Ancient legends and myths proven by scientists. The most interesting legends and myths associated with famous landmarks of the world The most famous myths and legends

In the general religious understanding of the ancient Hellenes, there was a variety of cult ideas. All this is confirmed by numerous archaeological excavations and artifacts. It has been proven in which locality one or another god was extolled. For example, Apollo - in Delphi and Delos, in honor of Athena, the capital of Greece, the god of healing Asclepius (son of Apollo) is named - in Epidaurus, Poseidon was respected by the Ionians in the Peloponnese, and so on.

Opened in honor of this shrine of the Greeks: Delphic, Dodonian and Delian. Almost all of them are covered with some kind of mystery, it is deciphered in myths and legends. We will describe the most interesting myths of Ancient Greece (short) below.

The cult of Apollo in Greece and Rome

He was called "four-handed" and "four-eared". Apollo had about a hundred sons. He himself was either five or seven. There are countless monuments in honor of the saint, huge churches named after him, too - are located in Greece, Italy, Turkey. And this is all about HIM: about Apollo - the mythical hero and god of Hellas.

The ancient gods did not have surnames, but Apollo has several of them: Delphic, Rhodes, Belvedere, Pythian. This happened in the territories where his cult grew most.

Two millennia have passed since the inception of the cult, and today they believe in the tale of this handsome man. How did he enter “naive mythology” and why was he invented in the hearts and souls of Greeks and residents of other countries?

Veneration of the son of Zeus originated in Asia Minor two thousand years BC. Initially, the myths portrayed Apollo not as a man, but as a zoomorphic creature (influenced by pre-religious totemism) - a ram. The Dorian version of the origin is also possible. But, as before, an important center of the cult is the Sanctuary in Delphi. In it, the soothsayer uttered all sorts of predictions, according to her instruction, twelve mythical exploits of Apollo's brother, Hercules, took place. From the Hellenic colonies in Italy, the cult of the Greek god took root in Rome.

Apollo myths

God is not alone. Archaeological sources provide information on various sources of its origin. Who were the Apollo: the son of the guardian of Athens, Coribant, Zeus the third and several other fathers. Mythology attributes to Apollo thirty heroes he killed (Achilles), dragons (including Python), cyclops. It was said about him that it could destroy, but it could also help and predict the future.

Mythology spread about Apollo even before his birth, when the supreme goddess Hera learned that from her husband Zeus Leto (Latona) should give birth to a boy (Apollo). With the help of a dragon, she drove the mother-to-be to a deserted island. Apollo and his sister Artemis were born there. They grew up on this island (Delos), where he vowed to destroy the dragon for persecuting his mother.

As described from the ancient myth, the quickly matured Apollo took a bow and arrow in his hands and flew away to where Python lived. The beast crawled out of the terrible gorge and attacked the young man.

He looked like an octopus with a large scaly body. Even the rocks were moving away from him. The disturbed monster attacked the young man. But the arrows did their job.

Python died, Apollo buried him, and the real Temple of Apollo was built here. In his room there was a real priestess-diviner from peasant women. She pronounced divinations allegedly through the mouth of Apollo. Questions were written on tablets and passed on to the temple. They were not fictional, but from real earthly people from different centuries of the existence of this temple. They were found by archaeologists. How the priestess commented on the questions, no one knows.

Narcissus is a mythical hero and a real flower

To paraphrase the ancient sage, we can say: if you have extra money, then do not buy bread in excess of what you can eat; buy a daffodil flower - bread for the body, and he - for the soul.

So the mythical story about the narcissistic young man Narcissus from Ancient Greece grew into the name of a beautiful spring flower.

The Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, took cruel revenge on those who rejected her gifts, who did not submit to her authority. Mythology knows several of these victims. Among those is the young man Narcissus. Proud, he could not love anyone, only himself.

Anger found on the goddess. One spring, while hunting, Narcissus approached a stream - he simply charmed him with the purity of the water, its specularity. But the stream was really special, perhaps also bewitched by Aphrodite. The goddess did not forgive anyone if they did not pay attention to her.

No one drank water from the stream, not even a branch or flower petals could fall into it. So Narcissus was staring at himself. Bent over to kiss my reflection. But there is only cold water.

He forgot about hunting and the desire to drink water. Everyone admires, forgot about food, sleep. And suddenly I woke up: "Did I really love myself so much, but we can't be together?" So he began to suffer that his strength left him. Feels that he will go to the kingdom of darkness. But the young man already believes that death will end his torment of love. He is crying.

Narcissus's head was on the ground. He died. The nymphs were crying in the forest. They dug a grave, followed the body, but it was not. On the grass, where the head of the young man fell, a flower grew. They named him Narcissus.

And the nymph Echo was forever left to suffer in that forest. And she did not respond to anyone else.

Poseidon - Lord of the Seas

Zeus sits in all divine majesty on Mount Olympus, and his brother Poseidon went into the depths of the sea and from there the water boiled, causing trouble on the sailors. If he wants to do this, he takes his main weapon in his hand - a club with a trident.

He has a better palace than his brother on land. And he reigns there with his charming wife Amphitrite, the daughter of the sea god. Together with Poseidon, she rushes through the waters in a chariot harnessed by horses or zoomorphic creatures - tritons.

Poseidon looked after his wife from the waters on the coast of the island of Naxos. But she ran away from him to the handsome Atlas. I could not find the fugitive Poseidon myself. Dolphins helped him and took her to the palace at the bottom of the sea. For this, the sea lord gave the dolphins a constellation in the sky.

Perseus: almost like a good person

Perseus is perhaps one of the few sons of Zeus who did not have negative character traits. As a lover of getting drunk Hercules with his fits of inexplicable anger or Achilles, who did not take into account the interests of others and admired only his own "I".

Perseus was as handsome as a god, brave and dexterous. I have always tried to achieve success. Perseus mythology is as follows. His grandfather, one of the earthly kings, dreamed in a dream that his grandson would bring death to him. Therefore, he hid his daughter in a dungeon behind stones, bronze and castles - away from the men. But all the obstacles for Zeus, who liked Danae, were overwhelming. He penetrated to her through the roof in the form of rain. And a son was born, named Perseus. But the malevolent grandfather nailed the mother and child into the box and sent them to swim in the box on the sea.

The captives still managed to escape on one of the islands, where the waves washed the box to the shore, the fishermen who arrived in time rescued the mother and son. But a man reigned on the island, no better than Father Danae. He began to molest the woman. And so the years passed, now Perseus could stand up for his mother.

The king decided to get rid of the young man, but so as not to incur the wrath of the god Zeus. He cheated by accusing Perseus of undivine origin. To do this, it was necessary to perform a heroic act, for example, to kill the malicious Medusa Gorgon and drag her head to the king's palace.

It really was not only a sea, but also a flying monster that turned into stone those who looked at her. The gods were indispensable here. The son of Zeus was helped. He was presented with a magic sword and a mirror shield. In search of the bogeyman, Perseus went through many countries and through many obstacles set up by his opponents. The nymphs also presented him with things useful on the road.

Finally he reached an abandoned country where the sisters of the same Gorgon lived. Only they could lead the young man to her. The sisters had one eye and one tooth in three. While the younger gorgon was leading with an eye, the others could not do anything. Further across the sky, he flew to the monster. And on the move came across a sleeping jellyfish. Until she woke up, the young man chopped off her head and put it in a bag. And took a course across the sky to his island. So he proved his destiny to the king and, taking his mother, returned to Argos.

Hercules is getting married

Many accomplished feats, slave labor from Queen Omphale took away the strength from Hercules. He wanted a quiet life by the hearth. “It's easy to build a house, but you need a loving wife. So we need to find her, ”the hero was making plans.

Once I remembered a boar hunt near Calydon with a local prince and a meeting with his sister Deianira. And he went to South Aetolia to woo. At this time, Deianira was already being given in marriage, and many suitors gathered.

There was also a river god - a monster that the world had never seen. Deianira's father said that he would give his daughter to the one who conquers God. Only Hercules remained of the suitors, since the others, seeing a rival, changed their minds to marry.

Hercules grabbed his opponent with his hands, but he stood like a rock. And so several times. The result for Hercules was almost ready, as the god turned into a snake. The son of Zeus strangled two snakes while still in the cradle, he coped here too. But the old man became a bull. The hero broke one horn, and he surrendered. The bride became the wife of Hercules.

These are the myths of Ancient Greece.

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Dear Reader! Collected here short parables, fables and legends for children of elementary grades. They are redone, written in short sentences. Easy to read children. Fit for children of any class... Proverbs are added. If you have your own good parable, fable or legend - please send me. Or post it in the comments. Thanks! 🙂

Parable. Why be afraid?

One day a severe thunderstorm began. All the children ran home. And the little girl was not there.

Mom went to look for her. It was raining in the yard. Lightning flashed brightly. Thunder rumbled loudly.

Mom was scared. She closed her eyes from every lightning. And from every thunder she covered her head with her hands.

Mom found her daughter on the street. The girl was all wet. She jumped and danced in the rain. And when the lightning flashed, the girl lifted her face up. And smiled at the sky.

Mom was very surprised. She asked:

- Daughter! You are not afraid? Are you scared?

But the daughter replied in surprise:

- No, mom! I'm not scared! I don’t know what is there to be afraid of?

And then she said:

- Mama! Look! I dance, and the sky is taking pictures of me!

The same parable performed by Alexandra

Do not judge strictly, performance without rehearsal:

Two apples

The parable of not jumping to conclusions.

A little girl brought two apples from the street. Probably someone gave it.

- Mom, look what beautiful apples!
- Yes, beautiful! Will you treat? Mom asked.

The baby looked at the apples. And then she took a bite of one apple. I thought for a second and ... - took a bite of the second.

Mom was surprised. And I thought:

- What a greedy girl I grow up. She began to eat both apples, but she never offered me one.

But to her surprise, the girl handed her mother one apple with the words:

- Mommy! Take this apple! It's sweeter! 🙂

Dear Reader!

Fable for children

The Lion and the Mouse Fable

The lion slept under a tree. And under this tree was Mouse's mink. The mouse began to climb out of the mink and woke up Lev. The lion woke up and caught the mouse. The mouse began to ask:

- Let go! I promise to help you when you ask me.

The Lion let go of the Mouse and laughed. He said:

- How can you help me? You're so small.

Time has passed. The hunters wounded the lion. They tied it up with a rope and decided to sell it to the zoo.

The lion growled strongly, but none of the animals came to the rescue. All animals were also afraid of hunters.

But the Mouse came running. She gnawed the rope at night. And Leo got free.

Then the Mouse said to Leo:

- Remember, you laughed at me that I was so small. You didn't believe that I could help you.

Leo said:

- Forgive me, Mouse, that I was laughing. I did not know that there are benefits from small animals.

Fable for children

Fable Dog and reflection

The dog walked along the plank across the river. She carried a bone in her teeth.

Suddenly the Dog saw her reflection in the water. She thought that there was another dog carrying its prey. And it seemed to the dog that that dog had a much larger bone than hers.

The dog threw his prey and rushed to take the bone from the reflection.

As a result, the Dog was left with nothing. And she lost her, and could not take away someone else's.

This fable is about a cowardly heart.
No matter how much you help the cowardly, he will still be afraid.

Mouse heart

Young speaker

Once upon a time there was a little Mouse who was unhappy because he was afraid of everything. But most of all he was afraid of getting into the paws of a cat.

The mouse came to the Wizard and began to ask him to make him a cat.

The wizard took pity on the mouse and turned him into a cat.

But then this cat became afraid of dogs.

The wizard turned the former mouse into a dog. But then he became afraid of wolves.

The wizard turned him into a wolf. But then he became very afraid of hunters.

And then the Wizard gave up. He turned him into a mouse again and said:

- Nothing will help you. Because you have the heart of a cowardly mouse.

The legend of the ring of King Solomon.

There is a legend about King Solomon.
This legend is about King Solomon and the magic ring. I think children will understand it as well as adults.

The sage gave King Solomon a magic ring. He put this ring on the king's finger and said:

"Never take off the ring!"

This ring bore the inscription:

"All will pass!"

When the king was sad, Solomon looked at the ring and read the inscription:

"All will pass!"

And the magic of the ring acted on the king. Solomon ceased to be sad.

The ring has always helped the king. Even when Solomon was angry, he also looked at the ring and read:

"All will pass!"

He smiled and calmed down.

But one day a great grief happened. Solomon looked at the ring and read the inscription. But he did not calm down, and even got angry. Then he first took the ring off his finger and wanted to throw it away. But he saw that there was also an inscription inside the ring. He read:

"And that too will pass!"

Solomon calmed down and smiled.

He never took off his magic ring again. And he made an expensive gift to the sage.

Parable for children

Where did the zebra get the stripes? African legend.

Once upon a time, the zebra was one-color. She was as brown as an antelope. And Zebra didn't like that. But she didn't know what color she should be. She liked black and white.

Zebra took two brushes and two cans of paint: white and black.

Each time she painted herself, then black paint, then white. And so the stripes appeared. I never decided whether she should be white or black.

Then Zebra decided to take a dip to wash off the paint. But the paint was already so ingrained that it was impossible to get rid of it. Since then, Zebras have become black and white stripes.

The Legend of Narcissus.

It was a long time ago. Even when people did not have mirrors.

One young man was very handsome. And to see his beauty, he went to the stream to look at his reflection.

He looked at his reflection for a long time, and admired himself. Then a Fairy appeared from the forest and made a beautiful flower out of the young man. This beautiful flower remained on the bank of the stream, admiring its reflection.

And people began to say to those who often look into their reflection:

- Do not admire yourself for a long time, so as not to turn into a flower, like Narcissus

Parables for children

The legend of how the kangaroo got its name.

The famous navigator James Cook sailed to Australia. There he saw amazing animals that jumped in huge leaps on two legs.

The surprised captain asked a local resident:

- What is the name of this beast?

The native shrugged his shoulders because he didn’t understand anything.

Cook asked again:

- Who is this?- and pointed to the jumping animal.

The native replied:

- Kan garu.

In the local language, this meant: "I do not understand you".

Cook asked:

- Kangaroo?

The native nodded his head.

- Kan garu

Cook wrote in his magazine that he saw amazing animals that run by jumping on two legs. And these animals are called: kangaroo.

Parables for children

The dispute between the Sun and Wind. Who is stronger?

The wind boasted of how strong it was. The sun decided to teach the Wind a lesson. It said:

- You see, there is an old man in a raincoat. Can you take off his cloak?
“Of course I can,” Wind replied.

The sun hid behind a cloud, and the wind began to blow. Stronger and stronger, until finally it turned into a hurricane. But, the stronger the Wind blew, the more the traveler wrapped himself up in his cloak.

The sun said:

- Enough! Now it's my turn!

The wind died down and stopped.

And the Sun smiled at the traveler and warmed him with its rays. The old man cheered up, he felt warm - and he took off his cloak.

And the Sun said to the Wind:

- You see! There is also another force.

Since then, the Wind has ceased to boast of its strength in front of the Sun.

Parables for children

Parable. How to divide equally?

Two brothers lived in the same village. Father will give them a field. And the brothers decided to divide the field in half.

They began to divide. It seemed to one that the other got most of it ... then on the contrary ... They could not draw a border. We thought and wondered ... we almost got to a fight ...

And they decided to turn to the Sage.

- Tell me, Sage ... How can we divide the field equally and peacefully among ourselves?

And the sage says:

- Do this. Let one brother divide the field in half as he decides to do it. And the second - let him choose from two halves: which part will be his, and which will go to his brother.

And so they did. One brother divided the field in half. He tried very hard to keep the halves the same. The second brother chose one half of the field. And he was also pleased. After this incident, the brothers began to divide everything in this way.

Parables for children

How to relate to your work.

Three workers were carrying bricks. A boy came up to them and asked:

- What are you doing?

The worker wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied:

- Don't you see that we are carrying bricks?
- But why?
- Kid, we have such a job.

The boy did not understand anything why people wear bricks. I went up to another worker and asked:

- What are you doing?

He rolled up his sleeves and said in a businesslike manner:

- Don't you see? - We earn money.
- What for?
- What do you mean why? I need money, otherwise I didn't go to this job.

Then the boy went up to the third worker.

- What are you doing?

The man smiled and said:

- Like what? We're doing a good job. We are building a house for good people. People will live happily in it. I am glad that I have already built many beautiful houses.

The boy thought about it. People do the same job for different reasons. And with different moods.

Children's parables

Fight with the Lion

The lion was resting in the shade of a large tree after a hearty meal. It was noon. Heat.

The Jackal approached the Lion. He looked at the resting Leo and timidly said:

- A lion! Let's fight!

But there was only silence in response.

The jackal began to speak louder:

- A lion! Let's fight! Let's arrange a battle in this clearing. You are against me!

The lion did not even pay attention to him.

Then the Jackal threatened:

- Let's fight! Otherwise, I'll go and tell everyone that you, Leo, were terribly frightened of me.

The lion yawned, stretched lazily and said:

- And who will believe you? Just think! Even if someone condemns me for cowardice, it is still much more pleasant than the fact that they will despise me. To despise for a fight with some kind of Jackal ...

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Parables for children

Fly and bee

The mosquito asked Mucha:

- Are there beautiful flowers somewhere nearby?

But Fly answered Komaru:

- There are no flowers here. But there are many good trash heaps. You should definitely fly to them. There are so many interesting things.

The mosquito flew. And I met the Bee. He asked:

- Bee! Where are the trash cans? I can't find them in any way.

And the Bee answers:

- I do not know. I saw only beautiful flowers nearby. Let's fly together and I'll show them to you.

Parables for children

Ghost tree.

There was a large, dead tree not far from the road.

One night a thief was passing by on the road. He saw a tree in the dark. But this silhouette seemed to him in the form of a policeman. The thief got scared and ran away.

In the evening a lover passed by. He noticed a graceful silhouette from a distance and thought that it was his beloved who had been waiting for him for a long time. His heart beat with joy. He smiled and quickened his pace.

Once a mother with a child passed by a tree. The kid, frightened by terrible tales, thought that there was a ghost near the road and burst into tears.

But the tree has always been just a tree!

The world around us is a reflection of ourselves.

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Parables for children

What else could I become?

There were two brothers. One brother was a successful man who achieved fame for his good deeds. The other brother was a criminal.

One day, the police caught the offender and the case was taken to court. Before the court, a group of journalists surrounded him, and one asked a question:

- How did it happen that you became a criminal?
- I had a difficult childhood. My father drank, beat my mother and me and my brother. What else could I become?

After a while, several journalists approached the first brother, and one asked:

- You are known for your achievements and good deeds. How did you get it all?

The man thought about it, and then replied:

- I had a difficult childhood. My father drank, beat my mother, my brother and me. What else could I become?

Parables for children

ALL IN YOUR HANDS
Parable

Once upon a time, in one city, there lived a great sage. The fame of his wisdom spread far around his hometown, people from afar came to him for advice.

But there was a man in the city who was jealous of its glory. Once he came to the meadow, caught a butterfly, put it between his closed palms and thought:

- I'll go to the sage and ask him: tell me, oh wisest, which butterfly is in my hands - alive or dead? - If he says dead, I will open my palms, the butterfly will fly away. If he says alive, I will close my palms and the butterfly will die. Then everyone will understand which of us is smarter.

And so it turned out. The envious person came to the city and asked the sage: "Tell me, wisest one, which butterfly is in my hands - alive or dead?"

Looking intently into the eyes, the sage said:

"All in your hands".

Parables for children

Parable. TOY MASTER

In a distant country there lived an old man who was very fond of children. He constantly made toys for them.

But these toys turned out to be so fragile that they broke faster than the child had time to play with them. Having broken another toy, the children were very upset and came to the master to ask for new ones. He gladly gave them others, even more fragile ...

Finally, the parents intervened. They came to the old man with a question:

- Tell us, oh Wise One, why do you always give our children such fragile toys that the children cry inconsolably when they break them?

And then the sage said:

- It will take quite a few years, and someone will give these former children their heart. Maybe, having learned not to break fragile toys, they will be more careful with someone else's heart? ..

The parents thought for a long time. And they left after thanking Teacher.

Parables for children

Paper

The teacher called his students and showed them a sheet of white paper.

- What do you see here? The Sage asked.

“A point,” one answered.

All the other students nodded their heads as a sign that they also saw the point.

- Take a closer look, - said the Teacher.

But no matter how peered the disciples, they saw nothing but a black point.

And then the teacher said:

- You all saw a small black dot, and no one noticed a blank white sheet ...

- So, I still have something to teach you.

Parables for children

About trading methods

Once, an ancient old man in a skullcap and an oriental robe embroidered with an unusual ornament appeared at the bazaar. The old man was selling watermelons.

There was a sign above his merchandise:

“One watermelon - 3 rubles. Three watermelons - 10 rubles ”.

A bearded man comes up and buys a watermelon for three rubles ...

Then another watermelon for three rubles ...

And at parting he happily says to the seller:

- Look, I bought three watermelons, but I paid only 9 rubles, not 10. You don’t know how to trade!

The old man looks after him:

- Yes! They buy three watermelons from me instead of one, and then teach me how to trade ...

Children's parables

The parable of the two wolves

Once upon a time, an old Indian revealed to his grandson one vital truth.

- You see, there is a struggle in every person. This fight is very similar to the fight between two wolves. One wolf represents evil: envy, jealousy, regret, selfishness, greed, lies ... And the other wolf represents good: peace, love, hope, care, kindness, loyalty ... And other good human qualities.

The little Indian thought for a long time. And then he asked:

- Grandfather! Which wolf wins in the end? Bad wolf or kind?

The old Indian smiled faintly and replied:

- Remember: the wolf that you feed always wins.

Parables for children

A stupid boy

A little boy walks into a hairdresser. The hairdresser recognizes him immediately and tells his clients:

- Look, this is the stupidest boy among all in the world! Now I will prove it to you.

The hairdresser takes $ 1 in one hand and 25 cents in the other. Calls the boy and invites him to choose:

- Do you choose 1 or 25?
- Twenty five!

Everyone laughs. The boy gets 25 cents and leaves.

Soon, one client catches up with the boy and asks:

- Boy! Tell me, why did you choose 25 cents over $ 1? Are you really that stupid that you don’t realize that $ 1 is more than 25 cents?
- Good! And what will I have for this?
- Get another 25 cents.

The boy receives coins and says:

- Because the day I choose $ 1, I think the hairdresser will stop rejoicing. Visitors will have nothing to laugh about. I will become "smart", I will not be "stupid" anymore. And I can't get 25 cents every time.

Children's parables

The legend of the temple with a thousand mirrors

Many hundreds of years ago, high in the mountains, there was a Temple with a thousand mirrors. Many people went to see him.

Once, a dog entered this temple. Looking around, the dog saw a thousand dogs in the mirrors and, frightened, bared its teeth.

At that moment she saw a thousand grinning dogs. The dog growled. And the echo answered with a growl ..

Tail between his legs, the dog jumped out of the temple, confident that evil dogs lived in this temple.

A month later, another dog came to the temple with a thousand mirrors.

She entered it and, looking in the mirrors, saw a thousand friendly and peaceful dogs. She wagged her tail. And I saw a thousand friendly dogs.

Barking joyfully, she left the temple with complete confidence that this Temple was full of friendly dogs.

• The world is often only a reflection of ourselves: if we look at the world with light and joy, then it also responds to us in the same way!

Parables for children

Apple bucket

The man bought himself a new house - a big, beautiful one - and a garden with fruit trees near the house. And an envious neighbor lived nearby in an old house.

One day a man woke up in a good mood, went out onto the porch, and there was a pile of rubbish.

What to do? Your own porch, you need to clean it. And also - to find out who it was. And I found out - an envious neighbor.

I wanted to go and have a fight, but after thinking it over, I decided to do it differently.

I went into the garden, picked up the ripeest apples and went to a neighbor.

The neighbor, hearing a knock on the door, thought maliciously: "Finally, my neighbor is angry!" Opens the door.

To his surprise, there was no one there, only apples. And there is a note on the apples:

The one who is rich in what is so and shares!

Children's parables

Bad words.

The two friends had a falling out. And one of them began to say bad words about his friend to everyone he knew.

But then he calmed down and realized that he was wrong. He came to a friend and began to ask him for forgiveness.

Then the second friend said:

- Good! I will forgive you. Only on one condition.
- What?
- Take a pillow and release all the feathers into the wind.

The first friend did just that. He ripped open the pillow. And the wind blew feathers all over the village.

A satisfied friend came to another and said:

- Completed your task. Am I forgiven?
“Yes, if you put all the feathers back into your pillow.

But you yourself understand that it is impossible to collect all the feathers back. So the bad words that have already scattered throughout the village cannot be taken back.

Best regards, rhetoric coach Oleg Bolsunov.

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Short legends, parables, fables for elementary school children

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/ Legends and parables for schoolchildren / The best legends and parables / Short legends and parables for primary school children / Proverbs and legends for grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 /

According to the statistics of the British Royal Society of Ghosts, on average, at least 3 ghosts live on each square meter of the inhabited surface of the Earth. Some of them were photographed, and some of them were even interviewed. We present the most famous myths and legends.

10th place: Argonauts. The myth of the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece is very old. The very first recorded version of this myth is already its processing, very far from the original history. Argonauts (literally "sailing on the Argo") - participants in the voyage on the ship "Argo" for the golden fleece to the country of Colchis. The most detailed about the journey of the Argonauts is told in the poem of Apollonius of Rhodes "Argonautics".

9th place: Beowulf. The only existing manuscript of "Beowulf" dates from about 1000 AD. But the epic itself refers, according to most experts, to the end of the 7th or the first third of the 8th century. Beowulf, a young knight from the Gout people, having learned about the attack of the monster Grendel on the Danish king Higelak, goes to the aid of the king.

8th place: The legend of the fern flower. According to an ancient folk legend, the one who finds a fern flower on the night of Ivan Kupala will find happiness. By the way, this myth exists not only in Russia. The legend of the fern flower was also believed in Lithuania and Estonia.

7th place: The Legend of King Arthur. Italian explorer Mario Moiragi claims that the legendary sword of King Arthur really exists and is located in a rock in the Abbey of San Galgano in Italy. By the way, in his book, Moiragi states that the legend of King Arthur is Italian, although it was traditionally assumed that King Arthur and the Holy Grail were invented in northern Europe or in France.

6th place: Poltergeist. Some argue that the poltergeist ("noisy spirit" in German) terrorized our ancestors for thousands of years. In case of poltergeist, objects can appear and disappear from nowhere, for example, directly "from the air" a fire can pour out or arise, pipes burst, plugs burn out, dishes break, etc. Events of this kind usually last for about 2-3 months, and only sometimes for several years.

5th place: Loch Ness monster. The first mentions of Nessie date back to 565. A monster is described that looks like a giant toad, "only it was not a toad." The seventh century Latin chronicles of Nessie noted the appearance of the dragon "cum agenti fremitu"

4th place: So far, no one has really seen the Bigfoot either, but the Nepalese hill tribes still believe in the existence of the terrible Mi-Go or "Disgusting Bigfoot", lurking among the ice and mountain spiers.

3rd place: Flying Dutchmen. Legend has it that the Dutch captain Van der Decken once lived. He was a drunkard and a blasphemer. And then one day, near the Cape of Good Hope, his ship fell into a violent storm. The navigator advised him to take refuge in one of the bays, but instead of heeding the advice, Van der Decken shot the navigator. This act angered God, and since then Van der Decken's ship has been wandering the seas. With a rotten body, it nevertheless holds up perfectly on the waves. The damned captain recruits his command from the drowned, and the more disgusting and disgusting their deeds in life were, the better.

2nd place: Bermuda Triangle. In the literature on the Bermuda Triangle, 50 cases of disappearances of ships and aircraft are described in detail. In almost all cases, ships and aircraft disappeared without a trace, along with their crews. By the way, about 140 thousand people were still rescued in the shipwreck in the Bermuda Triangle by the US security service.

1st place: Aliens. At the moment, about 1-0 thousand evidences of UFO sightings and communication with aliens have been recorded in various organizations. The myth about aliens is especially widespread throughout the world: aliens from space who have visited the earth long ago. Some consider the ancient Egyptians and Maya Indians to be aliens. By the way, the image of a green man with big eyes and in silvery clothes was recognized as the most widespread concept of aliens on Earth. The drawing of the "green man" was sealed into one of the "time capsules", which should be opened in three thousand years.

The controversy between supporters of the theory of creationism and evolutionary theory continues to this day. However, unlike the theory of evolution, creationism includes not one, but hundreds of different theories (if not more).

The myth of Pan-gu

The Chinese have their own ideas about how the world came to be. The most popular myth is that of Pan-gu, the giant man. The plot is as follows: at the dawn of time, Heaven and Earth were so close to each other that they merged into a single black mass.
According to legend, this mass was an egg, and Pan-gu lived inside it, and lived for a long time - many millions of years. But one fine day he got tired of such a life, and, waving a weighty ax, Pan-gu got out of his egg, splitting it into two parts. These parts later became Heaven and Earth. His height was unimaginable - some kind of fifty kilometers in length, which, by the standards of the ancient Chinese, was the distance between Heaven and Earth.
Unfortunately for Pan-gu and fortunately for us, the colossus was mortal and, like all mortals, died. And then Pan-gu decomposed. But not the way we do it. Pan-gu was decomposing really abruptly: his voice turned into thunder, his skin and bones became the solidity of the earth, and his head became the Cosmos. So, his death gave life to our world.

Chernobog and Belobog

This is one of the most significant myths of the Slavs. It tells about the confrontation between Good and Evil - the White and Black gods. It all started like this: when there was only one continuous sea around, Belobog decided to create dry land by sending his shadow - Chernobog - to do all the dirty work. Chernobog did everything as expected, however, having a selfish and proud nature, he did not want to share power over the firmament with Belobog, deciding to drown the latter.
Belobog got out of this situation, did not allow himself to be killed, and even blessed the land erected by Chernobog. However, with the advent of land, one small problem arose: its area grew exponentially, threatening to swallow everything around.
Then Belobog sent his delegation to Earth in order to find out from Chernobog how to stop this business. Well, Chernobog got on a goat and went to negotiations. The delegates, seeing Chernobog galloping towards them on a goat, were imbued with the comicality of this spectacle and burst into wild laughter. Chernobog did not understand the humor, was very offended and flatly refused to talk to them.
Meanwhile, Belobog, still wanting to save the Earth from dehydration, decided to arrange surveillance for Chernobog, having made a bee for this purpose. The insect coped with the task successfully and found out the secret, which consisted in the following: in order to stop the growth of land, it is necessary to draw a cross on it and say the cherished word - "enough". What Belobog did.
To say that Chernobog was not happy is to say nothing. Wanting to take revenge, he cursed Belobog, and cursed him in a very original way: for his meanness, Belobog was now supposed to eat bee feces all his life. However, Belobog was not taken aback and made the bee excrement as sweet as sugar - this is how honey appeared. For some reason, the Slavs did not think about how people appeared ... The main thing is that there is honey.

Armenian duality

Armenian myths resemble Slavic ones and also tell us about the existence of two opposite principles - this time male and female. Unfortunately, the myth does not answer the question of how our world was created, it only explains how everything around is arranged. But this does not make it less interesting.
So, here's a short summary: Heaven and Earth are husband and wife, who were separated by the ocean; The sky is a city, and the Earth is a piece of rock, which is held on its huge horns by an equally huge bull - when it rocks its horns, the earth is bursting at the seams from earthquakes. That, in fact, is all - this is how the Armenians imagined the Earth.
There is also an alternative myth, where the Earth is in the middle of the sea, and Leviathan swims around it, trying to grab onto its own tail, and constant earthquakes were also explained by its floundering. When Leviathan finally grabs himself by the tail, life on Earth will end and the apocalypse will come. Have a nice day.

The Scandinavian Ice Giant Myth

It would seem that the Chinese and the Scandinavians have nothing in common - but no, the Vikings also had their own giant - the beginning of everything, only his name was Ymir, and he was ice-cold and with a club. Before his appearance, the world was divided into Muspelheim and Niflheim - the realms of fire and ice, respectively. And between them stretched the Ginnungagap, symbolizing absolute chaos, and there Ymir was born from the merger of two opposite elements.
And now closer to us, to people. When Ymir began to sweat, a man and a woman crawled out of his right armpit along with the sweat. Strange, yes, we understand this - well, they are, harsh Vikings, nothing can be done. But back to the point. The man's name was Buri, he had a son, Ber, and Ber had three sons - Odin, Vili and Ve. The three brothers were gods and ruled over Asgard. This seemed not enough to them, and they decided to kill Ymir's great-grandfather, making the world out of him.
Ymir was not happy, but no one asked him. In the process, he shed a lot of blood - enough to fill the seas and oceans; from the skull of the unfortunate brothers they created the vault of heaven, they broke his bones, making mountains and boulders out of them, and from the torn brains of poor Ymir they made clouds.
Odin and the company immediately decided to settle this new world: so they found two beautiful trees on the seashore - an ash and an alder, making a man out of an ash, and a woman out of an alder, thereby giving rise to the human race.

Greek balloon myth

Like many other peoples, the ancient Greeks believed that before our world appeared, there was only continuous chaos around. There was no sun, no moon - everything was piled up in one big heap, where things were inseparable from each other.
But then a certain god came, looked at the disorder reigning around, thought and decided that all this was not good, and got down to business: he separated the cold from the heat, the foggy morning from the clear day, and so on.
Then he set to work on the Earth, rolling it into a ball and dividing this ball into five parts: it was very hot at the equator, extremely cold at the poles, but between the poles and the equator - just right, you can't imagine more comfortable. Further, from the seed of an unknown god, most likely Zeus, known to the Romans as Jupiter, the first man was created - two-faced and also in the shape of a ball.
And then he was torn in two, making him a man and a woman - the future of you and me.

Sometimes the truth is more incredible than fiction. But people seem to gravitate more towards myths and mysteries than truth. Legends are amazing and fascinating, especially when it comes to famous places or personalities. This article will tell you about ten popular sights and amazing legends associated with them.

Sphinx

Experts agreed on only a few facts about the Great Sphinx of Giza: it is one of the largest and oldest statues in the world, as well as a creature with the body of a lion and the head of a man similar to the Egyptian pharaoh. The rest comes down to speculation and beliefs.

The legend about the prince of Egypt Thutmose, the grandson of Thutmose III, a descendant of Queen Hatshepsut, is a favorite story of the admirers of the Sphinx. The young man was the joy of his father, which aroused the jealousy of his relatives. Someone even plotted to kill him.

Due to family troubles, Thutmose spent more and more time away from home - in Upper Egypt and the desert. He was a strong and dexterous guy and enjoyed hunting and archery. Once, as usual, while he was away his leisure time, hunting down a wild beast, the prince left behind two of his servants, languishing from the heat, and went to pray to the pyramids.

He stopped in front of the Sphinx, in those days known as Harmahis - the god of the rising sun. A massive stone statue up to its shoulders was covered with sand. Thutmose looked at the Sphinx, begging to relieve him of all his problems. Suddenly, the huge statue came to life, and a thunderous voice came from its mouth.

The Sphinx asked Thutmose to free him from the sand pulling down. The eyes of the mythical creature burned so brightly that, looking into them, the prince fell unconscious. When he woke up, the day was drawing to a close. Thutmose slowly rose to his feet in front of the Sphinx and swore an oath to him. He promised that he would cleanse the statue of the sand covering it and immortalize the memory of this incident in stone if he becomes the next pharaoh. And the young man kept his word.

A fairy tale with a good ending or a true story - Thutmose actually became the next ruler of Egypt, and his problems were far behind. The story gained popularity only 150 years ago, when archaeologists cleared the sand from the Sphinx and discovered a stone tablet between its paws describing the legend of Prince Thutmose and his oath to the Great Sphinx of Giza.

The great Wall of China

The tale of tragic love is just one of the many legends of the Great Wall of China. But Meng Jiannyu's story - perhaps the saddest of them all - can move from the very first lines. It talks about the Meng spouses who lived next door to another couple named Jiang. Both families were happy but childless. So, as usual, the years passed until the Maines decided to plant a pumpkin vine in their garden. The plant grew rapidly and bore fruit outside the Jiang fence.

As good friends, the neighbors agreed to share the pumpkin equally. Imagine their surprise when, having cut it, they saw a baby inside. A tiny, lovely girl. As before, the two amazed couples decided to share the responsibility of raising a baby named Meng Jiannyu.

Their daughter grew up to be a very beautiful girl. She married a young man named Fan Xilian. However, the young man was hiding from the authorities, who tried to force him to join the construction of the Great Wall. And, unfortunately, he could not hide forever: just three days after their wedding, Silyan was forced to join other workers.

For a whole year, Meng waited for her husband's return, without receiving any news of his health or the progress of construction. One day Fan dreamed of her in a disturbing dream, and the girl, unable to bear the silence any longer, went in search of him. She traveled a long way, crossing rivers, hills and mountains, and reached the wall, only to hear that Silyan had died of exhaustion and was resting at its foot.

Maine could not contain her grief and cried for three days in a row, due to which part of the structure collapsed. The emperor, who heard about this, considered that the girl should be punished, but as soon as he saw her beautiful face, he immediately changed his anger to mercy and asked for her hand in marriage. She agreed, but on condition that the ruler would fulfill her three requests. Meng wished to declare mourning for Silyan (including for the emperor and his servants). The young widow asked for her husband's funeral and expressed her need to see the sea.

Meng Jiangyu never remarried. After attending the funeral ceremony for Fan, she committed suicide by throwing herself into the depths of the sea.

Another version of the legend says that the grieving girl cried until the wall collapsed and the remains of the dead workers appeared from the ground. Knowing that somewhere below her husband was lying, Meng cut her hand and watched as the blood dripped on the bones of the dead. Suddenly, she began to flock around one skeleton, and Meng realized that she had found Silyan. Then the widow buried him and took his own life by jumping into the ocean.

Forbidden City

In the past, the average tourist never had a chance to get to the Forbidden City. And if he could penetrate the walls, he would leave their heads. Literally. This ancient palace complex is the largest in the world and the only one of its kind. During the reign of the Qing dynasty, it was closed to the public.For more than 500 years, only the emperors and their entourage saw the city from the inside.

At least today, guests are allowed to explore the site and listen to the legends associated with it. One of them tells that the four watchtowers of the Forbidden City appeared in a dream.

Allegedly, during the Ming dynasty, the city was surrounded only by high walls, without a hint of towers. Emperor Yongle, who reigned in the 15th century, once had a vivid dream about his residence. He dreamed of the fantastic watchtowers that adorn the fortress in the corners. Waking up, the master immediately ordered his builders to make the dream come true.

According to legend, after the failed attempts of two detachments of workers (and their subsequent execution by beheading), the foreman of the third group of builders was very nervous, getting to work. But by modeling the tower on the model of the cage for grasshoppers he had seen, he managed to make Vladyka happy.

He also tried to include the number nine, the symbol of the nobility, in the design to please the emperor even more. They say the old man who sold the cricket cages that inspired the watchtowers was Lu Ban, the mythological patron saint of all Chinese carpenters.

Niagara Falls

The Maiden of the Mist legend may have inspired the name for the Niagara Falls river cruise. As with most legends, there are different versions of it.

The most famous - tells about an Indian girl named Lelavala, sacrificed to the gods. To appease them, she was thrown from Niagara Falls. The original version of the legend says that Lelavala sailed down the river in a canoe, and she was accidentally carried away downstream.

The girl was saved from certain death by Hinum, the god of thunder, who finally taught her how to defeat a huge snake that lived in the river. Lelavala conveyed a message to her tribesmen, and they declared war on the monster. Many believe that Niagara Falls acquired its present form as a result of subsequent battles between humans and the monster.

Incorrectly retold versions of this legend have appeared in print since the 17th century, many attributed some errors to Robert Cavelier de La Salle, a European explorer of North America. He claimed that he visited the Iroquois tribe and witnessed the sacrifice of a virgin - the daughter of the leader, and at the very last minute the unfortunate father fell victim to his own conscience and fell into the watery abyss after the girl. So Lelavala was named the Lady of the Mist.

However, Robert's wife opposed her own husband and accused him of portraying the Iroquois people so ignorant only in order to appropriate their land.

Devil's Peak and Table Mountain

Devil's Peak is an infamous mountainside in South Africa. He saw a lot, he could tell so much: including the wonderful legend of how fog rises from the ocean and envelops the summit along with Table Mountain. Cape Towners and other South Africans still tell this tale to their children and grandchildren.

In the 1700s, a pirate named Jan van Hanks decided to leave his dashing past behind and settled in Cape Town. He married and built a family nest at the foot of the mountain. Jan loved to smoke a pipe, but his wife hated this habit and chased him out of the house whenever he took up tobacco.

Van Hanks got into the habit of going to the mountains to smoke quietly in nature. One perfectly ordinary day, as always, he climbed the slope, but found a stranger in his favorite place. Jan did not see the man's face, since he was covered with wide hat brims, and he was dressed in all black.

Before the former sailor could say anything, the strange man greeted him by name. Van Hanks sat down next to him and started a conversation that smoothly turned to the topic of smoking. Jan often bragged about how much tobacco he could handle, and this conversation was no exception after a stranger asked the pirate to smoke.

He told van Hanks that he could easily smoke more than him, and they immediately decided to check it out - to compete.

Huge puffs of smoke surrounded the men, swallowed the mountains - suddenly the stranger began to cough. The hat fell from his head and Ian gasped. Before him was Satan himself. Angry that a mere mortal had exposed him, the devil was transported along with van Hanks in an unknown direction, flashing a flash of lightning.

Now, every time Devil's Peak and Table Mountain are covered with fog, people say that it is Van Hanks and the Prince of Darkness who have taken their places on the slope again and compete in smoking.

Mount Etna

Etna - Located on the east coast of Sicily, one of the highest active volcanoes in Europe. The first recorded revival took place in 1500 BC. e., and since then he has spat fire at least 200 times. During the eruption of 1669, which lasted four whole months, lava covered 12 villages and destroyed the surrounding areas.

According to Greek legend, the source of volcanic activity is none other than a 100-headed monster (dragon-like) that spews columns of flame from one of its mouths when angry. Apparently, this is a huge monster - Typhon, the son of Gaia, the goddess of the Earth. He was a rather naughty child, and Zeus sent him to live under Mount Etna. Therefore, from time to time, Typhon's wrath takes the form of boiling magma shooting straight into the heavens.

Another version tells about the terrible one-eyed giant Cyclops, who lived inside the mountain. One day Odysseus arrived at its foot to fight with a mighty creature. Cyclops tried to pacify the king of Ithaca, throwing huge boulders from the top, but the cunning hero managed to get to the giant and win by thrusting a spear into his only eye. The defeated big man disappeared into the bowels of the mountain. Further, the legend says that the crater of Etna is in reality the wounded eye of the Cyclops, and the lava splashing out of it is a drop of the giant's blood.

Alley of baobabs

The island of Madagascar resonates with many people around the world, and it's not just lemurs. The main local attraction is the delightful Baobab Avenue, located on the west coast. "Mother of the Forest" - 25 huge trees lined on both sides of the dirt road. This is where the indigenous inhabitants of the island are, in all respects, and the largest representatives of their species! Naturally, their amazing location has given rise to many legends and myths.

One of them says that the baobabs tried to escape while God was creating them, so he decided to plant the plants upside down. This might explain their root-like branches. Others tell a completely different story. Allegedly, the trees were originally unusually beautiful. But they became proud and began to boast of their superiority, for which God immediately turned them upside down so that only their roots became visible. It is said that this is the reason why baobabs bloom and release leaves for only a few weeks a year.

Myth or not, six varieties of these plants are found only in Madagascar. However, deforestation is a serious threat even against the background of all the activities and efforts being made there, aimed at protecting and restoring forests. If more is not done to protect them, the protagonists of these legends may disappear, most likely forever.

Giant's path

The unintentional creation of the Giant's Causeway, located in Northern Ireland, is what can happen if you get involved in a fight with a giant. At least, the legend convinces us of this. While scientists believe that basalt pillars in the form of regular hexagons are a 60 million year old lava accumulation, the legend of Benandonner, the Scottish giant, sounds a little more intriguing.

It tells about the Irish brute Finn McCool and his long-standing feud with the Scottish big guy Benandonner. One fine day, two giants started another squabble across the North Strait - Finn got so angry that he grabbed a handful of earth and threw it at his hated neighbor. A lump of mud landed in the water and is now known as the Isle of Man, and the place where McCool rests is called Lough Nei.

The war flared up, and Finn McCool decided to build a bridge for Benandonner (the Scottish giant could not swim). Thus, they could meet and fight, resolve the old dispute - who is the bigger giant. After the construction of the pavement, tired Finn fell asleep soundly.

While he was sleeping, his wife heard a deafening rumble and realized that it was the sound of the footsteps of the approaching Benandonner. When he arrived at the couple's house, Finn's wife was horrified - her husband's death came, because he turned out to be much smaller than his neighbor. A resourceful woman, she quickly wrapped a large blanket around McCool and put the largest cap she could find over his head. Then she opened the front door.

Benandonner yelled into the house for Finn to come out, but the woman hissed and said that he would wake her "baby". Legend has it that when the Scotsman saw the size of the "child", he did not wait for his father to appear. The giant immediately ran back home, destroying the passage through the strait on the way so that no one could follow him.

Mount fuji

Mount Fuji is a huge volcano in Japan. It is not only a major attraction, but also an important part of Japanese culture - the theme of many songs, movies and, of course, myths and legends. The story of the first eruption is considered the oldest legend in the country.

An elderly bamboo gatherer was carrying out his daily task when he came across something very unusual. A tiny baby the size of a thumb was staring at him from the trunk of a plant he had just cut. Struck by the beauty of the baby, the old man took her home to raise her with his wife as his own daughter.

Soon after the incident, Taketori (that was the name of the collector) began to make other surprising discoveries while working. Every time he cut a bamboo stem, he found a gold nugget inside. His family became rich very quickly. The little girl has grown into a young woman of stunning beauty. The adoptive parents eventually learned that her name was Kaguya-hime and she was sent to Earth from the Moon to protect against the raging war there.

Because of her beauty, the girl received several marriage proposals, including from the emperor himself, but rejected them all, as she sought to return home to the moon. When her people finally arrived for her, the ruler of Japan was so miserable at the imminent separation that he sent his army to fight the Kaguya's own family. However, the bright moonlight blinded them.

As a parting gift, Kaguya-hime (which means "moon princess") sent the emperor a letter and an elixir of immortality, which he did not accept. In turn, he wrote her a letter and ordered the servants to climb the highest mountain peak in Japan and burn it along with the elixir, in the hope that they will reach the moon.

However, the only thing that happened during the execution of the order of the sovereign on Fujiyama was a fire that could not be extinguished. So, according to legend, Mount Fuji became a volcano.

Yosemite

Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, USA is a challenge when it comes to climbing, but it is also considered a favorite with hikers and climbers. When the Native Americans lived here, they called it the Broken Mountain. At some point, as a result of repeated glaciation and thawing of the rock, most of the rock separated from it - so it acquired its present appearance.

The origins of the Half Dome have become the subject of a wonderful legend, still passed down by word of mouth, and they are all called "Tales of Tis-sa-ak." Tradition also explains the unusual face-shaped silhouette that can be seen on one side of the mountain.

The legend tells of an elderly Indian woman and her wife who traveled to the Auani Valley. Throughout the journey, the lady carried a heavy wicker basket of reeds, while her husband simply brandished his cane. This was the custom in those days, and no one would have thought it strange that a man was in no hurry to help his wife.

By the time they reached the mountain lake, a woman named Tis-sa-ak was thirsty, tired of her heavy burden and the scorching sun. Therefore, she, without wasting a second, rushed to the water to drink.

When her husband came there, he was horrified to find that his wife had drained the whole lake. But then everything only worsened: due to the lack of water, a drought hit the area, and all the greenery dried up. The man got so angry that he swung his cane at his wife.

Tis-sa-ak burst into tears and ran with a basket in her hands. At some point, she turned around to throw a basket at her husband who was pursuing her. And when their gaze met, the Great Spirit who lived in the valley turned both of them to stone.

Today the couple are known as Half Dome and Washington Colum. They say that if you look closely at the mountainside, you can see a woman's face, on which tears silently flow.