(c. 1500 BCE – 400 CE)

Names: Hellenic religion; polytheism of the Greeks; later called “paganism” by Christians.
Scope: Mycenaean to Classical and Hellenistic Greece, extending across the Mediterranean world.

Origins: Mycenaean pantheon (Linear B tablets already list Zeus, Hera, Poseidon).
Peak: Archaic–Classical Greece (c. 800–323 BCE), civic cults fully established.
Hellenistic: Greek religion spread across Mediterranean and Near East (323–31 BCE).
Decline: Gradual suppression under Roman Empire; outlawed by Theodosius (391 CE).
Survivals: Folklore, festivals, philosophy, mythic literature.

Archaeology: Temples (Parthenon, Delphi), altars, votive offerings, inscriptions.
Texts (internal): Homer (Iliad, Odyssey), Hesiod (Theogony), tragedians, philosophers.
Texts (external): Roman accounts, later Christian polemics.
Iconography: Vase paintings, sculpture, coinage.

Olympians: Zeus (sky, thunder, king), Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Demeter, Aphrodite, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, Dionysus, Hestia/Hades (chthonic).
Chthonic deities: Hades, Persephone, Hecate.
Primordials: Gaia, Uranus, Nyx, Kronos.
Spirits: Nymphs, daimones, river gods, heroes (Heracles, Achilles).

Creation: Chaos → Gaia → Uranus, Titans → Olympian gods.
Cosmos: Earth (Gaia), Sky (Ouranos/Zeus), Underworld (Hades), Sea (Poseidon).
Sacred Time: Seasonal myths (Demeter/Persephone = agricultural cycle).
Myth Cycles: Heroic age (Heracles, Perseus, Trojan War).
Themes: Fate (Moira), divine justice (Dike), hubris punished by gods.

Sacrifice: Animal sacrifice (oxen, goats, pigs), libations of wine, oil, honey.
Festivals: Panathenaea (Athens), Dionysia (theater), Eleusinian Mysteries, Olympic Games.
Oracles & Divination: Delphi (Apollo), Dodona (Zeus).
Magic: Curse tablets, protective amulets.
Domestic cult: Household altars to Zeus Ktesios, Hestia.

Temples: Parthenon (Athena), Temple of Zeus (Olympia), Apollo at Delphi.
Altars: Central to civic cults (more important than temple buildings).
Natural sites: Springs, caves, mountains (Mt. Olympus, Delphi).
Objects: Votive offerings (bronze, terracotta), sacred statues (cult images), oracular tripods.

Religion inseparable from polis (city-state) identity.
Civic festivals reinforced communal order.
Oaths sworn by gods in law and politics.
Taboos on impiety (asebeia), enforced through trials (e.g., Socrates’ execution).

Afterlife beliefs:
- Common dead: Hades, shadowy existence.
- Exceptional heroes: Isles of the Blessed/Elysium.
- Punished souls: Tartarus.
Mystery cults: Promised better afterlife (Eleusis, Orphism).
Funerary rites: Cremation/burial with offerings; libations for dead.
Ancestor veneration through hero cults.

Symbols: Thunderbolt (Zeus), trident (Poseidon), owl (Athena), laurel (Apollo), vine (Dionysus).
Numbers: 12 Olympians, sacred triads (Moirae, Charites, Erinyes).
Art: Vase painting, sculpture, temple reliefs narrating myths.
Drama: Theater as religious expression of Dionysian cult.

Near Eastern influence: Greek religion absorbed Anatolian, Egyptian, Mesopotamian motifs (Aphrodite-Ishtar, Apollo from Anatolia).
Hellenistic syncretism: Fusion with Egyptian (Serapis, Isis), Persian (Mithras), and local deities.
Roman adoption: Roman religion identified Greek gods with Latin counterparts (Zeus=Jupiter, Athena=Minerva).
Decline: Suppressed by Christianity in 4th c. CE; temples closed, cults outlawed.
Survivals: Myths preserved through literature, philosophy, and art; modern Hellenic polytheist revival.

Greek Religion