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Volume 3: A blow of destiny, the king appears Chapter 96: Theogony

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    Since Zeus gave Athena 'rebirth', this became the reason why she was not 'replaced' by the next generation of gods, but Athena still existed as a god who was not controlled by Zeus.  This is why the city of Athens exists on Mount Olympus.

    Greek Gods: See Ancient Greek Religion, the Twelve Olympian Gods and the list of Greek gods and characters.

    According to the mythology of the classical period, after the collapse of the Titans' rule, a new system of gods was established.  The most important ruling class among the Greek gods were the Twelve Olympian gods, who lived on Mount Olympus and were directly ruled by Zeus.

    In addition to the twelve main gods of Olympus, the Greeks also worshiped a large number of folk gods, such as the half-human and half-goat Pan, the nymphs (the goddess of nature, including Naiades, the spring nymph, Drya  In addition, there are gods representing the dark power of hell, such as the Erinyes (the three Furies).

    In order to praise these ancient Greek gods, poets created Homeric Hymns (including 33 poems in total).  The Hungarian epic scholar Gregory Nagy believes that the Homeric epics are a prelude (to the "Theogony"), each citing a god.

    In a large number of mythological stories and legends describing Greek mythology, the appearance of the gods is the same as that of the Greek nation, and they have perfect desires that do not exist in nature.

    ?According to Walter Burkett, these are Greek anthropomorphic characterizations, in which the Greek gods appear in human form rather than abstract, purely idealistic concepts.  In addition to their superior appearance, the ancient Greek gods also possessed a large number of magical powers; the most obvious of which was that they were not susceptible to disease and could only be injured under very specific circumstances.

    The Greeks believed that the most outstanding characteristic of their gods was immortality; this concept of immortality meant the eternal life gained by the gods through nectar and fairy wine.

    Each god has his own genealogy and follows different interests.  Master a unique expertise and have a unique personality; but because they are portrayed by people from different periods and cultural backgrounds, in the eyes of modern people, sometimes these gods are full of contradictions.

    When poets, prayers, or believers mention these gods, they often use a combination of the god's real name and pseudonym to refer to a certain characteristic of the god, such as "s" for "as the head of the muse"  'Apollo'.  In addition, Hunying can also represent a special regional appearance of the god.

    Most gods have special representative meanings. For example, Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty.  Ares is the god of war, Hades is the god of the underworld, and Athena is the goddess of wisdom and courage.

    Some gods, such as Apollo and Dionysus, had complex personalities and represented different abilities.  Others, such as Hestia (Greek meaning 'health') and Helios (Greek meaning 'sun'), only had one personality and one or two abilities.

    The most impressive Greek temples were built primarily for the gods who were the focus of Panhellenic beliefs.  Nonetheless, in different regions, different Greek peoples had different beliefs about their main gods.

    Many cities also use the most famous gods as their patron saints, and describe myths specifically for the gods based on the city's cultural foundation. Therefore, some myths are only spread in a small area.  It¡¯s the age of heroes.  Integrated into the belief in gods was the belief in heroes (or demi-gods).

    Between the time when the gods existed alone and the time when humans were in conflict, there was a transitional period in which the gods and humans communicated with each other.

    In this period, the mixture of gods and humans was more seductive than in subsequent periods.  Most of the stories come from Ovid's Metamorphoses, and these stories are often divided into two groups: love and punishment.

    Love stories often depict a noble woman being seduced, raped, or committed adultery by a male god.  Their descendants are often the source of great heroes in later generations.

    These stories often suggested that sexual relations between gods and humans should be stopped, as they often had tragic endings.

    Only in rare instances do female gods interact with male humans, such as in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite.  Aphrodite fell into the arms of Anchises and gave birth to Aeneas.

    And stories with punishment as the theme are described by borrowing or fictionalizing some important cultural products.  For example, Prometheus stole fire from the gods; Tantalus stole nectar and fairy wine from Zeus's table and gave them to his subjects, exposing the secrets of the gods; Prometheus or Lyca  Wen used deceitful sacrifices; Demeter taught agriculture and mysteries to Triptolemus or Mathias invented the orus to have a musical contest with Apollo.??

    Ian Morris believes that the adventures of Prometheus are "part of the history of the gods and humans."  'An unsigned papyrus fragment dated to the third century AD vividly depicts Dionysus' punishment of the Thracian king Lycurgus for being too late to acknowledge the new wine.  God, so he received terrible punishment in his later life.

    This story of Dionysus¡¯s journey to Thrace to establish faith in him is also the subject of a tragedy by Aeschylus.

    In another tragedy, Euripides's The Dionysians, King Pentheus of Thebes is also severely punished by Dionysus for being disrespectful to the gods and secretly spying on Dionysus.  A female believer of Sri Lanka, Maenads.

    In another story based on an ancient folklore, Demeter takes the form of an old woman named Dosso while searching for her daughter Persephone in her kingdom in Attica.  Eleusis received a very considerate welcome from King Cereus.

    In order to thank Cereus for his hospitality, Demeter decided to turn Demophon into a god, so she roasted the infant Demophon on the fire every day.

    But her work was not completed, because Demophon's mother Metanera accidentally saw Demeter setting her son on the fire and screamed in fear.  Demeter was very angry at this and lamented that this foolish human being could not understand the gift of the gods.

    The era when a large number of human heroes emerge is called the Heroic Age.  A large number of epic collections feature famous heroes or major events surrounding the families of these heroes, so the stories can be divided into different series.

    Kendoton thinks this is even a legend effect: we can trace the fate of some families through successive generations.

    When the belief in heroes began, the gods and heroes together formed the content of the memorial ceremony.  Compared with the Age of Gods, there has not been a complete roster recording all the heroes who appeared in the Age of Heroes; no new great gods have been produced, but heroes have continued one after another.  Another way in which belief in heroes differs from belief in gods is that belief in heroes is more regionally representative.

    Heracles¡¯ immortal deeds are considered the beginning of the Age of Heroes.  The Heroic Age included three major military events: the Argonauts' Crusade, the Battle of Leuctra, and the Trojan War.

    Some scholars believe that behind the complex myth about Hercules there is actually a real human prototype, who may be a chieftain of the Kingdom of Argos.

    Others believe that the story of Hercules is an allegory for the yearly passage of the sun through the zodiac signs.  Others point out that stories similar to Heracles have actually appeared in other cultures, and may have been compiled from heroic legends in some other regions.

    According to the most certain theory, Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmene and the grandson of Perseus.  The accomplished exploits of his fantastic du li, and the folktale themes contained in them, provided much material for popular legend.
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