Greek Myths: Are all that's left of the ancient Greek religion., the residents of, what we would call, Greece and Asia Minor shared a common belief in a group of deities that came to be known as The Olympians.
The Olympians : Are descended from the primal, self created gods, begining with Kaos. The Olympians are ruled by Zeus. He is the strongest and, as you will see, without him, the other Olympians would still be held captive inside their devious father, Kronos. The Olympians are only a small part of the family of Immortals that rule the earth and sky. The various rivers, mountains and forces of nature are the "bodies" of the Immortals and proper respect must always be shown if you wish to have peace at home and safe passage when you travel.
The ancient texts: We call Greek Myths are mostly from the period known as Classical Greece, circa 500 b.c.e. The stories behind the myths are from a much earlier time but written versions don't exist before Classical times. .
The oldest myths can be traced to three main sources: Homer, Hesiod and The Homeric Hymns, circa 800 b.c.e. That means that by the time they were written down, these works had survived 400 years of additions, subtractions and mutations to finally become the versions we now call "authentic". The Greek Myths are our window into the distant past, a view of a world that existed not only in the mind of the Greek poets but in the hearts of the humble and long suffering natives of ancient Greece.
Myth of the Creation of the World : In the beginning there was only chaos. Then out of the void appeared Erebus, the unknowable place where death dwells, and Night. All else was empty, silent, endless, darkness. Then somehow Love was born bringing a start of order. From Love came Light and Day. Once there was Light and Day, Gaea, the earth appeared. Then Erebus slept with Night, who gave birth to Ether, the heavenly light, and to Day the earthly light.
