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Rhea, christened by Kron, bore him bright children, - the Virgin - Hestia, Demeter and the golden-shod Hera, the glorious power of Hades, who lives under the earth, And the providence - Zeus, the father of both immortals and mortals, whose thunders tremble the wide earth. Hesiod "Theogony"

Greek literature originated from mythology. Myth- this is a show ancient man about the world around him. Myths were created at a very early stage in the development of society in various areas of Greece. Later, all these myths merged into a single system.

With the help of myths, the ancient Greeks tried to explain all natural phenomena, presenting them in the form of living beings. At first, experiencing a strong fear of the elements, people portrayed the gods in a terrible animal form (Chimera, Gorgon Medusa, Sphinx, Lernean Hydra).

Later, however, the gods become anthropomorphic, that is, they have a human appearance and they have a variety of human qualities (jealousy, generosity, envy, generosity). The main difference between the gods and people was their immortality, but with all their greatness, the gods communicated with mere mortals and even often entered into love relationships with them in order to give birth to a whole tribe of heroes on earth.

There are 2 types of ancient Greek mythology:

1. cosmogonic (cosmogony - the origin of the world) - ends with the birth of Kronos
2. theogonic (theogony - the origin of gods and deities)

Mythology Ancient Greece went through 3 main stages in its development:

1. pre-Olympic- this is basically a cosmogonic mythology. This stage begins with the idea of ​​the ancient Greeks that everything came from Chaos, and ends with the murder of Kron and the division of the world between the gods.
2. Olympic(early classic) - Zeus becomes the supreme deity and with a retinue of 12 gods settles on Olympus.
3. late heroism- heroes are born from the gods and mortals, who help the gods in establishing order and in the destruction of monsters.

On the basis of mythology, poems were created, tragedies were written, and lyricists dedicated their odes and hymns to the gods.

There were two main groups of gods in Ancient Greece:

1. titans - gods of the second generation (six brothers - Oceanus, Kei, Crius, Gipperion, Iapetus, Kronos and six sisters - Thetis, Phoebe, Mnemosyne, Teia, Themis, Rhea)
2. olympic gods - Olympians - gods of the third generation. The Olympians included the children of Kronos and Rhea - Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus, as well as their descendants - Hephaestus, Hermes, Persephone, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Athena, Apollo and Artemis. The supreme god was Zeus, who deprived the power of his father Kronos (the god of time).

The Greek pantheon of the Olympian gods traditionally included 12 gods, but the composition of the pantheon was not very stable and sometimes consisted of 14-15 gods. Usually they were: Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Demeter, Hestia, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Dionysus, Hades. The Olympic gods lived on the sacred Mount Olympus ( Olympos) in Olympia, off the coast of the Aegean Sea.

Translated from ancient Greek, the word pantheon means "all gods". Greeks

divided the deities into three groups:

• Pantheon (great Olympian gods)
• Inferior deities
• monsters

Heroes occupied a special place in Greek mythology. The most famous of them:

v Odysseus

Supreme gods of Olympus

Minor Greek gods

In addition to Olympus, in Greece there was a sacred mountain Parnassus, where muses - 9 sisters, Greek deities who personified poetic and musical inspiration, patrons of the arts and sciences.

Greek Muses

Inferior deities in Greek mythology, these are satyrs, nymphs and ororas.

satires - (Greek satyroi) - these are forest deities (the same as in Russia goblin), demons fertility, retinue of Dionysus. They were depicted as goat-legged, hairy, with horse tails and small horns. Satyrs are indifferent to people, mischievous and cheerful, they were interested in hunting, wine, pursued forest nymphs. Their other hobby is music, but they only played wind instruments that make sharp, piercing sounds - flutes and pipes. In mythology, they personified a rough, base beginning in nature and man, therefore they were represented with ugly faces - with blunt, wide noses, swollen nostrils, disheveled hair.

nymphs - (the name means "source", among the Romans - "bride") the personification of living elemental forces, noticed in the murmur of a stream, in the growth of trees, in the wild charms of mountains and forests, spirits of the earth's surface, manifestations of natural forces acting in addition to man in the solitude of grottoes , valleys, forests, away from cultural centers. They were depicted as beautiful young girls with wonderful hair, with a dress of wreaths and flowers, sometimes in a dancing pose, with bare legs and arms, with loose hair. They are engaged in yarn, weaving, sing songs, dance in the meadows to the flute of Pan, hunt with Artemis, participate in the noisy orgies of Dionysus, and are constantly fighting with annoying satyrs. In the view of the ancient Greeks, the world of nymphs was very extensive.

The azure pond was full of flying nymphs,
Dryads animated the garden,
And the bright water spring was sparkling from the urn
Laughing naiads.

F. Schiller

Nymphs of the mountains oreads,

nymphs of forests and trees - dryads,

spring nymphs - naiads,

nymphs of the oceans oceanides,

nymphs of the sea nerids,

nymphs of the valleys sing,

meadow nymphs - limeades.

Ora - the goddess of the seasons, they were in charge of order in nature. Guardians of Olympus, now opening, then closing its cloudy gates. They are called gatekeepers of heaven. Harness the horses of Helios.

In many mythologies, there are numerous monsters. In ancient Greek mythology, there were also many of them: Chimera, Sphinx, Lernean Hydra, Echidna and many others.

In the same vestibule, the shadows of monsters crowd around:

Scylla biform here and herds of centaurs live,

Here Briares the hundred-handed lives, and the dragon from Lerna

The swamp hisses, and the Chimera intimidates enemies with fire,

Harpies fly in a flock around the three-bodied giants ...

Virgil, "Aeneid"

Harpies - these are evil abductors of children and human souls, suddenly flying in and just as suddenly disappearing like the wind, terrifying people. Their number ranges from two to five; depicted as wild, half-female, half-birds of a disgusting appearance with wings and paws of a vulture, with long sharp claws, but with the head and chest of a woman.

Gorgon Medusa - a monster with a woman's face and snakes instead of hair, whose gaze turned a person to stone. According to legend, she was a beautiful girl with beautiful hair. Poseidon, seeing Medusa and falling in love, seduced her in the temple of Athena, for which the goddess of wisdom in anger turned the hair of the Gorgon Medusa into snakes. The Gorgon Medusa was defeated by Perseus, and her head was placed on the auspices of Athena.

Minotaur - a monster with a human body and a bull's head. He was born from the unnatural love of Pasiphae (wife of King Minos) and a bull. Minos hid the monster in the labyrinth of Knossos. Every eight years, 7 boys and 7 girls descended into the labyrinth, intended for the Minotaur as victims. Theseus defeated the Minotaur, and with the help of Ariadne, who gave him a ball of thread, got out of the labyrinth.

Cerberus (Cerberus) - this is a three-headed dog with a snake tail and snake heads on its back, guarding the exit from the kingdom of Hades, not allowing the dead to return to the kingdom of the living. Was defeated by Hercules during one of the exploits.

Scylla and Charybdis - These are sea monsters located at the distance of an arrow flight from each other. Charybdis is a sea whirlpool that absorbs and spews water three times a day. Scylla ("barking") - a monster in the form of a woman, whose lower body was turned into 6 dog heads. When the ship passed the rock where Scylla lived, the monster, opening all its mouths, abducted 6 people from the ship at once. The narrow strait between Scylla and Charybdis was a mortal danger to all who sailed through it.

Also in ancient Greece, there were other mythical characters.

Pegasus - a winged horse, a favorite of the muses. Flying at the speed of the wind. To ride a Pegasus meant to receive poetic inspiration. He was born at the origins of the Ocean, therefore he was named Pegasus (from the Greek "stormy current"). According to one version, he jumped out of the body of the Gorgon Medusa after Perseus cut off her head. Pegasus delivered thunder and lightning to Zeus on Olympus from Hephaestus, who made them.

From the foam of the sea, from the azure wave,

Faster than an arrow and more beautiful than a string,

An amazing fairytale horse is flying

And easily catches heavenly fire!

He likes to splash in colored clouds,

And often walks in magic verses.

So that the ray of inspiration in the soul does not go out,

I saddle you, snow-white Pegasus!

Unicorn – mythical creature symbolizing chastity. Usually depicted as a horse with one horn coming out of his forehead. The Greeks believed that the unicorn belonged to Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. Subsequently, in medieval legends, there was a version that only a virgin could tame him. Having caught a unicorn, it can only be held by a golden bridle.

centaurs - wild mortal creatures with the head and torso of a man on the body of a horse, inhabitants of mountains and forest thickets, accompany Dionysus and are distinguished by their violent temper and intemperance. Presumably, centaurs were originally the embodiment of mountain rivers and turbulent streams. In heroic myths, centaurs are the educators of heroes. For example, Achilles and Jason were raised by the centaur Chiron.

Hermes, in Greek mythology, the messenger of the gods, the patron of travelers, the guide of the souls of the dead, the god of commerce, profit, intelligence, dexterity, trickery, deceit, theft and eloquence, giving wealth and income in trade, the god of athletes. Patron of heralds, ambassadors, shepherds and travelers; patron of magic, alchemy and astrology. He invented measures, numbers, the alphabet and taught this to people.

Family and environment

To make his son Efalid immortal, Hermes endowed him with unlimited memory. As Apollonius of Rhodes wrote: "Even when he crossed Acheron, the river in the realm of the dead, oblivion did not swallow his soul; and although he lives either in the abode of shadows, or in the earthly world, flooded with sunlight, he always retains memories of what he saw ".

When the gods fled to Egypt, he turned into an ibis.

Name, epithets and character

Hermes Olympian deity of pre-Greek, possibly Asia Minor origin. The name of Hermes is understood as a derivative of the word "herm", which indicates the fetishistic antiquity of this deity. Herma was a stone column (either a pile of stones or a stone pillar) with a carved head of Hermes and underlined genitals.

At first, herms marked the places of burials, later they were installed at the crossroads and, along with the sacral function, served as road signs. They served as guiding signs, fetishes - guardians of roads, borders, gates (hence the epithet of Hermes "perverse" - "Propylaeus"). The Pillars of Hermes (herms, which looked like pillars with the head of Hermes) were widely used; they stood on the streets, in the squares and at the entrance to the palestras.

Hermes performs one of his most ancient functions as a conductor of the souls of the dead to Hades or an assistant on the way to realm of the dead, hence his epithet Psychopomp - "guide of souls". Hermes is equally entered into both worlds - life and death; he is the mediator between the one and the other, just as he is the mediator between gods and men. He leads Hera, Athena and Aphrodite to the judgment of Paris.

In the period of late antiquity, the image of Hermes Trismegist ("thrice greatest") arose in connection with the proximity of Hermes the other world; the occult sciences and the so-called hermetic (secret, closed, accessible only to initiates) writings were associated with this image.

Sometimes he was depicted with a lamb on his shoulders, as the patron of herds, hence another epithet Kriofor, that is, "carrying a ram." Other epithets of Hermes are also known: Agora "market", as the patron of trade; Akaket (or Akakesy) has one of the meanings "helper", "merciful" or "invulnerable", perhaps this epithet is associated with the city of Akakesy in Arcadia; Doliy "cunning"; Ktaros "profitable"; Tikhon "hitting the target", as bringing good luck; Trikefal "three-headed", as the patron saint of crossroads.

Hermes is a prankster and a merry fellow who loves practical jokes. He surpasses everyone in cunning, cunning and ingenuity, the cunning and dexterity of Hermes make him the patron of cheating and theft, it was not for nothing that thieves and cheaters considered him their patron.

In Roman mythology, he was revered under the name of Mercury. Among the Maeonians, Candaulus, the legendary king of Lydia, the last of the Heraclid dynasty, is identified with him.

Cult and symbolism

According to Herodotus, the Athenians were the first of the Hellenes to make an image of him with a tense member, having learned this from the Pelasgians, who had a sacred legend. Initially, Hermes is a phallic deity depicted by the herms. In 415 BC e. germs were destroyed. During the time of Rome, they lost contact with phallic cult Hermes and began to be made in the form of a rectangular column, on which a bust of a person or deity was erected.

The fetishistic rudiments of a god are found in such indispensable attributes of Hermes as "ambrosia" (literally "immortal") golden winged sandals "talaria" and a golden rod - kerikion or caduceus - the center magical power, which he received from Apollo. Caduceus had two snakes on it (in another version - two ribbons), which wrapped around the staff at the moment when Hermes decided to test it by placing it between two struggling snakes. God used his rod to put people to sleep or wake them up - in order to convey a message from the gods to one of the mortals. Another attribute of Hermes is the wide-brimmed petas hat.

In medieval book illustrations, Hermes is depicted as a symbol of the planet Mercury (in many European languages, mercury, which in alchemy until the 17th century was assigned exclusively important role, bore the name of this planet).

Hermes was honored as the patron of young athletes, stadiums were built in his honor, which were intended for various competitions of athletes, as well as schools in which gymnastics were practiced. These schools were decorated with sculptures of Hermes.

Pausanias cites a legend about the Boeotian city of Tanagra, which was saved by Hermes from the plague by carrying a ram on his shoulders around the city walls: Promachos (warrior) Concerning the first name, they say that Hermes averted pestilence from them by carrying a ram around their walls, therefore Kalamis also created a statue of Hermes carrying a ram on his shoulders. recognized as the most beautiful in appearance, walks around the city wall with a lamb on his shoulders.

Hermes was revered at the Anthesteria - the holiday of the awakening of spring and the memory of the dead. In Rome, merchants celebrated the feast of Mercury on May 15th. On this day in 495 B.C. the first temple was dedicated to him and the first college of Mercurial merchants was established. The altar to Hermes was also located at the so-called waters of Mercury, where merchants sprinkled their goods to keep them from spoiling.

Impact on culture and art

The III and XVII hymns of Homer, the XXVIII Orphic hymn are dedicated to him.

Hermes is the protagonist of the tragedies of Aeschylus "Eumenides" and "Chained Prometheus", the tragedies of Euripides "Antiope" and "Ion", the comedies of Aristophanes "The World" and "Plutos", the play of Astidamant Jr. "Hermes".

Numerous antique statues of Hermes - "Binding a Sandal", "Hermes of Belvedere", "Hermes of Olympia" and others. Among the works of ancient plastic art that have come down to us are: "Hermes with the baby Dionysus" by Praxiteles, "Hermes at rest" in a Roman copy; "Hermes Ludovisi", "Hermes Fariese" are also known. Among the herms is a Pergamon copy of the work of Alkamen. Among the reliefs "Hermes and Charites".

Sometimes Hermes was portrayed as the god of eloquence. In the symbolism of the Renaissance and Baroque, Hermes is the guide of souls (the relief of the Malatestian temple in Rimini; the fresco of Raphael "Hermes brings Psyche to Olympus"), the messenger of the gods (the statue "Mercury Giambologna"), the peacemaker (painting by P.P. Rubens "Reconciliation of Maria Medici with his son") and others. Often Hermes was depicted in the society of Charit Graces (J. Tintoretto "Mercury and the Three Graces"). Velasquez, Rembrandt, and others), "The Abduction of Admet's Herds by Mercury" (Domenichino, C. Lorrain, and others).

In the art of the 18th - early 19th centuries. the image of Hermes is embodied mainly in plastic (G.R. Donner, J.V. Pigalle, B. Thorvaldsen, etc.)

Hermes in modern times

(69230) Hermes- a near-Earth asteroid from the Apollo group, which is characterized by a highly elongated orbit, due to which, in the process of its movement around the Sun, it crosses the orbits of three planets at once: Venus, Earth and Mars. Discovered by Carl Reinmuth on October 28, 1937.

It is curious that in our time, entrepreneurs very often use the name of Hermes in the name of their trading companies.

Hermes (Hermius, Ermiy), Greek, Latin Mercury is the son of Zeus and the Pleiades Maya; the messenger of the gods and the guide of the souls of the dead in Hades, the god of merchants, orators, inventors, pilgrims and travelers, athletes, swindlers and thieves.

Hermes was the most dexterous, inventive and cunning of all the gods, which he proved on the very first day of his life. He was born in the morning (in a cave under Mount Cyllene in Arcadia), soon fled from his cradle, invented the lyre in the afternoon and learned to play it, then stole fifty cows from Apollo (and dragged them into the cave by their tails so that the tracks went in the opposite direction) , and in the evening, returning as if nothing had happened, wrapped himself in diapers and fell asleep with the most innocent look. When Apollo appeared to punish him, Hermes excused himself so cleverly and lied so shamelessly (he also learned to speak and lie in one day) that Apollo could not stand it and dragged him straight to Zeus. The tricks of the youngest son delighted the supreme god, but for the sake of order, he ordered the stolen cows to be returned. Instead of answering, Hermes took out a lyre and began to play so skillfully and beautifully that the delighted Apollo offered to leave him the stolen cows in exchange for a lyre. Hermes agreed, and Apollo, in joy, gave him a golden rod and good advice in addition: to go to Parnassus, to the local priestesses, so that they would teach him the art of divination. Following this advice, Hermes was fully trained for his future duties on Olympus.

However, Hermes did not get to Olympus immediately and not without difficulty. His mother, being a goddess of low rank, considered the society of the Olympian gods too refined and preferred to leave her son with her, on earth. Hermes guarded the flocks of the Arcadian shepherds, and in order not to be bored, he invented all sorts of things. Instead of the lyre, which he, Hermes invented a shepherd's pipe; not wanting to bother with kindling a fire the old fashioned way, he invented the steel. Later he also invented numbers, measures and the alphabet. Finally, earthly life got bored with Hermes, and he began to ask his mother to go to Olympus. When the mother doubted whether the gods would accept him into their company, Hermes declared that in this case he would gather a gang of robbers and become their leader. This argument seemed to Maya very convincing, and she let her son go.

Contrary to expectations, the gods gave him a warm welcome, as they had already heard about many of his tricks. Zeus immediately entrusted Hermes with a responsible post: he appointed him his personal messenger. True, the goddess of the rainbow Irida performed the same functions, but Hermes quickly surpassed her: if Irida only transmitted the orders of Zeus, then Hermes carried them out. Soon he expanded the circle of his clientele and became not only a messenger, but also an adviser to the other gods. However, he most willingly worked for Zeus, who entrusted him with particularly delicate and complex matters. Hermes carried out all the instructions successfully and on time (see, for example, the articles "" and "Io"). Ares was rescued by Hermes from the copper barrel in which the Aloades hid him. Many heroes were grateful to Hermes for help, including Perseus, Hercules, Orpheus, Odysseus. By order of Zeus, he resurrected the young Pelops, who was killed by his father, Tantalus.

Just like the gods and heroes, Hermes also helped mere mortals who turned to him. He protected the herds of simple shepherds, accompanied travelers, gave strength and agility to athletes, speed of legs to runners, helped merchants to make a profit - in general, any diligent worker could receive support from him. Hermes did not refuse to help even swindlers and thieves, but only on the condition that they acted wisely. Fools and lazy people had nothing to expect from Hermes, so only they complained about him.

Due to the many tasks and assignments, Hermes did not have enough time to get married. However, this does not mean that he did not leave behind descendants. The beauty Polymela from gave him a son, Eudora, who was one of the leaders in the Trojan War. The nymph Themis (or Carmenta) gave birth to his son Evander, the fruit of the love of Hermes and the goddess Aphrodite was Hermaphrodite. Some authors claim that his sons were Silenus, Satyr and Pan. Of the rest of his sons, Daphnis is also known. Odysseus and Sisyphus considered Hermes their ancestor.

The Greeks worshiped Hermes from ancient times; this is evidenced at least by the monuments of the linear letter "B", belonging to the 13-14 centuries. BC e. and found at Knossos. Approximately in the 3rd c. BC e. his cult was adopted by the Romans and identified with their god of trade and profit, Mercury. Initially, he was the god - the patron of herds and, accordingly, the giver of wealth, which stemmed from the breeding of livestock. With the development of the market economy, Hermes became the god of trade, and since trade is associated with travel, and sometimes with fraud, he became at the same time the god of travelers and swindlers. Thieves respected him for his thieving talent, shown on the very first day after birth (Hermes demonstrated it later - for example, he jokingly stole a scepter from Zeus, a trident from Poseidon, and a sword from Ares). Messengers, heralds and ambassadors saw their patron and protector in Hermes, as well as, oddly enough, doctors, since he knew how to heal and knew a lot about healing herbs, and athletes, for whom this "swift god" was a model of dexterity and agility.

The functions and adventures of Hermes are known to us from many literary monuments, beginning with the Iliad and the Odyssey; the longest of Homer's hymns is also dedicated to him. He was the central figure in Sophocles' comic play The Bloodhounds (about half of the text survives). The Greeks imagined Hermes in two guises: as ancient god pastors, he looked like a bearded old man, like a messenger of the gods - a slender young man with a caduceus scepter and wings on his legs and on his helmet. Statues of Hermes were placed, in particular, at crossroads (germs are tetrahedral pillars with the image of his head and with inscriptions telling where the road leads), they often decorated medical institutions and almost always sports facilities.

Of the ancient images of Hermes today, undoubtedly, the marble original of the statue of Praxiteles "Hermes with the baby Dionysus" (c. 340 BC), discovered in 1877 by German archaeologists in Olympia, occupies the first place. Many Roman copies of Greek originals by Lysippos and the disciples of Praxiteles have survived. On numerous vases, Hermes is mainly depicted as the guide of the souls of the dead to the afterlife.

Since the Renaissance, Hermes has been one of the most frequently depicted ancient gods, so it is almost impossible to list even his best statues; we will name only the names of several authors: Sansovino, Giambologna, De Vries, J. B. Pigalle. Among the European artists who portrayed Hermes were Correggio, Tintoretto, Rubens and others.

Hermes with his attributes (especially the winged hat) in the last century adorned almost every bank, insurance office, chamber of commerce, etc. - there is no need to talk about masterpieces of art. He had more luck with poets and composers. Vrchlicki dedicated his poems "Flying Mercury" (1899) and "Hermes" (1891) to him, Haydn - one of his symphonies, Vranitzky - an opera. Since ancient times, the name Hermes has been borne by the planet closest to the Sun (the Latin form is used: Mercury).

In the photo: Hermes Birkin fashion bag

The main gods in Ancient Hellas were those that belonged to the younger generation of celestials. Once it took power over the world from the older generation, personifying the main universal forces and elements (see about this in the article The Origin of the Gods of Ancient Greece). The gods of the older generation are usually called titans. Having defeated the titans, the younger gods, led by Zeus, settled on Mount Olympus. The ancient Greeks honored 12 Olympian gods. Their list usually included Zeus, Hera, Athena, Hephaestus, Apollo, Artemis, Poseidon, Ares, Aphrodite, Demeter, Hermes, Hestia. Hades is also close to the Olympian gods, but he does not live on Olympus, but in his underworld.

Gods of Ancient Greece. video film

God Poseidon (Neptune). Antique statue of the 2nd century. according to R.H.

Olympian goddess Artemis. Statue in the Louvre

Statue of Athena the Virgin in the Parthenon. Ancient Greek sculptor Phidias

Venus (Aphrodite) de Milo. Statue ca. 130-100 BC

Eros Earthly and Heavenly. Artist G. Baglione, 1602

Hymen Companion of Aphrodite, god of marriage. According to his name, wedding hymns were also called hymens in ancient Greece.

Daughter of Demeter, kidnapped by the god Hades. The inconsolable mother, after a long search, found Persephone in the underworld. Hades, who made her his wife, agreed that she would spend part of the year on earth with her mother, and the other with him in the bowels of the earth. Persephone was the personification of the grain, which, being "dead" sown in the ground, then "comes to life" and comes out of it into the light.

The Abduction of Persephone. Antique jug, ca. 330-320 BC

Amphitrite Poseidon's wife, one of the Nereids

Proteus One of the Greek sea deities. The son of Poseidon, who had the gift to predict the future and change his appearance

Triton- the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, the messenger of the deep sea, trumpeting the shell. By appearance- a mixture of man, horse and fish. Close to the eastern god Dagon.

Eirene- the goddess of the world, standing at the throne of Zeus on Olympus. AT Ancient Rome- Goddess Pax.

Nika- goddess of victory. Constant companion of Zeus. In Roman mythology - Victoria

Dike- in ancient Greece - the personification of divine truth, a goddess hostile to deceit

Tyukhe- Goddess of good luck and luck. The Romans - Fortuna

Morpheus- the ancient Greek god of dreams, the son of the god of sleep Hypnos

Plutus- god of wealth

Phobos("Fear") - the son and companion of Ares

Deimos("Horror") - the son and companion of Ares

Enyo- among the ancient Greeks - the goddess of violent war, which causes rage in the fighters and brings confusion to the battle. In Ancient Rome - Bellona

Titans

The Titans are the second generation of the gods of Ancient Greece, born of the elements of nature. The first titans were six sons and six daughters, descended from the connection of Gaia-Earth with Uranus-Sky. Six sons: Kron (Time. for the Romans - Saturn), Ocean (father of all rivers), Hyperion, Kay, Crius, Iapetus. Six daughters: Tethys(Water), Theia(Shine), Rhea(Mother Mountain?), Themis (Justice), Mnemosyne(Memory), Phoebe.

Uranus and Gaia. Ancient Roman mosaic 200-250 A.D.

In addition to the titans, Gaia gave birth to Cyclopes and Hecatoncheirs from marriage with Uranus.

cyclops- three giants with a large, round, fiery eye in the middle of the forehead. In ancient times - the personification of the clouds, from which lightning sparkles

Hecatoncheires- "hundred-armed" giants, against whose terrible power nothing can resist. Embodiments of terrible earthquakes and floods.

The Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires were so strong that Uranus himself was horrified by their power. He tied them up and threw them into the depths of the earth, where they still rage, causing volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The stay of these giants in the womb of the earth began to cause her terrible suffering. Gaia persuaded her youngest son, Kronos, to take revenge on her father, Uranus, by castrating him.

Kron made it with a sickle. From the drops of blood of Uranus shed at the same time, Gaia conceived and gave birth to three Erinyes - goddesses of vengeance with snakes on their heads instead of hair. Erinnia's names are Tisiphone (killing avenger), Alecto (tireless pursuer) and Megara (terrible). From that part of the seed and blood of castrated Uranus that fell not on the ground, but in the sea, the goddess of love Aphrodite was born.

Night-Nyukta, in anger at the lawlessness of Kron, gave birth to terrible creatures and deities of Tanata (Death), Eridu(Discord) Apatou(Deceit), goddesses of violent death Ker, Hypnos(Dream-Nightmare) Nemesis(Revenge), Gerasa(Old age), Charon(carrier of the dead to the underworld).

Power over the world has now passed from Uranus to the Titans. They divided the universe among themselves. Kron instead of a father became supreme god. The ocean received power over a huge river, which, according to the ideas of the ancient Greeks, flows around the whole earth. Four other brothers Kronos reigned in the four cardinal directions: Hyperion - in the East, Crius - in the south, Iapetus - in the West, Kay - in the North.

Four of the six Elder Titans married their sisters. From them came the younger generation of titans and elemental deities. From the marriage of Oceanus with his sister Tethys (Water), all earthly rivers and water nymphs-Oceanids were born. The titan Hyperion - ("high-walking") took his sister Teia (Shine) as his wife. From them were born Helios (Sun), Selena(moon) and Eos(Dawn). From Eos were born the stars and the four gods of the winds: Boreas(North wind), Note(South wind), Zephyr(west wind) and Evre(Eastern wind). The titans Kay (Celestial Axis?) and Phoebe gave birth to Leto (Night Silence, mother of Apollo and Artemis) and Asteria (Starlight). Kron himself married Rhea (Mother Mountain, the personification of the productive forces of mountains and forests). Their children are the Olympic gods Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Zeus.

The titan Crius married the daughter of Pontus Eurybia, and the titan Iapetus married the oceanid Clymene, who gave birth from him to the titans Atlanta (he holds the sky on his shoulders), the arrogant Menetius, the cunning Prometheus (“thinking before, foreseeing”) and the feeble-minded Epimetheus (“thinking after").

From these titans came others:

Hesperus- god of the evening and the evening star. His daughters from the night, Nyukta, are the nymphs of the Hesperides, who guard a garden with golden apples on the western edge of the earth, once presented by Gaia-Earth to the goddess Hera during her marriage to Zeus

Ora- goddesses of parts of the day, seasons and periods human life.

Charites- the goddess of grace, fun and joy of life. There are three of them - Aglaya ("Glee"), Euphrosyne ("Joy") and Thalia ("Abundance"). A number of Greek writers have charites with other names. In ancient Rome, they corresponded graces

The religion of ancient Greece has two main characteristics:

Polytheism (polytheism). With all the many Greek gods, 12 main ones can be distinguished. The pantheon of common Greek gods developed in the era of the classics.

Each deity in the Greek pantheon performed strictly defined functions:

• Zeus - chief god, ruler of heaven, thunderer, personified strength and power
• Hera - the wife of Zeus, the goddess of marriage, the patroness of the family. The image of Hera grew out of the image of the cow goddess, the patroness of Mycenae
• Poseidon is the brother of Zeus. Poseidon was an ancient sea deity of the Pelaponnese. The cult of Poseidon, having absorbed a number of local cults, became the god of the sea and the patron of horses.
• Athena is the goddess of wisdom, just war. Athena - ancient deity- patroness of cities and city fortifications. Her other name - Pallas - is also an epithet, meaning "Spear Shaker". According to classical mythology, Athena acts as a warrior goddess, she was depicted in full armor
• Aphrodite - the idealized personification of femininity, the goddess of love and beauty, born from sea foam
• Ares - god of war
• Artemis is one of the most revered deities of the Greeks. It is usually believed that the cult of Artemis originated in Asia Minor, where she was considered the patroness of fertility. In classical mythology, Artemis appears as a virgin goddess-hunter, usually with her companion - a doe.
• · Apollo in the Pelaponesse was considered a shepherd deity. Around Thebes, Apollo Ismenius was revered: this epithet is the name of a local river, which was once deified by the inhabitants. Apollo later became one of the most popular gods of Greece. He is considered the embodiment of the national spirit. The main functions of Apollo: divination of the future, patronage of the sciences and arts, healing, cleansing from all filth, the deity of light, the correct, orderly world order
• Hermes - the god of eloquence, trade and theft, the messenger of the gods, the guide of the souls of the dead to the kingdom of Hades - the god of the underworld
• Hephaestus - the god of fire, the patron of artisans and especially blacksmiths
• Demeter - goddess of fertility, patroness of agriculture
• Hestia - goddess of the hearth

ancient greek gods lived on the snow-covered Mount Olympus. In addition to the gods, there was a cult of heroes - semi-deities born from the marriage of gods and mortals. Hermes, Theseus, Jason, Orpheus are the heroes of many ancient Greek poems and myths.

The second feature of the ancient Greek religion is anthropomorphism - the human likeness of the gods.

The ancient Greeks understood the deity as the Absolute. Cosmos is an absolute deity, and ancient gods are those ideas that are embodied in space, these are the laws of nature that govern it. Therefore, all the virtues and all the shortcomings of nature and human life are reflected in the gods. The ancient Greek gods have the appearance of a person, they are similar to him not only outwardly, but in behavior: they have wives and husbands, enter into relationships similar to human ones, have children, fall in love, are jealous, take revenge, i.e., they have the same advantages and disadvantages, as mortals It can be said that the gods are absolutized people. This feature influenced the whole character of ancient Greek civilization, determined its main feature - humanism.

The anthropomorphic essence of the gods naturally suggests that one can achieve their favor by material means - gifts (including human and other sacrifices), persuasion (that is, turn to them with a prayer, which, among other things, can have the character of self-praise or even deceit ) or special actions.

Antique culture grows on the basis of the pantheism of the ancient Greek religion, which arises as a result of a sensual understanding of the cosmos: ideal gods are only a generalization of the corresponding areas of nature, both rational and unreasonable. This is destiny, realized as a necessity, and it is impossible to go beyond it. From this we can conclude that ancient culture develops under the sign of fatalism, which the ancient man overcomes with ease, fighting fate like a hero. This is the meaning of life.

Therefore, the cult of the hero is especially characteristic of ancient Greek culture. In antiquity there is an amazing synthesis of fatalism and heroism, arising from a special understanding of freedom. Freedom of action breeds heroism. Pantheism and the cult of heroes are most pronounced in ancient Greek mythology.

Cosmogonic themes in folk beliefs did not occupy a prominent place. The idea of ​​a creator god was absent in this religion. According to Hesiod, Earth, Darkness, Night, and then Light, Ether, Day, Sky, Sea and other great forces of nature were born from Chaos. From Heaven and Earth, the older generation of gods was born, and from them already Zeus and other Olympic gods.