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Names of the heroes of ancient Greece. Heroes of ancient myths Ancient Greek heroes

Heroes were born from the marriages of the Olympian gods with mortals. They were endowed with superhuman abilities and great strength, but did not possess immortality. Heroes performed all sorts of feats with the help of their divine parents. They were supposed to fulfill the will of the gods on earth, to bring justice and order into people's lives. Heroes were highly revered in ancient Greece, legends about them were passed down from generation to generation.

Not always the concept of a heroic deed included military prowess. Some heroes, indeed, are great warriors, others are healers, others are great travelers, fourths are just husbands of goddesses, fifths are the ancestors of peoples, sixths are prophets, etc. Greek heroes are not immortal, but their posthumous fate is unusual. Some heroes of Greece live after death on the Isles of the Blessed, others on the island of Levka or even on Olympus. It was believed that most of the heroes who fell in battle or died as a result of dramatic events were buried in the ground. The tombs of the heroes - the heroons - were the places of their worship. Often, there were graves of the same hero in different places in Greece.

More about the characters based on the book by Mikhail Gasparov "Entertaining Greece"

In Thebes, they told about the hero Cadmus, the founder of Cadmea, the winner of the terrible cave dragon. In Argos, they told about the hero Perseus, who at the end of the world cut off the head of the monstrous Gorgon, from whose gaze people turned to stone, and then defeated the sea monster - the Whale. In Athens, they talked about the hero Theseus, who freed central Greece from evil robbers, and then in Crete killed the bull-headed ogre of the Minotaur, who was sitting in the palace with intricate passages - the Labyrinth; he did not get lost in the Labyrinth because he held on to the thread that the Cretan princess Ariadne gave him, who later became the wife of the god Dionysus. In the Peloponnese (named after another hero - Pelops) they talked about the twin heroes Castor and Polideuces, who later became the patron gods of cavalrymen and wrestlers. The sea was conquered by the hero Jason: on the ship "Argo" with his Argonaut friends, he brought to Greece from the eastern edge of the world the "Golden Fleece" - the skin of a golden ram that descended from heaven. The sky was conquered by the hero Daedalus, the builder of the Labyrinth: on wings of bird feathers fastened with wax, he flew from Cretan captivity to his native Athens, although his son Icarus, who flew with him, could not stay in the air and died.

The main of the heroes, the real savior of the gods, was Hercules, the son of Zeus. He was not just a mortal man - he was a bonded mortal man who served the weak and cowardly king for twelve years. On his orders, Hercules performed twelve famous labors. The first were victories over monsters from the vicinity of Argos - a stone lion and a many-headed hydra snake, in which several new ones grew instead of each severed head. The last were the victories over the dragon of the far West, guarding the golden apples of eternal youth (it was on the way to him that Hercules dug the Strait of Gibraltar, and the mountains on its sides became known as the Pillars of Heracles), and over the three-headed dog Kerberos, who guarded the terrible kingdom of the dead. And after that, he was called to his main business: he became a participant in the great war of the Olympians with the rebellious younger gods, giants, in gigantomachy. The giants threw mountains at the gods, the gods slew the giants with lightning, some with a rod, some with a trident, the giants fell, but not killed, but only stunned. Then Hercules hit them with arrows from his bow, and they did not get up again. So man helped the gods to defeat their most terrible enemies.

But gigantomachy was only the penultimate danger that threatened the omnipotence of the Olympians. Hercules also saved them from the last danger. In his wanderings along the ends of the earth, he saw Prometheus chained on a Caucasian rock, tormented by Zeus's eagle, took pity on him and killed the eagle with an arrow from a bow. In gratitude for this, Prometheus revealed to him the last secret of fate: let Zeus not seek the love of the sea goddess Thetis, because the son that Thetis will give birth to will be stronger than his father, and if it is the son of Zeus, then he will overthrow Zeus. Zeus obeyed: Thetis was given not as a god, but as a mortal hero, and their son Achilles was born. And with this began the decline of the heroic age.

Thanks to them, we with exceptional joy recognize the names and exploits of Hercules, Oedipus, Theseus, Achilles, Odysseus or Hector. In Death of Heroes, recently edited by Turner, Carlos García Gual narrates the death of 25 heroes. It is a lapidary book: it speaks of her vicissitudes and, above all, of how they died, of the beginning of their fame as immortal. And while no hero manages his fate, they all participate in their superhuman acts: there are those who seek glory in battle, others in conquest, others in travel and adventure, and there are those who already choose to defend their community. . his family.

ajax- the name of two participants in the Trojan War; both fought near Troy as applicants for the hand of Helen. In the Iliad, they often appear side by side and are compared to two mighty lions or bulls.

Bellerophon- one of the main characters of the older generation, the son of the Corinthian king Glaucus (according to other sources, the god Poseidon), the grandson of Sisyphus. Bellerophon's original name is Hippo.

Heroes, except for Orpheus, do not sing: they are sung and remembered by epic, tragedy and Greek lyrics. Carlos García's Guala's book declares that young andrew in battle forms a vital part of the warrior-hero profile and yet does not delineate a heroic death. It's not enough to be brave, you can see between its pages. There are several cases of heroes who deserve a "beautiful death". Paphos controls the life and death of heroes over the hills, glory. From this strange state tragedy draws its raw material: the hero suffers from a hybrid that exalts triumphs and strengthens character, but also immobilizes the hero in the face of inevitable agony.

Hector- one of the main characters of the Trojan War. The hero was the son of Hecuba and Priam, the king of Troy. According to legend, he killed the first Greek who set foot on the land of Troy.

Hercules- national hero of the Greeks. Son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. Gifted with mighty strength, he performed the most difficult work on earth and accomplished great feats. Having atoned for his sins, he ascended Olympus and achieved immortality.

Thus, Garcia Gual reveals the fragile and ambivalent state of the characters. On the one hand, power is in the hands, and on the other, a sealed fate. Only the gods know the exact moment of death. On that day, deep sorrow. Patroclus weeps profusely by Achilles. Hector, horse tamer and man killer, claims his father after desecrating his corpse.

Achilles is killed by an arrow fired by Paris. Peter Paul Rubens and his workshop "Death of Achilles". The talent, humanism and vision of Professor García Guala is so broad that he recreates the myths and deaths of heroes from the most traditional versions of themes that are more anecdotal. Stories about mythical heroes are not always taken from primary sources, in some cases the author refers to later texts.

Diomedes- the son of the Aetolian king Tydeus and the daughter of Adrasta Deipyla. Together with Adrast he took part in the campaign and the ruin of Thebes. As one of Helen's suitors, Diomedes subsequently fought near Troy, leading a militia on 80 ships.

Meleager- the hero of Aetolia, the son of the Calydonian king Oineus and Alfea, the husband of Cleopatra. Member of the campaign of the Argonauts. Meleager was most famous for his participation in the Calydonian hunt.

Accounting for their deaths is unusual: Oedipus dies, according to Sophocles' version, a victim of exile, blind and unfortunate, to contemplate the death of Jocasta, his wife and mother. Hercules dies throwing himself on the fire of lamas, after putting on the tunic that his dear Deyair sent him with the blood of the centaur Neso. Perseus dies directing the Gorgon's head to himself. Orpheus, who goes to Hades in search of Eurydice, succumbed to the Bakkhans. Jason was crushed under the mast of the Argo and died instantly. Alcmaeon dies from family intrigues. Theseus, the hero of Athenian democracy, reaches his destination by stumbling and falling from a ravine.

Menelaus- King of Sparta, son of Atreus and Aeropa, husband of Helen, younger brother of Agamemnon. Menelaus, with the help of Agamemnon, gathered friendly kings for the Ilion campaign, and he himself put up sixty ships.

Odysseus- "angry", king of the island of Ithaca, son of Laertes and Anticlea, husband of Penelope. Odysseus is the famous hero of the Trojan War, also famous for his wanderings and adventures.

Campaign of the Seven against Thebes

Sisyphus suffers one of the three endless punishments of the gods: forever pushing a stone up a mountain to see it fall again and again. Belerophon falls from Mount Pegasus, his winged horse, in an attempt to join the assembly of the gods and comes to his death.

On the other hand, the Homeric world experiences blood, tears and smells of death. There is no song in the Iliad that does not speak of the death of some warrior. The myth says that Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, brother of Menelaus, husband of Helen, sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia before going to Ilion. His wife, Clytemnestra, will take part in this scene. Together with Egisto, he plotted to kill Agamemnon with a double-edged axe. The tragic story of this family ends with the death of Clytemnestra at the hands of his son, the vengeful Orestes.

Orpheus- the famous Thracian singer, the son of the river god Eagra and the muse Calliope, the husband of the nymph Eurydice, who set trees and rocks in motion with his songs.

Patroclus- the son of one of the Argonauts Menetius, a relative and ally of Achilles in the Trojan War. As a boy, he killed his friend during a dice game, for which his father sent him to Peleus in Phthia, where he was brought up with Achilles.

Achilles dies, according to each version, by ambush, arrow or spear. His fate is different from the fate of other heroes who come to the Trojan War. Son of the Titanide Tethys and a mortal Peleus, he knows that when he goes to Troy, his death will be safe. He is a cruel, angry and majestic warrior who decides to go to war because the glory will be great and he knows that his glory will make him immortal.

Garcia Gual is seduced by Hector's death. He is the heir of Priam, loves his wife Andromache; love your son, Astinax; loves his community and does his duty to protect the land of Troy. Homer sings his death with the same glory as the victory of the Hellenes. The Trojan hero dies, pierced by a spear in the fight with the veil, and, unfortunately, his body is dragged between the stones. However, despite the damage, his corpse will never lose its beauty. The gods love him and support him even in death.

Peleus- the son of the king of Aegina Aeacus and Endeida, the husband of Antigone. For the murder of his half-brother Phocus, who defeated Peleus in athletic exercises, he was expelled by his father and retired to Phthia.

Pelops- the king and national hero of Phrygia, and then the Peloponnese. Son of Tantalus and the nymph Euryanassa. Pelops grew up on Olympus in the company of the gods and was the favorite of Poseidon.

The Trojan War - a brief retelling

Thus, Garcia Gual chooses the death of heroes and treats them with special care. Like a ripe fruit that refuses to fall, the author dedicates several pages to the three heroines of the Greek world, Clytemnestra, Cassandra, and Antigone, before closing the book. All three were punished for displaying insomnia and for women's freedom.

Come from Greece, Rome or any other culture, myths populate our lives. From cinemas to comics passing through literature. Cover: Gods and Heroes of Greek Mythology. The action takes place in a distant time, in Greece and the regions bordering the Mediterranean. And we will find the following characters: the gods of Olympus and heroes.

Perseus- the son of Zeus and Danae, daughter of the king of Argos Acrisius. Slayer of the Gorgon Medusa and savior of Andromeda from the dragon's claims.

Talphibius- a messenger, a Spartan, together with Eurybatus was the herald of Agamemnon, carrying out his instructions. Talthybius, together with Odysseus and Menelaus, gathered an army for the Trojan War.

Teucer- the son of Telamon and the daughter of the Trojan king Hesion. The best archer in the Greek army near Troy, where more than thirty defenders of Ilion fell from his hand.

The book opens with the author's prologue, which speaks of the appeal and validity of the myths. Recall that a myth is a traditional story that tells about unusual events performed by characters of a divine or heroic nature. For the people who conceived them turn out to be sacred narratives, because they are part of their religion, value system and beliefs, suggested by some models of behavior.

It should be noted that the myth can perform different functions: to explain the appearance of certain elements; to answer basic questions about the functioning of man and the world around him, and in this sense to ensure peace in the face of existence; and finally legitimize certain social structures and activities.

Theseus- the son of the Athenian king Aeneas and Ethera. He became famous for a number of exploits, like Hercules; kidnapped Helena with Peyrifoy.

Trophonius- originally a chthonic deity, identical with Zeus the Underground. According to popular belief, Trophonius was the son of Apollo or Zeus, the brother of Agamed, the pet of the goddess of the earth - Demeter.

Phoroneus- the founder of the Argos state, the son of the river god Inach and the Hamadryad Melia. He was honored as a national hero; sacrifices were made at his grave.

Frasimede- the son of the Pylos king Nestor, who arrived with his father and brother Antiloch near Ilion. He commanded fifteen ships and took part in many battles.

Oedipus- the son of the Finnish king Lai and Jocasta. He killed his father and married his mother without knowing it. When the crime was discovered, Jocasta hanged herself, and Oedipus blinded himself. Died pursued by Erinyes.

Aeneas- the son of Anchises and Aphrodite, a relative of Priam, the hero of the Trojan War. Aeneas, like Achilles among the Greeks, is the son of a beautiful goddess, a favorite of the gods; in battles he was defended by Aphrodite and Apollo.

Jason- the son of Aison, on behalf of Pelias, went from Thessaly for the Golden Fleece to Colchis, for which he equipped the campaign of the Argonauts.

Kronos, in ancient Greek mythology, was one of the titans, born from the marriage of the sky god Uranus and the earth goddess Gaia. He succumbed to the persuasion of his mother and castrated his father Uranus in order to stop the endless birth of his children.

To avoid repeating the fate of his father, Kronos began to swallow all his offspring. But in the end, his wife could not stand such an attitude towards their offspring and let him swallow a stone instead of a newborn.

Rhea hid her son, Zeus, on the island of Crete, where he grew up, fed by the divine goat Amalthea. He was guarded by kuretes - warriors who drowned out the cry of Zeus with blows to the shields so that Kronos would not hear.

Having matured, Zeus overthrew his father from the throne, forced him to rip out his brothers and sisters from the womb, and after a long war took his place on the bright Olympus, among the host of gods. So Kronos was punished for his betrayal.

In Roman mythology, Kronos (Chroos - "time") is known as Saturn - a symbol of inexorable time. In ancient Rome, festivities were dedicated to the god Kronos - saturnalia, during which all rich people changed their duties with their servants and fun began, accompanied by abundant libations. In Roman mythology, Kronos (Chroos - "time") is known as Saturn - a symbol of inexorable time. In ancient Rome, festivities were dedicated to the god Kronos - saturnalia, during which all rich people changed their duties with their servants and fun began, accompanied by abundant libations.

Rhea("Ρέα), in ancient myth-making, a Greek goddess, one of the Titanides, the daughter of Uranus and Gaia, the wife of Kronos and the mother of the Olympic deities: Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter and Hera (Hesiod, Theogony, 135). Kronos, fearing, that one of his children would deprive him of power, devoured them immediately after birth. Rhea, on the advice of her parents, saved Zeus. Instead of the born son, she planted a swaddled stone, which Kronos swallowed, and secretly from her father Rhea sent her son to Crete, to the mountain Dikta. When Zeus grew up, Rhea attached her son to Kronos as a cupbearer and he was able to mix an emetic potion into his father's cup, freeing his brothers and sisters. According to one version of the myth, Rhea deceived Kronos at the birth of Poseidon. She hid her son among the grazing sheep, and She gave Kronos a foal to swallow, citing the fact that she gave birth to him (Pausanias, VIII 8, 2).

The cult of Rhea was considered one of the very ancient, but was not very common in Greece itself. In Crete and Asia Minor, she mingled with the Asian goddess of nature and fertility, Cybele, and her worship came to a more prominent plane. Especially in Crete, the legend about the birth of Zeus in the grotto of Mount Ida, which enjoyed special reverence, was localized, as evidenced by the large number of dedications, partly very ancient, found in it. In Crete, the tomb of Zeus was also shown. The priests of Rhea were here called Curetes and identified with the Corybantes, the priests of the great Phrygian mother Cybele. Rhea entrusted them with the preservation of the baby Zeus; clattering with their weapons, the curets drowned out his crying so that Kronos could not hear the child. Rhea was depicted in a matronal type, usually with a crown of city walls on her head, or in a veil, mostly sitting on a throne, near which sit the lions dedicated to her. Its attribute was the tympanum (an ancient musical percussion instrument, the forerunner of the timpani). In the period of late antiquity, Rhea was identified with the Phrygian Great Mother of the gods and received the name Rhea-Cybele, whose cult was distinguished by an orgiastic character.

Zeus, Diy ("bright sky"), in Greek mythology, the supreme deity, the son of the titans Kronos and Rhea. The almighty father of the gods, the lord of the winds and clouds, rain, thunder and lightning caused storms and hurricanes with a blow of the scepter, but he could also calm the forces of nature and clear the sky of clouds. Kronos, fearing to be overthrown by his children, swallowed all the older brothers and sisters of Zeus immediately after their birth, but Rhea, along with her youngest son, gave Kropos a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, and the baby was secretly taken out and raised on the island of Crete.

The matured Zeus sought to pay off his father. His first wife, the wise Metis ("thought"), the daughter of the Ocean, advised him to give his father a potion, from which he would vomit all swallowed children. Having defeated the Kronos who gave birth to them, Zeus and the brothers divided the world among themselves. Zeus chose the sky, Hades - the underworld of the dead, and Poseidon - the sea. The land and Mount Olympus, where the palace of the gods was located, were decided to be considered common. Over time, the world of Olympians changes and becomes less cruel. Ores, daughters of Zeus from Themis, his second wife, brought order into the life of gods and people, and Charites, daughters from Eurynome, the former mistress of Olympus, brought joy and grace; the goddess Mnemosyne gave birth to Zeus 9 muses. Thus, law, sciences, arts and moral norms have taken their place in human society. Zeus was also the father of famous heroes - Hercules, Dioscuri, Perseus, Sarpedon, glorious kings and sages - Minos, Radamanth and Aeacus. True, Zeus's love affairs with both mortal women and immortal goddesses, which formed the basis of many myths, caused constant antagonism between him and his third wife Hera, the goddess of legal matrimony. Some children of Zeus born out of wedlock, such as Hercules, were severely persecuted by the goddess. In Roman mythology, Zeus corresponds to the omnipotent Jupiter.

Hera(Hera), in Greek mythology, the queen of the gods, the goddess of the air, the patroness of the family and marriage. Hera, the eldest daughter of Kronos and Rhea, raised in the house of Oceanus and Tethys, sister and wife of Zeus, with whom, according to Samos legend, she lived in a secret marriage for 300 years, until he openly declared her his wife and queen of the gods. Zeus honors her highly and communicates his plans to her, although he keeps her on occasion within her subservient position. Hera, mother of Ares, Hebe, Hephaestus, Ilithyia. Differs in imperiousness, cruelty and jealous disposition. Especially in the Iliad, Hera shows quarrelsomeness, stubbornness and jealousy - character traits that have passed into the Iliad, probably from the oldest songs that glorified Hercules. Hera hates and pursues Hercules, as well as all the favorites and children of Zeus from other goddesses, nymphs and mortal women. When Hercules was returning on a ship from Troy, she, with the help of the god of sleep Hypnos, put Zeus to sleep and, through the storm she raised, almost killed the hero. As punishment, Zeus tied the treacherous goddess to the ether with strong golden chains and hung two heavy anvils at her feet. But this does not prevent the goddess from constantly resorting to cunning when she needs to get something from Zeus, against whom she can do nothing by force.

In the struggle for Ilion, she patronizes her beloved Achaeans; the Achaean cities of Argos, Mycenae, Sparta are her favorite places of residence; she hates the Trojans for the Judgment of Paris. The marriage of Hera with Zeus, which originally had an elemental meaning - the connection between heaven and earth, then receives a relation to the civil institution of marriage. As the only legal wife on Olympus, Hera is the patroness of marriages and childbirth. A pomegranate apple, a symbol of marital love, and a cuckoo, a messenger of spring, the pores of love, were dedicated to her. In addition, the peacock and the crow were considered her birds.

The main place of her worship was Argos, where stood a colossal statue of her, made of gold and ivory by Polykleitos, and where the so-called Hereias were celebrated every five years in her honor. In addition to Argos, Hera was also honored in Mycenae, Corinth, Sparta, Samos, Plataea, Sicyon and other cities. Art represents Hera as a tall, slender woman, with a majestic posture, mature beauty, a rounded face, bearing an important expression, a beautiful forehead, thick hair, large, strongly opened "cow" eyes. The most remarkable image of her was the above-mentioned statue of Polikleitos in Argos: here Hera was sitting on a throne with a crown on her head, with a pomegranate in one hand, with a scepter in the other; at the top of the scepter is a cuckoo. Above the long tunic, which left only the neck and arms uncovered, a himation was thrown over, entwined around the camp. In Roman mythology, Hera corresponds to Juno.

Demeter(Δημήτηρ), in Greek mythology, the goddess of fertility and agriculture, civil organization and marriage, daughter of Kronos and Rhea, sister and wife of Zeus, from whom she gave birth to Persephone (Hesiod, Theogony, 453, 912-914). One of the most revered Olympian deities. The ancient chthonic origin of Demeter is attested by her name (literally, "mother earth"). Cult references to Demeter: Chloe ("greenery", "sowing"), Carpophora ("giver of fruits"), Thesmophora ("legislator", "organizer"), Sieve ("bread", "flour") indicate the functions of Demeter as goddess of fertility. She is a goddess gracious to people, of a beautiful appearance with hair the color of ripe wheat, an assistant in peasant labors (Homer, Iliad, V 499-501). She fills the farmer's barns with supplies (Hesiod, Opp. 300, 465). They call on Demeter so that the grains come out full-fledged and that the plowing is successful. Demeter taught people plowing and sowing, combining in a sacred marriage on a thrice-plowed field of the island of Crete with the Cretan god of agriculture Jason, and the fruit of this marriage was Plutos, the god of wealth and abundance (Hesiod, Theogony, 969-974).

Hestia-goddess of the virgin hearth, the eldest daughter of Kronos and Rhea, the patroness of unquenchable fire, uniting gods and people. Hestia never returned her advances. Apollo and Poseidon asked for her hands, but she vowed to remain a virgin forever. One day, the drunken god of gardens and fields, Priapus, tried to dishonor her, sleeping, at a festival where all the gods were present. However, at the moment when the patron of voluptuousness and sensual pleasures, Priapus prepared to do his dirty deed, the donkey screamed loudly, Hestia woke up, called for the help of the gods, and Priapus turned in fear and fled.

Poseidon, in ancient Greek mythology, the god of the underwater kingdom. Poseidon was considered the ruler of the seas and oceans. The underwater king was born from the marriage of the goddess of the earth Rhea and the titan Kronos and immediately after birth was swallowed up by his father, who was afraid that they would take away his power over the world. Zeus later freed them all.

Poseidon lived in an underwater palace, among a host of gods obedient to him. Among them was his son Triton, Nereids, Amphitrite's sisters and many others. The god of the seas was equal in beauty to Zeus himself. By sea, he moved in a chariot, which was harnessed to wondrous horses.

With the help of a magic trident, Poseidon controlled the deep sea: if there was a storm on the sea, then as soon as he held out the trident in front of him, the enraged sea calmed down.

The ancient Greeks greatly revered this deity and, in order to achieve his location, brought many sacrifices to the underwater ruler, throwing them into the sea. This was very important for the inhabitants of Greece, since their well-being depended on whether merchant ships would pass through the sea. Therefore, before going to sea, travelers threw a sacrifice to Poseidon into the water. In Roman mythology, it corresponds to Neptune.

Hades, Hades, Pluto ("invisible", "terrible"), in Greek mythology, the god of the kingdom of the dead, as well as the kingdom itself. Son of Kronos and Rhea, brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. When the world was divided after the overthrow of his father, Zeus took the sky for himself, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the underworld; the brothers agreed to rule the land together. The second name of Hades was Polydegmon ("recipient of many gifts"), which is associated with the countless shadows of the dead that live in his domain.

The messenger of the gods, Hermes, forwarded the souls of the dead to the ferryman Charon, who transported only those who could pay for the crossing through the underground river Styx. The entrance to the underground kingdom of the dead was guarded by the three-headed dog Kerberos (Cerberus), who did not allow anyone to return to the world of the living.

Like the ancient Egyptians, the Greeks believed that the kingdom of the dead is located in the bowels of the earth, and the entrance to it is in the extreme west (west, sunset are symbols of dying), beyond the Ocean River, washing the earth. The most popular myth about Hades is associated with the abduction of Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and the goddess of fertility Demeter. Zeus promised him his beautiful daughter without asking her mother's consent. When Hades took the bride away by force, Demeter almost lost her mind from grief, forgot about her duties, and hunger seized the earth.

The dispute between Hades and Demeter over the fate of Persephone was resolved by Zeus. She must spend two thirds of the year with her mother and one third with her husband. Thus, the alternation of the seasons was born. Once Hades fell in love with the nymph Minta or Mint, who was associated with the waters of the realm of the dead. Upon learning of this, Persephone, in a fit of jealousy, turned the nymph into a fragrant plant.

HEROES

ancient mythology

Achilles
Hector
Hercules
Odysseus
Orpheus
Perseus
Theseus
Oedipus
Aeneas
Jason

Achilles -
one of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology,
son of King Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis.
Zeus and Poseidon wanted to have a son from the beautiful Thetis,
but the titan Prometheus warned them,
that the child will surpass the greatness of his father.
And the gods prudently arranged the marriage of Thetis with a mortal.
Love for Achilles, as well as the desire to make him invulnerable and
to give immortality forced Thetis to bathe the child in the river Styx,
flowing through Hades, the land of the dead.
Since Thetis was forced to hold her son by the heel, t
this part of the body remained defenseless.
Achilles was mentored by the centaur Chiron, who fed him
entrails of lions, bears and wild boars, taught to play the cithara and sing.
Achilles grew up a fearless warrior, but his immortal mother, knowing
that participation in the campaign against Troy will bring death to the son,
she dressed him up as a girl and hid him among the women in the palace of Tsar Lykomed.
When the leaders of the Greeks became aware of the prediction of the priest Kalhant,
the grandson of Apollo, that without Achilles the campaign against Troy is doomed to failure,
they sent the cunning Odysseus to him.
Arriving at the king under the guise of a merchant, Odysseus laid out before the assembled
women's jewelry interspersed with weapons.
The inhabitants of the palace began to examine the jewelry,
but suddenly, at the sign of Odysseus, an alarm sounded -
the girls fled in fright, and the hero grabbed his sword, betraying himself with his head.
After being exposed, Achilles willy-nilly had to sail to Troy,
where he soon quarreled with the Greek leader Agamemnon.
According to one version of the myth, this happened because,
wanting to provide the Greek fleet
favorable wind, Agamemnon secretly from the hero,
under the pretext of marriage with Achilles, summoned to Aulis
his daughter Iphigenia and sacrificed her to the goddess Artemis.
Angered, Achilles retired to his tent, refusing to fight.
However, the death of his faithful friend and brother Patroclus
at the hands of the Trojan Hector forced
Achilles to immediate action.
Having received armor as a gift from the blacksmith god Hephaestus,
Achilles slew Hector with a blow of a spear and twelve days
mocked his body near the tomb of Patroclus.
Only Thetis was able to convince her son to give the remains of Hector to the Trojans.
for funeral rites
the sacred duty of the living towards the dead.
Returning to the battlefield, Achilles slew hundreds of enemies.
But his own life was coming to an end.
Arrow of Paris, aptly directed by Apollo,
inflicted a fatal wound on the heel of Achilles,
the only vulnerable spot on the hero's body.
Thus perished the valiant and presumptuous Achilles,
the ideal of the great commander of antiquity, Alexander the Great.

1. Teaching Achilles
Pompeo Batoni, 1770

2.Achilles at Lycomedes
Pompeo Batoni, 1745

3. Ambassadors of Agamemnon to Achilles
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
1801, Louvre, Paris

4. The centaur Chiron returns the body
Achilles by his mother Thetis
Pompeo Batoni, 1770

HECTOR -
in ancient Greek mythology, one of the main characters of the Trojan War.
The hero was the son of Hecuba and Priam, the king of Troy.
Hector had 49 brothers and sisters, but among the sons of Priam it was he who was famous
with his strength and courage. According to legend, Hector struck the first Greek to death,
who set foot on the land of Troy, - Protesilaus.
The hero became especially famous in the ninth year of the Trojan War,
challenging Ajax Telamonides to battle.
Hector promised his enemy not to desecrate his bodies
in case of defeat and not to take off his armor and demanded the same from Ajax.
After a long struggle, they decided to stop the fight and as a sign
mutual respect exchanged gifts.
Hector hoped to defeat the Greeks despite Cassandra's prediction.
It was under his leadership that the Trojans broke into the fortified camp of the Achaeans,
approached the navy and even managed to set fire to one of the ships.
The legends also describe the battle between Hector and the Greek Patroclus.
The hero defeated his opponent and removed the armor of Achilles from him.
The gods took a very active part in the war. They split into two camps
and helped each of his favorites.
Hector was patronized by Apollo himself.
When Patroclus died, Achilles, obsessed with revenge for his death,
tied the defeated dead Hector to his chariot and
dragged him around the walls of Troy, but the body of the hero was not touched by decay,
not a bird, since Apollo protected him in gratitude for
that Hector during his lifetime helped him more than once.
Based on this circumstance, the ancient Greeks concluded that
that Hector was the son of Apollo.
According to myths, Apollo persuaded Zeus at the council of the gods
hand over Hector's body to the Trojans,
to be buried with honor.
The supreme god ordered Achilles to give the body of the deceased to his father Priam.
Since, according to legend, the tomb of Hector was in Thebes,
the researchers suggested that the image of the hero is of Boeotian origin.
Hector was a very revered hero in ancient Greece,
which proves the existence of his image
on ancient vases and antique plastic.
Usually they depicted scenes of Hector's farewell to his wife Andromache,
the battle with Achilles and many other episodes.

1. Andromache at the body of Hector
Jacques Louis David
1783, Louvre, Paris

]

HERCULES -
in ancient Greek mythology, the greatest of the heroes,
son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene.
Zeus needed a mortal hero to defeat the giants,
and he decided to give birth to Hercules.
The best mentors taught Hercules various arts, wrestling, archery.
Zeus wanted Hercules to become the ruler of Mycenae or Tiryns, the key fortresses on the approaches to Argos,
but jealous Hera upset his plans.
She struck Hercules with madness, in a fit of which he killed
wife and three of their sons.
To atone for a heavy guilt, the hero had to serve Eurystheus for twelve years,
king of Tiryns and Mycenae, after which he was granted immortality.
The most famous is the cycle of legends about the twelve labors of Hercules.
The first feat was to obtain the skin of a Nemean lion,
whom Hercules had to strangle with his bare hands.
Having defeated the lion, the hero dressed his skin and wore it as a trophy.
The next feat was the victory over the hydra, the sacred nine-headed snake of Hera.
The monster lived in a swamp near Lerna, not far from Argos.
The difficulty was that instead of the head cut off by the hero, the hydra
immediately grew two new ones.
With the help of his nephew Iolaus, Hercules mastered the fierce Lernean hydra -
the young man burned the neck of each head cut off by the hero.
True, the feat was not counted by Eurystheus, since Hercules was helped by his nephew.
The next feat was not so bloody.
Hercules should have caught the Kerinean doe, the sacred animal of Artemis.
Then the hero caught the Erymanthian boar, which was devastating the fields of Arcadia.
At the same time, the wise centaur Chiron accidentally died.
The fifth feat was the cleaning of the Augean stables from manure,
what the hero did in one day, directing the waters of the nearest river at them.
The last of the feats performed by Hercules in the Peloponnese was
expulsion of Stymphalian birds with pointed iron feathers.
Sinister birds were afraid of copper rattles,
made by Hephaestus and given to Hercules
favored by the goddess Athena.
The seventh feat was the capture of a fierce bull, which Minos, king of Crete,
refused to sacrifice to the god of the sea Poseidon.
The bull copulated with the wife of Minos Pasiphae, who gave birth from him to the Minotaur, a man with a bull's head.
Hercules performed the eighth labor in Thrace,
where he subjugated the cannibal mares of King Diomedes to his power.
The remaining four feats were of a different kind.
Eurystheus ordered Hercules to get the girdle of Hippolyta, queen of the warlike Amazons.
Then the hero kidnapped and delivered to Mycenae the cows of the three-headed giant Geryon.
After that, Hercules brought Eurystheus the golden apples of the Hesperides, for which he had to
strangle the giant Antaeus and deceive Atlas, holding the firmament on his shoulders.
The last feat of Hercules - a journey to the kingdom of the dead - was the most difficult.
With the assistance of the queen of the underworld, Persephone, the hero was able to bring out
and deliver the three-headed dog Kerberos (Cerberus), the guardian of the underworld, to Tiryns.
The end of Hercules was terrible.
The hero died in terrible agony, wearing a shirt that his wife Dejanira,
on the advice of the centaur Ness, dying at the hands of Hercules,
soaked this half-man-half-horse with poisonous blood.
When the hero of the last strength climbed the funeral pyre,
purple lightning struck from heaven and
Zeus accepted his son into the host of immortals.
Some of the exploits of Hercules are immortalized in the names of the constellations.
For example, the constellation Leo is in memory of the Nemean lion,
the constellation of Cancer reminds of the huge cancer Karkina,
sent by the Hero to help the Lernean hydra.
In Roman mythology, Hercules corresponds to Hercules.

1. Hercules and Kerberos
Boris Vallejo, 1988

2. Hercules and Hydra
Gustave Moreau, 1876

3. Hercules at the Crossroads
Pompeo Batoni, 1745

4. Hercules and Omphala
François Lemoine, ca.1725

ODYSSEUS -
"angry", "angry" (Ulysses). In Greek mythology, the king of the island of Ithaca,
one of the leaders of the Achaeans in the Trojan War.
He is famous for his cunning, dexterity and amazing adventures.
The brave Odysseus was sometimes considered the son of Sisyphus, who seduced Anticlea
even before marriage with Laertes,
and according to some versions, Odysseus is the grandson of Autolycus, "the perjurer and thief", the son of the god Hermes,
inherited their mind, practicality and enterprise.
Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks, had high hopes for the ingenuity and intelligence of Odysseus.
Together with the wise Nestor, Odysseus was instructed to persuade the great warrior
Achilles to take part in the Trojan War on the side of the Greeks,
and when their fleet was stuck in Aulis, it was Odysseus who tricked his wife
Release Agamemnon Clytemnestra to Aulis Iphigenia
under the pretext of her marriage to Achilles.
In reality, Iphigenia was intended to be a sacrifice to Artemis,
who otherwise disagreed
provide the Greek ships with a fair wind.
It was Odysseus who came up with the idea with the Trojan horse, which brought victory to the Achaeans.
The Greeks pretended to lift the siege from the city, and went to sea,
leaving a huge hollow horse on the shore,
inside the body of which a detachment of soldiers hid under the leadership of Odysseus.
The Trojans, rejoicing at the departure of the Achaeans, dragged the horse into the city.
They decided to present the statue as a gift to Athena and provide the city with the patronage of the gods.
At night, armed Achaeans poured out of the horse through a secret door,
killed the guards and opened the gates of Troy.
Hence the ancient saying: "Fear the Achaeans (Danaans) who bring gifts," and
expression "Trojan horse".
Troy fell, but the brutal massacre perpetrated by the Greeks
caused the strongest wrath of the gods, especially Athens,
after all, the favorite of the gods, Cassandra, was raped in her sanctuary.
The wanderings of Odysseus were a favorite story of the Greeks and Romans,
who called him Ulysses.
From Troy, Odysseus headed for Thrace,
where he lost many people in the battle with the Kikons.
Then a storm carried him to the land of lotophages ("lotus eaters"),
whose food made the aliens forget about their homeland.
Later, Odysseus fell into the possession of the Cyclopes (Cyclopes),
being a prisoner of the one-eyed Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon.
However, Odysseus and his companions managed to avoid certain death.
On the island of the lord of the winds, Aeol, Odysseus received a gift - fur,
filled with fair winds,
but the curious sailors loosened the fur and the winds scattered in all directions,
stop blowing in the same direction.
Then the ships of Odysseus were attacked by the Laestrigons, a tribe of cannibal giants,
but the hero managed to get to the island of Eya, the possession of the sorceress Circe (Kirki).
With the help of Hermes, Odysseus was able to force the sorceress to return
human appearance to members of his team,
whom she turned into pigs.
Further, on the advice of Kirka, he visits the underworld of the dead,
where the shadow of the blind soothsayer Tiresias warns the brave Odysseus
about the dangers ahead.
Leaving the island, the ship of Odysseus sailed past the coast,
where sweet-voiced sirens with their marvelous singing
lured sailors to sharp rocks.
The hero ordered his companions to cover their ears with wax and tie themselves to the mast. Happily passing the wandering rocks of Plankta,
Odysseus lost six men who were dragged away and devoured by the six-headed Sketa (Scylla).
On the island of Trinacia, as Tiresias predicted, hungry travelers
seduced by the fat herds of the sun god Helios.
As punishment, these sailors died from a storm sent by Zeus at the request of Helios.
The surviving Odysseus was almost swallowed by the monstrous whirlpool of Charybdis.
Exhausted from exhaustion, he was washed up on the island of the sorceress Calypso,
who married him and proposed marriage.
But even the prospect of immortality did not seduce Odysseus,
rushing home, and seven years later the gods forced
the nymph in love to let the traveler go.
After another shipwreck, Odysseus, with the help of Athena, took the form
poor old man, returned home, where for many years his wife Penelope was waiting for him.
Besieged by noble suitors, she played for time, announcing that she would marry,
when he finishes weaving a shroud for his father-in-law Laertes.
However, at night Penelope unraveled what was woven during the day.
When the servants revealed her secret, she agreed to marry the one
who can draw the bow of Odysseus.
The test was passed by an unknown beggar old man, who, throwing off his rags,
turned out to be a mighty Odysseus.
After twenty years of separation, the hero embraced his faithful Penelope,
which Athena before the meeting awarded with a rare beauty.
According to some versions of the myth, Odysseus, unrecognized, fell at the hands of Telegon,
his son from Circe (Kirki), according to others -
died peacefully at an advanced age.

1. Odysseus in the cave of the Cyclops Polyphemus
Jacob Jordaens, 1630

2. Odysseus and Sirens
John William Waterhouse, 1891

3. Circe and Odysseus
John William Waterhouse 1891

4. Penelope waiting for Odysseus
John William Waterhouse, 1890

ORPHEUS -
in ancient Greek mythology, a hero and a traveler.
Orpheus was the son of the Thracian river god Eagra and the muse Calliope.
He was known as a talented singer and musician.
Orpheus took part in the campaign of the Argonauts, with his game on the forming
and by his prayers he calmed the waves and helped the rowers of the Argo.
The hero married the beautiful Eurydice, and when she suddenly died from a snakebite,
followed her to the underworld.
The guardian of the underworld, the evil dog Cerberus,
Persephone and Hades were enchanted by the magical music of the young man.
Hades promised to return Eurydice to earth on the condition that
that Orpheus will not look at his wife until he enters his house.
Orpheus could not restrain himself and looked at Eurydice,
as a result, she remained forever in the realm of the dead.
Orpheus did not treat Dionysus with due respect, but honored Helios,
whom he named Apollo.
Dionysus decided to teach the young man a lesson and sent a maenad at him,
who tore the musician to pieces and threw him into the river.
Parts of his body were collected by the Muses, who mourned the death of a beautiful youth.
The head of Orpheus floated down the river Gebr and was found by the nymphs,
then she got to the island of Lesbos, where she was received by Apollo.
The musician's shadow fell into Hades, where the couple were reunited.

1. Orpheus and Eurydice
Frederic Leighton, 1864

2. Nymphs and the head of Orpheus
John Waterhouse, 1900

PERSEUS -
in Greek mythology, the ancestor of Hercules, the son of Zeus and Danae,
daughter of the king of Argos Acrisius.
Hoping to prevent the fulfillment of the prophecy about the death of Acrisius at the hands of his grandson,
Danae was imprisoned in a copper tower, but the almighty Zeus penetrated there,
turning into a golden rain, and conceived Perseus.
The terrified Acrisius seated the mother and child
into a wooden box and threw it into the sea.
However, Zeus helped his beloved and son safely
get to Serif Island.
The matured Perseus was sent by the local ruler Polydectes,
who fell in love with Danae, in search of the Gorgon Medusa,
with a glance that turns all living things into stone.
Fortunately for the hero, Athena hated Medusa and, according to one of the myths,
out of jealousy, she rewarded the once beautiful gorgon with deadly beauty.
Athena taught Perseus what to do.
First, the young man, following the advice of the goddess, went to the old women-grays,
three of them had one eye and one tooth.
By cunning, having taken possession of the eye and tooth, Perseus returned them to the grays in exchange
to indicate the way to the nymphs who gave him a cap of invisibility,
winged sandals and a Medusa head bag.
Perseus flew to the western end of the world, to the Gorgon's cave, and,
looking at the reflection of the mortal Medusa in his copper shield, cut off her head.
Putting it in a bag, he sped off in an invisibility cap,
unnoticed by the snake-haired sisters of the monster.
On the way home, Perseus saved the beautiful Andromeda from the sea monster.
and married her.
Then the hero went to Argos, but Acrisius,
having learned about the arrival of his grandson, he fled to Larissa.
And yet he did not escape fate - during the festivities in Larissa,
participating in competitions, Perseus threw a heavy bronze disk,
hit Acrisius in the head and struck him to death.
The grief-stricken inconsolable hero did not want to rule in Argos
and moved to Tiryns.
After the death of Perseus and Andromeda, the goddess Athena raised the spouses to heaven, turning them into constellations.

1. Perseus and Andromeda
Peter Paul Rubens, 1639

2. The sinister head of the Gorgon
Edward Burne-Jones, 1887

THESEUS -
("strong"), in Greek mythology, a hero, the son of the Athenian king Aegeus and Ephra.
The childless Aegeus received advice from the Delphic oracle - not to untie
your wineskin until you return home. Aegeus did not guess the prediction, but the Troesen king Pittheus,
with whom he was visiting, he realized that Aegeus was destined to conceive a hero. He got the guest drunk and put him to bed
with his daughter Ephra. On the same night, Poseidon also approached her.
Thus was born Theseus, the great hero, the son of two fathers.
Before leaving Ephra, Aegeus led her to a boulder, under which he hid his sword and sandals.
If a son is born, he said, let him grow, mature,
and when he can move the stone,
then send it to me. Theseus grew up, and Ephra discovered the secret of his birth.
The young man easily took out his sword and sandals, and on the way to Athens he dealt
with the robber Sinis and the Crommion pig.
Theseus was able to defeat the monstrous Minotaur, the bull-man,
only with the help of the princess Ariadne, who fell in love with him, who gave him a guiding thread.
In Athens, Theseus learned that fifty sons of his cousin Pallas claimed the throne of Aegeus,
and Aegeus himself fell under the power of the sorceress Medea,
abandoned by Jason, who hoped that her son Med would receive the throne.
Theseus hid his origin, but Medea, knowing who he was,
persuaded Aegeus to give the stranger a bowl of poison.
Theseus was saved by the fact that his father recognized his sword, with which the hero cut meat.
Theseus performed the following feats for the benefit of Athens.
He dealt with the sons of Pallas and the marathon
bull that ravaged the fields, defeated the bull-man Minotaur.
The monster that lived in the labyrinth was given to be eaten by young Athenians
as an atoning sacrifice for the death of the king's son in Athens.
When Theseus volunteered to fight the Minotaur, his old father fell into despair.
They agreed that if Theseus escaped death, then, returning home,
change the sail from black to white.
Theseus, having killed the monster, got out of the labyrinth thanks to the daughter of Minos, Ariadne, who fell in love with him,
following the thread tied at the entrance (the guiding "thread of Ariadne").
Theseus and Ariadne then secretly fled to the island of Naxos.
Here Theseus left the princess and fate punished him.
Returning home, Theseus forgot to change the sail as a sign of victory.
Theseus' father Aegeus, seeing the black cloth, threw himself off the cliff into the sea.
Theseus accomplished a number of other feats. He captured the queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta,
who gave birth to his son Hippolyta, gave shelter to the outcast Oedipus and his daughter Antigone.
True, Theseus was not among the Argonauts;
at this time he helped the king of the Lapiths Pirithous
kidnap the mistress of Hades Persephone.
For this, the gods decided to forever leave the daredevil in Hades,
But Theseus was saved by Hercules.
However, grief again knocked on his house when the second wife, Phaedra,
longed for his son Hippolytus, who was horrified to keep silent about her passion.
Humiliated by the refusal, Phaedra hanged herself,
in a suicide note accusing her stepson of trying to dishonor her.
The young man was expelled from the city,
and he died before his father knew the truth.
In his old age, Theseus impudently kidnapped the twelve-year-old daughter of Zeus Helen,
declaring that only she is worthy of being his wife,
but Helen's brothers, the Dioscuri, rescued their sister and expelled Theseus.
The hero died on the island of Skyros at the hands of the local king, who,
fearing the still mighty Theseus, he pushed the guest off the cliff.

1. Theseus and the Minotaur
Vase 450g. BC.

2. Theseus
with Ariadne and Phaedra
B. Jennari, 1702

3. Theseus and Ephra
Lovren de la Hire, 1640

OEDIPUS -
a descendant of Cadmus, from the Labdakid clan, the son of the Theban king Laius and Jocasta, or Epicaste,
beloved hero of Greek folk tales and tragedies, due to the multitude of which
it is very difficult to imagine the myth of Oedipus in its original form.
According to the most common legend, the oracle predicted Lai
about the birth of a son who will kill him himself,
marries his own mother and brings disgrace upon the entire Labdakid household.
Therefore, when Lai's son was born, the parents, piercing his legs
and tying them together (why they swelled up),
sent him to Cithaeron, where Oedipus was found by a shepherd,
sheltered the boy and then brought him to Sicyon,
or Corinth, to King Polybus, who raised the adopted child as his own son.
Having once received a reproach at a feast for doubtful origin,
Oedipus asked for clarification
to the oracle and received advice from him - to beware of patricide and incest.
As a result, Oedipus, who considered Polybus his father, left Sicyon.
On the road he met Lai, started a quarrel with him, and in his temper
killed him and his retinue.
At this time in Thebes the monster Sphinx was devastating,
asking for several years in a row
to each a riddle and devouring all those who did not guess it.
Oedipus solved this riddle
(what creature walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon,
and in the evening at three? The answer is man
as a result of which the Sphinx threw herself off a cliff and died.
In gratitude for delivering the country from a long disaster, the Theban citizens
made Oedipus their king and gave him the widow of Laius, Jocasta -
his own mother.
Soon the double crime committed by Oedipus out of ignorance was revealed,
and Oedipus gouged out his eyes in despair, and Jocasta took her own life.
According to an ancient legend (Homer, Odyssey, XI, 271 et seq.)
Oedipus remained to reign in Thebes and died,
pursued by the Erinyes.
Sophocles tells about the end of Oedipus' life differently:
when the crimes of Oedipus were revealed, the Thebans with the sons of Oedipus:
Eteocles and Polynices at the head expelled the aged and blind king from Thebes,
and he, accompanied by his faithful daughter Antigone, went to the place of Colon
(in Attica), where in the sanctuary of Erinyes,
who at last, through the intervention of Apollo, subdued their anger,
ended his life of misery.
His memory was considered sacred, and his grave was one of the palladiums of Attica.
As a character, Oedipus is displayed in the tragedies of Sophocles "Oedipus Rex" and
"Oedipus in Colon" (both tragedies are available in poetic Russian translation
D. S. Merezhkovsky, St. Petersburg, 1902),
in the tragedy of Euripides "Phoenician women"
(poetic Russian translation by I. Annensky, "The World of God", 1898, No. 4)
and in Seneca's tragedy Oedipus.
There were many other poetic works dealing with the fate of Oedipus.

1. Bookplate by Sigmund Freud.
The ex-libris depicts Oedipus the King talking to the Sphinx.

2. Oedipus and the Sphinx
J.O.Ingres

3. Oedipus and the Sphinx, 1864
Gustave Moreau

4. Oedipus the Wanderer, 1888
Gustave Moreau

AENEAS -
in Greek and Roman mythology, the son of the handsome shepherd Anchises and Aphrodite (Venus),
participant in the defense of Troy during the Trojan War, a glorious hero.
A brave warrior, Aeneas participated in decisive battles with Achilles and escaped death
only through the intercession of his divine mother.
After the fall of devastated Troy, at the behest of the gods, he left the burning city
and together with the old father,
wife Creusa and young son Askaniy (Yul),
capturing images of the Trojan gods,
accompanied by satellites on twenty ships, he set off in search of a new homeland.
Having survived a series of adventures and a terrible storm, he reached the Italian city of Kuma,
and then ended up in Latium, a region in Central Italy.
The local king was ready to give for Aeneas (widowed along the way) his daughter Lavinia
and give him land to found a city.
Having won in a duel Turnn, the leader of the warlike tribe of rutuls
and pretender to the hand of Lavinia,
Aeneas settled in Italy, which became the successor to the glory of Troy.
His son Askaniy (Yul) was considered the progenitor of the Yuliev clan,
including the famous emperors Julius Caesar and Augustus.

1. Venus giving Aeneas armor made by Vulcan, 1748
Pompeo Batoni

2. Mercury appearing to Aeneas (fresco), 1757
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

3. The battle of Aeneas with the harpies
Francois Perrier, 1647

Jason -
("healer"), in Greek mythology, the great-grandson of the god of the winds Eol, the son of King Iolk Aeson and Polymede.
Hero, leader of the Argonauts.
When Pelias overthrew his brother Aeson from the throne, he, fearing for the life of his son,
gave him under the care of the wise centaur Chiron, who lived in the Thessalian forests.
The Delphic oracle predicted to Pelias that a man in one sandal would destroy him.
This explains the fear of the king when the matured Jason returned to the city,
lost his sandal along the way.
Pelias decided to get rid of the impending threat and promised to recognize Jason as the heir if he, risking his life, would get the golden fleece in Colchis.
Jason and his team on the Argo ship, having experienced many adventures, returned to their homeland with a wonderful rune.
With their success - victory over the dragon and formidable warriors,
sprouting from his teeth,
they were largely obliged to the Colchis princess Medea, since Eros,
at the request of Athena and Hera, who patronized Jason,
instilled in the heart of the girl love for the hero.
Upon their return to Iolk, the Argonauts learned
that Pelias killed Jason's father and all his relatives.
According to one version, Pelias dies from the spell of Medea, whose name means "insidious."
According to another, Jason resigned himself to exile, lived happily with Medea for ten years.
and they had three children.
Then the hero married Princess Glauca; V
in revenge, Medea killed her and killed her sons from Jason.
Years passed. The aged hero eked out his days, until one day he wandered onto the pier,
where the famous "Argo" stood.
Suddenly, the mast of the ship, rotten from time, gave way
and fell on Jason, who fell dead.

1. Jason and Medea
John William Waterhouse, 1890

2. Jason and Medea
Gustave Moreau, 1865

The mythology of Ancient Greece is built on myths about the pantheon of gods, about the life of titans and giants, as well as about the exploits of heroes. In the myths of ancient Greece, the main active force was the Earth, giving rise to everything and giving everything a start.

What was first

So she gave birth to monsters personifying dark power, titans, cyclops, hecatoncheirs - hundred-armed monsters, the many-headed serpent Typhon, the terrible goddesses Erinnia, the bloodthirsty dog Cerberus and the Lernean hydra and three-headed chimeras.

Society developed and these monsters were replaced by the heroes of ancient Greece. Most of the heroes parents were gods, they were also people. Part of the culture of Greece is the myths about the exploits of these heroes, and some of the names of the heroes of Ancient Greece are well known.

Hercules

Hercules - popular, strong, courageous was the son of the god Zeus and Alcmene, a simple, earthly woman. He became famous for his twelve feats accomplished in his entire life. Zeus gave him immortality for this.

Odysseus

Odysseus is the king of Ithaca, he became famous for his deadly risky journeys from Troy to his homeland. Homer described these exploits in his poem The Odyssey. Odysseus was smart, cunning and strong. He managed to escape not only from the nymph Calypso, but also from the sorceress Kirk.

He managed to defeat the Cyclops by blinding him, he survived a lightning strike, and when he returned to his homeland, he punished all the "suitors" of his wife Penelope.

Perseus

It is impossible not to remember Perseus, if we talk about the names of the heroes of Ancient Greece. The son of Queen Danae and Zeus is Perseus. He accomplished a feat by killing Medusa Gorgon - a winged monster, from the look of which everything turned to stone. He accomplished the next feat when he freed Princess Andromeda from the clutches of the monster.

Achilles

Achilles became famous in the Trojan War. He was the son of the nymph Thetis and King Peleus. When he was a baby, his mother bought him in the waters of the river of the dead. Since then, he has been invulnerable to enemies, with the exception of his heel. Paris, the son of the Trojan king, hit him in this heel with an arrow.

Jason

The ancient Greek hero Jason became famous in Colchis. Jason went for the Golden Fleece to distant Colchis on the Argo ship with a team of brave Argonauts, married Medea, the daughter of the king of this country. They had two sons. Medea killed him and her two sons when Jason was about to marry a second time.

Theseus

The ancient Greek hero Theseus was the son of the sea king Poseidon. He became famous for killing the monster that lived in the Cretan labyrinth - the Minotaur. He got out of the labyrinth thanks to Ariadne, who gave him a ball of thread. In Greece, this hero is considered the founder of Athens.

The names of the heroes of Ancient Greece are also not forgotten thanks to the filmed animated and feature films.

Names of the heroes of ancient Greece. Heroes of ancient myths Ancient Greek heroes

Campaign of the Seven against Thebes

The Trojan War - a brief retelling

What was first

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