How the Greek Revered Their Gods :: Ancient Greece Greek History

How the Greek revered their godsIn ancient times, the Greeks had absolute and undeniable respect for their gods. They demonstrated their perceptiveness by putting in place more rituals and celebrations to reverence the gods that they loved and feared in order to ensure harmony with them. In particular, the focus will be on the religious beliefs of the Greeks, including prayer and sacrifice, as well as on festivals and the arts, such as the ancient Olympic games and theatre. These aspects of their culture made a epochal contribution to their quality of life. Moreover, these topics will be examined in relation to the twelve Olympian gods and their associates. The ancient Greeks practiced a religion that was in effect, a build block to many ensuing pagan religions. This religion revolved around their reverence to the gods. Essentially, the Greeks hero-worshipped numerous gods, making their religion polytheistic. They believed that exercising the opportunity to learn between a wide array of gods to worship offered them a great sense of freedom that they treasured. After all, the Greeks were known for their intellectual distinction of which their means of worship played a huge part. Each city-state, or polis, thus had an affiliated god who protected and guided its residents. Within a given polis, the belief in common gods unified the people. Ultimately, the Greeks yearned for this unity and order in the universe, which is a characteristic that is non unlike that of people today. It might seem contradictory that they believed in many gods and sought organization at the same time, for larger numbers are inherently unstable. But, to the god-fearing Greeks, each god represented a different expression of life that together upheld an organized universe if each of these gods was properly appeased. To satisfy these gods, the Greeks participated in activities such as prayer and sacrifice and erected divine temples and centers for oracles in sinlessness of specific g ods. There is evidence of this institutionalization early on in the reign of the Olympian gods, thus forming the Olympian religion. The Olympian religion lacked the presence of true sentimentality, and the gods were not seen as forgiving or flawless as the Christian God is often portrayed. The Greek gods were portrayed as humans, which meant that they were not perfect. That is, the gods made mistakes, felt painful sensation (e.g. Aphrodite in love with the mortal Adonis), and succumbed to anger and their tempers (e.