"Legends and myths of Ancient Greece": a summary. "Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece", Nikolai Kuhn

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The Greek gods and goddesses, Greek heroes, myths and legends about them served as the basis, source of inspiration for European poets, playwrights and artists. Therefore, it is important to know their summary. The legends and myths of Ancient Greece, the entire Greek culture, especially of the late time, when both philosophy and democracy were developed, had a strong influence on the formation of the entire European civilization as a whole. Mythology has evolved over time. Tales, legends became known, because reciters wandered along the paths and roads of Hellas. They carried more or less long stories about a heroic past. Some gave only a summary.

Legends and myths of Ancient Greece gradually became familiar and beloved, and what Homer created was accepted to be known to an educated person by heart andbe able to quote from anywhere. Greek scholars, seeking to put everything in order, began to work on the classification of myths, and turned the scattered stories into a harmonious series.

The main Greek gods

The very first myths are devoted to the struggle of various gods among themselves. Some of them did not have human features - these are the offspring of the goddess Gaia-Earth and Uranus-Heaven - twelve titans and six more monsters that terrified their father, and he plunged them into the abyss - Tartarus. But Gaia persuaded the remaining Titans to overthrow her father.

This was done by the insidious Kronos - Time. But, having married his sister, he was afraid of children being born and swallowed them immediately after birth: Hestia, Demeter, Poseidon, Hera, Hades. Having given birth to the last child - Zeus, the wife deceived Kronos, and he could not swallow the baby. And Zeus was safely hidden in Crete. This is just a summary. The legends and myths of Ancient Greece scary describe the events taking place.

Zeus' war for power

Zeus grew up, matured and forced Kronos to return his swallowed sisters and brothers to the white world. He called them to fight the cruel father. In addition, part of the titans, giants and cyclops took part in the struggle. The struggle has been going on for ten years. The fire raged, the seas boiled, nothing could be seen from the smoke. But the victory went to Zeus. The enemies were overthrown in Tartarus and taken into custody.

Gods on Olympus

Zeus, whom the Cyclopes forged with lightning, became the supreme god, Poseidon obeyed all the waters on earth, Hades - the underworld of the dead. It wasalready the third generation of gods, from which all other gods and heroes originated, about whom stories and legends will begin to tell.

The ancients refer to the cycle of Dionysus, the god of wine and winemaking, fertility, the patron of the night mysteries, which were held in the darkest places. The mysteries were terrible and mysterious. So the struggle of the dark gods with the light ones began to take shape. There were no real wars, but the dark gods began to gradually give way to the bright sun god Phoebus with his rational principle, with his cult of reason, science and art.

And the irrational, ecstatic, sensual receded. But these are two sides of the same phenomenon. And one was impossible without the other. The goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus, patronized the family.

Ares for war, Athena for wisdom, Artemis for the moon and hunting, Demeter for agriculture, Hermes for trade, Aphrodite for love and beauty.

Hephaestus - to artisans. Their relationship between themselves and people are the legends of the Hellenes. They were fully studied in pre-revolutionary gymnasiums in Russia. Only now, when people are mostly concerned with earthly concerns, do they, if necessary, pay attention to their summary. The legends and myths of ancient Greece are becoming more and more a thing of the past.

Who was patronized by the gods

They don'tvery kind to people. Often they envied them or lusted after women, they were jealous, they were greedy for praise and honors. That is, they were very similar to mortals, if we take their description. Tales (summary), legends and myths of Ancient Greece (Kun) describe their gods in a very contradictory way. “Nothing pleases the gods so much as the collapse of human hopes,” said Euripides. And Sophocles echoed him: “The gods most willingly help a man when he goes towards his death.”

Zeus obeyed all the gods, but for people he mattered as a guarantor of justice. It was when the judge judged unrighteously that a person turned to Zeus for help. In matters of war, only Mars dominated. Wise Athena patronized Attica.

To Poseidon, all the sailors, going to sea, made sacrifices. In Delphi, one could ask for favors from Phoebus and Artemis.

Myths about heroes

One of my favorite myths was about Theseus, the son of Aegeus, king of Athens. He was born and raised in the royal family in Troezen. When he grew up and was able to get his father's sword, he went to meet him. Along the way, he destroyed the robber Procrustes, who did not allow people to pass through his territory. When he got to his father, he learned that Athens paid tribute in girls and boys to Crete. Together with another batch of slaves, under mourning sails, he went to the island to King Minos to kill the monstrous Minotaur.

Princess Ariadne helped Theseus go through the labyrinth in which the Minotaur was located. Theseus fought the monster and destroyed it.

Greeks joyfully, freed forever from tribute, returned to their homeland. But they forgot to change the black sails. Aegeus, who did not take his eyes off the sea, saw that his son was dead, and out of unbearable grief threw himself into the depths of the waters over which his palace stood. The Athenians rejoiced that they were forever freed from tribute, but also wept when they learned of the tragic death of Aegeus. The myth of Theseus is long and colorful. This is his summary. The legends and myths of Ancient Greece (Kun) will give an exhaustive description of him.

Epic - the second part of the book by Nikolai Albertovich Kun

The legends of the Argonauts, the Trojan War, the travels of Odysseus, the revenge of Orestes for the death of his father, and the misadventures of Oedipus in the Theban cycle make up the second half of the book that Kuhn wrote, Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece. A chapter summary is given above.

Returning from Troy to his native Ithaca, Odysseus spent many long years in dangerous wanderings. It was difficult for him to get home on the stormy sea.

God Poseidon could not forgive Odysseus that, saving his life and the lives of his friends, he blinded the Cyclops, the son of Poseidon, and sent unheard-of storms. On the way, they died from the sirens, who carried away with their unearthly voices and sweet-sounding singing.

All of his companions died in their voyages across the seas. All were destroyed by an evil fate. In captivity at the nymph Calypso, Odysseus languished for many years. He begged to let him go home, but the beautiful nymph refused. Only the requests of the goddess Athena softened the heart of Zeus, he took pity on Odysseus and returned him to his family.

Legends of the Trojan cycle and about the campaigns of Odysseus were created in his poems by Homer - "Iliad" and "Odyssey", the myths about the campaign for the Golden Fleece to the shores of Pontus Eusinsky are described in the poem of Apollonius of Rhodes. Sophocles wrote the tragedy "Oedipus the King", the tragedy of the Arrest - the playwright Aeschylus. They are given by a summary of "Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece" (Nikolai Kun).

Myths and legends about gods, titans, numerous heroes disturb the imagination of artists of the word, brush and cinematography of our days. Standing in a museum near a picture painted on a mythological theme, or hearing the name of the beautiful Elena, it would be nice to have at least a little idea of \u200b\u200bwhat is behind this name (a huge war), and to know the details of the plot depicted on the canvas. This can be helped by "Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece." The summary of the book will reveal the meaning of what he saw and heard.