Greek mythology

Like other myths, Greek myths originated from religious, philosophical, cultural and social ideas of Ancient Greeks. The myths offered a way to think about questions concerning the nature of the universe, human nature, and the relationship between human beings and the supernatural. Greek myth, unlike other ancient myth-systems, has managed to survive intact well after the death of the religion and communities which it sustained. This is because Greek myths served to portray the abstract and universal concepts of beauty, bravery, and cowardice; they were a guide to human behaviors, for good or evil. The myths did not stand alone but were the foundation of Greek ‘imaginative’ literature. Art, from sculptures to wall paintings and pottery, depicted myth’s gods, monsters and heroes. When the Romans annexed Greece in the second century BC, they assimilated their own local gods and practices with little modification to the Greek stories. Some names were changed (e.g. Aphrodite became Venus) or spelled differently, but for the most part, Roman myth culture was a continuation of the Greek. Greek myths survived well through the Christian era because the non-religious tradition, which drew from Greek and Roman themes and style, continued to be guided by the world-view of Greek myth.

The Pelasgian creation myth

In this version of the creation myth, Eurynome, the Goddess of All Things, rose from Chaos and divided the sea from the sky. Out of the North Wind or Boreas, she created the serpent Ophion. Due to coupling with Ophion or fertilization by Boreas or both, Eurynome conceived and laid the Universal Egg. Ophion coiled seven times around the egg until it hatched and split into two and from it came all things that exist. Eurynome created the seven planetary powers and Titans and Titanesses to rule over each. Theia and Hyperion ruled the sun, Phoebe and Atlas the moon, Dione and Crius the planet Mars, Metis and Coeus ruled Mercury, Themis and Eurymedon ruled Jupiter, Tethys and Oceanus for Venus, Rhea and Cronus got Saturn. The first man was Pelasgus, father of the Pelasgians.

The Olympian creation myth

In this more well known version, Gaia or Mother Earth emerged from Chaos and gave birth to her son Uranus while she slept. Uranus then "showered fertile rain" upon her and she bore all of nature. She also gave birth to the semi-human Hundred-handed Ones or Hecatoncheires, and the one-eyed Cyclopes.

The Castration of Uranus

The Cyclopes rebelled against their father Uranus and for that he banished them into Tartarus, a gloomy place in the underworld. Another account is that they were confined in the body of Mother Earth. Out of revenge or in order to relieve herself of the burden, Mother Earth persuaded the Titans, also fathered by Uranus, to attack their father. She armed Cronus, the youngest of the seven Titans, with a flint sickle. As Uranus slept or as he approached his consort, Cronus castrated him with the flint sickle, grasping his genitals with the left hand and throwing them into the sea by Cape Drepanum. Some myths hold that Aphrodite sprang from the foam which gathered around the genitals. Drops of blood flowing from the wound fell on Mother Earth and she bore the Three Erinnyes, or Furies named Alecto, Tisiphone and Megaera, who were charged with avenging crimes of parricide and perjury. The Meliae, nymphs of the ash-tree, also sprang from the blood. The Titans released the Cyclopes from Tartarus and made Cronus ruler of the earth. Soon after, Cronus re-banished the Cyclopes together with the Hundred-handed Ones into Tartarus and married his sister Rhea.

References

1. Robert Graves, "The Greek Myths" The Folio Society, 1996 2. Michael Stapleton, "A dictionary of Greek and Roman mythology" Bell Publishing Company, 1978