#kathiskos

Kathiskos for this month.

Life has been wildly busy. This is all I have managed to do between night shift, finals, and clinicals. Gods help me.

With frankincense burning, I mean this Orphic hymn more than ever. I am living proof that the gods are full of understanding when our lives get so busy that we can’t keep up.

Our altar for Noumenia.

What is a Kathiskos?

(for hellenic polytheists)

A Kathiskos is a small, two-handled jar traditionally used by ancient Greeks as an offering to Zeus Ktesios, the protector of the household and provider of prosperity. Filled with water, olive oil, and food from the pantry, the Kathiskos symbolizes a portion of the household's wealth offered in gratitude. The jar was decorated with white wool and yellow thread, representing protection & good fortune.

Made a Kathiskos in honor of Zeus Ktesios. I found an awesome brass snake figurine at the flea market to put on top of it.

I used this as a guide on how to make it:

Zeus Ktesios, of the property or of the possessions, was a household-based epithet of Zeus focussed primarily on the prosperity and wealth of the household by way of protecting the stores of the house. The Doric form of this epithet was Pasios [1], which shows how widely worshipped this Zeus was.

Both Zeus Ktesios and the Agathos Daimon appear as a snake [3]. Zeus Meilikhios and the Dioscuri, the twin sons of Zeus, are also represented by snakes, so there is some commonality there. Zeus also has the epithet Agathos Daimon or Agathos Theos. It is possible the good house snake Agathos Daimon is an aspect of Zeus, but is more commonly believed to be a separate entity.

Zeus Ktesios is placed in the storeroom not as a cult image or statue but as a kadiskos, a jar or amphora decorated and filled with water, oil, and a mixture common to Ancient Greece called panspermia (pankarpia) which can be a meal of fruits and grains. This as well as incense and some more public sacrifices [4] was the offering to Zeus Ktesios. As the kadiskos was a common household item, it was difficult to identify as sacred or separate from other household goods.

A Modern Kadiskos

It is common practice, or commonly accepted practice, in modern hellenic polytheism to replace the Kadiskos once a month on the Noumenia. Even in a sealed jar the mixture described above would easily spoil if left for a month.

Instead, offering this mixture at Noumenia and clearing it away after a shorter amount of time before it spoils would suffice, or simplifying the offering to just water, just oil, or a dry mix of the various fruits and grains that can be included in panspermia would be a good alternative.

The Kadiskos could be placed inside a pantry, potentially a linen cupboard, or if space and/or access is a problem on an altar or shrine.

🏺

[1] Nilsson, Greek Popular Religion pg 55

[2] Image: Antikleides Kadiskos translation pg 19

[3] Burkert, Greek Religion pg 130, and Nilsson, Greek Popular Religion pg 55

[4] Kearns, Ancient Greek Religion: A Sourcebook pg 156-157

Amphora image

Interesting forum discussion on the kadiskos