Permeating Society

The ancient Greeks also applied their religion to a variety of different aspect of life.  The most visible today is the Olympics, which surround the worship of Zeus (Olympics).  It included only male athletes competing in various events as a tribute to the strength and beauty of the gods.  The human body was an object of great celebration by the Greeks, as evidenced by their art.  This festivals occurred every 4 and 2 years, like the Summer and Winter Olympics now.  Women were not allowed to watch the games, and only Greek nationals were allowed to play (Olympics).  The games included a day of sacrifice in which 100 bulls were killed in the name of a specific god (Olympics).  The tie of wrestling, javelin toss, running and otherwise competing athletically to religion in the Greek culture is a very interesting one.

In addition to other festivals that celebrated many or just one god, the Greeks used the gods socially on a daily basis.  The religion started as a more complex polytheism with huge groups of gods and values to worship, but was later condensed into a more concise family of deities (Kitto 200). This represents a strong connection to family values within this society.  Another concept that was introduced upon the slow condensation of these characters was the bond between religion and morality.  Ananka was a power similar to will or morality that required independent worship, but it was later condensed into the simple will of Zeus, included as part of his character (Kitto 196).  It was this progression of the character of each of the gods that developed the strong sense of morality as seen through mythology.  There is a lesson to every myth, regardless of the seeming immorality of the gods' behavior.  Mythology as we know it today is what evolved during the late Alexandrian age (Kitto 203).  They used their adapted myths as satirical and dramatic poetry, and the stories were often told through theater in places like this;

The polytheistic religion of this time period permeated society in way that included social gatherings, overall entertainment of the masses, and the construction of huge buildings and temples.  The Parthenon at the acropolis is the prime example of the architecture encouraged by gods, this time namely Athena;

The characteristics exposed through these blog posting bring light to Greek mythology that is not just literary, but societal and religious.  It was a system of beliefs that structured how the ancient Greeks functioned on a regular basis.