Importance of Greek Religion

by PatDuffy in History, October 16, 2009

Religion can have a profound effect upon a civilization. On one hand, religion can answer such questions as where the world came from or what happens after death. However, perhaps more importantly, religion can determine a people’s attitudes and values; it can even define the manner in which a people live. This phenomenon can be observed especially well by studying classical Greece. Religion played a pivotal role in ancient Greek society because it affected virtually all aspects of Greek life.

However, the effects of religion on the Greeks were not exclusively positive. Indeed, while having a particular patron among the gods or having a particular identity-supporting myth united the inhabitants of a city, it also created a rivalry between different city-states with different patrons and different identities. These rivalries further fueled hostilities that already existed between the Greek city-states (Bowra 58; Freeman 147). “If the Greek gods were part of a common inheritance,” Bowra claims, “they were also a potent influence in keeping that inheritance divided” (59). To make matters worse, Greek religion emphasized order and power rather than love; these values took root in Greek society, leading to unnecessary conflicts over power between the Greek city-states (Bowra 59). Furthermore, the Greeks’ insistence in explaining the world in terms of the gods and myths held them back at times from gaining further knowledge. In fact, the Greeks often ignored or overwrote factual information if it contradicted or did not fit in with the myths (Burckhardt 25). Even the Greek historian Herodotus often used the concept of divine intervention rather than logical cause and effect to explain why events had taken place (Grant 70).

Still, religion was irremovably ingrained in Greek culture. By explaining the mysteries of the world, the gods and myths influenced the Greeks’ attitudes and outlooks on life. Fear of the gods helped society maintain order, and attempts to communicate with the gods led to rituals that encompassed much of Greek life. Although religion divided the Greek city-states, it also united them, and although it held the Greeks back at times, it also prompted them to develop such lasting innovations as drama and the Olympic Games. It is no wonder, then, that religion could be considered “the starting point and root of all [Greek] culture” (Burckhardt 161).