Similarities between the Hindu and Greek mythologies

The amazing similarities between the Hindu and Greek mythologies frequently crops up in comparative mythology - or the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics. 

Devas vs Asuras In Hindu mythology, the constant fight is between good and evil - the good represented by the devas (the gods) and the evil represented by the asuras (the demons). The asuras are the chief tormentors of the devas. Celtic vs Fomorians Similarly, Greek mythology is all about the Celtic gods of life and light, who wage a constant struggle against the Fomorians, ancient gods of death and darkness. In the Greek myth of the Titanomachy, the Olympian gods defeat the Titans, an older and more primitive divine race, to establish cosmic order. The Gods of Mount Olympus represents good while their antitheses are the Titans, representing evil.

Rishi Kashyap, Father Of Devas And Asuras An interesting fact is that in both these mythologies, both good and evil are fathered by the same person. In Hinduism, the Devas and the Asuras are both supposed to have been fathered by Rishi Kashyap. Kronos, Father Of Greek In the same way, the Olympian Gods and the Titans were both fathered by Kronos.

Krishna And Kamsa In Hindu mythology, King Kamsa of Mathura is foretold that the eighth son of his sister Devaki will kill him, hearing which, King Kamsa not only imprisons both Devaki and her husband Vasudeva, he also goes about systematically killing all new babies born to his sister, till the eighth - Bhagwan Krishna - is born. Devaki and Vasudeva help each the baby to safety. A grown-up Krishna comes back to kill his uncle Kamsa.And Titans Kronos And Zeus In similar fashion, Kronos becomes aware of a prophecy that he will be overthrown by one of his children. In order to avert this fate, he begins to swallow each one of his children as soon as they are born. When the sixth child Zeus is born, Rhea (Kronos' wife) devises a plan to save the baby with the help of Kronos' mother Gaia. Rhea secretly gives birth to Zeus and arranges for him to be brought up in exile. Later, a grown-up Zeus comes back to take care of Kronos.

Trimurti Hinduism has its three Supreme Gods - Brahma, the Creator, Vishnu, the Protector and Shiva, the Destroyer. The Greek Trinity Likewise, the supreme gods of Greek mythology are also three - Zeus (The Lord of the Skies), Poseidon (The Lord of the Seas) and Hades (The Lord of the Underworld).

Indra, God Of Thunder The Rig Veda proclaims Indra as Hindu God of thunder, who rides a grand chariot and lives on Mount Meru in Swarga. He uses the thunderbolt as his weapon to create rain. He is prayed to on Thursdays. Zeus, The Greek God Of Thunder Likewise, Zeus is the Greek God of Thunder. the dwelling place of Zeus is Mount Olympus, home of other Greek Gods as well. Zeus is also worshipped on Thursdays!

Lakshmi, The Goddess Of Wealth Hindus have a goddess of wealth and prosperity, and she is Lakshmi. Hera, The Greek Goddess Of Wealth Hera is the Greek goddess of wealth and prosperity.

Saraswati, The Goddess Of Learning The Hindus have a dedicated goddess of learning, and that is Ma Saraswati. She is the one who is considered as blessing all cultural and artistic fields. Athena, The Greek Goddess Of Wisdom Similarly, the Greeks have a goddess of wisdom, who is Athena. She is seen as the one presiding over all art forms.

Yama, The Hindu God Of Death Hindus have a God presiding over death and afterlife, and he's known as Yama. Hades, The Greek God Of Death The Greeks too have a God of the Underworld, and he's Hades.

Varuna, God Of The Ocean Varuna is the name of the Hindu god of the oceans. Poseidon Poseidon is the name of the Greek god of the ocean, and in both cultures, they protect sea life.

Vishwakarma, The God Of Hindu Workers Vishwakarma is the Hindu god of workmanship, and therefore rules tools and manufacturing. Haphaestus, The Greek God Of Design The Greeks are not far behind. Haphaestus is their God of design and manufacture. In both cultures, the gods are shown carrying weapons.

Kartik, The God Of War Hindus' god of war is Kartik - Shiva's son - who rides a peacock and holds a weapon (a spear) in hand. Ares, The Greek God Of War The Greeks' god of war is Ares, and he carries the same weapon - a spear

Mahakal, Hindu God Of Time, Space And Destruction Mahakal or Mahakaleshwar, a name for Shiva, is said to rule time and space in Hindu mythology. Kronos, Greek God Of Time, Space And Destruction Kronos, Greek god of many things, is also the god of destruction.

Krishna, Kaliyuga and... Hindu philosophy has it that Kaliyuga began with Lord Krishna's death by a mislaid arrow shot by a hunter. ....Achilles Heel In Greek mythology too, there is a famous scene where a character, Achilles, was killed by an arrow that pierced his foot. Thus, the genesis of the phrase Achilles Heel, to denote a weak spot in anyone. Achilles was a great fighter who was washed with the waters of the river Styx to become invincible. His mother, Thetis, held him by his heel and dipped him into the river. Thus, that portion of his heel was not washed by the waters of the magical river and remained vulnerable, proving to be the cause of his death by a poisonous arrow that lodged in his heel.

Sri Krishna And Putana King Kamsa sent Putana to breastfeed baby Krishna with poisonous milk. However, the divine baby soon sucked the life out of the demoness. Hercules And Hera When Hercules was born, Zeus tricked Hera into nursing the infant. But discovering who the baby was, Hera tried to make amends by quickly pulling him away from her breast. Mythology says her milk formed a smear across the sky that can be seen to this day and known as The Milky Way.

Krishna And Kaliya In Hindu mythology, Kaliya was the name of a poisonous snake or naga living in the Yamuna river near Vrindavan. The water of the Yamuna became poisonous because of the snake. No bird or beast would go near it and just one solitary Kadamba tree grew on the riverbank. When Krishna playfully swung down a branch of the Kadamba tree, he fell into the river. Kaliya immediately rose up with his numerous hoods, but a fearless Krishna jumped on top of Kaliya's head and danced, the dance being known as Kaliya Mardana. Hercules And Hera Again In striking similarity in Greek mythology, Hera sent two serpents to kill baby Hercules as he lay in his cot. However, the baby simply throttled one snake after another, playing with their limp bodies as if they were toys.

The Sapta Rishis According to the epic Mahabharata, the stars of the Big Dipper were the seven sages or rishis. These seven sages are said to be those who made the Sun rise and shine. They were happily married to seven sisters, named Krittika. They all originally lived together in the northern sky. Pleiades, The Seven Sisters According to the ancient Greeks, the Pleiades were seven sisters. In Greek, the word "pleiades" means "doves". Their parents were Pleione and Atlas, the latter condemned by Zeus to support the Heavens on his shoulders. One day, the Pleiades were traveling with their mother and met the hunter Orion. Orion fell in love with Pleione and her charming daughters. He spent a great deal of time, trying to win their affection. After several years, Zeus intervened and transformed the women into doves to help them escape. They flew into the sky to become the cluster of stars that today has their name. However, only six stars are visible in the sky without a telescope. The ancient Greeks explained the absence of a seventh star with several different stories. According to one story, one of the Pleiades, Merope, deserted her sisters because she was ashamed of having a mortal husband, who also happened to be a criminal.

Three Indian Goddesses There are three main Hindu goddesses - Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Three Greek Goddesses The Greek goddesses also number three: Hera, Hestia and Demeter.

The Lanka Yudh The Lanka Yudh happened because a man abducted another man's wife. The Trojan War The famous Greek Trojan War too started when a Prince abducted a Princess from another nation...

Kumari Kandam and Atlantis

Ancient Tamil and Sanskrit text mention an island called Kumari Kandam (Lemuria), which sunken in ocean 10000 years ago. Similarly Greek Mythology mention a sunken island Atlantis.

Different Cultures, Similar Stories 

Hasn't this been a beautiful journey? Two cultures - so different from each other but coming up with a strikingly similar smorgasbord of legends and characters...are they trying to tell us the same story?