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.

• Friday, February 22, 2013
  ancient Hellenic culture Elaion Hellenic Reconstruction Hellenismos 101 modern Greece Pagan Blog Project Timothy Jay Alexander

Answering Timothy Jay Alexander's questions

I came across Timothy Jay Alexander's questions about solidifying Hellenismos--as posted in my post about standardizing Hellenismos--last night, and suddenly remembered I had been meaning to answer these sometime soon. I totally forgot about it, so lets do it now. I'm sure I don't need to say this, but everything in this post is personal opinion, and while this applies for my practice, I have no say what so ever over the practice of others, nor do I want to.

At a minimum, how many Greek Gods need to be worshiped for a practice to be Hellenismos, and which ones?
There is a movement in Hellenismos that says the Twelve Olympians--Zeus, Hera, Athena, Hēphaistos, Hestia, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Ares, Demeter, Hermes, Artemis, and Apollon--as well as (perhaps) Dionysos, and Hades, are the only Theoi that need worship within Hellenismos. I am not part of that movement. As far as I'm concerned, Hellenists should give proper appeasement to all Gods, Goddesses, Titans, nature spirits, heroes, kings and queens that were worshipped in ancient Hellas. Many festival days may have been lost to us, but many were not. Follow the sacred days of the month, and the festival schedule and you'll come around to most of them throughout the year. So, at minimum? Fourteen; the ones listed above. At maximum? Every single one of Them.

Does every practitioner of Hellenismos have to honor Hestia? How about Zeus?
Yes, and yes. Why? Because the ancient Hellenes did and Hellenismos is a Recon faith. Hestia was honored in every single home. Children, a new wife, and new serfs were introduced to Her sacred flame within the household. If that flame went out, the kurios of the family went out to the Prytaneion, where Hestia's fire was kept for the city. Zeus, well, Zeus is head of the Twelve Olympians. He's the King of Gods. To me, it's perfectly logical that Zeus receives every honor possible.

Is there a specific ritual style?
Yes. There is a (short) procession to the altar, then there are purification rites, prayers and hymns, sacrifice/offerings, prayers of supplication and thanks. The jury is still out on animal sacrifice, so I'll hold off on including that one.

Can rituals be innovative? If they can, when does innovation cross the line?
This is a hard one. Innovation is a necessity; we can't practice our festivals and sacred days like the ancient Hellenes did. We don't have the community, temples, or days off from work for it. So yes, innovation within Hellenismos is allowed and required. Then again, within ritual, there is a standard format (see above) that should be maintained. It's perfectly possible to do so for any practitioner. The difficulty comes when a practitioner wants to include elements from other Traditions (like circles, but for that specific one, see below) into the ritual. When is the practice Hellenic Polytheism, and when is it Hellenismos? How much Recon needs to be in your practice before it's Hellenismos? I don't know. Personally, I would say that if you do regular concessions to the ancient Hellenic practice for reasons other than necessity, you're practicing Hellenic Polytheism (or, perhaps, Reformed Hellenismos), and if you stay true to the source material unless you absolutely have to, you're practicing Hellenismos.

Can a person cast a circle?
I have a pretty clear opinion about this, which I will nuance for the purpose of this post. My answer is that--if you want to practice Hellenismos--you should leave the circle in the (Neo-)Wiccan Tradition it belongs in. Why create a containing space for the Theoi when calling on Them will not bring forth the dangers associated with summoning the God and Goddess? Why confine Deities which were never confined in the past? Creating a sacred space is fine, but calling corners and dragging watchtowers and/or elements into Hellenistic ritual seems utterly useless to me--and terribly condescending. Your milage may vary.

Are sacrifices and offerings required?
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Can I make this any clearer? Yes! Do the Theoi require it? No, most likely not, but even if it isn't something we do--as a Recon Tradition--because the ancient Hellenes did it, it's a sign of devotion, one of the basics for kharis, and a vital part of daily ritual and Hellenic rituals.

Is there a specific ethical system?
Hellenismos is known for its highly developed ethical system, derived from ancient scripture like the Delphic Maxims I keep going on about as well as scholarly works like the Homeric Hymns, the Tenets of Solon, the Ethics of Aristotle (1,2), the Golden Verses of Pythagoras, the Philosophy of Epicurus, the Stoics, Works and Days by Hesiod and many, many others. Amongst the ethical system, I count living your life in line with the pillars of Hellenismos, one of which is 'Ethike Arete': character excellence. from 'Virtue Ethics: Insights of the Ancient Greeks' by Raymond J. Devetter:

"A character virtue can be thought of as a state (a hexis) created in our psychological lives (our 'souls') over time by performing repeatedly certain actions. There is no official list of character virtues--Aristotle identifies more than a dozen--but three of them play a major role in most all versions of Greek ethics: temperance, courage, and justice."

Are there specific sacred texts?
Besides the ones above, there are a great number of ancient texts that are a staple in every Hellenists household. Hómēros' Odysseia and Iliad come to mind. The works of Hesiod, the tragedies, comedies and surviving satyr plays are another source of information about the ancient Gods. Are these texts sacred in the sense that the bible is sacred? No, there is no holy book within Hellenismos. There is just mythology, preferably from ancient sources.

Can new mythologies be incorporated?
This depends on your definition of new, I guess. Personally, I'm even careful with Roman mythology about the Theoi, so if the question is asked in regards to UPG, then my answer is no. Within the Hellenistic community, UPG is almost completely ignored. It may play a role in individual household worship but does not enter into the religion at large. Only UPG from the ancient Hellenes is used to base the religion on. I think it's valid to say that anything the ancient Hellenes did, was based upon UPG, too. Oracles made predictions, rulers made declarations and myths came into being to explain why certain days were special or how major spheres of influence came to be. 

Is there a specific festival calendar or calendars?
There are several, actually. The Athenian one is the most complete, but there are various surviving calendars. Making a combination of these is most certainly allowed. Integrating a monthly calendar of sacred days is also encouraged. Here at Baring the Aegis, I have supplied an Athenian+ calendar, as well as a calendar of sacred days, for your practicing pleasure. You can find it here.

Can you create new festivals? If you can, what are the limits? Are there limits to what is appropriate? 
Regular readers know that I don't look favorably upon invented, modern, holidays for the Theoi. It's not called a Recon faith for nothing, after all. Still, that's personal opinion and many Hellenists enjoy the various modern day festivals a lot. Another trend seems to be to honor certain deities on secular holidays having to do with their domains. Mother's day comes to mind. I take no issue at all with this if sacrificing to the Theos or Theia in question is a household decision you have made for/with your family. Within your household, you can give sacrifice to whomever you want on any day you want, after all. I'm not a big fan of generalized sweeping statements that proclaim 'mother's day is sacred to [Deity x]', simply because it ascribes a modern invention to the Theoi, who may or many not appreciate being gifted a certain day at all.

So far, my answers to Timothy's questions. How would you answer these from your personal practice?

• Sunday, December 30, 2012
  ancient Hellenic culture daily practice Hellenic Reconstruction Hellenismos 101 Hestia Hómēros Timothy Jay Alexander Zeus

Standardizing Hellenismos

Hellenismos, as a modern Recon Tradition, is young. It's only a decade or two old and while it's starting to get off of the ground and come together, there are a lot of issues which have not been worked out yet. I broached this in my post about suicide and I want to delve deeper into it today. There is a promise of greatness in Hellenismos, but unlike the slightly older Wicca and its younger cousin Neo-Wicca, Hellenismos can't function on a 'coven-by-coven'-basis. This means it needs a doctrine.

The definition of Paganism I use is the one from the Cauldron;

"A Pagan religion is a religion that is not Jewish, Christian, or Islamic and self-identifies as Pagan."

Emphasis on 'self-identifies'. If you feel your practice fits under the Pagan banner, you are free to call yourself Pagan. It's not a protected term like Wicca is, and Hellenismos should be. Above, I stated that Hellenismos can't function on a 'coven-by-coven'-basis. What I meant to say with that is that the few Hellenistic organizations there are can, of course, function wonderfully on their own, but they will both be practicing something different; their own versions of Hellenismos which are, most likely, incompatible. They don't form a whole, a unified religion. They would practice on that 'coven-to-coven' basis which, in my opinion, does not work with a Recon tradition.

Hellenismos does not have the luxury of being a 'do as thou wilt' religion. As a Reconstructionistic Tradition, Hellenismos has source material it needs to draw from in order for it to truly reconstruct anything. I have spoke to you about my problems with reconstruction before but it bears repeating; I greatly believe and fear that reconstruction is only possible within the confines of modern day society, thus limiting its validity by default.

I think there are three things which stand in the way of standardizing Hellenismos; modern day individualistic society, a language barrier and the religious origins of its members.

Society at large is moving more and more away from community to individuality and from local to global. This means that everyone has an opinion about everything and very few people still feel comfortable 'limiting' their lives by accepting a doctrine in it. This is one of the reasons why the Churches are emptying out slowly and Paganism is finding its membership growing.

As for language; the ancient Hellens spoke Greek. The most organized Hellenistic organization out there today, πατο Συμβούλιο των Ελλήνων Εθνικών (the 'Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes'), is in Greece and most of their communication is in Greek. Needless to say, this limits the rest of the world greatly in accessing sources.

The religious origins of a practitioner are incredibly important, especially if they were raised with a different religion than the one they wish to practice now. It's hard to shake off the framework, mindset and practices from your life before Hellenismos (or any other religion, really). Hellenists coming from an Orthodox Christian background, from a Christian-then-Pagan background, from an Atheist background, from the background of any other world religion, or from a pure Pagan background will all have incredibly different ideas about deity, about practice, about devotion, about anything, really. The big things you can shake pretty easily; you accept new deities, find out how a ritual should work and practice that, you buy new tools, do a little research and voilá! Hellenistic! Or not?

While not a huge fan of Timothy Jay Alexander, he does raise several good points in his books and on his website(s) that deserve further study. In this blog post, for example, he asks a couple of questions about what should and should not be considered Hellenismos:

• At a minimum, how many Greek Gods need to be worshiped for a practice to be Hellenismos, and which ones?
• Does every practitioner of Hellenismos have to honor Hestia? How about Zeus?
• Is there a specific ritual style?
• Can rituals be innovative? If they can, when does innovation cross the line?
• Can a person cast a circle?
• Are sacrifices and offerings required?
• Is there a specific ethical system?
• Are there specific sacred texts?
• Can new mythologies be incorporated?
• Is there a specific festival calendar or calendars?
• Can you create new festivals? If you can, what are the limits? Are there limits to what is appropriate?

Good questions, right? I can answer these questions from my own viewpoint but the next Hellenist over would probably answer them completely differently.

This might be a bit controversial but... I believe that in order for Hellenismos to work as a unified religion, we need a global organization of international, elected, clergy members and three--in this example, simplified--handbooks, supplemented by the ethical and scholarly works so important in Hellenismos;

• Hellenismos 101: the Religious Basics
• Hellenismos 201: the Practical Handbook of Rituals, Festivals and Daily Devotionals
• The Huge Book of Hellenic Mythology

All those who wish to call themselves 'Hellenists' should read these books, practice it for a year while documenting their progress, preferably under a mentor or a local Hellenistic community approved of by the organization, and then take an entry test. Membership of the organization would come with the perks of access to temples--made possible by government money as well as the mandatory annual tithing of all members--as well as a community of like minded Hellenists, access to on-line resources like the ancient works, modern books on Hellenismos and essays and articles written by clergy, access to clergy when needed and a shiny new label.

This organization would have to start making the hard decisions concerning issues like the ones above but also about abortion, suicide, euthanasia, drug use, religious basics, animal sacrifice and any other of a huge number of issues humanity struggles with. Members are free to disagree with the standpoint the organization takes but may not oppose it openly while still a member. Discussion about the subject is not opposition. The organization would also be in charge of forming community networks in different countries and giving members the ability to meet others of their faith.

They would be in charge of the formation of uniform rituals for births, deaths, suicides, festivals and any other event that requires ritual and they need to decide which of these rituals need to be watched over by clergy and which should be household affairs. On top of that, they would be responsible for the Public Relations of the religion and for the construction of Temples to the Theoi in any country with more than [set number of] followers. This number also needs to be decided by the organization. I believe either the organization's leader or the majority of its ruling counsel should be Greek.

This is only a very rough sketch but it gets the point across; in my opinion, the construction of a Recon Tradition like Hellenismos needs an organizational body and a set of rules to follow in order to call yourself a member. There is a reason the Abrahamic faiths aren't Pagan; they have a set doctrine that does not lend itself to Paganism at all. Their success is in that doctrine. There may be a huge number of denominations but they all default to a basic set of believes which keep them under the Christian banner. I have no problem in admitting that I feel Hellenismos would thrive in a framework like the one described in this post.

Perhaps the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes can be the organization I have tried to sketch out. They do incredible work in trying to get recognition for the religion and are even active on an international level--with charters in the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany and Brazil--but there are many battles still to face in their home country. Right now, Hellenismos isn't a recognized religion there, with prevents them from getting financial support as well as halts initiatives to raise Temples, although there was a Temple built just outside of Thessaloniki in 2009.

However Hellenismos is going to evolve; we are now at that point in the religion where all members need to start paying attention to that big picture. Right about now, we start setting up the foundations for the future of Hellenismos and the entire religion can still come crashing down if handled incorrectly. I think yesterday's post should be warning enough of that. Losing a religion with the beauty and potential like Hellenismos again would be, to me, an eternal shame.

• Tuesday, August 21, 2012
  community Hellenic Reconstruction Hellenismos 101 Paganism Temples Timothy Jay Alexander YSEE

The pillars of Hellenismos

Timothy Jay Alexander is one of the most visible Hellenics out there. He has written a couple of introductory books and is active on-line as well as off-line to promote Hellenismos and educate people on its ideology and theology.

Alexander has identified seven pillars of Hellenismos which practitioners should adhere to and which will help identify and understand Hellenismos for the non-practitioner. These pillars are:

• Ethike Arete - the practice of habitual excellence (ethics)
• Eusebia - reverence, loyalty, and sense of duty toward the Gods (of Greece)
• Hagneia - the maintaining of ritual purity by avoiding miasma
• Nomos Arkhaios - observance of ancient tradition, (religious) law, and customs
• Sophia - the pursuit of wisdom, understanding, and truth
• Sophrosune - the control of self through deep contemplation
• Xenia - adherence to hospitality and the guest-host relationship

I like these pillars. I have my own, and there are only four:

• Eusebeia
• Katharmos: the act of being ritually clean
• Kharis: the act of giving to the Gods so They might give something in return
• Xenia

Our pillars match up well; I group Ethike Arete, Nomos Arkhaios and Eusebia under Eusebia, call Hagneia Katharmos and distinguish Kharis from Eusebia. The only thing my pillars don't seem to cover are Sophia and Sophrosune. As these are all encourage in the ethical system of Hellenismos, I felt no need to. They are grouped under Eusebeia as well.

Alexander's pillars are clearer than mine, I think, and this is why I wanted to share them with you. Now, Alexander is not the be all and end all of Hellenismos. He has his own opinions, which I largely agree with, but there are a lot of other voices in Hellenismos, who speak a lot of truth to me as well. Hellenic Reconstruction is young and fluid. A lot of battles are still being fought. A lot of terms are still being defined. Any practitioner is encouraged to keep an open mind and to think for themselves.

Coming from a Wiccan or Neo-Wiccan framework, Hellenismos is hard to understand. The differences in religion, practice and study are huge. They would be with any recon Tradition.

I visited a semi-pagan festival over the weekend and had a good conversation with an Eclectic friend whom I love dearly. We found that the major differences were in religion. Within Hellenismos, you need to believe in the Gods. Not as archetypes, not as energy which takes on different facets to different groups of people, but as Gods with Their own personality, Their own influence on this world. Alexander's pillars focus on this a lot; anything you do, you do to be worthy enough to approach the Gods and you strive to be worthy enough to approach the Gods because They are divine beings who should be worshipped as They will rule your life, regardless.

Having pillars to hold on to is a fantastic tool for fledgeling practitioners. What they don't tell you, however, is the gravity you should place on each of the pillars. I doubt anyone distributes their practice equally between all pillars; you filter what is most important to you and practice the others in passing. This is why I have only four pillars, with one pillar containing most of Alexander's pillars. These are the pillars I have built my practice around.

Even if you're not Hellenic, you undoubtedly have your own pillars within your practice and/or worship. They can be anything; practicing divination, celebrating the Wheel of the Year, engaging in interfaith activities, sociopolitical activism; anything, really. These pillars are the basis of your faith and they matter. I feel identifying your own pillars is important for any Pagan, regardless of Tradition. If you have pillars you'd like to share, feel free. I would appreciate it. If not, I encourage you to at least give it a thought. You never know what you might learn about your practice.

• Tuesday, August 7, 2012
  athike arete eusebia hagneia Hellenismos 101 katharmos kharis nomos arkhaios sophia sophrosune Timothy Jay Alexander Xenia