What were the views of the people that inhabited ancient Greece concerning the creation of the world, Deities, and the Afterlife? In today's post we will be covering just that.
The Greeks view on God was actually pantheistic, that means they believed in many gods What follows is a list and short description of the twelve Major Olympian gods that they worshiped.
12 Major Olympian gods and goddesses
1. Aphrodite- goddess of romantic love, sexuality,procreation
2. Apollo- god of Poetry,music,healing,purification,
3. Ares- son of Zeus and Hera, god of war, insatiable
4. Artemis-sister of Apollo, virgin huntress,child birth/rearing
5. Athena- wisdom,strategy,war,a virgin
6. Dionysus-(Bacchus in Rome) god of wine, lawgiver, agriculture
7. Hephaestus-(Vulcan in Rome) fire and the forge, metallurgy
8. Hera- wife and sister of Zeus, marriage, plots revenge of Zeus' lovers, roman equivalent is Juno
9. Hermes-(Mercury) god of boundaries
10. Hestia- goddess of the hearth(Vesta)
11. Poseidon- god of the sea (Neptune) and horses
12. Zeus leader of the gods, had many affairs with goddesses and mortal women
The main issues I have with the belief in many gods, and these ones in particular is that unlike Jesus they don't have any historical evidence for they're existence. Ockham's razor is another Scientific principle which says that the simpler explanations is the better one, as well as the one with the least assumptions, this is just one more reason why I don't believe in a plurality of gods.
In addition to believing in destiny/fate, the Greeks also believed that the earth was a flat-disk floating on a river of Ocean. How do the Greeks think the earth was created? That is a very good question, albeit the answer is both creative yet disgusting. They believed that the world was made when the Earth was separated from her consort heaven (Uranus) by having his genitals severed by his son (Cronus) and thrown into the sea. Well that makes sense, forgive me for my sarcasm.
It was the Greeks who were responsible for many of the mythical creatures we know today including, the Amazons, Keres, Mesusa, Satyrs, Centaurs, Sirens, etc. Many Greeks believed that most of the dead went to Hades, which is described as a cod, damp, dark place. This is a strong contrast to the flames of hell that we learn about in scripture (Mat 5:22). The worst sinners ended up in a place called Taurterus while the goodest people wound up in Elysium.
The idea of reincarnation was also widespread in Greek philosophy (Col 2:8, Heb 9:27). Like many cultures they conducted animal sacrifices to their gods, which scriptures says that it's impossible for those types of sacrifices to take away sin (Heb 10:4). The last little disturbing tidbit of information I thought that i would bring up is that they would carry phallic symbols during their Dionysia Festival, we as Christians would never even think of participating in such a custom ( 1 Pet 4:3).
In Conclusion we can see that the ancient people of Greece and Rome had some very strange and interesting beliefs concerning Creation, God, and the Afterlife. Nevertheless these beliefs carry no evidence with them to support their veracity, whilst the bible has a tonne of Archaeological, Scientific, and Historic evidence to show that it is true.
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I just want to thank you for sharing your information and your site or blog this is simple but nice Information I’ve ever seen i like it i learn something today. Pantheon AV
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