Where do the Greek myths STOP? At what point in time can we assume that the essence of Greek mythology was lost? The decision as to when exactly the essence was lost is strictly arbitrary, but when I read Greek myths as told by the Roman, Ovid, circa 20 B.C.E., I get a little skeptical as to the depth of his insight... after all, he was a thousand years, a language and a culture away from the origins of the myths... all he could possibly tell us is how Romans viewed Greek mythology... this is important for the study of the Romans but not of the Greeks.
I don’t even trust the Classical Greeks to keep the stories straight... the Classical Period, Athenian Greece, beginning circa 502 B.C.E., was a time of cultural and artistic freedom. The Classical Greek writers and story tellers probably embellished the myths in a way that seemed proper to them but, after all, they were five hundred years away from the harsh and brutal foundations of Greek culture and myths.
For us to try to imagine the Olympians of The Iliad we must abandon the dramatic stories of the Classical Greeks and the flights of fancy of the Romans. To use them would be like losing your car keys in a dark alley and going down the block to look for them under the streetlight because the lights’ better. Even though the Classical Greek and Roman versions of the Ancient Greek myths outnumber the authentic texts I will try to, eventually, only list the oldest stories on these pages. I hope you enjoy my effort... Xavr
:::>^..^<::: ~*~The Journey is more important than the end or the start~*~ :::>^..^<:::
Greek Myths are all that’s left of the ancient Greek religion. About 1200 b.c.e., the residents of, what we would call, Greece and Asia Minor shared a common belief in a group of deities that came to be known as The Olympians.
The distillation of the various regional beliefs into a coherent central religion was probably not as tidy and uniform as we would prefer, but it’s fair say that the stories of the Olympians survived because they had the largest number of followers and, most importantly, The Olympians did not forbid or punish the pursuit of knowledge. Beauty, poetry and creative activities are the blessings of The Immortals and are a vital part of the Greek tradition.
The Olympians are descended from the primal, self created gods, begining with Kaos. The Olympians are ruled by Zeus. He is the strongest and, as you will see, without him, the other Olympians would still be held captive inside their devious father, Kronos. The Olympians are only a small part of the family of Immortals that rule the earth and sky. The various rivers, mountains and forces of nature are the ’bodies’ of the Immortals and proper respect must always be shown if you wish to have peace at home and safe passage when you travel.
The ancient texts we call Greek Myths are mostly from the period known as Classical Greece, circa 500 b.c.e. The stories behind the myths are from a much earlier time but written versions don’t exist before Classical times.
The oldest myths can be traced to three main sources: Homer, Hesiod and The Homeric Hymns, circa 800 b.c.e. That means that by the time they were written down, these works had survived 400 years of additions, subtractions and mutations to finally become the versions we now call ’authentic’. The Greek Myths are our window into the distant past, a view of a world that existed not only in the mind of the Greek poets but in the hearts of the humble and long suffering natives of ancient Greece.
Where to begin... The names are NOT hard to pronounce, don’t let them scare you. The Greeks don’t use C’s... they use K’s instead. For example, Aphrodite is known as Our Lady of Kypros because the island we call Cyprus is sacred to her. Also, Herakles (HERA klees) is the famous Greek hero who is often confused with the Roman hero, Hercules (HER ku lees).... it’s important to make the distinctions.
:::>^..^<::: ~*~The Journey is more important than the end or the start~*~ :::>^..^<:::
(kĭl´ēz) , in Greek mythology, foremost Greek hero of the Trojan War, son of Peleus and Thetis. He was a formidable warrior, possessing fierce and uncontrollable anger. Thetis, knowing that Achilles was fated to die at Troy, disguised him as a girl and hid him among the women at the court of King Lycomedes of Skyros. He was discovered there by Odysseus, who persuaded him to go to Troy. One of Lycomedes' daughters, Deidamia, bore Achilles a son, Neoptolemus. According to Homer, Achilles came to Troy leading the 50 ships of the Myrmidons. In the last year of the siege, when Agamemnon stole the captive princess Briseis from him, Achilles angrily withdrew and took his troops from the war. Later he allowed his friend and lover Patroclus to borrow his armor and lead the Myrmidons to aid the retreating Greeks. When Hector killed Patroclus, Achilles was filled with grief and rage and returned to the battle, routed the Trojans, and killed Hector, viciously dragging his body back to the Greek camp. Achilles died of a wound inflicted by Paris. According to one legend, Thetis attempted to make Achilles immortal by bathing him in the river Styx, but the heel by which she held him remained vulnerable, and Paris inflicted a fatal wound in that heel. Other legends state that Achilles was struck from behind and killed by Paris when he went to visit Priam's daughter Polyxena, with whom he had fallen in love. Achilles, the object of widespread hero worship, is the main character of Homer's epic The Iliad.
:::>^..^<::: ~*~The Journey is more important than the end or the start~*~ :::>^..^<:::
05-20-2004 05:47 PM
