The role of religion in international relations

Abstract

The Greeks and Romans were the first to try to document and understand religious phenomena. In the 6th century BC the Greek philosopher Xenophanes observed that different cultures visualised their Gods in different ways. Later in the next century Herodotus, a Greek historian, recorded the wide range of religious practices that he encountered during his travels. He later endeavoured to compare the various religious observances of different cultures, such as sacrifice and worship, with their Greek equivalents. Roman historians Julius Caesar and Cornelius Tacitus also recorded the rites and customs of the peoples they came across during their military campaigns.