Ancient Greek myths Olympus. Olympus - Greek myths

Gods - Olympians (the myth of ancient Greece)

The most powerful of all the sons of Cronus - Zeus - remained on Olympus, he got the sky by lot, and from here he began to reign over the whole world.
Below, on Earth, hurricanes and wars rage, people grow old and die, but here, on Olympus, peace and tranquility reign. There is never winter and frost here, it does not rain and winds do not blow. Golden radiance spreads around day and night. In the luxurious golden palaces that the master Hephaestus built for them, the immortal gods live here. They feast and rejoice in their golden halls. But do not forget about the cases, because each of them has its own responsibilities. And now Themis, the goddess of law, has called everyone to the council of the gods. Zeus wanted to discuss how best to manage people.
The great Zeus sits on a golden throne, and in front of him in a spacious hall are all the other gods. Near his throne, as always, is the goddess of peace, Eirene, and the constant companion of Zeus, winged Nike, the goddess of victory. Here is the fleet-footed Hermes, the messenger of Zeus, and the great warrior goddess Pallas Athena. The beautiful Aphrodite shines with her heavenly beauty.
Late always busy Apollo. But here he flies up to Olympus. The three beautiful Horas that guard the entrance to the high Olympus have already opened a thick cloud in front of him to clear the way for him. And he, shining with beauty, strong and powerful, throwing his silver bow over his shoulders, enters the hall. Joyfully rises to meet him his sister - the beautiful goddess Artemis, a tireless huntress.
And then the majestic Hera enters the hall, in luxurious clothes, a beautiful, fair-haired goddess, the wife of Zeus. All the gods rise and respectfully greet the great Hera. She sits next to Zeus on her luxurious golden throne and listens to what the immortal gods are talking about. She also has her own constant companion. This is the light-winged Irida, the goddess of the rainbow. At the first word of her mistress, Irida is ready to fly to the most remote corners of the Earth in order to fulfill any of her instructions.
Today Zeus is calm and peaceful. Calm and other gods. So, everything is in order on Olympus, and things are going well on Earth. Therefore, today the immortals have no grief. They joke and have fun. But it also happens differently. If the mighty Zeus gets angry, he will wave his formidable right hand, and immediately a deafening thunder will shake the whole Earth. One after another, he throws dazzling fiery lightning. It is bad for someone who somehow did not please the great Zeus. It happens that the innocent becomes at such moments an unwitting victim of the unbridled anger of the ruler. But there's nothing you can do about it!
And there are two mysterious vessels at the gates of his golden palace. Good is in one vessel, and evil is in the other. Zeus scoops up from one vessel, then from another and throws handfuls on the Earth. All people should get equally good and evil. But it also happens that someone gets more good, and only evil falls on someone. But no matter how much Zeus sends from his vessels of good and evil to Earth, he still cannot influence the fate of people. This is done by the goddesses of fate - moira, who also live on Olympus. The great Zeus himself depends on them and does not know his fate.
One of these inexorable goddesses, Lachesis, even before a person is born, takes out a lot for him without looking. Whoever gets what fate, so be it. Her sister, Moira Clotho, tirelessly spins the thread of life. As soon as it breaks, the life of a person ends. No one can change either the fate or the life span that Clotho and Lachesis assigned to a person, because there is also a third sister, Moira Atropos. She enters into a long list everything that her sisters have appointed. And what is written in the scroll of fate will never change.
Many immortal gods and goddesses live on Olympus. There are cruel and evil among them, just like Ares, for example, the god of an unjust war, and although he is the son of the Thunderer Zeus, his father does not love him for his bloodthirstiness and ferocity. Nothing pleases the heart of the evil and formidable Ares so much as the blood and groans of warriors falling in a mortal battle, without looking, Ares strikes with his terrible sword and sows death and destruction around him. And there are others - bright and kind, like the goddess of a happy fate Tyukhe. She walks the earth with her cornucopia and showers happiness on everyone she meets on her way. For some reason, she only walks along secret paths, and no one knows where they are. But on the other hand, if someone meets with Tyuhe, he will always later be the happiest person in the world. Although such meetings rarely occur, each person hopes that someday he will meet Tyukhe, the beautiful goddess of happiness, on his way.

The sacredness of Mount Olympus, according to religious scholar Mircea Eliade, is explained by archetypal attitudes about the sanctity of Heaven. All elevations, as M. Eliade describes in his Essays on Comparative Religion, indicated to the ancients their proximity to the sacred sky, and, therefore, contact with the gods. Mountain - a symbol of holiness and interpretationAxis Mundi or "Tree of the World" - the axis of the earth. By analogy, a hierarchy of rulers was formed, utilitarian elevations were used to emphasize status.

Where is Olympus located?

The ancient Greek Olympus is located in Thessaly - a mountain range from north to south of Pindus. Symbolizing the ancient "parking" of the gods, Mount Olympus became the mythological residence of the Olympians. At the top of Olympus, where there was no access to mere mortals, the gods sat, who were - a feature of Greek mythology and the world order - both close and distant. The gods could repeatedly descend to earth, as in the case of Zeus walking, or the messenger Hephaestus, or Prometheus, who stole fire for people.

What is Olympus?

Olympus or the “Kingdom of Zeus” is a heavenly place where heroes aspired to go after death. Phrase "Climbing Mount Olympus" meant a certain initiation for merit. What was this heavenly place? The top of Mount Olympus is a beautiful and picturesque garden where everything is warm, cozy and satisfying. Ancient aesthetic buildings, where the gods sat and feasted, were decorated with plants, including ambrosia, from which they prepared food and drinks for the gods. In the center of Mount Olympus stood a golden throne on which Zeus sat. The throne flowed into a table for all the gods.

The gods of Olympus:

• Hera- Goddess of the earth and the hearth. Sitting next to Zeus.
• Irida- light-winged goddess, guarantor of Hera.
• Themis- the "right hand" of Zeus or the goddess of justice, who helped in managing people.
• Dike- daughter of Zeus and defender of truth.
• Demeter- Goddess of fertility.
• Hestia- Goddess of happiness and peace.
• Athena- the goddess of the right war.
• Ares- the god of deceit and war.
• Aphrodite- Goddess of love and beauty.
• Hephaestus- blacksmith and god, patron of the craft.
• Hermes- the god of eloquence, profit, trade.
• Apollo- the god of light, sun, singing, hunting.
• Artemis- goddess of fertility, youth, moon, hunting, patroness of women.

Power over Olympus was historically divided between the original gods: after many years of battle, Zeus won power over the top of the world, and Poseidon took the oceans and seas for himself, while Hades got the land of the dead. The entrance to Olympus was guarded by the Moirs or patrons of time, with whom Zeus consulted in making fateful decisions.

Moira - three sisters of fate:

• Eirene
• Eunomia

Life on Olympus was accompanied by feasts and fun- the gods were constantly entertained by the Muses or Charites, later by the graces of the Romans. They were beautiful, smart and charming, personified everything beautiful in the feminine, accompanied the arts and sciences.

About Olympus from the myths of Ancient Greece:

“...Mount Olympus reigns over the whole earth. Its top is covered with snow, most of which is covered with clouds. The slopes of Olympus are riddled with gorges and abysses block the way up: everywhere the stones that the titans threw. The top is closed by a gate guarded by the goddess Ora. At the top, the gods gathered to divide the world. They cast lots and Zeus got the whole earth ... ".

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Zeus reigns high on the bright Olympus, surrounded by a host of gods. Here is his wife Hera, and the golden-haired Apollo with his sister Artemis, and the golden Aphrodite, and the mighty daughter of Zeus Athena, and many other gods. Three beautiful Horas guard the entrance to the high Olympus and raise a thick cloud that closes the gate when the gods descend to earth or ascend to the bright halls of Zeus. High above Olympus, the blue, bottomless sky spreads wide, and golden light pours from it. Neither rain nor snow occurs in the kingdom of Zeus; always there is a bright, joyful summer. And clouds swirl below, sometimes they close the distant land. There, on earth, spring and summer are replaced by autumn and winter, joy and fun are replaced by misfortune and grief. True, the gods also know sorrows, but they soon pass, and joy is again established on Olympus.

The gods feast in their golden palaces built by the son of Zeus Hephaestus. King Zeus sits on a high golden throne. The courageous, divinely beautiful face of Zeus breathes with greatness and proudly calm consciousness of power and might. At his throne is the goddess of peace, Eirene, and the constant companion of Zeus, the winged goddess of victory Nike. Here comes the beautiful, majestic goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus. Zeus honors his wife: Hera, the patroness of marriage, is honored by all the gods of Olympus. When, shining with her beauty, in a magnificent outfit, the great Hera enters the banquet hall, all the gods stand up and bow before the wife of the Thunderer Zeus. And she, proud of her power, goes to the golden throne and sits next to the king of the gods and people - Zeus. Near the throne of Hera stands her messenger, the goddess of the rainbow, the light-winged Irida, always ready to quickly rush on rainbow wings to fulfill Hera's orders to the farthest reaches of the earth.

The gods feast. The daughter of Zeus, the young Hebe, and the son of the king of Troy, Ganymede, the favorite of Zeus, who received immortality from him, offer them ambrosia and nectar - the food and drink of the gods. Beautiful charites and muses delight them with singing and dancing. Holding hands, they dance, and the gods admire their light movements and marvelous, eternally young beauty. The feast of the Olympians becomes more fun. At these feasts, the gods decide all matters, at them they determine the fate of the world and people.

From Olympus, Zeus sends his gifts to people and establishes order and laws on earth. The fate of people is in the hands of Zeus; happiness and unhappiness, good and evil, life and death - everything is in his hands. Two large vessels stand at the gates of the palace of Zeus. In one vessel are gifts of good, in the other - of evil. Zeus draws good and evil from them and sends them to people. Woe to that person to whom the thunderer draws gifts only from a vessel with evil. Woe to the one who violates the order established by Zeus on earth and does not comply with his laws. The son of Kronos will menacingly move his thick eyebrows, then black clouds will cloud the sky. The great Zeus will be angry, and the hair on his head will rise terribly, his eyes will light up with an unbearable brilliance; he will wave his right hand - thunder will roll across the sky, fiery lightning will flash, and the high Olympus will shake.

Not only Zeus keeps the laws. At his throne stands the goddess Themis, who keeps the laws. She convenes, at the command of the Thunderer, meetings of the gods on the bright Olympus, people's meetings on earth, observing that order and law are not violated. On Olympus and the daughter of Zeus, the goddess Dike, who watches over justice. Zeus severely punishes unrighteous judges when Dike informs him that they do not comply with the laws given by Zeus. Goddess Dike is the protector of truth and the enemy of deceit.

Zeus keeps order and truth in the world and sends people happiness and sorrow. But although Zeus sends happiness and misfortune to people, nevertheless the fate of people is determined by the inexorable goddesses of fate - moira, living on the bright Olympus. The fate of Zeus himself is in their hands. Doom rules over mortals and over the gods. No one can escape the dictates of inexorable fate. There is no such force, no such power that could change at least something in what is destined for the gods and mortals. You can only humbly bow before fate and submit to it. Some moira know the dictates of fate. Moira Klotho spins the life thread of a person, determining the duration of his life. The thread will break, and life will end. Moira Lachesis draws, without looking, the lot that falls to a person in life. No one is able to change the fate determined by moira, since the third moira, Atropos, puts everything that her sister’s person was assigned in life to a long scroll, and what is listed in the scroll of fate is inevitable. Great, severe moira are inexorable.

Zeus reigns high on the bright Olympus, surrounded by a host of gods. Here is his wife Hera, and the golden-haired Apollo with his sister Artemis, and the golden Aphrodite, and the mighty daughter of Zeus Athena*1, and many other gods. Three beautiful Horas guard the entrance to the high Olympus and raise a thick cloud that closes the gate when the gods descend to earth or ascend to the bright halls of Zeus. High above Olympus, the blue, bottomless sky spreads wide, and golden light pours from it. Neither rain nor snow occurs in the kingdom of Zeus; always there is a bright, joyful summer. And clouds swirl below, sometimes they close the distant land. There, on earth, spring and summer are replaced by autumn and winter, joy and fun are replaced by misfortune and grief. True, the gods also know sorrows, but they soon pass, and joy is again established on Olympus.

The gods feast in their golden palaces, built by the son of Zeus Hephaestus *2. King Zeus sits on a high golden throne. The courageous, divinely beautiful face of Zeus breathes with greatness and proudly calm consciousness of power and might. At his throne is the goddess of peace, Eirene, and the constant companion of Zeus, the winged goddess of victory Nike. Here comes the beautiful, majestic goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus. Zeus honors his wife: Hera, the patroness of marriage, is honored by all the gods of Olympus. When, shining with her beauty, in a magnificent outfit, the great Hera enters the banquet hall, all the gods stand up and bow before the wife of the Thunderer Zeus. And she, proud of her power, goes to the golden throne and sits next to the king of gods and people - Zeus. Near the throne of Hera stands her messenger, the goddess of the rainbow, the light-winged Irida, always ready to quickly rush on rainbow wings to fulfill Hera's orders to the farthest reaches of the earth.

*1 Among the Romans, the Greek goddesses Hera, Artemis, Aphrodite and Athena corresponded to: Juno, Diana, Venus and Minerva.
*2 The Romans - Vulcan.

The gods feast. The daughter of Zeus, young Hebe, and the son of the king of Troy, Ganymede, the favorite of Zeus, who received immortality from him, offer them ambrosia and nectar - the food and drink of the gods. Beautiful Charites *1 and the Muses delight them with singing and dancing. Holding hands, they dance, and the gods admire their light movements and marvelous, eternally young beauty. The feast of the Olympians becomes more fun. At these feasts, the gods decide all matters, at them they determine the fate of the world and people.
From Olympus, Zeus sends his gifts to people and establishes order and laws on earth. The fate of people is in the hands of Zeus; happiness and unhappiness, good and evil, life and death - everything is in his hands. Two large vessels stand at the gates of the palace of Zeus. In one vessel are the gifts of good, in the other - of evil. Zeus draws good and evil from them and sends them to people. Woe to that person to whom the thunderer draws gifts only from a vessel with evil. Woe to the one who violates the order established by Zeus on earth and does not comply with his laws. The son of Kronos will menacingly move his thick eyebrows, then black clouds will cloud the sky. The great Zeus will be angry, and the hair on his head will rise terribly, his eyes will light up with an unbearable brilliance; he will wave his right hand - thunder will roll across the sky, fiery lightning will flash, and the high Olympus will shake.

Not only Zeus keeps the laws. At his throne stands the goddess Themis, who keeps the laws. She convenes, at the command of the Thunderer, meetings of the gods on the bright Olympus, people's meetings on earth, observing that order and law are not violated. On Olympus and the daughter of Zeus, the goddess Dike, who watches over justice. Zeus severely punishes unrighteous judges when Dike informs him that they do not comply with the laws given by Zeus. Goddess Dike is the protector of truth and the enemy of deceit. Zeus keeps order and truth in the world and sends people happiness and sorrow. But although Zeus sends happiness and misfortune to people, the fate of people is still determined by the inexorable goddesses of fate - moira * 2, living on the bright Olympus. The fate of Zeus himself is in their hands. Doom rules over mortals and over the gods. No one can escape the dictates of inexorable fate. There is no such force, no such power that could change at least something in what is destined for the gods and mortals. You can only humbly bow before fate and submit to it. Some moira know the dictates of fate. Moira Klotho spins the life thread of a person, determining the duration of his life. The thread will break, and life will end. Moira Lachesis draws, without looking, the lot that falls to a person in life. No one is able to change the fate determined by moira, since the third moira, Atropos, puts everything that her sister’s person was assigned in life to a long scroll, and what is listed in the scroll of fate is inevitable. Great, severe moira are inexorable.

*1 The Romans have graces.
*2 Romans have parks.

There is also a goddess of fate on Olympus - this is the goddess Tyukhe * 1, the goddess of happiness and prosperity. From the horn of plenty, the horn of the divine goat Amalthea, whose milk Zeus himself was fed, she will send gifts to people, and happy is the person who meets the goddess of happiness Tyukhe on his life path; but how rarely does this happen, and how unfortunate is the person from whom the goddess Tyuhe, who has just given him her gifts, will turn away! So reigns, surrounded by a host of bright gods on Olympus, the great king of people and gods Zeus, guarding order and truth throughout the world.

There is not a single people who would not have their own idea of ​​the universe, the gods who rule life, as well as their struggle for power and influence. The myths of Ancient Greece, a summary of which we will consider in our article, are also special because they pay a lot of attention to man. Mighty heroes are of divine origin, but remain human - mortal and vulnerable, in need of help. And nothing human is alien to them.

What is a myth?

Before studying the myths of Ancient Greece (a brief summary - more is not available to us due to the volume of the article), it is worth understanding what it is - a "myth". In fact, this is a story that reflects people's ideas about the world and order in it, as well as the role of man in the universe. According to ancient authors, people were active participants, and not just a crowd that expected mercy from immortal celestials. But first things first.

Another feature of Greek myths is their high level of order and culture. In addition, their character changed depending on the region of the country, since each policy had its own, more revered gods and heroes, from whom, as the Greeks believed, the population originated. Of course, over time, the legends changed, acquired a different meaning. But the most important thing in them is the content that tells about the life of society in the primitive era, not only in Greece. Researchers note that many stories echo the myths of other peoples who lived at that time, which may indicate that they were created in parallel and carry a grain of truth. The myths of Ancient Greece, the summary of which we are considering, is an attempt to explain the world around us and pass on to descendants views on morality and relations in society.

What are the ancient Greek legends about?

We will talk very briefly about the essence of ancient legends, since many ancient Greek myths have come down to us. A brief summary of them can take a whole book. For example, Nikolai Kun, the most famous researcher of the ancient heritage, collected, streamlined and translated more than two hundred legends. Many of them are presented in the form of cycles. We will try to divide them into several groups. It:

• myths about the origin of the world and gods;
• stories about the titans and the battle of the gods with the titans;
• myths about the gods who lived on Olympus;
• labors of Hercules;
• stories about people and heroes (Perseus, Theseus, Jason); a cycle about the Trojan War, its causes, course and end, as well as the return of the heroes of the battle home (the main characters of the myths are Paris, Menelaus, Helen, Achilles, Odysseus, Hector, Agamemnon);
• myths about world exploration and colonization (Argonauts).

Myths of Ancient Greece (summary). About Zeus the Thunderer

The Greeks paid much attention to the main god of Olympus. No wonder, because the angry Thunderer could punish with lightning for a disrespectful attitude or send another grief, and even turn away from the person, which was even worse. Zeus was considered the youngest son of the titans Kronos and Rhea - time and the mother goddess. Rhea saved him from being swallowed, as Kronos was swallowing all of his children, fearing for his power.

Having matured, he overthrows his tyrant father and brings all his brothers and sisters back to life, and also distributes power between them. He himself was responsible for the wind, clouds, thunder and lightning, storm and hurricane. Zeus could calm the elements or send her, helped the offended and punished those who deserved it. However, he could not control fate.

The love affairs of Zeus also describe the myths of Ancient Greece, a summary of which we are studying. God had a passion for beautiful girls and goddesses and seduced them in every possible way. From them he had many children - gods and goddesses, heroes, kings. Many of them were disliked by Hera, the legal wife of the Thunderer, who often persecuted them and harmed them.

Instead of an epilogue

In the pantheon of the ancient Greeks there were many gods responsible for all branches of their life - agriculture, navigation, trade, war, crafts, the other world. However, there were also beings, demigods, who patronized science and art, followed justice and morality. This means that great attention was paid to these aspects.

Every cultured person should know what the ancient myths of Hellas tell us, so it’s worth reading them at least briefly. But reading them in their entirety allows you to plunge into a wonderful world full of interesting and unusual.