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Religious persecution
By persecuting group: Christians Jews Muslims Revolutionary France Atheists/anti-clericals in Mexico Soviet Union People's Republic of China
By strategy: Forced conversion Holy war Religious discrimination Religious fascism Religious intolerance Religious police Religious terrorism Religious violence Spiritual abuse
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Many followers of Ancient Greek religion have experienced persecution, mainly from Christians. Persecution may refer to unwarranted arrest, imprisonment, beating, torture, or execution. It also may refer to the confiscation or destruction of property, or incitement to hate those who practice Ancient Greek religion.

Contents 1 Ancient times 2 Modern day 3 See also 4 External links

During the Christianization of ancient Greece, many followers of the Hellenistic gods were punished and slain by Christian governors, and were wildly persecuted by the early Christian citizens. Historically those caught worshipping or making sacrifices to their gods were often imprisoned, tortured, and then killed. Sometimes the methods of execution included the forced drinking of poison in the public square, or public dismemberment, though they were more often cut down by early Christian fanatics. Hypatia of Alexandria (in Egypt) is a famous example. It's only fair to call to attention that much of the persecution that the Greeks suffered occurred due to a mistaken association between Greek and Roman practice. Because of Roman atrocities against early Christians before the rise of the Roman Emperor Constantine, early Christians sometimes sought revenge on those they saw as Pagans. Much of the persecution by Christians against the Hellenistic Pagans of Greece was actually inspired by the persecution of Christians in Rome. For a detailed discussion of the history of the persecution of the Pagans under the Christian emperors see the article on the Persecution of Roman religion.

It's important to note that contrary to popular Christian belief sacrifices to the Greek gods were typically in the forms of wealth (particularly currency, precious metals, crafted ornaments, and gemstones), incense, and food or drink. Some of the most famous sacrifices were in the form of statues, busts, and other works of art, some of which remain in good condition today. Human blood sacrifices were exceedingly rare and, in most Greek cities they were illegal. Under the rule of Philip II of Macedon however, the so called "barbarians" of Thrace often carried out the blood sacrifice of war slaves. Most legal human sacrifices, sanctioned in Athens and Sparta, were in the form of property rights to slaves. Historically, slaves could be donated to various temples, which would then distribute them to bath houses or put them to chores and menial labor, and because most slaves in Greece were indentured servants and criminals, adequate performance in their duties could sometimes earn their freedom. Animal sacrifices to the Greek gods were typically given by those who reared animals, which were either slaughtered for food by the temple, or burned as a gift for the gods.

When the Christianization of Greece occurred, there was an attempt to portray all sacrifices as blood sacrifices, partly due to the commonality of blood sacrifices in Rome. Early Christians spread beliefs about Christian children being abducted and having their throats slit in various temples. Such myths are similar to the blood libel accusations against Jews. Human blood sacrifices were seen by the Greek people as barbaric and laws against them were believed to be part of what separated the Greeks from those they considered barbarians, even after Romanization occurred.

However, more research is needed on this topic due to the fact that Greece was enslaved for almost 400 years by the Turkish Empire. During this time a lot of propaganda has been made about Greece - whether it is true or not, we do not know for sure yet.

In modern day Greece, the ancient beliefs are not given equal rights to other religions and followers are often afraid to show their religion openly. [1]

According to Greek Law No 1363/38, with amendment Law No. 1672/39: "Anyone engaging in proselytism shall be liable to imprisonment and a fine between 1,000 and 50,000 drachmas; he shall, moreover be subject to police supervision for a period of between six months and one year to be fixed by the court when convicting the offender." The second law requires anybody that is not an Orthodox Christian to obtain a "church license" from both the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs and the local Orthodox bishops, but only the Orthodox Church, Judaism and Islam are recognized as "legal persons of public law". According to a press release from The Supreme Council of Gentile Hellenes there have been threats against the life of its members and a bookstore burning [2].

The Greek Society of Attic Friends, who claim 40,000 members, have been unsuccessful when they asked for recognition as a legal religion and were denied the right to build a temple in Athens. [3]

In 2006 an Athens court ordered the worship of the old Greek gods to be unbanned. Father Eustathios Kollas, head of the community of Greek priests, said: "They are a handful of miserable resuscitators of a degenerate dead religion who wish to return to the monstrous dark delusions of the past." The followers of Ancient Greek religion now prepares to push for full recognition.[4]

• Persecution of Roman religion

• Christian Persecutions Against The Hellenes
• Campaign to De-Criminalize the Worship of the Greek Gods in Greece