Perseus was the son of Danae, the daughter of King Acrisius,
and Zeus. King Acrisius had been told by a prophet that his grandson would kill
him, so he locked his daughter in a brass tower so she could not have children.
Despite this, she secretly married Zeus and became pregnant. When King Acrisius
found out about the baby, he was frightened. Not wanting to kill them, he put
Danae and Perseus into a chest and cast them into the sea. The chest washed up
onto an island in the Aegean Sea called Seriphos, where a fisherman called
Dictys let them out and looked after them while Perseus grew up.
The
Challenge:
The
King of Seriphos, Polydectes, was a cruel man, and when he met Danae he was
enchanted with her beauty. He did everything he could to persuade her to marry
him. Scared, Danae refused, but Polydectes would not leave her alone. He was
trying to force her to marry him, by pretending to marry another woman. When
Perseus turned up at the wedding without a wedding present, Polydectes scorned
him for being a lazy good-for-nothing. Perseus reacted furiously, boasting that
he could get anything in the world that the king wanted; the king demanded the
head of a Gorgon. Perseus recoiled in horror, but accepted the challenge,
impossible though it seemed. The king had succeeded in getting rid of Perseus.
He thought Perseus would never return.
The Gorgons:
There were three
Gorgons: Medusa, Stheno and Euryate. All were once very beautiful women. So
beautiful that Poseidon seduced Medusa in one of Athena's temples. As Athena was
already jealous of Medusa's looks, she turned Medusa and her sisters into
hideous monsters. They had bronze wings, claw-like hands, tusks for teeth, and
live snakes for hair. Anyone who looked into their eyes would be turned to stone
forever. Perseus knew that he would probably die trying to get the Gorgon's
head, but he had to try for his mother's sake. As he left the king, he was
surprised by two figures suddenly appearing before him. It was Athena, Goddess
of Wisdom, and Hermes, Messenger of the Gods...
Greek Religion Origin:
The Greek religion is based on anthropomorphic polytheism, it comprises multiple
divinities having human forms and feelings. This article gives you insight on
the origin of Greek religion, Greek mythology, Greek Gods, and the various forms
of Greek worship. Early Greek religion is a blend of the Achaean, Dorian,
Minoan, Egyptian and the Asian cultures. It dates back to the period of the
Aryan invasion during 2d millennium B.C. The Aryans mingled with the Aegean (Pelasgians)
and the Minoan cultures to create the present day Greek culture. The
civilization that resulted from the amalgamation flourished between 1600 B.C.
and 1400 B.C. and was known as the Minoan-Mycenean civilization. Greek religion
emerged as an amalgamation of various civilizations and races, Zeus, Demeter and
Hestia were initially Gods of the Indo-European invaders, Rhea was a Minoan
Goddess, God Athena belonged to Mycenean, Hera and Hermes were borrowed from
Aegean, God Apollo came from Ionian, Aphrodite was Cyprus, Dionysus and Ares
belonged to the Thrace.
Greek Mythology:
Greek mythology is complete with
supernatural beliefs and ritual observance of the ancient Greek and Greek
religion. It contains a body of stories, myths and legends that originated since
the ancient Hellenic civilization. The Greek mythology is rich with the tales of
monsters, heroes, wars, and the various Greek Gods, their worship and beliefs.
According to Greek mythology, Gods are assigned human form, they are immortal
and are worshiped for the supernatural powers that they possess. The Greeks
placed the deity of their Gods at appropriate positions around them for
blessings and future favors. They invoked Gods during every memorable occasion.
A conical stone of Apollo was placed in front of many of the street doors, the
alter of Zeus was placed in the courtyard, Hestia was worshipped at the Hearth,
the bed chamber, kitchen and storeroom each had its own specific divinity. The
twelve Gods of Olympus constitute an important element in the Greek mythology...
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(Read the FULL Article here... | 8615 bytes more | comments? | Score: 0 ) Posted by nuke on Saturday, February 23 @ 01:05:46 CST (247 reads)
Historical significance: Delphi owed its international prominence to the
famous oracle of the god Apollo, who foretold the future through his priestess,
known as the Pythia. She responded to the questions of visitors while in a
trance; her inarticulate cries were interpreted and written down by an official
interpreter, in earlier times in hexameter verse, then later in prose. These
oracular responses were notoriously ambiguous, and their interpretation was
often only 'deduced' after the event to which they referred. This, however, did
not deter visitors from journeying to Delphi from all over the Mediterranean.
During the course of the 8th and 7th centuries BC, the sanctuary grew in
prestige as it received splendid dedications from legendary kings such as Gyges
and Midas. Its political role expanded in the 7th century BC, when it became the
seat of the Amphictyony, and individual cities began to build along the Sacred
Way leading up to the temple - treasuries in which the cities' dedications to
Apollo were guarded, and monuments commemorating the cities' successes.
Inter-city rivalry also played out in the Pythian games at which athletes and
musicians from all over the Greek world competed. This festival, which
originally took place every eight years, was expanded after the first Sacred War
and held every four years on a scale that rivaled the Olympic games. Thus Delphi
could rightfully sustain its mythical claim of being the navel (omphalos)
of the Greek world. Modern visitors can still follow in the steps
of ancient worshippers such as the Roman emperor Hadrian, or of ancient tourists
such as the Roman writer Pausanias. Visitors to Delphi would first encounter the
sanctuary of Athena Pronaia in the East, which contained two temples, two
treasuries, and the unusual round tholos building. They would then pass a
recreational facility on the left that included a gymnasium, palaistra, running
track and swimming pool. On the right they would encounter the Castalian spring
in a cleft of the sheer rocks (known as the Phaidriades or "shining ones") that
tower over it...
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(Read the FULL Article here... | 9521 bytes more | comments? | Score: 0 ) Posted by nuke on Tuesday, June 19 @ 12:23:15 CDT (605 reads)
Perseus was the son of Danae, the daughter of King Acrisius,
and Zeus. King Acrisius had been told by a prophet that his grandson would kill
him, so he locked his daughter in a brass tower so she could not have children.
Despite this, she secretly married Zeus and became pregnant. When King Acrisius
found out about the baby, he was frightened. Not wanting to kill them, he put
Danae and Perseus into a chest and cast them into the sea. The chest washed up
onto an island in the Aegean Sea called Seriphos, where a fisherman called
Dictys let them out and looked after them while Perseus grew up.
The
Challenge:
The
King of Seriphos, Polydectes, was a cruel man, and when he met Danae he was
enchanted with her beauty. He did everything he could to persuade her to marry
him. Scared, Danae refused, but Polydectes would not leave her alone. He was
trying to force her to marry him, by pretending to marry another woman. When
Perseus turned up at the wedding without a wedding present, Polydectes scorned
him for being a lazy good-for-nothing. Perseus reacted furiously, boasting that
he could get anything in the world that the king wanted; the king demanded the
head of a Gorgon. Perseus recoiled in horror, but accepted the challenge,
impossible though it seemed. The king had succeeded in getting rid of Perseus.
He thought Perseus would never return.
The Gorgons:
There were three
Gorgons: Medusa, Stheno and Euryate. All were once very beautiful women. So
beautiful that Poseidon seduced Medusa in one of Athena's temples. As Athena was
already jealous of Medusa's looks, she turned Medusa and her sisters into
hideous monsters. They had bronze wings, claw-like hands, tusks for teeth, and
live snakes for hair. Anyone who looked into their eyes would be turned to stone
forever. Perseus knew that he would probably die trying to get the Gorgon's
head, but he had to try for his mother's sake. As he left the king, he was
surprised by two figures suddenly appearing before him. It was Athena, Goddess
of Wisdom, and Hermes, Messenger of the Gods...
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(Read the FULL Article here... | 8319 bytes more | comments? | Score: 0 ) Posted by Nuke on Friday, April 06 @ 05:28:37 CDT (1274 reads)
Heracles, known
to the Romans as Hercules, was a Greek hero whose most well known feature was
his enormous strength inherited from his father, Zeus. Many of his exploits can
be read as being historical representations of actual sociological development,
for example the transition from a matriarchal society to a patriarchal one.
These include descriptions of earlier ceremonies and rituals and their
suppression.
Heracles' Birth and Childhood:
Alcmene -
Heracles' mother - was the celibate and pious wife of Amphitryon, who had gone
off to avenge the deaths of her eight brothers. Zeus went to Alcmene in
disguise, pretending to be her husband Amphitryon (who had by this point avenged
her brothers).
Zeus persuaded Helios, the Sun god, to take some time off, which meant the Moon
had to orbit slowly, and thus the night was extended to 36 hours. Zeus could not
keep his mouth shut and nine months later was boasting that his child was about
to be born and that it would be called 'Heracles', literally, 'Glory of Hera'
(his wife's name). Hera was none too pleased on hearing these rumours. Zeus
wanted his new son to be High King of the House of Perseus.
Hera made him swear
an unbreakable oath that any prince born before nightfall would become High King
and managed to delay Heracles' birth and bring about the birth of the child of
Nicippe (then seven months pregnant and wife of King Sthenelus) who was named
Eurystheus. On finding out that Eurystheus had been born an hour before
Heracles, Zeus fell into a towering rage. Although he
could not go back on his oath and let Heracles rule the House of Perseus, he
persuaded Hera to agree to Heracles becoming a god, if he could perform any 12
labours that Eurystheus might set him (see below). Exposed in a field by his
mother, who feared Hera's jealousy, Heracles was found by Athene (who had been
primed by Zeus) and Hera. Put to the breast of Hera, the child sucked so hard
that Hera threw him off and a spurt of milk flew into the air, becoming the
Milky Way. However, Heracles had now become immortal and was returned to Alcmene
by a smiling Athene...
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(Read the FULL Article here... | 21818 bytes more | comments? | Score: 0 ) Posted by Nuke on Friday, March 23 @ 12:33:31 CDT (835 reads)
An ancient Greek tomb thought to have held the body of Alexander the Great's father is actually that of Alexander's half brother, researchers say. This may mean that some of the artifacts found in the tomb—including a helmet, shield, and silver "crown"—originally belonged to Alexander the Great himself. Alexander's half brother is thought to have claimed these royal trappings after Alexander's death. The tomb was one of three royal Macedonian burials excavated ... Read More
A senior greek archaeologist warned this week that the last original sculptures still adorning the Parthenon, Athens" iconic ancient temple, face a major pollution threat and must be removed to a museum. "There are still 17 original metopes (sculpted plaques) which must be protected because they can no longer endure atmospheric conditions," Acropolis site supervisor Alexandros Mantis told AFP on Friday. Mantis has proposed that the endangered sculptures be replaced by replicas and kept safe in a... Read More
Popular lore holds that in Cleopatra's last moments, the distraught queen -- who had just lost her kingdom and learned of her lover's demise -- smuggled a poisonous snake into her locked chamber and died along with two ladies-in-waiting, of a self-inflicted snake bite. Such a scenario is next to impossible, according to Egyptologist Joyce Tyldesley, who shatters the "snakebite suicide" myth in her new book, Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt, just published in Europe and sl... Read More
Archaeologists have unearthed the skull of a young woman in northern Greece who is believed to have undergone head surgery in the third century, Greek news media reported Wednesday. A Greek team discovered the skeleton at an ancient cemetery in Veria, with the skull including an injury that led them to conclude the surgery had been performed. "We think that there was a complex surgical intervention that only an experienced doctor could have performed," said Ioannis Graikos, the... Read More
Greek workers discovered around 1,000 graves, some filled with ancient treasures, while excavating for a subway system in the historic city of Thessaloniki, the state archaeological authority said Monday. Some of the graves, which dated from the first century B.C. to the 5th century A.D., contained jewelry, coins and various pieces of art, the Greek archaeological service said in a statement. Thessaloniki was founded around 315 B.C. and flourished during the Roman and Byzantine eras. Tod... Read More
The idea of the vampire has caused some extreme behaviour. In October 1974 a drunkard was lured to the home of a Mr Lorca in Germany. Promising him food and shelter, instead, Mr Lorca descended on the man and bit him hard on the neck, drawing blood. Passing out, when the drunkard came round, he rushed out of the house and went to the police. Arriving a short time later, they found Mr Lorca asleep in a coffin with blood on his lips. Mr Lorca, it seems, liked to be called Count, ate only raw meat ... Read More