Greek Mythology Essay example

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Jonathan Fanjoy

Mr. Donovan

History 10

November 2012

Greek Mythology

Mythology is the study of myths or a body or collection of myths and usually includes the worship or gods and goddesses. The Greeks religion was greatly based around mythology and they had many different gods and goddesses. Myths were endorsed by priests and rulers and were thought to be a true account of events that happened in the past. The gods and goddesses were very important in the idea of death and the afterlife. The ancient Greeks believed that when you died, your spirit left your body in a small breath of puff of wind

Ancient Greek rituals surrounding death are not much different than what we do today. After the person had died, they would dress the body so that relatives or friends could see him/her once more before they were buried. In the tomb, there were very few objects, but outside of it there were many reminders that someone was buried in there. The Greeks believed that immortality lay in the continued remembrance of the dead by the living. Women made frequent visits to the tombs to offer small cakes and libations.

The ancient Greek’s views on death and the afterlife have few similarities to what most people believe today. We no longer believe in lots of different gods that represent different aspects of life; most people either believe in one ultimate god or no god at all. The Greek’s believed that after you died, you would have to make a journey to Hades, the underworld. To begin the journey, the deceased would have to cross the river Styx. In order to cross, the person would have to be buried with a coin to give to the boatman, Charon. Next, the 3 headed dog, Cerberus would have to be appeased with honey cake. After that, you were under Hades control. The underworld offered punishment for the bad and pleasure for the good. If you were considered good, you would pass through to the Elysian Fields. If you were considered bad, you would be condemned to eternal torture.

Hades was the Greek god of the underworld. He controlled what went on after somebody died, and was one of the judges to decide whether a person passed through to the Elysian Fields, or they were condemned to torture. Despite the underworld being thought of as a bad thing, Hades was more passive than evil and his main role was keeping balance in the underworld. Hades had 2 other brothers, one being Poseidon. Poseidon was the god of the sea. He was a very powerful god, and was important to the Greeks, as they sailed a lot due to the geographical features of Greece. The last brother was Zeus. Zeus is the god of the sky and thunder. For the Greeks, Zeus was the king of all gods and he watched over the entire universe. He is also known for being quite promiscuous, this resulting in many godly and heroic offspring.

Athena was the goddess of the city, Education, science and war. She was very important to the people of Athens, and they made the Parthenon on the Acropolis in her honour. She is the daughter of Zeus and according to legend; she was born already adult and dressed in armour. Warriors from Athens would pray to Athena to keep them safe in battle. Athena’s close
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