This modern system of daily devotions blends material from two sources: Hesiod's sacred month, as described in his Works and Days, and the Orphic Hymns. The ideas in the Orphic Hymns sometimes don't match with more mainstream beliefs of the polis. But using these hymns is worth it because it helps us honor not just the main gods, but also many smaller ones. This way, we can pay our respects to a wide range of gods throughout the whole month.
Other hymns may of course be substituted at the individual's discretion. The numbers given for the hymns correspond to those in Apostolos N. Athanassakis, The Orphic Hymns: Text, Translation and Notes
Thomas Taylor's 1792 translation of the hymns is available online, free and in its entirety, at the Internet Sacred Texts Archive. Here:
The Hymns of Orpheus, Thomas Taylor, translator
Morning and Evening Devotions
Morning
Wash hands and face
Light lamp or candle
Hymn to Hestia (#84)
Light incense
Hymn to Eos (#78)
Hymn to Helios (#8)
Hymn(s) to special god/dess(es) of the day (see chart)
Additional hymns as desired (see chart)
Pour libation
Make personal supplications and thanksgivings
"Orpheus to Mousaios" (pp. 2-5)
Extinguish lamp or candle
Evening
Wash hands and face
Light lamp or candle
Hymn to Hestia (#84)
Light incense
Hymn to Nyx (#3)
Hymn to Selene (#9)
Hymn to the Stars (#7)
Hymn(s) to patron/matron god/desses
Hymn to Sleep (#85)
Hymn to Dream (#86)
Pour libation
Make personal supplications and thanksgivings
Hymn to Zeus (#15)
Extinguish lamp or candle
A shortened version of the devotions may be done by simply lighting a candle, reading "Orpheus to Mousaios," saying any personal prayers, and extinguishing the candle.
Notes on chart:
Days mentioned by Hesiod as sacred to specific deities are marked.
Horkos is the god (or, if you like, personification) of Oath. Days sacred to this deity are considered difficult.
As the lunar calendar months range between 29 and 30 days in the Greek reckoning, it may be necessary in short months to recite all the hymns for both day 29 and day 30 on the day of the dark moon. As the last day of the month is sacred to Hekate, Her hymn should always be included.
About Incense
The Orphic Hymns specify particular types of incense to be offered to each deity. In cases where one is saying multiple hymns with differing instructions, one might either choose a single type or make a blend of all those indicated. Pure frankincense makes a good all-purpose offertory incense.
The incense specifications from the Orphic text are as follows:
As I embraced a more consistent approach to my practices, I couldn't help but notice a glaring gap in accessible resources. It's true that one could attempt to scour the internet for information about Hellenic holidays and events, but who has the time or inclination to sift through exhaustive 10k word Wikipedia articles? All that just to discover that recreating authentic Hellenic rituals and practices is nearly impossible! What a pain, huh?
Picture a scenario: a holiday is on the horizon, and the desire to honor the Gods in a meaningful manner ignites within. But there's a problem – there aren't many good sources of information to help you figure out what to do. It's like a big roadblock that makes things confusing. So, here's the big question: how can we solve this problem and find a way forward?
Fear not, for I am here to give a guiding hand to all baby pagans, inquisitive researchers, and all those intrigued by Hellenic polytheism. Allow me to explain the ways Hellenic polytheists manage to slip their practices into their daily life, and provide you with insights, rituals, and a roadmap to navigate through ancient traditions. On this platform, my goal is to make this special belief system easier to grasp, so you can really understand the important rituals and traditions.
A special week (23rd-30th of Hekatombaion/10th-17th of August) has just came to an end, finishing the 8-day-long premier festival of the year - Panathenaia! And to be even more specific, this year (2023) we were graced to celebrate Panathenaia ta megala (Great Panathenaia) an occasion that only happens once every 4 years!
A history lesson about this festival for anyone interested!
The Panathenaia is the celebration of Athena's birthday, for it is an ancient belief that on the 28th of Hekatombion, Athena bursted from the very head of Zeus. Though it is her day, all the Olympians attend the festivities. This is a sacred feast at which gods and mortals celebrate Athena's birthday together.
Beginning in the 7th century BCE, the annual festival, the Panathenaia ta mikra (Lesser Panathenaia), involved an impressive procession from outside the walls of the city to the Acropolis and the main purpose of the procession was to convey the new peplos for the image of Athena.
The loom for this peplos had been set up at the festival of Khalkeia (in Pyanepsion), nine months before, by priestesses and young girls (Arrephoroi) particularly dedicated to the worship of Athena and the weaving had been carried out by the Ergastiai (workers), maidens chosen from Aristocratic families. Now the colossal wool garment, with traditional yellow and blue decoration woven into it was carried in a ship-like cart. Everyone in Attica took part: Kanephoroi, young women who bear baskets on their heads (containing the meal/grain to through on the sacrificial victim); Diphrophoroi (Chair bearers), young girls carrying chairs; Thallophoroi, green branch bearers who were old men; young men wearing purple robes (the Skaphephoroi, or tray-bearers) of the resident non-citizens carried trays of cakes and honeycombs as offerings; daughters of Metics carried water jars; and freed slaves and other non-Greeks carried oak branches. Representatives of subject city states of the empire brought suits of armor and a cow as offerings and all of them were likely in the parade as well.
The annual Panathenaia included several other distinctive elements: a torch race (run by Athenians only), an all-night service (the Pannychis) and a meat meal for everyone at the city’s expense.
Then in 566/5 BCE, athletic games open to all Greeks were added to the festival so that, every fourth year, the city observed Panathenaia ta megala (Great Panathenaia). And late in the 6th century, the tyrant Peisistratos added musical competitions and recitations of the poetry of Homer. Athletic events included foot-race (stadion), pentathlon, wrestling, boxing and pankration, in three age categories: men, beardless youths and boys. Horse competition were also held, including four-horse chariot, two-horse chariot, horses ridden singly, javelin-throwing from horseback and races for foals as well as full-grown horses. Winners received, among other things, olive oil purportedly from the sacred olive tree of Athena in distinctive white and black amphoras.
Wow, all that sounds like a huge event, don't you think? It sure is! But you won't catch anyone butchering a HUNDRED cows as a offering in honor of Athena these days.
I believe Gods are always around us, they understand and see how the world changed thus why some of the rituals can't be practiced anymore. All we can do is take inspiration from the ancient ways people used to celebrate these holidays.
How can we celebrate Panathenaia nowadays?
Unfortunately, me and other people who follow Hellenic traditions can't get a whole city to bring back these old practices. So, we usually make the festival shorter, just for one night or day if it's easier. During this night, the procession is added to by the bearing of a torch. Libations are poured to Athena, most often with olive oil, milk, wine and/or honey. Most of us don't want to do something as big as butchering a cow, so we stick to offering a piece of beef to Athena instead and partaking of the meal as well, as the celebration did not call for a holókaustos (burning) of the ritual offering.
We should honor Athena with offerings, prayers, reading of Hymns (Orphic Hymn 32 and Homeric Hymn 28), and with a communal meal. Consider planning night-time worship starting at sunset. If possible, arrange running races, contests, and a torchlit procession. Study Athenian history, art, and architecture. Additionally, learn about Athena's stories, Athens' history, and your own city. Some make garments for the statue of Athena, showcasing our care. Embrace sculpting, sketching, painting, sewing, and more!
If you want your ritual to be really fancy (which I absolutely love) I highly suggest following the steps of the user LeopardBoy here:
This week marks the Hellenic festival of Panathenaia, a seven-day Athenian celebration in honor of the birth of Athena from the brow of Zeus
What I personally suggest doing?
Such a big way to celebrate is sure fun, no doubt. But let's be honest here, that's really a lot!
I suggest celebrating Panathenaia by a wake (full night of worship), and here is an idea of how possibly it could go:
8:00PM - 10:00 PM: this is the time for final preparations. Clean up the space (Hestia doesn't like things out of place as we know, so you can go ahead and mop the floor, vacuum, move everything out of the way), prepare your altar, lay out everything you need for personal cleansing, your offers to the Gods, everything you need to burn and pour offerings
10.00 PM - 11.00 PM: Torch procession (lit with Hestia's flame) from outside the living room to the shrine, cleansing (called katharmos), hymns to Hestia (Homeric Hymn 24), to Nyx (Orphic Hymn 3), to Selene (OH 9), to the Stars (OH 7), to Sleep (OH 85), to Dream (OH 86), to Zeus (OH 15) and finally to Athena (HH 11/HH 24), libations of olive oil to Hestia and Athena with a repeating of their respective hymns, making a cloak for Athena
11.00 PM - 12.00 PM: katharmos, libations of red wine to Hestia and Athena after proclaiming their hymns, offering of chocolate to both Goddesses, reading the Odysseia by Hómēros
12.00 PM - 01.00 AM: katharmos, libations of milk to Hestia and Athena after proclaiming their hymns, reading the Odysseia, preparing the candle making
01.00 AM - 02.00 AM: katharmos, libations of honey to Hestia and Athena after proclaiming their hymns, candle making
02.00 AM - 03.00 AM: katharmos, offerings of barley to Hestia and offerings of beef to Athena after proclaiming their hymns, divination session, reading the Odysseia
03.00 AM - 04.00 AM: katharmos, libations of honey to Hestia and Athena after proclaiming their hymns, reading about the history of Hellas and Athens
04.00 AM - 05.00 AM: katharmos, libations of milk to Hestia and Athena after proclaiming their hymns, reading about the history of Hellas and Athens.
05.00 AM - 06.00 AM: katharmos, libations of red wine to Hestia and Athena after proclaiming their hymns, reading the Odysseia, finalizing the candles.
06.00 AM - 06.30 AM: katharmos, libations of olive oil to Hestia and Athena after proclaiming their hymns, reading the Odysseia, cleaning up the space.
Don't be afraid to change up some things, the way you perform rituals is supposed to be meaningful to YOU!
If all you can do is simply dedicate the day to think about Athena, send a prayer and pour libation of tap water into a cup, that's enough!
See you next time:)
Sources:
Adkins, Lesley and Roy A. Adkins, Handbook to Life in Ancient Greece, 1997
Apollonius Sophistes, “Seasonal Festivals of the Greeks and Romans”
Burkert, Walter, Greek Religion, English version 1985
Hellenic Polytheism or Hellenismos is the traditional, polytheistic (multiple gods) religious belief system of Ancient Greece. Modern people who believe in pre-Christian and polytheistic belief systems often refer to themselves as pagans. Let’s look at some of the general practices of typical Hellenic worship.
Hellenic Polytheists use altars or shrines to worship specific Gods within the Greek Pantheon. For example, an altar for Apollo may contain an image or sculpture bust of the god, as well as a side table, called a trapezōmata, which holds offerings of incense and flowers or food and drink such as wine, honey, milk, or olive oil. Another tripod incense holder was called a Thymiateria.
Before engaging in a ceremony, the practitioner will employ purification methods with lustral water (ritually cleansed). They may recite hymns or prayers in honor of the god, using the Homeric hymns for example. The practitioner may use a divination practice to seek guidance or gain insight from a god through methods like casting lots, reading signs from nature, oracle prophecies, and dream interpretations. In their ceremonies, ancient Greeks would perform rites in respect to their Ta Patria, (ancestral homeland heritage), and they would take pride in their reverence with Hos Kallista, or the highest level of beauty.
Hellenic Polytheism follows annual calendar festivals commemorating Gods or famous mythological events such as the Panathenaia in Athens (commemorating Athena), the Anthesteria and City Dionysia; (festivals celebrating Dionysus) The Olympics (a physical competition in honor of Zeus) and the Thargelia, (dedicated to Apollo and Artemis), and the Thesmophoria, (a festival exclusive to women in honor of Demeter), among many others.
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