Water in mythology

Water is one of the most important substances in the life of people that stays a mystery till nowadays. Water may be magical and natural, having superpowers and the ability to inspire people.

In Ancient times, people thought the water was the element ruled by the god. According to myths of Ancient Greece the god of the water was Poseidon. In Ancient Rome he was named Neptune.

Poseidon was considered to be the brother of Zeus, the main God, and he was usually pictures as a middle-aged man with white hair and beard, with a trident in his arms. He lived on the oceans floor in the water, but not on the top of Olympus. He travelled in chariot harnessed with horses and his trident was like a magic wand that caused storms and waves able to destroy rocks and mountains on the cost of seas and oceans.

According to mythology Odysseus was the person who challenged Poseidon and paid a lot for this challenge. When Odysseus was travelling home with his crew he passed through numerous troubles sent by Poseidon, until he finally got home.

Ancient myths know a great number of sea and ocean creatures that were good or bad, beautiful or ugly.

Nymphs are water creatures of Greece and later Roman mythology. There are also nymphs who lived in forests and woods. In fact nymphs were the personification of the sound of trees, the sound of water, etc. Nymphs of water were called nereid. They were pictured as beautiful young women with curly hair always dancing. In folklore of other nations they were also called mermaids.

Mermaids are mythological and folklore creatures pictured as half-woman half-fish with beautiful long hair that lived in the water. According to some folklore mermaids were pictured as evil creatures that kidnapped people swimming in rivers and seas (usually in folklore of Eastern Europe).

Hans Christian Anderson made mermaids world-famous. The little mermaid Ariel who gave her voice to sea-witch to get legs so that she could be with her lover is famous all over the world. Disney cartoon was made on base of this story that has become popular all over the world.

Sirens were also pictured as women with the body of a fish. Siren is a mythological creature who lived on rocks in the sea singing to the ships that passed by and hypnotising the crew. People jumped into the water from their ships to come to sirens, which were eating them. According to mythology Odysseus saved his crew by ordering them to fill their ears with wax and to bind him to the mast. In such way the crew couldn't hear siren's singing and Odysseus couldn't walk to get to them.

Mythology is very interesting and has a great number of interesting facts, as ancient people tried to explain all phenomena of nature with the help of myths and gods personifying all phenomena. Thanks to it we have the possibility to read about myths that are especially interesting if they tell us about water element.