#gamelion

I honor Zeus Teleios and Hera Teleia with this invocation and prayer, written for my Theogamia rite. Blessed Theogamia! 💍💙💚

🌹Theogamia 2025🌹

February 2025. Altar set up 13th | Ritual 28th

Happy Wedding to King Zeus and Queen Hera!

Gods on Altar: Zeus multiple epithets; Hera multiple epithets.

Hestia and her flame are on the left.

Offerings were gluten-free cupcakes, water libation, and some incense. I eat offerings (base this on Sumerian and Shinto traditions) ... so maybe next time I'll only offer two cupcakes because hoooo boy were they super sugary.

I was a bit frustrated with my issue around epithets and badly presented information from the Theoi Project (link). But I still throughly enjoyed the "progression" story I did with the ritual via epithets, grown adult-> wedding participants-> married King & Queen. It was lovely overall.

Despite the not-perfect information of this year I have an entire year to iron out my idea, learn, and hopefully re-upload an information post with my ritual.

•Literature used

Partial Homeric Hymn to Hestia

Homeric Hymn 23 to Zeus

Homeric Hymn 12 to Hera

Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 17. 4

Hesiod, Theogony 921 ff

Aristophanes, Birds 1720 ff

Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2. 113

Callimachus, Aetia Fragment 2. 3

•Music

Bridal Chorus by Wagner — link

My altar for Noumenia and Agathos Daimon, Gamelion 2024. Highest and central, we have Zeus Ktesios, He who brings bounty into our home. To the left is Hestia, who is eternally due a portion of all offerings. To the right is my Agathos Daimon, in the form of a cobra, which I consider an especially sacred snake. My libation is some delicious coffee and my offering is Gala apples (my favorite) and lavender colored daisies. My kathiskos for the month is also on the altar. When I move Zeus back to His regular place in my kitchen, the kathiskos will go too.

I burned a combination of royal amber, frankincense, and sandalwood oil, which actually caught on fire because I didn't realize I had gotten oil on the outside of the burner. It just isn't January without my annual Practice Fire Safety, Dumbass!!! reminder.

Lenaia is a four-day festival of the 12-15 of Gamelion. Lenaia was held in honor of Dionysos Lenaios and the Maenads, thought to originate in Dionysia. It was most commonly celebrated in Athens and lonia.

In Ancient Greece Lenaia was celebrated with a procession of women and symbols of Dionysos. A wine-mixing ritual could have also taken place. Carrying a representation of Dionysos, dancing Athenian girls carrying castanets and the thyrsus, lively competition were a few ways that the festival was celebrated.

Lenaia might have been traditionally connected to the Eleusinian Mysteries, though now it is seen as separate.

Lenaia is know for the Maeneds celebration. Maeneds, Dionysos' women worshippers, were knows as “Mad Women" They were known to get drunk, dance and follow the word of Dionysos in a group of merriment.

Now Hellenes can celebrate in a few ways.

• Eat, drink and be merry.

• Attend or put on plays or other forms of theater. Watch 'The Frogs' by Aristophanes

• Recite Orphic Hymns 30 and 45, Homeric Hymns I, VII and XXVI

• women's only night-time rite with dancing.

• witches might find it a good time for connection to their more wild side (this would also be a good time to explore The Devil in your work)

Links:

https://www.hellenion.org/festivals

Love, an untamed force A God who wields bow and arrow A connection, form'd between thunder and rain The skies ever-connected, by those who reing it Hera, mother of all, united With Zeus, father over Gods and mortals In love unending, victims of the arrow Together, with strong hands forming all that is hallow

portuguese:

13th day of Gamelion. Second day of Lenaia (probably). Theatrical competitions.

On this 27th day of the lunar month of Gamelion, the ancient Athenians celebrated the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera.

"With that the son of Cronus caught his wife in his arms

and under them now the holy earth burst with fresh green grass,

crocus and hyacinth, clover soaked with dew, so thick and soft

it lifted their bodies off the hard, packed ground…

Folded deep in that bed they lay and round them wrapped

a marvelous cloud of gold, and glistening showers of dew

rained down around them both. And so, deep in peace,

the Father slept on Gargaron peak, conquered by Sleep

And strong assaults of Love, his wife locked in his arms."

--- Homer, "The Iliad," translated by Robert Fagles

Δεκάτη Ὑστέρα- Δεκάτη Φθίνοντος/ Μετεικὰς- Ἀμφιδεκάτη, XXI day

Twenty-first day of Gamelion.

The twenty-first & the twenty-second days are always sacred to Athena.

Athena by Dimitrios Biskinis (greek) 1891-1947