The Mythology of Ancient Greek Religion - Report Example

The mythology of Ancient Greek religion Introduction The ancient practice of religion by Greeks was conservative in nature and was based on the time-related observances, which were deeply rooted in the period of Bronze Age (3000 to 1050 BC) and even earlier. However, the Odyssey and the Iliad of Homer are believed to have been put forward in eighth century BC. They had powerful and outstanding influences to the thoughts of Greeks. The Greeks had no even a single guiding scripture as Jewish were and the Christian Bible or the Quran of Muslim (Bremmer 5). They also never had a staunch priestly caste, the relationships between deities and human beings were based on the concept of exchange. The goddesses and gods were expected to give the gifts to the people who were abiding by the expectations. The Greeks worshipped in sanctuaries that were located in accordance to the nature of deity in either countryside and within the city. Sanctuaries were well defined and sacred places that were set apart by enclosure walls. The mythology of Ancient Greek religion The sacred precinct had a temple with a cultic monumental image of the deity, statutes, outdoor altar, and offering to the gods. There were also other features of such as springs and trees that helped to bring out the character of trinities. In the ancient times, the religion of Greece was direct, personal, and present in all levels of life (Burkert 14). There were formal rituals that entailed libations, animal sacrifice and myths that explained the origin of mankind and gave gods a human face. The urban landscapes were dominated by the temples together with city festivals, artistic competitions and national sporting. In all situations Greeks were never far from the religion, it used to revolve in their minds always. Though many might have made their mind to the religious belief and others being completely skeptical, some fundamentals have been spread so as to enable Greek Government to function. The gods were there that influenced the human affairs where they welcomed and reacted to the deeds of piety and worship. The Greek religion was a composition of the central Asian gods, Minoan beliefs and the West Asian ideas that were acquired from the neighbors. Like many other people, the people in ancient Greece had a firm feeling in the mighty, invisible gods and the spirits that were able to control the happenings. Many had a belief that they could control the spirits and gods by way of praying, sacrifice and living a standard life. The most crucial gods and spirits were natural things such as the rain. This idea meant that if one could have controlled them successfully then they could get high yields. Greeks also tried to take control of other natural phenomena like earthquakes, plagues, ocean storms and volcanoes. People used to pray so as to gain power and emerge victorious in battles and wars. People believed if some ill omen occurs to say a town; it was as a result of the something wrong which was done to the town or even the people who are ruling the town who had committed the wrong, for instance, King Oedipus when he killed his father. Greek religion has evolved Mycenaean religion of Bronze Age (Bremmer 6). The Mycenaean treated the Poseidon as their chief deity. It absorbed the practices and beliefs of the earlier cultures like Minoan religion. Much of the Greek mythological background can be traced back from many traditions of Egypt. The religion of Greek has an extensive mythology that constituted many stories of the gods and how they influenced the humans living on Earth. Many various species of Greek mythology existed, where the major among these were the humans and the gods but also Titans frequently surfaced in much of Greek myths. They used to prey Olympian gods and had much hatred towards them. Elaborate myths revolved around the Trojan war of Troy and Greece. Most of the art and literature of early Greece has been greatly admired, the idea that the ethics of that era might have taught people a lot seemed bizarrely to many until when we reached the twentieth century. A lot of criticism was directed to Plato and the Socrates, and they advocated the outlook indebted to the ethics of early Greece. As rules are, the values of people are much closely related to the religion that people follow (Burkert 14). The religion of early Greeks is different from the Christianity. Some people disputed the expansive beauty of the old Greek religion together with the mythology that goes with it and the value of the literature and art of superstition that no human thinking that could afford to take it seriously. Many historical records have it that, the Greek religion was practiced in formal ceremonies and occasions, but Greek religion was also practiced by a private individual at any time in a very personal manner. Not only in sacred temples but it was performed in private homes in places that were regarded as sacred. People were able to organize their individual sacrifice if they were in a position to do so and conduct their sacrifice without necessarily going to the temple (Bremmer 10). People used to leave offerings of incense, food, and flowers with their gratitude for past events or deeds or with a hopeful word of prayer. People were observing the signs of their gods in everyday occurrences and made interpretations for future form the indicators of the signs. Some symptoms included birds of the sky that spoke words or just a simple sneeze that illicit inauspicious or an auspicious omen. The Greek mythology lies around the pantheon of deities who were believed to live in the mountain of Olympus, which is the highest mountain in Greece. At their pinnacle, they ruled every perspective of human life. The Olympian goddess and gods appeared like men and women, but they could transform themselves into animals and other things. There were twelve main Olympians that were recognized by the Ancient Greeks as they sacrificed and worshipped. Greek mythology tells much about the stories of the goddess and the gods. The ancient Greeks had many gods that they worshipped, each having a distinct domain and personality. The Greeks myths gave explanations of origins of gods and relations to human beings. The Greeks had many gods that they worshipped, but there were particular gods that stood out exceptionally and were portrayed in many myths and literature materials as they were dwelling on Mount Olympus, where they were all under the presidency of mighty Zeus. The name of Zeus was derived from the older Indo-European god of the sky which was named Dyaus Pitar. Zeus never always ruled other gods (Burkert 18). The gods that ancient Greek worshipped were distinguished from one another by their function and attributes. All the gods were having a special relationship with each other. There existed many gods, but only a few were the major ones. There were only twelve principal divinities that represented the major gods that were worshipped. Hera was the patroness of marriage and the consultant of the Zeus. She was a quite a jealous wife who presented from many unions of mortal women and goddess. She was responsible for arbitrating to the Zeus on behalf of other gods and the heroes of Greece. Hera gave birth to the Hephaestus, who was a craft man god. Hera was also a mother to the god of war, the Ares. Apollo and Athena were the most influential children of the husband of Hera, but she was not the mother of them. Athena, who was a virgin, was regarded as the god of wisdom and was also the patroness of work of women and crafts. Athena was also seen as the war goddess more reliable than the war god Ares. She was also the patroness of the city of Athens that extracted the name from her. She was also a key patroness to other cities such as Sparta. Apollo and the Artemis were the children of Zeus by Leto (Bremmer 16). Apollo was a lord of Pan-Hellenic shrines of Delos and Delphi was a god of poetry, healing, music and the god of prophecy. On rare occasions, he was referred to as the sun god. Apollo originated from the fusion of the oriental deity and the native god. There was the Poseidon who was the brother of Zeus, who was the sea lord (Burkert 20). However, he originated from the earth and was a god responsible for the occurrence of earthquakes. There was the goddess of love, procreation and the marriage who was named the Aphrodite. She had shrines all over the Greece with famous ones in Cyprus, Corinth and Cyrene. Artemis was the goddess of maidens, wild and childbirth. She has a main centre at Calydon in Aetolia. She was honored by the girls, huntsmen and Greek women. Her major cultic centre was at Athens. Hermes was the god of shepherds athletics and trade. She was widely worshipped in Agoras in all Greece. Hestia was the goddess attributed to home and hearth, was a domestic goddess and was worshipped at the fireplace. The other two deities were the Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and the Dionysus, the god of wine. Works Cited Bremmer, Jan N. Greek Religion and Culture, the Bible, and the Ancient near East. Leiden: Brill, 2008. Print. Burkert, Walter. Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012. Print. Read More