The poetry of Hesiod and Homer was relied on to create order out of the myths and gods . Hesiod created a basic textbook of Greek religion, giving a description of the gods and organizing them by power and deeds. Myths give us an impression of the views of the Greek people. They illustrate how the Greeks loved heroes , fame, and honor. Myths were changed to adapt to different societies and times, causing some myths to have different variations that may contradict each other.
Mythology combined with ritual also provides an insight into Greek religion.
Original religious ideas centered on the growth and fruitfulness of plant , animal , and man in the course of a year. The Greeks worshipped, sacrificed , and performed rituals for the gods of Greek myths. They built shrines for their gods as a place to worship and honor them. Over the centuries certain myths went in and out of popularity. Chronology of such changes can be constructed by knowing what pictures of myths were painted on vases during different time periods.