24 most well-known Greek myths (and what they mean)

The great culture of Greece is not only the cradle of magnificent mythological stories that have awakened human fantasyBut it is also the birthplace of important thinkers whose ideas were the basis for the most important discoveries or disciplines in the world.

It is a culture rich in literature, historical anecdotes, empires, falls and uprisings. Perhaps that is why it has remained so strong in history.

There is also a mysticism that surrounds the entire Greek civilization since its inception and that, to this day, continues to cause us intrigue. while at the same time helping to be inspiration for new artistic creations and leave a few valuable lessons that will last in the future. weather.

Do you know any interesting Greek myths or stories?

Whether it is so or not, We invite you to continue reading this article and discover the best known myths of Greek culture and the meaning given to them.

• It may interest you: "The 15 best short legends (and their explanation)"

Some interesting facts about Greek myths

Greek mythology is as charming as its lands or its people and that is why you must know some curiosities to know its origins.

1. Origin by song

Before, mythology was known because it was transmitted to people orally, through the songs and speeches of bards or aedas, who were official artists. of the song recited by the legends or epic poems of the gods and mythological characters, accompanied by the melody of a typical string instrument such as the zither.

2. Surviving texts

Once the first signs of writing began to be glimpsed in civilization, these myths and legends were documented to preserve them in history. Those already known are those who managed to survive the changes of time and where it is possible to appreciate the vision of the Greeks about the world, their trade, their crafts, their architecture, the practices of their religion and their way of establishing their culture.

3. Stories in the theater

For the Greeks, the stories transmitted through dramaturgy and acting were very significant, it became another way of telling the story. It was very common for people to gather in squares to enjoy an epic play, which often leaned toward tragedy. Like the defeats or the unfortunate turns of the heroic characters.

4. Beginning of literature

As already mentioned, myths also serve as inspiration to create new works and that was just the case when Greek literature began. Where it was possible to appreciate works of epic poetry, such as the famous Odyssey and Iliad stories of Homer.

Best known myths of ancient greece and their meaning

Then We explain to you which are the 24 most famous Greek myths, and we summarize them.

1. Pandora's box

It is perhaps one of the best known Greek myths in world history, which leaves us the valuable lesson that falling into temptation can have consequences and that hope is the last thing she loses.

Pandora was the first woman created by Zeus, who asked Hephaestus, his master of smithing and sculpture, to he would make a woman as beautiful, gifted and capable as the immortals, so that no man could resist to her. However, he also demanded that he carry some negative characteristics such as seduction, curiosity, lies and a taste for vices.

Pandora was created with the purpose of taking revenge for Zeus, for Prometheus' impudence in stealing fire from him and giving it to humans. so he took Pandora to his brother, Epimetheus, with whom she married and was given a vessel as a wedding gift. But under no circumstances was it to be opened.

However, prey of curiosity she is she decided to take a look and by opening the vessel, she released all the evils of the world that Zeus had enclosed in it. When he managed to close it, the spirit of Elpis, the deity that symbolizes hope, was trapped inside her.

2. The abduction of Persephone

Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, goddess of nature and cultivation, who was inclined to live distant from the rest of the gods. According to the Homeric Hymn, Demeter was courted by other gods who brought gifts for her and her daughter, but she rejected them all and preferred to lead a peaceful and simple life.

One day, while Persephone was picking flowers with some nymphs, she was suddenly abducted by Hades, god of the Underworld, who was enraptured by the young woman and wanted to have her with him. She thus making her goddess of the underworld next to him.

Upon learning of this act, Demeter decides to punish the nymphs for not protecting his daughter and turns them into mermaids, while that the earth would be neglected, withered and infertile due to the great sadness of this mother who went in search of her daughter.

Zeus, after not supporting the misery of the land, sends Hermes to force Hades to return to Persephone and he agrees, but he had a trick up his sleeve. He tells Hermes that her condition to free her from her is that she does not eat any food from the underworld, and then gives Persephone some pomegranate seeds to take along the way. Seeing that she has eaten them, Persephone must return to the underworld for 6 months because she no longer fully belongs to the world of the living.

From here the legend of the seasons of the year is born because, when it is spring and summer, it is when Persephone is with her mother and in the winter season, nature decays after Demeter's sadness at the estrangement of her daughter from him to the underworld.

3. Hercules and the 12 labors

This myth teaches us the value of surpassing ourselves in the face of adversity, but to be careful with the achievements obtained because, these can become our ruin.

Hercules, also known as Heracles, was known as one of the greatest and most legendary heroes in Greek mythology. But it was precisely her courage that unleashed the fury of the goddess Hera, in addition to the fact that he was the son of her husband Zeus with a mortal and that he would be king. So she put a charm on him to murder his own family.

Upon awakening and seeing what he had done, Hercules isolated himself from the world, but was later found by his brother who convinced him to go to the Oracle of Delphi to redeem himself. He commissioned him to go with Eurystheus, the king who took his rightful place at birth, giving him 12 jobs that he had to fulfill in 12 years under his service:

• Killing the Nemean lion with your bare hands
• Kill the Hydra of Lerna
• Capture the Cerinea Hind
• Take alive the Erymanthian Boar
• Clean the Augean stables in just one day
• Kill the Stymphalian Birds with their arrows
• Tame the Cretan Bull
• Steal the mares of Diomedes
• Stealing the belt of the Amazon Queen, Hipólita
• Get hold of Geryon's cattle
• Steal the golden apples from the Garden of the Hesperides
• Kidnap the underworld guard dog, Cerberus

Hercules fulfilled all of his tasks and was atoned for his sins.

4. Perseus vs Medusa

King Polydectes of Serifos, entrusted Perseus with the impossible task of bringing the head of Medusa, to eradicate the evil that he was doing to the world. There was only one huge problem, one look from Medusa and anyone would turn to stone.

Endowed with great weapons, such as a reflective shield, a mirror of Athena and the helmet of darkness of Hades that Returning invisible, Perseus, with cunning and determination managed to infiltrate Medusa's grounds and cut off his head.

It is said that during his return, the red sea was stained with the blood of Medusa, turning this color and giving the birth of the Egyptian cobras and it is even said, of the Pegasi. He managed to petrify the god Atlas to hold the sky for all eternity and finally gave Medusa's head to Artemis to place on her shield.

5. The Achilles heel

A myth that today teaches us that we all have a weak point, even the strongest of all. No matter how great or simple our weakness is, it is something that means a lot to us.

Achilles was a great hero, recognized for his battle in the Trojan War. He was said to be a man known as "The One with the Light Feet," with incredible agility, speed, cunning, bravery and strength. Valued and admired by his battle mates, so much so that no one could make a simple scratch on his body. But, in one of these, he was pitifully hit by an arrow in his heel, by the Trojan Prince, Paris. Which his only weak point of his, tearing his tendon and led him to death.

Why, if Achilles was so powerful, did an arrow to his heel kill him? It is said that Achilles was the son of Peleus (leader of the Myrmidons in Phtia) and Thetis, nymph of the seas. She is, wanting to have an immortal son and not getting it, decides to bathe Achilles completely in the River Styx, but when held by the heel of it, it did not touch the water and was like the heel of a mortal.

6. Prometheus and his theft of fire

He was originally one of the Titans that populated the earth before the arrival of the Olympian gods. These were overthrown by Zeus and condemned Tartaros, but Prometheus managed to save himself from this punishment. Legend has it that he and his brother Epimetheus were friends of human beings and constantly challenged the gods granting knowledge and tools to humans so that they would acquire power and not be subjugated by the gods.

Greek mythology indicates that Prometheus and Epimetheus were in charge of giving life to animals and humans, but it was Prometheus who gave him the ability to stand up and think. Thing that provoked the wrath of Zeus and prohibited humans from making use of natural elements such as fire.

Realizing the lack of humans due to the punishment of Zeus, Prometheus decided to steal the fire from the chariot of the sun god Helios. to give it to humans, so that they could warm themselves during the cold and illuminate their path and their houses in the darkness.

7. The birth of Aphrodite

Known as ‘The one that arose from the foam’, she is the goddess of love and beauty, daughter of Zeus and mother of Eros, was rejoiced and praised among the gods and humans themselves for the incredible beauty and grace of her. Her birth has two origins, the best known as the daughter of Zeus and Dione, who was said to be his first wife, before being replaced by Hera. The other origin of him goes back to the myth of Cronos tearing the intimate parts of her father, which after being thrown into the sea, together with her blood and semen, Aphrodite is born.

Whatever the origin of it, it is represented by the artists erecting itself in a seashell, with the foam around it, to the amazement of the people who were next to it. This goddess was also known for her great self-centeredness, preventing other maidens from being more beautiful than her.

8. The legend of Pegasus

We know it as the beautiful winged horses that could fly through the skies and stay on earth. He was Zeus's favorite horse. It is said of its origin that it was created from the blood spilled in the ocean, coming from the severed head of Medusa by Perseus. He is represented in white or black and has two large wings that allow him to fly and when he is in the air he moves his legs as if he was actually galloping on the ground.

After his birth, he went to Olympus to place himself at the disposal of the god Zeus, granting him the ray with which he is represented. He was a faithful steed for the same god and for this he earned the respect of the other gods. Later it was described in the story of the hero Bellerophon, who killed the dreaded Chimera.

9. The island of the Amazons

The Amazons were known to be a group of wild, strong and strict women. He lived on the island of Terma, where the Black Sea is now in Turkey. It was said that they were cunning and fearsome warriors who lived under the rule of Queen Hippolyta and in whom the presence of men was not welcome. However, they engaged sexually with their closest neighbors, the Gargarios to continue their legacy.

The Amazons only stayed with their female daughters and if a child was born in their place it was sacrificed, abandoned, given to its parents or castrated and blinded to serve the warriors. In many texts, these are the natural enemies of the Olympian gods, facing numerous battles against them and the Greeks in general. All Amazon women were educated and trained to perform field work, hunting, and warfare.

10. The singing of the Sirens

Another short but well-known mythological legend, the song of the Sirens that could enchant and drive anyone crazy. man who sailed through the sea, with the sole purpose of hunting it and taking it to the depths of the sea to murder him. Mermaids are mentioned in various texts, as it was in the case of the abduction of Persephone, where Demeter punished the nymphs by turning them into mermaids for not having protected her. But his most outstanding appearance was in the Odyssey, where they tried to sink Ulysses' boat.

They were represented in two ways: with the head and face of a woman but the bodies of birds and the best known, with the torso of a woman but instead of legs, they have a fish tail. They also have a charming voice and a melodious song that no man can resist.

11. King Oedipus

One of the best known dramatic tragedies in Greek mythology and the name Freud gave to a stage in childhood psychosexual development. Oedipus was the son of the king of Thebes, Laius, who had been informed about a prophecy of the Oracle, which mentioned that having a male child, he would kill him to keep his throne and marry his wife and own mother of the child. So Laius decided to abandon him, but later he was found by some shepherds who took him to the King of Corinth Polibo and his wife who adopted and raised him.

Some time later and as a young man, he visited the Oracle of Delphi to find out the truth about his parents since he suspected that they were not his biological parents. But he only warned her that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus, fearing that this would happen, left his home and went to Thebes, where he meets Laius and is halfway there. his herald, they had an argument and a quarrel that ended in the death of Laius, without Oedipus knowing his true identity.

Later, Oedipus encounters the Sphinx, a monster that terrorized visitors to Thebes, killing them if they did not respond to his riddle, which this managed to do and was rewarded with the throne of Thebes and the power to marry the widow of the king, who was actually her mother.

Shortly afterwards a terrible plague fell in the city of Thebes, product of the murder of the old king and whose only salvation was to make his murderer pay for his crime. Oedipus made a trip to discover the identity of said murderer and not only found out that it was him, but also that of his biological son and that of his former wife (who was now Oedipus's wife).

After this, Oedipus took out his eyes, cursed his children and wandered the world until he died in Colono, sorry for his fate.

12. Eros and Psyche

A story that shows us that love can defeat everything, if you have confidence in your partner, but above all that mistakes can be corrected. It all begins with Psyche, the youngest of the daughters of the king of Anatolia, who in addition to being beautiful had intelligence, which made the goddess Aphrodite angry because, she could not bear that another woman was more beautiful than her and less a mortal.

So in punishment, he sent her son Eros hers to nail one of her arrows into her, which would make her fall in love with the most disgusting, cruel and nefarious man that could exist. However, when he sees her, he falls madly in love with her and throws the arrow into the sea, taking Psyche to her palace to protect and love her. But to avoid the fury of her mother, he denies her new lover knowing her face, so he only visits her in the dead of night.

One day, Psyche tells him that he misses his sisters and wants to visit them, Eros agrees but warns him that they may try to separate them. Psyche, upon meeting his sisters, tells him about her new husband, but cannot tell them that he does not know her identity, with his tricks. Her sisters manage to get all the information out of her and advise her to light a lamp at night to see her face because she is being preyed upon by a vile deception.

Psyche does what her sisters have told her and discovers the face of Eros who, disappointed by her betrayal, moves away from her. Regretful, Psyche confesses everything to the goddess Aphrodite and begs her to help her regain love. of her son, indignant and even more furious than before, she entrusts him with four impossible tasks for a human of her. Being the last, to restore the beauty to Eros that he has lost because of his disappointment.

Psyche undertakes a trip to the underworld to ask Persephone for a bit of her beauty, which he wraps in a box so as not to damage her, however, at the end of his trip, he decided to open it to She would take a bit of beauty for herself, believing that Eros would love her forever, not knowing that, when opening the box, a vapor would come out that sleeps the minds of the dead upon reaching the underworld.

Eros manages to reach her in time to remove the steam from her eyes because, he had followed her in silence through her redemption journey, forgiving her on the spot. He eventually asked Zeus and his mother Aphrodite's permission to marry Psyche, which they agreed and Zeus rewarded Psyche with immortality.

13. The fall of Cronos

It can be said that this myth gave way to the history of the Olympian gods. This mythology talks about the main Titan Cronos, who takes command of the world during the golden age after defeating his father, Uranus. Which, later to prevent his children from becoming stronger than him and overthrowing him, eats Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hestia and Hera. But, her wife Rea, fearing for the fate of her sixth child to be born, asks the goddess Gea, mother of Cronos and she to help save her son.

Thus, Rea gives birth in a hidden place in Cronos and gives him a stone wrapped in a diaper that he eats, without suspecting anything. There are many variations of the breeding of Zeus, there are those who claim that they took care of him some traveling singers, others that it was a nymph and some say that it was his own grandmother who child.

However, as an adult, Zeus takes responsibility for murdering his father and freeing his brothers, who continued to grow normally in Cronos' stomach. To finally lock him up in Tartaros.

The era where Kronos reigned was called the 'Golden Age' because the people lived justly and peacefully. Laws did not exist but it was because immorality did not exist.

14. The big bear

This mythology represents the tragic life of Callisto, one of the maidens who served in the temple of Artemis, who they devoted themselves devoutly to her, for which they had to take a vow of chastity and dedicate themselves almost exclusively to hunting. However, Zeus desired her and wanted to be with her, so one day he disguised himself as Artemis to seduce her and thus be able to copulate with her.

What happened later was that Artemis after noticing Callisto's swollen belly and she acknowledging that she was pregnant after a deception by Zeus and because of the goddess herself, this exiled her from her. Hera, after learning of the fact about her, punished Callisto by transforming her into a bear who was later killed by one of Artemis's deadly arrows. But begging for protection for hers, her son, Zeus granted her immortality by turning her into the constellation Ursa Major.

15. The reflection of Narcissus

A clear example of the negative effect that self-centeredness has on empathy. This Greek myth tells about Narcissus, an extremely handsome and conceited young man, who knowing the impact that she caused in others, she scoffed at the declarations of love that both women and men made to her for same.

Everything was going well, until one day while walking through the forest, he found himself intrigued by a melodious voice that only repeated Over here, over here! Following the voice, he met a nymph who, enraptured by her beauty, opened her arms to go after her meeting, but Narcissus rejected her with cruelty, to which the nymph named Echo, vanished and only her words remained in the wind.

This nymph had already earned Hera's wrath, due to the charm of her words, so the goddess punished her by removing her voice, only leaving an echo in her wake. But, the goddess of revenge, Nemesis took pity on the young woman and, angry with Narcissus's daring, condemned him to fall in love with her own image, obtaining her death in exchange for her.

One day, to drink water, Narcissus leaned over a fountain, where the crystalline waters showed him the reflection of him, meeting with a creature of great beauty and with whom he fell madly in love and after going to meet him, he ended drowning.

16. Orpheus and Eurydice

A story of love and tragedies. Orpheus was known to be a virtuous lyre musician, who when touched any soul was in absolute peace, for which it was said that he could even tame beasts. for which he was highly admired and respected among humans. Thanks to his talent, he fell in love with a young woman named Eurídice with whom he married and they lived a beautiful relationship.

Until one day, the young woman was bitten by a snake which caused her death. Desperate he went to the underworld where with his song he managed to tame Cerberus and moved Hades and Persephone. So, out of his bravery and love, she was granted the power to take his wife back to the world of the living, as long as he walked in front of her and did not see her again until they came out of her and the sun completely bathed her bodies.

He did so, but because of the excitement when he left he wanted to see his wife without realizing that part of her body was still in the shadows, so Eurydice went forever to the underworld. Orpheus later joined the expedition of Ulysses and the Argonauts to protect them from the song of the mermaids and once he died, his soul could be reunited with his beloved, where they are together for the whole eternity.

17. The Trojan horse

One of the best known mythological legends around the world, both for the audacity of the Greeks and for the epic battle that took place in these times. The myth takes place in the middle of the war between the Greeks and the Trojans, more specifically after the death of the Greek hero Achilles. The soothsayer Calcante warned of the conquest of Troy after a vision he had, in which they had to desist from assaulting the city with force and use cunning instead.

So Odysseus offered his knowledge to create a ruse that would deceive the Trojans. So they made a giant wooden horse with a hollow interior, which housed the soldiers. The idea was that the Trojans believed that it was a symbol of the defeat of Greece. Fortunately the plan went perfectly and the soldiers took over the city, conquering it and leading to the fall of Troy.

18. The kingdom of Sisyphus

This myth is recognized as a lesson in the price to pay for greed and deception. It is about the king of Ephira, Sisyphus, who had great cunning and intelligence but was extremely greedy and manipulative. Angered by this fact, Zeus tried to punish him by accusing him of having stolen a nymph and after which, his father Asofo demanded the punishment that the king be taken to the underworld.

But, being there, she managed to trick Thanatos by inviting him to dinner and locking him in his cell in order to escape. Which enraged Hades, who now asked for his return to the underworld. but again the cunning king devised a plan to prevent it. He asked his wife not to pay honors when she died, so when he faced Hades the king asked him to be returned to earth to make up for the mistake of his wife. Hades agreed and demanded that he return days later but he never did.

As a final punishment, Zeus and Hades tasked him with pushing a heavy rock up a mountain to the top of it and laying it there. However, the mountain was just as steep at the other end, causing the stone to fall back. So she had to repeat the task for eternity.

19. The origin of Medusa

Medusa was not always a terrifying creature with hair transformed into thousands of snakes, actually she was a very beautiful and gifted young priestess from the temple of Athena. He devotes faithful to the goddess and the principles of her. However, the god of the seas Poseidon, wanted her intensely and sneaked into the temple of Athena to force Medusa to be with him, the goddess before Such an offense to the cause of her temple, she condemned Medusa to be a hideous monstrosity that would frighten men, but be generous with women.

His condemnation being unjust, Medusa remained with an eternal resentment towards gods and men, who were still attracted to her by her curves and her sensual walk until she turned them into stone. Seeing this, Athena became even more angry and demanded that Perseus bring the head of Medusa, which she ended up doing successfully.

20. Myth of Arachne

This myth gave rise to the appreciation of the art of weaving. It begins with a young woman, the daughter of a dyer whose ability to weave and embroider was recognized by all. So much so that the streets hovered the belief that her wonderful ability had been a gift from the goddess Athena. But, instead of thanking this compliment, Arachne mocked people's naivety for his admiration of the Olympian gods and bragged that his talent was unique and his own.

Angered by her offense towards her, the goddess Athena disguises herself as a mortal to challenge Arachne to a weaving and embroidery contest, in order to teach the young woman a lesson in humility. Yet although Athena managed to embroider an exquisite landscape of her victory over Poseidon, Arachne wove with astonishing clarity twenty-two scenes of the gods' infidelities.

Then, Athena recognized the natural talent of the girl, but that did not appease her fury at such an insult from her part, so he destroyed her fabric and embarrassed her in front of everyone. Which led to the suicide of the young woman so that they would forgive her offense. Athena, she took pity on her soul and turned her into a spider and her thread into a web to teach the world her perfection when it came to weaving.

21. Theseus vs. the Minotaur

Theseus was known to be a great hero of Greek mythology, who ruled the city of Athens, Se says that he is the son of Poseidon and therefore possessed such courageous characteristics as strength and agility superhuman. The myth begins when, to celebrate the courage of the young, the champion of the city of Athens faced the son of King Minos, who was victorious, although the ancient king of the city did not accept such humiliation and ordered his execution.

Which provoked the wrath of King Minos and declared war between Cretas and Athens, which brought misery and famine to this city, to stop This, an agreement had been reached where each year seven young men and seven girls had to be delivered as a sacrifice for the Minotaur.

Theseus did not agree with this, so he offered himself as a voluntary sacrifice, with the intention of defeating the Minotaur. Upon arrival she met the daughter of King Minos, Ariadne, both fell in love and decided to help each other. So the young woman gave him a ball of gold thread so that he could find the way out of the complicated labyrinth.

Once his mission was achieved, Theseus escaped with Ariadne, but they were forced to stop on an island due to bad weather, so he did not notice that the princess had gotten off the ship and it left without her. Also, she forgot to change the black sails of her ship, for white ones that indicated her safe return.

The king, seeing the black sails, believed that his son had died, so he threw himself into the sea. Upon learning of this, Theseus baptized the Aegean Sea after his father in his honor.

22. Icarus falling from the sky

Icarus, who was the son of Daedalus, the creator of King Minos' labyrinth and in which he held the Minotaur captive. He had to pay unfairly for the work of his father, so that no one would know the location of the Minotaur, the king decided to lock up Daedalus and his son for life on top of one of his towers.

He decided to escape, Daedalus studied his opportunities, although he could not do it by land or sea, thanks to the fact that King Minos controlled both. So his best option was air, but how were they going to achieve it? Daedalus worked on two pairs of wings woven from the feathers of birds.

At last finished their work, both took flight but Daedalus warned his son that he could not fly so close to the sun because he would melt the wax that held the feathers together. However, he ignored it and marveled at the landscape, the brightness and heat of the sun, he got closer to it, to be able to touch it. Causing the wax to melt and he fell into the void and towards his death.

23. Hephaestus' limp

One of Zeus's sons and his wife Hera, who as a child demonstrated a great ability to create objects with astonishing utility and a creativity that went beyond ingenuity. Gifted and skilled, he was raised on Olympus, where his smithing, engineering, and sculpting work was worthy of admiration, for which he was highly respected among the gods. One of his most recognized creations was the winged sandals that allowed the person to fly.

Until he earned the wrath of his father, after rescuing his mother for a punishment that he himself had imposed. Zeus launched a bolt of lightning towards him, the impact of which sent him straight to earth and hurt his foot, hence his eternal limp. Zeus condemned him to remain on the island he had landed on forever.

Decayed Hephaestus, he tried to regain strength by creating things, but did not find the necessary tools or elements, until a volcano erupted and made it his new workshop. Where he forged new rays to Zeus and gave them to pay for his offense. He accepted it and let his son return to Olympus.

24. Atalanta's strength

A story of equality, respect and admiration. Atalanta was a young woman known for her incredible agility for hunting and endurance activities such as racing. It was said that no person was capable of matching his speed. But his determination was also present with his beliefs, as a vow of chastity was made to consecrate himself to the art of hunting.

Although this did not stop men from pretending to her, so she challenged them to beat him in a race, if one did hers she would marry him, but if she failed, she had to pay with her life. It was like this for a long time, until a humble and kind-hearted young man, let himself be carried away by a group of men who desired Atalanta, so they asked him to be a judge in her race against her, which he won with you grow.

But the young man named Hipómenes, wanted to try his luck since he had been enchanted with Atalanta and she she began to feel affection for him too, so much so that she almost refused to participate in the race to keep him away from the death. However, Hippomenes knowing the risk, entrusts himself to the goddess Aphrodite, who helps him win the race and finally marry the young warrior.

Have you learned any valuable lessons from Greek history?