Ancient Churches Lexicon Entry:
Greece and Rome
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The Lord’s Church had existed in Canaan since most ancient times. From there the things of religion, including the knowledge of correspondences, spread to the surrounding nations. This spread continued from the maritime parts of Asia into Greece, and from Greece into Italy (AC 8944, SS 117). For example, the Greek and Roman worship of fire as holy was derived from the representative worship of the ancient churches in Asia (AE 504). However, in Greece, because the Ancient Word was written in representatives, the things of religion were turned into myths, as can be seen from the stories about Olympus, Helicon, Pindus, Pegasus, and the stories collected by Ovid in his Metamorphoses (SS 117, Verbo 7). Because of the spread of religion from Asia, the most ancient inhabitants of Greece knew many of the correspondences between things in heaven and things in the world. In fact, the most ancient Greeks described things by using significatives. But since, at the present day, these meanings are unknown, they are called myths (AC 7729). This was the usual method of writing in ancient times, not only among those who belonged to the church, but also among those outside the church, such as the Greeks (AC 9942).
Also in Greece, the various attributes of God were turned into as many deities (Verbo 15). It was customary among the people of the Ancient Church to add something to the name of Jehovah in order to call to mind some attribute of His. This custom spread to the gentiles, especially in Greece and Rome. Here they came to worship many gods, believing that each different name was the name of an entirely different god (AC 2724).
See also:
Land of Canaan, Correspondences,
Gentiles, Myths, Names of the Lord,
Polytheism, Representatives, Significatives,
Worship, Writing
Passages relating to Greece and Rome and the Ancient Churches:
AC 2724; AC 2762; AC 7729; AC 8944; AC 9011; AC 9942; AC 10177; AE 405;
AE 504; AE 955; CL 73; DLW 11; HD 261; SE 4775; SE 6057; SS 21; SS 117;
TCR 17; TCR 202; TCR 275; Verbo 7; Verbo 15; WH 4; WH 12; WHapp 1
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