Many ideas and institutions that have meaning to us today began in ancient Israel and Greece. The Hebrew Bible and the democratic governments of Greece, for example, are sources of beliefs that are still important to us in modern times. Principles that arose in ancient Israel and Greece evolved over time and continue to have impact on religion, law, education, and government in the United State and other parts of the world. 

What Primary Sources Can Tell Us about Ancient Israel and Greece 
The legacy left by the ancient Israelites and Greeks is a rich one and has continued to influence our culture, political structure, scientific knowledge, and artistic and religious beliefs. It is no wonder then that archaeological sites and artifacts from these cultures are still studied to this day. 

• Written forms – Examples of Phoenician, Hebrew, and Greek writing help us to decipher records that have been preserved. Hebrew is still used today and scholars study the Hebrew Bible for clues to the history and religious beliefs of this early monotheistic people and how they came to their new lands. Knowledge about ancient Greek comes from their writings or from records left by ancient Romans. Pericles’s Funeral Oration, the History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides, Aesop’s fables, epics such as the Iliad and the Odyssey, the works of Socrates, Aristotle and other Greek philosophers, scientific writings, and letters all inform us about the values, ideas, history, literature, and religious beliefs of the early Greeks.
• Physical artifacts – Samaritan pottery, ancient coins, scrolls, dreidels and other toys, tablets containing the Ten Commandments, military armor, and artifacts from archaeological sites such as the ruins at Jericho all provide insight into the way that people of ancient Israel lived. Greek beliefs in balance and harmony are expressed through their sculpture, architecture, and other art work.
• Images – Surviving paintings and mosaics are also important in the study of the history and religions of the ancient Israelites and Greeks.  

 Primary Sources 

A Hebrew Prayer and Photo of the Parthenon

The Shema (A Hebrew prayer)

Photograph of the Parthenon

Hebrew scripture

Most experts agree that Judaic monotheism evolved over time. As can be read in the Book of Exodus: "God spoke all these words, saying: I am God your Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, from the place of slavery. Do not have any other gods before me. Do not represent [such] gods by any carved statue or picture of anything in the heaven above, on the earth below, or in the water below the land. Do not bow down to [such gods] or worship them. I am God your Lord, a God who demands exclusive worship.” To this day this basic tenet of Judaism is repeated every morning and evening by Jews who go to daily prayer services and recite the Shema—considered to be the most important prayer in the Jewish religion. The prayer’s opening line, as can be seen at the above link or on page 50 of the Primary Sources Handbook, clearly expresses the Isrelites’ belief in God’s one-ness.

In contrast to the people of ancient Israel, the ancient Greeks were polytheistic. That is, they believed in the existence of many gods. Experts today are still not sure how many gods they worshipped—though the number was likely in the hundreds. Each village in ancient Greece had its own god, as did particular streams, trees, rocks, and other items in nature. There were, however, twelve principle gods, believed to reside atop Mount Olympus. These were Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, and Artemis along with two of these four: Hestia, Demeter, Dionysus, and Hades (depending upon which ones were said to be there at particular times). On the eastern wall of the Parthenon was a frieze showing the gods of this Greek pantheon, or family.

Parthenon

 

 Background Information 

How the Study of Language Led to the Study of Comparative Religions 

In 1786 British philologist William Jones published a book called The Sanscrit [sic] Language. In it he suggested that Sanskrit has similarities with classical Greek and Latin. He further noted that Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin might be related to the Persian, Gothic (ancient Germanic), and Celtic languages. Until that time, Europeans had translated and published few scriptural texts of non-Western religions. However, after Jones’s observations, this started to change. The theory arose that there had been a proto-Indo-European language; a common ancestor from which all these languages sprang. As similarities between ancient languages were discovered, translations of ancient texts began to be more easily accomplished. With reams of ancient texts to examine, “Orientalists” (those who study the civilizations of eastern Asia) like Eugene Burnouf and Max Müller began examining what was common between Asian religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, with Western religions, such as Judaism and Christianity. Today Müller is considered the “founder of comparative religion.” This field of studies examines the similarities and differences among all world religions.  

 

 Classroom Activity 

A Lesson in Comparative Religions

1. Write the words “Monotheism” and “Polytheism” on your classroom board and make sure students can explain the differences between the two. (Monotheism is the belief in a single God; polytheism is the belief in several deities.)

2. Distribute a copy of the Shema (the Hebrew prayer) and the photo of the Parthenon to each student from the web links above or from pages page 50 and 54 of the Primary Sources Handbook. Use these questions to encourage discussion:  

• With what culture or civilization would you associate this prayer? This building?
• What religion do you connect with the people of ancient Israel and Greece?
• Which of these people are considered to be monotheists? Which ones are polytheists?
• In what way(s) do this prayer and this photo reflect the belief systems of the two peoples?

3. Tell students that they are now going to compare these and a few other religions. You may wish to use the background information above to provide students with a short history of comparative religions.

4. With the class, make a list of other religions that they have learned about this school year. (These might include Sumerian polytheism, ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, Hinduism, Buddhism, and the Olmec and Mayan religions.) Include the religions of the ancient Greeks and Israelites. You might also include other religions students know about, such as Christianity, Islam, Baha’i, and Shintoism.

5. Organize students into small groups, and assign each to a different religion listed on the board. Tell students that they are to research these topics and relate them to the religion they were assigned:

• Major beliefs
• Characteristics of the religion’s God or gods
• Origins and history
• Important people – founder and/or leaders
• Important holidays and traditions
• Beliefs about how the world began
• Beliefs about the afterlife
• Texts used as a source of beliefs or for inspiration

Students should work together to decide which group members will research specific topics.

6. Once students have gathered their research, have each create a poster display of its findings. After each group presents its findings to the class, create a combined compare and contrast chart as a whole-class activity. Finally, after reminding students of the work that comparative religion experts do, ask students what, if any, similarities they see behind all religions that they have researched.