A Few Greek Gods Essay -- essays research papers

The Ancient Greeks believed in a series of myths which explained nature, set up a moral code for the people, and were just folk lore of the people. In this paper, the beginnings of myths, the Greek gods themselves, and several myths concerning morals, nature, and old lore of the Ancients will be discussed. Because the myths and details about the gods were passed along by word of mouth, some myths or gods might be interchanged or different. The Greek myths started as folk lore until it began to explain nature and storytellers integrated a moral code into the myths. Many myths started out as fairy tales. As new and more efficient farming methods became available to the Greek people they were faced with more time in which to do other things. A people who have waste develop a culture all their own. Because Greece was divided into different city- states, many of the myths are different. The culture of storytelling began to involve explanations of nature such as the creation of the horse, spider, and such changes as winter and fire along with the creation of man himself. Slowly, as with any longstanding government, the morals and laws of society leaked into Greek myths in the form of, "The slain shall be avenged by Nemesis (a force which causes people to get revenge)," or just, "Kindness and humbleness are rewarded by the gods." Some myths were even created to support other myths. The myths started with storytelling and developed into a complex system of morals and explanations. The Greek myths were almost fruitless without the intervention of the gods. The gods controlled nature and fought their own battles on the earth, which sometimes caused problems. The first god was the most powerful one until he had children. The first god is called Oranos or in some myths Uranus. He was the first ruler among the gods. Uranus was the heavens and Gaea was the earth and thus they were married. The couple gave birth to many different and odd children but Uranus was cruel to them. Then, Chronos was born as the youngest titan. Chronos dethroned his father and soon after married his sister, Rhea. He didn't want his children to dethrone him so he ate them. However, Zeus overthrew Chronos and established the first real empire of the gods. Zeus settled disputes between the other gods and made sure the humans weren't treated in... ...horselike animals. The gods control the seasons as we know them today in this Greek myth. Hades was on the surface of the earth on business when Eros shot him with an arrow. Hades fell in love with Persephone and stole her away into the Underworld. Demeter, Persephone's mother, searched for her daughter and when she could not find her, froze the earth. Zeus didn't want the earth to wither and die so he sent Hermes to fix the situation. Since Persephone ate part of a pomegranate, she would stay with Hades part of the year and live on the world the rest of the year. All the time she would be gone, Demeter would weep and snow would fall. Fall is caused by her anticipation of her daughter leaving. This myth demonstrates the power of the gods, the power of love, and how fall and winter happen. The Greek gods and myths were a vital part to the ancient Greeks. The myths do explain nature and set up an orderly manner in which people should act. The myths, however, use gods to explain nature in order to substitute for pure logic. All the myths have meanings or explanations in which all the ancient questions are answered. The Greek myths were vital to Grecian society.