
Worship, Temples, Sacred Sites in Ancient Greece
Temples: The ancient Greeks worshiped their gods every day, and they believed in a great many gods! They believed each temple they built should honor only one god, no matter how big or elaborate the temple. Some cities built more than one temple to honor the same god. Priests were assisted by attendants. People would bring offerings, usually food, to the temples when they prayed. This food was collected, sometimes stored, and eaten by the priests and the attendants in honor of the gods. In ancient Greece, even women could be priests.
Sacred Sites: Sacred sites were located all over the place. Sites held a simple alter at which the ancient Greeks could pray. Some sacred sites became so popular, for whatever reason, that a temple was built on the site.
Prayer: The Greeks also prayed at home in their courtyards.
Festivals: The Greeks held festivals to honor their gods. Typically, each festival would include a parade to a temple, then a sacrifice - an animal of the same sex as the god being worshiped - and then a feast.
Sporting Events: They held sporting events, like the ancient Greek Olympics, to honor their gods.
Daily Life: In ancient Greece, honoring the gods was part of daily life and part of just about everything they did. It was not unusual to pray at home, stop at a sacred site, and visit a temple, all in the same day.
The Greeks did not believe their gods lived in the temples or at the sacred sites. But they did believe the gods visited these places, and had magical powers that could hear their prayers. The Greeks also believed they could ask for help and advice through an oracle. An oracle was a wise woman with the ability to see the future.
The Trouble With Oracles - a story for kids
The Reluctant Oracle - a story for kids
The Temple Worm - a story for kids
The Festival Arrow - a story for kids
Olympic Team Herc - a story for kids
The Charcoal Burners - a story for kids
QUIZ: Ancient Greek Gods and Goddesses (Interactive with answers)

Explore Ancient Greece
For Kids: Overview
Early Greece: Minoans, Mycenaeans, Dorians
Rise of Greek City-States
- On Land: Greek Warriors
- At Sea: Greek Ships
- Trojan War
- Persian Wars
- The Delian League
- Peloponnesian War
- Alexander the Great
- The League of Corinth
Investigate Real Life Artifacts
For Kids: Art, Culture, Government
For Kids: Greek Mythology
Ancient Greek Myths for Kids, retold by Lin Donn
- Zeus, Hera, and Little Io
- The Competition, Athena and Poseidon
- Theseus, the Minotaur, and the Maze
- Dionysus and Ariadne
- Icarus and Daedalus, Wings
- The 12 Labors of Hercules
- Demeter and Persephone, Reason for the Seasons
- Apollo's Oracle at Delphi
- Perseus, Andromeda, and the sea god, Poseidon
- King Midas and the Donkey Ears
- And Many More
Ancient Greek Gods & Goddesses
For Kids: Ancient Greek Daily Life
NEW: From the Case Files of the Hercules Detective Agency: Join Herc and his friends as they solve daily life problems of the ancient Greeks
- The Misunderstood Minotaur - How Hercules made a best friend
- The Scaredly Fish
- The Tricked Bully
- The Stone Zoo
- The Bad Barber
- The Constant Chatterbox
- The Monster Under the Bridge
- The Festival Arrow
- The Amazing Matchmaker
- And many more, original short stories by Lin and Don Donn - learn about the ancient Greeks the easy way, through the case files of the Hercules Detective Agency!
For Kids: People
For Kids: Interactive Quizzes
Alexander the Great &
Gifts from the Greeks
For Teachers
For Kids and Teachers: Other Ancient Civilizations
See Also: Early Humans for Kids and Teachers