Greek Mythology: Then and Now Essays

Once upon a time, Odysseus and Penelope had decided to go on a honeymoon after he got back to Ithaca. His son had stayed to watch over the town while he and Penelope had gone to be alone in peace for once. While Telemachus was watching over Ithaca, Odysseus got into an argument with Zeus.

However why would the ancient Greeks choose to create a god that is wrathful, vengeful, and has an uncontrollable temper? As the myths go, Zeus has lightning and thunderbolts that are formed by the Cyclopes that he is able to wield, and do with as he pleases. By examining, these myths in a Nature myth standpoint the Greeks created the myth of Zeus’s lightning and thunderbolts to explain certain weather occurrences. While today, a storm is not necessarily a major problem or catastrophe because we have warning systems and fortified shelters and housing, that was definitely not the case in ancient Greece. The ancient Greeks did not have a weather radar to warn them of an upcoming storm nor did the really understand what caused a storm to hit them. When a bad storm hit, it could lay waste to several homes and people. Furthermore, because of the location of Greece they were frequently hit by all kinds of storms. Through creating the god Zeus and his lightning bolts, the Greeks could attribute to what they thought the abrupt nature of storms to Zeus’s faulty personality. Also by making the incidences of bad weather due to Zeus, the ancient people also thought they might be able to appease him by making sacrifices, and therefore receive fair skies and weather in return. However due to the fact that the Zeus was created to make some sort of explanation for lightening, thunder and storms these sacrifices in actuality did nothing and this also attributed to the idea of

Jupiter, Leader of the Pantheon, often seen with a thunderbolt. His Greek equivalent was Zeus.

Greek myths are all that 's left of the ancient Greek religion, in which beauty, poetry, and creative activities were a vital part of the tradition. Centuries ago, the Greeks created numerous stories and poems, which are still being shared today, that showed their view of the 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. From the stories of the Olympians, to heroes ' greatest adventures and from romantic stories to savage beasts, the Greeks used stories not only for entertainment but also for answers to nature 's mysteries. Mythology helped to explain aspects of the natural world to the ancient Greeks. Some of the greatest mysteries of nature that

Egyptian Mythology’s creation started with Nu, the dark and swirling chaos before time. Eventually, Atum rose from Nu and created a hill for himself to stand on. He had one eye that would see everything, but was very lonely. Soon after, Atum brought Shu, the god of air, and Tefnut, the goddess of mist and moisture into life. They gave birth to Geb, the earth, and Nut, the sky. Nut would give birth to the sun every night before sunset so the sun would shine through the day, and die at night.

In Greek Mythology, perhaps one of the most rudimental yet one of the most important elements are the Greek Gods and Goddesses. The ancient Greeks created the stories about the lives and journeys of the Greek Gods, known as myths, simply as an endeavor to elucidate nature and all phenomena which were difficult to explain using modern science and logic. These myths about the Gods were spread around the world by explorers and storytellers, and later merged with Greek religion. To this day, numerous myths survived through many writings and through much art. Each of these myths is very unique, and moreover, tells us much about the Greek Gods. The Greek myths in particular convey to us that Greek Gods and Goddesses looked and acted like humans,

b. Zeus, from Greek mythology and Thor, from Norse mythology. Greek mythology is the body of myths that belong to the Ancient Greek. Norse mythology is a religion that Vikings believe in, Better known as Scandinavians.

A myth is a traditional story of people within a society, and are used to explain social or natural phenomenon with the use of specific events and divine individuals. Edith Hamilton in Mythology states: Greek and Roman mythology is quite generally supposed to show us the way the human race thought and felt untold ages ago […] retrace the path from civilized man who’s lives so far from nature, to man who lived in close companionship with nature; and the real interest of the myths is that they lead us back to a time when the world was young and people had a connection with the earth, with trees and seas and flowers and hills, unlike anything we ourselves can

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.

The world is a tremendously diverse place in which every different culture possesses their own beliefs. Numerous religions, fables, legends, and myths exist depending on which part of the world an individual is in. The Greeks and Romans are both very polytheistic civilizations. They believe in a multitude of gods and creatures, and they have gods for fertility, elements, war, medicine, and a multitude of others. The mythology of these two cultures is exceedingly similar, although for those looking for a more interesting view on the subject, Greek mythology is far superior to Roman mythology.

First, there is Charybdis. Born to the Sea God Poseidon, Charybdis was a naiad that similar to Athena and Zeus had a strong Father-Daughter relationship. When Poseidon went to war against Zeus and created various storms, Charybdis brought uncanny quantities of water upon beaches. Due to this, villages, fields, forest, etc. would flood. After Charybdis had won land for Poseidon, Zeus was enraged and with that Zeus had transformed her

After the Olympians took rule over the world, Gaea grew upset about the order of things. It was either because she thought that the Titians were not being treated fairly, or because she felt that she was being appreciated. Either way, she was angered and decided that she wanted to take over. She brought forth creations that were birthed to overthrow the Olympians: the Giants. Amongst them were Typhoon and Echidna (Hatzitsinidou). Typhoon was said to be so tall that his head scrapped the sky. There is some debate on what he was said to appear to be, but the most popular reference is that he was

Zeus’ most significant and well known power was the ability to hold lightning bolts. He could throw them like a javelin at people or gods that did not please him or defied him. He had his winged horse Pegasus carry his lighting bolts and had his eagle pick them up after he threw them. That was not his only power however, Zeus had the ability to control the weather with his temper. When he was in a happy mood the skies would be

A myth can be defined as a conventional story, particularly one concerning the initial antiquity of a people or explaining a natural or communal singularity, and habitually linking mystical beings or proceedings. Myths derived from Greece, Egypt and the Near East pose as a reflection of each of their respective cultures. The diverse eccentrics from the Greek, Egyptian and Near Eastern myths were all described with characteristics and actions that would reflect their respective cultures. Myths include the mythologies from ancient Egypt, the Near East & the Greeks.

In the Ancient Greeks, religion was based on the image of remarkable and memorable god and goddess which were powerful, wise, immortal and controlled different part of the universe. For many years humans had the opportunity to study these significant figures by reading their myths, stories where our minds are transported to the early time of civilization in which the god and goddess lived and became the important figures that we know nowadays. One of the god that make himself stand out using his wisdom and his abilities was Hermes. He is the god of trade, travelers, thieves, athletes, border crossing, guide to the Underworld and often known as the messenger of the gods. While many gods are incredible gifted with strength and power, Hermes represents cleverness, determination and a powerful musician.