Myth is a fake story referring to gods, demigods and human heroes in the nature and meaning of the universe. Myths compose the first creating of human imagination, and that is why all people on earth have myths. But the Greeks, who have the most myths, are considered to be the first mythmakers. Historians, philosophers and poets dealt with myths during the ancient years.

The first poets who occupied themselves with the registration of myths in the then spoken Greek language, were Homer in "Iliad" and "Odyssey" and Hesiod (750-700 BC) in his work "Theogony". Homer and Hesiod were not just poets. They were also members (mystics) of the clergy and therefore revealed many of the secrets registered by it. The clergy used to register stories, myths and events from a long time before in unintelligible languages to the people. Many times it mixed the events with the beliefs, desires and dreams, and other times intentionally covered or altered events. Real people who had made impressive work, were presented as mythical heroes like for instance the builders of ancient cities which are named by them; remains of these cities as well as inscriptions have been found (i.e. Troy). This way an insolvable confusion of historic and mythic figures, phenomena and gods was created. This is how we can explain the fact that, as seen below, there are different myths for the same people and events.

The most famous historian is Herodotus, who is aware of the religious and mythical portrayals of the civilized eastern people and compares and contrasts them to the Greek ones. As far as the philosophers are concerned, it' s worthy naming the stoics, who interpreted myths related to the gods as religious symbols or ones of natural meanings.

Later, during the Alexandrine times, Evimerus tried to alter mythology into history. He used to teach that both gods and myths referring to gods come from historical events. Evimerus (4^th-3^rd century BC) wrote that "gods" were not supernatural creatures but famous warriors who became legends and therefore "gods".

Studying the Greek myths that existed among the citizens in different places in Greece from 2000 BC and hence, we will discover many legends saying that many old heroes of Greece and other people of the Mediterranean, even gods, mythical and historical figures, leaders and kings of several areas of Greece came from the Atlanteans the generation of Titans.

The oral tradition (myths) about Atlas, Poseidon, Cronus, the Giants, the Cyclops, the Titans and their whole generation, the mermaids, the amazons and "gods" such as Zeus, Hermes, Athena etc. talk about their relation to a heaven, in the imagination of the ancient people, island all around earth, west in the ocean. This island was Atlantis. The Greeks and the most ancient people, having some memory of this great land and its history made many kings and heroes of it "gods". This occurred as many countries and cities were colonized and many people were civilized by the Atlanteans or others contacted them; this does not mean that there were not other civilized people at that time or previously.

The sinking of the metropolis (Atlantis) caused by a universal flood (this is referred to the traditions of many people in the same way) had a lot to do with this deification since the written documents were lost, most of the monuments and technical works were destroyed and so on. The universal flood did not affect in the same way all the places on earth; this is why some constructions were maintained in many places (i.e. the Pyramids). So a new generation of people and a new civilization emerged from the survivors.

The Atlantean conquerors that survived in the colonies losing the power of the metropolis that protected them assimilated with the natives. But they transmitted orally to the new generations the story of their island, the achievements of their leaders and the sinking. The story of the Atlanteans as well as their traditions became myths, connected with the traditions of the local people and many heroes of the Atlanteans were deified. We assume that the story of Atlantis is the key of the Greek mythology. Today the belief that the "gods" of Greece were human beings becomes strong. The tendency to attribute god qualities to great chiefs is deeply connected with the human nature. Herodotus (History book b) assures that the ministers of Thebes in Egypt showed him 341 giant statues of archbishops; each one represented a past generation and all of them covered a period of 11340 years. He was told that before these generations "gods lived among humans".

Zeus: The supreme deity of the Greek pantheon

The superior deity of the Greek pantheon. Zeus (or Dias) was the superior god of the ancient Greek, the "father of men and gods" according to Homer. He was the son of Cronus and Rhea and brother of Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter and Hera. He was Hera's husband as well.

When Rhea gave birth to a baby, Cronus grabbed it and swallowed it so as to avoid an oracle to happen according to which one of his children was going to dethrone him. Rhea in order to save the last son (Zeus) she was pregnant to goes to Crete (see Theogony 459) and there in a cave of mountain Dikti or Idi she delivered the child and gave it to the Nymphs Adrasteia and Idi and to the Courites. When she returned to her heavenly husband she gave him a stone in swaddling clothes and he swallowed it without any suspicion.

The ancient writers refer to Zeus' nutrition in many different ways. According to one version on mountain Dicte of Crete Zeus drank the milk of a goat named Amaltheia. The goat Amaltheia was a dreadful animal. She came from Sun and her look was so frightening that Titans could not put up with her. That is why they had asked Gaia to hide her in a den in the island of Crete. They took Zeus there. According to many others Amaltheia was a nymph; this is more believable.

According to Athineus Zeus was raised by doves. "They brought him ambrosia from the sides of the ocean. An eagle with sharp claws took the nectar every night from the source and brought it to him through the air. This is why Zeus after beating his father Cronus gave immortality to the eagle and made him a star. As far as the doves are concerned gave them the nice duty to announce the seasons. ". According to others the care of the raise of Cronus' son was assigned to the two daughters of the king of Crete Mellitus, Adrasteia and Melissa.

The Courites danced war dances around the infant, when it cried, hitting their swords on their shields so as not the crying to be heard. They were his protectors. Zeus grew up with many precautions, hidden in the mountains of Crete. Then he had to fight with his father, Cronus, beat him and make him spit out all the children he had swallowed so far. As many were saying Zeus castrated Cronus, like Cronus had castrated his own father, Uranus. Then he released the Cyclops who made lighting for him and later the Hecatonchires. Having become strong with them and even more with Ocean's daughter, Styga, and her children, Violence and Cratos, Zelus and Victory, Zeus fought for ten whole years the Titans, the older "gods", who did not accept him as the leader. And when he threw them in Tartars, was in the need to fight the sons of Iapetus, Atlas and Menoetius, Prometheus and Epimetheus. Then he sentenced Atlas to hold forever the dome and nailed Prometheus in Caucasus. And when the Giants came to take revenge for what happened to the Titans he beat them as well with the help of Poseidon, Athena and Hercules. In the end, he fought with Typhoon, and unbeatable monster, offspring of Tartarus and Earth or Hera. At that time Zeus was in great danger because Typhoon rolled himself with his tails around Zeus' body, cut his neurons and threw him half dead in a precipice. Then winged Hermes helped him stealing the nerves and giving them to Zeus, and Aegipanas stitched them again for him. So Zeus could feel his strength back again and discipline Typhoon.

As a recognized chief Zeus shared the world with his brothers. At the sharing Poseidon got the sea, Hades the underworld and Zeus got the shy and earth. So Zeus became the superior governor and restituted peace in the world, which he governed from the peaks of Olympus. But even then Zeus had problems. He coped with a conspiracy of Hera (his wife), Poseidon and Athena inside his own palace. He avoided being dethroned only with Thetis' action that brought from the depth of the ocean as a supporter of Zeus giant Briareus, respected by everyone. This conspiracy of the palace against Zeus was not the only hostile action of Hera, since according to some variations of the myths Hera had prompted the Titans against Zeus preferring as king of the gods Cronus or Atlas. She even had given birth to Typhoon to Destroy Zeus.

Myths attributed to Zeus many romances with goddesses and mortal women that usually caused Hera's criminal jealousy. According to these Zeus changed into animals, birds, rain, etc., and had intercourse with the ones he fell in love with. So he gave birth to numerous gods, demigods and heroes. That's why most king generations of ancestry were proud of coming from him. His symbols of reign were the lightning, eagle, oak tree and mace. He was worshiped everywhere in Greece. But he was particularly worshiped in Athens, where was build the famous Olympion was built, in Olympia, where the Olympic Games were held on his honor, in Dodona, in Crete, in Ithomi, etc. The Romans called him Jupiter and thought of him above all other Italian gods. Some adjectives attributed to him were stygious (infernal), pluvius (rainy), uvidus (vigorous) and other.

In art, that inspired a lot, he was usually pictured sitting on his throne holding the lightning. Two of his most famous ancient statues were "Olympius Zeus" by Phidias and "Ithomates Zeus" by Ageladus.

Historic analysis - Comments

Zeus as a son of Titan Cronus and Rhea came form the Titans. Although his parents lived according to the Greek mythology somewhere in the ocean, in the island of Makaron, it was necessary that Rhea delivered him in Crete where he was raised by nymphs Adrasteia and Idi or according to others nymph Amaltheia. The Courites protected him with their weapons (swords and shields). But on the mountain where he lived he ate among other things ambrosia or drank nectar. Ambrosia during ancestry was the food of gods and nectar (that came from ambrosia) was their drink. An eagle or dove brought him every night ambrosia and nectar from a source in the sides of the ocean through the air. Could this eagle or dove be a flying device that traveled every night to the island of Makaron (see Atlantis) to bring to the baby food and other supplies that did not exist in Crete? Besides, let's not forget that the newborn Zeus was a "god", that is his blood was royal and his mother raised him to be a king. Zeus after dethroning his father released his brothers from prison ("Cronus ate his children" the myths say "but being gods they were alive"). To establish his reign he had to fight the other Titans in a fratricide, terrible battle of the Titans (Titanomachy). After beating the Titans the new "gods" were suddenly attacked by the Giants who doubted their reign. A new circle of terrible war started, Gigantomachy, in which the new "gods" won again.

Greek mythology says that Zeus built his palace and governed from the top of Olympus (Thessaly) although he grew up in Crete. Despite the fact that he came from the generation of the Titans who lived in the ocean and his father and grandfather (Uranus) governed the world from their palace in the islands of Eden of Makaron, he chose the top of a mountain (not a mountain of Crete where he grew up but a mountain in Thessaly) to live and govern along with the other gods.

This is a real change of the home of the Kingdom of gods, registered in myths. Or did the ancient Greeks or Pregreeks later adjusted myths according to their tradition having them live in their own village? Or is it that the Atlantians who survived the great cataclysm, Deucalion (nephew of Atlas) and his family who survived the destruction of Thessaly moved there his worship (the fact that Deucalion became the king of Thessaly matches this version). All these are under investigation.

However, whichever of the three is true, myths admit that Zeus, although he reigned from Olympus, he contacted his friends the Giants, Cyclops or Titans who lived in the ocean and helped him (for instance Giant Vriires came from the ocean to help him cope with Hera's coup.

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The islands of the blessed or Elysian fields

The Elysian Fields and the Isles of the blessed (or Fortunate Isles) in the imagination of the Ancient were identical, except that in the first case they are plains and in the second case these are about blessed islands (or for only one island). They were heavenly places on the far side of the earth, westward, near the ocean, which the auras caressed or the gentle breathes of Zephyros that were coming from the ocean, without either freezing or warming them, much. These islands were governed by Rhadamanthus, who performed the commandments of Cronus.

In these heavenly places, the beloved heroes of the ancient Greeks went when they died. There, the "gods" gave them immortality and spent a carefree life, without suffering neither snow nor heavy winters or downpours. The prominent heroes who went there were enjoying everything that the common people could not enjoy on the earth. They spent their hours without any worry about their livelihood, they are exercising, running on their horses, playing pessos, accompanying their songs with the guitar and of course they all eat together crowned. They sit together - chatting and chatting for hours in a fragrant atmosphere, which smells pleasantly from the incense burning over the altars of the gods.

From the sources we know we learn that the Elysian hosted Menelaus, Cadmus, Peleus, Diomedes, Lycus (who was the son of Poseidon and Pleiada Celaeno) and Achilles.

In that blessed place the sun shines day and night without darkness. The land here gives its fruit three times a year. All around the state there are meadows and forests of towering cedar trees and trees with golden fruits. The rivers run in winter - summer quietly without overflowing and polluting the crops, not even drying out.

Gorgon-Medusa

Medusa was a horrible monster who instead of hair had snakes, huge teeth like wild boar, bronze hands, and gold fins to fly. Her eyes were so frightening that they petrified whoever dared to look at them. It was one of the Gorgons, a race of women for which Hesiod wrote that they were living beyond the ocean, on the edge of the earth, near Night.

Diodorus Siculus claims that the Gorgons were warlike people, just like the Amazons, and they lived where the Atlanteans themselves. Medusa Gorgon was the leader of this people. Medusa-Gorgon and Poseidon gave birth to giant Chrysaor, who lived beyond the ocean. Later, Chrysaor became the king of the red place, the island of Erythia of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Greek tradition refers to the Perseus campaign in the northwest of Africa, where the Atlas Mountains is located. There, he faced the hostile army of the Gorgons and he conquered the queen of Medusa Gorgon and he decapitated her.

Ambrosia

In ancient times ambrosia was called the food of Greek gods, as nectar was called their drink. From the taste of these two or even only the immortality of the gods of Olympia was based. Our old traditions show even mortals to become immortal only when they are anointed with ambrosia, as was the case with Demophon, Achilles and others. On the other hand, the word itself does not reveal anything other than immortality, some writers treat it in some cases instead of immortality.

Ambrosia is sometimes put on the importance of ointment to treat wounds or cleanser. For example, Hera cleanses her skin with ambrosia make it look nicer.

But other writers want ambrosia as a source in the Garden of Hesperides. This tradition shows that it is the same place where, according to Homer (Odyssey, H, 62), the pigeons brought Ambrosia to Zeus during his infancy and were obliged to pass by flying from the Stone Plates, which were rocks in the west of Scylla and Charybdis (note: it is considered to be the Sicilian strait).