polypolypolytheist

[polypolypolytheist]

When people are like, "The gods won't help you with your problem! They're too important and busy for that!" I gotta wonder why they think people bothered interacting with deities in the past in the first place.

[polypolypolytheist]

Happy solstice!

[polypolypolytheist]

Ares in Mythology:

Kills the guy who tried to assault his daughter and refused to apologize for it when he got put on trial (it was ruled justifiable homicide by Athena btw). 

The only time he’d been captured in battle was when he was protecting his mom from being captured by giants who wanted to forcibly marry her.

Found and Freed Thanatos when he was imprisoned by Sisyphus when no other Gods could

Helps found the Amazons by helping their founder escape her abusive husband and becomes their patron God.

Genuinely loves and respects Aphrodite as her own person

One of his epithets is “feasted by women”.

Ares in Modern Media: 

Meatheaded sexist asshole out of an eighties teen movie.

Conclusion: My boy is getting done dirtier than Hades in modern representation. Ares is one of the least problematic Gods in the pantheon (except for the murders, I will grant you) and ya’ll are sleeping on him.

[polypolypolytheist]

Happy winter solstice everyone! It's a good time of the year to let go of past regrets, thank the gods for what has been, and make your prayers for the new year. Hope you all enjoy it.

#polytheism #polytheist #pagan #winter solstice #yule

[polypolypolytheist]

Got a new job! Thanks to both Zeus and Hermes for helping me get the job.

#zeusdeity #hermesdeity

[polypolypolytheist]

thinking about making a playlist for Apollo now.

from what I remember about his associations: Truth and logic Healing and also disease Music, poetry and other arts Archery? Prophecy he's quite a versatile god really

#apollodeity #apollo #polytheism #eclectic polytheism #hellenic polytheism #polytheist #devotional playlist

[polypolypolytheist]

You guys know your rituals don't have to be all solemn and quiet all the time, right? I mean, dancing and singing is important since ancient times to please and honour the Immortals. Depending on what deity and the occasion you're celebrating, it may be very well-suited, like those paeans for Apollon and Asklepios, for example.

[polypolypolytheist]

Lovely Hermes, Messenger of the Gods.

#hermesdeity

[polypolypolytheist]

To my polytheistic witchlings and pagans:

You do NOT have to wait for a deity to reach out to you in order to worship them.

They will never turn away someone genuinely wanting to worship them.

You do NOT have to be a certain gender to worship the gods (i.e. Artemis loves her nonbinary and male worshippers).

It is NOT dangerous to worship any gods. There are no beginner gods.

You might wanna have a relationship with a deity for a little bit though before you ask to work on a spell with them, this is not because it's dangerous but because it's polite.

You deserve to have a relationship with whoever deities that you feel called to in your path!

[polypolypolytheist]

Hey, hi, hello. So, just wanted to reiterate this again.

The Greek Gods are not their myths.

Myths were not written by the gods.

Myths were written by flawed ancient men who really didn't like women and it shows.

Your goddesses are not vain, petty, or shallow.

They are not bound to the myths written by flawed men.

[polypolypolytheist]

I'd like to thank all of the gods for getting me through a stressful time I've been having lately at work. Special thank you to Hermes, Zeus, Minerva, and Hestia. Thankfully now that stressful work period is over, but fortunately I managed to get everything done I needed to in time for the deadline, and the gods have definitely helped and supported me. So thank you to all of them for that.

Thank you to Zeus for helping me fulfil my duties.

Thank you to Hestia for providing me a warm and loving home to rest in.

Thank you to Minerva for helping me keep track of all the details I needed to.

And thank you to Hermes for giving me the burst of energy I needed to get everything finished.

Thank you to all of the gods for getting me through this.

#eclectic polytheist #prayer of thanks #hellenic polytheism #seriously I was so stressed #prayer has been a big help to me lately #thankfully this phase of work is now over

[polypolypolytheist]

Some of yas need to stop hopping on other people for having UPG or portrayals of the gods that are not 100% accurate to the historical sources.

Trying to invalidate someone's harmless beliefs or UPG just because you don't agree is a bad look.

"Well it's not in the lore-"

If we SOLELY used primary sources or other documented information you may as well throw a good chunk of modern heathenry out the window.

Does that negate 90% of my devotion to Sigyn?

It also doesn't say anywhere that Loki inhales candy like breathing, but here a good chunk of us are.

#are the historical sources a good place to look to get initial ideas of a god? #yes often #are they the be all and end all of a god #no #a) gods have lived an extra several thousand years since then just like humans have #b) gods often relate to different followers in slightly different ways #c) historical sources will be overlaid with the inherent biases of the society they were from #(and it will be most likely to be the people who were privileged at the time whose sources have survived) #I want a living and breathing religion #not a static one

[polypolypolytheist]

I do believe that the best offering I can give to my deities is my love.

[polypolypolytheist]

aphrodite loves trans women

aphrodite loves trans men

artemis loves trans women

artemis loves trans men

aphrodite loves non binary people

artemis loves non binary people

aphrodite loves all of her followers

artemis loves all of her followers

please don’t let anyone take away your faith in them, they love you so much

[polypolypolytheist]

found out an elderly friend of mine is in the hospital, so thought I'd go over what I know about health and death related deities in the Hellenic pantheon:

Apollo: god of both healing and plague I think, probably pretty good to pray to

Asclepius: even more specifically healing related than Apollo is Hermes: psychopomp who will help guide people across the transition from life to death

Hades: god of the underworld, probably good to pray to about what happens after someone dies

if anyone knows any more feel free to add on!

anyway my friend is not pagan but I think I will pray for her anyway. maybe Hermes can call up Jesus, I reckon Jesus exists but just isn't the only god like Christians think, and has a more specific domain other than "everything" and also I don't believe in the Bible

I hope my friend turns out ok anyway

maybe I will try praying to Apollo even though I don't usually pray to him very much

#tw illness #tw hospital #tw possible death #helpol #eclectic polytheist

[polypolypolytheist]

10 Myths About Hellenismos

Today, let's address some popular myths (and the truths) about Hellenismos and its deities. Not very surprisingly, most of these things come from Wicca or Christian colonization. You can believe these things if you want, they just aren't from the religion.

Myth 1: Deity work is dangerous

Truth: Deity work, in Hellenismos, isn't any more dangerous than worshiping the Christian god is supposed to be. This notion didn't originate in Hellenismos, and is also a largely neopagan idea. Our theoi aren't monsters or aggressive. They won't kill you over tiny mistakes. Just respect them, do what you can, and you'll be fine.

Remember that even in the mythos, people aren't smited for the wrong offering. They're smited for blatant and deliberate disrespect, which by nature can't be done accidentally.

Our deities genuinely aren't easily angered. They wont be mad if you reach out to them, if you confuse them for something else, if you give them the wrong offering, etc.

Myth 2: You need to look out for entities impersonating deities

Truth: Again, this isn't remotely from Hellenismos. Our gods cannot be impersonated by evil entities. Frankly, we don't really have entities with that desire or power in the religion. If you're contacting a Hellenic deity, and you get an affirmative response, you contacted them. The idea you didn't, or that something else is lying to you, is from outside the religion. Our deities are more powerful than random ghosts, and our religion doesn't have that concept.

Myth 3: Hekate is a moon goddess/crone

Truth: Hekate is associated with the moon, but she is not a goddess of the moon. She is the goddess of one lunar phase--the dark moon, which is on the eve of Hekate's Deipnon. She is also not a crone goddess outside of neopaganism and Wicca. Historically, she was depicted as a maiden. Her triple form was also not maiden/mother/crone, simply a triple maiden-esque figure.

Myth 4: Hestia gave her seat to Dionysos/Apollon took Helios's chariot

Truth: Honestly, it's just a difference in counting. Some deities were and weren't Olympians depending on time, culture, and locations. No seats on Olympos were "given up," it's just that sometimes one is there and sometimes the other isn't.

As for the chariot, no. Apollon didn't replace Helios. They were synchronized, but Apollon didn't "take" the chariot, and Helios was never removed. Helios is still the sun--his name is literally "sun."

Myth 5: The myths are history/Hellenic Polytheists believe in the myths

Truth: The characters in myths are real to us, and some myths are literal, but in general, Hellenic mythology is not meant to be taken fully literally. Most of it is symbolic. Additionally, a lot of the r*pe in the mythos is translation errors. We believe in our heroes and our gods, and we believe there is truth in the myths, but no, our mythology isn't like Christian mythology--it's not expected or really encouraged to believe the myths are strictly true history. The myths aren't even consistent over time and location, so it's simply impossible to believe in all of them at once. But no, our gods do not act the way they do in mythology. Myths are by and for mortals, and do not capture the divine.

Myth 6: It's disrespectful to dress up as or write fiction about the gods

Truth: This is just ridiculous and ahistoric. The majority of Ancient Greek theater was deity cosplay and fanfiction. I said what I said.

This can definitely be done disrespectfully, but isn't inherently disrespectful. You also aren't required to represent the theoi fully accurately in this.

Myth 6: X god is Y orientation/gender

Truth: While you can certainly theorize our theoi's sexuality, and none of our gods are cishet by modern standards, none of the gods can only be interpreted as one gender or orientation. The terms we ascribe to them are based on mythos, portrayals, and modern interpretation of historic social roles.

The most common of these theories are maiden goddesses as aroace (ie. Hestia, Athena, Artemis), erastes (top) gods as bi men (ie. Zeus, Apollon, Patroklos), eromenos (bottom) gods as gay men (ie. Ganymedes, Hyakinthos, Akhilleus), and Artemis as a lesbian.

None of these are wrong, to be clear. It's just not as simple as using our modern labels for them. Erastes and eromenos were both considered straight in Ancient Greece; being a 'virgin' didn't always mean celibate; Artemis can be interpreted as bi, lesbian, and/or aroace based on her myths. You can interpret them however you like--I certainly interpret my gods as queer--but there is no single right answer.

Myth 7: You need a patron or to be devoted to someone, or can only have one patron/be devoted to one god, & devotion is an oath

Truth: Patron deities are more of a principle in neopaganism and Wicca than in Hellenismos. Worshiping the theoi does not require you to find a patron or devote to a deity, ever. Patronage is not particularly important or common, unless you are thinking of a patron god of a trade (ie. if you're a blacksmith your patron is Hephaistos).

Devotion is also not exclusive, and never requires an oath. Oaths in Hellenismos are extremely serious, and should never be taken without extreme caution. If you aren't willing to die if you break the oath, don't make it--find something else. You probably wont die, but that's the necessary level of certainty. Devotion, while serious, is not as serious as being oath-bound. You can be devoted to multiple deities, and devotion can be called off if needed. You can't really call off an oath.

Myth 8: X god is a r*pist!

Truth: Please stop it. Just stop it. No. Especially if you're basing that on Lore Olympus. The mythology isn't fact, weird inaccurate mythology fanfic written by someone who doesn't know anything about the myths isn't fact.

The mythology isn't straight up history. The myths were often mistranslated (the Greek word for r*pe didn't just mean r*pe) and they aren't facts. They were also products of their culture. So. No. They are not. And their worshipers aren't r*pe apologists.

Myth 9: Titans are evil and/or Olympians hate titans

Truth: Titans are fine. Really. They're not evil, they're not going to hurt you. They're just another kind of Theoi. Many of them were actually a large part of the historic religion. Hekate's Deipnon was a monthly festival, after all. And no, Olympians don't hate titans. Remember the point about myths not being literal.

Myth 10: The gods are jealous

Truth: No, the gods will not be jealous if you worship another god. They wont be jealous if you worship another pantheon, or if you need a break. If you're a god consort, they won't be jealous if you're interested in other mortals or deities. If you're a devotee, they won't be upset if you devote to other deities.

The most jealous a god gets is upset if you break an oath, promise, or agreement with them. If you promised them a daily libation but skipped it for another deity without permission, they may get upset. But even then, that's not really jealousy.

Myth 11: If you work with X deity, you can't work with Y

Truth: This is usually based on rivalry in mythology, and isn't true at all. Related to the above jealousy point, no deity in real life hates another deity, especially not enough that if you worship both they'll be upset. You can worship Aphrodite and Persephone. You can honor Hera and Leto.

Most of these gods are actually happy if you honor other theoi. Many of them are family, or share domains.

If enough people are interested, I might make a part two, because this is barely the tip of the iceberg. RBs welcome from pagans and non-pagans alike.

[polypolypolytheist]

Some people seriously need to not just read myths, but study the function of myth. If some of ya'll think a story written by men with political and ulterior agendas in a very patriarchal society is "the truth," where's the line on what you believe to be "the truth?" Anyone who writes anything about the gods is now telling the "truth?" What date is the cut off? Which people do you accept and which do you throw out?

The myths aren't the pagan Bible ffs. They were never meant to be, and if you'd actually studied myth, you'd know that.

Anyway, if anyone is interested in understanding the function of (Greek) myth I highly recommend reading Fritz Graf's Greek Mythology: An Introduction. It's a good starting place.

#the myths are not literal #and a lot of the surviving copies we have were written by sexists #you can take inspiration of them for sure #but you have to put them in the historical cultural context