We are offering many things to the Gods in our practices. We offer many material things such as incense, oil, wine and grain. But what else can we offer? We can offer our acts to the Gods — for example, I offer my blood/platelet donations to Apollo as Healer. And that is why I say…

In the past few days there has been some talk about “Spreading the word” of Hellenismos by what would be similar ways to the ways some Christians do. I understand that this goes against the grain of what some people feel comfortable with. I feel that we need to be OPEN with our faith, and…

For Hestia (4/24/14) Hestia, Lady of Hearth and Home Bless us all each day We honor you and all your family Singing praises to your names. Help us keep your peace Help us make our homes Bless our families and our lives As we perform our daily rites Words cannot express your grace As we…

 XXV. TO THE EARTH [GAIA] The Fumigation from every kind of Seed, except Beans and Aromatics. O Goddess, Earth, of Gods and men the source,  endu’d with fertile, all destroying force; All-parent, bounding, whose prolific pow’rs,  produce a store of beauteous fruits and flow’rs, All-various maid, th’ eternal world’s strong base  immortal, blessed, crown’d with…

To Zeus (Orphic Hymn #15) Much-honored Zeus, great god, indestructible Zeus.we lay before you in prayer redeeming testimony.O king, you have brought to light divine works —earth, goddess and mother, the hills swept by the shrill winds,the sea and the host of the stars, marshaled by the sky.Kronian Zeus, strong-spirited god, the thunderbolt is your…

This weekend is the Olympeia festival honoring Olympian Zeus. There may not be as much known about the festival as others, but coming at about the same time of year as the Jewish Passover and Christian Easter, this makes a wonderful time for Hellenists to honor the “chief” God of our pantheon. Homeric Hymn 23 to Cronides…

When we are accused of things that we have NOT done, it is tempting to lash out in anger and be actively rude to the accuser. Especially when that person is accusing you of not understanding something that you have made a study of with an eye to how they apply to you personally. As…

Seneca, Hercules Furens 472 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st A.D.) :“But dainty Bacchus [Dionysos] does not blush to sprinkle with perfume his flowing locks, nor in his soft hand to brandish the slender thrysus, when with mincing gait he trails his robe gay with barbaric gold.”Suidas s.v. Androgynos (trans. Suda On Line) (Byzantine Greek…

Homeric Hymn 5 to Aphrodite 18 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C7th – 4th B.C.) :“Zeus the Father gave her [Hestia] a high honour instead of marriage, and she has her place in the midst of the house and has the richest portion. In all the temples of the gods she has a share of…

I am a member of the organization Hellenion. One of the things that we do as an organization is honoring one (or more) of the Olympians each month in addition to the more “traditional” festivals of the Athenian calendar. I find this picture interesting in that it does NOT show Artemis in what we would…