Hellenic Polytheism/Hellenismos Introduction

Hellenic polytheism is a revival of the ancient Greek religion. Emperor Julian originally coined the word Hellenismos in the 4th century AD to refer to Greek philosophy and culture, as well as religion, though the ancient Greeks themselves had no word for religion.[1][2] Religion was an abstract concept, to the point that mythos was not even considered an authority on who the gods are and do. Mythology was, and is to many Hellenic polytheists still, a vague guide, very unlike how the Bible is used in Christian religions. There was no concept of "canonical status".[3] So, while it was discouraged or even dangerous to be vocally atheist or otherwise disrespectful to the gods, there were no sets of strict rules to follow and be enforced. It was simply broadly agreed you should give offerings and participate in rituals.[2]

The ancient Greeks did have groups of devotees to more specific concepts or deities (known as cults) as well as localized practices but these were not treated as separate religions the way Catholicism and Protestantism are. Modern worshippers are very similar; someone who is focused on Aphrodite is still considered a Hellenic polytheist like someone who is more generalized with their focus. In modern times, there is still no agreement on a unified term that encompasses all of these variations practitioners.

Hellenismos is one, though it can refer to more than just Hellenic religion and more to all things Greek, which can lead to confusion. Another common term is Dodekatheism ("worship of the twelve")[1], though I dislike this as there are more than twelve Olympians, and more than twelve deities that may be considered important.[4] Olympianism is something I've seen listed on various sites, articles, and blog posts, but I have not found any source who identifies as one. Hellenism is another, though I feel it's similar to the problem with Hellenismos.

Then there is paganism. "Pagan" was originally a derogatory Latin term that later became used for followers of the religions that were practiced before Rome converted to Christianity. The Roman Emperor Theodosius I was responsible for banning these ancient religions.[5] Centuries later, the word began being used in the context of identifying people as practitioners of non-Abrahamic religions. It later evolved as a self-descriptor for nature-worshippers and polytheists.[6] This definition is controversial due to the fact that it would define Shinto or Buddhism as pagan, which is not accurate to how people who follow these religions identify.

Not all polytheists identify as pagan, and vice versa. Pagans can be monotheistic or otherwise non-polytheistic, and is sometimes narrowly defined as a "nature-based religion" rather than an umbrella term for many religions with many approaches to the concept of nature. Paganism can also be mistakingly referred to as an alternative word for Wicca, which is its own specific religion with its own beliefs (though there are multiple variations of Wicca, including traditional and neo-). And, "pagan" is sometimes associated with overly gendered approaches to spirituality, such as references to the idea that different forms of divinity are sacred feminine or sacred masculine in regards to energy rather than gender of the deity. All this to say is I personally simplify it to "I'm a Hellenic polytheist" due to the arguable clarity of the identity.

Some people use the term "reconstructionist" to distance themselves from Wiccans and similarly eclectic paths that tend to remove gods from their original contexts. Complete reconstructionism is impossible to truly achieve in modern times as there are big chunks of historical doxa that are now lost to time, as well as the ability to take part in major aspects of the ancient religion (such as city-wide worship). Traditional Hellenic polytheism does its best to reconstruct the religion while updating it to modern-day life whenever necessary, whereas reformed Hellenic polytheism may add new beliefs not typical to the ancient thoughts of thinking (such as the use of Tarot cards).[1]

Hellenic polytheists, whether traditional or reformed, honor and worship the Theoi (theh-OY, the ancient Greek gods). Typically, an individual's practice will include worshiping all of the Twelve Olympians (Zeus, Hera, Athena, Hephaestus, Apollo, Artemis, Demeter, Hestia, Hermes, Ares, Poseidon, and Aphrodite), though they may focus on a particular deity(s) which may or may not be of the Twelve. There are other Olympians (such as Eros or Dionysus), Kthonic deities (gods of the Underworld, such as Hades), nature spirits (like nymphs), and various other beings that one could work with.

Most Hellenic polytheists I've spoken to are (mostly) hard polytheists, meaning we do not see gods of other pantheons as our gods in different faces. However, there are some soft polytheist worshippers of the Greek gods. There is a sort of fuzzy in-between when it comes to the Roman and Greek pantheons historically exchanging ideas that you can draw various conclusions from.

Hellenic polytheists do tend to extend respect to ancient Greek philosophy, nature, poetry, and other forms of literature, especially the second two as they are the first third of the main sources for learning about the Theoi. The second third being the development of personal doxa and personal gnosis via individual experiences with the gods, which can sometimes include shared doxa and gnosis via community discussion. The last third is seeking out and reading through modern academic research on ancient Greeks and how they interacted with religion.[7]

It is important to keep in mind that your beliefs should be your beliefs, and that it's okay to blend seemingly contradicting ideas into a dialectic.[8] For example, the Moon is a satellite plane that orbits the Earth due to the Earth's gravitational pull, and in Hellenic polytheism, Selene is the divine personification of the Moon. The idea that the Moon is both mundane and a goddess can be hard to marry, and there are various ways you can believe in both. Personally, I believe that there is the Seen world (which is verifiable with scientific methods) and the Unseen world (which is not verifiable with scientific methods). I believe both are, in some ways, extensions of each other, and that the Unseen world can nudge ours through this overlap. However, neither dictates the other. This is also why I believe there are no hard facts about any deity. All spirituality is unverifiable at the end of the day.

At a glance, Hellenic polytheism is traditionally a religion based on devotional transactions between practitioner and deity (gifts/offerings in exchange for blessings). This may seem like a strange or even off-putting idea to some people, as transactional relationships are generally unhealthy, but in Hellenic polytheism it is less like a business deal and more like a constant gift cycle. The love and respect goes both ways between the Theoi and their worshippers, and the system of gifts and prayer is largely free-form. By building up this relationship, or piety, you are setting a foundation for your practice.[7] Some people believe we should never ask a blessing from the gods without an offering[9] but others believe that prayer is an acceptable form of request, especially when combined with an offering down the line.[10]

There are other components (sometimes called foundational pillars by modern practitioners) that are common amongst Hellenic polytheists. Arete (ah-reh-tay) is one of the main concepts discussed by people which refers to excellence and virtue; virtue meaning striving for excellence in character and integrity in our actions.[11] Another common one is Xenia, which refers to hospitality towards others and guests. Xenios and Xenia are epithets sometimes applied to Zeus and Athena to highlight their domain over hospitality towards guests and foreigners. Hospitality is defined as being kind, generous, and friendly to guests, as well as being open to new ideas.[12]

There were never official pillars in ancient Greek religion, so feel free to pick out and develop your own tenets and values for your practice. Hellenic polytheism does not require following a set of rules, pledging an oath to a specific deity to become a devotee, or a formal conversion to become a full-fledged practitioner.[7]

Building a Relationship with the Gods

As mentioned earlier, it is a common core belief that Hellenic polytheism is founded on cyclical gift-giving. It is about giving out of love and respect rather than as a business deal. Sacrifices/offerings and prayer are the main ways of building a relationship with the Theoi or a particular god.[7][9]

A word you will seen thrown around during discussion of worshiper-deity relationships is kharis, sometimes transliterated as charis. Kharis can be defined as beauty, but it can also refer to a reciprocal relationship of favor, thankfulness, and gratitude.[9][13]

There are formal rituals or festivals someone can take part in (either by themselves or with others) that usually have the format of a procession (a walk with intention towards the altar), purification (cleansing miasma which you can read about further down the page), hymns (in the format of singing, spoken words, or mindful thinking; you can find some online or write your own), sacrifice/offering, some sort of prayer, and food.[7]

Sometimes the order of purification and procession are swapped. If you cannot or do not want to do any of these, I think it is valid to change them. It may be helpful to you to still have a fixed format of your own making, however, for formal occasions.

Animal sacrifice is a topic many are quick to bring up when learning about Hellenic polytheism, and for good reason. It is true that in ancient Greece animal sacrifices were common and encouraged. However, in modern times it is generally discouraged by practioners.[7][14] Instead, we may give other traditional offerings, or even get creative. You can bake or cook food in the shape of animals and offer these instead. Typically these are cakes or cookies using cookie cutters.[14] You can also use stuffed animals as a stand in.

The Theoi may have different relationships with their devotees; that does not mean any one devotee is more special or "better" or that someone is doing something "wrong". We all have different interpretations of the gods, different needs and wants from our relationships with them, and different experiences with religion.

On the topic of different interpretations, I think it is important for people new to Hellenic polytheism to let go of the idea of neat boxes for the Theoi. Often, you will see or hear about people giving a one-liner to a deity ("Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty"), and while this may be true to some extent, it isn't the entirety of their self. There are also no hard boundaries within domains for the Theoi; Aphrodite is a deity of love and desire and so is Eros.[4]

A common type of sacrifice is a libation, a drink poured out as a dedication to the gods. There are two main types, one given to khthonic deities (a khoe) and the other being to non-khthonic deities (sometimes called a sponde). Libations are typically placed on an altar or poured into an appropriate area (such as the earth or into the sea). Libations are typically water, honey, oil, wine, perfumes, milk, or juice. A libation is considered sacred and significant because once it has left its container, a liquid can never be returned. Libations are usually given from a designated cup, one for general libations and another for khoes.

Khoes are offered by placing the vessel on the ground and then tipping it over suddenly. While a libation may generally be consumed by the offeror, a khoe is never to be drunk except by the dead or khthonic god(s).[1][15]

Other offerings include fruit, incense, seeds, flowers, bread, cakes, sweets, other foods, etc. For food, a bit of the meal is set aside for the Theoi, and the rest is consumed. This food is generally placed on an altar and/or burned.[15] Barley and wheat seeds are traditional offerings to the dead, barley seeds for animals and wheat seeds for humans.[14] Trinkets, songs, poetry, and artwork may also be offered to the gods, as well as acts of service dedicated to a particular god (or the Theoi generally).

Before giving offerings, a practitioner may do a ritual cleansing involving khernips. Khernips is a type of cleanser made from extinguishing a stick of incense (or sometimes a dried leaf, twig, herbs, etc.) in the water (spring water and/or seawater). Then you wash your hands and face and sprinkle the khernips on whatever else you're purifying (a location, objects, or other participants).[16][17][18]

The reason people may choose to go through a more elaborate cleansing ritual than a simply shower is due to the belief in miasma. What miasma is seems to vary from person to person, and I've had a very difficult time finding scholarly sources on it. Many people explain miasma as spiritual dirtiness, though different than the concept of sin in that it is expected and normal for everyone to incur it. It is not something to feel ashamed of, it is simply something that separates mortals from gods.[7][19]The explanations I've read about have various theories on what causes miasma, with the main consistencies being childbirth, death, sickness, and sexual activity.

I found one book that is in-depth on ancient Greek views on impurity/purity, Miasma: Pollution and Purification in early Greek Religion by Robert Parker. In it, it states elaborate purification rituals were not found in ancient Greece, but the more formal ceremonies/rituals required more formal purification. It also states ancient Greeks did not worship the gods because they are pure but because they are "powerful and immortal". Purity is more about cleanliness; you clean yourself up out of respect to yourself and others.

From my research, I personally have landed on believing that miasma is important to be aware of, but that khernips are unnecessary except for formal rituals. Ideally I wash my hands before prayer or offerings, but sometimes that's not possible in our moments of need.

Household Worship

Household worship is perhaps the most important part of the religion. Communal worship was also considered very important, but as that is much more difficult to find in modern times, household worship is even more integral. Household worship is about honoring the family living in the home and the buildings themselves. It also includes family traditions. The primary gods of the household include Hestia, Zeus, and Apollo, with Zeus and Apollo honored with specific aspects.

Hestia is the hearth goddess, and according to Hellenic Polytheism: Household Worship, “the one who gave humanity the gift of home”. Much like how the hearth was considered the central part of the home according to the ancient Greeks, Hestia is the central god of the home. The hearth (which used to be an important fixture in homes and cities) was considered to be the altar for Hestia, and the flames a manifestation of the goddess. The book also says many household rituals begin with a prayer to Hestia.

The next two are both aspects of Zeus, with the first of the pair being Zeus Ktesios (of the Stores/of Property), the protector of the homes prosperity (though sometimes he is said to be the giver of the home's wealth, rather than the protector).[20] His altar was placed in the storage room of the house, and depicted as a (non-venomous) house snake that protected the household goods (such as wool or food) in the storeroom. The second aspect is Zeus Erkeios/Herkeios (of the Fence/of the Courtyard) is a protector of home and his altar was placed in the courtyard of the home.[20][21][22]

Finally, Apollo Agyieus (of the Street) protects the home from sudden disasters[15][20][21][22] and is also a protector of travelers passing by.[22]

Traditionally, rituals related to Zeus Ktesios, Zeus Herkeios, and Apollo Agyieus were all done by the father of the household, with women having no rituals we know of within the home. The mothers had other spiritual roles that they could play outside of the home instead.[20] However, in modern times, these gendered roles are largely ignored by practitioners I've seen. Additionally, plenty of people have only one household altar for their religious practice—or even no altar at all in some cases—and still feel personal success with their spiritual life. You do not need separate altars for each god you worship, it's more about the intention behind your actions. Some people only focus on Hestia in household worship, others include all of them, or others navigate their religious routine without these gods at all.

In ancient Greece, hero worship (such as worship of Herakles) was also commonly done alongside worship of the Theoi. Many modern Hellenic polytheists keep up this practice, in addition to adding ancestor veneration. Ancestor veneration may include biological or adoptive ancestors, and sometimes people may include community ancestors within their practice as well (such as queer elders).[23] Hero worship was treated similarly to worship of khthonic deities, since heroes and ancestors are dead/of the earth. However, hero worship was not given as much emphasis as deity worship.[22]

Generations and Categories of Gods

The Family Tree

The family tree of the Theoi can get confusing very quickly, especially due to the fact there are conflicting sources on various heritages. Many practitioners end up figuring out which versions of the family tree they believe in over time. With this said, there are some consistent beliefs, including the names of the generations of the gods. There are four main generational categories, though "generation" is used loosely as some categories span multiple generations. I will include examples of deities commonly associated with each generation using Hesiod's Theogony as a source, but remember that this is not the only theory on the gods' relations.

Protogenoi

Protogenoi, also known as primordial gods, are the original immortal beings that provide form to the universe.[24][25] These gods are heavily tied to their native domain, to the point where they are rarely depicted in an anthropomorphized form. The first of this generation includes: Chaos/Khaos (air), the goddess that fills the gap between the heaven and earth, and the first of the primordial gods; Gaia/Gaea (earth), the goddess of the earth who came next after Chaos; Tartarus, the god of the pit of Tartarus in the Underworld/below the earth; and Eros (different from the god-ling Eros, and called Phanes in the Orphic cosmogony), the god of creation. There are also other protogenoi that were formed shortly after these firsts, such as Uranus (the sky) from Gaia or Nyx (the night) from Chaos.[26]

Titans

The twelve elder titans are the children of Uranus and Gaia. Notably, this generation includes Kronos/Cronus who fathered the first of the Olympian gods with Rhea, another of the elder twelve.[27] The younger titans are children of the elder titans, an example being Atlas, the god who holds the sky, child of Iapetus (an elder titan) and Klymene (who herself was an elder Oceanid, daughters of the elder titans Oceanus and Tethys).[25][27]

Olympian gods

The first of the Olympian gods were born to Kronos and Rhea, with Hestia being the firstborn. Kronos swallowed each child directly after they were born as he had heard a prophecy that one of these children would kill him and take his throne as king.[28] Then came Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus, though he also fathered other children who do not fit this category (such as Chiron). After Zeus was saved by his mother and had grown up, he rescued his siblings and started a war against Kronos.

These Olympian gods had their own children who were also counted amongst this category, such as Artemis (daughter of Zeus and Leto). Notably, Aphrodite is an exception to this. She is an Olympian god even though she was born of the sea foam created from when Uranus's severed genitals were cast into the sea.[25][29]

Heroes/deified mortals

As said above, Hellenic polytheists sometimes worship heroes in addition to deities, like the cult of Perseus[30]. Heroes in mythology also sometimes become gods, such as Psyche who was mortal but was given immortality by Zeus after she completed many trials to save her god-ling love, Eros.[31]

There are other categories we can use to look at the Hellenic pantheon as well. An important categorical distinction is ouranic versus khthonic.

Ouranic vs Khthonic

Ouranic deities are gods that are associated with the sky/heavens. These gods do not touch or have functions related to the Underworld with a few exceptions. Hermes has an epithet (Khthonios) to refer to the aspect of him that guides souls to the Underworld. Khthonic gods—gods of the or related to the Underworld—do not require epithets to distinguish them as khthonic deities.[4][20][32] Khthonic and ouranic do not refer to morality in terms of "good" or "bad". In fact, it is entirely divorced from morality, it is simply about the proximity to the Underworld. Hades, king of the Underworld, was never considered to be and is not a fallen angel or the equivalent of Satan. He was feared in Ancient Greece due to the inherent lack of knowledge surrounding death and was given little worship, but he was not considered evil.[4]

References

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  2. Greek religion | Beliefs, History, & Facts | Britannica [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2024 Jan 12]. Available from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Greek-religion
  3. Eidinow E, Kindt J, editors. The Oxford handbook of ancient Greek religion. Oxford, United Kingdom; New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2015. 708 p.
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  5. ThoughtCo [Internet]. [cited 2024 Jan 14]. The Etymology of the Word Pagan. Available from: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-pagan-120163
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  8. 11 Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a Hellenic Polytheist [Internet]. 2022 [cited 2024 Jan 15]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3kl1mZaUfM
  9. Rienties G door M. Kharis (Χάρις); our relationship with the Gods [Internet]. [cited 2024 Jan 14]. Available from: http://baringtheaegis.blogspot.com/2012/07/kharis-our-relationship-with-gods.html
  10. pikacathook. What constitutes “asking for favors”? [Internet]. r/Hellenism. 2022 [cited 2024 Jan 14]. Available from: www.reddit.com/r/Hellenism/comments/u6dart/what_constitutes_asking_for_favors/
  11. ARETE definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 Jan 14]. Available from: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/arete
  12. Definition of HOSPITABLE [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 Jan 15]. Available from: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hospitable
  13. Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, χάρις [Internet]. [cited 2024 Jan 29]. Available from: https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=xa/ris
  14. HellenicGods.org [Internet]. [cited 2023 Aug 21]. Available from: https://www.hellenicgods.org/
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  18. Thenea. With Clean Hands: The Nuts and Bolts of Khernips [Internet]. Magick From Scratch. 2015 [cited 2024 Jan 19]. Available from: https://magickfromscratch.com/2015/07/12/with-clean-hands-the-nuts-and-bolts-of-khernips/
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  23. Shared doxa.
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