your mythology guide

African Mythology

2008-09-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

African mythology covers a large area. There are so many countries, regions, languages, tribes, cultures and imperialist crossovers that the sheer diversity of prevailing Gods would seem overwhelming if there weren't a few handy shortcuts.

Traditional African belief is overwhelmingly monotheistic. There may be spirits and ancestors floating around, but there's only one God. Early missionaries made a complete pig's ear of their research in this respect and seem to have delighted in cataloging as many 'heathen' Gods as they could possibly get away with.

African Creator Gods seem to follow a distinctive pattern - they are all extremely dissatisified with their creations. There is much shaking of heads, turning away in sorrow and avoidance of contact. The humans are left to fend for themselves. Attempts to regain contact with their God by building a heavenly ladder are the subject of many an unhappy legend. On the whole, African Gods don't like to be pestered, and humans have to learn to be content with their lot.

But while God sits in Heaven wringing his hands in despair, the ancestral spirits are very willing to take an active part in Earthly life. These are mostly into hunting and other practical subjects - with food, sex and booze as popular as always.

There is a remarkable innocence about the Gods of Africa. They seem naive and unworldly, believing the best of everyone and optimistically giving the benefit of the doubt to all and sundry. No wonder they are rudely disappointed when it turns out their badly-chosen favorites are up to no good.

Even communicating with their creation is full of problems. Vital messages of life and death are entrusted to whichever farmyard animal happens to be passing, and the resulting garble is likely to have profoundly unforeseen - and usually disastrous - consequences...

REGIONS COVERED: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Congo, East Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Kilimanjaro, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Savannah, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Togo, Transvaal, Tunisia, Uganda, Upper Nile, Upper Zambesi, West Africa, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Many Gods are spread across different regions, cultures and tribes. We've tried to pin them down to a particular area if possible. But amendments and corrections are always welcome, especially from people with first-hand knowledge. So if you live in the region and would like to comment, we'd love to hear from you.

TRIBES, CULTURES AND PEOPLES COVERED: Abalyia, Agni, Akamba, Alur, Ankore, Asante (Ashanti), Baga, Baila, Bambara, Bantu, Banyarwanda, Banyoro, Barotse, Basuto, Baule, Baventa, Benin, Botswana Bushmen, Bushoong, Dagamba, Damara, Dinka, Djaga, Dogon, Efik, Fon, Hausa, Hottentot, Ibo, Ijaw, Isoko, Kalahari Bushmen, Kalyl, Kaonde, Kavango, Koko, Lele, Lotuko, Lugbara, Lumba, Luo, Luveda, Makeni, Masai, Mbunda, Mende, Nama, Ngombe, Nbandi, Nuer, Nupe, Pygmy, Shilluk, Shona, Shongon, Songhai, Tonga, Tunbuka, Upoto, Xhosa, Yoruba, Zambesi, Zulu. (If you think there's as many tribes as there are Gods, you could be right!)

Sumerian creation myth

2008-08-14T02:18:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Sumerian creation myth, the earliest account of the Sumerian creation and Flood myth, is found on a single fragmentary tablet excavated in Nippur, sometimes called the Eridu Genesis. It is written in the Sumerian language and datable by its script to the 18th century BC (First Dynasty of Babylon, where the language of writing and administration was still Sumerian). The tablet was published in 1914 by Arno Poebel.

Contents

* 1 Summary
* 2 Legacy
* 3 Ziusudra and Xisuthros
* 4 See also
* 5 Notes
* 6 External links

Summary

Where the tablet picks up, the gods An, Enlil, Enki and Ninhursanga create the Sumerians (the "black-headed people") and the animals. Then kingship descends from heaven and the first cities are founded - Eridu, Bad-tibira, Larsa, Sippar, and Shuruppak.

After a missing section in the tablet, we learn that the gods have decided to send a flood to destroy mankind. Zi-ud-sura, the king and gudug priest, learns of this. (In the later Akkadian version, Ea, or Enki in Sumerian, the god of the waters, warns the hero (Atra-hasis in this case) and gives him instructions for the ark. This is missing in the Sumerian fragment, but a mention of Enki taking counsel with himself suggests that this is Enki's role in the Sumerian version as well.)

When the tablet resumes it is describing the flood. A terrible storm rocks the huge boat for seven days and seven nights, then Utu (the Sun god) appears and Zi-ud-sura creates an opening in the boat, prostrates himself, and sacrifices oxen and sheep.

After another break the text resumes, the flood is apparently over, the animals disembark and Zi-ud-sura prostrates himself before An (sky-god) and Enlil (chief of the gods), who give him eternal life and take him to dwell in Dilmun for "preserving the animals and the seed of mankind". The remainder of the poem is lost. (translation of the text)[1]

Legacy

Flood myths with many similarities to the Sumerian story appear widely in subsequent Ancient Near Eastern mythologies: including the Atrahasis myth, the Utnapishtim episode in the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the biblical Noah story.

Deities (or a deity) create the animals and human beings, but people anger the god(s), so they decide to wipe out the world with a flood. A divine being warns one pious person of the impending flood and tells him to build a very large boat, and with it he preserves the animals and mankind from extinction. In the end the god(s) reward him for his actions.
Ziusudra and Xisuthros

Zi-ud-sura is known to us from the following sources:

* From the Sumerian Flood myth discussed above.
* In reference to his immortality in some versions of The Death of Gilgamesh[2]
* Again in reference to his immortality in The Poem of Early Rulers[3]
* As Xisuthros (or Xisouthros, Ξίσουθρος) in Berossus' Hellenistic account of the Ancient Near East Flood myth, preserved in later excerpts.

Xisuthros was also included in Berossus' king list, also preserved in later excerpts.

* As Ziusudra in the WB-62 recension of the Sumerian king list. This text diverges from all other extant king lists by listing the city of Shuruppak as a king, and including Ziusudra as "Shuruppak's" successor.[4]
* A later version of a document known as The Instructions of Shuruppak[5] refers to Ziusudra.[6]

In both of the late-dated king lists cited above, the name Zi-ud-sura was inserted immediately before a flood event included in all versions of the Sumerian king list, apparently creating a connection between the ancient Flood myth and a historic flood mentioned in the king list. However, no other king list mentions Zi-ud-sura, and there is no evidence that the mythical Flood in the Sumerian creation myth had anything to do with the historic flood mentioned in the king list.

Enûma Eliš (Enuma Elis)

2008-08-14T02:17:00.000-07:00

The Enûma Eliš is the Babylonian creation myth (named for its incipit). It was recovered by Henry Layard in 1849 (in fragmentary form) in the ruined library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh (Mosul, Iraq), and published by George Smith in 1876.[1]

The Enuma Elish has about a thousand lines and is recorded in Old Babylonian on seven clay tablets, each holding between 115 and 170 lines of text. The majority of Tablet V has never been recovered, but aside from this lacuna the text is almost complete. A duplicate copy of Tablet V has been found in Sultantepe, ancient Huzirina, located near the modern town of Şanlıurfa in Turkey.

This epic is one of the most important sources for understanding the Babylonian worldview, centered on the supremacy of Marduk and the creation of mankind for the service of the gods. Its primary original purpose, however, is not an exposition of theology or theogony, but the elevation of Marduk, the chief god of Babylon, above other Mesopotamian gods.

The Enûma Elish exists in various copies from Babylonia and Assyria. The version from Ashurbanipal's library dates to the 7th century BC. The story itself probably dates to the 18th century BC, the time when the god Marduk seems to have achieved a prominent status, although some scholars give it a later date (14th to 12th centuries BC.)

Contents

* 1 Summary
* 2 Relationship with Genesis
* 3 Notes
* 4 Editions and translations
* 5 Further reading
o 5.1 General
o 5.2 Enuma Elish
o 5.3 Online resources
* 6 See also
* 7 External links

Summary

The title, meaning "when on high" is the incipit. The first tablet begins:

e-nu-ma e-liš la na-bu-ú šá-ma-mu
šap-liš am-ma-tum šu-ma la zak-rat
ZU.AB-ma reš-tu-ú za-ru-šu-un
mu-um-mu ti-amat mu-al-li-da-at gim-ri-šú-un
A.MEŠ-šú-nu iš-te-niš i-ḫi-qu-ú-šú-un
gi-pa-ra la ki-is-su-ru su-sa-a la she-'u-ú
e-nu-ma DINGIR.DINGIR la šu-pu-u ma-na-ma

When on high heaven was not named,
And the earth beneath did not yet bear a name,
And the primeval Apsû, who begat them,
And chaos, Tiamat, the mother of them both,
Their waters were mingled together,
And no field was formed, no marsh was to be seen;
When of the gods none had been called into being

The epic names two primeval gods: Apsu, the fresh water, and Tiamat, the salt water. Several other gods are created (Ea and his brothers) who reside in Tiamat's vast body. They make so much noise that it annoys Tiamat and Apsu greatly. Apsu wishes to kill the young gods, but Tiamat disagrees. The vizier, Mummu, agrees with Apsu's plan to destroy them. Tiamat, to stop this from occurring, tells Ea (Nudimmud), at the time the most powerful of the gods, who, using magic, puts Apsu into a coma and kills him, and shuts Mummu out. Ea then becomes the chief god, and along with his consort Damkina, has a son, Marduk, greater still than himself. Marduk is given wind to play with and he uses it to make dust storms and tornadoes. This disrupts Tiamat's great body and causes the gods still residing inside her to be unable to sleep.

They persuade Tiamat to take revenge for the death of her husband. Her power grows, and some of the gods join her. She creates 11 monsters to help her win the battle and elevates Kingu, her new husband, to "supreme dominion." A lengthy description of the other gods' inability to deal with the threat follows. Ultimately, Marduk is selected as their champion against Tiamat, and becomes very powerful. He defeats and kills Tiamat, and forms the world from her corpse. The subsequent hundred lines or so constitute the lost section of Tablet V.

The gods who sided with Tiamat are initially forced to labor in the service of the other gods. They are freed from their servitude when Marduk decides to slay Kingu and create mankind from his blood. Babylon is established as the residence of the chief gods. Finally, the gods confer kingship on Marduk, hailing him with fifty names. Most noteworthy is Marduk's symbolic elevation over Enlil, who was seen by earlier Mesopotamian civilizations as the king of the gods.

Relationship with Genesis

Further information: Mesopotamian creation myth

The dependence of at least part of the creation myths found in Genesis on a common ancient Near Eastern "creation-by-combat" myth are "not gainsayable."[2]

The ancient Mesopotamians believed that the world was a flat circular disc surrounded by a saltwater sea. The habitable earth was a single giant continent inside this sea, and floated on a second sea, the freshwater apsu, which supplied the water in springs, wells and rivers and was connected with the saltwater sea. The sky was a solid disk above the earth, curved to touch the earth at its rim, with the heavens of the gods above. So far as can be deduced from clues in the bible, the ancient Hebrew geography was identical with that of the Babylonians: a flat circular earth floating above a freshwater sea, surrounded by a saltwater sea, with a solid sky-dome (raqia, the "firmament") above. It is the creation of this world which Enuma Elish and Genesis 1 describe.[3][4]

Comparisons between the Bible and other ancient Near Eastern texts are often obscured by English translations, which impose on the Hebrew the Christian doctrines of creation ex nihilo (out of nothing) and of the Trinity. Thus the opening of Genesis 1 is traditionally rendered: "In the beginning God created both Heaven and Earth...", whereas the Hebrew makes it clear that Genesis 1:1-3 is describing the state of chaos immediately prior to God's creation:[5]

In the beginning of God's creating the skies and the earth, when the earth had been shapeless and formless, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and God's spirit was hovering on the face of the water, God said, 'Let there be light![6]

In both Enuma Elish and Genesis, creation is an act of divine speech - the Enuma Elish describes pre-creation as a time "when above, the heavens had not been named, and below the earth had not been called by name", while in Genesis each act of divine creation is introduced with the formula: "And God said, let there be...". The sequence of creation is identical: light, firmament, dry land, luminaries, and man. In both Enuma Elish and Genesis the primordial world is formless and empty (the tohu wa bohu of Genesis 1:2), the only existing thing the watery abyss which exists prior to creation (Tiamat in the Enuma Elish, tehom, the "deep", a linguistic cognate of tiamat, in Genesis 1:2). In both, the firmament, conceived as a solid inverted bowl, is created in the midst of the primeval waters to separate the heavens from the earth (Genesis 1:6–7, Enuma Elish 4:137–40). Day and night precede the creation of the luminous bodies (Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, and 14ff.; Enuma Elish 1:38), whose function is to yield light and regulate time (Gen. 1:14; Enuma Elish 5:12–13). In Enuma Elish, the gods consult before creating man (Enuma Elish 6:4), while Genesis has: "Let us make man in our own image..." (Genesis 1:26) – and in both, the creation of man is followed by divine rest. "Thus, it appears that the so-called Priestly Source account echoes this earlier Mesopotamian story of creation."

Epic of Gilgamesh

2008-08-14T02:10:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction. Scholars surmise that a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the mythological hero-king Gilgamesh, who might have been a real ruler in the late Early Dynastic II period (ca. 27th century BC)[1], were gathered into a longer Akkadian poem long afterward, with the most complete version existing today preserved on twelve clay tablets in the library collection of the 7th century BC Assyrian king Ashurbanipal. It was originally titled He who Saw the Deep (Sha naqba īmuru) or Surpassing All Other Kings (Shūtur eli sharrī).

The essential story revolves around the relationship between Gilgamesh, a king who has become distracted and disheartened by his rule, and a friend, Enkidu, who is half-wild and who undertakes dangerous quests with Gilgamesh. Much of the epic focuses on Gilgamesh's thoughts of loss following Enkidu's death. It is about their becoming human together, and has a high emphasis on immortality. A large portion of the book shows Gilgamesh's search for immortality after Enkidu's death. It is often credited by historians as being one of the first literary works.

The epic is widely read in translation, and the hero, Gilgamesh, has become an icon of popular culture.

Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Standard version
o 2.1 Content of the tablets
* 3 Old-Babylonian version
* 4 Sumerian version
* 5 Influence on later epic literature
* 6 See also
* 7 Notes
* 8 Bibliography
o 8.1 Editions
o 8.2 Other
* 9 External links

History
The Deluge tablet of the Gilgamesh epic in Akkadian
The Deluge tablet of the Gilgamesh epic in Akkadian

The history of the epic is divided into two periods: old, and late. Many versions exist from this almost 2,050 year span, but only the old and the late periods have yielded significant enough finds to enable a coherent intro-translation. Therefore, the old Sumerian version, and a later Akkadian version, which is now referred to as the standard edition, are the most frequently utilized texts. The standard edition has become the basis of modern translations, and the old version only supplements the standard version when the lacunae - or gaps in the cuneiform tablet - are great.

The earliest Sumerian versions of the epic date from as early as the Third Dynasty of Ur (2150-2000 BC) (Dalley 1989: 41-42). The earliest Akkadian versions are dated to the early second millennium (Dalley 1989: 45). The "standard" Akkadian version, consisting of twelve tablets, was edited by Sin-liqe-unninni sometime between 1300 and 1000 BC and was found in the library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is widely known today. The first modern translation of the epic was in the 1880s by George Smith.[1] More recent translations into English include one undertaken with the assistance of the American novelist John Gardner, and John Maier, published in 1984. In 2001, Benjamin Foster produced a reading in the Norton Critical Edition Series that fills in many of the blanks of the standard edition with previous material. The most definitive standard edition is the carefully edited two volume critical work by Andrew George. This represents the fullest treatment of the standard edition material, and he discusses at length the archaeological state of the material, provides a tablet by tablet exegesis, and furnishes a dual language side by side translation. George's translation was also published in a general reader edition under the Penguin Classics imprint in 2003. In 2004, Stephen Mitchell released a controversial edition, which is his interpretation of previous scholarly translations into what he calls "a new English version".[citation needed]

The discovery of artifacts (ca. 2600 BC) associated with Enmebaragesi of Kish, who is mentioned in the legends as the father of one of Gilgamesh's adversaries, has lent credibility to the historical existence of Gilgamesh (Dalley 1989: 40-41).[2]

Standard version

The standard version was discovered by British archaeologist Austen Henry Layard in the library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh in 1849. It was written in standard Babylonian, a dialect of Akkadian that was only used for literary purposes. This version was compiled by Sin-liqe-unninni sometime between 1300 and 1000 B.C out of older legends.

The standard Akkadian and earlier Sumerian versions are differentiated based on the opening words, or incipit. The older version begins with the words "Surpassing all other kings", while the standard version's incipit is "He who saw the deep" (ša nagbu amāru). The Akkadian word nagbu, "deep", is probably to be interpreted here as referring to "unknown mysteries".[citation needed] However, Andrew George believes that it refers to the specific knowledge that Gilgamesh brought back from his meeting with Uta-Napishti (Utnapishtim): he gains there knowledge of the realm of Ea, whose cosmic realm is seen as the fountain of wisdom (George 1999: L [pg. 50 of the introduction]). In general, interpreters feel that Gilgamesh was given knowledge of how to worship the gods, of why death was ordained for human beings, of what makes a good king, and of the true nature of how to live a good life. Utnapishtim, the hero of the Flood myth tells his story to Gilgamesh, which is related to the Babylonian Epic of Atrahasis.

The twelfth tablet is appended to the epic representing a sequel to the original eleven, and was most probably added at a later date. This tablet has commonly been omitted until recent years. It has the startling narrative inconsistency of introducing Enkidu alive, and bears seemingly little relation to the well-crafted and finished 11 tablet epic; indeed, the epic is framed around a ring structure in which the beginning lines of the epic are quoted at the end of the 11th tablet to give it at the same time circularity and finality. Tablet 12 is actually a near copy of an earlier tale, in which Gilgamesh sends Enkidu to retrieve some objects of his from the Underworld, but Enkidu dies and returns in the form of a spirit to relate the nature of the Underworld to Gilgamesh - an event which seems to many superfluous given Enkidu's dream of the underworld in Tablet VII.[3]

Content of the tablets

1. The story starts with an introduction of Gilgamesh of Uruk, the greatest king on earth, two-thirds god and one-third human, as the strongest King-God who ever existed. The introduction describes his glory and praises the brick city walls of Uruk. The people in the time of Gilgamesh, however, are not happy. They complain that he is too harsh and abuses his power by sleeping with women before their husbands do, so the goddess of creation Aruru creates the wild-man Enkidu. Enkidu starts bothering the shepherds. When one of them complains to Gilgamesh, the king sends the woman Shamhat who was a temple prostitute - a nadītu or hierodule in Greek. The body contact with Shamhat civilizes Enkidu, and after six days and seven nights, he is no longer a wild beast who lives with animals. In the meanwhile, Gilgamesh has some strange dreams, his mother Ninsun explains them by telling that a mighty friend will come to him.
2. Enkidu and Shamhat leave the wilderness for Uruk to attend a wedding. When Gilgamesh comes to the party to sleep with the bride, he finds his way blocked by Enkidu. Enkidu and Gilgamesh fight each other. After a mighty battle, Gilgamesh breaks off from the fight (or defeats Enkidu in other versions, this portion is missing from the Standard Babylonian version but is supplied from other versions).
3. Gilgamesh proposes to travel to the Cedar Forest to cut some great trees and kill the demon Humbaba for their glory. Enkidu objects but can not convince his friend. They seek the wisdom of the Elder Council, but Gilgamesh remains stubborn. Enkidu gives in and both prepare to journey to Cedar Forest. Gilgamesh tells his mother, who complains about it, but then asks the sun-god Shamash for support and gives Enkidu some advice. She also adopts Enkidu as her second son.
4. Gilgamesh and Enkidu journey to the Cedar Forest. On the way, Gilgamesh has five bad dreams, but due to the bad construction of the tablet, they are hard to reconstruct. Enkidu, each time, explains the dreams as a good omen. When they reach the forest Enkidu becomes afraid again and Gilgamesh has to encourage him.
5. When the heroes finally run into Humbaba, the demon/ogre guardian of the trees, the monster starts to offend them. This time, Gilgamesh is the one to become afraid. After some brave words of Enkidu the battle commences. Their rage separated Syria mountains from the Lebanon. Finally Shamash sends his 13 winds to help the two heroes and Humbaba is defeated. The monster begs Gilgamesh for his life, and Gilgamesh pities the creature. Enkidu, however, gets mad with Gilgamesh and asks him to kill the beast. Humbaba then turns to Enkidu and begs him to persuade his friend to spare his life. When Enkidu repeats his request to Gilgamesh, Humbaba curses them both before Gilgamesh puts an end to it. When the two heroes cut a huge Cedar tree, Enkidu makes a huge door of it for the gods and lets it float down the river.
6. Gilgamesh rejects the sexual advances of Anu's (the sky-god) daughter, the goddess Ishtar(goddess of love and war), because of her mistreatment of her previous lovers like Dumuzi. Ishtar asks her father Anu to send the "Bull of Heaven" to avenge the rejected sexual advances. When Anu rejects her complaints, Ishtar threatens to raise the dead. Anu becomes scared and gives in. The bull of heaven is a plague for the lands. Apparently the creature has something to do with drought because, according to the epic, the water disappeared and the vegetation died. Whatever the case, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, this time without divine help, slay the beast and offer its heart to Shamash. When they hear Ishtar cry out in agony, Enkidu tears off the bull's hindquarter and throws it in her face and threatens her. The city Uruk celebrates, but Enkidu has a bad dream detailed in the next tablet.
7. In the dream of Enkidu, the gods decide that somebody has to be punished for killing the Bull of Heaven and Humbaba, in the end they decide to punish Enkidu. All of this is much against the will of Shamash. Enkidu tells Gilgamesh all about it, then curses the door he made for the gods. Gilgamesh is shocked and goes to temple to pray to Shamash for the health of his friend. Enkidu then starts to curse the trapper and Shamhat because now he regrets the day that he became human. Shamash speaks from the heaven and points out how unfair Enkidu is; he also tells him that Gilgamesh will become a shadow of his former self because of his death. Enkidu regrets his curses and blesses Shamhat. He becomes more and more ill and describes the Netherworld as he is dying.
8. Gilgamesh delivers a lamentation for Enkidu, offering gifts to the many gods, in order that they might walk beside Enkidu in the netherworld.
9. Gilgamesh sets out to avoid Enkidu's fate and makes a perilous journey to visit Utnapishtim and his wife, the only humans to have survived the Great Flood who were granted immortality by the gods, in the hope that he too can attain immortality. Along the way, Gilgamesh passes the two mountains from where the sun rises, which are guarded by two scorpion-beings. They allow him to proceed and he travels through the dark where the sun travels every night. Just before the sun is about to catch up with him, he reaches the end. The land at the end of the tunnel is a wonderland full of trees with leaves of jewels.
10. Gilgamesh meets the alewife Siduri and tells her the purpose of his journey. Siduri attempts to dissuade him from his quest but sends him to Urshanabi the ferryman to help him cross the sea to Utnapishtim. Urshanabi is in the company of some stone-giants. Gilgamesh considers them hostile and kills them. When he tells Urshanabi his story and asks for help, he is told that he just killed the only creatures able to cross the Waters of Death. The waters of death are not to be touched, so Urshanabi commands him to cut 300 trees and fashion them into oars so that they can cross the waters by picking a new oar each time. Finally they reach the island of Utnapishtim. Utnapishtim sees that there is someone else in the boat, and asks Gilgamesh who he is. Gilgamesh tells him his story and asks for help, but Utnapishtim reprimands him because fighting the fate of humans is futile and ruins the joy in life.
11. Gilgamesh argues that Utnapishtim is not different from him and asks him his story, why he has a different fate. Utnapishtim tells him about the great flood. His story is a summary of the story of Atrahasis (see also Gilgamesh flood myth) but skips the previous plagues sent by the gods. He reluctantly offers Gilgamesh a chance for immortality, but questions why the gods would give the same honour as himself, the flood hero, to Gilgamesh and challenges Gilgamesh to stay awake for six days and seven nights first. However, just when Utnapishtim finishes his words Gilgamesh falls asleep. Utnapishtim ridicules the sleeping Gilgamesh in the presence of his wife and tells her to bake a loaf of bread for every day he is asleep so that Gilgamesh cannot deny his failure. When Gilgamesh, after six days and seven nights discovers his failure, Utnapishtim is furious with him and sends him back to Uruk with Urshanabi in exile. The moment that they leave, Utnapishtim's wife asks her husband to have mercy on Gilgamesh for his long journey. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh of a plant at the bottom of the ocean that will make him young again. Gilgamesh obtains the plant by binding stones to his feet so he can walk the bottom of the sea. He does not trust the plant and plans to test it on an old man's back when he returns to Uruk. Unfortunately he places the plant on the shore of a lake while he bathes, and it is stolen by a serpent who loses his old skin and thus is reborn. Gilgamesh weeps in the presence of Urshanabi. Having failed at both opportunities, he returns to Uruk, where the sight of its massive walls prompts him to praise this enduring work to Urshanabi.
12. Note that the content of the last tablet is not connected with previous ones. Gilgamesh complains to Enkidu that his ball-game-toys fell in the underworld. Enkidu offers to bring them back. Delighted, Gilgamesh tells Enkidu what he must and must not do in the underworld in order to come back. Enkidu forgets the advice and does everything he was told not to do. The underworld keeps him. Gilgamesh prays to the gods to give him his friend back. Enlil and Suen don’t bother to reply but Ea and Shamash decide to help. Shamash cracks a hole in the earth and Enkidu jumps out of it. The tablet ends with Gilgamesh questioning Enkidu about what he has seen in the underworld. The story doesn’t make clear whether Enkidu reappears only as a ghost or really comes alive again.

Old-Babylonian version

All tablets except for the second and third are from different origins than the above, so this summary is made up out of different versions.

1. Tablet missing
2. Gilgamesh tells his mother Ninsun about two nightmares he had. His mother explains that they mean that a friend will come to Uruk. In the meanwhile Enkidu and his woman (here called Shamshatum) are making love. She civilizes him in company of the shepherds by offering him human food. Enkidu helps the shepherd by guarding the sheep. They go to Uruk to marry but Gilgamesh wants to use his privileges to sleep with Shamshatum first. Enkidu and Gilgamesh battle but Gilgamesh breaks off the fight. Enkidu praises Gilgamesh as special person.
3. The tablet is broken here but it seems that Gilgamesh has offered the plan to go the Pine Forest to cut trees and kill Humbaba. Enkidu protests, he knows Humbaba and is aware of his power. Gilgamesh talks Enkidu into it with some words of encouragement but Enkidu remains reluctant. They start preparation and call for the elders. The elders also protest but after Gilgamesh talks to them they wish him good luck.
4. 1(?) tablet missing
5. Fragments from two different versions/tablets that tell how Enkidu encourages Gilgamesh to slay Humbaba. When Gilgamesh does so they cut some trees and find the dwellings of the Annunaki. Enkidu cuts a door of wood for Enlil and let it float down the Euphrates.
6. Tablets missing
7. Gilgamesh argues with Shamash the futility of his quest. The tablet is damaged. We then find Gilgamesh talking with Siduri about his quest and his travel to Ut-Napishtim (here called Uta-na’ishtim). Siduri also questions his goals. Another hole in the text. Gilgamesh has smashed the stone creatures and talks to the ferryman Urshanabi (here called Sur-sunabu). After a short discussion Sur-sunabu asks Gilgamesh to cut 300 oars so that they may cross the waters of dead without the stone creatures. The rest of the tablet is damaged.
8. Tablet(s) missing

Sumerian version

There are five extant stories from the Sumerian version of the Gilgamesh epic cycle:

1. Gilgamesh and Huwawa (version A translation, version B translation) (Corresponds to the Cedar Forest episode (tablets 3-5) in the Akkadian version.)
2. Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven (translation) (Corresponds to the Bull of Heaven episode (tablet 6) in the Akkadian version. The Bull's voracious appetite causes drought and hardship in the land.)
3. Gilgamesh and Aga (translation) (Gilgamesh vs. Aga of Kish, no correspondence with the Akkadian version.)
4. Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld (translation) (Corresponds to tablet 12 in the Akkadian version.)
5. The Death of Gilgamesh (translation) (This is the story of Gilgamesh's, rather than Enkidu's death. The Sumerian flood hero, Zi-ud-sura, is invoked, but only as a contrast between the flood hero who saved life and was giving eternal life in return, and the mortal Gilgamesh.)

[edit] Influence on later epic literature

According to the Greek scholar Ioannis Kakridis, there are a large number of parallel verses as well as themes or episodes which indicate a substantial influence of the Epic of Gilgamesh on the Odyssey, the Greek epic poem ascribed to Homer.[4]

Some aspects of the Gilgamesh flood myth seem to be related to the story of Noah's ark in the Bible; see deluge (mythology).

The Alexander the Great myth in Islamic and Syrian cultures is also considered to be influenced by the Gilgamesh story[5] [6]. Alexander wanders through a region of darkness and terror in search of the water of life. He faces strange encounters, reaches the water but, like Gilgamesh, fails to become immortal.

See also
Literature portal
Ancient Near East portal
Mythology portal

* Sumerian literature
* Babylonian literature
* Atra-Hasis
* Sumerian creation myth
* Deluge (mythology)
* Gilgamesh in popular culture
* Gilgamesh flood myth
* Translation
* Poetry

Notes

1. ^ Gilgamesh (translated from the Sin-Leq-Unninnt version) by John Gardner and John Maier w/ assistance from Robert Henshaw ISBN 0-394-74089-0(pbk) p.4
2. ^ Dalley, Stephanie, Myths from Mesopotamia, Oxford University Press, 1989
3. ^ MythHome: Gilgamesh the 12th Tablet
4. ^ Ioannis Kakridis: "Eisagogi eis to Omiriko Zitima" (Introduction to the Homeric Question) In: Omiros: Odysseia. Edited with translation and comments by Zisimos Sideris, Daidalos Press, I. Zacharopoulos Athens.
5. ^ Jastrow M.The religion of Babylonia and Assyria.GIN & COMPANY. Boston 1898
6. ^ Sattari J. Astudy on the epic of Gilgamesh and the legend of Alexander. Markaz Publications 2001 (In Persian)

Bibliography

Editions

* Dalley, Stephanie, trans. (1991). Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others. England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0192817892.
* George, Andrew R., trans. & edit. (2003). The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts. England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198149220.
* George, Andrew R., trans. & edit. (1999, reprinted with corrections 2003). The Epic of Gilgamesh. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-044919-1.
* Foster, Benjamin R., trans. & edit. (2001). The Epic of Gilgamesh. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-97516-9.
* Kovacs, Maureen Gallery, transl. with intro. (1985,1989). The Epic of Gilgamesh. Stanford University Press: Stanford, California. ISBN 0-8047-1711-7. Glossary, Appendices, Appendix (Chapter XII=Tablet XII). A line-by-line translation (Chapters I-XI).
* Jackson, Danny (1997). The Epic of Gilgamesh. Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers. ISBN 0-86516-352-9.
* Mason, Herbert (2003). Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative. Boston: Mariner Books. ISBN 978-0618275649.
* Mitchell, Stephen (2004). Gilgamesh: A New English Version. New York: Free Press. ISBN 0-7432-6164-X.
* Sandars, N. K. (2006). The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin Epics). ISBN 0141026286 - re-print of the Penguin Classic translation (in prose) by N. K. Sandars 1960 (ISBN 014044100X) without the introduction.
* Parpola, Simo, with Mikko Luuko, and Kalle Fabritius (1997). The Standard Babylonian, Epic of Gilgamesh. The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project. ISBN 951-45-7760-4 (Volume 1) in the original Akkadian cuneiform and transliteration; commentary and glossary are in English.
* Ferry, David (1993). Gilgamesh: A New Rendering in English Verse. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0374523835.

[edit] Other

* Damrosch, David (2007) The Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh. Henry Holt and Co, ISBN 0-80508-029-5
* Jacobsen, Thorkild (1976) The Treasures of Darkness, A History of Mesopotamian Religion, New Haven: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-01844-4
* West, Martin (1997) The East Face of Helicon: West Asiatic Elements in Greek Poetry and Myth, New York: Clarendon Press, ISBN 0-19-815042-3

Mesopotamian Mythology

2008-08-14T02:09:00.000-07:00

Mesopotamian mythology is the collective name given to Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian mythologies from the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq.

The Sumerians practiced a polytheistic religion, with anthropomorphic gods or goddesses representing forces or presences in the world, in much the same way as later Greek mythology. According to said mythology, the gods originally created humans as servants for themselves but freed them when they became too much to handle.

Many stories in Sumerian religion appear similar to stories in other Middle-Eastern religions. For example, the Biblical account of the creation of man as well as Noah's flood resemble the Sumerian tales very closely, though the Sumerian myths were written many centuries earlier than the Tanakh. Gods and Goddesses from Sumer have distinctly similar representations in the religions of the Akkadians, Caananites, and others. A number of stories and deities have Greek parallels as well; for example, it has been argued by some that Inanna's descent into the underworld strikingly recalls (and predates) the story of Persephone.

Contents

* 1 Deities
o 1.1 The primary deities for each phase of Mesopotamian religion
o 1.2 The Sky deities
* 2 Mesopotamian cosmology
* 3 See also
* 4 External links

Deities

Main article: Dingir

The primary deities for each phase of Mesopotamian religion

Each walled city of Mesopotamian civilization in early times was centred upon a temple complex, including the state granary. Archaeology has shown that these temples grew from modest shrines that were associated with the earliest unwalled levels of settlement about 4500 BC. Initially the shrines were basically an elevated yard surrounding a small building of wood and branches where people came to offer tributes to Namma, the mother goddess, or An, the sky lord. The structures were later covered in mud and then bricks of burned material, and as the villages and towns where these shrines were built grew so did the shrines. The yard was surrounded with a brick wall, which later turned to be the shrine's outer bulwark. As the towns grew into City-states, the shrines were destroyed, the site flattened, and a larger temple was built upon it. This gradually raised the temples above the level of the surrounding buildings, so that eventually a temple platform (ziggurat or later zikkorath') was constructed, raising the temple towards the heavens - possibly the origin of the biblical story the Tower of Babel. Temples were called the E'kur or "High House" (E = house, Kur = Mound, at Nippur) or E'anna (House of Heaven, E = house, Anu = Heavens, sky at Uruk). The ziggurats were elevated stair-towers, somewhat like the shape of a pyramid stretched upwards, with each level being devoted to one of the known stars of that time, to the sun or moon or to some gods, with the main part of the shrine on the roof, which was a flat surface on which ceremonies were conducted. The ziggurats were considered a place closer to the heavens, a gateway and shrine to the gods and a place for the ruler god of the sky (An in Sumer, Marduk in Babylon and Ashur in Assyria) to lay his feet upon.

In the historical period, each temple was under the control of an Ensi (male for female divinities, female for male divinities) associated with a named male or female god, complete with a temple staff and functionaries who not only conducted the important civic rituals, such as the sacred marriage of the New Year Festival, but in some way "acted out" important cosmological events of the seasonal cycle. The Ensi were also responsible for organising the considerable economic affairs associated with the temple. Literacy seems to have emerged as a requirement of the complexities of temple book-keeping.

As it was believed that the sacred realm mirrored the profane, wars between cities on Earth were seen as paralleling struggles between the divinities in heaven. Associations between the movements of the planets and earthly events were carefully collected, and came to be resources associated with limmu lists for compiling important historical events, and which has been developed into "Chaldean" astrology.

Each shrine was named after a single god, and with the development of the wide ranging Sumerian civilisation these gods became part of a Pantheon or single family of divinities, known as the Annunaki (Anu = Heaven, Na = And, Ki = Earth). Rather than Anu being seen as "the god" of the heavens, he was the heavens. In this way to the earliest Sumerians, humankind lived inside a living divine realm.

With the growth in size and importance of the temples, so the temple functionaries (priests = Sumerian sanga) grew in importance in their communities, and a hierarchy developed led by the En, or chief priest. Thus the chief priest of the God of Air (Lil) at the E-kur temple at the city of Nippur became "Enlil", and gods became more and more anthropomorphic.

* Anu, The god of Heaven (Pan-Mesopotamian) at the E'anna temple - Uruk
* Enlil, The god of the air (from Lil = Air) and storms (Pan-Mesopotamian) at the E'kur temple - Nippur. He was usually portrayed in human form but also appears as a snake to the humans eyes.
* Enki, The god of water and the fertile earth (Pan-Mesopotamian) at the E'abzu temple - Eridu also Babylonian Ea, who is also the god of magic, wisdom and intelligence.
* Ki, or Ninhursag The mother-goddess representing the earth (Sumerian) at the E'saggila temple - Eridu, and also at Kish.
* Ashur, Main god of Assyria (sky god) (Assyrian) - at Assur
* Ninlil,or Nillina :goddess of air (possibly the south wind) and wife of Enlil (Sumerian) - at the E'kur Temple - Nippur
* Inanna, The goddess of love and war (Sumerian) - at the E'anna temple - Uruk
* Marduk, originally Ea's son and god of light, Marduk (bibilical Marudach, or Mordacai) was the main god of Babylon and the sender of the Babylonian king (Babylonian) - at the E'saggila - Babylon
* Nanna - Suen (Sumerian) or Sin (Akkadian) God of the moon - at the E'hursag temple of Ur and Harran
* Utu (Sumerian), Tutu (Akkadian) or Shamash (Akkadian) God of the sun - at the E'barbara temple of Sipparand in Babylonia the god of justice as well
* Sherida, a mother goddess and consort of the sun god Utu. She later developed into the Akkadian deity Aya, consort of Shamash.
* Ninurta (Sumerian = Lord Plough) (Pan Mesopotamian) at the E'Girsu (hence also called Ningirsu) temple - Lagash

A mural with Annunaki devas on outer portions, Sumerian humans on inner portion surrounding a depiction: "Tree of Life" with Annunaki placed on Winged-Disc above.
A mural with Annunaki devas on outer portions, Sumerian humans on inner portion surrounding a depiction: "Tree of Life" with Annunaki placed on Winged-Disc above.

As social complexity in these cities increased, each god came to resemble a human monarch (Lugal, Lu = Man, Gal = Big), or high priest (Ensi, En = Lord, Si = Country), complete with a family and a court of divine stewards and servants. Wars between cities were seen to reflect wars in heavens between the gods.

Minor gods were seen as family members of these major divinities. Thus Ereshkigal (Eresh = Under, Ki = Earth, Gal = Great) came to be seen as the sister of Inanna, and she came to acquire a husband too, originally Gugalanna, the Wild Bull of Heaven, (from Gu = Bull, Gal = Great, Anu = Heaven), and subsequently Nergal, the Lord of Death, son (Aplu) of Enlil and Ninlil. Servants also became minor divinities, as Isimud the two faced androgynous Steward of Enki; or Ninshabur (Lady Evening) the chief lady-in-waiting of Inanna.

Divinities then proliferated, with there being specific gods of tooth-ache, or aching limbs, goddesses for "Greenery" and "Pasture". Every aspect of life thus came to be surrounded with its own minor divinity that required gifts or placation, as magic spells multiplied, trying to give people certainty in very uncertain times.

The Sky deities

The name of the Gods in Sumerian {DINGIR} was written with the same cuneiform glyph used to represent the word "sky" {AN}, and indeed all the principal Mesopotamian Gods were identified with the sky. The movements of these bodies was considered linked to events on earth giving rise to the practice of astrology. Thus

* Sin (aka Sumerian "Nanna - Suen"), The God of the moon
* Shamash (aka Sumerian "Utu"), The Sun God

the other visible planets were also associated with divinities Thus

* Enki and later Nabu was associated with Mercury
* Ishtar (aka Sumerian "Inanna"), The Queen of the Heavens and goddess of love and war was associated with Venus
* Nergal was associated with Mars
* Enlil and late Marduk was associated with Jupiter
* Ninurta was associated with Saturn

Mesopotamian cosmology

Mesopotamian cosmology seems to have been seen as a genealogical system of binary opposites being considered as male and female, and, through sacred marriage or hieros gamos, giving birth to successive generations of divinities. The universe first appeared when Nammu, a presumably formless abyss, curled in upon herself, giving birth to the primary gods. According to the Babylonian Enuma Elish, the primary union divided into Tiamat, (from Sumerian Ti=Life, Ama=mother, t (Akkadian, a feminine terminal marker)) a salt water divinity, and Apsu (earlier Abzu from Ab=water, Zu=far) a fresh water divinity. These in turn gave birth to Lahamu and Lahmu, called the "muddy" or "the hairy ones", the title given to the gatekeepers of the E'Abzu temple in Eridu, who gave birth to Anshar (Sky Pivot (or Axle)) and Kishar (Earth Pivot (or Axle)) possibly referring to the celestial poles, and considered the parents of Anu(the Heaven-dome god) and Ki (the Earth god). These Gods gave their name to the Mesopotamian pantheon.

The union of An and Ki produced Enlil, who in the Sumerian period eventually became leader of the pantheon. After the banishment of Enlil from Dilmun (the home of the gods) for raping Ninlil, Ninlil had a child, Sin (god of the moon), also known in Sumerian as Nanna - Suen. Sin and Ningal gave birth to Inanna and to Utu (Sumerian) or Shamash (Akkadian). During Enlil's banishment, he fathered three "substitute" underworld deities with Ninlil , most notably Nergal. [1]

Nammu also gave birth to Enki. Enki also controlled the Me until Inanna took them away from Enki's city of Eridu to her city of Uruk. The "me" were holy decrees that governed such basic things as physics and complex things such as social order and law. Their transfer from Eridu to Uruk may reflect ancient political events in Southern Iraq, in the Jemdet Nasr or Early Dynastic Period of Sumer.

In the much later Enuma Elish, of Babylon, it describes the chaos status in which Tiamat and Apsu, upset by the chaos of the younger gods, attempt to take back creation, until the son of Enki, Marduk, defeated them and re-created the world out of Tiamat's bodies. These myths seem to have in earlier Sumerian versions had Enlil, as god of the Winds and head of the Sumerian pantheon, in the role of Marduk. The purpose of Enuma Elish, composed in the Kassite period was to elevate Marduk, god of the city of Babylon, and make him pre-eminent amongst the old gods, thus demonstrating Babylon's political victory over the old cultures of Sumer and Akkad. In Assyrian myth, Asshur takes the place of Marduk.

Other myths tell of the creation of humankind. The younger Igigi gods go on strike, refusing the work of keeping the creation working and the gods consulted Enki for a solution. He suggested humankind be made from clay, mixed with the blood of the captured God Kingu, son and consort of Tiamat.

The earliest known writings have no author mentioned. One of the first recorded authors was the priestess Enheduanna.

Babylonian mythology

2008-08-14T02:07:00.000-07:00

Babylonian mythology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fertile Crescent
myth series
Mark of the Palm
Mesopotamian
Levantine
Arabian
Mesopotamia
Primordial beings
7 gods who decree
The great gods
Demigods & heroes
Spirits & monsters
Tales from Babylon

Enûma Eliš
Atra-Hasis
Marduk & Sarpanit
Nabu, Nintu
Agasaya, Bel
Qingu

Babylonian mythology is a set of stories depicting the activities of Babylonian deities, heroes, and mythological creatures. While these stories are in modern times usually considered a component of Babylonian religion, their purpose was not necessarily religious in nature. Often these stories explained a mystery of nature, depicted the rewards for proper behavior, illustrated punishments for taboo behavior, or performed a combination of these or other purposes. Some mythological texts did, however, serve some ceremonial purpose in religious activity.

The Babylonian canon is largely derived from Sumerian mythology. This was written in Akkadian, a Semitic language, using cuneiform script on clay tablets. Most texts known today are copies made in scribal schools by student scribes, likely at a time when Akkadian was no longer the spoken language in Babylonia and serious belief in the myths had faded amongst educated people.

Some Babylonian texts were even translations into Akkadian from the Sumerian language of earlier texts, though the names of some deities were changed in Babylonian texts. Some Babylonian deities and myths are unique to that culture, however, such as the god Marduk and the Enûma Elish, a creation myth epic.

Creation

When the seven tablets that contain this myth were first discovered, evidence indicated that it was used as a "ritual" myth, meaning it was recited during a ceremony or celebration. The occasion in this instance is the Babylonian new year. This myth tells of the yearly cycle of death and rebirth of Marduk, the greatest king of the gods (some fifty different names are attributed to Marduk). The first tablet describes the beginning of the world, before earth and sky had any definition or identification. There existed two gods from which all others were descended, Apsu (male) and Tiamat (female), the sweet and salt water oceans respectively. From the union of these two were born Lahmu and Lahamu, who are believed to represent silt (such as from river deltas) and are represented as snakes. Each generation brings more gods: Lahmu and Lahamu begat Anshar and Kishar, who bore a son named Anu. Anu sired a son most often called Ea, known as the "all-wise". Each new god born was more perfect and powerful than his predecessors. They soon became unruly and insubordinate, while Tiamat, the mother of them all, sat idly by and did nothing despite the pains their rambunctious behavior caused. They refused to heed their father’s pleas to calm themselves.

In anger, Apsu decided to unmake that which he had made. But Ea learned of Apsu's plans, and so he wove a spell of sleep upon Apsu and slew him while he slept. Tiamat remained inactive while all of this occurs. Ea built a great temple upon Apsu's body, and resided there in comfort and luxury with Damkina, his lover. Damkina bore Ea a son, Marduk, the hero-king. He is described as perfect from the start, with four ears and four eyes, all of which were overlarge and his form is said to be incomprehensible in its perfection. Marduk's grandfather, Anu, created the four winds for Marduk to let loose and play with. This had the unfortunate side effect of constantly disturbing Tiamat’s body (an ocean if you'll recall), and the other gods who dwelled within her. The other gods became enraged and irritable with lack of rest, and they hounded Tiamat for sitting quietly by while Ea slew Apsu. Through all their goading they pushed the great ocean goddess to action. Tiamat, who had a notably short temper, decided on war.

Tiamat assembled a great host of gods and monsters to fight for her. At the head of this monstrous horde she placed Kingu, who is variously described as her son or lover (neither translation refers to him as both, only one or the other) and affixed the Tablet of Destinies to his breast, declaring him greatest among the gods. The few remaining gods that did not join Tiamat learn of her mobilization and assembled to deliberate a course of action. The tablet describing this part of the story was damaged, and the exact happenings can only be guessed at. Both Ea and Anu attempted to turn Tiamat from her course, but both returned unsuccessful, though details are unobtainable. Then, at Ea’s behest, Marduk agreed to do battle with Tiamat. After demanding that in return for his service he be named supreme god, Marduk was named the gods' champion and prepared for battle.

Marduk's arsenal for the battle was listed as a great bow, a single arrow, a mace, lightning, and a net held by the four winds. He also crafted seven windstorms and filled his body with fire. He then mounted his storm chariot and rode off to battle. The seven hurricanes trailed behind him, causing disturbances in Tiamat's ocean. Marduk challenged her to single combat. He cast the net upon her, and snared her and the army of monsters. She tried to swallow him, and he split her jaws with the hurricanes, then split her heart and body with the arrow. He reclaimed the Tablet of Destinies from Kingu and attached it to his own breast, securing his place as overlord of all. He then embarked on his destined course of creation. Among his exploits are the developing of the calendar, and the creation of man. Mankind he crafted from the blood of Kingu, and man’s purpose was to toil and do physical labor so that the gods might spend their time in leisure. It is also worth noting that because of Tiamat’s actions, goddesses were forever after excluded from the various councils the gods held.

Thus ends the myth of creation for the Babylonians. The entire story takes place over five tablets, though two more make the complete set. These last two are merely for the recitation of Marduk's fifty names.

Houghton.Mifflin.The.Encyclopedia.of.World.History,.6th.Ed.(2001) [e-book]

2008-08-08T12:10:00.000-07:00

Houghton.Mifflin.The.Encyclopedia.of.World.History,.6th.Ed.(2001).chm [ebook]
download it here

Encyclopedia of Folk Heroes - Graham Seal [e-book]

2008-08-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

Encyclopedia of Folk Heroes, by Graham Seal [ebook]
download it here

Peter Berresford Ellis - Dictionary of Celtic Mythology [ebook]

2008-08-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

http://rapidshare.com/files/135873042/Ellis-Celtic_Mythology.chm.html

A Small Dictionary of Pagan Gods and Goddesses [e-book]

2008-08-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

A Small Dictionary of Pagan Gods and Goddesses [ebook] PDF format
by D. W. OWENS
download here

Greek Mythology

2008-08-05T12:56:00.001-07:00

Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the Ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. Modern scholars refer to the myths and study them in an attempt to throw light on the religious and political institutions of Ancient Greece and on the Ancient Greek civilization, and to gain understanding of the nature of myth-making itself.[1]

Greek mythology is embodied explicitly in a large collection of narratives and implicitly in representational arts, such as vase-paintings and votive gifts. Greek myth explains the origins of the world and details the lives and adventures of a wide variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines, and other mythological creatures. These accounts were initially disseminated in an oral-poetic tradition; the Greek myths are known today primarily from Greek literature. The oldest known Greek literary sources, the epic poems Iliad and Odyssey, focus on events surrounding the Trojan War. Two poems by Homer's near contemporary Hesiod, the Theogony and the Works and Days, contain accounts of the genesis of the world, the succession of divine rulers, the succession of human ages, the origin of human woes, and the origin of sacrificial practices. Myths are also preserved in the Homeric Hymns, in fragments of epic poems of the Epic Cycle, in lyric poems, in the works of the tragedians of the 5th century BC, in writings of scholars and poets of the Hellenistic Age and in writers of the time of the Roman Empire, for example, Plutarch and Pausanias.

Archaeological evidence is a principal source of detail about Greek mythology, with Gods and heroes featuring prominently in the decoration of many artifacts. Geometric designs on pottery of the 8th century BCE depict scenes from the Trojan cycle as well as the adventures of Heracles. In the succeeding Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear to supplement the existing literary evidence.[2]

Greek mythology has had extensive influence on the culture, the arts and the literature of Western civilization and remains part of Western heritage and language. Poets and artists from ancient times to the present have derived inspiration from Greek mythology and have discovered contemporary significance and relevance in classical mythological themes.[3]
Contents

* 1 Sources of Greek mythology
o 1.1 Literary sources
o 1.2 Archaeological sources
* 2 Survey of mythic history
o 2.1 Age of gods
+ 2.1.1 Cosmogony and cosmology
+ 2.1.2 Greek gods
o 2.2 Age of gods and humankind
o 2.3 Heroic age
+ 2.3.1 Heracles and the Heracleidae
+ 2.3.2 Argonauts
+ 2.3.3 House of Atreus and Theban Cycle
+ 2.3.4 Trojan War and aftermath
* 3 Greek and Roman conceptions of myth
o 3.1 Philosophy and myth
o 3.2 Hellenistic and Roman rationalism
o 3.3 Syncretizing trends
* 4 Modern interpretations
o 4.1 Comparative and psychoanalytic approaches
o 4.2 Origin theories
* 5 Motifs in Western art and literature
* 6 Notes
* 7 References
o 7.1 Primary sources (Greek and Roman)
o 7.2 Secondary sources
* 8 Further reading
* 9 External links

Sources of Greek mythology
Prometheus (1868 by Gustave Moreau). The myth of Prometheus was first attested by Hesiodus and then constituted the basis for a tragic trilogy of plays, possibly by Aeschylus, consisting of Prometheus Bound, Prometheus Unbound and Prometheus Pyrphoros
Prometheus (1868 by Gustave Moreau). The myth of Prometheus was first attested by Hesiodus and then constituted the basis for a tragic trilogy of plays, possibly by Aeschylus, consisting of Prometheus Bound, Prometheus Unbound and Prometheus Pyrphoros
The Roman poet Virgil, here depicted in the 5th century manuscript the Vergilius Romanus, preserved details of Greek mythology in many of his writings.
The Roman poet Virgil, here depicted in the 5th century manuscript the Vergilius Romanus, preserved details of Greek mythology in many of his writings.
Achilles killing a Trojan prisoner in front of Charon on a red-figure Etruscan calyx-krater, made towards the end of the 4th century-beginning of the 3rd century BC.
Achilles killing a Trojan prisoner in front of Charon on a red-figure Etruscan calyx-krater, made towards the end of the 4th century-beginning of the 3rd century BC.

Greek mythology is known today primarily from Greek literature and representations on visual media dating from the Geometric period (c. 900-800 BC) onward.[4]

Literary sources

Mythical narration plays an important role in nearly every genre of Greek literature. Nevertheless, the only general mythographical handbook to survive from Greek antiquity was the Library of Pseudo-Apollodorus, which attempts to reconcile the contradictory tales of the poets and provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends.[5]

Among the literary sources first in age are Homer's two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Other poets completed the "epic cycle", but these later and lesser poems are now almost entirely lost. Despite their traditional name, the Homeric Hymns have no connection with Homer. They are choral hymns from the earlier part of the so-called Lyric age.[6] Hesiod, a possible contemporary with Homer, offers in Theogony (Origin of the Gods) the fullest account of the earliest Greek myths, dealing with the creation of the world; the origin of the gods, Titans and Giants; elaborate genealogies and folktales and etiological myths. Hesiod's Works and Days, a didactic poem about farming life, also includes the myths of Prometheus, Pandora and the Four Ages. The poet gives advice on the best way to succeed in a dangerous world rendered yet more dangerous by its gods.[2]

Lyrical poets sometimes take their subjects from myth, but the treatment becomes gradually less narrative and more allusive. Greek lyric poets, including Pindar, Bacchylides, Simonides, and bucolic poets, such as Theocritus and Bion, provide individual mythological incidents.[7] Additionally, myth was central to classical Athenian drama. The tragic playwrights Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides took their plots from the age of heroes and the Trojan War. Many of the great tragic stories (i.e. Agamemnon and his children, Oedipus, Jason, Medea etc.) took on their classic form in these tragic plays. For his part, the comic playwright Aristophanes used myths, as in The Birds or The Frogs.[8]

Historians Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus, and geographers Pausanias and Strabo, who traveled around the Greek world and noted the stories they heard, supplied numerous local myths, often giving little-known alternative versions.[7] Herodotus in particular, searched the various traditions presented him and found the historical or mythological roots in the confrontation between Greece and the East.[9]

The poetry of the Hellenistic and Roman ages, which although composed as a literary rather than cultic exercise, nevertheless contains many important details that would otherwise be lost. This category includes the works of:

1. The Roman poets Ovid, Statius, Valerius Flaccus, Seneca and Virgil with Servius's commentary.
2. The Greek poets of the Late Antique period: Nonnus, Antoninus Liberalis and Quintus Smyrnaeus.
3. The Greek poets of the Hellenistic period: Apollonius of Rhodes, Callimachus, Pseudo-Eratosthenes and Parthenius.
4. The ancient novels of Greeks and Romans such as Apuleius, Petronius, Lollianus and Heliodorus.

The Fabulae and Astronomica of the Roman writer styled Pseudo-Hyginus are two important, non-poetical compendiums of myth. The Imagines of Philostratus the Elder and Younger and the Descriptions of Callistratus, are two other useful sources.

Finally, the Christian apologist Arnobius, quoting cult practices in order to disparage them, and a number of Byzantine Greek writers provide important details of myth, some of it sourced from lost Greek works. These preservers of myth include Hesychius' lexicon, the Suda, and the treatises of John Tzetzes and Eustathius. The Christian moralizing view of Greek myth is encapsulated in the saying ἐν παντὶ μύθῳ καὶ τὸ Δαιδάλου μύσος / en panti muthōi kai to Daidalou musos ("In every myth there is also the defilement of Daidalos"), on which subject the encyclopedic Sudas reported of the role of Daedalus in satisfying the "unnatural lust" of Pasiphae for the bull of Poseidon: "Since the origin and blame for these evils were attributed to Daidalos and he was loathed for them, he became the subject of the proverb."[10]

Archaeological sources

The discovery of the Mycenaean civilization by German amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in the 19th century, and the discovery of the Minoan civilization in Crete by British archaeologist, Sir Arthur Evans in the 20th century, helped to explain many of the questions about Homer's epics and provided archaeological evidence of many of the mythological details about gods and heroes. Unfortunately, the evidence about myth and ritual at Mycenaean and Minoan sites is entirely monumental, as the Linear B script (an ancient form of Greek found in both Crete and Greece) was mainly used to record inventories, though the names of gods and heroes have been doubtfully revealed.[2]

Geometric designs on pottery of the 8th century BC depict scenes from the Trojan cycle, as well as the adventures of Heracles.[2] These visual representations of myths are important for two reasons; on the one hand, many Greek myths are attested on vases earlier than in literary sources (of the twelve labors of Heracles, only the Cerberus adventure occurs for the first time in a literary text[11]) and, on the other hand, visual sources sometimes represent myths or mythical scenes that are not attested in any extant literary source. In some cases, the first known representation of a myth in geometric art predates its first known representation in late archaic poetry by several centuries.[4] In the Archaic (c. 750–c. 500 BC), Classical (c. 480–323 BC), and Hellenistic periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear to supplement the existing literary evidence.[2]

Survey of mythic history

The Greeks' mythology has changed over time to accommodate the evolution of their own culture, of which mythology both overtly and in its unspoken assumptions, is an index. In the surviving literary forms in which we have them, they are inherently political, as Gilbert Cuthbertson has urged.[12]

The earlier inhabitants of the Balkan Peninsula were an agricultural people who assigned a spirit to every aspect of nature. Eventually, these vague spirits assumed human shape and entered the local mythology as gods and goddesses.[13] When tribes from the north of the Balkan Peninsula invaded, they brought with them a new pantheon of gods, based on conquest, force, prowess in battle, and violent heroism. Other older deities of the agricultural world fused with those of the more powerful invaders or else faded into insignificance.[14]

After the middle of the Archaic period myths about relationships between male gods and male heroes become more and more frequent, indicating the parallel development of pedagogic pederasty (Eros paidikos, παιδικός ἔρως), thought to have been introduced around 630 BC. By the end of the 5th century BC, poets had assigned at least one eromenos to every important god except Ares and to many legendary figures.[15] Previously existing myths, such as that of Achilles and Patroclus, were also cast in a pederastic light.[16] Alexandrian poets at first, then more generally literary mythographers in the early Roman Empire, often adapted stories of Greek mythological characters.

The achievement of epic poetry was to create story-cycles, and as a result to develop a sense of mythological chronology. Thus Greek mythology unfolds like a phase in the development of the world and of man.[17] While self-contradictions in the stories make an absolute timeline impossible, an approximate chronology may be discerned. The mythological history of the world can be divided in 3 or 4 broader periods:

1. The myths of origin or age of gods (Theogonies, "births of gods"): myths about the origins of the world, the gods, and the human race.
2. The age when gods and mortals mingled freely: stories of the early interactions between gods, demigods, and mortals.
3. The age of heroes (heroic age), where divine activity was more limited. The last and greatest of the heroic legends is the stories of the Trojan War and after (regarded by some researchers as a separate fourth period).[18]

While the age of gods has often been of more interest to contemporary students of myth, the Greek authors of the archaic and classical eras had a clear preference for the age of heroes. For example, the heroic Iliad and Odyssey dwarfed the divine-focused Theogony and Homeric Hymns in both size and popularity. Under the influence of Homer the "hero cult" leads to a restructuring in spiritual life, expressed in the separation of the realm of the gods from the realm of the dead (heroes), of the Olympian from the Chthonic.[19] In the Works and Days, Hesiod makes use of a scheme of Four Ages of Man (or Races): Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Iron. These races or ages are separate creations of the gods, the Golden Age belonging to the reign of Cronus, the subsequent races the creation of Zeus. Hesiod intercalates the Age (or Race) of Heroes just after the Bronze Age. The final age was the Iron Age, during which the poet himself lived. The poet regards it as the worst; the presence of evil was explained by Pandora's myth.[20] In Metamorphoses Ovid follows Hesiod's concept of the four ages.[21]

Age of gods

Cosmogony and cosmology

"Myths of origin" or "creation myths" represent an attempt to render the universe comprehensible in human terms and explain the origin of the world.[22] The most widely accepted account of beginning of things as reported by Hesiod's Theogony, starts with Chaos, a yawning nothingness. Out of the void emerged Ge or Gaia (the Earth) and some other primary divine beings: Eros (Love), the Abyss (the Tartarus), and the Erebus.[23] Without male assistance Gaia gave birth to Uranus (the Sky) who then fertilised her. From that union were born, first, the Titans: six males and six females (Oceanus, Coeus and Crius and Hyperion and Iapetus, Theia and Rhea, Themis and Mnemosyne, Phoebe and Tethys, and Cronus); then the one-eyed Cyclopes and the Hecatonchires or Hundred-Handers. Cronus ("the wily, youngest and most terrible of [Gaia's] children"[23])castrated his father and became the ruler of the gods with his sister-wife Rhea as his consort and the other Titans became his court. This motif of father/son conflict was repeated when Cronus was confronted by his son, Zeus. After Cronus betrayed his father, he feared that his offspring would do the same, and so each time Rhea gave birth, he snatched up the child and ate it. Rhea hated this and tricked him by hiding Zeus and wrapping a stone in a baby's blanket, which Cronus ate. When Zeus was grown, he fed his father a drugged drink which caused Cronus to throw up Zeus' brothers and sisters, and one stone, which had been sitting in Cronus' stomach all along. Then Zeus challenged Cronus to war for the kingship of the gods. At last, with the help of the Cyclopes, (whom Zeus freed from Tarturus), Zeus and his siblings were victorious, while Cronus and the Titans were hurled down to imprisonment in Tartarus.[24]

The earliest Greek thought about poetry considered the theogony to be the prototypical poetic genre — the prototypical mythos — and imputed almost magical powers to it. Orpheus, the archetypal poet, was also the archetypal singer of theogonies, which he uses to calm seas and storms in Apollonius' Argonautica, and to move the stony hearts of the underworld gods in his descent to Hades. When Hermes invents the lyre in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, the first thing he does is sing the birth of the gods.[25] Hesiod's Theogony is not only the fullest surviving account of the gods, but also the fullest surviving account of the archaic poet's function, with its long preliminary invocation to the Muses. Theogony was also the subject of many lost poems, including those attributed to Orpheus, Musaeus, Epimenides, Abaris and other legendary seers, which were used in private ritual purifications and mystery-rites. There are indications that Plato was familiar with some version of the Orphic theogony.[26] A few fragments of these works survive in quotations by Neoplatonist philosophers and recently unearthed papyrus scraps. One of these scraps, the Derveni Papyrus now proves that at least in the 5th century BC a theogonic-cosmogonic poem of Orpheus was in existence. This poem attempted to outdo Hesiod's Theogony and the genealogy of the gods was extended back with Nyx (Night) as an ultimate beginning before Uranus, Cronus and Zeus.[27]

The first philosophical cosmologists reacted against, or sometimes built upon, popular mythical conceptions that had existed in the Greek world for some time. Some of these popular conceptions can be gleaned from the poetry of Homer and Hesiod. In Homer, the Earth was viewed as a flat disk afloat on the river of Oceanus and overlooked by a hemispherical sky with sun, moon and stars. The Sun (Helios) traversed the heavens as a charioteer and sailed around the Earth in a golden bowl at night. Sun, earth, heaven, rivers, and winds could be addressed in prayers and called to witness oaths. Natural fissures were popularly regarded as entrances to the subterranean house of Hades, home of the dead.[28]

Greek gods

According to Classical-era mythology, after the overthrow of the Titans, the new pantheon of gods and goddesses was confirmed. Among the principal Greek deities were the Olympians (The limitation of their number to twelve seems to have been a comparatively modern idea),[29] residing atop Mount Olympus under the eye of Zeus. Besides the Olympians, the Greeks worshiped various gods of the countryside, the goat-god Pan, Nymphs (spirits of rivers), Naiads (who dwelled in springs), Dryads (who were spirits of the trees), Nereids (who inhabited the sea), river gods, Satyrs, and others. In addition, there were the dark powers of the underworld, such as the Erinyes (or Furies), said to pursue those guilty of crimes against blood-relatives.[30] In order to honor the Ancient Greek pantheon, poets composed the Homeric Hymns (a group of thirty-three songs).[31] Gregory Nagy regards "the larger Homeric Hymns as simple preludes (compared with Theogony), each of which invokes one god".[32]

In the wide variety of myths and legends that Greek mythology consists of, the deities that were native to the Greek peoples are described as having essentially corporeal but ideal bodies. According to Walter Burkert, the defining characteristic of Greek anthropomorphism is that "the Greek gods are persons, not abstractions, ideas or concepts".[33] Regardless of their underlying forms, the Ancient Greek gods have many fantastic abilities; most significantly, the gods are not affected by disease, and can be wounded only under highly unusual circumstances. The Greeks considered immortality as the distinctive characteristic of their gods; this immortality, as well as unfading youth, was insured by the constant use of nectar and ambrosia, by which the divine blood was renewed in their veins.[34]
Zeus, disguised as a swan seduces Leda, the Queen of Sparta. A sixteenth century copy of the lost original by Michelangelo.
Zeus, disguised as a swan seduces Leda, the Queen of Sparta. A sixteenth century copy of the lost original by Michelangelo.

Each god descends from his or her own genealogy, pursues differing interests, has a certain area of expertise, and is governed by a unique personality; however, these descriptions arise from a multiplicity of archaic local variants, which do not always agree with one another. When these gods were called upon in poetry, prayer or cult, they are referred to by a combination of their name and epithets, that identify them by these distinctions from other manifestations of themselves (e.g. Apollo Musagetes is "Apollo, [as] leader of the Muses"). Alternatively the epithet may identify a particular and localized aspect of the god, sometimes thought to be already ancient during the classical epoch of Greece.

Most gods were associated with specific aspects of life. For example, Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty, Ares was the god of war, Hades the god of the dead, and Athena the goddess of wisdom and courage.[35] Some deities, such as Apollo and Dionysus, revealed complex personalities and mixtures of functions, while others, such as Hestia (literally "hearth") and Helios (literally "sun"), were little more than personifications. The most impressive temples tended to be dedicated to a limited number of gods, who were the focus of large pan-Hellenic cults. It was, however, common for individual regions and villages to devote their own cults to minor gods. Many cities also honored the more well-known gods with unusual local rites and associated strange myths with them that were unknown elsewhere. During the heroic age, the cult of heroes (or demi-gods) supplemented this of the gods.

Age of gods and humankind

Bridging the age when gods lived alone and the age when divine interference in human affairs was limited was a transitional age in which gods and humankind moved together. These were the early days of the world when the groups mingled more freely than they did later. Most of these tales were later told by Ovid's Metamorphoses and they are often divided in two thematic groups: tales of love, and tales of punishment.[36]

Tales of love often involve incest, or the seduction or rape of a mortal woman by a male god, resulting in heroic offspring. The stories generally suggest that relationships between gods and mortals are something to avoid; even consenting relationships rarely have happy endings.[37] In a few cases, a female divinity mates with a mortal man, as in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, where the goddess lies with Anchises to produce Aeneas.[38]
Dionysus with satyrs. Interior of a cup painted by the Brygos Painter, Cabinet des Médailles
Dionysus with satyrs. Interior of a cup painted by the Brygos Painter, Cabinet des Médailles

The second type (tales of punishment) involves the appropriation or invention of some important cultural artifact, as when Prometheus steals fire from the gods, when Tantalus steals nectar and ambrosia from Zeus' table and gives it to his own subjects—revealing to them the secrets of the gods, when Prometheus or Lycaon invents sacrifice, when Demeter teaches agriculture and the Mysteries to Triptolemus, or when Marsyas invents the aulos and enters into a musical contest with Apollo. Prometheus' adventures mark "a place between the history of the gods and that of man".[39] An anonymous papyrus fragment, dated to the third century, vividly portrays Dionysus' punishment of the king of Thrace, Lycurgus, whose recognition of the new god came too late, resulting in horrific penalties that extended into the afterlife.[40] The story of the arrival of Dionysus to establish his cult in Thrace was also the subject of an Aeschylean trilogy.[41] In another tragedy, Euripides' The Bacchae, the king of Thebes, Pentheus, is punished by Dionysus, because he disrespected the god and spied on his Maenads, the female worshippers of the god.[42]

In another story, based on an old folktale-motif,[43] and echoeing a similar theme, Demeter was searching for her daughter, Persephone, having taken the form of an old woman called Doso, and received a hospitable welcome from Celeus, the King of Eleusis in Attica. As a gift to Celeus, because of his hospitality, Demeter planned to make Demophon as a god, but she was unable to complete the ritual because his mother Metanira walked in and saw her son in the fire and screamed in fright, which angered Demeter, who lamented that foolish mortals do not understand the concept and ritual.[44]

Heroic age

The age in which the heroes lived is known as the heroic age.[45] The epic and genealogical poetry created cycles of stories clustered around particular heroes or events and established the family relationships between the heroes of different stories; they thus arranged the stories in sequence. According to Ken Dowden, "there is even a saga effect: we can follow the fates of some families in successive generations".[17]

After the rise of the hero cult, gods and heroes constitute the sacral sphere and are invoked together in oaths, and prayers which are addressed to them.[19] In contrast to the age of gods, during the heroic age the roster of heroes is never given fixed and final form; great gods are no longer born, but new heroes can always be raised up from the army of the dead. Another important difference between the hero cult and the cult of gods is that the hero becomes the centre of local group identity.[19]

The monumental events of Heracles are regarded as the dawn of the age of heroes. To the Heroic Age are also ascribed three great military events, the Argonautic expedition and the Trojan War as well as the Theban War.[46]

Heracles and the Heracleidae

Some scholars believe[who?] that behind Heracles' complicated mythology there was probably a real man, perhaps a chieftain-vassal of the kingdom of Argos. Some scholars suggest the story of Heracles is an allegory for the sun's yearly passage through the twelve constellations of the zodiac.[47] Others point to earlier myths from other cultures, showing the story of Heracles as a local adaptation of hero myths already well established. Traditionally, Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmene, granddaughter of Perseus.[48] His fantastic solitary exploits, with their many folk tale themes, provided much material for popular legend. He is portrayed as a sacrificier, mentioned as a founder of altars, and imagined as a voracious eater himself; it is in this role that he appears in comedy, while his tragic end provided much material for tragedy — Heracles is regarded by Thalia Papadopoulou as "a play of great significance in examination of other Euripidean dramas".[49] In art and literature Heracles was represented as an enormously strong man of moderate height; his characteristic weapon was the bow but frequently also the club. The vase paintings demonstrate the unparalleled popularity of Heracles, his fight with the lion being depicted many hundreds of times.[50]

Heracles also entered Etruscan and Roman mythology and cult, and the exclamation "mehercule" became as familiar to the Romans as "Herakleis" was to the Greeks.[50] In Italy he was worshipped as a god of merchants and traders, although others also prayed to him for his characteristic gifts of good luck or rescue from danger.[48]

Heracles attained the highest social prestige through his appointment as official ancestor of the Dorian kings. This probably served as a legitimation for the Dorian migrations into the Peloponnese. Hyllus, the eponymous hero of one Dorian phyle, became the son of Heracles and one of the Heracleidae or Heraclids (the numerous descendants of Heracles, especially the descendants of Hyllus — other Heracleidae included Macaria, Lamos, Manto, Bianor, Tlepolemus, and Telephus). These Heraclids conquered the Peloponnesian kingdoms of Mycenae, Sparta and Argos, claiming, according to legend, a right to rule it through their ancestor. Their rise to dominance is frequently called the "Dorian invasion". The Lydian and later the Macedonian kings, as rulers of the same rank, also became Heracleidae.[51]

Other members of this earliest generation of heroes, such as Perseus, Deucalion, Theseus and Bellerophon, have many traits in common with Heracles. Like him, their exploits are solitary, fantastic and border on fairy tale, as they slay monsters such as the Chimera and Medusa. Bellerophon's adventures are commonplace types, similar to the adventures of Heracles and Theseus. Sending a hero to his presumed death is also a recurrent theme of this early heroic tradition, used in the cases of Perseus and Bellerophon.[52]

Argonauts

The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes (epic poet, scholar, and director of the Library of Alexandria) tells the myth of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the mythical land of Colchis. In the Argonautica, Jason is impelled on his quest by king Pelias, who receives a prophecy that a man with one sandal would be his nemesis. Jason loses a sandal in a river, arrives at the court of Pelias, and the epic is set in motion. Nearly every member of the next generation of heroes, as well as Heracles, went with Jason in the ship Argo to fetch the Golden Fleece. This generation also included Theseus, who went to Crete to slay the Minotaur; Atalanta, the female heroine; and Meleager, who once had an epic cycle of his own to rival the Iliad and Odyssey. Pindar, Apollonius and Apollodorus endeavor to give full lists of the Argonauts.[53]

Although Apollonius wrote his poem in the 3rd century BC, the composition of the story of the Argonauts is earlier than Odyssey, which shows familiarity with the exploits of Jason (the wandering of Odysseus may have been partly founded on it).[54] In ancient times the expedition was regarded as a historical fact, an incident in the opening up of the Black Sea to Greek commerce and colonization.[55] It was also extremely popular, forming a cycle to which a number of local legends became attached. The story of Medea, in particular, caught the imagination of the tragic poets.[56]

House of Atreus and Theban Cycle

In between the Argo and the Trojan War, there was a generation known chiefly for its horrific crimes. This includes the doings of Atreus and Thyestes at Argos. Behind the myth of the house of Atreus (one of the two principal heroic dynasties with the house of Labdacus) lies the problem of the devolution of power and of the mode of accession to sovereignty. The twins Atreus and Thyestes with their descendants played the leading role in the tragedy of the devolution of power in Mycenae.[57]

The Theban Cycle deals with events associated especially with Cadmus, the city's founder, and later with the doings of Laius and Oedipus at Thebes; a series of stories that lead to the eventual pillage of that city at the hands of the Seven Against Thebes (it is not known whether the Seven against Thebes figured in early epic) and Epigoni.[58] As far as Oedipus is concerned, early epic accounts seem to have followed a different pattern (in which he continued to rule at Thebes after the revelation that Iokaste was his mother and subsequently married a second wife who became the mother of his children) from the one known to us through tragedy (e.g. Sophocles' "Oedipus the King") and later mythological accounts.[59]

Trojan War and aftermath

In The Rage of Achilles by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1757, Fresco, 300 x 300 cm, Villa Valmarana, Vicenza) Achilles is outraged that Agamemnon would threaten to seize his warprize, Briseis, and he draws his sword to kill Agamemnon. The sudden appearance of the goddess Minerva, who, in this fresco, has grabbed Achilles by the hair, prevents the act of violence.
In The Rage of Achilles by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1757, Fresco, 300 x 300 cm, Villa Valmarana, Vicenza) Achilles is outraged that Agamemnon would threaten to seize his warprize, Briseis, and he draws his sword to kill Agamemnon. The sudden appearance of the goddess Minerva, who, in this fresco, has grabbed Achilles by the hair, prevents the act of violence.

Greek mythology culminates in the Trojan War, fought between the Greeks and Troy, and its aftermath. In Homer's works the chief stories have already taken shape and substance, and individual themes were elaborated later, especially in Greek drama. The Trojan War acquired also a great interest for the Roman culture because of the story of Aeneas, a Trojan hero, whose journey from Troy led to the founding of the city that would one day become Rome, is recounted in Virgil's Aeneid (Book II of Virgil's Aeneid contains the best-known account of the sack of Troy).[60] Finally there are two pseudo-chronicles written in Latin that passed under the names of Dictys Cretensis and Dares Phrygius.[61]

The Trojan War cycle, a collection of epic poems, starts with the events leading up to the war: (Eris and the golden apple of Kallisti, the Judgement of Paris, the abduction of Helen, the sacrifice of Iphigenia at Aulis). To recover Helen, the Greeks launched a great expedition under the overall command of Menelaus' brother, Agamemnon, king of Argos or Mycenae, but The Trojans refused to return Helen. The Iliad, which is set in the tenth year of the war, tells of the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles, who was the finest Greek warrior, and the consequent deaths in battle of Achilles' friend Patroclus and Priam's eldest son, Hector. After Hector's death the Trojans were joined by two exotic allies, Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons, and Memnon, king of the Ethiopians and son of the dawn-goddess Eos.[62] Achilles killed both of these, but Paris then managed to kill Achilles with an arrow. Before they could take Troy, the Greeks had to steal from the citadel the wooden image of Pallas Athena (the Palladium). Finally, with Athena's help, they built the Trojan Horse. Despite the warnings of Priam's daughter Cassandra, the Trojans were persuaded by Sinon, a Greek who feigned desertion, to take the horse inside the walls of Troy as an offering to Athena; the priest Laocoon, who tried to have the horse destroyed, was killed by sea-serpents. At night the Greek fleet returned, and the Greeks from the horse opened the gates of Troy. In the total sack that followed, Priam and his remaining sons were slaughtered; the Trojan women passed into slavery in various cities of Greece. The adventurous homeward voyages of the Greek leaders (including the wanderings of Odysseus and Aeneas (the Aeneid), and the murder of Agamemnon) were told in two epics, the Returns (Nostoi; lost) and Homer's Odyssey.[63] The Trojan cycle also includes the adventures of the children of the Trojan generation (e.g. Orestes and Telemachus).[62]
El Greco was inspired in his Laocoon (1608–1614, oil on canvas, 142 x 193 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington) by the famous myth of the Trojan cycle. Laocoon was a Trojan priest who tried to have the Trojan horse destroyed, but was killed by sea-serpents.
El Greco was inspired in his Laocoon (1608–1614, oil on canvas, 142 x 193 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington) by the famous myth of the Trojan cycle. Laocoon was a Trojan priest who tried to have the Trojan horse destroyed, but was killed by sea-serpents.

The Trojan War provided a variety of themes and became a main source of inspiration for Ancient Greek artists (e.g. metopes on the Parthenon depicting the sack of Troy); this artistic preference for themes deriving from the Trojan Cycle indicates its importance for the Ancient Greek civilization.[63] The same mythological cycle also inspired a series of posterior European literary writings. For instance, Trojan Medieval European writers, unacquainted with Homer at first hand, found in the Troy legend a rich source of heroic and romantic storytelling and a convenient framework into which to fit their own courtly and chivalric ideals. 12th century authors, such as Benoît de Sainte-Maure (Roman de Troie [Romance of Troy, 1154–60]) and Joseph of Exeter (De Bello Troiano [On the Trojan War, 1183]) describe the war while rewriting the standard version they found in Dictys and Dares. They thus follow Horace's advice and Virgil's example: they rewrite a poem of Troy instead of telling something completely new.[64]

Greek and Roman conceptions of myth

Mythology was at the heart of everyday life in Ancient Greece.[65] Greeks regarded mythology as a part of their history. They used myth to explain natural phenomena, cultural variations, traditional enmities and friendships. It was a source of pride to be able to trace one's leaders' descent from a mythological hero or a god. Few ever doubted that there was truth behind the account of the Trojan War in the Iliad and Odyssey. According to Victor Davis Hanson, a military historian, columnist, political essayist and former Classics professor, and John Heath, associate professor of Classics at Santa Clara University, the profound knowledge of the Homeric epos was deemed by the Greeks the basis of their acculturation. Homer was the "education of Greece" (Ἑλλάδος παίδευσις), and his poetry "the Book".[66]

Philosophy and myth
Raphael's Plato in The School of Athens fresco (probably in the likeness of Leonardo da Vinci). The philosopher expelled the study of Homer, of the tragedies and of the related mythological traditions from his utopian Republic.
Raphael's Plato in The School of Athens fresco (probably in the likeness of Leonardo da Vinci). The philosopher expelled the study of Homer, of the tragedies and of the related mythological traditions from his utopian Republic.

After the rise of philosophy, and history, prose and rationalism in the late 5th century BC the fate of myth became uncertain, and mythological genealogies gave place to a conception of history which tried to exclude the supernatural (such as the Thucydidean history).[67] While poets and dramatists were reworking the myths, Greek historians and philosophers were beginning to criticize them.[6]

A few radical philosophers like Xenophanes of Colophon were already beginning to label the poets' tales as blasphemous lies in the 6th century BC; Xenophanes had complained that Homer and Hesiod attributed to the gods "all that is shameful and disgraceful among men; they steal, commit adultery, and deceive one another".[68] This line of thought found its most sweeping expression in Plato's Republic and Laws. Plato created his own allegorical myths (such as the vision of Er in the Republic), attacked the traditional tales of the gods' tricks, thefts and adulteries as immoral, and objected to their central role in literature.[6] Plato's criticism was the first serious challenge to the Homeric mythological tradition,[66] referring to the myths as "old wives' chatter".[69] For his part Aristotle criticized the Pre-socratic quasi-mythical philosophical approach and underscored that "Hesiod and the theological writers were concerned only with what seemed plausible to themselves, and had no respect for us [...] But it is not worth taking seriously writers who show off in the mythical style; as for those who do proceed by proving their assertions, we must cross-examine them".[67]

Nevertheless, even Plato did not manage to wean himself and his society from the influence of myth; his own characterization for Socrates is based on the traditional Homeric and tragic patterns, used by the philosopher to praise the righteous life of his teacher:[70]
“ But perhaps someone might say: "Are you then not ashamed, Socrates, of having followed such a pursuit, that you are now in danger of being put to death as a result?" But I should make to him a just reply: "You do not speak well, Sir, if you think a man in whom there is even a little merit ought to consider danger of life or death, and not rather regard this only, when he does things, whether the things he does are right or wrong and the acts of a good or a bad man. For according to your argument all the demigods would be bad who died at Troy, including the son of Thetis, who so despised danger, in comparison with enduring any disgrace, that when his mother (and she was a goddess) said to him, as he was eager to slay Hector, something like this, I believe,

My son, if you avenge the death of your friend Patroclus and kill Hector, you yourself shall die;
for straightway, after Hector, is death appointed unto you (Hom. Il. 18.96) [...] "

Hanson and Heath estimate that Plato's rejection of the Homeric tradition was not favorably received by the grassroots Greek civilization.[66] The old myths were kept alive in local cults; they continued to influence poetry, and to form the main subject of painting and sculpture.[67]

More sportingly, the 5th century BC tragedian Euripides often played with the old traditions, mocking them, and through the voice of his characters injecting notes of doubt. Yet the subjects of his plays were taken, without exception, from myth. Many of these plays were written in answer to a predecessor's version of the same or similar myth. Euripides impugns mainly the myths about the gods and begins his critique with an objection similar to the one previously expressed by Xenocrates: the gods, as traditionally represented, are far too crassly anthropomorphic.[68]

Hellenistic and Roman rationalism
Cicero saw himself as the defender of the established order, despite his personal scepticism with regard to myth and his inclination towards more philosophical conceptions of divinity.
Cicero saw himself as the defender of the established order, despite his personal scepticism with regard to myth and his inclination towards more philosophical conceptions of divinity.

During the Hellenistic period, mythology took on the prestige of elite knowledge that marks its possessors as belonging to a certain class. At the same time, the skeptical turn of the Classical age became even more pronounced.[71] Greek mythographer Euhemerus established the tradition of seeking an actual historical basis for mythical beings and events.[72] Although his original work (Sacred Scriptures) is lost, much is known about it from what is recorded by Diodorus and Lactantius.[73]

Rationalizing hermeneutics of myth became even more popular under the Roman Empire, thanks to the physicalist theories of Stoic and Epicurean philosophy. Stoics presented explanations of the gods and heroes as physical phenomena, while the euhemerists rationalized them as historical figures. At the same time, the Stoics and the Neoplatonists promoted the moral significations of the mythological tradition, often based on Greek etymologies.[74] Through his Epicurean message, Lucretius had sought to expel superstitious fears from the minds of his fellow-citizens.[75] Livy, too, is sceptical about the mythological tradition and claims that he does not intend to pass judgement on such legends (fabulae).[76] The challenge for Romans with a strong and apologetic sense of religious tradition was to defend that tradition while conceding that it was often a breeding-ground for superstition. The antiquarian Varro, who regarded religion as a human institution with great importance for the preservation of good in society, devoted rigorous study to the origins of religious cults. In his Antiquitates Rerum Divinarum (which has not survived, but Augustine's City of God indicates its general approach) Varro argues that whereas the superstitious man fears the gods, the truly religious person venerates them as parents.[75] In his work he distinguished three kinds of gods:

Roman Academic Cotta ridicules both literal and allegorical acceptance of myth, declaring roundly that myths have no place in philosophy.[77] Cicero is also generally disdainful of myth, but, like Varro, he is emphatic in his support for the state religion and its institutions. It is difficult to know how far down the social scale this rationalism extended.[76] Cicero asserts that no one (not even old women and boys) is so foolish as to believe in the terrors of Hades or the existence of Scyllas, centaurs or other composite creatures,[78] but, on the other hand, the orator elsewhere complains of the superstitious and credulous character of the people.[79] De Natura Deorum is the most comprehensive summary of Cicero's line of thought.[80]

Syncretizing trends

In Roman religion the worship of the Greek god Apollo (early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original, Louvre Museum) was combined with the cult of Sol Invictus. The worship of Sol as special protector of the emperors and of the empire remained the chief imperial religion until it was replaced by Christianity.
In Roman religion the worship of the Greek god Apollo (early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original, Louvre Museum) was combined with the cult of Sol Invictus. The worship of Sol as special protector of the emperors and of the empire remained the chief imperial religion until it was replaced by Christianity.

In Ancient Roman times, a new Roman mythology was born through syncretization of numerous Greek and other foreign gods. This occurred because the Romans had little mythology of their own and inheritance of the Greek mythological tradition caused the major Roman gods to adopt characteristics of their Greek equivalents.[76] The gods Zeus and Jupiter are an example of this mythological overlap. In addition to the combination of the two mythological traditions, the association of the Romans with eastern religions led to further syncretizations.[81] For instance, the cult of Sun was introduced in Rome after Aurelian's successful campaigns in Syria. The Asiatic divinities Mithras (that is to say, the Sun) and Ba'al were combined with Apollo and Helios into one Sol Invictus, with conglomerated rites and compound attributes.[82] Apollo might be increasingly identified in religion with Helios or even Dionysus, but texts retelling his myths seldom reflected such developments. The traditional literary mythology was increasingly dissociated from actual religious practice.

The surviving 2nd century collection of Orphic Hymns and Macrobius's Saturnalia are influenced by the theories of rationalism and the syncretizing trends as well. The Orphic Hymns are a set of pre-classical poetic compositions, attributed to Orpheus, himself the subject of a renowned myth. In reality, these poems were probably composed by several different poets, and contain a rich set of clues about prehistoric European mythology.[83] The stated purpose of the Saturnalia is to transmit the Hellenic culture he has derived from his reading, even though much of his treatment of gods is colored by Egyptian and North African mythology and theology (which also affect the interpretation of Virgil). In Saturnalia reappear mythographical comments influenced by the euhemerists, the Stoics and the Neoplatonists.[74]

Modern interpretations

The genesis of modern understanding of Greek mythology is regarded by some scholars as a double reaction at the end of the eighteenth century against "the traditional attitude of Christian animosity", in which the Christian reinterpretation of myth as a "lie" or fable had been retained.[84] In Germany, by about 1795, there was a growing interest in Homer and Greek mythology. In Göttingen Johann Matthias Gesner began to revive Greek studies, while his successor, Christian Gottlob Heyne, worked with Johann Joachim Winckelmann, and laid the foundations for mythological research both in Germany and elsewhere.[85]

Comparative and psychoanalytic approaches
Max Müller is regarded as one of the founders of comparative mythology. In his Comparative Mythology (1867) Müller analysed the "disturbing" similarity between the mythologies of "savage" races with those of the early European races.
Max Müller is regarded as one of the founders of comparative mythology. In his Comparative Mythology (1867) Müller analysed the "disturbing" similarity between the mythologies of "savage" races with those of the early European races.

The development of comparative philology in the 19th century, together with ethnological discoveries in the 20th century, established the science of myth. Since the Romantics, all study of myth has been comparative. Wilhelm Mannhardt, Sir James Frazer, and Stith Thompson employed the comparative approach to collect and classify the themes of folklore and mythology.[86] In 1871 Edward Burnett Tylor published his Primitive Culture, in which he applied the comparative method and tried to explain the origin and evolution of religion.[87] Tylor's procedure of drawing together material culture, ritual and myth of widely separated cultures influenced both Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell. Max Müller applied the new science of comparative mythology to the study of myth, in which he detected the distorted remains of Aryan nature worship. Bronisław Malinowski emphasized the ways myth fulfills common social functions. Claude Lévi-Strauss and other structuralists have compared the formal relations and patterns in myths throughout the world.[86]
For Karl Kerényi mythology is "a body of material contained in tales about gods and god-like beings, heroic battles and journeys to the Underworld—mythologem is the best Greek word for them—tales already well-known but not amenable to further re-shaping".
For Karl Kerényi mythology is "a body of material contained in tales about gods and god-like beings, heroic battles and journeys to the Underworld—mythologem is the best Greek word for them—tales already well-known but not amenable to further re-shaping".[88]

Sigmund Freud introduced a transhistorical and biological conception of man and a view of myth as an expression of repressed ideas. Dream interpretation is the basis of Freudian myth interpretation and Freud's concept of dreamwork recognizes the importance of contextual relationships for the interpretation of any individual element in a dream. This suggestion would find an important point of rapprochment between the structuralist and psychoanalytic approaches to myth in Freud's thought.[89] Carl Jung extended the transhistorical, psychological approach with his theory of the "collective unconscious" and the archetypes (inherited "archaic" patterns), often encoded in myth, that arise out of it.[2] According to Jung, "myth-forming structural elements must be present in the unconscious psyche".[90] Comparing Jung's methodology with Joseph Campbell's theory, Robert A. Segal concludes that "to interpret a myth Campbell simply identifies the archetypes in it. An interpretation of the Odyssey, for example, would show how Odysseus’s life conforms to a heroic pattern. Jung, by contrast, considers the identification of archetypes merely the first step in the interpretation of a myth".[91] Karl Kerenyi, one of the founders of modern studies in Greek mythology, gave up his early views of myth, in order to apply Jung's theories of archetypes to Greek myth.[92]

Origin theories

There are various modern theories about the origins of Greek mythology. According to the Scriptural Theory, all mythological legends are derived from the narratives of the Scriptures, although the real facts have been disguised and altered.[93] According to the Historical Theory all the persons mentioned in mythology were once real human beings, and the legends relating to them are merely the additions of later times. Thus the story of Aeolus is supposed to have risen from the fact that Aeolus was the ruler of some islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea.[94] The Allegorical Theory supposes that all the ancient myths were allegorical and symbolical. While the Physical Theory subscribed to the idea that the elements of air, fire, and water were originally the objects of religious adoration, thus the principal deities were personifications of these powers of nature.[95] Max Müller attempted to understand an Indo-European religious form by tracing it back to its Aryan, "original" manifestation. In 1891, he claimed that "the most important discovery which has been made during the nineteenth century with respect to the ancient history of mankind [...] was this sample equation: Sanskrit Dyaus-pitar = Greek Zeus = Latin Jupiter = Old Norse Tyr".[96] In other cases, close parallels in character and function suggest a common heritage, yet lack of linguistic evidence makes it difficult to prove, as in the comparison between Uranus and the Sanskrit Varuna or the Moirae and the Norns.[97]
Aphrodite and Adonis, Attic red-figure aryballos-shaped lekythos by Aison (c. 410 BC, Louvre, Paris).
Aphrodite and Adonis, Attic red-figure aryballos-shaped lekythos by Aison (c. 410 BC, Louvre, Paris).

Archaeology and mythography, on the other hand, has revealed that the Greeks were inspired by some of the civilizations of Asia Minor and the Near East. Adonis seems to be the Greek counterpart — more clearly in cult than in myth — of a Near Eastern "dying god". Cybele is rooted in Anatolian culture while much of Aphrodite's iconography springs from Semitic goddesses. There are also possible parallels between the earliest divine generations (Chaos and its children) and Tiamat in the Enuma Elish.[98] According to Meyer Reinhold, "near Eastern theogonic concepts, involving divine succession through violence and generational conflicts for power, found their way [...] into Greek mythology".[99] In addition to Indo-European and Near Eastern origins, some scholars have speculated on the debts of Greek mythology to the pre-Hellenic societies: Crete, Mycenae, Pylos, Thebes and Orchomenus.[100] Historians of religion were fascinated by a number of apparently ancient configurations of myth connencted with Crete (the god as bull, Zeus and Europa, Pasiphaë who yields to the bull and gives birth to the Minotaur etc.) Professor Martin P. Nilsson concluded that all great classical Greek myths were tied to Mycenaen centres and were anchored in prehistoric times.[101] Nevertheless, according to Burkert, the iconography of the Cretan Palace Period has provided almost no confirmation for these theories.[102]

Motifs in Western art and literature

Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (c. 1485–1486, oil on canvas, Uffizi, Florence) — a revived Venus Pudica for a new view of pagan Antiquity—is often said to epitomize for modern viewers the spirit of the Renaissance.
Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (c. 1485–1486, oil on canvas, Uffizi, Florence) — a revived Venus Pudica for a new view of pagan Antiquity—is often said to epitomize for modern viewers the spirit of the Renaissance.[2]

The widespread adoption of Christianity did not curb the popularity of the myths. With the rediscovery of classical antiquity in the Renaissance, the poetry of Ovid became a major influence on the imagination of poets, dramatists, musicians and artists.[103] From the early years of Renaissance, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael, portrayed the pagan subjects of Greek mythology alongside more conventional Christian themes.[103] Through the medium of Latin and the works of Ovid, Greek myth influenced medieval and Renaissance poets such as Petrarch, Boccaccio and Dante in Italy.[2]

In Northern Europe, Greek mythology never took the same hold of the visual arts, but its effect was very obvious on literature. The English imagination was fired by Greek mythology starting with Chaucer and John Milton and continuing through Shakespeare to Robert Bridges in the 20th century. Racine in France and Goethe in Germany revived Greek drama, reworking the ancient myths.[103] Although during the Enlightenment of the 18th century reaction against Greek myth spread throughout Europe, the myths continued to provide an important source of raw material for dramatists, including those who wrote the libretti for many of Handel's and Mozart's operas.[104] By the end of the 18th century, Romanticism initiated a surge of enthusiasm for all things Greek, including Greek mythology. In Britain, new translations of Greek tragedies and Homer inspired contemporary poets (such as Alfred Lord Tennyson, Keats, Byron and Shelley) and painters (such as Lord Leighton and Lawrence Alma-Tadema).[105] Christoph Gluck, Richard Strauss, Jacques Offenbach and many others set Greek mythological themes to music.[2] American authors of the 19th century, such as Thomas Bulfinch and Nathaniel Hawthorne, held that the study of the classical myths was essential to the understanding of English and American literature.[106] In more recent times, classical themes have been reinterpreted by dramatists Jean Anouilh, Jean Cocteau, and Jean Giraudoux in France, Eugene O'Neill in America, and T. S. Eliot in Britain and by novelists such as James Joyce and André Gide.[2]

Book of Greek Myths [AUDIOBOOK-4 CD] Rapidshare

2008-08-03T01:29:00.000-07:00

download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/134477047/greek_myths.rar.html

password: musicheaven

Egyptian pyramids

2008-07-30T06:55:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Pyramids of Egypt are among the largest structures ever built [1] and constitute one of the most potent and enduring symbols of Ancient Egyptian civilization. Most were built during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods.[2]
Contents

* 1 Historic development
* 2 Pyramid symbolism
* 3 Number and location of pyramids
o 3.1 Abu Rawash
o 3.2 Giza
o 3.3 Zawyet el-Aryan
o 3.4 Abu Sir
o 3.5 Saqqara
o 3.6 Dahshur
o 3.7 Mazghuna
o 3.8 Lisht
o 3.9 Meidum
o 3.10 Hawara
o 3.11 el-Lahun
o 3.12 Construction dates
* 4 See also
* 5 Notes & references
o 5.1 References
* 6 Further reading
o 6.1 External links

By the time of the early dynastic period of Egyptian history, those with sufficient means were buried in bench-like structures known as mastabas.

The first historically documented Egyptian pyramid is attributed to the architect Imhotep, who planned what Egyptologists believe to be a tomb for the pharaoh Djozer. Imhotep may have been the first to conceive the notion of stacking mastabas on top of each other — creating an edifice composed of a number of "steps" that decreased in size towards its apex. The result was the Step Pyramid of Djozer — which was designed to serve as a gigantic stairway by which the soul of the deceased pharaoh could ascend to the heavens. Such was the importance of Imhotep's achievement that he was deified by later Egyptians.

The most prolific pyramid-building phase coincided with the greatest degree of absolutist pharaonic rule. It was during this time that the most famous pyramids, those near Giza, were built. Over time, as authority became less centralized, the ability and willingness to harness the resources required for construction on a massive scale decreased, and later pyramids were smaller, less well-built and often hastily constructed.

Long after the end of Egypt's own pyramid-building period, a burst of pyramid-building occurred in what is present-day Sudan, after much of Egypt came under the rule of the Kings of Napata. While Napatan rule was brief and ceased in 661 BCE, the Egyptian influence made an indelible impression, and during the later Sudanese Kingdom of Meroe (approximately in the period between 300 BCE–300 CE) this flowered into a full-blown pyramid-building revival, which saw more than two hundred indigenous, but Egyptian-inspired royal pyramid-tombs constructed in the vicinity of the kingdom's capital city.

Pyramid symbolism

The shape of Egyptian pyramids is thought to represent the primordial mound from which the Egyptians believed the earth was created. The shape is also thought to be representative of the descending rays of the sun, and most pyramids were faced with polished, highly reflective white limestone, in order to give them a brilliant appearance when viewed from a distance. Pyramids were often also named in ways that referred to solar luminescence. For example, the formal name of the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur was The Southern Shining Pyramid, and that of Senwosret at el-Lahun was Senwosret is Shining.

While it is generally agreed that pyramids were burial monuments, there is continued disagreement on the particular theological principles that might have given rise to them. One theory is that they were designed as a type of "resurrection machine"

The Egyptians believed the dark area of the night sky around which the stars appear to revolve was the physical gateway into the heavens. One of the narrow shafts that extends from the main burial chamber through the entire body of the Great Pyramid points directly towards the center of this part of the sky. This suggests the pyramid may have been designed to serve as a means to magically launch the deceased pharaoh's soul directly into the abode of the gods.

All Egyptian pyramids were built on the west bank of the Nile, which as the site of the setting sun was associated with the realm of the dead in Egyptian mythology.[7]

Number and location of pyramids

The number of pyramid structures in Egypt today is reported by most sources as being between 81 and 112[citation needed], with a majority favouring the higher number. In 1842 Karl Richard Lepsius made a list of pyramids, in which he counted 67. Pyramid 29 that Lepsius called the "Headless Pyramid" remained lost until being found in an archaeological dig in 2008.[8] A great many more Pyramids have since been discovered.

The imprecise nature of the count is related to the fact that as many smaller pyramids are in a poor state of preservation and appear as little more than mounds of rubble, they are only now being properly identified and studied by archaeologists. Most are grouped in a number of pyramid fields, the most important of which are listed geographically, from north to south, below.

Abu Rawash

Abu Rawash is the site of Egypt's most northerly pyramid (other than the ruins of Lepsius pyramid number one)[2]— the mostly ruined Pyramid of Djedefre, son and successor of Khufu. Originally it was thought that this pyramid had never been completed, but the current archaeological consensus is that not only was it completed, but that it was originally about the same size as the Pyramid of Menkaure, which would have made it among the half-dozen or so largest pyramids in Egypt.

Its location adjacent to a major crossroads made it an easy source of stone. Quarrying — which began in Roman times — has left little apart from a few courses of stone superimposed upon the natural hillock that formed part of the pyramid's core. A small adjacent satellite pyramid is in a better state of preservation.

Giza

Giza is the location of the Pyramid of Khufu (also known as the "Great Pyramid" and the "Pyramid of Cheops"); the somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre (or Kephren); the relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure (or Mykerinus), along with a number of smaller satellite edifices known as "Queen's pyramids"; and the Great Sphinx.

Of the three, only Khafre's pyramid retains part of its original polished limestone casing, near its apex. This pyramid appears larger than the adjacent Khufu pyramid by virtue of its more elevated location, and the steeper angle of inclination of its construction — it is, in fact, smaller in both height and volume.

The Giza Necropolis has been a popular tourist destination since antiquity, and was popularized in Hellenistic times when the Great Pyramid was listed by Antipater of Sidon as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Today it is the only one of those wonders still in existence.

Zawyet el-Aryan

This site, halfway between Giza and Abu Sir, is the location for two unfinished Old Kingdom pyramids. The northern structure's owner is believed to be the Pharaoh Nebka, whilst the southern structure is attributed to the Third Dynasty Pharaoh Khaba, also known as Hudjefa, successor to Sekhemkhet. Khaba's four-year tenure as pharaoh more than likely explains the similar premature truncation of his step pyramid. Today it is approximately twenty meters in height; had it been completed it is likely to have exceeded 40.

Abu Sir

There are a total of seven pyramids at this site, which served as the main royal necropolis during the Fifth Dynasty. The quality of construction of the Abu Sir pyramids is inferior to those of the Fourth Dynasty — perhaps signaling a decrease in royal power or a less vibrant economy. They are smaller than their predecessors, and are built of low-quality local limestone.

The three major pyramids are those of Niuserre (which is also the most intact), Neferirkare Kakai and Sahure. The site is also home to the incomplete Pyramid of Neferefre. All of the major pyramids at Abu Sir were built as step pyramids, although the largest of them — the Pyramid of Neferirkare Kakai — is believed to have originally been built as a step pyramid some 70 metres in height and then later transformed into a "true" pyramid by having its steps filled in with loose masonry.

Saqqara

Major pyramids located here include the Step Pyramid of Djozer — generally identified as the world's oldest substantial monumental structure to be built of finished stone — the Pyramid of Merykare, the Pyramid of Userkaf and the Pyramid of Teti. Also at Saqqara is the Pyramid of Unas, which retains a pyramid causeway that is one of the best-preserved in Egypt. This pyramid was also the subject of one of the earliest known restoration attempts, conducted by a son of Ramesses II. Saqqara is also the location of the incomplete step pyramid of Djozer's successor Sekhemkhet, known as the Buried Pyramid. Archaeologists believe that had this pyramid been completed it would have been larger than Djozer's.

South of the main pyramid field at Saqqara is a second collection of later, smaller pyramids, including those of Pepi I, Isesi, Merenre, Ibi, Pepi II and Shepseskaf. Most of these are in a poor state of preservation.

Dahshur

This area is arguably the most important pyramid field in Egypt outside Giza and Saqqara, although until 1996 the site was inaccessible due to its location within a military base, and hence was virtually unknown outside archaeological circles.

The southern Pyramid of Sneferu, commonly known as the Bent Pyramid is believed to be the first (or by some accounts, second) attempt at creating a pyramid with smooth sides. In this it was only a partial — but nonetheless visually arresting — success; it remains the only Egyptian pyramid to retain a significant proportion of its original limestone casing, and serves as the best example of the luminous appearance common to all pyramids in their original state. The northern, or Red Pyramid built at the same location by Sneferu was later successfully completed as the world's first true smooth-sided pyramid. Despite its relative obscurity, the Red Pyramid is actually the third largest pyramid in Egypt — after the pyramids of Khufu and Khafre at Giza. Also at Dahshur is the pyramid known as the Black Pyramid of Amenemhet III.

Mazghuna

Located to the south of Dahshur, this area was used in the First Intermediate Period by several kings who constructed their pyramids out of mudbrick. Today these structures are obscure and unimpressive.

Lisht

Two major pyramids are known to have been built at Lisht — those of Amenemhat I and his son, Senusret I. The latter is surrounded by the ruins of ten smaller subsidiary pyramids. One of these subsidiary pyramids is known to be that of Amenemhat's cousin, Khaba II.[9] The site which is in the vicinity of the oasis of Fayyum, midway between Dahshur and Meidum, and about 100 kilometres south of Cairo, is believed to be in the vicinity of the ancient city of Itjtawy (the precise location of which remains unknown), which served as the capital of Egypt during the 12th Dynasty.

Meidum

The pyramid at Meidum is one of three constructed during the reign of Sneferu, and is believed by some to have been started by that pharaoh's father and predecessor, Huni. However, this is not very likely, as his name does not appear on the site. Some archaeologists also suggest that the Meidum pyramid may have been the first unsuccessful attempt at the construction of a "true" or smooth-sided pyramid.

The pyramid suffered a catastrophic collapse in antiquity, and today only the central parts of its stepped inner core remain standing, giving it an odd tower-like appearance that is unique among Egyptian pyramids. The hill that the pyramid sits atop is not a natural landscape feature — it is the small mountain of debris created when the lower courses and outer casing of the pyramid gave way.

Hawara

Amenemhet III was the last powerful ruler of the 12th Dynasty, and the pyramid he built at Hawarra, near Faiyum, is believed to post-date the so-called "Black Pyramid" built by the same ruler at Dahshur. It is the Hawarra pyramid that is believed to have been Amenemhet's final resting place.

el-Lahun

The pyramid of Senusret II at el-Lahun is the southernmost royal-tomb pyramid structure in Egypt. Its builders reduced the amount of work necessary to construct it by ingeniously using as its foundation and core a 12-meter-high natural limestone hill.

Egyptian Mythology - list of characters

2008-07-30T06:48:00.000-07:00

* Aaru: Abode of the blessed dead.
* Amen (Amon, Ammdn): One of chief Theban deities; united with sun god under form of Amen-Ra; husband of Mut.
* Amenti: Region of dead where souls were judged by Osiris.
* Anubis: Guide of souls to Amenti; son of Osiris; jackal-headed.
* Apis: Sacred bull, an embodiment of Ptah; identified with Osiris as Osiris-Apis or Serapis.
* Geb (Keb, Seb): Earth god; father of Osiris; represented with goose on head.
* Hathor (Athor): Goddess of love and mirth; cow-headed.
* Horus: God of day; son of Osiris and Isis; hawk-headed.
* Isis: Goddess of motherhood and fertility; sister and wife of Osiris.
* Khepera: God of morning sun.
* Khnemu (Khnum, Chnuphis, Chnemu, Chnum): Ram-headed god.
* Khonsu (Khensu, Khuns): Son of Amen and Mut.
* Mentu (Ment): Solar deity, sometimes considered god of war; falcon-headed.
* Min (Khem, Chem): Principle of physical life.
* Mut (Maut): Wife of Amen.
* Nephthys: Goddess of the dead; sister and wife of Set.
* Nu: Chaos from which world was created, personified as a god.
* Nut: Goddess of heavens; consort of Geb.
* Osiris: God of underworld and judge of dead; son of Geb and Nut; brother and husband of Isis.
* Ptah (Phtha): Chief deity of Memphis.
* Ra: God of the Sun, the supreme god; son of Nut; Pharaohs claimed descent from him; represented as lion, cat, or falcon.
* Serapis: God uniting attributes of Osiris and Apis.
* Set (Seth): God of darkness or evil; brother and enemy of Osiris; brother and husband of Nephthys.
* Shu: Solar deity; son of Ra and Hathor.
* Tem (Atmu, Atum, Tum): Solar deity.
* Thoth (Dhouti): God of wisdom and magic; scribe of gods; ibis-headed.

Monsters in Greek Mythology

2008-07-30T06:41:00.000-07:00

Argus

Argus may have had as many as one hundred eyes, which were located all over his body. Hera employed him as a guard. He was killed by Hermes. Afterward, Hera put Argus's eyes in the tail of the peacock, her favorite bird. (as seen in the picture<<)

Cerberus
Cerberus was a huge and powerful three-headed dog. He was owned by Hades, god of the dead, who used the fearsome hound to guard the entrance to the underworld. In his final labor, Hercules went to the underworld and kidnapped Cerberus.

Cyclopes
Each of the Cyclopes was gigantic and had a single eye in the middle of its forehead. The Cyclopes made lightning and thunderbolts for Zeus to use. The brutal Polyphemus, a Cyclops and a son of Poseidon, lived on an island, where he was blinded by Odysseus.

Gorgons
The Gorgons were horrifyingly ugly monsters who lived at the edge of the world. Their hair was made of serpents, and one look from a Gorgon's eyes would turn a man to stone. Perseus killed the Gorgon Medusa by beheading her while looking only at her reflection.

Hydra
The Hydra was a massive and poisonous serpent with nine heads. Every time one head was injured, another two grew in its place. Hercules sought out the monster in its dark marsh and succeeded in destroying it.

Minotaur
The Minotaur was a man-eating monster with the head of a bull. King Minos kept it hidden in a labyrinth (a maze) in Knossos, on the island of Crete, where he used it to frighten his enemies. Theseus killed the Minotaur.

Scylla and Charybdis
The powerful monsters Scylla and Charybdis lived together in a sea cave. Scylla had many fierce dog heads and ate sailors alive; Charybdis created whirlpools by sucking in and spitting out seawater. Both Jason and Odysseus safely traveled by these monsters.

Sirens
The Sirens were giant, winged creatures with the heads of women. They lived on rocks on the sea, where their beautiful singing lured sailors to shipwreck. Odysseus filled his sailors' ears with wax so that they might sail safely past the Sirens.

The Twelve Labors of Hercules

2008-07-30T06:39:00.000-07:00

Hercules performed twelve labors given him by King Eurystheus of Tiryns. For twelve years, he traveled all over to complete these incredible tasks. NOTE: Because different ancient poets gave their own accounts of Hercules's labors, some details may vary.
One: Kill the Nemean Lion

This monster of a lion had a hide was so tough that no arrow could pierce it. Hercules stunned the beast with his olive-wood club and then strangled it with his bare hands. It is said that he skinned the lion, using the lion's sharp claws, and ever after wore its hide.
Two: Kill the Lernean Hydra

The evil, snakelike Hydra had nine heads. If one got hurt, two would grow in its place. But Hercules quickly sliced off the heads, while his charioteer, Iolaus, sealed the wounds with a torch. Hercules made his arrows poisonous by dipping them in the Hydra's blood.
Three: Capture the Cerynian Hind

The goddess Artemis loved and protected this stubborn little deer, which had gold horns. Hercules found it a challenge to capture the delicate hind without hurting it (and making Artemis angry). After following the hind for an entire year, he safely carried it away.
Four: Capture the Erymanthian Boar

The people of Mount Erymanthus lived in fear of this deadly animal. Hercules chased the wild boar up the mountain and into a snowdrift. He then took it in a net and brought it to King Eurystheus, who was so frightened of the beast that he hid in a huge bronze jar.
Five: Clean the Augean Stables

Thousands of cows lived in these stables belonging to King Augeas. They had not been cleaned in 30 years, but Hercules was told to clean them completely in a single day. To do so he made two rivers bend so that they flowed into the stables, sweeping out the filth.
Six: Kill the Stymphalian Birds

These murderous birds lived around Lake Stymphalos. Their claws and beaks were sharp as metal and their feathers flew like darts. Hercules scared them out of their nests with a rattle and then killed them with the poison arrows he had made from the Hydra's blood.
Seven: Capture the Cretan Bull

This savage bull, kept by King Minos of Crete, was said to be insane and breathe fire. Hercules wrestled the mad beast to the ground and brought it back to King Eurystheus. Unfortunately, the king set it free, and it roamed Greece, causing terror wherever it went.
Eight: Capture the Horses of Diomedes

King Diomedes, leader of the Bistones, fed his bloodthirsty horses on human flesh. Hercules and his men fought and killed King Diomedes and fed the king to his horses. This made the horses tame, so that Hercules was able to lead them to King Eurystheus.
Nine: Take the Girdle of the Amazon Queen Hippolyte

Hercules went to the land of the Amazons, where the queen welcomed him and agreed to give him her girdle for Eurystheus's daughter. But Hera spread the rumor that Hercules came as an enemy. In the end he had to conquer the Amazons and steal the golden belt.
Ten: Capture the Cattle of Geryon

Geryon, a winged monster with three human bodies, had a herd of beautiful red cattle. He guarded his prized herd with the help of a giant and a vicious two-headed dog. Hercules killed Geryon, the giant, and the dog and brought the cattle to King Eurystheus.
Eleven: Take the Golden Apples of the Hesperides

The Hesperides were nymphs. In their garden grew golden apples protected by Ladon, a dragon with a hundred heads. Hercules struck a bargain with Atlas, who held up the earth. Hercules shouldered the earth while Atlas, the nymphs' father, fetched the apples.
Twelve: Capture Cerberus

Hercules was ordered to capture Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of the underworld, without using weapons. Hercules wrestled down the dog's wild heads, and it agreed to go with him to King Eurystheus. Cerberus was soon returned unharmed to the underworld.

Greek and Roman Mythology - list of characters

2008-07-30T06:37:00.000-07:00

Most of the Greek deities were adopted by the Romans, although in many cases there was a change of name. In the list below, information is given under the Greek name; the name in parentheses is the Roman equivalent. However, all Latin names are listed with cross-references to the Greek ones. In addition, there are several deities that are exclusively Roman. Bold words within entries indicate cross references.

* Achelous: River god; son of Oceanus and Tethys and said to be the father of the Sirens.
* Acheron: One of several Rivers of Underworld.
* Achilles: Greek warrior; slew Hector at Troy; slain by Paris, who wounded him in his vulnerable heel.
* Actaeon: Hunter; surprised Artemis bathing; changed by her to stag; and killed by his dogs.
* Admetus: King of Thessaly; his wife, Alcestis, offered to die in his place.
* Adonis: Beautiful youth loved by Aphrodite.
* Aeacus: One of three judges of dead in Hades; son of Zeus.
* Aeëtes: King of Colchis; father of Medea; keeper of Golden Fleece.
* Aegeus: Father of Theseus; believing Theseus killed in Crete, he drowned himself; Aegean Sea named for him.
* Aegisthus: Son of Thyestes; slew Atreus; with Clytemnestra, his paramour, slew Agamemnon; slain by Orestes.
* Aegyptus: Brother of Danaus; his sons, except Lynceus, slain by Danaides.
* Aeneas: Trojan; son of Anchises and Aphrodite; after fall of Troy, led his followers eventually to Italy; loved and deserted Dido.
* Aeolus: One of several Winds.
* Aesculapius: See Asclepius.
* Aeson: King of Ioclus; father of Jason; overthrown by his brother Pelias; restored to youth by Medea.
* Aether: Personification of sky.
* Aethra: Mother of Theseus.
* Agamemnon: King of Mycenae; son of Atreus; brother of Menelaus; leader of Greeks against Troy; slain on his return home by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus.
* Aglaia: One of several Graces.
* Ajax: Greek warrior; killed himself at Troy because Achilles's armor was awarded to Odysseus.
* Alcestis: Wife of Admetus; offered to die in his place but saved from death by Hercules.
* Alcmene: Wife of Amphitryon; mother by Zeus of Hercules.
* Alcyone: One of several Pleiades.
* Alecto: One of several Furies.
* Alectryon: Youth changed by Ares into cock.
* Althaea: Wife of Oeneus; mother of Meleager.
* Amazons: Female warriors in Asia Minor; supported Troy against Greeks.
* Amor: See Eros.
* Amphion: Musician; husband of Niobe; charmed stones to build fortifications for Thebes.
* Amphitrite: Sea goddess; wife of Poseidon.
* Amphitryon: Husband of Alcmene.
* Anchises: Father of Aeneas.
* Ancile: Sacred shield that fell from heavens; palladium of Rome.
* Andraemon: Husband of Dryope.
* Andromache: Wife of Hector.
* Andromeda: Daughter of Cepheus; chained to cliff for monster to devour; rescued by Perseus.
* Anteia: Wife of Proetus; tried to induce Bellerophon to elope with her.
* Anteros: God who avenged unrequited love.
* Antigone: Daughter of Oedipus; accompanied him to Colonus; performed burial rite for Polynices and hanged herself.
* Antinoüs: Leader of suitors of Penelope; slain by Odysseus.
* Aphrodite (Venus): Goddess of love and beauty; daughter of Zeus and Dione; mother of Eros.
* Apollo: God of beauty, poetry, music; later identified with Helios as Phoebus Apollo; son of Zeus and Leto.
* Aquilo: One of several Winds.
* Arachne: Maiden who challenged Athena to weaving contest; changed to spider.
* Ares (Mars): God of war; son of Zeus and Hera.
* Argo: Ship in which Jason and followers sailed to Colchis for Golden Fleece.
* Argus: Monster with hundred eyes; slain by Hermes; his eyes placed by Hera into peacock's tail.
* Ariadne: Daughter of Minos; aided Theseus in slaying Minotaur; deserted by him on island of Naxos and married to Dionysus.
* Arion: Musician; thrown overboard by pirates but saved by dolphin.
* Artemis (Diana): Goddess of moon; huntress; twin sister of Apollo.
* Asclepius (Aesculapius): Mortal son of Apollo; slain by Zeus for raising dead; later deified as god of medicine. Also known as Asklepios.
* Astarte: Phoenician goddess of love; variously identified with Aphrodite, Selene, and Artemis.
* Asterope: See Sterope.
* Astraea: Goddess of Justice; daughter of Zeus and Themis.
* Atalanta: Princess who challenged her suitors to a foot race; Hippomenes won race and married her.
* Athena (Minerva): Goddess of wisdom; known poetically as Pallas Athene; sprang fully armed from head of Zeus.
* Atlas: Titan; held world on his shoulders as punishment for warring against Zeus; son of Iapetus.
* Atreus: King of Mycenae; father of Menelaus and Agamemnon; brother of Thyestes, three of whose sons he slew and served to him at banquet; slain by Aegisthus.
* Atropos: One of several Fates.
* Aurora: See Eos.
* Auster: One of several Winds.
* Avernus: Infernal regions; name derived from small vaporous lake near Vesuvius which was fabled to kill birds and vegetation.
* Bacchus: See Dionysus.
* Bellerophon: Corinthian hero; killed Chimera with aid of Pegasus; tried to reach Olympus on Pegasus and was thrown to his death.
* Bellona: Roman goddess of war.
* Boreas: One of several Winds.
* Briareus: Monster of hundred hands; son of Uranus and Gaea.
* Briseis: Captive maiden given to Achilles; taken by Agamemnon in exchange for loss of Chryseis, which caused Achilles to cease fighting, until death of Patroclus.
* Cadmus: Brother of Europa; planter of dragon seeds from which first Thebans sprang.
* Calliope: One of several Muses.
* Calypso: Sea nymph; kept Odysseus on her island Ogygia for seven years.
* Cassandra: Daughter of Priam; prophetess who was never believed; slain with Agamemnon.
* Castor: One of Dioscuri.
* Celaeno: One of several Pleiades.
* Centaurs: Beings half man and half horse; lived in mountains of Thessaly.
* Cephalus: Hunter; accidentally killed his wife Procris with his spear.
* Cepheus: King of Ethiopia; father of Andromeda.
* Cerberus: Three-headed dog guarding entrance to Hades.
* Ceres: See Demeter.
* Chaos: Formless void; personified as first of gods.
* Charon: Boatman on Styx who carried souls of dead to Hades; son of Erebus.
* Charybdis: Female monster; personification of whirlpool.
* Chimera: Female monster with head of lion, body of goat, tail of serpent; killed by Bellerophon.
* Chiron: Most famous of centaurs.
* Chronos: Personification of time.
* Chryseis: Captive maiden given to Agamemnon; his refusal to accept ransom from her father Chryses caused Apollo to send plague on Greeks besieging Troy.
* Circe: Sorceress; daughter of Helios; changed Odysseus's men into swine.
* Clio: One of several Muses.
* Clotho: One of several Fates.
* Clytemnestra: Wife of Agamemnon, whom she slew with aid of her paramour, Aegisthus; slain by her son Orestes.
* Cocytus: One of several Rivers of Underworld.
* Creon: Father of Jocasta; forbade burial of Polynices; ordered burial alive of Antigone.
* Creüsa: Princess of Corinth, for whom Jason deserted Medea; slain by Medea, who sent her poisoned robe; also known as Glaüke.
* Creusa: Wife of Aeneas; died fleeing Troy.
* Cronus (Saturn): Titan; god of harvests; son of Uranus and Gaea; dethroned by his son Zeus.
* Cupid: See Eros.
* Cybele: Anatolian nature goddess; adopted by Greeks and identified with Rhea.
* Cyclopes: Race of one-eyed giants (singular: Cyclops).
* Daedalus: Athenian artificer; father of Icarus; builder of Labyrinth in Crete; devised wings attached with wax for him and Icarus to escape Crete.
* Danae: Princess of Argos; mother of Perseus by Zeus, who appeared to her in form of golden shower.
* Danaïdes: Daughters of Danaüs; at his command, all except Hypermnestra slew their husbands, the sons of Aegyptus.
* Danaüs: Brother of Aegyptus; father of Danaïdes; slain by Lynceus.
* Daphne: Nymph; pursued by Apollo; changed to laurel tree.
* Decuma: One of several Fates.
* Deino: One of several Graeae.
* Demeter (Ceres): Goddess of agriculture; mother of Persephone.
* Diana: See Artemis.
* Dido: Founder and queen of Carthage; stabbed herself when deserted by Aeneas.
* Diomedes: Greek hero; with Odysseus, entered Troy and carried off Palladium, sacred statue of Athena.
* Diomedes: Owner of man-eating horses, which Hercules, as ninth labor, carried off.
* Dione: Titan goddess; mother by Zeus of Aphrodite.
* Dionysus (Bacchus): God of wine; son of Zeus and Semele.
* Dioscuri: Twins Castor and Pollux; sons of Leda by Zeus.
* Dis: See Pluto, Hades.
* Dryads: Wood nymphs.
* Dryope: Maiden changed to Hamadryad.
* Echo: Nymph who fell hopelessly in love with Narcissus; faded away except for her voice.
* Electra: Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra; sister of Orestes; urged Orestes to slay Clytemnestra and Aegisthus.
* Electra: One of several Pleiades.
* Elysium: Abode of blessed dead.
* Endymion: Mortal loved by Selene.
* Enyo: One of several Graeae.
* Eos (Aurora): Goddess of dawn.
* Epimetheus: Brother of Prometheus; husband of Pandora.
* Erato: One of several Muses.
* Erebus: Spirit of darkness; son of Chaos.
* Erinyes: One of several Furies.
* Eris: Goddess of discord.
* Eros (Amor or Cupid): God of love; son of Aphrodite.
* Eteocles: Son of Oedipus, whom he succeeded to rule alternately with Polynices; refused to give up throne at end of year; he and Polynices slew each other.
* Eumenides: One of several Furies.
* Euphrosyne: One of several Graces.
* Europa: Mortal loved by Zeus, who, in form of white bull, carried her off to Crete.
* Eurus: One of several Winds.
* Euryale: One of several Gorgons.
* Eurydice: Nymph; wife of Orpheus.
* Eurystheus: King of Argos; imposed twelve labors on Hercules.
* Euterpe: One of several Muses.
* Fates: Goddesses of destiny; Clotho (Spinner of thread of life), Lachesis (Determiner of length), and Atropos (Cutter of thread); also called Moirae. Identified by Romans with their goddesses of fate; Nona, Decuma, and Morta; called Parcae.
* Fauns: Roman deities of woods and groves.
* Faunus: See Pan.
* Favonius: One of several Winds.
* Flora: Roman goddess of flowers.
* Fortuna: Roman goddess of fortune.
* Furies: Avenging spirits; Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone; known also as Erinyes or Eumenides.
* Gaea: Goddess of earth; daughter of Chaos; mother of Titans; known also as Ge, Gea, Gaia, etc.
* Galatea: Statue of maiden carved from ivory by Pygmalion; given life by Aphrodite.
* Galatea: Sea nymph; loved by Polyphemus.
* Ganymede: Beautiful boy; successor to Hebe as cupbearer of gods.
* Glaucus: Mortal who became sea divinity by eating magic grass.
* Golden Fleece: Fleece from ram that flew Phrixos to Colchis; Aeëtes placed it under guard of dragon; carried off by Jason.
* Gorgons. Female monsters; Euryale, Medusa, and Stheno; had snakes for hair; their glances turned mortals to stone.
* Graces: Beautiful goddesses: Aglaia (Brilliance), Euphrosyne (Joy), and Thalia (Bloom); daughters of Zeus.
* Graeae. Sentinels for Gorgons.; Deino, Enyo, and Pephredo; had one eye among them, which passed from one to another.
* Hades (Dis): Name sometimes given Pluto; also, abode of dead, ruled by Pluto.
* Haemon: Son of Creon; promised husband of Antigone; killed himself in her tomb.
* Hamadryads: Tree nymphs.
* Harpies: Monsters with heads of women and bodies of birds.
* Hebe (Juventas): Goddess of youth; cupbearer of gods before Ganymede; daughter of Zeus and Hera.
* Hecate: Goddess of sorcery and witchcraft.
* Hector: Son of Priam; slayer of Patroclus; slain by Achilles.
* Hecuba: Wife of Priam.
* Helen: Fairest woman in world; daughter of Zeus and Leda; wife of Menelaus; carried to Troy by Paris, causing Trojan War.
* Heliades: Daughters of Helios; mourned for Phaëthon and were changed to poplar trees.
* Helios (Sol): God of sun; later identified with Apollo.
* Helle: Sister of Phrixos; fell from ram of Golden Fleece; water where she fell named Hellespont.
* Hephaestus (Vulcan): God of fire; celestial blacksmith; son of Zeus and Hera; husband of Aphrodite.
* Hera (Juno): Queen of heaven; wife of Zeus.
* Hercules: Hero and strong man; son of Zeus and Alcmene; performed twelve labors or deeds to be free from bondage under Eurystheus; after death, his mortal share was destroyed, and he became immortal. Also known as Herakles or Heracles. Labors: (1) killing Nemean lion; (2) killing Lernaean Hydra; (3) capturing Erymanthian boar; (4) capturing Cerynean hind; (5) killing man-eating Stymphalian birds; (6) procuring girdle of Hippolyte; (7) cleaning Augean stables; (8) capturing Cretan bull; (9) capturing man-eating horses of Diomedes; (10) capturing cattle of Geryon; (11) procuring golden apples of Hesperides; (12) bringing Cerberus up from Hades.
* Hermes (Mercury): God of physicians and thieves; messenger of gods; son of Zeus and Maia.
* Hero: Priestess of Aphrodite; Leander swam Hellespont nightly to see her; drowned herself at his death.
* Hesperus: Evening star.
* Hestia (Vesta): Goddess of hearth; sister of Zeus.
* Hippolyte: Queen of Amazons; wife of Theseus.
* Hippolytus: Son of Theseus and Hippolyte; falsely accused by Phaedra of trying to kidnap her; slain by Poseidon at request of Theseus.
* Hippomenes: Husband of Atalanta, whom he beat in race by dropping golden apples, which she stopped to pick up.
* Hyacinthus: Beautiful youth accidentally killed by Apollo, who caused flower to spring up from his blood.
* Hydra: Nine-headed monster in marsh of Lerna; slain by Hercules.
* Hygeia: Personification of health.
* Hymen: God of marriage.
* Hyperion: Titan; early sun god; father of Helios.
* Hypermnestra: Daughter of Danaüs; refused to kill her husband Lynceus.
* Hypnos (Somnus): God of sleep.
* Iapetus: Titan; father of Atlas, Epimetheus, and Prometheus.
* Icarus: Son of Daedalus; flew too near sun with wax-attached wings and fell into sea and was drowned.
* Io: Mortal maiden loved by Zeus; changed by Hera into heifer.
* Iobates: King of Lycia; sent Bellerophon to slay Chimera.
* Iphigenia: Daughter of Agamemnon; offered as sacrifice to Artemis at Aulis; carried by Artemis to Tauris where she became priestess; escaped from there with Orestes.
* Iris: Goddess of rainbow; messenger of Zeus and Hera.
* Ismene: Daughter of Oedipus; sister of Antigone.
* Iulus: Son of Aeneas.
* Ixion: King of Lapithae; for making love to Hera he was bound to endlessly revolving wheel in Tartarus.
* Janus: Roman god of gates and doors; represented with two opposite faces.
* Jason: Son of Aeson; to gain throne of Ioclus from Pelias, went to Colchis and brought back Golden Fleece; married Medea; deserted her for Creüsa.
* Jocasta: Wife of Laius; mother of Oedipus; unwittingly became wife of Oedipus; hanged herself when relationship was discovered.
* Juno: See Hera.
* Jupiter: See Zeus.
* Juventas: See Hebe.
* Lachesis: One of several Fates.
* Laius: Father of Oedipus, by whom he was slain.
* Laocoön: Priest of Apollo at Troy; warned against bringing wooden horse into Troy; destroyed with his two sons by serpents sent by Athena.
* Lares: Roman ancestral spirits protecting descendants and homes.
* Latona: See Leto.
* Lavinia: Wife of Aeneas after defeat of Turnus.
* Leander: Swam Hellespont nightly to see Hero; drowned in storm.
* Leda: Mortal loved by Zeus in form of swan; mother of Helen, Clytemnestra, Dioscuri.
* Lethe: One of several Rivers of Underworld.
* Leto (Latona): Mother by Zeus of Artemis and Apollo.
* Lucina: Roman goddess of childbirth; identified with Juno.
* Lynceus: Son of Aegyptus; husband of Hypermnestra; slew Danaüs.
* Maia: Daughter of Atlas; mother of Hermes.
* Maia: One of several Pleiades.
* Manes: Souls of dead Romans, particularly of ancestors.
* Mars: See Ares.
* Marsyas: Shepherd; challenged Apollo to music contest and lost; flayed alive by Apollo.
* Medea: Sorceress; daughter of Aeëtes; helped Jason obtain Golden Fleece; when deserted by him for Creüsa, killed her children and Creüsa.
* Medusa: One of several Gorgons. slain by Perseus, who cut off her head.
* Megaera: One of several Furies.
* Meleager: Son of Althaea; his life would last as long as brand burning at his birth; Althaea quenched and saved it but destroyed it when Meleager slew his uncles.
* Melpomene: One of several Muses.
* Memnon: Ethiopian king; made immortal by Zeus; son of Tithonus and Eos.
* Menelaus: King of Sparta; son of Atreus; brother of Agamemnon; husband of Helen.
* Mentor: Tutor of Telemachus and friend of Odysseus. In the Odyssey, on several occasions, Athena assumes form of Mentor to give advice to Telemachus or Odysseus
* Mercury: See Hermes.
* Merope: One of several Pleiades. Merope is said to have hidden in shame for loving a mortal.
* Mezentius: Cruel Etruscan king; ally of Turnus against Aeneas; slain by Aeneas.
* Midas: King of Phrygia; given gift of turning to gold all he touched.
* Minerva: See Athena.
* Minos: King of Crete; after death, one of three judges of dead in Hades; son of Zeus and Europa.
* Minotaur: Monster, half man and half beast, kept in Labyrinth in Crete; slain by Theseus.
* Mnemosyne: Goddess of memory; mother by Zeus of Muses.
* Moirae: One of several Fates.
* Momus: God of ridicule.
* Morpheus: God of dreams.
* Mors: See Thanatos.
* Morta: One of several Fates.
* Muses: Goddesses presiding over arts and sciences: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Erato (lyric and love poetry), Euterpe (music), Melpomene (tragedy), Polymnia or Polyhymnia (sacred poetry), Terpsichore (choral dance and song), Thalia (comedy and bucolic poetry), Urania (astronomy); daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne.
* Naiads: Nymphs of waters, streams, and fountains.
* Napaeae: Wood nymphs.
* Narcissus: Beautiful youth loved by Echo; in punishment for not returning her love, he was made to fall in love with his image reflected in pool; pined away and became flower.
* Nemesis: Goddess of retribution.
* Neoptolemus: Son of Achilles; slew Priam; also known as Pyrrhus.
* Neptune: See Poseidon.
* Nereids: Sea nymphs; attendants on Poseidon.
* Nestor: King of Pylos; noted for wise counsel in expedition against Troy.
* Nike: Goddess of victory.
* Niobe: Daughter of Tantalus; wife of Amphion; her children slain by Apollo and Artemis; changed to stone but continued to weep her loss.
* Nona: One of several Fates.
* Notus: One of several Winds.
* Nox: See Nyx.
* Nymphs: Beautiful maidens; minor deities of nature.
* Nyx (Nox): Goddess of night.
* Oceanids: Ocean nymphs; daughters of Oceanus.
* Oceanus: Eldest of Titans; god of waters.
* Odysseus (Ulysses): King of Ithaca; husband of Penelope; wandered ten years after fall of Troy before arriving home.
* Oedipus: King of Thebes; son of Laius and Jocasta; unwittingly murdered Laius and married Jocasta; tore his eyes out when relationship was discovered.
* Oenone: Nymph of Mount Ida; wife of Paris, who abandoned her; refused to cure him when he was poisoned by arrow of Philoctetes at Troy.
* Ops: See Rhea.
* Oreads: Mountain nymphs.
* Orestes: Son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra; brother of Electra; slew Clytemnestra and Aegisthus; pursued by Furies until his purification by Apollo.
* Orion: Hunter; slain by Artemis and made heavenly constellation.
* Orpheus: Famed musician; son of Apollo and Muse Calliope; husband of Eurydice.
* Pales: Roman goddess of shepherds and herdsmen.
* Palinurus: Aeneas' pilot; fell overboard in his sleep and was drowned.
* Pan (Faunus): God of woods and fields; part goat; son of Hermes.
* Pandora: Opener of box containing human ills; mortal wife of Epimetheus.
* Parcae: One of several Fates.
* Paris: Son of Priam; gave apple of discord to Aphrodite, for which she enabled him to carry off Helen; slew Achilles at Troy; slain by Philoctetes.
* Patroclus: Great friend of Achilles; wore Achilles' armor and was slain by Hector.
* Pegasus: Winged horse that sprang from Medusa's body at her death; ridden by Bellerophon when he slew Chimera.
* Pelias: King of Ioclus; seized throne from his brother Aeson; sent Jason for Golden Fleece; slain unwittingly by his daughters at instigation of Medea.
* Pelops: Son of Tantalus; his father cooked and served him to gods; restored to life; Peloponnesus named for him.
* Penates: Roman household gods.
* Penelope: Wife of Odysseus; waited faithfully for him for many years while putting off numerous suitors.
* Pephredo: One of several Graeae.
* Periphetes: Giant; son of Hephaestus; slain by Theseus.
* Persephone (Proserpine): Queen of infernal regions; daughter of Zeus and Demeter; wife of Pluto.
* Perseus: Son of Zeus and Danaë; slew Medusa; rescued Andromeda from monster and married her.
* Phaedra: Daughter of Minos; wife of Theseus; caused the death of her stepson, Hippolytus.
* Phaethon: Son of Helios; drove his father's sun chariot and was struck down by Zeus before he set world on fire.
* Philoctetes: Greek warrior who possessed Hercules' bow and arrows; slew Paris at Troy with poisoned arrow.
* Phineus: Betrothed of Andromeda; tried to slay Perseus but turned to stone by Medusa's head.
* Phlegethon: One of several Rivers of Underworld.
* Phosphor: Morning star.
* Phrixos: Brother of Helle; carried by ram of Golden Fleece to Colchis.
* Pirithous: Son of Ixion; friend of Theseus; tried to carry off Persephone from Hades; bound to enchanted rock by Pluto.
* Pleiades: Alcyone, Celaeno, Electra, Maia, Merope, Sterope or Asterope, Taygeta; seven daughters of Atlas; transformed into heavenly constellation, of which six stars are visible (Merope is said to have hidden in shame for loving a mortal).
* Pluto (Dis): God of Hades; brother of Zeus.
* Plutus: God of wealth.
* Pollux: One of Dioscuri.
* Polyhymnia: See Polymnia.
* Polymnia (Polyhymnia): One of several Muses.
* Polynices: Son of Oedipus; he and his brother Eteocles killed each other; burial rite, forbidden by Creon, performed by his sister Antigone.
* Polyphemus: Cyclops; devoured six of Odysseus's men; blinded by Odysseus.
* Polyxena: Daughter of Priam; betrothed to Achilles, whom Paris slew at their betrothal; sacrificed to shade of Achilles.
* Pomona: Roman goddess of fruits.
* Pontus: Sea god; son of Gaea.
* Poseidon (Neptune): God of sea; brother of Zeus.
* Priam: King of Troy; husband of Hecuba; ransomed Hector's body from Achilles; slain by Neoptolemus.
* Priapus: God of regeneration.
* Procris: Wife of Cephalus, who accidentally slew her.
* Procrustes: Giant; stretched or cut off legs of victims to make them fit iron bed; slain by Theseus.
* Proetus: Husband of Anteia; sent Bellerophon to Iobates to be put to death.
* Prometheus: Titan; stole fire from heaven for man. Zeus punished him by chaining him to rock in Caucasus where vultures devoured his liver daily.
* Proserpine: See Persephone.
* Proteus: Sea god; assumed various shapes when called on to prophesy.
* Psyche: Beloved of Eros; punished by jealous Aphrodite; made immortal and united with Eros.
* Pygmalion: King of Cyprus; carved ivory statue of maiden which Aphrodite gave life as Galatea.
* Pyramus: Babylonian youth; made love to Thisbe through hole in wall; thinking Thisbe slain by lion, killed himself.
* Python: Serpent born from slime left by Deluge; slain by Apollo.
* Quirinus: Roman war god.
* Remus: Brother of Romulus; slain by him.
* Rhadamanthus: One of three judges of dead in Hades; son of Zeus and Europa.
* Rhea (Ops): Daughter of Uranus and Gaea; wife of Cronus; mother of Zeus; identified with Cybele.
* Rivers of Underworld. Acheron (woe), Cocytus (wailing), Lethe (forgetfulness), Phlegethon (fire), Styx (across which souls of dead were ferried by Charon).
* Romulus: Founder of Rome; he and Remus suckled in infancy by she-wolf; slew Remus; deified by Romans.
* Sarpedon: King of Lycia; son of Zeus and Europa; slain by Patroclus at Troy.
* Saturn: See Cronus.
* Satyrs: Hoofed demigods of woods and fields; companions of Dionysus.
* Sciron: Robber; forced strangers to wash his feet, then hurled them into sea where tortoise devoured them; slain by Theseus.
* Scylla: Female monster inhabiting rock opposite Charybdis; menaced passing sailors.
* Selene: Goddess of moon.
* Semele: Daughter of Cadmus; mother by Zeus of Dionysus; demanded Zeus appear before her in all his splendor and was destroyed by his lightning bolts.
* Sibyis: Various prophetesses; most famous, Cumaean sibyl, accompanied Aeneas into Hades.
* Sileni: Minor woodland deities similar to satyrs (singular: silenus). Sometimes Silenus refers to eldest of satyrs, son of Hermes or of Pan.
* Silvanus: Roman god of woods and fields.
* Sinis: Giant; bent pines, with which he hurled victims against side of mountain; slain by Theseus.
* Sirens: Minor deities who lured sailors to destruction with their singing.
* Sisyphus: King of Corinth; condemned in Tartarus to roll huge stone to top of hill; it always rolled back down again.
* Sol: See Helios.
* Somnus: See Hypnos.
* Sphinx: Monster of Thebes; killed those who could not answer her riddle; slain by Oedipus. Name also refers to other monsters having body of lion, wings, and head and bust of woman.
* Sterope (Asterope): One of several Pleiades.
* Stheno: One of several Gorgons.
* Styx: One of several Rivers of Underworld. The souls of the dead were ferried across the Styx by Charon.
* Symplegades: Clashing rocks at entrance to Black Sea; Argo passed through, causing them to become forever fixed.
* Syrinx: Nymph pursued by Pan; changed to reeds, from which he made his pipes.
* Tantalus: Cruel king; father of Pelops and Niobe; condemned in Tartarus to stand chin-deep in lake surrounded by fruit branches; as he tried to eat or drink, water or fruit always receded.
* Tartarus: Underworld below Hades; often refers to Hades.
* Taygeta: One of several Pleiades.
* Telemachus: Son of Odysseus; made unsuccessful journey to find his father.
* Tellus: Roman goddess of earth.
* Terminus: Roman god of boundaries and landmarks.
* Terpsichore: One of several Muses.
* Terra: Roman earth goddess.
* Thalia: One of several Graces. Also one of several Muses.
* Thanatos (Mors): God of death.
* Themis: Titan goddess of laws of physical phenomena; daughter of Uranus; mother of Prometheus.
* Theseus: Son of Aegeus; slew Minotaur; married and deserted Ariadne; later married Phaedra.
* Thisbe: Beloved of Pyramus; killed herself at his death.
* Thyestes: Brother of Atreus; Atreus killed three of his sons and served them to him at banquet.
* Tiresias: Blind soothsayer of Thebes.
* Tisiphone: One of several Furies.
* Titans: Early gods from which Olympian gods were derived; children of Uranus and Gaea.
* Tithonus: Mortal loved by Eos; changed into grasshopper.
* Triton: Demigod of sea; son of Poseidon.
* Turnus: King of Rutuli in Italy; betrothed to Lavinia; slain by Aeneas.
* Ulysses: See Odysseus.
* Urania: One of several Muses.
* Uranus: Personification of Heaven; husband of Gaea; father of Titans; dethroned by his son Cronus.
* Venus: See Aphrodite.
* Vertumnus: Roman god of fruits and vegetables; husband of Pomona.
* Vesta: See Hestia.
* Vulcan: See Hephaestus.
* Winds: Aeolus (keeper of winds), Boreas (Aquilo) (north wind), Eurus (east wind), Notus (Auster) (south wind), Zephyrus (Favonius) (west wind).
* Zephyrus: One of several Winds.
* Zeus (Jupiter): Chief of Olympian gods; son of Cronus and Rhea; husband of Hera.

List of characters from Norse mythology

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Norse Mythology

* Aesir: Chief gods of Asgard.
* Andvari: Dwarf; robbed of gold and magic ring by Loki.
* Angerbotha (Angrbotha): Giantess; mother by Loki of Fenrir, Hel, and Midgard serpent.
* Asgard (Asgarth): Abode of gods.
* Ask (Aske, Askr): First man; created by Odin, Hoenir, and Lothur.
* Asynjur: Goddesses of Asgard.
* Atli: Second husband of Gudrun; invited Gunnar and Hogni to his court, where they were slain; slain by Gudrun.
* Audhumia (Audhumbla): Cow that nourished Ymir; created Buri by licking ice cliff.
* Balder (Baldr, Baldur): God of light, spring, peace, joy; son of Odin; slain by Hoth at instigation of Loki.
* Bifrost: Rainbow bridge connecting Midgard and Asgard.
* Bragi (Brage): God of poetry; husband of Ithunn.
* Branstock: Great oak in hall of Volsungs; into it, Odin thrust Gram, which only Sigmund could draw forth.
* Brynhild: Valkyrie; wakened from magic sleep by Sigurd; married Gunnar; instigated death of Sigurd; killed herself and was burned on pyre beside Sigurd.
* Bur (Bor): Son of Buri; father of Odin, Hoenir, and Lothur.
* Buri (Bori): Progenitor of gods; father of Bur; created by Audhumla.
* Embla: First woman; created by Odin, Hoenir, and Lothur.
* Fafnir: Son of Rodmar, whom he slew for gold in Otter's skin; in form of dragon, guarded gold; slain by Sigurd.
* Fenrir: Wolf; offspring of Loki; swallows Odin at Ragnarok and is slain by Vitharr.
* Forseti: Son of Balder.
* Frey (Freyr): God of fertility and crops; son of Njorth; originally one of Vanir.
* Freya (Freyja): Goddess of love and beauty; sister of Frey; originally one of Vanir.
* Frigg (Frigga): Goddess of sky; wife of Odin.
* Garm: Watchdog of Hel; slays, and is slain by, Tyr at Ragnarok.
* Gimle: Home of blessed after Ragnarok.
* Giuki: King of Nibelungs; father of Gunnar, Hogni, Guttorm, and Gudrun.
* Glathsehim (Gladsheim): Hall of gods in Asgard.
* Gram (meaning “Angry”): Sigmund's sword; rewelded by Regin; used by Sigurd to slay Fafnir.
* Greyfell: Sigmund's horse; descended from Sleipnir.
* Grimhild: Mother of Gudrun; administered magic potion to Sigurd which made him forget Brynhild.
* Gudrun: Daughter of Giuki; wife of Sigurd; later wife of Atli and Jonakr.
* Gunnar: Son of Giuki; in his semblance Sigurd won Brynhild for him; slain at hall of Atli.
* Guttorm: Son of Giuki; slew Sigurd at Brynhild's request.
* Heimdall (Heimdallr): Guardian of Asgard.
* Hel: Goddess of dead and queen of underworld; daughter of Loki.
* Hiordis: Wife of Sigmund; mother of Sigurd.
* Hoenir: One of creators of Ask and Embla; son of Bur.
* Hogni: Son of Giuki; slain at hall of Atli.
* Hoth (Hoder, Hodur): Blind god of night and darkness; slayer of Balder at instigation of Loki.
* Ithunn (Ithun, Iduna): Keeper of golden apples of youth; wife of Bragi.
* Jonakr: Third husband of Gudrun.
* Jormunrek: Slayer of Swanhild; slain by sons of Gudrun.
* Jotunnheim (Jotunheim): Abode of giants.
* Lif and Lifthrasir: First man and woman after Ragnarok.
* Loki: God of evil and mischief; instigator of Balder's death.
* Lothur (Lodur): One of creators of Ask and Embla.
* Midgard (Midgarth): Abode of mankind; the earth.
* Midgard Serpent: Sea monster; offspring of Loki; slays, and is slain by, Thor at Ragnarok.
* Mimir: Giant; guardian of well in Jotunnheim at root of Yggdrasill; knower of past and future.
* Mjollnir: Magic hammer of Thor.
* Nagifar: Ship to be used by giants in attacking Asgard at Ragnarok; built from nails of dead men.
* Nanna: Wife of Balder.
* Nibelungs: Dwellers in northern kingdom ruled by Giuki.
* Niflheim (Nifelheim): Outer region of cold and darkness; abode of Hel.
* Njorth: Father of Frey and Freya; originally one of Vanir.
* Norns: Demigoddesses of fate: Urth (Urdur) (past), Verthandi (Verdandi) (present), Skuld (future).
* Odin (Othin): Head of Aesir; creator of world with Vili and Ve; equivalent to Woden (Wodan, Wotan) in Teutonic mythology.
* Otter: Son of Rodmar; slain by Loki; his skin filled with gold hoard of Andvari to appease Rodmar.
* Ragnarok: Final destruction of present world in battle between gods and giants; some minor gods will survive, and Lif and Lifthrasir will repeople world.
* Regin: Blacksmith; son of Rodmar; foster-father of Sigurd.
* Rerir: King of Huns; son of Sigi.
* Rodmar: Father of Regin, Otter, and Fafnir; demanded Otter's skin be filled with gold; slain by Fafnir, who stole gold.
* Sif: Wife of Thor.
* Siggeir: King of Goths; husband of Signy; he and his sons slew Volsung and his sons, except Sigmund; slain by Sigmund and Sinflotli.
* Sigi: King of Huns; son of Odin.
* Sigmund: Son of Volsung; brother of Signy, who bore him Sinflotli; husband of Hiordis, who bore him Sigurd.
* Signy: Daughter of Volsung; sister of Sigmund; wife of Siggeir; mother by Sigmund of Sinflotli.
* Sigurd: Son of Sigmund and Hiordis; wakened Brynhild from magic sleep; married Gudrun; slain by Guttorm at instigation of Brynhild.
* Sigyn: Wife of Loki.
* Sinflotli: Son of Sigmund and Signy.
* Skuld: One of several Norns.
* Sleipnir (Sleipner): Eight-legged horse of Odin.
* Surt (Surtr): Fire demon; slays Frey at Ragnarok.
* Svartalfaheim: Abode of dwarfs.
* Swanhild: Daughter of Sigurd and Gudrun; slain by Jormunrek.
* Thor: God of thunder; oldest son of Odin; equivalent to Germanic deity Donar.
* Tyr: God of war; son of Odin; equivalent to Tiu in Teutonic mythology.
* Ull (Ullr): Son of Sif; stepson of Thor.
* Urth: One of several Norns.
* Valhalla (Valhall): Great hall in Asgard where Odin received souls of heroes killed in battle.
* Vali: Odin's son: Ragnarok survivor.
* Valkyries: Virgins, messengers of Odin, who selected heroes to die in battle and took them to Valhalla; generally considered as nine in number.
* Vanir: Early race of gods; three survivors, Njorth, Frey, and Freya, are associated with Aesir.
* Ve: Brother of Odin; one of creators of world.
* Verthandi: One of several Norns.
* Vili: Brother of Odin; one of creators of world.
* Vingolf: Abode of goddesses in Asgard.
* Vitharr (Vithar): Son of Odin; survivor of Ragnarok.
* Volsung: Descendant of Odin, and father of Signy, Sigmund; his descendants were called Volsungs.
* Yggdrasill: Giant ash tree springing from body of Ymir and supporting universe; its roots extended to Asgard, Jotunnheim, and Niffheim.
* Ymir (Ymer): Primeval frost giant killed by Odin, Vili, and Ve; world created from his body; also, from his body sprang Yggdrasill.

Norse mythology

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Norse gods were mortal, and they had to eat Iðunn's golden apples in order not to age until Ragnarök when most of them would die. Image by J. Penrose, 1890.
The Norse gods were mortal, and they had to eat Iðunn's golden apples in order not to age until Ragnarök when most of them would die. Image by J. Penrose, 1890.
Topics in Norse mythology Æsir (gods) Andhrímnir, Baldr, Borr, Bragi, Búri, Dagr, Delling, Forseti, Heimdall, Hermóðr, Höðr, Hœnir, Kvasir, Lóðurr, Loki, Móði and Magni, Óðr, Odin, Ríg, Thor, Tyr, Váli, Vé, Vidar, Vili
Ásynjur (goddesses) Bil, Eir, Frigg, Gná, Hlín, Iðunn, Jord, Lofn, Nanna, Nótt, Saga, Sif, Sigyn, Sjöfn, Snotra, Sól, Syn, Var, Vör, Þrúðr
Vanir
(gods and goddesses) Freyr (Yngvi), Freyja, Gullveig, Nerthus, Njord, Ullr
Norns (fates) Urd, Verdandi, Skuld
Valkyries Brynhildr, Göndul, Gunnr, Hildr, Hlaðgunnr, Róta, Skuld, Sigrdrífa, Sigrún, Skögul, Sváva, Þrúðr
Elves (Álfar) Beyla, Byggvir, Dökkálfar, Svartálfar, Volund
Jotuns (giants) Ægir, Angrboda, Baugi, Beli, Bergelmir, Bestla, Billing, Bolthorn, Byleist, Elli, Fárbauti, Fenja, Fjalar, Fornjót, Geirrod, Gerd, Gjálp and Greip, Gilling, Grid, Gunnlod, Gymir, Hel, Hrym, Hræsvelgr, Hrod, Hrungnir, Hymir, Hyndla, Hyrrokkin, Járnsaxa, Kari, Laufey, Loki, Mani (moon), Menja, Modgunn, Mundilfari, Muspel, Mökkurkálfi, Narfi, Olvaldi, Ragnhild, Rán, Rind, Skaði, Snær, Suttung, Surtr, Thokk, Þjazi, Þrívaldi, Þrúðgelmir, Þrymr, Utgardaloki, Vafþrúðnir, Ymir
Dwarves Alvíss, Andvari, Berling, Brokkr, Durin, Dvalinn, Eitri, Fafnir, Fjalar and Galar, Gandalf, Hjuki, Hreidmar, Litr, Nordri, Sudri, Austri and Vestri, Nyi and Nidi, Otr, Regin, Sindri
Humans Adils, Agne, Ask, Aslaug (Kraka), Björn Ironside, Bödvar Bjarki, Berserkers, Dag the Wise, Domalde, Draugr, Dyggve, Egil, Einherjar, Embla, Erik and Alrik, Fjölnir, Frodi, Glam, Grimhild, Gylfi, Haddingjar, Hagbard and Signy, Haki, Halfdan, Halfdan the Old, Harald Hildetand, Hedin, Helgi Hundingsbane, Hjalmar, Hrólf Kraki, Hugleik, Hvitserk, Ingeborg, Ingjald, Jorund, Karl, Krimhild, Lif and Lifthrasir, Marmennill, Nór, Ottar, Raum the Old, Röskva, Sigar, Siggeir, Sigmund, Signy, Sigurd, Sigurd Ring, Sinfjötli, Skagul Toste, Skirnir, Sveigder, Svipdag, Þjálfi, Vanlade, Völva, Yngvi and Alf, Yrsa
Beasts Arvak and Alsvid, Auðumbla, Blóðughófi, Eikþyrnir, Fenrisulfr, Garm, Geri and Freki, Grani, Gullinbursti, Gullinkambi, Gulltopp, Hati, Heiðrún, Hildisvíni, Hófvarpnir, Hræsvelgr, Hrímfaxi, Hugin and Munin, Jörmungandr, Lindorm, Mánagarmr, Níðhöggr, Ratatosk, Skinfaxi, Skoll, Sleipnir, Svadilfari, Sæhrímnir, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr, Varulf, Veðrfölnir
Locations Álfheim, Andlang, Ásgard, Barri, Bifröst, Bilskirnir, Breidablik, Élivágar, Eliudnir, Fensalir, Fólkvangr, Gimlé, Ginnungagap, Gjallar Bridge, Gjöll, Gladsheim, Glasir, Glitnir, Gnipahellir, Helgrindr, Helveg, Himinbjörg, Hindarfjall, Hörgr, Körmt and Örmt, Idavoll, Jötunheimr, Ironwood, Hlidskjalf, Midgard, Muspelheim, Mirkwood, Náströnd, Niflheim, Noatun, Sessrúmnir, Singasteinn, Slidr River, Sökkvabekkr, Þrúðvangr, Þrymheimr, Utgard, Valhalla, Vanaheim, Hvergelmir, Vigrid, Vimur, Vingólf, Ýdalir, Yggdrasil
Artifacts Andvarinaut, Brisingamen, Draupnir, Eldhrímnir, Gand, Gjallarhorn, Gleipnir, Gram, Grotte, Gungnir, Helskór, Megingjord, Well of Mimir, Mistilteinn, Mjölnir, Naglfar, Óðrerir, Reginnaglar, Hringhorni, Skíðblaðnir, Tyrfing, Well of Urd
Worship Blót, Hörgr, Human sacrifice, Seid, Sumbel, Temple at Uppsala, Thor's Hammer, Völva, Yule

Norse, Viking or Scandinavian mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian peoples, including those who settled on Iceland, where most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. Norse mythology is the best-preserved version of the older common Germanic paganism, which also includes the closely related Anglo-Saxon mythology. Germanic mythology, in its turn, developed from an earlier Indo-European mythology.

Norse mythology is a collection of beliefs and stories shared by Northern Germanic tribes. It had no one set of doctrinal beliefs. The mythology was orally transmitted in the form of poetry and modern knowledge about it is mainly based on the Eddas and other medieval texts written down during and after Christianization.

Some aspects of Norse mythology passed into Scandinavian folklore and have survived to modern day. Others have recently been reinvented or reconstructed as Germanic neopaganism. The mythology also remains as an inspiration in literature (see Norse mythological influences on later literature) as well as on stage productions and movies.
Contents

* 1 Sources
* 2 Cosmology
o 2.1 Supernatural beings
o 2.2 Völuspá: the origin and end of the world
+ 2.2.1 The beginning
+ 2.2.2 The end times (Eschatological beliefs)
* 3 Kings and heroes
* 4 Norse worship
o 4.1 Centres of faith
o 4.2 Priests
o 4.3 Human sacrifice
* 5 Interactions with Christianity
* 6 Modern influences
o 6.1 Viking revival
o 6.2 Germanic neopaganism
o 6.3 Modern popular culture
* 7 Bibliography
o 7.1 Notes
o 7.2 Primary sources
o 7.3 General secondary works
o 7.4 Romanticism
o 7.5 Modern retellings
* 8 Music
* 9 See also
* 10 External links

Sources

Most of the existing records on Norse mythology date from the 12th to 18th century, having gone through more than two centuries of oral preservation in what was at least officially a Christian society. At this point scholars started recording it, particularly in the Eddas and the Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson, who believed that pre-Christian deities trace real historical people. There is also the Danish Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus, where the Norse gods are more strongly Euhemerized. The Prose or Younger Edda was written in the early 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, who was a leading poet, chieftain, and diplomat in Iceland. It may be thought of primarily as a handbook for aspiring poets. It contains prose explications of traditional "kennings," or compressed metaphors found in poetry. These prose retellings make the various tales of the Norse gods systematic and coherent.

The Poetic Edda (also known as the Elder Edda) was committed to writing about 50 years after the Prose Edda. It contains 29 long poems, of which 11 deal with the Germanic deities, the rest with legendary heroes like Sigurd the Volsung (the Siegfried of the German version Nibelungenlied). Although scholars think it was transcribed later than the other Edda, the language and poetic forms involved in the tales appear to have been composed centuries earlier than their transcription.

Besides these sources, there are surviving legends in Scandinavian folklore. Some of these can be corroborated with legends appearing in other Germanic literatures e.g. the tale related in the Anglo-Saxon Battle of Finnsburgh and the many allusions to mythological tales in Deor. When several partial references and tellings survive, scholars can deduce the underlying tale. Additionally, there are hundreds of place names in Scandinavia named after the gods.

A few runic inscriptions, such as the Rök Runestone and the Kvinneby amulet, make references to the mythology. There are also several runestones and image stones that depict scenes from Norse mythology, such as Thor's fishing trip, scenes depicting Sigurd (Sigfried) the dragon slayer, Odin and Sleipnir, Odin being devoured by Fenrir, and one of the surviving stones from the Hunnestad Monument appears to show Hyrrokkin riding to Baldr's funeral (DR 284).

In Denmark, one image stone depicts Loki with curled dandy-like mustaches and lips that are sewn together and the British Gosforth cross shows several intriguing images. There are also smaller images, such as figurines depicting the god Odin (with one eye), Thor (with his hammer) and Freyr (with his erect phallus).

Cosmology

Main article: Norse cosmology

Scandinavians believed there are 'nine worlds' (níu heimar), that many scholars summarize as follows:

* Ásgarðr, world of the Æsir.
* Vanaheimr, world of the Vanir.
* Miðgarðr, world of humans.
* Muspellheim, world of the primordial element of fire.
* Niflheimr, world of the primordial element of ice
* Hel, underworld, world of the dead.
* Álfheimr, world of the Álfar (elves).
* Svartalfheim or Nidavellir, world of the Dvergar (Norse dwarves).
* Jötunheimr, world of the Jötnar (giants).

Note the boundaries between Niflheim, Jötunheimr, Hel, Niðavellir, Svartálfaheimr, and several other significant places like Utgarðr remain uncertain.

Each world also had significant places within. Valhalla was Odin's hall located in Asgard. It was also home of the Einherjar, who were the souls of the greatest warriors. These warriors were selected by the Valkyries, Odin's mounted female messengers whose sparkling armor supposedly created the famed Aurora Borealis, or the northern lights. The Einherjar would help defend the gods during Ragnarok, when everyone would die in a great battle between the gods and their iniquitous enemies. A battle, incidentally, emphasising an order-versus-chaos duality common to many ancient mythologies and no less present in Norse mythology. Niflhel was a hellish place in Hel, where oathbreakers and other criminals suffered torments (compare Greek Tartarus).

These worlds were connected by Yggdrasil, or the world ash root, a giant tree with Asgard at its top. Chewing at its roots in Niflheim was Nidhogg, a ferocious serpent or dragon. Asgard can also be reached by Bifrost, the magical rainbow bridge guarded by Heimdall, the mute god of vigilance who could see and hear a thousand miles.

The cosmology of Norse mythology also involves a strong element of duality; for example the night and the day have their own mythological counterparts-- Dagr/Skinfaxi and Nótt/Hrímfaxi, the sun Sól and the chasing wolf Skoll, the moon Mani and its chasing wolf Hati, and the total opposites of Niflheim and Muspell in the origin of the world. This might have reflected a deeper metaphysical belief in opposites as the foundation of the world.

Supernatural beings

There are several "clans" of Vættir or animistic nature spirits: the Æsir and Vanir, understood as gods, plus the Jötnar, the Álfar and Dvergar. To this list can be added the dead in the Underworld. The distinction between Æsir and Vanir is relative, for the two are said to have made peace, exchanged hostages, intermarried and reigned together after a prolonged war, which the Æsir had finally won. Some gods belong in both camps. Some authorities (compare Mircea Eliade and J.P. Mallory) consider the Æsir/Vanir division to be simply the Norse expression of a general Indo-European division of divinities, parallel to that of Olympians and Titans in Greek mythology and to a similar structure in parts of the Mahabharata.
Thor often fought the giants.
Thor often fought the giants.

Generally, despite ambiguity, the Æsir and their allies represent the natural forces of cosmic order, whereas the Jötnar represent the natural forces of destructive chaos. The Jötnar compare to the Titans and Gigantes of Greek mythology and generally translated as "giants", although "trolls" and "demons" have been suggested as suitable alternatives. Notably, a foreboding figure like Loki was the child of two giants, and likewise Hel his daughter. Even so, the Æsir frequently intermarry the Jötnar, and themselves for the most part descend from them. Loki himself is thought to be the blood brother of Óðinn and thus counted as one of the Æsir. Some of the giants are mentioned by name in the Eddas, and they seem to be representations of natural forces. There are two general types of giant: Thurses and the normal thuggish giant, but there was also a giant made of stone and a giant made of fire. There were also elves and dwarfs, whose role is shadowy but who are generally thought to side with the gods.

In addition, there are many other supernatural beings: Fenrir the gigantic wolf, and Jörmungandr the sea-serpent (or "worm") that is coiled around Midgard. These two monsters are described as the progeny of Loki. More benevolent creatures are Hugin and Munin (thought and memory, respectively), the two ravens who keep Odin, the chief god, apprised of what is happening on earth, since he gave his eye to the Well of Mimir in his quest for wisdom, Sleipnir, Loki's eight legged horse son belonging to Odin and Ratatosk, the squirrel which scampers in the branches of Yggdrasil.

Along with many other polytheistic religions, this mythology lacks the good-evil dualism of the Middle Eastern tradition. Thus, Loki is not primarily an adversary of the gods, though he is often portrayed in the stories as the nemesis to the protagonist Thor, and the giants are not so much fundamentally evil, as rude, boisterous, and uncivilized (except in the case of the Thurses who were not quite so uncivilized). The dualism that exists is not good vs. evil, but order vs. chaos. The gods represent order and structure whereas the giants and the monsters represent chaos and disorder.

Völuspá: the origin and end of the world

The origin and eventual fate of the world are described in Völuspá ("Prophecy [spá] of the völva"), one of the most striking poems in the Poetic Edda. These haunting verses contain one of the most vivid creation accounts in all of religious history and a representation of the eventual destruction of the world that is unique in its attention to detail.

In the Völuspá, Odin, the chief god of the Norse pantheon, has conjured up the spirit of a dead völva and commanded this spirit to reveal the past and the future. She is reluctant: "What do you ask of me? Why tempt me?"; but since she is already dead, she shows no fear of Odin, and continually taunts him: "Well, would you know more?" But Odin insists: if he is to fulfill his function as king of the gods, he must possess all knowledge. Once the völva has revealed the secrets of past and future, she falls back into oblivion: "I sink now".

The beginning
The Norns spin the threads of fate at the foot of Yggdrasil, the tree of the world.
The Norns spin the threads of fate at the foot of Yggdrasil, the tree of the world.

According to Norse myth, the beginning of life was fire and ice, with the existence of only two worlds: Muspelheim and Niflheim. When the warm air of Muspelheim hit the cold ice of Niflheim, the giant Ymir and the icy cow Audhumla were created. Ymir's foot bred a son and a man and a woman emerged from his armpits, making Ymir the progenitor of the Jotun, or giants. Whilst Ymir slept, the intense heat from Muspelheim made him sweat, and he sweated out Surtr, a giant of fire. Later Ymir woke and drank Audhumbla's milk. Whilst he drank, the cow Audhumbla licked on a salt stone. On the first day after this a man's hair appeared on the stone, on the second day a head and on the third day an entire man emerged from the stone. His name was Búri and with an unknown giantess he fathered Bor, the father of the three gods Odin, Vili and Ve.

When the gods felt strong enough they killed Ymir. His blood flooded the world and drowned all of the giants, except two. But giants grew again in numbers and soon there were as many as before Ymir's death. Then the gods created seven more worlds using Ymir's flesh for dirt, his blood for the Oceans, rivers and lakes, his bones for stone, his brain as the clouds, his skull for the heaven. Sparks from Muspelheim flew up and became stars.
Creation of Ask and Embla, on a Faroese stamp
Creation of Ask and Embla, on a Faroese stamp

One day when the gods were walking they found two tree trunks. They transformed them into the shape of humans. Odin gave them life, Vili gave them mind and Ve gave them the ability to hear, see, and speak. The gods named them Ask and Embla and built the kingdom of Middle-earth for them and to keep the giants out the gods placed a gigantic fence made of Ymir's eyelashes around Middle-earth.

The völva goes on to describe Yggdrasil and the three norns (female symbols of inexorable fate; their names - Urðr (Urd), Verðandandi (Verdandi), and Skuld - indicate the past, present, and obligatory actions to occur), who spin the threads of fate beneath it. She then describes the war between the Æsir and Vanir and the murder of Baldr, Odin's handsome son whom everyone but Loki loved. (The story is that everything in existence promised not to hurt him except mistletoe. Taking advantage of this weakness, Loki made a mistletoe spear and tricked Höðr, Odin's blind son and Baldr's brother, into using it to kill Baldr. Hel said she would revive him if everyone in the nine worlds wept. A giantess - Thokk, who may have been Loki in shape-shifted form - did not weep. After that she turns her attention to the future.

The end times (Eschatological beliefs)

Main article: Ragnarök

The Old Norse vision of the future is bleak. Norse mythology's vision of the end times is stark and pessimistic: not only are the Norse gods capable of being defeated by residents of Yggdrasil's other branches, but in fact are destined to be defeated, and have always lived with this knowledge. In the end, it was believed, the forces of chaos will outnumber and overcome the divine and human guardians of order. Loki and his monstrous children will burst their bonds; the dead will sail from Niflheim to attack the living. Heimdall, the watchman of the gods, will summon the heavenly host with a blast on his horn. Then a final battle will ensue between order and chaos (Ragnarök), which the gods will lose, as is their fate. The gods, aware of this, will gather the finest warriors, the Einherjar, to fight on their side when the day comes, but in the end they will be powerless to prevent the world from descending into the chaos out of which it has once emerged; the gods and their world will be destroyed. There are two optimistic facts, however: Not only will chaos also be defeated, but a new, better world will emerge from the ashes of the old one. Odin will be swallowed by Fenrir. Thor will kill Jörmungandr, but will drown in its venom. Loki will be the last to die, having taken a wound from Heimdall that, although was taken at the same time as Loki's wound on Heimdall, did not kill the god of chaos and fire in that instance.

And although the gods were destined to be defeated and killed, Baldr and Hodr, along with the new world, will be born again.

Kings and heroes

Main article: Legendary sagas

The Ramsund carving depicting passages from the Völsunga saga
The Ramsund carving depicting passages from the Völsunga saga

The mythological literature relates the legends of heroes and kings, as well as supernatural creatures. These clan and kingdom founding figures possessed great importance as illustrations of proper action or national origins. The heroic literature may have fulfilled the same function as the national epic in other European literatures, or it may have been more nearly related to tribal identity. Many of the legendary figures probably existed, and generations of Scandinavian scholars have tried to extract history from myth in the sagas.

Sometimes the same hero resurfaces in several forms depending on which part of the Germanic world the epics survived such as Weyland/Völund and Siegfried/Sigurd, and probably Beowulf/Bödvar Bjarki. Other notable heroes are Hagbard, Starkad, Ragnar Lodbrok, Sigurd Ring, Ivar Vidfamne and Harald Hildetand. Notable are also the shieldmaidens who were ordinary women who had chosen the path of the warrior. These women function both as heroines and as obstacles to the heroic journey.

Norse worship

Main articles: Norse paganism and Blót

Centres of faith
Gamla Uppsala, the centre of worship in Sweden until the temple was destroyed in the late 11th century.
Gamla Uppsala, the centre of worship in Sweden until the temple was destroyed in the late 11th century.

The Germanic tribes rarely or never had temples in a modern sense. The Blót, the form of worship practiced by the ancient Germanic and Scandinavian people, resembled that of the Celts and Balts. It occurred either in sacred groves, at home, or at a simple altar of piled stones known as a "horgr". However, there seem to have been a few more important centres, such as Skiringssal, Lejre and Uppsala. Adam of Bremen claims that there was a temple in Uppsala (see Temple at Uppsala) with three wooden statues of Thor, Odin, Idoki and Freyr.

Priests

While a kind of priesthood seems to have existed, it never took on the professional and semi-hereditary character of the Celtic druidical class. This was because the shamanistic tradition was maintained by women, the Völvas. It is often said that the Germanic kingship evolved out of a priestly office. This priestly role of the king was in line with the general role of godi, who was the head of a kindred group of families (for this social structure, see norse clans), and who administered the sacrifices[citation needed].

Despite the shamanistic Völvas, this religion was not a form of shamanism[1].

Human sacrifice

A unique eye-witness account of Germanic human sacrifice survives in Ibn Fadlan's account of a Rus ship burial, where a slave-girl had volunteered to accompany her lord to the next world. More indirect accounts are given by Tacitus, Saxo Grammaticus and Adam von Bremen.

However, the Ibn Fadlan account is actually a burial ritual. Current understanding of Norse mythology suggests an ulterior motive to the slave-girl's 'sacrifice'. It is believed that in Norse mythology a woman who joined the corpse of a man on the funeral pyre would be that man's wife in the next world. For a slave girl to become the wife of a lord was an obvious increase in status. Although both religions are of the Indo-European tradition, the sacrifice described in the Ibn Fadlan account is not to be confused with the practice of Sati.

The Heimskringla tells of Swedish King Aun who sacrificed nine of his sons in an effort to prolong his life until his subjects stopped him from killing his last son Egil. According to Adam of Bremen, the Swedish kings sacrificed male slaves every ninth year during the Yule sacrifices at the Temple at Uppsala. The Swedes had the right not only to elect kings but also to depose them, and both king Domalde and king Olof Trätälja are said to have been sacrificed after years of famine.

Odin was associated with death by hanging, and a possible practice of Odinic sacrifice by strangling has some archeological support in the existence of bodies such as Tollund Man that perfectly preserved by the acid of the Jutland peatbogs, into which they were cast after having been strangled. However, scholars possess no written accounts that explicitly interpret the cause of these stranglings, which could obviously have other explanations.

Interactions with Christianity
An 1830 portrayal of Ansgar, a Christian missionary invited to Sweden by its king Björn at Hauge in 829.
An 1830 portrayal of Ansgar, a Christian missionary invited to Sweden by its king Björn at Hauge in 829.

See also: Christianization of Scandinavia

An important note in interpreting this mythology is that often the closest accounts that scholars have to "pre-contact" times were written by Christians. The Younger Edda and the Heimskringla were written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century, over two hundred years after Iceland became Christianized. This results in Snorri's works carrying a large amount of Euhemerism[citation needed].

Virtually all of the saga literature came out of Iceland, a relatively small and remote island, and even in the climate of religious tolerance there, Snorri was guided by an essentially Christian viewpoint. The Heimskringla provides some interesting insights into this issue. Snorri introduces Odin as a mortal warlord in Asia who acquires magical powers, settles in Sweden, and becomes a demi-god following his death. Having undercut Odin's divinity, Snorri then provides the story of a pact of Swedish King Aun with Odin to prolong his life by sacrificing his sons. Later in the Heimskringla, Snorri records in detail how converts to Christianity such as Saint Olaf Haraldsson brutally converted Scandinavians to Christianity.
One gruesome form of execution occurred during the Christianization of Norway. King Olaf Tryggvason had male völvas (sejdmen) tied and left on a skerry at ebb. (1897 illustration by Halfdan Egedius)
One gruesome form of execution occurred during the Christianization of Norway. King Olaf Tryggvason had male völvas (sejdmen) tied and left on a skerry at ebb. (1897 illustration by Halfdan Egedius)

Trying to avert civil war, the Icelandic parliament voted in Christianity, but for some years tolerated heathenry in the privacy of one's home. Sweden, on the other hand, had a series of civil wars in the 11th century, which ended with the burning of the Temple at Uppsala.[citation needed] In England, Christianization occurred earlier and sporadically, rarely by force. Conversion by coercion was sporadic throughout the areas where Norse gods had been worshipped. However, the conversion did not happen overnight. Christian clergy did their utmost to teach the populace that the Norse gods were demons, but their success was limited and the gods never became evil in the popular mind in most of Scandinavia.

The length of time Christianization took is illustrated by two centrally located examples of Lovön and Bergen. Archaeological studies of graves at the Swedish island of Lovön have shown that the Christianisation took 150-200 years, and this was a location close to the kings and bishops. Likewise in the bustling trading town of Bergen, many runic inscriptions have been found from the 13th century, among the Bryggen inscriptions. One of them says may Thor receive you, may Odin own you, and a second one is a galdra which says I carve curing runes, I carve salvaging runes, once against the elves, twice against the trolls, thrice against the thurs. The second one also mentions the dangerous Valkyrie Skögul.

There are few accounts from the 14th to the 18th century, but the clergy, such as Olaus Magnus (1555) wrote about the difficulties of extinguishing the old beliefs. The story related in Þrymskviða appears to have been unusually resilient, like the romantic story of Hagbard and Signy, and versions of both were recorded in the 17th century and as late as the 19th century. In the 19th and early 20th century Swedish folklorists documented what commoners believed, and what surfaced were many surviving traditions of the gods of Norse mythology. However, the traditions were by then far from the cohesive system of Snorri's accounts. Most gods had been forgotten and only the hunting Odin and the giant-slaying Thor figure in numerous legends. Freyja is mentioned a few times and Baldr only survives in legends about place names.

Other elements of Norse mythology survived without being perceived as such, especially concerning supernatural beings in Scandinavian folklore. Moreover, the Norse belief in destiny has been very firm until modern times. Since the Christian hell resembled the abode of the dead in Norse mythology one of the names was borrowed from the old faith, Helvíti i.e. Hel's punishment. Many elements of the Yule traditions persevered, such as the Swedish tradition of slaughtering the pig at Christmas (Christmas ham), which originally was part of the sacrifice to Freyr.

Modern influences
Day (Old Norse) Meaning
Mánadagr Moon's day
Týsdagr Tyr's day
Óðinsdagr Odin's day
Þórsdagr Thor's day
Frjádagr Day of Freyr/Freyja
Laugardagr Washing day
Sunnudagr/Dróttinsdagr Sun's day/The Lord's day

The Germanic gods have left numerous traces in modern vocabulary and elements of every day western life in most Germanic language speaking countries. An example of this is some of the names of the days of the week: modelled after the names of the days of the week in Latin (named after Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn), the names for Tuesday through to Friday were replaced with Germanic equivalents of the Roman gods and the names for Monday and Sunday after the Sun and Moon. In English, Saturn was not replaced, while Saturday is named after the sabbath in German[citation needed].

Viking revival

Main article: Viking revival

Early modern editions of Old Norse literature begins in the 16th century, e.g. Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus (Olaus Magnus, 1555) and the first edition of the 13th century Gesta Danorum (Saxo Grammaticus), in 1514. The pace of publication increased during the 17th century with Latin translations of the Edda (notably Peder Resen's Edda Islandorum of 1665). The renewed interest of Romanticism in the Old North had political implications. Myths about a glorious and brave past is said to have given the Swedes the courage to retake Finland, which had been lost in 1809 during the war between Sweden and Russia. The Geatish Society, of which Geijer was a member, popularized this myth to a great extent[citation needed].

A focus for early British enthusiasts was George Hicke, who published a Linguarum vett. septentrionalium thesaurus in 1703–5. In the 1780s, Denmark offered to cede Iceland to Britain in exchange for Crab Island (West Indies), and in the 1860s Iceland was considered as a compensation for British support of Denmark in the Slesvig-Holstein conflicts. During this time, British interest and enthusiasm for Iceland and Nordic culture grew dramatically.

Germanic neopaganism

Main article: Germanic neopaganism

Romanticist interest in the Old North gave rise to Germanic mysticism involving various schemes of occultist "Runology", notably following Guido von List and his Das Geheimnis der Runen (1908) in the early 20th century.

Since the 1970s, there have been revivals of the old Germanic religion as Germanic neopaganism (Ásatrú) in both Europe and the United States.

Modern popular culture

Main article: Norse mythology in popular culture

Norse mythology also influenced Richard Wagner's use of literary themes from it to compose the four operas that make up Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung).

Subsequently, J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, especially The Silmarillion, were heavily influenced by the indigenous beliefs of the pre-Christian Northern Europeans. As the related Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings became popular, elements of its fantasy world moved steadily into popular perceptions of the fantasy genre. In many fantasy novels today can be found such Norse creatures as elves, dwarves, and frost giants, though this has back-fired with many viewing these creatures as clichés.[citation needed] Subsequently, Norse mythology has also greatly influenced popular culture, in literature and modern fiction. (See Marvel Comics' The Mighty Thor or Neil Gaiman's The Sandman (Vertigo))

In the Stargate SG-1 series on the Sci-Fi network, the characters run into a race of aliens called the Asgard. Thor, Loki, and a few other names are used to highlight the connection to Norse mythology.

The Japanese anime, Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok has most of their characters and the story based on Norse mythology with Loki as the protagonist of the story. Thor, Heindall, Frey, Freya and the three norns and Loki's children appear in human or beast form. The main storyline is of Odin's wish to assassinate Loki in his child form on Earth before the day of Ragnarok so Loki doesn't lead the revolt of Asgard.

A video game for the Xbox 360, Too Human, being developed by Silicon Knights, is a futuristic view on Norse Mythology, where players play as Baldr.

Numbers in Egyptian mythology

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Certain numbers were considered sacred, holy, or magical by the ancient Egyptians, particularly 2, 3, 4, 7, and their multiples and sums.[1]
Contents

* 1 Three: symbol of plurality
* 2 Five
* 3 Seven: symbol of perfection, effectiveness, completeness
* 4 Notes
* 5 See also
* 6 General Sources

Three: symbol of plurality

The basic symbol for plurality among the ancient Egyptians was the number three: even the way they wrote the word for "plurality" in hieroglyphics consisted of three vertical marks ( | | | ). Triads of deities were also used in Egyptian religion to signify a complete system. Examples include references to the god Atum "when he was one and became three" when he gave birth to Shu and Tefnut, and the triad of Horus, Osiris, and Isis. [2]

Examples

* The beer used to trick Sekhmet soaked three hands into the ground.
* The second god, Re, named three times to define the sun: dawn, noon, and evening.
* Thoth is described as the “thrice-great god of wisdom”. [3]
* A doomed prince was doomed to three fates: to die by a crocodile, a serpent, or a dog. [4]
* Three groups of three attempts each (nine attempts) were required for a legendary peasant to recover his stolen goods.[5]
* A boasting mage claimed to be able to cast a great darkness to last three days. [6]
* After asking Thoth for help, a King of Ethiopia was brought to Thebes and publicly beaten three further times. [7]
* An Ethiopian mage tried—and failed—three times to defeat the greatest mage of Egypt. [8]
* An Egyptian mage, in an attempt to enter the land of the dead, threw a certain powder on a fire three times.[9]
* There are twelve (three times four) sections of the Egyptian land of the dead. The dead disembark at the third.[10]
* The Knot of Isis, representing life, has three loops.[11]

Five

Examples

* The second god, Re, named five gods and goddesses.[12]
* Thoth added five days to the year by winning the light from the moon in a game of gambling. [13]
* It took five days for the five children of Nut to be born. These are Osiris, Nephthys, Isis, Set and Horus the Elder - this should not be mistaken with Harpocrates (Horus the Infant) whom defeated Set in battle. [14]
* A boasting mage claimed to be able to bring the Pharaoh of Egypt to Ethiopia and by magic, have him beaten with a rod five hundred (five times five times five times four) times, and return him to Egypt in the space of five hours.[15]
* An Ethiopian mage comes to challenge Egypt’s greatest mage—to reading of a sealed letter—five hundred (five times five times five times four) years after the atrocity depicted in it occurred.[16]
* The star, or pentagram, representing the afterlife, has five points.[17]

Fives are less common in Egyptian mythology.

Seven: symbol of perfection, effectiveness, completeness

The number seven was apparently the Egyptian symbol of such ideas as perfection, effectiveness, and completeness.

Examples

* Seven thousand barrels of red beer were used to trick Sekhmet out of killing. [18]
* In her search for her husband’s pieces, the goddess Isis was guarded by seven scorpions. [19]
* A legendary famine lasted seven years. [20]
* The lowest amount that the Nile flooded to solve the famine was seven cubits. The highest was four times seven (28) cubits. [21]
* A doomed prince found a tower seventy (two times five times seven) cubits high with seventy (two times five times seven) windows. [22]
* Set tore the god Osiris’ body into fourteen pieces: seven each for the two regions of Upper and Lower Egypt. [23]
* The Pool symbol, representing water, contains seven zigzag lines.[24]
* The Gold symbol has seven spines on its underside.[25]

Solar deity

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A Solar Deity (also Sun God(dess)), is a deity who represents the sun, or an aspect of it. People have worshiped these for all of recorded history. Hence, many beliefs have formed around this worship, such as the "missing sun" found in many cultures (see below). Sun worship is a possible origin of henotheism and ultimately monotheism.
Contents

* 1 Solar barge / Sun chariot
* 2 Female and male
* 3 Missing sun motif
* 4 Solar deities throughout cultures
o 4.1 Africa
+ 4.1.1 Ancient Egypt
o 4.2 Chinese mythology
o 4.3 Hinduism
o 4.4 Indonesia
* 5 Folklore
* 6 Solar myth
* 7 See also
* 8 References
* 9 Bibliography
* 10 External links

Solar barge / Sun chariot
Ra in his solar barge
Ra in his solar barge

A "solar barge" (also "solar bark", "solar barque", "solar boat", "sun boat") is a mythological representation of the sun riding in a boat. The "Khufu ship", a 43.6-meter-long vessel that was sealed into a pit in the Giza pyramid complex at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Giza around 2500 BC, is a full-size surviving example which may have fulfilled the symbolic function of a solar barque. Other sun boats were found in Egypt dating to different pharonic dynasties.[1]

Examples include:

* Neolithic petroglyphs which (it has been speculated) show solar barges
* The many early Egyptian goddesses who are related as sun deities and the later gods Ra and Horus depicted as riding in a solar barge. In Egyptian myths of the afterlife, Ra rides in an underground channel from west to east every night so that he can rise in the east the next morning.
* The Nebra sky disk, which (it has been speculated) features a depiction of a solar barge [2]
* Nordic Bronze Age petroglyphs, including those found in Tanumshede often contains barges and sun crosses in different constellations.

A "sun chariot" is a mythological representation of the sun riding in a chariot. The concept is younger than that of the solar barge, and typically Indo-European, corresponding with the Indo-European expansion after the invention of the chariot in the 2nd millennium BC.

Examples include:

* Trundholm sun chariot of the Nordic deity, Sól, drawn by Arvak and Alsvid
* Greek Helios riding in a chariot,[2] (see also Phaëton[3])
* Sol Invictus depicted riding a quadriga on the reverse of a Roman coin.[4]
* Vedic Surya riding in a chariot drawn by seven horses

The sun itself also was compared to a wheel, possibly in Proto-Indo-European, Greek hēliou kuklos, Sanskrit suryasya cakram, Anglo-Saxon sunnan hweogul (PIE *swelyosyo kukwelos).

Female and male
The warrior goddess Sekhmet, shown with her sun disk and cobra crown
The warrior goddess Sekhmet, shown with her sun disk and cobra crown

Solar deities are popularly thought of as male counterparts of the lunar deity (usually female); however, sun goddesses are found on every continent (e.g. Amaterasu in Japanese belief) paired with male lunar deities. Among the earliest records of human beliefs, the early goddesses of the Egyptian pantheon carried a sun above their head as a symbol of dignity. The sun was a major aspect of Egyptian symbols and hieroglyphs, all the lunar deities of that pantheon were male deities. The cobra, the lioness, the cow, the dominant symbols of the most ancient Egyptian deities, carried their relationship to the sun atop their heads; they were female and their cults remained active throughout the history of the culture. Later a sun god was established in the eighteenth dynasty on top of the other solar deities, before the "aberration" was stamped out and the old pantheon re-established. When male deities became associated with the sun in that culture, they began as the offspring of a mother. Feminist examination of some of the earliest religions of Western cultures concluded that a sun goddess, often, driving her chariot bearing it across the sky daily. Sól is the goddess after whom the sun and Sunday are named in English.

Some mythologists, such as Brian Branston, contend that sun goddesses are more common worldwide than their male counterparts. They also claim that the belief that solar deities are primarily male is linked to the fact that a few better known mythologies (such as those of late classical Greece and late Roman mythology) rarely break from this rule, although closer examination of the earlier myths of those cultures reveal a very different distribution than the contemporary popular belief. The dualism of sun/male/light and moon/female/darkness is found in many (but not all) late southern traditions in Europe that derive from Orphic and Gnostic philosophies.

In Germanic mythology the Sun is female and the Moon is male. The corresponding Old English name is Siȝel (/ˈsɪ jel/), continuing Proto-Germanic *Sôwilô or *Saewelô. The Old High German Sun goddess is Sunna. In the Norse traditions, every day, Sól rode through the sky on her chariot, pulled by two horses named Arvak and Alsvid. Sól also was called Sunna, Sunne, and Frau Sunne, from which are derived the words, sun and Sunday.

Missing sun motif
Amaterasu finally emerges from the cave
Amaterasu finally emerges from the cave

The missing sun is a theme in the myths of many cultures, sometimes including the themes of imprisonment, exile, or death. The missing sun is often used to explain various natural phenomena, including the disappearance of the sun at night, shorter days during the winter, and solar eclipses. Even the Greek myth of Gaia as Demeter and her daughter, Persephone or Kore, imply that the latter was a sun goddess who went missing, bringing on winter when her mother failed to keep the earth bountiful as she searched for her missing daughter.

Some other tales are similar, such as the Sumerian story of the goddess, Inanna's descent into the underworld. These may have parallel themes, but do not fit in this motif unless they concern a solar deity.

In late Egyptian mythology, Ra passes through Duat (the underworld) every night. Apep has to be defeated in the darkness hours for Ra and his solar barge to emerge in the east each morning.

In Japanese mythology, the sun goddess Amaterasu is angered by the behavior of her brother, Susanoo, and hides in a cave, plunging the world into darkness until she is willing to emerge.

In Norse mythology, the gods Odin and Tyr both have attributes of a sky father, and they are doomed to be devoured by wolves (Fenrir and Garm, respectively) at Ragnarok. Sól, the Norse sun goddess, will be devoured by the wolf Skoll.

Solar deities throughout cultures
The winged sun was an ancient (3rd millennium BC) symbol of Horus, later identified with Ra
The winged sun was an ancient (3rd millennium BC) symbol of Horus, later identified with Ra

In different religions solarised supreme deities carry different names and are associated with different aspects of the cultural universe of the society, but for the most part its raw image remains identical.

The Neolithic concept of a solar barge, the sun as traversing the sky in a boat, is found in the later myths of ancient Egypt, with Ra and Horus. Earlier Egyptian myths imply that the sun is within the lioness, Sekhmet, at night and can be seen reflected in her eyes or that it is within the cow, Hathor during the night, being reborn each morning as her son (bull). Proto-Indo-European religion has a solar chariot, the sun as traversing the sky in a chariot.

During the Roman Empire, a festival of the birth of the Unconquered Sun (or Dies Natalis Solis Invicti) was celebrated when the duration of daylight first begins to increase after the winter solstice, — the "rebirth" of the sun. In Germanic mythology this is Sol, in Vedic Surya, and in Greek Helios (occasionally referred to as Titan) and (sometimes) as Apollo. Mesopotamian Shamash plays an important role during the Bronze Age, and "my Sun" is eventually used as an address to royalty. Similarly, South American cultures have emphatic Sun worship, see Inti. See also Sol Invictus. Svarog is the Slavic god sun and spirit of fire.

Africa

The Munsh tribe considers the Sun to be the son of the supreme being Awondo and the Moon is Awondo's daughter. The Barotse tribe believes that the Sun is inhabited by the sky god Nyambi and the Moon is his wife. Even where the sun god is equated with the supreme being, in some African mythologies he or she does not have any special functions or privileges as compared to other deities.

Ancient Egypt
Isis, bearing her solar disk and horns nurses her infant, Horus
Isis, bearing her solar disk and horns nurses her infant, Horus

Sun worship was exceptionally prevalent in ancient Egyptian religion. The earliest deities associated with the sun are Wadjet, Sekhmet, Hathor, Nut, Bast, Bat, and Menhit. First Hathor, and then Isis, give birth to and nurse Horus and Ra.

The Sun's movement across the sky represents a struggle between the Pharaoh's soul and an avatar of Osiris. The "solarisation" of several local gods (Hnum-Re, Min-Re, Amon-Re) reaches its peak in the period of the fifth dynasty.

In the eighteenth dynasty, Akhenaten changed the polytheistic religion of Egypt to a pseudo-monotheistic one, Atenism. All other deities were replaced by the Aten, including, Amun, the reigning sun god of Akhenaten's own region. Unlike other deities, the Aten did not have multiple forms. His only image was a disk—a symbol of the sun.

Soon after Akhenaten's death, worship of the traditional deities was reestablished by the religious leaders who had adopted the Aten during the reign of Akhenaten.

Chinese mythology

In Chinese mythology (cosmology), there were originally ten suns in the sky, and the world was so hot that nothing grew. A hero called Hou Yi shot down nine of them with bow and arrows. In another myth, the solar eclipse was caused by the dog of heaven biting off a piece of the sun. There was a tradition in China to hit pots and pans during a solar eclipse to drive away the "dog".

Hinduism
Surya at Konark Temple
Surya at Konark Temple

In the Vedas, numerous hymns are dedicated to Surya deva, the Sun personified, and Savitr, "the impeller", a solar deity either identified with or associated with Surya. Even the Gayatri mantra, which is regarded as one of the most sacred of the Hindu hymns is dedicated to the Sun. The Adityas are a group of solar deities, from the Brahmana period numbering twelve. The ritual of sandhyavandanam, performed by some Hindus, is meant to worship the sun.

The Mahabharata describes its warrior hero Karna as being the son of Kunti and the Sun. The Ramayana has its protagonist Rama as being from the Surya Vamsham or the clan of kings as bright as the Sun. The charioteer of Surya is Arun, who is also personified as the redness that accompanies the sunlight in dawn and dusk.

At Konark, a town in Orissa, a temple is dedicated to Surya. The Konark temple has also been declared a UNESCO world heritage site. Surya is the most prominent of the navagrahas or nine celestial objects of the Hindus. Navagrahas can be found in almost all Hindu temples.

Indonesia

The same swapping process is seen in Indonesia. The solar gods have a stronger presence in Indonesia's religious life and myth.

In some cases the Sun is revered as a "father" or "founder" of the tribe. This may apply for the whole tribe or only for the royal and ruling families. This practise is more common in Australia and on the island of Timor, where the tribal leaders are seen as direct heirs to the Sun god.

Some of the initiation rites include the second reincarnation of the rite's subject as a "son of the Sun", through a symbolic death and a rebirth in the form of a Sun. These rituals hint that the Sun may have an important role in the sphere of funerary beliefs. Watching the Sun's path has given birth to the idea in some societies that the deity of the Sun descends in to the underworld without dying and is capable of returning afterward. This is the reason for the Sun being associated with functions such as guide of the deceased tribe members to the underworld, as well as with revival of perished. The Sun is a mediator between the planes of the living and the dead.

Folklore

In folklore traditions there are many preserved archaic Sun cults which incorporate themselves into newer religions. For example, the burning wheels rolled down hills during sun equinox days, the ban on using jiggers on certain days of the year or the custom of tying a man to a wheel. The "sun-fertility-hero/representative of the underworld" cult complex is also evident in Japan where there is a custom that young people representing the Sun's ancestors (i.e. the dead) should paint their faces red and visit village homes, guaranteeing the land's fertility through this magical ritual.

Another important mythological complex is that of the "Sun Hero", typical of the nomad-herders. Such heroes are encountered among the African nomad tribes, the tribes from Central Asia (Gesen Khan), and among all Indo-European peoples. The Sun Hero always has a "dark" side - he has some sort of connection with the underworld, with the initiation ritual and with fertility. The Sun Hero myth contains many elements that link the Hero with the Demiurge. The Hero often saves the world, renews the world, opens a new epoch, and generally brings about some major renewal to the established cosmical order. These functions of the Sun Hero represent the demiurgical "legacy" left from the supreme celestial being. A typical example for such evolution is the god Mithras.

Solar myth

Three theories exercised great influence on nineteenth and early twentieth century mythography, beside the Tree worship of Mannhardt and the Totemism of J.F. McLennan, the "Sun myth" of Alvin Boyd Kuhn and Max Müller.

R.F. Littledale criticized the Sun myth theory when he illustrated that Max Müller on his own principles was himself only a Solar myth, whilst Alfred Lyall delivered a still stronger attack on the same theory and its assumption that tribal gods and heroes, such as those of Homer, were mere reflections of the Sun myth by proving that the gods of certain Rajput clans were really warriors who founded the clans not many centuries ago, and were the ancestors of the present chieftains.[5]

Egyptian soul

2008-07-29T15:41:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Ancient Egyptians believed that a human soul was made up of five parts: the Ren, the Ba, the Ka, the Sheut, and the Ib. In addition to these components of the soul there was the human body (called the ha, occasionally a plural haw, meaning approximately sum of bodily parts).
Contents

* 1 Ib (heart)
* 2 Sheut (shadow)
* 3 Ren (name)
* 4 Ba (individual personality)
* 5 Ka (life force)
* 6 Notes
* 7 References

Ib (heart)
jb (F34) "heart"
in hieroglyphs
F34

The most important part of the Egyptian soul was thought to be the Ib, or heart. To Ancient Egyptians, it was the heart and not the brain that was the seat of emotion and thought, including the will and intentions. In Egyptian religion, the heart was the key to the afterlife. It was conceived as proceeding at death to the future world, where it gave evidence for, or against, its possessor. It was thought that the heart was examined by Anubis and the deities during the Weighing of the Heart ceremony. If the heart weighed more than the feather of Maat, it was immediately consumed by the demon Ammit. This is evidenced by the many expressions in the Egyptian language which incorporate the word ib, Awt-ib: happiness (literally, wideness of heart), Xak-ib: estranged (literally, truncated of heart). This word was transcribed by Wallis Budge as 'Ab'.

Sheut (shadow)

A person's shadow, Sheut (šwt in Egyptian), was always present. It was believed that a person could not exist without a shadow, nor a shadow without a person, therefore, Egyptians surmised that a shadow contained something of the person it represents. For this reason statues of people and deities were sometimes referred to as their shadows.

The shadow was represented graphically as a small human figure painted completely black as well, as a figure of death, or servant of Anubis.

Ren (name)

As a part of the soul, a person's name (ren in Egyptian) was given to them at birth and the Egyptians believed that it would live for as long as that name was spoken, which explains why efforts were made to protect it and the practice of placing it in numerous writings. For example, part of the Book of Breathings, a derivative of the Book of the Dead, was a means to ensure the survival of the name. A cartouche (magical rope) often was used to surround the name and protect it. Conversely, the names of deceased enemies of the state, such as Akhenaten, were hacked out of monuments in a form of damnatio memoriae. Sometimes, however, they were removed in order to make room for the economical insertion of the name of a successor, without having to build another monument. The greater the number of places a name was used, the greater the possibility it would survive to be read and spoken.

Ba (individual personality)
The ba
The ba
b3 (G29)
in hieroglyphs
G29
b3 (G53)
in hieroglyphs
G53

The 'Ba' (b3) is in some regards the closest to the contemporary Western religious notion of a soul, but it also was everything that makes an individual unique, similar to the notion of 'personality'. (In this sense, inanimate objects could also have a 'Ba', a unique character, and indeed Old Kingdom pyramids often were called the 'Ba' of their owner). Like a soul, the 'Ba' is a part of a person that the Egyptians believed would live after the body died, and it is sometimes depicted as a human-headed bird flying out of the tomb to join with the 'Ka' in the afterlife.

The word 'bau' (plural of the word ba) is based on this concept. It meant something similar to 'impressiveness', 'power', and 'reputation', particularly of a deity. When a deity intervened in human affairs, it was said that the 'Bau' of the deity were at work [Borghouts 1982]. In this regard, the ruler was regarded as a 'Ba' of a deity, or one deity was believed to be the 'Ba' of another.

Ka (life force)

The Ka (k3) was the Egyptian concept of life force, that which distinguishes the difference between a living and a dead person, with death occurring when the ka left the body. The Egyptians believed that Khnum created the bodies of children on a potter's wheel and inserted them into women's bodies. Depending on the region, Egyptians believed that Heket or Meskhenet was the creator of each person's Ka, breathing it into them at the instant of their birth as the part of their soul that made them be alive. This resembles the concept of spirit in other religions.

The Egyptians also believed that the ka was sustained through food and drink. For this reason food and drink offerings were presented to the dead, although it was the kau (k3w) within the offerings (also known as kau) that was consumed, not the physical aspect. The ka was often represented in Egyptian iconography as a second image of the individual, leading earlier works to attempt to translate ka as double.

Ancient Egyptians believed that death occurs when a person's ka' leaves the body. Ceremonies conducted by priests after death, including the "opening of the mouth (wp r)", aimed not only to restore a person's physical abilities in death, but also to release a Ba's attachment to the body. This allowed the Ba to be united with the Ka in the afterlife, creating an entity known as an "Akh" (3ḫ, meaning "effective one").

According to Friedrich Junge, Giacomo Borioni proposes in his work "Der Ka aus religionswissenschaftlicher Sicht" that the Ka was the self of a human being.

Egyptians conceived of an afterlife as quite similar to normal physical existence — but with a difference. The model for this new existence was the journey of the sun. At night the sun descended into the Duat (the underworld). Eventually the sun meets the body of the mummified Osiris. Osiris and the sun, re-energized by each other, rise to new life for another day. For the deceased, their body and their tomb were their personal Osiris and a personal Duat. For this reason they are often addressed as "Osiris". For this process to work, some sort of bodily preservation was required, to allow the Ba to return during the night, and to rise to new life in the morning. However, the complete Akhu were also thought to appear as stars.[1] Until the Late Period, non-royal Egyptians did not expect to unite with the sun deity, it being reserved for the royals.[2]

The Book of the Dead, the collection of spells which aided a person in the afterlife existence, had the Egyptian name of the Book of going forth by day. They helped people avoid the perils of the afterlife and also aided their existence, containing spells to assure "not dying a second time in the underworld", and to "grant memory always" to a person.

The tomb of Paheri, an Eighteenth dynasty nomarch of Nekhen, has an eloquent description of this existence, and is translated by James P. Allen as:

Your life happening again, without your ba being kept away from your divine corpse, with your ba being together with the akh ... You shall emerge each day and return each evening. A lamp will be lit for you in the night until the sunlight shines forth on your breast. You shall be told: "Welcome, welcome, into this your house of the living!"

Ancient Egyptian burial customs

2008-07-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The ancient Egyptians had an elaborate set of burial customs that they believed were necessary to ensure their immortality after death. These rituals and protocols included mummification, casting of magic spells, and burial with specific grave goods thought to be needed in the afterlife.[1][2]. The burial customs used by the ancient Egyptians evolved throughout time as old customs were discarded and new ones adopted, but several important elements of the process persisted. Although specific details changed over time, the preparation of the body, the magic rituals involved, and the grave goods provided were all essential parts of a proper Egyptian funeral.
Contents

* 1 Mummification
o 1.1 Reason
o 1.2 Practice
* 2 Burial rituals and funerary literature
* 3 Burial goods
* 4 References

Mummification

See also main article, Mummy (Corpse)

Reason

Keeping the body of an individual intact after death was necessary so that the Egyptian soul or ka would have a place to live after death. Shallow burials in hot sand often brought about mummification. But once bodies were buried in tombs they decayed quickly. The ancient Egyptians used mummification to prevent the person's remains from decaying.

Mummification was first used in the Old Kingdom, but not fully developed until the New Kingdom. It continued to be practiced until the demise of the ancient Egyptian religion. Mortuary services were available to anyone who could pay for them, although only wealthy members of society could afford more elaborate services. Mummification was actually only available to the rich until the methods became easier and less time consuming. The average mummification process for a queen or king was 70 days.

Practice

Although no records exist that document the exact process ancient Egyptians used to mummify humans, documents describing the mummification of the sacred Apis bull, the descriptions of Herodotus combined with thorough examination of existing mummies allow scholars to deduce the most likely course of the mummification process.

They thought the heart was the center of intelligence and it was the magical part of the body.

The basic process involved laying the body on a flat board, and cutting a slit in the abdomen. In an elaborate mummification, this might be performed by a priest wearing a jackal mask to represent Anubis, the deity associated with mummification and the guardian of the Necropolis. Then the body would be washed inside and out with palm wine. The lungs, liver, intestines, and the stomach were removed, mummified separately, and put into canopic jars. The heart was left intact because Egyptians believed this is where the essence of a person resided. Because the ancient Egyptians did not recognize the cognitive function of the brain, the brain would be removed by breaking the thin bone separating the nasal and cranial cavities. This was accomplished by inserting a hooked rod through the nose, stirring the brain until it turned into a liquid, and pouring it out through the nose. The cranial cavity would then be swabbed with linen and hot resin poured into the cavity to seal it.

The body cavity and the separate parts might then be washed with palm wine again. The body was then placed in natron for about forty days, with packets of natron placed inside the chest cavity. Natron dehydrated the body, which, combined with the high salt concentration, prevented bacterial growth and the decay of the body.

The mummy was then wrapped in many layers of linen strips, sealed to the body by tar or resin. Magic amulets were put in the folds and were believed to protect the body from evil spirits and help the soul on its journey through the afterlife. The entire process was completed in seventy days, after which the mummy was delivered to the deceased person's family for burial.

Burial rituals and funerary literature
The book of the dead was a collection of spells designed to guide the deceased in the afterlife.
The book of the dead was a collection of spells designed to guide the deceased in the afterlife.

After the mummy was prepared, it would need to be re-animated, symbolically, by a priest. The Opening of the Mouth Ceremony was conducted by a priest who would utter a spell and touch the mummy or sarcophagus with a ceremonial adze - a copper or stone blade. This ceremony ensured that the mummy could breathe and speak in the afterlife. In a similar fashion, the priest could utter spells to reanimate the mummy's arms, legs, and other body parts.

In addition to the Opening of the Mouth ceremony, many mummies were provided with some form of funerary literature to take with them to the afterlife. Most funerary literature consists of lists of spells and instructions for navigating the afterlife. During the Old Kingdom, only the pharaoh had access to this material, which scholars refer to as the Pyramid Texts. The Pyramid Texts are a collection of spells to help the pharaoh in the afterlife. The Pharaoh Unas was the first to use this collection of spells, as he and a few subsequent pharaohs had them carved on the walls of their pyramids.[3]

In the First Intermediate Period and in the Middle Kingdom, some of the Pyramid Text spells also are found in burial chambers of high officials and on many coffins, where they begin to evolve into what scholars call the Coffin Texts. In this period, the nobles and many non-royal Egyptians began to have access to funerary literature, which later evolved into the well-known Book of the dead. By the time of the New Kingdom, any Egyptian who could afford a Book of the dead was able to take along to the afterlife a list of spells and instructions that would ensure safe passage.[4]

Burial goods

From the earliest periods of Egyptian history, all Egyptians were buried with at least some burial goods which they thought necessary after death. At a minimum, these usually consisted of everyday objects such as bowls, combs, and other trinkets, along with food. Wealthier Egyptians could afford to be buried with jewelry, furniture, and other valuables, which made them targets of tomb robbers. Mummies were also equipped with the Weres headrest amulet which were magical amulets that were designed to protect the mummy's head.

As burial customs developed in the Old Kingdom, wealthy citizens were buried in wooden coffins and were accompanied by more varied kinds of valuables. Starting in the First Intermediate period, wooden models became very popular burial goods. These wooden models often depict everyday activities that the deceased expected to continue doing in the afterlife. Also, a type of rectangular coffin became the standard, being brightly painted and often including an offering formula.
A selection of shabti statues
A selection of shabti statues

In the New Kingdom, some of the old burial customs changed. For example, an anthropoid coffin shape became standardized, and the deceased were provided with a small shabti statue, which the Egyptians believed would perform work for them in the afterlife. In later burials, the numbers of shabti statues increased; in some burials, numbering more than four hundred statues. In addition to these shabti statues, the deceased could be buried with many different types of magical figurines to protect them from harm. Although the types of burial goods changed throughout ancient Egyptian history, their functions to protect the deceased and provide sustenance in the afterlife remained a common purpose.

Ancient Egyptian religion

2008-07-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ancient Egyptian religion encompasses the various religious beliefs and rituals practiced in Egypt from the predynastic period until the adoption of Christianity and later Islam. Religion in Egypt underwent evolution during its millennial history from the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms to the Late and Graeco-Roman periods.

There was no one singular religion in ancient Egypt, but a variety of intermixing local cults devoted to specific deities. Most of these were henotheistic and therefore polytheistic (and as such have often been refferred to as "pagan"), though there were exceptions such as Atenism.
Contents

* 1 Overview
* 2 Cults
* 3 History
o 3.1 Old Kingdom
o 3.2 Middle Kingdom
o 3.3 New Kingdom
+ 3.3.1 Atenism
o 3.4 Late period
o 3.5 Decline
* 4 Gods and goddesses
* 5 Cosmogonies
* 6 Death, burial and afterlife
* 7 List of temples
* 8 See also
* 9 References
* 10 Further reading
* 11 External links

Overview

Ancient Egyptian religion encompasses the collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in ancient Egypt in form of cult practices. It is therefore the practical counterpart of Egyptian mythology. Within the Egyptian world, religious practice varied enough so that one might speak of Egyptian religions.

The majority of these religious cults were polytheistic, believing in a great number of deities, and were also henotheistic, focusing on the worship of only one of those deities. Some scholars, (such as Dr. Ramses Seleem) have detected elements of pantheism in scriptures such as the Book of the Dead, however this is disputed.

Cults

Regional cults (cities are listed north to south):

* in Heliopolis, the Ennead headed by Atum was worshipped.
* in Memphis, Ptah was the chief deity, later extended into the triad of Ptah-Sekhmet-Nefertem.
* the cult of Hermopolis had the Ogdoad headed by Thoth.
* Thebes had the triad Amun-Mut-Khonsu.
* The cult in Elephantine focussed on the triad Khnum-Satis-Anuket.

These regional cults were established by the end of the Old Kingdom. During the New Kingdom, the cosmogonies of the Ennead and the Ogdoad were merged (syncretized) into an overarching state religion of the Egyptian Empire, resulting in various identifications of formerly distinct deities. An example of such syncretism during is the unification of Ra and Amun as Amun-Ra,[1] or Ptah, Seker, and Osiris becoming Ptah-Seker-Osiris.

Syncretism should be distinguished from mere groupings, also referred to as "families" such as Amun, Mut, and Khonsu, where no "merging" takes place. Over time, deities took part in multiple syncretic relationships; for instance, the combination of Ra and Horus into Ra-Herakty. The Legend of Osiris and Isis originating in this reform has a long history of reception outside Egypt. In Ptolemaic times, it influenced Hellenistic religion (Osiris-Dionysus), and later Renaissance occultism and Hermeticism.
Egyptian goddess Isis protecting a mummified pharaoh, a late Ptolemic relief from the Philae Temple, which was first built in the thirtieth dynasty, c. 380-343 B.C. as a temple to Hathor and later enlarged by Greek and Roman rulers of Ancient Egypt who built temples to Isis and Osiris
Egyptian goddess Isis protecting a mummified pharaoh, a late Ptolemic relief from the Philae Temple, which was first built in the thirtieth dynasty, c. 380-343 B.C. as a temple to Hathor and later enlarged by Greek and Roman rulers of Ancient Egypt who built temples to Isis and Osiris

Ancient Egyptian religion notably included an imperial cult, with the Pharaoh considered a living deity, identified with Horus. In the Old Kingdom, the pharaoh was deified during his lifetime. From the Fifth Dynasty, deification took place only after the pharaoh's death. It was only New Kingdom pharaohs like Amenophis III who attempted to regain divine status during their lifetimes. After death, the pharaoh was identified with Osiris (who was identified with Horus in the New Kingdom state religion).

History

Old Kingdom

The Old Kingdom period is most commonly regarded as spanning the period of time when Egypt was ruled by the Third Dynasty through to the Sixth Dynasty, from 2686 BC to 2134 BC. It was the beginning of the highest level of cultural development achieved by the ancient Egyptians, whose cultural roots extend six thousand years earlier, into prehistory.

Old Kingdom deities:

* the Ennead of Heliopolis, whose chief god was Atum, later Atum-Ra[2]
* the Ogdoad of Hermopolis,[3] where the chief god was Thoth
* the Khnum-Satis-Anuket triad of Elephantine, whose chief god was Khnum
* the Amun-Mut-Chons triad of Thebes, whose chief god was Amun[4]
* the Ptah-Sekhmet-Nefertem triad of Memphis, unusual in that the gods were unconnected before the triad was formalized, where the chief god was Ptah[2]

The Pyramid Texts (roughly 25th to 23nd century BC) contain spells, or "utterances" primarily concerned with protecting the pharaoh's remains, reanimating his body after death, and helping him ascend to the heavens. As such, they qualify as the oldest known religious texts worldwide, slightly predating the Sumerian hyms of Enheduanna. The "Coffin Texts" are funerary spells related to the Pyramid texts dating to the First Intermediate Period.

Middle Kingdom

The cult of Amun grew during the Middle Kingdom. Senusret III (1878 BC – 1839 BC) built a fine religious temple at Abydos; while it is now destroyed, surviving reliefs show the high quality of the decorations. He was deified at the end of the Middle Kingdom and worshipped by the pharaohs of the New Kingdom.

New Kingdom

Further information: Legend of Osiris and Isis

By the New Kingdom, the Ogdoad and the Ennead were merged into a single syncretized cosmology. In the Ennead, Osiris is the husband of Isis, and sibling of Seth, all of whom are the great-grandchildren of the creator god Atum, and Horus is not present within the system. In the Ogdoad, Osiris is not present within the system, and Horus is son of Atum, the creator god. When the Ennead and Ogdoad merged, Ra and Amun were identified as one, becoming Amun-Ra, and Horus was initially considered the fifth sibling of Osiris, Isis, Nephthys and Set. However, Horus' mother, Hathor, gradually became identified as a form of Isis, leading Horus to be Isis' son, and therefore the son of Osiris.

Atenism

Main article: Atenism

Pharaoh Akhenaten and his family praying to Aten
Pharaoh Akhenaten and his family praying to Aten

A short interval of monotheism (Atenism) occurred under the reign of Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) (1350s to 1330s BC), focused on the Egyptian sun deity Aten. The Aten is typically shown as a sun disk with rays coming out of all sides. Akhenaten built a new capital at Amarna with temples for the Aten. This was a symbolic act as Akhenaten wanted a place of worship for the Aten that was not tainted by the visage of other deities. The religious change survived only until the death of Akhenaten, and the old religion was quickly restored during the reign of Tutankhamun, Akhenaten's son by his wife, Kiya. Tutankhamun and several other post-restoration pharaohs were erased from the history, because they were regarded as heretics.

Late period

After the fall of the Amarna dynasty, the New Kingdom pantheon survived as the dominant religion, until the Achaemenid conquests. The Egyptian Book of the Dead was standardized (the "Saite Recension") during this time. Herodotus presents us a bleak portrait of Cambyses' rule, describing the king as mad, ungodly, and cruel. Herodotus may have drawn on an indigenous tradition that reflected the Egyptians' resentment, especially of the clergy, of Cambyses' decree[5] curtailing royal grants made to Egyptian temples under Amasis. In order to regain the support of the powerful priestly class, Darius I (522–486 BC) revoked Cambyses' decree. Shortly before 486 BC, a revolt broke out in Egypt, subdued by Xerxes I only in 484 BC. The province was subjected to harsh punishment for the revolt, and especially its satrap Achaemenes administered the country without regard for the opinion of his subjects.

Decline

When Alexander the Great conquered Egypt, he went on pilgrimage to the oracle of Amun at the Siwa Oasis. The oracle declared him to be the son of Amun-Re.[6] Egyptian religion continued to thrive during the Ptolemaic period; some cults were syncretized with Greek mystery traditions, exerting influence on Hellenistic magic. Under Roman rule (from 30 BC), the situation remained largely unchanged. The Romans like the Ptolemies respected and protected Egyptian religion and customs, although the imperial cult of the Roman state and of the Emperor was gradually introduced. Egyptian religion entered a period of decline following the Egyptians' adoption of Christianity in the first centuries of the common era. Remnants of native traditions lingered in traditionalist pockets such as temple hierarchies, free from persecution but gradually ousted by Early Christianity. The last vestiges of Egyptian religious traditions may have persisted into the 5th century, as reflected in the Hieroglyphica.

Gods and goddesses

Further information: List of Egyptian gods

Egyptian goddess Isis, tomb painting, ca. 1360 BC.
Egyptian goddess Isis, tomb painting, ca. 1360 BC.

Deities in the Egyptian pantheon sometimes played different, and at times conflicting, roles. As an example, the lioness Sekhmet being sent out by Ra to devour the humans for having rebelled against him, but later on becoming a fierce protector of the kingdom, life in general, and the sick. Even more complex are the roles of Set. Judging the mythology of Set from a modern perspective, especially the mythology surrounding Set's relationship with Osiris, it is easy to cast Set as the arch villain and source of evil. However this was not always so, as Set was earlier playing the role of destroyer of Apep, in the service of Ra on his barge, and thus serving to uphold Ma'at (Truth, Justice, and Harmony).

Cosmogonies
A stele depicting two triads of gods
A stele depicting two triads of gods

An ancient Egyptian origin myth holds that in the beginning, the universe was filled with the primeval waters of chaos, which was the god Nun. The god, Re-Atum appeared from the Water as the land of Egypt appears every year out of the flood waters of the Nile. Re-Atum spat and out of the spittle came out the deities Shu (air) and Tefnut (moisture). The world was created when Shu and Tefnut gave birth to two children: Nut (Sky) and Geb (the Earth). Humans were created when Shu and Tefnut went wandering in the dark wastes and got lost. Re-Atum sent his eye to find them. On reuniting, his tears of joy turned into people.

Geb and Nut copulated, and upon Shu's learning of his children's fornication, he separated the two, effectively becoming the air between the sky and ground. He also decreed that the pregnant Nut should not give birth any day of the year. Nut pleaded with Thoth, who on her behalf gambled with the moon-god Yah and won five more days to be added onto the then 360-day year. Nut had one child on each of these days: Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys, and Horus-the-Elder.

Osiris, by different accounts, was either the son of Re-Atum or Geb, and king of Egypt. His brother Seth represented chaos in the universe. He murdered Osiris by tricking him to fit inside of a box, which was the nailed shut and thrown into the Nile. After killing Osiris, Seth tore his body into pieces. Isis rescued most of the pieces for burial beneath the temple, but first she resurrected Osiris so she could copulate with him to create their child Horus . Seth made himself king, but was challenged by Osiris's son - Horus. Seth lost and was sent to the desert. Osiris was mummified by Isis and became god of the dead. Horus became the king and from him descended the pharaohs.

Another version, this one by Plutarch[7] states that Set made a chest that only Osiris could fit into. He then invited Osiris to a feast. Set made a bet that no one could fit into the chest. Osiris was the last one to step into the chest, but before he did, Set asked if he could hold Osiris's crown. Osiris agreed and stepped into the chest. As he lay down, Set slammed the lid shut and put the crown on his own head. He then set the chest afloat on the Nile. Isis did not know of her husband's death until the Wind told her. She then placed her son in a safe place and cast a spell so no one could find him. When she searched for her husband, a child told her a chest had washed up on the bank and a tree had grown up. The tree was so straight the king had used it for the central pillar of his new palace. Isis went and asked for her husband's body and it was given to her. The god of the underworld told her that Osiris would be a king, but only in the underworld.

Death, burial and afterlife

Main article: Ancient Egyptian burial customs

Egypt had a highly developed view of the afterlife with elaborate rituals for preparing the body and soul for an eternal life after death. Beliefs about the soul and afterlife focused heavily on preservation of the body. The Egyptians believed the ka aspect of the soul needed to be reunited with the ba, to support the akh, the part of each being which ascends to the heavens to take its place among the stars.[8] This meant that embalming and mummification were practised, in order to preserve the individual's identity in the afterlife.

Bodies of the dead were coated inside and out with resin to preserve them, then wrapped with linen bandages, embedded with religious amulets and talismans. In the case of royalty, the mummy was usually placed inside a series of nested coffins, the outermost of which was a stone sarcophagus. The intestines, lungs, liver, and stomach were preserved separately and stored in canopic jars protected by the four sons of Horus.[9] The heart was left in place because it was thought to be the home of the soul. The standard length of the mummification process was seventy days.[10]

Embalmment was reserved for a selected few in the Old Kingdom, but it became available to wider sections of society in later periods. Animals were also mummified, sometimes thought to have been pets of Egyptian families, but more frequently or more likely, they were the representations of deities. The ibis, crocodile, cat, Nile perch, falcon, and baboon can be found in perfect mummified forms. During the Ptolemaic Period, animals were especially bred for the purpose.
The goddess Ma'at, showing her feather in her headdress
The goddess Ma'at, showing her feather in her headdress

The Book of the Dead was a series of almost two hundred spells represented as sectional texts, songs, and pictures written on papyrus, individually customized for the deceased, which were buried along with the dead in order to ease their passage into the underworld. In some tombs, the Book of the Dead has also been found painted on the walls, although the practice of painting on the tomb walls appears to predate the formalization of the Book of the Dead as a bound text. One of the best examples of the Book of the Dead is The Papyrus of Ani, created around 1240 BC, which, in addition to the texts themselves, also contains many pictures of Ani and his wife on their journey through the land of the dead.

After a person dies their soul is led into a hall of judgment in Duat by Anubis (god of mummification) and the deceased's heart, which was the record of the morality of the owner, is weighed against a single feather representing Ma'at (the concept of truth and order). If the outcome is favorable, the deceased is taken to Osiris, god of the afterlife, in Aaru, but the demon Ammit (Eater of Hearts) – part crocodile, part lion, and part hippopotamus – destroys those hearts whom the verdict is against, leaving the owner to remain in Duat. A heart that weighed less than the feather was considered a pure heart, not weighed down by the guilt or sins of one's actions in life, resulting in a favorable verdict; a heart heavy with guilt and sin from one's life weighed more than the feather, and so the heart would be eaten by Ammit. An individual without a heart in the afterlife in essence, did not exist as Egyptians believed the heart to be the center of reason and emotion as opposed to the brain which was removed and discarded during mummification. Many times a person would be buried with a "surrogate" heart to replace their own for the weighing of the heart ceremony.

List of temples

Some important temples include:

* Abu Simbel – Complex of two massive rock temples in southern Egypt on the western bank of the Nile.
* Abydos (Great Temple of Abydos) – Adoration of the early kings, whose cemetery, to which it forms a great funerary chapel, lies behind it.
* Ain el-Muftella (Bahariya Oasis) – Could have served as the city center of El Qasr. It was probably built around the 26th Dynasty.
* Karnak – Once part of the ancient capital of Egypt, Thebes.
* Bani Hasan al Shurruq – Located in Middle Egypt near to Al-Minya and survived the reconstruction of the New Kingdom.
* Edfu – Ptolemaic temple that is located between Aswan and Luxor.
* Temple of Kom Ombo – Controlled the trade routes from Nubia to the Nile Valley.
* Luxor – Built largely by Amenhotep III and Ramesses II, it was the centre of the Opet Festival.
* Medinet Habu (Memorial Temple of Ramesses III)– Temple and a complex of temples dating from the New Kingdom.
* Temple of Hatshepsut – Her mortuary temple complex at Deir el-Bahri with a colonnaded structure of perfect harmony, was built nearly one thousand years before the Parthenon.
* Philae – Island of Philae with Temple of Hathor which was constructed in the 30th Dynasty and expanded into a complex to include Isis (Aset) and Osiris under Greek and Roman rule.
* Ramesseum (Memorial Temple of Ramesses II) – The main building, dedicated to the funerary cult, comprised two stone pylons (gateways, some 60 m wide), one after the other, each leading into a courtyard. Beyond the second courtyard, at the centre of the complex, was a covered 48-column hypostyle hall, surrounding the inner sanctuary.
* Dendera Temple complex – Several temples but the all overshadowing building in the complex is the main temple, the Hathor temple.

Deir El Bahire; Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, also Chapel Dedicated to the worship of Hathor.

Odysseus

2008-07-18T05:43:00.000-07:00

Odysseus or Ulysses (Greek Ὀδυσσεύς Odysseus; Latin: Ulixes or, more commonly, Ulysses), pronounced /oʊˈdɪsiəs/, was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem, the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad.

King of Ithaca, husband of Penelope, father of Telemachus, and son of Laërtes and Anticlea, Odysseus is renowned for his guile and resourcefulness, and is hence known by the epithet Odysseus the Cunning. (See mētis, or "cunning intelligence"). He is most famous for the ten eventful years he took to return home after the Trojan War.

Parentage

Relatively little is known of Odysseus's background other than that his paternal grandfather (or step-grandfather) is Arcesius, son of Cephalus and grandson of Aeolus, whilst his maternal grandfather is the thief Autolycus, son of Hermes and Chione. According to the Odyssey, his father is Laertes^[1] and his mother Anticleia, although there was a non-Homeric tradition^[2] that Sisyphus was his true father.^[3] Ithaca, an island along the Ionian northwestern coastline of Greece, is one of several islands that would have comprised the realm of Odysseus's family, but the true extent of the Cephallenian realm and the actual identities of the islands named in Homer's works are unknown.

Variants and meanings of name

The name has several variants: Olysseus (Ὀλυσσεύς), Oulixeus (Οὐλιξεύς), Oulixes (Οὐλίξης)^[4] and he was known as Ulysses in Latin or Ulixes in Roman mythology.

The verb odussomai (ὀδύσσομαι), meaning "hate",^[5] suggests that the name could be rendered as "the one who is wrathful/hated". This interpretation is reinforced by Odysseus' and Poseidon's mutual wrath. In Odyssey 19, in which Odysseus' early childhood is recounted, Euryclea asks Autolycus, to name him. Euryclea tries to guide him to naming the boy Polyaretos, "for he has much been prayed for". (19.403f)^[6] In Greek, however, Polyaretos can also take the opposite meaning: much accursed. Autolycus seems to infer this connotation of the name and accordingly names his grandson Odysseus. Odysseus often receives the patronymic epithet Laertiades (Greek: Λαερτιάδης), son of Laërtes.

His name and stories were adopted into Etruscan religion under the name Uthuze.^[7]

"Cruel Odysseus"

Homer's Iliad and Odyssey portrayed Odysseus as a hero because of his many virtues, but the Romans, who believed themselves the scions of Prince Aeneas of Troy, considered him a villainous falsifier. In Virgil's Aeneid, he is constantly referred to as "cruel Odysseus" (Latin"dirus Ulixes") or "deceitful Odysseus" ("pellacis", "fandi fictor"). Turnus, in Aeneid ix, reproaches the Trojan Ascanius with images of rugged, forthright Latin virtues, declaring (in John Dryden's translation), "You shall not find the sons of Atreus here, Nor need the frauds of sly Ulysses fear." While the Greeks admired his cunning and deceit, these qualities did not recommend themselves to the Romans. In Euripides' tragedy Iphigenia at Aulis, having convinced Agamemnon to consent to the sacrifice of his daughter, Iphigenia, to appease the goddess Artemis, Odysseus facilitates the immolation by telling her mother, Clytemnestra, that the girl is to be wed to Achilles. His attempts to avoid his sacred oath to defend Menelaus and Helen offended Roman notions of duty; the many stratagems and tricks that he employed to get his way offended Roman notions of honor.

Before the Trojan War

When Helen was abducted by Paris of Troy, Menelaus called upon the other suitors to honour their oaths and help him to retrieve her, thus forging the Trojan War. Odysseus tried to avoid it by feigning lunacy, as an oracle had prophesied a long-delayed return home for him if he went. He hooked a donkey and an ox to his plough (as they have different stride lengths, hindering the efficiency of the plough) and sowing his fields with salt. Palamedes, at the behest of Menelaus' brother Agamemnon, sought to disprove Odysseus' madness, and placed Telemachus, Odysseus's infant son, in front of the plough. Odysseus veered the plough away from his son, thus destroying his ruse. Odysseus held a grudge against Palamedes during the war for dragging him away from his home.

Odysseus and other envoys of Agamemnon travelled to Scyros to recruit Achilles because of a prophecy that Troy could not be taken without him. By most accounts, Thetis, Achilles' mother, disguised the youth as a woman to hide him from the recruiters because an oracle had predicted that Achilles would either live a long, uneventful life or achieve everlasting glory while dying young. Odysseus cleverly discovered which of the women before him was Achilles when the youth stepped forward to examine an array of weapons. Some accounts say that Odysseus arranged for the sounding of a battle horn, which prompted Achilles to clutch a weapon.

Just before the war began, Odysseus accompanied Menelaus and Palamedes in an attempt to negotiate Helen's peaceful return. Menelaus made unpersuasive emotional arguments, but Odysseus's arguments very nearly persuaded the Trojan court to hand Helen over.

During the Trojan War

Odysseus was one of the main Achaean leaders in the Trojan War. The others were "godlike" Achilles, Agamemnon "lord of men", Menelaus, Nestor, Telamonian Ajax and Ajax the Lesser, Diomedes and Teucer the master archer.

When the Achaean ships reached the beach of Troy, no one would jump ashore, since there was an oracle that the first Achaean to jump on Trojan soil would die. Odysseus tossed his shield on the shore and jumped on his shield. He was followed by Protesilaus, who jumped on Trojan soil and later became the first to die.

Odysseus never forgave Palamedes for unmasking his madness ruse, leading him to frame him as a traitor. At one point, Odysseus convinced a Trojan captive to write a letter pretending to be from Palamedes. A sum of gold was mentioned to have been sent as a reward for Palamedes's treachery. Odysseus then killed the prisoner and hid the gold in Palamedes's tent. He ensured that the letter was found and acquired by Agamemnon, and also gave hints directing the Argives to the gold. This was evidence enough for the Greeks and they had Palamedes stoned to death. Other sources say that Odysseus and Diomedes goaded Palamedes into descending a wall with the prospect of treasure being at the bottom. When Palamedes reached the bottom, the two proceeded to bury him with stones, killing him.

Odysseus was one of the most influential Greek champions during the Trojan War. Along with Nestor and Idomeneus he was one of the most trusted advisers and counsellors. He always championed the Achaean cause, especially when the king was in question, as in one instance when Thersites spoke against him. When Agamemnon, to test the morale of the Achaeans, announced his intentions to depart Troy, Odysseus restored order to the Greek camp. Later on in the Iliad, after many of the heroes had left the battlefield due to injuries (including Odysseus and Agamemnon), Odysseus once again persuaded Agamemnon not to withdraw. Along with two other envoys, he was chosen in the failed embassy to try to persuade Achilles to return to combat.

When Hector proposed a single combat duel, Odysseus was one of the Danaans who volunteered to battle him. Telamonian Ajax, however, was the volunteer who eventually did fight Hector. Odysseus aided Diomedes during the successful night operations in order to kill Rhesus, because it had been foretold that if his horses drank from the Scamander river Troy could not be taken.

After Patroclus had been slain, it was Odysseus who counselled Achilles to let the Achaean men eat and rest rather than follow his rage-driven desire to go back on the offensive—and kill Trojans—immediately. Eventually (and reluctantly), he consented.

During the funeral games for Patroclus, Odysseus became involved in a wrestling match with Telamonian Ajax, as well as a foot race. With the help of the goddess Athena, who favoured him, and despite Apollo helping another of the competitors, he won the race and managed to draw the wrestling match, to the surprise of all.

When Achilles was slain in battle, it was Odysseus and Telamonian Ajax who successfully retrieved the fallen warrior's body and armour in the thick of heavy fighting. During the funeral games for Achilles, Odysseus competed once again with Telamonian Ajax. Thetis said that the arms of Achilles would go to the bravest of the Greeks, but only these two warriors dared lay claim to that title. The two Argives became embroiled in a heavy dispute about one another's merits to receive the reward. The Greeks dithered out of fear in deciding a winner, because they did not want to insult one and have him abandon the war effort. Nestor suggested that they allow the captive Trojans decide the winner. Some accounts disagree, suggesting that the Greeks held a secret vote. In any case, Odysseus was the winner. Enraged and humiliated, and to protect Odysseus from his vengeance, Ajax killed himself by the sword that Hector had given him after being driven mad by Athena.

Together with Diomedes, Odysseus went to fetch Achilles' son, Pyrrhus, to come to the aid of the Achaeans, because an oracle had stated that Troy could not be taken without him. A great warrior, Pyrrhus was named Neoptolemus (Greek: "new hero"). Upon the success of the mission, Odysseus gave him the armaments of his father.

It was later learned that the war could not be won without the poison arrows of Heracles, which were owned by the abandoned Philoctetes. Odysseus and Diomedes (or, according to some accounts, Odysseus and Neoptolemus) went out to retrieve them. Upon their arrival, Philoctetes (still suffering from the wound) was seen still to be enraged at the Danaans, especially Odysseus, for abandoning him. Although his first instinct was to shoot Odysseus, his anger was eventually diffused by Odysseus's persuasive powers and the influence of the gods. Odysseus returned to the Argive camp with Philoctetes and his arrows.

Later in the war, Odysseus captured Priam's son, Helenus the prophet, who told the Greeks that Troy could not be taken without the capture of the Palladium, which was located in the city itself. Once again, Odysseus and Diomedes went on a mission together to fulfill a prophecy. Some say that Diomedes crawled up on Odysseus's shoulders into the city but would not help Odysseus up to do the same. When Diomedes returned from stealing the Palladium and met up again with the infuriated Odysseus, the latter thought to kill him and take credit for himself. He stepped behind him so as to stab him with his sword, but Diomedes caught the glint in the moonlight and spun around and disarmed the Ithacan king. He then proceeded to drive Odysseus back to the Argive camp with the flat of his sword. Another account of the stealing of the Palladium states that Odysseus and Diomedes entered the city together.

Some myths state that Odysseus, in the disguise of a beggar, covered in rags and blood, entered the Trojan city on the Q.T. and alone. He was recognized by no-one except Helen and Hecuba. They questioned him but allowed him to return to the Greek camp unharmed.

The Trojan Horse, that famous stratagem, was devised by Odysseus. It was built by Epeius and filled with Greek warriors, led by Odysseus. Beforehand, he made Menelaus swear to give him whatever he wanted after they had taken Troy and was met with concord. When the Horse was taken into Troy, Odysseus and Menelaus descended from it and went directly to Prince Deiphobos's house, where they engaged in a ferocious battle, although some accounts say that Odysseus fought him and that Menelaus came to find the dead body. Ultimately, however, Deiphobos, who was then the leading son of Priam and Helen's third husband, was killed. Menelaus was about to kill Helen for leaving him when Odysseus took advantage of the earlier promise and made him swear not to.

In Euripedes' "The Trojan Women", it is Odysseus who convinces the other Argives to kill Hector's young son so that he has no chance to avenge his city.

Odysseus has traditionally been viewed in the Iliad as Achilles's antithesis: while Achilles's anger is all-consuming and of a self-destructive nature, Odysseus is frequently viewed as a man of the mean, world-renowned for his self-restraint and diplomatic skills. Professor Adele Haft, in her essay Odysseus' Wrath and Grief in the "Iliad", observes that there might be more to Odysseus's nature than initially appears on the surface. Haft makes several interesting observations that raise questions about the traditional approach to his character. Haft notes that Odysseus is the only other character besides Achilles to receive a verbal reprimand from Agamemnon.^[8] There are repeated suggestions that Agamemnon and Odysseus's relationship is strained: it is not Agamemnon but Nestor who selects Odysseus for his every mission in the Iliad. Haft explains Odysseus's displays of wrath, as well as his strained relationship with Agamemnon, as indicators that Odysseus will ultimately be responsible for the sacking of Troy. Haft points to the death of Democoon in Book IV as a prime example of the consequences of Odysseus's anger, for it results in a massive reduction of Trojan morale as well as a retreat. Haft goes on to suggest that Democoon's death, in conjunction with the death of Simoeisius, previses the destruction of Troy.^[9]

Journey home to Ithaca

The Cicones

After Odyseus left Troy he came first to the island of the Cicones. At the island of the Cicones Odysseus and his men stormed the beach but didn't press any attack on the people there. The Cicones rallied back up and prepared for an attack on Odysseus and his men, from horse back. In a large battle that Odysseus inevitably lost, six rows of Odysseus's men were killed and Odysseus had to flee the island.

The Lotus-Eaters

When Odysseus and his men landed on the island of the Lotus-Eaters, Odysseus sent out a scouting party of three or so men who ate the lotus with the natives. This caused them to fall asleep and stop caring about going home, and desire only to eat the lotus. Odysseus went after the scouting party, and dragged them back to the ship against their will. He set sail, with the drugged soldiers tied to the rudder benches to prevent them from swimming back to the island.

Polyphemus

A scouting party, led by Odysseus and his friend Misenus, landed in the territory of the Cyclops and ventured upon a large cave. They entered and proceeded to feast on the livestock that they found there. Unbeknownst to them, the cave was the dwelling of Polyphemus, a one-eyed giant who soon returned. Refusing hospitality to his uninvited guests, Polyphemus trapped them in the cave by blocking the entrance with a boulder that could not be moved by mortal men. He then proceeded to eat a pair of them everyday, but Odysseus devised a cunning plan.

To render Polyphemus unwary, Odysseus gave him a bowl of the strong, unwatered wine given them by Maron, the priest of Apollo. When Polyphemus asked for his name, Odysseus told him that it was "Nobody". (Οὔτις, "Nobody", is also a short form of his own name.) In appreciation for the wine, Polyphemus offered to return the favour by only eating him last. Once the giant fell asleep, Odysseus and his men turned an olive tree branch into a giant spear, something that they prepared while Polyphemus was out of the cave shepherding his flocks, and blinded him. Hearing Polyphemus's cries, other Cyclopes come to his cave to ask what was wrong. Polyphemus replied, "Οὖτίς με κτείνει δόλῳ οὐδὲ βίηφιν." ("Nobody is killing me either by treachery or brute violence!") The other Cyclopes let him be, thinking that his outbursts must be either madness or the will of the gods.

In the morning, Polyphemus rolled back the boulder to let the sheep out to graze. Now blind, he could not see the men, but he felt the tops of his sheep to make sure that the men were not riding them, and spread his arm at the entrance of the cave. Odysseus and his men escaped, however, by tying themselves to the undersides of three sheep each. Once out, they loaded the sheep aboard their ship and set sail.

As Odysseus and his men were sailing away, he revealed his true identity to Polyphemus. Enraged, Polyphemus tried to hit the ship with boulders, but, because he was blind, he missed, although the rocks landed very close to the ship, swaying it with billows. When the ship appeared to be getting away at last, Polyphemus raised his arms to his father, Poseidon, and asked him to not allow Odysseus to get back home to Ithaca. If he did, however, he must arrive alone, his crew dead, in a stranger's ship.

This event is the setting for the only surviving complete satyr play, Cyclops by Euripides. This version contains a more humorous version of the story by including the cowardly satyrs.

According to Virgil's Aeneid, Achaemenides was one of Odysseus' crew who stayed on Sicily with Polyphemus until Aeneas arrived and took him with him. Virgil was probably trying to interweave his tale as much as possible with Homer's already ancient, great work, especially as Achaemenides had nothing to do with the story at all and was in fact never mentioned again.

Aeolus

Continuing his journey, Odysseus stopped at Aeolia, the home of Aeolus, the favoured mortal of the gods who received the power of controlling the winds. Aeolus gave Odysseus and his crew hospitality for a month, in return for Odysseus's interesting stories. Aeolus also provided a bag filled with all winds but the one to lead him home. Because Odysseus guarded the bag for the entire voyage home, without so much as a wink of sleep, his crew suspected that some treasure might be in it. A couple of them decided to open it as soon as he fell asleep—just before their home was reached. They were immediately blown back to Aeolia by a violent storm. Aeolus refused to offer any more help because he realised Odysseus must be cursed by the gods. Odysseus had to begin his journey from Aeolia to Ithaca over again. Although heartbroken, he hid his feelings from his crew.

The Laestrygonians

They came next to Telepylos, the stronghold of Lamos, king of the Laestrygonians. Odysseus's ships entered a harbor surrounded by steep cliffs, with a single entrance between two headlands. The captains took their ships inside and made them fast close to one another, where it was dead calm. Odysseus kept his own ship outside the harbour, moored to a rock. He climbed a high rock to reconnoiter, but could see nothing but some smoke rising from the ground. He sent two of his company with an attendant to investigate the inhabitants.

The men followed a road and eventually met a young woman, who said she was a daughter of Antiphates, the king, and directed them to his house. When they arrived there, however, they found a gigantic woman, the wife of Antiphates who promptly called her husband. He immediately left the assembly of the people and, on arrival, snatched up one of the men and started to eat him. The other two ran away, but Antiphates raised a hue-and-cry. Soon they were pursued by thousands of Laestrygonians—giants, not men—who threw vast rocks from the cliffs, smashing the ships, and speared the men like fish.

Odysseus escaped with his single ship due only to the fact that it was not trapped in the harbour. The rest of his company was lost. The surviving crew traveled to the island of Circe.

Circe

The next stop was Aeaea, the island of the enchantress Circe, where Odysseus sent ahead a scouting party. Circe invited the scouting party to a feast, and turned all the men into swine after they ate food laced with one of her magical sleep-inducing potions. Only Eurylochus, suspecting treachery from the outset, escaped to warn Odysseus and the others, who had stayed behind with the ships.

Odysseus, against his fellows' bidding, set forth to rescue his transfigured men but was intercepted by Hermes and told to procure the herb moly, which would protect him from a similar fate. When it snubbed her magic, she offered to sleep with Odysseus, but, fellowing Hermes's counsel, he first demanded that she turn his crew back into humans. This she did, and Odysseus obliged, staying with her for a year. He eventually left Aeaea at the insistence of his crew, with whom Circe agreed. She gave him advice about the remainder of his journey. During the preparation for departure, however, Odysseus' youngest crewman, Elpenor, fell from a roof and died.

Circe subsequently bore Odysseus a son, Telegonus, who would eventually cause his father's death.

Journey to the Underworld

After speaking to Circe, Odysseus decided to talk with Tiresias, so he and his men journeyed to the River Acheron in Hades, where they performed sacrifices which allowed them to speak to the dead. Odysseus sacrificed a ram, attracting the dead spirits to the blood. He held them at bay and demanded to speak with Tiresias, who told him how to pass by Helios's cattle and the whirlpool Charybdis. Tiresias also told him that, after his return to Ithaca, he must take a well-made oar and walk inland with it to parts where no-one mixes sea salt with food, until someone asks him why he carries a winnowing fan. At that place, he must fix the oar in the ground and make a sacrifice to appease Poseidon. Tiresias also told Odysseus that, after that was done, he would die an old man, "full of years and peace of mind"; his death would come from the sea and his life ebb away gently. (Some read this as saying that his death would come away from the sea.)

While in Hades, Odysseus also met Achilles (who told him that he would rather be a slave on earth than the king of the dead), Agamemnon and his mother, Anticlea. The soul of Ajax, still sulking about Achilles's armor, refused to speak to Odysseus, despite the latter's pleas of regret.

Odysseus also met his comrade, Elpenor, who told him of the manner of his death and begged him to give him an honorable burial.

The Sirens

Odysseus and the Sirens by John William Waterhouse

Circe had warned Odysseus of the dangers of the singing creatures who lured men to their death on the rocks around their island. She advised him to avoid them but said that, if he really felt that he must, he should have his men plug their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast to keep him from escaping.

Odysseus had his men do so. As they passed the island, the three Sirens began to sing beautifully, promising him wisdom and knowledge of past and future. Enchanted by their song, he struggled and tried to break free, but two of his men bound him even more tightly until they passed beyond the island.

Scylla and Charybdis

Odysseus had been told by Circe that he would have a choice between two paths home. One was the Wandering Rocks, where either all made it through or all died, and which had only been passed by Jason, with Zeus's help. Odysseus, however, chose the second path: on one side of the strait was a whirlpool called Charybdis, which would sink the ship; on the other was a monster called Scylla, daughter of Crataeis, who had six heads and could seize and eat six men.

The advice was to sail close to Scylla and lose six men but not to fight, lest they should lose more men. Odysseus did not dare tell his crew of the sacrifice, or they would have cowered below and not rowed, in which case all would have ended up in Charybdis. Six men duly died. Odysseus announced that the desperate cries of the wretched, betrayed men were the worst thing he had ever known. Undoubtedly this affected morale and left the survivors feeling mutinous.

The Cattle of Helios

Finally, Odysseus and his surviving crew approached an island, Thrinacia, which was sacred to Helios, who kept hallowed cattle there. Odysseus, having been warned by Tiresias and Circe not to touch these cattle, told his men that they would not land there. Eurylochus first argued that the men were mourning, then refused to travel by night and finally threatened mutiny. Outnumbered, Odysseus gave in.

The men were soon trapped on the island by adverse winds and, after their food stores had run out, began to get hungry. Odysseus went inland to pray for help and fell asleep. In his absence, Eurylochus reasoned that they might as well eat the cattle and be killed by the gods as die of starvation, and claimed that they would offer sacrifices and treasure to appease the gods if they returned alive to Ithaca. When they slaughtered the cattle, the guardians of the island, Helios's daughters Lampetia and Phaethusa, told their father, who told to Zeus that he would take the sun down to Hades if justice was not done. Zeus destroyed the ship with a thunderbolt, killing all but Odysseus. After sweeping past Scylla and Charybdis, whom he luckily escaped once more, he was washed up on an island.

Calypso and the Phaeacians

The island, Ogygia, was home to the nymph Calypso (daughter of Atlas), who held Odysseus captive as her lover for seven years, promising him immortality if he agreed to stay. He was strongly attracted to her by night but wept by the shore for home and family by day. On behalf of Athena, Zeus intervened and sent Hermes to tell Calypso to let him go.

Odysseus duly departed on a small raft, furnished by Calypso with provisions of water, wine and food, only to be hit by a storm from his old enemy Poseidon. He was washed up on the island of Scheria and found by Nausicaa, the daughter of King Alcinous and Queen Arete of the Phaeacians, who entertained him well. The bard Demodocus sung a song about the Trojan war. As Odysseus, as yet unidentified by the Phaeacians, had been at Troy and longed to return home, he wept at it, at which point Alcinous pressed him for his true identity.

It is here that we are given the story of Odysseus's trip from Troy to Scheria, which occupies books nine to twelve of The Odyssey. After his recital, the Phaecians offer him passage home, with all the hoardings he obtained along the way and the gifts the Phaecians themselves bestowed upon him (showing xenia, the idea of guest friendship). King Alcinous provided one fast Phæacian, ship that soon^[10] carried Odysseus home to Ithaca.

Poseidon, on seeing Odysseus's return, was furious and decided to cast a ring of mountains around Scheria so that they could never sail again. This would naturally have been damaging to the Phaeacians, for they were seafarers, but Zeus persuaded Poseidon not to go ahead with the idea. Instead, he turned the ship on which Odysseus journeyed home to stone.

Odysseus reaches Ithaca

Back in Ithaca, Penelope was having difficulties, her husband having been gone for twenty years. She did not know whether he was alive or dead, and was beset with numerous men who thought that a fairly young widow and queen of a small but tidy kingdom was a great prize: they pestered her to declare Odysseus dead and choose a new husband. They loitered about the palace, eating her food, drinking her wine and consorting with her maidservants. Penelope was despondent about her husband's absence, especially the mystery of his fate. He could come home at any time—or never. Temporising, she fended the suitors off for years, using stalling tactics that eventually began to wear thin. Meanwhile, Odysseus's mother, Anticlea, died of grief, and his father, Laërtes, was not far off the same end.

Odysseus arrived on Ithaca alone. Upon landing, he was disguised by Athena as an old man or beggar, and welcomed by his old swineherd, Eumaeus, who did not recognize him but nevertheless treated him well. Odysseus's faithful dog, Argos, was the first to recognize him. Aged and decrepit, the animal did its best to wag its tail, but Odysseus did not want to be found out and had to maintain his cover, so the weary dog died in peace. The first human to recognize him was his old wet nurse, Euryclea, who knew him well enough to see through his rags, recognising an old scar on his leg, received while hunting boar with Autolycus's sons. Odysseus's son, Telemachus, did not see through the disguise, but Odysseus eventually revealed his identity to him.

Odysseus learned that Penelope had remained faithful to him, pretending to weave a burial shroud for his father, and claiming that she would only choose a suitor when she was finished. Every day she wove a length of shroud, and every night unwove it, until one day a maid betrayed her. The suitors demanded that she finally choose a new husband.

When Odysseus arrived at his house, disguised as a beggar, he sat in the hall, observed the suitors and was repeatedly humiliated by them. Presently, he went to Penelope and told her that he had met Odysseus, spinning a haughty tale about his bravery in battle. Penelope, still unknowing of the beggar's identity, began to cry. She went to the suitors and told them that whoever could string his bow and shoot an arrow through 12 axe-handles would marry her. This was to Odysseus's advantage, as only he could string his bow. It is believed that his bow was a composite, requiring great skill and leverage to string, rather than brute strength. Penelope then announced what he, as the beggar, had told her.

The suitors each tried to string the bow, but their attempts were in vain. Odysseus then took it, strung it, lined up twelve axe-handles and shot an arrow through all twelve. Athena then took off his disguise and, with the help of his son, a cattleherd and Eumaeus, slaughtered all the suitors. Antinous was the first to be slain, taking an Odysseus arrow to the throat in the Great Hall while drinking. At first, Odysseus shot as many as he could but then, when out of arrows, reached for the spears. Caught by surprise and unarmed by Telemachus, the suitors were easy prey but, later on, began to arm themselves. This, however, did not save their lives.

When all the suitors were killed, the goatherd Melanthius, who had provided the suitors with arms but had been strung up by Eumaeus, was taken into the courtyard where his nose, ears, hands and feet were cut off, and his genitals pulled out and fed to the dogs. Telemachus hung the female servants who were availing themselves to the suitors.

Penelope, still not certain that the beggar was indeed her husband, tested him. She ordered her maid to make up Odysseus's bed and move it from their bedchamber into the hall outside his room. Odysseus was furious when he heard this because one of the bed posts was made from a living olive tree. He himself had designed it this way; it could not be moved unless by a god. He told her this, and, since only he and she knew of it, she accepted that he was indeed her husband. She came running to him, hoping that he would forgive her. He did, firstly because he could understand why she had tested him and secondly because he had passed the test.

To avenge the death of his son Antinous, Eupeithes tried to kill Odysseus. Laërtes killed him, and Athena thereafter required the suitors' families and Odysseus to make peace. Thus ends the story of the Odyssey.

Odysseus had been told (by the shade of Tiresias) that he had one more journey to make after he had re-established his rule in Ithaca.

Based on several astronomical events described in the Odyssey, some scientists have recently calculated that Odysseus returned home exactly on April 16, 1178 BCE.^[11]

Apollo and Hyacinth

2008-07-17T23:54:00.000-07:00

In Greek mythology, Hyacinth or Hyacinthus (in Greek, Ὑάκινθος — Hyakinthos) was a divine hero, the son of Clio and Pierus, King of Macedonia, or of king Oebalus of Sparta, or of king Amyclas, also a Spartan. His cult at Amyclae, where his tomb was located, at the feet of Apollo's statue, dates from the Mycenean era.

He is the tutelary deity of one of the principal Spartan festivals, the Hyacinthia, held every summer. The festival lasted three days, one day of mourning for the death of the divine hero and the last two celebrating his rebirth.

In the myth, Hyacinth was a beautiful youth beloved by the god Apollo. The two took turns throwing the discus, until Apollo, to impress his beloved, threw it with all his might. Hyacinth ran to catch it, to impress Apollo in turn, and was struck by the discus as it fell to the ground and he died.

Another myth adds that the wind god Zephyrus was actually responsible for the death of Hyacinth. The boy's beauty caused a feud between Zephyrus and Apollo. Jealous that Hyacinth preferred the radiant archery god Apollo, Zephyrus blew Apollo's discus off course, so as to injure and kill Hyacinth. When he died, Apollo didn't allow Hades to claim the boy; rather, he made a flower, the hyacinth, from his spilled blood. According to Ovid's account, the tears of Apollo stained the newly formed flower's petals with the sign of his grief. However, the flower of the mythological Hyacinth has been identified with a number of plants other than the true hyacinth, such as the iris.

Europa

2008-07-17T23:47:00.000-07:00

Zeus was not satisfied with his wife Hera, who was also his sister, and therefore had a lot of affairs. To keep Hera in the dark, he used not to disclose his identity and turned to , to the strangest stratagems.
Once, Zeus fell in love with Europa, the only daughter of Agenores, a shepherd in the Canaan land. Zeus instructed Hermes to push Agenores’s cattle to a seashore near Tiro, where Europa and her friends used to go for a walk.
Zeus himself mixed in the herd in the shape of a bull as white as the snow, with a strong chest and two little gem-like horns s, between which there was a single black strip.
Europa was struck by the beauty of the bull and, since he was as meek as a lamb, she started playing with him placing flowers in his mouth and hanging up garlands to his horns; at last she jumped on his back and rode to the seashore.
All of a sudden the bull threw himself in the waves and started swimming; dismayed Europa, the right hand gripping the bull's horn and the left a full basket of flowers, stared at the shore turning her head until it disappeared.
Arrived in a beach, near Gortina, Zeus turned himself into an eagle and made love with Europa in a thicket of willows by a springor, as others say, under an evergreen plane-tree. Europa gave birth to three children: Minos, Radamantous and Sarpedon.

Niobe

2008-07-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

The Story of Niobe, the weeping woman, who turned into the Weeping Rock

Niobe was the daughter of the Anatolian local ruler Tantalus, called the "Phrygian" and sometimes even as "King of Phrygia" ^[1], although Tantalus ruled in Sipylus, a city located in the western extremity of Anatolia, homonymous with the mountain on which it was founded (Mount Sipylus) and of which few traces remain ^[2], and not in the traditional heartland of Phrygia situated more inland and centered around Gordion. An Anatolian princess, Niobe married Amphion of Thebes and Greek mythology acted as a vehicle for her historical record mixed with legends. Niobe was the sister of Pelops, who gave his name to the Peloponnese.

According to the Greek myth, Niobe boasted of her superiority to Leto because the goddess only had two children, the twins Apollo and Artemis, while Niobe had fourteen children (the Niobids), seven male and seven female.^[3] Her famously quoted speech which caused the indignation of the goddess is as follows:

It was on occasion of the annual celebration in honor of Latona and her offspring, Apollo and Diana, when the people of Thebes were assembled, their brows crowned with laurel, bearing frankincense to the altars and paying their vows, that Niobe appeared among the crowd. Her attire was splendid with gold and gems, and her face as beautiful as the face of an angry woman can be. She stood and surveyed the people with haughty looks. "What folly," said she, "is this! to prefer beings whom you never saw to those who stand before your eyes! Why should Latona be honored with worship rather than I? My father was Tantalus, who was received as a guest at the table of the gods; my mother was a goddess. My husband built and rules this city, Thebes; and Phrygia is my paternal inheritance. Wherever I turn my eyes I survey the elements of my power; nor is my form and presence unworthy of a goddess. To all this let me add, I have seven sons and seven daughters, and look for sons-in-law and daughters-in-law of pretensions worthy of my alliance. Have I not cause for pride? Will you prefer to me this Latona, the Titan's daughter, with her two children? I have seven times as many. Fortunate indeed am I, and fortunate I shall remain! Will any one deny this?^[4]

Apollo killed Niobe's sons as they practiced athletics, with the last begging for his life and Artemis killed Niobe's daughters. Apollo and Artemis used poisoned arrows to kill them, though according to some versions at least one Niobid was spared, (usually Meliboea). Amphion, at the sight of his dead sons, either killed himself or was killed by Apollo for swearing revenge. A devastated Niobe fled to Mount Sipylus (Spil Mount) of Lydia in Anatolia and was turned into a stone waterfall as she wept unceasingly. Spil Mount has a natural rock formation resembling a female face claimed to be Niobe,^[5] not to be confused with a sculpture carved into the rock-face of nearby crag Coddinus, north of Spil Mount, probably representing Cybele and attributed by the locals to Broteas, the ugly brother of Niobe.^[6] The rock formation is also known as the "Weeping Stone", as the stone is said to have wept tears during the summer. The rock appears to weep because it is porous limestone and rainwater seeps through the pores.

There are various accounts about how and where Niobe perished; the story that returns Niobe from Thebes to her Lydian homeland is recorded in Bibliotheke 3.46.

The story of Niobe is an ancient one among Greeks: Niobe is mentioned by Achilles to Priam in Homer's Iliad book XXIV, as a stock type for mourning. Priam is like Niobe in that he is grieving for his son Hector, who was killed and not buried for several days. Niobe is also mentioned in Sophocles' Antigone: as she is marched toward her death, Antigone compares her own loneliness to that of Niobe. The Niobe of Aeschylus, set in Thebes, survives in fragmentary quotes that were supplemented by a papyrus sheet containing twenty-one lines of text.^[7] From the fragments it appears that for the first part of the tragedy the grieving Niobe sits veiled and silent. Sophocles too contributed a Niobe that is lost. Furthermore, the conflict between Niobe and Leto is mentioned in one of Sappho's poetic fragments, ("Before they were mothers, Leto and Niobe had been the most devoted of friends.") The subject of Niobe and the destruction of the Niobids was part of the repertory of Attic vase-painters and inspired sculpture groups and wall frescoes as well as relief carvings on Roman sarcophagi.

Niobe's iconic tears were also mentioned in Hamlet's soliloquy (Act 1, Scene 2), in which he contrasts his mother's grief over the dead King, Hamlet's father — "like Niobe, all tears" — to her unseemly hasty marriage to Claudius.

Tantalus

2008-07-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

Tantalus₁

Tantalus₁ is punished in Hades by not being able to eat or drink, as the water in the lake dries out, and the fruits in the trees are lifted by the wind each time he tries to reach either.

Famous torment

In the same way as some are famous for their lives, and others are famous for their deaths, Tantalus₁ became famous for the manner of his punishment in the afterlife. He was made to stand chin-deep in water with fruits just over his head, and whenever he tries to drink or eat, the water recedes or the fruits are lifted out of reach. And this torment, through which something seems to be offered only to be withdrawn again, has been called, in memory of its best known victim, "tantalize". Such is the Fame of this punishment.

Forever hungry and thirsty

Some have said that in addition Tantalus₁ had a stone hanging over him. But otherwise Tantalus₁ is said to see at his shoulders on either side trees with fruit growing beside the lake in which he stands with the water touching his jaws. And when he wishes to drink, the water recedes or dries up, and when he wishes to eat from the fruits, the branches are lifted by the wind as high as the clouds. Consequently, Tantalus₁ is always hungry, thirsty, and afraid that the huge stone that hangs above his head will fall on him.

Tantalus₁

Tantalus₁ is punished in Hades by not being able to eat or drink, as the water in the lake dries out, and the fruits in the trees are lifted by the wind each time he tries to reach either.

Famous torment

For ever hungry and thirsty

Betrayed the gods' trust

As they say, Tantalus₁ was much trusted by his father Zeus, being admitted to the banquets of the gods. But Tantalus₁ proved to have an unbridled tongue, and the thoughtless fellow reported the gods' plans to men, telling them about the mysteries of the gods, and also attempting to share ambrosia with his fellows.

King in Sipylus

Tantalus₁ reigned in Sipylus, the land about the mountain with the same name which is east of Smyrna in Asia Minor. Here, not far from the Lake of Tantalus, his grave could be seen, and in Sipylus he received his daughter Niobe₂ when she returned from Thebes after the killing of the NIOBIDS by Apollo and Artemis. Niobe₂ was transformed into a stone, and tears flow night and day from the stone at Sipylus. Niobe₂'s husband was Amphion₁, the harpist who ruled Thebes; and they say that he, being related to Tantalus₁ for having married his daughter, learned this art from the Lydians themselves, and later added three strings to the four old ones. Tantalus₁'s son Pelops₁, however, was forced to run away from Sipylus when Ilus₂, the founder of Troy, launched an army against him. On a peak of Mount Sipylus there was a throne of Pelops₁.

Debauched Paphlagonian king

Others say that Tantalus₁ dwelt in Paphlagonia, in northern Asia Minor, and that he was the wealthy king of that region. He was a especial friend of the gods, and was permitted to ask for whatever he desired, but he was unable to bear his good fortune. For he, after sharing the table of the gods and their intimate talk, made known to men the secrets of the immortals. This is the reason for his eternal punishment, but others have added that Tantalus₁ was so immoderately given to pleasures that he asked always for more, and for a life like that of the gods. Zeus, they say, fulfilled his prayer in the known way, hanging also a stone over his head to keep him continually harassed. And he was punished on earth too; for according to some it was he, and not his son Pelops₁, who was driven out of Paphlagonia by Ilus₂, the founder of Troy.

Turns his son into a meal

Tantalus₁ reached a very high pitch of perversion when he slaughtered his own son Pelops₁ and served him as a meal at the banquet of the gods. It was then that Demeter ate Pelops₁'s arm. When the gods learned what had taken place, they gave Pelops₁ life again, joining together all his limbs. And since the shoulder was missing, Demeter fitted an ivory one in its place.

Misfortunes

Now, in whatever way one looks to Tantalus₁'s fate, there are only misfortunes to be found. For his country was utterly overthrown, and in death eternal torment awaited him. And his descent was not more fortunate. That is why it seemed reasonable to pray:

"O gods, may the race of Tantalus be fortunate at last, and may it be set free from evils!" (Euripides, Helen 855).

Yet some think that what Tantalus₁ did was extremely wrong, and that those who commit such crimes become incurable, not being able to profit by any punishment themselves, but instead serving to others as example. And not seldom these examples come from despots, great potentates, and public administrators. For these, having a free hand, are able to commit the worst offences.

Others with identical name

Tantalus₂ is one of the NIOBIDS, that is, a grandson of Tantalus₁.

Tantalus₃ is the first husband of Clytaemnestra; he was killed by Agamemnon. Tantalus₃ is called by some son of Broteas₄, and by others son of Thyestes₁. As son of Thyestes₁, Tantalus₃ should have been killed as an infant by Atreus, and served to his own father as a meal at a banquet. In both cases Tantalus₃ is a descendant of Tantalus₁.

Echo & Narcissus

2008-07-17T15:07:00.000-07:00

Zeus, the King of the Olympians, was known for his many love affairs. Sometimes the young and beautiful Nymph Echo would distract and amuse his wife Hera with long and entertaining stories, while Zeus took advantage of the moment to ravish the other mountain nymphs. When Hera discovered the trickery she punished the talkative Echo by taking away her voice, except in foolish repetition of another's shouted words. Thus, all Echo could do was repeat the voice of another.

Echo fell in love with a vain youth named Narcissus, who was the son of the blue Nymph Leiriope of Thespia. The River god Cephisus had once encircled Leirope with the windings of his streams, and thus trapping her, had seduced the nymph. Narcissus was their child.

Concerned about the baby's welfare, Leirope went to consult the oracle called Teiresias regarding her son's future. Teiresias told the nymph that Narcissus "would live to a ripe old age, as long as he never knew himself."

Narcissus was beautiful as a child and grew even more so as he matured. By the age of sixteen he had left a trail of broken hearts, from rejected lovers of both sexes. Narcissus wanted nothing to do with falling in love with anyone and rebuffed all attempts at romance.

One day when Narcissus was out hunting stags, Echo stealthily followed the handsome youth through the woods, longing to address him but unable to speak first. When Narcissus finally heard footsteps and shouted "Who's there?", Echo answered "Who's there?" And so it went, until finally Echo showed herself and rushed to embrace the lovely youth.

He pulled away from the nymph and vainly told her to get lost. Narcissus left Echo heartbroken and she spent the rest of her life in lonely glens, pining away for the love she never knew, until only her voice remained.

A man named Ameinius was one of Narcissus' most ardent admirers, and repeatedly vied for his attention. The conceited youth responded by sending his suitor a sword, telling him to prove his adoration. Ameinious proceeded to plunge the sword into his heart, committing suicide to demonstrate his love, but not before he beseeched the gods to punish the vain Narcissus.

The goddess of the hunt, Artemis, heard the plea and made Narcissus fall in love, but a kind a love that couldn't be fulfilled. Narcissus came upon a clear spring at Donacon in Thespia and, as he bent low to take a drink, for the first time caught sight of himself reflected in the pool. Try as he might to touch this exquisite person in the waters, however, he never could.

For hours he sat enraptured by the spring, at last recognizing himself but tortured by the realization that he could never possess the object of his infatuation. Narcissus was tormented, much as he had tormented all those who in the past had been unlucky enough to fall in love with him.

Finally unable to stand the agony Narcissus plunged a dagger in his heart and died, calling out a last goodbye to his reflected image. Where his blood soaked the earth sprung up the white narcissus flower with its red corollary.

(Short Greek version)

Echo was a very beautiful and musical nymph who could sing sweetly and expertly play many instruments. She lived deep in the woods and denied the love of any mortal or god. She therefore attracted the hatred and anger of many, including the god Pan whose love she turned down. Pan caused his followers the shepherds to kill Echo and tear her to pieces that were subsequently scattered far and wide. Gaea, Mother Earth, received the pieces in her bosom and thus Echo, scattered now all over the earth, retained her voice and talents answering or imitating every sound or voice.

Echo & Narcissus

By Thomas Bullfinch

Echo was a beautiful nymph, fond of the woods and hills, where she devoted herself to woodland sports. She was a favourite of Diana, and attended her in the chase. But Echo had one failing; she was fond of talking, and whether in chat or argument, would have the last word. One day Juno was seeking her husband, who, she had reason to fear, was amusing himself among the nymphs. Echo by her talk contrived to detain the goddess till the nymphs made their escape. When Juno discovered it, she passed sentence upon Echo in these words: "You shall forfeit the use of that tongue with which you have cheated me, except for that one purpose you are so fond of- reply. You shall still have the last word, but no power to speak first."

This nymph saw Narcissus, a beautiful youth, as he pursued the chase upon the mountains. She loved him and followed his footsteps. O how she longed to address him in the softest accents, and win him to converse! but it was not in her power. She waited with impatience for him to speak first, and had her answer ready. One day the youth, being separated from his companions, shouted aloud, "Who's here?" Echo replied, "Here." Narcissus looked around, but seeing no one, called out, "Come." Echo answered, "Come." As no one came, Narcissus called again, "Why do you shun me?" Echo asked the same question. "Let us join one another," said the youth. The maid answered with all her heart in the same words, and hastened to the spot, ready to throw her arms about his neck. He started back, exclaiming, "Hands off! I would rather die than you should have me!" "Have me," said she; but it was all in vain. He left her, and she went to hide her blushes in the recesses of the woods. From that time forth she lived in caves and among mountain cliffs. Her form faded with grief, till at last all her flesh shrank away. Her bones were changed into rocks and there was nothing left of her but her voice. With that she is still ready to reply to any one who calls her, and keeps up her old habit of having the last word.

Narcissus's cruelty in this case was not the only instance. He shunned all the rest of the nymphs, as he had done poor Echo. One day a maiden who had in vain endeavored to attract him uttered a prayer that he might some time or other feel what it was to love and meet no return of affection. The avenging goddess heard and granted the prayer.

There was a clear fountain, with water like silver, to which the shepherds never drove their flocks, nor the mountain goats resorted, nor any of the beasts of the forests; neither was it defaced with fallen leaves or branches; but the grass grew fresh around it, and the rocks sheltered it from the sun. Hither came one day the youth, fatigued with hunting, heated and thirsty. He stooped down to drink, and saw his own image in the water; he thought it was some beautiful water-spirit living in the fountain. He stood gazing with admiration at those bright eyes, those locks curled like the locks of Bacchus or Apollo, the rounded cheeks, the ivory neck, the parted lips, and the glow of health and exercise over all. He fell in love with himself. He brought his lips near to take a kiss; he plunged his arms in to embrace the beloved object. It fled at the touch, but returned again after a moment and renewed the fascination. He could not tear himself away; he lost all thought of food or rest. while he hovered over the brink of the fountain gazing upon his own image. He talked with the supposed spirit: "Why, beautiful being, do you shun me? Surely my face is not one to repel you. The nymphs love me, and you yourself look not indifferent upon me. When I stretch forth my arms you do the same; and you smile upon me and answer my beckonings with the like." His tears fell into the water and disturbed the image. As he saw it depart, he exclaimed, "Stay, I entreat you! Let me at least gaze upon you, if I may not touch you." With this, and much more of the same kind, he cherished the flame that consumed him, so that by degrees be lost his colour, his vigour, and the beauty which formerly had so charmed the nymph Echo.

She kept near him, however, and when he exclaimed, "Alas! alas!" she answered him with the same words. He pined away and died; and when his shade passed the Stygian river, it leaned over the boat to catch a look of itself in the waters. The nymphs mourned for him, especially the water-nymphs; and when they smote their breasts Echo smote hers also. They prepared a funeral pile and would have burned the body, but it was nowhere to be found; but in its place a flower, purple within, and surrounded with white leaves, which bears the name and preserves the memory of Narcissus.

Milton alludes to the story of Echo and Narcissus in the Lady's song in "Comus." She is seeking her brothers in the forest, and sings to attract their attention:

"Sweet Echo, sweetest nymph, that liv'st unseen
Within thy aery shell
By slow Meander's margent green,
And in the violet-embroidered vale,
Where the love-lorn nightingale
Nightly to thee her sad song mourneth well;
Canst thou not tell me of a gentle pair
That likest thy Narcissus are?
O, if thou have
Hid them in some flowery cave,
Tell me but where,
Sweet queen of parly, daughter of the sphere,
So may'st thou be translated to the skies,
And give resounding grace to all heaven's harmonies."

Milton has imitated the story of Narcissus in the account which he makes Eve give of the first sight of herself reflected in the fountain.

"That day I oft remember when from sleep
I first awaked, and found myself reposed
Under a shade on flowers, much wondering where
And what I was, whence thither brought, and how
Not distant far from thence a murmuring sound
Of waters issued from a cave, and spread
Into a liquid plain, then stood unmoved
Pure as the expanse of heaven; I tither went
With unexperienced thought, and laid me down
On the green bank, to look into the clear
Smooth lake that to me seemed another sky.
As I bent down to look, just opposite
A shape within the watery gleam appeared,
Bending to look on me. I started back;
It started back; but pleased I soon returned,
Pleased it returned as soon with answering looks
Of sympathy and love. There had I fixed
Mine eyes till now, and pined with vain desire,
Had not a voice thus warned me: 'What thou seest,
What there thou seest, fair creature, is thyself;" etc.
[Paradise Lost, Book IV]

No one of the fables of antiquity has been oftener alluded to by the poets than that of Narcissus. Here are two epigrams which treat it in different ways. The first is by Goldsmith:

ON A BEAUTIFUL YOUTH, STRUCK BLIND BY LIGHTNING

"Sure 'twas by Providence designed
Rather in pity than in hate,
That he should be like Cupid blind,
To save him from Narcissus' fate."

The other is by Cowper:

ON AN UGLY FELLOW

"Beware, my friend, of crystal brook
Or fountain, lest that hideous hook,
Thy nose, thou chance to see;
Narcissus' fate would then be thine,
And self-detested thou would'st pine,
As self-enamoured he."

Greek Mythology: Stories

2008-07-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

Creation of the World

In the begining there was only chaos. Then out of the void appeared Erebus, the unknowable place where death dwells, and Night. All else was empty, silent, endless, darkness. Then somehow Love was born bringing a start of order. From Love came Light and Day. Once there was Light and Day, Gaea, the earth appeared.
Then Erebus slept with Night, who gave birth to Ether, the heavenly light, and to Day the earthly light. Then Night alone produced Doom, Fate, Death, Sleep, Dreams, Nemesis, and others that come to man out of darkness.
Meanwhile Gaea alone gave birth to Uranus, the heavens. Uranus became Gaea's mate covering her on all sides. Together they produced the three Cyclopes, the three Hecatoncheires, and twelve Titans.
However, Uranus was a bad father and husband. He hated the Hecatoncheires. He imprisoned them by pushing them into the hidden places of the earth, Gaea's womb. This angered Gaea and she ploted against Uranus. She made a flint sickle and tried to get her children to attack Uranus. All were too afraid except, the youngest Titan, Cronus.
Gaea and Cronus set up an ambush of Uranus as he lay with Gaea at night. Cronus grabed his father and castrated him, with the stone sickle, throwing the severed genitales into the ocean. The fate of Uranus is not clear. He either died, withdrew from the earth, or exiled himself to Italy. As he departed he promised that Cronus and the Titans would be punished. From his spilt blood came the Giants, the Ash Tree Nymphs, and the Erinnyes. From the sea foam where his genitales fell came Aphrodite.
Cronus became the next ruler. He imprisoned the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires in Tartarus. He married his sister Rhea, under his rule the Titans had many offspring. He ruled for many ages. However, Gaea and Uranus both had prophesied that he would be overthrown by a son. To avoid this Cronus swallowed each of his children as they were born. Rhea was angry at the treatment of the children and ploted against Cronus. When it came time to give birth to her sixth child, Rhea hid herself, then she left the child to be raised by nymphs. To concel her act she wrapped a stone in swaddling cloths and passed it off as the baby to Cronus, who swallowed it.
This child was Zeus. He grew into a handsome youth on Crete. He consulted Metis on how to defeat Cronus. She prepaired a drink for Cronus design to make him vomit up the other children. Rhea convinced Cronus to accept his son and Zeus was allowed to return to Mount Olympus as Cronus's cupbearer. This gave Zeus the opertunity to slip Cronus the specially prepaired drink. This worked as planned and the other five children were vomitted up. Being gods they were unharmed. They were thankful to Zeus and made him their leader.
Cronus was yet to be defeated. He and the Titans, except Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Oceanus, fought to retain their power. Atlas became their leader in battle and it looked for some time as though they would win and put the young gods down. However, Zeus was cunning. He went down to Tartarus and freed the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires. Prometheus joined Zeus as well. He returned to battle with his new allies. The Cyclopes provided Zeus with lighting bolts for weapons. The Hecatoncheires he set in ambush armed with boulders. With the time right, Zeus retreated drawing the Titans into the Hecatoncheires's ambush. The Hecatoncheires rained down hundreds of boulders with such a fury the Titans thought the mountains were falling on them. They broke and ran giving Zeus victory.
Zeus exiled the Titans who had fought against him into Tartarus. Except for Atlas, who was singled out for the special punishment of holding the world on his shoulders.
However, even after this victory Zeus was not safe. Gaea angry that her children had been imprisoned gave birth to a last offspring, Typhoeus. Typhoeus was so fearsome that most of the gods fled. However, Zeus faced the monster and flinging his lighting bolts was able to kill it. Typhoeus was burried under Mount Etna in Sicily.
Much later a final challenge to Zeus rule was made by the Giants. They went so far as to attempt to invade Mount Olympus, piling mountain upon mountain in an effort to reach the top. But, the gods had grown strong and with the help of Heracles the Giants were subdued or killed.

The Creation of Man by Prometheus

Prometheus and Epimetheus were spared imprisonment in Tatarus because they had not fought with their fellow Titans during the war with the Olympians. They were given the task of creating man. Prometheus shaped man out of mud, and Athena breathed life into his clay figure.
Prometheus had assigned Epimetheus the task of giving the creatures of the earth thier various qualities, such as swiftness, cunning, strength, fur, wings. Unfortunately, by the time he got to man Epimetheus had given all the good qualities out and there were none left for man. So Prometheus decided to make man stand upright as the gods did and to give them fire.
Prometheus loved man more then the Olympians, who had banished most of his family to Tartarus. So when Zeus decreed that man must present a portion of each animal they scarified to the gods Prometheus decided to trick Zeus. He created two piles, one with the bones wrapped in juicy fat, the other with the good meat hidden in the hide. He then bade Zeus to pick. Zeus picked the bones. Since he had given his word Zeus had to accept that as his share for future sacrafices. In his anger over the trick he took fire away from man. However, Prometheus lit a torch from the sun and brought it back again to man. Zeus was enraged that man again had fire. He decided to inflict a terrable punishment on both man and Prometheus.
To punish man, Zeus had Hephaestus create a mortal of stunning beauty. The gods gave the mortal many gifts of wealth. He then had Hermes give the mortal a deceptive heart and a lying tongue. This creation was Pandora, the first women. A final gift was a jar which Pandora was forbidden to open. Thus, completed Zeus sent Pandora down to Epimetheus who was staying amongst the men.
Prometheus had warned Epimetheus not to accept gifts from Zeus but, Pandora's beauty was too great and he allowed her to stay. Eventually, Pandora's curiosity about the jar she was forbidden to open became to great. She opened the jar and out flew all manor of evils, sorrows, plagues, and misfortunes. However, the bottom of the jar held one good thing - hope.
Zeus was angry at Prometheus for three things: being tricked on scarifices, stealing fire for man, and for refusing to tell Zeus which of Zeus's children would dethrone him. Zeus had his servants, Force and Violence, seize Prometheus, take him to the Caucasus Mountains, and chain him to a rock with unbreakable adamanite chains. Here he was tormented day and night by a giant eagle tearing at his liver. Zeus gave Prometheus two ways out of this torment. He could tell Zeus who the mother of the child that would dethrone him was. Or meet two conditions: First, that an immortal must volunteer to die for Prometheus. Second, that a mortal must kill the eagle and unchain him. Eventually, Chiron the Centaur agreed to die for him and Heracles killed the eagle and unbound him.

Zeus Lovers

As the sky god Zeus had easy access to the women of the world and took full advantage of it. Also, his power as a supreme god made him difficult to resist. Prior to his marrage to Hera he was married first to Metis, then Themis. He was interested in Demeter but she resisted him. His third wife was Mnemosyne. The list of lovers after his final marrage, to Hera, is considerable:
Europa
Europa was the daughter of the King Agenor of Sidon. She had the continent of Europe named for her. Somewhat miraculesly Hera was distracted during her affair with Zeus and never punished her for it.
One night Europa had a dream. In this dream two continents, which were in the forms of women were arguing over Europa. Asia maintained that since Europa had been born in Asia she belonged to it. The other continent, which was nameless, said that her birth was not important, that Zeus would give her to it.
It was early morning, disturbed by the dream Europa did not go back to sleep. She summoned her companions, who were all daughters of nobility and of her age. It was a beautiful day and they went off gathering flowers by the sea. Zeus noticed this charming group, particularly Europa, who was the prettest of the maidens. Some say that Eros, induced him into action with one of his darts. Although, Zeus often made due with self motivation. In any case, Zeus appeared to the group as a white bull. A white bull more beautiful then any other. A bull that smelled of flowers, and lowed musically. A bull so obviously gentle that all the maidens rushed to stroke and pet it.
The bull laid down in front of Europa. She slid on to its back. Instantly, the bull charged off, plunging into the sea, and began to swim rapidly from the shore. Europa saw that a procesion had joined them, Nereids riding dolphins, Triton blowing his horn, even Poseidon. From this she realized that the bull must be a god. She pleaded with him to pity her. Zeus spoke to her and explained his love. He took her to Create, where he had been raised. He promised that she would bear him many famous sons.
Her sons included Minos I and Rhadamanthus.

Io

Zeus fell in love with Io and seduced her. To try to keep Hera from noticing he covered the world with a thick blanket of clouds. This backfired, arousing Hera's suspicions. She came down from Mount Olympus and begain dispersing the clouds. Zeus did some quick thinking and changed Io's form from being a lovely maiden. So as the clouds dispersed Hera found Zeus standing next to a white heifer. He then swore that he had never seen the cow before, it had just sprang right out of the earth. Seeing right through this Hera complimented the cow and asked to have it as a present. As turning such a reasonable request down would have given the whole thing away, Zeus presented her with the cow.
She sent the cow away and arranged Arges to watch over it. Since Arges had a hundred eyes and could have some of them sleep while others were awake he made a fine watchman. Desperate, Zeus sent Hermes to fetch Io. Disgused as a shepard, Hermes had to employ all his skill as a musician and story teller to gain Arges confidence and lull him to sleep. Once asleep Hermes killed Arges. As a memorial, Hera took his eyes and set them into the tail of her favorite bird, the peacock.
While Io was now free Hera sent the mother of all gad-flys to sting the still bovine Io. This pushed her near madness, trying to escape she wandered the world. During her wanders she came across Prometheus while chained. He gave her hope. He predicted that she would have to wander for many years. But, she would eventually be changed back into human form and would bear a child. He predicted that a decendent of this child would be a great hero and set him free.
His predictions came true. During her wanderings many geographical features where named after her including the Ionian Sea, and the Bosphorus (which means ford of the cow). She eventually reached the Nile where Zeus did restore her to human form. She bore Epaphus and eleven generations later her descendant Hercules would set Prometheus free.

Semele

Semele was a Thebian princess. She is the only mortal to be the parent of a god. She was one of Zeus many lovers and like most came to an unfortunate end due to Hera's jealous hatred. She is best known as the mother of Dionysus. While she was killed shortly before giving birth the child was resuced by Zeus. Eventually Dionysus, who had never seen her, managed to rescue her from the underworld. and arrange for her to live on Mount Olympus.
Athenia's Birth
Zeus came to lust after Metis, and chased her in his direct way. Metis tried to escape, going so far as to change her form many times. Turning into various creatures such as hawks, fish, and serpents. However, Zeus was both determined and equally proficient at changing form. He continued his persuit until she relented.
An Oracle of Gaea then prophesied that Metis first child would be a girl but, her second child would be a boy that would overthrow Zeus as had happened to his father and grandfather. Zeus took this warning to heart. When he next saw Metis he flattered her and put her at her ease. Then with Metis off gaurd Zeus suddenly opened his mouth and swallowed her. This was the end of Metis but, possibly the beginning of Zeus's wisdom.
After a time Zeus developed the mother of all headaches. He howled so loudly it could be heard throughout the earth. The other gods came to see what the problem was. Hermes realized what needed to be done and directed Hephaestus to take a wedge and split open Zeus's skull. Out of the skull sprang Athena, full grown and in a full set of armour. Due to her manor of birth she has dominion over all things of the intellect.

The Wanderings of Dionysus

Once he had grown to manhood Dionysus decied to wander far and wide, including areas outside of greece. Where ever he went he taught men how to cultivate vines, and the mysteries of his cult. He was accepted until he returned to his own country of Thebes.
As he journeyed back to greece he was spotted by pirates. He appeared to them as a rich young man. He might even be the son of a king. He certainly looked like his parents would pay a rich ransom for his safe return. Happy at their good luck the pirates siezed him and brought him aboard their ship. They then attempted to tie him to the ship but, the ropes refused to hold. Anyplace a rope touched him it just fell apart. Dionysus watched calmly, smiling.
After some time the helmsman realized that only a god could be responsible. He called out that the crew should free Dionysus and beg his forgiveness. But, the captain mocked the helmsman as a fool and called for the crew to set sail. The crew raised the sail and caught the wind but, the ship did not move. Looking around they saw the ship quickly becoming overgrown with vines that held it fast. Dionysus then changed himself into a lion and began to chase the crewmen. To escape they leaped overboard but, as they did they were changed to dolphins. Only on the helmsman did Dionysus have mercy.
As he passed through Thrance he was insulted by King Lycurgus, who bitterly opposed his new religion. Initialy Dionysus retreated into the sea but, he returned, overpowered Lycurgus and imprisoned him in a rocky cave. Dionysus planned to let him reflect and learn from his mistakes. However, Zeus did not care to have the gods insulted, so he blinded then killed Lycurgus.
He pressed on to Thebes, ruled by his cousin Pentheus. However, Pentheus did not know of Dionysus. Dionysus was with a group of his followers, who were naturally singing and dancing loudly, flushed with wine. Pentheus disliked the loud, strangers, and ordered his guards to imprison them all. He refered to their leader as a cheating sorcerer from Lydia. When he said this the blind old phophet Teiresias, who had already dressed as one of Dionysus's followers gave Pentheus a warning: "The man you reject is a new god. He is Semele's child, whom Zeus rescued. He, along with Demeter, are the greatest upon earth for men." Pentheus, seeing the strange garb Teiresias had on, laughed at him and ordered his guards to continue.
The guards soon found that ropes fell apart, latches fell open, and there they could not imprison Dionysus's followers. The took Dionysus to Pentheus. Dionysus tried to explain at length his worship but, Pentheus listened only to his own anger and insulted Dionysus. Finally, Dionysus gave up and left Pentheus to his doom.
Pentheus persued Dionysus followers up into the hills where they had gone after walking away from his prison. Many of the local women including Pentheus's mother and sister had joined them there. Then Dionysus appeared to his followers in his most terrible aspect and drove them mad. To them Pentheus appeared to be a moutain lion. In a berserk rage they attacked him. Now Pentheus realized he had fought with a god and would die for it. His mother was the first to reach him, and ripped his head off, while the others tore off his limbs.

J.M.Hunt

Greek Mythology: Creatures

2008-07-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

Creatures

Cyclopes

The Cyclopes were gigantic one eyed monsters. There were three of them representing thunder, lighting, and the lighting bolt. They are named Brontes, Steropes, and Arges. They were born to Gaea and Uranus. They were also the first smiths. When Cronus came to power he imprisoned the Cyclopes in Tartarus. The were released by Zeus and fought with him against the Titans. As a reward for their release the Cyclopes gave Zeus his weapons of lighting and thunder. They continued as his workers at Mount Olympus forging his thunerbolts

Arges was killed by Hermes while he guarded Io for Hera

Apollo killed at least one of the Cyclopes to retribution for Zeus killing his son Aesculapius.

Hecatoncheires

Hecatoncheires means "hundred handed". They were gigantic and had fifty heads and one hundred arms each of great strength. There were three of them: Briareus also called Aegaeon, Cottus, and Gyges also called Gyes. They were born to Gaea and Uranus. Their mutual hatered of Uranus caused him to force the Hecatoncheires back into Gaea's womb. This parcipatated Gaea's rebellion against Uranus. When Cronus came to power he imprisoned the Cyclopes in Tartarus. The were released by Zeus and fought with him against the Titans. They were able to hurl huge boulders as many as a hundred at a time against their opponents. One of them, Briareus, served as Zeus's bodygaurd.

Giants

The Giants were generated from Uranus blood resulting from his castration by Cronus. They became powerful enough to try to unseat Zeus and the Olympians early in their rule. When the gods won they imprisoned the Giants in Tartarus.

Ash Tree Nymphs

The Ash Tree Nymphs were generated from Uranus blood resulting from his castration by Cronus.

Typhoeus

Typhoeus, was a fire breathing dragon with a hundred heads that never rest. It was birthed by Gaea as a last ditch effort to keep the Olympians from defeating her children the Titans. It came close to succeeding, setting most of the gods to flight and capturing Zeus. Hermes was able to free Zeus. Zeus was then able to dispatch Typhoeus with his lighting bolts. Typhoeus is buried under Mount Etna in Sicily.

Cerberus

Cerberus is the three headed dog with a dragon tail which guards the entrance to the underworld. Allowing the dead to enter but, never leave. Fetching Cerberus was the last labor of Heracles.

Sirens

The Sirens are sisters who lure sailors to their death. The song of the Sirens is irrestable but, the they reside beyound unpassable reefs which destroy the sailors boat when they try to reach the Sirens. Among those tempted were Jason on the Argo and Odysseus.

J.M.Hunt