The Greek culture is
dated from the Aryan invasions in the second millennium
B.C.
The Aryan met two other
peoples who had existed in the region of Greece from
neolithic times; these peoples fused and formed the Greek
culture.
Previous to the invasions, the
Hellenic communities had been widely separated
geographically.
The attackers swept up
everything in their path, including all other previous
beliefs.
At first it was a confused
conglomerate of the gods, gradually a certain system of gods and
goddesses was formed.
The marriage of Zeus, the god
of the sky and of the conquerors, and Hera,the goddess of
fertility and of the conquered, symbolized the attempt at fusion.
The ongoing conflict was seen in the Iliad as symbolizing
the tension of the match.
These are the examples of
where each god or goddess was derived:
Zeus
Demeter -Indo European invaders
Hestia
Rhea- Minoan
Athene- Mycenean
Hera
Hermes- Aegean
Apollo- Ionian
Aphrodite- Cyprus
Dionysus
Ares- Thrace
Each family, town, and art
genre in ancient Greece had its own god.
The Greeks also held many
sights, animals and plants as sacred.
Some deities inhabited Hades,
the obscure underworld. The cult connected to this universe
of darkness is rich and full of the fearful things that the Greeks
thought awaited them in the afterlife.
Many rituals were aimed at
avoiding the possible revenge of the dead.
Many Greeks wanted to know
what their future held in store for them. They particularly
looked for the sign of the divine fury, which they tended to see
in unusual or exceptional events or omens often connected with
natural phenomena (eclipses, weather, etc.)
Many people were said to be
the mouths of the gods; they were called oracles.
Men who had done great things
or were the sons of a god were highly respected.
Athletic competitions were
often a part of the cult of heroes and were not merely
sports events.
