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Explore the rich and diverse world of Greek mythology, from the Olympian gods and titans to the heroes and monsters. Find stories, characters, elements, figures, and more in this comprehensive online resource.
Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories concern the ancient Greek religion 's view of the origin and nature of the world; the lives and activities of deities ...
- Overview
- The Homeric poems: the Iliad and the Odyssey
- The works of Hesiod: Theogony and Works and Days
- Other literary works
- Archaeological discoveries
Greek myth takes many forms, from religious myths of origin to folktales and legends of heroes. In terms of gods, the Greek pantheon consists of 12 deities who were said to reside at Mount Olympus: Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Poseidon. (This list sometimes also includes Hades or Hestia). Other major figures of Greek myth include the heroes Odysseus, Orpheus, and Heracles; the Titans; and the nine Muses.
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Learn more about ancient Greek religion, which is different from, but closely related to, Greek mythology.
What are some major works in Greek mythology?
Some of the most important and well-known works of Greek mythology are the epic poems of Homer: the Iliad and the Odyssey. In these, many of the characteristics of the Olympian gods and notable heroes are outlined. The fullest and most important source of myths about the origin of the gods is the Theogony of Hesiod, which also includes folktales and etiological myths. Hesiod also contributed Works and Days, an epic poem about the agricultural arts which includes elements of myth.
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The 5th-century-bce Greek historian Herodotus remarked that Homer and Hesiod gave to the Olympian gods their familiar characteristics. Few today would accept this literally. In the first book of the Iliad, the son of Zeus and Leto (Apollo, line 9) is as instantly identifiable to the Greek reader by his patronymic as are the sons of Atreus (Agamemno...
The fullest and most important source of myths about the origin of the gods is the Theogony of Hesiod (c. 700 bce). The elaborate genealogies mentioned above are accompanied by folktales and etiological myths. The Works and Days shares some of these in the context of a farmer’s calendar and an extensive harangue on the subject of justice addressed to Hesiod’s possibly fictitious brother Perses. The orthodox view treats the two poems as quite different in theme and treats the Works and Days as a theodicy (a natural theology). It is possible, however, to treat the two poems as a diptych, each part dependent on the other. The Theogony declares the identities and alliances of the gods, while the Works and Days gives advice on the best way to succeed in a dangerous world, and Hesiod urges that the most reliable—though by no means certain—way is to be just.
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Fragmentary post-Homeric epics of varying date and authorship filled the gaps in the accounts of the Trojan War recorded in the Iliad and Odyssey; the so-called Homeric Hymns (shorter surviving poems) are the source of several important religious myths. Many of the lyric poets preserved various myths, but the odes of Pindar of Thebes (flourished 6th–5th century bce) are particularly rich in myth and legend. The works of the three tragedians—Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, all of the 5th century bce—are remarkable for the variety of the traditions they preserve.
In Hellenistic times (323–30 bce) Callimachus, a 3rd-century-bce poet and scholar in Alexandria, recorded many obscure myths; his contemporary, the mythographer Euhemerus, suggested that the gods were originally human, a view known as Euhemerism. Apollonius of Rhodes, another scholar of the 3rd century bce, preserved the fullest account of the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece.
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The discovery of the Mycenaean civilization by Heinrich Schliemann, a 19th-century German amateur archaeologist, and the discovery of the Minoan civilization in Crete (from which the Mycenaean ultimately derived) by Sir Arthur Evans, a 20th-century English archaeologist, are essential to the 21st-century understanding of the development of myth and ritual in the Greek world. Such discoveries illuminated aspects of Minoan culture from about 2200 to 1450 bce and Mycenaean culture from about 1600 to 1200 bce; those eras were followed by a Dark Age that lasted until about 800 bce. Unfortunately, the evidence about myth and ritual at Mycenaean and Minoan sites is entirely monumental, because the Linear B script (an ancient form of Greek found in both Crete and Greece) was mainly used to record inventories.
Geometric designs on pottery of the 8th century bce depict scenes from the Trojan cycle, as well as the adventures of Heracles. The extreme formality of the style, however, renders much of the identification difficult, and there is no inscriptional evidence accompanying the designs to assist scholars in identification and interpretation. In the succeeding Archaic (c. 750–c. 500 bce), Classical (c. 480–323 bce), and Hellenistic periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear to supplement the existing literary evidence.
Dec 2, 2009 · Learn about the origins, sources and characters of ancient Greek mythology, a vast group of legends that shaped the ancient world. Explore the stories of Olympian gods, heroes, monsters and more, and their influence on art and literature.
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Explore the gods, heroes, creatures and myths of ancient Greece with Theoi Project, a comprehensive and free online resource. Find encyclopedia summaries, classical texts, illustrations, family trees, maps and more.
Learn about the ancient stories and myths that originated in ancient Greece and shaped their culture and religion. Explore the Greek pantheon, the Olympian gods, the Underworld, and the heroes of Greek mythology.
Learn about the origins, deities, heroes, and creatures of ancient Greece in this comprehensive guide. Explore the collections of popular resources on Greek gods, Olympians, mortals, and monsters.
