Athenian Religion
- were polytheistic
- the believe in more than one god
- Gods of the Greeks in Athens
- Zeus
- was the king of all the gods
- he was the ruler of the sky, thunder, and lighting
- he ate his pregnant wife that was going to have Athena because he didn't want to get overruled by his offspring
- Athena broke out of this 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
- was the goddess of the gods
- she was also the goddess of women and marriage
- was Zeus's wife
- her mother Rhea and her father Cronos
- Hades
- was the god of the underworld and dead
- brother of Zeus and Poseidon
- he was very greedy and was always trying to increase his numbers
- Poseidon
- was the god of the sea
- his weapon was the trident and it could sake the earth and shatter any object
- his brother 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 hate that is what he is most known for
- Ares
- was 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 ever hurt in battle he would run back to his father Zeus and be healed again
- Hephaestus
- was the god of metalwork and fire
- was born lame and weak and was an outcast of Olympus
- made the gods weapons and artifacts
- Apollo
- was the god of prophecy
- he is the patron of healing
- was very popular with the mortals
- was a master archer and fleet footer
- it's said he won the first Olympic games
- Aphrodite
- was the goddess of love and beauty
- she was loved by all the gods and humans
- she married Hephaestus and had many children
- Dionysus
- was the god of win, wine making ecstasy, and celebrations
- Zeus was his father
- Demeter
- was the goddess of fertility of the earth, crops, nature, and season
- many humans praised her so that they could have a good harvest
- she is the sister of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades
- Artemis
- was the virgin goddess of the hunt, moon, animals, archery, and childbirth
- was a aster archer and practiced
- is well known for the 6 golden horned deer to pull her chariot
- is the daughter of Zeus, sister of Apollo
- Zeus
- Why did they pray?
- the Greeks believed that they had to worship and please the Gods in order to have good fortune
- the Greeks participated in a number of rituals, rite, ceremonies and sacrifices in order to impress and placate the Gods
- Greek religion was ritual based, practicing a flexible set of beliefs, it made no claims of universality, they did not proselytize, they had no hierarchical system, or sacred texts.
- Where did religion take place?
- temples, shrines and statues were erected as a designated place to offer sacrifices to the Gods
- the altar, usually located in front of the temple, was the most important part of a Greek sanctuary, not the temple. This is where people gathered to worship
- How the Athenian religion compares to other Civilizations at the times
- Greek religion was a predominant form of early Paganism
- Their religion reflected many central ideas and concepts of earlier forms of Paganism, such as Druidism, both ancient and Modern and Witchcraft and Wicca
- the origins of Greek history has been lost in pre-history, the only knowledge that has remained is that the Greeks assimilated cults of pre-Greek inhabitants of the Peninsula
- Athenian myths
- Daughter of Zeus
- now Zeus, king of all the gods made his daughter with his bright-eyed Tritogeneia. Zeus put his daughter in his own belly first, that the goddess might devise for him both good and evil
- Contest of Poseidon and Athena
- there was a half snake half man named Cecrops that had to find a patron for the city state of Athens
- two gods were interested Poseidon and Athena
- Cecrops asked from them to offer a fight truly valuable for Athens.
- the Minotaur
- is a mythical creature that is part man part bull
- lives in the center of the Labyrinth
- Daughter of Zeus
Geography of Athens
- Land
- located in Greece in Southern Europe
- includes thousands of islands
- mountains covered 70-80% of Greece
- made of marble or limestone
- limestone was in the hills that the city was located on
- surrounded by mountains:
- Aigaleo - west
- Parnes - North
- Pentelikon - Northeast
- Hymettus - East
- Sea
- The Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Crete
- Peninsula that jets out into the Mediterranean Sea
- Southern Tip of Greece is called Peloponnesus
- the isthmus, which is a narrow strip of land, connects the Peloponnesus to the rest of Greece
- Fish were a part of their diet
- used for trading and transportation
- Climate
- Mild, wet winters
- about 50 degrees
- a lot of rain
- mountains get snow
- hot, dry summers
- about 80 degrees
- climate allows for a lot of outdoor activities
- Mild, wet winters
- How did the geography hurt/help
- trade was easier and more common since the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea bordered Greece
- there was no harsh weather
- land was covered in mountains, therefore transportation was very difficult
- crops could be grown easily,, but farmland was scarce
- Natural Resources
- lignite
- petroleum
- iron ore
- bauxite
- lead
- zinc
- nickel
- magnetite
- marble
- salt
- limestone
- Trade
- sea trade was common in :
- Aegean, Ionian, and Mediterranean Sea
- the most common ship in Greece was the cargo ship then the war ship
- transported goods and made Athens prosperous
- the Athenians reached markets all over the Mediterranean as well as the far east as Egypt and Lydia
- traded with many different kinds of people
- expanded imports to new levels
- Athens economy soared
- sea trade was common in :
- Farming
- farming was hard due to limited amounts of good soil and cropland
- 20% of land was for growing crops
- main crops:
- barley, grapes, and olives
- grain crops were planted in October and Harvested between April and may
- olives harvest between November and February
- grapes picked in September
- Barley was the main cereal crop and was used to make bread, porridge, and flour
- farms 4-5 acres of land
- Athens just grew enough crops to provide for family and if they had extra then they would take it to the local market
- some very large farms were run by overseers
- one farmer made 20,000 drachmas in a year on a large farm
- average worker made 2 drachmas a day
- Mining
- ore was common in Athens
- best known mine was the silver mines of Laurium
- their profits helped the growth of Athens
- slaves worked in the mines
- they made weapons, money, tools, and armor with the metal
- Jobs
- did metal work because of the silver mines of Laurium
- druggists were usually female and they collected herbs to use them for medicine
- manual labor was performed by slaves
- people with artistic abilities created images of deities and sold them to believer
- farming
- only free citizens could sign up for the military
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