Hellenistic religion

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Serapis, a Greco-Egyptian God worshipped in Hellenistic Egypt
Hellenistic religion is any of the various systems of beliefs and practices of the people who lived
under the influence of ancient Greek culture during the Hellenistic period and the Roman Empire
(c. 300 BCE to 300 CE). There was much continuity in Hellenistic religion: the Greek gods
continued to be worshipped, and the same rites were practiced as before.
Change came from the addition of new religions from other countries, such as including the
Egyptian God(esse)s of Isis and Serapis, and the Syrian Gods of Atargatis and of Hadad, which
provided a new outlet for people seeking fulfillment in both the present life and the afterlife. The
worship of Hellenistic rulers was also a feature of this period, most notably in Egypt, where the
Ptolemies adopted earlier pharaonic practice, and established themselves as god-kings.
Elsewhere rulers might receive divine status without the full status of a God.
Magic was practiced widely, and these too, were a continuation from earlier times. Throughout
the Hellenistic world, people would consult oracles, and use charms and figurines to deter
misfortune or to cast spells. Also developed in this era was the complex system of astrology,
which sought to determine a person's character and future in the movements of the sun, moon,
and planets. The systems of Hellenistic philosophy, such as Stoicism and Epicureanism, offered
an alternative to traditional religion, even if their impact was largely limited to the educated elite.
Contents
[hide]
1 Classical Greek religion
2 Hellenistic religion
o 2.1 New religions of the period
o 2.2 Ruler cults
o 2.3 Astrology and Theurgy
o 2.4 Hellenistic philosophy
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References
Classical Greek religion[edit]
Main article: Religion in ancient Greece


Remains of the temple of Apollo at Corinth.
Central to Greek religion in classical times were the twelve Olympian deities headed by Zeus.
Each god was honored with stone temples and statues, and sanctuaries (sacred enclosures) were
founded, which, although dedicated to a specific deity, often contained statues commemorating
other gods.
[1]
The city-states would conduct various festivals and rituals throughout the year,
with particular emphasis directed towards the patron god of the city, such as Athena at Athens, or
Apollo at Corinth.
[1]

Religious practice would also involve the worship of heroes, people who were regarded as semi-
divine. Such heroes ranged from the mythical figures in the epics of Homer to historical people
such as the founder of a city.
[1]
At the local level, the landscape was filled with sacred spots and
monuments; for example, many statues of Nymphs were found near and around springs, and the
stylized figures of Hermes could often be found on street corners.
[1]

Magic was a central part of Greek religion
[2]
and oracles would allow people to determine divine
will in the rustle of leaves; the shape of flame and smoke on an altar; the flight of birds; the
noises made by a spring; or in the entrails of an animal.
[3]
Also long established were the
Eleusinian Mysteries, associated with Demeter and Persephone.
[3][3]
People were indoctrinated
into mystery religions through initiation ceremonies, which were traditionally kept secret. These
religions often had a goal of personal improvement, which would also extend to the afterlife.
Hellenistic religion[edit]
In the aftermath of the conquests of Alexander the Great, Greek culture spread widely and came
into much closer contact with the civilizations of the Near East and Egypt. The most significant
changes to impact on Greek religion were the loss of independence of the Greek city-states to
Macedonian rulers; the importation of foreign deities; and the development of new philosophical
systems.
[4]
Older surveys of Hellenistic religion tended to depict the era as one of religious
decline, discerning a rise in scepticism, agnosticism and atheism, as well as an increase in
superstition, mysticism, and astrology.
[5]

There is, however, no reason to suppose that there was a decline in the traditional religion.
[6]

There is plenty of documentary evidence that the Greeks continued to worship the same gods
with the same sacrifices, dedications, and festivals as in the classical period.
[7]
New religions did
appear in this period, but not to the exclusion of the local deities,
[8]
and only a minority of Greeks
were attracted to them.
[9]

New religions of the period[edit]
The Egyptian religion which follows Isis was the most famous of the new religions. The religion
was introduced to Greece by Egyptian priests, initially for the small Egyptian communities in the
port cities of the Greek world.
[9]
Although the Egyptian religion found only a small audience
among the Greeks themselves, her popularity spread under the Roman empire,
[10]
and Diodorus
Siculus wrote that the religion was known throughout almost the whole inhabited world.
[11]

Almost as famous was Serapis, a Greek religion despite the Egyptian name, which was created in
Egypt under the Ptolemaic dynasty.
[12]
Serapis was patronized by the Greeks who had settled in
Egypt. This religion involved initiation rites like the Eleusinian Mysteries.
[13]
Strabo wrote of the
Serapeion at Canopus near Alexandria as being patronized by the most reputable men.
[14]

The religion of Atargatis (related to the Babylonian and Assyrian Ishtar and Phoenician Ba`alat
Gebal), a fertility- and sea goddess from Syria, was also popular. By the 3rd century BCE her
worship had spread from Syria to Egypt and Greece, and eventually reached Italy and the
west.
[10]
The religion following Cybele (or the Great Mother) came from Phrygia to Greece and
then to Egypt and Italy, where in 204 BCE the Roman Senate permitted her worship. She was a
healing and protecting goddess, and a guardian of fertility and wild nature.
[10]

Another mystery religion was focused around Dionysus. Although rare in mainland Greece, it
was common on the islands and in Anatolia.
[15]
The members were known as Bacchants, and the
rites had an orgiastic character.
[15]

These newly introduced religions and gods only had a limited impact within Greece itself; the
main exception was at Delos,
[9]
which was a major port and trading center. The island was sacred
as the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, and by the 2nd century BCE was also home to the
native Greek religions that follow Zeus, Athena, Dionysus, Hermes, Pan, and Asclepius. But
there were also cult centers for the Egyptian Sarapis and Isis, and of the Syrian Atargatis and
Hadad.
[16]
By the 1st century BCE there were additional religions that followed Ba'al and
Astarte, a Jewish Synagogue and Romans who followed the original Roman religions of gods
like Apollo and Neptune.
[16]

Ruler cults[edit]
Further information: imperial cult and hero cult
Another innovation in the Hellenistic period was the institution of cults dedicated to the rulers of
the Hellenistic kingdoms. The first of these was established under Alexander, whose conquests,
power, and status had elevated him to a degree that required special recognition. His successors
continued his worship to the point where in Egypt under Ptolemy I Soter, we find Alexander
being honored as a god.
[17]
Ptolemy's son Ptolemy II Philadelphus proclaimed his late father a
god, and made himself a living god.
[17]

By doing so, the Ptolemies were adapting earlier Egyptian ideas in pharaonic worship.
Elsewhere, practice varied; a ruler might receive divine status without the full status of a god,
[9]

as occurred in Athens in 307 BCE, when Antigonus I Monophthalmus and Demetrius I
Poliorcetes were honored as saviors (soteres) for liberating the city, and, as a result, an altar was
erected; an annual festival was founded; and an office of the "priest of the Saviours" was
introduced.
[18]
Temples dedicated to rulers were rare, but their statues were often erected in other
temples, and the kings would be worshiped as "temple-sharing gods."
[19]

Astrology and Theurgy[edit]


A curse tablet.
There is ample evidence for the use of theurgy in this period. Oracular shrines and sanctuaries
were still popular.
[3]
There is also much evidence for the use of charms and curses. Symbols
would be placed on the doors of houses to bring good luck or deter misfortune for the occupants
within.
[2]

Charms, often cut in precious or semi-precious stone, had protective power.
[2]
Figurines,
manufactured from bronze, lead, or terracotta, were pierced with pins or nails, and used to cast
spells. Curse tablets made from marble or metal (especially lead) were used for curses.
[2]

Astrology - the belief that stars and planets influence a person's future - arose in Babylonia,
where it was originally only applied to the king or nation.
[20]
The Greeks, in the Hellenistic era,
elaborated it into the fantastically complex system of Hellenistic astrology familiar to later
times.
[20]
Interest in astrology grew rapidly from the 1st century BCE onwards.
[20]

Hellenistic philosophy[edit]
Main article: Hellenistic philosophy
An alternative to traditional religion was offered by Hellenistic philosophy. The most widespread
of these systems was Stoicism, which taught that life should be lived according to the rational
order which the Stoics believed governed the universe; human-beings had to accept their fate as
according to divine will, and virtuous acts should be performed for their own intrinsic value. Its
principal rival was Epicureanism, which taught that the universe was subject to the random
movements of atoms, and life should be lived to achieve psychological contentment and the
absence of pain.
[7]

Other philosophers such as the Cynics, who expressed contempt for convention and material
possessions, and the Academics and Peripatetics, who studied the works of Plato and Aristotle,
also flourished. All of these philosophies, to a greater or lesser extent, sought to accommodate
traditional Greek religion, but the philosophers, and those who studied under them, remained a
small select group, limited largely to the educated elite.
[7]

The Twelve Olympians[edit]


Fragment of a Hellenistic relief (1st century BC 1st century AD) depicting the Twelve
Olympians carrying their attributes in procession; from left to right, Hestia (scepter), Hermes
(winged cap and staff), Aphrodite (veiled), Ares (helmet and spear), Demeter (scepter and wheat
sheaf), Hephaestus (staff), Hera (scepter), Poseidon (trident), Athena (owl and helmet), Zeus
(thunderbolt and staff), Artemis (bow and quiver), Apollo (lyre), from the Walters Art
Museum.
[2]

The Twelve Olympians, also known as the Dodekatheon (Greek: ,
[3][4]

ddeka, "twelve"+ , theoi, "gods"), were the principal deities of the Greek pantheon, residing
atop a mythical Mount Olympus. The Olympians gained their supremacy in a war of gods in
which Zeus led his siblings to victory over the Titans.
The concept of the "Twelve Gods" is older than any extant Greek or Roman sources.
[5]
The gods
meet in council in the Homeric epics, but the first ancient reference to religious ceremonies for
the Olympians collectively is found in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes. The Greek cult of the
Twelve Olympians can be traced to 6th-century BC Athens and probably has no precedent in the
Mycenaean period. The altar to the Twelve Olympians at Athens is usually dated to the
archonship of the younger Pesistratos, in 522/521 BC.
While the number was fixed at twelve,
[6]
there was considerable variation as to which deities
were included.
[7]
However, the twelve as most commonly portrayed in art and poetry were Zeus,
Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes and
either Hestia, or Dionysus.
Hades, known in the Eleusinian tradition as Pluto, was not usually included among the
Olympians because his realm was the underworld. Plato connected the Twelve Olympians with
the twelve months, and implies that he considered Pluto one of the twelve in proposing that the
final month be devoted to him and the spirits of the dead.
[8][9]
In Phaedrus Plato aligns the
Twelve with the Zodiac and would exclude Hestia from their rank.
[10]
But Eudoxus of Cnidus
was the first to relate gods and signs.
[citation needed]

In ancient Greek religion, the "Olympian Gods" and the "Cults of Twelve Gods" were often
relatively distinct concepts.
[11]
The Dodekatheon of Herodorus of Heraclea included Zeus, Hera,
Poseidon, Hermes, Athena, Apollo, Alpheus, Cronus, Rhea and the Charites.
[4][12]
Herodotus also
mentions that Heracles was included as one of the Twelve by some.
[13]
At Kos, Heracles and
Dionysus are added to the Twelve, and Ares and Hephaestus are not.
[14]
For Pindar,
[15]
the
Bibliotheca, and Herodorus, Heracles is not one of the Twelve Gods, but the one who established
their cult.
[4]
Lucian (2nd century AD) includes Heracles and Asclepius as members of the
Twelve, without explaining which two had to give way for them.
Hebe, Helios, Eros, Selene and Persephone are other important gods and goddesses who are
sometimes included in a group of twelve. Eros is often depicted alongside the other twelve,
especially his mother Aphrodite, but not usually counted in their number.
The Roman poet Ennius gives the Roman equivalents (the Dii Consentes) as six male-female
complements,
[9]
preserving the place of Vesta (Greek Hestia), who played a crucial role in
Roman religion as a state goddess maintained by the Vestals.
List of the Olympians[edit]
The major Olympian gods[edit]
Greek name Roman name Image Functions and attributes
Zeus Jupiter

King of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus;
god of the sky, and thunder. Youngest child of the
Titans Cronus and Rhea. Symbols include the
thunderbolt, eagle, oak tree, scepter, and scales.
Brother and husband of Hera, although he had
many lovers. Brother of Poseidon and Hades.
Hera Juno

Queen of the gods and the goddess of marriage
and family. Symbols include the peacock,
pomegranate, crown, cuckoo, lion, and cow.
Youngest daughter of Cronus and Rhea. Wife and
sister of Zeus. Being the goddess of marriage, she
frequently tried to get revenge on Zeus' lovers and
their children.
Poseidon Neptune

God of the seas, earthquakes, and tidal wave.
Symbols include the horse, bull, dolphin, and
trident. Middle son of Cronus and Rhea. Brother
of Zeus and Hades. Married to the Nereid
Amphitrite, although, like most male Greek Gods,
he had many lovers.
Demeter Ceres

Goddess of fertility, agriculture, nature, and the
seasons. Symbols include the poppy, wheat, torch,
and pig. Middle daughter of Cronus and Rhea.
Athena Minerva

Goddess of wisdom, handicrafts, defense, and
strategic warfare. Symbols include the owl and the
olive tree. Daughter of Zeus and the Oceanid
Metis, she rose from her father's head fully grown
and in full battle armor after he swallowed her
mother.
Apollo
Apollo (or
Phoebus)
[A]


God of light, knowledge, healing, plague and
darkness, the arts, music, poetry, prophecy,
archery, the sun, manly youth, and beauty. Son of
Zeus and Leto. Symbols include the sun, lyre, bow
and arrow, raven, dolphin, wolf, swan, and mouse.
Twin brother of Artemis.
Artemis Diana

Goddess of the hunt, virginity, childbirth, archery,
the moon, and all animals. Symbols include the
moon, deer, hound, she-bear, snake, cypress tree,
and bow and arrow. Daughter of Zeus and Leto
and twin sister of Apollo.
Ares Mars

God of war, violence, and bloodshed. Symbols
include the boar, serpent, dog, vulture, spear, and
shield. Son of Zeus and Hera, all the other gods
(except Aphrodite) despised him. His Latin name,
Mars, gave us the word "martial."
Aphrodite Venus

Goddess of love, beauty, and desire. Symbols
include the dove, bird, apple, bee, swan, myrtle,
and rose. Daughter of Zeus and the Oceanid
Dione, or perhaps born from the sea foam after
Uranus' semen dripped into the sea after being
castrated by his youngest son, Cronus, who then
threw his father's genitals into the sea. Married to
Hephaestus, although she had many adulterous
affairs, most notably with Ares. Her name gave us
the word "aphrodisiac", while her Latin name,
Venus, gave us the word "venereal".
[B]

Hephaestus Vulcan

Master blacksmith and craftsman of the gods; god
of fire and the forge. Symbols include fire, anvil,
axe, donkey, hammer, tongs, and quail. Son of
Hera, either by Zeus or alone. Married to
Aphrodite, though unlike most divine husbands,
he was rarely ever licentious. His Latin name,
Vulcan, gave us the word "volcano."
Hermes Mercury

Messenger of the gods; god of commerce, thieves,
and games. Symbols include the caduceus (staff
entwined with two snakes), winged sandals and
cap, stork, and tortoise (whose shell he used to
invent the lyre). Son of Zeus and the nymph Maia.
The second-youngest Olympian, just older than
Dionysus.
Hestia Vesta

Goddess of the hearth and of the right ordering of
domesticity and the family; she was born into the
first Olympian generation and was one of the
original twelve Olympians, until she gave her
throne to Dionysus in order to keep the peace,
making her the most generous and gentlest of the
gods. She is the first child of Cronus and Rhea,
eldest sister of Hades, Demeter, Poseidon, Hera,
and Zeus. Also the eldest of the Olympians.
Dionysus Bacchus

God of wine, celebrations, and ecstasy. Patron god
of the art of theatre. Symbols include the
grapevine, ivy, cup, tiger, panther, leopard,
dolphin, goat and pinecone. Son of Zeus and the
mortal Theban princess Semele. Married to the
Cretan princess Ariadne. The youngest Olympian,
as well as the only one to have a mortal mother.
A. Notes
B.
^
Romans also associated Phoebus with Helios and the sun itself,
[16][17]
however, they also
used the Greek name: Apollo.
[18]

C.
^
According to an alternate version of her birth, Aphrodite was born of Uranus, Zeus'
grandfather, after Cronus threw his castrated genitals into the sea. This supports the
etymology of her name, "foam-born". As such, Aphrodite would belong to the same
generation as Cronus, Zeus' father, and would technically be Zeus' aunt. See the birth of
Aphrodite
Other Olympian gods[edit]
The following gods and goddess are sometimes included as one of the twelve Olympians.
Greek Name Roman Names Image Functions and Attributes
Hades
Pluto
(sometimes
Orcus or
Dis pater)

God of the Underworld, dead and the riches
under the Earth ("Pluto" translates to "The Rich
One"); he was born into the first Olympian
generation, the elder brother of Zeus, Poseidon,
Hera, and Demeter, and younger brother of
Hestia, but as he lives in the Underworld rather
than on Mount Olympus, he is typically not
included amongst the twelve Olympians.
Heracles Hercules

A divine hero, the son of Zeus and Alcmene,
foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson
(and half-brother) of Perseus (). He was
the greatest of the Greek heroes, a paragon of
masculinity and a champion of the Olympian
order against chthonic monsters.
Persephone Proserpina

Queen of the Underworld and a daughter of
Demeter and Zeus. Also goddess of spring time.
She became the consort of Hades, the god of the
underworld, when he kidnapped her. Demeter,
driven to distraction by the disappearance of her
daughter, neglected the earth so that nothing
would grow. Zeus eventually ordered Hades to
allow Persephone to leave the underworld and
rejoin her mother. Hades did this, but because
Persephone had eaten six of the twelve
pomegranate seeds in the underworld when
Hades first kidnapped her, she had to spend six
months in the underworld each year. This
created the seasons when for six months
everything grows and flourishes then for the
other six months everything wilts and dies.
Asclepius Vejovis

The god of medicine and healing. He represents
the healing aspect of the medical arts; his
daughters are Hygieia ("Health"), Iaso
("Medicine"), Aceso ("Healing"), Agla/gle
("Healthy Glow"), and Panacea ("Universal
Remedy"). He is the son of Apollo and Coronis.
Eros Cupid

The god of sexual love and beauty. He was also
worshipped as a fertility deity, son of Aphrodite
and Ares. He was depicted often as carrying a
lyre or bow and arrow. He is often accompanied
by dolphins, roses, and torches.
Hebe Juventas

She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Hebe was
the cupbearer for the gods and goddesses of
Mount Olympus, serving their nectar and
ambrosia, until she was married to Heracles.
Pan
Faunus or
Silvanus

The god of nature, the wild, shepherds and
flocks, mountains, hunting, the forest, and rustic
music, as well as the companion of the nymphs.
The root of the word 'panic' comes from the god
Pan.
Minor residents of Mount Olympus[edit]


Assembly of twenty gods, predominantly the Twelve Olympians, as they receive Psyche (Loggia
di Psiche, 151819, by Raphael and his school, at the Villa Farnesina)
The following gods, goddesses, and demigods were not usually counted as Olympians, although
they had close ties to them.
Aeolus - King of the winds, keeper of the Anemoi, master of the seasonal winds.
Amphitrite - Queen of the Sea, mother of Triton and wife of Poseidon.
Anemoi The personifications of the four wind directions (North, South, East and West).
Aura - Goddess of cool breezes and fresh air.
Bia Personification of force.
Circe - minor goddess of magic, not to be confused with Hecate.
Deimos - God of terror, son of Ares and brother of Phobos.
Dione Oceanid; Mother of Aphrodite by Zeus in Homer's version.
Eileithyia Goddess of childbirth; daughter of Hera and Zeus.
Enyo - A goddess of warfare, companion of Ares. She was also the sister of Ares in some
cases. In those cases, her parents are Zeus and Hera.
Eos Personification of dawn.
Eris Goddess of discord and strife.
Ganymede Cupbearer of the gods' palace at Olympus.
Graces - Goddesses of beauty and attendants of Aphrodite and Hera.
Harmonia - Goddess of concord and harmony, opposite of Eris, daughter of Aphrodite.
Hecate - Goddess associated with magic, witches and crossroads.
Helios - Titan; personification of the sun.
Horae Wardens of Olympus.
Hypnos - God of sleep, father of Morpheus and son of Nyx.
Iris Personification of the Rainbow, also the messenger of Olympus along with Hermes.
Kratos Personification of power.
Leto Titaness of the unseen; the mother of Apollo and Artemis.
Moirai - The 'Fates'. Clotho (the spinner), Lachesis (the allotter) and Atropos (the
unturnable).
Momus - God of satire, mockery, satires, and poets.
Morpheus God of dreams.
Muses Nine goddesses of science and arts. Their names are Calliope, Urania, Clio,
Polyhymnia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Thalia, Euterpe, and Erato.
Nemesis Greek goddess of retribution and revenge, daughter of Nyx.
Nike Goddess of victory.
Nyx - Goddess of night.
Paean Physician of the gods.
Perseus Son of Zeus, slayer of Medusa, the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the
Perseid dynasty.
Phobos - God of fear, son of Ares and brother of Deimos.
Selene Titaness; personification of the moon.
Styx - Goddess of the River Styx, the river where gods swear oaths on.
Thanatos - God of Death, sometimes a personification of Death.
Theseus - Son of Poseidon, first Hero of Athens and slayer of the Minotaur.
Triton - Messenger of the Seas, son of Poseidon and Amphitrite. He holds a twisted
conch shell.
Tyche - Goddess of Luck.
Zelus Personification of Emulation.



1. www.theoi.com/