TOBI’S THREAD ON ANCIENT HELLENISTIC RELIGION AND MYTH:

Canon. Did. Not. Matter. It did not matter one bit. When thinking of ancient religion, unlearn the lens of our modern understanding of religion. There was no creed or dogma. No holy book or text.

Hell they didn’t even HAVE a name for religion. They had certain rules on rituals, but there was not just one cohesive idea. Religion was so fragmented, because by the 2nd century CE the ancient world WAS fragmented

Like say two towns, run by two different governors, worshipped Zeus. Same images. Same iconography, but one town worshipped him for power. The other, for protection. Very basic example but that’s how it was!

Communities focused on different gods for different reason. Get the idea out of ur head that there was a universal religion. City festivals were definitely a thing, but one didn’t have to celebrate them if one didn’t want to.

It really came down to the individual on what they needed, and then what their community needed. Private worship and public worship were also two diff things. A city could revere Apollo, but someone might invoke Mercury privately.

And don’t even get me started on the import of Egyptian gods. As ruthless as Rome was, they really didn’t care who tf you worshipped - as long as you were involved with cult in some way. Because being involved was an important Roman value.

I have so much to say about ancient religion. Aghhhhhhhhhhhh but it’s so fascinating