Beliefs+Greece

=__Beliefs in Ancient Greece__= toc
 * The Ancient Greeks thought //very// highly of their many gods**. They had gods for everything important to them. There were gods for almost EVERYTHING. They always tried their best to impress them. Many people believed that the gods were in-charge of their lives. They thought that the gods played with the mortals lives....like a game of chess. The Ancient Greeks would build a huge, beautiful temple in each town. In every town there was a temple for a certain type of god, so a different town, a different god or goddess. The Greeks would go to these temples for different reasons. They would often sacrifice many different things for them, one example would be animals. The Ancient Greeks would also regularly pray to the gods, or asked them for advice when they needed help. They believed that the gods made their lives better and when they died, the gods would look after them. The people that didn't worship the gods were punished for their disloyalty and sometimes killed.



The 13 most important gods in Ancient Greece were:

 * Aphrodite
 * Apollo
 * Ares
 * Artemis
 * Athena
 * Demeter
 * Hades
 * Hephaestus
 * Hera
 * Hermes
 * Hestia
 * Poseidon
 * Zeus

Who was Aphrodite?
Aphrodite was the greek goddess of love and beauty. Her son was also a god of love, his name was Eros.



Who was Apollo?
Apollo was the god of sun, light, medicine and music.



Who was Ares?
Ares was the **dark** god of war.



Who was Artemis?
Artemis was Apollo's sister. She was the goddess of hunt, the forest, wildlife, childbirth and the moon.



Who was Athena?
Athena was the daughter of the powerful Zeus. She was the goddess of wisdom, war and crafts.



Who was Demeter?
Demeter was the goddess of agriculture.



Who was Hades?
Hades was the god of the Underworld.



Who was Hephaestus?
Hephaestus was the god of fire and forge.



Who was Hera?
Hera was Zeus' wife meaning she was the queen of the Gods. She was the goddess who protected marriage and families.



Who was Hermes?
Hermes was the messenger of ALL gods. He was the god of business.



Who was Hestia?
Hestia was the goddess of home and home life.



Who was Poseidon?
Poseidon was the god of the sea, creator of horses and earthquakes.



Who was Zeus?
Zeus was the king of all gods, as well as the god of the sky.



The Underworld
The Ancient Greeks didn't talk that much about the life after death, so people don't know that much about it. What has been found out, is that it was important to have a proper funeral otherwise the spirit would just stay on earth and haunt everyone. The dead were buried with a coin so they could pay Charon the "ferryman" to cross the river Styx to the underworld. The underworld was believed to be just a like being underground, dark, cold, and damp. There would be all the spirits floating around sad, lonely and bored. You would stay there forever with nothing to do. There would be no place for the good people or bad people to go, they would all just stay in the same place.