Overview of Greek Mythology

In greek culture the gods started with a war, which led to a very impact full fall, the fall of Kronos. Kronos is the king of the titans, but every king has his downfall. The king had to have his queen and Kronos's queen was his downfall. The queen didn’t stop trying for children and every time she gave birth, the child was swallowed by their father. That is until Zeus came along.

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.

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.

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece. Modern scholars refer to, and study, the myths, in an attempt to throw light on the religious and political institutions of Ancient Greece, its civilization, and to gain understanding of the nature of myth-making itself.

Mythology, as defined by Dictionary, is a set of stories, traditions, or beliefs associated with a particular group or history of an event. Some of the the most well known myths today, were once written and told by ancient Greeks and Egyptians. Theseus, a Greek myth as told by Robert Graves, is a story about a young man gifted with super strength, who sets out to defeat the Minotaur in order to save the people of his home land. Osiris and Isis, written by Padraic Colum, is an Egyptian myth about Egyptians beliefs in how the world came to be. Both myths, although telling different stories, share the same specific purposes, to explain how gods and goddesses interact with humans, and to teach a moral lesson.

Greek Mythology is strongly based on Roman Mythology. Most of the stories are the same, but the gods have different names. For example, Zeus in Roman Mythology is Jupiter.

Greek Mythology is a collection of myths and teachings that originated from the ancient Greeks. Tales of Greek Mythology are usually related to gods or heroes, the nature of the world, and the significance and origin of the Greek culture and ritual practices. Greek Mythology was part of the polytheistic religion in ancient Greece. Many scholars study the myths in an attempt to understand the religious and political institutions of Ancient Greece and its civilization. The scholars also wanted to gain knowledge of the nature of myth-making itself. The earliest Greek myths were part of an oral tradition that began in the Bronze Age. Greek mythology is made up of several different gods and goddesses. Greek myths attempt to explain the origins

Greek Mythology is well known throughout the world. Greek Mythology is composed of many gods, goddesses, and myths; one myth in particular is about courageous Mortal named Atlanta and how she met her husband.

The creation of the world is explained through two stories where a son usurps the place of his father - Cronus from Ouranos and Zeus from Cronus perhaps referring to the eternal struggle which exists between different generations and family members. (Brummett) The Olympian gods led by Zeus twice defeated the sources of chaos represented by the Titans and the Giants. These gods then, rule man’s destiny and sometimes directly interfere favorably or otherwise. (Cartwright)

Mythology Annotated Bibliography Wickersham, John. “Isis.” Myths and Legends of the World, Volume 3. Isis was the sister and wife of the god of Osiris.

Greek mythology is the body of myths and teachings concerning the gods, goddesses, and heroes, and the world. It was the religion in ancient Greece, and the only one that they likely practiced, similar to how we practice religion today. Myths are thought to be present so that we can understand the nature of what a myth is. An important function of myths is to maintain natural and social order. Although the creation myth begins with Chaos, the story works to provide a specific order to the universe, usually. After order is created within the cosmos, order is then brought to the lesser beings, or people.

Greek mythology is how Greeks explained the creation of everything around them. The Greeks used Gods and myths that they believed to be true to explain things without the modern science we have now. The father of these Gods is a Titan, who goes by Cronus, that swallowed his children and castrated his own father, Uranus.

Mythology is the traditions that have been passed down orally, among a culture, for many generations. Myths can include several different elements, often varying slightly. Most include fantasy or unnatural characters, such as monsters, dragons, gods and goddesses. Myths generally tell a story which is the basis for many beliefs among a culture. Greek and Roman myths encompass the gods that the cultures worship. Myths often serve to teach a lesson or play on superstitions. The origin is unknown and because it has been handed down orally, there are variations in the story. The story often travels around to other cultures also. This leads to similar myths among cultures. Similar situations and characters

In Greek Mythology, perhaps one of the most rudimental yet one of the most important elements are the Greek Gods and Goddesses. The ancient Greeks created the stories about the lives and journeys of the Greek Gods, known as myths, simply as an endeavor to elucidate nature and all phenomena which were difficult to explain using modern science and logic. These myths about the Gods were spread around the world by explorers and storytellers, and later merged with Greek religion. To this day, numerous myths survived through many writings and through much art. Each of these myths is very unique, and moreover, tells us much about the Greek Gods. The Greek myths in particular convey to us that Greek Gods and Goddesses looked and acted like humans,

"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.