Hellenic Paganism
Hellenic paganism is the Greek religious practices before Christianity. It is the belief that the god of Mount Olympus and Hades (the underworld) are the chief deities. The gods took over after defeating their parents, the Titans, causing the latter to the fringes of existence.
Offerings, of votive offerings, sacrifices and libations are made at the temples, and auguries (omens, usually made by oracles), are also important. Each god has a specific divine governance whether it is war, or magic, or the sea. Each is worshipped in specified temples, usually to gain the favour of a specific deity for a specific reason. An example is an offering to Poseidon if the mortal is to be travelling by boat, for calm seas.
The gods could take an active role in the affairs of mortals raising some up to great adventures, cursing others, having sexual encounters with others, to name but a few. Each Greek city state generally has their own patron god or goddess that they worship, at least in private. The rise of Christianity has curtailed the worship of these gods to a high degree.
One note about the afterlife is important when concerning Hellenistic paganism. The dead regularly went to Hades. None ever went to Mount Olympus unless they are demigods (a few are still found, and have usually been fathered still by the male gods). Hades is split into three regions - Tartarus, where the damned go to be tortured for all eternity, The Meadows of Asphodel Flowers, where the dead who did not do anything special (good or evil) in life go, and Elysia / Elysium Fields, where the heroes and those who lived life to better all Greeks go.
Type
Religious, Cult
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