Myths about the creation of the world. Creation of the world (Greek mythology) Greek myths about the creation of man

One Greek is worth a thousand barbarians. (Alexander the Great).

Modern European (and not only European, by the way) civilization very much owes its development to ancient Greece. This relatively small state has made a huge contribution to global culture: medicine, politics, art, literature, theater. To this day, ancient Greek myths are a source of inspiration for many people, studied and retold. And the famous ancient Greek theater, which became the prototype of the modern theater, is now being reconstructed again, modern people are trying to revive a piece of ancient Greece through theatrical art. And all this is only a small part of the great Greek heritage.

History of ancient Greece

The phrase "ancient Greece" is associated by many with high ancient culture, wise Athenian philosophers, brave Spartan warriors and majestic temples. In fact, ancient Greece is not one, but several civilizations at once, which developed and transformed over the centuries. Among them are:

• The Minoan civilization, which existed in the early period of the development of ancient Greece, is associated with it, for example, the famous legend of Theseus and the Minotaur, which probably has some real historical basis under it.
• Achaean civilization, it is about this period that Homer writes in his epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey.
• Hellenic civilization, in fact, the period of the highest flowering of ancient Greek civilization.

Also, the territory of ancient Greece itself is conventionally divided into three parts: Northern, Middle and Southern. In southern Greece, there was a warlike and harsh Sparta, the heart of ancient Greece - Athens, located in Central Greece, while Thessaly and Macedonia were in the North. (The latter, however, was not considered “true Greek”, the Macedonians were rather half-Greeks, half-barbarians, it’s true that they had a significant role in the history of ancient Greece itself, but see about this later).

As for the history of ancient Greece, its historians conditionally divide it into several periods, and then we will examine in detail the main periods of ancient Greece.

Early period

The emergence of ancient Greece originates in ancient times, at a time when the ancient Greeks themselves were the same barbarians. Pelasgian tribes inhabiting the Greek territory for 3 millennia BC. e. were expelled from there by the tribes of the Achaeans who came from the north. The Achaeans, who created the Achaean civilization, were in turn destroyed by the Dorians, who were at a culturally lower level of development. After the death of the Achaean civilization, the so-called "dark age" of the ancient world begins. Like the other "dark age" that came after the collapse, it is characterized by the decline of culture, the absence of written sources that can tell us about this historical period.

Only Homer shed some light on him, however, for a long time, serious historians considered the events described in the Iliad about the Trojan War to be only an invention of the poet, until someone, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, unearthed the real Troy. True, disputes about the reliability of Troy excavated by him are still ongoing, we have a separate interesting one on this topic on our website, but for now we are returning to the history of Greece.

Archaic period

It is the Archaic period of ancient Greece, characterized by a new flowering of Greek civilization. It was during this period that Greek policies began to appear - independent city-states, among which Athens, Thebes and Sparta gradually rise. Athens became the greatest cultural center of ancient Greece; it was here that many outstanding philosophers, scientists, and poets later lived. Also, Athens was the stronghold of ancient Greek democracy, the power of the people ("demos" - in Greek means "people", "kratos" - power) and the birthplace of this form of government.

Of course, ancient Greek democracy was different from modern democracy, for example, slaves and women could not take part in voting and public meetings (it was not soon before the advent of feminism). For the rest, Athenian democracy was precisely the most real democracy in its traditional sense, any free citizen had not only the right, but also the obligation to participate in popular assemblies, the so-called ecclesias, at which all important political and economic decisions were made.

Popular meetings in Athens.

Sparta, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of Athens, a military state, where, of course, there could be no question of any democracy, Sparta was ruled by two kings at once, one of whom commanded the army and went on military campaigns at the head of the army, the second was in charge of the economy in his absence . Each Spartan man was a professional warrior who spent all his time improving military skills, as a result, the Spartan army was the strongest in Greece at that time. And the feat of 300 Spartans, who held back the advance of a large army, has been glorified more than once both in art and in cinema. The economy of Sparta was completely based on slaves - helots, who often rebelled against their masters.

Thebes, another great city of ancient Greece, was also a significant cultural and economic center, which also had great political influence. The power in Thebes belonged to a group of wealthy citizens, the so-called oligarchs (yes, this is a word of Greek origin that is familiar in our everyday life), who, on the one hand, were afraid of the spread of Athenian democracy, but on the other, they also did not accept the severity of the Spartan way of life. As a result, in constant conflicts between Athens and Sparta, Thebes supported one side or the other.

classical period

The classical period of ancient Greece is characterized by the highest flowering of its culture, philosophy, art, it was during this period that such outstanding personalities as Solon and Pericles (outstanding politicians who strengthened democracy in Athens), Phidias (creator of the Parthenon in Athens and many other great buildings), Aeschylus (a talented playwright, "father of drama"), Socrates and Plato (we think these philosophers need no introduction).

However, with the highest development of culture in this period, ancient Greece also faces great trials, namely the invasion of the Persians, who seek to enslave the freedom-loving Greeks. In the face of a formidable enemy, even such previously irreconcilable rivals as Athens and Sparta united and acted as a united front, pan-Greek patriotism took up over small-town quarrels. As a result, after a series of outstanding victories (the Battle of Marathon, the Battle of Thermopylae) over the superior forces of the Persians, the Greeks managed to defend their independence.

True, after the victory over the Persians during the Greco-Persian wars, the Greeks again returned to their former squabbles, which soon escalated so much that they resulted in the great Peleponian War between Athens and Sparta. And on both sides, the two policies supported their allies, lasting 30 years, the war ended with the victory of Sparta. True, victory did not bring much joy to anyone, the brilliant Greek civilization again fell into decay and desolation during the war years, and the Greek policies themselves weakened so much during the war that soon the energetic Macedonian king Philip, the father of the great conqueror Alexander the Great, conquered all of Greece without much difficulty. .

Well, already his son, as we know, having rallied all the Greeks, he himself attacked Persia, so successfully that he reached with his invincible Greek phalanxes at that time. From this moment begins the Hellenistic period of the history of ancient Greece.

Hellenistic period

It is the final period of the heyday of Greek civilization, the moment of its greatest zenith, when the power (and at the same time the culture) of the Greeks, thanks to the energy of one Macedonian, stretched from Greece proper to distant India, where a unique Greco-Indian culture was even created, manifested, for example, in statues Buddha made in Greek style, antique sculpture. (such amazing cultural syncretism).

The Bamiyan Buddha statue, made in the antique style, unfortunately has not survived to our time.

After the death of Alexander the Great, his vast empire collapsed as quickly as it was conquered, Greek influence nevertheless continued to persist for some time, but gradually began to decline over time. The situation was complicated by the invasion of Greece itself by warlike Galatian tribes.

And finally, with the rise of Rome and the appearance of Roman legionnaires on Greek soil, the final end of Greek civilization came, which was completely absorbed by the Roman Empire. The Romans, as we know, in many respects sorted out Greek culture for themselves and became its worthy successors.

Culture of ancient Greece

It was in ancient Greece that the first philosophical concepts were formulated, which laid down the fundamental knowledge about the universe, which is also used by modern science.

The Greek historian Herodotus literally became the "father of history", it is his historical works that are models for the works of the next generations of historians. The Greek physician Hippocrates became the "father of medicine", his famous "Hippocratic oath" to this day expresses the moral and ethical principles of the doctor's behavior. The playwright Aeschylus, already mentioned by us, became the creator of theatrical drama, his contribution to theatrical art and the development of the theater is simply enormous. As well as the enormous contributions of the Greeks Pythagoras and Archimedes to the development of mathematics. And the philosopher Aristotle can generally be called the "father of science" in the broad sense of the word, since it was Aristotle who formulated the fundamental principles of scientific knowledge of the world.

It looks like the ancient Greek theater, which emerged from the religious mysteries, it soon became one of the favorite places of entertainment for the ancient Greeks. The theater buildings themselves in ancient Greece were an open area with a round structure for the choir and a stage for the actors. All ancient Greek theaters had excellent acoustics, so even the audience sitting in the back rows could hear all the replicas (there were no microphones yet).

The ancient Greek Olympic Games, during which even all wars were interrupted, became, in fact, the foundation for the development of modern sports and the modern Olympic Games, which are just the same revival of the ancient Greek sports tradition.

The Greeks also had many interesting inventions in military affairs, for example, their famous phalanx, representing a close-knit infantry combat formation. The Greek phalanx could easily win (and won) victories over the numerically superior, but not organized Persians, Celts and other barbarians.

Art of ancient Greece

Ancient Greek art is represented, first of all, by beautiful sculpture and architecture, painting. Harmony, balance, orderliness and beauty of forms, clarity and proportion, these are the basic principles of Greek art, which considers a person as the measure of all things, represents him in physical and moral perfection.

The famous Venus de Milo, the creation of an unknown Greek sculptor. Depicting the goddess of love and beauty, Venus, she first of all conveys the primordial beauty of the female body, this is the whole sculpture of ancient Greece and all its art.

The architecture of ancient Greece was especially famous thanks to Phidias, a sculptor and architect, the Parthenon, a temple dedicated to the patroness of Athens, the goddess of war and wisdom, Athena, his greatest creation.

But besides the Parthenon, the Greeks built many other equally beautiful temples, many of which, unfortunately, have not survived to our times or have been preserved in the form of ruins.

As for painting, it was presented in ancient Greece in skillful drawings on Greek vases, in the form of vase painting. The ancient Greeks achieved great skill in decorating and painting vases and amphoras.

Painted Greek amphora. It is worth noting that the ancient Greeks painted a variety of types of pottery. And the inscriptions on the vases left by some vase painters have become an additional source of historical information.

Religion in ancient Greece

The religion of ancient Greece and its mythology are perhaps the best studied, and the names of many Greek gods and goddesses, led by the supreme god Zeus, are widely known. Interestingly, the Greeks endowed their gods with completely human qualities and even the vices inherent in people, such as anger, envy, revenge, adultery, and so on.

Also, in addition to the gods, there was a cult of demigod heroes, such as, for example, Hercules, the son of the supreme god Zeus and an ordinary mortal woman. Often, many Greek rulers declared that they were descended from one or another semi-divine hero.

Interestingly, unlike many other religions, the ancient Greeks were not at all characterized by religious fanaticism (“If Alexander so wants to be a god, then let him be,” the Spartans once calmly remarked in response to Alexander the Great’s claim about his divine origin), nor a special reverence for the gods. Communicating with their gods, the Greeks never knelt, but talked with them, as if with equal people.

And the Greek temples dedicated to this or that god, in addition to their ritual functions, had another very important purpose, they were the most real banks of antiquities, that is, places where various Greek oligarchs and nobles kept their acquired by hook or by crook values.

• Everyone is familiar with the word "idiot" of ancient Greek origin. The ancient Greeks called an idiot a citizen of the polis who did not take part in public meetings and voting, that is, a person who was not interested in politics in our modern sense, who removed himself from political vicissitudes.
• In ancient Greece, there was a special institution of hetaerae, which in no case should be confused with prostitutes. Getters, like Japanese geishas, ​​were beautiful and at the same time educated women, capable of maintaining an intellectual conversation, and versed in poetry, music, art, with a broad outlook, serving to please a man not only in the physical sense, but also in all other conceivable meanings. Many Greek getters gathered around themselves philosophers, poets, scientists, a vivid example of this is Aspasia, the former mistress of Pericles, young Socrates even fell in love with Aspasia at one time.
• The ancient Greeks called all other representatives of less cultured peoples, so to speak, “barbarians” and it was they who introduced this term (“barbarian” from ancient Greek translates as “foreigner, stranger”). Later, the Romans also became infected with this Greek xenophobia.
• Although the Greeks treated with disdain any Scythians and Germans, calling them "barbarians", in turn they themselves learned a lot from the more developed ancient Egyptian civilization and culture. So, for example, Pythagoras in his youth studied with the Egyptian priests. The historian Herodotus also visited Egypt and talked a lot with the Egyptian priests. “You are Greeks, like little children,” the local priests told him.

Ancient Greece video

And in conclusion, an interesting documentary about ancient Greece.

When writing the article, I tried to make it as interesting, useful and of high quality as possible. I would be grateful for any feedback and constructive criticism in the form of comments on the article. You can also write your wish / question / suggestion to my mail [email protected] or on Facebook, with respect, the author.

MYTHS ABOUT THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND THE FIRST PEOPLE

Egypt childish mythology
The Egyptians believed that people and their Ka (soul) were fashioned from clay by the ram-headed god Khnum. He is the main creator of the world. He sculpted the whole world on a potter's wheel and in the same way he created people and animals.

The myth of the ancient Indians
The progenitor of the world was Brahma. People appeared from the body of Purusha - the primordial man whom the gods sacrificed at the beginning of the world. They threw him, like a sacrificial animal, on straw, doused him with oil, surrounded him with firewood. From this sacrifice, divided into parts, hymns and chants, horses, bulls, goats and sheep were born. From his mouth priests arose, his hands became warriors, farmers were created from his thighs, and the lower class was born from his feet. From Purusha's mind arose a month, from an eye - the sun, fire was born from his mouth, and from his breath - the wind. The air came from his navel, the sky came from his head, the cardinal points were created from his ears, and the earth became his feet. Thus, from a great sacrifice, the eternal gods created the world.

Greek mythology
According to Greek mythology, Prometheus, the son of the titan Iapetus, the cousin of Zeus, fashioned people from earth and water. Prometheus created people looking at the sky, in the likeness of the gods.
According to some myths, people and animals were created by the Greek gods in the depths of the earth from a mixture of fire and earth, and the gods instructed Prometheus and Epimetheus to distribute abilities between them. Epimetheus is to blame for the defenselessness of people, since he spent all the abilities for life on earth on animals, so Prometheus had to take care of people (gave them fire, etc.).

The myth of the peoples of Central America
The gods molded the first people from wet clay. But they did not justify the hopes of the great gods. Everything would be fine: they are both alive and able to speak, but how can clay blockheads even turn their heads? They stare at one point and goggle their eyes. And then they will begin to crawl, sprinkle them with a little rain. But worst of all - they came out soulless, brainless ...
The gods got down to business a second time. "Let's try to make people out of wood!" they agreed. No sooner said than done. And the earth was inhabited by wooden idols. But they had no heart, and they were foolish.
And the gods decided once again to take up the creation of people. “In order to create people from flesh and blood, we need a noble material that will give them life, strength, and intelligence,” the gods decided. They found this noble material - white and yellow maize (corn). They threshed the cobs, kneaded the dough, from which they blinded the first reasonable people.

Myth of the North American Indians
Once it was such a hot summer that the reservoir in which the turtles lived dried up. Then the turtles decided to look for another place to live and hit the road.
The fattest tortoise, to make it easier for himself, took off his shell. So she walked without a shell until she turned into a man - the ancestor of the Turtle family.

The myth of the North American Acoma tribetells that the first two women learned in a dream that people live underground. They dug a hole and freed the people.

The myth of the Inca people
In Tiahuanaco, the creator of all things created the tribes there. He made one person of each tribe out of clay and drew the dress they were to wear; those who should be with long hair, he sculpted with long hair, and those who should be shorn, with short ones; and every nation was given its own language, and its own songs, and cereals, and food.
When the creator finished this work, he breathed life and soul into every man and woman and ordered them to go underground. And each tribe went out where it was ordered.

Myth of the Indians of Mexico
When everything was ready on Earth, Nohotsakyum created people. The first were the kalsia, that is, the monkey people, then the koha-ko, the boar people, then the kapuk, the jaguar people, and finally the chan-ka, the pheasant people. So he created different nations. He made them out of clay - men, women, children, fit their eyes, noses, arms, legs and everything else, then put the figures in a fire, on which he usually baked tortillas (corn cakes). From the fire, the clay hardened, and people came to life.

Australian myths
In the beginning, the Earth was covered by the sea, and at the bottom of the dried up primeval ocean and on the slopes of the rocks protruding from the waves, there were already ... lumps of helpless creatures with glued fingers and teeth, closed ears and eyes. Other similar human "larvae" lived in the water and looked like shapeless balls of raw meat, in which the rudiments of parts of the human body were only guessed. A flycatcher with a stone knife separated human embryos from each other, cut through their eyes, ears, mouth, nose, fingers ... She taught them how to make fire by friction, cook food, gave them a spear, spear thrower, boomerang, each one provided him with a personal churing-goy (guardian of the soul).
Different Australian tribes consider kangaroo, emu, opossum, wild dog, lizard, crow, bat as their ancestors.

There once lived two brothers, two twins - Bunjil and Palian. Bunjil could transform into a falcon, and Palian could transform into a raven. One brother made mountains and rivers on the earth with a wooden sword, and the other made salt water and fish that live in the sea. Once Bunjil took two pieces of bark, put clay on them and began to knead it with a knife, sculpting legs, torso, arms and head - this is how he created a man. He also made a second one. He was pleased with his work and performed a dance with joy. Since then, people have existed, since then they have been dancing for joy. To one man he attached wood fibers like hair, and to another too - the first had curly hair, the second straight. Since then, men of some genera have curly hair, while others have straight hair.

Scandinavian mythology
Having created the world, Odin (the supreme deity) and his brothers decided to populate it. One day, on the seashore, they found two trees: an ash and an alder. The gods cut them down and made a man out of ash and a woman out of alder. Then one of the gods breathed life into them, another gave them intelligence, and a third gave them blood and rosy cheeks. So the first people appeared, and they were called: the man - Ask, and the woman - Embla.

The Castellation of Uranus by Kronos by Giorgio Vasari and Gerardi Christofano, 16th century, Palazzo Vecchio, Italy

According to some scientists, EON is one thing, according to others, it is another. You can’t trust anyone, because the history of the Earth is a boiling ocean of insights, insights, fabrications, unsubstantiated rumors and quite evident, but empty facts. For all that, dealing with questions of Culture, it is necessary to know what the relationship between Eternity and Time is. So, who are you God Aeon? We turn to ancient Greek mythology and immediately go to the myth that tells about the first Gods, the conflict between which determined the course of Ancient Greek history, and then penetrated into current ideas.

The external image of Chaos in the modern view ...

Chaos (ancient Greek “to open up, open up”). Ancient Greek poet of the 8th - 7th centuries BC Hesiod in his "Theogony" ("Genealogy of the Gods") stated: "First of all, in the universe, Chaos was born." We know more.

Ancient Chaos is the discharge and dispersion of matter, and therefore it is eternal death for all living things. He is also a condensation of any matter, and therefore he is the principle and source of all becoming. Chaos is the ever-creating womb for all forms of life.

A majestic and tragic image of the cosmic First Unity. Existence is melted in it, from which everything appears and in which everything perishes. He is the universal principle of continuous and continuous, infinite and limitless becoming.
Ancient Chaos is omnipotent and faceless, it shapes everything, but it is formless itself.
He is a world monster, the essence of which is the Void and Nothing, or - Infinity and Zero at the same time.

The first offspring of Chaos was Gaia, the ancient Greek Goddess of the Earth. According to Hesiod: "the broad-breasted Gaia was born next, the universal shelter is safe." Gaia is the Mother of all that lives and grows on her.

According to Hesiod : “Gaia, first of all, gave birth to the starry Sky, Uranus, equal in breadth to herself, so that she would exactly cover it everywhere and serve as a strong home for the blessed gods.” Uranus was chosen by Gaia as her husband, and "the first to rule the whole world." Earth gave birth to Heaven, which became her husband (how can you?). Their union gave children who were supposed to turn Chaos into Cosmos (which means you need to!). As it were…

In Chaos, TWO FORM-CREATING FORCES were defined:

SKY endowed with inexhaustible productive power,

and EARTH with maternal inclinations primordial.

They were beautiful in appearance, because Gods cannot be otherwise ...

“Also, Gaia gave birth to Kiklops with an arrogant soul - at the expense of three, and by name - Bront, Sterop and Arga. In all other respects they were similar to other gods, but only a single eye was in the middle of the face: That's why they were called « Kruglogla ­ PS”, “Cyclops”, which had a single round eye on their faces. And for work they had strength, and power, and skill.

The spouses also had other, more terrible-looking children, but they will be discussed later. Now - about the main thing ...

The children born of Gaia-Earth and Sky-Uranus were terrible and became hated by their father at first sight. As soon as one of them was born, each parent immediately hid in the bowels of the Earth, not letting him out, and enjoyed his villainy. The fact that the children worked properly did not matter to the father ...

Gaia-Earth gave birth to HORRIBLE-LOOKING GOOD.

And Uranus-Sky, BEAUTIFUL in appearance, turned out to be capable of EVIL. T how did the MORAL AND AESTHETIC PROBLEM arise,
that GOOD and EVIL
could become both BEAUTIFUL and TERRIBLE.

At the same time, in contrast to the ever-creating bosom
for all life forms, TARTAR arose ...

“The dark Tartarus is so far from us: if, taking a copper anvil, throw it from the sky, in nine days and nights it would fly to the earth; if you throw it from the ground, in nine days and nights the weight would fly to Tartarus. “The Tartarus is fenced around with a copper fence. In three rows, the impenetrable night surrounds his neck, and from above the roots of the earth lie from the bitter-salty sea. Poseidon blocked the exit from there with a copper door; the wall runs around the whole place.

John Martin. "Fallen Angels in Hell" 1841
There are no antique images of Tartarus.

There is nothing worse than being thrown into Tartarus and losing faith in "saving illusions." Even a partially disillusioned person is immediately overtaken by the merciless Horror of the Night and the Darkness of Non-existence, corroding the flesh and soul. Horror and Darkness are inevitable forces. The theory of illusions was proposed by the philosopher Evgeny Golovin - I immediately felt its meaning explaining a lot, and then I was convinced of this.

In the brief moment called "life", people are always led by "cruel illusions". They protect them from contact with the cosmic reality of the Night. Judging by the myths, they were given over to the ancient Greeks so that their memory would recreate what they had never seen, for example, the image of Tartarus. Because of the "cruel illusions" life becomes illusory. People think one thing, in fact, everything happens differently - as the decree of the High Powers commands. There are countless ancient Greek myths on this subject.

“With a full womb, the earth-giantess moaned heavily. The last to be born was Kronus, the cunning, most terrible among children, He hated the powerful Father. Evil came to Gaia's mind and insidious and skillful work. She immediately created a rock of gray iron, made a huge sickle and showed it to her beloved children. Arousing courage in them, she said with a sad soul: “My children and the wicked father! If you want to be obedient to me, we can repay your father for villainy, for he was the first to plan terrible things. Embraced by fear, the children were silent. The great Kron, cunning, full of courage, agreed.

Fragment of Giorgio Vasari's painting "The Castration of Uranus by Kronos".

“The gigantic soul rejoiced Gaia . Having hidden her son in a secluded place, she gave him a sharp-toothed sickle in his hands and taught him all sorts of deceit. Leading the night, appearedUranus, lay down near Gaia, burning with love desire, and spread around everywhere. Suddenly, the son stretched out his left hand from an ambush, and with his right, grabbing a huge sharp-toothed sickle, he quickly cut off the childbearing member from the dear parent and threw it back with a strong swing.

"The Birth of Aphrodite". Altar of Aphrodite, marble. First third of the 5th century BC e. Roman National Museum.

“But the childbearing member of the father, cut off with a sharp iron, was worn on the sea for a long time, and white foam whipped around from the imperishable member. And the girl was born in that foam. First she sailed to the sacred Cythera, After that she landed on Cyprus, washed by the sea. The beautiful goddess came to the shore. He steps with his foot - grass grows under a slender leg. Her Aphrodite"Foam-born", still "Kiferei" beautifully crowned, Gods and people call "...

Do not miss, losing Power over the World, for the sake of which Uranus went to a terrible atrocity, he gave people a gift - he left them a "saving illusion." And people caught its meaning in the whisper of sea foam - "LOVE SAVES THE WORLD". This is an illusion: there is no love - the wave will run ashore and melt, leaving behind stones, as if soaked in tears. “No, no - LOVE WILL SAVE THE WORLD, IT IS ETERNAL AS THE BEAUTY of my waves hitting the shore,” the Sea persuades.

Baroque figurine depicting the triumph of Saturn.

Rushed across the castrated Sky
with an hourglass and a sickle in his hands, so that all the children of the earth can see: it is he who controls the time of their lives. In fact, even in Roman times, when Kronos began to be called Saturn, these solemn journeys were covered up with some kind of secret. Kronos-Saturn - did not want Time to flow, he hoped to rule forever. For this he ate his own children ...

Baroque time illustration. sits on a stone in full goodness. The sickle has been discarded. Nearby is a vase with musical instruments. In his right hand, God holds a circle in the form of a snake biting its own tail. This is the symbol of eternity.

Earthlings did not notice that stagnation appeared in their lives, because the god Hypnos kept their consciousness in check with a "cruel illusion". According to this illusion, nothing should change, for on earth reigns « THE GOLDEN AGE « , better than which there is nothing and cannot be, because ... People live like gods, "with a calm and clear soul, not knowing grief, not knowing labors," according to Hesiod.

Peter Paul Rubens. "Saturn devouring his children." 1636

Saturn married his sister Rhea the Titanide (consanguineous marriages were common in Roman mythology as well). All the children born to Rhea were devoured by Cronus. Mother Gaia warned Cronus that he, in turn, would be deprived of power by his own son ...

Artists of many centuries represented the fact of cannibalism at the highest level of the Greco-Roman divine hierarchy ruling the world in all its naturalistic authenticity.

Francisco Goya crosses the border of authenticity, turning the crime into an image of Horror and Gloom. They should not be allowed by the History of people, even the one that hides in the temporal distance in the form of legends and myths. If so, Goya's painting Saturn Devouring His Children (1820-1823) is a cruel exposure of the "cruel illusion".

Does anyone remember? Perhaps not ... Such a "cruel illusion",

Isn't it true that he manages public time even at the present time.

Saint Petersburg. Summer garden. "Saturn devouring his children." Sk. F. Kabianka. Early 18th century

I remember that I took the students of my courses around the Summer Garden and told them, no - not about Saturn (I was afraid to look at him), but about “Saturnalia” - festivities in honor of “Death with a scythe”, which turns into a symbol of harvest ..

In ancient Rome, this holiday fell on the second half of December - the time when agricultural work ended and everyone aspired to rest and fun. In the week of "Saturnalia" public affairs were suspended, schoolchildren were released from classes, and it was forbidden to punish criminals. Slaves received special benefits these days: they were freed from ordinary labor, became masters, and the masters were their servants. Apparently, while rattling their bowls against the pans, the Roman people also did not raise their eyes to the Sky.

Kron is the personification of the all-consuming Time. Everything is born and disappears in time, so the children of Kron are born and destroyed by the father. Representatives of a new generation of Greek gods were born and disappeared in the womb of Kron: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon. Rhea gave birth to Zeus on the island of Crete, in a cave of Mount Dikte, but ... Instead of another baby, Kron received a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes. So the atrocities of Kronos - Saturn ceased.

What to do next - who will put things in order in the universe? It was then that Aeon appeared - a friend of Hercules . After winning the race at the Olympic Games, Aeon and Hercules came to Sparta. Friends wandered around the city and ended up near the palace of King Hippocoont. A guard dog attacked Eon, Eon threw a stone at her and killed her. Then the sons of the king beat the hero to death with sticks. Hercules took revenge on them: he killed the king and his 12 sons. What is the essence of the worldly myth? First of all, the account...

ONE KILLED BY TWELVE.
ONE IS THE NUMBER OF INTEGRITY, THAT IS ETERNITY,
TWELVE - NUMBER OF ACTION (THREE),
DEPLOYED IN SPACE (FOUR).

After death in the Terrestrial — Event World —
HERO goes through a transformation
becoming in the Heavenly - Existential world - GOD,
whose mission is to turn Chaos into Space.
Quite a gospel story, only it is written
in the abstract language Prachisel.

Roman mosaic, 3rd century AD e. Glyptothek, Munich

It stands in the celestial, closed, endless Zodiac circle. An ancient myth, Below, the Goddess Gaia reclines on earth surrounded by her children - the four Seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter (in gray robes) So, with the consent of the Mother of everything and everything, the Aeon rules three cycles: the annual movement of the Sun (4 x 3 = 12), the endless change of 12 signs of the Zodiac and the movement of all the planets.

The zodiac circle consists of 12 equal sections,
occupied by the corresponding signs of the zodiac - constellations
Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces.
The zodiac circle is a continuous repetition of the same establishments
for the existence of the Earth and all its creatures.

26 thousand years - 360 degrees (full Zodiac circle).
2.16 thousand years - 30 degrees (passing through one Sign).
72 years - 1 degree (outflow of one ray of energy).

And this order was established by him ONE - THE GOD OF ETERNITY AEON,
subjugated TIME in all its current INFINITY
with the help of PROPORTIONALITY, which is the leading principle of HARMONY ...

Lucas Jensky. "Ouroboros" - "The serpent devouring its own tail" from the book "Philosopher's Stone". 1625. This is an example of the emblem of Eternity and the cyclic development of the World.

At the time of Ancient Rome, only the concept of ETERNITY and CIRCLE remained from Aeon - a geometric model of this incomprehensible phenomenon. Here, Eternity acted as a “saving illusion”, which does not allow people to give their lives “for the needs of time”, which makes them take care of the High and strive for the embodiment of the Perfect – the Beautiful…

recognized as its Highest goal the service of Eternity - the goddess Eternitas. One of the evidence of this is the gold coin of Titus Flavius ​​Vespasian, the most active and successful princeps in Roman history of the 1st century, emperor from 69 to 79. On the front side is the profile of the emperor. On the back - the goddess Eternitas.

And suddenly, already in our time, the Aeon was reborn, becoming a concept,
which in geology and paleontology determines the history of the Earth.
Aeon - "the stay of the world in the same qualitative state -
as opposed to the incessantly flowing time, measured quantitatively.
Within the Aeon, world existence and human life are the same.
With the change of Aeons, on the contrary, the spiritual foundations of cosmic existence and human life change significantly.
That's Greek mythology for you! Moreover…

At the sessions of the International Geological Congress (IGC), held in 1881-1900, the Geochronological scale in the form of a spiral, the hierarchy and nomenclature of most geochronological units were adopted. Subsequently, all divisions were constantly refined. The history of the earth, numbering 4.6 billion years, was reduced to four eons: PHANEROSIAN, PROTEROSIAN, ARCHEA CATARCHEA. Each eon is divided into eras, periods and eras.

People have always sought to know how they appeared, where the human race originates from. Not knowing the answer to their question, they conjectured, composed legends. The myth of the origin of man exists in almost all religious beliefs.

But not only religion tried to find the answer to this age-old question. As science developed, it also joined the search for truth. But within the framework of this article, emphasis will be placed on the theory of the origin of man precisely on the basis of religious beliefs and mythology.

In Ancient Greece

Greek mythology is known all over the world, therefore it is with it that the article begins the consideration of myths that explain the origin of the world and man. According to the mythology of this people, Chaos was in the beginning.

Gods appeared from it: Chronos, personifying time, Gaia - the earth, Eros - the embodiment of love, Tartarus and Erebus - this is the abyss and darkness, respectively. The last deity born from Chaos was the goddess Nyukta, who symbolized the night.

Over time, these omnipotent beings give birth to other gods, take over the world. Later, they settled on the top of Mount Olympus, which from now on became their home.

The Greek myth of the origin of man is one of the most famous, as it is studied in the school curriculum.

Ancient Egypt

The civilization in the Nile Valley is one of the earliest, so their mythology is also very old. Of course, in their religious beliefs there was also a myth about the origin of people.

Here we can draw an analogy with the Greek myths already mentioned above. The Egyptians believed that in the beginning there was Chaos, in which Infinity, Darkness, Nothing and Nothingness reigned. These forces were very strong and sought to destroy everything, but the great eight acted in opposition to them, of which 4 had a male appearance with frog heads, and the other 4 had a female appearance with snake heads.

Subsequently, the destructive forces of Chaos were overcome, and the world was created.

Indian beliefs

In Hinduism, there are at least 5 versions of the origin of the world and man. According to the first version, the world arose from the sound Om, produced by Shiva's drum.

According to the second myth, the world and man emerged from an "egg" (brahmanda) that came from outer space. In the third version, there was a "primary heat" that gave birth to the world.

The fourth myth sounds rather bloodthirsty: the first man, whose name was Purusha, made a sacrifice of parts of his body to himself. Out of them came the rest of the people.

The latest version says that the world and man owe their origin to the breath of the god Maha-Vishnu. With every breath he takes, brahmandas (universes) appear in which the Brahmas reside.

Buddhism

In this religion, as such, there is no myth about the origin of people and the world. It is dominated by the idea of ​​the constant rebirth of the universe, which appears from the very beginning. This process is called the wheel of Samsara. Depending on the karma that a living being has, in the next life he may be reborn into a more highly developed one. For example, a person who has led a righteous life, in the next life will either again be a man, or a demigod, or even a god.

The one who has bad karma may not become a person at all, but be born as an animal or plant, and even an inanimate being. This is a kind of punishment for the fact that he lived a "bad" life.

About the very appearance of man and the whole world in Buddhism there is no explanation.

Viking beliefs

The Scandinavian myths about the origin of man are not so well known to modern people than the same Greek or Egyptian ones, but no less interesting. They believed that the universe emerged from the void (Ginugaga), and the rest of the material world arose from the torso of a bisexual giant named Ymir.

This giant was raised by the sacred cow Audumla. The stones that she licked to get salt became the basis for the appearance of the gods, among which was the main god of Scandinavian mythology, Odin.

Odin and his two brothers Vili and Ve killed Ymir, from whose body they created our world and man.

Old Slavic beliefs

As in most ancient polytheistic religions, according to Slavic mythology, Chaos was also in the beginning. And in it lived the Mother of darkness and infinity, whose name was Swa. Once she wanted a child for herself and created from the embryo of her fiery son Svarog, and from the umbilical cord the serpent Firth was born, who became a friend of her son.

Swa, to please Svarog, removed the old skin from the snake, waved her hands and created all living things from it. Man was created in the same way, but a soul was put into his body.

Judaism

It is the first monotheistic religion in the world, from which Christianity and Islam originate. Therefore, in all three creeds, the myth of the origin of people and the world is similar.

The Jews believe that the world was created by God. However, there are some discrepancies. Thus, some believe that the sky was created from the radiance of his clothes, the earth from the snow under his throne, which he threw into the water.

Others believe that God wove several threads together: two (fire and snow) used to create his world, two more (fire and water) went to create the sky. Later, man was created.

Christianity

This religion is dominated by the idea of ​​the creation of the world from "nothing". God created the whole world by His own power. It took him 6 days to create the world, and on the seventh he rested.

In this myth, explaining the origin of the world and man, people appeared at the very end. Man was created by God in his own image and likeness, therefore it is people who are the "highest" beings on Earth.

And, of course, everyone knows about the first man Adam, who was created from clay. Then God made a woman out of his rib.

Islam

Despite the fact that the Muslim creed takes its roots from Judaism, where God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, in Islam this myth is interpreted somewhat differently.

For Allah, there is no rest, he created the whole world and all living things in six days, but fatigue did not touch him at all.

Scientific theories of human origin

Today it is generally accepted that people appeared in the course of a long biological process of evolution. Darwin's theory states that man emerged from higher primates, so man and great apes in antiquity had a single ancestor.

Of course, in science there are also different hypotheses regarding the appearance of the world and people. For example, some scientists put forward a version according to which a person is the result of a merger of primates and alien aliens who visited the Earth in ancient times.

Even more daring hypotheses have begun to appear today. For example, there is a theory according to which our world is a virtual program, and everything that surrounds us, including the people themselves, is part of a computer game or a program used by more developed beings.

However, such bold ideas without due factual and experimental confirmation are not much different from the myths about the origin of people.

Finally

In this article, various options for the origin of man were considered: myths and religions, versions and hypotheses based on scientific research. No one today can say with absolute certainty how it really was. Therefore, each person is free to choose which of the theories to believe.

The modern scientific world tends to the theory of Darwinists, since it has the largest and best evidence base, although it also has some inaccuracies and shortcomings.

Be that as it may, people strive to get to the bottom of the truth, so more and more hypotheses, evidence appear, experiments and observations are carried out. Perhaps in the future it will be possible to find the only correct answer.

The most interesting and instructive stories, fascinating stories and adventures gave the world Greek mythology. The narrative immerses us in a fairy-tale world where you can meet heroes and gods, scary monsters and unusual animals. The myths of Ancient Greece, written many centuries ago, are currently the greatest cultural heritage of all mankind.

What are myths

Mythology is an amazing separate world in which people opposed the deities of Olympus, fought for honor and resisted evil and destruction.

However, it is worth remembering that myths are works created exclusively by people using fantasy and fiction. These are stories about gods, heroes and exploits, unusual natural phenomena and mysterious creatures.

The origin of legends is no different from the origin of folk tales and legends. The Greeks invented and retold unusual stories that mixed truth and fiction.

It is possible that there was some truth in the stories - a life case or an example could be taken as a basis.

Source of the myths of ancient Greece

How do modern people know the myths and their plots for certain? It turns out that Greek mythology was preserved on the tablets of the Aegean culture. They were written in Linear B, which was deciphered only in the 20th century.

The Crete-Mycenaean period, to which this type of writing belongs, knew most of the gods: Zeus, Athena, Dionysus, and so on. However, due to the decline of civilization and the emergence of ancient Greek mythology, mythology could have its gaps: we know it only from the latest sources.

Various plots of the myths of Ancient Greece were often used by writers of that time. And before the onset of the Hellenistic era, it became popular to create their own legends based on them.

The largest and most famous sources are:

1. Homer, Iliad, Odyssey
2. Hesiod "Theogony"
3. Pseudo-Apollodorus, "Library"
4. Gigin, "Myths"
5. Ovid, "Metamorphoses"
6. Nonnus, "Acts of Dionysus"

Karl Marx believed that the mythology of Greece was a vast repository of art, and also created the ground for it, thus fulfilling a dual function.

ancient greek mythology

Myths did not appear overnight: they took shape over several centuries, passed from mouth to mouth. Thanks to the poetry of Hesiod and Homer, the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, we can get acquainted with the stories at the present time.

Each story has value, keeping in itself the atmosphere of antiquity. Specially trained people - mythographers - began to appear in Greece in the 4th century BC.

These include the sophist Hippias, Herodotus of Heracles, Heraclitus of Pontus and others. Dionysius of Samoia, in particular, was engaged in compiling genealogical tables and studied tragic myths.

There are many myths, but the most popular are stories related to Olympus and its inhabitants.

However, the complex hierarchy and history of the origin of the gods can confuse any reader, and therefore we propose to understand this in detail!

With the help of myths, it becomes possible to recreate the picture of the world in the view of the inhabitants of Ancient Greece: the world is inhabited by monsters and giants, among which are giants - one-eyed creatures and Titans.

Origin of the gods

Eternal, boundless Chaos enveloped the Earth. It contained the world source of life.

It was believed that it was Chaos that gave birth to everything around: the world, the immortal gods, the goddess of the Earth, Gaia, who gave life to everything growing and living, and the mighty force that animates everything - Love.

However, a birth also took place under the Earth: the gloomy Tartarus was born - an abyss of horror filled with eternal darkness.

In the process of creating the world, Chaos gave birth to the Eternal Darkness, called Erebus, and the dark Night, named Nikta. As a result of the union of Nikta and Erebus, Ether was born - the eternal Light and Hemera - the bright Day. Thanks to their appearance, the light filled the whole world, and day and night began to replace each other.

Gaia, a powerful and gracious goddess, created the immense blue Sky - Uranus. Spread over the Earth, he reigned throughout the world. High Mountains proudly stretched towards him, and the noisy Sea spread over the whole Earth.

Goddess Gaia and her Titan children

After Mother Earth created the Sky, Mountains and Sea, Uranus decided to take Gaia as his wife. From the divine union came 6 sons and 6 daughters.

Titan Ocean and the goddess Thetis created all the rivers that rolled their waters to the sea, and the goddesses of the seas, called oceanides. Titan Gipperion and Theia gave the world Helios - the Sun, Selena - the Moon and Eos - the Dawn. Astrea and Eos gave birth to all the stars and all the winds: Boreas - the north, Eurus - the east, Notus - the south, Zephyr - the west.

The overthrow of Uranus - the beginning of a new era

The goddess Gaia - the mighty Earth - gave birth to 6 more sons: 3 cyclops - giants with one eye in the forehead, and 3 fifty-headed hundred-armed monsters called Hekantocheirs. They possessed boundless power that knew no limits.

Struck by the ugliness of his giant children, Uranus renounced them and ordered them to be imprisoned in the bowels of the Earth. Gaia, being a Mother, suffered, weighed down by a terrible burden: after all, her own children were imprisoned in her bowels. Unable to stand it, Gaia called her children-titans, persuading them to rebel against their father - Uranus.

Battle of the gods with the titans

Being great and powerful, the titans were still afraid of their father. And only Kronos, the youngest and most treacherous, accepted his mother's offer. Having outwitted Uranus, he overthrew him, seizing power.

As a punishment for the deed of Kronos, the goddess Night gave birth to death (Tanat), discord (Eris), deceit (Apata),

Kronos devouring his child

destruction (Ker), nightmare (Hypnos) and vengeance (Nemesis) and other terrible gods. All of them brought horror, discord, deceit, struggle and misfortune to the world of Kronos.

Despite his cunning, Kronos was afraid. His fear was built on personal experience: after all, the children could overthrow him, as he once overthrew Uranus - his father.

Fearing for his life, Kronos ordered his wife Rhea to bring him born children. To Rhea's horror, 5 of them were eaten: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon.

Zeus and his reign

Heeding the advice of her father Uranus and her mother Gaia, Rhea fled to the island of Crete. There, in a deep cave, she gave birth to her youngest son, Zeus.

Hiding the newborn in it, Rhea tricked the hard Kronos into swallowing a long stone wrapped in swaddling clothes instead of her son.

As time went. Kronos did not figure out his wife's deceit. Zeus grew up while in Crete. His nannies were nymphs - Adrastea and Idea, instead of mother's milk, he was fed with the milk of the divine goat Amalthea, and industrious bees carried honey to baby Zeus from Mount Dikta.

If Zeus began to cry, the young Curetes, who stood at the entrance to the cave, struck their shields with their swords. Loud sounds drowned out the crying so that Kronos would not hear it.

The myth of the birth of Zeus: feeding the milk of the divine goat Amalthea

Zeus grew up. Having defeated Kronos in battle with the help of the Titans and the Cyclopes, he became the supreme deity of the Olympian Pantheon. The lord of heavenly forces commanded thunders, lightnings, clouds and showers. He dominated the universe, giving people laws and protecting order.

Views of the Ancient Greeks

The Greeks believed that the gods of Olympus are like people, and the relationship between them is comparable to human. Their lives were also filled with quarrels and reconciliations, envy and interference, resentment and forgiveness, joy, fun and love.

In the views of the ancient Greeks, each deity had its own occupation and sphere of influence:

• Zeus - lord of the sky, father of gods and people
• Hera - the wife of Zeus, the patroness of the family
• Poseidon - the sea
• Hestia - family hearth
• Demeter - agriculture
• Apollo - light and music
• Athena - wisdom
• Hermes - trade and messenger of the gods
• Hephaestus - fire
• Aphrodite - beauty
• Ares - war
• Artemis - hunting

From the earth, people each turned to their god, according to their destiny. Temples were built everywhere to propitiate them, and gifts were offered instead of sacrifices.

In Greek mythology, not only Chaos, the Titans and the Olympian Pantheon mattered, there were other gods.

• Nymphs Naiads who lived in streams and rivers
• Nereids - nymphs of the seas
• Dryads and Satyrs - nymphs of the forests
• Echo - nymph of mountains
• Goddesses of fate: Lachesis, Clotho and Atropos.

The rich world of myths was given to us by ancient Greece. It is filled with deep meaning and instructive stories. Thanks to them, people can learn ancient wisdom and knowledge.

How many different legends exist at the moment, do not count. But believe me, every person should get acquainted with them after spending time with Apollo, Hephaestus, Hercules, Narcissus, Poseidon and others. Welcome to the ancient world of the ancient Greeks!