Mythological Olympian Religion

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By the 6th century B.C. more or less similar religious beliefs were held in common in all regions inhabited by the Greeks . These beliefs formed the basis of the Olympian religion , so called after Mount Olympus which was believed to be the home of the Gods , headed by Zeus . The Olympian religion was not connected with any organised religious body , dogma or ritual . The temples of the gods , though of definite significance in the religious lives of the people , did not , how ever , form a single system ; likewise , there was no special strata of religious attendants , no high priests . When necessary , persons chosen by the popular assembly carried out various religious functions . By making the gods human , the Olympian religion was able to penetrate deep into the masses and influence the working people . In time the cult of the Olympian gods became the official religion of the Greek polises , sanctifying the class suppression of the slaves and poor labourers . The masses , dissatisfied with their lack of civil rights , often coun tered the official religion by inaugurating cults of their own patron gods . Such , for instance , was the cult of Dionisius , patron of the tiller , in whose honour feasts and celebrations were held . This religious dissention can be considered the prototype of all later religious heresies .

The Development of Speech

Articulate human speech evolved in the processes of labour . Human thought and consciousness have the quality of abstract thinking , i.e. , a generalised reflection of reality in concepts , expressed in words . This capacity for abstract thought made it possible to express an idea , a sum of impressions in words , and with their aid man could inform other human beings of his impressions . However , this ability to communicate his thoughts to another human being through the aid of words was insufficient to stimulate speech . What was lacking was the necessity to communicate one’s thoughts to another . This necessity arose and developed in the process of man’s conscious labour . Labour was always a social activity . The work of a single human being was an integral part of the life of the human community . The unity of a commune of human beings in productive labour resulted in the fact that the individual in his mind , thoughts and actions regarded himself as a member of the commune , as subservient to it . That is why in the process of collective labour people felt the need to com municate with each other , to speak to each other . In the beginning , various shouts and cries used in the process of labour and arising from various actions were the sole means of communication . These cries gradually became established and remembered . This , in turn , brought about a change in the corresponding human organs . Under the in fluence of the pressing need to communicate in the process of common labour , the undeveloped throat was gradually transformed into an organ capable of producing articulate sounds . Thus , as a result of collective labour over a great period of time , articulate speech gradually evolved as a means of exchanging thoughts , as a means of human associa tion . Speech was of tremendous significance in the further development of society , since it helped to unite man’s efforts in labour as well as in organising collective labour ; speech made it possible for man to retain and pass on to coming generations his labour experience . Since the history of primitive society is a history of small , isolated human communities , the language of each such com munity developed independently and was unlike the language of other communities .

Growth of Population and the Development of Society

The existence of society and the production of material values are impossible unless there is a constant propagation of the human race. From this point of view the population , its growth and density are a natural condition of the material life of society , with a definite influence upon its development . Thus , in sparsely populated areas the development of society may be retarded , due to the difficulties in establishing economic ties among the people , while the development of production may lag , because the dissemination of production experience and skills is very slow . Finally, a low density of population can slow down the development of society, because there will simply not be enough people to counteract the forces of nature. Thus, it was impossible to build irrigation systems and use the power of rivers for producing material values for society in sparsely populated areas, since the labor force was insufficient. However, it does not follow that density of population determines the level of development of a given society. There are many countries with more or less equal populations and a similar figure for density of population but which are at different levels of development . There are countries with a lower density of population which in economic and social develop ment are ahead of countries with a higher density of population. Thus , the density of population is lower in the Soviet Union than in several countries of Western Europe , though the U.S.S.R. is farther ahead in its development . The influence of growth and density of population differ at various stages of social development . Under the primitive communal system , when human society was emerging , when man was helpless in the face of nature and production was , to a great extent , dependent upon the simple co – operation
of the producers , when the productive skills and experience of primitive man were still negligible and the exchange of skills and experience played a tremendous role in the devel opment of production , the density and growth of population were comparatively more important to the evolution of society . During successive stages in the history of mankind the density and growth of population became less important to social development and merely created the necessary condi tions for a given rate of growth in the production of material values . In turn , the development of society and the produc tion of material values actively influence the density and growth of population ,