Legendary peoples and places

The islands of the blessed or Elysian fields

The Elysian Fields and the Isles of the blessed (or Fortunate Isles) in the imagination of the Ancient were identical, except that in the first case they are plains and in the second case these are about blessed islands (or for only one island). They were heavenly places on the far side of the earth, westward, near the ocean, which the auras caressed or the gentle breathes of Zephyros that were coming from the ocean, without either freezing or warming them, much. These islands were governed by Rhadamanthus, who performed the commandments of Cronus.

In these heavenly places, the beloved heroes of the ancient Greeks went when they died. There, the "gods" gave them immortality and spent a carefree life, without suffering neither snow nor heavy winters or downpours. The prominent heroes who went there were enjoying everything that the common people could not enjoy on the earth. They spent their hours without any worry about their livelihood, they are exercising, running on their horses, playing pessos, accompanying their songs with the guitar and of course they all eat together crowned. They sit together - chatting and chatting for hours in a fragrant atmosphere, which smells pleasantly from the incense burning over the altars of the gods.

From the sources we know we learn that the Elysian hosted Menelaus, Cadmus, Peleus, Diomedes, Lycus (who was the son of Poseidon and Pleiada Celaeno) and Achilles.

In that blessed place the sun shines day and night without darkness. The land here gives its fruit three times a year. All around the state there are meadows and forests of towering cedar trees and trees with golden fruits. The rivers run in winter - summer quietly without overflowing and polluting the crops, not even drying out.

Gorgon-Medusa

Medusa was a horrible monster who instead of hair had snakes, huge teeth like wild boar, bronze hands, and gold fins to fly. Her eyes were so frightening that they petrified whoever dared to look at them. It was one of the Gorgons, a race of women for which Hesiod wrote that they were living beyond the ocean, on the edge of the earth, near Night.

Diodorus Siculus claims that the Gorgons were warlike people, just like the Amazons, and they lived where the Atlanteans themselves. Medusa Gorgon was the leader of this people. Medusa-Gorgon and Poseidon gave birth to giant Chrysaor, who lived beyond the ocean. Later, Chrysaor became the king of the red place, the island of Erythia of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Greek tradition refers to the Perseus campaign in the northwest of Africa, where the Atlas Mountains is located. There, he faced the hostile army of the Gorgons and he conquered the queen of Medusa Gorgon and he decapitated her.

Ambrosia

In ancient times ambrosia was called the food of Greek gods, as nectar was called their drink. From the taste of these two or even only the immortality of the gods of Olympia was based. Our old traditions show even mortals to become immortal only when they are anointed with ambrosia, as was the case with Demophon, Achilles and others. On the other hand, the word itself does not reveal anything other than immortality, some writers treat it in some cases instead of immortality.

Ambrosia is sometimes put on the importance of ointment to treat wounds or cleanser. For example, Hera cleanses her skin with ambrosia make it look nicer.

But other writers want ambrosia as a source in the Garden of Hesperides. This tradition shows that it is the same place where, according to Homer (Odyssey, H, 62), the pigeons brought Ambrosia to Zeus during his infancy and were obliged to pass by flying from the Stone Plates, which were rocks in the west of Scylla and Charybdis (note: it is considered to be the Sicilian strait).