Transcript L`Arbre de Famille

Religion in ancient Greece
…and the divinities
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Religion in ancient Greece
Greeks, like Egyptians and Mesopotmians before them, were polytheistic
(belief in more than one deity).
The deities of the ancient Greeks were also like the gods of the ancient
Egyptians in that they were anthropomorphic (appearnce of humans
experiencing the same emotions as humans).
The name anthropomorhic comes from the greek; anthrôpos (man) and
morhpê: (form)
Together, the deities, both male and female, were part of a large family
believed to have originated from Mount Olympus
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A strange and incestuous family
The ‘family’ had 12 members to which
you will be introduced…these gods were
called the Olympians.
There were also two other gods who
were adored, Hades and Dionysus.
Zeus, the god of gods, had 2 brothers
and two sisters.
Zeus had 8 children and his wife was
also his sister…incest!!!
Here is the family tree…
http://www.dinosoria.com/religion/zeus_cc03.jpg
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Zeus
god of gods
Hades
Poseidon
Underworld
Sea
Hermes
Protector of
travelers/
Messenger of
the gods
Dionysus
Wine &
Theatre
Apollo
Sun
Athena
Intelligence
Hephaestos
Blacksmith of weapons
For the gods
Hera
Demeter
Marriage
pregnancy
Ares
War
Artemis
Hunting,
the moon
and the night
Hestia
The home
Aphrodite
Beauty &
love
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12 Olympians
+
Hades & Dionysus
The Muses
Associated with the
god Apollo (Sun), they inspired
artists, writers and musicians.
There were 9 and they were
the daughters of Zeus and
Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory.
The Fates
3 female deities that
controlled the fates of all
human beings.
Clotho (spun the thread of a
person’s life)
Lachesis (decided how much time a
Person would live)
Atropos (cut the thread at the
time of death)
Uranus – God of the Sky, one
of the original gods who had
no parentage but was
conceived of Chaos, the primal
form of the universe.
The Furies
Born from the spilled blood
Of Uranus, they enforced
family law and avenged especially
those who were killed by
family members.
Tisiphone (avenger of murder)
Megaera (the jealous)
Alecto (constant anger)
Religion of the ancient Greeks
All of the deities possessed,
as has already been
mentioned, human
emotions. Even with their
supernatural powers they
still felt and acted on (it was
believed) their anger,
jealousy, pity, love and
hatred, to name a few.
http://www.francine.boisvert.com/divination/cartes/deesses/athena.jpg
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Religion of the ancient Greeks
For this reason, the Greeks respected and feared the deities. If
their life was going well, it was most certainly because they
had pleased the deities and they were happy with them.
If ever there were a problem or a disaster, it was surely due to
something a mortal had done to enrage one of the deities (a
seafaring accident that claimed lives, for instance would be
due to the fact that Poseidon had been angered by someone).
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Religion of the ancient Greeks
The Greeks, believing that the gods could intervene in their
lives for good or evil, worshipped often.
Each city-state had their own protector deity and they were
all worshipped differently. Some ways were as follows:
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•
•
•
•
Constructed temples or sanctuaries in their honor
Constructed statues made of precious metals
Sacrificed animals on sacred altars
Made offerings of jewels, harvests, etc..
Held honorific customs (celebration or an event in honor of
the deity)
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Religion of the ancient Greeks
As the city-states of ancient Greece were
independent of one another (even at times
enemies) these common religious beliefs were
one of the two things that held the Greeks
civilization together…the other being the
language!!!
1. Language
2. Religious beliefs
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City:
City:Athens
Olympia
Deity:
Athena
Deity:
Zeus
City-state: Delphes
Custom:the
Festive
Parades
Custom:
Olympic
Games
Deity: Apollo
In the
of Athens
• 5streets
day competition
Custom: The Oracles
to•Men
the Acropolis
where
the
temple
only, competed
in that
the
nude
Believing
the gods governed nature and the life of man, Greeks would go
of Athena
Go
tosituated.
the altar
in the sanctuary of Apollo in the hope of learning about their future.
• sacred
trucewas
amongst
city-states
They
wouldwrestling,
question the
priestess
of the sanctuary, called the pythia, who would then translate
• running, discus,
javelin,
chariot
races
the words
of theof
goddess
• winners received
a crown
olivs, Apollo. These were called the Oracles…the pythia could also
a hero’s welcome upon return to their interpret omens in one’s life.
city-state and free dinners for life
La religion en Grèce
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Religion of the ancient Greeks
Here we see, in a piece of art, a
Greek at the sanctuary of Apollo in
the hope of learning more about his
future.
He would question the young lady,
the Pythia, who would then
translate the words of Apollo, to the
man to let him know what his
future was…there was always a
priest there to determine what the
Pythia was saying, as she was often
hallucinating…for good reason, she
was chewing hallucinogens.
http://elearning.unifr.ch/antiquitas/images/Pythie.jpg
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Religious beliefs
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
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practiced alone
no formal texts
no priests with great powers (some
travelled the country preaching to the poor)
 no organized church
 no special task of trying to persuade to live
better lives
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Death & the Afterlife
Upon death, it was believed, the messenger god, Hermes, would lead the
deceased across the River Styx (the chasm between the land of the living
and the dead). Here they would be met by the boatman, Cheron, who
would ferry the dead into Hades, paying a toll called the obolus.
Cerebus, a watchdog, sat guard at the gates to ensure no one who ever
entered ever left.
Hades was not a happy place and people did not look forward to death!!!
http://www.river-styx.net/greek-gods-hades.htm
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How were the divinities similar and different to those found in ancient Egypt?
Where did the divinities live?
How many ‘Olympians’ were there?
Who was the head divinity? How many brothers and sisters did he have? How
many children?
How did the ancient Greeks pay homage to their divinities?
Give three examples of a city-state, their protector divinity and the custom
associated with each.
What happened at the sanctuary of Apollo?