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Wellsprings
theology

Atheism & Impiety

ἀθεότης / ἀσέβεια

Denying or insulting the gods was a legal danger in the Greek city, where 'impiety' could be a capital charge — as Socrates discovered in 399 BCE.

Ἀθεότης referred to disbelief in the gods or denial of divine existence, while ἀσέβεια meant impiety—failure to honor the gods through proper worship and speech. Socrates was famously accused of both charges in 399 BCE, though he defended himself by claiming he actually believed in divine signs and the Athenian gods. The distinction mattered: one could technically believe in gods yet still commit impiety through irreverent actions or teachings that corrupted others' piety.

Ancient thinkers treated atheism not as a reasonable philosophical position but as a dangerous disease of the soul. Those who denied the gods' existence were seen as inevitably sliding into moral indifference, since without divine oversight and blessing, nothing seemed truly valuable or worthy of respect. The charge was serious enough that it destroyed Socrates' life, showing how deeply Athenian society feared that disbelief in divine reality would unravel social order and human virtue itself.

Where this idea shows up

64 Greek sources

Where to read it