In the ancient Greek world, religion was personal, direct, and present in all areas of life. With formal rituals which included animal sacrifices and libations, myths to explain the origins of mankind and give the gods a human face, temples which dominated the urban landscape, city festivals and national sporting and artistic competitions, religion was never far from the mind of an ancient Greek.
Priests and priestesses played a crucial role in ensuring the peace, health, and prosperity of the state by intervening with the powerful—and often capricious—gods on behalf of human beings. The responsibilities of priesthood were taken very seriously, and priests and priestesses were important and highly respected individuals in Greece.
Polytheistic Greek religion encompassed a myriad of gods, each representing a certain facet of the human condition, and even abstract ideas such as justice and wisdom could have their own personification.
Priests did not need to devote themselves exclusively to one god, and Stephanos is a priest of both Apollo and Poseidon.
Poseidon
God of the sea and rivers, creator of storms and floods, and the bringer of earthquakes and destruction, Poseidon was perhaps the most disruptive of all the ancient Greek gods, not only for mortals but also to Zeus’ peaceful reign on Mount Olympus. Despite the above, the trident-bearing god was not always a negative force, and he did have a role as a protector, particularly to mariners, and as the patron of horses and horse breeding.
Apollo
Apollo was a major Greek god who was associated with the bow, music, and divination. The epitome of youth and beauty, source of life and healing, patron of the civilized arts, and as bright and powerful as the sun itself, Apollo was, arguably, the most loved of all the Greek gods. He was particularly worshipped at Delphi and Delos, amongst the most famous of all religious sanctuaries in the Greek world.