I have a minor degree in classics from many years ago, but i used Wikipedia to quickly refresh my memory - which may or may not have been accurate.

Andrew

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Ethanol is a fabulous solution to our energy dilemma because it will provide more fuel for us to drive around and look for food.

-- Unknown

Very true.

No i have not read Spong, or heard of him till now.

I agree though. I think the 4500 years is base only on Abraham, and that is age is only an estimate, and the fact of Abrahams existence in the first place is less than certain. But the Jews do have a continuity that is quite old, surprisingly. Much older than Christianity or Islam.

And yes, a religion changes over time like any other human institution.

Andrew

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Ethanol is a fabulous solution to our energy dilemma because it will provide more fuel for us to drive around and look for food.

-- Unknown

I was always under the impression that any dates, especially concerning the beginings of the Greek (and to a lesser extent Roman) religions, were extremely haphazard and speculative. I could be totally off base though.

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I am a liberal, a classical liberal. Classical liberalism is liberalism, but the current collectivists have captured that designation in the United States. In Europe they are glad enough to call themselves socialists. But no one in America wants to be called socialist and admit what they are.

You are correct. Its based almost entirely on whatever surviving literature and any mention of the gods that we can reliably date. I.e., if we are confident that something that mentions these gods is written in say ~500 BC than we can establish a lower limit. But Donkey is right, it most likely would have a much longer history before it was ever written down.

I would not put too much into the dates. We can probably be more certain about the roman gods than the greek ones though. Like i said, in some form they probably go back thousands of years.

andrew

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Ethanol is a fabulous solution to our energy dilemma because it will provide more fuel for us to drive around and look for food.

-- Unknown

ahh, I see. Thanks for clearing that up.

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I am a liberal, a classical liberal. Classical liberalism is liberalism, but the current collectivists have captured that designation in the United States. In Europe they are glad enough to call themselves socialists. But no one in America wants to be called socialist and admit what they are.

Greetings and Felicitations,

Considering the nature of your question I have a statement to make. You did not ask when the Greek and Roman gods were developed. You asked how long Greek and Roman mythology lasted as an accepted religion. There are plenty of Pagans and Wiccans who still believe in them so they haven't completely died out. In accord with that statement the Greek and Roman gods have a much longer history than Christianity. I would not be certain about Jewish mythology since it has its roots in Zoarastrianism.

Lord Vicari

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