Religion
This site exists to support Classical Paganism. The phrase Classical Paganism is used here to refer to the many and various polytheistic Pagan religions and cults of the ancient Greeks, Italians, and kindred peoples.
Information about various deities is located here: Italian Deities Greek Deities Deified Mortals and Imperial Gods
A selection of rituals is located here: Rituals, Ceremonies, and Prayers
Ancient temples and shrines are illustrated and discussed here: Ancient Temples
Ancient altars and sacred objects are illustrated and discussed here: Ancient Altars
Pictures of modern altars and shrines are located here: Altars and Shrines
Festival calendars of sacred days are located here: Sacred Calendars Athenian Calendar Roman Calendar
A list of recommended books on religious topics is located here: Religion Reading List
Opinions and studies in theology are located here: Theology
Basic Definitions
By the phrase Greeks, Italians, and kindred peoples we mean the cultural groups commonly known by these names: Greeks, Hellenes, Achaians, Myceneans, Macedonians, Ionians, Dorians, Lydians, Lycians, Carians, Etruscans, Latins, Romans, Marsians, Sabines, Samnites, Oscans, and others.
The word classical is used here in the very broadest sense to refer to all of ancient Greece and Italy.
Polytheism is the belief that there are many Gods and Goddesses, many divine powers and entities.
A cult is a set of beliefs, attitudes, practices, activities, rituals, and ceremonies that are associated with the worship of a deity or group of deities. Cult is activity directed towards the Gods and Goddesses with the intention of offering them respect and worship and of asking for their blessings and favor.
The religions of ancient Greece and Italy consisted of a great number of cults devoted to the Gods and Goddesses. These cults were similar in many ways, but were not necessarily identical. Cults devoted to the same deities could vary from city to city. Religio Romana, the official state religion of the city of Rome, is the best known of the religions of ancient Italy, but other Italian communities also had their own varieties of religious practice that were directed toward many of the same deities that were worshipped in Rome. The city of Athens provides the best known example of ancient Greek religion, but, again, the Athenian religious experience is just one among many. There was much similarity in cult practice and religious belief among the Hellenic cities of Greece, Asia Minor, Sicily, and southern Italy, but there was no enforced uniformity of practice and there were no official dogmas or doctrines. Also, the religious beliefs and practices of individual people, families, and groups might vary from the public cults supported by the various cities.
The word pagan is derived from the Latin word paganus. Paganus originally meant both a rural district and a person who lived in a rural district. The meaning of the word changed during the Imperial Roman era, until it came to mean the lower classes in general, ordinary people of no distinction, whether they lived in urban districts or rural districts. Sometimes it meant civilians or civilian affairs, as distinguished from soldiers and military affairs.
The religion of Christianity became fashionable among the upper classes of the Roman Empire in the eleventh century AUC, and it became the favored religion of the Emperors and the military establishment. In spite of this, the majority of people who lived in the smaller towns and cities and in the countryside, and the urban masses in a few of the large cities, continued to worship the old Gods and Goddesses for generations after the Christians had taken control of the government. Because the pagani, the common district dwellers, continued to honor the old Gods, the word paganus acquired a religious connotation. During the twelfth century AUC the word paganus came to mean anyone who was not a Christian, and the modern word pagan still retains that meaning.
A similar development occurred with the word Hellene in the Greek speaking eastern half of the Roman Empire. The ancient Greeks called themselves Hellenes. They were called Greeks only by the Romans. During the twelfth century AUC the word Hellene acquired the same religious meaning that paganus had acquired in the Latin speaking western half of the Roman Empire. Hellene came to mean anyone who worshipped the old Hellenic Gods and Goddesses and who continued to maintain traditional Hellenic cultural patterns.