The mission of this website is to provide well documented references for anyone wishing to further their knowledge and appreciation of Greek mythology.
The Greek myths are all that's left of the ancient Greek religion. About 1300 BCE, the residents of what we would call Greece and Asia Minor shared a common belief in a group of deities, which came to be known as the Olympians.
The distillation of the various regional beliefs into a coherent central religion was probably not as tidy and uniform as we would prefer, but it's fair say that the stories of the Olympians survived because they had the largest number of followers and, most importantly, the Olympians did not forbid or punish the pursuit of knowledge. Beauty, poetry, and creative activities were the blessings of the Immortals and were a vital part of the Greek tradition.
The Olympians were descended from the primal, self created gods, begining with Khaos. The Olympians were ruled by Zeus. He was the strongest and, as you will see, without him, the other Olympians would still be held captive inside their devious father, Kronos. The Olympians were only a small part of the family of Immortals that rule the earth and sky. The various rivers, mountains, and forces of nature were the 'bodies' of the Immortals and proper respect was always shown to insure a peaceful home and safe passage when traveling.
The Oldest myths can be traced to three main sources: Homer, Hesiod, and the Homeric Hymns, circa 750 BCE. The Greek myths are our window into the distant past, a view of a world that existed not only in the minds of the Greek poets but in the hearts of the noble and resilient natives of ancient Greece.
When did the religion of ancient Greece devolve from a viable belief system into a collection of fables, which have come to be labeled as myths?
At the time of Homer (circa 750 BCE) the Greek gods, goddesses, and heroes were absolutely real ... we can also deduce from Homer that at the time of the Trojan War (circa 1250 BCE), the gods and goddesses were a matter of fact and in no way mythical.
Herodotos (484–425 BCE) and Xenophon (434–355 BCE) wrote about the descendants of the gods and goddesses in no uncertain terms ... to these well traveled and educated men, the exploits of Herakles, Ieson, Theseus, and Perseus were a matter of historical fact and not the exploits of mythical folk heroes or symbolic archetypes.
It wasn't until the time of poets such as Aristophanes (427–382 BCE) that we start to get suggestions that true reverence for the gods and goddesses of old had been lost. The Immortals and their semi-human offspring had now become the subject of off-color jokes and disrespectful characterizations, which would never have been tolerated in times past. Despite his artistic jibes at the Immortals, I doubt seriously whether Aristophanes or the people who enjoyed his plays would have been so bold as to defile a temple or act inappropriately in a sanctuary ... the oracles and temples of the Immortals were still sacred to the people of Greece and commanded reverence.
By all accounts, Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE) was a very pious man ... his respect for the gods and goddesses was unwavering ... he performed sacrifices and consulted omen-priests prior to making important decisions ... his judgment was always tempered by signs from the Immortals. Alexander knew for a fact that he was directly descended from Herakles and Akhilleus. It was also widely believed that Alexander thought himself to be a direct descendant of Zeus-Ammon and thus not just distantly related to the Immortals but semidivine.
By the time the Romans supplanted the Greeks as the major power in the Mediterranean (circa 280 BCE), the Greek religion was simply recognized as an older, yet similar, variation of the newer Roman religion but it was by means "mythological."
When the Christian religion became the official religion of Rome (circa 337 CE), the older religions became "pagan" and the beliefs of their adherents were attributed to nothing more than the whimsical ignorance of a bygone age. We must remember that the Greeks understood the motion of the planets and reckoned time by the position of the constellations in the night sky ... they predicted eclipses and measured the earth with remarkable accuracy ... they were not ignorant or stupid. Even so, the new Christian religion ridiculed all previous religions and made adherence to the pagan beliefs hated and sometimes fatal.
The Dark Ages (circa 400–1000 CE) that followed the fall of Rome allowed the ancient Greek religion to slip into obscurity. Greek literature was preserved in monasteries financed by the same church that had previously tried to erase all evidence of its existence. Monastic students of the Greek language found a treasure trove in the works of Homer, Hesiod, and Xenophon. By preserving the Greek language, the scholars inadvertently preserved the gods and goddesses who were embedded in the literature.
With the coming of the Renaissance (circa 1450 CE), the Greek gods, goddesses, and heroes became the subject of countless pieces of art. Renaissance art had the twofold effect of breathing new life into the forgotten Immortals and at the same time rendering them unreal and idealistic.
It wasn't until Alexander Pope rewrote the Iliad and the Odyssey into English (1717 CE) that the Greek Immortals lost all their potency. Pope transliterated almost all Greek names into what he presumed to be their Latin equivalents ... Zeus became Jove ... Hera became Juno ... Ares became Mars ... Odysseus became Ulysses and so on. I feel sure that Alexander Pope did not intend to belittle or diminish the sanctity of the Greek Immortals, he was simply typical of his time in that he saw no difference between the Greek and Roman pantheons ... to Mr. Pope, Zeus was identical to Jove (Jupiter) ... since they were both "mythological" deities, their names were interchangeable. I personally believe that the publication of Alexander Pope's versions of the Iliad and the Odyssey was the defining moment when the ancient Greek religion became mythology.
From that point on, the ancient Greek religion was universally thought of as "mythology" ... the exploits of the Greek Immortals became folk tales ... the divinity of the Greek pantheon became imaginary and the children of the Immortals became mere humans with exaggerated reputations.
This web site is entitled Greek Mythology because that is the common designation of anything dealing with the ancient Greek religion. When I began this site over twenty years ago, I too was under the delusion that the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece were "mythical" beings but after an in depth study of the subject matter, I have now come to realize that the term "Mythology" is completely inappropriate ... the Immortals of ancient Greece were as real as any modern deity.
I sincerely hope you will embrace Greek Mythology with the understanding that we're not dealing with dusty old folk tales but instead a collection of historical accounts documenting a religion that gave solace and enlightenment to the inhabitants of ancient Greece.
The spellings that appear on this website reflect what I believe are the best ways to render the Greek names into English.
Transliterating Greek proper nouns using the Latin alphabet is called Romanization. Formal international guidelines have been established regulating Romanization, but those recommendations only apply to the transliteration of place names in official government documents. Scholarly and literary translators employ aspects of Romanization rules, yet the translators also liberally intersperse their personal preferences. The resulting hodgepodge can be daunting.
It has been the custom of translators to render the Greek Κ and Χ as C and Ch, respectively. In many cases, this practice alters the pronunciation dramatically. I believe a more correct way would be to render the Κ as K and the Χ as KH. For example, we have the goddess Kirke instead of Circe, and the Centaur Kheiron instead Cheiron. This might seem confusing at first, but I believe these adaptations will become commonplace in the very near future.
Apocopation—shortening words by chopping off the final syllable(s)—is often used in the transliteration of Greek names. For example: the name of the hero Meleagros is often rendered as Meleager ... Trojan King Priamos is often called Priam. Apocopation is not a new. The renowned geographer Strabo (early first century CE) mentioned the names of several Greek cities that had been subjected to apocopation. The use of apocopation is not standardized and when encountered, should be accepted and indulged. Apokopo in Greek means "to hack off."