List of heroes of ancient Greece. Heroes of ancient Greece - mythological celebrities Message on the topic of ancient Greek heroes

The mythology of Ancient Greece is built on myths about the pantheon of gods, about the life of titans and giants, as well as about the exploits of heroes. In the myths of Ancient Greece, the main active force was the Earth, which generates everything and gives everything its beginning.

What happened first

So she gave birth to monsters personifying dark power, titans, cyclops, hecatoncheires - hundred-armed monsters, the multi-headed serpent Typhon, the terrible goddesses Erinnia, the bloodthirsty dog Cerberus and the Lernaean hydra and three-headed chimeras.

Society developed and these monsters were replaced by the heroes of Ancient Greece. Most of the heroes had parents who were gods, but they were also people. Part of the culture of Greece is the myths about the exploits of these heroes, and some of the names of the heroes of Ancient Greece are well known.

Hercules

Hercules - popular, strong, courageous - was the son of the god Zeus and Alcmene, a simple, earthly woman. He became famous for his twelve labors performed throughout his life. For this, Zeus gave him immortality.

Odysseus

Odysseus is the king of Ithaca, he became famous for his deadly risky journeys from Troy to his homeland. Homer described these exploits in his poem “Odyssey”. Odysseus was smart, cunning and strong. He managed to escape not only from the nymph Calypso, but also from the sorceress Kirka.

He managed to defeat the Cyclops, blinding him, he survived a lightning strike, and when he returned to his homeland, he punished all the “suitors” of his wife Penelope.

Perseus

It is impossible not to remember Perseus if we talk about the names of the heroes of Ancient Greece. The son of Queen Danae and Zeus is Perseus. He accomplished a feat by killing Medusa the Gorgon, a winged monster whose gaze turned everything around to stone. He accomplished his next feat when he freed Princess Andromeda from the clutches of the monster.

Achilles

Achilles became famous in the Trojan War. He was the son of the nymph Thetis and King Peleus. When he was a baby, his mother bought him from the waters of the river of the dead. From then on, he was invulnerable to enemies, with the exception of his heel. Paris, the son of the Trojan king, hit him in the heel with an arrow.

Jason

The ancient Greek hero Jason became famous in Colchis. Jason went for the Golden Fleece to distant Colchis on the ship "Argo" with a team of brave Argonauts, and married Medea, the daughter of the king of this country. They had two sons. Medea killed him and her two sons when Jason was about to marry for the second time.

Theseus

The ancient Greek hero Theseus was the son of the sea king Poseidon. He became famous for killing the monster that lived in the Cretan labyrinth - the Minotaur. He got out of the labyrinth thanks to Ariadne, who gave him a ball of thread. In Greece, this hero is considered the founder of Athens.

The names of the heroes of Ancient Greece are also not forgotten thanks to the animated and feature films produced.

Deucalion and Pyrrha

As time passed, humanity learned to overcome the hostile forces of nature, but at the same time, according to Greek myths, it increasingly turned away from the gods and became more and more arrogant and wicked. Then Zeus sent a flood to the earth, after which only the son of Prometheus Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha, daughter of Epimetheus, survived.

The mythical ancestor of the Greek tribes was the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha, the hero Hellene, who is sometimes called the son of Zeus (after his name the ancient Greeks called themselves Hellenes and their country Hellas). His sons Aeolus and Dor became the progenitors of the Greek tribes - the Aeolians (who inhabited the island of Lesbos and the adjacent coast of Asia Minor) and the Dorians (the islands of Crete, Rhodes and the southeastern part of the Peloponnese). The grandchildren of Hellenus (from his third son, Xuthus) Ion and Achaeus became the ancestors of the Ionians and Achaeans, who inhabited the eastern part of mainland Greece, Attica, the central part of the Peloponnese, the southwestern part of the coast of Asia Minor and part of the islands of the Aegean Sea.

In addition to the pan-Greek myths about heroes, there were local ones that developed in such regions and cities of Greece as Argolis, Corinth, Boeotia, Crete, Elis, Attica, etc.

Myths about the heroes of the Argolid - Io and Danaids

The ancestor of the mythical heroes of Argolid (a country located on the Peloponnese peninsula) was the river god Inach, the father of Io, the beloved of Zeus, who was mentioned above in the story of Hermes. After Hermes freed her from Argus, Io wandered throughout Greece, fleeing from the gadfly sent by the goddess Hero, and only in Egypt (in the Hellenistic era, Io was identified with the Egyptian goddess Isis) again acquired human form and gave birth to a son, Epaphus, to whose descendants they belong brothers Egypt and Danai, who owned the African lands of Egypt and Libya, located to the west of Egypt.

But Danaus left his possessions and returned to Argolis with his 50 daughters, whom he wanted to save from the marriage claims of the 50 sons of his brother Egypt. Danaus became king of Argolis. When the sons of Egypt, having arrived in his country, forced him to give them Danaid as a wife, Danai handed his daughters a knife each, ordering them to kill their husbands on their wedding night, which they did. Only one of the Danaids, Hypermnestra, who fell in love with her husband Lynceus, disobeyed her father. All Danaids They married a second time, and from these marriages came generations of many heroic families.

Heroes of Ancient Greece - Perseus

As for Lynceus and Hypermnestra, the offspring of heroes descended from them were especially famous in the myths of Ancient Greece. Their grandson, Acrisius, was predicted that his daughter Danae would give birth to a son who would destroy his grandfather, Acrisius. Therefore, the father locked Danae in an underground grotto, but Zeus, who fell in love with her, entered the dungeon in the form of golden rain, and Danae gave birth to a son, the hero Perseus.

Having learned about the birth of his grandson, Acrisius, according to myth, ordered Danae and Perseus to be placed in a wooden box and thrown into the sea. However, Danae and her son managed to escape. The waves drove the box to the island of Serifu. At that time, the fisherman Dictys was fishing on the shore. The box got tangled in his nets. Dictys pulled him ashore, opened it and took the woman and boy to his brother, the king of Serif, Polydectes. Perseus grew up at the king's court and became a strong and slender young man. This hero of ancient Greek myths became famous for many exploits: he beheaded Medusa, one of the Gorgons, who turned everyone who looked at them into stone. Perseus freed Andromeda, daughter of Kepheus and Cassiopeia, chained to a cliff to be torn to pieces by a sea monster, and made her his wife.

Perseus saves Andromeda from a sea monster. Ancient Greek amphora

Broken by the disasters that befell his family, the hero Cadmus, together with Harmony, left Thebes and moved to Illyria. In old age, both of them were turned into dragons, but after their death, Zeus settled them in the Champs Elysees.

Zetus and Amphion

Gemini Heroes Zetus and Amphion were, according to the myths of Ancient Greece, born Antiope, daughter of one of the subsequent Theban kings, beloved of Zeus. They were raised as shepherds and knew nothing about their origins. Antiope, fleeing from her father’s wrath, fled to Sicyon. Only after the death of her father did Antiope finally return to her homeland to her brother Lycus, who became the Theban king. But the jealous wife of the Face of Dirk turned her into her slave and treated her so cruelly that Antiope again fled from home to Mount Cithaeron, where her sons lived. Zetus and Amphion took her in, not knowing that Antiope was their mother. She also did not recognize her sons.

At the festival of Dionysus, Antiope and Dirka met again, and Dirka decided to put Antiope to a terrible execution as her runaway slave. She ordered Zetus and Amphion to tie Antiope to the horns of a wild bull so that he would tear her to pieces. But, having learned from the old shepherd that Aitiope was their mother, and having heard about the bullying she suffered from the queen, the hero twins did to Dirka what she wanted to do to Antiope. After Dirk's death, she turned into a source named after her.

Laius, the son of Labdacus (grandson of Cadmus), having married Jocasta, received, according to ancient Greek myths, a terrible prophecy: his son was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. In an effort to save himself from such a terrible fate, Lai ordered a slave to take the born boy to the wooded slope of Kietharon and leave him there to be devoured by wild animals. But the slave took pity on the baby and gave him to a Corinthian shepherd, who took him to the childless king of Corinth, Polybus, where the boy, named Oedipus, grew up believing himself to be the son of Polybus and Merope. Having become a young man, he learned from the oracle about the terrible fate destined for him and, not wanting to commit a double crime, he left Corinth and went to Thebes. On the way, the hero Oedipus met Laius, but did not recognize his father in him. Having quarreled with his entourage, he killed everyone. Lai was among those killed. Thus, the first part of the prophecy came true.

Approaching Thebes, the myth of Oedipus continues, the hero met the monster Sphinx (half woman and half lion), who asked a riddle to everyone passing by. A person who failed to solve the riddle of the Sphinx died immediately. Oedipus solved the riddle, and the Sphinx himself threw himself into the abyss. The Theban citizens, grateful to Oedipus for getting rid of the Sphinx, married him to the widow Queen Jocasta, and thus the second part of the oracle was fulfilled: Oedipus became the king of Thebes and the husband of his mother.

How Oedipus found out about what happened and what followed is described in Sophocles’ tragedy “Oedipus the King.”

Myths about the heroes of Crete

In Crete, from the union of Zeus with Europe, the hero Minos was born, famous for his wise legislation and justice, for which after his death he became, along with Aeacus and Rhadamanthus (his brother), one of the judges in the kingdom of Hades.

The hero-king Minos was, according to the myths of Ancient Greece, married to Pasiphae, who, along with other children (including Phaedra and Ariadne), gave birth, having fallen in love with a bull, to the terrible monster Minotaur (Minos's bull), who devoured people. To separate the Minotaur from the people, Minos ordered the Athenian architect Daedalus to build a Labyrinth - a building in which there would be such intricate passages that neither the Minotaur nor anyone else who got into it could get out. The labyrinth was built, and the Minotaur was placed in this building along with the architect - the hero Daedalus and his son Icarus. Daedalus was punished for helping the Minotaur slayer, Theseus, escape from Crete. But Daedalus made wings for himself and his son from feathers fastened with wax, and both flew away from the Labyrinth. On the way to Sicily, Icarus died: despite his father’s warnings, he flew too close to the sun. The wax that held Icarus's wings together melted and the boy fell into the sea.

The Myth of Pelops

In the myths of the ancient Greek region of Elis (on the Peloponnese peninsula), a hero was revered, the son of Tantalus. Tantalus brought upon himself the punishment of the gods with a terrible crime. He decided to test the omniscience of the gods and prepared a terrible meal for them. According to myths, Tantalus killed his son Pelops and served his meat to the gods during a feast under the guise of an exquisite dish. The gods immediately comprehended Tantalus's evil intent, and no one touched the terrible dish. The gods revived the boy. He appeared before the gods even more beautiful than before. And the gods cast Tantalus into the kingdom of Hades, where he suffers terrible torment. When the hero Pelops became king of Elis, southern Greece was named Peloponnese in his honor. According to the myths of Ancient Greece, Pelops married Hippodamia, the daughter of the local king Oenomaus, after defeating her father in a chariot race with the help of Myrtilus, the charioteer of Oenomaus, who did not secure the pin on his master's chariot. During the competition, the chariot broke down and Oenomaus died. In order not to give Myrtila the promised half of the kingdom, Pelops threw him off a cliff into the sea.

Pelops takes Hippodamia away

Atreus and Atrides

Before his death, Myrtil cursed the house of Pelops. This curse brought many troubles to the family of Tantalus, and primarily to the sons of Pelops, Atreus and Thyestes. Atreus became the founder of a new dynasty of kings in Argos and Mycenae. His sons Agamemnon And Menelaus(“Atrides”, i.e. children of Atreus) became heroes of the Trojan War. Thyestes was expelled from Mycenae by his brother because he seduced his wife. To take revenge on Atreus, Thyestes tricked him into killing his own son, Pleisthenes. But Atreus surpassed Thyestes in villainy. Pretending that he did not remember the evil, Atreus invited his brother along with his three sons, killed the boys and treated Thyestes to their meat. After Thyestes had had his fill, Atreus showed him the heads of the children. Thyestes fled in horror from his brother's house; later son Thyestes Aegisthus during the sacrifice, avenging his brothers, he killed his uncle.

After the death of Atreus, his son Agamemnon became king of Argive. Menelaus, having married Helen, took possession of Sparta.

Myths about the labors of Hercules

Hercules (in Rome - Hercules) is one of the most beloved heroes in the myths of Ancient Greece.

The parents of the hero Hercules were Zeus and Alcmene, the wife of King Amphitryon. Amphitryon is the grandson of Perseus and the son of Alcaeus, which is why Hercules is called Alcides.

According to ancient Greek myths, Zeus, foreseeing the birth of Hercules, swore that whoever was born on the day appointed by him would rule the surrounding nations. Having learned about this and about the connection between Zeus and Alcmene, Zeus's wife Hera delayed the birth of Alcmene and accelerated the birth of Eurystheus, the son of Sthenel. Then Zeus decided to give his son immortality. At his command, Hermes brought the baby Hercules to Hera without telling her who it was. Admired by the beauty of the child, Hera brought him to her breast, but, having learned who she was feeding, the goddess tore him from her breast and threw him aside. The milk that splashed from her breast formed the Milky Way in the sky, and the future hero gained immortality: a few drops of the divine drink were enough for this.

The myths of ancient Greece about heroes tell that Hera pursued Hercules all his life, starting from infancy. When he and his brother Iphicles, the son of Amphitryon, lay in the cradle, Hera sent two snakes at him: Iphicles began to cry, and Hercules, smiling, grabbed them by the necks and squeezed them with such force that he strangled them.

Amphitryon, knowing that he was raising the son of Zeus, invited mentors to Hercules so that they could teach him military affairs and noble arts. The ardor with which the hero Hercules devoted himself to his studies led to the fact that he killed his teacher with a blow from the cithara. Out of fear that Hercules would do something similar again, Amphitryon sent him to Kiferon to graze the flock. There Hercules killed the lion of Cithaeron, which was destroying the herds of King Thespius. Since then, the main character of ancient Greek myths has worn the skin of a lion as clothing, and used his head as a helmet.

Having learned from the oracle of Apollo that he was destined to serve Eurystheus for twelve years, Hercules came to Tiryns, which Eurystheus ruled, and, following his orders, performed 12 labors.

Even before serving with Omphale, Hercules married Deianira, daughter of the Calydonian king, another time. One day, when Perseus went to save Andromeda on a campaign against his enemy Eurytus, he took Eurytus’s daughter Iola captive and with her returned home to Trakhin, where Deianira remained with the children. Having learned that Iola had been captured by him, Deianira decided that Hercules had cheated on her and sent him a cloak soaked, as she thought, with a love potion. In fact, it was poison given to Deianira under the guise of a love potion by the centaur Nessus, whom Hercules once killed. Having put on the poisoned clothes, Hercules felt unbearable pain. Realizing that this was death, Hercules ordered himself to be transported to Mount Eta and built a fire. He handed over his arrows, striking to death, to his friend Philoctetes, and he himself climbed onto the fire and, engulfed in fire, ascended to heaven. Dejanira, having learned about her mistake and the death of her husband, committed suicide. This ancient Greek myth is the basis of Sophocles' tragedy "The Trachinian Women".

After death, when Hera reconciled with him, Hercules in ancient Greek myths joined the host of gods, becoming the husband of the eternally young Hebe.

The main character of myths, Hercules was revered everywhere in Ancient Greece, but most of all in Argos and Thebes.

Theseus and Athens

According to ancient Greek myth, Jason and Medea were expelled from Iolcus for this crime and lived in Corinth for ten years. But when the king of Corinth agreed to marry his daughter Glaucus to Jason (according to another version of the myth, Creus), Jason left Medea and entered into a new marriage.

After the events described in the tragedies of Euripides and Seneca, Medea lived for some time in Athens, then she returned to her homeland, where she returned power to her father, killing his brother, the usurper Persian. Jason once passed through the Isthmus past the place where the ship Argo, dedicated to the god of the sea Poseidon, stood. Tired, he lay down in the shade of the Argo under its stern to rest and fell asleep. While Jason was sleeping, the stern of the Argo, which had fallen into disrepair, collapsed and buried the hero Jason under its rubble.

March of the Seven against Thebes

Towards the end of the heroic period, the myths of Ancient Greece coincided with two greatest cycles of myths: Theban and Trojan. Both legends are based on historical facts, colored by mythical fiction.

The first amazing events in the house of the Theban kings have already been outlined - this is the mythical story of his daughters and the tragic story of King Oedipus. After Oedipus's voluntary exile, his sons Eteocles and Polyneices remained in Thebes, where Creon, Jocasta's brother, ruled until they came of age. Having become adults, the brothers decided to reign alternately, one year at a time. Eteocles was the first to ascend the throne, but at the end of his term he did not transfer power to Polyneices.

According to myths, the offended hero Polyneices, who by that time had become the son-in-law of the Sicyon king Adrastus, gathered a large army in order to go to war against his brother. Adrastus himself agreed to take part in the campaign. Together with Tydeus, heir to the Argive throne, Polyneices traveled throughout Greece, inviting heroes into his army who wanted to participate in the campaign against Thebes. In addition to Adrastus and Tydeus, Capaneus, Hippomedont, Parthenopeus and Amphiaraus responded to his call. In total, including Polyneices, the army was led by seven generals (according to another myth about the Campaign of the Seven against Thebes, this number included Eteocles, the son of Iphis from Argos, instead of Adrastus). While the army was preparing for the campaign, blind Oedipus, accompanied by his daughter Antigone, wandered around Greece. While he was in Attica, an oracle told him that the end of his suffering was near. Polyneices also turned to the oracle with a question about the outcome of the fight with his brother; the oracle replied that the one on whose side Oedipus would be and to whom he would appear in Thebes would win. Then Polynices himself found his father and asked him to go to Thebes with his troops. But Oedipus cursed the fratricidal war planned by Polyneices and refused to go to Thebes. Eteocles, having learned about the oracle's prediction, sent his uncle Creon to Oedipus with instructions to bring his father to Thebes at any cost. But the Athenian king Theseus stood up for Oedipus, driving the embassy out of his city. Oedipus cursed both sons and predicted their death in an internecine war. He himself retired to the Eumenides grove near Colonus, not far from Athens, and died there. Antigone returned to Thebes.

Meanwhile, the ancient Greek myth continues, the army of seven heroes approached Thebes. Tydeus was sent to Eteocles, who made an attempt to peacefully resolve the conflict between the brothers. Not heeding the voice of reason, Eteocles imprisoned Tydeus. However, the hero killed his guard of 50 people (only one of them escaped) and returned to his army. Seven heroes positioned themselves, each with their warriors, at the seven Theban gates. The battles began. The attackers were initially lucky; The valiant Argive Capaneus had already climbed the city wall, but at that moment he was struck by the lightning of Zeus.

Episode of the storming of Thebes by the Seven: Capaneus climbs the ladder onto the city walls. Antique amphora, ca. 340 BC

The besieging heroes were overcome by confusion. The Thebans, encouraged by the sign, rushed to the attack. According to the myths of Ancient Greece, Eteocles entered into a duel with Polyneices, but although both of them were mortally wounded and died, the Thebans did not lose their presence of mind and continued to advance until they scattered the troops of seven generals, of whom only Adrastus remained alive. Power in Thebes passed to Creon, who considered Polynices a traitor and forbade his body to be buried.

Formed the basis of Homeric poems. In Ilion, or Troy, the main city of the Troas, located near the Hellespont, they reigned Priam And Hecuba. Before the birth of their youngest son Paris, they received a prophecy that this son of theirs would destroy their hometown. To avoid trouble, Paris was taken from his home and thrown on the slope of Mount Ida to be devoured by wild animals. The shepherds found and raised him. The hero Paris grew up on Ida and became a shepherd himself. Already in his youth he showed such courage that he was called Alexander - the protector of husbands.

At this very time, Zeus learned that he could not enter into a love union with the sea goddess Thetis, since from this union a son could be born who would surpass his father in power. At the council of the gods, it was decided to marry Thetis to a mortal. The choice of the gods fell on the king of the Thessalian city of Phthia Peleus, known for his piety.

According to the myths of Ancient Greece, all the gods gathered for the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, except for the goddess of discord Eris, who they forgot to invite. Eris took revenge for the neglect by throwing a golden apple on the table during the feast with the inscription “to the most beautiful,” which immediately sparked a dispute between three goddesses: Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. To resolve this dispute, Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris on Ida. Each of them secretly tried to win him over to her side: Hera promised him power and might, Athena promised him military glory, and Aphrodite promised him the possession of the most beautiful of women. Paris awarded the “apple of discord” to Aphrodite, for which Hera and Athena forever hated him and his hometown of Troy.

Soon after this, Paris came to Troy for lambs taken from his flock by Priam's eldest sons Hector and Helenus. Paris was recognized by his sister, the prophetess Cassandra. Priam and Hecuba were glad to meet their son, forgot the fateful prediction, and Paris began to live in the royal house.

Aphrodite, fulfilling her promise, ordered Paris to equip a ship and go to Greece to the king of Greek Sparta, the hero Menelaus.

According to myths, Menelaus was married to Helen, daughter of Zeus and Ice, wife of the Spartan king Tyndareus. Zeus appeared to Leda in the guise of a swan, and she gave birth to Helen and Polydeuces, at the same time with whom she had children from Tyndareus Clytemnestra and Castor (according to later myths, Helen and Dioscuri - Castor and Polydeuces hatched from eggs laid by Leda). Helen was distinguished by such extraordinary beauty that the most glorious heroes of Ancient Greece wooed her. Tyndareus gave preference to Menelaus, having previously taken an oath from the others not only not to take revenge on his chosen one, but also to provide assistance if any misfortune befell the future spouses.

Menelaus greeted the Trojan Paris cordially, but Paris, seized by passion for his wife Helen, used the trust of his hospitable host for evil: having seduced Helen and stolen part of Menelaus's treasures, he secretly boarded a ship at night and sailed to Troy along with the kidnapped Helen, taking away the wealth king

Elena's kidnapping. Red-figured Attic amphora from the late 6th century. BC

All of Ancient Greece was offended by the act of the Trojan prince. Fulfilling the oath given to Tyndareus, all the heroes - Helen's former suitors - gathered with their troops in the harbor of Aulis, a port city, from where, under the command of the Argive king Agamemnon, brother of Menelaus, they set off on a campaign against Troy - the Trojan War.

According to the story of ancient Greek myths, the Greeks (in the Iliad they are called Achaeans, Danaans or Argives) besieged Troy for nine years, and only in the tenth year they managed to take possession of the city, thanks to the cunning of one of the most valiant Greek heroes Odysseus, king of Ithaca. On the advice of Odysseus, the Greeks built a huge wooden horse, hid their soldiers in it and, leaving it at the walls of Troy, pretended to lift the siege and sail to their homeland. A relative of Odysseus, Sinon, disguised as a defector, came to the city and told the Trojans that the Greeks had lost hope of victory in the Trojan War and were stopping the fight, and the wooden horse was a gift to the goddess Athena, who was angry with Odysseus and Diomedes for the theft from Troy of the “Palladium” - the statue of Pallas Athena, a shrine that protected the city, that once fell from the sky. Sinon advised introducing the horse into Troy as the most reliable guard of the gods.

In the Greek myth narrative, Laocoon, a priest of Apollo, warned the Trojans against accepting a dubious gift. Athena, who stood on the side of the Greeks, sent two huge snakes to attack Laocoon. The snakes rushed at Laocoon and his two sons and strangled all three.

The Trojans saw in the death of Laocoon and his sons a manifestation of the gods' dissatisfaction with Laocoon's words and brought the horse into the city, which required dismantling part of the Trojan wall. For the rest of the day, the Trojans feasted and had fun, celebrating the end of the ten-year siege of the city. When the city fell into sleep, the Greek heroes emerged from the wooden horse; By this time, the Greek army, following the signal fire of Sinon, disembarked from the ships and burst into the city. Unprecedented bloodshed began. The Greeks set fire to Troy, attacked the sleeping people, killed the men, and enslaved the women.

On this night, according to the myths of Ancient Greece, the elder Priam died, killed by the hand of Neoptolemus, son of Achilles. Little Astyanax, the son of Hector, the leader of the Trojan army, was thrown by the Greeks from the Trojan wall: the Greeks were afraid that he would take revenge on them for his relatives when he became an adult. Paris was wounded by Philoctetes' poisoned arrow and died from this wound. The bravest of the Greek warriors, Achilles, died before the capture of Troy at the hands of Paris. Only Aeneas, the son of Aphrodite and Anchises, escaped on Mount Ida, carrying his elderly father on his shoulders. With Aeneas his son Ascanius also left the city. After the end of the campaign, Menelaus returned with Helen to Sparta, Agamemnon - to Argos, where he died at the hands of his wife, who cheated on him with his cousin Aegisthus. Neoptolemus returned to Phthia, taking Hector's widow Andromache as a prisoner.

Thus ended the Trojan War. After it, the heroes of Greece experienced unprecedented labors on the way to Hellas. Odysseus took the longest time to return to his homeland. He had to endure many adventures, and his return was delayed for ten years, as he was haunted by the wrath of Poseidon, the father of the Cyclops Polyphemus, who was blinded by Odysseus. The story of the wanderings of this long-suffering hero forms the content of Homer's Odyssey.

Aeneas, who escaped from Troy, also endured many disasters and adventures in his sea travels until he reached the shores of Italy. His descendants later became the founders of Rome. The story of Aeneas formed the basis of the plot of Virgil's heroic poem "Aeneid"

We have briefly described here only the main figures of the heroic myths of Ancient Greece and briefly outlined the most popular legends.

In ancient Greek mythology, there was a class of characters called "heroes". Heroes differed from gods in that they were mortal. More often these were the descendants of a god and a mortal woman, less often - of a goddess and a mortal man. Heroes, as a rule, had exceptional or supernatural physical abilities, creative gifts, etc., but did not have immortality.

Achilles (Achilles)

Son of the mortal Peleus, king of the Myrmidons, and the sea goddess Thetis. During the long siege of Ilium, Achilles repeatedly launched raids on various neighboring cities. Achilles is the main character of Homer's Iliad. Achilles joined the campaign against Troy at the head of 50 or even 60 ships, taking with him his tutor Phoenix and childhood friend Patroclus. Having defeated many enemies, Achilles in the last battle reached the Scaean Gate of Ilion, but here an arrow shot from the bow of Paris by the hand of Apollo himself struck him in the heel, and the hero died. Achilles was buried in a golden amphora, which Dionysus gave to Thetis.

Son of the god Zeus and Alcmene, daughter of the Mycenaean king. Numerous myths have been created about Hercules; the most famous is the cycle of tales about the 12 labors performed by Hercules when he was in the service of the Mycenaean king Eurystheus.

There are also many legends about the death of Hercules. According to Ptolemy Hephaestion, having reached the age of 50 and finding that he could no longer draw his bow, he threw himself into the fire. Hercules ascended to heaven, was accepted among the gods, and Hera, who had reconciled with him, marries her daughter Hebe, the goddess of eternal youth, to him. Happily lives on Olympus, and his ghost is in Hades.

Odysseus

The son of Laertes and Anticlea, husband of Penelope, grandson of Autolycus and father of Telemachus, who became famous as a participant in the Trojan War, was an intelligent and resourceful speaker. One of the key characters of the Iliad, the main character of the poem Odyssey.

Perseus

The son of Zeus and Danae, daughter of the Argive king Acrisius. He defeated the monster Gorgon Medusa and was the savior of Princess Andromeda. Perseus is mentioned in Homer's Iliad.

Theseus

son of the Athenian king Aegeus and Ephra, daughter of King Troezen Pettheus. A central figure in Attic mythology and one of the most famous characters in all of Greek mythology. Already mentioned in the Iliad and Odyssey.

Hector

The bravest leader of the Trojan army, the main Trojan hero in the Iliad. He was the son of the last Trojan king Priam and Hecuba (the second wife of King Priam). According to other sources, he was the son of Apollo. His wife was Andromache. He killed Patroclus, a friend of Achilles, and was himself killed by Achilles, who dragged his body several times with his chariot around the walls of Troy and then handed him over to Priam for ransom.

Bellerophon

Nickname of Hippo. Son of Glaucus and Eurymede (or Poseidon and Eurynome). After he killed the Corinthian Beller, he began to be called “the murderer of Beller.” In the myths about this hero, quite a few feats were described.

Orpheus

The legendary singer and musician - lyre player, whose name personified the power of art. Son of the Thracian river god Eagr and the muse Calliope. Participated in the Argonauts' campaign for the Golden Fleece. He did not honor Dionysus, but worshiped the Sun-Apollo, ascending Mount Pangea towards sunrise.

Pelop

Son of Tantalus and Euryanassa (or Dione), brother of Niobe, king and national hero of Phrygia and then the Peloponnese. The oldest mention of PELOPE is contained in Homer's Iliad.

Phoroney

Son of Inach and Melia. The king of the entire Peloponnese, or the second king of Argos. Phoroneus was the first to unite people into a society, and the place where they gathered was called the city of Phoronicon, after Hermes translated the languages of people, and discord began between people.

Aeneas

Hero of the Trojan War from the royal Dardan family. In the Iliad he killed 6 Greeks. According to Gigin's calculations, he killed 28 warriors in total. Companions of Aeneas on his wanderings, described in Latin by the ancient Roman poet Virgil in the Aeneid.

Jason

Son of King Iolcus Aeson and Polymede (Alcimedes). Hero, participant in the Calydonian hunt, leader of the Argonauts who set off on the ship "Argo" to Colchis for the Golden Fleece. Mentioned in the Iliad and Odyssey. According to one version, Jason committed suicide by hanging himself, either he died with Glaucus, or was killed in the sanctuary of Hera in Argos; according to another version, he lived to old age and died under the rubble of the dilapidated Argo, falling asleep in its shadow.

The following features can be identified that allow us to classify the characters of Greek myths as heroes. First, they are all of divine origin. Prometheus is the son of the Titan Iapetus, the cousin of Zeus, his mother is the Oceanid Clymene. Perseus is a descendant of Hercules, the son of the Argive princess Danae and Zeus. Theseus, on his mother’s side, is descended from Zeus, and his father is Poseidon himself. Orpheus is the son of the Thracian river god Eager and the muse Calliope. Hercules is the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. Daedalus is the grandson of the Athenian king Erechtheus and the son of Metion.

Agamemnon- one of the main heroes of the ancient Greek national epic, the son of the Mycenaean king Atreus and Aeropa, leader of the Greek army during the Trojan War.

Amphitryon- the son of the Tirinthian king Alcaeus and the daughter of Pelops Astydamia, the grandson of Perseus. Amphitryon took part in the war against the TV fighters who lived on the island of Taphos, which was waged by his uncle, the Mycenaean king Electryon.

Achilles- in Greek mythology, one of the greatest heroes, the son of King Peleus, the king of the myrmidons and the sea goddess Thetis, the grandson of Aeacus, the main character of the Iliad.

Ajax- the name of two participants in the Trojan War; both fought at Troy as suitors for Helen's hand. In the Iliad they often appear hand in hand and are compared to two mighty lions or bulls.

Bellerophon- one of the main characters of the older generation, the son of the Corinthian king Glaucus (according to other sources, the god Poseidon), the grandson of Sisyphus. Bellerophon's original name was Hipponou.

Hector- one of the main heroes of the Trojan War. The hero was the son of Hecuba and Priam, the king of Troy. According to legend, he killed the first Greek to set foot on the soil of Troy.

Hercules- national hero of the Greeks. Son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. Gifted with mighty strength, he performed the most difficult work on earth and accomplished great feats. Having atoned for his sins, he ascended Olympus and achieved immortality.

Diomedes- the son of the Aetolian king Tydeus and the daughter of Adrasta Deipila. Together with Adrastus, he took part in the campaign and destruction of Thebes. As one of Helen's suitors, Diomedes subsequently fought at Troy, leading a militia on 80 ships.

Meleager- hero of Aetolia, son of the Calydonian king Oeneus and Althea, husband of Cleopatra. Participant of the Argonauts' campaign. Meleager's greatest fame came from his participation in the Calydonian hunt.

Menelaus- king of Sparta, son of Atreus and Aeropa, husband of Helen, younger brother of Agamemnon. Menelaus, with the help of Agamemnon, gathered friendly kings for the Ilion campaign, and he himself deployed sixty ships.

Odysseus- “angry”, king of the island of Ithaca, son of Laertes and Anticlea, husband of Penelope. Odysseus is a famous hero of the Trojan War, also famous for his wanderings and adventures.

Orpheus- the famous singer of the Thracians, the son of the river god Eager and the muse Calliope, the husband of the nymph Eurydice, who set trees and rocks in motion with his songs.

Patroclus- the son of one of the Argonauts Menetius, a relative and comrade-in-arms of Achilles in the Trojan War. As a boy, he killed his friend while playing dice, for which his father sent him to Peleus in Phthia, where he was raised with Achilles.

Peleus- son of the Aeginean king Eak and Endeida, husband of Antigone. For the murder of his half-brother Phocus, who defeated Peleus in athletic exercises, he was expelled by his father and retired to Phthia.

Pelop- king and national hero of Phrygia, and then the Peloponnese. Son of Tantalus and the nymph Euryanassa. Pelops grew up on Olympus in the company of the gods and was the favorite of Poseidon.

Perseus- the son of Zeus and Danae, daughter of the Argive king Acrisius. The winner of the Gorgon Medusa and the savior of Andromeda from the claims of the dragon.

Talfibiy- the messenger, a Spartan, together with Eurybates, was Agamemnon’s herald, carrying out his instructions. Talthybius, together with Odysseus and Menelaus, gathered an army for the Trojan War.

Teucer- the son of Telamon and the daughter of the Trojan king Hesione. The best archer in the Greek army at Troy, where over thirty defenders of Ilion fell at his hands.

Theseus- son of the Athenian king Aeneas and Ethera. He became famous for a number of exploits, like Hercules; kidnapped Elena along with Peirifoy.

Trophonius- originally a chthonic deity, identical with Zeus Underground. According to popular belief, Trophonius was the son of Apollo or Zeus, the brother of Agamedes, and the pet of the earth goddess Demeter.

Phoroney- founder of the Argive state, son of the river god Inach and the hamadryad Melia. He was revered as a national hero; Sacrifices were performed at his grave.

Thrasymedes- the son of the Pylos king Nestor, who arrived with his father and brother Antilochus near Ilion. He commanded fifteen ships and took part in many battles.

Oedipus- son of the Finnish king Laius and Jocasta. Killed his father and married his mother without knowing it. When the crime was discovered, Jocasta hanged herself, and Oedipus blinded himself. Died pursued by the Erinyes.

Aeneas- son of Anchises and Aphrodite, relative of Priam, hero of the Trojan War. Aeneas, like Achilles among the Greeks, is the son of a beautiful goddess, the favorite of the gods; in battles he was protected by Aphrodite and Apollo.

Jason- the son of Aison, on behalf of Pelias, set out from Thessaly for the golden fleece to Colchis, for which he equipped the expedition of the Argonauts.

Kronos, in ancient Greek mythology, was one of the Titans, born from the marriage of the sky god Uranus and the earth goddess Gaia. He succumbed to his mother’s persuasion and castrated his father Uranus in order to stop the endless births of his children.

To avoid repeating the fate of his father, Kronos began to swallow all his offspring. But in the end, his wife could not stand such an attitude towards their offspring and gave him a stone to swallow instead of the newborn.

Rhea hid her son, Zeus, on the island of Crete, where he grew up, suckled by the divine goat Amalthea. He was guarded by the Kuretes - warriors who drowned out the crying of Zeus by striking their shields so that Kronos would not hear.

Having matured, Zeus overthrew his father from the throne, forced him to tear his brothers and sisters out of his womb and, after a long war, took his place on bright Olympus, among the host of gods. Thus Kronos was punished for his betrayal.

In Roman mythology, Kronos (Chroos - "time") is known as Saturn - a symbol of inexorable time. In Ancient Rome, festivals were dedicated to the god Kronos - Saturnalia, during which all rich people exchanged duties with their servants and fun began, accompanied by copious libations. In Roman mythology, Kronos (Chroos - "time") is known as Saturn - a symbol of inexorable time. In Ancient Rome, festivals were dedicated to the god Kronos - Saturnalia, during which all rich people exchanged duties with their servants and fun began, accompanied by copious libations.

Rhea("Ρέα"), in ancient mythology, a Greek goddess, one of the Titanides, daughter of Uranus and Gaia, wife of Kronos and mother of the Olympian deities: Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter and Hera (Hesiod, Theogony, 135). Kronos, fearing, that one of his children would deprive him of power, devouring them immediately after birth. Rhea, on the advice of her parents, saved Zeus instead of her born son, she placed a swaddled stone, which Kronos swallowed, and Rhea sent her son, secretly from her father, to Crete, to the mountain. Dicta. When Zeus grew up, Rhea assigned her son as a cupbearer to Kronos and he was able to mix an emetic potion into his father’s cup, freeing his brothers and sisters. According to one version of the myth, Rhea deceived Kronos and at the birth of Poseidon she hid her son among the grazing sheep. Kronos was given a foal to swallow, citing the fact that she gave birth to him (Pausanias, VIII 8, 2).

The cult of Rhea was considered one of the most ancient, but was not widespread in Greece itself. In Crete and Asia Minor she mixed with the Asian goddess of nature and fertility Cybele, and her worship came to a more prominent level. The legend about the birth of Zeus in the grotto of Mount Ida, which enjoyed special veneration, was localized especially in Crete, as evidenced by the large number of dedications, some of them very ancient, found there. The tomb of Zeus was also shown on Crete. The priests of Rhea were called here Curetes and were identified with the Corybantes, the priests of the great Phrygian mother Cybele. Rhea entrusted them with the preservation of the infant Zeus; By banging their weapons, the Kuretes muffled his crying so that Kronos could not hear the child. Rhea was depicted in a matronly type, usually with a crown from the city walls on her head, or in a veil, mostly sitting on a throne, near which sit lions dedicated to her. Its attribute was the tympanum (an ancient musical percussion instrument, the predecessor of the timpani). During late antiquity, Rhea was identified with the Phrygian Great Mother of the Gods and received the name Rhea-Cybele, whose cult was distinguished by its orgiastic character.

Zeus, Diy ("bright sky"), in Greek mythology the supreme deity, the son of the titans Kronos and Rhea. The almighty father of the gods, the ruler of the winds and clouds, rain, thunder and lightning, caused storms and hurricanes with a blow of the scepter, but could also calm the forces of nature and clear the sky of clouds. Kronos, fearing to be overthrown by his children, swallowed all the older brothers and sisters of Zeus immediately after their birth, but Rhea, instead of her youngest son, gave Kropos a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, and the baby was secretly taken out and raised on the island of Crete.

The matured Zeus sought to settle accounts with his father. His first wife, the wise Metis (“thought”), daughter of Ocean, advised him to give his father a potion that would make him vomit all the children he had swallowed. Having defeated Kronos, who gave birth to them, Zeus and the brothers divided the world among themselves. Zeus chose the sky, Hades - the underground kingdom of the dead, and Poseidon - the sea. They decided to consider the earth and Mount Olympus, where the palace of the gods was located, to be common. Over time, the world of the Olympians changes and becomes less cruel. The Oras, daughters of Zeus from Themis, his second wife, brought order into the lives of gods and people, and the Charites, daughters from Eurynome, the former mistress of Olympus, brought joy and grace; The goddess Mnemosyne gave birth to 9 muses to Zeus. Thus, law, science, art and morality took their place in human society. Zeus was also the father of famous heroes - Hercules, Dioscuri, Perseus, Sarpedon, glorious kings and sages - Minos, Radamanthos and Aeacus. True, Zeus’s love affairs with both mortal women and immortal goddesses, which formed the basis of many myths, caused constant antagonism between him and his third wife Hera, the goddess of legal marriage. Some of Zeus' children born out of wedlock, such as Hercules, were severely persecuted by the goddess. In Roman mythology, Zeus corresponds to the omnipotent Jupiter.

Hera(Hera), in Greek mythology, the queen of the gods, goddess of air, patroness of family and marriage. Hera, the eldest daughter of Kronos and Rhea, raised in the house of Oceanus and Tethys, is the sister and wife of Zeus, with whom she, according to Samian legend, lived in a secret marriage for 300 years until he openly declared her his wife and queen of the gods. Zeus honors her highly and communicates his plans to her, although he keeps her on occasion within the limits of her subordinate position. Hera, mother of Ares, Hebe, Hephaestus, Ilithyia. He is distinguished by his power, cruelty and jealous disposition. Especially in the Iliad, Hera shows grumpiness, stubbornness and jealousy - character traits that passed into the Iliad, probably from the most ancient songs glorifying Hercules. Hera hates and persecutes Hercules, as well as all the favorites and children of Zeus from other goddesses, nymphs and mortal women. When Hercules was returning by ship from Troy, she, with the help of the god of sleep Hypnos, put Zeus to sleep and, through the storm she raised, almost killed the hero. As punishment, Zeus tied the treacherous goddess to the ether with strong golden chains and hung two heavy anvils at her feet. But this does not prevent the goddess from constantly resorting to cunning when she needs to achieve something from Zeus, against whom she cannot do anything by force.

In the struggle for Ilion, she patronizes her beloved Achaeans; the Achaean cities of Argos, Mycenae, Sparta are her favorite places; She hates the Trojans for the trial of Paris. The marriage of Hera with Zeus, which initially had a spontaneous meaning - a connection between heaven and earth, then receives a relation to the civil institution of marriage. As the only legal wife on Olympus, Hera is the patroness of marriage and childbirth. A pomegranate apple, a symbol of marital love, and a cuckoo, the messenger of spring, the season of love, were dedicated to her. In addition, the peacock and crow were considered her birds.

The chief place of her cult was Argos, where stood her colossal statue, made of gold and ivory by Polycletus, and where the so-called Heraea were celebrated in her honor every five years. In addition to Argos, Hera was also honored in Mycenae, Corinth, Sparta, Samos, Plataea, Sikyon and other cities. Art represents Hera as a tall, slender woman, with majestic posture, mature beauty, a rounded face bearing an important expression, a beautiful forehead, thick hair, large, wide-open “ox-like” eyes. The most remarkable image of her was the above-mentioned statue of Polykleitos in Argos: here Hera sat on a throne with a crown on her head, with a pomegranate apple in one hand, with a scepter in the other; at the top of the scepter is a cuckoo. On top of the long chiton, which left only the neck and arms uncovered, there is a himation thrown around the waist. In Roman mythology, Hera corresponds to Juno.

Demeter(Δημήτηρ), in Greek mythology the goddess of fertility and agriculture, civil order and marriage, daughter of Kronos and Rhea, sister and wife of Zeus, from whom she gave birth to Persephone (Hesiod, Theogony, 453, 912-914). One of the most revered Olympic deities. The ancient chthonic origin of Demeter is attested to by her name (literally, “earth mother”). Cult appeals to Demeter: Chloe ("greens", "sowing"), Carpophora ("giver of fruits"), Thesmophora ("legislator", "organizer"), Sieve ("bread", "flour") indicate the functions of Demeter as goddess of fertility. She is a goddess kind to people, of beautiful appearance with hair the color of ripe wheat, an assistant in peasant labors (Homer, Iliad, V 499-501). She fills the farmer's barns with supplies (Hesiod, Opp. 300, 465). They call on Demeter so that the grains come out full-bodied and so that the plowing is successful. Demeter taught people plowing and sowing, combining in a sacred marriage on a thrice-plowed field on the island of Crete with the Cretan god of agriculture Iasion, and the fruit of this marriage was Plutos, the god of wealth and abundance (Hesiod, Theogony, 969-974).

Hestia-goddess virgin of the hearth, eldest daughter of Kronos and Rhea, patroness of unquenchable fire, uniting gods and people. Hestia never responded to advances. Apollo and Poseidon asked for her hand in marriage, but she vowed to remain a virgin forever. One day, the drunken god of gardens and fields, Priapus, tried to dishonor her, who was sleeping, at a festival where all the gods were present. However, at that moment, when the patron saint of voluptuousness and sensual pleasures, Priapus, was preparing to commit his dirty deed, the donkey cried loudly, Hestia woke up, called on the gods for help, and Priapus fled in fear.

Poseidon, in ancient Greek mythology, the god of the underwater kingdom. Poseidon was considered the ruler of the seas and oceans. The underwater king was born from the marriage of the earth goddess Rhea and the titan Kronos and immediately after birth he, along with his brothers and sisters, was swallowed by his father, who was afraid that they would take away his power over the world. Zeus subsequently freed them all.

Poseidon lived in an underwater palace, among a host of gods obedient to him. Among them were his son Triton, the Nereids, the sisters of Amphitrite and many others. The god of the seas was equal in beauty to Zeus himself. He traveled along the sea in a chariot harnessed to marvelous horses.

With the help of a magic trident, Poseidon controlled the depths of the sea: if there was a storm at sea, then as soon as he stretched out the trident in front of him, the furious sea calmed down.

The ancient Greeks greatly revered this deity and, in order to achieve his favor, made many sacrifices to the underwater ruler, throwing them into the sea. This was very important for the inhabitants of Greece, since their well-being depended on whether merchant ships would pass through the sea. Therefore, before going to sea, travelers threw a sacrifice to Poseidon into the water. In Roman mythology, it corresponds to Neptune.

Hades, Hades, Pluto (“invisible”, “terrible”), in Greek mythology the god of the kingdom of the dead, as well as the kingdom itself. Son of Kronos and Rhea, brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. During the division of the world after the overthrow of his father, Zeus took the sky, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the underworld; The brothers agreed to rule the land together. Hades' second name was Polydegmon ("recipient of many gifts"), which is associated with the countless shadows of the dead living in his domain.

The messenger of the gods, Hermes, conveyed the souls of the dead to the ferryman Charon, who transported across the underground river Styx only those who could pay for the crossing. The entrance to the underground kingdom of the dead was guarded by the three-headed dog Kerberus (Cerberus), who did not allow anyone to return to the world of the living.

Like the ancient Egyptians, the Greeks believed that the kingdom of the dead was located in the bowels of the earth, and the entrance to it was in the far west (west, sunset - symbols of dying), beyond the Ocean River, which washes the earth. The most popular myth about Hades is associated with his abduction of Persephone, daughter of Zeus and the fertility goddess Demeter. Zeus promised him his beautiful daughter without asking her mother's consent. When Hades forcibly took the bride away, Demeter almost lost her mind from grief, forgot about her duties, and hunger gripped the earth.

The dispute between Hades and Demeter over the fate of Persephone was resolved by Zeus. She must spend two thirds of the year with her mother and one third with her husband. This is how the alternation of seasons arose. One day, Hades fell in love with the nymph Minta or Mint, who was associated with the water of the kingdom of the dead. Having learned about this, Persephone, in a fit of jealousy, turned the nymph into a fragrant plant.

ABDER - son of Hermes, friend of Hercules

AUGIAS - son of Helios, king of Elis

AGENOR - King of Sidon

AGLAVRA - daughter of Kekrop

AGLAYA - one of the graces

ADMET - King Fer, friend of Hercules

ADMETA - daughter of Eurystheus, priestess of the goddess Hera

HADES - god of the underworld (among the ancient Romans PLUTO)

ACID - son of Semetis, lover of Galatea

ACRISIA - king of Argos, father of Danae

ALKESTIS - daughter of King Iolcus Pelia, wife of Admet

ALKIDS - the name of Hercules given to him at birth

ALKION - one of the seven daughters of Atlas

ALCMENE - daughter of the Mycenaean king Electryon, mother of Hercules

AMALTHEA - the goat who suckled Zeus with her milk

AMPHITRYON - Greek hero, husband of Alcmene

AMPHITRITE - one of the daughters of Nereus, wife of the god of the seas Poseidon

ANGEUS - Greek hero, participant in the campaign of the Argonauts

ANDROGEUS - son of the Cretan king Minos, killed by the Athenians

ANDROMEDA - daughter of the king of Ethiopia Cepheus and Cassiopeia, wife of Perseus

ANTEUS - son of the earth goddess Gaia and the god of the seas Poseidon

ANTHEA - wife of King Pret of Tiryns

ANTIOPE - Amazon

APOLLO (PHEBUS) - god of sunlight, patron of the arts, son of Zeus

APOP - in ancient Egyptian mythology a monstrous serpent, the enemy of the Sun god Ra

ARGOS - shipbuilder who built the ship "Argo"

ARGUS - mythological standing monster that guarded Io

ARES - in ancient Greek mythology, the god of war, the son of Zeus and Hera (among the ancient Romans MARS)

ARIADNE - daughter of the Cretan king Minos, beloved of Theseus, later the wife of the god Dionysus

ARKAD - son of Zeus and Callisto

ARTEMIS - goddess of the hunt, daughter of Zeus and Latona, sister of Apollo

ASCLEPIA (ESCULAPIUS) - son of Apollo and Coronis, a skilled healer

ASTEROPE - one of the seven daughters of Atlas

ATA - goddess of lies and deceit

ATAMANT - King Orkhomenes, son of the wind god Aeolus

ATLAS (ATLANT) - a titan holding the entire celestial sphere on its shoulders

ATHENA - goddess of war and victory, as well as wisdom, knowledge, arts and crafts (among the ancient Romans MINERVA)

APHRODITE - goddess of love and beauty (among the ancient Romans VENUS)

AHELOY - river god

ACHILLES - Greek hero, son of King Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis

BELLER - Corinthian killed by Hippo

BELLEROPHON (HIPPO) - son of King Glaucus of Corinth, one of the greatest heroes of Greece

BOREAS - god of the winds

VENUS (see APHRODITE)

VESTA (see HESTIA)

GALATEA - one of the Nereids, beloved Akida

GANIMED - a beautiful young man, the son of the Dardanian king Troy, kidnapped by Zeus

HARMONY - daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, wife of the founder of Thebes, Cadmus

HEBE - the forever young beautiful daughter of Zeus and Hera

HECATE - patroness of night evil spirits, witchcraft

HELIOS - god of the Sun

HELIADS - daughters of the god Helios

GELLA - daughter of Atamant and the goddess of clouds and clouds Nephele

HERA - wife of Zeus

GERION - a terrible giant who had three heads, three bodies, six arms and six legs

HERCULES - one of the greatest heroes of Greece, the son of Zeus and Alcmene

HERMES - in Greek micrology, the messenger of the Olympic gods, the patron of shepherds and travelers, the god of trade and profit, the son of Zeus and Maya (among the ancient Romans MERCURY)

GERSE - daughter of Cecrops

HESION - wife of Prometheus

HESPERIDES - daughters of Atlas

HESTIA - daughter of Kronos, goddess of the hearth (among the ancient Romans VESTA)

HEPHAESTUS - in Greek mythology, the god of fire, patron of blacksmithing, son of Zeus and Hera (among the ancient Romans VULCAN)

GAIA - goddess of the Earth, from whom the mountains and seas, the first generation of gods, cyclops and giants originated

HYADES - daughters of Atlas who raised Dionysus

GIAS - brother Hyades, who died tragically during a lion hunt

GYLAS - squire of Hercules

Gill - son of Hercules

HYMENEUS - god of marriage

HIMEROT - god of passionate love

HYPERION - titan, father of Helios

HYPNOS - god of sleep

HIPPOCONT - brother of Tiidareus, who expelled him from Sparta

HIPPONOI (see VELLEROPHON)

GYPSIPYLA - queen of the island of Lemnos

GLAUK - king of Corinth, father of Bellerophon

GLAVK - soothsayer

GRANI - goddess of old age

DANAE - daughter of King Acrisius of Argos, mother of Perseus

DAR DAN - son of Zeus and daughter of Atlas Electra

DAPHNE - nymph

DEUCALION - son of Prometheus

DAEDALUS - unsurpassed sculptor, painter, architect

DEIMOS (Horror) - son of the god of war Ares

DEMETRA - goddess of fertility and patroness of agriculture

DEANIRA - wife of Hercules

DIKE - goddess of justice, daughter of Zeus and Themis

DICTIS - a fisherman who found a box with Danae and Perseus in the sea

DIOMEDES - Thracian king

DIONE - nymph, mother of Aphrodite

DIONYSUS - god of viticulture and winemaking, son of Zeus and Semele

EURYSTHES - king of Argos, son of Stenel

EURYTHUS - father of Iphitus, friend of Hercules

EURYTHION - the giant killed by Hercules

EUROPE - daughter of King Agenor of Sidon, beloved of Zeus

EUTERPE - muse of lyric poetry

EUPHROSYNE - one of the Charites (Graces)

HELENA - daughter of Zeus and Leda, wife of Menelaus, because of whose abduction by Paris the Trojan War began

ECHIDNA - a monster, half-woman, half-snake

ZEUS - ruler of Heaven and Earth, thunderer, supreme god among the ancient Greeks (among the ancient Romans JUPITER)

ZET - son of the wind god Boreas, participant in the Argonauts' campaign

ID - cousin of Castor and Pollux, killer of Castor

ICARUS - son of Daedalus, who died because he came too close to the Sun

ICARIUS - a resident of Attica who was the first to grow grapes and make wine

IMHOTEP - Ancient Egyptian physician and architect

INO - daughter of the founder of Thebes Cadmus and Harmonia, wife of King Orkhomenes Adamant, stepmother of Phrixus and Hella

IO - daughter of the river god Inachus, the first king of Argolis, beloved of Zeus

IOBAT - Lycian king, father of Anthea

IOLA - daughter of Bvrit

IOLAI - nephew of Hercules, son of Iphicles

Hippolytus - the son of the Athenian king Theseus and Hippolyta, slandered by his stepmother Phaedra

Hippolyta - Queen of the Amazons

IRIDA - messenger of the gods

ISIS - ancient Egyptian goddess, great-granddaughter of the sun god Ra

IPHICLES - brother of Hercules, son of Amphitryon and Alcmene

IPHITUS - friend of Hercules, killed by him in a fit of madness

KADM - son of the Sidonian king Agekor, founder of Thebes

KALAID - son of the wind god Boreas, participant in the Argonauts' campaign

CALLIOPE - muse of epic poetry

CALLISTO - daughter of the Arcadian king Lycaon, beloved of Zeus

KALKHANT - soothsayer

CASSIOPEIA - Queen of Ethiopia, wife of Cepheus and mother of Andromeda

CASTOR - son of Leda and the Spartan king Tindareus, brother of Pollux

KARPO - ora of summer, one of the goddesses who were in charge of the change of seasons

KEKROP - half-man, half-snake, founder of Athens

KELENO - one of the daughters of Atlas

KERVER (CERBERUS) - a three-headed dog with a snake tail, who guarded the souls of the dead in the underworld of Hades

KEPHEI (see CEPHEI)

KIKN - Phaeton's friend, who turned into a snow-white swan

KILIK - son of the Sidonian king Agenor

CLYMENE - daughter of the sea goddess Thetis, wife of Helios, mother of Phaethon

CLIO - the muse of history

CLYTEMNESTRA - daughter of Leda and the Spartan king Tyndareus, wife of Agamemnon

CAPRICORN - son of Epianus, childhood friend of Zeus

KOPREI - the messenger of Bvrystheus, who conveyed orders to Hercules

CORONIDA - beloved of Apollo, mother of Asclepius (Aesculapius)

CREON - Theban king, father of Megara, the first wife of Hercules

KRONOS - titan, son of Uranus and Gaia. Having overthrown his father, he became the supreme god. In turn he was overthrown by his son Zeus

LAOMEDONT - King of Troy

LATONA (SUMMER) - Titanide, beloved of Zeus, mother of Apollo and Artemis

LEARCH - son of Atamant and Ino, killed by his father in a fit of madness

LEDA - wife of the Spartan king Tyndareus, mother of Helen, Clytemnestra, Castor and Pollux

LYCAON - king of Arcadia, father of Callisto

LYCURGUS - Thracian king who insulted Dionysus and was blinded by Zeus as punishment

LIN - music teacher of Hercules, brother of Orpheus

LINKEUS - cousin of Castor and Pollux, distinguished by extraordinary vigilance

LICHAS - messenger of Hercules

MAYA - daughter of Atlas, lover of Zeus, mother of Hermes

MARDUK - patron god of Babylon, supreme deity of the Babylonian pantheon

MARS (see ARES)

MEG ARA - daughter of the Theban king Creon, first wife of Hercules

MEDEA - sorceress, daughter of the king of Colchis Eeta, wife of Jason, later the wife of the Athenian king Aegeus

MEDUSA GORGON - the only mortal of the three Gorgon sisters - winged female monsters with snakes instead of hair; the gaze of the Gorgons turned all living things into stone

MELANIPPA - Amazon, Hippolyta's assistant

MELIKERT - son of King Atamant and the sorceress Ino

MELPOMENE - muse of tragedy

MERCURY (see HERMES)

MEROPE - daughter of Atlas

METIS - goddess of wisdom, mother of Pallas Athena (among the ancient Romans METIS)

MIMAS - a giant struck by the arrow of Hercules during the battle of the gods with the giants

MINOS - Cretan king, son of Zeus and Europa

MINOTAUR - a monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull, who lived in the Labyrinth, was killed by Theseus

Mnemosyne - goddess of memory and memories

PUG - a Greek hero who understood the language of birds and guessed the future, a participant in the campaign of the Argonauts

NEPTUNE (see POSEIDON)

NEREIDS - fifty daughters of Nereus

NEREUS - sea god, soothsayer

NESS - a centaur who tried to kidnap Deianira, the wife of Hercules, and was killed by him

NEPHEL - goddess of clouds and clouds, mother of Frixus and Hella

NIKTA - goddess of the night

NOT - god of the southern humid wind

NUT - the ancient Egyptian goddess of the Sky

OVERON - in Scandinavian mythology, the king of the elves, a character in William Shakespeare's comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

OINEUS - king of Calydon, father of Meleager - friend of Hercules and Deianira - his wife

OCEANIDS - daughters of the Ocean

OMPHALA - Lydian queen who had Hercules as her slave

ORION - brave hunter

ORPHEUS - son of the river god Eager and the muse Calliope, famous musician and singer

ORFO - two-headed dog, the offspring of Typhon and Echidna

ORY - goddesses who were in charge of the change of seasons

OSIRIS - in ancient Egyptian mythology, the god of dying and resurrecting nature, brother and husband of Isis, father of Horus, patron and judge of the dead

PALLANT - a giant defeated by Athena, from whom she skinned and covered her shield with this skin

PANDORA - a woman made by Hephaestus on the orders of Zeus from clay in order to punish people, the wife of Epimetheus - the brother of Prometheus

PANDROSA - daughter of Cecrops, the first king of Athens

PEGASUS - winged horse

PELEUS - Greek hero, father of Achilles

PELIUS - King Iolcus, father of Alcestis

PENEUS - river god, father of Daphne

PERIPHETUS - a terrible giant, son of Hephaestus, killed by Theseus

PERSEUS - Greek hero, son of Zeus and Danae

PERSEPHONE - daughter of the fertility goddess Demeter and Zeus, wife of the ruler of the underworld Hades (among the ancient Romans PROSERPINE)

PYRRA - wife of Deucalion

PITTHEY - king of Argolis

PYTHIA - prophetess of the god Apollo in Delphi

PYTHON - a monstrous serpent that pursued Latona, was killed by Apollo

PLEIADES - seven daughters of Atlas, sisters of the Hyades

PLUTO (see HADES)

POLYHYMNIA - muse of sacred hymns

POLYDEUCK (POLLUX) - son of Zeus and Leda, brother of Castor

POLYDEKTES - king of the island Serif, who sheltered Danae and Perseus

POLYID - soothsayer

POLYPHEMUS - Cyclops, son of Poseidon, in love with Galatea

POLYPHEMUS - lapith, husband of Hercules' sister, participant in the Argonauts' campaign

POSEIDON - god of the seas, brother of Zeus (among the ancient Romans NEPTUNE)

PRET - king of Tiryns

PRIAM - Trojan king

PROMETHEUS - the titan who gave people fire

RA - the sun god of the ancient Egyptians

RADAMANTH - son of Zeus and Europa

REZIA - daughter of the Baghdad caliph, faithful wife of Huon

RHEA - wife of Kronos

SARPEDON - son of Zeus and Europa

SATURN (see KRONOS)

SELENA - goddess of the moon

SEMELE - daughter of the Theban king Cadmus, beloved of Zeus, mother of Dionysus

SEMETIS - mother of Akidas, lover of Galatea

SILENUS - the wise teacher of Dionysus, depicted as a drunken old man

SINNID - a terrible robber defeated by Theseus

SKIRON - a cruel robber defeated by Theseus

SOKHMET - daughter of Ra, had the head of a Lioness, the personification of the fire element

STENEL - father of Eurystheus

STENO - one of the Gorgons

SCYLLA - one of two terrible monsters that lived on both sides of a narrow strait and killed sailors passing between them

TAYGETUS - son of Zeus and Maya, brother of Hermes

TAL - nephew of Daedalus, killed by him out of envy

THALIA - the muse of comedy

TALLO - ora of spring

TALOS - a copper giant given by Zeus to Minos

THANATOS - god of death

THEIA - eldest daughter of Uranus, mother of Helios, Selene and Eos

TELAMON - faithful friend of Hercules, participant in the Argonauts' campaign

TERPSICHORE - muse of dancing

THESENE - Greek hero, son of the Athenian king Aegeus and the Trizen princess Etra, killed the Minotaur

TESTIUS - Estolian king, father of Leda

TEPHYS - titanide, wife of the Ocean

TYNDAREUS - Spartan hero, husband of Leda

TIRESIAS - soothsayer

TITANIA - in Scandinavian mythology, the wife of Oberon, a character in W. Shakespeare's comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

TITON - brother of the Trojan king Priam

TYPHON - a hundred-headed monster, the product of Gaia and Tartarus

TOT - the ancient Egyptian god of the moon

TRIPTOLEMOUS - the first farmer who initiated people into the secrets of agriculture

TRITON - son of the ruler of the seas Poseidon

TROY - Dardanian king, father of Ganymede

URANUS - god of Heaven, husband of Gaia, father of the Titans, Cyclops and hundred-armed giants; was overthrown by his son Kronos

URANIA - muse of astronomy

PHAETON - son of Helios and Klymene, hero of a tragic myth

PHEBE - titanide

PHAEDRA - the wife of the Athenian king Theseus, who fell in love with her stepson Hippolytus and slandered him

THEMIS - goddess of justice, mother of Prometheus

PHOENIX - son of the Sidonian king Agenor

THETIS - sea goddess, mother of Achilles

FIAMAT - among the ancient Babylonians, a monster from which all troubles stemmed

PHILOCTETES - friend of Hercules, who received his bow and arrows as a reward for setting fire to the funeral pyre

PHINEUS - king of Thrace, soothsayer, blinded by Apollo for revealing to people the secrets of Zeus

FOBOS (Fear) - son of the god of war Ares

FRIKS - son of Atamant and Nephele, goddess of clouds and clouds

CHALKIOPE - daughter of the king of Colchis Eeta, wife of Phrixus

CHARYBDA - one of the monsters that lived on both sides of the narrow strait and killed sailors passing by

CHARON - the carrier of dead souls across the River Styx in the underworld of Hades

CHIMERA - a three-headed monster, the product of Typhon and Echidna

CHIRO - a wise centaur, teacher of the famous Greek heroes Theseus, Achilles, Jason, etc.

HUON - knight of Charlemagne, an example of a faithful spouse

CEPHEI - king of Ethiopia, father of Ariadne

SHU - son of the sun god Ra

EAGR - river god, father of Orpheus

EURYALE - one of the Gorgons

EURYDICE - nymph, wife of Orpheus

EGEI - Athenian king, father of Theseus

ELECTRA - daughter of Atlas, lover of Zeus, mother of Dardanus and Jasion

ELECTRYON - Mycenaean king, father of Alcmene, grandfather of Hercules

ENDYMION - a beautiful young man, Selena’s lover, immersed in eternal sleep

Enceladus - the giant that Athena overwhelmed with the island of Sicily

ENYUO - goddess who sows murder throughout the world, companion of the god of war Ares

EOL - god of the winds

EOS - goddess of the dawn

Epaf - cousin of Phaethon, son of Zeus

EPIAN - father of Capricorn

EPIMETHEUS - brother of Prometheus

ERATO - muse of love songs

ERIGONA - daughter of Icarius

ERIDA - goddess of discord, companion of the god of war Ares

ERICHTHONIUS - son of Hephaestus and Gaia, second king of Athens

EROS (EROT) - god of love, son of Aphrodite

ESCULAPIUS (see ASCLEPIA)

ESON - King Iolka, father of Jason

EET - king of Colchis, son of Helios

JUNO (see HERA)

JUPITER (see ZEUS)

JANUS - god of time

IAPETUS - Titan, father of Atlas

YASION - son of Zeus and Electra

JASON - Greek hero, leader of the Argonauts' campaign

List of heroes of ancient Greece. Heroes of ancient Greece - mythological celebrities Message on the topic of ancient Greek heroes

What happened first

More articles in this section:

Deucalion and Pyrrha

Myths about the heroes of the Argolid - Io and Danaids

Heroes of Ancient Greece - Perseus

Zetus and Amphion

Myths about the heroes of Crete

The Myth of Pelops

Atreus and Atrides

Myths about the labors of Hercules

Theseus and Athens

March of the Seven against Thebes

Achilles (Achilles)

Odysseus

Perseus

Theseus

Hector

Bellerophon

Orpheus

Pelop

Phoroney

Aeneas

Jason