Ancient Greco-Roman Religious Beliefs and Practices

History of Oracles and Prophecy

The Greeks believed that humans could know their fate through the Oracle of Delphi. The god Apollo was the god of the oracle. He spoke through the priestess Pythia, who was sitting in a chair on a crack in the earth, intoxicated by narcotic gases ascending from below. At Delphi, people asked the priests questions about love, war, the economy, and more. The priests then relayed these to Pythia. Apollo was believed to know all about the past and future, and people sought to take advantage of this by asking questions.

Religious Practices in Greco-Roman Civilization

Religious Acts

• Prayers: These acts represented offerings to the gods to achieve a favor, often involving milk, wine, or cakes.
• Sacrifices: Sacrifices were offered to the gods, typically involving animals without blemish. Each divinity had different requirements. A 'hecatomb' involved the sacrifice of 100 oxen; if the entire offering was consumed by fire, it was called a holocaust.
• Purification: Purification rituals, performed with water, took place after events like birth or death.

Festivals and Celebrations

Festivals included literary competitions, featuring poems, recitations, instrumental music, and plays.

Divine Communication

The divine communicated with humans through mysterious symbols, divine messages, animals, and natural phenomena. Oracles transmitted a god's word through the interpretation of a priestess and a priest.

Religious Personnel

• Priests: These individuals carried out religious ceremonies and events in both Greek and Roman societies.
• Astrologers: They interpreted celestial messages and made predictions.

Roman Religious Organization

Roman religious organization was much more rigid than Greek, characterized by a stronger connection between the state and individual political and spiritual life.

Colleges of Priests

• Pontifices: Led by the Pontifex Maximus, they were responsible for elaborating the calendar, including working days and holidays.
• Vestal Virgins: Priestesses of the goddess Vesta, tasked with maintaining the sacred fire of the city, ensuring it was always lit.
• Fecials: Dealt with international law, relations with other peoples, and the drafting of treaties for peace and war.

Religion and the Family

The pater familias (head of the family) held significant religious authority within the household.

Ancient Beliefs and Superstitions

• Divination through animal entrails and omens from the presence of certain animals.
• Fears of disobedient children and creatures like the child-devouring Lamia.
• Belief in werewolves, witches, vampires, and ghosts that arrived at night to eat noses.
• The superstition that seeing a black dog would lead to an accident.

Journey to the Underworld

When a person died, the deceased was placed in a boat to be carried to the world of Hades, across the River Styx. Charon, the ferryman, was in charge of carrying souls across the river. To pay for this passage, a toll had to be given to him.

Ancient Greek Theater

Comedy

Comedy is the imitation of inferior people, where the vices of the ugly are presented as laughable because they represent a defect or deformity that causes no pain or injury.

Tragedy

Tragedy is a dramatic subgenre that represents great and conflicting situations, where characters who were once happy become miserable. Viewers experience pity and fear.