In the general religious understanding of the ancient Hellenes, there was a variety of cult ideas. All this is confirmed by numerous archaeological excavations and artifacts. It has been proven in which area certain gods were extolled. For example, Apollo - in Delphi and Delos, the capital of Greece was named after Athena, the god of healing Asclepius (son of Apollo) - in Epidaurus, Poseidon was respected by the Ionians in the Peloponnese, and so on.
The Greek shrines were opened in honor of this: Delphi, Dodon and Delos. Almost all of them are shrouded in some kind of mystery, which is deciphered in myths and legends. The most interesting myths We will describe Ancient Greece (short) below.
Cult of Apollo in Greece and Rome
He was called "four-armed" and "four-eared." Apollo had about a hundred sons. He himself was either five or seven. There are countless monuments in honor of the saint, as well as huge temples named after him, located in Greece, Italy, and Turkey. And this is all about HIM: about Apollo - the mythical hero and god of Hellas.
The ancient gods did not have surnames, but Apollo had several: Delphic, Rhodes, Belvedere, Pythian. This happened in the territories where his cult grew most.
Two thousand years have passed since the birth of the cult, but the fairy tale about this handsome man is still believed today. How did he enter into “naive mythology” and why was he invented in the souls and hearts of the Greeks and residents of other countries?
The veneration of the son of Zeus originated in Asia Minor two thousand years BC. Initially, myths depicted Apollo not as a man, but as a zoomorphic creature (the influence of pre-religious totemism) - a ram. A Dorian version of the origin is also possible. But, as before, the important center of the cult is the Sanctuary at Delphi. In it, the soothsayer made all sorts of predictions; according to her instructions, twelve mythical exploits of Apollo’s brother Hercules took place. From the Hellenic colonies in Italy, the cult of the Greek god took hold in Rome.
Myths about Apollo
God is not alone. Archaeological sources provide information about various sources of its origin. Who were Apollos: the son of the guardian of Athens, Corybantus, Zeus the third and several other fathers. Mythology attributes to Apollo the thirty heroes he killed (Achilles), dragons (including Python), and Cyclops. They said about him that he could destroy, but he could also help and predict the future.
Mythology spread about Apollo even before his birth, when the supreme goddess Hera learned that Leto (Laton) was to give birth to a boy (Apollo) from her husband Zeus. With the help of a dragon, she drove the expectant mother onto a deserted island. Both Apollo and his sister Artemis were born there. They grew up on this island (Delos), where he vowed to destroy the dragon for persecuting his mother.
As described with ancient myth, the quickly matured Apollo took his bow and arrows into his hands and flew away to where Python lived. The beast crawled out of the terrible gorge and attacked the young man.
It looked like an octopus with a large scaly body. Even the rocks moved away from him. The alarmed monster attacked the young man. But the arrows did their job.
Python died, Apollo buried him, and the real Temple of Apollo was built here. In his premises there was a real priestess-soothsayer from peasant women. She uttered prophecies allegedly through the lips of Apollo. Questions were written on tablets and handed over to the temple. They were not fictional, but from real earthly people from different centuries of the existence of this temple. Archaeologists found them. No one knows how the priestess commented on the questions.
Narcissus - a mythical hero and a real flower
To paraphrase the ancient sage, we can say: if you have extra money, then do not buy more bread than you can eat; buy a narcissus flower - bread for the body, and it is for the soul.
So the mythical short story about the narcissistic young man Narcissus from Ancient Hellas has grown into the name of a beautiful spring flower.
The Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, took cruel revenge on those who rejected her gifts and who did not submit to her authority. Mythology knows several such victims of it. Among these is the young man Narcissus. Proud, he could not love anyone, only himself.
I found anger at the goddess. One spring, while hunting, Narcissus came to a stream; he was simply captivated by the purity of the water, its mirroriness. But the stream was truly special, perhaps also enchanted by Aphrodite. The goddess did not forgive anyone if they did not pay attention to her.
No one drank water from the stream; not even a branch or flower petals could fall into it. So Narcissus looked at himself. He leaned down to kiss his reflection. But there is only cold water there.
He forgot about hunting and the desire to drink water. I admire everything, I forgot about food and sleep. And suddenly he woke up: “Did I really love myself so much, but we can’t be together?” He began to suffer so much that his strength left him. Feels like he will go into the kingdom of darkness. But the young man already believes that death will end his torments of love. He's crying.
Narcissus's head dropped completely to the ground. He died. The nymphs cried in the forest. They dug a grave, went for the body, but he wasn’t there. A flower grew on the grass where the young man's head fell. They named him Narcissus.
And the nymph Echo remained forever to suffer in that forest. And she didn’t respond to anyone else.
Poseidon - Lord of the Seas
Zeus sits in all his divine majesty on Mount Olympus, and his brother Poseidon went into the depths of the sea and from there the water boiled, bringing trouble to the sailors. If he wants to do this, he takes his main weapon in his hand - a club with a trident.
He also has a better palace than his brother on land. And he reigns there with his charming wife Amphitrite, the daughter of the sea god. Together with Poseidon, she rushes across the waters in a chariot harnessed to horses or zoomorphic creatures - tritons.
Poseidon looked for a wife from the waters on the shores of the island of Naxos. But she ran away from him to the handsome Atlas. Poseidon himself could not find the fugitive. He was helped by dolphins, who took her to the palace at the bottom of the sea. For this, the lord of the sea gave the dolphins a constellation in the sky.
Perseus: almost like a good person
Perseus is perhaps one of the few sons of Zeus who did not have negative character traits. Like the drunken Hercules with his attacks of inexplicable anger, or Achilles, who did not take into account the interests of others and admired only his own “I”.
Perseus was handsome, like a god, brave and dexterous. I always tried to achieve success. The mythology of Perseus is like this. His grandfather, one of the kings of the earth, dreamed in a dream that his grandson would bring him death. Therefore, he hid his daughter in a dungeon behind stones, bronze and locks, away from men. But all the obstacles were nothing to Zeus, who liked Danae. He came to her through the roof in the form of rain. And a son was born, named Perseus. But the evil grandfather hammered the mother and child into a box and sent them floating in the box on the sea.
The prisoners still managed to escape on one of the islands, where the waves washed the box to the shore; fishermen arrived in time and rescued the mother and son. But there reigned on the island a man who did nothing better than father Danai. He began to pester the woman. And so the years passed, and now Perseus could stand up for his mother.
The king decided to get rid of the young man, but so as not to incur the wrath of the god Zeus. He cheated by accusing Perseus of non-divine origin. To do this, it was necessary to perform a heroic act, for example, kill the evil Gorgon jellyfish and drag her head to the king’s palace.
It really was not only a sea monster, but also a flying monster that turned those who looked at it into stone. It was impossible to do without the gods here. The son of Zeus was helped. He was given a magic sword and a mirror shield. In search of the monster, Perseus traveled through many countries and through many obstacles set up by his opponents. The nymphs also gave him things useful for the journey.
Finally, he reached the abandoned country where the sisters of that same Gorgon lived. Only they could lead the young man to her. The sisters had one eye and one tooth out of three. While the younger gorgon with the eye led, the others could not do anything. Further across the sky he flew to the monster. And right away I came across a sleeping jellyfish. Before she woke up, the young man cut off her head and put it in his bag. And set course across the sky to his island. So he proved his destiny to the king and, taking his mother, returned to Argos.
Hercules gets married
Many accomplished feats and slave labor of Queen Omphale took away the strength of Hercules. He wanted peaceful life at home. “It’s not difficult to build a house, but you need loving wife. So we need to find her,” the hero made plans.
I once remembered a boar hunt near Calydon with a local prince and a meeting with his sister Deianira. And he went to South Aetolia to get married. At this time, Deianira was already being married off, and many suitors arrived.
There was also a river god - a monster whom the world has never seen. Deianira's father said that he would give his daughter to the one who defeats God. Only Hercules remained among the suitors, since the others, seeing their rival, changed their minds about getting married.
Hercules grabbed his opponent with his hands, but he stood like a rock. And so on several times. The result for Hercules was almost ready when the god turned into a snake. The son of Zeus strangled two snakes while still in the cradle, and did it here too. But the old man became a bull. The hero broke one horn, and it gave up. The bride became the wife of Hercules.
These are the myths of Ancient Greece.
Tags:, May 30, 2018The debate between supporters of the theory of creationism and evolutionary theory continues to this day. However, unlike the theory of evolution, creationism includes not one, but hundreds of different theories (if not more). In this article we will talk about ten of the most unusual myths of antiquity.
10. The myth of Pan-gu
The Chinese have their own ideas about how the world came into being. The most popular myth is the myth of Pan-gu, the giant man. The plot is as follows: at the dawn of time, Heaven and Earth were so close to each other that they merged into a single black mass.
According to legend, this mass was an egg, and Pan-gu lived inside it, and lived for a long time - many millions of years. But one fine day he got tired of such a life, and, swinging a heavy ax, Pan-gu got out of his egg, splitting it into two parts. These parts subsequently became Heaven and Earth. He was unimaginably tall - about fifty kilometers in length, which, by the standards of the ancient Chinese, was the distance between Heaven and Earth.
Unfortunately for Pan-gu and fortunately for us, the colossus was mortal and, like all mortals, died. And then Pan-gu decomposed. But not the way we do it - Pan-gu decomposed in a really cool way: his voice turned into thunder, his skin and bones became the firmament of the earth, and his head became the Cosmos. Thus, his death gave life to our world.
9. Chernobog and Belobog
This is one of the most significant myths of the Slavs. It tells about the confrontation between Good and Evil - the White and Black gods. It all started like this: when there was only one continuous sea around, Belobog decided to create dry land, sending his shadow - Chernobog - to do all the dirty work. Chernobog did everything as expected, however, having a selfish and proud nature, he did not want to share power over the firmament with Belobog, deciding to drown the latter.
Belobog got out of this situation, did not allow himself to be killed, and even blessed the land erected by Chernobog. However, with the advent of land, one small problem arose: its area grew exponentially, threatening to swallow everything around.
Then Belobog sent his delegation to Earth with the goal of finding out from Chernobog how to stop this matter. Well, Chernobog sat on a goat and went to negotiate. The delegates, seeing Chernobog galloping towards them on a goat, were imbued with the comical nature of this spectacle and burst into wild laughter. Chernobog did not understand the humor, was very offended and flatly refused to talk to them.
Meanwhile, Belobog, still wanting to save the Earth from dehydration, decided to spy on Chernobog, making a bee for this purpose. The insect coped with the task successfully and found out the secret, which was as follows: in order to stop the growth of land, you need to draw a cross on it and say cherished word- "enough". Which is what Belobog did.
To say that Chernobog was not happy is to say nothing. Wanting revenge, he cursed Belobog, and he cursed him in a very original way - for his meanness, Belobog was now supposed to eat bee feces for the rest of his life. However, Belobog was not at a loss, and made bee excrement as sweet as sugar - this is how honey appeared. For some reason, the Slavs did not think about how people appeared... The main thing is that there is honey.
8. Armenian duality
Armenian myths resemble Slavic ones, and also tell us about the existence of two opposite principles - this time male and female. Unfortunately, the myth does not answer the question of how our world was created; it only explains how everything around us works. But that doesn't make it any less interesting.
So here you go short summary: Heaven and Earth are a husband and wife separated by an ocean; The sky is a city, and the Earth is a piece of rock, which is held on its huge horns by an equally huge bull - when it shakes its horns, the earth bursts at the seams from earthquakes. That, in fact, is all - this is how the Armenians imagined the Earth.
There is an alternative myth where the Earth is in the middle of the sea, and Leviathan floats around it, trying to grab onto its own tail, and constant earthquakes were also explained by its flopping. When Leviathan finally bites its tail, life on Earth will cease and the apocalypse will begin. Have a nice day.
7. The Scandinavian myth of the ice giant
It would seem that there is nothing in common between the Chinese and the Scandinavians - but no, the Vikings also had their own giant - the origin of everything, only his name was Ymir, and he was icy and with a club. Before his appearance, the world was divided into Muspelheim and Niflheim - the kingdoms of fire and ice, respectively. And between them stretched Ginnungagap, symbolizing absolute chaos, and there, from the fusion of two opposing elements, Ymir was born.
And now closer to us, to the people. When Ymir began to sweat, a man and a woman emerged from his right armpit along with the sweat. It’s strange, yes, we understand it - well, that’s how they are, harsh Vikings, nothing can be done. But let's get back to the point. The man's name was Buri, he had a son Ber, and Ber had three sons - Odin, Vili and Ve. Three brothers were gods and ruled Asgard. This seemed to them not enough, and they decided to kill Ymir’s great-grandfather, making a world out of him.
Ymir was not happy, but no one asked him. In the process, he shed a lot of blood - enough to fill the seas and oceans; from the unfortunate man's skull the brothers created firmament, they broke his bones, making mountains and cobblestones out of them, and clouds were made from poor Ymir’s torn brains.
This new world One and the company immediately decided to settle: so they found two beautiful trees on the seashore - ash and alder, making a man from the ash, and a woman from the alder, thereby giving rise to the human race.
6. Greek myth about marbles
Like many other peoples, the ancient Greeks believed that before our world appeared, there was only complete Chaos around. There was neither the sun nor the moon - everything was dumped into one big pile, where things were inseparable from each other.
But then a certain god came, looked at the chaos reigning around, thought and decided that all this was not good, and got down to business: he separated the cold from the heat, the foggy morning from a clear day, and everything like that.
Then he set to work on the Earth, rolling it into a ball and dividing this ball into five parts: at the equator it was very hot, at the poles it was extremely cold, but between the poles and the equator it was just right, you couldn’t imagine anything more comfortable. Further, from the seed of an unknown god, most likely Zeus, known to the Romans as Jupiter, the first man was created - two-faced and also in the shape of a ball.
And then they tore him in two, making him a man and a woman - the future of you and me.
5. An Egyptian god who loved his shadow very much
In the beginning there was a great ocean, whose name was “Nu,” and this ocean was Chaos, and besides it there was nothing. It was not until Atum, by an effort of will and thought, created himself out of this Chaos. Yes, the man had balls. But further - more and more interesting. So, he created himself, now he had to create land in the ocean. Which is what he did. After wandering around the earth and realizing his total loneliness, Atum became unbearably bored, and he decided to plan on more gods. How? And just like that, with an ardent, passionate feeling for your own shadow.
Thus fertilized, Atum gave birth to Shu and Tefnut, spitting them out of his mouth. But, apparently, he overdid it, and the newborn gods were lost in the ocean of Chaos. Atum grieved, but soon, to his relief, he found and rediscovered his children. He was so glad to be reunited that he cried for a long, long time, and his tears, touching the earth, fertilized it - and people grew out of the earth, many people! Then, while people impregnated each other, Shu and Tefnut also had coitus, and they gave birth to other gods - more gods to the god of gods! - Gebu and Nutu, who became the personification of the Earth and the sky.
There is another myth in which Atum is replaced by Ra, but this does not change the main essence - there, too, everyone fertilizes each other en masse.
4. The myth of the Yoruba people - about the Sands of Life and the chicken
There is one African people- Yoruba. So, they also have their own myth about the origin of all things.
In general, it was like this: there was one God, his name was Olorun, and one fine day the idea came to his mind that the Earth needed to be equipped somehow (at that time the Earth was one continuous wasteland).
Olorun didn’t really want to do this himself, so he sent his son, Obotala, to Earth. However, at that moment, Obotala had more important things to do (in fact, there was a gorgeous party planned in heaven, and Obotala simply could not miss it).
While Obotala was having fun, all the responsibility fell on Odudawa. Having nothing at hand except chicken and sand, Odudawa nevertheless set to work. His principle was the following: he took sand from a cup, poured it onto the Earth, and then let the chicken run around in the sand and trample it thoroughly.
After carrying out several such simple manipulations, Odudawa created the land of Lfe or Lle-lfe. This is where Odudawa's story ends, and Obotala appears on the stage again, this time completely drunk - the party was a great success.
And so, being in a state of divine alcoholic intoxication, the son of Olorun set about creating us humans. It turned out very badly for him, and he created disabled people, dwarfs and freaks. Having sobered up, Obotala was horrified and quickly corrected everything by creating normal people.
According to another version, Obotala never recovered, and Odudawa also made people, simply lowering us from the sky and at the same time assigning himself the status of ruler of humanity.
3. Aztec "War of the Gods"
According to Aztec myth, there was no primordial Chaos. But there was a primary order - an absolute vacuum, impenetrably black and endless, in which some in a strange way lived the Supreme God - Ometeotl. He had a dual nature, possessing both feminine and masculine, was kind and at the same time evil, was both warm and cold, truth and lies, white and black.
He gave birth to the remaining gods: Huitzilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca and Xipe Totec, who, in turn, created giants, water, fish and other gods.
Tezcatlipoca ascended to the heavens, sacrificing himself and becoming the Sun. However, there he encountered Quetzalcoatl, entered into battle with him and lost to him. Quetzalcoatl threw Tezcatlipoca from the sky and became the Sun himself. Then, Quetzalcoatl gave birth to people and gave them nuts to eat.
Tezcatlipoca, still harboring a grudge against Quetzalcoatl, decided to take revenge on his creations by turning people into monkeys. Seeing what happened to his first people, Quetzalcoatl flew into a rage and caused a powerful hurricane that scattered the vile monkeys throughout the world.
While Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoc were at war with each other, Tialoc and Chalchiuhtlicue also turned into suns in order to continue the cycle of day and night. However, the fierce battle between Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca affected them too - then they too were thrown from heaven.
In the end, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoc stopped their feud, forgetting past grievances and creating new people - the Aztecs - from the dead bones and blood of Quetzalcoatl.
2. Japanese “World Cauldron”
Japan. Again Chaos, again in the form of an ocean, this time as dirty as a swamp. In this ocean-swamp, magical reeds (or reeds) grew, and from this reeds (or reeds), like our children from cabbage, gods were born, a great many of them. All of them together were called Kotoamatsukami - and that’s all that is known about them, for as soon as they were born, they immediately hastened to hide in the reeds. Or in the reeds.
While they were hiding, new gods appeared, including Ijinami and Ijinagi. They began to stir the ocean until it thickened, and from it the land was formed - Japan. Ijinami and Ijinagi had a son, Ebisu, who became the god of all fishermen, a daughter, Amaterasu, who became the Sun, and another daughter, Tsukiyomi, who became the Moon. They also had one more son, the last - Susanoo, who, for his violent temper, received the status of the god of wind and storms.
1. Lotus flower and “Om-m”
Like many other religions, Hinduism also features the concept of the world emerging from the void. Well, as if out of nowhere, there was an endless ocean in which a giant cobra swam, and there was Vishnu, who slept on the cobra’s tail. And nothing more.
Time passed, days followed each other one after another, and it seemed that it would always be like this. But one day, everything around was filled with a sound that had never been heard before - the sound of “Om-m”, and the previously empty world was overwhelmed with energy. Vishnu awoke from sleep, and Brahma appeared from the lotus flower at his navel. Vishnu ordered Brahma to create the world, and in the meantime he disappeared, taking with him a snake.
Brahma, sitting in the lotus position on a lotus flower, set to work: he divided the flower into three parts, using one to create Heaven and Hell, another to create Earth, and the third to create heaven. Brahma then created animals, birds, people and trees, thus creating all living things.
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Modern people are unlikely to believe in myths and legends. However, despite the many reliable facts available, the legends still do not lose their popularity. Each guide uses the most bright stories to attract the attention of listeners. After all, legends evoke a feeling of surprise and admiration, especially when the topic concerns unique and unlike anything else places.
Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland
Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland. Although scientists claim that the Giant's Causeway was formed as a result of an ancient volcanic eruption, there is a legend about the Celtic hero Finn McCool, who decided to fight the one-eyed giant Goll. To do this, he drove many columns into the bottom of the Irish Sea, which formed a kind of bridge. Having worked hard, the hero lay down to rest, and in the meantime Goll himself crossed the bridge to Ireland. Finn's wife, sensing danger, ran out to meet the giant and assured the monster that the sleeping Finn was a baby. Then she treated the uninvited guest to flatbreads in which the frying pans were hidden, and her husband to ordinary ones. The first one broke his teeth, and the second one ate his portion without even wincing. Frightened Goll, seeing the power of such a child, imagined his father and fled from the country, breaking the bridge behind him.
Palace complex Forbidden City in Beijing
This palace complex is considered the most extensive of its kind - 720 thousand m². If you went back in time, you wouldn't be able to get inside without losing your head. Today, everyone has the opportunity to visit here and learn the legends that envelop this place. One of the most popular says that Emperor Zhu Di dreamed of four watchtowers that had never been seen before. Having woken up, he ordered that the structures taken in the dream be erected in three months at the corners of the walls of the Forbidden City. In case of failure to comply with the order, the builders faced the death penalty. After a month, the chief architect was unable to develop a construction plan. Out of despair, he went for a walk around the city, during which he came across a seller of cages with grasshoppers. For fun, he bought one of the cages and was amazed. It was her design that was the ideal model of towers. The Emperor was more pleased than ever with the result; the old man selling grasshoppers turned out to be the god of carpenters, Lu Ban.
Avenue of the Baobabs, Madagascar
Alley of Baobabs, Madagascar. The island is famous not only for lemurs, but also for giant trees. The Alley of Baobabs is located in its western part. According to one legend, one day God was in a bad mood and a baobab came across his hand. Spilling out his anger, he uprooted the tree and inserted it back into the ground, crown down.
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls. The facility is located on the border between the United States and Canada. The guides' favorite legend is that of the Maiden of the Mist; According to one version, the daughter of a Seneca tribe leader named Lelawala was chosen as a sacrifice to a god who lived in the depths of the waterfall. In this way, the inhabitants of the tribe wanted to appease the angry god who was poisoning the water. The selfless girl voluntarily went in a canoe to meet death, but she was saved by the god Hanu, who told about a terrible serpent that settled in the river and was the cause of all troubles. Lelavala returned to the village and told her father about the monster. Gathering warriors, the leader entered into battle with the serpent and defeated him.
Great Sphinx, Egypt
The sculpture, overlooking the Giza plateau, is considered one of the oldest surviving to this day. It represents a figure lying on the sand with the body of a lion and the head of a man. Story Great Sphinx shrouded in many legends and speculations. One of the most popular is the legend of Crown Prince Thutmose, the son of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Queen Tiya. One day, while hunting in the desert, Thutmose recalled his guards to pray alone at the pyramids. Tired of the midday sun, he lay down to rest in the shadow of the Sphinx, which at that time was shoulder-deep in sand. However, the statue came to life and spoke to the man. She told Thutmose about the future reign and ordered him to clean his paws of sand. Then she looked at the prince with huge bright eyes and he lost consciousness. Having woken up, the heir swore an oath to fulfill the request. Having become Pharaoh Thutmose IV, he ordered the statue to be dug up and a granite stele installed.
Great Wall of China
One of the most romantic and heartbreaking legends about the construction of the Great Wall of China is the legend of Meng Jiang Nu. Living next door were two married couples named Meng and Jiang, who had no children. One day, Wife Jiang planted a lagenaria, which sent its vine through the wall to the neighbors. Over time, the plant produced a harvest in the form of a huge pumpkin. Friendly neighbors decided to divide it in half. After cutting the fruit open, they found a child inside. The girl was named Meng Jiang Nyu and began to be raised together. She grew up to be a real beauty, the likes of which the world has never seen; She married Fan Xiliang, who was hiding from the government, which forced all young people to build the Great Wall of China. The happiness of the young did not last long; Fanya Silyan was found and forcibly sent to a construction site. The girl waited for her beloved for a whole year without receiving any news. Then she went in search of him, but they were in vain. No one knew where her husband was, and it was later discovered that he died of exhaustion and was buried in the wall. Meng Jiang Nu, unable to relieve her pain, cried for three days and three nights. Part of the wall she was standing against collapsed. The emperor intended to punish the widow for the damage, but when he saw her beautiful face, he proposed marriage. Meng Jiang Nu agreed, but on the condition that she bury her ex-husband properly. The emperor complied with the demand, but after this Meng Jiang Nu committed suicide by drowning herself in the sea.
Volcano Etna, Sicily
Volcano Etna, Sicily. The volcano is one of the highest and most active in Europe. Throughout its history, it has erupted more than 200 times. In 1669, Etna's eruption lasted four months, destroying 12 villages. According to legend, this eruption was caused by none other than the hundred-headed monster Typhon (son of Gaia), who was imprisoned by Zeus inside Etna. Every time Typhon was angry, there was an earthquake and eruption.
Mount Fuji on the island of Honshu, Japan
The mountain is considered one of the most recognizable natural attractions in the country. The object is a popular topic in Japanese art; it can be found in songs, movies, and, of course, legends and myths. One of the legends tells about a married couple who lived near Mount Fuji. The husband was a bamboo collector. One day, while cutting raw materials, he found a girl the size of a thumb in the bamboo. Rejoicing, the couple took the child into their care, since they did not have children of their own. Then, continuing his work, the man discovered a gold bar in the bamboo. The suddenly rich family lived happily. The girl, who was named Kaguya-hime, grew up to be a beautiful girl. Many tried to win her hand, even the emperor himself, but the beauty refused everyone, wanting to return to where she came from - to the Moon. One day during a full moon, Luna's subjects finally came to Kaguya-hime to take her home. The girl left the emperor a gift in the form of the elixir of life and a letter. He, in turn, ordered the gifts to be taken to the mountain and burned, since he did not want to live forever without love. So the flame of the elixir and the letters turned Mount Fuji into a volcano.
Every nation has beautiful and amazing legends. They are varied in topic: legends about the exploits of heroes, stories about the origin of the names of geographical objects, scary stories about supernatural beings and novelistic tales about lovers.
Definition of the term
A legend is an unreliable account of an event. It is very similar to the myth and can be considered its approximate analogue. But legend and myth still cannot be called completely identical concepts. If we are talking about myth, then there are fictional heroes who have nothing to do with reality. The legend allows at its core real events, later supplemented or embellished. Since many fictitious facts are added to them, for reliable scientists legends are not accepted.
If we take the classical meaning of the word as a basis, then a legend is a legend set out in artistic form. Such legends exist among almost all nations.
The best legends of the world - they will be discussed in the article.
Types of legends
1. Oral legends are the most ancient type. They spread through wandering storytellers.
2. Written traditions - recorded oral stories.
3. Religious legends - stories about events and persons from church history.
4. Social legends - all other legends that are not related to religion.
5. Toponymic - explaining the origin of the names of geographical objects (rivers, lakes, cities).
6. Urban legends - newest look, which has become widespread these days.
In addition, there are many more varieties of legends, depending on the plot that underlies them - zootropomorphic, cosmogonic, etiological, eschatonic and heroic. There are very short legends and long narratives. The latter are usually associated with a story about the heroic achievements of a person. For example, the legend about the hero Ilya Muromets.
How did legends arise?
WITH Latin language legenda translates as “that which must be read.” The history of legends goes back a long way and has the same roots as myth. having no idea about the reasons for many things happening around him natural phenomena, composed myths. Through them he tried to explain his vision of the world. Later, based on mythology, amazing and interesting legends about heroes, gods and supernatural phenomena began to arise. Many of them have been preserved in the traditions of the peoples of the world.
Atlantis - the legend of the lost paradise
The best legends that arose in ancient times have survived to this day. Many of them still captivate the imagination of adventurers with their beauty and realism. The story of Atlantis says that in ancient times there was an island whose inhabitants achieved incredible heights in many sciences. But then it was destroyed by a strong earthquake and sank along with the Atlanteans - its inhabitants.
We must express gratitude to the great ancient Greek philosopher Plato and the no less revered historian Herodotus for the story of Atlantis. An interesting legend excited the minds of these outstanding scientists during their lifetime. ancient Greece. It has not lost its relevance even today. The search for the wonderful island, which sank thousands of years ago, continues to this day.
If the legend of Atlantis turns out to be true, this event will rank among the greatest discoveries of the century. After all, there was no less interesting legend about the mythical Troy, in the existence of which Heinrich Schliemann sincerely believed. In the end, he managed to find this city and prove that there was some truth in the ancient legends.
Founding of Rome
This interesting legend is one of the most famous in the world. The city of Rome arose in ancient times on the banks of the Tiber. The proximity of the sea made it possible to engage in trade, and at the same time the city was well protected from sudden attack sea robbers. According to legend, Rome was founded by the brothers Romulus and Remus, suckled by a she-wolf. By order of the ruler, they were supposed to be killed, but a careless servant threw the basket with the children into the Tiber, hoping that it would drown. She was picked up by a shepherd and became the foster father for the twins. Having matured and learned about their origin, they rebelled against a relative and took power from him. The brothers decided to found their own city, but during construction they quarreled, and Romulus killed Remus.
He named the built city after himself. The legend about the emergence of Rome belongs to toponymic legends.
The Legend of the Golden Dragon - The Path to the Heavenly Temple
Among the legends, stories about dragons are very popular. Many nations have them, but traditionally it is one of the favorite themes of Chinese folklore.
The legend of the golden dragon says that between heaven and earth there is a bridge that leads to the Heavenly Temple. It belongs to the Lord of the World. Only pure souls can enter it. Two golden dragons stand guard over the shrine. They sense an unworthy soul and can tear it apart when trying to enter the temple. One day one of the dragons angered the Lord, and he expelled him. The dragon descended to earth, met other creatures, and dragons of different stripes were born from him. The Lord became angry when he saw them and destroyed everyone except those not yet born. Having been born, they hid for a long time. But the Lord of the World did not destroy the new dragons, but left them on earth as his governors.
Treasures and Treasures
Legends about gold occupy not the last place in the list of popular legends. One of the most famous and beautiful myths of ancient Greece tells about the Argonauts' search for the Golden Fleece. For a long time, the legend about the treasure was considered simply a legend until Heinrich Schliemann found a treasure of pure gold at the excavation site of Mycenae, the capital of the legendary king.
Kolchak's Gold - another one famous legend. In the years Civil War ended up in my hands most Russia's gold reserves are about seven hundred tons of gold. It was transported in several trains. Historians know what happened to one train. He was captured by the rebel Czechoslovak Corps and handed over to the authorities (Bolsheviks). But the fate of the remaining two is unknown to this day. The precious cargo could have been dumped into a mine, hidden or buried in the vast area between Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk. All the excavations that have been carried out so far (starting with the security officers) have not yielded any results.
The Well to Hell and the Library of Ivan the Terrible
Russia also has its own interesting legends. One of them, which appeared relatively recently, is one of the so-called urban legends. This is a story about a well to hell. This name was given to one of the deepest man-made wells in the world - Kola. Its drilling began in 1970. The length is 12,262 meters. The well was created exclusively for scientific purposes. Now it is mothballed because there are no funds to maintain it in working condition. The legend appeared in 1989, when a story was heard on American television that sensors lowered to the very depths of the well recorded sounds similar to moans and screams of people.
Another interesting legend, which may well be true, speaks of a library of books, scrolls and manuscripts. The last owner of the precious collection was Ivan IV. It is believed that she was part of the dowry of the niece of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine.
Fearing that the precious books in wooden Moscow might be burned in a fire, she ordered the library to be placed in the basements under the Kremlin. According to the seekers of the famous Liberia, it may contain 800 volumes of priceless works of ancient and medieval authors. Now there are about 60 versions of where the mysterious library may be stored.
According to statistics from the British Royal Ghost Society, on average, at least 3 ghosts live on every square meter of the inhabited surface of the Earth. We managed to photograph some of them, and even talk to some of them. We present the most famous myths and legends.
10th place: Argonauts. The myth of the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece is very old. The very first recorded version of this myth is already a reworking of it, very far from the original story. Argonauts (literally "sailing on the Argo") - participants in the voyage on the ship "Argo" for the Golden Fleece to the country of Colchis. The journey of the Argonauts is described in most detail in the poem "Argonautica" by Apollonius of Rhodes.
9th place: Beowulf. The only existing manuscript of Beowulf dates back to around 1000. But the epic itself belongs, according to most experts, to end of VII or to the first third of the 8th century. Beowulf, a young knight from the Gaut people, having learned about the attack of the monster Grendel on the Danish king Hygelac, goes to help the king.
8th place: The legend of the fern flower. According to ancient folk legend Those who find a fern flower on the night of Ivan Kupala will find happiness. By the way, this myth exists not only in Russia. The legend of the fern flower was also believed in Lithuania and Estonia.
7th place: The Legend of King Arthur. Italian researcher Mario Moiraghi claims that the legendary sword of King Arthur really exists and is located in a rock in the Abbey of San Galgano in Italy. By the way, in his book, Moiragi states that the legend of King Arthur is Italian, although it was traditionally assumed that King Arthur and the Holy Grail were invented in northern Europe or in France.
6th place: Poltergeist. Some claim that poltergeists (“noisy spirit” in German) terrorized our ancestors for thousands of years. During a poltergeist, objects can appear and disappear out of nowhere, for example, a fire can pour or appear right out of thin air, pipes can burst, plugs can burn out, dishes can break, etc. Events of this kind usually last about 2-3 months, and only sometimes for several years.
5th place: Loch Ness Monster. The first mentions of Nessie begin in 565. A monster is described as resembling a giant toad, “only it wasn’t a toad.” Seventh-century Latin accounts of Nessie noted the appearance of a dragon "cum agenti fremitu", meaning "violently shaking",
4th place: No one has really seen Bigfoot yet, but Nepalese mountain tribes still believe in the existence of the terrible Mi-Go or “Abominable Snowman” lurking among the icy and mountain spiers.
3rd place: Flying Dutchmen. Legend has it that there once lived a Dutch captain, Van der Decken. He was a drunkard and a blasphemer. And then one day, near the Cape of Good Hope, his ship was caught in a strong storm. The navigator advised him to take refuge in one of the bays, but instead of heeding the advice, Van der Decken shot the navigator. This act angered God, and since then Van der Decken’s ship has been wandering the seas. With a rotten hull, it nevertheless holds up well on the waves. The damned captain recruits his crew from drowned men, and the more vile and vile their deeds in life were, the better.
2nd place: Bermuda Triangle. The literature on the Bermuda Triangle describes in detail 50 cases of disappearances of ships and aircraft. In almost all cases, ships and planes disappeared without a trace along with their crews. By the way, about 140 thousand people were nevertheless rescued from shipwrecks in the Bermuda Triangle area by the US security service.
1st place: Aliens. On at the moment Various organizations have recorded about 1-0 thousand evidence of UFO sightings and communication with aliens. The myth about aliens is especially widespread throughout the world: aliens from outer space who visited the earth a long time ago. Some people consider the ancient Egyptians and Maya Indians to be aliens. By the way, the image of a green man with big eyes and in silver clothing was recognized as the most common idea of aliens on Earth. The drawing of the “little green man” was sealed in one of the “time capsules”, which should be opened in three thousand years.
