acknowledged and worshipped throughout the Greek world, but their roles might differ from one polis to
another and one community might place greater emphasis than another community on the worship of a
particular god. As its name shows, the city of Athens had a special connection with the goddess Athena
and, while the Athenians did not neglect the worship of the remaining gods, they regarded it as especially
important to venerate their patron deity. In return, the Athenians were convinced, Athena considered the
city of Athens to be among her favorite cities and, consequently, she was particularly inclined to defend
and protect it. The goddess Hera, for example, had a similar relationship with the inhabitants of Samos
and Argos, and the goddess Artemis with those of Ephesus. Likewise, the names of the cities Poseidonia
and Apollonia indicate their intimate connections with the gods Poseidon and Apollo, just as today the
cities of São Paulo, San Francisco, and St. Andrews proclaim their devotion to a particular holy patron.
We may wonder how it came about that one god rather than another was especially venerated in a given
location. Often it is difficult or even impossible to tell, because the origins of such practices are lost in
the haze of the Dark Age or the Mycenaean Period. The Greeks, too, wondered about the origins of their
religious practices. The answer to the question, “How did it come about that Athena is the patron deity of
Athens?” takes the form of a myth, to the effect that Athena and Poseidon both wished to take possession
of so desirable a location as the Athenian acropolis and the ensuing dispute was adjudged in favor of
Athena. That does not, of course, explain anything at all and, indeed, it raises more questions than it
answers. But an important function of myth is simply to connect (or give the appearance of connecting) the
present with the past by means of a story. The story justifies itself merely by being (or appearing to be)
coherent and it justifies current practice merely by connecting current practice with the past. For it is
essential to the Greeks that religious practice be seen to reflect ancestral custom. This is such a strong
feeling that innovations, of which there were many in the long history of Greek religion, were sometimes
said to be “revivals” of long-neglected ancestral practice.
“While they were still in the city the generals dispatched a messenger to Sparta. This man was an
Athenian named Philippides and his regular job was as a long-distance courier. According to
Philippides himself in his report to the Athenians, when he was near Mount Parthenion, which rises
up over Tegea, he was met by the god Pan. Pan called out to Philippides by name and told him to
bring a message to the Athenians, asking them why they pay no attention to him, despite the fact that
he is friendly toward the Athenians and had already proven to be of service to them in many ways
and would continue to be in the future. The Athenians accepted this as the truth and, once their
situation improved, they dedicated a temple to Pan at the foot of the acropolis and, as a result of
what Philippides told them, they seek to propitiate him with annual sacrifices and torch-races.”
(Herodotus 6.105)Innovation could take the form of new or altered rituals, the introduction of new divinities, or the
elaboration, modification, or outright invention of stories about the gods in the form of myths. The
worship of gods who had not previously been recognized in the community could be introduced from
other parts of Greece, as worship of the Arcadian god Pan was introduced into Athens shortly after the
Persian Wars, or from elsewhere, as was the case with the Semitic Adonis in the seventh century and, at a
later time, the Egyptian Isis and the Persian Mithras. As we have seen, even so prominent a goddess as
Aphrodite does not seem to have been worshipped by the Greeks until they came in contact with the
Phoenicians, after the end of the Mycenaean Period. Subject to general acceptance by the populace, new
gods could be welcomed into the polis provided that the existing rituals in honor of the older gods were
not neglected. For the gods did not tolerate rejection or neglect. Just as they were thought to reward and
protect those individuals and those cities that paid them respect, so they punished those that refused to