𓏲 Καλλίστη ༉‧₊˚.

Daughter of Rhea, who hast in thy keeping the city halls, O Hestia! sister of highest Zeus and of Hera sharer of his throne, with good-will welcome Aristagoras to thy sanctuary, with goodwill also his fellows who draw nigh to thy glorious sceptre, for they in paying honour unto thee keep Tenedos in her place erect, by drink-offerings glorifying thee many times before the other gods, and many times by the savour of burnt sacrifice; and the sound of their lutes is loud, and of their songs: and at their tables never-failing are celebrated the rites of Zeus, the stranger's friend.

- Pindar, Nemean Ode 11, in celebrating an election

An excerpt I don't see shared around as often, and a depiction of Hestia's civil function as it pertains to state government.

The 'sanctuary' at mention here is the prytaneion of the city. A kind of city hall or council headquarters where governmental figures would meet and diplomacy would be handled. This, like really all similar structures of the era, housed a perpetual flame which represented the dominion of the gods, namely Hestia herself, and at times was viewed as the living breath of the state itself. But this flame would be one of the most important flames in the region, and was the 'seed flame' from which new fires would be brought to new settlements.

This building was seen as a kind of 'home', for the government itself rather than a family unit, and so like all other homes and civil hearths, was under Hestia's direct dominion. It goes to follow then that she's being asked to welcome a newly elected official into her home.

Her hearth would be central to the building, and subsequently all life would happen around it. As her flames were seen as the line of communication and connection between the state and the gods, she herself had an important role as an intermediary in all affairs.

Praise Rheia! Mother of the deathless Olympians, lover of wild rites.

Praise Hera! Mother of Zeus' strong children, Queen of Olympos.

Praise Demeter! Mother of bountiful Kore, bringer of harvest.

Praise Maia! Mother of clever Hermes, nurse of the young.

Praise Leto! Mother of far-shooting twins, darkly-veiled grafter.

Praise Aphrodite! Mother of love in many forms, heavenly Cyprian.

(…)

The association with Demeter and Kore, and the whole tenor of Strabo’s description, make it clear that this is an agricultural cult. The close connection between Demeter and Hades here is therefore unsurprising, but it is worth noting that the area, as de- scribed by Strabo, is not straightforwardly fertile: it is also subject to disease. More- over Hades’ influence has extended far enough to have one of the rivers, Acheron, named for the underworld. So in what way does the presence of Hades ensure a good harvest? It seems likely that this is one of those instances when one god gives and another takes away. Demeter has the harvest in her purview, whereas Hades has red-rust and rush. Hades is the destructive flip side of Demeter’s generosity; cult is offered to please her and improve the harvest, and to placate him and re- duce disease. Hades is thus beneficent only insofar as he restrains his ability to cause the destruction of the crop. Even though he is a god of agricultural wealth, this destructive potential allies him also with his role as the lord of the dead.

Why, Who, What, When, Where pattern.

No time limit because I didn't feel like this being a school assignment. You can add as much or as little info as you like to each question. Each question can be its own post or all three questions in each W can be one post. I want this to be flexible! Don't be afraid to pick a Theos even if another blogger has chosen the same one.

Some questions may not have answers depending on who you pick. This is designed for Greek Pantheon, but can be used for other pantheons if you want! Make sure to fix the "where" questions. It can also be used for heroes, daimones, or any other spirits— modify questions as needed.

Tag posts "#thinking of the gods research" so others can enjoy your work.

Finding and citing sources is highly encouraged since that is the point: to research.

🔸Getting Started on Research

🔸Determine Source's Validity

🔸Big Giant List of (mostly) Free Resources

🔸Citing Sources For Tumblr Posts

🔸Free JSTOR Account

🔸How to use the Internet Archive

⚫️ Why? Γιατί;

This is designed to focus on one of the Theoi.

Pick one of the Theoi.

Why do you want to research this Theos?

Why is this Theos important to the 'modern world' (if you think they are)?

⚫️ Who? Ποιος;

Who is the family of this Theos (parents, siblings, children etc)? There may be multiple variations.

Who is in this Theos retinue (messengers/heralds, cup bearer, student, companions etc)?

Who was considered the "equivalent of" or was syncretized with this Theos? This includes historical associations in any pantheon, not just Greek.

⚫️ What? Τι;

What are some of "roles" or "functions" of this Theos?

What are some of this Theos important epithets and their meanings?

What are the historical associations of this Theos (e.g animals, types of locations, etc)?

⚫️ When? Πότε;

When is the earliest possible mention/worship of this Theos? (This is usually speculative, like Hekate being from Anatolia)

When was the earliest undisputed evidence, of this Theos being worshipped?

When else was this Theos honored? Did they have any ancient festivals?

⚫️ Where? Πού;

Where was this Theos worshipped in the regions of "ancient Greece"?

Where was this Theos worshipped in other regions, i.e the Greek colonies or otherwise?

Are there any other special locations—real or mythological—this Theos is associated with?

⚫️ Optional Post Research Reflection

What was the favorite thing you learned?

Has this changed your view of this Theos? If yes, how?

What was the best (non-Theoi Project) source you would recommend to others?

Any personal experiences with this Theos you'd like to share?

Apollo holding the kithara from the Temple of Venus at Hadrian’s Villa (detail)

She does not the name of Cypris only own, But by a hundred other names is known: She's hell on earth (Ἅιδης), continued violence (βία), And rage subduing all the force of sense (μανιάς).

ὦ παῖδες, ἥ τοι Κύπρις οὐ Κύπρις μόνον, ἀλλ᾽ ἔστι πολλῶν ὀνομάτων ἐπώνυμος. ἔστιν μὲν Ἅιδης, ἔστι δ᾽ ἄφθιτος βία, ἔστιν δὲ λύσσα μανιάς (Plutarch, Morals, of love, 757 = Sophocles, fr. 941)

The homeromanteion, or the homeric oracle, is a form of dice divination using fragments of homeric verses to get oracular answers by lot. According to the oxyrhynchus papyrus, it could be also called ‘the scimitar’.

To perform the homeromanteion, first, you need to check that the days and hours (see below) are favourable for divination.

Once the timing is favourable, you then recite a set prayer to Apollo (see below) while thinking of the question you want answered. The prayer is made of five lines from homeric verses. The first three are consecutive lines from the Iliad (Il. XVI 514-516), then two seperate lines from the Odyssey (Od. I 147; Od. XVIII 173).

Then, a dice has to be rolled thrice (or three die once); the three digit number obtained will correspond to a homeric verse, which will be the oracular answer. Below is a list of the possible results and their corresponding fragment. (Excuse the text size, for a list the clearer, see: this pdf – you have to scroll a lot though soz.)

For an online homeromanteion, see: here.

Sources:

PGM VII 1-148

P. Oxy. LVI 3831