How Did Religion Influence Ancient Greek Society

The Greek Society believes in many Gods. The first one that I will talk about is Zeus. Zeus is The God of The Sky, Thunder, Lightning, and Justice. Zeus made sure that justice was always served. So he made sure that there was justice everywhere. And if someone was doing wrong he would punish them deeply.

You’ve all heard the tales of Greek mythology, been exposed to their Gods, like Zeus, Athena or Hades and seen the countless blockbuster movies based upon these very myths. These myths, were once very tightly linked to the religion of the ancient Greeks. Although unfortunately, religious practise wasn’t as dramatic as moviemakers and authors like to depict, but rather, from the beginning of Greek civilisation, religion was an integral aspect within everyday life as it sought to provide an explanation for the occurrences in their world, control the lives of the citizens and regulate all codes of conduct. In order to delve into the world of ancient Greece and understand the culture and daily life more fully, the historical context of the emergence of Greek

Ancient Greece has been a religion- centered culture since the earliest period of habitation in Greece, the Pre-Mycenaean/Mycenaean period. Also through to the Dark Ages to the Classical period. It is a religiously centered civilization, and did have significant changes in the how it was incorporated into people’s daily lives. Religion is important to know about the Ancient Greeks because through it we are able to understand how they lived their lives.

“ The religion of Greek people is an important aspect of the Greek culture.”(Religion in Greece Source:www.greeka.com) Greek religion was a form of polytheism, which meant that they believed in many deities. Because religion was not built around a book, they expressed it in many forms. Greek theatre was performed on many different occasions, including special occasions. Greek religion was both private and

A polytheistic Greek religion is surrounded by numerous gods. Each represented a certain aspect of human problems including abstract ideas, such as justice and wisdom. This was the religion most devout Greeks followed and believed in. The most important gods were Olympian gods led by Zeus. These gods were: Athena, Apollo, Poseidon, Hermes, Hera, Aphrodite, Demeter, Ares, Artemis, Hades, Hephaistos,

For example, in world history we could learn about Greeks Olympic Games, they were held every four years to honor the Greek god Zeus. Also, during the Greeks times there was many wars, for example the first war that they had was called the Ionian Revolt. Ancient people had many beliefs in gods for example they thought that Zeus was the god of the sky and the rulers of all the gods, the god that had the most power of all the other gods.

Greeks thought about their gods more often than most people do nowadays. Over the course of the day the Greeks would think about the gods often. if they wanted something such as death of an enemy or a good harvest he would give a offering to a temple of the of the gods domain in which he wanted help in.

The theology of this religion was polytheistic, with the assumption that there were many different gods and goddesses. This is unlike many other religions, such as Christianity or Islam, which are monotheistic. There was an order of the deities, with Zeus having a certain level of control over almost everything, but he was not omnipotent. Though they were immortal, the gods were nowhere near all-good nor all-powerful. Everyone, even the Olympians, had to obey Fate. Unalike Egyptian Mythology, the gods looked and acted like humans. They interacted with mortals, and had many children with them.

In Ancient Greece the people honored and believe in the deities. Myths, poems, and epics

"In Ancient Greece, religion was personal, direct, and present in all areas of life. With formal rituals, which included animal sacrifices and libations, myths to explain the origins of mankind and give the gods a human face, temples which dominated the urban landscape, city festivals and national sporting and artistic competitions, religion was never far from the mind of an ancient Greek. " For the Greek government and societies to function properly some basics, generally must have been known about e.g.: the gods themselves had existed, and could influence matters in human lives and that they also encouraged and responded to piety and of worship. Greek religion involved a countless number of gods, each symbolising a certain part of human conditions,

Various religious festivals were held in ancient Greece, to show worship and honor to the Olympian gods and goddesses. Such as Lycaea was celebrated in Arcadia Greece, which was a dedication to the god Pan. Pan was known as the god of the wild and rustic music. One of the major known festivities that were celebrated in different locations every four years was the Olympic Games. These games were to celebrate not only Zeus, but who all in all was better over the other. These Olympic Games are still held, till today in the modern world.

Religion was an important factor of daily life in Ancient Greece. The Greeks gave countless hours worshipping and sacrificing to their deities. It is said that two Greek poets, Homer and Hesiod, were the founders of Greek poetry, the ones who came up with the the idea of the gods. There is a likelihood that the placement of Gods on Mount Olympus was encouraged by Homer and Hesiod, but

Greek Mythology played a monumental role in the structural development of ancient Greece, not only as a society, but as individuals. Surprisingly, their religion was not exactly one of originality. In fact, their religion was loosely based on earlier cultures’ religions. It bears many strikingly similar resemblances to some of the oldest recorded religions in history. Ancient Greek religion is a type of polytheism called “Monarchial Polytheism.” That is, they believe in several different gods and deities but there is a supreme ruler above all of them. In order to fully understand how similar the mythological systems of religions have been throughout the years, you must look back towards the earliest of recorded civilizations. Polytheism

Religion was a big thing in ancient Greece. It was personal but also present everywhere in Greece. The Greeks were polytheistic which means a belief in many gods. Each god that the Greeks believed in was in charge of an emotion or some piece of nature. The main gods lived in Mount Olympus. The main gods and goddesses were Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hestia, Demeter, Hermes, Aphrodite, Ares, and Hephaestus. Athens was named after the goddess Athena who is the goddess of war, arts, crafts, and wisdom. During this time goddesses were dominant so Greek woman had a big influence on religion. Since women were more soft spoken and had a higher voice than men they would whisper to the gods or sing softly to them. Women in ancient Greece were seen as oracles because of this.

During this century, women were present, but they weren’t thought to be nor do much where they lived. This idea was common amongst almost every civilization during this time. In Greek civilization, they had this attitude towards women. In Ancient Greece, women had very few rights, especially compared to those of their male counterparts. Women were unable to vote, own land, and inherit things. They were also not allowed to run for any position in office, nor attend public assemblies. Some women during this time were also prostitutes. The