The Greeks did their ceremonies outdoors. They had temples many of which remain impressive landmarks, but these did not function like churches in present day religions. They were places for housing the images of the god and sometimes for other purposes for the priests, but the public rarely if ever went into the temples. The public went to sacred places that might be adjacent to temples or might contain temples within their domain or might simply be in special places in nature In the sacred area there would be an altar to the sky gods or a pit to the earth gods. Ceremonies would be conducted by making prayers and declarations to the gods accompanied by offerings and libations. The religion was thus performed in the full presence of the sky and the earth and this presence of the elements was important and imparted a sense of the divine ambiance within which life was lived. Everywhere he went the ancient Greek was in the presence of divinity, but especially in these sacred precincts and groves.
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