Category: philosophy/religion topics
I originally wrote this in response to someone asking me about my faith in a Livejournal comment, but I liked it so much that I decided to post it here.
I've never written anything like this, so bare with me. Hellenic Polytheists are a very assorted group. While we have morals etc, we don't have a specific book to follow or an orthodoxy in the sense of what's "the right way" to follow our faith. One of the few things that holds us together is our belief in the gods of ancient Greece. However, even that differs from person to person, something I'll explain in a bit. Another is that, with the possible exception of those who choose to hunt, we don't practise animal sacrifice (I'd say about 99% of us are in that category). None of us, not even the most reconstructionist, support slavery or the subjugation of women etc, though our beliefs on exactly what a woman's role is may vary slightly from person to person. We're very open-minded and we encourage people, both in and out of our religion to ask questions about the gods and each other. We're firm believers in education. Nnot everyone is a scholar, but everyone should try to learn something in life, whether it's a trade or formal schooling. Some of us are of Greek descent or actually Greek, and others are not. Some are reconstructionists, trying to follow the old ways as much as modern life will permit, some are middle-of-the-road (strict Hellenic panthion but may not do the rituals etc... we have way too many festivals lol), and some are totally eclectic, following different gods/goddesses and mixing religions. For the record, I'm a recon with a strict Hellenic-based faith, though not as traditional in my devotions as some. Most of us make some kind of offerings to the gods like the daily portion of food set aside for Hestia the guardian of the harth and home at meal times or a sacrifice of food/clothing/time (perhaps to a charity, shelter etc) or a written hymn for a prayer answered by a given deity. Some of us have altars or even shrines set aside for various deities in our homes. We may or may not have personal bonds with various deities (mine is with Hermes, Athena and Aphrodite). We have priestss and priestesses, not in the Christian sense of sermans and church, but they do help in times of need, sometimes by oracle and sometimes just by being there or even performing mariages. As I said earlier, our views of the gods are mixed. Some of us see them as symbols (especially in Greece) while others see them as literal beings and still others see them as forces of nature. We don't usually believe in a heaven/hell concept, though there are good and bad places in The Underworld and I certainly wouldn't want to go to Tartaros. However, some of us may take varying viewpoints on the afterlife and some just say that they have no clue what it's like and won't presume to know. We don't have sin as such, but we do have our own concepts of right and wrong. If you'd like, I could put up some links relating to Hellenic Polytheism in another post. I've had the list for quite some time, so it's just a matter of copying and pasting. But please be aware that none of this is meant to proselytise. That's another universal belief among us, that we shouldn't force our religion down people's throats. I just wanted to share this with all of you in the hopes that we could all get to know one another a little better and learn from each other.
Yes, that's a most curious religion.
Now, do you actually believe in those things, do you pray to (insert Greek god here) or do you more see this as a culture or cultural bond, something that creates a societyif you like? (nothing wrong with either way).
I've read quite a few Greek god stories, they are similar, in many ways, to the Nordic Gods. I learnt all about that in high school and I still think it's cool, it's fun and I think it's awesome, but I don't pray to them or think that Thor is really throwing his hammer when I hear the thunder. So, I'm just curious whether it's religion or culture.
Isn't it kind of like both. Religion in some ways is culture.
Personally, when I pray, it is to The Gods. So yes, I might ask Hermes for luck, Asklepios for health or Athena for wisdom etc. There are those, as I've said, who do take The Gods for symbols, but I am not among them. This is actually one of the very few times where I'll take the American or nonGreek viewpoint, since the symbolic view is very prevalent in Greece today.
Wait, who's love again?
The goddess of love is Aphrodite and the god of love is Erros...I hope I spelled his name correctly. *smile* As I've said in other posts. I'm just studying the Pagan religions, and recently I've really started looking at the Helenic as a possible path. Anyways, those are the ones for love.
Thank you Cattleya, for answering that and you're absolutely right. I don't know how I missed it. Anyway, yes, only it has one r instead of two. However, I'm still impressed. Most people just say Cupid and that's it. *smile* He's Roman.
LOL, got ya. I've been learning the differences. I studied the "myths" when I was young, and recently have found myself strongly drawn back. I learned after I posted that I had spelled it wrong from a site I go to where I read about the different panthions. I've got a question...If you don't mind. What is the difference between Hellenic, Roman and Greeko-Roman? I've seen references to all on the Web, but can't find much on the Greeko-Roman Polytheistic Paganism.
I don't know much about the Religio Romana, except that they have a slightly different pantheon than us. As for GrekoRoman, it might be a sort of syncriticism like GrekoEgyptian. In other words, a melding of the two. It could also be a general term defining the two religions. However, I've never heard of it, so these are only guesses, but I'm more inclined to believe the latter.