OH MY GODS Welcome to the wild wacky and wonderful world of Greek mythology mythology Passed down from generation to generation these stories or myths originated thousands of years ago as a way for ancient Greeks to understand what was going on in their lives and in the world around them Things like astronomy astronomy biology meteorology and other sciences sciences were still centuries away from being developed so the ancient Greeks came up with stories to explain it all The change in seasons The creation of the planet The reason your voice echoes when you yell into a canyon Yep there's a myth for all of that The ancient Greeks used myths to answer life's other tough questions too like where people go after they die They taught valuable lessons like the importance of being brave and of choosing good over evil Myths often were a vehicle for retelling historical events including stories of real life battles and wars Greek myths are mostly fictional But the ancient Greeks lived by them as though they were the real deal To them myths weren't just stories but a religion They worshipped worshipped the Gods and built temples to them and the ruins of some still stand These stories were a major part of their everyday lives so powerful that they are still super popular today THERE'S A MYTH FOR THAT Here's how the ancient Greeks explained certain natural phenomena 6 FIRE EARTHQUAKES SUNSET SUNRISE THE MYTH The god Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans bringing them light warmth and the power to cook their food THE MYTH The earth shook every time Poseidon the god of the sea crashed his trident to the ground THE MYTH The god Helios pulled the sun in a golden chariot Each day he'd drive the chariot along the sky causing the sun to rise and set
7 IT'S MYTHIC Some ancient Greeks wouldn't eat beans because they thought they contained the souls of the dead THE SEASONS VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS THUNDERSTORMS THE MYTH Hephaestus set off eruptions each time he created something new in his fiery workshop beneath a volcano THE MYTH Demeter the goddess of the seasons and agriculture created the seasons after her daughter Persephone was kidnapped by Hades and taken into the Underworld for six months of the year While her daughter was away Demeter created an endless winter THE MYTH An angry Zeus would hurl lightning lightning bolts thunder and rain down to Earth
PASS IT DOWN The ancient Greeks couldn't Snapchat or text their friends or share stories by posting pics online So how did the myths make their way to us over thousands of years People talked Some ancient Greek people passed myths down verbally while others wrote them down The system wasn't perfect though Like a game of telephone the stories were altered over time as people shared them That's why there's often more than one version of the same myth IT'S MYTHIC A 1600 year old mosaic depicting Greek gods was recently unearthed in the village of Boxford U K GODS THEY'RE JUST LIKE US Well kind of Sure they had superpowers that no person could ever possess shape shifting and immortality immortality anyone but in many ways they were similar to regular people After all the ancient Greeks based these fictional characters on humans with a twist Most of them looked like men and women and had certain character traits based on human nature like jealousy anger and fear They got married and had families Also many of them loved to eat good food listen to music hang out with friends and have parties Hmm sound familiar yaas winning HEROES WELCOME Gods and goddesses aren't the only characters to star in Greek myths Mythology also tells tales of great mortal heroes who completed completed daunting and daring tasks making them superstars superstars among the gods From fighting ferocious monsters to slaying on the battlefield battlefield these heroes personified personified courage and strength They may have been totally accomplished but these heroes weren't without their flaws Some were hot headed jealous and selfish And this experts believe is the ancient Greeks way of reminding us that well nobody's perfect 8
3 The number of heads possessed by Cerberus the watchdog of the Underworld GREEK MYTHOLOGY BY THE NUMBERS 10 The number of years it took the hero Odysseus to return home after the Trojan War as told in the epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey by famed poet Homer The number of gods who lived on Mount Olympus also known as the Olympians 700 B C The year the famous poet Hesiod published Theogony the first written documented story of Greek mythology The number of Muses mentioned in Greek mythology These were the goddesses who inspired artists musicians dancers and writers 12 9 9
