Religion of the Ancient Greeks
Written by Haden Delaney:
One of the commonly practiced religions was Paganism, a more elaborated form of the early Druidism. This religion was polytheistic, meaning that there were believed to be multiple gods. These gods were praised and worshiped, because the Ancient Greeks believed that they were responsible for every little thing that happens, and you definitely don't want to peeve off someone with that kind of power. So essentially, they lived in fear of a bunch of super-powered giants wearing togas .
The worship of these gods often brought people together, in a sort of unification. It was believed that praising the gods basically gave you a free ticket to the next life, and insured you would have good fortune. Entire temples, and shrines were designed and built to serve as a sort of "home" for the gods, and were places where sacrifices, offerings, and ceremonies took place in front of giant statues depicting the gods in all of their (supposed) glory. In addition to worshiping the gods, the Ancient Greeks also praised other deities, such as Oracles. Sanctuaries were also built to honor these supposed psychics.
The exact origins of this way of thinking has been lost in time, and all that can be assumed is that the Ancient Greeks adapted their religion from whatever people inhabited the land of Greece before them. There's many different gods for many different things, from wine, to light, to goats, to gold, to horses, to music, to thunder and lightning, to love, to the underworld, to even the gods themselves. The Ancient Greeks also thought that the gods sometimes assume an animal guise.
It was believed that the gods controlled the entire universe in a sort of "discussion group", if you will. Basically, imagine a talk show where the subject is everything imaginable about all of existence. They thought this because at the time they lacked the basic scientific evidence to show that things like the sun rising and setting were all natural processes.
Many, and I mean many sacrifices were made to appease these supposed gods. Cows, sheep, pigs, bulls, goats, even humans were slaughtered and presented to the shrines of the gods as offerings.
There was quite the focus on the afterlife, as has been previously established, and the Ancient Greeks had many beliefs about how one can successfully cross over upon death. Of course, worship of the gods was a must. And not just any old worship, you had to depend on the gods 24/7 in order to have the best chances of making it to the next life. If you wanted to take any of your worldly possessions along with you, you needed to be buried with them. Did you die before your pet did? They're killed so they can be buried with you. Leaving behind a loving family? They're commonly sought after so they can be slaughtered and buried at your side. Not very pretty. They went to great, and as you can see often drastic, lengths to make sure they had the best of chances.
As you can see, the Ancient Greeks had quite the wallop of a religion, involving many deities, and beliefs about the next life.
Source: http://library.thinkquest.org/28111/newpage2.htm
One of the commonly practiced religions was Paganism, a more elaborated form of the early Druidism. This religion was polytheistic, meaning that there were believed to be multiple gods. These gods were praised and worshiped, because the Ancient Greeks believed that they were responsible for every little thing that happens, and you definitely don't want to peeve off someone with that kind of power. So essentially, they lived in fear of a bunch of super-powered giants wearing togas .
The worship of these gods often brought people together, in a sort of unification. It was believed that praising the gods basically gave you a free ticket to the next life, and insured you would have good fortune. Entire temples, and shrines were designed and built to serve as a sort of "home" for the gods, and were places where sacrifices, offerings, and ceremonies took place in front of giant statues depicting the gods in all of their (supposed) glory. In addition to worshiping the gods, the Ancient Greeks also praised other deities, such as Oracles. Sanctuaries were also built to honor these supposed psychics.
The exact origins of this way of thinking has been lost in time, and all that can be assumed is that the Ancient Greeks adapted their religion from whatever people inhabited the land of Greece before them. There's many different gods for many different things, from wine, to light, to goats, to gold, to horses, to music, to thunder and lightning, to love, to the underworld, to even the gods themselves. The Ancient Greeks also thought that the gods sometimes assume an animal guise.
It was believed that the gods controlled the entire universe in a sort of "discussion group", if you will. Basically, imagine a talk show where the subject is everything imaginable about all of existence. They thought this because at the time they lacked the basic scientific evidence to show that things like the sun rising and setting were all natural processes.
Many, and I mean many sacrifices were made to appease these supposed gods. Cows, sheep, pigs, bulls, goats, even humans were slaughtered and presented to the shrines of the gods as offerings.
There was quite the focus on the afterlife, as has been previously established, and the Ancient Greeks had many beliefs about how one can successfully cross over upon death. Of course, worship of the gods was a must. And not just any old worship, you had to depend on the gods 24/7 in order to have the best chances of making it to the next life. If you wanted to take any of your worldly possessions along with you, you needed to be buried with them. Did you die before your pet did? They're killed so they can be buried with you. Leaving behind a loving family? They're commonly sought after so they can be slaughtered and buried at your side. Not very pretty. They went to great, and as you can see often drastic, lengths to make sure they had the best of chances.
As you can see, the Ancient Greeks had quite the wallop of a religion, involving many deities, and beliefs about the next life.
Source: http://library.thinkquest.org/28111/newpage2.htm