Greek religion came packaged together with an expansive mythology and a repertoire of rituals, such as animal sacrifice and divination. We know these myths and rituals from the surviving written sources. But what can we tell about the beliefs of regular people living in ancient Greece?

For example, were there any religious skeptics? Were there atheists? Were there alternative religions? Also, how did the ancient Greek religion eventually meet its demise? And why is it that even today the Olympian gods still pop up in our movies and our pop culture?

We explore all these topics and more in conversation with Barbara Graziosi, professor of classics at Princeton University and author of the book The Gods of Olympus. Stay tuned at the end of the episode to learn how you can win an autographed hardcover edition of The Gods of Olympus.

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The intro to this episode was provided by Elizabeth from the Footnoting History podcast. On Footnoting History, Elizabeth and a team of academic historians share their favorite stories from across history. With 200 episodes to date, you can pretty much find any historical topic you're interested in. Check them out on your podcast app or at www.footnotinghistory.com.

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