💀 Subtle Haides Worship 🐕‍🦺

Ancient Greek Religion & Hellenic Polytheism: A Reading Guide

I’ve been wanting to make something like this for a long while, and talking to my friend @olympianbutch today gave me the push I needed to do so. When I was starting out as a Hellenic Polytheist years ago, this is the kind of resource I needed. So I hope you all enjoy and find this helpful!

Introductory Reading:

Ancient Greek Religion by Jon D. Mikalson

Athenian Popular Religion by Jon D. Mikalson

Greek Religion by Jan N. Bremmer

On Greek Religion by Robert Parker

Hellenic Polytheism: Household Worship by LABRYS

Comprehensive Guides:

Greek Religion by Walter Burkert

Companion to Greek Religion edited by Daniel Ogden

Understanding Greek Religion by Jennifer Larson

Rethinking Greek Religion by Julia Klindt

The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion edited by Esther Eidinow and Julia Klindt

Polytheism and Society by Robert Parker

The Gods and Theology:

Ancient Greek Cults by Jennifer Larson

Theologies of Ancient Greek Religion edited by Esther Eidinow, Julia Klindt, and Robin Osborne

Underworld Gods in Ancient Greek Religion by Ellie Mackin Roberts

Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World (Routledge Series)

Offerings and Sacrifice:

Personal Experience and Materiality in Greek Religion by K.A. Rask

Singing for the Gods by Barbara Kowalzig

Smoke Signals for the Gods by F.S. Maiden

Sharing with the Gods by Theodora Suk Fong Jim

Primary Sources:

Theogony & Works and Days by Hesiod

The Homeric Hymns

The Orphic Hymns

Sources for the Study of Greek Religion by David Rice and John Stambaugh

Greek Religion: A Sourcebook by Valerie M. Warrior

Ancient Greek Religion: A Sourcebook by Emily Kearns

this is your reminder that you are allowed to have an abnormal religious practice or craft. i've seen so many blogs worry about being palatable and accepted and i'm here to say what happens between you, your deities, and (if you practice) your witchcraft is your business alone.

you do not have to share everything with the internet, you are allowed to do things away from the public eye without talking about it. it does not make you alone. it does not strip you of the community you have.

additionally, you are so so SO allowed to practice differently from others. you are allowed to have a nonconforming practice in anything you do, not just for witchcraft or spirituality.

it's okay to make shit strange from time to time. let people question you and make incorrect assumptions about who you are. let them be wrong about you. nobody holds more value to what you do than you, and how you see your own practice.

make things weird. don't be afraid of not being accepted. it's good for you to do things your own way, however that is.

Little HelPol Tips

Having a himalayan salt lamp as an eternal flame for Hestia

Candles and incense are good low-energy offerings

Dedicating baths/showers to Aphrodite

If you have pets, devote taking care of them to Artemis

Do what you can and what feels right!! Each person's practice is different

You are in fact allowed to make mistakes

Making a snack/beverage and offering it to a deity/deities, or inviting them to share it with you

If you're learning a language (or multiple!) dedicate it to Hermes

Make playlists for your deities

If you make art/ play any musical instruments, dedicate those activities to Apollo

Try to look for the theoi in your everyday life, even in the mundane things

If you workout, dedicate that to Ares

Similarly, if you play sports, dedicate that play to Hermes

If you have a garden or plants, dedicate taking care of them to Demeter and Persephone

Χαίρετε!

looks at you like this

even if you can't feel your deities, they are still here, and they still love you.

☀️Deities☀️

I see so many people criticizing others over their relationships, or lack thereof, with their deities, so here are some reminders:

Not having deities is okay.

Having just a devotional relationship with your deities is okay.

Having a working relationship with your deities is okay.

Playing games with your deities is okay.

Harmless jokes with your deities are okay.

Doing fun things with your deities is okay.

Doing devotional offerings for your deities is okay.

Giving physical offerings to your deities is okay.

Not being able to do certain offerings for deities is okay.

Having an altar for your deities is okay, no matter the size.

Not having an altar for your deities is okay.

Laughing with your deities is okay.

Crying with your deities is okay.

Having genuine conversations with your deities is okay.

Being unable to hear/see deities is okay.

Being able to hear/see deities is okay.

Not being able to communicate through divination is okay.

Using divination as a key element in communication is okay.

Not calling on deities during spellwork is okay.

Asking deities to help during spellwork is okay.

Asking deities for help in general is okay.

This is your relationship with your deities in your practice. Don't let anyone tell you what you can and can't do. 🫶

It's 2am, please forgive me if there are any mistakes!

Introduction Post

Hello! I’m displaced. You can just call me by my username. I’m 22. I lean more HelPol. I’m a devotee of Hades. Don’t mind me if you see me popping in every so often. I’m just an entity in a body that feels most at home with the gods. 🖤

Here are photos of my cats as a thank you for taking the time to pop in.

Their names are Patches, Hermes and Nightmind.

Important Terms in Hellenism

I think learning even a few words or phrases in ancient Greek is important to connecting with the Gods! So, let's learn the most important ones

Hellenism, Hellenismos, and Hellenistic- Hellenism and Hellenismos are titles given to the religion of worshiping the ancient Greek Gods. Hellenistic is to describe the time period after the death of Alexander the Great to Mark Antony in 31 BC

Kharis- This is one of the most fundamental things in Hellenism. This word can mean many things so to really simplify, it means to give to the Gods so they may give to us. It's the act of building relationship and reciprocity with the divine

Eusebeia- Piety and loyalty

Khernips- Pure water that is used to purify the self, materials, or altars before ritual, sacrifice, and sometimes prayers

Miasma- Mortal pollution or impurity. Things like literal filth (dirt, sweat, ect.) bad or stale energies, or guilt

Ouranic- A God who is not of the earth. These types of Gods are said to live in Olympus

Khthonic- A God who is of the earth. They are typically chalked up to just being the death deities but that's not completely true. Any God who lives and/or has domain over earth are also Khthonic

Sponde- A libation for Ouranic Gods that is poured then sipped by the worshiper

Khoe- A libation for Khthonic Gods that is poured out completely

Dæmon- A spirit or ghost. Specifically NOT a demon

Khaire/Khairete [singular/plural]- Greetings, hello

Elthe deuro- Come here/come to me (this is not impolite to say to Gods, it was traditionally done)

Klue/Kluete [singular/plural]- Hear me

Eukhomai- I pray

Ei boulei- Please, if you wish

Kharin ekho- Thank you

If I missed anything or if you have questions, let me know!

HP 101: Where to start

Hellenic Polytheism can be a bit daunting to start off - and it’s hard to know where to find the right information or what to research! Hopefully this post will help to give you a starting point - but please don’t base all your information off of one person! NOTE: I may link posts with conflicting information/methods. I leave it to you to decide what feels right and fits for you!

Websites, book lists and PDFs:

Theoi.com

Library Genesis

Hellenism resources

PDFs of myths

HP online accurate resources

Classics, mythology and modern worship

HP book list

Accurate resources

Book recommendations and online resources

Bibliography of Black-Centered Resources for Ancient Mediterranean Studies

The types of HP:

Recon vs. Revivalism

Reconstructionism vs Revivalism

The basics of practicing HP:

Making libations

Introduction to epithets

Veiling basics + a veiling primer + basic hair binding and veiling + hellenic hairstyles in religious rites

How to write a prayer

Daily prayer journal

How to pray, praise and worship the Theoi

Homeric hymns - helpful for writing devotionals, hymns, etc. (external site)

The Delphic Maxims

Basic Hellenic supplies

Oaths

Sacred places

Offerings (and whether or not to eat them)

Hellenic khthonic ritual

How to honor Ouranic and Chthonic gods

Hellenic Calendars and when to worship deities:

The days of the month

Devotions for the last day of the month

A Hellenismos calendar 

Hellenion.org calendar (external site)

Hellenic festival year (external site)

About the Hellenic calendar of festivals

Pronunciation and terminology:

Hellenic pronunciation for the Theoi + Hellenic pronunciation pt. 2 + article

Khernips + Khernips pt. 2 + pt. 3

Miasma, khernips and katharmosis

On Lyma

Hellenic terminology (external site)

Finding / Information on deities:

Sacred animals of the gods 

Theoi.com (my go-to)

Household gods

The Nymphai

Odds and ends:

On household worship

Other resources:

List of devotees on tumblr

Practical practicing of HP

This wonderful resource masterpost!

Masterpost of Hellenic polytheism and Roman polytheism resources

Shops for Hellenic polytheists

Introduction to Ancient Greek History - open Yale course

Note: Some areas are certainly lacking in the information department, please add resources if you have them! I’ve included all I could find as of mid 2020.

Links updated June, 2020. Please inform me of broken links via askbox!

Your offering is good enough.

Your prayer is perfect the way it is

Your altar does not have to be extravagant or expensive. Simple ones are just as powerful.

You are good enough. The gods love you and want the best for you. They are here to lift us up, so don’t beat yourself down.