
What is a legend?
Question: What is a legend?
Answer: A legend is a story about an event that happened in the past, usually involving a heroic action. To qualify as a legend, the story cannot be proven although it might be true. Legends gave the early Greeks a common history and common heroes.
During the Greek dark ages, some people earned a living with their storytelling skills. There were many different tribes of people living on the Greek peninsula at the time. They spoke many languages. Rather than learn lots of different languages, the storytellers began to use the Greek language to tell their stories. In time, the people in all the towns could understand and speak Greek.
Sometimes, a storyteller would be in the middle of a story and the townspeople would correct him. The people had heard the same tale from another storyteller. They wanted to hear it again, but they knew the story and the hero and the adventure and the ending. Soon, the storytellers all knew the same stories. The best storytellers made up new stories, using the same characters. The people believed these stories were about real people having real adventures.
Thanks to the storytellers, the people on the Greek peninsula soon had a common language (Greek), common morals (fables), a common history (legends), and a common religion (myths). The ancient Greeks never tired of their myths, fables, and legends. Long after the dark age, these stories were still being told in homes and everywhere the Greeks traveled. They were retold by people who were not even Greek. In time, these wonderful stories were written down. We still enjoy them today.

Explore Ancient Greece
For Kids: Overview
Early Greece: Minoans, Mycenaeans, Dorians
Rise of Greek City-States
- On Land: Greek Warriors
- At Sea: Greek Ships
- Trojan War
- Persian Wars
- The Delian League
- Peloponnesian War
- Alexander the Great
- The League of Corinth
Investigate Real Life Artifacts
For Kids: Art, Culture, Government
For Kids: Greek Mythology
Ancient Greek Myths for Kids, retold by Lin Donn
- Zeus, Hera, and Little Io
- The Competition, Athena and Poseidon
- Theseus, the Minotaur, and the Maze
- Dionysus and Ariadne
- Icarus and Daedalus, Wings
- The 12 Labors of Hercules
- Demeter and Persephone, Reason for the Seasons
- Apollo's Oracle at Delphi
- Perseus, Andromeda, and the sea god, Poseidon
- King Midas and the Donkey Ears
- And Many More
Ancient Greek Gods & Goddesses
For Kids: Ancient Greek Daily Life
For Kids: People
For Kids: Interactive Quizzes
Alexander the Great &
Gifts from the Greeks
For Teachers
For Kids and Teachers: Other Ancient Civilizations
See Also: Early Humans for Kids and Teachers