Ancient Greece is a wonderful country. Her highly developed culture played a huge role in the development of world civilization. The mythological way of thinking inherent in people of that time gave rise to a religion in which the most bizarre way intertwined paganism, totem beliefs, the cult of ancestors and the influence of world views of other peoples with which the ancient Greeks touched. "Odyssey" and "Iliad", the works of Hesiod, numerous temples, statues of gods, drawings - these are the sources by which we can learn a lot about the great Hellas.
The picture of the world and consciousness
At the heart of the mythological consciousness of the ancient Greeks and their culture lie the notion of the Cosmos as a kind of living world. In science, this is called an animate-reasonable cosmology. The universe with planets, stars, constellations and the Earth itself with all that exists, appeared to them to be living, endowed with reason and spiritual content. Laws and forces of nature were personified by the Greeks in the images of ancient gods - great and small, in their servants and helpers, heroes and titans. The whole world and everything that took place in it was perceived by the Hellenes as a grandiose mystery, as a play played out on the stage of the stage of life. Actors in it are both the people themselves, and the deities governing them. The gods were not too far from people. They resembled their appearance, habits, character traits, habits. Therefore, the ancient Greeks could challenge them, disobey and defeat them! We will not see such freedom in other religions.
The Divine Pantheon
The earliest Ancient Greek gods, in particular the god Hades, are associated with the common Indo-European religions that existed in those days. Researchers find many parallels between Indian, for example, and Hellenistic celestials. When the myths and religion began to weave in the minds of the people, the Greek pantheon was replenished with new "tenants". They are the heroes of myths and legends. Thus, primitive pagan cosmogony united with the religiosity of the late time. And the very Olympus, about which we know from the works of art, with all its inhabitants was formed not at once.
Generations of the gods
In the ancient Pantheon, it is customary to distinguish the gods of the older and younger generations. The first includes Chaos - darkness and disorder, from which then all the others were born. From the chaos formed the Earth - its divine incarnation the Greeks called Gaia. The goddess of the night - Nykta - her arrival announced the change of time of day. Gloomy Tartarus became the personification of the word "abyss". Later, from a certain mythical creature, he will turn into a space of endless darkness, ruled by the god Hades. Out of chaos, Eros was born - the embodiment of love. The Greeks considered the children of Gaia and the titan of Chronos to be the second generation of the higher powers. They are Uranus - the ruler of the sky, Pontus - the ruler of all the inner seas, the god Hades - the owner of the underground kingdom, as well as Zeus, Poseidon, Hypnos and many other Olympians. Each of them had its own "sphere of influence", its special relations with each other and with people.
Names of God
God Hades has several proper names. The Greeks called him also Hades, and in Roman mythology he is known as Pluto - a huge, lame, dark-skinned, horrible, frightening species. And, finally, Polidegmon (from "poly" - a lot, "degmon" - to contain), i.e., "a lot of people", "a lot of people". What did the ancients have in mind? Only that the Greek god Hades led the kingdom of the dead. In his "diocese" fell all the souls who left this world. That's why he accommodates "many", and there are few cases when someone could go back. And the definition of "many receiving, the recipient of gifts" is associated with such a myth: every soul, before moving into his new abode, must pay tribute to the carrier Charon. He is also ruled by the Greek god Hades. Hence, those coins that give the souls when crossing the Styx, go to the treasury of the ruler of the kingdom of the dead. Therefore, by the way, there also existed in ancient Greece the custom: to bury the dead with "money".
Hades in Hades
Why is Hades the god of the dead? How did it happen that the celestial chosen such a dark abode? Kronos, fearing competition, devoured his children. According to some sources, the same fate befell Aida. According to other researchers of antiquity, the cruel parent abandoned his child in the abyss of Tartarus. When the younger gods rebelled against the elders, a ruthless struggle arose between them. Not for one thousand years battles were fought, but here Zeus, Poseidon and other children of Kronos won a long-awaited victory. Then they freed the prisoners, ousted their father and placed him, the Titans and Cyclops into the place of the recent prisoners, and the whole world was divided into "spheres of influence". As a result, Zeus is the lord of heaven and all higher powers, Hades is the god of the underworld, which is also called. Poseidon took all the water elements to his hands. The brothers decided to rule together, not entering into conflicts and harming one another.
The Kingdom of the Dead
What is the kingdom of the dead, governed by the ancient Greek god Hades? When a person must say goodbye to life, Hermes is sent to him, a messenger in winged sandals. He escorts the souls to the shores of the border river Styx, which separates the world of people from the world of shadows, and passes them to Charon - the ferryman who delivers his victims to the underworld. Charon's assistant - Cerberus, a dog with three heads and snakes instead of a collar. He ensures that no one leaves the land of souls and returns to earth. In the lowest, remote parts of Hades lies Tartar, the entrance to which is closed with iron doors. In general, the "dark kingdom of Hades" never penetrates the ray of the sun. It's dreary, cold, lonely. Souls of the deceased roam about it, opening the space with loud moaning, weeping, moaning. Their suffering is aggravated by the horror of meeting with ghosts and monsters lurking in the dark. Because so hateful is the place of grief for people!
Attributes of power
What are the identifying symbols of the god Hades? He sits in the middle of the main hall of his palace on a luxurious throne of pure gold. Nearby is his wife - always a sad, beautiful Persephone. According to the legends, this throne was made by Hermes - the god of blacksmithing, the patron of crafts, an expert master. Surrounding Aida are the sizzling sizzling Erinnia - the goddess of revenge, secret torment and suffering. No one can hide from them, any person can easily torture them to death! Since Hades is the god of the underworld (photos from the ancient images you see in our article) dead, he was often portrayed with his head backwards. This detail artists and sculptors stressed that he does not look anyone in the eye, they are empty and dead gods. Another mandatory attribute of Aida is a magic helmet. He makes his owner invisible. Wonderful armor was given to the god of the Cyclops when he rescued them from Tartarus. Never appears a god without his omnipotent weapon - a two-pronged fork. His scepter is decorated with a figure of a three-headed dog. God rides in a chariot, where only black horses are harnessed, like the night. The element of the god of the dead, of course, is the earth, dust that takes human bodies into its bowels. And the flowers that symbolize Aida are wild tulips. The ancient Greeks sacrificed black bulls for him.
Entourage
But back to the awesome suite of Hades. In addition to Erinny next to him are always tough, inexorable judges, who are called Radamanf and Minos. The dying people tremble beforehand, because they know that every unrighteous step, every sin will be taken into account in the incorruptible court of Hades, and no pleas will be saved from retribution. Huge black wings, similar to those that nature has given to bats, the same color is a cloak and a sharp sword - this is how another inhabitant of Aida, Thanatos, the god of death , looks . This is his weapon cuts the thread of life and a simple farmer, and a slave without rights, and a mighty king, the owner of untold treasures. Before death, all are equal - this is the philosophical meaning of this mythical image. Hypnos, the god of deep dreams, a pretty young man, is also near. He is a twin of Thanatos; therefore, dreams are sometimes heavy, deep, like "death-like ones" say. And, of course, the goddess Hecate, whose very name brings people to awe.
Myths and legends
As with any celestial god, with the god Hades, many legends and myths are connected. The most famous is Persephone, the daughter of Zeus, and the goddess of land and fertility, Demeter. An unusually beautiful story about Orpheus and Eurydice. The sad myth about a girl named Mata, who had unhappiness like Aida, caused an attack of anger and jealousy at Persephone. As a result, we can drink tea with a fragrant herb, which, in fact, the girl turned the goddess! Yes, in that very mint garden. We also remember the winged expression of Sisyphean labor, which is directly connected with Hades.