Gods, rites and piety in the polis
Religion in Ancient Greece
Ancient Greek religion had no dogmas and no central institution to direct it. It was organised around local cults, sacrifices and shared traditions, and myths explained why things were done in that way.
The ancient Greeks had no word that matches the modern idea of 'religion', and no Greek writer grouped their gods into separate religions. Herodotus described the Hellenes by their common shrines, their sacrifices and their similar customs. What existed was a web of closely related cults that varied from one city to another, yet resembled one another far more than they resembled the worship of non-Greek peoples.
The most visible feature was polytheism. Most Greeks recognised the twelve major Olympian gods, among them Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena and Aphrodite, although the last place was sometimes filled by Hestia and sometimes by Dionysus. Each deity could be addressed under epithets that picked out a particular aspect. Zeus could be Kéraunos, the thunderer, or Xenios, protector of guests and strangers, and Horkios, guarantor of oaths. Athens looked to Athena, Delphi to Apollo and Corinth to Aphrodite, while Poseidon had a strong association with Troy.
Myths told how the world and the gods came into being. In his Theogony, Hesiod describes Chaos first, then Gaia, the Earth, and Eros. From Gaia and Uranus came the Titans. Cronus, who had castrated his father, swallowed his children so that none could overthrow him, until Zeus, who had escaped that fate, made him disgorge them and defeated the Titans. Other authors and other cults told the story differently, so there was never one official account of creation. These stories mainly served to explain why sacrifices, festivals and contests were held in a particular way.
Greek piety, eusebeia, meant meeting one's obligations to the gods rather than feeling a personal bond with them. Taking part in the city's cults, giving generously, honouring ancestors and the household gods, and respecting tradition were all pious acts. By contrast, impiety, asebeia, covered introducing gods not officially accepted, altering ancient rites, stealing from a temple or attacking priests. There was no single priestly class either. Priests were often magistrates of a city or members of a family entrusted with a cult. Pausanias records that the priest of Athena Alea at Tegea was a boy who held office only until puberty.
The centre of religious life was the sacrifice at the altar. Altars stood outside the temple, often in the open air, and received offerings of food, drink and precious objects. Libations, usually of wine, were poured both at sanctuaries and in everyday life, for instance during a drinking party. Sacrificed animals were domestic ones, in order of preference bulls or oxen, cows, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry. The unblemished animal walked in procession, garlanded, and after it was slaughtered the bones and inner organs were burnt for the gods, while the meat went to the participants. The Greeks joked that humans got more out of a sacrifice than the gods did. Reading the liver was less central than in Roman or Etruscan practice, and watching the flight of birds counted for more. A hecatomb, a name meaning a hundred bulls, could in practice be smaller, but at big festivals hundreds of cattle might be killed.
Other rites marked the key moments of life. The amphidromia was held on the fifth or seventh day after a child's birth. The pharmakos was a ritual in which, in a time of crisis, a symbolic scapegoat, such as a slave or an animal, was driven out of the city, in the hope that the misfortune would leave with it. Oracles answered personal questions about the future, and the one of Apollo at Delphi was the most famous. Among the most important ceremonies were the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Ideas about the afterlife were varied too. Hades ruled the realm of the dead, Tartarus was a place of punishment and Elysium a place of pleasure for the virtuous. According to tradition, a few heroes such as Achilles and Menelaus were brought to live forever in such places, while most of the dead kept only a disembodied existence as a soul. Some philosophers, including Pythagoras and Plato, also embraced reincarnation, though few shared the view.
Finally, Greek morality prized moderation. Hubris, the arrogance that went to extremes or hurt others, was a crime in Athens. Homer and Hesiod were held in great authority without being regarded as revealed scripture. Today modern Hellenism, a living religious movement, seeks to revive these beliefs and practices, with small communities in Greece and in other countries.