World History
Zeus Worshippers Demand Access to Temple. Pagans have revived the worship of the Greek God Zeus. Several hundred followers have begun holding religious ceremonies honoring the head of the Greek pantheon in Greece.
I believe in religious freedom and I have no problem with people who want to honor ancient gods.
However, the following raises some concern for me:
"These are our temples and they should be used by followers of our religion," said Doreta Peppa, head of the Athens-based Ellinais, a group campaigning to revive the ancient religion. "Of course we will go ahead with the event ... we will enter the site legally," said Peppa, who calls herself a high priestess of the revived faith. "We will issue a call for peace, who can be opposed to that?"
The Greek government response is no. "Ancient sites are not available for this kind of event," ministry official Eliza Kyrtsoglou said.
This makes sense to me. People have the right to worship as they please as long as it does not involve human sacrifice, child abuse, etc. However, they do not have the right to gain access to any historical site they choose. Just because someone adopts Zeus worship today does not mean they have any special ownership of ancient temples built thousands of years ago.
Using this logic, I could adopt Mayan religion and then demand access to and perhaps ownership of Chichen Itza. Perhaps I could adopt Native American religion and insist on being allowed to practice my religion on the Great Snake Mound?
Not buying the above argument? I don't blame you. Adopting an ancient religion does not give one any right to ancient sites. I wish the Zeus worshippers happiness and religious freedom but I hope they never are allowed to do as they please with Greek historical treasures simply because they are associated with Zeus.
- Virtual Religion Index
Virtual Religion Index - This site is a large link collection from Rutgers University, categorised by religion. Also includes resources for ancient religions, archaeology, philosophy, sociology of religion, and psychology of religion. There are a lot...
- Mithraism: An Essay By David Fingrut
Mithraism: An Essay by David Fingrut. This is a general survey of Mithraic religion, with bibliography and photograph of a 2nd-century Roman Mithraic marble statue from the British Museum. Mithraism was the Roman Empire's last Pagan state religion....
- Eleusinian Mysteries
Eleusinian Mysteries - This essay is a discussion of the known facts about the rites of the Eleusinian Mysteries in which Greek priestesses were significantly involved. These rites have been lost to history. The participants were very good at keeping...
- Greek Evidence On The Authenticity Of The Macedonians
Greek Evidence on the Authenticity of Macedonians. Presents arguments from various periods on the differences between Macedonians and Greeks and discusses Greek policy of denying the existence of Macedonians in Greece. From the site: The Republic of Macedonia...
- Animated Historical Maps
This site has over 175 online animated maps. You have to have an account to access the vast majority but many are free. For example there are two great animated maps of ancient Greece. One is an overview of Greece from Mycenae and Greek colonization to...
World History
Zeus Worshippers Demand Access to Temple
Zeus Worshippers Demand Access to Temple. Pagans have revived the worship of the Greek God Zeus. Several hundred followers have begun holding religious ceremonies honoring the head of the Greek pantheon in Greece.I believe in religious freedom and I have no problem with people who want to honor ancient gods.
However, the following raises some concern for me:
"These are our temples and they should be used by followers of our religion," said Doreta Peppa, head of the Athens-based Ellinais, a group campaigning to revive the ancient religion. "Of course we will go ahead with the event ... we will enter the site legally," said Peppa, who calls herself a high priestess of the revived faith. "We will issue a call for peace, who can be opposed to that?"
The Greek government response is no. "Ancient sites are not available for this kind of event," ministry official Eliza Kyrtsoglou said.
This makes sense to me. People have the right to worship as they please as long as it does not involve human sacrifice, child abuse, etc. However, they do not have the right to gain access to any historical site they choose. Just because someone adopts Zeus worship today does not mean they have any special ownership of ancient temples built thousands of years ago.
Using this logic, I could adopt Mayan religion and then demand access to and perhaps ownership of Chichen Itza. Perhaps I could adopt Native American religion and insist on being allowed to practice my religion on the Great Snake Mound?
Not buying the above argument? I don't blame you. Adopting an ancient religion does not give one any right to ancient sites. I wish the Zeus worshippers happiness and religious freedom but I hope they never are allowed to do as they please with Greek historical treasures simply because they are associated with Zeus.
- Virtual Religion Index
Virtual Religion Index - This site is a large link collection from Rutgers University, categorised by religion. Also includes resources for ancient religions, archaeology, philosophy, sociology of religion, and psychology of religion. There are a lot...
- Mithraism: An Essay By David Fingrut
Mithraism: An Essay by David Fingrut. This is a general survey of Mithraic religion, with bibliography and photograph of a 2nd-century Roman Mithraic marble statue from the British Museum. Mithraism was the Roman Empire's last Pagan state religion....
- Eleusinian Mysteries
Eleusinian Mysteries - This essay is a discussion of the known facts about the rites of the Eleusinian Mysteries in which Greek priestesses were significantly involved. These rites have been lost to history. The participants were very good at keeping...
- Greek Evidence On The Authenticity Of The Macedonians
Greek Evidence on the Authenticity of Macedonians. Presents arguments from various periods on the differences between Macedonians and Greeks and discusses Greek policy of denying the existence of Macedonians in Greece. From the site: The Republic of Macedonia...
- Animated Historical Maps
This site has over 175 online animated maps. You have to have an account to access the vast majority but many are free. For example there are two great animated maps of ancient Greece. One is an overview of Greece from Mycenae and Greek colonization to...