Ink and Gold

-‘Who lives and must not die’. The myth of Adonis in Hellenistic poetry. Aleksandra Klęczar

The iconography of hunters involved in boar hunting suggests to identify, in all cases examined, young individuals and not yet adults. It is not difficult to imagine that this activity could be related to the male rite of passage, according to the rituals seen in many traditional societies, that explains the successful defeat of a fierce wild animal, e.g. boar, as a test of manhood

-Exercise of Dominance. Boar Hunting in Mycenaean Religion and Hittite Royal Rituals, M. Hutter und S. Hutter-Braunsar, Offizielle Religion, lokale Kulte und individuelle Religiositat, Ugarit Verlag Munster, 2004, pp. 117-135

In Aegean art the hunt centers on deer and boar. The boar hunt has not been considered in this review because as of yet there are no clear associations with any of the feasting scenes. It may be that the boar hunt was a separate activity, reserved for the elite and, as we know from later sources, a sign of manhood and therefore a restricted rite of passage.

-A SURVEY OF EVIDENCE FOR FEASTING IN MYCENAEAN SOCIETY

I feel like not enough time is spent in HelPol spaces discussing the regional variation of the religion, beyond occasional hat-tips to the preference shown to certain theoi in certain regions. In an attempt to get many thoughts out of my head in an orderly fashion, some blurbs: ಄ The majority of helpols are, whether consciously or unconsciously, practicing more or less a variation of Athenian (or generally Attican) polytheism. This is just due to source survival bias. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, but it often isn't discussed openly, nor do many authors take the time to specify that we're aware in the records of regional variance. ಄ Additionally, records hugely skew towards civil worship (as opposed to household or rural worship), which both reinforces the regional bias towards more heavily developed at the time regions of Greece and obscures by ommission many aspects of daily life for the average Hellene that we can now only really infer ಄ Cultural conflation is an issue here, and one that does matter. Although certainly no one is arguing that Thessaly is any more or less Greek than Laconia, the way we interpret the idea of a unified 'ancient Greek culture' is very modern, and removes a great deal of political and cultural context. Responsible reconstruction requires acknowledgement of both intracultural and intercultural forces, and the fuzziness of the boundaries between what is and isn't 'the same culture'. As modern, often foriegn, practitioners we need to be careful that we're not partaking in intermingling regional disparities based purely on preference without acknowledging the complexity of their origins.

Zeus: "Is this mine?"

Hera: Immediate snuggles and she basically becomes its god-mother.

Ares: Freezes for 0.2 seconds. Then carries it around everywhere.

Athena: Holds it awkwardly while it stares at her. She almost immediately hands it over to Hera.

Artemis: Is a midwife, so she knows what she's doing. Wraps it in a star blanket and shows it off to her huntresses.

Apollo: Eyes it suspiciously because last time he trusted a baby, it stole his cows.

Hephaestus: Not the most fussed, but will watch over it as it sleeps.

Hermes: "His name is squishy, and he shall be mine, and he shall be my squishy."

Dionysus: Would immediately try to give it wine

Hades: Awkward smol bean. It would love him to pieces, because babies do not fear death.

Persephone: Entertains it by growing flowers from her fingertips, and dropping petals on its head.

Poseidon: "Please tell me this isn't mine."

Hestia: Immediate snuggles. She's every babies' favourite.

Demeter: Not fussed. Unless it's a girl. Then she's all over it