Athenian religion
Monotheism or Polytheism?
- the athenians are polytheistic
- this means that they believe in more than one god
gods of the greeks in athens
- Zues
- zues was the king of all the gods
- he was the ruler of the sky, thunder, and lightning
- He ate his pregnant wife that was going to have athena because he didnt want to get overruled by his offspring
- athena broke out of his skull
- zeus had two brothers named poseidon and hades
- Athena
- she was one of the most important goddesses in athens
- she was the goddess of wisdom, handicrafts, defense, and strategic warfare
- daughter of zeus and hera
- she was fierce and brave in battle but only fought to protect her homeland
- Hera
- Goddess of the gods
- she was also the god of women and marriage
- she was zues's wife
- her mother was Rhea and her father was Cronos
- Hades
- the god of the underworld and the dead
- brother of zeus and poseidon
- he was very greedy and was always trying to increase his numbers
- Poseidon
- god of the sea
- his weapon was the trident and it could shake the earth and shatter any object
- his brothers were zeus and hades
- he was second in power for the gods only behind Zeus
- Hermes
- main role was to be a messenger for the gods
- he had winged shoes and a winged hat that is what he is most known for
- Ares
- the god of war
- he was very aggressive and unpopular with the gods and humans
- he personified the brutalness of war
- ares was immortal but when he was injured he would run to his father zeus to be healed again
- Hephaestus
- god of metalwork and fire
- he was born lame and weak and was an outcast of olympus
- he made the gods weapons and artifacts
- Apollo
- god of prophecy
- he is the patron of healing
- he was very popular with the mortals
- he was a master archer and fleetfooter
- it is said that he won the first olympic games
- Aphrodite
- goddess of love and beauty
- loved by all the gods and humans
- she married hephaestus and had many children
- Dionysus
- god of wine, wine making, ecstasy, and celebration
- zeus was his father
- Demeter
- Goddess of fertility of the earth, crops, nature, and seasons
- many humans praised her so that they could have a good harvest
- she is the sister of zeus, poseidon, and hades
- Artemis
- She was the virgin goddess of the hunt, moon, animals archery and childbirth
- she was a master archer and practiced
- she is well known for 6 golden horned deer to pull her chariot
- she is the daughter of zeus, sister of apollo
Why did they pray?
- The greeks believed that they hads to worship and please the gods in order to have good fortune
- the greeks participated in a number of rituals, rites, ceremonies and sacrifices in order to impress and placate the gods
- greek religion was ritual based
where did religion take place?
- temples, shrines, and statues were erected as a designated place to offer sacrifices to the gods
- the alter, usually located in front of the temple was the most important part of a greek sanctuary, not the temple
how the athenian religion compares to other civilizations at the times
- greek religion was a predominant form of eraly paganism
- their religion reflected many central ideas and concepts of earlier forms of paganism such as druidism, both aceint and modern
athenian myths
- dather of zeus
- now zeus, kind of all the gods made his daughter with his bright eyed tritogeneia. zeus put his daughterin his own belly first, that the goddess might devise him good or evil
- contest of poseidon and athena
- there hwas half a snake half man named cecrops that had to find a patron for the city states of athens
- poseidon struck the ground with his trdent and water came out of the ground but it was salty
- he
- minotaur
- mythical creature that is part man part bull
- held in the labrynth
Government of Athens
- Limited democracy
- included the rich and poor people
- people could speak their minds
influence on our government:
- vote in elections
- elect people to vote for us and represent us
- gave citizenship
- democracy rights
Government before democracy-aristocracy
- state ruled by nobility
- rule is heredirary and based on ties, social rank wealth
- social status and wealth support rulers authority
citizenship
- 18 years old-two years of military training
- could take part in government
- only adult men were full citizens
- thought women were inferior
- wealthy nobles and poor people clashed
- the people avoided major political problems by making reforms
- reformers tried to build a democracy
Key players--pericles and socrates and plato
Pericles
- leader of athens around 450 bc
- made sure all citizens could take part in government
- any citixen could be in assembly or serve on a jery, arranged for them to be paid
- this allowed even poor people to take part in government
Socrates
- teacher of philosophy
- agered some by questioning laws, customs and religion
- brought to trial in 399 bc for urging athens young people to revolt
- sentenced to deaht
- most famous philospher in ancient greece
Plato
- in his book plato discussed his ideal form of government, in which a society could be contructed to bring out the best behavior of its citizens
- plato believed that different people have different strengths and weaknesses
Branches and bodies of government
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