Religion During The Ancient Society

The spartan military was one of the most feared militaries in the greek society. They trained their citizens in discipline and honor. Their entire culture was based on war. The spartans began in the mycenaean age(1600 Bce to 1100 Bce).

Ancient Greece is commonly acknowledged as one of the greatest societies to ever exist. Two of the most known civilizations in ancient Greece were Athens and Sparta. However, both of these civilizations were known for completely different reasons. Sparta was recognized for its military above anything else. The Spartan military was an unparalleled fighting force of its time, with its high-end weaponry, organization, and impressive methods of fighting. This is primarily because the Spartan military was the only full-time fighting force in ancient Greece which compelled it to sustain an elite status.

Roman religion is not as easy to identify or describe as one might immediately suppose. Much of the difficulty in defining the religion of the Roman Republic is due to its flexibility and variability, as well as the lack of any clear division between religion, politics, and civil society during this period. It can often be difficult to tell, for example, where Roman religion ends and political ideology begins. Despite these difficulties, it is possible to make certain generalized statements. Religion in the Roman republic was extremely integrated into everyday life, it is variable and individualized, and it played a key role in upholding Roman civil and military power structures. It is also important to remember that Roman religion is not static and underwent a constant process of change over several centuries, often due to political and social concerns.

The most important Spartan Gods and Goddesses were Poseidon, Artemis Orthia, and Apollo. These gods were respected and worshipped in Sparta like many other gods but their popularity may have been due to Sparta’s view of fighting and physicality, gods were worshipped in Sparta as they were feared, worshipping not only helped the suppositious side of Sparta gaining

Religion played a central role in Spartan society in the ancient world. In addition to being well known for their fierce fighting force, Spartans were well known amongst other Greek city-states for their devotion and serious attitude towards religion and the gods. Because of their strict devotion to religious practises, they were often mocked by other Greek states. The gods were to be obeyed completely and were to be respected completely by all Spartans, though in theory, this relationship between the Spartans and the gods was believed to have been based on mutual respect. Religion was seen as a way of combining the gods with everyday social and political/governmental aspects of Spartan society, so much so

In the fifth century BCE, Sparta developed in the Eastern Mediterranean. Sparta was limited in size (population), but its military was famous for its toughness. Even with a small population of an army of about 8,000 men, they managed to defend Sparta from incoming attacks. Unfortunately, Spartan boys were forced to join and receive training from age 7. Like the battle of Thermopylae, Sparta was able to shield itself, but all the warriors died.

In the ancient Roman world, religion played the most important role in everyday life, as well as in matters of the state. The Romans looked to the gods for political stability and for control of the unexplainable and natural phenomenon. The gods were believed to control all aspects of Roman life, and for that reason, a great deal of importance was placed in the appropriate worship of the gods. Women played an extremely influential role in ancient Roman religion. Not only did they participate in religious rituals, but some even held religious positions as Vestal Virgins.

From the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations to the Muslim world, antiquity has always been filled with religions of all sorts. These religions helped guide how ancient peoples lived life and came about doing even the most common tasks that people like us do today. Religion impacted the civilizations of the ancient world by greatly influencing how peoples of ancient civilizations acted, how they thought about the world around them, how civilizations were organized and maintained, and how they interacted with civilizations of another religion.

Religion in Sparta, like in many societies, had a purpose. Religion was important in Sparta to support the ideals of a militaristic utopian society which, after the Messenian wars, the governing forces were aiming to create. “Those who honour the gods most finely with choruses are best in war” [Socrates]. The Spartan ideal of an elite military state influenced the approach to religion and the ways in which religion would be moulded to suite state doctrine, therefore highlighting the importance of religion in upholding the values of Spartan society. Religion in Sparta was interpreted to uphold Spartan values some of which are endurance, loyalty, obedience, conformity, and

a difficult test to graduate and become a full citizens of Sparta. Only the young men who graduate to a soldiers would receive the aristocratic citizenship. If they fail the tests they would have never became a citizen, but they would become a perioeci, the middle class people. So to an extent your class was based on rank rather than birth. If the young Spartan warriors passed the tests, they would go on to living in the barracks, where they would train as soldiers but they young men were required to marry a Spartan women to give birth to young Spartans. The state would give the Spartan men a piece of land that would have slaves working farming it and they did not have to tend to anything. The income was provided for the soldiers support so they could remain full-time soldiers. At the age of 30 the Spartan soldiers were allowed to live with their families, but would continued to train as a warrior until the age of 60 when they would retired from military service.

The ancient Greeks made city states that functioned as their society. These were small, usually consisting of a population of around eight to ten thousand people. Some of the famous city states are Sparta and Athens. Sparta imposed many tensions on the individual. Sparta was a highly militarized state and would pull the boys away from the family usually around age seven and put them into a state sponsored training regimen that would make them highly skilled warriors. If the boy was unable to complete the training for any reason they were seen as unable to be a Spartan and were usually seen as an outcast and removed from society. The Spartans, just like most other societies in ancient times, valued boys over girls. “Spartan parents often exposed female babies to the elements and leave them to die they also made decisions on male infants testing them and seeing if they would develop into a mature warrior and if not they would face the same fate as females.”1 This

Religion can invade, conquer, and rule masses of people far more effectively and efficiently than any empire or conqueror. This is not to spark a heated discussion about religions. Its purpose is, to say that, even though it is highly debatable whether religions are false or true, most of them serve a very basic purpose of establishing morals and values. Early religions were used as a source of power and economic growth. Even if one doesn’t believe in or agree with the teachings of any religion, history shows proof that it creates a sense of order. There are many religions in the past that have brought order and civilized conduct to large numbers of people, not through military conquest, but through the promise of reward or the fear of punishment. Religion is the glue that binds local communities into nationhood and creates common understandings and shared values that are essential to the growth of a civilization. No religion is fully formed at its start, so why did some religion play such a big role in growth of the Ancient Civilizations.

– “The years as they come bring many agreeable things with them; as they go, they take many away” – Horace (65BC – 8BC)

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.

Dying for one’s city in ancient Greece was revered and respected, a group of soldiers sacrificing themselves in a battle were exalted as heroes of the city. Pericles funeral oration highlights the role of death in ancient greek society. Death is honorable, and sacrifice even more so. In fact, it was expected that you would die defending your country, instead of surrendering.