Greek Mythology: Origins, Legends, Events +18 Legends

Discover the Greek Mythology with us. We show you the most popular legends, gods, heroes, rites, cults and places.

Greek mythology

The Greek mythology is the compilation of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of deities, heroes and mythological creatures, and the origins and meaning of the ancient Greeks’ own cults and ritual practices.

Greek myths were initially propagated in an oral-poetic tradition most likely by Minoan and Mycenaean singers from the 18th B.C century. onward; eventually, the myths of the heroes of the Trojan War and its aftermath became part of the oral tradition of Homer’s epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Apart from this narrative repository in ancient Greek literature, pictorial depictions of gods, heroes and mythical episodes figured prominently in paintings on ancient vessels and in the decoration of candle gifts and many other artifacts.

Origin of Greek mythology

The Greek mythology begins with the Creation Myth, which is contained in many different sources of ancient Greek texts. The most comprehensive is the Theogony of the Greek poet Hesiod, who lived around the 8th century.

According to the Theogony, in the beginning only chaos and emptiness existed throughout the universe (The Greek word chaos. Chaos was followed by Gaia (meaning earth) and Eros (which is love). It is not specified whether Gaia and Eros were born from Chaos or if they were pre-existing; however, Hesiod mentions that Gaia (Earth) was born to become the home of the gods.

This is similar to other myths, such as the Sumerian myths, which describe how the earth was initially created for the gods to inhabit. Chaos also gave birth to Erebus, which was the darkness of the underworld, and Nyx (night). Gaia gave birth to Uranus (sky) and Okeanos (ocean).

Greek mythology period

The Greek mythology probably developed from the primitive religions of the people of Crete (Kriti), an island in the Aegean Sea where the first civilization of the region arose around 3000 BC. The ancient Greeks themselves offered some explanations for the development of their mythology.

The philosopher Prodicus of Ceos taught during the 400s BC that the gods were personifications of natural phenomena, such as the sun, moon, winds and water. Herodotus, a Greek historian who lived during the 400s BC, believed that many Greek rituals were inherited from the Egyptians.

As Greek civilization developed, particularly during the Hellenistic period, which began around 323 B.C., mythology also changed. New philosophies and the influence of neighboring civilizations caused a gradual modification of Greek beliefs. However, the essential characteristics of the Greek gods and their legends have not changed.

Animals and Creatures of Greek Mythology

Greek Mythological Heroes are probably the best known part of Greek mythology. Having monsters to fight, that’s what. Luckily for heroes, the ancient Greeks had the strangest, coolest and scariest creatures and monsters that monster mythology had to offer, from dragons, giants, demons and ghosts, to multi-shaped creatures like the Sphinx, unicorns, minotaurs, centaurs, manticores and Chimeras. There were also many fabulous animals such as the lion of Nemea, the golden-flaked ram and the winged pegasus horse, not to mention creatures of legend such as the phoenix, griffin and unicorns.

Sons of Typhon

Many of the great Greek monsters were descendants of Typhon, the deadliest monster in Greek mythology. Typhon was the last son of Gaia, spawned by Tartarus, he was known as the “Father of all monsters”.

Instead of a human head, a hundred dragon heads emerged from Typhon’s neck and shoulders. His wife Echidna, half-woman, half-serpent, was also the “Mother of all monsters.” Together, Echidna and Typhon bred some of the best-known monsters and creatures in all of mythology.

1. Orthrus: A fearsome two-headed hound that lived with giants.
2. Sphinx: A half-human, half-lion who would kill anyone who didn’t answer his riddles. When Oedipus was able to answer a riddle correctly, he jumped into the ocean in a fit of rage and drowned.
3. Nemean Lion: A giant lion with impenetrable fur that eventually became the star constellation Leo.
4. Cerberus: This well-known monster was a three-headed dog that guarded the entrance to Hades.
5. Ladon: A serpentine dragon (drakon) that guarded the golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides.
6. Hydra of Lerna: An ancient water monster in the form of a serpent with reptilian features and many heads that multiplied if cut off.
7. Chimera: A monstrous fire-breathing hybrid creature with the body of a lion, the head of a goat and a tail with the head of a snake.

Other Creatures of Greek Mythology

Gods of Greek Mythology

These are some of the best known Greek gods, all have a prominent role in this universe. They are related among them in multiple conflicts and love affairs.

• Zeus: King of the gods
• Hera: Goddess of marriage
• Poseidon: God of the sea
• Cronus: God of time
• Aphrodite: Goddess of love
• Hades: God of the underworld
• Hephaestus: God of fire
• Demeter: Goddess of the harvest
• Apollo: God of music and medicine
• Athena: Goddess of wisdom
• Artemis: Goddess of hunting
• Ares: God of war
• Dionysus: God of wine
• Eros: God of love

Greek Mythology Literature

Greek literature dates from ancient Greek literature, beginning in 800 BC, to the modern Greek literature of today.

Ancient Greek literature was written in an ancient Greek dialect. This literature ranges from the oldest surviving written works to works from about the 5th century AD. This time period is divided into the Preclassical, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods. Preclassical Greek literature revolved primarily around myths and included the works of Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey.

The classical period saw the dawn of drama and history. Three philosophers are especially notable: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. During the Roman era, significant contributions were made on a variety of subjects, including history, philosophy, and the sciences.

Byzantine literature, the literature of the Byzantine Empire, was written in Atticizing, medieval and early modern Greek. Chronicles, distinct from historical chronicles, emerged in this period. Encyclopedias also flourished in this period.

Modern Greek literature is written in common modern Greek. The Cretan Renaissance poem Erotokritos is one of the most significant works of this period. Adamantios Korais and Rigas Feraios are two of the most notable figures.

Symbols and Symbology of Greek Mythology

Many of the myths and legends of ancient Greek mythology tell the stories of their symbols and attributes, these symbols are related to the mythology and legends of individual gods and goddesses of these ancient civilizations.

Zeus, the king of the gods, attributes

• Thunderbolt
• Scepter
• Eagle
• Bull
• Oak
• Aegis, a shield.

Poseidon, the god of the sea, storms, tempests and earthquakes, attributes

• Trident
• Horse
• The dolphin
• The bull

Hera , the queen of the gods, attributes

• Crown
• Peacock
• Cuckoo
• Lion
• Cow
• Pomegranate

Hermes the messenger of the gods, attributes

• Winged sandals and helmet
• Caduceus (a staff entwined by snakes)
• Tortoise
• Stork

Hades, the ‘Prince of Darkness’ and god of the underworld, attributes

• Cerberus
• Invisibility cap
• Cypress
• Key of Hades

Myths and Legends of Greek Mythology

The stories found in Greek mythology are colorful, allegorical and include moral lessons for those who love them and puzzles for those who do not. They include profound human truths and the foundations of Western culture. The foundations of Greek mythology are the gods and goddesses and their mythical history. This Introduction to Greek Mythology provides some of these basic features.

Creation myths

There are conflicting stories about the beginnings of human life in Greek mythology. In the eighth century B.C., the Greek poet Hesiod is credited with writing (or wrote) the creation story called The Five Ages of Man . This story describes how humans moved further and further away from an ideal state (such as paradise) and closer and closer to the work and problems of the world in which we live.

Humanity was created and destroyed repeatedly in mythological time, perhaps in an effort to make things right, at least for the creator gods who were dissatisfied with their near-immortal, near-divine human offspring, who had no reason to worship the gods.

Some of the Greek city-states had their own local origin stories about creation that referred only to the people of that place. The women of Athens, for example, were the descendants of Pandora.

Flood, Fire, Prometheus and Pandora

Flood myths are universal. The Greeks had their own version of the great flood myth and the subsequent need to repopulate the Earth. The story of the Titans Deucalion and Pyrrha has several similarities to that in the Hebrew Old Testament of Noah’s ark, including Deucalion’s warning of the coming disaster and the building of a great ship.

In Greek mythology, it was the Titan Prometheus who brought fire to mankind and, as a result, enraged the king of the gods. Prometheus paid for his crime with a torture designed for an immortal: an eternal and painful occupation. To punish mankind, Zeus sent the evils of the world in a pretty package and unleashed on that world by Pandora .

The Trojan War and Homer

The Trojan War provides the background for much of Greek and Roman literature. Most of what we know of those terrible battles between Greeks and Trojans has been attributed to the 8th century Greek poet Homer . Homer was the most important of the Greek poets, but we do not know exactly who he was, nor whether he wrote both the Iliad and the Odyssey or neither.

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey play a fundamental role in the mythology of ancient Greece and Rome.

The Trojan War began when the Trojan prince of Paris won a foot race and presented the prize to Aphrodite, the Apple of Discord. With that action, he began the series of events that led to the destruction of his homeland, Troy, which, in turn, led to the flight of Aeneas and the founding of Troy.

On the Greek side, the Trojan War led to the disorganization of the House of Atreus. Members of this family committed horrible crimes, among them Agamemnon and Orestes. In Greek dramatic festivals, tragedies frequently focused on one or another member of this royal house.

Heroes, villains and family tragedies

Known as Odysseus in the Roman version of the Odyssey, Odysseus was the most famous hero of the Trojan War who survived to return home. The war lasted 10 years and his return journey another 10, but Odysseus returned safely to a family that, oddly enough, was still waiting for him.

His story constitutes the second of the two works traditionally attributed to Homer, The Odyssey, which contains more extravagant encounters with mythological characters than the Iliad plus war story.

Another famous house that could not help but violate major social laws was the Theban royal house, of which Oedipus, Cadmus, and Europa were important members who were prominent in tragedy and legend.

Hercules (Heracles) was immensely popular among the ancient Greeks and Romans and remains popular in the modern world. Herodotus found a figure of Hercules in ancient Egypt. Hercules’ behavior was not always admirable, but Hercules paid the price without complaint, defeating impossible odds, time and time again. Hercules also rids the world of horrible evils.

All the likes of Hercules were superhuman, as befits the demi-mortal (demigod) son of the god Zeus.

Traditions of Greek mythology

Ancient Greek spiritual beliefs, religion and oral tradition are reflected and formulated through rich myths and legends that, in addition to entertainment, provided an articulation of the moral fiber of Greek culture as it evolved over at least two thousand years.

What we now call “mythology,” was a large part of ancient Greek culture and as a whole represents most of what we know as pagan religion mixed with the heritage of the ancients (the concept of “History” was born later in the 5th century BC). As such, it was later suppressed in favor of other religions. But it was so interwoven into Greek culture that it survived over the centuries in bits and pieces of Greek literature and art only to re-emerge in the last few hundred years under the safe title of “mythology.”

Greek religion had an extensive mythology. It consisted largely of stories of the gods and how they interacted with humans. Myths often revolved around heroes and their actions, such as Herakles and his twelve labors, Odysseus and his journey home, Jason and the quest for the Golden Fleece, and Theseus and the Minotaur.

In Greek mythology there were many species. The most important were the gods and humans, although the Titans (who preceded the Olympian gods) also appeared frequently in Greek myths. Minor species included the half-man-half-horse centaurs, the nature nymphs (tree nymphs were dryads, sea nymphs were Nereids), and the half-man, half-goat satyrs. Some creatures in Greek mythology were monstrous, such as the one-eyed giant Cyclops, the sea beast Scylla, the whirling Charybdis, the Gorgons, and the half-man, half-bull Minotaur.

Sacred Texts in Greek Mythology

The Greeks did not have religious texts that they regarded as “revealed” scriptures of sacred origin, but very ancient texts such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, the Homeric hymns (considered today as later productions), Hesiod’s Theogony and Works and Days, and the Odes of Pindar, which were considered authoritative and perhaps inspired; they usually begin with an invocation to the Muses as a source of inspiration. Plato even wanted to exclude myths from his ideal state described in the Republic because of their low moral tone.

Although some traditions, such as the Mystery cults, uphold certain texts as canonical within their own cult praxis, such texts are respected but not necessarily accepted as canonical outside their circle. Of particular importance in this field are certain texts referring to the Orphic cults: multiple copies have been found, from 450 B.C. to 250 A.D., in various places in the Greek world.

Even the words of the oracles never became a sacred text. Other texts were composed especially for religious events, and some have survived within the lyric tradition; although they had a cultic function, they were tied to interpretation and never became a common, standard form of prayer comparable to the Christian Pater Noster. An exception to this rule were the already called Orphic and Mysterious rituals, which, in this, are distinguished from the rest of the Greek religious system.

Finally, some texts called hieroi logoi (Greek: ιεροί λόγοι) (sacred texts) by ancient sources, originating outside the Greek world, or supposedly adopted in ancient times, represent even more different traditions within the Greek belief system.

Ceremonies of Greek mythology

Greek ceremonies and rituals were performed primarily at altars. These were typically dedicated to one or a few gods, and held a statue of the particular deity. Votive deposits were left on the altar, such as food, drinks, as well as precious objects. Sometimes animal sacrifices were performed, with most of the meat eaten, and the offal burned as an offering to the gods. Libations, often of wine, were also offered to the gods, not only at shrines, but also in everyday life, such as during a symposium.

One of the ceremonies was that of pharmakos, a ritual that consisted of expelling a symbolic scapegoat, such as a slave or an animal, from a city or town in times of trouble. It was hoped that by expelling the ritual scapegoat, hardship would go hand in hand.

Sacrifice liturgy

Worship in Greece typically consisted of sacrificing domestic animals on the altar with hymns and prayers. The altar was outside any temple building, and might not be associated with a temple at all. The animal, which must be perfect in kind, is decorated with garlands and the like, and carried in procession to the altar, a girl with a basket on her head containing the hidden knife that points the way. After several rituals the animal is sacrificed on the altar, as all the women present “must scream in loud and shrill tones.”

Its blood is collected and spilled on the altar. It is butchered on the spot and various internal organs, bones and other inedible parts are burned as part of the deity’s offering, while the meat is removed to be prepared for the participants to eat; the main figures taste it on the spot. The temple usually kept the skin, to be sold to tanners. That the humans profited more from the sacrifice than the deity had not escaped the Greeks, and is often the subject of humor in Greek comedy.

Other sacrifice animals

The animals used are, in order of preference, the bull or ox, the cow, the lamb (the most common), the goat, the pig (with the piglet the cheapest mammal) and poultry (but rarely other fowl or fish). Horses and asses are seen on some vases in the geometric style (900-750 B.C.), but they are rarely mentioned in the literature; they were introduced into Greece relatively late and it has been suggested that Greek preferences in this respect go back to ancient times. The Greeks liked to believe that the animal was happy to be sacrificed, and interpreted various behaviors as showing this.

Divination by examination of parts of the sacrificed animal was much less important than in Roman or Etruscan religion, or in Near Eastern religions, but it was practiced, especially on the liver, and as part of the cult of Apollo. In general, the Greeks rely more on observing the behavior of birds.

For a smaller, simpler offering, a grain of incense could be thrown on the sacred fire, and outside the cities peasants made simple sacrificial gifts of vegetable produce as the “first fruits” were harvested. Libation, a ritual pouring of fluids, was part of daily life, and libations with a prayer were often made at home whenever wine was drunk, with only part of the contents of the chalice, and the rest drunk.

More formal altars could be made in temples, and other fluids such as olive oil and honey could be used. Although the great form of sacrifice called the hecatomb (meaning 100 bulls) might in practice involve only a dozen or so, in the great festivals the number of cattle sacrificed might run into the hundreds, and the numbers feasting on them into the thousands.

Greek sacrifices

Evidence for the existence of such practices is clear in some ancient Greek literature, especially in the epics of Homer. Throughout the poems, the use of ritual is evident at banquets where meat is served, in times of danger or before some major effort to win the favor of the gods.

For example, in Homer’s Odyssey Eumaeus sacrifices a pig with a prayer for his unrecognizable master Odysseus. However, in Homer’s Iliad, which partly reflects very ancient Greek civilization, not every princely banquet begins with a sacrifice.

These sacrificial practices share much with recorded forms of sacrificial rituals known from later times. In addition, throughout the poem, special banquets are held whenever the gods indicate their presence by some sign or success in war. Before leaving for Troy, this type of animal sacrifice is offered. Odysseus offers Zeus a sacrificial ram in vain.

The sacrificial occasions in Homer’s epic poems may shed some light on the view of the gods as members of society, rather than as external entities, indicating social ties. Sacrificial rituals played an important role in shaping the relationship between humans and the divine.

It has been suggested that the chronic deities, which are distinguished from the Olympian deities by the fact that they are typically offered the holocaust mode of sacrifice, where the offering is totally burned, may be remnants of native pre-Hellenic religion and that many of the Olympian deities may have come from the Proto-Greeks who invaded the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula in the late third millennium BC.

Greek Festivals

Various religious festivals were celebrated in ancient Greece. Many were specific to a particular deity or city-state. For example, the Lykaia festival was celebrated in Arcadia (Greece), which was dedicated to the pastoral god Pan.

Like the other Panhellenic Games, the ancient Olympic Games were a religious festival, held at the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia. Other festivals focused on Greek theater, of which the most important was that of Dionysus in Athens.

The most typical festivals were a procession, great sacrifices and a feast to eat the offerings, and many included entertainments and customs such as visiting friends, dressing up in costumes and unusual behavior in the streets, sometimes risky for passers-by in various ways. In all, the year in Athens included some 140 days that were religious festivals of some kind, though varying greatly in importance.

Rites of passage

One rite of passage was the amphidromia, celebrated on the fifth or seventh day after the birth of a child. Childbirth was extremely significant to the Athenians, especially if the baby was a boy.

Sacred places in Greek mythology

The ancient Greeks worshipped their gods every day, and they believed in many gods! They believed that each temple they built should honor a single god, no matter how large or elaborate the temple was. Some cities built more than one temple to honor the same god. The priests were assisted by the attendants. People brought offerings, usually food, to the temples when they prayed. This food was collected, sometimes stored, and consumed by the priests and attendants in honor of the gods. In ancient Greece, even women could be priests.

Sacred sites were located all over the place. The sites had a simple shift where the ancient Greeks could pray. Some sacred sites became so popular, for whatever reason, that a temple was built on the site.

Temple of Hephaestus

The Temple of Hephaestus in central Athens, Greece, is the best-preserved ancient Greek temple in the world, but it is far less well-known than its illustrious neighbor, the Parthenon. The temple is also known as the Hephaestus or Hephaestion. It is sometimes called the Theseus, due to the Byzantine belief that the bones of the legendary Greek hero Theseus were buried there; in fact, the bones that were supposed to be those of Theseus were buried in the 5th century BC at another site closer to the Acropolis.

The temple is located about 500 meters northwest of the Acropolis and about 1 km west of the modern center of Athens, in Syntagma Square. It was built around 449 BC on what was then the western edge of the city of Athens, in a district that contained many foundries and metalworking shops. It was therefore dedicated to Hephaestus, the god of smiths and metallurgy. This temple was designed by Ictinus, one of the architects who worked on the Parthenon. It is located on a slight rise and in ancient times enjoyed a beautiful view of the Agora.

Mount Olympus

Along the east coast of the Greek mainland, you will find one of the world’s best-known natural monuments: Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, at 2,917 (or 2,919, according to new measurements) meters high; it is located at 40°05 2N 22°21 2E, in mainland Greece.

Mount Olympus is known for its very rich flora with several endemic species. The highest peak of Olympus is Mitikas, Greek for “nose”. There are two shelters on a plain about forty-five minutes from Mitikas. Mitikas is the highest peak in Greece, the second highest being Stefani.

The Marathon Tumulus

The fertile plain of Marathon was a natural place for the establishment and development of human activity from prehistoric to Roman times. It was here on this plain that the battle between the Athenians and the Persians was fought in 490 BC. To this great event, the Marathon owes its worldwide fame and its important place in the consciousness of the ancient Greeks. The Mound was erected over the graves of the 192 Athenians who died in the battle and whose remains were buried here after the cremation of the dead.

Located about a hundred miles northwest of Athens is the ancient site of the Panhellenic sanctuary of Delphi. The complex of buildings, which includes the Temple of Apollo where the famous oracle was located, The Sacred Cave of the Corinthians, and the Castalian Spring, is nestled in the wooded and rocky slopes on the south side of the Sacred Mountains and Sacred Parnassus.

The site was sacred at least since the Bronze Age. According to legend, the shrine was originally guarded by the dragoness Python. She was killed by Apollo, who took over the oracle. In ancient times, Delphi was considered the center of the world.

Temple of Apollo

The visible ruins belong to the last temple, dated to the 4th century BC, which was peripteral, in Doric order. It was erected on the remains of an earlier temple, dated to the 6th century BC. Inside was the “adyton”, the center of the Delphic oracle and the seat of Pythia. The monument was partially restored between 1938 and 1941.

Sanctuary of Poseidon

It is located in the southernmost and highest part of the promontory. The area was leveled and supported by retaining walls on the north and west sides. A Propylon was built on the north side, and porticoes along the north and east for the accommodation of pilgrims.

At the end of the Archaic period an imposing temple was built in the position of the Classic seen today, but of slightly smaller dimensions. It was Doric, made of pores, with an external colonnade of 6 x 13 columns and an internal one supporting the roof.

Ramnunte or Ramnonte

The site of ‘Rhamnous‘, the northernmost daemon of Attica, is located north of Marathon, overlooking the Strait of Euboea. The site was known in Antiquity for its sanctuary of Nemesis, the relentless avenging goddess. A fortified acropolis overlooks the two small harbors, from which grain was imported for Athens during the Peloponnesian War. Otherwise, Rhamnous was strategically important enough to be fortified and receive an Athenian garrison.

The 6th century Temple of Nemesis was destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC and replaced by a never-completed temple in the 5th century. A smaller temple sharing the sanctuary platform (peribolos) is believed to be dedicated to Thetis, based on dedications on two marble seats, to Nemesis and Thetis.

Conclusion on sacred places and rituals

The center of this Greek mythology lies in the pantheon of deities said to live on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. From their position, they ruled all aspects of human life. The Olympian gods and goddesses looked, like men and women (although they could change into animals and other things) and were. As many myths relate, vulnerable to human weaknesses and passions.

Each city was dedicated to a particular god or group of gods, for whom they often built temples of worship. The Greeks also learned about the gods by word of mouth at home, where worship was common.

Although the Greeks had no official church organization, they universally honored certain sacred places. Delphi was a sacred place that was dedicated to Apollo. A temple built at Delphi contained an oracle, or prophet, whom brave travelers questioned about the future. A group of priests represented each of the holy places. The Greeks often offered sacrifices to the gods, usually of a domestic animal such as a goat.