Gods And Religion In Ancient Greek Culture

The worshipping of Gods and the reverence of religion in Ancient Greek culture forged the moral and ethical codes of this rich society. The impact of Greek Gods can be felt in numerous aspects of the lives of many ordinary Greeks. It supplied them with means to celebrate festivals, build magnificent temples and transform their everyday lives. These forms of reverence given to spiritual beings gave hope to many and provided light to their suffering. To understand the deep impact of Gods and Religion one must understand the reasons that myths were even created. The Greeks created myths to explain the world and the natural occurrences that they could not explain or comprehend. The Greeks lived in a period of history where science was not fully …show more content…
This is seen as the result creation of countless Gods. There were twelve main Olympian Gods that ruled the universe. Apollo was beloved and held many powers from being the Greek god of prophecy, music, academic quests, healing, outbreak of diseases and the sun. Dionysus is the Greek god of wine, love making and drunken partying in Greek mythology. He is a benefactor of the theater, drama and an and agricultural. Though Hades is one of the Greek gods of Mt. Olympus, he mostly resides in the underworld with his wife, Persephone while ruling dead. Hades is dreaded and loathed since he represents the ever unfortunate event, death. Hephaestus is a Greek god of volcanoes, a craftsman and blacksmith and creator of the many weapons of the Gods. Hermes is acquainted with being the messenger god in Greek mythology. In a role Hermes brought the dead to the Underworld in his role of "Psychopompos". Zeus, the king of all Gods, made his stealing son Hermes, god of commerce. He is known for creating various devices, particularly those of musical nature. Poseidon is one of the main ruler’s along with his other brother’s in Greek mythology who distributed the world among themselves and the various powers each would hold. Poseidon 's power was of the sea. As god of the sea Poseidon is frequently symbolized with a trident. He is the god of water, horses, and earthquakes. His brother Zeus, father of Greek gods and men ruled …show more content…
The underworld is found deep below the depths of the earth. It is the kingdom of the dead and reigned over by Hades. The Greeks thought of the proper burial of the death were greatly impacted by Gods. Among Greeks it was the unquestioned duty for the family or companions of a dead man to ensure that this is done. Easterling stated that “To fail in this duty was at all times regarded as one of the worst offences on could commit. It aroused the anger of the dead man, and brought down upon one divine punishment administered by the Erinyes, who were regarded as spirits of just vengeance activated by the dead man’s curse ( Easterling, 51).” It held so much importance in Greek culture that if your enemy needed burial and you refused it would be seen as abnormal act. For “the soul regularly leaves the body at the point of death and begins its journey towards Hades, and later it is clear that what really mattered was that the body receive proper burial rites (Easterling, 51).” Proper burial rites are needed because the true results of a person’s life would be chosen by the God of the underworld, Hades. He is extremely reluctant to allow any of his subjects to leave. Life in the underworld for many was is not particularly unpleasant. Geographically, the underworld is enclosed by sequences of rivers: “The Acheron (river of woe), The Cocytus (river of