Egyptian And Greek Mythology Similarities

Mythology was very huge in Ancient Greece. There are so many different folktales and myths

Greek Mythology has been known to be one of the footprints left by the civilization of ancient Greece to our history and these mythology somehow shed a light to the culture, life style, religion and history of ancient Greece since the mythology were the primary basis of the origin of the ancient Greeks and they believed that these mythologies explained the origin of why things turned out to be like that.

Stemming from a desired standpoint, Aphrodite, a gorgeous, perpetual young woman with a beautiful body is known as the goddess of love and beauty. Graciously assisting men charm their desired spouse with love enchantments, Aphrodite herself was no stranger to divine lovers as she held various relationships with both gods and mortals. Yet, despite her dynamic desirability and mixed personality, Aphrodite had to overcome her weak and frightful self (http://www.greek-gods.info/greek-gods/aphrodite/) due to her jealousy. Even though it was thought that she was born the daughter of Zeus and Dione, it was more frequently believed that she was born of the foam in the sea off of island Cyprus. Later on, Aphrodite went to marry lame smith Hephaestus, Olympian god of Iron, but was quietly acquiring a private affair with Ares, god of War.

Greek mythology, as in past ways humans detailed lives, was used as a way to explain the environment in which everything around us happened and lived. The natural wonders they witnessed and the passing of time through the days, months, and seasons. Myths were also in a way connected to religion and explained where they came from and what are the lives of the gods. Also stated where humanity had come from and what it they should expect after death. It gave almost a rule on the best way to be in a happy life.(History Staff) Myths were used to tell historical events so that people could maintain contact with their ancestors, the wars they fought, and the places they explored. (Cartwright)

Ancient Greek society fell over 2000 years ago but despite this, its mythology still continues to influence our western society. References to Greek mythology can be found all through time and in our western culture. The influence of Greek mythology can be found in our science, arts and literature and our language. When Ancient Greece fell to the Roman Empire, Rome adapted its mythologies which still influence us today as they have through history. That is not to say that Greek mythology wasn’t influenced itself – Greek mythology has links with the bible and the early Mycenaean’s. It has also been recognised as one of the earliest forms of paganism.

When people wonder about Ancient Greece the first thing that comes to their minds is Greek mythology; gods and goddesses that have helped shape many historical events. “In ancient Greece, stories about gods and goddesses and heroes and monsters were an important part of everyday life.” (“Greek Mythology.”) The civilization showed that numerous characters and stories helped shape Greeks. The beliefs the Greeks had with mythologies was they understood the meaning behind all the characters that are known today. However, to the Greeks, they were not just characters, these were their gods and goddesses who gave them meaning and understanding of the world around them. Worshiping the gods and goddesses helped them with their religious rituals and the temperament of the weather. A famous wine-jar that was made during this time period was “Achilles killing the Amazon Queen Penthesilea, 540-530 BCE, black-figured amphora”. (Khan Academy) The civilization that they lived in grew around their worship and achievements.

In Greek mythology, each god or goddess has a unique affinity. For example, Athena is the Goddess of war, Poseidon is the God of the sea, and Aphrodite is a famous goddess known for representing beauty, love, and fertility. Aphrodite is quite popular in our world as she is the symbol of the infinitely desirable female.

Some Greek deities can also be identified with Egyptian ones, in particular the Greek Dionysus and the Egyptian Osiris. They both preside over fertility, in addition to their other duties. Another similarity is that they are both twice-born. Dionysus was born first from Semele’s womb and then later from Zeus's thigh. Osiris was the son of Geb and Nut and was resurrected by Isis after being murdered by Set. (Livingston, Greek and Egyptian Religious Parallels) Other Gods and Goddesses that are similar include Horus and Apollo, Isis and Demeter, Hathor and Aphrodite, Neith and Athena and Bast and Artemis. (FOOTNOTE GREEK AND EGYPTIAN RELIGIOUS PARALLELS) There appears to be an overlap between many deities in Greek and Egyptian mythologies.

Likewise Athena and Minerva share many attributes as well. One similarity they share is both were virgin goddesses known for their chastity. Also, Athena and Minerva are accredited with inventing spinning and weaving. One of the most important similarities is Athena, and Minerva are both at the top of the hierarchy of the gods and goddesses. Minerva was part of the Capitoline Triad, where Athena was a palace and war-goddess, which meant that she couldn’t be dominated or violated by the other gods and goddesses.

The ancient Greeks were a highly superstitious and spiritual people. As the Greeks had no written book or scripture of their faith, it can be assumed that the ancient peoples lived their lives based on the stories told within their mythology. Mythology was used for various reasons, the three major ones being as a cosmogony, as etiological stories to explain otherwise unexplainable phenomena, and as a means to deter mortals from

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends 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. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece. Modern scholars refer to, and study, the myths, in an attempt to throw light on the religious and political institutions of Ancient Greece, its civilization, and to gain understanding of the nature of myth-making itself.

Ancient Egypt (3000 BCE – 30 BCE) and Ancient Greece (1200 BCE – 146 BCE) based their entire lives around their religious beliefs. These beliefs led to their religious practices which were included in every aspect of their lives. Since ancient Greece’s and ancient Egypt’s beliefs differ greatly, endless differences can be shown between their religious practices. However, between the two cultures, many surprising similarities can be seen in these religious practices despite the tremendous differences. Through learning about where their religious beliefs and practices started, the bigger picture of history in general can be learned. As well, the similarities between ancient Greece’s and ancient Egypt’s religious practices can be seen as not

Another similarity is the way that the gods spoke to people. Both the Egyptian creator gods and the Israelite Creator God spoke through prophets or priests. God spoke through prophets, such as Moses, to the Israelites. The Egyptian gods spoke through oracles, priests and pharaohs to talk to the Egyptians. Some of the pharaohs even thought that they were reincarnations of the god Horus. Both the Egyptians and the Israelites had a creator god who spoke to them through prophets and priests.

Over the years of art history, there are many great empires that we think of and two of those were ancient Greek and Egyptian. When talking about Greek and Egyptian art history, it is the sculptures that come to mind when you are comparing and contrasting artworks. Egyptian art and Greek art both had mesmerizing sculptures but Egyptian art was more oriented towards religion and Greek art was more focused on philosophy. The Egyptian statue of the Menkaure and a Queen was similar to the Greek statue of Metropolitan Kouros in their posture but both of these statues also had many differences. Menkaure and a queen statue was created from an unusual stone and the statue was discovered in Menkaure’s valley temple. The sculpture has a hard texture and because of the time-consuming task of polishing this sculpture was never completely polished. So, the sculpture is greywacke and has traces of red paint on king’s face, ears and neck because male figures were traditionally painted red and there are traces of black in queen’s hair. The sculpture itself is 54 ½ inches in height and is displayed in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Metropolitan Kouros was created from marble which seems like it has a rough and hard texture. The statue is 6 feet in height and is displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

There are many similarities between Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt. This mostly has to do with the positioning of both countries, they were quite close and so trading was easy between them.