Order vs. Chaos in 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.

“Mythos”- a Greek word meaning “tale” and the origin of the word mythology; according to the dictionary mythology means, a traditional story aiming to explain the meaning of things concerning deities and demigods.

All people throughout history have strived to explain the unknown. This is reflected best in the creation myth. The creation myth serves to answer that most pervasive of ancient questions: that of the origin of the world. All cultures have tried to answer this question. Two of these cultures are the Aztecs and the ancient Greeks. The Aztecs claimed that the world began with the goddess Coatlicue becoming impregnated by a ball of hummingbird feathers. Her previously born children try to kill her, but she gives birth to the sun god Huitzilopochtli, who kills her attackers and ascends to rule the heavens, leaving Coatlicue to rule the recently created earth. In Greek mythology, the earth goddess Gaia marries the sky god Ouranos, producing the titans, the first gods. One of the titans, Cronos, kills Ouranos with a sickle and rules the world. His children defeat him and send him down to Tartarus, the greek equivalent of hell. This essay serves to demonstrate the profuse similarities between the Aztec and Greek creation myths. The writer will show how the Aztec and Greek creation myths have many intrinsic themes and similarities.

People from early civilizations created myths which they followed in their everyday lives. These myths carried three details to explain how the world was created. Those three details were

As multiple gods exist, conflicts and distinct traits also exist. This truth is seen clearly in the contrast between Aten and the Babylonian gods. Aten is characterized as an exceptionally calm and caring god, and as he is never seen in a situation where he needs to defend himself, this inherently good nature is consistent. On the

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.

Select the sentence that contains no semicolon errors. (Note that some of the sentences may not require a semicolon.)

As I began to read Homer’s The Odyssey, I must admit that I was searching for acts of chaos in the most general form. I was looking for Homer to express his views of chaos vividly and distinctly. However, Homer does something different. He imbeds his imagery of chaos in the journey of Odysseus’s son (Telemachus) to avenge his father by getting rid of his mother’s suitors, and by bringing word of his father’s return back to Ithaca. One chaotic point that stood out to me in Homer’s The odyssey was when Telemachus was expressing his fear of living in his own home because he was afraid his mother’s suitors would kill him “ They are eating us out of house and home, and will kill me someday (184).” This was a chaotic point because during the time

Zeus was the son of Cronus and Rhea. When Cronus heard someone say that one of his sons would overthrow him just like he did to his father he got very angry and scared. This led to Cronus swallowing each of his children to make sure he stayed in power. Only one of the children got out by having Rhea feed Cronus a stone wrapped in cloth instead of Zeus. After Rhea saved Zeus he left and trained because he would one day come back and overthrow his father and force his to give back his siblings.

The desire for power is a common struggle in both the human world and Ancient Greek myth. Hesiod’s Theogony is a classic piece of Greek literature that details the history and stories of Greek myth, including the relationship between the gods Ouranos, Kronos, and Zeus. Many humans are able to attain power by simply working towards their goals, while others often resort to betrayal. The only way a Greek god can rise to power is by overthrowing their predecessors. The battle between established gods and aspiring rulers exists because of their immortality. Since a Greek god cannot be killed, violent attacks are planned in order to take their power. The struggle between each of these generations constructs much of the Theogony related to power.

Violence, with an evil undertone is expressed in “The Epic of Creation”. The telling of the creation of Marduk is to incite fear as Marduk is not similar to the humans that are telling this myth; he is a beast of the forces that created him. The chaos of the gods, the war, and the destruction of Tiamat combined with the creation of the world the Mesopotamian knew is about actions and consequences of the all-powerful gods to be feared. Marduk is to be worshipped and feared, as the Mesopotamians shall worship and fear their gods. Their unfriendly natural environment solidifies their belief that the entities that control the elements they experience must be fierce, vexed and feared. Marduk spew’s flames, he created the evil wind that destroyed Tiamat, the mother of gods and the universe before the land they stand upon. Marduk simply has the power to destroy and create. Furthermore, within “The Harps That Once…” we see the people abandoning their “byre” due to the winds created by Enlil’s storm; see their pleas for mercy, their suffering and death. These entities that are introduced in this text are merciless and feared. Their land is a desert landscape with the scorching sun cracking the skin of the people. Between the environment and the storm, this paints

One of the main themes in Greek tragedies is that through suffering there is knowledge to be gained. Greek tragedies focused on popular myths and beliefs, especially in relation to the mythical powers of the gods. The plays read in class show how knowledge is gained through suffering in relation to: the hubris and stubbornness seen by Creon in Antigone, the attempt of trying to change fate seen through Oedipus in Oedipus Rex, and the consequences of disastrous flaws demonstrated by the character Pentheus in the Bacchae.

"A myth is a collective term denoting a symbolic narrative in religion, as distinguished from symbolic behavior (cult, ritual) and symbolic places or objects (temples, icons)". (The New Encyclopedia Britannica. Vol. 24)Mythology is a collection of myths meant to explain the universe. Mythological stories were told in many different cultures and civilizations. The existence of myths is known in every society. Many different myths were conceived to explain occurrences that happened in nature.

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.

The Gods in “The Epic of Gilgamesh” have many characteristics that harmonize with human natures such as fighting, arguing and scheming against each other. Arguments among Gods are repeatedly witnessed, one prominent argument that was encountered was between Shamash, the Sun God, and Enlil while deciding