#hp 101

[constantly-disheveled]

Hellenic Polytheism 101; Pt 1

Hello there! So, this will be a long series of posts, probably five or six different segments, maybe more. But it was highly asked for and I give the people what they want :p With that being said, here is our first post, starting with answers to the most basic questions!

What the Heck is Hellenic Polytheism?!

Well my friend you have come to the right place! Hellenic polytheism, also known as hellenismos, is the modern worship and sometimes recreation of the ancient greek deities! There’s lots of different ways to do this, like taking a more modern approach, or a more traditional, but there’s no wrong way! Typically, this religion focuses on specific deities close to the worshiper, and involves a lot of olive oil. (just kidding...maybe) We will get to that more later!

Terminology That Will Make Your Life A Billion Times Easier! 

This will be a nice little list of common greek words or phrases you may come across, and what they mean. This will help keep you up to speed! 

Theoi- pronounced (Thee-oye), this is what the Greek deities are called, plural. Is also technically the masculine tense. 

Khernips- Also called lustral water, this is kind of like holy water! You make it and use it for cleansing before rituals or going before the gods in general.

Miasma- This is the filth and dirtiness that we get just from being humans. It’s not sin, its literally just a byproduct of humanity. You get it from living and breathing, and also from things like negative emotions, not cleaning yourself, death, weddings, childbirth, and much more. It’s a super complicated topic! 

Oikos- Like the yogurt! Oikos means house, or home, and it’s the center of a reconstructionists worship.

Okay these are good basic words to know! We will cover more as we get deeper.

Who do we worship? 

The easy answer is, basically anyone you want to! The less easy answer involves the 13 Olympians, nature divinities like nymphs, dryads, naiads and more, as well as...well... Lets just get started. 

So, first and foremost are the Olympians. Technically, there are 12, but a lot of HP’s might jokingly say there are 13 Olympians. Either one is cool. There is also a more modern myth stating that Dionysos was given his Throne from Hestia, but I was recently pointed out this is incorrect. After some more research, I found this article written by @baringtheaegis, who is an awesome resource and blogger! Anywho, as far as the rest of the Theoi, You probably already know the rest of their names! First there’s the “Big Three,” these are the brothers!

Zeus, king of the Gods, ruler of the sky, lightning, justice, and much more. 

Poseidon, God of the Sea, Horses, most natural disasters, and more

Hades, Lord of the Underworld, the richest man alive, also..more

Then you’ve got the rest of the Theoi (refer to the list for definition!). In no way are these brief descriptions he only things these deities are known for or rule over.

Hera, Zeus’ Wife, Queen of the Heavens, marriages

Artemis, Twin to Apollon, Goddess of the Hunt and wild things

Apollon, God of Archery, light, music, poetry, 

Dionysos, the Debaucher, god of wine, dancing, ecstasy

Hermes, messenger of the gods, a total Businessman, the alphabet

Demeter, goddess of agriculture, Mother of Persephone

Persephone, (also Kore) Iron queen, wife of Hades, ruler of the Underworld

Hestia- Goddess of the Hearth and Home, First and last born

Aphrodite, Goddess of love, sex, beauty, the sea, and more

Athene, Goddess of war, wisdom, strategy

Ares, God of war, battle, women, 

Hephaestos, Blacksmith of the gods, technology, husband of Aphrodite

Those are all the main gods you’ll come across! 

That’s gonna end this post! Stay tuned in the next few days, when I’ll post the next segment! That one will cover more minor deities that can be worshiped, as well as the Pillars and Delphic Maxims, and maybe a little bit on mythology and the difference between recon and revivalist! Also feel free to send in any questions or topics you’d like to see covered!

[constantly-disheveled]

Hellenic Polytheism 101; Part 2

You can find the first part of this series, here. 

Welcome back!! In my last post, we covered the basic topic of what exactly Hellenic Polytheism is, some rudimentary vocab to get you warmed up, and the most common names of Theoi you would come across in the HP community. 

In this post, we will cover three more topics; less commonly worshiped deities and other entities that are important, the classics, like the Iliad & the Odyssey,  and mythology, and why it’s still so vital to your worship, and lastly, we will cover the Delphic Maxims, and the “Pillars of Community” in order to establish the basic ideas of humanity, justice, and how these characteristics influence our worship.  Let’s dive in! 

Lesser Worshiped Theoi + Deities

So, there are tons of other deities and entitites that are relevant to hellenismos, or that you may come across at some point or another in your journey. Some of the more common names would be:

Amphitrite

Eros

Nyx

Oceanus

Pan

Rhea

Iris

Thanatos

Helios

Hekate

Selene

Asklepius

Now these all can be divided into a few different categories, including Titans or Primordial Deities. Outside of the few listed above, you also have others who might not necessarily classify as deities, but more like nature spirits. These are categorized as nymphs, and split from there further into: naiads, dryads, and neireids, and more. 

Nymphs can be and are commonly honoured as part of a worshipers retinue. Many deities also had certain groups that followed them. For instance, Dionysos and Pan had Satyrs, and Aphrodite commonly was seen in the presence of Naiads.  Nymphs can also be incorporated into ones practice through local cultus; where one makes their own connections between the Theoi and their local area. I honour a group of Naiads at the fountain that resides in the center of my city. 

Next you have more complex deities. These would include groups like the Kharites, the Mousai, the Moirae, and the Erinyes. Thats the Graces, the Muses, the Fates, and the Furies. Less commonly worshiped but definitely honoured our of respect unless you had a specific tie to them. The Kharites were closely associated with Aphrodite, so I tend to give them more attention than I might the Erinyes. The amount a practictioner involves the former will just depend on them, and is by no means expected. In fact that’s one of the great things about Hellenic Polytheism- nothing is absolutely required. It is easy to personalize, and makes room for error. 

Moving on to our next topic- Mythology and the Classics!

If you’ve made it this far, and have done any research or have any knowledge of greek culture, you probably know a few myths by heart, and you most definitely recognize the Iliad and the Odyssey. Some of my favorite myths include that of Dionysos and Amythest, Hermes stealing Apollons cattle, Hephaestos catching Aphrodite and Ares in the golden net, and of Argus becoming a peacock, Heras sacred animal. These myths shape our knowledge of the Theoi, they give us examples of their attitude, their character, and their desires. Myths are where a lot of our associations come from. The saem can be said for the Classics like the Iliad and the Odyssey. While they may or may not be nonfiction, they were written and given to us as a way to identify with the Gods, seeing how they interact with each other, with humans, and even with their Heroes and children. They are so important to read because these are where we get our information from! We get a bulk of our worship from these texts, as well as from personal experience and the study of ancient culture. 

Virtues and Maxims- AKA How to be a Good Person

Our last topic for this post is about the Delphic Maxims, and the Pillars of Community, also known just as the Pillars. The Delphic Maxims were a list of 147 decrees that were supposed to have been given by Apollon to his Oracle at Delphi, to give humans an idea of how to behave and tenets to follow for a good life. Think of them similar to the 10 Commandments. They included things like, “Be/Know Yourself (Σαυτον ισθι)” a phrase often associated with Apollon for it’s inscription on his temple in Delphi, “Judge incorruptibly (Αδωροδοκητος δικαζε)” and “Control your anger (Θυμου κρατει).” You can find more of these here. 

The Pillars of Hellenismos are similar to the Delphic Maxims, in that they seek to show the reader how to live correctly, but they are more closely related to the Theoi and how you can honour and respect them. These include terms like Xenia, Arête, Sophia, and Eusebia. A great post on those can be found here. These pillars range from being hospitable, to being humble, to being the best you can be. They are more commonly studied and used than the Delphic Maxims are, but again are by no means required to be observed. I do highly recommend it though, because if anything, it’s a safe bet to not offend the Theoi, rather than trying to mindlessly follow a giant list. 

[chthonicpdx]

The Ancient Greek practice of Hellenism lives on as a modern religion

Modern-day religions are central to the lives of billions of people around the world. For the faithful, religious practice provides a link b

An interesting basic overview of the way that Hellenism/Dodekatheism is practiced today, all over the world.