a big gay boi

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SLIGHT AMNESTY EP 28 SPOILERS

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BoDY 

oNcE  TOLd mE

When you awoke, the wolf was gone.

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! 

It’s the knowledge that makes it fun. HERE THAT KIDDIES GO RESEARCH *puts thinking hat on* 🎩

Then share ❤️

Hellenic Polytheism can be a bit daunting to start off - and it’s hard to know where to find the right information or what to research! Hopefully this post will help to give you a starting point - but please don’t base all your information off of one person! NOTE: I may link posts with conflicting information/methods. I leave it to you to decide what feels right and fits for you!

Edit: all links that are italicized are broken. A lot of folks deleted their blogs which cut off access to their posts! I’m in the process of replacing them.

Websites, book lists and PDFs:

Theoi.com

Hellenism resources

PDFs of myths

Classics, mythology and modern worship

HP book list

Book recommendations and online resources

The types of HP:

Hellenic revivalism

Recon vs. Revivalism

The basics of practicing HP:

Making libations

Khernips + Khernips pt. 2 + pt. 3

Introduction to epithets

Veiling basics + Veiling/Hair binding history

How to write a prayer

Daily prayer format

Homeric hymns (helpful for writing devotionals, hymns, etc.)

Getting started (what to research)

Getting started (introducing yourself)

Hellenic Calendars and when to worship deities:

The days of the month

Devotions for the last day of the month

A Hellenismos calendar 

Hellenic holy days, holidays and more

Holidays and what to do for them

Pronunciation and terminology:

Formal pronunciation for the Theoi

Hellenic vs. Hellenistic 

What is Miasma?

The pillars of Hellenismos 

Terminology + basics

Hellenic terminology

Finding / Information on deities:

Sacred animals of the gods + Another post on the matter

Nature spirits

Theoi.com (my go-to)

Other resources:

Lists of devotees on tumblr

Practical practicing of HP

Other HP 101 posts:

This masterpost is so valuable and helpful

Note: Some areas are certainly lacking in the information department, please add resources if you have them! I’ve included all I could find as of late 2018. 

I’ve got just about a year under my belt now, so I’m very much still a baby myself. But here’s a few things I wish I’d known, or think might be helpful.

Just make khernips with a match. No really. It’s the extinguishing of a flame in the water that makes it lustral. Don’t worry about the rest unless you really want to and have the time.

You don’t have to introduce yourself to any gods. They all want to be worshiped; just get to it.

We’re not as intimidating as you think we are. We just…read a lot. You can read a lot too. You’re welcome here. We’ll even help.

Books are expensive. Theoi.com’s library is free.

Statuary is nice. It is also wicked pricey. Here’s what you need on an altar: A bowl for offerings, a vessel for khernips (can be near the altar rather than on it)

Wine, olive oil, honey, water are pretty universal libations. You’re welcome.

Dispose of offerings however works for you. Just do it with respect, and you’re fine. Oh but don’t consume offerings to cthonic (underground) deities, alright? That’s bad times.

The gods demand Arete. That is your personal best, not the best of the person next to you, or your mother, or somebody you idolize on tumblr. Do your best.

This is a religion of Kharis. When you ask the gods for something, give them something. Then, do not forget the thank you. Offer again if you are granted what you asked for.

Our tumblr community is pretty great, but we also are sometimes wrong. Find sources, and for gods’ sake do not try to replace your studies with Tumblr. Read for yourself, learn for yourself, build your religion such that it best honors the gods and works for you.

If you’re like me, you’re constantly moaning “How do you pronounce THAT?”. I know, friend, I know. Try a couple of these lessons on the ancient Greek alphabet. It is NOT fool proof. It is an incredibly complex language, and pronouncing it ain’t easy. But boy it will help with those particularly tricky epithets.

Oaths are serious business. Gods are easy to fall in love with. Be careful. Be patient. 

Real life pagans are way, way nicer than the ones on the internet. Go find them.

There are exceptions to most rules. Most of those exceptions are Dionysos.

“I don’t know what to say” “I don’t know how to write a hymn” We basically have a hymnal. 

No, ___ will not get jealous if you also worship ____. It’s a fear of us recovering monotheists, but I promise it does not apply to this religion. It’s kind of what POLYtheist means, and plus, most of our gods are related. Show the whole family some love.

“What is [god name] like?” They’re pretty fucking cool. Go find out for yourself, and bring gifts.