“The Greeks had their special religious holidays and festivals, but prayer, sacrifice, and other religious ritual influenced, often profoundly, almost every aspect of their everyday lives.” (Life 69). Religious beliefs are an important element of ancient Greek culture because literature such as Homer’s Odyssey offers evidence of these practices and beliefs. There are countless Greek beliefs and practices. The Greeks strongly believed that the gods punished them for unacceptable behavior. They believed that if they prayed, the gods would help them. Another very important part of the Greeks practices was giving sacrifices to the gods. The Greeks actively believed that the gods would punish them for atrocious behavior. In book XII, Odysseus’s
