Mythology

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2011-01-01T01:00:08Z

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Greek and Roman Mythology: An Introduction

2010-10-22T09:32:25Z

Greek mythology, Roman mythology as well as around 30 000 gods, goddesses, demigods, heroes and other lesser gods whose origin dates back to the old Indo-European funds. Each natural power, but each local situation is symbolized by a deity (beneficial or harmful). Some were common to all Greece, others were worshiped as locally. The Romans (Roman mythology) adopted the Greek gods (Greek mythology) and their legends they found in a more literary form, legends imported in Italy by “Italians” and “Etruscan.”

Origin of Greek mythology:
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Chaos, born the Earth ( Gaia ) [as (without the help of a male principle) Land of Light (Hemera), the starry sky ( Uranus ) and the Sea (Pontos)] and the desire ( Eros ). Follow the Darkness (Erebos) night (Nyx) [Nyx will (without using a male principle) the Light of the stars (Aith)].
Ouranos and Gaia had many descendants: Okeanos (rivers); Hyperion father of Helios (Sun) , Phoebe (Moon), the Cyclops; Themis (Law) Mnemosyne (memory), Titan had with Gaia (the land) 12 children giants, the Titans. He yielded the Tro Cronos was not his brother, but back then that the empire has its own son, he forced Cronus to devour her male children. Zeus , Poseidon and Hades , however, has escaped death thanks to a trick of their mother. Titan, having learned, went on Cronos and his family; Cronos (Saturn), which kills Ouranos , leads with Rhea many children (see above), including Zeus, who dethroned him and become the supreme god sitting on Olympus .

Ouranos

2010-10-22T09:31:35Z

Ouranos or Uranus was the son of Gaia (Earth) that joins with him to lead the Titans , the Cyclopes , the Giants , and many gods. Hating his children, he threw the rebels, the Cyclops , in the Tartarus, the underworld dark place that is as far from the land of heaven If we threw an anvil, she put nine days to reach the bottom. In revenge, the Earth Mother ( Governed by Gaia ), persuaded the Titans to attack their father and that’s what they did, led by Cronos , the youngest of seven she cocked a sickle flint. They surprised Ourano s in his sleep, and it was with sickle flint that ruthless Cronos the castrated; grabbing the genitals of the left hand (which has since been a bad omen), he threw them, and the sickle into the sea near Cape Drepanon. But drops of blood flowing from the wound fell on Mother Earth ( Gaia by Government ) and she gave birth to the three Furies. The Titans then loosened the Cyclopes from Tartarus, and entrusted the sovereignty of the land to Cronos . But it was no sooner master of supreme power that relegated again the Cyclops into Tartarus with the giants with a hundred arms, and taking for married his sister Rhea , he ruled over the Elis.

Iris

2010-10-22T09:30:52Z

Iris was the goddess of the Arc-en-ciel, daughter of the Titan Thaumas and Electra, the daughter of Titan Océanos. Messenger of Zeus and his wife Hera , Iris left Olympus to bring the divine commandments to humans, who saw her as a counselor and guide. Traveling at the speed of the wind, she could go from one end to another land, the sea bottom as deep into the underworld. Although she was the sister of these winged monsters that were the Harpies Iris was depicted as a beautiful young girl, provided with wings and dressed in brightly colored dresses!, his head was surrounded by a halo of light and sped across the sky, leaving in its wake a rainbow, symbol of the link between heaven and earth.
In some traditions, she was the wife of Zephyr.

Hestia or Vesta

2010-10-22T09:30:41Z

Hestia or Vesta was the virgin goddess of the hearth , the eldest daughter of Titans Cronus and Rhea . It was supposed to preside over all the sacrifices on the hearth, and we gave her some prayers before and after the meal. Although she appears in very few myths, most cities had a public hearth where her sacred fire burned. In Rome, Hestia was worshiped under the name of Vesta , and its fire was maintained by six young virgin priestesses, the Vestal Virgins. impassive and immutable in character, Hestia embodies the religious and social stability , the continuity of civilization .

Hera or Juno

2010-10-22T09:30:25Z

Hera or Juno is the queen of the gods, daughter of Titans Cronus and Rhea , sister and wife of the god Zeus . Hera was the goddess of marriage and protector of married women. She was the mother of Ares , god of war , of Hephaestus , god of Fire, Hebe, goddess of youth, and Ilithyia Goddess of Birth. Hera was a jealous woman who persecuted often the mistresses of Zeus and their children. She never forgot an insult and was known for her vindictive nature. Embittered by the Trojan prince Paris who had preferred Aphrodite , goddess of Love, Hera aided the Greeks during the Trojan War and was not satisfied until Troy was finally destroyed. Hera is often identified with the Roman goddess Juno .

Vulcan or Hephaestus

2010-10-22T09:30:09Z

Hephaestus, son of Zeus and Hera is the god of fire, metal and art. He did not realize just jewelry and gems but aiso all types of objects: the scepters thrones, amphorae robots gold. It was he who, at the request of Thetis, fashioned the armor of Achilles and also realized his shield adorning the famous performances.
His studio was at Limnos or any other place with a volcano and fire.
His arms were as strong as the iron that is daily worked on the anvil with the break-stone, while his legs were atrophied.
In addition, Hephaestus was also lame, and there are two explanations for this: according to the first, a day or Zeus and Hera were arguing, Hephaestus had taken part in the quarrel by supporting her mother. Then, overcome by anger, Zeus would have grabbed a leg and would have precipitated from Olympus. A people who migrated from Thrace to Limnos (where he fell) would have cared, but he would have remained lame. The second explanation is that Hephaestus was born lame and riddled with shame, Hera is decidable ed to hide his birth by throwing him from Olympus. From there, he fell into the sea where he was rescued by Tethys Eurynome who raised him in a sea cave. Later, when he grows up to avenge his mother he sent her a golden throne he had made. When Hera sat down, she was tied up and anyone that Hephaestus could not release it. So the prayers and thanks to the wiles of the other gods of Olympus he returned to deliver Hera . It is said that to redeem himself against Hephaestus , Zeus would decide to give it Aphrodite as his wife. Although ugly, it was still in the company of beautiful women, since ‘outside of Aphrodite is also cites Charis (personification of beauty) and Aglaia, the youngest of the three Graces.

Hades or Pluto

2010-10-22T09:29:51Z

Hades or Pluto was the god of the Dead. He was the son of Titans Cronus and Rhea , brother of Zeus and Poseidon . When the three brothers divided the universe after overthrowing their father Cronus , Hades received the underworld. There, with his queen, Persephone , he had removed the world from above, he ruled the kingdom of the dead. While sinister and ruthless, insensitive to the prayers and sacrifices, it was not an evil god. The Romans called Pluto , the “! donor wealth!” because crops and precious metals came from his underground kingdom.
The underworld itself was often called Hades. It was divided into two regions: Erebus, which passed the dead just after their deaths and Tartarus, the deepest region, where the Titans were imprisoned. It was a dark and sad, inhabited by shadows and guarded by Cerberus , the three-headed dog and dragon tail. Sinister rivers separated the underworld from the world above and the old ferryman Charon was through those waters to the spirits of the dead. The palace of Hades , located somewhere in the darkness of the underworld, was a place full of doors, dark and sad and haunted by apparitions. In later legends the underworld is described as the place where the good are rewarded and where the wicked are punished.

Short story
Tantalus, king of Phrygia, was one of those who received one of the harshest punishments in the underworld. He was condemned to eternal hunger and thirst. So it was almost submerged in water when he tried to drink the water sank. When he extended his hand to cut a fruit branches that were before him, the latter disappeared. The gods punished him for his arrogance as well: it was revealed divine secrets to mortals and stole the ambrosia and nectar to to offer them to his friends death. According to another version, Hades would have to please the gods, sacrificed his son and would have served during a meal.

Eros or Cupid

2010-10-22T09:29:37Z

Eros is the god of Love and the equivalent Roman god Cupid . He was considered one of the primordial forces of nature, the son of Chaos, the embodiment of harmony and creative power in the universe. Since the sixth century BC. BC, he was introduced as a young man bright and elegant, served by Pathos (passion) or Himéros (desire). Later mythology made him the permanent servant of his mother, Aphrodite , goddess of Love.
In Greek art, Eros was portrayed as thin and handsome young man, his eyes often blindfolded to indicate the blindness of love. He sometimes wore a flower, but more often a bow, with which he sent silver arrows, spikes in the heart desire of gods and men. In Roman legend, Eros took its final form and was depicted as a child, or not long wings. When he intervened in many legends, including that of Psyche, and it gradually gave this myth a symbolic meaning.

Dionysus or Bacchus

2010-10-22T09:29:24Z

Semele state one of the daughters of Cadmus , king of Thebes. Zeus was attracted by her beauty. But their affair did not escape the attention of Hera , who guided and determined by jealousy to harm Semele has told her that if she wanted to see themselves as the wife of Zeus , she had to see it in all its glory, as it had introduced her wedding day with Hera . Though Zeus had tried to dissuade him, Semele insisted to get this show love get caught in the trap of Hera . When Zeus relented and he ran to his house with his car in a deluge of lightning and thunder and lightning by launching the palace caught fire and blasted Semele died or may be under the influence of fear.

But she wore Semele Dionysos , conceived six months earlier. To protect the child from the flames, Gaia made to grow in a flash ivy refreshing. Zeus took the child, still in embryo, became an opening in the thigh and placed there, the slot recousut and left there until the child can be born at term without having to fear the jealousy of Hera . When the birthday came, Zeus broke the stitches and gave birth to her son Dionysus .

The chase led by Hera was continuous. She realized that Zeus had entrusted the child to Semele’s sister Ino and her husband Athamas. Zeus recovered so Dionysus and after metamorphosis of kid, he gave it to Hermes to that it takes him far away, in Asia, to grow. The anger of Hera pursued relentlessly drove him nuts and he then began to wander. Rhea managed to cure him and he continued then his travels worldwide spreading the culture of the vine and rituals relating to each stage of its culture. Some cities réservèrent him a friendly welcome while others drove. In Aetolia, the king Oene greeted enthusiastically, like Attica, which claimed primacy in the culture of the vine.

Dionysus was the god of wine, semen and fertility of the vine. The Dionysian cult is linked to wine, dance and take the man to depart from the principles. Orgies of Dionysus festivities were organized along the lines of religious ceremonies and sacred rites. During these ceremonies, singing the paean, song associated with the cult of Dionysus.

The myth of Ariadne, which was abandoned on Naxos by Theseus , on his return from Crete to Athens, is linked to Dionysus, because he would have kept it and would have made his wife. They also say that the fruit of their love were born two children, and Staphylos Oenopion.

Dionysus’s entourage consisted of nymphs, Sileni, Satyrs and Maenads.
The Sileni were men with legs and a ponytail, who hunted the nymphs to Sunir with them in your grot. Among the Satyrs and Sileni famous, there are Marsyas was a flute player and a music teacher known. The Satyrs were too monstrous creatures, often identified due to Sileni common descriptions that are made, apart from those describing them as creatures half man, half goat.

The Bacchae Maenads or were women who personified the spirits-orgiastic nature. They were invaded by a mania for dancing, singing and frenetic distraction. Around this joyful wave created mirth generally surrounding Dionysus. As we have already mentioned, all these people had taken part in the Gigantomachy alongside Zeus .