Since various aspects of ancient religious practices have come up in class lately, I thought I’d post this: the Associated Press reports that a group of worshippers performed a ceremony in honor of Zeus today at the ancient Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens. The group had been denied access to the temple, but went ahead with the ceremony anyway, and ultimately were not prevented from doing so.
Does this mark a revival of ancient religious practices in modern Greece? Not really—groups like Ellinais (who conducted Sunday’s event) and the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes work to encourage the official recognition of ancient Hellenic religion and ritual, even demanding that the government give them access to restore and use ancient temples now considered archaeological and museum sites, but the majority of the Greek population remain firmly Greek Orthodox.