Greek sea god. Which Greek god are you? Ancient Greek gods and goddesses

Mythology of Ancient Greece Gods HadesAntaeusApolloAresAsclepiusBoreasBacchus (one of the names of Dionysus)Helios (Helium)HermesHephaestusHypnosDionysus (Bacchus)ZagreusZeusZephyrusIacchusCronosMomMorpheusNereusNotOceanPanPlutoPlutosPontPoseidonProteusThanatosTitansTyphonTritonChaosC yclopsEvre

The art of ancient Greece and ancient Rome Aphrodite. 1st–2nd centuries Attic kouros Around 600 BC e. Marble. Height 193.4 Kouros are statues of young athletes or young warriors, common in the archaic art of Greece. They were installed in honor of the winners, as well as on

Known to many since childhood. Some were seriously fascinated by the myths of ancient Greece, while others were instilled with a love of ancient culture at school. It would seem strange to transfer this knowledge into adulthood, because all this is actually a myth.

Brief introduction:

However, the ancient Greek gods and the events that happen to them are reflected in many works of literature and cinema; almost all modern plots are taken precisely from antiquity.

Knowledge of the gods of ancient Greece- a necessary condition for understanding many philosophical issues. That is why every person is simply obliged to know as much as possible about the famous gods from Olympus.

Generations of gods of ancient Gretsia

• Distinguish several generations ancient Greek gods.

• At first there was only darkness, from which Chaos was formed. Having united together, darkness and chaos gave birth to Erob, who personified darkness, Nyukta, or as she is also callednight, Uranus - the sky, Eros - love, Gaia - mother earth and Tartarus, which is the abyss.

I generation of gods

• All heavenly gods appeared thanks to the union of Gaia and Uranus, the sea deities originated from Pontos, the union with Tartas led to the emergence of giants, while earthly creatures are the flesh of Gaia herself.

• In principle, all the ancient Greek gods originated from her; she came up with the names, giving life.

• Usually the goddess of the earth was depicted as a rather large woman who towers half over the planet.

• Uranus was the ruler of the universe. If it was depicted, it was only in the form of an all-encompassing bronze dome covering the entire world.

• Together with Gaia they gave birth to several titan gods:
• The ocean (all the world's waters, represented a horned bull with a fish tail),
• Tethys (also titanide), Thea, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne like the goddess of memory,
• Crius (this titan had the ability to freeze), Kronos.
• In addition to the Titans, the Cyclopes are considered children of Uranus and Gaia. Hated by their father, they were sent down to Tartarus for a long time.
• For a long time, the power of Uranus was beyond comparison; he single-handedly controlled his children, until one of them, Kronos, otherwise called Chronos, decided to overthrow his father from his pedestal.

• The Time Lord managed to depose his father Uranus by killing him with a sickle. As a result of the death of Uranus, the great titans and titanides appeared on earth, who became the first inhabitants of the planet. Gaia also played a certain role in this; she could not forgive her husband for expelling the firstborn of the Cyclops to Tartarus. From the blood of Uranus appeared the Erinyes, creatures who patronized blood feuds. Kronos thus achieved unprecedented power, but the expulsion of his father did not go unnoticed by his own personality.

• Kronos's wife was his sister, the Titanide Rhea. When Kronos became a father, he was madly afraid that one of his children would also turn out to be a traitor. According to thisTitan devoured his offspring as soon as they were born. Kronos's fears were justified by one of his sons, the great Zeus, who sent his father into the darkness of Tartarus.

II generation of gods

• The Titans and Titanides are the second generation of ancient Greek gods.

III generation of gods

• The most famous and familiar to modern man is third generation.

• As is already clear, the main one among them was Zeus, he was the unconditional leader, all life on earth strictly obeyed him.

• Besides Zeus t third generation of gods Ancient Greece has 11 more Olympian gods.

• Their wide popularity is justified by the fact that thesethe gods, as the legends say, came down to people and participated in their lives, while the titans always remained on the sidelines, living their own lives, each performing their functions separately.

• All 12 gods lived , based on myths, on Mount Olympus. Each of the gods performed its own specific function and had its own talents. Each had a unique character, which was often the cause of human sorrows or, conversely, joys.

And now about the most famous gods in more detail in a brief summary...

Zeus

Poseidon

The rest of the gods

• Each of the gods described was incredibly powerful and very revered in ancient Greece, but they were not the only ones who made up the third, most famous generation.
• The descendants of Zeus also joined him. Among them are the common children of the Thunderer and Hera.
• For example, Ares personified masculinity and was often called the god of war. Ares never appeared alone anywhere; he was always accompanied by two faithful companions: Eris, the goddess of discord, and Enyo, the goddess of war.
• His brother Hephaestus was worshiped by all blacksmith craftsmen, he was also the guardian of fire.
• He was unloved by his father because he was very ugly in appearance and had a limp.
• Despite this, he had a total of two wives, Aglaya, and the beautiful Aphrodite.

Aphrodite

Hera was the last, but not the only wife of Zeus. His second wife Themis was absorbed by the Thunderer even before Athena was born, but this did not prevent the birth of one of the great goddesses.

Athena was born from her father, Zeus himself, and came out of his head. It personifies war, but not only. She is also known as the embodiment of wisdom and crafts. All the ancient Greeks turned to her, but especially the residents of the city of Athena, since the young goddess was considered the patroness of this locality.

Less known in wide circles is the other daughter of Zeus and Themis, Ora, who personified the seasons. In addition, the three goddesses Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, who together were simply called Moira, are also credited as daughters of Zeus and Themis.

First, Clotho spun the threads of life, Lachesis determined human destiny, and Anthropos personified death. However, not all sources of information call the Moiras daughters of Zeus; there is another version, according to which they were daughters of the night.

One way or another, all three sisters were constantly close to the supreme god, helping him keep track of people, and predetermining many different destinies.

This is where the children of Zeus, born in a legal marriage, end, and a whole galaxy of illegitimate, but no less revered and respected descendants begins. These are the twin brother and sister Apollo, who was the patron of music and a predictor of the future, and Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.

They appeared to Zeus after his relationship with Leto. Artemis was born earlier. Speaking about her, not only the image of a huntress pops up in my head, but also a pure and immaculate maiden, since Artemis embodied chastity, was not loving, or more precisely, there is not a single confirmation of her possible romances.

But Apollo, on the contrary, is known not only as a golden-haired youth and the embodiment of light, but also for his numerous love affairs. One of the love stories became very symbolic for the young god, leaving an eternal reminder of himself in the form of a laurel wreath crowning the head of Apollo.

Another illegitimate son, Hermes, was born from the galaxy of Maya. He patronized merchants, speakers, gymnasiums and sciences, and was also the god of livestock. During life, the ancient Greeks asked Hermes for the gift of eloquence, and after death they relied on him as a faithful guide on their final journey. It was Hermes who accompanied the souls of the dead to the kingdom of Hades. Widely known thanks, among other things, to his constant attributes: winged sandals and an invisibility helmet and a staff decorated with metal weave in the form of snakes.

In addition, it is also known about the illegitimate daughter of Zeus Persephone, born from the goddess Demeter, as well as about the son Dionysus, who was born by a mere mortal woman Semele. Dionysus, however, was a full-fledged god, the patron of the theater.

Ariadne became his wife, which brought Dionysus even closer to greatness, making him also one of the most famous gods of ancient Greece. Other children of Zeus, born of mortal women, are also known. This is, for example, Perseus, who was born by the Argive princess Danae, the famous Helen, also the daughter of Zeus, her mother was the Spartan queen Leda, the Phoenician princess gave the Thunderer another descendant of Minos.

All the Olympian gods led a calm, measured lifestyle, succumbing to hobbies, mortal passions, and fleeting amusements, without forgetting to fulfill their direct duties. Life on Olympus was not so simple, due to numerous feuds and intrigues between various gods. Each sought to prove their power without encroaching on the other’s responsibilities, so sooner or later a compromise was reached. But not all the gods of ancient Greece were lucky enough to live on Mount Olympus; some of them lived in other, less well-known places. These are all those who, for whatever reason, fell out of favor with Zeus or simply did not deserve his recognition.

In addition to the Olympic gods, there were others. For example, Hymen, who was the patron saint of marriage bonds. He was born thanks to the union of Apollo and the muse Calliope. The goddess of victory Nike was the daughter of the titan Pallatus, Iris, personifying the rainbow, was born of one of the oceanids, Electra. Ata can also be distinguished as the goddess of the gloomy mind; her father was the famous Zeus. The child of Aphrodite and Ares Phobos, the god of fear, lived separately from his parents, just like his brother Deimos, the lord of horror.

In addition to the gods, ancient Greek mythology also includes muses, nymphs, satyrs and monsters. Each character is thoughtful and individual, carries some idea. Everyone has a certain type of behavior and thinking, perhaps it is because of this that the world of myths is so much more multifaceted and arouses special interest in childhood.

In conclusion I must say...

The gods described above are just a short version. Naturally, this list of gods cannot be called complete. Hundreds of books are not enough to tell about all the gods of ancient Greece without exception, but everyone must know about the existence of the ones described above. If for the inhabitants of ancient Greece the pantheon of gods served as a justification for all sorts of objects and phenomena, then for modern people the images themselves are curious.

It is not their material environment and not the reasons that prompted the birth of such heroes, but precisely the allegories that they evoke. Otherwise, it will be impossible to understand all the ancient Greek myths and legends. Almost any text written in antiquity has references to one or more of the main gods of both the first, second and third generations.

And since all literature and theater of our time are in any case built on ancient ideals, every self-respecting person is obliged to know these ideals. The images of Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo have long become household names; today they are very archetypal, and, oddly enough, understandable to everyone.

Simply because you don’t have to be seriously interested in Greek mythology in order to know the famous story about the Apple of Discord. And there are many such examples. Therefore, the gods of ancient Greece are not just passing characters from childhood, this is something that absolutely every educated adult should know.

A brief excursion into history

Greece was not always called that way. Historians, in particular Herodotus, highlight even more ancient times in those territories that were later called Hellas - the so-called Pelasgian.

This term comes from the name of the Pelasgian tribe (“storks”) who came to the mainland from the Greek island of Lemnos. According to the historiographer’s conclusions, Hellas at that time was called Pelasgia. There were primitive beliefs in something unearthly that would save people - cults of fictitious creatures.

The Pelasgians united with a small Greek tribe and adopted their language, although they never grew from barbarians into a nationality.

Where did the Greek gods and myths about them come from?

Herodotus assumed that the Greeks adopted the names of many gods and their cults from the Pelasgians. At least, the veneration of lower deities and Kabirs - great gods who, with their unearthly power, saved the earth from troubles and dangers. The Sanctuary of Zeus in Dodona (a city near present-day Ioannina) was built much earlier than the still famous Delphic one. From those times came the famous “troika” of Kabiri - Demeter (Axieros), Persephone (Axiokersa, in Italy - Ceres) and her husband Hades (Axiokersos).

In the Pontifical Museum in the Vatican there is a marble statue of these three cabirs in the form of a triangular column by the sculptor Scopas, who lived and worked in the 4th century BC. e. At the bottom of the pillar are carved miniature images of Mithras-Helios, Aphrodite-Urania and Eros-Dionysus as symbols of the unbroken chain of mythology.

This is where the names of Hermes come from (Camilla, Latin for “servant”). In the History of Athos, Hades (Hell) is the god of the other world, and his wife Persephone gave life on earth. Artemis was called Kaleagra.

The new gods of Ancient Hellas descended from the “storks” and took away their right to reign. But they already had a human appearance, although with some exceptions remaining from zoomorphism.

The goddess, the patroness of the city named after her, was born from the brain of Zeus, the main god of the third stage. Consequently, before him, the heavens and the earth's firmament were ruled by others.

The first ruler of the earth was the god Poseidon. During the capture of Troy he was the main deity.

According to mythology, he ruled both the seas and oceans. Since Greece has a lot of island territories, the influence of Poseidon and his cult also applied to them. Poseidon was the brother of many new gods and goddesses, including such famous ones as Zeus, Hades and others.

Next, Poseidon began to look at the continental territory of Hellas, for example, Attica, a huge part south of the central mountain range of the Balkan Peninsula and to the Peloponnese. He had a reason for this: in the Balkans there was a cult of Poseidon in the form of a fertility demon. Athena wanted to deprive him of such influence.

The goddess won the dispute for the land. The gist of it is this. One day a new alignment of the influence of the gods occurred. At the same time, Poseidon lost his right to land, and the seas were left to him. The sky was seized by the god of thunder and lightning thrower. Poseidon began to dispute the rights to certain territories. He struck the ground during a dispute on Olympus, and water flowed from there, and

Athena gave Attica an olive tree. The gods decided the dispute in favor of the goddess, believing that the trees would be more useful. The city was named after her.

Aphrodite

When the name of Aphrodite is uttered in modern times, her beauty is mainly revered. In ancient times she was the goddess of love. The cult of the goddess first arose in the colonies of Greece, its current islands, founded by the Phoenicians. Worship similar to Aphrodite was then reserved for two other goddesses - Asherah and Astarte. In the Greek pantheon of gods

Aphrodite was more suited to the mythical role of Asherah, lover of gardens, flowers, inhabitant of groves, goddess of spring awakening and voluptuousness in pleasure with Adonis.

Reincarnating as Astarte, the “goddess of heights,” Aphrodite became unapproachable, always with a spear in her hand. In this guise, she protected family loyalty and doomed her priestesses to eternal virginity.

Unfortunately, in later times the cult of Aphrodite became bifurcated, so to speak, the differences between the various Aphrodites.

Myths of Ancient Greece about the gods of Olympus

They are the most common and most cultivated in both Greece and Italy. This supreme pantheon of Mount Olympus included six gods - the children of Kronos and Hera (the Thunderer himself, Poseidon and others) and nine descendants of the god Zeus. Among them the most famous are Apollo, Athena, Aphrodite and others like them.

In the modern interpretation of the word “Olympian,” in addition to athletes participating in the Olympics, it means “calmness, self-confidence, external greatness.” And earlier there was also Olympus of the gods. But at that time, these epithets applied only to the head of the pantheon - Zeus, because he fully corresponded to them. We talked about Athena and Poseidon in detail above. Other gods of the pantheon were also mentioned - Hades, Helios, Hermes, Dionysus, Artemis, Persephone.

The religion of Ancient Greece belongs to pagan polytheism. The gods played important roles in the structure of the world, each performing its own function. The immortal deities were similar to people and behaved quite humanly: they were sad and happy, quarreled and reconciled, betrayed and sacrificed their interests, were cunning and were sincere, loved and hated, forgave and took revenge, punished and had mercy.

The ancient Greeks used the behavior, as well as the commands of gods and goddesses, to explain natural phenomena, the origin of man, moral principles, and social relations. Mythology reflected the Greeks' ideas about the world around them. Myths originated in different regions of Hellas and over time merged into an orderly system of beliefs.

Ancient Greek gods and goddesses

The gods and goddesses belonging to the younger generation were considered the main ones. The older generation, who embodied the forces of the universe and natural elements, lost dominance over the world, unable to withstand the onslaught of the younger ones. Having won, the young gods chose Mount Olympus as their home. The ancient Greeks identified 12 main Olympian gods among all the deities. So, the gods of Ancient Greece, list and description:

Zeus - god of Ancient Greece- in mythology called the father of the gods, Zeus the Thunderer, lord of lightning and clouds. It is he who has the powerful power to create life, resist chaos, establish order and fair justice on earth. Legends tell about the deity as a noble and kind creature. The Lord of Lightning gave birth to the goddesses Or and the Muses. The Or govern time and the seasons of the year. Muses bring inspiration and joy to people.

The wife of the Thunderer was Hera. The Greeks considered her the quarrelsome goddess of the atmosphere. Hera is the keeper of the home, the patroness of wives who remain faithful to their husbands. With her daughter Ilithia, Hera eased the pain of childbirth. Zeus was famous for his passion. After three hundred years of marriage, the lord of lightning began to visit ordinary women, who gave birth to heroes - demigods. Zeus appeared to his chosen ones in different guises. Before the beautiful Europa, the father of the gods appeared like a bull with golden horns. Zeus visited Danae like a shower of gold.

Poseidon

Sea god - ruler of the oceans and seas, patron saint of sailors and fishermen. The Greeks considered Poseidon a just god, all of whose punishments were deservedly sent to people. Preparing for the voyage, the sailors offered prayers not to Zeus, but to the ruler of the seas. Before going to sea, incense was offered on altars to please the sea deity.

The Greeks believed that Poseidon could be seen during a strong storm on the open sea. His magnificent golden chariot emerged from the sea foam, drawn by fleet-footed horses. The ruler of the ocean received dashing horses as a gift from his brother Hades. Poseidon's wife is the goddess of the roaring sea, Amphthrita. The trident is a symbol of power, giving the deity absolute power over the depths of the sea. Poseidon had a gentle character and tried to avoid quarrels. His loyalty to Zeus was not questioned - unlike Hades, the ruler of the seas did not challenge the primacy of the Thunderer.

Hades

Master of the Underworld. Hades and his wife Persephone ruled the kingdom of the dead. The inhabitants of Hellas feared Hades more than Zeus himself. It is impossible to get into the underworld - and even more so, to return - without the will of a gloomy deity. Hades traveled across the surface of the earth in a chariot drawn by horses. The horses' eyes glowed with hellish fire. People prayed in fear so that the gloomy god would not take them to his abodes. Hades' favorite three-headed dog Cerberus guarded the entrance to the kingdom of the dead.

According to the legends, when the gods shared power and Hades got dominion over the kingdom of the dead, the celestial was dissatisfied. He considered himself humiliated and harbored a grudge against Zeus. Hades never openly opposed the power of the Thunderer, but constantly tried to harm the father of the gods as much as possible.

Hades kidnapped the beautiful Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and the goddess of fertility Demeter, by force making her his wife and ruler of the underworld. Zeus had no power over the realm of the dead, so he refused Demeter's request to return her daughter to Olympus. The distressed goddess of fertility stopped taking care of the earth, drought came, then famine came. The lord of thunder and lightning had to conclude an agreement with Hades, according to which Persephone would spend two-thirds of the year in heaven, and a third of the year in the underworld.

Pallas Athena and Ares

Athena is probably the most beloved goddess of the ancient Greeks. Daughter of Zeus, born from his head, she embodied three virtues:

• wisdom;
• calm;
• insight.

Goddess of victorious energy, Athena was portrayed as a powerful warrior with a spear and shield. She was also the deity of clear skies, having the power to disperse dark clouds with her weapons. The daughter of Zeus traveled with the goddess of victory Nike. Athena was called upon as the protector of cities and fortresses. It was she who sent down fair state laws to Ancient Greece.

Ares - deity of stormy skies, Athena's eternal rival. The son of Hera and Zeus, he was revered as the god of war. A warrior full of rage, with a sword or a spear - this is how Ares was depicted by the imagination of the ancient Greeks. The God of War enjoyed the noise of battle and bloodshed. Unlike Athena, who fought battles judiciously and honestly, Ares preferred fierce fights. The God of War approved a tribunal - a special trial of especially cruel murderers. The hill where the courts took place was named after the warlike deity Areopagus.

Hephaestus

God of blacksmithing and fire. According to legend, Hephaestus was cruel to people, frightening and destroying them with volcanic eruptions. People lived without fire on the surface of the earth, suffering and dying in the eternal cold. Hephaestus, like Zeus, did not want to help mortals and give them fire. Prometheus - Titan, the last of the older generation of gods, was an assistant to Zeus and lived on Olympus. Filled with compassion, he brought fire to earth. For stealing fire, the Thunderer doomed the titan to eternal torment.

Prometheus managed to escape punishment. Possessing prophetic abilities, the titan knew that Zeus was in danger of death at the hands of his own son in the future. Thanks to Prometheus's hint, the lord of lightning did not unite in marriage with the one who would give birth to a patricidal son, and strengthened his rule forever. For the secret of maintaining power, Zeus granted the titan freedom.

In Hellas there was a running festival. Participants competed with lit torches in their hands. Athena, Hephaestus and Prometheus were symbols of the celebration that served as the birth of the Olympic Games.

Hermes

The deities of Olympus were not only characterized by noble impulses, lies and deceit often guided their actions. God Hermes is a rogue and thief, the patron of trade and banking, magic, alchemy, and astrology. Born by Zeus from the Mayan galaxy. His mission was to convey the will of the gods to people through dreams. From the name of Hermes comes the name of the science of hermeneutics - the art and theory of interpretation of texts, including ancient ones.

Hermes invented writing, was young, handsome, energetic. Antique images depict him as a handsome young man in a winged hat and sandals. According to legend, Aphrodite rejected the advances of the god of trade. Gremes is not married, although he has many children, as well as many lovers.

The first theft of Hermes was 50 cows of Apollo, he committed it at a very young age. Zeus gave the kid a good beating and he returned the stolen goods. Subsequently, the Thunderer more than once turned to his resourceful son to solve sensitive problems. For example, at the request of Zeus, Hermes stole a cow from Hera, into which the beloved of the lord of lightning turned.

Apollo and Artemis

Apollo is the sun god of the Greeks. Being the son of Zeus, Apollo spent the winter in the lands of the Hyperboreans. God returned to Greece in the spring, bringing awakening to nature, immersed in winter hibernation. Apollo patronized the arts and was also the deity of music and singing. After all, along with spring, the desire to create returned to people. Apollo was credited with the ability to heal. Just as the sun drives out darkness, so the celestial being drove out illnesses. The sun god was depicted as an extremely handsome young man holding a harp.

Artemis is the goddess of hunting and the moon, patroness of animals. The Greeks believed that Artemis took night walks with the naiads - the patroness of the waters - and shed dew on the grass. At a certain period in history, Artemis was considered a cruel goddess who destroys sailors. Human sacrifices were made to the deity to gain favor.

At one time, girls worshiped Artemis as the organizer of a strong marriage. Artemis of Ephesus began to be considered the goddess of fertility. Sculptures and pictures of Artemis depicted a woman with many breasts on her chest to emphasize the goddess's generosity.

Soon the sun god Helios and the moon goddess Selene appeared in legends. Apollo remained the deity of music and art, Artemis - goddess of the hunt.

Aphrodite

Aphrodite the Beautiful was worshiped as the patroness of lovers. The Phoenician goddess Aphrodite combined two principles:

• femininity, when the goddess enjoyed the love of the young man Adonis and the singing of birds, the sounds of nature;
• militancy, when the goddess was portrayed as a cruel warrior who obliged her followers to take a vow of chastity, and was also a zealous guardian of fidelity in marriage.

The ancient Greeks managed to harmoniously combine femininity and belligerence, creating a perfect image of female beauty. The embodiment of the ideal was Aphrodite, bringing pure, immaculate love. The goddess was depicted as a beautiful naked woman emerging from the foam of the sea. Aphrodite is the most revered muse of poets, sculptors, and artists of that time.

The son of the beautiful goddess Eros (Eros) was her faithful messenger and assistant. The main task of the god of love was to connect the life lines of lovers. According to legend, Eros looked like a well-fed baby with wings.

Demeter

Demeter is the patron goddess of farmers and winemakers. Mother Earth, that’s what they called her. Demeter was the embodiment of nature, which gives people fruits and grains, absorbing sunlight and rain. They depicted the goddess of fertility with light brown, wheat-colored hair. Demeter gave people the science of arable farming and crops grown with hard work. The daughter of the goddess of wine, Persephone, becoming the queen of the underworld, connected the world of the living with the kingdom of the dead.

Along with Demeter, Dionysus, the deity of winemaking, was revered. Dionysus was portrayed as a cheerful young man. Usually his body was entwined with a vine, and in his hands the god held a jug filled with wine. Dionysus taught people to care for vines and sing wild songs, which later formed the basis of ancient Greek drama.

Hestia

Goddess of family well-being, unity and peace. The altar of Hestia stood in every house near the family hearth. Residents of Hellas perceived urban communities as large families, so sanctuaries of Hestia were always present in prytanae (administrative buildings in Greek cities). They were a symbol of civil unity and peace. There was a sign that if you take coals from the prytanean altar on a long journey, the goddess will provide her protection along the way. The goddess also protected foreigners and the afflicted.

Temples to Hestia were not built, because she was worshiped in every home. Fire was considered a pure, cleansing natural phenomenon, so Hestia was perceived as the patroness of chastity. The goddess asked Zeus for permission not to marry, although Poseidon and Apollo sought her favor.

Myths and legends have evolved over decades. With each retelling, the stories acquired new details, and previously unknown characters emerged. The list of gods grew, making it possible to explain natural phenomena the essence of which ancient people could not understand. Myths passed on the wisdom of older generations to young ones, explained the state structure, and affirmed the moral principles of society.

The mythology of Ancient Greece gave humanity many stories and images that were reflected in the masterpieces of world art. For centuries, artists, sculptors, poets and architects have drawn inspiration from the legends of Hellas.