Christianity and the religion of the Romans and the ancient Greeks was pretty different for some obvious reasons. First of all Christians are monotheists(believe in one God) and the beliefs of the Romans and Greek were polytheistic(the belief in many gods). Before I become too deeply embedded in comparing the two religions, I will get into the basics of each one; after I will compare them with each other.
Greek Religion
The religion of the ancient Greeks comes in two parts: the religion of the household or the private religion, and the public religion which is the one that you normally think of if you think of the religion of the ancient Greeks. The religion of household in short consisted of the worship of a family “god” or “deity,” this “god” differed in each household. No more than one household worshipped a single “god.” There was an altar in each Greek home, for the worship of the household “god.” Now the public religion of the ancient Greeks is the one that we commonly associate with the religion of Greeks, which is the worship of the gods of Mount Olympus. These public “gods,” were not all powerful and could be even appeased with sacrifices, they also behaved very like humans.
Roman Religion
The religion of the Romans was pretty similar to the one of the ancient Greeks. The Romans had a household religion just like the Greeks, where each household had an altar, and private rites, they also worshipped many gods. These gods were very like the gods of the Greeks, and affected all aspects of a Roman’s life. Also because the city or state was considered an extension of a family, religion outside of the household was pretty important. Romans offered sacrifices to these gods to appease the “gods” anger, which shows that the Romans were constantly trying to win the “gods” aid or to please them. The way that the household performed sacrifice was by throwing cake or wine into the domestic fire; but in public animals were sacrificed. The Romans believed that morality did not matter to their gods, and saw no connection to that, but they did believe that gifts and ritual mattered. Augustus would later see a connection to morality and the gods, but overall it was the gifts and rituals that mattered.
Christianity
Christianity is a religion that beliefs are around one God, the God, who is the God, of every single individual, and universe. In other words Christians are monotheists. Christians do their best in following God’s word and standards. They believe in morality, and repentance of one’s sins(wrong doings). Christians follow the Bible, a book that contains God’s word, and most importantly ethics and sanctions for daily life. There is a lot more to Christianity, than I have mentioned, but these are the basics of the religion.
The Comparisons
The gods of the Romans and Greeks didn’t have standards, which meant that they didn’t have ethics nor sanctions, these gods did whatever they pleased even if it was ungodly. But the God of the Christians had standards, and opposed immoral behaviour. Also the gods of the Romans and Greeks because of their lack of standards acted foolishly; they fought with other gods, they played tricks on other gods and humans, and overall just behaved like fools. The God of the Christians cared for His creation, and is in control of everything; everything he does is good and has a purpose or meaning. He doesn’t do things for selfish reasons unlike the gods of the Romans and Greeks.
Because the God of the Christians is in control of everything He cannot be appeased because He is all powerful. The gods of the Romans and Greeks could be appeased by sacrifices, and were, definitely not all powerful. But the most important comparison of these regions is the fact that no one worships the gods or the Romans and Greeks today, their religion(s), has disappeared and is something of the past. But Christianity has lived up through the test of time, and there are many people today who are Christians, and follow the word of God.
Conclusion
Throughout history there have been many cases of new religions being formed and old religions disappearing, and not being followed anymore. The religion(s), of the ancient Greeks and Romans are an example of a religion that has disappeared and is not followed anymore. Christianity on the other hand has lived on through time, and is still widely followed by people from all over the world. In summary these are my comparisons of Christianity and the early values of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
The Dreamer 