- News>
- Others
Ancient Greek religion bids for recognition on eve of Olympics
Athens, May 17: On a sweet Athenian spring evening with the sacred rock of the Acropolis bathed in the white light of a full moon, a chorus of voices join in prayer, chanting: ``Hail Zeus``.
Athens, May 17: On a sweet Athenian spring evening with the sacred rock of the Acropolis bathed in the white light of a full moon, a chorus of voices join in prayer, chanting: ''Hail Zeus''.
The voices are not those of actors in an ancient tragedy or an Olympic ceremony, but a group of modern-day Athenians solemnly worshipping the Olympian Gods.
Long before the Olympic Games became a rich commercial bonanza, they were among the most important religious festivals of the ancient Greeks, held in honour of the heavenly 12 of Mount Olympus.
Now, as the games return to their birthplace in August, a small group of Greeks are pressing for official acknowledgment of their pre-Christian roots.
They have applied for formal religious recognition and sought court injunctions against the commercial exploitation of their religious symbols by organisers of Athens 2004.
The trouble is, no-one is taking them seriously. In some cases they even face prosecution for participating in an illegal cult.
While classical Greece is revered as the seat of western civilisation, its Gods, heroes and monsters are more commonly associated these days with the muscle-bound characters in American-made cartoons.
Gathered on the balcony of a 21st-Century Athens penthouse, adults stand with their eyes screwed shut, hands aloft and coloured ribbons in their hair as the moon is eclipsed.
A plastic God Apollon looks down nobly from his black teak altar. On his right, Athena is wearing a warlike helmet, while an image of a bare-breasted Aphrodite recalls her status as the Goddess of love.
Bureau Report
The voices are not those of actors in an ancient tragedy or an Olympic ceremony, but a group of modern-day Athenians solemnly worshipping the Olympian Gods.
Long before the Olympic Games became a rich commercial bonanza, they were among the most important religious festivals of the ancient Greeks, held in honour of the heavenly 12 of Mount Olympus.
Now, as the games return to their birthplace in August, a small group of Greeks are pressing for official acknowledgment of their pre-Christian roots.
They have applied for formal religious recognition and sought court injunctions against the commercial exploitation of their religious symbols by organisers of Athens 2004.
The trouble is, no-one is taking them seriously. In some cases they even face prosecution for participating in an illegal cult.
While classical Greece is revered as the seat of western civilisation, its Gods, heroes and monsters are more commonly associated these days with the muscle-bound characters in American-made cartoons.
Gathered on the balcony of a 21st-Century Athens penthouse, adults stand with their eyes screwed shut, hands aloft and coloured ribbons in their hair as the moon is eclipsed.
A plastic God Apollon looks down nobly from his black teak altar. On his right, Athena is wearing a warlike helmet, while an image of a bare-breasted Aphrodite recalls her status as the Goddess of love.
Bureau Report