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Friday, February 22, 2013

PBP: Dodekatheism

The Greek word 'Dodekatheism' broadly translates as 'the worship of the twelve Gods'. It is used to indicate either the entire movement of Hellenic Reconstruction, or solely to indicate a movement within Hellenic Reconstruction that focusses on the worship of The Twelve Olympians--usually consisting of Zeus, Hera, Athena, Hēphaistos, Hestia, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Ares, Demeter, Hermes, Artemis, and Apollon--with Dionysos (usually as a replacement for Hestia), and Hades, tagged on.

When used to indicate the entire movement of Hellenic Reconstruction, it is seen as an alternative to the terms 'Hellenismos', 'Hellenic Recon', and 'Hellenism'. 'Hellenismos' is a word coined by the Emperor Julian in the 4th century AD. He was the first to group the entire religion of ancient Hellas into one label, the ‘Hellenic way’, which, at the time, encapsulated pre-Christian religion and the legacy of Hellenic philosophy and culture. In modern Greek, the term translates roughly as 'Hellenism, the Greek nation.', which makes it a good term but not necessarily the most accurate. As it focusses on the Greek nation, it not only does not limit the practice to ancient Hellas, it also doesn't refer to religion in a direct manner, and has a certain ethnical ring to it that might exclude those who are not born in modern day Greece or who cannot trace back their lineage to ancient Hellas.

The word 'Dodekatheism' has been used for some time within modern day Greece to refer to the ancient Hellenic religion, as the term encompasses much more of the required meaning; it refers to religion, it speaks of the Gods worshipped in ancient Hellas, and it has a modern and inclusive ring to it that I can appreciate. Within Elaion, the term Dodekatheism is used to indicate the religion, and I most certainly understand why. On this blog, I use 'Hellenismos', however, as the term is more wide-spread, people are used to it, and I have a weakness for it. I also do not want this blog or myself to be linked to the movement within Hellenismos where only The Twelve--plus, perhaps, Hestia (when believed to have been ousted by Dionysos, which is often the case) and Hades--are worshipped.

So, lets talk about Dodekatheism as worship of The Twelve. This belief is held most famously by modern  practitioners like Timothy Jay Alexander, and it stems from the idea that the total number of Gods is both finite and innumerable, and all are contained within or divisions of The Twelve as a result.

From the Hellenismos.us website:

"[The] totality of all things makes up a multiplicity of a single ultimate thing, the One. The One contains all time, all space, all intelligence, and all spirit. It is all-inclusive, and functions everywhere unhindered yet without diminishing diversity or individuality. The One is seen as the source of all spirit, matter, and of all created things. In a closed-system (the One being that system and containing all things) it is an implausibility for there to exist an infinite number of things. By containing all things, the One is itself infinity. A thing that is contained cannot be infinite. Therefore, while it is possible for the total number of Gods to be innumerable, there can only ever exist a finite number. We can then reason the total number of Gods is both finite and innumerable. The Twelve refers to the Twelve Olympian Gods, or Dodekatheon, who are considered the supreme Cosmic Gods. [...] We can reason these twelve are in primary possession of the world, and can consider all other Gods are contained within or divisions of these."

I personally do not subscribe to the notion of the One any more than I subscribe to a system where The Twelve are all Theoi you need to worship to practice Hellenismos. To each their own, but Dodekatheism as practiced in this regard is based on an age of ancient Hellas far later than what I subscribe to, an age built on philosophy, not theology.

I think it's incredibly important to worship not only the Twelve Olympians, but the entire pantheon of Gods, Titans, nymphs, heroes, and spirits. To think of Khionê when the snow falls, and Hēlios when the sun shines. To put food out at the crossroads on the new moon, and to draw strength from Hēraklēs and Theseus when you are going through a rough time. To beg not only Zeus Ombrios for rain, but also the Anemoi. To appease the dead when the growth cycle begins anew. To me, this is what it means to be a Hellenist, no matter the term you give the religion.

6 comments:

  1. great blog post Elani, relaly enjoyed it. I really need to focus on THE 12 more. Thanks for sharing

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  2. I think that the 12 are very important and that at minimum the 12 should all be worshiped in some fashion. I may not have shrines in my household to all 12 but at my general household altar I do give offerings to the 12 gods (incidentally I don't number Dionysos among them as there is very little historic support for this and seems to be more of a modern innovation started by Graves, so for me Hestia retains her place. Of course the worship of the 12 shouldn't make anyone think that the worship of other gods is not appropriate or necessary, but at least with the 12 you have the major bases covered so to speak :)

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  3. @Daphne: I do agree that The Twelve should have an honorary place in worship. Like you, I do not have separate shrines for all of Them yet, simply due to space restrictions, but I do want to do that eventually. Like you, I do sacrifice to all of Them on my main altar. Your comments about Dionysos are very interesting, and I will look into that further. Thank you for your reply :)

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  4. I only make individual shrines for those gods who are most prominent in my oikos. And so while that covers many of the Olympians, they don't all get their own shrine space. My daily prayers at the oikos altar covers that well enough for those gods that I honor and respect but don't have a personal connection towards. Shrines in my oikos therefore include Olympians and non-Olympians. And I can't wait until things thaw so that I can do a garden shrine for the local nymphs.

    As for Dionysos I am sure Edward Butler could help you out. I had talked to him about it when I couldn't find any historical references about Dionysos taking the place of Hestia and he was the one who pinpointed the source to Graves and as a bit of uncited information that he had published. It seems though that it has become rather commonly accepted over time, but I am traditional and so I honor Hestia as one of the 12. But this does not decrease the honors of Dionysos who does indeed also dwell on Olympos with the 12 with his mother Semele!

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  5. Ammendum: I don't take any issue with folks who trade out Hestia for Dionysos. I don't agree with it for reasons stated, but I don't typically get in a snit about it. Just sharing info ;)

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