Ancient Greek Religion
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- Date Submitted: 04/03/2014 07:13 AM
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Ancient Greek Religion
In Ancient Greece it was often seen that the religion was almost identical no matter where a person traveled. The Greeks believed in a numerable variety of gods and goddesses. The majority of today’s knowledge on Ancient Greek religion and the gods comes from the Iliad and the Odyssey. With the Greeks strong love for their gods and goddesses they built sanctuaries for each and took to them offerings and sacrifices. While it was often believed that Greeks were buried with a multiple of their most loved and personal belongings they were buried with very few items and most Greeks feared death.
The Iliad and the Odyssey scripted many occasions of a Greek person seeing and talking to a God or Goddess. They weren’t invisible spirits, but instead they were normal people with abnormal characteristics. Each city in ancient Greece usually had their own special God or Goddess they would worship and look to more often for example, Athens and the Goddess Athena (penn press).The major gods were those of Olympia. Zeus, Hera, Hestia, Poseidon, Hades, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes, Artemis, Hephaestus were the twelve major Gods and Goddesses according to the Greeks. These twelve gods and goddesses were viewed as the major and most important according to the Greeks because they overcame and overthrew the titans.
Sanctuaries varied among other religions, but Greeks stuck to temples. The temples were often small and used more on special occasions rather than every day use. Altars were often times placed in front of temples and were viewed as the central act of worship since it was necessary for sacrifices. The temples housed the possessions and images of the God or Goddess and were less of a place for worshipers and more of a home to the God or Goddess (Furgeson). Sacrifices held a major role in ancient Greek religion. Sacrifices were given to the Gods and Goddesses at dawn. The sacrifices represented gifts that were...
In Ancient Greece it was often seen that the religion was almost identical no matter where a person traveled. The Greeks believed in a numerable variety of gods and goddesses. The majority of today’s knowledge on Ancient Greek religion and the gods comes from the Iliad and the Odyssey. With the Greeks strong love for their gods and goddesses they built sanctuaries for each and took to them offerings and sacrifices. While it was often believed that Greeks were buried with a multiple of their most loved and personal belongings they were buried with very few items and most Greeks feared death.
The Iliad and the Odyssey scripted many occasions of a Greek person seeing and talking to a God or Goddess. They weren’t invisible spirits, but instead they were normal people with abnormal characteristics. Each city in ancient Greece usually had their own special God or Goddess they would worship and look to more often for example, Athens and the Goddess Athena (penn press).The major gods were those of Olympia. Zeus, Hera, Hestia, Poseidon, Hades, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes, Artemis, Hephaestus were the twelve major Gods and Goddesses according to the Greeks. These twelve gods and goddesses were viewed as the major and most important according to the Greeks because they overcame and overthrew the titans.
Sanctuaries varied among other religions, but Greeks stuck to temples. The temples were often small and used more on special occasions rather than every day use. Altars were often times placed in front of temples and were viewed as the central act of worship since it was necessary for sacrifices. The temples housed the possessions and images of the God or Goddess and were less of a place for worshipers and more of a home to the God or Goddess (Furgeson). Sacrifices held a major role in ancient Greek religion. Sacrifices were given to the Gods and Goddesses at dawn. The sacrifices represented gifts that were...