Theology and Religion in Ancient Greece: The Nature of Their Mutual Connection

The article is devoted to the study of the place of theology in ancient Greek culture. The purpose of the article is to understand the essence and nature of ancient Greek theology. The article resolves the contradiction: theology, which by its definition must be a means of protecting and reproducing religious beliefs, was in opposition to traditional religion among the ancient Greek philosophers. Based on the analysis of the research literature on ancient Greek religion, it is stated that theology in ancient Greece was not a systematic means of developing and defending the doctrine of a polis religion, but it was also not a means of substantiating some different religion. There were two interrelated types of theology in ancient Greek thought: mythopoetic theology, which was the polis religion doctrine, and philosopher’s theology, in theoretical constructions of which, as well as in its criticism of anthropomorphism
of mythopoetic narratives, the idea of a single deity is traced. Philosophical theology was a positive critique of religion: philosophers criticized mythopoetic theology for its inability to be an ideological basis for civic virtues, at the same time they
demonstrated naturalness and usefulness of religious ideas. The results of the study of the Greek theology leads to the conclusion that already in antiquity, religious consciousness had the need for rational justifications of the principles of faith, and philosophy interested in understanding religious relations and ideas from the standpoint of their social significance.