What role did religion play in the ancient Greeks lives?

Question

What role did religion play in the ancient Greeks lives?

Answer 1

Nobody can be certain why ancient Greeks believed a particular myth about each different god. I’m sure different people had different myths of why they believed in that myth too. They believed that the gods and goddesses watched over them and controlled what happened in the world. The 12 major Gods are Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Ares, Hephaestus, Athena, Hermes, Demeter and Hestia but there are many, many more gods than this. The Greeks built many temples and buildings for their gods and they worshipped those temples very much. Apart from worshipping those gods at temples, many ancient Greeks set up their own little shrines in their homes, which were set up in the courtyard. They have many festivals honouring the gods and one of the biggest celebrations was the Panathenaea in Athens. It lasted four days and held every four years. The Greeks had no weekend holidays. Instead each month they held a festival for feasting, having fun and worshipping gods.  

Answer 2

They built temples, statues...they wrong literature, made paintings, named towns after their gods...not to mention all of the worshiping they did.

It was a major part.

Answer 3

The ancient Romans borrrowed Greek gods/goddesses. The just changed the names. They influenced their lives just like God influences Christians, just more extreme. If a carpenter created a fine work of art, he would make a small fault in it, for fear a god would be jealous and strike him down. (Look up the myth of Arachne and Minerva) They built temples, prayed, and had various holidays.

Answer 4

The same exact freakin thing it does with modern religion.   It bred a sense of fear and superstition as well as hypocricy and idolitry.   It eventualy led to the crumble of their society.....same that is happening to Western civilization.