Introduction
Understanding Ancient Greek religion
The Greek religion had no single creed or revealed book, but was based mainly on transmitted rites, shrines, feasts and poetic accounts.
A person could honour several gods according to his city, his occupation, his age and the circumstances of his life.
To be retained
Four essential principles
- The Greek religion had no single creed or revealed book.
- Continuities exist with the Mycenian world, but the cults were constantly recomposed.
- Prayers, libations, animal sacrifices, processions, games and banquets created a relationship of respect with the gods.
- greek religion was first a collective and local practice, capable of integrating a great diversity of stories.
Small timeline
A tradition shaped by history
Origins and training
Continuities exist with the Mycenian world, but the cults were constantly recomposed.
Historical developments
Each city had its own calendars and its protective deities.
Ritual life and teachings
Prayers, libations, animal sacrifices, processions, games and banquets created a relationship of respect with the gods.
Seed and rediscovery
The Pan-Hellenic shrines of Delphi, Olympia, Delos or Epidau were linked to rival communities.
History and development
Continuities exist with the Mycenian world, but the cults were constantly recomposed. Each city had its own calendars and its protective deities.
The Panhellen shrines of Delphi, Olympia, Delos or Epidau were linked to rival communities. In Hellenistic times, exchanges with Egypt, Anatolia and the Middle East favoured new forms of devotion.
Worldview, beliefs and practices
Prayers, libations, animal sacrifices, processions, games and banquets created a relationship of respect with the gods. Oracles guided individual or collective decisions. Dead heroes received local worship.
The notion of "miasma", ritual pollution, sometimes required purification. The conceptions of the Hereafter varied: domain of Hades, heroic immortality, initiatory rewards or philosophical speculations.
Texts, symbols and transmission
Iliad, Odyssey, Hesiod Theogonia, Homeric hymns, tragedies, inscriptions and sacred calendars. Symbols: lightning of Zeus, owl of Athena, lyre of Apollo, thyrse of Dionysos, epi of Demeter.
What research can and cannot say
Mythology and religion are not confused. Archaeology of shrines and inscriptions correct the image given by literary authors alone. Myths offer multiple symbolic narratives, not a factual chronicle of origins.
References