Akhtamar (Armenian legend).
Long time ago, in time immemorial, King Artashez had a beautiful daughter named Tamar. Tamar's eyes shone like stars in the night, and her skin turned white like snow on the mountains. Her laughter gurgled and rang like water from a spring. The fame of her beauty went everywhere. And the king of Media sent matchmakers to the king Artashez, and the king of Syria, and many kings and princes. And King Artashez began to fear that someone would come for the beauty with the war, or the evil vishap would kidnap the girl before he decided who to give his daughter as a wife.
And then the king ordered to build a golden palace for his daughter on an island in the middle of Lake Van, which has long been called the "Nairi Sea", so great it is. And he gave her only women and girls as servants, so that no one would disturb the peace of the beauty. But the king did not know, just as other fathers before him did not know, and other fathers after him would not know, that Tamar's heart was no longer free. And she gave it not to the king and not to the prince, but to the poor Azat, who had nothing in the world except beauty, strength and courage. Who remembers now what his name was? And Tamar managed to exchange with the young man a look and a word, an oath and a kiss.
But now the waters of Van lie between the lovers.
Tamar knew that, by order of her father, guards were watching day and night to see if a boat was sailing from the shore to the forbidden island. Her lover knew this too. And one evening, wandering in anguish along the coast of Van, he saw a distant fire on the island. Small as a spark, he trembled in the darkness, as if trying to say something. And looking into the distance, the young man whispered:
Distant bonfire, do you send me your light?
Aren't you the beauties dear hello?
And the light, as if answering him, flared brighter.
Then the young man realized that his beloved was calling him. If you swim across the lake at nightfall, not a single guard will notice the swimmer. The fire on the shore will serve as a beacon so as not to stray in the dark.
And the lover threw himself into the water and swam into the distant light, to where the beautiful Tamar was waiting for him.
For a long time he swam in the cold dark waters, but Red flower fire inspired courage in his heart.
And only the bashful sister of the sun Lusin, looking out from behind the clouds from the dark sky, was a witness to the meeting of lovers.
They spent the night together, and in the morning the young man again set off on his return journey.
So they began to meet every night. In the evening, Tamar made a fire on the shore so that her lover could see where to swim. And the light of the flame served the young man as a talisman against the dark waters that open the gates to underworlds inhabited by hostile water spirits.
Who remembers now how long or short the lovers managed to keep their secret?
But one day the royal servant saw the young man in the morning returning from the lake. His wet hair was matted and water dripped from it, and his happy face looked tired. And the servant suspected the truth.
And that same evening, shortly before dusk, the servant hid behind a rock on the shore and waited. And he saw how a distant fire was lit on the island, and heard a slight splash with which a swimmer entered the water.
The servant looked out for everything and hurried to the king in the morning.
King Artashez was furiously angry. The king was angry that his daughter dared to fall in love, and even more angry that she fell in love not with one of the powerful kings who asked for her hand, but with a poor Azat!
And the king ordered his servants to be ready at the shore with a fast boat. And when the darkness began to fall, the king's people swam to the island. When they sailed more than half the way, a red fire flower bloomed on the island. And the servants of the king leaned on the oars, in a hurry.
Going ashore, they saw the beautiful Tamar, dressed in clothes embroidered with gold, anointed fragrant oils. From under her multi-coloured cap, curls as black as agate fell to her shoulders. The girl sat on a carpet spread on the shore, and fed the fire from her hands with sprigs of magic juniper. And in her smiling eyes, as in the dark waters of Van, small fires burned.
Seeing uninvited guests, the girl jumped to her feet in fright and exclaimed:
You servants of the father! Kill me!
I pray for one thing - do not put out the fire!
And the royal servants were glad to take pity on the beauty, but they feared the wrath of Artashez. Roughly they seized the girl and dragged her away from the fire, into the golden palace. But first they let her see how the fire, trampled and scattered by coarse boots, perished.
Tamar wept bitterly, escaping from the hands of the guards, and the death of fire seemed to her the death of her beloved.
So it was. There was a young man in the middle of the path when the light that had beckoned him went out. And the dark waters pulled him into the depths, filling his soul with cold and fear. Before him lay darkness and he did not know where to swim in the darkness.
For a long time he struggled with the black will of the water spirits. Every time the head of the exhausted swimmer emerged from the water, his gaze with a prayer searched for the red firefly in the darkness. But he did not find it, and again he swam at random, and the water spirits circled him, leading him astray. And finally the young man was exhausted.
"Ah, Tamar!" he whispered, last time emerging from the water. Why didn't you save the fire of our love? Was it my fate to sink into dark water, and not fall on the battlefield, as a warrior should!? Ah, Tamar, what an unkind death! He wanted to say that, but he couldn't. Only one thing he had the strength to exclaim: "Ah, Tamar!"
"Ah, Tamar!" - echoed - the voice of the kaji, the spirits of the wind, and carried over the waters of Van. "Ah, Tamar!"
And the king ordered the beautiful Tamar to be imprisoned forever in her palace.
In grief and sorrow, until the end of her days, she mourned her beloved, without removing the black scarf from her loose hair.
Many years have passed since then - everyone remembers their bitter love.
And the island on Lake Van has been called Akhtamar ever since.
Oh, interesting legends and parables!
One day, little Rybka heard from someone a story that there is an Ocean, a beautiful, majestic, powerful, fantastic place, and she became so eager to go there, to see everything with her own eyes, that this actually became the goal, the meaning of her life. And only The fish grew up, immediately started to swim, to look for the same Ocean. For a long, long time, the Fish swam, until finally, to the question: “How far is it to the Ocean?” They answered her: “Darling, you are in it. Here it is around you! “
“Fu, nonsense,” Rybka grimaced, “there’s only water around me, and I’m looking for the Ocean ...
Moral: sometimes in pursuit of some "ideals" we do not notice the obvious things!!!
And do you believe?
Believer Baby: No, no! I don’t know exactly what our life will look like after giving birth, but in any case, we will see mom and she will take care of us.
Unbelieving baby: Mom? Do you believe in mom? And where is she?
Believing baby: She is everywhere around us, we abide in her and thanks to her we move and live, without her we simply cannot exist.
Unbelieving baby: Complete nonsense! I didn't see any mother, and therefore it is obvious that she simply does not exist.
Believer Child: I can't agree with you. After all, sometimes, when everything around is quiet, you can hear how she sings, and feel how she strokes our world. I firmly believe that our real life will only start after childbirth. And do you believe?
And do you believe?
Two babies are talking in the belly of a pregnant woman. One of them is a believer, the other is a non-believer Unbelieving baby: Do you believe in life after childbirth?
Believer Baby: Yes, of course. Everyone understands that life after childbirth exists. We are here to become strong enough and ready for what comes next.
Unbelieving Baby: That's stupid! There can be no life after childbirth! Can you imagine what such a life could look like?
Believer Baby: I don't know all the details, but I believe that there will be more light and that we may be able to walk and eat with our own mouths.
Unbelieving baby: What nonsense! It is impossible to walk and eat with your mouth! It's totally funny! We have an umbilical cord that feeds us. You know, I want to tell you: it is impossible for there to be life after childbirth, because our life - the umbilical cord - is already too short.
Believing baby: I'm sure it's possible. Everything will just be a little different. It can be imagined.
Unbelieving baby: But no one has ever returned from there! Life just ends with childbirth. And in general, life is one big suffering in the dark.
THE PRICE OF TIME
The story is actually with subtext: instead of dad, there can be mom, and instead of work, the Internet, and the phone, and .... everyone has their own!
Let's not repeat the mistakes of others
Once a man came home late from work, tired and shaky as always, and saw that his five-year-old son was waiting for him at the door.
- Dad, can I ask you something?
- Of course, what happened?
- Dad, how much do you get?
- It's none of your business! - the father was indignant. - And then, why do you need it?
- I just want to know. Please, tell me, how much do you get per hour?
- Well, actually, 500. And what?
- Dad, - the son looked at him from the bottom up with very serious eyes. - Dad, can you borrow 300 for me?
"You only asked so I could give you money for some stupid toy?" he shouted. - Immediately march to your room and go to bed! .. You can’t be such an egoist! I work all day, I'm terribly tired, and you're acting so stupid.
The kid quietly went to his room and closed the door behind him. And his father continued to stand at the door and get angry at the requests of his son. How dare he ask me about my salary, then to ask for money?
But after some time, he calmed down and began to reason sensibly: Maybe he really needs to buy something very important. To hell with them, with three hundred, after all, he has never asked me for money at all. When he entered the nursery, his son was already in bed.
Are you awake, son? - he asked.
- No, dad. I'm just lying down, - the boy answered.
“I think I answered you too rudely,” said the father. - I had a hard day, and I just broke. I'm sorry. Here, keep the money you asked for.
The boy sat up in bed and smiled.
- Oh, daddy, thanks! he exclaimed happily.
Then he reached under the pillow and pulled out a few more crumpled banknotes. His father, seeing that the child already had money, got angry again. And the kid put all the money together and carefully counted the bills, and then looked at his father again.
Why did you ask for money if you already have it? he muttered.
Because I didn't have enough. But now I just have enough, - answered the child.
- Dad, there are exactly five hundred. Can I buy one hour of your time? Please come home from work early tomorrow, I want you to have dinner with us.
BE A MOM
We were having lunch when my daughter casually mentioned that she and her husband were thinking about "starting a full-fledged family."
We're doing a poll here. public opinion she said jokingly. - Do you think I should have a baby?
"This will change your life," I said, trying not to let my emotions show.
“I know,” she replied. - And you won’t sleep on weekends, and you won’t really go on vacation.
But that was not at all what I had in mind. I looked at my daughter, trying to formulate my words more clearly. I wanted her to understand something that no prenatal class would teach her.
I wanted to tell her that the physical wounds of childbirth would heal very quickly, but motherhood would give her such a bleeding emotional wound that would never heal. I wanted to warn her that in the future she would never be able to read a newspaper without internal question: "What if this happened to my child?" That every plane crash, every fire will haunt her. That when she looks at photographs of children dying of hunger, she will think that there is nothing worse in the world than the death of your child.
I looked at her manicured nails and stylish suit and thought that no matter how exquisite she was, motherhood would lower her to the primitive level of a she-bear protecting her cub. That the alarmed cry of "Mom!" will make her give up everything without regret - from a soufflé to the best crystal glass.
I felt like I should warn her that no matter how many years she spent on her job, her career would suffer significantly after the birth of a child. She can hire a nanny, but one day she will go to a business important meeting, but she will think about the sweet smell of a child's head. And it will take all her willpower not to run home just to find out that her baby is all right.
I wanted my daughter to know that the trivial everyday problems would never be trivial to her again. That a five-year-old boy's desire to go to the men's room at McDonald's would be a huge dilemma. That there, among rattling trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender will stand on one side of the scale, and the fear that there, in the toilet, there may be a rapist of minors, on the other.
Looking at my attractive daughter, I wanted to tell her that she can lose the weight she gained during pregnancy, but she will never be able to shed motherhood and become the same. That her life, so important to her now, will no longer be so important after the birth of a child. That she will forget about herself at the moment when her offspring must be saved, and that she will learn to hope for fulfillment - oh no! not your dream! - the dreams of their children.
I wanted her to know what the scar was from caesarean section or stretch marks will be signs of honor for her. That her relationship with her husband would change and not at all in the way she thinks. I would like her to understand how much you can love a man who carefully sprinkles powder on your child and who never refuses to play with him. I think she will learn what it is like to fall in love again for a reason that now seems to her completely unromantic.
I wanted my daughter to be able to feel the connection between all the women on earth who have tried to stop wars, crime and drunk driving.
I wanted to describe to my daughter the excitement a mother gets when she sees her child learning to ride a bike. I wanted to capture for her the laughter of a baby touching the soft fur of a puppy or kitten for the first time. I wanted her to feel a joy so intense that it could hurt.
My daughter's surprised look let me know that tears welled up in my eyes.
"You will never regret this," I said at last. Then I reached across the table to her, squeezed her hand, and mentally prayed for her, for myself, and for all mortal women who dedicate themselves to this most wonderful of callings.
According to statistics from the British Royal Society of Ghosts, on average each square meter The inhabited surface of the Earth is inhabited by at least 3 ghosts. We managed to photograph some of them, and even talked to some of them. Introducing the most famous myths and legends.
10th place: Argonauts. The myth of the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece is very old. The very first recorded version of this myth is already its processing, very far from the original story. Argonauts (lit. "sailing on the Argo") - participants in the voyage on the ship "Argo" for the Golden Fleece to the country of Colchis. The journey of the Argonauts is described in most detail in the poem of Apollonius of Rhodes "Argonautica".
9th place: Beowulf. The only existing manuscript of Beowulf dates from around 1000. But the epic itself belongs, according to most experts, to the end of the 7th or the first third of the 8th century. Beowulf, a young knight from the people of the Gauts, having learned about the attack of the monster Grendel on the king of the Danes Hygelak, goes to the aid of the king.
8th place: The legend of the fern flower. According to an ancient folk legend, whoever finds a fern flower on the night of Ivan Kupala will find happiness. By the way, this myth exists not only in Russia. The legend of the fern flower was also believed in Lithuania and Estonia.
7th place: Legend of King Arthur. Italian explorer Mario Moiraghi claims that the legendary sword of King Arthur really exists and is located in a rock in the Abbey of San Galgano in Italy. By the way, in his book, Moiragi states that the legend of King Arthur is Italian, although it was traditionally assumed that King Arthur and the Holy Grail were invented in northern Europe or in France.
6th place: Poltergeist. Some argue that the poltergeist ("noisy spirit" in German) terrorized our ancestors for thousands of years. In the case of a poltergeist, objects can appear and disappear from nowhere, for example, a fire can pour or start fire directly “out of thin air”, pipes burst, corks burn out, dishes break, etc. Events of this kind usually last about 2-3 months, and only sometimes for several years.
5th place: Loch Ness monster. The first mention of Nessie begins in 565. A monster is described that looks like a giant toad, "only it was not a toad." In the Latin chronicles of Nessie of the seventh century, the appearance of the dragon "cum agenti fremitu", which means "strongly shaking", was noted.
4th place: Bigfoot, too, so far no one has really seen, but the Nepalese hill tribes still believe in the existence of the terrible Mi-Go or "Abominable Bigfoot" lurking in the midst of ice and mountain spiers.
3rd place: Flying Dutchmen. Legend has it that the Dutch captain Van der Decken once lived. He was a drunkard and a blasphemer. And then one day near the cape Good Hope his ship was caught in a violent storm. The navigator advised him to take refuge in one of the bays, but instead of heeding the advice, Van der Decken shot the navigator. This act angered God, and since then Van der Decken's ship has been wandering the seas. With a rotten hull, it nevertheless holds up well on the waves. The damned captain recruits his team from the drowned, and the more vile and vile their deeds in life were, the better.
2nd place: Bermuda Triangle. In the literature on the Bermuda Triangle, 50 cases of disappearances of ships and aircraft are described in detail. In almost all cases, ships and planes disappeared without a trace, along with their crews. By the way, about 140 thousand people were still saved in the crash of ships in the area bermuda triangle US security service.
1 place: Aliens. On this moment V different organizations recorded about 1-0 thousand evidence of UFO sightings and communication with aliens. The myth of aliens is especially widespread throughout the world: aliens from outer space who visited the earth a long time ago. To aliens, some include the ancient Egyptians and Maya Indians. By the way, the image of a green man with big eyes and in silver clothes was recognized as the most common representation of aliens on Earth. The drawing of the "green man" was soldered into one of the "time capsules", which should be opened in three thousand years.
Every nation has beautiful and amazing legends. They are diverse in subject matter: legends about the exploits of heroes, stories about the origin of the names of geographical objects, horror stories O supernatural beings and romance stories about lovers.
Definition of the term
A legend is an unreliable account of an event. It is very similar to myth and can be considered its approximate analogue. But legend and myth still cannot be called completely identical concepts. If we are talking about a myth, then there are fictional characters that have nothing to do with reality. The legend admits at its core real events, later supplemented or embellished. Since many fictitious facts are added to them, for reliable scientists legends do not accept.
If we take as a basis classical meaning words, then a legend is a tradition set forth in art form. Such legends exist in almost all nations.
The best legends of the world - they will be discussed in the article.
Types of legends
1. oral legends- most ancient view. They spread through wandering storytellers.
2. Written traditions - recorded oral stories.
3. Religious legends- narratives about events and persons from church history.
4. Social legends - all other legends that are not related to religion.
5. Toponymic - explaining the origin of the names of geographical objects (rivers, lakes, cities).
6. Urban legends - newest look, which is widespread today.
In addition, there are many more varieties of legends, depending on what plot underlies them - zootropomorphic, cosmogonic, etiological, eschatonic and heroic. There are very short legends and long narratives. The latter are usually associated with a story about the heroic deeds of a person. For example, the legend about or hero Ilya Muromets.
How did the legends originate?
WITH Latin legenda translates as "what is to be read". The history of legends goes into the deep past and has the same roots as the myth. having no idea about the causes of many things happening around him natural phenomena, made myths. Through them, he tried to explain his vision of the world. Later, amazing and interesting legends about heroes, gods and supernatural phenomena began to appear on the basis of mythology. Many of them have been preserved in the traditions of the peoples of the world.
Atlantis - the legend of the lost paradise
The best legends that arose in antiquity have survived to this day. Many of them still captivate the imagination of adventurers with their beauty and realism. The story of Atlantis suggests that in ancient times there was an island whose inhabitants reached incredible heights in many sciences. But then it was destroyed strong earthquake and sank along with the Atlanteans - its inhabitants.
We must express gratitude to the great ancient Greek philosopher Plato and the equally revered historian Herodotus for the story of Atlantis. An interesting legend excited the minds during the lifetime of these outstanding scientists of ancient Greece. It has not lost its relevance even today. A wonderful island that sank thousands of years ago is still being searched for.
If the legend of Atlantis turns out to be true, this event will be among the greatest discoveries century. After all, there was at least interesting legend about the mythical Troy, in the existence of which Heinrich Schliemann sincerely believed. In the end, he managed to find this city and prove that there is some truth in ancient legends.
Founding of Rome
This interesting legend is one of the most famous in the world. The city of Rome arose in antiquity on the banks of the Tiber. The proximity of the sea made it possible to engage in trade, and at the same time, the city was well protected from a sudden attack by sea robbers. According to legend, the brothers Romulus and Remus founded Rome, fed by a she-wolf. By order of the ruler, they were to be killed, but a negligent servant threw the basket with the children into the Tiber, hoping that it would drown. She was picked up by a shepherd and became a foster father for the twins. Having matured and learned about their origin, they rebelled against a relative and took away his power. The brothers decided to found their city, but during the construction they quarreled, and Romulus killed Remus.
He named the city he built after himself. The legend of the origin of Rome belongs to toponymic legends.
The Legend of the Golden Dragon - The Path to the Heavenly Temple
Among the legends, stories about dragons are very popular. Many peoples have them, but traditionally this is one of the favorite topics of Chinese folklore.
The legend of the golden dragon says that there is a bridge between heaven and earth that leads to the Heavenly Temple. It belongs to the Lord of the World. It can only be entered pure souls. Two golden dragons stand guard over the shrine. They sense an unworthy soul and can tear it apart when they try to enter the temple. Once one of the dragons angered the Lord, and he expelled him. The dragon descended to earth, met other creatures, and dragons of various stripes were born from him. The Lord was angry when he saw them, and destroyed them all, except for those who had not yet been born. When they were born, they hid for a long time. But the Lord of the World did not destroy the new dragons, but left them on earth as their deputies.
Hoards and treasures
The legends of gold take no last place in the list of popular legends. One of the most famous and beautiful myths of ancient Greece tells about the search for the Golden Fleece by the Argonauts. For a long time the legend of the treasure was simply considered a legend until Heinrich Schliemann found a treasure of pure gold at the excavation site of Mycenae, the capital of the legendary king.
Kolchak's gold is another famous legend. In the years civil war was in the hands most of Russia's gold reserves - about seven hundred tons of gold. It was transported in several trains. What happened to one echelon is known to historians. It was captured by the rebellious Czechoslovak Corps and given to the authorities (Bolsheviks). But the fate of the remaining two is unknown to this day. The precious cargo could have been dumped into a mine, hidden or buried in the ground in the vast territory between Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk. All the excavations that have been carried out so far (starting with the Chekists) have not yielded any results.
Well to hell and the library of Ivan the Terrible
Russia also has its interesting legends. One of them, which appeared relatively recently, is one of the so-called urban legends. This is a story about a well to hell. This name was given to one of the deepest man-made wells in the world - Kola. Its drilling began in 1970. The length is 12,262 meters. The well was created solely for scientific purposes. Now it is mothballed, since there are no funds to maintain it in working condition. The legend about appeared in 1989, when a story was heard on American television that sensors lowered to the very depths of the well recorded sounds similar to the groans and cries of people.
Another interesting legend, which may well turn out to be true, speaks of a library of books, scrolls and manuscripts. The last owner of the precious collection was Ivan IV. It is believed that she was part of the niece's dowry Byzantine emperor Constantine.
Afraid that the precious books in wooden Moscow could burn in a fire, she ordered the library to be placed in the cellars under the Kremlin. According to the seekers of the famous Liberia, it may contain 800 volumes of priceless works of ancient and medieval authors. Now there are about 60 versions of where the mysterious library can be stored.
English lore warns travelers against traveling alone in mountainous areas at dusk. If you believe, then the surroundings of Cornwall, which is considered the birthplace of King Arthur, Celtic traditions and ... giants, are especially dangerous!
In the middle of the 18th century, the inhabitants of the Cornish peninsula were seriously afraid of meeting with giant neighbors. Many ancient myths and legends tell about the sad fate of those who had a chance to face the giants.
There is a legend about a simple woman named Emma May, the wife of the farmer Richard May. One day, not waiting for her husband for dinner at the usual time, she decided to go in search of him, left the house and found herself in a dense fog. Since then, she has not been seen again, and although the villagers have repeatedly gone looking for her, Emma Mae seemed to have sunk into the ground. The peasants believed that she was kidnapped by giants, who, according to rumors, lived in the surrounding caves and killed late travelers or took them into slavery.
What secrets are kept by the seas and oceans
Many ancient myths and legends are composed about the sad fate of sailors who were swallowed up by the deep sea. Almost everyone has heard chilling stories about sirens calling ships to the reefs. The wild imagination of sailors gave rise to many superstitions, which eventually transformed into indestructible customs. In countries South-East Asia seafarers still bring gifts to the gods in order to safely return from a journey. However, there was one captain (his name, alas, history has not preserved), who neglected the sacred traditions ...
... The elements raged, the crew of the ship was tired of fighting the elements, and nothing foreshadowed a successful outcome. Standing near the helm, through the curtain of rain, the captain saw a black figure that arose from him along right hand. The stranger asked what the captain was willing to give him in exchange for his salvation? The captain replied that he was ready to give all his gold, just to be in the port again. The black man laughed and said: “You did not want to bring gifts to the gods, but you are ready to give everything to the demon. you will be saved, but terrible curse you will carry as long as you live.
The legend tells that the captain returned safely from the voyage. But as soon as he crossed the threshold of his house, his wife died, who had been in bed for two months with a serious illness. The captain went to his friends, and a day later their house burned to the ground. Wherever the captain appeared, death pursued him everywhere. Tired of such a life, a year later he put a bullet in his forehead.
The dark underworld of Hades
Since we are talking about otherworldly demons dooming a stumbled person to eternal torment, it is impossible not to recall Hades - the ruler underworld darkness and horror. The River Styx flows through the bottomless abyss, taking the souls of the dead deeper and deeper into the earth, and Hades looks at all this from his golden throne.
Hades is not alone in his underworld, the gods of dreams live there, sending people and creepy nightmares and happy dreams. In ancient myths and legends, it is said that the monstrous Lamia, a ghost with donkey legs, wanders in the kingdom of Hades. Lamia kidnaps newborns so that if the house in which the mother and the baby lives is cursed by an unholy person.
At the throne of Hades stands the young and beautiful god of sleep, Hypnos, whose power no one can resist. On his wings, he silently hovers above the ground and pours his sleeping pill from a golden horn. Hypnos can send sweet visions, but it can also send you into eternal sleep.
The pharaoh who violated the will of the gods
As ancient myths and legends tell, Egypt underwent disasters during the reign of the pharaohs Khafre and Khufu - slaves worked day and night, all temples were closed, free citizens were also persecuted. But here they were replaced by the pharaoh Menkaura and he decided to free the exhausted people. The inhabitants of Egypt began to work in their fields, the temples began to work again, the living conditions of the people improved. Everyone glorified the good and just pharaoh.
Time passed, and Menkaure was struck by terrible blows of fate - his beloved daughter died and the lord was predicted that he had only seven years left to live. Pharaoh was perplexed - why did his grandfather and father, who oppressed the people and did not honor the gods, live to a ripe old age, and he must die? Finally, the pharaoh decided to send a messenger to the famous oracle. ancient myth- the legend of Pharaoh Menkaure - tells about the answer given to the ruler.
“The life span of Pharaoh Menkaure was shortened only because he did not understand his destiny. One hundred and fifty years Egypt was destined to suffer disasters, Khafre and Khufu understood this, but Menkaure did not. And the gods kept their word, on the appointed day the pharaoh left the sublunar world.
Almost all ancient myths and legends (however, like many legends of the new formation) contain a rational grain. An inquisitive mind will always be able to penetrate the veil of allegories and discern the meaning hidden in seemingly fantastic stories. And how to use the acquired knowledge is already a personal matter for everyone.
The achievements of the ancient Greeks in art, science and politics had a significant impact on the development of European states. Not last role mythology also played in this process - one of the most well-studied in the world. For many hundreds of years, it has been for many creators. History, myths 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 developed at the turn 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 Greek classics, mythological subjects reflected in works of art great playwrights - Euripides and Aeschylus. Even later, at the beginning of our era, Greek scientists began to classify myths, to compose family trees 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. Nose last son Rhea could not part: 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 (to 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 - 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
Ancient myths and legends of Greece create in the mind modern reader very controversial image god. 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. The goddesses of vengeance Erinnia stood at the throne of Hades, and on Olympus the gods were entertained by muses and charites, patrons 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 exploits
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 ancient myths. Hercules is known for the fact that, while in the service of his relative, King Eurystheus, he performed 12 labors (the murder of the Lernean Hydra, the capture of the Kerinean fallow deer and the Erymanthian boar, the bringing of the belt of Hippolyta, the deliverance of the people from the Stymphalian birds, the taming of the mares of Diomedes, a trip to the Kingdom of Hades and other).
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.
