Greek mythology: 13 important myths of Ancient Greece (with comments)
Greek mythology is a set of myths and legends created in Ancient Greece with a symbolic and explanatory character about earthly events.
They are extraordinary fables made up of characters of all kinds that povoam our culture, contributing greatly to the creation of Western thought.
1. Or Myth of Prometheus
Greek mythology tells that living beings were raised by two titãs, Prometeu and his irmão Epimeteu. They are responsible for giving lives to animals and human beings.
Epimeteu makes you animais and gives them various powers, such as strength, agility, ability to fly and etc. But when he raises humans he já não tinha mais nenhum bom attribute to give them.
Assim, it tells the situation for Prometeu, who stands in solidarity with humanity and redness or the sacred heart of two gods to deliver it to the people. Such an attitude infuriates Zeus, or the most powerful two gods, who decides to punish him cruelly.
Prometeu is moored at the top of Monte Caucasus. Every day a great eagle visited him to devour his liver. At night the organ regenerated so that the next day the bird could not eat it again.
Or titã remained in this situation for many generations, until I was freed by the hero Heraclitus.
Comment on the myth: The sacred fire appears here as a representation of human consciousness, knowledge and knowledge.
Os deuses ficaram furiosas com a possibilidade two human beings will "match" them and for this Prometheus was punished. Titã is seen in mythology as a martyr, a savior, someone who sacrificed himself for humanity.
2. Pandora's Box
A Pandora's box is a story that emerges as a continuation of the myth of Prometeus.
Before Prometeu was punished, he had warned his father, Epimeteu, never to accept a present of two deuses, because he knew that the divinities would be looking for revenge.
But Epimeteu did not accept the advice of the irmão and agreed to beautiful and young Pandora, a woman who had been raised by deuse with the intention of punishing humanity for receiving the sacred fire.
When she was delivered to Epimeteu, Pandora also brought a box and instructions never to open it. But you deuse or raise her, we will place her in curiosity and disobedience.
Assim, after a time of conviviality between the humans, Pandora opened the box. From within the saíram all the ills of humanity such as sadness, or suffering, as doenças, misery, old age and other malefic sentiments. Finally, the only thing she found in the box was hope.
Comment on the myth: Pandora is described by Greeks as the first woman to live among the men on Earth, or who has a relationship with Eva in the Christian religion. This would be a myth of creation and that also explains the origins of human tragedies.
Both forums are responsible for darem origin of evils in humanity, or that also explains a characteristic trait of the Western patriarchal society that used to blame women for frequency.
3. Sisyphus myth
We Greeks prove that Sisyphus had been or king of a known territory as Corinth.
Ele would have witnessed the moment in which an eagle, commanded by Zeus, would have kidnapped a girl named Aegina, who was the daughter of Asopus, or two rivers.
Thinking that he would benefit from the information and that Asopus was desperately trying to find a file, Sisyphus tells that he saw and asked for the deity to grant him a source of water in his lands.
Assim é feito, but Zeus discovers that he had been denounced and decides to punish Sisyphus, sending Tânatos, or deus da morte, to look for him.
Sisyphus was a very intelligent little guy and he had Thanatos with a tail. Either deus oil or present, but, in truth, he was imprisoned by pescoço, in the end or strain it was a current.
O tempo passa e mais nenhum mortal é transported to the underworld, because Tânatos was imprisoned. Assim, não há mortes na Terra e o deus Ares (deus of war) gets furious. Ele então frees Tânatos to finally kill Sisyphus.
More than once Sisyphus manages to deceive you deuses and escapes from death, managing to live at once. But, as he was mortal, one day he could no longer escape from destiny. He dies and ends up meeting again as deuses.
He finally receives the worst punishment that someone could receive. He is condemned to carry for all eternity a huge stone on top of the hill. When she reached the mole, a stone rolled and, more than once, Sisyphus would have to take her to the mole, in a tiresome and useless job.
Comment on the myth: Sisyphus was a mortal who defied the desires and, therefore, condemned to perform a repetitive job, extremely tiring and meaningless.
The myth was used by the French philosopher Albert Camus to illustrate a contemporary reality that deals with labor relations, wars and the inadequacy of the human being.
4. Rapture of Persephone
Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, a goddess of fertility and a colheita. At first she was Cora and always lived next to her mother.
One afternoon, out to pick flowers, Cora was kidnapped by Hades, or god of the underworld. She goes down to hell and chegando la como un romã, or that means that she could no longer return to Terra.
Demeter sails through the world to try to make a file and this time to humanity lives a long time, without being able to make boas colheitas.
Hélio, or deus sol, to perceive Demeter's anguish, told him that she was carried by Hades. Demeter então pede that or Hades to return, but to the girl she had sealed or married through the ingestão da romã.
Meanwhile, the land could not continue to be infertile, so Zeus orders the girl to pass through the time in the underworld with her husband and to another through the time with her mother.
Comment on the myth: The abduction of Persephone is a legend that serves to explain the origin of the seasons.
At the time when Persephone remained in the company of my mother, we were both satisfied and for being divinities related to colheita, it was that moment that the land became fertile and abundant, making reference to primareva and summer No time left, when a young man was not underworld, a dry land and nothing sprouted, like not autumn and winter.
5. Origin of Medusa
I didn't eat, Medusa was one of the most beautiful priestesses of Athena, because of just war. A moça tinha had silky and shiny hair and was very vaidos.
Athena and Poseidon have a historical rivalry, or who acts like the deus of the seas decides to bother Athena by approaching Medusa. He knew that Athena was a virgin goddess and that she impunhas her followers who also fossem.
Então Podeidon assedia Medusa e dos têm relações in the temple da deusa Athena. Knowing that we had desecrated her sacred temple, Athena becomes enraged and launches a curse at the priestess, transforming her into a horrifying creature with the hair of serpents. Além disso, Medusa is condemned to isolation and can not exchange dreams with anyone, because they are assimilated by the people would be transformed into statues.
Comment on the myth: There are several ways to interpret the myths, as well as there are several versions of the same two. Currently, the history of Medusa has been critically analyzed by some women.
Isso because it exposes a narrative in which the besieged girl receives a punishment, as it is her fault for the violence she suffered. Or myth also naturalizes or fato do deus take for himself or body of a woman, or that, in truth, is a crime.
6. Twelve labors of Hercules
The twelve jobs of Hercules are a set of tasks that require extraordinary strength and skill to be successful.
Hercules was one of two sons of Zeus with a mortal. Hera, the wife of God, did not tolerate the betrayals of her husband and sent serpents to kill the child. Ma or garoto still baby demonstrates his strength to strangle you and come out unharmed.
Also, Hera became more furious and began to persecute or prey for life. One day, Hercules had a madness crisis provoked by his wife and assassinated his wife and sons.
Repentant, he tries or oracle of Delphi to know what to do to redeem himself. The oracle então lhe orders him to surrender to the orders of Euristeu, king of Mycenae. O sovereign lhe orders him to take twelve difficult tasks, facing terrifying creatures São elas:
- O Leão da Nemeia
- To Lernaean Hydra
- To Corça de Cerineia
- Or Javali of Erymanthus
- Os Pássaros do Lake Stymphalus
- As cavalariças do Rei Aúgias
- Or Touro of Crete
- As Eguas de Diomedes
- O Cinto da Rainha Hipólita
- Os Bois de Gérion
- As Maçãs de Ouro das Hesperides
- O Cão Cérbero
Comment on the myth: The Greek hero Hercules is known in Roman mythology as Heracles. The twelve labors foram narrated in an epic poem written in 600 a. C for Peisândro de Rodes.
The hero became a symbol of strength, so much so that there is an expression "herculean work", to designate a task that is impossible to perform.
7. Eros and Psyche
Eros, also known as Cupid, was the son of Aphrodite, due to love. One day it was soube that a mortal existed, Psyche, so beautiful when she and humans were paying homage to the girl.
She is young, despite being beautiful, she could not get married, because the men are afraid of her beauty. Assim, the girl's family decides to consult the Oracle of Delphi, which orders that she be placed at the top of a mountain and abandoned for a horrible creature to marry.
The sad destiny of the youth had been plotted by Aphrodite. But after his son Eros, upon seeing Psyche, immediately falls in love with her and saves her.
Psyche now goes to live in the company of Eros under the condition that she never sees her face. More than curiosity takes young and one day she breaks a promise, smelling the face of her beloved. Eros fica furious and leaves.
Psyche, in depression, will be tied to Aphrodite's own self to ask to regain the love of her son. A deusa do amor orders that a moça vá até or inferno ask for a little bit of beauty from Persephone. Upon returning from the underworld with a mission, Psyche can finally rediscover her loved one.
Comment on the myth: This is a myth that addresses the aspects of a love relationship and all the challenges that arise this journey. Eros is a symbol of love and Psyche represents the soul.
8. The birth of Venus
Vênus is the Roman name of Aphrodite, a misuse of love for the Greeks. Mythology tells that deusa was born not inside a shell.
Cronos, or tempo, was the son of Uranus (or céu) and Gaia (a terra). Ele castrou Uranus and the amputated limb of the country falls in the depths of the ocean. From contact with the sea foam as the reproductive organ of Uranus, Aphrodite was born.
Assim, a deusa emerged from the waters not the body of an adult woman of staggering beauty.
Comment on the myth: This is one of the most well-known stories of Greco-Roman mythology and also a legend of origin, created to explain the origin of love.
According to the Greeks, love and eroticism were one of the first things to emerge in the world, even before the existence of Zeus and other deities.
9. To Troian War
Mythology tells that the Trojan War was a great conflict that involved various deities, heroes and mortals. According to legend, the origin of the war was due to the marriage or kidnapping of Helena, wife of the king of Sparta, Menelau.
Paris, prince of Troia, abducted Rainha and raised her to his kingdom. Assim, Agamemnon, father of Menelau, gathered efforts to rescue her. Among you heroes who left for this mission were Achilles, Ulysses, Nestor and Ajax.
The war lasted ten years and was defeated by the Greeks after the entrance of a huge horse from Madeira in the enemy's territory that carried countless soldiers inside its interior.
Comment on the myth: This is one of the two most famous episodes of Greek mythology. An expression "present of grego" is a reference to history. Pois or cavalo de madeira was offered for Greek hair in Troian years as a "present". After accepting the offer, or present it was revealed, in truth, an armadilha.
10. Or myth of Narcissus
When Narciso was born, his country of logo became clear that it was a child of incomparable beauty. Perceiving that this characteristic could cause problems for the boy, they decide to consult a seer, or prophet Tirésias.
O man says that Narciso would live for many years, since he did not see his own image.
Or boy grows and awakens many loves, even or Eco.
One day, curious to see his face, Narcissus leaned into a lake and olhou to see his face reflected. Passionate by himself, or young fissured by his image of him and starvation morreu.
Comment on the myth: The myth of Narcissus tells us about individuality and self-awareness.
The term "narcissism" was incorporated by psychoanalysis in reference to the myth, to refer to a person who is so self-centered that he wants to relate to others on his own.
11. Or myth of Arachne
Arachne was a very talented young woman and she was proud of herself. A deusa Athena was also an exímia tecelã e bordadeira e ficou with the greatest of mortal abilities.
A divinity was then tied to a girl and challenged for an embroidery competition. Arachne aceitou or challenge. While Atena portrayed the fights and conquests of two gods in her embroidery, Arachne depicted with colorful threads the cruel punishments and crimes of two gods against women.
As the work was completed, it was evident the superiority of Arachne. Athena, furious, destroyed or worked her rival and turned into a spider, condemned to spend or rest two days on trust.
Comment on the myth: It is interesting to observe this myth as the forces between the divine and the land are in conflict. Arachne is described as a "vaid" and daring mortal, for she was compared to a goddess.
Além disso, a tecelã ousou denounce the injustiças dos deuses e por isso i was punished. The myth seems to be a warning and affirmation about the importance and superiority of religion for the Greek people.
12. To the remains of Icarus
Icarus was the son of Daedalus, a skilled craftsman. You live on the island of Crete and serve King Minos. One day the king hated Daedalus after a frustrated project and imprisoned his son.
Assim, Dédalo elaborates a project of handles for them with the objective of escaping from prison. As handles were feitas with sorrows and wax and for isso we could not chegar much perto do sol, pois derreteriam. Então pai alertou Icaro so that he did not fly not very low, close to the sea, not very high, close to the sun.
More or garoto was empolgou like a pair of handles and reached high altitude. His handles on it will melt from the caiu to the sea.
Comment on the myth: A story arises in mythology as an allegory and a warning about the importance of weighting and good sense. The boy was ambitious and did not listen to the country's advice, wanting to climb higher than was allowed. Assim, he falhou and ended up needing to pay with the consequences of his excessive act.
13. O fio de Ariadne (Teseu e Minotauro)
Ariadne was a bela filha do rei Minos, ruler of Crete. Na ilha had been built by Daedalus a large labyrinth to shelter a terrifying creature, or Minotaur, mix of touro and monstro.
Many homens foram summoned to fight the Minotaur, more morreram na empreitada. One day I chegou na ilha o heroi Teseu to also look for façanha.
Now to see or young, Ariadne is terrified by him and fears for his life. She então lhe offers him a novel of the vermelha and recommends that he or unroll it along the way, as well as she could know the way back after facing the creature.
In exchange, ask the hero to marry her. Assim é feito e Teseu manages to come out victorious from the attack. Meanwhile, he leaves young, not joining her.
Comment on the myth: O fio de Ariadne is frequently used in philosophy and psychology as a metaphor to address the importance of self-knowledge. O fio can symbolize a guide that helps us return from great journeys and psychic challenges.You can also be interested:
- Myth of Narcissus explained (Greek Mythology)
- History of Medusa explained (Greek Mythology)
- Deusa Persephone: myth and symbology (Greek Mythology)
- The myth of Sisyphus with summary and meaning
- Myth of Prometheus: history and meanings
Bibliographic reference: SOLNIK Alexandre, Mythology - Vol. 1. Editor: April. Year 1973
