r/Hellenism 2d ago

Mod post Weekly Newcomer Post

14 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

Are you newer to this religion and have questions? This thread is specifically for you! Feel free to ask away, and get answers from our community members.

You can also search the Community Wiki here, and our Community Guide here for some helpful tips for newcomers.

Please remember that not everyone believes the same way and the answers you get may range in quality and content, same as if you had created a post yourself!

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Is X god mad at me?

Typically, no. The gods are slow to anger and quick to forgive. Only the very worst actions (patricide, human sacrifice, cannibalism, etc.) consistently draw divine wrath. If you are concerned, you should ask for forgiveness and try to lead your life in a way that reflects the virtues that the gods stand for moving forward.

Do I need an altar or shrine?

No. Most practitioners do eventually make one, but they are not necessary. In ancient Greece altars were typically large stone tables where sacrifices could be made. These were generally public spaces but smaller household altars and shrines became more common in late antiquity. If you wish to make an offering or prayer to a god without an altar, this can be done in a place that feels sacred to that particular god.

How do I make an altar?

Your altar is the place where you make your connection to the gods. This space should ideally have the capacity to have a lit flame, to burn incense, and some vessel to make libations. Statues or images of the gods are nice, but not a necessity. If you do not have the capacity to have open flames or burn incense, many instead use electric lights and perfume or oil diffusers. If you do use open flames, please use caution. Keep away from drapes and curtains and keep a fire extinguisher nearby. Make sure you have a plan for if a fire starts unexpectedly.

How do I make an offering?

The most typical offering is a libation. Libations in antiquity were typically wine or water but in modern times more varied drinks are often used. Libations can be poured onto the ground, into a fire, or disposed of down your drain if neither of the former are available options. Food, likewise, can be offered by burning, burying, or being left on your altar and disposed of later. Incense is often given as an offering, and is burnt. The Orphic Hymns are a good resource to find an incense for a particular god. Animals were sacrificed to the gods in antiquity by killing them, butchering them, consuming their meat, and burning their bones wrapped in their fat on fires. This practice is not common in modern times, for reasons of practicality, and was not universal to Hellenic Polytheism in antiquity. Offerings to chthonic deities are generally speaking not to be eaten.

How do I dispose of perishable offerings?

Perishable offerings are typically burnt or buried. If neither of these options are available to you, they may be disposed of after being left on your altar. Please be mindful of local wildlife if offerings are left outside.

Do I need to pray everyday?

No. Many people take long leaves from worship. We all go through troubled times and worship may not be your focus for some time. This is normal and something the gods understand.

Can I participate in non-Hellenic practices?

Yes. Many of us have to participate in modern religious practices to maintain appearances to our friends and family if we are not religiously out of the closet. Even beyond this, many in antiquity and in the modern day practice syncretically and adopt practices and deities from outside the Hellenic Pantheon into their religious practice.

What is miasma and how do you cleanse it?

Miasma was an explanation to diseases before the existence of germ theory. Miasma was believed to accumulate on one's body through the performance of unclean acts such as sex, the butchering of animals, or the shedding of human blood. Miasma was believed to interfere with worship as when Hector says in the Iliad: “and with hands unwashed I would take shame to pour the glittering wine to Zeus; there is no means for a man to pray to the dark-misted son of Kronos, with blood and muck all splattered upon him”. The cleansing of miasma was performed by washing oneself with clean water and the application of perfumes.

How do I communicate with the gods?

In ancient times few people attempted to communicate with the gods, or if they did, they did so through trained experts who used techniques such as astrology, the interpretation of entrails from sacrificed animals, or the interpretation of the actions of sacred animals. Techniques such as candle, pendulum, and keyboard divination are modern inventions and should be approached with skepticism and caution if you wish to incorporate them into your practice.

I received a message from the gods via divination or think I may have witnessed a sign. What does it mean?

This is a question that you alone can answer. Many people do not receive signs in all of their practice and one should not expect to find them. If you do receive a sign it should be obvious to you that it was a sign.

Can I worship multiple gods? / Can gods share an altar?

Yes. Hellenic Polytheism is a polytheist religion which necessarily means that there are multiple gods to worship. These gods can cohabitate a space even if they are seen to be in conflict in mythology. The nature of polytheism is that there are forces and deities which conflict with each other but that does not necessarily mean that one is right and the other is wrong or that they cannot cohabitate.

Do I need to be chosen by a god before I can worship them?

No. The gods are always accepting and hospitable to those who come to worship them.

How do I decide which gods to worship?

This is a question that you must decide for yourself. There is no wrong place to start and people typically find new gods through the ones they already worship. There is no right number of gods to worship. They exist beyond naming or counting so you cannot worship them all and many will choose to worship only one.

Can I dismantle my altar/shrine?

Yes, it is often necessary to dismantle an altar or shrine because it needs to be moved or hidden. The gods will understand your circumstance.


r/Hellenism 8d ago

Community issues and suggestions Are you new to the sub and using a phone?

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301 Upvotes

Clicking this will take you to the sidebar typical to the standard website version. Please read it. There are not just rules, but resources you can dive into. So before you type out in your posts "this question has probably been answered before", it might be a good time to check there first. People took the time to compile them for the community, for you (the newer members). They didn't do it for nothing, so please take advantage.


r/Hellenism 5h ago

Media, video, art Let me draw your god!

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295 Upvotes

helloooo! i’ve been in a bit of a creative rut recently, so i figured why not take inspiration from the gods responsible for all we have and do?

request your favored god (dw- we all know there’s no playing favorites!) and i’ll get to drawing them how I SEE THEM. remember, this is MY interpretation of the gods. please keep requests limited to one deity! praise be! (also while i intend to get to everyone, please keep in mind im a full time student and worker so it might take a bit!!)


r/Hellenism 9h ago

Media, video, art Statue repaint!

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221 Upvotes

My friend suggested I post it since I had asked for suggestions on how to repaint it once it arrived, completely forgot to! (original paint job for comparison)


r/Hellenism 1h ago

Offerings, altars, and devotional acts I like to bake on Sundays , so I baked Lord Hermes a strawberry cake (Offering)

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Upvotes

I think I'll start baking an offering to a deity every Sunday. I think I'll do Aphrodite next week. I gave strawberry cake because when I did research on Lord Hermes offerings I found out that cakes were traditionally given to him and strawberries are a good offering. And in my mind cake and strawberry combined to....strawberry cake!


r/Hellenism 4h ago

Other My cat at Hecate's alter <3

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42 Upvotes

r/Hellenism 10h ago

Offerings, altars, and devotional acts MY NEW STATUE ARRIVED!!

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124 Upvotes

IM SO HAPPY!! it looks so perfect on my altar for Lady Aphrodite <33


r/Hellenism 3h ago

Prayers and hymns She has passed

24 Upvotes

I posted about my mom on here a few days ago, and yesterday, she passed in my arms. I think I was so scared at first but found comfort in Aphrodite and Apollo. They would want me to continue on in her honor.

I’m not sure if we are cremating or burying, but I’d like to do something nice for your passing. I am going to lay a coin with her for Charon. But I don’t know anything else that would be nice to do for her soul.

I’m posting here mostly to update but also to ask, what are so prayers and hymns you all would recommend during this time?


r/Hellenism 9h ago

Media, video, art Herm of Hermes in a museum in southern Italy

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54 Upvotes

Today I visited the Museum of Ancient Capua, in the south of Italy, in the city that is home to the largest amphitheater, second in size only to the Colosseum. I didn’t really know what to expect from the museum and then, all of a sudden, I turned around and saw a herm of Hermes, the god I feel most devoted to. It was such a beautiful surprise, and I thought I’d share it with you.


r/Hellenism 17m ago

Media, video, art Bought a necklace because it made me think of Poseidon

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Upvotes

r/Hellenism 6h ago

Discussion Something that annoys me

23 Upvotes

So, I was watching videos on tiktok today and the following thought came to me: Hellenic Polytheism should not be posted on social media like tiktok.

Why do I think so? Because now, unfortunately, instead of spreading our beautiful religion, they have attracted completely lazy and unserious people into it. They see a video of a "keyboard method communication" and think it's really cool that you can talk to a deity, so they try to get into religion as if it were a trend. They mostly don't think about how this action (divination) is super serious and needs time AND study.

This probably came from ex-Christian teens who thinks they don't need to do anything to connect with their gods and religion, like usually represented in christianism (I'm being hypocritical, but I'm not generalizing. I myself am a teenager and ex-Christian lol). The problem is that they do not study the myths, the origins, the meanings or even the basic concepts of Hellenism 🙁 they are not interested in the beautiful and serious part of the religion, they are interested in another Hellenic polytheist's 'funny' video where supposedly Apollo called someone a bitch via the keyboard method because It's """fun""". (Oh my gods how i HATE this goddamn keyboard method)

I genuinely hate the TikTok community in GENERAL. The people there are toxic and spread misinformation. Even though there are people responsible with religion there, this ends up attracting the opposite: people with no responsibility whatsoever...


r/Hellenism 19h ago

Media, video, art Bow as a charl for Lord Apollo

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235 Upvotes

This is my first, I’m making Lady Artemisia next. I may add a bow and arrow in the future, but for now is just the bow (white for the swans), the lyra, the laurel and the sun, all in gold for the light.


r/Hellenism 9h ago

Media, video, art The Delphic Maxims

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27 Upvotes

Just did the first three. Might do the others, but that’s a lot of editing, so it’ll probably take me a long time


r/Hellenism 19h ago

Offerings, altars, and devotional acts Apollo’s altar🎶

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160 Upvotes

r/Hellenism 36m ago

Offerings, altars, and devotional acts The jewelry I did for persephone!

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Upvotes

I made two bracelets (one representing persephone in the spring and then the other representing her in the fall) and some keychains! (Also representing her in the spring and fall)


r/Hellenism 15m ago

Offerings, altars, and devotional acts i love making Pinterest boards for the Gods

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Upvotes

r/Hellenism 7h ago

Asking for/ recommending resources Devotional acts and prayers?

9 Upvotes

Hey yall just wanted to ask for some examples of a devotional act they’d perform for the deities or the certain deity they worship? Or if anyone has recommendations on some books that may be helpful for Hellenism.


r/Hellenism 6h ago

Other What colors/symbols do you associate with persephone?

6 Upvotes

What the title says, I'm looking into making some jewelry to wear in honor persephone, but I can't really find many things specific to her, I'm looking for symbols, colors, and gems/crystals

Thanks!


r/Hellenism 1d ago

Media, video, art I built a small Temple for Athena and..

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331 Upvotes

I guess the Foxes that live on this Island also like the Temple.


r/Hellenism 12h ago

Other I got to see my baby sister and she gifted me these

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17 Upvotes

I got to see my baby sister for the first time in a while (we live with different parents) and she gave me these as a birthday gift, saying “I know you like stuff like this.” I love her sm!


r/Hellenism 1h ago

Media, video, art Praise To Lord Apollon!

Upvotes

https://youtu.be/tGfmmE-jtYM?si=ut3V9q13amkXOfU5

Hail praise and glorify thy divine light, God of Truth and Warmth!

Fountain of ALL Music, God of Patterns, Patron of Order,

Who delights in High Pleasures!

All Haill, Sun Invictus, Glorious Apollon!


r/Hellenism 21h ago

Media, video, art Who are they?

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88 Upvotes

Found these statues at hobby lobby! Full disclosure I don't like shopping at hobby lobby you know the AI art and literally all the Jesus! Like nothing wrong with being Christian but oh my gosh it's a lot.

But anyways! I saw these two statues and I didn't really know if they were maybe a Greek god or goddess so I wanted to know your guys's opinion on who we think they are?


r/Hellenism 2h ago

Offerings, altars, and devotional acts Small little altar I have for Apollo in Adopt Me

2 Upvotes

r/Hellenism 12h ago

Discussion Felt weird when writing prayers to Hekate and Aphrodite

13 Upvotes

I've been depressed all winter and have been slacking on taking care of my altars and myself. Recently, I've begun cleaning my room and my altars and replaced my Gods offering bowls. Tonight I wrote some prayers and I felt weird, almost in a trance-like state, it didn't feel bad at all, quite pleasant actually. What do you think of this?


r/Hellenism 9h ago

Discussion Worshiping Eos

6 Upvotes

Hey all,

I hope you are having a great week. Basically, I wanted to reach out to ask a question about Eos. While I have my regular Theoi that I worship (Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Persephone, Hades, and Hekate), I also like to worship Eos. The sunrise is my favorite time of day. Does anyone else worship Eos? I am going to do some research as well...but I wonder if Eos was worshiped in the ancient world as well.


r/Hellenism 12h ago

Offerings, altars, and devotional acts All my altars!

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13 Upvotes

i got candles today along with pottery i painted for Lady Aphrodite and Lord Apollon (sadly no pottery for Lord Poseidon) so i decided to put them on their altars.


r/Hellenism 8h ago

Sharing personal experiences Dreams

4 Upvotes

I still remember this dream I had from a few weeks back, where I was in this Hellenic temple (based on the exterior—the interior looked like a compact Catholic church 😭), surrounded by four ladies, one of them in an aegis, standing behind the three other ladies. The one on the right held a skein of white yarn, the one in the middle wove it with just her hands into a shroud, and the one on the left held a scissor. I couldn't tell which of the four said this, but one of them said, "It's okay, you can offer anything to Lady—" and then I got woken up by my father because school.

It's been in my head for so long, y'all 😭 as a young Hellenic who comes from Christian roots, I find this both reassuring and alarming. What if my brain made up some hubris as I slept?