Ancient Greece Cultural Values

Ancient Greece Cultural Values

Introduction

The Greeks are a people who have a deeply rooted culture. In their culture, there are strong values relating to gender roles, food, music, marriage, cultural events, and religious observance. This paper concentrates on the area of religious practice in Greece. Religious practice is a term that includes all the specific types of spiritual activities. Different countries and people have different religious and spiritual behavior all over the globe. It is a fact that more developed countries tend to have lower religious commitment. The difference in engagement is a result of sociological or psychological factors such as the history of the people, social classes, age, sex, personality, and even the presence of minority groups. Religious observances in Greece mostly rely on oral communication (Lombardo xii). The Greeks have had quite a journey to the present day behaviors of spiritual practice, which this paper focuses on.

Background of Religious Observance in Greece

Before delving into the religious observance of Greeks in the present day, it is crucial to have an understanding of the historical trends. The chronicle of the war that erupted after the Doric invasions (Illiad) was the representation of the earliest form of the Greek religion. It was a blend of Archaean, Dorian, Minoan, Egyptian, and Asian features giving rise to the Greek Homeric religion. The people of the Homeric faith believed that their gods dwelled in the Thessalian mountain. They also believed in Zeus as their supreme God, where there was the establishment of a divine family. The gods that the Homeric subscribers believed in had supernatural powers, and they offered divine intervention.

            Ancient Greece people mostly believed in Aristotle’s perfect God. Some thought in Plato’s view that the virtuous would be rewarded while the wicked would face punishment. This depicts their belief in divine power from the early times. There was also the Hellenistic period. During this period, there were a majority of Greeks who believed in divine power and life after death. Those who died became spirits and would roam the world and watch over the earth. During the Hellenistic period, Greeks also came to learn of Buddhism, Christianity, and the Jewish religion. There were a few people who subscribed to this faith during this particular time.

After the Hellenistic period, there were the Byzantine and the Modern Greece periods. These periods saw the strengthening of Christianity through the emergence of the Greek Orthodox church and the Church of Greece. Currently, 90 percent of the Greece population subscribe to the Christianity doctrine through the Greece Orthodox church. However, it is essential to note that there is freedom of religion and therefore, there are Roman Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews, Muslims, and, most importantly, the subscribers of the ancient Hellenism religion (Marios & Ziaka 46)

Religious Observance in Greece

            From the historical discussion, it is evident that faith plays an essential role in Greek culture.

The study will also focus on religious observance in the Greek Orthodox church. The church usually has several fasts outlined throughout their year. A fast means that the subscribers of the faith abstain from food or sexual relations. Depending on the loose, it may be abstinence from all kinds of food or some types of food. Most of the time, total fasts where people do not consume any food are for the period before they can partake of the holy communion. When it comes to selective abstinence of foods, the church recommends refraining from animal foods that have red blood, dairy products, eggs, olive oil, and also wine. The foods that the church allows during fasting are known as nistisima, which the Orthodox followers take during the Lent period. Some of these fasts are compulsory, while others are usually voluntary.  The strict followers of the orthodox church usually abstain from these foods for more than 180 days every year.

The discussion above paves the way for the examination of the fasting periods that the Greek Orthodox participates. It is important to note that there are four primary fasts that they observe. The first one is the lent period. Typically, it begins on Mondays, which should be seven weeks before Easter. This Monday is referred to as Kathari Theftera by the Greeks and is the clean Monday. Easter is the period when the Greeks believe that Jesus Christ, the son of God (the divine power), resurrected after dying for their sins. It usually comprises of the reasonable Friday period and the Easter Monday. Good Friday is the day that Jesus was crucified. The lent period is the most extended fasting period in the Orthodox calendar.

During this period, the Orthodox subscribers only have an allowance to loosen the fasting restrictions on weekends. This does not mean that they embark on a feast. Instead, they are allowed to partake in some foods. However, the Sunday and Saturday before the Easter weekend, the restrictions are removed entirely, and the followers have no food restrictions. The reason for this is due to the celebration of the Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday. Lazarus Saturday is when the Greek Orthodox celebrates the resurrection of Lazarus, which happened during the time of Jesus on earth and is considered one of his greatest miracles. During palm Sunday, people celebrate the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem just before he was crucified. They carry palm branches all over the streets to mark this event.

The second religious’ observance among the Orthodox church is the fast of the apostles. It is recognized as one of the oldest in the calendars of the church. This fast takes typically between one to six weeks. The fast also commences on a Monday, which is usually eight days after the Pentecost. The Pentecost is a feast in the Greek Orthodox calendar where people remember the time when the Holy Spirit visited the disciples after his resurrection and ascension to heaven. The fast ends before the celebration feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The feast celebrates the commitment and martyrdom of these two saints during their work of preaching the gospel here on earth.

Next is the fast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, also known as the fast of Mary’s mother of God ((Papastathis 339). This particular fast usually takes place in the first two weeks of August and ends on August 15^th. The ending feast shares a name with the beginning feast. It is fast where the Orthodox Christians remember the death of Mary mother of God. Towards the end of the year, there is the Christmas Fast, which lasts from mid-November to the day before Christmas, which is December 24th. During this fast, people are only allowed to consume wine and oil on Tuesdays and Thursdays between November 15^th and December 19^th.

The Greek Orthodox are a representation of the Christians. Therefore, there are other observances by Christians of all denominations in Greece. One of these observances is the feast of St. George, which occurs on April 23^rd. This is the period when the Greek Christians celebrate the martyrdom of one George, who gave his life for the sake of the gospel. Different Christians celebrate in different ways. In the village of Kaliopi, the residents celebrate by taking place in horse racing. Those in Pili Island also participate in horse races but also include song and dance as part of their celebration. In Arahova, the residents will have a three-day feast that takes place during the day and even at night. Some carry out sheep shearing contests in the village of Assi Gonia. The shepherds are the only ones allowed to participate in the competition.

Away from the religious observances of the Orthodox church, the people of Greece also observe some traditional but religious feasts. At the beginning of the year, there is the feast of St. Basil. During this feast, the people of Greece remember the great theologian who took care of the sick and underprivileged in society. They celebrate it at the beginning of the year as they believe it is a good start. In this feast, they practice an ancient Byzantine routine where they slice the new year cake. In Greece, this cake is referred to as the Vasilopita. The cake usually has a coin inside it, and the individual who gets the slice with the coin stands to have a year full of luck.

The other traditional but religious observance is the Hellenic Festival. During the Hellenistic religion period, the people mostly believed in magic, and they would consult oracles and utilize charms as a means of deterring misfortunes (Papastathis 340) The celebration today, mainly occurs in Greek theatres. However, for the marquee events, they are in the ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticus, which is in Athens. The festival showcases the art and culture of the Greek people. There is a particular display of the Hellenistic gods during the ancient Greek period, where the main religion was Hellenistic.

There are also those observances that include people from all religions in Greece. One such is the Apokreas, also known as the carnival season. Ancient Greece marked this period as their celebration of their God, the wonderful Dionysus. He was the God of winemaking, fertility, and theatre. In present-day Greece, however, different religions observe this festival in diverse ways. The Greek Orthodox celebrate this festival three weeks before they begin their lent period. Other faiths and Christian denominations will usually dress in colorful costumes and participate in a parade. There will also be traditional dancing as people eat and drink in the streets. Others will flock the towns dressed as goats and even copper bells. There are wild celebrations for most denominations and religions. It is important to note that this particular festival does not have specific dates. The dates usually change every year, but they are between mid-January and early March. The Muslims observe their universally accepted norms such as the Ramadhan, idd ul Fitr, idd ul Hajj among others.