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Ancient Greek Heroes. Heroes of ancient myths

Ancient Greek Heroes. Heroes of ancient myths

06.04.2019

Greek myths about gods, goddesses, and heroes date back to the Bronze Age, the time of oral tradition. They were first recorded at the beginning of the 6th century. BC. and have continued to live in Western literature ever since. Myths were closely connected with the beliefs of the ancient Greeks and interpreted the mysteries of nature. They told about the creation of the world, about the deeds of deities, about the golden age of ancient Greek society, about the age of demigod heroes such as Theseus and Hercules, whose exploits inspired ordinary people. The Greeks represented the gods in the form of ideal people who possessed all the feelings inherent in man. The gods lived on Mount Olympus. The supreme god Zeus was considered the father of many Olympians. Each member of the Olympic family was assigned a divine role.

Zeus- the father of gods and people, ruled them from Mount Olympus.
Eris goddess of discord.
Klymene, mother Prometheus who gave people fire.
Hera wife of Zeus, was very jealous.
Athena came out of the head of Zeus in full combat attire, in Greek mythology there was a goddess of wisdom, strategy and war.
Poseidon, god of the seas, one of the brothers of Zeus. The symbol of his power is a trident. Myths bring to us stories about the betrayals of Poseidon to his wife, the sea goddess amphitrite who was the goddess of the sea in Greek mythology. This statue is kept in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
Paris must award the golden apple to the most beautiful of the goddesses. The dog of Paris helped him tend the flocks on Mount Ida, where the prince grew up.
Dionysus, the god of viticulture and wine, Zeus gave birth from his thigh.
Hades And Persephone ruled the realms of the dead and the souls of the dead. Hades kidnapped Persephone from her mother Demeter, goddess of fertility. Enraged, Demeter sent famine to the earth, and then Zeus decided that Persephone would live with her mother for part of the year.
Artemis, goddess of the hunt, daughter of Zeus and sister of Apollo. She is armed with a bow and arrows. The eternally young goddess is surrounded by dogs and nymphs. Having taken a vow of chastity, she, however, was also the goddess of childbearing.
Hermes was the messenger of the gods.
Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was born from the foam of the sea.
Apollo, the son of Zeus and the brother of Artemis, the healer and soothsayer god, the patron of the arts, was unusually handsome.

Labors of Hercules. Hercules(among the Romans - Hercules) - the greatest of the Greek heroes, the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. Endowed with superhuman strength, he achieved success and immortality by completing 12 tasks of the Mycenaean king Eurystheus, which seemed impossible.
First, he defeated the Nemean lion, whose skin he always wore on himself from then on.
The second feat of Hercules was the victory over the Lernean Hydra. The severed heads of this poisonous monster, grown by Hera, immediately grew again. As in his other exploits, Hercules was helped by Athena.
Then there was a huge boar that was devastating Mount Erimanf. Hercules delivered him to King Eurystheus alive. The king was so frightened that he hid in a large jar.
The sixth feat was the extermination of the Stymphalian birds. Hercules saved Lake Stymphalia from man-eating birds with copper beaks: frightening the birds with bronze rattles, he killed them with stones fired from a sling.

The meaning of the word HEROES in the Directory of Characters and Cult Objects of Greek Mythology

HEROES

In Greek mythology, the son or offspring of a deity and a mortal man. In Homer, a hero is usually called a brave warrior (in the Iliad) or a noble person who has glorious ancestors (in the Odyssey). For the first time, Hesiod calls the “genus of heroes” created by Zeus “demigods”. In the dictionary of Hesychius of Alexandria (6th century), the concept of Hero is explained as "powerful, strong, noble, significant." Modern etymologists give different interpretations of this word, highlighting, however, the function of protection, patronage (root *ser-, variant *swer-, *wer-, cf. lat. servare, "protect", "save"), as well as bringing it closer to the name of the goddess Hera. The history of Heroes refers to the so-called. the classical or Olympic period of Greek mythology (2nd millennium BC, flourishing - - middle of the 2nd millennium BC) associated with the strengthening of the patriarchy and the flourishing of Mycenaean Greece. The Olympic gods, who overthrew the titans, in the struggle against the pre-Olympic world of the monstrous creatures of mother earth - Gaia, create generations of Heroes by marrying the mortal race. Known so-called. catalogs of Heroes indicating their parents and place of birth (Hes. Theog. 240-1022; frg. 1-153; Apoll. Rhod. I 23-233). Sometimes the Hero does not know his father, is brought up by his mother and goes in search, performing feats along the way (see Theseus). The hero is called upon to fulfill the will of the Olympians on earth among people, ordering life and introducing justice, measure, laws into it, despite the long-standing spontaneity and disharmony. Usually the Hero is endowed with exorbitant strength and superhuman abilities, but he is deprived of immortality, which remains the privilege of a deity. Hence the discrepancy and contradiction between the limited possibilities of a mortal being and the desire of the Heroes to assert themselves in immortality. There are myths about the attempts of the gods to make the Heroes immortal; so, Thetis tempers Achilles in the fire, burning out everything mortal in him and anointing him with ambrosia (Apollod. III13, 6), or Demeter, patronizing the Athenian kings, tempers their son Denophon (Hymn. Hom. V 239-262). In both cases, the goddesses are hindered by unreasonable mortal parents (Peleus is the father of Achilles, Metanira is the mother of Demophon). The desire to upset the primordial balance of the forces of death and the immortal world fundamentally fails and is punished by Zeus. So, Asclepius, the son of Apollo and the mortal woman Koronida, who tried to resurrect people, that is, to grant them immortality, was struck by lightning from Zeus (Apollod. III 10, 3-4). Hercules stole the apples of the Hesperides, which bestowed eternal youth, but then Athena returned them to their place (Apollod. II 5, 11). Orpheus's unsuccessful attempt to bring Eurydice back to life (Apollod. I 3, 2). The impossibility of personal immortality is compensated in the heroic world by deeds and glory (immortality) among the descendants. The personality of the Hero is mostly dramatic, because the life of one Hero is not enough to realize the plans of the gods. Therefore, the idea of the suffering of a heroic personality and the endless overcoming of trials and difficulties is strengthened in myths. The hero is often persecuted by a hostile deity (eg, Hercules is pursued by Hera, Apollod. II 1, 8) and is dependent on a weak, insignificant person through whom the hostile deity acts (eg, Hercules is subordinate to Eurystheus). It takes more than one generation of Heroes to create a great Hero. Zeus marries mortal women three times (Io, Danae and Alcmene) so that after thirty generations (Aeschyl. Prom. 774) Hercules is born, among whose ancestors were already Danae, Perseus and other sons and descendants of Zeus. Thus, there is an increase in heroic power, reaching its apotheosis in the myths about common Greek Heroes, such as Hercules. Early heroic exploits of Heroes destroying monsters: the struggle of Perseus with the Gorgon, Bellerophon with the Chimera, a number of exploits of Hercules, the apex of which is the struggle with Hades (Apollod. II 7, 3). Late heroism is associated with the intellectualization of the Heroes, his cultural functions (the skillful master Daedalus or the builders of the Theban walls Zeta and Amphion). Among the Heroes are singers and musicians who have mastered the magic of words and rhythm, tamers of the elements (Orpheus), soothsayers (Tiresias, Kalkhant, Trophonius), guessers of riddles (Oedipus), cunning and inquisitive (Odysseus), legislators (Theseus). Regardless of the nature of heroism, the exploits of the Hero are always accompanied by the help of a divine parent (Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon) or a god whose functions are close to the character of this or that Hero (the wise Athena helps the clever Odysseus). Often the rivalry of the gods and their fundamental difference from each other affects the fate of the Hero (the death of Hippolytus as a result of the dispute between Aphrodite and Artemis; the violent Poseidon pursues Odysseus in defiance of the wise Athena; Hera, the patroness of monogamy, hates Hercules, the son of Zeus and Alcmene). Often the Hero experiences a painful death (self-immolation of Hercules), dies at the hands of a treacherous villain (Theseus), at the behest of a hostile deity (Gyakinf, Orpheus, Hippolytus). At the same time, the exploits and sufferings of the Hero are considered as a kind of test, the reward for which comes after death. Hercules gains immortality on Olympus, having received the goddess Hebe as his wife (Hes. Theog. 950-955). However, according to another version, Hercules himself is on Olympus, and his shadow wanders in Hades (Nom. Od. XI 601-604), which indicates the duality and instability of the deification of the Hero. Killed near Troy, Achilles then ends up on the island of Levka (an analogue of the islands of the blessed), where he marries Helen (Paus. III 19, 11 - 13) or Medea in the Champs Elysees (Apoll. Rhod. IV 811 - 814), Menelaus ( son-in-law of Zeus), without experiencing death, is transferred to the Champs Elysees (Nom. Od. IV 561 - 568). Hesiod, however, considers it obligatory for most of the Heroes to migrate to the islands of the blessed (Orr. 167-173). The son of Apollo, Asclepius, killed by Zeus' lightning, is thought of as the hypostasis of Apollo, acquires the divine functions of a healer, and his cult even supplants the cult of his father Apollo in Epidaurus. The only Hero - the demigod Dionysus, the son of Zeus and Semele, becomes a deity during his lifetime; but this transformation into a god is prepared by the birth, death and resurrection of Zagreus, the archaic hypostasis of Dionysus, the son of Zeus of Crete and the goddess Persephone (Nonn. Dion. VI 155-388). In the song of the Eleatic women, the god Dionysus is addressed as Dionysus the Hero (Anthologia. lyrica graeca. ed. Diehl, Lips., 1925, II p. 206, frg. 46). Thus. Hercules was a model for the idea of a Hero - a god (Pind. Nem. III 22), and Dionysus was considered a Hero among the gods. The development of heroism and independence of the Heroes leads to their opposition to the gods, to their insolence and even crimes that accumulate in the generations of heroic dynasties, leading to the death of the Hero. There are myths about the birth curse experienced by the Heroes of the end of the classical Olympic period, corresponding to the time of the decline of Mycenaean dominion. Such are the myths about the curses that gravitate over the genus of Atrids (or Tantalides) (Tantalus, Pelops, Atreus, Fiesta, Agamemnon, Aegisthus, Orestes), Cadmids (children and grandchildren of Cadmus - Ino, Agave, Pentheus, Actaeon), Labdacids (Oedipus and his sons), Alkmeonides. Myths are also created about the death of the entire family of the Hero (myths about the war of the seven against Thebes and the Trojan War). Hesiod considers them as wars in which the Heroes exterminated each other (Orr. 156-165). In the beginning. 1st millennium BC e. the cult of the dead Heroes, completely unfamiliar to Homeric poems, but known from the Mycenaean royal burials, is becoming widespread. The cult of the Hero reflected the idea of a divine reward after death, the belief in the continuation of the Hero's intercession and patronage of his people. Sacrifices were offered at the graves of heroes (cf. sacrifices to Agamemnon in Aeschylus's Choephors), sacred sites were assigned to them (for example, to Oedipus in Colon), singing competitions were held near their burials (in honor of Amphidamantus in Chalkis with the participation of Hesiod, Orr. 654-657). Lamentations (or frens) for the Heroes, glorifying their deeds, served as one of the sources of epic songs (cf. "glorious deeds of men" sung by Achilles, Nom. II. IX 189). The common Greek Hero Hercules was considered the founder of the Nemean Games (Pind. Nem. I). Sacrifices were offered to him in different temples: in some as an immortal Olympian, in others as a Hero (Herodot. II 44). Some Heroes were perceived as hypostases of God, for example. Zeus (cf. Zeus - Agamemnon, Zeus - Amphiaraus, Zeus - Trophonius), Poseidon (cf. Poseidon - Erechtheus). Where the activities of the Heroes were glorified, temples were built (the temple of Asclepius in Epidaurus), at the place of his disappearance, the oracle was questioned (the cave and the oracle of Trophonius, Paus. IX 39, 5). In the 7th - 6th centuries. BC e. with the development of the cult of Dionysus, the cult of some ancient Heroes - the eponyms of cities - lost its significance (for example, in Sicyon, under the tyrant Cleisthenes, the veneration of Adrast was replaced by the veneration of Dionysus, Herodot. V 67). Religious and cult heroism, consecrated by the polis system, played an important political role in Greece. The hero was thought of as a defender of the policy, an intermediary between gods and people, a representative for people before God. After the end of the Greco-Persian War (according to Plutarch), at the behest of the Pythia, the remains of Theseus were transferred from the island of Skyros to Athens. At the same time, sacrifices were made to heroes who fell in battle, for example. under Plataea (Plut. Artist. 21). Hence the deification after death and the inclusion of famous historical figures among the Heroes (Sophocles after death became a Hero named Dexion). The honorary title of Hero was received after death by outstanding commanders (for example, Brasidas after the battle of Amphipolis, Thuc. V 11, 1). The cult of these heroes was influenced by the ancient veneration of mythological Heroes, who began to be perceived as ancestors - the patrons of the family, clan and policy. The hero as a universal category of characters that is found in any mythology can rarely be distinguished terminologically as clearly as in Greek mythology. In archaic mythologies, the Hero is very often classified together with great ancestors, and in more developed mythologies they turn out to be legendary ancient kings or military leaders, including those bearing historical names. Some researchers (Sh. Otran, F. Raglan and others) directly trace the genesis of the mythological Heroes to the phenomenon of the king-sorcerer (priest), described by J. Fraser in The Golden Bough, and even see the Hero as a ritual hypostasis of a deity (Raglan). However, this view is inapplicable to the most archaic systems, which are characterized by the idea of the Hero as the ancestor, participating in creation, inventing "kitchen" fire, cultivated plants, introducing social and religious institutions, etc., i.e. acting as a cultural hero and demiurge. Unlike the gods (spirits) who are able to create cosmic and cultural objects in a purely magical way, verbally naming them, “extract” them one way or another from you, Heroes mostly find and extract these objects ready, but in remote places, other worlds , while overcoming various difficulties, taking or stealing them (as cultural heroes) from the original guardians, or Heroes make these objects like potters, blacksmiths (like demiurges), Usually the scheme of the creation myth as a minimum set of "roles" includes a subject, an object and source (the material from which the object is cast/made). If the role of the subject of creation instead of the deity is played by the Hero - the getter, then this usually leads to the appearance of an additional role for him as an antagonist. Spatial mobility and numerous contacts of the Hero, especially hostile ones, contribute to the narrative development of the myth (up to its transformation into a fairy tale or heroic epic). In more developed mythologies, the Hero explicitly represents the forces of the cosmos in the struggle against the forces of chaos - chthonic monsters or other demonic creatures that interfere with the peaceful life of gods and people. Only in the process of the beginning "historicization" of the myth in epic texts do the Heroes acquire the appearance of quasi-historical characters, and their demonic opponents can appear as foreign "invaders" of other faiths. Accordingly, in fairy tale texts, mythical Heroes are replaced by conditional figures of knights, princes, and even peasant sons (including younger sons and other heroes who “do not show promise”), defeating fairy-tale monsters by force, or cunning, or magic. Mythical Heroes intercede on behalf of the human (ethnic) community before the gods and spirits, often acting as intermediaries (mediators) between various mythical worlds. In many cases, the role is remotely comparable to the role of shamans (see Shamanic mythology). Heroes sometimes act on the initiative of the gods or with their help, but they are, as a rule, much more active than the gods, and this activity is, in a certain sense, their specificity. The activity of the Hero in the developed examples of myth and epic contributes to the formation of a special heroic character - bold, frantic, prone to overestimating one's own strengths (cf. Gilgamesh, Achilles, Heroes of the German epic, etc.). But even within the class of gods, active characters can sometimes be singled out, performing the function of mediation between parts of the cosmos, overcoming demonic opponents in the struggle. Such gods - Heroes are, for example, Thor in Scandinavian mythology. Marduk is in Babylonian. On the other hand, Heroes of even divine origin and endowed with “divine” power can sometimes quite clearly and even sharply oppose the gods. Gilgamesh, described in the Akkadian poem "Enuma Elish" as a being two-thirds divine and in many qualities superior to the gods, still cannot be compared with the gods, and his attempt to achieve immortality ends in failure. In some cases, the violent nature of the Hero or the consciousness of internal superiority over the gods lead to the Hero's fight against God (cf. Greek Prometheus and similar Heroes of the mythology of the Caucasian-Iberian peoples: Amirani, Abrskila, Artavazda, and also Batradz). Heroes need supernatural power to perform feats, which is only partially inherent in them from birth, usually due to divine origin. Heroes need the help of gods or spirits (later on, this need of Heroes decreases in the heroic epic and increases even more in a fairy tale, where miraculous helpers often act for the Hero), and this help is mostly acquired through a certain skill and trials such as initiatory trials, i.e. e. initiation (see Initiation and myths), workshops in archaic societies. Apparently, the reflection of the rites of initiation is the obligatory departure or expulsion of the Hero from his society in the heroic myth, temporary isolation and wanderings in other countries, in heaven or in the lower world, where contacts with spirits take place, the acquisition of helper spirits, the struggle with some demonic opponents. A specific symbolic motif associated with initiation is the swallowing of the young Hero by a monster and the subsequent release from his womb. In many cases (and this just indicates a connection with initiation), the initiator of the trials is the divine father (or uncle) of the Hero or the leader of the tribe, who gives the Hero “difficult tasks” or expel him from the tribe. Exile (difficult tasks) is sometimes motivated by the Hero's transgression (breaking a taboo) or the danger he poses to the father (chief). The Young Hero often violates various prohibitions and even often commits incest, which simultaneously signals his heroic exclusivity and attained maturity (and perhaps also the decrepitude of his father-leader). Tests can take the form of persecution in myth, attempts at guidance by a god (father, king) or demonic beings (evil spirits); The hero can turn into a mystery victim, passing through temporary death (departure / return - death / resurrection). In one form or another, trials are an essential element of heroic mythology. The story of the miraculous (at any rate, unusual) birth of the Hero, his amazing abilities and early maturity, his training and especially preliminary trials, the various vicissitudes of the heroic childhood form an important part of the heroic myth and precede the description of the most important feats of general importance for society. The biographical "beginning" in heroic myth is in principle analogous to the cosmic "beginning" in cosmogonic or etiological myth. Only here the ordering of chaos is not related to the world as a whole, but to the formation of a person who turns into a Hero who serves his society and is able to further maintain cosmic order. In practice, however, the Hero's preliminary trials in the process of his social upbringing and the main deeds are often so intertwined in the plot that it is difficult to separate them clearly. The heroic biography sometimes also includes the story of the Hero's marriage (with the corresponding competitions and trials on the part of the wonderful bride or her father; this motif is especially richly developed in the fairy tale), and sometimes the story of his death, interpreted in many cases as a temporary departure to another peace with the perspective of return/resurrection. The heroic biography is quite clearly correlated with the cycle of "transitional" rites that accompany birth, initiation, marriage and death. But at the same time, the heroic myth itself, by virtue of the paradigmatic function of the myth, should serve as a model for the performance of transitional rites (especially initiation) in the course of the social education of full members of the tribe, religious or social group, as well as in the course of the entire life cycle and the normal change of generations. The heroic myth is the most important source of the formation of both the heroic epic and the fairy tale.

Characters and cult objects of Greek mythology. 2012

Slavic heroes

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

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

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

Oleg and Valentina Svetovid are mystics, experts in esotericism and occultism, authors of 14 books.

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mythical names

Mythical male and female names and their meaning

mythical names- these are names taken from Roman, Greek, Scandinavian, Slavic, Egyptian and other mythology.

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mythical names. Mythical male and female names and their meaning

Agamemnon- one of the main heroes of the ancient Greek national epic, the son of the Mycenaean king Atreus and Aeropa, the leader of the Greek army during the Trojan War.

Amphitryon- the son of the king of Tiryns Alkey and the daughter of Pelop Astidamia, the grandson of Perseus. Amphitryon took part in the war against the teleboys who lived on the island of Taphos, which was waged by his uncle, the Mycenaean king Electrion.

Achilles- in Greek mythology, one of the greatest heroes, the son of King Peleus, the king of the Myrmidons and the sea goddess Thetis, the grandson of Aeacus, the protagonist of the Iliad.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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