How many greek mythology stories are there

The Hydra was eventually defeated by the Greek hero Heracles. King Eurystheus provided Heracles with 12 different tasks — each one seemingly more impossible than the last. After slaying the Nemean lion, Heracles was tasked with slaying the nine-headed Hydra. The battle between Heracles and the Hydra monster was a challenging one.

Eventually, Heracles killed Carcinus by stomping on him with his foot. He then defeated the Hydra by chopping off its immortal head, and burying it beneath a rock. The Minotaur was the mythological creature that lived in the labyrinth of Knossos, on the Greek island of Crete.

He was half man, half bull. Every year, dozens of Athenians were sent to Knossos as sacrifices to be eaten by the monster. King Aegeus was ruling over the city of Athens at the time. He eventually decided that he was tired of his people being gobbled up by the monster and declared that enough was enough. He subsequently sent his son Theseus off to the island of Crete to kill the Minotaur.

An agreement was made between King Aegean and his son. If his son was to happen to die in battle, black sails would be raised on the boat. Theseus travelled to Crete and successfully slew the Minotaur. However, caught up in the celebration of his victory, he completely forgot about the agreement with his father about the sails. Theseus and his crew sailed back to Athens, blissfully unaware that their ship was sporting black sails.

His father, King Aegeus nervously stood on the southernmost tip of Greece the site today which is home to the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion. When he caught a glimpse of the ship with its black sails blowing in the wind, he wrongly assumed that his son was dead. Overcome with grief, he lept off the cliff at Sounio to his death in the sea below.

Legend has it, this is how the Aegean sea gained its name. Do you have any additional questions about these Greek mythology stories? Alternatively, do you need help planning a trip to Greece? I have lived in Athens for the past three years.

I am happy to assist you however I am able to do so. From their perch, they ruled every aspect of human life. Olympian gods and goddesses looked like men and women though they could change themselves into animals and other things and were—as many myths recounted—vulnerable to human foibles and passions.

Greek mythology does not just tell the stories of gods and goddesses, however. Human heroes—such as Heracles, the adventurer who performed 12 impossible labors for King Eurystheus and was subsequently worshipped as a god for his accomplishment ; Pandora, the first woman, whose curiosity brought evil to mankind; Pygmalion, the king who fell in love with an ivory statue; Arachne, the weaver who was turned into a spider for her arrogance; handsome Trojan prince Ganymede who became the cupbearer for the gods; Midas, the king with the golden touch; and Narcissus, the young man who fell in love with his own reflection—are just as significant.

Many of these creatures have become almost as well known as the gods, goddesses and heroes who share their stories. The characters, stories, themes and lessons of Greek mythology have shaped art and literature for thousands of years. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. In around B. Most of all, Pericles paid artisans to build temples In the year B. It was the first known democracy in the world.

This system was comprised of Psyche, a beautiful maiden, personifies the human soul. In fact, she is the symbol of the soul purified by passions and misfortunes and who is, from now on, prepared to enjoy eternal happiness.

Leto in ancient myths of Greece was the representation of motherhood. Like every mother, she suffered a lot to give birth to her children and then to protect and raise them up in the proper way.

Leto suffered many misfortunes because of her relationship with Zeus, which caused Hera's jealousy and cursed Leto not to find a stable place on Earth to deliver her children. That is how Delos emerged, which was believed to be a floating island.

Leto gave birth to Artemis and Apollo there and since then Delos became the sacred place of god Apollo. The story of Pandora came into prominence in "Theogeny", the epic poem of Hesiod, written circa BC. The myth dates back to the first centuries of humanity, just after the Titanomachy, the Great War between the Titans and the Olympians.

It is the story of a woman who opened the box where all the evils of the world were kept inside and thus she released every mischief for humans. The ancient people of Greece used to explain things they couldn't understand with myths. That is how they explained the creation of the world, natural phenomena or destructions or the existance of powers that could surpass human nature.

That way, when they were looking at the sky and were observing all these stars, they would wonder what had caused these stars and constellations to exist.

In fact, many myths have been created to explain the existence of stars. The story of Callisto is such a myth, created for the sake of two beautiful constellations, the Ursa Major and the Ursa Minor. Adonis was the deity of plants and rebirth. He is known as a god who was for ever youthful, the one who would live and die only to be reborn again.

The cult of Adonis comprised of women, as it is evident from the 2,year-old remains found on the island of Lesvos. The Athenian women planted the "gardens of Adonis" where the seeds would spring to life and then die to be reborn a few months later.

The Festival of Adonis was celebrated in mid-summer when fennel and lettuce were harvested. According to the ancient myths, the Sun was put in a chariot and everyday God Helios would drive the chariot all along the sky.

That is how the Sun would rise and set. Phaethon was the son the god Helios who secretly took the chariot one day to drive it. However, as he was young and inexperienced, he lost control of the horses and got killed.

Asclepius was originally a mortal and later became the god of medicine and healing, according to the ancient Greeks. The myth of Asclepius is connected to the origins of medical science and the healing arts.

His cult was particularly popular all over Greece and people from all Mediterranean countries used to come to his temples, named Asclepieion, to be cured. Remains of these temples can be seen till today. His story is pretty interesting and is actually a story of punishment. This charming myth talks about the platonic love of god Apollo for the beautiful nymph Daphne.

It is said that Daphne was the first love of Apollo but unfortunately the girl never responded to his love. She prayed to be turned into a tree, so that god could not seduce her.

Indeed, she was turned into a laurel tree. Since then, Apollo didn't forget his lost love and made laurel his sacred plant. Note that Pythia, the priestess in the oracle of Delphi, was chewing leaves of laurel to communicate with Apollo and give her prophesies to people. The touching story of Alcyone and Ceyx has given a common phrase, the Halcyon Days. What significance did myths have on the Greek people?

Were Roman myths based on Greek myths? Who created Greek Myths? When was The Greek Myths created? How much greek myths were there? How old are the Greek myths? When did the Greek myths originate? How old are Greek myths?

What did many Greek myths explain when told in order? How many Greek myths and legends are there? Is Hera in any Greek myths or legends? Why were Greek myths important and what did they explain? Are there any myths about sirens? Why are there no greek myths or roman myths and ledgens? How many titans were there in Greek myths? What were the main characters of Greek Myths? What are all the Greek myths and has anyone wrote every Greek myth? What became of Greek goddess Hera according to Ancient Greek myths?

What was the point of greek myths? Did Greece have myths? Why can many mythological characters be referred to by either Greek or Roman names?