Repost: Who oversees the modern marvels?

Unless stated otherwise, nothing in this post is drawn from ancient sources. Most of it isn't even UPG. It's a thought exercise. Way back when I was still doing the Pagan Blog Project posts, I wrote about genealogy of the Gods. I ended that post with the following:

"One sad part of studying Divine genealogy is that there is an end. The lives of the Gods have come to a halt. We rehash the stories but no more children are born, no heroes rise. It makes me wish for the inclusion and revelation of UPG into Hellenismos. New blood, new stories, could really benefit the practice and believes of Hellenic practitioners. A new Divine child to shake up the pantheon, a new child of Zeus who grows up to fight new (or returned) monsters. Sacrilege, some say, and they might be right. But I admit to staring at the pages of genealogy in my book and wishing the lines, somehow, someway, extend to include more of the Divine family. "

I still feel that way. I still wish for a line that continues onto now. But, seeing as we don't have that, I'm going to make another mental leap. I'm going to see who of the Theoi would oversee some of the modern marvels, should They be willing to adopt them.

The internet and the telephone
It's one of humanities greatest achievements; a real-time communication link between every person on the planet who has access to a computer and a subscription. It's not one thing; it's housed on computers everywhere, everyone adding a small part to it, so you can read these words from any place in the world. I'm quite sure who would have this marvel in their portfolio: Iris, rainbow Goddess of communication, who delivers Her messages as fast and the wind and who has always been a connector; in ancient Hellas, She connected the Theoi and mankind. Her speed, Her messenger spirit, and her ability to connect everyone anywhere in the world make Her an excellent candidate for the position of Patroness of the Internet.
For most of the same reasons, I would also place the telephone firmly under Her domain.

Planes, trains and automobiles
I'm staying with the sky Gods on this one; airplanes, trains and cars have cut down travel time, have made goods readily available anywhere in the world, have allowed us to expand modern life to parts of the world where this was absolutely impossible before, and--in the case of airplanes--have given us entrance into Zeus' domain. yet, I don't feel Zeus would oversee flight. I think that would be Hermes' task. Airplanes would be a marvelous novelty for Hermes, who is known to fly everywhere. It's this huge, bulky, thing that miraculously stays in the air. I think Hermes would get a kick out of throwing a few air pockets in the way of a plane--just to see the panic on everyone's faces--before helping the plane land safely. Trains and cars go fast, make a lot of noise and are constantly out on the road. This, too, would make Hermes happy. Hēphaistos may be involved with the construction of these travel aids, but Hermes would watch over your safety while in them.

Computers
As already discussed a bit with the internet, modern life would change dramatically if we lost computers. they help us communicate, solve problems beyond our natural capabilities, provide entertainment, allow us to make a living and that's just scratching the surface of its usefulness. For me, this is another no-brainer: Hēphaistos. If Daidalos had been a Theos, I would have picked him. Athena's analytical mind may have had a part in its creation as well, but the actual tinkering bits would speak to Hēphaistos far more than to Athena. Once the first computer was completed, I would see it likely Athena lost interest, while Hēphaistos would relish the challenge of improving upon it again and again.

The radio and television
A slightly older means of communication, but none the less very valuable. Radio signals connect people, are used in jobs like airport control, security and construction, and bring music to the masses. Because of the broad application of the radio, and especially because of the music, I'm picking Apollon for this one. Anything that brings music all over the world would interest him greatly. Because of its ability to amuse, educate and spread awareness, the television would also fall under Apollon's domain.

Bombs, guns, tanks and other weapons of war
It's a cheap shot, but for their sheer destructive power, I would place any weapon of war under Ares' domain. It may not be honorable, but weapons of war are effective. When His rage reaches the point of no return, I'm sure His hands would itch to just wipe out the enemy. In fact, I think Ares would have felt a whole lot better if He would have been able to decimate the Hellenic army besieging Troy with a few powerful bombs. He is still the Lord of War. As for some of the other war-like Theoi; I think Athena and Zeus would find these methods too crude and/or imprecise. They would like the sniper rifle and, perhaps, to tinker with the missile guidance systems, but actual weapons of mass destruction? Not so much.

This is a top-of-my-head list. Are there others you have ideas about? I'm sure Aphrodite would be happy with the invention of sex toys, and Apollon with electric lights, for example. I'd also really love to hear if you had envisioned other Theoi with these examples. Have fun!

• Saturday, February 8, 2020
  Apollon Ares Athena Daidalos Hēphaistos Hermes Iris personal Zeus

Diversifying the academic field of the Classics

I'm sharing parts of an article from the University Times today. You can read the full version here.

In a rapidly evolving and diverse world, one of academia’s oldest disciplines is struggling to evolve. Classics has long been a staple of academia throughout human history, but the discipline’s place in the 21st century represents a key struggle between traditionalism and modernisation – a struggle between new forces trying to reinvigorate the discipline and deceased – primarily straight, white and wealthy – men.

Most bibliographies for an ancient history module will consist of men like Thucydides, Herodotus and Suetonius, which doesn’t exactly make for a diverse reading list. Men even dominate modern scholarship on the subject. Dr Rebecca Usherwood, Assistant Professor in late antique and early Byzantine studies, teaches Sources and Methods in Ancient History and Archaeology at Trinity and is currently writing a book on the Constantine period. Encouraging students to engage critically with the past to consider how the context of our own time shapes our understanding and analysis of antiquity, Usherwood’s section of the module promotes the idea of diversity within the subject.

"I work on late Roman political history. It’s quite common that I’m the only woman on the conference panel. If I submit something, the blind reviewers would most likely be male."

A lack of female representation – much like the prejudices in the subject itself – runs deep, giving rise to worries of “tokenism”. Usherwood admits to such fears:

"Sometimes, I sit and wonder if the only reason I’m on this panel is so it isn’t what we call a ‘manel’, and I get invited to do more stuff I think because of that."

 This is something which few of her male counterparts can relate to. However, Usherwood, in the face of such adversity, refuses to accept that this is just the way things are and should continue to be.

"I think the best thing to do for the students is to problematise the issue and say, ‘look, this is a problem, and you should notice that it’s there’. I think we’re moving towards thinking about why these imbalances come out and how we can address them in a non-aggressive way."

It is clear from conversations with students that there is a real interest in the topics of diversity that Usherwood discusses. Amy Cox, a first-year ancient history and archaeology/classical civilisation student talks about her passion for Penthesilea, an Amazon queen from Greek mythology and a figure within classical myths that doesn’t conform to the gender norms in antiquity. She is a warrior queen who goes toe-to-toe with Achilles (mythology’s greatest warrior), with her death immortalised by the Attican potter Exekias.

For LGBTQ+ people tackling the classic, analysis of the classical world is based primarily on a hetero-normative approach. This is most evident in many older translations of Sappho’s Ode to Aphrodite which identify the subject of this lyrical epic as male. While scholars such as Theodor Bergk as early as 1835 read the subject as female, a broader agreement on this proposal did not emerge until the 1960s. Sappho herself is now seen as a lesbian icon by many LGBTQ+ classicists. In fact, the word “lesbian” literally derives from the word “Lesbos”, the island from which she originated.

As with any other discipline, classics is facing an existential evaluation of its place in the 21st century. But we are beginning to see an evolution towards a more diverse interpretation of what the subject means in the world today and towards a more inclusive approach to teaching classics. It is clear, however, that conversations like the ones happening in Usherwood’s and Sinclair’s classrooms are helping to break down the elitist barriers around classics.

How these changes will fully manifest themselves is still unclear, but the discipline will have to be creative to keep up with the 21st century. Perhaps in the future we could see local groups celebrating the Festival of Dionysus, or the government promoting classics in Deis schools.

• Friday, February 7, 2020
  ancient Hellenic culture current affairs personal

Archaic building found at Asclepeion Sanctuary in Ancient Epidaurus

A new building found at Epidaurus’ Asclepeion area, which was dedicated to Asklepios, gives new insight into the famous sanctuary, mainly concerning the early years of its creation. The newly-uncovered building is a structure from the archaic era, whose function is currently unknown. It was built on a site adjacent to where the Tholos, or dome, the most iconic building of the Asclepeion, is situated.

The building, rectangular in plan, had a basement space corresponding to the ground floor, with mosaics placed in a peristyle form. According to the information gleaned so far from the excavation, which is still in progress, the building dates back to around the year 600 BC.

University of Athens Professor Vassilis Lamprinoudakis, head of the excavations in ancient Epidaurus, explained to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency:

"This means the worship of Asclepius appears to have begun earlier in the Asclepeion of Epidaurus. Until now, it was believed to have begun around 550 BC, i.e., in the middle of the sixth century BC. Now it is evident that the structures are earlier, and this is particularly important for the history of the sanctuary and for the history of Asclepius himself. At the place where the Tholos was later built, a part of a building, a ‘double’ building, with basement and ground floor has been found. 

"Since there is a basement, like in the Tholos, we consider it to be a forerunner of this ‘mysterious’ building called the Tholos. When it was decided to build the Tholos, this building was demolished. The empty space created by its basement was filled with relics from the old building, but also from other parts of the sanctuary. That is because (when) the great program of the 4th century BC began, some other buildings were also demolished, the material of which was buried with respect in the place."

The archaeologist explained that the name Tholos "was only given to the structure by the ancient traveler Pausanias in the second century AD. Its original name, as we know from the inscriptions of the 4th century BC, was ‘Thymeli.’ Thymeli was a kind of altar (used in sacrifice), in which offerings were made without blood." Lamprinoudakis continued, saying:

"Research tells us that the Tholos was a kind of underground house of Asclepius, where patients were treated by injection. The patient who slept in this special place would dream of the God Asklepios to reveal to him the cure for his illness. This former building had a function similar to that of the Tholos, that is, its basement served as the seat of Asclepius on earth. The new building, however, also gives important clues to the topography of the sanctuary. It explains the orientation of some other constructions that follow."

The archaeological dig at the sanctuary of Asclepius of Epidaurus, which has been carried out by the Department of History and Archeology of the University of Athens since 2016, continues today. The excavations, carried out with the support of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Argolis, were funded by the organization “Asclipiades” in 2016-2017 and by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation in the years 2018-2019.

• Thursday, February 6, 2020
  ancient Hellenic culture archeology Asklēpiós current affairs Epidaurus modern Greece

Animation brings ancient Hellenic Hoplite to life

This is awesome! Frozen for millennia, an ancient Hellenic soldier is freed to charge into battle once again

The artifacts that underlie so much of our understanding of the ancient world can often feel like brittle remnants of a dim and dusty past that’s hard to access without context and extensive knowledge. But sometimes just a little kineticism can transform a bit of pottery into a living story. Such is the effect of this animation produced for an exhibition at the Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology at the University of Reading in the UK, which breathes life into war scenes from a vase found on the island of Euboea and thought to date to roughly 550 BCE. The story follows a spear-wielding hoplite (citizen-soldier in the infantry) as he moves through several stages of the wartime experience. After witnessing a ceremonial animal sacrifice performed by a priest, he departs for battle alongside his fellow soldiers, fights the enemy and creates a trophy from their discarded equipment to mark his side’s victory. Learn more about the video at the Panoply Vase Animation Project website.

Art director: Sonya Nevin
Animator: Steve K Simons
Website: Panoply Vase Animation Project

• Wednesday, February 5, 2020
  ancient Hellenic culture archeology current affairs

Kleanthēs' hymn to Zeus

There are many ancient hymns to the Theoi, and many are well known: the Homeric ones, the Orphic ones, Kallimachos... There are many lesser known hymns, though, and those are the ones I try to share with you guys every now and again, just to get them a little more exposure.

Today, I would like to share Kleanthēs' hymn to Zeus with you. Kleanthēs (Κλεάνθης, Cleanthes) lived from 330 BC to around 230 BC. He was a Hellenic Stoic philosopher and the successor to Zeno as the second head of the Stoic school in Athens. Originally a boxer, he came to Athens where he took up philosophy, listening to Zeno's lectures. He supported himself by working as water-carrier at night. After the death of Zeno, he became the head of the school, a post he held for the next 32 years. Kleanthēs was a pantheist; he considered the universe a living being and said that Deity was the soul of the universe and the sun its heart.

The largest surviving fragment of Kleanthēs is the portion of the Hymn to Zeus, which is often printed and published as part of The Golden Sayings by Epictetus (section four).

Kleanthēs - Hymn to Zeus

Chiefest glory of deathless Gods, Almighty for ever,
Sovereign of Nature that rulest by law, what Name shall we give Thee?--
Blessed be Thou! for on Thee should call all things that are mortal.
For that we are Thine offspring; nay, all that in myriad motion
Lives for its day on the earth bears one impress--Thy likeness--upon it.
Wherefore my song is of Thee, and I hymn thy power for ever.

Lo, the vast orb of the Worlds, round the Earth evermore as it rolleth,
Feels Thee its Ruler and Guide, and owns Thy lordship rejoicing.
Aye, for Thy conquering hands have a servant of living fire--
Sharp is the bolt!--where it falls, Nature shrinks at the shock and doth shudder.
Thus Thou directest the Word universal that pulses through all things,
Mingling its life with Lights that are great and Lights that are lesser,
E'en as beseemeth its birth, High King through ages unending.

Nought is done that is done without Thee in the earth or the waters
Or in the heights of heaven, save the deed of the fool and the sinner.
Thou canst make rough things smooth; at Thy voice, lo, jarring disorder
Moveth to music, and Love is born where hatred abounded.
Thus hast Thou fitted alike things good and things evil together,
That over all might reign one Reason, supreme and eternal;
Though thereunto the hearts of the wicked be hardened and heedless--
Woe unto them!--for while ever their hands are grasping at good things,
Blind are their eyes, yea, stopped are their ears to God's Law universal,
Calling through wise disobedience to live the life that is noble.
This they mark not, but heedless of right, turn each to his own way,
Here, a heart fired with ambition, in strife and straining unhallowed;
There, thrusting honour aside, fast set upon getting and gaining;
Others again given over to lusts and dissolute softness,
Working never God's Law, but that which warreth upon it.

Nay, but, O Giver of all things good, whose home is the dark cloud,
Thou that wieldesy Heaven's bolt, save men from their ignorance grievous;
Scatter its night from their souls, and grant them to come to that Wisdom
Wherewithal, sistered with Justice, Thou rulest and governest all things;
That we, honoured by Thee, may requite Thee with worship and honour,
Evermore praising thy works, as is meet for men that shall perish;
Seeing that none, be he mortal or God, hath privilege nobler
Than without stint, without stay, to extol Thy Law universal.

• Tuesday, February 4, 2020
  Cleanthes Epictetus hymns Zeus

New guidelines may force the British Museum to return the Parthenon Marbles

New hopes emerged last week that the Parthenon Marbles could eventually be returned to their rightful home after the British authorities ordered the country’s museums to assess their collections with a new “decolonizing” checklist to ease the repatriation of cultural treasures.

The Arts Council, the supreme body championing and developing art and culture across Britain, has called on experts to draw up new guidelines to address sacred and significant objects like the Parthenon Marbles, which have long provoked pleas for repatriation from Greece after being seized in the age of empire. An Arts Council spokeswoman said:

"The aim of the guidance is to encourage a more proactive and coordinated approach across the UK museum sector by providing museums with a practical resource to support them in engaging with and responding to all aspects of restitution and repatriation."

The idea follows the promise made by French president Emmanuel Macron to repatriate colonial objects.

Foreseeing ever-increasing demands for repatriation in future, the Arts Council has offered a £42,000 contract to experts who can draw up guidance on decolonization. The contract states:

"There is significant government, public and press interest and increasing calls for action by UK museums and sector bodies to address this agenda."

It is understood that planned guidance will work as a checklist to handle claims, from how to deal with publicity and activist agitation, to possible repatriation.

An Easter Island Moai looming in the British Museum, an Aboriginal shield, and Ethiopian sacred tablets are among the many artefacts acquired amid imperial expansion which have been demanded back by their ancestral owners.

• Monday, February 3, 2020
  ancient Hellenic culture archeology current affairs

Finding faith in the Gods

A repost of a reader question today. This post is written especially for people new to the faith, but heck, most of you might find something in there that you connect with. The question(s) is/are as follows:

"Hello Elani! I'm having some trouble with my faith in the Gods... how do you incorporate them every day in your life at the beginning of your path? How do you work as HP and recon while living in a Christian household? How do you feel the Gods on a daily basis? Does any of this make sense?! Thank you very much."

So, let's break these down. Let's talk about incorporating the Gods into your (daily) life first. I have a tendency to go adopt new things in a very specific way: in general, I dive in without any restraint, give it my all, and spent every waking moment in it until the obsession normalizes. I don’t believe in the slow build, in the careful exploration. I tend to go in full force and always believe I can do it. It was the same with adopting Hellenism. I started my new practice, read up as much as I could in a day or two, and started morning and evening libations, as well as a blog so I could share my new obsession with the world. I'm the type of person who would rather correct the course of the train than drive slow until I'm sure of the course.

I am aware not everyone is like me, and honestly, I would not recommend my approach to religious practice to everyone. That said, what I would recommend is knowing the way you are wired. Starting and maintaining a religious practice--especially a Hellenic one where traditional sources place emphasis on at least twice-daily religious observance--is always an undertaking. When you're still in the infancy of your practice, it can be the most overwhelming thing: there is so much you don't know, so much you know you will still have to learn before you'll have a grip on all of it.

That first period is both the most exciting as the most frustrating and the scariest. On the one hand, you feel exhilarated because you've found something you feel really at home with, but you're scared to do it wrong, scared of not being good enough, and you're still missing the terminology to even Google for the things you should be doing. How you make it through this first period is dependent upon only yourself, I fear. My advice is to read as much as you can, ask questions to anyone willing to answer them, and find a community to help you out.

Once you get a handle on your practice comes phase two, and this is also the final phase: shaping your practice. You will never have a practice that you are fully satisfied with, that's fully perfect--not if you keep investing time and effort into your studies, into your rituals, into developing yourself. A religion is more than the rites you perform; religion is a lifestyle and it seeps into the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the people you meet, the person you become and everything else there is to you. No one is defined by a single aspect in their life, but your religion does say something about you as a person.

Developing your practice can be a hard thing to do, and it requires you to have an intimate knowledge of yourself, of your needs and desires. What do you want to get out of your religion? Why did you get into it? What religious baggage do you take with you? And most of all, perhaps, what are you willing to do for it? Are you willing to turn your life around if the Gods desire it of you, or would you rather just have a religion as a hobby? Both are fine, but you need to figure out the answer going in.

I have found that the way only religion becomes a part of your daily life is to live it. Perform rituals, talk about it, read, research, and live the ethics and philosophies. I don't have a direct connection to the Gods. No one talks to me, nor makes Their presence known in any other way. I don't have chats with Aphrodite, nor does Hypnos visit me in my dreams. I'm just a person who gives Them their daily due, and in return, I trust They steer my life towards a place of quiet comfort. I love believing in the Gods, though. It gives me something to hold on to during the dark days, someone to thank during the good, and it gives me a purpose in life. Including the Gods in all these moments will make it feel like They are always there. The key word? Repetition, repetition, repetition. Do it until it sticks, because then, when you stop, you'll miss it. That's the point where your religion becomes integrated into your life. Here are a few thing to do on a daily basis that will help greatly.

As for practicing under the care of naysayers, I wrote a post partly about that a while ago. Hopefully that will help you out. Thank you for your question(s) and good luck! Gods bless!

• Sunday, February 2, 2020
  daily practice Hellenismos 101 personal requested post