Ancient Greece: Humanistic Or Naturalistic Religion?

Religion is a person's relationship to anything they believe to be holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or deserving of a special amount of respect. It is also frequently seen to include how individuals respond to existential questions about their existence and their ultimate destiny. In many civilizations, this relationship and these concerns are represented in terms of one's attitude toward gods or spirits; in more humanistic or naturalistic forms of religion, they are articulated in terms of one's attitude toward the larger human society or the natural world (Britannica, 2023).

When we talk about Classical Greece, religion is a concept we can exploit for a better understanding of their society in general.

Was the Greek religion monotheistic

In reality, many religious authorities agree that the gods and goddesses who became known as the Olympian Gods were a fundamental part of their spiritual system. Though there were many other gods and goddesses in Ancient Greece, the majority of people there believed in these twelve as their central deities. However, there are other deities who may have been worshipped locally as well. The twelve Olympian deities are Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, Hestia, and Dionysius. Ancient Greek's daily lives included worshiping these gods and goddesses. Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, for instance, had an altar in almost every home. Families would set aside a portion of their evening meal to honor the goddess Hestia as part of an almost daily ritual of worship. (GreekBoston,

We frequently presume that Greek myths are "just stories" when we think of them. The Ancient Greeks genuinely practiced their religion; to us, they may only seem like myths. Numerous modern relics, such as the Delphi archaeological site the Parthenon in Athens, and even the Ancient Olympic Games, have their origins in Greek religion (GreekBoston, 2021). Ancient Greeks honored the gods through various arts and architectural designs. At the most significant sacred sites of Olympia, Delphi, Nemea, and Isthmia during festivals like the City Dionysia of Athens and the Panhellenic Games, athletic games and competitions in music (especially playing the kithara and lyre) and theatre (both tragedy and comedy) were held to honor a specific god. Moreover, the Zeus statue at Olympia and the god statue of Athena Parthenos can both be considered as symbols of honor that worshippers have paid for and celebrated on behalf of the gods. The stunning Parthenon, a temple in honor of the goddess Athena, the city's goddess, was the most notable accomplishment of Pericles' public-works initiative. Midway through the 5th century B.C., the temple's builders Iktinos and Kallikrates and artist Phidias started construction. The Acropolis, a natural granite pedestal on which the Parthenon was erected, was the location of the earliest communities in Athens. Pericles urged other people to construct there as well: For instance, Mnesikles