Ancient Greeks were polytheistic, with several gods and goddesses believed to exist (Greek Boston, n.d.). The Olympian Gods were the most well-known and widely believed (Greek Boston, n.d.). The list of Olympian Gods varied, but respectfully included Zeus, Apollo, Artemis, Demeter, Athena, Hera, Apollo, Hermes, Haphaestus, Aphrodite, Dionysius, Hestia, Ares and Poseidon (Greek Boston, n.d.).
Temples were built to worship gods, the responsibilities of organizing rituals of prayer and worship falling to Priests (Cartwright, 2018). Priests were a position open to a considerably wide selection of citizens, worshippers even more diverse in terms of gender and socio-status (Cartwright, 2018). Examples of well-known architecture dedicated to Greek deities include the Temple of Poseidon and the sculpture of Athena in Parthenon (Greek Boston, n.d.). The temples, sculptures and art crafted for the gods had beauty unseen during its time (Pollard, 2020). In arts and written stories, the gods possessed human characteristics such as participation in war, genders, and marriage (Cartwright, 2018).
Greek cities had a representative god that the people would pray to in times of need (Cartwright, 2018). Each god had specific animals the citizens thought they considered blessed, such as horses to Poseidon, and cows to Hera (Pollard, 2020). Hestia, the goddess of hearth, was a goddess many homes offered praise to (Greek Boston, n.d.). Practices included giving Hestia a share of their food, worship, and an alter inside their homes (Greek Boston, n.d.). Citizens worshiped other gods by means of giving sacrifices, passing on religious stories, taking part in ceremonies, prayer and more (Greek Boston, n.d.). When offering prayers to the gods, they were filled with compliments and requests were asked before closing (Pollard, n.d.).
Bibliography
MarioGuti. “Poseidon Temple in Sounio, Greece.” Getty Images. Accessed on November 10, 2021. https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/photo/poseidon-temple-in-sounio-greece-royalty-free-image/1144851248?adppopup=true
Greek Boston. “About Religion in Ancient Greece.” Accessed on November 10, 2021. https://www.greekboston.com/culture/ancient-history/religion/
Pollard, John Richard Thornhill and Adkins, A.W.H. “Greek religion.” Britannica. Last Modified March 02, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Greek-religion/The-Archaic-period
Cartwright, Mark. “Ancient Greek Religion.” World History Encyclopedia. March 13, 2018. https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Religion/
How Ancient Greece lives on 