Editing Greek Religion (section)

== A Melting Pot of Influences ==
Coming out of the <u>Dark Age</u>, there is mention of a group called the '''Pelasgi''' (Πελασγοί, Pelasgoí) or Pelasgians, whom ancient writers seem to universally recognize as an earlier people that inhabited <u>Greece</u> and surroundings prior to the arrival of the Greek-speaking peoples. Scholars have various theories about them, including the possibility that they were a pre-Indo-European people, and/or that they were involved in the early development of agriculture in the region, and/or the construction of '''cyclopean''' structures, massive stone buildings and fortifications found in various archaeological sites. 

Their presence and their own native beliefs likely had a significant influence on the development of Greek religion. The Greeks favored a pantheon headed by a patriarchal sky god common among Indo-European peoples (Dyaus, Dius, Dias, Tiyes, '''[[Zeus]]'''). The older civilization on <u>Crete</u> (born from the Minoan people who were overrun by mainlanders during the Dark Age) also had a sky god, but the rituals celebrating his birth and death were totally different from those of the newcomers. A fusion of the two sky-deities occurred, and the Cretan god became known by the Indo-European name. 

Major Greek deities were located by poetic tradition on <u>Mount Olympus</u>; once placed there, it was common for local gods to either be subsumed into their identities, or to become consorts to the 'nationalized' deity. It is thought that this was how the gods became '''polygamous''', even though their subjects were strictly monogamous in marriage; Zeus took on many consorts as a way to accommodate local traditions, and perhaps thus his legendary marital strife with '''[[Hera]]''' was born. It is likely a sore point between the two deities that Hera does not seem to be his first consort but was a later addition who got elevated to the status of wife because she too was a major goddess.