looking for sources on Greek Religions.

[Mike182]

hey all.

i have plenty of information and stuff on the mythologies of the Ancient Greek Pantheon, however i want to relate that stuff to the actual beliefs and practises of the Ancient Greeks, and i don't have any sources on that.

anyone able to help out? book titles or decent web articles welcome!

 

[doppelganger]

Any of many books on the subject by Walter Burkert should get you started.

 

[Littledragon]

I found a couple of interesting articles by searching for Hellenic Reconstructionism...

The Role of the Citizen and Foreigner in Antiquity
Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes

About Hellenic Clergy
Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes

I found some other essays, but forgot to bookmark them and can't find them again...

Sweet water and light laughter
Littledragon

 

[Fluffy]

If you want to get a feel for the religious beliefs of the Classical Greeks then I strongly suggest reading Classical literature and theatre. Euripides and Aristophanes are two playwrights, tragedy and comedy respectively, who are quite an easy read. The Odyssey and the Iliad are more revealing but less easy. If you read them with a companion guide then the underlying beliefs and values of the society in which they were written become very apparent. You will be able to find free translations of all classical texts online.

 

[kiwimac]

You might also try Bullfinch's Mythology and also the Golden Bough by James Frazer.

 

[Isabella Lecour]

Actually I wouldn't recommend the Golden Bough if your looking for historical information for religions practice. He put a deep spin of things and altered it greatly all in an effort to prove his theories about religion. I'll second the recommendation to look into classical literature. Wiki's article on Greek myth gives a good base to start searching out various books.