The Meaning of Religion.

There is no word in the vocabulary of ancient Greek for the modern word "religion." Latin, the language of ancient Rome, does have a term for it, from which the English word "religion" is derived, but the Latin religio does not have quite the same meaning. For the Romans, "religio" meant "the fear of the gods" or "reverence for the divine," and its secondary meaning was "scruples of conscience." These facts are important to remember in the study of ancient Greek and Roman religion. Greco-Roman religion did not demand acceptance of a creed or theological dogma. What the gods expected of their worshippers was homage, awe, and even fear. Religion, in the broadest sense of the term, was a factor in the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome as far back as one can delve into their prehistory, and its...