Religions and BeliefsIn Ancient Rome!

Mars!

• God of war.

Ceres!

• Goddess of Agricultural.

Diana!

• Moon goddess

Juno!

• goddess of women and childbirth.

Minerva

• goddess of wisdom and healing in war

Hades

• God of the underworld.

Aphrodite.

• Goddess of love

Apollo

• God of light, purity, guidance, healing and music.

Zeus

• King of Gods, thunder, lightning, gold and kings.

Athere

• Goddess of Athens, war, handicrafts and wisdom.

Demeter

• Goddess of harvest

The Religion

• Greek religion was a predominant form of early Paganism and as a result their religion reflected many central ideas and concepts of earlier forms of Paganism, such as Druidism, both ancient and Modern and Witchcraft and Wicca. It was polytheistic, consisting of the worship of many Gods. The Greeks believed that the Gods would offer protection and guide their city-states. This belief was identical to other earlier forms of Paganism.

Oracles

• the Greeks sought out the Oracles advice in relation to religious and political aspects of life. They were also used as a mean to seek out the will of the Gods. Sanctuaries were dedicated to the Oracles to indicate their importance. Shrines were also erected for the Oracles and became places of international prestige. Oracles controlled many human decisions about health, sickness, peace, war, colonization, migration, crime and punishment.

Rituals.• In order to show their appreciation to the Gods and Oracles, the

Greeks would perform a series of rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and offerings as other forms of Paganism did. Sacrifices of animals; sheep, cows, goats, pigs and bulls were made, as well as the occasional human sacrifice as a present to the Gods. Chosen animals for sacrifice formed a procession, they were crowned, adorned, purified with water and sprinkled with barley. Many temples and shrines were also erected as a mark of respect and for a place to offer their sacrifices. It is obvious that the Greeks placed a lot of pride in their temples and shrines, for extensive time was taken to re-build, preserve and beautify them. Further evidence of the Greeks desire to please the Gods can be seen through their offerings. The Greeks offered such things as stone freezes, "gold vessels, wheat, wine and honey, milk, water and firstfruits." Prayers and hymns accompanied sacrifices and sometimes performances and other ritual acts followed such as dances or early forms of drama.

Beliefs.

• The Greeks held a strong belief that your body needed to be buried with the goods and wealth that you had accumulated in this lifetime in order to carry them through into the next life. Gravesites recovered have shown that people have been buried with food, cloths and jeweled ornaments. Kings were buried with bronze weapons, chariots and their horses. In some cases the wives and slaves were killed and buried beside the dead so that the person could take their family with them into the next lifetime. Their bodies are well preserved and embalmed so that they are not ruined for the next life.