Rather surprisingly, gods have not been at the centre of modern discussions of Greek religion until very recently. Although they usually appear relatively late in twentieth-century histories of Greek religion, the situation has changed dramatically in the last decade or so. And rightly so, given the importance of the gods within Greek religion. There are several questions worth asking: what is a god? What did the Greeks see as important differences between themselves and the gods, and between gods and heroes? Which factors helped to define the identity of individual gods (§1)? How should we study the pantheon (§2)? What did the Greeks consider to be the sphere of influence of individual gods? What was the nature of the divine hierarchy? And, last but not least, were the gods persons or powers – or both (§3)?

The way in which Greek places of worship feature in the current popular imagination is much influenced by the remnants of a few surviving temples, such as Athena's Parthenon or Poseidon's temple at Sounion. Yet these aesthetically pleasing but ruined and empty buildings give little insight into their former functions or furnishings. Moreover, a (perhaps unconscious) comparison with modern religious buildings, such as churches, mosques, and synagogues, might lead us to think of an ancient sanctuary as normally consisting of just the temple – which would be a real mistake. So let us first look at sanctuaries proper (§1), then their locations (§2), and, finally, their secular and religious functions (§3).

When Herodotus describes the religion of non-Greek people, he mainly concentrates on their ritual. Consequently, it seems a reasonable conclusion that he, and presumably also his fellow Greeks, understood the significance of religion largely in ritual terms. Although recent scholarship has paid much attention to belief (Chapter I), there can be little doubt that ritual constitutes the heart of ancient Greek religion. Accordingly, Burkert began his analysis of classical Greek religion with a chapter called ‘Ritual and Sanctuary’. However, as the content of the term is not self-evident, I will start this chapter with some introductory observations on the use of the term and on the possibilities for studying ancient ritual (§1). Subsequently I will analyse important ritual acts, such as prayer, procession, and, in particular, sacrifice (§2). I conclude with a discussion of various larger ritual complexes (§3).

Myth played an important role in Greek religion: it illustrated and defined the roles of gods and heroes (Chapter II, §1); it also explained aspects of rituals (Chapter IV, §3), showed correct or deviant patterns of behaviour, and reflected on human conduct and the cosmos. Since, of all aspects of Greek religion, myth has perhaps drawn the greatest attention and the largest number of different approaches, I start with a short historical survey of these approaches and a brief discussion of recent definitions (§1). I then analyse origins and uses of myth (§2), study the relations between myth and ritual (§3), and conclude by looking at some changes in the popularity of myths, as reflected by the visual arts, and the nature of myth itself (§4).

In the West, recent years have witnessed a big increase in accepting sexual fluidity, as manifested in the growing visibility of the LGBT community. It was different in antiquity, where a binary culture of masculinity and femininity prevailed, although reality will have been more diverse. Ancient historians and literary scholars have worked on concepts of masculinity in antiquity, but more recent studies of Greek religion have mainly analysed positions and representations of women, in so far as they have focused on gender differences at all. I will therefore first look at some elements of the female life cycle and daily life (§1), then consider representations of women in art and myth, and goddesses as possible role models (§2), and conclude with a discussion of the most important women's festivals (§3). At all times, we should keep in mind, however, that the real life of women probably differed significantly from male ideologies of their worth and proper place. This means that, although I focus on female gendered roles, male gendered roles will play a role too, even if more indirectly than directly in this chapter.

Although we have already noticed various changes in the period under survey, we have still been insufficiently able to escape a certain static view (Chapter I, §1). In this last chapter, therefore, I will concentrate on changes in Greek religion. I first discuss the Eleusinian Mysteries (§1), which became increasingly important in the fifth century, then Orphic ideas and Bacchic Mysteries (§2), which both emerged around 500 bc, and conclude with a sketch of the structural transformations during the transition to the Hellenistic period (§3).

When groups of Indo-European raiders invaded Greece at the beginning of the second millennium bc, they did not arrive without religious baggage. On the contrary, it is surprising how much of later classical belief and practice goes back to this early heritage. Linguists have concluded that the early Indo-Europeans worshipped a divine family consisting of a Sky Father (*Dyeus pater), his wife the Earth Goddess (*Pltwi mater), a Daughter of the Sky (*Diwos dhugeter), and twin Sons of the Sky (*Diwos sûnû) – all figures in the Greek pantheon. The Sky Father became Zeus, still the most prominent god, but the name of his one-time wife only survived in a small town, Boeotian Plataea. In ancient India, the Daughter of the Sky was Dawn, Usas, whose name survived as Eos, but she was no longer a ‘daughter of Zeus’; that title was now used for other goddesses, such as Athena, Artemis, and, especially, Aphrodite. Finally, the twin Sons survived as the Dioskouroi, whose name reflects the fact that they had become role models for the military age-set of youths beyond adolescence in pre-Homeric times, the kouroi. In some cases, then, we note continuity in structure not name, in others continuity in name not structure, but it is important to note that in all these cases continuity does not mean lack of change: tradition always has to be appropriated.