How did the ancient Greeks and other civilizations worship their Gods?

The worship of gods in ancient Greece and in other civilizations was done in a number of different ways. The lay-Greeks tended to worship gods in their homes, namely by building small shrines to the gods they chose to worship. The more affluent Greeks worshiped Greek deities in temples. The Romans had a similar structure of worship in respects to the higher classes; the ruling classes had more sophisticated options concerning the worship of gods as well, namely temple worship. The middle-class Romans built household shrines called Larariums, which were shrines that honored the “Lares” (spirits) that dwelt in and protected the home.

The worship of gods in ancient civilizations was not like the worship of gods in the present day. Today’s societies offer churches that allow anyone who wants to worship a god the opportunity to do so. The worship of gods in ancient cultures was more of a privilege than a right. There were no state constitutions allowing for the freedom of religion or anything of the sort. In ancient civilizations, there were priests of various cult religions that provided the general populace a religious foundation for worship via written documents and oral traditions. This is true in regards to the examples of Baal, Molech, and Astarte in the Levant, Zeus, Apollo, and Athena in the Mediterranean, Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury in Rome, etc… The act of worship in ancient civilizations was often festive and celebratory in nature. In ancient Palestine for example, there were various instances where a statue of a god was erected in a particular place, and during various feasts and ordinances, the people would worship the god in the way of song, dance, prayers, chanting, and sacrifices. The worship of gods in ancient civilizations was not necessarily a continual “lifestyle” like it is in today’s religions; it was more of an activity, a system of mysticism, and a system of reverence to the state that people participated in ever so often.