Get In Loser We’re Going To Eleusis

Pssst! You know you can use the Greek names of the Greek gods, right? I'm not talking about ancient Greek. I'm talking about contemporary, spoken Greek. You know the names still exist in Greek. Right....?

Not only the ancient names for figures and terms have remained exactly the same for the most part, but also they're not worse, disrespectful, or "less formal". They are literally the Greek names of the gods/heroes/creatures/terminology today.

You don't have to address these figures the way our people did more than two thousand years ago. Millions of living Greeks today still speak the names of the Greek gods. In the Greek language.

I understand that the versions you use can depend on the resources available to you. And it's fine if you only know the ancient ones, or you only want to use those. But I'd like to make you aware that you don't have to be stuck in 300 BCE linguistically.

Not even the Greek language itself is stuck in 300 BCE! In fact, by 299 BCE, our language had already slightly changed from the year prior, and it continues to do so every year for... well, for a few thousand years at this point.

Ancient names make sense when one uses them in academic contexts, in the study of ancient Greek society and religion. But this religion and culture don't exist in a vacuum inside your history books. This linguistic stagnation in everyday life, though, is part of the centuries-long Western European / American obsession with seeing the Greek culture and language like something divorced from the real world.

There's no particular justification that demands you use the ancient versions in modern informal settings. On the contrary, why not address the Greek gods in the current form of the Greek language?

But, like OP said, foreigners using the ancient versions is not considered an offense. Sometimes this is what's most accessible. And of course, one can have other words for the names of the Greek gods in their language. It would be ridiculous to hold such a thing against them.

Aphrodite isn't called Pandemos (of All People) so you can sit around and let the big names capitalise love and serve it only to those who can afford to pay past the persecution. Hermes isn't called Oeopolus (Shepherd) so you can sit around and let a bunch of power-hungry wolves lead a flock of influencable sheep. Apollo isn't called Paean (Healer) so you can sit around while wealthy corporations serve healthcare only to those who can afford not to die. Athena isn't called Ambulia (Counsellor) so you can sit around while the people are being fed propaganda against each other to divert them from the real enemy at the top. Dionysus isn't called Eleuthereus (the Liberator) so you can sit around while freedom is only granted to those whose skins have the acceptable colour while the others die in chains. Zeus isn't called Xenios (of the Foreigners) so you can sit around while the borders are closed to those who need it and only open to those who can give back the money.

When burying an offering to a chthonic or chthonian deity (or for whatever reason you’re putting an offering outside) please be careful as to what food you’re putting outside.

Research your local fauna and don’t put anything harmful outside!! If there are a lot of stray cats or dogs in your area, don’t set out grapes as an offering. Avoid things like chocolate, garlic, anything seasoned as those can be dangerous to a wide variety of creatures.

Here’s a list of relatively neutral foods you can offer outside—

⪼ Unseasoned meat like beef or chicken - it’ll be largely left alone by prey creatures and won’t harmful to any meat eaters

⪼ Carrots - because of sugar content, they’re only fed to animals as treats but they won’t make an impact from a single offering

⪼ Apples - Most wildlife can consume apples!! Only offer the flesh though, the stem and leaves can contain cyanide

⪼ Blueberries - These are also safe for most wildlife to consume!!

⪼ Figs - TOXIC TO CATS!! These are fine for most wildlife but can be dangerous to cats and more than a few pieces of the fruit can be harmful to dogs depending on size. Squirrels love them though (please be careful about any cats in your area if you plan to offer figs)

⪼ Olives - be careful about salt content, but they generally aren’t harmful. Please de-pit the olives though. The pits can cause choking hazards.

⪼ Pomegranate - basically safe for anything that isn’t a cat or dog. Squirrels love them. They can cause digestive upset to cats and dogs. Don’t set out peels though, they can contain cyanide.

⪼ Artichoke - these are safe for most animals!!

Always make sure to cut the offering up as well to prevent any choking hazards.

I usually get annoyed with these sorts of videos but like… they’re actually completely correct here lol