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Greek Religion

Greek Religion

Overview

Ancient Greek religion was a polytheistic system centered on the Olympian gods, practiced through public festivals, sacrifices, oracles, and mystery cults from the Archaic through Hellenistic periods.

Key Facts

  • Period: ~800 BCE ~400 CE (suppressed under Christianity)
  • Type: Polytheistic
  • Sacred sites: Olympia, Delphi, Eleusis, Delos
  • Key texts: Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Hesiod's Theogony

The Olympian Gods

  • Zeus: King of the gods, sky and thunder
  • Hera: Queen of the gods, marriage
  • Athena: Wisdom and warfare
  • Apollo: Sun, music, prophecy
  • Artemis: Hunt and wilderness
  • Poseidon: Sea and earthquakes
  • Aphrodite: Love and beauty
  • Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Demeter, Dionysus 1

Religious Practices

  • Animal sacrifice at altars
  • Panhellenic festivals: Olympic Games (776 BCE), Pythian Games, Eleusinian Mysteries
  • Oracle at Delphi: Pythia delivered prophecies from Apollo
  • Mystery cults: Eleusinian Mysteries, Orphic mysteries, Dionysiac rites 2


Review Queue

  • @q[temporal] Line 10: "Period: ~800 BCE ~400 CE (suppressed under Christianity)" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 11: "Type: Polytheistic" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 12: "Sacred sites: Olympia, Delphi, Eleusis, Delos" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 13: "Key texts: Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Hesiod's Theogony" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 16: "Zeus: King of the gods, sky and thunder" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 17: "Hera: Queen of the gods, marriage" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 18: "Athena: Wisdom and warfare" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 19: "Apollo: Sun, music, prophecy" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 20: "Artemis: Hunt and wilderness" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 21: "Poseidon: Sea and earthquakes" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 22: "Aphrodite: Love and beauty" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 23: "Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Demeter, Dionysus 1 " - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 26: "Animal sacrifice at altars" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 27: "Panhellenic festivals: Olympic Games (776 BCE), Pythian Games, Eleusinian ..." - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 28: "Oracle at Delphi: Pythia delivered prophecies from Apollo" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 29: "Mystery cults: Eleusinian Mysteries, Orphic mysteries, Dionysiac rites 2 " - when was this true?

  • @q[missing] Line 10: "Period: ~800 BCE ~400 CE (suppressed under Christianity)" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 11: "Type: Polytheistic" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 12: "Sacred sites: Olympia, Delphi, Eleusis, Delos" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 13: "Key texts: Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Hesiod's Theogony" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 16: "Zeus: King of the gods, sky and thunder" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 17: "Hera: Queen of the gods, marriage" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 18: "Athena: Wisdom and warfare" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 19: "Apollo: Sun, music, prophecy" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 20: "Artemis: Hunt and wilderness" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 21: "Poseidon: Sea and earthquakes" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 22: "Aphrodite: Love and beauty" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 26: "Animal sacrifice at altars" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 27: "Panhellenic festivals: Olympic Games (776 BCE), Pythian Games, Eleusinian ..." - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 28: "Oracle at Delphi: Pythia delivered prophecies from Apollo" - what is the source?

  • @q[stale] Line 23: "Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Demeter, Dionysus 1 " - Burkert source from 1985 may be outdated, is this still accurate?

  • @q[stale] Line 29: "Mystery cults: Eleusinian Mysteries, Orphic mysteries, Dionysiac rites 2 " - Mikalson source from 2010 may be outdated, is this still accurate?


  1. Burkert, W. Greek Religion (Harvard, 1985) ↩︎

  2. Mikalson, J. Ancient Greek Religion (Blackwell, 2010) ↩︎