Ancient Greek mythology is a wide and intriguing collection of stories that were a significant part of daily life in the ancient world. These stories include those about gods and goddesses, heroes and monsters, warriors and fools. Greek myths gave sense to the world that people saw around them by explaining everything from religious rites to the weather. While many of these myths are fantastical tales, like the story of the valiant Hercules or the avaricious King Midas, others, like the epic of the Trojan War, have a basis in historical reality.
Greek Mythology's Origins
No single original document, such as the Christian Bible or the Hindu Vedas, presents all the characters and tales of Greek mythology. The first Greek myths, on the other hand, were part of an oral tradition that dates back to the Bronze Age, and the archaic and classical periods of the ancient Mediterranean world's written literature was when their storylines and themes first began to emerge.
The Iliad and The Odyssey, two epics by the poet Homer written in the eighth century BC, depict the Trojan War as both a divine and human struggle. However, as readers and listeners would already be familiar with the gods and goddesses who serve as their major characters, they don't bother to introduce them.
Theogony, a poem by the poet Hesiod, provided the first written cosmogony, or beginning of Greek mythology, around 700 BC. The Theogony describes a complex family tree of the elements, gods, and goddesses that arose from Chaos and descended from Gaia (Earth), Ouranos (Sky), Pontos (Sea), and Tartaros. It describes the universe's journey from nothingness (Chaos, a primeval void) into being (the Underworld).
These materials were incorporated into and expanded upon by later Greek authors, artists, and musicians. For instance, mythical characters and events can be found in Aeschylus', Sophocles', Euripides', and Pindar's lyric poetry from the fifth century. Ancient myths and stories were gathered for modern audiences by authors like the Roman historian Gaius Julius Hyginus and the Greek mythographer Apollodorus of Athens from the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, respectively.
Gods and Goddesses of Greece
The pantheon of gods and goddesses, who were rumored to reside on Mount Olympus, Greece's tallest mountain, lies at the heart of Greek mythology. They controlled every element of human existence from their lofty position. Olympian deities had a human appearance (though they could transform into animals and other things) and were susceptible to human vices and desires, according to numerous stories.
The primary twelve Olympians are:
Zeus (Jupiter in Roman mythology) is the supreme god and the god of the elements, law, and destiny.
Hera (Juno): the goddess of women and marriage and the monarch of the gods
Venus's goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite
God of prophecy, music, poetry, and understanding is Apollo (Apollo).
Mars-based deity of war Ares
Goddess of the hunt, animals, and childbirth is Artemis (Diana).
Athena (Minerva): the goddess of knowledge and protection
Goddess of agriculture and grain is Demeter (Ceres).
The deity of wine, pleasure, and celebration is Dionysus (Bacchus).
God of fire, metalworking, and sculpture is Hephaestus (Vulcan).
Zeus's personal messenger and the deity of commerce, hospitality, and travel is Hermes (Mercury).
Neptune's deity of the sea is Poseidon.
The following other deities and gods are occasionally listed among the Olympians:
Pluton deity of the underworld, Hades
Home and family goddess Hestia (Vesta)
Eros (Cupid), the god of sex and Aphrodite's henchman
Greek Mythology: Monsters and Heroes
However, Greek mythology tells much than only the tales of the gods and goddesses. Arachne, the weaver who was turned into a spider for her arrogance; Heracles (also known as Hercules), the adventurer who completed 12 impossible tasks for King Eurystheus (and was subsequently worshipped as a god for his accomplishment); Pandora, the first woman, whose curiosity brought evil to mankind; Pygmalion, the king who fell in love with an ivory statue; Pygmalion, the king who fell in love with an ivory statue;
The stories also prominently depict monsters and "hybrids" (human-animal forms), like the winged horse Pegasus, the horse-man Centaur, the lion-woman Sphinx, the bird-woman Harpies, and the one-eyed giant. Hephaestus gave life to metal automatons, manticores, unicorns, cyclopses, pygmies, minotaurs, satyrs, and several kinds of dragons. Many of these beings have almost reached the same level of fame as the gods, goddesses, and heroes who tell their tales.
Greek Myths' Legacy
Greek mythology's characters, tales, themes, and morals have influenced literature and art for thousands of years. They can be found in Renaissance works of art like Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Raphael's Triumph of Galatea, as well as in works of literature like Dante's Inferno, Romantic poetry, and a plethora of more recent books, plays, and motion pictures.