The Persian wars came to strengthen the spirit of the Olympic religion, of the religion of the polis. In the hour of danger, the religious life of the state became more intense, as the state was threatened. The gods protected men as in the time of the Trojan war; and with men they too won: the polyiad divinities, which were also the Homeric ones, won. All the ancient tradition was…
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Historical development The set of various languages indicated by the name of the Greek language (fig. 3) belongs to the Indo-European language family. The first direct documentation is epigraphic (linear B; ➔ linear) and dates back to the 16th and 15th centuries. BC The first literary documentation is found in the most ancient parts (perhaps 8th century) of the Iliad and the Odyssey ; but it is not a direct documentation, since we know the…
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