Hey there! My name is Quinton, and my pronouns are they/he. I'm a 23-year-old Timorese-Australian, queer, non-binary and neurodivergent hellenic polytheist, kemeticist and witch with seven years in the practice. My spiritual focuses are divination and channelling, trancework, realmwalking, healing, spiritwork, and deity work.
This is a space to worship Hekate, my patron goddess. I am her oathsworn devotee and priest.
Other deities and spirits in the constellation of my worship include the Lampade nymphs, Bast, Hermes, Serapis, Dionysus, the Great Gods of Samothrace, and a few archangels.
I'm currently studying a Master of Counselling, a vocation I dedicate to Hekate.
My asks are always open for questions about my practice or anything you're curious about!
Sanctuary of the Crossroads: https://sanctuaryofthecrossroads.org/
I stream free tarot reading weekly on Twitch! Join me at twitch.tv/crossroadsoftarot for some calm vibes and to get a few card pulls.
My Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/crossroadstarot
My Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/crossroadsoftarot
// tags and content
#✶ — › worship information
Worship information about Hekate, in the context of hellenic polytheism.
#✶ — › crossroad reflections
Reflections on crossroads, rituals, magic, and Hekate.
✶ — › prayers and hymns
Prayers and hymns.
#✶ — › hekate’s deipnon
Monthly deipnon posts.
#✶ — › divination
Divination and readings.
#✶ — › kleidous agoge
Posts on a revived festival for Hekate based on the ancient Kleidous Agoge
#✶ — › areter
My series on reviving the priest title "areter".
#✶ — › priesthood
Posts related to my priesthood.
#✶ — › bay laurels
Posts on my communal offering service.
This blog fully supports and has signed the Xenia Declaration!
// bay laurels for Hekate
A communal offering service that gives Hekate worshippers the opportunity to claim a bay leaf (at no charge!) to be offered next deipnon to Hekate by the shrine attendant.
Read more about Bay Laurels for Hekate.
// sanctuary of the crossroads
The Sanctuary of the Crossroads is a religious association dedicated to Hekate, the ancient greek goddess of the crossroads. Our organisation is focused on advancing the revival of ancient greek religion through Hekatean devotion, providing education to curious and experienced minds, offering spiritual services, and connecting members of our wider community in a space that is inclusive, academically-driven, and accessible.
Find our website here:
Come along to our discord server if you're a 16+ worshipper of Hekate or curious about Hekate!
Invite: https://discord.gg/dW8pTY7zTR
// devotional works-in-progress
-> Hekate Polymorphous oracle deck
-> Hymns & Prayers of the Crossroads (prayer book)
Hello!! I make small-batch deity ointments which can be used for ritual, trance, daily connection (like applying a devotional perfume), and anointing the self, candles, and other ritual items. I currently have stock of my Ointment of Bast and Hekate's Ointment.
Ointment of Bast contains calendula, blue lotus, jojoba oil, frankincense, and beeswax. Ideal for those curious about or worshipping Bast, and for Kemetic pagans / polytheists who are drawn to this scent profile! I made this after Bast because of my devotional relationship with her but also because she is a Lady of Perfumes and Ointments. In Ancient Egypt, oils and ointments were often used for hygiene, beauty, and religious purposes.
Hekate's Ointment contains hyssop, mugwort, eyebright, rosemary, jojoba oil, and beeswax. Ideal for those curious or worshipping Hekate, and any witches as well! Hekate is a goddess I serve in devotion and service and I think ointments fit her perfectly as a goddess of pharmakeia.
I like using ointments over oils as ointments are easier to store, apply, and are typically described as being more sensory friendly!
You can find these ointments at my Etsy or Kofi! DM me if you have any questions!
Connect with Apollon Moira'getes! Guided Deity Meditation
In this guided deity meditation, we connect with Apollon Moira'getes. This meditation was kindly sponsored by Nakita, a devotee of Apollon.
Moira’getes translates to Leader of the Fates and was attributed to Apollon as well as Zeus. Apollon is famously a god of prophecy and the Pythia at Delphi. This is a great meditation for anyone who does divinatory or oracular work with Apollon, or if you’d like to connect with Apollon and get to know him.
Come along to chat with Apollon, God of the Sun and Prophecy!
Looking for a specific deity or domain of your deity? You can sponsor a future meditation here: https://ko-fi.com/c/476fb75406
View the meditation queue here: https://trello.com/b/EKSXhXJU/threshold-of-the-divine-meditation-queue
From my essay on reconstructing the Samothracian Mysteries or the Mysteries of the Great Gods of Samothrace!
The need and desire for protection has not disappeared in the current day. There may be significantly less individuals seeking protection at sea, but many still work at sea, travel by sea, and experience hardship because of the sea, storms, and wind.
We also have noted on Suda On Line (Whitehead, ca. 10th century/2001) that:
In Samothrake there were certain initiation-rites, which they supposed efficacious as a charm against certain dangers. In that place were also the mysteries of the Korybantes [Kabeiroi] and those of Hekate and the Zerinthian cave, where they sacrificed dogs. The initiates supposed that these things save [them] from terrors and from storms. (alpha 1164 Adler)
This passage leads me to expand the concept of protection at sea to being protection from danger in many forms. In Leonard (2021, para. 2), Wescoat states that the benefits “could have meant different things to different people, depending on what an initiate most sought from the experience”, which would create a more applicable incentive for performing the rites and preserving them.
There is an appeal to mysteries themselves, no matter what they promise. Blakely (2007, Conclusions section, para. 1) writes that “mystery religions had particular power to bridge the gap between human and divine, including the vocabulary of adoption and new identity”. Particularly with Samothrace’s promise of protection, the sense of adoption under the Great Gods and into a wider community who shares in knowing or seeing the mysteries is incentive to participate in the rites.
I believe that coming to know the Great Gods of these mysteries also contributes to why one might want to participate. If an individual were to see their gods in the Great Gods, it would be reason enough to seek the mysteries. As demonstrated by our history of worshipping the gods and seeking closeness, enlightenment, wisdom, and protection from them, it is desirable to many to engage in ways of becoming closer to the divine. Divinities we feel personally connected to would increase this desire.
There is also a sense of transformation in the mysteries. The uninitiated enters without having seen what the initiated mystai or epoptai have. The rites tend to involve experiences with movement from one place to another with a group of other initiates and guides. There are many rites we don't know the details of but mysteries have a reputation for ecstasy and fear — very deeply felt emotions and states of being which coax initiates closer to the gods, perhaps in the form of an epiphany, or a blessing, or a climax to a mythical reenactment. The initiates emerge from the rites having changed, sometimes in ways that can’t be described with words, only by experiencing it for yourself. The experiencing of ecstasy and fear-based states can also be relieving for stress (Ustinova, 2017).
Graf (2003) notes that during “the rites of Bakchos, the Korybantes or Kouretes [...] the initiates actually have become Bakchoi and Korybantes” and that they “have exchanged a former identity against one which is as close to their gods as a human being can get” (p. 256). Some may feel a call to service under the gods, which might be fulfilled through this intense transformation, whether this ‘becoming’ is confined within the acts of the rites or is established as something further following initiation (which is a point of discussion for my theories of priesthood).
To conclude: why participate in the Mysteries of the Great Gods in the modern day? The advantages include protection from dangers (or protection as needed by the individual) under the Great Gods (a major privilege in itself already), closeness with the divine, devotion to personal deities, and emotional, intense, transformative experiences.
References
Blakely, S. (2007). Kadmos, Jason, and the Great Gods of Samothrace: Initiation as Mediation in a Northern Aegean Context. Electronic Antiquity, 11(1). https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ElAnt/V11N1/blakely.html
Graf, F. (2003). Lesser Mysteries - Not Less Mysterious. In M. B. Cosmopoulos (Ed.), Greek Mysteries. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203986844
Leonard, B. (2021). Secret Rites of Samothrace. Archaeology Magazine. https://archaeology.org/issues/september-october-2021/features/greece-samothrace-mystery-cult/
Ustinova, Y. (2017). Divine Mania. Routledge.
Whitehead, D. (2001). Zerynthia. Suda on Line. http://www.stoa.org/sol-entries/alpha/1164
Connect with Hekate Einalia! Guided Deity Meditation
Today's meditation is with Hekate Einalia (of the Sea). This is one I've facilitated in the Sanctuary of the Crossroads before and now it's here for anyone to use.
I hope you enjoy listening! Feel free to leave a comment to help other worshippers, devotees, and curious seekers find it :)
You can also sponsor a future meditation: https://ko-fi.com/c/476fb75406
“For I am the maiden of many forms” bull faced, triple formed, unwavering, cutting the air with golden arrows. From the ever flowing Aether she descends, from an ineffable Father she comes, the source of fiery forms, standing before the Gate, ensouling the highest of all. She is Chaos, Persuasion, and Necessity in the world, she is Limit and Unlimited, unwedded Phoebe and lightbringing Eileithyia. In the Heavens blazing with truth and wisdom, in the Air she roams bearing the sacred fire, and from the holy depths of the earth she rises, crowned with oak leaves, woven amid coils of serpents that fall upon her shoulders, driving the dark race of her hounds.
Connect with Hermes Noumios Eriounios! Guided Deity Meditation
Over the last year, I've regularly been hosting guided deity meditations at the Sanctuary of the Crossroads. I love to write, connect with deities, and facilitate sacred space, so I think this is the perfect way to do so.
I've decided that I want to start a youtube channel and upload my meditations! I think there's a lack of deity meditations on youtube that are written and spoken by human pagan polytheists.
Today I uploaded my latest meditation to Hermes Noumios (Protector of Pastures) and Eriounios (Giver of Good Fortune)
I hope you enjoy listening! Feel free to leave a comment to help other worshippers, devotees, and curious seekers find it :)
You can also sponsor a future meditation: https://ko-fi.com/c/476fb75406
A mystic understanding of lunar pantheistic Hekate, her domains, identity, and how she relates to theurgy and magic from the perspective of living practice.
(This draws very heavily from pagan-Platonism and chthonic magical practices)
The Moon Goddess
Hekate as a Goddess is most simply understood as one who presides over the triple realms and phases of the Universe - she is a Goddess who is at once hypercosmic, cosmic, and worldly - presiding over the As Above and the So Below, while existing also as a third unmentioned kind in the cosmic formula; the mediation between. This among other reasons why she is Prothyraia (before the threshold or literally ‘by the door’) - the divine membrane separating, cohering, and defining all things.
The Gods are transcendent beings, but they also encompass and manifest themselves across all of existence. Proclus in his six books on the theology of Plato notes that of the Mundane Gods (the Gods who shape the physical universe, including the 12 Olympians) there of two divisions; the Celestial (heavenly) and Sublunar (terrestrial). And of the Gods manifesting in the terrestrial world, the Moon is their monad, their sovereign and summit and the principle ordering power down here at the lowest circle of reality. Therefore the world of embodying is itself a kind of Underworld, the world under the Moon, which is directly tied to the earth itself. And the Moon is none other than Hekate, the lunar pantheistic Goddess and synectic power of the (sub)lunar Gods. She is the mistress of Fate, its chief spinner and apportioner (as the magical papyri call her Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos), the cause of all generation and corruption. She is also a co-sovereign with the Sublunar Demiurge, but we will not elaborate on him here.
Her epiclesis Prothyraia ties her to Eileithyia not just by association from the Orphic hymns, but also directly. In an oracle attributed to Hekate herself recorded by Porphyry the Goddess declares she is both light-bringing Eileithyia and unmarried Phoebe, the generatrix of birth and life who accepts souls into the world, brings them to the light as there born, nourishes and finally devours them in death. And this is at the heart of understanding the principle manifestation of Hekate in our world, whose three phases reflect her triple powers of birth, life, and death. Her invocations in the magical papyri speak of her womb as being covered in the coils of serpentine scales, the serpent is a chthonic animal who sheds its skin as a universal emblem of life, death, and regeneration. So not just a portion, but the entire sensible universe itself, the generated Cosmos, is the dragon womb of Hekate. Our sphere being the lowest reflection of the highest circle also carries the same nature, the terrestrial world is a womb filled to the brim with perpetual generation.
The Cosmic Gorgon - Medusa Unveiled
Generation is the physical part of the process of emanation that gives rise to everything. Simply put, generation in the world is the constant engendering of phenomena - it’s gathered, cohered, torn apart and regenerated successively in one giant, Bacchic frenzy like the body of Zagreus himself. This is symbolically represented in mythic theology as the sparagmos of Zagreus, which gave birth to humanity and the potential salvation of the human soul itself. The Orphic myth also relates to Hekate because Hekate is the Mother of Gods and Necessity (Ananke), and we identify her with the platonic khôra of Timaeus and it as Chaos, the foundational realm that contains the primordial substance for creation. But Necessity appears like the Intellect of Chaos herself, she must be contended with on her own terms and the resulting dialectic is what enables the great work of the cosmic demiurge (Zeus). Chaos receives the Eternal into Becoming like a vessel receives water, but the vessel is not passive for it contains and constrains the liquid. Consequently the liquid takes its shape according to whatever limits the vessel imposes, and that constraint is Necessity in the world.
Necessity in the world is limit of creation, things are created according to what is necessary, not according to absolute perfection. This is what’s required for Nature to function, manifesting her three powers of birth, growth, and dying to create a beautiful ordered whole. But none of these powers are actually separated, although it appears that way to human eyes, rather they are each happening all-at-once. When it comes to the new age imagery of the triple Goddess that’s blended into the general witchy zeitgeist this is where you’d hear about the beautiful magical harmless creative empathetic supportive divine feminine nursery of the menstruating maiden-birthing mother-menopausal crone, but sorry, the buck stops here. In as much as things are Becoming, they are not absolutely perfect, all is suffering, we decay and die and feel pain, and for all the wonder and beauty of the world its also a place where baby deer get torn apart by wolves.
Hekate, Ananke, Phoebe, Eileithyia, Nature, Moon, Fate, her power is the triple union of generation, corruption and regeneration that bodies experience all at once. Being born is not cute, it’s a bloody and brutal affair and is eminently wild and dangerous, within the womb of the Goddess is a coiling brood of poisonous serpents - growing and rotting simultaneously as the multiply without end. In Orphic myth the dead bodies of the Titans become humanity to symbolically represent this aspect of Becoming, it is awe-inspiring and bloody and frankly insane, we are emerging from an ocean of blood, dead bodies mired together in the black earth of the Great Mother. And what becomes of this orgy of death, growth, decay, birth? It all mixes together and returns to the chalice of the Earth - whom Servius identified as Hekate, the blood-drinking, corpse and filth eating Goddess of the magical papyri. Indeed, this is why the far-off daemons who emanate from her order - Lamia, Empousa, Mormo, are blood drinking vampires who target the newly born or young men, life is the marriage of birth and death.
This fact terrified even the philosophers and the composers of the Chaldean Oracles, who dreaded the chthonic daemons of Hekate who took the form of shaggy black dogs said to lead the Theurgists astray. The body was often feared and reviled in later strains of pagan-Platonism, but hatred of the material itself devolves into a distraction from the Great Work. Orphic fragments speak of a terrible dragoness born directly of the womb of her father Phanes - with the face and upper body of a beautiful girl, a nest of writhing serpents for hair, and the lower half of a giant serpent. This clearly corresponds to the appearances of Hekate given by later oracles - a Gorgon, beautiful and terrible, covered in coiling serpents. Her apparitions were also known to be gigantic and serpentine, and she is one of the few Goddesses of Hellenic polytheism who appears in genuinely monstrous forms. This is not a sign of evil or maliciousness, it is radical truthfulness about Nature herself. Stones signify material and spiritual heaviness, and if your ego cannot bear looking upon the face of the Gorgon you will turn to stone, forever weighed down by your own delusions of the world. Her epiphanies also evoke Ekhidna, the mother of a brood of calamitous monsters just as lunar Hekate is the mother of all the poisons and daemons of life.
But the blood of the Gorgon Medusa was both poisonous and healing, and so too does the Goddess hold the keys to our salvation. For in the Demiurgy Chaos is the receptacle of all Becoming, receiving and expressing the eternal in the mortal as the Gods sowed their signatures in Creation. The pathway back to the Infinite is also held within the Finite, so the mystery of Chaos is the expression of the primordial formlessness mediating between divine eternity and all mortal becoming, which we call the cosmic Now of Eternal-Becoming. The fact that we are the children of earth and starry Heaven, the Gods are our siblings and the Great Mother is our mother too.
And that is what enables Theurgy and Magic itself, total union with the divine through the ritual activation of its own direct continuity in the Gods. And as much as the trials of fortune and Nature can hinder our progress, she is our savior (Soteira) - the implacable triple formed virgin Goddess of boundless Empyrean fire, with the heads of bulls, lions, and horses, a snake haired drakaina covered in writhing vipers, girdled by dragons. She carries keys to open all the fetters that bind us and all the gates, she carries torches to illuminate all realities, she holds a whip to dominate all the spiritual obstacles to liberation, and she carries a sword so that any obstinate power is destroyed and cast to the depths of Tartarus.
On a cosmic level that is as much a sign of the boundless divine light and love she radiates as it is a warning on the sublunary level. In mysticism the spiritual significance of the Moon is sometimes portrayed as being a passive, submissive receptacle of the Sun. This is completely wrong, it is the lack of her own light that is emblem of all the luciform natures of the Sublunary Gods. Lacking her own light, she dwells in pure tenebrious darkness, not merely accepting the solar light but actively reflecting it back - as said by Iamblichus the Sublunar Gods unfold themselves into light, emerging from the depths of Erebus, it is the very act of creation itself. In the magical papyri she is called “the bender of proud necks” and Pasikrateia “the All-dominating” and for good reason. Nature and the material is not an evil prison meant to be trampled on, as the Eternal Becoming it is the locus of all radical spiritual awakening and activities - you cannot achieve Henosis without first being embodied. And anybody who attempts to side step their own embodying, denigrate Nature, and bemoan the humiliation of having a body is in for a very rude awakening. Because she is the gatekeeper of all the realms of the Cosmos, and nothing can progress without her say. Writ upon the iron-gates of the world below the Moon is this; “Abandon ego, all ye who enter here. You are not above me,” and if you think you are she will bend your proud neck until it snaps, drag you until you are kissing the earth, all while extending her hand to raise you up to the truth of the divine within the all.
[Roman coin of three formed Hekate, AD 241–4, Aspendus in Lycia-Pamphylia]
if i may ask, what gods were worshipped in the samothracian mysteries? do we know much in that regard?
Thanks for your ask! This very nicely transitions into the next part of my essay on the Samothracian Mysteries. Here is my write-up on what we know, including about the identities of the Great Gods.
Limitations of Existing Literature and Epigraphical Evidence for the Samothracian Mysteries
The identities of the Great Gods of the Samothracian Mysteries are only theorised and cannot be confirmed at this time. Inscriptions found at the Sanctuary only refer to these gods as Theoi Megaloi (Great Gods) or Theoi, and the only other title found on other sites is Theoi Samothrakes (Cole, 1984). In some literary sources, the Great Gods are referred to as Kabeiroi, though this is a debated claim (Cole, 1984; Herodotus, 1920; Strabo, 1924). These gods are not referred to individually by recognisable names or names with clear origins. The only claim we have of the Great Gods’ names is from Mnaseas who notes the names of the gods as Axieros, Axiokersa, Axiokersos, and Kasmilus/Kadmilos, which cannot be translated in a direct manner or identified with a specific language or dialect (Clinton, 2003; Cole, 1984; Welch, 1996). We also discern a chthonic nature to these deities due to the presence of escharai and bothroi in cult buildings (Cole, 1984).
Scholars have attributed this group of deities to Demeter, Persephone, and Hades — parallel to the Eleusinian Mysteries, with the addition of Hermes as the fourth, as well as to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, excluding Kadmilos in his role as attendant rather than being part of the Great Gods (Burkert, 2012; Clinton, 2003; Cole, 1984). Some also refer to the island’s mythology about Cadmus and Harmonia, yet another parallel in the storyline of searching for an abducted or lost goddess (Clinton 2003; Cole, 1984; Prinz, 1979). Some deities are mentioned in literary sources and inscriptions in relation to Samothrace or worship of the Great Gods, though we remain unsure of their status as a Great God or otherwise (Cole, 1984; Herodotus, 1920; Homer, 1924; Nonnus, 1914; Strabo, 1924). This includes the Kabeiroi or Korybantes, Hekate, Aphrodite, the Dioscuri, and Poseidon. Some of the features of the sanctuary are described as Dionysian but don’t necessarily point to his worship in this cult.
It is supposed that the Great Gods have pre-Greek origins as the island was inhabited by Pelasgians and Thracians before Greek influence in the 7th century BCE, but with most of our evidence about Samothrace being from the Hellenistic and Roman periods, we are left uncertain and without conclusion (Bremmer, 2014; Cole, 1984).
There is also a lack of votive or cult statue depictions of the Great Gods. The most complete depiction of a deity found on the island is the famous Winged Nike of Samothrace, which is considered to be a votive offering to the Great Gods in thanks for their protection and support of victory in times of danger (Hamiaux et al., 2014; Stewart, 2016). Welch (1996) writes on the unique discovery of a statue head from 1988 which was identified as the Great Mother. She states that it is “the only representation of a principle deity of the Samothracian mystery cult to have been found on this island” (Welch, 1996, p. 472). A female deity is supposed to have been the leading deity in the pantheon (Clinton, 2003; Cole, 1984). Even then, we still don’t have an identification for the Great Mother herself. Other depictions are non-specific (such as the dancers found in the Hall of Choral Dancers) or part of votive offerings brought from other regions (Bremmer, 2014; Cole, 1984).
To take a more optimistic angle on this limitation, the lack of confirmation we have about the Great Gods presents scholars and modern practitioners an opportunity to parse the information we do have available and draw connections that may be informed by patterns in the evidence and, for practitioners, personal/shared gnosis.
There is also ongoing research about the buildings and structures of the sanctuary. In the history of scholarship on the sanctuary, we can observe how one of the first stages of mysteries was said to be held in the Anaktoron, before the Hall of Choral Dancers was identified (previously known as the Temenos), classified as more likely to have held part of the rites due to its placement in relation to the Sacred Way and the interior of the space. There are many other buildings we are yet to learn more about which could change our vision of the mysteries and, for now, create gaps and limitations to reconstruction and understanding. The sanctuary is now an archaeological site that can be visited, but the state of it is, obviously, a far cry from its glory days. This is an interesting factor to consider in reconstructing the rites as the site may inform some elements of the mysteries and how they proceeded, but would almost certainly require adaptations to different locations to preserve the essence of what we know.
We have some information about the stages of initiation at Samothrace through studying the terminology the sanctuary employed. Clinton (2003) speaks on the similarities between the terms used between Eleusis and Samothrace. Namely, the terms mystai for those experiencing the first stage of initiation and epoptai for those who have experienced the rite for a second time are shared. This marks out the model of a two-stage initiation. It is assumed by Farnell (1915) and Clinton (2003) that this use of terms was influenced by the Eleusinian.
Further than this, though, are mainly theories of the rites at all stages. Clinton (2003) builds upon a theory by Nock (1941) regarding the preliminary myesis (initiation) or purification rites for the mysteries. He also provides other theories in comparison to the Eleusinian Mysteries and draws from what we know about the buildings and lore of Samothrace. Much of the discussion is, as noted, theory. This is not dissimilar to what I wish to achieve in the rest of this essay, but does reflect the uncertain nature of most of the rites.
Given the lack of consensus or supported conclusions drawn on the identities of the Great Gods and the rites themselves, the mythology of the mysteries remains unclear and debated. Many refer to the myths of individual gods that are theorised to be part of the Great Gods (as discussed above) though little can be known for certain without more evidence. This does leave room for creative interpretation in the case of reconstructing a modern set of rites.
Finally, we move onto the topic of the priesthood of the Mysteries. Despite the extensive records we have of the initiates and theoroi in Samothrace, we distinctly lack inscriptions of the priesthood that took care of the sanctuary and facilitated the rites. There are assumptions of where the priests would be stationed on the path of the rites, though we have neither titles or names of cult personnel nor records of their responsibilities. What we do know are some of the priests of the Samothracian gods in other cities. The tenures of these priests differed, as some served a single year in Delos, Mylasa, and Karpathos (Cole, 1984; Dimitrova, 2008). Priests of the Great Gods of Samothrace in Tomis, Dionysopolis and Istros served for life (Cole, 1984; Dimitrova, 2008). Istros is differentiated for being a hereditary priesthood — a familiar concept for the Eleusinian Mysteries but missing any backing for the Samothracian Mysteries (Clinton, 2003; Cole, 1984).
These priests shared similar responsibilities: providing sacrifices and processions for citizens and mystai, producing an annual festival, and formally offering incense with a group of worshippers of the Samothracian gods (Samothrakiastai) (Cole, 1984). This demonstrates the recognition of the Great Gods and their cult in locations outside of Samothrace (including interest from citizens, rather than only mystai) and gives us an idea of what the priests of Samothrace may have been responsible for apart from administering the mysteries. From here, we only have the roles of cult personnel that appear in other mystery cults and the needs of the reconstructed rites to work with in developing a vision, understanding, and application of a priesthood for the Great Gods and their mysteries.
References
Bremmer, J. N. (2014). Initiation into the mysteries of the Ancient World. Walter De Gruyter.
Burkert, W. (2012). Greek Religion: Archaic and Classical. Blackwell Publishing.
Clinton, K. (2003). Stages of Initiation in the Eleusinian and Samothracian Mysteries. In M. B. Cosmopoulos (Ed.), Mysteria: The Archaeology of Ancient Greek Secret Cults. Routledge.
Cole, S. G. (1984). Theoi Megaloi: The Cult of the Great Gods at Samothrace. Brill.
Dimitrova, N. M. (2008). Theoroi and Initiates in Samothrace. Hesperia Supplements, 37, III–280. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42615017
Farnell, L. R. (1915). Kabeiroi. In J. Hastings (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. Scribner’s Sons.
Hamiaux, M., Laugier, L., & Martinez, J.-L. (Eds.). (2014). The Winged Victory of Samothrace: Rediscovering a Masterpiece. Somogy Editions d’Art.
Herodotus. (1920). The Histories (A. D. Godley, Trans.). Harvard University Press.
Homer. (1924). Iliad (A. T. Murray, Trans.). Loeb Classical Library.
Nock, A. D. (1941). A Cabiric Rite. AJA, 45, 577–581.
Nonnus. (1914). Dionysiaca (W. H. D. Rouse, Trans.). Loeb Classical Library.
Prinz, F. (1979). Gründungsmythen und Sagenchronologie. C.H.Beck.
Stewart, A. (2016). The Nike of Samothrace: Another View. American Journal of Archaeology, 120(3), 399. https://doi.org/10.3764/aja.120.3.0399
Strabo. (1924). The Geography of Strabo (H. L. Jones, Trans.). Loeb Classical Library.
Welch, K. (1996). A Statute Head of the “Great Mother” Discovered in Samothrace. Hesperia, 65(4), 467. https://www.jstor.org/stable/148438
When I copy-pasted from my document, I forgot a whole important paragraph! I've added it in now - it's the second paragraph, but here it is on its own for your interest:
Scholars have attributed this group of deities to Demeter, Persephone, and Hades — parallel to the Eleusinian Mysteries, with the addition of Hermes as the fourth, as well as to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, excluding Kadmilos in his role as attendant rather than being part of the Great Gods (Burkert, 2012; Clinton, 2003; Cole, 1984). Some also refer to the island’s mythology about Cadmus and Harmonia, yet another parallel in the storyline of searching for an abducted or lost goddess (Clinton 2003; Cole, 1984; Prinz, 1979). Some deities are mentioned in literary sources and inscriptions in relation to Samothrace or worship of the Great Gods, though we remain unsure of their status as a Great God or otherwise (Cole, 1984; Herodotus, 1920; Homer, 1924; Nonnus, 1914; Strabo, 1924). This includes the Kabeiroi or Korybantes, Hekate, Aphrodite, the Dioscuri, and Poseidon. Some of the features of the sanctuary are described as Dionysian but don’t necessarily point to his worship in this cult.
if i may ask, what gods were worshipped in the samothracian mysteries? do we know much in that regard?
Thanks for your ask! This very nicely transitions into the next part of my essay on the Samothracian Mysteries. Here is my write-up on what we know, including about the identities of the Great Gods.
Limitations of Existing Literature and Epigraphical Evidence for the Samothracian Mysteries
The identities of the Great Gods of the Samothracian Mysteries are only theorised and cannot be confirmed at this time. Inscriptions found at the Sanctuary only refer to these gods as Theoi Megaloi (Great Gods) or Theoi, and the only other title found on other sites is Theoi Samothrakes (Cole, 1984). In some literary sources, the Great Gods are referred to as Kabeiroi, though this is a debated claim (Cole, 1984; Herodotus, 1920; Strabo, 1924). These gods are not referred to individually by recognisable names or names with clear origins. The only claim we have of the Great Gods’ names is from Mnaseas who notes the names of the gods as Axieros, Axiokersa, Axiokersos, and Kasmilus/Kadmilos, which cannot be translated in a direct manner or identified with a specific language or dialect (Clinton, 2003; Cole, 1984; Welch, 1996). We also discern a chthonic nature to these deities due to the presence of escharai and bothroi in cult buildings (Cole, 1984).
Scholars have attributed this group of deities to Demeter, Persephone, and Hades — parallel to the Eleusinian Mysteries, with the addition of Hermes as the fourth, as well as to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, excluding Kadmilos in his role as attendant rather than being part of the Great Gods (Burkert, 2012; Clinton, 2003; Cole, 1984). Some also refer to the island’s mythology about Cadmus and Harmonia, yet another parallel in the storyline of searching for an abducted or lost goddess (Clinton 2003; Cole, 1984; Prinz, 1979). Some deities are mentioned in literary sources and inscriptions in relation to Samothrace or worship of the Great Gods, though we remain unsure of their status as a Great God or otherwise (Cole, 1984; Herodotus, 1920; Homer, 1924; Nonnus, 1914; Strabo, 1924). This includes the Kabeiroi or Korybantes, Hekate, Aphrodite, the Dioscuri, and Poseidon. Some of the features of the sanctuary are described as Dionysian but don’t necessarily point to his worship in this cult.
It is supposed that the Great Gods have pre-Greek origins as the island was inhabited by Pelasgians and Thracians before Greek influence in the 7th century BCE, but with most of our evidence about Samothrace being from the Hellenistic and Roman periods, we are left uncertain and without conclusion (Bremmer, 2014; Cole, 1984).
There is also a lack of votive or cult statue depictions of the Great Gods. The most complete depiction of a deity found on the island is the famous Winged Nike of Samothrace, which is considered to be a votive offering to the Great Gods in thanks for their protection and support of victory in times of danger (Hamiaux et al., 2014; Stewart, 2016). Welch (1996) writes on the unique discovery of a statue head from 1988 which was identified as the Great Mother. She states that it is “the only representation of a principle deity of the Samothracian mystery cult to have been found on this island” (Welch, 1996, p. 472). A female deity is supposed to have been the leading deity in the pantheon (Clinton, 2003; Cole, 1984). Even then, we still don’t have an identification for the Great Mother herself. Other depictions are non-specific (such as the dancers found in the Hall of Choral Dancers) or part of votive offerings brought from other regions (Bremmer, 2014; Cole, 1984).
To take a more optimistic angle on this limitation, the lack of confirmation we have about the Great Gods presents scholars and modern practitioners an opportunity to parse the information we do have available and draw connections that may be informed by patterns in the evidence and, for practitioners, personal/shared gnosis.
There is also ongoing research about the buildings and structures of the sanctuary. In the history of scholarship on the sanctuary, we can observe how one of the first stages of mysteries was said to be held in the Anaktoron, before the Hall of Choral Dancers was identified (previously known as the Temenos), classified as more likely to have held part of the rites due to its placement in relation to the Sacred Way and the interior of the space. There are many other buildings we are yet to learn more about which could change our vision of the mysteries and, for now, create gaps and limitations to reconstruction and understanding. The sanctuary is now an archaeological site that can be visited, but the state of it is, obviously, a far cry from its glory days. This is an interesting factor to consider in reconstructing the rites as the site may inform some elements of the mysteries and how they proceeded, but would almost certainly require adaptations to different locations to preserve the essence of what we know.
We have some information about the stages of initiation at Samothrace through studying the terminology the sanctuary employed. Clinton (2003) speaks on the similarities between the terms used between Eleusis and Samothrace. Namely, the terms mystai for those experiencing the first stage of initiation and epoptai for those who have experienced the rite for a second time are shared. This marks out the model of a two-stage initiation. It is assumed by Farnell (1915) and Clinton (2003) that this use of terms was influenced by the Eleusinian.
Further than this, though, are mainly theories of the rites at all stages. Clinton (2003) builds upon a theory by Nock (1941) regarding the preliminary myesis (initiation) or purification rites for the mysteries. He also provides other theories in comparison to the Eleusinian Mysteries and draws from what we know about the buildings and lore of Samothrace. Much of the discussion is, as noted, theory. This is not dissimilar to what I wish to achieve in the rest of this essay, but does reflect the uncertain nature of most of the rites.
Given the lack of consensus or supported conclusions drawn on the identities of the Great Gods and the rites themselves, the mythology of the mysteries remains unclear and debated. Many refer to the myths of individual gods that are theorised to be part of the Great Gods (as discussed above) though little can be known for certain without more evidence. This does leave room for creative interpretation in the case of reconstructing a modern set of rites.
Finally, we move onto the topic of the priesthood of the Mysteries. Despite the extensive records we have of the initiates and theoroi in Samothrace, we distinctly lack inscriptions of the priesthood that took care of the sanctuary and facilitated the rites. There are assumptions of where the priests would be stationed on the path of the rites, though we have neither titles or names of cult personnel nor records of their responsibilities. What we do know are some of the priests of the Samothracian gods in other cities. The tenures of these priests differed, as some served a single year in Delos, Mylasa, and Karpathos (Cole, 1984; Dimitrova, 2008). Priests of the Great Gods of Samothrace in Tomis, Dionysopolis and Istros served for life (Cole, 1984; Dimitrova, 2008). Istros is differentiated for being a hereditary priesthood — a familiar concept for the Eleusinian Mysteries but missing any backing for the Samothracian Mysteries (Clinton, 2003; Cole, 1984).
These priests shared similar responsibilities: providing sacrifices and processions for citizens and mystai, producing an annual festival, and formally offering incense with a group of worshippers of the Samothracian gods (Samothrakiastai) (Cole, 1984). This demonstrates the recognition of the Great Gods and their cult in locations outside of Samothrace (including interest from citizens, rather than only mystai) and gives us an idea of what the priests of Samothrace may have been responsible for apart from administering the mysteries. From here, we only have the roles of cult personnel that appear in other mystery cults and the needs of the reconstructed rites to work with in developing a vision, understanding, and application of a priesthood for the Great Gods and their mysteries.
References
Bremmer, J. N. (2014). Initiation into the mysteries of the Ancient World. Walter De Gruyter.
Burkert, W. (2012). Greek Religion: Archaic and Classical. Blackwell Publishing.
Clinton, K. (2003). Stages of Initiation in the Eleusinian and Samothracian Mysteries. In M. B. Cosmopoulos (Ed.), Mysteria: The Archaeology of Ancient Greek Secret Cults. Routledge.
Cole, S. G. (1984). Theoi Megaloi: The Cult of the Great Gods at Samothrace. Brill.
Dimitrova, N. M. (2008). Theoroi and Initiates in Samothrace. Hesperia Supplements, 37, III–280. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42615017
Farnell, L. R. (1915). Kabeiroi. In J. Hastings (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. Scribner’s Sons.
Hamiaux, M., Laugier, L., & Martinez, J.-L. (Eds.). (2014). The Winged Victory of Samothrace: Rediscovering a Masterpiece. Somogy Editions d’Art.
Herodotus. (1920). The Histories (A. D. Godley, Trans.). Harvard University Press.
Homer. (1924). Iliad (A. T. Murray, Trans.). Loeb Classical Library.
Nock, A. D. (1941). A Cabiric Rite. AJA, 45, 577–581.
Nonnus. (1914). Dionysiaca (W. H. D. Rouse, Trans.). Loeb Classical Library.
Prinz, F. (1979). Gründungsmythen und Sagenchronologie. C.H.Beck.
Stewart, A. (2016). The Nike of Samothrace: Another View. American Journal of Archaeology, 120(3), 399. https://doi.org/10.3764/aja.120.3.0399
Strabo. (1924). The Geography of Strabo (H. L. Jones, Trans.). Loeb Classical Library.
Welch, K. (1996). A Statute Head of the “Great Mother” Discovered in Samothrace. Hesperia, 65(4), 467. https://www.jstor.org/stable/148438
Thank you for your interest Anon + the folks who commented on my post about my special interest in the Samothracian Mysteries! My essay isn't for public viewing at the moment since it contains information about my mystery reconstruction, but I can share sections of my essay. Here is my introduction to the Samothracian Mysteries!
An Introduction to the Samothracian Mysteries
The Samothracian Mysteries were a renowned ancient mystery cult based on the island of Samothrace, an island in the northern Aegean Sea. This sanctuary was in use from the 7th century BCE to the 4th century CE, having risen to prominence in the second half of the 4th century BCE (Cole, 1984). It is said that the cult had over seven-hundred initiates with some being of prestigious background such as Philip II and Olympias, and some of mythological significance such as Herakles, Jason, and Orpheus. A few ancient writers refer to or speak directly on the Mysteries of Samothrace, including Herodotus, Plutarch, and Strabo (Cole, 1984; Dimitrova, 2008; Herodotus, 1920; Plutarch, 1919; Strabo, 1924).
There are many unique aspects that set these mysteries apart from other mystery traditions, particularly the Eleusinian Mysteries. Rather than the rites taking place on specific dates each year, inscriptions of mystai and epoptai from the sanctuary reveal that the rites took place from April to November, corresponding with Samothrace’s sailing season (Dimitrova, 2008). An inscription from the Roman period reveals that a prospective initiate could become a mystes and epoptes in a single night, rather than needing to wait months at a time between the Lesser Mysteries and Greater Mysteries, though initiates did not always proceed to epopteia in the same night and the number of epoptai are far lesser than mystai (Cole, 1984; Lehmann, 1960). There was no consistent number of initiates for each of the rites with small and large groups initiating together. Initiates originated from a range of places such as Macedonia, Thrace, Asia Minor, Egypt, the Aegean Islands, and more, including individuals who couldn’t speak Greek (Cole, 1984). These rites were also not restricted by gender or social class (Dimitrova, 2008).
The sanctuary was also a popular destination to send theoroi, representatives of foreign home cities who were to take part in festivals at Samothrace (Cole, 1984). Cole (1984) describes this as a custom of the island. Inscriptions about the theoroi suggest that they participated in festivals to honour the Great Gods and received privileges on Samothrace. Some were also initiated (Dimitrova, 2008). This reveals the significance and status that Samothrace held with its pantheon and festivities.
Many buildings and areas of the sanctuary have been excavated or written about since 1444, from Cyriacus of Ancona who wrote of remains in the sanctuary in that year, to the current American excavations team in association with the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University and Emory University who began in 1938 and continue to the present day under the direction of Bonna D. Wescoat (Wescoat, 2019a). From this research, we have a state plan of the sanctuary which reveals more information about the structures of the cult and how the mysteries might have proceeded.
There is a consensus on the purpose of these mysteries. The Mysteries of Samothrace were said to promise individuals protection at sea from storms and the winds (Blakely, 2024; Cole, 1984). Diodorus states that initiates became “more pious and more just and better in every respect than they were before” (Siculus, 1939, p. 235), implying an incentive to act with more devotion, or possibly a transformation that led to this.
Figure 1
Plan of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, Samothrace
Note. 1–3, Late Hellenistic buildings; 4, unfinished early Hellenistic building; 6, Milesian dedication; 7, dining rooms; 8, 10, unidentified niches; 9, archaistic niche; 11, stoa; 12, Nike monument; 13, theater; 14, Altar Court; 15, Hieron; 16, Hall of Votive Gifts; 17, Hall of Choral Dancers; 20, Rotunda of Arsinoë II; 22, sacristy; 23, Anaktoron; 24, dedication of Philip III and Alexander IV; 25, theatral area; 26, Propylon of Ptolemy II; 27, southern necropolis; 28, Doric rotunda. Drawn by J. Kurtich; Lehmann 1998:plan IV. Courtesy Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.
This differs from an agricultural mystery cycle as seen in Demetrian Mysteries. There is only one claim that these mysteries promised a better afterlife, as stated in an epitaph of Isidoros (Dimitrova, 2008); there are much stronger associations with protection during life for these rites, rather than salvation after death which some later mystery rites attest to (Burkert, 1987; Dimitrova, 2008).
Despite ongoing efforts by scholars and archaeological excavation teams working directly with Samothrace, there are many key factors or areas we don’t know about. Some might say that we are unaware of the most significant factors of this cult, introducing limitations to our current knowledge and ability to accurately reconstruct these rites.
References
Cole, S. G. (1984). Theoi Megaloi: The Cult of the Great Gods at Samothrace. Brill.
Blakely, S. (2024). The Ritual Promise. Samothracian Networks. http://scholarblogs.emory.edu/samothraciannetworks/
Burkert, W. (1987). Ancient Mystery Cults. Harvard University Press.
Dimitrova, N. M. (2008). Theoroi and Initiates in Samothrace. Hesperia Supplements, 37, III–280. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42615017
Herodotus. (1920). The Histories (A. D. Godley, Trans.). Harvard University Press.
Lehmann, K. (Ed.). (1960). Samothrace: Excavations Conducted by the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University (Vol. 2). Princeton University Press.
Last night I gathered with a lovely group of seekers, worshippers, and devotees of Hekate to craft and chat alongside my lovely cohost who I am happy to call friend and a fellow priest of Hekate.
This was for our Hekate's Vial and Torch Workshop at a beautiful local witchcraft shop! We focused on Hekate's aspects as a protector, keybearer, and torchbearer.
Hekate's protection is potent no matter where we are on our journeys. If you are just beginning to seek her out or going through yet another crossroads with her, she stands tall with her torch, ready to watch us navigate the paths ahead.
This goddess doesn't just show us the way, but show us that there IS a way! 🌟
I had the opportunity to host a short blessing and crossroads visualisation ritual near the end which I enjoyed a lot. I've been practicing more of my freestyling when it comes to these things so I don't have to spend every ritual reading from a document or a piece of paper. I think it went really well this time!
Here are a couple pictures of the altar + table we arranged for the night.
Thank you Hekate for the continued opportunities you bring me to connect with others and host sacred space.
A special interest of mine that I haven't really made clear here is the Samothracian Mysteries. They're one of the most intriguing mysteries we can look into and also I disagree with some of the theories scholars have come up with so that's when you know it's juicy.
But I wrote this big paper on it and essentially reconstructed my own version of the Mysteries of the Great Gods in Samothrace. If you're someone who hasn't vibed with other more popularly known mysteries like the Eleusinian Mysteries or Orphic Mysteries -- trust me, there are always more mysteries out there to discover and fall in love with.
I will yap more about these Mysteries if anyone is curious or has specific questions
I forgot to take a photo with my phone so here is a screenshot from my tiktok aha... this month I offered 16 bay leaves to Hekate on behalf of others who weren't able to this month.
I enjoy continuing this practice and I have been doing a live ritual for the last few months in the Sanctuary of the Crossroads so if you would like to join us, visit sanctuaryofthecrossroads.org
I knew that April would be a spiritually strong month and it has proven to be so far. I've hosted many rituals this month and there are still some to host until the rest of the month! I've had some significant developments in my personal practice as well.
Kleidous Agoge April 2026 - Live Crossroads Ritual
We now enter a new day for Kleidous Agoge! - the first for this calendar year. If you're unfamiliar with the Sanctuary of the Crossroads' celebration of this festival, you can read more here: https://sanctuaryofthecrossroads.org/kleidous-agoge/
Today we'll be doing a live Kleidous Agoge Crossroads Ritual. You can come along to witness, listen, or even participate. To participate, I recommend reading the ritual script here: https://sanctuaryofthecrossroads.org/crossroads-ritual-for-kleidous-agoge/ and joining the Sanctuary of the Crossroads discord server if you aren't already a member.
You can go as simple as bringing along your own key or representation of a key all the way to building a ritual set-up to follow along. It's up to you!
Seekers, worshippers, or devotees of Hekate are always welcome to do this ritual together or on their own on any day of this festival, not just during this live event. Please do share photos and about your experiences doing the ritual with us if you'd like!
There will be a portion of this live event that invites attendees to say their own prayer or words to Hekate if they wish or feel called to it. You can prepare something or see how you feel once we get there!
The ritual will be starting in just under 12 hours from when I post this update🗝️
Face-to-face protection workshop in Port Melbourne (Naarm)
Calling all seekers, polytheists, pagans and witches! We cordially invite you to an evening of connection, devotion and crafting with the goddess of the crossroads.
“In the middle of our life’s journey, I found myself in a dark wood”
Whether your journey with Hekate is just beginning or you are a well-seasoned voyager, we all have moments where we are unsure of our next step. We may look to the stars for guidance, but it is us that must walk. We need strength. We need protection. And that, friends, is where we encounter Hekate.
But who is Hekate?
From time-honoured Titan to Queen of Witches, change is inevitable with Hekate’s torches lighting our paths. Many-named and many-formed, she is a complex goddess — undefinable yet renowned via hundreds of epithets. In this workshop we will honour Hekate as Apotropaios and Dadouchos: Averter of Evil and Torchbearer.
Together, we will craft individual necklace charms of protection and carve ritual candles using ingredients sacred to Hekate, blessing them at her altar. These items are designed to honour and maintain our connection with Hekate as we walk our individual trajectories, from dusk to dawn and back again.
In this workshop, we will:
🗝️ Worship in ways that honour ancient hellenic religion and modern revivalism
🗝️ Craft personalised protection charms and bless them at Hekate’s altar
🗝️ Carve and decorate a torch (candle) to take home
🗝️ Honour Hekate beyond the hallmarks of the dark goddess archetype
🗝️ Revel in not knowing the answers and walk forward with confidence
Meet your facilitators!
We are two friends whose mission is to demystify this ancient and incredible goddess through aligned historical reconstruction and revivalism.
Joni (she/they) is a practicing sorcerer and Hellenic polytheist currently studying at the Blackthorne School and the Mt Nysa Mystery school. As part of their devotion to Hekate she runs an online circle for Hekate each deipnon aligned with the southern hemisphere. Joni is passionate about astrology, psychic and medium circles, tarot and all forms of divination. Their backstory is psychology, yoga, shamanism, and energy work. More recently she became a certified Theta Healer. Joni is also an avid activist who campaigns for social change and the environment. Joni’s work is devoted to helping others build the courage to walk liminal paths.
Quinton Li (they/them) is a Timorese-Australian, queer, non-binary, and neurodivergent storyteller, educator, anthology curator, and counsellor-in-training based in Naarm. They are also a practicing witch, devotional polytheist, tarot reader, Seer, and priestex. In service to Hekate, they run the Sanctuary of the Crossroads, an online temple and community bringing the curious and devoted together through events, resources, and companionship. They hold devotion and working relationships with over a handful of deities and archangels who guide and inspire their path. Find more at quintonli.com.
Limited to 6 people.
Bookings are essential.
Calling all seekers, polytheists, pagans and witches! We cordially invite you to an evening of connection, devotion and crafting with the go
