Greeks and Mythology
In Ancient times the people of the world were very curios and wondered how things came about in the world they lived in. In order to answer their growing questions, authors wrote myths. These myths explained how a certain thing came about in the world. Some stories explained why it thundered others how the earth revolved the sun, while others told stories of heroes. These heroes were a gateway to the common man and his problems, so everyone wanted to read about them. But as the common man differed from country to country, so did mythology and tales. Two of the countries with a large difference in their ways are Greece and Egypt. While Greek and Egyptian mythology shared the use of gods, creators and stories, the Greeks put more structure into these areas and developed others.
Both Greece and Egypt used gods to portray aspects of life and meaning. For mythology the use of gods are needed so they were created by both of these countries. While the Greeks had more gods than the Egyptians, the Egyptians had more names for these gods. For every Greek god there was an Egyptian god with two or three names, such as the Greek's Zeus was known as Pluto and Atum or Hera as Juno and Venus(-----13). All of the Greek Olympians live atop Mt. Olympus with their set ruler Zeus, but in Egypt the Zeus equivalent did not rule on Mt. Olympus. Egyptian mythology had no one single god who ruled all, but the gods did live atop the large pyramids with a few other entities at their side, just as in Greece(----- 12). "Heliopolis, located in the main pyramid are with the other god villages,"(Cavendish 67) was where the Zeus equivalent prominently dwelled and although he "was a ruler he had no power significa...
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...se the Greeks had more structure, rank, and class distinctions their mythology was looked upon as the best and related to most often.
Greek and Egyptian mythology shared many things, including the use of gods, creators and stories, the Greeks however put more structure into these areas and developed these and others. The Greek's culture affected their culture and others because they had such a strong basis for their mythology and life. Many cultures stole what the Greeks had because it was so strong. Even in current life, Greek mythology is still a factor. Mainly because The Greeks are the only culture associated with the word mythology in present life, the other cultures have nearly been forgot about or left out of people's minds. With the use of mythology the Greeks changed not only the lives of their people but also the lives of millions after them.
It is always important to look to the past in order to move towards the future. This was done in the formation of Western Society, and more specifically the formation of American society. The Greek culture served as a frame of reference for many aspects of Western life including government, architecture, math and the arts. Ancient Greek culture served as a very broad base for our society to be built upon.
“The religions of ancient Greece and Rome are extinct. The so-called divinities of Olympus have not a single worshiper among living men.” (Bullfinch pg1) The religions of ancient Greece and Rome are very old religions and are believed to in many ways have correlating deities. However, to begin understanding these similarities and differences we must first take a look at the family tree of the Greek gods and then of the family tree of the Roman gods and what all of these gods represent. The Greek gods were a large family with many gods and demigods. There were however a group of gods who were considered the major gods that lived on Olympus and met to decide the laws and fates of the entire world. Zeus, the god of the skies, was considered the king of the gods as well as men and was the father o...
The Greeks believed that the earth was formed before any of the gods appeared. The gods, as the Greeks knew them, all originated with Father Heaven, and Mother Earth. Father Heaven was known as Uranus, and Mother Earth, as Gaea. Uranus and Gaea raised many children. Amoung them were the Cyclopes, the Titans, and the Hecatoncheires, or the
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.
They had similar beliefs, but also immeasurable differences. It was composed of many meaningful gods and goddesses that all played a part in the everyday life of the average Roman and Greek person of that time.
Both of these myths reveal to us about their understanding of the universe, and about their culture. Not only do they talk about their various gods, and heroes, but they also talk about how they viewed the universe in general (Rosenberg 79). Greek mythology evolved from two early civilizations, the Mycenaean’s and the Minoans. It was the combining of these different Greek cities and Kingdoms during 10th century B.C. that created the Greek Mythology. Its geographic isolation gave it a place for mythologies to evolve (Gale Virtual Reference Library: Greek Mythology 454-456).
Throughout the history of the world there have been a number of civilizations which have had a longstanding influence not only their own people and culture, but also on various other societies and civilizations. The Greek and Roman civilizations are two such civilizations. Both Greek and Roman influences have permeated societies and cultures besides their own. While there are many notable similarities between ancient Greek and Roman mythology and religion, there are likely also many differences in their origins, beliefs, and practices. Still, ancient Greek and Roman mythology and culture have influenced people of the world from the medieval ages up to the present. Indeed, ancient Greek and Roman mythology and culture have influenced world theology through the ages.
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.
Many people would blatantly state that the importance of the gods in Greek society derives from the fact that Gods in any society are usually used to explain phenomenon that people cannot logically comprehend, but in ancient Greece gods were actually entities that took part in the workings of society itself. Even simple aspects of day-to-day life such as sex and disputes between mortals were supposedly influenced by godly workings. Unlike modern religions such as Catholicism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, where an omnipotent force supposedly controls the workings of the world, a hierarchy of Gods characterized religion in ancient Greece. Working as one big family, which they actually were, each one of the Greek gods governed a certain aspect of the world in a way that usually reflected their own humanlike personalities. These unique personalities also contained many human flaws such as envy and greed, and were where the Greek God’s importance lay. Greek religion was more concentrated on the way an individual dealt with situations that popped up in the world around him than on understanding the world itself. In other words the Greeks were more interested in the workings of the mind than in the workings of the environment around them.
Furthermore, both the Greeks and Egyptians were convinced of having more power once they were dead. Egyptians theory was that when a pharaoh died he became a god, and the Greeks notion was that the heroes they worshipped that were mythical humans became very powerful after they died. Therefore, with there being so much to Egyptian and Greek mythology, there are actually very few similarities between the two.
Mythology is an essential part of all cultures. Through myth, ancient cultures attempted to explain the world and make sense of their daily lives. Myth helps us to live in the minds and time period of people who lived many centuries ago with no technology, no running water, and a basic education. Greek myth is possibly the most commonly recognized myth simply because it is likely the most developed and best recorded. Modern Greek myth originated around 1000 B.C. in the writings of the famous Greek poet Homer in the Odyssey and the Illiad. Although early Greek myths are often vague and contain many primitive elements regarding their understanding of death, sacrifice, and fate, later myths show Greek culture developed and changed over time.
The Classical mythology contains tales and epics of the ancient Greek and roman literatures and myths. On the other hand, Homer’s two epic poems, the Iliad relates to the events of the Trojan War while the Odyssey details Odysseus expedition after the war. Homer’s epic poems, the Odyssey and the Iliad present a major part of ancient history as modern fictional heroic stories. In ancient Greek, heroes were humans who were depicted to possess superhuman abilities. A key example in the classical mythology is Akhilles who is later known in Homer’s Iliad as Achilles. Achilles is he greatest hero of the Iliad whereas Odysseus is the greatest hero of the Odyssey. The greatest heroes from classic mythology and the modern fictional hero’s stories are mortal, and subject to death. The Odyssey and the Iliad marks the beginning of modern fictional literature.
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.
Egypt is one of the oldest and most complex civilizations of the world. Their religion and beliefs are fascinating and have been a mystery for centuries. Even today, there are some things that we still do not understand. In this research, I will investigate the basic concepts of Egyptian mythology and its gods.
...sions of the mythology, it is easy to tell what the cultures held in high regard. The Greeks were a civil people; their chief deity was a god of law, justice, and morals. The Norse, on the other hand, were a people of war. Their chief god was a god of war and death, and the only way to Valhalla was to die honorably in battle. Examining these mythologies is an excellent way to show the similarities and differences of the two cultures.