Greek Myths

[soybean]

Pygmalion and Galatea​

The myth of Pygmalion and Galatea is very popular till today. Pygmalion, a famous sculptor, falls in love with his own creation and wishes to give life to his statue. This simple and imaginary concept is actually the basis for a psychological understanding of male behaviour and wish. This nice myth is considered as the depiction of the masculine need to rule over a certain woman and to inanimate his ideas into a female living creature.

 

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King Midas and his golden touch​

The myth of King Midas is a myth about the tragedy of avarice and narrates what happens when true happiness is not recognized. Midas wished that everything he touched would turn into gold. However, he had not thought that this wish was not actually a blessing, but a curse. The phrase “the Midas touch” comes from this myth and is used to say that somebody has a good fortune.

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Pandora, the first woman on Earth​

The story of Pandora came into prominence in "Theogeny", the epic poem of Hesiod, written circa 800 BC. The myth dates back to the first centuries of humanity, just after the Titanomachy, the Great War between the Titans and the Olympians. It is the story of a woman who opened the box where all the evils of the world were kept inside and thus she released every mischief for humans.

 

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Europa, the godmother of a whole continent​

This myth is about a beautiful girl that was abducted and then seduced by Zeus, the chief of the Greek Gods. This concept is pretty usual in Greek mythology. The remarkable thing is that this girl became queen of Crete and gave her name to the entire continent of Europe. Her story has been particularly popular since the ancient times and has been depicted in many ancient pieces of ceramics and coins.

 

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Io and Zeus​

Io was the beautiful princess of Argos in Peloponnese, who was seduced by god Zeus disguised into a cloud. However, his jealous wife, Hera, learned about this relationship and turned Io into a cow to keep her away from her husband. Io was to suffer many misfortunes until she was finally turned into a woman again and have a normal life.

 

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Eros and Psyche​

The myth of Eros and Psyche is probably one of the dearest love stories in classical Greek mythology. Eros was the personification of intense love desire. Psyche, a beautiful maiden, personifies the human soul. In fact, she is the symbol of the soul purified by passions and misfortunes and who is, from now on, prepared to enjoy eternal happiness.

 

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Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis​

Leto in ancient myths of Greece was the representation of motherhood. Like every mother, she suffered a lot to give birth to her children and then to protect and raise them up in the proper way. Leto suffered many misfortunes because of her relationship with Zeus, which caused Hera's jealousy and cursed Leto not to find a stable place on Earth to deliver her children. That is how Delos emerged, which was believed to be a floating island. Leto gave birth to Artemis and Apollo there and since then Delos became the sacred place of god Apollo.

 

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Callisto, the constellation Ursa Major​

The ancient people of Greece used to explain things they couldn't understand with myths. That is how they explained the creation of the world, natural phenomena or destructions or the existance of powers that could surpass human nature. That way, when they were looking at the sky and were observing all these stars, they would wonder what had caused these stars and constellations to exist. In fact, many myths have been created to explain the existence of stars. The story of Callisto is such a myth, created for the sake of two beautiful constellations, the Ursa Major and the Ursa Minor.

 

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Adonis and Aphrodite​

Adonis was the deity of plants and rebirth. He is known as a god who was for ever youthful, the one who would live and die only to be reborn again. The cult of Adonis comprised of women, as it is evident from the 2,600-year-old remains found on the island of Lesvos. The Athenian women planted the "gardens of Adonis" where the seeds would spring to life and then die to be reborn a few months later. The Festival of Adonis was celebrated in mid-summer when fennel and lettuce were harvested.

 

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Phaethon and the Sun Chariot​

According to the ancient myths, the Sun was put in a chariot and everyday God Helios would drive the chariot all along the sky. That is how the Sun would rise and set. Phaethon was the son the god Helios who secretly took the chariot one day to drive it. However, as he was young and inexperienced, he lost control of the horses and got killed.