Greek gods how long

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. When did the Greek gods reign end and how long did it last for them to be worshipped till when they were no longer worshipped? Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top.

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Asked 5 years, 3 months ago. Active 5 years, 3 months ago. Viewed 2k times. An Athens court has ordered that the adulation of Zeus, Hera, Hermes, Athena and co is to be unbanned, paving the way for a comeback of pagans on Mount Olympus. The followers, who say they "defend the genuine traditions, religion and ethos" of the ancients by adhering to a pre-Christian polytheistic culture, are poised to take their battle to the temples of Greece.

Yet the pagans say as many as 2, Greeks have signed up to their movement. The ancient Greeks believed that Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in mainland Greece, was the home of the gods. Ancient Greek religious practice, essentially conservative in nature, was based on time-honored observances, many rooted in the Bronze Age — B.

Although the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer, believed to have been composed around the eighth century B. Nor did they have 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 worshippers.

The Greeks worshipped in sanctuaries located, according to the nature of the particular deity, either within the city or in the countryside.

A sanctuary was a well-defined sacred space set apart usually by an enclosure wall. This sacred precinct, also known as a temenos, contained the temple with a monumental cult image of the deity, an outdoor altar, statues and votive offerings to the gods, and often features of landscape such as sacred trees or springs. Many temples benefited from their natural surroundings, which helped to express the character of the divinities. For instance, the temple at Sounion dedicated to Poseidon, god of the sea, commands a spectacular view of the water on three sides, and the Parthenon on the rocky Athenian Akropolis celebrates the indomitable might of the goddess Athena.

The central ritual act in ancient Greece was animal sacrifice, especially of oxen, goats, and sheep. Sacrifices took place within the sanctuary, usually at an altar in front of the temple, with the assembled participants consuming the entrails and meat of the victim.

Liquid offerings, or libations Religious festivals, literally feast days, filled the year. The four most famous festivals, each with its own procession, athletic competitions These Panhellenic festivals were attended by people from all over the Greek-speaking world.

Many other festivals were celebrated locally, and in the case of mystery cults , such as the one at Eleusis near Athens, only initiates could participate. Hornblower, Simon, and Antony Spawforth, eds. The Oxford Classical Dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press, Pedley, John Griffiths.

Greek Art and Archaeology. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Pomeroy, Sarah B.