Heroes of Ancient Greece, whose names have not been forgotten to this day, had a special place in the mythology, art and life of the Greek people.They have been a role model and ideal of physical beauty.About these brave men composed legends and poems in honor of the heroes created the statue and called them names of constellations.
Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece: Heroes of Hellas, gods and monsters
Mythology Greek society is divided into three parts:
1. Doolimpiysky period - the tales of giants and titans.While people feel defenseless before the menacing forces of nature, of which he is still very little known.Therefore, the world seemed to him a chaos in which there are horrific and uncontrollable forces of nature - the Titans, giants and monsters.They gave rise to the land as the main active force of nature.
At this time there are Cerberus, Chimera, lernaean hydra serpent Typhon, storukie Hecatonchires-giants, the goddess of vengeance of the Furies, appears in the guise of her body, and many others.
2. Gradually began to evolve a pantheon of deities other nature.Abstract humanoid monsters began to resist a higher power - the gods of Olympus.This new, third generation of the gods, to join the battle against the Titans and Giants and defeat them.Not all the opponents were imprisoned in a terrible dungeon - Tartarus.Many were among the new gods of Olympus: ocean, Mnemosyne, Themis, Atlas, Helios, Prometheus, Selene, Eos.Traditionally, the main deities was 12, but over the centuries their composition is constantly replenished.
3. With the development of the Greek society and the rise of economic power is increasingly strengthened man's faith in their own strength.This bold view of the world has created a new representative mythology - the hero.He is the winner of the monsters at the same time the founder states.At this time, things are great feats and defeat the ancient beings.Typhon kills Apollo, the hero of ancient Greece Cadmus founds Thebes famous dwelling place he had killed the dragon, Bellerophon kills Chimaera.
Historical sources
Greek myths about the exploits of heroes and gods we can judge from the few written records.The largest of these are the poems "The Iliad" and "Odyssey" Homer the Great, "Metamorphoses" of Ovid (they formed the basis of the famous book by N. Kuhn "Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece"), as well as the works of Hesiod.
Around V century.BC.there are collectors of stories about the gods and the great defender of Greece.Heroes of Ancient Greece, whose names we now know, were not forgotten thanks to their diligent work.It historians and philosophers Apollodorus of Athens, Heraclides of Pontus, Palefat and many others.
Origin heroes
first find out who it is - the hero of ancient Greece.Do the Greeks have several interpretations.This is usually a descendant of a deity and a mortal woman.Hesiod, for example, called demigods heroes, whose ancestor was Zeus.
to create a truly invincible warrior and protector, required more than one generation.Hercules - the thirtieth in the family descendants of the chief Greek god, and it became all the power of the previous heroes of his kind.
Homer is a strong and brave warrior or a man of noble birth, having a famous ancestors.
modern etymologists also different interpretations of the value of the word in question, highlighting common - the function of the defense.
Heroes of Hellas often have a similar biography.Many of them did not know the name of his father, or a mother brought up, or were foster children.All of them, in the end, went to the accomplishment of feats.
Heroes are called to fulfill the will of the Olympian gods and to give protection to people.They bring the land order and justice.There is in them and contradiction.On the one hand, they are endowed with superhuman strength, but on the other - are deprived of immortality.The gods themselves sometimes try to correct this injustice.Thetis stabs son of Achilles, trying to make him immortal.Goddess Demeter in gratitude Athenian king puts his son Demophon the fire to burn it all mortal.Typically, these attempts end in failure due to the intervention of parents who fear for the lives of children.
fate of the hero is usually tragic.Not being able to live forever, it exploits trying to immortalize himself in people's memories.It is often persecuted malevolent gods.Hercules is trying to destroy Hera, Odysseus pursues the wrath of Poseidon.
Heroes of Ancient Greece: list of names and feats
people became the first quarterback Titan Prometheus.It is conventionally called a hero because he is not a man or a demigod and a real deity.According to Hesiod, it was he who created the first humans, their sculpting clay or earth, and patronized them, protecting it from the arbitrariness of other gods.
Bellerophon - one of the first heroes of the older generation.As a gift from the gods, the Olympians, he received the wonderful winged horse Pegasus, with which overcame a terrible fire-breathing chimera.
Theseus - a hero who lived up to the great Trojan War.Its origin is unusual.He is a descendant of many gods and ancestors were even wise-half snake-humans.The hero just two of his father - the king Aegeus and Poseidon.Prior to his very great feat - the victory over the monstrous Minotaur - he had to make a lot of good deeds: to destroy the robbers lying in wait for travelers on the Athens road, killed the monster - Krommionskuyu pig.Also Theseus together with Hercules participated in the campaign in the Amazon.
Achilles - the greatest hero of Greece, the son of King Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis.Wanting to make her son invulnerable, she put it in the oven Hephaestus (in another version, the river Styx or boiling water).He was destined to die in the Trojan War, but before that make a lot of exploits on the battlefield.My mother tried to hide it from the ruler of Lycomedes alongside him in women's clothes and pass off as one of the king's daughters.But crafty Odysseus, sent in search of Achilles, could expose him.Hero was forced to accept their fate and went to the Trojan War.In it, he made a lot of feats.The mere appearance of it on the battlefield drawn the enemy to flight.Achilles was killed by Paris with an arrow that directs the god Apollo.She got into the only vulnerable spot on the body of the hero - the heel.The ancient Greeks revered Achilles.In honor of it were built temples in Sparta and Elis.
Stories of life some of the characters are so interesting and tragic thing about them is to tell apart.
Perseus
Heroes of Ancient Greece, their exploits and life history known to many.One of the most popular representatives of the great defenders of antiquity is Perseus.He made several feats ever glorified his name struck off the head of Medusa and rescued by a sea monster beautiful Andromeda.
To do this he had to get the helmet of Ares, makes any invisible, and sandals of Hermes, giving the opportunity to fly.Athena, the patron hero gave him a sword and a magic bag in which it was possible to hide the severed head, because I think even in the dead Gorgon turns any living thing to stone.After the death of Perseus and his wife Andromeda were both placed by the gods to heaven and turned into a constellation.
Odyssey
heroes of ancient Greece were not only extremely strong and courageous.Many of them differed wisdom.The most cunning of them was Odysseus.Not once rescued his sharp mind of the hero and his companions.Perennial journey Odysseus home homer dedicated his famous "Odyssey."
greatest of the Greek hero
Greece (ancient Greece), the myths which have received the greatest fame - is Hercules.The son of Zeus and a descendant of Perseus, he made a lot of feats and was famous for centuries.All his life he was haunted by the hatred of Hera.Influenced sent her madness he killed his children and two sons of his brother Iphicles.
death of the hero prematurely.Wearing a poisoned cloak sent Deyanira wife, who thought that he was imbued with a love potion, Hercules realized that he was dying.He ordered to prepare a funeral pyre and climbed it.At the moment of death, the son of Zeus - the main hero of Greek mythology - was taken up to Olympus, where he became one of the gods.
ancient Greek demigods and characters of myths in contemporary art
Heroes of Ancient Greece, pictures of which you can see in the article, is always considered a model of physical strength and health.There is no one type of art, which have not been used stories of Greek mythology.And these days they do not lose popularity.It aroused great interest among the audience films such as "Clash of the Titans" and "Wrath of the Titans", the protagonist of which is Perseus.Odyssey is dedicated to a great movie of the same name (the director - Andrei Konchalovsky)."Troy" told of the exploits and death of Achilles.
On the great Hercules lifted a huge amount of movies, TV series and cartoons.
Conclusion
Heroes of Ancient Greece and now are great examples of courage, self-sacrifice and devotion.Not all of them are perfect, and many of them are inherent negative traits - vanity, pride, lust for power.But they always came to the defense of Greece, if the country or its people in danger.
