man with long experience of the ancient fear of the forces of nature.Whatever the achievements of modern technology, always a situation may arise in which they will be useless, and sometimes dangerous.
eternal fear of the unknown terrestrial forces
With extensive knowledge of the laws of physics, chemistry, electrical and other sciences studying the environmental objective we have the essence, people have been unable to completely solve the mystery of the universe.This fact is a concern even in the halcyon days, in times of disasters and panic occurs, defined as chthonic.This fear of the ground-ancestress and unknown forces, which it carries in itself.
word that defines the essence of natural forces, has a Greek root."Htonos" means "soil" or "earth."Thousands of years ago, people realized that it is - the source of all life.After his death, she receives the remains of what was growing recently, it grew stronger, bloomed and moved.So the cycle is carried out, and it's hard to know where it begins and end.
gods of the ancient Greeks
wonder that the Greek chthonic mythology, as well as other beliefs, worshiped the ground at the same time giving it the features of an intelligent being.Were she and the inhabitants, mysterious creatures that go out and disappearing into the depths, including water.
representations about the omnipotence of earthly nature found expression in other mythical image.Medusa with hair like snakes - a typical example of how the hero looks chthonic.This kind of humanoid creature with bestial features giving it a terrifying look.God Pan, for example, goes to the hoof on his forehead grow horns.His whole appearance it resembles the evil goat-legged feature frescoes on some Christian churches, depicting the suffering of sinners in hell.
chthonic images in different religions
Anti-hero of Russian fairy tales Dragon inherently too chthonic character.It is clear even from its name.Firstly, a reptile (typical mythological image), and secondly, lives in the mountain.Dragons that live in caves, are present in the tales, legends and religious texts of different nations in all continents from Europe to Asia.These creatures are typical for primary, doolimpiyskogo period of Greek mythology.Since these deities control life and death, they can take the form of animals, scavengers (crow, jackal, wolf, etc.).
God created the first man out of clay, it is said in the Old Testament.The episode, in essence, chthonic.This does not indicate a direct relationship of Scripture to the ancient myths, as they are incompatible with monotheism, but a certain continuity of ancient ideas about the special properties of the earth can be traced.
Operation chthonic images in art
authors of numerous fiction and disaster movies willingly used stories in which humanity is faced with the unknown enemy, a danger to the very existence of the human race.For example, in the famous novel by Jules Verne "When the Earth cried out," depicts the planet a living being who brave professor hurts, drilling the well.
There are other works of art, which are described in the terrible and inevitable disasters in the form of giant tectonic splits, floods, unprecedented waves of tsunami, and similar troubles.
addition to the natural processes of force majeure, the characters of books and blockbuster could face chthonic monsters attacking from the depths of the earth's crust.Giant worms dig under the ground megacities, causing misery and disaster, they appear where they do not expect, and to deal with them is almost impossible.So operated primal fear of nature, common to all the people for centuries.
However, usually there is still any hero who has the necessary degree of courage and extraordinary wit, and it all ends quite well.
