Ancient Greece Religion

Greece was inhabited as early as the Paleolithic period and by 3000 BC had become home, in the Cycladic Islands, to a culture whose art remains among the most evocative in world history. In the second millennium BC, the island of Crete nurtured the maritime empire of the Minoans, whose trade reached from Egypt to Sicily. The Minoans were supplanted by the Mycenaeans of the Greek mainland, who spoke a dialect of ancient Greek. During the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires (1st-19th centuries), Greece's ethnic composition became more diverse. Since independence in 1830 and an exchange of populations with Turkey in 1923, Greece has forged a national state that claims roots reaching back 3,000 years. The Greek language dates back at least 3,500 years, and modern Greek preserves many elements of its classical predecessor. ... [Read More]

Greece

Two laws from the 1930s require recognized or "known" religious groups to obtain "house of prayer" permits from the Ministry of Education and Religion to open houses of worship. No formal mechanism exists to gain recognition as a known religion. By law the Ministry may base its decision to issue permits on the opinion of the local Orthodox bishop, and documentation provided by Scientology representatives and the Greek Orthodox Church indicates it does consult with local bishops in some cases. According to the Ministry's officials, applications for additional houses of prayer are numerous and are approved routinely; however, the Scientologists of Greece have not been able to register or build a house of prayer. Followers of the ancient Greek religions applied twice in the last three years for a house of prayer permit but have not received an official response to their applications, despite advice of the Ombudsman to the Ministry of Education and Religions to officially resp ... [Read More]

US Department Of State Post Report

The arts have been integral to Greek life since ancient times. In summer, Greek dramas are staged in the ancient theaters where they were originally performed. Greek literature’s ancient heritage spans poetry, drama, philosophical and historical treatises, and travelogues. Western civilization’s mania for logic and “ideas” can be traced directly back to ancient Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and the West’s sciences, arts, and politics are also deeply indebted to classical Greece.  ... [Read More]

2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Greece

The Scientologists have not been able to register or build a house of prayer. Followers of the ancient Greek religions applied twice in the last 3 years for a house of prayer permit but have not received an official response to their applications, despite advice of the Ombudsman to the Ministry of Education and Religions to officially respond to their requests. ...

The Government did not have an established procedure for recognizing religions. Recognition was granted indirectly by applying for and receiving a "house of prayer" permit. Some newer religions had problems getting these permits. Although Jehovah's Witnesses have a recognized religion, members continued to face harassment, mainly in the form of arbitrary identity checks. ... [Read More]

The Federalist #18

The Achaeans were now reduced to the dilemma ofsubmitting to Cleomenes, or of supplicating the aid of Macedon, its formeroppressor. The latter expedient was adopted. The contests of the Greeks alwaysafforded a pleasing opportunity to that powerful neighbor of intermeddling intheir affairs. A Macedonian army quickly appeared. Cleomenes was vanquished. TheAchaeans soon experienced, as often happens, that a victorious and powerful allyis but another name for a master. All that their most abject compliances couldobtain from him was a toleration of the exercise of their laws. Philip, who wasnow on the throne of Macedon, soon provoked by his tyrannies, fresh combinationsamong the Greeks. The Achaeans, though weakenened by internal dissensions and bythe revolt of Messene, one of its members, being joined by the Ætoliansand Athenians, erected the standard of opposition. Finding themselves, thoughthus supported, unequal to the undertaking, they once more had recourse to thedangerous ... [Read More]

USIA - US Society & Values, May 1996 - J. CarterBrown

He extended that ideal to the arts as well. As soon as the Gameswere up and running in 1896, he began putting a lot of effortinto incorporating the arts into the Olympics, as they had beenincorporated in ancient times. Just as sports can establishconditions in which we escape from our pigeonholes, so, too, canthe arts. That, to me, is the excitement of the enterprise -- theopportunity that the arts allow us of arching over ourdifferences, not only in space but in time, over the millennia. ... [Read More]

Freedom in Iraq and Middle East

Other men, and groups of men, have gained influence in the Middle East and beyond through an ideology of theocratic terror. Behind their language of religion is the ambition for absolute political power. Ruling cabals like the Taliban show their version of religious piety in public whippings of women, ruthless suppression of any difference or dissent, and support for terrorists who arm and train to murder the innocent. The Taliban promised religious purity and national pride. Instead, by systematically destroying a proud and working society, they left behind suffering and starvation. ... [Read More]

Report on Global Anti-Semitism

January 5, 2005 Executive Summary I.  Anti-SemitismAnti-Semitism has plagued the world for centuries. Taken to its most far-reaching and violent extreme, the Holocaust, anti-Semitism resulted in the deaths of millions of Jews and the suffering of countless others. Subtler, less vile forms of anti-Semitism have disrupted lives, decimated religious communities, created social and political cleavages, and complicated relations between countries as well as the work of international organizations. For an increasingly interdependent world, anti-Semitism is an intolerable burden. The increasing frequency and severity of anti-Semitic incidents since the start of the 21st century, particularly in Europe, has compelled the international com ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Smithsonian Folk Festival Will Showcase Central Asia in June, July

"In Central Asia, there is a simple one-stringed instrument, the tar, and it's played by wandering bards, mystics and fakirs. The idea of the tar seems to travel to ancient Persia where one string becomes two, and it was called the dutar. In India it became the more familiar sitar. The string instrument seemed to travel to China and also westward and in the Arabian countries, it's called the quintarra. In Greece, it's known as the chitarra, which is much like a zither. In the form of a stringed lute, it travels to Spain and it is known as the guitarra and then to America where it is known as the guitar," Kurin said. ... [Read More]