Greek mythology

[gimli-son-of-gloin13]

Does anybody here like it? I really like it but, I don't know much about it! So could you fill me in? All I know is medusa who has snake hair, and if you look her in the eye, she will turn you to stone

[Elven Archer]

i like greek mythology too,but i'm not real familiar with it. i get it confused with roman stuff cause they're so much alike so i couldn't fill you in. i wouldn't know if i was filling you in on roman or greek.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

They're really the same. The Romans just stole the Greek mythology and pantheon and changed the names to protect the innocent.

Anyway, there's really too much to fill you in on. But I'm sure you can find a nice site on it somewhere out there.

P. S. I like it too. And Norse. And most.

[HOBBIT]

Um, what do you mean "fill you in" on it? :P

Medusa is just one small myth interwoven into a bigger story. There are so many myths and stories that it wouldn't be practical to tell any of them in this topic.

Try looking for a website that tells the myths and goes over the gods, etc. I've always known many Greek myths, but a couple months ago for school I was required to read the VERY LONG book "Mythology" by Edith Hammilton. Good book, at times the writing boring. I suggest it though if you really want to know more about Greek Mythology. It focuses mainly on the Greek myths and gods (and roman..but of course they are the same, just different names). There is a brief section on Norse gods go thor!).

[Gwaimir Windgem]

"Mythology" by Edith Hamilton? I'm almost positive I used to have the same book a long time ago (around 7-12, I think), and loved poring over it!

[Celebréiel]

I love greek mythology and norse, but yeah, like people have already said its way to complex and has way better stories than could be summarized online. Have fun reading.

[Elvellyn]

Medusa was once a beautiful woman, her pride being her long, beatiful, golden hair. Once, she dared to compare her beauty to the beauty of the goddess Athena. For this, Athena made her so hideous that all who looked upon her were instantly turned to stone.

They're really the same. The Romans just stole the Greek mythology and pantheon and changed the names to protect the innocent.

No, they did not. While many of the Roman's beliefs were BASED on the Greek myths, they weren't just copied. Take Aphrodite/Venus for example. The Greek Aphrodite was vain and promiscuous, while the Roman Venus was sweet and loving.

[Elenka]

I'm good with greek mythology. At least the Odysses. And I like it a lot. But there's WAY too much to tell. Ask specifically what you want, and I'll see what I could do.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

You mean the Odyessy (sp)? I thin Odysseus was the hero.

[Elf Girl]

I LOVE Greek mythology. My mom said I swallowed my myth books after she heard me tell the story of the Illiad in brief to my friend. ("Brief" took me half and hour- just hit the high points.)

[Aeryn]

I love any form of mythology

I have a book on japanese tales, greek myth, celtic myth, monsters all over the world.

Medusa was one of the Gorgona *if this hasn't been mentioned before* and was beautiful, but she *like many other woman in tales* decided to boast she was prettier than a goddess. Athena, to be specific, and Athena then turned her into a woman with the hair of snakes, and if anyone looked upon her, would be made into stone. The snakes is symbolic for something, can't remember what though...

[HOBBIT]

Originally posted by Elvellyn
Medusa was once a beautiful woman, her pride being her long, beatiful, golden hair. Once, she dared to compare her beauty to the beauty of the goddess Athena. For this, Athena made her so hideous that all who looked upon her were instantly turned to stone.

No, they did not. While many of the Roman's beliefs were BASED on the Greek myths, they weren't just copied. Take Aphrodite/Venus for example. The Greek Aphrodite was vain and promiscuous, while the Roman Venus was sweet and loving.

Well, I'm no expert either, but I think that you not completely correct. Basically, the Romans did copy the exact same myths - changing only the names of the gods to make them Roman. The Romans stole other greek things such as other cultures and their style of architecture - almost identical only the Romans evolved it a bit.

The Romans were big copy cats. Sucessful ones though

The Greek/Roman versions of myths are interchangeable (as far as I know) as long as all the names are consistant with each other in each version. They are the same stories.

And every version of a myth is different - there is no "definitive" version of any myth. Its always told a tiny bit differently. I don't think that the Romans really changed much of anything, at least nothing major.

The Greek Aphrodite was vain and promiscuous, while the Roman Venus was sweet and loving.

Well, as I said I am not expert, but I do not think this is right. Is there a particular myth in which the goddess of love is vain and promiscuous in the greek version and sweet and loving the in the roman version OF THE SAME myth?? (i dont think so :P)

Remember that the gods and godesses were not always portrayed the same in every myth. Certainly the goddess of love was portrayed in many different lights in the various myths that include her - i don't think that has anything to do with romans changing anything. Remember also different greeks wrote different myths - it wasnt one guy or a couple guys.

[Coney]

There are some very good introductionary notes on the various Greek diety's/heroes here-

It's all Greek to me

[Rána Eressëa]

Originally posted by Elvellyn
No, they did not. While many of the Roman's beliefs were BASED on the Greek myths, they weren't just copied. Take Aphrodite/Venus for example. The Greek Aphrodite was vain and promiscuous, while the Roman Venus was sweet and loving.

Um, they did, actually. who do you think Romans were? Mostly Greeks who moved. They completely adopted all the exact same gods, goddesses, people, and even stories. They just changed the names. Some of the Roman gods act differently than their Greek counterparts because the people viewed them differently (Romans were war people; Greeks were lovers of the arts). In Greece, Aphrodite was actually much more promiscuous but funny and nice compared to the fiery tempered, jealous Venus. I've read tales involving Venus and tales involving Aphrodite, and I've always chosen the Greek original over the Roman remakes.

[Dúnedain]

Originally posted by Gwaimir Windgem
They're really the same. The Romans just stole the Greek mythology and pantheon and changed the names to protect the innocent.

That's not completely true, some things yes, but there is a whole lot that is of their own authentication...

[Dúnedain]

Originally posted by HOBBIT
Well, I'm no expert either, but I think that you not completely correct. Basically, the Romans did copy the exact same myths - changing only the names of the gods to make them Roman. The Romans stole other greek things such as other cultures and their style of architecture - almost identical only the Romans evolved it a bit.

Blasphemy! While Romans did incorporate things from Greek culture into their own, they certainly did not copy exactly. In the case of mythology they formation of the typical Gods was pretty close, with name change, however the entire scheme of Roman Mythology and Greek Mythology on a whole are pretty different.

As far as Architecture, you are the furthest from the truth there. Yes some styles do naturally carry over from cultures in the same general area, however they are so not even close to being identical. If the Romans stole architecture from anyone it was from the Etruscans, who were really the Northern precursors to the Roman Empire in Northern Italy (in the area of modern day Tuscany).

[IronParrot]

I'm not as knowledgeable about Greek and Roman mythology as I used to be, and I'm a bit rusty... but I love it nonetheless. Greek and Roman culture excites me, just on the basis of all their hidden influences in our daily lives.

[Dúnedain]

Originally posted by IronParrot
I'm not as knowledgeable about Greek and Roman mythology as I used to be, and I'm a bit rusty... but I love it nonetheless. Greek and Roman culture excites me, just on the basis of all their hidden influences in our daily lives.

Yeah same here, those two cultures are what really drove me to study History in College. I love both of them, however I know a lot more about Rome than Greece in the whole scheme of things. I desperately want to travel to both Italy and Greece to see the old history

[Elvellyn]

Of course there are many different versions to myths. There are several different versions of the Medusa one, but the one I posted is my favorite.
Perhaps 'sweet and loving' was a little too nice. I was simply trying to show the differences between the two 'identical' goddesses.
BTW, the Roman's heritage consisted of the Greeks, the Latins, and the Carthaginians. The majority of their religious influences came from the Greeks, obviously (hence the similarities). The Greek myths were adapted and changed to fit the Romans situation and culture. They were NOT just relabeled versions of the Greek gods and goddesses. That is what I was attemping to point out. Unfortunately, my slight tendency towards exaggeration got in the way.

[Huan]

HUGE fan of Greek mythology here. And Greek history, culture, etc. Took three years of ancient Greek language, he bragged. To clarify about this Roman mythology or lack thereof, the Romans indeed had very little mythology of their own because they were much like modern Americans, very pragmatic, ie. what can it do FOR ME?. They had gods, because gods were someone to pray to for a safe return on that merchant ship they'd invested in, or a plentiful harvest, or decent weather. But they had very few stories ABOUT those gods, who were, as y'all have said, quite closely related to the Greek gods (both cultures were Indo-European after all, and Italy saw a long period of Greek colonization in early years). So the Romans did indeed adopt/ appropriate/ steal the Greek stories for their already-existing gods. BUT (and I very rarely go to bat for the Romans, but here I go) the Romans did have a few myths of their own. The Romulus and Remus story for example. And some of their gods are not to be found in the Greek pantheon. Two-faced Janus, for example. (But I really prefer the Greeks overall).