The Greco-Romans“Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards
and leads us from this world to another.”
-Plato (Greek Philosopher)
Allison Miller, Nicholas Leffler. Lauren Crawford, Sterling Conyers
~Gods~ There are a group of gods and Goddesses shared by the Greeks and Romans, only they have different names for each God. Rome adopted the gods from the Greeks.
Greek Roman
Zeus Jupiter Father of the gods, Sky god
Hera Juno Wife of Zeus, goddess of marriage, childbirth and women
Aphrodite Venus Goddess of love and beauty
Ares Mars God of War
Athena Minerva Goddess of war and wisdom
Artemis Diana Goddess of hunting, fertility and childbirth
Apollo Apollo God of the sun, music, prophecy, archery
Hermes Mercury Messenger of the Gods, healing, communication
Hephaestus
Vulcan God of fire, volcanoes, blacksmiths, crafts
Poseidon Neptune God of the Sea, causes earthquakes
Hestia Vesta Goddess of the hearth, family and home, goddess of Rome
Demeter Ceres Goddess of corn and crops
Hades Pluto God of the underworld
Dionysus Bacchus God of wine, fruit, and ecstasy
University of Cumbria. "Greco-Roman Religion." RE-XS for Higher Education. PHILTAR. Web. 12 Sept. 2011. <http://www.philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/europe/grecorom.html>.
~Followers~Most Greeks and Romans During this
Era followed the Greco-roman religion.
Picture: http://schoolworkhelper.net/2011/02/aristotle-vs-plato-view-of-‘substance’/Gill, N. S. "Timeline of Greek and Roman Philosophers." Ancient / Classical History - Ancient Greece & Rome & Classics Research Guide. About.com, 2011. Web. 12 Sept. 2011. <http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/greekphilosophy/a/TimeLPhilosophr.htm>.
5th century BCE:
-Socrates
-Plato
-Democritus
4th Century BCE:
-Aristotle
Some of the Greco- Roman Philosophers include:
~Basic Beliefs~fate and destiny
-Gods and all living things were at the hands of faith and destiny
4 divine beings caused the creation of the earth:
-Chaos
-the Abyss
-Gaea
-Eros
Spirits, Monsters, and other mythological beings roamed the earth
ex. Amazons, Keres (evil female spirits), Medusa, Satyrs, Centaurs, sirens, and Typhon (represents disorder and devastation)
Purpose in life was to believe in the gods and pay homage to them with sacrifices and prayers
The world was viewed as a flat disk and it had a soul
“Overview of Greek Religion.” Religion Facts. Blue Host, 20 Jan 2005. Web. 8 Sep 2011. <http://www.religionfacts.com/greco-roman/overview.htm>
Death and the afterlife:
-Death was not a glorious thing
-Hades was the universal destination of the dead
-Tartarus: a place in Hades where the wicked sinners are sent and all the monsters and other cruel beasts were casts when defying the gods.
-Elysium: the nicest part of Hades, where the brave and good (a select few) were sent after death.
-Reincarnation was a major widespread belief in Greco-roman philosophy
~Basic Beliefs~
Picture: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eUmD6Jn9hTk/Tc8gyZGKe7I/AAAAAAAAAPA/nszA7VMHSis/s1600/jan+brugel+persenphone+hades+orpheus.jpg“Greco Roman Religious Beliefs.” Religion Facts. 4/12/2007. Web. 11 Sep 2011. <http://www.religionfacts.com.greco-roman/beliefs.htm>
“The glorious gifts of the gods are not to be cast
aside.”-Homer, The Iliad
~Rituals~
~And Holidays~Hemingway, Colette; Hemingway, Sean. “Greek Gods and Religious Practices.” Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. October 2003. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grlg/hd_grlg.htm
Picture: http://lavistachurchofchrist.org/images/GreekSacrifice.jpg
“A Sacrifice without prayer is thought to be useless and not a
proper consultation of the Gods.”
-Pliny the ElderGreeks:
Altars used for most religious practicesFood, wine, and precious objects were left as sacrifices
The relationship between mortals and godsBased on exchange
Gods gave gifts, worshippers left sacrifices to thank the gods
Religious FestivalsSports were played as a way to entertain the gods
Based on time-honored observancesRooted in the Bronze Age (3000-1050 BCE)
~Rituals~
Hemingway, Colette; Hemingway, Sean. “Greek Gods and Religious Practices.” Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. October 2003. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grlg/hd_grlg.htm
Romans: -All Sacrifices and offerings needed to be followed by a prayer in
order to be effective.-Spoken Prayer was the most powerful religious action, and correct praying guidelines/ components were key-Formulaic Prayer: the person praying merely chose to recite a prayer that had a specific purpose. -Prayed and made sacrifices for protection or good traveling before setting off on a journey. -In times of crisis (i.e. a natural disaster), mass prayers would be decreed by city officials and citizens would pray for the crisis to be solved.-Sacrifices:
-Increased the power of deities and mainly consisted of livestock and plants. -Daily sacrifices made to household guardian deities and were performed
in daylight.-Human sacrifice was very rare but extremely frowned upon.
~And Holidays~
~The Role of Women~
The social status of Women was very low
Aristotle's main thrust was to explain the nature of things from they are seen to be, and deduced women’s inferiority by nature.
Women's inferiority lies in a defect When a man and a woman have intercourse, the man supplies the substance of a human being (the soul, i.e. the form), the woman only the nourishment (the matter).
Limitations of Women:-Confined within the parental home until a husband was chosen for her (which would be around the age of mid-teen)-Of many Daughters in a family, only one of them was likely to be fully raised; the others would be kicked out of the household and would die or be forced Into slavery-Social Events run by men were completely off limit to women-Women were often Raped
Image: http://www.stockphotopro.com/photo-thumbs-2/A38FCX.jpg"Greek Philosophy on the Inferiority of Women." Transfer. Web. 10 Sept. 2011. <http://www.womenpriests.org/traditio/infe_gre.asp>.
~Major Texts~
Philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle wrote major texts that show fine examples of the Greco-Roman Philosophy:
Aristophanes (c.445-c.385 BCE)
Xenophon (c.428-c.354 BCE):
The Symposium
Peripatetics
"Internet History Sourcebooks." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 09 Sept. 2011. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook07.asp#Philosophy>.Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 09 Sept. 2011. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/>.
Picture: http://www.armenian-history.com/Nyuter/HISTORY/ArmeniaBC/pictures/xenophon_picture.jpg
Xenophon
~Missionary/ outreach work until 600 C.E.~
The school’s that Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle founded served as the missionary outreach for the youth of Greece
No known Missionary/ outreach in Rome
~Origin~ ~and~ ~Diffusion~
~Contacts with other religions~
Greco Romans and (Name here)