So this is saying that the ancient greeks didn't really have "religious beliefs". They just worshiped gods????
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_religion
2007-03-19 12:00:31 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I mean like... any rules or holidays or something!!! anything else they did besides with gods....
2007-03-19 12:04:47 · update #1
This is quite possibly true. They didn't even worship them exactly. The made sacrifices on prescribed occasions but the whole attitude toward the gods was very different from the monotheistic view.
The gods were a figure of speech and an explanatory mechanism for good/bad luck etc. They may not have "believed" in Zeus or Poseidon so much as spoken and acted a certain way about gods.
2007-03-19 12:07:42 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I would say that the Greeks had what we would call religious beliefs, it's just that they didn't consider them to be that. To them the fact that the Gods existed was not up for debate - sure they chose their own favourite gods and worshipped them in different ways but at no point did they turn around and say 'because I choose not to worship your God he does not exist' Gods were Gods and their existence was never in question.
If something is a fact of life you don't necessarily need words for it as it's very presence is taken for granted. I suppose it's like we don't really have a word for 'absence of fear' it's just 'normal' - how we live our lives most of the time.
2007-03-19 19:14:25 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
This article is making some fine distinctions re definitions of 'religion' etc. Don't get hung up on that. What it's saying is that Greek religious practices, their role in society and the way people saw their relationship to the divine is quite different from modern Christian practices and beliefs.
Most importantly, it wasn't centralized. People tended to affiliate themselves with a god or goddess, or perhaps a small number -- what that entailed varied greatly. Outside deities could be incorporated into the pantheon, likewise the following of established deities could fall off through time.
All of that was quite common before the dominance of Christianity.
The religious practices were ways of developing social cohesion, both in small groups and within the larger context.
2007-03-19 19:17:57 · answer #3 · answered by The angels have the phone box. 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What do you mean by "religious beliefs"? I'd say that worshiping Gods IS religious.
EDIT: They had rites and sacrifices to certain Gods at certain times of the year. Greek mythology is replete with stories of them. It was the Romans that instituted nationally celebrated holidays however, Juvenalia for instance, was very popular.
2007-03-19 19:03:25 · answer #4 · answered by Praetorian 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Greece represents the coming together of many tribal peoples. With them, they brought their gods and their religious rituals. The article is trying to make the point that practice was very diverse and not ritualized the way that something like Christianity is. They had religious beliefs, their religious beliefs centered on the worship of the Olympian Gods and household gods.
2007-03-19 19:07:22 · answer #5 · answered by Huggles-the-wise 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Of course they had religious beliefs. However they worshipped all gods as not to offend one. You must remember also that the city state governments they had was ruled mostly by the oracles in Delphi or Delos, so they didn't have separation of belief and state. Religious beliefs were mixed up with law.
2007-03-19 19:10:05 · answer #6 · answered by Starjumper the R&S Cow 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good old Wiki
2007-03-19 19:05:31 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
They worshiped their god...
2007-03-19 19:04:59 · answer #8 · answered by lovelostboys 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yup i guess they all knew by intuition, and never talk of it ,
2007-03-19 19:04:28 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋