Reader question: exorcisms?

Exorcisms have a long and varied history, and the best known version of it is the 'Major Exorcism' as performed by a Catholic priest. This rite is recorded in the Rituale Romanum which seems to date from around 1600 AD. How old the ritual itself is, I am not sure, but the concept of possession is most certainly ancient. The idea of the Major Exorcism is to establish that a demon has taken possession of a person--which should be measurable by certain signs like speaking in tongues and convulsing--and then to drive out the possessor by reciting ritual texts and presenting the creature with holy iconography. I was asked if there was something like an exorcism in Hellenismos.

The question makes a few assumptions that need to be addressed before answering your question:

1. Did the ancient Hellenes believe in possession?
2. Did they believe it was a bad thing?
3. Did the ancient Hellenes believe creatures which classically possess humans and/or animals existed?
4. Did they believe these creatures would, indeed, possess humans and/or animals?
5. Was it possible to cast out these creatures through religious (or even secular) rites?

The short answer to the first question is yes, they did. Certain Gods--especially wilder Gods like Dionysos and Pan were said to influence their followers in such a way that they became unaware of their surroundings and actions. The Maenads--followers of Dionysos, often female--in mythology at least are often portrayed as tearing people apart in their fit of madness and to see things while doing so. Most often, this is the way they are tricked into committing these acts. Almost always, they are inspired to do so by Dionysos Himself. The longer answer is a debate on if this constitutes possession as laid out by the Roman Catholic church. In the Rituale Romanum, the signs of possession are described as follows:

"[The] ability to speak with some facility in a strange tongue or to understand it when spoken by another; the faculty of divulging future and hidden events; display of powers which are beyond the subject's age and natural condition; and various other indications which, when taken together as a whole, build up the evidence."

As you can see, it leave a lot of room for interpretation. While the actions of the Maenads might fit part of the bill, it is more interesting to look at oracles as subjects of possession, as they tended to speak in tongues or riddles, divulge hidden events, and would often show physical signs of not being in control of their bodies. The oracle at Delphi is a classic example, and indeed, the ancient Hellenes believed the oracle possessed--not by an evil entity, but by a God; in this case, Apollon (for the majority of history anyway).

As such, I don't believe possession in these forms was considered a bad thing; it was the way the Theoi spoke to or through their followers, and in general, it was a much sought-out and desired skill of both mystery cults and divination.

Classical creatures who possess people according to the church are mostly demons, malevolent beings sent by the Devil or acting on their own accord. In general, their only goal is to bring pain and suffering to humanity. The word 'demon' comes from the ancient Greek root 'δαίμων'--'daímōn'. Hesiod gives us our first glimpse into daímōns as he writes about the five Ages of Man in 'Works and Days'. He gives us the following references:

"First of all the deathless gods who dwell on Olympus made a golden race of mortal men who lived in the time of Kronos when he was reigning in heaven. [...] But after earth had covered this generation -- they are called pure spirits dwelling on the earth, and are kindly, delivering from harm, and guardians of mortal men; for they roam everywhere over the earth, clothed in mist and keep watch on judgments and cruel deeds, givers of wealth; for this royal right also they received.

[...] then they who dwell on Olympus made a second generation which was of silver and less noble by far. It was like the golden race neither in body nor in spirit. [...] But when earth had covered this generation also -- they are called blessed spirits of the underworld by men, and, though they are of second order, yet honour attends them also." [ll. 109-120]

Hesiod's Ages speak of only one race who became daímōns; those of the Golden Age, yet those of the Silver and Heroic Age also received many honors after their passing, and they were held in high regard. Hesiod makes clear distinction between the Theoi and daímōns: the Theoi are Gods, daímōns are members of the Gold Age who gained immortality. This differentiation is much less pronounced in the writings of Hómēros, where God and daímōn are used virtually interchangeably.

This difference led to a misinterpretation of the nature of the race of the Silver Age: they became dangerous daímōns in the eyes of later writers (like Plato), and eventually the demons of Christianity. Yet, neither Hómēros or Hesiod ever intended them to be so: all daímōns were pure and Deathless; they acted as a policing force for humanity. Especially through Neo-Platonics comes the placement of daímōns between the Theoi and mankind. They are less powerful than the Theoi, with lesser domains; more concerned with the daily happenings of life than the Theoi are, but they, too, are immortal, and deserve honors. Daímōns fulfill an important role in mythology and life: all aspects of life can be overseen by Deathless beings, without taking away from--or needlessly adding to--the portfolio of the Gods.

A daímōn could also be a personal guardian spirit or the personification of a person's conscious--or even their muse--this idea seems to be a Neo-Platonic evolution of Hesiod's classical daímōns, popularized by Socrates (and his followers), who described his personal daímōn in his trial. From Plato's 'Apology':

 

"You have often heard me speak of an oracle or sign which comes to me, and is the divinity which Meletus ridicules in the indictment. This sign I have had ever since I was a child. The sign is a voice which comes to me and always forbids me to do something which I am going to do, but never commands me to do anything, and this is what stands in the way of my being a politician."

Daímōns had been separated from their Hesiodic cousins by then, but they were still considered positive forces. The later corruption of the term came from the Christians. The ancient Hellenes did not know demons in the way we know them now; the earliest mention I know of is from the Papyri Graecae Magicae, which also includes an exorcism rite. Note that this document can be dated anywhere from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD, and that it was Graeco-Roman/Egyptian in origin. It was a rather obscure document even in its time, but for this search, it might suffice. Note that it is in essence a Christian rite, though, and adresses the Christian God and pantheon.

Now, I would like to focus a moment on 'evil' entities the ancient Hellenes did believe in: ghosts. Ghosts were the people who could not find the entrance to the Underworld or who didn't have the money to pay Kharon for their passage. Those who were not properly buried were also doomed to wander the Earth for a hundred years. Interestingly enough, Hellenic heroes were also considered ghosts and were honored in the same type of rites as other types of ghosts.

The ancient Hellens held festivals in honor of ghosts, and the Theoi that presided over them, so they would be sated and appeased and would not haunt them. Most of these festivals included a holókaustos--a sacrificial offering given in its entirety to the Gods--and were solemn affairs, conducted at night and without an offering of wine.

This fear of spirits and other supernatural entities was named 'deisidaimonia' (δεισιδαιμονία). The ceremonies of riddance were known to the Hellenes as apopompai (ἀποποπμαί), 'sendings away'. There isn't a single word in the English language that conveys the practice. Closest would be, indeed, 'exorcism'.

It is important to note here that these 'exorcisms' weren't performed on people, but on the ghosts themselves and in short, they consisted of rites to ask the Gods (especially Hekate) to keep these unfortunate souls away from their homes and families, because the ghosts could bring misery down upon them. Possession was not part of the fear. Many rites in the ancient Hellenic religion--including monthly ones like the Deipnon--were apotropaic. Many of these rites were also linked to miasma.

Within Hellenic practice, miasma describes the lingering aura of uncleanliness in regards to a person or space through which contact is made with the Gods. Next to piety, being ritually clean is one of the most important things to adhere to within Hellenismos. Severe miasma needs to be cleansed by the Gods, and these rites were apotropaic in nature.

The answer to the question at hand is thus that it depends on the time period and your definition. Strictly speaking, the ancient Hellenes in general did not believe in possession, but did have specific rites to ward off the evil and miasmic. Later on, especially in cult worship, some forms of demon possession became a known issue, but by and large, demon possession did not occur until the Roman empire and the rise of Christianity. Perhaps it was a different understanding of the same thing, but the concept would have been foreign to the ancient Hellenes. By extension, exorcisms were too.

• Monday, August 30, 2021
  ancient Hellenic culture Apollon Christianity Delphi Dionysos Hekate Hekate's Deipnon holókaustos miasma Myth of the Five Ages Pan requested post Roman

Repost: On impure days and days of purification

The days of purification are placed on the 18th and 19th of every month of the Hellenic festival calendar, and are thus part of the Mên kata Theion, the sacred month--religious events that return every month in a set sequence. These days of purification are hinted at in Proklos' 'Commentary on Hesiod's Works and Days', and further solidified by Philokhoros in his 'On Days'. The text is not available online in translation, as far as I can find, but in short, these texts indicate that 'the eighteenth and nineteenth of the month are devoted to purificatory and apotropaic rites.'

While this can be interpreted as a monthly thing, in context it can also be interpreted as something belonging only in Boedromion, tied to the Mysteries at Eleusis. Because we have no conclusive evidence in favor of either theory, I prefer to keep these as a monthly event.

The impure days are the days before the Deipnon. One of the most important of the many Hellenic festivals is the three-day transition from month to month. Although unlinked, the Deipnon, the Noumenia and Agathós Daímōn are held on consecutive days, around the new moon. The Deipnon (Hene kai Nea)--or Hekate's Deipnon--is celebrated any time before the first sliver of the new moon is visible. In practice, this is the day after the new moon. The impure days are thus the two or three (depending on if the month is hollow or not) days leading up to the Deipnon. These days are labelled 'impure' as a precausting. The Deipnon itself is absolutely impure, after all.

Hekate’s Deipnon is the traditional time to end the old month and prepare for the new one. In ancient Hellas, the Deipnon was celebrated with a Supper for the Titan Hekate--made up of leek, egg, cakes, fish, unions and garlic--and set out at the outside shrine to Hekate, and then placed at a crossroads as an offering to Her--Hekate Trioditis, Goddess of Crossroads--and the vengeful spirits who were in her following. In addition to placation, the Deipnon is also a time of purification; in ancient times, a dog was taken in, touched by all members of the oikos so any lingering miasma was transfered to the dog. The dog was then sacrificed in a holókaustos. This was most likely not a monthly thing, but only performed when the household was troubled. As Hekate's sacred animal is a dog, the sacrifice also served to regain, or keep, Hekate's favor upon the household. The house was also thoroughly cleaned so the new month could start fresh the day after. Debts were repaid on this day.

Purificatory rites, obviously, refer to katharmos--ritual purification--in relation to miasma--ritual impurity. Within Hellenic practice, miasma (Μίασμα) describes the lingering aura of uncleanliness in regards to a person or space through which contact is made with the Gods. Miasma occurs whenever the space or person comes into contact with death, sickness, birth, sex, excessive negative emotions and bodily fluids. It also comes from a lack of contact with the Hellenic Gods. Not the actual acts of dying, sex and birth cause miasma but the opening up of the way to the Underworld (with births and deaths) as well as contact with sweat, blood, semen, menstrual blood and urine pollutes us. Miasma is an incredibly complicated and involved practice and it's often misunderstood. The most important things to remember about miasma is that it holds no judgment from the Gods, and that everyone attracts miasma. It's a mortal, human, thing.

So let's look at the terms of 'purification' and 'apotropaic' as noted in the ancient texts. The practice of purification is called katharmos (Καθαρμός). The process of katharmos is elaborate because the process not only involves the physical but also the emotional, mental and spiritual. It means being physically clean when entering ritual but, peraps more importantly, it means leaving behind negativity, worry, pain and trouble before getting in contact with the Gods.

Katharmos is a Hellenic basic. There can not be ritual without katharmos. As such, it makes sense to have days in the month assigned especially to getting clean before the rest of the month's rituals take place.

The word 'apotropaic' comes from Greek apotrepein 'to ward off' from apo- 'away' and trepein 'to turn'. These practices serve to appease polluting spirits, ghosts chief amongst them. Ghosts were the people who could not find the entrance to the Underworld or who didn't have the money to pay Kharon for their passage. Those who were not properly buried were also doomed to wander the Earth for a hundred years. Interestingly enough, Hellenic heroes were also considered ghosts and were honored in the same type of rites as other types of ghosts.

The ancient Hellens held festivals in honor of ghosts, and the Theoi that presided over them, so they would be sated and appeased and would not haunt them. Most of these festivals included a holókaustos--a sacrificial offering given in its entirety to the Gods--and were solemn affairs, conducted at night and without an offering of wine. It was, however, also possible to invite them to dine with the living so they would feel included and then end the proceedings by asking them to leave; something the ghosts would do as it's not polite by the rules of xenia to be a burden on your host.

This fear of spirits and other supernatural entities was named 'deisidaimonia' (δεισιδαιμονία). The ceremonies of riddance were known to the Hellenes as apopompai (ἀποποπμαί), 'sendings away'. There isn't a single word in the English language that conveys the practice. Closest would be 'exorcism'. It is important to note here that these 'exorcisms' weren't performed on people, but on the ghosts themselves and in short, they consisted of rites to ask the Gods (especially Hekate) to keep these unfortunate souls away from their homes and families, because the ghosts could bring misery down upon them. Possession was not part of the fear. Many rites in the ancient Hellenic religion--including monthly ones like the Deipnon--were apotropaic.

There is one other reson I can think of why certain days could have become impure are the ancient Hellenic homicide courts. Homicide courts were the law cases where one man stood accused of murdering another. In many respects, a homicide case resembled other private suits. Each litigant pleaded his own case in two speeches, the first of which presented the main points in his accusation or defense and might be written for him by a logographer, aprofessional speechwriter, and the second rebutting his opponents arguments. Witnesses could testify if they were male citizens. When the litigants finished their two speeches, the jury voted for acquittal or conviction and the majority carried the day (a tie vote meant acquittal). The penalty for intentional homicide was death, though exile seems to have been a common outcome, and the accused was allowed to go into exile voluntarily at any time up until his second speech in court, which would then be delivered by a friend or relative in the hope of persuading the jury to vote for acquittal despite the accused’s departure. For unintentional homicide the penalty was exile, probably for a specific length of time (perhaps a year). At any point the victim’s family could agree to a lesser penalty, or they could even drop the charges, if they wished, though there was a strong moral obligation to avenge an intentional murder.

Interestingly enough, homicide courts were held outdoors out of fear of pollution. The belief was archaic and had become more of a tradition than a rule by the time of Classical Greece, but it was definitely practiced. It could have been that these homicide courts were always planned on impure days--or that these days became impure because these very specific courts were always held on these days.

So, what do these days mean for worship...? Not too much. Festivals were hardly ever celebrated on these days and essembly meetings were rarely held on them either. They were said to bring bad luck; no major endeavor was started on them. Especially the impure days in the middle of the month were considered ominous. For us, we can foolow the lead of the ancient Hellenes: there are no planned festivals and we can be mindful of these days when planning our own celebrations. But the ancient Hellenes would have held regular household rituals on these days and in case of imergency, they would have performed rituals as well. The katharmic rites might have been a bit longer or performed with more intention but overall, these days are just something to keep in mind, not be held back back.  

• Friday, November 1, 2019
  ancient Hellenic culture Athens festivals Hellenismos 101 katharmos miasma requested post

On the continued influence of sin

Sin is a 'transgression of a religious or moral law, especially when deliberate', often regarded as either 'deliberate disobedience to the known will of [the Abrahamic] God, or 'a condition of estrangement from [the Abrahamic] God resulting from such disobedience'. I am not a Christian, nor was I raised as one, but in my opinion, sinful acts are acts which turn the actor away from the goal of Heaven; food, for example, if not a part of heaven, so to gutonously eat while here on earth shows you don't really want to get into heaven after all.

Once sinned, a devotee is barred from Heaven--the supreme goal--until he or she repents. Repenting is 'to feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do', and includes 'an admission of guilt for committing a wrong or for omission of doing the right thing; a promise or resolve not to repeat the offense; an attempt to make restitution for the wrong, or in some way to reverse the harmful effects of the wrong or the omission where possible'. As Frank Stagg says:

"It is a call to conversion from self-love, self-trust, and self-assertion to obedient trust and self-commitment to God. It is a change of mind that involves a conscious turning away from wrong actions, attitudes and thoughts that conflict with a Godly lifestyle and biblical commands, and an intentional turning toward doing that which the Bible says pleases God."

 Naturally, sin has no place in Hellenismos, as well as modern Pagan religions, and yet, the concept lives on in its practicioners. I happened across another example a little while ago where guilt and fear over wrongdoing (in this case concerning a lack of daily--or at least consistant--ritual). Sin was never brought up, and this is my interpretation, but I still see it a lot around the Pagan internet hangouts: a fear to 'do wrong' that is beyond the scope of Hellenismos.

There are things you can 'do wrong' in Hellenism, but because of the way the concept of sin works, it can never be applied to the Hellenic religion: we are not working towards the goal of an afterlife. We know that we will inevertably end up in the realm of Hades, and it is nothing to look forward to. Only if you have done something incredibly inexcusable (kill, chop up and serve your son to the Theoi, for example, as Tantalos did), you might be punished in Tartaros. In general, we will walk the dreary Fields forever, while some of us--those who have done extraordinary deeds in life--will end up in Elysium, but that is a rare honor indeed.

Within Hellenismos, we try not to do wrong--or better, we always try to do right--by the Gods. They are the major influence over our lives, and we live largely by Their will. As such, fear of the Gods is a cornerstone of the faith, but it is not meant in the Christian sense where any sin committed is seen by God, and jeopardizes you place in heaven; here it is meant as a reminder of kharis: that the Gods look favorably upon those who honor Them properly. The implication here is, of course, that they do not look favorably upon those who do not honor Them properly, and this is correct, yet, committing hubris does not automatically mean that you will be punished by the Theoi; it simply means a drop in kharis.

Within Hellenic practice, miasma describes the lingering aura of uncleanliness in regards to a person or space through which contact is made with the Gods. Next to piety, being ritually clean is one of the most important things to adhere to within Hellenismos. We all incur miasma, every single day of our lives. It is a consequence of living. We breath, make decisions, come in contact with others, and along the way, we become too human--for lack of a better term--to petition the Gods. The divide between the purity and cleanliness of the Theoi and our human mortality and imperfection, keeps us away from Them.

There are striking similarities between the previous paragraph and the first I posted: a divide of 'human-ness' between humanity and divinity, a transgression against the Gods, a typically human act... but the differences that are telling: miasma and hubris do not require guilt to absolve. There is no need to repent and beg the Gods for forgiveness: Hellenismos blows by that part of repentance and goes straight to a change in behavior. Acknowledging your error is important, and sacrifices are often given, but miasma is 'absolved' often by washing and cleaning alone, and a drop in kharis is restored by fostering more kharis.

Sin is an important concept, but it is unrelated to Hellenismos. One should never feel guilt for doing wrong by the Gods--only, perhaps, sadness for not doing right. Sin and guilt have no place in our religion, although they have a place in many of us as our Western societies are often drenched with Christian values and morals. It's important to untangle yourself from these subconcious influences to live an authentic Hellenistic life, which is not better than an Abrahamic one, only different. And the differences count.

• Sunday, April 8, 2018
  ancient Hellenic culture Christianity daily practice Hellenic Reconstruction household worship kharis miasma Paganism

Question Collections post 64

I get a lot of questions from readers, and most of the time, the answers are fairly short. When I feel the question or the reply would be valuable to others as well, I make a post with a collection of them and post them in one go. Today is one of those posts.

"Hi I have been led to believe that animal sacrifice particular of rams was fairly important in ancient Greek worship and I was wondering how this was handled in your practice."

The principal kind of Greek sacrifice was called 'thysia' and consisted of the killing of a domestic animal, usually cattle, sheep, goats or pigs. It was followed by the division of the meat between the divine recipient and the human participants. This practice was most definitely the cornerstone of the ancient Hellenic faith. It included animals for a reason: the act of killing, of taking the life of an animal, is a difficult one. It brings us closer to our own mortality. Sacrifice was the highlight of ancient Hellenic ritual.

I don't sacrifice animals in my practice. That said, I would be open to bringing animal sacrifice back if we could do it properly: if the sacrifice could be made with enough people to use all of the animal and to make the sacrifice count. If we had temples, a Hellenic village square, or another open and accepting environment to conduct these rites, then yes, I would 100% join in and I have been saying for years I would rather be butchering my own meat for consumption and of course, I would sacrifice the animal to the Theoi.

That said, I live in an urban area with neighbors who would very much disagree with the killing of an animal on their lawn. I live hours away from the nearest Hellenist. I am not licensed to butcher an animal, nor do I possess the skill to do so.

Personally, I think we are not ready to revive the practice of animal sacrifice. We are small, scattered, and divided on many things. We have no set or standardized practice--and we even differ on the opinion if we need one. I think we have quite a lot of other things to sort out before we can form a united front that can declare--unambiguously--why we need to perform animal sacrifices to fully practice our religion, and set up rules, guidelines, and classes to make these a reality in a legal, responsible manner.

I think we can and should bring back the practice, but not now. Not yet. Perhaps in ten years or so, maybe twenty. Once we are secure, once we are more recognized, once we are done chipping away at ourselves from the inside out. Perhaps then we will be able to bring back something so very important to the ancient Hellenes and the Gods we love so much.

~~~

"To your knowledge, is Hermes, as messenger of the gods, have any associations with bees? I know that bees were considered to be the messengers of the gods in the Ancient Near East contemporaneously, and that extends back to Hittite mythology centuries earlier. So, given how close Greek mythology is to Anatolian mythology at times, it would be interesting if that in particular carried over. "

I...know of a tiny connection, but I'm not sure it's entirely what you are looking for. Your question reminded me of the Thriai, three prophetic nymphs of Mount Parnassos in Phokis (central Greece). They are Goddesses of the art of divinitation by pebbles and of the birds of omen which were gifted to Hermes by Apollon. They were apparently envisaged as nymphs with the heads of women and the bodies of bees. They are referred to in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes (IV):

"There are certain holy ones, sisters born--three virgins gifted with wings : their heads are besprinkled with white meal, and they dwell under a ridge of Parnassos. These are teachers of divination apart from me, the art which I practised while yet a boy following herds, though my father paid no heed to it. From their home they fly now here, now there, feeding on honey-comb and bringing all things to pass. And when they are inspired through eating yellow honey, they are willing to speak the truth; but if they be deprived of the gods' sweet food, then they speak falsely, as they swarm in and out together. These, then, I give you; enquire of them strictly and delight you heart: and if you should teach any mortal so to do often will he hear your response--if he have good fortune.

Take these, Son of Maia...so he spake. And from heaven father Zeus himself gave confirmation to his words, and commanded that glorious Hermes should be lord over all birds of omen . . . and also that he only should be the appointed messenger to Aides (Hades), who, though he takes no gift, shall give him no mean prize."

In a way, divination is communication from the Gods to humans, but I have to say I find the connection with Hermes...tenuous at best.

~~~

"I want to start making and using khernips, but due to various mental illnesses, I don't always have the energy to make it. I know there are some concerns with the shelf life of the water, but I was considering buying purification tablets to keep the water safe enough to have for long periods of time. Is it okay to use one 'batch' of khernips multiple times, or is making a new one each time required?"

Khernips, or lustral water, was exactly that--water. Khernips is created by dropping smoldering incense or herb leaves into (fresh and/or salt) water (preferably sacred spring water or sea water). When throwing in the lit item, one can utter ‘xerniptosai’ (pronounced 'zer-nip-TOS-aye-ee') which translates as ‘be purified’. Both hands and face are washed with khernips. The vessel holding the khernips is called a khernibeionas (Χερνῐβεῖον).  Khernips are the traditional way to cleanse yourself from miasma, ritual pollution.

When preparing Khernips entirely in advance and then storing it, I have noticed that the chemicals produced when setting something on fire actually impact water and if left out long enough--even when covered or contained, micro-organisms naturally in the water and added to it by the fire eventually start to multiply, causing the water to pollute. Maybe purification tablets would counteract this (a bit), but it wouldn't be my preferred option.

Do I think storing khernips ahead of time is possible? Yes. Is it the most desirable option? No. For me, preparing khernips before my ritual is as much a part of the ritual as tossing barley groats, singing the praise of the Gods and sacrificing with them. Ffollowing the same ritual steps ever day is a wonderful way to get in a ritual mood; repetition literaly deminishes miasma. If only because of that, I am in favor of preparing khernips fresh every ritual or at least every day.

As with anything concerning miasma, most books on ancient Hellas and/or Hellenic religion don't mention khernips at all, or under a synonym. As with miasma, I am going to assume this is because the evidence of its existence is so flimsy besides a resounding 'it was used and important'. My rather vast collection of scholarly material is silent on any details beyond the basic information already provided. As such, I am forced to speculate based upon what I know.

Personally, I tend to mix tap water with sea water into a large vessel from which I take a measure every evening to use throughout the day. I drop the smoldering firebrand (a match when traveling, a bit of burning wood or herbs when home) into the measure poured our, not the vessel itself. So, in short, I prepare the base in advance but the actual mixture on the spot. I only use one measure one day, after that, I dip it out onto the earth and replace it with a fresh batch before my evening rituals. Personally, I would advise this if you want to prepare things in advance.  Even the worry of cleaning yourself with polluted water would negate the use of khernips, after all, would it not?

~~~

"Hi! Will you ever upload more videos on YouTube? I really enjoy the content you have already shared but I (and I'm sure at least a few others) would love to see more! :) I apologize if this sounds rude, I don't intend to be. Theoi bless :)"

I would like to, yes, but I’m pretty much out of inspiration! I have one planned on a specific form of division practiced in ancient Hellas and recently worked out the barebones of one on the difference in practice between ouranic and kthonic sacrifice. If you guys have ideas, let me know! The core rule is as follows: the topic has to benefit from the visual element! If I can explain it better in writing or it would just be me sitting in front of a camera and talking, it’s out ;-)

• Monday, May 15, 2017
  ancient Hellenic culture animals blogging death Hermes khernips miasma personal Question Collections Post requested post

Miasma in the working life

It seems like one of the absolute hardest things about Hellenismos to truly understand for new (and experienced) practitioners is miasma. It's especially difficult to understand in regards to a work situation that involves events that traditionally cause miasma. Let's see if I can shed some light today.

Within Hellenic practice, miasma describes the lingering aura of uncleanliness in regards to a person or space through which contact is made with the Gods. Miasma comes into play whenever a space or person comes into contact with death, sickness, birth, sex, excessive negative emotions and bodily fluids. It also comes from a lack of contact with the Hellenic Gods. Miasma is an incredibly complicated and involved practice and it's often misunderstood. The most important things to remember about miasma is that it holds no judgment from the Gods, and that everyone attracts miasma. It's a mortal, human, thing. The ancient Hellenes washed their hands as a precaution before ritual and then attended rites every single day.

 

I recently recieved a message from a reader who works both in the obstetrics wing and the morgue--both fields which could, judging by the above discription, carry heaps of miasma--who was worried that in his line of work, there was no way to avoid miasma or any way to ever get clean. It made me realize I need to really lay out the mechanics of miasma better--because I doubt this reader ever incurs miasma beyond the 'level' of, say, an office worker or gardener. I'm going to try to explain.

After a lot of research into the workings of miasma, I have come to the conclusion that true, practice stopping, miasma is linked to distraction. Anything that takes your mind off of the Gods during ritual can be considered miasmic. For example, the ancient Hellenes agreed that murder caused miasma but only once other people became aware of the fact that you had committed an act of murder. As such, if you were exiled and you travelled to another town where no one knew what you had done, in essence, you were not miamic to the rites and people around you.

Death, birth, and life treathening illness are traditionally miasmic because they are linked to the Underworld; souls travel to the Underworld during death and (especially in ancient Hellas,) the threat of death and the Underworld hangs over births and over those close to dying. It is important to note here that soldiers--who murdered people for a living!--were not believed to incur miasma. With modern psychological discoveries, I'd dare to contend that, but I'll get to that. Now, not the actual acts of dying, childbirth, being ill or even engaging in sexual relation cause miasma. If it did, soldiers and babies would not only carry miasma but perhaps even be a source of it--and neither were considered to be either.

If you take a look at the events that cause miasma, you can see they are all events that are very emotional. The (imminent) death of a loved one, the birth of your (grand)child, making love to your significant other--these are events that take up our thoughts not only during but after the events. They linger in our minds. These events even have an influence on our hormones; they literally change our brain chemistry for a while. The ancient Hellenes did not know that, of course, but they knew that these events were impactful.

When we are involved, mentally, with these events, we can't practice arete; we can't be our best. We are too absorbed with another human or ourselves to give our full attention to the Gods. That, in a nutshell, is miasma. Miasma occurs when we are too absorbed with human affairs to give our very best to the Theoi. This does not mean that any involvement with death, or birth, or sex, or anything else that traditionally carries miasma causes miasma for the practitioner.

Conciser miasma as throwing a stone in a pond; the closer you are to the point of impact, the more you will be affected by the resulting waves. Please note that I am talking about being emotionally affected; all the physical stuff is handled with water and soap. Some examples:

- If you or a loved one are dying, well, you can't get closer to the point of impact than that. You're going to be affected. The people who love you are going to be affected. The waves of a death reach very far.

- If you've just had a baby and you are worrying about being a good parent, about the health of the baby (in ancient Hellas, especially, children often died in the first days of life) and just generally extatic, it's going to be hard to focus on a rite that focusses on the opening of the first wine barrels of the season, for example, or placating Poseidon to send calm seas so trade can pick up again. Yet, the ripples might extend to the parents of the new parents but probably not too far beyond that circle--except if the baby cries through the entire ritual, but that's a whole different ball game.

- Everyone who has ever made love to a person you are so very in love with knows how hard it is to focus on anything but that other person the day after. The impact of that, however, is not going to be felt by anyone but the two people involved and that kind of miasma can be cleared by a good shake of the head, a shower and ritual katharmos.

Now, there are people--like the author of the message--who are professionally involved with events that traditionally carry miasma. In general, these people will be close to the point of impact physically--namely the people they take care of--but far removed from the point of impact emotionally. This is their job, they have perhaps a dozen patients or clients a day, maybe more, and while they give the best care they can while at work, once the day is done, they drive home and return to their own life. For these people these traditionally miasmic events aren't miasmic beyond the regular, every day occurring, type of miasma. Just like the soldiers of ancient Hellas, they are trained not to be emotionally affected by the job and in general they are not.

Of course you will always want to practice katharmos--the practice of purification through, for example, applying khernips. We all occur miasma, after all. And there are always those special cases that slip right past the training. I have been in health care, I know that sometimes you really connect with a person you take care of. When something happens to them, you take that home. Those people and their situation linger in your mind--and that, as we have seen above, is miasma. At that point you will have to consider to either sit out the ritual or take some extra steps to shake these throughts and regain focus for the Gods at least for the duration of the rite.

Remember I said that I dare to contend that (ancient) soldiers didn't occur miasma while performing their job? With our renewed understanding of the psychological burden of warfare and the legitimization of PTSD, I dare say that soldiers can most certainly incur miasma while performing their job. It's all about the psychological burden, after all, just like a doctor when (s)he loses a patient or a mortician when (s)he has to bury a child. A very dear friend of mine and a fellow Hellenist practiced faithfully every day while he battled cancer and never once felt like he could not give 100% to the Gods. Illness does not have to mean miasma at all, as long as your focus is not on it.

I cannot stress enough that miasma is not negative; it's human. And we are all human. The Gods created us as humans and They fully accept our nature in this regard. All They ask is that we try to live up to arete while we engage with Them. So while professionals dealing with miasmic events are more 'at risk', so to speak, of incuring miasma they do not incur miasma by default. And even if they do incur miasma, it's taken care of by katharmos, just like the rest fo us. So please rest assured.

• Sunday, October 9, 2016
  ancient Hellenic culture Hellenic Reconstruction Hellenismos 101 katharmos khernips miasma Mythology 101 requested post

Question Collections post 53

I get a lot of questions from readers, and most of the time, the answers are fairly short. When I feel the question or the reply would be valuable to others as well, I make a post with a collection of them and post them in one go. Today is one of those posts.

"Hello. I have been believing in the Greek Gods (excuse my uneducated termanology) for some time now and have been considering taking part in daily sacrifices and rituals and such. The problem however is that I am underage to consume alcohol and your guides for libations call for drinking and using wine. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can get around this? I would very much appreciate your advice. Thanks"

Grape juice. My answer to this has been and will forever be grape juice. Wine, after all, is nothing more than fermented grape juice. If a carton of that is hard to hide, water will suffice. But grape juice comes as close to the real thing as you can get without adding alcohol.

~~~

"I saw on your post about miasma that any distracting thing can be considered miasmic, but I have adhd and am distracted by literally everything. My thoughts are always in a million different directions at once and Incan't help it. Is this miasma?"

No, having ADHD is not a source of miasma. At all. After all, yes, it causes distraction but for you and those around you the behaviours associated with your ADHD are commonplace. What I mean when I say ‘miasma is caused by distraction’ (paraphrasing a very long and intricate post here) I don’t mean distraction as such, I mean something that is out of the norm and that takes away the spotlight from the Gods. Your ADHD is nothing new, not for you and not for those around you. It’s just something you have, something that makes you who you are. Well, one of the building blocks of who you are. And no, it is not miasmic in the least.

~~~

"Am I a bad hellenic polytheist if I like reading the percy jackson books?"

Haha! No, I quite liked them myself. What would make you a bad Hellenic Polytheist is only reading the Percy Jackson books and believing that what you read is accurate in terms of history or mythology. It's not. Not even close. Read it as amusement, as long as you do that, it's perfectly alright to enjoy them!

~~~

"Is being more revival instead of recon disrespectful or bad or anything? Like, I'm not talking abt like hellenic wicca or anything i mean just things adapted to modern stuff, since im unable to be mostly recon due to my household"

No, not at all, the two are simply different approaches that one can either be drawn to or be forced into. Both honour the Theoi and both take the ancient Hellenic practice as a base. How much of that base survives differs but that's not good or bad. Just different. I try for a Traditional approach (as much as possible), but that it not better than anything else, or more authentic. It's just what works for me. What matters is that you find what works for you.

~~~

"I really want to wear the veil, but I'm terrified to do so in public. I'm scared I'll offend someone, especially since I am very obviously white, but also people who wear hair coverings are not treated well in public where I live. I'm also worried about seeing someone I know and if they would judge me. How can I gain the confidence to express my devotion in the way I want to?"

In ancient Hellas the word for veil was 'kalyptra' (καλύπτρα), or 'kalyptrē' (καλύπτρη) in Ionic Greek. It comes from the verb 'kalyptō' (καλύπτω), 'I cover'. Veiling was a huge part of social life in ancient Hellas, and retained its importance well into the Roman era. While we don't know how many men and women veiled--because veiling was important for men as well, especially in the Roman era--we can assume that especially in ancient Hellas adult women tended to veil whenever they left the house. The fact that so few ancient writers mention the veil is indicative of one of two things: either it rarely happened, or it happened so often that it was not worth mentioning. Seeing as we have a lot of depictions of veiling on statues and other forms of art, we can only assume the latter to be true.

While we cannot accurately establish the frequency of veiling, we can most definitely try to discern 'why'. I say 'try' because veiling was a very complicated practice and it was done (and not done) for a great variety of reasons. Let's start with religious veiling: during rites to the Ouranic Gods at least, women tended to veil. At least in Roman times men did as well, but because of the words of Plutarch we can assume that the ancient Hellenic men frequently did not. Veiling during religious rites was seen as an act of dedication. By veiling, women--and by Roman times, men--put themselves below in status to the Gods as an act of piety. As Plutarch says in his 'Quaestiones Romanae':

[T]here is only one matter that needs investigation: why men cover their heads when they worship the gods; and the other [why men uncover their heads when they meet any of their fellow-men worthy of honour] follows from this. For they uncover their heads in the presence of men more influential than they: it is not to invest these men with additional honour, but rather to avert from them the jealousy of the gods, that these men may not seem to demand the same honours as the gods, nor to tolerate an attention like that bestowed on the gods, nor to rejoice therein. But they thus worshipped the gods, either humbling themselves by concealing the head, or rather by pulling the toga over their ears as a precaution lest any ill-omened and baleful sound from without should reach them while they were praying. That they were mightily vigilant in this matter is obvious from the fact that when they went forth for purposes of divination, they surrounded themselves with the clashing of bronze. " [10]

Plutarch (Ploútarkhos, Πλούταρχος) was a Greek historian, biographer, and essayist, who later in his life became a Roman citizen. As such, he was extraordinarily qualified to write two standard works: the 'Quaestiones Graecae' (Αἴτια Ἑλληνικά, or 'Greek Questions'), and the 'Quaestiones Romanae' (Αἴτια Ῥωμαϊκά, or 'Roman Questions'). These essays are part of the book series 'Moralia' (Ἠθικά, loosely translatable as 'Matters relating to customs and mores'), and can be found in book IV of the series. The Greek Questions contain fifty-nine questions, the Roman version hundred-thirteen, and all pertain to matters concerned with their respective culture. Many of the answers are names or customs, and because Plutarch often refers (back) to Hellenic customs, both are extremely valuable for research on ancient Hellenic life.

This dedication extended into the social as well: veiling and unveiling was a large part of wedding ceremonies for both men and women--who were both veiled for the ceremony. In ancient Hellenic times, men veiled during funerary rites, while women unveiled (in ancient Roman times, this was reversed) as anything associated with the underworld and death required a reversal of the usual. Plutarch, again in the 'Quaestiones Romanae' questions 'why do sons cover their heads when they escort their parents to the grave, while daughters go with uncovered heads and hair unbound?' and answers, partly, with the following:

"Is it because fathers should be honoured as gods by their male offspring, but mourned as dead by their daughters, that custom has assigned to each sex its proper part and has produced a fitting result from both? Or is it that the unusual is proper in mourning, and it is more usual for women to go forth in public with their heads covered band men with their heads uncovered? So in Greece, whenever any misfortune comes, the women cut off their hair and the men let it grow, for it is usual for men to have their hair cut and for women to let it grow." [14]

 

 Now, for women in ancient Hellas, there was another obvious--although very much linked--reason to veil: as a way to move freely outside of the oikos. Ancient Hellenic homes were simple structures, made from clay, wood, and stone. In many cases, a large wall with a single door connected the house to the street, while insuring maximum privacy to the occupants of the house. Women and men lived almost entirely separately within the home. Male-only rooms were called 'andron' (ανδρών), female-only rooms were called 'gynaikon' (γυναικῶν). Men were not allowed to enter female-only rooms, and a visiting male guest would be punished most severely if he entered the gynaikon.

Women, at least while in the gynaikon, were likely not veiled. When a married woman was alone with her husband, she most likely was not veiled either. When surrounded my other men, however, she most likely be veiled without fault unless the social rules dictated she must go unveiled. There was a good reason for this: women, for men, were near-mythological creatures; they didn't see many of them in their daily lives--safe for their mothers and wives, and even them, they hardly saw because they spent most of their time separate. Men feared women a little; they were closer to their primal nature because they bled once a month. That made them unpredictable.

Females started veiling around their first menstrual cycle: from that point on they were viewed as women and they developed their appeal on men. Ancient Hellenic men viewed women as having an uncontrolled sexuality, as well as a natural miasma linked to that sexuality, both of which posed serious threats to the social order. Men were attracted and aroused by women, who shook their self-control and their ideals of temperance. Instead of looking inward, changing their own behaviour and controlling their own desires, they lay the fault with women. As such, the veil shielded males from the female's dangerous gaze, controlled her enticing hair, and symbolically contained her siren's voice.

In ancient Hellenic society, women were regarded as being the property of the men in their lives--first their father, then their husband. They rarely had interactions with men not from their oikos. This was explainable: lawful and legitimate parentage was extremely important in ancient Hellenic society. A man who caught his wife cheating could bring the man she was cheating with to court. Plutarch, in a discussion of law, says that Solon gave 'to the one who catches a moichos (an adulterer) the right to kill him, but if anyone seizes a free woman and forces her, he assigned the penalty of one hundred drachmas’.

Veiling, like sexual separation, helped to preserve the Hellenic female's chastity, which, in turn, ensured both the legitimacy of her husband's heirs and the highly valued honour of her husband and family. When the woman left her home and the protection of her male guardians, the veil rendered her both socially invisible and sexually inviolate and marked her as the property of the male whose honour was reinforced by both her invisibility and chastity. The veil, essentially, served as an extension of the oikos: when women left the house veiled, they were safe. They became untouchable.

Veiling, however, was not simply a cultural mandate that underscored the woman's powerlessness relative to men. While women's adoption of the veil supported the male ideology that advocated female subordination, veiling also gave women a certain degree of authority by allowing them to claim both respectability and assert their own position in the social hierarchy. Because of this it is not surprising that the practice of veiling for women increased as their power in society increased.

Veiling for religious reasons is a pious act, one that speaks of dedication and devotion. If veiling outside of ritual in a modern context makes sense to you, I applaud it. I think it's a beautiful practice. It is, however, not worth your safety. Personally, I bind my hair when an ancient Hellenic woman would have veiled. It's my way to honour the practice and ensure only my spouse sees me in the state that the ancient Hellenic men agreed was a woman's fairest.

Fact is: times have changed. The veil has come to be associated with a fair deal of negativity in modern time--especially in Western countries. Which is a shame as I find it a beautiful practice in pretty much all religions. Now, there are ways to veil that are not as triggering: a bandana worn about the hair, for example, or even a hat or baseball cap. Or using a wrapping style not currently associated with negativity.

As with all new things, easing into it is probably best. Wrap up your hair with a bandana, go out and see what happens. Do it again after a few days, then build up the frequency and alternate styles until you are happy and the outside world has adjusted. And remember: 'because', just like 'no' is a full sentence answer to the question of '(may I ask) why you're wearing something on your head'. Good luck!

• Monday, August 1, 2016
  Hellenismos 101 miasma personal Question Collections Post requested post veiling

What is and is not miasmic?

It seems like one of the absolute hardest things about Hellenismos to truly understand for new (and experienced) practitioners is miasma. As I have said many times before: within Hellenic practice, miasma describes the lingering aura of uncleanliness in regards to a person or space through which contact is made with the Gods.

Miasma occurs whenever the space or person comes into contact with death, sickness, birth, sex, excessive negative emotions and bodily fluids. It also comes from a lack of contact with the Hellenic Gods. Not the actual acts of dying, sex and birth cause miasma but the opening up of the way to the Underworld (with births and deaths) as well as contact with sweat, blood, semen, menstrual blood and urine pollutes us. Miasma is an incredibly complicated and involved practice and it's often misunderstood. The most important things to remember about miasma is that it holds no judgment from the Gods, and that everyone attracts miasma. It's a mortal, human, thing. The ancient Hellenes washed their hands as a precaution before ritual and then attended rites every single day.

After a lot of research into the workings of miasma, I have come to the conclusion that true, practice stopping, miasma is linked to distraction. Anything that takes your mind off of the Gods during ritual can be considered miasmic. For example, the ancient Hellenes agreed that murder causes miasma (when not committed as part of a war, soldiers were not tainted with miasma for killing their enemies), but only once other people became aware of the fact that you had committed an act of murder. As such, if you were exiled and you travelled to another town where no one knew what you had done, in essence, you were not miamic to the rites and people around you.

Many people seem to read and consider this valid but find the translation into their own lives and hard to make. So I am going to give you a rule of thumb that you can go by in whatever situation you find yourself concerned about practicing because of miasma. The rule of thumb is as follows:

“If you were practicing in a large group of people, would either they or you be distracted by your perceived source of miasma to the point where practicing with full concentration becomes impossible?”

If the answer is ‘no’, you’re most likely not miasmic. If they answer is ‘yes’, you might be. And by ‘distracted’ I don’t mean a glance and move on, I mean the full on high school awkward hushed whispers, secret glances, moving away from you, paying more attention to you than the rite treatment. I mean distraction to the point where you would be very uncomfortable attending. If whatever you think is miasmic would cause that feeling, then don’t do ritual.

Some ancient examples that you will see hold true to this day. Picture the scene: a large temple square, a lit sacred fire, oxen moo in the distance, ready to be slaughtered and then a person comes into the square who has/has committed this:

- murder: naturally everyone who knows becomes uncomfortable—you wouldn’t feel safe, you would want to get away. This fear is miasma.
- given birth very recently: the first few days after giving birth, every mom looks run over by a donkey cart. It’s a reminder that the baby might still die (newborns often did in ancient Hellas). On the other hand, everyone would want to congratulate the new mom and see/touch the baby. This fear as well as the joy is miasma. Both distract from the ritual at hand.
- a close relation that has passed: everyone is aware they are grieving. They probably haven’t seen them yet and want to console them. This sympathy is miasma.
- just had sex: unless they were really loud in the next alleyway or are wearing stained and crumpled clothing, no one would know and as such, sex is not miasmic. But the lovers would know. And they might be more interested in enjoying the afterglow together than attending the ritual. This personal distraction means they are miasmic and they might cause distraction (miasma) for others by giggling, touching and generally being in their own private world.
- a (mental) illness that is currently actively present: being sick is not miasmic. Coughing all over the place, ranting about being Zeus or having recently tried to (publicly) commit suicide are. Now, a broken leg that everyone knows about is not miasmic, a chronic illness that everyone knows about is not miasmic, even a mental illness that everyone knows about is not miasmic—unless they manifest in a way that causes the high school reaction described above. Someone in a deep depression or a psychosis might find it hard to impossible to experience the rites, for example. I mean absolutely no disrespect to anyone struggling with a chronic illness or who is struggling psychologically when I write this. This is why I say miasma is human, it holds no judgement and it is part of daily life: it happens. It could happen to anyone.
- their period: cis ladies only, of course, but because of the men. Men in ancient Hellas were scared of women. They considered them wild and unpredictable and the whole ‘should-not-leave-the-house’-thing was a direct attempt to ‘tame’ women and make sure they did not run off with their kids. Nothing screams ‘wild’ and ‘dangerous’ more than someone who once a month loses the inner linings of their uterus during a bloody, messy, smelly week long (on average) affair that causes her great discomfort. Men in ancient Hellas (and, admit it, modern culture) were scared absolutely shitless by a woman’s menstrual cycle. So if anyone knew a woman was on her period and she attended ritual, there was no way they would be able to keep their attention on the rite. None. Today, it’s easy to make sure no one knows a woman is on her period and the act as such is not miasmic anymore, but the discomfort of the whole affair might be a distraction to the women themselves and as such, they can be miasmic for themselves and a distraction to others.

I could go on and on and on with examples, but I think the gist of it should be clear now: does whatever it is put the attention on you instead of the Gods? Miasmic. Does it distract you to the point where you can’t fully participate? Miasmic. Doesn’t it do either? Not miasmic. Wash your hands, maybe wash your face, get in the spirit of things and enjoy.

In the cases where a person was/is miasmic to the point where they should not be participating in the rite, there were two things that could be done and it depended greatly upon the circumstances. For anything but committing murder (or any other type of crime, I suspect), time is the healer. Sit this rite out, wait a week, re-evaluate.

A new mother was considered miasmic for ten days, by that time the baby would probably live and her wounds would have recovered to the point of being able to function again. Everyone will have seen the baby. Life has returned to normal. The miasma on grief over a close family member like a mother, son, or grandparent was considered to lift in a month. A woman’s period passes. Illnesses can be treated or will go in remission/become manageable. People will get used to chronic illnesses. Just give it time. And when the person whose waiting period was up got ready to practice again, a thorough cleansing by means of a bath and a small ceremony was held privately prior to it, I suspect mostly for the person themselves, to get in the right mindset again.

Murder and crime, by the way, had specialized midnight rites which cleansed the person of their act. Truthfully, I think it was more helpful to the public when the person’d had their day in court and I suspect the cleansing rite took place after the trial and punishment were over, just like with all other instances of miasma. It closed a chapter and put everyone at ease.

Miasma is not a bad thing, it is a human thing. We live, things happen, we move on. Miasma is not something that should stop you from practicing. What is does is ask of you to be mindful of when you should and should not be practicing. Practice when you are your best, when you can practice arête: the act of living up to one's full potential. Practice when you can give full attention to the rites despite of your distractions. What matters is that you practice, because the Theoi want you to. Stop only when you feel what you can give is not up to par to the Gods. Only then. Those instances are very, very rare and you will know it when they happen.

• Sunday, May 22, 2016
  ancient Hellenic culture Hellenic Reconstruction Hellenismos 101 household worship miasma

The sacred laws of Selinus and Cyrene

Two Hellenic cities which in their time were leading states in the Mediterranean world, Selinus in Sicily and Cyrene in Libya, set up inscriptions of the kind called sacred laws, but regulating worship on a larger scale than elsewhere - Selinus in the mid fifth century B.C., Cyrene in the late fourth. In different ways, the content and the format of both inscriptions are so unusual that they have baffled understanding. Today, I want to talk to you a bit about both, with the help of Noel Robertson.


The sacred laws of Selinus
Selinus (or Selinous), located on the south-west coast of Sicily, was founded in the mid-7th century BCE by Hellenic colonists from Megara Hyblaea on the eastern side of the island. Selinus was the most western Hellenic colony on Sicily, and it became an important polis or city-state in the Classical period. The site covered an unusually large and well-planned urban and sacred area, the latter once having at least ten separate temples from the 6th to 5th century BCE.

According to Thucydides, in 628 BCE Greek colonists from Megara Hyblaea on the eastern side of Sicily chose the site around the Manuzza hill, as it benefitted from a natural port and was surrounded by fertile plains ideal for agriculture, especially wheat and olive production. The town was named after the river Selinos on whose mouth it is situated. The name comes from the Hellenic word for wild celery (sélinon) which grew (and still grows) abundantly in the area.
The sacred laws of Selinus were written on a large lead tablet about two feet wide and eight inches high. It sets out rules for sacrifice and other ritual in two columns of writin that are upside down to each other. No one knows why. A bronze bar is laid vertically between the comumns so as to clamp the tablet with just three nails to some wooden fixture. At any given time, the column that is right side up is on the right.

The two columns are of unequal length and substance. column A fills up half the tablet, from top to bottom. After a preliminary offering and a heading, sacrifices are prescribed to Zeus Eumenes and the eumenides, to Zeus Milichios at a place strangely named, to Tritopatores both foul and pure, and again to Zeus Melichios at another place strangely named. For all but Zeus Eumenes and the Eumenides, the mode of sacrifice and other ritual actions are described in great detail. The heading gives the deadline for performing the whole series of sacrifices.

The preliminary offering is only partially legible; there are traces of an earlier and lengthier version that was eased.

Column B is only half as long as column A and was even shorter at first. It appears to have been lengthened as an afterthought. All the ritual of column B is addressed to a power called 'elasteros'. the person performing the rite is described as 'autorektas'. The ritual, including sacrifice, is meant to purify the person from the power.

Column A is dedicated to bloodshed, as all Theoi and powers named are avenging ones. Column B is linkd to the ritual purification of bloodshed and the lifting of guilt--of lifting the curse of the Eumenides of someone who has committed homicide.


The sacred laws of Cyrene
Cyrene was an ancient Hellenic city on the North African coast near present-day Shahhat, a town located in north-eastern Libya. As a result of the rise in population that took place in the Hellenic world during the 8th and 7th century BC, expeditions to the North African region took place from Thera (which is now known as Santorini). The traditional date for this event is 630 BCE. During the expedition, the native Lybians welcomed the newcomers and showed them an inland site marked by the presence of an abundant spring to found a new city. The name of the city is rooted in the myths about Apollon’s love affair with Kyrene, daughter of a Thesalian King named Hypseus and a water nymph.

The sacred laws of Cyrene were written down on a tall marble block. It originally stood in the great sanctuary of apollon in the northwest sector of the city. The content is divided by short horizontal lines into roughly twenty sections (depending on restoration).

Column A has a heading in larger letters: Apollon ordered the people of Cyrene to perform ritual a certain way. The first rule calls for a red haired sacrifice to Apollon outside of the city gates. The next few rules are on obtaining wood for any purpose and what washing or other care is needed after impure occasions like sexual intercourse and childbirth.Then there is a rather unclear section that mentiones Tritopateres and Battus, founder of Cyrene. the next rule is on how to scrape and scrub an altar when a wrong victim has been sacrificed.

The next item is a lingle line that describes a tithing obligatgion to Apollon for particular people. The obligation is to purify Apollon's sanctuary and oneself and one's property and also, as a much greater burden, to sacrifice animals valued at a literal tithe.

The second face, column B, begins with three rules for young women, requiring them to attend at stated times the shrine of Artemis. There follows a rule about impurity caused by miscarriage then three sections of text we do not know the proper meaning of. They might be on purifying supplicnt or, like at Selinius, about ifting the burden of guilt.

A .pdf of the sacred laws of Cyrene can be found here.

These writings give us insight into rites connected with the carker side of life, the polluted side of life. The side of life that needed supplication and divine intervention. By studying these texts, we recieve insight into the ancient Hellenic way of thinking and this helps us shape our own thought patterns,

• Thursday, May 5, 2016
  ancient Hellenic culture Hellenic Reconstruction Hellenismos 101 katharmos miasma

On impure days and days of purification

Lately, I have been getting a lot of questions concerning two events on my Hellenic festival calendar; enough to get a post out on it that I can link to. These questions concern the 'Days of purification' and the 'Impure day(s)'.

The days of purification are placed on the 18th and 19th of every month, and are thus part of the Mên kata Theion, the sacred month--religious events that return every month in a set sequence. These days of purification are hinted at in Proklos' 'Commentary on Hesiod's Works and Days', and further solidified by Philokhoros in his 'On Days'. The text is not available online in translation, as far as I can find, but in short, these texts indicate that 'the eighteenth and nineteenth of the month are devoted to purificatory and apotropaic rites.'

While this can be interpreted as a monthly thing, in context it can also be interpreted as something belonging only in Boedromion, tied to the Mysteries at Eleusis. Because we have no conclusive evidence in favor of either theory, I prefer to keep these as a monthly event.

The impure days are the days before the Deipnon. One of the most important of the many Hellenic festivals is the three-day transition from month to month. Although unlinked, the Deipnon, the Noumenia and Agathós Daímōn are held on consecutive days, around the new moon. The Deipnon (Hene kai Nea)--or Hekate's Deipnon--is celebrated any time before the first sliver of the new moon is visible. In practice, this is the day after the new moon. The impure days are thus the two or three (depending on if the month is hollow or not) days leading up to the Deipnon. These days are labelled 'impure' as a precausting. The Deipnon itself is absolutely impure, after all.

Hekate’s Deipnon is the traditional time to end the old month and prepare for the new one. In ancient Hellas, the Deipnon was celebrated with a Supper for the Titan Hekate--made up of leek, egg, cakes, fish, unions and garlic--and set out at the outside shrine to Hekate, and then placed at a crossroads as an offering to Her--Hekate Trioditis, Goddess of Crossroads--and the vengeful spirits who were in her following. In addition to placation, the Deipnon is also a time of purification; in ancient times, a dog was taken in, touched by all members of the oikos so any lingering miasma was transfered to the dog. The dog was then sacrificed in a holókaustos. This was most likely not a monthly thing, but only performed when the household was troubled. As Hekate's sacred animal is a dog, the sacrifice also served to regain, or keep, Hekate's favor upon the household. The house was also thoroughly cleaned so the new month could start fresh the day after. Debts were repaid on this day.

Purificatory rites, obviously, refer to katharmos--ritual purification--in relation to miasma--ritual impurity. Within Hellenic practice, miasma (Μίασμα) describes the lingering aura of uncleanliness in regards to a person or space through which contact is made with the Gods. Miasma occurs whenever the space or person comes into contact with death, sickness, birth, sex, excessive negative emotions and bodily fluids. It also comes from a lack of contact with the Hellenic Gods. Not the actual acts of dying, sex and birth cause miasma but the opening up of the way to the Underworld (with births and deaths) as well as contact with sweat, blood, semen, menstrual blood and urine pollutes us. Miasma is an incredibly complicated and involved practice and it's often misunderstood. The most important things to remember about miasma is that it holds no judgment from the Gods, and that everyone attracts miasma. It's a mortal, human, thing.

So let's look at the terms of 'purification' and 'apotropaic' as noted in the ancient texts. The practice of purification is called katharmos (Καθαρμός). The process of katharmos is elaborate because the process not only involves the physical but also the emotional, mental and spiritual. It means being physically clean when entering ritual but, peraps more importantly, it means leaving behind negativity, worry, pain and trouble before getting in contact with the Gods.
Katharmos is a Hellenic basic. There can not be ritual without katharmos. As such, it makes sense to have days in the month assigned especially to getting clean before the rest of the month's rituals take place.

The word 'apotropaic' comes from Greek apotrepein 'to ward off' from apo- 'away' and trepein 'to turn'. These practices serve to appease polluting spirits, ghosts chief amongst them. Ghosts were the people who could not find the entrance to the Underworld or who didn't have the money to pay Kharon for their passage. Those who were not properly buried were also doomed to wander the Earth for a hundred years. Interestingly enough, Hellenic heroes were also considered ghosts and were honored in the same type of rites as other types of ghosts.

The ancient Hellens held festivals in honor of ghosts, and the Theoi that presided over them, so they would be sated and appeased and would not haunt them. Most of these festivals included a holókaustos--a sacrificial offering given in its entirety to the Gods--and were solemn affairs, conducted at night and without an offering of wine. It was, however, also possible to invite them to dine with the living so they would feel included and then end the proceedings by asking them to leave; something the ghosts would do as it's not polite by the rules of xenia to be a burden on your host.

This fear of spirits and other supernatural entities was named 'deisidaimonia' (δεισιδαιμονία). The ceremonies of riddance were known to the Hellenes as apopompai (ἀποποπμαί), 'sendings away'. There isn't a single word in the English language that conveys the practice. Closest would be 'exorcism'. It is important to note here that these 'exorcisms' weren't performed on people, but on the ghosts themselves and in short, they consisted of rites to ask the Gods (especially Hekate) to keep these unfortunate souls away from their homes and families, because the ghosts could bring misery down upon them. Possession was not part of the fear. Many rites in the ancient Hellenic religion--including monthly ones like the Deipnon--were apotropaic.

There is one other reson I can think of why certain days could have become impure are the ancient Hellenic homicide courts. Homicide courts were the law cases where one man stood accused of murdering another. In many respects, a homicide case resembled other private suits. Each litigant pleaded his own case in two speeches, the first of which presented the main points in his accusation or defense and might be written for him by a logographer, aprofessional speechwriter, and the second rebutting his opponents arguments. Witnesses could testify if they were male citizens. When the litigants finished their two speeches, the jury voted for acquittal or conviction and the majority carried the day (a tie vote meant acquittal). The penalty for intentional homicide was death, though exile seems to have been a common outcome, and the accused was allowed to go into exile voluntarily at any time up until his second speech in court, which would then be delivered by a friend or relative in the hope of persuading the jury to vote for acquittal despite the accused’s departure. For unintentional homicide the penalty was exile, probably for a specific length of time (perhaps a year). At any point the victim’s family could agree to a lesser penalty, or they could even drop the charges, if they wished, though there was a strong moral obligation to avenge an intentional murder.

Interestingly enough, homicide courts were held outdoors out of fear of pollution. The belief was archaic and had become more of a tradition than a rule by the time of Classical Greece, but it was definitely practiced. It could have been that these homicide courts were always planned on impure days--or that these days became impure because these very specific courts were always held on these days.

So, what do these days mean for worship...? Not too much. Festivals were hardly ever celebrated on these days and essembly meetings were rarely held on them either. They were said to bring bad luck; no major endeavor was started on them. Especially the impure days in the middle of the month were considered ominous. For us, we can foolow the lead of the ancient Hellenes: there are no planned festivals and we can be mindful of these days when planning our own celebrations. But the ancient Hellenes would have held regular household rituals on these days and in case of imergency, they would have performed rituals as well. The katharmic rites might have been a bit longer or performed with more intention but overall, these days are just something to keep in mind, not be held back back. 

• Tuesday, November 10, 2015
  ancient Hellenic culture Athens festivals Hellenismos 101 katharmos miasma requested post

On the forbidden foods of the Eleusinian Mysteries

Because I hope some of you are partaking in the Eleusinian Mysteries with us these coming days, at least a portion of this week's posts will be about the Mysteries, mostly about the little details. Today: food.

Initiates of the Eleusinian Mysteries were instructed to fast each day from dawn until sunset, following the example of Demeter who would neither eat nor drink while searching for her lost daughter. Fasting, as we know, is a means of cleansing the body, a time when the body’s cells and tissues dispel impurities. More than that, it is a mental exercise of willpower and awareness. In the evenings initiates could eat and drink, except for the traditionally 'forbidden foods'. What these forbidden foods were, however, is cause for much debate.

Porphyrios, in his 'Abstinia' claims that meat, fowl, red mullet fish, red wine, apples, pomegranates, and beans were off the menu for the initiates of the Mysteries, as he says:

"In the Eleusian mysteries, likewise, the initiated are ordered to abstain from domestic birds, from fishes and beans, pomegranates and apples; which fruits are as equally defiling to the touch, as a woman recently delivered, and a dead body."

It also seems that at the entrance to the temple of Demeter at Eleusis, tablets were placed containing a list of forbidden foods. The list included several kinds of fish--the whistle-fish, gurnet, crab, and mullet. In all probabihty the whistle-fish is that known as Scicena aquila, a Mediterranean fish that makes a noise under the water which has been compared to bellowing, buzzing, purring, or whistling, the air bladder being the sound-producing organ. The whistle-fish and crab were held to be impure, the first because it laid its eggs through the mouth, and the second because it ate filth which other fish rejected. The gurnet was rejected because of its fecundity as witnessed in its annual triple laying of eggs, but, according to some riters, it was rejected because it ate a fish which was poisonous to mankind. It may well be that other fish were interdicted, but archeologists and historians agree Porphyry was probably exaggerating when he said that all fish were forbidden.

Birds bred at home, such as chickens and pigeons, were also on the banned list, as were beans and certain vegetables which were forbidden for a mystical reason which Pausanias said he dare not reveal save to the initiated. The probable reason was that they were connected in some way with the wanderings of Demeter. Pomegranates were, of course, forbidden, from the incident of the eating of the pomegranate seeds by Persephone, causing her annual return to the Underworld.

Eggs are a controversial matter. They are attested as banned foods in the Orphic Tradition, appear in lists attested to Pythagoras, and those of several other wise men. While there is no direct relation to the Eleusinian mysteries, Most--if not all--of the other foods listed as banned within the Eleusinian Mystery Tradition also appear on the lists of these other (Mystery) Traditions. As such, for me personally, I abstain from eggs as well. It makes sense seeing as they came to be through the process of a birth--something attested to being miasmic.

We do not encourage our members to go on a ten day fast, eating only ad night. What we do encourage is a one day fast, in the daylight hours of October 2, the day of the actual initiatory rite. Now, a few words of warning and wisdom: fasting is a practice that's reserved for healthy adults and non-pregnant women. It's not suitable for children, the elderly, pregnant women or anyone with medical or psychological conditions which may be triggered by a lack of food. If you're struggling with eating disorders or anything else that may be triggered by a fast, pick something that does not involve food or drink, like electronic devices. Go through the day without using a cell phone, your computer, the radio or the T.V.. Especially in a religious setting, it's the 'going without' part that matters most.

• Monday, September 28, 2015
  ancient Hellenic culture Eleusinian mysteries fasting Hellenismos 101 miasma personal Porphyrios

Sex and shrines

"I was reading up on your 2013 post about Anthesteria in preparation for tomorrow night when I came to the bit about covering your altars to prevent miasma. My main altar is in my bedroom. Should I be covering it every time my husband and I have sex? Have I been polluting my altar for years?"

The post in question can be found here. In it, I talk about covering your main household shrine as a sort of tribute to the fact that for the final two days of the Anthesteria, all temples were closed besides the one of Dionysos. Seeing as this festival is partially an underworld festival, it carries miasma. It is a practice I have adopted for anything underworld-related; I also do it when someone close to me dies, for example, until I can purify myself.

Sex in Hellenismos is.... complicated. Hellenic society was complicated when it came to sex; the ancients saw sex as completely natural and--unlike many today--had no inhibitions and very few taboos when it came to straight up heterosexual sex. Anything else had societal stigma's attached to it. They did however have many thoughts and rules surrounding ritual cleanliness--miasma and katharmos.

The ancient Hellenes viewed sex differently than we do today. In general, they accepted lust for sex as a disease--as madness that needed to be given in to on occasion to preserve sanity. It was the result of a disturbance of the healthy equilibrium between body and mind. Sexual desire made one loose mastery of their intellect--which was a huge ideal in ancient time. Women shouldn't be encouraged to give into that madness too often, but husbands did have the legal obligation to relieve this need in their wives at regular intervals so as to prevent them from becoming dangerous.

Mikalson in 'Ancient Greek Religion' mentions that intercourse led to miasma and that a bath was required before entering a temple after intercourse as a form of katharmos. He, however, does not give a source, and I don't know one either. It is a reoccurring idea, though, mostly centred on the male's excretions during the activity. The Hellenic religious organization 'Labrys' echoes the sentiment, but also without sourcing.

I keep my altar in my bedroom as well--as we live in a one bedroom apartment and we have sliding doors to corner off the bedroom during the night. During the day the space is part of our living room. What I do have is curtains to shut off  the bed from the room beyond and thus creating a temporary barrier between the bed and the altar. When I make love to my girlfriend, I'm mindful to keep these curtains closed. Honestly, I mostly do it because otherwise I feel like there are Gods watching with popcorn, but hey, miasma is an issue too.

We all incur miasma, every single day of our lives. It has nothing to do with sin, shame or guilt. Miasma is a consequence of living. We breath, make decisions, come in contact with others, and along the way, we become too human--for lack of a better term--to petition the Gods. The divide between the purity and cleanliness of the Theoi and our human mortality and imperfection, keeps us away from Them. Miasma is not about being physically dirty, although that is a part of it, and katharmos is not about becoming physically clean, although that is a part of it as well.

After a lot of research into the workings of miasma, I have come to the conclusion that miasma is linked to distraction. Anything that takes your mind off of the Gods during ritual can be considered miasmic. For example, murder causes miasma (when not committed as part of a war, soldiers were not tainted with miasma for killing their enemies), but only once other people became aware of the fact that you had committed an act of murder. As such, if you were exiled and you travelled to another town where no one knew what you had done, in essence, you were not miamic to the rites and people around you. If you can keep your head in the game the morning after and you have taken the proper steps to clean both yourself and the space, then by all means, do the rites. If you can't, well, then it doesn't matter where the shrine is located, now does it? If you mind is still on last night's events, you have no business petitioning the Gods anyway.

Real talk: we don't live in ancient Hellas anymore and while I am a huge stickler for practicing Traditional Hellenismos, not all of us have a huge altar in our garden that we can perform sacrifices at twice a day. Most of us don't have a wood stove or some such to offer at. We live in the now, and as such, we are forced to take certain liberties and deal with the consequences. As such, I would encourage a barrier, but if you don't have one and you have sex next to your household altar, make sure you and the space are clean when you give sacrifice. Sprinkle khernips, take a bath, change the sheets, make sure your mind is entirely on the ritual and not last night's marathon session. Give the Theoi their due in an area that is clean and tidy. Compartmentalize.

So no, I don't think you need to cover your altar whenever you have sex (although I would encourage some sort of barrier between your altar and the bed out of respect). I do think you need to do much more extensive cleaning of the space if you have your altar in your bedroom and you've just had sex. The sight of crumpled sheets and your sleeping lover would undoubtedly bring distraction, and that I would warn against. As a final note: enjoy each other. Share love. These things are far too important to hold off on. Your worship matters but it can be adapted to suite the needs of the entire household--and at its core, that is the main focus of Hellenismos: providing a healthy relationships with the Gods to our family so they in turn may bless us and guard our household.

• Monday, March 2, 2015
  ancient Hellenic culture Hellenismos 101 household worship katharmos khernips miasma personal requested post