Olympian religions
The Olympic religion of ancient Greece is one of the most iconic ancient religions known. It is a polytheistic religion with many gods and goddesses, though the ones most commonly worshipped are the twelve Olympian gods and goddesses: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Hephaestus, Hermes, Demeter, Ares and Hestia. They are called the Olympian gods and goddesses because they reside on mount Olympus. Hades, although considered one of the major gods and one of the “big three” (alongside Zeus, Poseidon), does not live in Olympus as he is god of the underworld and thus resides there. Each god and goddess has a specific purpose: Zeus is god of the sky, thunder and the king of all the gods; Hades, brother …show more content…
The myths also served as examples for the people so that they know bravery and strength (Hercules the Demi-god and son of Zeus who was known for his strength and bravery, later became immortal and resided in Olympus after his death), never to challenge the gods, be proud or boast (Arachne, the talented weaver who claimed she could weave better than Athena and was eventually turned into a spider which is where we get the scientific name for spiders, arachnids), intelligence (Theseus, known for his intelligence, defeated and killed Procrustes, a rogue smith with wit and ended his reign of terror) . The Greek heroes of myths represented the ethics of the Greeks of the time: Arete, Hubris, Xenia, and Ethic of reciprocity. Arete meaning excellence and moral value was highly considered in ancient Greece. In this intelligence, courage and strength were regarded as Arete and was expected of both men and women respectively. Hubris meaning self confidence or severe pride is synonymous with sin. It not just looks at pride as a sin, although considered a great negative trait; anything that is done excessively or caused harm (such as rape) was considered hubris and thus a crime. Xenia means hospitality and generosity to guests and or travelers, ancient Greeks were expected to open their homes to travelers. Many do this …show more content…
Because of this, men sought to be honorable, strong and courageous and women were expected to be skilled at weaving, being faithful and dependable. They followed a theocratic system of governance, where their religion determined how Greece was governed. And as such, hubris was not only moral wrong but also illegal. This enabled the people to establish social order, for instance since rape is hubris, it is considered a crime and dealt with thusly. Without rules/laws, the ancient Greeks understood that there would be no order. Greek religion was more social than spiritual and united the Greeks, which was important as they needed to be united in order to be strong. Festivals such as the Olympic Games brought a sense of unity and patriotism to all Greeks from different cities. These intellectual developments; ethics, stories, art etc. have greatly influenced our world today. For instance the Olympic games are still practiced today and are seen as a great time of celebration, unity and patriotism as each nation comes together to celebrate and cheer on people who have strove for excellence in their athletic abilities. During the games, warfare amongst and or within cities was banned indicating this to be a sacred event and travelers were granted
The Olympic religion of ancient Greece is one of the most iconic ancient religions known. It is a polytheistic religion with many gods and goddesses, though the ones most commonly worshipped are the twelve Olympian gods and goddesses: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Hephaestus, Hermes, Demeter, Ares and Hestia. They are called the Olympian gods and goddesses because they reside on mount Olympus. Hades, although considered one of the major gods and one of the “big three” (alongside Zeus, Poseidon), does not live in Olympus as he is god of the underworld and thus resides there. Each god and goddess has a specific purpose: Zeus is god of the sky, thunder and the king of all the gods; Hades, brother …show more content…
The myths also served as examples for the people so that they know bravery and strength (Hercules the Demi-god and son of Zeus who was known for his strength and bravery, later became immortal and resided in Olympus after his death), never to challenge the gods, be proud or boast (Arachne, the talented weaver who claimed she could weave better than Athena and was eventually turned into a spider which is where we get the scientific name for spiders, arachnids), intelligence (Theseus, known for his intelligence, defeated and killed Procrustes, a rogue smith with wit and ended his reign of terror) . The Greek heroes of myths represented the ethics of the Greeks of the time: Arete, Hubris, Xenia, and Ethic of reciprocity. Arete meaning excellence and moral value was highly considered in ancient Greece. In this intelligence, courage and strength were regarded as Arete and was expected of both men and women respectively. Hubris meaning self confidence or severe pride is synonymous with sin. It not just looks at pride as a sin, although considered a great negative trait; anything that is done excessively or caused harm (such as rape) was considered hubris and thus a crime. Xenia means hospitality and generosity to guests and or travelers, ancient Greeks were expected to open their homes to travelers. Many do this …show more content…
Because of this, men sought to be honorable, strong and courageous and women were expected to be skilled at weaving, being faithful and dependable. They followed a theocratic system of governance, where their religion determined how Greece was governed. And as such, hubris was not only moral wrong but also illegal. This enabled the people to establish social order, for instance since rape is hubris, it is considered a crime and dealt with thusly. Without rules/laws, the ancient Greeks understood that there would be no order. Greek religion was more social than spiritual and united the Greeks, which was important as they needed to be united in order to be strong. Festivals such as the Olympic Games brought a sense of unity and patriotism to all Greeks from different cities. These intellectual developments; ethics, stories, art etc. have greatly influenced our world today. For instance the Olympic games are still practiced today and are seen as a great time of celebration, unity and patriotism as each nation comes together to celebrate and cheer on people who have strove for excellence in their athletic abilities. During the games, warfare amongst and or within cities was banned indicating this to be a sacred event and travelers were granted