python, and he fell lifeless to the ground. The triumphant victorious song (pean) of the golden-haired Apollo, the winner of Python, sounded loudly, and the golden strings of the cithara of the god echoed it. Apollo buried the body of Python in the ground where sacred Delphi stands, and founded a sanctuary and an oracle in Delphi in order to prophesy to people the will of his father Zeus.

From a high shore, far out to sea, Apollo saw the ship of the Cretan sailors. Under the guise of a dolphin, he rushed into the blue sea, overtook the ship and, like a radiant star, flew up from the sea waves to its stern. Apollo brought the ship to the pier of the city of Chrisa [ 23A city on the coast of the Corinthian Gulf, which served as a harbor for Delphi.] and through the fertile valley led the Cretan sailors, playing on the golden cithara, to Delphi. He made them the first priests of his sanctuary.

Based on the poem "Metamorphoses" by Ovid.

The bright, joyful god Apollo knows sadness, and grief befell him. He knew grief shortly after defeating Python. When Apollo, proud of his victory, stood over the monster slain by his arrows, he saw near him the young god of love Eros, pulling his golden bow. Laughing, Apollo said to him:

- What do you need, child, such a formidable weapon? Leave it to me to send out the smashing golden arrows with which I just killed Python. Are you equal in glory with me, the archer? Do you want to achieve more fame than me?

Offended, Eros proudly answered Apollo:

- Your arrows, Phoebus-Apollo, do not know a miss, they smash everyone, but my arrow will hit you.

Eros waved his golden wings and in the blink of an eye flew up to the high Parnassus. There he took out two arrows from the quiver: one - wounding the heart and causing love, he pierced the heart of Apollo with it, the other - killing love, he launched it into the heart of the nymph Daphne, daughter of the river god Peneus.

Once I met the beautiful Daphne Apollo and fell in love with her. But as soon as Daphne saw the golden-haired Apollo, she started to run with the speed of the wind, because the arrow of Eros, which kills love, pierced her heart. The silver-eyed god hurried after her.

- Stop, beautiful nymph, - cried Apollo, - why are you running from me, like a lamb pursued by a wolf, Like a dove fleeing from an eagle, you rush! After all, I'm not your enemy! Look, you hurt your legs on the sharp thorns of the blackthorn. Oh wait, stop! After all, I am Apollo, the son of the Thunderer Zeus, and not a simple mortal shepherd,

But the beautiful Daphne ran faster and faster. As if on wings, Apollo rushes after her. He is getting closer. Now it's coming! Daphne feels his breath. The strength leaves her. Daphne prayed to her father Peneus:

“Father Penei, help me!” Part quickly, earth, and devour me! Oh, take away this image from me, it causes me only suffering!

As soon as she said this, her limbs immediately became numb. The bark covered her delicate body, her hair turned into foliage, and her hands raised to the sky turned into branches. For a long time, sad Apollo stood before the laurel and, finally, said:

“Let a wreath of only your greenery decorate my head, let from now on you decorate with your leaves both my cithara and my quiver. May your greenery never wither, O laurel, Stay forever green!

And the laurel quietly rustled in response to Apollo with its thick branches and, as if in a sign of consent, bowed its green top.

Apollo at Admet

Apollo had to be cleansed from the sin of the spilled blood of Python. After all, he himself cleanses the people who committed the murder. By the decision of Zeus, he retired to Thessaly to the beautiful and noble king Admet. There he pastured the flocks of the king, and by this service atoned for his sin. When Apollo played in the middle of the pasture on a reed flute or on a golden cithara, wild animals came out of the forest thicket, enchanted by his game. Panthers and ferocious lions walked peacefully among the herds. Deer and chamois ran to the sound of the flute. Peace and joy reigned all around. Prosperity settled in the house of Admet; no one had such fruits, his horses and herds were the best in all of Thessaly. All this was given to him by the golden-haired god. Apollo helped Admet get the hand of the daughter of Tsar Iolk Pelias, Alcesta. Her father promised to give her as a wife only to one who would be able to harness a lion and a bear to his chariot. Then Apollo endowed his favorite Admet with irresistible power, and he fulfilled this task of Pelias. Apollo served with Admet for eight years and, having completed his expiatory service, returned to Delphi.

Apollo lives in Delphi during spring and summer. When autumn comes, the flowers wither and the leaves on the trees turn yellow, when the cold winter is already close, covering the peak of Parnassus with snow, then Apollo, on his chariot drawn by snow-white swans, is carried away to the country of the Hyperboreans, which does not know winter, to the country of eternal spring. He lives there all winter. When everything in Delphi turns green again, when flowers bloom under the life-giving breath of spring and cover the valley of Chrisa with a motley carpet, the golden-haired Apollo returns to Delphi on his swans to prophesy to people the will of the thunderer Zeus. Then in Delphi they celebrate the return of the god-soothsayer Apollo from the country of the Hyperboreans. All spring and summer he lives in Delphi, he visits his homeland Delos, where he also has a magnificent sanctuary.

Apollo and the Muses

In spring and summer, on the slopes of the wooded Helikon, where the sacred waters of the Hippocrene spring mysteriously murmur, and on high Parnassus, near the clear waters of the Kastalsky spring, Apollo leads a round dance with nine muses. Young, beautiful Muses, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne [ 24Goddess of memory.], are the constant companions of Apollo. He leads the choir of muses and accompanies their singing by playing on his golden cithara. Apollo walks majestically ahead of the chorus of muses, crowned with a laurel wreath, followed by all nine muses: Calliope - the muse of epic poetry, Euterpe - the muse of lyrics, Erato - the muse of love songs, Melpomene - the muse of tragedy, Thalia - the muse of comedy, Terpsichore - the muse of dancing, Clio is the muse of history, Urania is the muse of astronomy and Polyhymnia is the muse of sacred hymns. Their choir thunders solemnly, and all nature, as if enchanted, listens to their divine singing.

When Apollo, accompanied by the Muses, appears in the host of the gods on the bright Olympus and the sounds of his kithara and the singing of the Muses are heard, then everything on Olympus falls silent. Ares forgets about the noise of bloody battles, lightning does not flash in the hands of Zeus, the cloudmaker, the gods forget strife, peace and silence reign on Olympus. Even the eagle of Zeus lowers its mighty wings and closes its keen eyes, its menacing scream is not heard, it quietly slumbers on the rod of Zeus. In complete silence, the strings of the cithara of Apollo solemnly sound. When Apollo cheerfully strikes the golden strings of the cithara, then a bright, shining round dance moves in the banquet hall of the gods. The Muses, Charites, the eternally young Aphrodite, Ares and Hermes - all participate in a merry round dance, and the majestic maiden, the sister of Apollo, the beautiful Artemis, walks ahead of everyone. Filled with streams of golden light, the young gods dance to the sounds of Apollo's kithara.

Sons of Aloe

The far-reaching Apollo is terrible in his anger, and then his golden arrows do not know mercy. Many were struck by them. Proud of their strength, who did not want to obey anyone, the sons of Aloe, Ot and Ephialtes, died from them. Already in early childhood they were famous for their enormous growth, their strength and courage that knew no barriers. While still young men, they began to threaten the Olympian gods Ot and Ephialtes:

“Oh, just let us grow up, just let us reach the full measure of our supernatural strength. We will then pile Mount Olympus, Pelion, and Ossa one on top of the other. 25The greatest mountains in Greece on the Aegean coast, in Thessaly.] and ascend them to heaven. We will then steal from you, Olympians, Hera and Artemis.

So, like the titans, the rebellious sons of Aloe threatened the Olympians. They would carry out their threat. After all, they bound Ares, the formidable god of war, with chains; for thirty whole months he languished in a copper dungeon. For a long time, Ares, insatiable scolding, would have languished in captivity if the quick Hermes had not kidnapped him, deprived of his strength. Mighty were Ot and Ephialtes. Apollo did not bear their threats. The far-striking god pulled his silver bow; like sparks of flame, his golden arrows flashed in the air, and Ot and Ephialtes, pierced by arrows, fell.

Apollo severely punished the Phrygian satyr Marsyas because Marsyas dared to compete with him in music. Kifared [ 26That is, playing the cithara.] Apollo did not bear such insolence. Once, wandering through the fields of Phrygia, Marsyas found a reed flute. She was abandoned by the goddess Athena, noticing that playing the flute invented by herself disfigures her divinely beautiful face. Athena cursed her invention and said:

“Let the one who lifts this flute be severely punished.”

Knowing nothing of what Athena said, Marsyas picked up the flute and soon learned to play it so well that everyone heard this unpretentious music. Marsyas became proud and challenged Apollo, the patron of music, to a contest.

Apollo came to the call in a long lush mantle, in a laurel wreath and with a golden cithara in his hands.

How insignificant before the majestic, beautiful Apollo seemed the inhabitant of the forests and fields of Marsyas with his miserable reed flute! How could he extract from the flute such marvelous sounds as flew from the golden strings of the cithara of Apollo, the leader of the Muses! Apollo won. Enraged by the challenge, he ordered the unfortunate Marsyas to be hung by the hands and skinned from him alive. So paid Marsyas for his courage. And the skin of Marsyas was hung in the grotto near Kelen in Phrygia and later they said that she always began to move, as if dancing, when the sounds of the Phrygian reed flute flew into the grotto, and remained motionless when the majestic sounds of the cithara were heard.

Asclepius (Aesculapius)

But Apollo is not only an avenger, not only does he send death with his golden arrows; he heals diseases. The son of Apollo, Asclepius, is the god of doctors and medical art. The wise centaur Chiron raised Asclepius on the slopes of Pelion. Under his guidance, Asclepius became such a skilled physician that he surpassed even his teacher Chiron. Asclepius not only healed all diseases, but even brought the dead back to life. By this he angered the ruler of the kingdom of the dead Hades and the Thunderer Zeus, as he violated the law and order established by Zeus on earth. Enraged, Zeus threw his lightning bolt and struck Asclepius. But people deified the son of Apollo as a god of healing. They erected many sanctuaries for him, among them the famous sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus.

Apollo was honored throughout Greece. The Greeks revered him as a god of light, a god who cleanses a person from the filth of spilled blood, as a god who prophesies the will of his father Zeus, who punishes, sends diseases and heals them. He was revered by the Greek youths as their patron. Apollo is the patron saint of navigation, he helps to found new colonies and cities. Artists, poets, singers and musicians are under the special patronage of the leader of the choir of muses, Apollo-kyfared. Apollo is equal to Zeus the Thunderer himself in terms of the worship that the Greeks paid him.

Artemis [ 27Artemis (Diana among the Romans) is one of the oldest goddesses in Greece. As can be assumed, Artemis - the goddess-hunter - was originally the patroness of animals, both domestic and wild. Artemis herself in ancient times sometimes depicted in the form of an animal, for example, a she-bear. This is how Artemis of Brauron was depicted in Attica, not far from Athens. Then Artemis becomes the mother goddess during the birth of a child, giving a safe birth. As the sister of Apollo, the god of light, she was also considered the goddess of the moon and was identified with the goddess Selene. The cult of Artemis is one of the most widespread in Greece. Her temple in the city of Ephesus (Artemis of Ephesus) was famous.]

The eternally young, beautiful goddess was born on Delos at the same time as her brother, the golden-haired Apollo. They are twins. The most sincere love, the closest friendship unites brother and sister. They also deeply love their mother Latona.

Artemis gives life to everyone. She takes care of everything that lives on earth and grows in the forest and in the field. She takes care of wild animals, herds of livestock and people. She causes the growth of herbs, flowers and trees, she blesses birth, marriage and marriage. Rich sacrifices are made by Greek women to the glorious daughter of Zeus Artemis, who blesses and gives happiness in marriage, heals and sends diseases.

Forever young, beautiful as a clear day, the goddess Artemis, with a bow and quiver over her shoulders, with a hunter's spear in her hands, hunts merrily in shady forests and sun-drenched fields. A noisy crowd of nymphs accompanies her, and she, majestic, in a short clothes of a hunter, reaching only to her knees, quickly rushes along the wooded slopes of the mountains. Neither a shy deer, nor a timid doe, nor an angry boar hiding in the thickets of reeds can escape from her arrows that do not miss. Artemis is followed by her nymph companions. Cheerful laughter, screams, barking of a pack of dogs are heard far away in the mountains, and a loud mountain echo answers them. When the goddess gets tired of hunting, she hurries with the nymphs to the sacred Delphi, to her beloved brother, the archer Apollo. She rests there. To the divine sounds of the golden cithara of Apollo, she leads round dances with the muses and nymphs. Ahead of all goes Artemis in a round dance, slender, beautiful; she is more beautiful than all the nymphs and muses and taller than them by a whole head. Artemis also likes to rest in cool, breathing grottoes, entwined with greenery, away from the eyes of mortals. Woe to him who disturbs her peace. So the young Actaeon, the son of Autonoe, the daughter of the Theban king Cadmus, perished.

Based on the poem "Metamorphoses" by Ovid.

Once Actaeon was hunting with his comrades in the forests of Cithaeron. It's a hot afternoon. The tired hunters settled down to rest in the shade of a dense forest, and the young Actaeon, having separated from them, went to look for coolness in the valleys of Cithaeron. He went out to the green, flowering valley of Gargafia [ 28A valley in Boeotia with a spring of the same name, from which a stream flowed through the entire valley.], dedicated to the goddess Artemis. Sycamores, myrtle and firs grew luxuriantly in the valley; like dark arrows, slender cypresses rose on it, and the green grass was full of flowers. A clear stream gurgled in the valley. Silence, peace and coolness reigned everywhere. In the steep slope of the mountain, Actaeon saw a lovely grotto, all entwined with greenery. He went to this grotto, not knowing that the grotto often serves as a resting place for the daughter of Zeus, Artemis.

When Actaeon approached the grotto, Artemis had just entered. She gave her bow and arrows to one of the nymphs and prepared to bathe. The nymphs took off the sandals from the goddess, tied her hair in a knot, and were about to go to the stream to scoop up cold water, when Actaeon appeared at the entrance to the grotto. The nymphs cried out loudly when they saw Actaeon entering. They surrounded Artemis, they want to hide her from the eyes of a mortal. Just as the rising sun ignites the clouds with purple fire, the face of the goddess blushed with anger, her eyes flashed with anger, and she became even more beautiful. Artemis was angry that Actaeon disturbed her peace, in anger Artemis turned the unfortunate Actaeon into a slender deer.

Branching horns grew on Actaeon's head. Legs and arms turned into the legs of a deer. His neck stretched out, his ears pointed, spotted hair covered his entire body. The fearful deer took a hasty flight. Actaeon saw his reflection in the stream. He wants to exclaim: “Oh, woe!” – but he has no power of speech. Tears rolled from his eyes - but from the eyes of a deer. Only the human mind remained with him. What should he do? Where to run?

The dogs of Actaeon smelled the trail of a deer; they did not recognize their master and, barking furiously, rushed after him.

Through the valleys, along the gorges of Cithaeron, along the rapids of the mountains, through forests and fields, like the wind, a beautiful deer rushed, throwing branched horns on its back, and dogs raced after it. Closer and closer the dogs, so they overtook him, and their sharp teeth dug into the body of the unfortunate Actaeon the deer. Actaeon wants to shout: “Oh, have mercy! It is I, Actaeon, your master!” - but only a groan escapes from the chest of a deer, and in this groan the sound of a human voice is heard. The deer Actaeon fell to his knees. Sorrow, horror and prayer are visible in his eyes. Death is inevitable, - furious dogs tear his body apart.

Actaeon's comrades, who came to the rescue, regretted that he was not with them with such a happy fishing. The marvelous deer was hunted down by dogs. The comrades of Actaeon did not know who this deer was. Thus died Actaeon, who disturbed the peace of the goddess Artemis, the only mortal who saw the heavenly beauty of the daughter of the Thunderer Zeus and Latona.

Pallas Athena

Birth of Athena

The goddess Pallas Athena was born by Zeus himself. Zeus the Thunderer knew that the goddess of reason, Metis, would have two children: a daughter, Athena, and a son of extraordinary intelligence and strength. Moira, the goddess of fate, revealed to Zeus the secret that the son of the goddess Metis would overthrow him from the throne and take away his power over the world. The great Zeus was afraid. To avoid the formidable fate that the moiras promised him, he, having put the goddess Metis to sleep with affectionate speeches, swallowed her before her daughter, the goddess Athena, was born. After a while, Zeus felt a terrible headache. Then he called on his son Hephaestus and ordered to cut his head to get rid of the unbearable pain and noise in his head. Hephaestus waved an ax, with a powerful blow he split the skull of Zeus without damaging it, and a mighty warrior, the goddess Pallas Athena, came out of the head of the Thunderer. Fully armed, in a brilliant helmet, with a spear and a shield, she appeared before the astonished eyes of the Olympian gods. She shook her gleaming spear menacingly. Her war cry resounded far across the sky, and bright Olympus shook to its very foundation. Beautiful, majestic, she stood before the gods. Athena's blue eyes burned with divine wisdom, all of her shone with marvelous, heavenly, powerful beauty. The gods praised his beloved daughter born from the head of Zeus, the protector of cities, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge, the invincible warrior Pallas Athena.

Athena patronizes the heroes of Greece, gives them her advice full of wisdom and helps them, invincible, in time of danger. She keeps cities, fortresses and their walls. She gives wisdom and knowledge, teaches people the arts and crafts. And the girls of Greece honor Athena because she teaches them needlework. None of the mortals and goddesses can surpass Athena in the art of weaving. Everyone knows how dangerous it is to compete with her in this, they know how Arachne, the daughter of Idmon, paid, who wanted to be higher than Athena in this art.

Based on the poem "Metamorphoses" by Ovid.

All over Lydia 30The state in Asia Minor, defeated by the Persians in the VI century. BC e.] Arachne was famous for her art. Nymphs often gathered from the slopes of Tmol and from the banks of the gold-bearing Paktol to admire her work. Arachne spun from threads like fog, fabrics as transparent as air. She was proud that she had no equal in the world in the art of weaving. One day she exclaimed:

- Let Pallas Athena herself come to compete with me! Do not defeat me; I'm not afraid of this.

And now, under the guise of a gray-haired, hunched old woman, leaning on a staff, the goddess Athena appeared before Arachne and said to her:

- Old age brings with it more than one evil, Arachne: years bring experience. Heed my advice: strive to surpass only mortals with your art. Don't challenge the goddess to a match. Humbly beg her to forgive you for your arrogant words, The goddess forgives those who pray.

Arachne dropped the thin yarn from her hands; her eyes flashed with anger. Confident in her art, she answered boldly:

- You are unreasonable, old woman, Old age has deprived you of reason. Read such instructions to your daughters-in-law and daughters, but leave me alone. I can give myself advice. What I said, so be it. Why doesn't Athena come, why doesn't she want to compete with me?

"I'm here, Arachne!" the goddess exclaimed, assuming her true form.

Nymphs and Lydian women bowed low before the beloved daughter of Zeus and praised her. Only Arachne remained silent. Just as the sky lights up with a scarlet light in the early morning, when the pink-fingered Dawn-Eos takes off into the sky on its sparkling wings, so the face of Athena flushed with the color of anger. Arachne stands on her decision, she still passionately wants to compete with Athena. She does not foresee that she is in danger of an imminent death.

The competition has begun. The great goddess Athena wove the majestic Athenian Acropolis on her bedspread in the middle, and on it she depicted her dispute with Poseidon for power over Attica. The twelve bright gods of Olympus, and among them her father, Zeus the Thunderer, sit as judges in this dispute. Poseidon, the shaker of the earth, raised his trident, hit it on the rock, and a salty spring gushed out of the barren rock. And Athena, wearing a helmet, with a shield and aegis, shook her spear and plunged it deep into the ground. A sacred olive grew out of the ground. The gods awarded the victory to Athena, recognizing her gift to Attica as more valuable [ 31The scene of the dispute between Athena and Poseidon was depicted on the pediment of the Parthenon temple in Athens by the famous Greek sculptor Phidias (5th century BC); in a badly damaged form, the pediment has survived to our time.]. In the corners, the goddess depicted how the gods punish people for disobedience, and around it she wove a wreath of olive leaves. Arachne depicted on her coverlet many scenes from the life of the gods, in which the gods are weak, obsessed with human passions. All around, Arachne wove a wreath of flowers intertwined with ivy. The height of perfection was the work of Arachne, she was not inferior in beauty to the work of Athena, but in her images one could see disrespect for the gods, even contempt. Athena was terribly angry, she tore the work of Arachne and hit her with a shuttle. The unfortunate Arachne could not bear the shame; she twisted the rope, made a noose and hanged herself. Athena freed Arachne from the loop and told her:

“Live, you rebellious one. But you will hang forever and weave forever, and this punishment will continue in your offspring.

Athena sprinkled Arachne with the juice of magical grass, and immediately her body shrank, thick hair fell from her head, and she turned into a spider. Since then, the Arachne spider has been hanging in its web and forever weaving it, as it did in life.

Hermes

In the grotto of Mount Kyllene in Arcadia, the son of Zeus and Maya, the god Hermes, the messenger of the gods, was born. With the speed of thought, he is transported from Olympus to the farthest corner of the world in his winged sandals, with a caduceus wand in his hands. Hermes guards the paths, and the herms dedicated to him [ 33Stone pillars, on top of which the head of Hermes was carved.] can be seen placed along roadsides, at crossroads and at the entrances to houses throughout ancient Greece. He patronizes travelers on a journey during his lifetime, he also leads the souls of the dead on their last journey - to the sad kingdom of Hades. With his magic wand, he closes the eyes of people and plunges them into a dream. Hermes is the patron god of paths and travelers and the god of trade and trade. He gives profit in trade and sends wealth to people. Hermes invented both measures, and numbers, and the alphabet, he taught people all this. He is also the god of eloquence, at the same time - resourcefulness and deceit. No one can surpass him in dexterity, cunning, and even in theft, as he is an unusually clever thief. It was he who once stole his scepter from Zeus as a joke, from Poseidon his trident, from Apollo his golden arrows and bow, and from Ares his sword.

Hermes kidnapping Apollo's cows

As soon as Hermes was born in the cool grotto of Killena, he had already planned his first trick. He decided to steal the cows from the silver-armed Apollo, who at that time was tending the herds of the gods in the valley of Pieria, in Macedonia. Quietly, so as not to notice the mother, Hermes got out of the diapers, jumped out of the cradle and crept to the exit from the grotto. At the very grotto, he saw a tortoise, caught it, and from the shield of a tortoise and three branches he made the first lyre, pulling sweet-sounding strings over it. Hermes secretly returned to the grotto, hid the lyre in his cradle, and he left again and quickly, like the wind, rushed to Pieria. There he stole fifteen cows from the herd of Apollo, tied reeds and branches to their feet to cover the trail, and quickly drove the cows towards the Peloponnese. When Hermes was already late in the evening driving the cows through Boeotia, he met an old man who was working in his vineyard.

“Take one of these cows for yourself,” Hermes told him, “but don’t tell anyone that you saw me drive the cows away here.

The old man, delighted with a generous gift, gave the word to Hermes to be silent and not to show anyone where he drove the cows. Hermes went on. But he did not go far, as he wanted to test the old man - whether he would keep his word. Hiding the cows in the forest and changing his appearance, he returned and asked the old man:

“Tell me, didn’t the boy chase the cows here?” If you tell me where he drove them, I will give you an ox and a cow.

The old man did not hesitate for a long time, to say or not, he really wanted to get another bull and a cow, and he showed Hermes where the boy had stolen the cows. Hermes was terribly angry with the old man because he did not keep his word, and in anger turned him into a dumb rock so that he would always be silent and remember that one must keep this word.

After that, Hermes returned for the cows, I quickly drove them on. Finally, he drove them to Pylos. He sacrificed two cows to the gods, then destroyed all traces of the sacrifice, and hid the remaining cows in the cave, leading them into it backwards so that the tracks of the cows would not lead into the cave, but out of it.

Having done all this, Hermes calmly returned to the grotto to his mother Maya and lay down quietly in the cradle, wrapped in swaddling clothes.

But Maya noticed the absence of her son. She reproachfully told him:

- You have a bad idea. Why did you steal Apollo's cows? He gets angry. After all, you know how terrible Apollo is in his anger. Aren't you afraid of his arrows that never miss?

“I’m not afraid of Apollo,” Hermes answered his mother, “let him be angry with himself.” If he decides to offend you or me, then in revenge I will plunder his entire sanctuary at Delphi, steal all his tripods, gold, silver and clothes.

And Apollo had already noticed the loss of cows and set off to look for them. He couldn't find them anywhere. Finally, the prophetic bird brought him to Pylos, but even there the golden-haired Apollo did not find his cows. He did not enter the cave where the cows were hidden, because the tracks did not lead into the cave, but out of it.

Finally, after a long fruitless search, he came to the grotto of Maya. Hearing the approach of Apollo, Hermes climbed even deeper into his cradle and wrapped himself more tightly in swaddling clothes. Enraged, Apollo entered the grotto of Maya and saw that Hermes, with an innocent face, was lying in his cradle. He began to reproach Hermes for stealing the cows and demanded that he return them to him, but Hermes renounced everything. He assured Apollo that he did not even think of stealing cows from him and did not know at all where they were.

“Listen, boy! - Apollo exclaimed in anger, - I will overthrow you into gloomy Tartarus, and neither father nor mother will save you if you do not return my cows to me.

“Oh son of Latona! Hermes replied. “I haven’t seen, I don’t know, and I haven’t heard from others about your cows. Am I busy with this - now I have another business, other worries. I only care about sleep, mother's milk and my diapers. No, I swear I didn't even see your cow thief.

No matter how angry Apollo was, he could not get anything from the cunning, dodgy Hermes. Finally, the golden-haired god pulled Hermes out of the cradle and forced him to go in swaddling clothes to their father Zeus, so that he would resolve their dispute. Both gods came to Olympus. No matter how Hermes dodged, no matter how cunning, Zeus nevertheless ordered him to give Apollo the stolen cows.

From Olympus, Hermes led Apollo to Pylos, capturing a lyre he had made from a tortoise shield along the way. In Pylos he showed where the cows were hidden. While Apollo drove the cows out of the cave, Hermes sat down on a stone near her and played the lyre. Wonderful sounds announced the valley and the sandy seashore. Amazed Apollo listened with delight to the game of Hermes. He gave Hermes the stolen cows for his lyre, so the sounds of the lyre captivated him. And Hermes, in order to amuse himself when he was tending cows, invented a flute for himself [ 34A musical wind instrument consisting of seven reed tubes of different lengths connected to each other.], so beloved by the shepherds of Greece.

Dodgy, dexterous, rushing around the world as quickly as a thought, the beautiful son of Maya and Zeus, Hermes, who already in his early childhood proved his cunning and dexterity, also served as the personification of youthful strength. Everywhere in palestras [ 35In ancient Greece, there were, mainly at schools, special platforms, often surrounded by columns, on which they taught exercise, wrestling, fisticuffs, etc. Such sites were called palestras.] stood his statue. He is the god of young athletes. They called him before wrestling and fast running competitions.

Whoever did not honor Hermes in ancient Greece: a traveler, an orator, a merchant, an athlete, and even thieves.

Ares, Aphrodite, Eros and Hymen [ 37Among the Romans, Aphrodite is Venus; Eros - Cupid or Cupid; Hymen is the god of marriage.]

The god of war, the frantic Ares, is the son of the Thunderer Zeus and Hera. Zeus does not like him. He often tells his son that he is the most hated by him among the gods of Olympus. Zeus does not love his son for his bloodthirstiness. If Ares were not his son, he would have cast him long ago into the gloomy Tartarus, where the titans languish. The heart of the ferocious Ares pleases only fierce battles. Furious, he rushes amid the roar of weapons, screams and groans of battle between the combatants, in sparkling weapons, with a huge shield. Behind him are his sons, Deimos and Phobos - horror and fear, and next to them are the goddess of discord Eris and the goddess Enyuo, who sows murder. Boils, battle rumbles; Ares rejoices; warriors fall with a groan. Ares triumphs when he slays a warrior with his terrible sword and hot blood rushes to the ground. Indiscriminately he strikes both to the right and to the left; a pile of bodies around a cruel god.

Ferocious, violent, formidable Ares, but victory does not always accompany him. Ares often has to give way on the battlefield to the militant daughter of Zeus, Pallas Athena. She defeats Ares with wisdom and a calm consciousness of strength. Often, even mortal heroes defeat Ares, especially if they are helped by the bright-eyed Pallas Athena. So the hero Diomedes struck Ares with a copper spear under the walls of Troy. Athena herself directed the blow. The terrible cry of the wounded god resounded far through the army of the Trojans and Greeks. As if ten thousand warriors screamed at once, entering into a furious battle, Ares, covered with copper armor, screamed in pain. The Greeks and Trojans shuddered in horror, and the frantic Ares rushed, shrouded in a gloomy cloud, covered in blood, complaining about Athena to his father Zeus. But Father Zeus did not listen to his complaints. He does not love his son, who enjoys only strife, battles and murders.

Even if the wife of Ares, the most beautiful of the goddesses Aphrodite, comes to the aid of her husband when he meets Athena in the heat of battle, and then the beloved daughter of the Thunderer Zeus emerges victorious. The warrior Athena with one blow throws the beautiful goddess of love Aphrodite to the ground. With tears, the eternally young, wonderfully beautiful Aphrodite ascends to Olympus, and after her triumphant laughter is heard and Athena's ridicule rushes.

Aphrodite [ 38Aphrodite - originally was the goddess of the sky, sending rain, and also, apparently, the goddess of the sea. The myth of Aphrodite and her cult were strongly affected by Eastern influence, mainly the cult of the Phoenician goddess Astarte. Gradually, Aphrodite becomes the goddess of love. The god of love Eros (Cupid) is her son.]

Not the pampered, windy goddess Aphrodite to interfere in bloody battles. She awakens love in the hearts of gods and mortals. Thanks to this power, she reigns over the whole world.

No one can escape her power, not even the gods. Only the warrior Athena, Hestia and Artemis are not subject to her power. Tall, slender, with delicate features, with a soft wave of golden hair, like a crown lying on her beautiful head, Aphrodite is the personification of divine beauty and unfading youth. When she walks, in the splendor of her beauty, in fragrant clothes, then the sun shines brighter, flowers bloom more magnificently. Wild forest animals run to her from the thicket of the forest; flocks of birds flock to her when she walks through the forest. Lions, panthers, leopards and bears meekly caress her. Aphrodite walks calmly among wild animals, proud of her radiant beauty. Her companions Ora and Harita, goddesses of beauty and grace, serve her. They dress the goddess in luxurious clothes, comb her golden hair, crown her head with a sparkling diadem.

Near the island of Cythera, Aphrodite, the daughter of Uranus, was born from the snow-white foam of the sea waves. A light, caressing breeze brought her to the island of Cyprus [ 39On the island of Cyprus, Aphrodite was often called Cyprida.]. There, the young Ores surrounded the goddess of love, who emerged from the sea waves. They dressed her in golden robes and crowned her with a wreath of fragrant flowers. Wherever Aphrodite stepped, flowers flourished there. The whole air was full of fragrance. Eros and Gimerot led the wondrous goddess to Olympus. The gods greeted her loudly. Since then, the golden Aphrodite has always lived among the gods of Olympus, forever young, the most beautiful of the goddesses.

Pygmalion

Based on the poem "Metamorphoses" by Ovid.

Aphrodite gives happiness to those who faithfully serve her. So she gave happiness to Pygmalion, the great Cypriot artist. Pygmalion hated women and lived in solitude, avoiding marriage. Once he made a statue of a girl of extraordinary beauty out of shining white ivory. As if alive, this statue stood in the artist's studio. It seemed that she was breathing, it seemed that she was about to move, walk and speak. For hours the artist admired his work and finally fell in love with the statue he created himself. He gave her precious necklaces, wrists and earrings, dressed her in luxurious clothes, decorated her head with wreaths of flowers. How often did Pygmalion whisper:

- Oh, if you were alive, if you could answer my speeches, oh, how happy I would be!

But the statue was silent.

The days of the festival in honor of Aphrodite have come. Pygmalion sacrificed a white heifer with gilded horns to the goddess of love; he stretched out his hands to the goddess and whispered in prayer:

- O, eternal gods and you, golden Aphrodite! If you can give everything to the supplicant, then give me a wife as beautiful as that statue of a girl that I have made myself.

Pygmalion did not dare to ask the gods to revive his statue, he was afraid to anger the Olympian gods with such a request. A sacrificial flame flashed brightly in front of the image of the goddess of love Aphrodite; By this, the goddess, as it were, made it clear to Pygmalion that the gods had heard his prayer.

The artist returned home. He went up to the statue, and, oh, happiness, oh, joy: the statue came to life! Her heart beats, life shines in her eyes. So the goddess Aphrodite gave the beautiful wife to Pygmalion.

Based on the poem "Metamorphoses" by Ovid.

But whoever does not honor the golden Aphrodite, who rejects her gifts, who opposes her power, is mercilessly punished by the goddess of love. So she punished the son of the river god Cephis and the nymph Lavrion, the beautiful, but cold, proud Narcissus. He loved no one but himself, only he considered himself worthy of love.

Once, when he got lost in a dense forest while hunting, the nymph Echo saw him. The nymph could not speak to Narcissus herself. The punishment of the goddess Hera was heavy on her: the nymph Echo had to be silent, and she could only answer questions by repeating their last words. Echo looked with delight at the slender, handsome young man, hidden from him by the forest thicket. Narcissus looked around, not knowing where to go, and shouted loudly:

- Hey, who's here?

- Here! echoed loudly.

- Go here! shouted Narcissus.

- Here! Echo replied.

With amazement, the beautiful Narcissus looks around. Nobody here. Surprised by this, he exclaimed loudly:

- Come here, come to me!

And Echo happily responded.

- To me!

Stretching out her hands, a nymph from the forest hurries to Narcissus, but the beautiful young man angrily pushed her away. He hastily left the nymph and hid in a dark forest.

The rejected nymph hid in the impenetrable thicket of the forest, She suffers from love for Narcissus, does not show herself to anyone, and the unfortunate Echo only sadly responds to every exclamation.

And Narcissus remained as before proud, narcissistic. He rejected the love of all. Many nymphs were made unhappy by his pride. And once one of the nymphs he rejected exclaimed:

- Love the same and you, Narcissus! And do not reciprocate the person you love!

The nymph's wish came true. The goddess of love Aphrodite was angry that Narcissus was rejecting her gifts and punished him. One spring while hunting, Narcissus came to the stream and wanted to drink the cold water. Neither a shepherd nor mountain goats have ever touched the waters of this stream, a broken branch has never fallen into the stream, even the wind has not carried the petals of lush flowers into the stream. Its water was clean and transparent. As in a mirror, everything around was reflected in it: the bushes that grew along the shore, and the slender cypresses, and the blue sky. Narcissus bent down to the stream, leaning his hands on a stone protruding from the water, and was reflected in the stream all in all its beauty. It was then that Aphrodite's punishment befell him. In amazement, he looks at his reflection in the water, and strong love takes possession of him. With eyes full of love, he looks at his image in the water, it beckons him, calls, stretches out his arms to him. Narcissus leans to the mirror of water to kiss his reflection, but kisses only the icy, clear water of the stream. Narcissus forgot everything: he does not leave the stream; admiring himself without stopping. He doesn't eat, doesn't drink, doesn't sleep. Finally, full of despair, Narcissus exclaims, stretching out his arms to his reflection:

- Oh, who suffered so cruelly! We are separated not by mountains, not by seas, but only by a strip of water, and yet we cannot be together with you. Get out of the stream!

Narcissus thought, looking at his reflection in the water. Suddenly a terrible thought came into his head, and he quietly whispers to his reflection, leaning close to the water itself:

- Oh, grief! I'm afraid I don't love myself! After all, you are me! I love myself. I feel like I don't have much left to live. As soon as I bloom, I will wither and descend into the gloomy realm of shadows. Death does not frighten me; death will bring an end to the agony of love.

The forces of Narcissus leave, he turns pale and already feels the approach of death, but still he cannot tear himself away from his reflection. Weeping Narcissus. His tears fall into the clear waters of the stream. Circles went on the mirror surface of the water and the beautiful image disappeared. Narcissus exclaimed in fear:

- Oh, where are you! Come back! Stay! Do not leave me. After all, it's cruel. Oh, let me look at you!

But here again the water is calm, again a reflection has appeared, again Narcissus is looking at him without stopping. He melts like dew on flowers in the rays of the hot sun. The unfortunate nymph Echo also sees how Narcissus suffers. She still loves him; the suffering of Narcissus compresses her heart with pain.

- Oh, grief! exclaims Narcissus.

- Oh, grief! Echo answers.

- Goodbye!

And even quieter, the response of the nymph Echo sounded a little audible:

- Goodbye!

The head of Narcissus bowed on the green coastal grass, and the darkness of death covered his eyes. Narcissus is dead. The young nymphs wept in the forest, and Echo wept. The nymphs prepared a grave for the young Narcissus, but when they came for his body, they did not find it. In the place where the head of Narcissus leaned on the grass, a white fragrant flower- flower of death; Narcissus is his name

Based on the poem "Metamorphoses" by Ovid.

But the goddess of love, who so punished Narcissus, knew the torments of love herself, and she had to mourn her beloved Adonis. She loved the son of the king of Cyprus, Adonis. None of the mortals was equal to him in beauty, he was even more beautiful than the Olympian gods. Forgotten for him Aphrodite and Patmos, and blooming Cythera. Adonis was dearer to her even than the bright Olympus. She spent all her time with young Adonis. She hunted with him in the mountains and forests of Cyprus, like the maiden Artemis. Aphrodite forgot about her gold jewelry, about her beauty. Under scorching rays and in bad weather, she hunted hares, shy deer and chamois, avoiding hunting formidable lions and wild boars. She asked Adonis to avoid the dangers of hunting lions, bears and wild boars, so that misfortune would not happen to him. Rarely did the goddess leave the royal son, and leaving him, each time she prayed to remember her requests.

Once, in the absence of Aphrodite, the dogs of Adonis, while hunting, attacked the trail of a huge boar. They picked up the beast and, with a furious bark, drove it away. Adonis rejoiced at such rich prey; he had no presentiment that this was his last hunt. The barking of dogs is getting closer, now a huge boar has flashed among the bushes. Adonis is already preparing to pierce the angry boar with his spear, when the boar suddenly rushed at him and mortally wounded Aphrodite's favorite with his huge fangs. Adonis died from a terrible wound.

When Aphrodite learned about the death of Adonis, then, full of inexpressible grief, she herself went to the mountains of Cyprus to look for the body of her beloved youth. Aphrodite walked along steep mountain rapids, among gloomy gorges, along the edges of deep abysses. Sharp stones and thorns of thorns wounded the delicate legs of the goddess. Drops of her blood fell to the ground, leaving a trail wherever the goddess passed. Finally, Aphrodite found the body of Adonis. She wept bitterly over the beautiful young man who died early. In order to preserve the memory of him forever, the goddess ordered the tender anemone to grow from the blood of Adonis. And where drops of blood fell from the wounded feet of the goddess, lush roses grew everywhere, scarlet, like the blood of Aphrodite. Zeus the Thunderer took pity on the grief of the goddess of love and he ordered his brother Hades and his wife Persephone to let Adonis go to earth every year from the sad kingdom of the shadows of the dead. Since then, Adonis remains in the kingdom of Hades for half a year, and lives on earth with the goddess Aphrodite for half a year. All nature rejoices when the young, beautiful favorite of the golden Aphrodite Adonis returns to earth to the bright rays of the sun.

Beautiful Aphrodite reigns over the world. She, like Zeus the Thunderer, has a messenger: through him she fulfills her will. This messenger of Aphrodite is her son Eros, a cheerful, playful, treacherous, and sometimes cruel boy. Eros flies on his shining golden wings over the lands and seas, fast and light, like a breath of breeze. In his hands is a small golden bow, behind his shoulders is a quiver with arrows. No one is immune from these golden arrows. Eros hits without a miss; he, as a shooter, is not inferior to the golden-haired Apollo himself. When Eros hits the target, his eyes glow with joy, he triumphantly throws his curly head high and laughs out loud. .

The arrows of Eros bring joy and happiness, but often they bring suffering, the anguish of love, and even death. These arrows caused a lot of suffering to the golden-haired Apollo, the cloud-burner Zeus himself.

Zeus knew how much grief and evil the son of golden Aphrodite would bring to the world. He wanted to be killed at birth. But how could mother allow this! She hid Eros in an impenetrable forest, and there, in the wilds of the forest, two ferocious lionesses fed baby Eros with their milk. Eros grew up, and now he rushes around the world, young, beautiful, and sows with his arrows in the world either happiness, or sorrow, or good, or evil.

Aphrodite has another assistant and companion - this is the young god of marriage, Hymen. He flies on his snow-white wings ahead of the wedding processions. The flame of his marriage torch burns brightly. Choirs of girls are called during the wedding of Hymen, asking him to bless the marriage of the young and send joy into their lives.

Hephaestus

Hephaestus, the son of Zeus and Hera, the god of fire, the blacksmith god, with whom no one can compare in the art of forging, was born on the bright Olympus as a weak and lame child. The great Hera became angry when they showed her an ugly, frail son. She grabbed him and threw him from Olympus down to a distant land.

For a long time the unfortunate child rushed through the air and finally fell into the waves of the boundless sea. The sea goddesses took pity on him - Eurynome, the daughter of the great Ocean, and Thetis, the daughter of the prophetic sea elder Nereus. They raised little Hephaestus, who had fallen into the sea, and carried him away with them deep under the waters of the gray Ocean. There, in the azure grotto, they raised Hephaestus. The god Hephaestus grew up ugly, lame, but with powerful arms, a broad chest and a muscular neck. What a marvelous artist he was in his blacksmithing trade! He forged many magnificent ornaments of gold and silver for his tutors Eurynome and Thetis.

For a long time he harbored anger at his mother, the goddess Hera, in his heart, and finally decided to take revenge on her for throwing him off Olympus. He forged a golden chair of extraordinary beauty and sent it to Olympus as a gift to his mother. The wife of the Thunderer Zeus was delighted when she saw a wonderful gift. Indeed, only the queen of gods and men could sit on a chair of such extraordinary beauty. But - oh, the horror! As soon as Hera sat down in a chair, as indestructible fetters wrapped around her, and Hera found herself chained to the chair. The gods rushed to her aid. In vain, none of them was able to free Queen Hera. The gods realized that only Hephaestus, who forged the chair, could free his great mother.

Immediately they sent the god Hermes, the messenger of the gods, for the blacksmith god. Hermes rushed like a whirlwind to the ends of the world to the shores of the Ocean. In the twinkling of an eye, he swept over the earth and the sea and appeared in the grotto where Hephaestus worked. For a long time he asked Hephaestus to go with him to the high Olympus - to free Queen Hera, but the blacksmith god flatly refused: he remembered the evil that his mother had done to him. Neither the requests nor the pleas of Hermes helped. Dionysus, the cheerful god of wine, came to his aid. With a loud laugh, he offered Hephaestus a cup of fragrant wine, followed by another, and after it another and another. Hephaestus was drunk, now it was possible to do everything with him - to lead anywhere. Dionysus, the god of wine, defeated Hephaestus. Hermes and Dionysus put Hephaestus on a donkey and took him to Olympus. Hephaestus rode swaying. Around Hephaestus, maenads entwined with ivy with thyrsus in their hands rushed in a cheerful dance. Intoxicated satyrs jumped clumsily. Torches smoked, tambourines chimed loudly, laughter, tambourines rattled. And ahead was the great god Dionysus in a wreath of grapes and thyrsus. The procession moved merrily. At last they came to Olympus. Hephaestus released his mother in an instant, now he no longer remembered the offense.

Hephaestus remained to live on Olympus. He built majestic golden palaces for the gods and built himself a palace of gold, silver and bronze. In it he lives with his wife, the beautiful, friendly Harita, the goddess of grace and beauty.

The forge of Hephaestus is also located in the same palace. Hephaestus spends most of his time in his forge full of wonders. In the middle stands a huge anvil, in the corner - a forge with blazing fire and bellows. Marvelous these bellows - they do not need to be set in motion by hands, they obey the word of Hephaestus. He will say - and the bellows work, fanning the fire in the forge into a brightly blazing flame. Covered with sweat, all black from dust and soot, the blacksmith god works in his forge. What marvelous works Hephaestus forges in it: indestructible weapons, jewelry made of gold and silver, bowls for goblets, tripods that roll themselves on golden wheels as if alive.

Having finished work, having washed sweat and soot in a fragrant bath, Hephaestus goes, limping and staggering on his weak legs, to the feast of the gods, to his father, Zeus the Thunderer. Affable, good-natured, he often stops the quarrel between Zeus and Hera that is ready to flare up. Without laughter, the gods cannot see how the lame Hephaestus hobbles around the banquet table, spilling fragrant nectar to the gods. Laughter makes the gods forget quarrels.

But the god Hephaestus can also be formidable. Many experienced the power of his fire, and the terrible, mighty blows of his huge hammer. Even the waves of the raging rivers of Xanthus and Simois humbled the fire of Hephaestus under Troy. Terrible, he struck with his hammer and mighty giants.

Great is the god of fire, the most skillful, divine blacksmith Hephaestus - he gives warmth and joy, he is affectionate and friendly, but he also punishes menacingly.

Demeter and Persephone

Powerful is the great goddess Demeter. She gives fertility to the earth, and without her beneficial power, nothing grows either in shady forests, or in meadows, or in rich arable lands.

The Abduction of Persephone by Hades

Based on the Homeric hymn.

The great goddess Demeter had a young beautiful daughter, Persephone. The father of Persephone was the great son of Cronus himself, the Thunderer Zeus. One day, the beautiful Persephone, along with her friends, the Oceanids, frolicked carelessly in the flowering Nisei Valley [ 46A valley in the Mogara region, on the shores of the Saronic Gulf.]. Like a light-winged butterfly, the young daughter of Demeter ran from flower to flower. She picked lush roses, fragrant violets, snow-white lilies and red hyacinths. Persephone frolicked carelessly, not knowing the fate that her father Zeus assigned her. Persephone did not think that she would not soon see the clear light of the sun again, would not soon admire the flowers and inhale their sweet aroma. Zeus gave her as a wife to his gloomy brother Hades, the ruler of the kingdom of the shadows of the dead, and Persephone had to live with him in the darkness of the underworld, deprived of light and the hot southern sun.

Hades saw Persephone frolicking in the Nisean Valley, and decided to immediately kidnap her. He begged the goddess of the Earth, Gaia, to grow a flower of unusual beauty. The goddess Gaia agreed, and a marvelous flower grew in the Nisei valley; its heady aroma spread far and wide in all directions. Persephone saw a flower; now she stretched out her hand and grabbed him by the stalk, now the flower has already been plucked. Suddenly the earth opened up, and on black horses appeared from the earth in a golden chariot, the lord of the kingdom of the shadows of the dead, gloomy Hades. He grabbed the young Persephone, lifted her onto his chariot, and in the blink of an eye disappeared on his fast horses into the bowels of the earth. Only Persephone managed to scream. Far away was the cry of terror from the young daughter of Demeter; he reached both the depths of the sea and the high, bright Olympus. No one saw how the gloomy Hades kidnapped Persephone, only his god Helios-Sun saw.

The goddess Demeter heard the cry of Persephone. She hurried to the Nisei Valley, looking everywhere for her daughter; she asked her friends, the Oceanid, but she was nowhere to be found. The Oceanians did not see where Persephone had disappeared.

Heavy sorrow for the loss of her only beloved daughter took possession of Demeter's heart. Dressed in dark clothes, for nine days, unaware of anything, without thinking about anything, the great goddess Demeter wandered the earth, shedding bitter tears. She looked for Persephone everywhere, asked everyone for help, but no one could help her in her grief. Finally, already on the tenth day, she came to the god Helios the Sun and began to pray to him with tears:

- Oh, radiant Helios! You ride on a golden chariot high in the sky all the earth and all the seas, you see everything, nothing can hide from you; if you have any pity for the unfortunate mother, then tell me where my daughter Persephone is, tell me where to look for her! I heard her scream, she was stolen from me. Tell me who kidnapped her. I've looked everywhere for it, but I can't find it anywhere!

The radiant Helios answered Demeter:

- Great goddess, you know how I honor you, you see how I grieve, seeing your grief. Know that the great cloudmaker Zeus gave your daughter as a wife to his gloomy brother, Lord Hades. He kidnapped Persephone and took her to his realm full of horrors. Conquer your heavy sorrow, goddess; because the husband of your daughter is great, she became the wife of the powerful brother of the great Zeus.

The goddess Demeter was even more saddened. She was angry with the Thunderer Zeus because he gave Persephone as his wife to Hades without her consent. She left the gods, left the bright Olympus, took the form of a mere mortal and, dressed in dark clothes, wandered among mortals for a long time, shedding bitter tears.

All growth on earth ceased. The leaves on the trees withered and flew around. The forests were bare. The grass has faded; the flowers lowered their colorful corollas and withered. There were no fruits in the orchards, the green vineyards dried up, heavy juicy bunches did not ripen in them. Formerly fertile fields were empty, not a blade of grass grew on them. Frozen life on earth. Hunger reigned everywhere: crying and groans were heard everywhere. Death threatened the entire human race. But Demeter did not see or hear anything, immersed in sadness for her dearly beloved daughter.

Finally Demeter came to the city of Eleusis. There, at the city walls, she sat down in the shade of an olive tree on the “stone of sorrow” at the very “well of virgins”. Demeter sat motionless like a statue. Her dark clothes fell in straight folds to the ground. Her head was lowered, and tears rolled from her eyes one after another and fell on her chest. For a long time Demeter sat like that, alone, inconsolable.

The daughters of King Eleusis, Keley, saw her. They were surprised to see a weeping woman in dark clothes at the source, approached her and asked with participation who she was. But the goddess Demeter did not reveal herself to them. She said that her name was Deo, that she was from Crete, that she was taken away by robbers, but she fled from them and after long wanderings came to Eleusis. Demeter asked the daughters of Celeus to take her to their father's house, she agreed to become their mother's servant, raise the children and work in the house of Celeus. The daughters of Celeus brought Demeter to their mother, Metaneira.

The daughters of Celeus did not think that they were introducing a great goddess into their father's house. But when they brought Demeter into their father's house, the goddess touched the top of the door with her head, and the whole house was lit up with a wondrous light. Metaneira stood up to meet the goddess, she realized that not a mere mortal had been brought to her by her daughters. Keley's wife bowed low before the stranger and asked her to sit in her place as queen. Demeter refused; she silently sat down on the simple maid's seat, still indifferent to everything that was going on around her. The servant of Metaneira, cheerful Yamba, seeing the deep sadness of the stranger, tried to cheer her up. She cheerfully served her and her mistress Metaneira; her laughter sounded loud and jokes fell. Demeter smiled for the first time since Persephone was stolen from her by the gloomy Hades, and for the first time she agreed to eat food.

Demeter stayed with Celeus. She began to raise his son Demophon. The goddess decided to give Demophon immortality. She held the baby at her divine breast, on her knees; the infant breathed the immortal breath of the goddess. Demeter rubbed him with ambrosia [ 47Ambrosia is the food of the gods, giving immortality.], and at night, when everyone in the house of Celeus was asleep, she, wrapping Demophon in swaddling clothes, put him in a brightly blazing furnace. But Demophon did not receive immortality. Once Metaneira saw her son lying in the oven, she was terribly frightened and began to beg Demeter not to do this. Demeter was angry with Metaneira, took Demophon out of the lech and said:

- Oh, foolish! I wanted to give immortality to your son. make him invincible. Know that I am Demeter, giving strength and joy to mortals and immortals.

Demeter revealed Celeia to Metaneira who she was and assumed her usual goddess form. Divine light spilled over the chambers of Keley. The goddess Demeter stood, majestic and beautiful, golden hair fell on her shoulders, her eyes burned with divine wisdom, fragrance flowed from her clothes. Metaneira and her husband fell on their knees before her.

The goddess Demeter ordered to build a temple in Eleusis, at the spring of Kallihora, and remained to live in it. At this temple, Demeter herself instituted festivities.

Sadness for her dearly beloved daughter did not leave Demeter, she did not forget her anger at Zeus. The land was still barren. The famine was getting stronger, as not a single grass sprouted on the fields of the farmers. In vain the bulls of the farmer dragged the heavy plow across the arable land - their work was fruitless. Entire tribes perished. The cries of the hungry rushed to heaven, but Demeter did not heed them. At last the sacrifices to the immortal gods ceased to smoke on earth. Death threatened all living things. The great cloud-chamber Zeus did not want the death of mortals. He sent to Demeter the messenger of the gods I will come. She quickly rushed on her rainbow wings to Eleusis to the temple of Demeter, called her, begged her to return to the bright Olympus in the host of the gods. Demeter did not heed her pleas. The great Zeus also sent other gods to Demeter, but the goddess did not want to return to Olympus before Hades returned her daughter Persephone to her.

Then the great Zeus sent Hermes, quick as a thought, to his gloomy brother Hades. Hermes descended into the kingdom of Hades, full of horrors, appeared before the lord of the souls of the dead sitting on a golden throne and told him the will of Zeus.

Hades agreed to let Persephone go to her mother, but first gave her a pomegranate seed, a symbol of marriage, to swallow. Persephone ascended the golden chariot of her husband with Hermes; the immortal horses of Hades rushed, no obstacles were terrible to them, and in the twinkling of an eye they reached Eleusis.

Forgetting everything with joy, Demeter rushed to meet her daughter and wrapped her in her arms. Her beloved daughter Persephone was with her again. Demeter returned with her to Olympus. Then the great Zeus decided that he would live with his mother Persephone for two thirds of the year, and return to his husband Hades for one third.

Great Demeter returned fertility to the earth, and again everything bloomed, turned green. Forests were covered with delicate spring foliage; flowers dazzled on the emerald ant of the meadows. Soon the grain-growing fields began to sprout; gardens blossomed and fragrant; the greenery of the vineyards sparkled in the sun. All nature woke up, All living things rejoiced and glorified the great goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone.

But every year Persephone leaves her mother, and each time Demeter plunges into sadness and again puts on dark clothes. And all nature mourns for the departed. The leaves turn yellow on the trees, and the autumn wind rips them off; flowers fade, fields empty, winter comes. Nature sleeps to wake up in the joyful splendor of spring when Persephone returns to her mother from the joyless kingdom of Hades. When her daughter returns to Dimeter, then the great goddess of fertility pours her gifts to people with a generous hand and blesses the work of the farmer with a rich harvest.

Triptolem

The great goddess Demeter, who gives fertility to the earth, herself taught people how to cultivate grain fields. She gave the young son of the king of Eleusis, Triptolemos, wheat seeds, and he was the first to plow the Rarian field near Eleusis three times with a plow and threw the seeds into the dark earth. A rich harvest was given by the field, blessed by Demeter herself. On a wonderful chariot drawn by winged serpents, Triptolemus, at the behest of Demeter, flew around all countries and everywhere taught people about agriculture.

Was Triptolem and in distant Scythia with King Linh. He also taught him agriculture. But the proud king of the Scythians wanted to take away the glory of a teacher of agriculture from Triptolemus, he wanted to appropriate this glory for himself. Linh decided to kill the great Triptolemus during his sleep. But Demeter did not allow the evil deed to take place. She decided to punish Linh because, having violated the custom of hospitality, he raised his hand to her chosen one.

When Linh crept into the room at night, where Triptolemos slept peacefully, Demeter turned the king of the Scythians into a wild lynx at the very moment when he raised a dagger over the sleeping man.

Lynch, turned into a lynx, hid in the dark forests, and Triptolem left the country of the Scythians in order to, moving from country to country on his wonderful chariot, teach people the great gift of Demeter - agriculture.

Erysichthon

Demeter punished more than one king of the Scythians, Linha, she punished the king of Thessaly, Erysichthon. Erysichthon was arrogant and wicked, he never honored the gods with sacrifices. In his wickedness, he dared to boldly insult the great goddess Demeter. He decided to cut down a hundred-year-old oak tree in the sacred grove of Demeter, which was the dwelling of the dryad, the favorite of Demeter herself. Nothing stopped Erysichthon.

“Even if it were not Demeter’s favorite, but the goddess herself,” the wicked exclaimed, “I will still cut down this oak!”

Erysichthon snatched the ax from the hands of the servant and plunged it deep into the tree. A heavy groan sounded inside the oak, and blood gushed from its bark. The afflicted stood in front of the oak of the king's servant. One of them dared to stop him, but the angry Erysichthon killed the servant, exclaiming:

“Here is your reward for your obedience to the gods!”

Erysichthon cut down a hundred-year-old oak. With a noise like a groan, the oak fell to the ground, and the dryad that lived in it died.

Wearing dark clothes, the dryads of the sacred grove came to the goddess Demeter and begged her to punish Erysichthon, who had killed their dear friend. Demeter was angry. She sent for the goddess of hunger. The dryad sent by her quickly rushed on the chariot of Demeter, drawn by winged snakes, to Scythia, to the mountains of the Caucasus, and there she found on a barren mountain the goddess of hunger, with sunken eyes, pale, with disheveled hair, with rough skin, tight only bones. The sent one conveyed the will of Demeter to the goddess of hunger, and she obeyed the command of Demeter.

The goddess of hunger appeared in the house of Erysichthon and breathed into him an insatiable hunger that burned all his insides. The more Erysichthon ate, the stronger the pangs of hunger became. He spent all his fortune on all sorts of dishes, which only more aroused an insatiable, painful hunger in Erysichthon. Finally, Erysichthon had nothing left - only one daughter. To get money and get enough, he sold his daughter into slavery. But his daughter received from the god Poseidon the gift to take on any image and each time she was freed from those who bought her either under the guise of a bird, or a horse, or a cow. Erysichthon sold his daughter many times, but the money he got from this sale was not enough for him. Hunger tormented him more and more, his suffering became more and more unbearable. Finally, Erysichthon began to tear his body with his teeth and died in terrible agony.

Night, moon, dawn and sun

Slowly rides across the sky in her chariot drawn by black horses, the goddess Night - Nyukta. She covered the earth with her dark veil. Darkness enveloped everything around. Around the chariot of the goddess of the Night, the stars crowd and pour their unfaithful, flickering light onto the earth - these are the young sons of the goddess Dawn-Eos and Astrea. Many of them, they dotted the entire dark night sky. That's how a light glow seemed in the east. It gets hotter and hotter. It is the moon goddess Selene who ascends to heaven. Big-horned bulls slowly drive her chariot across the sky. Calmly, majestically, the moon goddess rides across the sky in her long white dress, with a crescent of the moon on her headdress. She peacefully shines on the sleeping earth, flooding everything with a silvery glow. Having traveled around the vault of heaven, the goddess Moon will descend into the deep grotto of Mount Latma in Kariya. There lies the beautiful Endymion, immersed in eternal slumber [ 48He was sometimes considered the son of the king of Caria, Ephlia, sometimes the son of Zeus. It is possible that Endymion is the ancient Carian god of sleep. Kariya is a country in Asia Minor, on the Mediterranean coast.]. Selena loves him. She bends over him, caresses him and whispers words of love to him. But Endymion, immersed in slumber, does not hear her, because Selena is so sad, and her light is sad, which she pours on the earth at night.

Morning is getting closer. The Goddess Moon has long since descended from the sky. The east brightened a little. The harbinger of dawn, Eosphoros, the morning star, lit up brightly in the east. A light breeze blew. The east is getting brighter. Here the pink-fingered goddess Zarya-Eos opened the gate, from which the radiant god Sun-Helios will soon leave. In bright saffron clothes, on pink wings, the goddess Zarya flies up to the brightened sky, flooded with pink light. The goddess pours dew on the ground from a golden vessel, and the dew showers the grass and flowers with sparkling drops like diamonds. Everything on earth is fragrant, aromas are smoking everywhere. The awakened earth joyfully welcomes the rising god of the Sun-Helios.

On four winged horses in a golden chariot, which was forged by the god Hephaestus, the radiant god rides to heaven from the shores of the Ocean. The tops of the mountains are illuminated by the rays of the rising sun, and they rise, as if flooded with fire. The stars flee from the sky at the sight of the sun god, one by one they hide in the bosom of the dark night. The chariot of Helios rises higher and higher. In a radiant crown and in long sparkling clothes, he rides through the sky and pours his life-giving rays on the earth, giving her light, warmth and life.

Having completed his daily journey, the sun god descends to the sacred waters of the Ocean. There awaits his golden boat, in which he sails back to the east, to the land of the sun, where his wonderful palace is located. The sun god rests there at night, to rise in his former splendor the next day.

Based on the poem "Metamorphoses" by Ovid.

Only once was the order established in the world violated, and the sun god did not go to heaven to shine on people. It happened like this. The Sun-Helios had a son from Klymene, the daughter of the sea goddess Thetis, his name was Phaeton. Once a relative of Phaethon, the son of the Thunderer Zeus Epaphus, mocking him, said:

- I do not believe that you are the son of the radiant Helios. Your mother is telling lies. You are the son of a mere mortal.

Phaeton was angry, the color of shame flooded his face; he ran to his mother, flung himself on her breast, and complained with tears of the insult. But his mother, stretching out her hands to the radiant sun, exclaimed:

- Oh, son! I swear to you by Helios, who sees and hears us, whom you yourself now see, that he is your father! May he deprive me of his light if I speak a lie. Go yourself to him, his palace is not far from us. He will confirm my words to you.

Phaeton immediately went to his father Helios. He quickly reached the palace of Helios, shining with gold, silver and precious stones. The whole palace seemed to sparkle with all the colors of the rainbow, the god Hephaestus himself decorated it so wonderfully. Phaeton entered the palace and saw Helios sitting in purple clothes on the throne. But Phaeton could not approach the radiant god, his eyes - the eyes of a mortal - could not stand the radiance emanating from the crown of Helios. The sun god saw Phaethon and asked him:

“What brings you to my palace, my son?

- Oh, the light of the whole world, oh, father, Helios! Only dare I call you father? Phaeton exclaimed. Give me proof that you are my father. Destroy, I beg you, my doubt.

Helios took off his radiant crown, called Phaeton to him, embraced him and said:

Yes, you are my son; your mother told you the truth, Klymene. And so that you no longer doubt, ask me what you want, and I swear by the waters of the sacred river Styx, I will fulfill your request.

As soon as Helios said this, Phaeton began to ask to be allowed to ride across the sky instead of Helios himself in his golden chariot. The radiant god was horrified.

“Crazy, what are you asking!” exclaimed Helios. Oh, if I could break my oath! You are asking the impossible, Phaeton. After all, you can't do it. After all, you are a mortal, but is this the business of a mortal? Even the immortal gods cannot stand on my chariot. The great Zeus the Thunderer himself cannot rule it, and who is more powerful than him. Just think: at first the road is so steep that even my winged horses can hardly climb it. In the middle it goes so high above the earth that even I am overcome with fear when I look down at the seas and lands spreading below me. At the end, the road descends so rapidly to the sacred shores of the Ocean that, without my experienced guidance, the chariot will headlong down and break. You think maybe you will meet a lot of beautiful things along the way. No, among the dangers, horrors and wild animals, the path goes. He is narrow; if you deviate to the side, then the horns of a formidable calf await you there, the centaur's bow threatens you, a furious lion, a monstrous scorpion and cancer [ 49Constellations of Taurus, Centaur, Scorpio and Cancer.]. Lots of horrors on the way across the sky. Believe me, I don't want to be the cause of your death. Oh, if you could penetrate my heart with your gaze and see how I fear for you! Look around you, look at the world, how much beauty there is in it! Ask whatever you want, I won't refuse you anything, just don't ask it. After all, you are not asking for a reward, but a terrible punishment.

But Phaethon did not want to listen to anything; wrapping his arms around the neck of Helios, he asked to fulfill his request.

“Okay, I will grant your request. Don't worry, I swore by the waters of the Styx. You will get what you ask, but I thought you were smarter, ”Helios replied sadly.

He led Phaethon to where his chariot stood. Phaeton admired her; it was all gold and sparkled with multicolored stones. They brought the winged horses of Helios, fed with ambrosia and nectar. They harnessed the horses to the chariot. Pink-fingered Eos opened the gates of the sun. Helios rubbed Phaeton's face with a sacred ointment so that the flames of the sun's rays would not scorch him, and placed a sparkling crown on his head. With a sigh full of sadness, Helios gives the last instructions to Phaethon:

- My son, remember my last instructions, fulfill them if you can. Do not drive the horses, hold the reins as firmly as possible. My horses will run. It's hard to keep them. You will clearly see the road along the ruts, they go through the whole sky. Do not rise too high, so as not to burn the sky, but do not sink too low, otherwise you will burn the whole earth. Do not deviate, remember, neither to the right nor to the left. Your path is just in the middle between the snake and the altar [ 50Two constellations, called the Serpent and the Altar by the Greeks.]. Everything else I entrust to fate, on her alone I hope. But it's time, the night has already left the sky; pink-fingered Eos has already risen. Take stronger reins. But, perhaps, you will change your decision - after all, it threatens you with death. Oh, let me shine on the earth myself! Don't ruin yourself!

But Phaeton quickly jumped on the chariot and grabbed the reins. He rejoices, rejoices, thanks his father Helios and hurries on his way. The horses beat with their hooves, flames burst from their nostrils, they easily pick up the chariot and through the fog quickly rush forward along the steep road to heaven. The chariot is unusually light for horses. Here the horses are already racing across the sky, they leave the usual path of Helios and rush without a road. But Phaethon does not know where the road is, he is unable to control his horses. He looked from the top of the sky to the ground and turned pale with fear, she was so far below him. His knees trembled, darkness shrouded his eyes. He already regrets that he begged his father to let him drive his chariot. What should he do? He has come a long way, but he still has a long way to go. Phaeton cannot cope with the chariot, he does not know their names, and he does not have the strength to restrain them with the reins. Around him he sees terrible celestial beasts and is even more frightened.

There is a place in the sky where a monstrous, formidable scorpion is spread out - horses carry Phaethon there. The unfortunate young man saw a scorpion covered with dark poison, threatening him with a deadly sting, and, mad with fear, released the reins. Then the horses rushed even faster, sensing freedom. Now they soar to the very stars, then, having descended, they rush almost above the earth itself. The sister of Helios, the goddess of the moon Selene, looks in amazement as her brother's horses rush without a road, not controlled by anyone, across the sky. The flame from the close-down chariot engulfs the earth. Big, rich cities are dying, entire tribes are dying. Mountains covered with forests are burning: the two-headed Parnassus, shady Kiferon, green Helikon, the mountains of the Caucasus, Tmol, Ida, Pelion, Ossa. Smoke covers everything around; does not see Phaeton in thick smoke, where he rides. Water in rivers and streams boils. Nymphs cry and hide in horror in deep grottoes. The Euphrates, Orontes, Alpheus, Evros and other rivers boil. The earth cracks from the heat, and a ray of the sun penetrates into the gloomy realm of Hades. The seas begin to dry up, and the sea deities suffer from the heat. Then the great goddess Gaia-Earth arose and exclaimed loudly:

- Oh, the greatest of the gods, Zeus the Thunderer! Must I perish, must the kingdom of your brother Poseidon perish, must all living things perish? Look! Atlas can barely bear the weight of the sky. After all, the sky and the palaces of the gods can collapse. Will everything return to primal Chaos? Oh save what's left from the fire!

Zeus heard the prayer of the goddess Gaia, he menacingly waved his right hand, threw his sparkling lightning and put out the fire with her fire. Zeus smashed the chariot with lightning. The horses of Helios fled in different directions. Shards of the chariot and harness of the horses of Helios are scattered all over the sky.

And Phaeton, with curls burning on his head, swept through the air like a shooting star, and fell into the waves of the Eridani River [ 53The Greeks had these names: 1) a river in Attica; 2) a river in the north, possibly Zap. Dvina; 3) the river Po.], away from their homeland. There the Hesperian nymphs lifted his body and buried it in the ground. In deep sorrow, Phaethon's father, Helios, closed his face and did not appear in the blue sky all day. Only the fire of the fire illuminated the earth.

For a long time, the unfortunate mother of Phaethon, Klymene, was looking for the body of her dead son. Finally, on the banks of Eridan, she found not the body of her son, but his tomb. The inconsolable mother wept bitterly over the tomb of her son, with her they mourned the dead brother and daughter of Klymene, the heliades. Their sorrow was boundless. The great gods turned the weeping heliads into poplars. Heliade poplars stand, leaning over Eridanus, and their resin-tears fall into the icy water. The resin hardens and turns into a transparent amber.

Grieved for the death of Phaethon and his friend Kikn. His lamentations carried far along the shores of Eridanus. Seeing the inconsolable sadness of Kykna, the gods turned him into a snow-white swan. Since then, the Kikn swan lives on the water, in rivers and wide light lakes. He is afraid of the fire that killed his friend Phaethon.

Dionysus

The birth and upbringing of Dionysus

Zeus the Thunderer loved the beautiful Semele, daughter of the Theban king Cadmus. Once he promised her to fulfill any of her requests, no matter what it was, and swore to her this by an unbreakable oath of the gods, by the sacred waters of the underground river Styx. But the great goddess Hera hated Semele and wanted to destroy her. She told Semele:

- Ask Zeus to appear to you in all the glory of the god of thunder, the king of Olympus. If he really loves you, he will not refuse this request.

Hera convinced Semele, and she asked Zeus to fulfill exactly this request. Zeus, however, could not refuse anything to Semele, because he swore by the waters of the Styx. The Thunderer appeared to her in all the grandeur of the king of gods and people, in all the splendor of his glory. Bright lightning flashed in the hands of Zeus; thunderclaps shook the palace of Cadmus. Everything around flashed from the lightning of Zeus. The fire engulfed the palace, everything around shook and collapsed. In horror, Semele fell to the ground, the flames burned her. She saw that there was no salvation for her, that her request, inspired by the Hero, ruined her.

And the son of Dionysus was born to the dying Semele, a weak child unable to live. It seemed that he, too, was doomed to perish in the fire. But how could the son of the great Zeus die. From the ground on all sides, as if by a wave of a magic wand, thick green ivy grew. He covered the unfortunate child from the fire with his greenery and saved him from death.

Zeus took the saved son, and since he was still so small and weak that he could not live, Zeus sewed him into his thigh. In the body of his father, Zeus, Dionysus got stronger, and, having got stronger, was born a second time from the thigh of the Thunderer Zeus. Then the king of gods and people called his son, the quick messenger of the gods, Hermes, and ordered him to take the little Dionysus to Semele's sister, Ino, and her husband Atamant, king of Orchomenes [ 55A city in Boeotia, on the shores of Lake Kapaid.], they had to educate him.

The goddess Hera was angry with Ino and Atamant because they adopted the son of Semele, who she hated, and decided to punish them. She sent madness to Atamant. In a fit of madness, Atamant killed his son Learchus. She barely had time to escape from the death of Ino with another son, Melikert. The husband chased after her and was already overtaking her. Ahead is a steep, rocky seashore, the sea is rustling below, a crazy husband overtakes from behind - Ino has no salvation. In desperation, she threw herself with her son into the sea from the coastal cliffs. The Nereids took Ino and Melikert into the sea. The tutor of Dionysus and her son were converted into sea deities and since then they have been living in the depths of the sea.

Dionysus was saved from the mad Atamant by Hermes. He transferred him in the twinkling of an eye to the Nisei valley and gave it there to be raised by the nymphs. Dionysus grew up as a beautiful, powerful god of wine, a god who gives people strength and joy, a god who gives fertility. The tutors of Dionysus, the nymphs, were taken by Zeus as a reward to heaven, and they shine on a dark starry night, called Hyades, among other constellations.

Dionysus and his retinue

With a cheerful crowd of maenads and satyrs decorated with wreaths, the cheerful god Dionysus walks around the world, from country to country. He walks in front, wearing a wreath of grapes, holding a thyrsus adorned with ivy. Around him young maenads whirl in a quick dance, singing and shouting; clumsy satyrs with tails and goat legs, drunk on wine, jump about. The procession is followed by the old man Silenus, the wise teacher of Dionysus, on a donkey. He is very tipsy, he can barely sit on the donkey, leaning on the skin of wine lying next to him. The ivy wreath slid to one side on his bald head. Swaying, he rides, smiling good-naturedly. The young satyrs walk beside the carefully stepping donkey and carefully support the old man so that he does not fall. To the sounds of flutes, pipes and tympans, a noisy procession moves merrily in the mountains, among shady forests, along green lawns. Dionysus-Bacchus merrily walks the earth, conquering everything with his power. He teaches people to plant grapes and make wine from their heavy, ripe bunches.

Not everywhere recognize the power of Dionysus. Often he has to meet resistance; often by force he has to conquer countries and cities. But who can fight the great god, the son of Zeus? He severely punishes those who oppose him, who do not want to recognize him and honor him as a god. The first time Dionysus had to be persecuted was in Thrace, when in a shady valley with his companions, his maenads, he merrily feasted and danced, intoxicated with wine, to the sounds of music and singing; then the cruel king of the edons attacked him [ 57A Thracian tribe that lived along the banks of the Strymon River (modern Struma, or Karasu).] Lycurgus. The maenads fled in horror, throwing the sacred vessels of Dionysus to the ground; even Dionysus himself fled. Fleeing from the persecution of Lycurgus, he threw himself into the sea; the goddess Thetis sheltered him there. The father of Dionysus, Zeus the Thunderer, severely punished Lycurgus, who dared to offend the young god: Zeus blinded Lycurgus and reduced his life.

Daughters of Miniah

Based on the poem "Metamorphoses" by Ovid.

And in Orchomenus, in Boeotia, they did not immediately recognize the god Dionysus. When the priest of Dionysus-Bacchus appeared in Orchomenus and called all the girls and women to the forests and mountains to a merry festival in honor of the god of wine, the three daughters of King Minius did not go to the festival; they did not want to recognize Dionysus as a god. All the women of Orchomenus left the city for the shady forests, and there they honored the great god with singing and dancing. Twisted with ivy, with thyrsos in their hands, they rushed with loud cries, like maenads, through the mountains and praised Dionysus. And the daughters of King Orchomenos sat at home and calmly spun and wove; they did not want to hear anything about the god Dionysus. Evening came, the sun set, and the king's daughters still did not give up work, in a hurry to finish it at all costs. Suddenly a miracle appeared before their eyes, The sounds of tympanums and flutes were heard in the palace, the threads of yarn turned into vines, and heavy clusters hung on them. The looms were green with ivy. The fragrance of myrtle and flowers spread everywhere. The king's daughters looked with surprise at this miracle. Suddenly, all over the palace, already shrouded in evening twilight, the ominous light of torches flashed. The roar of wild animals was heard. Lions, panthers, lynxes and bears appeared in all the chambers of the palace. With a menacing howl they ran around the palace and their eyes flashed furiously. In horror, the king's daughters tried to hide in the farthest, darkest rooms of the palace, so as not to see the glare of torches and not hear the roar of animals. But all in vain, they can't hide anywhere. The punishment of the god Dionysus did not stop there. The bodies of the princesses began to shrink, covered with dark mouse hair, instead of hands wings with a thin membrane grew, - they turned into bats. Since then, they have been hiding from daylight in dark damp ruins and caves. So Dionysus punished them.

Tyrrhenian sea robbers [ 58Tyrrhenian, or Tyrsenian, that is, Etruscan sea robbers; The Etruscans are a people who lived in ancient times in western Italy, in modern Tuscany.]

Based on the poem "Metamorphoses" by Ovid.

Dionysus also punished the Tyrrhenian sea robbers, but not so much because they did not recognize him as a god, but for the evil that they wanted to inflict on him as a mere mortal.

One day young Dionysus stood on the shores of the azure sea. The sea breeze gently played with his dark curls and slightly stirred the folds of the purple cloak that fell from the slender shoulders of the young god. A ship appeared out to sea in the distance; he quickly approached the shore. When the ship was already close, the sailors - they were Tyrrhenian sea robbers - saw a wonderful young man on a deserted seashore. They quickly moored, went ashore, grabbed Dionysus and took him to the ship. The robbers did not even suspect that they had captured a god. The robbers rejoiced that such rich booty fell into their hands. They were sure that they would get a lot of gold for such a beautiful young man by selling him into slavery. Arriving on the ship, the robbers wanted to shackle Dionysus in heavy chains, but they fell from the arms and legs of the young god. He sat and looked at the robbers with a calm smile. When the helmsman saw that the chains were not holding on to the hands of the young man, he said to his comrades with fear:

- Unhappy! What are we doing? Do we want to bind God? Look, even our ship can barely hold it! Isn't it Zeus himself, isn't it the silver-armed Apollo or Poseidon, the shaker of the earth? No, he doesn't look like a mortal! This is one of the gods living on the bright Olympus. Release him soon, land him on the ground. No matter how he summoned violent winds and raised a formidable storm on the sea!

But the captain angrily answered the wise helmsman:

- Contemptible! Look, the wind is fair! Our ship will quickly rush along the waves of the boundless sea. We will take care of the young man later. We will sail to Egypt, or to Cyprus, or to the distant country of the Hyperboreans, and there we will sell it; let this young man look for his friends and brothers there. No, the gods sent it to us!

The robbers calmly raised the sails, and the ship went out to the open sea. Suddenly a miracle happened: fragrant wine flowed through the ship, and the whole air was filled with fragrance. The robbers were dumbfounded. But here on the sails vines with heavy clusters turned green; dark green ivy curled around the mast; beautiful fruits appeared everywhere; oarlocks of oars wrapped around garlands of flowers. When the robbers saw all this, they began to pray to the wise helmsman to rule as soon as possible to the shore. But it's too late! The young man turned into a lion and stood on the deck with a menacing growl, his eyes flashing furiously. A shaggy bear appeared on the deck of the ship; she bared her mouth terribly.

In horror, the robbers rushed to the stern and crowded around the helmsman. With a huge leap, the lion rushed at the captain and tore him to pieces. Having lost hope of salvation, the robbers rushed into the sea waves one by one, and Dionysus turned them into dolphins. The helmsman was spared by Dionysus. He assumed his former form and, smiling affably, said to the helmsman:

- Do not be afraid! I loved you. I am Dionysus, the son of the Thunderer Zeus and the daughter of Cadmus, Semele!

Dionysus rewards people who revere him as a god. So he rewarded Icarius in Attica, when he hospitably received him. Dionysus gave him a vine, and Icarius was the first to cultivate grapes in Attica. But the fate of Ikaria was sad.

Once he gave wine to the shepherds, and they, not knowing what intoxication is, decided that Icarius had poisoned them, and they killed him, and buried his body in the mountains. The daughter of Icarius, Erigona, was looking for her father for a long time. Finally, with the help of her dog Myra, she found her father's tomb. In desperation, the unfortunate Erigone hanged herself on the very tree under which her father's body lay. Dionysus took Icarius, Erigone, and her dog Myra to heaven. Since then, they have been burning in the sky on a clear night - these are the constellations of Bootes, Virgo and Canis Major.

Based on the poem "Metamorphoses" by Ovid.

Once a cheerful Dionysus with a noisy crowd of maenads and satyrs wandered through the wooded rocks of Tmola in Phrygia [ 59A country in the northwest of Asia Minor.]. Only Silenus was not in the retinue of Dionysus. He lagged behind and, stumbling at every step, heavily intoxicated, wandered through the Phrygian fields. The peasants saw him, tied him with garlands of flowers and took him to King Midas. Midas immediately recognized the teacher Dionysus, received him with honor in his palace and honored him with sumptuous feasts for nine days. On the tenth day, Midas himself took Silenus to the god Dionysus. Dionysus rejoiced when he saw Silenus, and allowed Midas, as a reward for the honor that he had given his teacher, to choose any gift for himself. Then Midas exclaimed:

“Oh, great god Dionysus, order that everything I touch turn into pure, shining gold!”

Dionysus granted Midas' wish; he only regretted that Midas had not chosen a better gift for himself.

Rejoicing, Midas departed. Rejoicing at the gift he received, he plucks a green branch from the oak - the branch turns into gold in his hands. He plucks the ears of corn in the field - they become golden, and the grains in them are golden. He picks an apple - the apple turns into gold, as if it were from the garden of the Hesperides. Everything Midas touched turned to gold immediately. When he washed his hands, the water dripped from them in golden drops. Midas exults. So he came to his palace. The servants prepared a rich feast for him, and the happy Midas lay down at the table. It was then that he realized what a terrible gift he had begged from Dionysus. One touch from Midas turned everything to gold. Bread, and all dishes, and wine became golden in his mouth. It was then that Midas realized that he would have to die of hunger. He stretched out his hands to the sky and exclaimed:

Have mercy, have mercy, oh Dionysus! Sorry! I beg you for mercy! Take back this gift!

Dionysus appeared and said to Midas:

– Go to the sources of Pactol [ 60River in Lydia, flowing into the river Herm (modern Gedis).], there in its waters, wash away this gift and your guilt from the body.

Midas, at the behest of Dionysus, went to the sources of Pactol and plunged there into its clear waters. The waters of Pactolus flowed like gold and washed away the gift received from Dionysus from the body of Midas. Since then, Pactol has become gold-bearing.

pan [ 61[God] Pan, although he was one of the oldest gods of Greece, had in the Homeric era and later, until the 2nd century. BC, little value. The very fact that the god Pan was depicted as a half-man - half-goat (a relic of totemism) indicates the antiquity of this god. Initially, Pan is the god of the forest, the god of shepherds, the guardian of the flocks. Even in Arcadia and Argos, where Pan was more revered, he was not included among the Olympian gods. But gradually the god Pan loses his original character and becomes the patron god of all nature.]

Among the retinue of Dionysus one could often see the god Pan. When the great Pan was born, his mother, the nymph Dryope, looking at her son, fled in horror. He was born with goat legs and horns and a long beard. But his father, Hermes, rejoiced at the birth of his son, he took him in his arms and carried him to the bright Olympus to the gods. All the gods rejoiced loudly at the birth of Pan and laughed as they looked at him.

God Pan did not stay with the gods on Olympus. He went into the shady forests, into the mountains. There he grazes herds, playing the sonorous flute. As soon as the nymphs hear the wonderful sounds of Pan's flute, they rush to him in crowds, surround him, and soon a cheerful round dance moves along the green secluded valley, to the sounds of Pan's music. Pan himself likes to take part in the dances of the nymphs. When Pan is merry, then a cheerful noise rises in the forests on the slopes of the mountains. Nymphs and satyrs frolic merrily along with the noisy goat-footed Pan. When the hot afternoon comes, Pan retires to a dense thicket of the forest or to a cool grotto and rests there. It is dangerous to disturb Pan then; he is quick-tempered, he can send a heavy oppressive dream in anger, he can, unexpectedly appearing, frighten the traveler who has disturbed him. Finally, it can also send panic fear, such horror when a person rushes headlong to run, not making out the road, through forests, over mountains, along the edge of abysses, not noticing that flight every minute threatens him with death. It happened that Pan inspired a similar fear in an entire army, and it turned into an unstoppable flight. Pan should not be annoyed - when he flares up, he is formidable. But if Pan is not angry, then he is merciful and good-natured. He sends many blessings to the shepherds. Protects and cherishes the herds of the Greeks the great Pan, a cheerful participant in the dances of frantic maenads, a frequent companion of the god of wine Dionysus.

Pan and Syringa

And the great Pan was not spared by the arrows of the golden-winged Eros. He fell in love with the beautiful nymph Syringa. The nymph was proud and rejected the love of all. As for the daughter of Latona, the great Artemis, hunting was a favorite pastime for Syringa. Often they even mistook Syringa for Artemis, so beautiful was the young nymph in her short clothes, with a quiver over her shoulders and with a bow in her hands. Like two drops of water, she then looked like Artemis, only her bow was from a horn, and not golden, like that of the great goddess.

Pan saw Syringa one day and wanted to approach her. The nymph looked at Pan and fled in fear. Pan barely kept up with her, trying to catch up with her. But the river crossed the path. Where to run the nymph? She stretched out her hands to the river Syringa and began to pray to the god of the river to save her. The god of the river heeded the prayers of the nymph and turned her into a reed. Pan, running up, wanted to hug Siringa, but hugged only a flexible, softly rustling reed. Pan stands, sighing sadly, and he hears in the gentle rustle of the reeds the farewell greetings of the beautiful Syringa. Pan cut several reeds and made a mellifluous flute out of them, fastening the unequal knees of the reed with wax. He named Pan in memory of the nymph the flute syringa. Since then, the great Pan loves to play the siring pipe in the solitude of the forests, resounding with its gentle sounds the surrounding mountains.

Contest of Pan with Apollo

Pan was proud of his flute playing. Once he challenged Apollo himself to a contest. It was on the slopes of Mount Tmola. The judge was the god of that mountain. In a purple cloak, with a golden cithara in his hands and in a laurel wreath, Apollo appeared for the competition. Pan was the first to start the contest. The simple sounds of his shepherd's flute rang out, gently rushing along the slopes of Tmol. Finished Pan. When the echoes of his pipe fell silent, Apollo struck the golden strings of his cithara. The majestic sounds of divine music poured out. All standing around, as if enchanted, listened to the music of Apollo. The golden strings of the cithara rattled solemnly, all nature plunged into deep silence, and in the midst of the silence a melody full of marvelous beauty flowed in a wide wave. Apollo finished; the last sounds of his cithara died away. The god of Mount Tmola awarded Apollo the victory. Everyone praised the great kifared god. Only one Midas did not admire the game of Apollo, but praised the simple game of Pan. Apollo got angry, grabbed Midas by the ears and pulled them out. Since then, Midas has donkey ears, which he diligently hides under a large turban. And the saddened Pan, defeated by Apollo, retired deeper into the thicket of forests; often full of sadness, gentle sounds of his flute are heard there, and young nymphs listen to them with love.

The achievements of the ancient Greeks in art, science and politics had a significant impact on the development of European states. Mythology, one of the most well-studied in the world, also played an important role in this process. For many hundreds of years, it has been for many creators. The history and myths of ancient Greece have always been closely intertwined. The realities of the archaic era are known to us precisely thanks to the legends of that period.

Greek mythology took shape at the turn of the II-I millennium BC. e. Tales of gods and heroes spread throughout Hellas thanks to the Aeds - wandering reciters, the most famous of which was Homer. Later, during the period of the Greek classics, mythological subjects were reflected in the works of art of the great playwrights - Euripides and Aeschylus. Even later, at the beginning of our era, Greek scientists began to classify myths, to compile the genealogical trees of heroes, in other words, to study the heritage of their ancestors.

Origin of the gods

Ancient myths and legends of Greece are dedicated to gods and heroes. According to the ideas of the Hellenes, there were several generations of gods. The first couple to have anthropomorphic features were Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (Sky). They gave birth to 12 titans, as well as one-eyed cyclops and many-headed and many-armed hecatoncheir giants. The birth of monster children did not please Uranus, and he threw them into the great abyss - Tartarus. This, in turn, did not please Gaia, and she persuaded her children-titans to overthrow their father (myths about the ancient gods of Greece abound with similar motives). This was managed by the youngest of her sons - Kronos (Time). With the beginning of his reign, history repeated itself.

He, like his father, was afraid of his powerful children, and therefore, as soon as his wife (and sister) Rhea gave birth to another child, he swallowed it. This fate befell Hestia, Poseidon, Demeter, Hera and Hades. But Rhea could not part with her last son: when Zeus was born, she hid him in a cave on the island of Crete and instructed the nymphs and Kurets to raise the child, and brought her husband a stone wrapped in diapers, which he swallowed.

War with the titans

The ancient myths and legends of Greece were filled with bloody wars for power. The first of these began after the grown-up Zeus forced Kronos to regurgitate the swallowed children. Enlisting the support of his brothers and sisters and calling for help from the giants imprisoned in Tartarus, Zeus began to fight his father and other titans (some later went over to his side). The main weapons of Zeus were lightning and thunder, which were forged for him by the Cyclopes. The war lasted for a whole decade; Zeus and his allies defeated and imprisoned the enemies in Tartarus. I must say that Zeus was also destined for the fate of his father (fall at the hands of his son), but he managed to avoid it thanks to the help of the titan Prometheus.

Myths about the ancient gods of Greece - the Olympians. Descendants of Zeus

Power over the world was shared by three titans, representing the third generation of gods. These were Zeus the Thunderer (he became the supreme god of the ancient Greeks), Poseidon (the lord of the seas) and Hades (the owner of the underworld of the dead).

They had numerous descendants. All the supreme gods, except for Hades and his family, lived on Mount Olympus (which exists in reality). In ancient Greek mythology, there were 12 main celestials. The wife of Zeus, Hera, was considered the patroness of marriage, and the goddess Hestia was considered the patroness of the hearth. Demeter was in charge of agriculture, Apollo was in charge of light and the arts, and his sister Artemis was revered as the goddess of the moon and the hunt. The daughter of Zeus, Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom, was one of the most respected celestials. Sensitive to beauty, the Greeks also revered the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, and her husband Ares, the warlike god. Hephaestus, the god of fire, was praised by craftsmen (in particular, blacksmiths). The cunning Hermes also demanded respect - an intermediary between gods and people and the patron of trade and livestock.

Divine geography

The ancient myths and legends of Greece create a very contradictory image of God in the mind of the modern reader. On the one hand, the Olympians were considered powerful, wise and beautiful, and on the other hand, they were characterized by all the weaknesses and vices of mortal people: envy, jealousy, greed and anger.

As already mentioned, Zeus dominated the gods and people. He gave people laws and controlled their destiny. But not in all areas of Greece, the supreme Olympian was the most revered god. The Greeks lived in city-states and believed that each such city (polis) had its own divine patron. So, Athena favored Attica and its main city - Athens.

Aphrodite was praised in Cyprus, off the coast of which she was born. Poseidon kept Troy, Artemis and Apollo - Delphi. Mycenae, Argos and Samos offered sacrifices to Hera.

Other divine entities

The ancient myths and legends of Greece would not be so intense if only people and gods acted in them. But the Greeks, like other peoples at that time, were inclined to deify the forces of nature, and therefore other powerful creatures are often mentioned in myths. These are, for example, naiads (patrons of rivers and streams), dryads (patrons of groves), oreads (mountain nymphs), nereids (daughters of the sea sage Nereus), as well as various magical creatures and monsters.

In addition, the goat-footed satyrs who accompanied the god Dionysus lived in the forests. Many legends featured wise and warlike centaurs. At the throne of Hades stood the goddess of vengeance Erinnia, and on Olympus the gods were entertained by the muses and charites, the patroness of the arts. All these entities often argued with the gods or married with them or with people. Many great heroes and gods were born as a result of such marriages.

Myths of Ancient Greece: Hercules and his labors

As for the heroes, in every region of Greece it was also customary to honor their own. But invented in the north of Hellas, in Epirus, Hercules became one of the most beloved characters of ancient myths. Hercules is known for the fact that, while in the service of his relative, King Eurystheus, he performed 12 labors (killing the Lernaean Hydra, capturing kerinean fallow deer and the Erymanthian boar, bringing the belt of Hippolyta, deliverance of the people from the Stymphalian birds, taming the mares of Diomedes, a trip to the Kingdom of Hades and others).

Not everyone knows that these deeds were carried out by Hercules as an atonement for guilt (in a fit of madness, he destroyed his family). After the death of Hercules, the gods accepted him into their ranks: even Hera, who throughout the life of the hero plotted against him, was forced to recognize him.

Conclusion

Ancient myths were created many centuries ago. But they are by no means primitive. The myths of Ancient Greece are the key to understanding modern European culture.