sang the tiger to her king

Please, let me know if any of this is wrong! :) I’m trying to learn more, so if you see something off, send me a message ^_^

Kharis ~ Creating beautiful relationships with the Theoi

Metriotes ~ everything in moderation

Sophia ~ pursuit of wisdom and understanding

Eusebeia ~ Being reverent, and worshiping the Theoi dutifully

Ethike Arete ~ Pursuing the best version of oneself

Sophrosune ~ Self-control by thinking deeply

Xenia ~ Hospitality, and being a thoughtful guest

Although much in the way of religious ritual has been lost, quite a bit of ancient philosophy was saved and adopted by Christians, so we are able to identify and reconstruct the ethical and moral values of ancient Hellenic religion. These virtues are what have become known as the “Pillars of Hellenismos”.

Everyone ends up with their own list of “Pillars”; these are mine:

Kharis - giving without expectation of return, and gratitude for benevolence received

Eusebia - reverence and duty toward the Gods

Arete - striving to live to one’s fullest potential

Hagneia - spiritual and ritual purity

Sophia - the pursuit of wisdom and understanding

Sophrosune - self-control

Devotees, after Apollo gives them advise:

Apollo, when his devotees don't follow his advise:

The Romans:

Adult Home Study for Hellenic and Roman Polytheists 

How do we know what we know about the gods? Much of our knowledge comes from mythology: ancient tales about the gods, fantastic creatures, heroes, and mortals.

There is another meaning of the word “myth”: “widely held, but false, ideas or beliefs,” and all too many of the readily available sources of information about mythology fit that definition. A vast majority of the general population discovers Greek and Roman mythology from motion pictures, video games, and general texts like D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths and Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. A few more have read Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil’s Aeneid, Ovid’s Metamorphosis, and Apuleius’ Golden Ass.

Yet more scholarly, in-depth resources are available to polytheists who want to learn about mythology. The fields of history, archaeology, anthropology, religion, literary criticism, art history and psychology all look at mythology from different perspectives.

History examines how the myths were composed, who told or wrote them, and what people said about them.

Archaeology identifies mythological motifs found on objects and structures, and tries to determine their meaning to those who viewed and used them.

Anthropology seeks to understand the cultural reasons for the creation and  transmission of myths, and the relation of myth to rituals such as rites of passage such as the transition to adulthood, marriage, and death.

Religion regards myths as sacred stories that explain the creation of the universe, and teach moral truths, and seeks to understand the relationship between mythology, belief, and ritual.

Literary criticism investigates the sources of myths, the oral art of storytelling, motifs and themes, the composition of texts, style, meaning, and comparison of different versions.

Art history focuses on images from mythology throughout history, the religious and symbolic meanings, and artistic techniques. 

Psychology delves into the myths as archetypes and symbols, expressions of the collective unconscious, or as a symbolic language to help individuals find meaning and negotiate challenges.

You’ll notice there’s some overlap between these fields. And you should remember that scholars don’t talk to people outside their fields as much as they should.

Many people are initially drawn to the gods after viewing a work of art or reading a story. Some of us have an experience in nature, or in an altered state of consciousness. Becoming aware of a deity is known as an ephipany or personal gnosis, a subjective perception or experience of the presence of the divine. It can be a feeling that a place is sacred, a sense that there is a greater power than ourselves in the universe, or a realization that a higher power has brought about a particular situation.

So, how we know what we know about the gods is…complicated. To really know something, one must regard it from different angles, and take time to understand it. Taken altogether, it’s fairly obvious that each of us necessarily has a different interpretation of mythology, depending on our personal study and experiences.

Unfortunately, many Hellenic and Roman and polytheists have only read the basic mythology titles listed above in their study of the gods. A few more have read books on devotional practice, but most of us haven’t gone much further in our studies. And, because the sources we’ve read just scratch the surface of available knowledge about the gods, our understanding is so superficial that many of us lack the vocabulary to describe our beliefs, and may even harbor misconceptions about one or more deities that harms our relationship with them. Not only does this impede our spiritual progress, but it makes it difficult to talk about our religion to another person. “I worship the gods of the ancient Greeks,” really tells them nothing, except that one is a polytheist.

Since you’re reading this, I assume your religion is an important part of your life, and, if so, your understanding of it deserves to be developed to the best of your ability. I realize not everyone is interested in, or has the temperament for, research, and that books can be expensive and difficult to obtain. However, most libraries have sections on the fields above, quite a lot of solid information is available online, and it can be done in easy-to-digest bites.

Here are some ideas for study that can help to enrich your understanding and interpretation of mythology:

Read about a Mystery cult, a hero cult, the cult of the nymphs, the Roman Imperial cult or the deified personifications of the virtues (Peace, Harmony) in ancient Greece and Rome.

Visit a museum and learn about the archaeology of the regions in which your deities were historically worshiped.

Learn the names and significant events of the different time periods in the ancient Mediterranean. How did agriculture, literacy, mathematics and theater affect society and religion?

Mark the locations of temples dedicated to one of your deities on a map. Are they focused in one area, or are they widespread? What conclusions can you make based on this information?

Read the Homeric and Orphic hymn(s) about a deity to whom you feel little connection, and read a list of their epithets and cult titles. Think about whether the deity seems more approachable, or just as inaccessible.

Study a work of mythological art. What does it tell you about the meaning of the subject in the era in which it was created?

Read an article on Hellenic or Roman mythology from the viewpoint of a modern monotheistic or polytheistic religion.  

Learn a bit about C.G. Jung’s psychological theories and use of mythic symbols, or Joseph Campbell’s monomyth.

Choose a favorite myth and see how many different versions you can find. Are the versions from different times, different places? Do they  have similar or different meanings?

Learn some of the terms used by scholars to describe key concepts in the study of religion. Which of the concepts applies to your own beliefs and practice?

Prepare a meal from an ancient recipe using ingredients that were available in antiquity.

Find out what the ancient philosophers and critics thought about an epic poem or drama.  

Select an art or skill favored by one of your gods, study it, and try applying in your own life. For instance, you could dedicate a study of strategy in honor of Minerva and apply one of the techniques to help win a game, or learn enough about weaving to make a wall hanging to honor Athena.

Choose an ancient war. What issue(s) led to conflict? How was it resolved? What were the chief deities of each side? Did religion, omens, or religious rites play any part in the warfare? Were there heroes of the war? Were legends told about them? Were they given offerings such as a monument or hero-shrine? 

Ironically, I’m writing this to avoid doing my Work Job. Let’s get into it.

Set an alarm so you remember. Pick a specific time you’re going to worship, because “later” never comes and “sometime this evening” rarely does either. Instead, set an alarm so that you already have that time set aside in your mind, and so that you don’t mentally blow past it when that time arrives.

Keep everything in one place. Keep the offerings near where you would offer them, as well as anything you might need to do it, like matches or lighters. Make it so there’s as little travel time as possible between you and what you want to do. 

Think through the ritual setup beforehand. Sometimes the offering part is easy but getting to that point is overwhelming, especially if your tradition involves ritual purification or invocation rituals. Boil it down to the bare essentials and capture the essence in a way that doesn’t have so many steps, if you can. (Ex: Is that personal purification rite just an ancient way of washing away germs, and if so can we just mindfully wash our hands and fulfull the rite’s function?)

Start with something little. Getting started can be the hardest part. If you don’t have the energy for an entire offering ritual, break it into pieces. Just do the setup and approach the rest later if you need. Or just put on a playlist to get into the mood for now. Or take a couple deep breaths to refocus your brain. Ease into it as slowly as you need. 

Think ahead with your offerings. Will you have the spoons to clean up after? If you’re like me and run the risk of not removing an offering for days (or weeks…) then think ahead to what can stay there a long time, just in case. Nobody likes cleaning up the altar and finding mold in the offering dish. Incense, water, and dried plants tend to work well, as do nonphysical things like music and poetry.

“While I’m at it…” If you catch yourself in a spot with good momentum, try to get a rite done while you have the energy instead of putting it off. It can be something simple, but use the energy and the drive while you’re on top of it since we can’t always guarantee it will be there in even an hour. 

Keep things similar so that you don’t have to rethink every step, every time. A rock solid routine with what a ritual looks like helps it become a lot more automatic, and therefore a lot easier to actually do. Routine becomes habit.

✧ Greek mythology ✧  Ares is the Greek god of war. He represents the violent aspect of war, which is in contrast to Athena who represents the military strategy. 

Card for my future Oracle. All rights reserved.

Adult Home Study for Hellenic and Roman Polytheists 

How do we know what we know about the gods? Much of our knowledge comes from mythology: ancient tales about the gods, fantastic creatures, heroes, and mortals.

There is another meaning of the word “myth”: “widely held, but false, ideas or beliefs,” and all too many of the readily available sources of information about mythology fit that definition. A vast majority of the general population discovers Greek and Roman mythology from motion pictures, video games, and general texts like D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths and Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. A few more have read Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil’s Aeneid, Ovid’s Metamorphosis, and Apuleius’ Golden Ass.

Yet more scholarly, in-depth resources are available to polytheists who want to learn about mythology. The fields of history, archaeology, anthropology, religion, literary criticism, art history and psychology all look at mythology from different perspectives.

History examines how the myths were composed, who told or wrote them, and what people said about them.

Archaeology identifies mythological motifs found on objects and structures, and tries to determine their meaning to those who viewed and used them.

Anthropology seeks to understand the cultural reasons for the creation and  transmission of myths, and the relation of myth to rituals such as rites of passage such as the transition to adulthood, marriage, and death.

Religion regards myths as sacred stories that explain the creation of the universe, and teach moral truths, and seeks to understand the relationship between mythology, belief, and ritual.

Literary criticism investigates the sources of myths, the oral art of storytelling, motifs and themes, the composition of texts, style, meaning, and comparison of different versions.

Art history focuses on images from mythology throughout history, the religious and symbolic meanings, and artistic techniques. 

Psychology delves into the myths as archetypes and symbols, expressions of the collective unconscious, or as a symbolic language to help individuals find meaning and negotiate challenges.

You’ll notice there’s some overlap between these fields. And you should remember that scholars don’t talk to people outside their fields as much as they should.

Many people are initially drawn to the gods after viewing a work of art or reading a story. Some of us have an experience in nature, or in an altered state of consciousness. Becoming aware of a deity is known as an ephipany or personal gnosis, a subjective perception or experience of the presence of the divine. It can be a feeling that a place is sacred, a sense that there is a greater power than ourselves in the universe, or a realization that a higher power has brought about a particular situation.

So, how we know what we know about the gods is…complicated. To really know something, one must regard it from different angles, and take time to understand it. Taken altogether, it’s fairly obvious that each of us necessarily has a different interpretation of mythology, depending on our personal study and experiences.

Unfortunately, many Hellenic and Roman and polytheists have only read the basic mythology titles listed above in their study of the gods. A few more have read books on devotional practice, but most of us haven’t gone much further in our studies. And, because the sources we’ve read just scratch the surface of available knowledge about the gods, our understanding is so superficial that many of us lack the vocabulary to describe our beliefs, and may even harbor misconceptions about one or more deities that harms our relationship with them. Not only does this impede our spiritual progress, but it makes it difficult to talk about our religion to another person. “I worship the gods of the ancient Greeks,” really tells them nothing, except that one is a polytheist.

Since you’re reading this, I assume your religion is an important part of your life, and, if so, your understanding of it deserves to be developed to the best of your ability. I realize not everyone is interested in, or has the temperament for, research, and that books can be expensive and difficult to obtain. However, most libraries have sections on the fields above, quite a lot of solid information is available online, and it can be done in easy-to-digest bites.

Here are some ideas for study that can help to enrich your understanding and interpretation of mythology:

Read about a Mystery cult, a hero cult, the cult of the nymphs, the Roman Imperial cult or the deified personifications of the virtues (Peace, Harmony) in ancient Greece and Rome.

Visit a museum and learn about the archaeology of the regions in which your deities were historically worshiped.

Learn the names and significant events of the different time periods in the ancient Mediterranean. How did agriculture, literacy, mathematics and theater affect society and religion?

Mark the locations of temples dedicated to one of your deities on a map. Are they focused in one area, or are they widespread? What conclusions can you make based on this information?

Read the Homeric and Orphic hymn(s) about a deity to whom you feel little connection, and read a list of their epithets and cult titles. Think about whether the deity seems more approachable, or just as inaccessible.

Study a work of mythological art. What does it tell you about the meaning of the subject in the era in which it was created?

Read an article on Hellenic or Roman mythology from the viewpoint of a modern monotheistic or polytheistic religion.  

Learn a bit about C.G. Jung’s psychological theories and use of mythic symbols, or Joseph Campbell’s monomyth.

Choose a favorite myth and see how many different versions you can find. Are the versions from different times, different places? Do they  have similar or different meanings?

Learn some of the terms used by scholars to describe key concepts in the study of religion. Which of the concepts applies to your own beliefs and practice?

Prepare a meal from an ancient recipe using ingredients that were available in antiquity.

Find out what the ancient philosophers and critics thought about an epic poem or drama.  

Select an art or skill favored by one of your gods, study it, and try applying in your own life. For instance, you could dedicate a study of strategy in honor of Minerva and apply one of the techniques to help win a game, or learn enough about weaving to make a wall hanging to honor Athena.

Choose an ancient war. What issue(s) led to conflict? How was it resolved? What were the chief deities of each side? Did religion, omens, or religious rites play any part in the warfare? Were there heroes of the war? Were legends told about them? Were they given offerings such as a monument or hero-shrine? 

Messenger of the Heavens,

Traveler of Gods,

To you I pray.

May you walk alongside me as i carry on my way.

Step by step along my path, I ask for your watchful eye.

Should I be forewarned, send a message from the sky.

Winged Wanderer, I ask for your grace,

Shroud me in protection as I travel place to place.

Row of columns in Ancient Messene, Greece. Photo by: Peulle, 2017 via WIkimedia Commons (X). License: Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The “Pillars of Hellenismos” never really existed.

And by that, I mean the ancient Greeks weren’t taught something called the  “Pillars” of their religion. Their religion had no name, and religious practices were embedded in their culture. People learned about religion and correct behavior from their family and friends, and through participation in worship from a young age. What we know as the “Pillars of Hellenismos” were taught through modeled religious and ethical behavior.

Our modern “Pillars of Hellenismos” originated and are drawn from the virtues taught in ancient Greek philosophy, especially that of Plato and Aristotle. The virtues differ somewhat from list to list, because the various philosophers emphasized different virtues in their works, but the lists generally overlap.

Although much in the way of religious ritual has been lost, quite a bit of ancient philosophy was saved and adopted by Christians, so we are able to identify and reconstruct the ethical and moral values of ancient Hellenic religion. These virtues are what have become known as the “Pillars of Hellenismos”.

Everyone ends up with their own list of “Pillars”; these are mine:

Kharis - giving without expectation of return, and gratitude for benevolence received

Eusebia - reverence and duty toward the Gods

Arete - striving to live to one’s fullest potential

Hagneia - spiritual and ritual purity

Sophia - the pursuit of wisdom and understanding

Sophrosune - self-control