Pilgrimage to Eleusis

welcome to my religion blog :D

name: hyakinthos/val

age: 22

pronouns: he/him (or any)

i'm making this blog in order to share my religious and spiritual journey through polytheism. i'm an ancient history nerd and an avid (but still learning!) student of greek neoplatonism as expressed by those such as plotinus and iamblichus, and am striving to dedicate my life to the theoi.

respectfully, if you're a percy jackson or lore olympus fandom account please DNI. ALSO, any transphobes, queerphobes, fascists, zionists, take your asses elsewhere.

i'll share my religious art and theological ramblings here :)

my specific interests include:

- ancient mediterranean history

- ancient near eastern history

- religious history (for any and all religions!)

- ancient mystery cults

- ancient mysticism

- greco-buddhism

Blessed Aphrodite, whose radiant smile illuminates the entire cosmos, hail! Hail, O foam-begotten mother.

The iconography in this drawing borrows heavily from Kemetic religion-- her crown is that of Isis and Hathor, and her body is covered with stars like Nut, goddess of the night sky.

She wears earrings that come from the ancient Cypriot votive images depicting mother goddesses, and on her hips she wears images of the sun and moon, which are inspired by the solar and lunar imagery present on her cult image from Aphrodisias.

I DESPERATELY want to have that temple constructed and have a community where like-minded folks can hang out. To celebrate the Theoi in the ways that we can.

I saw your reblog on mystery cults and priests so I wanted to get your opinion. Also, do you have any resources that I should look into? I'm always happy to find something new so I thought to ask.

Anyhow, thank you in advance.

Hello!

I absolutely think it is possible to create new cults in our day and age. It's my opinion that cultus requires at least a small amount of community to get its feet off the ground, and thankfully there are people engaging in the creation and fostering of new cults, (even mystery cults,) as we speak.

Attempting to bring back the ancient mystery cults like those of Samothrace and Eleusis is impossible, as those cults were embedded and formed in specific contexts and cultural environments-- but the Theoi are constantly communicating their mysteries to us, and it's our task to bring those mysteries to others.

The main resource I would direct you to is Mt. Nysa, an organization that is dedicated to giving those who practice Hellenic Polytheism the opportunity to engage with their religion on a very deep and intimate level. They have several courses that deal with specific topics related to mystery cults and other ancient practices, as well as a Hiereus (priest) training course for those who wish to foster their own community and specialize in ritual cultus!

I'll link them here:

"Well, why don't you sacrifice animals then, huh? You're not a real believer if you don't sacrifice animals!"

Let's examine this. I'm going to be specifically looking at Ancient Greece and Rome, as those are the cultures whose ritual practices I'm more familiar with.

Animal sacrifice was an integral part of public worship for the Greeks and Romans. It was believed that, while the gods didn't physically consume the offerings, they were satisfied by the smell of the burning smoke. At nearly every major festival or public ritual, a certain type of animal would be sacrificed, whether it was a bull, cow, pig, sheep, or goat. Certain deities had specific animals that were generally considered sacred to them, and as such were seen as proper sacrifices.

While animal sacrifice was a key part of public ritual, it was not readily available for all levels of society. Poorer citizens and slaves could not typically afford to sacrifice animals, and as such, they developed creative substitutes, like clay votive animals. These have been found at many ancient sites across Greece and Rome, and shed light onto the ritual practices of common people.

There was a general belief among both Greeks and Romans that the gods accepted any sacrifice or offering equally, as long as the intention of the person offering it was good.

Back when we were having the US elections, (especially after the results came out,) a bunch of people started posting about how "the gods are angry at the election results!"

I don't really think I need to explain why that's a ridiculous notion. The gods certainly care about human affairs and can intervene in our world, but to act like they care more about the US elections than say, genocides or wars happening all across the world, is just stupid.

I just saw a post that implied that the massive snowstorm affecting parts of the eastern US is a divine punishment from Demeter for the crimes our government and border patrol are committing.

First of all... ???? Demeter is not a goddess of winter or snow. She brought about winter through her grief in the Homeric Hymn, but she does not directly rule over snow and winter. Khione and her father Boreas do.

Second of all, I must emphasize again, the gods do not favor America. It's one thing to pray to the Theoi to intervene in current events. It's another thing entirely to attribute natural disasters to their divine wrath.

(I made a temporary altar setup in my living room as I've been recovering from a cold and have been pretty low energy the past few days!)

Tonight, I offered prayers for the state of the world, and for the souls of those murdered by ICE. I implored Hermes Psykhopompos, guide of the souls of the departed, to watch over their souls and grant them safe passage across the River Acheron. I prayed to Zeus, lord of order and protector of foreigners and strangers, to strengthen the arms of the oppressed, to empower those who are downtrodden, and to cast down the tyrants who abuse power and act in hubris. I prayed to Dionysos Eleuthereus, the Liberator, the Redeemer-- to free those who find themselves captive to powers that exploit them. Dionysos, who breaks down all barriers, social norms, and manmade constructs, who frees the mind, body and soul through divine madness.

Come crowned with ivy and bring surcease of sorrow.

Come shaking and stamping your thyrsus and bring the joy of dance.

Come with amphorai of wine, with sweet grapes sprouting

from your wild curls, and bring laughter, intoxication, and release into sleep.

Come let us see you, let us hear you, be near you,

let us get close enough to touch you, embrace you and kiss you,

taste the wine of your mouth and smell the perfume of your hair.

O Antinous Dionysus, you may be kindly, you may be cruel,

you may be severe, you may be mirthful, but what you never are

is distant, and in your intimate closeness is my ecstasy.

(Hymn written by Merri-Todd Webster)