Susan Deacy

Among the most notable developments of research into Greek religion in recent decades has been the identification of the polis as the principal constituent of religious life. Of the numerous poleis, Athens continues to generate particular discussion, not least because we possess significantly more evidence than for any other city. Its festivals, beliefs, and sanctuaries are well attested, and we are informed about its religious ideas, and perhaps most striking of all its history. Where Athenian religion is concerned we have a unique opportunity to pinpoint when it was that changes were made to customs, and to identify the personalities who played a role in shaping local beliefs.

Studies of Athenian religion have followed a variety of routes. There have been investigations of festivals, of distinctive Athenian myths, and of the gods, heroes, and other religious beings of the local pantheon. Its history has been explored too, both in works that cover various periods and in studies that center on particular topics, such as the Acropolis rebuilding program or the sacrilegious events that shocked the city on the eve of the Sicilian Expedition. This chapter’s aim is to explore the main features of the system while also showing how this system developed over time. This will enable me to address a duality in polis religion, namely that it placed emphasis upon tradition and repetition - on performing the correct rituals in the correct way at the appropriate time for instance - while being an open system that was continually evolving. It has become a near-cliche to write that, lacking a creed or anything approaching an organized church, Greek religion was open to constant reinterpretation; in the case of Athens, we are presented with an opportunity to explore in depth how a non-credal religion shaped the lives of its worshipers.

Athenian religion is such a vast topic that it would be impossible in just a few thousand words to cover every angle. What this chapter will do is to explore some of the most important features of the system: its distinctive pantheon, certain of its myths and rituals, and some of the events that affected the beliefs of the community.