This is hinted at by her conspiracy against Zeus, the king of Olympian gods. However, as the Olympian Greek gods (discussed later) gained ascendancy in the pantheon of Greek deities, Gaia’s portrayal took a somewhat negative turn. The positive narrative is alluded to by her heroic actions against her husband (and later her son), when Ouranos imprisoned many of their offsprings – comprising giants, inside her womb. But ultimately she took the form of an antagonist. And thus all the gods and goddesses of Greece descended from her lineage, with the first generation being born from her union with Ouranos (or Uranus), the sky god.Īnd like other ancient mythologies, this primordial Greek goddess was initially depicted on a positive note. In essence, she was regarded as the mother of all creation, whose conception signaled the starting of order after the long period of chaos (the symbolic scope of void or abyss). Well, in the case of Greek mythology, the role of a primordial deity ( protogenoi) at the beginning of creation is played by Gaia (or Gaea). Previously, we talked about the primeval entities of both Mesopotamian and Egyptian mythologies, in the form of Tiamat and Nun respectively. The Family Tree of Greek Gods and Goddesses – The Primordial Greek Gods – Gaia – The Earth Goddess.The Olympian Greek Gods (Third Generation) –.The Major Titans (Second Generation of Greek Gods) –.Primordial Greek Gods (First Generation) –.Honorable Mention: Dionysus – The God of Wine.Aphrodite – The Goddess of Beauty and Love.He was followed by various other Greek playwrights and poets (like Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides) who played their part in expanding and even refashioning some elements of the vast Greek mythology.Ĭonsidering these historical factors, let us take a gander at 20 major Greek gods and goddesses, including both Titans and Twelve Olympian Gods, you should know about. Simply put, the array of entities provided the ancient folks of Greecefolks with the meaning of worldly and natural cycles, which rather justified their existence within the framework of mythology.Īnd historically, it was probably the poet Hesiod’s Theogony that compiled the first known origin story of Greek mythology, circa 700 BC. In any case, the mythical Greek gods, heroes, and monsters (a few of whom make their way into Iliad and Odyssey), epitomized various scopes, ranging from religious rites to weather. To that end, rather than a historical exposition of how Mycenaeans fought and behaved, these epic literary works (and Homeric hymns) should be viewed more like a compilation of folkloric traditions that were passed down through generations from around 9th-8th century BC (three centuries after the passing of the Mycenaeans). Instead many of the characters and their backstories were borne by the oral traditions developed during the Mycenaean Bronze Age. Now, of course, the greatest example of Classical Greeks being inspired by their ‘ancestors’ comes from the epic poetry of Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey. The narrative of the Greek gods, goddesses, and related mythology, unlike the Bible, was not available to the ancient Greeks through a singular compilation of texts.
0 kommentar(er)
