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Greek Gods and Religious Practices
Nearchos: Aryballos Statuette of Herakles [Greek] Mirror with a support in the form of a nude girl [Laconian; Said to be from southern Italy] Attributed to Lydos: Column-krater Attributed to the Amasis Painter: Kylix Attributed to the Euphiletos Painter: Panathenaic prize amphora Attributed to the Andokides Painter : Amphora Attributed to the Kleophrades Painter: Panathenaic prize amphora Torso of draped, flying Nike [Greek]
Attributed to the Tithonos Painter: Lekythos (oil flask) Attributed to the Villa Giulia Painter: Kylix (drinking cup) Attributed to the Nikon Painter: Lekythos (oil flask) Attributed to the Menelaos Painter: Stamnos with lid Attributed to the Sabouroff Painter: Lekythos (oil flask) Attributed to the Phiale Painter: Lekythos depicting Poseidon pursuing Amymone Attributed to the Meidias Painter: Oinochoe-chous depicting women perfuming clothes Ring with head of Herakles [Greek] The Ganymede Jewelry [Hellenistic]
The Madytos Jewelry [Greek; Said to be from Madytos] Box with Sleeping Eros [Roman or Byzantine] Stater with head of Alexander the Great [Greek; Lysimachos, Pella] Head of Athena [Greek] Statue of Eros sleeping [Greek or Roman] Fragment from the Eleusinian Relief [Fragments of a Roman copy set in a plaster cast of the original Greek marble relief] Fragmentary head of a deity wearing a Dionysiac fillet [Roman; copy of a Greek work of the 2nd century B.C.] Statue of an old market woman [Roman]


The ancient Greeks worshipped many gods, each with a distinct personality and domain. Greek myths explained the origins of the gods and their individual relations with mankind. The art of Archaic and Classical Greece illustrates many mythological episodes, including an established iconography of attributes that identify each god. There were twelve principal deities in the Greek pantheon. Foremost was Zeus, the sky god and father of the gods, to whom the ox and the oak tree were sacred; his two brothers, Hades and Poseidon, reigned over the Underworld and the sea, respectively. Hera, Zeus's sister and wife, was queen of the gods; she is frequently depicted wearing a tall crown or polos. Wise Athena, the patron goddess of Athens, who typically appears in full armor with her aegis (a goat skin with a snaky fringe), helmet, and spear, was also the patroness of weaving and carpentry. The owl and the olive tree were sacred to her. Youthful Apollo, who is often represented with the kithara, was the god of music and prophecy. Judging from his many cult sites, he was one of the most important gods in Greek religion. His main sanctuary at Delphi, where Greeks came to ask questions of the oracle, was considered to be the center of the universe. Apollo's twin sister Artemis, patroness of hunting, often carried a bow and quiver. Hermes, with his winged sandals and elaborate herald's staff, the kerykeion, was the messenger god. Other important deities were Aphrodite, the goddess of love; Dionysos, the god of wine and theater; Ares, the god of war; and the lame Hephaistos, the god of metalworking. The ancient Greeks believed that Mount Olympos, 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 (3000–1050 B.C.), or even earlier. Although the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer, believed to have been composed around the eighth century B.C., were powerful influences on Greek thought, the ancient Greeks had no single guiding work of scripture like the Jewish Torah, the Christian Bible, or the Muslim Qu'ran. 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, were also commonly made. Religious festivals, literally feast days, filled the year. The four most famous festivals, each with its own procession, athletic competitions, and sacrifices, were held every four years at Olympia, Delphi, Nemea, and Isthmia. 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.


Europe, geography, Balkan Peninsula (including Greece) , Figure, Mythological, Europe, Figure, Deity, Greek and Roman, Figure, Athlete, Food and Feasting, Nikon Painter (Greek, active ca. 472-450 B.C.), Euphiletos Painter (Greek, ca. 530-520 B.C.), Kleophrades Painter (Greek, active ca. 505-475 B.C.)

Independent Scholar, Department of Greek and Roman Art

Architecture in Ancient Greece, Athenian Vase Painting: Black- and Red-Figure Techniques, Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece, Classicism in Modern Dress, The Greek Key and Divine Attributes in Modern Dress, The Chiton, Peplos, and Himation in Modern Dress, Classical Art and Modern Dress, Warfare in Ancient Greece, Poets, Lovers, and Heroes in Italian Mythological Prints, Boscoreale: Frescoes from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor, The Augustan Villa at Boscotrecase, Early Cycladic Art and Culture, Geometric Art in Ancient Greece, Sardis, Greek Terracotta Figurines with Articulated Limbs, Women in Classical Greece, Roman Copies of Greek Statues, The Technique of Bronze Statuary in Ancient Greece, Roman Painting, Medicine in Classical Antiquity, Etruscan Art, Greek Art in the Archaic Period, Time of Day on Painted Athenian Vases, Southern Italian Vase Painting, Theater in Ancient Greece, The Technique of Bronze Statuary in Ancient Greece, Athletics in Ancient Greece, Abridged List of Rulers: Roman Empire, Abridged List of Rulers: The Ancient Greek World,

Southern Europe, 8000-2000 B.C., Southern Europe, 2000-1000 B.C., Ancient Greece, 1000 B.C.-1 A.D., Ancient Greece, 1-500 A.D.,

Europe, 8000-2000 B.C.