Mythology and religion
In ancient Greece, mythology and religion were intimately linked. But there was more to religion than mythology.
Origins. Mythology took shape during the "Dark Ages", between the 12th and 8th centuries BC. Inhabitants were confronted with the remains of the vanished Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations. Faced with the ruins of the temples and "Cyclopean" walls of their predecessors, they had no explanation for inventing the founding stories of the new civilization of the cities.
Polytheism. Common to all cities, Greek religion was based on polytheism: the belief in several gods who were both "specialized" (Poseidon for the sea, Ares for war...) and close to humans, since they had their own appearance, qualities and defects, and lived among them. Mythology was thus one of the facets of religion, serving in particular to illustrate the lives of the gods.
Rites. Religion was structured around the concepts of piety (not faith) and impiety, the sacred, the pure and the impure. It really had neither dogma nor clergy, but intercessors such as oracles. Slaves and citizens were free to believe or not. However, the rites organized in honor of the gods were a key feature of civic life, particularly the ceremonies dedicated to each city's patron deity.
Reason. Did the Greeks believe in their mythology? No doubt not all these stories were taken literally. For the Ancients also believed in logos, or "reason". Greece was at the forefront of the development of philosophy and science. From the 7th century BC onwards, with Plato, Socrates and Aristotle, Archimedes, Strabo and Anaximander, a revolution in thought took place. Yet mythology was not called into question; it remained a common foundation, probably occupying a more important place in culture and civic life than in beliefs.
Primordial deities
These are the first gods, those who for the Greeks were the origin of life and the gods of Olympus.
Chaos. The first form of life. And as its name suggests, Chaos orders the world by creating the first five deities: Gaia (Earth), Erebus (the Underworld), Nyx (Night), Eros (Love) and Tartarus (the Underworld).
Gaia and Ouranos. Gaia is the Earth goddess, the Mother goddess. Her name comes from "geography" or "geology". She alone begets four deities, including Ouranos, the Sky. By the way, "sky" is always Ouranos in Greek.
Titans. Gaia joined forces with her son Ouranos to give birth to the Titans, human-shaped deities. Based on Mount Othrys (1,726 m above sea level, in central Greece), they are ruled by the youngest of them all, Cronos, who reigns over the Earth with his sister and wife Rhea. In late antiquity, Cronos was confused with Chronos, the primordial god governing Time.
Cyclops and Hecatonchires. The incest of Gaia and Ouranos also gave birth to six deformed children: the Cyclops, three one-eyed giants with mastery of lightning, and the Hecatonchires, three other brothers with 100 hands and 50 heads. But Ouranos feared his offspring, devoured some of them and had Cyclops and Hecatonchires locked up in the Underworld.
Cronos' revolt and the war of the Titans. These two episodes left their mark on Greco-Roman art. They are at the origin of the reign of the Olympian gods. Ouranos ruled the Universe with cruelty. His son Cronos rebelled, liberating his brothers Cyclops and Hecatonchires, then cutting off his father's genitals. From the flow of blood and semen come the Giants and Aphrodite. Cronos takes power with the Titans. Just as tyrannical as his father, he provokes the revolt of his children, led by Zeus and aided by the Cyclops, Giants and Hecatonchires. War breaks out. Cronos and the Titans, defeated, are sent to the Underworld, and Zeus prevails.
Gods of Olympus
The Titans left behind an innumerable progeny. A pantheon dominated by twelve deities who live on Mount Olympus, the highest point in Greece (2,917 m), between Macedonia and Thessaly.
Zeus. His cult was established in Crete as early as the Minoan period, and spread after the Dark Ages. Son of Cronos and Rhea, Zeus (Jupiter to the Romans) is the supreme god. His Greek name (Dias) evokes the "luminous sky", for he holds the power of lightning, transmitted by the Cyclops. Protector, purifier and benefactor, he is feared for his anger (storms, tempests, etc.). Tribute is paid to him at sacrificial festivals, the Diasia, and in the sanctuaries of Dodona (Epirus) and Siwa (Egypt). Married successively to his sisters Hestia, Demeter and then Hera, he collected numerous mistresses. Many gods and heroes were born of these unions.
Hera. The Juno of the Romans is queen of the gods, goddess of marriage, fertility and childbirth. Swallowed by her father Cronos, Hera was freed by her brother Zeus and married him to sit at his side on Olympus. But her relationship with her fickle husband was stormy, and she once tried to kill Apollo and Artemis, who had slept with Leto, or gave birth to Hephaestus alone in defiance of Zeus. The embodiment of jealousy, she was nonetheless beloved by the Greeks, who dedicated numerous temples to her, as well as the Heraia, games reserved for women.
Poseidon. God of the seas, oceans, springs and earthquakes, Poseidon (Neptune in Rome) is the son of Cronos and Rhea. Jealous of Athena, he struck Athens with his devastating trident, then allied himself with her against Zeus. He is punished by being forced to build the walls of Troy. In another episode, he urges King Minos' wife to mate with a bull, giving birth to the Minotaur. But Poseidon saves Apollo and Artemis from Hera's vengeance, gives Castor and Pollux the power to calm storms and gives men the horse. He is honored both near the coast (temple on Cape Sounion) and in Thessaly, a land still renowned for its horses. He is known to have had some thirty lovers and mistresses, as well as some sixty offspring, including four with his wife Amphitrite, divinity of the Sea.
Demeter. Goddess of Agriculture and Harvest, her cult involves esoteric practices, such as the "Mysteries of Eleusis" in Attica. Daughter of Cronos and Rhea, she hardly ever sat on Olympus, remaining in the fields to pass on her knowledge. Adopted by the Romans as Ceres (from which we get "cereal"), she is often depicted searching for Persephone, her beloved daughter, kidnapped by her brother Hades, god of the Underworld.
Aphrodite. In the Louvre, her superb swaying figure leaves you breathless. Born of the sea, when Cronos emasculated Ouranos, she is the goddess of Beauty, Love and Sensuality. Vengeful, unmarried and a collector of lovers, she nevertheless presided over the education of young girls. Venerated by the Romans as Venus, her origins lie in the East. During the Trojan War, she was one of the Greek deities who supported the Trojans. As for the Cypriots, they make her their muse, calling their country "Aphrodite's island". But it is from the Greek island of Milos that the famous Venus de Milo on display in Paris originates.
Apollo. Born with Artemis from the love of Zeus and Leto, he is the god of Art, Beauty, the Sun and Medicine. A latecomer to the written word, he defies Gaia by killing her son Python, and lends his support to the Trojans. However, the Greeks increasingly worshipped him for his healing powers. They dedicated their greatest sanctuaries to her, Delphi and Delos, as well as the Pythian and Delian Games. Her reputation remained immense: the Romans never changed her name, Nietzsche made her the symbol of reason ( logos) and NASA went to the Moon with the Apollo missions.
Artemis. Twin sister of Apollo and called Diana by the Romans, she is the goddess of Nature, Hunting, Childbirth and the Moon. Often depicted as a huntress with her golden bow forged by the Cyclops, she appears more in the East as a multimammia (many-breasted) divinity. It was this symbol of fecundity, as well as her virginity, that ensured her notoriety. In Ephesus, the immense temple dedicated to her was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
Athena. The loveliest of the goddesses. Daughter of Zeus and the aquatic nymph Métis, Athena (Minerva to the Romans) is the goddess of Wisdom, Military Strategy, Craftsmen, Artists and Schoolmasters. She is the patron of many cities, including Sparta, but above all Athens, to which she gives her name and symbol (the owl) and where the Parthenon is dedicated to her. Chaste and not overly vengeful, Athena is Poseidon's great rival and the protector of heroes.
Hephaestus. God of Fire, Forge, Metallurgy and Volcanoes, he is Vulcan to the Romans. Born of Hera alone, his mother deemed him so ugly that she threw him down from Olympus, making him lame. His love life was a bit trashy at first: rejected by Athena, he ejaculated on her, giving birth to the Athenians. Then things got better. He marries Charis ("Grace"), divinity of Beauty, and becomes Aphrodite's favorite lover. In his forge on the island of Lemnos, he designed Zeus's throne, Artemis's arrows, Heracles's cnemides (leggings), Perseus's winged sandals and more.
Hermes. Called Mercury in Rome, he is the son of Zeus and Maia, daughter of the Giant Atlas. With his petascus (round hat) and winged sandals, he is a messenger of the gods... and a thief, "the best job in the world" according to him. He is therefore the god of Thieves, but also of Prostitutes, Travelers, Traders and Orators, guardian of the roads, bringer of good luck, and conductor of souls to the Underworld. Good to men, he offers them his inventions: fire, writing, zither, flute, dance, weights and measures. And although he has almost no sanctuary, Hermaic stelae are erected everywhere for him, sculpted blocks in which only his head and sex appear.
Ares, Hades, Dionysus and Hestia. Two of these four gods are believed to sit on Olympus. Ares (Mars in Roman) is the son of Zeus and Hera, god of War and Destruction. Hades (Pluto in Rome) was born of Cronos and Rhea. God of the Underworld, he is accompanied by his wife Persephone and the three-headed dog Cerberus, and they guard the Underworld. Dionysus (Bacchus for the Romans) was born of the love affair between Zeus and one of his mistresses, Semele or Persephone. He is the god of Folly, Excess, Enthusiasm, the Vine, Wine and its excesses. A great source of inspiration for Greco-Roman art, he presides over masked celebrations that turn into orgies, but also herald the birth of theater. Finally, Hestia (Vesta in the Roman version) is the wisest. Daughter of Cronos and Rhea, she is a virgin and occupies the position of goddess of the Home: she oversees both the domestic hearth and the sacred fire of cities.
Heroes and epics
The tales of heroic deeds, with their morality and sense of tragedy, shaped the Greco-Roman identity. We find them in the modern world, from the names of constellations to the great works of art, from computers to psychoanalysis.
The Trojan War. Narrated in Homer'sIliad, it represents the quintessence of Greek mythology, with a whole panoply of heroes and values dear to the Ancients. Situated on the coast of present-day Turkey, the city of Troy has been known as "Poseidon's citadel" ever since the god of the sea endowed it with impregnable ramparts. But it is not entirely Greek, and symbolizes the eternal struggle against the peoples of the East, particularly the Persians. The Trojan prince Paris triggers the conflict by kidnapping Helen, wife of the Spartan king Menelaus. In response, Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon mobilized most of the Greek kings, known here as the Achaeans. The siege of Troy lasts ten years. It was marked by countless twists and turns, interventions by the gods and massacres, as well as by the deaths of Hector, son of the Trojan king Priam and brother of Paris, and Achilles, the greatest Greek warrior, killed by an arrow that hit him in his only weak spot, his heel. Finally, Ulysses devises the Trojan horse stratagem. Left outside the city gates, this large wooden structure appears to the Trojans as an offering from the Greeks. Pulled inside the ramparts, the horse in fact concealed a commando led by Ulysses, who took advantage of the night to open the gates to the rest of the Greek army. The war thus ended with a ruse, but also with the destruction of Troy. Myth or reality? In 1870, the German Heinrich Schliemann surprised the world by discovering the authentic ruins of Troy. But the archaeologist-adventurer went on to produce a whole series of forgeries, including the magnificent Mask of Agamemnon, on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. The Trojan War has been the subject of constant debate among historians, and a major theme in the arts since Antiquity. Its heroes are painted and sculpted throughout the Greco-Roman world, giving rise to an opera by Offenbach(La Belle Hélène, 1864), theatrical allegories such as Jean Giraudoux's La Guerre de Troie n'aura pas lieu in 1935, and inspiring numerous novels and films such as Troy (2004) with Brad Pitt in the role of Achilles. TheIliad has even found its way into the computer world, where a Trojan horse is a malicious piece of software.
Ulysses' journey. "Happy is he who, like Ulysses, has made a beautiful journey". After ten years of war in Troy, King Ulysses(Odysseas in Greek) had earned the right to return to his island of Ithaca, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. Alas, Joachim du Bellay's famous verse (1558) does not reflect the myth at all. According to Homer'sOdyssey, the hero takes ten years to return home, facing monsters and losing all his companions. Despite the pitfalls set by Poseidon, Ulysses resists the sirens' song, escapes the Cyclops Polyphemus, falls from Charybdis (Poseidon's perpetually hungry daughter) into Scylla (a six-headed monster), is almost turned into a pig by the sorceress Circe, but stays seven years with the nymph Calypso, who has promised him immortality. In the end, it takes the intervention of Zeus to bring Ulysses back to his family. Of all the adaptations of this tale, the most notable is James Joyce's novel Ulysses (1922), and two films: Le Regard d'Ulysse (1995) by Theo Angelopoulos and O'Brother (2000) by the Cohen brothers.
Theseus and the Minotaur. Born of Poseidon's revenge on the Cretan king Minos, the Minotaur is a monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull. Locked in a labyrinth designed by the architect Daedalus, he demands that every nine years seven boys and seven girls from Athens be delivered to him to be devoured. When the new deadline arrives, Theseus, son of the Athenian king Aegeus, volunteers to face the monster. In Crete, Theseus meets Ariadne, daughter of Minos, who falls in love with him. Theseus succeeds in killing the Minotaur and, thanks to a thread entrusted to him by Ariadne, finds his way out of the labyrinth. He sails back to Athens with his companions and Ariadne, but abandons her on a desert island. Theseus' punishment is swift: in sight of Piraeus, the hero forgets to hoist the white sail announcing his victory. His father, who was waiting for him at the port, saw the black sail of defeat on the horizon. Thinking his son dead, he commits suicide by throwing himself into the sea that has since been named Aegean. As for Ariane, it remains associated with the idea of a line to follow (the "Ariane line" of divers, for example) and also with the European rocket launched in 1979 in French Guiana.
Icarus' dream. Where we find the architect Daedalus, locked in his own labyrinth with his son Icarus. King Minos has thrown them in for having given Ariadne the idea for the thread that enabled Theseus to escape. This time Minos had the only way out guarded. Daedalus comes up with the solution: escape by air, making two pairs of wings for himself and his son, using feathers glued together with beeswax. It can work, provided you don't fly too high," warns Daedalus. Together, they manage to take off, but the over-confident son refuses to listen to his father. Icarus approaches the sun, which melts the wax on his wings, and dies off the island of Samos, in what will henceforth be known as the Icarian Sea. Icarus' dream of flying like a bird has always haunted mankind. The story is above all a metaphor for youth: be careful not to push the limits too far, or you'll burn your wings.
The tragedy of Heracles. Called Hercules by the Romans, Heracles is often presented in the arts as the model of the positive hero, thanks to his twelve labors. But his story is more complicated. He was born as Alcide, conceived by Zeus and his mistress Alcmene, Queen of Thebes. From an early age, he fell victim to the jealousy of Hera, Zeus' wife, who sought to suppress him. But the baby, endowed with "Herculean" strength, easily slays the snakes in his cradle. His destiny then appears to be all mapped out, as his father wants him to become a hero (mortal) as powerful as the gods. For his education, Alcide was placed with the centaur Chiron. He performs a few feats, marries and has several children. All went well, until one day, in a fit of madness, he did the irreparable: he killed his wife and all his offspring. When he regains his senses, he considers committing suicide. Theseus dissuades him, and the change takes place: Alcides takes the name Heracles ("Glory of Hera") in honor of his hated mother-in-law, and turns to his enemy Eurystheus to punish him by entrusting him with "impossible missions", the famous twelve labors: confronting the lion of Medea and the hydra of Lerna, capturing the boar of Erymanthus and the bull of Minos, chasing the hind of Cerynia, cleaning out the stables of Augias... In fact, for the rest of his mortal life, Heracles seeks to atone for his sins by fighting monsters and injustice. This will earn him a welcome on Olympus, where, now immortal, he will be reconciled with Hera.
Jason and the Golden Fleece. Son of the king of Iolcos (now Volos) in Thessaly, Jason narrowly escaped death at birth when his uncle Pelias seized power. Brought up on Mount Pelion by the centaur Chiron (like Heracles, Theseus, Castor and Pollux), Jason is determined to regain the throne. Pelias agrees to give it back, on condition that he brings back the Golden Fleece: the skin of the magic ram Chrysomallos ("Golden Wool"), son of Poseidon sacrificed in honor of Zeus, which hangs from a tree in Colchis (now Armenia) and is guarded by the dragon and the men of King Eetes. Jason sets sail for the Black Sea aboard theArgos with his companions, the Argonauts. In Colchis, Aeetes puts them through many trials, but with the help of his daughter Medea, Jason and the Argonauts succeed in capturing the Fleece. Returning to Iolcos with Medea, Jason discovers that Pelias has broken his word: he has killed his father and retained the throne. Exiled for ten years to Corinth, Jason prepares his return and has two sons with Medea. Medea puts a curse on Pelias' children, who murder their father. But, abandoned by Jason, Medea kills their sons and the hero's new wife. Supported by the twins Castor and Pollux (sons of Zeus) and Peleus (father of Achilles), Jason nevertheless completes his quest by retaking the throne of Iolcos.
The punishment of Sisyphus. Mythical founder of Corinth, Sisyphus is known as the possible father of Ulysses and for his cunning, which enables him to outwit the great thief Autolycos and even death. But his overweening ambitions were to be his undoing: he irritated the gods by building the immense citadel of Acrocorinth, which is still very impressive indeed. As punishment, he is forced to push an enormous stone to the top of a mountain, from where it always ends up falling back down. In his essay Le Mythe de Sisyphe (1942), Albert Camus makes him the symbol of the absurdity of life. An absurdity that does not preclude happiness, and that can find a positive outcome provided we choose to rebel.
Bellerophon and the Chimera. The mythical king of Corinth and grandson of Sisyphus, Bellerophon was given the mission of rescuing the province of Lycia (modern-day Turkey) from the Chimera. This fire-breathing monster has a lion's body, a goat's head on its back and a dragon's tail ending in a snake's head. Athena advises the hero to tame the winged horse Pegasus, the only creature fast enough to help him in his task. With his mount, Bellerophon managed to kill the Chimera, and went on to achieve other feats, such as defeating the Amazons. But, like his grandfather Sisyphus, he is too ambitious. Feeling himself worthy of being a god, he rides through the heavens to Olympus. Zeus strikes him down, forcing him to wander the earth blind for eternity.
