Greek Literature and Greek Mythology

 In the period of the Greeks, when Greeks used to rule over Britain, there were Dark Ages. The literature of that era was not prominent as most of the work was in oral form. They passed stories from generation to generation. So, most of the work was in oral form. They were polytheists, they believed in many gods and goddesses. This mythology is known as Greek mythology. There was no proper literature in written form. In society they are involved in wars, women played the role of peacemaker and the empire was cruel. There was chaos in the society. 

Although the literature was in oral form, there were some works and poets. Homer was the famous poet of that era. His renowned work was Illiad and Odyssey. It was heard that Homer was blind and most of his work was in oral form. In his poetry, Illiad emphasized the story of the Trojan War. The main characters were Hector, Paris, Hellen, and Achilles. This story was based on the beauty of Hellen. The most famous scene of this story is the Trojan Horse and the tragedy of the Greek empire, how they invaded Troy. The other poem of Homer was Odyssey, which emphasized the journey of a warrior from Troy to Ithaca. This journey was completed in 10 years. 

The religious aspect of the Greeks was that they believed in many gods. This belief is known as Greek mythology. Greek people were called as polytheists. A polytheist is a person who believes in more than one god. 

Some important figures of Greek mythology are given below:

  • Zeus had the power of sky and thunder
  • Hera was the wife of Zeus 
  • Minerva was the god of wisdom 
  • Aphrodite was the goddess of beauty 
  • Cupid was a god of love 
  • Persephone was the goddess of winter 
  • Apollo was the god of the sun and music
  • Hades was the god of hell and darkness.
  • Dionysus was the god of wine and fertility.
  • Poseidon or Neptune was the god of the sea, horses, and earthquakes.
  • Tiresias was a prophet who was blind and could see the future. 
  • 9 muses were responsible for the art of literature, knowledge, and beauty. 
There were 3 graces which were

  1. Graces of joy 
  2. Graces of  happiness 
  3. Graces of brilliance 

All of them enhanced the beauty of life.

To sum up, in the Dark Ages there was no civilization. There was no proper literature. The recorded work is so little because most of the work was in oral form. The poets told the stories of warriors, they were fond of adventures and journeys. They were brave and courageous.

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