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Running head: GREEK BELIEFS, PRACTICES AND RITUALS

GREEK BELIEFS, PRACTICES AND RITUALS 3

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[footnoteRef:1] [1: The Greeks had several beliefs which they believed and followed to the letter. They collectively shared the same myths and believed the same gods. ]

The Greeks especially the early ones had a tendency of personalizing every other aspect of their world, either natural or cultural and their religious experiences in the world. The Greeks believed in gods and that there were different gods for different things (Mikalson, 2011). Among the most common belief of the Greeks is the belief that once a person dies his or her soul goes on a journey to a place known as the underworld or the Hades as it is known to them. They belief that once the body dies the Thanatos, the god of death would reach down and cut a lock of hair from the head as the person died and then the messenger of the god would lead you to the River Styx where the ferryman would transport the body across the river. On the bank of the river the body was believed to encounter Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guarded the underworld whose work is just to stop people from leaving and returning to the world of the living. They believed that the body would then walk to a place where they would forget memories of the former life and as they walk they will encounter three judges who will determine where their souls will live for eternity (Westmoreland, 2007).

The other aspect of the Greek religious beliefs is the set of the mythological as well as the monstrous beings that populate their myths. This include the Amazons, Keres, Medusa, Satyrs, Typhon and others. The Greeks were generally religious people and worshipped may gods of whom they believed took the human forms but yet they were endowed by superhuman strength and beauty that could last for ages. The Iliad and the Odyssey are some of the examples (Press, 2010).

The most common practices in the Greek religion is sacrifice and this especially the blood sacrifice of the animals. Their temples generally were not places for public gathering for people to gather for collective indoor prayer rather most temples were little more than boxes that contained the cult idol of the deity. The temples were partly as slaughterhouses and partly barbecue. Animals of all kinds were sacrificed to the gods in the temple. The most victims of [footnoteRef:2]sacrifice were the food animals and for these the usual practice was to offer the god the blood, bones and the victims hide while they kept and ate the rest of the flesh (Ogden, 2010). [2: They believed that once a person dies he or she transforms into another form and his a given a different body in the afterlife and forgets or the memories of the former life. They offer sacrifices for various reason, to appease the gods and to solicit for divine favors.]

The gifts offered to the gods by the worshippers were known as votive. This were mostly offered in anticipation of divine favours in future or could as well be offered as way of propitiating the gods for the crimes that could include blood-guilt and breach of religious customs. The Greek’s public worship was majorly aimed at pleasing the gods so that the gods also would give them rain, good harvest also military victories and public blessings. People offered private sacrifices for their own personal goals.

There were other Greek mystery religions such that those whom were not satisfied with the Greek leanings by the public cults of the gods could always turn to other religions. In their mysterious religions they could find the religious consolations that the traditional cults could be in a position to provide such as a systematic religious doctrine, a communal worship or an attractive afterlife.

Finally, it is important to note that the virtues that were fostered by the Greek religion is the respect for their gods. Those who broke the sacred boundaries were rendered impure and could be fined or required to offer a blood sacrifice to appease the goods (Rice & Stambaugh, 2009).

Works Cited Mikalson, J. D. (2011). Ancient Greek Religion. John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Ogden, D. (2010). A Companion to Greek Religion. John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Press, O. U. (2010). Greek Religion: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide. Oxford University Press, 2010. Rice, D. G., & Stambaugh, J. E. (2009). Source for the Study of Greek Religion: Corrected Edition. Society of Biblical Lit, 2009. Westmoreland, P. L. (2007). Ancient Greek Beliefs. Lee And Vance Publishing Co, 2007.

[footnoteRef:3] [3: This references are the materials used for this paper and all the information herein is obtained from the books.]