Why did Greeks believe in gods?
Dr. dig responds: The ancient Greeks believed in gods and goddesses to help them explain the way the world and the universe worked. How did Greek mythology begin and end? Dr. dig responds: The myths of the Greeks didn’t spring from the head of Zeus like Athena. The stories of the gods developed over many hundreds of years, and were influenced by outside cultures that comminicated and traded with the Greeks over time. The origins of the Greek gods may have their roots in the rich traditions of the ancient Near East (ancient Mesopotamia especially) that go back thousands of years. As people from the ancient Near East moved and settled in the regions around the Mediterranean Sea, they brought with them their customs and beliefs. As the ancient Greek settlements grew, the stories of the gods developed a more local color, and eventually a distinctly ‘Greek’ mythology emerged. When the Romans came to power, they translated much of Greek mythology into a mythology of their own. Much of ancien
