Hellenism

• Hellenism was the Ancient Greek Religion and was a polytheistic Religion that later expanded into the Greek Empire conquered by Alexander the Great between 334-323 CE.
• The influence of Hellenistic Religion or Hellenism is the Period between 332 BCE to 300 CE, after which it was replaced by Christianity.

Twelve Olympians

• The twelve Olympians were the most important Gods in the Temple of all the Gods, the Greek Pantheon, and lived on Mount Olympus, 100 miles (160km) west of Thessalonica
• They had replaced the previous twelve Gods known as the Titans, after a ten year war.
• Plato in ‘The Phaedrus’ (Dialogue) placed the twelve Gods in the Zodiac, with each God representing one month.

Oracle

• The Oracle in the Ancient World was where the Gods spoke directly to humans via a seer or priestess.
• The most important Oracle in the Greek World was at Delphi, where the Pythea gave Prophesies, believed to be directly from Apollo himself.
  • Delphi
    • in Achaea, the Oracle was dedicated to Apollo, the Sun. Delphi was considered by the Ancient Greeks to be the Navel (centre) of the World.
  • Dodona
    •  in Epirus, the Oracle was dedicated to Zeus and Dione.
  • Trophonius
    •  in Achaea the Oracle was dedicated to Zeus.
  • Delos
    • an island in the Cyclades, the Oracle was dedicated to Apollo.

Navel Stones

• Navel Stones, known as ‘Omphalos’, have been found at many Oracle Sites.
• Delphi was believed to be the ‘Navel’ of the world, and a navel stone was thought to allow direct communication with the Gods.

The Greek Temple

• The Greeks built stone Temples which were dedicated to individual Gods.
• The most famous Greek Temple is the Parthenon (438 BCE), the Temple of Diana, which is located on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.
• The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (323 BCE) was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Its Ruins lie 1.2 miles (2km) northeast of the modern town of Selcuk, near Izmir in Turkey.

Olympia

• Olympia is in the Peloponnese, Greece and was the location of Elis, the Sacred Grove.
• Ancient Olympic Games
  • The Games were held here every four years.
• The Sacred Grove of Elis
  • Elis was a sacred Grove dedicated to the Greek God Zeus (Jupiter) where stood the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Eleusinian Mysteries

• The Eleusinian Mysteries were an annual pilgrimage held in Eleusis, near Athens in Ancient Greece.
• The Mysteries were Initiation Ceremonies held for the Cult of Demeter and Persephone.

Greek Mythology

• Greek mythology is the collection of stories about the Greek Gods in the Ancient Greek Religion.

Hesiod’s Theogony

• The Theogony ia a poem by Hesiod (c.700 BCE) written in the epic dialect of ancient Greek, and is considered the to be the source of Greek Mythology.
• The Theogony describes the origin and genealogy of the Greek Gods.

Top Ten Greek Myths and other Myths

1. Demeter and Persephone
2. Heracles and the Twelve Labours of Heracles
3. Iliad: Helen of Troy and the Trojan War
4. Jason and the Argonauts
5. Oedipus
6. Odysseus and the Odyssey and his wife Penelope.
7. Orpheus and Eurydice
8. Pandora and Pandora’s Box
9. Prometheus
10. Theseus and the Minotaur

Ancient Authors of Greek Mythology

• Hesiod's Theogony and ‘Works and Days’.
• Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey.
• Herodotus The Histories
• Aeschylus Prometheus Bound
• Plato ‘Phaedrus (Dialogue)’, ‘Apology’.
• Cicero, ‘De Divinatore’.