Myths of ancient Greece Zeus. gods of ancient greece
10. Fairy Kingdom
Knockma Woods is located in the wilds of the western part of Ireland and several major legends are associated with it. According to the stories of ancient storytellers, the legendary warrior queen Maeve was buried under a pile of stones on the Konkma hill, and now the hill itself is supposedly the entrance to one of the fabulous kingdoms of Ireland. Ruled by King Fionnbhar (also known as Finvarr), the fairy-tale kingdom of Connacht exists only within one of the many stone circles and fairy rings that dot the mountain.
According to legend, one day Finvarra kidnapped the beautiful bride of an Irish lord and took her to his kingdom. The lord pursued the king and his bride all the way to the hill and ordered his men to start digging, but every night when the warriors went to bed, all the holes that they managed to dig in a day were completely restored by the fairies serving Finvarr. To prevent this from happening again, the lord ordered salt to be poured around the hill and eventually managed to dig his way into the fairy kingdom and rescued his wife.
Also, family legends from the 18th and 19th centuries mention that Finvarra allegedly protected the nearby castle of Hacket, made sure that the wine cellars of its owners were constantly full, and also ensured the victory of their horses, no matter what competitions they participated in. However, the forest of Knokma is not just a local legend or something like that, but also an archaeological reminder, because during the excavations here it was possible to find a number of Neolithic settlements and cairns (note piles of stones poured over a burial) dating back to about 6000-7000 BC. AD
9. River Styx
The Greeks believe that the River Styx is the main entrance to the underworld. They say that she goes around the kingdom of Hades seven times, and her water is extremely caustic, poisonous and deadly. In addition, according to rumors, it flows between two massive silver columns guarded by nymphs, after whom it got its name. Legends say that all this is true and that once her deadly waters killed one of the greatest leaders in world history.
According to legend, once Zeus forced the gods to drink water from the river Styx, which was used like a lie detector. If they were liars, they would lose their voice and ability to move within one year. These symptoms are eerily similar to those experienced by Alexander the Great before he died prematurely from an unspecified sudden illness in 323 BC. Before falling into a coma, the Greek leader suffered from stabbing pains in the internal organs and joints, high temperature and loss of voice.
These symptoms are also very similar to those experienced by a person when calicheamicin, a toxin produced by bacteria found in limestone found in high concentrations in the Mavroneri River, enters the body. It is also known as the Black Water, which flows out of the Peloponnesian Mountains and has long been considered a real crossing to the banks of the River Styx. Ancient legend says that the water in it was so poisonous and deadly, like that of the mythical counterpart, that the only things it could not damage were boats and rafts made from horse hooves.
If the version of the death of Alexander the Great is correct, then it can be assumed that he did not die of malaria or typhoid fever, as previously assumed, but in fact was poisoned by a person who managed to get water from the mythical river Styx.
8. Lost City "Z"
The Lost City "Z" is a mythological city located in the wilds of South America. Presumably, a large, advanced civilization lived here, strangely similar to the ancient Greek cities, full of all sorts of treasures and riches. According to a manuscript dating from the 16th century (note also known as "Manuscript 512"), this city was inhabited by white residents and female warriors. But no matter how mythical cities may seem fiction, the existence of this city does not seem to be so unlikely. There were vast, unexplored lands on the territory of South America, which are now deeply buried underground, so that modern researchers have practically no chance to find out what is buried in the jungle.
One of the most famous people, who went in search of this city and as a result disappeared without a trace, was Colonel Percy Fawcett. The Colonel, who kept his intended route a secret to prevent his rivals from finding the mythical city first, disappeared into the Amazon jungle in 1925. His expedition and subsequent disappearance are shrouded in mystery, and his cryptic letters and deliberately false coordinates allow several different explanations for all this. One theory that some researchers insist is that the famous explorer actually went into the jungle not to search for the lost city of "Z" at all, but to establish a new, based on the basic principles of the cult that his son worshiped. accompanying him on that expedition.
Although the above assumptions are far-fetched, the one very real thing in this whole story remains the city itself. Modern satellite images showed that Fawcett was looking for the city, not far from where he said he should be. Fawcett believed that the entrance to the mythical city was located somewhere in the Amazon between its Xingu and Tapajos tributaries, and more than 200 clay structures stretching along the Brazilian border of Bolivia suggest that his theory was very close to the truth. Modern scholars have calculated that some structures date back to 200 AD, while others are relatively recent, in the 13th century. The entrance to the massive, shiny city of Fawcett was in all likelihood only a little further southwest from where it was last seen.
Before new information was received, long time it was assumed that the Amazonian jungle did not allow a wide range of Agriculture much less build a gigantic city of similar size. However, calculations show that the city of "Z" was once home to about 60,000 people. Not only small buildings were built on its territory - some of the monuments arranged here were much larger in size than the Egyptian pyramids.
7. Shambhala
The mythical land of Shambhala is perhaps best known in the Western world as the fictional paradise from which the stories of Shangri-la were based. According to Buddhist legends, Shambhala is a secret kingdom where Buddhist values and traditions are observed. The utopian world is also home to the great warrior Geser, who leads the hordes of the righteous who eventually travel to the human world to fight our demons.
Today, many people talk about visiting Shambhala. They say that you can enter Shambhala through a long-forgotten guard post created by Alexander the Great, the Russian mountain Belukha, the settlement of the Afghan Sufi Sarmun brotherhood and ancient city Balkh bordering Tibet in the Himalayas and also through the Sutlej valley in India. Heinrich Himmler was convinced that Shambhala was the abode of the Aryan race, and even organized seven expeditions to search for it.
However, the entrance to Shambhala is much more difficult than it seems. According to the Dalai Lama, you will not be able to see the entrance until you reach a state of purity similar to that of a mystical city. Many people think that this means that the entrance is not physical place or a point on the map, but a state of mind, and this means that all of the above inputs may well be real.
6. Yomi
The legend of Yomi (or Yomi No Kuni) is part of Japanese mythology that predates widespread Buddhism. According to the myth, all the creations of the world were created by a god named Izanagi (Izanagi) and his goddess - his wife Izanami (Izanami). After Izanami died giving life to fire, her heartbroken husband went to the underworld to bring her back.
This legend bears a striking resemblance to other myths, as it also tells of a determined man discovering a dark and gloomy place underground, where souls trying to preserve their mortal bodies are doomed to rot forever. Izanagi was forbidden to look at his wife until they reached the surface, but like many of his mythological counterparts, he glanced down at her rotting, worm-infested body before the end of the journey. Enraged that he dared to look at her in such a state, Izanami sent hideous demons after him to chase him until he returned to the underworld for good, but he managed to escape from there and sealed the entrance to Yomi with a giant boulder. In response, Izanami promised to take 1000 lives to the underworld every day, and Izanagi swore an oath to create another 1005 new ones every day.
Today, tourists visiting the Japanese city of Matsue can visit the boulder that, according to legend, Izanagi used to permanently close the entrance to the underworld. Yomotsu Hirasaka (the official name for the entrance to the abode of the dead) is supposedly located behind one of the boulders near the Shinto shrine Iya Shrin. It is not yet clear which boulder is hiding the legendary entrance, which may be for the best. As for Izanami's grave, it is also located near the shrine built in her honor.
5. Xibalba
At the height of its power, the Maya empire stretched across Mexico and Central America, and the faith of its people in other world was stronger than ever. Their final resting place was the other world known as Xibalba, where only the dead could enter, and then only after their soul had overcome all sorts of obstacles, from crossing a river of scorpions, festering, being chased by a pack of bats, and ending with a dog, able to see in the dark.
As we mentioned earlier, there are several different entrances to Xibalba, and researchers recently discovered another one in the Yucatan Peninsula. Here are the subterranean and partly underwater ruins of a massive labyrinth of caves, within which are several grim markers of what the Maya supposed would await them at its end.
Archaeologists have found 11 different temples in these caves, as well as signs of human sacrifice. There are a number of artifacts left as offerings to the dead, including clay dishes, carved stones and pottery. Archaeological excavations in the caves have also uncovered huge stone columns and structures built underwater, testifying to how much time, effort and dedication the Maya took to create their shrine. Although it still remains unclear whether the myth of Xibalba was created after the discovery of these caves, or, conversely, the caves are proof of the reality of this legend, one thing is certain for sure - they were definitely connected with each other.
4. Gates of Gehenna
According to the basic postulates of Voodoo, the passage through the Gates of Gehenna resembles something similar to the passage of the soul from life to death. Since Voodoo traditions differ from each other, so do the descriptions of these gates. According to Wood, who practices in New Orleans, hell is a spirit that exists in the afterlife, which is often described as an intermediate state between life and death. The Gates of Gehenna is a portal to the afterlife, consisting of seven gates. The soul takes seven days to pass through all the gates, and if it fails, it can return to Earth as a zombie. Some voodoo practitioners believe that the seven gates are located in seven different cemeteries in New Orleans, although the exact location and numerical order of the gates is a secret with seven seals. Scattered throughout the city and its cemeteries, clues left here for those knowledgeable enough to decipher often resemble the symbols of certain Voodoo deities.
The gates are allegedly easier to find and open in such holidays like Mardi Gras and Halloween, but finding them is only the beginning of the problem. The gates must be similar, open in the correct order, and each has a guard who requires the appropriate sacrifice. But, according to legend, opening the gates in the wrong order or not fulfilling all the requirements of the guards can cause the appearance of evil and dangerous spirits that will leave the other world in order to get into ours.
3. Garden guarded by the Hesperides
According to Greek mythology, Geya (note the goddess of the earth) presented Hera with a wedding gift in the form of trees, the fruits of which were golden apples. The latter were given to the garden of the Hesperides for safekeeping. Hercules was given the task of stealing one such apple, which was his eleventh feat. And he fulfilled his task, taking the place of Atlanta and lifting the Earth, while the titan got him one of the golden fruits.
Tradition says that the entrance to the garden was located in present-day Lixus, a coastal city in Morocco. Once a bustling Roman port, it is now entirely made up of ruined walls and ruined buildings. Among them are the remains of one of the city's largest merchandise industries, as well as a fermented fish intestine paste factory. The garden and its location have been mentioned in the lyrics of sea songs since Hellenistic Greece, but there are other suggestions about its possible location. For example, they concern the city of Cyrene and one of the islands off the coast of Libya.
2. Newgrange
Newgrange is a massive tomb built in Ireland's Boyne Valley over 5,000 years ago. This is not only an impressive display of the incredible skill of our ancestors, but also one of the entrances to the other world, according to Celtic mythology. The latter tells that once the gods moved back and forth between the earthly and their own worlds through specially prepared and consecrated burial mounds like Newgrange.
The supposed entrance to the magnificent banqueting hall of the so-called Lords of Light, Newgrange, was popularly said to lead to a land where no one ever dies, ages or gets sick. There is an endless supply of food and drink, as well as magical trees that continually bear fruit. Oldest collections myths concerning Newgrange call it the receptacle of the otherworldly incarnation of the River Boyne, as well as the well, which is the source of all wisdom in the world. The trees near the well drop their nuts into the water, which releases the knowledge they contain into the real human world.
The next inhabitant of the other world associated with the legends of Newgrange is Dagda - one of the oldest Irish gods, who is often associated with knowledge, the Sun and the sky. His son, Angus, is closely associated with Newgrange, as legend has it that he was born in just one day, which was stopped by the power of the mound, which had gathered the power of the last nine months. Later, Angus deceived Dagda, giving him the tomb, which is the entrance to the other world, which he guards to this day.
1. Shkolomance (or Scholomance)
Scolomance is a mythical school whose existence was only mentioned in Romanian folklore, until all the stories about it were written down by an English writer named Emily Gerard. According to Gerard, only 10 students were accepted at a time in Shkolomance, and the devil himself was engaged in their training. Here they learned all about his spells and tricks, including learning to communicate with animals and control the weather. Once so peculiar training program was completed, only nine students graduated from the school. The latter remained with the devil as payment for lessons for the whole class, after which he sent him to an infinitely deep lake, where he lived until the devil called him to himself to create more lightning.
Gerard's version of Scholomance is slightly different from the traditional Romanian legend, which has been mistranslated. In Romanian folklore, this school is called Solomonari (Solomanari) and is located in a fictional world that exists in parallel with ours. After reading Gerard's work, Bram Stoker used the idea of Scholomance in Dracula to explain how Dracula's family came to know about their demonic abilities.
The lake where the devil's dragon sleeps and the school where he teaches are said to be high in the Carpathian Mountains, not far from the Romanian city of Sibiu, where, according to old legends, thunderstorms are observed every day. Those looking for the Devil's Lake will know they've found it when they see a pile of rocks lining the shoreline. It marks the place where unfortunate travelers die and fall directly under the lightning of the devil.
+ Schlaraffenland
Schlaraffenland, otherwise known as Cockane, was a utopian mythological city of lazybones. Those who managed to find their way there found everything they could dream of, especially when it came to food. The walls of the houses here are made of large pieces of bacon, the roofs are made of pies and pancakes, and the fences are made of sausages. Wine runs in all the fountains, milk flows instead of water in the rivers, and the trees in the Schlaraffenland bring meat pies and fruit buns instead of cones. Even the weather here is made of food: snow is made of sugar, and hail falls on its inhabitants in the form of dragees. In addition, here you can also earn money literally in a dream.
Unlike many mythical places, Schlaraffenland is not only accessible to those who were extremely good or righteous, and those who dream of getting there must also be extremely hungry. The legends said that in order to get there, you need to go towards North Hommelen (a city located near the northern border of France) and look for the gallows. The entrance to the world of lazy people is a massive mountain of porridge, and it can be unmistakably found. Those who aspire to get to this city must literally eat their way through the mountains, so a big appetite is only welcome here.
The material was prepared by Natalia Zakalyk - based on an article from listverse.com
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The story of Zeus, the supreme god of Greek mythology.
Many believed in Zeus as the only and main god even before the advent of Christianity, and the most terrible natural disasters were explained by his anger.
Heaven in Greek mythology personified a very important part of the world, and the one who controls the sky is the owner of everything and everyone. Zeus was revered in every possible way, as a fair steward of both people and gods.
Among the gods, Zeus occupied the highest level of the hierarchy, that is, in fact, he was a king among the gods.
As the lord of heaven, Zeus could control lightning and thunder. It was lightning that became a symbol of the power and might of Zeus. This explains another name of Zeus - the Thunderer, so the Greeks tried to explain such a natural phenomenon as lightning.
The myth of the birth of Zeus
The first mention of Zeus was found in the notes of the ancient Greek author Hesiod (Hesiod lived in the 7th century BC), he wrote the book of theogony (for the Greeks, this book was something like the book of Genesis.)
According to legend, Zeus was not a god from the very beginning, but the myth of the birth of Zeus, begin with Zeus challenging his father, Kronos. Kronos was very powerful, he commanded the most powerful of the deities - the Titans. (The Titans were considered the very first deities who populated the earth, but they were not particularly smart, aggressive, they only wanted to take and consume.) When Kronos decides to extend his family, he is forced to enter into a relationship with his sister from the Titan family - Reya.
Initially, all the gods are relatives, and therefore incest in myths is quite common.
Kronos and his wife Rhea have the next generation of gods. In the future, this generation will be called the Olympians. They include Hades, Poseidon and Zeus.
Kronos initially did not want to have children, because he did not want to give the status of the supreme ruler. He was afraid that his son would be stronger and better, that, in the end, he would overthrow him. For fear of losing everything, Kronos decided to act drastically. Immediately after birth, he swallowed his children alive. Of course, the children could not die (since they were immortal gods), but they no longer posed a threat to Kronos.
At that time, cannibalism in ancient Greece was something out of the ordinary, this act was considered the lot of savages.
Rhea was horrified, Kronos had already swallowed five of her children, and now she is pregnant again. To keep her children free, Rhea comes up with a plan. She runs away to a secret hideout and gives birth to a son there. It is this son who will become the king of the gods - Zeus. But Kronos was already waiting for his wife at home to devour the newly born child. Therefore, Rhea wraps a stone in a diaper and carries it to Kronos. Immediately Kronos swallows the bundle of nothing, not guessing.
Rhea decides to hide his son on the island of Crete in a secret cave. (Afterwards, this cave will become a sanctuary for the worship of Zeus.) But it's hard to hide someone from Kronos himself, every time little Zeus cried, the people who guarded him beat special shields that hung along the walls of the cave. The sound of these shields did not allow Kronos to hear the cry of his son.
The myth of the birth of Zeus says that the little god lived in a cave until maturity. Growing up, Zeus undergoes training, gaining wisdom and strength - he becomes a real man. All this is done to achieve his goal, which Zeus set for himself - to overthrow his cruel father and seize power over the world.
Brief myth of Zeus - the overthrow of Kronos
Zeus knows that the stakes are very high, if he wins, he will become the supreme ruler of the world, and if he loses, he will fall into Tartarus forever.(Tartarus is the lower level of the kingdom of Hades, it was here that the damned fell, i.e. those who somehow offended the gods.)
Kronos sat on Mount Olympus.
Mount Olympus in ancient Greek mythology was the home of the gods. However, it does exist in reality. This is the highest point in Greece, the mountain rises almost 3 kilometers above sea level. The Greeks themselves really believed that the gods lived on this mountain.
It is at the top of Mount Olympus that Zeus devises a plan to reclaim the throne from his father Kronos and his mighty Titans. Zeus decides to free his brothers, who were swallowed by Kronos, and enlist their help. During this time, the brothers of Zeus, being in the stomach of Kronos, also matured and gained the power of the gods. Zeus brewed a poisonous potion to free his brothers. Entering the chambers of Kronos, Zeus pours poison into his cup. After drinking it, Kronos begins to feel bad, he soon spews out a stone that Rhea gave him instead of Zeus.
According to legend, this stone formed the basis of the most revered place in ancient Greece - the Delphic temple, the haven of the oracle. Delphi is a sanctuary where people from all over Greece came to bow and ask for help from the gods. This stone, which Kronos cast out of himself, is still located in the very center of the Delphic temple to this day.
According to legend, after the stone, Kronos regurgitated five children eaten earlier. Zeus, as a good ruler, had an excellent mind and skills to inspire and convince others. Thanks to these skills, he was able to unite his relatives and create a coalition. But even together, they lacked the strength to fight the Titans.
Then Zeus remembered the forgotten by Kronos, the Cyclopes and the hundred-armed Hekatonkheires. Kronos was afraid of their power, and therefore hid them in tartar.
Zeus understood that with their help, victory would be his. Having descended into Tartarus, he finds the Hekatonkheires and speaks with them on an equal footing and with respect, he asks them for help to overthrow his father. Touched by this reverence, the Hekatoncheirs agreed to help the young Zeus.
After Zeus also freed the Cyclopes. In return, they gave Zeus the power to command lightning and thunder.
The forces are determined, the battle itself will take place in Thessaly, a plain lying between the mountains of Othris and Olympus.
A grandiose battle begins, Zeus with lightning in his hands, his brothers, the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheirs fight with the most powerful deities - the Titans.
(Traces of grandiose battles are still found in the Thessalian valley.)
Soon the decisive moment comes, the battle between father and son. From the top of Mount Olympus, Zeus strikes his father's army with strong lightning strikes. Hundred-armed Hecatoncheires broke off huge pieces of mountains and threw them at the titans. The ground under their feet cracked, and the sounds of battle were heard throughout the world.
Scientists have found that ancient world at that time, experienced a real disaster. On the territory of the island of Santorini, about 3 thousand liters. A massive volcanic eruption happened. Its power can be compared to five tens of thousands of Hiroshima bombs. An eruption of such force destroyed most of the Greek world, and the survivors could explain this catastrophe as the wrath of the gods.
The battle of the gods continues, and Zeus begins to win. But the Titans had something to do. From the depths of Tartarus they summon Typhon.
Typhon is a terrifying monster of incredible size.
The battle of Zeus and Typhon was not long, the monster cannot withstand such powerful lightning strikes and falls back into Tartarus along with the remaining titans. There they will spend eternity.
The victory of Zeus made him the ruler of the world and the king among the other gods. However, calmness and peace were not long, soon Zeus appears new enemy in the face of a loved one.
Zeus and his wife Metis
The myths of ancient Greece say that the Greek gods are not at all sinless, everyone has both strengths and weaknesses, and the gods are no exception.
One of the most weaknesses Zeus was his love of love and passion for women. According to legend, Zeus turned into various animals, people, husbands of women. All this was done in order to seduce young beauties and enter into a relationship with them.
The first to attract the attention of Zeus was the young goddess Metis. Soon Zeus took her as his wife.
Metis is the wife of Zeus, according to legend, she is incredibly beautiful, and her name itself means “wise” in translation.
But his feelings are overshadowed by a terrible prophecy, which should deprive him of power. Zeus was predicted that his wife would bear him a child who would take the throne from him. Like his father, Zeus was afraid of his future heir. But Zeus did not want to be like his father, he swore that this time everything would be different. To keep his vow, he swallows his wife. And again, love lost to the lust for power.
While Metis was in captivity, Zev could use all of her intellectual abilities. Zeus became smarter, wiser and more cunning than he was before.
Zeus and Hera - the new wife of Zeus
Since Metis was gone, Zeus needed a new wife. Like his father, Zeus decides to take a wife from his own family. She became his sister - the goddess Hera.
Hera was not like the others, she was very powerful. It can be said that Zeus and Hera were more equal.
But Hera was also rather jealous. Zeus continued to increase the number of his beloved.
The myth of Zeus says that among his mistresses were both mortals and goddesses. Each relationship between Zeus and his mistresses ended in pregnancy. They gave birth to over a hundred children from Zeus.
Such promiscuity of Zeus could be explained by the secret desire of the Greeks themselves. Dreaming of many girls, they thought that the almighty god would certainly not miss such an opportunity.
Soon, more and more cities of ancient Greece wanted to intermarry with the god himself. They announced that in their city there is a girl pregnant from Zeus himself. As a result of this, the founders of local ruling dynasties. The cities themselves began to be named in honor of the born children of Zeus: Athens, Thebes, Magnesia, Macedonia.
However , not happy with her husband's love affairs. Hera did not like the fact that she was humiliated in front of other gods, one day she could not stand it and swore that she would take revenge on Zeus for his many betrayals.
Gathering the rest of the Olympians, Hera incites them to raise a rebellion against Zeus. She said that it was unfair that Zeus was in charge and if all the Olympians united, they could overthrow him.
The Olympians gather and put Zeus in chains while he was sleeping. Waking up, Zeus finds himself chained. He did not expect such meanness from relatives whom he had previously saved.
Zeus was always afraid of such a rebellion, because no mortal could challenge him. But united, the Olympian gods could well overthrow him.
Soon, help came to the bound Zeus in the form of old allies - the Hekatonkheires. Hearing that Zeus is in trouble, they come to Zeus for help. They break the binding chains, and the Olympians scatter in fear.
Having survived this conspiracy, Zeus begins to take revenge. He hung his wife Hera on golden chains, between heaven and earth. Son Apollo and brother Poseidon were sentenced to hard labor (they had to build the impregnable walls of Troy.)
The ancient Greeks could not explain the emergence of Troy (it was impossible to build a building of this level at that time), and the myth explained its occurrence.
The wrath of Zeus and the Flood
According to legend, all those who rebelled against Zeus received a well-deserved punishment, but the wrath of God also fell on people. The Flood is attributed to the wrath of Zeus.In ancient Greece, people were very afraid of the wrath of Zeus. After all, doing a bad deed, Zeus could hit them with his lightning.
Hesiod wrote that if it were not for the fear of Zeus, then people would turn into animals, and the weak would obey the strong. Thus, Zeus brought order and justice to the world.
When natural disasters occurred in the world, the Greeks believed that Zeus sent them to punish the villains. Often at the same time, stories were invented about what so angered the god.
According to legend, Zeus fell into a rage if people ate their own kind. Once he saw how people eat their own kind, Zeus fell into a rage and vowed to destroy all mankind with the help of a global flood.
For nine days and nights, heavy rain pours down, flooding the whole earth. The water reaches the top of Mount Parnassus, which towered two and a half kilometers. People are dying all over the earth. When the rain finally stopped, only two mortals remained. They survived because they built the ark.
These stories are surprisingly intertwined, the parallel with the Old Testament is more than obvious. Thus, it can be said that different nations world explained such a terrible natural phenomenon in different ways.
The overthrow of Zeus - the arrival of Christianity
The myth of Zeus says that he was able to cope with the revolt of the Olympians, but could not cope with another rival, Jesus Christ.
In the 1st century AD, the teachings of Jesus Christ will spread throughout the world, overthrowing the power of the supreme Greek deity.
Christianity gave people hope. Hope for salvation after death. People have a belief in what awaits them after death immortal life. That's why Christianity had so many followers.
The power of Zeus over people with the spread new religion in the Mediterranean countries, gradually faded away. The people who revered him, in the end, themselves rejected him.
In ancient Greece, only the force of fate was more powerful than Zeus. Even the supreme god himself could not resist fate. No matter how much he wants to change or avoid her, he still obeys her will.
Before the advent of Christianity the myth of Zeus ruled the entire Greek world for thousands of years. Zeus was the most formidable, and revered among all the Olympian gods. He is one of the few deities who left a big mark on the history of mankind: Hercules, Hades, Medusa - stories about them open a window into a long-forgotten world.
In any mythology, myths about the creation of the world and people form the basis. It is difficult to single out any particular trend in all this. The creators of the world are somewhere gods, somewhere animals, and even plants. How the primordial creature arose from the primordial Chaos and how the world created - each myth has its own story for this. This article presents several myths about the creation of the world of the Slavs, Greeks, Sumerians, Egyptians, Indians, Chinese, Scandinavians, Zoroastrians, Arikara, Huron, Maya Indians.
Slavs.
The Slavs had several legends about where the world and its inhabitants came from. Many peoples (ancient Greeks, Iranians, Chinese) had myths that the world arose from an egg. Similar legends and tales can be found among the Slavs. In the tale of the three kingdoms, the hero goes in search of the three princesses to the underworld. First, he falls into the copper kingdom, then into silver and gold. Each princess gives the hero an egg, into which he turns in turn, enclosing each kingdom. Having got out into the world, he throws eggs on the ground and unfolds all three kingdoms.
One of the old legends says: “In the beginning, when there was nothing in the world but a boundless sea, a duck, flying over it, dropped an egg into the abyss of water. The egg split open, and from its lower part came out mother-cheese earth, and from the upper rose a high vault of heaven.
Another legend connects the appearance of the world with the duel of the hero with the serpent, which was guarding the golden egg. The hero killed the snake, split the egg - three kingdoms came out of it: heavenly, earthly and underground.
And here is how the Carpathian Slavs told about the birth of the world:
When was the beginning of the world
Then there was no sky, no earth, only the blue sea,
And in the middle of the sea - a tall oak,
Two marvelous doves sat on an oak tree,
Began to think how to establish the light?
We'll go down to the bottom of the sea
Let's take out the fine sand
Fine sand, golden stone.
We sow fine sand
We will lift the golden stone.
From fine sand - black earth,
Studena water, green grass.
From the golden stone - blue sky, Blue sky, bright sun,
The moon is clear and all the stars.
Here is another myth. At the beginning of time, the world was in darkness. But the Almighty revealed the Golden Egg, in which the Family was enclosed - the Parent of all things.
Rod gave birth to Love - Mother Lada and, by the power of Love, destroying its dungeon, gave birth to the Universe - countless star worlds, as well as our earthly world.
The sun then went out of His face.
A bright moon - from His chest.
Frequent stars - from His eyes.
Clear dawns - from His eyebrows.
Dark nights - yes from His thoughts.
Violent winds - out of breath)..
"The Book of Kolyada", 1 a
So Rod gave birth to everything that we see around - everything that is with Rod - everything that we call Nature. The clan separated the visible, manifested world, that is, Reality, from the invisible world, the spiritual from Novi. Rod separated Pravda from Krivda.
In the fiery chariot Rod was approved by thundering Thunder. The Sun God Ra, who emerged from the face of the Family, was approved in a golden boat, and the Month in a silver one. Rod emitted from his mouth the Spirit of God - the bird Mother Swa. By the Spirit of God, Rod gave birth to Svarog - the Heavenly Father.
Svarog finished peacemaking. He became the owner of the earthly World, the lord of the Kingdom of God. Svarog approved twelve pillars supporting the firmament.
From the Word of the Most High, Rod created the god Barma, who began to mutter prayers, glorifications, and recite the Vedas. He also gave birth to the Spirit of Barma, his wife Tarusa.
Rod became the Heavenly Spring and gave birth to the waters of the Great Ocean. From the foam of the waters of the Ocean, the World Duck appeared, giving birth to many gods - yasuns and demons-dasuns. The clan gave birth to Cow Zemun and Goat Sedun, milk spilled from their nipples and became milky way. Then he created the Alatyr stone, with which he began to churn this Milk. Mother Earth Cheese was created from the butter obtained after churning.
Sumerians.
The Sumerians explained the origin of the universe in the following way.
In Sumerian mythology, heaven and earth were originally thought of as a mountain, the basis of which was the earth, personified in the goddess Ki, and the top was the sky, the god An. From their union, the god of air and wind, Enlil, was born, himself called the “Great Mountain”, and his temple in the city of Nippur was called the “House of the Mountain”: he separated the sky from the earth and arranged the cosmos-universe. Thanks to Enlil, the luminaries also appear. Enlil falls in love with the goddess Ninlil and possesses her by force as she sails down the river in her barque. For this, the elder gods banish him to the underworld, but Ninlil, who has already conceived a son, the moon god Nanna, follows him, and Nanna is born in the underworld. In the underworld, Enlil takes the form of guardians of the underworld three times, gives birth to three underground gods with Ninlil. They return to the heavenly world. From now on, Nanna in a barque, accompanied by stars and planets, travels through the sky at night, and through the underworld during the day. He gives birth to a son, the solar god Utu, who wanders through the sky during the day, but at night he travels through the underworld bringing light, drink and food to the dead. Then Enlil equips the earth: he grew the "seed of the fields" from the earth, produced "everything useful", invented the hoe.
There is another version of the myth about the creation of the world.
The beginning of this story is quite beautiful. Long ago, when there was neither heaven nor earth, there lived Tiamat, the goddess of sweet waters, Apsu, the god of salty waters, and their son, the fog rising above the water.
Then Tiamat and Apsu gave birth to two pairs of twins: Lahma and Lahama (demons), and then Anshar and Kishar, who were smarter and stronger than the elders. Anshar and Kishar had a child named Annu. Annu became the god of the sky. Ea was born to Annu. This is the god of underground waters, magic.
The younger gods - Lahma, Lahama, Anshar, Kishar, Anna and Ea - gathered every evening for a noisy feast. They prevented Apsu and Tiamat from getting enough sleep. Only Mummu, the eldest son of Apsu and Tiamat, did not take part in these amusements. Apsu and Mummu appealed to the younger gods with a request to stop the festivities, but they were not listened to. The elders decided to kill everyone who interfered with sleep.
Ea decided to kill Apsu, who plotted against the younger ones.
Tiamat decided to avenge her husband's death. Her new husband, the god Kingu, strongly supported this idea.
So Tiamat and Kingu devised a plan for revenge. Upon learning of Tiamat's plan, Ea turned to Anshar's grandfather for advice. Anshar offered to strike Tiamat with the help of magic, because her husband was dealt with in this way. But Ea's magical powers do not affect Tiamat.
Anu, Ea's father, tried to reason with the angry goddess, but nothing came of it. Since magic and negotiation led to nothing, it remained to turn to physical strength.
Whom to send to battle? Everyone decided that only Marduk could do it. Anshar, Anu and Ea initiated young Marduk into the secrets of divine magic. Marduk is ready to fight Tiamat, as a reward for victory, he demands the undivided power of the supreme god.
Young Marduk gathered all the Anunnaki (as the gods called themselves) so that they approved the war with the supreme goddess and recognized him as their king. Anshar sent his secretary Kaku to call Lahma, Lahama, Kishara and Damkina. Upon learning of the upcoming war, the gods were horrified, but a good dinner with big amount guilt soothed them.
In addition, Marduk demonstrated his magical power and the gods recognized him as king.
The merciless battle lasted for a long time. Tiamat fought desperately. But Marduk defeated the goddess.
Marduk removed the “tables of fate” from Kingu (they determined the movement of the world and the course of all events) and put it on his neck. He cut the body of the slain Tiamat into two parts: from one he made the sky, from the other - the earth. Humans were created from the blood of the murdered Kingu.
Egyptians.
In the Egyptian city of Heliopolis, the “proud of the Sun,” as the Greeks called it, Atum was considered the creator and primary being. It arose from Nun, the primary ocean, which Atum called his father, when there was still nothing - no sky, no earth, no soil.
Atum rose like a hill among the waters of the oceans.
The prototypes of such hills were real hills that stood out on the water surface of the flooded Nile. Appropriately fortified, they became the platform for the first temples, the erection of which seemed to perpetuate the act of creation of the world. The shape of the pyramid is apparently connected with the concept of the primary hill.
- I exist! I will create the world! I have no father and no mother; I am the first god in the universe, and I will create other gods! With an incredible effort, Atum broke away from the water, soared over the abyss and, raising his hands, cast a magic spell. At the same moment, there was a deafening roar, and Ben-Ben Hill grew out of the abyss among the foamy splashes. Atum sank down on the hill and began to think about what to do next.
But the lone creator had nothing to create from, and he copulated with his own hand and devoured his own seed, and then spewed out of the mouth of the god of air Shu and the goddess of moisture Tefnut, the first divine couple. Ocean Nun blessed creation, commanding it to grow. As soon as they were born, the children disappeared somewhere. Atum could not find them in any way and sent his daughter, the Divine Eye of Atum, to look for them. The goddess returned the fugitives, and the overjoyed father shed a tear. His tears turned into the first people.
From the first couple born by Atum, the god Geb and Nut, the goddess and incarnation of Heaven, descended. The air god Shu and his wife divided the earth and the sky: Nut rose in the form of a firmament above Geb, leaning on him with her hands and feet, Shu began to support the firmament in this position with his own hands.
It was necessary to separate heaven and earth, because while they are together, in an embrace, there is no place on earth for other creatures.
But Geb and Nut managed to give birth to the twins Osiris and Isis, as well as Set and Nephthys. Osiris was destined to be the first to be killed and resurrected for an eternal afterlife.
Earth and sky are surrounded on all sides by water. Every night Nut swallows the sun, and in the morning again
gives birth to him.
Memphis had its own version of the creation myth. The creator god Ptah creates everything that exists by the power of thought and the word: “Ptah was pacified, having created all things and divine words. He gave birth to the gods, created cities, placed the gods in their sanctuaries. conceived by the heart and expressed by the tongue that created the essence of all things."
Major gods ancient egypt, created by Ptah, were his own incarnations. In Egyptian mythology, there is another version of the creation of the world that arose in the city of Shmunu - the "City of Eight". According to her, the progenitors of all things were eight gods and goddesses - Nun and Nuanet, Huh and Huakhet, Kuk and Kuaket, Amon and Amaunet. The male deities had the heads of frogs, the female deities had snakes. They dwelt in the waters of primeval chaos and created the primordial egg there. From this egg emerged a solar deity in the form of a bird, and the world was filled with light. "I am a soul born from chaos, my nest is invisible, my egg is not broken."
During the period of the New Kingdom (XVI-XI centuries BC), the city of Thebes became the political capital of Egypt. The main Theban deity is the sun god Amun. The Great Hymn to Amon says:
Father of fathers and all gods,
He lifted up the sky and established the earth,
People came out of his eyes, gods came out of his mouth
King, long live he, long live,
May it be prosperous, head of all gods
In the myth of Amon, pre-existing versions of the myth of the creation of the world were combined. It tells that in the beginning there was the god Amun in the form of a snake. He created eight great gods, who gave birth to Ra and Atum in June, and Ptah in Memphis. Then they returned to Thebes and died there.
There is almost no mention of the creation of man by the gods in Egyptian mythology. According to one version, people arose from the tears of the god Ra (this is explained by the similar sound of the Egyptian words "tears" and "people", according to another, the god Khnum blinded people from clay.
Nevertheless, the Egyptians believed that humans were "God's flock" and that God created the world for humans. "He created heaven and earth for them. He destroyed the impenetrable darkness of water and created air so that they could breathe. He created plants, livestock, birds and fish for them in order to feed them." It should be noted that in almost all traditions, legends and myths - this is a common
In those days, when the Earth was still young, and the Gods appeared to people, sirens splashed in the rivers and nymphs lived in the forests, the Lord ruled the world. The son of God and an earthly woman, he was immortal, and having conquered the peoples with fire and sword, he reigned supreme over their lands. He was handsome, an ageless demigod in command of his World.
Snow-white temples were erected in his honor, and his palace on the top of the highest mountain was beautiful, where in a deep cave the Lord could observe his possessions in the bowl of a magical lake. His life was easy and serene. In the distant past, there were bloody wars and there was not a person in the whole world who was not obedient to his will.
With one glance of his eyes, the color of the flame, he could execute or pardon, and the wave of his hand decided the fate of entire nations. His desire was law, and numerous servants faithfully caught any fleeting interest that flickered in his eyes. His clothes were sewn from the rarest Damir silk, which is softer than the touch of a child, he ate the fruits of the gardens of Aldonia, which bloomed in the edge of volcanoes, and he delighted his taste with the best wines of many years of aging. From different parts of the possessions, they brought him concubines and the most rebellious fell prostrate before his throne. But the look of the Lord was indifferent, the most exquisite dishes seemed tasteless to him, the seductive dances of half-naked beauties did not please him anymore. Boredom took possession of the immortal heart of the Lord of the World. Neither passionate houris nor timid virgins gave him pleasure, and indifferently accepting the caresses of beauties, he more and more often yearned, having had enough of such a life. Only sometimes, in the heat of battle, his hot blood bubbled again, as before, but the fire in his eyes went out, he barely remembered that this was only a farce arranged to please him and, indifferently killing rivals, extinguished his rage with a goblet of Thali wine. Absentmindedly, the Lord listened to the reports of his messengers visiting the farthest corners of his possessions, indifferently accepted the gifts of merchants and lazily listened to the songs of the storytellers, nothing more touched his once burning heart with a living fire.
But one day, in a magical lake that showed him his possessions, the Lord of the World saw a maiden on a rocky shore near the sea, who sang in the moonlight a lingering song about freedom. It was the Queen of the Sea, the ruler of the elements beyond his control. Her skin was pale, green curls wrapped around her thin waist, and danger lurked in storm-colored eyes. Terrible legends circulated about the Sea Queen, the daughter of the water element, she was ruthless and destroyed ships and sent storms. The free wind was her brother, and the moon was her named sister.
Every night the Lord of the World began to come to the shore of his lake, and greedily looked at the image in the water surface, for the songs of the Queen conquered his heart, and her eyes were the color of a storm. He longed to see her in his bed and experience the love of a sea maiden, subjugated by no one. And the Lord sent the armada of his ships to the rocky shore, where the Queen sang at night with a strict order - to bring him a sea maiden, but not a single brigantine returned to the port, and only the ruler of the sea laughed menacingly, destroying his ships. The Lord did not give up, he covered precious stones that the prices on earth did not have, the whole seashore, but the Queen indifferently stepped on the brilliant fragments and only a thin string of pearls adorned her mother-of-pearl skin.
And the love for the sea maiden made its way deeper into the heart of the Lord and, consumed by longing, he himself came to the rock, where the Queen sang at night to take her chosen one to the palace on the highest mountain. She was waiting for him, dressed in the light of the moon, as if in clothes, and her storm-colored eyes looked into the very soul, but the Lord did not look away and, taking her by the hand, led him to his palace, for only she was worthy of sharing a bed with him, to become the only his wife. And she walked, impressed by the passion burning in his fiery gaze, and she was curious to know what a person's love is.
And THEIR night came, and fire bubbled in his gaze, and her cold blood boiled in her veins, and his skin melted from the gaze of storm-colored eyes. He did not remember himself, and his whole world was only her body for him, trembling with desire in his hands and flowing like a river of pleasure, exploding his brain with wild passion. And she, forgetting about the sea, melted in the hands of a man, and only with the edge of her consciousness drowning in bliss did she hear how a storm of terrible strength was born in the sea that had left her, that was the name of her daughter.
Scorched by the heat of a passionate night, the Lord of the World woke up happy, but he did not see his beloved next to him, only a salty mark on the skin, and the aroma of the sea, she left in his chambers. Since that night, the Lord did not find a place for himself, wandering in anguish along the seashore, he called her, but only the sound of the waves was his answer and the lonely rock by the sea did not hear more songs of the beautiful maiden.
Touching the sea, the Lord remembered the silk of her skin, heard laughter in the roar of the surf, and her image burned brighter than a torch in his mind. For the first time, a tear rolled down his cheek, and he looked at the horizon, melting in the sea haze, knowing that he was powerless before her freedom. Thousands of times sailing into the sea, he drowned and you did not die a thousand times. And chaos reigned in the world, no longer squeezed iron hand The ruler of the foundations of the universe and choked in bloody strife, the peoples living amicably and well-fed, his temples burned, poets cursed his name and he was named the Dark Lord, whose deeds were evil and chronicles were rewritten and his palace was destroyed on top of the highest mountain. And he still wandered by the sea, waiting for his beloved, and minutes were decades for him and worldly affairs did not touch him anymore.
You can still see him now - a man wandering at the edge of the sea, stroking the waves with his palms, a man with extinct eyes of an old man and love burning in an immortal heart, a man who exchanged the whole world for the love of a sea maiden who killed him.
Nikolai Kun
Deep underground reigns the implacable, grim brother of Zeus, Hades. His kingdom is full of darkness and horrors. The joyful rays of the bright sun never penetrate there. Bottomless abysses lead from the surface of the earth to the sad kingdom of Hades. Dark rivers flow in it. There flows the ever-chilling sacred river Styx by whose waters the gods themselves swear.
Cocytus and Acheron roll their waves there; the souls of the dead resound with their groaning, full of sorrow, their gloomy shores. IN underworld flowing and giving oblivion to all earthly water source years. Through the gloomy fields of the kingdom of Hades, overgrown with pale flowers of asphodel, ethereal light shadows of the dead are worn. They complain about their joyless life without light and without desires. Their moans are quietly heard, barely perceptible, like the rustle of withered leaves driven by the autumn wind. There is no return to anyone from this realm of sorrow. three-headed infernal dog Kerber, on whose neck snakes move with a menacing hiss, guards the exit. harsh, old Charon, the carrier of the souls of the dead, not a single soul will be lucky through the gloomy waters of Acheron back to where the sun of life shines brightly. The souls of the dead in the gloomy kingdom of Hades are doomed to an eternal joyless existence.
In this kingdom, to which neither light, nor joy, nor sorrows of earthly life reach, the brother of Zeus, Hades, rules. He sits on a golden throne with his wife Persephone. He is served by implacable goddesses of vengeance Erinyes. Terrible, with scourges and snakes, they pursue the criminal; do not give him a moment's rest and torment him with remorse; nowhere can you hide from them, everywhere they find their prey. At the throne of Hades sit the judges of the kingdom of the dead - Minos And Rhadamanthus. Here, at the throne, the god of death Tanat with a sword in his hands, in a black cloak, with huge black wings. These wings blow with grave cold when Tanat flies to the bed of a dying man in order to cut a strand of hair from his head with his sword and tear out his soul. Next to Tanat and gloomy Kera. On their wings they rush, furious, across the battlefield. The Keres rejoice as they see the slain heroes fall one by one; with their blood-red lips they fall to the wounds, greedily drink the hot blood of the slain and tear out their souls from the body.
Here, at the throne of Hades, and beautiful, young god of sleep hypnos. He silently rushes on his wings above the ground with poppy heads in his hands and pours sleeping pills from his horn. He gently touches the eyes of people with his wonderful wand, quietly closes his eyelids and plunges mortals into a sweet dream. The god Hypnos is mighty, neither mortals, nor gods, nor even the Thunderer Zeus himself can resist him: and Hypnos closes his menacing eyes and plunges him into a deep sleep.
Worn in the gloomy kingdom of Hades and the gods of dreams. Among them there are gods who give prophetic and joyful dreams, but there are also gods of terrible, oppressive dreams that frighten and torment people. There are gods and false dreams, they mislead a person and often lead him to death.
The kingdom of the inexorable Hades is full of darkness and horrors. There roams in the darkness a terrible ghost Empusa with donkey legs; it, having lured people into a secluded place in the darkness of the night, drinks all the blood and devours their still trembling bodies. There roams the monstrous Lamia; she sneaks into the bedroom of happy mothers at night and steals their children to drink their blood. A great goddess rules over all ghosts and monsters Hecate. She has three bodies and three heads. On a moonless night, she wanders in deep darkness along the roads and at the graves with all her terrible retinue, surrounded by Stygian dogs. She sends horrors and heavy dreams to the earth and destroys people. Hekate is invoked as an assistant in witchcraft, but she is also the only helper against witchcraft for those who honor her and bring her at the crossroads, where three roads diverge, as a sacrifice of dogs.
Terrible is the kingdom of Hades, and it is hateful to people
