Interesting Ancient Greece Religion Facts That You Probably Didn T Know

Religion essentially refers to the belief and worship of a supreme power that controls everything in the universe.There was no definite organized religion during the time period of the ancient Greeks. However, they worshipped numerous gods and goddesses.The ancient Greeks worshipped the 12 Olympian gods and goddesses. Each god was associated with an element of nature and was supposedly the strongest in that particular aspect or zone. Zeus was the king of the Olympian gods and was the most powerful god among the others. Ancient Greeks were afraid of nature and thus, associating it to the gods and worshipping them proved to be a method of respite to escape harm and wrath of the gods. In the present day, religion and its entire concept have changed with other, different religions becoming prominent and humans making numerous changes to their personal religion. However, the ancient Greeks would still be considered as the flag bearers of starting the concept of religion.If you are enjoying reading this article, be sure to also check out ancient Greek clothing facts and ancient greek culture facts.What religion did ancient Greece have?Be it the past or the present, religion has played a vital role in the evolution of mankind and is equally important to this day. Here, we will venture into the past of the ancient world and find out about the religion that was followed by the ancient Greeks.Though the ancient Greeks did not follow any organized religion, the Greeks believed in many different gods. Origins of the invention of religion are currently unknown, however, Hinduism is the oldest religion on the planet and it is estimated that Hinduism came into existence almost 4000 years ago. However, the spread of religion from the Indian subcontinent into other parts of the world did not happen during the era of Greek civilization and thus, the latter did not have any organized religion in particular.The ancient Greeks believed in gods, particularly the 12 Olympian gods. The people believed that human beings have made a bonding relationship where the gods helped the humans and vice versa. Ancient Greeks and the Greek society believed that human life was in the hands of the Greek gods and thus, religious ceremonies were carried out with rigorous vigor to please the gods and goddesses. The worshipping of every specific god along with many festivals was not only limited to Greece but spread out to other neighboring countries and so it can be said that the Roman empire was deeply influenced by the local cults and other gods of northern Greece.The Olympian gods and goddesses lived in Mount Olympus and the major Olympian gods and goddesses are Hera, Ares, Apollo, Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, Hermes, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Artemis, Demeter, and lastly, either Dionysus or Hestia.Apart from worshipping multiple gods, ancient Greeks also worshipped Greek heroes like Hercules and others.What are Greek religious beliefs?Beliefs and practices were common in past and even today. So let us find out more about ancient Greek beliefs.Since the ancient Greeks believed in the important gods of mount Olympus, temples for each particular god were constructed. And thus, with the belief system of the Greek world, came religious practices. The human condition of a person was believed to be under the control of gods and so for the proper living of everyday life, worship of the gods was carried out.The basic ideology of the ancient Greek religion was based on the concept of polytheism. Polytheism refers to the belief and worship of not one god or goddess but that of multiple gods and goddesses.Four different types of religious practices and beliefs were followed. These were ceremonies, sacrifices, festivals, and rites of passage. Each being distinctly different from one another.Due to the absence of written records of religious texts, there was no standardization of the practices or of ancient Greek rituals. As a result, the majority of the ceremonies were local festivals that were celebrated and undertaken by separate families. These ceremonies were carried out at altars by the ancient Greeks and many valuable items were left behind as offerings for the deity statues.Next came sacrifice in the form of animal sacrifices for the Greeks. All of these sacrifices were carried out for the betterment of the human family so that no harm could befall them. At the altars of the temples, rituals of sacrifice were carried out. The sacrificed animals were all domesticated animals and they were mostly oxen, bulls, and sheep.The Greeks were staunch believers of myths and rituals and so along with deity worship, they also started fearing the elements of the Earth. This resulted in festivals that were celebrated for particular gods. These festivals led to the start of the Panhellenic Games and the Olympic games by the ancient Greek people.Lastly, came the rite of passage that was very common in Athens and northern Greece. After childbirth, especially that of a boy, the rite of passage was celebrated on the fifth or the seventh day.Why was religion so important in ancient Greece?Everything related to gods and goddesses of the past has contributed to the world that we live in today. Let us find out why religion was important in ancient Greece.The age of the ancient Greeks was not modern and thus, the basic common sense born of scientific empiricism was absent. The people lived in constant fear of the planet Earth and the numerous occurrences of nature. After the Bronze Age, people of ancient Greece, especially those in Athens and other city-states, started to fear for their lives. They believed that having faith in gods and goddesses could lead to a better and more peaceful life and began the effective worship of the gods that they believed resided in Mount Olympus.Another important factor for the belief of gods and goddesses was associating them with nature and other natural elements. These ancient men were afraid of natural calamities and thus, began associating them with particular gods. They believed that if the god was kept contented, then no harm would fall on them. For example, Poseidon was the god of the sea. These people worshipped Poseidon so that when they set out to sail in the oceans, they would not encounter any storms or waves and would have a clear sailing sea.The importance of this ancient religion for the ancient Greek people had an impactful effect in the latter stage of the history of mankind and an immediate impact on the art of ancient Greece. With the belief in gods and goddesses began the construction of numerous places of worship. All across the land and even beyond, temples and other marvelous architectural monuments were constructed for the gods and goddesses and widespread architectural greatness was observed. This in turn caused a ripple in time and became a benchmark for other religions too. As new religions started to grow, more and more places of worship, each being an architectural masterpiece, were constructed all across the globe.Modern Vs Ancient Greek ReligionThere have always been differences between things of the past and those of the present. Here, we will take a look at the differences between the modern Greek and other religions with that of the ancient Greek religion.Modern Greek religion, known as Hellenism, has a strong relation to the ancient Greek religion. Hellenism modifies but also maintains the beliefs of the ancient Greek religion, advocating a return to the modes of past worship and polytheistic beliefs.Though the practices of worship of the ancient Greek religion could not survive the onslaught of time post ninth century A.D, there have been some similarities and differences to the religions that were formed in the later phase of time.In modern religions, such as Judaism and Christianity, there is usually a single god who is eternally powerful and controls everything. For the ancient Greek religion, though the gods were powerful, there was a division of power and Zeus was the strongest of all gods. Moreover, the area of their powerfulness was also confined to specific circumstances or aspects like seas, lightning, war, or death.Also, the modern age has shown how the gods have dictated a path of life that should be followed so that morality and other virtues were followed. However, in ancient Greek religion, gods had their moral flaws and showed that their character could be humanlike.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for ancient Greece religion facts, then why not take a look at ancient Greek food facts or ancient Greek temples facts?

Religion essentially refers to the belief and worship of a supreme power that controls everything in the universe.