All About History is a magazine that deals with what its title says (the history ), in a way that is fun and educational. Prominent historians and experts from around the world undertake to share their knowledge and passion - with a dramatic narrative that is also authoritative.
Issue 117 dealt with the Gods of Olympus . To be precise, with their origins, how the ancient Greeks 'built' their myths (how superstitions arose for example) and the way everything is connected between Greece and neighboring cultures.
Since it may have been years since you read about them in school, let's remember that there are 6 men (Jupiter, Poseidon, Apollo, Ares, Mercury, Hephaestus) and 6 women (Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, Artemis, Demeter, Hestia) .
According to Herodotus, the poets Homer and Hesiod, who wrote in the 8th century BC, were the ones who gave the Greeks their gods. Homer's 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey' (where the complex relationship between gods and humans is described among many others) and 'Theogony' as well as Hesiod's 'Works and Days' are the oldest literary works of the western world . Poets, historians and geographers also played a role in recording Greek history and traditions.
In the Theogony, Hesiod explains exactly how the Greek gods were created and writes about cosmogony - about the practices of sacrifice, the coming of the divine lords, the people and their suffering.
The first gods were elemental, deified physical parts of the Universe, but gradually took the form of humans. Zeus, Hera, Venus, Poseidon and the other Olympian gods did not exist in the beginning. They were created after the creation of Earth and Heaven, who were also considered gods.
According to Hesiod, the Universe originally existed as an infinite nothingness. It was an empty space called chaos and out of it came Gaia (she was our planet and the great mother goddess).
Eros (the power of desire), also emerged from Chaos and then Erebus (Darkness) appeared - from Chaos and Gaia and through the mediation of Eros - and Nyx (born from Chaos and was the mother of a series of entities with the help of Erebus (Ether, Day, Death, etc.), Uranus (Rage) and with parthenogenesis (Deception, Philotis, Eris, Nemesis, etc.).
Wanting companionship and protection, Gaia herself 'brought out' Uranus (Uranus) to cover her on all sides.
Did the Gods of Olympus really exist?
Greek mythology is full of stories about these Gods, rituals and heroes of the time. And obviously they exist in history, art, literature and culture. To the question of whether Greek mythology is true, historians answer "yes and no ".
Everything we know about the Gods of Olympus comes mainly from Greek literature, followed by archaeological sources. Historians emphasize that behind every myth and legend, there is a dose of truth. How much is she? Nobody knows. But there is - it was the motivation to come up with what we know. Wes Callihan, founder of Schola Classical Tutorials (teaches online tutorials on great books and other classical courses) says the following.
"The gods may not have existed as they are presented, but there were higher beings. According to the Old Testament, all men come from the same ancestor not only Adam, but the story goes back to Noah and his three sons - according to what we read in Genesis '- who passed the knowledge on to the next generations - as is the case today with parents and children .
Only Noah's sons were the only ones who lived, therefore they had an extra 'burden' on their backs to convey exactly what happened on earth, to the generations that lived for 2,000 years until the flood. It is inconceivable that they did not talk about the gods, the angels (who were superior beings) and the relationship with humans. And yes, the stories that are passed down through time change. There is also a motive for this change, in the case of the sons of Noah who made their revolution against the Gods.
The popular piety of the Greeks regarded myths as true narratives, even though they contained elements of fiction. Because of this belief, many historians believe that although parts of Greek mythology may be fictional, their role in history is real.
Greek mythology may not be entirely true, but what it represents is absolutely real. It is a representation of the life and beliefs of certain people.
Many generations have shaped their religion, life and worldview from Greek mythology. The different sources and accounts represent more than fiction and movies.
Whatever your views on Greek mythology, it is impossible to ignore its role in different aspects of life ".
Where the Gods of Olympus disappeared
There was no epic war or event to show that the world was 'reborn' - to explain the disappearance of the Gods of Olympus. Historians have come to the conclusion that Christianity slowly "extinguished" them (it became a crime and a sin for people to worship and pray to these deities - idolatry) and thus the Greeks also forgot them. Other religions followed the example of Christianity. The researchers also emphasize that the Christians did what they accused the followers of the theory of evolution to do.
"We've been told that we come from cavemen and then Christianity comes and talks about the flood. When Christians say that everything about gods is completely wrong and has no basis, they're talking like the followers of the theory of evolution. Pagans were not the first people to appear on earth - according to the theory of evolution. Those who believed in god were the first, and pagans rejected this truth. They did not completely erase it. They changed it, until it made them '. So what we attribute to the pagans, about how life began, is not true" .
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