Heroes of Ancient Hellas, whose names are not forgotten to this day, occupied a special place in mythology, fine arts and the life of the ancient Greek people. They were role models and ideals of physical beauty. Legends and poems were composed about these brave men, statues were created in honor of the heroes and called them by the names of the constellation.
Legends and myths of Ancient Greece: heroes of Hellas, gods and monsters
The mythology of ancient Greek society is divided into three parts:
1. Pre-Olympic period - legends about titans and giants. At that time, man felt defenseless against the formidable forces of nature, about which he still knew very little. Therefore, the surrounding world seemed to him a chaos, in which there are terrifying uncontrollable forces and entities - titans, giants and monsters. They were generated by the earth as the main acting force of nature.
At this time, Cerberus, the Chimera, the Lernean Hydra, the serpent Typhon, the hundred-armed Hecatoncheir giants, the goddess of vengeance Erinia, appearing in the guise of terrible old women, and many others appear.
2. Gradually, a pantheon of deities of a different nature began to develop. Abstract monsters began to resisthumanoid higher powers - Olympic gods. This is a new, third generation of deities who entered the battle against the titans and giants and defeated them. Not all opponents were imprisoned in a terrible dungeon - Tartarus. Many were among the new gods of Olympus: Ocean, Mnemosyne, Themis, Atlas, Helios, Prometheus, Selene, Eos. Traditionally, there were 12 main deities, but over the centuries their composition has been constantly replenished.
3. With the development of ancient Greek society and the rise of economic forces, man's faith in his own strength became stronger and stronger. This bold view of the world gave birth to a new representative of mythology - the hero. He is the conqueror of monsters and at the same time the founder of states. At this time, great feats are performed and victories are won over ancient entities. Typhon is killed by Apollo, the hero of ancient Hellas Cadmus founds the famous Thebes on the habitat of the dragon he killed, Bellerophon destroys the chimera.
Historical sources of Greek myths
On the exploits of heroes and gods, we can judge by a few written testimonies. The largest of them are the poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey" by the great Homer, "Metamorphoses" by Ovid (they formed the basis of the famous book by N. Kuhn "Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece"), as well as the works of Hesiod.
About V c. BC. there are collectors of legends about the gods and the great defenders of Greece. The heroes of Ancient Hellas, whose names we now know, were not forgotten thanks to their painstaking work. These are the historians and philosophers Apollodorus of Athens, Heraclid of Pontus, Palefatus and many others.
Origin of Heroes
First, let's find out who the hero of Ancient Hellas is. The Greeks themselves have several interpretations. This is usually a descendant of some deity and a mortal woman. Hesiod, for example, called heroes whose ancestor Zeus was a demigod.
It takes more than one generation to create a truly invincible warrior and protector. Hercules is the thirtieth in the family of descendants of the main Greek god, and all the power of the previous heroes of his family was concentrated in him.
In Homer, this is a strong and brave warrior or a person of noble birth, who has famous ancestors.
Modern etymologists also interpret the meaning of the word in question differently, emphasizing the general function of the protector.
Heroes of Ancient Hellas often have a similar biography. Many of them did not know the name of their father, were brought up either by one mother, or were adopted children. All of them, in the end, went to accomplish feats.
Heroes are called upon to carry out the will of the Olympic gods and grant patronage to people. They bring order and justice to the earth. They also have a contradiction. On the one hand, they are endowed with superhuman strength, but on the other hand, they are deprived of immortality. The gods themselves sometimes try to correct this injustice. Thetis kills the son of Achilles, seeking to make him immortal. The goddess Demeter, in gratitude to the Athenian king, puts his son Demophon into the fire in order to burn out everything mortal in him. Usually these attempts end in failure due to the intervention of parents who fear for the lives of their children.
The fate of a hero is usually tragic. Not havingthe opportunity to live forever, he is trying to immortalize himself in the memory of people with exploits. Often he is persecuted by malevolent gods. Hercules tries to destroy Hera, Odysseus is pursued by the wrath of Poseidon.
Heroes of Ancient Hellas: list of names and exploits
The titan Prometheus became the first protector of people. He is conditionally called a hero, since he is not a man or a demigod, but a real deity. According to Hesiod, it was he who created the first people, molding them from clay or earth, and patronized them, protecting them from the arbitrariness of other gods.
Bellerophon is one of the first heroes of the older generation. As a gift from the Olympian gods, he received the wonderful winged horse Pegasus, with the help of which he defeated the terrible fire-breathing chimera.
Theseus is a hero who lived before the great Trojan War. Its origin is unusual. He is a descendant of many gods, and even the wise half-snakes, half-humans were his ancestors. The hero has two fathers at once - King Aegeus and Poseidon. Before his greatest feat - the victory over the monstrous Minotaur - he managed to do many good deeds: he destroyed the robbers who lay in wait for travelers on the Athenian road, he killed the monster - the Krommion pig. Also, Theseus, together with Hercules, participated in the campaign against the Amazons.
Achilles is the greatest hero of Hellas, the son of King Peleus and the goddess of the sea Thetis. Wanting to make her son invulnerable, she put him in the Hephaestus furnace (according to other versions, in the river Styx or boiling water). He was destined to die in the Trojan War, but before that he had to accomplish many feats on the field.scolding. His mother tried to hide him from the ruler Lykomed, dressing him up in women's clothing and passing him off as one of the royal daughters. But the cunning Odysseus, sent to search for Achilles, was able to expose him. The hero was forced to accept his fate and went to the Trojan War. On it, he accomplished many feats. The mere appearance of him on the battlefield turned the enemies to flight. Achilles was killed by Paris with an arrow from a bow, which was directed by the god Apollo. She hit the only weak spot on the hero's body - the heel. The ancient Greeks revered Achilles. Temples were built in his honor in Sparta and Elis.
The life stories of some heroes are so interesting and tragic that they deserve to be told separately.
Perseus
Heroes of Ancient Hellas, their exploits and life stories are known to many. One of the most popular representatives of the great defenders of antiquity is Perseus. He performed several feats that glorified his name forever: he cut off the head of Medusa the Gorgon and saved the beautiful Andromeda from the sea monster.
To do this, he had to get Ares' helmet, which makes anyone invisible, and Hermes' sandals, which make it possible to fly. Athena, the patroness of the hero, gave him a sword and a magic bag in which to hide a severed head, because the sight of even a dead Gorgon turned any living creature into stone. After the death of Perseus and his wife Andromeda, they were both placed by the gods in the sky and turned into constellations.
Odysseus
The heroes of ancient Hellas were not only unusually strong andcourageous. Many of them were wise. The most cunning of them all was Odysseus. More than once his sharp mind rescued the hero and his companions. Homer dedicated his famous "Odyssey" to the long-term journey of the king of Ithaca home.
The Greatest of the Greeks
The hero of Hellas (Ancient Greece), the myths about which are most famous, is Hercules. The son of Zeus and the descendant of Perseus, he accomplished many feats and became famous for centuries. All his life he was haunted by the hatred of Hera. Under the influence of the madness she sent, he killed his children and two sons of his brother Iphicles.
The hero's death came prematurely. Putting on a poisoned cloak sent by his wife Dejanira, who thought it was soaked in a love potion, Hercules realized that he was dying. He ordered a funeral pyre to be prepared and went up on it. At the time of his death, the son of Zeus - the main character of Greek myths - was taken to Olympus, where he became one of the gods.
Ancient Greek demigods and mythological characters in contemporary art
Heroes of Ancient Hellas, pictures of which can be seen in the article, have always been considered examples of physical strength and he alth. There is not a single art form in which the plots of Greek mythology were not used. And today they do not lose popularity. Such films as Clash of the Titans and Wrath of the Titans, the main character of which is Perseus, aroused great interest among the audience. Odyssey is dedicated to a magnificent film of the same name (directed by Andrey Konchalovsky). "Troy" told about the exploits and death of Achilles.
A huge number of films, series and cartoons have been shot about the great Hercules.
Conclusion
The Heroes of Ancient Hellas are still a wonderful example of masculinity, self-sacrifice and devotion. Not all of them are perfect, and many of them have negative traits - vanity, pride, lust for power. But they always stood up for Greece if the country or its people were in danger.
