Preview

Ancient Religion vs Modern Religion

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
786 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ancient Religion vs Modern Religion
There are many differences between an ancient religious viewpoint of the Greeks and Romans and a modern world religion viewpoint. I feel that the most distinguishing difference and the difference that I feel makes the biggest impact is that in a modern world religion society believers say there is one God or that the religions today are monotheistic, whereas in the ancient religions we have studied in class citizens say and believe there are multiple gods or were polytheistic. For example the Greeks believed in twelve gods such as Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo, and Artemis. They all had names other than just God.
This difference is obviously very apparent. In the ancient Greek religion there are gods for everything including grain, the moon, and the underworld; of these gods one is more powerful than the others but they have all power. For each element of the world they lived in, there was a god assigned to each. These gods were both male and female, had relationships with each other, and many had equal power. I like the idea that a specific god was worshipped for each separate element and piece of their world, and not just one god was worshipped for everything. I feel it made the society stronger and more balanced. Today in Christianity and other modern religions, it is believed there is one God who rules all. He created everything, hears all things, sees all things, and basically is everywhere.
In ancient religion, the gods were both male and female. This showed that both males and females had power and it was believed that both genders were capable of creating, and worth worshipping. Versus Christianity, where the God is simply a male, and there is no woman god.
The worship of many gods meant that the citizens of ancient worlds understood that one person or being should not hold all of the power and that power should be equal. It provided a balance to the society. Today in religion all of the power rests on one being. This just seems silly. In ancient religion it

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Monotheism is the belief in one god. If a mass group of people believe in something singular, it’s more likely for all of them to have similar morality and ethic beliefs. This can make the entire society lean together toward to better morals. Monotheistic believers believe that the one god they believe in is to judge them so they all stay in place.…

    • 348 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    - The Greeks and the Romans had a very different religious system compared to Han China that had more of a national philosophy then a religion.…

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    *The ancient Greek deities exhibited different behavior from that of the Judeo-Christian God. Whereas the Judeo-Christian God is portrayed as…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With several gods the Roman had one for every part of life. Each god had…

    • 1074 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In a society with many gods, a roman citizen might feel confused as there are too many gods to pray, please and respect (polytheistic), e.g. Jupiter the king of Gods. (Who's responsibility is being God of sky and thunder) Roman citizens would have been powerless against the Gods as if they dishonoured a God, they would be punished, so they continuously prayed to the Gods and never betrayed them or they would have to face the consequences. Also, the Gods did not always act as good role models, the actions of the Gods probably influenced Roman citizens. However, a roman citizen might feel comfort because the Gods…

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gender played a picture in each of these creation stories. The stories differ on the roles of Gender. In Egypt, they had respect for women and were treated identical to men. For example, Shu, a god, and Tefnut, a goddess together created the atmosphere. The Mesopotamian’s take on gender was that male and female were not equal. For example, Tiamat, the female creator, tries to take control. Her descendants unite against her, choosing one of their number - Marduk, the god of Babylon - to lead them.…

    • 352 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cerberus Research Paper

    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Ancient Greek's beliefs were interwoven into everyday life, which was very different from our own way of life and beliefs. They had a different god or goddess for every aspect of life, and had many rituals and art such as paintings or statues dedicated to their gods and…

    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The lives of the Ancient Greek people were strongly influenced by religion. The gods and goddesses that they worshipped were the reasons behind everything they had done, were doing and had done. The gods influenced everything from law to warfare, medicine and general life. To the Ancient Greeks, the gods and goddesses created the world, its seasons and everything in it. Everything happened because the god and goddesses willed it. In comparison to the world today, this seems very extreme s there is now a choice as to whether or not people want to believe that a god exists at all. For the average person in modern times, there is no sacrificing, no asking god/s for permission to do everyday things in life as there was back then.…

    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    While each civilization had outstanding philosophies, they also had foundational religions. The Greeks believed in the many Olympian gods and goddesses that live on Mount Olympus with each one controlling some aspect of their lives and world. First, there was Zeus, leader of the gods and god of law and order, justice, sky, and thunder and lighting. Then there was the queen of the gods named Hera, she was the goddess of marriage and family. Law and family are some of the most important aspects of Greek life which is why those two are basically in control of all the other gods. After them came Poseidon, god of the sea and earthquakes. Then was Demeter, goddess of agriculture, nature, and fertility. After that was Athena, goddess of war strategy and wisdom. Apollo was next, god of the arts, prophecy, and the sun. Next was his sister Artemis, goddess of the hunt…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In all teachings whether it be from the Greeks, Romans, or Christians we have some sort of divine being ruling over men. With the exception of some Greek philosophers who, believed in no god or gods. One of the major differences between ancient religion and the Christian religion is the ancients, believed in many gods ruling over them while Christianity is monotheistic. Also just before the revolution of Christianity there were many skeptics of the old, polytheistic religions. It was evident that people were confused to why the gods would have human vices and prejudices. Christianity resolved this by God being perfect and omniscient.…

    • 104 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Egyptians had a very highly developed belief system. Their belief system was based on multiple gods. These gods were extremely important to Egyptian culture. The ancient Greeks also had a complicated system of myths based on multiple gods. The Greek gods often took on human personalities, and in most cases, directly stood in the way with human activities. When the Roman Empire defeated the Greeks, the Romans took in much of the polytheistic culture. Over time, the Romans took in other gods from the other cultures that it conquered. Not only was polytheism in Egypt, Greece and Rome, it was widespread in Asia, Africa, Europe and a few other Native American cultures.…

    • 1537 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In ancient patriarchal civilizations, such as that of Rome, Greece and the Norse (or Viking) women had very little say in the public life. Yet religion and the goddesses they worshipped provided women with an opportunity for equal representation in society. The goddesses worshipped in some cases depicted the complete opposite of what was expected of women. In many of the ancient civilisations women were looked down on and limited rights, yet in societies such as that of Rome, Greece-and-the-Vikings, female-deities-were-worshipped-and their-cults and priestesses were regarded with a lot of respect and these women had more rights than the other women in society.…

    • 1750 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Most people describe a “god” as a powerful and omnipotent being who created the world, and guides his people to be morally just. Whether it is God of Christianity, Yahweh of Judaism, or Allah of Islamism, most “Western” religions have the same monotheistic feel, and even Buddhists who are neither monotheistic nor polytheistic all follow the same concept of working towards a more honest life. However, in ancient times, religion was not at all like this. In Ancient Mesopotamia, and Ancient Egypt, religion was polytheistic, and there were not many teachings that prevented people from becoming sinful. It was not until the Hebrews came along, that this new idea of monotheism and righteousness was considered. The religious structure and implementation of the Hebrews was more developed than that of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations.…

    • 626 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Polytheism is the belief of more than one god. Ancient Egyptians were polytheistic. Egyptian gods influenced the lives of those who lived in Ancient Egypt in all aspects of life especially in the aspect of harvesting. Egyptian gods took both human and animal form and sometimes a combination of the two. Some gods were local gods only, and some were national. Different gods played different roles in Egyptian society, for example, the god Bes was a helper of women when they were in labor, and the goddess Hathor was the protector of the royal palace. Over time foreign gods were also accepted into Egyptian religion. They incorporated other deities in combination of their own gods or as a single god. There are various art forms that characterize royal high priests and royals paying tribute to many different gods as well as being presented unto them (Adams, 2011).…

    • 1453 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    As we take a look at past civilizations, Greece and Rome may seem to slur together. Major differences occur between these cultures, such as government and religion. The Romans derived their culture from the Greeks, creating their own world based off the conquered land. No centralized government existed in Greece, while Rome had specific codes of conduct in both their empire and republic governmental system. Greece held a specific polytheistic religion while the Romans shifted to Christianity in the middle of their reign.…

    • 640 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays