You all know I am a huge proponent of getting our voices heard one way or another, and a beautiful way to do it is to allow a camera crew into your inner circle--if they handle the subject matter well. This is what the Supreme
Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes (πατο Συμβούλιο των Ελλήνων Εθνικών, or YSEE) must have thought when they decided to let Anastasia Moumtzaki and her team from vice.com to attend the first outdoor ritual of the year so a documentary could be made about their practices. The trailer dropped a few days ago and you can find it here. Due to the limited embedding options of both vice and blogger, I can't embed it.
The documentary will be called 'Oh My Gods!', and has a clear premise: the Vice team was invited to spent 24 hours with members of YSEE and observe their rituals. They were invited to talk with members and try to understand why anyone would follow the Hellenic Gods--especially in a country where they are continually judged and persecuted by devout Christians who greatly disapprove of the practice of Hellenismos.
YSEE is one of the most organized Hellenistic organization out there today, and is based in Greece. If you have ever looked through the YSEE website, you are well aware that its members have a pretty rough time in their homeland, trying to re-establish the ancient religion. Modern Greece is a very Christian country, and any attempt to practice a different religion--let alone reconstruct an ancient one--is met not only with resistance, but violence, property damage, and a great deal of threats. On top of that, the Greek government refuses to recognize Hellenismos as a valid religion, making it hard to receive funding for temples and celebrations, protection of its members and facilities, and opportunities to worship at the ancient sites.
From the trailer, things look pretty promising, and I look forward to watching the end result. It's already reminding me of 'I Still Worship Zeus', and I enjoyed that immensely. I was hoping for an updated view (I still Worship Zeus is ten years old) and perhaps 'Oh My Gods!' can provide that. I will, of course, keep you updated on this, and will let you know when the full documentary can be viewed.
The documentary will be called 'Oh My Gods!', and has a clear premise: the Vice team was invited to spent 24 hours with members of YSEE and observe their rituals. They were invited to talk with members and try to understand why anyone would follow the Hellenic Gods--especially in a country where they are continually judged and persecuted by devout Christians who greatly disapprove of the practice of Hellenismos.
YSEE is one of the most organized Hellenistic organization out there today, and is based in Greece. If you have ever looked through the YSEE website, you are well aware that its members have a pretty rough time in their homeland, trying to re-establish the ancient religion. Modern Greece is a very Christian country, and any attempt to practice a different religion--let alone reconstruct an ancient one--is met not only with resistance, but violence, property damage, and a great deal of threats. On top of that, the Greek government refuses to recognize Hellenismos as a valid religion, making it hard to receive funding for temples and celebrations, protection of its members and facilities, and opportunities to worship at the ancient sites.
From the trailer, things look pretty promising, and I look forward to watching the end result. It's already reminding me of 'I Still Worship Zeus', and I enjoyed that immensely. I was hoping for an updated view (I still Worship Zeus is ten years old) and perhaps 'Oh My Gods!' can provide that. I will, of course, keep you updated on this, and will let you know when the full documentary can be viewed.
2 comments:
Would you like to take part in an online initiative for Hellenismos?
Perhaps you would like to email me about it...? Baring.the.aegis@gmail.com.
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