Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore. Beginning in 900 BC, these stories concern the ancient Greek’s view of the origin and nature of the world; the lives and activities of deities, heroes, and mythological creatures; and the origins and significance of the ancient Greeks' cult and ritual practices.

The Greeks believed in a Polytheistic faith which was ruled by a Hierarchy. They believed these gods should be worshiped with rituals, offerings and sacrifices. Seasonal festivals were held in their honor often during a full moon.

Central to the Greek view on living was the need to perform great deeds in life. As the culture did not have an established hierarchy of the afterlife in the early years of the mythology –  death was viewed as little more than nonexistence. They believed that the only way one could be remembered after death was to perform great deeds during life.

 

As long as your name was spoken, you were remembered and thus lived into eternity.

The Trojan War plays a critical role in many of the Greek myths while also being a central event in Greek culture as well.

Much of the lore was propagated in works such as the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Theogony.

Following their conquest of Greece, the Romans, who already had gods of their own, adopted many mythic narratives directly from the Greeks while preserving their own Roman (Latin) names for the gods. As a result, the actions of many Roman and Greek deities became equivalent in storytelling and literature in modern Western culture. See Examples Below: