#hellenistic polytheism

[sylviaplathreincarnate]

Universal offering ideas!

(For any deity)

Water!

Honey

Honeyed milk

Baked goods like bread and honey cake

Crystals like clear quartz

Things found in nature like wild flowers, cool rocks or wild growing berries

(Your) art

(Your) poetry

Jewellery

Letters wrote to them

Fruit

Statues/depictions of the deity

Incense and candles

Crafts

Hand written sigils

Tea

Trinkets

Perfumes

[apollo-32]

Currently, I am at an excavation. In front of the barracks where we store our equipment, there is a bust of Apollo and he is referred to as the “Excavation God” that protects us Archaeologists— the patron god of excavations. I find this very wholesome and amusing and wanted to share it here as well.

Also, the bust has been at this site for years according to senior staff members.

[xenosaltar]

Oh Ares.

Oh Ares, You stand in war, but You are with people who fight for peace just as well.

Oh Ares, You who stays with courageous and stubborn, all the same as You stand with those who get silenced.

Oh Ares, You whose wrath is the fiercest, yet stand with those who talk the calmest, because they know they’re right.

You, with those who have fire in their souls, and those who were dimmed a long time ago.

You, the enemy of fear, the helping hand of the oppressed, the scream of those without a voice, the confident stand of those forced to crawl.

You, who lights the fire of rebellion, You, the sharpness and clarity of the world when panic steps away.

You, the fire in my heart, the instinct to fight, when I cannot breathe.

You, my torch, my sword, my shield.

You, my emotion and my rage. You, who gives me courage when I fight for justice.

You, who is not selfish in his wrath. You, who helps me fight for those who were cast aside.

[wayfind-er]

Positive Depictions of Zeus

Peter Paul Ruben, "Jupiter and Mercury at Philemon and Baucis" (1632)

Titles & Epithets of Zeus

As a Fair and Merciful God

Μειλιχιος [Milichius]: Gracious, Merciful

Ευηνεμος [Evenemus]: Of Fair Winds

As a Bringer of Abundance and Prosperity

Επιδωτης [Epidotes]: Giver of Good

Πλουσιος [Plusius]: Of Wealth

Απημιος [Apemius]: Averter of Ills

As a Leader, Chief, and King

Βασιλευς [Basileus]: King, Chief, Ruler

Ὑπατος [Hypatus]: Supreme, Most High

Monarch of the Sky (by Homer and Virgil)*

Sire of Gods and Men (by Homer and Virgil)*

ἀρχὸς ἁπάντων [Archus Apantôn]: Commander of All Things*

As a Protector of People, Cities, and Homes

Κτησιος [Ctesius]: Of the House, Property

Λαοιτης [Laoites]: Of (all) the People

Φυξιος [Phyxius]: Of Refuge / Puts to Flight

Ξενιος [Xenius]: Of Strangers, Hospitality

ἀγοραῖος [Agoraios]: Protector of Public Places (assemblies)*

If you're interested in other epithets: LINK || LINK*

Artistic Depictions of Zeus

Francisco Bayeu y Subías, "The Fall of the Giants,"

Charles-Antoine Coypel, "Jupiter and Juno on Mount Ida"

Cornelis van Poeleburgh, “Feast of the Gods”

Maurice Denis, "Jupiter bestows Immortality on Psyche"

Myths with Zeus

War of the Titans: In this myth, Zeus' father, Cronus, has received the prophecy that one of his children will dethrone him. Out of fear, Cronus swallows all of his children as soon as his wife, Rhea, births them. Rhea manages to sneak out one, Zeus. Eventually, Zeus saves his siblings and starts a revolution against his father, resulting in a 10-year war called the Titanomachy. Zeus and his siblings end up victorious, and Cronus is dethroned and thrown into the pit of Tartarus.

Vows of Chasity: At the request of Hestia and Artemis, Zeus vowed that he would accept the two to remain as virgin Goddesses.

Reconciliation of Zeus and Hera: Hera was mad at Zeus and left Olympus for unknown reasons. Zeus couldn't change her mind, so he went to the cleverest man in the land, Kithaeron. Kithaeron told Zeus to spread the news that he would marry a nymph and craft a wooden statue to play the bride. Zeus did so, and naturally, Hera came back angry. However, instead of a wedding, Zeus surprised Hera with a grand festival (called Daidala), and the two reconciled. 

Hera & the Lust of Ixon: Ixon, a mortal King, fell in love with Hera during a visit to Olympus. He tried to rape Hera, to which Hera immediately reported to Zeus. To see if what she said was true, Zeus created a cloud in the sky which looked like Hera. Ixon, who saw the cloud and thought it was Hera, attacked it. Zeus punished Ixon by binding him to an eternally spinning wheel of fire in Tartarus.

Forgiveness of Cronus and the Titans: After many, many generations of Humans, Zeus forgave his father, Cronus, and freed him (and Cronus' brothers) from their prison in Tartarus. Zeus then made Cronus the King of the Elysian Islands (Home of Dead Heroes and the otherwise Blessed).

Orphic Hymn 15: To Zeus

"O Zeus, much-honoured, Zeus supremely great, to thee our holy rites we consecrate, our prayers and expiations, king divine, for all things to produce with ease through mind is thine.

Hence mother earth and mountains swelling high proceed from thee, the deep and all within the sky. Kronion (Cronion) king, descending from above, magnanimous, commanding, sceptred Zeus; all-parent, principle and end of all, whose power almighty shakes this earthly ball; even nature trembles at thy mighty nod, loud-sounding, armed with lightning, thundering god.

Source of abundance, purifying king, O various-formed, from whom all natures spring; propitious hear my prayer, give blameless health, with peace divine, and necessary wealth."

Homeric Hymn 23: To the Son of Cronos

“I will sing of Zeus, chiefest among the gods and greatest, all-seeing, the lord of all, the fulfiller who whispers words of wisdom to Themis as she sits leaning towards him.

Be gracious, all-seeing Son of Cronos, most excellent and great!”

Divider by @/vibeswithrenai

[hedgehogoftime]

The Big Three of Olympus look nothing like what you expect.

-

Zeus is surprisingly androgynous. Ever since he absorbed Metis it's hard to tell if he's male or female from a distance. You can see her in the sharpness of his cheekbones, the lightness of his brow, and the richness of his silver-gold hair. He still proclaims he is a man, because only a man can be King, but there are moments where he looks to be more Metis than Zeus.

But that is not the first thing you notice about him. No, the first thing you notice are the scars. There are thousands of them. Most of them like tiny cracks along his skin bleeding silver-gold light into the world. remainders from when Typhon ripped him to pieces and he was sewed back together by his children. And, of course, he wears a massive jagged scar in the shape of a branching lightning bolt across his entire abdomen.

He hates them. You never see him with his torso uncovered. Even during sex. Only Hera, in the moments where they love each other and don't hate each other, is allowed to see the evidence of his weakness.

-

Poseidon is like the tides, ever shifting ever changing. He's not comfortable looking like a human. He finds it too limiting. he always looks to be some sort of chimera of sea life. Fish, octopus, shark, crustacean, mollusk, jellyfish, all some seemingly random mishmash of aquatic life that is at once random and perfectly orchestrated.

On the occasions he does look human It's never... quite right. His limbs are too long. His torso too thick or rounded. His head too small. Something is always off about his human guises. He looks less like a person and more like an animal awkwardly approximating humanity in a borrowed skin. And his skin is never a truly natural shade that you would see in a human. Always off. Always tinged with... something like blue or green.

It's the eyes that get you the most though. From a distance they look blue. But up close, you realize they aren't eyes at all. They're pools of seawater. Seawater, ever swirling and ever moving in his skull like tiny oceans contained in his skull. And as you stare longer and longer you feel more and more like you're drowning in the freezing, unforgiving water.

-

Hades is hard to see. He's more often a shadow on the wall. You turn to look, and he's gone. It's hard to catch sight of him. But you know when he's there. It's like a burr at the back of your mind you can't dig out, and yet it's always there. It's the feeling of ice up your spine. Every moment in his presence is like something walking on your grave.

But when you DO see him he's... uncanny. Not in the way Poseidon is, but something less obvious. It's like someone took all the traits that you're meant to consider attractive in a man and gave them to a single creature, but the combined effect is something... unsettling. Like he's something you're supposed to consider attractive in a purely theoretical sense, not a practical one.

Or like he's one of those illustrations in a medical textbook of a default of idealized human musculature and reskinned it, animating it to life.

And that, you realize, is what's uncanny about him. He's like if someone decided to design a human from a theoretical textbook, with none of the flaws and details that make us human.

[deity-of-worship]

Zeus worship suggestions

Associations

The sky

Weather

Lighting/thunder

Rain

Law & order

Kingship

Fate

Oaths

Hospitality

Fertility

Fate

Masculinity

Wisdom

Authority

Protection

Offerings

Wine

Bake food

Honey

Water

Meat

Olive Oil

Coins

Gold

Eagle feathers

Oak

Figs

Incense

Strong Oils

Bronze

Almondes

Crowns

Bull horn

Snake figures

Olives

Sacred animals

Eagles

Bulls

Cuckoos

Lions

Goats

Swans

Wolves

Snakes

Sacred colors

Gold

White

Blue

Purple

Grey

Action devotion

Prayers for Law and Justice

 honoring commitments and upholding oaths

Engaging in athletic games

Honor your home, family, and guests

Read and study his myths

Praise his children and wife

Support charities for the homeless or refugees

Examining fatherhood

Protecting those you love

Celebrating Theogamia, Pandia, and Diasia

[this-is-infantilization]

Our dad constantly infantilizes us despite us about to turn 18 in two months. He told us using essas (emotional support stuffed animals, something our doctor supports) is too childish. He told us our religion (Hellenistic polytheism) is childish and described it as “worshipping rocks.” He’s told us many times he won’t treat us like an adult until we act like an adult, but how are we supposed to know what being an adult feels like if we’re constantly treated like a toddler?

a teacher has done the same thing. Complain to the class that we’re 17, and he treats us like babies, why don’t we react like adults? And I feel like this concept is so normalized, infantilizing teenagers but expecting them to be more mature than they are. It’s adultist (can you tag this-is-adultism pls?) and just. Gross. In what world does treating someone like they’re a baby mean they have to act like an adult? I wish teenagers were allowed to be seen as teenagers. Not children. Not adults. Teenagers.

the worst part is they’ll always complain about HAVING to treat us like babies. You can always just treat us like human beings? You could respect us? Teenagers aren’t horrid creatures who’ll kill on sight? There is NO obligation to infantilize teenagers. Like they always pull “Why can’t you act mature? I’m sick of babysitting you.” THEN DONT!!! We are not the bigger person, but we’re not the smallest either.

@the-apartment-complexxx

This is infantilization of teenagers/people who use essas/Hellenistic polytheistic people. And therefore anti-religion and ageist/adultist.

@this-is-anti-religion @this-is-adultism

[comehometogaia]

welcome home 🫶

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