Greek mythology: Quick Facts

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Painting by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo showing crowds pulling the large wooden Trojan Horse into the city of Troy, with excited figures and ancient buildings in the background.

Charles Edward Perugini: Pandora

Ancient Greek vase painting showing Achilles in armor kneeling to bandage the arm of Patroclus, who is also dressed as a warrior, both seated within a circular border.

Partially restored entrance of the Palace of King Minos at Knossos, showing ancient stone ruins and red columns, with trees and greenery in the background.

Theseus killing the Minotaur

The Toreador Fresco

Benjamin West: Helen Brought to Paris

Lazar Widmann: Cronus Carrying Off Two Infants

Painting The Judgment of Paris by Antonio da Vendri shows Paris holding a golden apple and facing three elaborately dressed women, all with focused, expressive faces.

Dionysus and Ariadne with an Eros figure

Did Ancient Greeks Believe Their Myths Were Real?

Examine the ways in which mythology functioned for the ancient Greek population

Who was Achilles?

See how the ancient Greeks relied on myths and legends to explain religious, moral, and psychological problems

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Topics

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Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

epic: The Greek epic

Key People

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Louis-Nicolas Ménard

French author

Creuzer, lithograph

Georg Friedrich Creuzer

German scholar

Pherecydes of Syros

Pherecydes of Syros

Greek writer

Homer

Homer

Greek poet

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Ethel Schwabacher

American artist

Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

Ancient Gods and Monsters Quiz

mythology. Greek. Athena.

Jason and the Argonauts Quiz

Hades. Persephone. Hades (aka Pluto or Pluton)& Persephone enthroned. God&Goddess of underworld sit. 3 headed dog Cerberus at feet. Females on harp and rebec (L)men on harps or tortured. Les Echecs amoureux, Manuscript produced 4 Louise de Savoy,15th c.

Ancient Greek Underworld Quiz

mythology. Greek. Hermes. (Roman Mercury)

Ancient Greek Gods and Demigods Quiz

Marble bust of Alexander the Great, in the British Museum, London, England. Hellenistic Greek, 2nd-1st century BC. Said to be from Alexandria, Egypt. Height: 37 cm.

Ancient Greece

Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece.

From Athena to Zeus: Basics of Greek Mythology

mythology. Greek. Hermes. (Roman Mercury)

A Study of Greek and Roman Mythology

James Barry (1741-1806) painting title: The Education of Achilles, oil on canvas by James Barry, c. 1772; in the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut. 102.9 x 128.9 cm Alternate title: Chiron and Achilles

Gods, Goddesses, and Greek Mythology