Creation of the world (Greek mythology). The origin of the world and man in the myths of ancient Greece Greek myths how the earth originated

In ancient times, humanity developed by civilizations. These were isolated nationalities that were formed under the influence of certain factors and had their own culture, technique and were distinguished by a certain individuality. Due to the fact that they were not technically advanced in the same way as modern mankind, ancient people largely depended on the vagaries of nature. Then lightning, rain, earthquakes and others natural phenomena seemed to be a manifestation of divine powers. These forces, as it seemed then, could determine the fate and personal qualities of a person. This is how the very first mythology was born.

What is a myth?

According to the modern cultural definition, this is a story that reproduces the beliefs of ancient people about the structure of the world, about higher powers, about man, the biography of great heroes and gods in verbal form. In a way, they also reflected the then level of human knowledge. These legends were recorded and passed down from generation to generation, thanks to which we can today find out how our ancestors thought. That is, then mythology was a form and also one of the ways of understanding natural and social reality, which reflected the views of a person at a certain stage of development.

Among the many questions that worried mankind in those distant times, the problem of the appearance of the world and man in it was especially urgent. Because of their curiosity, people tried to explain and understand how they appeared, who created them. It was then that a separate myth about the origin of people appeared.

Due to the fact that humanity, as already mentioned, developed in large isolated groups, the legends of each nationality were in some way unique, since they reflected not only the worldview of the people at that time, but were also an imprint of cultural, social development, and also carried information about the land where the people lived. In this sense, myths have some historical value, since they allow one to build some logical judgments about a particular people. In addition, they were a bridge between the past and the future, a link between generations, passing on the knowledge that was accumulated in stories from the old clan to the new, thus teaching it.

Anthropogonic myths

Regardless of civilization, all ancient people had their own ideas about how man appeared in this world. They have some common features, but they also have significant differences, which are due to the peculiarities of the life and development of a particular civilization. All myths about the origin of man are called anthropogonic. This word comes from the Greek "anthropos", which means - a person. Such a concept as the myth of the origin of people exists among absolutely all ancient peoples. The only difference is in their perception of the world.

For comparison, we can consider separately taken myths about the origin of man and the world of two great nations, which significantly influenced the development of mankind in their time. These are the civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient China.

Chinese view of the creation of the world

The Chinese imagined our Universe in the form of a huge egg, which was filled with a certain matter - Chaos. From this Chaos was born the ancestor of all mankind - Pangu. He used his ax to break the egg in which he was born. When he broke the egg, Chaos burst out and began to change. The sky (Yin) was formed - which is associated with the light beginning, and the Earth (Yang) - the dark beginning. Thus, the world was formed in the beliefs of the Chinese. After that, Pangu put his hands to the sky, and his feet to the ground and began to grow. It grew continuously until the sky separated from the earth and became what we see it today. Pangu, when he grew up, fell into many parts, which became the basis of our world. His body became mountains and plains, his flesh became earth, his breath became air and wind, his blood became water, and his skin became vegetation.

Chinese mythology

As the Chinese myth about the origin of man says, a world was formed that was inhabited by animals, fish and birds, but people still believed that the great female spirit - Nuiva - was the creator of humanity. The ancient Chinese revered her as the organizer of the world, she was portrayed as a woman with a human body, the legs of a bird and the tail of a snake, who holds in her hand a lunar disk (the Yin symbol) and a measuring square.

Nuiva began to sculpt human figures from clay, which came to life and turned into people. She worked for a long time and realized that her strength was not enough to create people who could populate the whole earth. Then Nuiva took a rope and passed it through the liquid clay, and then shook it. Where the lumps of wet clay fell, people appeared. Still, they weren't as good as the hand-molded ones. This was how the existence of the nobility, which Nuiva blinded with her own hands, and the people of the lower classes, created with the help of a rope, was justified. The goddess gave her creations the opportunity to reproduce independently, and also introduced the concept of marriage, which was very strictly observed in ancient China. Therefore, Nuiva can also be considered the patroness of marriage.

This is the Chinese myth of the origin of man. As you can see, it reflects not only traditional Chinese beliefs, but also some of the features and rules that guided the ancient Chinese in their lives.

Greek mythology about the appearance of man

The Greek myth of the origin of man tells how the titan Prometheus created people from clay. But the first people were very defenseless and could not do anything. For this act, the Greek gods became angry with Prometheus and decided to destroy the human race. However, Prometheus saved his children by stealing fire from Olympus and bringing it to a man in an empty cane stalk. For this, Zeus imprisoned Prometheus in chains in the Caucasus, where the eagle was supposed to peck at his liver.

In general, any myth about the origin of people does not give specific information about the appearance of humanity, more concentrating on subsequent events. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the Greeks considered man insignificant against the background of the omnipotent gods, thus emphasizing their importance for the entire people. Indeed, almost all Greek legends are directly or indirectly connected precisely with the gods, who guide heroes from the human race, such as Odysseus or Jason, and help them.

Features of mythology

What are the features of mythological thinking?

As you can see above, myths and legends interpret and describe the origin of man in completely different ways. You need to understand that the need for them arose at an early age. They arose from a person's need to explain the origin of man, nature, and the structure of the world. Of course, the way of explanation used by mythology is rather primitive; it differs significantly from the interpretation of the world order that science supports. In myths, everything is quite concrete and detached, there are no abstract concepts in them. Man, society and nature merge into one. The main type of mythological thinking is figurative. Every person, hero or god has a concept or phenomenon that follows him necessarily. This one denies any logical reasoning based on faith rather than knowledge. It is unable to generate questions that are not creative.

In addition, mythology also has specific literary techniques that allow you to emphasize the importance of certain events. These are hyperboles that exaggerate, for example, the strength or other important characteristics of the heroes (Pangu, who was able to raise the sky), metaphors that attribute certain characteristics to things or creatures that do not actually possess them.

Common features and impact on world culture

In general, some regularity can be traced in how exactly myths explain the origin of man different nations... In almost all versions, there is a certain divine essence that breathes life into lifeless matter, thus creating and shaping a person in this way. This influence of ancient pagan beliefs can be traced in later religions, for example, in Christianity, where God creates man in his own image and likeness. However, if it is not entirely clear how Adam appeared, then God creates Eve from a rib, which only confirms this influence of ancient legends. This influence of mythology can be traced in almost any culture that existed later.

Ancient Turkic mythology about how man appeared

The ancient Turkic myth about the origin of man as the progenitor of the human race, as well as the creator of the earth, calls the goddess Umai. She, in the form of a white swan, flew over the water, which has always existed, and looked for land, but did not find it. She laid the egg right into the water, but the egg immediately drowned. Then the goddess decided to make a nest on the water, but the feathers from which she made it turned out to be fragile, and the waves broke the nest. The goddess held her breath and dived to the very bottom. She carried out a piece of earth in her beak. Then the god Tengri saw her suffering and sent Umai three fish made of iron. She put the earth on the back of one of the fish, and it began to grow until all the earth's land was formed. After that, the goddess laid an egg, from which the entire human race, birds, animals, trees and everything else appeared.

What can be determined by reading this Turkic myth about the origin of man? There is a general similarity with the legends of Ancient Greece and China already known to us. A certain divine power creates people, namely from an egg, which is very similar to the Chinese legend about Pangu. Thus, it is clear that initially people associated the creation of themselves by analogy with the living things that they could observe. There is also an incredible reverence for the mother, women as a lifespan.

What can a child learn from these legends? What new he learns, reading the myths of peoples about the origin of man?

First of all, this will allow him to get acquainted with the culture and life of the people that existed in prehistoric times. Since the figurative type of thinking is characteristic of the myth, the child will quite easily perceive it and will be able to assimilate the necessary information. For children, these are the same fairy tales, and like fairy tales, they are filled with the same morality and information. When reading them, the child will learn to develop the processes of his thinking, learn to benefit from reading and draw conclusions.

The myth of the origin of people will give the child the answer to the exciting question - where did I come from? Of course, the answer will not be correct, but children take everything for granted, and therefore it will satisfy the child's interest. By reading the above Greek myth about the origin of man, the child will also be able to understand why fire is so important to humanity and how it was discovered. This will be useful in the subsequent education of the child in primary school.

Variety and benefits for the child

Indeed, if you take examples of myths about the origin of man (and not only them) from Greek mythology, you will notice that the brilliance of the characters and their number are very large and interesting not only for young readers, but even for adults. However, you need to help the child with all this to figure it out, otherwise he will simply get confused in the events, their causes. It is necessary to explain to the child why God loves or dislikes this or that hero, why he helps him. Thus, the child will learn to build logical chains and compare facts, drawing certain conclusions from them.

The history of the creation of the world has worried people since ancient times. Representatives different countries and peoples have repeatedly thought about how the world in which they live appeared. Ideas about this have been formed over the centuries, growing from thoughts and guesses into myths about the creation of the world.

That is why the mythology of any people begins with attempts to explain the origins of the origin of the surrounding reality. People understood then and understand now that any phenomenon has a beginning and an end; and the natural question of the appearance of everything around logically arose among the representatives of Homo Sapiens. groups of people in the early stages of development clearly reflected the degree of understanding of a particular phenomenon, including such as the creation of the world and man by higher powers.

People passed on the theory of the creation of the world from mouth to mouth, embellishing them, adding more and more new details. Basically, the myths about the creation of the world show us how diverse the thinking of our ancestors was, because the gods, birds, and animals acted as the primary source and creator in their stories. The similarity was, perhaps, in one thing - the world arose from Nothing, from Primal Chaos. But its further development took place in the way that representatives of one or another people chose for him.

Restoration of the picture of the world of ancient peoples in modern times

The rapid development of the world in recent decades has given a chance for a better restoration of the picture of the world of ancient peoples. Scientists of different specialties and directions were engaged in the study of found manuscripts, archaeological artifacts in order to recreate the worldview that was characteristic of the inhabitants of a particular country many thousands of years ago.

Unfortunately, the myths about the creation of the world have not been preserved in our time in full. It is not always possible to restore the original plot of the work from the fragments that have come down, which prompts historians and archaeologists to persistently search for other sources that can fill the missing gaps.

Nevertheless, from the material that is at the disposal of modern generations, you can extract a lot of useful information, in particular: how they lived, what they believed, whom the ancient people worshiped, what is the difference in worldviews of different peoples and what is the purpose of creating the world according to their versions.

Great help in finding and recovering information is provided by modern technologies: transistors, computers, lasers, various highly specialized devices.

The theories of the creation of the world, which existed among the ancient inhabitants of our planet, allow us to conclude: at the heart of any legend was the understanding of the fact that everything that exists arose from Chaos thanks to something Almighty, All-Encompassing, feminine or masculine (depending on the foundations of society).

We will try to summarize the most popular versions of the legends of ancient people in order to compose general idea about their worldview.

Creation Myths: Egypt and the Cosmogony of the Ancient Egyptians

The inhabitants of the Egyptian civilization were adherents of the Divine principle of all that exists. However, the history of the creation of the world through the eyes of different generations of Egyptians is somewhat different.

Theban version of the appearance of the world

The most common (Theban) version tells that the very first God, Amon, appeared from the waters of the endless and bottomless ocean. He created himself, after which he created other Gods and people.

In later mythology, Amon is already known under the name Amon-Ra or simply Ra (the Sun God).

The first, whom Amon created, were Shu - the first air, Tefnut - the first moisture. From them he created which was the Eye of Ra and was supposed to follow the actions of the Divine. The first tears from the Eye of Ra caused the appearance of people. Since Hathor - the Eye of Ra - was angry with the Deity for being separate from his body, Amon-Ra put Hathor on his forehead as a third eye. From his lips Ra created other Gods, including his wife, Goddess Mut, and son Khonsu - the lunar Deity. Together they represented the Theban Triad of Gods.

Such a legend about the creation of the world gives an understanding that the Egyptians laid the Divine principle in the basis of their views about its origin. But this was the supremacy over the world and people not of one God, but of their whole galaxy, which was honored and expressed their respect by numerous sacrifices.

Worldview of the ancient Greeks

The richest mythology inherited by the new generations was left by the ancient Greeks, who paid great attention to their culture and attached paramount importance to it. If we consider the myths about the creation of the world, Greece, perhaps, surpasses any other country in their number and variety. They were divided into matriarchal and patriarchal: depending on who was his hero - a woman or a man.

Matriarchal and patriarchal versions of the emergence of the world

For example, according to one of the matriarchal myths, the progenitor of the world was Gaia - Mother Earth, who arose from Chaos and gave birth to the God of Heaven - Uranus. The son, in gratitude to his mother for his appearance, poured rain on her, fertilizing the earth and awakening the seeds sleeping in it to life.

The patriarchal version is broader and deeper: in the beginning, only Chaos existed - dark and boundless. He gave birth to the Goddess of the Earth - Gaia, from whom all living things went, and the God of Love Eros, who breathed life into everything around.

In contrast to the living and striving for the sun, a gloomy and gloomy Tartarus was born under the earth - a dark abyss. Eternal Gloom and Dark Night also arose. They gave birth to Eternal Light and Bright Day. Since then, Day and Night have been replacing each other.

Then other beings and phenomena appeared: Deities, titans, cyclops, giants, winds and stars. As a result of a long struggle between the Gods, Zeus, the son of Kronos, who was raised by his mother in a cave and overthrew his father from the throne, stood at the head of the Heavenly Olympus. Starting with Zeus, other famous people who were considered the progenitors of people and their patrons take their history: Hera, Hestia, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes and others.

People worshiped the Gods, appeased them in every possible way, erecting luxurious temples and bringing in them countless rich gifts. But in addition to the Divine creatures living on Olympus, there were also such respected creatures as: Nereids - sea inhabitants, Naiads - keepers of reservoirs, Satyrs and Dryads - forest talismans.

According to the beliefs of the ancient Greeks, the fate of all people was in the hands of three goddesses, whose name was Moira. They spun the thread of every person's life: from the day of birth to the day of death, deciding when this life will end.

The myths about the creation of the world are replete with numerous incredible descriptions, because, believing in forces that are higher than man, people embellished themselves and their deeds, endowing with superpowers and abilities inherent only to gods to rule the fate of the world and man in particular.

With the development of Greek civilization, myths about each of the deities became more and more popular. A great many of them were created. The worldview of the ancient Greeks significantly influenced the development of the history of the state that appeared at a later time, becoming the basis of its culture and traditions.

The emergence of the world through the eyes of the ancient Indians

In the context of the theme "Myths about the creation of the world" India is known for several versions of the appearance of everything on Earth.

The most famous of them is similar to Greek legends, because it also tells that in the beginning the impenetrable darkness of Chaos reigned on Earth. She was motionless, but full of hidden potential and great strength. Later, Waters appeared from Chaos, which gave birth to Fire. Thanks to the great power of heat, the Golden Egg appeared in the Waters. At that time, there were no celestial bodies and time measurements in the world. Nevertheless, in comparison with modern time, the Golden Egg floated in the boundless waters of the ocean for about a year, after which the progenitor of everything named Brahma arose. He broke the egg, as a result of which its upper part turned into Heaven, and the lower part - into Earth. Airspace was placed between them by Brahma.

Further, the progenitor created the countries of the world and laid the foundation for the countdown of time. Thus, according to the legend of the Indians, the Universe arose. However, Brahma felt very lonely and came to the conclusion that it was necessary to create living entities. Brahma was so great that he was able with her help to create six sons - great lords, and other goddesses and gods. Tired of such global affairs, Brahma handed over power over everything that exists in the Universe to his sons, and he himself retired.

As for the appearance of people in the world, then, according to the Indian version, they were born from the goddess Saranya and the god Vivasvat (who from God turned into a man by the will of the older gods). The first children of these gods were mortals, and the rest were gods. The first of the mortal children of the gods died Yama, who in the afterlife became the ruler of the kingdom of the dead. Another mortal child of Brahma, Manu, survived the Great Flood. From this god, people originated.

Pirushi - the First Man on Earth

Another legend about the creation of the world tells about the appearance of the First Man, named Pirushi (in other sources - Purusha). characteristic of the period of Brahmanism. Purusha was born by the will of the Almighty Gods. However, later Pirushi sacrificed himself to the Gods who created him: the body of the primordial man was cut into pieces, from which the heavenly bodies (the Sun, Moon and stars), the sky itself, the Earth, the countries of the world and the estates arose human society.

The highest class - caste - were considered Brahmanas, who arose from the mouth of the Purusha. They were the priests of the gods on earth; knew the sacred texts. The next most important class was the kshatriyas - rulers and warriors. The Primordial Man created them from his shoulders. From the thighs of Purusha appeared merchants and farmers - vaisyas. The lower class, which arose from the feet of Pirusha, became the sudras - forced people who performed the role of servants. The most unenviable position was occupied by the so-called untouchables - they could not even be touched, otherwise a person from another caste immediately became one of the untouchables. Brahmanas, kshatriyas and vaisyas, upon reaching a certain age, were initiated and became "twice born." Their life was divided into certain stages:

• Discipleship (a person learns life from wiser adults and gains life experience).
• Family (a person creates a family and is obliged to become a decent family man and householder).
• Hermit (a person leaves home and lives the life of a hermit monk, dying alone).

Brahmanism assumed the existence of such concepts as Brahman - the basis of the world, its cause and essence, the impersonal Absolute, and Atman - the spiritual principle of each person, inherent only in him and striving to merge with Brahman.

With the development of Brahmanism, the idea of ​​Samsara - the circulation of being; Incarnations - rebirth after death; Karma - fate, the law that will determine in which body a person will be born in the next life; Moksha is the ideal to which the human soul should strive.

Speaking about the division of people into castes, it is worth noting that they should not have contact with each other. Simply put, each class of society was isolated from the other. Too harsh caste division explains the fact that only Brahmins - representatives of the highest caste could deal with mystical and religious problems.

However, later, more democratic religious teachings emerged - Buddhism and Jainism, which held a point of view that was opposed to the official teaching. Jainism became a very influential religion within the country, but remained within its borders, while Buddhism became a world religion with millions of followers.

Despite the fact that the theories of the creation of the world through the eyes of the same people differ, on the whole there is a common beginning in them - this is the presence in any legend of a certain Primordial Man - Brahma, who eventually became the main deity in whom they believed in ancient India.

Cosmogony of Ancient India

The latest version of the cosmogony of Ancient India sees at the foundation of the world a triad of Gods (the so-called Trimurti), which included Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Guardian, Shiva the Destroyer. Their responsibilities were clearly assigned and delineated. So, Brahma cyclically gives birth to the Universe, which is kept by Vishnu, and destroys Shiva. As long as the Universe is there, the day of Brahma lasts. As soon as the universe ceases to exist, the night of Brahma begins. 12 thousand Divine years - this is the cyclical duration of both day and night. These years consist of days, which are equal to the human concept of the year. After a hundred years of Brahma's life, he is replaced by a new Brahma.

In general, the cultic significance of Brahma is secondary. This is evidenced by the existence of only two temples in his honor. Shiva and Vishnu, on the contrary, gained widespread popularity, transformed into two powerful religious movements - Shaivism and Vishnuism.

Making the world according to the Bible

The history of the creation of the world according to the Bible is also very interesting from the point of view of theories about the creation of all things. The sacred book of Christians and Jews explains the origin of the world in its own way.

The creation of the world by God is covered in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. Just like other myths, the legend tells that at the very beginning there was nothing, there was not even the Earth. There was only continuous darkness, emptiness and cold. All this was contemplated by the Almighty God, who decided to revive the world. He began his business with the creation of the earth and the sky, which did not have any definite forms and outlines. After that, the Almighty created light and darkness, separating them from each other and naming them day and night, respectively. This happened on the first day of the universe.

On the second day, God created a firmament, which divided the water into two parts: one part remained above the firmament, and the second - under it. The name of the firmament became Heaven.

The third day was marked by the creation of land, which God called the Earth. For this, he collected all the water that was under the sky in one place, and called it the sea. To revive what was already created, God created trees and grass.

The fourth day became the day of the creation of the luminaries. God created them to separate the day from the night, and also so that they always illuminate the earth. Thanks to the luminaries, it became possible to keep track of days, months and years. During the day, a large sun was shining, and at night, a smaller one was the Moon (the stars helped him).

The fifth day was devoted to the creation of living beings. The very first to appear were fish, aquatic animals and birds. God liked what was created, and he decided to increase their number.

On the sixth day, creatures living on land were created: wild animals, cattle, snakes. Since God still had many things to do, he created an assistant for himself, calling him Man and making him look like himself. Man was to become the ruler of the earth and everything that lived and grows on it, while God left behind himself the privilege of ruling the whole world.

From the dust of the earth, a man appeared. To be more precise, it was sculpted from clay and named Adam ("man"). God settled him in Eden - a paradise country, through which a mighty river flowed, overgrown with trees with large and tasty fruits.

In the middle of paradise, two special trees stood out - the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. Adam was tasked with guarding and looking after him. He could eat the fruits of any tree, except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God threatened him that, having eaten the fruit of this particular tree, Adam would immediately perish.

Adam was bored alone in the garden, and then God ordered all living beings to come to man. Adam gave names to all birds, fish, reptiles and animals, but did not find someone who could become a worthy helper for him. Then God, taking pity on Adam, put him to sleep, removed a rib from his body and made a woman out of him. Waking up, Adam was delighted with such a gift, deciding that the woman would become his faithful companion, helper and wife.

God gave them parting words - to fill the earth, to possess it, to rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air and other animals that walk and crawl on the earth. And he himself, tired of work and satisfied with everything created, decided to rest. Since then, every seventh day has been considered a holiday.

This is how Christians and Jews represented the creation of the world by day. This phenomenon is the main dogma of the religion of these peoples.

Myths about the creation of the world of different peoples

In many ways, the history of human society is, first of all, a search for answers to fundamental questions: what happened in the beginning; what is the purpose of creating the world; who is its creator. Based on the worldviews of peoples who lived in different epochs and in different conditions, the answers to these questions acquired an interpretation individual for each society, which in general outline could come into contact with interpretations of the emergence of peace among neighboring peoples.

Nevertheless, each nation believed in its own version, honored its own god or gods, tried to spread among representatives of other societies and countries its doctrine, religion concerning such an issue as the creation of the world. Passing several stages in this process has become an integral part of the legends of ancient people. They firmly believed that everything in the world arose gradually, in turn. Among the myths of different peoples, not a single story is found where everything that exists on earth appears in an instant.

Ancient people identified the birth and development of the world with the birth of a person and his maturation: first, a person is born into the world, every day acquiring more and more new knowledge and experience; then there is a period of formation and maturation, when the acquired knowledge becomes applicable in everyday life; and then comes the stage of aging, extinction, which presupposes a gradual loss of vitality by a person, which ultimately leads to death. The same stages were applied in the views of our ancestors and to the world: the appearance of all living things due to one or another higher power, development and prosperity, extinction.

Myths and legends that have survived to this day make up an important part of the history of the development of the people, allowing you to associate your origin with certain events and get an understanding of where it all began.

"Castration of Uranus by Kronos" by Giorgio Vasari and Gherardi Christofano, XVI century, Palazzo Vecchio, Italy

According to some scientists, EON is one thing, according to others - another. You cannot trust anyone, because the history of the Earth is a seething ocean of insights, comprehensions, inventions, unsubstantiated misinterpretations and completely convincing, but empty facts. For all that, when dealing with issues of Culture, it is necessary to know what the relationship between Eternity and Time is. So who are you God Eon? We turn to ancient Greek mythology and immediately come out to the myth telling about the first Gods, the conflict between which determined the course of ancient Greek history, and then penetrated into current ideas

The external image of Chaos in a modern view ...

Chaos (ancient Greek "to open up, to open up"). Ancient Greek poet of the 8th - 7th centuries BC Hesiod in his "Theogony" ("Genealogy of the Gods") stated: "First of all, Chaos originated in the universe." We know more.

Ancient Chaos is the thinning and dispersion of matter, and therefore it is eternal death for all living things. He is also the condensation of all matter, and therefore he is the principle and source of all becoming. Chaos is an eternally creative bosom for all forms of life.

The majestic and tragic image of the cosmic Primary unity. In him is melted Being, from which everything appears and in which everything perishes. He is the universal principle of continuous and continuous, endless and limitless becoming.
Ancient Chaos is omnipotent and faceless, it forms everything, but itself is formless.
He is a world monster, the essence of which is Emptiness and Nothing, or - Infinity and Zero at the same time.

The first offspring of Chaos was Gáa - the ancient Greek Goddess of the Earth. According to Hesiod: "followed by the birth of the wide-breasted Gaia, the general shelter is safe." Gaia is the Mother of everything that lives and grows on her.

According to Hesiod : "Gaea, first of all, gave birth to herself an equal breadth of the starry Sky of Uranus, so that she would cover it everywhere and so that it would serve as a solid dwelling for the all-blessed gods." Uranus was chosen by Gaia as a spouse, and "the first to rule the whole world." The Earth gave birth to Heaven, which became her husband (how can you?). Their union gave children who were supposed to turn Chaos into Space (which means it is necessary!). Howbeit…

In Chaos, TWO FORCES have been defined:

SKY, endowed with inexhaustible productive force,

and EARTH with primordial maternal tendencies.

They were beautiful in appearance, because the Gods cannot be otherwise ...

“Also, Gaia gave birth to Cyclops with an arrogant soul - by the count of three, and by name - Bronte, Sterop and Arga. In all other respects, they were similar to the other gods, but only one eye was in the middle of the face: That is why they were called « Round ­ zy "," Cyclops ", which on the face had a single round eye. And for work they had strength, and might, and dexterity. "

The spouses had others, more terrible looking children, but we will talk about them later. Now - about the main thing ...

Children born to Gaia-Earth and Heaven-Uranus were terrible and became hateful to their father at first sight. As soon as one of them was born, each of them was immediately hidden in the bowels of the Earth by a parent, not letting out into the world, and he enjoyed his villainy. The fact that the children worked properly did not matter to their father ...

Gaia-Earth gave birth to GOOD SEEING AWESOME.

And Uranus-Sky, BEAUTIFUL IN APPEARANCE, turned out to be capable of EVIL. T How the MORAL-AESTHETIC PROBLEM arose,
which is that GOOD and EVIL
could become both BEAUTIFUL and AWESOME.

At the same time, in contrast to the eternally creative womb
for all life forms, the TARTAR appeared ...

“So far from us is the gloomy Tartarus: if, taking the copper anvil, to throw it from the sky, in nine days and nights it would fly to the ground; if you drop it from the ground, in nine days and nights the weight would fly to Tartarus. " “Tartare is surrounded by a copper fence. In three rows, an impenetrable night surrounds him, and from above the roots of the earth lie from the bitter-salty sea. The exit from there was blocked by Poseidon with a copper door; the wall runs around the whole place. "

John Martin. Fallen Angels in Hell. 1841 g
There are no antique images of Tartarus ..

There is nothing worse than being thrown into Tartarus and losing faith in "saving illusions". Even those who have partially lost their illusions are immediately overtaken by the merciless Horror of the Night and the Darkness of Nothingness, eating away at flesh and soul. Horror and Darkness are inevitable forces. The theory of illusions was proposed by the philosopher Yevgeny Golovin - I immediately felt its much explanatory meaning, and then I was convinced of this.

In a brief moment called "life", people are always guided by "cruel illusions." They keep them out of touch with the cosmic reality of the Night. Judging by the myths, the ancient Greeks gave themselves up to power so that their memory would recreate something that they had never seen, for example, the image of Tartarus. Because of "cruel illusions" life becomes illusory. People think one thing, in fact, everything happens differently - as the decree of the High Powers orders. Ancient Greek myths on this topic are countless.

“With a full womb, the giantess Earth groaned heavily. The last to be born was Kron the cunning, among the children the most terrible, he hated the powerful Father. Evil came to Gaia's mind and an insidious deed. Immediately creating a breed of gray iron, she made a huge sickle and showed it to her beloved children. Arousing courage in them, she said with a sad soul: “My children and of the wicked father! If you want to be obedient to me, we can repay our father for the villainy, for he was the first to plan terrible things. " Fear embraced, the children were silent. Great Cronus is cunning, full of courage, agreed. "

Fragment of the painting by Giorgio Vasari "Castration of Uranus by Kronos".

"The gigantic soul rejoiced Gaia ... She hid her son in a secluded place, gave him a sharp-toothed sickle and taught him all kinds of deceit. Leading the night, appearedUranus, reclined beside Gaia, burning with love desire, and spread everywhere around. Suddenly, the son stretched out his left hand from an ambush, and with his right, grabbing a huge sharp-toothed sickle, he quickly cut off a genital member from the dear parent and threw it back with a strong swing. "

The Birth of Aphrodite. Altar of Aphrodite, marble. First third of the 5th century BC NS. Roman National Museum.

“The father’s penis is childbearing, cut off by a sharp iron, was worn on the sea for a long time, and white foam whipped around from the incorruptible member. And the girl was born in that foam. First, she swam to the Sacred Kythera, After that she came to Cyprus, washed by the sea. A beautiful goddess came ashore. Steps with a foot - the grasses grow under a slender leg. Her Aphrodite"Foamed", even "Kiferea" beautifully crowned, Gods and people call "...

Do not miss, losing the Power over the World, for the sake of which Uranus went to a terrible crime, he gave people a gift - he left them a "saving illusion." And people caught its meaning in the whisper of the foam of the sea - "LOVE WILL SAVE THE WORLD"... This is an illusion: there is no love - the wave will run to the shore and melt, leaving behind stones, as if soaked in tears. “No, no - LOVE WILL SAVE THE WORLD, IT IS ETERNAL AS THE BEAUTY of my waves hitting the shore,” says More.

Baroque statuette depicting the triumph of Saturn.

Was scampering across the emasculated sky
with hourglass and a sickle in his hands so that all the children of the earth can see: it is he who controls the time of their life. In fact, in Roman times, when Kronos began to be called Saturn, a certain secret was covered over these solemn journeys. Kronos-Saturn - did not want Time to flow, he hoped to rule forever. For this, he ate his own children ...

Baroque time illustration. sits on a stone in complete goodness. The sickle is thrown back. There is a vase with musical instruments... In his right hand God holds a circle in the form of a serpent biting his own tail. This is a symbol of Eternity.

The earthlings did not notice that stagnation appeared in their life, because the god Hypnos kept their consciousness in check with a "cruel illusion." According to this illusion, nothing should change, for the earth reigns « CENTURY GOLD « , better than which there is nothing and cannot be, because ... People live like gods, "with a calm and clear soul, not knowing grief, not knowing the work," according to Hesiod.

Peter Paul Rubens. "Saturn devouring his children." 1636

Saturn married his sister, the Titanide Rhea (consanguineous marriages were common in Roman mythology as well). Cronus devoured all the children born to Rhea. Gaia's mother warned Crohn that he, in turn, would be deprived of power by his own son ...

Artists for many centuries have represented the fact of cannibalism at the highest level of the Greco-Roman divine hierarchy ruling the world in all its naturalistic authenticity.

Francisco Goya crosses the border of credibility, turning the atrocity into the image of Horror and Darkness. The history of people should not allow them, even the one that hides in the distance in the form of legends and myths. If so, Goya's painting Saturn Devouring His Children (1820 - 1823) is a brutal exposure of a "cruel illusion."

Did anyone come to their senses? Perhaps not ... A similar "cruel illusion"

is not it, manages public time and at the present time.

St. Petersburg. Summer garden. "Saturn devouring his children." Ck. F. Kabianka. Early 18th century

I remember that I took the students of my courses around the Summer Garden and told them, no - not about Saturn (I was afraid to look at him), but about "Saturnalia" - the festivities in honor of "Death with a scythe", which is turning into a symbol of the harvest ..

In ancient Rome, this holiday fell on the second half of December - the time when agricultural work was over and everyone was striving for relaxation and fun. During the week of Saturnalia, public affairs were suspended, schoolchildren were discharged from classes, and criminals were forbidden to punish. Slaves received special privileges these days: they were freed from ordinary labor, became masters, and masters were their servants. Apparently, rattling bowls on pans, the Roman people also did not raise their eyes to the sky.

Cronus is the personification of the all-consuming Time. Everything is born and disappears in time, so Crohn's children are born and destroyed by their father. Representatives of a new generation of Greek gods were born and disappeared in Crohn's womb: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon. Zeus Rhea gave birth on the island of Crete, in the cave of Mount Dikte, but ... Cronus received a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes instead of another baby. So the excesses of Kronos - Saturn stopped.

What to do next - who will put things in order in the Universe? It was then that Eon appeared - a friend of Hercules . After winning the race at the Olympics, Eon and Hercules came to Sparta. Friends wandered around the city and ended up near the palace of King Hippocoont. A guard dog attacked Eon, Eon threw a stone at her and killed. Then the sons of the king beat the hero to death with sticks. Hercules took revenge on them: he killed the king and his 12 sons. What is the essence of everyday myth? First of all, the account ...

ONE KILLED BY TWELVE.
ONE - THE NUMBER OF INTEGRITY, THAT IS ETERNITY,
TWELVE - NUMBER OF ACTION (THREE),
DEPLOYED IN SPACE (FOUR).

After death in the Earthly - Event World -
HERO goes through a transformation,
becoming in the Heavenly - Existence world - GOD,
whose mission is to turn Chaos into Space.
Quite a gospel story, only it was written
in the abstract language Prachisel.

Roman mosaic, 3rd century AD NS. Glyptotek, Munich

Stands in the zodiacal circle of heaven, closed, endless. An ancient myth, Below the Goddess Gaia lies on the ground, surrounded by her children - the four Seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter (in a gray dress) So, with the consent of the Mother of everything and everything, Eon rules three circles: the annual movement of the Sun (4 x 3 = 12), the endless change of 12 signs of the Zodiac and the movement of all planets.

The zodiac circle consists of 12 equal sections,
occupied by the corresponding signs of the zodiac - the constellations
Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces.
Zodiac circle - continuous repetition of the same institutions
for the existence of the Earth and all its products.

26 thousand years - 360 degrees (full zodiac circle).
2.16 thousand years - 30 degrees (passage through one Sign).
72 years - 1 degree (expiration of one ray of energy).

And this order was established by him ONE - THE GOD OF ETERNITY AEON,
subjugating TIME in all its current INFINITY
with the help of PROPORTION, which is the leading principle of HARMONY ...

Lucas Jena. "Ouroboros" - "The serpent devouring its own tail" from the book "The Philosopher's Stone". 1625. This is an example of the emblem of Eternity and the cyclical development of the World

At the time of Ancient Rome, only the concept of ETERNITY and the CIRCLE remained from the Eon - a geometric model of this incomprehensible phenomenon. Here Eternity acted in the form of a “saving illusion”, which does not allow people to give their lives “for the need of time,” which makes them take care of the High and strive for the embodiment of the Perfect - the Beautiful ...

recognized as her Highest goal the service of Eternity - the goddess Eternitas. One of the evidence of this is the gold coin of Titus Flavius ​​Vespasian, the most active and successful princeps in the Roman history of the 1st century, the emperor from 69 to 79. On the obverse is the profile of the emperor. On the back - the goddess Eternitas.

And suddenly, already in our time, Eon was reborn, becoming a concept,
which in geology and paleontology determines the history of the Earth.
Eon - “the stay of the world in the same qualitative state -
in contrast to the continually current time, measured quantitatively. "
Within the Eon, world existence and human life are the same.
With the change of Aeons, on the contrary, the spiritual foundations of cosmic existence and human life change significantly.
So much for ancient Greek mythology !!! Moreover…

At the sessions of the International Geological Congress (IGC), held in 1881-1900, the Geochronological scale in the form of a spiral, the hierarchy and nomenclature of most of the geochronological subdivisions were adopted. Subsequently, all divisions were constantly refined. The history of the earth, numbering 4.6 billion years, has been reduced to four eons: PHANEROSIS, PROTEROSA, ARCHAE CATARCHEUS. Each eon is divided into eras, periods and epochs.

Each nation has its own mythology regarding the origin of all things. It should be noted that different mythologies have a lot in common. In ancient times, people assumed that land arose from an endless and timeless ocean, from chaos, from a conflict between the paternal and maternal gods. Below are the most interesting myths about the creation of the world among different peoples.

The Sumerians

In Mesopotamia 4 thousand years BC. NS. one of the most ancient human civilizations arose. This was the state of Akkad, which later gave rise to such powers as Assyria and Babylon. Akkad was inhabited by the Sumerians, an ancient highly developed people. These people believed that initially there was a god and a goddess - Alsu (god of fresh water) and Tiamat (goddess of salt water).

They lived independently of each other and never crossed paths. But it so happened that at some point, salt and fresh waters mixed. And then the elder gods appeared - the children of Tiamat and Alsou. For the elders appeared a large number of lesser gods. And all of them felt cramped and uncomfortable in the world around them.

To return to the original balance, the god Alsou and the goddess Tiamat decided to destroy their children. The battle began, which ended unsuccessfully for the cruel celestials. Alsou was defeated by the son of Enki. He killed his father and cut his body into 4 pieces. Those turned into seas, land, rivers and fire. Tiamat also fell, struck by the younger god Marduk. Her severed body turned into wind and storms. After the destruction of Alsou and Tiamat, Marduk became the main one, who took possession of a certain artifact "Me". He determined the movement and fate of the entire surrounding world.

Iranians

The myths about the creation of the world among different peoples found their continuation among the Iranians. According to their ideas, the history of the world was divided into 4 large periods. During the first period, there were prototypes of everything that subsequently appeared on Earth. This is the so-called invisible or spiritual period.

The second period was characterized by the creation of the visible or real world. The main creator of Ahura Mazda was engaged in this. The Sun, the Moon, the stars, the sky, the first man and the first bull were created. But Ahriman intervened in the creations of the main creator. He sent death to the first man and the first bull. But by this time a man and a woman had already been born, from whom the human race went, and from the first bull all animals went.

In the third period, a radiant kingdom appears, headed by King Yima. In this kingdom there is no cold, heat, old age, envy, greed. The noble king saves people and animals from the Great Flood. And in the fourth period, the prophet Zoroaster appears, bringing people good and truth about the universe. He broadcast that after him his sons would appear, and the last of them would decide the fate of the world and mankind. He will resurrect the righteous, destroy evil and defeat Ahriman. After that, the purification of the world will come, and what remains will acquire eternal existence.

The Chinese

The ancient Chinese believed that the whole world was once shaped like a huge chicken egg. It was in him that the god Pangu was born. At first, for several thousand years, he was in a state of sleep, and then he woke up and decided to get out of the egg. To do this, he cut through the shell with an ax, and his two divine principles formed heaven and earth. Pangu stood on the ground and propped the sky with his head. God sighed and the wind rose, exhaled and thunder rumbled. I opened my eyes and the day came, I closed it, and night fell to the ground.

According to Greek mythology, in the beginning, Chaos reigned in the world. The land of Gaia appeared from it, and the abyss of Tartarus formed in its depths. Nykta - night and Erebus - darkness were also spawned. Night, in turn, gave birth to Thanat - death and Gipson - sleep. From her also came Eris - the goddess of rivalry and strife. She created hunger, grief, murder, lies, toil. Erebus entered into a relationship with Nikta, and Ether was born with a shining day. Gaia gave birth to Uranus, that is, the sky, and from its depths mountains rose and the sea poured out - Pontus.

After that, Gaia and Uranus gave birth to the titans. These are Ocean, Taphia, Iapetus, Hyperion, Kriy Theia, Kei, Phoebe, Themis, Mnemoza, Kronos, Rhea. Kronos entered into an alliance with Gaia and overthrew Uranus. Having seized power, he married his sister Rhea. From them came a new tribe of gods. But Kronos was afraid that his children would seize power from him, so he swallowed another child immediately after birth. However, Rhea managed to hide one of the newborns in Crete. It turned out to be Zeus. When he grew up, he defeated Kronos and made him vomit all the eaten children. These are Aida, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Hestia. So the era of the titans ended, and the gods of Olympus came to replace them.

Ancient Egyptians

Among the ancient Egyptians, Atum was considered the father of everything, who arose from Nun - the primary ocean. At that time there was no earth and sky. Atum just grew up in the ocean, like a huge hill. He broke away from the water, soared above it, uttered magic spells and another hill appeared. Atum sat on it and vomited the air god Shu and the water goddess Teftun. Then he began to cry, and people appeared from the tears. Osiris, Isis, Set, Nefthys appeared from Shu and Teftun. It was Osiris who became the first god killed and resurrected for an eternal afterlife.

The ancient Slavs

And, of course, considering the myths about the creation of the world among different peoples, one cannot ignore the ancient Slavs. They believed that in the beginning only Darkness existed. It contained the progenitor Rod, enclosed in an egg. He gave birth to Love, and with its help he destroyed the shell. After that, Love supplanted the Darkness, and Rod created two kingdoms - heavenly and heavenly.

In the heavenly kingdom, he separated the ocean from the firmament, the Sun came out of his face, and the Moon appeared from his heart. The wind arose from the breath of Rod, rain, hail and snow appeared from the tears. The voice became thunder and lightning. After that, Rod reproduced Svarog, and he created the change of day and night. This is how everything that exists, which gave life to people, animals and fish, was born.

These are the myths about the creation of the world exist among different nations. At first glance, these are beautiful fairy tales. But in every fairy tale there is always some truth. Therefore, one should not indifferently dismiss mythologies. They need to be studied, compared and try to comprehend the true meaning of these amazing and beautiful stories..

And semester

MYTH AND LITERATURE

LESSON number 6

Theme. Ancient Greek creation myth

Purpose: to inform about the pantheon of the gods of Ancient Greece, to acquaint with the ancient Greek myth about the creation of the world and people, to develop attention, logical thinking, to foster interest in ancient Greek mythology.

Equipment: images of ancient Greek gods; texts of ancient Greek myths; the "Creation of the world" scheme.

By choosing the gods, we are choosing our destiny.

"Who are they?"

Brahma - ... (the creator of the universe).

Varuna - ... (god of the ocean).

Vivasvat - ... (sun god).

Vishnu - ... (guardian of the Universe).

Asuras - ... (elder brothers of the gods).

Adit - ... (mother of the gods).

Yama - ... (ruler of the kingdom of the dead).

Manu - ... (mortal from whom people were born after the flood).

2. Exhibition of illustrations to read works

II. Motivation for learning activities

Teacher's story

About Ancient Greece

Many centuries ago, a people settled on the Balkan Peninsula, which later came to be called Greeks. Unlike modern Greeks, we call the people the ancient Greeks, or Hellenes, and their country - Hellas.

It is difficult to name another nation in history who, in such a short period of time, presented the world with so many wonderful examples of high art and was no less imbued with the ideas of valor and honor, like the Greeks. The life of this people was not easy, but the ancient Greeks were one of the most cheerful and life-loving peoples in history. It was a working people, a fighter people who brought the ideas of patriotism to mankind and gave examples of civic valor. It was a sage people, thinking about the structure of the Universe, thinking about what matter and spirit, space and time, what is good and what is evil.

The Hellenes left the peoples of the world with a rich legacy: magnificent buildings that are considered the most beautiful in the world, beautiful marble and bronze statues and outstanding literary works which people still read now, although they are written in a language that no one speaks on earth for a long time. Some of the most famous are Homer's heroic poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey", which talk about how the Greeks besieged the city of Troy, and about the adventures and misadventures of one of the participants in this war - Odysseus.

Impossible to imagine today world literature, painting, sculpture without images borrowed from ancient Greek myths that remained from the Hellenes.

III. Learning new material

1. Preparation for the perception of the work

Features of ancient Greek mythology

Ancient Greek mythology is considered one of the most famous that have survived to our times. It became the basis for the emergence of ancient literature (the literature of the ancient Greeks and Romans), which is rightly considered the cradle of European literature.

The immortal inhabitants of Olympus

In the view of the ancient Greeks, the gods were very similar to people, and the relationship between them resembled the relationship between people. They were both noble and vindictive, kind and cruel, passionate and jealous, while their fate depended on the lot of the Moir, just as the life of people depended on the will of the gods. The Greek gods quarreled and reconciled, constantly intervening in the lives of people who took part in wars. Each of the gods went about their own business, "in charge" of a certain "economy" in the world. The Greeks endowed their gods with human characters and inclinations. From people - "mortals" - they differed only in immortality.

The Greeks created gods "in their own image and likeness" and, apparently, therefore, unlike other peoples, they did not feel fear of their gods.

What are the myths?

The following main cycles of ancient Greek myths are known:

About the gods;

About heroes;

About the Argonauts;

Trojan;

Thebes.

Why didn't the ancient Greeks have fairy tales?

Indeed, the ancient Greeks almost did not have fairy tales that were formed for the sake of entertainment and instruction and did not raise doubts about the fiction of events. They were replaced with great success by myths, which contained miracles and adventures, victories and defeats of real heroes and gave answers to the most important questions for ancient man: about the origin of the world, man, natural phenomena.

2. Reading a myth based on the book by J. Parandovsky "Mythology"

The emergence of the world

First there was Chaos. Who can say exactly what Chaos is? Some considered him to be a kind of divine being, but without a specific form. Others - and there were most of them - asserted that it was a great abyss, filled with creative power and a divine family, like a single, disordered mass, heavy and dark, a mixture of earth, water, fire and air. From that filled abyss that concealed within itself all the embryos of the future world, two powerful deities emerged - the first royal consort of the gods: Uranus - Heaven and Gaia - Earth. They gave rise to many generations of gods.

From their conjugal relationship came a large clan of titans, the oldest among whom was the Ocean, the god of the mighty river, which encircled the whole earth with a wide blue ring. The younger brothers of the Titans were the Cyclops and Hecatoncheires - the hundred-handed. The Cyclops, wild, terrible in growth, had only one eye in the middle of the forehead, and the Hecatoncheira of a hundred hands had irresistible strength. Uranium did not like such descendants, which were either ugly or cruel. All of them aroused fear and disgust in him. Not hoping for either gratitude or respect for his parental authority from them, he threw them into the bottomless abyss of Tartarus.

There was no return from there. Tartarus stretched as deep underground as the sky stretched above it. A bronze anvil thrown from the sky would fly for nine days and nine nights until it reached the surface of the earth. *

For just as long, and perhaps longer, the anvil would fall into the depths of Tartarus, where the triple night reigns. Anyone who got there would not have been able to reach the edge of this immense darkness in a whole year. He would wander all the time, caught up in a powerful underground hurricane. They say that somewhere in the middle of that terrible darkness there is a sad abode of Night, surrounded by impenetrable clouds.

Gaia heard the moan of the titans, coming from the bottomless bowels of the earth. She hated her criminal father and conspired against his harsh power. The youngest of the titans, Kronos, who was still at large, obeyed Namovlyan's mother. Armed with an iron sickle, he lay in wait for Uranus, attacked him, disgracefully crippled him and threw him from the shining heavenly throne. From the blood that flowed from the wound of the defeated god, three terrible goddesses of revenge arose - Erinias with snakes on their heads instead of hair. Uranus, hiding in the blue of heaven, descended from the stage of divine history.

The world was born with the gods. A young sun was shining over the land, which was a solid dry land out of chaos, and heavy rains fell from the clouds. The first forests rose, and a large, noisy forest covered the ground. In some unknown hills, animals roamed here and there. Gradually, everything began to take on a familiar look. The streams have found their grottoes, and the lakes are comfortable basins; the snowy ridges of the mountains loomed against the clear sky. The stars screamed in the dark night space, and when they turned pale, the birds called their first congratulatory dawn song.

The world was ruled by Kronos along with his wife Rhea. It was a gloomy and suspicious owner. He left most of his enslaved brothers in the abyss of Tartarus. He always remembered the curse of his father, who, having moved, that his son would take power from him too. Therefore, every child that Rhea gave birth to, Kronos immediately swallowed. Already five children were in a terrible titanium womb. When the sixth child was born, Rhea gave Kronosov a stone wrapped in diapers. He swallowed the stone, wondering that he was swallowing his son.

And Rhea at this time descended to the ground. She wanted to wash the baby, but she could not find the keys anywhere. She prayed to Gaia and struck the rock with the rod. A clear stream of water leaks from a solid stone. Having bought up the baby, she named him Zeus. Then she went to Crete and laid him in a golden cradle in the Idaisky grotto, the entrance to which was obscured by a dense forest, and the walls were surrounded by shiny ivy. Zeus grew up under the care of mountain nymphs, they fed him the milk of the goat Amalthea. The child was very fond of the goat. When Amalthea broke one horn for herself, Zeus took it into his divine hands and blessed it, and since then this horn has always been filled with everything that its owner desired. This is how the cornucopia appeared, also called the horn of Amalthea.

The new god in a golden cradle was surrounded by the love of all nature. Doves from the shores of the ocean brought him ambrosia, and every evening an eagle flew in, carrying a glass of nectar in its claws. The bees collected the sweetest honey for him. One of the nymphs made a wonderful toy. It was a transparent ball of gold rings with ivy curling between them. When, thrown up, she fell, a light streak remained behind her. So that the crying and screeching of little Zeus did not reach the ears of the sensitive Kronos, the priests of Rhea performed noisy military dances near his cradle to the sounds of tambourines, horns and squeaks.

Zeus grew up and left the vault - now he had to fight his father. First of all, he advised his mother to imperceptibly give Kronosov vomit. And Kronos, in terrible agony, vomited the swallowed descendants. It was a whole detachment of young beautiful gods: sons - Hades and Poseidon and three daughters - Hera, Demeter and Hestia. It was at this time that the good goat Amalthea died. And even after her death, she still served her pet: from her skin Zeus made himself a shield that no weapon could pierce. So aegis arose - a wonderful shield that Zeus always took with him into battle. His first battle was with his father. The battlefield was the plains of Thessaly.

Kronos with the titans settled in the mountains of Othrys, and Zeus and his allies settled on the snowy peaks of Olympus. For ten years the war went on without visible consequences, and then Zeus decided to replenish his troops with new forces. He freed the Cyclops and three giants from Tartarus, each of whom had one hundred arms and fifty heads. And on the same day, a fierce battle began. The terrible roar of the sea mingled with the groan of earth and sky. Olympus trembled under the feet of the immortals, and that movement could be heard even in the farthest depths of Tartarus. There was an incredible noise from both sides. The stars were falling from the firmament.

From the top of Olympus, Zeus continuously threw lightning bolts that were forged by the Cyclops day and night. Thunder roared through the mountains, and sacred fire poured down the plains. The earth cracked in flames, the forests flared up like torches. The seas and rivers were seething. A fiery haze surrounded the titans, their eyes glistening with an unbearable glint. Gusty winds raised clouds of dust, and it seemed as if they were carrying thunder and lightning in the black clouds. When the clouds parted for a moment, three hundred-handed giants could be seen in the front ranks of the warriors, who together threw three hundred rocks at the titans and showered them with a hail of stones. And yet it was not as terrible as lightning to Zeus, before which the titans stopped shocked, because none of them had ever seen such a terrible fiery weapon. From time to time, one of them, having lost consciousness, fell helplessly in a stream of red light, amid the terrifying rumble of thunder. Then the hundred-armed giants (hecatoncheires) seized their huge bodies, which seemed to be already lifeless, and threw them into the abyss of Tartarus, between extinct and fire-breathing craters, fetid swamps and icy mountains, where they remained forever under the rule of impenetrable darkness and endless night.

As the once-worthy Uranus, so now Kronos has sunk into oblivion, from where only vague rumors reached about him. The people did not speak badly about him. In his honor, they organized the ancient holiday of Kronia, during which they had fun, remembering the golden age that supposedly reigned on earth in his time. Kronos had neither temples nor altars. In Olympia there was a hill named after him, and nearby stood the respected Metroon, the temple of Rhea, the "mother of the gods." Statues of Kronos are very rare. He was portrayed as a venerable elderly man with a beard, who covers his head with a cloak. His wife Rhea was identified by the Greeks with the Asian goddess Kibelia. They portrayed her as a dangerous woman riding a chariot drawn by lions, holding a branch or an oak wreath and a key; on her head she wears a diadem of fortress towers and bastions.

The new generation of gods did not enjoy the consequences of victory for long. A clan of giants, the sons of the Earth, rebelled against them. Some of them looked like people, although they were huge in stature, others had ugly bodies that ended in tangle of snakes. They turned mountains and made barricades out of them to get to Olympus. The gods were seized with anxiety when they heard the screams that came from below, and saw brave invaders on the slopes of their sacred mountain. Only Zeus remained calm and fearless, he assigned each of the gods a fighting post, and he himself began to beat the enemy with lightning. The giants did not retreat. The rocks that they threw fell like hail, and, falling into the sea, turned among its waves to the islands. Lightning did not harm the giants. After looking at the Book of Destiny, Zeus learned that only mortal man can defeat giants. Then Athena brought Hercules.

The last day of the battle has come. All gods and goddesses rallied around Hercules. The hero every second took a new arrow and shot into a dense crowd of enemies. Suddenly an unexpected ally came to his aid. Dionysus rode up with a detachment of his satyrs riding on donkeys. Struck by the roar of the battle and the wild appearance of the giants, the lop-eared ones began to roar so that the enemies, seized with insane terror, rushed in all directions. Then they were already easy to finish off. There was only one giant left - the beautiful Alkyoneus. This firstborn son of the Earth scoffed from all the blows, because it was enough for him to touch the place on earth where he was born, as the wounds immediately grieved and fresh forces returned to him. Hercules grabbed him, carried him far beyond the borders of his homeland and killed him there.

The struggle of the gods against giants has been an inexhaustible source of inspiration for Greek art throughout the centuries. The triumph of perfection, nobility, intelligence over the coarse, ugly animal power was sung in the poems of poets, glorified in temple bas-reliefs, paintings and drawings on Greek vases. After the Persian Wars, the Greeks willingly saw in the scenes of the war with the giants a symbolic representation of their own struggle against barbarian Asia.

The giants were the children of Gaia. The old goddess could not forgive the gods that they so brutally exterminated her descendants. Imbued with a thirst for revenge, she gave birth to a terrifying monster, which the world has not yet seen. His name was Typhon. From head to hips he had a huge human body, and instead of legs wriggling balls of snakes. His whole body was overgrown with feathers, only on his head and beard were coarse hair. Typhon was higher than the highest mountains, reached the stars. When he spread his arms, the fingers of his left hand touched the place from which the sun rises, and the right plunged into darkness in the far west. He threw the very rocks like balls. He flew through the air, filling him with screams and hiss. Boiling resin flowed from his mouth, and fire exploded from his eyes.

When the gods saw this monster at the heavenly gates, fear seized them. They fled to Egypt and turned around on the animals so that He would not recognize them. Only one Zeus entered the fight with Typhon, armed with an iron sickle - a cruel weapon with which Kronos once crippled his father Uranus. Wounded He was bleeding so badly that the Thracian mountains turned red, and since that time they are called Gemos - the Bloody Mountains. Finally he was completely exhausted, and Zeus brought him down with the island of Sicily. Every time He tries to free himself from that imprisonment, the Sicilian land trembles, and fire thumps through the crater of Etna, which escapes from the jaws of the defeated monster.

The Greek people still keep the memory of those battles, although so many centuries have passed and so many changes have taken place on ancient land Hellenes. However, in the view of the modern Greek peasant, the figures of titans, cyclops and giants merged into one whole. In the villages, they tell about some giants, called giants, of superhuman growth and incredible strength, in which there is only one shiny, like fire, an eye in the middle of the forehead and very long beards. Their father was some kind of devil, and their mother was a sorceress. They live in the depths of the earth, where they erect huge buildings, laying rock on rock. When the earthquake starts, the peasants say: "Probably, some building of giants is falling down again." God imprisoned them underground because they once rebelled against him.

When Zeus ascended the heavenly throne, there were already people on earth, and before their frightened eyes, battles of the gods for domination of the world took place. There were various legends about the origin of the human race: supposedly he just came out of the womb of the earth, the common mother of all things; as if forests and mountains created people, like trees and rocks; as if people descended from the gods - this view was held, in particular, by the kings and the nobility. But most willingly they perceived the legend of the four centuries of mankind.

At first there was, of course, the golden age. Then Kronos reigned. Rivers of milk flowed, sweet honey oozed from the trees, and the earth gave birth to everything by itself, even without being whipped up to it by the labor of the farmer. People lived like celestials - without worries, without work, without sadness, their bodies never got old, and life passed in endless feasts and entertainments. After the fall of Kronos, the golden age ended, and then people turned into charitable spirits.

The next century was silver, therefore, much worse. People developed very slowly. Their childhood period lasted a hundred years, and when they reached adulthood, their life was short and full of hardships. They were angry and arrogant, did not want to honor, as it was supposed, the gods and bring them sacrifices. Zeus destroyed all of them to the last, only in human memory they remained as blessed souls.

In the Bronze Age, there lived a rough tribe, kohalos in wars. People had the power of giants, and their hearts were as hard as stone. They did not know iron. Everything was made of bronze: the city walls, houses, utensils, and weapons. It was a heroic period. At that time, the great Hercules and the brave Theseus, the heroes of Thebes and Troy, lived. They performed such unusual feats that were not repeated at the next age, Jelly, which continues to this day.

Other legends told that man was created by one of the titans - Prometheus, sculpted from clay mixed with tears. And he gave her a soul from heavenly fire, stealing several sparks from a solar chariot. Not far from the city of Panopey, they showed a brick house, where Prometheus of his time did this work. Lumps of clay soil lay around, and they smelled like a human body. It was like the remnants of used material. Even now, the red land of Beotiyska reminds of a fairy tale, which tells about the creator of the human race.

Prometheus awakened the spirit in man and gave her the power to rule over the world.

Left without the wise Promethean guidance, people tormented by suffering, full of lust that they could not satisfy, became angry and lustful. When the gods descended to earth, they met with ridicule and insults. On Olympus, they said that the criminal blood of giants was to blame for this, which pervaded the earth, from which Prometheus sculpted people. And when even Zeus was mortally offended - King Lycaon treated him to human meat during dinner - the heavenly council decided to destroy the human race with a flood.

They sent the winds to send clouds from everywhere. With the first thunder, great showers came pouring in. Seas and rivers overflowed their banks. The tallest houses disappeared under water. The border between land and sea has disappeared. People sailed on ships in the fields, where they recently went for a plow. Surprised and shocked, the Nereids swam through the streets of the flooded cities. All living things were saved by randomly fleeing. The light-red manes of lions flashed from the white waves, and the wolf drove the flock of sheep to the non-existent pier. Tired birds, not finding anywhere a place where they could sit and rest, fell into the abyss. The ground became quiet and empty. The gods at the top of Olympus heard only the rumble of the boundless sea.

The highest mountains have disappeared. Only the peak of Parnassus in Bestia rose above the waves. In the endless ocean a light shuttle swayed, and in it two old men, Deucalion and Pyrrha, trembled with fear. Their weak eyesight could not grasp the whole infinity of the terrible disaster. After nine days and nine nights of travel, their boat landed at the top of Parnassus. The water began to subside. Mountains slowly appeared, behind them - higher hills, at last appeared lowlands, covered with silt, in which the corpses of people and animals lay.

Pious old women went to the Delphic grotto to find out what to do. They wanted to repopulate the earth somehow. A voice came from the upper cave: "Go, covering your face with a veil, and throw your mother's bones behind you." Pyrrha, who was the daughter of Epimethea and Pandora, was outraged, saying that it was not necessary to scatter the sacred remains of her parents. But Deucalion, the son of the wise Prometheus, realized that the deity could not advise bad things, and this is how he interpreted it: the common mother of all living things is the earth, and the bones of the earth are stones.

Then they went out into an open field, covered their faces with blankets, decided to wear belts and, walking step by step, threw stones behind them. And the stones, losing their usual shape and hardness, turned into people. Men emerged from the stones thrown by Deucalion's hand, and women emerged from the pieces of rock thrown by Pyrrha. After darkening, the old ones sat down to rest. The world was reviving around. Plants, birds and animals emerged from the soil fertilized by large rains. An immense green thicket covered the ground, over which larks sang, storks and swallows flew by. Only after that the first houses were slowly erected here and there. They were built by a tribe born of stones, and therefore more viable, more enduring in suffering and labor. Deucalion, as a patriarch, walked among his children, taught them everything that is necessary in life, taught them to honor the gods and build temples.

From the windows of the Olympic Palace, Zeus saw how the world was reborn before a new appointment. Soon he became convinced that people forgot about the punishment that overtook their predecessors, and did not get any better, but he no longer sent them a flood.

3. Drawing up a scheme "Creation of the world"

World of gods

Why did Uranus decide to destroy the Cyclops and Hecatoncheires? (Uranus did not like the ugly cruel descendants, and caused him fear and disgust.)

What goddesses were formed from the blood of Uranus? (Three goddesses of vengeance, Erinias, with snakes on their heads instead of hair.)

Why did Kronos swallow his children? (I was afraid that the prophecy of Uranus, who predicted death from his own son to Kronos, would come true.)

Tell us about the origin of the cornucopia. (When Rhea had a baby, she gave Uranus instead of a child a stone in diapers, which he swallowed. At that time, Zeus grew up on the island of Crete, where the goat Amalthea fed him his milk. When one horn of the goat broke, Zeus took him in his hands, blessed, and since that time this horn has always been filled with everything that its owner desired.Thus, there was a cornucopia, also called the horn of Amalthea.)

World of people

Retell the legend of the four centuries of humanity (gold, silver, bronze, iron).

How, according to ancient Greek legends, did people appear on earth?

(1. Man came out of the womb of the earth, the common mother of all things.

2. Forests and mountains created people like trees and rocks.

3. People descended from the gods.

4. Prometheus created man by sculpting him from clay mixed with tears. And he gave her soul from heavenly fire, stealing several sparks from the sun chariot.)

How and for what did the gods punish people? (People became angry, lustful and greedy, so the gods decided to punish them by sending the Great Flood.)

Who Escaped During the Flood? (To old Devkalion and Pyrrha)

How did Deucalion and Pyrrha restore the human race? (By the order of the deity, they went out into the field, covered their faces with veils and left, throwing stones behind them. The stones rotated on the people. From the stones thrown by the hand of Deucalion, men appeared, and from the pieces of rock thrown by Pyrrha, women.)

What did Deucalion teach the people? (He taught people everything they need in life, as well as pay tribute to the gods and build temples.)

Was the new generation of people better than the previous one? (No, but Zeus no longer sent them a flood.)

Prove that the work you read is a myth. (The work read is a myth, because it tells about the origin of the world and all life on earth, the heroes are gods of different generations.)

IV. conclusions

The ancient Greek myth of the creation of the world is original and does not resemble other myths that we got acquainted with in the lessons. It contains many different events, a ramified system of images characteristic only of ancient Greek mythology. A common point, which unites the myths we have already read, is the existence of chaos, and then the formation of heaven and earth from it, all life on it.

V. Homework

Prepare a retelling of the ancient Greek myth about the creation of the world according to the scheme.

* This distance is easy to calculate. It turns out that in our understanding, the Greek sky was not very high. The path of that anvil would be only one and a half distance from the Moon to the Earth.