NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Hellenistic religion

Hellenistic religion refers to any of the various systems of beliefs and practices of the Eurasian peoples who lived under the influence of ancient Greek culture during the Hellenistic period and the Roman Empire (ca. 300 to 300 AD). The Hellenistic period consitutes one of the most creative periods in the history of religions. It can be described as a time of spiritual revolution in the Greco-Roman world, where old cults died or were completely transformed, and where new religions were born. The term Hellenistic (established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen) in the history of the ancient world is used to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks, however scattered geographically, to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of whatever ethnicity, and from the political dominance... The Roman Empire is the name given to both the imperial domain developed by the city-state of Rome and also the corresponding phase of that civilization, characterized by an autocratic form of government. ...

Religion saw significant transformations, morphing Classical Greek polytheism into more abstract and philosophical terms, evolving into Neoplatonism by the 3rd century. Mystery religions remained popular, indeed the Hellenistic period may be taken to extend into the Roman period, since the Roman Empire was affected by Hellenism to the point of assimilation, re-casting their Ancient Roman religion in Hellenistic terms by interpretatio romana of Greek concepts, until the abolition of the Eleusinian Mysteries in 392. The Hellenistic period saw the rise of Mithraism, influenced by a Hellenistic flair for Persia, and according to David Ulansey by astrological speculation related to the discovery of the precession of the equinoxes in the 2nd century BC. Hellenism was fond of astrology in general, and the classical Zodiac, ascribed to the Chaldeans by the same sympathy for oriental mysticism that gave Mithras his popularity and furthered the rise of Gnosticism. Hellenistic religion is the context in which Early Christianity arose and developed, and Christianity as it emerged in the 4th century seamlessly continued many of its characteristics. Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in Ancient Greece in form of cult practices, thus the practical counterpart of Greek mythology. ... Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) is the modern term for a school of philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists. ... A mystery religion is any religion with an arcanum, or secret wisdom. ... Roman Greece is the period of Greek history following the Roman victory over the Corinthians at the Battle of Corinth in 146 BC until the reestablishment of the city of Byzantium and the naming of the city by Emperor Constantine I as the capital of the Roman Empire (as Nova... The Roman Empire is the name given to both the imperial domain developed by the city-state of Rome and also the corresponding phase of that civilization, characterized by an autocratic form of government. ... Religion in ancient Rome combined several different cult practices and embraced more than a single set of beliefs. ... Interpretatio graeca is a Latin term for the common tendency of ancient Greek writers to equate foreign divinities to members of their own pantheon. ... The Eleusinian Mysteries were annual initiation ceremonies for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis in ancient Greece. ... Events August 22 - Arbogast elevates Eugenius as Roman Emperor. ... Mithras and the Bull: This fresco from the mithraeum at Marino, Italy (3rd century) shows the tauroctony and the celestial lining of Mithras cape Mithraism was a mystery religion prominent in the Roman world. ... For other uses of this term see: Persia (disambiguation) The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... Precession of the equinoxes refers to the precession of the Earths axis of rotation. ... Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut. ... This article is about the astrological and astronomical concept of the zodiac. ... Map showing the location of Tel Kaif, Iraq and the neighboring areas. ... Mithras and the Bull: fresco from the mithraeum at Marino, Italy, (3rd century AD) Mithras was the central god of Mithraism, a syncretic Hellenistic mystery religion of male initiates that developed in the Eastern Mediterranean in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC and was practiced in the Roman Empire from... The History of Gnosticism is subject to a great deal of debate and interpretation. ... Fourth-century inscription, representing Christ as the Good Shepherd. ... This article is becoming very long. ...

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