What is mythology. Mythology is ancient, ancient, Roman, ancient Greek

In ancient tales, people reflected their ideas about the world around them, they believed in the existence of Olympus, the heavenly and underground kingdoms. The mythology of Ancient Greece tells about the origin of the gods and people most vividly. The Greeks saved hundreds of legends about how the cultural heroes were born, what made them famous? And how their future fate unfolded.

What is mythology? The concept of gods and heroes

In Greek, the word "myth" means "narrative". To this category can be attributed legends about the gods, exploits of heroes and phenomena of nature. Myth was perceived as a reality and passed on from generation to generation. It can be argued that it is one of the oldest forms of oral folk art.

Myth was the result of mythmaking: all nature and the world consisted of intelligent beings forming a community. The ancient Greeks fetished physical objects and forces, animated them. All the inexplicable, with what a person came across, attributed supernatural forces. The Ancient Greek gods were anthropomorphic. They possessed human appearance and magical knowledge, could change shape and were immortal. Like humans, the gods performed feats, suffered defeats and were dependent on less powerful, at first glance, creatures - the three goddesses of fate. Moira solved the fate of every heavenly and earthly inhabitant, so Zeus did not dare to argue with them.

What is the difference between a myth and religion?

All ancient peoples, including Greek and Roman, passed the stage from fetishism to idolatry. Initially, the object of veneration could be products of wood and metal, which soon began to acquire divine outlines, but the statues still remained a bare stone without a soul and magic power.

Mythology and religion are similar concepts, and sometimes it is difficult to identify differences in them, because the second is part of the first. In many national religions, the object of worship is anthropomorphic beings endowed with supernatural power - these are gods, the diversity of which can be traced in Roman and Greek cultures. The existence of any religion is inconceivable without mythology. Heroes fight, marry, reproduce the offspring - all this happens with the participation of miraculous powers and magic. At the moment when the myth tries to explain the supernatural events, it begins to acquire a religious color.

Ancient mythology as an arsenal of the whole world culture

Friedrich Engels argued that without the Greek and Roman influences there would be no modern Europe. The revival of the ancient Greek heritage began during the Renaissance, when writers, architects and artists once again began to draw inspiration from the plots of Hellenic and Roman tales. Today, in museums around the world, majestic statues of gods and other creatures are presented to visitors, and paintings can tell about a certain moment of a significant event. The theme of "mythology" was also of interest to the writers of the "Golden Age". Pushkin and Derzhavin turned to antiquity, only to show their thoughts they used not a brush with paint, but a word.

It is curious that the myths of the Greek and Roman peoples formed the basis of world culture even after many centuries. Modern man has a different point of view regarding the origin of the universe, but he does not cease to turn to ancient ideas and is pleased to study the cultural heritage of the past. Myth was the first attempt to explain the universe, and over the centuries has acquired not a religious, but aesthetic character. The strengths of the characters depicted in the Odyssey and the Iliad attract modern men, and the girls try to look like Venus, Aphrodite, and Diana in character and beauty. Unfortunately, many people do not pay attention to how myth and mythology have firmly entered the life of modern man. But they play a huge role in world culture.

The Origin of the Earth

The ancient mythology of the Greeks and Romans is striking in its originality. Many are still surprised at how people could so skilfully represent the creation of the world - or maybe it was all in fact? In the beginning, there was Chaos, from which occurred Gaia - the earth. At the same time, Eros (love), Erebus (darkness) and Nyukta (night) occurred. Under the earth, Tartarus was born - an infernal place into which sinners were sent after death. From the night and darkness there arose Ether (light) and Gemer (day). The earth gave birth to Uranus (sky), who took her as his wife and produced six titans who gave the world rivers, sea goddesses, sun, moon, wind. Now on the planet there were all the elements, and the inhabitants did not know the misfortunes until the evil creatures appeared. The earth gave birth to three Cyclops, whom the jealous Uranus had imprisoned in gloom, but the younger one, Cron, got out and took power from his father. A rebellious son could not go unpunished, and mythology also narrates the further development of events. Goddesses and gods, whose name was Death, Discord, Deception, Destruction, Sleep and Vengeance, for the crime were born Nyukta. So the ancient world appeared, according to the ideas of the ancient Greeks. The offspring of Chaos inhabited the underworld and on land, and each had its own destiny.

Gods of Greek mythology

Ancient religion was significantly different from the current one, and if today representatives of the four main religious faiths believe that there is only one Creator, but a few millennia ago people had a different opinion. The Greeks believed that the gods lived on the holy mountain Olympus. Each had its own external appearance and purpose. The mythology of Ancient Greece is represented by the twelve major gods.

Roman gods

Greek mythology has always been considered exemplary. The goddesses of the Romans had their original names and destinations, and on this their story ended. The people did not invent new legends and took as a basis plots from the Greeks, because their art was more vivid and colorful. Roman culture was less rich, so many moments were borrowed from the Hellenic heritage.

The Romans had the supreme god Jupiter, and his wife - Juno. They had the same duties as in Greek mythology. The sea lord is Neptune, and the patroness of the hearth is Vesta. The god of the underworld was Pluto, and the main commander was Mars. Athena was the Roman analogue of Minerva, the perfect predictor - Phoebus, and his sister Diana was a forest lord. Venus is the goddess of love, born of foam. Mercury patronized the travelers and helped people in the trade. The smith Vulcan was the Roman counterpart of Hephaestus. Thus, although the Roman mythology also was considered poorer, the number of gods was the same as that of the Greeks.

Sisyphean labor, panic fear and others

The speech of a person becomes colorful through the use of proverbs, phraseological units and means of artistic expressiveness. Ancient mythology is felt not only in high literary style, but also in everyday life.

Talking about unbearable and useless work, a person often uses the phraseology "Sisyphus labor" without even going into his etymology, while the phrase has ancient roots. For disobedience to the gods, the son of Aeolus and Henaretha was severely punished. For millennia, Sisyphus is forced to roll a huge stone into a mountain, the height of which is not the limit, but it's worth letting the unfortunate hands-how a block will crush it.

Panic fear must have been experienced by each of us at least once in our life, and this expression we owe to God Pan with the bizarre appearance of a man with goat legs. With his sudden appearance, the creature instilled fear of travelers, and from his sinister laughter the blood flowed in his veins. So the expression "panic fear" appeared, meaning fear of something inexplicable.

Tantalus is a cunning Greek, trying to steal from the table of the gods their wonderful food and share it with people, for which he was severely punished. The unfortunate was thrown into hell and, exhausted by thirst, could not get drunk, as he was in the throat in the water. As soon as he opened his mouth, the liquid disappeared. So the phraseology "tantalum flour" appeared.

People who do not know what mythology is, allow themselves to shine with the mind, using interesting phraseologicalisms in their speech. In his epic Homer devoted several stanzas to the description of the unrestrained laughter of the gods. Greats often allowed themselves to mock at something stupid and awkward, while laughing at full power. So the expression "Homeric laughter" was born.

Mythological stories in the literature of the last centuries

It is fair to assert the influence of ancient culture on Russian poetry. Alexander Pushkin often referred to the ancient Greek heritage, and in his novel in the poems "Eugene Onegin" it is possible to subtract a lot of stanzas, which include the names of Zeus, Juvenal, Circe, Terpsichore, Flora and other deities. Sometimes you can find individual words or whole expressions written in Ancient Greek. This method is actual even in modern times, and often journalists, politicians and other influential figures prefer to speak out aphorisms. C'est la vie sounds much more solemn than the simple "such is life," and the letter ended by the phrase Vale et me ama acquires great value and depth of thought. By the way, Pushkin's hero of the novel himself preferred to end the message with this phrase in ancient Greek.

Russian poet Osip Mandelshtam knew perfectly well what mythology is, and his craving for antiquity began with the first collection of "Stone." In the poems are visible images of Erebus, Homer, Odyssey, and also there is a golden fleece. The poem Silentium !, which in Latin means "silence", causes the reader to interest with one of its own names. The heroine in the lyrical text is the goddess Aphrodite, whom Mandelstam calls to remain a sea foam.

The founder of Russian symbolism Valery Bryusov admits that "Rome is the closest thing" to him, therefore Roman mythology often appears in his poetic lines. In works, he recalls Agamemnon, Orpheus, Amphitryon, Orion, sings the beauty of Aphrodite and asks her to accept this verse; Turns to the god of love Eros.

Gavrila Derzhavin openly shifted the ode of the Roman poet Horace "To Melpomene." The main idea of the poem "Monument" is the eternity of the poetic heritage and the recognition of its creativity. A few decades later, Alexander Pushkin wrote the eponymous work and in the epigraph mentions Rome. Exegi monumentum translated from Latin means "I erected a monument." Thus, the theme of immortality is revealed in three great poets: Horace, Derzhavin and Pushkin. Geniuses argue that literature and mythology can coexist, and thanks to their union, magnificent works appear.

Painting and architecture on the subjects of mythology

Painting by Peter Sokolov "Daedalus, tied Icarus wings" is considered the peak of the fine arts, so it was often copied. The work was written in 1777 and is now exhibited in the Tretyakov Gallery. The artist was struck by the legend of the great Athenian sculptor Dedale, who, along with his son Icarus, was imprisoned in a high tower. The cunning man made wings of feathers and wax, and the freedom seemed already close ... Icarus soared high towards the sun - his flying apparatus scorched it, and the young man fell and crashed.

In the Hermitage there is a unique cloth, left whole after the madman splashed out the acid on it and stabbed him. It's about the "Danae" - the picture of Rembrandt. A third of the canvas was damaged, and the restoration took more than twelve years. From mythology, you can find out that Danae was imprisoned in the tower by her own father, when they predicted death by the hand of Perseus - the son of his daughter.

Ancient mythology was also of interest to Russian sculptors, who chose metal as the material for their work. Bronze sculpture "Marcia" Feodosia Shchedrin introduces another hero of the ancient myth. The forest satyr showed courage and decided to compete with Apollo in the musical art. The unfortunate flutist for his impertinence was tied to a tree where his skin was ripped from him.

Piazza della Signoria in Florence is adorned with the marble sculpture "Menelaus with Patroclus's body", created on the basis of the plot of the Iliad. The original statue was carved two thousand years ago. Patroclus, who went into battle with Hector instead of Achilles, immediately dies, and Menelaus holds his lifeless body and reflects on revenge. Ancient mythology is often of interest to sculptors, since the subject of inspiration is a person. The creators did not hesitate to depict the curves of a beautiful body that were not covered by clothing.

"Odyssey" and "Iliad" as the peak of ancient mythology

Ancient Greek epic works are studied in schools and higher educational institutions, and the characters depicted in them are still borrowed by writers to create stories and novels. Ancient mythology is represented by the epic poems "Odyssey" and "Iliad", the creator of which is considered to be Homer. He wrote his works in the 8th century BC, and only two centuries later they were recorded by the Athenian tyrant Pisistratus, and until then they were transmitted by Greeks from mouth to mouth. The dispute about authorship arose in connection with the fact that parts of the epic were written at different periods of time, and also worried that the name of Homer in translation means "blind."

"Odyssey" tells of the adventures of the king of Ithaca, who was in captivity with Nymph Calypso for ten years, then decided to return home. The hero awaits difficulties: he gets to the island of the Lestrigonians-cannibals and Cyclopes, swims between Scylla and Charybdis, descends into the underworld, but soon returns to his beloved Penelope, who has faithfully waited for him all the years and rejected all the suitors.

"Iliad" is a heroic epic, which tells of the Trojan war that arose from the theft of the princess Helena. Odysseus also participates in the actions, which appears before the readers in the guise of a cunning and diplomatic ruler skillfully mastering oratory. The main hero of the epic is Achilles. The main battles are conducted by Hector, who in the end dies a terrible death.

Mythology of other peoples

The Greco-Roman heritage is the richest and most colorful, therefore it occupies a leading position in the history of world culture. Ancient mythology also existed among other peoples, and many subjects intertwine with each other. All the objects of worship of the ancient Slavs, who before the year 988 were pagans, were destroyed by the princes, who wanted to leave Christianity as a single religion. It is known that they had wooden statues of Perun, Dazhdbog, Horsa. Less significant deities were analogues of the Greek nymphs and satyrs.

In Egypt, mythology still stands in the place of honor. The gods Amon, Anubis, Imhotep, Ra, Osiris and others are depicted on the walls of the pyramids and in other ancient temples. Today, in this country, most people profess Islam and Christianity, but do not try to eradicate the traces of ancient religion and are passionate about the cultural heritage.

Myth is the basis of religion, and the current religious beliefs of small or large peoples have a connection with mythological subjects. Each Scandinavian country has its own rich culture, it also has Indians, Hispanics, Japanese, Caucasians, Eskimos, French. This heritage is passed down from generation to generation in oral or written form.

Where do they study mythology?

Acquaintance with the cultural heritage of the people begins in the junior classes of the school. In Russia, children are introduced to Russian folk tales - from Kolobok to Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf. A few years later, the teacher tells them tales of Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, and after the end of primary school, boys and girls first learn about the existence of ancient states - Greece and Rome. Myths and legends are studied in literature and the fine arts. The guys learn about the creation of the world from the point of view of the ancient Greeks, get acquainted with the main deities and heroes. After studying the textbook "Mythology, Grade 6", schoolchildren begin to understand the difference between myth and fairy tale and realize that many world religions are based on the legend of ancient peoples.

In the senior classes at the lessons the guys make the first attempts to create sketches of antique statues, study ancient subjects on the canvases of outstanding artists. In higher educational institutions, students-philologists study ancient literature and reread myths, realize their role in the formation of world culture. They confidently determine what mythology is, and how it differs from religion. The main idea of such disciplines is that the young generation does not forget the ancient traditions and possessed full-fledged knowledge that could be used in life and the future profession.