Hey, don't be afraid of things that challenge your faith. Seriously, don't.
Either they'll give you a new perspective on things, or you'll become more secure and confident in your current beliefs. But avoiding the hard questions leaves you in an echo chamber with half-baked ideas and an insecurity in yourself. Step out of your comfort zone so you have room to grow.
In some psychological & artistic disciplines, Apollonian & Dionysian are words used to describe opposite impulses- artistic, controlled, skillful, vs hedonistic, emotional & wild.
However, anyone who knows the details of Apollo & Dionysus’ history knows they are very intertwined. They share a reputation of youth & beauty, & Dionysus was said to take domain over Delphi, Apollo’s most holy site, during the winter months. Art & music are key elements of Dionysus’ worship, representing pleasure & luxury. They’re not even two sides of the same coin, they’re puzzle pieces fitting together side by side.
at the core of my paganism is sun and moon worship. helios and apollo, selene and artemis, take the names away and i worship the natural balance of the world. of COURSE im in love with the intricacies of each individual deity. i revere the deep differing history, take care to worship them separately, and know this is a gross oversimplification.
but at my bones? i am singing to the sun and moon. i am dancing to them, praying to them, and they are cheering me on. take away my prayers and hymns and history and i can still turn my face up to them and love them and be loved back. i love my deities!
" And now, O Muse Calliope, daughter of Zeus, begin to sing of glowing Helios whom mild-eyed Euryphaessa, the far- shining one, bare to the Son of Earth and starry Heaven. For Hyperion wedded glorious Euryphaessa, his own sister, who bare him lovely children, rosy-armed Eos and rich-tressed Selene and tireless Helios who is like the deathless gods. As he rides in his chariot, he shines upon men and deathless gods, and piercingly he gazes with his eyes from his golden helmet. Bright rays beam dazzlingly from him, and his bright locks streaming form the temples of his head gracefully enclose his far-seen face: a rich, fine-spun garment glows upon his body and flutters in the wind: and stallions carry him. Then, when he has stayed his golden-yoked chariot and horses, he rests there upon the highest point of heaven, until he marvellously drives them down again through heaven to Ocean. Hail to you, lord! Freely bestow on me substance that cheers the heart. And now that I have begun with you, I will celebrate the race of mortal men half-divine whose deeds the Muses have showed to mankind."
After my recent post, I figured I will do some post about some deities I worship. I will follow the division I have made in this post, so now it's time for Titans and Titanesses I worship (even in a slightly/casual way).
Hekate
Hekate is a goddess of so many things, but I mainly worship Her as a goddess of Crossroads and keeper of the gates, goddess of the dead and the Underworld. I worship Her since the beginning of my practice. She helped me transition from a practice heavily impacted by Wicca to my hellenic polytheist practice. Now, i'm devoted to Her which doesn't really mean anything big, it's just that She is one of the main deities I worship daily. She guides me through multiple aspect of my life, I give Her my regret and grief so they can go to Erebos and I feel free to walk from them. I also have a UPG about Her being silence and I see Her as a mentor and a strict parental figure.
If you want to include Her into your worship, you can :
Do a meal in Her honor during the New Moon
Visit a cemetery (be respectful)
Learn about ancestors veneration
Pray to crossroads
Asteria
Goddess of falling stars and nighttime divination, I mainly worship Her as Hekate's mother, which makes me consider Her as a "grandmother", my worship of Her is mainly to show respect to Her. For Her, I just do star gazing.
Helios
God of the Sun, He feels like a "grandfather" for me. I try to do a ritual for Him (with Apollon Phoibos) each sunday, because I had to learn to love the Sun. For me, saturday is the last day of my week during which I do the rituals to cleanse my life of dead-end projects and all, and sunday is the first day of the week during which I spend time with Him and make my plan and wishes for the week.
If you want to include HIm into your worship, you can :
Take a sunbath (make sure to wear sunscreen though)
Contemplate nature
Make wishes and intentions for the day ahead
Drink water
Selene
Goddess of the Moon. I've started worship Her along with Nyx before I knew I was a worshiper. She was my inspiration for creativity, especially for writing. This is a UPG born with the fact that I've started worship Her because of my insomnia. Writing was something I did for the Moon. I dedicate my monday to Her and Artemis.
If you want to include Her into your worship, you can :
Celebrate Full Moon
Journaling about your feelings
Do divination
Learn how to regulate your emotions
Styx
She is an Okeanide and the goddess (daimon) of hatred. She is also a path and a gate between the living and the dead. The first time I worship Her was for inaugurate my notebook/grimoire for deities and worship.
If you want to include Her into your worship, you can :
Walk by rivers
Make (small) promises and keep them
Learn how to manage your anger
Learn how to fight injustice and hateful speech/discourse/idea
This masterpost will cover very basic information with links to further posts or resources (otherwise it’s super long) and may be updated in the future. Basic bibliography at the end. I welcome you to share your UPG and resources in the comments - I won’t differentiate between mine and others’ UPG.
UPG = Unverified Personal Gnosis, SPG = Shared Personal Gnosis, H = Historically Inspired association
Last updates: 5 Feb 2025, added my ko-fi / 4 March 2025, added a link to Additional Info Posts - Athena & Minerva / 23 March, minor appearance edits
Love this post? Consider thanking me with a small donation to my ko-fi!
🦉Overview🦉
Athena is the Hellenic goddess associated most commonly with wisdom, war, weaving, and in modern times, education and knowledge. She was a goddess who occupied both masculine and feminine roles in a highly patriarchal society, standing outside the societal binary. She is a fascinatingly variable and nuanced deity who has adapted and persisted in the mind of western society until this day. This masterpost is in dedication to her.
“Through our investigation of [Athena’s] role within the pantheon, she has emerged as a power of technology and creativity who promotes creativity and order, but with another side to her power, that of the storm bringer and warmonger.”
-Susan Deacy
🦉Domains🦉
Metis (Cunning, Practical Wisdom)
Skills
Crafts
Invention
War
Civilization & Civic Institutions
Hero Mentorship
Education and Knowledge [Modern SPG]
IT and Engineering [UPG]
🐍Find out More!🐍
🦉Symbols, Colors & Tarot Cards🦉
Traditional:
Owls (Specifically the Little Owl, Athene noctua)
Snakes
Horses
Olive trees
The Aegis (Fringed goat skin sometimes depicted as a shield)
The Gorgoneion (Protective symbol depicting a gorgon head)
Spindle
Spear
Helmet (Particularly with gryphons and/or sphinxes on it).
Crows (In Messenia and Boeotia, though elsewhere she was not fond of them)
Gulls
Other symbols: Spiders [Roman & SPG], Books and Scrolls [SPG], Pens or Quills [UPG], Pallas symbol [SPG], Snow Leopards [UPG], Bees [UPG]
Colors: Saffron/Yellow/Orange/Gold [H], Murex Purple [H], Hyacinth Blue [H], Red [H?], Bronze [H], Green [UPG]
🐍Find out More!🐍
Tarot Cards (All UPG/SPG of course): The Emperor, The Hierophant, The Chariot, Strength, Justice, The World, Knight of Pentacles, Queen & King of Swords, Queen & King of Wands
🦉Name & Epithets🦉
Athena has some variations in name. The Attic form was “Athenaia”, which was contracted to “Athena,” the Ionian form was “Athenaie,” the Doric form “Athana,” in Aeolic, “Athanaa,” and in epic she was “Athenaie,” shortened to “Athene.”
A few common epithets:
Areia - Warlike
Ergane - The Worker
Glaukôpis - Bright/owl-eyed.
Pallas - Refers either to the myth of Athena’s childhood friend Pallas, or of the giant named Pallas whom she slayed.
Parthenos - Maiden
Polias - Of the City
Polymetis - Cunning in many ways
🐍Find out More!🐍
🦉Offerings and Devotional Acts🦉
This section was super long! Only including a few here but check out the link!
Athena’s main festivals were the Panathenaia, Khalkeia, Kallynteria and Plynteria. It is up to individuals to decide if and how to include these celebrations in their practice.
Panathenaia: The biggest festival for Athena taking place annually, but with a bigger version every fourth year. Mainly a festival with athletic, poetry and musical competitions.
Kallynteria and Plynteria: Sacred days centered around cleaning.
Arrephoria: A mysterious festival that took place at night and is theorized to have been a fertility rite.
Khalkeia: The festival of artisans, which celebrated Athena and Hephaestus.
🐍Find out More!🐍
🦉Family & Connections🦉
Parents: Athena’s father was Zeus (Except in Libya, where she was known as Poseidon’s daughter) and her mother was the personification of wisdom, Metis. In some sources she was raised by Triton alongside his daughter, Pallas.
Children: Athena had no children as a virgin goddess but she did adopt and raise Erichthonius, who later became king of Athens.
Retinue: Athena was often associated closely with Nike (Victory), an example being the famed statue Athena Parthenos, which held Nike in its hand. The aegis which Athena wore also contained the personifications Phobos (Fear), Eris (Strife), Alke (Strength) and Ikoe (Panic) as noted in the Iliad.
Companions: Pallas is perhaps the most famous of Athene’s companions, as the two girls grew up together until Athena accidentally killed Pallas and afterwards took on her name as an epithet. However, in the Homeric Hymn 2 to Demeter it is shown that Athena, Artemis and Persephone spent time together and were playing and collecting flowers before Persephone was abducted. The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus claims they were also raised together.
Heroes: Athena was a mentor of Heroes and had a hand in assisting heroes such as Herakles, Odysseus and Diomedes, but also Achilles, Bellerophon, Perseus, Theseus, Kadmos and Tydeus.
🐍More of my Info Posts!🐍
Athena and Childbirth
Athena Hippia / Khalinitis
On The Nature of Metis - Excerpts from “Cunning Intelligence in Greek Culture and Society”
On the comparison of Athena and Ares
Athena and Herakles: Excerpt from Susan Deacy’s book
Myth of Athena's Birth
Comparing Athena and Minerva
🐍Extra Links🐍
Prayers, Hymns and Poems
Homeric Hymn to Athena 11 [Tumblr - Mine]
Homeric Hymn to Athena 28 [Tumblr - Mine]
Poem for Athena [Tumblr - Mine]
Adaptation of the Orphic Hymn [Tumblr - wisdomweaver]
Ode to Athena: A Birth of Wisdom [Tumblr - panjackdaw]
Prayer to Athena [Tumblr - rue-with-the-tarot]
Hymn to Athena [Tumblr - entricacies]
Praise to Athena [Tumblr - piristephes]
Prayer for Clarity and Sound Intuition [Tumblr - crimsonsongbird]
Prayer for Athena [Tumblr - hisfleur]
Prayer for Athena [Tumblr - evilios]
Prayer to Athena [Tumblr - ranger5000]
Chin Up - A Message From Athena [Tumblr - crimsonsongbird]
Assortment of Prayers [Website - greekpagan.com]
Battle Armor Poem [Tumblr - crimsonsongbird]
A Prayer to the Wise Short Poem [Tumblr - crimsonsongbird]
Learning Short Poem [Tumblr - Mine]
Additional Links
Theoi.com [Website]
Iliad - Athena dons the Aegis [Tumblr - Mine]
Reconstruction of Athena Parthenos statue’s colors [Youtube - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]
Bathing of Athena in Argos [Tumblr - verdantlyviolet]
Subtle Athena Worship [Tumblr - khaire-traveler]
A response to the “Athena is a victim blamer and hates women” crowd [Tumblr - rightwheretheyleftme]
khaire-traveler on their snow leopard UPG [Tumblr]
Parthenon 3D Reconstruction [Youtube - Ancient Athens 3D]
Parthenon in AC: Odyssey [Youtube - Invicta]
🦉Bibliography🦉
Barber, E.J.W. - The peplos of Athena
Burkert, Walter - Greek Religion
Deacy, Susan - Athena
Deacy, Susan & Villing, Alexandra - Athena in the Classical World
Deacy, Susan & Villing, Alexandra - What was the colour of Athena's Aegis?
Detienne, Marcel & Vernant, Jean-Pierre - Cunning Intelligence in Greek Culture and Society
Drees, Ludwig - Olympia
Larson, Jennifer - Ancient Greek Cults
Mansfield, John Magruder - The Robe Of Athena And The Panathenaic "Peplos"
Ares, exceeding in strength, chariot-rider, golden-helmed,
doughty in heart, shield-bearer, saviour of cities, harnessed in bronze,
strong of arm, unwearying, mighty with the spear, O defence of Olympus,
father of warlike Victory, ally of Themis,
stern governor of the rebellious, leader of righteous men,
sceptred King of manliness, who whirl your fiery sphere
among the planets in their sevenfold courses through the aether
wherein your blazing steeds ever bear you above the third firmament of heaven;
hear me, helper of men, giver of dauntless youth!
Shed down a kindly ray from above upon my life,
and strength of war, that I may be able to drive away
bitter cowardice from my head
and crush down the deceitful impulses of my soul.
Restrain also the keen fury of my heart which provokes me
to tread the ways of blood-curdling strife. Rather, O blessed one,
give you me boldness to abide within the harmless laws of peace,
avoiding strife and hatred and the violent fiends of death.
This is in response to people that have been implying that Ares cannot/should not be worshipped because he is an embodiment of war (and the military industrial complex is bad). This was incredibly easy to find on Google, and it was the first result that came up. It is historical fact that he was prayed to for so much more than just bloodshed. If you think that Ares is only war, then I fear you just don't understand the religion that you're practicing.
the fact that zeus is not only a paternal god but also one who has explicitly carried and given birth to his own children... i think it's beautiful & i would love to see more depictions of zeus as the patron and protector of pregnant trans men.
I’m so tired of the demonization of Aphrodite. So often I see people, especially people of non-pagan faiths, claiming that Aphrodite’s defining feature is jealousy and deceitfulness, when that couldn’t be farther from the truth. She is so gentle and kind, only wanting the best for us. She wants us to realize our own beauty, she wants us to see ourselves the way she sees us.
She has made me feel so loved and taken care of, I couldn’t ask for a better goddess of love and war.
Is anyone else amazed by how multi-faceted the goddess is? Goddess of love & beauty, indeed, and there is nothing wrong with primarily focusing on these attributes but I just think her multitude of epithets underline how far-reaching her influence really is. Vegetation goddess, protector of sailors, lifebringer, warrior goddess and so much more. A being so endlessly joyful and alluring, but also as endlessly powerful and awe-striking.
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