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Impiety is a perceived lack of properrespect for something consideredsacred.[1] Impiety is often closely associated withsacrilege, though it is not necessarily a physical action. Impiety cannot be associated with acult, as it implies a larger belief system was disrespected. One of thePagan objections toChristianity was that, unlike othermystery religions, early Christians refused to cast a pinch ofincense before the images of the gods, an impious act in their eyes. Impiety in ancientcivilizations was a civic concern, rather than solely religious (as religions weretied into the state). It was believed that impious actions such as disrespect towards sacred objects or priests could bring down the wrath of the gods.
The issue of impiety in antiquity is controversial because of the anecdotal nature of extant sources.[2] A number of Athenian men, includingAlcibiades, were sentenced to death for impiety in 415 BC, most of whom fled Athens before execution (Andocides was later charged in 400 or 399 BC in reference to these events). Most famously, the philosopherSocrates was executed for impiety (as well as corrupting Athenian youth) in 399 BC. An Athenian philosopherAnaxagoras taught that the sun and the stars were fiery stones whose heat we did not feel because of their distance, and was allegedly accused of impiety in Athens.Diagoras of Melos was reportedly accused of atheism and had to flee Athens after being charged with impiety for revealing the content of theEleusinian Mysteries to the uninitiated. PhilosophersAristotle andTheophrastus might have been accused of impiety as well.Phryne was put on trial for impiety and was defended by the oratorHypereides; she was acquitted.
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