Were the Romans/ Greeks tolerant of other religions?

by gt57
SmallJon

It would often depend on the religion and it's practices. They could occasionally see some of their gods in another religion, and co-opt them in a way; Egyptian religion was the big one, with most of their gods being compared or equated with others. The Greeks and the Romans did it between themselves; many Roman gods are based off of Greek counterparts, but others were merged or downplayed to further the connections. Polytheistic religions are often pretty good at interacting with fellow polytheistic religions.

Monotheistic/Duotheistic religions often had a harder time, as it mean denying the gods of the Romans and Jews. Herodotus had rather poor things to say about Persia's Zoroastrianism, and both the Jews and Christians were known to have hard times with the Romans.

OldWorldGlory

You might interested in some previous threads on Roman interaction with foreign, non-Abrahamic religions some of which are from the FAQ section on "Religion in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome" as well as some threads on Roman reactions to early Christianity:

Ancient Rome and non-Abrahamic Religions

Romans and Christianity