Jules of Nature
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RMH
Monterey Bay Aquarium
art blog(derogatory)
styofa doing anything
NASA
Cosmic Funnies
One Nice Bug Per Day
Three Goblin Art
trying on a metaphor
cherry valley forever
pixel skylines
almost home
Aqua Utopia｜海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
occasionally subtle
we're not kids anymore.
if i look back, i am lost
hello vonnie
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@titan-gods
Hello, my name is ale (he/him) I'm a hellenic polytheist.
I worship Themis, Psyche, Aphrodite, Hestia, and Atremis as my main patreon goddesses. As well as Apollo, sometimes (it's complicated).
Please no hate, I will block.
Minors DNI (as in don't dm me, you can look at my blog if you'd like)
I just post and repost religious content.
new blog
i have made a new blog on blogger in the hopes i will reach more people and be more active on there. i will link below
this blog is focused on the education of the Hellenistic religion and my personal experience with the ancient Greek gods
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
hope everyone has a blessed and joyous year ahead. Just remember you cannot have mountains without valleys. It may seem like the valley of sadness may never end but then your tectonic plates WILL shift and may you be blessed with mountains of happiness and joy.
Love you all! bless the theoi !!
I hope I was scientifically correct with that metaphor lol 💀
Happy holidays to everyone!
I personally celebrate Christmas (just the family part)
Anyways, I hope everyone has a good season whether it be with their blood family or chosen family!
I love you all!
I sometimes reminisce on my childhood, how simple it was, how easy.
Then I remeber when I first met the gods and how I've grown, and I know this hard time too will pass eventually as does everything.
Praise the theoi! Love you all!
PSA: Aphrodite isn't just romantic love, the ancient Greeks had 7 words for love!
eros: your typical love, romance, sex, all that. typically what Aphrodite is known for.
philautia: self-love (which is SO SO important!)
storge: parental love, the bond that parents and children have with each other.
ludus: playful love - banter, teasing, flirting as a joke with your friends.
pragma: longstanding love, that is built upon trust and respect for one another. can be any type of relationship.
xenia: hospitality, a love and care for strangers and the people around you.
agape: true, unconditional love. the love everyone should aim to feel for others and to let others feel for them.
Lady Aphrodite is all of this! She tends to like hearing about relationships (in my experience), and She's always willing to lend some advice!
Just because you cannot see the strings the Fates weave doesn't mean you should stress. The future may be terrifying, but the Gods work to forge us into the people we're meant to be.
You will be okay when the time passes.
Listen.
EVERYBODY knows (or should) that you DO. NOT. STOP. in Vidor, Texas.
It’s best to just run out of gas elsewhere. Whatever you do, black folks, DO NOT STOP IN VIDOR, TEXAS.
There’s a good chance you’ll get lynched or just come up missing - and I’m not joking.
also do NOT stop in Harrison, Arkansas!!!! (relatively close to OK and MI) a nazi town with a BIG KKK organization.
Reblog To Save Life
Okay but like reblog to LITERALLY SAVE SOMEONE’S LIFE
Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please puHLEAAASSEEEEEEE BE SAFE
They are called sundown towns and there are a LOT of them in the US.
https://sundown.tougaloo.edu/sundowntowns.php
This website has a clickable map where you can see suspected and confirmed sundown towns by state, as well as information about whether these attitudes are historical or current.
The homepage of Dr. James W. Loewen, author of Lies My Teacher Told Me, Lies Across America, and Sundown Towns.
Reblog for the link
reblog for the link
REBLOG FOR THE LINK
Please stay safe
REBLOG IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT BLOG YOU ARE THIS IS GONNA SAVE SOMEONE
I am poc too and i am scared for my LIFE when i go to the south. please stay safe.
I am not poc but I know this could save someone’s life. Please reblog and spread the message.
My obligatory addition to this every time it crosses my dash, because I know the link is definitely missing ones in my own (northern) state and there are some in this thread not on the above link either - thread by LeVar Burton with a LOT of replies from people naming the sundown towns near them:
https://twitter.com/levarburton/status/1300918792143339520
Just in case someone is traveling, please be careful
AUTO REBLOG
On this weeks episode of why America is terrifying.
im not american but god this is terrifying
REBLOG REBLOG REBLOG THIS IS HORRIFYING
This is fucking terrifying stay safe y'all :(
Heres Arizona’s , by the way
As someone that lives in Beaumont right next to Vidor DO NOT STOP HERE EITHER!!! Or literally ANY of the surrounding cities. You have a better chance in New Orleans and Lafayette than here. 
Holy that’s terrifying
jesus fucking christ. stay safe, everyone.
Holy cow
Hey guys, how is this legal
Excuse me what the FUCK?
hey america! what if you didnt?
Just reblogging to say THEYRE UP HERE IN CANADA AS WELL!
suspected Sundown downs and some areas to avoid
Southern Alberta and a lot of Ontario is really dangerous
What is this list? This is a list of areas and towns in Canada that have above average levels of racist incidents, disproportionately white
Please be safe y’all
good news! im moving to antartica!
this is why I fucking hate America
When im upset sometimes all I can do is pray to the gods. I can't move, I can't cry. All I do is pray that my troubles can be cured.
Praise the theoi and all the healings I get from them!!
I love that my community is for the most part, very welcoming and open-minded (from what I've seen)
Especially not having a physical temple, yall make me feel like I have a home online
I'm grateful for all of you, I hope yall know that!
Gods be with you!
Also, if yall have any questions about the faith or my personal beliefs, my submissions are always open!
Things about my cat
I've noticed some things about my cat claire!
One, she would NEVER cuddle with me with my shirt off when I still had my chest. But every since my top surgery she cuddles with me shirt or not!
Two, I use her as a kind of barrier between myself and my Hallucinations/paranoia. When I'm having a episode and I look at her and she isn't freaking out, ik its all in my head and I feel better!
This is a picture of my baby!
but seriously though i’m sick and tired of those masterposts that are like “here! A reference site on Greek mythology for all your needs! Look it has all fifteen Greek gods on it!” And I’m like. tHERE WERE LIKE HUNDREDS OF FIGURES IN MYTHOLOGY YOUR CRAPPY HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL BIBLIOGRAPHY SITE MEANS NOTHING TO ME
if you want a basic outline of Greek mythology okay sure fine??? but like. if you want an extensive fucking reference site you are looking in the wrong goddamn places
as a self-declared greek mythology snob my reference site is fucking always this fucker right here. almost every single figure ever mentioned in a Greek text is on it, it has the most obscure gods, spirits, nymphs— it’s GREAT. You really wanna extend your mythological knowledge past the basic 12 and like four others? USE THEOI. plus plus PLUS everything is cited so you can actually read the source material written about whoever it is you’re looking at.
fucking signal boost this. i’m so sick and tired of writer’s helpers blogs referring people to sites with as much information you would get from opening a third grade mythology book jesus chriiiiiist
This website is the gold standard for me, nine times out of ten it is where I go to fact check information I’ve found elsewhere. It is extremely accessible and reliable. 10/10
I pray to the gods that this new medicine regime works out. Because I am STRUGGLING in the club rn.
Psyche : Introductory Post
Ψυχη [Soul] Goddess of the Soul
Epithets:
✧ διάνοια, ας, ἡ [of the clear mind] ✧ of therapists ✧ blooming ✧ Bringer of Hope
Devotional acts: ✧ Read her story! ✧ Take care of your mental health! (Do shadow work, take medications if you have any, do little print outs of reminders for whatever you need!) ✧ Research Psychology ✧ Dedicate your psychology related appointments to her <3 ✧ Journal
Associations
Animals: ✧ Butterflies ✧ Moths ✧ Ants ✧ Hummingbirds ✧ Other bird pollinators
Incense: ✧ Strawberry ✧ Frankincense Food & Drinks: ✧ Strawberry themed desserts! ✧ Valentines day desserts dedicated to her and Eros
Tarot: ✧ The Lovers ✧ The Star ✧ 9 of Wands
For more deities see here To get into faster queue, consider a paying for one here <3
I pray to the gods for alot,
I pray to the gods for little.
No matter how much I pray I know the theoi watch me,
Judging my movements and actions.
For one day I will be blessed to go to the Elysian Fields,
Drink from the blessed river and forget my worries and mere mortal life.
But for now, I rest my life in my hands, my actions and words are my own.
I will love life and life will bless me with treasures greater than money fortune.
I wish alot
I wish a little
But no matter what I wish for or what I receive,
I know the gods love me.
Food offerings to leave on your altar that won’t immediately rot
﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌
I feel like I’ve not seen a post with a list like this so I wanted to share ideas from my own experience!
I love to offer up food to the Gods. Unfortunately, I cannot burn anything, and I can’t leave most perishable items on my altar because either my cat will get to it or it’ll attract bugs as soon as it starts to spoil.
I’ve come up with some non traditional food offerings to give that I find really successful. I leave new offerings every Noumenia, and none start to rot within that time. Hopefully this list can be helpful to others!
𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒
┃ Prepackaged foods:
When you want to remove these from your altar, I recommend either reverently disposing them, consuming/cooking with them in the honor of a specific deity(s), or leaving them until their expiration date and then disposing of them.
Individually wrapped chocolates squares, pieces of candy, etc.
Bagged fruit snacks
Bottles of olive oil
Jars of jam/jelly/preserves
Tea bags
Sandwich crackers
Packets of fruit/veggies seeds
Canned or bottled drinks
Small bags of chips, crackers, etc.
Granola bars
Canned veggies
Shelf-stable oat milk
Baked cheese bites
Veggie straws
𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒
┃ Loose foods
I like to fill little organza bags and glass jars with these kinds of items, but you can also just put them in an offering bowl loose if pets or kiddos aren’t a concern. You can either bury or reverently dispose of these when you’re ready to remove them from your altar.
Rice
Herbs
Sunflower seeds
Freeze-dried fruits
Nuts/trail mix
Popcorn kernels
Uncooked pasta
Ornamental corn
Oats
Pine nuts
Uncooked quinoa
Lentils
𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒
Even if what you offer seems a little silly or informal, remember that we live in the 21st century, and the Gods appreciate 21st century offerings. Give what you can; and if you can’t give anything, the Gods understand. They love you anyways <3
﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌
Dissecting ancient Greek wedding customs (or “How to adapt the clusterfuck they are into something somewhat doable for the 21st century”)
This post is going to be a bit different. I could stick to writing about the customs we know of from a purely historical perspective, and while it would be informative, it wouldn’t reflect what I’ve actually been up to. Some of you might already know, but I’m getting married, so I approached this topic with the intent of seeing what I could do (and get away with).
So this post is going to be more about method and the practical challenges that come with doing the groundwork of adapting very old (and often outdated) traditions in a way that makes sense for our modern times.
I do have some disclaimers to make before I get started:
Most (if not all) of the literature around ancient Greek marriage is hetero-normative. However, this does NOT mean that marriage rites shouldn’t be adapted for queer marriages or that queer marriages can’t be done within Hellenic paganism. It’s our job as reconstructionists and revivalists to rework and adapt to our needs.
Similarly, this post is bound to mention or detail cult practices that are no longer in line with our modern sensibilities. I also want to make it clear that this post is not a tutorial. I’m not saying how things should be done, I’m only exposing elements that I consider reworkable and propose suggestions so that it can help others make their own research and decisions, with the level of historicity that they deem fit.
While the wedding customs from fifth century BC Athens are decently known, the ones from other cities and regions of Greece are much more obscure outside of anecdotal and fragmentary details (with the exception of Sparta). For this reason, the Athenian example is what I’ll be using as foundation. If you reconstruct practices from other areas of the Greek World, you might find something valuable in this article: The Greek Wedding Outside of Athens and Sparta: The Evidence from Ancient Texts by Katia Margariti.
Basic/simplified structure
The typical Athenian wedding would spread over three days, and be marked by several steps, some of which are listed below. Note that the order of these steps is not precisely known and might have been flexible:
Pre-wedding:
Decorating: korythale at the door, decoration of the nuptial bedroom
The Proteleia
Filling of the loutrophoros
Wedding day
Nuptial bath
Adornment of the bride
Wedding Feast
Hymenaios
Anakalypteria
Nymphagogia
Katachysmata
Day after
Epaulia
Gamelia
Final sacrifices
Some of these steps included specific customs and traditions, not all of which are reconstructible for various reasons.
Decorations
The korythale: the korythale was a sprig, usually from an olive tree (or laurel), which was placed at the groom’s door (and perhaps the bride’s too). The word in interpreted as deriving from “koros” and “thallein”, which would translate “youth-blossom”.
The korythale is very reminiscent of the eiresione, which was a similar kind of branch of laurel used during the Thargelia and/or the Pyanepsia that had apotropaic purposes. Athenian weddings included a procession from the bride’s home to the groom’s house, so the presence of the korythale at the doors would indicate that a wedding was taking place involving the decorated homes.
While I haven’t seen any one make this interpretation, I would still be tempted to argue that decorating the thresholds of houses has a similar protective and luck-bringing purpose than the eiresione, which was also hung above the door of Athenian houses.
The thalamos (nuptial bedroom): While there is no doubt the houses were properly decorated for the occasion, we have mention of special care given to the nuptial bedroom.
It’s important to understand that the procession from the bride’s house to the groom’s went up to the bedroom door, it was generally an important location and its preparation is seen represented on ancient pottery. Euripides mentions the adornment of the bed with fine fabrics, while Theocritus mentions the smell of myrrh (sacred to Aphrodite). There is also evidence that, in the Imperial period, the practice of hanging curtains to create a canopy above the bed was adopted, very likely from Egypt.
When it comes to adapting this today, it is pretty straightforward and there is plenty of room for personalization. The korythale could be challenging depending on how easily available olive or laurel are in your area. I would also argue that the custom could be more loosely adapted so that instead of being at the houses’ doors, it could take the form of a floral arrangement at the door of whatever venue you are using.
Proteleia
In short, the proteleia refers to sacrifices and offerings that would be made to various gods before the wedding. The exact timing of these is more or less unknown, but we have reasons to believe they could be done a day or a few days before the wedding, and perhaps also on the day of the wedding. These offerings were made independently by each family.
It is in this context that the offering of a lock of hair and of childhood items is best known for brides. The recipients of the offerings are varied: In Athens the most mentioned are the Nymphs and Artemis, but various sacrifices to Aphrodite, Hera, Athena and Zeus were also performed. In other parts of Greece, pre-nuptial customs often included sacrifices to local heroines. Plutarch, in the 2nd century AD (and therefore way after the focus of this post) mentions the main five nuptial deities to be Zeus Teleios, Hera Teleia, Aphrodite, Peitho and Artemis.
Today, I believe the exact choice of who to offer to and what to offer very much comes down to personal preferences and circumstances. While we assume that both families made prenuptial sacrifices, we know very little of the groom’s side of things, since the focus was on the bride, and the rite of passage aspect was not present for the groom in Ancient times. This is a gap that leaves room for modern innovation eg. including Apollon to either replace or accompany Artemis or choosing a group of deities that is more couple-centric rather than family-centric.
Personally, I have settled on Aphrodite, Hera and Artemis and have integrated a Spartan custom that includes the mother of the bride in the sacrifice to Aphrodite. Hera Teleia will receive a lock of my current hair, while Artemis will receive a lock of hair from my first haircut as a child (that my mother has kept all these years), alongside some other trinkets. The groom will honour Zeus Teleios in a passive way. And I will honour the Nymphs through the the rite I will explain next.
Nuptial baths
Both bride and groom had a ritual bath before the wedding. Its purpose was of cleansing and purificatory nature, and is consistent with other water-based pre-sacrifice purifications. What made the bride and groom's baths distinctive was their preparation. The bath water used to be drawn at a specific spring or river. At Athens, the water for bridal baths came from the Enneakrounos, the fountain house for the spring Kallirrhoe, but each city had its dedicated source. The water was carried in a special vase named the loutrophoros (bathcarrier) and the act of fetching the water and bringing it back to the homes constituted a procession. The loutrophoros was often given as offering to the altar of the Nymphs after the wedding. It was an important symbol of marriage, to the point that, if a woman died before being married, she would often be buried with a loutrophoros.
This will be more or less difficult to adapt depending on circumstances and environment, but the logic of a purifying bath (or shower even) can be kept (though I would discourage bathing in water you are not sure of the cleanliness of). The idea of having a specific vessel can also be kept. Personally, I plan to have a special vessel for some type of purified water, and while I may not bathe in it, I plan to sprinkle it and/or wash my hands with it.
Adornment of the bride (and groom)
Traditionally, the bride would have a nympheutria (which we could equate as a bridesmaid, but seems to have often been a female relative) charged of helping the bride get ready. I won’t get into the details of the clothing we know about, mostly because there seems to be a lot of variation, and because I consider this to be a very personal choice. However, we can note that both groom and bride were adorned with a wreath or a garland of plants that were considered to have powers appropriate for the occasion (sesame, mint, plants that were generally considered fertile or aphrodisiac). Perfume is also something attested for both bride and groom, especially the scent of myrrh. The bride would wear a crown, the stephane, which could be made out of metal or be vegetal (the stephane is now the object of its own crowning ceremony in Greek Orthodox weddings). The bride’s shoes were also particular for the event, and named nymphides. The bride’s veil was placed above the crown.
Hymenaios and Feast
I am grouping these two since they are linked. The feast was more or less the peak of the wedding ceremony and lively with music and dances, as Plutarch indicates (Moralia, [Quaest. conv.] 666f-67a):
But a wedding feast is given away by the loud cries of the Hymenaios and the torch and the pipes, things that Homer says are admired and watched even by women who stand at their doors.
The hymenaios was a sung hymn in honour of the couple and the wedding, and there were other songs that were specifically sung at weddings. However the hymenaios wasn’t only for the feast, these songs would be sung also during the processions. The hymenaios also had the purpose of ritually blessing the couple, a ritual that bore the name of makarismos.
As for the feast, it was obviously abundant with food and the prenuptial sacrifices provided the meat that would be served. There is otherwise very little difference with what a modern wedding feast would be like: food, drink, music and dance around which gathered friends and relatives of the couple. Like today, the wedding cake(s) was an important part of the celebration. It was called sesame and consisted of sesame seeds, ground and mixed with honey and formed into cakes to be shared with the guests.
Anakalypteria
Note that there is a bit of a debate around this step, which is the unveiling of the bride. Some believe the bride kept her face veiled until this part of the wedding, where her face would be uncovered for the groom to see. Others interpret this step the other way around, where the bride is then veiled as a result of being now married. The timing of the unveiling is also up for the debate. It might have been during the feast (at nightfall), or after once the couple was escorted to the bridal chamber. There doesn’t seem to be a clear consensus.
The concept of unveiling the bride is otherwise something that isn’t unknown to us as a modern audience. As with everything else, how to interpret and modernize it is up to personal preference.
Nymphagogia and Katachysmata
The nymphagogia aka the act of “leading the bride to her new home” took place at night, likely after the feast. It is at this point that the groom ritually led the bride to his home by taking her by the wrist in a ritual gesture known as χεῖρ’ ἐπὶ καρπῷ (cheir’ epi karpo). The relatives and friends of the couple formed a festive procession that accompanied them to their new home accompanied by music and songs. The mother of the bride led the procession carrying lit torches, while the groom’s mother awaited for the new couple in their home, also bearing lit torches.
Once there, the rite of the katachysmata would happen. The couple would be sat near the hearth and the guests would pour dried fruits, figs and nuts over the bride and groom as a way to incorporate them into the household and bless the union with prosperity and fertility. As part of this rite, the bride ate a fruit (either an apple, quince or pomegranate). It is only after this step that the couple would be escorted to the bridal chamber.
These two rites are tricky to adapt in a modern context because of how location-specific they are (and that’s not even taking into account the implications of having family escort you to your bedroom etc). My take would be that the katachysmata is not too far off from the custom of throwing rice/flowers at the couple after the ceremony, and could probably be incorporated as such. The torches could also be replaced by any source of light placed in a meaningful location, depending on the where the wedding is being held. The nymphagogia could also do with an update, the easiest of which could simply be holding hands while leaving the wedding ceremony.
The day after (Epaulia, Gamelia & sacrifice)
The epaulia refers to wedding gifts to the couple, which would be given the day following the ceremony. At this point, it is implied that the couple has consummated their marriage and are officially newly-weds. Pausanias informs us that the term “epaulia” (also?) refers to the gifts brought by the bride’s father in particular and included the dowry.
After the epaulia, the bride's incorporation into her husband's house was complete. This might have been when the groom held a feast for his phratria (aka direct family), as a way to conclude the wedding.
As for final sacrifices, the bride herself may have marked the end of her wedding by dedicating her loutrophoros at the sanctuary of Nymphe, south of the Acropolis.
The epaulia could be adapted, in modern terms, with having a registry. Should someone choose to have a specific vessel linked to the ritual bath today, it could very well be kept, dedicated to the Nymphs and used as a small shrine. Considering how symbolic the object is, there is also room for it to become a piece of family heirloom.
Final words
This is really only a small summary of what a wedding could have looked like, sprinkled with a few ideas of how to manage the gaps, discrepancies and limitations. As I said in my introductions, there are details I haven’t mentioned. Some of the customs detailed here have clear modern counterparts, but others don’t. I’d like to conclude by addressing these.
First, the ancient Greek (Athenian) wedding is completely devoid of priestly participation. It was entirely planned, organized and led by the two families. Religious responsibilities were entirely self-managed. I find this point important to remember because it makes it much more accessible than if modern Hellenic pagans had to seek out an external authority.
Some of you might have noticed the absence of wedding vows, at least in a formal form like the one we are used to in our modern days (derived from Christian and Jewish traditions), this is not an oversight, there simply were none that we know of. As a sidenote, I would also advise against turning a wedding vow into a formal oath. I’m still debating on what to do myself, but I’m leaning towards a religiously non-binding vow that won’t curse me should things go wrong.
Adapting the structures and rites of the ancient wedding to today’s framework of ceremony will naturally lead to changing the order of things, on top of sacrificing elements for the sake of simplicity, practicality, personal preferences and, very likely, visibility. Unless you’re lucky enough to do a private elopement, chances are that relatives and friends might be there, and not all might know or even approve of your faith. I hope this post shows that there can be ways to include traditional religious elements that will go unnoticed to the untrained eye, like I hope it showed that the private nature of the ancient Greek wedding rites is a significant advantage for modernization.
