#haides

[lilith314]

My altar for Father Haides! Im not allowed candles but im hoping to get a wax melter for and scents for Him soon!

[fragmentedhekatean]

me- why is everything always so stressful

me- remembers I primarily work with chaos, war and death deities

me- oh right

[muddileaves]

I FINALLY FOUND IT!!

I've been looking for this book for months,, I'm not one to order things online, so this was really nice to find a copy in a bookstore.

I also found a cool book on foraging in my local state!

[goredollanganger]

a little sketch,

I think it should be called, "Gracious Minthe" :] maybe paint it.

[the-witchy-housewife]

Depictions of Haides, featuring a Classical Attic Red Figure Persephone and Hades, a mid-2nd century AD statue of Hades with Cerberus from the Sanctuary of the Egyptian Gods at Gortyna, an illustration of Hades and Cerberus from the Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, and Orpheus Before Pluto and Prosperina by Francois Perrier (1590-1650).

[irisrainbowplumed]

I pray to Haides, Revered Lord of the Underworld Who resides with Honey-sweet Persephoneia Daughter of Golden Haired Demeter Enthroned, watchful Savior of the dead He who rules over many Who is just and righteous He who presides over wealth Who is noble and generous I bow to you, Lord, Zeus Khthonios Who receives the dead with open arms Eldest son of Rheia and Kronos May you give my family your blessings Of wealth and prosperity Of peaceful death and afterlife… Gracious Lord, may all have mercy and justice When they descend to your great realm

(x / x / x)

[dionysianfreak]

What are your views on myths? Also is it true that Homer and Hesiod (myths? Views?) existed wayyy before they even wrote anything? Does that mean those views are "true" because they were believed in for years? Also just wanted to ask: are Hades and Pluto the same? (Sorry for the long question!)

hello dear ! :)) no worries about the long question ! it gives me a lot to think about. since there's a lot going on in this ask, I'll break this into pieces so that it can be a little more comprehensive ! 💕

what are my views on mythology ?

complex, to be honest. in my personal religious practices it doesn't come up often. I tend to use mythology to understand how the ancient people viewed each other/their culture, rationalized the unknown, or dig for religious clues/beliefs found between the lines. some mythological writings are the only evidence for Deities we would never have known about otherwise, as an example.

i also view it as an amalgamation of historical art pieces that are crucial in understanding ancient Hellenic society, culture, morals, and centers of worship. plays and myths were how people entertained each other ! many myths were born from very impactful worship centers, such as the lake in Argos where Dionysos was said to enter the underworld. mythological stories are captivating and dramatic because they were meant to capture the attention of everyone and be memorable enough to continue being told.

ultimately, even though I don't put religious weight onto mythology, it would be wrong to ignore it entirely. the people who practiced helpol were listening to these stories and remembering them, and THAT itself is important.

is it true that Homer and Hesiod's views/writings existed before they lived to write them ?

this is a complicated question. if we want to get technical, all philosophies are informed from the views before them. new world views end up combined with old ones in a neverending philosophical cycle. religion is an evolutionary practice, meaning (in most cases) it will constantly change over long periods of time. we see this in written sources that tweak the details of an otherwise unchanged storyline.

Homer is an especially complex case because we aren't even sure that Homer was a literal person. even if he was, we know VERY little about his life. I commonly see people speculate that (if he was real), he was probably born in the 8th century B.C.E.. Hesiod is usually believed to have lived in the 7th century B.C.E.. for context, the Mycenaean/Minoan civilizations were around as far back as 2900 B.C.E.. that's over 2,000 years of culture, religion, and life BEFORE these great writers were even conceived. their writings were a culmination of 2,000+ years of culture and a snapshot of creativity and history for a small window of time. so yes, it's true their principles are informed from years of previous cultivation but that doesn't make their accounts false.

Homer is a little special though, because the Illiad was based on a real-life war and we only know this war happened because of Homer. His story isnt necessarily a retelling of the war, but it used the war as a major event of the tale. the Illiad is the whole reason we found Troy in the first place and know of the real-life conflict between them and the Achaeans. we have absolutely no idea if the events he describes, such as the war starting over Helen, are actually true. it can be compared to how people now will write fiction about people or events during real life wars, like the story of a non-real soldier during the very real WWI.

Hesiod is different in the sense that his works are more like didactic poems and are generally believed to have some kind of moral lesson. He has more historical information than Homer just because his works focused more personal analogies and information on his/ancient Hellenic life. Homer's stories were an oral tradition meant to entertain and preserve a very impactful war. with Hesiod, we get a peek into beliefs, culture, and life from that time period, but that doesn't make his account the correct one. his experiences and values are not universal in the slightest.

finally, the most important piece of context is that Homer and Hesiod's works appear right after that area of the world went through their dark ages. this means that around 1100 B.C.E., we have little to no written sources of significance. written language was not prioritized for whatever reason and, for the most part, we have no idea what was going on mythologically. these periods most likely prioritized oral tradition and some theorize that "Homer" may be a lost word attributed to the oral tradition of these times. this is pure speculation because we cannot know without a written source.

so, in summary, Homer wrote of events that did exist but we can't know how accurate his account was. Hesiod and Homer wrote of many different things that were inherently passed down to them via oral tradition that changed along the way. it changed because all cultures and religions change. we have no way of knowing exactly where most of the mythos we have originated, especially because a lot of them came down from the dark ages. this does not mean that their views were not their own, just that it's nearly impossible to not be impacted by previous generations.

does this mean their views are "true"/the correct ones ?

no, it doesn't. it's generally harmful to try and find "correct" sources because no region in the ancient Mediterranean could agree. every person will have a slightly different worldview. there are certainly ideas that unify helpol and ideas that contradict most areas of it, but religion is not a tangible science with strictly true or false information. there is a LOT of grey.

so, in my opinion, no one has the "correct" views. Hesiod was correct within his own philosophy/theology and Homer was correct about details of his stories, but that will not be correct for every single person who lived in ancient Greece. all we can do is gather the information we are given and try to find common ground.

are Haides and Pluto the same ?

I'm not an expert on Haides's worship, so someone please correct me if I misspeak. before Rome, Haides was also known by His epithet Plouton, meaning "The Lord of Wealth". some sources call Him Aidoneus or Plouton due to a stigma around speaking His name and a fear of inviting a VERY kthonic God closer. some sources seem to treat Haides and Plouton as two distinct Gods. regardless, Haides was known as a God of wealth due to His association with Persephone/Demeter and because ancient currency literally came from underground. coins were made from metals mined very deep below the surface, the underworld.

Haides was absorbed into the Roman Pantheon when Greece was taken by Rome. He was conflated with a local wealth Deity i believe, or it may have been a local plant fertility God, or both. when this conflation happened, the Greek spoken name of Plouton became the name of a God of riches and wealth named Pluto/Dis Pater. the big ideas for both God's are nearly the same—underworld Gods called upon for riches and plant fertility. I know there are many characteristic differences and unique cult practices that don't allow room for people to claim They are the exact same Deity. if anyone knows the details, feel free to correct me or add !

some people argue that Haides and Pluto are the same, but this is not a unique sentiment when speaking about Greek and Roman Gods. those who retained many of Their Greek features and associations are especially vulnerable to this idea. most people don't know that the Roman Gods are often all combinations of two or more Gods. it just so happens that Greek culture had a particularly distinct impact on Roman state religion.

so basically, no Haides and Pluto are not the exact same God. They each have features and cult practices that are unique to Themselves, even if They are very similar on the surface.

[sgoaka]

A friend of mine said that - 'Cool, it looks really similar to the original' (⁠＾⁠3⁠＾⁠♪ (I know you're a little liar hehehe)

(we're playing 'guess what I draw' (I don't know English equivalent of a game) and that was my turn)

At least we had fun while everyone else were trying to walts without partners.

Sorry dude, your fate (face) was broken by my own hand (⁠・⁠∀⁠・⁠)