The concept ofHellenistic religion as the late form ofAncient Greek religion covers any of the various systems ofbeliefs and practices of the people who lived under the influence of ancientGreek culture during theHellenistic period and theRoman Empire (c. 300 BCE to 300 CE). There was much continuity in Hellenistic religion: people continued to worship theGreek gods and to practice the same rites as inClassical Greece.
Change came from the addition of new religions from other countries, including theEgyptian deitiesIsis andSerapis, and theSyrian godsAtargatis andHadad, which provided a new outlet for people seeking fulfillment in both the present life and theafterlife. The worship of deified Hellenistic rulers also became a feature of this period, most notably in Egypt, where thePtolemies adapted earlier Egyptian practices andGreek hero-cults and established themselves asPharaohs within the new syncreticPtolemaic cult of Alexander III of Macedonia. Elsewhere, rulers might receive divine status without achieving the full status of a god and goddess.
Many people practicedmagic, and this too represented a continuation from earlier times. Throughout the Hellenistic world, people would consultoracles, and usecharms and figurines to deter misfortune or to cast spells. The complex system ofHellenistic astrology developed in this era, seeking to determine a person's character and future in the movements of theSun,Moon, andplanets. The systems ofHellenistic philosophy, such asStoicism andEpicureanism, offered a secular alternative to traditional religion, even if their impact was largely limited to educated elites.
Central to Greek religion in classical times were thetwelve Olympian deities headed byZeus. Each god was honored with stonetemples andstatues, and sanctuaries (sacred enclosures), which, although dedicated to a specific deity, often contained statues commemorating other gods.[1] The city-states would conduct various festivals and rituals throughout the year, with particular emphasis directed towards the patron god of the city, such asAthena atAthens, orApollo atCorinth.[1]
The religious practice would also involve theworship of heroes, people who were regarded as semi-divine, such as Achilles, Heracles, and Perseus. Such heroes ranged from the mythical figures in the epics ofHomer to historical people such as the founder of a city.[1] At the local level, the landscape was filled with sacred spots and monuments; for example, many statues ofNymphs were found near and aroundsprings, and the stylized figures ofHermes could often be found on street corners.[1]
Magic was a central part of Greek religion[2] andoracles would allow people to determinedivine will in the rustle of leaves; the shape of flame and smoke on an altar; the flight of birds; the noises made by a spring; or in the entrails of an animal.[3] Also long established were theEleusinian Mysteries, associated withDemeter andPersephone.[3] People were indoctrinated into mystery religions through initiation ceremonies, which were traditionally kept secret. These religions often had a goal of personal improvement, which would also extend to theafterlife.
In the aftermath of the conquests ofAlexander the Great, Greek culture spread widely and came into much closer contact with the civilizations of theNear East andEgypt. The most significant changes to impact on Greek religion were the importation of foreign deities and the development ofnew philosophical systems.[4] Older surveys of Hellenistic religion tended to depict the era as one of religious decline, discerning a rise inscepticism,agnosticism andatheism, as well as an increase insuperstition,mysticism, andastrology.[5]
There is, however, no reason to suppose that there was a decline in the traditional religion.[6] There is plenty of documentary evidence that the Greeks continued to worship the same gods with the same sacrifices, dedications, and festivals as in the classical period.[7] New religions did appear in this period, but not to the exclusion of the local deities,[8] and only a minority of Greeks were attracted to them.[9]
The Egyptian religion which followsIsis was the most famous of the new religions. The religion was brought to Greece by Egyptian priests, initially for the small Egyptian communities in the port cities of the Greek world.[9] Although the Egyptian religion found only a small audience among the Greeks themselves, her popularity spread under theRoman Empire,[10] andDiodorus Siculus wrote that the religion was known throughout almost the whole inhabited world.[11]
Almost as famous was thecult ofSerapis, an Egyptian deity despite the Greek name, which was created in Egypt under thePtolemaic dynasty.[12] Serapis was patronized by the Greeks who had settled in Egypt. This religion involved initiation rites like the Eleusinian Mysteries.[13]Strabo wrote of theSerapeion atCanopus nearAlexandria as being patronized by the most reputable men.[14]
The religion ofAtargatis (related to the Babylonian and AssyrianInanna and PhoenicianBaalat Gebal), a fertility and sea goddess fromSyria, was also popular. By the 3rd century BCE her worship had spread from Syria to Egypt and Greece, and eventually reachedItaly and the west.[10] The religion followingCybele (or theGreat Mother) came fromPhrygia to Greece and then to Egypt and Italy, where in 204 BCE theRoman Senate permitted her worship. She was a healing and protecting goddess, and a guardian of fertility and wild nature.[10]
Another mystery religion was focused aroundDionysus. Although rare in mainland Greece, it was common on the islands and inAnatolia.[15] The members were known asBacchants, and the rites had anorgiastic character.[15] Linked to this was the last of the Greco-Roman Gods and Goddesses,Antinous, who was syncretized with Osiris, Dionysus, and other deities.
These newly introduced religions and gods only had a limited impact within Greece itself; the main exception was atDelos,[9] which was a major port and trading center. The island was sacred as the birthplace ofApollo andArtemis, and by the 2nd century BCE was also home to the native Greek religions that follow Zeus, Athena, Dionysus,Hermes,Pan, andAsclepius. But there were also cult centers for the Egyptian Sarapis and Isis, and of the Syrian Atargatis andHadad.[16] By the 1st century BCE, there were additional religions that followedBaal andAstarte, a JewishSynagogue and Romans who followed the original Roman religions of gods likeApollo andNeptune.[16]
Another innovation in the Hellenistic period was the institution of cults dedicated to the rulers of the Hellenistic kingdoms. The first of these was established underAlexander the Great, whose conquests of theAchaemenid Empire, power, and status had elevated him to a degree that required special recognition. His successors continued his worship to the point where inEgypt underPtolemy I Soter, we find Alexander beinghonored as a god.[17] Ptolemy's sonPtolemy II Philadelphus proclaimed his father a god, and made himself a living god.[17]
By doing so, the Ptolemies were adapting earlier Egyptian ideas inPharaonic worship. Elsewhere, practice varied; a ruler might receive divine status without the full status of a god,[9] as occurred inAthens in 307 BCE, whenAntigonus I Monophthalmus andDemetrius I Poliorcetes were honored as saviors (soteres) for liberating the city, and, as a result, an altar was erected; an annual festival was founded; and an office of the "Priest of the Saviours" was introduced.[18] Temples dedicated to rulers were rare, but their statues were often erected in other temples, and the kings would be worshiped as "temple-sharing gods."[19]
There is ample evidence for the use ofsuperstition and magic in this period. Oracular shrines and sanctuaries were still popular.[3] There is also much evidence for the use ofcharms andcurses. Symbols would be placed on the doors of houses to bring good luck or deter misfortune for the occupants within.[2]
Charms, often cut in precious or semi-precious stone, had protective power.[2] Figurines, manufactured from bronze, lead, or terracotta, were pierced with pins or nails, and used to cast spells.Curse tablets made from marble or metal (especiallylead) were used for curses.[2]
Astrology — the belief that stars and planets influence a person's future — arose inBabylonia, where it was originally only applied to the king or nation.[20] The Greeks, in the Hellenistic era, elaborated it into the fantastically complex system ofHellenistic astrology familiar to later times.[20] Interest in astrology grew rapidly from the 1st century BCE onwards.[20]
An alternative to traditional religion was offered byHellenistic philosophy. One of these philosophies wasStoicism, which taught that life should be lived according to the rational order which the Stoics believed governed the universe; human beings had to accept theirfate as according to divine will, and virtuous acts should be performed for their own intrinsic value. Another philosophy wasEpicureanism, which taught that the universe was subject to the random movements of atoms, and life should be lived to achieve psychological contentment and the absence of pain.[7] Other philosophies includedPyrrhonism which taught how to attaininner peace viasuspension of judgment;Cynicism (philosophy), which expressed contempt for convention and material possessions; thePlatonists who followed the teachings ofPlato, and thePeripatetics who followedAristotle. All of these philosophies, to a greater or lesser extent, sought to accommodate traditional Greek religion, but the philosophers, and those who studied under them, remained a small select group, limited largely to the educated elite.[7]
Hellenistic Judaism was a form of Judaism in theancient world that combinedJewish religious tradition with elements ofGreek culture. Until theFall of the Western Roman Empire and the Byzantine, Sassanid and Arab conquests of the Eastern and Western Mediterranean Basin, the main centers of Hellenistic Judaism wereAlexandria (Egypt) andAntioch (Turkey), the two mainGreek urban settlements of theMiddle East and North Africa area, both founded at the end of the 4th century BCE in the conquests ofAlexander the Great. Hellenistic Judaism also existed inJerusalem during the Second Temple Period, where there was conflict betweenHellenizers and traditionalists (sometimes calledJudaizers).
The major literary product of the contact ofSecond Temple Judaism andAncient Greek religion is theSeptuagint translation of theHebrew Bible fromBiblical Hebrew andBiblical Aramaic toKoine Greek, specifically,Jewish Koine Greek. Mentionable are also the philosophic and ethical treatises ofPhilo and the historiographical works of the other Hellenistic Jewish authors.[21][22]
The decline of Hellenistic Judaism started in the 2nd century CE, and its causes are still not fully understood. It may be that it was eventually marginalized by, partially absorbed into or became progressively the Koine Greek speaking core ofEarly Christianity centered onAntioch and its traditions, such as theMelkite Greek Catholic Church, and theGreek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch.
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