Constellations In Ancient Greek Mythology

596 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Ancient Greek culture

Ancient Greek Mythology
By: Colin Smith

Ancient Greek gods created some of the things we use today, like how Zeus used to be able to change people and animals into stone and put them in the sky of the things we use today like our constellations. Hundreds of years ago the ancient Greeks believed in Ancient Greek mythology. People still study constellations, what they mean, and how they connect to each other. Many beliefs of gods and goddesses exist along with mythical creatures and constellations.

The Greeks were polytheistic, which means they believe in many gods/goddesses. The Ancient Greeks believed that a family of gods lived in a cloud palace above Mount Olympus which is the highest mountain in Greece. These gods were thought to have special powers, and each had control over a different aspect of life. Zeus became leader because he helped his siblings get out of cronus and so they made him their leader. A few examples are; Zeus the king of the gods, Poseidon the king of the oceans and water, and Athena which is the goddess of reason, intelligent activity, arts, and literature. Zeus created some of these constellations many years ago.

Along with believing in many …show more content…

Some of these mythical creatures appeared in the myth of Hercules and his labors. There are creatures that helped like chiron he was a teacher and he was higher class centaur than the others. Then other ones were bad like echidna and they say she was the most dangerous and most fearsome monster of all and attacked and ate families. Some of the beasts are dead but some are still alive and so many people believe that these mythical beasts were still out there. So people still honor the people that were thought to be the slayers of the harmful beasts and to the heros that were thought to help in the slaying of the evil. Many people still believe that these mythical creatures are

Show More
Related

  • The Generation Of Monsters In Hesiod Analysis

    1285 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the beginning, the gods emerged from “cosmic forces” and slowly defined their individual personalities and forms, “their functions articulated in relation to each other” (Clay 105). The authority of Zeus forces the rest of the gods to keep their powers balanced by filling certain niches. In the Eumenides, Pythia begins by singing a prayer to honor the gods. Although she first honors Gaia, Pythia spends a few lines talking about Apollo and his relation to Zeus. When she calls on Zeus, she calls him “the Fulfiller, the highest god” (Aeschylus, Eumenides, p. 112, 17-19). Her approval and reverence towards Zeus is made clear immediately. Even before that, Pythia acknowledges that Apollo was “Zeus inspired” and the “spokesman of Zeus,” thus making him higher up in her hierarchy of gods (Aeschylus, Eumenides, p. 112, 17-19). Zeus is known for his many godly offspring who were all “Zeus inspired”. Along with Apollo, god of music and arts, this list also includes Athena, goddess of wisdom and war. Being made from the same cosmic forces, all of the gods developed their own strengths to fulfil certain niches (Clay 106) At the end of this individualization process, there is the “emergence of a stable, ordered, and harmonious cosmos” (Clay 106). As a result, new standards of conforming and being uniform became apparent through the

    Read More

  • How the Greek Revered Their Gods

    3757 Words  | 8 Pages

    The ancient Greeks practiced a religion that was in effect, a building block to many ensuing pagan religions. This religion revolved around their reverence to the gods. Essentially, the Greeks worshipped numerous gods, making their religion polytheistic. They believed that exercising the opportunity to choose between a wide array of gods to worship offered them a great sense of freedom that they treasured. After all, the Greeks were known for their intellectual distinction of which their means of worship played a huge part. Each city-state, or polis, thus had an affiliated god who protected and guided its residents. Within a given polis, the belief in common gods unified the people. Ultimately, the Greeks yearned for this unity and order in the universe, which is a characteristic that is not unlike that of people today. It might seem contradictory that they believed in many gods and sought organization at the same time, for larger numbers are inherently unstable. But, to the god-fearing Greeks, each god represented a different facet of life that together upheld an organized universe if each of these gods was properly appeased. To satisfy these gods, the Greeks participated in activities such as prayer and sacrifice and erected divine temples and centers for oracles in honor of specific gods. There is evidence of this institutionalization early on in the reign of the Olympian gods, thus forming the Olympian religion.

    Read More

  • Hercules: Constellation Mythology

    580 Words  | 2 Pages

    The constellation of Hercules is the fifth largest of the modern 88 constellation today it borders the constellations of Bootes and Draco. The mythology of Hercules is that he is one of the best well know and recognize heroes in Greek mythology. He is best known as the strongest of all mortals even stronger than of a god. But the story of Hercules is an interesting one he was the last mortal son of Zeus and the only man born of a mortal woman to become a god. When Hercules was born his life was at stake from Hera she plotted to kill the young Hercules at an early stage. Whilst still a baby, Hercules had to contend with the wrath of Hera, Zeus's wife. Angered at her husband's unfaithfulness, she decided that Hercules must be killed. She sent two snakes to murder him as he lay in his crib, but such was Hercules' strength that he was able to strangle them both with his bare

    Read More

  • Medieval Creatures

    674 Words  | 2 Pages

    The medieval times were filled with many events that have helped to shape our society today such as the rise of the bubonic plague, the birth of feudalism, the growth of the Catholic Church, and among these is the beginning tales of mythical monsters. The stories of mythical monsters were spurred by the imagination of men who saw an unusual creature or something unexplainable. A world renown German physicist by the name of Albert Einstein claimed, “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.” (brainyquote.com) Mythical creatures were founded by the creativity of very bright individuals who wanted to entertain people by telling elaborate stories that contained a strong antagonist. Mythical creatures also allowed society to have heroes because with every evil monster there must be a savior to slay the hideous beast. Although many different monsters have been mentioned the Dragon, the Kraken, the Basilisk, and the Griffin were among some of the most popular and well known creatures.

    Read More

  • The Cepheus Constellation

    541 Words  | 2 Pages

    While studying the solar system in our eighth grade science class, we were each assigned a constellation to research. The constellation that was assigned to me was Cepheus. In this paper my goal is to explain the myth behind this constellation and describe its features.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite

    2587 Words  | 6 Pages

    Mythology was very important to the men and women of ancient Greece. They worshipped the gods and goddesses, wrote poems about them, and based a great deal of art work off of them. The people of Greece looked to the gods and goddesses for help in all aspects of their lives; including health, agriculture, and war. Reading about Greek mythology can inform people about the society of Greece because the Greek gods were created by the people of Greece. Three main goddesses who were worshipped by the Greeks were Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite.

    Read More

  • Scorpius Constellation In The Creation Myth Of

    455 Words  | 1 Pages

    The constellation I have chosen for this essay is Scorpius because I am a Scorpius so I have a connection with this particular constellation. The constellation Scorpius itself lies between the constellations Libra and Sagittarius in the southern hemisphere near the center of the Milky Way. This constellation symbolizes a scorpion and has 18 main stars,the brightest of which is the star Antares. I have chosen this constellation because Scorpius is my zodiac and I have looked upon the Scorpius constellation and I have found it to be quite stunning.

    Read More

  • Hermes

    781 Words  | 2 Pages

    The idea of gods and goddesses began as far back as the ancient Egyptians, but the ancient Greeks were the first group to form a religion based on gods and goddesses. They believed that the gods and goddesses were not different from humans. Some of the few ways humans were different from gods were that the gods were stronger and lived forever. Since the Greeks believe in many gods, they are Polytheists.

    Read More

  • Myths

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    Myths have been around long before writing, philosophy, science, and literature were invented. Its original purpose was to help humans understand the world around them. For example, Greek, Roman, Babylonian, and Sumerian myths use similar goddess of fruitfulness to explain when food and fruits grow and die during the seasonal changes. For example, Pomona, a Roman goddess, represents fruit trees and Demeter, a Greek goddess, represents harvest. Myths were also before religion. Every religion uses universal mythical themes. The Creation story, the first Man and Woman, and Heaven and Earth are some of the major stories that have been retold using myths. After writing was invented, myths became part of written literature. Works such Moby Dick, Noah’s Ark, and Jonah and the Whale, are also base...

    Read More

  • The Role Of Zeus In The Odyssey

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mythology is critical to Greek people’s everyday life, just like how religion is in our modern day age. Everyday events, such as a thunderstorm, can be linked to a god or goddess. For example, when an earthquake would happen, it would be Poseidon crashing his tritan on the ground. People’s lives revolved around the whole ideology and it served as a way to explain the unexplained and to help them in times of need. All of the stories of these great gods and goddesses were passed down generation through generation, each time becoming more extreme and distorted.

    Read More

  • Should gods be Moral?

    580 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ancient Greek religion was a polytheistic religion that believed in many gods and goddesses. To Greeks, these gods and goddesses would be able to control everything. Each god or goddess had his or her own distinct personality and territory. “Greek myths explained the origins of the gods and their individual relations with mankind” (Hemingway). Unlike current religions, like Christianity and Judaism, Greek gods were not known for being moral or being truly good or evil. Many of the Greek gods and goddesses were disorganized and self-contradicting. Although this was apparent to the Greeks, the Greeks believed that their religion was to brighten their own lives, rather than give them godlike guidance. The best example of a self-contradicting Greek god is Zeus – father of all gods and humans (Cunningham and Reich 32-33).

    Read More

  • Museum Exhibition Proposal With Punch

    3266 Words  | 7 Pages

    world we live in. Mythical creatures are created by people’s imaginations, hopes, fears, and most

    Read More

  • Prometheus And Io In Greek Mythology

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    One example of the Greeks wanting to justify where some animals came from through their stories is the story Prometheus and Io. In this story, Zeus is having an affair with a woman named Io and he is trying hard not to get caught by his wife, Hera. “As she caught sight of him he was standing beside a most lovely white heifer--Io

    Read More

  • Ancient Greek Astronomy

    1539 Words  | 4 Pages

    Since the first Egyptian farmers discovered the annual reappearance of Sirius just before dawn a few days before the yearly rising of the Nile, ancient civilizations around the Mediterranean have sought to explain the movements of the heavens as a sort of calendar to help guide them conduct earthly activities. Counting phases of the moon or observing the annual variations of day length could, after many years' collection of observations, serve as vital indicators for planting and harvesting times, safe or stormy season for sailing, or time to bring the flocks from winter to summer pastures. With our millennia of such observation behind us, we sometimes forget that seeing and recording anything less obvious than the rough position of sun or nightly change of moon phase requires inventing both accurate observation tools (a stone circle, a gnomon used to indicate the sun's shadow, a means to measure the position of stars in the sky) and a system of recording that could be understood by others. The ancient Greeks struggled with these problems too, using both native technology and inquiry, and drawing upon the large body of observations and theories gradually gleaned from their older neighbors across the sea, Egypt and Babylonia. Gradually moving from a system of gods and divine powers ordering the world to a system of elements, mathematics, and physical laws, the Greeks slowly adapted old ideas to fit into a less supernatural, hyper-rational universe.

    Read More

  • Greek Mythology Reflection Paper

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout studying many myths, I came up with many new observations. Many questions came into my mind about these myths. Greek mythology takes us back to a time when people had a connection with nature and when nature played a major role in people’s lives. The religious beliefs of the people who wrote the myths are found in the background of these myths; however, they are not to be read like religious texts. The myths try to offer explanations of “how”, which makes us think deeply about the purpose of these myths and the questions they draw to our minds. According to the myths we studied in class, the world created the gods, not the other way around. The gods were always created in the image of man, which shows how much men were important in their society. Furthermore, many of these Greek myths show us the difference between the views of the Greek then and our view towards many aspects of the society, including nature. Monsters appear in Greek myths and have different representations and roles. Greek mythology reflects a view of the Greeks towards the world and how certain aspects of their lives are similar and different to modern society.

    Read More

More about Constellations In Ancient Greek Mythology

Open Document