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The afterlife of the ancient Greeks. Religious beliefs of the ancient Greeks

The afterlife of the ancient Greeks. Religious beliefs of the ancient Greeks

24.02.2019

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Introduction
Conclusion
Bibliography

Introduction

The theme of fate was not original in the history of the development of mankind, it appeared at the end of primitive times. One of the first to realize the existence of this hitherto unknown force were the ancient Greeks. This awareness comes to the Greeks at the decline of primitiveness, when people begin to stand out from the "we-being" and understand that each individual has his own share-destiny belonging only to him.

Destiny in antiquity is a superintelligent and superintellectual force that determines the course of life. But this fate could not determine all human intentions. This fate in no way turned a person into a soulless mechanism, weak-willed and lacking initiative. Because ancient fate ruled everything, man could not reject free will. Sometimes a person could not know how he should act in accordance with fate. Therefore, a person acted as required by the free-willed intention of a person. Therefore, in antiquity miraculously combined belief in superintelligent fate and free use his will for the real arrangement of life.

The purpose of this essay is to study the concept of fate in the view of the ancient Greeks.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve a number of research tasks:

Consider the origins of ancient Greek ideas about fate;

Explore the concept of fate and the development of the personal self-consciousness of the Greeks.

The structure of the work includes an introduction, two main paragraphs, a conclusion and a bibliography. In the introduction, the purpose and objectives of the work are set, in the main part of the work the main content is revealed, in the conclusion, conclusions are drawn throughout the work and its results are summed up.

1. The origins of ancient Greek ideas about fate

Ideas about fate are deeply rooted, going back to the historical past of any people. Epistemogenic origins are not the first stage in the emergence of the category of fate. It would be more correct to assume that much more early stage was associated, apparently, with magic. It was this connection that J. Fraser emphasized in his time in his "theory" magic - religion - science. But, differing from religion and science, magic, according to Fraser, acts as a "close relative of science", Fraser J.J. Golden Bough / J.J. Frazier. - M .: Politizdat, 1980. - S. 25. for both in magical beliefs and in science, "the sequence of phenomena is considered quite correct and inevitable, since it is determined by immutable laws" Fraser J.J. Golden Bough / J.J. Frazier. - M.: Politizdat, 1980. - S. 25. .

Thus, the germ of the future scientific concept of regularity already existed within the magical worldview.

Belief in magic not only presupposes a necessary connection between logical actions and their results, but it also depends on the person himself, as the subject of a magical action, whether to perform this action, whether to use this necessary connection precisely at the given moment and whether to use it at all. In ideas about fate, necessity is conceived as realizing completely independently of man. A person can neither cancel nor delay its implementation, nor in any way influence it at all.

From this we can conclude that in the concept of fate, insofar as the realization of fate is considered fatally inevitable, the idea of objective necessity is expressed more clearly than in the framework of belief in magic. Reflecting on the reasons why people became disillusioned with magic, J.J. Fraser writes: "The most astute minds have probably noticed over time that magical rites did not produce the concrete results expected by the more naive majority of their brethren. This great discovery led to a fundamental change in the minds of those who made this discovery. Such a person no longer found in the death of his enemies or friends evidence of the irresistible power of spells - now he knew that friends or enemies equally fell under the power of a force more powerful than any of those available to him, that they obeyed a fate that he was powerless direct." Fraser J.J. Golden Bough / J.J. Frazier. - M.: Politizdat, 1980. - S. 28.

Fraser's epistemogenic approach to explain the formation of ideas about fate is quite obvious. It must be admitted that there is some truth in his position. In the mythologeme of fate, there are more developed ideas about the necessity and regularities of the phenomena of the surrounding world, apparently, they really were prepared by the cognitive success of man.

In ancient Greek mythology, traces of the transition from belief in magic to the image of fate have been preserved. One of clear examples This is the legend of the death of Meleager, in which the life of the hero fatally depends on the brand. A variant of the myth is given according to Apollodorus. “From Oineus, Alfea gave birth to a son, Meleager ... When he was 7 days old, Moira came to his parents and said: “Meleagr will die when the brand burned on the altar burns to the ground.” Hearing this, Alfea grabbed the brand and hid it in a chest. When, after the famous Calydonian boar hunt, Meleager killed his mother's brothers, she burned the brand, Meleager died. Here the connection between the death of Meleager and the burning of the brand is clearly magical, but whether or not to burn the brand is entirely up to the will of the person, that is, the mother of Meleager. Also, the Moiras already appear here as the deities of fate, which indicates the transition from simple magical ideas to the personification of the category of fate.

V.P. Goran, examining this myth, draws the following conclusion: “Despite the fact that, within the framework of this interpretation of the connection between the life of Meleager and the smut, this connection appears as the result of a special decision of the goddesses of fate, nevertheless, the magical nature of this connection is completely preserved. This suggests that the motif of the magical connection is a vestige of older ideas dating back to the times of the dominance of belief in magic, when the image of the Moira as goddesses of fate may not have yet formed. It is likely that the motif of the fatal connection between the life of Meleager and the brand in the version of the legend that has come down to us, in which this connection appears, and the goddess of fate, was the result of a reinterpretation of an older version of the legend, in which only the use of magic appeared. Goran V.P. Ancient Greek mythology of fate / V.P. Goran. - Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1990. - S. 153.

But still, despite the changes that have occurred with the category of fate, faith in magic does not completely disappear from the life of the ancient Greeks. It manifests itself in predictions, belief in oracles, divination and sacrifices. As a direct consequence of the sacrifice, some kind of response from the gods was expected, but the absence of an answer, a sign of a deity, was perceived extremely negatively. The faith of the ancient Greeks in oracles persisted throughout their history. The connection of ideas about fate with belief in prophecies and oracles is one of the oldest sources of the formation Greek concept fate. The ability to know the future was perceived as a divine gift. But this gift gave special significance to the knowledge that was given to the soothsayer. Faith in knowing about the future was equal to faith in fate.

An oracle, like prophecy, claims to know a predetermined future. Oracles come only from the gods. Faith in the knowledge given by the oracle is akin to faith in the gods in general and their ability to communicate with people. The predictions of soothsayers and oracles are expressed in verbal form. This indicates a belief in the magic of the word. The spoken word reveals the secret of the future. What is said cannot be changed. Here the word is equivalent to the predestination of fate.

V.P. Goran believes that traces of the connection between the ancient Greek ideas about fate and the magic of the word are so weak that their reconstruction is possible only at the level of hypotheses. As one of these hypotheses, one can name the assumption of V.P. Goran that there is a certain connection between belief in divination and belief in the power of spells and spells.

Another trace of the connection between ideas of fate and magic is found even in Homer. This is the image of the spinning goddesses. The goddesses of fate spin the thread of a person's life at the moment of his birth. J. Thomson Thomson J. Studies in the history of ancient Greek society / J. Thomson. - M.: Foreign. lit., 1958. - 659 p. associates the appearance of the image of spinning with the custom of spinning clothes for a child for his birth. The functions of these clothes were originally closely related to magic. Clothing was attributed a mysterious connection with human life.

Indeed, there is a correspondence between the idea of the magical connection of clothing with the life of a newborn, with ideas about the connection of life with the thread that was spun to him at the birth of the goddess of fate Moira. It is likely that the custom of making clothes for the newborn, suggested by Thomson, gradually began to lose its magical role. And the very image of the “spinner” - the oldest representatives of the genus, was transformed into the image of the Spinner, as mythological characters.

In the new image of fate, the emphasis shifts from the theme of birth to the theme of death. Of course, the image of fate retained its connection with the theme of birth, but at the same time fate was closely associated with death. The function of the goddesses of fate - to manage birth - is transformed into the command of death. Spinners determine the moment of death of a person. Thus, fate acted as the entire purely individual life path of a person. In this understanding of fate, public consciousness has come to a certain understanding of the integrity and uniqueness of everything. life path every person from birth to death. Those. fate determines birth, deeds during life and death. A person begins to realize that his destiny is individual, it belongs to him alone and no one else. Homeric Achilles knows his fate, moreover, he is free to choose it himself. And he chooses, chooses not a quiet and peaceful life, but glory and a heroic death. It speaks of increased attention public consciousness to the individual. The individual stands out from his group, among other things, and his death. It distinguishes him from other people and acts as one of the means of self-affirmation of the individual. However, it is necessary to take into account common features epic: hyperbolization, certain stereotypes in stories about heroes and their way of life, deliberate archaization” Ancient Civilizations / Under the general editorship of G.M. Bongard-Levin. - M.: Thought, 1989. - S. 293-294. .

Homer has other examples of the connection between the concept of fate and magic. Odysseus does not reveal his name to the Cyclops, since the name has magical meaning. When Polyphemus learns the name of Odysseus, he gets the opportunity to influence him with the help of his father Poseidon.

Thus, it is likely that Frazer is right in stating that magical beliefs are one of the sources further development religion and science. But one cannot agree with him that magic completely disappears from people's lives and gives way to science. Magic continues to exist, but along with it, other forms of knowledge of the world appear. The weakening of the role of magic in the life of ancient Greek society is associated with the beginning of the process of development of personal self-consciousness. If earlier man did not distinguish himself at all from the collective, primitive, “we are being”, then later he begins to realize himself as an independent person, who herself is responsible for her actions. A person understands that fate is omnipotent, but he himself can do something, besides how to blindly obey her will.

2. The concept of fate and the development of personal consciousness of the Greeks

Fate is one of the most important categories of ancient Greek philosophy. In general, fate is not something accidental and optional in antiquity. Since all ancient cosmology is based on direct sensory perception, it is by its very nature not inclined to investigate any exact laws. The very perception of the world by the ancient Greeks was sculptural, which devalued those laws of nature that are the main subject of study. modern science. This sculptural world is ruled by something that is neither subject to research nor study, has no name and exceeds human abilities and needs. This is destiny. Thus, fate is associated with a very developed intuition, with a sculptural picture of the world and is an integral part of them. The cosmos, according to the Greeks, is corporeal, and everything that is corporeal is controlled by fate. Therefore, the cosmos is also under the power of fate.

In the relationship of man with the cosmos, one can draw the same parallel as between fate and the gods. The cosmos is a prototype, and man is an imitation, a microcosm in relation to the macrocosm. What is in space is also in man; and what is in man is also in the cosmos. Macrocosm and microcosm differ only quantitatively. There is no split between man and the cosmos, there is no border. It's just that one is universal, and the other is individual. But still, based on the nature of the early Greek classics, with a high development of the sense of personality, the personality itself still remained an appendage of the cosmos, not always obligatory and necessary.

The term "soul" can already be found in Homer, but the word "personality" is completely absent in the classical period. A.F. Losev believes that this suggests that the Greeks poorly understood the meaning and originality of the human personality, while the soul was thought of as something completely material. The concept of personality comes out much brighter in opposition to fate and personality, since the basis ancient Greek tragedy It was the fate of the individual, not the soul. But, despite this, the very term "personality" did not appear in any of the greatest Greek tragedians: Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. A.F. Losev believes that “this indicates that the fate of the individual in his environment or in space, no matter how terrible this fate may be, seemed here to be something natural and logical” Losev A.F. History of ancient aesthetics. Early classic / A.F. Losev. - M.: graduate School, 1963. - S. 538. . Therefore, the ancient Greeks did not need a special designation of this concept. It is likely that the specific fate, "unharnessed" by the Moirs, meant a person in a sensual metaphorical form. This definition of personality fits very logically into the general sensual picture world created by the ancient Greeks.

A.F. Losev is very careful with the concept of personality in antiquity. In his extensive work on the history of ancient aesthetics, he put forward a theory "about the connection between the slave-owning formation and the idea of fate." Losev A.F. History of ancient aesthetics. Early classic / A.F. Losev. - M.: Higher school, 1963. - S. 55. According to A.F. Losev, such aspects of ancient culture as plasticity and slavery "coincide in one thing: in the absence of experience of the human personality ... in understanding a person not as a person, but as a thing" Losev A.F. History of ancient aesthetics. Early classic / A.F. Losev. - M.: Higher School, 1963. - S. 52. . A.F. Losev substantiates this by the fact that during the period of slavery in the person himself there is no perception of himself as a person, and not as a thing. Slaves consider themselves the things of the slave owner, and "the free people recognize themselves as slaves of the general world order, slaves, first of all, of fate, fate" Losev A.F. History of ancient aesthetics. Early classic / A.F. Losev. - M.: Higher School, 1963. - S. 55. .

Another researcher of the concept of fate and its connection with the development of personal self-awareness V.P. Goran Goran V.P. The Idea of Fate and the Origin of Personal Self-Consciousness in the Ancient Cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece / V.P. Goran // The concept of fate in context different cultures. - M.: Nauka, 1994. - S. 76. argues with A.F. Losev. He believes that the conclusion of A.F. Losev about the lack of experience of the human personality in the ancient Greek is incorrect, since the ancient idea of fate developed over long period time, including when slavery was not yet the dominant characteristic of ancient Greek society. V.P. Goran writes that "for the Homeric time, the reduction of ideas about fate to a direct expression of slave consciousness could hardly be considered justified, even regardless of whether it is justified or not for more developed stages of slavery." Goran V.P. The idea of fate and the emergence of personal self-consciousness in the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece / V. P. Goran // The concept of fate in the context of different cultures. - M.: Nauka, 1994. - P.76. So V.P. Goran refutes the theory of A.F. Losev about the dependence of the idea of fate on slavery.

V.P. Goran believes that A.F. Losev, speaking about the connection of fate with the slave-owning system, is not convincing. But in itself, this idea really presupposes the idea of dependence and means a radical denial of precisely the personal “dimension” of a person. “But it is precisely this circumstance that allows us to assert that the emergence of the idea of fate historically marked the birth of personal self-consciousness.” Goran V.P. The idea of fate and the emergence of personal self-consciousness in the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece / V. P. Goran // The concept of fate in the context of different cultures. - M.: Nauka, 1994. - S. 77.

V.P. Goran thinks that the denial of something, even if it is carried out very decisively and unconditionally, already by the fact that it exists, shows the presence of a certain idea of what is being denied. That is, if the idea of fate so clearly denies the existence of the independence of a person as a subject of his life share, and a certain high power, then this alone suggests that the idea of such a subject and of the life share of a person already existed. The fact that such an idea appears allows us to speak about the emergence of personal self-consciousness, even if a person still thinks of himself only as an object of fate.

Thus, V.P. Goran concludes that there could be no question about the idea of unfreedom and external destiny, if there was already no idea of freedom and the idea of a free human person. Goran V. P. The idea of fate and the emergence of personal self-consciousness in the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece / V. P. Goran // The concept of fate in the context of different cultures. - M.: Nauka, 1994. - S. 77.

As for not ideas and ideas, but the corresponding realities, we must not forget that the lack of freedom of ancient man, his dependence on nature and on social forces was primary in relation to his freedom and independence. But in the realization of this dependence, in the formation of the ideas of such dependence in the public consciousness, the decisive role must be recognized for the process of acquiring independent significance by the individual and the formation of personal self-consciousness. Lack of freedom, dependence could be realized, including in the form of the idea of fate, only to the extent that the idea of freedom also crystallized, personal self-consciousness was awakened. In turn, the idea of freedom was also realized the more clearly, the more clearly and affirmed the more decisively and firmly, the more clearly the idea of dependence was realized, and the sharper the contrast between these two series of ideas in consciousness and the realities corresponding to them in life, for example, contrast the share of the slave and the share of the free man.

Thus, contrary to A.F. Losev, the ancient idea of fate does not point to the lack of "experience of the human person" in a slave-owning society, but, on the contrary, to the awakening of personal self-consciousness. Hence, the already noted A.F. Losev, the fact that for an ancient person fate is least noticeable in small people, but most of all felt in heroic figures, such as Achilles or Prometheus. Losev A.F. History of ancient aesthetics. Early classics / A. F. Losev. - M.: Higher School, 1963. - P.57.

V.P. Goran concludes that “the very fact of the emergence of the idea of fate and the specific features of its content testify to the awakening of the attention of public consciousness to the individual and the emergence of personal self-consciousness ...” Goran V.P. The idea of fate and the emergence of personal self-consciousness in the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece / V. P. Goran // The concept of fate in the context of different cultures. - M.: Nauka, 1994. - S. 83. . But V.P. Goran makes the reservation that we are talking only the beginning of this difficult process.

And yet V.P. Goran criticizes the concept of A.F. too harshly. Losev. Yes A.F. Losev connected the understanding of man with slavery and the perception of man as a thing. But his own studies of Homer's poems indicate that the same A.F. Losev caught a certain pattern of correlation between the concept of fate and the concept of human personality.

Thus, both researchers are probably right in that the process of a person's awareness of himself as a person, of course, took place in the development of culture. Ancient Greece. But this process was rather slow, it was hampered by many realities. ancient world including the institution of slavery. The formation of personal self-consciousness was reflected in the ideas about fate. All the changes that occur with a person's perception of himself were reflected in the transforming concept of fate.

fate faith magic self-consciousness

Conclusion

Fate is one of the main worldview categories traditional societies. Ancient civilization was no exception in relation to this category. Although fate was not originally inherent in ancient culture, it nevertheless appeared quite a long time ago. We can find some germs of future ideas about fate in the most ancient magical beliefs, and vice versa, in developed ideas about fate, we find many parallels with magic. As ancient culture develops, the role of magic weakens somewhat, but it does not disappear completely, as J. Fraser insisted on. In more late periods magic exists along with other cultural phenomena, it's just that it is no longer one of the dominant elements in the development of social consciousness. The weakening of the role of magic in the life of ancient Greek society was associated with the beginning of the process of development of personal self-consciousness. A person gradually realizes himself as a free person, and although fate is omnipotent, he himself can do something.

The richest material for studying ancient culture is provided by Homer's poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey", where the author creates a magnificent picture of the life of ancient Greek society in the era of the decomposition of the communal-tribal system. The Homeric epic gives many examples of the relationship between the will of fate and the will of an independent person. In different periods of the development of society, the image of a person, his worldview, understanding of his own significance and awareness of freedom in choosing any action and even the possibility of choosing his own destiny are gradually transformed.

The process of a person's awareness of himself as a person was rather slow, it was hampered by many realities of the ancient world, including the institution of slavery. The formation of personal self-consciousness was reflected in the ideas about fate. All the changes that occur with a person's perception of himself were reflected in the transforming concept of fate.

Bibliography

1. Goran V.P. Ancient Greek mythology of fate V.P. Goran. - Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1990. - 335 p.

2. Goran V.P. The Idea of Fate and the Origin of Personal Self-Consciousness in the Ancient Cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece / V.P. Goran // The concept of fate in the context of different cultures. - M.: Nauka, 1994. - P. 76-83.

3. Ancient civilizations / Under the general editorship of G.M. Bongard-Levin. - M.: Thought, 1989 - 479 p.

4. Losev A.F. History of ancient aesthetics. Early classic / A.F. Losev. - M.: Higher school, 1963. - 584 p.

5. Thomson J. Studies in the history of ancient Greek society / J. Thomson. - M.: Foreign. lit., 1958. - 659 p.

6. Fraser J.J. Golden Bough / J.J. Frazier. - M.: Politizdat, 1980. - 831 p.

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The idea of the structure of the world in Greece

The ancient Greeks claimed that the Earth has the shape of a convex disk, resembling a warrior's shield in shape. Around the land was surrounded by an endless sea, from which every night the stars came out. Every morning they drowned in its depths. The sun in the face of the god Helios on a golden chariot rose early in the morning from east sea, made a circle in the sky and again returned to its place in the late evening. And the vault of heaven was held on its shoulders by the mighty Atlas.

ancient greek philosopher Thales of Miletus imagined the Universe as a liquid mass, inside of which there is a large hemisphere. The curved surface of the hemisphere is the vault of heaven, and the lower, flat surface, freely floating in the sea, is the Earth.

However, this outdated hypothesis was refuted by the ancient Greek materialists, who provided convincing evidence of the roundness of the land. Aristotle was convinced of this, observing nature, how the stars change their height over the horizon, and the ships disappear behind the swell of the earth.

Earth through the eyes of the ancient Egyptians

The people of Egypt imagined our planet in a completely different way. The planet seemed flat to the Egyptians, and the sky in the form of a huge dome rested on four high mountains located at the four corners of the world. Egypt was located in the center of the earth.

The ancient Egyptians used the images of their gods to personify spaces, surfaces and elements. The earth - the goddess Gebe - lay below, above it, curving, stood the goddess Nut ( starry sky), and the god of air Shu, who was between them, did not allow her to fall to Earth. It was believed that the goddess Nut swallowed the stars every day and gave birth to them again. The sun daily passed its way through the sky on a golden boat, which was ruled by the god Ra.

The ancient Slavs also had their own idea of the structure of the world. The world, in their opinion, was divided into three parts:

Between themselves, all three worlds are connected, like an axis, by the World Tree. In the branches of the sacred tree live the stars, the Sun and the Moon, and at the roots - the Serpent. sacred tree was considered a support, without which the world would collapse if it was destroyed.

The answer to the question of how in ancient times people represented our planet helps to find ancient artifacts that have survived to this day.

Scientists find the first prototypes of geographical maps in different countries, they are known to us in the form of images on the walls of temples, frescoes, drawings in the first astronomical books. In ancient times, man sought to pass on information about the structure of the world to subsequent generations. Man's idea of the Earth largely depended on the relief, nature and climate of the places where he lived.

It is difficult to overestimate the role of ancient Greece in the development of human civilization. How many great poets and thinkers she revealed to the world! However, the real, everyday life of the ancient Greeks was far from being as bright and spiritual as it is commonly believed, and often difficult, dirty and disgusting.

1. The doctor could taste the patient's earwax

The main method of diagnosis by doctors in ancient Greece was the study of biological fluids. This method originates from Hippocrates, who believed that human organs secrete certain biological fluids, and each of them has a specific taste.

Greek physicians had to know the normal smell and taste of these fluids in order to be able to make a diagnosis from their change. Even vomit, sputum, urine, etc. - all this could be the subject of an organoleptic study. And visiting a doctor in ancient Greece, one could witness how he tastes the earwax or urine of the patient.

2. People wiped themselves with stones

Europe did not know what toilet paper until the 16th century. Therefore, they came up with other ways to wipe themselves. Some Greeks used a sponge attached to a stick for this, but not everyone had such a device. More often, pebbles or shards from broken ceramic dishes were used for these purposes. A very common disease in Greece was hemorrhoids, probably as a result of the use of stones and shards.

3. Athletes sold their sweat

Before the competition, Greek athletes took off all their clothes, smeared their bodies with oil and performed in this form, regardless of the type of competition - whether it was wrestling or running. After the competition, they cleaned off the remnants of dirt and sweat from their skin, and groups of slaves helped them in this. The cleaned dirt was not thrown away, but used for medical purposes.

People rubbed it on their skin, it was believed that it helps to relieve pain. But even if there was no effect, they were proud that now they smelled like Olympians.

4. Impurities in the treatment of female diseases

The Greeks believed that women had a unique susceptibility to impurities. These ideas have even been used in medicine. And when a woman fell ill, it was believed that the most disgusting impurities would be the best medicine for her. After the miscarriage, the woman was given a mixture of roasted mule dung mixed with wine to drink. If she had a premature birth, cow excrement was applied to her. The Greeks believed that the woman's uterus in this case had shifted from its place, but having felt the terrible smell of cow dung, it would return to its place.

5. Sneezing as a method of preventing pregnancy

The Greek physician Soranus believed that women should be responsible for contraception. And if a woman becomes pregnant, then she herself is to blame. Soran taught women that it was enough for them to simply sneeze instead of using contraceptives. After making love, a woman should squat, sneeze and wash herself, and then she will not become pregnant. The absurdity of this idea is obvious. But Soran had several other similar tips in store.

6 Chastity Belts For Slaves

The Greeks did not allow their slaves to waste time making love. And to be sure, they made them wear something like a chastity belt. A metal ring was put on the genitals of the slaves, so tightly that the slaves experienced pain even during sexual arousal. And if the owner forced his slaves to wear a chastity belt, they did not resist, because they knew that there was an even more cruel alternative - to become a eunuch.

7. Ancient Greek ideas about lesbians

In ancient Greece, many men had rather strange ideas about lesbians, and they did not know what exactly they were doing. The Greeks came to the conclusion that women become lesbians who have a very large clitoris, the so-called “female penis”. And these ideas about the cause of female homosexuality lasted quite a long time.

8. Crocodile excrement as a cream

The Greeks often became victims of attacks by crocodiles. However, crocodiles not only posed a threat to life, but were also used for medical purposes, albeit in a somewhat strange way. The Greeks recommended treating scars around the eyes with crocodile dung, using them as eye shadow. A similar method is described in one of the medical documents of Ancient Greece.

9. Phallic processions

Once a year, a festival was held in Athens in honor of Dionysus, and the phallus served as a symbol of this deity. Men and women walked the streets proudly holding giant phalluses over their heads as a tribute to the god. These noisy and numerous processions were accompanied by special phallic songs and rude jokes. According to Aristotle, comedy was subsequently born from the initiators of phallic processions.

10. The first toast appeared in ancient Greece

Today, when we toast at parties, most of us don't give a second thought to where the tradition began, or for what reason. As it turned out, it originated in ancient Greece. The host of the celebration always took the first sip of wine to assure the guests that it was not poisoned - hence the phrase "to drink to someone's health" appeared.

Drawing ideas from the treasury Greek literature, you can create a very clear picture of the origin of our world. Historians, however, believe that all these legends were not even invented by the Greeks themselves, but only passed to them from the now completely forgotten Middle Eastern religions, and therefore Greek authors often, in their harmonious system of the origin of the world, encounter rather radical contradictions, which they, however, did not seem to pay any attention. But nonetheless…

According to one version, which has come down to our time only fragmentarily, the goddess of all things, Eurynome, copulated with the world serpent Ophion and gave birth to the world. According to another version, told by Homer, the world originated from the union of the Ocean and Tethys, personifying the primeval waters.

The main Greek version says that in the beginning there was only eternal, boundless and dark Chaos, from which both the world and the immortal gods arose. In particular, the goddess Earth is Gaia. Very far below it appeared gloomy Tartarus - terrible abyss, dark. Also out of Chaos was born revitalizing Love - Eros, and the world began to be created. Chaos gave birth to eternal Darkness - Erebus and dark night- Nyuktu, from which the eternal Light - Ether and the joyful bright Day - Hemera originated.

Earth gave birth to the Sky - Uranus, Mountains and the Sea. She gave birth to them herself, without any participation of the father. Uranus (her son) took the Earth as his wife, and they had titan children: six sons and six daughters. The son of the Ocean, surrounding the earth, and the goddess Thetis gave birth to rivers and sea goddesses-oceanids. Titan Gipperion and Theia produced the Sun - Helios, the Moon - Selena and Dawn - pink-fingered Eos (Aurora). From Astrea and Eos came all the stars and all the winds: northern Boreas, eastern Eurus, southern Nothus and western Zephyr.

The earth also gave birth to three cyclops giants with one eye in their foreheads and three huge fifty-headed and hundred-armed hekatoncheir giants. Even Uranus was horrified by the strength of his children and imprisoned them in the bowels of the goddess Earth, forbidding them to come out into the light. She, unable to bear such a burden, urged the children to rebel against their father, but they were afraid. Only the younger, insidious Kronos (chronos - all-consuming time), by cunning overthrew Uranus. The Goddess Night gave birth to terrible creatures as a punishment to Kron: Tanata - death, Eridu - discord, Apata - deceit, Kera - destruction, Hypnos - a heavy nightmare and Nemesis - revenge. These beings brought strife, deceit, strife, and misfortune into the world, which was like paradise before.

Kron, who himself had once overthrown his father, was afraid of his children. He commanded his wife Rhea to bring the newborn offspring to him and mercilessly swallowed them. Such a fate befell five: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon. But Rhea, driven maternal love, on the advice of her parents, Uranus and Gaia, she retired to the island of Crete and there, in a cave, having given birth to Zeus, she hid him from her cruel father, allowing him to swallow a stone wrapped in diapers instead of her son.

Zeus grew up in Crete, and the nymphs Adrastea and Idea fed him with the milk of the divine goat Amalthea, the bees brought him honey from the slopes of Mount Dikta, and the young Kuret demigods guarding the entrance to the cave struck their shields with swords every time the baby cried, so that Kron would not heard the baby and that did not suffer the fate of brothers and sisters.

Zeus grew up, rebelled against his father and forced him to return the children he had swallowed to the light. They began to fight with Kron and the titans for power over the world. After a long struggle, they managed to establish themselves on the high Olympus. Some of the titans took their side, and the first were the Ocean, his daughter Styx and children: Zeal, Power and Victory.

The Cyclopes also came to the aid of Zeus, forging thunder and lightning, which Zeus threw into the titans. After ten years of equal struggle, Zeus decided to free the hundred-armed hecatoncheir giants from the bowels of the earth, and they rushed at the titans, tearing off whole rocks from the mountains and throwing them at the enemy. The titans, dodging giant stones flying at them, could not even approach Olympus. The earth groaned, the air filled with a roar, and even Tartarus shuddered. Zeus, one after another, threw lightning, the whole earth was engulfed in fire, and it was so hot that even the seas boiled.

A modern person will see in this description not so much a battle as a geological catastrophe: either a volcanic eruption, or the fall of a huge meteorite. And perhaps a war between two powerful civilizations. However, we will discuss this topic a little later. In the meantime, let's continue the story of ancient Greek legends.

The Titans have been defeated. The Olympians threw them into Tartarus, and at its gates they placed hekatoncheirs. Thus ended the power of the titans on earth.

But Gaia-Earth was offended that Zeus acted so cruelly with her children, and entered into marriage with Tartarus, giving birth to the monster Typhon, the owner of hundreds of dragon heads. He, having risen from the earth, howled, and in this terrible cry the barking of dogs, human crying, the roar of a lion and other equally terrible or unpleasant sounds were mixed. Flames blazed around him, and the ground beneath him trembled.

Well, another geographic disaster...

The gods were frightened, but Zeus began to throw lightning, and the battle began. The earth caught fire again, the seas boiled, and even the vault of heaven trembled. Zeus managed to burn all one hundred heads of Typhon with lightning, and he collapsed to the ground. Even from his exhausted body such heat emanated that everything around him burned. Zeus took the body of Typhon and threw it into Tartarus. But even from there, Typhon caused trouble to the gods and all living things. He caused storms, earthquakes and eruptions, and together with Echidna, half-woman half-snake, gave birth to the two-headed dog Orff, hell hound Cerberus, Lernaean Hydra and Chimera. But nothing threatened the power of the gods: Zeus took the sky, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the underworld of the dead. The gods left the earth in common possession. Zeus became among the gods the first among equals.

The entrance to Olympus was guarded by three beautiful ora, raising and lowering (when the gods descend to earth or return to their abode) a thick cloud covering the gates of the abode of the gods.

In the abode of the gods there is neither rain nor snow, and reigns eternal summer. From here, Zeus rules the world, and good and evil are in his hands. To keep order and ensure that the laws are observed, the goddess Themis helps him. The daughter of Zeus, the goddess Dike, also oversees justice.

But the fate of people is determined by the goddesses of fate - moira, guided by the orders of Doom, which only they know. Moira Klotho determines the lifespan of a person by spinning the thread of his fate. Moira Lachesis determines, without looking, the lot that falls to a person in life. And the third moira, Atropos, enters into a long scroll all that is assigned to a person.

Hades, the brother of Zeus, rules underground. There flows the sacred river Styx, by whose waters even the gods swear. Here are the souls of the dead, who endlessly complain to each other about their bleak life without the sun and without desires.

Hades, who rules the realm of the dead with his wife Persephone, is served by the goddess of vengeance Erinyes. With whips and snakes, they pursue the criminal, not leaving him alone for a minute, and torment him with remorse. At the throne of Hades are the judges of the kingdom of the dead - Minos and Rhadamanth, as well as the god of death Tanat with a sword in his hands. In a black cloak, with huge black wings, he flies to the bed of a dying person and cuts off a strand of hair from his head with his sword, and rips out his soul. Along with him are the Keres, who on the battlefield fall with their lips to the wounds of warriors, greedily drink hot blood and tear out souls from the bodies. Also sitting at the throne of Hades is the beautiful young god of sleep, Hypnos.

The Greek gods, like many other early gods of mankind, which I will talk about later, did not separate themselves from people with an impregnable wall, but on an equal footing with them, as far as, naturally, such equality is possible, they took part in earthly affairs.

God or gods became something unattainable, an exalted object of prayer, much later, with the beginning of the era of Christianity or Islam. Even in the biblical Old Testament, God often descends from heaven to give orders to the elect. Such dramatic changes in divine behavior, or rather, the change in the role of gods in myths, can be explained by many factors, but some researchers come to the conclusion that our ancestors considered gods to be some more advanced civilization that colonized the Earth for some purpose. A little later in the book, we will discuss this version in more detail, for now let's return to ancient Greek mythology.

The gods took part in human affairs, not only "leading from Olympus." For example, in Delphi there was a sanctuary of Apollo, where the Pythian priestess gave predictions. Predictions that, according to contemporaries, very often came true. It is not known how much it is possible to talk about paranormal abilities here, but perhaps it is worth saying about the wisdom of the priestess: the prediction given to King Lydia Croesus during his war with Persia sounded like: “If you cross the river Halys, you will destroy the great kingdom.” Croesus, rejoicing, went to destroy the kingdom. But the kingdom that perished as a result of the war turned out to be by no means Persian (Croesus was defeated, and his country was ruined). Nevertheless, the prediction came true.

But, in addition to the advice given through the priests, there were more specific interventions: suffice it to recall Prometheus, who stole fire for people. The image of a higher being who favored people is in the myths of very many peoples. A certain god not only steals fire for people, but warns the human race, doomed to death, about the global flood conceived by the rest of the gods.

But let's get back to Apollo. Initially, he was considered a god guarding the herds. Soon he became the god of light, and later the patron saint of immigrants, Greek colonies, and also the patron of art. According to legend, he was born on the island of Delos. His mother Latona, pursued by the dragon Python sent by Hera and pregnant by Zeus, wandered the world until she came to Delos.

The son of Apollo, Asclepius, the god of doctors and medical art, became famous for bringing even the dead back to life. Here is another divine intervention in human affairs. Or just miracles of highly developed medicine unknown to the ancient Greeks?

It is worth saying that the gods interested the ancient Greeks much more than people and nature, and therefore many stories from their lives have come down to us. It is possible, perhaps, endlessly to draw various, sometimes very curious parallels, but let's stop. We will tell only a couple of things that, in our opinion, are directly related to the topic of our book. One of them is the legend of Phaeton.

The son of the Sun-Helios from Klymene, the daughter of the sea goddess Thetis, Phaethon once talked with the son of the Thunderer Zeus Epaphus. He laughed at him and remarked:

You are the son of a mere mortal. Your mother is deceiving you! I do not believe that you are the son of God!

Phaeton first went to his mother, and then to his father, Helios, and asked him to dispel doubts. Helios embraced Phaethon and, swearing by the waters of Styx, confirmed his origin and promised, seeing that he was upset, to fulfill his every wish. Phaethon asked to be allowed to ride across the sky instead of Helios himself in his golden chariot. No matter how he tried to dissuade the unreasonable young man, explaining that even Zeus himself could not cope with the horses harnessed to this chariot, but in the end, not daring to break the oath, he retreated.

“Do not rise too high,” Helios said to his son, “so as not to burn the sky, but do not go low either, otherwise you will burn the earth.”

And again he asked him to change the desire, which could bring him death. But Phaeton had already jumped on the chariot, grabbed the reins and set off. Soon he got lost, the horses carried on, and when he looked at the ground, he was frightened, and his eyes darkened. The flames from the approaching chariot engulfed the earth, and large, rich cities began to perish one after another. The rivers boiled and the seas dried up.

Gaia turned to Zeus, urging him not to let her die, and he broke the chariot with lightning. The horses ran into different sides, and Phaeton, with curls burning on his head, fell into the waves of the Eridanus River. Where it is, today, unfortunately, is difficult to establish. Rivers in Attica and in the north had similar names, perhaps this Western Dvina and the river Po. Helios was so upset by the death of his son that he did not appear in the sky, and the earth was illuminated only by the light of fires.

A modern person immediately understands that the legend speaks of the fall of a large celestial body, which caused such strong fires that, apparently, the smoke and dust that rose created such a veil that sunlight could not penetrate to the earth for some time.

To complete this beautiful story, it is worth saying that Phaethon's mother, Clymene, found on the banks of Eridan not the body of her son, but his tomb. Supporters of the theory of a highly developed civilization will immediately say that it was not a tomb, but spaceship, with the management of which the young man could not cope. But still, it is necessary to leave room for legends, especially since they are very beautiful: together with their mother, they mourned the dead young man and her daughters, the heliads. Their sorrow was so boundless that the gods turned them into poplars. And their tears-resin, falling into the water, immediately turned into amber.

As in other religions of the world, the ancient Greeks believed that humanity began to exist in paradise. Rather, here it was called the golden age. But gradually life on earth deteriorated, and, for example, Hesiod believed that he was living in the worst period of history.

The human race was created by Kronus, according to Greek myths, happy.

People knew neither worries, nor sadness, nor the need to work. People had neither disease nor old age. And even death itself did not contain anything terrible, but looked like just a deep sleep. Gardens and fields provided them with food in abundance, and huge herds grazed in the meadows. Even the gods came to people for advice. But the golden age, like all good things, ended, and all people of the first generation died, turning into spirits, patrons and protectors of people of new generations (angels?). Such a reward was given to them by Zeus: shrouded in mist, they fly all over the earth, protecting the truth and punishing evil.

The second human race, who lived in silver Age, was no longer so happy: neither strength nor intelligence these people could compare with previous generation. For a whole hundred years they grew up foolish in the homes of their mothers and, only having matured, they left them, managing to live in adulthood very little. Since most of their lives they were unintelligent, they saw a lot of grief and misfortune. They did not listen to the gods and refused to make sacrifices to them, and Zeus destroyed their family, settling them in the underworld, where there is neither joy nor sadness.

After that, Zeus created the third kind, and the third century came - copper. The people of this age, created from the shaft of a spear, were terrible and powerful. In addition to their enormous growth, they possessed indestructible strength and a fearless heart. Most of all they loved war and battles. They did not sow anything, did not eat the fruits that gardens brought in abundance, but only fought. Both their weapons and their houses were forged from copper, they also worked with copper tools.

How can one not recall official science and its copper age? Greek narrators also note that iron was only recognized by later generations. Soon the people of the copper age exterminated each other, and Zeus created the fourth age and a new human race. These people were noble, fair and almost equal to the gods. But they all died in various wars and battles: some at the seven-gate Thebes, some under Troy, where they came for Helen, etc.

After death, Zeus settled these people on the edge of the earth, on islands in the ocean, away from the living, so that they could enjoy a happy and carefree life. The land there bears fruit three times a year, and its fruits are sweet as honey.

After that, the Thunderer created the last, fifth age - the Iron Age, and the human race, which lives to this day. The people of this generation are haunted by sorrow and toil. The gods send them heavy cares, not forgetting, however, to give good, but still evil and bad weather fall on their lot more. Children do not respect their parents, friends betray each other, there is no love between brothers, and hospitality has become rare. Oaths are broken, and good is repaid with evil. Violence is all around, and the goddesses Conscience and Justice have left people, having flown up to Olympus, and people have no protection from evil.

One of popular theories The origin of mankind claims that before the emergence of our civilization on Earth, there were several more, and, according to some assumptions, more highly developed. Ancient Greek myths, as we see, confirm this.

All of us at least in in general terms known legend about the Flood. It turns out that this legend existed already in ancient Babylon. Well, we know better the story from the Bible about Noah building the ark. The Greeks put it this way...

The people of the Copper Age not only disobeyed the Olympian gods, but became famous for their wickedness. Once Zeus decided to visit in human form the king of the city of Likosur in Arcadia. Entering the palace, Zeus gave a sign, and everyone understood who it was, and fell on their faces. But King Lycaon did not want to honor Zeus and began to mock those who greeted him. And he even decided to test whether Zeus is a god. He killed the hostage, and boiled part of his body, roasted part and offered it to the Thunderer. He, terribly angry, destroyed Lycaon's palace with a lightning strike, and turned him into a wolf.

But even after that, people did not become more pious, and Zeus decided to destroy the entire human race. He decided to arrange global flood, and for this he sent a heavy downpour to the earth, forbade all winds to blow, and only the humid south wind Noth drove dark rain clouds across the sky. At first, the rivers simply overflowed their banks, but soon the stormy waters covered the houses, then the fortress walls, and only the two-headed peak of Parnassus remained above the water.

Of the entire human race, only two were saved: Deucalion, the son of Prometheus, and his wife Pyrrha. Deucalion, on the advice of his father, built a huge box, put enough food in it, and for nine days and nights the box was carried on the waters until it washed up on Parnassus. The downpour stopped, Deucalion and Pyrrha came out of the box and made a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Zeus. The water began to recede, and the land was exposed, completely devastated. Water washed away from it not only all buildings, but also gardens and fields. Zeus sent Hermes to Deucalion and promised to fulfill his every wish.

The same one asked that the land be repopulated with people. Zeus told Deucalion and Pyrrha to pick up stones and throw them over their heads without turning around. Those of the stones that Deucalion threw turned into men, and those that Pyrrha threw turned into women. A new kind of people originated from stone (although the next century, as you remember, was called iron).

But by no means all Greeks traced their lineage from stones. Some tribes considered themselves autochthonous, that is, they arose from the earth. The Thebans, for example, thought that they came from the teeth of a dragon killed by the Phoenician Cadmus, which he sowed into the ground.

Before expounding this side of the culture of the people of Greece, it is worth remembering a very famous myth. He tells about a couple in love: Eurydice and Orpheus. The girl died from a cobra bite, and her young man could not come to terms with the cruel loss. He went for his beloved to the underworld of the dead to King Hades himself in order to persuade him to return his beloved to him.

In addition, Orpheus was known for his supreme skill in playing various musical instruments, in particular on kefar. With his art, he enchanted the god Charon, and he ferried him along the river of the dead to the underground lord. But there was one condition: Orpheus could not turn back, because Eurydice followed him around the kingdom of the afterlife, led by Hermes. According to the condition, the lovers could return to earth only if Orpheus passed this test. But Orpheus could not resist and looked at Eurydice. From that moment she disappeared, sinking into realm of the dead forever.

Orpheus returned to earth. He didn't have long to live. A couple of years later, the man met his beloved, because during one of the Greek holidays he was brutally murdered. His soul came to Hades and reunited with Eurydice.

It can be concluded that the Greeks since ancient times believed that a person has a soul, that it is eternal and capable of living both on earth and in the afterlife.

Legends of the realm of the dead

In almost all myths relating to the life of the gods and associated with the kingdom of the dead, Hermes accompanied the dead to the world of Hades. He led souls through holes in the earth's crust and brought them to the banks of the Styx. According to legend, this river circled the realm of the dead as many as 7 times.

The Greeks put a coin in the mouth of the deceased. It was believed that he would need to pay off Horon, who ferried through Acheron. This is a tributary of the Styx. exit from underworld guarded by a giant dog Cerberus (according to other sources, Kerberus). The living dog did not let the dead into the kingdom of the dead, just as he did not let the dead out of Hades.

2. Minos.

3. Rhadamanthus.

These judges interrogated the dead who came to them in the kingdom. Should a person live in the kingdom of the dead in goodness, be in fear or without joy? Everything depended on what kind of life a person spent on earth. Few could be in mercy, the ancient Greeks believed. By the way, even now some of the main burial customs have been preserved. The Greeks still put coins in their mouths for the dead.

wicked, evil and envious people disgrace awaited in the afterlife. None sunlight, joy, fulfillment of desires. Such souls were thrown into tartar - the underworld itself. However, most of the people ended up in the meadow of Asphodel. It was a foggy country with fields of tulips, very pale and wild. Restless souls wandered through these fields, finding their last abode here. It was a little easier for such souls if relatives on earth remembered them and performed in their honor different ceremonies. That is why in the modern world, commemorating deceased relatives is considered a good deed.

Harsh home of shadows

This is how the realm of the dead was imagined by the ancient Greeks. This is how people see him different peoples and now. But it was in ancient Greece that ideas about this unknown, dark and terrible world were laid.

There is eternal night, the waters of the black Ocean constantly rustle. The world of the dead is mournful, gloomy rivers flow in it, almost dead, black trees grow, vile ones live, scary monsters. There, the titans-criminals are executed. It is impossible to find consolation in the realm of the dead, like peace and quiet. According to legend, even the gods are afraid to go there.

However, such an idea of the kingdom of Hades did not last long among the Greeks. Over time, views have changed and people have found a different explanation for the afterlife. After all, all people are different, live different lives, do different things. Therefore, the outcome cannot be identical.

Of course, some residents of the policies did not even think about the kingdom of the dead and what was beyond the "line". Scientists explain this by the lack of ideas of good and evil among other tribes. In another case, a more advantageous position in the afterlife could be occupied by a person who lived honestly, committed heroic deeds, being resolute, possessing a strong character, valiant, courageous. With the ancient Greeks, over time, the doctrine of the bright Elysium became very popular. According to beliefs, a person who lived his life honestly went to heaven.

By the way, many residents of the policies knew and believed that retribution would surely come for evil. underground spirits they are able to see everything that happens on earth and if injustice is happening somewhere, they will definitely punish for this act.

According to other versions of the Greeks of antiquity, the souls of the dead remain in the graves or hide in underground caves. At the same time, they are able to turn into snakes, lizards, insects, mice, including bats. But at the same time, they will never have a human appearance.

There is also a legend. According to her souls "live" in a visible form, living on the islands of the dead. At the same time, they can again turn into the image of a person. To do this, they need to "settle" in nuts, beans, fish and other foods that their future mothers eat.

According to another legend, the souls or shadows of the dead fly to the northern part of the globe. There is no sun or light. But they can return to Greece in the form of rains.

There is also such a version: the souls are carried away to the west. Far, far away. Where the sun sets. That's where it exists world of the dead. It is very similar to our white light.

It should be especially noted that the ancient, and modern Greeks, believed in receiving retribution for sins and bad deeds. The dead are punished according to how they lived their lives on earth. In turn, there were beliefs regarding the transmigration of souls. By the way, this process could be controlled. To do this, it was necessary to use magic formulas. And the science of applying these formulas was called metempsychosis.

The ancient Greeks hated death, they were afraid of it. In life, they tried to have more fun, not to indulge in grief.

Rites

The rite of burial was necessary and has been done since antiquity. The deceased thus got the opportunity to cross over river of the dead and go to Hades. Only in this way did his soul reach peace. The most terrible thing for the ancient Greeks was the absence of a burial rite for any of the relatives.

A relative not buried in the war, a terrible sin for his family. Such people could even be punished by death.

Views on the existence of souls after death and the afterlife changed, but the rites of the ancient Greeks remained unchanged, like traditions and rituals. In order to prevent the wrath of the gods on the day of the death of a relative or friend, it was necessary to look mournful.

The dead were buried in places specially prepared for this. These were either the basements of their own houses, or crypts. To prevent epidemics from breaking out, burial places gradually began to be transferred to islands that were uninhabited. Another way out was found by the inhabitants of the cities. They buried the dead outside the city walls.

The Greeks chose one of the forms of the funeral rite. The first involved burning the body of the deceased at the stake, the other - burying him in the ground. After cremation, the ashes were placed in a special urn, and it was buried in the ground or stored in a tomb. Both that, and other way was welcomed, did not cause censures. It was believed that if you bury one of these ways, you can save the soul from torment, restlessness. Already in those days, graves were decorated with flowers and wreaths. If the body was interred without cremation, all the values that a person cherished during his lifetime fell into the grave with him. It was customary for men to put down weapons, and for ladies - precious jewelry and expensive dishes.

Change of priorities

Over time, the Greeks came to the conclusion that the human body is something very complex, and the soul has a higher world start. After death, she must be reunited with this whole.

The old beliefs about Hades slowly began to collapse in the minds of the Greeks, acquiring meaninglessness. Only ordinary citizens who lived in the villages were still afraid of the formidable punishment of Hades. By the way, some views on the kingdom of the dead got along well with the dogmas of Christianity.

If we turn to Homer's poems, his heroes are quite individual people. All this affected the nature of death. For example, Achilles was sure that only after being put to sleep would he gain eternal glory and always openly and fearlessly walked towards his fate. But in the face of the true face of death, the hero of Homer gave in. Achilles begged for mercy and the mercy of fate. So Homer made it clear to his contemporaries and descendants that man is just a weak part of this world.

In more later times the ancient Greeks had ideas of secondary and even multiple births. Allegedly, the human soul comes to earth in different periods and eras in the form different people. But in all representations it was invariable: a person is powerless before fate, the will of fate and death.

Attractions in Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki is a beautiful city with a great history that spans centuries. What to see in Thessaloniki. Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki M. Andronicus 6, Tel: (+30) 2310830538, Fax: (+30) 2310830538, Opening hours: (April 1 - October 31) Saturday: 13.00-19.30 Tuesday-Sunday: 8.00-19.30 and (November 1) - March 31) Monday: 10.30-17.00, Tuesday-Sunday: 8.00-17.00. The museum remains closed: 25 and 26/12, 1/1, 25/3, 1/5 and Easter.

Funeral rites in Greece

Since ancient times, the Greeks have thought about what is there, "beyond the line." Is there any possibility of the existence of the human soul after the death of the body? What happens to the soul when it goes to another world? Humanity has not found answers to these questions to this day. However, from some assumptions about the existence afterlife in the ancient Greek civilization, the peculiarities of the burial of people also depended.

What to bring from Greece

If you are going to spend your holidays in sunny Greece, then, of course, it is better to know in advance what exactly you can bring home as souvenirs. In this article, we will tell you about the most popular Greek souvenirs and products that you will be happy to please yourself and your loved ones. And you will save your precious nerves, knowing in advance about all the intricacies of Greek products and souvenirs.

Corinthian Canal

a narrow strip of land 6 km wide, located between two bays - Saron in the east and Corinth in the west, uniting the Peloponnese with Megaris and the rest of Greece: "the same (isthmus) made the country inside the mainland" (Pausanias).

Children's camp "Sintrivanis"