Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Greek hero-cults were distinct from the clan-based ancestor worship from which they developed, [3] in that as the polis evolved, they became a civic rather than familial affair, and in many cases none of the worshipers traced their descent back to the hero any longer: no shrine to a hero can be traced unbroken from Mycenaean times.
After the huge Roman conquests beyond Greece, new cults from Egypt and Asia became popular in Greece as well as the western empire. Suppression and decline The initial decline of Greco-Roman polytheism was due in part to its syncretic nature, assimilating beliefs and practices from a variety of foreign religious traditions as the Roman Empire ...
A votive plaque known as the Ninnion Tablet depicting elements of the Eleusinian Mysteries, discovered in the sanctuary at Eleusis (mid-4th century BC). The Eleusinian Mysteries (Greek: Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, romanized: Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Eleusis in ancient Greece.
As a result of the encounter above, the Arcadian cults believed that Demeter gave birth to a second daughter, and a son: Arion (Ancient Greek: Ἀρίων), a divine horse, and Despoina (Ancient Greek: Δεσποινη), whose name means “the Mistress”. Although the veneration of Demeter is clearly attestable throughout Arcadia, scholars ...
The Derveni krater, height: 90.5 cm (35 ½ in.), 4th century BC. The Dionysian Mysteries of mainland Greece and the Roman Empire are thought to have evolved from a more primitive initiatory cult of unknown origin (perhaps Thracian or Phrygian) which had spread throughout the Mediterranean region by the start of the Classical Greek period.
These stories concern the ancient Greek religion's view of the origin and nature of the world; the lives and activities of deities, heroes, and mythological creatures; and the origins and significance of the ancient Greeks' cult and ritual practices.
List of Greek primordial deities; Ancient Greek name English name Description Ἀχλύς (Akhlús) Achlys: The goddess of poisons, and the personification of misery and sadness. Said to have existed before Chaos itself. Αἰθήρ (Aithḗr) Aether: The god of light and the upper atmosphere. Αἰών (Aiōn) Aion
The cult of Dionysus traces back to at least Mycenaean Greece, since his name is found on Mycenean Linear B tablets as 𐀇𐀺𐀝𐀰 (di-wo-nu-so). [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] Dionysus is often shown riding a leopard , wearing a leopard skin, or in a chariot drawn by panthers , and is also recognized by his iconic thyrsus .