Olympus Dbq

Ancient Greece was filled with so much character, from their religion to even the stories that followed them through generation to generation. One important thing to remember is how they took their religion very seriously and believed very much in their goddesses and their gods. This strong belief carried out into their everyday lives, where they began to believe that everything that happened within their day, was from the gods. With such a love and respect for these gods, they held them up on a pedestal and gave them all their respect and looked at them only as positive. These gods that play a role in their life, often act more as a spiritual guide more than anything. They take on mortal disguises to allow them to help the world without becoming noticed. As we can see in The Odyssey, the relationship between gods and mortals is close knit, but the main difference that is evident, is the power between the two. The gods may not be able to cause death upon a mortal, but they can do everything to lead towards that. In the book, the gods can make or break your day. We see within several relationships between the gods and mortals, that the power from the gods can be not only positive, but also negative. Each mortal has been influenced in some way by the gods, for either the greater good, or bad. Which goes without saying, that the Greek take their theology in believing in the gods, very seriously.

Greece, was an ancient city built thousands of years ago that flourished with new ideas. A part of these new ideas, was the art of Greek mythology. Mythology was a large part in people’s lives, THe gods were also a important part of the civilians lives as well. People know about these myths, or ideas because of the many artifacts found archaeologically, or explained and detailed in the myths. Greek religion/mythology had an important impact on people’s lives, and was interesting to learn about.

In the ancient Greek world, religion was personal, direct, and present in its citizens’ daily lives. During this time, they participated in animal sacrifices and offerings, created myths to explain the beginning of the human race and gave reverence to their gods by building temples which controlled the urban landscape. They also participated in local festivals and sporting and artistic competitions. Religion was never out of the presence of ancient Greece’s citizens. While they may have made up their own mind on the terms of their religious beliefs, some may have been completely confused if these gods actually existed. There were certain fundamental beliefs that must have been sufficiently widespread, in order for the Greek government to function. In ancient Greece, gods existed, they influenced human concerns, and they welcomed and responded to acts of godliness and worship.

Unlike religious gods today, the Greek gods resembled human being in their form and their emotions, and suffered from the same dilemmas humans throughout time have faced. The Greeks believe in many gods and think they are very much like people. They have both supernatural powers and human weaknesses. The gods would fight, play on each other, gets angry or jealous, and steal from each other. The Olympian Gods live atop Mt. Olympus in Greece behind a gate of clouds. They watch the mortals down on earth which they can visit any time, and are responsible for the success or failure of human life. The Greeks worship their gods, pray, give offerings, and build temples to please the gods so they will not give any punishments.

The lecture on Homeric gods by Professor Carolyn Anderson provided information about the Odyssey, ancient Greek culture, and the gods presiding in the culture. During the time period of the ancient Greeks, much was unexplainable. The numerous gods were a way to explain occurrences and their religion was a way of regulating the world and having structure, and the gods played a large part in the Greek culture. The religion was also heavily influenced by narratives about causality such as the Odyssey and the Iliad.

Ancient Greece had a mix of two different cultures, the Mycenaean and Minoan. The Minoans would worship a “fertility mother-goddess,” (Morford, 45). While the Mycenaean believed in a sky god named Zeus. Both of these different cultures and their beliefs fused together to influence Greek mythology and a majority of what ancient Greeks believed in. People in Greece gained influence from Asian

“Ancient Greeks predicted events on the basis of magic, witchcraft, or mythology.” (De Villa 5) Basically, from the early 900 B.C., Ancient Greeks are dependent on the gods and deities. And as good seafarers, they are traveling to trade to the lands of Persia, Carthage, and Egypt. While traveling, they are looking for a refuge where the traders could stop-off, and they found Crete in the city of Knossos. While staying in Crete, non-denominational or civil religion arose.

At the same time, it reminds us that these myths do not really constitute the religion of the Greeks. These myths are more similar to proto-scientific stories that are meant to explain usual phenomena, such as thunderstorms or the setting of the sun. Some myths are pure amusement and are not meant to explain anything. On the whole, the later myths appear more religious, as Zeus, the primary god, begins to resemble the sort of omnipotent God--figure familiar to modern readers—in the Iliad, he is very human and moody, but by the Odyssey he is more wise and sympathetic. Zeus changes so much from the old philanderer he once was that he begins to look very much like the Judeo-Christian concept of God. These all concepts relate to the myths and if in today’s world one were to think of it as reality one would laugh on this.

The ancient Greek and Roman worlds made significant contributions to both the religion and ways of thinking. Greek and Roman religion was polytheistic, and they worshiped many gods and goddesses. Members of both groups strongly believed the gods influenced all natural wonders. Each Greek polis, had its own set of important gods and goddesses and their own particular way to honor and worship them. Eventually, most Greeks identified a pantheon of twelve major deities. These gods and goddesses were called Olympian gods by the Greeks, and apparently lived on Mount Olympus in northern Greece, led by Zeus and his wife Hera. While the deities were connected to the political life of the city-state, all citizens were expected to participate in public worship as part of their duty to the state. As for the Romans, who greatly admired the culture of the Greeks, later identified their own deities with powers similar to the Greek gods. Greek religion and later Roman religion, had no specific rules of proper behaviors or principles to follow. Each individual was free to decide regarding their actions, as long as they participated in the official worship ceremonies. The Greco-Roman philosophy was revolutionary in the antiquity of human thought. It relied on logical reasoning, established the first scientific vocabulary, and laid the foundation that showed change from Greek to Roman domination.

Books, movies, poems, plays, and stories have all been made about the Greek Gods. These things weren’t made just for entertainment, this was the ancient Greece religion. There were twelve of these Gods and Goddesses and they were all in charge of something. The people of Greece probably came up with this religion because of it being so long ago, they didn’t have the knowledge that we have now, they came up with this to explain the things that they couldn’t explain. For example storms, they believed that every time that there was a storm that it meant that Zeus, God of the skies, was upset or angry. Tsunamis, was when they believed Poseidon, the God of the seas, was angry. However, all Gods and Goddesses were not all tied to nature. They even

Culture and their beliefs played a massive role in the lives of the ancient Athenians. In regards to their beliefs, Athenians didn’t believe in a single powerful God. Instead they relied on multiple Gods and Goddesses. Athens patron goddess is Athena, goddess of wisdom and knowledge. There belief in multiple deities came from their Indo-European ancestors. They attributed supernatural powers to elements such as the sun, wind, and rain. Later, Greeks personified the powers and created gods. As epic poems such as the Iliad and the Odyssey, people were able to identify problems and focal points of Ancient Greek living. Ancient Athenians beliefs grew, as they offered more sacrifices in order to have a prosperous life.

The Greeks gods were part of the religious beliefs of the past Greeks. The first gods that were known was the land and sky. These gods were the primary of all of the Greek gods that we know today, and created the tree line for them. There were many of them, and each one had a unique ability that affected the way humans act toward each other. The Greek gods had the ability to control the way nature works, and they also created many things that humans use today. Even though the gods were above society, they still had human like characteristics. For instance, each god was born of two other gods or a human and another god. Athena was born of the god Zeus, the father of most of the gods, and Metis, a sea nymph and Zeus’s first wife. Athena has

he gods of Greece were immortal and powerful beings that lived on Mount Olympus. They were the children and grandchildren of the titan Cronus. They lived thousands of years ago in ancient Greece.

The Ancient Greeks regarded their religion and mythology with much respect and loyalty. Although the Ancient Greek Gods are now seen as an explanation created by man, for natural forces and the world around us, there has been much evidence both for and against the debate that these Gods were real. The Greeks believed that the Earth was created with the birth of Gaia, or Mother Earth, from the dark void known as Chaos. It was believed that Gods were all-powerful giants and heroes, who were responsible for our creation. The Olympians were a younger race of Gods led by Zeus, who eventually overthrew the formidable Titans, led by Zeus’ tyrannical father Cronus. Once in power, the Olympians, named after their

“At the center of Greek mythology is the pantheon of deities who were said to live on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. From their perch, they ruled every aspect of human life. Olympian gods and goddesses looked like men and women (though they could change themselves into animals and other things) and were–as many myths recounted–vulnerable to human foibles and passions” (Karas, History).