Greek mythology is conditionally divided into two large sections: the acts of the gods and the adventures of heroes. It should be noted that even despite the fact that they intersect very often, the line is drawn quite clearly and the child is also able to notice it. The gods very often turn to the heroes for help, and the heroes, having the essence of demigods or titans, in every possible way get out of certain situations, creating positive stereotypes and doing good.
Greek mythology in the names of the gods
As always, at the top of the pantheon sits a thunder god, who, nevertheless, is not the progenitor of all things, but only the heir. This is one of the distinguishing features of pagan beliefs from monotheistic ones, and this fact clearly permeates all of Greek mythology. Gods who are not creators and creators, but only representing immortal beings, nourishing their strength with the worship and faith of people. The father and mother of all things were the ancestors of the parents of Zeus, Poseidon and Hades - the mother earth of Gaia and the father of the sky Uranos. They gave birth to gods and titans, among whom was the strongest - Kronos. Greek mythology ascribes to him the highest power and strength, but, nevertheless, having matured, Zeus overthrew his father and took his throne himself, dividing the Earth between his brothers: Poseidon - water spaces, Hades - the underworld, and he himself became the supreme god of thunder and married Hera.
The next and intermediate stage between the gods and people are various mythical creatures. Greek mythology gave birth to Pegasus, sirens, minotaurs, centaurs, satyrs, nymphs and many other creatures, which in one way or another possessed certain mystical powers. For example, Pegasus - knew how to fly and became attached only to one person, and sirens possessed the art of casting illusory spells. Moreover, most of these creatures in Greek mythology were endowed with reason and consciousness, sometimes much higher than that of a simple person.
And those who were people, but had in themselves even a drop of divine blood, were called
heroes and demigods. Since they, possessing the power of God the father, nevertheless, remained mortal and very often opposed higher powers. One of the most prominent heroes was Hercules, who became famous for his exploits, such as the murder of hydra, Anthea, and so on. You can always read in more detail in any book marked “Greek mythology”. The names of such heroes as Hector, Paris, Achilles, Jason, Orpheus, Odysseus and others, not only went down in history, they remained on everyone’s lips to this day, like living proverbs and examples of how to behave in one or another situation.
Indirect characters
There were also those who did not belong either to the gods or to the heroes. These were ordinary people who accomplished feats of such magnitude that their deeds went down in history and are passed on by word of mouth to this day. The wings of Daedalus and the arrogant stupidity of his son Icarus became an instructive parable. The senseless and bloody victories of Tsar Pyrrhus in wars served as the basis for the saying “Pyrrhic victory, ” which takes its roots in his own words: “Another such victory and I will not have an army!”
