GODS NOT DEAD!
Monotheistic and Polytheistic Rome and Greece
Monotheistic Rome
In the Roman Empire, Christianity was banned and Christians were punished for many years. Feeding Christians to the lions was seen as entertainment in Ancient Rome.
spread around the Roman Empire by St. Paul who founded Christian churches in Asia Minor and Greece. Eventually, he took his teachings to Rome itself.
The first converts were usually the poor and slaves as they had a great deal to gain from the Christians being successful.
They usually used underground tombs to meet and worship as these were literally out of sight.
In AD 313, the Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal
Churches were quickly built not just in Rome but throughout the empire.
- In AD 391, the worship of other gods was made illegal.
Polytheism Rome
- Roman Polytheism also known as religion romana and cultus deorum, is the acknowledgment and worship of many gods according to Roman tradition.
- Over time as Rome's influence spread it absorbed other gods from the other cultures that it conquered.
- When the Roman Empire conquered the Greeks, the Romans assimilated much of the Greek Polytheistic culture.
- The Roman religion were animistic in nature, believing that spirits inhabited everything around them, including people.
- The Rome Polytheism was widespread in ancient Asia, Africa, Europe, and Native America cultures.
- Some Gods were Jupiter, Tano, and Neptune
Polytheism-Greece
- Greek culture followed the belief and worship of polytheism, or many gods.
- Greek Gods are distinguished by functions and usually represent human characteristics or forms of nature.
- System developed from earlier worship of animals, spirits and demons.
- Greek polytheism became organized into a "cosmic family" with supernatural forces.
- Greek Gods were the central part of the culture, explaining natural phenomenon and the Greek role in the universe.
- Greek mythology was highly developed into a hierarchy of dieties which governed peoples lives and often interfered with humans lives.
- When Romans conquered Greece, they integrated many of the Greek Gods and beliefs into their own belief system.
- Romans spread polytheism as the Roman Empire expanded.
- Polytheism is also found in Asian, African, European and Native American cultures.
- Polytheistic beliefs give followers a choice to believe in which gods they prefer or need at a certain time in their lives.
- Today, most modern religions EXCEPT Christianity, Judaism and Islam are polytheistic.
Monotheistic Greece
- The Republic by Plato mentioned God rather than Zeus or any of the other Greek gods.
- Refers to God in the singular and the all-powerful creator.
- All the different Gods that they created were used to illustrate different aspects of their one God.
- He seems to be acknowledging the wholly allegorical nature of the stories of the Gods, created by the poets, as aspects of a single God.