The Greek, Roman, and Mayan Religions

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the Greek, Roman, and Mayan worlds are of prime interest because of their influence upon the cultural and societal aspects of the civilizations that followed them. The author points out that the Mayan religion has greatly influenced Western thought and culture, although not as predominant as the Greek and Roman systems, because of its perceived origins in a traditional non-Western setting. The paper relates that the Mayan pantheon was very complex. Heaven and Hell were not considered either as reward or punishment for behavior on earth; rather, they were the after-life abodes natural to different classes of people, for one passed on to the sphere appropriate to one's class and occupation.

From the Paper:

"Culturally, the Greek "polis" or city-state was presided over by a particular god as protector and patron, such as Athena for the city of Athens. Different communities could choose the same deity as their protector; Sparta, for example, also had Athena as its patron god. The members of the "polis" constituted a religious association obliged to honor the state's patron deity as well as the community's other gods. Thus, the central ritual of a "polis" was the sacrifice of animals to demonstrate to the gods as divine protectors the respect and piety of the members of the "polis"."

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