Ancient Greek religion: Difference between revisions

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[[File:Oracle of Delphi, red-figure kylix, 440-430 BC, Kodros Painter, Berlin F 2538, 141668.jpg|thumb|350px|[[Aegeus]] at right consults the [[Pythia]] or [[oracle]] of [[Delphi]]. Vase, 440–430 BCBCE. He was told "Do not loosen the bulging mouth of the wineskin until you have reached the height of [[Athens]], lest you die of grief", which at first he did not understand.|235x235px]]

Religious practices in [[ancient Greece]] encompassed a collection of beliefs, [[Ritual|ritualsritual]]s, and [[Greek mythology|mythology]], in the form of both popular public religion and [[Cult (religious practice)|cult practices]]. The application of the modern concept of "religion" to ancient cultures has been questioned as [[anachronistic]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/826075990|title=The Cambridge companion to ancient Mediterranean religions|date=2013|author=Barbette Stanley Spaeth|author-link=Barbette Spaeth|isbn=978-0-521-11396-0|location=New York|oclc=826075990}}</ref> The ancient Greeks did not have a word for 'religion' in the modern sense. Likewise, no Greek writer known to us classifies either the gods or the cult practices into separate 'religions'.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/987423652|title=The Oxford handbook of ancient Greek religion|date=2017|author1=Esther Eidinow |author2=Julia Kindt|isbn=978-0-19-881017-9|location=Oxford, United Kingdom|oclc=987423652}}</ref> Instead, for example, [[Herodotus]] speaks of the Hellenes as having "common shrines of the gods and sacrifices, and the same kinds of customs."<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Warrior|first=Valerie M.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/422753768|title=Greek religion : a sourcebook|date=2009|publisher=Focus|isbn=978-1-58510-031-6|location=Newburyport, MA|oclc=422753768}}</ref>

"There was no centralization of authority over Greek religious practices and beliefs; change was regulated only at the civic level. Thus, the phenomenon we are studying is not in fact an organized “religion"religion".” Instead we might think of the beliefs and practices of Greeks in relation to the gods as a group of closely related “religious"religious dialects”dialects" that resembled each other far more than they did those of non-Greeks."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/826075990|title=The Cambridge companion to ancient Mediterranean religions|date=2013|author=Barbette Stanley Spaeth|isbn=978-0-521-11396-0|location=New York|oclc=826075990}}</ref>

The gods acted like humans and had human [[vice]]s and many behaved with arguably less morality than a typical human.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Homeric Gods: The Spiritual Significance of Greek Religion|last=Otto|first=W.F.|publisher=Pantheon|year=1954|location=New York|pages=131|title-link=The Homeric Gods}}</ref> They interacted with humans, sometimes even spawning children- called [[demigod]]s- with them. At times, certain gods would be opposed to others, and they would try to outdo each other. In the ''[[Iliad]]'', [[Aphrodite]], [[Ares]], and [[Apollo]] support the Trojan side in the Trojan War, while [[Hera]], [[Athena]], and Poseidon support the Greeks (see [[theomachy]]).

[[File:MuséeEsculape, duMa Louvre Darafsh639 (201).jpg|thumb|upright=.8|[[Asclepios]], god of medicine. Marble Roman copy (2nd century ADCE) of a Greek original of the early 4th century BCBCE. Asclepios was not one of the Twelve Olympians, but popular with doctors like [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], and their patients.]]

A few Greeks, like [[Achilles]], [[Alcmene]], [[Amphiaraus]], [[Ganymede (mythology)|Ganymede]], [[Ino (Greek mythology)|Ino]], [[Melicertes]], [[Menelaus]], [[Peleus]], and a great number of those who fought in the Trojan and Theban wars, were considered to have been physically immortalized and brought to live forever in either Elysium, the Islands of the Blessed, heaven, the ocean, or beneath the ground. Such beliefs are found in the most ancient Greek sources, such as [[Homer]] and [[Hesiod]]. This belief remained strong even into the Christian era. For most people at the moment of death there was, however, no hope of anything but continued existence as a disembodied soul.<ref>[[Erwin Rohde]] ''Psyche: The Cult of Souls and Belief in Immortality among the Greeks''. New York: Harper & Row 1925 [1921]</ref>

[[File:Rubens - Judgement of Paris.jpg|250px|left|thumb|[[The Judgement of Paris (Rubens)|''The Judgment of Paris'' by Peter Paul Rubens]] (c. 1636), depicting the goddesses [[Hera]], [[Aphrodite]] and [[Athena]], in a competition that causes the [[Trojan War]]. This Baroque painting shows the continuing fascination with Greek mythology]]

While some traditions, such as Mystery cults, upheld certain texts as canonic within their praxis, such texts were respected but not necessarily accepted as canonic outside their circle. In this field, of particular importance are certain texts referring to [[Orphic cults]]: multiple copies, ranging from between 450 BC–250BCE and 250 ADCE, have been found in various parts of the Greek world. Even the words of the oracles never became a sacred text. Other texts were specially composed for religious events, and some have survived within the lyric tradition; although they had a cult function, they were bound to performance and never developed into a common, standard prayer form comparable to the Christian [[Pater Noster]]. An exception to this rule were the already named Orphic and Mystery rituals, which, in this, set themselves aside from the rest of the Greek religious system. Finally, some texts called {{Lang|el-Latn|ieri logi}} ({{lang-langx|el|ιεροί λόγοι}}) (sacred texts) by the ancient sources, originated from outside the Greek world, or were supposedly adopted in remote times, representing yet more different traditions within the Greek belief system.

The lack of a unified priestly class meant that a unified, [[Canon of Scripture|canonic]] form of the religious texts or practices never existed; just as there was no unified, common sacred text for the Greek belief system, there was no standardization of practices. Instead, religious practices were organized on local levels, with priests normally being [[magistrates]] for the city or village, or gaining authority from one of the many sanctuaries. [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] notes that the priest of the [[temple of Athena Alea]] at [[Tegea]] was a boy, who held office only until reaching the age of [[puberty]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' 8. 47.2</ref> Some priestly functions, like the care for a particular local festival, could be given by tradition to a certain family. To a large extent, in the absence of "scriptural" sacred texts, religious practices derived their authority from tradition, and "every omission or deviation arouses deep anxiety and calls forth sanctions".<ref name="Burkert 1985, Introduction:3">Burkert (1985), Introduction:3</ref>

[[Ceremonies of ancient Greece|Greek ceremonies]] and rituals were mainly performed at [[altar]]s, which were never inside temples, but often just outside, or standing by themselves somewhere. These were typically devoted to one or a few gods, and supported a statue of the particular deity. [[Votive deposit]]s were left at the altar, such as food, drinks, as well as precious objects. Sometimes [[animal sacrifice]]s were performed here, with most of the flesh taken for eating and the [[offal]] burnt as an offering to the gods. [[Libations]], often of wine, would be offered to the gods as well, not only at shrines, but also in everyday life, such as during a [[symposium]].

One [[rite of passage]] was the [[amphidromia]], celebrated on the fifth or seventh day after the birth of a child. Childbirth was extremely significant to Athenians, especially if the baby was a boy. One ceremony was [[pharmakos]], a ritual involving expelling a symbolic [[scapegoat]] such as a slave or an animal, from a city or village in a time of hardship. It was hoped that by casting out the ritual scapegoat, the hardship would go with it.

[[File:Sacrifice to Athena, Amphora from Vulci, 550-540 BC, Berlin F 1686, 141662.jpg|thumb|left|A bull is led to the altar of [[Athena]], whose image is at right. Vase, c. 545 BCBCE.]]

The animals used were, in order of preference, bulls or oxen, cows, sheep (the most common sacrifice), goats, pigs (with piglets being the cheapest mammal), and poultry (but rarely other birds or fish).<ref>Walter Burkert, ''Greek Religion'' (1985): 2:1:1; to some extent different animals were thought appropriate for different deities, from bulls for Zeus and Poseidon to doves for Aphrodite, Burkert (1985): 2:1:4</ref> Horses and asses are seen on some [[Pottery of ancient Greece#Geometric style|vases in the Geometric style]] (900–750 BCBCE), but are very rarely mentioned in literature; they were relatively late introductions to Greece, and it has been suggested that Greek preferences in this matter were established earlier. The Greeks liked to believe that the animal was glad to be sacrificed, and interpreted various behaviors as showing this. [[Divination]] by [[haruspex|examining parts of the sacrificed animal]] was much less important than in [[Ancient Roman religion|Roman]] or [[Etruscan religion]], or [[Near Eastern religions]], but [[Greek divination|was practiced]], especially of the liver, and as part of the [[cult of Apollo]]. Generally, the Greeks put more faith in [[Ornithomancy|observing the behavior of birds]].<ref>Struck, P.T. (2014). "Animals and Divination", In Campbell, G.L. (Ed.), ''The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life'', 2014, Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199589425.013.019, [https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1186&context=classics_papers online]</ref>

[[File:Greekreligion-animalsacrifice-corinth-6C-BCE.jpg|thumb|Sacrifice of a lamb on [[Pitsa panels|a Pitsa Panel]], [[Corinth]], 540–530 BCBCE]]

It has been suggested that the [[Chthonic]] deities, distinguished from Olympic deities by typically being offered the [[Holocaust (sacrifice)|holocaust]] mode of sacrifice, where the offering is wholly burnt, may be remnants of the native [[Pre-Greek substrate|Pre-Hellenic]] religion, and that many of the [[Twelve Olympians|Olympian]] deities may come from the Proto-Greeks who overran the southern part of the [[Balkans|Balkan Peninsula]] in the late third millennium BCBCE.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chadwick|first1=John|title=The Mycenaean World|date=1976|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-521-29037-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/mycenaeanworld00chad/page/85 85]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/mycenaeanworld00chad/page/85}}</ref>

[[File:Delphi chryselephantine.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.8|Gold and fire-blackened ivory fragments of a burnt Archaic [[chryselephantine statue]] - [[Delphi Archaeological Museum]]]]

It used to be thought that access to the ''cella'' of a Greek temple was limited to the priests, and it was entered only rarely by other visitors, except perhaps during important festivals or other special occasions. In recent decades this picture has changed, and scholars now stress the variety of local access rules. [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] was a gentlemanly traveller of the 2nd-century ADCE who declares that the special intention of his travels around Greece was to see cult images, and usually managed to do so.<ref>Miles, 212-213, 220</ref>

[[File:Woman altar MAR Palermo NI2129.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.7|Woman pouring a [[libation]] on an altar]]

TheIn roleaddition ofto womenthe inrole sacrificesthat iswomen discussedperformed above.in In additionsacrifices, the only public roles that [[Greek women]] could perform were [[priest]]esses:;<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Simon |first1=Stephen J. |title=The Functions of Priestesses in Greek Society |journal=The Classical Bulletin |volume=67 |issue=2 |id={{ProQuest|1296355183}} }}</ref> either ''[[hiereiai]]'', meaning "sacred women", or {{Lang|grc-Latn|amphipolis}}, a term for lesser attendants. As priestesses, they gained social recognition and access to more luxuries than other Greek women who worked or stayed in the home. They were mostly from local elite families; some roles required virgins, who typically only served for a year or so before marriage, while other roles went to married women. Women who voluntarily chose to become priestesses received an increase in social and legal status to the public, and after death, they received a public burial site. Greek priestesses had to be healthy and of a sound mind, the reasoning being that the ones serving the gods had to be as high-quality as their offerings.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dillon |first1=Matthew |title=Girls and Women in Classical Greek Religion |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290875541 |website=Researchgate}}</ref> This was also true of male Greek priests.

It is contested whether there were gendered divisions when it came to serving a particular god or goddess, who was devoted to what god, gods and/or goddesses could have both priests and priestesses to serve them. Gender specifics did come into play when it came to who would perform certain acts of sacrifice or worship. Per the significance of the male or female role to a particular god or goddess, a priest would lead the priestess or the reverse.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Holderman |first1=Elisabeth |title=A Study of the Greek Priestess |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015006946365&view=1up&seq=27 |websitevia=HathiTrust|date=7 June 2021 |publisher=Printed by the University of Chicago press }}</ref> In some Greek cults priestesses served both gods and goddesses; [[Pythia]], or female [[Oracle of Apollo]] at [[Delphi]], and that at [[Didyma]] were priestesses, but both were overseen by male priests. The festival of Dionosyus was practiced by both and the god was served by women and female priestesses known as the [[Gerarai]] or the venerable ones.<ref name="researchgate.net">{{cite web |last1=Dillon |first1=Matthew |title=Girls and Women in Classical Greek Religion |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290875541|website=Researchgate}}</ref>

There were segregated religious festivals in Ancient Greece; the [[Thesmophoria]], Plerosia, Kalamaia, [[Adonia]], and [[Skira]] were festivals that were only for women. The Thesmophoria festival and many others represented agricultural fertility, which was considered to be closely connected to women. It gave women a religious identity and purpose in Greek religion, in which the role of women in worshipping goddesses [[Demeter]] and her daughter [[Persephone]] reinforced traditional lifestyles. The festivals relating to agricultural fertility were valued by the [[polis]] because this is what they traditionally worked for; women-centered festivals that involved private matters were less important. In [[Athens]] the festivals honoring Demeter were included in the calendar and promoted by Athens. They constructed temples and shrines like the Thesmophorion, where women could perform their rites and worship.<ref>{{cite web |last1name=Dillon |first1=Matthew |title=Girls and Women in Classical Greek Religion |url=https://www."researchgate.net"/publication/290875541|website=Researchgate}}</ref>

Some of these mysteries, like the [[Eleusinian Mysteries|mysteries of Eleusis]] and [[Mysteries of Samothrace|Samothrace]], were ancient and local. Others were spread from place to place, like the [[Dionysian Mysteries|mysteries of Dionysus]]. During the [[Hellenistic]] period and the [[Roman Empire]], exotic mystery religions became widespread, not only in Greece, but all across the empire. Some of these were new creations, such as [[Mithras]], while others had been practiced for hundreds of years before, like the Egyptian [[mysteries of [[Osiris]].

[[File:7262 - Piraeus Arch. Museum, Athens - The Piraeus Apollo - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, Nov 14 2009.jpg|thumb|The [[Piraeus Apollo]], c. 525 BCBCE]]

Greek religious concepts may also have absorbed the beliefs and practices of earlier, nearby cultures, such as [[Minoan religion]],<ref>Burkert (1985): 1:3:1</ref> and other influences came from the Near East, especially via Cyprus.<ref name="Burkert 1985: 1:3:6"/> and [[Phoenicia]].<ref name=":0" /> [[Herodotus]], writing in the 5th century BCBCE, traced many Greek religious practices to [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. Robert G. Boling argues that Greek and [[Ugarit]]ic/[[Canaan]]ite mythology share many parallel relationships and that historical trends in Canaanite religion can help date works such as [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'' and ''[[Odyssey]]''.<ref name=":1" />

[[File:20190507 061 olympia museum.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Group of Zeus and Ganymede|Zeus carrying away Ganymede]]'' (Late Archaic terracotta, 480-470 BCBCE)]]

[[File:Egyptian - Pendant with Image of Sarapis - Walters 571524 - Front View B (cropped).jpg|thumb|Pendant with [[Serapis]], Egypt, 2nd century BCBCE]]

In the [[Hellenistic period]] between the death of [[Alexander the Great]] in 323 BCBCE and the [[Roman conquest of Greece]] (146 BCBCE), Greek religion developed in various ways, including expanding over at least some of Alexander's conquests. The new dynasties of [[diadochi]], kings and tyrants often spent lavishly on temples, often following Alexander in trying to insinuate themselves into religious cult; this was much easier for the [[Ptolemaic dynasty]] of Egypt, where the traditional [[ancient Egyptian religion]] had long had deified monarchs. The enormous raised [[Pergamon Altar]] (now in Berlin) and the [[Altar of Hieron]] in [[Sicily]] are examples of unprecedentedly large constructions of the period.

[[File:Wall painting - Dionysos with Helios and Aphrodite - Pompeii (VII 2 16) - Napoli MAN 9449 - 01.jpg|thumb|left|[[Dionysus]] with long torch''[[thyrsus]]'' sitting on a throne, with [[Helios]], [[Aphrodite]] and other gods. Fresco from [[Pompeii]].]]

When the [[Roman Republic]] conquered Greece in 146 BCBCE, it took much of Greek religion (along with many other aspects of [[Greek culture]] such as literary and architectural styles) and incorporated it into its own. The Greek gods were equated with the ancient Roman deities; Zeus with [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]], Hera with [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]], Poseidon with [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]], Aphrodite with [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]], Ares with [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]], Artemis with [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]], Athena with [[Minerva]], Hermes with [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]], Hephaestus with [[Vulcan (mythology)|Vulcan]], Hestia with [[Vesta (mythology)|Vesta]], Demeter with [[Ceres (Roman mythology)|Ceres]], Hades with [[Pluto (mythology)|Pluto]], Tyche with [[Fortuna]], and Pan with [[Faunus]]. Some of the gods, such as Apollo and [[Bacchus]], had earlier been adopted by the Romans. There were also many deities that existed in the Roman religion before its interaction with Greece that were not associated with a Greek deity, including [[Janus]] and [[Quirinus]].

The Romans generally did not spend much on new temples in Greece other than those for [[Imperial cult of ancient Rome|their Imperial cult]], which were placed in all important cities. Exceptions include [[Antoninus Pius]] (r. 138–161 ADCE), whose commissions include the [[Baalbec]] [[Temple of Bacchus]], arguably the most impressive survival from the imperial period (though the Temple of Jupiter-[[Baal]] next to it was larger). It could be said the Greek world was by this time well furnished with sanctuaries. Roman governors and emperors often pilfered famous statues from sanctuaries, sometimes leaving contemporary reproductions in their place. [[Verres]], governor of [[Sicilia (Roman province)|Sicily]] from 73 to 70 BCBCE, was an early example who, unusually, was prosecuted after his departure.

The initial [[decline of Greco-Roman polytheism]] was due in part to its syncretic nature, assimilating beliefs and practices from a variety of foreign religious traditions as the Roman Empire expanded.{{page number needed|date=January 2021}} Greco-Roman philosophical schools incorporated elements of [[Judaism]] and [[Early Christianity]], and mystery religions like Christianity and [[Mithraism]] also became increasingly popular. [[Constantine I]] became the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity, and the [[Edict of Milan]] in 313 ADCE enacted official tolerance for Christianity within the Empire. Still, in Greece and elsewhere, there is evidence that pagan and Christian communities remained essentially segregated from each other, with little mutual cultural influence.{{page number needed|date=January 2021}} Urban pagans continued to use the civic centers and temple complexes, while Christians set up their own, new places of worship in suburban areas. Contrary to some older scholarship, newly converted Christians did not simply continue worshiping in converted temples; rather, new Christian communities formed as older pagan communities declined and were eventually suppressed and disbanded.<ref name=survival_greece>Gregory, T. (1986). The Survival of Paganism in Christian Greece: A Critical Essay. ''The American Journal of Philology'', '''107'''(2), 229-242. doi:10.2307/294605</ref>{{page number needed|date=January 2021}}

The Roman Emperor [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]], a nephew of Constantine, initiated an effort to end the ascension of Christianity within the empire and reorganize a syncretic version of Greco-Roman polytheism that he termed "Hellenism". Later known as “The"The Apostate”Apostate", Julian had been raised Christian but embraced his ancestors' paganism in early adulthood. Taking notice of how Christianity ultimately flourished under suppression, Julian pursued a policy of marginalization but not destruction towards the Church; tolerating and at times lending state support to other prominent faiths (particularly Judaism) when he believed doing so would be likely to weaken Christianity.<ref name="Brown, Peter 1971, p. 93">Brown, Peter, The World of Late Antiquity, W. W. Norton, New York, 1971, p. 93.</ref> Julian's Christian training influenced his decision to create a single organized version of the various old pagan traditions, with a centralized priesthood and a coherent body of doctrine, ritual, and liturgy based on [[Neoplatonism]].<ref name="hughes">"A History of the Church", Philip Hughes, Sheed & Ward, rev ed 1949, vol I chapter 6.[http://www.ewtn.com/library/CHISTORY/HUGHHIST.TXT]</ref><ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]] ''Res Gestae'' 22.12</ref> On the other hand, Julian forbade Christian educators from utilizing many of the great works of philosophy and literature associated with Greco-Roman paganism. He believed Christianity had benefited significantly from not only access to but influence over classical education.<ref> name="Brown, Peter, The World of Late Antiquity, W. W. Norton, New York, 1971, p. 93.<"/ref>

Julian's successor [[Constantinus]] reversed some of his reforms, butsuccessors [[Jovian (Emperor)|Jovian]],<ref>Themistius Oration 5; Photius, Epitome of the Ecclesiastical History of [[Philostorgius]], 8.5</ref> [[Valentinian I]], and [[Valens]] continued Julian's policy of [[religious toleration]] within the Empire, garnering them both praise from pagan writers.<ref>Ammianus Res Gestae 20.9; Themistius Oration 12.</ref> Official persecution of paganism in the Eastern Empire began [[Christian persecution of paganism under Theodosius I|under Theodosius I]] in 381 ADCE.<ref name="Grindle1892pp29-30">Grindle, Gilbert (1892) ''The Destruction of Paganism in the Roman Empire'', pp.29-30.</ref> Theodosius strictly enforced anti-pagan laws, had priesthoods disbanded, temples destroyed, and actively participated in Christian actions against pagan holy sites.<ref name="Ramsay1984p90">Ramsay McMullan (1984) ''Christianizing the Roman Empire A.D. 100–400'', Yale University Press, p.90.</ref> He enacted laws that prohibited worship of pagan gods not only in public, but also within private homes.<ref name="hughes"/> The last Olympic Games were held in 393 ADCE, and Theodosius likely suppressed any further attempts to hold the games.<ref name="Burkert 1985, Introduction:3"/> Western Empire Emperor [[Gratian]], under the influence of his adviser [[Ambrose]], ended the widespread, unofficial tolerance that had existed in the Western Roman Empire since the reign of Julian. In 382 ADCE, Gratian appropriated the income and property of the remaining orders of pagan priests, disbanded the Vestal Virgins, removed altars, and confiscated temples.<ref>Theodosian Code 16.10.20; Symmachus Relationes 1-3; Ambrose Epistles 17-18.</ref>

Despite official suppression by the Roman government, worship of the Greco-Roman gods persisted in some rural and remote regions into the [[early Middle Ages]]. A claimed temple to Apollo, with a community of worshipers and associated sacred grove, survived at [[Monte Cassino]] until 529 ADCE, when it was forcefully converted to a Christian chapel by Saint [[Benedict of Nursia]], who destroyed the altar and cut down the grove.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Life of Saint Benedict|author=Pope Gregory I|translator=Terrence Kardong, OSB|section=7:10-11|page=49|publisher=Liturgical Press|year=2009|location=Collegeville, MN}}</ref> Other pagan communities, namely the [[Maniots]], persisted in the [[Mani Peninsula]] of Greece until at least the 9th century.<ref name=survival_greece/>

More recently, a revival has begun with contemporary [[Hellenism (religion)|Hellenism]], as it is often called. In Greece, the term is ''Hellenic EthnicNational Religion'' ({{Lang|el|Ελληνική Εθνική Θρησκεία}}). Modern Hellenism reflects [[Neoplatonism|Neoplatonic]] and [[Platonism|Platonic]] speculation (represented in [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]], [[Libanius]], [[Proclus]], and [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]]), as well as classical cult practice. But it has far fewer followers than [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox Christianity]]. According to estimates reported by the [[U.S. State Department]] in 2006, there were perhaps as many as 2,000 followers of the ancient Greek religion out of a total Greek population of 11 million,<ref>[https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71383.htm Greece]. State.gov. Retrieved on 2013-07-28.</ref> but Hellenism's leaders place that figure at 100,000.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=617qc8gmta8 Hellenic Religion today: Polytheism in modern Greece]. YouTube (2009-09-22). Retrieved on 2013-07-28.</ref>

* [[List of ancientAncient Greek temples]]

{{reflistReflist}}

* [[Walter Burkert|Burkert, Walter]] (1972), ''[[Homo Necans]]''
* Burkert, Walter (1985), ''Greek Religion: Archaic and Classical'', Harvard University Press, {{ISBN|0674362810}}. Widely regarded as the standard modern account, [https://archive.org/details/greekreligion0000burk/page/23/mode/2up online at archive.org].

* Lewis Richard Farnell, ''Greek Hero Cults and Ideas of Immortality'', 1921.