Ancient Greek religion went away primarily because its institutions were outlawed by Christian Rome. This is not to say that there were no willing conversions in early Greek Christianity. Every religion can find willing converts, and it would therefore be dishonest to presume that Christianity did not obtain them also. But there are two things to consider. One, we have no census or record of the number of willing converts in the early Days, only estimates that can vary depending on source. And second, we have to consider what "willing" actually meant at times.
There are three factors to consider in the Greek conversions. One, early Christianity absorbed an extensive amount of ancient Greek philosophy. They realized the strong truths and values in Hellenism, and they adopted parts of it to give Christianity backing with the Greeks. Literally, Christians adopted Greek Polytheistic philosophy in order to appeal to the people they were talking to. Even though the philosophy was not monotheistic or Christian, because people like Socrates and Plato believed in the Greek Gods. It was, in fact, very Greek Polytheistic. But the Christians used the basis of the ideas themselves and placed their own religion upon it. They tried to make it look, in other words, like Christianity was Greek, even though it wasn't. Christianity is Jewish, whose theology is fundamentally different and polar opposites from the Greek.
They would also take religious customs and simply replace them with a mirror image of their own, as far as such an image could be achieved. For example, replacing Gods with saints. A good example is the Temple of Poseidon in Didyma, Argolis where a cathedral of St. Nicholas was built on top of it, a saint who Christians call "lord of the sea" and "protector of sailors," just as Poseidon was/is. Another good example is Zeus and the Sun God Helios and the Prophet Elijah, whose Greek name is spelled Ilias, sounding like Helios. The prophet was said to have rose to heaven in a chariot of fire, and to this Day, mountaintop churches in Greece that were formally dedicated to Zeus and Helios, have been replaced with chapels of Elijah. Additionally, Helios drives the Chariot of the Sun, aka a Fire Chariot.
The early Christians knew that if they were completely foreign to the Greeks, they would lose. They knew they had to become Greek enough, and thus you have the Greek Orthodox Church, which is different from Roman Christianity.
Second, early Christians in Greece were also known to wage physical war against sacred worship places and temples. In short, they destroyed them and ousted the Hellenes therein. In 375 AD, the famous Temple of Asklepios in Epidaurus, known for its Healing Festival, was ultimately shutdown by Christians. In 391 AD, Theodosius the First ordered the closing of Greek temples. He also outlawed the Olympic Games and the Greek religion in general. Some temples may have also been abandoned or left to decay, either because those who oversaw them decided to leave (perhaps because of the loss of too much support pushed by persecution), or because the State would no longer provide funding for their upkeep. There is also a legendary monastic claim that, in 324 AD, Emperor Constantine sent a force of eviction to Mount Athos, removing all Hellenists from the mountain and destroying any temples there. Today, Christian monasteries stand on it. While this is a Christian legend and not verified as historical fact, it shows a vision that early Christians had no problem entertaining, which was to physically destroy their religious competition if necessary.
During the reign of Emperor Justinian, an order was given by him to burn ancient Greek books and pictures, and destroy Greek statues. Other Pagan and Polytheistic writings also fell victim to this, and because of it, we have lost untold sums of ancient history. Finally, ancient sites had their treasuries and other valuables plundered by the church and its officials for financial and building support, such as was done to the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus. Statues that remained would often be vandalized, with crosses carved into their faces, and their hands, feet and genitals broken off.
In 359 AD, Greek Polytheists and others also found themselves victims of the infamous Skythopolis Trials and the Skythopolis Death Camps. In Book 19, Chapter 12 of the work by Ammianus Marcellinus, we are given horrific descriptions of what happened to those who were deemed treasonous or sacrilegious by the Christian Emperor Constantius II of Rome. The charges levied against the accused were magic, superstition, and consulting oracles, and sometimes other charges would be added such as being a poisoner. He also adds that once someone was brought up on charges before these Trials, it was highly unlikely that they would be found not guilty, as there was extreme bias in the court. This leads us to believe that it was largely a kangaroo court, designed for the purpose of exterminating unwilling converts. Refusal to accept Christianity in the face of the Christian State resulted in either death, torture, loss of property, or exile.
"men were brought in from almost the whole world, noble and obscure alike; and some of them were bowed down with the weight of chains, others wasted away from the agony of imprisonment. As the theatre of torture and death Skythopolis was chosen, a city of Palestine which for two reasons seemed more suitable than any other: because it is more secluded, and because it is midway between Antioch and Alexandria, from which cities the greater number were brought to meet charges.
some died from the mangling of their bodies, others were condemned to further punishment and had their goods seized, while Paulus was the prompter of these scenes of cruelty, supplying as if from a storehouse many kinds of deception and cruelty; and on his nod (I might also say), depended the life of all who walk the earth.
Paulus aka Paulus Catena or Paul the Chain, was a Christian imperial investigator.
For if anyone wore on his neck an amulet against the quartan ague or any other complaint, or was accused by the testimony of the evil-disposed of passing by a grave in the evening, on the ground that he was a dealer in poisons, or a gatherer of the horrors of tombs and the vain illusions of the ghosts that walk there, he was condemned to capital punishment and so perished. In fact, the matter was handled exactly as if many men had importuned Claros, the oaks of Dodona, and the once famous oracles of Delphi with regard to the death of the emperor.
Claros refers to the Oracle of Apollo at Claros. Dodona refers to the Oracle of Zeus at Dodona.
the Cornelian Laws exempted no one of whatever estate from examination by torture, even with the shedding of blood."
- Marcellinus, Ammianus, Book XIX, Chapter 12.
Unfortunately, we have no record as to how many people met their end at these Trials, or how many probably also died during transport to the court, and people dying while imprisoned is usually caused by things like starvation, disease, and/or torture. But if it was influential enough to warrant historical recording, we might presume that the numbers were also high. Interestingly, the Cornelian Laws were first instituted by ancient Rome, and then used by the Christian authority that took over. But the Cornelian Laws, in their originality, were not designed to target Christians, as they were written around 80 years before Jesus. In short, Christianity did not exist when they were written, nor did being a Roman Polytheist exempt someone from them.
In the early period, some Greeks who converted did so out of a sense of community, and third, by the late period, Greeks converted as a matter of social status and survival. Those who refused throughout this time saw nothing less than the cultural genocide of their people, and even danger to their own physical lives.
Before as late as 2006, Hellenists in Greece could not openly exist. By 2006, it was not illegal to believe in the Greek Gods, but publicly practicing it could get you arrested and/or fined. Only in very recent history have Greeks won the right to openly worship the Greek Gods again, ending a centuries old ban. In May of 2006, thanks to the efforts of the Supreme Council of Ethnic Hellenes, an Athens court ruled the religion again legally recognized and free. But still, that's not to say that persecution has completely gone away, as Hellenists in Greece today sometimes face violence and vandalism against them and their sacred worship areas.
The bottom line is simply that Hellenism was forced out of Greece by and large, not peacefully replaced. It is widely argued that if Hellenism had been allowed to freely exist, it would today be a very strong competitor with Christianity.
The Christianization of Greece did not occur as a sudden massive spiritual awakening to a brand new way of life, as some may have you believe. It was done over a long period of time through systematic destruction, ambitional pursuits, a need for survival, oppressive laws, and outright deadly persecution. Is this to say that the Christians never achieved any real conversions? No, it's to show that they knew they had to apply adaptation and force in order to actually remove the competition that Hellenism strongly provided. In short, new ideal and peaceful conversion was not doing the job that was needed to significantly take over.
To presume that a country and a people who had spent centuries upon centuries being Hellenic because that's what they truly believed and trusted in, would suddenly give it all up simply because someone from another culture came and said they should, is just not logical.
"People did continue to pray to these gods. Greek religion was practiced for 800 years after Xenophanes, and disappeared at the end of the ancient world under massive state pressure. Quite clearly, that criticism had touched only the surface, not the roots."
- Burkert, Walter, Greek Religion, p. 246.
Christianity did not come to power automatically. It took around 300 years. So how did early Christianity gain enough Roman power to threaten the Polytheism of the known world? The answer may lie in Walter Burkert's words above. Christianity may have appealed to governments because of its ability to control populations and institutions. For whatever reason, once the early Christians had secured the government, they were able to use that power to inflict indefinite damage. The Christians knew the government was where their victory lied, because, as Burkert says, they were not touching the roots, aka the common people.
Is this research being used by me to produce hatred, intolerance or shame toward Christians or their churches in our time today? Absolutely not. I do think they should return to the Hellenes the sacred lands and areas that rightfully belong to them, but people alive today had nothing to do with the actions of ancestors or founders who lived around 1,675 years ago. It's to show that, despite some modern claims or presumptions, Greece was not peacefully converted to Christianity, or changed its ideals 100%; nor was it a massive one time swoop in changing. I want the people of Greece today to realize that their ancestors and their bloodline history and theology is worthy of respect and veneration. Their ancestors loved the Gods, and many of them paid ultimate prices for their refusal to abandon them.
In the Goodness of the Gods,
I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,
Chris Aldridge.
Sources
* Picture: By Greece_location_map.svg: Lencer / derivative work: Uwe Dedering (talk) - Greece_location_map.svg, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link, black cross was added.
* "The Influence of Greek Philosophy on Christian Thought: Foundations of Christian Philosophy," Fabrizio Musacchio, January 5, 2025, Link.
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* Howells, Caleb, "Five Ancient Greek Temples Turned Into Churches," Greek Reporter, November 26th 2025, Link.
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* Butera C, Aurora, The Legal Privileges and Punishments of the Roman Empire's Catholic Revolution, Union College, 2016, Link.
* "Hellenic Reconstructionism," Religion Facts, March 17th, 2015, Link.
* Welles, Elyse, "Vandalism at Sacred Site: Hellenic Polytheist Altar Destroyed on Athens Hill," The Wild Hunt, May 27, 2025, Link.
* Burkert, Walter, Greek Religion, Malden, Massachusetts, Blackwell Publishing, 1985.
* Ellerbe, Hellen, The Dark Side of Christian History, Orlando, Florida, Morningstar & Lark, 1995.