Greek Myths And Attributes In Ancient Greek Religion

Greeks worshipped many gods, each god had a different personality and domain. Greek myths explained the origins of the gods and their individual relations with mankind. The sculptures illustrates many mythological episodes,including an established image of attributes that identify each god. There were twelve principal deities in the Greek pantheon.

Foremost was Zeus, the sky god and the father of the gods, to whom the ox and the oak tree were sacred.Meaning that in the Greek world “Zeus was the….supreme deity in Greek religion”(Mark Cartwright, 2017). Hera, Zeus’s sister and wife, was queen of the gods were frequently depicted wearing a tall crown or polos. Athena, the patron goddess of Athens was also the patroness of weaving and carpentry. Apollo, was the god of music and prophecy.Was one of the most important gods in Greek religion. His sanctuary at Delphi, the place where Greeks came to ask questions of the oracle, was considered the center of the universe. Apollo’s sister Artemis, was the patroness of hunting and most of the time carried a bow and a quiver. Hermes, with his winged sandals and elaborate herald's staff, the kerykeion, was the messenger god. Other important deities were Aphrodite, the goddess

Although the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer, believed to have been composed around the eighth century B.C., were powerful influences on Greek thought, the ancient Greeks had no single guiding work of scripture as the Jewish Torah, the Christian Bible, the Muslim Qur’an or a strict priestly caste. The relationship between human beings and deities was based on the concept of exchange. Gods and goddesses were expected to give gifts. Votive offerings, which have been excavated from sanctuaries by the thousands, were a physical expression of thanks on the part of individual