Hellenistic religion

The influence of Hellenistic religions

The archaic gods worshiped during the Hellenistic period possessed a remarkable longevity. The Eleusinian Mysteries, founded in the 15th century bc, ceased in the 4th century ad; Dionysus, whose name first appears on tablets dated to c. 1400 bc, was last celebrated in the beginning of the 6th century ad; the last temple of Isis, whose cult extended back to the 2nd millennium bc in Egypt, was closed in ad 560. Yet even after these ceased as objects of devotion in the post-Constantinian period, they continued to exercise their influence. Hellenistic philosophy (Stoicism, Cynicism, Neo-Aristotelianism, Neo-Pythagoreanism, and Neoplatonism) provided key formulations for Jewish, Christian, and Muslim philosophy, theology, and mysticism through the 18th century. Hellenistic magic, theurgy, astrology, and alchemy remained influential until modern times in both East and West. Theosophy and other forms of the occult, especially since the Renaissance, drew their inspiration from the Hellenistic mystery cults, Hermeticism (Greco-Egyptian astrological, magical, and occultic movement), and Gnosticism. Various Jewish, Christian, and Muslim sectarian groups continued the theologies of many of the Hellenistic religions (especially dualistic modes of thought). Hellenistic sacred art and architecture has remained a basis of Christian ... (200 of 3,806 words)