Hundreds and thousands of years ago, people used to worship deities and Gods that have faded almost entirely from the consciousness of today’s humanity. In fact, if we look back at those periods, we will be able to see Gods of fertility, rain, underworld or storms, holding deep-rooted influence over the everyday lives of the masses. However, it should be noted that, even though these beliefs have left us forever the traces of their traditions and mythological stories still hover around us. In this article, we will explore 4 of the religions that were highly influential in the past but have become extinct today.
1. Hellenic Religion or Ancient Greek Religion
This religion thrived during the Hellenistic period i.e., 300 BCE to 300 CE in ancient Greece. Twelve Olympian Gods, including Zeus, Appollo, Athena and so forth, were mainly worshipped according to the faith. It was believed that these Gods used to reside atop Mt. Olympus. Animal sacrifices and prayers that included hymns and offerings were carried out to attain the divine favour of the deities. The religion declined during the widespread Christianisation of the Roman Empire.
2. Sumerian Polytheism
This was an ancient Mesopotamian religion which pointed out that Gods were living forces who controlled the states. The most worshipped deities of this religion include An- the sky God, Enlil- the wind God, Inanna- the God of love and war, among many others. Sumerians at that time i.e., around the time period of 4500 BCE, believed that earth had a disc-like shape and it was floating on a sea or Nammu. Indeed, each city had a supreme deity and priests used to carry out rites and rituals at temples known as ziggurat.
3. Mithraism
Also known as the Cult of Mithras, it was a Roman religion where deity Mithras was worshipped as the God of justice and war. It flourished from 1st-4th century CE. Soldiers and social elites were the ones who were involved in this religion. They used to organise secret rituals in underground temples called mithraea. All the cult members were male. They will meet in mysterious, cave-like temples and engage in rites that involved communal meals and unrecorded secret initiations. Taructony was the central image representing this religion where we will be able to see Mithras slaying a bull.
4. Elamite Religion
This ancient religion flourished throughout the regions of modern-day Iran. It had over 200 deities and they were worshipped for fertility, protection, divine grace etc. Kings at that time built huge temples such as Chogha Zanbil to appease the deities. Some of the major deities include Napirisha who is related to earth and sky, Inshushinak who was considered as the judge of the dead, Kiririsha who was believed to be the Mother of the Gods.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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Are there 4200 religions in the world?
Yes, around 4,200 is a frequently cited estimate for the number of distinct religions in the world.
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Which religions are dying?
Christianity is experiencing decline in the Western world due to secularisation and disaffiliation. Buddhism is also projected to decline by 7% by 2060, largely due to low fertility rates in Asia.
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Which country has 90% Hindu population?
Nepal has the highest percentage of Hindus in the world. 80.6%–81% of the country's population practices Hinduism.
