Greek Mythology

Archaeologists have discovered the place where Aeneas is believed to have first set foot in Italy. It is the closest point on the Italian peninsula to Albania and, until efforts by the coastguard some years ago, was the destination of choice for Albanians fleeing poverty for the glamour and prosperity of their wealthy neighbour. But suddenly, the little town of Castro in the province of Lecce has something much more exciting to shout about. Archaeologists at the University of Lecce have discovered that the modern town, with its 15th-century walls, sits on the ruins of the port that was the first landfall in Italy made by the semi-mythical wandererof the ancient world, Aeneas.

According to Virgil's epic, he fled Troy as the Greeks destroyed it and made his laborious way westwards finally to found a "new Troy", the imperial city of Rome.Aeneas was first described as coming to Italy by the poet Stesichorus, writing around 600 BC. But it is the Roman poet Virgil, who died at sea in 19 BC aged 51 before he could complete his masterpiece, who defined him and his voyage for posterity. In the Aeneid, Virgil provided the rapidly rising Roman state with its own national epic in a deliberate effort to out-Homer Homer and the Greek culture of which his poems were a foundation.Like the Illiad and the Odyssey, the background of the Aeneid is Troy and the 10-year war that culminated in itsdestruction. Like Odysseus, the poem's hero, Aeneas, the product of a fling between a noble of Troy and the goddess Aphrodite, wanders at length across the oceans with his devoted followers, seeking with increasing desperation the new Troy the gods have promised him. Is it Thrace? Might it be the island of Delos, home to the oracle of Apollo? Clearly not: in both cases the auguries are bad. For a long time he cherishes the idea that Crete is the place. But when he arrives there a pestilence is raging:

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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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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...

By Farid Alakbarli

Legends about the Amazons - a warlike tribe of women warriors - have existed in various cultures throughout the world. Not many people realize, however, that Amazons are closely associated with Azerbaijan. Yes, ancient Greeks believed that Caucasian Albania was the native land of the Amazons. Perhaps, much of what has been written about Amazons is only a legend; however, it is true that many Albanian women really did serve in the armies of Caucasian Albania when they fought against the Roman invaders during the 1st century BC.

Kingdom of Caucasian Albania: Caucasian Albania was a territory that covered most of entire region of modern-day Azerbaijan Republic including some additional areas in neighboring countries. Note that Caucasian Albania had nothing to do with the modern state of Albania in the Balkans. According to legends, the kingdom of Caucasian Albania was founded in the 4th century BC by king Aran. There were 26 different tribes in Albania including Udi, Sodi, Gargar (Gagarians) and Gardman. Strabo describes Caucasian Albanians as tall, blonde-haired and gray-eyed. He characterizes them as brave and warlike. Albania was a fertile agrarian state with vast wheat fields, grape vineyards and fruit gardens. People worshiped the moon and various stars and planets. There was a Temple dedicated to the Moon located in the vicinity of Gabala in northern Azerbaijan, which was the ancient capital of Albania. Sometime during the 4th-5th century AD, Albania adopted Christianity. Today we know about Albania from ancient Greek and Roman historians such as Pliny (23 AD to 79 AD), Ptolemy (100 AD to 170 AD), Strabo (64/63 BC to 23 AD), Plutarch (46 AD-after 119 AD).

Strabo and Albanian Amazons: For example, a little explicitly Strabo is reporting: "Also the Amazons, it is said, live in the mountains of the Caucasian Albania. Theophanes, who took part in Pompeius campaign (106 BC-48 BC) and marched on the country of the Albanians, says that the Geles and the Leges - Scythians - lived between the Amazons and the Albanians.There was a river called Mermadalis, running between these tribes and the Amazons. Others, however, among whom were Metrodorus the Sceptic, and Hypsicrates, who were also familiar with these regions, wrote that the Amazons lived near the border with Gagarians in the northern promontories of the Caucasus called the Ceraunian Mountains...