How Does Mythology Influence Greek Mythology

The Ancient Greeks believed in many gods and heroes during their time. Each one had a sole purpose in a mortal’s lifetime. Greek mythology had a huge impact on religion in Ancient Greece. The Greeks performed rituals in order to honor their gods. Mythology affected the Ancient Greeks in many ways. The origins of mythology, the influences of mythology through a human’s lifetime and lessons taught in the ancient myths will be examined.

Greek Mythology has been known to be one of the footprints left by the civilization of ancient Greece to our history and these mythology somehow shed a light to the culture, life style, religion and history of ancient Greece since the mythology were the primary basis of the origin of the ancient Greeks and they believed that these mythologies explained the origin of why things turned out to be like that.

The supreme ruler and king of gods, Zeus, is often mentioned as Jupiter and the sender of thunder, lightning, rain, and wind (Britannica.com). “Zeus was the first of the gods and a very imposing figure. Often referred to as ‘the father of gods and men,’ he is a sky god who controls lightning.” (Britannica.com) Although the god is labeled most powerful and the mightiest of all, he is not perfect. Zeus is known for his promiscuous action. Often times he fell in love with one woman after the other and attempted to disguise his infidelity from his wife. Zeus left no woman behind in his crazy love-life, the god married and had children with his sister, Hera and. Hera was not Zeus’ only siblings. He also had two brothers, Poseidon and Hades and another sister named Hestia. His parents are known as Cronus and Rhea. Zeus was not just handed the title “god of the sky,” instead him and his two brothers drew lots. The sea was given to Poseidon, the underworld to Hades, and Zeus was named lord of the sky, rain god, and cloud gatherer. The eagle is considered sacred to this god. Zeus also treasures the oak tree. It is often told that the gods will was revealed by the rustling of the oak tree. (Hamilton 27)

Ancient Greece was dominated by small city-states and independent towns, rather than by one all-powerful king, because of its geography. The country’s valleys, mountainous terrain, and offshore islands encouraged the development of many city-states. Altogether there were over 1500 city-states, but some of these barley qualify because they are so small. Each city-state had its own form of government and its own army, and even sometimes its own navy. Each city-state had its own way of doing things. Still, the city-states of ancient Greece had many things in common. They all spoke the same language and they all believed in the same god. But they were loyal to their city-state. The five most powerful Greek city-states were; Athens, Sparta, Corinth,

Ancient Greek society fell over 2000 years ago but despite this, its mythology still continues to influence our western society. References to Greek mythology can be found all through time and in our western culture. The influence of Greek mythology can be found in our science, arts and literature and our language. When Ancient Greece fell to the Roman Empire, Rome adapted its mythologies which still influence us today as they have through history. That is not to say that Greek mythology wasn’t influenced itself – Greek mythology has links with the bible and the early Mycenaean’s. It has also been recognised as one of the earliest forms of paganism.

A polytheistic Greek religion is surrounded by numerous gods. Each represented a certain aspect of human problems including abstract ideas, such as justice and wisdom. This was the religion most devout Greeks followed and believed in. The most important gods were Olympian gods led by Zeus. These gods were: Athena, Apollo, Poseidon, Hermes, Hera, Aphrodite, Demeter, Ares, Artemis, Hades, Hephaistos,

When people wonder about Ancient Greece the first thing that comes to their minds is Greek mythology; gods and goddesses that have helped shape many historical events. “In ancient Greece, stories about gods and goddesses and heroes and monsters were an important part of everyday life.” (“Greek Mythology.”) The civilization showed that numerous characters and stories helped shape Greeks. The beliefs the Greeks had with mythologies was they understood the meaning behind all the characters that are known today. However, to the Greeks, they were not just characters, these were their gods and goddesses who gave them meaning and understanding of the world around them. Worshiping the gods and goddesses helped them with their religious rituals and the temperament of the weather. A famous wine-jar that was made during this time period was “Achilles killing the Amazon Queen Penthesilea, 540-530 BCE, black-figured amphora”. (Khan Academy) The civilization that they lived in grew around their worship and achievements.

And Greek mythology is embodied in a large collection of narratives, and implicitly in Greek representational arts, such as vase-paintings and votive gifts. Greek myth attempts to explain the origins of the

There was a myth that at the beginning of the existence of the city of Athens both gods offered gifts to the people of Athens, in order to sway them in deciding their patron god. Athena offered peace and prosperity while Poseidon offered naval power. The Athenians accepted Athena’s gift. Athens overall culture continued to reflect this decision, the city, in addition to being a center for architecture and mathematics, also played an important role in the progress of government, theology and philosophy. This myth could also give an explanation of why Athenian people may have felt superiority to other city states such as Sparta. The mythological significance it had was much greater than with another city-state such as Thebes, although it was related to the story of Hercules, and

In ancient Greece, they had many different gods and goddesses that represented aspects of life. Some of the gods controlled natural forces such as thunder or water, while others represented abstract concepts like wisdom. Rather than being perfect, the Greek gods were given personality flaws, and behaved similarly to humans. The Greek gods were a huge influence in the culture and technology of ancient Greece. The art made of the Greek gods gave them a highly idealized appearance. In sculptures, carvings, and paintings, they were made to look flawless. Another type of art that was influenced by the Greek gods were stage performances. The amphitheatre, which was an amazing technological invention, was a huge stage where actors performed tales of the gods. There were festivals dedicated to the Greek gods as well, such as the Festival of Lycaeus in Arcadia, which was dedicated to the god Pan.

Zeus: He is the king of all gods and goddesses, ruler of Mount Olympus. Zeus is the god of sky and thunder. His symbols would be the thunderbolt, Eagle, Bull, and the Oak tree. In relation to the other gods and goddesses Poseidon and Hades are known as his brothers and Hera is known as his sister and his wife. Cronus and Rhea were the parents of Zeus. His father wanted to swallow him like the rest of his older siblings because Cronus was afraid of his children gaining more power than him. Before Cronus had a chance to swallow Zeus, Rhea took him to Mount Crete. When Zeus got older he caused his father to throw up his brothers and sisters and together they destroyed Cronus.

From south to north it is Hermes (messenger god), Dionysus (god of wine), Demeter (goddess of growing grain), Ares (god of war), Iris (female messenger to the gods), Hera (goddess of marriage), and Zeus leaning over the back of his throne holding a scepter3. The second group of gods from south to north is Athena, Hephaestus (smith of the gods), Poseidon (god of the sea), Apollo, his young sister Artemis (the huntress), Aphrodite (love goddess), and her son Eros3. This group of gods is beside four men, who are thought to be magistrates or four of the ten eponymous heroes who gave their names to the ten tribes of Athens3. They serve as a transition between the gods seated on one side and the procession approaching on the other. The gods on these three long slabs are sufficiently well preserved, so there is some consensus about their identifications. This is based on reliable clues given by the carved attributes; for instance, the torch of Demeter, the throne of Zeus, the crutch tucked under the arm of Hephaistos, and the petasos and boots of Hermes5. A popular theory for the arrangement of the gods is that it references the Athenian military action. The north most four gods (Poseidon, Apollo, Artemis, and Aphrodite) all relate to Theseus, and his voyage overseas to slay the Minotaur in particular5. The south most four gods have strong associations to the land. For example, Dionysos as the god of viticulture

Greek Mythology teaches lessons and meanings that help us have success in our own life. Greek Mythology gives us a chance to be able to not make the same mistakes as those in the stories. In Greek Mythology, some important lessons are always follow the advice or instructions that your parents give, one will face consequences if they don’t listen to their parents, and be humble and don’t brag.

The history of Greek mythology is an extravagant chronicle of tales of heroism, tragedy, and tradition. The Greeks had an extreme talent with fine arts, and these abilities are strongly reflected in their

Throughout the course of time, different civilizations across the world hold one thing in common by which a society or culture can be based upon or help influence the structure. The one common thing that has help a civilization grow throughout the period of time would be the formation of a religion. Religion is a center point for many societies throughout history. As the center for the different civilizations, it helped form their different traditions and customs. The same could be said about the people of ancient Greece, where religion or mythology played an important role in their lives as it was the pedestal of their culture and how they base their lives upon. The formation of a religion across the large number of regions of Greece, help the different locations mold themselves by the customs that were created from the adaptation. During what was known as Ancient Greece, the people would hear tales of the twelve Olympians and how their actions influence the world around them. Within this period of time for the people of Greece was that of growth, as they sought to bring new ideas into light as they exited from a dark period within their own history.